Must Watch: Fantastic International Animal Kingdom Trailer
Don’t be confused, this isn’t a Disney movie at all. Animal Kingdom is the incredibly intense and highly praised gang drama from Australia that played at Sundance earlier this year (watch our video review). Back in December, an early teaser hit, but this is the trailer that everyone needs to watch to understand what this movie is and why it’s so damn good. I know it’s hard to get excited for something without seeing any footage when there’s buzz coming from a big festival, but now we’ve got this trailer to introduce you to one of the best films coming out of Sundance this year. Although I think it does show a little too much. Watch below.
Watch the international trailer for David Michôd’s Animal Kingdom:
Be sure to check out the official website for the film located at: animalkingdommovie.com
Animal Kingdom is both written and directed by Australian filmmaker David Michôd. Here’s a great little blurb from the Sundance guide: “Wielding a formidable cinematic lexicon, writer/director David Michôd shows complete command of every frame as he shifts between simmering intensity and gut-wrenching drama. There isn’t a false note in the film as it follows through on the tantalizing promise displayed in his shorts and unleashes a fierce new voice in Australian cinema.” Make sure you add this to your list of films to see from Sundance, it’s worth it! Sony Pictures Classics picked this up but hasn’t set an opening yet.
Discover More: Indies, Trailers, Worth Watching
Sound Off: How to Train Your Dragon – What Did You Think?
Now that you’ve seen it, what did you think? DreamWorks Animation has released its 19th feature film in theaters today, titled How to Train Your Dragon, based on Cressida Cowell’s book of the same name. There’s been a lot of buzz about how good this movie is, so I thought I’d open the floor for discussion. Is it really a great movie after all? Is it DreamWorks’ best to date? Or is it just another mediocre movie from that studio? How are the visuals and the 3D this time? Is there a good story and good characters to go along with it? If you’ve seen it, leave a comment, and let us know what you thought of How to Train Your Dragon!
To fuel the fire, I thought How to Train Your Dragon was really, really good, but I didn’t exactly love it. The chemistry between Hiccup and Toothless is amazing, anytime they were together on screen it was brilliance, at a Pixar level. However, the rest of the movie felt like the same old bland DreamWorks we all know. I still dislike the character design, the humor was too childish, and I hated hearing celebrity voices. I can certainly see how many people loved it and it’s worth seeing for some of the wonderful flying scenes alone (especially in 3D). It is actually a great film, I just personally didn’t love it, although I do already want to see it again.
What did you think of How to Train Your Dragon? One of DreamWorks’ bests or just okay?
Discover More: Discussion, Hype, Sound Off
Orson Welles Narrating a Brand New Family Christmas Movie
No, we haven’t figured out how to re-animate corpses and make them do our bidding just yet. Oh, how much simpler things would be. THR reports that an old once-thought-lost recording of Orson Welles narrating a children’s Christmas novel is being used in an upcoming 3D live-action/CG hybrid movie called Christmas Tails. Directed by Todd Tucker, the story follows Santa Claus’ dog who gathers other canines in the North Pole to help save Christmas when the infamous sleigh-leading reindeer all get sick. Isn’t that movie called Santa Buddies? This kind of sounds like a shitty Christmas present but there are a few interesting elements.
The film is coming from Drac Studios, best known as a special effects and makeup shop for movies like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, who’s now moving into full-fledged production. Matt Thompson wrote the script based on Robert Leed’s book of the same name from 1985 and them Welles (a friend of Leed) narrated the book only a few months before he died. Harvey Lowry from Drac was able to get ahold of the tapes while discussing a project with a colleague, Karl Fritz, who mentioned in passing a rumor of the “lost tapes,” believed to be Welles’ last professional recordings. Once the authenticity was confirmed, he began brainstorming and decided it was time for a feature adaptation of the book featuring Welles’ unique voice.
