Trailer Made

Aaaaannnnnd the dynamic duo is back.  Nope, not Batman and Robin.  Paul Thomas Anderson and Jonny Greenwood.  They teamed up last in the amazing There Will Be Blood, which was loved by all.  Seriously, if you didn’t love that movie, get out of my face and crawl into a hole somewhere because you don’t deserve to see another movie ever again…or better yet, you deserve to watch Battleship and Transformers 2 on a continuous loop for all eternity.

The Master looks creepy as hell.  I feel uncomfortable watching the teaser but hey, Scientology is fucking creepy.  And this teaser is amazing.  I’ve had numerous conversations about how fabulous Jonny Greenwood is.  His score sets the entire mood of this trailer.  It’s a perfect compliment to the scenes they chose and the close-ups of Joaquin’s face.  It’s beautiful.  

I know this isn’t the full trailer but I love the fact that you seriously have no clue what the hell the plot of this movie is.   It’s a tease, get it?

And my stars, Joaquin Phoenix, you are blowing my mind in this.  I mean look at that mug! Golf claps to whoever cast this shindig.  I am ready to love the hell out of this movie.  

-Katie

popculturebrain:

Trailer: Looper - Sept 28

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, Bruce Willis, Jeff Daniels, and Piper Perabo.

Yes, this time travel crap does fry your brain. But that’s why we like it. If you weren’t excited for this movie yet, my guess is that you are now, despite the fact that it looks like this thing could very easily get bogged down by rules. Let’s hope that like this trailer it falls on the side of action and less on wallowing in its own concept.

I am so excited for the third collaboration of Rian Johnson (writer and director of the wonderful Brick)and Joseph Gordon Levitt.  Mmmm…Joseph Gordon Levitt.

OBLIGATORY ST. PATRICK’S DAY POST.

It’s a beautiful day in Brooklyn.  I’m sitting here with the terrace doors wide open, the sun shining and a cool breeze flowing through my living room.  You know what else I hear?  A bunch of people (dressed in green, probably) already drunk and rowdy as they make their way to the next watering hole filled with booze and bad decisions. Today is St. Patrick’s day - a day of wearing green (and probably puking the color too) and drinking for 15 hours straight.  Seriously. That’s it.  There is no way in hell those people know why this day is a thing.  Hell, I don’t even know why. 

You know what I do know about St. Patrick’s day?  Today is the day that at some point a syndicated cable channel (probably Syfy or Chiller) will show a marathon of all the Leprechaun films.  From the original, to space, to the hood, and then back to the hood. It WILL happen today.

Starring the wonderful Warwick Davis (Willow, Harry Potter, and the amazing Life’s too Short that’s currently on HBO) as the maniacal, shoe-shining, murderous Leprechaun, this film is a cult favorite due to it’s, well…basic plotline, over the top deaths and being known as Jennifer Aniston’s feature film debut.  

And if this isn’t enough for you, feel free to watch all 5 (yeah, that’s right) sequels.  Here’s a taste of what you’ll be viewing if you make it to Leprechaun in the Hood. ICED-T!!!

-Katie

It’s difficult for me to express just how excited I am about Cabin in the Woods.  I saw a trailer for it years ago, when it was in limbo and desperately trying to get distributed after MGM collapsed.  I was so scared this would never see the light of day.  Fall to the wayside forgotten or worse, become a straight to DVD movie that no one takes seriously.  That fate should NEVER happen to anything Joss Whedon touches.  The man is a genius.  One of my favorite writers, actually.  He writes the way we speak, think and feel.  His writing is fluid and witty and even better, not dumbed down.

The first movie I ever saw by myself was Serenity (directed and written by Whedon) because I was the only person I knew that watched Firefly. And I didn’t just watch Firefly.  I was OBSESSED with it.  The characters, Nathan Fillion, the dialogue and writing…Nathan Fillion…you get the picture.  Before that, I watched Buffy from the very beginning until the very last vampire slay.  And fun fact: he also co-wrote the screenplay for Toy Story.  See?  FUCKING GENIUS.

