May 24, 2013 · 8:07 pm

Interview: Epic’s Chris O’Dowd & Aziz Ansari

Chris-ODowd-Aziz-Ansari-EpicFor the record, Chris O’Dowd and Aziz Ansari, I was totally onto you.  Appropriately, the comedy duo serves as Epic’s comedic relief, Grub (O’Dowd) the snail and Mub (Ansari) the slug. When Grub isn’t dreaming of joining the ranks of the Leaf Men and Mub isn’t hitting on Mary Katherine (voice byAmanda Seyfried), the pair is in charge of keeping a very special little pod moist. It sounds like a silly job, but if that pod doesn’t bloom in the moonlight, the entire forest could wilt at the hands of the leader of the Boggans, Mandrake (voiced by Christoph Waltz).

When Ansari wasn’t rising to the challenge and seeing how many times he could squeeze Ice Age 4: Continental Drift into a single interview, we discussed how they fleshed out their characters while the animators put the world of Epic together, to Ansari’s amusement, how working on Epic compared to Ice Age 4: Continental Drift, a Michele Bachmann namedrop, and whether or not they got the opportunity to improvise. Moving on to their upcoming films, O’Dowd was cryptic or perhaps honestly uninformed about his Thor: The Dark World cameo and Ansari touched on the difficultly of getting his own scripts into production.

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· 12:57 pm

Review: The Hangover Part III

The-Hangover-Part-III-PosterWho hasn’t woken up with a hangover and said you’re never drinking again only to hit the bar a few days later? That’s fine for us, but Todd Phillips better keep his word. “The Hangover Part III” absolutely must be the end.

The Wolf Pack is back together again, but not for more wedding shenanigans, rather a funeral and a trip to a rehab facility. After Alan (Zach Galifianakis) literally gives his father (Jeffrey Tambor) a fatal heart attack, his mother, sister, and Doug (Justin Bartha) decide that it’s time for Alan to get some serious help. With Phil and Stu’s (Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms) support, they stage an intervention and head out to bring Alan to New Horizons. However, while en route, the Wolfpack is ambushed by Marshall (John Goodman) and his thugs. Marshall takes Doug as collateral while Phil, Stu, and Alan meet his demands – bring him Leslie Chow (Ken Jeong).

Part of the appeal of the original film was the fact that it focused on four real guys in the middle of a very relatable situation. It’s highly unlikely many have had an encounter with Mike Tyson’s tiger or made a quick $80,000 counting cards to pay off a gangster, but the idea of four guys getting so wasted during a bachelor party that they can’t even remember the crazy time they had is charming. But fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. Back in 2009, the idea of one friend accidently roofie-ing his buddies was a novel scenario, but the sequel proved the concept didn’t have the appeal and flexibility for another go-around. It seems as though Phillips and co. recognized that issue because we get a different narrative here, but now we’re left with the problem that these characters just aren’t appealing or engaging enough to sustain any feature length scenario.

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· 12:36 pm

Interview: Epic’s Amanda Seyfried

Amanda-Seyfried-EpicThe moment you’re famous enough that your voice becomes recognizable, the animated movie offers must come pouring in, but even after years of being in the spotlight, Epic only marks Amanda Seyfried’s very first foray into the world of voice work. She plays Mary Katherine, the daughter of Professor Bomba (voiced by Jason Sudeikis) who’s essentially given up everything for an obsessive pursuit to prove that there are tiny warriors living in the forest. Like everyone else, MK isn’t buying it, but when Queen Tara (voiced by Beyonce Knowles) has no choice but to shrink MK down to Leaf Man size so she can help save the forest, MK realizes her father’s been right all along.

With Epic on its way to a May 24th release, Seyfried sat down in New York City to talk about making the film and more. We ran through what drew her to the project, her love of the forest, the challenge of tapping into her imagination while in a sound booth, the physicality involved in doing voice work, how voicing an animated character compares to singing live on set, and the awkwardness of non-dialogue voice work. Seyfried also offered an update on her upcoming projects including Lovelace and Z for Zachariah.

