November Movies

Another month brings more movie releases. We're into November now if you can believe it and get ready because the Twilight sequel comes out this month!!!! Sorry, I just transformed into a 12 year old girl for a second, what was I saying? Oh yea...November movies. There are a few releases that I'm looking forward to and a few that I'm not...

What to see:

-Disney's A Christmas Carol (11/6) - The feel-good holiday movie of the year. I enjoyed The Polar Express so I think this one will be just as entertaining, especially with the inner child of Jim Carrey doing voices. However, I don't start getting into the Christmas spirit until Thanksgiving is over...

-Pirate Radio (11/6) - Philip Seymour Hoffman, or as I like to call him, "PSH," is in the cast of DJs who fight the man and take to the seas to broadcast a little rock and roll for Britain in the 60's. Also in the cast are Nick Frost and Bill Nighy (from Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz). This will be the second film for director Richard Curtis, the first being Love Actually, which I will confess is a guilty pleasure of mine - definitely the best "chick flick" I've ever seen.

-The Fourth Kind (11/6) - A movie about aliens based on truth...call me a geek but that's all I need to know. I like how they appear to use real archived footage and how Milla Jovovich warns you in the trailer that "some of what you are about to see is extremely disturbing." This really looks like it could be one of the best alien movies to come out. My only concern is that it can't be THAT disturbing if it's rated PG-13, but sometimes you don't need violence to get creeped out.

-Fantastic Mr. Fox (11/25) - One of my favorite stories growing up by Roald Dahl and I'm really excited to see how Wes Anderson puts it together. Most people either love or hate the work of Wes Anderson, but I think he could blur that line with an animated film like this. The animation looks unique and creative and the voices come from what seems to be the click of Anderson, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, along with some pretty recognizable additions in George Clooney, Meryl Streep and Willem Dafoe.

-The Road (11/25) - A great read from Cormac McCarthy if you get the chance. Set in a mysteriously apocalyptic world, the story creates some extremely dark and barren imagery as it follows a father and his son in their struggle to survive and avoid the few dangerous cannibalistic humans that they encounter. Viggo Mortensen plays the father, an excellent actor. Often when I read a book prior to seeing the film, I'm disappointed with the film; I have a feeling that this one may be an exception.

On the cusp:

-Ninja Assassin (11/25) - I love ninjas. The thought of a ninja movie gets me excited. However, I found the trailer to be a little disappointing. It looks like it might be a little too over-the-top and considering it's produced by the Wachowski brothers, that's pretty much inevitable anyway. I did read that the lead actor/ninja trained something like 8 hours a day for 10 months for this film, so that's pretty impressive. For the sake of ninjas, I hope my hesitation is proved wrong.

-The Men Who Stare At Goats (11/6) - Superstar casts don't always make for great movies. I think this film will be entertaining and receive good reviews but it just looks too bizarre for me. Grant Heslov is directing, a guy you might recognize from acting; this is definitely the biggest directorial work he's done. The screenplay was adapted from a British author, which explains why it has a bizarre feel.

No thanks:

-The Box - Let's take a basic philosophical question and make an entire film about it: would you push a button to kill someone you don't know for a million dollars? I loved Donnie Darko, I like Frank Langella and Cameron Diaz, but this plot just looks a little too cheesy for me. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this married couple's decision is tough and doesn't end well.

-2012 - Yeah, yeah, the world's gonna end...we get it already. I'm just a little burnt out on the apocalyptic imagery and cheesy conspiracy themes that constantly get recycled in Hollywood.

-Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans - Aside from a horribly long name, Nic Cage is this so-called "bad lieutenant." A review states that it's his best performance in years, but that sure as hell doesn't say anything to me. Bad Lieutenant was a 1992 film starring Harvey Keitel, a cop that spirals downward with drug addiction. Apparently this isn't supposed to be a remake though. The original director, Abel Ferrara was quoted as saying that directors who make remakes should burn in hell; the director of this film didn't even know who Ferrara was. So it begs the question, why the hell did they name it Bad Lieutenant? I should also add that Xzibit has a substantial role in this film...rappers, can you stick to rapping?

October Movies

As we dive further into fall, the Halloween season is one that I truly love to celebrate, especially with horror movies. One comedy-horror came out this past weekend: Zombieland. I wish the whole phenomenon with vampires would carry over more to zombies, because let's face it: zombies are way cooler than vampires (especially those whimpy ones from Twilight). Sure, they're much dumber generally, but that's why they're great: killing zombies is now an artform. This artform has been communicated through Zombieland, a comedic film set in an apocalyptic world run over by zombies stemming from mad cow disease. With some laughs, some romance, plenty of epic zombie kills and an amazing cameo (you'll have to see it to know), Zombieland is very entertaining.

