Lucy

Luc Besson's latest sci-fi offering Lucy is one of the most ridiculous films I've seen in the past few years, but somehow it kind of actually works!

Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) is studying in Taiwan, when she is tricked by her boyfriend, Richard (Pilou Asbæk) into delivering a package of drugs to his employer. The super-drug CPH4, which she is forced to smuggle overseas in her abdomen, can increase the brains working capacity and provide superhuman abilities. After being attacked whilst in captivity, the package splits and leaks into Lucy's system.

At the same time, Professor Samuel Norman (Morgan Freeman), who has been researching the theoretical abilities of  higher-functioning human brains for the past twenty years, is contacted by Lucy and the two meet up to assess the nature of her higher state of being.

 

First up, Scarlett Johansson is really what makes this film. Her character is relatively normal but is thrown into unbelievable circumstances, so to be able to watch her transformation as she is affected by the drug, is fantastic. Morgan Freeman is just Morgan Freeman again, to which I mean, slightly typecast, but still a great performance. As for the other actors, I really can't work out how to judge them because, whilst they seem to just constantly over act, they are playing such ridiculous roles that it kind of works...kind of.

The plot of this film is absolutely ludicrous, but not surprising coming from the mind that brought us The Fifth Element. It's pure science-fiction, of course, but it's so unbelievable that it's difficult to take it seriously. It seemed like Besson was trying to be a lot more serious here than with The Fifth Element, but I couldn't help but laugh with half of the scenes because they were just so over-the-top and out there. This sort of weird dramatic-comedy, which may or may not have been intentional, makes this genuinely quite an enjoyable film.

It's beautifully shot and edited, with what seems to be quite a lot of influence from David Fincher's work, with sped-up footage, fast cuts and a similar use of effects used to illustrate the brain at work, as he used in the opening to Fight Club. Comparisons can easily be made to many other science fiction films, even a bit of 2001: Space Odyessy at the end, which certainly pleased this Kubrick fan (not in a sexual way, geez), and generally, it's just great cinematography from Thierry Arbogast, who often works with Besson. 

I'm not really sure what its intended message was, if there was one. You could make the argument that it channels our desire for knowledge, or even our fragility as a species, but at the end of the day, plot issues or not, its really just good fun, with plenty of eye candy (Obviously I'm talking about the Special FX...ok, and Scarlett Johansson is nice too).

New Wonder Woman and Batman pics

I know we seem to be focused on the next Superman movie at this here blog, but until we get some buzz on Star Wars, it'll have to do. This is probably the biggest DC related news to come out of the San Diego Comic-Con, new pics of both Ben Affleck as Batman and the first look at Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman.

Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Hercules

This latest obsession with Hercules isn't the first time its happened in movie history. In the 90s there were two TV series with one spinoff series and an animated movie, so two movies in one year is nothing. I think I saw the better of those two movies.

I thought that this was going to be a very different movie. From the trailer I had expected a movie about the Twelve Labours of Hercules (which I know every one of), but we are instead introduced to the man behind the myth. Hercules (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) is a mercenary whose only ambition is to get enough gold to retire to the Black Sea and live in peace. He is offered a job by Lord Cotys (John Hurt) to help stop a civil war.

Instead of just presenting a demigod Hercules, this movie looks at how the legend is born. Hercules' nephew Iolaus (Reece Ritchie) heightens the abilities of the hero and exaggerates the labours he completed for King Eurystheus (Joseph Fiennes).

Dwayne Johnson is a sensible choice for Hercules. His muscular physique makes it believable that he is the strongest man ever (obviously), but he is also able to perfectly convey the torment that haunts him after he has murdered his wife and children (or so the legend goes).

Though this movie is incredibly tense at times, there are some moments of great comic relief. These come from quite a few characters. Iolaus can be quite funny, but Ian McShane's Amphiaraus steals the show with the premonitions of his own death. Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Aksel Hennie and Rufus Sewell round out Hercules rag tag group of mercenaries.

Verdict: Normally anything made by Brett Ratner would make my skin crawl, but there isn't anything for him to ruin here. It is all that it sets out to be; a swords and sandals adventure that certainly has the right level of scope.

John Hughes Movie: Christmas Vacation (1989)

Never before has the phrase 'holiday fun for the whole family' been more suitable. Well ok, there are certainly some mature themes here but this is one of the funniest Christmas movies around.

After European Vacation in 1985, the National Lampoon film series returned with Christmas Vacation. Clark Griswald (Chevy Chase) has convinced his wife, Ellen (Beverly D'Angelo) to let him have his dream, a big family christmas at home, with all the relatives around. But from the very start, things do not go as planned. By ten minutes in, the Griswald family have already been involved in highway road rage, been stuck under a truck, been airborn in their car and got a ludicriously inappropriate christmas tree. But that's just the begining.

Much like the first vacation, the Griswald family seem to be surrounded by absolutely hilarious accidents. From redneck Cousin Eddie's (Randy Quaid) appearence to exploding sewer mains, nothing seems to go as planned. The gags are generally derived from either the sort of jokes that bring out your inner 12 year old or pure slapstick, but don't feel guilty for laughing, because the unstoppable surge of antics rarely ever hits a sour note.

