OCTOBER 2011 I ISSUE 185 TOTALFILM.COM
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TOTAL FILM 185 COMIC BOOK MOVIE PREVIEW ● DON’T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK ● TAYLOR LAUTNER ● 30 MINUTES OR LESS
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October October2011 Issue185 Issue Ourverdict onDrive.
>Onthecover 73|THECOMIC BOOKMOVIEPREVIEW Spider-Man,Batman,Supermanandevery comic-bookadapintheworksrightnow. Whichisalot,hencethe22-pagefeature. 100|REALSTEEL Bigrobotsknockingsevenshadesofshit outofeachother.Butthere’sheart,too.
116|30MINUTESORLESS TheZombielandteambringyouaheist movie.Withbombs.Andlaughs.
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104|TAYLORLAUTNER Cinema’ssexiestwerewolfisnowplaying rough’n’readyinAbduction.Meettheguy Hollywood’ssellingasthenewTomCruise. 114|KATIEHOLMES ...andthenmeetMrsCruise,steppinginto thespotlightforDon’tBeAfraidOfTheDark.
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13| Mission:Impossible–GhostProtocol TomCruisegoesrogue–inahoodie.
35|JessicaChastain TheTreeOfLife’smumisabouttogoHUGE.
14|TheDarkestHour ExplosiveconceptartfromTimur Bekmambetov’salienapocalypse.
37| LilyCollins Starletsharesdad’sadvice.No,notJustinLee…
OUTNOW ConanTheBarbarian ......p64 FinalDestination5 .......p64 Glee3D .......................p63 RiseOfThePlanet OfTheApes.................p66
16| TotalRecall ColinFarrellchannelsArnie… 18| Prometheus Tenthingsyouneedtoknowabout RidleyScott’sAlienspin-off. 23|Dracula3D DarioArgento.RutgerHauer.Bonkers. 28| AnnaFaris BuzzcallsthebubblyblondetochatWhat’s YourNumber?andPrivateBenjamin.
4 |4Total | Total Film Film | xxx | October 2011 2011
38|EzraMiller DarkanddeadlyinWeNeedToTalkAboutKevin. 40|RowanAtkinson Onwhyhe’sahugemoviestar. 44|Classicscene:Spider-Man2 FightingDocOckonaspeedingtrain… 46|AgendaHero:PaddyConsidine TheBriteverymanturnsdirector. 48| RichardAyoade RAwritesasongforThereWillBeBlood.
2SEPTEMBER TheArtOfGetingBy........p66 Attenberg ...................p66 TheHedgehog..............p66 SelfMade....................p64 Weekender ..................p63 9SEPTEMBER Colombiana.................p61 FriendsWithBenefits ......p57 JaneEyre....................p63 ALonelyPlaceToDie.......p59 PostMortem ...............p59
TrollHunter...................p62 WayOfTheMorris .......p59 16SEPTEMBER TheChange-Up.............p68 30MinutesOrLess .......p60 TinkerTailorSoldierSpy....p56 Tomboy......................p60 Turnout .......................p64 YouInstead .................p61 23SEPTEMBER CrazyStupidLove...........p57 Drive ..........................p54 Tucker&DaleVsEvil........p64 Warrior.......................p62 30SEPTEMBER TheDebt......................p59 Melancholia ................p58
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CharlizeTheron’s EvilQueenrevealed.
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AbductionstarTaylorLautnergetsruffed upinourexclusivephotoshoot.
ThorhitsDVD Thor hits DVD andBlu-ray. and Blu-ray.
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78|HughJackman Themanwiththerazor-sharptalonstalksTheWolverineand shaminghissonwithsonganddance.
9| Dialogue Yourrantsandraves,plusaHumanCentipede cookie.Hmm,tasty.
80|MichaelShannon AfterquietlybuildinganimpressiveCVof screamingnutjobs,he’sgoingbig-time bonkersasGeneralZodinManOfSteel.
129|Lounge
96|JunoTemple Fromschoolgirltoindiesto TheThreeMusketeers… 110|Don’tBeAfraidOfTheDark GuillermodelTororesurrectsthe ghostsofhisdarkpast.Brrr. 120|JamesWoods He’sbackandhismouthis biggerthanever.
