Out in Theaters: FROZEN

November 27, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Animation, Chris Buck, Disney, Frozen, Idina Menzel, Jennifer Lee, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Kristen Bell

“Frozen”
Directed by Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee
Starring Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Santino Fontana, Alan Tudyk, Ciarán Hinds, Chris Williams, Stephen J. Anderson
Animation, Adventure, Comedy
108 Mins
PG

Although still lacking the gilded touch that made the likes of Aladdin, Lion King, and Beauty and the Beast such timeless classics, Frozen is a rock solid addition to the post-hand-drawn Disney musical stable and is the best animated feature of the year by a good margin.

Made up of a relatively unknown vocal talent, Frozen values story and song more than an all-star cast and kitschy pop culture jokes, making it an experience that’ll warm the most curmudgeonly of hearts and a film rich with beautifully-realized animation that keeps the wow factor buzzing for children and adults alike.

The new roster of tunes sound inspired by an alluring amalgamation of Inuit folk songs and bubbly fad-pop songs the likes of Katy Perry. And while some songs are a little too bright for the taste of a self-respecting mid-twenties male, each has a narrative purpose accompanying its infectious melodic tendencies that all blend perfectly into the fabric of the story.

Eight new songs from Kristen Anderson-Lopez (In Transit, Winnie the Pooh) and Tony Award winner Robert Lopez (“The Book of Mormon,” “Avenue Q”) are sure to inspire a whole new generation set to commit these catchy songs to memory. The best of which is the opening, near teary-eyed, “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” and the witty anthem courtesy of reanimated snowman Olaf (Josh Gad)- who is destined to be a favorite for all – in the openly hysterical “In Summer.”

Listening to these tunes, it’s clear why A-list celebrities have been sidelined for more undecided stars – they can all sing…and they can sing well. Unlike earlier Disney musical endeavors, no voice performer is swapped out for a sound-a-like. Keeping this narrative bridge consistent allows character to enliven their songs with the necessary emotional weight or comic vibrancy needed for the scene. But will they stand the test of time to join the ranks of “Tale as Old as Time,” “Circle of Life,” or “A Whole New World”? Probably not.

Loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen,” a non-Grimm fairy tale from 1845 that sees evil trolls, amnesiac kisses, and the Devil himself, Frozen pursues the sugarcoated stylings we’ve come to expect of Disney that champions heart over heinousness and works all the better for it.

In the royal town of Arendelle, we meet a newly crafted version of Andersen’s Snow Queen in Elsa (Idina Menzel), a withdrawn but hopeful young girl with magical powers of icy consequence. Quartered out of site after a childhood accident that nearly saw the death of her fearless younger sister, and this story’s other central heroine, Anna (Kristen Bell), Elsa’s loving but misguided parents instill in her a mantra the close cousin of Gandalf’s “Keep it secret, keep it safe.” But throbbing beneath Elsa’s poised veneer is an unflinching desire to break free of the taut regulations that years of secrecy have instilled in her.

Since we all know the most perilous job in the Disney kingdom is parenthood, it’s no surprise that the young princesses’ parents are lost in a storm at sea, leaving Elsa to take up the mantle of Queen when she reaches the ripe age of womanhood. Years later, on her coronation day, Elsa’s buried abilities are shaken loose by an overeager Anna whose heart is newly set on marrying prince Hans (Santino Fontana), whom she met just hours earlier. Unhinged by a sense of crumbling familial guardianship, Elsa unwittingly lets loose years of repressed icy powers to cover her island community in a blanket of eternal winter. Finally, the town’s people see her for what she really is – a sorceress lacking the most basic semblance of control.

Deemed a monster by the unscrupulous tradesmen passing through Arendelle on a business trip, fatally cute, and morbidly naive, Anna employs the help of ice salesman Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) and his reindeer BFF Sven to locate her escaped sister and return the city to prosperity before it’s too late. The normative fairy tale lessons of “Don’t judge a book by its cover” and “Be true to yourself” are pounded home but the dichotomy of two princesses each struggling with their own separate but equal identity crises is a new chapter in the Disney princess manual.

