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Read MoreDAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES Is Just Another Unwieldy Blockbuster
Reading the reviews that have come in for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, you would think that the sequel to the blockbuster surprise Rise of the Planet of the Apes was something special. Truth be told, there’s a special movie in it somewhere. But it’s the stuff that’s so desperately ordinary that keeps it from differentiating itself from any given summer blockbuster. What’s so ordinary here? I could say it’s shallow characters or standard sequel-itis, making a movie bigger than the first just to be bigger. That’s not it, though. Dawn of the Planets of the Apes is exactly the kind of blockbuster we’ve become accustomed to in the last decade or show: An unwieldy one. Dawn of the Planets of the...
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Read MoreWill We See THE BATMAN In 2019?
When the supposed Warner Bros./DC Comics film slate through 2018 hit the internet last week, there was one burning question: What about a stand-alone Batman movie? Wonder Woman will finally get her movie. We’re getting a sequel to Man of Steel. Plus, there’s a Green Lantern/Flash team-up in the mix. But noticeably absent from the list was the first Batfleck flick. Given the overly enthusiastic response to Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, it makes sense that WB/DC would let the new Batman take hold in a series of DCCU movies before launching a new Batman series. Still, it has to be in the works, right? Right. According to Latino Review, WB/DC are planning Batfleck’s stand-alone movie for 2019, with the current working title of The Batman. It’s just a...
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Read More22 JUMP STREET Exceeds All Comedy Expectations
I loved 21 Jump Street. I thought it was smart, funny and best of all, a surprise. It managed to successfully score with its target audience and further without having to follow the mindless, juvenile fart and sex joke tropes that films in the same genre now seem to contain all too often. I had very cautious high expectations for the sequel, 22 Jump Street. I was scared that the trailers had given the film away and that the all too familiar plot would detract from the enjoyment. That’s why I was disappointed with Neighbors (and I have heard some pretty dismal things about A Million Ways to Die in the West), so I was really hoping for a redeeming comedy this year. 22 Jump Street not only met my...
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Read MoreThe DC Cinematic Universe May Include 7 Films in 3 Years!
DC’s continued effort to create a cinematic universe that can rival Marvel‘s may have it’s problems, but apparently ambition isn’t one of them. According to Nikki Finke, formerly of Deadline infamy, Warner Bros. and DC are planning a major launch for the DCCU at next month’s Comic Con. That plan looks to include seven films in the next three years, including the long-speculated Justice League film, as well as Wonder Woman and a Flash/Green Lantern picture. Here’s what the schedule looks like: May 2016 – Batman v Superman July 2016 – Shazam Xmas 2016 – Sandman May 2017 – Justice League July 2017 – Wonder Woman Xmas 2017 – Flash and Green Lantern team-up May 2018 – Man Of Steel 2 If this turns out to be true, and knowing it’s coming...
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Read MoreIs Singer Out For X-MEN: APOCALYPSE?
Bryan Singer has always been a divisive director in the X-Men Universe. There are fans who hate the first two movies because Singer made Singer movies rather than simply making fun X-Men flicks. Then he left the franchise in order to make Superman Returns over at Warner Bros., causing the top brass at Fox to hate fuck rush X-Men: The Last Stand to release with a mediocre director just so they could beat Superman to theaters. But just as Singer returned to the franchise and crushed it with X-Men: Days of Future Past, the director faced sex abuse allegations that could now derail his return to the franchise. Radar Online is reporting that Singer and execs at Fox are squaring off over whether Singer can or should helm what could...
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Read MoreSpielberg Planning An ALL THE WAY Mini-Series For Bryan Cranston
Just a day after winning Best Play and Best Actor at the Tony’s, All the Way, which chronicles LBJ‘s attempt to get the 88th Congress to pass civil rights legislation, may already have a TV mini-series adaptation in the works… from none other than Steven Spielberg. According to Deadline, Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment is eyeing a production of the award-winning play complete with Bryan Cranston reprising his role as Landslide Lyndon. Since it is a mini-series and not a feature film, Deadline is also speculating that it may involve All the Way playwright Robert Schenkkan’s soon-to-premiere sequel The Great Society. It’s not yet known where the mini-series will find a home, but you can bet that HBO is at the top of the list given Spielberg’s history with the premium cabler. The...
