Cast Of Red State To Reunite For Hit Somebody

Kevin Smith recently announced on his Twitter account that most the cast from Red State will be returning for his upcoming Hockey film Hit Somebody.

Hit Somebody is based on the Warren Zevon song and is the story of Buddy McKraken who wants more than anything to be in the NHL, but he isn’t much of a hockey player and is only good at beating people up and being what hockey fans would call a “goon.” Starring as McKraken is Nicholas Braun, the star of Red State.

Below is a screen shot from the end of Red State that as usual with a Kevin Smith film hypes his next movie:

Instantly Smith was asked about Michael Parks, Melissa Leo and John Goodman returning to work with him, Smith responded:

If [Melissa Leo] she’s not too tired from double-fisting awards all year, GOD YES!

If [John Goodman] he’ll have me again. He’d be playing Blue Jay Jennings – Buddy’s first coach.

He’ll [Michael Parks] be playing the French Canadian coach of Buddy’s first pro team

I’m really looking forward to seeing Red State in Radio City and as a hockey fan I cannot wait for Hit Somebody which according to Kevin Smith will be his last film.

 

83rd Academy Awards Nominations Announced

Earlier this morning the nominees for this year’s Academy Awards were announced. Oscar Bait The King’s Speech garnered the most nominations this year. The Social Network got plenty of nominations as well. There were surprises such as Winter’s Bone getting a best picture nomination. What really surprised me is that Christopher Nolan did NOT get a nomination for Best Director for Inception! How is that even possible?  And speaking of Oscar snubs how did Andrew Garfield not get a nomination for his wonderful work in The Social Network? And of course no nomination for Mila Kunis in Black Swan! Below are the nominations:

BEST PICTURE:
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone

DIRECTING:
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David O. Russell, The Fighter
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
David Fincher, The Social Network
Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE:
Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE:
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawks, Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE:
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jackie Weaver, Animal Kingdom

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing), Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Michael Arndt. Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
True Grit (Paramount), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
Winter’s Bone (Roadside Attractions), Adapted for the screen by Debra Granik & Anne Rosellini

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:
Another Year (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Mike Leigh
The Fighter (Paramount), Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson. Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
Inception (Warner Bros.), Written by Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right (Focus Features), Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Seidler

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:
Biutiful
Dogtooth
In a Better World
Incendies
Outside the Law

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM:
How to Train Your Dragon
The Illusionist
Toy Story 3

CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) Matthew Libatique
Inception (Warner Bros.) Wally Pfister
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Danny Cohen
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Jeff Cronenweth
True Grit (Paramount) Roger Deakins

FILM EDITING:
Black Swan (Fox Searchlight) Andrew Weisblum
The Fighter Paramount Pamela Martin
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Tariq Anwar
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) Jon Harris
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

DOCUMENTARY:
Exit through the Gift Shop (Producers Distribution Agency) Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz A Paranoid Pictures Production
Gasland Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic A Gasland Production
Inside Job (Sony Pictures Classics) Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs A Representational Pictures Production
Restrepo (National Geographic Entertainment) Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger An Outpost Films Production
Waste Land Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley (Arthouse Films) An Almega Projects Production

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
Killing in the Name (dir: Jed Rothstein)
Poster Girl (dir: Sara Nesson)
Strangers No More (dir: Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon)
Sun Come Up (dor: Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger)
The Warriors of Qiugang (dir: Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon)

ORIGINAL SCORE:
How to Train Your Dragon (Paramount) John Powell
Inception (Warner Bros.) Hans Zimmer
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Alexandre Desplat
127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) A.R. Rahman
The Social Network (Sony Pictures Releasing) Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

ORIGINAL SONG:
Coming Home from Country Strong (Sony Pictures Releasing (Screen Gems)) Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
I See the Light from Tangled (Walt Disney) Music by Alan Menken Lyric by Glenn Slater
If I Rise from 127 Hours (Fox Searchlight) Music by A.R. Rahman Lyric by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
We Belong Together from Toy Story 3 (Walt Disney) Music and Lyric by Randy Newman

VISUAL EFFECTS:
Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney) Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey Villegas and Sean Phillips
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Warner Bros.) Tim Burke, John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
Hereafter (Warner Bros.) Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski and Joe Farrell
Inception (Warner Bros.) Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley and Peter Bebb
Iron Man 2 (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment, Distributed by Paramount) Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

ART DIRECTION:
Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney), Robert Stromberg (Production Design), Karen O’Hara (Set Decoration)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (Warner Bros.), Stuart Craig (Production Design), Stephenie McMillan (Set Decoration)
Inception (Warner Bros.), Guy Hendrix Dyas (Production Design), Larry Dias and Doug Mowat (Set Decoration)/span>
The King’s Speech (Paramount), Eve Stewart (Production Design), Judy Farr (Set Decoration)
True Grit (Paramount), Jess Gonchor (Production Design), Nancy Haigh (Set Decoration)

COSTUME DESIGN:
Alice in Wonderland (Walt Disney) Colleen Atwood
I Am Love (Magnolia Pictures) Antonella Cannarozzi
The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Company) Jenny Beavan
The Tempest (Miramax) Sandy Powell
True Grit (Paramount) Mary Zophres