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StarWars,Thor,Pirates4, Scarface,OnceUpon ATimeInTheWestand HeavenlyCreatures! 158|Competition WinapaintballingdayoutthankstoColombiana. 162| TOTALFILMloves... JulietteBinochebeingbrutalisedonpublic transportonHaneke’sCodeUnknown.
13 Assassins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p135 30 Minutes Or Less. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p60 3D Sex & Zen: Extreme Ecstasy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . p63 A Lonely Place To Die . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p59 The Art Of Getting By . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p66 Arthur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p133 Attack The Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p133 Attenberg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p66 Baghead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p137 Cedar Rapids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p134 The Change-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p68 Colombiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p61 Conan The Barbarian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p64 Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p57 Crazy Stupid Love. The Debt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p59 Drive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p54 Fast & Furious 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p133 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p64 Final Destination 5. Friends With Benefits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p57 Glee: The 3D Concert Movie. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p63 The Great Debaters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p137 Hanna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p136 Heavenly Creatures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p143 The Hedgehog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p66 Hop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p135 The Housemaid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p137 Incendies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p134 Insidious. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p136 Jane Eyre. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p63 Julia’s Eyes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p135 Kaboom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p134 Mademoiselle Chambon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p61 Melancholia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p58 Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides p132 Post Mortem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p59 Priest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p134 Quarantine 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p137 Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . p66 The Roommate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p135 Self Made. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p64 Star Wars: The Complete Saga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p138 Thor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p130 Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p56 Tomboy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p60 Troll Hunter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p62 Tucker & Dale Vs Evil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p64 Turnout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p64 Warrior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p62 Water For Elephants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p136 Way Of The Morris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p59 Weekender. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p63 Win Win . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p134 You Instead. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p61
NEWS & FEATURES
30 Minutes Or Less. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p116 Abduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p104 The Adventures Of Tintin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p90 The Amazing Spider-Man . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p74 The Avengers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p92 The Brothers Grimm: Snow White. . . . . . . . . . . p21 Byzantium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p32 The Dark Knight Rises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p82 The Darkest Hour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p14 Don’t Be Afraid Of The Dark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p110 Dracula 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p23 Dredd. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p85 Elysium. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p30 Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance. . . . . . . . . . . . p88 In Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p24 Man Of Steel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p79 Men In Black 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p86 Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol . . . . . . . p13 Miss Bala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p39 Prometheus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p18 Real Steel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p100 Snow White & The Huntsman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p20 The Three Musketeers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p96 Total Recall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p16 Twixt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p36 The Wolverine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . p78
October xxx 2011 | Total Film | 5
Drive HHHHH Out23September
RefnandGoslingcruisestreetsoffire…
a
NyONe exPeCTING Post-credits, Drive hits the ground Transporter 4 or Fast & cruising as Ryan Gosling’s wheelman Furious 6 will see their glides through an asphalt jungle in a classic expectations crash and Motor City machine, toothpick jutting from burn within 10 seconds. clenched teeth. On the radio, a basketball As the camera game blips and burbles – a seemingly scuds between twinkling skyscrapers incidental detail that will prove key to in downtown LA, credits of the hottest the action. Driver (for that is the only name pink light up a widescreen sky of the he’s given) works the gear shaft and feeds blackest velvet and a euro-electro the wheel; his knuckles flex, his leather score pulses, pulses, pulses. gloves creak. Composed and This, immediately, is the confident, laconic and iconic, talkiNg he’s about to prove he’s the best world of ’80s Michael poiNt Mann movies, of A-game getaway driver in town… BritdirectorNeilMarshallwas Walter Hill pictures, of originallybehindthewheelof Night and the city William Friedkin’s Drive,withHughJackman ridingshotgun.WhenGosling Long considered a talented style-drenched neo-noir cameonboardhehand-picked maverick whose spiky To Live And Die In LA. NicolasWindingRefn.