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Read MorePeyton Reed Gets Marvel’s ANT-MAN Gig
Well, that’s disappointing. Just hours after the spectacular David Wain was name dropped as a possible Edgar Wright replacement on Marvel’s Ant-Man, director Peyton Reed, the man who has given us Bring It On (which I love), Yes Man (which I can take or leave) and The Break-Up (which I hate), was announced as the final choice. As a David Wain fan, this is doubly tough. Edgar Wright dropping out was sad, but I get it. David Wain, who could have actually brought something more than benign comedy to the mix, not getting the gig just salts the wound. Oh well, good luck to Mr. Reed. He’s going to need it. We may not get an interesting Ant-Man or an off-beat Ant-Man but at least we’ll get a harmlessly funny one. It’s worth...
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Read MoreMarvel’s DOCTOR STRANGE Gets A Director!
While Marvel searches for Edgar Wright’s replacement over on Ant-Man, they’ve locked in the helmer for the highly anticipated adaptation of Doctor Strange. According to Variety, director Scott Derrickson, whose filmography includes Sinister, The Exorcism of Emily Rose and the direct to video sequel Hellraiser: Inferno, is in final talks to take the reigns of a film that could be the next big Marvel superhero franchise. If you aren’t familiar with Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange, he’s a former neurosurgeon who protects the Earth from magical threats as its Sorcerer Supreme. Derrickson has a history of turning in solid (and profitable) horror pictures with mystical/religious themes, which very well could mean see Strange versus Daimon Hellstrom (a.k.a. Son of Satan). Ant-Man issues aside, a Doctor Strange film could be pretty epic. I’ve been excited for it...
Most Recent Articles
Movie Review: HEADING SOUTH (2006)
Heading South – ***1/2 A few weeks ago, I wrote a review of The Last King of Scotland. The film was superb, but dissimilar in many ways from the film Heading South. Yet while watching Laurent Cantet’s drama of sexual colonization in 1970s Haiti, I couldn’t get The Last King of Scotland out of my head. Even with an Academy Award nomination, The Last King of Scotland can’t gain an audience, I assume, because the film doesn’t give us a happy ending. Likewise, or should...
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Movie Review: HALF NELSON
Half Nelson (2006)–**** If I were to review just the first 15 minutes of Half Nelson the review wouldn’t be pretty. The film looks like a low budget cliché, an art house rip-off of a film. The style doesn’t go away, but the beauty of Half Nelsonis the well-nurtured story envelopes the audience in the tumultuous emotional lives of the characters on screen. Ryan Gosling stars as Dan, a history teacher at an inner-city middle school. He’s a fun teacher, a supportive...
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Movie Review: CONFUSIONS OF AN UNMARRIED COUPLE (2006)
Confusions of an Unmarried Couple (2006) – ***1/2 The Butler Bros. continue to amaze me. As filmmakers, they have a mental library of great directors they draw upon to make their own works. More importantly, I never feel that they are unworthy of the significant comparisons. Take the Bros. newest film Confusions of an Unmarried Couple, for example. The influences of John Cassavetes are unmistakable. It’s easily the strongest film to date from two of the strongest voices in indie...
Read MoreReview: FACADE
Façade (2004)–**** Façade is a startling and profound film that could have been considered one of those wake-up call movies were it handled differently. Brian Bedard’s first feature avoids that designation to its benefit, so we aren’t distracted from the tragic and personal story that unfolds. The real-time film ominously begins with the words “This film will end in 89 minutes” fading in and then out on a black screen. It may not be as direct as William Holden face...
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Quickie: THE PRODUCERS (2005)
The Producers (2005)-**1/2 Quickie Review A down-on-his-luck Broadway producer and his dreamer of an accountant set out to make $2 million by producing a Broadway flop. This musical adaptation of Mel Brooks’ Broadway adaptation of his own 1968 film is funny but not consistently funny. Too much time in between the big laughs makes this overlong musical a little too boring a little too often. Susan Stroman directs this musical like I’ve wanted a musical film to be directed,...
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