MAKEUP
Barney’s Version, Adrien Morot
The Way Back, Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
The Wolfman
Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

SHORT FILM, ANIMATED
Day & Night (dir: Teddy Newton)
The Gruffalo (dir: Jakob Schuh and Max Lang)
Let’s Pollute (dir: Geefwee Boedoe)
The Lost Thing (dir: Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann)
Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)

SHORT FILM, LIVE ACTION
The Confession (dir: Tanel Toom)
The Crush (dir: Michael Creagh)
God of Love (dir: Luke Matheny)
Na Wewe (dir: Ivan Goldschmidt)
Wish 143 (dir: Ian Barnes and Samantha Waite)

SOUND EDITING
Inception, Richard King
Toy Story 3, Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
Tron: Legacy, Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
True Grit, Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
Unstoppable, Mark P. Stoeckinger

SOUND MIXING
Inception, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
The King’s Speech, Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
Salt, Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott Millan and William Sarokin
The Social Network, Ren Klyce, David Parker, Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
True Grit, Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter F. Kurland

 

Top 10 Films Of 2010!

Happy New Year!  Going into 2010 a lot of people were saying that 2010 didn’t look promising for films. I was feeling the same way but 2010 turned out to be quite a good year for films, at least in my opinion.

Before I post my top 10 of 2010 I would just like to note that I did not get to see Blue Valentine, True Grit and The King’s Speech which is why those 3 films will not be in the honorable mentions and the Top 10 list itself.

Honorable Mentions:

The Fighter: This is one film that I kept taking on and off my Top 10 List.  In the end I decided that I liked this film a lot but not enough to be in my top 10.  My one problem with it is Mark Whalberg. Whalberg is not horrible, he gives a good performance in the film but not enough to carry The Fighter. The Fighter is supposed to be about the character of Irish Mickey Ward.  The viewer is supposed to care about Ward and his struggles to become the champion.

Unfortunately the way Whalberg portrays Ward I just don’t care as much about his characters as I do about Christian Bale who plays “The Pride of Lowell” Dickey Eklund.  Bale in every scene with Whalberg steals the scene.  In fact the same could be said for both Amy Adams and Melissa Leo who share scenes with Whalberg.  Whalberg when his character is upset just puts on the puppy dog eyes and makes that whiny voice he does in other films.

Whalberg does a good job, just not good enough to carry a film with that kind of supporting cast.  I did enjoy this film and it’s a film that you should see. Just not top 10 worthy.

Let Me In: When I heard that there was going to be a remake to the brilliant Let The Right One In (2008, Alfredson) I immediately questioned why?  The original Swedish film is beautiful and there was no reason other than to capitalize on the Vampire craze to remake it.  While I still prefer the original film, the remake is very good.  Chloe G. Moretz as the young vampire Abby does an amazing job.  She’s only 13 years old but her performance alone makes this film a must see.  It’s unfortunate that nobody went to see this film. I hope when the DVD/Blu-Ray comes out this year more people will discover this film.

Somewhere: This was another film that was on and off my top 10 list.  Ultimately I felt that it was a good film, but nothing great.  It’s shot beautifully with long takes and some great wide-shots that are not just establishing shots.  Stephen Dorf and Elle Fanning give good performances but I just felt the story was weak and at times the film just lags.  Still Sofia Coppola directs a good movie, if it’s playing near you, go see it.

Kick-Ass: This was a fun, great take on the Super-hero movie.  It’s different from any other recent comic book film that’s for sure.  The breakout star of the film is Chloe Moretz as the foul mouth Hit-Girl who will charm you with her smile just before she blows your brains out.  Unfortunately Kick-Ass didn’t make a whole lot of money while in theaters but did find its audience on video.

Top 10

10) Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1: Without a doubt Deathly Hallows is the best film in the series so far.  It’s certainly the darkest of the series with Harry, Hermione and Ron on the run from the evil Lord Voldermort for the entire film.  Beloved characters die.  It captures the book great.  I also enjoyed the scene with Harry and Hermione dancing in the tent. The music is beautiful and the performances by Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson in that scene does a great job in showing the relationship between Harry and Hermione.   Even though I have read the book many times, I was 100% into the story and cannot wait to see Part 2 this summer.

9) The Town: Ben Affleck directs a great heist film.  He also stars in this film.  While it tries a little too hard at times to be Heat, the shootouts and the chase scenes are well done, exciting and keep you on the edge of your seat. Jeremy Renner does a great job in this film, as does Rebecca Hall as the victim of a bank robbery that was kidnapped by Affleck’s crew and has now fallen in love with Affleck, not knowing that he was one of the robbers.  The Town has been compared to Heat and the connections are there, but for me the love story between Affleck and Hall is much better than the one between Robert De Niro and Amy Brenneman.  I had a little problem with the ending but that is no reason not to see The Town.

