1. Fanboys
Starring Kristen Bell, that’s all you need to know to understand why it’s at the top of my list.
Oh, you want to know more? Ok, it’s set in 1998/99 and follows a group of friends who make a pact to go cross country to Skywalker Ranch in order to see the newest Star Wars movie. Why would they make such a pact when they can just wait to see it in theaters you ask, because one of their group is dying of cancer and doctors don’t give him long enough to wait.
Full of geek humor and wit and lots and lots of Star Wars, not to mention Seth Rogen in a small role, and in my book every movie suffers from a lack of Seth Rogen.
In fact every movie should go back in and edit Seth Rogen back in some way. For Example: “Babel,” had the director only had Seth Rogen wondering around in the background, or given him one line, I would have changed my final view of the movie and recommended it to people by saying “As Depressing, unfun, and full of nudity as Babel is, it’s worth seeing for one reason, its small sampling of Seth Rogen.”

2. Spider-Man 3
What can I say, I love Spider-Man and I love these movies, and if only it had Kristen Bell or even a snippet of Seth Rogen it would be number 1, but alas it’s a lack of these two magical elements lands it at number 2 (which is really just number 1 part 2)
I know some people, fools we’ll call them, are out there asking why we should see Another Spider-Man movie. And to you fools, I say, for many reasons!
Reason 1: Everyone’s back. Sam Raimi, Toby Maguire, Kristen Dunst, James Franco, and everyone else from the first two films are back, even Michael Papajohn. That’s right Michael Papajohn! Okay don’t worry if you don’t know who he is, he played the carjacker in the first movie who kills Uncle Ben, or did he?!?!? Bum Bum BUM!!!! (on a side note I met Mr. Papajohn at a friends birthday party this summer, he was very nice and told me he had been working on the third film)
Reason 2: Sandman. Thomas Haden Church brings the role of a man made of sand to life, and it looks like good stuff.
Reason 3: Gwen Stacy. The first love of Peter’s life in the comics, who met a sad demise when the Green Goblin dropped her off a bridge, much like what happened to MJ in the first film, only Gwen’s neck snapped when Pete used his webs to save her and she dies instantly. Could the introduction of Gwen, mean the demise of MJ in a reverse of the comics?!?! I personally hope so!
Reason 4: The Real Reason to see this film: VENOM!!!! If you don’t know who Venom is go look it up online, all I’ll say is he’s basically the polar opposite of Spider-Man, which makes Topher Grace a perfect casting choice.

3. Be Kind Rewind (Coming out in 2007?)
Here’s what I know, it’s from Michel Gondry, the director of The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and stars Jack Black. But the best part is the premise. From IMDB: A man (Black) whose brain becomes magnetized unintentionally destroys every tape in his friend's video store. In order to satisfy the store's most loyal renter, an aging woman with signs of dementia, the two men set out to remake the lost films, which include Back to the Future, The Lion King, and Robocop.
Who cares how we get there the only thing that matters is it centers on two guys trying to recreate lots of movies. I read an interview with the Director and he said they didn’t let anyone watch the movie before hand, so it would be more authentic with these guys just making them from their memories.
I can’t wait to see their recreation of Back to the Future, one of my favorite movies of all time. Also they apparently recreate Superman but because of rights issues, they had to rename it, Stupid Warner Brothers.
But it should still be a lot of fun.

4. My Name is Bruce
The plot is stellar, Bruce Campbell is mistaken for his character Ash from the Evil Dead series and kidnapped by a group of people whose town is being overrun by monsters in order to defend them from the evil. Bruce Campbell is directing this movie and it seems like it will be another great B grade comedy/horror mix. Along for the ride is Ted Raimi, who some might remember as Joxer from Xena.
A great idea for what should be a fun romp.

