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.
Movie Trailers

Double Dose of Will Ferrell with Trailers for “The Campaign” and “Anchorman 2”

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Some people say that all comedians become irrelevant at one point. It seems like this isn’t true for Will Ferrell, nor will it ever be true. In the trailer for his new film, The Campaign, he plays Cam Brady, an extremely popular Congressman from North Carolina. After making a major goof in public, Brady’s supporters are forced to retract their endorsement and bring in an opponent. His name is Marty Huggins. Played by Zach Galifianakis, Huggins is the director of the local Tourism Center and is also a stark conservative.

The two begin campaigning shamelessly for their valued title. Needless to say, things get out of control. This hilarious preview puts Ferrell and Galifianakis back at doing what they do best; goofy comedy. Co-starring the likes of Jason Sudeikis and John Lithgow, The Campaign looks to be a surefire hit for both of its extremely talented stars.

In other Will Ferrell news, it seems like a teaser trailer for Anchorman 2 will be played before The Dictator which is set to release Wednesday, May 16th. My mind is racing with possibilities for the preview, and I don’t really want to hear any spoilers until I see it for myself. But I think all of us Will Ferrell fans are extremely excited by this double dose of movie news.

Check out the preview for The Campaign right here:

Movie Trailers

New Red-Band Trailer for “The Dictator”

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Sacha Baron Cohen is the mastermind behind “Da Ali G Show”, Da Ali G Movie, Borat, and Bruno. In his first post-“Ali G” character outing, as well as his first non-documentary style film, Sacha Baron Cohen has brought us The Dictator, AKA Borat if he was more powerful. The first few previews were funny but not hilarious. This new red band trailer is a little bit funnier than the original theatrical preview, but not by much, and I wonder if this will be Baron Cohen’s first out and out flop.

Granted, the film’s fantastic supporting players will probably elevate it just a little bit, but I wonder if this is just same ol’ Sacha rather than a wholly original and brand new character for audiences to enjoy. Personally, I’m pumped up for Cohen’s portrayal of the late, great Freddie Mercury. The England-born actor seems to be born for the role, even resembling Mercury in more ways than one. But until then, we have The Dictator, a film that, while it looks funny, may not be as hilarious as we would have wanted.

Check out the new red-band trailer right here:

Movie Trailers

Final “Amazing Spider-Man” Trailer Gives Spidey The Douchiness We All Wanted

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Well, it’s that time of Spring again. We’ve gotten three full trailers for The Dark Knight Rises, and now we’ve got our third and final trailer for The Amazing Spider-Man, which officially seals the deal for all the biggest trailers of the summer. An extremely anticipated day it is, which is why I’m happy to say, with a large sigh of relief, that the newest Spidey trailer is also the best. Much like The Dark Knight Rises, this latest web-crawling preview shows both the humane and rather hilarious side of a hero that we all know and love.

British actor Andrew Garfield, who plays the title character, has pretty much perfected his American accent at this point, and the little New York touch he adds to the character’s voice is pretty perfect. Take THAT, Tobey Maguire! But all Maguire bashing aside, the trailer is CGI-heavy, which means that the film itself will probably be CGI-heavy, something I can handle if it at least looks somewhat realistic. Granted, the movie’s about a flying kid in tights, but I’m not asking for too much, am I?

I’ve mentioned it before, but by golly I’ll say it again. I love the premise for this damn flick. You might be saying, “But, Joey! It’s the same premise as the original film! Young boy is bitten by a spider, turns into a human spider, and decides to use his powers for good.” Sure, if you want to talk semantics, same plot. But, the idea that Peter Parker is looking for the true identity of his birth parents is something I’ve been waiting to see on film for a long time.

Now, you may or may not have heard about the rumors regarding Sony’s absolute hatred for this film. I say screw them. The director, stars, and story for this film all seem to be top notch, and I see no reason why this can’t be a blockbuster with a brain. Watch this trailer and think what you will, but I can’t wait to see the web-crawler go back into action.

MOVIES

Grizzly Review: Comic-Con: Episode IV- A Fan’s Hope

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The annual San Diego Comic-Con is one of the most popular and most attended events in the world. Boasting more celebrities than the Oscars, what used to be a place for aspiring artists and vendors has now become home to the most valuable press in the world; grass-roots marketing. By packing all these movie stars in one place, promoting a franchise, and getting the masses to attend, Comic-Con has found a way to garner even more buzz for a film than what was originally thought possible.

