This column will introduce you to the most popular movies that are coming out in theaters this weekend and why you should go see them.
What movie will you see this weekend?
CHIPS
Reasons to see this:
Why?!? Anyway, CHIPS is based on the late 70’s early 80’s TV show about two highway patrol cops in LA. Starring in this action comedy TV adaptation are Michael Pena, Dax (I can’t believe people hire this guy) Shepard, Adam Brody (Yoga Hosers. Right Emo Kev?), Ryan Hansen (Party Down, can we replace Shepard with Hansen?), Vincent D’Onofrio, Kristen Bell, and more. I just found out which director hired Dax Shepard…..yup, it’s Dax Shepard. Shepard has directed Hit and Run, starring himself. He is also writing and directing a Scooby-Doo movie. I wonder if he’ll hire himself to play Shaggy. If you’re a fan of Chips, then go see Chips.
Life
Reasons to see this:
A crew of astronauts study a sample collected from Mars that may determine life on Mars. However, things are not what they seem. Dun Dun Dun. Starring in this sci-fi thriller are Rebecca Ferguson (M:I 6), Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Reynolds, and more. Directing this space flick is Daniel Espinosa, who has worked with Reynolds before in Safe House. Espinosa has also directed Child 44. Get a Life and go see Life this weekend.
Power Rangers
Reasons to see this:
Based on the early 90’sTV show, this film adaptation is about a group of teenagers that acquire special “powers” to defeat evil. As far as the cast goes, the Rangers are pretty unknown, while Elizabeth Banks, Bryan Cranston, and Bill Hader land roles in this. The director of this reboot/remake is Dean Israelite. Israelite has directed 2015’s Project Almanac. If you are a fan of this franchise, then hit the theater this weekend.
Wilson
Reasons to see this:
Wilson is a neurotic middle-aged man who reconnects with his wife and meets his teenage daughter for the first time. Wilson is played by a volleyball. Kidding. Wilson is played by Woody Harrelson, while the rest of the cast includes Judy Greer, Laura Dern, Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm ), and more. Craig Johnson directs this comedy. Johnson wrote and directed The Skeleton Twins, which starred Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. Don’t let Wilson float away. Go see him in theaters.
I’ve been a gamer for as long as I can remember with my earliest consoles being the Sega Genesis and the Super Nintendo. I remember sinking countless hours into games like VR Troopers (which was a Mortal Kombat knockoff before I knew what Mortal Kombat was), Super Mario World and Donkey Kong Country, beating the SHIT out of my brothers in anything that was multiplayer (they may still be butthurt) and enjoying every minute of it. I’ve always been the kid that hated going outside. To me, the worst thing you could do to me as a kid was tell me to “go play outside” the day after I got a new game. It’s not that I wasn’t sociable, I just didn’t see the value in running around in the sun playing sports that I never had any inclination to get good at. Throughout my gaming career, there have been ups, downs and some glaring omissions. I went the Sony route as a young kid and never really dove into N64, have never touched a single Zelda game and missed the Dreamcast. However, if you mention Crash Bandicoot or Spyro waves of nostalgia start kicking in and I’m reminded of the good old days when I was first being introduced to this world.
Games like Heart of Darkness, Wild 9 and the fantastic (and newly remastered) Oddworld: Abe’s Odyssey all started moving me into a new world of gaming, but honestly as I got older games became less and less of a focus. I think there comes a time in gaming for every gamer worth his/her salt where things get stale. It’s happened to me in every iteration of console I’ve had and I’m sure it will continue to happen, but throughout the years there has always been one franchise that keeps on bringing me back. I don’t know if it’s the perspective, the humor or the chaos (probably a bit of all three), but every time I need to get a new console, it’s because of Grand Theft Auto.
My most fond gaming memories absolutely start and end with GTA. From the mundane, like reaching top speeds on Grove Street in San Andreas and whipping around the neighborhood trying to hit as many pedestrians as possible, to getting a tank to fly via the proper cheats and skill in Vice City to the very first time you pick up a hooker in III, this franchise, to me, is what gaming is all about. GTA presents the ultimate escape from everything, transporting you to a world you could never be a part of and giving you free license to do whatever you want.