5. The Invisible
The Directorial Debut of Batman Begins writer David Goyer, comes this story of a teen who wakes up to find that no one can see him. He must get a fellow classmate to help solve the story of his murder in order to get another chance to be seen.
That’s about all I know of this one, but it looks really good, and quite intriguing, and who knows maybe because I know very little, it will be that much better.

6. Hot Fuzz
A new movie from the fine folks behind Shaun of the Dead. This time around we follow Simon Pegg as one of London’s finest whose colleagues get him transferred to a small town because he’s so good he makes them look bad. Pegg is then paired up with his Shaun castmate Nick Frost, as his witless new partner. From there the pair stubble upon a serious of suspicious looking accidents.
The simple fact that it’s from the people who brought us Shaun shifts this to the top of the pile. Shaun is one of my favorite movies from the past few years, a zombie movie which is much more of a comedy, it makes you laugh and wince at intervals. Having seen Pegg in several other things since seeing Shaun, he’s become one of my favorite British actors and throwing Frost in as his cohort only makes this movie sound better.

7. Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix
Kind of Self Explanatory, its Harry Potter, lots of Voldemort, and the gang hits London with all of their magical goodness. All in all not my favorite book in the series, but these movies seem to keep getting better and better, so it will be great to see what they do this time.

8. Gone, Baby, Gone
Ben Affleck’s Directorial Debut. As a huge fan of Affleck this is almost enough to put this movie in my top ten, but it’s the fact that it’s based on a novel by Dennis Lehane, the same author that brought us Mystic River. Add to that the fact that Affleck has co-written the adaptation, something he hasn’t done since 1997’s Good Will Hunting and you have a very promising movie. Starring Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, and Casey Affleck (Ben’s younger brother).

9. The Nines
A Movie that wouldn’t have been on this list a week ago, because before that I’d never heard of the movie, has now jumped up into my top ten for ingenuity alone. Not to be confused with the promising television show that quickly lost all momentum, “The Nine,” The Nines is made up of three short stories each starring Ryan Reynolds (Smoking Aces, Van Wilder), Hope Davis (The Matador), & Melissa McCarthy (Gilmore Girls) as different characters. Each story follows Reynolds characters as they are pulled in different directions by the two lead actresses.
“The Prisoner” follows Reynolds as a troubled Television star under house arrest with his Publicist (McCarthy) and neighbor (Davis) as his only links to the outside world. He beings to wonder if the women are misleading him about the nature of his imprisonment.
“Reality Television” is an episode of a Project Greenlight-style show that follows the Creator of a new show (Reynolds) as he tries to make it through post-production with his star/best friend (McCarthy as herself) and the development VP (Davis).
“Knowing” finds a videogame designer (Reynolds) and his wife (McCarthy) stuck in the woods with their daughter (Elle Fanning) because of car trouble.
What do all of these stories have in common? What does the number nine have to do with it all? I don’t know, but I can’t wait to find out!

10. Grindhouse
Quentin Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez had a great idea, each would write and direct an hour long horror story which would then by put together with an “Intermission” of fake trailers to make “Grindhouse” an homage to the theaters of the 70s which showed the horror movies of the day.
What sounded like a good idea with a run time of about 2 hours soon bloated, thanks to the fact that neither of them men have never been able to make a short movie, into two full length films with 10 to 20 minutes of fake trailers. The current run time runs between 180 and 223 minutes, depending on who you listen to.
The fake trailers are being made by everyone from Rob Zombie to Edgar Wright (Director of Shaun of the Dead and the aforementioned Hot Fuzz). And over all it looks to be a fun, bloody, waste of a Saturday night.

