The Playlist

Johnny Depp Working On Adaptation Of J.P. Donleavy's 'The Ginger Man'

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
February 25, 2011 4:47 AM
|
8 Comments

Also Wants To Adapt Tom Robbins' 'Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates'We miss Johnny Depp. Let us clarify that point. We miss the Johnny Depp of "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?," "Arizona Dream," "Dead Man" and "Donnie Brasco." We miss the young actor who took chances with ambitious directors and material. And while his early work with Tim Burton in films like "Edward Scissorhands" and "Ed Wood" was great, the actor has settled into a comfortable rut, collecting millions upon millions of dollars in tentpole land. And when he's not working with Burton on whatever his next watered down mess will be, he's busy walking the plank in another "Pirates Of The Caribbean" entry or buying his own personal island with the earnings from the turgid superstar failure "The Tourist." But, there is hope on the horizon. He's got the Bruce Robinson directed "The Rum Diary" coming out later this year and he's long been associated with Kathryn Bigelow's gestating drug world drama "Triple Frontier." And now, during press rounds for the upcoming "Rango," Depp reveals he's developing another project that may find him back his winning ways.

More:

In Theaters: 'Drive Angry 3D,' 'Hall Pass,' 'Heartbeats'

By Katie Walsh
|
February 25, 2011 4:22 AM
|
0 Comments

Happy Oscar weekend! This Sunday brings the apex of Hollywood's season, rewarding those 2010 films we've been talking about for so long. Who will wear what? What upsets will we be rooting for? Will James Franco perform some kind of bizarre performance art stunt as part of his hosting duties (all signs point to YES). We will be live blogging the events of Sunday evening, so check back in for the rockin'est Oscar commentary your computer has seen. In the meantime, get your highbrow on and rent those remaining DVDs of the Oscar contenders you missed. If you've seen them all or just don't feel like sitting through ye olde Oscar bait, some delightfully lowbrow releases await you at the theater. 2011 Cage's Festival of Wigs continues with the awesomely awesome looking "Drive Angry 3D," and "Hall Pass" brings us our weekly dose of gross sex humor! Down the hatch! There are also a few small arthouse releases, such as the latest from 22-year-old (!!!!!!!) filmmaker Xavier Dolan.

More:

Review: Xavier Dolan's 'Heartbeats' Is A Stylish Love Triangle, But Emotionally Hollow At Its Core

By Edward Davis
|
February 25, 2011 4:01 AM
|
0 Comments

The constant criticism being aimed at young, wunderkind Canadian director Xavier Dolan, is that the Montreal-based filmmaker -- while completely precocious and preternaturally talented -- puts too much of a premium and emphasis on style over substance. And yet, just because it's practically a cliche ad hominem dig against Dolan's films, it doesn't mean that the censure is off base. While featuring an impeccable soundtrack, a color palette ripped out of the Pedro Almodovar playbook for comedic melodramas, and an ineffable je ne sais quoi energy taken from the Jean-Luc Godard school of '60s filmmaking (though Dolan denies he's ever seen the familiar feeling, "Two Or Three Things I Know About Her"), the 21-year-old director's sophomore directorial effort "Les Amours Imaginaires" ("Heartbeats") is decidedly hollow around the edges and lacks an emotional center to cling to.

More:

Morgan Creek CEO Says No 'Major League' For Charlie Sheen If He Continues Being Awesome

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
February 25, 2011 3:45 AM
|
3 Comments

Throws Lindsay Lohan Under The Bus In The ProcessGranted, Charlie Sheen is probably heading towards a meltdown of epic proportions but you have to admit, his quote-churning flame out is far more entertaining/amazing/hilarious/tragic than anything spewed forth by Mel Gibson. And there's an odd heroic quality to Sheen's outbursts that we can't explain but clearly, there are many who are not happy or impressed with the actor's giant middle finger to the world, and Morgan Creek CEO James Robinson is one of them.

More:

Review: 'Hall Pass' A Raunchy Sex Comedy That's Afraid Of Sex

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
February 25, 2011 3:29 AM
|
1 Comment

It might seem like a distant memory, but at one time the Farrelly Brothers were the leading the pack -- and were possibly the only players of note -- in the arena of progressive, raunchy comedies. The trifecta of "Dumb & Dumber," "There's Something About Mary" and "Kingpin" put the sibling duo on the map but ever since, they've been chasing past glory to lesser and lesser effect which now brings us to "Hall Pass." Coming barely a month after "No Strings Attached," the Farrellys' film may be all dressed up in the trappings of a taboo breaking comedy but by comparison, it makes the Natalie Portman/Ashton Kutcher vehicle look positively avant garde. And worse, this might be the only R-rated sex comedy to get a thumbs up from the conservative right.

More:

Brit DJ & Producer Mark Ronson Contributing Songs To 'Arthur'

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
February 25, 2011 2:58 AM
|
0 Comments

Updated: The NME was incorrect and misquoted Mark Ronson. Theodore Shapiro is providing the original score for director Jason Winer’s “Arthur.” Ronson will contribute several new songs to the film with vocals by Daniel Merriweather. The film will also feature songs written and performed by Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie. With that in mind, disregard certain parts of the story below.

More:

Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Garrett Hedlund Among Candidates For 'The Bourne Legacy'

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
February 25, 2011 2:36 AM
|
12 Comments

Taylor Kitsch & Kellan Lutz Also In The RunningUpdate: Deadline reveals a few more names in contention: Joel Edgerton, Josh Hartnett, Paul Dano, Michael Pitt, Oscar Isaac, Michael Fassbender, Luke Evans, Alex Pettyfer and Benjamin Walker. So basically, everybody.

More:

Review: 'Of Gods And Men' Is An Insightful, Intriguing But Heavy-Handed Look At Faith

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
February 25, 2011 2:32 AM
|
0 Comments

The following is a reprint of our review from the Cannes Film Festival.

More:

Retro International 'Sucker Punch' Posters Premiere And Look Familiar

By Cory Everett
|
February 25, 2011 2:16 AM
|
4 Comments

While the jury will still be out for a few more weeks on whether “Sucker Punch” is actually any good (or at least until it possibly screens secretly at SXSW), Warner Bros. continues to push forward with the film’s marketing. A few days ago they released a second trailer for the film, which resembles more of a music video and somehow gives you even less information about what the film is actually about. Luckily we can provide a synopsis. Basically, the film centers on a girl who enters an alternate reality with her friends and begins planning an escape from a mental institution where she was put by her evil stepfather who intends to have her lobotomized in five days. From there, robots, dragons, airplanes, WWI battlefields and schoolboy fantasies all come into play as the quintet of girls kick ass in a CGI-filled landscape.

More:

What Lurks In The 'DMZ'? A New Action-Thriller From 'Transformers' Producer Lorenzo Di Bonaventura

By Oliver Lyttelton
|
February 25, 2011 2:15 AM
|
1 Comment

While Korea is currently producing some of the most exciting cinema in the world (the imminent "I Saw the Devil" being only the most recent example), the country's been somewhat under-represented in Hollywood cinema. The Korean War never captured the imagination of filmmakers in the way that Vietnam did (outside of "M*A*S*H"), while Seoul has never held the same appeal as a jetsetting location as, say, Tokyo or Hong Kong.

More: