Trailer for your Weekend: Hercules
I am a massive fan of the Rock. I think he is probably the most charismatic action star going around these days and can lift films that otherwise would be terrible, to at least watchable levels. But after watching the first teaser trailer for Hercules (2014), I fear even the huge former WWE star may be out of his league because this film looks terrible. When you can’t even make a minute and a half of a film watchable then you are in a bit of trouble. Who knows, perhaps the Rock can save this from being a miserable dirge of crummy CGI beasts, but I hold out little hope. Anyone a little more positive than me?
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier
The posters for this film have been ace.
Captain America (2011) is one of my favourite of the Marvel films so far. As such I was pretty keen to check out Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), although there was a nagging doubt that I could not quite shake – how would the film hold up without the period setting of the first film?
After seeing Marvel’s latest effort, I think it was a fair concern to have. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is by no means a bad film (it is very, very rare that Marvel put their stamp on one of those), but it is also rather standard, never reaching the heights of the best films from the comic book behemoth. Much of that is due to the shift in time frame for Cap which was a necessity in order for him to be part of The Avengers (2012). The character of Captain America is a bit of an absurd one in reality. But his over the top, arch-patriotism works best when situated, like the first film, somewhere like Germany in World War II. In 2014 America, a place where the mainstream political and military mindset has been battered in the opinion of the public by Iraq, Afghanistan, the NSA and so on, Cap is more likely to be a little on the nose. It is a credit to the filmmakers that they are willing to explore this uneasy state of affairs and the uneasy place that this character has in it, but even so, there is no doubting that the major thing that the first film had going for it is gone. The early attempts to transfer the military stylings and focus of the first film into this one does not really work at all and contributes to what is a spluttering first half hour.
Of course simply to say that it is impossible for a present day set Captain America film to be fantastic is silly. With the right story and action beats and there is no doubting the character could helm a cracking film, especially given Chris Evans feels so spot on in the role. But the major issue with this film is that whilst there are some great aspects to it, including some of the action beats, the overarching plot is initially oblique and then to be honest really weak and lacking in the narrative richness required. There was always going to be some need to attempt to connect the plot of the film to that of the first film, and it does not work. I am aware that the story is based on a really highly regarded comic book arc, but I can only assume that does a much better job of telling the story than this film does. It is such a shame that the main story does not stick, because Robert Redford is very good as it is and if the story was a little stronger, his character could have been a really impactful one. The film is also not really about The Winter Solider that much at all. If you are going to build the marketing and even naming of a film around a character, don’t just make him a henchman for a vast majority of the film. The last 20 minutes or so does manage to get the viewer excited for what could perhaps come in the future between the two characters. But you are left with the distinct sense that the potential of the character was neglected in this flick a little to set things up for future entries.
One thing that this film does better then perhaps any other Marvel flick is that it gives the minor goodies a chance to shine. The increased screen time for Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow is perhaps the best thing about the entire film. I know that Marvel has an ever expanding slate of both rumoured and confirmed phase 3 films, but they should seriously pull the trigger on a standalone Johansson Widow film. The character has so much great back-story, both from the comics and hinted at this film that could be mined for a really effective origin style story. Basing it around some of the current comics that Nathan Edmondson is writing for the character would be a real winner in my view. And having the character attempting to atone for her chequered KGB past could also make a very different kind of Marvel film. The other main highlight in the supporting cast is Anthony Mackie’s Falcon, a character that initially grates but by the third act is one of the best things about it. Again, the filmmakers actually give the character some great moments out of the shadow of Cap which is something the Marvel films have not always managed to do very well. For me though, Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury continues to be a total bore whilst the much more interesting S.H.I.E.L.D operative Maria Hill played by Cobie Smulders unfortunately does not feature nearly enough.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is certainly a really solid, enjoyable big budget blockbuster that will be better than 80% of films in that category this year. For me personally, despite my enjoyment, it is a slight disappointment. But that is more a credit to how much Marvel have been killing it of late, rather than any real slight against the film itself.
