The first scene from Interstellar has debuted online, so if you can't wait until next week for every little bit of Chris Nolan's ambitious space epic, you can see some of it right here. Matthew McConaughey gets schooled in his kid's teacher's conspiracy theories in this scene from the film:
FIRST LOOK: "Avengers: Age of Ultron"
Marvel released an extended look at the trailer, but with the added scene at the beginning of the gang all trying to lift Thor's hammer at a party. Don Cheadle's Rhodey is also hanging out with the group here, and it looks like Black Widow's ever evolving hairstyle is now back to where it was in the first film. Check it out:
Movie of the Day: "Nosferatu" (1922)
That's right, our next vampire movie takes us all the way back to the silent era, when famed German director F.W. Murnau took on the Dracula legend and made it his own. The 1931 version of Dracula starred Bela Lugosi in an iconic performance of course, but this one was unauthorized, and because of that, certain names and words had to be changed (Count Dracula in this is "Count Orlok" instead, and nosferatu takes the place of the word vampire). But the story and events are the same, and Max Schreck portrays the title character as a monstrous creature, with fangs and long, curled fingers- it's one of many haunting images in this early example of what became known as expressionist cinema. It truly is the original horror film, and for that alone you can't miss it.
A scene from the film:
FINAL TRAILER: "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1"
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!
