This column introduces you to the most popular movies that are coming out in theaters this weekend.
What movie will you see?
Blade Runner 2049
Blade Runner 2. A new blade runner uncovers a secret that leads him to an old blade runner that has been missing for 30 years. Starring in this Sci-Fi thriller are Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Dave Bautista, Robin Wright, Jared Leto, and more. Denis Villeneuve is running the show here as director. Villeneuve has directed Arrival, Sicario, Enemy, and Prisoners. Don’t walk. Run to the theater to see this. Hear Garrett’s review from this weeks Binge Cast at 2:40:13.
The Mountain Between Us
2 strangers board a small aircraft that eventually crashes in the snow covered mountains. These 2 strangers must come together and survive. Starring in this drama are Idris Elba, Kate Winslet, Beau Bridges, Dermot Mulroney, and more. Hany Abu-Assad is the director, while Chris Weitz penned the screenplay based off the novel. Weitz has written scripts for Antz, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, About a Boy, Rogue One, and more. Go check out The Mountain Between Us this weekend.
My Little Pony: The Movie
Calling all Bronies. Calling all Bronies. It’s a My Little Pony movie. Said and done. Lending their voices for this animated feature are Uzo Aduba (Orange Is the New Black), Emily Blunt, Kristin Chenoweth, Taye Diggs, and more. The director of MLP is Jayson Thiessen, who has directed many shorts and episodes of MLP. Go call your Bronies and ride into the theater this weekend.
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. Which one will you see?
The Dressmaker
Reasons to see this:
The Dressmaker is about a woman who returns to her small rural town to right some wrongs, as well as transforming the local women with her dresses. Starring in this drama is, Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Hugo Weaving, Judy Davis, and more. The director and screen writer is Jocelyn Moorhouse, who has directed Proof and How to Make an American Quilt. I guess Moorhouse likes her sewing. Now, make your way to see The Dressmaker.
Goat
Reasons to see this:
Goat tells the story of a 19 year old student, pledging for a fraternity that his brother is a part of. However, the hazing during the pledge is very extreme and may come between the brother’s relationship. The two brothers are played by Ben Schnetzer (Warcraft: The Beginning) and Nick Jonas. Yup, a Jonas brother. James Franco is also in this movie as well as one of the producers. Directing this fraternity drama is Andrew Neel. Neel has directed several shorts and documentaries. If you’re not pledging this weekend, go check out Goat.
The Magnificent Seven
Reasons to see this:
Denzel in a Western? Go to the theater now. Ok, I’ll write a little more. This is a remake from the original 1960 film. The story is about seven gunmen who join forces to help a poor village against thieves. The cast includes, Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D’Onofrio, Byung-hun Lee(I Saw the Devil), Peter Sarsgard, and more. Directing this western is Antoin Fuqua. Fuqua has directed Training Day, Shooter, The Equalizer, Southpaw, and many more. This will be the 3rd film Fuqua and Denzel have worked together. Go see this magnificent movie seven times in the theater.
Storks
Reasons to see this:
This animated feature film is about Storks, who are now delivering packages instead of babies. However, when a baby order comes in, the birds must fix the error by delivering the baby. Lending their voice, we have, Andy Samberg, Jennifer Aniston, Ty Burrell, Kelsey Grammer, Key, and Peele. The two directors on this animated flick are Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland. Stoller is the writer of Storks and has directed Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, Neighbors 1 & 2. Sweetland has animated for Toy Story 1 & 2, A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc, Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles. Don’t be a dork, go see Storks this weekend.
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogan, Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlberg, Katherine Waterston, and Sarah Snook.
Time for some honesty Binge readers: Despite the talent behind this surrogate biopic about a man who was a genius to some, madman to others, I had close to zero interest in Steve Jobs. A 2013 half hearted attempt at one starring Ashton Kutcher didn’t help matters, and even hearing that Danny Boyle was behind the camera and Aaron Sorkin being the scripter, the film could have come and gone without a whimper and I would not have cared. So imagine my surprise as the first few frames of Steve Jobs flourished across the screen and like a trout on an early morning fishing trip, I was hooked line & sinker for its entire 122 minute running time. The stylistic flourishes behind the camera Boyle is known for are not here in abundance, but show their touches when called for, and Boyle seems more reigned in here than ever. It is all for the best, as Steve Jobs is by far the most involving film of the year, and when it was over, I could not help but think my pessimism was more than a little miscalculated judgment. It was an unintended commentary on the life of the film’s subject.
