Hypnotic Navel

Livin' on borrowed time... Lennon at 70.

2010-10-09T21:02:00.003+01:00

Hi guys, been meaning to update the blog a little more often! Anyway, as I’m sure you’re aware, today sees the first of two landmark anniversaries for John Lennon this year. Dec 9 will mark the 30th anniversary of Lennon’s death, and I’m sure there’ll be much celebration of the legendary Beatle’s life come that date. Today, however, would have been Lennon’s 70th birthday; tributes have included a video message from Yoko Ono and a special Google logo. So Happy Birthday John.

Satoshi Kon 1963 -2010.

2010-08-28T00:00:00.000+01:00

Hi there folks, must start updating my blog more regularly! Anyway… like many anime fans around the world, I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Satoshi Kon, director of a number of important anime films. Born in 1963, Kon started out illustrating manga before moving on to animation and screenwriting, then making an auspicious directorial debut with 1998’s excellent Perfect Blue, a dark, Hitchcockian tale concerning a Japanese pop star turned actress and her psychotic stalker. He followed it up with 2001’s acclaimed Millennium Actress (which I must confess I’ve not yet seen) and 2003’s sweet and witty Tokyo Godfathers, before taking a shot at TV with the bizarre series Paranoia Agent (2004-5).

Kon's last complete full-length feature was 2006’s Paprika, in which a strange device is invented which allows users to ‘enter’ their dreams. It proved an influence on Christopher Nolan during the development of the director/writer’s recent hit Inception, and a live-action version is apparently being prepped by director Wolfgang Peterson. Kon subsequently directed a one-minute short for the Japanese TV series Ani*Kuri15 (2007-8), and was busy with his next feature - titled The Dream Machine - when he sucummed to pancreatic cancer on Tuesday, Aug 24 last. That project has now, obviously, been left up in the air, and it’s heartbreaking to think of the intriguing career that Kon - a mere 46 years old - had ahead of him.

Trailers: Avengers, Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark, Outcast, Jackass 3D.

2010-08-11T00:56:00.002+01:00

Hi there… haven’t updated in over a week, got a review of Inception and a couple of books lined up… hope to post more regularly. For now, here’s another trailer round-up.

Marvel's The Avengers is set to begin production next February, and is apparently being shot in 3D. Here’s the recent teaser which debuted at Comic-Con.

Meanwhile, a wonderful fan-made ‘pre-make’ Avengers trailer has just popped up on YouTube. Using vintage footage, it cleverly imagines how a 1950s Avengers movie might look. Check it out…

The Guillermo Del Toro-produced Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark now has itself a surprisingly nifty little teaser, which certainly managed to give me a little scare! The film makes the directorial debut of comic artist Troy Nixey, and is a remake of the 1973 US TV film of the same title. It stars Guy Pierce, Katie Holmes and newcomer Bailie Madison and is set for release in January of next year. Fingers crossed it lives up to this trailer!

Partly set right here in Ireland, Outcast is a Celtic-mythology inspired supernatural horror which stars James Nesbitt as a killer in hot pursuit of his ex – who just happens to be a member of an ancient magic race. It was debuted at this year’s South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas and apparently screened at Cannes, but no word on a general release as yet.

I’ve seen neither 2002’s Jackass: The Movie nor its 2006 sequel Jackass Number Two, but I’m certainly familiar with the TV show, whose endless repeats began to wear me down. The third big-screen scatological masochism-fest (if you will) has been shot in 3D, and goes by the incredibly surprising moniker of Jackass 3D. Hmmm… looks mildly diverting, but there’s a faint whiff of same old same old about this trailer.

Bye for now!

What fresh madness is this? Del Toro to tackle Lovecraft's 'Mountains' at last!

2010-08-03T01:03:00.001+01:00

Guillermo Del Toro announced last week that his next project will be an adaptation of seminal horror author H.P. Lovecraft’s At The Mountains Of Madness. According to an exclusive report from Deadline New York, the Pan’s Labyrinth/Hellboy director intends to shoot the film in 3D, with the help of James Cameron, who may act as producer on the project.

Del Toro has had Lovecraft’s classic story simmering on the backburner for some years, and now that he is no longer directing The Hobbit, the way is clear for him to bring this pet project to life. The director is, by his own admission, more comfortable with horror and monsters than the classic fantasy style of J.R.R. Tolkien, and the influence of Lovecraft is already clearly evident in his work, particularly in the Hellboy films. As a fan both of Lovecraft and Del Toro, I find it an immensely exciting prospect… watch this space!

