Friday, November 28, 2014
Once again not news just an interaction with someone I'm a huge fan of.
Duncan Jones director of Source Code and the hugely underrated Moon answered a question of mine. Makes me happy.
Jake Gyllenhaal's crazy transformation for role in Southpaw.
Jake Gyllenhaal has been know to physically commit to roles much like Christian Bale and Matthew McConaughey, and he's proven it once again by putting on pure muscle for his upcoming role as a Boxer in Southpaw. Gyllenhaal had just last year dropped 20 pounds to play Louis Bloom in Nightcrawler.
see the full article at Deadline Hollywood here.
To play the lead in Southpaw an upcoming movie about a boxer who fights his way to the top only to find his life is destroyed in the process, Gyllenhaal had to gain back that weight and put on extra muscle. The amount he gained is still unknown but I'm sure with the coming promotions and interviews for the film, he will more than likely be asked on the matter. The folks over at Deadline Hollywood had the first look at Gyllenhaal's character and it's safe to say he's crazy ripped. Now that is commitment.
see the full article at Deadline Hollywood here.
IT'S HERE! STAR WARS THE FORCE AWAKENS TEASER!
It's finally happening boys and girls!! The teaser for the hugely anticipated Star Wars ep.7 is finally here. Check it out on ITunes HERE.
Or on Youtube here.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
What to watch: The Hunger Games: Mockinjay part 1
MockingJay part 1 is the third installment in the wildly popular film adaptation of The Hunger Games, a young adult novel of the same name. I'll try to give a spoiler free review for this film but the same cannot be said about the first two films. So if you haven't seen the first I highly recommend you do so before continuing on with this review.
The film opens up with a sense of desperation much like what our protagonist Katniss is feeling. She demands answers and is brought to speed on the current situation of the brooding civil war between the Capitol and The Rebels comprised mostly of district 13. Now the film is very reminiscent of other middle films like Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back and Harry Potter: the Deathly Hallow's part 1 in that a viewer will be completely lost and uninterested if they haven't seen any of the films prior. Much of what makes this film important or interesting is the investment the audience has in the characters on screen and this cannot be achieved without seeing who these characters are and why are they in this situation.
After watching this I thought to myself "what happened in this movie?" and it was hard for me to come up with the answer. Throughout the entire film there's almost nothing but exposition and the introduction to the Propaganda style of warfare that is pivotal to the way things will turn out for the story. Now don't get me wrong at no point in this movie was I bored but that is solely because I'm invested in the world that has been built through the story of the first films. I'd be hard pressed to recommend this movie to someone who isn't familiar with the first two movies and I also have to say that this movie is not at all what the first two were. This is the first movie that does not involve the hunger games for obvious reasons and it switches up the action sequences and big set pieces for tactical and more media centric style of warfare.
The acting from the returning actors has been improved dramatically. For the first time for me I didn't feel that Jennifer Lawrence's performance was forced. Julianne Moore, Phillip Seymor Hoffman and Donald Sutherland all deliver good performances. The sets were all very nice and as always the art department really outdid themselves with the set design, make up and costume design.
All in all this is a pretty solid film and my personal favorite of the franchise so far. The only negative I can find (and it is a big negative) is the fact that this is so heavily dependent of the first two films. So honestly I don't see how anyone can just sit down and say they're going to watch just this movie. But alas that shouldn't take away from the rating of this film so I'd happily give it a Full price. Go see it if you've seen the first two movies.
Rating:Full Price
Star Wars teaser will be available online on Friday.
If you don't see the teaser on thanksgiving at one of the select 30 theaters you'll only have to wait one day before having it available on iTunes Trailers.
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness Official US Release Trailer (2014) - H...
The story of one of the biggest names in animation comes to life in this documentary of the beloved Studio Ghibli.
The Interview Final Trailer - Meet Kim Jong-Un
The highly controversial comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco gets it's final trailer and it looks like it's not holding any punches. Let's hope North Korea doesn't decide to nuke us for this.
Pan - Official Teaser Trailer [HD]
Will this be just another forgettable rehash of an already hugely popular fantasy story? So far it looks like that won't be the case because for one Hugh Jackman looks like he had a lot of fun with his role as Blackbeard and that alone seems like enough to carry the film. On the other hand i've already seen the complaints about Rooney Mara being cast as Tiger Lilly and even though I do somewhat agree that the studio should've gone with a Native American actress I'm still open to seeing what Mara can do with the character.
