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Which promising movies fell shortest of expectations?
When we first heard the news that J.J. Abrams had been hired by Disney to continue the adventures of Luke Skywalker and company as the director of Star Wars: Episode VII, we were almost beside ourselves with enthusiasm. After all, as the director of Star Trek (2009), Abrams proved that he could revitalize a classic sci-fi franchise while remaining true to its core concepts and respectful of its legacy. Added to that the fact that Abrams will be shooting from a script written by Academy Award-winner Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine) and Episode VII is bound to be the greatest Star Wars movie since Return of the Jedi, right? We'll see. We're keeping our fingers crossed, but gearing down from "enthusiastic" to "hopefully optimistic."
Studios don't set out to make bad movies, yet they churn them out each and every year. Sure, most bad movies are doomed from the get-go, be they saddled with a bad script, a director who lacks vision, a cast made up of eye candy instead of actors, or some combination thereof, but even movies that seem to have everything going for them can still turn out to be dreadful. A movie about cowboys fighting aliens starring Indiana Jones and James Bond directed by the man who brought us Iron Man? Sounds awesome! Too bad Cowboys and Aliens turned out to be just another one of those movies that should have been great, but ultimately left us feeling unsatisfied and disappointed.
You've griped about them to your friends, now tell us which movies you found to be the biggest disappointments, the ones that simply failed to live up to expectations.
Rate the Top 10 Most Disappointing Movies >>
Posted 01.25.13 by BrentJS -
"When you dance with the devil, you wait for the song to stop."
Audiences have been flocking to theaters to watch gangster movies since before the introduction of "talkies," enticed by the opportunity to be a tourist in the violent world of career criminals without any of the risk associated with the reality of the lifestyle. The genre has been dominated by the stories of desperate Italian immigrants struggling to make it in America and Italian-American mafiosos who temper their ruthlessnes with strict codes of conduct, such as in The Godfather, considered the second greatest film in American cinema by the American Film Institute.
But, the "face" of gangster movies has become less defined in the past two decades as America has become more diverse and moviegoers more accepting of foreign imports. Modern masters like Martin Scorsese and Brian De Palma continue to elevate the genre by perfecting it, while innovative filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino, Guy Ritchie and Takashi Miike have helped to broaden the genre by refusing to be slaves to gangster movie tropes. Hide your stash, check your clip, and help us choose the latest, greatest gangster movies.
Top 10 Best Gangster Movies of the Past 20 Years >>
Posted 11.08.12 by BrentJS -
Actor Johnny Depp has played some bizarre characters over the years — a lonely boy with scissors for hands, a crying crooner, a suicidal ladies man, a bizarre confectioner, a murderous barber — but no one could have guessed Depp's dream would be to play award-winning singer and actress Carol Channing.
While out promoting his latest film, Public Enemies, in which Depp channels Depression-era gangster and folk hero John Dillinger, Depp said:
My dream role would be to play musical legend Carol Channing in a biopic of her life. I love her, I really do. With all the digital technology available these days I could probably pull it off.
Channing, now in her 80s, had a successful career on Broadway and in film, earning three Tony Awards, a Golden Globe, and an Oscar nomination. In her later years, she frequently appeared on variety and game shows.
Posted 07.21.09 by BrentJS -
"Okay, we know Transformers: Return of the Fallen is out," you say, "but what blockbuster is there for me, someone who’s already seen Megan Fox’s rack and isn’t a racist?" Into that breach steps Public Enemies, recounting the pursuit of legendary pirate Willy Wonka Dillinger by noted law-and-order type The Batman. Here are the top 10 gangster movies you should watch to psych yourself up for Johnny Depp rocking out with his Tommy gun.
Posted 07.01.09 by reelz -
It's middling to good reviews so far for Michael Mann's Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger.
"This is a very good film..."
— Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"...comes at you like Dillinger did: all of a sudden. It's movie dynamite."
— Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"...slow to heat up and never quite comes to a boil."
— Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
"...more admirable than electrifying."
— Todd McCarthy, Variety
Posted 06.30.09 by reelz -
With Terminator Salvation dominating the (overseas) box office and Public Enemies opening July 1, it's hard to believe that Christian Bale took a year off from acting. However, Bale's ready to step back into the ring in more ways than one as he plays Mark Wahlberg's boxer-training brother in The Fighter. Bale described the movie to Collider.
It's a true story of two incredibly gifted boxers who were half brothers. The one, Dicky Ecklund, who fought Sugar Ray Leonard at a very young age, when he was twenty one, was an incredible natural talent. He lived a very hard life. Then he came to train his brother, Irish Mickey Ward, to the world title.
The role meant some serious dieting, which Bale explained to MTV.
I've had to [lose] a great deal of weight because he was a welterweight.
Bale has lost and gained weight for roles several times in his career, at one point dropping 62 pounds for The Machinist before gaining it all back and more for Batman Begins. Bale is using fairly conventional methods for his weight loss this time around:
There’s nothing like boxing for getting you in shape. It’s a wonderful thing when your trainer is actually the person you’re playing.
Production on The Fighter starts in July, releasing sometime in 2011. David O. Russell will direct.
Posted 06.26.09 by Ryan -
The release of Michael Mann's Public Enemies is just around the corner, and seven new clips from the movie have hit the web. The clips feature FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) as he's introduced to the public, his confrontation with John Dillinger (Johnny Depp), and Dillinger's conversations with girlfriend Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard), among other moments.
Here are our two favorites. You can see more here.
Posted 06.23.09 by reelz -
The folks at Cinema Blend have posted a fascinating behind-the-scenes clip in which Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and director Michael Mann discuss the mythology and the history behind Public Enemies.
The movie is based on the Bryan Burrough book Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34,which tells the stories behind the rise and fall of Chicago gangster John Dillinger (Depp) in the 1930s. FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Bale) pursued Dillinger andeventually gunned him down outside the Biograph Theater at the age of31.
In this clip, Depp, Bale, and Mann talk about how the economic hardships of the Great Depression allowed Dillinger and his escapades to be seen as heroic rather than criminal. They even get into Dillinger's psychology, explaining why he might have lived the lifestyle he did.
And yes, there are plenty of tantalizing shots from the movie itself, some of which we hadn't seen before.
Posted 06.23.09 by reelz -
We've got a curious case of mixed messages. While on the junket promoting their mobster flick Public Enemies, mega-stars Christian "Batman" Bale and Johnny "Rumored Riddler" Depp were asked about their participation in the continuing Batman movie franchise.
Bale seemed oddly down on doing a third flick — especially without director Christopher Nolan at the helm.
Johnny Depp, who is the number one fan favorite to play villain The Riddler, showed interest, saying, "I'd definitely juggle it."
Posted 06.22.09 by reelz -
The first full clip from Michael Mann's Public Enemies is now online. Just follow the link here.
The scene is a full-blown night shoot-out complete with tommy guns, broken glass, and a heck of a lot of bullet holes. FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) and his team attempt an ambush outside the forest hideout of gangster John Dillinger (Johnny Depp). In terms of style, the scene seems to borrow not only from Scarface (the 1932 Howard Hawks version), but also the first big shoot-out scene in The Godfather: Part II, which sees Al Pacino diving for cover indoors while shooters ambush from a wooded area outside.
Public Enemies is based on the Bryan Burrough book Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34,which tells the stories behind the rise and fall of Dillinger in the 1930s. Melvin Purvis pursued Dillinger andeventually gunned him down outside the Biograph Theater at the age of31.
We don't know about you, but this clip gets us even more excited for the movie.
Posted 06.18.09 by reelz