The recent trend of docu-feature series exploring the history of popular IPs is gradually becoming popular among dedicated fans due to how genuinely interesting and informative they can be. The most recently released among such ventures is the first season of Robodoc: The Creation of Robocop, a Screambox original, which takes a look back at the excruciating production process, development, and brainstorming that went behind the 1987 sci-fi classic Robocop. The movie is still considered one of the topmost sci-fi pieces ever released by Western media, which was not only topical and philosophical but it has also proven itself to be timeless, at least in the current era more than ever.
The four one-hour-long episodes, which include excerpts from detailed narrations of the chief creator duo Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner, director Paul Verhoeven, the Robocop actor Peter Weller himself, cinematographer Josh Vacano, production designer Phil Tippett, William Sandell (Rob Bottin...
The four one-hour-long episodes, which include excerpts from detailed narrations of the chief creator duo Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner, director Paul Verhoeven, the Robocop actor Peter Weller himself, cinematographer Josh Vacano, production designer Phil Tippett, William Sandell (Rob Bottin...
- 9/26/2023
- by Siddhartha Das
- Film Fugitives
What a time to be a "Hocus Pocus" fan! A sequel to the 1993 cult classic movie is coming to Disney+ on Sept. 30, and now, the Sanderson sisters may soon be casting a spell on Broadway. In a new episode of podcast "The Art of Kindness," "Hocus Pocus" creator David Kirschner reveals a stage musical adaptation of the movie is in development, according to People.
Apparently, the show had been in the works even before Covid-19 wreaked havoc on the entertainment industry, and now that things have somewhat returned to normalcy, it's back on.
"I just want to pinch myself," Kirschner says of the opportunity to bring "Hocus Pocus" to Broadway, per People, "and I'm just afraid that I'm going to be 9 years old and on a little league field again . . . But it's just so wonderful just to stand back and watch all of this."
The original movie follows a group of teens in Salem,...
Apparently, the show had been in the works even before Covid-19 wreaked havoc on the entertainment industry, and now that things have somewhat returned to normalcy, it's back on.
"I just want to pinch myself," Kirschner says of the opportunity to bring "Hocus Pocus" to Broadway, per People, "and I'm just afraid that I'm going to be 9 years old and on a little league field again . . . But it's just so wonderful just to stand back and watch all of this."
The original movie follows a group of teens in Salem,...
- 9/29/2022
- by Noelle Devoe
- Popsugar.com
A “Hocus Pocus” Broadway musical is in the works.
The film’s producer David Kirschner spoke about a planned stage adaptation in a new interview for the Broadway Podcast Network’s “The Art of Kindness” podcast, shared with People ahead of the new episode’s release on Thursday.
He revealed, “This started before Covid, but now it seems to be back on — and that is that they are building a Broadway version of ‘Hocus Pocus’.”
Read More: Sarah Jessica Parker And Matthew Broderick Have Family Date Night At ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ Premiere
Kirschner went on to tell podcast host Robert Peterpaul, “I just want to pinch myself, and I’m just afraid that I’m going to be nine years old and on a Little League field again…. But it’s just so wonderful just to stand back and watch all of this.
“It’s not just me. It’s...
The film’s producer David Kirschner spoke about a planned stage adaptation in a new interview for the Broadway Podcast Network’s “The Art of Kindness” podcast, shared with People ahead of the new episode’s release on Thursday.
He revealed, “This started before Covid, but now it seems to be back on — and that is that they are building a Broadway version of ‘Hocus Pocus’.”
Read More: Sarah Jessica Parker And Matthew Broderick Have Family Date Night At ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ Premiere
Kirschner went on to tell podcast host Robert Peterpaul, “I just want to pinch myself, and I’m just afraid that I’m going to be nine years old and on a Little League field again…. But it’s just so wonderful just to stand back and watch all of this.
“It’s not just me. It’s...
- 9/29/2022
- by Becca Longmire
- ET Canada
Click here to read the full article.
On July 17, 1987, director Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop hit theaters. The Orion Pictures sci-fi actioner went on to gross 53 million that summer and launched a franchise. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:
It’s 1991 and Detroit needs a new sheriff. Even a Magnum-shooting muscleman won’t do. Motown’s taken its murder capital reputation seriously, and things are now way out of control. Normal cops can’t handle it. The new gun brought to town is large, metal, computerized and impregnable … It’s part man/part machine and Robocop can wipe out all in its path.
Similarly, this well-crafted, science-fiction actioner should wipe up massive body counts at the box office for Orion. While those whose tastes don’t include the spectacle of large machines noisily blasting at each other are not likely to be enticed by Robocop, this shocked look at...
On July 17, 1987, director Paul Verhoeven’s Robocop hit theaters. The Orion Pictures sci-fi actioner went on to gross 53 million that summer and launched a franchise. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:
It’s 1991 and Detroit needs a new sheriff. Even a Magnum-shooting muscleman won’t do. Motown’s taken its murder capital reputation seriously, and things are now way out of control. Normal cops can’t handle it. The new gun brought to town is large, metal, computerized and impregnable … It’s part man/part machine and Robocop can wipe out all in its path.
Similarly, this well-crafted, science-fiction actioner should wipe up massive body counts at the box office for Orion. While those whose tastes don’t include the spectacle of large machines noisily blasting at each other are not likely to be enticed by Robocop, this shocked look at...
- 7/17/2022
- by Duane Byrge
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Arrow Video bumps yet another of its top special edition titles up to 4K Ultra HD, just for home theater enthusiasts after the best and brightest of big screen experiences. The movie looks better than ever, and although the unrated version still packs too much gore overkill for average viewers, we respect the Horror-Comic vibe it was meant to conjure. As sci-fi satire Robo still carries a big stick: Edward Neumeier’s anti-corporate, anti-privatization message comes through loud, clear, and profane.
RoboCop 4K
4K Ultra HD Steelbook
Arrow Video
1987 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date April 12, 2022 / Available from / 49.95
Starring: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Robert DoQui, Ray Wise, Felton Perry, Paul McCrane.
