The Hot Blog

Give us all columns.

Would love some word on 'the limits of control' if anyone's seen it.

Gave up after 25 minutes of "Killing of a Chinese Bookie" last night. Not sure if I just wasn't in the mood for a movie, or if it was the movie itself. Anybody seen it? Should I give it another shot?

Recently watched "The Visitor" and "Timecrimes." Highly recommend both.

Why not ring up Jeff Dowd for new and exclusive info on "Dirt The Movie"? The timing couldn't be more perfect: Barker and Bernard have re-upped for four years, Hot Docs is in session and Cannes' about to begin.

MWNN- Loved the Visitor, you should check out Elegy, best film I saw from last year.

Thanks, hcat. Just added to my Netflix queue.

Or work something up about

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/people/avery-leaves-paramount-15618

I highly suggest you sit down again and watch Chinese Bookie in its entirety. It's not the easiest film in the world to embrace, but Gazzara's acting is excellent. The other performances are solid, understated; the film is mesmerizing IMO, almost puts me in a trance-like state (and not the boredom kind). If you're not a Cassavetes fan, though, that kind of film will get you restless in about 5 minutes.

Well, here's something. The director of "Murder in the First" was found dead five days ago and nothing has shown up in the trades or the L.A. Times. They're usually on it with stuff like this:

http://incontention.com/?p=6417

"Sir...we don't have a relationship..."

In news related to the mention of THE VISITOR above, director Tom McCarthy has been slated to direct the pilot for the medieval fantasy epic GAME OF THRONES on HBO.

Peter Dinklage, star of McCarthy's earlier STATION AGENT, has been cast in one of the lead roles as imp Tyrion.

All good news as far as I'm concerned. It's going up against the Scorsese-directed Boardwalk Empire so the competition for HBO lineup should be fierce (no reason HBO couldn't sign both).

On a related note, I had no idea McCarthy was the lying journalist from the last season of the Wire. Based on that, "The Station Agent," and "The Visitor," I am completely in awe of the guy.

In completely unrelated news, I still can't get over how much I liked 17 Again. Don't let the "High School Musical" vibe keep you away - it's a legitimately hilarious flick.

Crank 2: High Voltage is going direct-to-DVD here. Aw.

And Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian is merely going by Night at the Museum 2.

Went to a special movie screening last night held only for bloggers in a mansion filled with extras made to look like creepy serial killers. It was for a new Aussie horror movie called Prey. It's so incredibly awful that I almost feel like it went a circle and became completely amazing in the process. Hysterically funny - why do half the cast have American accents? Why is the main character a doctor and yet when another has a sharp rock embedded in her chest does she then proceed to remove it and stop the bleeding with tissues - and ridiculously absurd (ancient aboriginal curses! zombies! weird old white men who do dot paintings!).

However, the best moment was when about two thirds of the way through the movie just after the mains have chainsawed some zombies into little bits a man ran into the cinema waving a chainsaw. It was perhaps the greatest thing ever. Perhaps.

Anyone watch IDOL tonight?

DAUGHTY PLUS GWEN STEFANI = No Cialis tonight, thank you.

Unrelated to anything, ever: How does Sam Mendes ALREADY have another movie out? (Yes, I know Soderbergh and Spielberg can manage two a year just fine, but Mendes usually seems more measured and bronzed than that.)

And one that seems like some ramshackle Little Miss Garden Juno Savages State "minor" work instead of his usual SERIOUS thing?

Are we really ready for John Krasinski, Movie Star? I realize he's the squeaky-clean, Chandler Bing/Zach Braff-esque crush for Bland White Women Everywhere, but I'm wondering if he's not now such an accessible "Friendly Face" from sitcom TV, that no one will buy him as having any big-screen mystery or aura. I sure don't buy it.

These are my own personal prejudices, but I just can't relate to, or don't want to, perfectly affable guys like Krasinski who seem THAT agreeable and edge-less and polite and unirnonic. I realize I'm mistaking the actor for the person on a certain level, but the guy doesn't have any street smarts or swagger that lend themselves to a legit "leading man." I'm sure he's the nicest guy in the world, but if I were John Krasinski, Actor, I'd be nagging my agent to get me into CRIME MOVIES or ACTION ROLES or sleazy thrillers where I could cut lose and shave my head and play a profane lecherous cokehead or something.

In short, this guy just seems like one of those agreeable, EVERYTHING IN LIFE HAS GONE RIGHT kind of guys who hasn't developed RAGE or INSECURITY or SELF-DEPRECATION.

Which is of course why he's a big hit on NBC television, but also why I don't want to pay ten bucks to see the dude.

ManWithNoName: Which version of "Bookie" did you try to watch? The Criterion box has dueling versions of it. After the disastrous reception of the 1976 cut, Cassavetes dusted it off when he finished "Opening Night" and trimmed out almost half an hour. While there's no denying the earlier version has its longeurs, it also offers a much fuller portrait of Cosmo's strip club milieu and, therefore, of Cosmo himself. The place defines him, and you lose a lot of that in the "remix." You also gain a bit: some brief scenes and minor characters were retrieved from the cutting room floor. And v.2 definitely gets the plot moving quicker, for what that's worth. Personally, I prefer the way the first version lets the plot sort of sneak up on you after half an hour of observing Cosmo in his world. I think maybe J. C. "over-corrected" this one, but both versions are fascinating and rewarding, particularly in the way they offer a metaphorical glimpse of the challenges of truly independent filmmaking. But if you're a Cassavetes novice, neither version of "Bookie" is the place to start. And of course some folks will just never dig his style.

Lex: I saw Idol. I liked Daughtry when he was a contestant, but it was pretty clear that he'd become a generic KROQ act, and that's what's happened, IMO. Also, I couldn't remember the hook of that song he did tonight if you put a gun to my head.

I wish Allison had stayed.

I love John Krasinski on The Office, but "License to Wed" showed the potential limitations of adapting that persona to the big screen (well, it probably had more to do with the limitations of the script, but still). I'm interested in "Away We Go," but I'd be a lot more interested if it wasn't Mendes.

Away We Go looks like dire twee faux-indie garbage with a soundtrack to match.

Can't wait for Away we go, my second most anticipated film of the Summer after PE. But I do agree with Kam the trailer looked like a Wes Anderson wannabe film and not something by Mendes.

Krasinski will never be a movie star which is why he'll just continue to make small under the radar films, and make his money on television.

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