Daily Archives: November 14, 2024

Five awful movies Roger Ebert absolutely loved

(Credits: Far Out / Rebert (Roger Ebert) Thu 14 November 2024 15:45, UK We all have our opinions on movies, but there is usually a general consensus as to whether something is good or bad. In many cases, some movies are so terrible that they receive unanimously bad reviews, win accolades from the Golden Raspberry Awards for their awfulness, and ruin the filmmaker’s career. Yet Roger Ebert, who wrote countless film reviews from the 1960s until his death in 2013, was never afraid to be honest, even if his opinion differed from the majority. He had many great opinions, rating many classics full marks and cementing himself as a trustworthy critical voice. At the same time, some of his movie reviews were bonkers, with the writer delivering some rather unhinged opinions. In many respects, his bravery to share such polarising opinions was commendable. Ebert slammed many fantastic films, like A Clockwork Orange, Pink Flamingos, and even The Elephant Man, and he also praised some absolutely terrible ones. So, from Home Alone 3 to Anaconda, here are five bad movies that Ebert praised, giving three or more stars out of four. Five terrible movies loved by Roger Ebert:5. Home Alone 3 (Raja Gosnell, 1997)Ebert’s rating: 3/4 starsEveryone loves Home Alone, a classic Christmas movie that sees Macaulay Culkin play Kevin McCallister, who defends himself from two bumbling thieves with plenty of innovative booby traps. By the time the third instalment rolled around without any of the same cast members, most people agreed that the film was poorly written, directed, and performed. Ebert didn’t seem to agree, though. He wrote, “To my astonishment, I liked the third Home Alone movie better than the first two; I’m even going so far as to recommend it, although not to grownups unless they are having a very silly day.” While Ebert was aware the film was no masterpiece, he concluded, “The stunts at the end are more slapstick and less special effects. And the result is either more entertaining than in the first two films, or I was having a very silly day.” [embedded content]4. Paul Blart: Mall Cop (Steve Carr, 2009)Ebert’s rating: 3/4 stars If a film has production credits from both Kevin James and Adam Sandler, chances are it’s not going to be great. In 2009, they produced the Steve Carr-directed Paul Blart: Mall Cop, which starred James as the titular character, a security guard who finds himself involved in rescuing hostages. It’s a stupid comedy that appealed to many children and childish adults during the late 2000s, and Ebert was actually one of them. He found the film entertaining, calling his review ‘Lone Rider of the Purple Segway’.He wrote: “Paul Blart: Mall Cop is a slapstick comedy with a hero who is a nice guy. I thought that wasn’t allowed anymore.” Ebert continued, “What’s even more amazing, Paul Blart: Mall Cop isn’t ‘wholesome’ as a code word for ‘boring.’ It’s as slam-bang preposterous as any R-rated comedy you can name.” [embedded content]3. Anaconda (Luis Llosa, 1997)Ebert’s rating: 3.5/4 stars Met with predominantly negative views, Anaconda had a strange cast featuring the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube, Owen Wilson, and Jon Voight. The movie follows a fictional documentary crew as they attempt to make a film about an indigenous tribe. During their journey, they meet a snake hunter who takes control and leads them to find a giant anaconda. Ebert was one of the few critics who loved the movie, which most people thought was plain terrible, from its effects to its acting. “Anaconda did not disappoint me. It’s a slick, scary, funny Creature Feature, beautifully photographed and splendidly acted in high adventure style. Its snakes are thoroughly satisfying,” Ebert wrote. [embedded content]2. Speed 2: Cruise Control (Jan de Bont, 1997)Ebert’s rating: 3/4 stars Three years after Speed—in which passengers are stuck on a bus that is rigged to explode if it slows to a certain speed—a sequel was made, Speed 2: Cruise Control. Jan de Bont’s second instalment wasn’t half as popular as the first, with practically all elements of the film receiving criticism. In this movie, Sandra Bullock returns as the same character, only this time, she must help out when she discovers the cruise she is on has been hijacked. Ebert was in the minority when he declared his love for the film, writing, “The special effects sequences in the movie are first-rate,” and even stating that he “chortled a few times.” He added, “Movies like this embrace goofiness with an almost sensual pleasure. And so, on a warm summer evening, do I.” [embedded content]1. Land of the Lost (Brad Silberling, 2009) Ebert’s rating: 3/4 stars Based on the television show of the same name, Land of the Lost was released to negative opinion in 2009. It earned its fair share of Razzie nominations, with most audiences pointing out how little was to be desired from the writing and performances. It failed to be particularly funny or interesting, and most critics left it scathing reviews, resulting in the film fading into the land of the lost.Ebert, on the other hand, had a slightly different attitude. “Land of the Lost inspires fervent hatred, which with the right kind of movie can be a good thing. Amid widespread disdain, I raise my voice in a bleat of lonely, if moderate, admiration.” He continued, “I guess you have to be in the mood for a goofball picture like this. I guess I was.” [embedded content]Related TopicsSubscribe To The Far Out Newsletter

