Land of The Nerds: July 2014

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Box Office Predictions: Guardians Will Be Hooked On Top Of The Box Office

Only two new wide releases this weekend, but one of them is a doozy. The latest Marvel Cinematic Universe feature Guardians of The Galaxy hits 4080 theaters after a huge marketing campaign. The James Brown biopic Get On Up will attempt to counter program Rocket Raccoon's exploits, but how much will each movie make? Read on to hear my predictions!

Film is an incredible tool to convey any kind of story you can imagine. Perhaps you want to create an exhilarating story about six superheroes defending New York? Or how about a beautiful yarn about Joaquin Phoenix falling in love with a piece of artificial intelligence? Zach Braff, in his second directorial effort, acts like he's saying something truly masterful and thoughtful in every single second of Wish I Was Here. But instead of making the production feel insightful, it just makes sure every moment is laced with arrogance.

With a ton of big new movies like Guardians of The Galaxy and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles coming out, movie studios have been putting out numerous new trailers this week for major upcoming releases. Since the Ninja Turtles is a Nickelodeon Movies production, I suspected that its arrival would mean the release of a trailer for SpongeBob Squarepants newest cinematic endeavor.

I absolutely love not only the first SpongeBob movie, but the first three seasons of the show. That Television show honestly had a greater impact on my generation than few other shows did. Sadly, after the movie came out, the creator of the program, Stephen Hillenburg left, as did numerous other writers on the show. Their exit meant the program lost much of its humor and appeal, and has been pretty much churning out dud episodes for ten years now. Can this new movie bring back the spark I wondered as I watched this new trailer, which you can see below.

Franchise Frenzy: Ice Age

Welcome to Franchise Frenzy! Every other week I post a column analyzing the quality and pop culture impact of a certain Hollywood franchise. This week, I put on a winter coat in July in order to make my way through the Ice Age franchise.

In 2002, CGI animated films were scarce, with DreamWorks only having released two of them at that point, Disney Animation doing only one and even PIXAR only having four of them under their belt at that point. Aside from the occasional Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, the landscape for CGI animated features was vacant. Enter Blue Sky Studios, whose first feature Ice Age became the cornerstone of the company. They've very rarely stepped outside of that franchise comfort zone (pity too, as aside from Rio, their other non-Ice Age movies range from diverting to endlessly charming), but if every single entry in this series was as strong as the original, I doubt any of us would complain.

Matthew McConaughey has become one of the best actors working today, Christopher Nolan is a director that never fails to break new ground with his filmmaking and the wonders of space have always fascinated me. Any one of those elements on their own can make for a compelling movie, but combining 'em all together. That's a movie I just gotta see! My anticipation for that particular movie, called Interstellar, just released a new trailer today that's guaranteed to fire up your emotions. Check it out at the films official website, http://www.interstellarmovie.com/ and then type in the code 7201969.

I have a soft spot in my heart for the first two Night At The Museum movies. They're just clever and fun endeavors that contain some great actors (Amy Adams, Hank Azaria, Steve Coogan, Owen Wilson) yukking it up as recognizable characters from history. I actually thought 20th Century Fox was letting the franchise go after the second movie in 2009, which I thought a nice gesture on their part. Unfortunately, the franchise is back, and boy howdy does it look bad. Check out the trailer below and prepare for a rant of mammoth proportions.

So, I Was On Netflix: The Frozen Ground

There's few other actors that I pity more than Nicolas Cage. I really wish he could make a comeback from the rut he's been stuck in since 2010, when The Sorcerers Apprentice signaled the start of a dark period for the actor that's been chock full of box office and critical flops. Which is a shame, because the dudes actually a really talented actor. His devotion to any role is to be admired, as even in abysmal movies like Ghost Rider 2, Nicolas Cage just commits. Sometimes that delivers good acting, sometimes acting that's lacking, but most of his work displays some noticeable level of craftsmanship that is to be admired.

