Larry Ratliff

A new star is 'Bourne'

 

Matt Damon drawing down on trouble in "The Bourne Ultimatum" in 2007.   (Courtesy:  Universal Pictures)

Sometimes, the movie franchises move on, even when the movie star the series is built around bails.

Such is the case, apparently, with the "Bourne" adventure-spy franchise.

After globe-trotting to discover his identity ("The Bourne Identity," 2002), displaying some supremacy ("The Bourne Supremacy", 2004) and making good on an ultimatum ("The Bourne Ultimatum," 2007), Matt Damon has moved on to the "Hereafter" and other cinematic projects not "Bourne" related.

An article on the Hollywood Reporter Web site is reporting, however, that the franchise machine will move forward with Jeremy Renner ("The Town," "The Hurt Locker").

Renner will take on the role of a new operative in the upcoming "The Bourne Legacy."

Never fear, though, "Bourne" fans.  Joan Allen, who's probably the nicest female movie star I've ever had the pleasure of interviewing, will continue as CIA agent Pam Landy.

Also, according to the Hollywood Reporter item, Albert Finney, Dr. Albert Hirsch, in "Bourne Ultimatum," will be back for another go as well.

Perhaps just as semi-shocking as the franchise continuing without Damon is the fact that Paul Greengrass, who directed the last two installments, will not be calling the shots on the third sequel.

That task will befall Tony Gilroy, a writer on the first three "Bourne" actioners.  Gilroy will wear two hats in the "Bourne Legacy" as both writer and director.

Renner, a superb actor who might even have a little more pure acting talent that Damon, will be fine.

"Bourne" sans the contibution of Greengrass in the director's chair, however, might just be another matter.

(Jeremy Renner picture from "The Town" courtesy:  Warner Bros.)

Why we like Liam Neeson, action guy

 

Has Liam Neeson become the latest hard-charging, fist-slinging fan favorite action hero by default?

It's beginning to look that way.

Slightly droopy-eyed (like the late Robert Mitchum) and sly, Neeson jumped into the action genre in his mid-50s last year with "Taken."

Over the weekend, the Irishman whose rise to stardom began with "Schindler's List" in 1993, propelled the action-thriller "Unknown" to the top of the box-office chart with an impressive $25.6 million.

According to an item posted on the Hollywood Reporter Web site, there are five reasons Neeson, who drew a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for "Schindler's List," is rising to the top of the action hero pecking order.

Despite his age (58), Neeson's a fresh face in a genre long dominated by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Sylvester Stallone, all of whom have busted heads for decades.

And here's something at least semi-unique in the action-thriller genre.  Neeson can really act, and he's establishing himself as a "thinking man's action hero."

Click here to read the rest of the Hollywood Reporter.

Coming Thursday in this space

My annual Oscar predictions.  Will "The King's Speech" maintain its momentum and make an Academy Award Best Picture speech?  Or will the Coen Brothers retro Western prove its "True Grit" with a surprise win.

And what about "The Social Network"?  Does it have a tweeter's chance?

Tune in tomorrow for my semi-fearless predictions.

(Photo of Liam Neeson in "Unknown" courtesy:  Warner Bros. Pictures)

Bond, James Bond is back, coming back

 

James Bond (Daniel Craig) whips out his license to kill in "Quantum of Solace."   (Courtesy:  MGM)

A little thing like the bankruptcy of a movie studio can't thwart Agent 007's license to thrill.

The British newspaper The Guardian and other sources are reporting that James Bond will be back next year and that Daniel Craig will return to sip vodka martinis (shaken, not stirred) and pretty much save the free world for the third time.

Bond's most formidable foe lately has been financial uncertainty.  But a Web post on the Guardian site states, "The financial problems that threatened to ensnare James Bond have been thwarted, allowing the Ian Fleming hero to return to the screen next year in time for his 50th anniversary in film."

