The Couch

7 Minutes in Heaven: My The Dark Knight Rises Prologue review

2011-12-13T22:24:00.000-08:00

DISCLAIMER: I'm gonna spoil the shit out of this.

I had the pleasure of checking out a screening tonight of the Prologue to The Dark Knight Rises and boy was 7min, worth the 2hrs I waited.

The prologue begins as mysterious as the opening of The Dark Knight does, we don't know what is quite going on, but we are hoping that is all comes together in the end. The Dark Knight prologue was meant to introduce one of the iconic characters in the DC and Batman universe: The Joker. This prologue introduces and resurrects a character from the DC and Batman Universe: BANE.

Here is a brief description of the prologue, If you don't want to read it skip the italicized portion.

A car ride through a field leads to a plane on a private airstrip with a CIA agent standing at the front. The men who exit the vehicle are a Dr. and three men wearing black hoods over their heads. The hooded men apparently have information about the "masked man"; Bane. Once in the air the CIA agent begins the to hold hooded men out the plane asking for information about Bane and his wear a bouts. Bane reveals himself as one of the hooded men. Bane explains to the agent that the reason for allowing him to be captured was to apprehend the Dr. they now have in custody and make sure he did not spill any beans about him or his plans. The agent believes that Bane is trapped but all the while there has been a second plane hovering over the one Bane is in and men have zip lined down to the plane, sabotaged it, and recovered Bane in a way that definitely one ups the bank heist.

Afterwards there is a about a 15 to 20 sec sizzle reel that literally made me JIZZ IN MY PANTS! Which included, a Bat-plane, big fights, the tumbler, the bat-pod and also an iconic shot of Bane holding a broken Batman cowl in the rain and just throwing it away like it was garbage.

Then I JIZZED AGAIN.

The Dark Knight bank heist prologue echoed so skillfully of Michael Mann's HEAT. The precision of the position all the masked players played, the timing and betrayal, had the Joker not revealed himself at the end it could have been any other movie. When Inception came out there were many great similarities the movie had for example, The Matrix or Dark City, but none rang so true than Nolan had made his version of a James Bond movie, he continues it here with this prologue. Had Bane not revealed I would have half expected for a version of James Bond to zip down from the opposite plane.

Now most of the criticism around the interwebs is that Bane is really difficult to understand, which I must say is my only criticism but on the other end, Nolan is still editing, thank God for ADR.

While watching you can really feel like every shot and scene is their for a purpose and not just because it will "look cool". There is a method to the way Bane operates and this prologue definitely was a fantastic preview of his grand, ruthless, and brilliant villainous mind. The sizzle reel at the end really makes me want to say that Nolan will out do The Dark Knight, but even with this I want to keep my hopes at bay.

Then again if anyone can out do Nolan, its Nolan. I will be there Bat cowl on and all on July 20, 2012 when The Dark Knight Rises opens in IMAX and regular theaters.

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

Movie Review: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3: 1988

2011-10-19T20:58:00.000-07:00

Its probably no surprise to most of you that I'm a big fan of the Paranormal Activity series. The first movie I was a fan simply as a filmmaker; the story of how 11,000 dollars made such huge impact in the world of movies and cult horror was truly inspiring. I DEMANDED the movie come to Chicago and was there in line at the Music Box theater for the only midnight screening. The sound design was amazing and I think brought us (horror fans) back to the days of Carpenter, where he proved that its not some big guy wielding a sharp object that scary, it's what we can't see.

When news spread that a second movie was in the works I think we all thought the same thing; MONEY GRAB. The SAW series was in full effect by this point and it was no surprise that studios might have just wanted to capitalize. Yet, we were scared wrong again. The sequel wasn't really a sequel, it was more of an origin/sequel/prequel of sorts, that expanded on this demon and its relationship to Kate and her sister Kristi and their family. It amped up the scares but kept the simplicity of the effects going on to create those scares intact. Then end of the movie leading into the beginning of the first one was a great "ah-ha" moment. Even though the marketing reeled people in with scares and that "found footage feeling" there was an intricate history woven into this story, which with all its victims, the naive speculation or kids playing Quija, became far more scary than some of the set ups. Paranormal Activity 2 to me is like the Back to the Future II of found footage/horror films.

After being alluded to events in their childhood in number 2, it was no surprise that Paranormal Activity 3 went back to show "how all the activity began". Paranormal Activity 3 opens with some events of number 2, a pregnant Kristi is painting her unborn baby boys' room as the husband video records. Kate, from the first film, makes an appearance to drop off some boxes, one including a slew of video tapes that neither sister remembers being taken. We then see Kristi's house a mess, as if they've been robbed. The husband goes downstairs to find that the only thing missing was the box of videotapes. Flashback to 1988.

1988 opens with a Kate's birthday party, fun times and all. Her sister Kristi sits in the backyard talking with her imaginary friend...Toby. Toby apparently lives in the crawl space in the girls room and has sworn Kristi to secrecy on certain topics. If Kristi does not obey, she is in danger. Their mother's boyfriend is naturally a wedding videographer, who after hearing odd noises in the house decides to place cameras through out the house to hopefully catch what is making those noises. One camera that sits on a modified electric fan adds the most tension in the movie. My only critique is that I wish there was a smarter way to have introduced the cameras in the room other than the boyfriend being a wedding videographer.

