Today's News: more comes every day

The latter half of the week certainly picked up some speed:

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/158720/remake_the_blob_vindt_regisseur

I'm not surprised this cult classic is getting another remake. The premise is just too much fun to ignore for more than a generation. Extraterrestrial ball of ooze wreaks havoc on Earth by devouring the population and growing ever larger: what's not to like? Of course, the Blob will only be as convincing as its FX and I doubt CGI will look as neat and realistic as the subject matter warrants. It sounds like the director just doesn't want to get his hands dirty on practical effects (and I reckon they would get very dirty indeed with the type of practical effects needed for a film like this). So as happens too often these days, computers prove to be the easy way out, but not the fun way. However, doing the Blob digitally this time around does set it clearly apart from its predecessors, making it a clear example of the zeitgeist, as befits the franchise. The 1958 version showed primitive practical effects and a lot of, by present day standards, redundant teen culture manifestations to woo the babyboomers to embrace the film (which they did). The darker Eighties' film showed quite a progression in terms of effects, but ideologically speaking it was a rather cynical film in which the government was even more sinister than the titular entity itself and a juvenile delinquent had to defeat the thing instead. Also, gore galore. And now comes the latest version, which has a Blob all CGI. Proof of the times indeed. It'll be interesting to see how it portrays humans though.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/158680/amazon_wil_films_produceren

Of course Amazon wants to get in on the movie business. All of its competitors are starting to go down that route after all. It was just a question of when rather than if. Not surprisingly, this announcement doesn't follow long after Netflix spread the word it's doing the same thing. Amazon however, is still primarily known as a web store rather than a producer of television shows. Its name hasn't been established as strongly in terms of audiovisual production yet. That's likely also the basis for the decision to keep the movie industry happy by not offering their productions up for streaming simultaneously as releasing them in theaters, a convention Netflix was all too eager to break. Of course, audiences won't mind either way as long as the product proves to be appealing. Netflix does beat Amazon too in that regard, for the moment, thanks to making deals with the likes of Marvel. As for the future, we will see. It's too bad the Amazon execs haven't yet specified any of these upcoming movie projects of theirs, I would have loved to know what they're concocting for our pleasure. That is, if they've indeed already started production, rather than just making the announcement they will soon. If they're too release a dozen movies in the next two years, they better get started.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/158704/world_war_z_2_in_de_maak

'Starting with a clean slate' sure sounds like a great idea for this sequel. The previous slate didn't resemble the source material much, and that proved a damn shame, as the original was not only shockingly different but also vastly more ingenious and innovative and made the movie feel dull and predictable by the inevitable comparison. Hopefully the writers take a closer look at Max Brooks' novel this time around. Which begs to ask the question whether that book could ever be translated to the big screen in a satisfactory way. Given the format it's written in, a two-hour movie just doesn't feel the right way to go. A TV (mini)series might allow for a closer adaptation, but the fragmentary, semi-documentary style the book dabbles in also doesn't seem too well suited for that either. There's simply too many stories and characters to make for a clear red line through it all. The only thing they all have in common is the interviewer gathering these distinct narratives and the living dead that star in them. Perhaps a series of webisodes would make for the best way to adapt these stories, but that's not a format that many audiences are too comfortable with, nor is it often used in a way to make the major bucks the studio is hoping for (which the movie did, despite its dissimilarities to the book). Oh well, whatever form it'll take, we'll always have the novel if things go south.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/158734/ejiofor_gewild_voor_doctor_strange

Another talented, Academy Award nominated actor sought by Marvel to join its ranks. As to who he's playing, that's indeed the million dollar question. It certainly won't be Strange's loyal servant Wong. Aside from the fact that casting a minority in a role that traditionally was reserved for another minority is a route that many might deem offensive (and possibly rightfully so), it seems a waste of his abilities as an actor. Besides, this guy just spent Twelve Years playing a Slave, I doubt he's looking for another servantile role (though that would certainly be the stuff of irony). And now that his (rather exotic and easy to mispronounce) name is finally getting the attention it deserves in the industry, something more intriguing and major is needed to win Ejiofor over. So he's either going to play the adversary or the mentor to the protagonist, for sure. My money is on the former, also because I want to see him as a bad guy again, since he did so well playing one in Serenity (the creepy and ideologically singleminded Operative, remember?). I have no doubt his acting talents would be well suited in either capacity though.

http://www.moviescene.nl/p/158739/scodelario_gecast_in_pirates_5

I'm less interested in this bit of casting. Scodelario sure is a pretty girl and may have some decent acting capabilities under her belt (though not much of it was apparent in The Maze Runner), but it seems she's cast as just another generic love interest, kinda similar to Keira Knightley in the first Pirates of the Caribbean. We really don't keep watching these movies for those types of supporting actors, but for the catchy shenanigans of master actors Depp and Rush. It's Barbossa and Sparrow that the vast majority of the audience loves best, and that's not likely to change (though after four movies, their staying power is undeniably tested). Whatever scene from any of the previous Pirates movies first comes to your mind, it's surely not one starring Knightley and Bloom, I bet. Of course, that doesn't mean the studio should release a movie starring just the two ever disagreeable Captains (though I cannot help but wonder as to the result). New characters are obligatory to keep things (at least feeling) fresh. But it's the zany, outrageous pirate characters that make for the most memorable performances, not the bland star crossed lovers in the background. Scodelario is likely to do a decent job, but as for new characters, it's Javier Bardem playing the new pirate baddie that sounds most intriguing. Aarrrrr!!

