Tagged: Movies

Most Anticipated Movies of 2010

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I’ve been very lax in my blog this year.  I’ve got a half dozen “year end” and “preview” type posts from January that I never scheduled to be published, so the next couple of weeks will be a bit of a clearing house of stuff that I’m moving from Draft to Published.

2009 turned out to be a fantastic year for movies. Not only were box office records broken, but at least ten amazing flicks were released in 2009, with about 10 more top notch movies also coming out.

One of the crappy things about living in London is that we don’t get the smaller films, and even middle of the road openings will only be here for a couple of weeks (see “Moon” and “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnasiss” as examples). The good thing is that of the 41 screens in London, the same half dozen movies are playing in all six theatres.

Sooooo, there’s a good chance I’ll never get to see most of these movies in theatres.  However it’s a great list, and it’s chock full of trailers!

Continue Reading

Movie Review: Avatar

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James Cameron's Avatar

James Cameron's Avatar

This has been a big year for movies. There was a lot of really good stuff. Star Trek set the bar of how good Sci Fi could be and rejuvinated a tired franchise. The Hurt Locker set new standards for what tension could be. Inglorious Basterds reinvented the war movie. UP showed us that even when the concept is baffling on paper, Pixar can make it work (seriously, who expected a movie with a cranky old dude as the main protagonist to be an action adventure flick?).

It was also a year where special effects became boring. I sat through both GI Joe and Transformers, and was pretty much bored the entire time.  Both Stephen Somers and Michael Bay have forgotten that in order for action to have impact, you need pauses for the audience to catch up.

James Cameron finally showed us what he’s been working on for the last decade and a half, and while the story itself is a rehash of existing material…the technology he showcased and the art direction entirely redefined movies as we know them, and made me a believer in 3D which up until now was a weird gimmick I had little interest in looking at.

I could go on at length about how beautiful it was, how Cameron once again pushed technology to its’ limits, or how 3D may be the silver bullet that kills movie piracy.

Instead of that I’ll tease you with one word.

Wow. Continue Reading

Most Anticipated Movies of 2009

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Dr Manhattan from Watchmen

Dr Manhattan from Watchmen

I love movies, that’s one of the main reasons I went into TV and Film production.  The sad reality though was that making movies is really kind of glorified construction work, and I don’t have the patience for that stuff.  I love the pre and post work of movie making, but hate the chewy middle where you have to cut your teeth to make it anywhere.

2008 was a really good year for movies as you can see from my Movies Year in Review post, but already 2009 is shaping up to be even better with a few can’t miss blockbusters in the pipe, and a bunch of “maybe’s” and “possible big surprises” out there.  Plus we don’t even see the post Cannes, Sundance and Toronto Film Fest potentials on the horizon yet. Continue Reading

The best movies of 2008

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The best movies of 2008

The best movies of 2008

(Updated to include The Wrestler and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) – Continuing my Best of 2008 series, we have the Best Movies of 2008.  It was a really good year for movies this year with some of my favourites not even truly being 2008 films.  Gone Baby Gone, Juno, and No Country for Old Men all technically were released in 2007 even though we didn’t see them here in London until 2008.

In the end though there can only be one absolute favourite, and for me this year it was pretty much a no-brianer.  The film was a tour de force, worked on several differnt levels, and totally brought a genre forward.  It was… Continue Reading

Why Watchmen should be 2 hours

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Dr Manhattan from Watchmen

Dr Manhattan from Watchmen

Apparently there’s a petition out on the interwebs asking mean old Warner Brothers to keep the sanctity of Zack Snyder’s upcoming Watchmen movie in tact and allow a 3 hour cut to be released theatrically.

Watchmen is one of my favourite graphic novels of all time, it’s a fantastic read and it totally re-invented comics in the 1980’s.  It stands on its own as a piece of graphic fiction.  I’m really excited about the movie, it looks like Snyder really “gets” the concept, and has nailed the look.  So would I accept a 3 hour cut?

