Tomorrow, the highly anticipated and much buzzed about remake of the horror cult movie The Evil Dead is being released; but this is not a mere remake, mind you, the film received a surprising gender twist, as Bruce Campbell and his distinctive brand of over acting have been replaced by Jane Levy.

And since tomorrow is also “Fun At Work Day“, what could be more fun than writing a post about how some films and TV series would look like if they’d undergo similar gender bending? Nothing can. So here is what we came up with:

Clueless

Teenage boys are usually portrayed looking for sex in any way imaginable (just think of American Pie and its predecessors). wouldn’t it be nice to see them all caught up in shopping and matchmaking instead of violating innocent pastries? If Jason Biggs had a young brother, it would be perfect.

Fight Club

An offbeat and dark humored satire might just be exactly what Angelina Jolie’s overly serious career needs. She could easily replace Brad Pitt in leading a group of social misfits beating each other for fun, or as a cure for soul crushing social decay. You can even call it “Girl, Disturbing”. The Twist? She’s really Anne Hathaway’s alter ego.

Girls

A series about four twentysomething buddies trying to figure out what being an adult really means may not sound like the most far reaching idea, but it will definitely be hard to imagine them confronting each other so lengthily without having things deteriorating to a fist fight.

Elementary

Sure, the are many films and TV series about male/female crime fighting duos. And yet even in the latest one about the prodigy private detective set in modern day New York, the creators only went half way and gave the gender twist to Watson, the uptight character, while reserving, as usual, the role of the brilliant yet unstable partner for a man. We think it’s time to go all the way and have a keen observing, drug taking clever detective lady with a male sidekick - Just switch between Lucy Liu and Johny Lee Miller.

Downton Abbey

Just imagine a series about an aristocratic family life in early 20th century England, with three brothers trying to find suitable brides while living under the watchful eye of their snobbish, ill tempered and witty grandfather.

Wait… is Ian McKellen available?

Mad Men

In order to put a good gender twist on this Emmy winning series, set in the 60’s, about an office run by womanizing bosses, we would have to place it in a parallel world. However, it would probably be worth it, if only for the chance to see John Hamm perform this French pop classic.

Anna Karenina

While director Joe Wright’s best efforts focus on female protagonists, it would be interesting to see how he would have handled this tragic love story if its concern was an unhappily married man. Our guess: much less chances for a costume design Oscar. Or, even better, we can go the extra mile and make it a drag adaptation, starring Andrew Garfield, since we already know how he looks in a dress.

Arrow

Super heroines are not only extremely scarce, but when they do appear, it’s mostly as a part of an ensemble, and they are never really given a chance to develop or explore the darker side of their personalities. So, what could be better than a presumed dead billionaire heiress trying to right the wronged (preferably without a ridiculous voice over)..? Scarlett Johansson already played the black widow, so being the green arrow isn’t such a stretch.

New Girl

Roommates have always had comic potential, and having an ever optimistic, sometimes clueless young man living with three bantering best friends could definitely work. The only problem? Finding a female equivalent for the term “douchebag”. Michael Cera, are you in?

Evil Dead

While survival in the woods is a time honored horror theme, adding chainsaws to the mix, and putting them in a female lead’s hands is pretty rare; and although the scares and gore seem to be bountiful in this one, we’ll have to wait and see if it will reach the original’s cult status.

Popularity: 2% [?]

The Watch opens July 27th – it’s an alien comedy starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill, which was written by Seth Rogen. As fans of aliens (but only benign ones) and comedies (but only funny ones), we decided to dedicate a post to alien comedies, which we have been seeing more and more of in recent years. Risking abduction, we left some major movies and TV shows from the genre off our list, but the 10 titles we included are our UFO’s (Utmost Favorite Original) Sci-fi comedies. (And yes, I agree I should be punched in the face for that last sentence.)

10. Megamind (2010)

The story revolves around a super villain who remains rival-less after defeating his enemy. With his rival gone, Megamind has some time to re-examine his villainous ways. When you make a movie with Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell and Ben Stiller, you can’t go wrong. Add to the all-star cast some great animation and a good script and you’ve got yourself a real winner.

9. My Stepmother Is An Alien (1988)

In this lighter than a feather comedy, Celeste, a sexy extra-terrestrial spy, is assigned to seduce astrophysicist Steve Mills and enlist his aid in saving her planet. But when Mills’ 13 year-old daughter catches her new step-mom snacking on flashlight batteries (not really something a human would do), Celeste’s mission is suddenly in danger.

