Film at Eleven

I recently linked to the trailer for Wong Kar Wai’s 2046 (here) and it looks like a film that is well worth seeing. It’s out on DVD in Europe already, and soon to be released in the US - and here’s the poster…

The cast list alone is enough to sell this film.

Twitch notes that The Russian Dolls, a French romantic comedy written and directed by Cédric Klapisch and starring Audrey Tautou, among others, opened - in France - against the marketing behemoth that is Batman Begins…

… and did fifty percent more business than Batman on significantly fewer screens.

There’s a trailer for the film here.

This looks fantastic. The Ring Thing is a Lord of the Rings parody from sunny Switzerland.

My German is rubbish, so this transalation of the synopsis was brought to you by a babel fish:

Shit happens. Actually Fredi for its wedding request wanted to practice. Instead he falls directly with ring from an airplane toilet into the alps - and is in a moved fairy tale realm. Central earth is… in the middle in Switzerland! Stupid way is regarded Fredi as to the main header bits here Friedo and pulled by a few totally diagonal maerchenfiguren into a wild odyssey, in order to save the world from the fiesen Zauberer lord Sauraus. It wants nevertheless only its ring back - and finally home!

It all sounds suitably silly but if you watch the trailer, it’s inspired - even if your German is as bad as mine..

The film was released in the German speaking part of Switzerland last December and, according to their site, it is now out on DVD. That said, I’ve not been able to locate anyone actually selling it…

But here’s hoping that someone slaps some subtitles on it and starts selling it to the rest of Europe - if not beyond.

(via Twitch)

For every trailer that makes it to the Trailer Park, there are a shedload that fall through the cracks for a variety of reasons. All of them are worth a watch, so enjoy and feel free to discuss any that catch your fancy.

First up 8.1. Short trailer, long trailer and info.

There appear to be three trailers (one, two and three) online for Mitsuo Kurotsuchi’s Semishigure. Unfortunately, my media player is throwing up errors left, right and center, so I have no idea what they are like.

Then ther’s a downloadable trailer for Pîkan fûfu. It takes a while, but it’s worth it.

Take your pick in the case of Specter - low res or high res

And finally a new trailer for Thai film, Tiger Blade which even includes a fruit cart!

Twitch have found what looks to be the one-sheet for Guillermo del Toro’s next film Pan’s Labyrinth.

The film is currently in pre-production but there is a plot summary on the IMDb written by Guillermo del Toro - or someone claiming to be him…

“Pan’s Labyrinth” is the story of a young girl that travels with her mother and adoptive father to a rural area up North in Spain, 1944. After Franco’s victory. The girl lives in an imaginary world of her own creation and faces the real world with much chagrin. Post-war Fascist repression is at its height in rural Spain and the girl must come to terms with that through a fable of her own.

Which all sounds very interesting..

From FilmStew…

The Good…

A twisted adaptation of the Lewis Carroll classic Alice in Wonderland has been greenlit by Universal Pictures, and this one will star Sarah Michelle Gellar in the title role of Alice.

The Bad…

Marcus Nispel (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake) is directing the project

The Ugly…

The film is actually based on a video game

Moviehole has a couple of high res pics from the upcoming V for Vendetta film of Natalie Portman looking gorgeous as Evey Hammond and either James Purefoy or Hugo Weaving as ‘V’ (it’s handy when your lead actor wears a mask throughout).

And while we’re on the subject of V for Vendetta, Channel 4 asks is America ready for a terrorist hero?

Good question… And it will be interesting to see the answer not only of Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers, but also that of the American mainstream media.

Film Stew reports that John Woo is headed back to his native China to work on a neo-noir thriller which will be filme din Beijing.

The story revolves around an American visiting China who becomes entangled in a clash between the communist government and the underworld that is fueling the underground economy. The script is currently being penned by Don MacPherson.

Any chance that this is a the start of a return to his pre-Hollywood glory?

The BBC reports that Ayaan Hirsi Ali, the Dutch MP who scripted Submission - the film over which director Theo van Gogh was murdered - has confirmed her intention to make the follow up.

“Deciding not to make Part Two after Theo van Gogh’s murder would be, I think, really wrong,” Ms Ali told BBC World Service’s The Interview programme.

“It would reward the killers of Theo van Gogh, it would reward violence, suggesting it can get people to do what you want them to do.”

Submission was - if I recall correctly - originally intended as a three part series. I can only appplaud Hirsi Ali’s courage in refusing to bow down to the criminals who have threatened her.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Aaron Stanford, Kathleen Quinlan, Ted Levine and Vinessa Shaw are set to star in the remake of The Hills Have Eyes.

Normally, at this point, I’d be complaining about yet another remake. But I’m actually feeling optimistic about this one - the reason being that Alexandre Aja, the director of the stunningly good Haute Tension, is helming this remake and I’m more than a little interested in seeing what he can do with Wes Craven’s 1977 story of a vacationing family that makes a wrong turn in the desert and end up being terrorized by the inhabitants they encounter.

On the other hand, it’s been a beautifully sunny day today and I’ve spent most of it outside with a dog and a beer - so maybe my optimism is a little misplaced.