I don't even know if this is the concluding chapter or not, but boy, this is one YA franchise that really ran out of steam quick, didn't it? Something tells me this is the worse of the two upcoming movies that Jeff Daniels is appearing in (in case you didn't catch him in the Steve Jobs trailer below). Well, if anyone cares, this movie is coming out next March.
Michael Fassbender Shines in New 'Steve Jobs' Trailer
I can't wait to see this! I'm a Sorkin devotee even of his bad stuff (I was the person who watched all of The Newsroom and Studio 60), so whatever this turns out to be, and reviews say it's bold, brassy and divisive, I bet it's right up my alley. It's coming out in limited release Oct. 9th and wide Oct. 23rd.
Chris Hemsworth Fights Off CGI Whale in New Trailer for 'In the Heart of the Sea'
I don't like movies where 98 percent of everything you're seeing onscreen looks fake, and this is going to be one of those, I can tell. Ron Howard's Moby Dick story is set to hit theaters in December, but I really couldn't be less interested. How about you guys?
Katniss is a Martyr in Final 'Mockingjay Part 2' Trailer
Okay, the spinning in slow motion version of Katniss in this trailer is bordering on parodyland, and frankly every ad for this movie makes it look more and more overtly ridiculous. God I can't wait 'til this franchise is over. Then in about two years, no one will remember the Hunger Games movies existed.
REVIEW: "Everest" (2015) Jason Clarke, Josh Brolin. Dir. Balthasar Kormakur
The allure of Mother Nature is not for the faint of heart or body. And even for those who aren't, the swallows of the earth will threaten to overwhelm the simple, tiny little man who tries and sometimes succeeds, but rarely, to conquer it. The new mountain climbing drama Everest details the painstaking process of what it takes the ascend the heights of one of Earth's most overwhelming natural forces and the doom it caused to eight climbers in the tragedy of 1996, previously described in books, documentaries and a TV movie.
Now comes the Hollywood version, and surprisingly, it's not what you would think. The ads for the film sell it as an action-packed thrill ride best seen in IMAX 3D, but what it turns out to be instead is a docudrama of the events of the '96 expeditions, a sober and straighforward re-telling of the story as it happened. A big ensemble is used to assemble the key characters but none are focused on in particular, aside from Rob Hall, played by Jason Clarke, who turned the business of climbing Everest into, well, a business, with his company called Adventure Consultants. His business model was to act as a guide for amateur climbers who wanted to make it to the top of Everest, and deal with all the challenges that brought with it. Soon, other businesses sprang forth (one called Mountain Madness is led by Jake Gyllenhaal in the film) and all began competing against each other for the glory and riches and danger of bringing people up the mountain. The film shows us the process of getting ready for the summit, the base camps, the equipment, the practice runs you must endure, the damage the climate and the heights can do to your body, and how only during a certain window of time due to ever varying weather conditions can you even attempt the summit itself.
For those unfamiliar with this process, as I was, the detail that goes into transporting you to the mountain visually is spectacular. Director Balthasar Kormakur employs a "you are there" feel to the climb, and not for one second did I ever disbelieve these people were really on Everest and the mountains surrounding it. At the top of the mountain you feel the altitude along with the climbers and not a single green screen shot is ever visible to the audience, although filming was done in a studio in London, along with occasional mountain location shots surrounding Everest. The feeling of being there during a storm and as the climbers systemically begin to lose their oxygen, is enough to recommend the film for the breathtaking effect it all has, even if emotional impact is rendered fairly mute by the lack of focus on any particular character. Josh Brolin brings the most personality to the group as a swaggering Texas republican, and Jason Clarke is the most sympathetic as the hand-holding paternal guide to his clients who he refuses to leave behind even in fatal situations.
But even though Kormakur is to be admired for bringing the appropriate amount of gravity to this measured account of the tragic events, and never goes for the exploitative action shot at any moment (you really do feel that this is what realistically happened to these ill-fated climbers), the effect is to keep you at a distance from the actual people. The characters are thinly sketched and the most emotional moment comes from the dramatization of the real life final phone calls between Rob Hall and his pregnant wife (played by Keira Knightley) as he lay dying on the mountain. And you can't help but feel that by telling the story in a realistic manner it may rob the audience of feeling the satisfaction and excitement from the conventional action movie payoffs they're meant to expect. This is a downer story with a downer ending, and though it may be respectful of the real life persons involved, it certainly doesn't leave you pumped from the thrill of it all as you leave the theater. But still, the wondrous visuals stay with you. When all is said and done, the mountain itself is the center of the film, and it's left standing to welcome any who dare scale its heights and live to tell the tale. That I wouldn't recommend.
