The 80s and early 90s were a good time for deadly creatures, with franchises like Alien, Predator, Tremor, Species and many more. The Wolfman represents a revival of the mythical deadly creature, continuing the return of the genre with some new twists that we’ve seen over the past couple years, e.g. with Cloverfield and The Mist.

Which are the deadliest creatures on film so far? And will Wolfman enter the hall of fame?

10. Maritime Creatures: Jaws (1975)
Who doesn’t remember those few notes, which became one of the greatest suspense themes in the history of cinema?
Although Jaws was not the first deadly creature in cinematic history, it was one of the most popular and influential, and really pushed the genre of horror-thrillers to a new level.
Deadliness Level: 8/10

9. Monster-Type Creatures: Cloverfield (2008)
Based on a long tradition of monsters like Godzilla, who aren’t aliens yet aren’t based on actual animals either, Cloverfield refined the sheer horror such monsters cause us into one of the great successes of 2008.

The shaky-realistic camerawork, the viral buzz, and the fact that the actual monster is hardly visible throughout the movie, only enhanced the effect this movie had on audiences – who might previously have felt that the deadly creatures genre was dying from lack of new ideas in the 21st century.
Deadliness Level: 9/10

8. Subterranean Creatures: Tremors (1990)
Here’s something creepy: Worms!

If we thought deadly creatures could come from outer space, from isolated islands and from the bottoms of oceans, now we know they can also come from underground, which means they could be right below us even now…

This dark horror comedy quickly gained cult classic status, and became a franchise with no less than two sequels, one prequel and a TV series.
Deadliness Level: 6/10

7. Amphibious Creatures: The Host (2006)
Here we have, for a change, a creature that isn’t that huge: Basically it’s the size of a small truck. But the saying that size doesn’t matter proves itself once again in this movie. The creature’s relatively small size doesn’t prevent it from chasing, mutilating and eating everyone in sight.

The film garnered critical praise and selections as one of the best of 2006-2007, even in the high-brow magazine Cahiers du Cinema. Clearly, creature films do not have to be trashy or silly in order to be good.
Deadliness Level: 8/10

6. Extraterrestrial Creatures: Alien (1979)
It was either this, or Species. Would you believe that a gorgeous naked blond can lose, and to a slimy giant cockroach at that? It just goes to show that Alien is probably the most well-known and beloved franchises of deadly creatures, with the first Alien considered a masterpiece and a breakthrough in cinematic sci-fi-horror.

Its success spawned novels, toys, comic books, video games and several sequels/prequels. Not to mention a spin-off series in which the deadly creature from Alien battles the deadly creature from Predator, to the extreme joy (or sadness) of all who love this genre. There is a winner in this battle: while a prequel to Alien was rumored, a new sequel to Predator is about to be released this year, Predators.
Deadliness Level: 9/10

5. Cute, Fluffy Creatures: Black Sheep (2006)
A lovely green meadow. Fluffy white sheep eating grass. A sense of tranquility surrounds you… until you feel your leg being eaten!

That is, more or less, the new interpretation of deadly creatures that Black Sheep brings us.

Why use all sorts of weird aliens, underwater monsters and creepy mutants when you can use real-life, regular creatures like sheep? In this movie, it’s the contradiction between the “cute” nature and look of the sheep and the actual things it does that makes us laugh and be scared at the same time. Now how about a film about a manic were-poodle?
Deadliness Level: 5/10

4. Arachnid Creatures: Arachnophobia (1990)
Many housewives and housemen readers of this post will probably agree: Spiders and other domestic insects can be much more frightening than your average gigantic monster or evil alien.
The reason? Spiders actually exist!

It’s a lot easier to tell yourself “It’s just a movie” when it deals with creatures that you don’t meet in real life. But when you encounter spiders on a daily basis, it might seem a little too… well… plausible.
Deadliness Level: 7/10

3. Plant Creatures: Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Newsflash: A creature does not have to be animal-like or even mobile in order to be deadly.

