Tuesday, March 29, 2011

15 Films I Look Forward to in 2011

With the summer blockbuster films just around the corner and the often critically-acclaimed slew of movies that are released during the fall season, I would just like to compile a list here of movies that I a looking forward to this year. From superhero flicks to novel adaptations, there is a lot of films that I would like to see. Here's to hoping that I can somehow rake up the money to catch all of them in theaters when they are released.



1. The Tree of Life
Directed by Terrence Malick
Starring: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica Chastain

Little is known about this film's plot, though it has been said that it is a period piece set in the 1950s. On Summit Entertainment's website, a brief summary describes the movie as "the tale of a Texas boy's journey from the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as a 'lost soul in the modern world', and his quest to regain meaning in life."




2. War Horse
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Starring: David Thewlis and Benedict Cumberbatch

Based on the novel of the same name, the film is centered around the friendship between a young man and his horse during World War I.




3. Moneyball
Directed by Bennett Miller
Starring: Bradd Pitt, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Wright

Based on the novel by Michael Lewis, who also wrote the novel behind the 2009 Best Picture Nominee The Blind Side, this baseball flick is about Oakland A’s manager Billy Beane’s revolutionary use of statistics to revamp his underdog baseball squad. I'm not a big fan of baseball but I just got ahold of an early draft of the movie's script which is written by one of my favorite screenwriters, Aaron Sorkin which is making me all the more interested seeing how this will all transcribe onto the big screen.




4. Captain America: The First Avenger
Directed by Joe Johnston
Starring: Chris Evans, Hugo Weaving and Hayley Atwell

One of the superhero movies leading up to the big Avengers movie, this superhero flick stars Chris Evans as the iconic American superhero. After seeing the first TV spot for it during the Super Bowl, I thought that the movie was going to be lame. But when the full theatrical trailer was released this past week, I was sold after watching it. The movie looks action packed with nice cinematography and an artistic war-filled setting which makes the film very appealing to me. And despite the fact that I am not Chris Evan's biggest fan, you can now count me in as one of the people excited for this film to be released.




5. Green Lantern
Directed by Martin Campbell
Starring: Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively

I am a huge fan of Blake Lively. I've loved and adored her since her breakout role on television series Gossip Girl. And although I could care less about Ryan Reynolds, the fact that this movie has my beautiful wife Miss Lively in it, I am dying to see it just as much as I was to see The Town when it was first released.




6. The Help
Directed by Tate Taylor
Starring: Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard and Mike Vogel

I've seen this novel sitting on Barnes & Nobles' bestsellers shelf for the past year but have never actually picked it up to see what the book is about. And according to wikipedia, the novel is about "African American maids working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960s." This film has the potential to push "it girl" Emma Stone to Oscar-worthy material and I look forward to seeing her performance in it.





7. The Ides of March
Directed by George Clooney
Starring: George Clooney, Ryan Gosling and Evan Rachel Wood

This film is written, directed by and starring George Clooney himself as a Democratic presidential candidate. It is based on the hit Broadway play Farragut North and also stars Ryan Gosling as a young, idealistic campaign staffer who gets swallowed up by the corrupt backroom politics. I must admit that very few movies about politics have actually excited me, but from the first day this film began production I have been excited for it, not because of its plot, but rather because it has George Clooney and Ryan Gosling in it.




8. The Conspirator
Directed by Robert Redford
Starring: Robin Wright, James McAvoy and Alexis Bledel

The story of Mary Surratt and the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln is an interesting historical story that just might be perfect for cinema. Add James McAvoy, one of my all-time favorite actors into the mix and this movie instantly makes my 'Must Watch List.' Further, upon watching the recently released trailer for the film, the haunting aspect it brought to the table made me all the more interested in seeing it.




9. Hugo Cabret
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Starring: Jude Law, Chloe Moretz and Sacha Baron Cohen

Set in 1930s Paris, Hugo Cabret is about an orphan boy living in a train station who continues his late father’s quest to solve the mystery of a broken toy robot. The movie is based on Brian Selznick's visual novel and is going to be shot in 3-D. It sounds like something that is going to be visually stunning which I think will be intriguing.




10. Super 8
Directed by J. J. Abrams
Starring: Kyle Chandler and Elle Fanning

Whatever the hell this movie is...it looks like one big intense Cloverfield-like science fiction thriller. The story may turn out to be a let-down, but I don't care. After seeing the teaser trailer for this movie, I am dying to find out what exactly is pounding so ferociously inside the long storage train.




11. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Directed by Rob Marshall
Starring: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush and Ian McShane
One of my all-time favorite Disney series is back with a fourth installment! I have always been a huge fan of Captain Jack Sparrow and his adventures out at sea, and removing Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley's characters from this franchise is the best choice Jerry Bruckheimer has ever made. Despite Pirates 2 & 3 being not as up to par as the first, I believe that this one is actually going to be good as many of the actors have said that they are going back to the roots of what made this series famous to begin with.




12. Young Adult
Directed by Jason Reitman
Starring: Charlize Theron and Patrick Wilson

Written by Juno's Academy Award winning Diablo Cody, the movie follows a fiction writer who returns to her hometown to rekindle a romance with her ex-boyfriend who is now married with kids. I loved Juno and have high hopes for a new Diablo Cody written film.




13. We Bought A Zoo
Directed by Cameron Crowe
Starring: Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson and Elle Fanning

From the director of Elizabethtown comes a movie about a man who moves his family to the English countryside to renovate a struggling zoo. It is based on the memoir by Patrick Mee and stars Matt Damon.




14. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Directed by Guy Ritchie
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams

I loved the first Sherlock Holmes, and the chemistry between Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law as the acclaimed detective and his sidekick was impeccable. The film ended on a high-note as I recall which makes this one of my instant go-to movies for the 2011 Holiday Season.




15. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Directed by David Fincher
Starring: Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara

I loved the novel by Stieg Larsson. I am a fan of Daniel Craig and especially enjoyed him as James Bond. And after seeing Rooney Mara as Erica Albright in my favorite movie, The Social Network, my excitement for this movie could not be any higher. I expect it to be nominated in several categories at the Oscars next year, and I also believe that this movie is going to help Rooney Mara's career explode. Words cannot describe how stoked I am to see this novel play out on the big screen. And YES, I am well-aware that there is a Swedish film made already but I refuse to watch it because I am holding out for David Fincher's version.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

No Country for Old Men (2007) - Film Review



No Country for Old Men is a western thriller starring Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem. The movie is based on the novel of the same name about a man, Llewelyn Moss (Brolin), who comes across a large fortune only to find himself in a cat-and-mouse chase because the there is a series of other people after the money. The film is Coen Brothers film and is the second movie made by the brothers that I have seen.

In a unique way of telling the story, Joel and Ethan Coen opted to limit the soundtrack in this movie. In many scenes, the movie was almost dead silent. When the movie first started and the credits were rolling, I thought that there was a sound issue with Amazon on Demand or my MacBook when there was no sound for at least 3 minutes in the film. But as it turns out, it was all part of a technique used in the film to tell the story. I must admit that I thought it was weird that the film didn't have an extensive soundtrack, but as the movie progressed, I found that the chilling silence actually added to the intensity of the wild goose chase.

The film was around 2 hours long, and I thought that I was going to be bored to death after watching the trailer. However, I must admit that I was surprised at how intense the film was, as it constantly left me at the edge of my seat wondering what would happen to Josh Brolin's character next and whether or not he would survive the sadistic killing spree that Javier Bardem's character, Anton was going on in the movie.

The dialogue used in the script was crisp and only there when necessary, letting the actions of the characters tell the story. And in the closing monologue of one of the Sheriffs, the description of two dreams he had was a very brilliant way of closing out the film I thought.

Though the violence was heavy, the movie was intense and engaging. And Javier Bardem's Best Supporting Actor win at the Academy Awards was well deserved in my opinion.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Midnight Cowboy (1969) - Film Review


Based on the 1965 novel of the same name, Midnight Cowboy is the only X-rated Film to ever receive and win a Best Picture award at the Oscars. It stars Dustin Hoffman as a crippled street urchin who strikes an unlikely friendship with Joe Buck (portrayed by Jon Voight) who quits his job in Texas and moves to New York City to become a hustler. Though the film's extreme sexual content made it X-rated, the film was later reissued as an R-rated film in 1971.

Ratings aside, I thought that the film was overall rather intriguing. Yes, the excessive amount of sexual content did bother me, but John Schlesinger did create a film that was both entertaining and heart-breaking altogether. While the main character Joe Buck wasn't exactly someone that I felt I could root for, I really admired and felt an attachment to Dustin Hoffman's character Ratso. Without giving away too much, the ending montage of the film was very well-shot and really tied together some of the themes of the movie in my opinion.

I thought that Dustin Hoffman gave an outstanding performance in his role, and according to Wikipedia he did in fact get a nomination in the Best Actor category for it. All in all, the film was entertaining and enjoyable to watch.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

New Music Tuesday: Young Blood

Passive Me, Agressive You
The Naked and Famous




I first heard The Naked and Famous' music on one of my favorite television shows, Gossip Girl. It opened one of their episodes earlier this year and from the moment I heard the song on TV I was in love with it. The song I heard by the band was "Young Blood", which soon dominated every single television series and commercials in America, Britain and Australia. Their album was just released today, and features a few other tunes that I really liked. The band is an alternative rock band from New Zealand. They are definitely worth listening to, and I have a feeling they will explode on the charts later just like Mumford and Sons did this year.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Vacation Mode



IT'S HERE!!!

