Somebody alert Mia Farrow … here comes Sharknado 2

Posted on June 6, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

As our regular readers know, I love SyFy original movies.

Whenever people discover that fact about me, they always assume that I must have loved Sharknado. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Sharknado was film that tried to force snark as opposed to generating it naturally. One need only watch a good SyFy film — like End of the World — to see just how overrated Sharknado truly was.

But that’s the thing. Most of the people who rave about Sharknado have never actually seen any other SyFy films. To me, everything that I disliked about Sharknado was captured in the image of Mia Farrow and Phillip Roth live-tweeting along with the film. Everyone knows that Mia Farrow and Philip Roth had never watched SyFy before Sharknado and they’ve probably never watched it after. And, though they might not want to admit it, everyone knows that Mia’s Sharknado-tweets were pedestrian and predictable. But, because she’s kind of famous and Ronan Farrow is a thing, we were supposed to be impressed.

Meanwhile, those of us who actually put SyFy original movies on the twitter map, were expected to be thrilled that a celeb had decided to come hang out with the common folks.

If you’ve seen Sharknado but you haven’t seen End of the World or Battledogs, then you don’t know what you’re missing.

(Or what you missed since SyFy appears to be getting out of the original movie business…)

Well, somebody call Mia Farrow because Sharknado 2 is going to be premiering on July 30th. Judging from the trailer below, it appears that the entire cast will return for “the second one.” And make no doubt, I will be live-tweeting this film because somebody has to show these false SyFy fans how it’s done.

The Ghostbusters Return To Theaters on August 29th

Posted on June 5, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Photograph by Erin Nicole

How much is Ghostbusters a part of the American culture? It’s such a part that the decoration pictured above was the most popular thing in the neighborhood last Halloween. All through the month of October, people young and old drove up and down the street just to see the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man.

Well, come August 29th, those same people will have a chance to see him again because, in honor of the film’s 30th anniversary, Ghostbusters is going to be re-released. And, speaking as someone who has only gotten to see Ghostbusters on television, I can’t wait to watch it on the big screen.

And, since I love trailer, what better way to commemorate the re-release of Ghostbusters than be sharing the trailer?

Enjoy!

(Are you the Key Master?)

Photograph by Erin Nicole

Trailer #2: Hercules

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

So, apparently, somebody out there was very smart and realized that, as far as titles go, Hercules: The Thracian Wars was incredibly unwieldy. As a result, the film’s title has been shortened to simply Hercules, which is what everyone was going to call it anyway.

(Except for maybe the people of Thrace…)

Having watched this trailer, I really can’t say that I am in any way excited about the prospect of watching Hercules. I like Dwayne Johnson and this would seem to be a perfect role for him but the trailer just feels so generic that it could just as easily been a trailer for The Legend of Hercules.

Or, to put it another way, if I hadn’t already known that this film was directed by Brett Ratner, I would have guessed on the basis of the trailer.

Personally, I’d like to see a movie about Pandora and the box.

Trailer: The Green Inferno (2nd Official)

Posted on June 3, 2014 by Arleigh

Ah, the Italian cannibal subgenre of grindhouse and exploitation films. It’s been awhile since we’ve had something like this. Sure, we’ve had cannibal-based films throughout the years with some even becoming cult hits (I look at Ravenous as an example), but not one that takes it’s setting and basic plot straight out of the cannibal films of the late 70’s and early 80’s from the Italian horror filmmakers of that era.

Eli Roth returns to directing after a seven years in hiatus to give horror fans a taste of the old-school cannibal flicks with his homage to Ruggero Deodato’s classic grindhouse film Cannibal Holocaust. The interesting bit about Roth’s film is how it’s title actually is part of the homage to Deodato’s film which was originally suppose to be called….The Green Inferno.

This is the second official trailer for The Green Inferno and it even uses a quaint, serene song to open it up the way Deodato’s film and trailer for said film does over thirty years ago. We don’t see much cannibal feasting going on, but it’s hinted at that it’s what’s for dinner.

Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno is set for an September 5, 2014 release date in the US.

Trailer #2: True Blood Season 7

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here’s the second trailer for the 7th season of True Blood. It appears that the world might be ending but that’s not going stop Lafayette from going out with style.

Celebrate life!

The Eternally Frustrating Nicolas Cage

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Just put yourself in my 4 inch heels for a moment.

You’re a film blogger who, though her tastes may be quirky, can usually defend her opinions fairly well. You make an effort to see films that others may have missed and you pride yourself on your willingness to take and defend unpopular positions.

And let’s say that you’ve defied the conventional wisdom of so many of your fellow bloggers by declaring that Nicolas Cage is still a good actor and he still has something to offer the film world, beyond bad movies and weird performances. You’ve even reviewed a film called Joe and triumphantly declared that this film proves that Nicolas Cage is a “great actor.”

And maybe, when certain people on Facebook laughed at you for using the terms “great” and “Nicolas Cage” in the same sentence, you argued that Cage is about to make a Matthew McConaughey-style comeback. How? By playing challenging roles in intelligent indie films. You might have even said, “McConaughey had his Killer Joe and Nicolas Cage has Joe.”

And then this trailer for an upcoming film is released:

Nic, I still believe in you but, oh my God, you do test me sometimes.

Trailer: Snowpiercer (Red Band)

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Arleigh

Bong Joon-ho is a name that genre fans know well. He has made a name for himself in his home country of South Korea with such critically-acclaimed films as Memories of Murder, The Host and Mother. In 2013, Bong co-wrote and directed the adaptation of the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige. The film is his first English-language film and it has garnered much acclaim when it was released in South Korea in 2013.

Snowpiercer as the film has been titled will now make it’s North American premiere this year and with months of buzz following it’s Asian release many genre fans have been awaiting its arrival. It’s premise is simple enough and involves a train that never stops moving that circles the globe that’s going through a new Ice Age that has killed off most of the planet’s population save those riding on the global train.

It’s a film that explores that ever-popular subject of the “have’s versus the have not’s”. It’ll be interesting to see what new idea Bong Joon-ho brings to an old idea.

Snowpiercer is set for a US release on June 27, 2014.

Trailer: The Book of Life

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The trailer for The Book of Life, an animated film produced by Guillermo Del Toro, was released earlier today and oh my God, I am in love with it.

I love this trailer so much that I’m not even going to waste your time trying to be clever about it. Instead, I’m just going to invite you to watch.

Trailer: Kill the Messenger

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here’s the official trailer for Kill The Messenger, a film that has been getting some early Oscar buzz.

Apparently based on a true story, Kill The Messenger is about a reporter (played by Jeremy Renner) who writes a story accusing the government of selling cocaine in order to fund right-wing guerillas in Central America. Some awards bloggers have predicted that Jeremy Renner will be nominated for best actor, largely because he’s Jeremy Renner. Judging from the trailer, it looks like Renner gets to be intense and deliver a lot of passionate monologues, which is usually a pretty good strategy as far as getting Academy recognition is concerned.

That said, the trailer feels just a little bit generic. In fact, as I watched it, I was reminded of last year’s ill-fated box office bomb, The Fifth Estate. Every year, there’s an overtly political film that’s expected to change the world and win a lot of awards that then ends up sinking into obscurity because most people don’t go to the movies to learn a lesson. They go in order to escape from the very world being detailed in films like The Fifth Estate and, possibly, Kill The Messenger.

Will Kill The Messenger be this year’s Fifth Estate?

We’ll find out in October.

Teaser: Big Hero 6

Posted on May 27, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I really can’t claim to have the slightest idea what’s going on in this trailer but I still think it’s adorable, nonetheless. This film is scheduled to be released in November and it’ll be interesting to see how it compares to its potential Oscar rivals, The Lego Movie and How To Train Your Dragon 2.