The proof is in Little Shop of Horrors. The greatness of this particularly deadly creature is that it uses its psychological and persuasive abilities instead of its physical abilities. In this movie you will not see screaming people running from unrecognizable beasts, but rather the victims coming to the creature themselves.

Needless to say the movie is more sci-fi comedy than horror per se, but we can’t discriminate just because this deadly creature is a plant!
Deadliness Level: 6/10

2. Unidentified Creatures: The Smoke Monster (Lost, 2004)

“Watching Lost is what I imagine it might be like to be trapped inside Paula Abdul’s brain,” Jimmy Kimmel once said, and indeed, recent happenings in the opening of season 6 of Lost didn’t totally reveal the mystery that surrounded one of the most bizarre deadly creatures in TV history. At times it was even a little ridiculous to see a group of tough grownups running away from a black trail of smoke, but hey, that’s what made Lost so likeable, no? Actually no, but it is better than turning a wheel that removes an island. Anyway, it was definitely an original deadly creature, one I’m not sure will have a successor (nor do we really want it to have one…).
Deadliness Level: 10/10

1. Half-Human Half-Creature: The Wolfman (2010)
This upcoming movie is a remake of a horror classic from 1941, starring Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving.

The trailer indicates a stylized period piece that could really advance the genre on a few levels from what we’ve been used to in the recent years. Rather than a trashy horror flick created mainly for teens where bodies pile up as the story progresses, perhaps we’ll get something a bit more complex. Of course, we’ll have to wait until the movie is released to see if these guesses are correct.
Deadliness Level: ?

Did we miss your favorite deadly creature? And what do you think Wolfman will be like? Comment and let us know!

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And the Oscar Goes To… (Find Out Here First)

The Oscar nominations have been announced! But here at Jinni, we got our hands on the list of winners!! It wasn’t that difficult, we just told the guy with the envelope to look over there. While he was busy looking for something extraordinary, we opened the envelope, took out the list, copied it with our cell phone (smart and slick, we know) and put it back in the envelope. He never noticed.

So there you have it. More than a month before everyone else, we give you the list of winners:

Best Movie: Avatar

The Academy went with the people and chose Avatar as Best Picture. Saying that Avatar is not a good movie these days is like saying that Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts aren’t tasty. Avatar is about to receive, or maybe already received, the status of sacred cow. Nevertheless, I dare to say The Hurt Locker is a way better movie and so are Inglourious Basterds, Up in the Air and The Blind Side. I think that Avatar is a genocide movie in 3D, visually amazing but with too-obvious political criticism and a general lack of plot and acting.

Best Actor: Morgan Freeman

I disagree with this pick too. Freeman is a great actor, one of the best ever, but he wasn’t at his best in his portrayal of Nelson Mandela in Invictus. It’s like he did us a favor and made a really slight effort to make a decent South African accent. It could be his most unconvincing acting to date. I guess it’s a Scorsese-type Oscar: He deserved one for many of his previous works (The Shawshank Redemption, Driving Miss Daisy), so the Academy is giving it to him this time as a compensation prize. The winner should have been George Clooney for his excellent role in Up in the Air.

Best Actress: Meryl Streep

Meryl Streep was brilliant in Julie and Julia. Some say she resembled Julia Childs even more than Julia Childs, but I think it’s a real shame that the Oscar didn’t go to Sandra Bullock, who might have to content herself with a Razzie . Bullock gave the performance of her life in The Blind Side. I fell in love with the character she played. And while Streep will probably receive more nominations and prestigious awards in future, this was kind of a one-time opportunity for Sandra Bullock. Meryl Streep is becoming the Michael Jordan of the best actress category: She is nominated almost every other year. So I guess that makes Sandra the Karl Malone of this year: Truly great, but Streep (Jordan) is the greatest.

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker

The Academy members didn’t miss the chance to make history, and Kathryn Bigelow is the first female director to receive the Oscar for best achievement in directing! She managed to create a truly tense, realistic and captivating movie with The Hurt Locker. Of the many movies that dealt with the Gulf war (Jarhead and The Messenger, to name just a few), The Hurt Locker is indeed the best.