Cinematography: Sol Negrin, Jost Vacano
Production Design: William Sandell
Special Effecs and Makeup: Rob Bottin, Peter Kuran, Rocco Gioffre, Phil Tippett, Harry Walton, Tom St. Amand, Robert Blalack
Film Editor: Frank J. Urioste...
RoboCop 4K
4K Ultra HD Steelbook
Arrow Video
1987 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date April 12, 2022 / Available from / 49.95
Starring: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O’Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Robert DoQui, Ray Wise, Felton Perry, Paul McCrane.
Cinematography: Sol Negrin, Jost Vacano
Production Design: William Sandell
Special Effecs and Makeup: Rob Bottin, Peter Kuran, Rocco Gioffre, Phil Tippett, Harry Walton, Tom St. Amand, Robert Blalack
Film Editor: Frank J. Urioste...
- 3/22/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
As I dug into the brand new 4K release of Paul Verhoeven’s Total Recall, it struck me that it had been nearly 15 years since I last sat down and watched it. And once it was over, I realized just how much of a mistake that was, because Total Recall is still a brutally fun and somewhat trippy experience that definitely ushered in a new era of heady sci-fi action films throughout the 1990s and also proved that, heading into a new decade, Arnold Schwarzenegger was still the tops when it came to headlining ambitious cinematic projects that went against the grain.
If you’re reading this, chances are you probably have a good idea of what Total Recall is all about, so I’ll keep this overview brief. Based on the Philip K. Dick short story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale,” Total Recall transports us to the...
If you’re reading this, chances are you probably have a good idea of what Total Recall is all about, so I’ll keep this overview brief. Based on the Philip K. Dick short story “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale,” Total Recall transports us to the...
- 12/9/2020
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Extra-special extras adorn this stunning reissue of a modern sci-fi action classic. Paul Verhoeven’s sledgehammer of graphic-novel brutality and wicked political satire (courtesy of a Michael Miner-Ed Neumeier screenplay that should have won awards) hasn’t diminished one iota. We still feel like we’re being subjected to a shockingly ultra-violent entertainment from the future. Both versions are present, along with enough interview extras to make one feel personally involved in the production. Although later entries in the Robo franchise were marketed to children (we have the toys to prove it) this hard-action show expresses an adult-oriented rage against Reagan’s America. The filmmakers could have earned a lot more money making Robo un-political and kid-safe but instead chose to stay true to their radical concept.
Robocop
Blu-ray
Arrow Video Limited Edition Collector’s Set
1987 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date November 26, 2019 / Available from Arrow Academy
Starring: Peter Weller,...
Robocop
Blu-ray
Arrow Video Limited Edition Collector’s Set
1987 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 103 min. / Street Date November 26, 2019 / Available from Arrow Academy
Starring: Peter Weller,...
- 11/19/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Based on a Philip K. Dick short story (We Can Remember It for You Wholesale), Total Recall is one of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s best films, and one of the best action films of the 1990′s. Under Paul Verhoeven’s frenetic direction, Total Recall is a fast-paced rush of violence, action, and humor that never, for a minute, slows down. The documentary Imagining Total Recall, goes behind-the-scenes with interviews of the film’s stars, director, writers and special effects team. Production designer William Sandell talks about the brutal conditions experienced while shooting in Mexico; Ron Shusett explains how he discovered Philip K. Dick before he was famous; Schwarzenegger describes Verhoeven’s frantic direction; and Verhoeven explains how the project almost went bankrupt. All this and so much more. Enjoy!
****
The post ‘Imagining ‘Total Recall’ – How Verhoeven and His Team Made the Film appeared first on Sound On Sight.
****
The post ‘Imagining ‘Total Recall’ – How Verhoeven and His Team Made the Film appeared first on Sound On Sight.
- 2/20/2014
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
[Great Moments in Screen Bitchery #949, Demi in St. Elmo's Fire (1985)]
Heh. I am going to be very disappointed if that isn't the title of Demi Moore's forthcoming memoirs. I'm just saying.
Some context for those too young to have seen Demi's 80s breakthrough, released twenty-five years ago on this very day. Joel Schumacher's St. Elmo's Fire is a story about a group of college grads who are struggling through their quarter-century life crises together. Jules (Demi Moore) is the messiest (and most fabulous) of them all. In the middle of the night she calls her most responsible friend in a panic. "I'm with these Arabs and they've been forcing me to do coke all night. I'm not sure because I don't understand much Arabic but I think I heard the word gangbang. You've gotta come and get me!" He rushes to her rescue only to find a tame unthreatening party. She refuses to leave with him and starts making booty calls instead.
Heh. I am going to be very disappointed if that isn't the title of Demi Moore's forthcoming memoirs. I'm just saying.
Some context for those too young to have seen Demi's 80s breakthrough, released twenty-five years ago on this very day. Joel Schumacher's St. Elmo's Fire is a story about a group of college grads who are struggling through their quarter-century life crises together. Jules (Demi Moore) is the messiest (and most fabulous) of them all. In the middle of the night she calls her most responsible friend in a panic. "I'm with these Arabs and they've been forcing me to do coke all night. I'm not sure because I don't understand much Arabic but I think I heard the word gangbang. You've gotta come and get me!" He rushes to her rescue only to find a tame unthreatening party. She refuses to leave with him and starts making booty calls instead.
- 6/29/2010
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
William Sandell continues his discussion with MakingOf and in his latest segment opens up about the fragility of his position and advises aspiring production designers on how to cope with industry politics. Sandell notes that on-set his allegiance is always with the director and stresses the importance of being honest.
Click here to learn more from William Sandell, an industry veteran whose work can be seen in films that include “Robocop,” “Air Force One,” “The Perfect Storm,” and “Poseidon.”...
Click here to learn more from William Sandell, an industry veteran whose work can be seen in films that include “Robocop,” “Air Force One,” “The Perfect Storm,” and “Poseidon.”...
