Father Geek here with Bernocchi and the regular AICN Euro-crew of reporters, spies, and reviewers; and of course the 1st Euro-AICN Monday Column of 2002... Dig in and enjoy...
Hi people. First column of the 2002 and a lot of interesting news about such movies as Red Dragon, James Bond, Lukas Moodysson latest and, of course, LOTR (the videogame and a review of the movie). Moreover, the first movies presented at the Berlin Film Festival are announced and a lot of other intriguing tidbits. And don't forget Ethan's list of the best movies of 2001.
Enjoy
Berlin Film Festival (6-17 February) from Screendaily
Berlin Film Festival (6-17 February) from Screendaily
The first round of competition titles to be announced for the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival (6 - 17 February) includes six world premieres a strong European slant.
The world premieres lined up for the official competition section include:
Heaven by Tom Twyker (opening film)
Amen by Constantin Costa-Gavras
Der Felsen (A Map Of The Heart) by Dominik Graf
Huit Femmes by Francois Ozon
Lundi Matin by Otar Losseliani
Sma Ulykker (Minor Mishaps), by Annette K. Olesen
Wim Wenders' documentary film Viel Passiert - Der BAP Film will be shown as a world premiere in a special out-of-competition screening.
Other competition films include:
Laissez-Passer by Bertrand Tavernier
Monster's Ball by Marc Forster
Na-Bbun-Nam-Ja (Bad Guy) by Kim Ki-duk
The Royal Tenenbaums by Wes Anderson
Out-of-competition films include:
Gosford Park by Robert Altman
Happy Time by Zhang Yimou
Taking Sides by Istvan Szabo
Screenings to select the remaining competition films for the 52nd Berlinale will continue into late January
LOTR Videogame
I get a press release for the LOTR related videogame. There are a few interesting news. Even it was first announced a march release, the videogame will be available just in the fourth quarter of 2002 (probably in november). And it will be available not only for Xbox, but also for Game Boy. Moreover, we get the logo of the videogame, the first image available so far (you'll find a small picture on our page: clicking on it you'll get a larger version). You can find the press release (in english) here: Just Click Here
A new actor for Red Dragon!
Hi Nick Branch here,
In london last night the BBC showed a New Years Eve show and one of the guests was Vinnie Jones. He was on the show talking about his new film 'Mean Machine' (Remake of the Burt Reynolds film). He mentioned to the host he has been trying for parts in other US films and tried for a part in the movie 'Red Dragon'. He went for an American part, however his accent was so bad, they have changed the part to an English bloke. Just thought I'd spread the word
James Bond cars, DNA and actresses
A TOP secret operation worthy of England's most famous superspy was put into action when the makers of the new James Bond movie asked Warrington's Daresbury Laboratory for help.
Filming starts on the new blockbuster - with the working title Bond 20 - on January 14 at Pinewood Studios surrounded by the tightest security. The plot of the movie, which will see heartthrob Pierce Brosnan resume the mantle of 007, is being kept firmly under wraps. But the Manchester Evening News can reveal that two giant scientific models from the Cheshire lab are crucial to the spy story. They are a huge model of DNA, the molecule which carries all our genetic information, and haemoglobin, which takes oxygen around the body. A request for the scientific structures - 50,000 times their actual size - was made to lab bosses and then they were rushed to the film set by chauffeur-driven Jaguar car.
Daresbury scientific draughtsman, Brian Todd, a self-confessed Bond fanatic, said: ''In my time at the laboratory, I've undertaken some odd jobs - this latest one has left me shaken, not stirred. ''It's tremendous that important breakthroughs in science are recognised within the fictional world of James Bond.'' Tony Buckley, the lab's spokesman, added: ''We work with schools and the public to explain the relevance of science to everyday life and inspire people to take an interest in it. ''Let's hope we can also inspire James Bond to come out on top in his latest adventure.''
Very little is known about Bond 20 but the film-makers have confirmed the latest Bond girls will include Swordfish star Halle Berry, as a character called Jinx, and Love In A Cold Climate actress Rosamund Pike as Gala Brand. They have also revealed the super suave spy will dump the BMW car he has driven in recent movies and be seen back behind the wheel of an Aston Martin.
Daresbury is among the leaders in the field genetic research, which could provide the key to developing medicines to fight a number of devastating diseases. But this was their most unusual assignment.
Ratbert - As found in 'Manchester Online'
Lukas Moodysson latest movie
Lukas Moodysson of Together and Show me Love fame finished filming of his third script just prior to the holidays. Most of the filming was done in Estonia with some additional stuff done here in Sweden. he collaborated with his usual cinematographer, Ulf Brantås, who has received alot of criticism for the brutal natural lighting style...
I haven't seen any rushes yet, but I am curious to see if they decided to stick to the old visual style or branch out to something new and flashier (Brantås won a Golden Bear at Berlin for cinematography years ago, so he is capable). Once again, the script is written by Moodysson and the flashes i've seen gave me a sense of drama, almost desperation.
Robin Marie
Ethan’s list of best movies of 2001
Before you start wondering about the Euro Trash list (and asking what Kitano has to do there), a brief introduction by Ethan himself: This list is not chronological because it combines movies that were released in USA in 2001 with movies that faced wide release in Europe after American circuit. The order of movies is purely coincidential.
