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Theatrical Release:Nov 13, 2009

Pirate Radio is the high-spirited story of how 8 DJs love affair with Rock n Roll changed the world forever. In the 1960s this group of rouge DJs, on a boat in the middle of the Northern Atlantic,… Pirate Radio is the high-spirited story of how 8 DJs love affair with Rock n Roll changed the world forever. In the 1960s this group of rouge DJs, on a boat in the middle of the Northern Atlantic, played rock records and broke the law all for the love of music. The songs they played united and defined an entire generation and drove the British government crazy. By playing Rock n Roll they were standing up against the British government who did everything in their power to shut them down. The band of rebels is lead by The Count, played by the Academy Award Winning Philip Seymour Hoffman, Quentin the boss of Radio Rock, Gavin the greatest DJ in Britian, Midnight Mark, Doctor Dave and Young Carl who comes of age amidst the chaos of sex, drugs and rock n roll. The film features an unbelievable selection of music including The Beatles, The Stones, Beach Boys, Dusty Springfield, The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Smokey Robinson, David Bowie, Otis Redding, Cat Stevens just to name a few. The film is laugh out loud funny and speaks to the rock n roll rebel in all of us

Kenneth Branagh’s adaption of Thor has a great cast already in place. Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Natalie Portman, Jaimie Alexander, Colm Feore, Samuel L. Jackson to name but a few.

MTV Splash Page recently spoke with Natalie Portman, who was promoting her new film Brothers, and she revealed that Kat Dennings (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist) has a role in Thor as well.

“Well I’m really excited,” Portman told MTV News. “Kat Dennings is going to be in it with me and she’s a good friend and an amazing actress, so I’m looking forward to that.”

Variety has confirmed Dennings’ role in the film and is reporting that she will play Darcy, who works with Natalie Portman’s character, Jane Foster.

Thor is out on 20 May 2011.

According to E! Online, Natalie Portman has an interesting reason for taking on a role in the Thor:

I just thought it sounded like a really weird idea I just thought it sounded like a really weird idea ’cause Kenneth Branagh’s directing it … And Ken Branagh doing Thor is super weird. I’ve got to do it.

Branagh is an odd chocie, but not so much when you remember the tone and battle scenes in his Henry V.  We do think it’s weird that Portman is already calling Branagh “Ken”.   He just doesn’t seem like a “Ken” to us.

I think anyone would walk into a movie like this with high expectations.   This formula should work: great soundtrack from the 60’s, rock and roll pirates stealing the airwaves and giving the young people what they want to hear, nose-thumbing at the establishment, with a dose of a couple of top rate actors, Kenneth Branagh and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

First off, I felt the whole arc of the movie was ruined taking out any tension and conflict by giving us the Cliff Notes synopsis in subtitles before the movie even came on.  What was the point of that?  Show me, don’t tell me after I just paid $10.75 to park it in a seat for two hours.  Much to my dismay I found it painfully cheesy in moments, dragged out and uncomfortable to watch.  Even Kenneth Branagh’s airs “I’m going to shut this filth down” seemed campy and theatrical. Most of his sing-songy melodrama came off as a rookie theater major, like he was basking in the limelight of his very first “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” Shakespearean debut.  It was a bit over-acted which just added to the whole camp/cheese factor.  Maybe because what the formula seemed like a slam dunk – the whole drugs, sex and rock and roll, and women clamoring for the bad boy pirates on the water (even the unkempt, obese one – anything to sleep with a pirate!) – we can’t fathom it being bad.  I found the movie uninspiring which leaves me little to write about.  I have a difficult time writing about things that don’t compel me and am not crazy about spending my valuable time picking apart a movie either – to ignore it is a much better use of my time.

That said, I can’t even in good faith say, “Wait for it to come out on DVD.”  I would relegate this movie to, “If you get bored on a long 15 hour flight to Bangkok and it happens to be in the movie queue then I guess you could watch it.”

หลังจากข่าวความเคลื่อนไหวของหนังซูเปอร์ฮีโร่ Thor นั้น ก็พูดถึงการรับนักแสดงเพิ่มอย่างมากมายมหาศาล ซึ่งตอนนี้ ก็น่าจะพอยกพวกไปตีกับอีกกองถ่ายหนึ่ง!! ล้อเล่นน่ะครับ ไม่ดีครับ และตอนนี้ ผมก็นำความเห็นของนักแสดงสาวหน้าหวาน  นาตาลี พอร์ตแมน ต่อหนังที่เธอกำลังจะแสดง เรื่อง Thor ซึ่งกำกับโดย เคนเนธ บรานาห์ มาให้อ่านกันครับ

ในการประชาสัมพันธ์เรื่อง Brothers กำกับโดย จิม เชอริแดน ที่จะฉายในบ้านเรา 7 มกราคม 2010 นาตาลี พอร์ตแมน ได้กล่าวถึง การถูกเชิญไปรับบท นางพยาบาลสาว เจน ฟอสเตอร์ ใน Thor ของค่าย Marvel ก็เป็นคำถามว่า ทำไมถึงเลือกเล่นหนังเรื่อง Thor เธอก็บอกไว้ประมาณว่าไว้ว่า

“ฉันคิดว่ามันเป็นอะไรที่แปลกใหม่ และน่าตื่นตาตื่นใจเลยทีเดียว ฉันว่า Thor มันเป็นอะไรที่น่าอัศจรรย์นะ แน่นอนแหละ ฉันก็จะทำให้ดีที่สุด กับหนังเรื่องนี้”

