BATTLESHIP
Directed by: Peter Berg
Written by: Erich Hoeber, Jon Hoeber
Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano, Gregory D. Gadson

Any time TV ads and trailers proudly proclaim a film’s board-game pedigree and a commercially successful big-screen adaptation, as in, for example, BATTLESHIP (“From Hasbro, the company that brought you the TRANSFORMERS”), you (meaning every moviegoer from the age of eight to 80) knows or should know what to expect: spectacle over story, spectacle over characters, spectacle over logic; in short, spectacle at the expense of anything that doesn’t serve big-budget, CG-driven action set pieces. BATTLESHIP meets each and every one of those expectations, while also functioning as a recruitment film for the U.S. Navy. Think of BATTLESHIP as this decade’s TOP GUN, but with generic alien invaders instead of generic, faceless enemies, and with director Peter Berg (THE KINGDOM, HANCOCK, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, THE RUNDOWN) imitating Michael Bay’s over-directed filmmaking style less than Bay’s predecessor and TOP GUN’s director, Tony “the Lesser” Scott.

When we first encounter Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch, better here as he was in March’s JOHN CARTER), BATTLESHIP’s ostensible hero-protagonist, he’s an immature, self-absorbed troublemaker. In other words, Alex is perfect for the character growth taught in screenwriting classes and books everywhere. Alex’s older, significantly taller, more Nordic-looking brother, Stone (Alexander Skarsgård), counsels Alex on the finer points of adult behavior, but Alex refuses to head Stone’s advice. It takes the love of a pretty blonde, Sam (swimsuit-model-turned-actress Brooklyn Decker), and a run-in with legal authorities to convince Alex that his future lies with the U.S. Navy rather than long-term incarceration in a state or federal penitentiary. The U.S. Navy, Sam, nor Sam’s admiral father (Liam “Paycheck” Neeson) change Alex into the rule-following, authority-obeying team player necessary to remain in the navy or win the admiral’s approval both as a naval officer and presumed future son-in-law.

BATTLESHIP takes several prologues and the better part of an hour before finally setting the central plot line into action, a 14-nation naval exercise off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii. Before the exercises can properly start, the aliens drop out of the sky and five ships emerge from the ocean. One ship transmits a seemingly impenetrable, electromagnetic shield that separates a handful of naval ships from the rest of the fleet. Luckily for the U.S. and its allies, the aliens decided to send an expeditionary force to Earth rather than an entire invasion fleet. As one secondary character, Cal Zapata (Hamish Linklater), notes early on, “It’s like Columbus and the [sic] Indians again, except we’re the Indians.” You could also make more germane, timely comparisons (e.g., Iraq, Vietnam, etc.) where the U.S. invaded a foreign country, ostensibly with good intentions (i.e., democracy restoration, autocrat removal, and weapons of mass destruction), but never with bad or negative intentions (i.e., resource exploitation), at least not officially.

Unfortunately, Berg and his two credited screenwriters, Erich Hoeber and Jon Hoeber, set up a time-wasting, diversionary subplot on dry land involving Sam and a disabled veteran, Lt. Colonel Mick Canales (Gregory D. Gadson, an actual Iraq war veteran). Between the multiple prologues and the Sam-Mick subplot, BATTLESHIP runs an almost interminable 131 minutes (including the credits). Presumably, Berg and his producers wanted to assuage concerns about BATTLESHIP’s mostly male cast. BATTLESHIP includes only one other, semi-prominent character, Petty Officer Cora ‘Weps’ Raikes (singer-turned-actress Rihanna). Berg gives Raikes a surprising amount of screen time and semi-important action beats, but minimal dialogue (unsurprising given Rihanna’s non-acting background). Of course, Rihanna’s presence in the cast helps to expand BATTLESHIP’s demographic appeal. Her presence also helps to present the U.S. Navy as progressive when it comes to gender.

