Sacha Howells,
Oct 30, 2009
Tom Cruise Flies the Unfriendly Skies
Cruise is headed back to World War II with another script by the writer of Valkyrie, and he's doing it with John Woo, who directed him in Mission: Mediocre 2. This time Cruise hits the Pacific Theater with the story of the Flying Tigers, volunteer pilots who teamed up with the Chinese Air Force to fight against Hirohito and the Japanese.
Verdict: Let's face it, if John Woo had started out making movies like his recent ones, he never would have made the jump from Hong Kong to Hollywood. But the Flying Tigers make a great story, and Cruise managed to reign in his inner nutcase on Valkyrie, so hey, maybe we'll be pleasantly surprised.
Sandler and Sandler Go up the Hill to Fetch a Pail of Awful
Adam Sandler just announced that he'll be playing a cross-gender dual role as Jack and his own twin sister Jill in a romantic comedy from the coproducer of Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Wow. That's a lot of bad for one sentence.
Verdict: It's always a good sign when actors play multiple roles. Presumably he'll be borrowing Eddie Murphy's fat suits.
Can Miller Bounce Back From The Spirit? Can Anyone Who Saw It?
After Sin City's distinctive look and hard-boiled story made it a certified hit, co-director (and author of the source comic) Miller looked like he could do no wrong. And then came The Spirit, a terrible adaptation of the '40s comic that looked like Sin City lite and missed all the humor of the source, a bomb so spectacular it looked like the City sequel might get axed. But producer Stephen L'Heureux recently confirmed that Sin City 2 is going into production next year, and Miller's working on the script for an adaptation of Hard Boiled, his 1990 three-issue Dark Horse series.
Verdict: I liked Sin City and hope that the sequel can get out from under the terrible shadow of The Spirit. But as a longtime fan of Hard Boiled, a weird tale about a frustrated insurance investigator illustrated with huge panels packed with intricate details, my only question about an adaptation is: Why?
Quentin Still Killing Bill
Tarantino recently announced that a third installment of Kill Bill will come out in 2014, giving The Bride and her daughter "a period of peace" before he puts them through the grinder again.
Verdict: I'm not much of a Kill Bill fan, though I'm sure lots of people can't wait for a follow-up. But as Variety points out, this wouldn't be the first time Quentin said he was making a movie that never saw the light of day; remember Double V Vega, the long lost sequel to Pulp Fiction?
Quick, Somebody Call Max Headroom's Agent
In a big week for the '80s, Run-DMC is in talks to produce an autobiographical Broadway musical, Viacom paid $60 million for the rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Top Gun director Tony Scott just signed on to direct a movie about the guy who started Chippendales.
Verdict: I honestly thought this had peaked, but it appears we haven't quite yet slipped into '90s nostalgia. (Hello, Pearl Jam biopic!) And hey, I might watch the Run-DMC musical. I'll definitely see the Chippendales movie.
