EXCLUSIVE: JFK
Matt Damon has signalled that his starring role in the new biopic about assassinated US President John F Kennedy, based on the controversial new book Dallas: Alternative Histories, may surprise audiences by departing from the popular accounts of his life. Rather than the typical image of Kennedy as a charismatic womanizer, the new story will concentrate on the impact of little-known details of Kennedy's World War 2 military service.
In particular, a key episode will be included where Kennedy underwent a program of behaviour modification to prepare him for a crucial mission, in his role as a PT Boat commander. Damon was reluctant to reveal too much, but did confirm that this episode will be linked to the fateful day in November 1963. At this point, the story will diverge from established fact and present a number of alternative scenarios on what might have occurred, at least one of which ends with Kennedy strangling Lee Harvey Oswald with a necktie. Paul Greengrass is slated to direct. -- DAVID KAASBRADEN
EXCLUSIVE: RAMBO 5 SYNOPSIS
Our source in LA has done it again. Although scheduled for release in 2011, Insight UnSound brings you the full synopsis of the latest instalment of the groundbreaking Rambo franchise. On August 31, 2009, Millennium Films officially gave the green light to Rambo 5, with Stallone both directing and starring. The plot revolves around Rambo fighting his way through human traffickers and drug lords to rescue a young girl abducted near the US - Mexico border.
Synopsis
The film opens with news footage of a crisis in Mexico City. Mexico is under the iron fist rule of President Sol Trujillo, and takes a harsher stance against the nation's pro-democracy movement. Rebels are thrown into a mine-infested field of cacti and then gunned down by a Mexican army unit, while the military officer Colonel Rene Moco gazes grimly at the scene.
Former US soldier John Rambo is now living near the US -Mexico border. He makes a living capturing rattlesnakes and selling them in a nearby town. A missionary, Miguel Burnette, asks Rambo to take him and his associates across the border in a boat on a humanitarian mission to the help the pro-democracy movement. Rambo refuses but is convinced by Consuelo Gomez to take them.
The boat is stopped by human traffickers who demand Consuelo in exchange for passage. After negotiation fails, Rambo kills them all. Although his actions save the missionaries, it greatly disturbs them. Upon arrival, Miguel says that they will travel by road and will not need Rambo's help for the return trip. The mission goes well until the Mexican army, led by Colonel Moco, brutally attacks the village, killing most of the villagers and two missionaries, and kidnapping the rest. When the missionaries fail to come back after ten days, their pastor comes to Rambo to ask for his help in guiding hired mercenaries to the village where the missionaries were last seen.
Troubled by Consuelo's potential fate, Rambo decides to accompany the mercenaries. After seeing the destroyed village filled with mutilated humans and animals, Rambo encourages the platoon to move on. Hijacking a truck, they create a plan to save the hostages held at a drug lord's camp, doing so within fifteen minutes to avoid alerting the army. Rambo helps Consuelo and the others to escape. The drug lord finds his hostages missing and organizes a massive manhunt. Everyone except for Rambo and Consuelo is captured. Just as the group is to be executed, Rambo hijacks a truck-mounted .50-caliber machine gun and engages the Mexican army. A group of pro-democracy rebels joins the fight to help Rambo and the mercenaries defeat the machine guns of the Mexican army. Seeing that the battle is lost, Colonel Moco decides to flee, only to run into Rambo's machete, which Rambo then uses to behead the Colonel.
Encouraged by Consuelo's words, Rambo returns to the United States. The last scene shows him walking along a rural highway, past a cattle ranch and a mailbox with the name 'R. Rambo' on it. He makes his way down the gravel driveway as the credits roll. -- DAVID KAASBRADEN
The film opens with news footage of a crisis in Mexico City. Mexico is under the iron fist rule of President Sol Trujillo, and takes a harsher stance against the nation's pro-democracy movement. Rebels are thrown into a mine-infested field of cacti and then gunned down by a Mexican army unit, while the military officer Colonel Rene Moco gazes grimly at the scene.
Former US soldier John Rambo is now living near the US -Mexico border. He makes a living capturing rattlesnakes and selling them in a nearby town. A missionary, Miguel Burnette, asks Rambo to take him and his associates across the border in a boat on a humanitarian mission to the help the pro-democracy movement. Rambo refuses but is convinced by Consuelo Gomez to take them.
The boat is stopped by human traffickers who demand Consuelo in exchange for passage. After negotiation fails, Rambo kills them all. Although his actions save the missionaries, it greatly disturbs them. Upon arrival, Miguel says that they will travel by road and will not need Rambo's help for the return trip. The mission goes well until the Mexican army, led by Colonel Moco, brutally attacks the village, killing most of the villagers and two missionaries, and kidnapping the rest. When the missionaries fail to come back after ten days, their pastor comes to Rambo to ask for his help in guiding hired mercenaries to the village where the missionaries were last seen.
Troubled by Consuelo's potential fate, Rambo decides to accompany the mercenaries. After seeing the destroyed village filled with mutilated humans and animals, Rambo encourages the platoon to move on. Hijacking a truck, they create a plan to save the hostages held at a drug lord's camp, doing so within fifteen minutes to avoid alerting the army. Rambo helps Consuelo and the others to escape. The drug lord finds his hostages missing and organizes a massive manhunt. Everyone except for Rambo and Consuelo is captured. Just as the group is to be executed, Rambo hijacks a truck-mounted .50-caliber machine gun and engages the Mexican army. A group of pro-democracy rebels joins the fight to help Rambo and the mercenaries defeat the machine guns of the Mexican army. Seeing that the battle is lost, Colonel Moco decides to flee, only to run into Rambo's machete, which Rambo then uses to behead the Colonel.