Craig will be back in the tuxedo for the film tagged, so far at least, as "Bond 23."  Production should begin at the end of this year with Sam Mendes ("Revolutionary Road," American Beauty") in the director's chair.

Agent 007 devotees should mark their calendars for Nov. 9, 2012.  The project was put on hold last year when MGM Studios filed for bankruptcy.  The company has restructured, according to published reports.

Those who thought Craig might walk away from the iconic James Bond character due to the delay can now relax.

"Craig said last year that he had 'every confidence' in the films' producers and that he was looking forward to production resuming 'as quickly as possible.'

"Since the film was put on hold Craig has been busy with other films – 'Cowboys and Aliens,' and 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,'" the Guardian reports.

Hollywood scares up spooky seasonal B.O.

 

Nina (Naomi Snieckus) finds herself in a rather tight spot in "Saw 3D."  (Courtesy:  Lionsgate Entertainment)

BOO!  That's the seasonal message from Hollywood this year and in years past.

But it doesn't all have to do with Halloween, according to an article posted on the Hollywood Reporter Web site.

That's despite the fact that "Paranormal Activity 2" made film-goers squirm in their seats last weekend and the blood-letting "Saw" franchise sharpens its grisly scare tactics for the sixth time in "Saw 3D" beginning Friday.  Also, "Monsters" opens in some markets (including Dallas) on Nov. 5.

By the way, the scariest movie I ever saw was the original "Alien" of 1979.  The photo on the left features great character actor Harry Dean Stanton and, of course, the saliva-slinging "Alien" title character.

"Alien" was directed by Ridley Scott.  It sports what I still consider the most effective sci-fi horror catchphrase of all time:

"In space no one can hear you scream."

Maybe not, but the kid scooping stale, gummy leftover popcorn at the concession stand at a Grand Prairie theater almost heard my guttural yelp when the baby monster made its eruptive entrance from inside the stomach of one of the characters.

Getting scared out of our wits seems tailor-made for Halloween week, doesn't it?  Well, it is.  But according to the Hollywood Reporter article, the timing is more about revenue at the box office than cinematic trick-or-treating.

"Genre-pic distributors gravitate toward early fall partly because they don't have to face major tentpole releases, giving movies with more modest ambitions space to operate. That's literally true in multiplexes, where screens are more available than during most other times of year, but the absence of major titles also makes prospective patrons more likely to focus on the marketing messages for less star-driven fare," the article says, adding:

"Because horror pics tend to boast skimpy marketing budgets, they need to find a setting where they can maximize their dollars."

Oh, so it's all about money.  Well, that's scary enough for me.

("Alien" photo courtesy:  Twentieth Century Fox)

Labor Day Weekend's weakened film choices

One of the "Machete" poster images.  (Courtesy:  20th Century Fox)

You're thinking about catching a movie this long holiday weekend.  So, what's it going to be?

(Focus Films)

George Clooney acts all zombie-like in the assassin-thriller "The American." Robert Rodriguez grinds out the blood-luster "Machete," and Drew Barrymore and Justin Long make goo-goo eyes at each other in "Going the Distance"?

It's a tough call, really.  Surprisingly, all three candidates turn out to be underachievers.  That's a disappointment for me because I had high hopes for all three.

Austin-based filmmaker Robert Rodriguez is back in the grindhouse and going for the jugular with "Machete," a campy, bloody thriller that, oddly enough, shines the spotlight on character actor and Rodriguez regular Danny Trejo ("Desperado," "From Dusk Till Dawn," etc.) while delegating Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Lindsay Lohan and Cheech Marin to supporting roles.

"Machete" goes for the guts, but falls short of my critical glory.  Click here for my full review.

Justin Long and Drew Barrymore (New Line Cinema)

"Going the Distance" shows hints of connecting into something special at times.  From this aisle seat, though, Barrymore is never quite believable as a 31-year-old still hanging out in bars and playing video games.  Also, I never really bought the leading lady and Long as a screen couple, even though they've been (and may still be; nobody's talking) a couple in real life.

