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In case you haven't heard, the Rapture has been moved up. According to a California evangelical, a massive earthquake will shake the world, sending true believers to the heavens, leaving nonbelievers to watch the world destruction.*
That might sound like bad news (OK, really bad news) but the silver lining in all this is that we get to plan our final hours. So with the pending apocalypse — tonight or on Saturday, as originally scheduled — we ask, What movie would you watch on you last day?
Would it be a lighthearted movie to ease your mind? Or would you pick an apocalyptic movie to prepare you in case you survive Judgment Day?
*Just to put things into context, the same pastor who is predicting the end of the world incorrectly predicted the return of Jesus to Earth in 1994.
ETA: Since The Big Lebowski is currently ranked #1, we wanted to let all the achievers out there know that it's on ReelzChannel this weekend.
Vote for your final movie choice >>
Posted 05.20.11 by reelz -
Hollywood is currently so hooked on dystopias it's turning the multiplex into one. Whether it's solar flare bombardment (2012), an "unnamed cataclysm" (The Road), nuclear armageddon (The Book of Eli), or a pissed-off God (Legion), the world's coming to an end and the survivors are totally screwed.
This got us thinking: Which future movie worlds are the biggest bummers? Here's our Top 12. New Hampshire, these are not.
Posted 01.22.10 by reelz -
Some depressing news regarding the next project from Australian director John Hillcoat, who helmed The Road and The Proposition. Writing in a diary he kept for The Telegraph, Hillcoat confirmed that his next project is now kaput.
The Promised Land was written by Nick Cave, who adapted the screenplay from Matt Bondurant's novel The Wettest County in the World. The story looks at a family of thieves and smugglers in Virginia during the Great Depression and is based in part on the experiences of Bondurant's family.
The project has had Shia LaBeouf, Ryan Gosling, Michael Shannon, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Dano, and Amy Adams all rumored as possible cast members.
The demise of Millenium Films is in large part responsible for The Promised Land's premature ending, and in the diary, Hillcoat expressed deep regret and pessimism, not only for his project, but for the fate of all quality smaller productions.
My own new project — with a much-loved script by Nick Cave and a dream all-star cast — has fallen apart. The finance company that we began The Road with has also fallen apart, having to radically downsize to one remaining staff member. The great divide has begun, with only very low-budget films being made or huge 3-D franchise films — the birth of brand films such as Barbie, Monopoly: The Movie — who knows what's next, Coca-Cola: The Movie?
I end the year appropriately — gazing into the apocalypse of my own industry.
Posted 01.04.10 by reelz -
Earlier today, JoBlo posted some interesting news regarding the next project from Australian director John Hillcoat, who helmed The Road and The Proposition. According to a newly released poster, the title of the project is The Promised Land. Shia LaBeouf and Ryan Gosling are confirmed as cast members. However, Scarlett Johansson, who was also expected to star, is missing from the list. In her place is Amy Adams, who was nominated for an Oscar for her work in Doubt and most recently starred in Julie & Julia.
Nick Cave is adapting the screenplay from Matt Bondurant's novel The Wettest County in the World, which tells the story of a family of thieves and smugglers in Virginia during the Great Depression. The novel is based in part on the experiences of Bondurant's family.
While LaBeouf and Gosling will likely play brother members of the "Bondurant Boys," it's unclear what Adams's role will be. No release date or other casting decisions have been announced.
Posted 11.30.09 by reelz -
General consensus seems to be that The Road, starring Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron, doesn't quite have the same punch as Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize-winning and awesome novel.
"...it'll leave you exhausted, emotionally spent and with much to ponder."
— Peter Paras, E! Online
"The Road evokes the images and the characters of Cormac McCarthy's novel. It is powerful, but for me lacks the same core of emotional feeling."
— Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"...a faithful but pale imitation of a film adaptation..."
— Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
"...The Road, for all its vivid desolation, remains a curiously unmoving experience..."
— Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
"The Road honors McCarthy's book with haunting pictures of the future's end ... but they tend to overwhelm the drama in the fore."
— Scott Tobias, Onion AV Club
"The only purpose I can detect in the smoldering wreckage is simple masochism; some people like to take a beating and others like to spend two hours cloaked in the most piteous distress. File The Road under apocalypse porn. Unlike Wall-E and Children of Men, though, this one offers no hope of renewal, no exit from the hell it so persuasively depicts."
