Trailers of the Week – Take Shelter and The Descendants

June 11, 2011 Leave a comment

Two more trailers to grace your senses, one staring George Clooney (sooo dreamy, I mean awesome, AWESOME) and another trailer from a film that is getting nothing but huge critical buzz from most of the film sites I frequent.  Get excited and get both the movies on the your radar.

Take Shelter:

Plagued by a series of apocalyptic visions, a young husband and father questions whether to shelter his family from a coming storm, or from himself.

So far, Cinematical and Ain’t It Cool News are both giving this movie high marks and while it is only Jeff Nichol’s second movie, this looks spectacular.  Now some people might know about my affinity for apocalyptic movies and for those that don’t, this is right up my ally.  The trailer got me hooked into this story about a man preparing a for a disaster that might not even be there. I do enjoy Michael Shannon a lot for his numerous roles in Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead, The Runaways, Tigerland and 13.  So this movie already has my money.

The Descendants:

Alexander Payne finally comes back with another full length feature.  While I did enjoy his segment in Paris, Je T’Aime and his work on the series Hung, I kind of miss his movies since Sideways was his last feature.  The story is about George Clooney’s character having to reconnect with his daughters after their mother died.  While the teens do their typical, condescending tone to their dad about his parenting, the matter is complicated further by the bombshell that their mother was having an affair.

I enjoy watching Clooney films.  You have to admire that he will do a big budget picture and then take that money to produce and director other small indie flicks.  He did the Ocean’s films and then goes off to do Syriana, Michael Clayton and The Good German.  Teamed with Alexander Payne, this looks to be strong emotional drama.

Filed under Trailers Tagged with , , ,

Trailers of the Week – Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Page One: Inside the New York Times

June 4, 2011 Leave a comment

Well the biggest trailer release this week is one I am truly excited for.  Yet another David Fincher movie that looks freaking amazing even if it is a remake.  Today we will look at the new trailer for the America remake of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, the latest from David Fincher and a new documentary from the people that brough us Waiting For Superman, Food, Inc. and Inconvenient Truth.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo:

Although I wanted to post the red-band trailer that leaked several days ago, the distributors has removed the trailer from most sites.  So now that we have an official release, in typical Fincher style, I am pumped to see the movie.  While I have read the entire Millennium Trilogy and the film series as well, there is still this tinge of excitement about getting to watch Fincher bring together a stellar cast of actors, Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara to, what some are saying, is the most anticipated movie of the year.  The with a series of quick cuts and well paced music in the trailer, you get this kinetic rush of frantic pacing and thrill ride all in one.  I had some reservation about seeing another retread of the Swedish films, but considering Fincher took a movie about a website and created gold, I am willing to throw money at him to see what he can do with the Dragon Tattoo.

Page One: Inside The New York Times

This documentary has been picking up steam at film festivals with its condensed look at one year of working at the New York Times.  Reading up about the Andrew Rossi’s work on the behind the scenes life of the people that bring us the largest newspaper in America, is very genuine and surreal.  I guess considering that we are in a time where we get access information at a drop of hat or even from the palm of our hands, this documentary looks at how a journalistic institution has to learn to adapt the changing world of information.  World news and events were delivered to us relatively a a day behind when it happens, now that youtube and wikileaks can just upload information and have it go viral, there comes into question the value of the newspaper.

I think since the movie focuses on the digital media team of the New York Times, this will look to split the discussion of digital news verse traditional reporting.  This could be a very interesting documentary as it pertains to the changing world in a digital age.  Information flows freely and can be accessed by anyone, any where, without ever having to open a newspaper.  It looks more like a character study since people’s livelihoods are at stakes when it comes to cutting employees and competing with other information outlets.

Filed under Trailers Tagged with , , , ,

Trailers of the Week – 50/50 and Showrunners

May 27, 2011 Leave a comment

First, want to say thanks to the /Film for posting these trailers several days ago.  Their film blog is one my favorites and they also produce a stunning podcast that is a main staple of my listening time.  So two new trailers for people to get excited about this week.  Another Joseph Gordon-Levitt film (love his work) and a new documentary that I am really excited for since it also covers another great time waster of mine.