GTA IV upped the ante with the incorporation of a truly impressive style of cinematography previously only hinted at in the GTA series, telling the story of Nico Bellic and his experience coming up in America as an immigrant in Liberty City, but truly each incarnation of the series has innovated in its own way. For instance, the brilliant property ownership and side-quests of building up your criminal empire in Vice City gave the game a more grounded RPG feel which to this day stands as the one feature that I hope comes back in future incarnations. In San Andreas, the fantastic gang-warfare and territory aspect keeps the area fresh and seemingly “alive” throughout your playthrough, and enough can not be said about the amazing jet pack in San Andreas (fingers crossed it comes back soon, the GTA world needs it).
It comes as no surprise to me that, yet again, Rockstar did something totally unique in GTA V. Granted the triple-lead character angle is stunning when used on the heist missions, but I’m actually referring to the genius current-gen first-person mode. I’ve played the story mode of this game twice through already and am already salivating at first-person mode, experiencing the iconic moments I’ve already experienced with a completely different perspective. In an odd way it actually makes the action more real which is both good and bad. I have read reviews from different gaming sites like IGN and Gamespot stating that the first-person mode actually makes them re-think their choices as to who they murder in broad daylight. That’s pretty impressive for a game that employs BJ Smoove as a self-help guru.
While GTA V is what I’m playing most these days, My PS4 is not even three weeks old, and I’ve been catching up on a lot of stuff. Here are some of my initial thoughts on the platform:
– The Last of Us has to be a contender for greatest game of all time
– Rayman Legends is the closest thing to Super Mario that I’ve played in years
– Helldivers > Destiny (but I’m still enjoying Destiny)
– Any game that lets you manipulate an elephant to do your killing for you is a-ok in my book (Far Cry 4)
– Dragon Age Inquisition re-iterates that if you want to complete a game 100% these days and it’s an RPG, get the guide lest you fuck something up
In movie/TV news, I’m rewatching Party Down and might do a recap of that this week, but I REALLY wanted to mention my brilliant hottie team this year. Quite simply, despite missing out on Star Wars and Avengers 2 points, I’m astounded that I got the picks that I did. I have to give props to Kupka, my brother in Binge, for reasoning out a few things for me, which was of course reciprocated throughout the process. I, like him, did have Angela Kerecz on my board last year, he just beat me to the punch on it (well played). Between Lizeth Hutchings, Lisa Ann Smith and Tamika Shanell Johnson, I don’t see how it will be easy for anyone in the BABADIIICK conference to touch me. I say this with confidence because I, much like my New England Patriots, know how to draft, and all y’all fucks are basking in my glorious benevolence at this point. Some afterthoughts:
– Pete MC, you chose correctly by taking Judy Greer first overall, I had her at #1 as well. Smart pick, I applaud you for it.
– Mike Scull, you will be my bitch this year XOXO.
– TM, I will take you down. So long as I beat you in the draft this year will have been a success.
That’s it everyone. Stay tuned for some sweet Better Call Saul commentary and, as always, Binge On!
Welcome to our special edition of the Monday Morning Binge Cast, the live 2015 Hottie Draft! Obviously it’s not live any more but if you were there Saturday night, thank you. This is the shortened version (if you consider almost three hours shortened) as I cut out all the breaks we took.
So, if you don’t know who you have yet – get your ass inside and listen up. Tons of shit talk, tons of ladies I’ve never heard of, controversy, and Kupka sitting on his self-made throne among his minions await you.
Welcome to the Thanksgiving edition of Working the Weekend with Luke. Actually, I’m completely kidding. I really don’t like Thanksgiving that much, but I won’t get into that here. I do know that it is too close to Thanksgiving to be a jive turkey, so just be aware of that if nothing else. If you’d like to see a few more of my thoughts on this pointless holiday, check out what I wrote last year on my own personal blog, The Luke Norris Experience, specifically “Why I Don’t Need Thanksgiving”, which you can read by clicking HERE.