After absolutely dominating the 90s with some of the best animated features, Disney suffered a nosedive in quality that saw the likes of Treasure Planet, Bolt, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Meet the Robinsons flail and fall into obscurity, a side effect of their unwillingness to change with the ebb of culture. Halting their dominant reign (that unarguably stopped after 1998’s Mulan), newcomers Pixar started their own golden age which took the wind out of Disney’s sails. Bookending the period of Disney’s supremacy and the coming of Pixar’s rising star, Disney faded from the spotlight.

But with their recent string of successes, made up of 2010’s Tangled, last year’s Wreck it Ralph and now Frozen, it seems that Disney is finally back on top as the animation studio to beat. Although the hand-drawn days of animation have come to a close, the same immaculately rendered, noticeably loving detail is put into each and every breathtaking sequence in Frozen. This not only has resulted in an animated feature worthy of Disney’s legacy but it’s essentially is assured Frozen a win at this year’s Oscar ceremonies.

Adapting to a new generation of tech-savvy, open-minded youngsters, the House of Mouse also gives some much-needed wiggle room for Frozen to step away from Disney’s legacy of antiquated sexual identities, chartering a new and exciting course for post-feminist Disney princesses. Our main heroine may still be a landlocked princess but a smooch from a prince may not be the ultimate life bandaid we’ve seen in a thousand children’s tales before. Rather, true love is found in self-discovery, or simply etched in the fiber of the nuclear family. This is a new brand of lesson in a new social climate, one where the tenants of yesteryear cease to dictate the values of tomorrow.

B+

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Independent Spirit Award Nominations Topped by 12 YEARS A SLAVE AND NEBRASKA

November 26, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Awards Tagged Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, Nebraska

Exclusively set aside for films made for under $20 million, the Independent Spirit Awards seeks to award the best of the best of films made on a shoestring budget. Even the original ISA statues themselves were made up of a glass pyramid encasing a shoestring – a paper-thin but elegant metaphor for the process of making independent movies.

This year’s nominees stir some of the strongest Oscar contenders in with a host of new coming talent. Leading the pack, 12 Years a Slave received seven nominations over a number of categories. Alexander Payne‘s Nebraska trailed closely with six nominations for his satirical look at a Midwest father and son on a roadtrip.

While a number of the nominees here will make their way into the Oscar contest come next March, many films with bigger budgets will edge out some of the competition seen here. For instance, 12 Years a Slave will certainly go on to make huge waves in this year’s Oscars whereas it’s closest competitor here, Nebraska, will have trouble getting the same attention.

Nominees are all below with my predicted winner highlighted in red.

Best Feature

12 Years a Slave: Dede Gardner, Anthony Katagas, Jeremy Kleiner, Steve McQueen, Arnon Milchan, Brad Pitt, Bill Pohlad
All Is Lost: Neal Dodson, Anna Gerb
Frances Ha: Noah Baumbach, Scott Rudin, Rodrigo Teixeira, Lila Yacoub
Inside Llewyn Davis: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin
Nebraska: Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa

Best Director

Shane Carruth “Upstream Color”
J.C. Chandor “All Is Lost”
Steve McQueen “12 Years a Slave”
Jeff Nichols “Mud”
Alexander Payne “Nebraska”

Best Screenplay

Woody Allen “Blue Jasmine”
Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke & Richard Linklater “Before Midnight”
Nicole Holofcener “Enough Said”
Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber “The Spectacular Now”
John Ridley “12 Years a Slave”

Best First Feature

Blue Caprice – Alexandre Moors, Kim Jackson, Brian O’Carroll, Isen Robbins, Will Rowbotham, Ron Simons, Aimee Schoof, Stephen Tedeschi
Concussion – Stacie Passon, Rose Troche
Fruitvale Station – Ryan Coogler, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Forest Whitaker
Una Noche – Lucy Mulloy, Sandy Pérez Aguila, Maite Artieda, Daniel Mulloy, Yunior Santiago
Wadjda – Haifaa Al Mansour, Gerhard Meixner, Roman Paul

Best First Screenplay

Lake Bell “In A World”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt “Don Jon”
Bob Nelson “Nebraska“
Jill Soloway “Afternoon Delight”
Michael Starrbury “The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete“

John Cassavetes Award – (Given to the best feature made for under $500,000.)

