Monday, March 31, 2014

Monday Movie News Links

Daily postings where I chose an article and put my highly opinionated spin on the topic.

https://movies.yahoo.com/news/arnold-schwarzenegger-despite-3rd-straight-box-office-bomb-203800029.html
First Aunold in 7th place at the Boxoffice with Sabotage. Ouch. Even I didn't see it yet.
A good  example is stated here with Aunold having Escape Plan a big hit in China. Hence why we are going to get an  Expandables 3. Where overseas still appreciate old school action heros. But stateside, after what Chris Evans said about Brands and Franchises last week, actors are going into directing, Evans, Afflect or producing aka Spacey, Leo, Pitt. Poor Aunold. Will people want to see him in Conan? Let's see if the audience wants Dwayne Johnson as Hercules as many times that title has been done to death. Are they going to put up with Conan. Face it. He is no Spartan. And his big backup as Terminator?........

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Terminator-Producers-Want-Shoot-2-Movies-Row-42322.html
They should think twice about this!!! Pun intended. What makes them think this is going to succeed?
The last Aunold Terminator didn't break any records and we won't even talk about Bales version.

http://www.vulture.com/2014/03/noah-giant-rock-monsters.html?mid=imdb
Huge hit for Crowe for what amounts to a fantasy take on the story of the Ark. Even after all
the bitching on this, we get rock monsters for crying out load. I'm still waiting for a picture of the actual ark on Instagram for comparisons. Well, anyone?

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20801587,00.html?xid=rss-fullcontent
The Boy from Oz himself, Hugh Jackman going back to his singing roots again. So far away is X-Men The Musical from going on Broadway? They got had Bats, Spidey and even Superman back in the 1960's. Check Wikipedia : In Other Media for that one folks. But I still love the fact that Jackman has a great sense of humour about it, with Les Mez music in the background. Hell, if I was getting a Bizillions dollars in points, merchandise and god knows what else, I'll be laughing to.

http://www.thewrap.com/walking-dead-season-finale-unhappiest-ending/
Rip his frigin throat out Rick1 Man a great scene but it leaves us hanging with cannibals.  But never mind that, what blew my mind was the cameo from Star Trek:TNG Denise Crosby?!!! What the hell is she doing on this show? Did Star Trek stop sending her checks?

http://www.thewrap.com/lorenzo-semple-jr-creator-batman-tv-60s-dead-91/
He also wrote the movie "Flash Gorden" Ah-ah.....
Grew up with Batman '66 tv show which had the coolest car ever in cinema "The Batmobile".
Don't forget it was a movie also back in 1966. On the Blu-ray version it has a feature on Semple Jr. talking about Batman and writing in Hollywood. Highly recommended. You'll get to see more of this when they release the tv show on Bly-ray this year. All 3 season including the year with Batgirl.
Hopefully it will include the 7 minute promotional short never seen on the air that introduces Batgirl versus the Killer Moth villian. The henchman had antennas on their heads aka SNL Killer Bees. Pretty funny.






Friday, March 28, 2014

Godzilla 1985 (The Return of Godzilla) Review Part 1

This is the review of the original "The Return of Godzilla", the unedited version without Raymond Burr.
This is from a DVD copy that I brought down here in Puerto Rico (visiting family) in one of these small MOM POP shops that still sell Lps and cassettes!
This copy itslef is from a Laser Disc version (I was told) that is Spanish dub with no English Dub and no subtitles. Only when there is Japanese lettering on the screen that there is spanish subtitles. A Screen shot included explains how that looks.
So I had to listen to the whole movie in Spanish including scenes which I have never seen before. Family helped me with some sentences.
For those who read my review on the blu-ray  "Monsters" Blu-ray by Director Gareth Edwards,
I broke down the review into catagories and timings. This will be a short verison of that, because honestly it would take me about 5 pages to go through the whole movie. That how much editing was done. I compared this with a Torrent version of the American release on the internet playing on my laptop  while playing the DVD version on the television.
But the funny thing about is, you are not missing much at all. The shorter version is the better one.
And this is coming from a purist! From a certified editor this had to be a nightmare for the film's editor as scenes were edited out, trimmed down, inserted new material, rejumbled scenes around, and to cut it down for a short 90 minute release.


 So what are the major differences?
1. First of all the Godzilla scenes are exactly intact, no footage was deleted or added in both versions.
2. Scenes of the couple were cut down for the U.S. to the point you wouldn't notice. Basically they both looking at each other while things are happening around them.
3. And the bulk of the editing was the Japanese Cabinet deciding what the hell to do with the big guy.
Lots of talk which continues when the Americans show up and nobody in the room can decid what to do. A good 20 minutes, all in the second act, were completely edited out. A good choice. This is where they added the American Scenes of Actor Raymond Burr and the Military drinking Dr. Pepper looking at a screen.
4. The Russians are the good guys in the original. In the U.S. version we are at a cold war with Russia.
More explain in the editing section.

The following will be a technical scheme of both movies and is divided in 3 parts a this is the basic structure of most movies.
1st Act = 30 minutes, 2nd act = 45 minutes, 3rd act = 30 minutes
So what were the editing choices? I present this in order of the movies:
Act 1:
1. Rearrangment of  the opening with the boat in the storm.
2. Fighting the giant bug was longer as the hero had a tug of of war with it before stabbing it to death.
3. The 2 guys yacked longer on the boat before the helicopter rescued them.
4. Intro of reporter at his house by the water.
5. Submarine Scene: They much talk about scene and only 30 seconds edited out where the captain talks to his second in command which the sonar could be from another submarine called "Los Angeles".   ."Then it must  be from the new american nuclear submarine Los Angeles"
See picture above.

The submarine is the highlight of Act 1; To give you an idea of the difference of both pictures:
Original Version: 21:00 to 24:30 Minutes into the movie.
American Version: 15:00 to 17:45 minutes into the movie.
As you can see 45 seconds were cut out of the scene hence the photo above. You can also see how the editing is effecting the timing of the picture as approximately 5 minutes have been edited out of the original release. And it gets crazier with with the second act.

End of Part 1: We are going to wrap up the 1st act and then describe the 2nd act as thats where most of the butchering happens and end with the 3rd act where most of it is intact with Godzilla fighting the Super X (still looks like a waffle iron to me).I gave you an idea of how the editing process works above the 2nd part will be more user friendly and shorter as to just mention what scenes were cut.

Part 2 will be posted next week.


'


Thursday, March 27, 2014

Batman 75th and Captain America Retiring?


http://latino-review.com/2014/03/warner-bros-dc-entertainment-celebrate-batmans-75th-anniversary/
2 Articles on Batman's 75th Anniversary with a breakdown on the activities planned. This is a great time to be a Batman fan. Shame it's got that Superman movie sequel to tarnish the brand.

It also didn't help with Robert Downey Jr. says they are going to be replaced because of age. Just ask
Harrison Ford who might have to say goodbye to Indy. Well he did wait to late. Again it's all about the franchise and brands. All the best Actors, Directors, Writers are going to tv/cable/netlfix etc for the stories. In that mediium it's about the people making these shows and movies. Not about masks, capes, brand names, SFX, CGI and Merchandies. But that's what Corporate America is pushing wth these Pole Tent Movies. 