Shooting people up, Advanced Class

The Expendables 2: ***/*****, or 7/10

Tony Scott may have jumped off a bridge, thus leaving the movie industry with one less capable action director, but fortunately there's still some of those left. Simon West for example. Though generally not as well known, nor as experienced in shooting pure action judged from the number of action films in his repertoire, with movies like Con Air (1997), Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and the recent Jason Statham flick The Mechanic (2011), it's far from unreasonable to state the guy has some knowledge of things that go boom. So when Sylvester Stallone decided to stick to writing and acting while letting go of the director's chair that seemed to fit him well enough for his ultimate action movie The Expendables two years ago, hiring West for the job wasn't the most illogical decision. However, judging from the final product, Stallone would have done well to encourage West to get more innovative, considering The Expendables 2 improves little upon its predecessor: a solid action movie is West's contribution to the franchise, but considering the sheer number of renowned action stars participating in Stallone's second ode to the action genre as a whole, the sequel's approach to things feels like a routine is being established instead of new routes being taken. That routine apparently revolves around action stars getting together and shooting people up.

The movie's main focus seems to be the expansion of bit parts of characters from the first film played by screen icons Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Wilis, plus the introduction of several new characters played by muscle movie veterans Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris to the already impressive line-up of (near) legendary action stars from the first film, to further support Stallone's hypothesis that old dogs can still pull off worthwhile tricks that manage to draw huge audience numbers. His point was well proven by the success of The Expendables, making The Expendables 2 feel more like an obligatory Hollywood cash-in than a sincere attempt to outdo what was done before for the audience's entertainment. Nevertheless, The Expendables 2 at least succeeds in delivering ample amounts of gun fights and screen violence paired to often successfully timed moments of humor and referencing the action classics the movie means to pay homage to, which is what most spectators will expect, and what they will get.

The movie starts in medias res, as we follow Stallone's pack of mercenaries – and it's really Stallone's, since few people will ever remember the names of the characters after leaving their theaters, considering they are played by so many larger-than-life people – on a job rescuing a wealthy Chinese entrepreneur from the clutches of nameless Nepalese thugs, in a spectacular raid on their heavily fortified facility involving heavy machinery and man sized artillery, opening the film with a huge bang as our heroes shoot down and blow up endless rows of antagonists in an expected and desired orgy of gun violence, followed by an adrenaline rushed jungle river chase (which saw one stunt man dead and another one crippled) ending in a decently sized explosion to round things up. If you were wondering, the movie is rated R where the previous installment was only PG-13, thus allowing the director more freedom to insert appropriate levels of gore and blood into the film, all for the better. At this point the film has only run for about 15 of its 103 minutes, so it takes a moment to re-establish the characters, introduce some new ones and specify their upcoming mission, plus giving the viewers a much needed moment to catch their breath.

Centerpiece of the first half of The Expendables 2 is rookie team member Billy the Kid (played by Liam Hemsworth: despite his role in The Hunger Games, this is really his first action film, making him feel as much out of place in this movie judging from his experience as an actor as his character feels out of place on the team for his young age), protegée to team leader Barney Ross (Stallone, mumbling his lines as unintelligibly as usual), who despite his excellent sniper abilities decides this is not the life for him and tells his mentor he means to retire soon. However, when the band of extremely broad shouldered brothers find themselves with a new assignment, courtesy of shady CIA operative Church (Wilis), who they owe some money after the events of the first film, to retrieve a brief case from a downed plane in Albania, Billy's loyalty compels him to join them. They are also accompanied by Maggie, an expert on Church's payroll: Chinese actress Yu Nan gets the seemingly thankless job of representing girl power amidst the humongous amounts of testosterone going around, but manages to keep up surprisingly well, giving the occasional witty rebuttal when confronted with near sexist remarks from her new team members. The brief case is easily found, but soon lost to the villain of the piece, a bad guy simply named 'Jean Vilain', played enthusiastically by Jean-Claude Van Damme despite his character's feeble screen name: fully in tone with Stallone's straightforward way of thinking, why bother with intricate designations when you can call a spade a spade? Vilain makes it clear he's not to be messed with and lives up to his name when he takes the team's prize and leaves Billy dead, thus setting the stage for the veterans' quest for vengeance.