54 | Total Film | October 2011
sensibility could never fit into square old Hollywood, Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn (The Pusher Trilogy, Bronson) has here made an explosive action movie that got Cannes critics whooping in the aisles. But don’t be fooled: a Cannes critic’s guilty ‘mainstream’ pleasure is a multiplex viewer’s art movie, and any jolting violence is cushioned by lush, low-key longueurs comprised of geometric cityscapes, abstract tableaux, striking camera angles, calibrated light and shadow, reflective surfaces, empty corridors and terse, economic exchanges full of syncopated beats. There is, of course, a girl, and she even lives next door. Irene (Carey Mulligan) cares for her young son (Kaden Leos) while her husband (Oscar Isaac) does time. Driver, Subscribe at www.totalfilm.com/subs
RevieWs SeethiS if youliked... THe dRiveR 1978 Cop Bruce Dern chases ace getaway driver Ryan O’Neal in Walter Hill’s spare, gleaming classic. THief 1981 Michael Mann boils down the crime genre to its essence, while Tangerine Dream’s shimmering score lights the roads. To live aNd die iN la 1985 Quintessential ‘80s LA crime story that boasts pink neon credits and an against-traffic car chase on a six-lane freeway. for full reviews of these films visit totalfilm.com/ cinema_reviews
Ryan wasn’t impressed by the choice left by the looters.
naturally, finds himself not only gravitating towards her but breaking all of his THRilled own rules to protect her. eNTeRTaiNed It is for Irene, circuitously, that he takes on a NoddiNG off pawn-shop heist that goes inevitably wrong, and she ZZZZZZZZZ... is the baggage that weighs RuNNiNG TiMe down our previously unburdened, unemotional crim as he feels the heat around the corner. Clichéd? Sure, only Refn and screenwriter Hossein Amini, adapting James Sallis’ book, play out the de rigueur romantic sub-plot in unexpected ways: Driver and Irene communicate largely in silence, their bond forged through shifting gazes and meaningful half-smiles (DoP Newton Thomas Sigel maps the human face as closely as downtown LA); and the totalfilm.com
pRedicTediNTeResTcuRve™ once upon a time in america...
licence to drive
Beat it
love in an elevator
The final countdown let’s go crazy
fatal attraction
Mask
The colour of money
Red heat
The stuntman 0
20
40
60
film’s most swooningly romantic flourish precedes its most violent set-piece.
Star vehicle
It’s this clashing of moods and subverting of stereotypes that sets Drive’s engine purring, with Refn swerving between blazing daylight and silky night, between staple set-ups and offbeat outcomes, between familiar faces and surprising
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‘Thecastisstrong, butitisGosling, alongwithRefn’s dynamicdirection, thatisthestar oftheshow’ character traits (funnyman Albert Brooks ices blood as a Hollywood producer/ gangster), between glimmering helicopter shots and tyre-squealing ground-level chases, between crushed skulls and synth pop, between classic movies and Refn’s unique worldview. It makes for a film both archetypal and fresh and, as such, it’s hard to put a pin through. Gosling wasn’t kidding when he described Drive as a mix of Blue Velvet and Purple Rain… The cast is strong, from Mulligan’s serenely stoical princess (Drive can be read as an urban fairytale) to Bryan Cranston’s mechanic/fixer to Ron Perlman’s intimidating henchman. But it is Gosling, along with Refn’s meticulous, dynamic direction, that is the star of the show, his tight-lipped turn evoking the cool charisma of Steve McQueen in Bullitt or Alain Delon in Le Samouraï. Dressed in aviator shades, driving gloves and a satin racing jacket emblazoned, tellingly, with a scorpion, his Driver may be a blank-faced cut-out deprived of the barest hint of backstory, but he’s an intriguing, mesmerising blank-faced cut-out – the kind of amoral, dysfunctional anti-hero that so often becomes a poster boy. Might he register as this generation’s Man With No Name, their Travis Bickle? Perhaps that’s going too far, but Gosling’s Hollywood-stuntman-by-day, getaway-driver-by-night is the stuff of fantasy, and his mysterious dispensation towards dishing Gaspar Noé levels of violence is exactly what got the Cannes viewers cheering. Next up for Refn and Gosling is a re-run of 1976 action-sci-fi flick Logan’s Run. A $200m blockbuster? Just don’t expect it to play by studio rules… Jamie Graham
THEVERDICT an action crime movie that’s as cerebral and surreal as it is red-blooded. if director Refn and star Gosling accelerate into the mainstream with Drive, they’ll be doing it on their own terms, with style. › certificate 18 director Nicolas Winding Refn
starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman, Bryan Cranston screenplay Hossein Amini distributor Icon Running time 100 mins
October 2011 | Total Film | 55
mAkingof
Jesse Eisenberg's unassuming delivery guy becomes a reluctant bank robber in 30 Minutes Or Less, the latest genre-straddling comedy from Ruben 'Zombieland' Fleischer. Total Film orders a deep pan with extra sauce‌ WOrDS neiL smith