- 11/13/2009
- Makingof.com
The cries of "Why?" over "United 93" might better be applied to this spectacular but uninvolving remake of "The Poseidon Adventure", the 1972 Irwin Allen production that kick-started the modern-day disaster genre. Updating the story of a capsized luxury liner, the $160 million production boasts more than a few astounding set pieces. But its intensity is strictly physical, the intended emotional impact submerged in a numbing onslaught of death, danger and derring-do as a bunch of mostly annoying, self-centered passengers fight their way to the surface, finding their inner heroes as they go.
Among the willing cast, only Jacinda Barrett and topliners Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss manage, just barely, to suggest a third dimension to the script's cursory character sketches. But that won't matter to audiences craving a disaster thrill ride. A simultaneous Imax release will up the summer-movie draw for Warners, which will find "Poseidon" well afloat in international waters.
Director Wolfgang Petersen, who knows his way around cramped nautical sets ("Das Boot") and soundstage water tanks ("The Perfect Storm"), has corralled an ace team of artists and technicians to create his doomed vessel. The ship is the film's most fully realized character -- beginning with the powerful sunset scene that opens the film, the camera circling the Poseidon in the great expanse of a calm sea. It's an awe-inspiring image of the floating city's might, enormity and opulence.
The '72 film was a kind of biblical "Love Boat", complete with floods and hellfire, maverick ministers and Israel-bound Jews. The new film's script by Mark Protosevich ("The Cell") forgoes the quasi-religious angle and much of the humanness as it revolves around a new set of central characters (sorry, no heroic Shelley Winters type). The cheese factor remains, however, especially in the awkward introductory scenes. But Protosevich and Petersen make quick work of the setup and cut to the chase: As the New York-bound Poseidon's passengers celebrate New Year's Eve, an enormous "rogue wave" slams into the ship, turning it upside down.
Amid the well-captured chaos of crushed, drowned and electrocuted bodies, our hardy band of survivors emerges, determined to climb through the formerly lower decks, against the orders of the captain (Andre Braugher), and escape the sinking vessel. Counting on the power of GPS to bring rescuers their way, the captain stays in the ballroom with the other survivors. The powerful point at the center of the saga is that most people would wait with him -- and seal their fate.
Leading the small group of brave souls who don't wait is gambler Dylan Lucas), who intends to exit solo until a 9-year-old boy (Jimmy Bennett) and his single mother (Barrett) demand to go with him. Dylan's transformation from selfish loner to responsible scout master is so quick and complete that the implied reluctant-hero business is utterly unconvincing. Although it's dispiriting to see a fine actor like Lucas bellowing "It's our only option!" his character's spectacular ingenuity enlivens the proceedings with daring dives through flames and the impromptu creation of an aerial tram.
Another single parent, Robert (Russell), matches Dylan's Navy experience with his credentials as a one-time fireman and former mayor of New York -- perhaps a bit of hat-tipping to the heroes of Sept. 11, or, as one character exclaims when she learns of his background, "Cool!" Joining them are Robert's petulant 19-year-old daughter (Emmy Rossum), her boyfriend (Mike Vogel), a stowaway (Mia Maestro), the waiter who hid her onboard (Freddy Rodriguez), an obnoxious drunk (Kevin Dillon) and a despondent architect (Dreyfuss) whose boyfriend left him just before the cruise.
They don't all make it, and in some cases that's A-OK. As the ship implodes around them, the group races the rising water through topsy-turvy corridors and flooding ballast tanks, the most nerve-wrenching episode being a vertical climb through a tight A/C shaft.
Although the urgency is almost always at a remove, the devastation is masterfully rendered, with seamless integration of William Sandell's outstanding production design, captured by John Seale's multiple cameras and the wizardry of ILM's "computational fluid dynamics." Occasionally rising above the dense sound design, Klaus Badelt's music is alternately rousing, mournful and histrionic.
POSEIDON
Warner Bros. Pictures
in association with Virtual Studios, Radiant Prods./Next Entertainment/Irwin Allen Prods./Synthesis Entertainment
Credits: Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Screenwriter: Mark Protosevich
Based on the novel by: Paul Gallico
Producers: Wolfgang Petersen, Duncan Henderson, Mike Fleiss, Akiva Goldsman
Executive producers: Kevin Burns, Jon Jashni, Sheila Allen, Benjamin Waisbren
Director of photography: John Seale
Production designer: William Sandell
Music: Klaus Badelt
Co-producers: Todd Arnow, Kimberly Miller, Chris Briggs
Costume designer: Erica Edell Phillips
Editor: Peter Honess
Visual effects supervisor: Boyd Shermis
Special effects supervisor: John Frazier
Cast:
Dylan Johns: Josh Lucas
Robert Ramsey: Kurt Russell
Richard Nelson: Richard Dreyfuss
Jennifer Ramsey: Emmy Rossum
Maggie James: Jacinda Barrett
Christian: Mike Vogel
Elena: Mia Maestro
Conor James: Jimmy Bennett
Captain Bradford: Andre Braugher
Lucky Larry: Kevin Dillon
Valentin: Freddy Rodriguez
Gloria: Stacy Ferguson
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 97 minutes...
Among the willing cast, only Jacinda Barrett and topliners Josh Lucas, Kurt Russell and Richard Dreyfuss manage, just barely, to suggest a third dimension to the script's cursory character sketches. But that won't matter to audiences craving a disaster thrill ride. A simultaneous Imax release will up the summer-movie draw for Warners, which will find "Poseidon" well afloat in international waters.
Director Wolfgang Petersen, who knows his way around cramped nautical sets ("Das Boot") and soundstage water tanks ("The Perfect Storm"), has corralled an ace team of artists and technicians to create his doomed vessel. The ship is the film's most fully realized character -- beginning with the powerful sunset scene that opens the film, the camera circling the Poseidon in the great expanse of a calm sea. It's an awe-inspiring image of the floating city's might, enormity and opulence.
The '72 film was a kind of biblical "Love Boat", complete with floods and hellfire, maverick ministers and Israel-bound Jews. The new film's script by Mark Protosevich ("The Cell") forgoes the quasi-religious angle and much of the humanness as it revolves around a new set of central characters (sorry, no heroic Shelley Winters type). The cheese factor remains, however, especially in the awkward introductory scenes. But Protosevich and Petersen make quick work of the setup and cut to the chase: As the New York-bound Poseidon's passengers celebrate New Year's Eve, an enormous "rogue wave" slams into the ship, turning it upside down.