Well that doesn't help matters, but that's the problem. Everyone wants streaming but the studios don't want to change the old system.

In NYC before 12 pm AT AMC tickets are $8.00 or slightly more for Imax 3D when usually tickets are $15 for regular and over $21 for Imax 3D. This is during the week so 1 day is not going to make a difference. Again a dog chasing his tail.

An  app that scared the crap out of Hollywood. It's along read but hits on a lot of points. Staying home and binging on anything you want is the future. Exccept they don't want do admit it and accept it.
Remember the Record Business? Napster took care of thier ass, the start of it all. Flash forward we have Spotify laeding the way. So lets take a look at the links below how this is revolving:

I'll be baack!
Get to the Chopper Now! and Join The Dark Side.....and how this works:

No, I didn't download the app to try it out, that's up to you. But I posted these just to look into the Crystal Ball. While I don't support anything illegal, I do like the idea that I get to see what the hell I
want when I want it without being tied down by limits. More on this on a future live show on BTR.






Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Wednesdays BR/DVD Reviews

Ratings: 1-5, Bad to Great. RB=Redbox.

Wolf of Wall Street: 4 (Movie not BR) This is more of a FYI than a review as I did not see the BR. Loved the movie, and if it weren't if McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club winning the Oscar, Leo would have gotten it for Best Actor. Man, he nails it. My favorite scene? Leo on Qualludes while trying to get to his car. Classic! Both this and American Hustle are a great double feature for a Saturday Night. This would have been a 5 if this was the original 4 hour version and not missing the boatload of features which were done for the promotion of the movie which none of that shows up here. So don't be surprise if  a special edition comes out down the road. Also Leo's Great Gatesby on BR did good business. Leo can sell BR's and fans will double dip for the Special Edition which is what I'm waiting for. Only a  making of included which is very surprising for a Oscar nominated picture. With that being said, trust me, it deserved the Oscar nod. I didn't think it was going to be all that and it was and more. Now where is that other hour? Don't be surprise of that Special Edition.

Avengers Confidential: 2 (RB) - While it does have a lot of action the 2nd act brings this to a dead stop with all the yacking between Black Widow and Punisher. Great Premise but they kind of blew it.
Slight Spoiler: Don't be fooled by the cover as the whole team doesn't show up until the last 10 minutes and with Marvel animation, it looks like they made this at a third rate animation factory overseas. Something I said before that DC gets right.

Delivery Man: 3: (RB) A dramedy with a good heart. I was surprise by this one. New nothing of the original so I took the film for what is was with a far fetch idea. But it worked. What makes this works is Vaughn in a comedic situation but plays it straight. Low on the funny parts and gets a little sappy but I was expecting junk especially after Vaughn did that Google movie with Owen. (sorry google, please dont cancel my blog, thank you0. But it does make a nice date movie. Nothing wrong with that.

Chinese Zodiac: 4: (RB) Not the grand finale that you wish Chan would have for his supposedly last movie. But it delivers all the goods you would find in a Jackie Chan movie including the great stunts and of course the outtakes during the end credits. But beware for you Chan purists as Green screen is used in some scenes for safety sakes but it does get in the way in some scenes. But nowadays is to be expected. It's Mission Impossible meets Indiana Jones looking for Head Stones. Who cares, its all fun.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Tuesday Movie Reviews

Ratings: 1 - 5, Bad to Worst
Note: More to be added during the week on this list due to time issues.

Divergent:
My No.1 Worst Movie of the Year for my website. I didn't have the patience to sit in on what is basically a setup for a franchise aka Twilight and Hunger Games. I am so done with these. The story? Simple: They jump on and off a train for the first hour. 2nd hour the heroine is strapped in a chair aka Matrix, a big fight happens near the end, mother dies. Then the movie leaves you hanging for sequel. Fk this. The only reason I saw this, besides being dragged to it was that Ashley Judd was in it. And her character was a waste. Worst sci-fi movie of the year so far.

Note: Talk about trains and Sci-fi:
Snowpiercer with Chris Evans (Capt. America) John Hurt, Ed Harris.....4 out of 5!
Review coming next week. Think of Elysium meets Dark City and nods to flicks from the '70's.
Warning Alert: Just read the credits on IMDB as they are spoilers in the reviews.
I got an advance copy as this was released only in Europe so far.

Nymphomaniac Vol. 1 & 2: 1
In last weeks blog I describe Vol. 1 on a technical level. Basically 10 minutes of the so called sex scenes and 2 hours of yak. Same with Vol. 2 except more yak and about 15 minutes of sex scenes. The problem is besides being a boring movie, both Vol. 1 or 2, body doubles are used, fake penises, quick cuts and edits to hide so called explicit scenes. Ain't this NC-17 to begin with? What's with the tricks. But in Vol. 2 it gets ugly which involves a whipping with ripped skin, a rape with a beating ending with a golden shower. This is entertainment? On a porn site is one thing if your into this kind of thing. But a so called Art Movie which is just a pretentious overhyped bullcrap trying to past itself as a study on human nature and the pyschology of blah blah blah. What friggin nonsense. And people are falling for this Sh*t! 2nd worst movie of the year. There is one funny scene at the end which had me howling with somebody getting their due. Didn't see it coming. And for that this movie gets a 1.
Again don't fall for the hype, you are not missing anything. Ok uncut on a rental if your that curious.
At least I won't feel bad as being only one who wasted 4 hours of his life.


Monday, March 24, 2014

Monday Movie Links

Here are the Usual Suspects for the week: Remember use IMDB for references, titles and actors.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3804&p=.htm
Muppets couldn't clear $20M and got beaten by One of the worst movies of the year "Divergent"?
(Reviews coming later this week). Where were all the Muppet fans? Well that Lady Gaga special did not help. It should have been Muppets and Friends.  No Muppet movie should be more 90 minutes long, and where was Seagal (How I Met Your Mother)  who rebooted the franchise?

http://www.movieweb.com/news/fast-furious-7-will-use-cgi-and-body-doubles-in-place-of-paul-walker
This is what they did with "Gladiator" Actor Oliver Reed and The Crow Actor Brandon Lee who both died in the middle of the Production. Right way to go as to finish his performance and have the film dedicated to him. Just think of stuntmen taking the actors place during the rough spots.

Here is the WHY? Section:
(also known as the WTF section)
http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/could-2016s-untitled-ridley-scott-film-be-blade-runner-2-or-prometheus-2
Why? Fans have been waiting for a Blade Runner Sequel for the longest. Scott isn't getting any younger and should put all of his efforts in this. Why bother with PM2. The first one sucked. Engineers, really?
http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/green-lantern-writer-hired-for-prometheus
UPDATE: Damn you do, damn you don't. Green Lantern was horrible so we know Prometheus is going to suck but he also wrote Blade Runner 2. How screwed up is that?

http://www.movieweb.com/news/m-night-shyamalan-returns-to-the-thriller-genre-with-sundowning
Why is he still making movies? How many times his films got the Raspberry Awards, the last being with Will Smith. He give Philadelphia a bad name. I've been there and loved it. They don't deserve this.

http://www.movieweb.com/news/scarface-reboot-gets-no-director-pablo-larrain
Why? Pacino's version is a modern classic. How can you top that U FKin Cacaroach...

http://www.movieweb.com/news/is-a-lost-reboot-coming-soon
Why? This has to be one of the worst shows ever on tv. I was like everyone else in the first season intrigue on the premise. Second season Lost me. Saw the ending the What the hell was that about? More questions than answer? Read the last line of the article:
"Happy to have questions be the legacy". Here's a new legacy: The reboot nobody asked for...