Appropriately, there are some horror movies coming out in the next few weeks, however, there are also a handful of other releases to look forward to as well...

What to see:

-Where the Wild Things Are (Release: Oct. 16) - Two words: wild rumpus. Interestingly, Spike Jonze, who is best known for his work in music videos, is directing. The cinematography looks pretty amazing as it should be for paying tribute to such a wonderful children's book that many of us grew up with. Plus, the kid who plays Max...his actual name is Max...how great is that?

-Ong Bak 2 (Release: Oct. 23) - Hell to the yeah. Tony Jaa makes most martial arts stars look like choir girls. I've seen Ong Bak about 10 times and I'm still amazed at the fight choreography and stunts. This release is somewhat of a prequel to Ong Bak but rather than being set in modern Thailand, it's set in ancient Thailand...it could be set in Hoboken for all I care as long as I can see Tony Jaa wreck house.

-Antichrist (Release: Oct. 23) - This looks like it can scare the bejesus out of you...artistically. The writer/director has gained international acclaim for his work. The story is basically about a couple looking to solve their problems by staying in a cabin in the middle of the woods, but the woods turn evil on them. And if there's anything you don't want to turn evil on you, it's the woods.

-The Nightmare Before Christmas 3D (Release: Oct. 23) - Sure, this movie came out about 16 years ago, but I still love it: I love the animation, I love the story, I love the music and I love Tim Burton. And we all know that 3D makes everything better, so if you're with me, you'll have to go catch this one while it's out.

-Gentleman Broncos (Release: Oct. 30) - There are some films that I need to see strictly based on the director. This is one of them; Jared Hess, director of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre, brings his directing and writing back with this film starring Jermaine Clement of Flight of the Conchords fame. This one looks way more drug-induced but it looks hilariously creative.

-The Boondock Saints 2: All Saint's Day (Release: Oct. 30) - Finally, the rumors and discussions of a sequel to the cult favorite The Boondock Saints can be laid to rest this month. Normally, with a release like this that's been so built up in anticipation and expectations, I'd feel pretty pessimistic but other than my hope that it will do so, I do feel that this one will not disappoint. In fact, I think this will be A FIREFIGHHTTT!!!!

-The House of the Devil (Release: Oct. 30) - Another limited release (booooo!) which makes me even more eager to see it. As you can guess from the title, this is another Disney release that'll be great for the whole family. With an old school feel, this movie looks like it's begging you to beware of the lunar eclipse. Just check out the trailer:



The likely disappointment of the month:

-Couples Retreat (Release: Oct.9) - Believe me when I say I'm a huge fan of Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau and Jason Bateman. However, that doesn't mean I'll automatically love this movie. Vince Vaughn's last two movies were Christmas movies (Four Christmases and Fred Claus) and they both disproved what I thought to be a fact, which was that there's no such thing as a bad Christmas movie (and that's based on the fact that I've merely heard HORRIBLE things about Four Christmases without seeing it). The thing that gets me about this one is that it's PG-13; I envision most of the good lines are ones that we've already seen in the multiple trailers.

September Movies

I'm obviously a bit late with this post, but better late than never, right? I only saw 3 of my top picks from August so far, two of which I'm glad I had as top picks (Inglourious Basterds & Final Destination 3D), the other not so much (The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard).

This past Friday brought us a few releases, none of which I've read reviews of yet. I intend to see Extract because Mike Judge is awesome, but realize that it can't possibly top Office Space. Gamer came out with Gerard Butler, who plays a human controlled by others in battles...a somewhat interesting premise but I'm far from sold on it. All About Steve also came out...is anyone remotely "all about" this one? Bradley Cooper, dude, what are you thinking?

Here's what I'm looking forward to for the rest of the month...

Top Picks

- Jennifer's Body (Sept. 18) - No, I'm not advocating this just because Megan Fox is in it; she's just an extra bonus for what I think will be an amusing horror flick. Diablo Cody wrote the script so it should be full of wit and sarcasm.

- No Impact Man (Sept. 11) - No rush for this one but most documentaries are worth watching over Hollywood releases. I'm no hippie but I could certainly make a better effort with my "carbon footprint." No Impact Man is about a man, his wife and daughter and their year in living extremely green: no electricity, no buying products with disposable paper, plastic, etc., no using elevators, taxis and so on and so on (in NYC no less). The "Man" seems like an average Joe-type and the trailer exposes how the New York Times writes about it being "part change the world, part gimmick for his next book" so collectively, those two things dispelled most of my skepticism about how genuine the documentary will be.

