I made my Spreecast.com debut yesterday as a guest on Seth Everett’s channel where we discussed just how bad Superman Returns was and the state of DC Comics.
http://www.spreecast.com/events/superman-returns-did-it-suck/embed-large-900
Tag Archive: movies
THE BUZZ: Star Wars: Uncut: The Director’s Cut, a fan film re-doing the entirety of Star Wars: A New Hope in 15 second segments assigned to different fans from across the galaxy, went live this weekend.
EGM’S TAKE: Started in 2009, the site StarWarsUncut.com has been collecting these 15-second snippets for nearly three full years now and have finally edited them together into a two hour and three minute full-length feature film that follows A New Hope word for word, step for step down to the tiniest detail.
Clearly some of the scenes come together much more nicely than others, but this was a project of love on all fronts. Whether painting their beat-up Sedan like an X-Wing, using crayons to draw pictures and using stop-motion animation, or using Poser software, each person brought their own flare to their respective scenes to get their official 15-seconds of fame. Aside from watching it on the actual site, the full piece is also on YouTube and has garnered over one million hits in five days and we’ve embedded it below for your convenience.
Brothers to the End
After attending the US Theatrical Premiere of Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos, I walked out of the theater more pleased after watching a movie than I had felt in a long time.
When a mysterious prisoner breaks out of prison in Central City using alchemy, it’s up to the Elric brothers to track him down! But this prisoner holds many more secrets than just his electric and ice based alchemy abilities. As the Elric brothers chase him down to Table City in the southwestern country of Creta, Alphonse rescues a young girl being hunted by the escaped prisoner and in the process accidentally pulls Ed and himself into a grassroots rebellion where a small valley of downtrodden people are trying to rise up against the two countries surrounding them and holding them back from retaking what they believe to be their holy land and birthright! But just how far will they go for freedom when a Philosopher’s Stone enters into the mix?
From the moment the movie starts to its final climactic battle, you can’t help but be sucked back into the wonderful and intriguing world of Fullmetal Alchemist as you root once again for the Elric brothers in this brand new original adventure. Keeping true for the most part to the tone of the original series in terms of humor striking a fine balance with the action and drama of the series’ more serious moments, this movie is a microcosm of the greatness of this franchise.
Now, clearly the movie is more geared towards the hardcore fans of the franchise, but what I think made it even greater is that even as a casual fan I was able to enjoy the development of the new characters the movie introduced while still giving me a beginning, middle, and end that left me entirely satisfied when all was said and done. And because you can go into the theater with a very loose knowledge of the Elric brothers and the world they live in and still come out smiling I think is a major testament to the quality of film this is.
The only thing that might make some people a bit uneasy is the killing in the film. Not to say there wasn’t drama like that in the cartoon series, but the wholesale slaughter and unnecessarily gruesome and graphic deaths of some characters may rub fans new and old alike the wrong way if not prepared for it as it happens a lot over the course of the one hour 50 minute running time of the movie.
Still, with amazing animation from BONES studio as always, the return of all the original voices from the cartoon series, and a plot worthy of a summer blockbuster, Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos is a must-see for casual and hardcore fans of the anime alike and hopefully you live near one of the 100 or so theaters that plans to carry it during its limited release.
SCORE: 8.5
With no movies of any note released last weekend, it is no surprise that Twilight: Breaking Dawn: Part 1 has had the top box office spot for three weeks in a row, even with diminishing returns. This week though your standard holiday romantic comedy looks to try to capitalize on a slow time of year before the big slew of Christmas releases and see if it can’t drive a stake through the heart of teenie boppers everywhere and prevent Twilight from being number one for a solid month.
1) New Year’s Eve – Similar to Love, Actually from a few years ago, New Year’s Eve tells several stories of how a bunch of different couples in and around New York City find their romantic lives intertwined just before the clock strikes midnight.
