This movie's been kicking around since last year's Toronto Film Festival and now it's finally coming out September 25th. Set during the 2008 economic crisis, it obviously takes a stark view of the way America treats the poor compared to the 1%- a timely film to come out right before the next election that brings back memories of the crash. Michael Shannon got raves for playing the nasty villain he's so good at.
Margot Robbie is the Last Woman on Earth in 'Z for Zachariah'
Another Sundance movie that good reasonably good reviews was this sci-fi film starring Margot Robbie, Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor in a post-apocalyptic setting. Don't expect an action film though- apparently it's a very low key drama focused entirely on the three central performances. It's coming out in limited release August 21st.
Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks Reunite for 'Bridge of Spies'
Spielberg and Hanks are teaming up for the first time since The Terminal for what looks like an old-fashioned kind of spy thriller set during the 1960's. It's from a script by the Coen brothers, although nearly every script the Coens write that they give to someone else is not one of their best. I'm iffy on it- it looks well made, but there's a very old school feel to this, like it could have been made in another era, although that may be intentional. I love Tom Hanks though (I still think he was robbed for a nomination for Captain Phillips), so I'm always there for a potentially great Spielberg/Hanks drama. It's coming out October 16th, key Oscar season.
Bigger and Crazier Stunts in New 'Mission Impossible' Trailer
It's trailerpalooza today, and I have to admit, I may be getting kind of excited for this one. Tom Cruise's fearless Ethan Hunt is back for more death defying acts of insanity in the latest look at MI:5- the water stunt looks like it might rival the plane incident. How much longer can Cruise keep all this up? I guess as long as he doesn't look his age (52) and people keep seeing these.
Joseph Gordon Levitt Debuts a French Accent for 'The Walk'
Movies are quickly vying for prime slots in the the fall festivals, and Robert Zemeckis' The Walk was just announced as the opening night premiere of the New York Film Festival in October. To be honest, I'm not sure why this movie exists. The Oscar winning Best Documentary of 2008 was Man on Wire, which gave us the actual account of the man who walked the rope between the Twin Towers- doesn't this all seem a bit redundant? If anything, it's a story that's probably more compelling in documentary narrative over fictional anyway, seeing how it's so procedural. What is this movie going to tell us that Man on Wire didn't? And what's the deal with JGL and weird, distracting makeup? Is that becoming his thing now?
REVIEW: "Mad Max: Fury Road" (2015) Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron. Dir. George Miller
When it comes to explosive summer action movies that still feel of an artistic vision, it's going to be hard to top George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road, a triumphant return to the highs of the best of the original Mad Max trilogy, 1981's The Road Warrior. That classic from the 1980's launched star Mel Gibson's career in the U.S. and is remembered now for its brutal apocalyptic future, but also the groundbreaking 13-minute climactic chase sequence- one of the all time best in movie history. Now, more than thirty years later, a 70-year-old George Miller returns to top his own ambitious chase scene with an entire film made up of them, all increasingly erratic and adrenaline fueled in order to cement you to the edge of your seat, heart pounding as you're taken on the ride of your life, practically thrown alongside Max and Furiosa as they outrun their captors and fight to take back their lives.
There's not much more to it than that, frankly. The beauty of the original Mad Max films was their stark simplicity (minus the off the rails nuttiness of Beyond Thunderdome). They were tales of vengeance and escape, simple as that, with so little exposition as to render dialogue meaningless. Miller has gone back to the glories of that early framework, as Tom Hardy's Max barely utters a single word for the majority of the film. Taking over for Gibson, he's a silent, somewhat brooding presence haunted by vague and troubling horrors of his past, but whatever backstory there is to the character hardly matters here. When the movie starts he's a prisoner of the War Boys in Joe's Citadel, a civilization run by a tyrant following a nuclear war. He's being used as a "blood bag" for one of the sick war boys (Nicholas Hoult), and ends up a reluctant hero of circumstance as the plot kicks into gear.
Charlize Theron is essentially the co-lead of this film, an action heroine in her own right who nearly carries the movie on her shoulders, every bit Hardy's equal, if not more. In a sense she's reminiscent of strong female characters from late 70's and 80's cinema, calling to mind gender neutral heroes like Sigourney Weaver's Ripley in Alien, which shouldn't stand out nearly as much as it does because of the dearth of films starring women in recent years. As Imperator Furiosa, another captive of the Citadel and now employed as driver of a war rig, she decides one day to take matters into her own hands and smuggle out the "five wives" of Joe, sex slaves being used for breeding purposes, so they can all reclaim their freedom if they make it out of the desert and away from the Citadel alive. Joe and his vast army of goons and lunatics then take up their trucks and armored cars to go after Furiosa and the women, and Max hitches a ride strapped to the outside of War Boy Hoult's vehicle.
