Review: 'Mortdecai,' starring Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Ewan McGregor

So look at here: We are starting out 2015 with a new Johnny Depp as a crazy character movie, huh? This time it’s supposedly for adults with the whole R-rating thing. I guess he just has no interest in playing someone regular again. Oh well, he was quite good at it at one point in time.

So what is this movie? It’s called Mortdecai. It’s based on a series of comedic thrillers from author Kyril Bonfiglioli that I clearly have not read. Also starring in this is Gwyneth Paltrow as Johanna Mortdecai, Ewan McGregor, Paul Bettany, and Olivia Munn. I guess their goal was to make a really funny British style comedy for American people but it seems like they failed on both sides here.

So what is Mortdecai about? It’s about this dandy-like British art smuggler by the name of Charlie Mortdecai (Depp). He bubbles around as he’s trying to get money to pay his 8 million pounds in taxes. A famous art restorer is murdered for this famous Goya painting and his old Oxford rival Inspector Martland (McGregor) asks him help them find the murderer and the painting. This takes Mortdecai and his manservant Jock Strapp (yes that is his name, and he's played by Paul Bettany) all over the world trying to find this painting. Total hijinks ensue ... I guess. The B-plot is Mortdecai having marital issues with Johanna, his wife, because of his new mustache that he loves so much and she hates.

You know the thing with this movie is that it’s not good but it really doesn’t suck enough to hate. Mortdecai just washes over you in uninterestingness. It seems like they were trying make something in the old Peter Sellers Pink Panther lane of comedy but it never catches on. In a lot of ways the pacing and the structure feels like it would be a really good animated movie. I’m thinking with the way the performances are and the costuming being so over the top, this would’ve been great as a cartoon. The movie really relies too much on weird facial expressions and goofy pratfalls. The cinematography really isn’t anything to talk about other than these silly over-CGI-ed transitions from city to city.

The real saving grace to this whole thing is Paul Bettany as Jock Strapp. He’s hilarious during the whole movie as Mortdecai's tough guy/ladies’ man manservant. Watching makes you think this story would be a lot more interesting if it were from his perspective rather than Mortdecai's.

Another funny thing with this movie is the two stars of it are American actors doing English accents, whereas everyone else is actually English; it's a bit disjointing. I don’t know if Gwyneth Paltrow’s accent always works.

But seriously, this movie really isn’t something to go out and see in the theater. It might be something fun to watch at home. As I said earlier, it isn’t good enough or bad enough to even get a real reaction. I think Mortdecai is something to pass on and instead just go catch up on Academy Award nominees.

Rating: 2 out of 5 Guttenbergs

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Johnny Depp's in Charge in New Trailer for 'Mortdecai'

Counting Kevin Smith's Tusk, the last five Johnny Depp movies have been both terrible and public box office duds. Next year he hopes to turn the losing streak around with the goofy adventure comedy, Mortdecai, and a new trailer for the star-studded film has been released to spread some holiday cheer.

Directed by David Koepp and starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Olivia Munn, and Paul Bettany, here is the official synopsis:

"Juggling some angry Russians, the British Mi5, his impossibly leggy wife and an international terrorist, debonair art dealer and part time rogue Charlie Mortdecai (Johnny Depp) must traverse the globe armed only with his good looks and special charm in a race to recover a stolen painting rumored to contain the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold."

Working in the film's favor is a relatively weak January 23rd release date. If Mortdecai can't hold its own against Black Sea and George Lucas' Strange Magic then Depp's star power is truly shot.

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New Trailer for 'Mortdecai' starring Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Ewan McGregor

Long before we get to see Johnny Depp don a goofy pirate outfit and tons of mascara in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, he'll get to sport a goofy mustache and a collection of colorful suits in Mortdecai. With the film arriving early next year, a new trailer is here to show us why Depp movies are always fun even if they don't always turn out to be very good.