Drac, using its expertise in animatronic movie animals, will create the dog heroes and create a fantastical North Pole with computer graphics. Their creative team has won Oscars for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Mrs. Doubtfire and Benjamin Button and was nominated for Titanic and The Passion of the Christ among others. Meanwhile, Welles voice will be exploited used in the same way Boris Karloff’s voice was used in narrated the animated version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, so that should bring some weight to an otherwise childish sounding story. However, with Welles “involvement” Lowry said he already has interest from talent from word-of-mouth alone. “People see this as their last opportunity to act in a movie with Orson Welles.”
Honestly, I like the idea of using Welles immortal voice, but not in a film like this. It feels cheap, exploitative and awful. Of course, Christmas movies aren’t necessarily known for high caliber stories or complex subject matter, so this could turn out to be an interesting Christmas flick to enjoy every year. Producers are looking to release it for Christmas 2011, so be sure to stay tuned as more info becomes available on this project.
Discover More: Movie News, Opinions
Casting Tidbits: Tracy Morgan, Timothy Dalton & Kate Hudson
I asked for a car, I got Casting Tidbits. How’s that for being born under a bad sign? First, THR reports the cast of the ensemble cop drama Son of No One just keeps growing and getting a little strange as Tracy Morgan (Cop Out) and Juliette Binoche (Dan in Real Life, The English Patient) have joined the story of a young cop (Channing Tatum) assigned to a precinct in the working class neighborhood where he grew up, with an old secret surfacing and threatening to destroy his life and family. Morgan is apparently replacing Terrence Howard as Vinnie, one of Tatum’s friends while Binoche will be playing a reporter. More inside!
Next, Variety reports The Tourist has gained a couple of new cast members in Timothy Dalton (Hot Fuzz, The Rocketeer) and Steven Berkoff (44 Inch Chest, Rambo First Blood: Part II). The two join Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Paul Bettany and Rufus Sewell in the Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck directed film about an American tourist (Depp) visiting Italy to mend a broken heart who pursues a romance with a woman (Jolie) who deliberately crosses his path. The couple’s then caught in a whirlwind of intrigue and danger.
Also, after another recent appearance in Casting Tidbits, Variety reports the romantic comedy Something Borrowed starring John Krasinski and Ginnifer Goodwin has also added Kate Hudson into the mix. The film tells the story of a Manhattan attorney (Goodwin) who becomes involved with her best friend’s fiance following her 30th birthday. Luke Greenfield (The Girl Next Door) is directing from a script by “Lipstick Jungle” writer Jennie Snyder Urman.
Finally, THR reports Jenna Dewan (Step Up) and Joe Hursley (“Glee,” “Monk”) will star in Balls to the Wall, an indie comedy from director Penelope Spheeris (Wayne’s World, Black Sheep) which follows a young man (Hursley) who wants to give his girlfriend (Dewan) the wedding of her dreams, and at the urging of his future father-in-law, secretly takes on a second job moonlighting as an exotic dancer. That’s wacky! I hope Spheeris has some of that 90’s comedic charm to inject into the comedy, because Wayne’s World is one of my favorite movies of all time.
Well, that’s all for this edition of Casting Tidbits. Be sure to stay tuned for more casting updates on the way!
Discover More: Casting News, Casting Tidbits, Movie News, Opinions
First Look: Woody Allen’s You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
These aren’t the most exciting photos, but as a growing Woody Allen fan, I can’t help but feature them, especially because this is our true first look at his new film titled You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. The title comes from an early scene where a lonely woman consults with a gypsy fortune teller who predicts that she will meet the love of her life. The film was shot in London last year and stars Naomi Watts, Josh Brolin and Anthony Hopkins (all seen below), as well as Antonio Banderas, Freida Pinto, Anna Friel, Ewen Bremner, Lucy Punch and Christian McKay. More info on the plot can be found beneath the photos as well.
Thanks to RopeofSilicon for digging these up. Here’s the You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger synopsis from Sony Pictures Classics: “A little romance, some sex, some treachery and apart from that, a few laughs. The lives of a group of people whose passions, ambitions and anxieties force them all into assorted troubles that run the gamut from ludicrous to dangerous.” Yep, that’s exactly the vague plot we expected for an ensemble Woody Allen film. I don’t even know what number film this is he’s directed, but he just doesn’t stop. Sony Classics recently scheduled You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger for limited release on September 23rd.
