Commercial director and Ridley Scott protege Carl Erik Rinsch will become better known when his feature debut, the ambitious Keanu Reeves samurai epic 47 Ronin , hits theaters in 2012. But in the meantime, another another of his eye-catching shorts has hit the web that showcases what could be the introduction of a memorable new talent to the film world. In Escape the Map , commissioned by Mercedes-Benz, Rinsch offers an interactive behind-the-wheel adventure set entirely in a pixelated, digital world of intrigue and femme fatales caught in the matrix of Google Streetview. Watch it and weigh in; is Rinsch the visionary filmmaker of the future?
How knowing everything about everything is ruining everything, in this week’s The Weekly Rising. By Kevin P. Sullivan Christian Bale and Tom Hardy on the set of “Dark Knight Rises” Photo: Getty Images Guys, I think we’re doing it wrong. We have eight months until the July 20, 2012, release date of “The Dark Knight Rises,” and none of this feels right. I mean, yeah, a new Christopher Nolan -directed Batman movie is coming out this summer. Yeah, it’s great that he’s picked up some of his “Inception” alums to join the cast. And granted, what we’ve seen from the set does look pretty cool. (Just whose panties is Matthew Modine holding?!?!) That’s all well and good, but do you ever get the feeling something is missing? Think back to the lead-up to the release of “The Dark Knight” back in 2007 and 2008. If you were one of the 10 million people who participated in the “Why So Serious?” and “I Believe in Harvey Dent” marketing campaigns, I’m sure you vividly remember what you were doing. That’s because you were most likely running around to bakeries and digging through cakes for hidden cell phones or opening lockers in bowling alleys to look for more clues. At the very least, you followed along at home and watched as people from around the world cooperated just for the chance to get your first glimpse at Heath Ledger ‘s take on the Joker or a vandalized version of the first trailer. When the film finally arrived in theaters, it wasn’t just another movie. It was something bigger. “The Dark Knight” became a phenomenon and an experience that you had a part in. The immersive, alternate reality game that led up to the release of “The Dark Knight” was all the work of one company, 42 Entertainment. The reason we haven’t had a similar campaign for “The Dark Knight Rises” is because 42 Entertainment is in no way involved with the project. In the company’s absence, a new viral campaign in the vein of “Why So Serious?” exists, but it is nowhere near “Why So Serious?” in terms of quality and quantity. “The Fire Rises” began as a chant on the film’s official website back on May 20. Fans eventually figured out that the visual spectrum of the noise pointed to a Twitter hashtag, #TheFireRises. For each subsequent re-tweet of the tag, Warner Bros. revealed another pixel of what ended up being the first photo of Tom Hardy as Bane . An impressive and intricate start for the campaign that looked to follow in 42 Entertainment’s footsteps, but the clues soon stopped. The Twitter account lay idle until last week, when it told followers to add their voice to Hans Zimmer’s score via UJAM, several days after that news originally broke. But even removing the added layer of complexity that comes with an alternate reality game or a simple viral marketing campaign isn’t enough to explain the bungled anticipation for “The Dark Knight Rises.” Instead of simply looking forward to a film without having any elaborate task to complete, which is how fans of all other films spend their pre-releases, those who follow “The Dark Knight Rises” have been subjected to a deluge of spy photos and videos from the set. The main reason for Warner Bros.’s hurried release of an official Catwoman photo was the existence of amateur pictures. Avoiding pictures of Bane or the Batwing or Batman leading the charge with the police in tow is not an option anymore. Since the information is so widely available, it’s all simply part of the conversation now. We cover it here simply because the information is out there, and people want to know — all of which begs the question, “Why are we doing this?” Why is there a drive to find out everything about a film before you see it in its proper form? I can’t help but believe that there is at least some subconscious battle of egos among Batman fans here, where the one who knows the most information that they’re not supposed to know is somehow superior. Here I was thinking that the whole point of all of this was that we are looking forward to seeing a movie, one that is meticulously structured with surprises and turns that are created to be enjoyed only within the context of the film and not a video some extra recorded on her iPhone. No one was scrambling to find out everything about “Inception” before its release. It had the benefit of a normal ad campaign and launch. Even if “The Dark Knight Rises” isn’t going to get the full 42 Entertainment treatment, it at least deserves a normal release along the lines of “Inception.” Now is a good time to remember that when it comes to Christopher Nolan movies, the one who goes in knowing the least is the one who has the most fun. What have you thought of the lead-up to “The Dark Knight Rises”? Let me know via @KPSull on Twitter, and we’ll discuss next week. Here’s a rundown of this past week’s “The Dark Knight Rises” news. The MPAA granted “The Dark Knight Rises” prologue a PG-13 rating. College Humor examined just how Batman found his voice . We visited the New York set for a look at
Rihanna just leaked a brand new song from her upcoming album. “You Da One” is the second single from RiRi’s Talk That Talk , which drops November 21, and according to the singer, she chose it as her latest single (following ” We Found Love “) because it’s her “fav r[ight]t now, doesn’t sound like anything else.” But is that a good thing? Take a listen and tell us below … Rihanna – You Da One What did you think of Rihanna’s “You Da One” …
Rihanna just leaked a brand new song from her upcoming album. “You Da One” is the second single from RiRi’s Talk That Talk , which drops November 21, and according to the singer, she chose it as her latest single (following ” We Found Love “) because it’s her “fav r[ight]t now, doesn’t sound like anything else.” But is that a good thing? Take a listen and tell us below … Rihanna – You Da One What did you think of Rihanna’s “You Da One” …
