Today's Triple News: interstellar African Ben-Hur

A new crop of news posts:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157290/meer_posters_interstellar_uitgebracht

2001 much? Interstellar not only reminds me of Kubrick's classic in a visual way - in terms of both the look of space and the design of the featured technology - but also in the way it connects the vast recesses of outer space to things closer to home, that wonderful human condition, like mankind's destructive process of evolving and the emotional and psychological ties we share with the home that is our Earth. No artificial doorways to other realms here though, this time it's wormholes that do the same trick (unless they're artificial wormholes, which also wouldn't be a novel notion). It makes for a striking picture nonetheless, as this new poster above reveals. Surely stuff worthy of IMAX, unlike the few pitiful titles released in that format in the months prior to Interstellar's release. And hey, if Interstellar echoes 2001 strongly enough, at least they won't feel the need to pointlessly remake that much beloved movie.

Unlike this next classic...

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157256/jack_huston_wordt_ben-hur

There is some Jewish blood running through Huston's veins, but not enough to warrant him playing an ancient Jewish nobleman in that regard. Fortunately Huston is also a very talented actor, so that should put all other issues to rest in my mind. So far, Huston has astonished me with his grand performance of the battle scarred WW I veteran/skilled hitman Richard Harrow on HBO's Boardwalk Empire, while I've also enjoyed his parts in movies like American Hustle and Night Train to Lisbon. It'll be very interesting to see what he makes of Judah Ben-Hur, tormented by his Roman childhood friend, subjected to brutal slavery and enlightened by Christ. I could do without the latter component of the story, but it's hard to deny it's an essential ingredient to the story. It can't be delivered any worse - though some would say 'uplifting' instead - than the way it was in the 1959 film, and I still love that film despite it's in-your-face religious overtones. It will be even more interesting to see what Timur Bekmambetov makes of this as its director. This fairly straightforward epic doesn't really seem suited for his flamboyant, if not downright outrageous, visual and narrative style. Then again, considering the fantasy elements delivered by Ben-Hur's Christian subplot coupled with Bekmambetov's experience combining both the historical and the fantastic genres (see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, The Arena and the Night Watch films), it seems the studio has made the perfect directorial choice.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/157289/angelina_jolie_regisseert_africa

The elephant plight is in desperate need of some worldwide attention, as these magnificent animals (and rhinos, too) are now in more danger of extinction than ever, due to the alarmingly increasing levels of poaching caused by the Chinese hunger for ivory and their complete disregard for wildlife. So I'm glad someone is tackling the subject and I hope it will be released in time to turn the tide. As for Angelina Jolie as the director, it's a solid choice considering she's serious about the need to highlight disturbing subjects like these to the public mind. I for one believe her work as a UNESCO ambassador is certainly more than just another movie star calling to attention the plight of others merely as a hobby. I don't deny her a sense of resolve. However, her directorial talents are still somewhat under dispute. So far only one of her directed features has been released (it was In the Land of Blood and Honey, if you recall), and it wasn't a particularly good film. Her upcoming movie Unbroken seems more promising though. And hopefully it will fulfill those promises, so Angelina will use her growing knowledge of the ins and outs of the directing craft to even better use for Africa. The elephants really would benefit from a movie about the ongoing butchering inflicted upon them, and it would only be to their advantage if it turned out to be a good one.