We’ve seen parts of this clip in the trailers, but since I could watch Chris Rock’s Zebra Marty, who obviously has theatrical ambitions, do his “Afro Circus” bit ad infinitum, I’m sharing this with you. It’s the first official clip from Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted.
Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe are still fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple and of course, King Julien, Maurice and the Penguins are all along for the comedic adventure. Their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus, which they reinvent – Madagascar style.
The movie, the third in the Madagascar franchise, features the vocal talents of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric The Entertainer, Andy Richter, Bryan Cranston, Jessica Chastain, Frances McDormand and Martin Short. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted hits theaters on June 8
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Last week we brought you a first look at Ben Stiller as he filmed a remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty on the streets of New York. In those shots, Stiller was carrying a skateboard and wearing a shredded jacket and a scratched up face.
In these new pics from the set, he looks even worse for wear. I’m wondering if by the end of this movie he’ll look like he’s been run over by a train. Adam Scott, with the most ridiculous hair and beard, joins him in what appears to be an argument over control of a "Stretch Armstrong" action figure. (Those were fun! My brother had one. It wouldn't be right to tell you the things we used to do to it.) Scott looks a little bruised and battered, too.
The film follows a timid magazine photo manager (Stiller) who lives life vicariously through daydreams and embarks on a true-life adventure when a negative goes missing.
The supporting cast includes Kristin Wiig, Patton Oswalt, Kathryn Hahn, Josh Charles, Shirley MacLaine and possibly Sean Penn. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is obviously still filming and doesn’t have a release date yet but we’ll keep you posted.
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Ben Stiller is remaking The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, a film with the great Danny Kaye in the title role from back in 1947. Here are some shots of Stiller and a skateboard (unfortunately not in action. His jacket looks shredded. Me thinks he may not be very good) during filming in New York City today.
Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard and Mark Waters (Sabrina the Teenage Witch) all considered tackling this project at one point or another. It’s finally in production with Ben Stiller behind the camera.
Jim Carrey, Owen Wilson, Mike Myers and Sacha Baron Cohen were all considered for the role of Mitty, but ultimately director Stiller chose Ben Stiller as his lead.
The story follows a timid magazine photo manager (Stiller) who lives life vicariously through daydreams and embarks on a true-life adventure when a negative goes missing. It’s a great premise with almost limitless possibilites in terms of Mitty's "daydreams".
The screenplay is by Steve Conrad who wrote The Weather Man and The Pursuit of Happyness. Hmmm…neither of those things suggest an heir to Thurber.
The terrific supporting cast includes Kristin Wiig, Patton Oswalt, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, Josh Charles, Shirley MacLaine and possibly Sean Penn. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is obviously still filming and doesn’t have a release date yet but we’ll keep you posted.
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Check out this poster. If you owned one, it may someday become a collector’s item since the new Ben Stiller, alien invasion comedy formerly known as Neighborhood Watch has been renamed The Watch in light of the Trayvon Martin case down in Florida. What they had in common was that both involve amateurs policing their communities. One is no laughing matter at all. Fox decided to try to distance themselves completely and put the focus squarely on the comedy. They had initially pulled the trailer out of Florida cinemas, but eventually decided it was best to just change the name altogether.
A spokesperson for Fox issued the following statement: "As the subject matter of this alien invasion comedy bears no relation whatsoever to the recent tragic events in Florida, the studio altered the title to avoid any accidental or unintended misimpression that it might."
Business aside, there is a new red-band trailer (courtesy of IGN) for The Watch. Not sure it sheds any more light on the film than the green band version. It does, of course, feature more vulgarity (most of which is pointless, in my humble opinion and I’m not a prude by any stretch of the imagination.)
There are also two new pics below. It appears that our heroes, Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill, Vince Vaugh and Richard Ayoade, have found either the Great Gazoo's helmet or a malformed bowling ball. Not sure which. Directed by Akiva Shafer (MacGruber) and written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, The Watch will open in the US on July 27 and 29th August in the UK.
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Here’s a brand new UK trailer for Dreamworks Animation’s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. Directed by Conrad Vernon and Tom McGrath (Rhetorical question: why do animated movies frequently have two directors?) the voice cast which includes Frances McDormand, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer, Chris Rock, Ben Stiller, Cedric the Entertainer, Sacha Baron Cohen, Bryan Cranston, Jessica Chastain and Martin Short
I will see this movie just to see Marty (voiced by Chris Rock) singing “…afro circus afro circus afro circus polka dot polka dot afro…”
Alex the Lion, Marty the Zebra, Gloria the Hippo, and Melman the Giraffe are still fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple and of course, King Julien, Maurice and the Penguins are all along for the comedic adventure. Their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus, which they reinvent – Madagascar style!
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted is in theaters in the US on June 8, but not until 19th October in the UK… in 3D, of course.
