Archive
NEW “Contagion” Trailer
Yesterday, I got a shaky, poor-quality glimpse of the bootleg “Dark Knight Rises” teaser, said to be officially premiered tonight at midnight. Didn’t think this week could get much more exciting. I was wrong.
This has definitely been a film that’s been high on my must-see radar of 2011 for quite some time. Steven Soderbergh teaming with Matt Damon is always a treat (this is their fifth collaboration). However, it certainly doesn’t hurt to also bill Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, John Hawkes and Kate Winslet. It’s not much of a stretch to call that the best cast of the year, what with 14 nominations and 4 Oscar wins between them, already.
The trailer screams one word more than anything else, and it’s all I could have ever hoped for: DARK. Many pieces of entertainment featuring lethal outbreaks and deadly diseases have come about over the years, Wolfgang Petersen’s film “Outbreak” and Tom Clancy’s novel “Rainbow Six” being the most prominent. What all of those works seem to portray is what MIGHT happen in the case of a deadly virus unleashed upon the world’s population. Instead of following that same formula, “Contagion” seems to portray instead what DOES, or what WILL happen in that case scenario. And in the hands of such a capable director, one who is known for taking a no-holds-barred approach to tense subject matter, this film might not only be genuinely frightening, but also brilliant, as both a white-knuckle thriller and a touching human tragedy.
This having been shot in Chicago, I know a number of people who worked on it. Through them, I’ve been privy to a few scenes that definitely back up some of the themes I just foreshadowed. However, I really hate to spoil anything at all, so I’ll just keep them to myself. I am a little miffed that they’ve pushed up the release from October to September. Having only finished shooting in the last month, I’m surprised they’re so confident in such a quick release. Also, September has become known as a no-man’s land for studios to dump films that get left over from summer’s slate, yet are not quite so confidence-inspiring to warrant a fall/holiday push. I hope that “Contagion” has not been lumped into said category.
Anyway, check out the fantastic trailer in full HD quality, below.
Elizabeth Taylor Passes Away at 79
Over the last few decades, it feels as though Elizabeth Taylor had become more of a personality than anything else, a known alcoholic and bride extraordinaire (married eight times). Many forget that on top of being an fantastically talented actress, she was one of the most beautiful women to ever live. CNN has reported that Taylor died early this morning of heart failure, an ailment she’s suffered from for over half of a decade. It brings to end an illustrious career, but perhaps only begins a great legacy.
After taking on several great roles as a teenager (including Kay Banks from the original “Father of the Bride”), she broke into stardom at eighteen starring alongside Montgomery Clift in one of George Stevens’ finest films “A Place in the Sun.” Throughout the fifties, she offered up some fantastic performances, such as “Giant,” “Raintree County,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” and “Suddenly, Last Summer,” before winning her first Best Actress Oscar for “Butterfield 8.” This was all before she tore the cinematic world apart by giving one of the greatest performances ever by an actress in Mike Nichols’ “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” for which she won another Oscar.
Taylor has made a lasting impact on the world of cinema. Her beauty, charm and talent will surely trickle down the ages and she shall be missed.
The Edge of the Frame 