Movies

The Jerry Bruckheimer franchise seems to have finally capsized. The motion picture, budgeted at $230 million ($20 million less than it's predecessor, ON STRANGER TIDES), grossed $172 million at the box office, compared to the $241 million grossed by the previous film. Those are numbers that don't bode well for there being a fifth film in the franchise--unless it's a rebooting, and honestly who could see Captain Jack Sparrow as anybody but JOHNNY DEPP?

The first thing that's a bit off about the film is the title: DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES. Given that the entire run has been filled with ghosts who relate stories of curses, and that the plot of this movie hinges on one Captain Salazar (JAVIER BARDEM) who perished in the Devil's Triangle pursuing a young Jack Sparrow, it would seem that dead men tell quite a few tales at sea.

Superman has been the topic of controversy ever since Warner Bros hired Zack Snyder to direct 2013's Man of Steel.

So it's no surprise that his perception as a hero is once again the topic of conversation. Portraying a brooding Kryptonian, living on Earth, many feel that this iteration of Superman is too dark. His story, which takes him from being a relatively unknown mystery hero to a highly controversial figure of immense power, is a journey that nobody else had dared to explore.

JUSTICE LEAGUE, is considered by some to be the third act in a trilogy of movies which brings Superman's heroism to light.

Or will it?

Was flipping through Twitter and came across this:

Thanks to my awesome mother, I was raised on horror movies and Stephen King books!  Of all the amazing 80's horror movies, HALLOWEEN was always my favorite.  Just something about that mask, that slow lumber, that memorable music...  HALLOWEEN has always been a big part of my life in the strangest ways. 

J.D. Salinger is a name that almost instantly brings out strong reactions in people. Some boo and hiss, proclaiming his most famous work, “The Catcher in the Rye,” to be dangerous in some way and demand that it be banned from their children’s schools.  Others smile and wax as poetic as they can muster, recalling their own first encounter with Holden Caulfield and how revelatory the story was in their youth. I belong to an unfortunate though fortunately very tiny segment of the population who has never read the book because I found out the term “catcher” in the title had nothing wto with baseball. No references to Mickey Cochrane, Gabby Hartnett, Ray Schalk, not even Campy or Yogi? Who needs it?

I’m an idiot, of course. It’s an American masterpiece. If you watch the new biographical film, REBEL IN THE RYE, you’ll hear it time and time again, just in case you don’t believe it already.

Sony continues to reel in top talent for it's adaption of 1985's cult anime, ROBOTECH. Originally conceptualized back in 2007, the project continues to defy all odds as the studio is committed to bringing protoculture to life.

Jason Fuchs, who co-wrote WONDER WOMAN along with Zack Snyder and Allan Heinberg, is being brought in to write the screenplay for ROBOTECH. This is a huge move for the studio, as getting the story right can separate ROBOTECh from other, recent movies that feature fighting robots on a grand scale.

From StarWars.com:

Maddy just turned 18 and has never ventured outside her environmentally controlled house. Her clothes are serialized and all white. Everyone that enters the house must change shoes and wash their hands before being let in. This is because Maddy has a rare immunodeficiency called SCID. Despite being an avid reader, online book reviewer, and loving to design architecture and drawing, Maddy claims her life is pretty boring. She relies a lot on her extensive imagination. But Maddy’s only interactions are with her mom and her nurse, until the cute boy moves in next door.

Olly wears all black and has a bad boy exterior, but despite his appearance is really kind at heart. And from the moment he notices Maddy through the window he tries to meet her. Only trouble is, no one new is allowed to enter the house, because they might get Maddy sick.

When I started reading comics, X-Force was my absolute favorite.  I was there was the first appearance of Cable, Deadpool, and Domino, and I have been a fan of the characters ever since.   I absolutely loved the first DEADPOOL movie, and I was even more hyped up when they teased Cable for the sequel.  Over the last few days, we've gotten our first look at Cable (played by Josh Brolin) and Domino (played by Zazie Beetz). 

He destroyed Tokyo almost a dozen times, but Godzilla, King of the Monsters, has finally succumbed to time.

Or, more precisely, the actor who marched in the rubber suit across scale models of cities, has passed.

Haruo Nakajima was a stuntman in 1954 when he first donned the reptilian hide -- which was not rubber in the beginning, but concrete and over 200 pounds! After the original release of GODZILLA (or GOJIRA if you're a true kaiju purist), Nakajima went on to play the nuclear lizard eleven more times, with the last being the 1972 creature feature, GODZILLA VS. GIGAN.

Nakajima studied the walking patterns of bears and elephants to develop the signature gait of Godzilla, and went on to appear in other monster movies. He also played a role in the equally classic SEVEN SAMURAI.

We've all been there. Whether it was deep in our childhood, or just last night, we've all been at that place where we've watched a movie before going to bed that just kept us up all night, afraid to go to sleep and praying that the covers were just enough protection to keep us safe.

