So here we are with the full length trailer for Christopher Nolan's hotly anticipated sci-fi epic. Looks pretty cool, and I do get a slight Close Encounters-esque vibe to it. Apparently there's a major food shortage in the future and people are going to have to leave Earth to colonize on other planets? There's still a bit of a mystery as to what exactly the humans are leaving the planet to do, but it's definitely intriguing. Maybe last year's Gravity has re-awakened our interest in movies set in space. Interstellar's coming out November 7th, and you can expect it to be one of the big awards movies this fall.
Movie of the Day: "Grease" (1978)
Ok, so it's not about the prom exactly, but the whole climactic scene of the movie takes place at the "big dance," so it counts. One of the longest running Broadway musicals of all time instantly became one of the most popular movie musicals ever, and it's still an insanely entertaining treat to watch. Despite being notorious for having one of the oldest looking casts of high-schoolers in existence, it's hard to think of anyone replacing John Travolta (back when he was so cute!) and Olivia Newton-John as the inimitable Danny and Sandy (not to mention Stockard Channing- who cares if she was 34 playing 17, for my money she's the best Rizzo ever). It's campy, fun and makes you want to jump up and sing along, even though you've seen it a million times. Grease is the still the word, baby!
Original 1978 trailer (I love how the announcer feels the need to repeat the actors' names about a hundred times, just in case you forget):
TEASER: "Cinderella"
I hesitate to even post this, because it's literally one of the worst teasers I've ever seen in my life. Seriously, who in the marketing department thought this lame shoe scan was worth putting out? But it's for Disney's latest live action adaptation of Cinderella, and yes, this is going to be based on the 1950 animated classic. Directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Cate Blanchett as the Stepmother and Helena Bonham Carter as the Fairy Godmother, it's scheduled to be released in 2015, but I really don't understand why Disney thinks it's necessary to start remaking/re-imagining all their animated movies now. Very few of these recent live action fairy tales have turned out to be any good. In fact, I don't think a single one of them has- the most successful was Alice in Wonderland, at least at the box office, so I guess that's what kickstarted this trend, but boy was that a terrible movie. The bar for these films seems set at mediocre at best.
Graham Norton with the X-Men Cast
Graham Norton is one of the more hilarious talk show hosts in Britain, mostly because he's figured out a way to break from the tired, decades old format that makes so many of our late night shows feel like exactly the same thing. He has everybody on at once and freewheels through a conversation, which leads to some of the funniest and most spontaneous celebrity interviews (if he's got guests willing to play along). This episode he had some great ones, as James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Hugh Jackman all have an easy rapport and were great sports as they read out the crazily obsessive X-Men fan fiction, before dancing to "Blurred Lines."
I think it's funny they managed to cast the perfect Professor X/Magneto pair twice, first with the terrific Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen (who are such good pals in real life that McKellen acted as minister for Stewart's last wedding) and now with James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, whose chemistry as the two frenemies' younger selves may even top the older guys'.
TRAILER: "Mr. Turner"
A full trailer has been released for Mike Leigh's biopic about J.M.W. Turner, the renowned British painter, which just premiered at Cannes to flat out rave reviews, making it a strong contender for either the Palme D'Or or Best Actor for Timothy Spall. Since I love Mike Leigh, and this is a movie he's been wanting to make nearly his entire career, I can't wait to see it when it opens stateside December 19th. Of course, that's a long way off, but the trailer looks good, and I bet this is going to be a big Oscar player this year:
Movie of the Day: "10 Things I Hate About You" (1999)
Since it's prom season, we're back with some of the best prom-themed movies for a shortened Movie of the Day series this week. First up it's 10 Things I Hate About You, which is one of the better of the rush of late 90's teen movies that all came out around the same time. I'm not gonna pretend this is the greatest movie in the world, but since it's based on Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, it is actually a little bit cleverer and funnier than most romantic comedies. Plus It's worth it to see a young Heath Ledger as Patrick Verona, who's so cute and charming here that it makes you sad all over again about his premature death. He and Julia Stiles have real chemistry and make a cute pair, and since this was filmed in my hometown, on a personal basis, I get a kick out of recognizing every single location spot they used (including the giant castle-like high school, which I'm sure was the main attraction for setting the movie here).
Trailer:
Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Her" (2013)
Her is finally out on blu-ray this week, so here's a chance to catch up with Spike Jonze's Oscar-winner if you haven't seen it. Joaquin Phoenix gives another outstanding performance as the sweet and lonely Theodore, an average guy living in the near future where people can befriend and even fall in love with their operating systems, which have now evolved into artificial intelligence at a level that dwarfs even human's. This is a lovely romantic fantasy that also features Scarlett Johansson giving her best performance ever as the voice of Samantha, Theodore's OS. It won a very well deserved best original screenplay Oscar last year, so you should definitely give it a look.
Trailer:
FIRST LOOK: Ben Affleck as Batman
Well, here it is. A day after teasing the Batmobile, we now get a full picture of Ben Affleck in the new Batsuit, as well as a clearer look at the car.
So yeah, the car to me looks like Tim Burton's and the big reaction to the suit seems to be over the short ears, which is a different look. But I still think Ben Affleck will bomb hard in this role, and that the whole movie sounds like a mess with the million characters they've introduced. As for the suit, I mean, I guess it looks all right, but I've never been somebody who gets excited or disappointed over how the costumes look (unless it's completely unrecognizable or something, which Batman never is). What do you guys think?