All of this humour is balanced out by heartwarming, albeit cheesy family moments, which is exactly what you'd expect from a comedy family movie, and seems to suit the christmas theme quite well. As well as Chase and D'Angelo, who reprise their roles perfectly well, the rest of the cast seem to gel fantastically with their characters, because they are entertaining from start to finish.

This is also one of those films where you recognise one of the actors from something (not just the child actors here) but you're not sure what they've been in. Then there's the great moment when you realise who they are and it's amazing to see how they've aged since. So I won't ruin that for you all by telling you who all the great actors are in this film.

This is a lighthearted, hilarious comedy movie that is perfect to run in the background whilst relaxing on Christmas day. As our final John Hughes movie for the month, this one is definitely a classic.

Trailers Week 3: 27/07/14

The Gracefield Incident
Even though found footage movies invariably suck, I have always been a huge fan of them (even the hideous Apollo 18, they're my guilty pleasure). Apart from the trailer, the only info I could find is that it's directed, edited, written, produced by and starring Mathieu Ratthe. I'm already hooked.

Nightcrawler
This intense looking award-chaser from Dan Gilroy is about Lou Bloom, 'a young man desperate for work who discovers the high-speed world of L.A. crime journalism. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo and Bill Paxton.

50 Shades of Grey
Based on the extremely popular erotic novel by E.L. James. Dakota Johnson will play the impressionable Anastasia Steele, with Jamie Dornan as the bondage loving Christian Grey.

The Imitation Game
Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the British mathematician who was a key figure during the cracking of the Nazi's Enigma Code. It looks to have a similar feel to Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, but set during the Second World War. Also starring Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Keira Knightley, Charles Dance and Mark Strong.

Tusk
Writer/director Kevin Smith has always divided audiences. Here at That Other Movie Blog, we are quite partial to his films. I (Jack) have been following the development of his latest film which was created on his Smodcast podcast. It is a horror film that looks quite chilling. Starring Michael Parks, Justin Long, Haley Joel Osment and Johnny Depp. #WalrusYes.

Manhattan
This week's TV trailer is of Manhattan. Set in 1943 at the time of the Manhattan Project, it follows the lives of scientists working on the atomic bomb in a New Mexico town.

John Hughes Movie: Home Alone (1990)

I don't understand why this kid's family all hate him so much. Even his own mother. No wonder he's so happy that he gets left behind when his family goes overseas for Christmas.

Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister (Macaulay Culkin) and his family are set to travel for the holidays, but the night before they go, power in the neighbourhood goes down and they oversleep. In the rush to get ready in the morning, they leave behind Kevin, who quickly adapts to life without them. Operating in the same area are thieves the "wet bandits", Marv (Daniel Stern) and Harry (Joe Pesci). The have targeted the McCallister household after casing the house at the beginning of the movie. Kevin finds this out and sets up a series of deadly Rube Goldberg like traps around the house.

This is probably the weakest of the John Hughes movies I've watched this month. This is mainly due to to the fact that it has aged the most. The timeless feeling that is felt when watching all the other movies on this list. It has the exact feeling of it's early 90s setting.

This was Macaulay Culkin's first big movie role. I feel as though child actors from this time weren't given too much direction. Culkin just runs around either screaming or giggling. Catherine O'Hara, who is a funny actor at the best of times isn't give enough screen time to get some good laughs.

The weight of the acting really falls back to Joe Pesci who isn't really working at to the best of his ability. In fact he is quite restrained here. He is known most for his foul mouth and had to be reminded at many times by director Chris Columbus that this is a family movie.

Verdict: A decent family movie that is worth watching. I think it is probably where my fear of spiders comes from, not to mention that it is pretty much the same movie as Die Hard.

Deliver Us From Evil

Director Scott Derrickson seems to be drawn to horror. At least that's the genre that he fits best in. Both Sinister and The Exorcism of Emily Rose are the standout films of his directing career. Deliver Us From Evil is probably not his best foray into the genre so far, but has great performances and a well-executed script that he co-wrote with Paul Harris Boardman.

Eric Bana plays Ralph Sarchie, a tough cop working in New York's south Bronx. He gets pulled into a case which leads him to meet Mendoza (Edgar Ramirez), who believes the case is demonically related. This pushes Sarchie's beliefs to the limit.

This is based on the real life Sarchie's non-fiction book 'Beware the Night'. While I like to believe that what I'm watching can happen in the world in which a movie exists, I find it very hard to believe that these things (demonic possessions and the like) actually occur in real life, but I'm not going to get into that.

The scares in this movie are pretty straightforward. Anyone with common sense would know when they are coming and get ready for them. I will, however, award points to this seeming mash up of cop and possession movies. I do applaud the original approach to the exorcism scene, it takes place in a interrogation room.

Most of the performance are really good. Eric Bana is a really subtle actor and felt believable in this role. I really felt as though the relationship between him and his daughter was genuine. Edgar Ramirez could have easily gone over the top playing a priest who performs exorcisms, but he was quite restrained.