116 | Total Film | xxx 2011
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30minutesorLess
t’s kind of funny,” muses Ruben Fleischer when Total Film sits down with him in Cancun and he looks back on his humble days as a pizza deliverer in Washington DC, before his recent elevation to successful, in-demand Hollywood director. “You never know what you’re going totalfilm.com
to get on the other side of that door. It could be a drunk guy, or it could be a pretty lady. One time it was [ex-White House communications director] George Stephanopoulos. So you never know.” After hitting the bull’s-eye with last year’s >> Zombieland, thirtysomething Fleischer is xxx 2011 | Total Film | 117
mAkingof now more likely to have scripts delivered to him than topping-based food items. Yet it was that element of random chance that drew him to his latest genre mash-up 30 Minutes Or Less, an action comedy slash indie bromance about a pizza boy (Jesse Eisenberg) who, having been called out to a scrap yard by a couple of ne’er-do-wells, is fitted with a bomb vest and told to rob a bank. Teaming up with best friend Aziz Ansari, the Funny People cast member currently to be found in hit sitcom Parks And Recreation, the desperate Eisenberg sets about obtaining the $100,000 he needs to stop him from going boom. What neither of them realise is their seemingly ruthless blackmailers (Danny McBride and Nick Swardson) are just as hapless and clueless as they are. The only reason they need the money is because they've got on the wrong side of a crazed hit-man (Michael Peña) McBride hired to off his dad (Fred Ward). Got all that? “After Zombieland, I had these awesome opportunities to make bigger movies with much more famous titles,” reveals the softly-spoken Fleischer, whose teeth were cut on commercials and music videos before he won his first feature. “But I felt if I were to jump into a bigger franchise with a bigger star I could easily get lost in the process. This felt like an opportunity to continue to find my taste and style, on something that felt fresh and cool but also pretty dark.” Having turned the US into a post-apocalyptic wasteland last time out, “dark” is clearly not a concept Fleischer has a problem with. “This reminded me a little bit of Fargo, which is one of my favourite movies,” the director explains. “It had the same kind of dark undertones and there’s a similar kind of misguided crime plot.”
A
plot, as it happens, that played out for real in 2003 when Brian Wells, a pizza delivery man from Erie, Pennsylvania, walked into a bank with a bomb fastened to his neck and demanded $250,000. Cornered by police, he begged them to take it off only for the device to detonate and kill him. At first it seemed the bomb was activated to stop Wells implicating one Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, who had intended using the money from the robbery to hire a man to kill her father. Prosecutors concluded that Wells had been in on the scheme – or at least up until the point he realised the bomb was live and not the fake he had been led to believe it was. “There’s no comparison to be made,” Fleischer shrugs when asked if 30 Minutes is simply the Wells tragedy played for laughs. “Our story is so different from the real event.” Still, that hasn’t prevented some pundits accusing the film of being in somewhat poor taste, not least after what happened to Australian teen Madeleine Pulver recently. (The 18-year old endured a 10-hour ordeal in August after an intruder broke into her home and put a collar bomb around her neck which was revealed to be fake.) “Is this the creepiest movie of the year?” asked one website, while another pondered if it was too close to real life for comfort. Having already sailed close to the
118 | Total Film | October 2011
‘the movie is A comedy, but for my chArActer it’s the most drAmAtic situAtion he's ever been in’ jeSSe eiSenberg wind in his lauded portrait of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, it looks like Eisenberg's flirting with another fact versus fiction brouhaha. “I think the movie tells a very provocative, interesting and compelling story,” deflects the 27-year-old actor politely, who got his own view of the pizza guy’s lot by spending a night shadowing one while shooting the flick in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “Even though it’s funny and has this high concept to it, the characters are real, the emotions are real and the relationships are dealt with honestly.” All of which made Eisenberg’s job easier as he put himself in the shoes of the unfortunate Nick, a fellow whose life is in the toilet even before he acquires his deadly ticking accessory. “My character has dropped out of school, he’s stuck in this job he hates and he’s in love with this girl he’s never told,” he elaborates. “When he has a bomb strapped to him and he knows he has a finite time to live, it is, ironically, the best thing that could have happened to him.”