Encouraged by Consuelo's words, Rambo returns to the United States. The last scene shows him walking along a rural highway, past a cattle ranch and a mailbox with the name 'R. Rambo' on it. He makes his way down the gravel driveway as the credits roll. -- DAVID KAASBRADEN
EXCLUSIVE: VIRGINIA WOLFEIn a bold casting move that's sure to boost the circulation of the gossip magazines, Warner Bros. has very quietly sounded out the possibility of exploiting the on-again, off-again rumors about Brad Pitt's and Angelina Jolie's marriage. (See Reel Insider at left) A very clever development executive has suggested the time may be ripe for a remake of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, the 60s drama that shocked audiences with its profanity. Brad would be reprising the role of George, that gave Richard Burton credibility as a serious actor, and Angelina the part of frumpy fiftyish Martha, that won Elizabeth Taylor an Oscar. Movie buffs will no doubt see the parallels between Burton's and Taylor's tumultuous marriage, and that of Pitt's and Jolie's, not to mention the box-office appeal.
I must take issue with my colleague, whom I feel has been misled about the nature of the proposed special effects. Rather than computer graphics, the two lead actors would be transformed into typical academics through the magic of latex. Pitt retains such a costume from The Bucket List, and reportedly terrified neighborhood children with it last Halloween
-- DAVID KAASBRADEN
Although Avatar is not scheduled for release until December 2009, one of our sources has gained unofficial access to the first rough-cut of this cutting-edge 3D science fiction feature. Our information will undoubtedly be dismissed by 20th Century Fox and the production team, who are anxious to maintain secrecy about key details of the plot until close to the release date.
Already this amazing movie has been dogged by controversy. The short preview that was screened at IMAX cinemas around the world on August 21 induced a spate of health complaints, ranging from whiplash-like neck injuries, to dizziness and blurred vision. Apparently, the 3D effects are so intense and immersive, that some viewers have found their real world depth perception is diminished once they leave the cinema. This has resulted in viewers walking into poles and other objects, and some are even unable to detect real objects moving towards them, perceiving them instead to be two-dimensional and stationary.
Despite claims that the prevalence of complaints after screenings are simply coincidental, or inspired by the potential for legal action, there are rumors that Fox has hastily assembled a team of medical experts to examine the health concerns before the feature debuts. Perversely, some fans have boasted that the controversy just increases their desire to be the first to see the completed movie.
Synopsis
Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paralysed former soldier, is recruited for the experimental Avatar program, which will enable him, not only to walk again, but also to rush suddenly at whoever is looking at him. Jake is sent to Pandora, a strange jungle-covered planet, teeming with unique life forms. Many of them are beautiful, some are terrifying , but all (even the plants) are prone to rushing at whoever is looking at them. Pandora is also home to the Na'vi, a tall, blue-skinned intelligent human-like race with tails, that appears uncultured, yet is better adapted than humans at rushing suddenly at whoever is looking at them.
Although Jake's job is to help exploit the resources of Pandora to feed the demands of new technologies on Earth, he discovers what appears to be fossilised evidence of a link between humans and the Na'vi in the form of a skeletal hand with webbed fingers. He convinces his superiors to mount an expedition, led by Professor Trevor Anderson (Sigourney Weaver) to look for the remainder of the skeleton. They go aboard a starship called the Rita, which is captained by a rude old codger named Lucas (Walter Brennan).
After landing, Jake, and a young Na'vi female, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), watch a meteor crash to the surface of Pandora. After visiting the impact site of the meteor, Jake notices a strange object, and comes to believe the meteor was not a meteor at all, but a Na'vi spacecraft. After a landslide covers a mysterious tunnel, Jake's story is ridiculed by Lucas and the local media. In the following days, several people disappear. A few return, only to display odd robot-like behavior, and seem distant and removed from their normal selves.
Professor Anderson finds a runic inscription inside an underground tunnel beside a volcano and, led by an Icelandic guide, they find an underworld haven with all manner of exotic animals, one of which may be the source of the fossilised hand. After further searching, an expedition member, Cornelius, shows Professor Anderson the remnants of a technologically advanced human society. It appears that Pandora was, at one time, controlled by humans, but at some point in history, the Na'vi led a violent revolt, overthrowing human society. After falling in love with Neytiri, Jake is forced to choose sides in an epic battle.
Zaius, a scientist from Earth, arrives with a force of armed guerrillas to capture or kill Jake. Professor Anderson presents Zaius with the ruins of the human society, which Zaius and Lucas seem to already know about. Zaius agrees to exile Jake and Neytiri, afterwards informing Anderson, Cornelius, Zira, and the guerrillas that he is allowing Jake to find 'his destiny.' Once Jake and Neytiri have ridden away on horseback, Zaius has his men lay explosives and destroy the evidence of the human society.
After some time spent riding along the shoreline, Jake and Neytiri see something ahead; Jake stops the horse and demounts, approaching the object before descending into a fit of rage, declaring that he has been home all along. As the film ends, the camera pans back to reveal the remnants of the Statue of Liberty, half-submerged in the sand.-- DAVID KAASBRADEN