Click here for my "Going the Distance" review.

I'm not sure what's up with Mr. Clooney, but he hasn't had much to say on screen lately.  In "The American," he plays a tight-lipped hit man laying low in a picturesque Italian village.  The plot makes little or no sense.  And there's no back story to help set up the character.

There is Clooney, though.  So if you can take the decidedly stoic version in a slow-moving, deliberate thriller, you might want to take a flight on "The American."  Click here for my full review.

Sly thoughts: Expanding 'The Expendables'

Jet Li, left to right, Dolph Lundgren and Sylvester Stallone in "The Expendables."

(Courtesy:  Karen Ballard/Lionsgate)

A $35 million opening weekend and a runaway No. 1 box-office win will put thoughts of the "S" word in a filmmaker/macho leading man's head.

No, not that "S" word.  I'm talking sequel, and apparently Sylvester Stallone, who has ridden the "Rocky" and "Rambo" personas into a frazzle, is thinking a third cash-cow franchise.

According to a post on the Hollywood Reporter Website, the well-chiseled Mr. Stallone is already verbalizing thoughts of pushing "The Expendables" into a big-screen Chapter 2.

"At the cusp of a fifth decade of action-movie mayhem, Sylvester Stallone says his No. 1 opening with 'The Expendables' ranks among his top career thrills. The muscle-bound multihyphenate chewed the fat with THR's Carl DiOrio about the successful launch of the Lionsgate-distributed picture, which follows the exploits of a group of foreign mercenaries featuring some of the past decades' biggest action stars."

Click here to read the Hollywood Reporter Q & A:
 

'Eli's' coming, don't hide your wallet now

(Courtesy:  Warner Bros. Pictures)

Another week, another batch of new DVDs for your rental or purchase pleasure.

And once again, one stands head and shoulders above the rest of the new arrivals lining the shelves at your neighborhood DVD store.

That would be "The Book of Eli," the dusty, spiritual, yet violence-riddled post-apocalyptic tale of survival starring Denzel Washington as the title character.

"The Book of Eli" hit big screens in mid-January.  Traditionally, that stretch of the movie studio calendar is a dumping ground for cinematic underachievers.  Opening during the fifth week of "Avatar's" release, the cryptic futuristic Western fought to second place in the box-office sweepstakes with a three-day domestic gross of $32.7 million, according to our friends over at BoxOfficeMojo.com.

If you haven't seen it, "The Book of Eli," directed by Albert and Allen Hughes, stirs the plot pot well.  Eli is on a trek to protect something sacred; the Good Book, in fact.  Excellent actor Gary Oldman takes the opposing view as Carnegie, a ruthless town boss desperate to get his hands on something good for selfish,bad reasons.

In my review, I said:

"We've seen action-adventures with heart before.  The 'Star Wars' sagas, for instance.

"'The Book of Eli' packs an additional element:  soul."

Click here to read the full review. 

  

The joy of cooking up a hybrid human monster

Dren (DelPhine Chanéac) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) have a scientist mother-hybrid daughter encounter in "Splice."  (Warner Bros. Pictures)

I've heard scores of filmmakers and movie stars mumble into microphones in question-and-answer sessions following the screening of their latest film.

Delphine Chanéac and Vincenzo Natali on the set of "Splice."  (Warner Bros. Pictures)

I must say, though, with the possible exception of Jerry Seinfeld ("Bee Movie"), Detroit-born Vincenzo Natali is the most articulate filmmaker I've ever had the pleasure of listening to shortly after movie credits end and the lights come up.

Natali, who attracted a cult following after the release of the sci-fi thriller "Cube" in 1997, takes the idea of genetic engineering to a fascinating, creepy, bizarre new level.  "Splice,"opening Friday (June 4), stars Oscar winner Adrien Brody ("The Pianist"), filmmaker/actress Sarah Polley ("Away From Her") and French actress DelPhine Chanéac as the creature Dren.