Lots of YA Novels are being translated to the screen this year, in hopes of jump-starting a new franchise. Mixed results have come from these movies, at least in 2014; Divergent and The Fault In Our Stars made big bucks, but Vampire Academy flopped big time. In terms of quality, I loved Fault, didn't care for Divergent, and didn't even bother with Vampire Academy, but just like superhero movies, it's each movies unique plot and not the exact genre these films belong to that lure audiences into the theater.

The Final Hobbit Movie Gets A Beautiful Trailer

I've actually really enjoyed these Hobbit movies. The first one's overlong, but there's still tons of great creatures and fun sequences to counter that. The second one though was truly fantastic, especially thanks to Smaug the dragon and some well done character moments. I've been eager for the third movie, and this trailer only heightens that feeling. Check it out below.

An extraordinary movie is out right now in about 107 theaters, a movie called Boyhood. It's an astonishing film, one that everybody should see, but as the amount of theaters suggests, many can't yet. Luckily, it's doing gangbusters so far, including this past weekend where it made $1.7 million at its small amount of locations (which includes a $16,121 per theater average, indicating excellent attendance), so expansion should be coming quickly.

Lucy Review

Big, Bold And Boring

Remember that scene in Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace where Qui-Gon Jinn explained Midichlorians to young Anakin? It gave a dull explanation as to how The Force exactly worked, irking fans and casual moviegoers alike. Sometimes explanation is nice, but most of the time, moments full of heavy handed exposition regarding how exactly things work in a movie becomes more cumbersome than enlightening. Lucy is pretty much a 90 minute long Midichlorian sequence, despite some ambitious filmmakings choices and the presence of Scarlett Johansson.

This is the greatest thing I have ever seen. That is all

Comic-Con is all wrapped up now, but the memories will live on forever, namely the ones that occurred about 24 hours ago, when Marvel Studios took the stage to make another memorable panel in Hall H. The studio is pretty much the king of Comic-Con at this point, and they affirmed such a status by showing off footage from The Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man.

Warner Bros. Brings Wonder Woman, Hobbits and Channing Tatum To Comic-Con

Gal Godot as Wonder Woman

I'm not down in San Diego this weekend, but I am obsessing over everyone else live coverage of each and ever panel taking place at Comic-Con. And one of the biggest panels of the event happened just this morning; the one dedicated to Warner Bros. and their upcoming films. The three they noted they were bringing beforehand were Jupiter Ascending, Max Max: Fury Road and The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies.

Hercules Review

Zero To Nowhere Near Hero, But Not Too Bad Either

This Dwayne Is On Fiiiiirrrrrreeee

Despite the fact that it's a $100 million movie starring Dwayne Johnson released in late July, the best parts of Hercules are simply the bits when the movie explores what differentiates this version of Hercules from past incarnations. This actually isn't sarcasm, there are some really unique ideas in this scripts written by Evan Spiliotpoulos (whose previous major screenwriting cred it was Poohs Heffalump Movie) and Ryan Condal. Perhaps the best scene of the entire film is a bit where the nephew of Hercules, Iolaus (Reece Ritchie) explains to a dubious general that the reason Hercules was able to penetrate the skin of an impenetrable boar was by the use of an impenetrable sword.

Editorial: Why The Inevitable End of Home Video Is Good For Fans of Home Video

SO HIDEOUS

For years now, people have been calling out home video as something that's on its last leg, just gasping its last breath before being replaced by Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu and the like. Unlike other similar declarations, that actually does seem reasonable, considering how much home videos sale have dipped in recent years. And interestingly, studios seem to have also gotten the memo things are gloomy for the home video department, because their upcoming home video releases for their numerous summer blockbusters are...unique, let's say.

Box Office Predictions: Scarlett Johansson Should Beat Up Dwayne Johnson This Weekend

Three new releases (and one expanding release) enter the box office in hopes of recovering from that abysmal showing last weekend. Luckily, Lucy looks poised to deliver impressive numbers, though Hercules looks like it'll be a flop.

