Martin Scorsese's Next Film Is Going To Netflix!

Yes, you read that headline right! Martin Scorsese, the filmmaker behind some of the most influential American films of the last 40 years, will have his next film, The Irishman (which stars Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino) debut straight to Netflix, as it appears Paramount Pictures, which is in the middle of an upheaval, has decided not to take the major risk of simply distributing the film domestically. Thus, Netflix is in the process of securing worldwide rights to the title, with this pairing offering a paradigm shift for Hollywood.

Monster Trucks Is The Best Movie Of 2017

That headline is technically true since all the other movies I've seen theatrically this year were technically released in 2016. Monster Trucks is the only 2017 movie I've seen theatrically thus far, so, yep, it is indeed the Best Movie Of 2017 for me right now!

Snarky explanation for that clickbait headline out of the way, let's talk about Monster Trucks, the second feature film from Paramount Animation that's been delayed nearly two whole years after its initial May 2015 release date and also serves as the live-action directorial debut for Ice Age director Chris Wedge. It's a live-action movie with a CGI creature best friend for the lead character in the vein of those Smurfs and Alvin And The Chipmunk movies, though this is more like the forgotten 2009 film G-Force in that Monster Trucks is technically an original property. And, thankfully, it's better than all of the other 21st century live-action/CGI family movies I just listed off.

Scrooged Gives Charles Dickens A Bill Murray Twist

Why do storytellers love A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens so much to the point that it's appeared in countless pieces of media for over a century now? Well, it being in the public domain certainly doesn't hurt, but the narrative allows one to easily plug in characters into the well-known roles of the multiple ghosts, Scrooge, Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, etc. Plus, the lead character, Ebenezer Scrooge, stands out amongst other Christmas tales in that he's crotchety and cruel, though his unique (among Christmas-related tales) personality does get resolved just in time for an emotionally fulfilling climax. It's basically a "have your cake and eat it too" scenario with Scrooge on a thematic level.

Rocko, Meet Ren & Stimpy! NickToons Movie From Napoleon Dynamite Director In The Works!

As a kid, when it came to youth friendly animated programming, I was always more of a Disney kid, with stuff like TaleSpin, DuckTales (a-wooo!) and Darkwing Duck being my bread & butter. Of course, I was acutely aware of the animated shows over on Nickelodeon, dubbed NickToons, but their more abrasive nature (and the fact that the voices on Rugrats always irritated me) rubbed me the wrong way at an early age. I will say though I do love Rocko's Modern Life, and of course, SpongeBob SquarePants, which arrived at the tail end of the 90's and the NickToons era.

Terminator: Genisys Will Not Be...Followed Up By A Sequel (Plus: New Release Dates For Baywatch And Star Wars Episode 8)

Yesterday, Disney threw the summer 2017 schedule into a state of turmoil, as they shifted Star Wars: Episode VIII from May 26, 2017 to December 15, 2017. Considering how well The Force Awakens has done over the holiday season, it's no shocker that they've moved the film up to this release date. I do wonder if the two titles Disney has planned for November will be shifting; Thor: Ragnarok might be OK on November 3 (Spectre managed to do a surprisingly high 2.85 times its opening weekend in an early November timeframe, putting it seven weeks ahead of The Force Awakens, the same amount of time between Thor 3 and Star Wars 8) but considering how poorly The Good Dinosaur held up against The Force Awakens, I'd imagine PIXAR's Thanksgiving 2017 film Coco might be searching for a more hospitable timeframe to open.

Michael Bay Is Doing Transformers 5....But He Can Quit Anytime He Wants, Don't Worry

Over the next 12 months, Paramount Pictures is releasing a number of movies from a veritable who's-who of well-known filmmakers. Features from the likes of Charlie Kaufman, James Gray, Denis Villeneuve, Robert Zemeckis, Richard Linklater and Martin Scorsese will all receive wide theatrical releases from one of the biggest movie studios on the planet. At the same time, this very same company is responsible for enabling Michael Bay to churn out wretched Transformers sequels, over and over and over again, to the point where I feel like Tom Cruise in Edge of Tomorrow, repeating the same goddamn events relentlessly.

The Next Mission: Impossible Movie Has A Familiar Director, Christopher McQuarrie!

If you're a fan of the Mission: Impossible movies like me, well, you're well aware of how long it takes to get one of these movies off the ground. Between the first and second installments in the franchise there was a four year long wait, while there was more than a five year wait for both the third and fourth movies. After the tremendous success of the newest Mission: Impossible movie, Rogue Nation (which grossed $195 million domestically and over $680 million worldwide), Paramount is waiting no time to get another entry in the saga going, with an August 2016 start date planned for the sixth film in this franchise.

The Big Short Trailer Has Big Name Actors And Stock Market Advice To Spare

Paramount just added another motion picture to a crowded Christmas Day release schedule today by announcing that Adam McKay's The Big Short will be released on December 11 in limited release and on December 23 in wide release. It's no shocker for weirdos like myself who obsess over movie release dates, considering Paramount is always doing these sort of last minute announcements regarding the crucial Christmastime frame (who else remembers their public indecisiveness over whether to release The Wolf Of Wall Street or Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit over Christmas 2013 two years back?), and to commemorate the films new release date, the studio has released a trailer for the drama that you can watch below!