8) Toy Story 3: Growing up I was never a big fan of animated films.  For whatever reason I just could never get into them.  The only animation studio that gets me excited for its next film is Pixar.  I still remember going to see the original Toy Story in theaters.  This was a new day in animation.  I just could not get over how “life-like” the animation was.  Since seeing Toy Story, I’ve seen every Pixar film and for the most part enjoyed everyone.  What I like about Pixar, especially the last few years is that they make films for everyone, not just the children.  Toy Story 3 continues that tradition.  The opening montage is such a great example of storytelling.  Toy Story 3 is much more than talking Toys, it’s a story of growing up and moving on, while not forgetting your childhood memories.  Andy is going to college, he’s outgrown his toys and does not have much use for them anymore.  The toys feel neglected and want to move on.  Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks still thinks of himself as Andy’s toy.  He believes Andy needs him, not realizing that he needs Andy.  The ending is very touching and if you don’t feel something, get to a doctor and get your pulse checked.  Toy Story 3 does a good job of closing the franchise.

7) Shutter Island: A lot has been made of the ending, a lot of people saying it was predictable and saw it coming a mile away.  I didn’t see it coming until right before the big reveal.  Whether you insist you knew what was coming as soon as you walked in or you were surprised by the big reveal, one thing that cannot be argued was how great the journey was getting there and making the big reveal.  Scorsese proves in Shutter Island why he’s such a great director.  Leonardo DiCaprio continues to get even better with every film, especially with Martin Scorsese as his director.

6) Welcome To The Riley’s: It’s a shame that nobody really got to see this film.  It was in and out of theaters too soon.  Kristen Stewart is great as the 17- year old foul-mouthed stripper and prostitute Mallory.  Stewart continues to show that outside of Twilight she’s one of the best young actresses working today.  Co-starring in this film with Kristen Stewart is James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo who deliver great performances as parents who are still suffering after the sudden death of their 15-year-old daughter.  Director Jake Scott makes post Katrina New Orleans a character in the film.  Kristen Stewart’s stripper/prostitute is not the girl with the heart of gold.  She’s not selling herself to pay her way through school to be a doctor or supporting a child.  She’s simply doing what she has to do in order to survive.  It’s early in awards season but so far this film is being wrongly overlooked and it’s a shame. Hopefully more people will see this film when it arrives on video this year.

5) The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo: This film adaptation of the popular novel delivers 100%.   It’s got intrigue, action, suspense and an interesting love story.  It’s also very violent and not for the easily offended.  Noomi Rapace is brilliant and unforgiving as Lisbeth Salander.  Without a doubt the breakthrough performance of the year.  For her performance alone it’s worth seeing on blu-ray, dvd or on Instant Netflix.  We know that later this year the American remake with David Fincher comes out but don’t shy away from this film because of the subtitles.  Rapace deserves a nomination for her work in this film and it will have you thinking long after you see the film.

4) Fish Tank: Fish Tank came out very early in 2010 and seems to have been largely forgotten.  In my opinion it’s better than Winter’s Bone.  First time actress Katie Jarvis delivers an honest, true to life performance as Mia. This is a gritty film, great hand-held camera work, and leaves you wanting more but in a good way.

3) The Social Network: Before it came out it most people were simply calling this film “The Facebook Movie.”  Nobody really had any interest on seeing a movie about Facebook with Justin Timberlake and the “other Michael Cera” (Jesse Eisenberg).  I was included in that thinking, but was still interested since Aaron Sorkin wrote the film and David Fincher was directing. The Social Network far exceeded my expectations.  The dialogue is amazing, especially the opening scene with Eisenberg (who should never be called the other Michael Cera again) and Rooney Mara.  Justin Timberlake gives a memorable performance as Sean Parker, the creator of Napster.  While it may not define a generation like the advertisements say, it’s an interesting look at the start of the phenomenon of Facebook, which most of us use these days.

2) Inception: Yes there is a lot of exposition.  Having said that it did not at anytime make Inception any less enjoyable.  Christopher Nolan continues to show what a unique filmmaker he is with this film.  It’s shot beautifully and the acting is great, especially from Joseph Gordon Levitt and Tom Hardy.  Ellen Page gives her best performance since Juno.  And that Leo guy is pretty good in it too.  The ending is still confusing to many and there are so many different theories on it.  And you know what?  That’s good!  Yes, its refreshing that a film makes it’s audience think after seeing it.

1) Black Swan: Darren Aronofsky has been trying to make this film for almost a decade.  Thankfully he’s very persistent as it is truly a masterpiece.  Natalie Portman gives the best performance of the year, male or female and of her young but long career.  This is not just a movie about Ballet, it’s a horror film and a psychological thriller as well.  It also shows how immersing yourself 100% into your work can be a negative as by the end the pressure of being the lead in Swan Lake drives Portman’s character insane and by the end the audience, much like Portman has no idea what has happened but that in no way takes away from the film.  Mila Kunis gives her best performance to date.  Unfortunately Vince Cassel’s performance seems to be getting overlooked this year but it shouldn’t.  The handheld works, really adds to the feeling of being in Portman’s character’s head.

Well, that was my Top 10 of 2010.  Overall it was a great year for the cinema. Do you agree?  Did I completely miss something?  Let me know in the comments and here’s to a great 2011 at the movies!