Steve Jobs is broken up into three acts, with well placed concentrated flashbacks scattered throughout. In its first act, a 29 year old Jobs is set to unveil the first ever Macintosh computer. With a well hyped Super Bowl ad and massive amounts of anticipation at his back, Jobs (Fassbender) is a dragon breathing fire, even going so far as insisting to software developer Andy Hertzfeld (Stuhlberg) that the computer needs to say hi to the audience. This is also where we are introduced to his ex girlfriend (an excellent Waterston), who insists that Jobs pay for the welfare of her daughter, of which Jobs denies being the father. On top of all this, his partner in crime and constant source of moral support Joanna Hoffman (Winslet) insists to Jobs he needs to get his act together and establish some form of balance. A balance which includes Steve Wozniak (Rogan), who is struggling to get some form of recognition from Jobs as that of Apple co-founder.
This is all in the first act, folks. In lesser hands, this would all feel muddled and self serving. But armed with Sorkin’s script, Boyle keeps things grounded, and we get to know all of those around Jobs without the befuddlement of technical jargon and business speak. Sorkin certainly brings the same sort of rapid fire dialogue and character flashes he brought to David Fincher’s 2010 film The Social Network, and it is all to the benefit of the story. Purists will argue that even with the back and forth with Jobs and those around him, the film’s colors, while not sunshine and rainbows, are maybe a little too bright a representation of the man whose story Sorkin is trying to tell. But adapting works has always been a huge strength of Sorkin’s, and the way he adapts Walter Isaacson’s book is commendable in that no one ever gets backed into too far a corner they cannot get out of.
Act two starts off in 1988. The aftermath of the Macintosh computer’s tanking makes things hard on Jobs, as he is let go by the company and he is forced into a comeback with his brand new company NeXT. Here is where I need to commend the performance of one Michael Fassbender. The man looks nothing like the person whom he is portraying (the attempts to make him look 29 are hilarious.) Yet my eyes never lose track of him, as Fassbender turns in such a commanding performance that I not once thought of how he looked, and concentrated instead on who he played. The actor makes good use of a special kind of cathartic acting ability, and the film’s tendency to concentrate on the sometimes aloof relationships Jobs had throughout his entire life serve Fassbender well. It is telling that until he learns of his daughter’s brilliance, Jobs casts her off like one of his employees. However, her blooming brilliance now makes her one of him, and the way Fassbender plays this entire relationship speaks wonders to not one, but two different forms of Jobs the man and Fassbender the actor. Pretty impressive.
Act three takes place from 1998 on, without a doubt the most revolutionary period of time for technology. Which makes it less than coincidental that this period was put at film’s end. The internet’s legs keep growing and Jobs is close to unveiling the very first ipod. Naysayers to how Job treated his daughter as opposed to his work will have a field day with this portion of the film. Yet tales about moguls who concentrate more on their work than their flesh and blood have been told a million times before. But very rarely is it done with as much care and as steady a hand as those that belong to Boyle and Sorkin. Fassbender’s portrayal of aloofness lends itself to brilliance here, and Boyle’s direction is just stylish enough to get inside the emotions of those around him.
Comparisons to much the same situations as those portrayed in The Social Network are inevitable. But Sorkin is not dumb. He writes Steve Jobs like he knows those comparisons are coming, and uses the camera of Boyle to point out the differences between the two works. Love him or hate him, Steve Jobs was a man whose story serves filmmaking to a T. Steve Jobs the film is a powerful, if sometimes fictionalized context of a man who was not only a concentrated and tortured genius. He was a visionary that did what he did so that his unclouded vision was a foretold conclusion to changing the world. In many ways, the men and women behind the scenes of this powerfully brilliant film can claim the same fits of parallelism.
Happy Valentine’s Day weekend everyone. I hope all of you are enjoying a nice weekend and were lucky enough not to waste your hard earned money on Fifty Shades of Grey. I know I didn’t, won’t, and wouldn’t ever make any plans to see this ridiculous flick. Seriously folks, don’t you know that you don’t have to drop forty bucks at the theater to watch something like this? You are aware that you can find movies just like this online for free, right? And from the trailer that I saw, the ones online probably have better dialogue too. But hey, if that’s what gets you going, by all means proceed.
But I’m here today to actually talk about good movies. A few weeks ago, I kicked off my Oscar series by talking about some of this year’s nominees and omissions. And just last week, I started a new fan vote that lets you make your choice for who should win each category this year. You’ve still got a week left, so take a few minutes and make your picks HERE.
I know Oscar night isn’t for everyone (check out this week’s Jack Attack Tuesday), but I’m actually a big fan. I know I shouldn’t be, as it’s really just a bunch of rich people celebrating other rich people, but hey, I guess I’m a sucker for things like this. It’s true that the big celebrities get most of the press, but it is nice to see some of the people behind the scenes get their fifteen minutes as well. I’m talking the costume designers, the set designers, the special effects team, and my personal favorite, the writers, get the recognition they so richly deserve. And while guys like me debate on who should win and who will win, the fact remains that somebody’s name eventually comes after the phrase “And the Oscar goes to….”. And this is my favorite part of awards season. People will argue forever about how this movie should have beaten that movie and this actor didn’t deserve that, but we never turn away from the speeches, even if we disagree with the outcome.