From that point on we're in non-stop chase mode, the intensity and vigor of which put the CGI mess of Furious 7 to shame. Miller uses digital effects to create an epic sandstorm that takes down most of the riders, but the vast majority of the action here is good old-fashioned stuntwork, the likes of which you've probably never seen before. It dwarfs anything attempted in Road Warrior, and the sheer danger of the stunts performed here force you to consider how many put their actual lives at risk speeding across the vast desert landscapes (the movie was shot in South Africa) at colossal speeds. When Max hitches his fortune to Furiosa and co. (practically by accident) the two of them become an embattled, fighting duo who wind up so in sync I'd like to see them team up again in future films- but of course, Max being the lone outsider that he is, has to wander from place to place for all eternity, never strapping his future to anyone or thing in particular.
The characters and the settings of this world do recall the wildness set up in The Road Warrior, with the brutal lives of the oppressed on full display, men and women alike. One of the nicer things about this film is the way it utilizes the female characters as more than just victims to be rescued- all of them are tough survivors put through the ringer who come out standing no matter what the cost, and in what could well be described as the ultimate "guy's movie," is that a nice change of pace or what? But the overall intent is to give audiences an adrenaline rush like no other, and I guarantee you that is what you'll find when you sit down to this movie. It's a tight, focused, energy laden and well acted action film of the sort you really never see anymore. Credit has to go to Miller, a man who came of age at a time when movies like this were being made, made some of them himself, and still has it in him to recreate this insane world and stunning, gut-punching scenes of battering eccentricity and old school practical effects that will leave you aghast. In an age where the superhero CGI spectacle is king, it's a refreshing jolt to the system to see this kind of creativity at work.
* * * 1/2
Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard Go Dark for 'Macbeth'
Hmm. Not too impressed with this first Macbeth teaser. It looks a little rote for Shakespeare, although I'm not sure what I was expecting. Maybe it's the fact that everyone seems to be mumbling (is it me or is the sound pretty muffled here?) The movie did get good reviews out of Cannes though, so we'll see.
Jason Clarke Leads a Doomed Expedition in 'Everest' Trailer
It's been a long time since there was a good mountain climbing movie- was the last one Cliffhanger? Icelandic director Balthasar Kormakur takes on this true story based on the bestseller Into Thin Air, and it looks like it could be pretty cool. The real life tragedy in 1996 took the lives of all but one of the climbers, and Clarke leads a dream ensemble that includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, John Hawkes, Keira Knightley, Emily Watson and Robin Wright. Comes out on September 18th.
Teen Mystery Unravels in 'Paper Towns' Trailer
The latest trailer for Paper Towns makes the movie look slightly more tolerable than Fault in Our Stars, but still on the cheesy, weepy side. I really think John Green seems to be the new Nicholas Sparks- we can probably expect a movie to be made from every one of his books for a while, especially if this one pulls in the teen crowd in July as predicted. Although this one seems to be about a boy's coming of age, and the target demo for this audience is teen girls, so maybe it won't do as well? Who knows.
Noah Baumbach Reunites with Greta Gerwig for 'Mistress America'
Their last collaboration was the wonderful Frances Ha, and now Baumbach is back with his muse for his second film this year, after the well received While We're Young. This one got even better reaction at Sundance in January, and was immediately picked up by Fox Searchlight for release in August. Greta Gerwig plays another screwball type heroine here, in an obvious ode to her kooky free spirit-ness (she co-wrote the script with Baumbach). I'm definitely in- Noah Baumbach seems to be on quite a roll lately, which you may have to give Gerwig some credit for inspiring.
Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep Rock the Vote in 'Suffragette'
Just announced to kick off the BFI London Film Festival in October, this period drama about the suffragettes' movement to win women the right to vote looks to be right on its way to Oscar buzz, doesn't it? Certainly up their alley, anyway. With a good cast and a somewhat grittier look than I was expecting, this will likely be a promising contender this fall.
'Jem and the Holograms' Coming in October
So I missed this trailer a few weeks back, but boy does this look like the perfect companion piece to Pitch Perfect. Of course, any similarities to that musical franchise isn't enough for a studio, as this is also based on the 1980's toy line and animated series- I wonder if that explains the presence of 80's mainstays Molly Ringwald and Juliette Lewis in this. Fans, perhaps? It really couldn't look any cheesier, but I can't get worked up about any musical property still having fans, since it keeps the genre alive.