แน่นอนครับ เรื่องนี้มันเป็นเรื่องเกี่ยวกับ เทพเจ้าเลยทีเดียว และก็หลายเทพด้วยกัน ใครคิดว่ามันไม่น่าอัศจรรย์ ก็บ้าแล้วล่ะครับ เราคงได้เห็นอะไรที่น่าตื่นตาตื่นใจ อลังการงารสร้างสุดๆ แน่นอน

Thor มีกำหนดฉาย (สหรัฐ) 20 พฤษภาคม 2011 ครับ

Esta semana los actores Idris Elba (The Wire, The Losers, en la fotografía), Ray Stevenson (Roma, Punisher War Zone), Stuart Townsend (Battle in Seattle) y Tadanobu Asano (Mongol) han pasado a formar parte del elenco de Thor, adaptación del cómic Marvel que dirige Kenneth Branagh. El cineasta no puede tener queja de un elenco en cuya elección ha participado de forma determinante. Anteriormente ya se había anunciado que contaría con Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Jaimie Alexander, Colm Feore y Samuel L. Jackson en su proyecto. El rodaje de la superproducción comenzará a mediados de Enero, teniendo la mente puesta en el 20 de Mayo de 2.011, día en el que se ha marcado su estreno.

Según comenta Luis Benshimol Chonchol, parece ser que Kenneth Branagh director de la adaptación se toma una pequeña o gran licencia cambiando al personaje de Heimdall y dándole un toque afroamericano de la mano del actro Idris Elba. Este personaje es el dios de la luz en la mitología nórdica. Es hijo de Odín y de nueve gigantas que lo nutrieron con sangre de jabalí. Poseía una vista aguda, un fino oído y podía estar sin dormir varios días. Pero en cambio, no podía hablar. Su percepción era tan extraordinaria que oía crecer la hierba, razón por la cual se le designó guardián de la morada de los dioses, Asgard, y del Bifrost, el arco iris que hace de puente hasta ella. Apunta Luis Benshimol que en la mitología Nórdica, con una trompeta llamada Gjallarhorn, que Odín le regaló, anunciará el combate entre dioses y gigantes, después del cual sobrevendrá el fin del mundo, el Ragnarok.

Heimdal intervendrá en la lucha, en la que será muerto por el dios maligno Loki. Aunque será símbolo de Poder porque será el último dios en caer en el Ragnarok . Una tradición nórdica dice que descendió a la tierra y engendró en tres mujeres los tres linajes (castas): príncipes, súbditos y siervos, argumenta Luis Benshimol Chonchol. En el reparto también nos encontramos con Anthony Hopkins en el papel del Dios nórdico Odin, que a su vez es el padre de Thor y Loki, los cuales serán interpretados por Chris Hemsworth y Tom Hiddleston, respectivamente. Además, Natalie Portman será el interés amoroso de Thor, Jane Foster. Actores como Jaimie Alexander, Colm Feore, Samuel L. Jackson y Stellan Skarsgard completan el reparto de esta cinta que será la adaptación a la gran pantalla del cómic del mismo nombre, Thor, un superhéroe de las historietas de Marvel que fue creado por Jack Kirby y Stan Lee inspirándose en el personaje mitológico.

Escrita por Mark Protosevich y Zack Stentz, la cinta contará la historia de un estudiante minusválido de medicina, Donal Blake, que en un viaje a Noruega es testigo de la llegada de unos extraterrestres dispuestos a invadir la tierra. Al ser descubierto, huye y se refugia en una cueva. Allí encuentra un cayado de madera que resulta ser mágico. Cada vez que golpee el suelo con su bastón, se convierte en Thor, el dios de las tormentas. Informa Luis Benshimol Chonchol que Paramount Pictures estrenará esta cinta el 20 de Mayo de 2011.

หลังจากเมื่อวาน ข่าวความเคลื่อนไหวของ หนังเรื่อง Thor ได้มีนักแสดงเพิ่มเข้ามาถึงสามคน มารับบทเป็นสามเทพแห่งแอสการ์ด และผมคิดว่า น่าจะไม่มีแล้ว แต่ถึงอย่างนั้น มาวันนี้ ดันถูกเพิ่มมาอีกคนครับ เออเนอะ เพิ่มเข้ามาอย่างระห่ำเลยทีเดียว ซึ่งเขาคนนี้ก็คือ…

ไอดริส เอลบา นักแสดงหนุ่ม ผิวดำ คล้ำเข้ม ซึ่งประกาศโดย Heat Vision ในวันนี้ เอลบา นั้น ได้ถูกเพิ่มเข้ามารับบท Heimdall เทพกระทิง สุดถึก อึดได้ใจ แห่งแอสการ์ด เทพ Heimdall นั้น จะยืนหยัดอยู่ที่ สะพาน ไบฟรอสต์ เพื่อคุ้มกันอาณาจักร ให้ปลอดภัยจากศัตรู นี่ก็เป็นอีกเทพหนึ่ง ที่สำคัญ ตามเนื้อเรื่องฉบับการ์ตูน ไม่แพ้ เทพสามช่า แฟนดรอล, โวลสแต็กก์ และ โฮกัน