THE PEANUTS MOVIE
I remember watching the first teaser a few months back and being very excited, and this only amped it up. The bad thing about this trailer, as so many of us will experience soon with the new Star Wars trailer, is that we have to wait another year for the actual movie. I’ve always been a fan of Charlie Brown and company, and it’s been exciting to pass that on to my daughters. It’s not been as much lately, but there was a time when I couldn’t get either one of them to put down their Charlie Brown toys. I’ve bought so many of the specials for us to enjoy together, and it will certainly be a joy to take them to the theater for this one.
It’s nice that a whole new generation of kids will get to experience the Peanuts gang. Hopefully, they’ll tone down the bullying that we got with the past specials. Poor Charlie Brown. He doesn’t get anything on Valentine’s Day. He gets rocks at Easter. He’s constantly made fun of in school and I swear to God, if Lucy pulls that football one more time, I’m going to call Seth Macfarlane to direct a script I’m going to write called It’s A School Shooting, Charlie Brown! Okay, maybe that’s a little harsh, but I hope the kid gets a win in this movie.
PITCH PERFECT 2
I’m going to be honest with you. When I first sat down today to write, this was going to be my only top, mainly due to all of the backlash I saw this week online about it. Seriously, the things I happened upon were just brutal. But instead of a big long rant, I’ll just give you a short one.
I like Pitch Perfect and at some point, I will see this movie. Is a sequel absolutely necessary? Of course not. But why hate on something that you’re not going to see? I don’t sit here and badmouth something like Game of Thrones or some b-flick horror movie. It’s just not my thing. Let people like what they like. And while some of may be reading this and saying to your computer screen that I’m gay or calling me a fag (which is seriously a word you should never say unless you’re talking about a cigarette), then grow the fuck up. Yes, I like watching these types of movies. Guess what? I’ll watch Step Up when it’s on too. And for some reason, I have an affinity for teen dramas as well. Does that really make me less of a man? Or does it make me someone who’s actually honest when Titanic comes up in a conversation? If you have to hide what you like to impress ANYBODY, maybe you’re the one with the problem, not me. So yes, give me a little more Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, and Rebel Wilson giving me a little more of this:
Actually, give me more Anna Kendrick doing just about anything. Rant over.
JURASSIC WORLD
Okay, so the full trailer doesn’t come out until Thursday, but I wanted to throw it in today just in case I didn’t decide to talk about it next weekend. I can’t say I’m a big fan of the sequels, but I freaking love the original Jurassic Park, and I’m a lot more excited for this than I thought I would be. I’m certainly not the biggest dinosaur guy in the world, but I think this could be fun.
First of all, you’ve got Chris Pratt in the lead. This guy is becoming a bona fide STAR! As much as I enjoy Parks and Recreation, it may be best that this is the final season. For one, you don’t want to hang on too long, but I think if it continued that they would lose him anyway. After the crazy success of The Lego Movie and Guardians of the Galaxy, he’s on everyone’s go-to list, and I think this movie can’t hurt. SPOILER ALERT! I’m not the biggest fan of Bryce Dallas Howard, so I’m overjoyed at something I read earlier this year where she will be a casualty of the park. SPOILER ALERT OVER! Jake Johnson should be good for some laughs, and I’m extremely excited when I hear Judy Greer is going to be in anything, well, minus those awful phone commercials. I’m sure I’ll be looking for the trailer on Thursday night after spending Thanksgiving doing absolutely nothing.
Problems with anything I’ve said today? Comment below or follow me and tweet @THElukenorris.
And as for those aforementioned teen dramas, here’s your Beverly Hills, 90210 clip of the week.
