Cinematical

Slugging through the cold Monday morning, I took a moment to read the latest xkcd (a huge image through the link), and they've managed to boil some major cinematic experiences down into line charts. The latest installment of the web comic tackles Movie Narrative Charts; most specifically, the movie character interactions in Lord of the Rings, Star Wars (original trilogy), Jurassic Park, 12 Angry Men, and Primer.

The charts are actually a pretty intricate set of lines showing how each character progresses through the movie -- who they meet, and the main events and conflicts that take place. However, the big wow for me is in the overall look -- how that mass of lines evokes the same memories of confusion, or lack thereof, watching the films. There's the rolling but easy-to-follow storyline of Star Wars, the pure simplicity and ease of 12 Angry Men, and best of all -- the confusion of Lord of the Rings and Primer.

I could never get into the books, so watching Rings was an exercise in intrigued confusion -- trying to keep the characters straight, waiting for a slow moment to whisper a question, and trying to make sense of a thick storyline funneled into a film. And on the other end of the confusion spectrum, there's Primer -- the film that spins around and evokes stunned, hard-to-define confusion, the spiraling lines also mimicking a lot of the wide eyes of "what the f...?!" I saw after the film's screening at TIFF.

Sometimes it's terrible storytelling, sometimes it's confusion as an art form, and sometimes it's just the mind trying to deal with mass amounts of information. Xkcd managed to lay out some of the main moments of my cinematic confusion, but what are yours? What films leave you trying to follow and make sense of the narrative?

Was Julia Roberts pigeon-holed into a career she didn't want? Did motherhood and a break from Hollywood change her? Or, does she simply have a much different eye for projects to produce than projects to star in?

Variety reports that Roberts' Red Om Films has grabbed the rights to a nonfiction book called In the Neighborhood. Written by Peter Lovenheim, the book focuses on his concern over the disappearance of community. When he realizes his suburban hometown is lacking it, he decides to get to know his neighbors better. But rather than simply befriending these people, he proposes sleepovers and boop fests. "His goal: to facilitate something more than the feeling of strangers living with strangers in modern suburbia." It will hit shelves this April.

The sleepover party is the latest in a really diverse list of projects set up between Roberts' Om and Reliance Big. There's Jesus Henry Christ, where a petri dish boy follows Post-It notes hoping to find his biological father, My Mother the Cheerleader, about a 13-year-old girl whose mom is part of a group that harasses the first black student after court-ordered integration during the Civil Rights era, Mallory, a look into the life of English mountaineer George Mallory, and The Journey of the Destination: The Journals of Dan Eldon, the story of a young photographer who chronicled Somalia's famine until he was chased down and murdered by a Somali mob at the age of 22.

Not too long ago, Katie Holmes was the one getting ousted. After romancing Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins, she was set aside so Maggie Gyllenhaal could whip up a much more spot-on Rachel Dawes. Now it's her time to take over a role. It might not be part of a well-established franchise, but Variety reports that Holmes will be replacing Liv Tyler in the romantic comedy The Romantics.

As I wrote when Tyler signed on for the project, this film sees Galt Niederhoffer adapting and directing from her own novel, which focuses on a group of college friends who reunite after 6 years for a wedding. The event brings up a rivalry between the groom, the bride, and her maid of honor. Anna Paquin is playing the bride, Josh Duhamel is the groom, and Holmes is stepping in as maid of honor. (Other cast include Malin Akerman, Elijah Wood, Adam Brody, and Jeremy Strong.)

Since its "thin stereotypes" seem to trump the Big Chill feel to the plot, this could very possibly mark another not-so-good turn for the actress. After her 3-year hiatus post-bats and Smoking, Holmes decided Mad Money was the way to go, and we all know that was a crappy choice. But she seems to really like this gig -- Holmes is not only co-starring, she's also executive producing (her first time). Yet, for someone trying to find her place in her adult career, I'm surprised she isn't finding more on the gritty or less mainstreamish end of the indie world. The comedies with recognizable names -- they never seem to do her well. But the drama and dramedy ... ice storms, nights with drug dealers, gifts, singing detectives, Thanksgiving dinners, and smoking are the times she's gotten a solid reception. Will this project get included on the above list? I'm not holding my breath.