ผลงานของ ไอดริส เอลบา นั้น ก็ได้ผ่านมาหลายเรื่องด้วยกัน อาทิ เช่น Obsessed, The Unborn, RocknRolla, Prom Night, American Gangster ที่ฉายไปไม่นานนี้ ซึ่งการที่ให้เขามารับบทเทพกระทิงนี้นั้น ผมก็เห็นว่า มันช่างเหมาะจริงๆ ครับ

ถึงตอนนี้ ก็ยังไม่รู้นะครับ ว่าจะมีนักแสดงถูกเพิ่มเข้ามารับบทใหม่ๆ อีกรึเปล่า ที่แน่ๆ ตอนนี้มีเป็นกระบุงแล้วครับ เพิ่มได้เพิ่มดี ซึ่งช่วงเปิดกล้อง ก็กลางเดือนมกราคม ปีหน้า คงอีกไม่นานครับ ที่ข่าวความเคลื่อนไหวเรื่องนักแสดงถูกเพิ่มเข้ามารับบท จะจบลง

Thor กำกับโดย เคนเนธ บรานาห์ และนำแสดงโดย คริส เฮ็มสอวร์ธ เป็น ธอร์, ทอม ฮิดเดิลสตัน เป็น โลกิ, นาตาลี พอร์ตแมน เป็น เจน ฟอสเตอร์, แอนโธนี่ ฮ็อพกิ้นส์ เป็น เทพโอดิน, ไจมี่ อเล็กซานเดอร์ เป็น เลดี้ ซิฟ, โคล์ม ฟีออร์ เป็น ตัวร้ายไร้นาม, สเตลลอน สคาร์สการ์ด เป็น ???, สต๊วร์ต ทาวน์เซนด์ เป็น แฟนดรอล, เรย์ สตีเวนสัน เป็น โวลสแต็กก์, ทาดาโนบุ อาซาโนะ เป็น โฮกัน, และ แซมมวล แอล แจ็คสัน เป็น นิค ฟิวรี่

Thor มีกำหนดฉาย (สหรัฐ) 20 พฤษภาคม 2011 ครับ

Idris Elba is cool. That’s all you need to know. He was the ex-SAS bloke in the UK show Ultraviolet that saw him taking down Vampires, or leeches as he called them. Stateside you will know him mainly from The Wire. Plus he got to snog Beyonce in Obsessed. He is currently working on The Losers which is an adaption of the excellent DC Comic about special forces types on the run.

It looks as if he is on a comic book roll as Heat Vision have the news he has been cast in Marvel Studio’s Thor movie – not as a human character, but as the Asgardian known as Heimdall.

In the comic Heimdall is the brother of the warrior Sif. He is the all-seeing and all-hearing guardian sentry of Asgard, he stands on the rainbow bridge, Bifrost and stands watch for any attacks to Asgard. For ages, he stood as the guardian of Asgard, defending the city’s gates from any intruders, and was one of the most trusted servants of Odin.

He has also had a few battles with Thor in the comics either stopping him entering or leaving Asgard so I could well imagine we’ll see something like that in the film.

The movie follows Thor (Chris Hemsworth) a Norse God banished to Earth for his arrogance and reckless behavior in the Asgard, the capital city of the Norse Gods. On Earth, he falls in love with a nurse named Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), but must become a true hero when his sinister brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) brings the darkest forces of Asgard to wreak destruction on humanity. Directed by Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet), the film co-stars Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Dominic Cooper, Jaimie Alexander, Colm Feore, Stuart Townsend, Ray Stevenson, and Tadanobu Asano.

It is shaping up to be an amazing cast.

หลังจากไม่นานมานี้ ได้ยืนยันกำหนดการเปิดกล้องแล้ว กับหนังเรื่องเทพเจ้าสายฟ้า Thor นั่นก็คือ กลางเดือนมีนาคม ปีหน้า และตามที่เราดูความเคลื่อนไหวของหนังนั้น ก็จะเห็นได้ว่า มีนักแสดงเพิ่มเข้ามาอย่างมากมาย แต่แค่นั้นยังไม่หมด!! ยังมีอีกครับ 

ล่าุสุด มีรายงานมาว่า มีการเพิ่มนักแสดงมาอีก ถึงสามคนด้วยกัน นั่นก็เพราะ ตามเนื้อเรื่องของ Thor แล้วนั้น ยังมีเพื่อนเดนตายอีกสามคน ซึ่งขาดไม่ได้เลยครับ โดยจะเรียกทั้งสามนั้นว่า The Warriors Three สามเทพแห่ง ดินแดนแอสการ์ด

ผู้รับบททั้งสามนี้ ก็คือ สต๊วร์ต ทาวน์เซนด์ (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) , เรย์ สตีเวนสัน (Punisher: War Zone) และ ทาดาโนบุ อาซาโนะ (Mongol)

โดย ทาวน์เซนด์ นั้น มารับบทเป็น แฟนดรอล นักดาบ ปราบมาร, สตีเวนสัน มารับบทเป็น โวลสแต็กก์ จอมโหดทมิฬ และ อาซาโนะ มารับบทเป็น โฮกัน กริมเบิ้ม ระห่ำไม่ยั้ง ซึ่งทั้งสามนั้น ก็ถูกสร้างสรรค์มาโดย สแตน ลี, เออรอล ฟลินน์ และ ชาร์ลส บรอนสัน แล้วก็ได้มีตัวละครนี้มานานมากเช่นกัน เกือบ 50 ปี

