Man of Steel, Man Oh Man

This movie had a lot going for. Henry Cavill's hot bod, flying, a third thing, Henry Cavill's hot bod... But, sadly, even all those stellar ingredients couldn't add up to a winner. Unless you're counting all women who got to look at Henry Cavill's hot bod. Some winners there.

To start out on a more positive note, I did like the beginning of this movie (not the actual beginning because that was a birth scene and was just gross). The story on Krypton was kind of interesting, and I was excited to deal with some complex democratic and interstellar issues. I'd always just thought that Superman's parents had pretty much shot him into space and then Krypton went boom, but the movie gave a little more back story. Also at the beginning, you see Clark Kent (that's Superman for all you nubes) being a general do-gooder. He's saving people left and right. Seems like the right thing to do considering he can't die. Unfortunately, from there, it seems that the screenwriters were fired and any semblance of logic or a story went out the window.

Here are some examples:

• At an extremely convenient and totally random moment, Clark find a Kryptonian ship that just happens to have a halogram version of his dad who can explain EVERYTHING to him. Just lays it out. All the info he might need. So, how nice for him.  
• Amy Adams. Oh Amy Adams. She is randomly brought into all sorts of situations she absolutely does not need to be a part of. Mostly involving evil aliens and advanced weaponry. She and Superman also appear to fall in love in approximately 2 minutes. You don't even know it's happened, and then they're kissing in a pit of mass destruction and death. Yeah, thousands of people are dead around them, and then bang, time for smooching. RUDE guys. 
• It's still pretty unclear what the evil Kryptonians wanted, and why they couldn't get along with Superman. Seems they both would like to restart the Kryptonian race, and that could probably work out if they used another planet. This is probably why all the fight scenes seemed so random. You'd be watching Superman get punched through a building and be like, "Wait, why are they mad? How did this escalate so much?"

There's tons more to mock and get confused by, and I found a HILARIOUS article that breaks down the whole movie and how weird it is. It has a lot of spoilers, but here's the delightful scene where Superman's Dad fills him in:

Jor-El: Hey! I shot you into space when you were a baby!

Clark: Dad?

Jor-El: That’s me! Okay, let me give you the lowdown. Your name is Kal-El, you’re a Kryptonian, our planet Krypton blew up, and all the Kryptonians are dead except you and our most dangerous criminal, Zod.

Clark: That’s unfortunate.

Jor-El: Also I kind of hid all of Krypton’s genetic code inside you so that you are the key to restarting the Kryptonian race and Zod’s kinda going to be looking for that.

Clark: Um, do you want me to restart the Kryptonian race?

Jor-El: I'm honestly not sure.

Clark: Then why did you stick the Codex in me?

Jor-El: In retrospect, it may have been a poor idea. On the other hand, if you do decide to start the Kryptonian race, this scout ship has a bunch of empty babies in our underwater tree pod room. All you have to do is stick the DNA right in them. There's a little hole. It's unfortunately placed, though.

Anyway, if you're basically just looking for random action sequences, this'll do the trick. Or if you're looking for something to mock mercilessly while fanboys sitting near you *shush* you, I'd recommend it as well. Otherwise... cross your fingers that Thor 2 sucks less.

Jobs Trailer (AKA me squinting trying to see if Ashton Kutcher could possibly look like Steve Jobs)

I like it when actors take on new and challenging roles. Try different genres. Get haircuts. But, I'm just not sure I'm going to believe Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs. ALSO, that song in the trailer never gets to the chorus and you just keep waiting for it, and it never happens. It's REALLY upsetting.

Drinking Buddies Trailer

Starring Olivia Wilde, Jake Johnson, and Anna Kendrick and with the title Drinking Buddies, I was pretty concerned this was going to be LAME. BUT, it actually looks like a fresh romantic comedy. Now excited.

LAMEBUT haha

The Spectacular Now Trailer

While I'm not Shailene Woodley's biggest fan (I'm fairly concerned she's going to ruin Divergent, The Fault in Our Stars, and Spiderman 2 (again) next year, like pretty concerned), I have heard good things about this movie. It looks decent, other than it looks exactly the same as A Walk To Remember sans cancer.

UPDATE: Praise Thor (or Chris Hemsworth)! Looks like Shailene will not be in Spiderman 2! See here.

UPDATE UPDATE: No Woodley in any of the new Spidermans! Mary Jane will be recast - see here.

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Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

The Bling Ring

Man does Sofia Coppola (director of The Bling Ring) know how to cut a trailer. There's hip and upbeat songs, celebrities, Emma Watson talking in an American accent, night club dancing, and lots of glittery fashion. But, you get about the same enjoyment just from watching the trailer as you do from watching the whole movie.