It's here early!!!! Jurassic World - Official Trailer (HD)
I'm shaking from how excited I am!!! Universal probably decided to release it early because of the news of the Star Wars trailer.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Oscar Isaac to play villain role in X-Men:Apocalypse
Variety reports that "star wars" villain Oscar Isaac will also play a Villain role in the upcoming Xmen film. Whether Isaac will play or only voice the character is still unclear as we still have no clue how the character will be portrayed but Variety had this to say
"Oscar Isaac has closed a deal to play the titular comicbook villain in 20th Century Fox’s “X-Men:Apocalypse"
See the full story at Variety.com HERE.
Trailer for Dreamworks Animation's Home
The Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons and Rhianna star in Dreamworks next film Home about an accident prone alien who must seek shelter on earth from his home planet after being exiled. See the trailer at Yahoo Movies HERE.
J.J. Abrams tweets confirmation of Star Wars teaser coming Thanksgiving
Abrams tweeted just now a confirmation of many peoples speculations that we're getting a teaser during thanksgiving.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Samuel L. Jackson tweets a couple behind the scenes photos of The Hateful Eight
Sam Jackson shares a look into the set of the highly anticipated Tarantino western.
An album of wonderfully bad bootleg movie posters
User Obiektyw1885 posted to /r/movies "In Ghana, when official movie posters can't be imported for Hollywood film, local artists will bootleg them to the best of their abilities." The result are painfully hilarious mockup sod many Hollywood favorites. Check out the full album HERE. Here are a few of my favorites.
Tom Cruise is "the man on fire" alongside him stars his trusty motorcycle riding sidekick Kim Jong Un!
Halle Berry must face the giant monster cat who ate a lady in a red dress! Jackie Chan reprises his role as the love interest.
My personal favorite mostly because it stars a half Kevin Spacey half Nicholas Cage mutant and a tiger who throws up into the bellies of his victims.
Rock hard abs and faces only a mother can love are some of the reasons the Spartans were brave enough to take on the massive Persian armies!
There's several more and they're just as beautiful so be sure to check those out
Super hero movies that aren't Marvel or DC
Amidst all the buzz for the next DC or Marvel movie it's rare to see a super hero or comic book movie that isn't attached to the comic book giants. Here are a few of my favorites.
1. The Incredibles (2004)
Many good things can be said about my personal favorite Pixar film and it's a shoe in on this list for me. Brad Bird finished working on his long time project Tomorowland so he's finally reported he'd get started on the highly anticipated sequel which I'm super excited for.
2. Chronicle (2012)
Not a super hero movie in the traditional sense but a more realistic representation of what it would be like if a couple of teens were granted super human abilities. This movie is a solid action movie and one of my favorites in the "found footage" category. Also this movie introduced me to one of my favorite up and coming actors Dane DeHaan who really carries this movie.
3. Watchmen (2009)
Dark, gritty and captivating! The world created in this adaptation of the popular graphic novel is a perfect example of Zack Snyder's visual prowess. Definently the darkest take on a super hero universe this movie is a breath of fresh air in this genre. Also Rorschach is one of the best anti heroes the world has ever seen.
4. Sky High (2005)
Yes this is cheesy but I found it to be a pretty solid kids movie so I showed it to my nephews and nieces and it quickly became one of those movies they watch on repeat several times a day.
5. Hellboy (2004)
Another movie much like watchmen that perfectly encapsulates the directors visionIn this case Guillermo Del Toro calls this his masterpiece. A huge plus for this movie was the art direction along with it's amazing use of make up and practical effects. It took Doug Jones and Ron Perlman 5+ hours to have their prosthetics and Make up fully applied for their respective roles.
I hope these films will be a nice little change of pace in an otherwise Marvel/DC dominated genre.
Jurassic World - Trailer Premiere Thursday November 27 (HD)
Irrfan Khan as Simon Marsani in Jurassic World Just five more days until the trailer premiere and I for one can't be more excited! Here's a teaser for that trailer.
Also released were several photos and stills from the movie and you can find those Here.