ก็อีกไม่นาน ที่เราจะได้เห็นภาพจากกองถ่าย Thor ก็ประมาณต้นปีหน้าแหละครับ และก็เช่นกัน Spider-Man 4 ก็เตรียมตัวเปิดกล้อง มีนาปีหน้า โดยปีหน้านี้แหละัครับ เราจะเห็นข่าวความเคลื่อนไหวของหนังแอ็ัคชั่น อลังการ ไซไฟ แฟนตาซี มาเป็นระลอกๆ เพราะปีหน้านี้ มีหนังหลายเรื่อง ที่จ่อคิวเปิดกล้องอยู่มาก ก็เป็นอะไรที่น่าตื่นเต้นทีเดียว

Thor กำกับโดย เคนเนธ บรานาห์ นำแสดงโดย(ที่ยืนยันแล้ว) คริส เฮ็มสวอร์ธ เป็น ธอร์, ทอม ฮิดเดิลสตัน เป็น โลกิ, นาตาลี พอร์ตแมน เป็น เจน ฟอสเตอร์, แอนโธนี่ ฮ๊อพกิ้นส์ เป็น เทพโอดิน, ไจมี่ อเล็กซานเดอร์ เป็น เลดี้ ซิฟ, โคล์ม ฟีออร์ เป็น ตัวร้ายไร้นาม, สต๊วร์ต ทาวน์เซนด์ เป็น แฟนดรอล, เรย์ สตีเวนสัน เป็น โวลสแต็กก์ และ ทาดาโนบุ อาซาโนะ เป็น โฮกัน

Thor กำหนดฉาย (สหรัฐ) 20 พฤษภาคม 2011 ครับ

It’s not clear whether someone asked him or not, but Richard Curtis seems to think that he is now responsible for presenting a vision of Britain that glows with progressive energy and infectious optimism. Not for him the kitchen-sink realism of Ken Loach or Andrea Arnold, or the hard-knock macho silliness of Nick Lowe. He’s more interested in treating the stuffy image of Britain as a curtain that can be pulled back to show a country that will be compelled to dance if someone plays the right song. Thanks are due for making British history as funny as he (and co-writer Ben Elton) did with Blackadder, but his dominance over British film and TV becomes hard to swallow as we are submerged under a tide of worthy feel-good pablum such as The Vicar of Dibley, The Girl in the Cafe, the TV adaptation of Alexander McCall Smith’s cutesy The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, etc. As with overworked screenwriter Andrew Davies, Curtis gets everywhere, and for those of us who would like British culture to contain more than slightly raunchy adaptations of classic novels or movies that make committee-driven American product feel like the works of Jean-Luc Godard, the ubiquity of these two men begins to feel a little oppressive.

The Boat That Rocked is Curtis’ most recent attempt at mythologising the British Experience, taking the fascinating story of Radio Caroline and reducing it to a bog-standard rebels vs. Empire tale riddled with dick jokes, unappealing caricatures, and a depressingly retrograde attitude to women. Actually, “jokes” is the wrong word to describe the zaniness that pervades the movie. There is never anything as concrete as a joke delivered. Instead there is a nebulous air of “humour”, an ambience that feels funny without ever doing anything amusing. It is to comedy as froth is to food. Unfortunately that froth is thinly spread over two hours of footage.

Giving a synopsis of the movie is simultaneously difficult and very easy. Difficult because a lot of small things happen that mean nothing in terms of plot, but easy as the central thread of the movie — youth vs. old age — is presented with Manichean simplicity. As with Radio Caroline, the movie’s fictional counterpart — the imaginatively named Radio Rock — broadcasts pop music from a boat moored somewhere in the North Sea to a large audience of young listeners. Unlike Radio Caroline, Curtis creates a scenario where the British government — and by association the BBC — have restricted the amount of popular music played on licensed national radio, and Radio Rock serves as a corrective to this by pumping out a non-stop barrage of The Who, The Small Faces, The Kinks, and the odd Motown/Stax classic for variety. Of course, the BBC played more popular music — and Radio Caroline less subversive music – than Curtis will admit. He operates in broad strokes, and fact will merely reduce the impact of his blunt message.

While the boat is populated with a menagerie of ill-defined “characters” (in both senses of the word) having the time of their lives, the establishment is painted as a group of out-of-touch, sour-faced nags, as grey as Steve Bell’s caricatures of John Major. It is painful to see Kenneth Branagh trying — and failing — to breathe life into the character of Sir Alastair Dormandy. Given no inner life to work with, Dormandy states quite clearly that he is trying to destroy pirate radio as he thinks it’s horrible and hates the thought of the public enjoying themselves. His unsubtle grouching is mostly aimed his equally hateful second-in-command, played by Jack Davenport. Much has been made of the name of this character — Twatt — though less note has been made of the decision to change the name of personal assistant Miss C from the original name of Miss Clit. Curtis must be more interested in displaying Twatt than acknowledging the existence of Clit, I guess.

That might explain why The Boat That Rocked is set in a retrograde world where women are sexually liberated enough that they don’t seem to mind being swapped around from one Radio Rock DJ to another as if they were soulless commodities. One excruciating scene shows DJ Dave (Nick Frost) attempting to deceive groupie Desiree (Gemma Arterton) into sleeping with virginal wallflower Carl (Tom Sturridge, looking like a rabbit caught in the headlights), the inference being that Desiree will be just fine with this because it’s all fair game and not actually non-consensual sex. Even Radio Rock proprietor Quentin (Bill Nighy) endorses this deflowering project, bringing his niece Marianne (Talulah Riley) onboard as a figurative virginal sacrifice to Carl, who is then seduced by Dave behind his back despite his earlier efforts to help the young man.