“Guess what? You just bought a gun to a bomb fight, officer!” says Nick to a plod in one of Eisenberg’s funniest scenes – but the last thing he cared about was being funny. “This movie is a comedy, but for my character it’s the most dramatic situation he's ever been in,” he explains, “and my job is to just play the scene realistically within the parameters of the character.” Not surprisingly, Eisenberg couldn't draw on any actual experience. “But I kind of feel that level of fear with very mundane things,” he stammers with a nervous hesitancy that’s anything but an act. “I don’t get food delivered to my house for example, because I’m mortified by a new interaction with somebody I don’t know.” “I don’t get food delivered either,” deadpans Aziz Ansari. “I like travelling and eating in good places.” A stand-up with small roles in Observe And Report, Get Him To The Greek and I Love You, Man under his belt, 30 Minutes could well be a game-changer for a Tamil from South Carolina Subscribe at www.totalfilm.com/subs
30minutesorLess male bombing: (clockwise from left) bumbling bullies nick swardson and danny mcbride; Jesse eisenberg and Aziz Ansari as reunited bffs nick and chet; director ruben fleischer on set.
it shouLdn’t hAPPen to A PiZZA deLivery boy Is this the most thankless job in the world? Hollywood seems to think so... sPider-mAn 2 (2004) Peter Parker might be using his great power and great responsibility to deliver pizza on the side, but even Spider-Man can’t beat New York’s traffic. Arriving after the 30-minute delivery window, a dejected Parker swings home with nothing but lint in his pockets. Arse. home ALone (1990) A simple job turns into a fight to survive, as the voice from within slips money through the cat flap before spraying the dough jockey with mock gunfire. At least he gets to keep the change. fAst times At ridgemont high (1982) It’s hard to imagine Sean Penn as an anti-authority figure, but stoner Jeff Spicolo was a human middle finger to the establishment. The last straw?
whose laconic approach to life is encapsulated by the title of his ‘Aziz Is Bored’ website. “Nick and my character Chet were good friends, but they fell out because he slept with my twin sister,” he outlines. “But when these guys force him to rob a bank, he doesn’t know where else to turn. I think a lot of friendships have ups and downs and what happens is that something eventually brings you together. You remember you’ve been friends for a while and you’ve got to be there for each other.” In this case, being there means spraying toy guns black to make them look menacing, donning a balaclava for a half-assed heist and taking to the streets for a car chase that saw Fleischer reference such ’80s classics as Beverly Hills Cop and The Blues Brothers. “Aziz and I would be in the car surrounded by 25 stunt drivers,” Eisenberg grins. “We could do anything, be as reckless as we wanted. It was fun for us to drive in a way that would otherwise have us thrown into jail.” “That was a first for me,” nods Ansari. “There wasn’t a deleted car chase in Funny People or anything.”