There's actually a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff about Oldboy that are kind of fascinating to consider, at least to a film nerd like me. For instance, this was the first non-Neil Blomkamp directed film Sharlto Copley appeared in since 2010's The A-Team. Also, director Spike Lee apparently had a lot of conflicts with the films distributor FilmDistrict, a studio that released this over Thanksgiving 2013 to minimal promotion and only a 583 theater count. And finally, this was the last movie FilmDistrict released as a studio, with several completed movies they already made like That Awkward Moment and Walk of Shame being taken over by Focus Features.

Comic-Con starts today, and as one might expect, Marvel Studios has quite the presence there. They'll be presenting their panel in Hall H Saturday, which will show off their upcoming slate of films. Just ahead of that, they've not only added numerous dates to their schedule, but also released Comic-Con exclusive posters for the two movies they'll be promoting the most at their panel; The Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man.

More Jack Sparrow, Sinister Six And Spider-Man Adventures Have Release Dates

Pirates of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides made over $1 billion dollars worldwide, easily making it a profitable venture, while The Amazing Spider-Man 2 crossed $700 million back in May. Normally, that would make those two smash hits, the kind of movies every studio in town would want. But there was a problem; both hit domestic box office and critical lows for their respective franchises.

In recent years, country music has really begun to break out into mainstream music in ways previously unheard of (unless you were named Garth Brooks of course) Namely, artists like Taylor Swift and Rascal Flatts really managed to break through onto light rock and pop music stations retaining their lyrics, but making some minor adjustments. You see, on non-Country stations, instruments that I suppose have more of a "Country" sound to them (which I notice is usually guitars) is usually dropped in order to appeal to the masses.

So, I Was On Netflix: Punch-Drunk Love

Each Tuesday I review a film that can be found on Netflix Instant Streaming. This week, I take a gander at Adam Sandlers 2002 foray into the world of dramatic acting.

Me and Adam Sandler don't get along...at all. But I had constantly heard good things about his dramatic work, which he's dabbled in occasionally (he hasn't done that since 2009, but he is in two upcoming dramas that should be out sometime in 2014 or 2015) I was dubious, solely because the likes of Grown Ups 2 did not inspire confidence that this guy could do more than somehow con the likes of Shaquille O'Neal to appear in his flicks on a consistent basis.

Hera, one of the new characters on the show.

I absolutely loved Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and was super sad to see it go. The major reason the team behind that show called it quits was to start up the first major project between Lucasfilm and Disney: Star Wars: Rebels. This CGI animated TV show will start airing regularly on Disney XD shortly after an hour long special debuts on Disney Channel in October. Just before its presentation at Comic-Con this weekend, Disney has debuted an extended trailer you can watch below.

Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J and Ty Dolla $ign Follow In The Footsteps of Vanilla Ice By Rapping About Ninja Turtles

Like fellow August film Guardians of The Galaxy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has to be one of the more bizarre films opening up in the summer of 2014. This is movie, after all, where Megan Fox and Gob help a Johnny Knoxville voiced turtle fight a robot. And there's three other turtles. And pizza. And ninja stuff. Did I mention Tony Shalhoub plays a giant rat? That kind of blatant insanity has actually made me warm to the project, and the craziness continues with the movies "theme song" of sorts being unveiled today. In the style of the immortal Ninja Rap that Vanilla Ice belted out in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J and Ty Dolla $ign have collaborated to bring you this song, entitled Shell Shocked. Listen to it below.

Benedict Cumberbatch has got quite a productive Holiday Season ahead of him. If he's not playing the villainous dragon Smaug in the final Hobbit adventure, you can also catch him playing a wolf companion to The Penguins of Madagascar. Or, you might just see him in The Weinstein Company's Fall drama The Imitation Game, where he plays Alan Turing, a real life figure who had was a pivotal part of World War II. The first trailer for the film was released today and you can watch it below.

The Purge: Anarchy hit 2800 theaters this past weekend and was by far the highest grossing of the weekends three new releases. Sure, it didn't break any records, or even beat out it's predecessor, but it got better reviews from both critics and audiences and was only $5.7 million behind the first movie. Plus, Universal and Blumhouse Productions have already tripled their budget for the film (it cost $9 million). Obviously, this is a win for both studios and I expect The Purg3 to hit theaters next July.