OK I'm done bitching. This week: Movie Reviews with Nymphomaniac 2, Divergent, both snore fests and Godzilla 1985 Retro as promised.
PS Thanks to all for reading my "Monsters" review. Got a lot of hits.....
"You like me, you finally like me!".........
.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Reposting of Blogs Weekend

Yep, just reposting this past week blogs for those who missed the first time around. Actually it's more of a reminder if anything else.
Going thru 6 and half hours of Monsters BR Edition took the wind of of me, besides seeing the movie 3 times just to make sure I covered everything.
This got me set up for the big edition of Godzilla 1985 which is coming next week and to get ready for the Blu-rays of  GZ Vs. King Kong and all the other Toho features coming out in April and May.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Monsters Blu-Ray Special Edition Review

Since Godzilla 2014 is less than 2 months away, I decided to go back and revisit Director
Gareth Edwards first major feature. Actually his only feature that got him the job for Gojira.
I will break this down first by the movie itself with a time stamp so you can fast forward to 
the highlights since this is mainly a love story with a "Creatures from another Planet" wrapped
around it. The main complaint from many who saw this. But considering the Low Budget,
that was the angle of the story just to get this movie made.
Then I will break down the special features included on this disc. All 6 and a half hours of it!

For those who heard there is very little of the creature feature and action here is the breakdown:
Warning Spoilers: I'm posting this as many never wanted to see this in it's entirely. 
1. 0 to 3 minutes: Credits and opening sequence. This has to be seen as this is actually the ending
of the movie. It plays like found footage (which I hate) but it stops there and becomes a story.
Trust me, once you watch the whole movie you will be going back to make sense of it all.
2. 46:14 - 49:00: Their boat is going down a river and you see tentacles grabbing a jet fighter 
that was shot down that is floating there.
3. 59:00 - 1:07: Jeeps are going down the road only to have the creatures cross it. One of them
grabs a jeep then you what happened the next morning. Very Jurassaic Park influenced.
4. 1:23 - 1:30: The ending where you see the creatures in full blown CG.
*Visual Effects - Out of all features this is the one to see if you don't want to check out all the other features. You can see how he used a toy jet fighter in a bathtub to good use.

Monsters: 3 - Considering what no budget Gareth Edwards had to work with, you wonder 
how he got this made to begin with. But with he's technical background and doing the CG effects himself they needed a director who could make Godzilla with a decent budget, a lesson learned when Jan Le Bont (Speed) wanted almost $200M to make his version. Then Emmerich and Devlin told the studio they cold make it cheaper. What they got was a generic script which was a remake of Beast From 20,000 Fathoms which was the influenced for the original Godzilla to begin with. With all the interviews he has done for the new GZ 2014 we hope it's in good hands. Now the features.
Note: He got a Bafta Award (British Oscars) as pro

Commentary: Basically Edwards and he's 2 stars talking about how hard the shoot was, the different locations including Mexico, Costa Rica and others. Edwards also mentions the CG done in places. Mainly adding Helicopters, signs, wreckage and other parts to complete the picture.

1:09 minutes: Making of: Full blown documentary which was done by a second unit. If you only fast forward
to the parts mentioned above then see this, you will go back and see the film in its fullest to see
Edwards vision come to life. With no budget!

Interviews:
45 Minutes: Director Edwards talks about his background, film school backgroung, his love for monsters films and the idea for this. Also compares big budget filmmaking to small independent style. Good for those who wantto know how to approach your material for a creature feature. It also shows how down to earth and easy going he his. Likeable fellow. LOL.

28 Minutes: Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able talk about the shoot. They met on this film and got married after this. Scoot went to make Argo and 12 Years a Slave (don't remember him tho) and Whitney has done a lot of TV but best known for "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" a film that was sitting on the shelf since 2006!

Edting: 20 Minutes: How they cut a 2 hour plus down to 90 minutes. Shows the equipment, the laptop and software used to make this. A lot of this was done on location in hotel rooms. 

*Visual Effects: 35 Minutes: Done with Photoshop show he film the toy in the bathtub scene.
This shows is understanding of applying Special Effects. This will give you relief that Godzilla is in good hands on Edwards bringing Godzilla to life.

Deleted Scenes and Edwards at Comic Con rounds out the features. Which is more than enough!

*Wrapup to be added tomorrow.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Thrusdays Leftover Movie Links

Updated 3/21 to include the newest Links:

http://movies.yahoo.com/video/top-10-city-destruction-scenes-193117082.html
Include some nods to other films that didn't make the Top 10. Man they love to Destroy NYC.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=114448
More behind the scenes on Godzila 2014.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Pacific-Rim-2-Sequel-Still-Happening-42160.html
Good news for us Kaiju fans. Will it happen? Only if Godzilla does whopping business opening weekend which is pretty damn good.
http://www.slashfilm.com/pacific-rim-2-still-possibility-legendary/
2nd take with box office comparisons to other films, and it mentions Home video and Merchandise adding to the success of the film.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Why-Marvel-May-Start-Killing-Off-Major-Heroes-Phase-Three-42167.html
Makes sense. God rid of the ole been there done that and bring in new characters. But we all know nobody ever dies in the movies. And I've been saying this for over 20 years: Once they brought back Spock from the dead in ST:Wrath of Khan-Search For Spock all bets were off.

http://latino-review.com/2014/03/fox-announces-release-dates-wolverine-fantastic-four-sequels/
With news on what happening with the Marvel universe how wonder Fox is going ahead with Wolverine and FF4 reboot. Man money talks loud.

http://www.creativeplanetnetwork.com/digital-cinematography/news/james-cameron-says-he-was-too-conservative-3d-avatar/65829
Translation: Cauron kicked my ass in the 3D department and got an Oscar for it. Time to up my game!

http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/phil-lord-chris-miller-reportedly-being-sought-to-helm-ghostbusters-3
Now this would be awesome! With Reitman still producing they should be on the right track.

http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/david-fincher-looking-at-christian-bale-to-star-in-his-steve-jobs-biopic
Why? Cause Fincher is doing it? There was the telemovie, the Kutchnor version. And mind you, besides the overrated Social Network it was all that at the box office. Nobody is going to care.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Cars-3-Incredibles-2-Way-From-Pixar-42139.html
Duh! Incredibles should have been the first one to have a sequel considering it missed the boat the past 10 years with the Marvel Universe doing great. And their re-releasing this in 3D. Talk about being late to the party. And Pixar was the most original studio on the planet in their day. What a shame.
And do not get me started on Cars 3 merchandise driven brand. I hated the first one!

http://news.yahoo.com/vintage-behind-scenes-star-wars-photos-wish-1977-095500294.html
We've seen these but nice to post anyway. And that new annoucement? Meh....been there...