Not an original or even very compelling plot, this could appeal to some of the ladies out there and then have them drag their boyfriends/husbands along for the ride. Even though it clocks in a little long for a comedy at 1 hour 58 minutes, a star-studded cast with over a dozen Hollywood heavyweights including Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert De Niro, and Halle Berry combined with the romantic comedy expertise of director Garry Marshall means there is a lot of potential for some solid moments in this date night movie. Considering the sharp decline in revenue each week for Twilight, and being that New Year’s Eve is the only big budget national film coming out this week, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was able to sneak into the top spot, and if it doesn’t all involved should be sorely disappointed considering how much non-stop press we’ve been seeing for it.
Being that it is Thanksgiving weekend, ADMIT ONE is coming out a little early this week in anticipation for this week’s movies. Last week, no surprise came with Breaking Dawn running away with the box office with a staggering $138 million opening weekened. I doubt it’ll have much competition in the near future, but as we start to see a bevy of family films centered around the holidays coming out, I doubt it will have as long a run at number one as it could have had it came out during a quieter time of year.
1) Arthur Christmas – When one child is forgotten on Christmas Eve, it is up to Santa’s youngest son to remind everyone what the spirit is all about and use his dad’s high-tech operation to save the day.
This movie actually has a lot of potential as a holiday animated classic as it looks to bring some classic holiday cheer with a little 21st century know how. The animation looks spectacular and when you cap that off with an all-star cast of British actors like Bill Nighy, James MacAvoy, and Hugh Laurie, this movie has a chance to be enjoyed by kids of all ages. Unfortunately, it has some very stiff competition this weekend and I don’t see it doing better than barely cracking the Top 5, but being the holiday season, it might have a bit more longevity than some other movies coming out and could stay there right up until the New Year.
2) Hugo – Set in 1930s Paris, an orphan must figure out clues left behind by his late father involving the train station in resides in an automaton.
This movie came about for the simple reason that Martin Scorsese was asked by his wife to make a movie his daughter could finally go see in theatres. Combine this with his urge to do a tribute of sorts to Georges Meiles, the French cinematographer of the early 20th century who is considered the patron saint basically of movie special effects, and you look to have what could be the visual spectacular of the holiday season. The meaning behind the film will be lost by most patrons though and all in all seems like a solid kids movie, but I wonder if Scorsese’s tendency for nuance and sub plot will creep up into this film and lose much of its intended audience. Either way, the effects look spectacular and when you have Sir Ben Kingsley spearheading your cast, how wrong can you really go?
3) The Muppets – When the infamous Muppet Show theatre is scheduled to be demolished, the old gang rallies together to put on the wackiest telethon ever devised in hopes of purchasing the theatre and saving it from the bulldozer’s path.
I think this will take the number two spot hands down as this is a movie both adults and children will want to see. Our own Paul Semel gave it a glowing review and it only solidifies my viewpoint that this movie is the first in a long time that the entire family can enjoy. Some jokes may go over the kids’ heads, but that has always been the Muppets way, non-threatening infantile humor for the children with some more intelligent humor for the adults that doesn’t offend anyone. I personally cannot wait to see this and highly recommended this as your Thanksgiving weekend pick of all the new movies coming out. Thank you Jason Segel for bringing the Muppets back.
Puss in Boots continues to look strong after posting another $33 million last weekend after its $34 million opening weekend to claim the number one spot once again. Tower Heist and A Very Harold and Kumor 3D Christmas debuted strongly though last week with Tower Heist raking in $24 million for the number two spot and Harold and Kumar coming in third at just under $13 million. Don’t expect this top three to remain the same though as some strong contenders are coming out this weekend.
1) J. Edgar – A historical epic about one of the most powerful men of the 20th century. J. Edgar Hoover was the first head of the FBI and served there for almost 50 years, but kept possibly his own secrets better than anything the U.S. government ever wanted hidden.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the titular J. Edgar Hoover as we see this movie cover much of the man’s adult life from when the FBI is first formed to his final hours. DiCaprio has shown often enough before that he is definitely the man for the job if you want someone playing a historically polarizing or iconic character. His acting chops combined with Clint Eastwood’s own stellar track record for directing movies of this gritty ilk make for a powerhouse combination that should easily earn your bucks this weekend if you’re looking for some drama. Of course, this also had a limited opening two days ago, so you might have already been lucky enough to see this if you live in or near a large city, but for the rest of us, the time to see this is now!
