Movies

Movies

Mon
31
Aug

Wesley Earl Craven, Horror Icon: 1939-2015

Wesley Earl Craven 1939 2015 obituary Critical Blast

Sometimes people make a profound impact in our lives without having ever met them. They affect our earliest memories and influence our actions years, even DECADES, later. I write today to memorialize one of the men that were most influential in my life. One of the men who caused me to lose sleep, and affects my actions to this day, 25 years after we first met.

Thu
20
Aug

MATCH a Fine Story Matched by Equally Fine Acting

Match Patrick Stewart Matthew Lillard Carla Gugino Critical Blast Dennis Russo

The root story behind MATCH is a simple one, but therein lies its mystery as well.

Patrick Stewart stars as Tobi Powell, an aging, single, Manhattan ballet instructor and former dancer who is forced to confront his past -- willingly at first, and forcibly later on -- when a young couple, Lisa and Mike Davis (Carla Gugino and Matthew Lillard), from Seattle interrupt his life under the guise of wanting to interview him about his colorful life as a dancer back in the 1960’s.

I tend to love movies that feature a limited main cast in a confined set area (mostly Tobi’s apartment), where the story and acting are so strong that you not only lose track of the time but you're unaware of the limited surroundings. MATCH is a textbook example of this for me. While, yes, there are times when we are not in Tobi’s apartment, and there are some limited interactions with other people, those times are more to set up the story that plays out in the apartment between the three of them.

Wed
19
Aug

Leaked! Entire Batman v Superman Fight (as depicted by Stephen Byrne)

Artist Stephen Byrne has released an animated version of how a fight between Batman and Superman would really go down. You can check out Stephen Byrne's art on his Facebook page and Twitter account. He even has a webcomic titled 'Steve Loves Internet'. He does a lot of comic book and pop culture work, ranging from parody to serious depictions of characters.

Clearly anyone who knows Superman, understands that he wouldn't intentionally vaporize Batman, however he could if he wanted to.

 

Tue
18
Aug

Sneak Peek: New Lion King Movie Coming Soon from Disney

With an award winning sountrack and a voice cast that included Jeremy Irons, Mathew Broderick, Whoopi Goldberg and the legendary James Earl Jones, THE LION KING is still considered one of Disney's greatest animated movies. And one of the last that was classically animated, with a mix of CG.

With several sequels having been made to minimal fanfare, Disney is taking one more swipe at the franchise by releasing a new movie: THE LION GUARD: Return of the Roar.

THE LION KING II: SIMBA'S PRIDE focused on Simba and Nala's daughter, Kiara, as she discovers that Scar's son and heir, Kovu has been living in the Badlands. LION KING 1 1/2 was a re-telling of the original movie, through the eyes of Timon and Pumba. The two lovable friends of Simba also had a TV series of their own which lasted four years.

Fri
14
Aug

F. Gary Gray's STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON Is Straight Up Gangsta

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON opens 8/14/15.

It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long to me, but it was way back in 1988 when a gang--as they called themselves-- of musicians changed the burgeoning hip-hop genre forever. The artists were from Compton, a hard-times neighborhood in Los Angeles where the infamous LAPD could, with little provocation, drive a swat tank through your front door and harass you on the streets just for being black. If you don’t think things have changed much, I won’t argue with you. Things have, however, changed for those pioneers of reality-based street rap, the N.W.A. And no, I’m not talking about the old National Wrestling Alliance either.

Fri
14
Aug

MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. Is 007's Country Cousin

MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. starts 8/14/15.

In the mid 1960s THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. was a major hit. It won the Golden Globe for Best Television Show in 1966, and stars Robert Vaughn and David McCallum were each regularly nominated for best actor at the Emmys or Golden Globes. The show was conceived in part by Ian Fleming, the man who created James Bond, and as such began as a serious spy program. A couple of years in, the incredible popularity of Adam West’s BATMAN show encouraged the producers to lean heavily towards camp, a decision which ultimately doomed the show. The entire series is available on Amazon Prime.

Wed
12
Aug

Some stills from STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

Entertainment Weekly posted up a bunch of images from the upcoming STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS.  Here they are in all their glory (click on them for bigger versions):


From Entertainment Weekly:

Tue
11
Aug

SEVENTH DWARF Comes Up Short

Seventh Dwarf Blu-ray DVD Combo Shout Factory

Marrying up the fairy tales of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, THE SEVENTH DWARF comes up short in story and in film quality, coming nowhere near the levels set by HOODWINKED or the SHREK franchise.