Farewell to the UK Film Council...

2010-08-01T15:33:00.000+01:00

Last week, Britain’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport announced that it was to axe the UK Film Council, a move which has met with strong criticism in some quarters. Founded in 2000, the National Lottery-funded government body has since backed hundreds of British films, including notable productions such as Gosford Park, This Is England, In The Loop, The Last King Of Scotland and Man On Wire.

Revered writer/director Mike Leigh called the DCMS’ decision “remarkable and extremely worrying”, adding that it was “totally out of order”. Actor Liam Neeson was equally enraged. "I think the decision is… the word deplorable comes to mind”, he told BBC News. “We have to do something about it. We need movies. It's a powerful industry that provides a credible entertainment for millions of people and I think it is wrong, I just think it is wrong for the government (to do this). Meanwhile, Oscar-winning producer and UK film industry mogul David Puttnam remarked that the organisation was “sure to be widely missed, not least because the UK cinema industry is in the midst of a fundamental transformation at the heart of which is digital roll-out.”

The council has been earmarked for closure in April, 2012. With the recession still raging, there’s no reason why the arts should be excluded from cuts; however, Film Council chairman Tim Bevan has stated that the decision was taken “without any consultation or evaluation”. Here’s hoping the British film industry isn’t affected too badly in the long run…

A Shi... Er, Shed-Load Of Trailers, Part II!

2010-07-31T00:55:00.002+01:00

Welcome to part two of my new-and-recent-trailers review… as I mentioned in the first part, I’m not necessarily that keen on seeing all of these movies, but one way or another they’ve perked my interest. Anyway, let’s take a look…

Low-budget sci-fi horror Monsters caused something of a stir at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, as is already being referred to as the next District 9. The film revolves around a NASA space probe crashing in Mexico, where a huge quarantine area is set up to contain… well, monsters clearly! This teaser doesn’t show much monster action… but maybe that’s a good thing.

Disney’s 1982 sci-fi hit Tron boasted some ground-breaking computer effects, and has something of a cult following. I’ve actually only ever seen bits of it, but I’m fully aware of its popular appeal. As such, the major buzz that has built up around tardy sequel Tron: Legacy is not all that surprizing. Original stars Jeff Bridges and Bruce Boxleitner return, the CG glimpsed so far is very impressive and the film’s score comes courtesy of French electro duo Daft Punk. Here’s the latest trailer.

Directed by John Curran, Stone stars Robert De Niro as a parole officer who finds himself the target for manipulation by Edward Norton’s prison inmate, who convinces his wife (Milla Jovovich) to seduce De Niro. Norton has previously worked with both De Niro (2001’s The Score) and Curran (on the acclaimed 2006 period piece The Painted Veil). Some of the more dramatic moments in this trailer seem a little overcooked and flaky, but considering the talent involved – not to mention the fact that trailers are not always a good representation of a film – let’s not be too hasty to judge just yet.

Based on the DC Comics’ mini-series of the same name, Red sees a bunch of former CIA agents forced out of retirement thanks to an assassination attempt. An impressive cast (including Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and – yay! – Ernest Borgnine!) and some humorous touches could lift this above your average comic action adventure.

Another DC Comics property coming to the screen is Green Lantern, one of their lesser-known but still popular superheroes. Trailer is a little silly, mind.

…And sticking with the, er, theme of green superheroes… classic man of mystery The Green Hornet is coming to the screen, with Seth Rogan (no, really) in the title role. Jay Chou plays martial-arts sidekick Kato, Cameron Diaz plays the love interest and Christoph Waltz plays the villain. Trailer is stylish, with some nice gadgets and action sequences on display, but the ‘flip’ tone is a bit off-putting. Hmmm.

Like Scooby Doo, Yogi Bear is a sweet, life-affirming character who has inspired blind adoration from several generations of cartoon fans. Also like Scooby-Doo, Yogi Bear has been turned into a modern live-action flick. Oh dear. Actually, there is perhaps a hint of mild wittiness evident in this trailer... but still, I don't buy it. Also – and particularly post-Avatar – the faces of Yogi (voiced by Dan Ackroyd) and sidekick Boo-Boo (voiced – ingeniously – by Justin Timberlake) are perhaps just not quite convincing enough to integrate well with live-action.

That’s it for this little trailer round-up. Bye for now!

A Shi... Er, Shed-Load Of Trailers, Part I!

