MovieGod
Feb 2002
Supreme Movie Overlord
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Entertainment Weekly Top 10 2003 Previews:
10-Legally Blonde 2-Red, White and Blonde
the story Like, this really, really good-looking trendsetter moves to Washington, D.C., and she fights for, like, animal rights and stuff. She even gets to work with these super-important political-type people. Oh, and she gets engaged to her boyfriend, who is, like, sooo cute -- and he's a lawyer, so you just know he makes a ton of money. Oh my God! How cool is that?
THE GOODIES Reese Witherspoon returns, and judging by the box office for ''Sweet Home Alabama'' (more than $125 million so far), that may be all any film needs.
CREATIVE CASTING Bob Newhart as a mentoring doorman at the Watergate Hotel (his first film role since 1997's ''In & Out'') and Sally Field as a state representative
BURNING QUESTION It's July 2, and both this movie and ''Terminator 3'' have just opened. Which one do you see?
TREND WATCH Hollywood's new all-purpose boyfriend: Luke Wilson, who plays the part in this movie and in the upcoming ''Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle''
COULD BE The ''Blonde'' Terminatrix that kicks Arnie's butt this Fourth of July weekend. Or... the no-brainer sequel that fails to explode -- like last year's ''Men in Black II.''
Down with Love
THE STORY A feminist advice author falls for her polar opposite: a smooth-talking journalist/playboy. Think early '60s sex comedies.
THE GOODIES Ewan McGregor as a Rock Hudson type (above), Renée Zellweger as his Doris Day, and cheesy painted backdrops as their New York City
CREATIVE CASTING Peyton Reed (''Bring It On'') was plucked from teen-movie hell -- not the most likely of training grounds -- to direct. His next project is just as surprising: the second adaptation of Marvel Comics' ''Fantastic Four.''
LOOK FOR TV regulars David Hyde Pierce (''Frasier''), Jeri Ryan (''Boston Public''), and Rachel Dratch (''SNL''), plus Tony Randall, who carried third billing long ago in three Hudson/Day pics
BURNING QUESTION After ''Bridget Jones's Diary,'' ''Chicago,'' and now this promising role, you've got to wonder, ''Who is Zellweger's agent, and where do the rest of us sign up?''
TREND WATCH Get ready for a slew of nostalgic homage films, following this one and Todd Haynes' ''Far From Heaven.'' Hey, after the recent revival of the movie musical, nothing's shocking.
COULD BE The film that confirms both McGregor and Zellweger as A-listers. Or... the dud that knocks them back into B-land.
#8-Daredevil
THE STORY An innocuous, blind criminal attorney (Ben Affleck) fights evil and yearns to be all that Spider-Man was (theoretically raking in as much dough in the meantime). A disfigured hit man (Colin Farrell) and an overbearing gangster (Michael Clarke Duncan) keep things interesting.
THE GOODIES ''Alias''' Jennifer Garner as a leather-wearing hottie
LOOK FOR Crazy-cornrowed rapper Coolio as a legal client; geeky director and ''Daredevil'' comic contributor Kevin Smith as a lab technician; and original ''Daredevil'' scribe Stan Lee in another Marvel Comics movie cameo
BURNING QUESTION Wait... criminals can't hide from him, and he's blind?
TREND WATCH Colin Farrell is everywhere (''The Recruit,'' ''Phone Booth''). Last year's question was ''When will he break out?'' This year's may be ''When will he go away?''
COULD BE Another comic book success story like ''Spider-Man'' or ''X-Men.'' Or... another comic book flop like ''Captain America,'' ''The Fantastic Four,'' ''The Punisher''... the list goes on.
Bruce Almighty-
THE STORY The year's first BIG film without a famous character or a sequel number after the title has a simple but compelling premise. A man loses faith. So God gives him almighty power for one day, and challenges him to do better. Silly Putty-faced Jim Carrey is that man.
THE GOODIES Jennifer Aniston (as Carrey's girlfriend) with a divine boob augmentation (''Do they look bigger to you?''). Plus, Jim Carrey, unleashed from the restraints of ''The Majestic.''
CREATIVE CASTING Morgan Freeman, who has already played the President in 1998's ''Deep Impact,'' plays the next best thing: God.
BURNING QUESTION Given the same power, what would YOU do?
