It seems like Al Capone is making quite a comeback these days. With the famous gangster known the world round as “Scarface” already featuring more and more prominently in the hit HBO show Boardwalk Empire, it would seem that Harry Potter director David Yates may be the next one to tackle him in the movie Cicero. And who to play the famous Alphonse Gabriel Capone? Well who better than Tom Hardy, fresh off his venom injected stint as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises?
According to IGN, the Inception alum, and soon to be Mad Max, will star in the biopic following Capone’s rise to power – and also his fall… into syphilis. Check it out from IGN below:
Dark Knight Rises actor Tom Hardy is reportedly going to play infamous Chicago mob boss Al Capone in Cicero, a biopic that Harry Potter helmer David Yates may direct.
Vulture has the scoop: “Hardy has attached himself to the project, which was originally written in the seventies as a TV pilot by Walon Green (the screenwriter of Sam Peckinpah’s masterpiece, The Wild Bunch) but is now being readapted as a film. And possibly more than one: There is talk that, like The Stand, it could be stretched out, with a first film only tracking the gangster up to his rise to the top of the Chicago criminal food chain; his reign and downfall would be in a subsequent film(s).”
I like the idea of any movie involving Al Capone, I can’t get enough of the character on Boardwalk Empire where he is played marvelously by Stephen Graham. But I do have some misgivings about subsequent movies about the guy unless they are some of the best crime-drama’s ever made. I’m thinking they would have to be Godfather caliber to merit two or even three movies about the life of Al Capone. But then again, Tom Hardy seems to have all the makings of an up and coming star to help make something like that happen. So hats off to whomever gets the directing job on Cicero and make it good! What do all of you fools think?
Does Tom Hardy have what it takes to follow in the footsteps of the great Robert Deniro in portraying Capone?
As a child, there were a lot of shows that my mom watched that I had to suffer through whilst being in the same room: Columbo, Perry Mason, In the Heat of the Night and a whole slew of others. Normally I would have tried to understand what was going on in the court room during Perry Mason or wondered why Columbo always played dumb, but I would quickly lose interest and continue playing with my Transformers and He-man action figures. But one show that always caught my interest, and I still watch whenever it is on SyFy channel was Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Sure it looks cheesy as hell now, but some of the shit on that show used to scare me as a kid. I always thought about how cool it would be to be Carl Kolchak as he investigated cases that would run him afoul of creatures such as Zombies and Vampires. Plus he had a really awesome camera he always carried with him. (Even though with the shoulder strap it always looked like he was carrying a purse.)
Now, the late Darren McGavin(The dad from ‘A Christmas Story’) will pass the torch posthumously to none other than Johnny Depp. According to IGN, Depp will show more love to the 70’s by taking on the role of my favorite tabloid-supernatural-investigative reporter Carl Kolchak. Check out more below:
Deadline reports that Depp is reteaming with Disney (the studio behind his billion-dollar blockbusters Pirates of the Caribbean and Alice in Wonderland) to bring the ABC series The Night Stalker to the big screen. The site claims “The Night Stalker will push the boundaries of the family film formula that Disney is following (under current management).”
Depp will produce via his Infinitum Nihil company and will star as tabloid reporter Carl Kolchak, a role first made famous by the late Darren McGavin. Kolchak’s intrepid investigations often entangled him with various ghouls and creatures of the night.
Now there might be those of you out there who are just plain sick and tired of seeing Depp in movies, but if that’s the case just ignore certain movies you know will suck such as The Tourist and Alice in Wonderland.
I think Depp will play the role of Carl Kolchak pretty well, which will be sort of a hybrid of his characters from the Secret Window and The Ninth Gate. Then again they may go a whole different direction with the story and the era it is set in, but personally I would like to see it take place in the 70’s when the TV show was released.
So are there any other fellow Night Stalkers out there who can’t wait for this movie to get underway? (Unfortunately there was no tentative release date) Anyone not liking Depp in the role?
Judge Dredd – Old Stoneyface; the law man of the future – is coming back to the silver screen. For those of you who don’t know who Dredd is (do you live on the moon or something?) here is a quick history lesson:
Judge Joseph Dredd first appeared in the second issue of the British SF anthology comic 2000AD – dated the 5th of March 1977. He was created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra – with some input from then editor Pat Mills.