Discover More: First Look, Indies, Opinions
Exclusive: Brand New Badass 30-Second TV Spot for Kick-Ass
Lionsgate has given us this brand new 30-second TV spot for Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass to feature today. If you’ve been watching the tube lately, you’ve probably already seen this recently, but this is the first time we’ve ever seen it online and FS.net is the only place you can watch it, for now. I totally love this movie. I’ve seen it twice now and it’s my favorite movie of 2010 so far. I don’t know what else I can say or what else I can show you to convince you that Kick-Ass is the must-see movie of the summer, but it definitely is. We’ve already seen plenty of trailers, so check out the new TV spot below, then catch this in theaters next month!
Watch our exclusive new TV spot for Matthew Vaughn’s Kick-Ass:
Watch all the Kick-Ass trailers online: first teaser, theatrical, Hit-Girl red band, and a second red band.
Dave Lizewski one day decides to be a superhero, even though he has no powers, training or any reason.
Kick-Ass is both written and directed by British filmmaker Matthew Vaughn, of Layer Cake and Stardust previously. The screenplay was co-written by Vaughn and his writing partner Jane Goldman, of Stardust as well. The story is an adaptation of Mark Millar’s comic of the same name that is currently in the middle of its first series. Kick-Ass was funded entirely by Matthew Vaughn and his own private investors and sold once finished earlier this year. Lionsgate is bringing Kick-Ass to theaters everywhere on April 16th this spring.
Discover More: Featured, TV Spots, Worth Watching
Brandon’s Review: Hot Tub Time Machine is Totally Tubular
Hot Tub. Time. Machine. The title alone is enough to evoke a chuckle. It’s seriously great. What’s better is that the film that follows that distinctively ’80s, bitchin’ title sequence is able to evoke a whole lot more than a chuckle. This is a film to be seen with a group of friends who’ve hopefully seen their fair share of ’80s movies, know their ’80s fashion, and are familiar with spacial and temporal travel via jacuzzi wormholes. (That last one is less important. But relevant. And hilarious.)
Comedy is the toughest genre for me to review. Rather, I find it most difficult to recommend comedies to others if I don’t know you well. It’s much easier to be confident in one’s recommendation of a drama or thriller; a well acted, emotional story, crisp writing, or exciting action are fairly universally recognizable. If something is exciting, it’s generally exciting to just about everyone. Our recognition of excitement is biologically ingrained. Comedy, though, is everything but universally agreed upon. And a sense of humor is certainly not something everyone has.
So, with that in mind, the most substantial factor in any review of a comedy should be if it makes you laugh. Hot Tub Time Machine made me laugh. A lot. The film follows three estranged friends during all of their respective mid-life crises. That is, until they decide to recreate one of the best weekends of their life: a weekend in 1986 at a ski resort where they unknowingly experienced some of the most defining moments of their lives. But when their jacuzzi sends them through the time-space continuum back to 1986, they’re given the unique choice of retaining their timelines just as they happened or changing their lives forever.
The threesome is comprised of Adam (John Cusack), Lou (Rob Corddry), and Nick (Craig Robinson). While all three play their parts well, their characters are not exactly the deepest. They’re archetypes. And at a certain point, it’s clear where they’re all going to end up. But it’s a testament to Cusack, Corddry, and Robinson that they’re able to play the characters with such charm. Cusack is especially fantastic. (Which is refreshing after last seeing him in 2012.) And with the very funny supporting cast of Clark Duke (who is much more than a Jonah Hill knockoff), Lizzy Caplan, Crispin Glover, and Chevy Chase, the LPM — laughs per minute — is off the charts.
Overall, the film is ridiculous. But, if you’ve read the title, you already know that. And once you accept that, Hot Tub Time Machine is, above all, very funny. It’s a cathartic depiction of wish fulfillment, too. Everything you’ve ever joked about regarding time travel over beers — and possibly… other depressants — is explored in this film. With awesome hilarity. With the knowledge of the future, the wisdom of age, but the bodies of their 1986 selves, Adam, Lou, and Nick basically play a game of Would You Rather while traversing the themes of Bradbury’s “A Sound of Thunder”… only while wasted and utterly selfish.
