You are viewing the archive: Samuel L. Jackson
The Avengers is less a movie than a novelization of itself, an oversized, self-aware picture designed mostly for effect: That of reliving the experience of a movie you’ve seen before and just can’t get enough of. The picture is broken down into narrative chunks that ultimately don’t tell much of a story – what you get instead is a series of mini-climaxes held together by banter between characters. The idea, maybe, is that people already love Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk and Thor so much — like, so, so much — that all a filmmaker really needs to do is put them all into a big stock pot filled with elaborate set pieces and some knowing dialogue and he’s golden. And maybe, given the heightened-lowered expectations of movie audiences, that really is all he has to do: It's possible to have looked forward to a movie all year, to enjoy watching it, and then to have completely forgotten about it the following week.
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When Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained hits theaters in December, it'll bring audiences face to face with a flurry of new grindhouse/genre references and influences, as any Tarantino flick is wont to do. Among those citations is the Italian exploitation pic Goodbye Uncle Tom (AKA Addio Zio Tom/Farewell Uncle Tom), the notorious 1971 pseudo-doc about a film crew documenting the horrors of slavery in the American south, which Django Unchained cast member Samuel L. Jackson discussed recently during an interview for his superhero flick The Avengers (a movie that does not, by the way, pay homage to questionably exploitative slavery explorations.)
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The cast of Marvel’s The Avengers were a spirited bunch Thursday in Beverly Hills, where the familial vibe amongst the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Samuel Jackson, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, and Mark Ruffalo was evident and mutual admiration, inside jokes, and startling revelations abounded. (Scarlett Johansson, alas, was absent due to a scheduling conflict.) Among the highlights: Ruffalo’s youthful Hulk inspiration, Jeremy Renner’s suggestive Hawkeye imagery (“[I] played with Thor’s hammer while he stroked my bow”), and one mysterious, maybe-still legit admission from Downey that the assembled Avengers would be filming a scene… that night. But, pray tell: Which Avenger possesses the best Dance Dance Revolution skills? SPOILERS AHEAD.
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On the eve of a new trailer debut, Marvel has released a new poster for May's superhero superteam pic The Avengers. Here you'll find all your favorite heroes gathered in various states of action and repose: There's Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) stalking her prey while Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) contemplates a sandwich, with Captain America (Chris Evans) having a senior moment in the background as Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) hogs the spotlight. Typical. Get a full look at the cut & paste wonderment after the jump.
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Ok gadget hounds, so this Siri thing is pretty neat. AND she/it has a built-in sense for movie geekery, so if you happen to ask her, say, what the meaning of life is. (Answer: 42, duh.) Or slyly refer to the shenanigans of that uber-intelligent, all-knowing other futuristic supercomputer, HAL 9000. Watch video of Siri in action (at the 5:15 mark) after the jump and stick around for more Buzz Break.
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This morning Disney released the first full trailer for Joss Whedon's Marvel superhero party The Avengers, and ZOMG guys -- have there ever been two minutes of action more packed with hero shots, zingers, and things blowing up before this very moment? (Michael Bay might give Whedon a run for his money, but the Avengers trailer has what even his robot spectaculars don't: copious slow-mo superhero booty shots. Consider the bar raised.)
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Samuel L. Jackson has contributed indelible performances to the oeuvre of Quentin Tarantino, most notably as the cool Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction, which nabbed him a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nod, and as the unhinged L.A. gun-runner Ordell Robbie ("O-R-D-E-L-L R-O-B-B-I-E") in Tarantino's follow-up, Jackie Brown, which garnered him a Golden Globes nomination. Jackson even lent his voice to 2009's Inglourious Basterds and will appear in the upcoming Django Unchained. But which film does the frequent Tarantino player consider the director's best, in which "the action plays out suddenly and completely for every character?"
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The perfect way to gloss over a particularly terrible EW cover? Let a bunch of new set pics slide their way onto the interwebs! Oh, Disney. So smart. Let's take the bait and dive into the new, gloriously (seemingly) Photoshop-free Avengers images to salivate over hard bodies poured into superhero spandex! I'm talking about you, Chris Evans. And I guess you too, ScarJo.
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Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige admitted over the weekend to having a little Transformers envy; when you're in the business of making blockbusters, you tend to check out the competition. But a day after being impressed by the epicness on display in the Transformers: Dark of the Moon trailer, his anxiety dissipated the moment he beheld Sam Jackson as Nick Fury in dailies from The Avengers. Said Feige: "I'm not worried anymore." Gauntlet thrown, Michael Bay!
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