movies

npr.org

He will co-write a new movie with his son, screenwriter Peter McGee, and LOTR veteran screenwriter Philippa Boyens. Its working title is Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past.

I like that they call his son a screenwriter even though he has zero writing credits on IMDb. Colbert also has no features to his name, but obviously everyone knows his fandom. Either way Boyens is still involved so I’m sure she will be able to keep the ship steady.

World of Reel

Originally, the film would jump ahead to the 1980s for its ending, with Marty having made the shoe store he works at in the beginning of the film into a massively successful franchise. Now a rich man (but not a ping pong legend like he imagined), Marty would take his granddaughter to a Tears for Fears concert in 1987, reflecting on his life as they performed “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” He would then run into O’Leary’s Milton Rockwell for a final time.

Honestly, I’d be fine with this. If you were to drop two or three little, tiny hints throughout that there were a bit of a surreal nature to this story, it’d be fun. Although, the wackiness from just the above probably would’ve been enough to take Timmy out of Oscar contention.

World of Reel

When Sandler digs deep into a performance, like the one in “Punch-Drunk Love,” there’s an eccentricity to it that most mainstream movie stars simply don’t have. He taps into something that I can best describe as wounded, awkward, and —quietly?— explosive — a kind of emotional instability that feels authentic. You have to endure the disposable comedies so that, every once in a while, Sandler can reach this type of performance out of the bag.

It’s wild that Sandler wasn’t nominated for Uncut Gems. I thought he was going to have a chance to win it that year, and to not even get nominated was a tragedy. When I see him show up in something that’s not a slapstick Happy Madison production, I’m always thrilled. He’s never bad, and often times surprises delightfully.