The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews
The Star eCentral: Movie Reviews |
| Posted: Springsteen & I is a patchwork of fan footage that matches the storytelling of the man himself. THERE is a reason why Bruce Springsteen is called the Boss. After four decades of groundbreaking music, Springsteen continues to light up stadiums around the world while bringing new fans to his music with every album release. "We're musicians to the bone," Springsteen was quoted as saying after he picked a Kennedy Center Honors award in 2009. "It ain't easy to get us to go home. We're travelling musicians. Everybody in that van has got the same thing in their blood and in their bones. And there's many miles to go before we sleep." Indeed, stadiums just shrink in size when Springsteen rocks out. Never mind that he has sold more than 120 million albums; scored Top 10 hits with such songs as Dancing In The Dark, Tunnel Of Love" and I'm On Fire; won 20 Grammys; received an Academy Award for Best Original Song for Streets Of Philadelphia; and earned accolades aplenty. The Springsteen experience, as many fans will testify, is synonymous with the live setting. That leads us nicely to the crowd-sourced documentary Springsteen & I, which is a love letter to the 64-year-old rock legend from his devoted following worldwide. Throughout this documentary, which was directed by British filmmaker Baillie Walsh, you will get a better understanding of why Springsteen's connection with his fans has been a strong one. Ever since he burst out of New Jersey, the United States in 1973, he has been hailed by his fans with one long, loving, thunderous syllable: "Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuce!" What has inspired such devotion? What, at its essence, defines a Bruce Springsteen concert? With millions of fans worldwide, the answers to those questions may vary. If anything, Springsteen & I, which narrows down more than 2,000 fan video submissions, gets close to the heart and soul of the man. This scrapbook of fan videos, star-struck backstage encounters and tall tales from concert queues, might just put everything about Springsteen – the man, the music and the myth – into sharper focus. At the very least, a cinema hall blasting Springsteen's music is a treat. For the singer-songwriter, rock 'n' roll has always been about making contact with his audience. This movie – made for fans, by fans – is as good as it gets to a concert ticket. From smartphones to high-definition cameras, to still photographs, and good old fashioned stories, every dedicated fan has a tale in his back pocket. Through the decades, Springsteen has described his songwriting, albums, concerts – his entire career – as an "ongoing conversation" with his fans. Right across Springsteen & I, you will encounter some amazing stories from Springsteen fans worldwide. Take for instance, a British female fan that got hauled up on stage to dance with the Boss during his show at Hyde Park in London. What did she do? She got spotted with a "'I'll be your Courteney Cox" cardboard sign. Elsewhere, another hardcore fan from England reminisces about being presented with a free upgrade to front row seats at a Madison Square Garden concert by one of Springsteen's entourage. Not to forget Springsteen dragging up an Elvis impersonator for a rollicking version of All Shook Up during a US concert leg in Philadelphia. The hysteria, the tears and the adulation, every emotion is expertly captured by filmmaker Walsh in this moving, heartfelt documentary that goes behind the scenes and beyond the hype. Just like their music hero, Springsteen fans are strivers for a human connection, searchers for dignity and believers that a world exists where they can have their say. In short, Springsteen & I is one hell of a "home video" that underlines the fact that no one works harder than Springsteen to earn his fans' support. Springsteen & I will run exclusively at GSC Signature, GSC Mid Valley, GSC Pavilion KL, GSC 1 Utama in the Klang Valley and GSC Gurney Plaza in Penang, from July 26-28. |
| Posted: WHILE last year's ultraviolent Judge Dredd flick Dredd scored mostly solid reviews and enthusiastic reception from fans, it failed to find much of an audience. The US$45mil (RM143mil) film grossed just US$36mil (RM114mil) worldwide. But you can't keep a good Judge down, and strong home video sales may yet prove the key to a big-screen comeback for Karl Urban's grim, constantly-helmeted (as he should be) interpretation of the 2000AD comic hero. According to Urban, who was at last week's San Diego Comic-Con, Dredd sold about 650,000 units on home video in the first week. The science fiction entertainment news website Airlock Alpha (www.airlockalpha.com) said Urban had met with Dredd writer-producer Alex Garland to explore the possibility of a sequel. "It's certainly my hope that we get to make more ... clearly it has found an audience," Urban said at a Comic-Con media event, referring to the home video numbers. "I think the more people that campaign for it, the more people that e-mail, Twitter and write into (studio) Lionsgate and say 'We want to see more of this,' then the more likelihood that we'll get to see that. We certainly are doing everything we can to ensure that happens." Lionsgate – the law is quite clear on this. And Beverly Hills Cop 4, too FIRST, The Shield creator Shawn Ryan tried to get a Beverly Hills Cop TV series going, starring Brandon T. Jackson as the son of Axel Foley, who was played by Eddie Murphy in the three BHC movies. A pilot episode was made but failed to get the green light to go to series. Hope is not lost, according to the entertainment website Dark Horizons (www.darkhorizons.com). Ryan tweeted: "Sad to report that efforts to land Beverly Hills Cop pilot at another network have failed. This iteration is dead for now. Good news for fans ... the pilot tested so well, it has caused Paramount to put another #BHC movie into development." That's all for now – no word on whether it will feature Foley, Foley Junior or both. |
