I never thought I would be living in a world that I would be writing the words, ‘Schwarzenegger’s Next Film’, but here it is and I have to say, it doesn’t seem to suck.
The first trailer that dropped a while ago leaned us in this direction, however with this one, it seems that Ah-nuld has found himself a good ol’ fashioned ass-kicking movie.
While he might not be as nimble as he once was, he is making some smart moves in it, primarily bringing Johnny Knoxville in as his sidekick. Worked for The Rock, so why not him?
The cast includes a lot of other big names, like Peter Stormare, Forest Whitaker, Luis Guzmán, Rodrigo Santoro, Jaimie Alexander and Genesis Rodriguez
Last Stand opens January 18th, 2013.
About the Film The Last Stand marks the English-language debut of director Kim Jee-woon (I Saw the Devil, The Good, the Bad, the Weird) working from a script by Andrew Knauer, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, and George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau). The film follows Arnold Schwarzenegger as a former LAPD cop turned sheriff of a small border town which serves as the last thing standing between the world’s most notorious drug kingpin and freedom in Mexico after he escapes from an FBI prisoner convoy. Forest Whitaker, Zach Gilford, Harry Dean Stanton and Luis Guzmán and more also star.
Doomsday Book is a three chapter anthology of stories by co-writers and directors Jee-woon Kim and Pil-Sung Yim. An interesting take on several ideas and concepts, the overall effect of the film is quite impressive. While each segment is well done, though not really containing enough as shot for a full length feature, their proximity and differences don’t seemingly flow from one story to the next as it may initially appear. They do in fact, each contain at their heart tales about human existence. Each is excellently done and offers something unique with their particular vision.
The first segment is ‘A Brave New World‘. One bad apple spoils the bunch, or in this case, turns everyone into zombies. Carefully constructed tale of a guy left at home to clean while the rest of the family goes on vacation, an apple tossed out in the process mutates and enters the food chain. It returns to humans via the cow that consumed the apple, but now with the distinction of mutating its human hosts. Humans become zombie like creatures and the world begins to crumble. Taking a look at mans attempt to control his environment, and how that can turn against him, there is also an interesting love story running through the middle of this segment. Funny and poignant, this segment sets the tone for the rest of the film.
The second segment is ‘The Heavenly Creature’. Far more serious in tone and content, it tells the story of a worker robot in a Buddhist temple that achieves enlightenment. The corporation that manufactured it is sent in to determine if it is malfunctioning. What happens next is a dialogue that can best be described as an examination of faith, perception and humanities reliance on technology. These questions are discussed at length, and in the end, one may learn something about man’s willingness to allow his perception to create an illusion that covers a painful truth. The most interesting of the segments, it is also the one that begs for a longer version. Beautifully shot and scored, it is also the only part by Kim Ji-Woon.
The final segment is the whimsical ‘Happy Birthday’. The most original story of the three, it deals with a girl who tries to replace her father’s 8-ball before he can notice it’s broken. Fear of being caught has her toss it out the window, where it gets mixed up with a wormhole and aliens. To say more would be to ruin the fun. Never taking itself, the characters or the predicament the world finds itself in overly seriously way allows the peculiar nature of this story to unfold quite well. It’s quirky and eccentric nature blend themselves quite well between the story and the characters.
Overall this is a fantastic film that is quite entertaining. Fans of the genres contained should enjoy it, as well as those who enjoy anthology films.
When you think of Arnold Schwarzenegger coming back after being the Governor of California, it is not a far stretch to ask the question ‘Why?’. Well the first trailer for upcoming film The Last Stand dropped and we all really should have known better. This trailer looks pretty damn awesome and Ahnuld is pulling no punches in the fact that he is not as young as he once was. A lot to like about this. There is a pretty stacked cast including the go-to sidekick Johnny Knoxville (if it worked for the Rock) and some a ton of action I can get behind.
About the Film The Last Stand marks the English-language debut of director Kim Jee-woon (I Saw the Devil, The Good, the Bad, the Weird) working from a script by Andrew Knauer, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, and George Nolfi (The Adjustment Bureau). The film follows Arnold Schwarzenegger as a former LAPD cop turned sheriff of a small border town which serves as the last thing standing between the world’s most notorious drug kingpin and freedom in Mexico after he escapes from an FBI prisoner convoy. Forest Whitaker, Zach Gilford, Harry Dean Stanton and Luis Guzmán and more also star in Last Stand, hitting theaters on January 18th, 2013.
Check out the trailer below:
And here is the poster: (click it to make it all huge and high-res and stuff)