TREND WATCH Jokes about animals using the toilet. This film's toilet-trained dog continues the tradition of Jinx the cat in ''Meet the Parents.''
COULD BE The greatest comedy about the guy upstairs since ''Oh, God! You Devil.'' Or... God save us, another stinker from director Tom Shadyac (''Patch Adams,'' ''Dragonfly'').
#6-Master and the Commander
THE STORY Russell Crowe is the captain of Britain's HMS Surprise, leading his crew in Napoleonic water warfare. For the role, he learned to play fiddle, speak naval slang, and steer a ship, which might be enough to make Oscar voters emerge from springtime hibernation.
THE GOODIES It's a toss-up as to what's more intriguing: bad boy Crowe with 196 rowdy ruffians under his control, or Crowe mastering yet another tricky but seductive accent. Oh, and it's good to see what director Peter Weir (''The Truman Show,'' ''Dead Poets Society'') is up to.
CREATIVE CASTING Paul Bettany reteams with his ''Beautiful Mind'' costar as the ship's surgeon, but this time his character is a real person. Hobbit Billy Boyd joins, but this time his character is taller.
BURNING QUESTION Wanna place bets on whether or not Twentieth Century Fox will follow up this book adaptation with one of the other 19 novels in Patrick O'Brian's series?
TREND WATCH High-seas high jinks. Also in 2003: ''Pirates of the Caribbean.'' Rated aaarrrh?
COULD BE A rousing comeback after a year off for Crowe. Or... year 2 of the ''Where's Russell Crowe?'' watch.
#5 Charlies Angels:Full Throttle
THE STORY Bad guys leak the Witness Protection Program's secret names list, and all the squawkers drop like flies. Enter Charlie's Angels. The jaw-droppingly jiggy crimefighters (above, Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu) don their hip-huggers and hot pants for a second go at it.
THE GOODIES Well, let's see. There are Angels in bubbly carwash swimwear; lasso-toting Angels in cowboy duds; tough-looking Angels in motocross biker gear.... Heck, we'd have settled for Angels in frumpy pajamas and hair curlers. (The boys -- Luke Wilson and Matt LeBlanc, but NOT Tom Green -- are back, too.)
CREATIVE CASTING Bernie Mac sits in for Bill Murray as the Angels' boss. Producers insist he's not replacing John Bosley; instead, they're brothers (John was adopted, so the story goes). Now, ''Good morning, Charlie'' becomes ''What's happenin', Charlie?''
LOOK FOR John Cleese as Alex's (Lucy Liu) father, old-school Angel Jaclyn Smith, Pink, and -- inexplicably -- the Olsen twins
BURNING QUESTION Never has there been a franchise with so much, um, uplift. Does Wonderbra have an endorsement deal?
TREND WATCH Un-retirement. Out of action since 2000, Demi Moore resurfaces -- like Daniel Day-Lewis in 2002's ''Gangs of New York'' -- as fallen Angel Madison Lee.
COULD BE The prelude to a third installment. Or... the last chance for this trio, if alleged internal bickering puts an end to the franchise.
#4--Terminator 3-Rise of the Machines
THE STORY Exit ''Terminator 2'''s shape-shifting T-1000; enter a sleeker female design, Kristanna Loken's Terminatrix. John Connor runs like hell, and T-X makes chase. Naturally, Arnold Schwarzenegger returns, if only to mutter ''She'll be back.''
THE GOODIES In the hyperactive trailer, there's a helicopter crash and post-apocalyptic man-versus-machine mayhem. The ADD-ish tone can be attributed to pinch-hitting director Jonathan Mostow (''U-571''), who replaces James Cameron.
CREATIVE CASTING ''In the Bedroom'''s Nick Stahl is John Connor (originally played by Edward Furlong), and Claire Danes is his love interest. Connor's mother, however, was axed from the plot when Linda Hamilton declined to revisit the role.
BURNING QUESTION What's the life span of one of these Terminator units, anyway? Arnie's nearing 60.
TREND WATCH After ''T3'' and the upcoming ''True Lies 2,'' Arnold seems to think that only sequels can revive his career. Do we need to prepare -- with dread -- for new ''Conan'' and ''Total Recall'' films?
COULD BE What ''Pulp Fiction'' did for an aging John Travolta. Or... what ''Battlefield Earth'' did for an aging John Travolta.