Best Original Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino for Inglourious Basterds

For many, Inglourious Basterds marks the return to form for Quentin Tarantino. Who can alter history in such a way and get away with it? Only Quentin the mad-genius / movie-geek / child-trapped-in-an-adult-body Tarantino. You can be offended by Inglourious Basterds, you can say it’s cruel and too violent, but there is one thing you can’t do: You can’t take your eyes off the screen. Also worth mentioning: The Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man. The dialogue is really clever, and I enjoyed their dark, mean humor.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Geoffrey Fletcher for Precious

This is a good choice. Precious is a brave movie that talks about “the other,” the social misfit. Precious deserves the win – and it’s quite a surprise, with Up in the Air the obvious favorite in this category.

Best Animated Feature: Up

We all knew Up was going to win. The announcement that it actually won is just for protocol, like election results in Iran. Fantastic Mr. Fox was well-received critically, but financially it pretty much failed. With no Oscar in hand, Wes Anderson’s movie can be considered something of a flop.

Best Foreign Film: The White Ribbon

I started watching this movie and stopped after three minutes and seven seconds. It’s in black-and-white and just too German and slow for me (at least the first three minutes and seven seconds). Ajami, my favorite in this category, is a captivating, rough movie about a poor urban neighborhood in Israel called Ajami. It’s up there with City of God, Amores Perros and Tsotsi.

Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz

Bingo! No competition here. A brilliant performance by Waltz as the most charming Nazi villain (saying “Nazi villain” is kind of like saying “fat overweight guy”) of all time. You know you have to hate him – he’s a Nazi – but you just can’t.

Best Supporting Actress: Vera Farmiga

At the age of thirty-six and after superb roles in Running Scared, The Departed and Up In the Air, it’s now safe to say that Vera Farmiga is a big Hollywood star. She has quality written all over her.

P.S. Note that in the competition between the ex-couple Cameron and Bigelow, (each had 9 nominations), Bigelow wins, but not with a knockout (More wins to Bigelow, but Avatar did get the best pic prize).

Think the Academy was wrong? Think we’re bluffing and don’t really possess the list of winners? Comment and let us know.

Technorati Tags: Oscars 2010, Oscar winners, Academy Awards

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With Christian Bale celebrating his 36th birthday on the 30th, and with Mel Gibson’s new movie Edge of Darkness coming out on the 29th, it’s time to name Hollywood’s biggest a-holes. A list made entirely of douchebags. 10 people we could all do without. Try to imagine the cinematic scenery without these real life villains, wouldn’t it be much nicer?

10. Emile Hirsch

Almost the most annoying person alive. During the entire movie Into the Wild, I was hoping he would just stay there, live in the desert and stop acting. Sadly for me, the opposite happened and the movie’s success earned him bigger movie roles. His next movie due in 2011 is Hamlet. When the phrase “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” is heard, they will be speaking about Emile Hirsch.

9. Sarah Jessica Parker

Sex and the City, Sex and the City the movie, Sex and the City the second movie… Someone needs to stop her before she makes Sex and the City 3! It’s as important to the world as stopping the Iranian nuclear program.

8. Matthew McConaughey

He can take his romantic comedies and shove them up his dimples. When my sister developed a crush on him, she was banned from the family until she sobered up and understood that he is the male equivalent of Sarah Jessica Parker.

7. Dane Cook

He loves himself so much he might do a remake of The Notebook, taking the role of Ryan Gosling. Rachel McAdams’s role will remain vacant.

6. Tori Spelling

Nepotism is “favoritism granted to relatives or friends, without regard to their merit.” Is there one person in the world who thinks Tori Spelling got her acting roles because of her talent and not her last name? She also released an autobiography. If you’re Winston Churchill, that’s okay; if you’re Tori Spelling, it’s not.

5. Nicholas Cage

On this list because the movies he’s picked in recent years suggest he is no longer a rational being. Ghost Rider? The Wicker Man?? Next??? Bangkok Dangerous???! Knowing????!!