Dredd is a law enforcement officer in a massive, violent city – Mega City One – in the distant future. The government of the city is the Judges. Judges are police, judge and jury. And, in the overpopulated city – where city ‘blocks’ are enormous sky scrapers housing thousands of, mostly unemployed, citizens – are all that stands between order and outright chaos. Dredd is – as he puts it – The Law.
The current Judge Dredd film is being shot in Cape Town, South Africa. It isn’t the first however. Back in 1995 Sylvester Stallone stared as Dredd in a film that also featured Diane Lane, Rob Schneider, Armand Assante and Max Von Sydow(The Exorcist, Strange Brew).
The plot saw Dredd framed by his clone ‘brother’ Rico (Assante) after the latter was released from prison by corrupt Judge Griffen (Jurgen Prochnow). Chief Judge Fargo (Von Sydow) – Dredd’s former mentor – blames himself for Dredd’s apparent failure, resigns his post and takes ‘The Long Walk‘ in to the wasteland outside the city. Griffen takes his place as Chief Judge – his plan all along.
Dredd is sent to prison in the wastelands, but, due to a huge coincidence, escapes and heads back to the city – after learning, from Fargo (who he – coincidently – bumped into) that he and Rico are clones.
Meanwhile Rico – on Griffen’s orders – has been causing chaos so that Griffen can reopen the cloning project that created Dredd and Rico, and take full control of the whole city. Dredd arrives back and saves the day, with Rico falling to his death from atop the Statue of Liberty. And if you want to know more details you’ll have to go and watch it yourself.
Whilst it is not a truly terrible action film – there are far worse – it’s just not Judge Dredd.
One thing that many fans complained about at the time – and still do – is that, for most of the film, Dredd doesn’t wear his helmet. While this doesn’t seem like a big thing – and in a sense it’s not – Dredd, in the comics is never seen without his helmet on – a conscious decision to help show the facelessness of the law.
A much larger problem with the film was its lackadaisical plot and use of elements from the comics – some of which just feel stuffed-in in an attempt to woe fans. For example, in the film the ‘Angel gang‘ attacks Dredd in the wastelands. They are an important part of the Judge Dredd mythology, but here they are reduced to cannibal rednecks – with only Mean Machine coming close to the comics – and are all dispatched in the space of 10 minutes. Pointless.
The film was a wasted opportunity, and quite disappointing. Hopefully the new film will help to erase at least some of it from the memory. So far there has only been a trickle of news about the film – a few photos of the sets, which remind me more of Robocop than the 2000AD comics (not that that is a bad thing). So it’s nice to see a new picture of Karl Urban as Dredd (via Bleeding Cool), and it looks really good.
The new film is being directed by Pete Travis and will feature, along with Urban, Olivia Thirlby as Psi Judge Anderson, and Cersei LannisterLena Headey as the films villain Madeline ‘Ma-Ma’ Madrigal.
It’s slightly disappointing that the Dark Judges don’t appear to be in the film, but the word is that Dredd will keep his helmet on for the entire film. Fan boys can breathe a sigh of relief.
It’s rumored for release in the U.K. on the 1st of December 2011 – yup, this year. Odds are it will actually be 2012, so far no word on an official release date for the U.S. (or anywhere else).
The trailer for John Carter looks awesome. Granted I’ve never read much about him or his adventures on Mars, except for a really old comic book called John Carter and the White Apes of Mars – which to be quite honest sucked an egg. The story itself has been around since 1911, when Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote of the Earth Man’s exploits on the red planet. Here is a little background on the story behind it…
John Carter is a Confederate soldier during the American Civil War, who dies afterward (it would appear), but is reincarnated on Mars. There he becomes a warrior and savior to the people, facing down all matter of alien and beastly foes. And by the way, he can kick twice as much ass due to the greater gravity of Earth making him stronger. (if that makes sense).
