Christopher Nolan's "Inception" Trailer

The long awaited trailer for "Inception" is finally here. The movie, written directed by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, The Prestige), stars Leonardo DiCaprio (Catch Me If You Can), Ellen Page (Juno), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer), Marion Cotillard (Public Enemies) and many others. According to IMDb, the movie should hit theaters on July 16th, 2010. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7sc0xapuT8

"Avatar" Trailer

At last, the trailer for James Cameron's (Titanic, Terminator 1 and 2) "Avatar" is here! Some people have said that this movie doesn't live up to its hype, but I personally think the trailer looks amazing and I am looking even more forward to this film. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MB3Ea6L-gw

Top 20 since '92

Yesterday, I was on one of my favorite websites, "spill.com", and they had posted a video of Quentin Tarantino listing his favorite movies over the past seventeen years. The importance of 1992 is that is the year his first movie, "Reservoir Dogs", was released. Being a frequent listmaker, I decided to try this for myself, and here's what I got (in alphabetical order):

Braveheart

Casino Royale

Catch Me If You Can

The Dark Knight

Forrest Gump

Frost/Nixon

Gran Torino

Groundhog Day

Kill Bill (Vol. 1, I have yet to see Vol. 2)

The Lion King

Lord of the Rings

The Matrix

Monster's Inc.

O Brother Where Art Thou?

Ocean's Eleven

The Prestige

Scent of a Woman

Saving Private Ryan

Star Trek

The Usual Suspects

 Here's the link to Tarantino's top 20: http://my.spill.com/profiles/blog/show?id=947994:BlogPost:1556988

"Funny People" Review

Judd Apatow has made quite a name for himself in the world of movies. He has only directed two other pictures, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up", but he has produced movies ranging from Will Ferrell comedies such as "Anchorman" to the stoner action-comedy "Pineapple Express". For me, Apatow films are either a hit or a miss. So where does his third directional achievment, "Funny People", end up?

"Funny People" stars Adam Sandler (Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison) as George Simmons, a successful actor who discovers he has a terminal disease and may not live for much longer. After coming to this realization, he decides to return to stand-up but is not well received because of his darker, death-related material. So he recruits the help of rookie comedian Ira Wright, played by Seth Rogen (Knocked Up, Observe and Report), to help write him new jokes. As Simmon's comes closer and closer to death, Ira encourages him to say goodbye to all the people close to him, including the love of his life (Leslie Mann).

"Funny People" feels like two different movies. The first half feels like an independent dramedy with laughs here and there but overall a serious tone. However, the movie changes when Simmons discovers his medicine is working and he won't die after all. It then turns into a typical, awkward, Apatow-like comedy, as Simmons proceeds to revisit his ex-fiancee and her new husband (Eric Bana). This is what makes "Funny People" really feel as long as its almost 2 and a half hour runningtime; it just drags out for longer than it needs to.

In terms of acting, I really felt that Sandler's performance carries the first half of this movie. He shows some real an powerful emotion even if its just in a quick look on his face. Its here that we see him act better than ever before. However, as the movie enters its more comedic second half, so does Sandler. At that point, it's not a bad performance by any means whatsoever, its just a solid one. Let's just say I'm not predicting an Oscar nod for Sandler in the near future. As for Rogen, I enjoyed him a bit more in this movie than I usually do in other things, but not by a whole lot. Bana tries his hardest, but in the end I did not like the character at all because of the way he was written and directed (sometimes it looks like he's trying to display ten expressions at the same time). However, the only actor in this movie I truly disliked would have to be Mann. Its the classic tale of "I got into this movie because my husband is the director".

If I had to choose, I think that "Funny People" is a miss for me in the Apatow lineup, though not by much at all. There were some very funny scenes definitely worth seeing (for example when Eminem is yelling at Ray Romano) and at its core, the movie has a nice message. I just felt a stronger script and some better directing of some actors (like Bana and Mann) could have made the film a whole lot better. Not an amazing film, but just better. I can't really run out and recommend it, but if you want to see it then by all means see it.

FINAL RATING: 3/5

Bryan Singer to Direct "Battlestar Galactica" Film.

