So I haven’t seen much hype for After Earth, and I can understand why. Let’s just say that post-Airbender, M. Night Shyamalan does not have much cred. I remember seeing Inception in theaters and when the trailer for Devil mentioned that it was produced by Shyamalan, the theater burst into laughter. I’m being honest here. But I’m willing to give him another chance, as some parts of his latest film, After Earth, do look interesting. I think going with a simpler story about a father and son is a good start, and having a script by Gary Whitta is a great booster. Hopefully the film won’t become an overblown tale about saving the Earth, and instead just focus on the relationship between Will Smith and his son – then I think people might start paying attention. Read more…
I don’t have very fond memories of the Men in Black films. I’m not sure if it was the campy PG humor, saturation or excessive use of CG, but something about the films always left me wanting less. The first time around, it wasn’t because it was a terrible movie. In fact, I actually liked it until I had to watch it more than once. The sequel, on the other hand, was pretty terrible. Everything about it, save for the excessive CG, felt rushed — as if the producers couldn’t wait to capitalize on the oil they thought they struck. It would also seem that I’m not alone in my opinion. But why, then, would we need another sequel? Read more…
Oldboy (올드보이) was a popular 2003 revenge film from Korea which was based on a Japanese manga by the same (オールド・ボーイ) written by Nobuaki Minegishi and Garon Tsuchiya which ran from 1996 until 1998. Now normally I’m 100% against Hollywood remakes, but in this case I’ll make an exception. I think if Spielberg tackles Oldboy that it might popularize and open the door for more Asian cinema to come to the United States. And if he can get a popular actor like Will Smith involved that would be a real cherry on top:
“Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are in early discussions to collaborate on a remake of Chan Wook-park’s “Oldboy.” DreamWorks is in the process of securing the remake rights, and the new pic will be distributed by Universal. In the 2003 Korean original, a man gets kidnapped and held in a shabby cell for 15 years without explanation. Suddenly, he’s released and given money, a cell phone and clothes and is set on a path to discover who destroyed his life so he can take revenge.”