Amid the well-captured chaos of crushed, drowned and electrocuted bodies, our hardy band of survivors emerges, determined to climb through the formerly lower decks, against the orders of the captain (Andre Braugher), and escape the sinking vessel. Counting on the power of GPS to bring rescuers their way, the captain stays in the ballroom with the other survivors. The powerful point at the center of the saga is that most people would wait with him -- and seal their fate.
Leading the small group of brave souls who don't wait is gambler Dylan Lucas), who intends to exit solo until a 9-year-old boy (Jimmy Bennett) and his single mother (Barrett) demand to go with him. Dylan's transformation from selfish loner to responsible scout master is so quick and complete that the implied reluctant-hero business is utterly unconvincing. Although it's dispiriting to see a fine actor like Lucas bellowing "It's our only option!" his character's spectacular ingenuity enlivens the proceedings with daring dives through flames and the impromptu creation of an aerial tram.
Another single parent, Robert (Russell), matches Dylan's Navy experience with his credentials as a one-time fireman and former mayor of New York -- perhaps a bit of hat-tipping to the heroes of Sept. 11, or, as one character exclaims when she learns of his background, "Cool!" Joining them are Robert's petulant 19-year-old daughter (Emmy Rossum), her boyfriend (Mike Vogel), a stowaway (Mia Maestro), the waiter who hid her onboard (Freddy Rodriguez), an obnoxious drunk (Kevin Dillon) and a despondent architect (Dreyfuss) whose boyfriend left him just before the cruise.
They don't all make it, and in some cases that's A-OK. As the ship implodes around them, the group races the rising water through topsy-turvy corridors and flooding ballast tanks, the most nerve-wrenching episode being a vertical climb through a tight A/C shaft.
Although the urgency is almost always at a remove, the devastation is masterfully rendered, with seamless integration of William Sandell's outstanding production design, captured by John Seale's multiple cameras and the wizardry of ILM's "computational fluid dynamics." Occasionally rising above the dense sound design, Klaus Badelt's music is alternately rousing, mournful and histrionic.
POSEIDON
Warner Bros. Pictures
in association with Virtual Studios, Radiant Prods./Next Entertainment/Irwin Allen Prods./Synthesis Entertainment
Credits: Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Screenwriter: Mark Protosevich
Based on the novel by: Paul Gallico
Producers: Wolfgang Petersen, Duncan Henderson, Mike Fleiss, Akiva Goldsman
Executive producers: Kevin Burns, Jon Jashni, Sheila Allen, Benjamin Waisbren
Director of photography: John Seale
Production designer: William Sandell
Music: Klaus Badelt
Co-producers: Todd Arnow, Kimberly Miller, Chris Briggs
Costume designer: Erica Edell Phillips
Editor: Peter Honess
Visual effects supervisor: Boyd Shermis
Special effects supervisor: John Frazier
Cast:
Dylan Johns: Josh Lucas
Robert Ramsey: Kurt Russell
Richard Nelson: Richard Dreyfuss
Jennifer Ramsey: Emmy Rossum
Maggie James: Jacinda Barrett
Christian: Mike Vogel
Elena: Mia Maestro
Conor James: Jimmy Bennett
Captain Bradford: Andre Braugher
Lucky Larry: Kevin Dillon
Valentin: Freddy Rodriguez
Gloria: Stacy Ferguson
MPAA rating PG-13
Running time -- 97 minutes...
Opens
Thursday, Dec. 25
"Paycheck" is a nifty science-fiction twist on the old amnesia plot where a guy spends most of a movie trying to remember what he did and why everyone is after him. Only in this case, the character played by Ben Affleck isn't trying to remember the past but the future.
Working from a story by Philip K. Dick -- aren't the best science-fiction movies usually based on stories by Dick? -- writer Dean Georgaris and director John Woo propel a viewer through shoot-outs, chases and suspense sequences that break enough new ground to feel fresh. There are moments when you know you're watching a John Woo film but many more where he seems to want to flex new muscles without drifting too far from the action genre. The moral issues that are central to Dick's science fiction are touched upon only briefly, yet they do reverberate through the film. While opening against stiff competition at Christmas, Paramount and DreamWorks nevertheless should find yuletide cheer in this "Paycheck".
Affleck plays scientific genius Michael Jennings, a "reverse engineer" who can take a piece of high-tech equipment, disassemble it so he sees how it ticks, then improve and reassemble the device into a more advanced piece of equipment in a few weeks. He is also a scientific whore, agreeing to perform his reverse engineering for a conglomerate run by his old buddy, billionaire entrepreneur Jimmy Rethrick (Aaron Eckhart), in exchange for a whopping paycheck and -- this is the kicker -- his willingness to allow his quirky pal Shorty (Paul Giamatti) to erase his memory of those work weeks so he cannot disclose company secrets to anyone else.
Jimmy's latest project for Michael breaks the pattern. Not only does the job require three years -- a lot of one's life to give up -- but when he finishes and all memory is erased, Michael is mystified to discover that he agreed to forfeit his $90 million paycheck in exchange for an envelope filled with random objects. What's more, both the FBI and Jimmy's thugs are hunting for him.
When two of these seemingly innocent objects allow Michael to miraculously escape FBI custody, he quickly realizes that each of the objects not only provides a clue to his erased past but is vital to his survival -- worth more, in other words, than $90 million. The movie gradually lets the viewer in on Jimmy's dirty little secret: In the past three years, Michael perfected a lens powerful enough to see past the curvature of time into the future. So everything that happens to Michael he has already foreseen using his own super lens and has taken the precaution to supply himself with everyday objects that will allow him to change that future.
Now for readers who hate Logic Nazis, who delight in pointing out fatal plot holes in movies, this is fair warning: One enormous plot hole is about to be revealed, so you might want to skip to the next paragraph. Once Michael changes his fate and escapes the FBI and his foretold destiny, he is in a new future where he cannot possibly have foreseen anything that happens to him. The rest of the movie cannot be the future he saw with his super lens but a new series of events that directly result from his altering the future.