I say thee NAY! Continue Reading

Movie Review: Hellboy II The Golden Army

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Hellboy II The Golden Army

Hellboy II The Golden Army

The first Hellboy movie was a good film.  It had spectacular visuals, it had a good protagonist, it had cool villians, and it told a decent story.

It wasn’t great though.  For all of the “good stuff” about it, there was something missing.  I feel this way with all of Del Toro’s movies (although Pan’s Labirynth was the closest he’s come to having a complete film).  There’s something missing, and I can’t quite put my finger on exactly what it is that would take his stuff to the next level.  That’s why the French call that certain something a “je ne sais quoi”.

The same is true with this movie.  It was good, but it just wasn’t great.  It’s a case of the sum of the parts not equaling up to the whole. Continue Reading

Batman Next, who should the villain be?

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The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight

So with The Dark Knight currently at $400 million in 18 days, it’s well on the way to the all time box office record (currently held by James Cameron’s Titanic at 600 million), it is inevitable that a third installment will be filmed.  What’s in question right now is whether or not Christopher Nolan will be at the helm.  If I were Warner Brothers I think I’d dump the proverbial semi-truck of cash to get him back.

Christian Bale has been quoted as saying that Nolan has a theme for the next movie, and since his themes always follow his villains, it’s time to find out who the baddie will be. Continue Reading

Stupid Hollywood excuses

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Last year when Halo 3 came out and sold more than $300 million dollars worth of copies in 7 days, Hollywood trades blamed it as the reason that Ben Stiller’s movie “The Heartbreak Kid” made less than $14 million opening weekend. Halo 3 drained gamers’ everywhere will to see the movie.

This week GTA IV came out, it is predicted to have outsold Halo 3 by a three to one factor (that’s nearly a billion dollars in a week).

Iron Man came out the same week, and made $100 million dollars in the weekend (over $200 million worldwide).

Here’s a theory…and it’s absolutely crazy. Maybe nobody went to see Heartbreak Kid because it sucked (seriously, at the time Char and I had seen like 6 movies in a year, and we decided the best part of our night was the popcorn).

Maybe people went to see Iron Man because it was a good movie.

Maybe people who are playing video games that take 100 hours to finish can find a couple of hours to go see a good movie, but don’t bother when the movie looks bad.

I know…crazy theory. I’m stupid like that sometimes.

Movie Review: Iron Man

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Iron ManIron Man, he’s a B level comic book super-hero.  He’s best known for being one of the founding Avengers, being rich beyond most people’s dreams, and for a groundbreaking storyline where he battled alchoholism.

John Favreau has never done an action movie before.  He’s the guy who brought us Swingers (which he wrote, but didn’t direct), Made, Elf, and Zarutha.

However, the cast was A level all the way.  Robert Downey Jr. seems made to play a guy who is battling demons even while he’s having the time of his life.  Gwenyth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terrance Howard were brilliant choices.

The trailers showed that Favreau “got it”, and that the entire cast was spot on perfect, and the music.  Good grief, how could you do a movie trailer for Iron Man where you didn’t use Black Sabbath’s tune? Continue Reading

How can studios be so dumb?

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I read this morning that studios are dissapointed with B.O. takes. Meanwhile they release The Matrix in nearly 4000 theatres.

There was a time where you couldn’t get tickets to opening week of new movie (never mind opening night) and the studios knew that, so they counter-programmed. You might not go see The Matrix, so you went to Bruce Almighty instead. Now people go out to see the movie they want, when they get there, there are plenty of tickets, and plenty of seats. It’s not uncommon for people to show up to a newly released movie, ten minutes into the performance, and still get a seat…on OPENING NIGHT!!!

That’s just insane to me.

Take a look at the club scene. There’s absolutely no reason to have the lines outside of most clubs that are there, other than to create perceived excitement. If people think it’s a big deal to get into something, they will make a bigger deal out of it.

Now personally, I won’t wait in a line at a club…why would I when I can walk across the street and get into the newly released movie that started ten minutes ago?