This column will introduce you to the most popular movies that are coming out in theaters this weekend.
What movie will you see?
3 Generations (limited release)
3 Generations tells the story of Ray, a young female who is transitioning to become a male and how her family will respond to her change. Starring in this drama are Elle Fanning, Susan Sarandon, Naomi Watts, Linda Emond (Julia & Julia), and more. Gaby Dellal is the writer and director of the flick. Dellal has directed On a Clear Day and Angels Crest. Now, find some transportation to see this transgender flick. That joke was kinda tacky. Oh well.
The Dinner
Paul, reluctant to go to dinner with his brother and their wives, are not there for just dinner. Dun Dun Dun. Pauls brother has an ulterior motive as to why they got together. This dramatic thriller stars Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall, Chloe Sevigny, and more. Writing and directing this flick is Oren Moverman. Moverman wrote and directed The Messenger and Rampart. He also wrote the screenplay for I’m Not There. Go out to dinner and then check out The Dinner.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Do I really need to go over the synopsis of this movie? Exactly. So, I won’t. Returning for the sequel are Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, and Sean Gunn (brother of James). Now, lets welcome the newcomers…Pom Klementieff (Old Boy – 2013), Sylvester Stallone, Kurt “Nate hates me” Russell, Tommy Flanagan (SOA), and more. James Gunn returns as writer and director because he’s no dummy. Gunn has also signed on for GOTG Vol. 3 because again, he’s no dummy. No pun here. Just go see this flick this weekend.
I love a good trailer, and there were a number of trailers released over the last week… I guess this is as good of a time to talk about them as any. So here goes:
PIXELS
This shit started out looking amazing, a serious sci-fi epic with a lot of potential. Giant classic video games brought to magical life who are also breaking out GODZILLA moves and destroying everything. Holy shit. Maybe THIS is the summer movie I should be looking forward to the most, a straight-up live-action WRECK-IT RALPH. I fifed hard for this… and then Adam Sandler showed up. Ugh. WHY??? And then Kevin James showed up. Kill me now. PIXELS went from a must-see to guaranteed-fluff in about 3 seconds. Imagine if this starred Channing Tatum instead… a way better (looking) movie?! I think so. Damn you, Sandler… damn you all to hell!
INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3
I’m an INSIDIOUS man. I love the original, and while I find INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 2 full of flaws… I still like it. So here goes the first James Wan-less INSIDIOUS CHAPTER 3. New family, new ghosts, no Darth Maul. After the chick lays down and you know a loud booming knock is gonna happen… when that arm jumps up and the anticipating boom does, in fact, happen. Holy shit. I think I Hersey squirted myself a bit. Then the creepiest song about tiptoeing through the willows kicks in and you have, in my mind, a great looking scare-flick. And since the story is still a mystery… it’s all a mystery at this point… I can’t pick apart how inconceivable it is that they’re incorporating the o.g. ghost hunters (prequel???), so I am still approaching this bad boy with an open mind. I’m in!
ALOHA
This is not the long-awaited sequel to FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH (spoiler alert). From writer/director Cameron Crowe, starring Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray, Alec Baldwin, John “The Dude from The Office”, and Danny McBride. I’d say this has Award Season written all over it, but the release timing is all wrong. But then again, GRAND PUDABEST was released in March, so there’s hope. Looks like the perfect follow-up to AMERICAN SNIPER for Cooper and Stone looks like she finally gets to act after sitting around sulking through BIRDMAN. In Cameron Crowe we trust. Aloha, Mr. Hand!
THE FORGER
I was going to watch the latest trailer for THE AVENGERS 2, but then THE FORGER trailer hit. So I watched that instead. John Travolta is looking weirder and weirder and I’m obsessed with him. First, his hair. I see hair plugs… maybe he and Nic Cage really did pull a FACE/OFF and we’re now just finding out. Then, he has a weird patch of hair on his chin. It’s not a beard, it’s not a goat, it’s… something different. Something weird. Something unexplainable. Then there’s his accent. WTF is gong on here? Is it a Brooklyn accent? Is it a Serbian accent? Is it a John Travolta accent? I don’t know… but I can’t handle it. Tye Sheridan has now worked alongside Matthew McConaghAIDS (MUD), Nic Cage (JOE), Brad Pitt (TREE OF LIFE), and now Travolta. Pretty soon, this kid will be bigger than they are. Except this movie looks like crap. It starts serious and by the end it’s a light-hearted heist movie with feel-good rock playing in the background. Plus, nice PHENOMENON thumbs-up reference, John, maybe people will think you’re back (but you’re not).