Mohanlal to reunite with Amal Neerad for an action film? Here’s what we know

Mohanlal and Amal Neerad project: Big announcement soon?Mohanlal/InstagramIn one of his recent interviews, senior art director Joseph Nellikal revealed that Amal Neerad is gearing up to direct a massive project, in 2025. However, the recent updates suggest that the Bougainvillea director is gearing to up make two back-to-back big-budget ventures, next year. Even though Joseph Nellikal confirmed that Amal Neerad is set to revive Bilal, his long-delayed Big B sequel starring Mammootty, the second project remained a mystery for so long.
However, the recent updates suggest that the hitmaker is planning to reunite with Mohanlal, for his immediate next project. According to the grapevine, the actor-director duo, who previously teamed up in 2009 for Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded, is set to team up again after a long gap of 15 years. The rumour mills suggest that Mohanlal is in talks to play the lead role in Amal Neerad’s upcoming action thriller. The new update has left the fans of both the superstar and the filmmaker, highly excited. However, none of these reports are officially confirmed, yet.
Mammootty-Amal Neerad to revive BilalAmal Neerad and Mammootty on the sets of Big BAs reported earlier, Amal Neerad is also set to revive his long-delayed Mammootty starrer, Bilal, in 2025. The recent updates suggest that the Big B sequel is very much on cards, and will go on floors immediately after the completion of the director’s upcoming project, starring Mohanlal. Even though the Mohanlal starrer, directed by Amal Neerad was rumoured to have an official launch this week, it didn’t happen.
If you wish to revisit Big B, the Amal Neerad directorial is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The Telugu dubbed version of the Mammootty starrer can be streamed on both Zee5 and OTTplay Premium.

Mammootty-Mahesh Narayanan movie: Dunki cinematographer to join the crew?

Mammootty is joining hands with renowned editor-filmmaker Mahesh Narayanan, for his next outing in Malayalam cinema. As reported earlier, Mohanlal is set to make an extended cameo appearance in the untitled project, which is set to go on floors this weekend. Even though the project is yet to have its official announcement, new updates on the technical crew of Mammootty and Mahesh Narayanan’s film are now doing rounds on the internet.Dunki cinematographer joins Mammootty-Mahesh Narayanan’s film?Mahesh Narayanan, Mohanlal and MammoottyAccording to the latest reports by a leading Malayalam daily, Manush Nandan, the senior cinematographer is set to join the upcoming Mammootty starrer, as the director of photography. If the reports are to be believed, the untitled Mahesh Narayanan directorial will mark the Malayalam cinema debut of the talented technician, who is best known for the Bollywood films Dunki, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, and Happy New Year. However, this report is not officially confirmed yet.
Mammootty and Mohanlal to start the shoot soonAs reported earlier, Mohanlal recently flown to Sri Lanka, to join the first schedule of the upcoming Mahesh Narayanan directorial. Mammootty, on the other hand, is reportedly planning to fly to the location on Friday, November 15, 2024. The much-awaited project will have its official launch on November 16, 2024. The legendary superstars are expected to shoot together for the film, right from the first day. Mohanlal’s portions will be wrapped up in just 6 days, while Mammootty is expected to continue filming in Sri Lanka till December 2024.
Mammootty with Fahadh Faasil and Mahesh Narayanan at the sets of Turbo.The upcoming Mahesh Narayanan project is expected to feature Kunchacko Boban and Asif Ali in pivotal roles. Even though Fahadh Faasil was initially a part of the project, the actor later exited the project citing his busy schedule, and Asif Ali replaced him. Gopi Sundar is rumoured to be in talks to compose the music score for the project. Mahesh Narayanan himself is expected to handle the editing. The untitled project, bankrolled by Mammootty Kampany, is expected to be shot in multiple schedules that will span over six months.