If you remember in P.A. 2, we actually discover that Kristi's husband decision to place cameras in the house is actually the reason why Micah, from the first P.A. ultimately decides to purchase a camera to capture the activity going on with him and Kate.

There are some good original scares in this installment one in particular that involves a bed sheet, but sadly most of the scares are modified versions of past scares from the originals. They are modified well, but still remind me of old scares. Even though there are paranormal events going on, the human interaction is what really scared me. Simple conversations that Kristi has with Toby or her reluctance to speak about him really got my squirming. I know by this point you might be asking "how can you be still be scared?", but the truth is this movie spends a good amount of time, taking its time. Building tension and sometimes just because it knows it can, no just for a jump-scare.

On the other side of things, you can tell that unlike the other movies we are not painfully put through just seeing doors move for twenty mins or anything like that. The directors, who also directed the movie Catfish, have a bunch a fun with the activity which, again, in its simplicity is fun to see. Another encounter in particular when the girls are playing around and Kate actually runs into Toby; it will ultimately make you think twice about having your hair in a ponytail.

More of the history of the family is explored in this installment as well. We get to find out the origin of the paranormal activity and who is actually behind the sisters demonic woes as adults. This is an element I think that this series does well, there is always a moment in each of these movies where we get to a point where we could learn more about the reasons behind certain actions that are happening from an actual history stand point. But when a character attempts to explains these things a few moments later, the activity amplifies and we are in the full ride of the film. Thus we never know but it doesn't matter because that information is futile. I feel like if the series was to ever fully give us that information, the series would have given us the upper hand on it and I know they don't want to let that go.

Paranormal Activity 3 is good at what it does, its a smart, well paced found footage movie. The set ups are clean, the effects are woven in well and the final piece of history of this family tree was great to see. If your a fan of the series you'll definitely like this movie.

Paranormal Activity 3 opens nationwide on October 21, 2011

Deuces!
StuntmanBob

Movie Review: FOOTLOOSE: A fresh, new, fun, take with the soul of the original.

2011-10-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

Craig Brewer is testing us.

I went into Footloose skeptical. A remake. A dance movie. Not the best descriptions to go in with. But as a big fan of the Craig Brewer directed Hustle and Flow and Black Snake Moan, I had to see what it was that drew him into this world.

The trailer for the movie is fairly simple; a terrible accident takes the lives of five seniors and thus leads to the banning of public dancing in the town of Bomont, Georgia. Three years later Ren MacCormick comes to town and shakes thing sup a bit.

Dancing is a very famous part of the history of this movie, however it does not hijack it. So many movies that incorporate dancing into their narrative tend to let the dancing take over; leaving characters and story lines in the dust. Although the trailers will primarily advertise this as a hollow dance movie, I assure you there is a heart and respect that jumps out at you from the screen like those shitty 3D movies. The way the opening credits are set up and how the court decides to ban public dancing made me see every dance sequence as an expression of each character and how they are being tied down by the ban. Rather than a cheap excuse to see girls shake their hips and have some new song by Lady GAGA or Rhianna in there or something. Every sequence really did have a purpose and that feeling hasn't happened in a long time for me.

Ren MacCormick is played by actor Kenny Wormald, who subtlety reminds us of Kevin Bacon, but with his signature Boston accent, adds a swagger to the role that makes the character his own. Ren is not just a handsome guy with some moves, he's got something to say and he's got morals. Those features are prominent in interactions he has with Ariel Moore, played by Julianna Hough.

As the preachers daughter Ariel has an identity problem. The constant going back and forth of who she wants to be and who people see her as was a little difficult to handle sometimes cause it made her seem like that cliche character. And maybe that was the point, because an emotional argument between Ariel and her father, Dennis Quaid, really made her character worth being in the movie for me. The scene was well acted and over the top in all the right ways. On a sidetone I saw some interesting similarities in Ariel's character with Christina Ricci's role in Black Snake Moan, its crazy obvious!

In addition to the main characters, its in the supporting cast and their dialogue that I really saw Brewers style shine. A sequence at a drive in parking lot where an elderly black man who owns the drive-in, allows the kids to dance, reminded me of Issac Hayes character in Hustle and Flow, even down to the old school radio/receiver that he flips on for the music to be heard through the sound system. You can tell that Brewer spent the same amount of time developing his main cast as well as his supporting. In addition to successfully giving everyone their moment to shine when it was needed.

Footloose takes place in what I like to call Craig Brewer's South! Brewers films have been primarily shot in and highlight the south. While this version is a bit of a cleaner one, its still HIS SOUTH! Also I was very glad to see the themes of religion, acceptance, and the betterment of an individual or community that have been so universal in his two previous films, come to fruition in Footloose.

When the end credits rolled I was surprised at how much I honestly enjoyed this movie, it was one of the few times where I let myself get taken away and not sit there and nit pick.The addition of the original music solidifies Footloose as not a remake but a re-imagining; A fresh, new, fun, take with the soul of the original.

