An Ode To Nathan Rabin

It occurred so suddenly as to leave me in shock. On the night of April 29, 2015, Nathan Rabin's Twitter bio said it as plainly as could be: "Former Dissolve writer". This was no mix-up, no social media snafu, one of my favorite film critics on the interwebs would no longer be a part of the website The Dissolve. I'm sorrowful that Rabin will no longer be a part of that particular website, but I'm confident he'll find work elsewhere. A man with his kind of talent is bound to wind up somewhere that's beneficial to his talents eventually. That kind of talent was, truth be told, influential in me becoming a film critic. For me in the past and the present, reading Rabins work was an eye-opening experience that was influential in making me want to pursue a career in film writing.

So, Just How Big Is The Avengers: Age Of Ultron Gonna Be This Weekend?

Here it is, the big one. What's likely to become the biggest opening weekend of 2015 is about to arrive, and I'm sure you can guess that The Avengers: Age of Ultron will be responsible for that mammoth haul. The question is though, how much can it make? Well, let's take a look at that question in this weeks edition of Box Office Predictions!

How Did Guardians Of The Galaxy Blow Past All Expectations?

PHASE TWO

Miracles

"Ah, what the hell, I don't got that long a lifespan anyway."

Unlike all the other entries in this Make Mine Marvel series, I've already reviewed Guardians of The Galaxy on this website, so I decided to change things up a bit for this particular essay and take an in-depth look at how Guardians of The Galaxy became such a huge hit last summer. Prior to last August, nobody knew what a Groot was, how Gamora and Nebula were related or that raccoon's had a compulsion for metallic limbs, but by God, they do know.

The Trailer For Irrational Man Brings Woody Allen And Joaquin Phoenix Together

Seeing Midnight In Paris back in 2011 is easily one of my favorite theatrical experiences ever. I had never seen a Woody Allen movie before, so witnessing the writer/directors work in the context of that endlessly charming 2011 movie was quite an adventure. That sort of memory isn't the only reason I'm excited for Allens next movie, Irrational Man; this new feature also pairs up two of my favorite actors, Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone! A trailer for this film has been unveiled, and you can watch it below!

Extract Review (Classic Write-Up)

Extract, Extract, Read All About It!

Once I finished watching Extract, I was left with this peculiar sense of unfulfillment. It's not that this 2009 Mike Judge feature was particularly bad or something, it's just that, by the end, very little of notable value had really happened. The characters weren't that notable, the laughs weren't too hearty and the plot didn't feel particularly exceptional. In fact, the story, in its execution, struck me as fodder for an episode of a sitcom in its seventh season than a major motion picture.

Behold! The Awesomeness of Captain America: The Winter Soldier!

PHASE TWO

Miracles

"The price of freedom is high....and it's a price I'm willing to pay."

Continuing the saga of the three individual Avengers with ongoing franchises after the release of The Avengers was a daunting task, but it's interesting to see how each of the post-Battle of New York continuations went in a unique direction with their respective superheroes. Iron Man 3 went deeper into the existentialism of its titular character, while Thor: The Dark World took time to look at how a massive event like the one that brought The Avengers together would affect Thor and Loki as brothers.

Why Is Thor: The Dark World Such A Marvel Misfit?

PHASE TWO

Miracles

"This is so unlike you brother! So clandestine!"

Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe won't be complete until Ant-Man goes on his epic first adventure in July. Even with that mind, it feels like Thor: The Dark World is likely to become the lowest grossing movie in this phase of the MCU domestically (Ant-Man has a good shot at going lower, but it has summer weekdays that Thor 2 didn't have to boost its grosses). Thanks to this, it's been deemed one of the lowly entries of the entire MCU, to the point where Entertainment Weekly dubbed it the "Batman & Robin" of this franchise last year.

Iron Man 3 Is Not A Film That Likes To Play Things Safe

PHASE TWO

Miracles

"Is that all you've got? A cheap trick and a cheesy one-liner?"
"Sweetheart, that could be the name of my autobiography!"

The Avengers wasn't just greeted with decent box office when it debuted in May 2012, no no, it pretty much crushed all its box office competitors and seized any box office record in its path. Becoming the (currently) third biggest movie of all-time domestically and worldwide, the world was clamoring for more adventures with these Marvel-ous superheroes, and they got their wish when Iron Man 3 debuted the following summer.

While We're Young Review

Hip To Be Square

Ben Stiller has built an entire career on playing the casual everyman, the kind of guy who thrives on routine and doesn't want irregularities or anomalies interrupting his existence. There are certainly exceptions in his vast filmography (namely in his character Derek Zoolander and his Anchorman cameo where delivers the immortal line "Buenos noches bitches!"), but that kind of calm yet easily flustered persona has dominated his work in recent years. It's the kind of role he reprises in While We're Young, though this particular feature allows for a bit more depth to be applied to this archetype.

The Magnificence Of The Avengers Stems From Its Energetic Joy

PHASE ONE

Discovery

"The Avengers. That's what we call ourselves. Earth's mightiest heroes type thing."

There's a lot of different emotions that can be expressed through the storytelling medium of summer blockbusters, but perhaps the most pivotal is that emotion of wonder. It can certainly be felt during any kind of film (I know I felt it during recent dramatic masterpieces like Boyhood and Her), but the way summer blockbusters call up that emotion is quite notable. It's that feeling that creeps up your shoulder, as the visuals on that enormous movie theater screen seem to be a gateway to the kind of unbelievable images you've only dreamed of. The perfect example of this kind of phenomenon is that incredible moment in Jurassic Park where Alan Grant and Ellie Satler see the titular theme parks dinos for the first time.