50/50

A cancer comedy?  I am already hooked since the movie star Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the subject matter is a dark comedy, two things that I truly enjoy.  It is interesting seeing a movie deal with the subject matter of cancer in a crude and funny way.  The synopsis of the movie about a young man who discovers he has an aggressive form of cancer and must come to gripes with the reality that he is a 50/50 shot at living through this.  The trailer is funny and thoughtful about the subject matter.  I am interested in seeing how this all plays out in the end, but early buzz has this movie as a hit.

Showrunners

I do love documentaries and this is one that gives us a little insight to the world running a network television show.  We all watch tv, unless you are one of those people that are smug about not owning a tv and must tell everyone about it.  We get it, you refuse to be mainstream and watch television, cool story bro.  Anyways I am fascinated with idea of getting to see what all goes into making a show.  It is rare when you can see the beginnings of making a show happen, from writing to production and to the final product that is put on television.  So far there have been some strong indications of solid performance at several film festivals and I eagerly await it’s nation wide release.

Filed under Trailers Tagged with , , , , , ,

Trailers of the Week – Immortals and Colombiana

May 21, 2011 Leave a comment

Wahooo another look at some trailers for a few movies that I am excited to see.  This week another sword and sandals send off with Immortals and what I though was another Tony Scott movie, but it’s not, Colombiana.

Immortals

You know, I liked 300.  I enjoyed the graphic novel stylization and monochromatic color choices.  Immortals…looks exactly like 300.  I get that the producers and studio is wanting to have another hit on their hands, but I guess since this is a property that isn’t well known and they need to anchor it on to something people might recognize, I can forgive.  To be honest, the Immortals looks stunning.  I wouldn’t expect less in the visuals department since Tarsem Singh is attached to this movie.  If you haven’t checked out “The Fall” or “The Cell” from director Singh, you are missing out on some delicious eye-candy.  While the movies weren’t strong in the story department, you will be amazed at what he can do art and style wise.

Immortals looks like it will be a good time, visually of course, as I am sure that the movie will be filled with a lot of yelling towards the sky and “hoorahs” all around.  Also what the fuck is up with that venus fly-trap looking helmet that Mickey Rourke has on?

Colombiana

Woah woah woah, you mean to tell me that this movie has Zoe Saldana slinking around in various catsuits, dispatching people ruthlessly, and is written by Luc Besson?  I might as well just make the check out now to Besson and call it a day.  Although this is not directed by Besson, but rather by Olivier Megaton (really, Megaton) I am in just to see Zoe Saldana kicking ass and looking drop dead gorgeous in the process.  How dare you all appeal to the red-blooded American in me.  DAMN YOU!!!

Filed under Trailers Tagged with , , , , ,

Your Generic Summer Movie List Part 1

May 17, 2011 Leave a comment

What would a film blog be without its annual summer movie post.  I certainly would be remiss if I didn’t do my duty as a film lover and post about the upcoming summer movies.  Well Hollywood has taken a page out of the Christmas playbook and summer movies are now starting in May, as opposed to you know, June.  So while I am late to the party, I really didn’t miss much.  I mean Thor was really the only big tent pole release, which I will get to reviewing here shortly…maybe. So let us take a look at what remains in store for movie goers in the month of May.

Hesher

This is currently in limited release but I am absolutely looking forward to seeing this when it comes close by.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of my favorite up and coming actors and this movie looks amazing.  Hesher might seem like a rough movie, but the story is a beautifully crafted one about letting go and moving on with life.  More info about the movie can be found here.

The Tree of Life

I have already gushed enough about this movie in my previous Trailers of the Week posting.  Early reviews for the Terrence Malick movie is positive, with some mixed feelings about Brad Pitt’s tough loving father.  I personally can’t wait to see this introspective movie about the human experience.  Malicks perspective on life and our existence will be interesting, since he is a known reclusive director.  More info about the movie can be found here.