CutLoose on October 14th, 2011 when Footloose opens in theaters.

Deuces!
StuntmanBob

Trailer Premiere: BATTLESHIP: "Fire the Guns; ALL OF THEM!"

2011-07-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra certainly led the way in turning games, cartoons and rides into feature length films. Now Hollywood is all the flutter with turning various board games into feature length movies; From Ridley Scott's Monopoly to Candyland in 2013, it seems as though the rise of the board game movies is coming sooner than we think with the Peter Berg directed BATTLESHIP.

On the one hand this trailer looks so serious and and overly gritty that I'm ready to suspend belief and go along for the outlandish ride. However, the alien ships look like something out of the movie Skyline, which was one of the worst movies ever made! So needless to say I'm split. I'm fan of Peter Berg's filmography which includes Hancock, The Kingdom, and the wonderfully fun The Rundown. Being a student of the Michael Mann school of filmmaking, he definitely has a style that brings the action right into your face and keeps even the most mundane scenes paced very well. However, if future trailers show star Liam Neeson standing very stoically, putting down a phone a looking off to a cadet and delivering the lines; "They just sunk my Battleship". This movie will have been worth the $10 dollars I will most certainly end up paying.

The website for Battleship went up yesterday and teaser trailer is up today. The plot synopsis according to IMDB.com is as follows:
A fleet of ships is forced to do battle with an armada of unknown origins in order to discover and thwart their destructive goals.

The movies stars Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard, and features the acting debut of Rhianna. I wonder if she'll do a song for the movie. Battleship hits theaters May 18th 2012.

What do you guys think? Leave your comments below.

New Teaser Trailer: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3

2011-07-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

I've always been a big fan of the Paranormal Activity movies. The first one was by far one of the best handheld/docu-style movie our there today. When news of a sequel came out, I honestly thought it would solely be a grab for money as most sequels are these days. But Paranormal Activity 2 did what most sequels are unable to do; make it good. The second movie acted as a prequel and sequel to the first while adding in this extra history about the two main female characters and what haunts their family. But what made the movie good is that it stuck to the simplicity of the haunts that happened in the first one, while still creating larger "activity" sequences.

Now the directors of Catfish are taking us back to 1988 where we discover the origin of the activity. Personally, I really like how this is shaping up so far and if this is the only trailer we get for this movie I wouldn't be angry at all. The series has been doing well enough that I hope in future trailers they don't spoil some of their "money" shots.

Paranormal Activity 3 opens October 21st. 2011.

Deuces!
StuntmanBob

Movie Review: ANOTHER EARTH

2011-07-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

On November 22, 2006 Darren Arnofsky's The Fountain hit theaters. I remember when the credits rolled I sat in my seat, pleasently traumatized by what I had just seen. I hadn't had a feeling like that until watching Another Earth.

Another Earth is directed by Mike Cahill and stars Brit Marling (who also co-wrote with Cahill) and William Mapother. If you've watched the trailer and I hope you have, you know that on the eve of a terrible accident, Rhoda causes an accident that ends the life of a mother and child; leaving the husband a widower. On this night the discovery of a second Earth is revealed. Rarely in a summer, where numerous sequels and big budget blockbusters are released; are we given a movie that truly makes us use our brain. Aside from context of the movie, there is a beautiful and yet tragic relationship between the two main characters. Their relationship is extended by various doctors and scientists who ask those moral questions such as "what would you say to the to other you?" or "Has the other me made the same mistakes that I have". These question tap into the basic human emotions of ours to figure it all out and figure our why we are here.

Those questions and the actions of the characters are what make the movie such an emotional powerhouse. Brit Marling who plays the main character Rhoda, has a very interesting acting style. With no formal training she delivers a very deep and neglectful performance that doesn't make the audience feel sorry for her, but more or less ask ourselves if we'd do the same thing that she is doing.

I'm sure that the thought of focusing on the sci-fi aspects of this film would be more attractive and commercial but there is subtext here that truly makes you think and is fuel for an amazing after movie conversation with friends. While my review isn't that long, only because its something that you should experience and not have someone like me explain it to you, I must say that this is by far one of my favorite movies of the summer. It holds more in its soul than that piece of shit Transformers movie! If your looking to be challenged and maybe discover something about yourself; see this movie!

Oh and one more thing, the end is also breathtaking!

Another Earth makes its way into theaters on July 22nd, 2011

Deuces!
StuntmanBob

New Trailer: THE AMAZING SPIDERMAN

2011-07-20T12:12:00.000-07:00

The new trailer for Marc Webb's reboot the The Amazing Spiderman is online. The movie stars Andrew Garfield (The Social Network, Red Riding pt.1) as Peter Parker and Emma Stone (Easy A) as Gwen Stacy.

The overall tone of of this movie just seems a lot more raw and realistic. I'm immensely digging the connection to Peter's parents that shows up in the beginning, if you've seen the old television show, you know why. This is a great teaser; it sets up the characters more and leaves the effects and action at bay, for now.

Watch the trailer and leave your thoughts. Very excited for this new interpretation.

