I love it when movies take ridiculous dramatic liberties with real-life people and events. Not so much in something like The Social Network, wherein the people depicted are still alive in our real world, and the movie plays so close to reality that it could be deemed troubling; more like in Inglourious Basterds, where seeing an over-the-top scenario play out in a fully realized cinematic world can excite the imagination and even be a cathartic experience. James McTeigue’s The Raven technically falls into this category by offering one possible series of events that led to Edgar Allan Poe’s mysterious death, but the film itself is so monotonous and predictable that it ultimately cancels out whatever excitement the premise holds and turns into a slog of a murder mystery more interested in capitalizing on the success of the Saw franchise than living up to its potential.

John Cusack’s performance as Poe is the only thing that makes the movie tolerable. His incarnation of the famous poet has a constant chip on his shoulder, begging to be recognized for his work. Cusack himself speaks with a mellifluous musicality to his voice, and he sounds totally different than everyone else in the movie. While I’ll admit that this choice bothered me upon first hearing it, I quickly realized it is actually by design; what could be viewed as an inconsistent manner of speech between characters is actually a interesting aural trait that separates the highly intelligent and creative Poe from his less gifted peers. He also has a bit of a sense of humor here, something this entire film could have greatly benefited from. “If I would have known my work would have such an effect on people,” Poe muses at a crime scene, “I would have devoted more time to eroticism.”

Unfortunately, we’ve reached the end of my compliments about this movie. Because of my previously mentioned proclivity toward liking premises like this, I really wanted to like The Raven, but it didn’t quite turn out that way. The plot involves a painfully standard forbidden romance between the down-and-out Poe and a beautiful young heiress (Alice Eve) with a disapproving father (Brendan Gleeson), and a serial killer that takes inspiration from the twisted killings in Poe’s short stories. A police detective (Luke Evans) enlists Poe’s help to track the killer, and when Eve’s character is captured and buried alive, things start to get personal.

Though I acknowledge the irony that Poe’s original works are a huge part of the reason we have horror cinema in the first place, and the body horror aspects certainly influenced the Sawfranchise, I can also acknowledge the lack of originality on the filmmakers’ part to make that seem fresh. It’s John Carter syndrome all over again: just because something “came first,” doesn’t mean it’s not the filmmakers’ responsibility to give modern audiences something that isn’t a rehash of a bunch of things we’ve seen before. All of the grotesque murders in this film don’t have nearly the impact that they should because we’ve seen this all done before, and in a very similar style to how it happens here. Yes, this is a period piece, but similar narrative procedural elements override fancy costumes and production design in this case.

The rest of the movie is a fill-in-the-blank mystery that never demands anything interesting from its actors or the audience, resulting in a sluggishly-paced “thriller” that rarely even provides cause for a raised eyebrow, let alone edge-of-your-seat excitement. The supporting performances aren’t worth talking about; even Gleeson, an excellent actor, is stymied here by a lackluster script written by Ben Livingston and Hannah Shakespeare.

Sadly, The Raven is the nail in the proverbial coffin of my opinion of James McTeigue. He’s a director who showed loads of promise in V For Vendetta, his directorial debut, but as I’ve watched him step out of the shadow of The Wachowski siblings (his mentors), it’s becoming increasingly clear that McTeigue doesn’t have the same impact as a director without their influence. The Raven is a film with an interesting premise that feels like it was run over by a truck full of boring ideas, leaving remnants of its potential lying shattered among the tire tracks of banality. Until next time…

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Cloud Atlas, the movie adaptation of David Mitchell’s novel which is being directed by The Wachowskis (The Matrix) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), has received a lot of praise over recent month, but so far we’ve only seen one image and some concept art (above).

Tom Hanks said it is “going to be a beast”, Hugh Grant called it a “strange, ambitious film”, and UK distributor Victor Loewy described it as “phantasmagorical” and “unlike anything I’ve seen in 40 years”. Now director James McTeigue (The Raven) has offered his thoughts on the project.

In an interview with IFC McTeigue, who previously worked with The Wachowskis on V for Vendetta and Ninja Assassin, revealed that he has already been shown parts of the movie and echoed previous statements by declaring “it’s like no other movie you have ever seen, which is the highest compliment I can pay it”.

McTeigue went on to say he expects to work with the Wachowskis again in the future, but it won’t be any time soon as he’s currently preparing Message from the King and they’re working on the sci-fi film Jupiter Ascending which may star Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis.