2) Immortals – Revolving around the story of Theseus, one of Greek Mythology’s greatest heroes and the fictional found of Athens, Immortals tells the tale of how he was chosen by Zeus to quell the threat of the evil King Hyperion, better known as the Titan of Light, who is determined to find a mythical doomsday weapon in order to wipe out humanity and free his enslaved Titan brethren.
Greek mythology is always hit or miss when translated to the movies, but Immortals looks to have learned from the mistakes of the Sam Worthington Clash of the Titans remake and is focusing in on the bare bones of this classic story with the conflict between man, the gods, and the Titans, and letting Henry Cavill, who plays Theseus, and Mickey Rourke, who plays Hyperion, to just do their thing on camera. Expect a lot of great special effects and 300-like action as this fantasy action/drama could surprise a lot of people if the geek audience comes out and supports it.
3) Jack and Jill – Jack Sadelstein prepares for the one event a year he dreads more than anything: seeing his overbearing twin sister, Jill, for the holidays. When she refuses to leave though, things go from bad to worse as Jack tries to devise ways to make her want to leave.
I want this movie to be good. I remember how much I used to look forward to Adam Sandler movies coming out in the theater. Unfortunately, this looks like much of what we’ve seen from the SNL alum in recent years. An already tried and tested formula comedy that has been beaten to death so that when Sandler sinks his teeth into it, we’re tired of it even before he’s done promoting the damn thing. And having him dress up in drag only makes it worse. Although many of Sandler’s Happy Madison Productions regulars are sure to be in the film, you also have cameos from some of Hollywood’s elite and seeing guys like Al Pacino in very unusual roles for them could offer some shock value humor, but otherwise I don’t see this movie being anything special for Sandler and company.
Well, I expected Puss in Boots to do well enough to be Top 5 as children’s movies always do well no matter what. But $34 million opening weekend and number one spot good? I admit to being a little taken aback by both that and the poor showing from Johnny Depp’s The Rum Diary, which only grossed $5 million. It might be able to bounce back a bit though this week as only a pair of new movies are coming out as we move into a slower movie season and neither one of these new releases really has blockbuster written on it.
1) Tower Heist – When a big business tycoon’s Ponzi scheme robs the workers of a building he owns and lives in of their pensions, they decide to exact a little revenge and rob his next egg of $20 million.
As much as I’d like this movie to do well, I just don’t see it happening. A star-studded cast headlined by Eddie Murphy, Ben Stiller, Alan Alda, and Matthew Broderick and directed by action/comedy veteran Brett Ratner in an Ocean’s Eleven type of heist movie, but with a lot more laughs and a lot less underhandedness just seems like it could be too much for an audience to get behind. Could this ensemble come together and pull off something enjoyable? Maybe, but it won’t be from their lack of talent as much as a lack of solid writing that comes from people trying to balance out all the screen time for that much star power and it could keep this movie from making a significant impact at the box office.
2) A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas – Everyone’s favorite bumbling stoners are back in action. Six years after the escape from Guantanamo Bay, the two end up stumbling into each other around the holidays and accidentally burn down Harold’s father-in-law’s prize Christmas tree as they try to light up for old-time’s sake.
As much as I hate to admit it, these movies are almost like a train wreck in that you can’t help but watch and with having the stoner comedy market cornered for a good while now, it’s no surprise these keep getting made as Kal Penn and John Cho have basically become the Cheech and Chong of a new generation. Throw in that these movies are the cause of Neil Patrick Harris’s resurgence in Hollywood and that they are worth watching just to see what debauchery he’ll get in as he plays “himself” and, although I believe neither of these movies featured this week will strike it rich this weekend, it wouldn’t surprise me if A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas outperformed Tower Heist at the box office.
Nobody does it better…
THE BUZZ: After much time spent in limbo, the 23rd installment of the James Bond movie franchise has been given an official title and American release date. Fitting that it would come the same week as the release of Goldeneye: Reloaded for Xbox 360 and PS3, the new Bond movie is titled ‘Skyfall’ and will once again star Daniel Craig.