Continue reading Grizzly Review: Comic-Con: Episode IV- A Fan’s Hope →

Movie News & Opinions

Elijah Wood Set to Star in Indie Thriller “Grand Piano”

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Looks like Frodo is finally growing up. Directed by Eugenio Mira and written by Damien Chazelle, Green Street Hooligans star Elijah Wood is set to star in Grand Piano, an independent thriller produced by Adrian Guerra and Rodrigo Cortes, two of the men behind the claustrophobic-Ryan Reynold’s thriller Buried.

This is what The Hollywood Reporter has to say about the film’s plot:

“The story concerns a once-great concert pianist who suffers from stage fright and comes back to perform after a five-year hiatus. Just when he’s about to play the first bar, he notices somebody has written a threatening note on his music sheet. He’s now forced to play his best concert ever to save his life as well as his wife’s. Think Speed at a piano.”

At first glance, this might seem like an absolutely horrid idea for a film, but considering Buried made quality entertainment out of a man in a coffin, I’m sure Grand Piano has some tricks up its sleeve to keep the audience guessing. Also, the film’s exotic location (Ciudad de la Luz in Alicante) promises some excellent scenery shots and hopefully a little bit of a cultural bite.

Wood has had a very busy schedule these past couple of years. With a leading role in the upcoming Disney XD show “TRON: Uprising” and the upcoming second season of the FX hit “Wilfred”, Wood’s got a lot on his plate. He’ll also be reprising the role of Frodo in the upcoming film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Also, his other major project, Maniac, which was co-written by Piranha 3D director Alexandre Aja, will be premiering at the Cannes Film Festival later this month.

Grand Piano is slated to begin production later this summer.

MOVIES

Grizzly Review: God Bless America

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The most recent generation of human beings, and more specifically American human beings, is known as the “generation of entitlement”. We’ve been given the most technology, the most variety, and most of all more career options than any generation before us. We can do, or not do, anything we want. Yet, as time goes on, it seems like all we want to do is nothing or everything. We’re either changing the world, or watching the world change right before our eyes.

Everyone over the age of 30, and a lot of people under, have had thoughts of killing the idiots who are supposedly educating the young minds of our great country. On the conservative side, it’s the Barack Obama’s and the Bill Maher’s and the Rachel Maddow’s of the world who are ruining the world. But on the liberal side it’s the Rush Limbaugh’s and the Bill O’Reilly’s and Michael Savage’s and Mitt Romney’s who are damning the United States to the deepest layer of Dante’s Inferno.

Meet Frank (Joel Murray), a middle aged, overworked, underpaid, and depressed man who decides to literally live the dream. After wrongly being fired for sexual harassment and being told that he has a brain tumor, Frank gives the ultimate middle finger to the world and starts killing our nation’s most repellent and atrocious citizens. He gets the idea after seeing a copy-cat “My Super Sweet 16” on TV. Completely disgusted by the state of our nation’s youth, he adopts the mentality of “If you can’t change ’em, kill ’em”. And that’s exactly what he does.

After his first, sloppy assassination, he picks up Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr), a 16 year old sociopath ADD child who wants nothing more than to take the life of guilty filth. Reluctantly allowing her to come along, the two form a strong bond and become something of a “Mickey and Mallory” for the YouTube age. From state to state, target to target, Roxy and Frank witness firsthand the ins and outs of America’s worst personalities.

When I was going to rent God Bless America from iTunes, I saw a comment that said: “…my wife started playing ‘Words with Friends’ 5 minutes in.” That beautifully worded sentence is, in a nutshell, what God Bless America is essentially about. We’re a society that revolves around technology. We victimize the weak and exploit them for our own entertainment. We’re consumed by technology and all that is has to offer. In fact, if you’d like to hear me rant more about the product of a generation of inept children, read this right here.

At times heartwarming, at times extremely violent, and at times overly preachy, God Bless America is one hell of a film that doesn’t really know what it wants to be. Uneven as a see-saw, God Bless America is good, but not great. While I agree with almost everything the film had to say, its method of saying it was rather amateur, especially considering how gifted writer/director Bobcat Goldthwait is when it comes to screenplays.

The central performance by Joel Murray is one of the best I’ve seen all year, and he definitely elevates the sometimes unrealistically long winded monologues. Tara Lynne Barr is also excellent as a blood-thirsty high school student out for revenge against her generation.

Is God Bless America quality entertainment? Probably not, no. But is it entertaining as all hell with a good message to move it along? You bet your ass it is. If God Bless America isn’t great, it is one thing; original. And in a world of sequels and remakes, that in itself is something to be thankful for. And for that, I say not God bless America, but God bless Bobcat Goldthwait. For having a voice that isn’t conventional in the least.

3.5/5 Bears