Phew. That was close. Immortals fought its way to the top of the box office this week, narrowly saving us from a world in which Adam Sandler’s Jack and Jill actually earned more money than anything other film in Hollywood. The Immortals Trailer The Henry Cavill-led action flick was the only movie to break $30 million on Friday and Saturday, as we’ve posted the top five weekend box office results below: Immortals : $32 million Jack and Jill : $26 million Puss in Boots : $25.5 million Tower Heist : $13.2 million J. Edgar : $11.4 million
While many critics marvel at the visual spectacle of the Greek flick, others decry Tarsem Singh’s ‘style-over-substance exercise.’ By Kevin P. Sullivan Daniel Sharman and Isabel Lucas in “Immortals” Photo: Jan Thijs If recent Greek movie history has taught us anything, it’s that the men of myths and legends had some killer ab routines. “Immortals” continues the tradition started by “300,” but will the new film find the same magic that made the Gerard Butler flick such a huge success? Critics see the similarities, namely in the brains (or lack thereof) department. While it may not be the smartest picture on the block, most seem to agree “Immortals” is actually quite beautiful. Here’s a rundown on what the critics have to say about the movie, which hit theaters on Friday (November 11). The Story “Alas, the movie makes next to no sense. It involves, in a very broad sense, the attempt by King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) to conquer Greece, and the battle to stop him led by a plucky peasant named Theseus (Henry Cavill). … But a lot of the time I had no idea what was going on. Characters would turn up for the first time, seem terrifically important, and disappear. If at many moments I had stopped the film and asked anybody around me, ‘Who is that, and what are they doing and why?’ I think they’d have been stuck for an answer.” — Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times Henry Cavill “Henry Cavill, cast as Superman in Zack Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel,’ next year, plays Theseus, a peasant who leads a rebellion against the wicked King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke, the highlight of the film). Muscular, oily and full of resentment, Cavill makes a fine perturbed peasant, though he’s got a tough bill sharing the most scenes with Rourke.” — Scott Bowles, USA Today The Direction “Tarsem Singh’s first two films, ‘The Cell’ and ‘The Fall,’ were shallow but exquisite displays designed almost entirely to show off his extraordinary artistry. With ‘Immortals,’ Singh finally acknowledges that he’s making movies, rather than just beautiful moving pictures. In his ostentatiously unconventional take on ancient Greek history, he gives us fully fleshed characters and a compelling (enough) plot, plus all the action an epic requires. And, true to form, it’s also the most gorgeous film of the year.” — Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News The Costumes “The most eye-catching creative contribution consists of Eiko Ishioka’s sometimes striking costume designs, which not only functionally differentiate the assorted factions but often pop the eyes even against the colorful backgrounds.” — Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter The Final Word “Absent a compelling narrative, the spectacle alone may be enough to survive opening weekend, only to see returns for this style-over-substance exercise wither over the following weeks. — Peter Debruge, Variety Check out everything we’ve got on “Immortals.” For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com . Related Photos ‘Immortals’ Key Scenes
Happy Friday! Also in this edition of The Broadsheet: Hysteria coming to theaters… Your one-stop Shame sex-talk shop… Another Spider-Man stage player takes a tumble… Lou Reed and Metallica explore the outer limits of unlistenability… and more.
As cool-looking, dumb and deadly serious as you could desire, Immortals openly aims to be the heir to 300 , and succeeds in at least being a reasonable facsimile that hits many (too many) of the same testosterone-driven beats. The battles are just as imaginatively bloody, the abs painstakingly chiseled, the dialogue tin-eared, only this time around the stakes are not just the fate of the historic(esque) world, but of the divine one as well. There are gods in this film, beautiful, gold-cloaked ones who watch worriedly from atop Olympus as Greece is overrun by the armies of the wicked King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke), a man who wants nothing less than to bring about the destruction of their divine order, though they’re forbidden to interfere in the world of man for…oh, who knows why? Also, it’s in 3-D — dark, dark 3-D I’d avoid if given the option.
There’s something almost endearing about the creakily lo-fi quality of 11-11-11 , the latest feature from Darren Lynn Bousman, director of Repo! The Genetic Opera and _Saw_s II-IV. The film has the feel of something conceived and whipped together in very little time, perhaps to make its own built-in deadline. It struggles with big ideas — about the apocalypse, the changing nature of faith and, of course, how a certain date allows for the passage of possibly demonic beings between the worlds — that it can’t possibly accommodate on its small scale. It’s a film with maybe a dozen speaking parts and supernatural beings that are clearly dudes in black robes wearing rubber masks that nevertheless tries to suggest seismic spiritual changes are afoot, thanks to the events it chronicles in a beach house in Spain (a country from which I can only assume the film received funding, as there’s no other reason for it to be set there and the travel opens up problematic time zone questions).
Breaking Dawn opens on November 18. And in case the abs of Taylor Lautner, the smile of Robert Pattinson and that creepy baby kicking inside the womb of Kristen Stewart are not reasons enough to start lining up for opening night right at this very moment, The CW is here to help. Over the first two weeks of this film’s release, movie goers will be treated to a special trailer for The Vampire Diaries and The Secret Circle , both of which return with new episodes on January 5. Peep the preview now and remember: Come for a bite. Stay for dessert. The CW Thursday Night Trailer
