Film Trailers: CALVARY

     After really enjoying and admiring writer-director John Michael McDonagh's first feature, the hilarious and blunt The Guard, I am very excited to see his second feature Calvary. Starring one of his The Guard stars Brendan Gleeson, it follows Gleeson as a good Catholic priest whose life is threatened and he must fight off the forces of evil and temptation. It appears to have a comedic and dramatic tone to it and will most likely be something a little more. You can tell the depth is there and this film received great notices out of this year's Sundance Film Festival. I cannot wait to see this film. It also stars Chris O'Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Domhnall Gleeson, M. Emmett Walsh and Isaach De Bankolé. The film will be released on August 1st. Enjoy! And if you have not seen The Guard check it out.

Photo credit by ropeofsilicon.com and trailer by YouTube.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

Directed by Marc Webb

Written by Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci 

and

Jeff Pinkner & James Vanderbilt

     If there is one thing, amongst many, that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is, is that it is not anywhere close to being amazing. What a pile of junk (shit) this film is and will always be. Boredom sunk in not ten minutes into the film. Villains that were completely uninteresting and a continued love story that had absolutely nothing to offer in any aspect of reality or fantasy. The first film, The Amazing Spider-Man, was not very good either, but this is one of the worst films I have seen all year and far worse than the first one. A dull, boring, CGI-infested film full of bad writing, storytelling and character development. This is not a good way to start off the Summer Blockbuster season, but we cannot expect much from Hollywood anymore when it comes to these series, sequels, reboots and remakes. This is the Hollywood film industry we live in now.
     I must have shifted in my seat a hundred times during this 2-hour plus cartoon. Yes, it felt and looked like an over priced animated film with a want-to-be comic book-y film look and feel to it. At least Sam Raimi's films had some decent story lines and more thorough focus on character growth. These writers, especially the horrendous Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who have turned Hollywood blockbusters into mindless garbage, have no talent and weak creativity, much less five a shit about carrying on an engaging story. Spider-Man versus super villains from Oscorp. The end. An emotionless love story between Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) and Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone). How can it be this bad when you have two talented actors in Garfield and Stone? Watch The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and find out. There is chemistry between the two actors, but not between the two characters. Give me a break. Give me a sense of honesty, compassion and reality at least.
     I was also hoping to be at least somewhat engaged by the villains Max Dillon/Electro (Jamie Foxx), Harry Osborn/The Green Goblin (Dane DeHaan) and Aleksei Sytsevich/Rhino (Paul Giamatti), but I should have known. No depth, no connection and no sense of menace or seriousness. Nothing that you get out of the Batman villains from Christopher Nolan's films. Just fancy graphics and build ups for future installments in this franchise. That is a big problem with these films. Everything is made for multiple films, instead of being grounded and focused on the film at hand. I happened to watch Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and liked the aspect of humanism finally being presented in a Marvel film, but still felt like it was just a setup for The Avengers sequel. It was half ok, but half terrible. Focus on one film and give a connection at the end or not at all. Enough of this crap.
     If you are going to make a sequel, it should grow and strive to be better than the first one. Example is Nolan's Batman films which hinted a clues for future films at the end, but each film stood its ground as a solid piece of entertainment and filmmaking. That got better or at least did not falter from the start. Most of the Marvel films are just setups for the next one and an easy way to entertain mindless Joe and Jane Popcorn moviegoers. There is nothing wrong with being entertained, but create a good story with some intrigue. Cannot expect that when Kurtzman and Orci are behind the pen or computer. There writing is junk, but they are multimillionaires because they write this drivel that the movie going public today soak up. Eye candy and wanting visually satisfying entertainment is all these people want. Film escapism can be good, but not like this.
    This "sort of" review is more about the emptiness in these Hollywood, comic book, reboot franchises than the actual film, which by the way, is horrendous. I do not even need to write about the story because there is nothing to write about. If you have seen any of these comic book films then you know what you are going in for, and if you liked the others, you will probably like this automatically. There will not be any intelligent discussion or film insight to this product. These films are a retail machine and do not appear to be slowing down. Money makers do not stop and in Hollywood they do not appear to grow. Expect more of the same for years to come. Here is to hoping Godzilla from Gareth Edwards, which does look suspenseful at least, turns out to be a pleasant surprise.

Photo credit by IMDB.

Creation Scene in Darren Aronofsky's NOAH

     The absolutely best scene in Darren Aronofsky's well-made Noah is that mesmerizing, stunning creation/evolution scene. The effects are strong and fit the unique vision from the director and Matthew Libatique's brilliant cinematography, especially those dynamic silhouette shots, are something to behold. It is quite amazing and nothing too preachy, yet really declares itself quite honestly. It is very special and some of Aronofsky's best work. Enjoy.

