Niki N. Phaser » Movies

“MacGruber” Out This Spring

Niki N. Phaser — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:52:27 +0000

MacGruber, the action comedy based on one of Will Forte’s SNL characters, will be out this spring. Considering that the movie is written by Forte himself, as well as his Saturday Night Live collaborators, we can expect at least one source of good laughs this coming spring. He is joined by some of his colleagues from the famous live show, like Kristen Wiig as the female lead, or Maya Rudolph. The cast is completed by some ‘stars-for-flavour’, like Val Kilmer as the bad guy, Ryan Phillippe, Powers Boothe and a string of cameos by well known wrestlers — it’s a comedy, so it’s allowed.

MacGruber continues an impressive tradition of films based on SNL sketches, like Wayne’s World, A Night at the Roxbury, The Ladies Man, you name it. If you’re not familiar with the character, you should just know that he’s a parody of MacGyver, just that he doesn’t save the day. Ever. Here’s the trailer, hopefully they haven’t used up all the good stuff in it:

TRAILER

Lemmy Gets His Own Movie

Niki N. Phaser — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:48:06 +0000

Heavy-metal icon, Lemmy Kilmister, the frontman of Motorhead and the genuine poster boy of true rock’n'roll living is the subject of a new documentary, hitting the festival circuit soon. The movie is titled Lemmy and it is directed by Wes Orshoski and Greg Olliver, who spent a period of roughly three years with the legendary rocker, following him through numerous gigs with Motorhead, as well as in more peaceful and intimate moments.

Important names, like Dave Grohl, Alice Cooper, Slash, Ozzy Osbourne and plenty more (actor Billy Bob Thorton, wrestler Triple H), make appearances in the film, confessing their admiration for the ‘ace of spades’ of heavy metal and sharing funny stories, as expected. Hopefully, there’ll be more to the documentary than a dithyrambic portrait of the bassist, but also a bit of an analysis of the true consequences of a compromise-free rock’n'roll life, Lemmy’s being one for sure.

TRAILER

A Cute Smile Has Faded

Niki N. Phaser — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:48:52 +0000

It’s always a shock when someone young dies and it was an even greater one yesterday, when it was announced that young actress Brittany Murphy has passed away. She was 32. If you wonder why this ‘preferential treatment’ shock-wise, it’s because whenever I would hear her name, her big childish smile would flash before my eyes. And now, if I think about, that probably woun’t change. Girl, Interrupted is the first movie that I remember her from because, though a supporting character, she really made you believe that her character had a story even more interesting than that of the main character. The last movie I saw her in was The Ramen Girl, a unique kind of a cooking movie, where she was this lost American in Japan, who finds a brand new way of giving meaning to her life… We can only say ‘thank you, Brittany’ for adding something to our lives.

The Ramen Girl Interrupted

First Taste of “The Runaways”

Niki N. Phaser — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:22:28 +0000

For all of you interested in the iconic all-girl punk-glam pioneers, The Runways, you should clear your schedule for next spring. March 2010 will see the premiere of Floria Sigismondi’s biopic about the rise and fall of the short-lived phenomenon which was The Runaways. If you know what I’m talking about, you also probably know that Kristen Stewart will be playing Joan Jett and Dakota Fanning, Cherrie Currie, with Michael Shannon as the controversial manager of the band, Kim Fowley. The film is directed and written by Italian multi-dimensional artist, Floria Sigismondi. She knows her way around the music world, being the author of music videos for acts like The Cure (remember The End of the World), Sigur Ros, Marylin Manson, and plenty of others. She’s also responsible for the cool video for Bowie’s Little Wonder. Here’s a taste of how her unique vision fits a biopic:

RUNAWAY here

‘When You’re Strange’ New Documentary About The Doors

Niki N. Phaser — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:34:40 +0000

A new documentary about The Doors is about to hatch out of its festival-circuit shell. When You’re Strange was written and directed by indie veteran Tom DiCillo and has been seen at some of the major festivals, but is still awaiting general release. Contracts for France, Britain, Australia, Canada, Japan and Germany have been completed, so if you live there… lucky you. The movie documents the period between 1965 and 1971 and uses ONLY real footage (no reenactments), including never seen before material. There’s stuff from the studio, from gigs, a lot from their personal lives (for example, I’d never have imagined Jim Morrisson driving). When You’re Strange has the endorsement of the remaining members of The Doors, who weren’t too happy with Oliver Stone’s version. But bands never are, so don’t give too much thought to it.