The EURO TRASH name is the sort of my own in-joke. So yeah, it`s the best movies list. And as of Japanese Takeshi Kitano. His movie definitely isn`t Hollywood. You ought to agree. His movie definitely isn`t Asian also. But it feels and from the production standpoint is the European cash break-in into the circuit of artistic exploration of American locale. This is why I credited it as European.
HOLLYWOOD
- Spy Kids (Robert Rodriguez)
- Say It Isn`t So (J. B. Rogers)
- Swordfish (Dominic Sena)
- The Others (Alejandro Amenabar)
- Osmosis Jones (Tom Sito-Piet Koon-The Farrellys)
- From Hell (The Hughes Brothers)
- Spy Game (Tony Scott)
INDIE HOLLYWOOD
- Requiem For a Dream (Darren Aronosky)
- Memento (Christopher Nolan)
- Replicant (Ringo Lam)
- John Carpenter`s Ghosts of Mars (John Carpenter)
- The Pledge (Sean Penn)
- Weight of Water (Kathryn Bigelow)
- O, Brother Where Art Thou? (Joel Coen)
- The Man Who Wasn`t There (Joel Coen)
EURO TRASH
- I Kina Spiser De Hunde (Lasse Spang Olsen)
- Brother (Takeshi Kitano)
- Brat 2 (Aleksei Balabanov)
- Baise - Moi (Virginie Despentes & Caroline Trinh Thi)
- La Communidad (Alex De La Iglesia)
- Mortel Transfert (Jean Jacques Beineix)
- Le morsures de l`aube (Antoine De Caunes)
- Le Pacte de loups (Christophe Gans)
- Non ho sonno (Dario Argento)
- Requiem For a Dream (Darren Aronosky)
- Memento (Christopher Nolan)
- Replicant (Ringo Lam)
- John Carpenter`s Ghosts of Mars (John Carpenter)
- The Pledge (Sean Penn)
- Weight of Water (Kathryn Bigelow)
- O, Brother Where Art Thou? (Joel Coen)
- The Man Who Wasn`t There (Joel Coen)
EURO TRASH
- I Kina Spiser De Hunde (Lasse Spang Olsen)
- Brother (Takeshi Kitano)
- Brat 2 (Aleksei Balabanov)
- Baise - Moi (Virginie Despentes & Caroline Trinh Thi)
- La Communidad (Alex De La Iglesia)
- Mortel Transfert (Jean Jacques Beineix)
- Le morsures de l`aube (Antoine De Caunes)
- Le Pacte de loups (Christophe Gans)
- Non ho sonno (Dario Argento)
God bless, Ethan
An intriguing short movie called Scie
Scie is the study of a profound union between two people of different sex, color and background.
This is acted out physically and mentally while the spectators are allowed to "spy" on the couple's intimacy. You can see it by clicking here: That's right, Click Now!
LOTR Review by Pav
Firstly i like to add that i have never read the books so i was a complete beginner to this franchise when i saw the film on Christmas Day, yes folks Christmas Day! At my local cinema in the UK, only prior knowledge i have had on this film has been from AICN. My expectations where high i understood that the studio New Line has invested $300 + for all three films which is a considerable gamble, so i knew from the start the FX work will be top notch.
So there i was watching the trailers prior to the film stuffing my face with popcorn, saw the Attack of the Clones trailer again (man that's gonna rock!...i hope) when the film started. What an opening, a massive battle between good and evil, the CGI effects were amazing especially the scenes of Sauron using the good guys for batting practise was superb. What a kick ass bad guy too from the off you know this aint no kiddies flick as you see bodies, armour and weapons flying around.
After this immense battle starts the story of Frodo (Elijah Wood) at the shire who is given the task of destroying Saurons ring. I love the way everything is set up from the introduction to the characters to the different locations, Gandalf (played by Sir Ian Mckellan) is the most accessible character, Ian Mckellan really nailed that part down. Hats of to WETA the effects house who did all the FX work on LOTR, there is no overkill on the CGI and they merged it very well with the natural surroundings of New Zealand.
Few surprises too in that Liv Tyler's role of Arwen was very good, the normally wooden Liv acted pretty well, PJ must be given credit in getting the best out of his cast. Also fantastic is Viggo Mortessan's portrayal of rugged hero Aragon but in my opinion outshadowed by Sean Bean's character Boromir. Absolutely knockout when he seeminglessly goes through chopping up 15 ORCS!
Along the way in this epic film you see the Fellowship set up and their journey through different lands, what i really loved about this film is the impending doom message through out the book. You really don't know how they are going to destroy the ring when it seems the whole middle earth world is against them. So your kept guessing and entertained all the way through each battle scene, the standout scene in this film is in the mines. The cave troll scene was mind blowing a real addrellain rush as you see our heroes cornered and the only way out is to fight your way out!
Friends of mine who have read the books also praised the adaptation, Peter Jackson remained faithful to Tolkien's Literacy.
To end, what a great treat to experience one of the best films of 2001on Xmas day! Cant wait for the next instalment 'The Two Towers' (hope they keep the title) out next year.
Pav