J
esse is a crazy driver,” shudders their director. “He’s very reckless and likes to go fast, especially in the scrap yard. I thought for sure he was going to put Aziz into one of those giant pieces of metal.” When it comes to stunts, however, it was Swardson who upped the ante thanks to his character’s penchant for wielding a flamethrower. “It was awful,” sighs the 34-year-old Minnesotan, soon to be seen as a wannabe porn totalfilm.com
stud in Boogie Nights spoof Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star. “I had to take these classes and go to flame workshops. It was intense; they put this cooling gel all over me and they had guys with fire extinguishers standing by. I was like, ‘what’s going to happen?’ I had a lot of anxiety.” One thing that didn’t give Swardson pause was working with McBride, whom he calls “a really solid guy”. “Comedically, you need a good give and take," says the actor. "You can’t be joke, joke, joke; you’ve got to let the other person breathe.” “Nick’s a funny dude,” reciprocates McBride, whose busy slate meant he had to fit 30 Minutes around his HBO comedy Eastbound And Down. “Now the movie’s over, we’re thinking about trying to rob a bank for real. We had such good chemistry, it feels like it would transfer into the real world and we could actually do this.” It seems it was all one massive love-in on the 30 Minutes set – not least when it came to Peña, whose unconventional hired killer Chango looks certain to be the most outlandish comic cameo from a so-called serious actor since Jamie Foxx popped up in Horrible Bosses as Motherfucker Jones. “Everything Michael says in this film makes me laugh,” sighs Aziz. “Peña destroys; he’s super funny,” agrees Fleischer. “You’ve never seen a hit-man like this. His is such a stock part, the tough, bad-ass hit-man, and he makes it completely original.” One case in point: a moment when he stands in front of a mirror rubbing alcohol in his wounds. “Michael improvised the whole thing,” nods the
Ordering a double-cheese pizza to be delivered... during class. the ‘burbs (1989) Delivering pizzas in the late ’80s? There was always the chance you’d be called by Corey Feldman and his idiot buds, who crash trucks and nick the pizzas within. Worse, he’d insist on calling you “Pizza dude!” do the right thing (1989) Spike Lee’s Mookie learns the hard way that delivering pizzas isn’t all doorstep flirtations. In the blazing heat, his workplace becomes a focal point for local race riots and fatal police brutality. You just wouldn’t get that at Subway.Ag
director. “Chango’s just got shot in the neck and it’s one of the funniest things in the movie.” “It was actually written for an AfricanAmerican dude,” says Peña, who’ll be joining forces with Fleischer again on his next project, Untouchables-style crime saga The Gangster Squad. “I saw Michael Strahan, this basketball player from the New York Giants who’s acting now, coming out of the audition and I was like, ‘Dammit.’ But I got the part.” For this, he gives thanks to an unnamed friend from Chicago who gave him the idea for Chango’s blend of ignorance and self-confidence. “There’s someone I know who's in and out of the pen. He loves Scarface, GoodFellas, The Godfather – he’s always quoting them. I’m like, ‘Dude, you’re not them. Obviously, because you always get caught.’ I’ve been trying to do that character in a movie for a long time.” Bombs, guns, people set on fire: if 30 Minutes Or Less were a pizza, it would have everything on it. To Fleischer, however, it’s not the ingredients that matter, but how they’re cooked. “I’m excited that Zombieland was so well received, and I can only hope for the same with this,” he concludes. “When we watch it with audiences it gets a lot of laughs so hopefully it will have a similar word of mouth spread. I want to continue making movies, and it seems the way to do that is by making successful ones. Fingers crossed this works…” tf 30 Minutes Or Less is out on 16 october and will be reviewed in a future issue. for more features go to totalfilm.com. October 2011 | Total Film | 119
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Of Gods and Ken