Bryan Singer, the director of "X-Men", "X2", and "The Usual Suspects", has just agreed to direct a movie version of the TV show, "Battlestar Glactica", for Universal Studios. While I am a big fan of the first two X-Men pictures, I have to say that "The Usual Suspects" is one of my favorite movies of all time so I am without a doubt excited for this. And to comfort Battlestar fans, below is a quote from Singer:

The lesson I learned on X-Men is to have a healthy respect for the fan base of sci-fi fantasy franchises, and I'm confident that the 'Galactica' brand is a sleeping giant. It was a show I watched during its initial run, from the pilot to the final episode. The essence and the brand name is quite potent in a climate where there's a great deficit of sci-fi programming.

First Picture for James Cameron's "Avatar"

Cameron fans rejoice! The director of "Titanic" and "The Terminator" has finally revealed the first photo, as you can see above, from his highly anticipated movie, "Avatar". In it you can see Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation) as Jake Sully and behind him, his avatar. "Avatar" will hit theaters on December 18th, 2009. Look out for this one!

Classics

I'm planning to start a section where i review classic movies. Now, there are many definitions of a classic, but this is mine in case anyone would like to suggest something:

1) The movie must from the 70s or earlier.

2) The movie has to be iconic in some way. Whether it's a famous quote, image, character, a combination of the three, or something else.

So what are some of your favorite classics? 

Sony Pictures to Release "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus"

Sony Pictures Classics is now in talks to release Terry Gilliam's new film hopefully this year. The movie stars Christopher Plummer as the title character and Heath Ledger in his final role. But since Ledger passed away in the middle of production in January, his character, Tony, will also be portrayed by Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell in different fantasy sequences. The specific date for the US release has not been confirmed yet, however the film will premiere on October 16th in Italy and the UK, according to IMDb. It has already been shown at the Cannes and Munich International film festivals.

I'm not very familiar with Gilliam's work (besides, of corse, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail), but I would not miss the opportunity to see Ledger's final performance.

Trailer of Peter Jackson's "The Lovely Bones"

Here is the link to see the trailer for Peter Jackson's new movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jCxPDzoikk&feature=related. "The Lovely Bones" is based on the novel by Alice Sebold. The trailer features stars Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, and Susan Sarandon.

John Hughes dead at 59

Today, at the age of 59, director John Hughes died of a sudden heart attack during his vacation in Manhattan. Hughes directed famous high school films such as "Sixteen Candles", "The Breakfast Club", "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", and "Weird Science". He was also the writer of "Home Alone", "Pretty in Pink", and "Mr. Mom". RIP John Hughes, you will be missed.

"Star Trek" Review

This new "Star Trek" is based on Gene Roddenberry's original sci-fi series from the 60s. It tells the origin tales of all of the crew members on the starship Enterprise. The film opens with the birth of James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and the death of his father. From there it follows his journey as he joins the academy, meets the Vulcan named Spock (Zachary Quinto), and eventually becomes captain of the Enterprise. As this is going on, a Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana), begins to take his revenge on the Federation by destroying planets, one by one, with the use of a mysterious substance called Red Matter.

ACTING: This is one of the greatest ensemble cast I've seen in a while. Like "True Romance", it's filled talented actors giving their A-game and all getting a moment to shine. First there's Pine (Bottle Shock, Smokin' Aces), an actor I had never heard or seen of before, becoming one of my favorite leading men overnight. He is a much different Kirk from that of Shatner, but it's a Kirk I was more than willing to accept. And then we have Quinto (Heroes, 24), whom I was always a fan of as the superpowered serial killer known as Syler on Heroes. Now he is Spock, and I have to say he gives an incredible performance as a half-alien, half-human who is torn between logical choices and his emotions. The relationship between these two characters was one of the major attractions of the TV show, and now its one of the major attractions of this film. Other notable performances include the sexy Zoe Saldana (Vantage Point, The Terminal) as Uhura, the always entertaining Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) cast perfectly as Scottie, John Cho (Harold and Kumar) proving his acting ability as Sulu, and Eric Bana (Munich, Troy) as Nero, a very pissed off villain. All in all, a fantastically acted movie.