Fortunately, while caught up in the gripping tension of Michael's race against time to destroy his own machine and to recall his life with Rachel (Uma Thurman), the woman he has loved for the past three years but cannot remember, you don't think about plot holes. The payoffs from each of these everyday objects -- a matchbook, a coin, a crossword puzzle -- are fun. And when both Jimmy and the FBI realize what's going on and scheme how best to thwart a man who has seen the future but cannot remember, these strategies keep the movie intriguing down to the last moment.
Affleck gives his scientific genius enough of a blue-collar attitude to make the character believable. Although underutilized until the picture is almost half-over, Thurman gives Rachel a determined strength of character. But after the gymnastics of "Kill Bill", her fans can only see this outing as a comedown.
Woo and his crew make good use of Vancouver, where they stage a chase through heavy traffic with Affleck and Thurman on a motorcycle and another down in a subway tunnel with a train is about to wipe out the hero. Jeffrey L. Kimball's cool, crisp photography seamlessly integrates the visual effects and stunts into a very real-looking environment. Similarly, William Sandell's futuristic sets don't unduly call attention to themselves as is often the case with science-fiction movies.
PAYCHECK
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures
Credits:
Director: John Woo
Screenwriter: Dean Georgaris
Based on a story by: Philip K. Dick
Producers: John Davis, Michael Hackett, John Woo, Terence Chang
Executive producers: Stratton Leopold, David Solomon
Director of photography: Jeffrey L. Kimball
Production designer: William Sandell
Music: John Powell
Co-producers: Caroline Macaulay, Arthur Anderson
Costume designer: Erica Edell Phillips
Editors: Kevin Stitt, Christopher Rouse
Cast:
Jennings: Ben Affleck
Rethrick: Aaron Eckhart
Rachel: Uma Thurman
Shorty: Paul Giamatti
Wolf: Colm Feore
Agent Dodge: Joe Morton
Agent Klein Michael C. Hall
Running time -- 119 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Thursday, Dec. 25
"Paycheck" is a nifty science-fiction twist on the old amnesia plot where a guy spends most of a movie trying to remember what he did and why everyone is after him. Only in this case, the character played by Ben Affleck isn't trying to remember the past but the future.
Working from a story by Philip K. Dick -- aren't the best science-fiction movies usually based on stories by Dick? -- writer Dean Georgaris and director John Woo propel a viewer through shoot-outs, chases and suspense sequences that break enough new ground to feel fresh. There are moments when you know you're watching a John Woo film but many more where he seems to want to flex new muscles without drifting too far from the action genre. The moral issues that are central to Dick's science fiction are touched upon only briefly, yet they do reverberate through the film. While opening against stiff competition at Christmas, Paramount and DreamWorks nevertheless should find yuletide cheer in this "Paycheck".
Affleck plays scientific genius Michael Jennings, a "reverse engineer" who can take a piece of high-tech equipment, disassemble it so he sees how it ticks, then improve and reassemble the device into a more advanced piece of equipment in a few weeks. He is also a scientific whore, agreeing to perform his reverse engineering for a conglomerate run by his old buddy, billionaire entrepreneur Jimmy Rethrick (Aaron Eckhart), in exchange for a whopping paycheck and -- this is the kicker -- his willingness to allow his quirky pal Shorty (Paul Giamatti) to erase his memory of those work weeks so he cannot disclose company secrets to anyone else.
Jimmy's latest project for Michael breaks the pattern. Not only does the job require three years -- a lot of one's life to give up -- but when he finishes and all memory is erased, Michael is mystified to discover that he agreed to forfeit his $90 million paycheck in exchange for an envelope filled with random objects. What's more, both the FBI and Jimmy's thugs are hunting for him.
When two of these seemingly innocent objects allow Michael to miraculously escape FBI custody, he quickly realizes that each of the objects not only provides a clue to his erased past but is vital to his survival -- worth more, in other words, than $90 million. The movie gradually lets the viewer in on Jimmy's dirty little secret: In the past three years, Michael perfected a lens powerful enough to see past the curvature of time into the future. So everything that happens to Michael he has already foreseen using his own super lens and has taken the precaution to supply himself with everyday objects that will allow him to change that future.
Now for readers who hate Logic Nazis, who delight in pointing out fatal plot holes in movies, this is fair warning: One enormous plot hole is about to be revealed, so you might want to skip to the next paragraph. Once Michael changes his fate and escapes the FBI and his foretold destiny, he is in a new future where he cannot possibly have foreseen anything that happens to him. The rest of the movie cannot be the future he saw with his super lens but a new series of events that directly result from his altering the future.
Fortunately, while caught up in the gripping tension of Michael's race against time to destroy his own machine and to recall his life with Rachel (Uma Thurman), the woman he has loved for the past three years but cannot remember, you don't think about plot holes. The payoffs from each of these everyday objects -- a matchbook, a coin, a crossword puzzle -- are fun. And when both Jimmy and the FBI realize what's going on and scheme how best to thwart a man who has seen the future but cannot remember, these strategies keep the movie intriguing down to the last moment.
Affleck gives his scientific genius enough of a blue-collar attitude to make the character believable. Although underutilized until the picture is almost half-over, Thurman gives Rachel a determined strength of character. But after the gymnastics of "Kill Bill", her fans can only see this outing as a comedown.
Woo and his crew make good use of Vancouver, where they stage a chase through heavy traffic with Affleck and Thurman on a motorcycle and another down in a subway tunnel with a train is about to wipe out the hero. Jeffrey L. Kimball's cool, crisp photography seamlessly integrates the visual effects and stunts into a very real-looking environment. Similarly, William Sandell's futuristic sets don't unduly call attention to themselves as is often the case with science-fiction movies.
