Films seen so far this year: 468
Films seen this fortnight: Ano Una, To Get To Heaven, First You Have To Die, Four Christmases, The Crew, The Transporter, Transporter 3, The Lost City, Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel, Bolt, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Reverb, The Express, Bigger, Stronger, Faster, Trouble the Water, Julia, Australia, The Man From London
Keanu on Bill and Ted Film News: Party on, Ted!
Last week I attended the Keanu Reeves press conference for The Day The Earth Stood Still. Sadly, he didn't have much to say about the remake (perhaps not that surprising – the questions included things like "What's the most alien you've ever felt?" and "How green are you?"), but he did prove unexpectedly forthcoming about a proposed sequel to one of his early hits. No, not Speed 3 (he's apparently ruled that one out) but Bill and Ted 3. Here's the full text of what he had to say in regards to Bill and Ted film news:
‘Bill and Ted! Blast from the past. I don't know, way back when I was younger, in my thirties, Alex and I would talk about playing Bill and Ted in our forties but now he and I are in our mid-forties so maybe we have to talk about Bill and Ted in our fifties. You know what's been cool about Bill and Ted? Making the film, my peer group, some people liked it, then we went on to have children and then Bill and Ted kind of disappeared for a while and now they're showing the film to their kids, so I'm getting little ones coming up to me once in a while and saying, you know, "Be excellent". In terms of getting a little longer in the tooth, it's kind of neato to have that happening. But, you know, I wouldn't say no, but it would have to be a good idea and there'd have to be a reason to do it and we don't have one right now.
But we've spoken about it with the writers. We thought maybe if Bill and Ted – you know like how they were supposed to save the world? But what if they didn't? And so we see them and they're still trying to write the one song that would save the world. But now they're so fixated on writing that one song, they're ignoring their children, they ignore their wives, they're like "Don't bug me, I'm trying to --" and Bill and Ted are like doing this thing. And so the metaphor of being that, you know, this whole thing that was supposed to save them takes away their lives and really it's their kids that write the song.’
Films I'm Looking Forward To: Gran Torino
I can't wait for this. Clint Eastwood directs and stars as a grizzled Korean war veteran who has his prejudices challenged when he gets involved with his Chinese neighbours and a dispute with a local gang. The trailer alone has so many great Clint moments, from the brush-off he gives to the priest, to his expression when his family spread the retirement home literature out in front of him, to the noise he makes when the Chinese grandmother spits on the porch. However, my favourite moment of the trailer is him growling "GET OFF MY LAWN" and pointing the shotgun. There are apparently Oscar rumours for this and, Clint being Clint, I wouldn't rule that out – he could easily end up getting nominations for both this and Changeling. And the weirdest fact about Gran Torino? Clint apparently sings the theme tune...
Top 10 Films On Release This Week (as recommended by me):
Three new entries and one re-entry this week, with the unmissable Katrina documentary Trouble the Water going straight in at number one and Summer and Julia both making it into the top ten. Meanwhile, OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies is still hanging on in there, which suggests it's actually found an audience. (If true, this would make me very happy indeed). It's also worth noting that both I've Loved You So Long and Choke are in their second runs and won't be in cinemas much longer, so catch them now while you still can.
1. Trouble the Water
2. OSS-117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
3. Waltz With Bashir
4. I've Loved You So Long
5. Hunger
6. Quantum of Solace
7. The Baader Meinhof Complex
8. Choke
9. Summer
10. Julia
DVD of the Week: Priceless (out now, RRP £19.99)
This week's DVD of the Week is French romcom (Fromcom?) par excellence Priceless, starring Gad Elmaleh as a shy waiter who falls for Audrey Tautou's beautiful gold-digger and decides to play her at her own game. The film is extremely charming, Audrey Tautou is drop-dead gorgeous and Gad Elmaleh is like Buster Keaton reborn. It also looks gorgeous throughout and delivers the perfect blend of romance and comedy. The extras, however, are a bit of a mystery: on paper they include a handful of deleted scenes, a trailer, a 25 minute Making Of documentary and an outtake reel but they don't appear to have subtitles, at least on my review copy. So approach with caution and watch this space, as I shall be endeavouring to find out where the subs disappeared to...
Oh.My.God. Bill and Ted 3!!!!! I would, like, DIE if they made that movie - EXCELLENT!!
Same here, wouldn't it be great to have another Bill and Ted, 'Party on Dudes'!!!!!!!!!!
Let's make it happen.....
The Lips