Coming to us straight from Comic-Con 2022, here is the teaser for the fourth film starring everyone’s favorite killer, John Wick! Keanu Reeves is back in John Wick: Chapter 4! And even better, Bill Skarsgard is with him!
(Or, actually, against him….)
Without further ado, here is the teaser!
Who would have thought that Keanu Reeves, who is apparently the world’s nicest movie start, would also turn out to be the most convincing action hero not named Tom Cruise?
Listen, I have no idea what films are going to be nominated for this year’s Oscars or next year’s Oscars. I really don’t. I can guess but I certainly am not a 100% certain about anything.
However, I do know that it seems like Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is being set up as next year’s big Oscar bait film. Along with featuring an incredible cast and dealing with an important subject, it’s also directed by a filmmaker who many (especially on Twitter) consider to be overdue for some Oscar love, Christopher Nolan.
Admittedly, of course, it takes more than Twitter excitement to turn a film into a hit and Oppenheimer could be a hard sell when it comes to filmgoers who are less into history and auteurs than the members of Film Twitter are. (Let’s not forget what happened with Damien Chazelle’s First Man a few years ago. Or, for that matter, Nolan’s Interstellar.) Personally, though, I’m rooting for the film. I like Christopher Nolan. I like Cillian Murphy. I like Emily Blunt. I want them all to succeed.
(Of course, I imagine a lot of the coverage will center on Robert Downey, Jr. and Florence Pugh and the phenomenon of two MCU starts appearing in a non-MCU film. Such is the way of most mainstream film coverage nowadays….)
The first poster for Oppenheimer was released today and it leaves little doubt that it’s a film about a man who was at the center of the development of one of the greatest and deadliest weapons ever created. A shadowy J. Robert Oppenheimer stands in the flames of his own creation.
Oppenheimer will arrived in one year, on July 21st, 2023.
David Gordon Green’s Halloween trilogy is coming to an end and, as a fan of the classic Halloween franchise, all I can say is that it’s about time.
Here’s the trailer for Halloween Ends.
Below, you’ll find the trailer for Curse of the Kraken. Humanity has been dumping trash in the ocean for so long that the Kraken has decided to toss it all back onto dry land. It’s also decided to use its tentacles to create some cartoonish gore.
Yes, this is apparently a real movie. And who knows? With the right attitude, it could be fun. I’ll watch just about anything.
I have one last trailer to share tonight and it deals with a far more important subject than either The Munsters or After Ever Happy.
She Said is about the New York Times’s investigation that brought down Harvey Weinstein and which launched the #MeToo movement. It’s an important story for a number of obvious reasons. Myself, I’ll be curious to see if the film is honest about how many well-known people, in both Hollywood and Washington, looked the other way when it came to Weinstein and who only turned on him once it was obvious that his time as a Hollywood and political power broker was over. Today, of course, everyone is quick to mention that they always hated Harvey Weinstein but that didn’t stop those same people from thanking him in their Oscar speeches or accepting his money when they wanted to run for office. A true account of Harvey Weinstein’s crimes will mean calling out a lot of people who, even after all this time, are not normally called out. I hope this movie has the guts to do that.
Here’s the trailer.
We’re still doing this, huh?
After Ever Happy is the latest installment in the After films. Hardin and Tessa continue to try to make their love work. One would think that the fact that they’re both totally shallow and uninteresting would make things simple but the course of true love is never smooth. (I imagine that’s why Batman’s never had a lover who survived more than two movies.) What type of title is After Ever Happy? Like what the Hell does that even mean? I could understand After Happily Everafter, even though that would still be a clunky title. But After Ever Happy? Also, could someone please tell the actor playing Hardin that it is possible to occasionally have a non-sullen facial expression. Hardin is rich, spoiled, and in love and yet he’s still such a whiny little bitch. And now he’s writing about it? Seriously …. GAG!
What?
Oh yeah, you better believe I’ll be seeing this movie.
Here’s the trailer for After Ever Happy!
And here’s a picture of Batman and Robin, because why not?
Yesterday, the trailer for Rob Zombie’s film reboot of The Munsters was released. Judging from the reaction online, you would think that it was some sort of crime against …. well, I guess humanity wouldn’t be quite the right way to put it. Still, I’ve seen people who are far older and I would think far more mature than me saying that this trailer shows that Rob Zombie has no respect for “the legacy of The Munsters.” Weren’t The Munsters just a dumbed down version of The Addams Family?
Anyway, I just watched the trailer and it really doesn’t look that bad to me. Of course, it doesn’t really look that good either. It looks like it’ll be one of those in-between sort of films that people talk about for a week and then forget about. One thing I do appreciate, though, is that it looks colorful. I get the feeling that Rob Zombie enjoyed doing whatever it was that he ended up doing with this film and, really, Zombie deserves to enjoy himself on occasion.
Anyway, here’s the trailer!
Yesterday, the great western character actor, L.Q. Jones, passed away. He was 94 years old.