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

MOVIE REVIEW: Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

2011-07-13T22:46:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: This is a spoiler filled Review of Transformers: Dark of the Moon. So if you don't want to know what happens, I suggest you stop reading now. But if you don't give a shit, READ ON!

"...No matter what happens, I'm really glad I got in that car with you".

If you remember watching the first Transformers movie; these lines happen right before Sam takes the cube to the tallest building to be handed off to the military. Mikala (Megan Fox) calls him back and she doesn't do the cliche thing and say "oh Sam, I LOVE YOU" No like a flippin' gangsta' she makes her words count and ring true. At that moment, every person in the audience was really glad we got in the car with Sam.

There was this wonder and awe that came with the first Transformers movie; that brought everyone back to being a kid. Yes, there were moments like the cop interrogation scene that were a little much, but it had this almost PG-13 feel of Michael Bay's The Rock to it. There was a relationship between a boy and his first car that was held through out that movie and made us care for these characters.

The sequel: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was an advancement in the action but a let down in the character department. The characters become caricatures of themselves in an an effort to make the movie...ummmm...funny? Most of this was attributed to the Writer's Strike that was on the horizon at the time but there's only so much you can't take the blame for. TF: Revenge of the Fallen got too mystical and thus the main point of the Decepticons wanting to destroy our sun for energon was quickly overshadowed by robots and dogs humping each other and loud screaming characters who were only added...ummmm...to be funny? The action in the movie, while good, was quite a mess. Small action, big action, more small action, little story, OH WAIT BIG ACTION!!!, small action and then.....Scene. Like I said messy.

We now come to Transformers: Dark of the Moon. The trailer to this movie held such great promise, it weaved Autobot history into American history and brought forth what we as Americans love to hear so much about; a cover-up. An ancient Autobot ship called the Arc is discovered on the moon which holds an Autobot name Sentinel Prime and a weapon he built that could bring about the end of the world. Shia Lebeouf returns as Sam Witwicky and sadly his hot gear head girlfriend played by Megan Fox is replaced by an air headed Victoria Secret model.

Sidenote: Michael Bay directs all the Victoria's Secret Commercials. Yea, he really does.

The movie begins wonderfully by bringing the nostalgia and wonder of the Apollo 11 launch to the Moon and revealing that the United States race to the moon with Russia had more behind it than just being first. However, what is the next scene after the opening credits? Ass. Victoria's Secret Ass. Ass in Victoria's Secret underwear. I'm sorry I thought this was a Transformers movie? I didn't know it was an opportunity to exercise your skills as a lingerie director!!!

In addition to findings on the moon, there are some good plot twists in this movie; we discover that Sentinel Prime has made a pact with the Decepticons and plans to use his weapon to transport Cybertron to Earth and use humans as slaves to rebuild it. Patrick Dempsey's character Dylan, a suave business man who has a nice car collection has been the man funding this invasion as the leader of the human alliance with the Decepticons. See that pitch alone should have guaranteed a slam dunk of a movie.

Sadly we have to rape what could have been a good movie and get the asian guy from The Hangover with the small dick, to do his shtick and jump up and down on Sam in a bathroom stall and try to speak "code" to him in an effort to relay some information which could have just been handed to him. Then, we have to completely underuse the great John Malkovich as Sam's tanned, orange, asshole boss who doesn't like any other color than yellow. Oh and since he likes yellow we will just add a scene where he tries to fight Bumblebee. Yea that sounds good right? Cause its funny right??? You have Alan Tudyk who has geek fame from playing Wash in Firefly and Serenity as Agent Simmons assistant??? Bloody Sad. Why wasn't he given a meatier government roll? I see what Michael Bay is going for with his casting, we get it, you like to have good actors even in the small roles. But these sort of roles should be like John Salley as the computer nerd in Bad Boys 1 and 2, there for 2min and then DONE! You don't need them through the entire fucking movie!!!

Newcomer Francis McDormand plays Agent Mearing, a tough as nails U.S Government Agent who just shits on anyone cause now she holds the "do whatever I want and get away with it" badge and she is a small breath of a real character in this movie. Even Tyrese was used well!

As far as casting goes I feel like the producers and or Michael Bay feels the need to have every character we've ever seen in the Transformers movies do something and we really don't. Creating new characters and ever getting rid of some old ones would have made this movie so much more better.

I've always loved Shia Labeouf, I think he's the Bruce Willis of our time, he's the everyday man; but here he is still acting like a high schooler and it pisses me off that he hasn't grown as a character at all! Shia is on auto pilot in this movie and for that matter so is the movie.

So you might be asking yourself; "But what about the action?" "Is there anything you liked?"

The best sequence to me wasn't even seeing Chicago getting destroyed it was the highway sequence with the dreadlock Decepticons chasing after Sentinel Prime. A new Decepticon name Laserbeak goes and murders various people and I thought the editing on those scenes added the creepy tone and mood that added to Laserbeak's ferocity. The effect is used later in the action sequence that takes place in Chicago but not well. The last hour of this movie are the events that happen in Chicago and boy its a doozie. I must admit after a while though I just didn't care anymore. There was grandious spectacle and a beautiful art to the action, but seriously it takes us fifty minutes to knock out one side of a building??? I feel like the action just ran way to long and was only there for the sake of having something BIG to end the series.