No one, of course, will be seeing BATTLESHIP this weekend (if they’re seeing it at all, of course) for its balanced portrayal of men and women in the armed services. They’re also not seeing BATTLESHIP for coherent, logical, intelligent storytelling (there isn’t any), its political subtext (again, if any), or even whether it bears any relation to the Hasbro board game they may or may not remember playing in the pre-Internet age, but for the creative destruction that only a studio-backed, blockbuster wannabe drawing on Hollywood’s best and brightest visual effects artists, can provide moviegoers. On that level, BATTLESHIP certainly delivers. Computer animation has evolved to the point where audiences only need to expend minimal energy to suspend their disbelief and accept big-screen spectacle as real (or as close to real as we’re going to get given current technology). Even then, however, moviegoers won’t be able to shake the obvious comparisons between BATTLESHIP and TRANSFORMERS. An early city-destroying sequence looks like an unused take from an entry in the TRANSFORMERS franchise. The aliens’ water-hopping ships also resemble Cybertron-derived technology.

Few filmmakers have had a career as consistently engaging, thought provoking, and compelling as Texas-born (and raised) writer-director Richard Linklater has. Linklater entered the indie scene twenty-one years ago when the Texas-set SLACKER, a multi-character, multi-thread exploration of Austin’s eccentric characters and their unique worldviews, arrived in arthouse theaters. Since then, Linklater has crossed over sporadically into commercial filmmaking (BAD NEWS BEARS remake, THE SCHOOL OF ROCK), but he’s always returned to the interests and obsessions that first led him to become a filmmaker. Best known for BEFORE SUNRISE, BEFORE SUNSET (chamber pieces co-starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) and DAZED AND CONFUSED, a multi-character comedy-drama set in and around a Texas high school in 1976, Linklater’s back with another Texas-set, true-crime black comedy, BERNIE.

BERNIE reunites Linklater with Jack Black since they collaborated on THE SCHOOL OF ROCK almost a decade ago. At the time, Black was too young to play the title character, Bernie Tiede, an assistant funeral director from the small town of Carthage, Texas. A much-loved member of Carthage’s small, tight-knit community, Tiede was accused of murdering a wealthy widow, Marjorie Nugent (Shirley MacLaine), hiding her body for the better part of a year, and embezzling a significant portion of her estate. Bernie’s fellow townspeople refused to believe someone as likeable and generous as Bernie could be capable of murder, let alone engaging in embezzlement. Bernie’s popularity made it difficult for the local assistant DA, Danny Buck (Matthew McConaughey), to try his case. Buck made the unprecedented decision to petition the court for a change of venue (something defense attorneys do regularly, but prosecutors generally don’t).

There are many different opinions about Bernie in your film. What drew you to Bernie’s story?

He’s just such an interesting character. I grew up in East Texas and I felt like I knew people kind of like that. There was something at the core of his relationship with Miss Nugent and [Bernie] in general that is very enigmatic. I’ve gotten to know Bernie. Jack and I visited him in prison, and I’ve visited him since. We talk.

How did you approach the subject of Bernie’s sexuality? In the film it’s presented as the subject of rumors, but Bernie never self-identifies as gay.

It was a fascinating issue to me because, again, you grow up in these small southern communities where it feels like no one’s really gay. They either move, or they choose to live a closeted life like Bernie. I wanted the film to portray his perspective. It respects his choice to live like that. I think certainly people who know would know, and people who don’t know will just be like, “Oh, he’s a nice young man.” Sort of like my mother’s and grandmother’s views toward Liberace. “He’s such a nice young man!” And it never occurred to them. East Texas is still kind of like that. It’s a little bit like the land that time left behind. So I was fascinated about why he would choose to stay there and live his life there. But there’s comfort in a small town. It’s community, his love of all these people, and his life in the church. In the film, I think it’s there pretty obviously, but I wanted to respect how he presented himself. Because if you choose not talk about your politics, your religion, your sexuality. No one will ask you. But if you flaunt it, then you’re engaged. Not that they won’t gossip about you behind your back about all those things.

Have you had a chance to read the New York Times magazine piece (“How My Aunt Marge Ended Up in the Deep Freeze…”) about your film and Bernie’s story, which was written by Marjorie Nugent’s nephew, Joseph Rhodes?

Yeah, I just read that a few days ago. It was pretty fascinating. It made me think, Wow, we were very kind to Marjorie. She was worse than we showed her. And I knew that, because we never heard, nor has anyone I know ever heard, one good word about her or her husband, who passed before [she met Bernie]. He was a horrible guy too. Everybody hated him. Just these two rich people who were just mean. And again, they didn’t play by the small town rules where you have to acknowledge people. You’re a community. You go to a grocery store and you run into someone you know, you stop and you talk. Like when I visit my mom back in Huntsville, Texas, I’ll be like, “Okay, I’m gonna go run out and pick up your prescriptions. I’ll see you in about 45 minutes.” Because I’m going to run into someone from high school. And you can’t just say, “Hey, how are you doing?” You really do have to stop and talk. So yeah, that story was pretty great. But again, the movie was Bernie’s perspective of her, which is that she wasn’t as bad as everyone said she was.