Computer Chess – Andrew Bujalski, Houston King & Alex Lipschultz
Crystal Fairy – Sebastiàn Silva, Juan de Dios Larraín & Pablo Larraín
Museum Hours – Jem Cohen, Paolo Calamita & Gabriele Kranzelbinder
Pit Stop – Yen Tan, David Lowery, Jonathan Duffy, James M. Johnston, Eric Steele, Kelly Williams
This is Martin Bonner – Chad Hartigan, Cherie Saulter

Best Female Lead

Cate Blanchett “Blue Jasmine”
Julie Delpy “Before Midnight”
Gaby Hoffmann “Crystal Fairy”
Brie Larson “Short Term 12”
Shailene Woodley “The Spectacular Now”

Best Male Lead

Bruce Dern “Nebraska“
Chiwetel Ejiofor “12 Years a Slave”
Oscar Isaac “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Michael B. Jordan “Fruitvale Station”
Matthew McConaughey “Dallas Buyers Club”
Robert Redford “All Is Lost”

Best Supporting Actress

Melonie Diaz “Fruitvale Station”
Sally Hawkins “Blue Jasmine”
Lupita Nyong’o “12 Years a Slave”
Yolonda Ross “Go For Sisters”
June Squibb “Nebraska”

Best Supporting Actor

Michael Fassbender “12 Years a Slave”
Will Forte “Nebraska”
James Gandolfini “Enough Said”
Jared Leto “Dallas Buyers Club”
Keith Stanfield “Short Term 12”

Best Cinematography

Sean Bobbitt “12 Years a Slave”
Benoit Debie “Spring Breakers”
Bruno Delbonnel “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Frank G. DeMarco “All Is Lost”
Matthias Grunsky “Computer Chess”

Best Editing

Shane Carruth & David Lowery “Upstream Color”
Jem Cohen & Marc Vives “Museum Hours”
Jennifer Lame “Frances Ha”
Cindy Lee “Una Noche”
Nat Sanders “Short Term 12”

Best Documentary

20 Feet From Stardom – Morgan Neville, Gil Friesen & Caitrin Rogers
After Tiller – Martha Shane & Lana Wilson
Gideon’s Army – Dawn Porter, Julie Goldman
The Act of Killing – Joshua Oppenheimer, Joram Ten Brink, Christine Cynn, Anne Köhncke, Signe Byrge Sørensen, Michael Uwemedimo
The Square – Jehane Noujaim, Karim Amer

Best International Film

A Touch of Sin (China) – Jia Zhang-Ke
Blue is the Warmest Color (France) -Abdellatif Kechiche
Gloria (Chile) – Sebastián Lelio
The Great Beauty (Italy) – Paolo Sorrentino
The Hunt (Denmark) – Thomas Vinterberg

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Weekly Review 34: MILLERS, R.I.P.D., EUROPA, WHITE, LEAVING

November 24, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Weekly Review Tagged Europa Report, Leaving Las Vegas, Millers Crossing, R.I.P.D., Weekly Review, White House Down

This week I set out to catch up with some of the early releases of 2013 that I missed and, surprise, surprise, was very underwhelmed. Not that I was expecting much revelatory from films like R.I.P.D. and White House Down but I was expecting at least a degree of fun that was largely absent. I also dipped into one of the Coen Bros earlier works, Millers Crossing, and was overjoyed that I did, as the film is, who would have thought, excellent. In theaters, I saw the slightly underwhelming Hunger Games: Catching Fire while Vince Vaughn‘s latest, Delivery Man, (for which Kyle wrote our review) managed to impress me more than I thought it would. I also published a review of Alexander Payne‘s excellent Nebraska. But for now, let’s get down to the nitty gritty and weekly review like we mean business.

MILLERS CROSSING (1990)

The third film from the Coen Bros is a slippery web of double and triple crossings that always feel intricate but never contrived. It’s meant to keep you guessing and on your toes and succeeds greatly in accomplishing this goal. While it’s mostly a talker, there are explosive moments of visually astounding violence (Leo’s opera-backed Tommy gun sequence is simply incredibly). Backed by star making performances for John Turturro and Marcia Gay Harden, Millers Crossing isn’t a movie that sets out to confuse or confound you, it just always happens to be one step ahead, daring you to keep up.

