Movies

With the recent news that Bryan Singer is casting the roles of Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch for X-Men: Days of Future Past presumably designed to one-up the reports that Joss Whedon is using the same characters in The Avengers 2, anyone expecting some kind of half-cocked, defensive response from Whedon will have to look elsewhere. Singer’s news came hot on the heels of Whedon’s confirmation that the characters would show up in the sequel to his blockbuster, but the details are still under wraps. During an appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on May 24th in order to promote his upcoming ultra-low-budget passion project, a modern-garb adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, Fallon asked about the brother and sister sometime-heroes and why Whedon included them. Watch the whole video above, but talking specifically about Quicksilver ...Click to continue reading Joss Whedon on ‘Avengers 2′ Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver Powers

After confirming that Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver would be in “Avengers 2,” Joss Whedon gave some clarity to why he chose those characters to appear in the next pic on Friday nights Jimmy Fallon Show. SEE ALSO: Robert Downey Jr.’s “Avengers 2″ Salary Stand-Off Whedon was plugging his next movie , “Much Ado About Nothing,”... Read more »

CANNES – Rithy Panh's "The Missing Picture," a highly personal account of the horrors of the Pol Pot regime, won the Un Certain Regard Prize at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

We Khan do that...

Hollywood is heading for a record-breaking Memorial Day Weekend, led by Universal's "Fast & Furious 6," which took in a massive $38.2 million on Friday (May 24).http://www.hitfix.com

"Why did you send me here?"

I just re-read Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming for the first time in a very long time.I started reading the books fairly early in my development as a young James Bond fan, which still colors my take on the movies. Honestly, I'd like to enjoy the movies for what other people like - and even expect from them. Those movie elements that are different than the books are frequently things I enjoy very much in non-Bond movies, however my brain is so imprinted with that expectation that I can't help viewing them through that sphere.That's not helped by the fact that so many of the books would indeed make terrific movies with a pretty straight adaptation. Of course, Casino Royale is a thrilling novel, but really does spend most of its time following a high stakes baccarat game which is perhaps not the most cinematic event. The movie, Casino Royale, solved this problem rather neatly, I thought.It struck me reading it how much the literary Bond resembles "What if Mike Hammer were a snob?" while reading it. Fleming's primary points he develops Bond from are his anger, at this point quite righteous, following the events of "Casino Royale", and his very particular tastes in food, clothing, decor, cars, travel, etc.For me, it feels very much like a fairly direct adaptation would have been much better than the movie made from it, Live and Let Die, although, in fairness, it has been some time since I revisited that movie. This one does have a number of exciting bits that didn't make it in to the movie, including a famous one that takes place away from the main action and was later co-opted for the movie Licence to Kill. More importantly, it also has a training sequence, which could have been a very dramatic piece in a straight adaptation.I found myself later daydreaming that if the movies weren't doing so well - and, in this, I mean no ill-wishes to the series, Eon Productions or Daniel Craig - one could do a very nice HBO, or HBO-type, TV series adapting the novels fairly straight, bringing the threads together. With twelve novels and nine short stories by Fleming, one could do three or four seasons, a consistent cast, one could cover it all very nicely. It could even be done period to preserve the period detail of the specific things Bond shows such appreciation for.Obviously, however, the movies are enormously successful and the cinematic character is now much more ingrained in the public consciousness, so that nothing like that could be - or would be - done.Anyway, on to Moonraker... Amazon.com Widgets

Who will take on the iconic role?

If Larry Clark went to the French island of Corsica and made a film, it might look an awful lot like this sexy adolescent thriller.

On their futuristic sci-fi adventure, hitting theaters May 31