Now to get to the trailer, I honestly have no idea what the hell is going on and I am perfectly okay with that.  I can piece together the fact that this is set up like any old horror movie.  A bunch of sex-crazed, drug-addicted hooligans go to an isolated cabin in the woods to party and then get picked off one by one.  But then there’s these images…an invisible wall, two men in a control booth, what looks like a SWAT team.  And that’s where this formulaic movie becomes something more.  Something unexpected…and I can’t wait to see what that is.

With a writer like Joss Whedon and first time director and co-writer, Drew Goddard (writer for Lost and Alias), I am 110% sure we are in good, capable hands.  And I’m fairly certain it will be something we’ve never seen.  Don’t believe me?  Just check out this review from Badass Digest after they saw a screening of it at SXSW.

-Katie

I will go out on a limb to say The Manchurian Candidate is one of the greatest political thrillers ever made.  The plot, the cast, the directing, the script (written by the amazingly talented George Axelrod who also wrote The Lady Vanishes and Breakfast at Tiffany’s), everything about this film is done exceptionally well.

I honestly had no idea this movie existed until the wonderful staff of I Love Video in Austin, TX told me about it.  I had just finished watching Ocean’s Eleven (the original) for the first time and I wanted another fix of Frank Sinatra.  The dude behind the counter talked up this movie like it was his job (as I guess it was), so I rented it and my mind proceeded to be blown.  Side note: this was not the first nor the last time that the I Love Video changed my life, so thank you, I Love Video!

Frank Sinatra plays Major Bennett Marco, a Korean War Veteran who begins to have recurring vivid nightmares involving Sergeant Raymond Shaw (played by Laurence Harvey), a decorated war hero he toured with.  He’s not quite sure if these nightmares are based on past occurrences or if his mind is playing tricks on him so he heads to New York to confront Shaw about the events that may or may not have occurred.  What he uncovers is something far more disturbing than he ever imagined.

One of the main reasons this movie is so badass is the creepy, domineering, mentally unhinged and all-around evil Mrs. Eleanor Shaw Iselin (fantastically played by Angela Lansbury, best known as the sweet mystery-solving senior citizen in Murder She Wrote).  I consider this character one of the greatest villains of all time.

This is an edge of your seat film that never disappoints.  Do yourself a favor and have a gander.

-Katie

Do I even need to say anything about this?!  This was a STANDARD for me during Christmas as a kid.  Gremlins is a perfect holiday movie (yes I know it didn’t even come out during holiday season but whatever). It’s entertaining, hilarious, dark and adorable all rolled into one amazing 80s movie presented by Steven Spielberg. 

We all know the three rules when owning a mogwai and we all know the repercussions if we disobey those rules.  And if you’re anything like me, you recognize that music almost immediately.  Also, let’s be honest, every single person who saw this movie as a kid asked or wanted to ask for Gizmo for Christmas.

-Katie

Okay.  So I lied about taking another hiatus.  Don’t blame me…blame the new job.  But I’m back again just in time for the holidays!

So since we’re ‘tissing the season, BEHOLD DIE HARD…MY FAVORITE CHRISTMAS MOVIE OF ALL TIME. I’m completely serious.  All of you jerks can keep, A Christmas Story, It’s a Wonderful Life, or White Christmas (FYI: Bing Crosby used to beat his kids…Merry Christmas indeed) or whatever other crap you watch on the holidays.  Die Hard is it.  Action, adventure, romance, terrorists, and the Christmas spirit.   To quote my brother: “The Christmas spirit is about giving.  Bruce Willis gives terrorists a bunch of whoop-ass”.  It’s a completely entertaining and totally awesome.

As you can see from the trailer, the plot is pretty fantastic.  You add a lonely cop in a foreign city, some terrorist, and an estranged wife and you’ve got a simple yet amazing plot.  Also, just look at this cast:

Bruce Willis = NYPD detective, John McClane trying to reconcile with wife in LA on Christmas Eve.