Cloud Atlas is set for release late-2012 and stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Keith David, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, Hugh Grant and Susan Sarandon. It follows six stories ranging from the South Pacific in the 19th Century to California in the 1970s to a post-apocalyptic future. Most of the cast will be playing multiple characters throughout the six stories, and they’ll also be swapping race and gender.

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Relativity Media today released the first official trailer for The Raven. The film, directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) stars John Cusack, Luke Evans, Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson and Oliver Jackson-Cohen.

Watch below:

In this gritty thriller, Edgar Allen Poe (John Cusack) joins forces with a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans) to hunt down a mad serial killer who’s using Poe’s own works as the basis in a string of brutal murders.

When a mother and daughter are found brutally murdered in 19th century Baltimore, Detective Emmett Fields (Luke Evans) makes a startling discovery: the crime resembles a fictional murder described in gory detail in the local newspaper—part of a collection of stories penned by struggling writer and social pariah Edgar Allan Poe. But even as Poe is questioned by police, another grisly murder occurs, also inspired by a popular Poe story.

Realizing a serial killer is on the loose using Poe’s writings as the backdrop for his bloody rampage, Fields enlists the author’s help in stopping the attacks. But when it appears someone close to Poe may become the murderer’s next victim, the stakes become even higher and the inventor of the detective story calls on his own powers of deduction to try to solve the case before it’s too late.

The Raven looks to be a slightly darker version of Sherlock Holmes, however that may just be the editing of the trailer. Either way, it looks quite good and interesting enough to see when it hits next March.

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Luke Evans (Clash of the Titans) and Alice Eve (Sex in the City 2) are in negotiations to join John Cusack in The Raven according to THR.

The film, to be directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta, Ninja Assassin) follows author Edgar Allan Poe (Cusack) in 1849 who’s fiance (Eve) is kidnapped by a serial killer who has gone on a murdering spree that mimics the author’s work. Evans will play a detective who partners with Poe to search for the serial killer and his fiance.

Both Luke Evans and Alice Eve (both British) are officially on the ‘up and coming’ list. Evans had a small role in Clash of the Titans, and will be heading back to Greece as Zeus in Immortals next year. The actor will also be seen in The Three Musketeers by director Paul W.S. Anderson.

Alice Eve was on the shortlist to play Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger and to play Emma Frost in X-Men: First Class. She unfortunately missed out on both, but she has finally landed herself a meaty role with The Raven.

Filming will begin in November in Budapest and the film will be released sometime next year.

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Looks like we spoke a bit too soon with our last post regarding The Raven. Jeremy Renner’s involvement was apparently overestimated, and now with the actor moving on to Mission: Impossible 4 and perhaps Paul Thomas Anderson’s tentatively titled The Master, a slot has opened in James McTeigue’s intriguing Edgar Allan Poe project.

John Cusack has stepped in to play Poe, who – in this fictionalized version of his last five days on Earth – must team up with a detective to catch a serial killer who has captured Poe’s fiancé and kills people in ways inspired by the author’s own work.

Heat Vision brings the casting news, also reporting the film will shoot in Budapest and Serbia, locations which are supposed to double for Baltimore, Maryland in the year 1859. Filming begins on October 25th.

Joaquin Phoenix (star of the upcoming documentary I’m Still Here) and Ewan McGregor were once in talks for the lead role in The Raven over the years, and apparently Renner was attached as the detective before leaving in favor of M:I 4.

I think the detective role sounds perfect for Edward Norton. Who do you think should replace Renner to assist Cusack’s Poe in tracking down a notorious killer? And what do you think of Cusack himself playing the iconic author? This is one of the most original ideas I’ve heard in Hollywood development circles in quite some time, so expect updates on this project as they arrive.

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Fresh on the heels of the “Adrien Brody/Jonathan Rhys Meyers for Reed Richards” rumors, it seems 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot has again commanded the attention of the blogosphere with yet another set of rumors – this time regarding a potential director. There’s also the possibility of an A-list star providing the voice for the all-CG version of The Thing that will inhabit the film. Hit the jump to find out who’s being considered.

Comic Book Movie reports that David Yates (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Joe Carnahan (The A-Team, Smokin’ Aces), and James McTeigue (V for Vendetta) are in contention for the director’s chair.