How do you feel about the characterization of Marjorie by her son as just very misunderstood? That she was shy in a way that came across as arrogance?

[I heard] too many stories of cruel and dismissive behavior. And maybe she just wasn’t an extrovert. She didn’t enjoy engaging that much. She just liked to sew and be on her own. So I don’t know. Bernie certainly saw something in her. To this day, when he’s asked about her, he’ll say, “Oh, I remember the good times.” She had these qualities, and he feels like he was the only one who could understand her. Which made it more horrific for him, that much tougher to leave, because he felt like he was her only friend in the whole world, the only person who could even remotely tolerate her.

What was your approach to casting BERNIE? How did Jack Black get involved?

I worked with Jack on THE SCHOOL OF ROCK in ’02-’03. He was probably too young then. This was a film I’d already conceptualized, but the timing wasn’t right. Then a few years ago, I sent it to Jack, because he has that great singing voice. That was very important. Bernie was known as a singer. He actually traveled the world singing with a group. He sang at Carnegie Hall. That’s a really big element of his personality. So I thought Jack really is this nice guy, but there’s also this element I think I share with him where we’re really non-confrontational people, so you kinda smooth over conflicts. Jack’s sort of like that, so he could relate to Bernie in the way. He was intrigued enough that we started down the road to try to get [the film] made. Shirley liked Miss Nugent enough, and I think she wanted to work with Jack. And Matthew kind of did me a favor. He’s from Longview, which is the nearest bigger town to Carthage. I called up Matthew and said, “I’m doing this East Texas movie and you have to be in it! You’re an East Texas actor, I’m an East Texas director…”

And he gets to play a lawyer again.

Yeah, and [he plays] a DA this time. He finally got to prosecute someone. He was like, “Don’t you know it, every time I play a defense lawyer I’m defending someone I think is guilty, and the one time I play a DA I’m prosecuting someone I think should not punished as harshly as I’m punishing them.” So he can’t win.

When you first started conceptualizing the film, did you always have the documentary/narrative format in mind?

I always thought [about that format], like in the first draft. It was really when I was reading over the journalistic file that [journalist/co-writer] Skip Hollandsworth gave me, reading all the accounts from the townspeople. I was like, “It’s kinda funny what they’re saying.” And I realized there’s no Bernie or Miss Nugent here. They’re both incommunicado. In a small town you’re whatever everybody says about you. I had never seen a movie that was so based on that idea. It seemed appropriate for a small southern town that runs on gossip. So I did have that idea to have this be a huge narrative element, but I didn’t want it to seem like a documentary. There’s this drama going on and those are just interjected into the story. I thought that was pretty essential. Some [of the townspeople] are real people and some are actors. Matthew’s mom is one of them, actually. She’s been trying to get into Matthew’s films for years, and he’s always like, “Yeah Mom, I’ll talk to the director about that,” and she never does. So now she’s like, “Someone finally appreciates my talent.”

Has Bernie seen the film?

No, I don’t think he’ll be able to either. They don’t really show films in prison. Except Mel Gibson’s THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. Talk about murder.

So you’re wearing a Criterion t-shirt.

It was the least wrinkled of any of my t-shirts.

I was going to ask you a Criterion question, so this seems like destiny. You have three films on Criterion (SLACKER, DAZED AND CONFUSED, and IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO LEARN TO PLOW BY READING BOOKS (an extra on the SLACKER DVD)]. Is there another film of yours you’d love to see get the Criterion treatment?

It’s kind of arbitrary. It’s whatever they can make the deals on. But you know, the only film of mine that isn’t available [on DVD/Blu-Ray] is SUBURBIA from 1996. So they’ve talked about that, but they’ve gotta work out a deal. It’s just business, I guess. I wish everything could be on Blu-ray, but some films just get left behind in history. All those movies that were only on VHS [and not subsequently released on newer formats]. There are even films that were released on laserdisc that have never been reissued.

