Begin Again Trailer

I've been looking forward to this one for a while! Great cast and hopefully some great music. Premieres at the end of the Tribeca Film Festival!

We Made a Movie!... Out of a Book (And Then Made Trailers)

It seems that in honor of Divergent coming out in theaters this weekend, two big book-to-film adaptations released their new trailers. Ch-ch-ch-check them out!

The Maze Runner
Although, I've yet to read it (I KNOW, I'M GETTING TO IT), the trailer looks pretty great. And, I always love watching new, young talent. P.S. I love all cast members from Skins, so YAY for Effie!

The Giver
This one I have read, but not in a really long time. Maybe that's the genius of waiting to turn a book into a movie; everyone will have forgotten the details.

Dom Hemingway Trailer

Jude Law plays an insane, awesome person. Emilia Clarke (Mother of Dragons yo) stars as well.

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The Grand Budapest Hotel!!!

It's the one you've all been waiting for! And if you don't live in New York or L.A., you'll still be waiting until next weekend... If you haven't been eagerly and impatiently counting down for The Grand Budapest Hotel, I DON'T GET YOU. I mean, have you seen this trailer? It's frickin' phenomenal!

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It's such a good trailer, that I was actually fairly concerned that it may have set my expectations too high (like The Wolf of Wall Street did with it's super great trailer and super terrible film). And, I suppose some of that concern was valid. I did thoroughly enjoy the film, but I had very similar issues to those I have had with other Wes Anderson films. Let's talk about the good first though. To start, the film is absolutely beautiful. You can probably tell from the trailer and other pictures online, that every shot is a colorful masterpiece. You eyes feel like they're at Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Ralph Fiennes (beloved by all as Voldemort), is simply amazing. His performance is comedic perfection from start to finish. The script is delightful and funny, but it is where I begin to have my problems. 

The film is laid out as an author telling the story of how he came to write the book, The Grand Budapest Hotel (I know, it's confusing even to say here). I think this device is a little tiresome and unnecessary. The story follows the antics of M. Gustave (Fiennes) and his new lobby boy as they become entangled in a murder and theft, and I would have much rather spent the time getting to know some of the other splendid characters introduced in the film instead of continuing to be interrupted by the "author" speaking. Adrien Brody, Billy Murray, Saoirse Ronan, Tilda Swinton only begin to touch on the incredible cast, and I wanted to see more of each of them. Anderson's work can sometimes come off as detached, which always seems a shame to me as the characters he creates are beautiful and yearning for more exploration. 

A NOTE: I believe I'm being more critical than usual because great filmmaking deserves thorough examination and causes you to think and analyze. These Anderson trademarks that are not my favorite may be exactly what someone else loves about his films. And a great film can do that. It inspires debate and pleasure. In summary, this is a whole-hearted recommendation for The Grand Budapest Hotel. 

More for you! See the Willy Wonka happening?

300: Rise of an Empire

I usually just include a film's poster with my reviews; but, this time I decided to feature the best part of 300: Rise of an Empire - Eva Green. To begin with, do you see that bad-ass and haute couture costume? She has tons of them in the film! My dream New York wardrobe would be her entire set of costumes from the film. But, goth-punk-rock epic outfits aside, Eva is also the stand-out performance in this standard, action film. The choice to have her as a strong, blood-thirsty, and cutthroat general is a genius choice that makes the whole premise a little less boring and "done." However, her excellent character also confuses the plot a bit. The combination of her being the most interesting person in the film with the fact that she's given a tragic backstory, makes it difficult to hate her as the villain of the film. You know who you're supposed to cheer for - the Greeks - but, it's kind of more fun to root for her. She takes what she wants, and while she may not be the ultimate strategist, she can recognize intelligence and manipulate people. 