The First Photo of Jared Leto As The Joker Has Arrived!

With Batman v. Superman coming out next year, it's hard to remember sometimes that, hey. there's another DC Comics film headed your way as well! That other feature is the Suicide Squad, which centers on a group of various supervillains, including Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), who do government issued missions. One member of the films cast is The Joker, played by Jared Leto, and you can see the first photo of him (which David Ayer, director of the movie, tweeted out tonight) below!

A Little Bit Stronger Is Incredible, Country Strong Is Terrible. It's An Interesting Dichotomy

Welcome to a new bi-weekly column called When Good Songs Happen To Bad Movies, in which I look at pretty well done songs that just so happened to debut in more subpar features.

First off, I'll freely admit this one's a bit of a cheat, since A Little Bit Stronger debuted as a single in September 2010, a few months before Country Strong's release, but it was still released again at a later date as a single from the movie, so I'll count it for this column. Plus, it gives me a chance to talk about one of the "sleeper" bad movies of recent years, which really deserves a more prominent reputation for it's awfulness: Country Strong.

Captain America Was Successfully Brought Into The 21st Century With A Retro Approach (Make Mine Marvel)

PHASE ONE

Discovery

"Whatever happens tomorrow, you must promise me one thing. Stay who you are. Not just a soldier. But a good man."

One of the weirdest criticisms I've heard about Marvel Studios and their films is that they have a "house style", which strikes me as kind of a peculiar criticism. I mean, sure, all the movies under the studio are PG-13, and typically have action in them, but a major part of why these features have become such enormous successes is because of the variety of tones, environments and aesthetics each individual project has. Even the action elements can deviate from movie to movie; Guardians of The Galaxy, as one might imagine, dishes out more sci-fi enhanced violence than Iron Man 2 for example.

Thor Took The Marvel Cinematic Universe To Exciting New Realms (Make Mine Marvel)

PHASE ONE

Discovery
"Whoever wields this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."

Last summer, everyone was in a tizzy over how Guardians of The Galaxy was pretty out-there for a conventional summer blockbuster, and while that film was truly unique from its typical summer blockbuster brethren, at least that one had the post-Avengers Marvel brand to give it a boost. Back in 2011, I was pretty much certain Thor would fail to muster any kind of notable box office or critical reception. Here was a film where a guy with a giant hammer would ride a rainbow bridge to fight ice monsters and his brother, who is prone to donning a horned helmet.

Johnny Depp Gets Dramatic And Intimidating In Black Mass Trailer

Let's not kid ourselves here; Johnny Depp has had a helluva few years, with duds like Transcendence and Mortdecai tarnishing his reputation. But director Scott Cooper (responsible for two dramas I consider quite underrated, Crazy Heart and Out of The Furnace) is handling his newest film, Black Mass, where Depp plays Whitey Bulger. It's a unique role, one that goes for a much more dramatic approach than Depps past films. Give the first trailer for the film, which comes courtesy of Rope of Silicon, a watch, and then catch my thoughts on the footage beneath that.

Iron Man 2 Has Some Ideas Of High Quality, The Problem Is There's Too Many Ideas Overall (Make Mine Marvel)

PHASE ONE

Discovery

"All I have to do is sit here and watch, as world consumes you."

After Iron Man shattered every box office expectation in 2008, there was no question that a sequel was to come. The Monday after Tony Stark's first movie opened to $98 million, Marvel announced four new movies, one of which was of course Iron Man 2, set for April 30, 2010. The date moved up one week to May 7, but another big adventure with everybody's favorite genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist did indeed arrive in 2010.

What Exactly Was The Incredible Hulk? (Make Mine Marvel #2)

PHASE ONE

Discovery

"I don't want to control it. I want to get rid of it."

The filmography of Marvel Studios is still so small (Age of Ultron will be only the eleventh film from the company) that it truly is surprising, especially when considering their tremendous influence on the pop culture zeitgeist, that one of their big budget summer blockbusters could slip through the cracks and become relatively forgotten. But that's the fate that has befallen The Incredible Hulk, a 2008 attempt to revive the beloved character of The Hulk after the 2003 feature from Ang Lee went nowhere except for the $5 dollar Blu-Ray bin at Wal-Mart.

Unbreakable Review (Classic Write-Up)

Break Away

When I saw Unfriended this past weekend, I was shocked to see a trailer I (GASP) hadn't seen seen on the internet beforehand. The trailer was for The Visit, a found-footage(?) horror film from M. Night Shaymalan that was chock full of stupidity and terrible dialogue (the best bad line is easily "Would get into the oven to clean it?", which is delivered in a way that briefly makes it seem like the sentence will conclude with the word over) and reminded me of how far M. Night Shyamalan had fallen in recent years.

Pan Will Fly Off To Neverland In October

Looking over the 2015 release schedule, I was surprised to see Warner Bros. had nothing planned for October 2015. Considering they release more movies in any given year than any other studio, it was surprising they didn't have anything up their sleeves for October. That's changed today, as their reinvention of Peter Pan will arrive now on October 9, 2015.

Iron Man's Influence Spread Far Beyond Its Own Cinematic Universe (Make Mine Marvel #1)

PHASE ONE

Discovery

"Iron Man. That's kind of catchy!"

Looking over the history of superhero films, there is no more important time period than the summer of 2008, wherein five very different superhero films debuted over the course of 12 weeks. One, Hancock, was not based on any preexisting property, while another, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, delved into Guillermo Del Toro style fantasy with aplomb. The differences between just these two movies is vast, but tossing in the other three that premiered over the summer just shows how wide in storytelling scope the framework of superhero cinema can be.