Gather all ye Norse fans and worshipers of Asgard. Here’s your first official glimpse of Chris Hemsworth as the titular hero from Columbia Pictures ”Thor” courtesy of Yahoo! Movies. You’ll have to click the link for the more complete shadowy profile shot, which reveals nothing but costume details and a golden mane that’s filling in nicely. Read the rest of this entry »
The first big-buzz horror film of the year in “A Nightmare on Elm Street” closes out an extremely disappointing spring movie season. At least in terms of box office. The spring’s biggest hits were “Alice in Wonderland” and “Clash of the Titans,” both of which received a fair amount of derision and both of which were sadly in 3-D.
I enjoyed “Kick-Ass,” but its failure to become a mainstream success tempers my excitement. I also had high expectations for “Green Zone” which despite being a solid film flopped pretty hard on the big stage. “Alice” was also right up there on my list, but I never even managed to see it. Now I’m in for an even bigger disappointment on DVD in a month (“Alice” has a very early DVD release — after all, it wouldn’t want to be late now would it?)
My optimism remains, however, for a good close. I was quite impressed by the trailers for “Nightmare” and I think it will pull some serious cash this weekend as the horror offerings have been slim of late. Having the reputation of Freddy Kreuger helps.
Queens are not just characters is period romances. Or fantasy stories. “The Queen” is a fascinating look at a monarch of not only historical fact, but also of a modern world. Played with grace and poise by the great Helen Mirren, Queen Elizabeth II becomes a specimen for our the moviegoer’s microscope rather than remaining that elusive royal figure locked up in Buckingham Palace. Read the rest of this entry »
At some point, every movie-watcher grows really tired of the horror film or thriller where a mysterious or overpowering killer knocks off one main character at a time and then only two survive long enough to make it to the final showdown and usually one of them is a minority. See, at least a dozen movies just popped into your head.
Yet the formula has withstood the test of time, and what began with “Jaws” in the ’70s and evolved into the slasher movie has become a staple of cinema. The terrifying Freddy Kreuger, who stars in Friday’s remake of the tremendously successful Wes Craven slasher “A Nightmare on Elm Street,” is an example of a successful execution of the formula. It’s sequels? Maybe not so much. But rather than dwell on all the terrible head-shaking examples of slasher films, why not try something a bit different?
That’s why I’ve created this list of ten movies that actually would’ve been way better had they been conceived as slasher films. I’d love to hear some of your ideas, but here are some solid ones I came up with. You can tell that I took this half seriously and half jokingly, which I think is fair. Read the rest of this entry »
Any good film, book, essay or song has a grabber that catches your attention and hooks you through the rest of that work. “Speed” is a two-hour grabber. It is the consummate thrill-a- minute movie, the kind where all sins of bad acting and preposterous events are forgiven because the action and suspense are like a wild concoction of sugar and crack. This action movie will bring out the adrenaline junkie in just about anybody. Read the rest of this entry »
Warner Bros. and IMAX Corp. just inked a 20-picture deal to put WB films on IMAX screens through 2013. A joint press release listed The Hobbit as having a 2013 release date, so that confirms the near-certain rumors that “Hobbit” would not meet its projected December 2011 release. Looks like you’ll have to deal with more Hobbit rumors for a couple of years, but take solace, fellow movie geek, “Batman 3″ was on this list. Here’s the exact language of the press release: Read the rest of this entry »
I expected an onslaught of summer movie trailers in these weeks, but instead we just got new ones from movies we’ve already trailers of before. I previously linked to the first teaser for “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” but the folks at Summit really stepped it up a notch with this new trailer. They’ve actually convinced me this is an action movie when I know if I were to see it (I’ve only watched DVDs at this point) I would be just as disappointed. The action is also jacked up in the new “The Last Airbender” trailer, the movie based on the Nickelodeon cartoon “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” Just think of all the money they’d make from stupid people if they didn’t drop the “Avatar” part. Both movies will compete with each other Fourth of July weekend though “Eclipse” hits Wednesday the 30th and “Airbender” Friday the 2nd.
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Lance Clayton’s (Wiiliams) son Kyle (Sabara) is a perverted and disrespectful jackass. He’s obsessed with pornography, despises music and movies entirely, is flunking his classes and most of all, he hates his dad. Lance is a failed writer trying to keep his job as a high school poetry teacher and his co-worker girlfriend. But all that is about to change after a bizarre accident. Read the rest of this entry »
Well, “The Losers” were big losers and “The Back-up Plan” was just that this weekend as “How to Train Your Dragon” won the box office despite last being out five weeks ago and not having been No. 1 since its opening. I have nothing to compare this to except maybe Grover Cleveland being elected to two non-consecutive terms as president of the United States. Somehow, sadly enough, that feels like an adequate association. Read the rest of this entry »
Somewhere in the four-plus hours of film that New Zealand director Andrew Dominik shot for “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” has to be a cut fully capable of winning an Oscar for Best Picture. This version, however, is not it, but it’s beautifully filmed and supported by incredible acting. Length (157 minutes) and a few scenes that wander off just enough to deflate the plot’s naturally thriving tension are the only hurdles too high for this underrated ensemble to jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Earth Day weekend brings us a curious selection of new films, which at the least sets the box office up for another piss-poor weekend. That planned re-release of “Avatar” with extra footage would win the box office this weekend if it came out.
The date movie option of the week is CBS Films’ “The Back-up Plan,” a shorter version of the original title, “Jennifer Lopez’ Back-up Plan.” For action junkies who want something a little more explosives-driven than ”Kick-Ass,” there’s another comic adaptation, this one of DC Vertigo’s “The Losers.” Then for the Animal Planet and Discovery Channel junkies in all of us, there’s Disney Nature’s “Oceans.” Read the rest of this entry »
If you look at the Best Leading and Supporting Actress categories at last month’s Oscars, it was a good year for emerging female talent. Carey Mulligan got off to what’s sure to be a prestigious career and “Up in the Air” co-stars Anna Kendrick and Vera Farmiga got deserved attention too. None, however, broke into the mainstream quite like Zoe Saldana. With a comedy already out this month (“Death at a Funeral”) and an action flick due Friday (“The Losers”), she’s quickly becoming as versatile as she is sexy and it’s about time the credit follows Read the rest of this entry »
Every comic-book fan has a fantasy lodged in the back of his or her head about what it would be like to be a superhero. “Kick-Ass” is the story of said average person and plays out that fantasy scenario under the most realistic conditions possible. How would being a superhero actually work in modern day? Perhaps “Kick-Ass” creator Mark Millar went overboard on the geek daydream by fusing as closely as possible both the world of classic comic fantasy and contemporary realism, but fans who hold the genre dear will convert easily to his wavelength and consequently will enjoy “Kick-Ass” far more than anyone else. Read the rest of this entry »
Two films with vastly different target audiences get featured this week — a fairly slow week for new trailers. The first is supernatural teen romance “Beastly,” a modern re-telling of the classic Beauty and the Beast story. The second is Adam Sandler comedy “Grown Ups” starring a handful of his comedian friends. Read the rest of this entry »
Terrific, campy movie musicals don’t come around very often. How many films have been able to emulate the success of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show?” How many have even tried? “Reefer Madness” is about the closest any film has come to capturing the bizarre spirit of that cult classic. A film version of the Off-Broadway production, “Reefer” is the outrageous musical version of the old public education film warning parents of the “effects” of marijuana on impressionable teenagers. Only such a ridiculous blunder in our country’s drug-ed history could warrant a ridiculous musical and Showtime fits it with the trappings of a cult favorite. Read the rest of this entry »