4. Richard Gere

So his hair went grey at a very young age. It’s no reason to keep giving him movie roles just out of pity. Also, as someone who cares about animal rights, I don’t particularly approve of his fondness for gerbils.

3. Kelsey Grammer

He never made me laugh. Not once. In Frasier he might have came remotely close, but in Back To You and Hank he just made me sad. Looks like an accountant, and it’s a shame he isn’t one.

2. Christian Bale

In 1987’s Empire of the Sun, when he was only 12, we could already see that he was a spoiled, annoying little diva. And in recent years we read about him getting arrested after attacking his own mother! And that he screamed, shouted and just freaked out on the set of Terminator 4. A real American Psycho. I think it’s the extreme changes in his outward appearance (in the Machinist he was skinny as Andy Dick, than he gained weight for Batman and lost it again for Rescue Dawn) that cause that kind of behavior.

1.Mel Gibson

With each passing year we grow to like Mel Gisbson less and less. First we learned he was “just” an alcoholic, then an anti-Semitic alcoholic, and then a homophobic, anti-Semitic alcoholic. What are we going to find out about him next? Maybe that he also hates babies…

This Family Guy clip sums it up nicely:

Family Guy - The List

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Have you heard of the Sundance Toxic Buzz Syndrome? Maybe not, since I made it up – but in my experience, it’s a real phenomenon.

There’s no arguing that Sundance has contributed a lot to independent cinema. Still, the festival tends to overhype its line-up and winners. Winners at every festival sometimes fail to deliver on their promise. Yet Sundance seems to have perfected the art of the misleading buzz. This serves producers who cut dreamy distribution deals for low-cost titles. But viewers, and mostly buyers, should beware.

The after-Sundance-reality is that only a few buzzed titles, and even festival winners, nab a domestic distribution. Some live up to their buzz until the subsequent Berlin Film Festival, where they might sell internationally. After a long festival run, it can take a year or more for their domestic and international releases. Only a handful will ever top a few million at the box office.

By way of example, here is the harvest of just 8 titles from 2004, when I was a buyer.

Click to enlarge:

The big winner of 2004, Primer was a great deal for the producer. However, the box office (B/O) figure is very small; buyers and viewers expected more.
Another aspect of the Syndrome: the movie was a one-time success. Its director, Shane Carruth, hasn’t made any films since.

The documentary Tarnation cost a ridiculous $213K to edit (although its images and videos are the result of 20 years work). Its director completed another documentary in 2009, which didn’t gain a commercial distribution.

Napoleon Dynamite’s hyper-buzz was followed by a fierce bidding war between Fox Searchlight and WB Independent. Fox won, paying almost 8 times the movie’s budget for domestic rights. The movie succeeded mainly in the U.S. Considered crazy by many industry professionals, Fox’ deal eventually proved worthwhile.

In a rare cooperation, Garden State was sold to Fox Searchlight and Miramax for double its budget. Unlike Napoleon, the wisdom of this deal is arguable. Garden State was better received in the US than internationally, probably enjoying the star-power of its director, Scrubs’ lead Zach Braff – who hasn’t yet directed another feature.

First presented at the Hamptons International Film Festival, Open Water was bought for 20 times its budget only after screening at Sundance. Interesting, distribution rights were bought by a non-studio, Lionsgate. (A buyer at the time, I acquired rights for my territory.) Its international performance wasn’t bad for a horror flick, but probably didn’t justify the prices paid for rights. And the director was a one-time success.

If there were movie sales-and-marketing schools, The Woodsman (starring real-life couple Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick) would be a great study case. Following a bidding war among six companies, the producers closed a deal with Newmarket, a hot distribution outfit back then after the successful release of Monster, another indie with a tough subject (as well as Memento, Donnie Darko, Whale Rider, and others). While domestic rights were acquired for less than the movie’s budget, it still seemed astonishing to pay such a sum for a movie about a pedophile. At the Berlin Film Festival, the buzz continued with packed screenings and an international bidding war. As a buyer, I found myself competing rights with almost all my competitors. How did it all end?  The movie failed everywhere. Moreover, director Nicole Kassell only now, nearly 7 years later, starts shooting her next feature, Earthbound.