It’s the last thing you would expect from Curtis, and one suspects he is trying to pay homage to Carry On-style British sauciness, but his attempts to make this seem charming and empowering fail because the only contrast to this selfish behaviour is the colourless world populated by fun-hating automatons like Branagh and Davenport. It’s either grey cardigans or thoughtless sexual voraciousness, and you don’t want to be on the side of the squares, do you? It doesn’t matter if you treat your fellow man / woman with contempt, as long as you’re having a good time doing it. Besides, Curtis is otherwise politically correct enough to add an almost mute black kid (Ike Hamilton) and a lesbian (Katherine Parkinson) to the crew, because yay diversity! Calling the tone of the movie schizophrenic is putting it mildly.

It doesn’t help that Curtis’ cast of characters are unforgivably awful, and his impressive cast wasted. Philip Seymour Hoffman and Rhys Ifans play egotistical buffoons who care more about upstaging each other than about the feelings of their colleagues, shunning feeble Omega-males Chris O’Dowd, Rhys Darby and Tom Brooke (playing Baldrick-surrogate Thick Kevin) as if tainted. Even Nick Frost’s innate likeability is not enough to make his character endearing, which says much for Curtis’ misunderstanding of tone. If only someone had taken Curtis to one side to explain a truth established a long time ago: there is nothing more tawdry and depressing than hearing an Englishman talk about sex. Memories of Robin Askwith peering through bedroom windows at horrified housewives in their underwear flash through the mind. If Curtis is trying to evoke memories of British sex comedies from the Sixties and Seventies, the pertinent question is: why in the world would anyone in their right mind want to do that?

If we’re meant to be attracted to this group of misogynistic grotesques, the reasons are lost in the edit, which could account for the majority of the movie’s flaws. Tales are told of an original three-hour edit, pared down to 135 minutes in the UK and 90 minutes in the US (where the title has been changed to Pirate Radio). The UK release seems so unfocused that it feels like Curtis lost track of all of the footage in the editing room and accidentally deleted the wrong scenes, leaving us with lots of pointless dancing and a disparate collection of second acts that have no context. As such it is hard to criticise the movie for its sexual politics or unappealing characters because we cannot know if these failings would have been resolved had the editing been tighter. Much as I don’t want to attribute gross negligence to a man who has been telling stories with some success (financial and artistic) for a long time, it’s apparent that The Boat That Rocked is not a finished product. Was Curtis bored with this project by the time of release? Did the shooting schedule run over due to all of the larks, leaving less time for post-production?

This stew of unresolved threads cannot be called a movie. It’s a themed sketch show, intentionally leaving the odd memorable moment adrift in a content-free tone soup of tone. Daisyhellcakes (whose affection for Curtis’ work was severely dented by this movie) observed that its poor-plotting and forced air of jollity were reminiscent of Mamma Mia, and she’s onto something, and not just because criticism of the subject matter comes with the risk of being labelled a humourless prude. Other than a subplot about Carl finding his father (played by Ralph Brown as a stoner, for a change), Curtis cannot bring any subplot to a satisfying conclusion and so resorts to Mamma Mia director Phyllida Lloyd’s trick of battering the audience with relentless upbeat exhibitionism. There are a seemingly infinite number of montages showing people dancing around their radios, cross-cut with shots of DJs yelling tedious insults about penis size at each other over the assorted Sounds of the  Sixties. If you thought Good Morning, Vietnam would have been a better movie without Robin Williams or the clumsy rhetoric about the horrors of war, you were wrong.

Perhaps Curtis has watched too many clip shows on Channel 4, and thinks that as long as he adds a couple of  scenes that resonate enough to get a mention in one of those time-wasting monstrosities then his job is done. The only moment that generates an emotional response is when Chris O’Dowd’s virginal DJ Simple Simon Swofford is jilted by his new bride (January Jones, not setting the world of comedy on fire with her two scenes). As she leaves him after seventeen hours of marriage to be with Rhys Ifans’ lothario Gavin, a heartbroken O’Dowd plays Lorraine Ellison’s gut-wrenchingly beautiful Stay With Me and mimes along, face contorted in pain.

Sadly, any hope that this scene will add an extra dimension by reflecting on the emotional fallout that can come with free love and — more importantly — what these characters actually think other than “Fab grooviness!”  is futile. O’Dowd seemingly forgives Ifans a few minutes later, and by the end of the movie he has found a new love interest whose boobs drive him into paroxysms of screeching joy. The calculation of Curtis is even more apparent when — during a credit sequence that features much of the leftover footage of the cast members dancing badly — Ellison’s breathtaking version of Stay With Me is replaced by a soulless cover version by Welsh squeak-merchant Duffy. Cross-media synergy pours from the screen, with Duffy’s impression of a jilted mouse providing the soundtrack.