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Wednesday's Mini DVD/BR Reviews

Today we cover Blu-ray/DVD and Redbox Reviews. Remember to see IMDB for full details on cast, crew This will be updated later this afternoon.

American Hustle: 5 - The picture that Scorcese was supposed to direct. Great cast ensemble is what makes this picture work. Sorry Jlaw, you were not all that besides all those damn awards. Oscar saw that. It's a Dramedy that works. Or wait for the 'other Best Picture' Wolf of Wall St. next week.

Savings Mr. Banks: 4 - Emma Thompson putting Tom Hanks in his place is funny in itself being in charcter that is. I prefered her Oscar nod performance over Blance and Streep (who should have won). She was funny with a lot of heart. Only the sad flashbacks with Colin Farrell (who was great in the role) brings this story down. Less flashbacks and more Disney this would have been perfect. Note to Producers. If your going to make a picture about Walt Disney's human flaws, don't do it at the House of Mouse. Duh!

Mandela: 3 - Idris Elba saves this film from being a by the book numbers Bio. This deserved a 3 hour movie on the Lifetime Channel to tell a decent story. Stick with the Biography Channel if you want to know about his life. I didn't learn crap watching this. But Elba deserved his award nods.

Odd Thomas: 3(RB) - This was a fun movie with a good cast. Odd little movie with "Chekov" saving the earth from evil. Lots of action kept this moving with some funny moments. Surprisingly this had a sad ending which as a nice touch. It did have a sequel setup that doesn't look like it's going to happen.

Kill Your Darlings: 2(RB) - Good talent completely wasted on a dismal script. Seeing Harry Potter getting rimmed by another dude is not my day at the movies. What was "Dexter" doing in this?

20FT Below: 1(RB) - Ok Trejo's in this from beginning to end and clocks in 20 minutes of screen time.
Trejo and the homeless are underground in the train tunnels setting up a revolution or something like that. He's he reading these scripts? Pay must be good for one day's work. He's in one room the whole time reading cue cards. Cut these scenes up, spread across the film, move on to the next picture.

Reasonable Doubt: 2(RB) - Jackson doing his usual "I'm crazy like a MotherFK and being Whity's nightmare" shtick. Good cat and mouse between the 2 actors trying to survive a by the book script.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Tuesday Movie Reviews

Ratings: 1 -5, Bad to Great. And remember to see IMDB for references when I mention other movies.

Need For Speed: 2 - Need a good script. Poor man's Fast Furious, Need for Boxoffice.
While I give the first time director Scott Waugh kudos,a previous stunt man aka Hal Needham (who rent to direct the all time car chase film "Smokey & The Bandit", The No. 2 film in 1977 behind Star Wars), he didn't have much to work with. While the script sucks at least they tried a origin plot instead of doing the videogame. But both the script and the film needed some heavy editing as 2 hours was way to long for a race movie. Old classic Le Mans and Grand Prix are good examples of this is. Best stunt was the car picked up by the Helicopter but not enough to keep me interested all the way. How wonder this landed at #3 at the Boxoffice.
Update: Little did I know the directors father was best friend with Hal Needham. Keep it in the family.
http://diymusician.cdbaby.com/2014/02/band-wear-masks/?utm_source=cdbaby&utm_medium=email&utm_content=02-20-14&utm_campaign=DIY022014

Veronica Mars: 2 - First off: I am not a Marshmallow (that's what Mars fans call themselves). I saw one episode way back when and couldn't get into it, neither could I get into anything CW had at that time for that matter. But to be fair I went back and saw the first and last episode last week to give this review a chance. Ironically in the beginning of the film they had a recap and showed exactly the highlights of the first and last episode including here walking away at the end. This DID NOT make me happy. Why the hell did I bother then? Well it was downhill from there. This is for fans only as I couldn't get into this whatsover.  Now to be fair I did get some laughs from the cameos, Justin Long told to Fk Off, James Franco. That joke about the laywers still screwing you after your dead. While some of the dialog was very witty at times I just couldn't help I was watching an overblown lost episode. While this had a voice over aka Goodfellas and American Hustle, Veronica came off as a bitchy smartass in her approach. And I did mentioned in previous posts (links) why out of all shows did this get a Kickstater campaign.  I have to admit they accomplish their goal and got this made with an official release but are we going to get other CW shows that don't need to be realized? I hope not. PS. The link below didn't help.
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/9-Things-Know-About-Veronica-Mars-Movie-You-Seen-It-42110.html

Talk about female power:
I'm putting this here because this is still at the movies hitting the $1 Billion Mark. Why?
Frozen: 1 - This is right up ther with Brave as the worst animation stories in the past 10 years.
If it wasn't for the Snowman, this would get a Zero. That's right I said it. When this first came out, the reviews were mixed and now everyone's at the coffee machine at work saying what a greta movie this is. Like the same ones who loved Iron Man 3. Amazing how people can get brainwashed thinking they actually watching something that's great. But then again isn't that most of the movies today.
Note 1: 2 Oscars? Let it go sucks. Happy was the better song and either Desciple Me 2 or The Croods were the better "family" movies.
Note 2: Talk about female power, Mulan and the Little Mermaid were the better movies.

Grand Piano: 3 - Finally caught up to this. How they manage to make the 90 minute was a surprise, ok long end credits. But to keep up the suspense and the plot turns really had me going. And not because I'm a piano player but glad I didn't have a teacher like the sniper. Miss one note and somebody dies. TAlk about pressure. The movie itself is on the joke on what its trying to pull off. How many times as a musician you're going to walk off stage right in the middle of the performance?! Yes, it is
"PhoneBooth" with a Piano, which starred Colin Farrell's break out roll which I loved. Of course John Cusack plays the crazy villain, which he has been doing lately and damn good at it. The last 15 minutes did remind you that the movie was over staying it's welcome. This could have gone wrong in so many ways but if you can enjoy the premise at the beginning then the film is a fun ride.

Nymphomaniac Pt: 1
This is a FYI and not a review. This is a technical look at the film from an Editors POV.
Remember that film "Caligula" with Malcolm McoDowell, Peter O'Tool and a very young Helen Mirren. SEE IMDB. An Italian production where everyone walked around half naked and talked alot of crap filled with some violent muder scenes. Producer Bob Guiccione who was a publisher of "Penthouse" competition nudie magazine of "Playboy", decided it wasn't sexy enough and decided to film scenes himself filled with graphic sex. Basically they were snippets and quick shots inserted for the hell of it. Jump cuts and shaky cam for the closeups did not help matters. Think of amateur porn on a Iphone. It was mainly done as publicity for the film. Well it help a lot at the boxoffice. But didn't add anything to the picture except for being exploitative. That gives you an idea what Nympho is. Also......
Like Blue is the Warmest Color which had a main sex scene of 6 minutes and over 2 hours of talking crap, Nympho is 2 long boring hours and less than 10 minutes of nudity.
Note 1: I'm in the middle of Nym Vol. 2, which is even more boring, and when I'm finish I'll have a full review of both Volumes before the release this Friday. Trust me, you are missing very little.