Honestly, that pretty much covers it. Bored kids in California decide to rob celebrities' homes while they're out of town, and *SPOILER* they get caught. That's not really a spoiler though as this was a real news story, and there's even been a reality show starring one of the real The Bling Ring's members (Emma Watson's character, of course). The characters are mostly (unsurprisingly) shallow, so there's not much to sink your teeth into here. The main idea (it's even said in the trailer) is that this is a film about America's obsession with a celebrity lifestyle and how far people will go to emulate that lifestyle. Which is great all, but do you really think the teenagers (who ARE being marketed to) going to see this movie because of the super fun trailer and going to give a Chihuahua's rear-end about that? Nope. So... what was the point? But, hey, I saw it, so no shame if you feel like going to see Emma's latest movie and pretending to live the lifestyle along with these characters for a couple hours. Don't worry, I won't tell. If anyone asks, you saw it because of the severe and frightening implications about our youth and our society. 

The Wolf of Wall Street Trailer

Is it just me or does Leo not seem to be pushing himself as much acting-wise with this one? Models, money and Jonah Hill on a boat... Yep, that's actually just his life.

Indie Movie Round Up! (Kings of Summer, Before Midnight, The East, and Frances Ha)

You know those movies that you hear about in passing like twice, and then forget about? Well, I've seen them all! Check out which ones I LOVED and which ones you can continue ignoring. I'll even put a playlist of the trailers up top here, so you can check out which ones you're interested in (open in YouTube for the easiest viewing).

The Kings of Summer

The Kings of Summer was a summer movie I was definitely pumped to see. It's a coming-of-age story, but not one done by the same old people in Hollywood. It's from a fresh voice, and that really shows in the film. There's an excitement and a freedom to the characters and to the filmmaking that makes this a really enjoyable film.

The basic concept is that a couple of teenagers get really sick of their parents and decide to build a house in the woods to live in. While the kids-not-getting-along-with-their parents bit is a little tired, the idea of actually doing something about it is new. Normally, I think complaining is about all teenagers can summon the effort to do, but these guys actually head out into the semi-wilderness and build a semi-house. The cast is exceptional and the story is heart-felt. You may recognize that funny-looking kid, but I'm not going to tell you from where because you'll judge him, and his performance is worth a judgement-free viewing (check this clip for proof). Although there were perhaps a couple too many slo-mo beautiful summer nature shots for me; overall, I would highly recommend you check this little indie flick out!

Before Midnight

First off, go watch Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, then we can talk (or you could not do that and just keep reading). Those two films are the precursors to Before Midnight; although, this is unlike any other series you've seen before. Before Sunrise introduces you to two young people (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy) who fall in love over one night. Sounds like something you've seen before? Well it's nothing like anything you've seen before. This series is all about real conversations - saying the things people actually say to each other, talking about what's actually important to you. When these two characters discuss a topic, you, as an audience-member, think about how you feel about that topic as well; you don't just sit and watch them talk, you engage. Now, this all sounds a little unbelievable and ridiculous when you write it down, but it's a truly great film-watching experience. So, like I said, seeing the first two films really enhances Before Midnight, but you can also enjoy the film without having seen them. I don't want to give too much away in case you do decide to go back and watch the first two films (which I SERIOUSLY highly recommend because they're GREAT). But, Before Midnight beautifully carries on the tradition and magic of the first two films, and I could not stop smiling the entire time.

The East

Brit Marling (After Earth, Arbitrage, the one on the poster who is not Ellen Page or Alexander Skarsgard) stars an an agent who is sent in undercover to debunk an environmental terrorism group. What is an environmental terrorism group you may ask? A group that does terroristy-type things (official term) against people or companies who harm the environment. Ellen Page and Alexander Skarsgard are members of this group. 

What it comes down to is that Marling begins to understand and appreciate this group and starts to question he loyalties towards her employer. While not an earth-shattering idea, all the performances are so excellent, this film really delivers a punch. You connect with Marling and the group members. In fact, there's basically no hint of doubt that what they're doing is right in the context of the film. Their acts only border on violent and work for the betterment of the lives of many. The age-old question of who determines what is right comes up of course, but for the movie's sake, you side pretty easily with this tree-hugging, revenge-seeking bunch. My one problem with films like these are that they stir outrage within me about the tyranny of corporations that harm others thoughtlessly, but I never find any way to use that outrage productively. My own fault, I know, but I don't think I'm alone in it. BASICALLY, if you're looking for a well-acted thriller, I'd check it out. 

Frances Ha

Frances Ha goes at the bottom because I liked it the least. I liked the rest of these quite a bit though, so that's not as negative as it seems. I think a lot of the romance of this film doesn't quite get through to me because I live in New York, and it is set in New York. Maybe that means I should love it all the more, but I think the very fact that I do understand many of these situations makes it less easy to revel in. I'm pretty sure you're supposed to revel in this movie.

It definitely has charm at certain points and is realistically and well-written. But, I felt a little too much like I was watching an extended episode of Girls with a main character only slightly more likable than Lena Dunham. At the same time, watching other people make the same mistakes you make is both painful and a bit of a relief. It's absolutely an original film that's different from anything else out there, but the voice and circumstances somehow feel familiar. I'd give it one hipster thumbs up.