It’s on Mars where Carter meets his future wife ‘Dejah Thoris of Helium’. In the movie, GambitTaylor Kitsch (FNL) stars as John Carter, whilst Lynn Collins stars as his love interest Dejah Thoris. Hopefully them both being in X-men Origins: Wolverine previously won’t make the movie terrible.
Check out the trailer below:
Aside from all of the cool special effects, Kitsch and Collins won’t be left to carry this movie themselves, because there are a few pretty capable actors in their supporting cast. They are joined by Willem Dafoe (Spiderman, Platoon, Boondock Saints), James Purefoy (Rome, Camelot, Iron Clad) and Mark Strong. (Green Lantern, Kick Ass, Sherlock Holmes).
I for one will be checking this movie out. Disney has done a pretty good job over the last few years to keep me entertained, so I’ll give it a chance. It can’t be as bad as the picture below suggests. Right?
The series that sucked in the lives of millions of people worldwide has finally reached its conclusion. It’s not even the weekend yet, and the franchise has already pulled in a cool $126 million. Millions of fans dressed as wizards have crowded the midnight halls of local movie theaters for the last time. Some have been die-hard fans of the books (as I am), and some just wanted to see Voldemort bitch-slapped in his creepy snake face. Whichever the case, Warner Brothers turned out a final film that young and old, casual or die-hard fan, could sit back and enjoy.
SPOILERS AHEAD..
The film opened exactly where the last one left off. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) had just buried Dobby at Shell Cottage and is preparing his strategy against Voldemort (who is off rifling through Dumbledore’s grave for the Elder Wand). Harry’s mission, left to him by the late Albus Dumbledore, was to hunt down Voldemort’s horcruxes (pieces of his soul left in inanimate objects to anchor him to immortal life) and destroy them. Up until this point, three of the horcruxes have been destroyed – Tom Riddle’s Diary in the Chamber of Secrets, Slytherin’s locket in Deathly Hallows Part One, and Marvolo Gaunt’s ring by Dumbledore. It has been assumed that Voldemort split his soul into seven pieces including himself, which would leave three left to be destroyed – Hufflepuff’s Cup, Nagini the snake, and an unknown object. Harry believes that one of the objects is hidden in the Lestrange family vault in Gringotts, the wizarding bank run by goblins.
Griphook – The most awesome banker you’ll ever meet.
We have also learned in the previous film the importance and identity of the Deathly Hallows. The Deathly Hallows were unspeakable gifts given by Death himself to the three Peverell brothers. The first brother was given the Elder Wand, which made whoever owned it unbeatable. The second brother was given the Resurrection Stone, which could temporarily bring back loved ones from the dead. The youngest brother was given a Cloak of Invisibility. Whoever owns all three becomes the Master of Death.
“So you’re saying no more Harry Potter movies? Ever?”
Here at Shell Cottage, Harry is given a choice. In one room is Griphook (Warwick Davis), a goblin who holds the key to breaking into the Gringotts vault to keep destroying Horcruxes. In another room is Ollivander (John Hurt), a wand maker, who holds all the knowledge he needs to retrieve the Elder Wand, the only Deathly Hallow not in his possession. In the end, Harry chooses his selfless mission over power, and gains the necessary knowledge from Griphook to break into the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter).
After breaking in and destroying the horcrux (Hufflepuff’s cup), Griphook betrays Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) in order to steal the goblin-made sword of Gryffindor. They escape on the back of a dragon and end up in Hogsmeade. With the help of Dumbledore’s brother, Aberforth (Ciaran Hinds), they make their way into Hogwarts to find the unknown Horcrux, which they believe is an object belonging to Ravenclaw. Luna Lovegood (Evanna Lynch) suggests that the object is Rowena Ravenclaw’s diadem, a type of crown. Harry goes to the Grey Lady, the ghost of Helena Ravenclaw (Kelly Macdonald), and she tells him where the diadem is hidden.
Harry retrieves the diadem but is met by Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) and his goonies, one of which starts a raging fire. Harry saves Draco from the fire (why anyone would save that ferret-faced bastard is beyond me) and manages to destroy the diadem in the process. Ron and Hermione find their way down to the Chamber of Secrets to find Basilisk fangs (because, conveniently, basilisk venom destroys Horcruxes) and destroy Hufflepuff’s cup. And then, to celebrate, they start making out.