For the month of June, there are three movies that I am eagerly awaiting.  Two of them are big budget releases, both with a science fiction lean.  The other is a smaller indie film that will make its way stateside with a limited release.

X-Men: First Class

I am a comic book fan through and through.  X-Men is one of the my favorites and the movie series had some high notes and some low notes (Fuck you Brett Ratner).  So I was very cautious about the prequel to all the X-Men movies.  First Class could honestly have turned out to be a movie about mutants being awkward and asking other mutants to a prom, as the title leads me to believe.  Mathew Vaungh is now the savior of this movie as the trailers have really gotten me pumped for this movie.  Set in an alternate timeline where the Cuban missle crisis is going to happen, instead of the standoff in our time, and we see the early beginning of the academy being put together.  Fantastic ensemble cast and an interesting storyline, I will be catching this movie as soon as it hits theater.

Super 8

Two directing titans (Spielberg and J.J. Abrams) coming together to give us an exciting monster/sci-fi movie.  I couldn’t have been more excited about the initial teaser trailer and the subsequent viral marketing that followed.  Abrams does an amazing job bringing you into the feel of the trailer.  The child like, whimsical orchestra music reminds you of ET and other alien encounter movies.  I am a sucker for nostalgia, feeling movie and Super 8 looks to be an amazing ride.

Submarine

Yeah.  I know.  This movie screams indie and quirky traits, but to be honest, this is right up my alley.  Bolstered with a lot of film festival praise and early reviews from our friends across the pond, put this as a must see on any film fans list.  The movie is about a young boy on a mission to lose his virginity and also to stop his mother from running off with a dance teacher. The movie just oozes indie darling status and this is writer/director Richard Ayoade first feature film.  A lot of stunning reviews so far and while it is in limited release, I hope that the movie gets a nation wide release.  Or I can bank on my local art house theater to get it.

So this concludes part one of my summer movie list.  July is where we get the heavy hitters in films.  A series ending movie and a new comic book movie to take my hard earned cash.

Filed under Articles Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Trailers of the Week – The Tree of Life and 13 Assassins

April 29, 2011 Leave a comment

Another week down, another batch of trailers to talk about.  I know that the new Thor, Harry Potter and Transformer trailers were released this week.  I am sure that everyone has seen them already.  So I decided to pick up on a few trailers that are making the rounds as well from some incredibly talented directors.

The Tree of Life:

A very highly anticipated movie from a director that is rather reclusive in nature.  Terrence Malick has a career that has spanned over 4 decades, but has only directed 5 movies.  A lot of people wait in anticipation for his next film, some of which are The Thin Red Line and The New World.  His work is impressive and the trailer for The Tree of Life, is no different.  Beautiful imagery and stunning cinematography, Terrence tells the story of life and pursuit to understanding the world that we live in.  The movie looks at the life of one individual and the growth and understanding of the world and life that he will live.  We see the amazement and intriguing world through the eyes of the individual as a child.  The world is such a fascinating place to live and as we were once children, we can relate to that sentiment.  The movie progresses and the child soon sees the harsh reality of life; sickness, suffering and death.  The movie then takes us to the individual as an adult, one that essentially lost all the bewilderment that life brought and becomes another soul in the grand scheme of life.

I am eagerly awaiting this movie to come to theater.  I love everything that Terrence Malik has made and this looks like an incredibly moving story with gorgeous visuals.