Honorable Mentions:
Live Free and Die Hard – Bruce Willis Bringing Back the late 80s/early 90s!
Transformers –Robots in Disguise Bringing Back the 80s and my Childhood! And There is so much More Than Meets the Eye
Evan Almighty – The Sequel to Bruce, starring Steve Carell. Most expensive Comedy ever made. Plus it’s got Lauren Graham.
I Am Legend – Classic horror tale about the last man on earth after a Vampire plague, starring Will Smith.
Blades of Glory – Ice Skating Doubles with the first All Men’s pair, Will Ferrell and Jon Heder. Also starring Will Arnett and his real life wife Amy Poehler, as the pairs brother and sister rival team.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds’ End – The 2nd one made over a billion dollars worldwide this summer, so I don’t think there’s anyone left that doesn’t know what this is.
Knocked Up – I know you’re wondering how come a movie STARRING Seth Rogen in his first STARRING role isn’t in your top ten, especially after having gone on and on about how great Seth Rogen is?
Easy, I’ve already seen it, so I’m not looking forward to it as much as the movies I haven’t seen yet. But it still makes the Honorable Mention because of Seth and the fact that my friend who’s currently working on the trailer has watched the movie and there’s at least one scene which was completely different. In the version I saw there’s an interview with James Franco at E! about Spider-Man 3. In the version my friend saw the interview is now with Orlando Bloom about Pirates 3. So I’m curious as to what else has been changed and which scenes they will end up using.

So that’s what I’m looking forward to in 2007. What are you looking forward to?

Coming This Week:
Because I Said So

Diane Keaton (The Family Stone, Father of the Bride) stars as Daphne the mother of three girls who decides to set up her youngest, Milly, with the perfect man, in order to prevent her from making the same mistakes she did. What Milly doesn’t know is that her mother found the man by placing a personal ad. Also it seems to involve a romance between Rev. Camden (7^th Heaven’s Stephen Collins).

Also Starring: Mandy Moore, Lauren Graham, Piper Perabo, and Tom Everett Scott.

Rated: PG-13 for sexual content including dialogue, some mature thematic material and partial nudity.

Labels: 2007, sneak peek

I drive past the Aero Theatre (run by the American Cinematheque) on my way to work several times a week, as I have for the past 6 months, and every time I do I glance to see what is showing that week. Last week as I drove by I noticed that the Aero was having an Akira Kurosawa Tribute, so once I got to work I checked online and found what would be playing. I had never seen any of Kurosawa’s movies, but I had always heard they were amazing and that the Seven Samurai in particular was a masterpiece. So when I saw that Seven Samurai was showing later that week I decided to go. I tried to find someone to go with me, but although at least 6 different people wanted to go with me, none of them could make it.

And so on Sunday evening I found myself, alone, taking the small trek down the coast to Santa Monica to see a film that constantly makes it into the top of the various “Best Movies of All Time” Lists. I arrived at the Aero about 2 hours before the movie started because their internet was down and it was the only way to buy tickets, and then wasted the time until I was ready to go sit down.

I sat down in an aisle seat, as I normally do, so I can stretch out into the aisle and prepared for the 207 minutes of subtitled joy I was sure to enjoy. I honestly had no idea what to expect. As I said I had never seen a Kurosawa film before, so all I knew was that it had to do with Samurai, was filmed entirely in Japanese, and was 207 minutes long. Seriously that’s all I knew, I hadn’t seen any trailers, I hadn’t read any reviews, I was going in completely blind. And I was pleasantly surprised.

I knew I’d be seeing a good movie, but nothing could have prepared me for the amazing film that I saw. The music was enchanting, (it’s at the top of my list to download to listen do while studying for finals) the cinematography was beautiful, and the acting was top notch.

Probably the biggest surprise to me was how humorous the film was. I was expecting more of a drama with some action, but the movie was full of laughs. I guess when I go into see what some term as “Epics” I just don’t think of them as being humorous and it’s always a pleasant surprise.

For those who don’t know Seven Samurai is the story of a small village of peasants who are being pillaged by bandits over and over again. Several of the Peasants travel into town seeking out several samurai who will protect them from the bandits, but they can only pay with food. The peasants eventually find a Samurai willing to protect them. He determines it will take at least 7 Samurai to defend the village and sets out to find 6 more Samurai to join his cause.

