Kubrick and Spielberg team up again for "Napoleon"?

Here we go. Now THIS is film news ! People have long known that I have an unequivocal obsessions with Stanley Kubrick's long lost passion project on Napoleon. Hell, the un-filmed screenplay is one of the most popular screenplays downloaded online. It's become the stuff of legend. In the 60's Kubrick was developing a possible film on the life of Napoleon and had already cast Jack Nicholson in the role. The legendary director even said this would be "The greatest movie I've ever made" - which says a lot given that is the same guy that gave us classics such as 2001 A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and Dr. Strangelove. Anyways long story short a film about Napoleon came out before his even began filming and was a complete flop, which had studios scared at the prospect of another one, especially since this one already had a high budget to begin with. The whole project was scrapped and became the stuff of legend. I mean, think about a 3 hour Kubrick epic about one of the most fascinating characters to have ever lived on the face of the earth.

Yesterday's news was a breath of fresh air has it was unveiled that Spielberg will try and tackle Kubrick's screenplay for the small screen as part of a TV Mini Series. This isn't the first time Spielberg tackled a lost Kubrick opus, the other time was in 2001 when he released AI: Artifical Intelligence which was based on an idea Kubrick had developed over three decades. Suffice to say, I believe that film is a masterpiece -some clearly don't- and the thought of Spielberg tackling Kubrick again sounds incredible. Kubrick spent years researching Napolean, going through as many as 18,000 documents and books. The Kubrick family trusts Spielberg and I do too. Of course the contrasting differences between Spielberg and Kubrick are big but hey, is there anyone out there who can mimic Kubrick well enough? Maybe Paul Thomas Anderson. Now that would be something. For now let's just trust Spielberg with this one, his last film -Lincoln- was a very well made historical drama.

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2013/03/04/speilberg-developing-kubricks-napoleon/

Spielberg's "Lincoln"

(PG-13) ★★★★

At first it isn't easy to succumb to Steven Spielberg's Lincoln - its darkly lit, talkative scenes aren't what we are used to getting in a Spielberg movie. The political talk is in every frame, this is a move that is more about dialogue than it is about action. A real shock given that this is a filmmaker known for popcorn entertainments raised to the level of art (Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, War Of The Worlds). Lincoln is no such beast. It is quietly meditative with no rousing bombast or grand set pieces. The screenplay written by Tony Kushner brings us to 1865 a few weeks before the vote for a 13th amendment - this one would abolish slavery and free African American slaves. President Lincoln tries his damnest to convince Democratic delegates to vote for the amendment. It doesn't help that he is in the middle of a bloody civil war that has taken the lives of close to 600,000 Americans. We only see a glimpse of this war at film's opening, Spielberg is more interested in the war of words than in war itself. If you think this is a biopic of the President think again, this is a film about how the famous 13th amendment got passed.

Abraham Lincoln is slyly played by Daniel Day Lewis in another performance that will be remembered for the ages. His Lincoln is a man of many flaws but with enough heart, soul and drive to push the amendment forward. It has almost come to be a predictable thing to have a great Daniel Day Lewis performance but it is always highly welcome. Day-Lewis uses gestures and physical traits that are astonishing for his performance, the intensity that rages in his eyes is that of a man that is not playing Lincoln but IS Abraham Lincoln. He will surely be eyeing a third Best Actor Oscar come early next year. The film is full of great performances; James Spader, John Hawkes and Tim Blake Nelson play lobbysists aiding the president in  trying to turn democrats to their sides, Tommy Lee Jones as Republican Thaddeus Stevens is phenomenal and will likely be an Oscar contender as well. Stevens fought his entire life for an 13th amendment to happen and the sheer look on his eyes when it happens is triumphant stuff. Jones nails the role and brings about verbal fireworks to his juicy role that are too good to reveal - plus wait until you see his one BIG scene that takes place in the senate.

Verbal Fireworks. That is essentially the come-on for Spielberg's Lincoln. Don't expect visual stimulation in this picture, it is all about words and tactics uttered by these famous politicians. Some scenes might be a bit draggy but Spielberg tells the story in such an un-Spielberg kind of way. With an abundance of restraint and silence. Who'd a thunk it possible for the Hollywood director to have this kind of film in him. The first time I saw Lincoln I was taken aback, expecting something else and ultimately leaving the theatre a bit puzzled. The second time I saw the film -knowing exactly what to expect- I was wooed by the great cinematographer Janusz Kaminski's camerawork and by how the film simply told the story in such an intimate and un-bombastic way. That is essentially Lincoln, a quiet beast of a film that is never too showy and never too self-aware of its grandiose story. An important, interesting one in fact, that everyone should know about.

War Horse

What we are seeing lately with critics as much as audiences in 2011 is a kind of rebelling of safe entertainment. If released any other year Steven Spielberg's sappy, patriotic War Horse would be a shoo-in for Best Picture and make more than its fair share of money at the American Box Office. And so the story goes that the reviews were split for Spielberg's WW2 horse epic and its Box Office .. meh. I wouldn't call War Horse a bad film -far from it- its ambitiously epic and lush structure did wonders on me, even when some of its episodic nature could have been trimmed - I didn't need the maudlin story of the French Grandpa and his talkative Granddaughter. Nevertheless Spielberg hasn't lost his chops for great storytelling, he is a visionary and judging by the great movies he has released the last decade -Minority Report, AI, Munich - he hasn't lost much of his famous touch. There's a scene near the end of the film where our beloved Horse runs wild through WW2 wire ravaged fields. It's a horrific scene that hints at darkness and makes you feel the Horses pain as the wires skim through his skin. However, War Horse doesn't belong in the list of great Spielberg's because it feels too familiar, almost too facile an exercise. It feels like a movie that could have won the Oscar 15-20 years ago, yet the times are changing and the way we see movies even more so. Welcome to the new decade of cinema. 2011's best movies were not easily suckered into formula, we are seeing a kind of revolution happening - Terrence Malick's The Tree Of Life and Nicolas Winding Refn's Drive are perfect examples of the new language being created. Spielberg is still stuck in his glory era, which is not to say it's a bad thing but more to say that he hasn't adapted to the times. War Horse is not a risk-taking film and the lack of Awards attention towards it shows just how far we've come and how reward now comes with a price- originality.

The Adventures Of Tintin

I am an unabashed fan of Steven Spielberg's output of the past -oh say- 10-12 years of work and he's rarely let me down with much of the masterful stuff he's done (I forgive him for The Terminal) but boy was his adaptation of Herge's Tin Tin comic book series a disappointement. There are brilliant flashes in the film's close to 110 minute running time yet Spielberg -and producer Peter Jackson- try to fit too much in the film and don't exactly give the viewer any breathing room. When the film was over I couldn't help but feel hammered down by all the excess. Jamie Bell plays the beloved teenage detective and the motion capture technology that Spielberg uses in the film is the best use yet of this technology. Andy Serkis plays his sidekick captain but doesn't get as much to chew on here as he did in Planet Of The Apes earlier this summer.

The plot is messy and complicated but in short has to do with a kind of Indiana Jones-like mystery involving a hidden treasure and three separate sheets of paper that connect all the plot twists at the end - or something like that. I'll say this, some of the maddeningly kinetic action set pieces do work but what this really looked like to me was Spielberg trying to get back to his old school Raiders Of The Lost Ark Days. Except Spielberg forgot that in that very movie he gave his characters time to breathe and us less of a headache. Indy is a classic of the genre because it revolved around building tension and time throughout its playfully complicated plot. Consider this one not so successful but I'm still looking forward to Spielberg's next film -War Horse .. Coming out in less that 16 days from now.