There’s nothing like revisionist history, especially when it’s you who gets to do the revising. One thing I wouldn’t change? Seeing this film. Though I’m glad I don’t remember the ’80s. People sure did love neon.
Brandon’s Rating: 8 out of 10
Discover More: Opinions, Reviews
Will Ferrell & Mark Wahlberg on The Other Guys Motion Poster
One little technical advancement I do enjoy seeing in Hollywood is the motion poster, basically a poster in a digital display that has some scene or interactive portion of it. Here’s an example of great motion poster for the upcoming comedy The Other Guys starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. Unlike in Cop Out, these two guys are a mismatched pair of cops, yet to me they seem like the perfect pair for the big screen. I know this is only about a ten second little clip, but I think this looks hilarious, I’m very excited for it now. There’s also a new Tron Legacy motion poster you can see over on Collider. Definitely check this out in full below!
The Other Guys is an action comedy directed by Adam McKay (of Anchorman, Talladega Nights) who also wrote the script with Chris Henchy (Land of the Lost) following the seemingly mismatched pairing of Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as police officers who can’t see to measure up to the legendary law enforcement status achieved by the police department’s two all-star cops, played by Sam Jackson and Dwayne Johnson. This looks awesome so far and I can’t wait to see an actual trailer for it, which I imagine will be arriving soon following this poster debut. Sony is bringing The Other Guys to theaters on August 6th later this summer.
Discover More: Hype, Opinions, Posters
Must Watch: First Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Teaser Trailer!
Kapow! Universal has debuted the official teaser trailer for Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World based on Bryan Lee O’Malley’s brilliant comic book series and this totally frickin’ rules! I’ve been excited for this since the moment it was announced and damn it looks so awesome!! What an absolutely perfect teaser trailer, from the intro to the awesome footage in-between, and the ending with the gorgeous Anna Kendrick. We’ve been waiting to see footage for this forever and now it’s here it definitely delivers. For those that don’t know anything about this, it’s basically a video game in a movie, you’ll see what I mean. Watch and enjoy!
Watch the first teaser trailer for Scott Pilgrim vs. the World:
You can also watch the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World teaser trailer in High Definition on Apple
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is directed by brilliant British filmmaker Edgar Wright, of cult classics Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz previously. The screenplay was written by Edgar Wright and actor Michael Bacall and is based on the Oni Press comic book series of the same name. The story follows a Canadian boy named Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) who must defeat his new girlfriend’s (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) seven evil exes in order to win her heart. We’ve been following this since it was announced and as a fan of the comic books, I’m very excited. Universal is bringing Scott Pilgrim vs. the World to theaters everywhere on August 13th!
Discover More: Hype, Trailers, Worth Watching
Check These Out: Six Badass Character Posters for The Losers
Anyone else would be dead by now. I’m really digging the marketing for The Losers, at least all the posters they’ve put out. Not only did we get that comic book cover version of the poster previously, but they released another very stylized one last week as well. HitFix got their hands on a total of six new character posters for The Losers, featuring one for every single team member: Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Clay, Chris Evans as Jensen, Zoe Saldana as Aisha, Columbus Short as Pooch, Idris Elba as Roque, and Oscar Jaenada as Cougar. Not seen are the bad guys: Jason Patric as Max and Holt McCallany as Wade. Check ‘em out below!
Originally a Special Forces team seconded to the CIA in the 90s, the Losers were betrayed by their handler, Max, and left for dead following the conclusion of their operation. Eager for revenge and the opportunity to remove their names from a secret CIA death list, the Losers regroup and conduct covert operations against the CIA and its interests, uncovering startling operations spearheaded by the enigmatic villain Max, whose influence within the CIA and US government is unparalleled. The Losers is directed by Sylvain White and will hit theaters on April 23rd, 2010 this year. Still look as good as the original trailer? I’ll be watching it.
Discover More: Hype, Opinions, Posters
