With the backdrop of a Francoist Spain, The Last Circus tells of two rival clowns, Sad Clown and Happy Clown, and their wicked triangle love affair with the gorgeous acrobat, Natalia. In the film’s opening sequence, a circus is cruelly recruited for war, and Igelias shows the clowns hacking and slashing through the enemies with glee and blood. It sounds absurd, but it’s far from it, especially with the events in the third act. As if a Salvador Dalí painting was made into a movie by an early 1990s Tim Burton, The Last Circus is a constant bizarre piece of film-making, mixing historical footage, with humor, clowns with guns, explosions, fights with wild boars, and a ending directly homaging Batman (1989), which was directed by Burton, Igelsia streamlines it all into a wonderful, cheeky, and violent 105 minutes.

Connecting the sub-textual dots can be a little frustrating, but the whimsical attitude, laced in with the love story amidst the violence, creates for a pretty special movie. Confused and yet wowed, cult movie fans will find that The Last Circus is one wild ride, especially if you’re sick of the mundane, which we are.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Apes series has seen a prequel before, in its prequel/sequel hybrid Escape from the Planet of the Apes, followed by Caesar’s revolution in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, but Rupert Wyatt’s take should instantly please long-time Apes fans, while stimulating newcomers. It lays down the foundations for a new series, while tickling story lines present already in the five film series from 1968-1973. Man’s ultimate downfall will always be their lack of unity. Will (James Franco) is headstrong about his ALZ-112, which could very well be the cure to Alzheimer’s Disease. Of course, the medical treatments are tested on chimps, but side-effects prove to be ironic. Apes receive hyper-intelligence and in humans, it backfires, causing a virus that starts out as an pandemic. You might connect the dots to what happens next.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a swirling success of effects and storytelling, much like the 1968 film. While some might belittle the film for its subtext of animal testing, so be it, but they’re misinformed. Here’s an intelligent blockbuster, mined for social themes that encourages discussion, while pleasing the eye. Andy Serkis as Caesar is a riveting performance, from baby chimp to warlord, Serkis has once and for all, proved an actor is an actor, regardless of the digital make-up. It’s mesmerizing, haunting, and possibly iconic. Much like those Apes t-shirts that spoof the classic image of Che, Andy Serkis gives his Caesar the Che Guevara revolutionist spirit, with heart.

Mankind and the animal kingdom are only separated by the thin line of emotion, which when placed against the current events, whether it’s 1968 or 2011, mines creativity and smarts, sometimes that is forgotten in big-budget sci-fi movies. Rise of the Planet of the Apes dares to mix intelligence with summer movie conventions, and wins.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

The film stars Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Eva Green, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, Bella Heathcote, Chloe Moretz and Gulliver McGrath. Look for it May 2012.

Here’s the extras:

Commentary by Paul Reubens and Tim Burton

Additional scenes

Production sketches and storyboards

Music-only track with commentary by Danny Elfman

Theatrical trailer

No cover art has yet been released.

Source: Blu-ray

These directors on their wishlist? Tim Burton, Sam Raimi, Shawn Levy, Chris Weitz or Alfonso Cuaron.

Seems far-fetched, yet Weitz or Levy makes a little sense. The only reason Burton would do it if Depp woos him into it. Thoughts?

“It’s been hard to kind of come here because I’m just starting, and it’s a weird tone and it’s a lot of actors and, you know, we’re not starting with the simple stuff; we’re sort of getting right in there. You like to kind of sneak up on it a little bit, but this one we just kind of slammed right into it,” he explains, also talking a bit about the soap opera qualities. “Yes, I don’t know. I’m early into it because it’s a funny tone, and that’s part of what the vibe of the show is, and there’s something about it that we want to get. But when you look at it, it’s pretty bad. I’m hoping that it will be — it’s early days, let’s put it — I’m very intrigued by the tone. It’s a real ethereal tone we’re trying to go for and I don’t know yet.”

The film is aiming for a summer blockbuster date of May 11, 2012.

In the year 1752, Joshua and Naomi Collins, with young son Barnabas, set sail from Liverpool, England to start a new life in America. But even an ocean was not enough to escape the mysterious curse that has plagued their family. Two decades pass and Barnabas (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet—or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy…until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Brouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive.

Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer) has called upon live-in psychiatrist, Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), to help with her family troubles.

Also residing in the manor is Elizabeth’s ne’er-do-well brother, Roger Collins (Jonny Lee Miller); her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Chloe Moretz); and Roger’s precocious 10-year-old son, David Collins (Gulliver McGrath). The mystery extends beyond the family, to caretaker Willie Loomis, played by Jackie Earle Haley, and David’s new nanny, Victoria Winters, played by Bella Heathcote.