With Maria Full of Grace, domestic distribution wasn’t negotiable. The buzz affected international sales – and considering the box office results, didn’t justify the mayhem. The director, Joshua Marston, has since directed a few TV episodes and a chapter in N.Y. I Love You.

Showing that foreign titles can suffer the same syndrome, The Motorcycle Diaries was directed by the acclaimed Brazilian director Walter Salles (Central do Brasil) and starred Gael Garcia Bernal hot off Y Tu Mama Tambien and Amores Perros (and soon to be seen in the upcoming Earthbound). Still, the price paid for distributing a subtitled movie in the U.S. looks inflated – and perhaps not justified, given the results.

Why is Sundance home to Toxic Buzz? Festivals like Cannes and Berlin showcase more titles, so perhaps the flops are less prominent. As well, moviegoers and critics are mostly uninvolved in the big markets that are held alongside those festivals. And unlike Cannes or Venice, which usually feature titles from established directors and actors, at Sundance the buzzed titles are the works of little-known directors. So if a film fails, it flops completely; no star power to minimize the damage. Then there are the interests involved: For indie filmmakers, domestic and international sales represent profit regardless of box office performance. And for festivals and studios, discovering the next hot indie – successful or not – brings prestige.

Having said all that, the search for the next promising work will never cease to excite and thrill. Adding to the anticipation, the festival has an intriguing new initiative this year, Sundance Film Festival USA: On January 28, the festival is sending eight filmmakers to eight cities across the U.S. to screen and discuss direct-from-festival films with audiences.

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Just a few days away from the ceremony, the nominees are finally published so we can make our bets. Here’s who we think should win vs. who will probably win, since the judges aren’t as wise as we are. In light of the many differences, we can only ask the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA): Please surprise us!

Best Motion Picture, Drama

Should Win: Inglourious Basterds
Will Win: Avatar
The one movie that really “got to me” this year was Inglourious Basterds. It’s captivating, intellectual, funny and horrifying all at once. However, the HFPA tends to go with current hype, which in this case is Avatar. Its incredible commercial success, along with constant discussion among critics and viewers alike, makes it likely to be the big winner at the 2010 Golden Globes.

Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical

Should Win: (500) Days of Summer
Will Win: Nine
A couple months ago I would have chosen Nine as the definite winner in this category. It’s a stylish musical full of big names and lavish costumes - a kind of movie the HFPA really loves. But then the movie was released to very mediocre reviews and a disappointing box office, and the race reopened.

I still believe Nine will win as it has no real competition: (500) Days of Summer is cute but too indie, The Hangover is very funny but ultimately just a silly comedy, and Julie and Julia did not get much praise aside from Meryl Streep’s acting.

Best Director - Motion Picture

Should Win: Quentin Tarantino
Will Win: Kathryn Bigelow
The real fight here is between ex-husband-and-wife James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow. On one side the huge-budget, high-grossing, eye-popping IMAX visuals of Avatar. On the other side the indie Hurt Locker, which was released over a year ago at the 2008 Venice Film Festival and has gained critical recognition ever since. I believe in this case the smaller film will win, though personally I would choose Quentin Tarantino over any of them.

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama

Should Win: Jeff Bridges
Will Win: Jeff Bridges
This would be the 4th Golden Globe nomination for Jeff Bridges, who everyone agrees is a fine actor. At age 61, it’s time for him to get some recognition from the HFPA, and maybe from the Oscar judges too. The movie, Crazy Heart, is about an aging, self-destructive country singer. The movie got generally good reviews, all highlighting Bridges’ performance: “may be the best of his career“, “the show belongs to Bridges“, “some actors are blessed. Bridges is one of them“. So I would be very surprised if Bridges loses to an old voters’ favorite like Morgan Freeman.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama

Should Win: Carey Mulligan
Will Win: Carey Mulligan
Once again there’s a consensus. I feel like Carey Mulligan fell out of the sky (had you heard of her a year ago?). She now appears everywhere: In Jim Sheridan’s Brothers; alongside Keira Knightley and Charlotte Rampling in Never Let Me Go; and in Oliver Stone’s upcoming sequel to Wall Street.

