James Gunn finally unleashes the first full teaser trailer for his upcoming space opera superhero film out on May 2017. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 remains one of the 2017’s highly-anticipated films and looking back at how the first film there’s a great chance this band of galactic misfits’ next adventure could join the billion-dollar club. Not bad for a film that earned its popularity on the shoulders of a talking, psychotic raccoon and a talking tree (if I remember correctly, that tree made Lisa Marie cry).
This teaser trailer definitely focuses on the smallest member of the team in Baby Groot and from the reaction on the internet since the teaser trailer’s release it might have just broken the internet in some fashion. The humor from the first film looks to return as well with the cast staying the same and more in tuned with one another.
As all teaser trailer should do, this one doesn’t reveal much of the film’s plot. Just enough action and great visuals to whet the appetites of those already eagerly awaiting the film to arrive.
Consider appetites to be whetted.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is set for release on May 5, 2017 in 3D and IMAX everywhere in the galaxy.
(Lisa recently discovered that she only has about 8 hours of space left on her DVR! It turns out that she’s been recording movies from July and she just hasn’t gotten around to watching and reviewing them yet. So, once again, Lisa is cleaning out her DVR! She is going to try to watch and review 52 movies by the end of Tuesday, December 6th! Will she make it? Keep checking the site to find out!)
On November 5th, I recorded the 1971 film Duel off of MeTV!
Duel tells the story of David Mann (played by Dennis Weaver). The name is probably not a coincidence. David is an “everyman,” if your idea of an everyman is a workaholic who is incapable of expressing his emotions. David is driving through the California desert. When he calls his wife (apparently, he left home in the morning without ever bothering to wake her), he tells her that he’s on a strict schedule and that he might lose an important sale if he’s delayed in any way. You get the feeling, however, that David’s trip is less about business and more about a desire to get away from his life. His conversation with his wife is strained and, when we watch him interact with a gas station attendant, we’re struck by how awkward David is.
Indeed, the only time that David seems to be really comfortable and relaxed is when he’s safely inside of his car. When we first see him, he’s listening to a radio talk show and occasionally commenting on what he’s hearing. David Mann has a better rapport with an unseen talk show host than he does with his own family.
Later, in the film, David is flagged down by a school bus that has stalled on the side of the road. The bus driver asks David to give him a push. For his part, David reacts with visible panic at the sight of several hyperactive children rushing towards his car. When they hop on his hood, David starts to frantically order them off. It makes sense really. The car is what he loves.
Of course, it’s not just bratty children that David has to deal with. There’s also a gigantic truck traveling up and down the highway. When David gets stuck behind the truck, he honks his horn. He yells at the unseen driver. He passes the truck at one point, just to have the truck promptly pass him so that it can continue to block him. When the driver finally does motion for David to pass him, David changes lanes just to discover another car coming straight at him.
The truck’s driver, it turns out, wants to kill David. Why does he want to kill David? We’re never quite sure. For that matter, we’re never quite sure what the truck is transporting, beyond the fact that it’s apparently flammable. But the brilliance of Duel is that it doesn’t matter why the truck’s driver is trying to kill David. All that matters is that he’s determined to do so.
And David — the man who can’t even figure out how to have a conversation with his wife — must now try to figure out how to defeat a seemingly unstoppable predator…
Today, Duel is probably best known for being Steven Spielberg’s first film. (It was a made-for-television production that got a theatrical release in Europe.) Watching Duel (and Jaws, for that matter) it’s easy to imagine an alternative universe where, instead of becoming America’s best known creator of mainstream entertainment, Spielberg instead became one of America’s best horror director. Duel is a suspense-filled thrill ride, one that’s scary because it remains rooted in reality. Seriously, who hasn’t gotten nervous when they’ve found themselves sharing the road with a gigantic truck?
(If anything, I’d argue that Duel is scarier than Jaws. I mean, I live in Dallas so it’s not like I have to worry about getting attacked by a shark. On the other hand, I drive my car nearly every day.)
