By now a whole bunch has been written about Prometheus and its many faults and plus points have been analyzed within an inch of their lives. While it’s clearly nowhere close to perfect it had moments of awe. Pure awe. Therefore I can’t condemn it too vociferously – in today’s cinema there is so much spectacle and so little awe that we should hang on to all the awe we can. I do, however, want to highlight one of the elements that was sorely lacking; the monsters.
Beware: spoilers ahoy after the jump.
"Oi! Giraffe! Get on the facking boat, you muppet!"
OK, so Ray Winstone isn’t being lined up as Noah in Darren Aronofsky’s biblical epic – that role has already been filled by Russel Crowe – but Deadline is reporting that the East End’s finest has been offered the role of Noah’s nemesis. As I mentioned previously, I wasn’t aware of Noah having a nemesis – except, perhaps, really, really bad rain – but a quick scout of Wikipedia reveals some information that makes me a little nervous about the film. Could the vague problems between Noah and his son, Ham, be involved?
More after the jump but, be warned - the prospect is distressing.
Lindsay Lohan and porn star James Deen have signed on to play the leads in the Paul Schrader/Bret Easton joint, The Canyons. This is one of those rare occasions where casting a professional boinker is the classier decision.
Finally arriving on our shores is one of last year's festival favourites, and indeed winner of the 2011 Cannes Jury Prize: Polisse. Directed by celebrated French actress Maïwenn, and inspired by a television documentary, the film follows the Parisian Child Protection Unit as the staff go about their (frequently harrowing) daily business and inevitably burn off steam during their downtime.
After exploding onto the scene with his script for the marvellous Training Day, David Ayer has become the go-to guy for tales of crime and corruption in Los Angeles, with underrated gems such as Dark Blue and his directorial efforts Harsh Times and Street Kings.
Now Ayers is back in the directors chair, working from his own script, for End of Watch.
Chris Hemsworth is continuing his ascension to the A-list by taking on a role for In the Heart of the Sea, an adaptation of Nathaniel Philbrick's nonfiction book about an ill-fated nineteenth century whaling vessel.
Could this be the resurrection of Oliver Stone? I hope so.
Two pot dealers wage war on a Mexican Cartel after their mutual girlfriend is kidnapped.
I've been excited almost from the get-go with regard to the second attempt to bring Judge Joseph Dredd to the big screen. The early word has been strong, and the team behind it - notably director Pete Travis (Vantage Point), writer Alex Garland (28 Days Later) and star Karl Urban (Star Trek) - is one that suggests there is real fidelity to the classic character and that confidence might be well placed. The news that the film is a hard-R (a 15 in this country) was just what we needed to hear, and now we have an endorsement from Dredd's co-creator John Wagner.