Robert Pattinson is sporting a pretty interesting balance of cinematic gigs. On the one hand, he's the drool-producing heartthrob from Harry Potter and -- most especially -- Twilight. On the other hand, he's playing the awkward young man in films like The Bad Mother's Handbook and How to Be. It's not exactly the sort of superstar roster we're used to (especially once you add Dali into the mix!), and always makes me wonder what we can expect from the future.

But for now, just in time for the New Moon craze, his music flick How to Be will hit DVD shelves on November 17. In honor of the event, a clip from the film has hit the net, courtesy of Access Hollywood. (Check it out after the jump.) The video finds Robert's character psyching himself up for a performance in the mirror, before throwing the harmonica in his mouth and hitting the stage to sing a song called "I'm Doing Fine." If you're not used to his singing, this is not really an indication of his singing voice (go here to hear one of his actual songs). I'm guessing he's supposed to be playing a crappy singer?

In other Twilight news, Variety reports that the first vampy film will be rereleased in theaters for one night -- November 19 -- as a warm-up to New Moon. And lastly -- The Hollywood Reporter posts that Washington is opening up a family restaurant called Volterra to cater to the hordes of fans that descend upon the state. Does that mean a sea of wait-staff who must wear heavy white makeup and long red robes? Hired actors to sit as the Volturi members and randomly bite into customers when they're hungry? Let's hope the theme stays only with the name, or that might be a little much. Or, at the very least, a little too raunchy for the family crowd.

There are villains we love, and villains we'd love to be -- at least fictionally, imaginatively within our own little dream worlds. These are worlds where we don't have to really kill anybody or do anything bad, but can just lather ourselves in their badassedness, especially as the time ticks down towards Halloween. For me, there's probably no villain I'd rather mimic than Kill Bill's Elle Driver, California Mountain Snake.

I was mesmerized when Daryl Hannah whistled her way into the hospital in the sexiest and coolest white suit known to man, only to change into something as equally cool -- taking the nurse look so far that there's even that bright red cross adorning her white eye patch. Cool song, cool clothes, and cool fighting style. If Uma didn't do such a great job, I would've been rooting for Elle the whole time.

Of course, every time I watch the scene after the jump, I always grumble about the fact that every costume store sells "sexy nurse" outfits, but no truly sexy nurse outfits. Sorry models, but your practically bare-arsed images on those skimpy little costumes are no match for head-to-toe white suits with red umbrellas, or form fitting and classic white nurses' uniforms. But one day... I'll sew one myself if I have to!

After reading Peter Hall's post on Kevin Spacey's stunning impersonations, I had to reacquaint myself with the old SNL sketch he mentioned and get as much Spacey as I could. (Check it out if you have no idea what I'm talking about.) From there, well, the handy site called YouTube suggested something else for me -- Kurt Russell's Star Wars audition.

If you didn't already know, he was one of the many actors vying for the role of Han Solo (according to IMDb, a list including Nick Nolte, Christopher Walken, Jack Nicholson, and even -- egads -- Steve Martin). What's funny about the clip (after the jump) is how completely earnest and goodie Russell was playing it -- almost like the good-natured Disney fare from his youth. There was none of the true cockiness, ego, or charisma that made the character so memorable. No, no one could have done what Harrison Ford did with the role, but we all know that Russell had the charisma necessary for Mr. Solo. Or rather, that he would soon enough. Somewhere hidden inside that actor was the toughness, alluring machismo, and heroic wonder that thrived soon after in Escape from New York. My best guess: He didn't take this weird little flick seriously, at all.

Man, I'm so glad that "it" came out in Snake rather than Han, aren't you?