Making this nostalgic movie in the Internet age — where we have a hither-to unheard-of opportunity to express ourselves or find like-minded individuals — there is potential here for an exploration of what it was like to live in an era when broadcasting thoughts and music from the fringe was a privilege of a select few willing to oppose the restrictive establishment. The Boat That Rocked is not interested in that, and shouldn’t be criticised for telling a different story. Nevertheless, what we get instead of an exploration of… well, anything, is a melange of disconnected anecdotes and an ill-defined shout of rage at officious nay-sayers who think they have the right to monitor and protect our morals. It’s impossible to tell if Curtis has anything substantial to say within the chaos of this edit, though it must be noted that his rush to paint the British government as the enemies of anything progressive means he has to attribute the formation of the pirate-radio-killing Marine Offences Act to a joyless villain with no soul. In real life the act was put into law by the Postmaster General, who at the time was Tony Benn, one of the most fearless and progressive politicians the UK has ever seen. Even though Curtis has made it clear that his movie is a fantasy, it’s still inspired by reality, and this misrepresentation of what Benn stands for leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

The Boat That Rocked is worth avoiding for many reasons: the relentless wave of forced glee, the depressing stream of witless dick jokes, the contrived Field-Of-Dreams-esque uplift of the final scene. However, beneath the whirl of colour and cheekiness  of his fantasy world is a mass of contrivance that betrays the far more interesting and complex tale of the battle between Radio Caroline and Tony Benn. Any serious message that could be derived from the very real conflict between the government and the motormouth DJs of 60s pirate radio has been drowned out by the endless Funn! ™, leaving us with a Cool Brittania promo vid that would have seemed hoary last decade. It’s a vapid exercise in nostalgia porn that wallows in the murkiest waters of seaside-postcard-esque British culture and reveals Curtis’ carefully sculpted reputation as a writer of sophisticated comedy is an empty PR fantasy. Other than the similarly regressive Lesbian Vampire Killers — a contender for worst movie of the decade — The Boat That Rocked is the most dispiriting British film released in 2009. Do yourself a favour and find a copy of Allan Moyle’s Pump Up The Volume instead. It features 100% less Rhys Ifans and has Leonard Cohen and Sonic Youth on the soundtrack. It’s good enough to make me moodily dance around my radio.

O elenco da produção Thor segue crescendo. De acordo com o Collider, Stuart Townsend ( A Liga Extraordinária), Ray Stevenson (Punisher: Zona de Guerra) e Tadanobu Asano ( Mongol” estão se juntando ao elenco da mitologia nórdica da Marvel baseado em adaptação de quadrinhos. Os três formarão ‘Os três guerreiros’ um trio de amigos de Thor criado  para os quadrinhos na década de 60.

Townsend, que jogou o imortal Dorian Gray na Liga Extraordinária deve ser Fandral. Stevenson aparentemente será Volstagg e Asano, que já foi o jovem Genghis Khan em Mongol, fecha o trio como Hogun.

“Thor”, estrelado por Chris Hemsworth, como o deus nórdico, será dirigido por  Kenneth Branagh. As filmagens começam em janeiro deste ano. Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Jaimie Alexander, Stellan Skarsgard e Colm Feore também fazem parte do elenco.

Até o momento o que se sabe sobre o roteiro do filme é que  o deus nórdico do trovão será banido para viver na Terra entre os mortais e passará a protegê-los.

Leia mais:

• Anthony Hopkins entra pra Thor
• Gente nova no universo de Thor

Adriana Chaves

Well, it looks like Ken Branagh has found his actors to play the Warriors Three in the up coming Thor film (out May 2011). As it turns out, the film seems like it’s going to be a bit of an Irish love-in with the director being from Belfast, Stuart Townsend (who plays Fandral the Dashing) hailing  from Dublin, Ray Stevenson (who plays Volstagg the Voluminous) was originally born in Lisburn and Tadanobu Asano (who plays Hogan the Grim) lives on the High Walk in Newry (OK, I’m only joking about that last one…).

So-to sum up-we’ve got these dudes as Thor’s mates-

…and in the comics they look like this-

I can’t wait. Have a look here http://marvel.com/movies/Thor.Thor for more info!

El Variety nos cuenta de que Marvel Studios y el director Kenneth Branagh han elegido a Stuart Townsend, Ray Stevenson, y Tadanobu Asano para que representen el trío de unos aventureros Asgardianos que pelearan al lado del dios Noruego llamados “Los tres guerreros”. El mismo Variety removió el artículo hace rato, llevandonos a creer que esta información estaba programada para que saliera en la semana.

Si lo que publicaron es cierto, se unirían al cast que ya incluye a Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Jaimie Alexander, Colm Feore, Samuel L. Jackson y Stellan Skarsgard.

La producción comenzará en el mes de Enero para que tenga una fecha de estreno tentativa el 20 de mayo del 2011.

Big news on Kenneth Branagh’s Thor is that the Warriors Three have been cast. None of them are Jude Law, Dominic West or Robert De Niro.

Instead the word on the street is that that Ray Stevenson (Punisher: War Zone, Rome), Stuart Townsend (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Queen of the Damned) and Tadanobu Asano (Mongol) are to play the trio. Apparently, Stevenson will take on the role of “Volstagg the Valiant”, Asano will be “Hogun the Grim”, and Townsend will portray “Fandral the Dashing”.

Now this news has come from Variety, but every link I follow on other sites takes me to a dead page on Variety and looking at the list of movie news on their site I just can’t see it listed. It is probably just me being a bit blind today. I am assuming it was on their, but has since been removed. If that is the case then that could mean the news isn’t true or someone has messed up somewhere down the line.

