Month: December 2009

KNIGHT AND DAY Trailer Brings Out the Big Guns

Said “big guns” being Cruise and Diaz, not the Uzis Cruise’s super spy is wielding to take out the bad guys, although those are pretty friggin’ big, too.   Courtesy of   E! Online, the trailer for KNIGHT AND DAY has been released today, and it offers up just about everything you would want in a film about Tom Cruise playing a spy who pulls Cameron Diaz’s mild-mannered woman into the adventure of her life.   Lots of quips.   Lots of goofy comedy.   Lots of bad guys getting shot.   It’s all fun and games thanks to director James Mangold.   Hell, there’s even a little Sarsgaard thrown in for good measure.

But don’t take my word for it.   See for yourself:

KNIGHT AND DAY hits theaters July 2nd, 2010.

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Movies of 2009

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, or… the craziest for some, but it’s a time of year when many are giving and receiving gifts of some kind. So, the Movie Geeks want to give you something as well… the best movies of the year, surprise! 2009 was an interesting year for movies, producing incredible movies from various genres. We saw many great films ranging from drama to comedy, sci-fi to animation, old school to new technology. There was something for everyone. We’ve tossed and turned and toiled, even lost some sleep to give you the perfect list of movies we feel are the Top Ten Best Movies of 2009.

10. THE HURT LOCKER

As much as you will hear about Jeremy Renner’s performance, which is a great performance, to me this is a film that really shines the spotlight on the film’s director, Kathryn Bigelow.   A director who has fought through a male oriented business to direct films in a genre that is usually directed by males.   Bigelow, who previously directed Point Break, Near Dark and Strange Days, ratchets the tension by using the view from the majority of America and their feelings of the war and Iraq against us.   While the film will likely date itself in the future due to it’s heavy footing in political set drop, Renner and Bigelow work together to give us some of the most gut-wrenching films I have seen in a long time.   It is a must see film.

9. AWAY WE GO

This follow up film to RESERVATION ROAD from Sam Mendes is off-beat, charming and thoughtful. This movie follows a modern couple, pregnant with child, as they set out on a cross-country trip to visit family and friends, searching for what their perfect family should look like. They visit family and friends, filled with quirky stereotypes of modern dysfunctional families. In the process, the couple comes to realize there is no such thing as the perfect family. The movie is filled with great performances, especially from Maggie Gyllenhaal, and writing that is nothing short of memorable.

8. DISTRICT 9

2009 was a great year for the science fiction genre and the groundbreaking and incredible entries into it, not the least of which was DISTRICT 9, Neill Blomkamp’s introduction to the world of feature film making.  Backed by Peter Jackson, the film is a triumph is atmospheric effects, violent and moving depictions of poverty, and an engrossing lead character fleshed out by an engaging performance by Sharlto Copley.  The film had so much more going for it than hardcore and bloody action, which makes up the film’s back half.  The themes running underneath give weight to the pools of blood being spilled.  Most other years, DISTRICT 9 would have found its way to the top of the sci-fi list.  In a year such as 2009, it’s recognition enough putting it on here.

7. AN EDUCATION

Based on the autobiography of British author Lynn Barber, AN EDUCATION is a coming-of-age drama about an intelligent, lovely teenager, Jenny (Carey Mulligan), living in London during the 1960’s who has dreams of one day attending Oxford. But those hopes are dashed when she’s whisked away from her dull life by a handsome, older man, David (Peter Sarsgaard) to Paris, filled with art, music, and excitement. Against the advice of her father (Alfred Molina) and her Head-Mistress (Emma Thompson), Jenny leaves school and receives a most smarting education when her Prince Charming isn’t all he seems to be. With her star-making,  Audrey Hepburn-type performance, a slew of critics awards, and a Golden Globe nomination, Mulligan is currently the front-runner to win the Academy Award for Best Actress. From director Lone Scherfig and a captivating screenplay by Nick Hornby, AN EDUCATION won rave reviews when it debuted at The Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. The film comes with an enchanting, hypnotic score from Paul Englishby. With its smattering of 60’s pop songs and artists, including the great Mel Torme and Ray Charles, one of the highlights was written especially for the film – Duffy’s ballad “Smoke Without Fire.”

6. AVATAR

It may have been impossible for James Cameron’s massively expensive epic to live up to the ridiculous hype, but it came pretty close. Featuring some of the best CG work in cinema to date and an incredible 3D experience, Avatar manages to be greatly entertaining for its 2.5 hour runtime. Now let’s just hope the sequel doesn’t take another 12 years.

5. UP

UP is yet another triumph from the incredible Pixar studios, who don’t just make great kid’s movies — they make great movies. Much more than just a movie about flying houses and talking dogs, UP had the perfect balance of material for the kids and for grown-ups. The action scenes in UP are thrilling and inventive but it’s the film’s many quiet moments that will stay with me. And has there ever been a movie with funnier dog jokes?