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A few days ago we showed you the first teaser poster for Neighborhood Watch with Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade (the writer/director of cult-favorite Submarine). You know, the movie with the serious comic pedigree despite the fact that it has its stars looking like the white bread version (despite the presence of Ayoade) of The Guardian Angels? Well, now Fox has released the first teaser trailer and it serves to reinforce that image, with the foursome cruising their ‘hood in a tricked out mini-van and striding slo-mo in their matching satin jackets. It’s pretty funny, all things considered
Neighborhood Watch is written by Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg (Pineapple Express, The Green Hornet, Superbad), and produced by Shawn Levy, Tom McNulty and Billy Rosenberg, the team that brought you Date Night.
The idea is simple: Suburban dads form a neighborhood watch group to get time away from their families, only to discover a plot to destroy Earth.
You can also go to the films Facebook page, JoinTheWatch.com, get a badge and "bust some internet offenders". Neighborhood Watch also features Will Forte, Rosemarie DeWitt, Billy Crudup and Doug Jones. It opens July 27 in the US and 22nd August in the UK.
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Here’s the first teaser poster for a film we first brought you word of nearly three months called Neighborhood Watch with Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade (the writer/director of cult-favorite Submarine). Remember this ridiculous pic of the four of striding through the ‘hood in their matching jackets, looking like the white bread version (despite the presence of Ayoade) of The Guardian Angels? Next to Vaughn, Hill looks like a twelve year old.
Well, despite that, this film has a pretty serious comic pedigree. Written by Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg (Pineapple Express, The Green Hornet, Superbad), produced by Shawn Levy, Tom McNulty and Billy Rosenberg, the team that brought you Date Night.
The idea is simple: Suburban dads form a neighborhood watch group to get time away from their families, only to discover a plot to destroy Earth.
Of course they do.
Neighborhood Watch also features Will Forte, Rosemarie DeWitt, Billy Crudup and Doug Jones. It opens July 27 in the US and 22nd August in the UK.
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This week has really got something for everyone! J. Edgar, director Clint Eastwood’s biopic of the longtime head of the FBI, Tower Heist with Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller, much talked about indie Martha Marcy May Marlene and my person pick of the week, London Boulevard.
Let’s start there, shall we? London Boulevard is a British gangster flick, the idea of which right off the bat we know is gonna make my socks roll up and down. It’s also the directorial debut of screenwriter William Monahan (The Departed) and based on a novel by one of my favorite writers, Ken Bruen. The best way to describe Bruen is to say he’s the Irish James Ellroy. (If that means nothing to you, chances are Bruen isn’t gonna be your cuppa anyway.) The tagline is “Not every criminal wants to be one.” To further illustrate the point, think of Al Pacino in Godfather III, “Every time I think I’m out…they pull me back in!”
The movie stars Colin Farrell, Keira Knightley and Anna Friel. While I was, at one time, skeptical about the fact that a couple of the characters had been combined and Knightley’s was much younger than she was in the book, I saw the thing and I liked it. A lot. The supporting cast includes (the always excellent) Ray Winstone, Ben Chaplin, Eddie Marsan, Stephen Graham, Jamie Campbell-Bower and David Thewlis (I still can’t believe he and Friel aren’t together anymore. I guess there won’t be any more collaborations either). The music is by Kasabian’s Sergio Pizzone (he even used “Clubfoot” for what else, a club scene and “Green Fairy” is used as sort of Keira Knightley’s Charlotte’s theme.)
Here’s a look at a behind-the-scenes featurette from the dvd extras (courtesy of MovieWeb), actually it’s the only extra:
J. Edgar was supposed to finally earn Leonardo DiCaprio an Oscar. I’m pretty sure that’s why he made this movie. I have no idea what Clint Eastwood’s excuse is. A biopic, in my opinion, should shed some light on its subject, but there was so much of Hoover’s life that is unknowable to us now. Anyone who was there is gone and he left behind virtually nothing in terms of writings or papers that weren’t already a matter of public record. And it seems even that was subject to Hoover’s interpretation. DiCaprio does his best behind layers of prosthetic makeup and it is a valiant performance, but he’s been better. His Howard Hughs in The Aviator was a more gripping portrait of an infamous character and did actually illuminate the myth to a degree. (They both suffer from “It’s all Mommy’s fault” syndrome.) Armie Hammer was good enough as Clyde Tolson and there is a parade of well known actors impersonating well known figures from recent history.
It’s not a bad movie. There’s too much talent involved here for that to be entirely true. It’s worth a look on dvd or VOD…or you could wait for cable.
J. Edgar also stars Naomi Watts, Dame Judi Dench, Dermot Mulroney, Lea Thompson, Jeffrey Donovan, Stephen Root and Josh Lucas. The Blu-ray/DVD Combo includes instant streaming of the film with UltraViolet Digital Copy
On the Blu-ray:
-Featurette: “J Edgar: The Most Powerful Man in the World”, about the man and the film behind the man.
On the DVD:
-Featurette: “J. Edgar- A Complicated Man”, more background of the controversial FBI director.
