All posts by Josef Rodriguez

Hey, I'm Joey and I'm a (usually) film and pop culture blogger, but I'll write about pretty much anything.
MOVIES

Grizzly Dailies: Abraham Lincoln (Not A Vampire Hunter), ANOTHER Men in Black Movie, and More!

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Jumanji is Getting the Reboot Treatment

Source: AV Club

In some of the most unexpected and surprising news of the week, Columbia has announced that they’re rebooting the classic kids’ movie, Jumanji. In an attempt to “appeal to a younger audience”, the studio is bringing the game of Jumanji back to the big screen with a modern twist. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any stupider, I was pleasantly surprised.

See, this doesn’t work for many, many reasons. The first one being that a plot involving two kids playing a glorified Ouija Board with a mysterious man is probably not something we need to revisit in theaters. Oh, wait just a goddamn minute. We did see a Jumanji reboot except it was called Zathura and it had a lot of Kristen Stewart doing what Kristen Stewart does. And as much as we’d like to admit that maybe technologically advanced visual effects will improve cult classic remakes, let’s take a look at the quality of such films as the Conan the Barbarian and Dark Shadows. Yeah….no.

21 Jump Street Sequel in the Works

Sources:  AV Club/Bosco’s Grindhouse

Anyone who saw 21 Jump Street this year was more likely than not pleasantly surprised by how well-made it was. From the extremely clever script by Michael Bacall to the immense chemistry between Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, who showed a new found strength as an actor, 21 Jump Street was one of the most pleasant surprises of the year other than the other Channing Tatum vehicles of 2012, The Vow and Magic Mike. Don’t hate on me for liking The Vow. You liked it too. Don’t lie.

Anyway, word has hit the streets (or actually, the “twitter-sphere” as Captain Dickson says in the film) that a sequel to the film is in the works. The news came from C-Tates himself after a fan asked him if he thought that a sequel to 21 Jump Street would be a good idea.

Personally, I’m conflicted. 21 Jump Street was such a great comedy and it should/would/could work beautifully as a standalone stroke of genius. But of course, in the consumerist Hollywood that we live in, that’s just not an option. The ending of the first film even left the possibility of a sequel open, but I always hoped it could be left to the viewers’ imaginations. With that being said, if done as well as the first film, I’d be totally open to a sequel. The first film did a great job at avoiding tired cliches and actually just…farting in the general direction of conventional storytelling.

Bringing back the original writer, Michael Bacall, and directors, Phil Lord and Chris Miller, would be the best idea, because no one else would be able to handle the characters like they did. Also, the entire cast would have to return or else it just wouldn’t work. And for the love of all that is holy, please make sure that Jonah Hill and Brie Larson stay together as a couple throughout the sequel. Please.

Men in Black IV Approaching as a Reality

Source: AV Club

Will Smith, the guy who says he “doesn’t want to be the sequel guy”, is in talks to star in Hancock II, Bad Boys III, and now Men in Black IV. Seems legit. Columbia Pictures President Doug Belgrad says that he believes the Men in Black series is “an ongoing franchise” but, “We don’t have clarity yet on how it should be done.” Again, seems legit. If you ask me, I think this is code for: Will Smith is pushing 50 and he’s going to hand down the franchise to his son, Jaden Smith, like it was his Grandfather’s watch.

Personally, the Men in Black formula only truly worked for the first film which is, in every way possible, a perfect sci-fi comedy. Few films have been able to reach the level of the original Men in Black, but the two sequels just kind of ruin the legacy and if they keep making them it’s just going to bury the original even more. As for other Will/Jaden Smith projects, we’ve got After Earth coming up, a film written and directed by the infamous M. Night Shyamalan.

M. Night gets a bad reputation for making The Last Airbender, a film I refuse to watch. But I think almost everything else he does is really quite fascinating. I’m one of the few defenders of The Happening and Signs is one of my favorite films. He has a chance to make this a really interesting movie, but judging by the viral video, this may end up being Will Smith’s first truly abysmal film that reaches (or degrades itself) to the levels of Battlefield Earth.

Abe Lincoln no longer hunting Vampires

In the most unpredictable decision made so far this year (please note the sarcasm), the Spielberg-directed Lincoln, starring Daniel-Day Lewis as our 16th President, is set to release on November 9th, three days after Election Day as well as in the midst of awards season. Does this news surprise me? Not at all, am I still excited to see Daniel-Day Lewis in a movie? Always, but it’ll be difficult for an actor even of his skill to top Bill Oberst Jr.’s portrayal of Lincoln, something he’s been doing for years now on stage.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about this movie, especially because the cast includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Adam Driver, Jackie Earle Haley, Tommy Lee Jones, John Hawkes, and James Spader, but Spielberg has lost his touch in recent years and period pieces have to be done to perfection to truly work. Due to this, I remain skeptical. I just hope it’s not another “Oh, look! Daniel-Day Lewis is in this and we’re releasing it during Oscar season so GIVE US A BEST PICTURE NOMINATION PLEASE!!!!” If you want a perfect example of that, watch Nine. Well, don’t watch it…but, yeah. Nine. That.