On the subject of heightening the film-viewing experience, what is your position on 3D? You’ve been pretty adventurous about experimenting with different styles of filmmaking.

3D is pretty fun when it’s done right. It’s neat to look at. I read one piece that said it doesn’t let you relax into the dream state that you enter for a two-dimensional film because of what your brain has to do to fully process the visual information. That thing where you’ve forgotten your life for the last hour and forty-five minutes, that doesn’t happen in 3D. So I thought that was interesting. I was trying to monitor that for the last couple of 3D movies that I watched. I’m not sure if it’s true. But that said, I would like to work in 3D on the right project.

BERNIE opens in the San Francisco Bay Area on Friday, May 18^th.

The viral videos for PROMETHEUS have been straight-up brilliant so far and the latest is no different. However, this new video (courtesy of Verizon FiOS by way of Coming Soon) proves to be much, much creepier than its predecessors. In the video below, you’ll meet Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace) as she begs Weyland Industries to help her explore the mysteries of space and mankind. Throughout the clip, the camera slowly zooms in as bizarre computer imagery flashes on screen. I don’t quite know what it means but it’s damn unnerving.

While the video is in anticipation of the big premiere next month, it also serves to notify folks that Weyland Industries is currently on the hunt for new recruits to join Project Prometheus. You can explore the site and the contest here. But be careful, I get the impression that things won’t end well for the crew.

As you know, PROMETHEUS opens June 8.

Fans of remakes, Korean films, and psychological thrillers can rejoice today. Dimension Films announced today that they have acquired U.S. distribution rights to the psychological thriller COMPULSION starring Heather Graham and Carrie-Anne Moss. The film, now shooting in Ontario, Canada, also stars Kevin Dillon and Joe Mantegna and is being directed by Egidio Coccimiglio.

COMPULSION is based on the South Korean film “301, 302″ and centers on two women occupying neighboring apartments, each grappling with obsessions that have begun to overtake their lives. Graham portrays Amy, a vivacious, calculating chef whose need to be desired is so far-reaching that she becomes a star in her own imaginary cooking show.  Moss is Saffron, a reclusive but alluring ex-child star who is battling anorexia. Their complex, ever-intensifying relationship builds to a surprising climax as their emotional connections to food and one another boil over.

“The combination of a great script, two very strong female leads and a suspenseful tone and pace made COMPULSION a highly sought after project for the company,” said Bob Weinstein, Co-Chairman, The Weinstein Company.

Added the film’s producers Gary Howsam and Bill Marks,

“We’re thrilled that Dimension Films recognizes the qualities and talent associated with COMPULSION.  The film couldn’t be in better hands.”

COMPLUSION is written by Floyd Byars and will be produced by Gary Howsam and Bill Marks.   Academy Award-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond is also on board. The executive producers include Anders Palm and Jeff Sackman, whose TAJJ Media is managing the distribution rights licensing for the picture.   International rights are being represented by Etchie Stroh and Moonstone Entertainment.

We love a good Korean film ever now and then and this definitely sounds like an intriguing concept. We will be putting this in our Netflix queue immediately.

Have any of you seen the original? If so, what’d ya’ think? Was it worth the remake treatment? Is there room for improvement on the original material? Weigh in below.

He may have acted in cold blood as a cheating husband in last year’s SHAME and had frozen blood in this year’s THE GREY. However, now, according to Variety, actor James Badge Dale is set to play Eric Savin, a.ka. Coldblood, in IRON MAN 3. In the Marvel comicbooks, he’s a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army put in charge of Project: Ultra. After he steps on a land mine, cybernetic surgery is performed on him, and Savin’s resurrected as the cyborg Coldblood.

As per Variety, the film’s plot will borrow elements from Warren Ellis’ six-issue “Iron Man: Extremis,” which also influenced the first “Iron Man” instalment, and focuses on the spread of a virus through nanotechnology. Production on the film starts this month in North Carolina before moving to China later this summer.

And you can mark you calendars now too as IRON MAN 3 hits theatres on May 3, 2013.

I think Badge Dale will be an excellent addition to the cast. He’s a magnificent actor who stands to gain more notoriety with this role, as well as his upcoming roles in high profile films like Brad Pitt’s WORLD WAR Z, Robert Zemeckis’ FLIGHT, and Disney’s THE LONE RANGER. What do you think?