At the London press conference this morning, director Sam Mendes and producer Michael G. Wilson were both on hand to answer questions, but only revealed what they wished to at this time. One tidbit they let loose with though was they were aiming for a November 7th, 2012, release here in the States (although it may actually be November 9th since that’s a Friday), and likely two weeks earlier in England (it is where Bond is from after all). Wilson also scoffed at rumors that were circulating that they were cutting the budget, saying they would be “in the same budget range as the last film”, which was $230 million.
In terms of plot, the only bit of information that was revealed was that a ghost from M’s past will come back to haunt her, attack MI6 directly, and that Bond must quell this threat to national security and that he would likely travel to at least Istanbul and China to do that. Producer Barbara Broccoli, who basically inherited the franchise from her world renowned father and producer of many of the original Bond films, Albert Broccoli, also mentioned that ‘Skyfall’ would be a stand alone movie and not tie-in as much to the first two Daniel Craig films. She also mentioned she wasn’t thrilled with the title and that she would like to see Craig do a fourth Bond film after ‘Skyfall’ if he was up to it.
The biggest surprise to come from the event though may be the reveal of relatively unknown French actress Berenice Marlohe as the newest Bond girl. Along with this Javier Bardem was confirmed as the main villain, but what his name or connection to Bond, M, and MI6 is, is still unknown at this time. Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney, and Naomie Harris were also confirmed to have roles in the film.
EGM’S TAKE: I cannot wait to see this new Bond movie and what it is all about. It will also be interesting to see if there is a corresponding game to go along with it. As for Barbara Broccoli wanting Craig to do a fourth Bond film, I think we should worry about getting his third in the can first. And as for the new Bond girl, well, she at least has the figure for it, that’s for sure.
What do you folks think? Are you excited for a new James Bond movie? Are you fans of the James Bond films and which is your favorite? Who is your favorite actor to have played Bond? Where does Daniel Craig stand on the Bond actor list? Who is your favorite Bond girl?
No surprise to see Paranormal Activity 3 pull away with the box office win and it might repeat as there are no horror movies looking to compete with it this Halloween weekend. There are four movies that have their own merits though and the audience that saw Paranormal Activity 3, if they’re regular movies goers, will have plenty of new choices on their hands worthy of their bucks depending on their demo. So let’s take a look at the competition!
1) The Rum Diary – An American journalist looking for a change of pace and chance to hone his craft takes a freelance gig in Puerto Rico and ends up with more than he bargained for as he tries to balance his own overindulgence with island culture and the expatriates who live there.
Based on Hunter S. Thompson’s book of the same name, which in turn was based loosely on his own experiences in Puerto Rico, The Rum Diary looks to be a fun-filled romp that fans of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas will likely eat up as it has Thompson’s experiences as the father of Gonzo journalism written all over it. Fittingly, Johnny Depp plays Paul Kemp who was basically Thompson, who Depp has already played in Fear and Loathing, and so is not much of a stretch for him in terms of getting into character. If anything, consider this a prequel to Fear and Loathing and that fans of that original mind trip will probably enjoy this one just as much.
2) Anonymous – A political and historical thriller revolving around the theory that the 17th Earl of Oxford, Edward De Vere, actually penned Shakespeare’s plays, but could not put his name to them due to political turmoil of the time and so set Shakespeare up as a celebrity.
Anyone who enjoys history and literature will probably enjoy what looks to be a smart and compelling case for Shakespeare to be nothing more than a figurehead for these plays. Whether or not this is true, we will never know, but the dramatic speculation set up by the movie will definitely make for good conversation if you can follow along with what looks to be a bit of a cerebral 130 minutes. Rhys Ifans, best known as a comedic actor, continues to spread his acting wings with another dramatic role, this time as the lead as the Earl of Oxford.
3) Puss in Boots – A spin-off of the Shrek movies that serves as a prequel/origin story for the Puss in Boots character before he meets up with his ogre and donkey companion later in life.