Alan Rickman = lead angry German terrorist named Hans 

Reginald VelJohnson aka Carl Winslow = LAPD cop in the wrong place at the wrong time

The Maestro from The Money Pit = angry German terrorist

DO YOU SEE THIS?!  THE AWESOMENESS THAT IS ALL OVER THIS MOVIE?!  Also, how fantastic is that music in the trailer, huh?

For all those who doubt this is a Christmas movie, please remember, THE PLOT TAKES PLACE ON CHRISTMAS EVE…and the always awesome “Christmas in Hollis” by Run DMC is playing during the beginning of the movie. BOOM CHRISTMAS.

-Katie

I think I have a thing for movies set in the ’70s.  Especially action movies set in New York.  It was a gritty, crime-riddled time filled with intrigue, mystery and…crime.  Attitude runs rampant and everyone has a bitter, jaded quality.  Which means, it’s pretty much the same as New York today.

So I watched The Taking of Pelham One Two Three the other night and was pleasantly surprised by how easily it stands the test of time.  It’s suspenseful, smart, hilarious and witty, and it’s great fun to watch nearly 37 years later.

Four armed men, lead by Robert Shaw - best known as the grumpy shark hunter in Jaws, hijack the Pelham 6 train and ransom it, along with the passengers for $1 million.  It’s up to transit police Lt. Zach Garber (Matthau) and the rest of NY’s finest to save the hostages and get the bad guys…and the clock’s ticking.

Like I said before, this is smart - cast, script, direction, everything.  It cops an attitude which I feel is very much NY.  Everyone is sarcastic, even when speaking to the criminals. Everyone seems bitter, frustrated and tempestuous - much like the city itself.  To top it all off, the Mayor is a buffoon who can’t seem to handle dealing with anything, let alone a hostage situation. And Matthau and Shaw lead a great cast which includes Hector Elizondo, Martin Balsam, Jerry Stiller, Doris Roberts and Dick O’Neil. 

It’s on Netflix Instant Watch and I highly recommend it.

-Katie

There is really no reason for me NOT to be excited about Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.  I mean, you watched this, right?  The cast alone is enough to get me all in a tizzy.  Gary Oldman, Tom Hardy (yay!), Colin Firth (Academy Award Winning yay!), Toby Jones (Truman Capote in that movie that wasn’t called Capote), Ciarin Hinds, John Hurt (famous for the alien exploding out of his stomach in Alien) and Mark Strong-who is seriously in everything now.

Set in the 1970s, the film centers on George Smiley (Oldman) who comes out of semi-retirement to find a Soviet mole within the British Intelligence agency, MI-6.  Along with perfect casting, the film is directed by Tomas Alfredson, who is the critically acclaimed director of Let the Right One In (the Swedish version).  Although this is only the second feature film he has directed, I’m hoping he’s on a roll and the film will be just as good as his last one.

So to add everything up: we have a kick-ass cast, good director, and an espionage-central plot to keep us on the edge of our seats.  Kevin Taylor, you and I have a date to see this movie on November 18th.  No excuses.

-Katie

Aaaaaaaannnnnnddddd we’re back.  I know, it’s been a while (3 months) but I promise this will be the last time that happens. 

On that note, I would like to return with a movie by David Cronenberg, who might possibly be my favorite director.  I have seriously loved every movie he has ever made (except that one about race cars but only because I’ve never seen it).

After an almost 4 year hiatus, Cronenberg returns with A Dangerous Method, starring Viggo Mortensen (swoon), Michael Fassbender (double swoon), and Kiera Knightley (girl crush swoon).  The plot focuses on the relationship between Carl Jung (Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Mortensen) as well as Jung’s relationship with a patient (Knightley) who he is treating with psychoanalysis….and then proceeds to get all sexy with.  Dr. faux pas!

I am incredibly excited for this film, even if it does seem to break away from the crazy shit Cronenberg has dished out in the past.

-Katie