Retro Review - Society

Society is a film in which a man gets fisted. To the extent that his head is pulled through his bum. Whilst such a sight may be common on Youporn, this may be the first incidence of this occuring in mainstream cinema.

Still reading? Brian Yuzna, producer of Re-Animator, made his directorial debut with this satirical tale of the American rich and what goes on behind their closed doors

Billy Warlock takes a break from starring in baywatch and numerous day time soap operas to take the starring role as a rich but troubled Beverly Hills teenager who begins to suspect his family and friends may not be all they seem. When he hears a tape of his sisters 'coming out' party his fears increase and he begins to question

Whilst the film initially keeps events on a relatively even keel, things soon take a turn for the surreal with incest, cannibalism and general gloopy weirdness all on the menu,

The last thirty minutes is a literal orgy of special effects, with bodies distorting and melting into each other as the truth is revealed and a captured Billy is forced to attend a party in which the rich suck the life out of their working class victims, It is here the somewhat unfortunate fisting occurs, as Billy escapes one of his pursuers by turning in inside out. This is shown in graphic, if rubbery, detail. The special effects were created by an individual going by the name 'Screaming Mad George', which seems a suitable epithet for the creator of this senes.

Of course there are hints throughout this this may all be in Billy's imagination. He is
after all prone to hallucinations, and is seeing a psychiatrist.

The film's points about class society are far from subtle, and the sudden shifts in tone and rather arbitrary ending make for an uneven experience, but the imagery of the closing scenes and sheer weirdness of the film will ensure society will linger in the memory.

Gamer

New trailer for the cheesy looking action pic, starring Gerard Butler

Princess and the Frog

Poster for Disney's long awaited return to hand drawn animation, courtesy of Cinematical

Bruno

Red band trailer for Sacha baron Cohen's Borat follow up. The film has just obtained an R rating in America following some re-editing to avoid the dreaded NC-17.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

Final trailer.

The Hobbit

Empire magazine spoke to both director Guillermo Del Toro and Producer Peter Jackson for the latest, on the two Hobbit movies, due for release in 2011 and 2012.

“We’ve decided to have The Hobbit span the two movies, including the White Council and the comings and goings of Gandalf to Dol Guldur,” says Del Toro.

“We decided it would be a mistake to try to cram everything into one movie,” adds Jackson. “The essential brief was to do The Hobbit, and it allows us to make The Hobbit in a little more style, if you like, of the [LOTR] trilogy.”

The second film had previously been suggested as a story that would bridge the 60-year gap between The Hobbit and the start of Fellowship Of The Ring, however this appears not to be the case.  Possibly a wise choice as the filmmakers do not appear to own the rights to The Silmarillion, the collection of short tales which fleshed out Tolkien's universe and filled in many of said gaps.

Source - Empire

The Box

Final poster for Richard Kelly's The Box, starring Cameron Diaz.  Word of mouth on the file has been positive, which bodes well for Kelly who is sorely in need of a hit following 'Southland Tales'

Source - Aint It Cool News

We're Back!!!!!!

Following a longer than expected hiatus to move house, Farthing Film is back.  

Reanimator 3D

Shock Till You Drop reports that producer Ray Haboush is developing a remake of Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator in conjunction with Brian Yuzna, producer of the original and director of the two sequels.

No word on whether Jeffrey Coombs will return (although his performance is the most memorable part of the franchise), but the producers are aiming to make the new film in 3D, which is what the kids are into these days apparently.

The Green Hornet

In odd news of the day, the Hollywood Reporter has indicated that Michel Gondry has stepped in to direct Seth Rogen's Green Hornet update. Gondry is not the obvious fit for the material but it may be that writer / star Rogen has a more fantastical take on the material than previously suggested. Gondry takes over from previous director Stephen Chow, who is still expected to co-star as the Green Hornet's sidekick Kato (memorably played by Bruce Lee in the original TV series)

A Couple of Dicks

Following the commercial disappointment of Zack and Miri, ERC is reporting that Warner Bros. has signed Kevin Smith to direct the comedy A Couple of Dicks starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. with a view to a January 2010 release.

If true, this will be the first movie directed but not written by Kevin. The screenplay was written by Robb and Marc Cullen, who have worked with Kevin before as executive producers of the Smith starring 'Manchild' TV pilot. The script was featured on last years 'Blacklist', an industry insiders list of the best unproduced screenplays in town). The brief synopsis listed simply gives the plot as: "Two veteran LAPD detectives attempt to track down a stolen, mint-condition, 1952 baseball card."

Source: Cinematical.com

Public Enemies

New poster for Michael Mann's period gangster picture.