If movies like Lion King 3D and A Dolphin Tale prove anything in recent weeks, its that kids movies do well no matter the season and this looks to be a kids movie that could also appeal to adults if it features any of the classic humor of the Shrek movies. Although I doubt it will hold a candle to the Shrek movies, it should still be a worthy choice for the family and with a star-studded voice cast featuring Antonio Banderas reprising the role of Puss in Boots, Billy Bob Thorton and Amy Sedaris as Jack and Jill, Selma Hayek as Kitty Softpaws, and Zach Galifianakis as Humpty Dumpty, could be a solid choice for your family activity this weekend.
4) In Time – In the future, people don’t age past 25 years old, but are engineered to die anyway at 26. Some though can afford more time, literally, and can buy them and their family a way to immortality. Enter Will Salas who suddenly wakes up with a lot more time on his hands than he should and must escape “the timekeepers” who are looking to set things right.
As much as I hate to say it, this looks like a very interesting sci-fi action thriller. Justin Timberlake continues to flaunt his acting chops as the lead Will Salas. More impressively though he is pitted against Cillian Murphy, who I believe is slowly becoming this generation’s Christopher Walken, as he looks to brilliantly pull off another villainous role, this time as the head of the timekeepers after Salas. Throw in Amanda Seyfried as the love interest in very tight and skimpy clothing for the necessary eye candy and In Time has me very intrigued indeed.
We have a new heavyweight champ at the top of the box office and it is little surprise with the incessant PR campaign the movie had to see Real Steel as the big grosser last weekend with over $27 million. The Ides of March had a strong debut with over $10 million to take the distant number two spot as well, which was just enough to edge out the previous week’s top two, Dolphin Tale and Moneyball, which did fairly well with over $9 and $7 million respectively to come in at three and four. And I think none of these movies have much to worry about in terms of competition with the trifecta of new movies being released this week.
1) The Big Year (Fox)
Three avid bird watchers compete to see some of the rarest birds in North America and their rivalry hopes to lead to hysterical hijinx.
I look at this movie and it screams comedic potential, but I’m just not sure if all the elements will gel into something worth watching. Comedy legend Steve Martin teams up with Owen Wilson and Jack Black as men who are all rivals with each other in one of the most ridiculous of past-times imaginable in bird watching. Off the beaten path scenario with some great comedic actors sounds like a recipe for success, but everything I’ve seen of it so far says it comes off as too smart for a good chuck of your audience, much like a movie like Sideways. I would love to see this do well and will probably see it because I’m a fan of everyone in it, but I do so with baited breath.
2) Footloose (Paramount)
A city kid moves to the country where rock ‘n’ roll have been banned and his rebellious nature gets the better of the community.
Why? The slew of remakes we’ve seen in recent years is bad enough as is without making a poor remake of what was already a poor movie to begin with. Anything that revolves around dancing of any kind means I’m out. I’m sure this will appeal to the teener-bopper audience and 12-year-old girls everywhere will claim it to be their favorite movie for the next three weeks, but otherwise avoid this like the plague. Also, I think Drunk Hulk from Twitter (@DrunkHulk) had a rather apropos statement in regards to this movie: “SORRY FOOTLOOSE REMAKE! DRUNK HULK NO SUPPORT ANYTHING THAT TAKE AWAY BACON!” Well said sir. Well said indeed.
3) The Thing (Universal)
The discovery of an alien spacecraft at an Antarctic research installation leads to the de-thawing and subsequent confrontation of a monstrous creature not of this world.
Another remake. At least this one is a horror movie and Halloween is upon us, but still. Some things are better just left alone and I understand the temptation to re-do movies like this with modern technology, but from trailers I’ve seen, the special effects used here still seem to be from 20 years ago and are going more for a gross-out factor than anything that could inspire true terror. Good horror movies are hard to find nowadays because most behind the scenes movie people see them as easy profits, especially this time of year, because they’re cheap to make. But when the horror genre is dipping into the remake fountain as well, you know Hollywood is clearly out of ideas.
RayCarsilloWrites.com 