Early Buzz: Green Lantern Sucks (Anyone Surprised?)

Well, early word is in, and it looks like the new Green Lantern, starring the buffly talentless Ryan Reynolds (Definitely, Maybe; Waiting), is set to disappoint comic book fans everywhere. The movie is being trounced by reviewers at Rotten Tomatoes and even warranted only 2/5 stars from IGN, a website with a penchant for giving high reviews to just about everything. However, let's all admit it: the trailer for the movie sucked, the CG suit looked horribly silly, and Reynolds–while still a buff god–has a history of bad acting and already another shitty comic book movie on his resumé (Wolverine). But, at some level, I was still holding out for this movie to surprise me. Looks like that isn't going to happen, now. 

Oh well, at least I still have X-Men: First Class to see. And hey, isn't there a new Batman on the horizon?

See This: 13 Assassins

Miike's (of Audition and Ichi the Killer fame) new film, 13 Assassins, it a great reshaping of the classic samurai film. As the Coen Brothers revitalized the Western in their beautiful, bloody True Grit, Miike does for the Samurai film. This movie, which is currently enjoying a limited release in NYC and LA, is shot with all of the grace of a haiku and all the bloody violence for which Miike is known. The story revolves around 13 samurai who are hired to kill a feudal lord before he can plunge the country into violence. The honor-bound lives of the samurai are starkly contrasted with the sadistic violence of the lord in a build-up that is slow, but full of tension. However, where the movie really shines is in its 45-minute, final battle. Usually, battles of this length quickly fall into chaos, but Miike's control is staggering, mixing truly unique choreography with stunning and clear camera-work... and throwing in some laughs to boot.

If you have the chance, you should catch this movie while it's still in theaters, as to best appreciate the violent poetry. However, if you don't happen to be in NYC or LA, you will have to wait for a wider release or the DVD.

The Governator To Be Written by Steven Banks of Spongebob Fame

You heard that right: Arnold Schwarzenegger's new animated show, The Governator, will be written by Steven Banks, whose writing creds include Spongebob Squarepants and Jimmy Neutron. Putting together the lunacy of Banks with the. . .well. . .lunacy of Schwarzenegger is the formula that will either be transcendentally amazing or soul-crushingly bad. I'm going to pray for the former while banking on the latter. (But, really, what has Schwarzenegger ever done that wasn't amazing?)

Bond is Back!

MGM has come to a deal with Sony to bring Bond back to theaters. As you all know, after the MGM bankruptcy back in 2010, the future of many film rights in their library (including The Hobbit and Bond) were in great jeopardy, but after this deal it looks like Mr. Craig, Daniel Craig will be back in action on Nov 9, 2012. The film is unofficially titled Bond 23 and will be directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Jarhead). This deal also conveniently coincides with Netflix's offering of the Bond back-catalogue on instant stream. Color me excited.

Powerful Three-Minute Short

Tune for Two (2011) from alfa primo on Vimeo.

Great cinematography and emotion from this short entitled Tune for Two. It's impressive to see what directors can come up with in such constrained amounts of time. One of film's largely employed traits is the ability to compress time, but it is also able to elongate time, leaving the viewer on the edge of his seat.

Trailer: Lars von Trier's Melancholia

Melancholia from Zentropa on Vimeo.

This trailer for Melancholia, the next film by Danish provocateur Lars von Trier, looks fascinating. The movie has an apocalyptic backdrop, over which it appears to address familial stress and the finiteness of love. Von Trier tends to address hidden corruptions in the human soul and Melancholia is not a departure from that theme. Von Trier's movies are also gorgeous, due in large part to his collaboration with cinematographer Anthony Dod Manalt (of Slumdog Millionaire Fame). If any of you haven't seen his works, I'd suggest you start with either Dogville or Antichrist, though the latter will probably disturb you and keep you up at night (but hey, who doesn't want to be disturbed into sleeplessness every once in a while?).

Melancholia is set to premiere at Cannes. Magnolia is handling the U.S. distribution, but no release date has been announced.

James Cameron on the Future of Cinema

James Cameron is once again touting that he is a seer for the future of cinema, and this time it is increased recording and projection speeds. He proposes that we will replace the standard 24 frames per second with a new standard of 48 or 60fps. The move is designed to decrease the strobing effect in film and increase the fluidity of movement, which would be especially beneficial if this whole 3D craze ever catches in. (Don’t count on it, says Ebert)

While I am not a huge proponent of 3D movies, it will be interesting to see how an increased FPS will affect the cinema. Most digital cameras are already capable of shooting at these speeds, but to process and project the movie the FPS is usually lowered in order to cut costs (when you have to render effects on twice the number of frames, it essentially doubles the cost, and higher-speed projectors are more expensive). However, Peter Jackson is currently shooting The Hobbit at 48fps and it would prove to be a wonderful test of the new technology if Warner Bros. and New Line decide to cough up the extra money to render and project the movie at 48.