8. Attack the Block (2011)

This offbeat movie offers unconventional heroes (teenage street kids) and even more unconventional aliens (they look like ridiculous ape or dog mutants with glowing mouths). In this exciting and funny film, inner city and outer space battle it out and there can only be one winner.

7. CJ7 (2008)

Broke widower Ti must funnel all of his wages into the private school education of his 9 year-old son, Dicky. Ti brings home a mysterious green orb found at a dumpster. Dicky is soon shocked when the orb transforms into a dog-like alien being, dubbed “CJ7.” When Dicky witnesses CJ7’s otherworldly powers, he imagines CJ7 to be the answer to all of his school troubles, but CJ7 is not as all-powerful as Dicky believes. When tragedy strikes the family, both Dicky and CJ7 must overcome doubt to reveal their true inner strength.

6. Alf (1986-1990)

Alf stands for “alien life form” and it becomes Gordon Shumway’s nickname, as he is the last known survivor of the planet Melmac. Gordon crashes his spacecraft into the garage of the Tanner family’s suburban home, and is subsequently adopted by them. They must keep him out of the hands of the authorities, however, this means no one can ever know about the alien who lives with them, giving way to many hilarious escapades.

5. Tremors (1990)

The race to higher ground is on when two handymen and a local seismology student  discover that their small town is infested with stinky subterranean man-eating worms. Tremors is a campy, funny and scary B Movie with good pacing and with the ‘always fun to watch’ Fred Ward.

4. Paul (2011)

The writing/acting team Simon Pegg and Nick Frost who created Spaced, Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, maintain their very high level of comedy with Paul, a movie about a smart-ass pot-smoking alien played by Seth Rogen. Filled with references to other Sci-Fi movies, Paul is a nostalgic and funny homage to E.T. and other Sci-Fi classics.

3. MIB3 (2012)

A surprisingly excellent third part to the Men in Black film franchise, it’s exciting, funny, stylized and even a bit touching near the end (you have to see it to believe it.)  Josh Brolin without a doubt steals the show with his very good Tommy Lee Jones impression.

2. Cocoon (1985)

Although an alien comedy, Cocoon is also touching at times, its special effects are impressive even today and it’s just a fun and uplifting viewing experience for the entire family. Not a lot of movies focus on the elderly (not to mention elderly aliens) and this one does, to a moving and funny affect.

1. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

Based on the five-book series by Douglas Adams, this is a funny, witty and highly creative ride through a bizarre universe. Arthur Dent is a British everyman that is suddenly thrust into intergalactic intrigue when the earth is destroyed by the Vogons to make room for an interspatial highway. Arthur travels with good friend Ford Prefect, an alien writer for an electronic encyclopedia called The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy.

Finally, just for this post to get thousands of Likes on Facebook, I’ll finish by saying: Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, sex and violence, lots of it.

Technorati Tags: The Watch, Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, alien comedies, UFO’s, Megamind, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, My Stepmother is an Alien, Steve Mills, Attack the Block, CJ7, Alf, Gordon Shumway, Tremors, Paul, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, E.T. MIB3, Josh Brolin, Cocoon, Tommy Lee Jones, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams, Arthur Dent, Ford Prefect, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry

Popularity: 2% [?]

Today the world celebrates 39 years of Juliette Lewis, who seems to be specializing in roles ranging from troubled to mentally unstable to full-on psychopath. What could be a better birthday gift to her than counting another nine psycho women so she won’t feel alone? (Well, I can think of several gifts, but they are out of my price range.)

The Devil Wears Prada

Starting with a relatively tame take on the subject, Meryl Streep takes great pleasure in abusing her young intern, Anne Hathaway, as a supremely obnoxious boss. Apparently audiences also enjoyed this workplace intrigued story, making it the second biggest blockbuster in Meryl Streep’s great career.

So I Married an Axe Murderer

Mike Myers is dangerously attracted to a woman who may or may not be a serial killer in this farce; no wonder that paranoia sets in. Judging by some of the later entries in Myers resume, having his suspicion confirmed might not be such a bad idea.

Once Upon a Time

This fairytale features a deranged lady who is not only extremely evil, but also has a knack for curses and spells, allowing her to pose a threat, both in her imaginary kingdom and in the Maine small town where she and her rivals were magically transferred to.

The Piano Teacher

Hardly a psychopath, but a deeply disturbed individual, the title character, played by Isabelle Huppert, leads a destructive relationship with all of her surroundings in Michael Haneke’s controversial Cannes festival winner.