Boyhood Review

A Life of Thoughtfulness

I'm one of those guys who just thinks. A lot. Like, I can't turn off my brain. That's probably what's made me so cautious as a person; I can't help but think of every possible scenario that can come from any given scenario. As one might expect, my thoughts can occasionally drift to the heavy stuff, like the point of existence. Now, to go with my ability to do such deep thinking, is my photographic memory. I'm a visual kind of dude, and I can remember the smell, surroundings, feel of almost every single moment in my life.

The List!!!: Five Great Things The Cars Franchise Brought Us

In The List!!!, I do a list that just reeks of being click-bait, analyzing a particular topic or subject that pertains to something major occurring in pop-culture. This week, in honor of Planes: Fire And Rescue, I look at five great things PIXAR's Cars franchise brought us.

Let me just say it now; Planes: Fire And Rescue isn't a PIXAR movie. Neither was Planes. Those are made by DisneyToon studios, the fine folks responsible for such cinematic highs as Cinderella 2. PIXAR isn't involved in them aside from John Lasseter bewilderingly producing both movies. My hopes aren't high for the second Planes feature, and the first one was the absolute worst movie of 2013, and Cars 2 was a mess, but that doesn't mean this series of transportation movies has never created something interesting. Behold, five great things the Cars franchise has bestowed upon us!

After some quiet weekends at the box office (save for an impressive showing from Dawn of the Planet of The Apes last weekend), three new releases pop up this weekend to try to make some cash. Who'll win? Can anyone top Caesar? Read on to find out!

Editorial: Internet, Why Ya Gotta Be So Rude? Don't You Know Movies Have Feelings Too?

Not every site that features film news and opinion pieces on the internet is bad, but several have recently fallen victim to hyperbole overload. One of my favorite sites, The Dissolve ran an article last month about Paramount announcing several new sequels. Matt Singer, who wrote the article, was more even-handed than most, but every other outlet reporting it acted like the cinematic apocalypse had come. Paramount only makes sequels now until the end of time!! HELP US ALL!!

In this Thursday fixture, I Wanna See That!, I take a look at specific trailers that are both well crafted and have some kind of importance to them beyond just informing you a film is coming soon. This week, hold on to your butts, because I'm going to some amusement park Steven Spielberg made.

First Avengers 2 Photos Show off Ultron, Scarlet Witch and Bruce Banner In A Lab Coat

Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans reprise their roles as Iron Man
and Captain America, but the robotic fellow is the dude them and their fellow
Avengers will face next Summer, Ultron. Not a cool guy.

As you can tell by my avatar, I'm kind of a Marvel fan. So obviously I'm super duper pumped to see what the studios got up their sleeve this forthcoming Comic-Con. One thing that'll be on prominent display is their major summer 2015 release The Avengers: Age of Ultron, which as you might have guessed, is a sequel to a mildly successful The Avengers. Entertainment Weekly has made the movie their cover story for the week, and as you can tell by the awesome cover above, The Avengers are about to face a mighty awesome looking foe. Below, are a bunch of new photos along with my brief explanations for the uninitiated.

In a recent Reddit AMA (that stands for Ask Me Anything), one of my favorite directors of all-time, Guillermo Del Toro, finally threw in the towel. He finally admitted Hellboy 3 wasn't happening. The reason wasn't for lack of trying, oh goodness no. The problem was that no studio was willing to finance the project, which required a massive budget to depict the apocalyptic scenarios that occured in Del Toro's proposed story for it.

So, I Was On Netflix: The Starving Games Review

If you see this poster, just run. Run far far away!!!

There are numerous directors whose works have passed me by. I've only just now dabbled in the films of Quentin Tarantino, while most of Paul Thomas Andersons filmography remains a mystery to me. Luckily, the works of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer have also eluded me, with such critically beloved films as Date Movie and Meet The Spartans remaining just bad trailers to me. But for this column, I decided to suck it up and finally give one of their films, a Hunger Games parody entitled The Starving Games, a watch.

