I know I said I wasn't going to post any more of these endless teasers and trailers for this movie, but since the studio itself has now promised it's the final one, I guess I'll go ahead and give in one more time. You know, it's funny- even though I thought the last movie was decent and better than the first, somehow I'm less interested in this one than I've ever been for anything about this franchise. Nothing about it looks good to me anymore, the whole thing just seems like a corporate controlled money-making machine with directors for hire who must check creativity at the door. Ugh. Don't even think I'll see it.
Movie of the Day: "Only Lovers Left Alive" (2014)
Eternal, passionate love is a continual theme in vampire mythology, and a film from just this past spring introduces one of the great movie couples in Adam and Eve (Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton), who've been undead for centuries and lovingly committed to each other that entire time. Of course, because this is a Jim Jarmusch movie, he's somewhat less interested in the blood and violence that comes with the vampire and more curious and fascinated by the fact that they've simply been around a long, long time. This is a movie filled with nostalgia and a love for various mementos from different pasts, which the immortal lovers long for as they ponder all that they've seen. Hiddleston and Swinton make an impossibly cool, hipster couple here, and you want to just hang out and shoot the breeze with them as much as poor, doomed Anton Yelchin does in the movie, even if they have to drink blood to live (at least these guys do more creative things with it, like freeze blood popsicles for a casual snack).
Trailer:
Early Reviews Mixed on 'Interstellar'
Christopher Nolan may have finally bitten off more than he can chew, at least if early word on Interstellar is to be believed. The highly anticipated sci-fi epic screened for critics a few days ago, and the reaction seems to be a bit all over the place, veering on the divisive side. It may not have been helped by ski high expectations set by the studio itself, as they had screened the movie for other filmmakers, celebrities and friends of the director, who of course praised everything to the heavens on twitter, setting probably unrealistic heights for the movie, but so far the reaction is that it's visually spectacular but narratively incoherent. Frankly, to me that sounds like a lot of Nolan's other work (I've never been the biggest fan anyway), but most are still saying it's worth seeing on a big screen, just temper those expectations. This kind of response makes it a total mystery as far as awards are concerned- it will still make a huge play for technical recognition like visual effects, sound, etc. but it's more of a question mark now for major categories like picture, director, and acting, although McConaughey has gotten the most praise of the actors. We'll have to see where this one ends up compared to the other movies in the running later on:
"The story is ever-ambitious, sometimes riveting and thought-provoking, but also plodding and hokey and not as visionary as its cutting-edge special effects." (USA Today)
"Not every film need address the possibility of human extinction with the gung-ho silliness of Armageddon, but at least that was a space adventure. This is a science report." (Guardian)
"An emotional powerhouse when it isn't hokey, and a stunning spectacle when it doesn't get bogged down in plot logistics, 'Interstellar' binds its strengths and weaknesses into a riveting whole." (Screen International)
"Double-domed and defiantly serious, 'Interstellar' is a must-take ride with a few narrative bumps." (Time)
Movie of the Day: "Cronos" (1993)
Guillermo del Toro's first film and first foray into the world of vampires is something quite different than what you usually see in a vampire movie, and that's a good thing. A Mexican film (although there's quite a bit of English spoken in it), that tells the story of the cronos device, golden and insect-like (another del Toro obsession) that can give a person eternal life, in exchange for a new thirst for blood of course. The vampires in this have similar symptoms but it's a different kind of portrayal, giving del Toro license to create his own unique creatures of the night. It was a very impressive first feature and is one of the most interesting and singular films about vampires you can find.
1993 Trailer:
TRAILER: "Paddington"
Hmm. Not too sure about this one, but it does seem like the kind of material you have to be familiar with already, and I really don't know anything about the Paddington books. It's based on the bestsellers, where the character of Paddington was introduced in 1958, so I'm sure it has a devoted fanbase. The movie seems to have a great cast, but it's coming out in the UK on November 28th and not in the US until mid-January, so it looks like they're expecting it to do most of its business overseas.
Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Begin Again" (2014)
The blu-ray choice this week is another selection from this year, and was one of my favorite movies of the summer, the delightful Begin Again, with Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo. From John Carney, the writer-director of Once, who crafted a completely feel good movie with a great soundtrack of original songs that managed to make you smile all the way through without ever feeling too saccharine to take in. The performances are charming, New York City never looked better, and it was just a perfect sort of romantic comedy that really doesn't get made anymore by the big studios. You should see it.
Trailer:
Movie of the Day: "Near Dark" (1987)
With Halloween this Friday it's time to celebrate with the five best vampire movies all week long, starting with Kathryn Bigelow's anti-western from the late 80's. This is a totally underrated, criminally underknown little movie with elements of horror, romance, sensuality and lots of blood, combining all the best known myths of vampire lore in a way that the Twilight movies could have only dreamed of. Adrian Pasdar is the young Oklahoma kid who's romanced by a beautiful girl from a very fangy family, and soon he's on the ride of his life as she turns him into one of them and the crew tears their way through the Southwest. Bigelow nails the sensuous, lusty desire of being a vampire and what it means to crave blood- that it comes along with passion for life in all its most extreme forms, from violence to heightened sexuality. It might have a bit of sloppy ending, but the vast majority of this movie works so well that you don't really mind. A classic of the genre.