Folks, I’ve never been giddier about a sequel in my entire life! I squeed loudly when I heard that the ANCHORMAN sequel was greenlit and now we’re getting our first look at it – a teaser poster that features San Diego’s highest rated news team’s legs. Woo-hoo??  Yes, Woo-hoo!!

Perhaps the best Ron Burgundy news of the week is the teaser trailer for ANCHORMAN: THE LEGEND CONTINUES is attached to THE DICTATOR.

Tell us your thoughts below. Are we getting too excited over nothing? Do you think the sequel will be any good? One things for sure, it’s going to be a long wait for 2013! Thanks Collider for this breaking news!

The summer has started with a Hulk-like smash in THE AVENGERS (make sure to read Mel’s review, Jason’s thoughts, and our Critic’s Review Roundup if you haven’t), with the film already grossing over a BILLION dollars worldwide and even impacting food sales in Los Angeles. We can only hope that this summer’s huge start, complete with its own reboots and remakes, can keep the momentum going.

This week we’ve been helping you, our faithful readers, sort out the over 100 films being released this summer by giving you the ten movies some of us are excited for. As always, release dates are subject to change. The dates shown here are based on those listed in Entertainment Weekly’s Summer Movie Preview issue.

If you haven’t already, make sure to check out Brandon’s and Courtney’s summertime selections.

I’m here to help you through hump day with the ten picks that will keep me glued to my seat this summer:

10. TO ROME WITH LOVE – JUNE 22
Starring: Woody Allen, Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg, Penelope Cruz, Alec Baldwin, Greta Gerwig, Alison Pill, Roberto Benigni, Judy Davis
Why I’m Excited: My pants were indeed charmed off with Allen’s last release MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, which seemed to mark a return to form for the director after clunkers like YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER and the lackluster WHATEVER WORKS. Allen’s using a similar formula, with a a heaping spoonful of actors in a foreign location, talking about love and being neurotic. What’s notable here is that Allen himself is back in front of the camera, which he hasn’t done since 2006′s SCOOP. I hope that he can serve up a rich and witty tiramisu of a film and not a cheesy, burnt, overcooked pizza. TO ROME WITH LOVE opens the LA Film Festival next month, so we’ll give you all our thoughts then!

9. THE BOURNE LEGACY – AUGUST 3
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Albert Finney, Joan Allen, David Strathairn, Oscar Isaac
Why I’m Excited: Tony Gilroy (MICHAEL CLAYTON) has had a hand in all of the previous Bourne films as a writer, but this is his first time as a director and he’s rebooting the franchise without Matt Damon. The idea here is in the film’s tagline: there was never just one. Smartly, the film creates a new character with Jeremy Renner, and the events of LEGACY take place in the same universe as the previous films and concurrently with some of the events in THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM. Renner has proven himself a worth action star with supporting roles in recent hits like MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL and as Hawkeye in THE AVENGERS, and now he gets the chance to headline a film and potentially an entire franchise. I was really impressed by what Renner did with the screentime he got in AVENGERS and am hoping that a couple well placed neck punches and sniper bullets will find audiences subdued by Renner and the relaunch of this action franchise.

8. LAWLESS – AUGUST 31
Starring: Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, Shia LaBeouf, Mia Wasikowska
Why I’m Excited: John Hillcoat (THE ROAD, THE PROPOSITION) directs the film that I think will provide the perfect transition between the summer’s explosive but often shallow releases and the heavier dramatic fare of the fall and winter with LAWLESS, a period crime thriller that takes place in the south during the Prohibition era. Formerly called THE WETTEST COUNTY IN THE WORLD, based on the novel of the same name, LAWLESS find a group of brothers (Hardy and LaBeouf among them) fighting the law, in the form of Guy Pearce who wants to put a strangehold on their bootlegging. The film’s cast almost ensures discussion come Oscar season, and I think Lawless will be an intense crime thriller that will get me, and hopefully audiences, ready for the fall’s crime films like GANGSTER SQUAD and END OF WATCH.

7. PARANORMAN – AUGUST 17
Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Leslie Mann, John Goodman, Casey Affleck, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jeff Garlin
Why I’m Excited: CORALINE was so much fun and this film, about a little boy who can commune with the dead and has a penchant for zombies, comes from the same group of people. While most children’s films are generally repellent to me, mostly because of their reliance on lowest common denominator humor (read: farts, poop, and naughty bits, which can be funny in their own right but shouldn’t be the bread and butter of any comedic film), PARANORMAN looks like it will be a cut above other animated releases like MADAGASCAR 3 and it’s spooky vibe is sure to be tons of fun.

6. BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD – JUNE 27
Starring: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry
Why I’m Excited: First time director Benh Zeitlin has created a bit of a stir with his film, which after glowing reviews out of Cannes and Sundance, is already being talked about as a frontrunner in this year’s Oscar race. The film, which tells the story of six-year old Hushpuppy who is trying to save her sickly father Wink, not only from his illness, but from the impending apocalypse and the aforementioned beasts that are coming along with it. The film’s imagery, which to me felt like a whiskey soaked TREE OF LIFE, is fantastical and beautiful and sweeping and I think that the themes of the film will also draw comparisons to Malick’s film, which is not bad company to be in. Check out the trailer and see for yourself, and we’ll tell you all about it when we see the film at this year’s LA Film Festival.

5. G.I. JOE: RETALIATION – JUNE 29
Starring: Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson, Adrianne Palicki, Bruce Willis, Ray Stevenson, Ray Park, Joseph Mazzello, Walton Goggins
Why I’m Excited: I’m hoping that Jon Chu (STEP UP 3D, JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER) will be able to do for G.I. JOE what Justin Lin did for the Fast and Furious franchise: revitalize it by embracing how ridiculous the premise is and filling the film with well directed action and style. I really want this film to redeem itself and be this summer’s big, stupid fun movie, because we all need those in our lives. Adding Dwayne Johnson, which helped FAST FIVE rocket to success, can’t be all bad either.

4. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN – JULY 3
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Denis Leary
Why I’m Excited: Marc Webb ((500) DAYS OF SUMMER) is taking a big risk by rebooting a successful franchise that isn’t even a decade old yet. However, his angle, decidedly darker than Sam Raimi’s, seems to be appealing, and casting Andrew Garfield a heart-meltingly sincere Spider-Man die hard, hot of the heels of his success in THE SOCIAL NETWORK should hopefully smooth things over with webslinging fanboys. What’s also interesting is how he’s choosing to retell the origin of Spider-Man. While he will (spoilers) be bitten by a radioactive spider, the film restores one of the elements (mechanical web shooters) that original film changed, and explores what happened Peter Parker’s parents and how that has impacted Parker emotionally. The film will also be the first Spidey film to integrate 3D, which will hopefully bring new dimension – literally – to a character whose franchise didn’t end on the best note. We all want to forget #emospiderman, and let’s hope Webb and company are the people for the job.

3. MAGIC MIKE – JUNE 29TH
Starring: Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Matthew McConaughey, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Olivia Munn
Why I’m Excited: Steven Soderbergh (HAYWIRE, CONTAGION) has been on a roll lately, and is collaborating with Channing Tatum in a sort of semi-autobiographical meta narrative. MAGIC MIKE tells, in part, the story of Tatum’s own experience as a male stripper, played by Alex Pettyfer, with Tatum playing the role of the titular Mike, a stripper Jedi master of sorts. With his roles in HAYWIRE and 21 JUMPSTREET, 2012 is proving to be the year of Tatum, and another venture with Soderbergh, will be great to see. However, I won’t lie, I mostly want to see this movie because it’s a bunch of hot guys in next to nothing on the big screen. I’m a simple man. MAGIC MIKE closes the LA Film Festival this year, and we’ll give you the full thong and tassel tally when we see it!

2. PROMETHEUS – JUNE 8
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce
Why I’m Excited: Ridley Scott, with a little help from writer Damon Lindelof, is delivering us his prequel-but-maybe-not-a-prequel that brings the director back to the genre that helped to define his career. It follows a group of scientists exploring a planet that might have had visitors who went to Earth, and because this is Ridley Scott, things go terribly, horribly, probably face huggingly, wrong. Ridley Scott also commented at Comic Con that his experience shooting in 3D was so positive that he he never wants to shoot in 2D again, so it’ll be interesting to see, especially in IMAX, the results. Thankfully, all will be revealed soon.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES – JULY 20
Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Aidan Gillen, Juno Temple, Liam Neeson
Why I’m Excited: Christopher Nolan is wrapping up perhaps the most dramatic and impactful superhero film series ever, Nolan has a huge task in front of him and if the trailers are any indiciation, he’s probably going to succeed and then some. I wanted to see this film since I first heard it was being made, and after seeing the ten minute all IMAX preview earlier this year in front of MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL and then hearing that over an hour of IMAX footage is in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, my excitement level went through the roof. I can only hope that TDKR can finish the trilogy has strongly as everyone wants it to, and who knows, perhaps it will incite another sea change in film the way THE DARK KNIGHT did.

Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave comments and let me know what you’re looking forward to this summer! Look for Mel’s top ten list tomorrow!

After what seems like several decades, it looks like Alexander Payne’s NEBRASKA is finally coming together.

Deadline says the director wants Bruce Dern and Will Forte for the black-and-white father-son drama. The film is centered around an aged alcoholic who treks across the country with his deadbeat son after learning he might have won a major sweepstakes. The script was written by Bob Nelson.

This has been a pet project for Payne for a long time. The director was pursuing Gene Hackman to take up the fatherly role (that would have been amazing) but Hackman has apparently passed in favor of enjoying his retirement. Can’t blame him. As for the role of the son, many names have been tossed around from Bryan Cranston to even Dave Matthews. Both Dern and Forte aren’t the first people you’d think of when talking about an Alexander Payne film but you must admit they’d be inspired casting. I’d be especially excited to see Forte, who hasn’t had much luck on the big screen post-SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE.

So Will Forte and Bruce Dern together in an Alexander Payne drama? Who do we have to bribe to make this happen?

POLISSE
Directed by: Maïwenn
Written by: Maïwenn & Emmanuelle Bercot
Starring: Karin Viard, Joey Starr, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Maïwenn, Emmanuelle Bercot, Karole Rocher, and Marina Foïs

When it come to police procedurals, Americans have pretty much exhausted a lot of creative storytelling avenues. That’s why we must now look to the French to find a fresh new wave of filmmaking. And we get that with model-turned-actress-turned-filmmaker Maïwenn’s POLISSE (a deliberately childish misspelling of police).  Like an art-house version of THE OFFICE meets LAW & ORDER: SVU (some leaving the theater were comparing it to THE WIRE), emphasis is placed on character development rather than a traditional narrative story structure. And what an electrifying jolt it turns out to be!

If Maïwenn looks familiar to you, she played the diva Plavalaguna in (former flame) Luc Besson’s THE FIFTH ELEMENT and co-starred with Cecile de France (THE KID WITH A BIKE) in HIGH TENSION. She’s still in front of the camera in POLISSE, playing Melissa, a photographer who gets in too deep when assigned to cover the daily activities of the cops of Paris’ Child Protection Unit. However, her talent fares far better when she’s behind the camera, coaxing and guiding the scenes into unexplored storytelling dimensions.

The film begins with a lovely juxtaposition that sets the tone for our journey: An abused child being questioned by a policewoman transitions to a very colorful opening credit sequence. Many cases cross the desks of this elite team (who, as you can guess, are a family of sorts) and the film takes you through all of the different and haunting kinds, from the humorous (teen girl gives blow jobs for a smartphone) to the angering (an entitled rich businessman who molested his daughter) to the heartrending (a raped teen delivers a stillborn baby). Not only do we feel for the crime victims, we also care deeply about the cops – all of whom are dealing with their own sets of problems. Nadine (Karin Viard) is getting a divorce and her mind is being poisoned by her bestie, Iris (Marina Foïs), who’s trying to get pregnant while having a severe eating disorder (and a host of other mental problems). Fred (Joey Starr) is reaching his boiling point with the cases that cross his desk and launches into a relationship with Melissa. Chrys (Karole Rocher) is married and pregnant but is also kind of in love with her partner, Mathieu (Nicolas Duvauchelle). We learn about the squad not only through the cases they handle, but even in the lighter moments – from the chats in the cafeteria to the late night dance parties they hold to blow off steam. There’s a surprising amount of humor, as there should be for such a dramatically weighty piece.

This is an emotional and physically arresting piece of work. And nothing will prepare you for the wallop of an ending. POLISSE won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes last year and was the most nominated at the 2012 Cesar Awards (the French Oscars) and it’s easy to see why. Deeply affecting, incredibly moving, and wonderfully compelling, this film will have you cheering one minute and completely devastated the next. At times you even forget you are watching a French film – you just know you are watching a great film. Period.

