The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ended up being a bit of a divisive film when it came out last December. There were those that loved it for the classic story and sense of visual splendor, while there were also those that found it overly long with pacing that needed some work. I, for one, found it to be another wonderful trip back to Middle Earth that, despite a few flaws, lived up to what I'd hoped the film would be.
Chile, 1988: Military dictator Augusto Pinochet, due to international pressure, is forced to hold a vote that will determine the future of the country. The people have a seemingly simple choice. They can either vote yes to extend his rule for another eight years or no to bring it to an end. In order to be fair, both sides of the campaign are given 15 minutes of television time per day for 27 days to plead their case. As in any election, there is a large group of undecided voters that this will help point one way or the other. However, there are also those who won’t vote out of fear of retribution. If they should vote no, and should be found out, what will happen to them and their families? Despite this being an anonymous election, this remains a very real concern.
I've said it many times before, but it definitely bears repeating: Game of Thrones is one of the best TV shows around. You could easily make the argument that it is THE best show currently on the air with its epic scope and skillful storytelling method that weaves together dozens of characters, locations, and plots. Basically, it has everything you could ever want in a show: drama, action, political intrigue, romance, mystery, suspense, surprise, and much, much more.
Filming has been well underway for director Jonathan Liebesman's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot, which has allowed us to see little glimpses of what's going on. There have been plenty of shots of Megan Fox as reporter April O'Neill, as well as a few snaps of Whoopi Goldberg as her boss. We've even gotten to see the turtles in their pre-CGI state, i.e. the actors in all their gear that will help the filmmakers render the characters later on.
I've never been a particularly big fan of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He's been in a couple of decent projects such as Get Smart, and even appeared in an episode of Star Trek: Voyager once. Aside from that, he pretty much seems to make the same kind of movie over and over, a la Jason Statham, which has lead to him starring in projects like G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Snitch, Doom, and the last couple of Fast & Furious films. I guess when a guy like him finds a niche that works for the target audience, he doesn't want to risk going outside of it all that often.
James Ponsoldt's latest film, The Spectacular Now, premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival to some rave reviews, with critics referring to it as "sincere and refreshing" and "one of the best coming of age movies of our generation." Now the film finally has a trailer, allowing the rest of us to get a small taste of what some have been fortunate enough to have seen several months ago.
It's been rather interesting to watch the career of filmmaker Kenneth Branagh for the last few years. Mainly known for his exquisite Shakespeare adaptations, it was an incredible surprise to find him taking on the big-budget action film Thor, which he did a wonderful job with. He decided to follow that up with a reboot of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan character (playing double duty as director and the villain in the film). So, what has Branagh moved on to now? Another Shakespeare production? Another action flick? Nope, in keeping with his unpredictable nature of late, he's attached himself to a live-action version of Cinderella for Disney.
William Shakespeare. He may not be the easiest author to wrap your head around, but that doesn't stop him from being one of the greatest writers who ever lived. In his lifetime, he wrote 38 plays (along with multiple poems) that are still performed around the world today. Over the years, there have also been several great filmmakers who have adapted many of them for the cinema, including Sir Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles, Sir Kenneth Branagh, Baz Luhrmann, and, most recently, Joss Whedon.
There are few directors today who command the sort of respect received by the legendary Martin Scorsese. He's one of a select few whose films I will line up to see without knowing a single thing about them, because more often than not, he delivers an unforgettable experience that demands to be seen.
Just in case you didn't know that the big-budget action flick The Lone Ranger was coming out in just a few weeks, today we have a plethora of goodies having to do with the upcoming film.