A Tribute to Katharine Hepburn
Another Hepburn has a birthday today and I'd be remiss to let this one go unnoticed. The great Katharine Hepburn, one of the biggest stars in the history of the movies, who died at 96 in 2003, living a long, fruitful life as one of the most unique and memorable screen presences of all time. Named by the American Film Institute as the greatest female star of all time, actually- and here's what for me are her most essential films:
1) The Philadelphia Story (1940)
She became a star in the early thirties with movies like Little Women and Alice Adams, but this is the one that directly cemented her on screen persona the way she's remembered- the upper class, intellectual, fiercely independent modern woman, who, because of the time, always has to get taken down a peg or two by the men just so they can stand in her presence. That's kind of annoying, but when Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart are fighting over you that's not a bad place to be, and the acting is amazing from all three leads in this one.
2) Woman of the Year (1942)
The first (and my favorite) of the nine movies she made with Spencer Tracy, her legendary on and off screen love interest. There's a slight mystery to the exact nature of their 27 year relationship, but here where they met, there's no doubt that the sparks were there. The chemistry between them is charged and this remains their most romantic movie, despite being a battle of the sexes comedy where Kate, of course, is the one that must ultimately be molded again to fit the man's idea of what she ought to be. It's ok though- they could knock her down on screen all they wanted but it could never happen off. She was just too much herself.
3) Summertime (1955)
In this one Kate is an older single woman alone on a summer vacation to Italy. What a concept, right? Of course it's been stolen many times since then, from Under the Tuscan Sun to Eat, Pray, Love, but David Lean's original is the best. This is what could be called a gooey chick flick now, but it's unapologetically romantic (she has a summer fling with the hunky Rossano Brazzi) and thanks to being filmed on location during the height of tourist season, functions as the best kind of travel porn, as Italy always does. One of the best of the 50's tearjerkers.
4) Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Before Spencer Tracy, Cary Grant was probably her best match on screen, and this is without a doubt, for me her funniest and most out there performance. Bringing Up Baby is the most classic example of a screwball comedy and it's so nutty that it may not necessarily be for everyone, especially modern viewers, who aren't used to this kind of comedy at all (I've heard that some people hate this movie in particular, actually). But the performances from the two leads are so bold and full on that it's gotta be worth at least trying out. Grant and Hepburn are hilarious as a befuddled scientist and a possbily insane kook who purposely sets out to trip him up. I love this movie exactly because it's the kind that can't be made anymore- I don't think anyone would be brave enough (actor or director) to even try.
5) Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)
This was the last movie that Hepburn and Tracy made together before he died, and though the subject's dated now, Hepburn is one of the great movie moms, and in her later years has lost absolutely none of her fire and intelligence as the progressive parent who must face her daughter's choice of a husband. I love her in this because, unlike some stars in their older years, who tend to lose that charisma that made them when they were young, Katharine Hepburn really never did, and throughout her nearly 6 decades in the movies she remained nothing but herself to the very end, a source of comfort and reassurance that nothing, not age or men or even illness (she had Parkinsons in her later years) was ever going to bring her down one notch. And it never did.
Zack Snyder Teases the new Batmobile
Zack Snyder shows off a photo of the partially covered new Batmobile from his Batman/Superman movie (speaking of, when on earth are they going to give it a title?). I don't know though- it looks like it may resemble the Tim Burton one. What do you think?
Movie of the Day: "Terms of Endearment" (1983)
Well, what did you expect? It may have been predictable but what else could I possibly choose on the day itself- James L. Brooks' 1983 classic is the definitive Mother's Day movie, there's just no denying it. Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger are the ultimate mother-daughter pair, their incredible performances (and those of the supporting cast) hitting every note across the entire human emotional spectrum. It's a movie not just about their relationship with each other, but also their relationships with their friends, husbands, lovers and children as no less than 15 years pass over the course of these two women's lives. It's really hard to strike the right tone in a movie like this, where it's just as funny as it is sad at times, often like life itself, and yet it never for one moment hits a false note. You'll laugh and sob in equal parts- so sit back and enjoy this one with your own mother if you can. I can't recommend it enough- this Best Picture winner is one of my personal top ten favorite movies ever.
Original trailer:
BOX OFFICE 5/09-5/11: 'Neighbors' Demolishes 'Spider-Man'
Neighbors way, way exceeded expectations this week, pulling in a massive $51 million over the Mother's Day weekend. The R-rated comedy with stars Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne attracted an audience that was 53% female (maybe thanks to having a female co-star or perhaps a shirtless Zac Efron) and over age 25, although it only got a "B" Cinemascore. Sometimes the Cinemascore ratings can mean less with comedies though, as they are often scored lower than action movies or dramas, and yet still manage to earn big totals at the box office overall.
Meanwhile, Amazing Spider-Man 2 suffered a huge drop this weekend, falling 59% to $37 million- that's further than any of the last three Marvel movies (showing that the Cinemascore rating on action movies can still predict whether a film has legs or not). It has $147 million total and $550 million worldwide, which are obviously still good numbers, but whether or not it ends up with just over $200 million domestic depends on how well it holds up to direct competition with Godzilla next weekend. In the other holdovers, The Other Woman came in with $9 million, bringing its total to $61 million, with Heaven is For Real and Captain America rounding out the top five.
Top 5:
- Neighbors- $51 million
- The Amazing Spider-Man 2- $37.2 million
- The Other Woman- $9.3 million
- Heaven is For Real- $7 million
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier- $6.5 million
In limited release, Jon Favreau's Chef opened on six screens with a $34k per screen average, which is fairly decent, even if it seems like the kind of movie with recognizable names in it that should have at least been given a wide release. Next up it's Godzilla, trying to redeem itself as a franchise after the bungled 1998 version kind of destroyed the monster's rep. See you then!