Monday, March 17, 2014

Monday Movie News Links

Note: More links coming this week.

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/31278/-godzilla-action-figure-is-43-inches-long
The biggest action figure to date for Godzilla, US Market that is. Japan has various sizes that never made it over here. And very expensive as an import. Smaller sizes have also been released.

http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/exclusive-interview-muppets-most-wanted-stars-kermit-and-miss-piggy
Cute video I had to add to the list. Gotta go see this, they never disappoint, even the meh ones.
But I can't believe 'Nymphomeniac Vol.1" is being released the same weekend. Now that's sick.
PS: Review of Nym Vol. 1 & 2 coming this week: Rating: 1 - You are not missing much.

http://latino-review.com/2014/03/exclusive-oscar-winner-close-star-wars-episode-vii/
She's is doing me proud. And she would make a great Jedi. She could be like Ashok from Clone Wars.

http://latino-review.com/2014/03/take-lr-poll-movie-will-see-first-batman-vs-superman-captain-america-3/
I voted for Bats also cause just like everyone we love to see at rain wreck. Don't get me wrong since lately I've been voting for this to fail. I hope it does great. But everything is stack against it. Just look at the last Sups. Those DVDs tanked. And those count. Just ask Hunge Games 2. Huge.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=116065#
Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves here? Spidey 4, Sinister 6, Superhero overload?
Look at Agents of Shields, where are the hadcore fans? Ratings are mighty low.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Halle-Berry-Storm-May-Have-Been-Cut-From-X-Men-Days-Future-Past-42108.html
First Rogue, now Storm. What about Mystique? Oscar winner from Hunger Games. Can't touch this.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=116082
Wolverine is getting old, Jackman that is. The Box Office wasn't all that and neither was the DVD/BR Sales. Is Jackman worth the $20m plus points to keep this going? International B.O. think it is.

http://news.yahoo.com/sony-panasonic-unveil-next-generation-blu-ray-221506422.html
Star Trek:TNG Season 6 is coming out in June. All 6 discs. Imagine just 1-2 discs?
Yep what a great way to re-release these sets again and for us to triple dip into our wallets.
So don't let this fool you. 10 years ago either the French or Germany had a disc where the infomation was hologram and could store almost a 100 hundered hours on one disc. This technology got shut down so fast as the corporations were not done milking their warehouse of their DV stock and Blu-ray was brand new back then. And except for a few sales like Hunger Games sales are down so now is the best time to squeeze us again.

Saturday, March 15, 2014

David Brenner RIP

http://www.deadline.com/2014/03/r-i-p-comedian-david-brenner-tonight-show-comedian-and-favorite-of-host-johnny-carson/

What "The Tonight Show" could have been. A lot of people don't know that the reason David Brenner was on the many times was that Johnny Carson had him as the leading candidate to take over the Tonight Show. But at that time Brenner had a serious "problem" and was told to check in to drub rehab or lose the future job. Which went to Jay Leno, who wasn't first choice, but got the warning don't try any of that or you won't get the gig. Leno, "rumoured', had a thing for "ganja".

Hello, this is Hollywood! It goes with the program! And Carson of course loved the bottle. You can see
it on some of the shows people. But the title "The Tonight Show" has a great responsibility. So how is
Jimmy Fallon doing? I think he is doing great. More on my show when I go live on BTR.
But I remember staying up late watching Brenner and he was a natural. And Damn funny. His years of standup paid off and Carson recognized this and he almost got the job. What a shame. He would have been perfect. He would have been the one passing the mantle for the best gig in late night.

Friday, March 14, 2014

When Forbes Makes This Post...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2014/03/14/batmansuperman-will-lose-showdown-with-captain-america-3/?partner=yahootix

I posted this yesterday but now Forbes has put out their own take on this. I said yesterday in so many words this is commercial suicide for CA3. The fans will be there cause this will tie to Avengers 3. So this has an already built in fan base. And if CA2 is good as they say then CA3 has it in the can. But will still lost at the box office. Why? People love to see a train wreck. Or as we New Yorkers say when we see a poor soul on a ledge ready to end it all: JUMP!
Sups could get trashed by the fans and critics and it will do huge just for human curiosity. I for one wants to see this succeed as I will still defend Affleck as Batman. But the movie is such a sad cry to get Justice League of the ground and playing catchup to Avengers.
For me this is going to be fun as who will win at the end. Nope, not at the boxoffice but at the
DVD?Blu-ray sales in the long run. Both IM3 and Sups did horrible at sales but in the meantime Hungers Games did 4 Million on its first shipment of sales. Do the math: 4m times $20 bucks a disc.
That's retirement money to some.


Thursday, March 13, 2014

Thrusdays Leftovers

Links and a review. Coming soon: That Godzilla '85 review, Monsters by Gozilla Director Edwards, and in a few weeks King Kong Escapes, GZ vs. King Kong, Ebirah, Hedorah on Blu-ray.

Redbox Review: By request as a FYI
Curse of the Dragon: 1
This was release 3 years ago as "Age of the Dragon"  (see imdb for details) by the SYFY channel and repackage for Redbox and other outlets. It's basically a remake of Moby Dick but with a dragon. Good idea but no budget. So beware as this is not a new moive and you might have seen it already.

http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/legendary-trailer-voice-artist-hal-douglas-has-died-leaves-a-legacy-of-cool
Anyone who grew up in the 1980's would recognize this voice. Check out the first video as it includes the other videos that follow. Some good stuff and great memories.

http://latino-review.com/2014/03/captain-america-3-battles-batman-may-6-2016/
WTF? Are you kidding me? Out of all Marvel you pick Capt. MEH? The only think that could take DC out is Avengers 2. Don't get me wrong. I liked the first CA and the second one looks good but he is not as strong as Thor. So what if by a miraclet CA 3 turns out to be the best Marvel there is. So what?
He is going up against the biggest of DC icons. And we all know that is going to SUCK big time. Sups prove it. And that alone is why everyone is going to see it, to see how bad it is. I know that's why I'm seeing. They only thing is going to save DC Sups is Ben Affleck. That's right I said it. So What?

http://www.movieweb.com/news/shocking-amazing-spider-man-2-post-credit-scene-reveals-huge-spoiler
Is it really a spoiler? It just confirms the tie in for Spidey 3 but to some it does matter. But still fun.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Avengers-Initially-Earned-An-R-Rating-From-MPAA-42078.html
A blade from the back going through the chest is Rated R? Then what's the Walking Dead rating?
NC-17 Triple XXX? Yeah baby bring it on!!! Who made these clowns (mpaa) in charge?