| Posted: Hugh Jackman returns home to Sydney to reprise the role that made him an international action star. The Chinese Garden of Friendship in Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia resembles a Japanese temple with the help of some Hollywood magic. Chinese pergolas are draped in black banners with Japanese letterings. A coffin is placed at the entrance of the garden. Surrounding the area are "moaners" dressed in black, some mingling while others are taking a coffee break. This elaborate set has been erected for the grand funeral scene in The Wolverine. It's just after 11am on a weekday but the cast and crew have been hard at work since the break of dawn. They have only a few days to finish this scene before moving on to their next site, a suburb just outside of Sydney. Among the hundreds of movie extras, most of them Asians, is a familiar face – the signature sideburns, the intense eyes, that body, the clenched fist and the claws – it is Wolverine. But wait, there goes another one, dressed exactly the same. Both are stunt and body doubles for the award-winning actor Hugh Jackman who plays the titular role. But Jackman and director, James Mangold (Walk The Line, 3:10 To Yuma) rarely used the doubles during my day on the set of the movie. In fact, Jackman did most of the stunts himself, except for the really dangerous ones. "I'm not that crazy," he tells me. The Wolverine finds Logan aka Wolverine in modern day Japan where he meets up with Yashida, a man he saved during the war. To repay Logan for saving him, Yashida promises to make him mortal. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, Logan is forced to confront his inner struggle – does he remain immortal, save humans in need and outlive everyone he knows, or does he give up his immortality? Principal photography for The Wolverine began in New South Wales, Australia late July last year and later moved to Tokyo before the cast and crew headed back to Sydney Filming was to take place in Japan in 2011, but the devastating earthquake, the resulting tsunami and the nuclear power station catastrophe caused the filmmakers to rethink their logistics. What is it like to finally be shooting this movie after such a long wait? Jackman: I've waited 12 years to have this Japanese saga told. From the first week I was in the first X-Men set I had this comic and I was reading it. I remember saying, "One day I'm going to do this story". It's nice to know that despite some delays, we have started. James, where do you see Logan in this movie and how are you putting your stamp on it? For me, the focus of this movie has been very specific. I wanted to place this movie at the end of the timeline of all the existing movies. I didn't want to hand off to a pre-existing story. I was interested in the idea that spoke to me from the original Claremont/Miller epic, which was this idea of finding Logan at a point where he's questioning his immortality. In fact, when I met up with Fox studios about the concept of my work, I had five words written on the back of the script, "Everyone I love will die". I felt that the story I wanted to tell was about this man who in a way felt cursed – everyone he cared about or knew, be it people he fought with in X-Men, his wife or others will be gone and he'll be all alone. His immortality is his purgatory, his own hell. And that's what I wanted to tell in The Wolverine. What do you think makes you Wolverine? Jackman: I could never take sole credit for being one of the loved characters of the comic book series. I'm just grateful to the fans for embracing me for playing the part. I never thought my run could last this long. I've found my character to be very fascinating and a little frustrating because I never really delivered the core of who this character really is. Hugh, how do you stay physically fit and what's the Dwayne Johnson diet? It gets harder by the year. I had to train a little more than usual to get that leaner animalistic look and I wanted to bulk up, which is hard because I'm naturally skinny. I called Dwayne for help on how to bulk up. I saw him in Fast & Furious 5 and he put on about 12 kilos of muscles in six months. I wanted the same, so he sent me his entire routine and I followed that. It was 6,000 calories a day! I started eating six to seven meals filled with lots of protein and brown rice and I trained for three hours a day. The Wolverine opens in cinemas nationwide today. |
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