Verdict: Stubby of Reschs
Related beermovie.net articles for you to check out: 2014 Preview: Top Ten Anticipated Films and Captain America: The Winter Solider posters
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Guest Post: A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) – An email discussion
Just like with Freddy vs Jason (2003), which my cousin Damo so expertly reviewed last week here, I was not too fussed about reviewing the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010). And why would you want to read my boring old review, when you have this. Eric from Isaacs Picture Conclusions and Zoe from The Sporadic Chronicles of a Beginner Blogger chewing the fat about the film over email. Safe to say Zoe hated it, whilst Eric seems a little hung up on some bloke called Clancy Brown who I can only presume is an Irish folk singer from the 1950s. Not sure of the connection there.
Also, apologies for the craptastic formatting on this. Zoe and Eric sent it to me all pretty like, but I busted it transferring it across to WordPress.
theipc.me ei@theipc.me
Mar 12 (6 days ago)
to Zoë
HI ZOE!!!!!!
So Tim, over at Beer Movie is looking for a piece on the Nightmare reboot – you fucking hated that thing right???
Zoee Mar 12 (6 days ago)
Like the worst fucking thing ever!
theipc.me ei@theipc.me
Mar 12 (6 days ago)
to Zoë
LOLOLOLOL!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
I didn’t hate it that much but I’ve only ever seen a couple of them. What did you hate so much??? You have to give it up a little for Clancy Brown! No??
Zoë
Mar 12 (6 days ago)
to me
Pfffff…
I hope among that couple that you have seen is the 1984 one, because that one was a solid entry!
Pretty sure one of these dudes is that Clancy guy Isaacs has a thing for. Proabably one of the ones with a pipe
First off, the entire film is a travesty. I mean that in the truest sense of the word. It completely desecrated everything that Freddy Krueger represented. Freddy was all wrong. I cannot stress this enough. When I think Krueger I think Robert Englund. Dark comedy (though it wasn’t always so), striped sweater, bad burns, “bitch” being uttered left, right, and centre, crazy dream sequences and not taking himself too seriously. Also, the mythos were completely fucked with. Nobody felt compassion for Freddy when they burned him to death. I swear, nobody was defending him. Let us not even go into the blatant ripping off of the old school scenes, churning them out as if they should be new and awesome and just missing the point completely. It was one of the worst reboots ever, and it still galls me to think about it.
I would love to know why you didn’t hate it… (and don’t hide behind the fact that you hadn’t seen many of the others)?
Zoë
________________________________________
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 12:10:05 -0500
Subject: Re: Nightmare on Elm Street 2010
theipc.me ei@theipc.me
Mar 12 (6 days ago)
to Zoë
LOL!!! When have I ever hidden from you, JB????
I had only ever seen the first two – in the theaters before your were even born (HAHAHAHAHA #love) – when I saw this one (I’ve since seen the third one with the penis worm we all got a good laugh at). I don’t know – I guess on my blog I watch a lot of very low quality SHIT movies that totally suck butt. I thought this thing looked decent enough, had some good looking actors and decent enough effects. I also liked that it wasn’t filled with a bunch of bullshit corny one-liners that came to be associated with Freddy and……………… –> CLANCY BROWN!!!!
I did NOT like Jackie Earl Haley though. This is the truth.
Also – I am currently getting screamed at on a three hour conference call about Caller ID problems. Have you ever gotten screamed at on a three hour conference call about Caller ID problems. If so, you’d appreciate NoES a little more.
I think.
Zoë
Mar 13 (5 days ago)
to me
Bwahahaha! Yeah alright, true that, I will give you that!
Yeah, yeah, #love. Oh yes, who can ever forget the infamous penis worm? Yeah, you do, but this one is right up there for me. Took itself waaaaaaaaay too seriously and just fucked up a whole lot of good stuff. Meh, it didn’t work for me. You know I bitched more watching this than I did throughout the Potter movies? My other half was shocked! No wait now… Freddy had some hardcore one liners, what are you even on about! 😛 I take it you are a fan?
Hmmmmm… he was not the greatest but certainly not the biggest pitfall of this piece of crap remake.
I have honestly never been screamed at about Caller ID problems on a three hour conference call… that sounds freaking awful… probably still not as painful as this shitty movie. I think.
Can you believe it holds a 5.2 score on IMDB? What the fuck world?!
Zoë
________________________________________
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2014 12:34:54 -0500
theipc.me ei@theipc.me
8:41 AM (0 minutes ago)
to Zoë
Sorry I got behind on this!!!! That SHITFEST Social we did wore me clean out!!!