2 oldy but goodies: A big what if.
http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/jon-favreau-says-he-would-have-directed-star-wars-episode-vii
He still has 2 more sequels plus the spinoffs to get to. He would be great to direct one of these.

http://www.eonline.com/news/519073/liam-neeson-turned-down-james-bond-role-because-natasha-richardson-said-she-wouldn-t-marry-him-if-he-took-the-part?utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=imdb_topstories
What some would do for love. Damn. He would have been perfect and the tallest. Saw him in the village when he first starting out in the winter. He lad a long coat with a scarf wrap around but you could tell it was him. My first impression. Damn, that dude is tall.!


Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Wednesday Mini-Movie Reviews

Today I will go over DVD/BR (Blu-Ray), RB (Redbox) movies as there were too many for yesterday's post.

Catching Fire: 3 (BR) - While a notch above the original with good production and direction, this franchise still bothers me as a rip off from the Japanese version Battle Royale.  And give me a break about the book as it's pretty obvious where the author gotthe idea from the first place. While the first hour is a lot of yacking about everything I couldn't care less about, the second hour does have a lot of action but it doesn't matter as I give up on this franchise. That cliff hanger pushed me to the edge where it forces you to wait for the next installment like Twilite, which goes down as the worst franchises of all time, at least for me. This includes a commentary with Francis Lawrence (I Am Legend where I worked as a background actor) and who I met during an Apple Store Conference. Very nice and answered my questions about filmmaking 101 and a 2 & half hour making of, is worth picking this disc besides my disappointment with the movie itself.

Out of the Furnace: 2 (BR) - Bale goes up against Harrelson. While the actors do a good job in keeping the audience interested till the final predicitment the movie overstays its welcome with a dissapointing confrontation finale. It plays more like a play more than anything else. Supporting cast of Defoe, Whittaker and Casey Affleck all do a great job but just doesn't add much to the story itself.

Inside Lewyn Davis: 1 (BR) - Overrated boring movie on a self involved musician who you couldn't care less about. It didn't feel like they got the Greenwich Village folk scene right. The songs were lame. I could go one forever and but got to many reviews to do. And they were pushing this at Oscars and this got a nod also. This could have over 6 hours of features and I wouldn't see this again. Maybe running over a cat didn't help matters. This is not entertainment. And I don't care who made this! No Country For Old Men is still overrated.

The Book Thief: 2 (BR) - Excellent cast but overlong and very depressing witha sad ending. The accordian was a nice touch tho. The narrator was the Grim Reaper which was completely unneccessary as this was from the book but didn't translate at all for the movie. Recommended for history lovers and on that level it works.

Enemies Closer: 2 (RB) - Van Damn and Director Peter Hyams (both from Timecop) get together again for this nod to 80's macho films with no budget. The night scenes were so dark you couldn't tell what was going on which did a great job on hiding the fact there was no budget for this. (Hymans started as a cinematographer). The 2 for Van Damn for playing a evil nut job. What happen to Director Hyams? Capricorn One, Outland, 2010, Timecop and he does this? It's obvious a favor to Van Damn as they are good friends but couldn't they find a better movie or at least something with a budget?

Welcome to the Jungle: 2 - Note: This is such a stupid silly movie with really bad corny comedy, it does have Van Damn showing he's got a sense of humour and he alone gets that 2 rating. He does some funny stuff and has some good one liners but not enough. For the curious and Van Damn fans only.

In Fear: 1 (RB) - Couple goes around in circles which turns out to be  a maze setup by a killer.
This was getting some raves at festivals ofr its premise as this is a thriller and not a horror movie.
Good idea that gets boring real fast.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Tuesday Mini-Movie Reviews

Just a few today as they will be quite a few for DVD/BR reviews tomorrow.

300: Rise of the Empire - 3
The sequel/prequel that took forever to get here. As far as the timeline these events happened exactly as the same time as the original 300 except the other troops are fighting on the sea. Yep The big tall god is here along with with the ugly hunchback troll with Gerard Butler and his crew making a quick cameo appearence. (Butler did not want to come back so they repeated a scene from the original, which was ok) and without spoiling anything, his wife comes back to lead the charge. The main problem was way to much slow motion was used in the battle scenes instead of being straight head on action when it was needed. A lot more drama in the setup for the big battle at the end but I felt kind of cheated as the movie leaves you hanging for a third sequel. 2 favorite scenes included Eva Green (007 Bond Girl) fighting/sexing her enemy which leads to a funny one liner near the end. And in the middle where the ships collide there's a huge fireball thats explodes but you have to see what happens. That part is  in the trailers folks. I will get this on blu-ray even if it falls a little short of the original but those ships look great, and of course it has a lot of features at 300 BR Special Edition came with. And with that........

300: The Complete Experience Blu-Ray Edition: 5
I loved this movie so much that after getting 2 previous editions I had to get this and it was not a disappointment. This includes a booklet, 3 PIP which you can play during the movie, one of which as the focal points section included but with more extra footage. and finally watch the whole movie in it's raw blue screen action before all the CG/SFX backgrounds have been added.
You can see the movie and in the corner PIP the original is pplaying while Zake Snyder is doing a commentary which is completely different from the regular movie documentary which he does with the writer and Dirctor of Photography.

So whats the difference between this and the regular BR edition? That has the commentary, web episodes (50M) and focal points (60M), which are already included in the Experience edition.
If 3 PIP and 1 PIP blue screen commentary is overkill then the regular edition is fine as it touches most of the making of/.behind the scenes that you need to know. If your a completist like I am (an extremist who insists on including the kitchen sink) then the Experience BR is your choice. Either way hey are both fun. For more details you can check out the reviews on dvdtalk.com.

*Sin City Special Edition had the same technique which you can watch the whole movie in green screen before all the extras were added except it wasn't PIP with a commentary. And on top of that for some strange reason it was speeded up (guess to make it fit on the BR?!) so you had to play it in slow motion which was annoying.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman: 3 - I love time travel stories and this had theright elements but short on comedy but it makes up for it with a senimental tone to it. When it goes into John Lennon's beuatiful Boy" you could tell where the story was going for that sweet ending as it wraps up its father and son tale.  It took a while for the movie to get going in the first half hour but it picks up for a wild chase near the end. Mind you I wasn't a fan of the original as I could never get into the characters so I took this movie for what it was. Stay at the credits as it shows what happens to some of the characters. My favorite of course was the Roman with the fat lady. Real cute.


Monday, March 10, 2014

Monday Links

Here are todays links with a few left over from Friday as they were last minute additions at the end of last week. And I'm trying to include sites with videos and and other goodies and for today the Star Wars article with Carrie fisher has a radio show!

http://www.movieweb.com/news/300-rise-of-an-empire-from-land-to-sea-featurette
Good sequel to the original which I loved. 3 out of 5. Full review coming tomorrow.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=115324
Cool making of "NOAH" Video with a Long Island location?! The end of the video gave me goose bumps. Looks like a lot of care went to the sets to complement the story. Looks good.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/VFX-Company-Behind-Noah-Lost-Flood-Money-Project-42010.html
Saw the video above of "NOAH". And now the bad news. I put up articles on this situation last year when "Life of Pi" won SFX Oscar while the company when Kaput. I Can't beleive this is still happening. If it wasn't for the SFX I would wait for Netflix to see this. Crowe or not.

http://www.movieweb.com/news/arnold-schwarzenegger-reveals-more-the-legend-of-conan-details
I remember the end of the original film with Aunold sitting in the chair with the narrative sahying he became King. Instead we got a lousy sequel. Finally at his age this make perfect sense.

http://www.movieweb.com/news/star-wars-7-carrie-fisher-is-shooting-for-6-months-in-london
Note: Includes Radio Show link!
So who the hell is on this if no official cast list is mentioned. Well we all know they have o bring back everyone back or this is going to "Jar Jar' suck. But it does make me wonder when they bring on Cumberbatch and other big names for Part 7.

http://www.movieweb.com/news/lost-star-wars-short-film-black-angel-to-be-released-soon
Direcotr Roger Christian did "Battlefield Earth" with John Travolta. I'll leave it at that.