DIRECTING: Directing Trek is J.J. Abrams. Abrams is a household name in the TV business. He has created shows like "Alias", "Lost" (my favorite show of all time), and recently, the sci-fi mystery "Fringe". He has also produced the monster movie "Cloverfield". However his only directorial accomplishment in movies, besides Trek, has been "Mission Impossible III". I have not seen MI3, but based on Trek, I wonder why he has not directed more movies. Everything about his direction is, for lack of a more sophisticated word, cool. Whether its the intelligently staged action sequences, or the character development, Abrams handles it all with time and care. Like I said, every character has their moment in the film thanks to him. He put a lot of work into this film and deserves a lot of credit for that. Before taking on this project, he admitted he was not a Trekkie (or is it Trekker? I'm confused), and said his goal was not to simply make a great Trek movie, but a great MOVIE. And he certainly succeeds.

STORY: Writing team Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman helmed the script for Trek. Together they have written movies such as MI3 and "Transformers". I enjoyed very much the way this movie played out storywise. It does a fine job of telling an exciting story with all the necessary elements of an adventure movie. Action, romance, horror, sci-fi, and humor (and this film actually has a great sense of humor without being too cheesy). It's all there. The script also manages to find time to show the relationships of the characters. In addition (and i won't give anything away), I like how this movie pays a little tribute to the TV series in a very clever way that, somehow, makes sense in the end. Basically, Trek is the type of movie that you don't want to end because of how into the story you get, and its always great when movies can do that.

OTHER: This movie is eye candy HEAVEN! The best special effects I've seen since "Iron Man" (which hasn't been a long time but still). I also really liked the theme song and score from Michael Giacchino.

Summer movies have a tendency to be just fun popcorn flicks with a lot of action but not much else. I'm happy to say that Trek is much more than that. In fact, its my favorite movie of 2009 so far. Its a tale, designed for newcomers and old fans alike, that grasps you from the very introduction and takes you on an amazing journey to the end. Well, the end for now at least.

FINAL RATING: 4.5/5

Jason Segel Joins "The Adventurers Handbook"

Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), has been cast with Jonah Hill (Superbad, Walk Hard) and Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, Funny People) in a movie called "The Adventurers Handbook". The script was written by Hill, Matt Spicer, and Max Winkler and is to be directed by Akiva Schaffer. Here is the plot description, courtesy of www.spill.com:

The film is about four childhood friends who are bored with the monotony of their lives and embark on a global adventure inspired by the stories of explorers detailed in Mick Conefrey's book "The Adventurer's Handbook: Life Lessons From History's Great Explorers."

Segel would play a talented musician who never got his act together, becoming a backup piano player and an alcoholic; Hill plays an engineer, isolated from his family; Schwartzman is a spoiled and cowardly three-time Grammy winner.

I like the idea for this film. Not to mention I am a HUGE fan of "How I Met Your Mother" and Segel on it.

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" Review

In the sixth installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) returns to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry to discover things are not as safe as they once were. The Death Eaters are attacking both the magic and Muggle worlds, and Voldemort has chosen Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) for an important task. Meanwhile, Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) asks for Harry's help in uncovering an important memory from the new potions teacher, Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent). A memory, that will help them to destroy Voldemort.

ACTING: In my opinion, the three leads of the Potter films, Radcliffe, Rupert Grint as Ron Weasly, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, gave their best performances to date in this particular movie (especially Watson, whom I hope to see more of in the future). Equally noticeable is Felton as Malfoy. A character who was once arrogant and annoying is now much more dark and complicated. The real talent in this movie however, is Gambon (The Omen [2006], The Good Sheperd) who never got enough respect from book fanatics for this role. I know I am making a bold statement when I say this: Even though I like Richard Harris is a better Dumbledore in general, I feel like in this specific movie, Gambon, gives the best Dumbledore performance. Finally we get to see a Dumbledore who is not invincible, and instead who is a very troubled person. Actors I was underwhelmed by were Broadbent (Iris, Hot Fuzz), even though many other people liked him, and surprisingly Alan Rickman (Die Hard, Galaxy Quest) as Snape.

DIRECTING: David Yates, who directed Order of the Phoenix, returns once again to direct. A lot of people liked Phoenix and a fair amount didn't like it at all. I am part of those who didn't like it. One of the reasons being I didn't find the direction from Yates right for a Potter movie. The shaky cam, quick cuts, and other techniques made Phoenix look more like an experiment than a motion picture. This time around though, his directing is much more controlled and focused in on the characters and set pieces. There are a few particular scenes that I thought were masterfully directed. And like I said before, the main actors in this movie did a fantastic job of embodying these characters. And you can tell its because Yates spent a lot of time with them. Mr. Yates, hats off to you.