Where was ‘Gladiator II’ filmed? The locations behind the Roman epic

Gladiator II has been over 24 years in the making. After Gladiator grossed over $465 million at the box office and picked up five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor, there were many reports about the potential follow-up. There were rumours that one script explored the resurrection of Russell Crowe’s Maximus. In another, Maximus was cursed to live forever and fought in the Crusades, World War II and Vietnam. 
Ultimately, writer David Scarpa and returning director Ridley Scott decided to set the second Gladiator 16 years after the events of the original. The sequel revolves around Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal), who lives with his wife in Numidia. When Roman soldiers invade the province, Lucius is forced into slavery and taken to Rome, where he becomes a gladiator. After being bought by Marcinus (Denzel Washington), Lucius is made to confront his true parentage, all while his owner plots to overthrow the young emperors Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn).

Photograph: Paramount PicturesRidley Scott and Paul Mescal on the set of ‘Gladiator II’

Where was Gladiator 2 filmed?
In order to make Gladiator II look and feel as similar to its predecessor as possible, Scott decided to return to some familiar locations for production. But where exactly was it shot? Read on to find out. 

Photograph: Paramount Pictures

Fort Ricasoli, Malta – Rome’s Colosseum where Mescal fights on a Roman ship 
When Scott shot the original Gladiator, he used the tiny Mediterranean island of Malta for the scenes set in Rome. 
It makes sense then that production returned to the country. In fact, Malta played such a key role in the production of Gladiator II that Washington says it is basically ‘a character’ in the movie. Scott looked to incorporate as much of its history, architecture and even weather as possible. 
At Fort Ricasoli, makeshift Roman buildings were constructed around the ancient structures already inside the fort – as well as the film’s Colosseum. Production designer Arthur Max tells Variety that the amphitheatre they used for filming was the size of one football field and two stories tall. Then in post-production special effects were used to expand it. 
When it came to filming the mock naval battle sequences, or ‘naumachia’, Max explains that 100-foot-long ships were put on wheels, tilted and spun via remote control to mimic the tumultuous mayhem. Close-ups of the hand-to-hand fight sequences on the ship were shot in a studio water tank in Malta. 
The decision to film Gladiator II in the country was made much easier by the Malta Film Commission’s generous tax incentives. It’s not just the Gladiator films that have benefited from Malta’s generosity: other Hollywood productions to have made the country their home include Napoleon, Jurassic World: Dominion, Games of Thrones, and World War Z.

Photograph: Paramount Pictures

Ouarzazate, Morocco – the wooden amphitheatre where Mescal fights a baboon 
Located on a plateau south of the High Atlas mountains and surrounded by beautiful landscapes and endless sands, the Moroccan city of Ouarzazate is known as the gateway to the Sahara Desert. It’s also where Scott took production for Gladiator II. 
Lucius’ first fight as a gladiator, where he impresses Marcinus and takes on a gaggle of baboons, was shot in the city. It’s also believed that the hand to hand fights for the film’s opening battle – where Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal)’s Roman army attacks Numidia – were shot in Morocco, as were any of the desert sequences, including a young Lucius running away from the Roman army.
Like Malta, Ouarzazate was previously used for filming on Gladiator. This is where the 2000 epic’s slavery, desert travel, and gladiatorial training scenes were filmed. 