Also released were several photos and stills from the movie and you can find those Here.
Saturday, November 22, 2014
First official poster for Get Hard (2015)
The Kevin Hart and Will Ferrell duo comedy now has an official poster.
What to watch: Dumb and Dumber To (2014)
When this was first announced I immediately knew two things, one is that it wouldn't be as good as the first and two was that I'd watch it anyway. Why? Well because it's the sequel to one of the biggest cult hit comedies and the Farrelly brothers have an undeniably impressive track record in comedy. I know I'm in the minority but I very much enjoyed The Three Stooges and Hall Pass was decent so I thought maybe they could make a Dumb And Dumber film that translates well in the 2010's...I don't think it did.
Obviously you can't take a movie like this too seriously but at least the slapstick in The Three Stooges changed its demographic to cater more towards a younger audience. This movie was actually raunchier than the first so that was out of the question, so at times I chuckled but sometimes I grimaced from the absurdity of some of these jokes and it was a little hard to watch. The story was just a rehash of the first film so that made it feel lazily written. The worst thing about this movie was the daughter character though, she was dumb to the point where it was annoying and not charming like Harry and Lloyd. Again I can nitpick this film but I shouldn't because it wasn't made to be taken seriously, So we'll just leave it at that.
If you sift through all the terrible aspects of this movie is it worth it? Maybe, maybe not. If you love the first and don't care about the films integrity then go ahead and watch this, although I wouldn't pay full price. This is bad so if you must I recommend a rental or maybe even just waiting until it's on television.
Rating: Rental
Friday, November 21, 2014
First look at Patrick Stewart as a Neo-Nazi in The Green Room
Jeremy Saulnier director of Blue Ruin is currently working with Patrick Stewart and others on his next film The Green Room.
Brenton Thwaites lands role opposite Johnny Depp in upcoming Pirates film.
According to variety the young actor will have a "significant" role in the next Pirates installment and personally I'm stoked! This kid has been in everything lately and I feel like this is what will take him to that next level. Recently watched him in The Signal which was pretty good.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
'Pitch Perfect 2' Trailer
Good thing all of America watches The Ellen Show because the hugely popular talk show had an exclusive trailer premier earlier today for the highly anticipated sequel to Pitch Perfect!
Sony drops Steve Jobs Biopic, Universal looking to pick it up.
While the reasons are still unknown Sony has decide to drop the Danny Boyle directed biopic. After seeing the casting rumors and actors that were once connected to the film dropping out of the film it's pretty safe to assume this pre production process hasn't been smooth sailing.
see the full story over at TheHollywoodreporter.com HERE.
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Disney's Cinderella Official US Trailer
It seems disney is really taking a step back and trying to reintroduce their fairy tale style of films with Maleficent earlier this year and Into the Woods coming this christmas. Unlike maleficent though this seems to really be sticking to the source material and not trying to give a different perspective on an already wildly famous story. My girlfriend got me to watch Maleficent recently and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I actually enjoyed it. Hopefully this will do the same.
Netflix will finally be available for New Zealand and Australia
The most popular movie streaming app/website is expanding to include New Zealand and Australia.
"For a “low monthly price” Australian and NZ users will be able to subscribe to Netflix and stream from “a curated selection of popular movies and TV shows” in HD (or even 4K where available)."
"For a “low monthly price” Australian and NZ users will be able to subscribe to Netflix and stream from “a curated selection of popular movies and TV shows” in HD (or even 4K where available)."
see the full story on Ign.com HERE.
Tuesday, November 18, 2014
What to watch: The Babadook (2014)
Okay let me start off by saying that this isn't actually out yet. It has been shown at several festivals around the states but won't get a theater release until November 28th and even that will be limited. Here's hoping it get's shown close by to wherever you or I live.
I think I should explain why I'm so critical of horror films and why most make me bored instead of scared or interested. When I was young I was very easily scared, I didn't watch scary movies and I had nightmares all the time. I was terrified of the dark, and it made me feel weak, like I knew I wasn't supposed too. One day I just gave that all up and convinced myself that all the things I feared like monsters and things like that didn't exist. After that it's always been hard for me to suspend disbelief when it comes to supernatural and horror elements so in turn I found films on these matters to be laughable and boring. All that being said I still am very fearful, I'm terrified of the deep ocean or the thought of being lost in space. I'm also very scared of mental illness, a terrifying and very real thing that claims many victims every day. This movie can be interpreted as a case of mental illness so it was scary to me for reasons that others might find absurd. Okay so enough about that, let's get into why this is one of my favorite movies in a long time.