Photo credit by ropeofsilicon.com and scene by YouTube.

Barbarella Psychadela

     Having recently watched the cult, campy and extremely awesome Barbarella (1968) from Roger Vadim and starring the sexy Jane Fonda, I have to admit that this scene is what stuck with me the most. Those damn dolls are so creepy and unsettling. It is really funny at the same time, but extremely eerie too. It works. Overall, the film is super campy, cheesy, with a penchant for sexual freedom and made Jane Fonda a sex goddess. To be honest, the film is not very good at all, but it is a wild, visually striking trip to sci-fi territory from the late 60s. Enjoy this really eerie scene. 

Photo credit by IMDB and scene by YouTube.

INTERSTELLAR Poster

     Here is the first poster for Christopher Nolan's latest feature Interstellar. Um...I do not know. I am just not feeling it. The poster that is. I know the film will most likely deliver and Nolan is a supreme filmmaker. He is one of the few filmmakers that can get a big budget and not waste it on CGI and shit acting. The poster just feels flat and a little too Spielberg-like. Getting a danger to happy vibe from the poster. Weird, but that is my first impression from the poster. Still highly excited for the film though. There should be a trailer with Godzilla in a couple of weeks. Interstellar stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, Wes Bentley, Topher Grace, John Lithgow, William Devane, David Oyelowo, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn and Michael Caine. The film will be released on November 7, 2014. I have also reposted the teaser trailer below. Enjoy!

Photo credit by IMDB and trailer by YouTube.

2014 Cannes Jury

     

     Writer-Director Jane Campion (The Piano) was already announced as President of the main Competition of films screening at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. The jury assembled is also quite impressive. It includes Writer-Director Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides); Writer-Director Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson); Actor Willem Dafoe (Platoon); Actor-Director Gael García Bernal (Amores Perros); Actress Carole Bouquet (For Your Eyes Only); Actress Do-Yeon Jeon (The Housemaid); Actress Leila Hatami (A Seperation) and Writer-Director Jia Zhangke (Still Life). Stellar lineup of jurors and an excellent President. You can also read a list of the films in the main competition and other selections here.
     It is almost here. The Cannes Film Festival begins on May 14th and runs until May 25th. Enjoy!

Photo credit by theguardian.com.

STAR WARS EPISODE VII Cast Revealed

     The hype and anticipation over who will be cast in J.J. Abrams forthcoming trilogy in the Star Wars franchise can come to some ease as the cast has finally been revealed. Nothing really shocking and no big "WOW" names, but overall an interesting, good cast. The first billed actor is Attack the Block star John Boyega and I assume he might be the lead Jedi of some sort. The lead female role will be played by relative unknown Daisy Ridley (Mr. Selfridge) who could be playing the daughter of Han and Leia. The rest of the new cast members are quite interesting with the presumed main villain to be played by Adam Driver ("Girls") and the possible rebel leader of some sort to be played by the excellent Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis). Another Jedi part might go to Domhnall Gleeson (About Time) and I am interested to see what role Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings) will play, whether it is live or motion capture. The legend/elder statesman role goes to the legendary Max von Sydow (The Seventh Seal) and will he be heroic or villainous. He can play both quite well.
    With all the new cast members, the original cast is returning as well. Harrison Ford - Han Solo, Carrie Fisher - Princess Leia, Mark Hamill - Luke Skywalker, Anthony Daniels - C-3PO, Kenny Baker - R2-D2 and Peter Mayhew - Chewbacca, will be reprising their roles in this first film, and maybe more. Supposedly, Han Solo has a very significant role in Episode VII, but there are so many rumors out there nothing will be known for awhile.
     No official title has been announced and there is still plenty of time before we might find out which characters the new cast members will be playing. All-in-all, I am rather pleased with the initial cast and intrigued for what comes ahead. I am especially pleased with the casting of Isaac, Driver and von Sydow, as well as Gleeson. And whatever role Serkis plays, he, or it, will be fantastic. I am very intrigued to see how Boyega and Ridley do and whether they breakout big or falter like Hayden Christensen. The only thing I am concerned about is how many damn lens flares will Abrams use? Please, chill on that shit! I like Star Wars and am looking forward to the film, but I am not geeky about it and if it was 15 years ago, I would be doing cartwheels. No matter what, it is going to make billions and billions. They all getting rich. Only time will tell if the end product is good, as Star Wars Episode VII will be released on December 18th, 2015.

Photo credit by ropeofsilicon.com