Fox will star in the reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle

In other casting news this week tells us that Michael Bay will reboot Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and it will star Megan Fox. Some years ago Fox made a statement regarding Michael Bay which lead to her being kicked out of Transformers 3, but the grudge seems to be over, something she must be very happy about since her movie career hasn't turned out so well.

A small note

After watching Killer Joe, one of the best and wackiest movies of 2012, I came to think of how great Gina Gershon is. Please some director, cast her. Quentin Tarantino? John Waters? Someone, use this great lady of Showgirls and Bound fame.

By the way, wouldn't it be just neat to see Sharon Stone and Gina Gershon in a What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? remake?

Poster revamp

Fascinating poster for one of this year best movies. Love this one more than the US poster that was pretty hideous.

Anna Kendrick to star in The Last Five Years

The Oscar-nominated starlet Anna Kendrick who impressed us in Up in the Air, 50/50 and recently showcased her voice in Pitch Perfect will now star as Cathy in the film adaptation of the musical The Last Five Years. Similar in structure as Blue Valentine, it tells the relationship of Cathy and Jamie where Cathy tells the events in reversal order beginning from the breakup, while Jamie starts and tells from the beginning. My favorite song from the musical is Still Hurting sung by Cathy, and to be honest I am intrigued what Anna Kendrick can do to the role. She proved that she can act in several films, even being one of the bright spots in the otherwise cloudy Twilight saga.

Source:
http://www.playbill.com/news/article/171408-Anna-Kendrick-Attached-to-Star-in-The-Last-Five-Years-Film-Adapted-and-Directed-by-Richard-LaGravenese

Liz the great

                                                      In celebration of a true star

Image by Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Elizabeth Taylor - the woman, the legend, the actress.
She embodied both the full-fledged diva and the divine actress. Whether it was for iconography in Cleopatra (1963) or deglam in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), she always shined, shined above it all. Sometimes her acting could be considered over-the-top and flamboyant, especially in the latter part of her career, but still her performances in A Place in the Sun, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? proves to us all that she was one hell of an actress who could play both  vulnerable and strong. Unfortunately many people will probably remember her more for her stormy private life, her on-and-off relationship with Richard Burton, her friendship with Michael Jackson and that time she announced the Best Picture at the 2001 Golden Globe awards.

But even when her private life was at a low, her star still glowed, and up until her dying day she was a star, and still is a star shining above us all at the sky.

The Sessions (2012)

Yesterday I viewed The Sessions, directed by Ben Lewin and strarring John Hawkes, Helen Hunt & William H. Macy.

The movie is about a man Mark O'Brien (John Hawkes) who is forced to live in a iron lung because of complications with polo, this state of body means he never had the chance to have sex, something he wishes for. After an unsuccessful attempt to propose to one of his caretakers he gets the tips to seek the sex surrogate Cheryl Cohen-Greene (Helen Hunt), and then we get to see his journey to lose his virginity. Except his limitation because of his body, he also limit his thoughts because of his catholic belief, believing that he is not worthy of having sex. His spiritual quest to seeking fulfillment his helped by the priest Father Brendan (William H. Macy)

As one of the breakthrough hits from Sundance it was expected to hit Oscar and critical glory hard, but ended up only being nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Helen Hunt, even though John Hawkes was a regular at several award ceremonies prior to the Oscar. According to me the snub of John Hawkes is a mystery for me. Playing a man limited in many sense, he manage to portray the character believably by peeling of his numerous limitation that complicates the quest to lose his virginity. As Mark, John Hawkes proves once again he is one of the greatest American actors working today. Wowing the audience now three years-a-row with three totally different characters. But what makes this whole movie so believable is the warmth of the rest the ensemble, especially the performances of John Hawkes, Helen Hunt and William H. Macy. The film is a great testament for the human spirit and to be honest, I haven't seen a film with so many likable characters since forever.

B+

The Award Buzz Column #1

With this years Oscar just some days ahead of us, and what's looking to be an Argo lovefest, let look forward. During the two months that has past in the new year there's been little less than an handful of movies that has earned good or above average critical notice. Those are Mama, Warm Bodies and Side Effects, but their chances for Oscar glory are abysmal. Other notable movies that have been released are   the failed Schwarzenegger comeback The Last Stand, another installment of Die Hard A Good Day to Die Hard, the yearly Valentine's day-date movie Safe Haven, the Twilight wannabe Beautiful Creatures (what I've heard not in terms of story, but very much in terms of marketing) and last but not least last years Oscar Hopeful that got delayed Gangster Squad. Well I forgot about the Melissa McCarthy vehicle Identity Thief. But as you all can see, there's nothing that could gain Oscar traction.

I didn't follow the reports from Sundance Film Festival that much, but from what I noticed we could find serious Oscar contenders in Fruitvale and The Spectacular Now. Other films that could be Oscar contenders are Lovelace, Kill Your Darlings, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, Before Midnight, Don Jon's Addiction, The Look of Love and The Way, Way Back, but all depends on whether or not their studios wants to push them for your consideration. On paper the Steve Jobs biopicture jOBS starring Ashton Kutcher as the iconic Apple founder looks like Oscar-bait, but the reviews were middling and looks more to become this years Factory Girl.

                                     One of the most hyped films coming from Sundance, The Spectacular Now
On other news, there has been test screenings for two of my most anticipated movies this year Malavita and Twelve Years a Slave. The buzz on both seems to be great so far as the former was called "the funniest black comedy in 7 years" and the latter was said to be great, but would not be for everyone, singling out Fassbenders performance as best in show. Of course we can not completely rely on overall reaction to the movies based on one or two tweets/forum posts.

During the weekend my predictions who will win the Oscars will come, and then in March my Year-end award will arrive, must just catch up on some more films.

During the time go ahead and make your list out of the Best Picture winners.