Richard Linklaters Next Movie Gets Spring 2016 Release Date

My most anticipated movie of 2015, no contest, was Richard Linklaters That's What I'm Talking About, his newest feature after making my favorite movie of 2014, Boyhood. Alas, it looks like I'll just have to settle for the likes a new Star Wars movie and The Martian in terms of forthcoming 2015 films as Linklaters next effort has not only ditched its original title (to my knowledge, it's still untitled) but it has also been given an official release date....in April 2016.

Brace Yourself Humanity, Transformers Is Becoming A Cinematic Universe

I've said it before, but it always bears repeating: cinematic universe aren't inherently bad, they just can be in the hands of poor storytelling, just like any other aspect of cinema. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is how to do this tactic right, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (which shoehorned in countless characters in an effort to establish potential spin-offs) is obviously how to do it wrong. Call me crazy, but I have a hunch the newly announced Transformers cinematic universe might not be a recipe for artistic brilliance.

Where The Star Trek Franchise Should Go Next

A while back, I wrote an article about shared universes, in which I noted a bunch of proposed shared cinematic universes (such as one commissioned by Sony revolving around Robin Hood) made me weary of the craze and hoping lackluster shared universes would die out. But notice that I mention lackluster; shared universes aren't bad inherently, and as Marvel and Star Wars have shown, can bring in untold possibilities from a storytelling perspective. Frankly, I felt like I should have emphasized that more in my original editorial, as I didn't want to come off as dismissive of an entire form of storytelling (when the usually incredible website The Dissolve did a surprisingly snooty takedown of cinematic universes, it burned my cinders, I just didn't want to make that same mistake).

The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out Of Water Review

That's The Night The Lights Went Out In Bikini Bottom...That's The Night That They Hung An Innocent Sponge

Few pieces of pop culture have left such a lasting impression on my generation than Spongebob Squarepants. The first three seasons are endless in their absurdity and quotes ("What's a gorilla doing underwater?"), and the first movie was similarly successful in employing those elements to notable success. Since the release of that first feature, the show has tanked in terms of quality, thanks to the shows creator leaving and much of the writing staff of the first few seasons similarly jumping ship.

Chris Kyle Should Rule Over Time-Travelers And Kevin Costner (Box Office Predictions)

Another weekend, another opportunity for American Sniper to assume victory over your local movie theater. With February due to deliver several potentially huge hits, this last weekend of January seems to be the "calm before the storm", if you will, before some larger titles arrive. This means movie studios are not really releasing anything notable this weekend, but let's get to analyzing it anyway, shall we?

Top Five Review

Top Five Is Alive!

Whenever one hears about celebrities having problems, it can be easy to brush off such problems by thinking their large wealth means their problems are inconsequential. But the likes of Tom Hanks and Angelina Jolie can have everyday quandaries and worries; they are human beings after all, and human beings are naturally going to have problems to face. This kind of scenario is at the crux of Top Five, a feature written, directed and starring Chris Rock that's surprising in it's depth and effectiveness.

Zoolander 2 Is A-Go, With Penelope Cruz Joining Cast

But why male models? More like why a sequel, amirite? Bad puns aside, I'm a big fan of Zoolander, Ben Stillers odyssey into male modeling absurdity. It's an entertaining movie full of quotable lines, and a sequel to it has been in the works for ages now. After Anchorman 2 failed to recapture the laughs of the original, I kind hoped this long-in-the-works-comedy-sequel-from-Paramount would not come to fruition, but now it's on the way!

Martin Luther King Jr. Is Brought To The Silver Screen In Trailer For Selma

One of the greatest advocates for civil rights who ever lived, Martin Luther King Jr. was a tremendous human being, a man whose great legacy is known throughout the world. Several times, films centered on the man have been attempted, but few, if any, have come to fruition. That changes this January, when Selma debuts in wide release. Check out the trailer for this drama below.

Release Dates For Two New Sequels Ensure That The Terminator Franchise Will Be Back

The marketing campaign for it hasn't kicked in yet, so most people are likely unaware that a new Terminator film, called Terminator: Genisys will descend on movie theaters everywhere next 4th of July. Paramount Pictures is certainly hoping people show up for the film, and seems to be pretty confident people will adore it judging by the fact that they just scheduled two sequels to the movie 10 months before it even comes out.

Box Office Predictions: Guardians Will Win Again On Worst Weekend of 2014

Well, it's a quiet weekend, to put it gently. In fact, I'm gonna make a wild guess that this becomes one of the worst box office weekends in the 21st century. The only major new wide release is The Identical, which is taking advantage of the slow weekend by opening in 1950 theaters.

Another Michael Bay Produced Ninja Turtles Movie Is Coming in 2016, Hopefully This Time With A Vanilla Ice Cameo

Oh my Gods Splinter is just terrifying. Jesus, get that thing away from me!!

Well, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles certainly blasted away any and all expectations at the box office this past weekend. Making $65 million in its opening weekend, it's the 10th biggest opening of 2014 and the 4th biggest August opening of all-time. Naturally, a sequel is underway, with a release date and writers already attached to the project.

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.