PAYCHECK
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures
Credits:
Director: John Woo
Screenwriter: Dean Georgaris
Based on a story by: Philip K. Dick
Producers: John Davis, Michael Hackett, John Woo, Terence Chang
Executive producers: Stratton Leopold, David Solomon
Director of photography: Jeffrey L. Kimball
Production designer: William Sandell
Music: John Powell
Co-producers: Caroline Macaulay, Arthur Anderson
Costume designer: Erica Edell Phillips
Editors: Kevin Stitt, Christopher Rouse
Cast:
Jennings: Ben Affleck
Rethrick: Aaron Eckhart
Rachel: Uma Thurman
Shorty: Paul Giamatti
Wolf: Colm Feore
Agent Dodge: Joe Morton
Agent Klein Michael C. Hall
Running time -- 119 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 1/29/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The newspaper ad for "Deep Blue Sea" kind of says it all: wet and terrified, Saffron Burrows is about to be eaten by a very big shark. One can't help but have certain expectations. See created-by-science monsters go amok! See a feisty crew of adventurers go bye-bye one at a time! See pretty girls die and men ride the giant, man-munching beast.
The Warner Bros. wide release, bumped up to Wednesday, should chomp up the competition, given the awareness and relative uniqueness of the movie.
Shocking but true, we live in an era where the original theatrical release of "Jaws" and its mostly abysmal sequels are ancient history. There really hasn't been a good shark movie since Steven Spielberg's big hit 24 years ago.
Savvy casting -- with a mixture of new faces and character actors -- and director Renny Harlin's extreme-sports approach to the action scenes, cool destructible production design and gruesome special effects, make it all come together in a crowd-roaring swim-hide-die game between unlucky humans and 25-foot-long, genetically altered mako sharks.
Floating research facility Aquatica -- a huge facility with underwater living quarters and laboratories and a fenced-in sea-corral -- is in trouble. Funding might go away, there's a tropical depression headed toward it and someone's been keeping secrets about those strange, messed-with sharks, which may hold the key to regenerating human brain tissue.
The beleaguered head of Aquatica, Dr. Susan McAlester (Burrows) is personally driven to find a cure for Alzheimer's, and she suspects increasing the brain size, and presumably teeth, of makos is making them smarter. And meaner. But her crew is just plain nervous when a seemingly successful experiment -- hurried to save the company and witnessed by a take-charge financial backer (Samuel L. Jackson) -- results in the near gobbling up of the project mastermind (Stellan Skarsgard).
It does take a while for the film to open the human sushi bar, with Jackson's got-the-ax outsider giving Burrows' prickly English gal an excuse to take everyone on a grand tour, and be introduced to chief shark wrangler and aquaman Carter Blake (Thomas Jane), religious cook Sherman "Preacher" Dudley (LL Cool J), Aquatica's excitable engineer Todd Scoggins (Michael Rapaport) and the always budgeted marine biologist/screamer (Jacqueline McKenzie).
But once the three "smart" sharks -- they recognize guns, can swim backwards and behave like 8,000-pound underwater housebreakers -- cause the facility to nearly blow up and sink, with many sections flooded and the survivors separated, "Deep" sees red and there are a half-dozen hoot-and-holler scares and numerous memorable dismemberments.
One doesn't so much root for the sharks (thankfully no attempt is made to really personalize them) as against certain characters, with some of them rudely and quite hilariously removed from the proceedings. (One early clue that the subject matter and appeal of the movie is blood-curdling primal, despite its sci-fi premise that's hard to swallow anyway, is the Film Production's notes, in which casting information is put under the section "Shark Bait".)
"Deep" Heroes Blake and Dudley are at just the right depth for this barn flooder -- guys who know how to survive, how to out-hustle the leaky screenplay and how to fry bogeyfish. Hip-hop artist LL Cool J is sensationally funny, and almost as over-the-top as muscleman Jane. Burrows makes for a delectable but somewhat tart fall girl.
Technical aspects of the widescreen production are generally top-notch given the experienced behind-the-camera crew, including production designer William Sandell ("Small Soldiers"), the editing team of Frank J. Urioste, Derek G. Brechin and Dallas S. Puett, visual effects supervisor Jeffrey A. Okun, animatronic wizard Walt Conti, stunt coordinator R. A. Rondell and underwater director of photography Pete Romana.
DEEP BLUE SEA
Warner Bros.
In association with Village Roadshow Pictures/
Groucho III Film Partnership
An Alan Riche-Tony Ludwig/Akiva Goldsman production
Director:Renny Harlin
Producers:Akiva Goldsman, Tony Ludwig, Alan Riche
Screenwriters:Duncan Kennedy, Donna Powers, Wayne Powers
Executive producers:Duncan Henderson, Bruce Berman
Director of photography:Stephen Windon
Production designer:William Sandell
Editors:Frank J. Urioste, Derek G. Brechin, Dallas S. Puett
Music:Trevor Rabin
Costume designer:Mark Bridges
Visual effects supervisor:Jeffrey A. Okun
Shark action supervisor:Walt Conti
Casting:Christine Sheaks
Color/stereo
Cast:
Carter Blake:Thomas Jane
Dr. Susan McAlester:Saffron Burrows
Sherman "Preacher" Dudley:LL Cool J
Russell Franklin:Samuel L. Jackson
Janice Higgins:Jacqueline McKenzie
Todd Scoggins:Michael Rapaport
Jim Whitlock:Stellan Skarsgard
Running time -- 105 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
The Warner Bros. wide release, bumped up to Wednesday, should chomp up the competition, given the awareness and relative uniqueness of the movie.
Shocking but true, we live in an era where the original theatrical release of "Jaws" and its mostly abysmal sequels are ancient history. There really hasn't been a good shark movie since Steven Spielberg's big hit 24 years ago.
Savvy casting -- with a mixture of new faces and character actors -- and director Renny Harlin's extreme-sports approach to the action scenes, cool destructible production design and gruesome special effects, make it all come together in a crowd-roaring swim-hide-die game between unlucky humans and 25-foot-long, genetically altered mako sharks.
Floating research facility Aquatica -- a huge facility with underwater living quarters and laboratories and a fenced-in sea-corral -- is in trouble. Funding might go away, there's a tropical depression headed toward it and someone's been keeping secrets about those strange, messed-with sharks, which may hold the key to regenerating human brain tissue.