13 Assassins:

If you read my review over Shogun Assassin, then you already know how I feel about this movie.  Let me tell you if you are not familiar with my love for samurai movies.  ahem….THIS IS GOING TO BE ONE THE BEST MOVIES OF THE YEAR.  This is a movie coming from the mind of Takashi Miike about a band of samurai assassins and their quest to kill a ruthless young Lord before he ascends to a higher standing in Feudal Japan.  The 13 Assassins know they have one shot to kill the Lord or all will be lost.  So with the stakes set high, this movie is ready to fucking kick ass.  Everything that I have heard and read about this movie is insane.  Many critics are placing this as one of the best action movies of the decade and one of Miike’s best work.  What you see in the trailer is what you will get in the movie, as the final showdown between the Lord’s army and the Assassins is a giant 45 minute action sequence.

This movie is being release TODAY!  Sadly though, only in select theaters.  (Screw you New York and Los Angeles).  Fear not though since the movie is already available OnDemand and I know what I am doing this weekend.

Filed under Trailers Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Trailers of the Week – Another Earth and The Silent House

April 22, 2011 2 Comments

Since I am starting to get more and more comfortable with posting a Movie of the Day.  I started thinking about branching out more within the realms of film.  I already did my first official movie review on Hanna, but now I want to start discussing and bringing attention to movies that are not in theaters yet.  So I am starting a Trailers of the Week posting to showcase a few movie trailers that have caught my eye either online or attached to the beginning of movies.

This is the first posting and hopefully I will do one every Friday from here on out.  Let’s get started!!!

Another Earth:

This movie has been gaining a lot of early buzz at film festivals.  A new, refreshing sci-fi movie to come out that isn’t about alien invasions or even intergalactic space travel.  Another Earth tells the story of, well, another earth that exists close to our earth.  Now I don’t want to get into the science of this movie and deep thoughts about parallel planets, but the trailer is absolutely effective in what it is trying to tell.  The movie seems more like human endeavor story than anything else.  In the opening of the trailer you see a scientist contacting the other earth and finding out that her parallel self is also on the other line.  The notion of wanting to know our other self on that second earth is fascinating.  The main character of the movie, questions her other life.  One in which her past decisions might have not played on the other earth.  The somber and evocative music grounds the movie to a more human interest movie.  We look at our lives and think maybe our life is different there.  Is our other life perhaps married to the woman who originally got away from us?  Am I living a different life, working a different job, or being the opposite of what I am?  I hope that this movie gets a wide release soon as I can’t stop watching the trailer again and again.  A very beautifully put together trailer and it has me on edge as to what is in store for our viewing pleasure.

The Silent House:

Now I posted before about my love hate relationship with horror movies.  I am not into the gore aspect of movies or the shock value that comes with them.  It is always refreshing to see interesting movies in the horror genre that don’t rely on gore or violence to be scary.  In comes The Silent House, a film from Argentina that was shot in 2010 is now starting to gain a lot of traction after some successful film festival showings.  The thing that makes this movie interesting is that it is a 79 minute horror movie, all shot in one continuous take.  I want you to think about that for a second, one long 79 minute take.  The sheer amount of precise acting, pacing, and directing needed to pull something like this off is staggering.  Also, the movie looks genuinely frightening.  I will be waiting for a potential distribution here and hope to enjoy this feat of film making.

Filed under Trailers Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Movie of the Day – Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

April 2, 2011 Leave a comment

Time to start this blog off with one of my favorite movies of all time.  This one easily sits in my top 10 list and for good reasons.  Harrison Ford, the pulp comic feel, alligators at the bottom of a gorge (classic move) and open heart surgery!

I have always liked the Indy series, minus the Crystal Skulls although there are some redeeming qualities.  To me, the sense of scale and adventure that one archeologist gets into while globetrotting from one sacred site to the other is exciting to a young kid.  Indy is just a normal man encountering abnormal circumstances.  He is grounded in reality with his fears (snakes) and daddy issues.  Spielberg and Lucas did an amazing job in crafting a character that isn’t this God of a superhero, but rather a skilled human being.  Basically using the template of past pulp comic heroes, Doc Savage and Allan Quatermain, you create a strong imposing figure, someone to admire, but then strip them of superhero like qualities (utility belts and lazer beams).

Read more of this post

Filed under Movies Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Newer posts →

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 828 other followers