Martha Marcy May Marlene is a powerful psychological drama with star-making performance by Elizabeth Olsen (younger sister of the ubiquitous twins) as Martha, a young woman rapidly unraveling amidst her attempt to reclaim a normal life after fleeing from a cult and its charismatic leader (John Hawkes). Seeking help from her estranged older sister Lucy (Sarah Paulson) and brother-in-law (Hugh Dancy), Martha is unable and unwilling to reveal the truth about her disappearance. When her memories trigger a chilling paranoia that her former cult could still be pursuing her, the line between Martha’s reality and delusion begins to blur.
Martha Marcy May Marlene also stars Brady Corbet, Christopher Abbott and Maria Dizzia. The dvd/blu-ray special features include “Mary Last Seen,” the chilling short film by writer/director Sean Durkin that started it all.
Last but not least is Tower Heist from beleaguered director Brett Ratner and starring Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller and a terrific ensemble cast that includes Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Michael Pena, Gabourey Sidibe, Tea Leoni and Alan Alda.
Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) manages a super-high-tech high-rise in the middle of Manhattan, catering to every need of the tower's residents, including financier Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda). When Shaw gets arrested by the FBI, Kovacs realizes that his staff's pensions, which he asked Shaw to invest, are lost, and when it looks like Shaw is going to get away with it, Kovacs pulls together a mismatched team (Broderick, Affleck, Peña, Sidibe, and Murphy) to steal the secret stash of cash that the FBI suspects Shaw must have. Tower Heist successfully tweaks all the character clichés just enough so that they are a smooth blend of the familiar and the unexpected. The plot zips along with purring efficiency, alternating predictable turns with surprising ones just enough to keep the pattern-seeking parts of the viewer's brain hooked. The cast–which also includes Téa Leoni as the lead FBI agent–charms without overdoing it. In essence, director Brett Ratner (X-Men: The Last Stand and the Rush Hour series) has honed all of his sloppier tendencies and crafted a skillful piece of mass entertainment. Afterward, the movie's plot holes and defiance of the laws of physics may irritate, but while it's unfolding, Tower Heist is a smooth ride.
This is also the film this week with the most special features. In fact, it’s loaded:
SPECIAL EDITION BLU-RAY™ FEATURES: PERFECT HI-DEF PICTURE, PERFECT HI-DEF SOUND
-Two Alternate Endings – not seen in theatres!
-Universal’s Second Screen An interactive viewing experience that lets you control, interact with and explore Tower Heist with your networked tablet or computer.
-Flick View: Interact with the movie; move content from the tablet to the TV screen; and compare storyboards, animatics and other executing content by “Flicking” them from on their tablet to their TV screen, simply by gesturing your fingers.
-Behind the Scenes w/Flick View: Get an all-access look at the making of the film featuring interviews with cast and crew.
-Storyboards w/Flick View: Take a closer look at the storyboards created for some of the amazing sequences in the film.
-The Music of Tower Heist: Songs from the Tower Heist soundtrack are highlighted with the option to add to a playlist and purchase. Hear a song you like? See information about the soundtrack, add songs to your playlist and even purchase them.
-Hilarious Deleted & Alternate Scenes
-Gag Reel
-Plotting Tower Heist — Director Brett Ratner, producer Brian Grazer and the entire cast bring this heist film to a whole new level. Learn how the project started, and meet the screenwriters and cast. This exclusive feature reveals the secrets of the set design, special effects and more, including what it took to create the iconic sequence involving Steve McQueen’s car!
-Feature Commentary with director Brett Ratner, editor Mark Helfrich and co-writers Ted Griffin & Jeff Nathanson
-Tower Heist Video Diary – Director Brett Ratner takes fans through the filmmaking process with these personal video production diaries from the set.
-Digital Copy of Tower Heist for a limited time only (download by 7/27/12)
-Includes UltraViolet (download/redeem by 7/27/2012). Download or stream instantly to tablets, smartphones, and computers.
pocketBLU™: Experience Blu-ray™ in an exciting new way with the pocket BLU™ app for iPad®, iPhone®, iPod® Touch, Android™, smartphones and tablets, PC and Mac®.
-Advanced Virtual Remote and Keyboard: Control Blu-ray™ features and communicate with ease.
-Video Timeline: Instantly access any point in the film.
-Mobile-To-Go: Transfer exclusive bonus features to your device to enjoy anytime, anywhere.
-Browse Titles: Access a library of available titles and previews.
-BD-Live™: Access bonus content, trailers and more through an internet-connected player.
-U-Control: Watch storyboard comparisons and more while the movie plays.
SPECIAL EDITION DVD BONUS FEATURES INCLUDE:
-Two Alternate Endings – not seen in theatres!
-Hilarious Deleted & Alternate Scenes
-Gag Reel
-Plotting Tower Heist — Following the structure of a classic caper movie in three acts, director Brett Ratner, producer Brian Grazer and the entire cast bring this heist film to a whole new level. -Learn how the project started, as well as meet the screenwriters and cast. This exclusive feature reveals the secrets of the set design, special effects and more, including what it took to create the iconic sequence involving Steve McQueen’s car!
-Feature Commentary with director Brett Ratner, editor Mark Helfrich and co-writers Ted Griffin & Jeff Nathanson
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