Sunday, March 09, 2014

The Neighborhood Cinema With Pic

The cinema at the shopping mall in Aguadilla, where I am staying with family for now.
ESP means in Spanish or sometimes the picture is in Englsih with spanish subtitles.
Yes they show 3D but that depends on management. But no Max but what the heck.
For $8 Saturday Night premium 3D it sure beats the crap out of NYC of $21 bucks.


Saturday, March 08, 2014

Coming Next Week: Review of Godzilla 1985 Uncut

My review of the original Japanese cut of The Return of Godzilla will be covered next week. This was an laser disc import where the dub is in Spanish! The cover above is in Spanish.
This was edited for the American version and released as Godzilla 1985 with Actor Raymond Burr who was in the original American Black & White version.
I will cover the film with a time line as to note the differences between the 2 versions. As an Video Editor I will make it user friendly and not use EDL (Edit Decision List) as this might confuse people.
This will be posted either Thursday or Friday as Monday to Wednesday I have my usual lists.

Friday, March 07, 2014

Post Oscar Links and More...

Well the Oscars are behind us but are apparently not the award shows as MTV Movie Awards show  announced their 2013 nominations. And already some sites are predicting hte best for 2014. Which will give me a chance to catch up on these on my Radio show. If you heard my Test on Thursday you could here the tech problem I had. I got cut off before my time! Well that show will go on! It's not over till the fat lady sings! Here are the links:

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/10-Movies-Contend-Best-Picture-Next-Year-41943.html
Well do you see anything? Cause I sure hell don't. But 2 got me curious: (Please see link first)
Exodus: Ridley Scott record sucks lately, it's a remake and his last big Opus Kingdom of Heaven was buthcered by the studio. Shame, see Directors Cut, it should have gotten the nod.
Into The Woods: Meryl Streep proved she can pull off the singing bit with Mama Mia and box office was huge internationally on that one. But can lightening strike twice? Plus it got Depp who also proved he can sing in Sweeney Todd but NOT much box office and couldn't save Lone Ranger. And beyond Broadway not too many people know this show or the music. OK know, name the hit from this!

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/wolf-of-wall-street-american-hustle-lead-mtv-movie-award-nominees-20140306?utm_source=dailynewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter
This is a fun list with tongue in cheek awards. My favorite? Best fight: Got enough names there?


http://www.thewrap.com/oscars-abc-tv-ratings-most-viewers-4-years
It was also the most watched Oscar show in over 14 years. Yep Ellen has to come back.


http://www.cinemablend.com/new/18-Best-Worst-Oscar-Moments-GIF-Form-41931.html
Highlights of the show. Pizza delivery guy and Travolta flub were the best. And of course the selfie.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/What-Was-Deal-With-Black-Ribbons-Oscars-41934.html
Even I didn't notice. Shame top stars didn't even to wear these.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/10-Times-Academy-Got-Best-Picture-Wrong-41875-p10.html
While I agree with this list they left out quite a few. English Patient anyone? Total crap.
I wll cover this on my radio show and it will be a huge list. Which brings me to....

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/pictures/readers-poll-the-20-worst-movies-of-2013-20140305/1-movie-43-0163079
Some of these were to obvious and a no-brainer. And some were a match to my list below:

http://videolandexpress.com/4701.html
The Best and Worst films of all time page going back 20 years by the way. Again I will talk more
about this page on the Radio show and the rest of the website of course.

http://latino-review.com/2014/02/cool-infographic-shows-best-picture-oscar-winners-since-1927/
Talk about going back all these years, check out this list of mini posters and see if you can guess the name of the pictures. I'm reposting this from earlier this week in case you missed it.

Thursday, March 06, 2014

Blog Talk Radio Test: Show Preview

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/videoland-express/2014/03/07/test-for-thursday

Been having some tech issues with BTR and did a quick test but it cut me off at the 5 minute mark.
This session was booked for 10 minutes so can hear the cut off it did to me.
But the post Oscar show will happen either way as I mention in this show with MTV Movie Awards
doing their thing next and some other tidbits. So give a quick listen and will keep everyone posted
this weekend on the shows progress. I will be post the links mentioned tomorrow and reposts
this weeks previous blogs.

Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Wednesday's Leftovers

Movie Reviews and Links that didn't make it the first time around on my previous posts.

Movie Review:
Last Days On Mars: (BR) - 2
Astronaut gets infected, goes zombie on his crew who get knock off one by one before help arrives.
No problem with a been there, don't that familiar premise but it takes forever to get it going and it's still boring. No schock value or whatever they were trying to achieve. But for a low buget the sets, suits and the cool vehicles are very impressive compare to a high budget like Prometheus. Better script could of help this since the premise is not bad. Leiv does his best tho. 2 for Tuesday but expect much. Just a half hour of features but you do see how much CGI was needed to accomplish of the sets.

http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/cool-videos-the-worf-of-wall-street-star-trek-parody-trailer-is-hilarious
Brand new parody. While not all tht funny it's still cute and well put together.

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Thor-Dark-World-Deleted-Scene-Reveals-Bonus-Battle-41965.html
Why do they keep doing this, just put everything on one disc. You pay enough for it.

http://www.movieweb.com/news/transformers-age-of-extinction-trailer-is-here
Looks exactly like the others pics besides some new bots. Yeah, I'll be there.

http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/the-michael-bay-produced-remake-of-the-birds-finds-a-director
While milking a franchise, like above, ruining our childhood, like Ninja Turtles, now he's gotta ruin Hitchcock. That's while he can't read cue cards and walks out of conventions.

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=115612
West Side Story remake? Are you kidding me? Winner of 10 Oscars including Best Picture?
How are you going to top that. Lincoln got 10 nods and only won 1 for Best Actor Lewis. Geez.

http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/screenwriter-john-logan-updates-on-bond-24-you-aint-seen-nothin-yet
We are finally getting the old Bond back? Gadgets, Bikini Woman, Bald villain and blond henchmen?
Well I had to end on a good note with Bond news.

Godzilla 1985 Update:  I didn't forget that Godzilla 1985 import review. So much was edited for the american release that I'm in the processed of logging the whole damn movie. I'll spare you the details as much involves the politicians sitting around a table going "Now what are we going to do?' You will get the short version of my log but you will get the idea but that 2nd act sure got butchered.