As if we needed yet another reason to do what we can to fight cancer. On top of the hundreds of thousands of cancer-related deaths the U.S. is plagued with every year, and just a short time after we lost Patrick Swayze to pancreatic cancer, The Associated Press (via Canoe) reports that two-time Oscar nominee Dennis Hopper has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The 73-year-old actor has canceled his travel plans, as well as his attendance at an exhibition of his artwork in Melbourne in order to focus on his treatment. Said treatment is said to be part of a "special program" at the University of Southern California, according to Hopper's manager, Sam Maydew, and they are "hoping for the best." That's not exactly an optimistic quote, which might not be so surprising. This news comes just days after the actor was hospitalized for "showing severe flulike symptoms" and getting treated for dehydration. If those symptoms were the cancer, that cannot be a good sign. And even if they were just the flu, that can't be good for his health and strength.

Nevertheless, we hope for the best and that Mr. Hopper makes a full and speedy recovery.

No super-successful comedy series can stay away for long. Back in April, ShoWest brought news that the aliens were coming back for Men in Black 3. There was no word on which stars would return, or anything other than the faintest murmurings of a plan, but now things are coming together. THR's Risky Biz Blog reports that Etan Cohen, the scribe behind Tropic Thunder, will pen the script while director of the first two, Barry Sonnenfeld, returns for the third bout.

With a script and director slotted into place, naturally, the next question revolves around Will Smith. As of now, the actor has no solid plans to return, but buzz says he is interested. As for Tommy Lee Jones -- his involvement is "uncertain." Smith has nothing pressing right now, so he's wide open (save from helping along his son's blossoming career), and Jones has only got two in-development features in his future.

Read the rest at SciFi Squad

There are times when our fandom gets satiated. We see a world stretch out before us on the big screen, come to adore a character, and then get to follow him or her through a number of films. In some cases, they might even start to feel like an old friend, popping up over and over again. We'll become attuned to their swagger, the tone of their voice, the moments they love or loathe. Other characters, their presence in our lives is deliciously, yet painfully brief -- destined only for repeat viewings of the same scenes, the same reactions, the same outcome over and over again.

The more our movie world leans towards sequels, the more part of me wishes certain characters could have continuing life on the big screen. (Played by the same actor, of course. No Vince Vaughn/Norman Bates recasts allowed.) On the mind from earlier this month, I wouldn't complain if Lena Olin's sadistic Mona popped back up again... If Myrna Loy's Nora Charles popped up in just about every film there is. If we could see Danny Huston's Arthur Burns menace the old Outback once again. If Frances McDormand got to spend more time as a sexy music gal. If a Sirius Black-centric film focused on Gary Oldman. And while Christopher Walken always gets the tough mob-ish roles, how nice it would be to have seen more deer-hunting Nick, or bomb shelter-loving Calvin.

In a perfect cinematic world, where rewrites and crappy stories aren't an issue (they're a whole different can of worms) -- which characters do you wish you could see over and over again? It might be for your own particular quirks, a spot-on performance, or even the breath of relief that an actor is getting to do something they almost never get a chance to do. Let us know in the comments ...

When word hit that Ridley Scott was on board to direct the long talked about A L I E N prequel, what ran through your mind? Were you thinking lots of alien action? A Giger-iffic closer look at the xenomorphs? If so, you might want to start reeling back those alien expectations. Empire Magazine recently got the scoop from Scott, and he's got something else in mind.

The director was in London for his daughter's debut at the London Film Festival when he told the mag about his ideas for the prequel. He said: "We know what the road map is, and the screenplay is now being put on paper. The prequel will be a while ago. It's very difficult to put a year on A L I E N, but [for example] if A L I E N was towards the end of this century, then the prequel story will take place thirty years prior." Empire takes this to mean a human focus for the film.

I wish that dreaded set of Star Wars prequels hadn't made me recoil at the thought of any ultra-updated FX in prequel stories. However, on the bright side: If Scott tackles things in a similar way -- looking to Giger for inspiration, for example -- it's sure to be a beauty of a film. Are you up for this A L I E N prequel, or do you wish the past just stayed in the uncharted murky depths?