WhyBranagh’sMarvelmovieismorelittlecrackerthanhammerhorror. a hammer-shaped hole in its head like Chris nolan needs another set pic leaked. against the odds, though, Branagh Film HHHHH Extras HHHHH delivers the right stuff in at least the first two acts, breezing between multiple worlds and Out26september£19.99DVD,£27.99Blu-rayTriplePlay,£29.993TriplePlay a Valhalla’s army of characters like a man born to asgard’s throne. In present-day new s day-glo the new dark talking. his shakespeare films don’t exactly Mexico, natalie Portman, stellan skarsgård on the superhero scene? Is scream ‘pumped for action’. he’s shown and kat dennings chase twisters and meet levity the new heavy? If the tendencies towards the kind of over-baked a man who fell to earth. Cut to norway, way old-fashioned fun dished bluster (Frankenstein) that could sink back when, where anthony hopkins’ odin by summer Marvels Thor a superhero film requiring tonal care: get cools the Frost giants’ boots. then we’re and Captain America has any say, don’t bet Thor wrong and it plummets into either shot to asgard, where Chris hemsworth’s against it. Five years ago anyone selling camp froth or pompous ceremony. thor is stripped of powers and exiled spandex cinema to studios might have met he can be fussy (Sleuth), which by odin after the god of thunder with a Bruce wayne-ism: does it come in won’t do for a studio tent-pole good hair-care) proves too talking (and black? But Thor makes playfully light work project prioritising story. and cocksure to be king. point out of potentially hefty lifting, leaping from the fan-worrying tension Finally, just before Ken’scommentaryteasingly Marvel’s line-up as a surprising romp made multiplies when you note asgard’s speechifying gets invitesustogeekoutover doubly so by the bloke hired to direct it. that Thor is part-paving too starchy, we plummet back itemsinOdin’sVault,beside theCasketOfAncientWinters. doubts over kenneth Branagh’s the road to The Avengers, to earth for some well-timed DotheInfinityGauntletand appointment weren’t just inverted snobbery a mega-project that needs fish-out-of-water japes (thor’s
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130 | Total Film | October 2011
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DVD&blu-rAyneW
thor’s redemptive rebirth and the feisty Frosties fuel loki’s motives. there’s a sense of choppiness to the plotting, but with so many characters and conflicts on hand, Branagh keeps an impressively tight focus on the core story and smoothes out most of the narrative fits and starts.
‘A shamelessly old-schoolromp, tradinginbrisk, brightpacingand layeredstorytelling’ table manners amuse) and skewed establishing shots straight out of original Marvel artist Jack kirby’s sketch book. Between the two, Branagh’s vision is clearly revealed: poised between sincere and silly, but smartly faithful to its source material.
gods and monsters
with so much ground to cover in so little time, Branagh’s well served by stars able to suggest, as his gracious chat-track has it, “a lot with a little”. working his one eye with beady wit, hopkins enlivens stolid scripting with quiet-loUd-quiet (“BUt you’re not... king”) deliveries. hemsworth strikes a charismatic mock-brawny balance, showing sly comic talent as he struts into a pet shop and demands a horse or, failing that, a dog, cat or bird big enough to ride. dennings turns thudding gags into choice drolleries (“hammer, hammer...”, “yeah, we can tell you’re hammered”) and Portman totalfilm.com
gamely geeks out as Jane Foster, even if the required degree of dizziness falls just outside her poised range. Best of all is tom hiddleston who, as thor’s lurking brother loki, resists the temptation to topple into camp, instead scheming and scowling inwardly. It’s a shame that the film doesn’t fully exploit him, a problem also extending to the warriors 3 and the monsters. like the galaxy’s narkiest health-food advocate, the destroyer visits earth but only gets to blitz fast-food stops. the Frost giant threat is thored faster than your average freezer. Branagh’s staging of these climactic confrontations is efficient but stylistically anonymous, lacking the distinguishing clout sam raimi and Chris nolan stamped on their superhero action sequences. In fairness, the big menaces are only intended to be minor players in the larger arcs: the destroyer’s earth visit facilitates
Family strife: (main) Odin (Anthony Hopkins) with son thor (Chris Hemsworth); (inset) thor bonds with portman’s scientist.