4. STAR TREK

The idea of someone, anyone, coming in to “reboot” the STAR TREK series was met with some livid fans in the years leading up to J.J. Abrams’ film’s release.  Many of them, myself included, ate some crow that day, as STAR TREK proved itself to be a true game changer when it came to the franchise.  Great character filled by amazing and hip actors set against an equally appealing story.  That’s what STAR TREK has to offer, and the special effects in it are pretty awesome, too.  Nearly every aspect of the film was a slight improvement on anything we had seen before in the series, and some even make the claim that it trumps the previous series best, WRATH OF KAHN.  J.J. Abrams took the series where it never gone before, and here’s hoping he comes back to do it again.

3. (500) DAYS OF SUMMER

“This is not a love story. It’s a story about love.” How true this statement is and so perfectly it captures the heart of this film. Affectionately called an “anti-romantic comedy” by many, this film vividly illustrates the emotions and complex interpersonal dynamics of a relationship and the expectations we have of them This first-time writing duo of Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber creatively translate the ups and downs of dating to the visual medium with a flair for great dialogue, delivered perfectly by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.

2.  MOON

I was a fortunate one when I saw MOON early this year at the South by Southwest Film Festival.  I didn’t know much about Duncan Jones’ debut film other than it starred Sam Rockwell, and it was a sci-fi movie.  If you are lucky, as well, you will see MOON knowing little more than that, as the story that unfolds is breathtakingly simple yet emotionally powerful.  Rockwell gives the performance of his career, and Kevin Spacey, providing the voice of a computer, is incredible, too.  MOON is a low budget sci-fi movie, a  sub genre  that generally brings out the best in story.  It succeeds in every way  imaginable.

1. INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Quentin Tarantino’s WWII epic hit theaters in August and cracked audiences in the face with it’s cutting and enthralling dialogue and outlandish violence. The film tells stories in chapters (same as QT’s previous film KILL BILL), introducing characters on both sides of the Axis/Allies parties. The Basterds are a Nazi hunting gang of Jewish-American soldiers that are sent in ahead of the calvary to instill fear in the hearts of the German forces. The film also follows the story of a survivor of Colonel Hans Landa’s Jew-Hunting mission and her personal revenge plot. With outstanding casting, brilliant storytelling, INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS is definitely worthy of being our favorite of the year.

INCEPTION’s Second Poster

Yes, this second poster for Christopher Nolan’s new film, INCEPTION, is very cool.  It comes to us from the film’s official site, where you can create mazes and have others try to work their way through them.  What is really cool is the idea of the city shaping itself to form the letter of the title, something that is both shocking and awesome in the film’s second trailer, which will surely hit the Internet any day this week.

This film is quickly growing to be at the very top of my and most everyone else’s “must see” list, and 2010 looks to be a banner year for one Leonardo DiCaprio.  God bless Nolan for bringing such a diverse and amazing cast together, as well, which includes DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page, Michael Caine, Tom Hardy, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  More than a couple of actors on this list are quickly working their way up that “best actors working today” ladder, something I’m sure Nolan realizes.

INCEPTION hits both IMAX and conventional theaters on July 16th, 2010.

KICK-ASS Hit Girl RED BAND Clip/Trailer Thing!

The more I see of KICK-ASS (coming this April from Matthew Vaugh), the better this flick looks! The film screen last weekend at AICN‘s BUTT-NUMB-ATHON (to celebrate the birthday of EIC Harry Knowles) and the reception was phenomenal. Devin Faraci from CHUD even hailed it as “the single best Western action film [he’s] seen in decades” and that is enough for me to see this film the first chance I get!

What we got today, was a new RED BAND trailer/clip featuring the young Hit Girl (apparently played wonderfully by Chloe Moretz) in which we get a glimpse of the joyous visceral action that she is involved in. Her father in the film, Big Daddy (played by Nicolas Cage) has trained her to be an assasin and “kill the bad guys.” If this is what we are looking forward to, then count me 150% in!!

Thanks to Empire for providing the embedded clip! Check it out and leave your thoughts in the comments field!

Source: /Film

FROZEN Trailer


When I first read the plot synopsis for Adam Green’s FROZEN, I was hooked. This is a premise that you can really get into.

Plot:

On a chilly winter night, three skiers huddle together on a chairlift, confused as to why their ride to the summit suddenly stops. The sting of the icy wind worsens when the floodlights power down, leaving them stranded in the dark. As they wait for help, the reality of the nightmare hits them. The ski resort has just closed, abandoning the group stranded high above the mountain slopes in an oncoming snow storm. With ominous howls echoing through the surrounding woods, they will need to make some tough decisions in order to survive. Writer/director Adam Green skillfully guides this real-world thriller, pushing three college students to confront their natural fears of the dark, cold, heights, and beyond, to see how far a human is willing to go to survive. With bone-chilling performances by Kevin Zegers, Shawn Ashmore, and Emma Bell, Frozen continues horror’s time-honored tradition of scaring audiences away from their favorite recreational activities.