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Breaking Bad: 501 “Live Free and Die” Review

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This is it, folks. The final season of “Breaking Bad” is underway and fans couldn’t be more excited and devastated at the same time. It’s been a long and hard journey for Walter White, which means it’s been a nail-biting and intense past couple years for us at home. The final season starts with a bang. If you didn’t get a chance to watch “Breaking Bad” last night, here’s what you missed:

The episode begins with Walter White in an unspecified state eating at a Denny’s on his 52nd birthday…alone. He’s looking pretty roughed up and he’s actually sporting a full head of hair for the first time in literally years. He makes small talk with Lisa, the waitress serving him, and she reveals that he’ll get his meal free with valid identification. He reluctantly agrees and hands her a license. She responds with something to the effect of, “New Hampshire, huh? You’re a long way from home.”

They continue talking and a mysterious man enters from the background. He’s out-of-focus but the camera follows him, leading us to believe that he has some importance in this scene. Sure enough, a few seconds later Walt makes his way to the bathroom. He slips the man an envelope and the man slips him some car keys. The unnamed man asks Walt if “it” is leaving the country. Walt replies, saying that “it” isn’t leaving town. He leaves the restaurant quickly, leaving a $100 bill under his untouched plate of food.

In the parking lot, Walt grabs a duffel bag full of something that isn’t revealed. He finds the car to which the keys he was just handed belongs, and in the trunk is an M60 with upwards of a thousand rounds. An instruction manual is placed neatly under the gun, and after staring at it, putting the duffel bag in the trunk, and closing the door, the main credits roll.

Going back to present day, the White family is in a frenzy over the death of Gus, Walt’s former boss. Skyler is on the phone with Walt and asks him what’s going to happen next. Walt replies with, “We’re safe.” She asks if he knows anything about Gus’ death, only to be met with statement, “I won.” Going back to the White household, Walter cleans up everything he used to make the bomb, and puts the Lily of the Valley plant, the one he used to poison Brock, in his trunk just in time for Skyler and Walter Jr. to come home. In the bedroom, Skyler confesses to Walt that she’s relieved he’s alive, but that she’s scared of him. She leaves the room and Walt says, “Oh shit.”

Cut to Hank and Merket in Hazmat suits investigating the remains of Gus’ underground lab, which has now been turned into a big pile of nothing. Two unrecognizable bodies have been left, and after Merket tells Hank that he’s allowed to say, “I told you so,” Hank sees a charred piece of metal and plastic. The two theorize what it could be and Hank ends the scene with, “Maybe a camera?” We then see Mike, who is still recovering from his wounds. He’s being told that Gus is dead and he speeds away in his car.

A few miles down a dirt road, he runs into Walt and Jesse, almost running into them. After planning to shoot Walt, Jesse convinces Mike that he has something important to say. Reluctantly lowering his gun, Mike listens to Walt who says that they’ve all been caught on the cameras. The only way to clear their names completely would be to erase all the memory from the computer. The only way to do that, of course, would be to steal the computer…or would it? In the midst of an argument between Mike and Walt, Jesse chimes in with the idea of a magnet. Magnetic forces usually destroy computer hard drives, but where can they get a magnet big enough to do the job?

The junkyard! The three bald-headed criminals visit Old Joe who says that they can put his car compactor magnet into a U-Haul truck and park it in front of the police station. They can then turn on the magnet, destroy the computer, and be out of there before anyone sees them. Meanwhile, Saul visits Skyler at work to reveal the news that Ted Beneke, who was thought to be dead at the end of Season 4, is in the hospital and has “just woken up”.

She pays him a visit but is shocked to see his condition. He’s attached to a metal head brace that is literally drilled into his head. His head is shaved and he looks like he hasn’t slept in days. In a surprisingly touching scene, Ted promises Skyler that the only thing the police know about is the fact that he tripped and fell. It was a freak accident and he swears that because of his wife and kids, he wants no trouble and won’t ever breathe a word of what happened. Call me crazy, but I don’t see things ending well for Mr. Beneke.

Back to Mike, Walt, and Jesse, they’re able to successfully destroy the computer (at least they’re pretty sure they did), and make it away without being caught, but Walt turned the magnet on so high that they truck tipped over. They’re forced to ditch it and make it away in Mike’s car. When asked why he knows the computer was destroyed, Walt simply says, “Because I say so”.