The second half of the movie focuses on the Samurai preparing the village for battle with the bandits and the actual battle. But in this second half there is also a love story we’ve seen many times before, two people of different classes who fall in love even though they know they can never be together. Although we’ve all seen it before it still brings a tenderness to the movie that may have otherwise been missing.

This movie really does have it all, humor, action, a love story, and anything else you could possibly want in an Epic movie. Another example of how great the “Classics” of yesteryear truly were. If you enjoy movies, and you haven’t seen this film, you really should do yourself a favor and see this movie. If you can see it on the big screen you should, but if not at least rent it on dvd and enjoy it at home.

Coming This Week:

The Messengers

Kristen Stewart (Zathura, The upcoming In The Land of Women) stars as a teenage girl whose family moves into a rundown sun flower far in the country. Her little brother begins to see strange things and she begins to notice an unsettling change in her father (Dylan McDermott). Directed by brothers Danny & Oxide Pang and produced by Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert under their Ghost House label, this movie looks like another in the line of Asian Horror being remade in America, but this is an original tale. The Pang brothers have directed several horror movies in their home country, including The Eye (Which is currently being remade here with Jessica Alba) and promise to bring more of the same in this movie.

Also Starring: Penelope Ann Miller and John Corbett

Rated: PG-13 for mature thematic material, disturbing violence and terror.

Labels: Akira Kurosawa, Classics, experience, reviews, Seven Samurai

Coming Soon, The Cinemaniac!
I hope to be posting about movies I've seen, Movies I hope to see, and what I think about recent Movie News and Rumors.
Also I will have a recap of what's coming out each week and what I hope to see out of each weeks offerings.
I am also going to try to have a Weekly DVD section, probably on Monday or Tuesday, which will point out new releases and what I feel are things to pick up or leave on the shelf.

Below I have added a few posts from my other blogs backdated to when they were posted.

I hope to have my first couple of blogs up soon, which will include my thoughts after viewing my first Akira Kurosawa film this week, my new quest to watch classic films, and What I'm looking forward too in 2007.

I'm currently working on how I want to frame my reviews and hope to get a good feel of what this blog will look like, I welcome any comments, criticisms (preferably constructive), etc.

I'm also working on the design of this site. I'm looking to make a Logo and fix the wite up to look nice, so if you have any suggestions, please contact me.

Hope to hear what you think of this site soon!

Labels: Welcome

I've seen a few more movies since my last post and I thought I'd let you know how I felt about them. Also I take a look back at one of the movies I left off of my awards that I shouldn't have.

“Brick” is an independent film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt released in March of last year. Jonathan and I got the chance to go to a free screening of it in Hollywood a few weeks before it came out. “Brick” is a film noir set in High School, it’s got all the trappings of a classic film noir, the Femme Fatale, the unfortunate man pulled in by a woman into a situation which quickly gets out of hand. It has the fast paced dialogue of the movies from golden days of cinema, much of which you won’t understand until subsequent viewings (or by finding the dictionary on the official site online). Overall it’s a great mystery, with a wonderful cast of characters. Gordon-Levitt gives a magnificent performance and proves he’s an actor who can hold his own.

Here's the movies I've seen recently, 3 of which will likely be the best movies I see this next year: Apocalypto, Eragon, Déjà vu, Pan’s Labyrinth, Alpha Dog, Children of Men, and Babel.

(BTW this was written partially before the Oscar nominations and partially after so I don’t mention the awards for that reason)

Apocalypto

What it’s about: Set during the time of the ancient Mayans, the story follows Jaguar Paw as he tries to get back to his pregnant wife and son after being kidnapped by a savage tribe.

What I Thought: The movie is, of course, the newest movie from Mel Gibson, say what you will about the man himself, but he can make a heck of a movie. This movie is basically just a long chase scene, but it’s one of the best chase scenes any recent years. Gibson and co-writer Farhad Safinia do a wonderful job of weaving a realistic tale of family and one man’s fight to get back home to save his family.