Joel McHale is fantastic but slightly too generic as Sarchie's fast talking partner. Sure he has skills with knife, but when you fall into the same sidekick cliche maybe this isn't the role for you. Olivia Munn just floats around in the background looking good, but not really contributing anything.

Verdict: Cool story and idea, but not much too many good scares. A decent cast does lift it up.

Devil's Knot

 Atom Egoyan's film Devil's Knot dramatises the real life events that surround the trial of the West Memphis Three, who were charged with the 1993 murder of three boys. The topic has been subject to many previous documentaries and indepth analysis, so where does this film fit in?

On May 5th 1993, Stevie Branch, Christopher Byers, and Michael Moore, three young boys from West Memphis, Arkansas, were riding their bicycles in Robin Hood Hills when they were murdered. After the police discovered their bodies, the suggestion was that members of a local satanic cult had murdered the children. Jessie Misskelley, Jr, Jason Baldwin and Damien Echols were treated as the prime suspects, and the film follows their trial.

Many have criticised this film for it's depiction of a story that has already been well documented, especially with the Paradise Lost documentary trilogy, and hence is of little interest to those who are already aware of the events. I, on the other hand, went into this with very little knowledge of the story and generally found it quite intriguing. I understand that it could be boring for viewers well versed in what happened but I personally never lost interest the whole way through.

Firth may well have been an unusual choice to play Ron Lax, but once you get past the fact that it's Colin Firth on the screen putting on what I found to be a fairly convincing southern accent, he really does give another of his great performances here. Reese Witherspoon, on the other hand, wasn't really anything special in this I found. Not terrible, just not great.

Some of the images are violent and quite confronting at times, but they do well to present the events and bring the 'thriller' genre in the film out. Crucial information surrounding the case is presented through informative subtitles that never draw our attention away from the action, although the final summarising of the events from the end of the trial up to the present could come across as lazy film making to some.

If you have previously learnt about the Memphis Three through other means, then this is probably not the film for you, but for audiences who are looking to understand these tragic events without watching three documentary movies, then this is quite a strong film that delivers the narrative effectively, thanks by and large to Firth's performance.

Mark Reveiws: Mrs Brown's Boys D'Movie

How you guys doing? You remember me? Of course you do, I'm Mark Wahlberg. So I heard that you liked my last review and thought hey, that was fun, let's do it again. So I went to the offices of Facebook or Google or wherever the nerds hang out and I said hey, who here can hack. I got that nerd to hack Jack's account and now I'm here.

All I needed was a movie and since it was my day to look after Donnie, I thought I'd let him choose. He chose this movie, I don't know if you've heard of it. I hadn't. But I thought hey, I'm from Boston and this movie's Irish, how bad can it be.

Holy shit you guys, it's terrible. I would have walked out if I was on my own. But Donnie was having a really good time and he wouldn't have been able to get home on his own. He gets scared and forgets which bus to take. So while I was watching this piece of shit, I had time to think about the movie.

First, who would believe that that's an actual lady. It's obviously just a dude in a suit. Do you know who would be believable as a woman in a suit. This guy.

 

That's right. Me. I'd make a fucking sexy girl as well. Look at that ass. If I ever dressed up as a lady, all the guys reading this would get confused and try to buy me drinks and take me home.

Another thing. If that's what Ireland's like, I don't want to go there. I thought they were all about drinking and throwing little green dudes over rainbows and shit. Instead there's weird old ladies swearing at you. Now how I am supposed to take Donnie to see his Irish cousins. 

Verdict: I wish I never saw this movie. It was so terrible. I had to use Donnie's face for the score because I don't want you guys to associate me with such a bad score, which is like a -5. Alright, I gotta go. Jenny McCarthy just called and said Donnie climbed a tree and won't come out.

Charlie's Country

The last time that Rolf de Heer and David Gulpilil worked together was the 2006 film Ten Canoes. Now they've reunited to make Charlie's Country, a film that draws on Gulpilil's own experiences, with him in the titular role and de Heer directing.

Charlie's Country is set in a remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory, where Charlie, an Aborigine originally born in the bush, lives with his mates, very much under the influence of the 'white man' culture. He lives on the dole and resides in a small tenement with his large family.

Charlie longs for the old life, living off the land the way he grew up, and subsequently he is often having brushes with the law, who represent all that is wrong with society to him. Charlie decides to go it on his own, living in the bush by hunting and gathering and embracing the life of his ancestors and getting away from the influence of white society.

Gulpilil is outstanding in this, often bringing out this beautiful raw emotion which really shows just how personal this story is for him. Other fantastic performances come from Peter Djigirr as Black Pete and Peter Minygululu as Old Lulu. Unfortunately, most of the white cast members give rather flat performances, which is mainly due to the heartless nature of the white characters towards the Indigenous population. Of course that's not to say that their representation is unrealistic, unfortunately there are great prejudices present in our society, but this still makes the characters appear rather one-dimensional.