A-

R.I.P.D. (2013)

As far as I can tell, Mary Louise Parker and Ryan Reynolds are two of the most obnoxious and least believable people in Hollywood. Their noxious parts in this cluster bomb of a movie that sees deceased police officers hunting down the undead on Earth only cements this fact. The only entertaining moments come courtesy of Jeff Bridges returning to Roster Cockburn – although here his affectation gives diminishing return – especially since he is saddled with choppy dialogue that can only fly on a comic book page. R.I.P.D. seems to intentionally go out of its way to be stupid – dumbed down to the most base of levels. At least it’s a relatively short affair.

D+

EUROPA REPORT (2013)

Too stripped down for its own good, Europa Report tries to be inventive but is largely by the numbers. As a crew of specialists searching for the twinkle of life on a distant Saturn moon, they encounter events beyond their control that start to thin their numbers. Using the ever so popular found footage framework, tension runs high but bumps in the night are mostly lacking and the eventual dwindling of their ranks plays like many other by-the-books survival films . As their roster dwindles, so does the hope of something revelatory. Packed with a lineup of faces who you can’t quite put a name to, there’s certainly lots of under-valued talent here, although it’s only occasionally put to good use. Ultimately, Europa Report is a good effort with a minor payout but isn’t entirely worth the trip.

C

WHITE HOUSE DOWN (2013)

A bunch of nonsense involving a wanna-be secret service played by C-Tats mostly in a wife beater and a street smart president rocking Air Jordans and the presidential know how of someone who’s watch CNN a few times. For all the gobbledygook us vs. them dialogue, mess of explosions, and shoe-horned shoot outs, the excitement in White House Down is too sculpted and junky to elicit moments of actual tension. Rather, we know full well the adrenaline-seeking rouse explosion king Roland Emmerich is trying to pull, and let’s just say he doesn’t quite have the same knack for it that he did in the 90s. As the second terrorists attack the White House film of the year (the Gerard Butler led Olympus Has Fallen was the other), it was the more expensive (by a large margin), less profitable, and all around worse film. Worst of all, it’s over two-hours and ten minutes that all amount to a total waste of your time.

D
LEAVING LAS VEGAS (1995)

I would direct all who say that Nicholas Cage can’t act to Leaving Las Vegas, this film in which he deservingly won Best Actor playing a volatile drunk slowly committing suicide through booze. It’s pretty much a nightmare watching these desperate people in this desperate town, especially when love and feelings get tackled in. You know it’s not going to end well but the trip spiraling downwards is anchored by fantastic performances from Cage and Elisabeth Shue, who plays his new hooker girlfriend with a heart of gold, Sera. Anything but a fun movie, Leaving Las Vegas is a certainly challenge to watch and teaches you that dating an alcoholic isn’t far from babysitting a 160 pound man. You certainly won’t feel great about yourself after seeing it, but it’s packed with enough caustic body horror to leave a mental scar for even the most hardened of viewers…if you’re into that.

B

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Hiccup and Toothless Have Grown in HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 Poster

November 22, 2013 by Jill Landon Posted in Movie Posters Tagged Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Poster

DreamWorks, despite once being seen as a lower quality animation studio, has an occasional gem. How to Train Your Dragon was one of those. The poster for the film’s sequel looks to pick up quite a bit later as Hiccup is now rocking some stubble. It’s five years later to be exact, according to the synopsis. What little has been revealed about the story looks to satisfy our craving for massive dragon battles, beautiful animation, and the same characters we know and love from the original.

Hiccup and Toothless occupy the poster, looking very brave. It’s nice to see a DreamWorks poster that doesn’t have the stupid, cocky, eyebrow curve that they are so famous for. With an all-star voice acting cast, including the likes of Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig, Cate Blanchett, and even late-night television’s Craig Ferguson, How to Train Your Dragon 2 should be a watchable kids movie, at the very least.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 is directed by Dean DeBlois and stars Gerard Butler, Jay Baruche, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig, and Cate Blanchett. It hits theaters on June 13, 2014.