I’d take this list as more of a wish list than a group of definite candidates, but with all of the casting rumors flying around, I’d imagine that Fox will announce a director (and possibly confirm some of that cast) sometime very soon. After all, they’re trying to lock the F4 reboot into a 2012 release date, so they better get started on preproduction if they want to meet their deadline.

If I had to choose a director from this list, I’d say give it to Yates. I’ve literally never seen one of his films, but I’d much rather Carnahan spend his time on an A-Team sequel (I quite enjoyed the first one) and McTeigue move on to more interesting projects after his Edgar Allen Poe murder mystery film.

And perhaps the most realistic bit of news also comes from CBM, who claim that Bruce Willis is being sought to provide the voice work for Ben Grimm, aka The Thing. I can totally see this happening; Willis will be busy for a bit shooting Rian Johnson’s Looper and perhaps appearing as a super villain in a sequel to The Expendables, but doing voice work seems like something he might be able to fit into his schedule.

What do you all think? If the director must be one of these three, who would you rather see lead the Fantastic Four into a new era? And what do you think about “Bruno” as the next big Thing?

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A few days ago it was confirmed that Bryan Singer would not be directing, but producing, X-Men: First Class as he is deep in pre-production on Jack the Giant Killer and won’t be available until 2012. 20th Century Fox liked the script he wrote with Jamie Moss and are aiming to begin filming later this year for a possible 2011 release, and in order to do that they will need a director. Fox are busy talking to a few people now and we will probably get an announcement over the upcoming weeks, but until then let’s speculate!

(In no particular order)

Michael Dougherty

He co-wrote X-Men 2 and Superman Returns with Singer so he already has a working relationship with him and knows the X-Men well (click here to read what he planned for X-Men 3 before Singer left). Dougherty has only directed one film, Trick ‘r Treat, which took 2 years to be released and when it did it went straight to DVD. That was mainly because Warner Bros. didn’t know what to do with it (could really only be released around Halloween), however it is 86% positive on Rotten Tomatoes and did relatively well on DVD.

Matthew Vaughn

The Layer Cake and Stardust director was hired to direct X-Men 3 after Singer left, although he too left soon after because he didn’t think he could create the movie he wanted with the time and creative restrictions 20th Century Fox had in place. Since leaving he worked on Thor for Marvel, but they bailed because of the budget. Vaughn eventually landed himself a comic book movie with Kick-Ass, which he made himself because no studio would make it. With a budget of $28 million and rave reviews it looks like Kick-Ass will be a critical and financial success, which means he’ll probably begin work on a sequel. In the unlikely event of Kick-Ass bombing I think he would be a suitable candidate for X-Men: First Class.

James McTeigue

Ninja Assassin may not have been one of the best reviewed movies of last year, but V for Vendetta still remains in IMDB’s Top 250 movies of all time (#167). McTeigue would have been a good choice to direct Magneto, and he seemed to like the idea too, but seeing as though that won’t be getting made anytime soon (if ever) he could work on X-Men: First Class instead. The only problem is The Raven which may film at some point this year with Jeremy Renner and Ewan McGregor (who would have been a great candidate to play a young Magneto).

Alfonso Cuarón

Children of Men remains one of my favourite movies after all these years for obvious reasons, and Prisoner of Azkaban is probably the most visually stunning Harry Potter movie made so far. It is also the best reviewed. Alfonso Cuarón can work with teenagers, which the X-Men will be, and he would be a solid choice to direct First Class. Unfortunately he will be making Gravity with Robert Downey Jr. this summer, so it is unlikely that he will be free.

Joss Whedon

The man behind Serenity, Buffy and Dollhouse has been a fan favourite ever since he wrote the Astonishing X-Men comic books. Whedon’s ‘Cure’ storyline from the comics was the main storyline in X3, and he is also responsible for the “Do you know what happens to a Toad when it gets struck by lightning” line from the first film (not exactly the best selling point). Whedon doesn’t have anything big lined up to direct in the near future, so it just depends on whether Fox are interested in getting him on-board for First Class.

20th Century Fox are planning for X-Men: First Class to be the first in a planned trilogy, so they may be looking for an up and coming (cheap and controllable) director who can stick around for all three movies. The directors above are just a few that were on my radar and have connection with the X-Men, but its unlikely Fox will be going after them.

What do you think of the suggestions above, and who do you think should direct X-Men: First Class?