Ian Jones (Rabbit Proof Fence, The Piano) was the DP on this and he has shot some astoundingly beautiful footage that really brings this story together. The simple static shots of Charlie and his friends in the community contrast to the beautiful scenery in the bush that really lights up the screen. All of this combined with the long cuts, that seem to take inspiration from Steve McQueen/Sean Bobbit's work, really draws you into Charlie's surroundings.

Graham Tardif, who worked with de Heer on The Tracker, has composed a beautifully simple soundtrack that is largely just a single piano, which works perfectly for such an intimate film. The one real issue that I had with the film was that it does become a little bit anti-climactic, in a way. It's very circular which works quite well but it did tend to wane here and there.

This really is a beautiful film that is supported greatly by Gulpilil's performance. But if I did have to nitpick, I think there could have been better performances from the Caucasian cast and the plot could have done with a bit more of an edge at the end. I still highly recommend seeing it if you have a chance to.

Trailers Week 2: 20/07/14

Laggies
Keira Knightley stars in this comedy-drama about growing up. Also starring Chloe Moretz and Sam Rockwell.

The One I Love
A mysterious looking rom-com from director Charlie McDowell, starring Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss and Ted Danson.

Wish I Was Here
Zach Braff's latest comedy-drama, this time about family. Also starring Kate Hudson, Donald Faison and Joey King.

Horns

Horns follows Ignatius "Ig" Perrish (Daniel Radcliffe) who starts to sprout horns after his girlfriend's mysterious death and experiences a public backlash against him.

Hector and the Search for Hapiness
The third trailer has been released for Peter Chelsom's upcoming film about Hector (Simon Pegg), a psychiatrist who travels around the globe attempting to understand what makes people happy.

My Old Lady

After inheriting an apartment from his father, Mathias (Kevin Kline) is stunned to find that an elderly woman, Mathilde (Maggie Smith) and her daughter (Kristin Scott Thomas) are living in it. This has a very strong cast and looks to be very entertaining.

20,000 Days on Earth

This one looks very interesting as it seems to be a mix of documentary and drama. 20,000 days on Earth examines the life of Nick Cave and his creative style.

Horrible Bosses 2
Hopefully the sequel to the hilarious original will be just as funny. All the original cast members return.

Doctor Who - Series 8
Ok this isn't actually a film trailer but if you're a fan of Doctor Who then this new trailer that teases Peter Capaldi's first series as the Doctor should really excite you.

Sex Tape

Movies about sending an unwanted sex tape to the wrong people aren't exactly fresh and exciting. And this one is definitely neither fresh nor exciting.

The film begins with a long and largely unnecessary introduction to the relationship of Annie (Cameron Diaz) and Jay (Jason Segel). The reason it's unnecessary is because I couldn't really believe that these two people were in their twenties. After that, we finally get introduced to their adult married life, which is sexless, despite the fact that they love each other very much. In the spur of the moment, the decide to film each other having sex with each other. This soon turns bad when the video gets synced to every iPad that they've given as gifts (which is a lot apparently).

This movie misses the mark when it comes to most of the jokes. There is only little potential in the set ups that are there and these mostly fall flat, especially the jokes about the domestic lives these two characters have (again because the two leads aren't playing believable roles).

The film is buoyed up by some master direction from Jake Kasdan (Orange County) and the script written in part by Segel is passable, but to have two leads with as little chemistry as these two. The film is partially saved by the supporting cast. Rob Corddry, Ellie Kemper and Rob Lowe all do their best to prop up Segel and Diaz. The best casting decision was probably putting Jack Black as a cameo role. His scene just entails him improvising the names of porn companies and is suitably hilarious.

Verdict: A mediocre comedy at the best of times. Road Trip did a better job.

Uncharted movie pushes ahead

With the box office successes of the Tomb Raider movies (which if you weren't aware, were based on a video game franchise of the same name - and not at all based on the initials of this blog), it's not surprising that a film adaptation for the equally adventurous, action-packed video game series, Uncharted, would be in the works somewhere.

However, there have been many attempts at it so far that have failed to gain momentum. It looked for a while like David O. Russell (Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle) would direct with Mark Wahlberg (A good friend of ours over here at TOMB) starring as Drake, but Russell had issues with the script and that fell through. Since then there has been an online movement to get Nathan Fillion (Firefly) to star as Drake.

But now, it looks as if things are going ahead, with the announcement that Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) would direct, and Gordon himself hoping that production would get underway "very early next year". This means that within a couple of years, we may get to finally see a film adaptation of the series. Though there is no news on the cast as of yet.

The potential problems with this will depend on the treatment of the material and how much it will relate to the video game. The Tomb Raider films weren't exactly critically acclaimed and many believe that adapting video games into movies generally doesn't work. We'd like to hear what you guys think about this. Are you worried that they will ruin the Uncharted series? Do you think better films could be made from some of the more cinematic, story-driven games such as Heavy Rain (which itself has a film in the works)? Or would you prefer that Hollywood adapt video games that you don't care about so that you don't have to worry if they screw it up? Let us know in the comments.