I get that it took itself too seriously – I do hate when movies are like that. Everybody just needs to lighten up, right? What did Cheri Oteri’s character say in SOUTHLAND TALES?? “The world would be a better place if everyone just got more cardio…” I don’t know… I didn’t hate it and I think that’s all I’ve got. You know what I did hate??? That second Rob Zombie HALLOWEEN!! Screw that fucker!!! But we’re not here to talk about that..
Zoë
8:56 AM (0 minutes ago)
to me
Phew! Totally don’t blame you there! That was just way too much fun considering the source material!
More cardio… maybe that is what this needed. Hahahaha. Yeah, I see that you don’t hate it, and that I despise it and that I can bitch about it endlessly but let us not go into it too much here some more. It is crap, it messed with decades worth of material, it defiled everything that it was and was a completely reboot. Screw it. I will just be quiet. If people want to read more extensively on what I had to say, they can check out my Shitfest entry here or the review I wrote on my blog over here.
No, we’re not… but I can see that that is a series we should maybe get involved with together… from the beginning all the way through!
Zoë
________________________________________
Date: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 08:41:13 -0500
theipc.me ei@theipc.me
8:59 AM (0 minutes ago)
to Zoë
WE TOTALLY SHOULD!!!!!
Summer Project!!!!!!
See ya!!!
There you have it folks. Thanks so much to Zoe and Eric for reviewing the film for me. I am sure you already read their stuff, but on the off chance you don’t, hit up Zoe’s site The Sporadic Chronicles of a Beginner Blogger and Eric’s refined musings at Isaacs Picture Conclusions.
If you haven’t read them yet, check out my thoughts on all of the canon Elm Street films. Here they are in my order of preference:
1. A Nightmare on Elm Street
2. A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
3. Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
4. A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
5. Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare
6. A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
7. A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master.
Trailer for your Weekend: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
So the trailer for the upcoming Michael Bay produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) dropped this week. And despite myself I can’t help but be a little excited by this. It will almost certainly be another terrible ordeal of ‘Bayhem’ and it seems impossible it could possibly be a patch on the live action original that is so beloved by me and many others. But as someone who loves the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I can’t help but be just a little bit psyched. Not so much the appearnce of the CGI turtles which is a little terrible. But because o f the big budget approach that is being taken with the property. There is an off chance that this will be loads of big budget fun with plenty of Turtles attitude. I will cling to that faint hope anyways. Thoughts all?
Related beermovie.net articles for you to check out: Worth Watching December 2010 and 2011 in Review
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Quick Review: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) is my fiancee’s favourite film in the entire world. So even if I didn’t like it, I would lie and say I did. But I did like it. And that is not a lie.
It is easy to see why the film has become one of the most popular ‘contemporary’ Australian films, hovering somewhere between being a cult classic and an all out mainstream one. The film follows three drag queens as they traverse Australia from Sydney to Alice Springs to put on some shows. Or so they think. As with any road film, as the journey unfolds, the reasons for it become more complicated. And as with all of the best road films the journey is not merely a physical one as all three go on major internal journeys as they travel along in their titular bus Priscilla. The film is simultaneously wonderfully rambunctious but also quite considered in both the narrative and how it is telling it. One of the major selling points of the film is the costumes and it deservedly won an Oscar for costume design. The costumes are totally over the top but also so well thought out and at the service of the character. It is not a case of just slapping the silliest, biggest, wildest drag queen costume on the actors. It is about reflecting the character, where their arc is up to and the current situation of the film. I heard the other day that they tried, but unfortunately failed to make a dress made entirely of Vegemite toast (do you guys even know what Vegemite is?). That would have been a real sight to see!
The performances are all excellent. Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce really launched there careers with this film, careers that would take them from an Aussie drag queen comedy all the way to blockbusters such as The Matrix (1999) and Iron Man 3 (2013). Without this film it is highly doubtful that they would have made it there. Both of them are excellent and they bring to life two totally different characters that thankfully illustrate that the film is more than happy to eschew drag queen cliche for three dimensional characters. Cast against type, Terence Stamp is along for the ride, helping no end to launch the careers of these two and make this film into the classic it is is. His character is probably the most minor of the three leads in terms of screen time but it is arguable that this character and this performance are the most important to the overall success of the film. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a musical but it is far more than a collection of songs linked together with a little backstory. It engages with issues such as LGBTI rights and sets them against a specific time and place in Australia. Mind you there is a feeling watching this today that a lot of it is still more than relevant.