* * *
Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "007: The Sean Connery Collection"
With Spectre being released soon, I'm recommending this classic Sean Connery collection of the original Bond films, the most iconic and probably the best, since it includes From Russia With Love and Goldfinger, on everyone's list of the greatest Bond films. Besides, Connery was the best- the definitive Bond, the one who molded the character forever in his own image. You could never not see some of what Connery brought to the character attempting to be replicated by every actor who followed him, and for good reason. The cool confidence, the ever so slight wink at the camera, the occasional flash of danger in his eyes- some of the later guys had more of one thing than the other, but he had all the elements at once, and that was because it was all just him, being himself on camera the way all the great screen stars do. Hell, even original 007 author Ian Fleming changed Bond's heritage to make him Scottish, after falling so hard for Sean Connery's portrayal of the man. You can't argue with that, right?
Original Dr. No trailer:
Mowgli Faces Kaa in New 'Jungle Book' Teaser
Jon Favreau's live action take on Disney's The Jungle Book looks a lot darker and more action-packed than the cartoon did. And virtually everything in this except Mowgli is CGI, as we knew it would be. Kind of interesting that they only show Kaa talking, as I think all the animals are going to be talking and possibly singing too, or at least Bill Murray is as Baloo, but we only hear a slight tease of "The Bare Necessities" at the end. Frankly, I never think CG animals look like the real things, so it all looks a bit off to me, but I'm sure it's going to be a big hit anyway.
Emma Watson and Daniel Bruhl Star in 'Colonia'
Emma Watson seems to be in a lot of movies these days, which means she's on the casting lists for agents everywhere. I honestly have no idea why- she's adorable but everyone saw the Harry Potter movies, right? She cannot act to save her life. I'm sorry, but it's true. Anyway, this movie just premiered at TIFF to middling reviews, so don't expect much from it.
Stallone Trains Michael B. Jordan in New 'Creed' Trailer
I thought the first trailer for this Rocky spinoff movie was better, but it still looks pretty good. And they're not really going to kill off Rocky are they??? I don't know if that would be the thing that gives the movie street cred or whatever, but come on...does anyone really want to watch Rocky Balboa die? Even if you can barely understand a word he's saying in this trailer, he's still Rocky, man.
BOX OFFICE 9/11-9/13: 'The Perfect Guy' and 'The Visit' Put Some Life Back in the Box Office
Two new thrillers debuted this weekend, and both of them exceeded expectations to earn openings in the mid-$20 million range. The Perfect Guy landed in first by a hair, although the numbers are close enough that they could change when the official non-estimates come in tomorrow, but the movie opened with $26 million and an "A-" Cinemascore from audiences. The Visit meanwhile scored about $25 million and marks something of a mini-comeback for M. Night Shyamalan, since this is his first film since the bomb After Earth.
The other new release this weekend was a new faith-based film called 90 Minutes in Heaven, which opened in 838 theaters to over $2 million. But the rest of the top five was filled out by holdovers, starting with War Room, which took in another $7 million and has now grossed almost $40 million, A Walk in the Woods, closing in on $20 million overall, and Mission: Impossible, which surpassed Straight Outta Compton to spend its seventh weekend in the top five, bringing its total close to $190 million domestic.
Top 5:
- The Perfect Guy- $26.7 million
- The Visit- $25.7 million
- War Room- $7.4 million
- A Walk in the Woods- $4.7 million
- Mission: Impossible- Rogue Nation- $4.2 million
In limited release, the romantic comedy Sleeping With Other People opened on 5 screens to a $20k average, while Grandma passed $2 million while still on just 130 screens, a big success so far for the independent film. Next week it's Johnny Depp's potential comeback role with the gangster drama Black Mass, which will face off against the Maze Runner sequel in wide release, while the mountain climbing drama Everest opens on 400 IMAX screens only. We're about to be swamped with adult audience movies for the fall season people, so stay tuned to see which ones can break out while others inevitably get lost in the crowd.
Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of 'Back to the Future' with New Documentary 'Back in Time'
There's been a resurgence of appreciation for this all time classic recently, even though of all films I never thought this one was lacking in the appropriate amount of appreciation. I mean, doesn't virtually everyone love this movie? Here's the new trailer for a crowd-funded documentary that remembers the impact and talks about the importance of Back to the Future, once again in the year of its 30th. It really is one of those movies that remains timeless, despite the fact that it made use of a lot of very specific dates and years.
Sarah Silverman Tries Her Hand at Drama With 'I Smile Back'
In a dramatic turn for her, Sarah Silverman goes all out for a gutsy performance as a drug addicted housewife in this new film coming out Oct. 23rd, and she looks pretty good! Kinda funny, both she and Josh Charles had guest arcs on Masters of Sex this year at the same time, so I guess they're pretty familiar with each other. This movie is showing at Toronto and played at Sundance earlier this year- even if it doesn't go anywhere, I think Silverman could have a definite career in drama if she wanted to.