The folks at MattressOnline know a little something about trying to get to sleep. But sometimes even a good mattress is no cure for the horrors in our head after watching a scary flick. So they've compiled the infographic below on Movie Nightmares. Let's get this Halloween season started a little early, shall we? (Click to Enlarge)

THE DARK TOWER is Hollywood stupidity in maximum overdrive. I just don’t get it. The studios scramble to secure the film rights to beloved stories and then take a massive dump on the fans who naturally expect these adaptations to be extremely faithful to the source material. I’m not so naïve as to think you can perfectly recreate ever scene from every book or comic issue. Let’s face it, Superman’s costume barely works in the comic books and generally looks cheesy on the big screen. At least Warner Bros. tried to get the look right, if nothing else. 20^th Century Fox (when are they going to accept that the new millennium isn’t going away any time soon and update their name?) fumbled the last attempt at The FANTASTIC FOUR so badly even small children complained about the plot holes and woeful dialogue despite well over 400 issues of story and history to work with in a format that practically anyone should be able to make into a passable film.

Here's why I hate "found footage" films: because when they're done well, they accomplish their objective and convince you what you are seeing actually happened; and when you mentally correct course in the middle of the film, you have a very disconcerting sense of cognitive dissonance as your brain argues against itself as to what is real and what is not.

Enter PHOENIX FORGOTTEN, a slow-starting documentary that picks up the pace about fifteen minutes in. It begins with a birthday party of a six year old girl, with her teenaged brother, Josh, controlling the camera. It is during the party that the so-called Phoenix Lights appear in the sky--beginning an obsession with Josh that potentially leads to his disappearance.

But Josh didn't disappear alone. He took two other teenagers with him, and they were never found.

Young Mary Adler (FULLER HOUSE's MCKENNA GRACE) is about to start first grade, and is resisting it every step of the way, preferring to continue being home-schooled by her uncle, Frank (CHRIS EVANS, MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS). It's not just that she is scared to go to school -- it's that the lessons involve 1+1=2, and Mary is already well past solving quadratic equations.

Saw a headline on Hollywood Reporter this morning reporting a NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS sequel coming in 2018.  But, I opened it up to find out that this sequel is a graphic novel coming from TokyoPop, not a new movie.

It's taken almost 25 years, but Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas is finally going to get a sequel — but it won't be happening on screen.

ATOMIC BLONDE is a stylish retro romp through the world of Cold War cloak and dagger. It’s also a strong debut by director David Leitch, though the tangled web they weave in trying to deceive the audience is ever so slightly overwrought. Then again, it’s bloody lightyears better than that Aston-Martin car wreck that was the last James Bond film, SPECTRE.

Every so often, and far too infrequently, the world produces an actress with a face like Michele Martin's -- attractive yet versatile, able to portray just about anybody in any genre. And Michele has done just that, with performances ranging from Shakespeare on the stage to co-starring in horror/thrillers like COFFIN 2, not to mention her copious writing credits.

Michele will shortly be portraying Natalie Wood as the lead in the premiere of AVALON at the Edinburgh Fringe, opposite Sean Cronin (FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM) as King Arthur. (The two meet each other as ghosts in the titular Avalon, between Heaven and Earth. Guinevere is going to be so jealous!) But before she hits the boards there, she sat down with us to talk a little bit about some of her upcoming projects -- one of which premieres on an entirely new digital platform!

In a film loosely inspired by true events, BIRTH OF THE DRAGON is an homage to the classic kung fu movies that Bruce Lee became known for.

This is NOT a Bruce Lee biopic. It's meant to be more of an over-dramatization of events leading up to his controversial fight with Kung Fu master Wong Jack Man. BIRTH OF THE DRAGON was produced and directed in the style of Bruce Lee's own movies.

It sounds like the movie is meant to have a very meta feel.

WWE Studios and BH Tilt is bringing BIRTH OF THE DRAGON to theaters on August 25th, 2017 with a PG-13 rating. The movie will have a runtime of 91 minutes, which will probably be as quick and powerful as Lee's one-inch punch.

Gru and the Minions are back in DESPICABLE ME 3, and don't we wish they weren't.

Being the father of a 9-year-old boy, I find that I endure a number of fart jokes, butt jokes, and madcap chases that often involve underpants (usually worn over the head for unfathomable reasons). So I wasn't too surprised when the begging began to go and see DESPICABLE ME 3. But it's a cartoon, and the Minions have always been kind of funny, so I relented, opting to go to a local drive-in theater for the experience. (Note to self: when selecting a drive-in theater, make sure that (a) it isn't located next to a frequently-used railroad crossing and (b) it's not a weekend popularized by people setting off fireworks and other explosives.)

BURBANK, Calif.

After 4 explosive movies, the last two which have grossed over a billion dollars each worldwide, TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT is hitting theaters this weekend. Have we reached 'sequel fatigue' yet with these films?

Fans of the franchise don't even understand what these movies are about, but that doesn't stop them from going. Even comic book icon Rob Liefeld chimed in:

Tonight, a new TRANSFORMERS film is opening. I'm not sure what number it is or what it's about it but I'm seeing it!

— robertliefeld (@robertliefeld) June 20, 2017