Suicide Squad director David Ayer tweeted a picture of Jared Leto as the Joker for the new Batman villains movie, and I guess it's safe to say we're in for a radically different version than was last seen in 2008's The Dark Knight. Which is for the best, don't you think? I mean, who wants to follow Heath Ledger's iconic, Oscar-winning performance with anything close to a similar kind of thing? I expected Leto to go in the opposite direction and I think this picture upholds those expectations (whether it turns out any good is a whole other story, since extremely over the top can sometimes give us stuff in the vein of the Joel Shumacher era Batman villains- shudder).
Movie of the Day: "My Neighbor Totoro" (1988)
Believe it or not, today is Arbor Day, possibly a more obscure, easy to forget holiday than Earth Day just two days ago. And unsurprisingly, there aren't a whole lot of movies that celebrate trees directly, so I'll just choose a great one that kinda celebrates them indirectly. This classic Miyazaki movie from the 80's is one of the best films for children ever made, a lovely story about two little girls and their protector, the big fuzzy, lovable Totoro, who lives among the trees (one giant one in particular). This is a wonderful movie about family, with emotions more genuine than many live action films, and Totoro is one of the most beloved magical creatures in film (a direct predecessor frankly, to sidekicks like Baymax in last year's hit Big Hero 6). This is a movie not to be missed, and if you need an excuse to check it out, well, Arbor Day is as a good a reason as any.
Blu-Ray Trailer:
First Look at M. Night Shyamalan's 'The Visit'
There was once a time when the name of the writer-director for this film meant millions of people would go see it- now it's more like a warning sign. Notice how the trailer doesn't even want to remind you of the many terrible movies he's made ever since The Village (which also was not good, but was his last hit). But who knows, could this one be his long awaited comeback? Doubtful- it looks silly as all get out.
Johnny Depp Transforms Himself for 'Black Mass'
As the notorious gangster Whitey Bulger, Johnny Depp finally looks like he's giving us something we haven't seen from him before. And yes, there's makeup involved, but even so, you have to admit he looks pretty impressive in this first look at the drama about Bulger from Crazy Heart director Scott Copper, set to come out September 18th. Could this be a return to form for Depp after so many recent flops?
Movie of the Day: "WALL-E" (2008)
It's Earth Day everyone! The holiday most likely to be overlooked by people who really shouldn't forget how doomed our planet is in the long term...but let's forget that depressing reality and watch this classic Pixar film about saving the Earth instead. That's right, one of Pixar's greatest movies, and the one that was most screwed out of a Best Picture nomination in 2008 (yes, even more than The Dark Knight). It's thousands of years in the future and Earth has become uninhabitable because of pollution, except for trash robots like Wall-E, whose job it is to slowly compact everything he sees. This was such an ambitious movie that the first half of it occurs with virtually no dialogue, and the romance between Wall-E and Eve, the girl robot sent back to Earth from the human space station to look for signs of life is one of the most touching you'll ever see. Once Wall-E and Eve get into space it becomes a little more conventional, but the film overall is one of the most imaginative and visually striking ever made.
Trailer:
First Look at Jack Sparrow in 'Pirates 5'
Well, yeah...that's Jack Sparrow all right. Did you forget they were making a fifth Pirates movie already? They still are, and it's called Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, scheduled to come out in summer 2017. Not sure whether this is actually warranted or not- but the last one still made a billion dollars worldwide (not so much here in the States), so of course they're doing it. If you ask me, what this series needs is a Fast and Furious style reunion of the original cast to revive some interest in it, but I guess it's doing well enough globally that they're not quite there yet.
Sandra Bullock Named People's 'Most Beautiful'
Well, that's a nice change isn't it? Not many 50 year old women get named Most Beautiful, although, like with People's Sexiest Man Alive, this often seems to be more of a popularity or relevance contest than anything else.
'The Little Prince' Brings the French Novel to the Big Screen
Now this looks more interesting that your usual animated fare, which I'm sure has something to do with the fact that it's a French production. Even though it's packed with celebrity voice actors as usual, maybe the most significant thing about this movie (which employs stop motion animation for the The Little Prince story and computer animation for the narrative surrounding it), is that it doesn't look like an action film. It's set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month and open in France in July, but we'll have to wait and see when Paramount chooses to distribute it here in the U.S.
Final 'Tomorrowland' Trailer Shows Off VFX
Well, Disney sure knows how to market a movie. The new (and presumably last) trailer for Tomorrowland makes it look as action-packed as possible, giving us nearly the whole getaway scene with George Clooney and Britt Robertson, as they run from the bad guys and escape off to the fantasy world. Is it me or does Britt Robertson look like she could be Jennifer Lawrence's doppelganger? Tomorrowland comes out May 22nd.
Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "42nd Street" (1933)
This week I'm recommending a movie that's also listed in our January movie month, but now that it's finally out on blu-ray it deserves another boost. The 1933 Busby Berkeley extravaganza set the template for the backstage musical, and has some of the most spectacular numbers ever seen on film. It also benefits from its pre-production code era by being able to address some of the more serious issues of the early days of the Depression. It's a fantastic, dark musical that still holds up more than 80 years later, and there's not many you can say that about. Look for an early appearance by Ginger Rogers in the ensemble cast.
Original 1933 trailer:
Movie of the Day: "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982)
Happy 4/20 everybody! With more and more states legalizing weed (four and counting, including my home state of Washington), this is bound to become a national holiday sooner or later, right? Well, maybe not, but to celebrate I'm recommending this 80's classic for one reason only: Jeff Spicoli, the surfer played by Sean Penn who single-handedly created the stereotype for every stoner in movie history from this moment on. Even though I'm not the biggest fan of this film overall (it's funny, but the Jennifer Jason Leigh storyline casts a dark and creepy shadow over everything else), every scene with Penn is gold, and it's well worth seeing for him alone. And Judge Reinhold is funny too, but Jeff Spicoli is the movie. He's pretty awesome, and iconic for a reason.
Original 1982 Trailer:
Sherlock Holmes Returns for One Last Case in 'Mr. Holmes'
Ian McKellen takes an aging Sherlock Holmes back into the field one more time in this new, somewhat more interesting look at Mr. Holmes, coming out in July. This might be something of a surprise this summer- it doesn't look too bad actually, and McKellen can be a great actor when given the right role, as we all know.