The only thing this movie does is solidify how much a classic this first one is and how for a moment we might get a Transformers series worthy of action that has purpose, driven characters and compelling story. Unfortunately, the hopeful series has turned into a big screaming contest, with a little Victoria's Secret commercial mixed in and music courtesy of 101.9

I personally say if you haven't seen this movie yet...wait till dvd or redbox it.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon is in theaters now.

eiuqporknapoiaweorjfpaoj (transforming sound)
StuntmanBob

Teaser Trailer Premiere: MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: GHOST PROTOCOL

2011-06-28T21:16:00.000-07:00

Could the Mission Impossible series be the next Fast and Furious?

The trailer for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol; the 4th installment in the series, has gone up today courtesy of Trailer Addict. This series seems to have had a resurgence after the J.J. Abrams directed Mission Impossible III, which in my mind is the best in the series so far.

This installment is produced by J.J. and co. But directed by none other Brad Bird; director of classics like The Iron Giant and PIxar's The Incredibles. As with the Fast and Furious series I'm hoping Ghost Protocol brings about a fresh new take on the series and takes it to some incredible feats! This will be with all prints of Transformers: Dark of Moon this week/weekend.

Enjoy!

Movie Review: GREEN LANTERN

2011-06-19T20:39:00.000-07:00

I'll preface this with saying that I haven't read the plethora of Green Lantern comics out there, but as I continue to educate myself on the character, I can honestly say that the movie does not live up to the writing or the drama in those great books!

Green Lantern stars Ryan Reynolds as test pilot Hal Jordan, who is chosen by the Green Lantern Corps to be the first human to wear a powerful ring and defend the universe. The movie is directed by Martin Campbell who has rebooted the James Bond franchise twice (Goldeneye and Casino Royale) as well as The Mask of Zorro.

The opening of this movie is a brief history of the Green Lantern Corps and the villain Parallax, from there we are witnessed to the escape of Parallax by some alien astronauts and then the selection process begins. The initial trailers to Green Lantern looked quite horrible; the CGI just did not look complete at all and ridiculous. Thankfully for the finished film they darkened up the green and energy coming from the suits which make them look a bit more plausible. That's really only one of the few highlights of the film.

Ryan Reynolds does an okay job at portraying Hal Jordan, but his demeanor and leading man qualities did not convince me that he was having doubts about himself being apart of the Corps. The moments where he was expressing his self doubt to Blake Lively, who only serves as eye candy, are really tough to get through. Its one of those times where someone should be screaming "ACTING!" at you. This self pity became contradictory often because directly after those scenes Hal Jordan would be doing something very heroic and with out fear, that was completely opposite of how he was "apparently" feeling.

Pete Sarsgaard plays Hector Hammond, who after performing an autopsy on Abin Sur, comes into contact with the yellow power of fear. His figure is transformed into a Hunchback of Notre Dame type and is played off in the movie as Jordan's doppleganger. I see what they were trying to do in showing a parallel between these two men and how having this great power thrust upon them affects their lives, but Hammond's story feels more fleshed out than Jordan's. Pity I couldn't get fleshed out journey's of both men.

Mark Strong who plays Sinestro is pitch perfect! I wish he was more of the villain in this movie, I think it would have proved to be a better movie overall! I really disliked Michael Clarke Duncan as the voice of Kilowog, Jordan's fight instructor, because you could tell it was him! I hate that someone actually thought "oh this character looks like it could be voiced by a big black guy", yea let's get him! I mean have some originality with your voice castings please!

The home planet of the Lantern's is called Oa. It's truly something to behold, you can tell most of the time was spent on the design of getting that right and not the story. Shame, again, I couldn't have both.

The training sessions Jordan goes through on Oa after becoming a Lantern are pretty cool. The ring that the Lantern's possess can create anything their mind thinks up through will power; the stronger your will, the stronger your creation. So you have this ring that can create anything and the movie really underuses this ability. The end fight between Jordan and Parallax was entertaining but the power to create things from sheer thought didn't reach its full potential! I'll be honest that the effects for the creations where really good, but still I wasn't wowed.

Despite my negativity, I was honestly childishly entertained. There are some redeeming moments in this movie and of course the very heavy CGI action takes my thought away from the lackluster story. This is due to my low expectations going into the movie. Another movie that I would always compare to Green Lantern, trailers wise, was this summer's THOR. Both movies were trying to break new ground in the superhero genre by meshing two worlds together. THOR I believe is the victor in this case, mostly because in that movie you had sets and things that set the actors apart from their environment; not to mention interact with. Green Lantern suffers from having way too much CGI. I understand Oa is an alien planet and all, but does the rock have to be CGI? I think some practical sets for the planet of Oa could have helped ground the movie a bit more and helped with the power of the Lantern's on Oa and on Earth.

Green Lantern is a very lazy superhero movie. It gives us the cliffnotes version of the heroes journey and thus makes Hal Jordon's character development really cardboard and like I said earlier contradictory. This movie had the potential make break new ground with a superhero who powers are defined from the get go as alien, but the motivation and work was not there to comfortably mesh these two worlds together so that I could care for the characters and marvel at the scope.