Based on the popular book series, Mortdecai has Depp as the titular roguish art dealer engaged in some international intrigue involving angry Russian mobsters, lost Nazi gold, terrorists, and British MI5. The cast is superb with Gwyneth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, Aubrey Plaza, Paul Bettany, Olivia Munn, Jeff Goldblum, and Oliver Platt appearing to be enjoying themselves. But is the film worth your time? Depp has fooled audiences before (Dark Shadows, anyone?) and the January 23rd release date isn't promising. Nor is the presence of writer/director David Koepp, who doesn't have the best track record behind the camera.

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Johnny Depp is a Big Spender in First Trailer for 'Mortdecai'

Bouncing from one blockbuster franchise to the next has obviously done Johnny Depp a world of good. Not only are the Pirates of the Caribbean and Alice in Wonderland movies like printing money, but he gets to indulge in playing kooky characters that audiences seem to love. It's the other movies that have become a problem, as Depp has been mired in one high-profile flop after another: Dark Shadows, The Lone Ranger, Transcendence, and that's just the start. So what does that bode for Depp's latest, the quirky spy comedy, Mortdecai?

The first trailer for Mortdecai has Depp back in goofball mode just as his fans like him. Set to an updated version of "Big Spender", we're introduced to the titular idiotic man-of-mystery, an art dealer and rogue who gets swept up in a global plot involving stolen art, Nazi gold, international terrorists, angry Russians and British MI5. Directed by David Koepp, who seems to taking from the Austin Powers playbook, this looks a silly and broad comedic romp with a cast that includes Olivia Munn, Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul Bettany, Ewan McGregor, Aubrey Plaza, and more. If it turns out to be a hit then chances are we'll see the rest of author Kyril Bonfiglioli's Mortdecai Trilogy brought to the screen.

Mortdecai hits theaters February 6th 2015, and should we take that terrible date as a bad omen?


Mortdecai Teaser TRAILER 1 (2015) - Johnny Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow Movie HD by MovieTrailerz

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Will Smith Circles Sci-Fi Thriller, 'Brilliance'; 'Focus' Gets Winter 2015 Date

It's been a rough year for Will Smith as the former box office champ doesn't have the pull he once did. Last year's After Earth bombed quite publicly, and his hysterical appearances in the equally-disastrous Winter's Tale didn't do much to help. That didn't stop him from turning down an Independence Day sequel, and perhaps he did it because something else of a similar genre was on the table.

Smith is circling a lead role in Brilliance, a sci-fi film based on the trilogy of novels by Marcus Sakey. Julius Onah (The Girl is in Trouble) is directing from a David Koepp script, and it sounds a lot like the X-men, or maybe Brian Michael Bendis' comic, Powers. Here's the book synopsis:

In Wyoming, a little girl reads people’s darkest secrets by the way they fold their arms. In New York, a man sensing patterns in the stock market racks up $300 billion. In Chicago, a woman can go invisible by being where no one is looking. They’re called “brilliants,” and since 1980, one percent of people have been born this way. Nick Cooper is among them; a federal agent, Cooper has gifts rendering him exceptional at hunting terrorists. His latest target may be the most dangerous man alive, a brilliant drenched in blood and intent on provoking civil war. But to catch him, Cooper will have to violate everything he believes in—and betray his own kind.

The second book in the series will be published soon, and this is clearly being eyed as a potential franchise for Smith, his first since Men in Black wrapped up.

Before that, we'll see Smith back in theaters next year, and nope it won't be during the thick of summer. Told you times were rough. His con-man film, Focus, has been set for February 27th 2015. A winter date for a Will Smith movie? Is that a bad sign or what? Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, with Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street) co-starring, it stars Smith as a con artist whose romantic relationship with a young upstart comes back to haunt him years later.  [TheWrap]

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Johnny Depp Confirmed for 'Mortdecai', Re-Teaming with 'Secret Window' Director David Koepp

Just a few days ago when it was revealed that Johnny Depp wasn't signed to a multi-picture deal on The Lone Ranger, probably a wise move at this point, we also learned that the actor was already looking forward to his next project that wasn't part of some blockbuster franchise. That film was an adaptation of Kyril Bonfiglioli's The Great Mortdecai Mustache Mystery, an offbeat crime story that would have Depp taking on another quirky central character. Now it looks like Depp is definitely moving forward on it, and he'll be joined by the director of arguably his most forgettable recent film.