Source: Empire

John Hughes Month: Pretty in Pink (1986)

Compared to some of his other, more lively (Ferris Bueller's Day Off) or unusual (Weird Science) teen movies, Pretty in Pink seems one of the more reserved of John Hughes creations. But it's the timidity of it that makes it such a relatable movie for teenagers, and even adults.

Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald) is a teenager that comes from a lower-class background. Her father struggles to get motivated enough for full-time employment, whilst she works casually at the TRAX record store, putting aside small amounts for clothes from the thrift shop and creating pink ensembles for very little money.

She has a crush on one of the rich kids, Blane McDonough (Andrew McCarthy), who seems a lot more sensitive than his friends. Her best friend "Duckie" (Jon Cryer) jokes around about being in love with her to cover up his true feelings and the whole story starts to lead up to the prom, with the question being, who would Andie go with? Or would she even go, after the poor way that she had been treated around school.

This film has all the scenarios that teens often face as they're growing up; Crushes, discrimination, fights and of course the all important prom. Whilst there's plenty of Hughe's usual sense of humour, it comes through these lovable and believable characters. Take this scene for instance, where Duckie sings along to Otis Redding in the TRAX store. I find this really sums up his character. He's playful and funny, whilst covering up his love for Andie, and so we can easily sympathise with him, and this really comes down to Cryer's memorable performance. The same goes for Ringwald and McCarthy as well as Harry Dean Stanton (who plays Andie's dad, Jack), and then on the antagonist side, you have James Spader playing Blane's arrogant friend Steff, which he does with his usual laid-back but eccentric style. For me, it's these performances that make the characters and the characters that make the movie.

Like most of Hughes' films that we've explored this month, Pretty in Pink has a soundtrack full of 80s hits that always seem to perfectly frame that teenage outlook that he's aiming for, whilst keeping the film light-hearted and entertaining. This may be timid compared to Ferris Bueller or other of Hughes films, but it is no less of a classic.

Reaching For the Moon

I don't know if I've ever seen a more dreary film than this. To take such a strong script and then make a mediocre film seems wrong. Weak performances and poor direction made this film extremely hard to watch.

The film chronicles the tumultuous relationship between Pulitzer prize winning poet Elizabeth Bishop (Miranda Otto) and Brazilian architect Lota de Macedo Soares (Gloria Pires). Bishop comes to Brazil to find inspiration for her poetry and whilst living with Soares (in a bizarre love triangle) and college friend Mary, she writes her Pulitzer winning collection 'North and South', as well as dealing with her problems with alcoholism.

I really wish that this film had of focused more on Bishop's inspiration for her poetry in addition to her relationship with Soares, but instead a large portion of the film is obsessed with her alcoholism. We are only treated to a few scenes in which she does write poetry, but they are overwhelmed by the fact that she is drunk when she does write and goes out of its way many times to highlight this.

I'm not sure Miranda Otto is the best actress out there. I felt that she was just channeling Laura Linney doing an impression of Helen Mirren in The Queen. She almost looks bored as she drunkenly floats about the house in Petropolis or Rio de Janeiro.

Gloria Pires' performance does stand out, however, in this dull movie. She picks up the slack that the other actors leave and invigorates each scene she is in. I feel disappointed that the rest of the cast lets down her performance so much.

Verdict: A disappointing and dreary love story that suffers from performances that are inconsistent.

Words and Pictures

The latest film from Australian director Fred Schepisi, Words and Pictures follows English teacher Jack Marcus (Clive Owen) and Art teacher Dina Delsanto (Juliette Binoche), two opposites that argue over which is superior, words or pictures.

Dina is a new teacher at the school, whose bitter attitude clashes with the arrogant, egotistical Jack. They each suffer their own problems in life. Jack is an alcoholic that is on the brink of being fired and Dina has a disability that makes her incapable of painting the same masterpieces that she used to. Rallying the support of their students, the two create a battle of words vs pictures that is to culminate in a final showdown. 

The film has a few amusing moments, and the performances from both Owen and Binoche are really quite strong, but the characters themselves cause some issues for me which I think root back to an underdeveloped screenplay.

The issue with this film stems from the characters, specifically as they are presented in the first half. I understand the desire to portray a flawed character but we see nothing but their flaws in the first half. Jack is conveyed as just too much of an arrogant alcoholic and Dina as the angry artist troubled by her arthritis. We don't see the other elements that compose their psyches and hence they seem to lack depth. There is no chance for empathy from the audience as we just cannot help but dislike them. So when we start to see their other side, it's no longer believable and the rather touching new elements in the plot that build up a much stronger second-half, prove to be too little too late. The emotional power just cannot present itself honestly.

There's an underlying push towards the concept of the words and the pictures merging together but it's not subtle enough. The plot continuously attempts to inspire the viewer to explore the beauty of both words and pictures, which don't get me wrong, is a worthy cause, but the concept takes precedent over the development of Jack and Dina. It feels like it should be more of a character driven movie which utilises strong, multi-dimensional lead roles to weave it's intended message.

