Well, here's the last poster for the movie's marketing campaign, the one that finally reveals Katniss as the people's hero. To be honest, my interest in The Hunger Games at this point comes down to my curiosity about how Jennifer Lawrence is going to handle all the inevitable questions about the celebrity nude scandal when she has to promote the movie in November. Laugh it off or ban interviewers from bringing it up? Take my advice Jen, the coolest thing to do would be to laugh it off and pretend like you don't care, because that's all they're going to want to ask you about.
Toronto Roundup #1: 'Theory of Everything' Excites in an Underwhelming Field
The first week of Toronto has been fairly underwhelming, with only a handful of talked about films emerging from the fest so far, while some of the more hyped entries have disappointed. In terms of Oscar contenders (fair or not, the fall festivals always serve as a starting point for critics to point out what's likely to last through winter), there seems to be some possibility for The Theory of Everything, the Stephen Hawking biopic, which was very well received by audiences there, and garnered buzz mostly for its two leads, Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones. I can't tell if this will be a major contender or not- while the audience reaction was great, the actual reviews have been more on the respectful side, ranging from mixed to positive. My guess right now would be that it's a play for the two actors mostly, in the vein of Dallas Buyers Club, but hey, that ended up getting in for Best Picture as well, so I guess we ought to at least keep our eye on it.
"Hawking's innovations and refusal to subscribe to outdated modes of thinking merely underscore the utter conventionality of his film biography." (The Wrap)
"A stirring and bittersweet love story, inflected with tasteful good humour..." (Variety)
"A solid, duly moving account of their complicated relationship, spanning roughly 25 years, and made with impeccable polish." (Hollywood Reporter)
Another standout seemed to be Jake Gyllenhaal's Nightcrawler, a dark thriller that drew comparisons to everything from Taxi Driver and Network to Drive (which I hated, so it doesn't exactly make me excited to see this). Most of the buzz also expressed that it probably won't be an awards contender though, aside from a possible screenplay nod, although Gyllenhaal was highly praised in the leading role.
"Gyllenhaal's performance is so dedicated, and Gilroy's world so determinedly realized that is forces its way to originality." (Observer UK)
"A fantastic, sleek and fun satire." (Film.com)
Now for the disappointments. Robert Downey Jr.'s The Judge turned out to be exactly what it was advertized as in those trailers. A sappy, overly sentimental tearjerker that already seems to be being written off by major critics, even as some remark that it could still be a hit with audiences (and the leads in RDJ and Robert Duvall praised overall). I couldn't really expect much, considering the director David Dobkin's best movie is Wedding Crashers.
"'Expendables 3' has fewer nauseating cliches than 'The Judge.'" (Film.com)
"An engrossing, unwieldy hurricane of a movie that plays like a small-town courtroom thriller by way of a testosterone-fueld remake of 'August: Osage County.'" (Variety)
Finally, St. Vincent, a vehicle for the great Bill Murray in his first starring role in a while, seemed to get another mixed-positive reaction (there's been lots of those this year) as Murray stars as a cranky old man who befriends a 12-year-old kid. It frankly sounds unbearable, but some think it could get enough attention to land Murray an Oscar nomination (his first since Lost in Translation). I sort of doubt it, because Best Actor is, as always, incredibly crowded and usually depends on the correlation between actor and picture- and this movie's coming nowhere near Best Picture. But it might be fun to check out for Bill Murray alone.
"Amusing enough as long as Bill Murray sticks to his mean and ornery act but ultimately reveals its true self as a film equivalent of the gooey 1971 Ray Stevens song 'Everything is Beautiful.'" (Hollywood Reporter)
"It plays out like a best-of album: safe, fun, but inessential if you're already familiar with the back catalogue." (Guardian)
I'll be back on Thursday with a second roundup that will examine some of the movies that came to Toronto but already played at Telluride, since I didn't get around to a summary of that three day fest from last week. Until then!
Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Young Frankenstein" (1974)
Coincidentally, our blu-ray choice this week happens to be one of our Halloween picks for the month of October (see the Creature Features page), but hey, you can never have enough Mel Brooks in your life, so here's the 40th anniversary blu-ray edition to commemorate a classic spoof. Gene Wilder is awesome (as always) as Dr. "Fronk-en-steen," Teri Garr is memorably hilarious as the lab assistant, and Brooks faithful Madeline Kahn hams it up as the scorned fiance who falls for the monster (Peter Boyle). A timeless comedy (even if you don't know the Frankenstein story) and always a raucous good time.
Original 1974 Trailer:
TRAILER #2: "Fury"
By far the best trailer for Brad Pitt's new movie Fury, coming out in October. This one showcases newbie Logan Lerman and gives us much more of the actual story, set amidst the tank warfare during WWII. The studio chose not to premiere this at any of the film festivals, which I'm not sure is a good sign or not- it could be that they think it's more of a commercial than awards play, but considering the subject matter (anything WWII-related is Oscar catnip) they might have at least made a try for it.