The Babadook is the story of a mother and son struggling to live a normal life after a traffic accident claims the life of the husband and father. Our story begins like any other and some might say it takes a while before it begins to pick up. Please if you watch this give it time to build up the story and don't dismiss it for boring in the first 20 to 30 minutes. Once things beging to unfold and we're introduced to the Babadook it becomes apparent that this story can be supernatural or a case of mental illness and that's why I was interested/scared. The fact that the movie didn't use jump scares or excessive gore to build tension and to scare, is what turned this from a good movie to a great one for me. The threat seemed real and I actually cared about the character's well being. I won't say too much more because I loved that for once I was scared and I finally felt that feeling that makes people want to see horror movies.
The performances by our two leads were amazing. You can feel the helplessness of the mother through Essie Davis portrayal and Noah Wiseman really blew me away when I found out this was his first and only acting role. The Babadook is terrifying and reminded me of something out of the "Scary stories to tell in the dark" books I used to read in middle school. My favorite thing about this movie and probably the scariest thing was the sound, really the combination of sounds, voices and eerie music really had me on edge and it builds an atmosphere that's hard to forget and shake off.
So obviously I loved this movie and everything about it. Will you? I really hope so because I want this to do really well so I can see more like this. I want to do a more extensive review with spoilers and everything but I'll leave that for when we get a dvd/bluray release. Until then I can't recommend this enough so please if it eventually comes out in your area see it! If it doesn't try online because it'll definitely be there.
Rating: Very enthusiastic Full Price!!!
Monday, November 17, 2014
A couple things for Jurassic World have been released!
While it is obvious we're getting a trailer soon i've gathered here some of the Viral Marketing campaign sites that were started up to garner interest in the highly anticipated Jurassic World.
First we have a website for the company that is funding Jurassic World in the film seen here at Masrani Global...it's a very realistic and beautiful website introducing us to the company prior to seeing the movie.
We also get our first look at the character Dr.Wu, who is supposed to be the only character from any of the first three films. Seems he hasn't aged a day since 1993.
Along with that we were given an official website for Jurassic World this time for the actual park itself. It is displaying a countdown on it's front page that currently stands at 10 days 01 hours 26 mins and I'm pretty sure that's counting down to a trailer release although no confirmation about that has been given. You can see all that right here at www.jurassicworld.com
More news is surely on the way so i'll be keeping an on this so stay tuned.
Also don't forget to check out the internship program on the Masrani page it'll give you an I.D. badge it's pretty awesome.
What to watch: Hercules (2014)
There's no simpler way to say this but Dwayne Johnson is Hercules.
It was the role he was born to play and he's definitely cemented himself as the Schwarzenegger of this generation. While the film was mediocre in story and acting, Johnson commands the screen with his presence and charisma. While I knew exactly where this film was headed I jumped in anyway solely on my admiration for Rocky, because in my opinion he's the hardest working entertainer in the business and I've never seen anyone be more passionate about a project than he was even offscreen. Whether it was touring the world promoting the movie or giving excited interviews and taking pictures with the fans this man deserves an award for how much effort he put into this project.
Now let's talk about the movie. You know those films where all the interesting battles and set pieces are in the trailer or within the first ten minutes of the film? This is definitely one of those although that sounds like a negative I can't say I was completely disappointed with the rest of the story. While very cliche and "done before" this movie still managed to keep my attention. The film is about 90 minutes long but I felt that was an advantage because I don't know if I had been interested had this gone passed two hours.
This movie had a budget of 100 million although given the sometimes poor special effects (mostly during the animal scenes) I would've never guessed. Sadly this movie is barely breaking even at 30 million domestic and 70 million worldwide I don't know how much longer before this turns a profit. Now I'm all for more roles for the rock but hopefully Hollywood realizes that big budgets don't always mean big profit. This film is decent at best and will probably eventually be somewhat forgotten but for now I'd say at the very least it's worth a rental or maybe catch while on television.
Rating: Rental
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