There seems to be quite a dearth of original movies being made and produced for theaters these days. So many movies coming out this year appear to be either sequels or more. (Even the few original movies I've watched in the past year seem to have been based on novels or were remakes...) When looking at movie lists for upcoming movies, I'm either thinking, "Wait, they're making another movie in THAT series?" or "Wait, HOW many of those movies exist already?" Of course, I'll admit there are also times when I'm excited to see the next movie.
Here are great examples:
Iron Man 3 (There is no end to these Avenger-related movies, huh?)
Star Trek into Darkness
Fast and Furious 6 (Six?!)
The Hangover: Part III (Part II was so bad I couldn't finish it... how did a Part III even get funded and made?)
Man of Steel (Figure anything in the Superman, Spider-Man series counts in this category. They're definitely not "original" material for movies at this point.)
Monsters University (12 years later... a prequel.)
Despicable Me 2 (I have to admit I'm a bit excited about this one. It was a surprise to me how much I enjoyed the original.)
Grown Ups 2
Red 2 (Enjoyed the original, but surprised that they even bothered with this. Then again, this falls into the Expendables category and that series is working on its third, right?)
The Wolverine
The Smurfs 2 (really?)
300: Rise of an Empire
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (Given how long it took for this to come out, I had figured they weren't going to bother since the first one didn't do that well. Silly me.)
Kick-Ass 2
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
Sin City: A Dame to Kill for
Paranormal Activity 5 (I vaguely know of 2... I didn't realize 4 already existed.)
Anchorman 2 (9 years later... not as bad as Monsters, Inc.)
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Can't wait! Also the Divergence book series will be made into a movie series to capitalize off of The Hunger Games market.)
The Hobbit 2 (This is the prime example of trying to milk a franchise for everything it's worth. NOT necessary. Sigh.)
That's only a list of movies coming out the rest of this year!
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
J: Week 14 (Life of Pi)
I apologize for being late this week! I was out of town for the weekend and am still catching up. But -- taking a page out of Mira's book -- I did watch a movie on the plane! I was pleasantly surprised to see that they were showing Life of Pi already.
Confession: I tried to read the book, several times actually, but could never get through it. I think it had something to do with the writing style, but it just didn't retain my interest, even though conceptually I thought the story would have appealed to me So initially I wasn't too excited about the movie version, even though Ang Lee was directing it and he seemed like a pretty perfect choice. But after some good buzz and awards season success, my interest was piqued again. And I have to say that I really enjoyed it.
The movie was really visually gorgeous. It's left somewhat ambiguous whether the events of the story actually happened or if they were imagined by the main character, Pi, but there are definitely a number of fantastical elements that the movie takes full advantage of. I thought the night scenes especially were pretty breathtaking. And this was on the tiny airplane screens!
Suraj Sharma has a heavy load on his shoulders as the teenaged Pi - he's the only human onscreen for the bulk of the film - and is immediately likable. The equally likable Irfan Khan is the older Pi (I associate him first with The Namesake, in which his wife was played by the same actress who plays Pi's mother here) and there are a sprinkling of other actors who all acquit themselves well. And then of course, there's the tiger (named Richard Parker of all things), who is definitely a character on his own and not just a plot device.
Recommended!
Confession: I tried to read the book, several times actually, but could never get through it. I think it had something to do with the writing style, but it just didn't retain my interest, even though conceptually I thought the story would have appealed to me So initially I wasn't too excited about the movie version, even though Ang Lee was directing it and he seemed like a pretty perfect choice. But after some good buzz and awards season success, my interest was piqued again. And I have to say that I really enjoyed it.
The movie was really visually gorgeous. It's left somewhat ambiguous whether the events of the story actually happened or if they were imagined by the main character, Pi, but there are definitely a number of fantastical elements that the movie takes full advantage of. I thought the night scenes especially were pretty breathtaking. And this was on the tiny airplane screens!