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First WOLF OF WALL STREET Poster Is a Big Pool Party

November 22, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Movie Posters Tagged Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese, Posters, Terence Winter, The Wolf of Wall Street

Like a young Mick Jagger, Leonardo DiCaprio belts into a mic as the crowd goes wild in this first poser for Martin Scorsese‘s The Wolf of Wall Street. Playing disgraced one-percenter Jordan Belfort, Leo looks to bring his signature charisma and acting prowess to the role. Whether or not he’ll be able to slip into an overflowing Oscar race is another story. At this point, odds are against it and he’ll need to go that extra mile in order to secure even a nomination.

Based on Belfort’s own memoirs, The Wolf of Wall Street details greed in the millions. Per the Amazon synopsis of that novel “by day he made thousands of dollars a minute. By night he spent it as fast as he could, on drugs, sex, and international globe-trotting. From the binge that sank a 170-foot motor yacht and ran up a $700,000 hotel tab, to the wife and kids waiting at home, and the fast-talking, hard-partying young stockbrokers who called him king and did his bidding, here, in his own inimitable words, is the story of the ill-fated genius they called… The Wolf of Wall Street.”

Rounding out the cast, we have Matthew McConaughey, Jonah Hill, Jean Dujardin, Rob Reiner, Kyle Chandler, Margot Robbie, Jon Bernthal, Cristin Milioti, P.J. Byrne and Ethan Suplee.

The Wolf of Wall Street is directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Leonardo Dicaprio, Jonah Hill, Matthew McConaughey, Jon Bernthal, Jon Favreau, Kyle Chandler, Jean Dujardin, Rob Reiner and Spike Jonze. It hits theaters November 15.

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Out in Theaters: NEBRASKA

November 21, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged 2013, Alexander Payne, Bob Odenkirk, Bruce Dern, June Squibb, Nebraska, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Will Forte

“Nebraska”
Directed by Alexander Payne
Starring Will Forte, Bruce Dern, June Squibb, Bob Odenkirk, Stacy Keach, Mary Louise Wilson, Kevin Kunkel
Adventure, Drama
115 Mins
R

Nebraska starts with the old school painted mountains of the Paramount logo, a veiled reminder of the golden days of the USA, and jumps into an austere black-and-white landscape of Montana as Bruce Dern‘s Woody Grant stumbles down the snowy strip of government manicured grass between some train tracks and a largely vacant highway. Convinced he has won a million dollar prize, Woody’s intent on claiming his winnings in Nebraska even if that means walking the entire eight hundred mile trip on foot. A reminder of how off the tracks his life has veered, Woody sees his not-too-good-to-be-true grand prize as a means to a life he never had – a golden ticket to meaningfulness and utility long lost.

Reinvention is not that simple though, a fact illustration by the simple reality that Woody’s prize is very clearly a scam – the stuff of Mega Sweepstakes mailing centers intent on pawning off China-made trinkets or magazine subscriptions. His family knows the truth of this hollow sham and treats his bullheaded demand to head southeast as a warning sign that he might be more than ready for a retirement home but Woody remains steadfast in his plans for great fortune.

Not ready to admit that his dad may have one too many screws loose, David (Will Forte) knows that there is nothing to come from Woody’s scam of a prize slip and yet agrees to take his grumbling father to Nebraska as a sort of last hurrah, a goodbye bonding road trip – a final way to spend some time with his seemingly fading pops. Along the way, they stop off at Rushmore where the cantankerous Woody hysterically riffs on America’s great monument (“It doesn’t look finished to me”) before then misplacing his teeth along, yet another, set of railroad tracks. Buzzing along towards impending disappointment, the camera eyes static horizon shots, with endless stretches of bleak farmland serving as visual commentary of the washed up wasteland that industry America has become. It’s left in its place a black-and-white relic of the once prosperous plains.