The scene is the 18th birthday party for Princess Rose (Peyton List). It's more than your average big deal, because it marks the day the princess can take off all her armor, which she's been forced to wear since she was born, having been cursed to sleep for 100 years if she were to prick her finger. But the evil witch, Dellamorta, is determined to bring her curse to fruition, and put Rose in a slumber that only the kiss of true love can dispel.

Fri
07
Aug

August 10th is Snoopy's Birthday! Here's How to Celebrate

Social media buzz is something a lot of studios are using to drum up hype for upcoming movies. And with Snoopy's birthday coming up on Monday, August 10th, Blue Sky Studios (in association with FOX) is encouraging everyone to share their drawing of the beloved beagle with the hashtag: #DrawSnoopy. The following thumbnail was this writer's attempt:

My #DrawSnoopy attempt 

 

 

Fri
07
Aug

FANTASTIC FOUR Flops So Hard It Could End Careers

FANTASTIC FOUR opens Aug. 7, 2015. You have been warned.

FANTASTIC FOUR is the fourth film and the third attempt at turning Marvel’s superhero family into a gold mine franchise like X-MEN, SPIDER-MAN and the AVENGERS. It’s also easily the worst. In fact, it might be worse than SUPERMAN IV; THE QUEST FOR PEACE. This is rarified territory. You would almost have to work harder at screwing this up than getting it right. I mean, there’s only like 600-plus issues of the comic book to mine for story and plot and characters. Pick one that is exciting, funny, a little tragic, a little heartwarming, and then go shoot it on film. No, that’s too easy for director Josh Trank. He eschewed the readily available and beloved stories presented by America’s favorite storyteller Stan Lee to make a boring, tedious, muddled mess of a movie. Fans saw this train wreck coming for years. Now it’s here, and I think the Internet owes oft-ridiculed videogame movie director Uwe Boll one hell of a big apology. Even he couldn’t make such a fantastic flop.

Fri
07
Aug

Meryl Streep Plays The Hits But RICKI AND THE FLASH Fails To Chart

RICKI AND THE FLASH opens Aug 7, 2015.

 Meryl Streep is an impressive figure in Hollywood. We all knew she could act. She’s been nominated for dozens of awards and is not shy about taking on varied and challenging roles. For the lead role in RICKI AND THE FLASH, Streep learned to play guitar in 3 just three months. Is that a nearly impossible task for most people? Probably not, but despite my deep appreciation of music I have neither an ear nor talent for it myself. When I heard that the Streep was playing a rocker who gave up her family to pursue her dream in a film written by Diablo Cody (JUNO) and directed by Jonathan Demme (SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) I was intrigued. It sounded like there could be a “Chick Flick” underneath the electric guitar jams, but I couldn’t pass it up.

Wed
05
Aug

Deadpool Touches Fans with Two Trailers

Ryan Reynolds did not disappoint with his first full length, available to the public, ‘Red Band’ trailer for his upcoming movie: DEADPOOL. With a re-hashed Wolverine movie plot, where the hero is ‘modified’ and something goes wrong so he seeks revenge, the trailer has all the curse words and violence one should expect.

 

Wed
05
Aug

STEVE MCQUEEN FULL-THROTTLE COOL is the stellar graphic novel biography befitting an icon!

Steve McQueen Full Throttle Cool

I don't really do comic reviews that often these days. It's not that I don't read comics, they're still a staple of my pop culture diet, but after writing regular weekly reviews for many years, I prefer to write about other forms of entertainment. When I heard about the graphic novel STEVE MCQUEEN: FULL THROTTLE COOL from Motor Books, well, I needed to read it and write a review. In all my years of online journalism, I've never had the chance to talk about my passion for the filmography of Mr. McQueen.

After requesting the review material, I was a little worried. What if the book was horrible? I mean, I own his movies, a replica of his jacket from THE GREAT ESCAPE, several McQueen dolls, figures, cars, you name it. It would be a shame to have to write a scathing review about the King of Cool. Or worse, what if it was a mediocre mess that couldn't inspire any emotion whatsoever? Writing one of those reviews is just not fun, at all.

Mon
03
Aug

A Teaser for tomorrow's Deadpool trailer

Yeah, that is about as Deadpool as you can get.   Today, Fox posted a teaser up for the Deadpool trailer coming tomorrow.   Not work safe (some foul language), but really funny! Definitely very encouraging that Fox is going to have the exact right tone for this movie:

Fri
31
Jul

Bay's 13 HOURS Trailer Generates Controversy

13 Hours Michael Bay Benghazi Critical Blast

When I saw what 13 HOURS was going to be about, I actually expected Oliver Stone to be the director. However, when your story calls for massive explosions, there's really only one go-to guy: Michael Bay (TRANSFORMERS).