This week was re-watch city for yours’ truly. Between the flurry of family gatherings (seriously, why do these things come in waves every year?) and the work/school schedule, it’s amazing I managed to check these out. But here we go:
I had the great pleasure of revisiting one of my all-time favorite films, Glengarry Glen Ross, this past week. If you haven’t seen it, Glengarry concerns a group of salesmen and the “hell” they live in, essentially sweet-talking people into real estate purchases for a living. Based on the play of the same name, there is one crucial difference between the original stage play and the film, and that difference is Alec Baldwin. I’ve written about Baldwin on this site before, singing his praises in this film, but his one scene almost overshadows all the great things going on after he departs. When your cast consists of Kevin Spacey, Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alan Arkin and Ed Harris, you can’t help but expect great things. Fortunately for us this film delivers, giving each actor his moment to shine by the end of the flick. It’s always great to revisit a movie that you loved at some point in your life but, for whatever reason, haven’t experienced in a long time. This movie did that for me in spades. See it now, and Always Be Closing.
The Strain has finally been unleashed, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the season opener. I’m a fan of the book (haven’t read books 2 or 3 yet) and feel they really nailed the casting, especially for Abraham. Maybe it’s just because I love the actor but he really conveys that world-weary, I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude perfectly. I also like how brutal the one kill we see is. I know that vampires have been watered down in recent years and us fanboys have been clamoring for someone to make them into soulless killing machines again. The good news is I think the show-runners understand Del Toro and Hogan’s story well enough to appreciate that aspect, so we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief (for now). Here’s hoping it continues to entertain.
You see the smile on Quint’s face? That’s the look of a satisfied man. That’s the look of a pimp gettin’ paid. That may be my favorite frame from Jaws, a flick that I got to project at a cookout this past weekend for friends and family. While I’ve seen this way more than Glengarry, this flick never fails to solidify its spot high on my list of all-time favorite movies. Like a good piece of art should, it challenges me, as a viewer, to constantly find new and interesting things about it. I think more than anything I noticed the brilliant “aww-shucks” performance of Roy Scheider. I used to consider his arc to be sort of telegraphed in but there’s a lot more subtlety to what he does than Shaw or Dreyfuss that people tend to miss. Anywho, great film and a great time. P.S.: Don’t every try to hook up a projector and speakers after you’ve drank eight beers. It’s way harder that way.
Whenever I see a film that I consider truly great, it always takes me some time to appreciate and understand it for what it is. I remember walking out of the theater when I saw There Will Be Blood and spending most of my next few days really absorbing and interpreting the flick. That movie ended up ranking as a top-10 favorite film for me. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (DOTPOTA for short, kinda) had a lasting impact on me that has me still thinking about the film. Science fiction, at least quality science fiction, might be my favorite overall movie genre because of how bold and unique the stories can be. The original Planet of the Apes is unquestionably a great film that is still entertaining today. The sequels, as well as the subsequent tv show, cartoon and remake all focused on the kitchyness of dressing up a bunch of actors as apes without really using the premise to say anything worthwhile with the themes or tone of the stories. Cut to 2011, I’m sitting in a crowded theater and the credits begin for Rise of the Planet of the Apes. I was intrigued, admittedly, by Andy Serkis’ involvement with the flick and really nothing else, so the girlfriend and I went out opening night to see the flick. I expected some good CGI and maybe a good action scene or two. What I got was a poorly acted (sorry Franco, love you anyways) but very well laid out plot that seemed at once logical and realistic. Gone was the ridiculous undercurrent of apes taking over the planet. By focusing on the disease aspect of the pandemic, it made the film seem more adult and more plausible than any of the other spinoffs and sequels. But Rise had to be a fluke. After all, studios can’t make 7th or 8th sequels of films and have them be good. Or can they?
DOTPOTA is what all of us movie buffs want out of a summer flick. It has a good cast, a logical chain of events, some amazing effects, a truly incredible character in Caesar, and, ultimately, expands on the first film in a lot of great ways. While the first film laid the foundation of the apes background and Caesar’s development, this one focuses on the apes civilization and their inevitable conflict with humans. Matt Reeves did a phenomenal job making every scene count and getting the most out of what he had to play with. I can’t recommend this film highly enough, see it if you haven’t.
That’s it for this week, True Bingers. Be sure to keep an eye out for The Strain commentaries starting this week as well as our sports round-ups, the rest of the boys’ blogs and maybe a review or two. Binge on!