CIFF 2013 Review: INTERIOR. LEATHER BAR. starring James Franco
Interior. Leather Bar. (2013) – No Stars Interior. Leather Bar., director Travis Mathews’s mock-doc (co-directed by James Franco) covering the filming of his re-imagining of 40-minutes cut from Billy Friedkin’s Cruising, boils down to this: A faux-intellectual exercise in queer theory that works more in concept than in practice. As it stands, the film feels like a second year film school student’s attempt to make a statement about the biases and prejudices of our hetero-sexist society in the most superficial way. The film follows actor Val, the story’s literal straight man, as he takes on Al Pacino’s character in Cruising for his buddy James Franco. He is constantly confronting his own discomfort with the gay sex that we see on screen and he sees in production. And this is the film’s fatal flaw. It’s too aware of it’s own mission to...
Read MoreRISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES trailer
Rise of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Rupert Wyatt and starring James Franco, Freida Pinto, Andy Serkis, Brian Cox, and Tom Felton, opens Aug....
Read MoreMAD MEN goes for six, more – News Links
Lionsgate, AMC, and executive producer Matthew Weiner are nearing to a deal that will keep everyone happy for two more seasons of Mad Men. Except the fans, that is. The drawn-out negotiations may force a delay in the premiere of season five. (Variety) Benicio Del Toro is in talks to join Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch in Oliver Stone‘s drug cartel drama The Savages. (Deadline) Can it really be that good? Fox is moving up Rise of the Apes from Thanksgiving to Aug. 5, making it the studio’s final tent pole of the packed season. The Planet of the Apes reboot is directed by Rupert Wyatt and stars James Franco and Freida Pinto. (Heat Vision) Netflix and Showtime are having a showdown. Just days after the Internet TV player announced its first original series, the premium cable network announced that under a new deal...
Read MoreFranco is OZ, BODYGUARD remake, BOURNE’s identity, more – News Links
James Franco may be the hardest working man in show biz. Oscar host, filmmaker, author, and now… Oz. Franco has nabbed the lead in Sam Raimi’s big budget Wizard of Oz prequel, Oz, The Great and Powerful. (The Wrap) Nearly 19 years after The Bodyguard hit theaters, Warner Bros. is now plotting a remake of its 1992 Whitney Houston vehicle. Who’s going to star? No word yet, but I’m personally hoping it’s Nicki Minaj. (Deadline) Ewan McGregor is in negotiations to join Nicholas Hoult, Stanley Tucci, Bill Nighy and John Kassir in Bryan Singer’s Jack the Giant Killer, a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk. (THR) The Oscars are staying on ABC until 2020, assuming broadcast networks still exist by then. (Deadline) Tony Gilroy took over the Bourne franchise in October. Now word comes that Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Garrett Hedlund, Taylor Kitsch and Kellan...
Read MoreOscar hosts Franco & Hathaway do GREASE
Yes, James Franco, you’re the one that we want. Franco tweeted this Grease-infused vid, featuring your Oscar co-host Anne Hathaway, today. And it’s charming. Maybe I was wrong when I said he wouldn’t make a great Oscar host. In fact, he may just be the host the Oscars really need to “appeal to younger audiences.” Anyway, watch this: Also, from Twitter, James Franco likes...
Read More127 HOURS movie review
127 Hours (2010)–***1/2 I remember when Cast Away was released, wondering if Tom Hanks could keep an audience enthralled–with no costars–for two hours. The answer, of course, was yes and he did it with nothing more than his personality. Hanks can pull off such a feat for no other reason than he is Tom Hanks, a movie star in the most classical sense. His charisma and natural whimsy, whether in a TV interview or as a FedEx exec trapped on a deserted island, invite you to sit back and enjoy the show. Like Cast Away, much of the screen time in 127 Hours belongs to one man: James Franco. Franco plays the media-hyped hiker Aron Ralston, who notably cut off his own arm after it was pinned between a boulder and a rock wall. While Franco is many things,...
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