So what's the controversy here? Military films based on recent history are nothing new. Perhaps it's the textual disclaimer that comes near the end of the trailer: "This is a true story." Not "based on," but "is." And depending on what the definition of "is" is, you can upset all the right people.

Bay's approach takes the viewer into Libya with a team of elite ex-military operatives who receive the call, "We need immediate assistance." When the team tries to respond, they are told "You are not the first responders. You are the last resort." In apparent defiance of these orders, the team proceeds anyway. I don't want to spoil the ending, but they don't make it in time to save the U.S. Ambassador.

Thu
30
Jul

Adaptation Brings the Rise of Harry Potter, JR

In a move that is one part opportunistic, one part marketing genius and two parts trolling a fan-base, SC Films International announces plans to launch an animated feature and tv series titled:

TROLL: "THE RISE OF HARRY POTTER, JR"

Based upon the 1986 cult film, TROLL, the new animated feature will revisit the world of wizardry in which a wicked, magical troll wizard seeks to take over the world. With the help of a witch, Harry Potter, Jr can save the planet.

Academy Award winner Patricia Arquette, has been signed for the witch and child actor Baxter Bartlett will lend his voice to the young Harry Potter Jr.

Provided he isn't enchanted with a 'Babbling Curse', by a ravenous fanbase who will no doubt be angered when they discover this isn't all about 'you know who'.

Mon
27
Jul

Its title is a misnomer but BLAST FROM THE PAST has arrived on Blu-ray.

Bomb shelters, doomsday preparedness, and those on the apocalypse watch have a part in our society today just like they did at least as far back as the Cold War. The struggle to survive is deeply ingrained in the human psyche but some people clearly will go to drastic means to survive an Earth-changing conflagration. I can see the sentiment, more so now that I have a family, yet building an underground bunker has never been high on my things-to-do list. Perhaps it's because, no matter how close to the edge society rides, I'm more of a "half full" kind of guy, that believes the world won't drop over the precipice.

Fri
24
Jul

GODS AND MONSTERS Not Your Usual Justice League

Justice League Gods and Monsters Blu-ray Warner Brothers DC Comics Critical Blast

What if it hadn't been the son of Jor-El, but the son of General Zod who had made the trek from a doomed Krypton to Earth as a baby? What if Bruce Wayne's parents hadn't been killed? What if Diana had never come from Paradise Island?

JUSTICE LEAGUE: GODS AND MONSTERS is the brainchild of Bruce Timm (BATMAN ANIMATED ADVENTURES, JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED), and it's a Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman like you have never seen before.

Fri
24
Jul

Avengers: Age of Ultron Assembles on Blu-Ray!

Prepare for epic superhero action to arrive at your headquarters, as the billion dollar blockbuster hit AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON arrives on Blu-Ray this September!

Tony Stark, fearing another alien invasion develops the ultimate in Earth defense by creating Ultron; an artifically intelligent, technologically advanced, sentient robot. Unfortunately, Ultron became obsessed with creating 'world peace' and vowed to achieve it by wiping out the human race. AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON provided audiences with action, humor and more HULK!

Written and directed by Joss Whedon, Age of Ultron was the perfect follow-up to THE AVENGERS as it continued to develop Earth's mightiest heroes. The relationships are explored deeper in this chapter as they come closer and become more family than teammates.

This will be a 'must have' for every fan of the genre.

Thu
23
Jul

Adam Sandler Beats the Game in PIXELS

Pixels Columbia Sony Adam Sandler Kevin James Peter Dinklage Critical Blast

PIXELS, from Columbia/Sony Pictures, is one of those movies I shouldn’t like -- but because I have so much in common with the main characters in this movie, I can’t help myself.

The seed to the plot of this movie takes place in a flashback to 1982 and the National Video Game Championships. The games are videotaped and sent into space, where they are discovered by an alien race who take them as a challenge to take over there world. In doing so, they bring to life many of the original characters of the video game world of 1982 and set them upon the Earth to destroy it -- but not immediately. You see, in true videogame fashion, they give the Earth three “lives,” and if they lose them, then world is destroyed.

Enter in our heroes, who oddly enough were the ones who competed at the games in 1982. Through varying twists of fate, they become Earth’s only hope in beating these otherworldly real videogame characters.

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