I thought I would share the news anyway. It doesn’t quite ring true to me though as none of these actors have been linked to the film before now. Although Stevenson would be great (I am assuming Volstaag won’t be as big as he often is in the comic) and Asano already looks like Hogun, I feel the week link is Townsend. Just a personal thing, but he doesn’t cut it for me. He was naff as Dorian Gray in the naff LXG and he was down to play Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings but after a few days shooting he was replaced.

There you have it some news which may not actually be correct (hopefully Variety will sort it out), but it may be. Who knows!

UPDATE: Marvel is now confirming the casting – “Fandral will be played by Stuart Townsend. The job of Hogun goes to Tadanobu Asano. And Volstagg will be portrayed Ray Stevenson.”

What do you think of the casting? If not them who would be better in the roles?

Operazione Valchiria è un film del 2008 thriller storico ambientato nella Germania nazista durante la seconda guerra mondiale. Il film descrive il momento in cui degli ufficiali dell’esercito tedesco preparano il piano, fino alla messa in atto, per assassinare Adolf Hitler e di utilizzare l’operazione Valchiria come piano nazionale di emergenza per prendere il controllo del paese.

Leggi altre notizie su: | Bryan Singer | Tom Cruise | Kenneth Branagh | Bill Nighy | Tom Wilkinson

By Alexa Milan

3.5/5 stars

The U.S. release of “Pirate Radio” has been delayed for months, and when it was finally released Nov. 13, it was dumped quietly at the beginning of awards season. So given its release date issues, I was worried the second film from director Richard Curtis (after 2003’s “Love Actually”) would be a disappointment. But though the film has its flaws, it’s actually quite enjoyable.

“Pirate Radio,” originally titled “The Boat that Rocked,” is a period comedy set against the backdrop of 1960s rock n’ roll. Mainstream British radio stations refuse to play rock music, and pirate stations like Radio Rock broadcast 24 hours a day from boats. When young, inquisitive Carl (Tom Sturridge) gets expelled from school, his mother (Emma Thompson) sends him aboard the Radio Rock ship to stay with his godfather Quentin (Bill Nighy).

Aboard the ship, Carl meets the station’s popular DJs like flamboyant Gavin (Rhys Ifans), flirtatious Dr. Dave (Nick Frost) and rebellious American broadcaster The Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Along with the rest of the station’s crew, the men introduce Carl to the rock n’ roll lifestyle.

The movie chronicles Carl’s coming of age experience on the ship and the eclectic gang’s day-to-day misadventures. All the while a conservative government official, Alistair Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh), tries desperately to shut down Radio Rock.

Overall, I really liked this film. The music in fantastic (ranging from The Who to Dusty Springfield), and Curtis captures the rock n’ roll atmosphere of the 1960s very well.

Everyone involved gives great comedic performances, but the standout of the bunch is Hoffman, who, since “Capote,” has quickly become recognized as one of the best actors around. He could sit in front of a camera for two hours with a paper bag over his head and I would still watch it. But the entire ensemble works well together, each character hilariously unique as individuals and as a group.

One of my biggest complaints actually has little to do with the film itself and more to do with its U.S. marketing campaign. The poster and trailers prominently state “inspired by true events.” Elements are loosely based on actual pirate radio stations that existed in 1960s Britain, but other than that, the story is completely fictional. It’s a great story, but it shouldn’t be marketed as fact when most of it is fiction.

Another complaint is the film’s running time, which at 2 hours and 15 minutes is a bit lengthy, especially for a comedy. It’s bearable because the characters are all so much fun to watch, but it nevertheless feels too lengthy at times. The story is also a bit incoherent sometimes, but overall it’s a fun time at the movies.

In an interview with USA Weekend, Zachary Levi (Chuck) revealed that he was cast as Fandral — a heroic adventurer who along with Hogun the Grim and Volstagg comprise the trio known as the Warriors Three — before being forced to back out of the role to fulfill his commitment to Chuck. All because an extra six episodes were ordered.

He also mentions that he audition for the role of Thor which surprised me. Not sure he would have worked as that character.

This is the first confirmation we have had that the Warriors Three will be appearing in Kenneth Branagh’s film. Dominic Cooper and Jude Law are both rumoured to be have been approached to star in the film and both would make a great Fandral. However, I think Levi with a goatee and ‘tache would have been excellent as the swashbuckling warrior – I imagine him as the Bruce Campbell character from Xena.

As for the rest of the Warriors Three, veteran actor Brian Blessed — previously rumoured to play Odin — could possibly play Volstagg. Imagine Blessed’s character from Flash Gordon, but without the wings and there you have it.

Hogun the Grim could possibly be portrayed by either Colm Feore (24, The Chronicles of Riddick) or Stellan Skarsgård (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End), both of whom have been confirmed to appear in Thor in currently unannounced roles, although Feore is supposedly down to play a villain in the film.

How do you think Levi would have got on as Fandral? Who would you like to see as the Warriors Three?

Source: MTV

Suck on that, Pirates Of The Carribean!!!!!

In 1966, a group of rogue British DJs set up a radio station on a tiny boat in the North Sea to broadcast generation-defining — and banned — music to millions. The crew includes boss Quentin (Bill Nighy), the Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Gavin (Rhys Ifans) and Dave (Nick Frost). But eager to sink the party is persnickety Sir Alistair Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh).

Now this was released in Britain a long time ago entitled The Boat That Rocks. I know they bummed down that film from 135 minutes to now a 115 minutes, and to be truly honest I was glad to know this.