Photograph: Shutterstock

Devil’s Dyke, England – where the fate of Rome is decided 
It’s one thing turning Morocco and Malta into Rome, but it takes a little extra movie magic to transform England’s South Downs into the scrubby, sunbaked outskirts of the Eternal City. But Devil’s Dyke, a deep, V-shaped valley near Brighton, plays a vital role in the film. 

Scott is believed to have filmed here in June 2023, before returning for reshoots this summer. 
The decision to use an English location for a key sequence once again mirrors production on the original film. Gladiator’s iconic opening battle scene was shot in Bourne Wood, Surrey. After Scott discovered the Forestry Commission was going to remove a section of the forest, he even got permission to burn down the trees for the film. 
Read our review of Gladiator II here.101 places all movie lovers should visit.

Three Indian Films On Netflix’s Global Most-Watched List This Week

Three Indian movies – two Hindi and one Telugu – have made it to the list of most-watched non-English films worldwide on the streaming platform Netflix. While Do Patti had a direct-to-digital release on October, Devara Part One and The Buckingham Murders released in theatres last month. For the week ending November 10, Do Patti ranked on the fourth slot on the list while The Buckingham Murders and Devara made it to the fifth and sixth ranks respectively.

The Swedish Netflix original film Let Go topped the list for the week ending November 10. The film is directed by Josephine Bornebusch who also features in the movie. Family Pack and Pedro Páramo made it to the second and third ranks on the Netflix list.

This is the third week on the global list for Do Patti while Devara Part One and The Buckingham Murders made their debut on the list just days after they landed on the platform.

The Buckingham Murders
Directed by Hansal Mehta, The Buckingham Murders features Kareena Kapoor Khan in the lead role of a cop who is grieving the tragic loss of her son. Written by Aseem Arora, along with Raghav Raj Kakker and Kashyap Kapoor, the film was produced by Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Motion Pictures. It registered nearly three million views and more than five million watch-hours on Netflix.

The film is essentially a thriller told with a sensitive heart. Mehta’s film maintains a tight pace and also manages to keep audiences on the edge. It also highlights some important and sensitive socio-political issues in the process. From highlighting the problems that immigrants often face, to gender skewed power politics, emotional turmoil of grieving parents and domestic violence, The Buckingham Murders talks about the subjects sensitively. The film had its world premiere last year at the BFI London Film Festival where it was widely praised for the brilliant performances and heart-wrenching story.

Devara Part One
Featuring NT Rama Rao in the lead role, Devara Part One is directed by Koratala Siva and also stars Janhvi Kapoor, and Prakash Raj in important parts. Produced by NTR Arts and Yuvasudha Arts, the film also features Saif Ali Khan, Srikanth, Shine Tom Chacko and Zarina Wahab.

While Devara Part One harps majorly on Jr NTR’s image, it does little to establish an emotional connect with the characters. The fabric of emotions within the narrative is very thin and appears more torn than not. The film registered more than 6 million hours (watched) and a little more than 2 million views on Netflix.

Do Patti
Shashanka Chaturvedi’s directorial thriller Do Patti made it to the Netflix’s global list of most-watched non-English films weeks after its release. The film which features Kriti Sanon and Kajol in a double role registered more than seven million watch hours and views, making it to as fourth-most-watched film in non-English category on Netflix worldwide.
Do Patti was also ranked on the fourth slot on the list with five million views when it released last month. Written by Kanika Dhillon, the film features Shaheer Sheikh opposite Sanon; along with Tanvi Azmi, Brijendra Kala in important roles. The film opened to wide appreciation for highlighting the cause and effects of domestic abuse in a sensitive fashion through a thriller.

