So I’ve tried my best to feature as many blockbusters in recent posts as possible but the truth of the matter is there are just too many good summer movies to count this year and it’s hard to fit them all in. Summer 2014 has an excess of superhero movies, comedies, and dramas, but the movie that I’m most excited for has got to be the Godzilla reboot. When people hear reboot they usually roll their eyes and say “here we go again”, but heres 3 reasons why the Godzilla reboot isn’t going to disappoint:
3. CGI has gotten really good
– In the past years CGI has gotten crazy good, bringing realistic worlds to the screen in a way like never before. CGI technology when the first Godzilla came out was horrible and made the monster look like an oversized nintendo graphic, but since the advances in software and technique have allowed post-production editors to make incredubly real looking creatures. Godzilla should feature just that.
2. Legendary Pictures is producing it
– The production company that made The Dark Knight Batman reboot the greatest reboots in movie history is responsible for resurrecting this franchise. Legendary pictures is also responsible for the success of Christopher Nolan’s hit Inception, so I think it’s safe to say they have a knack for making great films.
1. Bryan Cranston is in it
– No more needs to be said. This gets the Heisenberg seal of approval. Cranston’s tour-de-force acting will surely make this film memorable and from the looks of the trailer he plays a scientist, so Breaking Bad fans may see one last glimpse of Walter White after all.
I’m not usually a fan of musicals, but the recent trailer for the Jersey Boys film has got me pumped to see this Broadway hit on the silver screen. This might be in part due to my affinity for Jersey (I’ve lived there my entire life) but the real reason this film is on the top of my list for most anticipated movies of the year is because the great Clint Eastwood is sitting in the directors seat for this one. Clint’s directing has brought us masterpieces like Million Dollar Baby, Gran Torino, J. Edgar, and Unforgiven, so it’ll be interesting to see how the gritty filmmaker tackles a musical. If the trailer is any indication, Jersey Boys should prove to be a well directed film with great acting and even better cinematography.
Jersey Boys hits theaters this summer on June 20th.
When someone mentions the name Hunter S. Thompson people tend to think of two thing: the real life lunatic gonzo writer that has graced the literary world with unique works like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and The Rum Diary or Johnny Depp’s fast talking, scatterbrained character in the movie adaptation of Fear and Loathing, but fans of Thompson’s work never really stop to think about the man that drew the crazy illustrations that are often featured in Thompson’s novels. This summer that will change because there is a documentary on the horizon titled For No Good Reason about Ralph Steadman, the illustrator that is best known for his collaboration with Thompson and his distinct splatter -paint style of illustrating. The documentary features Steadman looking back on his long career and recounting the wild days of his youth when he was first beginning as an illustrator. This film will definitely satisfy Thompson and Fear and Loathing fans everywhere.
30 for 30s are great because they’re heartfelt and interesting tales that usually tell triumphs and tribulations from sports history in visually stunning ways. I mean they cover everything from Wilt Chamberlain’s adventures in the USSR to the origins of The Arnold Palmer drink, so what could possibly be better than a genuine 30 for 30? A fake one, so here are the three greatest 30 for 30 parodies to grace the internet and TV. If these don’t inspire you to join that intramural volleyball team then I don’t know what will
So I’m a little late to the True Detective game but having watched a solid 3 and a half episodes I have to say so far it’s pretty good. It’s no Breaking Bad, but it’s got a good storyline and McConaughey’s acting is superb so I can see why it’s garnered such a big following. The creators of the show recently announced that they’ll be taking the American Horror Story route and will change it’s cast and setting for season 2, which has led many to speculate who this new crime fighting duo could be. So far there have been no announcements about who will play the roles of these hard nosed detectives in season 2 so I thought it’d be fun to come up with 3 famous duos worthy of being the next tag team in the True Detective franchise. Here’s what I came up with:
Turner and Hooch
Sure it might seem a bit unorthodox, but I think Turner and Hooch are the obvious choice here. Turner could be Harrelson: a tough, hard working detective and loving father and Hooch could be his wildcard counterpart. Turner and Hooch’s chemistry would translate well to a miniseries and would finally get them the Academy recognition they deserve.
Clint Eastwood and his Imaginary Gun
If Clint Eastwood taught us anything in Gran Torino it’s your don’t mess with an old man and his finger gun. While technically not a duo, this choice would give Clint a chance to play an aging loner cop who’s got one last chance to prove he’s still got what it takes to take down bad guys. And let’s be honest, we all miss Clint’s badass side so this would be a great chance for him to bring his fury back to the screen.