If you have kids, take them, you'll enjoy it for what it is, but then forget it soon after. But I suggest a matinee, DO NOT PAY FULL PRICE!

I hope the next Green Lantern movie, if there is one, is a reboot.

Dueces,
StuntmanBob

Movie Review: ATTACK THE BLOCK

2011-06-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

"You'd be better off callin' the Ghostbusters love". - Pest from Attack the Block

The opening scene of this movie definitely had the sci-fi geek in me going as it was very reminiscent of the opening of John McTiernan's Predator. This movie is produced by Edgar Wright who directed Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz . Both Shaun and Fuzz set out to make fun of Zombie and the Action movie genre while created a sub-genre of each of them in the process. Attack the Block is directed by Joe Cornish who doesn't necessarily set out with the intentions of making fun of alien invasion movies. However it simplifies it.

I'm reminded of the 1966 Division Street Riots that happened during the end of the first Puerto Rican Day parade here in Chicago. A young boy was injured by the police which led to a three day riot because of the racism and political unrest that was happening with immigrants coming over. The National Guard was even brought in! Seriously research this event in Chicago's history; its an amazing story. Anyway this riot, ultimately led to the culture and pride that comes with walking through Humboldt Park. Now here's the plot to the movie; A group of tough inner-city kids defend their turf from an invasion of savage alien creatures, turning their South London apartment complex into an extraterrestrial warzone.

I think that Attack the Block shows an interesting look at a kind of gentrification and how far these kids and for that matter, us, are willing to go to preserve the neighborhoods we grew and continue to grow up in. Now that I got the heavy thinking off my chest, on to the rest of the review.

We are introduced to our anti-heroes as they are mugging a woman in the street and suddenly a giant flashing light crash lands into a car and we are off and running. These kids are naive, ignorant, foul mouthed, and all around BEBE kids! The movie tries really hard to make sure the audience does not care for them at all. But as the movie progresses its those same attributes that had me laughing and cheering all the way through as these badass kids battle this alien race.

Thank God! this movie doesn't come close to those sometime enjoyable, but mostly horrible B-movies on SyFy Channel. While this movie is definitely a B-movie, its one on par with John Carpenter's work; even down to the somewhat chessy synthesized alien-esque music. The designs of the aliens are simple enough to scare you. Pitch black beings with neon green teeth, they are as big as apes and as fast as a cheetah.

Its interesting that I see this movie literally a week after seeing Super 8 cause the similarities are uncanny. Kids who are having an encounter with an aliens race; all the while discovering their true purpose in life and growing from it. Maybe that description is better suited for Super 8, but WHEN you see this movie, you'll get me. I had a blast watching this movie and I recommend everyone be on the look out for it and support it when it comes out! My only critique is that the kids' London accents are crazily thick, so prepare yourself to do some translating of your own. I suggest watching Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrel's for a taste of the accent's to come! TRUST!

Attack the Block has just received a U.S. release date of July 29th! GO SEE this movie!

Believe! Trust!
StuntmanBob

SPACE JAM ON BLU RAY OCT. 4TH!!!

2011-06-18T17:22:00.000-07:00

Remember a time when basketball was good? Remember when everyone liked R. Kelly? Well ladies and gentlemen our prayers have been answered. Get ready to see Michael Jordan, Bill Murray, Daffy, Bugs, and the rest of the Looney Tune gang tear up the MONstars when Space Jam comes to blu ray on Oct. 4th, 2011.!! Very excited!! Are you?

Head on over to AMAZON and pre-order your copy today
-StuntmanBob

"MINT!" - Super 8 Movie Review

2011-06-09T06:39:00.000-07:00

For the last couple years, and unfortunately I don't think they are doing this year, but every sunday during the summer, Marcus Cinema's in Orland Park, IL would show 35MM classic movies. Two that I was lucky enough to see on the big screen were Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Both times I walked out of the theater thinking "how cool it must have been to have seen those at their initial release."

Last night I got to feel what that was like with J.J. Abrams Super 8.

J.J. Abrams first feature length movie was Mission: Impossible III. In Mission: Impossible III, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) must get a hold of the "Rabbit's Foot" or else his wife will die at the hands of the films villain Owen Davian. Most movies would put great emphasis on what the Rabbit's foot is, where it came from, who created it and what can it do. Not Abrams, he puts at the forefront what is most important; his characters. Since Mission Impossible 1, Ethan Hunt has been this immortal-like spy who can get out of anything, but with M:I-III his family is in peril and he's no longer a spy, but a husband out to do whatever he can to save his wife. The humanizing of larger than life characters is something that is the key to Abrams films thus far. In his second directorial success, Star Trek, its the relationship between Kirk and Spock and with his third film Super 8, it's exploring the universal traits of friendship, loyalty, curiosity, and bravery in a group of young friends who are making a short movie but then get thrown into an adventure that put all those traits to the maximum test.