Has Mike Flanagan Made Casting Decisions For The Dark Tower? Here’s What The Filmmaker Told Us About His Plans For The Stephen King Epic

Mike Flanagan has preached patience for his adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower. In addition to the fact that he has a slate of other projects including the next Exorcist movie and a new Carrie miniseries for Amazon, the process of actually making the western/fantasy/sci-fi requires a lot of behind the scenes gear-turning that necessitates lengthy development. That being said, it’s difficult to not be overwhelmingly excited for what he is cooking up, and that means that every update he provides instantly gets our attention.With that in mind, this week’s edition of The King Beat is once again very Dark Tower-centric – with new quotes about his approach to casting the upcoming Stephen King adaptation and why he feels it’s important to launch the series with events from the first book, The Gunslinger. Between those two stories and an eyebrow-raising video that sees Mario crossover with The Shining, there is a lot to discuss in this column, so let’s dig in!(Image credit: Hodder & Stoughton)Mike Flanagan Has Clear Ideas About Casting The Dark Tower…But He’s Not Ready To Tell Any Of His Favorite Actors YetIt’s no secret that Mike Flanagan has a tendency to cast his projects with frequent collaborators. When watching one of his movies or TV shows, it’s never surprising to see a number of familiar faces, including Kate Siegel (who is also his wife), Henry Thomas, Carla Gugino, Robert Longstreet, Samantha Sloyan, and Rahul Kohli. It was with this in mind that I wrote an edition of King Beat earlier this year fan-casting Flanagan regulars for The Dark Tower… but has the writer/director actually made any specific decisions regarding key roles in the adaptation?CinemaBlend’s own Mike Reyes posed that question to the filmmaker during an interview, and the answer is a touch complicated. Mike Flanagan did confirm that he has put consideration into who among his favorite actors would be proper fits for certain roles in The Dark Tower, but with the adaptation still very much in the early stages of development, he hasn’t said anything to anyone about it. Said Flanagan,I have not told anyone my plans because the last thing I want to do is get actors hoping or expecting things before I can tell them that it’s… My favorite version of things is to go to an actor and say, ‘This is what I see for you, and here’s an offer to do it.’ If I can’t do that, then I don’t; I try not to say anything.This registers as both logical and kind. Working in the movie and television industry means constantly dealing with disappointment and rejection, so why get anybody’s hopes up? Delivering good news to a friend is a wonderful thing, but disillusioning a friend is terrible, and so Mike Flanagan has to keep both in mind when it comes to discussing potential parts with his actor friends.Continuing, the writer/director admitted that he does mess up sometimes and lets people know a little more information than they should. It’s particularly difficult when it comes to collaborating with his wife:I’m not perfect at that. Because sometimes I slip up, especially with Kate, who’s, I mean, she’s just so close to the whole process. She knows what I’m thinking for everybody. So I guess I have told, yeah, Kate Siegel knows my plans. She knows where I see [things], and she’s there when it changes and when it swings. And she’s always aware of it. In addition to Kate Siegel and Mike Flanagan being married, she has been in nine of his film and television projects to date (including the upcoming The Life Of Chuck), and they have closely collaborated behind the camera. Siegel co-wrote the script for Hush with Mike Flanagan (in the notorious Room 217 of The Stanley Hotel, no less), and he wrote the script for her directorial debut (the segment “Stowaway” in the 2024 horror anthology V/H/S/Beyond).Your Daily Blend of Entertainment NewsFlanagan added that there have been cases where he has told some of his talented friends that he is considering them for parts in upcoming projects, but he makes a point of not making any hard promises:Occasionally I’ve mentioned to like Sam Sloyan or to Rahul Kohli, ‘Hey, I’d love this for you, but I don’t know if I can guarantee it.’ But in general, I try not to promise things I can’t deliver. But I have a grid of kind of my actors that have names scribbled next to them for The Exorcist, for Carrie, and for Dark Tower. And that’s always really fun. I just never want them to see the grid too early.The fact alone that Mike Flanagan is hoping to cast his favorite actors in The Dark Tower somehow makes the project feel more real than ever… but getting optimistic about the adaptation frequently also raises my anxiety, so the name of the game will continue to be patience.