Redford and Newman
Ok so this one is not possible, but imagine how cool it’d be if it was. Newman and Redford are the most manly duo the world has ever seen, so naturally they’d be a good choice for this one. They’ve experienced the wrong side of the law as cowboys and conmen, so it only makes sense they’d make damn good detectives.
People tend to go crazy when their favorite book finally becomes a movie. They either immediately love it (like Potter Fans) or are incredibly disappointed, but either way it’s always interesting to see how filmmakers adapt works of literary fiction on the silver screen. This year fans of prose are in for a treat because 2014 will feature a record number of book adaptations with titles like Mockingjay, The Giver, Divergence, The Fault in Our Stars, Gone Girl, True Story, The Hobbit, and Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day making their way to the big screen. It seems like the recent success of Silver Linings Playbook, the Twilight Series, and Great Gatsby has created a Hollywood trend in adaptations that doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon, which is great news for literature fans and film buffs alike.
A lot of films, inventions, and stupid endeavors are getting funded through Kickstarter, a crowd funding website in which people from the general public can give money to help fund a project towards it’s fruition, but what is kickstarter? Does it require batteries? And why did my neighbor use it to buy a burrito? If these are the types of questions plaguing your mind you’re in luck because I’ve made a video that explains how Kickstarter works by focusing on Zach Braff’s Kickstarter campaign for his upcoming Indie Film “Wish I Was Here”. Take a look to figure out how you can use Kickstarter to finally make that chair-fridge or sushi vending machine you’ve always dreamed of a reality. (Okay maybe not the sushi vending machine, but you get the idea).
May is gearing up to be a good months for comedy and superhero fans everywhere. May’s comedy slate consists of Neighbors, a film about Seth Rogen battling a neighborhood frat menace (played by Zac Efron) who is wrecking havoc on Rogen’s cul de sac with his wild parties and reckless antics. The film is being produced by Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg, the duo behind such hits as Pineapple Express (2008) and This is The End (2012), so it should stand out as a solid early summer hit. Family Guy and Ted (2012) creator Seth MacFarlane will return to the silver screen as a director/actor on May 30th in A Million ways to Die in The West, a film that appears to just be about the ridiculously dangerous nature of the wild west. A Million Ways will feature the likes of Neil Patrick Harris, Charlize Theron, Sarah Silverman, and the incomparable Liam Neeson. Based on the trailer the film will basically be a live action family guy story set in the west, so if you’re a fan of MacFarlane’s moronic unique sense of humor this is the film for you.
Super hero fans will get a double dose of Marvel next month with the X-men Brigade and everyone’s favorite webslinger Spiderman return to the screen within three weeks of each other. The Amazing Spiderman 2 hits theaters on May 2nd and features Spiderman (Andrew Garfield) pit against Electro, played by Jamie Foxx, in a battle royal that spans across the streets of New York City and features some other familiar Marvel villains. The X-men will hit the screen in X-men: Days of Future Past in a story that is just as confusing as the title sounds. The movie insider.com synopsis for the film states that “The story is partially set in an alternate future where surviving mutants have been penned in concentration camps, giant robots called Sentinels patrol America, and most of the X-Men have been hunted and killed. In the present day, the X-Men were forced to stop a key event from unfolding in order to keep that future from occurring”, so basically this is going to be a wild time travel story where nothing makes sense. Regardless of this I’m sure the film is going to have cool special effects, battle scenes, and some crazy explanations for why they had to time travel, so it’s worth seeing just for that. Days of Future Past hits theaters May 23rd.