What we get is a film that attempts to be another Dead Poets Society (which it plays homage to with the Walt Whitman references), when it really should have found it's own voice through what is quite a strong premise that is delivered in a pretentious manner. This could have been so much more.

Better Call Saul stills and casting news

The reason I am bringing this news to you is because high-quality television can bleed into the same category as movies. And in the case of Breaking Bad and it's spin-off/prequel it can be better than most movies.

Breaking Bad writer and creator Vince Gilligan will return with Bob Odenkirk (Nebraska, Fargo, Mr Show) reprising his role as dodgy lawyer Saul Goodman in this prequel that takes place in 2002, six years before the original show. Jonathan Banks will also reprise his role as Mike Ehrmantraut. The rest of the cast will include Rhea Sheehorn (House of Lies), Michael McKean (Best in Show), Patrick Fabian (The Last Exorcism) and Michael Mando (Far Cry 3, Orphan Black).

No word on whether Bryan Cranston or Aaron Paul will be returning and to be honest I don't really think they would fit in the idea of a prequel. Let us know how you feel about these casting decisions and/or the idea of Walter White or Jesse Pinkman not being characters in the show.

The first season will be released in early 2015, with another expected to follow soon after.

John Hughes Month: Vacation (1983)

After Animal House was released in 1978 (and I promise to review that one of these days because it is hands down the funniest movie ever), there were a bunch of raunchy comedies that came out in the early-1980s. These comedies were influenced a lot by the (just new) sketch show Saturday Night Live. These films included Caddyshack (1980), Stripes (1981) and Porky's (1982) and starred actors like Bill Murray, John Candy and Chevy Chase.

Vacation (or to use it's full title National Lampoon's Vacation) is written by Hughes and based on a story he wrote about his own family's ill-fated road trip to Disneyland. Chevy Chase plays his most memorable role ever; family man Clark Griswold (changed to Griswald in the sequels) who just wants to please his family. This time around he has planned to take them all to Walley World in California.

Hilarious gags and mishaps dog them all the way, including tying a dog to the bumper on the highway, the death of Aunt Edna (Imogene Coca) and getting stuck in downtown St Louis, as well as many, many more, like that creepy incest joke.

In addition to Chevy Chase's wide eyed Clark, Beverly D'Angelo plays his long suffering wife Ellen and his two kids Rusty and Audrey are played by Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron. The two other hilarious performances come from Randy Quaid's idiot character Cousin Eddie, who is the biggest redneck ever, and John Candy's ultra-officious Walley World security guard. There are also two great cameos from model Christie Brinkley and future funny man Eugene Levy.

Verdict: Not a traditional John Hughes movie as such, but the more adult oriented vision is fantastic, especially with Harold Ramis' superb direction.

New Teaser Poster with Daniel Radcliffe in 'Horns'

A new poster has been released for Horns, Alexandre Aja's film which follows Ignatius "Ig" Perrish who starts to sprout horns after his girlfriend's mysterious death and experiences a public backlash against him. It stars Daniel Radcliffe as Ignatius and certainly looks interesting. I can't wait to see this one, but what do you guys think?

 Source: Empire

Steven Spielberg hunts the last Triceratops

So I am strangely posting some actual news and then comedy news with an entertainment twist at the end. Last week there was some backlash over a cheerleader who posted some photos on Facebook with animals she had hunted in Africa. Well, over the weekend creative Facebook poster Jay Branscomb posted this image on Facebook.

The caption below it says:

"Disgraceful photo of professional hunter happily posing next to a Triceratops he just slaughtered. Please share so the world can shame this despicable man."

While we at That Other Movie Blog know that this is a production still from the classic Jurassic Park, tell us how you feel about the killing of dinosaurs by Hollywood bigwigs. 

Trailers Week 1: 13/07/2014

Here's a new segment which we're going to release every Sunday (Australian time). We will present the latest trailers released that week that catch our eye and get us excited and hopefully you too.

The Zero Theorem
This is the latest film from visionary director Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) and will complete his trilogy of dystopian satire films that include Brazil and 12 Monkeys. It stars Christoph Waltz, Melanie Thierry, David Thewlis and Matt Damon.

Wild
What at first looks like the American version of the Aussie Tracks, Wild is based on the memoir by Cheryl Strayed, who hiked from California to Washington state. Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club) and starring Reese Witherspoon.

Exodus: Gods and Kings
This biblical epic about Moses is directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner). Like all epics it has an epic cast including Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, Sir Ben Kingsley, Aaron Paul, Sigourney Weaver and John Turturro.

Gone Girl
This isn't exactly the first time anything's been released from David Fincher's (Fight Club) upcoming thriller, but it's the first time I get to write about it. It stars Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike and Neil Patrick Harris.

All Is By My Side
A biopic about Jimi Hendrix's time in London before he released his first album. Starring Andre (3000) Benjamin, Hayley Atwell and Imogen Poots and is directed by the writer of 12 Years a Slave, John Ridley.

Unbroken
Angelina Jolie's second outing as director is based on Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini's time as a POW during World War II. It stars Jack O'Connell, Garrett Hedlund, Domhnall Gleeson and Jai Courtney.