Revenge alone is too ignoble an objective for such a notable group of exemplary action stars, so the plot raises the stakes by revealing the brief case contained the exact location of a former Soviet depot in Bulgaria that houses five tons of plutonium Vilain intends to sell despite its threat to the world's balance of power. To make him even more of a ruthless bastard, he utilizes slave labor to dig out the plutonium, so the Expendables' mission is to free the slaves, secure the goods and avenge their comrade. In truth it matters little what the exact mission is, so long as the stage is set for a large string of overly loud gun fights, some neat display of martial arts and general fisticuffs and a decent amount of one-liners mixed in, most of them acknowledging the actors' former entries into the action genre (with the most obvious and funniest remarks referring to the Die Hard and Terminator franchises). In a moderately epic, drawn out conflict staged at an air port the team of good guys, now joined by Wilis, Norris and Schwarzenegger, square off against the legion of bad guys, culminating in a vicious mano-a-mano confrontation between Stallone and Van Damme, kicking each other's teeth in like two Roman gladiators. Needless to say who wins the day, since The Expendables 3 has already been widely announced.

In the middle of all the action, the main attractions of The Expendables 2 regrettably also turn out to be its main flaws. Since the success of the first movie was based mostly around the large number of famous action stars getting together for a mother-of-all-action-films flick, The Expendables 2 clearly needed to outdo its predecessor by gathering some more noted heavyweights to join the fun. The full line-up of action stars of the film now consists of Stallone, Van Damme, Wilis, Schwarzenegger, Norris, Dolph Lundgren, Jet Li, Jason Statham, Randy Couture and Terry Crews and with so many vets gracing the screen, it'll come as no surprise not everybody gets an equal chance to shine. Li, an established team member in the first film, exits the movie immediately after the opening mission has been completed, not to be seen or even mentioned again, while Couture, Crews and Norris are left with little to do during the whole piece, and Lundgren largely has been reduced to comic relief (which thankfully he pulls off well). It makes you wonder why the movie needed an action virgin like Hemsworth at all, considering his role could have gone to one of the older and more accomplished actors, thus offering a chance to make the narrative feel more poignant upon the moment of his death. The same can be said for Yu Nan's role (though it's laudable West and Stallone provided the opportunity for her big break on the international market), which could also have gone to one of the other actors in favor of balancing the existing amount of characters properly instead of relegating them to the side line in favor of even more characters joining the stage. Wilis and Schwarzenegger are no longer restricted to playing mere cameos as they were before but are finally offered the chance to get their hands dirty: they do so vigorously, but their status as (former?) A-list superstars is mostly applied to referencing their most memorable movies more often than feels appropriate, at times making their presence feel forced despite generating a few more laughs. At least Van Damme gets the opportunity to explore Vilain's savage villainy in much more detail, making his climactic final fight with Stallone work on the intended levels. As was the case with the predecessor, at the heart of The Expendables 2 still lies the camaraderie between Stallone and Statham, with the pair of them exchanging both witticisms and drama, acknowledging the fact the torch has successfully been passed from Stallone's age of action stars to Statham's more recent generation, with relentless love and understanding for the genre and its conventions clearly driving the both of them. The more things change, the more they stay the same after all, and both sides of the coin are amply represented in West's The Expendables 2 as much as they were in Stallone's own The Expendables.

The Expendables 2 is a double confirmation of the age gold adage that more of a good thing isn't necessarily better. First, it's good to see more familiar faces from past glory again, but if the talent we all know to be underlying said faces remains underused, little has been accomplished. The movie is running for an entertaining 103 minutes, but could have benefited from another 15 or 20 minutes fleshing out the likes of Norris, Couture, Crews, Li and Lundgren some more, especially considering that, second, like the first Expendables film, the movie still feels lacking something in the action department, even though that sounds incredible. Fact is, the first 15 minutes of the film basically say it all, showcasing the Expendables' efficiency as a team to great effect – with each team member getting the opportunity to display his fighting skills more or less equally – in an ever expanding rollercoaster ride of an action sequence, with a big explosion to tie it all up. The rest of the movie simply can't live up to this opening, despite throwing in more stars, more gags and more action, and even more plot (which makes you consider just how much, or how little, of that is needed in a film like this). Though it still entertains tremendously, the audience keeps waiting for a staggeringly huge motherfucking explosion that never comes.

Director West can't be blamed for his film's shortcomings, which simply lie in the movie's changing intentions as it finds itself transformed into a franchise trilogy – which it didn't start out to be – changing from paying homage to past glory, to a series of films revolving around ever greater numbers of action stars joining each other in referencing eachother's oeuvre as they dispatch large scores of bad guys. With The Expendables 3 already in the pipe line, Stallone would do well to take a closer look at the direction the franchise has taken and the effect this has had on both the audience's expectations and the overall coherence of the films proper, before signing on more colleagues the likes of Nicolas Cage and Steven Seagal to further relive the good ol' days. After all, the audience is not expendable, and it's still craving that giant stupendously big-ass explosion...

And watch the trailer here:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/lions_gate/theexpendables2/