So...yeah, I don't how many people were clamoring for this exactly, but the long-awaited (?) Entourage movie is finally coming out next year. What can I say- it looks like the show, I guess. I casually watched the first couple of seasons, but wasn't what you'd call a "fan," so obviously I'm not the target audience for this. What do you guys think?
TRAILER: "In the Heart of the Sea"
I thought the teaser looked weak, but this new trailer is a bit better. This is supposedly the more "realistic" version of the story that inspired Moby Dick. Ron Howard's hit and miss, but I really liked his last movie Rush, so I'm optimistic about him teaming up with Chris Hemsworth again. It's coming out in March of next year.
TRAILER #2: "Focus"
A second trailer for the Will Smith/Margot Robbie caper movie Focus, coming out February 27th. I don't know- looks kinda iffy but I hope it's good. Been a while since Will Smith was in a good movie and he has a few coming out next year- maybe he can make a comeback.
Movie of the Day: "One Magic Christmas" (1985)
With Christmas just a few days away it's time for our Movie of the Day series to return, and today I'm recommending a little known holiday film from the 1980's, starring Mary Steenburgen as a grumpy mom who hates Christmas. This one centers on a working class family in a small town who experiences a bout of bad luck (really bad luck as you'll see in the movie), and a Christmas angel has to come down and help the mother to relearn the spirit of Christmas. Sounds hokey of course, but it's actually pretty serious and very solemn (you'd never believe this was a Disney movie, the way the material is played). It may border on dour actually, but the details and magic of Santa's North Pole and workshop in this are pretty cool, and the heartwarming ending and good acting makes up for the depressing nature of some of the earlier scenes. It's an underrated little movie for the season- you should check it out.
1985 Disney Promo:
TRAILER #2: "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"
So here's another trailer for the Marigold sequel- strangely, this one really seems to showcase Dev Patel as the star of the movie. Although, since I didn't actually see the first one, I guess I don't know- was he the major character in that one too? It's coming out in February.
Southeastern Film Critcs like 'Grand Budapest'
The Southeastern Film Critics Association (which happen to very good Oscar predictors with their top ten list) have chosen The Grand Budapest Hotel as their best picture, but seem to really like Birdman a lot too, as you glance through their list of winners (and especially runners-up).
SOUTHEASTERN FILM CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Top Ten
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Boyhood
3. Birdman
4. Whiplash
5. The Imitation Game
6. Gone Girl
7. Snowpiercer
8. Nightcrawler
9. Foxcatcher
10. The Theory of Everything
Best Actor
1. Michael Keaton, Birdman
2. Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Best Actress
1. Julianne Moore, Still Alice
2. Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Best Supporting Actor
1. J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
2. Edward Norton, Birdman
Best Supporting Actress
1. Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
2. Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer
Best Ensemble
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Birdman
Best Director
1. Richard Linklater, Boyhood
2. Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Original Screenplay
1. The Grand Budapest Hotel
2. Birdman
Best Adapted Screenplay
1. Gone Girl
2. Wild
Best Documentary
1. Life Itself
2. CitizenFour
Best Foreign Language Film
1. Force Majeure
2. Ida
Best Animated Film
1. The Lego Movie
2. Big Hero 6
Best Cinematography
1. Birdman
2. The Grand Budapest Hotel
BOX OFFICE 12/19-12/21: 'The Hobbit' Rules Them All
The final installment of The Hobbit series came in strong this week, earning over $56 million from Friday to Sunday, while bringing in $90 million since opening on Wednesday. Battle of the Five Armies did however, drop 23% from the last film's opening, which itself was off from the first one. Frankly, the reason for this is probably just fatigue, as this trilogy has stretched a 300-page book out as long as it possibly can, and each film was slightly worse reviewed than the former. It's certainly no Lord of the Rings accomplishment.
Meanwhile, other new releases over the weekend were the dreadfully reviewed family films Annie and Night at the Museum 3. The third Night at the Museum movie is coming out five years after the second, and it's fair to say interest has definitely waned, as it earned just $17 million over the weekend. Annie was right behind it at $16 million, but the movie has just been slaughtered by some of the worst reviews of the year, which had to have cut into its box office some. The rest of the top five was filled out by Exodus and the Hunger Games, but both will likely fall out by next week with Christmas releases Into the Woods, The Gambler and Unbroken opening wide.