First you get the music, then you get the sugar, then you get the women.

Considering all the changes the music industry has undergone in the past decade and a half, a film focusing on a music executive and his attempt to bring a new singer into the spotlight might be an excellent way to look at those changes. And if you wanna ignore that, cool. I'm sure this is a fantastic opportunity to utilize the talents of folks like Mark Ruffalo, Kiera Knightly and Hallie Steinfeld in a film that's exceptionally well written. That's that? The movie is a disappointing mixture of cliches and tediousness? Well now, ain't that a kick in the head.

Baymax, the lovable robot hero of Big Hero 6

Disney is one of my absolute favorite things in the world. My first word was Disney, several of my favorite movies are their classic animated features, and their recent theatrical offerings like Tangled, Frozen and especially Wreck-It Ralph have been amazing. Now, they've released a new trailer for their next big adventure, and it truly is amazing. Check it out below!

Editorial: What Do You Do With A Problem Like Spider-Man?

Hey guys, remember that Spider-Man movie that came out a few years back? The one with the corny dialogue, the performance from Jamie Foxx that was god-awful? The one that made me yearn for the days of emo-Peter? Yeah, that thing happened. What year did that come out? 2012, right? Wait....this year??? TWO MONTHS AGO??? Huh. I forgot all about it. And I'm sure many moviegoers have too.

Jon Favreaus film Chef has been one of the many indie movies this summer
to drum up big business

It's actually been a pretty great summer for movies. 22 Jump Street was hilarious, Godzilla lived up to expectations and them some, and Dawn of The Planet of The Apes somehow improved on its predecessor to create one of the best movies in recent years. There's also been several movies debuting in art house cinemas that the major moviegoing public might not be aware of, but definitely deserve some recognition for their box office achievements. Without further ado, let's take a look at how the numerous smaller releases have done so far this summer.

Dawn of The Planet of The Apes Review

I Hate Every Ape I See, From Chimpan-A, To Chimpan-Z

There will come a day, when the courage of apes fail...
but it is not thsi day!

When Rise of The Planet of The Apes came out in 2011 and became a financial and critical success, there was one thing everything was eager for; a sequel. After all, this prequel to a certain beloved 1968 film (yep, you guessed right; all these movies are prequels to Bullitt) leads to a very definitive conclusion that could still have many great stories to tell leading up that ending. With a new director (Matt Reeves), a new cast of humans and a greatly expanded budget at their disposal, the movie utilizes all of its resources to create a fantastic movie, one that's got thrills and thoughtfulness to spare.

Snowpiercer Review

Off The Rails And Into Brilliance

You'll have to forgive me on this one, am this review is gonna be extremely vague when it comes to exact details as to what precisely happens in Snowpiercer, the sci-fi drama from director Joon-ho Bong that's become famous for the terrible treatment Harvey Weinstein (a man in an extremely powerful position at The Weinstein Company, the studio distributing Snowpiercer) has given it. But appropriate feelings of pity towards the project aren't the only thing we should feel for the film; we should feel elation that one of the best sci-fi projects in ages has been created.

The List!!!: Five Classic Reboots

In The List!!!, I do a list that just reeks of being click-bait, analyzing a particular topic or subject that pertains to something major occurring in pop-culture. This week, in honor of Dawn of The Planet of The Apes, a sequel to a reboot, I look at five classic reboots

In the internet community, the word reboot is as filthy as a towel used by Jabba The Hutt. Surely, all a reboot brings is the tarnishing of the original movies, while only serving as a cynical cash-grab. In reality, reboots vary in quality, but they hardly ever do damage to the beloved original movies (which must not have been that beloved if all it took to ruin its reputation was a poorly made reboot) and in fact, several reboots have turned out to be fantastic movies themselves. Here are five particular reboots that, in my opinion, aren't just good reboots, but great films.