As a massive proponent of Aussie film, I highly recommend you catch this one if you never have. It is a hilarious and touching classic not afraid to push boundaries and you can’t ask for too much more in a film.
Verdict: Pint of Kilkenny
Progress: 104/1001
2014 Progress: 8/101
Related beermovie.net articles for you to check out: Patrick and Goddess
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Guest Review: Freddy vs Jason
As you will probably know, I just finished reviewing the Nightmare on Elm Street films. I was not too keen on reviewing the couple of non-canon films that followed featuring Freddy Krueger though. But I got some awesome volunteers when I put the call out there.
First up is my cousin Damo with this review of Freddy vs Jason (2003), the much maligned team up film, which does actually have a few defenders. Here are Damo’s thoughts.
Freddy vs Jason, a quick rundown before we begin.
Freddy Krueger is a serial killer, he attacks people in their dreams and if they die in the dream world, they die in real life too apparently. Krueger is from the Nightmare on Elm Street series.
Jason Voorhees kills serially also; he hails from the well known Friday the 13th horror film series. This guy automatically scores extra points because he wears a bad ass ice hockey mask, because he’s legit. And I like Ice Hockey…
Up the Mighty Ducks.
Anyway, this movie is all about Krueger’s mission to return to Elm Street (where he enjoys killing people) after an extended hiatus of not being powerful enough to enter people’s dreams. Or something. This is all explained by Kruger himself; in addition to his plan to get Jason Voorhees to kill Elm Street locals so he can make a re-entry to the dream world. Unfortunately for Freddy though, Jason’s refusal to help him and instead continue killing for himself throws a spanner in the works. A spanner that obviously can’t be taken out like a normal person, its got to be solved by a big showdown between the two blokes. Sounds cool. Not really. Its crap.
So a storyline that’s so totally unique I hear you say; no its not. Haha.
But guess what? The characters are completely new and original. The lead girl, naïve and beautiful; the love interest who never wants to leave her side; the girl’s best friend who has low self esteem and that random pothead who is high all the time. What an outstanding film. Just joking. This is horrible.
Criticism aside, the fights and kills in the film are okay. After realizing that Jason Voorhees is overtaking him on the kill scale; Krueger initiates his fight back (cue the Freddy Vs Jason fight that took them an hour and fifteen minutes to get to). A combo of cool ways of stabbing each other coupled with hitting one another with various industrial material and/or machinery provides a somewhat okay series of moments in an absolutely horrendous film. It just isn’t that good.
Look, as far as slasher films go, this movie isn’t too bad but in every other department, this is pretty bloody terrible.
I was able to do one thing constructive during my viewing of Freddy vs Jason which was add the question “Is the writer of Freddy vs Jason dead yet?”
This film is the first in many years that has left me with my head in my hands wanting to cry in a corner.
I wish I could tell you to watch this movie, to share it with your friends and to enjoy your 97minutes of bliss, instead I will tell you to burn it in bucket that’s fireproof just in case the fire spreads. Its good to be fire-smart.
Verdict: Schooner of Tooheys New
Damo now has his own blog over at The Horenco Effort where he is publishing his movie reviews and will also be featuring other gnarly stuff such as his tunes.
Three fantastic Enemy posters
Up until I came across the trailer for Denis Villeneuve’s Enemy (2013) whilst trawling for a trailer to post last week, hype for the film had pretty much passed me by. I thought the trailer was really good and I loved the poster I included in that post as well (the first one below). In a time where one decent poster for a big release is rare, I was pleasantly surprised to find that there were three pretty tasty looking Enemy posters. Check them out below and let me know what your favourite is.
This poster I shared with the trailer last week. I am utterly intrigued by that monster inside Gyllenhaal’s head.
Just as awesome is this yellow beast. Echoing the somewhat empty head and ramping up the doppelganger aspect of the plot too. This may well be my favourite of the three.
Lastly is this one, which if you look closely is actually really detailed in its design. The Gyllenhaal doubles have slightly different looks about them. Like the above, is cool to see some bold colour schemes used as well.
