Category Archives: Movie News & Opinions

Movie Trailers

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints: Trailer Features Outlaws in Love

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After getting rave reviews at Sundance, Ain’t Them Bodies Saints is finally getting released to theaters and we have the trailer. Written and Directed by David Lowery, who’s prior works consists of two low-budget features, St. Nick and Deadroom, and recently the editing of the tantalizing Upstream Color. This seems to be his first film with a well-known cast in Casey Affleck (Gone Baby Gone), Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), and Ben Foster (The Mechanic, and the upcoming Lone Survivor). The story for his newest flick is as follows; Affleck plays an outlaw who is sentenced to prison for 25 years for an act his wife, Mara, committed, but escapes in hope of reuniting with his her and their now born child. Sounds interesting enough, and if that doesn’t entice you enough, check out the trailer for the gorgeous cinematography and score. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiWJMsBEYl8

The reviews for this have been mostly positive, and one conclusion I can draw is this looks film looks great visually. Winning the Special Jury Prize for Cinematography at Sundance, the shots in the trailer feel reminiscent of the type of shots in Mallick’s The Tree of Life, very surreal and up close to the actors. Some of the complaints at Sundance were the film being overly long, which makes it good news that the cut being released to theaters is about 15 minutes shorter. Also, I can’t forget the score in the trailer that I hope is a precursor to what the film is like, cause it works tremendously in the trailer with its soft, mellow, yet dramatic violins.

For more on the film, below’s an excellent quick interview with David Lowery where he talks about the story and how it differs from other films in the genre, check it out:

The film was released on August 16th in NYC and LA, and is coming to VOD August 23rd.

Movie Trailers

Lone Survivor Trailer: True Story with an All-Star Cast

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Peter Berg didn’t have much luck with his massive box office flop, Battleship, but that could change with his newest army flick. Lone Survivor is based on a the true story of a SEAL Team 10’s failed mission to capture an infamous Taliban leader during the War in Afghanistan. The story sounds somewhat basic, but the cast is killer, including Mark Whalberg (Pain & Gain), Ben Foster (Contraband), Eric Bana (Munich), Emile Hirsch (Into the Wild), and Taylor Kitsch (Friday Night Lights). The cast is great mix of young, and older action stars which could make for a kick-ass flick. Check out the trailer below.

Based on the book, Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 by Marcus Luttrell, the man played by Whalberg in the film, the story goes as follows: In 2005, while hiding out in Afghanistan, SEAL Team 10 encountered a group of young boys, voting whether to let them live or not, they decided to let them go. Hours later, the group of four was surround by 100’s of Taliban fighters. The outcome of the story is out there if you really want, but I’ll obviously forgo posting that here. The story on paper sounds pretty good, but when I heard it was a true story, my excitement shot up because the outcome isn’t going to be some insane action movie trope, it’s going to be something realistic. My only fear is Peter Berg, who championed the deep thought he put into his former flick Battleship, but ended up giving us a watered down, dumb big budget action flick. Hopefully that doesn’t happen here.

lonesurvivortrailer

The film is due out January 10, 2014.

Movie News & Opinions

Nevermore: An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe – One Man Show to Make Leap from Stage to Screen

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Edgar Allan Poe’s work has attracted and amazed people since it was introduced to the masses in 1827, and has continued to be a big part of popular culture ever since. Nevermore: An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe is a one man show loosely based on the life of Poe. It uses his own letters and essays as well as incorporating reviews of his appearances at the time to help create an engaging experience. The show is set in 1848 and stars Jeffrey Combs. The audience follows Poe’s descent into madness while out on a cross-country speaking tour. Do not worry if you missed it,  because below is a 5 minute compilation of Combs in fine form.

For those of you unfamiliar with the name Jeffrey Combs, you have no doubt have seen him whether you remember the name or not. He is a superb character actor who has appeared in various television roles throughout the years. When not appearing in Star Trek or voicing numerous characters for DC animated series, he is mostly plying his trade in the film industry. What most people will recognize him from is his portrayal of H.P.Lovecraft’s Frankenstein style creator Herbert West in the hugely popular 80’s splatter flick Re-Animator.

nevermore re animator

Dread Central has reported (via Twitter) that the show is now to become a feature film.  Can you guess who the director is going to be? Yes it is none other than Jeffrey Combs old pal Stuart Gordon, the director of the original stage show.

nevermore tweet

A successful horror director in his own right, the two of them have made some superb low-budget horror movies together including the above mentioned movie and films like From Beyond, Castle Freak, The Pit and the Pendulum and Fortress. They do make a great team, and with Stuart on board you know that Jeffrey’s performance will be given the center stage it deserves. How they are planning on pulling this one stage production off is yet to be seen, but if it keeps any of the magic of the original stage performance then we should all be in for a treat.