Butterfly Kiss

Michael Winterbottom’s prolific cinematic career also started with a foray into female killers territory with this offbeat story of love and obsession between two women on the run in gloomy northern England.

The Roommate

Naturally, the subject obsessive, dangerous women was also treated in lesser films, such as this college-set, teens-oriented film about a young student and her new, unhinged best friend, which is headed, as Time Out New York’s critic put it, towards “basic-cable eternity.”

The Devil’s Rejects

Psycho women don’t always work solo, sometimes they’re part of a whole clan of murderers being chased by bounty hunters and all sorts of law enforcement officers on account of a gruesome violence spree they’ve perpetrated.

Audition

You can always count on Japanese cinema to take things to the extreme, as exemplified by this surreal and gory view of the mentally unstable femme fatale theme by the ever lurid Takashi Miike.

Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl

You can also always counton the fact that there will be an even more extreme Japanese filmmaker than the one you know – two, to be exact: Yoshihiro Nishimura & Naoyuki Tomomatsu make Miike look almost wholesome with this offering of uninhibited rivalry between a vampire and a mad scientist.

Kalifornia

And finally, the birthday girl herself, here (a year before her more famous, postmodern collaboration with Woody Harrelson) teaming up to a murderous pair with none other than Brad Pitt, as they go on the road, terrorizing a yuppie couple.

/aw:TrackMoves /

Popularity: 1% [?]

For the 65th time, Cannes is opening its doors in 2012 to films from all around the world. The exotic city of Cannes, on the coasts of the French Riviera, becomes the pilgrimage site for filmmakers, stars and artsy-movie fans from across the globe. Last year’s festival opened with Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” (French pride?) and concluded with Terrence Malick’s controversial “Tree of Life” winning the main prize – La Palme d’Or (The Golden Palm).

Who will win this year? Traditionally there are not a lot of details about many of the movies shown in Cannes, as most of them enjoy their debut public screening here. But among all the diversity Cannes has to offer, we can always find the biggest and most intriguing names in the film industry, including highly-acclaimed directors who chose Cannes (and Cannes chose them) to present their oeuvre to the world. While many big names have been dropped, we decided to focus on the upcoming films of ten directors with a lot of promise, who will hopefully deliver as well.

Moonrise Kingdom – Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson, who has been selected to open this year’s festival, has always been known for his quirky films. Granted, his offbeat humor is a matter of taste, but his films are usually a rare unconventional treat. In Moonrise Kingdom, he directs his usual suspects (Murray, Schwartzman) along with an ensemble of highly-acclaimed actors, and tells a story about boy scouts, runaway kids, a search party and an extremely eccentric family. Quirkiness guaranteed.

Beasts of the Southern Wild – Benh Zeitlin

Benh Zeitlin has created this wonderful fable about a post-New-Orleans-world where myth meets reality, as we follow the quest of a young girl named Hushpuppy. Zeitlin’s previous 25-minute film “Glory at Sea” was a magical tale of a disaster-stricken community; Beasts of the Southern Wild seems to preserve the unique storytelling ability of this original filmmaker, as proven recently when it took home the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance.

Cosmopolis – David Cronenberg
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Antiviral – Brandon Cronenberg

Father David Cronenberg upgrades Robert Pattinson into a businessman who travels across a chaotic and socially-decayed Manhattan, while encountering a gallery of characters who would change his views and place in the world. Cronenberg decided to use a limousine as the central spot where these powerful events occur, inside the vehicle and outside it.

Son Brandon Cronenberg tries to follow in his father’s footsteps with his first full-length feature film, which he both wrote and directed. In a world full of celebrity culture admiration (sadly, not much of a fictional future dystopia), people pay to  get infected by celebrities’ sicknesses. Syd March is a mule who smuggles the diseases inside his body, but when he finds out he carries a fatal virus that killed a famous starlet, he must figure out the cause of her death, while evading obsessive fans, before it is too late for him. One can clearly notice the influence Brandon absorbed from across the dining room table.

Amour – Michael Haneke

After winning Cannes’ 2009 Palme d’Or with The White Ribbon, German director Michael Haneke returns with a French-speaking film named plainly Amour (Love). Anne and Georges are an elderly couple in their eighties who have led a long and loving life together. When Anne suffers from a stroke that leaves her half-paralyzed, their love and devotion is put to a harsh test. Haneke tells a touching story about elderly love and the the difficulties faced when the hard and bitter blows of life strike upon us.