Trailer

Say Anything turns 20

Niki N. Phaser — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:26:19 +0000

Cameron Crowe’s teen classic, Say Anything… is turning 20 this year (to continue our string of anniversaries). To mark the occasion, the film is being (re)released on Blu-Ray and DVD, of course and we all know that it’s not Cameron’s style to offer us something without any bonuses. This new edition will come with all the extra material you would want and some of it, available for the first time. For those of you who are not familiar with the movie (do you still exist?) it will be a good chance to get acquainted with the quintessential teen romantic comedy of the 80′s. For those of us who are already hooked on lines like “Bitches, man!” or “I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen”, this will be an opportunity to go even deeper in the genesis of this feel-good classic, that even inspired the name of the band Say Anything, as well as creating some of the most circulated clichés in the world of romantic comedy — the boombox pose is a pop icon, no doubt about it. But, then again, Cameron Crowe’s movies were always sources of pop culture iconography, whether is visual or just verbal. And to paraphrase (again) the film’s tagline, “To know Cameron Crowe is to love Cameron Crowe’s movies”.

Say Anything… TRAILER

Happy Birthday, Fight Club !

Niki N. Phaser — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:25:57 +0000

Well, believe it or not, it is ten years since Fight Club had its official premiere. Yes, October the 15th, 1999 A.D., the day when this odd thriller and dark “should I laugh” comedy has been unleashed upon us, naive victims. Since then, it had a good life, with no downs, just ups. It became the most likely movie to be called this/that generation’s manifesto. It also garnered an army of fans, some of them so ridiculously obsessed with this movie, that they know when it had its premiere and they write “Happy Birthday, Fight Club!” articles on their sites.

50 Years Without Errol

Niki N. Phaser — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:06:40 +0000

Today, October the 14th, marks the 50th anniversary of Errol Flynn’s death. It was five decades ago that he suffered a fatal heart attack — the enemy‘s sword finally hit its target. And, without intentionally trying to be too melodramatic, it seemed that the whole swashbuckling genre died some that day. It had occasional resurrections, but no other actor emerged as the poster boy of the sword-adventure flick.

Errol Flynn is pretty much like all golden age superstars, you have to get him, let his errolesque charm inside your mind. The overall good mood, the bigger-than-life style of expressing his beliefs, the way he teases Una O’Connor or seduces Olivia de Havilland (”You love me, don’t you?”), the teeth grinding when he fights and, of course, the not-so-innocent grin.

And also, like many golden age superstars, Errol Flynn had plenty of secrets and scandals surrounding him, but, to be honest, rumours that he was a SS spy just make him even more fascinating. He had his wicked ways and his vices, but naming them all, would leave no room in the coffin for the man himself…

FLYNN, ERROL

New Documentary About The Manics

Niki N. Phaser — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:26:12 +0000

The legend grows… A new documentary about Manic Street Preachers has reached its final stages and is… “coming soon”, to quote the latest trailer. No Manifesto is directed by Elizabeth Marcus, produced and (most importantly with documentaries) edited by Kurt Engfehr, who has quite some experience with editing documentaries: Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. It promises to change the world of rockumentaries, focusing both on the band and the fans. It doesn’t really sound so new, but what’s important is that this film goes to show once more what modern rock legends Manic Street Preachers really are. They deserve all the attention and all the movies one can make about them, though, to be entirely honest, I am still waiting for a biopic about them or, at least, about Richey. The 2002 Sidney J. Furie comedy Global Heresy seemed like a nod to the whole Richey disappearance episode, even though no one admits it officially. Still, No Manifesto does offer some enticing material, like the band’s time in the studio working on Send Away the Tigers. That alone promises to be very interesting.

No Manifesto TRAILER

John Hughes dies at 59

Niki N. Phaser — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:41:07 +0000

John Hughes died yesterday, August 6, of a heart attack. He was 59. For those of you who are not paying attention during movie’s opening titles, you should know that Hughes wrote, produced or/and directed the best teen movies of the 80′s, to which you can add some other great stuff in the 90′s (you know that deep inside you crave to see Home Alone once more). He pretty muched shaped the teen comedy genre and created the matrix on which teen comedies are built and which indie filmmakers resent. It was the mind of John Hughes that spawned such teen classics like The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink (he wanted a different ending), 16 Candles, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and what have you. You can almost bet that half of the comedies which marked your childhood are John Hughes products. Some of these movies, like The Breakfast Club or Pretty in Pink, are full-on masterpieces, managing to deal with more serious issues regarding teen life, without becoming Larry Clark. It’s fun for the whole family, but food for though for each member individually. John Hughes, we will never forget about you.

THE BREAKFAST CLUB TRAILER PRETTY IN PINK TRAILER HOME ALONE TRAILER