Dennis Weaver plays the archetype of what would become the typical Steven Spielberg protagonist and he does an excellent job in the role. Weaver is on screen throughout the entire movie. We see the entire story unfold through his eyes and Weaver gives a harrowing performance as a man who is slowly but steadily pushed to the verge of a breakdown by an enemy that he cannot even begin to comprehend.
Okay, Oscar watchers, here’s another piece of the puzzle!
Earlier today, the 20 semi-finalists for the Best Visual Effects Oscar were announced! All of the films that you would expect are listed. And then there’s one that’s taking some people by surprise — Kubo and the Two Strings!
(It’s rare that animated films are ever nominated for Best Visual Effects. The last time it happened was back in 1993 when The Nightmare Before Christmas was nominated.)
Let’s return to those thrilling days of yore before CGI and enter the wonder-filled world of Special Effects legend Ray Harryhausen! I’ve covered some of Harryhausen’s fantastic work before (ONE MILLION YEARS BC , EARTH VS THE FLYING SAUCERS , THE VALLEY OF GWANGI ), and most of you regular readers know of my affection for his stop-motion wizardry. So without further ado, let’s dive right into IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA.
An atomic submarine picks up a mysterious large object on its sonar. The sub’s hit hard, and radiation is detected in the surrounding area. The damaged sub is taken to Pearl Harbor for repairs, and a substance found on it is determined to be from a “living creature” by eminent scientist Dr. John Carter (Donald Curtis) and beautiful marine biologist Prof. Leslie Joyce (Faith Domergue ). Sub Commander Pete Matthews (Kenneth Tobey ) and Leslie immediately butt heads…
(Lisa recently discovered that she only has about 8 hours of space left on her DVR! It turns out that she’s been recording movies from July and she just hasn’t gotten around to watching and reviewing them yet. So, once again, Lisa is cleaning out her DVR! She is going to try to watch and review 52 movies by the end of Sunday, December 4th! Will she make it? Keep checking the site to find out!)
On November 8th, I recorded the 1933 film The Emperor Jones off of Retroplex.
Based on a play by Eugene O’Neill, The Emperor Jones tells the story of Brutus Jones (Paul Robeson). When we first meet Jones, he’s at a small Baptist church. He has recently gotten a job as a Pullman Porter and the church’s congregation has gathered for his send off. He shows off his uniform. He sings a spiritual. The congregation blesses him and Jones swears that he will make them proud. However, soon after he starts working for the railroad, he finds himself in the city. Though he’s a hard worker, he makes the wrong friends. He falls for the beautiful but cold-hearted Undine (Fredi Washington). A fight at a craps gang leads to Jones accidentally stabbing his friend, Jeff (Frank H. Wilson).
Jones is sentenced to hard labor and finds himself working on a chain gang, where he’s watched over by sadistic and racist guards. Jones attempts to serve his time but, eventually, he’s driven to violence by the sight of a white guard beating another prisoner. Jones attacks the guard and then flees. Eventually, he escapes on a steamer ship. Quickly growing tired of shoveling coal in the ship’s engine room, Jones jumps overboard and swims to a nearby island.
On the island, Jones meets Smithers (Dudley Digges). Smithers is an alcoholic merchant who also happens to be the only white man in the island. Working with Smithers, Jones convinces the natives that he has magical powers and overthrows the island’s previous dicttor. Now thoroughly corrupted, Jones declares himself to be the Emperor Jones…
Interestingly enough — and this was probably especially revolutionary in 1933 — almost all of Jones’s corruption is learned from dealing with the white world. It’s through dealing with the condescending and wealthy passengers on the train that Jones comes to understand that money equals power. It’s from dealing with the white guards on the chain gang that Jones learns how people can be controlled through fear and brutality. By the time Jones arrives on the island, he no longer has anything to learn from the white world. Hence, Smithers becomes his servant.
(One thing I found particularly interesting, as I did research for this review, was that The Emperor Jones was banned in cities in both the North and the South. In the North, the film was often banned for its frequent use of the n-word. In the South, it was largely banned because of a scene in which Jones orders Smithers to light his cigarette.)
Seen today, The Emperor Jones is something of an oddity. On the one hand, it’s a very stagey film. The film’s origin as a stage play is obvious in almost every scene. On the other hand, it’s also one of the few films from the 1930s to actually feature black characters as something other than comic relief. If just for that historical reason, The Emperor Jones is still worth watching today.