In these bowels of middle America, Alexander Payne finds sidesplitting humor in banality. Scenes of awkward family tension are as side-splittingly funny as watching people on their deathbeds count their many losses is tragic. Seeing how dreams wither and disappointment sets so deep in your bones it becomes indistinguishable from your DNA may prove too heavy a task for those seeking a sunshine and smiles kind of ride. No matter how jet-black the comedy and how biting the drama, it’s the careful balance of the two that makes Payne’s admittedly glum work shine so bright. Searching for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, Woody, and by extension Payne, sees tomorrow as an unwritten page.

Woody is a man of principles, no matter how skewed they may be and how stubbornly he sticks by them. He drinks too much and is a champion of his own independence (even though at this rate he will most like be on a Depends regiment in the next few years) but it’s clear that he is not a man who can live on his own. Enter wife Kate Grant. The realist ying to Woody’s eternally confused and tragically hopefully yang, June Squibb‘s Kate is the foundation for both Woody as a character and Dern as a performer. Without her blunt tell-em-as-it-is attitude, his blundering air-headed status would lack grounding.

Surly and confused as he may seem, Woody is more than meets the eye though, a fact that David learns when they visit Woody’s hometown. As people catch wind of Woody’s “good fortune” and flock to him looking for handouts, we see the real Woody as he welcomes family and friends coming out of the woodwork to beg like smiling buzzards. And as Woody claims his 15 minutes of fame, we also begin to realize that for all of his knuckle-headed nincompoopery, he’s a man who gives without regard, all brought to life by Dern’s hilarious and heartbreaking performance.

For this leading role, Dern is poised for some serious recognition. Even if he misses an Oscar shot (2013 has quickly become an extremely crowded year for Best Actor), he’s secure in nabbing nominations for the Indie Spirit Awards, Emmys and the like. There are few that would disagree that he’s earned it. And although her role isn’t as immediately noticeable as Dern’s, June Squibb has us convinced from moment one that she is Kate Grant. Foul-mouthed and sassy as she is heavy-set, she waddles her way to an inevitable showcase of Oscar moments and should be counted amongst those assured a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. For this part, Will Forte too becomes more than just a comedian. Although he’s the rock from which these other performers vault, his own performance is reined in and earnest – the mark of an actor who has matured greatly since his tenure as MacGruber at SNL.

Rolling sharp comedy and painstaking commentary into one is no easy task, but it’s one that Payne has all but mastered. Nebraska may not be as biting and manic as Sideways or as graceful and beautifully filmed as The Descendants but it has a life and energy all of its own, one that, much like Woody, is entirely unpredictable.

A-

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Untitled Superman Vs. Batman Film Gets List of Tentative Titles, MAN OF STEEL: BATTLE THE KNIGHT Amongst the Running

November 21, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Film Editorials Tagged Batman, DC, Editorials, Superman, Superman Vs. Batman, WB

Odds are you could probably care less what DC decides to title their Man of Steel sequel, which is set to pit the near invisible Superman again a PTSD-suffering billionaire who dresses like a bat and wears a lot of black makeup, but the latest list of possible titles is sure to induce the slightest of gags from the masses still with the truffley taste of Christopher Nolan‘s Battrilogy still lingering in our mouths. I’m of course not accounting for of bottom-tier puns (here all focused on swapping knight in for night, GET IT?!) who this batch of title treatments seems custom tailored for. The rest of us though can collectively sigh at the rampant stupidity taking place over at Warner Bros and the world of superhero sequel namers at large.

The runt of the new name litter is probably Man of Steel: Battle the Knight which sounds like the name of an animated title intended for 5-year olds yet to learn the idiosyncrasies of the language. Yank that colon out for Man of Steel Battles the Knight, or just go the next step for Man of Steel Battles the Dark Knight, and there’s at least something of interest that also reads like a normal sentence. As is, it sounds like the juvenile attempt of someone who secured an unflattering C in high school English.

Since the dawn of the Silver Surfer, the colon has become so overused in the blockbuster films that it’s essentially become a required part of a name for anything with a hundred million dollar plus budget. Even more important than the colon is the need to tack the word ‘dark’ somewhere in there (it’s just a no-brainer amiright?). This year’s Star Trek: Into Darkness is the best example of a misused colon couple with the useless inclusion of the word ‘dark’ (why not just Star Trek into Darkness or, more appropriately, Star Trek: Wrath of Khan: Part Deux). Thor: The Dark World is another great example of just throwing a colon and the word ‘dark’ at a title and expecting oohs and ahhs from wide-eyed fanboys.

