Christian Bale close to being King's Gunslinger

It was first reported that Javier Bardem and Viggo Mortensen were director Ron Howard's top choices for the role of Roland in the big-screen adaptation of Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

But word broke across the web today that Batman himself, Christian Bale, has become the front runner.

The guys over at JoBlo report it was Bale's Golden Globe win for The Fighter that pushed him to the top. The announcement is a shock given I don't remember Bale even being in the running.

Of the three, he's my top choice. Bale's a great actor and can play moody really well. He also looks kinda like Clint Eastwood, who King obviously modeled Roland on.

The Dark Tower hits theatres in May 2013.

King's Gunslinger may be close to being cast

We reported in September that Ron Howard is moving ahead with an epic adaptation of Stephen King's fantasy yarn The Dark Tower, promising to turn the seven-novel series into three films with TV seasons bridging the movies.

Love the idea or hate it (I hate it, but that's just me being me), the project is moving forward, and the New York Post reports Javier Bardem (the villain from No Country For Old Men) is the director's top choice to play hero Roland Deschain with Viggo Mortensen a close second.

For the record, both men are excellent choices for King's Gunslinger. No matter what I think about the idea of turning King's great books into films, at least Howard and company want to assemble a top cast. And it's also good news that the cast will stick with the adaptation through all three movies and two TV seasons.

Why don't I want to see the books adapted? Easy: I'm scared Hollywood is going to fuck them up. The novels are dark, violent and spectacular stuff. It wouldn't take much to screw with them. Even with King on as a producer, this could easily turn into an epic fail.

Time will tell, and we'll keep you posted.

Jason and Shawn review: Case 39 and The Road

Case 39

Shawn:

A lot of potential here.  There were definitely some really good scenes, good ideas, but they came across as convoluted, unfinished and forced. That seems like a pretty weak way to make a scary movie.  The "demon" effects were done with Adobe After Effects or software like that and made the production look cheap, just like the so-called scares. The movie was eerie at best. Probably more suspense than horror, and even that was predictable. An Ugly rating for sure.

Jason:

This movie sat on a shelf for years and should have been left there. No one should have to suffer through this. It took me five pints to do so! I hate Rene Zellweger to begin with, so having to watch her for 90 minutes didn't help. And what person in their right mind, knowing achild is the spawn of the Devil, decide to take action by dumping a TV on the floor and telling the brat to get out of the house? Do the world a favour and drop the TV on its head! Ugly, ugly, ugly.

The Road

Shawn:

Here is a post apocalyptic movie that doesn't dwell on what happened, how, or the struggles humanity faces to rebuild the human race.  This movie follows a father and son, as they try to find food.  The end. Boring! I like movies that show the build up to the apocalypse because I like to see society's fall from grace. The Road focuses on fall from dignity, and I don't need to see that. Viewers with children will understand some stuff better than those that won't.  If you don't have children, take it for what it offers. A Bad movie in my books, but has its moments.

Jason:

An epic fail. Everything that worked in Cormac McCarthy's book – the characters, story, tension and underlying sense of doom and dread – is a washout here. What was a riveting, dreary read is nothing more than a tedious bore on film. I hated Charlize Theron's scenes, I hated the boy, and I felt not connection between the father and son. In other words, this film had nothing to hold my attention to it save for a couple of moments here and there, and those aren't enough to recommend it. Another Ugly from me!

Next on the chopping block: Case 39 and The Road

How fast the weeks travel by. But for Shawn and I that's a good thing as we once again get to entertain you with some not-so-random chatter about one of our favourite things: movies!

Being a review program, we've lined up a couple of diverse ones to face the executioner's axe: the post apocalyptic drama The Road and the horror film Case 39. The Road has some amazing pedigree in the form of Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize winning novel. It's a great book. But how does the movie stack up?

Case 39 stars Academy Award winning actress Renee Zellweger and features a social worker charged with a potentially dangerous child. It's sat on a shelf for years, rarely a good sign, but finally made it to theatres this month. Rarely do Shawn and I venture out to the theatre, but this one's reputation demanded it.

We begin a new segment called Era Flops, where we discuss the worst movie of a given year. We've gone all the way back to 1985 for our first segment. There will also be music by The Kills, Audioslave and whatever great independent artists Shawn has lined up.

So tune in tonight at 10 p.m on 92.5FM CFBX Kamloops or listen online at www.thex.ca. You'll thank yourself for it. The podcast will be up on podOmatic to listen to at your leisure by the Monday.

Now for some previews:

Case 39

The Road