Tuesday, March 04, 2014

Tuesday's Movie Reviews

I'm including extra links and Youtube videos for extra references: 1-5, worst to great.

Non-Stop: 4 - Let me get the con out of the way. great action sequence at the end which you see in the trailerm, so no spoiler, but te editing drove me nuts as it was too much quick cutting and it was hard to make out what was going on besides Liam kicking ass. Besides that, this was interesting as it beganas mystery, then thriller, then staight action movie all in 90 minutes. And fun as hell. And did NOT see the ending coming when it came to the who dunit part of the movie. New Oscar Winner Lupita Nyong-o had a bit part with a few lines, this was filmed before 12 years, but everyone becomes part of the cast ensemble as this is Liam's baby. This is a Saturday night double feature with Taken. Yep that good.

12 Years a Slave: 4 - While a great movie, to me this is a good remake of the 1984's Solomon Northup's Odyssey with Avery Brooks, Capt. Sisko, Star Trek: DS9. It;salmost the same film without the violence. But still highly recommended for those who never heard of this real life story. Note: review is movie based and not BR as I haven't caught up with that yet. And you'll see why I thought Oscar Winner Lupita Nyong-o deserved the award. Sorry Jlaw, your so cute trippin and all but.....
Link below for Solomon Northup's Odyssey credits. Also on Amazon Instant Video $2.99.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088148/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_20

Here Comes The Night: 2 (Redbox)- Bryan Cranston plays a hitman with a russian accent in this film noir style of a boring movie. I love film noir but this comes up short. Really! The movie is only 1:15 with over 10 minutes of credits to fill out the 1:30 movie time listed. Wow, that's desperate. Cranston is great as the villain with Star Trek chick Alice Eve holding their own. See the stars but don't expect much.

Hours: 2 (Redbox) One of Paul Walker's last movies. He does prove that he can act (I never questioned it) and does his best. Basically this is a one man show trying to save his baby in a hospital. It beomes to episodic and overstays it's it's welcome at the end. But Walker does he's best to hold the film together.
Maybe with a better director (yeah buddy, you're getting the blame) this would have been a better film.

Oldboy: 2 - Another disappointment. I didn't think much of the original so I thought maybe this could be an improvement. Hardcore fans love the original and hate this one. It didn't make a difference to me.
Brolin is good and it does have a surprise at the end, kinky lol but the highlight is the fight seen where Brolin takes on about a hundred guys. Besides this great scene the movie just drags and I was glad it was over. No fault of Spike Lee as he does stick to the original material and tries to add some of his skills but the story just lacks execution to a cool concept. Below the original fight scene.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwIIDzrVVdc&ntz=1

Free Ride: 1 - Based on a real life story of a mother trying to survive while caught in the drug trade.
Love Anna Paquin in True Blood but this movie sat here like a big turd. You couldn't care less about anything no less the movie. It plays like a Hallmark Channel movie that's shown in the off hours.







Monday, March 03, 2014

Post Oscar Talk and Links

16 out of 19 Right in my predictions. And My Lupita Won! YES! This was my best ever in all my years of predicting the Oscars. But then again must of it was obvious from all the other awards in the past few months. And of course Gravity took most of the awards even if they were technical. And I never get the screenplays right but that Production Design did take me by surprise. Please check my previous posts to see the list. My favorite parts besides the winners. Selfies and Pizza. Han Solo Even wanted a napkin from Ellen. Too funny.
I'm going to cover all that and more on the BTR show this Wednesday as I'm going back on track for the show which has been playing Wednesdays for 2 years now. Thursdays have been our back up. Why am I waiting? As soon as I psot I'm going to see Non-Stop to check out Liam and Lupita, a role she did before 12 Years for my review tomorrow. Didn't get a chance this weekend due to Oscar prep.

http://www.vulture.com/2014/03/oscars-2014-gifs-videos.html?mid=imdb
Highlights from the show all on one page. Most online magazines are covering the Oscars so I'm going to spare you with that and get on with our regular Monday links as usual.

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/31063/there-will-not-be-an-anchorman-3
Nobody was asking for a sequel to begin with and what made them think this was going to do huge overseas anyways. It's too middle America for Europe.

http://www.movieweb.com/news/shrek-5-will-happen-says-dreamworks-animation-ceo
The Broadway show closed because people lost interest fast. Who's asking for this one?

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/31066/-fast-7-bond-24-set-filming-dates
Here are 2 that people can't wait to begin with! As far as Bond goes they have to get that Blofeld and Spectre going. And I don't want to hear that those can't fit in these times. Villians are Villains!

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/31087/garfield-wants-spider-man-in-avengers
Disney gets what Disney wants. I don't care how big Sony is and their contracts. Nobody fucks
with mouse. They will get Spidey. Makes perfect sense for Avengers 3 to give that a boost. I've been saying this even before Avengers came to be and this will happen.

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/31043/a-new-spider-man-film-every-year
And here is your evidence. Sony can give up Spidey while keeping the other characters to keep the Marvel franchise going under their label.

http://www.darkhorizons.com/news/31088/jackman-talks-the-recasting-of-wolverine
Even Jackman knows this business. Disney will Spidey and Jackman will be replace by young blood. Geez, look at X-Men, First Class. Didn't they replace the original cast?





Sunday, March 02, 2014

Independent Spirit Awards

Lupita Wins! Yes! On her Birthday too! 12 Years, Dallas Buyers Club and Nebraska win big.

http://www.eonline.com/news/516320/2014-independent-spirit-awards-12-years-a-slave-takes-home-best-feature-plus-more-big-winners

This is a completely different award show where these films were independently produced outside the studio system hence why Hustle and Wolf St. were not nominated. You won't see  a $200M Marvel or DC comic franchise in this bunch. This was a fun show with a different vibe altogether hence some of the colorfu language that gets said, so don't see with the kiddies in the room. This is being repeated on the IFC channel so check the schedule for the 2 hour show.

http://www.razzies.com/history/34th-press-release.asp
Now here is a independent group where they pick the worst of the year. All tongue in cheek of course.
Sandra Bullock and Halle Berry won for Worst Actresses of the year, different years of course, but they showed up to collect their statues! Good sense of humour on the behalf of the actresses.
Movie 43 got the nods, that picture is on my top 10 worst list by the way, and Will Smith & Son along with Tyler Perry got the worst actors nods. Smith should really think about doing INDY4 Sequel.
Strangely enough Adam Sandler didn't win anything this year. Grown Ups 2 got trashed big time from these group. Well that goes to show you how bad Movie 43 is.


More repeated posts from this past week before the big show tonight and a live BTR this coming week
to wrap up the Oscars.


Saturday, March 01, 2014

Top Money Making Nominated Picture List

This is the top 9 nominated money makers for Best Picture.

http://boxofficemojo.com/oscar/chart/?view=allcategories&yr=2013&p=.htm

Well Gravity leads with Amercan Hustle, Wolf of Wall St. and Capt. Phillips rounding out the money makers grossing over $100. Surprised that 12 Years a Slave is not even close which might win
Best Picture.

Posting this past week blogs till Oscar countdown for those who missed them the first time around.