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Jeremy Renner’s breakout and Oscar-nominated performance in The Hurt Locker has piqued the collective interest of film fans worldwide. So what will the actor do next?

The New York Times brings word [via The Playlist] that Renner is choosing between Peter Berg’s (Hancock, The Kingdom, The Rundown) board game adaptation Battleship or an undisclosed movie for which he’s had “no less than five meetings.” The actor will choose between the two projects soon; both are expected to begin shooting this summer.

But one thing we know for sure: Renner will suit up for director James McTeigue’s (V For Vendetta, Ninja Assassin) latest indie project, Raven. The plot synopsis is as follows:

[Raven is] a fictionalized account of the final five “mysterious” days of Edgar Allen Poe’s life. Apparently the famous writer joins the hunt for a serial killer whose murders are inspired by his stories. McTeigue described the film: It’s like the poem, The Raven, itself, crossed with Se7en. It should be pretty cool. The script is really good and everyone responds to it really well.

Ewan McGregor is in talks to co-star with Renner in Raven, and I don’t know about you, but no amount of ninja assassins could sway my interest from this project. At this point, it’s unclear what parts the two actors would play in the film, but they are both high quality actors in an interesting-sounding story, so I’m sold regardless. Does this project interest you? What do you think about Renner’s potential involvement in Berg’s Battleship?

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Ninja Assassin is released today in the US and to drum up some last minute interest Warner Bros. provided IGN with a red band trailer for the film. It contains lots of blood (CGI blood that is), stabbing, shooting and gore.

Watch below:

Meanwhile reviews for the film are pouring in and most of them are mixed/negative, which is disappointing.

Rain and Harris are decent and there are moments of stylized lunacy that nearly work, but Ninja Assassin is a film that falls apart as soon as you think about any single element of it.

Ninja Assassin is wildly improbable and completely unrealistic, but it’s also bloody good fun.

Thanks to the movie’s dire script, flat performances and excessively slick, tricked-out fight scenes, it gets increasingly hard to care about anything that goes on here, even when it happens to be visible without the use of night-vision goggles.

Seemingly made to capitalize on a dubious CG innovation — namely, the slicing of bodies in half by whizzing five-pointed stars — Ninja Assassin has little else to recommend it, not even laughs.

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X-Men Origins: Magneto has been in development hell ever since the writers strike in 2007/2008 and it’s been a frustrating two years. They were scouting for locations and budgeting before the WGA put down their pens, but then David Goyer started working on The Unborn (12% on Rotten Tomatoes) and then he moved onto the his TV show FlashForward.

Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox were waiting to see how X-Men Origins: Wolverine fared ($371 million worldwide), and have since been developing a Wolverine 2, Deadpool and X-Men: First Class. Magneto, however, looks like it will be in development hell for a while.

Collider recently asked Goyer for an update on the project, and he basically said what he’s been saying for the past few months: “I’m busy, Fox are thinking”.

I’ll pretend I didn’t see the part where he didn’t know how to pronounce Magneto (the same Magneto he’s apparently co-wrote a script for, and the same Magneto that’s been in 3 X-Men movies).

I don’t think I want David Goyer to direct Magneto. In the past I was up for it because I wanted to see the movie made and he worked on The Dark Knight, but that has really been the only great thing he’s done and it’s mainly down to Christopher Nolan. Goyer is busy with FlashForward and Ghost Rider 2 anyway. If only there were another director interested in it…

…oh wait, there is! V for Vendetta and Ninja Assassin director James McTeigue. From FirstShowing:

To wrap things up, I asked James about the rumor that IMDb lists his name as a co-director (with David Goyer) on the still-in-development X-Men Origins: Magneto movie. As you might’ve expected, that is pretty much a completely BS rumor. “I think David Goyer would probably be surprised about that, actually. I think that’s just one of those rumors that kind of starts… Until he drops out!” McTeigue said he would love to do it, but it’s Goyer’s project, he wrote it, he’ll probably direct, and he won’t touch it since it’s entirely Goyer’s baby.

Imagine having a baby you can’t pronounce the name of! Fox I suggest you give McTeigue a call before Warner Bros. sign him up for the next Superman movie. You don’t want to make the same mistake twice do you!?

(If you do may I suggest Bryan Singer, you may have heard of him, or Alfonso Cuarón. He made Children of Men)

[Magneto and Sentinel image by Livio]

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