- The Informant! (Sept. 18) - I don't see how this can't be good. It looks like a good role for Matt Damon, giving him a chance at being humorous without being in a goofball comedy. It's directed by Steven Soderbergh who has a pretty impressive resume in directing and producing.

I'd like it to be good but it won't be...

- I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell - If and only if you're a male, do yourself a favor and read this book by Tucker Max. The guy's real life stories make Charlie Sheen's character on Two and a Half Men look like a 40-year old virgin. Congrats to Tucker for getting a movie deal out of his lewd, alcohol-induced sex addiction and aptitude to recount it in words, but there's no way in hell that it can translate well into film, especially after seeing the trailer. But hey, I'd like to be proven wrong in this case.

Honestly, that's about all that I got for the rest of the month...I'm curious about "Splice" but can't seem to find any trailers for it. I'm not really blown away by anything else, but let me know if you feel otherwise...

Summer Movies - August 09

Slow down summer!! It feels like I just posted about June movies, but today is the last day of July and so one last month of summer blockbusters are coming our way. I previously mentioned that I'd be posting only for this summer's movies, but I think I'll be extending this posting trend every month from now on. So what do we have to look forward to in August? I think it's overall the best month this summer in terms of releases. Let's see...

My top picks (yes, there are a lot)

-Paper Heart (Aug. 7) - Michael Cera has a pretty good filmography so far and it'll be interesting to see the other lead of this movie, Charlyne Yi. She had a couple of the best lines in Knocked Up, but she's not playing a whacked-out stoner in this movie...she's playing a love-skeptic. And I think there'll be a lot of fun cameos in this one too.
-Julie & Julia (Aug. 7) - I probably won't rush out to see this one but you can definitely tell that it's going to be good. Meryl Streep is obviously very talented and Amy Adams is definitely making a name for herself.

-The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard (Aug. 14) - People will go see this solely because Jeremy Piven has created one of the best personas in TV history. Jeremy Piven plays a blue-collar Ari Gold in this one with a backup of other comedic actors. I hope and truly think that this will be better than The Hangover.
-The Final Destination (Aug. 14) - This is in my top picks solely because it'll be in 3D. I've yet to see a 3-D movie outside of Disney world. Grotesque death scenes in 3 dimensions is worth paying 9 bucks for.
-It Might Get Loud (Aug. 21) - This one probably won't be showing near me unfortunately, but it looks interesting. It's a documentary (by the director of An Inconvenient Truth) about Jack White, The Edge and Jimmy Page, their guitar styles and a get together that they have.

-Inglourious Basterds (Aug. 21) - You either love or hate Tarantino. I love him. I'll go see his movie even if I don't see a trailer for it (which is unfortunately almost unavoidable). Love him or hate him, you gotta love the premise: a troop of Jewish men killing Nazis in WWII.
-Five Minutes of Heaven (Aug. 21) - Liam Neeson is a badass. This story is badass. Enough said.
-The Marc Pease Experience (Aug. 21) - I have not heard nor seen anything about this movie yet, but it stars Ben Stiller and Jason Schwartzman and Schwartzman plays a guy 8 years out of school who is living in the past when he was a high school musical star. It's a bit reminiscent of the characteristics of Max Fischer, Schwartzman's character in Rushmore.
-Taking Woodstock (Aug. 28) - It's about time they made a movie about Woodstock (aside from the documentary). Woodstock is a magical piece of history, for people who lived through it, went to it and even people like me who weren't even born yet. And Demetri Martin is cool.
-H2 (Aug. 28) - Kind of like Tarantino, people probably either love or hate Rob Zombie. I love him. I was generally pretty pleased by the first Halloween remake he did so I'm looking forward to this one.

On the cusp:

-A Perfect Getaway (Aug. 7) - Weird casting. Steve Zahn and Milla Jovovich? As a couple? It's a thriller about a honeymoon couple (Steve and Milla) who get dropped off on a tropical island to go backpacking and run into some trouble via 4 other people. It looks like Steve and Milla might throw down in this movie, so it could be entertaining.

-GI Joe (Aug. 7) - I just get the feeling that this one is going to be a CGI-headache with dumb jokes surrounded by explosions and rock music...but I guess that's the point. I'm probably in the minority in my hesitation toward this one, but there's a lot of hype surrounding it, and I just don't think it'll meet that hype. I think GI Joe would have been better made as a movie in the 80s or early 90s.

Wu-Tang Lego

This is the best Lego interpretation I've seen...a replica video of Wu-Tang's "Da Mystery of Chessboxin'"

First of all, if you've never seen the actual video, here it is:



And now here's the Lego video version:



Awesome job to whoever made this.