The beleaguered head of Aquatica, Dr. Susan McAlester (Burrows) is personally driven to find a cure for Alzheimer's, and she suspects increasing the brain size, and presumably teeth, of makos is making them smarter. And meaner. But her crew is just plain nervous when a seemingly successful experiment -- hurried to save the company and witnessed by a take-charge financial backer (Samuel L. Jackson) -- results in the near gobbling up of the project mastermind (Stellan Skarsgard).
It does take a while for the film to open the human sushi bar, with Jackson's got-the-ax outsider giving Burrows' prickly English gal an excuse to take everyone on a grand tour, and be introduced to chief shark wrangler and aquaman Carter Blake (Thomas Jane), religious cook Sherman "Preacher" Dudley (LL Cool J), Aquatica's excitable engineer Todd Scoggins (Michael Rapaport) and the always budgeted marine biologist/screamer (Jacqueline McKenzie).
But once the three "smart" sharks -- they recognize guns, can swim backwards and behave like 8,000-pound underwater housebreakers -- cause the facility to nearly blow up and sink, with many sections flooded and the survivors separated, "Deep" sees red and there are a half-dozen hoot-and-holler scares and numerous memorable dismemberments.
One doesn't so much root for the sharks (thankfully no attempt is made to really personalize them) as against certain characters, with some of them rudely and quite hilariously removed from the proceedings. (One early clue that the subject matter and appeal of the movie is blood-curdling primal, despite its sci-fi premise that's hard to swallow anyway, is the Film Production's notes, in which casting information is put under the section "Shark Bait".)
"Deep" Heroes Blake and Dudley are at just the right depth for this barn flooder -- guys who know how to survive, how to out-hustle the leaky screenplay and how to fry bogeyfish. Hip-hop artist LL Cool J is sensationally funny, and almost as over-the-top as muscleman Jane. Burrows makes for a delectable but somewhat tart fall girl.
Technical aspects of the widescreen production are generally top-notch given the experienced behind-the-camera crew, including production designer William Sandell ("Small Soldiers"), the editing team of Frank J. Urioste, Derek G. Brechin and Dallas S. Puett, visual effects supervisor Jeffrey A. Okun, animatronic wizard Walt Conti, stunt coordinator R. A. Rondell and underwater director of photography Pete Romana.
DEEP BLUE SEA
Warner Bros.
In association with Village Roadshow Pictures/
Groucho III Film Partnership
An Alan Riche-Tony Ludwig/Akiva Goldsman production
Director:Renny Harlin
Producers:Akiva Goldsman, Tony Ludwig, Alan Riche
Screenwriters:Duncan Kennedy, Donna Powers, Wayne Powers
Executive producers:Duncan Henderson, Bruce Berman
Director of photography:Stephen Windon
Production designer:William Sandell
Editors:Frank J. Urioste, Derek G. Brechin, Dallas S. Puett
Music:Trevor Rabin
Costume designer:Mark Bridges
Visual effects supervisor:Jeffrey A. Okun
Shark action supervisor:Walt Conti
Casting:Christine Sheaks
Color/stereo
Cast:
Carter Blake:Thomas Jane
Dr. Susan McAlester:Saffron Burrows
Sherman "Preacher" Dudley:LL Cool J
Russell Franklin:Samuel L. Jackson
Janice Higgins:Jacqueline McKenzie
Todd Scoggins:Michael Rapaport
Jim Whitlock:Stellan Skarsgard
Running time -- 105 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 7/26/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Before DreamWorks' big soldiers invade cinemas in a fortnight -- with top general Steven Spielberg's third directorial effort to be released in the past 15 months -- there's Joe Dante's fun, well-crafted "Small Soldiers" to remind audiences that not all summer films are more visceral than visionary.
A refreshing, Dantesque spin on capitalism gone awry when advanced military technology is inadvertently used in mass-produced toys, "Soldiers" is a goofy/scary idea with a nostalgic/satiric tone that probably means mixed results at the boxoffice, but the DreamWorks-Universal co-production Will More than make up for it in ancillary markets.
With four credited screenwriters, ubiquitous military adviser Capt. Dale Dye and a small army of artists and technicians -- who the press kit claims took a total of "over 16 man-years" to create "more than 237 character toys" -- "Soldiers" is a little lazy when it comes to fleshing out its human characters, but there's enough story to amiably fill in the breaks between the CG-driven sequences of foot-high action figures going on the warpath.
In a brief infomercial prologue, we're introduced to the reformed military contractor Globotech on a mission to turn civilian. Company commander Gil Mars (Denis Leary) expects big things from a newly acquired toy manufacturer, and his instant big bucks lure two nerdy types (Jay Mohr, David Cross) to put state-of-the-art computer chips in conventional action figures.
Of course, it's hardly believable that these updated GI Joes would become wisecracking terrors able to build a siege weapon capable of launching flaming tennis balls, but that's where the generally snappy dialogue delivered by the likes of Tommy Lee Jones and Frank Langella (as the two leaders of opposing forces) saves the day. One gets easily caught up in the conflict between the Gorgonites and Commando Elite -- both sets of toys display "real intelligence" -- and Langella's programmed-to-lose Archer is a sympathetic, peaceful counterpart to Jones' show-no-mercy warmonger Chip Hazard.
Indeed, a good deal of time is given over to Archer's getting to know the young male lead, Alan (Gregory Smith), whose father (Kevin Dunn) owns a struggling independent toy store. It's Alan who inadvertently discovers the secret of the new Globotech products and becomes a target of the Commandos -- which include four roughnecks voiced by Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, George Kennedy and Clint Walker, all veterans of the 1967 classic "The Dirty Dozen".
There are numerous pop culture references -- from famous lines taken from other sources to a climactic mini-helicopter attack a la "Apocalypse Now" to composer Jerry Goldsmith using parts of his own "Patton" score -- and Dante even throws in scenes from "The Crawling Eye" to jog the memories of baby boomers raised on monster movies.