(Image credit: Grant)Past Dark Tower Adaptation Attempts Have Skipped The Gunslinger. Mike Flanagan Promises He Won’t Be Doing ThatWhile attempts have been made, Hollywood has not yet managed to develop a properly faithful adaptation of The Dark Tower. Obviously that pertains to the awful 2017 Nikolaj Arcel-directed film, but even the pilot script written by Glen Mazzara for the planned Amazon Prime Video series that never came together didn’t start from the proper beginning of the books; the teleplay instead puts an emphasis on a young Roland Deschain from the big flashback in Wizard And Glass (a.k.a. the fourth book in the series).Needless to say, the developments have been disappointing – but you can rest assured that Mike Flanagan knows that any proper adaptation of The Dark Tower needs to start with The Gunslinger.Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel, Carla Gugino and Rahul Kohli are featured as guests in the latest episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast (recorded at New York Comic-Con), and while discussing his approach to The Dark Tower, Flanagan emphasized the necessity of starting the story from the true beginning and being as faithful to Stephen King’s work as possible. Said the filmmaker,These are the questions that keep me up at night. But I honestly think the only way to do it is to just do the books. I think the thing about the Dark Tower that’s so incredible is Stephen King builds an astonishing universe. And it’s huge and it’s populated with such a richness of characters and scale and scope eventually. But he starts that story with one person following another person in a barren desert. It’s one of the greatest opening lines of any novel of all time. That’s how you do it.That opening line, of course, is “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed,” and it very much sets up The Gunslinger to be the relatively simple story that it is. While the second Dark Tower book, The Drawing Of The Three, sees protagonist Roland Deschain meet the friends who will eventually become like family, the seminal novel in the series launches centers on Roland Deschain as he treks through a vast wasteland searching for the villainous Walter O’Dim a.k.a. Marten Broadcloak a.k.a. Randall Flagg. (He does meet young Jake Chambers for the first time in the story, but things don’t work out well).Mike Flanagan added that he understands the impulse from Hollywood to start somewhere in the middle of The Dark Tower when things start to get wild and science-fiction/fantasy elements start taking over, but Flanagan doesn’t think that’s the way to sculpt a proper adaptation:You start with two people in a simple story: one is trying to catch the other. That’s it. And everything else is gradually added to it. And I think that’s how you do The Dark Tower. You build it one brick at a time. I can understand the gravity that has pulled people into being like, ‘Oh, we’ll jump in in the middle,’ or ‘We’ll jump in over here,’ or ‘We’ll try to jump ahead to show the big scale of this thing.’ You can’t start like that. You can’t.Reflecting on The Dark Tower from a macro perspective, Mike Flanagan made an important point about the structure of the series and why it’s so important to start at the start:Fortunately, Stephen King is a master storyteller who’s constructed a magnum opus and an epic that begins very intimately and ends very intimately, and in the middle, expands into this giant world. And I think that’s the only way to do it, and that’s how we’re gonna do it. But yeah, we’ll see. It’s taking forever. So I’m sorry about that.With Flanagan’s Exorcist movie scheduled to arrive in theaters on March 13, 2026, that’s a project that the filmmaker will be prioritizing in the coming year, but fingers are tightly crossed that Dark Tower can be his epic follow-up.(Image credit: Mark Cannataro Films)And Now For Something Completely Different: Mario Crossing Over With The Shining Is Stupendously OddThe internet is full of people who get strange creative impulses. This here is a perfect example. If one were to make a Venn Diagram with both “Mario” and “The Shining,” it would be an exceptional challenge to come up with things to put in the center space, but that clearly didn’t stop filmmaker Mark Cannataro from creating an ultra-weird mashup video that sees everybody’s favorite digital plumber take a trip through the Overlook Hotel:From Princess Peach morphing into Toad during an encounter in the Room 217 bathroom to King Boo spending time with Luigi in a Tanooki suit a la Roger The Dog Man, I’m willing to bet that you haven’t seen an odder video on the internet today (or possibly this week). I suppose on some level it speaks to just how iconic Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining is: just when you think that you’ve seen every possible new take on the greatest Stephen King movie of all time, a creation like this appears online to let us know that the surface has only been scratched.That brings us to the end of this week’s edition of The King Beat, but I’ll be back next Thursday here on CinemaBlend with a brand new round up of the biggest news from the world of Stephen King.