Though he was probably best known for the films that he did with Sam Peckinpah and for directing the darkly humorous sci-fi film, A Boy And His Dog, Jones also appeared in Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film, Casino. Playing the role of county commissioner Pat Webb, Jones went toe-to-toe with Robert De Niro and more than held his own. Reportedly, Scorsese asked Jones to rewrite much of his dialogue, in order to give it a western authenticity,
From Casino, here is a scene that I love:
Though Ace would disagree with me, he really should have just taken Webb up on his suggestion to give his brother-in-law a “position further down the trough.” That pride was not only Ace’s undoing but also the end of Bugsy Seigel’s vision of Las Vegas.
Interestingly enough, this scene always makes me think of the scene where Sen. Pat Geary (also of Nevada) tried to bully Michael Corleone in The Godfather Part II. In that film, the Corleones were able to put the senator in his place. In Casino, however, it turns out that Pat Webb is right and Ace and the gangsters in Kansas City never really do figure out how things work in Vegas.
Last month, when I finally watched The Lost City, I had two thoughts.
First off, I thought it was a perfectly charming little movie, a well-made and unpretentious film that went out of its way to entertain its audience and which, for the most part succeeded. The film, which features Sandra Bullock as Loretta Sage, a reluctant writer of sex-filled romance/adventure novels, and Channing Tatum as Alan Caprison, an earnest but not terrible bright cover model, strikes just the right balance of adventure and comedy. Bullock and Tatum are charming together. Brad Pitt has a fun cameo as an ultra-macho wilderness guide who is hired to help track down Bullock after she’s kidnapped by a wealthy businessman who wants her to help him track down the fabled crown of fire. Daniel Radcliffe gives a nicely eccentric performance as the villain and, for once in his post-Potter career, actually seems to be having fun with a role. The jungle scenery is lovely to look at. Bullock’s purple sequin jumpsuit is to die for. Tatum shows off his physique. The jokes come fast, the action is exciting, and we get to watch two people fall in love. What more could one ask for?
My other thought is that The Lost City is a film that Sandra Bullock could have made at any point of her career. There’s never been a time when Bullock wouldn’t have been convincing in the role of Loretta Sage. It’s easy to imagine The Lost City coming out in the aughts, starring Sandra Bullock as Loretta and Brendan Fraser as Alan. Or perhaps even in the 90s, with Bullock and Matthew McConaughey as Alan. Much as Top Gun: Maverick does for Tom Cruise, The Lost City serves to remind us that Sandra Bullock is one of the last true film stars, someone who can effortlessly move from genre to genre without losing any of their onscreen charisma in the process. For audiences who have just spent the last two years being told that the world was collapsing and that nothing would ever be the same again, there is something undoubtedly comforting about films like Top Gun: Maverick and The Lost City. They are a reminder that yes, it is permissible, possible, and even necessary to just have a good time.
And have no doubt about it, The Lost City is definitely a good time. From the opening scene (which literally takes us into one of Loretta’s novels) to Loretta’s disastrous book tour to the eventual journey through the jungle, The Lost City is an entertaining film. It’s not a film that asks for much from the audience. There’s no complicated backstory. It’s not necessary to have seen 10 earlier movies and a miniseries to understand everyone’s motivations. There’s no bad CGI to challenge the audience’s willingness to buy into the story. The film gets the job done in a relatively brisk 112 minutes and, at a time when even comedies are regularly running over two hours, it’s hard not to appreciate the efficiency with which The Lost City tells its story. There is a mid-credits scene but it’s actually kind of funny. For once, the promise of a sequel feels likes something for which to look forward.
If you missed The Lost City in theaters, it can currently be viewed on Paramount Plus.
James Caan has passed away, at the age of 82. There are a lot of great James Caan performances to choose from and to highlight. For me, though, he’ll always be Sonny Corleone, the temperamental son of the Don who remains oddly likable, even as he cheats on his wife and threatens to kill every other gangster in New York. Sonny is a force of chaos, which ultimately leads to his untimely death. But, at the same time, it also makes him someone who you definitely fighting for you instead of against you.
The scene below is mostly cited for Al Pacino’s quiet intensity as he reveals that he’s truly become a member of the family. While Pacino’s great, Caan’s reaction is just as important.
In the scene below, Sonny discovers that Carol has been beating up Connie so Sonny beats up Carlo. Carlo really deserved it. Now this scene is often cited for featuring one shot where it’s clear that Caan didn’t actually hit Gianni Russo. That’s fair. But still, Caan actually did make contact enough times that Russo ended up with a broken rib. Look past that one shot and you’ll see that, in this scene, Caan clearly shows why Sonny was such a feared figure. Even more importantly, this scene shows how important his family was to Sonny. Who doesn’t want someone who would beat someone up for them?
And finally, in this scene, Sonny tells off the FBI. How can’t you love that? Apparently, the smashing of the camera was something that Caan improvised on the spot.
That said, there was a lot more to Caan’s career than just The Godfather. Watch all of his films. He was one of the greats and perhaps the only celebrity who was actually worth following on twitter. RIP.
Through the Shattered Lens 