Box Office Predictions: No Monkeying Around For Number One This Weekend

In Box Office Predictions, I take a look at the forthcoming weekend and see how new releases and holdovers will fare.

Those blasted apes are off to take over our planet this weekend, and it looks like audiences won't mind a bit. As monkeys lunge for number one, the question remains as to how much this new Planes of The Apes film can make, even with Gary Oldman and trigger happy primates on its side.

I Wanna See That!: Drive

In this Thursday fixture, I Wanna See That!, I take a look at specific trailers that are both well crafted and have some kind of importance to them beyond just informing you a film is coming soon. This week, hang on tight, because we're going full throttle in analyzing the trailer for the 2011 indie hit Drive.

I haven't done anything regarding the medium of television in the month-and-a-half of running this site, but that should change quickly. Starting with The Strain on Sunday, I'll be writing up reviews of several different TV shows as well as putting up Editorials regarding programming that can be found on the Boob Tube.

Also, before we go any further, go here for the list of nominations.

Classic Write-Up: The Town Review

Don't Rob Yourself Of This Fantastic Film

Ben Afflecks recent resurgence in popularity can be attributed more to directorial projects like Argo (one of my favorite movies from recent years) and his 2010 feature The Town. If Argo is undeniably his quintessential movie, filled with top-notch filmmaking in every regard, then The Town at times feels like a warm-up session for that 2012 Best Picture winner. Affleck is dipping his toes into staging larger sequences of action, and while it's not quite perfect, I can honestly say I was amazed at how fantastic The Town was on its own merits.

Joe Nichols has a peculiar career pattern in not just the world of country music, but in the entire artform of music. That pattern consists of him creating a No. 1 single, then a few lower charting singles, before creating another No. 1 hit that takes over the radio. His two most recent singles seem to be bucking that trend, with one hitting No. 1 at the end of 2013, and his newest tune (Yeah) heading towards that number by August.

So, I Was On Netflix: Hot Rod Review

Motorcycle Mayhem Centerpiece of Great Comedy

You know I have a hormone disorder!

Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, who form up the comedic band The Lonely Island, are probably among the bigger comedic voices running my generation. All of their SNL skits from "Dick In A Box" to "Motherlover" were instant viral hits, and even their non musical bits became quotable bits that were universally beloved in my age group. I myself loved these guys and their inventive comedic sensibilities that more than a whiff of Monty Python in it, but one big blind spot for me was the trios only major feature film; Hot Rod.

I was worried that a new Guardians of The Galaxy trailer dubbed an extended look would be chock full of spoilers, but thankfully, Marvel Studios is still keeping plenty of surprises for us excited viewers to see when the film hit theaters August 1st. However, plenty of new footage (including the first words from Gamora and Ronan!) can be heard, as well as an awesome joke at the end. Yes, I think this may be truly something special. Check out the trailer below.

Did Ben Affleck Kill His Wife In The Trailer For Gone Girl?

Three years ago, The Social Network hit theaters and changed this particular moviegoers life forever. It was one of those movies that's just so amazingly well made, it never fails to boggle your mind. The following year, the director of that fantastic movie, David Fincher, handled a new interpretation of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and then took a three year break that ends with this falls Gone Girl. Here's the newest trailer for that new movie.

Last summer, a cavalcade of pessimistic reports came flooding in about how the movies were dead, people hated film, the box office was a thing of the past, simply because movies like The Lone Ranger and RIPD flopped. Ironically, several of those critics are now waxing nostalgic about last years box office, wishing this years lower grossing movies could take a page from big hits released last summer. Ah, the irony!!

Classic Write-Up: The Shawshank Redemption Review

Simply trying to put an exact number on the amount of great things The LEGO Movie accomplishes would be a fools errand. For you see, there are so many contained within that film, trying to name every single one would take an eternity. However, one I do want to point out is how wonderfully it parodies, yet reveres Morgan Freeman. While they use his distinct vocals to deliver deliciously silly lines, he always manages to show just how adept he is in the craft of acting, that even his most humorous scenes still remain plenty of gravitas.

Thursday, July 31, 2014

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