Original 1987 Trailer:
RED BAND TRAILER: "Nightcrawler"
Here's the red band trailer for the dark thriller Nightcrawler, coming out on Friday. The movie opened in Toronto to some very enthusiastic reaction, although most seemed to agree it's more a cult movie than a mainstream one. Right now it's sitting pretty at 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, so you may want to check this one out- both Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo are said to be great in this:
BOX OFFICE 10/24-10/26: 'Ouija" Tops the Weekend; 'John Wick' Surprises
The cheap horror movie Ouija, yes, inspired by the board game, came in at No. 1 this weekend with $20 million, not a surprise to anyone tracking the box office, seeing as it's only days before Halloween and history shows that teen audiences will show up to literally any horror movie opening at the multiplexes this time of year. Not that they liked it much, slapping it with a "C" Cinemascore to go along with its dismal Rotten Tomatoes rating, but once again, it was a $5 million dollar movie that opened to four times that amount, so it's a win for Universal no matter what.
In second place was the Keanu Reeves actioner John Wick, which got surprisingly good reviews, which in turn probably helped it to the $14 million it made this weekend (not great of course, but twice what experts were predicting, given the total flop of his last epic, 47 Ronin). It may be a boost for Reeves' sagging career at least. The rest of the top five were holdovers, with Fury dropping 45% from last week, Gone Girl just about to overtake Benjamin Button as the highest grosser of David Fincher's career, and the animated Book of Life bringing its domestic total to $29 million.
Top 5:
- Ouija- $20 million
- John Wick- $14.2 million
- Fury- $13 million
- Gone Girl- $11.1 million
- The Book of Life- $9.8 million
In limited release, St. Vincent expanded to over 2200 screens, earning $8 million and falling just shy of the top ten, while the Edward Snowden documentary Citizenfour opened in five theaters for a strong $125k. Finally, Lynn Shelton's Sundance film Laggies earned $78k, also from five locations. Next Friday, Halloween brings us the Jake Gyllenhaal thriller Nightcrawler and Nicole Kidman's Before I Go to Sleep, as we await the first big blockbuster opening weekend in a while, which will be November 7th with the release of Interstellar and Big Hero 6. See you then!
FEATURETTE: "Into the Woods"
I have to admit, despite my skepticism that Into the Woods could be successfully adapted into a movie, this behind the scenes featurette actually makes me excited to see it. And Meryl Streep getting a showcase song and playing the witch? She might as well get ready for her 18th Oscar nomination right now. We also get a first, quick glimpse of Johnny Depp as the Wolf here too.
2014 Gotham Award Nominations: 'Boyhood' Leads the Way
The Gotham awards are the main precursor for the Independent Spirit Awards, with big studio movies not being eligible here, but today they also serve as the official kickoff to the 2014 awards season, since its the first awards body to bestow any nominations. Here's the full list:
Picture
Boyhood
Birdman
Grand Budapest Hotel
Love is Strange
Under the Skin
Actor
Bill Hader - The Skeleton Twins
Ethan Hawke - Boyhood
Oscar Isaac - A Most Violent Year
Michael Keaton - Birdman
Miles Teller - Whiplash
Actress
Patricia Arquette - Boyhood
Gugu Mbatha Raw - Belle
Julianne Moore - Still Alice
Scarlett Johansson - Under the Skin
Mia Wasikowska - Tracks
Documentary
Actress
Citizenfour
Life Itself
Manakamana
Point and Shoot
Breakthrough Actor
Riz Ahmed - Nightcrawler
Joey King - Wish I Was Here
Jenny Slate - Obvious Child
Tessa Thompson - Dear White People
Ella Coltrane - Boyhood
Macon Blair - Blue Ruin
Jury Award for Ensemble: Foxcatcher
So, if there's anything interesting about these early noms, it tells us that Boyhood is undoubtedly the frontrunner in the indie world, which most people assumed would happen months ago. But some nice surprises are the lasting power of movies like Under the Skin and The Grand Budapest Hotel, which many assumed would be overlooked at the end of the year. And the snub of Foxcatcher, aside from the ensemble prize, may be telling as well, fueling the early rumors that that film might be too cold and offputting for people to embrace. But it's early days yet, and this particular group is mostly influential for the Spirits, like I said earlier. The Gothams are handed out on Monday, Dec 1st.
TEASER: "Avengers: Age of Ultron"
After leaking online earlier this afternoon, Marvel has released the official teaser trailer for next May's Avengers movie, guaranteed to make a billion dollars without breaking a sweat. Looks like they're going for a darker tone in this, as rumor has it the Avengers will disband by the end of the film, leading to the Iron Man/Captain America battle destined to take place in the third Captain America movie. James Spader supposedly did some motion capture work as Ultron here- hopefully this film will mark the first in the MCU to have an actual, memorable villain.