Many people have complained about the amount of blood and gore, but honestly it’s no worse than Braveheart.

The Bottom Line: All and all this is one of the best movies I’ve seen in quite sometime. Don’t let the violence or the subtitles turn you off, you won’t regret it.

Eragon

What it’s about: Something about a kid who finds a dragon egg and involves some old tradition of dragon riders.

What I Thought: quite simply the most boring movie I’ve seen in a long time. To be honest I have to admit that I tried listening to the book on tape and got bored with it less than halfway through. So when it came time for the movie I decided that I’d give it a chance and hoped it was better than the book. Unfortunately it wasn’t so.

I checked my watch at least 5 times during the movie, which is not a good sign with me. Usually I might check my watch once during a movie, but with Eragon it seemed to be a constant thing.

Quite simply put the movie was just boring, the only good part was the fighting scenes which were few and far between, and sadly one of the worst things was Rachel Weisz, as the voice of the Dragon.

The Bottom Line: Overall it’s a movie trying to cash in on the Harry Potter, LOTR, Narnia trend, that just isn’t up to par. Unless you have Kids, who might enjoy the film, don’t waste your time.

Déjà Vu

What it’s about: After the corpse of a murdered woman shows up at the site of a terrorist attack, Agent Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) joins a top secret new government program that has technology which allows them to look 4 days back in time. But in order to save the woman Carlin will have to do more than just watch.

What I Thought: An intriguing mystery, clues that all make since in the end, time travel, and James Caviezel. No, this isn’t a sequel to 2000’s Frequency, but it does have the same basic feel as that wonderful movie. (If you haven’t seen Frequency I beg you to go rent it tonight, you’ll love it or you’re money back, seriously just tell the video store I told them to give it back to you, I promise it will not work)

Maybe it’s because I love time travel movies, but this is the type of popcorn movie I can really get behind. Small things which don’t really seem to mean anything come together in the end in a way that will really make you think.

The Bottom Line: I Loved it!

El Laberinto del Fauno AKA Pan’s Labyrinth

What it’s about: The year is 1944 and the Spanish Civil War has just ended, Ofelia and her mother are going to live with her mother’s new husband, a Captain in the Military whose stationed in a rural area surrounded by rebellious forces. Ofelia escapes to a fantasy world, one that may or may not lie within her own mind, where she is the long missing princess of a long forgotten world. In order for Ofelia to reclaim her place next to her royal family she must complete three tasks given to her by the Faun.

What I Thought: I wrote a really beautiful review encompassing how I felt, but my computer shut down and erased it, so here’s my second try.

This is one of the most beautiful movies I have seen in a very long time. Director Guillermo del Toro artfully brings to life two completely separate worlds in completely different ways. Del Toro’s post-civil war era Spain is brought forth with muted colors to make the world seem dreary and isolating, which helps the viewer to sympathize with Ofelia and her own sense of loneliness.

But the real beauty and vision lies in the Fantasy world. Here del Toro uses brighter colors which makes the creatures found in it seem that much more surreal. While much of this world is dark and scary, the colors still seem to bleed through and almost make the fantasy world more welcoming.

Although I loved this movie I must admit that it is very violent and quite scary. Many of the creatures, most notably “The Pale Man” are almost nightmare inducing in their creation. But some of the scariest scenes may be in the “real world” setting. Ofelia’s new father comes across as an evil man who will do anything to cut down the rebel forces he faces. And two of the most gruesome, gut-wrenching scenes I have every seen in a film come not in the fantasy world, but in the Captain’s presence.

The Bottom Line: I truly believe that I have already seen the two best movies I’ll see this year and this was the first one. I can’t wait to see this movie again and hope it’s while it’s still in theaters. In all honesty I don’t have the words to tell you how much I loved this movie. Go see it while it’s in theaters, but know it’s not for the faint of heart.

