Hostiles Tries To Be A Woke Western But It Can't Quite Get It's Eyes Open

I've been beating the drum on director Scott Cooper for some time now, mainly thanks to how highly I thought of his 2013 feature Out of The Furnace (his 2009 motion picture Crazy Heart is also notably good). Thought it received an overall divisive critical reception upon initial release, I myself thought it was a great movie that managed to take the basic premise of a revenge action movie and imbue both a terrific Christian Bale performance and thoughtful grimness into it. Taking my love for his past works in mind, it breaks my heart to say that Scott Cooper's newest movie Hostiles, handily his most ambitious feature yet in terms of themes and scope, is a mess and an unpleasant one at that.

Give The Orville And Its Tedious & Confused Take On The Final Frontier Some Space

Even hearing for months on end that The Orville as a TV show had a more serious tone than its heavily comedic ads would suggest didn't prepare me for what a tonally odd creation it is. It's trying to actually be a new straight-up science-fiction program that heavily homages Star Trek to a fault but it's also one with recurring comedic elements that just don't work at all. If the attempt here was to make something either as comedically strong as Ted or as thoughtful & exciting as the best elements of Star Trek, then the folks behind The Orville have miscalculated greatly and wound up with a science-fiction equivalent to Seth MacFarlane's major movie misfire A Million Ways To Die In The West.

Grab Your Thunder Buddy And Watch The Trailer For Ted 2!!!

Alright, I know I'm going to alienate tons of people here, but honestly, I'm a huge fan of the Ted. The film hit just the right note of over-the-top humor and surprisingly fleshed out characters (the friendship between Ted and John was nicely realized). Seth MacFarlane's last film, A Million Ways To Die In The West, underwhelmed me, since it played into many of the filmmakers worst tendencies that Ted somehow managed to avoid. Still, I have been looking forward to MacFarlane's next film, Ted 2, which just got a trailer that you can you watch below!

Box Office Analysis: Can The Summer Be Saved?? (Spoiler Alert: Yes!)

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!!

Box Office Analysis: Let's Predict The Rest of The Summer!! (PART ONE)

Eight weeks into the summer, we've seen hits (Godzilla, X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Fault In Our Stars) and duds (Blended, A Million Ways to Die In The West). Utilizing the performances so far, I've decided to take a gander at the upcoming features coming out between now and Labor Day and predict their opening weekend and final grosses, and sprinkle some analysis in there too. Not every movie is covered (I'm sure some sleeper hit that'll eventually make big bucks isn't on here), but regardless, here's my predictions for the tidal wave of notable releases left this summer, split into two parts. I'll be bold and daring and put up a Box Office Analysis article on a Tuesday, in order to cover all the releases coming out in August.

Country Music Spotlight: Alan Jackson

Every other Wednesday, I analyze a Country Music singers career, high points, low points and what may be in store for them in the future. 

The smooth vocals of Alan Jackson are as easy to adore as any in the field of Country Music. It's simply superb how well this guy can transition from a smooth party tune (Good Time) to a retrospective on fathers (Drive (For Daddy Gene)). I mean, really, Jacksons ability to convey a wide gamut of emotions through different songs is nothing short of outstanding. So why has he fallen out of style in recent years?

Box Office Predictions: Can Tom Cruise Conquer The Stars?

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

As late as 10 years ago, a summertime Tom Cruise tentpole could be guaranteed to be one of the biggest films of not just the season, but also the year. Since those days, he's been extremely more hit and miss, with his only $100 million features coming from Mission Impossible and a (hilarious I might add) cameo in a Ben Stiller film. Edge of Tomorrow has been dogged by both the press and audience members ever since it's first trailer came out, but extremely positive reviews seem to be turning the tide for the movie. I doubt it can all of a sudden churn even an Oblivion sized opening, but I'll be daring and say this thing just barely cracks $30 million.

A Million Ways To Die In The West Review

Frontier Follies Find Fairly Average  Venture

Seth Macfarlane comedy adheres to two different principles; turning the mundane into its most exaggerated form, or taking something zany and bringing it down to Earth. The latter was brought to terrific life in Ted, while the former coheres the humor in A Million Ways To Die In The West. The film takes all the cliches of both western movies and actual frontier life and ratchets them up to their most violent and sexual extremes. For some comedians, this movie would be stepping out of their comfort zones in a big way, while for Macfarlane it feels disappointing he couldn't conjure up something more memorable right on the heels of Ted.