2010-07-30T17:29:00.001+01:00

Hi again… thought I’d take a look at some new and recent trailers – though not all necessarily for films I’m all that keen on catching. So consider this a kind of ‘trailer review’! Okay, off we go with part one:

David Fincher’s The Social Network is based on Ben Mezrich's book The Accidental Billionaires, and concerns the founding of the enormously-popular social networking site Facebook (what do you mean, "What’s Facebook?"?!). This first full-length trailer strives to create a sense of drama… hmmm, we’ll wait and see.

This red band trailer for Robert Rodriguez’s Machete seems a lot more representative of the film’s Grindhouse roots that the non-restricted one, and is a lot more fun. Not to mention gory. You have been warned!

Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch could prove to be a bit of a entertaining mess; there’s certainly a lot going on in this teaser. Looks like more eye candy from the 300/Watchmen director, who has described it as “Alice In Wonderland with machine guns”. Could have done with some of those when Johnny Depp did the futterwacken dance in Tim Burton’s Alice…

I’ve never read any of Bryan Lee O’ Malley’s Scott Pilgrim graphic novels, but this International trailer for Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World is both fun and funny. Directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun Of The Dead/Hot Fuzz) and starring Beck-lookalike Michael Cera as the titular hero, it looks like a blast.

Another comic series I’m familiar with but have never read is Eric Powell’s The Goon, which is being brought to the screen as a CG animated movie produced by David Fincher (him again!). Check out this gorgeous-looking (though somewhat gross!) full-length trailer.

Along with the forthcoming The Resident, Let Me In marks the return of classic horror studio Hammer Films. It’s based on John Ajvide Lindqvist’s vampire novel Låt den rätte komma (Let The Right One In) and the excellent Swedish film of the same name. Here's the red band-version for the recent International trailer for Let Me In, which is directed by Matt ‘Cloverfield’ Reeves and stars The Road’s Kodi Smit-McPhee, Kick Ass’ Chloë Moretz and veteran stalwart Richard Jenkins. The first trailer resembled the Swedish film a little too closely for my liking; this one does at least suggest a dash of originality.

…And that’s all for now! More trailers next time.

First post... and Comic-Con 2010!

2010-07-28T13:22:00.004+01:00

Hello! Welcome to the (pretentiously-named) ‘Hypnotic Navel’, which will cover film, music and art - generally speaking of a ‘pop culture’ nature but certainly not exclusively so! My old blog covered similar ground, but I aim to make a fresh start with a more concise and less rambling blog… so on with the show.

This year’s San Diego Comic-Con wrapped last Sunday, and as ever there were plenty of big names and exclusive footage on show… and this year, an unfortunate incident involving a pen stabbing. Here’s a little round-up of some of the events reported highlights:

Guillermo Del Toro may no longer be helming The Hobbit, but the imaginative Mexican director is certainly not resting on his laurels. In attendance to promote the forthcoming Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark remake (which he has co-written and produced), Del Toro revealed that he will write, produce and quite possibly direct a reboot of Disney’s The Haunted Mansion, will produce a stop-motion version of Pinocchio, is working on a horror anthology series for cable TV and will – he apparently promised! – bring his vision of Frankenstein to the screen in the near future. He also added that he hopes The Lord Of The Rings maestro Peter Jackson will direct The Hobbit.

Elsewhere, there was promotion for the likes of Tron: Legacy (again!), sci-fi comedy Paul (starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost), Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch and vampire chiller Let Me In… look out for some trailers next time! Of course the biggest buzz at SDCC revolved around forthcoming big-screen comic adaptations, with Marvel properties causing the biggest stir. Both Thor and Captain America have their very-own movies on the way, but they will also feature alongside Iron Man and Hulk in The Avengers, the main cast of which assembled following the Thor panel on Saturday (for which Thor director Kenneth Branagh was present... should be interesting to see what he does with it). A clearly rapt audience welcomed Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury), Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), Mark Ruffalo (Bruce Banner/Hulk), Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Chris Evans (Captain America), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton), Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson), Marvel president/producer Kevin Feige and lastly director Joss Whedon, who announced “I’ve had a dream all my life… and it was not this good!”

Aside from Marvel, DC Comics’ Green Lantern and Red were also a presence at the event, with Lantern star Ryan Reynolds in attendance and much or Red's all-star cast - including Helen Mirren and Bruce Willis - also making an impression. Selected audience members joined director Edgar Wright for a screening of the much-vaunted Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and there was footage from Jon Favreau’s Cowboys & Aliens and Frank Darabont’s The Walking Dead TV series.

I’ve must admit I’ve never been to Comic-Con myself, but you never know… maybe some day! Anyway, that’s all for now… see you shortly!