Depp will re-team with his Secret Window director David Koepp for Mortdecai, based on the final book in Bonfiglioli's Mortdecai Trilogy centered on wealthy and roguish art dealer Charles Mortdecai, whose lust for the finer things in life often gets him mixed up in strange cases. This particular story sends him traversing "the globe armed only with his good looks and special charm in a race to recover a stolen painting rumored to contain the code to a lost bank account filled with Nazi gold.”

The plan now is for Depp to fit this one in before taking on Pirates of the Caribbean 5, which means it would presumably come after he wraps up Rob Marshall's Into the Woods. It's another  showy role for Depp, but a welcome break from the franchise stuff that seems to be failing him of late. Of greater concern may be Koepp, whose last film was the underwhelming bike messenger thriller Premium Rush, and has had Mortdecai sitting around gathering dust for awhile. The film was initially set up at Warner Bros., but they let it go and now it rests over at Lionsgate. Presumably if it does well, they'll look to adapt the rest of the Mortdecai Trilogy. [THR]

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'Snow White and the Huntsman' follow-up to move on without Kristen Stewart?

So what are the chances Kristen Stewart's roll in the hay with director Rupert Sanders just cost her the Snow White and the Huntsman sequel? Eh, probably not that much, but the fact that so many are asking that same question can't really be good for the Stewart camp.

Here's the deal: Deadline is reporting that Universal is continuing to weigh their options on how best to follow-up the summer hit, which grossed just shy of $400M at the box office. Not bad, but hardly gangbusters in this day and age. Currently they're trying to figure out whether to do a straight up sequel, or possibly spin the Huntsman character off into his own solo franchise. That would give Chris Hemsworth yet another franchise to call his own, while Stewart would likely be dropped. It's unclear how Charlize Theron fits into either scenario.  Nothing has been finalized at this point, but Universal knows enough that they've dropped Davod Koepp, who had been hired back in April to start work on a script.  Making it even less likely this is just another shot across Kristen Stewart's bow, we first learned plans of a Huntsman spinoff back in April, so it's possible Universal is just considering what we already knew.

As for Sanders, he's not inked to a deal no matter which direction they choose, but he's still the likely candidate to remain on board. And clearly, Universal has faith in him, as they've just picked up the rights to Dean Unkefor's upcoming novel, 90 Church: The True Story of the Narcotics Squad From Hell, with plans for Sanders to direct. The book follows a team of Federal Bureau of Narcotics agents in NYC who use any means necessary to combat organized crime in the 1960s and 1970s.

So don't listen to those reports that are saying Stewart's already out the door. Nothing's concrete yet, although the writing does appear to be on the wall, doesn't it?

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David Koepp in talks to script 'Snow White and the Huntsman' sequel

You can't really blame Universal for wanting to get a sequel to Snow White and the Huntsman rolling as soon as possible. If the plan really is to focus on Chris Hemsworth's huntsman character for any future films, then they're going to want to take advantage of the buzz he'll gain after The Avengers. Plus, it's a good way to keep director Rupert Sanders in the fold, because if the film turns out to be a hit as many expect, he's going to be very much in demand.

Deadline reports that superstar scribe, David Koepp, has entered talks to write the sequel to the action heavy fairy tale adaptation. Koepp, who recently co-wrote Men in Black III and will direct Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Premium Rush, is known for jumping aboard well established franchises, so this should be a walk in the park for him. He's also one of the folks who helped jumpstart Kristen Stewart's career, having written both Panic Room and Zathura. 

This is a pretty bold move by Universal, showing they've got a ton of confidence in Snow White and the Huntsman doing well. The film is scheduled to hit theaters on June 1st 2012.

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