STORY: Unfortunately this is not the movies strong suit. Steve Kloves, who wrote the first four Potter movies, returns this time around. He does a fine job of developing these characters, but dosn't spend a whole lot of time on the major plot points that are important to the overall storyline of the Potter saga. For instance (and my brother who is a book enthusiast had a major problem with this), we fail to really see the transformation of Tom Riddle into Voldemort, a process many have waited to see. As a result, Half-Blood Prince is a solid movie, but not the strongest addition to the SERIES as a whole.

OTHER: Its no surprise that the special effects were wonderful in this movie. But what I like about this, as well as other Potter movies, is that they find clever and imaginative things to do with the effects. For example, a game of Quiditch were the players fly low above a snow covered ground. Everything in this movie looks great thanks to cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel (Across the Universe). Music is alright, even though all it sounds like is reused pieces from the last movie.

In conclusion, Half-Blood Prince ends up as my 3rd favorite in the series (behind Goblet of Fire and Prisoner of Azkaban). Despite a story that is weak at times, the characters are well acted and directed. I have to say I'm looking forward to the two part Deathly Hallows movie to be released in 2010 and 2011. Patience Potter fans, patience.

FINAL RATING: 4.1/5

Trailer for "The Fantastic Mr. Fox"

Here is the trailer for Wes Anderson's new animated movie. The movie, based on a book by Roald Dahl, stars George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, and many more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i07EPE3cH7w

"(500) Days of Summer" Review

In "(500) Days of Summer", Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Third Rock from the Sun, Angels in the Outfield) plays Tom Hansen, a young man who thinks that his life will never be complete until he finds the love of his life. Zooey Deschanel (Elf, Yes Man) plays Summer Finn, who believes something completely different. According to her, love is a waste of time. The film chronicles the 500 days that the two people know each other.

ACTING: One of the film's many highlights is Gordon-Levitt as the lead. He really gets into this character and plays it believably. Its one of my favorite male leading performances of the year. Deschanel is impressive as well. Even thought its nice to see her on screen every once and a while, I've never really found Deschanel to be a great actress. This movie makes me think differently. Summer is a very quirky and spacey role, and she plays it perfectly. The chemistry between these two actors is really the heart of this movie.

DIRECTING: The director of this project is Marc Webb, who is a newcomer to moviemaking. People have asked me if this movie is anything like a music video, and the answer is yes. Very much in fact. For example, my favorite scene in the movie is one that compares Tom's expectations against reality when he goes to a party for Summer. This is done through a slit-screen dividing the two. Its other scenes like this that makes 500 Days a unique movie. However, Webb does a good job of not letting his style get in the way of the story or characters. Overall, I enjoyed his direction very much.

STORY: 500 Days was written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. Like "Pulp Fiction" and "Memento", this movie does not play out in chronological order. It jumps around to say day (1) all the way to day (290). You might think that this makes this movie complicated to follow, but on the contrary it only makes the movie better to watch. The characters and their thoughts and feelings are well explored. I also love when movies are take this storytelling format (there are times in the movie when you'll say "OH! So that's how that happened"). In addition there is some really clever dialogue and the movie is just very funny.

OTHER: Even though I've never heard of any of the bands, the soundtrack is good.

To sum up, I would recommend 500 Days to anyone looking for a very different kind of romantic comedy. This movie's tagline describes it well, "This is not a love story, this is a story about love".

FINAL RATING: 4/5

"Tron Legacy" Trailer

Here is the link to youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1dHhktFLPs

The movie will star Jeff Bridges, as his role from the 1982 "Tron", and Michael Sheen (Frost/Nixon, The Queen).

Ridley Scott to Direct "Alien Prequel"

According to "Variety", Ridley Scott is set to direct an "Alien" prequel for 20th Century Fox. An excerpt from the article follows:

"The film is set up to be a prequel to the groundbreaking 1979 film that Scott directed. It will precede that film, in which the crew of a commercial towing ship returning to Earth is awakened and sent to respond to a distress signal from a nearby planetoid. The crew discovers too late that the signal generated by an empty ship was meant to warn them."

Jon Spaihts has been hired to write the script.