The cast of this movie succeeds in spades! Kyle Chandler who I'll always remember from the show Early Edition, plays Sheriff Lamb, his son Joe is at the center of the films mysterious goings on. But the supporting cast of Joe's friends take the cake, they all are almost a great modern day but "back then" version of the Goonies! yes I said The Goonies. Most of the comedic relief comes with these characters; its not forced but well deserved and believable. This adds to the authenticity of the films adventure. Also the relationship between father and son is a broken one at the beginning of the movie but is paid off with one of the most unique metaphors of letting go.

Steven Spielberg is a giant part of this success because he serves as Executive Producer on this passion project of Abrams, of which Speilberg is the grandfather of. Watching Super 8 I was reminded of movies like Jurassic Park, Jaws, and E.T. That sense of wonder and awe is so perfectly emulated in this movie that there were moments I was on the edge of my seat and my jaw was wide open. Another credit to the movie is that it gets underway almost immediately. The audience was not subjected to an hour long prologue before the meat of the movie started as so many movies do today.

The only downside I can see to this movie is that with all its hype, people will expect more than what they receive by the time they are walking out of the theater. Did the movie live up to the hype in my eyes? Obviously, yes. But I hope that when you go to see this movie and YOU SHOULD. You should know that while the main story revolves around a mysterious train crash and its contents, the real story is about the people involved and how they overcome such amazing obstacles. If your in the mood for adventure, comedy, horror, action; then this is your movie!

I throughly enjoyed the nostalgic and childlike feeling this movie gave me. I encourage everyone to run out and support this movie this weekend. Bring the whole family and enjoy!

Super 8 is in full release in conventional theaters and IMAX on Friday June 10

Deuces!
StuntmanBob

"Peace Was Never An Option" My X-MEN: FIRST CLASS Movie Review

2011-06-03T20:16:00.001-07:00

"Peace was never an option"

The last X-Men movie I saw, if you can call it that, was X-Men Origins: Wolverine; and it was horrible. It sadly set the franchise back a few millennia. For a while there it seemed that all hope was lost and we might never see another good X-Men movie again. Around the same time that X-Men Origins: Wolverine was being prepped there was another origins movie being prepared; Magneto's. The return of Bryan Singer and Matthew Vaughn saw idea of expanding Magneto's solo origin story into an origin story of both Erik Lensherr and Charles Xavier.

There are a few recognizable mutants in this story but I was delighted to see that there were no "name" mutants. No Cyclops, No Storm, No Iceman. While I see the appeal to have these mutants in an X-Men movie, given that they are such staples by this point, it would purely be to sell tickets and make money. First Class, is a story about Magneto and Professor X.

Michael Fassbender (HUNGER, Inglorious Basterds) has the meatiest character arc as Erik Lensherr a.k.a Magneto. His journey from lethal bounty hunter to one of the most powerful mutants of all time is truly a great sight to behold. Also many of his journeys are very reminiscent of James Bond movies, being that the movie is set in the 60's its actually very fitting.

I put my vote in for Michael Fassbender as James Bond when Daniel Craig retires from the role; Make it happen HOLLYWOOD!

James McAvoy (WANTED, Atonementt) brings a breath of fresh air to the younger version of Charles Xavier; most notably using his intelligence and the explanation of the evolution of Mutants as a pick up line to loose women in bars; I like this Xavier. Fassbender and McAvoy's characters are simply defined by the iconic chess games they have together throughout the film. They make their characters more relatable and down to earth in addition to paying homage to the older versions of the characters already established by Sir Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart.

Another duo story line I was pleased with was the story between Dr. Hank McCoy a.k.a BEAST and Raven Darkholme a.k.a Mystique. Hank McCoy is played by Nicholas Hoult who was most recently in Tom Ford's directorial debut A Single Man. Raven is played with great dimension by Academy Award Nominee Jennifer Lawrence, who was last seen in Winter's Bone and will soon be see in the big screen adaption of The Hunger Games; she plays Katniss. Their relationship is what truly defines the yearn to be accepted that is so universal in the X-Men series. We got a taste of it with Anna Paquin's Rogue in the original series, but it aside from Erik and Charles, its nice to see two younger characters battle with their own acceptance together.

I have to give credit to Kevin Bacon, whose played villain Sebastian Shaw very cool. It could have been very easy to see him "twisting his mustache" in every scene but Bacon held a great balance of villain and "freedom fighter".

Bryan Singer returns to his comic book roots to co-write and produce this origin story. Director Matthew Vaughn finally gets his crack at a Marvel film after X3 and THOR fell through for him. What Vaughn brings to this story that didn't even show up in X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a sense of the time period. For all of you who are reading this, did you know that X-Men Origins: Wolverine takes place in the late 70's? Yea that's right THE 'EFFIN 70'S!!! Sure doesn't feel like it right?

First Class puts the 60's right in your face! The Wardrobe, the music, the score, and the dialogue. The dialogue at times seemed a little corny but then you had to check yourself and say "wait, this is how they talked in the 60's". Matthew Vaughn got to make is Marvel Comics X-Men movie and James Bond movie all in one. Massive credit and thanks to Matthew Vaughn for giving us an actually period piece superhero movie.