POLISSE opens in limited release on May 18 and on VOD on May 25.

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING
Directed by: Kirk Jones
Written by: Heather Hach & Shauna Cross (screenplay), Heidi Murkoff (novel)
Starring: Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Elizabeth Banks, Matthew Morrison, Anna Kendrick, Chace Crawford, Ben Falcone, Dennis Quaid, Brooklyn Decker, Rebel Wilson, Joe Manganiello, Chris Rock, Rob Huebel, Thomas Lennon, Rodrigo Santoro, and Wendi McLendon-Covey

Have you ever looked at a “how-to” book and thought, “Gee, this would make a great comedy ensemble starring Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz.” Nope. Neither have I. But we aren’t the executives at Lionsgate who put together the film adaptation of the. #1 best-selling pregnancy manual, WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING. It’s no secret that I’ve been exceptionally hard on this film from it’s conception stage. I’ve called it “potential cinematic afterbirth” and for it to be “aborted.” Well, folks. This is not quite the “bloody show” (Google it. Or on second thought, don’t!) I thought it would be. It delivers quite a few belly laughs and – shocker of all shockers – even some tears.

Exactly how do you go about making a three act film based on an instruction manual? And can you translate the book’s success at calming perspective parents’ fears? Sort of. The film follows five couples as their pregnancy journeys intertwine (or don’t really). Jules and Evan (Cameron Diaz and Matthew Morrison) are controlling dance partners on a reality show when she gets unexpectedly knocked up. Anna Kendrick and Chace Crawford play two sparring food truck chefs whose one night stand turns into something they didn’t bargain for. Wendy and Gary (Elizabeth Banks and Ben Falcone) have been struggling to conceive a baby for years and finally discover themselves expectant – but on the same day Gary’s uber-competitive father (Dennis Quaid) and his trophy wife (Brooklyn Decker) announce theirs. And finally there are Holly and Alex (Jennifer Lopez and Rodrigo Santoro), who are looking to adopt a child from Ethiopia. When word comes that the child will be available before their life plans of buying a house are achieved, it sends the couple into full on panic mode. Is anyone ever truly ready for kids?! This film answers that question.

I’ll start with the positives: This is Rebel Wilson’s world and we’re all just livin’ in it. She steals every scene she’s in from the equally adorable and talented Banks. Wilson’s dimwitted shopgirl-assistant is loveably goofy and earns all of her laughs. Even though I didn’t buy her fake Southern twang, I dare you not to laugh when she says, “wisdom.” I’m sure this next positive will be totally taboo (and one of the myriad reasons why I should never have kids), but Chris Rock’s toddler who’s constantly put in peril for sake of comedy works to brilliant effect. Filmmakers take revolutionary measures to ensure that Dads are represented in a positive light, all the while cleverly poking fun at mothers and their judgment towards other mothers. “The Dudes Group,” comprised of talented improv comedians, are there to lead Santoro’s worried character out of the darkness and help him embrace the fatherhood experience. And I’ve saved the best for last: TRUE BLOOD hottie, Joe Manganiello, goes shirtless!

With all good praise comes the bad. While this film is trendsetting in some areas, it backslides in others. I would like to have seen less of a homogenization of the couples (which are all hetero) and maybe see a homosexual couple in the mix. It also doesn’t really go into other forms of conception, such as surrogates or gestational carriers (which is how Banks had her real-life child). Without the throwaway line of one of the couples trying and failing at IVF, today’s medical practices are virtually non-existent here. Also the script by Heather Hach and Shauna Cross can’t figure out what to do with Crawford and Kendrick’s relationship. Both are top talents who are given short shrift by their lackluster plot line. There’s no reason these two can’t be together at any juncture except for script contrivance. It also doesn’t really delve into anything that could be labeled “too scary” in the labor and delivery segment – which I imagine is the grossest and most frightening part of the whole process. It’s a “safe film,” meaning oversensitive pregnant women could watch this and not be freaked out. They don’t go for the gross out humor. No one shits themself during delivery, and there’s no placenta eating either. Overall there are many amusing aspects to the film, but it lacks any emotional connective tissue to take the inherently funny material from ordinary to extraordinary.

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING opens nationwide on May 18.