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May 23, 2013 · 2:57 pm

Interview: Epic’s Colin Farrell

Colin-Farrell-EpicAfter all these years, it’s surprising Colin Farrell has yet to lend his voice to an animated character, but turns out, waiting served him well because his character, Ronan, is featured in the “achingly beautiful” world that drew Farrell to Epic to begin with. Ronan is the leader of the Leaf Men and when Mandrake (voiced by Christoph Waltz) and the Boggans threaten to destroy the forest, he joins forces with the formerly human-sized Mary Katherine (voice by Amanda Seyfried), a renegade young Leaf Man, Nod (voiced by Josh Hutcherson), and a slug and a snail, Mub and Grub (voiced by Aziz Ansari and Chris O’Dowd), to ensure a very special little pod stays safe, giving them a chance to keep the terrain lush with greenery and life.

While in New York City celebrating Epic’s May 24th release, Farrell sat down to talk about how directorChris Wedge and his team of animators first reeled him in, the challenge of working in a sound booth for the first time, Ronan’s backstory, and about how he felt seeing his voice coming out of a completely different body. And before wrapping up, Farrell also spoke a bit about Saving Mr. Banks and Winter’s Tale. Catch it all in the video interview after the jump.

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May 16, 2013 · 6:57 pm

Interview: 33 Postcard’s Pauline Chan

33-Postcards-PosterEven though we’re already neck deep in the summer movie season, there’s always the time and often the desire to take a break from superheroes and blockbusters, and this weekend, Pauline Chan’s “33 Postcards” could be that source of relief.

The film stars newcomer Zhu Lin as Mei Mei, a Chinese orphan who’s been sponsored by an Australian man (Guy Pearce) for years. When Mei Mei finally gets the opportunity to travel to Australia she’s determined to meet him, dreaming that he might make her part of his family, but is shocked to discover that he isn’t really the man he wrote about in his postcards.

A script from the Tribeca Film Institute’s All Access program, the second ever China-Australia co-production, and a lead actress who didn’t speak a lick of English when she was cast; “33 Postcards” is an exceptional production for a variety of reasons. In honor of the film’s May 17th limited theatrical release, Chan took the time to run through all her feats from finding and working with Lin to securing financing, ensuring “33 Postcards” is a standout film, and more.

Check out all the details in the interview below and catch “33 Postcards” on VOD now or in theaters this weekend.

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May 14, 2013 · 6:52 pm

Review: Star Trek Into Darkness

Star-Trek-Into-Darkness-Poster“Star Trek Into Darkness” isn’t as effective as the first film overall, but there are so many exceptional set pieces within the whole that it packs more than enough momentum to pull through and deliver a riveting experience.

The film begins mid-mission with the crew of the Enterprise trying to keep a volcano from exploding, destroying an alien planet, and killing its inhabitants. When things go awry, Kirk (Chris Pine) makes some brash decisions and even though he gets his ship and crew out in one piece, Starfleet isn’t pleased that he disobeyed orders and Kirk is demoted. However, when a bomb is detonated in London and the Starfleet headquarters are attacked, Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller) opts to reinstate Kirk so he can eradicate the enemy – John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch).

The film kicks off exceptionally well. The chase scene on Planet Nibiru is downright mesmerizing courtesy of the planet’s lush red plant life and eerily fascinating looking natives, and also because it involves an engaging and clear-cut mission. While there are loads more easy-to-follow, gorgeously shot mini tasks to come, there’s just so long the cycle can continue before you’ve had enough.

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May 9, 2013 · 8:10 pm

Interview: Aftershock’s Eli Roth

Eli-Roth-AftershockWhen you put Eli Roth’s name on a film, you know what you’re getting, but only to a degree. There are just no bounds to how far this guy will go to tear helpless victims apart in the most gruesome ways possible and in this case, that means flying down to Chile to shoot a post-earthquake bloodbath.

Roth both produced and stars in the film as Gringo, an American divorcee looking to let loose and have a good time with his buddy Ariel (Ariel Levy), and Ariel’s lifelong friend, Pollo (Nicholás Martínez). While the guys are soaking up the Chile nightlife with their new lady friends Monica, Kylie, and Irina (Andrea Osvárt, Lorenza Izzo, Natasha Yarovenko) the fun comes to a crashing halt when the region is rocked by a devastating earthquake. As if surviving the mid-quake destruction inside the nightclub isn’t enough, once the group hits the surface, they’re faced with tsunami sirens, vicious escaped convicts, and more.

While in New York supporting the film’s May 10th limited release, Roth sat down with a group of journalists to discuss working in Chile, dealing with the lingering sentiments surrounding the earthquake of 2010, the lasting effect of horror versus other genres and more. Check it all out for yourself in the video below and catch “Aftershock” in theaters tomorrow.

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