One of the best things about [amazon_link id=”B001KVZ6HK” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]The Avengers[/amazon_link] becoming a massive hit last year is that more people than just nerd culture want to know what Joss Whedon thinks about other Hollywood features. And true to form, he does not mind giving his blatantly honest opinion about things.
Take Star Wars for instance. In a recent interview with Digital Spy, Whedon was asked about J.J. Abrams’ upcoming Star Wars: Episode VII and what he would do with the universe were he in the director’s chair.
“You know, I wouldn’t go back, I’d go forward. I would want to create characters that would resonate the way that they did. I mean not that I don’t want to see the new movies, I would be excited to, but I also feel like I would want to explore a very different part of that universe.”
Whedon also gave his thoughts on the supposed Han Solo standalone film in the works (spoiler: no).
I am of two minds with Episode VII. On one hand it would be a true nerd moment to see Luke, Han and Leia on the big screen again, but the Star Wars universe is a vast place and to have new characters take over and be fleshed out in a new trilogy could bring back some of that old Star Wars magic.
Or they could just cast Olivia Wilde and put her in a slave outfit for 90 minutes and I will be there at midnight throwing my money at the glass.
Check out the Enterprise pulling a reverse Titanic in this new poster for Star Trek Into Darkness.
This looks to be from the beginning of the film where the Enterprise is hiding underwater so they remain unknown to a primitive culture keeping the Prime Directive intact and all that Star Trek jargon that you may not care about, but I do dammit.
Star Trek Into Darkness releases on May 17th.
In case you missed it over the weekend, here is the new trailer that shows a lot of action and new footage.
There are few directors that could be given $200 million by Disney to recreate the feel of a classic movie. Actually they gave Joseph Kosinski that to make Tron: Legacy, so maybe that money amount doesn’t mean what it used to. Sam Raimi is one of those directors that should be entrusted with that and it shows through in Oz: The Great and Powerful. Every penny is apparent on screen and even if the script or performances don’t break any new ground, it is a visual treat that should be enjoyed by anyone who remebers The Wizard of Oz fondly from their childhood.
If you are reading this review then I am assuming you have seen the classic film at least once and know the breakdown of what went on. Oz: The Great and Powerful begins much like Dorothy’s tale, in black and white. Oscar Riggs (James Franco) is a two bit magician in a traveling circus who has aspirations of great fame and wealth. He makes a quick escape from a strongman with a broken hearted sister in a hot aired balloon just as a tornado hits and he is whisked away to the colorful world of Oz. He soon meets Theodora (Mila Kunis), who tells him that he is the great wizard that the land of Oz has been waiting for to free them from the evils of the wicked witch.
Theodora’s sister Evanora (Rachel Weisz) is in the Emerald City and does not believe so quickly that this stranger is who he says he is. Little known to everyone in Oz, Evanora is, in actuality, the wicked witch and has framed her sister Glinda (Michelle Williams) for killing their father. She convinces Oscar to hunt down and destroy Glinda so she can have Oz all to herself. Evanora uses her sister’s feelings for Oscar to transform her into the true wicked with that we all remember from the classic tale. And yet with all the green makeup and weird facial features Mila Kunis is still hot. I would just have to act like I was Capt. Kirk and have some fun times with a green chick, but maybe that is just me.
Oscar ends up learning the truth and teams with Glinda and the citizens of Oz to battle the two evil witches. Which of course means a battle at then end of the movie. Like Alice in Wonderland, Snow White and the Huntsman and Jack the Giant Slayer, it must end in a big fight at then end with sneaking and misdirection winning the day. It does feel a bit familiar. But not so much that it detracts from the overall feel of the movie.
Photo courtesy hollywoodreporter.com
Oz does hit a stretch at the beginning of the third act that makes you think they were simply trying to extend runtime and show as much pretty on the screen as they could. It really could have used about twenty minutes trimmed off of the length and things would have moved along at a much smoother pace.
Make no mistake, this movie is pretty. Sam Raimi is a very visual director and it shines through when you watch Oz. There were some scenes that I can only imagine how headache inducing the 3D would have been. All the childhood remembrances are there. The yellow brick road, the emerald castle, the poppy fields and yes, flying monkeys that should easily scare the sh** out of your child.
There is no way not to watch this and not compare it to 2010’s Alice in Wonderland with one exception, I believe Oz holds up a bit better. That is to say that the performances in Alice (anchored by Johnny Depp) were superior to this, but the inner child hiding underneath all this bearded fury is more connected to the land of Oz from all the multiple viewings of The Wizard of Oz than Alice’s adventure. The look and familiarity of the world is much easier for me to connect with. Some people are cheshire cat people and some are munchkin all the way and I do love some midgets.
