In an interview with genre cult figure Philip Ridley at Twitch comes the following disclosure: “The kind of films I’ve been interested in making are not very easy to get off the ground. They don’t fit into a neat box or category.” It’s a variation of a common lament of filmmakers who have trouble working…
Despite his status as one of the more cerebral comics to emerge from the ’70s, Albert Brooks — unlike rough stand-up contemporaries Woody Allen and Steve Martin — has never been much of an essayist, and certainly not a book-writer. Until now: next May will see the publication of his first novel, “2030: The Real…
There was something refreshingly old-fashioned, in this week of Mel Gibson, in the sight of George Clooney arriving at a Milanese courtroom to a press corps cluster so big the judge had to get a bigger space to accommodate all the journalists and paparazzi. Clooney showed up in his usual natty style, offering 90 minutes…
Tucked inside the controversial but long overdue financial reform bill that passed yesterday was a clause that will mean a lot to the movie industry. The hot disputed box-office futures market that had been set to launch this summer — in which investors could buy and trade shares in upcoming movies based on their predicted…
The New Beverly in Los Angeles is hosting a tenth anniversary midnight screening of “Bring It On,” this weekend. By virtue of being better than it needs to be, “Bring It On” is one of the few studio teen films of the last decade to earned non-studio-manufactured goodwill, a small cult of genuine affection. Part…
There’s been an increase in movies, shows and commercials are being shot in LA — 16% more this quarter, according to the Los Angeles Times. It’s part of an ongoing recovery after Hollywood staged a retreat from itself, in search of bigger and better tax incentives elsewhere. For most moviegoers, there’s not going to be…
Slate cartoonist James Sturm has been conducting an experiment in seeing what his life would be like if he quit the internet entirely for four months. It’s a fascinating series — not least because he’s already had a lapse — that reminds us that even those who work at home are no less plugged-in to…
In an interview with the AV Club that ran through his past roles, Ciarán Hinds made a revealing statement about his participation on the last installment in the Jack Ryan movie, “The Sum of All Fears.” He recalled coming up to director Phil Alden Robinson on the second day of the shoot and saying “It’s…
Late last year, there was a kerfuffle over the “degaying” of the “Humpday” DVD cover. The theatrical poster featured a shirtless Mark Duplass and Joshua Leonard looking at each other in front of pink floral wallpaper. The DVD went instead for a blue backdrop and inserted Alycia Delmore between the two guys, apparently to convey…
While there’s still fuss being made over the Oscars considering a date change, some of the rule changes announced last week have received less attention. Among them, the Visual Effects category will now have five nominations instead of three, which makes sense — there’s just too much groundbreak effects work getting done every year for…
Andrew Niccol’s first film in five years is a sci-fi love story set in a future in which, according to Variety, “time has become the currency. Once you turn 25 and your aging gene turns off, you must buy and bank time. If you are rich enough, you can live forever. But if you run…
Despite a disclaimer that “we’re not critics here at 24 Frames, so no review in this space,” Steven Zeitchik’s long, interesting take on “Inception” at the LA Times is definitely a review, and a pretty good one at that. Presumably when the movie actually opens Friday, all hell will break loose, crowds will riot en…
The “X-Men” franchise is about to embark on “X-Men: First Class,” its fifth installment, an exceptional achievement for such high-cost films. At this point, the series bears little resemblance to its initial incarnation at this point. Kevin Bacon’s the latest actors to be in “talks” to appear, and the director — barring future disasters —…
The web is celebrating the tiny announcement from Sir Michael Caine that “Batman 3″ starts shooting next April. More interesting is that the announcement came from Caine, who is now poised to have acted in five consecutive Christopher Nolan movies, more or less making him the Bill Murray to Nolan’s Wes Anderson. This is not…
It already seems like ages ago that the “Karate Kid” remake came, conquered and moved on. But only now is Lou Illar, “known” for writing the 1992 Chuck Norris-Jonathan Brandis movie “Sidekicks,” has issued a statement to the press on the cinematic worthiness of his chosen martial art. “Karate is tailor-made for the movies. It’s…
A friend once told me that I wasn’t a real American because I hadn’t see any of the “Rocky” movies. He was only half kidding. Still, given how iconic the series is and how ubiquitous it is on basic cable, it’s easy to feel like you’ve seen the film even if you’ve only caught the…
Adrien Brody’s body of work is so studiously eclectic that the only surprising thing about his new bid for action hero status in “Predators” is that he didn’t try it sooner. Mr. Brody, the youngest male to receive the award for Best Actor at the Oscars (at age 29, for “The Pianist”), is also one…
From the moment 1979′s “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” brought the cult show back to life, critics have reflexively moaned at whatever new resurrection gets trotted out. And who can blame them, when it’s led to things like “Car 54, Where Are You?” Still, it’s interesting to see how a movie based on a TV…
At The Wrap, Mali Perl suggests that the crop of upcoming stars doesn’t seem to have anything on our long-established favorites: “George, Matt, Sandra, Angelina, Brad, Will,” an array of first names that you don’t need surnames to reflexively picture. Perl doubts that in time the name “Amanda,” say, will be automatically completed with “Seyfried.”…
It’s been eight years since The Onion published “New Roommate Has Elaborate Theory About How Kenny Rogers Is A Genius,” and it’s still a painfully accurate skewering about how it’s become increasingly acceptable for people to overthink pop culture. It’s basically the birthright of anyone who came of age in the ’80s or later. As…
Since its buzz-packed Sundance debut, “Restrepo” has (rightfully) became the key documentary about either the Iraq or Afghanistan wars. A year’s worth of embedded combat footage is something no one else has equaled, and “Restrepo” is as visceral a piece of war coverage we’ve had yet. It’s also been touted — both by critics and…
Last year I was lucky enough to see Isabelle Huppert live on stage, in Robert Wilson’s take on Heiner Müller’s “Quartett.” The play was an uber-modernist and somewhat intolerable take on “Les Liaisons Dangereuses.” But it was all worth it to see the Ice Queen in person, as intimidating and terrifying as ever. When she…
The new “King Kong” ride at Universal Studios opened last week, and the LA Times took some heat for including a four-page wrap-around section (clearly labeled “Advertisement” in bright red ink) featuring faux-news stories about Kong stomping through the Studios and leaving mysterious damage. Debates over journalistic ethics aside, rides remain expensive to construct, and…
When people talk about whether or not a film has “aged well,” they’re usually discussing intangibles like whether the performances are dated (and how tolerant/appreciative you are of past acting styles), whether the technique seems old-fashioned, and so on. But given the right set of circumstances, a movie that over 50 years old can easily…