St. Vincent
Bill Murray plays a gambling drunk who befriends a young boy who moves into the house next door. Co-starring Melissa McCarthy, Chris O'Dowd and Naomi Watts.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

The Planet of the Apes franchise has had a bit of a checkered history. It is generally agreed upon that Tim Burton's remake of the original 1968 classic was terrible, but prior to that there was a short series of films that directly followed the original, these being Beneath, Escape, Conquest and Battle (all with the of the Planet of the Apes suffix). Of these movies, only Escape from the Planet of the Apes was good. So I think we're kind of lucky that 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a success, especially after the franchise had died two times over.

Dawn begins a decade after Rise which ended with the hint of a virus which only affected humans was about to spread. Well this 'simian flu' (as it's called in this movie) spread and wiped out the majority of mankind. Caesar and the apes from the first film are living in a colony outside San Francisco. A group of humans led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke) stumble upon this group while trying to find a hydroelectric dam in the area and become the first humans to contact the colony. This contact, combined with distrust between the two groups, eventually leads to violence.

The evolution of the world between the last movie and this one is really amazing. The fall of human society while the ape one flourishes is a fantastic contrast. The humans don't want to return to the time just after the fall of society because they were no better than animals, while all that the apes want is a safe community where they can live.

Again there are references to previous Apes films. The opening scene is one of the apes hunting some deer. These techniques are the exact same that they will use to hunt humans in the original film. They now have horses, which is their preferred mode of transport in the original. Also the name of Caesar's wife(?) is called Cornelia, a homage to Cornelius the chimpanzee who helped Taylor the lost astronaut. There is however, no sign of the eventual status quo that we know the planet will eventually fall into, with the orang-utans as the leaders.

This cast almost reads as a who's who of my favourite actors. Aussie Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) leads the human cast superbly and his relationship with Gary Oldman pulled at my heartstrings at times. Keri Russell, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Kirk Acevedo (my all time favourite actor) round out the human cast.

But the most praise has to go to the actors who play the apes. Motion capture technology has come so far in my lifetime and it's only going to get better. Andy Serkis (Caesar) is so good at this now, it's second nature to him. His performance is unbelievable in this movie as are the others. Toby Kebbell (RocknRolla) and Judy Greer (Arrested Development) are also great, especially being the first time they've both done this.

Verdict: A great follow up to Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the series can only get better from here.

John Hughes Movie: Weird Science (1985)

Weird Science is definitely one of the weirder (pardon the direct reference to the title) creations of John Hughes. It is packed full of ridiculous scenarios that make you wonder just how he came up with them, whilst at the same time you're laughing your head-off at the often corny jokes that bring out your inner teenager, whether you want to or not!

After failing consistently to get the attention of the ladies and being bullied, two high-school nerds, Gary Wallace (Anthony Michael Hall) and Wyatt Donnelly (Ilan Mitchell-Smith), decide to make a virtual woman on Wyatt's computer, which they can ask questions, use to test pick-up lines etc. But things get out of hand when their virtual woman (Kelly LeBrock) comes to life. Lisa, as they call her, is not just a beautiful bomb-shell that is available to fulfil their sexual desires, but is highly intelligent and has superhuman abilities, both of which she uses to attempt to improve both Gary and Wyatt's lives.

This is, like most of John Hughes's movies, clearly aimed at teenagers but that makes it all the more hilarious and enjoyable. This scene of Lisa's creation, for instance is beautifully outrageous. It'll remind you of all the crazy fantasies that you believed were possible as a kid, bringing things to life with the touch of a button.  

The two bullies, Max (Robert Rusler) and Ian (A young Robert Downey Jr.) make great caricatures, and Bill Paxton plays Wyatt's idiotic, aggressive older brother Chet, who gets what's coming to him in the end, I promise. This is also a great performance from Hall, who portrays the ambitious yet awkward Gary perfectly.

It may not be as character driven as some of Hughes's other films but the events that these guys have to deal with prove very entertaining and there's plenty of fun, outdated special effects and awesome 80s music to keep you totally fixated.

If you saw this when you were growing up, you'll undoubtedly have fond memories of it, and if you're just getting around to watching it now then you'll get plenty of laughs out of it.

The Lunchbox

The Lunchbox is not another superficial romance that simply follows a clichéd boy-meets-girl plotline, but rather explores deeper themes that challenge us to think about our goals in life.

The film is presented through an epistolary structure and follows Saajan (Irrfan Khan), a middle-aged accountant who is plagued by loneliness, and Ila (Nimrat Kaur), a young wife who is experiencing troubles with her marriage. After attempting to re-kindle her relationship with her husband by cooking delicious lunches for him, Ila discovers that the lunches are being wrongly delivered to Saajan.

 The two begin to communicate through letters left in the lunchbox, and slowly start to pour out their inner-most feelings to one-another through their pens. The film deals with isolation, infidelity, retirement and the unknown but remains positive, despite these challenging themes. The connection that Ila and Saajan have with one another, reminds the audience that we share common concerns and difficulties in our lives, but that there is always hope with a fresh start.