As for this super DC conglomerate, there’s not much to this list of titles that catches my interest but, who knows, maybe people will just eat ’em up. What do you think of the following?

Man of Steel: Battle the Knight
Man of Steel: Beyond Darkness
Man of Steel: Black of Knight
Man of Steel: Darkness Falls
Man of Steel: Knight Falls
Man of Steel: Shadow of the Night
Man of Steel: The Blackest Hour
Man of Steel: The Darkness Within

At this point why don’t they just go with Man of Steel: Night of the Knight…oh wait. That actually has a nice ring to it. I think I’ve officially just spitballed a better title than WB’s collection of caffeine-slobbering goons jammed in a conference room somewhere, feeding from their 100k salaries.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger's (Actual) Comeback Staged in David Ayer's SABOTAGE Trailer

November 21, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Trailers Tagged Arnold Schwarzenegger, David Ayer, Joe Manganiello, Mireille Enos, Sabotage, Sam Worthington, Terrence Howard, Trailers

Arnie has had a bit of a tough go returning to the spotlight with his latest starring vehicles failing to open to a sum larger than $10 million on opening weekend, receiving rotten aggregate reviews, and failing to have much tenure at the box office. But up to this point, his post-gubernatorial films have mostly tried to use the Austrian tough guy as a hammy one-liner machine. In steps David Ayer, writer of Training Day and director of last year’s excellent End of Watch, and it looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger might have a chance to become a legitimate badass once more.

In Sabotage, Schwarzenegger leads a group of an elite DEA task force that find themselves being taken out one by one after they capture millions at a cartel safe house. Joining him is a group of certified talent, with Mireille Enos, Joe Manganiello, Sam Worthington, Josh Holloway, Terrence Howard amongst others rounding out the cast.

In order to turn his campy, geezer with a gun image back an intimidating beefcake of a man, all Schwarzenegger might need is a great director. There’s few men standing who can handle edge-of-your-seat action/drama like Ayer, so he might be what Schwarzenegger’s late stage career needs – a shot of adrenaline to the heart. Even I think this looks very promising and will most definitely be catching it in theaters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeHpSdQSH0c

Sabotage is directed by David Ayer and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mireille Enos, Joe Manganiello, Sam Worthington, Terrence Howard. It bursts into theaters on April 11, 2014.

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Watch GRAVITY Companion Short ANINGAAQ Directed by Alfonso Cuarón's Son

November 21, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Trailers Tagged Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity, Jonás Cuarón, Sandra Bullock, Shorts

Discussion of events that occur in Gravity to follow so mild spoilers ahead.

Originally developed as an added feature for the Blu-ray release, the overwhelming love for Gravity has seen this intiguring companion piece, simply titled Aningaaq, come out of the gates early, giving it a shot at an Oscar ”Live-Action Short” nominee. Written with the help of father and Gravity director Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón‘s short film takes the perspective of the Earth-dwelling eskimo on the other side of the line with Sandra Bullock‘s Dr. Ryan Stone as she decides to flick off life support and gives up on any hope of returning to Earth. The gentle mew of a distant dog, the call of a young baby and an unintelligible lullaby all give Stone a harmonious send off (before she’s shortly thereafter rescued by her hallucination). But what the film never shows us is what, or who, was on the other side of that line. This Jonás Cuarón‘s counterpiece fixes that in a stunning, and beautiful, manner.

Per Screen Rant,

“The filmmaker was especially interested in exploring the pivotal moment in Stone’s survival story from a different perspective – to expose the subtle connections that exist between the two characters even if they aren’t on the same literal page: “It’s this moment where the audience and the character get this hope that Ryan is finally going to be OK. Then you realize that everything gets lost in translation.” Nevertheless, Jonás wanted “to make Aningaaq a piece that could stand on its own” – an effort that, according to Gravity star Sandra Bullock, Jonás nailed. Since its debut, the actress has called Aningaaq an ”absolutely beautiful piece of loneliness,” further stating, “I get goose bumps thinking about it.”