It’s also worth watching for Paul Robeson’s performance in the lead role. Robeson, whose career was derailed by both his political activism and his refusal to accept roles that he considered to be demeaning, gives a powerful and empathetic performance. Towards the end of the film, Robeson gives a 12-minute monologue as he runs through the jungle. For 12 minutes, it’s just the viewer and Robeson (and the menacing sound of drums in the distance). As Robeson delivers his final monologue, he takes us on a journey through the Emperor’s mind, alternative between periods of delusion and moments of sudden clarity. Even 83 years after it was first filmed, it remains a truly impressive performance.
Keep an eye out for this fascinating historical document.
(Lisa recently discovered that she only has about 8 hours of space left on her DVR! It turns out that she’s been recording movies from July and she just hasn’t gotten around to watching and reviewing them yet. So, once again, Lisa is cleaning out her DVR! She is going to try to watch and review 52 movies by the end of Sunday, December 4th! Will she make it? Keep checking the site to find out!)
A friend of mine recently posted this on Facebook: “Name your vagina by using the last movie you watched!” While everyone else was able to answer with “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Christmas Vacation,” and “Zombeavers,” I was forced to answer “Ride Along 2,” because I watched it last night. If only I had held off on watching Ride Along 2, I could have answered Moana.
Oh well…
ANYWAY — I recorded Ride Along 2 off of HBO on November 11th. The main reason that I recorded it was because, at the time, I was panicking over the fact that the year is nearly over and there’s still a lot of 2016 releases that I haven’t seen. You know me. I’m a cinema completist and I like to see everything. As a result, I’ve been recording every single 2016 movie that I come across on cable, even if the film in question is one that I really didn’t have much interest in actually watching.
Like this one for instance…
Ride Along 2 is the latest entry in the ever-growing Ken Jeong Gets Kidnapped genre of action comedies. At some point in the future, film historians will wonder why Ken Jeong was always either getting abducted or arrested in violent comedies. I imagine that they’ll devote most of their time to studying The Hangover films and Community but they’ll still find some time to consider Ride Along 2.
In Ride Along 2, Ken Jeong is abducted by two Atlanta detectives who have come to Miami to investigate his boss, murderous drug lord Antonio Pope (Benjamin Bratt). The two detectives are James Payton (Ice Cube) and his future brother-in-law, Ben Barber (Kevin Hart). Of course, it’s really not important that one of them is named Payton or that the other one is named Ben. Ultimately, they are Ice Cube and Kevin Hart. Payton is tough and no-nonsense. Ben is short and outspoken and given to histrionics. Needless to say, the plot is mostly just an excuse for Kevin Hart to get on Ice Cube’s nerves.
And it’s all pretty predictable. There’s really nothing in Ride Along 2 that you haven’t already seen in a hundred other action comedies, including the first Ride Along. So, how much you enjoy this film is going to depend on how much you like Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, and Ken Jeong. (And I guess it might help if you’re a Benjamin Bratt fan as well. Are there Benjamin Bratt fans?) And, I will say this. Nobody glowers with quite the skill of Ice Cube. Ken Jeong may play the same role a hundred times but he knows what he’s doing. And Kevin Hart is actually a good actor, even if his films rarely give him a chance to show the full depth of his ability.
Ride Along 2 is predictable and kinda forgettable. It didn’t do much for me. But, at the same time, it’s thoroughly nonpretentious and totally inoffensive.
The Broadcast Film Critics Association have announced their nominees for the 22nd Annual Critics’ Choice Awards and here they are! Once again, in a pattern that will probably see repeated several times of this next month, the nominations were dominated by Moonlight, La La Land, and Manchester By The Sea.
FILM NOMINATIONS FOR THE 22ND ANNUAL CRITICS’ CHOICE AWARDS
The New York Film Critics Circle met today and announced their picks for the best of 2016! The awards were pretty evenly divided between the three films that are rapidly emerging as the early Oscar front runners — Manchester By The Sea, Moonlight, and La La Land!