Besides Eva, this was a weak sequel to 300. All the slow-motion blood splattered across the screen that was innovative and exciting in the original, now seems cheesy and overdone. The plot timeline jumps to before 300 takes place, after it takes place, and while it's taking place - leaving you feeling like you're watching an unimportant battle and missing the fun. Themistokles, the main Greek general, is a perfectly fine leader and main character, but he does not grip your heart like Gerard Butler did in the original. He often seems unsure and unhappy with what he's doing, only making you cheer for Eva more. The other two small, bright spots are Lena Headey (because she's my girl from Game of Thrones) and Jack O'Connell. O'Connell's character isn't particularly interesting, but I love Cook from Skins, so I cheered for him anyway. All and all, not the epic story I was hoping for, but way more high fashion than I expected. 

If you want to see more of Eva's costume's click here!

New Transformers Trailer!

In case anyone wanted another Transformers movie... anyone? anyone? Here's the trailer for the 4th installment starring Mark Wahlberg (instead of Shia).

Hot Trailers: Annie and Grace of Monaco!

The new, remixed version of Annie just got its first trailer! It's a more hip, updated take starring Jamie Foxx as the "Daddy Warbucks" character, Cameron Diaz as Miss Hanngian, and Quvenzhane Wallis as Annie. Quvenzhane recently stole everyone's hearts in Beasts of the Southern Wild, so I'm sure she'll be great in this role.

Next up is Grace of Monaco, the biopic starring Nicole Kidman as Grace Kelly. Let's hope it does better than the recent, Diana. 

RoboCop and Pompeii AKA The February That Didn't Stink as Much As I Thought

January and February are usually where studios stick their "iffy" films. They went for it in December with all of their Oscar-worthy, indie beauties, and then they plop what's left over at the beginning of the next year. Luckily for the world at large, February's two big movies, RoboCop and Pompeii, are far less painful than they could be.

RoboCop
RoboCop is a remake of a movie I've never seen. What? You expect me not only to go see RoboCop, but also see the old version of RoboCop? I said it was okay, not that I had become a dedicated fan of the franchise. Set in the somewhat distant future, RoboCop centers around a police officer, Alex, who is nearly killed in an assassination attempt made by a mob thug. He is then given a robot body (ahhhh now you see, he's a robot and a cop) and put back out on the streets to clean up future Detroit. The trouble arises when the scientists who gave him his new body start to mess with his brain as well as his metal limbs. I agree, it's not the best plot. But, for an action film, this one was put together pretty nicely.

Gary Oldman (right? who knew he was in this?) plays the scientist torn between a power-and-profits-hungry CEO (played by Michael Keaton) who wants Alex controlled and his conscience which is telling him to leave Alex to use his own mind and emotions. While it's certainly no Oscar-winning performance, it does bring the whole movie up a little notch. The nice relationship developed between Alex and his wife (Abbie Cornish) and son is also a grounding element that really helps everything come together. And BONUS, my man Jay Baruchel is in it. So everyone wins there.

Pompeii
If you watch Game of Thrones (is that still a question? everyone should watch GOT), you'll recognize the leading man in Pompeii, Kit Harington. Now, I don't think John Snow is anyone's favorite character in GOT (he's quite whiny and dumb), so it's easy to forget that Kit is actually a very attractive man. But, let me just tell you, in Pompeii Kit Harington proves once and for all that he definitely has what it takes to be an action star and heart throb. Like, just to be clear, he is SEX in this movie. It hits you like a train. So, basically, if you're a girl, don't stay at home and watch Netflix, go see Pompeii. You're welcome.

To get to the actual movie, it's certainly no Gladiator, but it has it's own strengths. Emily Browning is a mostly non-annoying female lead, which is hard to pull off in a toga. There's a smattering of Roman politics, but not enough to get confusing, which is convenient. And the big finale (I won't spoil it if you don't know it), really keeps the film moving along. You've also got gladiator best buddies, sword-fighting, and a conniving Kiefer Sutherland - so that's all good stuff.

And... just to prove my point. Here's a still from the movie... So yeah...

Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer

The standard superhero movie gets a sense of humor and a side-kick raccoon.