nevermore edgar allen poe

Combs has a talent of breathing new life into well established historical figures and this reviewer is looking forward to seeing how this film progresses (watch his performance in the movie Necronomicon where he plays H.P.Lovecraft and you will see how successful he is at portraying that established writer). No official date on release yet, but there is a poster already out for this (which can be seen below) which really brings home the struggle this mentally tortured writer was under. This will be one film that all Poe fans should rush to see.

nevermore poster

Movie News & Opinions

Bruce Willis vs. Sylvester Stallone in Old Man Showdown

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In this week’s “Old Man News” we have Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis. With a little Harrison Ford thrown in for good measure. Sylvester Stallone has this film franchise that he stars in, you might have heard of it – The Expendables? Yea, that one. Well Sly is currently gathering up people for the third incarnation of The Expendables and was in talks with Bruce Willis to return.

Apparently things didn’t go well as Stallone sent out these two tweets in short succession.

Looking past Stallone’s fangirling over Harrison Ford, what exactly happened?

Turns out, Bruce Willis had been offered $3 million for the third film and instead wanted $4 million. Well, from the outside looking it, it seems a little ridiculous to pass up a job over a million dollars but hey, it’s still a million dollars. But wait! That’s not the whole story.

Get this, Willis wanted $4 million for four days of work. FOUR DAYS! One million dollars for each day of work. That sound you are hearing is everyone in the known world rolling their eyes. Good riddance Mr. Willis.

Thankfully Sylvester Stallone had another guy in mind for the job. A man who has a source for The Hollywood Reporter said is “a better actor, a much nicer person and a more interesting direction for the film.” That man is none other than Harrison Ford.

Harrison Ford

That isn’t the only Harrison Ford news of the week. Nope. Earlier in the week Ford was asked about a fifth Indiana Jones film.

[box_light]”To me, what was interesting about the character was that he prevailed, that he had courage, that he had wit, that he had intelligence, that he was frightened, and that he still managed to survive. That I can do.”[/box_light]
So he’s signed on for action film The Expendables 3, and he’s okay with another turn as Indiana Jones? Maybe 70 is the new 60 after all.
Movie News & Opinions

Could There Be A Buffy Movie? Sarah Michelle Gellar Would Be Cool With That

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While promoting her upcoming CBS comedy with Robin Williams (which you can check out the trailer for among the 37 new TV trailers we’ve gathered) someone asked Sarah Michelle Gellar if she’d be on board for a Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. That in and of itself isn’t newsworthy. Given the huge success the Veronica Mars Movie has found via Kickstarter, you have to imagine that everyone that has ever been part of a fan favorite TV show has been fielding questions about the possibility of a film adaptation.

Sarah Michelle GellarThe nice part is that Gellar didn’t give a total throw away answer. She could have easily laughed it off but instead she only half laughed it off:

[box_light]“If there ever was the right story, we would do it, but the thing with Buffy is that Buffy was a movie, and it ultimately didn’t work as a film, the story works better over time.”

At this point, the stake would be my walker and I would be hobbling in.”[/box_light]

So obviously not the green light Buffy fans would hope for, but it’s nice to know that Gellar and creator Joss Whedon have discussed it. Of course the biggest problem with a Buffy film would be getting the old cast back together. David Borneaz, for whatever reason, rarely talks about either Buffy or Angel. James Marsters believed he was too old in the first place to play Spike. Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof are off being their busy adorable married selves. Unfortunately Anthony Head’s pilot for The CW (The Selection) wasn’t picked up so he’d possibly be available.

Will there ever be a Buffy movie? Unlikely. But no harm in dreaming right? To soothe ourselves, let’s take a look back at Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

buffy_and_logo

Movie Trailers

Her Trailer: Spike Jonze’s new Sci-Fi Romance

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Spike Jonze is back in the spotlight after about four years of no feature films, with his new flick Her. The story is about a heartbroken man who finds solace in an A.I computer that acts as his girlfriend, and it looks to be a cool blend of Sci-Fi over the basic falling in love storyline. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix as the loner, who on paper sounds similar to his previous character in The Master as he looks to be disconnected and awkward in society. However, the portrayal in the trailer seems to be totally different, which goes to show Phoenix’s tremendous range. Accompanying him is a killer cast including Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers) as the computer voice Sarah, Rooney Mara (The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo), Amy Adams (The Master), Olivia Wilde (The Change Up), and Chris Pratt (Parks and Rec.). Check out the Her trailer below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzV6mXIOVl4#at=16

The film looks great, and it’s sure to be one in contention for awards later this year. What most excites me is the Sci-Fi Romance tone that Jonze seems to be getting at, akin to Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind. Keeping the heart, and using the Sci-fi as simply a mechanism is what makes me excited for this.

Also, a neat note, this is Spike Jonze’s first solo screenwriting credit on a film, which hopefully proves to be a good thing as Sci-Fi is done best with a clear vision from start to finish.

her

Her opens November 20, just two days before the major blockbuster which is bound to make big bucks, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.