Related beermovie.net articles: Trailer for your Weekend: Enemy and Captain America: The Winter Soldier character posters.
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Trailer for your Weekend: The Double
After stumbling upon the trailer for Enemy (2013) last week, I thought this week I would share the trailer for the rather more hyped doppelganger film to be released this year, Richard Ayoade’s The Double (2014). I have not really seen any of Ayoade’s work but plenty of people are really keen on his artistic vision. In terms of the cast, Jesse Eisenberg rarely impresses me, but I think Mia Wasikowska is one of the best actresses working at the moment and I enjoy her performances even in films that I don’t care for such as Stoker (2013). As for this film, I am a little pessimistic. It looks a little weird tonally and actually reminded me of Tery Gilliam’s Brazil (1985). That kind of shtick is difficult to maintain over the course of a whole film. Having said that, the central notion is one that could make a great film, being a great mix of the relateable and the fantastical. Imagine what you would go through if all of a sudden your doppelganger showed up as a colleague. Hopefully the director can take it some interesting places.
Related beermovie.net articles: Trailer for your Weekend: Enemy and Now You See Me
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Quick Review – Grease
I generally write super long reviews, partly because I take a lot of notes whilst watching. But I don’t always feel like taking a whole bunch of notes and in those cases I will be writing these quick reviews for 1001 flicks from now on. They will be far less fully formed and detailed, but hopefully still interesting enough.
It had been a long time between viewings of Grease (1978) for me when the fiancee and I chucked this on a couple of weeks ago. I thought I knew the film pretty well, but aside from some of the better known songs, there was actually a whole lot in here that I had absolutely no recollection of.
The songs are what generally stick in the mind when thinking about Grease or at least they were for me . I remember “Grease Lightning” and some form of ‘supermix’ of all the tracks being played endlessly at high school socials. Events where teenage boys (not me of course) would attempt to sing the John Travolta part from “Summer Lovin” to impress a girl and end up looking like a tool and impressing no one. But watching the film now, it is clear that there a lot more to it than that. For starters, despite most of the actors looking 20 years too old to be in high school, the film quite accurately charts the feelings that high school brings. The desperation to fit in, to retain some sense of originality and to impress the one you like enough to score a date. Refreshingly, the main points in this regard are made not by the portrayal of the new to town, goody two shoes Sandy, but by the suave and cool Danny played famously by John Travolta. He is the one who is not comfortable enough in his own skin to be himself around her. Rather he has to put on a greaser facade so as to save face with his mates. As for the songs though, they still hold up really well and there are a couple of singalong classics in here. That said though, there are a couple of them that I had totally forgotten that are really quite flat and suck a lot of the momentum out of the film.
John Travolta is generally the actor who gets the most credit from this film. Either that, or it just seems that way because he is the one with the most prominent (though spluttering) ongoing career. The best performance though, and the one most integral to the film is from Olivia Newton-John as Sandy. It is her journey that the audience goes on, her conflicting emotions that we rollercoaster along with. And when both characters undergo a metamorphosis at the end, hers is by far the more meaningful of the two. She is changing and embracing the change happily whereas Danny is doing it begrudgingly (the character does most things begrudgingly throughout the film actually). Watching this film with my fiancee was a nicely interactive experience. This is one of those films best watched with a big crowd that is really into it I think, much like Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) in that regard. And I still got that experience even with just the two of us as she sang every word to every song and whacked my arm repeatedly to exclaim “oh my God, coolest car ever”.
Grease is actually a film that holds up better than I thought it would and is much more than some catchy tunes. The depiction of high school here felt pretty relevant to me, even though I attended high school on an entirely different continent, 25 odd years later.
Verdict: Pint of Kilkenny
Progress: 103/1001
2014 Progress: 7/101
Related beermovie.net articles for you to check out: Cabaret, A Few Best Men
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Live Tweet Review: Independence Day
I checked out Independence Day (1996) for the second of the live tweet reviews that you folk voted for. Gotta say, I liked this a whole lot less than the last time I saw it unfortunately. Chime in with your comments on what Roland Emmerich’s best film is below. Also, it’s still technically a ‘live’ tweet if I need to go to sleep for eight hours in the middle yeah?
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