That Awkward Moment... When Just Being Zac Efron Does Not a Movie Make

This movie had something resembling potential. Michael B. Jordan and Miles Teller (the ones who aren't Zac Efron) are both up-and-coming actors with a lot of talent. Imogen Poots (Zac's love interest) has yet to severely annoy me in any film. It's set in New York, and I live in New York, so I get to "ooo" and "ahh" at all the places in the movie that I've been to. "Oh my God is that Cafe Select? Because I've totally been to Cafe Select. So, basically I'm in this movie. But, basically, I'm cooler than this movie. Basically, I'm dating Zac Efron." That's what you're supposed to think when you recognize somewhere, right?

Anyway, the point is, I had something similar to optimism when I went in. Unfortunately, this movie turned out to be pretty boring and standard all the way through. It spent a lot of time establishing that its main characters are assholes. Charming and semi-lovable assholes, but assholes nonetheless. Then it wants you to start feeling things about them. And you're all, "I don't want the feels you trying to make me have." It just doesn't make sense. You spend most of a movie reinforcing the stereotype that guys are only looking out for themselves when it comes to women, and then you give it a chick-flick ending. Who is seeing this? If it's guys, they're not gonna like the ending. If it's girls, then they're not gonna like the beginning, and they're flat out not going to believe the ending. If these relationships are supposed to be my best case scenarios, I'm pretty concerned. One guy getting divorced, one guy totally self-involved and emotionally stunted, one guy who knows every guy you've slept with and who you've set up with multiple girls to sleep with before. I mean I knew there were no dateable men in New York, but this is just sad. Even Jordan and Teller couldn't act their way out of this confused bro-rom-com.  

New Divergent Trailer Gets a Couple Things Closer to Accurate

So, the first couple Divergent trailers were more than mildly annoying. I mean, I expected that because of my deep ambivalence towards Shailene Woodley, but they made it seem like the movie wasn't really going for anything resembling true to the book. This trailer gets a couple things right at least...

And the Winner Is... Totally Predictable

Don't get me wrong, I love the Oscars. I love the red carpet dresses, Jennifer Lawrence's somewhat drunken interviews, and all the amazing movies that come out at the end of the year. But, they do tend to be a bit predictable. I mean by the time the Oscars happen The Golden Globes, The Screen Actors Guild Awards, and The Directors Guild Awards have all already crowned their victors, so you have a pretty good idea of what's coming. So, I've decided to highlight some of the great films and actors that I loved this year, but that would probably never be recognized by the lovely Academy.

Here's a fun, little picture showing you all the great movies that would never get a Best Picture Nomination, but that I think are totally worth watching:

Short Term 12, The Kings of Summer, The Way, Way Back, About Time, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Austenland, Trance, Before Midnight, Wadjda

I can highly recommend all of these, and most are no where near as serious as the nominees for Best Picture. And if you can't rely on my word, here's a playlist of all of their trailers: 

You also don't want to miss these great performances by people who apparently aren't famous enough for the Academy to nominate:

Brie Larson in "Short Term 12," Miles Teller in "The Spectacular Now," Moises Arias "The Kings of Summer," Sam Rockwell in "The Way, Way Back," Josh Gad in "Thanks for Sharing," Julie Delpy in "Before Midnight"

DO IT. WATCH THESE MOVIES. THEY ARE GOOD. END OF POST.

The Fault in Our Stars Trailer

Based on a now beloved book by John Green, here's the trailer for The Fault in Our Stars. If you're a Nicholas Sparks fan (The Notebook, Dear John, The Last Song), this will probably be your cup of tea.

TRAILERS That I Somehow Missed, But You Shouldn't!

Transcendence

Johnny Depp's mind gets transferred into a computer when he dies. Bad shit ensues. Because really, do you want Johnny all up in your browser? Well, maybe...

The Other Woman
Cameron Diaz, Leslie Man, and the hot, sister-loving guy from Game of Thrones make a funny-type movie.