Top 5:
- The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies- $56.2 million
- Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb- $17.3 million
- Annie- $16.3 million
- Exodus: Gods and Kings- $8.1 million
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1- $7.8 million
In limited release, Wild expanded to 1,000 screens and made its way to No. 6, earning $4 million, so that will continue to do well as an awards hopeful. More new releases all coming this week (sans The Interview of course), as the Christmas movie season rolls on- traditionally the last two weeks of December are huge at the box office, since everyone's on vacation. We'll have to see what movies are going to benefit from all that time off. Tim Burton's Big Eyes will now be schduled for a wide release to take The Interview's place after Sony canceled the film, so we'll see how that plays out. Tune in next week for the first look at the holiday box office. See you then!
Nevada Film Critics Society Goes for 'Gone Girl'
Hey, something different! Nevada critics like Gone Girl all the way, handing it picture and actress, while giving actor and director to Nightcrawler. Nice to see some variation in taste here.
NEVADA FILM CRITICS SOCIETY
Best Film - 'Gone Girl'
Best Actor - Jake Gyllenhaal 'Nightcrawler'
Best Actress - Rosamund Pike 'Gone Girl'
Best Supporting Actor - JK Simmons 'Whiplash'
Best Supporting Actress - Tie - Jessica Chastain for 'A Most Violent Year' and Patricia Arquette for 'Boyhood'
Best Youth Performance - Ellar Coltrane 'Boyhood'
Best Director - Dan Gilroy 'Nightcrawler'
Best Screenplay - Dan Gilroy 'Nightcrawler'
Best Ensemble Cast - 'Guardians of the Galaxy'
Best Documentary - 'Citizenfour'
Best Animated Movie - 'Big Hero 6'
Best Production Design - 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'
Best Cinematography - 'Interstellar'
Best Visual Effects - 'Interstellar'
REVIEW: "The Babadook" (2014) Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman. Dir. Jennifer Kent
It's easy to forget how hard it is to make a decent horror movie in this day and age. For the last 10-15 years studios have been cranking out cheap, low budget horror flicks with non professional actors in the vein of the Saw movies or more recently, the "found footage" phenomenon. These films are made because they cost next to nothing and they make an easy profit due to the opening weekend alone, because there's a built-in audience for horror movies that will show up to see it, no matter how bad it is and no matter how quickly these movies disappear from public consciousness. They simply don't last.
The ones that have stuck around have left their mark on popular culture- classic horror films like The Exorcist, Psycho, Poltergeist, Halloween, Night of the Living Dead. We haven't had a movie come along that's worthy of joining that list for a good many years- until now. Jennifer Kent's The Babadook is a terrifying, primal scream of a movie that instantly takes its place among the classics of the genre, and sears itself into your brain so that you'll never forget it, the way all the best ones have. It manages to pull this off because Kent understands that horror is never simply about cheap thrills- it's about what's underneath those scares, what's simmering under the surface. You're not really afraid of the monster in front you, you're afraid of the one within- and the real issues it represents.
This movie gets under your skin and stays there, because there's something real at stake in the fight with the monster at hand, and that's the fundamental relationship between a mother and her child. Essie Davis stars as Amelia, a single mom whose 6-year-old son Samuel (Noah Wiseman) she's unable to keep under control. The boy has "behavioral" issues, as doctors, teachers and friends say, and it's getting worse by the day. Amelia loves her child, but is weary of the difficulty of parenting alone all the time, especially because deep down she resents his birth, as it coincided with the death of her husband. This fractured family unit is in trouble, and into this situation comes another problem child, the monster from Samuel's mysterious bedtime story. The creepy pop-up book seemed to appear out of nowhere, and as Amelia and Samuel read the story it eventually reveals itself as the nightmarish tale of The Babadook, who will literally haunt you until you wish you were dead.