I was on facebook the other day and saw that Seth Rogen was trending, so naturally curiosity got the best and I clicked to see what he was up to. I figured it was either a late night talk show appearance or an announcement about one of his several highly anticipated upcoming projects, but what I found surprised me. Rather than a clip of Seth making a weed joke or doing something strange with James Franco, he was sitting before a committee on CSPAN pleading for the government to allocate more funds for Alzheimer’s Research in what amounted to be a funny, yet incredibly heartfelt speech that was more genuine than any I’ve heard in a long time. Its no secret that in the public eye Seth is seen as the champion of idiotic humor, (which I guiltily must say I’m a fan of), and therefore, unfortunately, is sometimes scoffed at as nothing more than a juvenile comedian, but when Rogen addressed the committee during this hearing we saw a different side of him that isn’t typically displayed on screen: a human side. You could hear the passion in his voice when he discussed how this debilitating disease had slowly robbed his Mother-in-Law of the ability to walk, talk, and reognize her loved ones, and she him getting broken up discussing how difficult dealing with the disease had been on his family. I expected to get a laugh or two out of the video but by the end of it I was moved by Rogen ability to channel his frustrations with the lack of funding into a moving speech, which started to make me think about the influence artists have in philanthropy. Many of us look to entertainment as an escape, a chance in which we can leave behind our problems temporarily and enjoy the misadventures and dramas of others, but what would happen if we were to find a balance between entertaining and inspiring others to take action philanthropically? What could we achieve if each one of us lazy college students decided to dedicate more time towards changing the world in some small way through art? I pondered this for a little while until a trailer popped up in my newsfeed for a film called “Friends of Mine” (trailer below). The question I posed to the universe had been answered in a manner of minutes in the form of a Indie documentary Film trailer about college graduate Matthew Palmer’s journey to find happiness through working at a special needs summer camp. The trailer is as heartwarming and motivating as Rogen’s testimony and shows the personal growth that one undergoes through helping others and the impact that philanthropy can have on other people’s lives.
If a self proclaimed man child like Rogen and a college graduate lost in the world can make such philanthropic waves through film and media then what is stopping us from doing the same? The answer is nothing, so next time you see a cause that you truly care about think of how a man largely known for his pot smoking idiocy (Seth) is doing more to change the world than you are and go out there and do something about it. You’ll be glad you did. And if you want to check out Palmer’s moving documentary “Friends of Mine” check it out the film’s website for more information.
James Franco is a busy guy. He’s not busy partying in LA or lounging poolside like many of his acting contemporaries, but instead is busy taking classes at Yale and writing novels. In fact, he’s the kind of guy that is so busy that he once had to juggle taking classes at Columbia and filming 127 Hours by continually flying back and forth between New York and Salt Lake City just so he wouldn’t lose credit and fall behind in class. Needless to say this desire to be constantly learning, creating, and growing as an artist has earned Franco a renaissance man reputation and has left fans of his work interested in what the actor/director/poet/professor is doing next. If you are one of the many people interested in Franco’s upcoming projects here is a complete list of everything he’ll be working on or releasing soon.
First up is Franco’s Indie film Palo Alto, which is loosely based on his 2010 novel of the same name. The film was completely funded through donations on the website Indiegogo and was directed by Gia Coppola, the Granddaughter of legendary director Francis Ford Coppola. The film has been shown at a few small film festivals around the country but hadn’t been released in theaters, but a recent variety.com article revealed that Tribec Films have picked up Palo Alto as a distributor and is expected to hit theaters in New York and Los Angeles May 9th.
As if writing and starring in films isn’t hectic enough, this year Franco will break away from filming to make his broadway debut in a play adaptation of Steinbeck’s classic Of Mice and Men along side Bridesmaids funny man Chris O’Dowd and Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester. Of Mice and Men will debut on Broadway April 16th and is set to conclude July 17th. (For more information about Of Mice and Men check out this Broadway article). If by some chance you’re not able to catch Franco in this classic production, or just aren’t a theater/Steinbeck fan in general, fear not because he’ll be returning to the big screen this fall in The Interview, a film co-written by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, the comedy masterminds behind Superbad (2007), Pineapple Express (2008), and last summer apocalypse comedy This Is The End (2013) . Rogen is slated to co-star in the comedy alongside Franco as well as direct the film, so if your a fan of this hollywood bromance keep an eye out for a trailer in the coming months.
Sound Exhausting? Well that’s only the tip of the iceberg. In recognition of his eclectic artistry New York’s IFC Theater will be hosting a James Franco Film Festival exhibiting his past works and some of his upcoming projects that will begin March 5th. Franco himself will be in attendance and is expected to talk about the indie moviemaking process to those lucky enough to get tickets to the showings.
Another highly anticipated Franco project expected to begin filming this year is The Disaster Artist, a film Franco is set to direct, produce, and star in based on the recently published book of the same name written by Greg Sestero. The Disaster Artist is a behind the scenes memoir that looks at the making of the indie cult classic The Room, widely considered to be one of the worst films of all time for it’s horrible acting, plot inconsistencies, and strange subject matter. Franco is expected to star in the alongside his Brother Dave in the film, which as of now is still being written.
So there you have it: the incredibly busy schedule of James Franco. Are you wondering how he has time to do all this and still eat, sleep, and hydrate? You’re not alone. It doesn’t seem possible. But if you want to be even further amazed you can see a comprehensive list of Franco’s upcoming work on his IMDB page or take a look at this article from the Fontana Herald News.