Spring Break is finally here! I have been dying to go home these past couple of weeks and not have to work on any school work and that time has finally arrived. Tomorrow, I will be flying home to California for a week to enjoy the sunshine and warm weather before I return to this Boston cold weather again. I finished my last midterm today, and it felt so good walking out of that exam knowing that I don't have to stress about school or my currently depressing grades until the week after break. Hopefully I will have more time to write on this over break because there is a lot that I plan to update and log onto my blog. But my excitement level is too high to even sit here and contain myself to writing so all the news and thoughts that I have to write down will just have to wait. Until then....

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Soundtracks of My Life

While studying for midterms today, the only way to produce a 6 hour session of rigorous, focused studying was to play classical music. But with centuries of repertoire to choose from, how was I to decide what to listen to? Luckily, I opted to indulge myself in Motion Picture Soundtracks featuring scores that are not only soothing, but motivating for me to do work. Ranging from fast tunes to slow somber songs, my playlist got me through my long day of studying without me exploding due to the insane amount of stress that I feel at the moment.



I love the theme of True Grit, which is actually suppose to be an adaptation of a popular hymn song.



I found that The King's Speech had the most motivating soundtrack of them all due to the fact that its classical tunes played while the King himself was hard at work in the movie trying to practice his speaking abilities.



The Social Network's Oscar Winning score also made it onto my "Studying Playlist"



After falling in love with the musical score of Atonement, I just had to play the songs from its soundtrack as well amidst my studying.


In addition to the samples that I decided to share above, movie soundtracks from Finding Neverland, Schindler's List and The Pianist were also good background music for my studying. And after a long day at my school's library, I am now back at my dorm relaxing and nervously counting down until my exam tomorrow. Wish me luck!

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) - Film Review



Tonight, I watched The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. The film, starring Heath Ledger in his last acting role actually required a recast of his character for specific scenes due to his untimely death. In his place, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell play alternate versions of Ledger's character in the Doctor's imaginations.

The film itself was very interesting and I thought was very visually stunning. I really liked all the CGI done for the imagination scenes, and what really shocked me was the acting. Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Colin Farrell all have comparable acting to Heath Ledger. To be honest, if they all wore a mask over their face, I would not have known that Ledger was recast for some of the scenes in the film.

I thought that the film was intriguing and definitely very beautiful in terms of the visuals. And lastly, it was fun to watch Andrew Garfield in a slightly more comedic role. I am a huge fan of his work and really enjoyed him as Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network and Tommy in Never Let Me Go, a book by Kazuo Ishiguro which I highly recommend by the way.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Oscars 2011: Afterthoughts

Hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway, the 83rd Annual Academy Awards were held on February 27, 2011. A night that celebrated the year's best in the Film Industry, movies such as "The King's Speech" "The Social Network" "Toy Story 3" "Inception" "True Grit" "The Fighter" and "Black Swan" were nominated.

Though for the most part I thought that those who received their respectable awards deserved it, there were a few categories in which the end result I disagreed with:



In the Best Supporting Actress Category, Melissa Leo won for her work in The Fighter. Also nominated in that category was True Grit's Hailee Steinfeld who in my opinion should have won in the category. Only 14-years-old, Hailee is the true breakout star of this year, starring as Mattie Ross, a girl who hires a deputy to help track down and kill her father's murderer. Steinfeld's stellar acting and front and center role in the film made her a shining star in my opinion, and her humble and mature way of presenting herself in interviews and red carpet appearances makes her all the more appealing to me. Frankly, I may have a small crush on this cute girl.



In the Best Director category, the award went to Tom Hooper for his direction in The King's Speech. While I enjoyed the movie and especially adored Colin Firth's acting, I thought that David Fincher should have won for his directing in The Social Network. The Social Network was hands down, my favorite film of the year and I thought that Fincher really stepped up his game for this film than in his previous works.



Inception won for Best Cinematography, a category that I highly disagreed with. Frankly, I thought that the cinematography in True Grit and Black Swan were much more inspiring and memorable.

That being said, I was very happy to see Natalie Portman win for Best Actress and Colin Firth for Best Actor. Toy Story 3 also took home Best Animated Film and Best Original Song which made me really happy.

Having the opportunity to watch eight of the ten nominated Best Picture Films, I thoroughly enjoyed them all and it was wonderful to see all the cast and crew members of each movie get recognized this awards season for their hard work and efforts. I am looking forward to what Hollywood will bring this coming year and also to the Oscars next year.