It’s nice to see that logo back, isn’t it? After starting a series on the Oscars a few weeks back, I’m finally back with part two. But I’ve really got nothing to review this week. I’m literally watching my thirteenth movie of the weekend and none of them have anything to do with this year’s Academy Awards. No, I’m seriously watching my thirteenth movie of the weekend as I’m sitting here typing these words right now. I’m not going to call it laziness on the lack of original material this week, but instead…okay, I wanted a lazy weekend. Sue me. I’ve been on my couch for the majority of the past two days, watching the strangest mix of flicks, and just biding my time until tonight in anticipation of the premiere of Better Caul Saul. But I do have something fun for you.
As I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, I’m really into the fan vote around here. I usually save it for Binge Sports, but I really do like getting you involved in the things I do around here, and my coverage of the Academy Awards is no different. Therefore, I have taken the time to put together a poll for each category at the Oscars. And yes, I’ve even included the ones that a lot of you don’t really care about, but guys like me pretend that we actually know something about them. I mean, of course I know that the film from Poland is exponentially better than the one from Estonia. But hey, it’s still fun to make a guess anyway. And I was 21 for 24 last year, so I’m just putting that out there for absolutely no reason at all. So just have some fun with it over the next two weeks. And hey, it actually does take time to build 24 polls, so I actually do feel like I worked on something original. And the Oscar goes to?
BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR
[yop_poll id=”171″]
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
[yop_poll id=”172″]
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
[yop_poll id=”173″]
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
[yop_poll id=”174″]
PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
[yop_poll id=”175″]
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM OF THE YEAR
[yop_poll id=”176″]
ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
[yop_poll id=”177″]
ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN
[yop_poll id=”178″]
ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTING
[yop_poll id=”179″]
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
[yop_poll id=”180″]
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
[yop_poll id=”181″]
ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM EDITING
[yop_poll id=”182″]
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR
[yop_poll id=”183″]
ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING
[yop_poll id=”184″]
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SCORE)
[yop_poll id=”185″]
ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC WRITTEN FOR MOTION PICTURES (ORIGINAL SONG)
[yop_poll id=”186″]
ACHIEVEMENT IN PRODUCTION DESIGN
[yop_poll id=”187″]
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
[yop_poll id=”188″]
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
[yop_poll id=”189″]
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING
[yop_poll id=”190″]
ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND MIXING
[yop_poll id=”191″]
ACHIEVEMENT IN VISUAL EFFECTS
[yop_poll id=”192″]
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
[yop_poll id=”193″]
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
[yop_poll id=”194″]
So who’d you vote for and why? Or did you vote for something even though you think something else should win? Let me know below or follow me and tweet @THElukenorris.
PLOT: There’s a new rule in the galaxy: No one touches Earth! But why has Earth suddenly become the most important planet in the galaxy? That’s what the Guardians of the Galaxy are going to find out! Join Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket Raccoon, Groot and – wait for it – the Invincible Iron Man as they embark upon one of the most explosive and eye-opening chapters of Marvel NOW! The secrets these galactic Avengers discover will rattle Marvel readers for years to come! But while London deals with a brutal invasion by the Badoon, the fate of the Guardians may have already been decided millions of miles away! Why wait for the movie? It all starts here! Collects Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) #1-3 & #0.1 and Guardians of the Galaxy: Tomorrow’s Avengers #1.
REVIEW: In preparation for the new movie, I am reading through some Guardians of the Galaxy graphic novels to further my knowledge. I was not familiar at all with the group of superheroes until recently, so all of this is very new to me. As some of you know, I’m not much of a fan of the titles in Marvel NOW! except for a few. Granted, I wasn’t a fan of many Marvel titles previous to the major reboot, but I thought I would pick up a few more favorites during the NOW! initiative. This was one of the late books to come out of it, and I was so surprised that this was the real winner of the running titles. I’ve read everything from X-Men to Avengers, and Hulk back to Iron Man, Cap, and Thor. This Guardians of the Galaxy book has it all, and is probably one of the more, if not the most, complete book or first volume I’ve read from the reboot group. Thor may be at a tie with it, but it doesn’t quite have the “fun factor” this book has and while it does not suffer for it, it’s just an element of a comic that you sometimes want to have. This book also includes a large collection of cover variants and such in the back, so don’t forget to leave the book open after the last page of the comic book itself. Some of the Deadpool variants are fantastic. As you can see on the front cover as well, Iron Man is in this book too for added shenanigans and laughs.