Back in March, I attended the “Experience Hendrix” live show, featuring guitar gods Kenny Wayne Sheppard, Buddy Guy, Zakk Wylde, Dweezil Zappa, Jonny Lang, and others jamming to the music of Jimi Hendrix. But as they say “Ain’t nothin’ like the real thing, baby”, and the documentary JIMI HENDRIX: ELECTRIC CHURCH is a full-on aural assault chronicling Hendrix’ 1970 performance at the Atlanta Pop Festival.
Director John McDermott begins the film with some famous talking heads (Paul McCartney, Steve Winwood, Susan Teschi, Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, Rolling Stone writer Anthony DeCurtis), as well as residents of the tiny town of Byron, where the festival was actually held (and they seem to be having a ball reminiscing!). There are clips of Hendrix on THE DICK CAVETT SHOW and of segregationist Georgia Gov. Lester Maddox (who hates them damn hippies!).
Then it’s showtime, as Jimi and his band dive into classics like “Fire”. “All Along the Watchtower”…
Your cat’s depressed because you’re so depressed that you’re probably not feeding him on time.
I’m not depressed but I’m currently pretending that I am in order to show solidarity for the people.
Everyone’s depressed!
But you know what? No matter how depressed you are, don’t take it out on the movies. I actually had someone tell me recently that he didn’t see how I could worry about movies with so many terrible things happening in the world! Well, listen up — the world may be a terrible movie but movies help to make it a lot more bearable.
For instance, there’s Moana. Moana is the latest Disney film and it is a burst of pure joy, a wonderfully entertaining animated adventure that also carries with it an important, timely, and welcome message of empowerment. Some day, when I have a daughter, Moana is one of the many films that I look forward to watching with her. We’ll watch Moana and then we’ll watch Brave. And then we’ll close things out with Frozen. I can’t wait!
Now, I’ll be honest. The film’s plot, in many ways, sounds like almost every other Disney princess film. Moana (voiced by Auli’i Cravalho) is the headstrong daughter of the chief of a Polynesian tribe. Moana dreams of sailing to the ends of the Earth but her loving but protective father refuses to allow her to go beyond the reef. However, when a force of darkness threatens to consume the island that Moana calls home, she defies her father and sets sail with her pet rooster. The only way to stop the darkness is to track down a demigod named Maui (Dwayne Johnson) and go with him to return a sacred stone to Te Fiti, the island Goddess. (The stone is Te Fiti’s heart.)
Now, that may all sound like typical Disney fare but the brilliant thing about Moana is that it realizes that the plot sounds like typical Disney fare. When Moana finds Maui, he asks her where he animal sidekick is because all princesses travel with an animal sidekick. Moana argues that she’s not a princess but then realizes that, as the chief’s daughter, she kind of is. Moano is full of self-referential humor, the type that tells the audience that we’re all in this together.
Maui himself is a brilliantly animated, written, and voiced parody of the type of muscle-bound character who, in the past, would have automatically been this film’s main character. Dwayne Johnson has always been willing to have fun with his persona and he continues to do that with Maui. For that matter, Heihei the Rooster also pokes fun at the typical Disney animal sidekick. As opposed to the usual all-knowing, often snarky sidekick that we’ve come to expect from Disney, Heihei spends most of his time searching for something to eat. It doesn’t matter if it’s edible or not. He’ll eat it. As a result, Heihei doesn’t really do much to help Moana on her journey but he’s still adorable.
But ultimately, this film is all about Moana and what a wonderful character she is! Strong, independent, intelligent, and occasionally just a little unsure of herself, Moana is perhaps the most 3-dimensional Disney character since Brave‘s Merida. It’s her character (and Auli’i Cravalho’s voicework) that brings the film its humanity and makes it a truly special viewing experience.
Moana is wonderfully animated and if you don’t fall in love with the coconut pirates then there is no hope for you. (Is this film worth seeing in 3D? I would say that it is.) The insanely catchy songs are provided by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Opetaia Foa’i and I’m looking forward to the inevitable Broadway adaptation.
So, seriously — stop feeling sorry for yourself for two hours and go see Moana! You’ll be glad you did.