Kirsten Dunst is appealing as Alan's would-be girlfriend, and she lets loose in the movie's wildest scene involving the destruction of mutant Gwendy dolls. Her materialistic father is played with bullheaded energy by the late Phil Hartman, who is tastefully mourned in an outtake placed at the close of the end credits followed by the simple tribute "For Phil". Ann Magnuson as Alan's take-charge mom is wonderful in the deadly siege of the Commandos against the Gorgonites and their human allies.
Bruce Dern, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Christina Ricci also lend their vocal talents to the colorfully named cast of toys. While the film was surely a logistical/technical headache for cinematographer Jamie Anderson, production designer William Sandell, animation supervisor David Andrews, visual effects supervisor Stefen Fangmeier and action-figure designer Stan Winston, the engaging "Soldiers" does not seduce one only with its remarkable ingenuity -- the best special effect of all.
SMALL SOLDIERS
DreamWorks Distribution
DreamWorks Pictures and Universal Pictures
Director: Joe Dante
Screenwriters: Gavin Scott, Adam Rifkin,
Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio
Producers: Michael Finnell, Colin Wilson
Executive producer: Walter Parkes
Director of photography: Jamie Anderson
Production designer: William Sandell
Editor: Marshall Harvey
Costume designer: Carole Brown-James
Animation supervisor: David Andrews
Visual effects supervisor: Stefen Fangmeier
Action figures/animatronics design: Stan Winston
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Casting: Denise Chamian
Color/stereo
Cast:
Alan Abernathy: Gregory Smith
Christy Fimple: Kirsten Dunst
Larry Benson: Jay Mohr
Irwin Wayfair: David Cross
Phil Fimple: Phil Hartman
Stuart Abernathy: Kevin Dunn
Irene Abernathy: Ann Magnuson
Gil Mars: Denis Leary
Voice of Chip Hazard: Tommy Lee Jones
Voice of Archer: Frank Langella
Running time -- 109 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
A refreshing, Dantesque spin on capitalism gone awry when advanced military technology is inadvertently used in mass-produced toys, "Soldiers" is a goofy/scary idea with a nostalgic/satiric tone that probably means mixed results at the boxoffice, but the DreamWorks-Universal co-production Will More than make up for it in ancillary markets.
With four credited screenwriters, ubiquitous military adviser Capt. Dale Dye and a small army of artists and technicians -- who the press kit claims took a total of "over 16 man-years" to create "more than 237 character toys" -- "Soldiers" is a little lazy when it comes to fleshing out its human characters, but there's enough story to amiably fill in the breaks between the CG-driven sequences of foot-high action figures going on the warpath.
In a brief infomercial prologue, we're introduced to the reformed military contractor Globotech on a mission to turn civilian. Company commander Gil Mars (Denis Leary) expects big things from a newly acquired toy manufacturer, and his instant big bucks lure two nerdy types (Jay Mohr, David Cross) to put state-of-the-art computer chips in conventional action figures.
Of course, it's hardly believable that these updated GI Joes would become wisecracking terrors able to build a siege weapon capable of launching flaming tennis balls, but that's where the generally snappy dialogue delivered by the likes of Tommy Lee Jones and Frank Langella (as the two leaders of opposing forces) saves the day. One gets easily caught up in the conflict between the Gorgonites and Commando Elite -- both sets of toys display "real intelligence" -- and Langella's programmed-to-lose Archer is a sympathetic, peaceful counterpart to Jones' show-no-mercy warmonger Chip Hazard.
Indeed, a good deal of time is given over to Archer's getting to know the young male lead, Alan (Gregory Smith), whose father (Kevin Dunn) owns a struggling independent toy store. It's Alan who inadvertently discovers the secret of the new Globotech products and becomes a target of the Commandos -- which include four roughnecks voiced by Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, George Kennedy and Clint Walker, all veterans of the 1967 classic "The Dirty Dozen".
There are numerous pop culture references -- from famous lines taken from other sources to a climactic mini-helicopter attack a la "Apocalypse Now" to composer Jerry Goldsmith using parts of his own "Patton" score -- and Dante even throws in scenes from "The Crawling Eye" to jog the memories of baby boomers raised on monster movies.
Kirsten Dunst is appealing as Alan's would-be girlfriend, and she lets loose in the movie's wildest scene involving the destruction of mutant Gwendy dolls. Her materialistic father is played with bullheaded energy by the late Phil Hartman, who is tastefully mourned in an outtake placed at the close of the end credits followed by the simple tribute "For Phil". Ann Magnuson as Alan's take-charge mom is wonderful in the deadly siege of the Commandos against the Gorgonites and their human allies.
Bruce Dern, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Christina Ricci also lend their vocal talents to the colorfully named cast of toys. While the film was surely a logistical/technical headache for cinematographer Jamie Anderson, production designer William Sandell, animation supervisor David Andrews, visual effects supervisor Stefen Fangmeier and action-figure designer Stan Winston, the engaging "Soldiers" does not seduce one only with its remarkable ingenuity -- the best special effect of all.
SMALL SOLDIERS
DreamWorks Distribution
DreamWorks Pictures and Universal Pictures
Director: Joe Dante
Screenwriters: Gavin Scott, Adam Rifkin,
Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio
Producers: Michael Finnell, Colin Wilson
Executive producer: Walter Parkes
Director of photography: Jamie Anderson
Production designer: William Sandell
Editor: Marshall Harvey
Costume designer: Carole Brown-James
Animation supervisor: David Andrews
Visual effects supervisor: Stefen Fangmeier
Action figures/animatronics design: Stan Winston
Music: Jerry Goldsmith
Casting: Denise Chamian
Color/stereo
Cast:
Alan Abernathy: Gregory Smith
Christy Fimple: Kirsten Dunst
Larry Benson: Jay Mohr
Irwin Wayfair: David Cross
Phil Fimple: Phil Hartman
Stuart Abernathy: Kevin Dunn
Irene Abernathy: Ann Magnuson
Gil Mars: Denis Leary
Voice of Chip Hazard: Tommy Lee Jones
Voice of Archer: Frank Langella
Running time -- 109 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
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