The one thing I liked first about this film going in was that it was directed by Richard Curtis, who did British classics Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually both are great comedies, and this one is a nice add to his resume. He makes sure that all the strong points within this film are brought up and resolved by the end, and make sure every little person on board gets enough face-time.

The film also does have many moments that are genuinely funny, just not hilarious as I would be expecting from a grade-A crew and cast like this. Too many jokes are played out to where they are funny, and then just out of nowhere become annoying. There are also too many jokes about lesbians, since there is a lesbian on board.

Also, I feel like this film could’ve been a lot more daring and raunchier with it’s material. I don’t know if this is weird or not but I was just expecting since this is a film about rock, I would expect a lot more rock stuff to be happening, but hey that’s just me.

The film has a great ensemble cast with some of the best British and notably one of the best American acts in it’s film, but it doesn’t quite capitalize on that. The cast is funny and the chemistry is good between them, but I felt like some of the screen time could have been given to more people like Seymour Hoffman and Nighy. They didn’t quite get a huge chance to show off their comedy, and at times are rarely seen.

The soundtrack to this film is what is the best part of this film. In some cases I would say but the soundtrack forget the movie, but for this I’m saying do both. The soundtrack is electrifying and what really keeps this film entertaining. Some cool elements to this film is that many of the songs actually do fit in with the scenes that are going on, so it did create a good and powerful mood for that one scene.

Consensus: Pirate Radio may be a little uneven at points and at times disappointing, but it has some good funny moments with an exciting soundtrack which makes this film exciting throughout.

7.5/10=Rentall!!!!

Gavin makes the young ladies of the United Kingdom quiver in "Pirate Radio".

(Richard Curtis, 2009)

November 14, 2009

by Joel Crary

Watching “Pirate Radio” is like taking part in a 135-minute high school cafeteria food fight. At first, you can’t believe everyone’s getting away with it, but at around the 30-minute mark you kind of become desensitized to the dessert-flinging and start to realize what a giant mess everything is.

A shame, because there is some great talent in the film. In an early scene, young Carl (Tom Sturridge) is introduced to the crew of the Radio Rock, and my grin widened as the character actors stepped forward: Nick Frost, Rhys Darby, Chris O’Dowd, Katherine Parkinson. These are people I know and love from television and film and to see them all gathered in one place gave me high hopes for “Pirate Radio”. As if things couldn’t be looking better, Rhys Ifans and Bill Nighy were on board, and the one and only Philip Seymour Hoffman looked to be performing a role akin to Lester Bangs in “Almost Famous”. One of the simple joys in life is watching Hoffman rock out to late 60’s era rock n’ roll music, an extensive playlist of which is present in “Pirate Radio”.

Unfortunately, these terrific actors spend almost absolutely no time at all talking about the music. We see them on their boat in the North Sea, broadcasting The Who and The Rolling Stones to millions of listeners, much to the chagrin of the British government. Each DJ has his own shtick in place to build a cult of personality and tempt scores of women onto the boat for a quick shag. We understand quickly that the pirate’s life is hedonistic and desirable and cool. But what about the songs? Why do these people feel it necessary to spend their lives at sea, other than the fact that rock n’ roll allows them to take advantage of their lifestyles?

Hoffman’s character, the Count, is a total lite version of Bangs. He’s an American DJ who came aboard the ship in the absence of Gavin (Ifans), a Brit who left for greener pastures in America. For whatever unexplained reason, Gavin has decided to come back and a rivalry grows between the two. It is a competition that should blossom out of a mutual respect, but respect for what? Where do these men come from? Besides a desire to ruffle the feathers of the powers that be, what fuels their drive to get rock n’ roll out to the masses? “These are the best days of our lives,” the Count tells Carl as the ship’s time at sea seems to be drawing to an end. Carl doesn’t believe him, and it’s no wonder.

The powers that be are tightly encased within Sir Alistair Dormandy (Kenneth Branagh), a government minister with a very precise haircut. Branagh puts in the film’s sharpest comedic performance. His second in command is Twatt (Jack Davenport), who digs up as much ammunition against the rogue DJs as he can to shut their operation down. It is a testament to Branagh’s brilliance that I laughed every single time he offered a bit of dialogue that played on his subordinate’s name (“Well done, Twatt”).

The film contains several storylines involving the loss of Carl’s innocence, the identity of his real father, the short-lived marriage of one character to a fan, and Dormandy’s efforts to shut the radio station down. Director Richard Curtis periodically gives us shots of young people tuning in to the broadcasts and eating up the words and music of the DJs, sneaking radios under their pillows and into bathrooms to indulge in their rock n’ roll fantasies. Things turn a bit hectic for the ship in the film’s conclusion with some nice camerawork and harrowing action.

“Pirate Radio” embellishes a lot on the practices of pirate radio stations of the era including Radio Caroline, but not a lick of this story is true. I liked the film’s energy, but it’s only sporadically funny and it doesn’t have an affection for the songs and records that a story like this should have. Released overseas as “The Boat that Rocked”, “Pirate Radio” suffers from editing problems that leave its characters to flounder. The DJs don’t seem to be serving any sort of socially important function, but are instead living selfishly for the glorification of their immature egos. Near the end of the Radio Rock’s short-lived seafaring career, each crew member throws their hands in the air and salutes rock n’ roll. They all know the moves, but no one knows the music.