Her performance in An Education gained her attention many actresses do not achieve in years. Critics have wondered whether she is the new Audrey Hepburn or the new Kate Winslet. Now she has the chance to prove she’s not just another star that will fade as fast as it appeared.

Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy

Should Win: Robert Downey Jr.
Will Win: Daniel Day-Lewis
It’s true: Sherlock Holmes wasn’t the really great movie it could have been. But it was still fun and entertaining, and the character of Sherlock himself, portrayed by Robert Downey Jr., was hilarious, proving once again that Downey Jr. is one of the most talented actors in Hollywood. Will it help him get the Golden Globe (especially after no awarding recognition for his previous hilarious comic effort in Tropic Thunder)? I believe not. The HFPA would probably announce the more popular vote of Daniel Day-Lewis as the winner.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy

Should win: Sandra Bullock
Will Win: Meryl Streep
Okay, okay, I know I’m in the minority here. And I don’t really think Sandra Bullock is a better actress than Meryl Streep. But come on - Bullock has pulled off an amazing comeback. She starred in two of the most successful films of the year: the surprisingly successful rom-com The Proposal and the tearjerkerker The Blind Side. Besides, Meryl Streep already has enough Golden Globes (six, to be exact) and I’m sure she would gladly give this one up in favor of finally grabbing the Oscar after twenty-eight years…

Best Animated Feature Film

Should Win: Coraline
Will Win: Up
Pixar, Pixar, Pixar, bla bla bla. It’s pointless to even talk about this award. In the few years this award has existed (from 2006) Pixar has always won - even with mediocre films like Cars. So there’s no reason to think Up will be any different - it’s highly acclaimed and loved worldwide.

For a while there was talk of The Princess and the Frog winning, in some sort of tribute to good-old 2D animation, but so far the reviews aren’t glowing enough and the box office is slightly disappointing.

Of course the real winner in my opinion should have been Coraline - amazing animation combined with a compelling story that is more suitable for adults than for small children.

Best Foreign Language Film

Should Win: The White Ribbon
Will Win: The White Ribbon
This film won the big prize at the last Cannes Film Festival, and it will probably win both the Golden Globe and the Oscar. Its controversial director, Michael Haneke, returns with a stylish black-and-white film depicting the strange events in a small German village before WWI. Haneke’s famous penchant for violence is somewhat restrained here, but the atmosphere is intense, chilling and eerie just the same.

Best Television Series - Drama

Should Win: House M.D.
Will Win: True Blood
The last three picks for best drama series makes me want to confiscate the Golden Globes - Mad Men two years in a row, and Grey’s Anatomy the year before that! It’s nothing less than shameful that House M.D. - a true masterpiece - has never won an Emmy or a Golden Globe for best drama series. Now, already in its sixth season, it’s time for the voters to redeem themselves from their past sins (and follow Jinni’s People’s Choice Awards results) and give the award for best drama series to House.
P.S. If not House, then Dexter.
P.S.S. If not Dexter, then True Blood.
P.S.S.S. But it really should be House.

Best Television Series, Comedy Or Musical

Should Win: The Office
Will Win: 30 Rock
The last two picks for best comedy series gave me hope for this year. In 2009, 30 Rock won, and in 2008 the excellent Extras. If the positive direction continues, it should be The Office this year. The British original won in 2003, and it’s time to honor the equally great American version. What scares me is that Ugly Betty won in 2007, and Desperate Housewives won in both 2005 and 2006, so the HFPA don’t always make the best decisions on this score. Modern Family is a good series, but describing it as one of the best of the decade (as many did) is over-praise. Glee is great for teen girls, but it’s not on the caliber of 30 Rock and The Office.

Do you think our predictions are completely off? Do you think (or wish…?) for Avatar to be the biggest loser in this ceremony? Comment and let us know!

Technorati Tags: golden globes, hfpa, hollywood foreign press association

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