Look, if you are expecting Oz to be a movie that you remember ten years from now then you may be in for disappointment. Go into this with no expectations and you may be pleasantly surprised by it. It looks stunning on the big screen and while the main characters won’t exactly win any awards, all of the look, feel and imagination of the land of Oz is still there.
Like I said, it’s all familiar and sometimes that is not a bad thing.
A nice weekend surprise happened today when a new teaser trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness went online. It shows a lot of footage from the nine minutes shown in theaters this past fall in front of The Hobbit mixed in with more new footage. They manage to fit a whole lot into a minute an seventeen seconds.
The modern geniuses at Bad Lip Reading are back and this time they are taking on last year’s reboot of The Amazing Spider-Man. Well, more specifically, all the intimate scenes between Andrew Garfield’s Peter and Emma Stone’s Gwen Stacy.
I’d like to slap you boo.
Why?
I hate your food.
Can we give these guys a medal for winning the internet?
Do I have to tell you why I love Robert Rodriguez? Mainly because he likes to take the weirdest, drug induced dreams of people like me and make them a beautiful, deadly reality. Case in point of this is the poster above for Machete Kills, the sequel to 2010’s Machete which starred Mexican Chuck Norris and all-around great human being, Danny Trejo.
The next sentence is something I never thought I would ever type because it has remained only a figment of my imagination.
The poster features Sofia Vergara with a bra that has gatling guns attached to the front. Here is how I imagined this pitch going down:
Robert Rodriguez: I have an idea for Machete Kills.
Executive: Alright Robert, shoot.
RR: Remember how in Planet Terror I had Rose McGowan get her leg taken off an we put a gun on it?
Executive: I do!! That was one of the best thing about Grindhouse!!
RR: I’m glad you think so. You know Sofia Vergara right?
Executive: The hot Latina from Modern Family that I wish was my wife instead of the fresh death that I come home to everyday?
RR: Bingo! Well I am going to have her wear a bra with guns on the front so it looks like she is shooting bullets out of her nipples.
The first trailer for The Hangover Part III has The Wolfpack heading to Las Vegas again after the death of Alan’s father and Stu promises to burn it to the ground. There is definitely more gunplay than you’d expect and it seems like the third act may be going to a darker place to find its laughs. You can already tell by watching this trailer that they are going balls out and trying to show fans that this is not going to be a repeat of the first two.
After watching the trailer I think we should rename it Giraffe’s and Loathing in Las Vegas.
Living in the south, most people find it hard to…how do I say this….have different opinions and beliefs. So when my mother heard about Monty Python and the Holy Grail coming to her little southern theater in 1975, she had to hurry and see it before the (her words) “baptists got it shut down”. And as much as I would like to think strides have been made down here, there are many days and conversations that I hear that makes me think George Wallace is still alive.
Well get ready, cause here comes Rapturepalooza.
A comedy about the Rapture starring Anna Kendrick, John Francis Daley, Rob Corddry and Craig Robinson as the Antichrist. It seems the Antichrist is a fun loving guy that likes the finer things in life like nice suits and nuking Orlando and he has the hots for Anna Kendrick. Check out the red band trailer below and take a look at how the world ends. Not with a scream, but with shooting Jesus out of the sky with a laser gun.
To the rest of you who live in other regions….take me with you.
One of the biggest summer movies has been curiously absent from all the poster and trailer hooplah and that is The Hangover Part III. We have seen trailers for Iron Man, Fast & Furious 6 and Man of Steel, but not so much as a peep from the third film involving The Wolfpack.
Until today.
Warner Bros. has released the first poster which shows Zack Galifianakis as Alan and Ken Jeongs as Mr. Chow in a tense stare down with a burning Las Vegas in the background.
I like this. It is playing up the big summer movie spectacle of explosions and flying debris with odd lighting that is the staple of action movies today. Hopefully the third time will be the charm. While I laughed at the second movie, a second watching proved just how much of a retread of the first flick it was.
The Hangover Part III opens on Memorial Day where it will take on The Rock and Vin Diesel in Fast & Furious 6.
Apparently Disney has taken the patented “Harry Potter poster route” and plans to release twenty-three separate posters before the movie hits. This one has Tony and Pepper in an embrace. Tony better be careful because holding Pepper that close might become embarrassing.
DING
Yeah, I went there. An erection joke. You try writing a different post everyday for another Iron Man 3 poster.
