About the ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT Movie...

Or: "Why a Fan Does Not Want an 'Arrested Development' Movie"

A few weeks ago, actor Jason Bateman was promoting the movie “Horrible Bosses” and once again got the attention of the internet-savvy by letting some MTV writer speculate, without provocation, on a Jennifer Aniston cameo in the impossible/inevitable “Arrested Development” movie. Bateman said absolutely nothing about the un-produced movie continuation of the cult TV show cancelled nigh on five years ago. In fact, nobody from the original cast or crew has offered anything but bland optimism for months or years now. Yet rumors are propped up by the unrelenting and vocal support of misplaced ambitions. Indeed, this very website has a link (down and to the left) for a fan-made “Arrested Development” documentary project. No outsider changes the minds of a group and so “true fans” of the former series wave off any discouragement from people unfamiliar with the show or--worse--who have moved on, as if British citizenship was renounced by anybody jumping off the Titanic. No, I’m a fan of the show and won’t even say a film adaptation won’t happen, but rather I want to say that there is room for a fan to not want a movie.

Nick Adams on: PAUL

Paul: An Alien Too Familiar

Is the parody movie genre an inevitable handicap? I want to say, “no, of course not, what a stupid question and stupid introductory sentence.” Yet, after seeing the movie, “Paul” I can’t shake the feeling that parody is a seasoning, appropriate, even delicious, in small dosages—whereas your night is ruined if you eat a full course meal of oregano. The real probe in my ear about “Paul,” though, is that the movie is not explicitly a parody, yet the movie barely exists if you take away the audience’s pre-existing, collective, cultural memory. 

Arrested Development Movie Poster?

This has appeared on the internet, tweeted from the account of Michael Cera. Twitter has not verified this account as actually belonging to Cera. As most of the tweets are really odd, I have my suspicions.

I can only hope and pray that this development is no longer arrested.

First Paul "Poster" Surfaces

It's not really a poster, but it's exciting.


No release date yet, but I can't wait.

Review: UP IN THE AIR

Almost nothing happens in this movie, but for some reason I was completely enthralled for the entire thing. I guess that makes it pretty good.

Up in the Air isn't a movie with a gimmicky plot idea like most movies. Jason Reitman's newest is more of a story about a singular man and his job, much like his previous movie, the terrific Thank You For Smoking.

Review: EXTRACT

You know what would be totally sweet?

If Mike Judge made a different movie.

He's a really funny guy with a great take on the world, but it's gotten to the point where I feel like all of his movies are the same. After Idiocracy flopped, I wouldn't be surprised if he went and tried to write something similar to his cult classic, Office Space. In fact, it's so similar that it just irritated me for most of the movie. If it were not for some really good performances, I might have hated it.

Couples Retreat

I think this movie looks a lot like Forgetting Sarah Marshall.... at least location wise. But still, it looks funny as hell.

Final Final Final Final Trailer

Internet-

The final final trailer for the Independent AD Documentary is here.

Enjoy.

Hurwitz to Direct?

More AD movie news.

So, in the last update I said that Ron Howard would be directing the Arrested Development movie.

Well, now it seems that Mitchell Hurwitz himself, the creator of, and genius behind the show will be making his directorial debut.

It seems a lot of changes have been going on, which is good. That tells me the movie is actually being worked on.

Look for the Arrested Development movie 2010.

The Independent AD Doc: Final Trailer

Hey kiddos,

So as you probably already know, I am a giant fan of the late Arrested Development, and the good people over at the Independent Arrested Development Documentary have released the final trailer to their project.

I have been emailing with the guys back and forth for almost a year now, and they are just great. Just a couple of fans, just like me, and they want nothing more than to spread the joy that the show was, and raise some education about it. It's also important to note that the entire thing is self-funded, and completely out of their own pockets.

So here's the final trailer to their project. Be sure to check their website (in our affiliates bar) and check the film out when it's released.

Can't wait!

Review: STATE OF PLAY

I suppose you need to have a guy like Cal McAffrey for a movie like this to work.

He puts dates, places, people, events and connections together in his mind like it's no more difficult than the box score to a Celtics game. It's a bit ridiculous to have such a computer-brained protagonist, but in a film that is an adaptation from a six-hour BBC political crime thriller, you are just going to have to accept it; Cal McAffrey is the man.

Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) has brought a very well crafted film to the table here. Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) wrote it, along with Billy Ray and Matthew Michael Carnahan, and while it is very clever, suspenseful, and often times funny, it seems to lack the sharpness and originality that was present in Michael Clayton. Don't get me wrong, it's a very solid movie, but I think it wouldn't have hurt to send the script through one more draft, and just get a little more in there. I can't say exactly what it lacked. It was awesome, but I just felt like I wanted a bit more.

As I said Russell Crowe plays Cal McAffrey, a smart and dry reporter for the Washington Tribune. While in the middle of investigation the murder of his good friend Commissioner Stephen Collins' (Ben Affleck) mistress, he stumbles upon clues and leads that send him into an obsessive hunt to expose the conspiracy of a giant corporation in DC. He teams up with a young blogger for the Tribune (Rachel McAdams) to expose the truth. I won't say anymore, because the film is very reliant on the plot, and its many twists. But what political crime thriller isn't?

Again, I can't exactly say why this movie didn't blow me away; it just didn't. We have some very solid performances by all of the actors. Russell Crowe is the best of all. And this is coming from someone who doesn't really like to watch him. His lazy eye always freaked me out. But here his eye is under control, as is his performance. He's a very likable character who really draws you in. Next best is Ben Affleck. Now, really, why does he get so much sh*t? It seems to be the fad to say Affleck is a bad actor. I've always liked him, and I think he's very, very good in this. He has a lot to struggle with as his character, and I think he plays it very well.