The filmmaker gamely took questions from all comers on a recent evening at a Dallas theater.

Q:  How did Sarah Polley react to this very bizarre love triangle?

A:  Sarah called me personally and said there was no other part that she had been offered that she wanted more because at every turn in the script where she thought the script wouldn't go to a certain place, it did.

Q:  Talk about where the idea for "Splice" came from.

A:  "Spice" was inspired, weirdly enough, by a mouse.  But it was a very special mouse.  It was called the Vacanti mouse. It appeared to have a human ear growing out of its back.  This was an experiment that was done at MIT. It's a pretty amazing thing.  But it was such a shocking image that I just intuitively felt that inside this mouse there was a movie.  That was 15 years ago.  So it took a very long time to actually write "Splice" and get it up on the screen.  What's interesting about it is that in that time the science almost caught up with my fiction. 

Q:  What inspired you to create an animal-human hybrid?

A:  You really get to design a monster, and that was a very long and enjoyable process. 

Q:  Do you think the way Adrien and Sarah are portrayed in this film will have some kind of negative impact on the way scientists are perceived?

A:  I sincerely hope not.  In my experience working with real geneticists, some of them are actually in the movie, these are amazingly dedicated, courageous people who are truly motivated by the pure love of their work, the science.  They have a strong desire to help other people, which is what their work is all about.  So in no way do I want this film to be condemning what they do.  In fact, I absolutely support stem cell research.  I mean, it has to be done responsibly.

    Hopefully, what people take away from the film is not that genetic engineering is a bad thing, per se.  It's more a comment on the way human beings deal with technology, the way we relate to technology. And how we are sometimes smarter than we are wise.  Sometimes our capacity to develop technology eclipses our ability to know what to do with it.

'The Ring' a-ding 3 opts for 3-D

(Courtesy:  DreamWorks)

The creepy little girl who died a grisly death in a well and tends to crawl out of TV sets to vent her revenge in "The Ring" made my skin crawl enough in the standard 2-D, flat format.

Now comes word from an article posted on the Hollywood Reporter Web site that Paramount -- "combining two of Hollywood's consuming passions, sequels and 3-D" -- is moving forward with a third installment in the Americanized version of the horror-thriller franchise.

"The third entry based on the Japanese horror movies is being called 'Ring 3-D.' David Loucka, who wrote the now-shooting thriller 'Dream House' for Morgan Creek, has been tapped to pen the script," the article states.

For those who don't remember the first time the Americanized version re-booted the 1998 Japanese horror gem in 2002,  Naomi Watts was out front as a journalist trying to get to the bottom of an urban legend about a videotape:  Watch it and you die seven days later.

No word yet if the deadly videotape will be updated to DVD status in the new film.

Tom in Cruise control for 'Mission: Impossible IV'

Tom Cruise on the run in "M:I:III"

(Paramount Pictures)

Have you missed toothy Tom Cruise?

Well, apparently he's been missing you.

The often-outspoken movie star hasn't been on screen for two years.  That's when Cruise had one eye wide shut behind the eye-patch in the historical "kill Hitler" drama "Valkyrie."

According to The Hollywood Reporter and other sources, however, the little guy with the big grin is prepping for a fourth run as super spy Ethan Hunt in the "Mission:  Impossible" series.

If the Hollywood Reporter article is accurate, the next action-thriller will hit theaters on Memorial Day weekend next year.

"The reunion between Cruise and the studio once looked unlikely after Cruise's production deal there was cut loose in 2006, the year 'Mission: Impossible III' was released. But both parties have recognized the promise in continuing a franchise that has grossed $1.4 billion worldwide," says the Hollywood Reporter on-line post by Jay A. Fernandez.

Welcome back, Tom, I guess.  Just please resist the temptation to use Oprah Winfrey's couch as a cheesy self-promotional trampoline.