#3--The Hulk
THE STORY A catastrophic experiment transforms scientist Bruce Banner into a hulking mass of green man-flesh. The government raises its collective eyebrow. Hulk gets angry. Hulk smash!
THE GOODIES Just in case Aussie stud Eric Bana (above, with Jennifer Connelly) can't handle the burden of playing Banner, he gets help from Connelly (as girlfriend Betty Ross), Nick Nolte (as Banner's father), and director Ang Lee.
LOOK FOR Original Hulkster and former Mr. Universe Lou Ferrigno as a security guard.
BURNING QUESTION How come the big lug's purple pants grow when he does? Better yet, how come they're purple?
TREND WATCH Digital actors (�_ la ''The Two Towers''' Gollum) are getting bigger roles. Lee sat down with the animators at ILM to direct the CG Hulk's performance, whereas most directors just leave it up to the tech geeks. ''I'm a 'hands-on' kind of person,'' he has said.
COULD BE Another successful genre switch for Lee after trying everything from Jane Austen to ''Crouching Tiger.'' Or... a ''Hulk'' fan's worst nightmare. Have ya heard the rumors that the cast includes ''Hulk''-style dogs?
#2--X2--
THE STORY Professor Xavier and his Mutant Academy come under fire after a mutant attack on the U.S. President. The government, led by a determined General Stryker (Brian Cox), launches an eradication initiative, and the superheroes must side with ''X-Men'' Übervillain Magneto to save mutant-kind.
THE GOODIES Where to begin? New mutants, including Aaron Stanford (''Tadpole'') as Pyro, Alan Cumming (''Nicholas Nickleby'') as Nightcrawler, and Kelly Hu (''The Scorpion King'') as Yuriko Oyama (above). Plus, Storm (Halle Berry) has a new hairdo -- closely cropped white locks -- and the X-Jet has been retooled for increased screen time.
LOOK FOR X-Men like Banshee, Colossus, Gambit, Jubilee, Shadowcat, and the larger-than-life Sentinels (King Kong-size killing machines). But forget about budget-breakers like Archangel and Beast and the expensive Danger Room training grounds -- which were proposed in early drafts, but dropped from the final film.
BURNING QUESTION With Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (returning as Mystique) and Alan Cumming complaining to the press about the difficulties of their makeup application, why not just recruit the Blue Man Group?
TREND WATCH Uh, comic book movies. Duh.
COULD BE The beginning of a franchise with ''Halloween''-ish endurance (''X-Men'' comics rival the Bible in terms of the number of characters). Or... the end. With rumors of director Bryan Singer's unhappiness, might he pull a Tim Burton and abandon the franchise?
and #1--The Matrix Reloaded
THE STORY The Gen-X ''Chosen One'' teams with New Age rebels (including leathered-out Carrie-Anne Moss, above) to battle oppressive agents of the computer Matrix. The underground city of Zion, where other rebels live, is shown. And things blow up. Want more info? So do we.
THE GOODIES ''Reloaded'''s dreadlocked, albino Twins -- agents of evil for the Matrix -- could be as alluring as the Olsens. (Well, almost.) And the Wachowski brothers, who directed and wrote the movie, will use their innovative new ''virtual cinematography'' to help you forget their 3-D ''bullet-time'' F/X faster than, well, a speeding bullet.
CREATIVE CASTING Marvin Gaye's daughter Nona as a resident of Zion (a role once held by the late Aaliyah) and boxing champ Roy Jones Jr. as a captain
BURNING QUESTION Once there is ''virtual cinematography,'' how long before the many ''bullet-time'' parodies -- like the one in ''Shrek'' -- will stop? (Answer: As long as it takes for the ''virtual cinematography'' parodies to begin.)
TREND WATCH Looks as if more and more big-budget franchises are shooting several films at once. It took a year and a half in Oakland and Australia (not far from where all three ''Lord of the Rings'' pics were simultaneously filmed) to create ''Reloaded'' and its December sequel, ''The Matrix Revolutions.''
COULD BE The ''Matrix'' trilogy's ''Empire Strikes Back.'' Or... God forbid, its ''Phantom Menace.''
I know thread is long, but enjoy.
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01-25-2003 04:59 AM