Now, on to Rachel McAdams. Anyone who has read my posts should know she is my favorite actress, for more reasons than one (if you catch my drift). And I'm sorry to say, she is not my favorite character here. I feel like her part was very underwritten, and she got excited to play a part in such a fun thriller. She definitely breathes much more life into the role than was written for it, and I honestly feel the character would suck without her. She's very good, I would even go so far as to say great, but she had nothing to work with.

In the end, I really have nothing specifically negative to say about the film, but I also have nothing glowing to say. It's a very good movie, and I recommend you see it, but don't expect to walk out with your world rocked. A 3 might be a bit undeserved, but a 4 suggests I had a lot to think about when I left.

Also, I don't know why it's called State of Play. Maybe that got left in the miniseries.

Teaser for Mike Judge's Next Film Revealed

Here's hoping Extract gets a wider release than Idiocracy...

Upcoming Film: State of Play

Hey all,

Just a quick bit of fun stuff. As far as crime thrillers go, they tend to have something special, in that there are so many good ones.

Here's the trailer for Kevin Macdonald's (The Last King of Scotland, My Enemy's Enemy) State of Play. It's based off of the old BBC Series which I have seen some of, and loved.

It stars Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Robin Wright Penn, and Rachel McAdams*.

Here's the trailer:




*Anyone who has read my posts should know how I feel about Rachel McAdams by this point. If not, get an encyclopedia and look up "example of the most perfect, beautiful, and wonderful piece of stardust that the good lord has ever done us the favor of creating", and you will get a sense of how I feel about her.

Not So Arrested Development

Anyone who has read my posts on this blog should know how I feel about the late Arrested Development. I have said repeatedly that it was the greatest show ever to air on TV, and I still believe that with every bone in my body.

Ever since the final episode of the series aired in February of 2006, fans have been eagerly expecting the feature film that the aforementioned episode eluded to. Then, for a period of almost three years, nothing really happened, minus the occasional interview in which Jason Bateman would say that they were all interested in doing it. There was even an Independent AD Documentary Project. in the works.

Well, after all this waiting, it seems that the development of this movie is no longer that arrested. I don't want to speak to soon, but it looks like this movie is finally happening. Ron Howard, the producer, and narrator of the series, has signed on to direct. Mitchell Hurwitz, the genius creator has written a draft of the script. Almost every single original cast member has signed on to reprise their roles, even the more minor characters.

It looks like this movie is actually going to happen.

More to come.

Review: HANCOCK

Hancock is the summer Superhero movie that we all have been waiting for. Wait? What? Oh sorry... I meant Dark Knight... which will easily shadow Hancock as soon as it comes out and send it to the realm of Will Smith movies everyone has forgotten about... like MIB II and Sharktale. However... Hancock isn't a bad bad idea... its just a bunch of good ideas that was made into a bad film. Kind of like a collage that a 5 year old makes using classic magazine images.

Hancock tells the story of John Hancock (Will Smith) (a Superhero who's origins are never revealed). However, (surprise, surprise) Hancock is not your average Superhero. He does his job because he feels obligated, but like a burned out social worker, he does not care at all about how his actions affects everyone else. He has pending lawsuits and fines, has outstanding arrest warrants, and above all, he is an alcoholic. It is soon revealed that while Hancock cannot be penetrated by bullets, his feelings are not so strong. So he wanders around depressed and teary-eyed, until one day he saves the life of Ray Embry (Jason Bateman) a Public Relations man, who is looking for a new project... ie. Hancock.

Hancock is convinced to head off to prison to reform his image, messing up two guys who challenge him on the prison yard (apparently forgetting he was the superhero who put them in there). After some depressing basketball, a visit from Embry's wife, Mary (Charlize Theron), and several heads stuffed up other peoples bums, the city realizes that it needs Hancock the superhero, and he sets out to do what he does best... kickin' other peoples asses.

As far as acting goes, Will Smith is superb. You easily connect with Hancock's emotions, and feel where he is coming from right off the bat. In certain scenes, Smith does seem to be as old as his character, and this is one of his best. Jason Bateman essentially reprises his character from "Arrested Development", Michael Bluth, in trying to be the guy that holds his family and friends together. While Bateman is a good actor, this is a character who brings nothing new to the genre and we have all seen before.

Charlize Theron looks very attractive in this movie... but thats more or less it. Her character is far too over dramatic, and from the moment she 'meets' Hancock, you know something is up. Also, once it is revealed that something is indeed going on there, you wonder how you or anyone else never noticed it before. Each time Hancock walks in, the camera zooms in on her and she gasps, almost as in saying to the viewer "Hey you, you look dumb so let me tell you multiple times that a twist is eventually coming."

After all two or three twists come, the movie dramatically improves. The climax of the film is beautifully shot and a thing of total art, and Superhero drama in the best from. However is is disappointing that the ending of the film is when it finally gets good. Peter Berg (The Director) makes you feel as if you are watching three different movies that were cut together. Its almost as if someone edited together "Transformers," "The Notebook, and the non action parts of "Spiderman 3". The whole movie is disjointed throughout, and they never explain any of the origins or back-story before the film takes place, which is very annoying and confusing.

By far the best scene comes at the end of the film (mid credits) when Hancock goes to a bank robbery... and... well I won't spoil that part for you. If you do happen to head over to the theater to see the film... this is easily the best part. Too bad it didn't come sooner in the movie.