I'm really curious to see how this movie is when it comes out in October, because from I can see, Bill Murray looks more "Bill Murray" in this than any movie he's starred in since, I don't know, maybe Groundhog Day? Not that he hasn't been in tons of stuff since then, and been funny in a lot, but this is bringing back shades of his Ghostbusters/Scrooged/Groundhog heyday, in my opinion. I hope it's good.
'The Iron Giant' Comes Back to Theaters With a Brand New Trailer
Brad Bird's The Iron Giant is finally getting the respect it deserves. It's being re-released in theaters for a special showing on September 30th and October 4th, and also coming out with a brand new signature edition, with this new trailer to go along with it. Fans of this film have been passionate and strong ever since its 1999 release- it was always a wonderful movie that went a bit overlooked at the time, but the cult audience has grown bigger in the years that followed. Don't miss a chance to see this on the big screen if you can- it's a special film, one that showed what a unique talent Brad Bird was in the field of animation.
Spike Lee, Gena Rowlands and Debbie Reynolds to Receive Honorary Oscars
The 2015 recipients of the Academy Governor's Awards (previously known as the lifetime achievement Oscars) have been announced, and they did a pretty good job this year. Reynolds will actually receive the Hersholt Humanitarian Award while the other two get the honorary awards, but the biggest question for this group is whether Spike Lee will show up to the ceremony, and if he does, what he will say in his speech. Lee was famously snubbed by the Academy for Best Picture nominations for all his films, but most notoriously, Do the Right Thing in 1989 and Malcolm X in 1992. Always the outspoken figure and usually publicly scolding of the Academy (not without reason), all eyes will be on his acceptance speech at the Governor's Awards in November.
New Posters for 'Steve Jobs,' 'Suffragette'
A couple of new posters for some Oscar wannabes came out today- the first is the spare, simple one with Michael Fassbender's Steve Jobs against a white background. What else do you need for him, right? The second one is a little cooler, with a hand-drawn style for the ladies fighting for women's rights in Suffragette. Both are films coming out this fall with heavy awards prospects, or so the studios hope. I personally think Steve Jobs is likely to be the better movie, considering the pedigree behind it (Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay, Danny Boyle is directing), while Abi Morgan, scribe of The Iron Lady and The Invisible Woman, doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence for the success of Suffragette, despite the cast.
Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel Remember Past Times in 'Youth'
Youth is a movie that debuted at Cannes to relatively warm reviews, and is now slated to come out in December from Fox Searchlight, so it could be something to watch out for. Almost everyone said that Jane Fonda was the big scene-stealer in this, but Michael Caine is seriously good as well, and beloved veteran actors like these two can always grab some attention for significant parts. The only thing that gives me pause is that it's from Paolo Sorrentino, whose last movie The Great Beauty, I did not like (although it won the Oscar for Foreign Film), but for most critics that would probably only make them look forward to this more. We'll see.
Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "The Doors" (1991)
Oliver Stone's The Doors is out in a special blu-ray edition today, and it's a musical biopic that stands out for a few reasons, not least of which was Val Kilmer's totally immersive performance as Doors frontman Jim Morrison (for which I maintain he was robbed of an Oscar nomination). Oliver Stone is prone to excess, and that's a criticism that certainly applies to this movie at times, but this is subject matter for which it might be appropriate, because it has the effect of placing you right in the middle of the late 60's sex, drugs and rock and roll craze, and it feels more authentic, vibrant and alive than any other film I've ever seen that tries to recreate that time period. The incredible soundtrack doesn't hurt it either. It's the reason that the movie holds up and stands apart from the rote, by the numbers rags to riches stories of so many films in this genre.
Trailer:
Maggie Smith to Enter the Oscar Race with 'The Lady in the Van'
I say that of course because she's Dame Maggie Smith, a legend, two-time Oscar winner and six-time nominee, now starring in a film based on the award-winning play, which was also based on a true story. All that, plus it just secured a December U.S. release date from Sony Pictures Classics, which means they think it's definitely something to be reckoned with, or at least she is. Mark this one down on your calendars, folks.
BOX OFFICE 8/21-8/23: 'Compton' Cruises to No. 1 Again; New Releases Falter
Straight Outta Compton had an easy ride to the top spot this weekend, and crossed the $100 million milestone in its second week, along with Trainwreck, which did so after a month in release, making that two more films to hit the $100 million marker for Universal in its amazing year at the box office. Compton pulled in $26 million in an otherwise slow week, as all three of the new releases underperformed, confirming that summer season is officially over, at least at the box office. Sinister 2 and Hitman: Agent 47 both opened below their predecessors, with $10 and $8 million respectively, while American Ultra couldn't even crack the top five, earning just $5.5 million on top of mixed-negative reviews.
Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation held onto second place with another $11 million for the weekend, bringing its new total to $160 million, while The Man From U.N.C.L.E. stayed in the top five despite its weak opening last weekend, dropping 45% for $7 million and a domestic total of $26 million. It will be labeled a failure, since it cost about $75 million to produce (Armie Hammer and Henry Cavill just can't catch a break, can they?). Welcome to the summer doldrums, everyone.
Top 5:
- Straight Outta Compton- $26.8 million
- Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation- $11.7 million
- Sinister 2- $10.6 million
- Hitman: Agent 47- $8.1 million
- The Man From U.N.C.L.E.- $7.4 million
In limited release, Lily Tomlin's Grandma opened strong, for $120k on 4 screens. That's a per theater average of about $30k, which is good news for Tomlin's potential Oscar bid. The movie got strong reviews as well, so if it can be an indie hit and she's willing to campaign for it, I think she stands a great chance at a nomination, which would be her second one ever, if you can believe it, after 1975's supporting nod for Nashville. Next week is bound to be another slow one, with Zac Efron's We Are Friends opening, along with Owen Wilson's No Escape and Margot Robbie in Z for Zachariah. Could Compton be No. 1 for three weeks in a row? Looks like it. See you then.
'The Final Girls' Spoofs '80's Horror Movies
At first glance, this movie looks kinda fun, as it pulls a reverse Purple Rose of Cairo as this group of teens steps into the screen of an old horror movie, but with all the meta "this is when this happens and now we have to do this" according to the standard tropes of slasher movies, isn't exactly what the Scream movies did? So it's not that original, but apparently it played well at SXSW this spring. I always like to see some of my favorite TV alums in something- here it's Silicon Valley's Thomas Middleditch and Arrested Development's Alia Shawkat. It's coming out in October, for Halloween.
Movie of the Day: "The Muppets Take Manhattan" (1984)
It's time for our last summer vacation movie of the day, everyone, as August winds down and fall is getting closer and closer. Today I choose the third and final film in the original Muppet trilogy, the real one as I like to think of it, because Jim Henson was still around and involved when these were being made. In this, the Muppets graduate college (don't ask) and travel to New York to put on a Broadway show. Kermit and Miss Piggy end up spending the whole summer there as the rest of the Muppets go their separate ways, but one of my favorite things about this one is the big musical finale onstage, which culminates in the long awaited wedding of pig and frog, as the two lead Muppets finally get hitched (and will then spend the rest of their existence arguing about whether it actually happened, but since this was the original Kermit and Piggy, played by Jim Henson and Frank Oz, I'm here to say that it was definitely, 100% real). It's an adorable ending and a salute to the last movie with Henson himself as Kermit, which kind of marked the end of an era, although the Muppets would continue to pop up in films, TV and specials of course. Still, if this had been the last we ever saw of them, it was a pitch perfect note to end on.
Original VHS Trailer:
Movie of the Day: "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (2008)
Today's summer vacation movie is this Woody Allen film starring Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson as two women on vacation in Spain. But the reason to see this movie has nothing to do with them and everything to do with the supporting characters. Basically ScarJo meets and is seduced by Javier Bardem, who comes with a crazy estranged wife in Penelope Cruz (who won an Oscar for the role), and the trio embarks on a threesome while Hall longs for Bardem from the sidelines. But the relationship and scenes between Bardem and Cruz make the entire movie, and you wish that the whole film had been about the two of them and their nutty, destructive relationship. They perform most of their scenes together in Spanish and they manage to make the often stilted dialogue in the later Woody Allen ouvre come alive in feisty, convincing bursts of passion and energy. The two of them, plus the scenery is what makes this film worth seeing as a minor, later entry in the Allen canon.
Trailer:
Star Wars Spinoff 'Rogue One' Cast Picture
The Star Wars universe is expanding very quickly. At D23 it was announced that entire Star Wars parks are being added to both Disneyland and Disney World, and the spinoffs are set to start coming out soon, starting with this one, which is titled Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and set to be released December 16th, 2016. Godzilla's Gareth Edwards is directing, with The Theory of Everything's Felicity Jones starring (as you can see), but I'm more curious as to how a movie like this will actually perform, whether spinoffs will be anywhere near as popular as the nostalgia fueled Star Wars continuity movies. I'll guess we'll find out, but a movie like this is bound to be much more of its own thing than the JJ Abrams one coming out this Christmas.