Dracula – Dario Argento

The master of Italian horror, Dario Argento, presents his interpretation of Dracula in 3D. Bram Stoker’s famous story about the count from Transylvania is revived  through Argento’s vision, which would promise, as always, to deliver some good scares and shrieks, with a little bit of over-the-top performances, and some alluring scenes starring his daughter, the actress Asia Argento.

Miss Lovely – Ashim Ahluwalia

First-time fiction director Ashim Ahluwalia brings us this drama from India, taking us back to the 1980’s and the more remote and less glamorous sides of Bollywood, where C-grade horror movies were made. The films are sleazy and remain in the margin of the industry, and so are the lives of the people who produce them. This is a story about two film-making brothers and the woman who comes between them (with Bollywoodic touches, naturally).

Killing Them Softly – Andrew Dominik

Initially called Cogan’s Trade, the film follows Jackie Cogan, a professional enforcer who is hired by the mob to investigate a heist that occurred during one of the mafia’s protected Poker games. After their collaboration in the inspiring artistic film “The assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”, director Andrew Dominik (“Chopper”) teams up with Brad Pitt again, in another tale of a tough and coarse man who faces dilemmas and true-character situations.

Mull im Garten Eden – Fatih Akin

“Garbage in the Garden of Eden” (“Polluting Paradise”) is a documentary from German-Turkish director Fatih Akin, who has always made intriguing films about relations and society. We are introduced to the people of Camburnu, a small Turkish village near the Black Sea, where the quiet idyllic lives of its inhabitants are abruptly interrupted by a governmental order to build a garbage landfill. The villagers struggle against the transition of their pastoral village environment into the new reality of pollution unfolds in this disturbing and thought-provoking documentary.

Reality – Matteo Garrone

After winning the Jury’s Grand Prize with Gomorrah in 2008, Italian director Matteo Garrone returns to the crime scene with his new tale about lives in the south of Italy. A simple fisherman, with natural theatrical qualities, is urged by his surroundings to try and enter into the Italian Big Brother show on TV. Along the way we realize how the quest for fame can change a person, and that not all that shines from the outside is bright inside. A clever media satire from one of Italy’s more outspoken voices.

So in the tradition of the Cannes film festival, let’s hope that 2012 will bring us excellent shows, a good crop of films, some scandals on the red carpet, and of course – some great after-parties (something for the tabloids too…) Happy screening!

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Technorati Tags: Cannes Film Festival, Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris, Terrence Malick, Tree of Life, Palm d’Or, The Golden Palm, Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Benh Zeitlin, Glory at Sea, Grand Jury Prize, Sundance, Cosmopolis, David Cronenberg, Antiviral, Brandon Cronenberg, Robert Pattinson, Syd March, Amour, Michael Haneke, The White Ribbon, Dracula, Dario Argento, Bram Stoker, Asia Argento, Miss Lovely, Ashim Ahluwalia, Bollywood, Killing Them Softly, Andrew Dominik, Jackie Cogan. Mafia, Mob, The assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Brad Pitt, Mull im Garten Eden, Fatih Akin, Black Sea, Reality, Matteo Garrone, Gomorrah, Italy

Popularity: 2% [?]

Gary Oldman, who celebrates his 54th birthday today (3/21), is one of the most acclaimed and captivating actors in the business, yet it seems his brilliant performances do not get the official recognition he so righteously deserves. Only this year he finally got his first official nomination from the academy, for his leading role in the spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

In Tinker Tailor, Oldman plays an out-of-retirement MI6 operative. His character is very gray, restrained and held back, and he acts way older than his actual age. This performance reminds us of his versatility in playing many ranges, and his chameleon-like adaptation to his roles: from quiet good guys (Tinker Tailor and Christopher Nolan’s Batman) to morally ambiguous and eccentric heroes (Romeo Is Bleeding, Dracula, Immortal Beloved). However, Oldman is truly at his best when he plays the villain. Some of the most memorable villains were crafted by him, and it’s truly amazing how his villains manage to be so diverse, and always captivating - not to say lovable.

So if the academy failed to do so, we at Jinni will honor Oldman for his birthday instead, and solute some of the most intense, intimidating and disturbing villains he has created:

Drexl the pimp – True Romance

True Romance boasts the ultimate ensemble cast – the two main heroes, Clarence and Alabama, are played by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette. Then you have Dennis Hopper as Clarence’s father, Christopher Walken as the mobster, Val Kilmer as Elvis in Clarence’s visions, Brad Pitt as the stoner roommate, and James Gandolfini as one of the ruthless henchmen. But Gary Oldman truly shines here.