— Kyle Smith, New York Post
Posted 11.25.09 by reelz -
A month before the release of The Road, director John Hillcoat's adaptation of the Pullitzer Prize-winning novel by Cormac McCarthy, a new trailer has been released showing more of the bleak, post-apocalyptic world that a father (played by Viggo Mortensen ) and son ( Kodi Smit-McPhee) must traverse to stay alive.
Posted 10.31.09 by BrentJS -
Believe it or not, winter is almost here, and along with it comes the studios' typical slate of prestige pictures hoping to garner Awards Season success — but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of surprises. The Box, The Men Who Stare at Goats, and Ninja Assassin promise some fun thrills for the season. Nine, The Road, and Sherlock Holmes look to duke it out for critical accolades. Above all, though, may be the fight between The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Avatar to break box-office records.
Want to know get the full rundown? Check out ReelzChannel's Winter Movie Preview for trailers and info on the movies we'll be talking about for months to come.
Posted 10.08.09 by reelz -
Several sources are noting that Viggo Mortenson has hinted in an interview with Men's Journal that he plans on taking an indefinite break from acting. Some are going so far as to say that he's permanently throwing in the towel, although that seems like a far-fetched conclusion. Nevertheless, Mortenson definitely indicated that he's burned out and needs to go on a temporary hiatus.
I have no plans to do another movie. I don't know what's going to happen. I'm open to seeing how I feel in a while, but right now I'm not saying yes to anything. My agent is like, "Well, if you don't do anything, people will forget about you ..." I just feel like I've taken on too much for a while.
This means that The Road might be Mortenson's last movie for a while. Cinema Blend points out that this could be bad news for Lord of the Rings fans, who were expecting to see Mortenson reprise his role as Aragorn for the second of Guillermo del Toro's Hobbit movies. Although the character isn't featured in Tolkien's novel, the second movie promises to go beyond The Hobbit and create a sort of bridge to Lord of the Rings, which follows The Hobbit chronologically.
Regarding Mortenson's agent's claim, this obviously isn't the first time an actor has decided to take a sudden leave from his career, and it's not impossible to recover from a protracted period away. Since starring in The Boxer (1997), Daniel Day-Lewis has done only three movies: Gangs of New York, The Ballad of Jack and Rose (which his wife directed), and There Will Be Blood. While we're not saying that Mortenson necessarily has the same clout, Day-Lewis's case shows that some time away won't necessarily ruin a person's career. Either way, we'll have to wait and see what Mortenson decides.
Posted 09.10.09 by reelz -
Variety reports that Dimension Films has pushed back the release date for The Road to November 25. The movie, which stars Viggo Mortenson and Charlize Theron, was originally scheduled for an October 16 release.
Dimension head Bob Weinstein said the date was moved back in order to position it for Golden Globe contention, dispelling the notion that the studio pushed back the release due to worries about how the audience would receive it.
We've been getting great audience reaction at Venice and Telluride.... We feel that this is a commercial film that's worthy of a wide release.
The Road tells the story of a father (Mortenson) and his son wandering south across a post-apocalyptic America, largely devoid of plant and animal life, where many people have turned to cannibalism. Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce also star.
The script from Joe Penhall is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Cormac McCarthy, who also wrote the fatalistic No Country for Old Men. Behind the camera is John Hillcoat, the Aussie who brought Nick Cave's fantastically dark Western The Proposition to cinematic life.
Posted 09.09.09 by reelz -
Cinema Blend has just posted five extended clips from The Road, which stars Viggo Mortenson and Charlize Theron. For those unfamiliar, the story involves a father (Mortenson) and his son wandering south across a post-apocalyptic America, which is largely devoid of plant and animal life, thus turning many people to cannibalism.
The movie promises to be a dark, emotionally charged affair. The script from Joe Penhall is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Cormac McCarthy, who also wrote the fatalistic No Country for Old Men. Behind the camera is John Hillcoat, the Aussie who brought Nick Cave's fantastically dark Western The Proposition to cinematic life.
The folks at Cinema Blend seem very excited by these clips, giving them very high endorsements. As a result, we're excited too, and we can't wait to get a look at this movie, which promises to be pretty amazing both dramatically and stylistically. The Road, due in theaters October 16, also stars Robert Duvall and Guy Pearce.
Posted 09.04.09 by reelz