BOX OFFICE 9/05-9/07: 'Guardians' Tops Another Sleepy Weekend
Not a whole lot to say about the box office this week, as Guardians of the Galaxy came in at No. 1 with just $10 million to show for it. It nears closer to the $300 million mark, while the new release this weekend, the faith-based The Identical, flopped with just under $2 million. The rest is holdovers, as these really are the dog days of box office, with no exciting new releases on the horizon. Basically, there are plans for two seasons at the movies during the year- summer blockbuster season and Oscar season. Oscar season hasn't quite kicked off yet, with a lot of the films premiering at the early festivals right now, and blockbuster season is pretty much over and done with at this point.
Maybe the international box office is more interesting right now, as we try to see all these various movies will end up. Guardians already has $586 million worldwide, which surpasses the first time entries of all the other Marvel franchises, so that continues to exceed expectations. The rest of the top five were filled out by the Ninja Turtles, If I Stay, Let's Be Cops and The November Man, all of which came in with under $7 million for the weekend.
Top 5:
- Guardians of the Galaxy- $10.2 million
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles- $6.5 million
- If I Stay- $5.8 million
- Let's Be Cops- $5.4 million
- The November Man- $4.2 million
In the limited release release movies, Boyhood has now passed $20 million with more to go, a big success for the independent film looking to hang on all through Oscar season. Next week it's another slow one, with just Dolphin Tale 2, the Idris Elba thriller No Good Deed, and the arthouse indie The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, starring Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy.
TRAILER: "Horrible Bosses 2"
Here's the full trailer for the Horrible Bosses sequel, and it actually made me chuckle a few times, but trailers can be deceiving (especially with comedies). It's pretty easy to push all the good laughs into a two minute compilation. Nice to see Star Trek's Chris Pine doing something different here. The movie comes out November 26th.
TRAILER #2: "Mr. Turner"
A new U.S. trailer for Mike Leigh's Mr. Turner has dropped. The movie got great reviews in Cannes and even won Timothy Spall the best actor prize, but it debuted at Telluride last week to a slightly more muted reaction. I can't wait to see this, since it's Mike Leigh and all (plus it looks gorgeous- the landscape shots themselves look like paintings), but I have a feeling it's going to get totally overshadowed this fall by all the other Oscar movies. A limited stateside release date of December 19th doesn't do it any favors either.
Kennedy Center Honorees Announced
The annual Kennedy Center Honors will be taped in early December and are set to tribute Tom Hanks, Lily Tomlin, Al Green, Sting and Patricia McBride for 2014. Quite the group this year, huh? Tom Hanks I believe will be one of the youngest people ever honored, at just 58, but I think his body of work is enough to warrant it, don't you? I mean, if ten years from now he still had just the filmography he has now he'd be plenty deserving, so I think it's alright that he's under 60. The show will be broadcast on CBS December 30th.
VIDEO CLIP: "Big Hero 6"
Last night Disney aired a special on the making of Frozen (which is already being hailed as an animated classic strictly due to how much money it made and not its actual quality, which is annoying) during which they they showed off a new scene from the upcoming Big Hero 6. They have a ton of confidence in this movie, so much so that John Lasseter held a special preview screening for press the other day where they revealed 25 minutes of footage. I actually have a good feeling about this one too, although I'm not sure why- maybe because I really did love their last non-musical animated film (Wreck-It Ralph, which was definitely better than Frozen) and I think they might be on a bit of a roll. Check it out:
TRAILER: "The Rewrite"
For anyone wondering where Hugh Grant's been for the last seven years or so, he pops up again in this new romantic comedy with Marisa Tomei (it's nice to see an age appropriate pairing for once). Teaming up once again with his friend Marc Lawrence (who directed him in Two Weeks Notice and Music and Lyrics), here he's a former screenwriter who tries to teach a college course at a university, where Tomei is a student. It's coming out in the UK in October, but no release date has been scheduled in the U.S., which is kind of odd. You'd think a movie with names this recognizable would be able to secure a release rather easily, but I guess that tells you how far romantic comedies have fallen in terms of profitability.
Movie of the Day: "Picnic" (1955)
In honor of today's holiday we have a 1950's classic that is set exactly on Labor Day, and is one of the rare movies that's worth seeing for one incredible scene in the middle of the film, where William Holden dances with Kim Novak to the classic song "Moonglow." It's one of the those magical movie moments, and to be honest the rest of the film is notable as a kind of time capsule, because a lot of it's pretty dated. It's one of those overwrought melodramas that were so common in this decade and were never really made after it- but sometimes those kinds of movies can be fascinating in their own way, as a product of its time and an example of the kind of movie that was once so popular with audiences. Rosalind Russell is really good though, as an aging teacher who despairs that her life is passing her by while all the townspeople around her are oblivious and overly concerned with Holden's arrival in their perfect neighborhood as the mysterious drifter. It's worth a look anyway, especially on this long holiday weekend. Happy Labor Day everybody!
Original 1955 Trailer:
Back to School Month is Here
Well, it's the first of September everyone, which means it's Back to School Month on Screen It Now, and we have the full list of ten movie recommendations to go with it. Complete with trailers, the movies are all about the school setting, whether it's college, high school, boarding school, etc. It can be about the students or the teachers, and the list includes classics like Rebel Without a Cause, Juno, Cooley High, To Sir With Love, and one of my favorites, Clueless (above). Check out the description for the month and then head on over to the September movie page to veg out with the perfect back to school movies all month long. Happy Movie Watching!