The next morning the cops go through pieces of evidence piece by piece. They get to the laptop and report it as damaged and in pieces. We see that the frame of one of Gus’ photos was also broken during the incident. It’s revealed that bank account information that had previously gone unnoticed was hidden behind the picture, written in pen in the lining of the frame.

Saul tells Walt about Skyler helping Ted to pay off the IRS. He’s upset Saul never told him about her giving away more than $600,000 of his money to the man she was sleeping with, despite Saul explaining that it’s just good business. When Walt starts yelling at him, Saul says “we’re done.” Walt walks behind the desk and gets in his face: “Were done when I say we’re done.” Walt tells Skyler he heard what happened to Ted. She says Ted won’t talk and Walt proceeds to lean in for a hug. In an equally chilling and terrifying moment, he says “I forgive you.”

This is a great and dynamite start to the final season and I’m literally on the edge of my seat waiting for the next episode. The directing is the best “Breaking Bad” has to offer. By not overdoing the innovative shots the show is known for, the suspense is heightened even more than it needs to be due to its gorgeous photography. The music fit the mood perfectly. Specifically, a scene where Walt tries to hide all the bomb-making materials ended with a deeply haunting and fascinating fade out that reminded me a lot of the score for Insidious.

As for the cast, everyone is back and ready to play. Bryan Cranston becomes more and more intense every season, and his voice is close to resembling that of Christian Bale in The Dark Knight. Jesse’s importance to the show is becoming more defined and I feel like he’s going to play a pivotal part in the series’ climactic scenes. All in all, “Breaking Bad” is off to a great start and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the season has to offer.

Movie News & Opinions

CCI 2012: Oz The Great & Powerful and The Lone Ranger Trailers, Plus The Expendables 2 Panel & More!

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Lots of movie news and trailers coming out of Comic-Con International, so let’s get started!

Oz: The Great and Powerful

It seems like the pairing of Sam Raimi and a Disney prequel to The Wizard of Oz starring James Franco wouldn’t exactly be on the top of “Things to be Expected at Comic-Con 2012”. But alas, Oz: The Great and Powerful is very much real. A Comic-Con panel revealed that the story would follow The Wizard before he became The Wizard of Oz, starring James Franco as the title character. Raimi also revealed that longtime friend and fan favorite Bruce Campbell will have a role in the film. I don’t think I’m alone when I say he’d be awesome as the leader of the munchkins.

The trailer, which was released soon after the panel finished up, reveals a similar style to the original film in that it begins in black and white and turns to color once our hero reaches The Land of Oz. I’ll admit, once Franco reaches The Land, the whole thing becomes Tim Burton-y in the Alice in Wonderland variation, a film that I despise with every fiber of my being. Joe Roth, one of the producers of Alice in Wonderland, serves as a producer on this film which may explain the similar style.

But here’s the thing, Raimi is better than 95% of most mainstream action/adventure directors working today. His projects always have an immense amount of passion regardless of the budget, and he has the decency to give the audience a self-aware wink, but not to the point of pretentious overload. I’ve yet to encounter a Raimi film that I didn’t like, and hopefully Oz: The Great and Powerful won’t be an exception. Here’s the trailer:

You can read more over at Bosco’s Grindhouse.

The Lone Ranger

After what seemed to be a falling out on production of The Lone Ranger due to an inability to find a suitable actor for the title character, a surprise visit from Trailerland has made its way to Comic-Con. A thus far unreleased preview for The Lone Ranger has been screened at the Con, and this is what Collider had to say about the goings-on of this important preview.

Most of the trailer has Tom Wilkinson (who plays the film’s villain) providing narration about the importance of trains.  He explains that because trains will be the fastest mode of transportation in the old west, and whoever controls them “controls space and time.”  It’s unintentionally funny because, it’s, you know, trains.  But the visual style is full of Verbinski’s indulgences, like a brief shot that goes into a saloon and there’s a prostitute swinging from a wooden crescent moon that’s suspended from the ceiling.  There’s also a slo-mo shot of a bunch of white guys in around a table getting shot at.

Then there’s the big reveal of Tonto (Johnny Depp) and The Lone Ranger (Armie Hammer), and the shot is the first official image from the film.  Then there’s a bunch of quick action shots including the Ranger drawing down on an unseen enemy, and Tonto clinging on to the bottom of a speeding train.  But if there’s one big take-away from this trailer, it’s trains.  Trains are really, really important.  The film also stars Helena Bonham Carter, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, James Frain, Ruth Wilson, and James Badge Dale.”

Personally, I think Armie Hammer is an awesome choice for any movie, especially one as epic as The Lone Ranger. He has a certain screen presence about him that led to very powerful performances in The Social Network and even J. Edgar. Put Johnny Depp in just about anything and I’ll watch. I’m not too worried about his performance here. The Lone Ranger is set to release July 3rd, 2013.