So the plan today is to just give you a few of the best acceptance speeches that I’ve seen since I’ve really started paying attention to the Oscars. But before I do that, I want to start with one that happened before I was even born. It’s perhaps the most controversial speech in Oscar history. In 1973, Marlon Brando was nominated for his work in The Godfather. But the night before the ceremony, he announced he would boycott the show due to the treatment of Native Americans in film. When his name was called the next night as the winner, young actress Sacheen Littlefeather would take his place on the podium, refuse the award, and read a statement that Brando had prepared.
JOE PESCI-GOODFELLAS
It doesn’t get much simpler than this.
JACK PALANCE-CITY SLICKERS
This might be the funniest one on my list. But hey, it’s normal for a man in his 70s to do one-armed pushups on national television in a tuxedo, right?
TOM HANKS-PHILADELPHIA
Longtime funnyman Tom Hanks shows everyone that he’s one of the best actors in the world with this performance. Seriously, if you haven’t seen this movie, you’re missing out. And his acceptance speech is almost just as good. Okay, that might be a stretch, but it’s pretty damn good.
CUBA GOODING JR.– JERRY MAGUIRE
At that time, I don’t think I’d ever seen anybody so excited to win. But just wait a couple spots and you’ll see one that might beat it. But still, this was a very good speech for a very good performance.
ROBIN WILLIAMS-GOOD WILL HUNTING
I almost didn’t put this one on here, as I don’t have much respect for people who commit suicide, but I couldn’t resist as this is one of the best performances I’ve ever seen.
BEN AFFLECK & MATT DAMON-GOOD WILL HUNTING
This was a very cool moment. At this time, these two were not the Hollywood heavyweights they are today. They were two young guys that had a dream and worked their ass off to achieve it.
ROBERTO BENIGNI-LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
This is what the Oscars are all about. As the director, Benigni would accept the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, which is what the clip below shows you. He would also win later in the night for Best Actor and delivered another great moment by telling the audience that “I used up all my English”. Great moment here.
ANGELINA JOLIE-GIRL, INTERRUPTED
And the award for the creepiest speech on this list goes to…Mrs. Pitt. Watch your back Brad. She really, really, really likes her brother.
JULIA ROBERTS-ERIN BROCKOVICH
I don’t pretend to be the biggest fan of Julia Roberts, but I really did like her speech when she won for Erin Brockovich. And she certainly earned that Oscar. I’ve obviously never seen the final vote count, but I’m betting that was one of the biggest blowouts in Academy Awards history.
HALLE BERRY-MONSTER’S BALL
Let the tears flow, Halle. In arguably the most emotional acceptance speech on this list, this was truly an amazing moment.
ADRIEN BRODY-THE PIANIST
It’s not even the speech that people remember here, but the moments leading up to it that make this a great Oscar moment. I guess when you’ve got the chance to go for it, just go for it. And that’s what Adrien Brody did when taking the stage to accept his Oscar from presenter Halle Berry. Pimp move brother.
JAMIE FOXX-RAY
If you would have told me that Jamie Foxx was going to win an Academy Award when I was watching In Living Color in the 90s, I would have had you committed. But I’m sure glad he did, because this may be my favorite speech of all time. Just listen to the end of this speech and try not to tear up.
REESE WITHERSPOON-WALK THE LINE
This was just a very nice speech from a great performance.
MARTIN SCORSESE-THE DEPARTED
It’s a crying shame that it took so long for this to happen, but the great thing about Martin Scorsese is that he just went with it, even asking if the envelope was correct. Well deserved after a long, long wait.
DUSTIN LANCE BLACK-MILK
For most, this is a once in a lifetime moment on that stage, and the writer of Milk certainly didn’t waste his opportunity. Some might call his acceptance speech too political, but I call it fantastic.
KATE WINSLET-THE READER
Okay, she didn’t have the wait that Scorsese had, but Kate Winslet had her fair share of disappointment before finally winning for The Reader.
HEATH LEDGER-THE DARK KNIGHT
This was another one I was hesitant to put on here, but there’s no denying that this was a powerful yet tragic moment in Oscar history.
AARON SORKIN-THE SOCIAL NETWORK
I just like Aaron Sorkin and I love the movie. Deal with it.
MERYL STREEP-THE IRON LADY
It’s nearly impossible to talk about the Oscars and not mention Meryl Streep.
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER-BEGINNERS
“Where have you been all my life?” Classic.
JENNIFER LAWRENCE-SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
Because it’s my list and she’s just so damn cute.
What’s your favorite Oscar speech? Let me know below or hit me up on Twitter @THElukenorris.
Don’t forget to cast your Oscar votes HERE. I’ll be back next week with the results and my picks for each and every category as we get geared up for Oscar night. Until next time, I leave you with this.