Suraj Sharma has a heavy load on his shoulders as the teenaged Pi - he's the only human onscreen for the bulk of the film - and is immediately likable. The equally likable Irfan Khan is the older Pi (I associate him first with The Namesake, in which his wife was played by the same actress who plays Pi's mother here) and there are a sprinkling of other actors who all acquit themselves well. And then of course, there's the tiger (named Richard Parker of all things), who is definitely a character on his own and not just a plot device.
Recommended!
Sunday, April 07, 2013
M: Week 13 (Much Ado About Nothing)
One of my favorite Shakespearean plays is "Much Ado About Nothing," and one of my favorite movies is also Much Ado About Nothing (starring Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Denzel Washington, Kate Beckinsale, the doctor from House MD, and lots of other familiar/famous faces). The play in itself is really fun with great characters and a perfectly messed up plotline that gets resolved rather perfectly. The movie version took all of that and translated it perfectly to the screen (no surprise since Kenneth Branagh was involved). There's really very little that could be done to make what's already been perfected even better... Still, I'm really excited to share two upcoming projects related to "Much Ado About Nothing" that I've recently learned about!
JOSS WHEDON?!?!
Apparently Joss Whedon and friends have created a modern day interpretation of "Much Ado About Nothing," shot in black and white and filmed over 12 days. There will be many familiar faces, such as Agent Coulson from The Avengers, and actors from Firefly, Angel, and Buffy. I'm so glad to hear that it takes its own interpretation and doesn't try to remake something that's already been perfected. And truthfully, if there's anyone who is pretty reliable about taking something that has a devoted fan base (okay, so maybe "Much Ado" may have a devoted fan base of one -- me) and redoing it to different level of greatness, well I think Joss Whedon can do it. For more details:
http://www.examiner.com/article/joss-whedon-s-much-ado-about-nothing-to-visit-wondercon
A MUSICAL?!?!
Seriously, there's something going on here. I love me some musicals and I love me some "Much Ado," so whoever decided the two must be combined was obviously doing it for me. Maybe there's something in the water/air, but here's yet another famous-name-attached project related to "Much Ado" -- a musical scored by Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong! Hopefully this project takes off and makes it onto a larger production platform (currently only set to be performed at the Yale Repertory Theater in 2014) so I can see it. But I find it fascinating that this is happening at all. For more details: http://www.zmemusic.com/rock/billie-joe-armstrong-shakespeare-15032013/
Maybe my personal love for "Much Ado" isn't so unique and there is quite a huge fan-base, who knows. But regardless, I'm excited and hope I get a chance to watch both and add them to my "Much Ado" collection. If not, I've still got the play and the Kenneth Branagh movie version.
JOSS WHEDON?!?!
Apparently Joss Whedon and friends have created a modern day interpretation of "Much Ado About Nothing," shot in black and white and filmed over 12 days. There will be many familiar faces, such as Agent Coulson from The Avengers, and actors from Firefly, Angel, and Buffy. I'm so glad to hear that it takes its own interpretation and doesn't try to remake something that's already been perfected. And truthfully, if there's anyone who is pretty reliable about taking something that has a devoted fan base (okay, so maybe "Much Ado" may have a devoted fan base of one -- me) and redoing it to different level of greatness, well I think Joss Whedon can do it. For more details:
http://www.examiner.com/article/joss-whedon-s-much-ado-about-nothing-to-visit-wondercon
A MUSICAL?!?!
Seriously, there's something going on here. I love me some musicals and I love me some "Much Ado," so whoever decided the two must be combined was obviously doing it for me. Maybe there's something in the water/air, but here's yet another famous-name-attached project related to "Much Ado" -- a musical scored by Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong! Hopefully this project takes off and makes it onto a larger production platform (currently only set to be performed at the Yale Repertory Theater in 2014) so I can see it. But I find it fascinating that this is happening at all. For more details: http://www.zmemusic.com/rock/billie-joe-armstrong-shakespeare-15032013/
Maybe my personal love for "Much Ado" isn't so unique and there is quite a huge fan-base, who knows. But regardless, I'm excited and hope I get a chance to watch both and add them to my "Much Ado" collection. If not, I've still got the play and the Kenneth Branagh movie version.
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