You have to rewind the movie to believe this is actually him, with the dreadlocks, scars and rotten teeth. Drexl the pimp is a true low life, who torments Clarence when he comes to win Alabama’s freedom. Drexl is the scum of the earth; you both despise him, and are intimidated by him, as he can erupt in any second. Oldman’s scene and the violent encounter in his crib are only the first stop for the lovers on the run, but by far the most intense one.

Congressman Shelly Runyon – The Contender

A smart and polished movie about political controversy and intrigue, involving second-term president Jeff Bridges who wants to choose a new vice president (Joan Allen), who’s past might hold a huge controversy in the form of a drunken college orgy. Allen goes out not to prove that she is innocent, but rather to display the ideological angle – that it has nothing to do with her ability to hold the position.

Oldman plays Congressman Shelly Runyon, who supports the other candidate nominated for the VP position. He is slimy, devious and has no restraints when it comes to playing the politics game, and achieve his goals on the expense of what’s right and just; he is the perfect political villain - a manifestation of what’s corrupted and rotten in politics. A suit wearing scum.

Zorg - The Fifth Element

Zorg is a natural master villain – he sets his eyes on the target, ready to ruin the world and sell his soul to the dark side just so he could get dividends, and spares no means in accomplishing his deadly goal. But Luc Besson’s stylized piece has a light humorous side, and among the fast-paced action and chases you find a lot of comical and absurd situations. Just like Zorg – ruthless, yet vulnerable; hates failures, but fails himself; skillful, but makes some fatal mistakes. Gary Oldman fits perfectly in Besson’s envisioned oeuvre, and the evil Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg (by his full name) is a colorful villain in this psychedelic world.

Warden Glenn – Murder in the First

Murder in the First is a touching dramatization of a hair-shivering true story from the 30s. An orphan boy (Kevin Bacon) is sent to Alcatraz for stealing 5 dollars. After a failed escape attempt, he finds himself in solitary for 3 years, gradually losing his mind. When he returns to the prison’s general population, he commits a murder, and his public defender (Christian Slater) tries to prevent the death sentence by proving that the inhumane conditions he had suffered from drove him to this situation.

In this bleak emotional drama, the warden’s character, played by Oldman, is very disturbing – he is a man who has no empathy or compassion, who believes in hard punishment and doesn’t react to humane considerations, even during the trial. Warden Glenn doesn’t see the repercussions of his punishments – he thinks the inmates’ human nature needs to be restrained in the most harsh of ways, to sustain a strict facility. When you put the poor boy against the rough Alcatraz warden who bullies him all the time – you get one of the harshest relationships on screen.

Ivan the terrorist – Air Force One

Oldman is a Kazakh terrorist, leading a terrorist group who hijacks Air Force One and holds its passengers and president Harrison Ford as hostages. With a heavy Russian accent, Oldman shows no mercy to support his demands, including psychological pressure, threats, extortion and even an execution on-board the plane. The Kazakhs were never more vicious than Ivan and his crew, no wonder Borat came a few years later to rebuild their reputation.

Agent Stansfield – Léon

Best for last. Luc Besson manages once again to make Oldman a great villain. Léon, for the few of you who haven’t watched it, is a beautiful film about a lone wolf contract killer (well played by Jean Reno), mentoring a strong-headed girl (young Natalie Portman), who’s out for revenge for the murder of her family. And of all villains, her target is Gary Oldman.

Oldman plays the corrupt DEA agent Norman Stansfield, who is sharp, twisted and ruthless. His gestures, expressions, orders and conduct with people, they all scream terror on whoever deals with him. Stansfield leads a crew of cops that move somewhere in the gray area between law enforcement and crime. He is heavily medicated, and you can see its influence on him after he pops one. And most importantly, he is a genuine cold-blooded psychopath. His character portrayal in Léon has justifiably established his place right at the top of cinematic villains hall of fame.

Technorati Tags: Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Christopher Nolan, Batman, Romeo Is Bleeding, Dracula, Immortal Beloved, True Romance, Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, Val Kilmer, Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, The Contender, Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges, The Fifth Element, Luc Besson, Murder in the First, Kevin Bacon, Air Force One, Harrison Ford, Léon, Jean Reno, Natalie Portman

Popularity: 1% [?]