Sounds cool eh? So now that you read that, check out the trailer below! I am really digging where this movie is heading. Hear some more thoughts from us on tomorrow’s live podcast! FROZEN hits theaters on February 5th 2010

MARMADUKE’s Game Changing Trailer

Owen Wilson.   Talking dog.   Movie based on a comic strip.   Animated/live action kid’s movie coming out during the Summer.   Throw a dart at any one of these, and I swear it’ll be my last “game changer” joke until we see something from THE SMURFS.

Here’s the teaser for MARMADUKE.   It comes to us courtesy of Yahoo! Movies.

The movie also features Emma Stone, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Ron Perlman, Judy Greer, Lee Pace, Steve Coogan, William H. Macy, George Lopez, Damon Wayans Jr., Amanda Seyfried and Jeremy Piven.   Still, don’t expect it to get any ensemble cast recognition at next year’s SAG Awards.

MARMADUKE hits on June 4th.

BOND 23 Screenwriter Confirms a “Shocking Story”

“A shocking story.”

That’s how THE QUEEN and FROST/NIXON screenwriter Peter Morgan described the eventual sequel, as of now titled BOND 23, the third time around for star Daniel Craig.   And that’s just about all the news MI6 got from Morgan who, evidently, then proceeded to scamper into some nearby bushes for fear of being seen by MGM.

Of course, work on the new Bond film is being help up until the sale of MGM and all of its properties is finalized.   Morgan worked on the screenplay from July until October, but any details are being kept heavily under wraps.

Still, it would have been nice to know just how “shocking” of a story we were in for.   Does Bond realize M is really is biological mother and he goes on a walkabout to find his absentee father?   Do we realize that the name James Bond and the 007 number are just tags for secret, cloned assassins, in which case every James Bond film actually occurs in the same world?   Does Daniel Craig get taken out in the first ten minutes only to be replaced by Halle Berry’s Jinx from DIE ANOTHER DAY?   What’s it all about, Peter?

Shoot us your fun, James Bond premises in the comments section below.   Let’s out-shock Peter Morgan on all fronts.

CLASH OF THE TITANS Filming Continues…and in 3-D

When I hear a film is going back for re-shoots, especially in this day and age where it seems every film has to re-shoot something, I don’t get concerned about the film’s well-being.  There are any number of reasons why a film would go back for re-shoots, and most of them don’t have to do with the film being a huge trainwreck they are trying to fix.  That happens, but less often than you would like to believe.  However, when I hear that a film is going back for re-shoots and there is talk they are going to make the film 3-D, that just raises the red flag of anger quicker than you can imagine.

The LA Times sat down with Sam Worthington last week when the subject of his next film, 2010’s remake of CLASH OF THE TITANS, came up.  Worthington mentioned that Warner Brothers, excited by what they had seen of Louis Leterrier’s film, had increased his budget to add more scenes.

We’re going to be going back and shooting more scenes for it, they cut loose with some money so we can  add to it.  We’re going to be shooting more scenes in January, so we’re going to be right up against it — the movie comes out in March.

That’s fine.  This is perfectly normal for a film, particularly one with so much riding on its back.  Then, Worthington dropped the bombshell that pretty much shattered any good will I had for this film.

There were some creaky parts but they are the parts that we knew were creaky and that we knew were going to be creaky going into it. The studio is also letting us  add some gods and scenes. And they’re  talking about making the movie a 3D film.

Let’s just go back and make it all 3-D, why don’t we?  It’s a rant I’ve been through a hundred times.  If you are making a 3-D film, fine.  Make it a 3-D film from the outset.  If you go back and “make” a movie 3-D, you’re just buying into a gimmick that, to me, doesn’t add much of anything to the film.

What do you think?  Is 3-D a good idea for CLASH OF THE TITANS?  Do the re-shoots make you nervous for the film?  What are your overall thoughts on 3-D?  Let us know by shooting us a comment in the section below.

CLASH OF THE TITANS is set for release on March 26th, 2010.

KNIGHT AND DAY Poster is Bond-errific

The flashy  silhouettes  of a dashing man and a sexy woman.  The stylish pistol the man holds as he runs from…something.  The splotches of strange color against the backdrop indicating things are about to get bloody (for someone who bleeds yellow).  Just about everything on this poster (save for Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz’s names) cries out Bond.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing.  It’s a cool poster we have above for KNIGHT AND DAY, a film with a title that could almost pass as a Bond title, as well.

Nonetheless, the film is directed by James Mangold (GIRL, INTERRUPTED, WALK THE LINE, and 3:10 TO YUMA) and also features Peter Sarsgaard.  I hope beyond hope that Sarsgaard plays the film’s villain.

The film’s official site is also live, and we are sure to have a trailer hitting very soon.  KNIGHT AND DAY hits theaters on July 2nd, 2010.

DAYBREAKERS Red-Band Clip

This redband clip isn’t terribly long, but I think it gives us a good feel for what is to be expected in the coming new vampire film DAYBREAKERS from the writer/director team of The Spierig Brothers, whom last brought us the uniquely off-kilter cult film UNDEAD in 2003. The effects look pretty good and the story may hold some unexpected twists, but we’ll have to wait and see. For now, enjoy this redband clip from the film due out in theaters on January 8, 2010.