22 Jump Street
Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill are back and ready to make you snort yo soda out yo nose.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
That movie that was surprisingly better than you thought it was going to be now has a sequel. Hail to the monkeys.

Edge of Tomorrow
You think it's a trailer for Oblivion. It's not a trailer for Oblivion. That already came out. Tom Cruise just wants to make it abundantly clear that you cannot kill him. It cannot be done. Oh, and YAY Emily Blunt!

And just to remind you of this awesomeness coming next year...

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Her AKA The ONE Time I Wrongly Prejudged a Movie

So you and I probably had the same first impression of the movie Her after seeing the trailer. I believe my exact words were “What’s the big deal? A man falls in love with Scarlett Johansson’s voice. Not exactly earth-shattering.” I put it just a notch above phone sex that had been scripted and filmed. I also had my lingering doubts about Joaquin Pheonix since that whole crazy rapper/fake rapper/fake movie debacle (if you don't know about that, where were you in 2009? Google Joaquin Phoenix Hoax). So, despite my usual attempt to go into a movie clear of bias, I was pretty sure this one was not going to be my cup of tea. 

Now, I will say this once, and never again. I may have ever so slightly miscalculated and been possibly... wrong. You go into Her thinking you will be able to anticipate every possible plot turn, thinking you have heard this story a million times before, or that it is not a story worth hearing. But, this film surprised me in so many wonderful ways. One of them was the way the film was able to disarm me and open me up to the story by creating a world ever-so-slightly in the future, but entirely and uncomfortably believable. It's not flying cars and men on Mars, it's Apple's successor (not really, but it's so integrated into life that it could be) creating a product that everyone just adopts. This new AI operating system (that would be Scarlett Johansson) is something that everyone begins to experiment with at the same time and something everyone must then learn to incorporate in society's norms. If everyone is having a meaningful (not always romantic) relationship with their computer, what does that mean? Seeing and experiencing this concept is much better than me explaining it, but the film does an incredible job of raising questions that suddenly seem important given the close reality of this future America. I'm not even someone who enjoys hours of philosophizing, but it is impossible not to get wrapped up in how human nature could so easily (and possibly realistically) evolve. Props to Phoenix, Johansson, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, and Chris Pratt who all made this film a gem.

'Tis the Season for Good Movies!

That's right folks, all the Oscar-hopeful films flooded in at the end of December, meaning there are tons of great movies to check out! I'm going to do my darndest to see everything that might get nominated for anything, and I'm filling you in on my top picks!

One of my absolute favorite movies of the year is American Hustle. I went in with little to no idea of the plot of the film, only some very high expectations for its stellar cast. The amazing performances by the whole cast including Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, and Jennifer Lawrence were the obvious star of the film. Bale once again proves he can truly play any role and make you regain faith in actors (and the world at large). Cooper does a wonderful job playing a psychotic weirdo, a refreshing change from his usual dumb, bro-ish characters. I was nervous to see Lawrence because many people had said she was miscast for her role, but once again, she blew me away with her effortless ability to transform into a crazy, but delightful housewife. Amy Adams' wardrobe distracted a bit from her performance, but if you can stop looking at her low-cut dress for a second, you'll see she also does a fine job. 

I thought this film would be a serious drama, but I was ecstatic to find that it's actually more of a comedy. This one-of-a-kind movie is the unlikely story of a con man, the two loves of his life, and the FBI agent who clumsily tries to use them to arrest criminals. Yes, the plot is technically more of a thriller or crime story, but the absolutely hilarious performances by everyone and the brilliant script leave you in love with every moment of the film. I can tell you without a doubt, skip The Wolf of Wall Street (AKA repeating scenes of boobs and drugs and boredom), and go see American Hustle.

More reviews to come... but here's a cheat sheet. Go see: Her, The Hunger Game: Catching Fire, Frozen, Inside Llewyn Davis, and August: Osage County!