Terminator Salvation

New poster, courtesy of Cinematical

Oscars Forthcoming Attractions

In a break with tradition the academy awards closed with a montage of new footage from forthcoming movies.  Included in the mix are brief snippets from Sherlock Holmes , Funny People , The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 , Public Enemies , Julie & Julia , The Soloist , Up , Fame , Terminator Salvation , (500) Days of Summer , Amelia , Whatever Works , Inglourious Basterds , Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian , Monsters vs. Aliens , Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince , Angels & Demons , Old Dogs , Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs , The Boat That Rocked , An Education , State of Play , Imagine That and G-Force.

Source : Cinematical

Star Trek

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

MTV's movie show spoilers gives us some new Star Trek Footage.

Source: Cinematical

Transformers : Revenge of the Fallen

MTV's quarterly movie show Spoilers, unfurled some new footage for summer blockbuster Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Source : Cinematical

Watchmen

Chud.com has an exclusive video interview with Watchmen director Zack Snyder.

In other news adverts for the film in the UK carry the rather surprising news that the film will carry an 18 rating for 'strong bloody violence'.  Whilst it's been known for a while the film would be rated R in America, most people were expecting a 15 rating in the UK, suggesting the film's content may be stronger than expected.

An almost three hour, $200 million dollar, 18 rated comic book movie?  March 6th suddenly seems a long way away.

The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus

New posters, via AICN.

Oscar Winners

Sean Penn ruins Mickey Rourke's day (and saves us from a speech dedicating an award to Rourke's recently deceased Chihuahua) in about the only surprise.  The Curious Case of Forrest Gump only won awards in the technical categories, leaving the main awards for Slumdog Millionaire.   

Not a great year overall, and I would imagine none of these films will be remembered in ten years time.

Best film
Christian Colson, Slumdog Millionaire

Best actor
Sean Penn, Milk

Best actress
Kate Winslet, The Reader

Best director
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire

Best foreign language film
Japan, Yojiro Takita, Departures

Best song
Jai Ho, by AR Rahman and Gulzar, Slumdog Millionaire

Best original score
AR Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian award
Jerry Lewis

Best film editing
Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire

Best sound mixing
Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke and Resul Pookutty, Slumdog Millionaire

Best sound editing
Richard King, The Dark Knight

Best visual effects
Eric Barba, Steve Preeg, Burt Dalton and Craig Barron, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best documentary short
Megan Mylan, Smile Pinki

Best documentary feature
James Marsh and Simon Chinn, Man On Wire

Best supporting actor
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight

Best live-action short
Jochen Alexander Freydank, Spielzeugland (Toyland)

Best cinematography
Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire

Best makeup
Greg Cannom, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best costume design
Michael O'Connor, The Duchess

Best art direction
Donald Graham Burt and Victor J Zolfo, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best animated short
Kunio Kato, La Maison en Petits Cubes

Best animated feature
Andrew Stanton, WALL-E

Best adapted screenplay
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire

Best original screenplay
Dustin Lance Black, Milk

Best supporting actress
Penélope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Razzies

Screw the Oscars, here's the awards we've been waiting for, with the Golden Raspberries (or Razzies) celebrating Hollywood's worst. Here's the winners-

29th Annual Golden Raspberry (Razzie©) Award “Winners”

Worst Picture:

The Love Guru
(A PARAMOUNT RELEASE)
Worst Actor:

Mike Myers
THE LOVE GURU
Worst Actress:

Paris Hilton
THE HOTTIE AND THE NOTTIE
Worst Supporting Actress:

Paris Hilton
REPO: THE GENETIC OPERA
Worst Supporting Actor:

Pierce Brosnan
MAMMA MIA!
Worst Screen Couple:

Paris Hilton
AND EITHER
Christine Lakin
OR
Joel David Moore
THE HOTTIE AND THE NOTTIE
Worst Prequel,Remake, Rip-off or Sequel
(Combined Category for 2008):

Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull
Worst Director:

Uwe Boll
1968: TUNNEL RATS,
IN THE NAME OF THE KING: A DUNGEON SIEGE TALE,
AND POSTAL
Worst Screenplay:

The Love Guru
WRITTEN BY MIKE MYERS & GRAHAM GORDY
Worst Career Achievement:

Uwe Boll
(GERMANY’S ANSWER TO ED WOOD)
“Wins” Per Picture:


The Love Guru = 3 Awards:
Worst Picture, Actor and Screenplay


The Hottie and The Nottie = 3 Awards:
Worst Picture, Actor and Screenplay


In The Name of The King: A Dungeon Siege Tale = 1 Award:
Worst Director


Indiana Jones and The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull = 1 Award:
Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel

Funny People

Trailer for Judd Apatow's next, starring Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen as stand up comedians.

Inglourious basterds

International poster for Tarantino's latest, courtesy of AICN