From that point on reality takes a strange turn, and Amelia seems to trade places with her son, gradually beginning to lose her mind as she becomes paranoid by the shadows lurking around every corner of her house and following Samuel and herself wherever she goes. The movie becomes a combination of a woman stalked by her pending insanity (Roman Polanski's Repulsion comes to mind) and that of a ferocious mother who must battle demons from hell to protect her son (shades of Poltergeist). But these influences combine to create something truly unique, and the Babadook itself is one of the most memorable movie monsters since Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers, or the shark from Jaws. It's a creation ever more terrifying because of its simplicity and undying nature. Kent creates an intense atmosphere of suspense, fear, and dread as the film rolls along to its unpredictable climax, but the way it wraps up is as satisfying as you would ever want in this kind of story.
This is a must see for horror fans and anyone who thinks they can withstand the pressure (this isn't for kids though, believe me). Davis gives one of the best performances of the year as an exhausted mother who must find it in herself to come alive for her kid, and I only this was able to find a wider audience, as few people will see it in the U.S., so this is really one you have to seek out. It's a winner and believe me, it's here to stay.
* * * 1/2
Florida Critics Split 'Birdman' and 'Boyhood'
Florida film critics today gave Birdman picture and Boyhood director for Linklater, while going along with recent fave Rosamund Pike in Best Actress. Not too much else of note here, except that they liked The Raid 2 in Foreign Film.
FLORIDA FILM CRITICS
Best Picture: Birdman
Best Director: Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Best Actress: Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Best Actor: Michael Keaton: Birdman
Best Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons
Best Ensemble: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Original Screenplay: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Adapted Screenplay: Gone Girl
Best Cinematography: Hoyte Van Hoytema, Interstellar
Best Visual Effects: Interstellar
Best Art Direction/Production Design: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Score: Mica Levi, Under the Skin
Best Documentary: Life Itself
Best Foreign Film: The Raid 2
Best Animated Film: The Lego Movie
Breakout Award: Damian Chazelle
Academy's Foreign Film Shortlist Unveiled
The Academy's Foreign Language Film committee released the nine movies that have qualified for the Best Foreign Film award. The five nominees will come from this list:
"Wild Tales" (Argentina)
"Tangerines" (Estonia)
"Corn Island" (Georgia)
"Timbuktu" (Mauritania)
"Accused" (Netherlands)
"Ida" (Poland)
"Leviathan" (Russia)
"Force Majeure" (Sweden)
"The Liberator" (Venezuela)
There's always a couple of snubs on here, and this year the biggest was Belgium's Two Days, One Night with Marion Cotillard, which has been one of the three films winning the majority of critic's prizes for Foreign Film. The Dardennes Brothers have been overlooked every time they've submitted in this category, so maybe it shouldn't be that surprising, but it does hurt Marion Cotillard's chances to be nominated as well. I would assume the nominees will be Ida, Force Majeure, Leviathan, Wild Tales and Timbuktu, based on what's gotten the most amount of praise and critical buzz this year for the category.
Las Vegas Critics like 'Birdman,' Tilda Swinton
Woo-hoo for Tilda Swinton! The coolest choice in this lineup by far. I'm actually wondering if she has the teeniest chance to maybe get in at the Oscars as well- if enough people see Snowpiercer she fits the mold of a quirky, passion vote performance which has occasionally made it in the past. She'd definitely deserve it.
LAS VEGAS CRITICS ASSOCIATION
Best Score: Birdman
Best Documentary: Citizenfour
Breakout Filmmaker of the Year: Damien Chazelle
Best Song: "I Love You All" from Frank
Best Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Best Costume Design: Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki, Birdman
Best Foreign Film: Ida
Best Editing: Edge of Tomorrow
Best Supporting Actress: Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer
Best Art Direction: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Best Youth Performance: Jaeden Lieberher, St. Vincent
Best Horror/Sci-Fi Film: The Babadook
Best Comedy: Top Five
Best Family Film: The LEGO Movie
Best Action Film: Guardians of the Galaxy
Best Animated Film: The LEGO Movie
Best Screenplay: Birdman
Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon, Wild
Best Actor: Michael Keaton, Birdman
Best Ensemble: Birdman
Best Director: Alejandro Innaritu, Birdman
Best Picture: Birdman