Building bridges
we’ll see more of loki’s mischief in The Avengers too, which is one reason why fans might rush to the dVd like gods to war: the Road To The Avengers featurette. don’t get excited – it’s pure puffery featuring snippets of Joss whedon and kevin Feige intercut with Comic-Con clips we’ve watched to death on youtube. More satisfying is ken’s likeable commentary, where he drops lit-myth references, stresses the need for “lightness of touch” and playfully teases hemsworth’s eagerness to get his top off. that’s almost your lot on dVd, besides deleted scenes suggesting that ken cut material erring on the wrong side of camp. For more you’ll have to buy Blu, where seven featurettes go behind the scenes and the much-teased short film The Consultant (Clark gregg stars) builds more pre-Avengers character bridges. a 3d disc’s also available, though striking design ideas like the psychedelicrainbow bridge shine brighter in 2d than in colour-clouding theatrical 3d. Thor doesn’t need such gimmickry: it’s shamelessly old-school, trading in brisk, bright pacing and multi-layered storytelling – and it needs to glow like hemsworth’s baby-blues. will it give The Avengers a shot at out-dazzling The Dark Knight and out-swinging Spider-Man in 2012? we’ll see about that, but Branagh’s keen hammer blows have laid down sturdy foundations. Joss, let’s do this. Kevin Harley
> Commentary > Deleted scenes > Featurette > short film (bD) > behind the scenes featurettes (bD) October 2011 | Total Film | 131
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SEETHIS IF YOULIKED... SPLASH 1984 OST’s flesh-eating she-sharks may be harder than Daryl Hannah’s mermaid, but they don’t have half the charm. CHICAGO 2002 Rob Marshall claims wrangling pirates scraps was like choreographing big dance numbers. See if you agree. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 1 3 2003-2007 If the original trilogy kept you entertained despite increasing self-indulgence, this one’s unlikely to disappoint. For full reviews of these films visit totalfilm.com/ cinema_reviews
Washed up
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Part4:Jackgoescoasting.
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PIRATESOFTHECARIBBEAN:ONSTRANGERTIDES 12 Film ★★★★★ Extras ★★★★★ OUT12SEPTEMBER £14.99DVD,£16.99DoublePlay,£22.993DBlu-ray
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HERE ARE TWO HIGHLY amusing Freudian slips on the chat track for Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. “We wanted this opening action sequence to jump-start the movie and give it a real inertia,” says director Rob Marshall (Chicago, Nine). Oops. And later, “The narrative simplicity of the race for the Fountain of Youth was really helpful with the inertia of the film.” Oops again. Credit where credit’s due, though. Pirates 4 is a sinewy chord of narrative cohesion compared to the indigestible bloat of Gore Verbinski’s Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End. Marshall admits he was swimming against the mega-tentpole tide trying to keep the story afloat. (Although when you’re surrendering story time to the ho-hummery of palm-tree escapes and rapier-scraps among spurting kegs, it’s a losing battle.) But 132 | Total Film | October 2011
Johnny’s attempt at Blue Steel was a winner.
that’s as controversial as Marshall gets on a gushy commentary alongside exec producer John DeLuca, in which everything and everyone is “amazing”, “inspiring” and “so, so fun”. Shame the on-set love-in didn’t generate a better film. (Or disc, for that matter – extras are suspiciously thin.) As for series mainstay Johnny Depp, he has the two men gurgling with glee at every eye roll and nose wrinkle (“He’s a renaissance man,” coos DeLuca. “I’m sure he could do Shakespeare”). But this is his least rewarding – and best paid – turn as Jack Sparrow. Bringing Depp’s jester front and centre defangs his anarchic buffoonery – the debauched danger man Disney almost fired at the franchise’s beginning has morphed into a saccharine, family-friendly clown. New faces fail to ease Depp’s burden. Penélope Cruz is an enticing addition mired in a ‘spitfire’ rut as Sparrow’s
squabbling hiredtoplaythemermaidsin attackmode.Twooftheactors ex/adversary. intheboat“suffered”dueto Ian McShane’s theirinabilitytoswim,but Blackbeard Marshallwon’tsaywho… promises delicious menace only to wilt into insignificance. And Sam Claflin’s missionary and Astrid Berges-Frisbey’s mermaid are yoof-demographic tack-ons. Bar a scary mermaid attack, the ‘race’ to the Fountain of Youth has all the thrill of a stroll down to Sainsbury’s, leaving most of Tides’ pleasures to come in the opening London-set gallop: Richard Griffiths’ King George, ornate production design, a game British dame and a bracing coach chase. Midway through the action, former foes Depp and Geoffrey Rush (back for a fourth go-around as Barbossa) lapse into a Bob Hope/Bing Crosby double act that gives away the old-fashioned game Marshall is trying to play to rid the series of its overblown, nonsensical stench. But if the filmmaker was meant to inject a new sense of vigour into the loot-raking adventures, he’s merely dragged it deeper into the seabed of self-parody. Also, someone really needs to buy him a dictionary. Matt Mueller
EXTRAS
Commentary (BD) Lego shorts Gag reel
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