“I’m a terrible Death Eater guys… will you hold my hands?”
Meanwhile, Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and his Death Eaters have breached the defenses of the castle and are reigning their terror over the students and teachers. Voldemort, who is now in possession of the Elder Wand, realizes that the wand has not given allegiance to him. Believing that Snape had become owner of the wand during his murder of Dumbledore, Voldemort uses his snake to attack Snape. While Snape is dying, he places his tears in a vial and tells Harry to take them to the Penseive.
Harry does, and much is made clear to him through Snape’s memories. He discovers that Dumbledore was right to trust Snape, that all these years there was one very real reason Snape could not swear allegiance to Voldemort ever again – Snape was passionately in love with Lily, Harry’s mother, who was killed by Voldemort himself. Makes sense why he hated Harry so much, then, since Harry was supposed to have been the spitting image of his father (who looks like a math teacher apparently). He also discovered something much more heartbreaking – that he, Harry, was also a Horcrux, and he must also be destroyed in order for Voldemort to be defeated.
Harry then meets Voldemort in the forest, where Voldemort uses the killing curse on him. Harry is transported to a train station, an interim location between life and death, where he speaks with Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) about all that has happened. Harry is given the choice to move on to death, or to remain in life and finish the job he started, without the piece of Voldemort’s soul within him. So he returns; and with the help of new Hogwarts resident badass, Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis), and his snake slicing skills, Voldemort is defeated! Hooray!
I try to have an open mind going into these films. If anyone out there is as into reading as I am, you know how disappointed you can be if the film deviates from the story you love. It’s natural. However, this film was as close as you can get to the line between following the story and making a good film in itself. I was pleasantly surprised that much of the script was lifted from the book itself, including most of Snape’s memories and the scene with Dumbledore at King’s Cross.
“Not my daughter, you BITCH!” (Actual quote)
The pacing, the music, and acting were all perhaps the best I’ve seen in the franchise. There was so much that could have gone wrong in this, the culmination of this long beloved story, that it was refreshing to see the filmmakers do it right for a change. My one complaint is that this still felt like half of a movie, and there was little to tie in the story from Deathly Hallows Part One. I imagine the two will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray as one big film (taking a page from the consecutive style of Lord of the Rings).
There were several things I was worried wouldn’t translate to film, or wouldn’t be handled properly or glossed over. The first and most important being the heartbreaking story of one Severus Snape. Alan Rickman stole the show on this one. He owned that character. He had known before anyone, before the final few books were even released, what his character’s inner torment was and where his motivations lie. He brilliantly has managed to keep that knowledge a secret in his performance while still making it believable, so the film audience would be just as invested and just as surprised as those who had read the books.
My second worry was that the ending, the imminent downfall of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, would be glossed over and cheesy. However that, too, was given sufficient story-telling time and consideration. Although I didn’t really understand why Harry and Voldemort were flying through the air hugging each other, their duel was action-packed and interesting. There was enough time spent on the Elder Wand for the casual film-watcher to understand why Voldemort’s wand had failed him, although I missed Harry’s “Expelliarmus!”
“Booyah! I mean, Expelliarmus!”
The third and final worry of mine was their treatment of the epilogue at King’s Cross station, and how they were going to make a group of kids in their late teens and early twenties look like real live grownups. With a little CGI and a little makeup (though none for Emma Watson, apparently), they managed to look….ALMOST right. I thought Draco Malfoy was the worst; he looked like the star of the school play. But it was cutesy, it provided closure, and it was just as weird and awkward as it was in the book.
Bwahahaha! Fail!
All in all, I really enjoyed the film. It has that little something for everyone – intrigue, action, drama, and romance. The story is much darker than the others, even in the books, and provides for less comedy which is unfortunate. And with all the important people who died (albeit, without death scenes), it makes for a huge downer at times. But that’s war, and that’s life sometimes.
I give the film 4 bears (it was 4.5, but I deducted the .5 for the lack of Jim Broadbent)!
Grizzly Bomb 