The Three Stooges--The Movie?!

Comic kings are looking to introduce a new generation to the legendary 'Three Stooges"

The Farrelly Brothers (Dumb & Dumber, There's Something About Mary) are in the closing stages of casting for their next comedy feature, a rehashing of "The Three Stooges" franchise.

MGM has apparently signed two-time Oscar-winner Sean Penn to play "Larry," and are still in talks with Benicio Del Toro as "Moe," and Jim Carrey as "Curly." Carrey is even said to be in the process of putting on an extra 40 pounds to match Curly's plump dimensions.

Bobby & Peter Farrelly--who also co-wrote the screenplay--have been trying to get this project off the ground since the '90s, failing to come through with Columbia and then Warner Bros., before getting the green light from MGM.

Mary Parent, chairman of the Worldwide Motion Picture Group, was instrumental in getting the film underway, purchasing the "Stooges" scripts from Warner, and brockering a deal with C3 Entertainment, who owned the rights to the franchise.

The original "three stooges" were an American comedy and vaudeville act made up of slapstick comics Larry Fine, and brothers Moe and Shemp Howard. The latter of whom was later replaced by another brother, Curly. Their legendary act began in 1925 and continued for several decades, but came to an end when Larry was left paralyzed following a stroke in 1970.

Production on the film, which is not a biopic, is set for fall, with a release date sometime next year.

DVD Pick: Milk

Penn rekindles a forgotten legacy as Milk

BY EMIL TIEDEMANN

Milk begins with real-life footage of police officers raiding gay bars in a 1970s San Francisco, and ends with actual video of a candlelight vigil of tens of thousands of mourners marching the city's night streets in honour of the film's late namesake. In between we confidently rely on director Gus Van Sant and star Sean Penn to fill in the rest of the story of Harvey Milk, a New York-born gay rights activist who subsequently became California's first openly gay man elected to public office, serving on the San Francisco Board of Members.

Spider-Man's James Franco played Cleve Jones, Milk's complacent boyfriend who assists and supports him through tireless campaigning and civic bigotry, only to bow out when Milk peeks politically, and becomes the most relevant and powerful gay rights voice in the state. Penn is at peek performance himself, shedding his own identity for an all-encompassing role as Milk, a portrayal that deservingly landed him his second Best Actor statuette from the Academy Awards (Dustin Lance Black's original screenplay also won an Oscar).

Van Sant doesn't just focus on Milk the politician, but also introduces us to the character and values of Milk, loosely based on The Times of Harvey Milk, a 1984 Oscar-winning documentary that itself was loosely based on Randy Shilt's biography The Mayor of Castro Street (referencing the same street that Milk originally resided).

Josh Brolin is, perhaps, at his best here, as Supervisor Dan White, a family man who initially accepts Milk and his ideologies, only to gradually elude his kinship. Milk's influence and White's resistance led the way to White's pre-emptive resignation, before he shot and killed both Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone in November 1978. White spent just five years in prison, for manslaughter, but committed suicide two years later. But the film ended at Milk's assasination, one that forced a naive nation to examine its own behaviour towards the gay minority, and shed light on the gay movement, a cause Milk unintentionally became a martyr of.

4/5 stars

DVD Vault: The Interpreter

An assassination attempt on the foreign president of Matobo is overheard by Sylvia Broome (Nicole Kidman) who tells the Secret Service about what she heard. Tobin Keller (Sean Penn) is assigned the task of keeping the Matoban president safe during his address to the United Nations. Keller also leads the investigation into finding out the truth, in the process he interviews Sylvia and cannot decide if she is a victim or a suspect in this case. This was also the final film directed by Sydney Pollack, who convinced the Secretary General to allow filming inside the U.N. for the first time. The language “Ku” spoken in the fictional country of Matobo was also created from scratch for this film; it is a cross between Swahili and Shona.

With the film juggling politics, racism, change and aloneness it is sporadic yet intriguing. With a little misdirection the film takes you along for a few twists and turns. Stalling briefly for a few scenes between Kidman and Penn’s characters which show they have very little chemistry together after the first couple scenes. Penn seems to be forcing his acting throughout the entire film mainly due to a very limiting script. Kidman on the other hand was strong showing the fear and strength of Sylvia’s character. The end has a few illogical moments that can’t be overlooked even using certain information that proves it could be possible. Clever films use seeds of little information early on only to bring it all together near the finale. This is a film that does that but not as well as it could have. But after the lacklustre ending drags on longer than it should we are left with a question. What was the point of all the themes early in the movie? Yes it juggled a lot of themes in the end but all it really shows us how much anything can change, in the span of 20 years or 20 days. With a few holes in the plot this film could have been cut down by about thirty minutes and been a great film, but with the longer run time and unnecessary subplots we are left with an average film filled with promise.

3 out of 5
Colin Enquist