Cosmic Avengers’ strength though is that it is extremely funny and the equivalent of a blockbuster popcorn flick in book form. It presents an intergalactic story with new characters (for some) and does it all within four issues which is really spectacular. Most volumes or collections of comics have at least five issues in them to tell a story, and sometimes the introductory volumes can be even larger. What this book accomplishes in four issues is amazing, and that is why I would recommend this book to anyone, whether you read comics or not. It is the total package, and it starts with one of my single favorite issues in the Marvel NOW! era. The first issue is #0.1 and is the story of how Star-Lord a.k.a. Peter Quill came to be, and it is done so well. It captures you interest from the get-go, and that issue leads right into the current story with the Guardians and holds you all the way until the end. This book will make you laugh, as Groot saves the day and Rocket “Blam! murdered you”’s everyone. This book will make you cry (if you’re weak like me), as Groot saves the day and Peter grows up without a father. This book will make you read and pay attention to every detail, because the Guardians of the Galaxy are awesome and Brian Michael Bendis is one of the Marvel masters behind this book. A must read for fans and outsiders alike, and an excellent introduction to a new favorite group of heroes come August 2nd.
PLOT: Launching out of Annihilation: Conquest, Marvel’s sci-fi heroes unite to protect the cosmos. Back-to-back Annihilation wars have weakened the boundaries of our universe. Dark gods and monsters are seeping through the cracks, reigning horror upon those still reeling from the recent calamities. In the face of terror, who stands to defend a desperate universe? Star-Lord and his squad of butt-kickers – the modern day Guardians of the Galaxy. You’ve heard that Annihilation: Conquest rocks – the guy at the comic shop keeps telling you to try Nova – well, now’s your chance to experience the glory that writers Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, and artist Paul Pelletier can unleash. All this…plus a wise-cracking raccoon and a telepathic dog. C’mon, people, time to lock and load Collecting Guardians of the Galaxy #1-6.
REVIEW: So it probably doesn’t help that I read the Marvel NOW! Guardians title first, but I didn’t enjoy this book nearly as much as that. I was disappointed because I purchased this one to brush up before the movie, but the other I borrowed from the library. I’d like to trade this one in for the other, but this book is not without its plusses. I think one of the major reasons this wasn’t entertaining for me is that I have not read the event that took place before this book to kind of set it up. The Guardians team assembled in this book is also a little different than that of the movie coming out, or in the NOW! team. All of the normal people are there, but there is also Quasar, Warlock, and a telepathic dog. Yeah, a telepathic dog. It’s definitely on the spacey wacey type of mojo that typically dominates older Marvel titles, which is yet another reason I’m more of a fan of the DC Universe. However, I did mention those plusses and it would be fair to share those too before the book has been completely ruined.
As usual, Rocket Raccoon dominates every frame and page he’s on. His humor in these books is just so doom and gloom, but with a hint of sarcasm to make it hilarious. He’s really much funnier in the newer books, but he had a great running joke throughout the second issue of this book. While they are trying to figure out their team name, he can be spotted every other frame or two suggesting names and bugging the other team members. Eventually they just give in to get him and shut up, but its his persistence despite the team’s reaction to him that draws the laughs. The main plot really isn’t as great as in Cosmic Avengers, but from what I’ve read there seems to be some basis in here for the movie coming out. I’m not sure what they’ll use, but I’d imagine if anything it will probably be very lightly lifted from this book. I think the new book benefits from the existence of the movie, as it was created after the movie’s inception. This volume of Guardians of the Galaxy by Dan Abnett is hard to find right now, but it appears that it will be published in trade paperback for the release of the new film. It’s a pretty well-reviewed volume or Marvel stuff, so if space, time, and superheroes in the Marvel Universe is your thing, I’d still give this a shot. I’m just not huge on the extraterrestrial realms of Marvel, and I think that is why the NOW! title exceeds this one because it is accessible to any reader unlike this one.