Based on his 1984 short, this version will be stop-motion animated in the vein of A Nightmare Before Christmas or Corpse Bride.

A heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life — with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous.

A stop-motion animated film, Frankenweenie will be filmed in black and white and rendered in 3D, which will elevate the classic style to a whole new experience.

Frankenweenie is set for a release in Digital 3D on October 5, 2012 by Walt Disney Pictures. Even if it’s half as good as the short, it should be pretty cute and special.

Source: Film Music Reporter

The Tim Burton directed revision of the classic soap opera is coming to haunt us in theaters next year with Johnny Depp and Eva Green.

The actress would have to juggle the role with a few others, according to /Film, since April is the start date. Deadline is reporting Burton’s wife, Helena Bonham Carter (Fight Club) is up for Dr. Julia Hoffman, but this is no surprise since she’s in almost every Burton film.

While I’m personally not keen on this updated film, the casting is really inspired. Thoughts?

It will feature the talents of Winona Ryder, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Landau, Charlie Tahan, and Atticus Shaffer. Check out the synopsis below, as well as the original film.

Synopsis: From creative genius Tim Burton (“Alice in Wonderland,” The Nightmare Before Christmas”) comes “Frankenweenie,” a heartwarming tale about a boy and his dog. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life—with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor’s fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new “leash on life” can be monstrous.

The film is looking at a 2012 release on October 5th.

Source: Screen Crave

Tim Burton plans to start shooting the film in April.

Source: Collider

While promoting his new Broadway play, Paul Ruebens aka Pee-Wee Herman talked to press on the project, as well as if he would like to work with Tim Burton again (remember, Burton’s feature film directorial debut was Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure). He stated yes, but he doesn’t know when, since Burton is knee-deep in Dark Shadows and is planning a sequel to A Nightmare Before Christmas.

Sure, it’s odd hearing such a huge bombshell like this from an actor not associated with the original, but he must have talked with Burton a bit ago. More on this as it develops. Thoughts?

Source: Dread Central

The Film:

Not much has changed since I saw it on the IMAX in 3D a few months ago. The film is not Burton’s best and not his worst, so that hasn’t changed on Disney’s new 3D Blu-ray disc, and since I already reviewed it (twice, theatrically and on their first Blu-ray combo release), I’ll just paraphrase the my review below.

“On paper, the idea of Tim Burton directing a modern live-action version of Lewis Carroll’s famous story of Alice in Wonderland seemed too good to be true. Tim Burton certainly has established himself over the years as a kooky director with his finger on weird, and even more certain, is that Alice in Wonderland is weird. The classic Disney animated film from 1951 as become a polarizing film from the Mouse House, a film one either loves entirely or hates it entirely. It doesn’t matter if you like or dislike Tim Burton, the very idea presented to us with his adaptation of Alice in Wonderland was one of the most perfect marriages one could assume on paper. Notice how many times I’ve said on paper, because a Tim Burton directed version of Alice in Wonderland should not have been this ordinary.”

Feel free to re-read the original review here for further analysis.

The 3D Blu-ray:

Audio/Video: Housed on its own disc (Disc 1; no extras) in this four disc set, the 3D image is quite a bit better here, than I originally remembered when I saw it in 3D theatrically. This transfer has much more depth than I originally remembered, making for a fully consistent dimensionality. Colors are very bright for a 3D film, something that the glasses seem to darken. Not here, nor does the details are clarity suffer. For a film that was shot in 2D (yet conceived as a 3D film), the results on this 3D Blu-ray disc are quite stellar. No complaints here.

The original Blu-ray transfer for the 2D version of the film is equally as stellar.

The audio is in DTS and it’s as active, as bass heavy, as you’d expect. Nothing new here, just a repeat of the great audio mix.

Disc 2 is the Blu-ray version of the film and houses the most extras. Disc 3 is the DVD version of the film, with three extras: The Mad Hatter; Finding Alice; Effecting Wonderland, which are short featurettes taking from larger pieces. Disc 4 is the Digital Copy of the film.

As a reminder, check out my extensive review of the extras here (on Disc 2).

Conclusion: The whole point of this Blu-ray reissue, is the 3D version of the film, and as usual, Disney offers up a great release. The original Blu-ray was stellar as a HD transfer/audio, but having the 3D version is just a cherry on top. Say what you will about the film, the 3D is better here on Blu than in the theater.

The Film: Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

The 3D Blu-ray: Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The film is a big screen adaptation of the gothic TV soap opera about vampires. The role Depp will take on is that of Barnabas Collins, a vampire who is searching for his long lost love. It has been noted that Depp was a fan of the series in the past, a dream role perhaps?

The film is set to start shooting in April of next year, what does this mean for the other projects he’s been attached to? I guess time will tell if those get re-cast or if he sticks with them.

Source: Reuters