This is a promising debut feature for director Ritesh Batra, who wrote the script with assistance from Rutvik Oza. The performances overall are generally very good, with a powerful portrayal of the despondent Saajan coming from Khan, whose previous works include Life of Pi, The Amazing Spider-Man and Slumdog Millionaire. Kaur is also very convincing, and there’s a surprisingly authentic performance from Bharati Achrekar as Mrs. Deshpande (Auntie) who we only ever hear from her apartment above, occasionally dropping her basket down with fresh ingredients.

This follows in the footsteps of Chef as another film that you really shouldn’t watch on an empty stomach. The scenes of food preparation and Saajan’s lunchtime are shot beautifully and really do make you water at the mouth. Though this is overshadowed as the characters start to read the next note, wondering what it says as much as the audience does. During these sequences the two inhabit their own fantasy world, conveyed through the sound design with, for example, songs that they are thinking of as well as the voiceover from the note overpowering the noise from their surroundings.

This is one of those films that finds the positives in its characters and always stays upbeat despite the sad and subdued nature of their lives. It’s funny and touching and leaves you with the hope that we’ll all find what we’re looking for in the end.

John Hughes Movie: The Breakfast Club (1985)

When it came out in 1985, The Breakfast Club was extremely popular and relevant and watching it now, thirty years later, that relevancy is still there. It deals with themes of broken homes, stereotyping and teenage rebellion with such grace and subtlety that leaves you with a truly satisfying feeling after the film has ended.

This is more a character movie than a plot movie. Five students get given a detention on a Saturday and have to endure it together. They each come from a different stereotype that teenagers generally fall into; a nerd, a jock, a criminal, a princess and a basket case (who is just an introverted kid). 

Over the course of the day these kids eventually learn that they each have something in common, despite their socially appointed roles that they think are so important. This is still something that pervades teenage culture today. The kids in the movie discover that these stereotype boundaries don't actually exist, although at the end of the movie they come to the grim reality that despite the time they spent getting to know each other, come Monday they will neglect to recognise that they are just the same as each other.

The other major theme is the idea of rebellion against authority figures. Early on this comes John Bender (Judd Nelson) "the criminal" against principal John Vernon (Paul Gleason). At one point in the film Vernon speaks about his difficulty relating and dealing with the teenagers. The kids also have trouble with their parents. It is hinted that Allison (Ally Sheedy) "the basket case" has an abusive home life. Both Brian (Anthony Michael Hall) and Andrew (Emilio Estevez) have undue pressure from their parents. Bender and Claire's (Molly Ringwald), "the princess", home lives can be summed up in this clip.

If there's one thing that is consistent throughout Hughes' movies, it's the soundtracks. And this is a great one. Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)" is a fantastic lead track in a list of songs that includes a lot of other 80's pop classics and themes from TV shows and other movies.

Verdict: Undeniably the best teen movie of all time that hasn't aged one bit.

New 'Guardians of the Galaxy' Stills

After the release of new trailers for Guardians of the Galaxy over the weekend, Marvel has provided Empire Magazine with exclusive stills from the set of the film. Guardians of the Galaxy is slated for release in the next couple of months, depending where you live. What do you think of the new stills? Do they tantalize your interest in the film? Head to the Empire article link below to see all of them.

Source: Empire Online

Jersey Boys

It's not that I don't like musicals, nor is it that I don't like the music of Frankie Valli, but something about this movie fell flat. At times it felt derivative and not of the musical in which it is based. Although I do admit it is a very interesting story of how the band, The Four Seasons, became popular.

The film starts in New Jersey in the early 1950s and shows how Frankie Castelluccio (John Lloyd Young) has started out working with friend and two-bit hustler Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza), who is also in a band. DeVito works under mob boss Gyp DeCarlo (Christopher Walken) who takes an interest in Frankie's ability to sing. Frankie eventually joins DeVito's band, which evolves into the Four Seasons over time. The film then follows the band through their rise to popularity and eventual break-up due to financial troubles caused by DeVito.

Although the film is based on a true story and musical, I felt as though Clint Eastwood was trying to emulate different films, in particular Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas. This is mainly because of his use of multiple narrators who directly address the camera. I can see how this works for the musical, each of the main characters having their own monologues to the audience, but I feel the constant breaking of the fourth wall sometimes took away from the story. Perhaps if it were just one of the characters narrating, I wouldn't mind it.

All the performances are spot on, especially Lloyd Young, who appeared in the original Broadway run of the musical. The performance I was a bit disappointed with was from Christopher Walken, who was just playing his character from True Romance. Eastwood even worked himself in with a cameo from one of his movies from the period.

I can't really fault the music because these are songs that have been popular for fifty years or more. Although I wasn't a fan of the encore at the end of the film. Here they bring out all the cast who appeared in the film. This works of course in a stage musical, but not in a film. It's not like we forget who these characters are and it leaves the film on a high note, rather than the sobering end that the previous scene would have left us with, which would suit the overall tone of the film.

Verdict: An inconsistant film adaptation of a musical that I'm sure works really well. Good performances and music help it only so far.