Alpha Dog

What it’s about: The true story of Jesse James Hollywood(Emile Hirsch)(renamed Johnny Truelove for the movie) a drug dealer who became one of the youngest people to ever be on the FBI’s most wanted list. When rival, Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster) breaks into his home, Johnny kidnaps his brother, Zack in retaliation. What follows is the story of what happened over the next weekend, while Johnny’s boys held Zack hostage.

What I Thought: I went in not knowing what to expect. I knew the basics of the movie, but I didn’t know how the story ended or what would happen in between. But I really did like the movie. Hirsch and Foster do a fantastic job playing to old friends who’ve come to hate one another. And the extended cast of Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, Harry Dean Stanton, and others all do a great job. But two actors really blow you away with their talent. The first was Anton Yelchin as Zack Mazursky, Yelchin gives an amazing performance as a sweet vulnerable kid who everyone can’t help but love. But I think the person who blew me away the most with their performance was Justin Timberlake. Here as the wise-cracking, right hand man, Frankie Ballenbacher, Timberlake proves that he’s got what it takes to not only act but as a comedian.

The Bottom Line: An enthralling story that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Children of Men

What it’s about: The year is 2027 and every woman on Earth is infertile. The last person was born in 18 years before. Britain is one of the remaining countries of power and has started deporting everyone who is not a citizen. Theo Faron (Clive Owen), a former activist, is contacted to help smuggle a young woman out of the country, only Theo doesn’t know that the young woman is miraculously pregnant.

What I Thought: Two Words: Breathtakingly Amazing! I have to admit, after seeing the preview I had no interest to see this movie, but luckily my friend Jon told me to go see it, and I am so glad I did. This is another movie where I just don’t have the words to describe it.

The movie is set in a dreary, hopeless world, and Alfonso Cuaron does an amazing job of conveying that despair in the sets and the characters. But Cuaron’s real genius is shown in the filming of two scenes in the movie. Both scenes are seamlessly cut together so that they look like one long cut. I won’t ruin these scenes for anyone who hasn’t scene the movie, but I think you’ll know them when you see them.

The movie also does an amazing job of conveying the hope that one pregnant woman can bring to an infertile world.

My only word of advice is that the movie is fairly violent, so you’ve been warned.

The Bottom Line: The 2^nd of what is likely the two best movies I’ll see this year. It’s another movie with lots of great story and content and is so amazingly shot, you won’t forget the movie any time soon.

Babel

What it’s about: Because I don’t know how to describe it From IMDB.Com:

This is a complex tale of four interlocking stories. A poor Morrocan family acquires a rifle to protect their goats. An American couple's bus tour holiday is shattered when she is accidentally shot. That couple's children, at home in the USA with their nanny/housekeeper, accompany her to Mexico to attend her son's wedding. A Japanese father, whose wife has committed suicide some time ago, is unable to communicate with his teenage daughter. A tragic tale for all concerned.

What I Thought: A film that’s done amazingly well, but something that I can honestly saw had I not heard it was such a great film, I’d never have wanted to see. The entire movie is sad, depressing, and as it says above tragic.

And don’t get me started on the copious amounts of nudity. Had I been warned about the nudity I wouldn’t have seen it.

Truthfully I saw a better “Everyone’s connected in strange ways” movie last year. It was called “Crash” and won the Best Picture Oscar, something it deserved, unlike this film. Also I’ve seen the “Everyone’s Connected in Strange Ways” movie several times in the past few years it’s been called “Magnolia,” “11:14,” and several other titles. It seems to be the new trend in Hollywood, and to tell the truth it’s gotten out of hand.

Everyone isn’t always connected in some way, so stop trying to make them all connected, it’s been done.

The Bottom Line: A good movie, shot well, but nothing I can recommend because it’s so depressing and sad. Honestly, nothing I want to own or watch again.

Labels: Alpha Dog, Apocalypto, babel, Children of Men, Deja vu, Eragon, labyrinth, movies, new, pan's, reviews