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Out In Theaters: DELIVERY MAN

November 21, 2013 by Jill Landon Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Chris Pratt, Cobie Smulders, Comedy, Delivery Man, Ken Scott, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Vince Vaughn

“Delivery Man”
Directed by Ken Scott
Starring Vince Vaughn, Chris Pratt, Cobie Smulders, Andrzej Blumenfeld, Bobby Moynihan, Britt Robertson, Jack Reynor, Dave Patten, Adam Chanler-Berat
Comedy
103 Mins
PG-13

Whether our viewing sensibilities are just outgrowing Vince Vaughn or people just aren’t writing good showcases for him, it is undeniable that his career is not what it once was. Wedding Crashers came out eight years ago. Let that sink in. I’m of the opinion that the problem has been the material. Ken Scott directs the remake of his own 2011 film Starbuck, which provides an avenue for Vaughn to branch out a little from his typical snarkiness. The result is a surprisingly heartwarming film, if not a bit on the forced side. With some serious revisions, this could have been a great film.

Comedies these days have such farcical plots that you have to just roll with it. If the idea of a man being hunted down by over a hundred of his own illegitimate children doesn’t instantly set off your BS meter, you can probably handle Delivery Man’s multitude of plot holes, inconsistencies, and “yeah right” moments. In reality, the contract of an anonymous sperm donor is rock solid. In the world of Delivery Man, however, David Wozniak has to deal with the fact that 142 of his 500 plus sperm donations are suing to know his identity. On top of this, he has to deal with becoming a “real” father as he accidentally knocked up his on-again-off-again girlfriend.

After Vaughn learns the identity of the lawsuit children, he takes to stalking them and playing guardian angel. Stalking one of his “daughters”, he defends her from catcalls. For a musician “son”, he encourages donations to his street performances. One particularly offensive thing is the way Scott portrays a daughter who overdoses on heroin. Vaughn has the opportunity to send the 17-year old addict to rehab, but instead chooses to take it on faith that she can handle it herself, making it painfully obvious that Scott has never dealt with drug addiction in any capacity. For anyone reading this, in case you didn’t know, send them to rehab. Disappointingly (for the films own potential), she keeps her word to this man she has never met before, presumably kicking her nasty drug habit and becoming a tax-paying citizen overnight. What a great opportunity to teach Vaughn’s character a harsh lesson about parenthood wasted.

Parks and Recreation star Chris Pratt plays opposite Vaughn, as his comically stupid lawyer friend. Their exchanges are often hilarious, but still fail to carry the necessary weight, given how much screen time they take up. Pratt brings much of the films comedy, but might conflict a little too much with the realism of the film. It seemed the writers could not decide whether to make Pratt the responsible one of the duo, or to make him Homer Simpson. He alternates between the two, but plays both roles well. In some scenes, he gives lucid legal advice to Vaughn, while other scenes show him being entirely cartoonish. It may be a nitpick, but it just shows another symptom of a sloppy screenplay, that such a crucial character is not entirely focused. His childlike demeanor in the courtroom scenes exist to show just how open-and-shut this case is.

Vaughn’s character also owes 80 grand to some seedy folk, adding a sense of urgency to the film that feels artificial. This is basic screenwriting 101 stuff. A plot device like this should be more ingrained within the film. It ends up being his reason for countersuing the sperm donation facility for defamation. Wouldn’t greed be a much more interesting motivator, though? Also, this falls flat because the stakes of his trial aren’t that serious. There should be some consequences when his children find out who he is. Instead, they are joyous and relieved. This is all fine and good for the feel-good factor, but I wanted some more authenticity added to the stakes.

In the end, Delivery Man doesn’t quite have the comedic chops to be a great comedy, nor does it have the dramatic chops to be a great dramedy. And that is the problem. No matter how much I was enjoying the movie, I just felt it wasn’t something I would ever want to come back to. When I think of any film that I love, I think of those classic moments, moments which were sorely missed in Delivery Man. Still, there are a lot worse films in theaters right now and this one is quite enjoyable.