Again, read more over at Bosco’s Grindhouse.

Frankenweenie

A new trailer for the upcoming Tim Burton film, Frankenweenie, was released at the Con today. It’s an extended version of the trailer that’s been running in theaters for the past couple months, and it furthers the tone set by the partially creepy and partially cute trailer we’ve already seen. This is definitely a passion project for Burton because it’s based off a short he made at the beginning of his career. I’m actually very excited to see how he extends the idea to feature length, and the way the premise seems to be played out is reminiscent of Edward Scissorhands. Will this be Burton’s first good film since Big Fish? I hope so.

You can read Collider’s summary of the Con Panel with Burton right here and you can watch the extended trailer for the film below:

The Expendables 2

One of the most anticipated panels of the year was The Expendables 2 which brought together literally every major action star of the past forty years. From Stallone to Schwarzenegger to JCVD to Liam Hemsworth, The Expendables 2 has something for everyone and this panel only proved that. One of the high points of the evening was seeing Schwarzenegger awarded IGN’s Action Hero Hall of Fame Award by last year’s recipient, co-star and friend Sylvester Stallone. A collection of Arnold’s best scenes and kills was shown to the audience and met with uproarious applause.

The bromantic panel that followed allowed for the actors to brag about how great everyone in the movie is. Stallone went as far as saying that audiences will be surprised by JCVD’s performance. The stars also got to talk about how much fun it was to interact with other legends in their genre. Some new clips were shown including “a truly kick-ass gunfight scene set at an airport between JCVD’s bad guys and the Expendables.” Despite Chuck Norris’ involvement (sorry, Kronner) and the film’s PG-13 rating (which is because of Chuck Norris [sorry again, Kronner), I’m pretty excited for this movie, especially because the first one was so truly bad-ass and will go down as one of the most popular cult hits of all time.

Here’s the panel for your enjoyment:

Wreck-it-Ralph

Disney’s newest film, Wreck-it-Ralph, looks to be something like The Avengers (Ed. Note: Nothing is like the Avengers.) meets Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World with animation similar to Tangled. What comic books were to The Avengers, video games will be to Wreck-it-Ralph. A valentine to gamers everywhere, this is one of my top ten most anticipated films for the rest of the year, and one that I’m getting more and more excited for as the release date approaches.

A new, ten minute clip was premiered at the Con today. A detailed description of the clip can be found here. According to IGN, the plot goes something like this:

Ralph is the antagonist of an old school arcade game called Fix-It Felix, Jr., where he destroys builds as Felix (30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer) makes repairs with his magic hammer. This is Ralph’s job, where he’s seemingly stuck forever as a destructive, brutish villain. The only time he can truly be his good self is after the arcade closes or during his Bad-Anon support group meetings with other video game heavies.

The lonesome Ralph is determined to find himself a new video game home, one where he can finally be the hero. What appears to be a simple power strip on the floor of the arcade is, in fact, Game Central Station, which allows characters to venture to the different game worlds of the arcade. Some of the other game worlds Ralph journeys to include the sci-fi combat shooter game Hero’s Duty and the cart-racer Sugar Rush, encountering no-nonsense Sgt. Calhoun (Jane Lynch) and Vanellope Von Schweetz (Silverman) along the way.

Sugar Rush offers Ralph his best chance yet at heroism (and love via his burgeoning relationship with Vanellope), but all is threatened when it’s discovered that the seemingly safe and saccharine realm of Sugar Rush holds a deadly secret that threatens to destroy all the game life in the arcade itself.

I think this is a fantastic premise for a film and I’ve been waiting for something that incorporates a bunch of different video game characters in a movie setting. While I’m not the avid player I once was, I know I’ll be able to understand most of the retro references that come up even in the film’s trailer. Something that disappointed me, though, was the reported absence of Mario and Luigi. According to the panel (which you can watch part of below) at the Con, Super Mario Bros. asked too much for an appearance in the film so Disney scrapped the idea.

A bit of news that redeemed this bad news; Skrillex will be providing music for the “Hero’s Duty” portion of the film. Guess where you can read more about Wreck-it-Ralph? Yep. Bosco’s Grindhouse.

And that’s the beginning of the news. Seriously. We’ll talk again, real soon.

For more CCI coverage click here. For pics from the con check out our Tumblr!

Movie News & Opinions

Curse of Chucky Begins Production in Sept.

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It only took eight years, but us Chucky fans are finally getting another Child’s Play movie. A sixth entry in the always entertaining Chucky series has just been announced. It’ll be called Curse of Chucky and will serve as a direct-to-DVD sequel for all the fans who were asking for more. The film will, thankfully, be written and directed by Don Mancini who is the man behind literally every script for every Chucky movie in the series. Also, Brad Dourif will be returning as the voice of the iconic doll, but no other casting news has been announced.

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