X-Men First Class is a really intelligent comic book movie, that aims to show us the TRUE ORIGINS of Mutants during the 1960's during the Kennedy era and also gives some background to the "hidden" reasons that sparked the Cuban Missile Crisis. This I feel is the most mature of all the X-Men movies. X2 is still number one in my book, but X-Men First Class is right underneath it. The James Bond-like globe trotting, the involvement of the CIA, the politics, the betrayal and world being in peril, gives this series the jolt of lighting it needed to become relevant again!

Deuces!
StuntmanBob

Nick Fury Announced?

2011-05-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

Perusing IMDB.com is definitely a must in these parts and while looking at the cast of the various Marvel comic book movies coming out this summer I stumbled upon a page for the Nick Fury solo movie which has Samuel L. Jackson as Fury, Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson and Neal McDonough who will be seen in Captain America in July as Dum Dum Dugan.

Check it out: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482631/

Stuntmanbob

MOVIE REVIEW: Pirates of the Caribbean: ON STRANGER TIDES

2011-05-21T10:15:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy. Despite the unnecessary length and crowded story lines, I definitely argue that the way the characters were woven and balanced into said story was enough to make the movies very entertaining. Also the caliber of actors, Bill Nighy, Geoffery Rush, Chow-Yun Fat; just to name a few brought a real ferocity to their roles. The end of the third movie, titled, At World's End, concludes with Capt. Jack going after the fountain of youth.

This brings us to On Stranger Tides, which to be honest really doesn't make any kind of sense. It might as well have been called Pirates of the Caribbean: Fountain of Youth. From the preview, this movie looked like a slam dunk; Jack Sparrow is our main character and a breath of new characters are introduced. Sounds like a fresh exciting start, right?

I remember reading articles that Disney executives didn't really know how to quite take Johnny Depp's creation of Sparrow and were really worried people might not get it. But three movies later, the eyeliner, deadpan stares and those dreadlocks have solidified him as one of the most popular characters in movie history. It's truly amazing to see Depp back in his signature character in On Stranger Tides, but I'll be honest something is really missing. Depp makes his regular quips here and there but I feel like throughout the entire movie Depp is trying to find the character again and its kinda uncomfortable.

Penelope Cruz plays Angelica, the daughter of legendary pirate Blackbeard and former lover of Sparrow. Now, while her exchanges with Sparrow are meant to be clever and hold tons of comedic innuendo, their playful banter quickly outruns its course and gets really boring. Ian McShane, who portrays Blackbeard is also really underused here, while torching someone to death numerous times was a real mood changer and kind of cool in this movie; that was really the only real "Wow" factor I got from this character in the Pirates cannon of villain's.

New director Rob Marshall does a nice job at setting that "Pirates tone", but a staple that is lost here in this fourth installment are those grand and well choreographed pirate ship battles that were a treat to behold in the original trilogy. In On Stranger Tides we spend alot of time on land and with being on land we are now subject to watch our favorite water based characters in the same old "modern like" action sequences that I'm almost sure I've seen before in the Renny Harlin directed pirate movie Cutthroat Island. This might be a cause of the lower budget on this movie but even still you are making a movie about PIRATES!!!

On Stranger Tides doesn't really try and set itself apart from the previous three movies. Its a movie that goes through to motions and takes its audience for granted mainly because they've added a few new characters and we've seen three movies already, why not a fourth. There are even certain set pieces and fights in this movie that are almost exact replicas of encounters in the previous movies; Lazy.

If your a fan of the Pirates movies, nothing I can say, can sway you from seeing this one but if I can impart any advice its to be smart and catch a matinee.

Savvy?
Bobby

Extra "Couch" Time

2011-05-07T12:19:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone, hope your seeing some great movies this weekend. Briefly, every time we shoot an episode there always ends up being some extra conversation that doesn't always make it in the cut. Well from here on out we will be releasing these bits as their own small informative video pieces called "Extras". Keep checking back for all the updates.

In the meantime if you haven't gotten the chance to see our newest episode on the trailer to THOR then enjoy now!

ALL NEW EPISODE!!: THOR

2011-05-05T10:09:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentlemen our trailer review episode on THOR is officially live! Please watch and share your thoughts and comments.

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

New Trailer: CONAN: THE BARBARIAN

2011-05-04T17:06:00.000-07:00

Briefly this trailer looks like there's something missing. There is so much action going but not even a sense of a plot. Now, you might be asking yourself; "Bobby, is this a movie your really looking at to have a descent story?" This simple answer is no, but at the same time, give me something! There are some very mediocre visual effects that are only there because the movie is in 3D. LAME!

Jason Momoa who stars as Conan really is not selling me on the weight that, that name carries with it, yes he's big, but other than that I didn't get chills down my spine when he said he'd follow an enemy into hell.

Another disappointing factor in this trailer is that it doesn't feel like a Marcus Nipsel directed movie. Now, say what you will about the remakes of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Friday the 13th, but those Marcus Nipsel directed films had a really great tone and texture that I was really hoping would be in Conan, but its no where to be found.

Check out the trailer and let us know what you think. Conan is in theaters August 19 2011

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

Trailer Premiere: TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON

2011-04-28T15:35:00.000-07:00

Here it is folks! From the great Teaser Trailer that got us curious with the first Moon landing tie in, to that crazy :30spot of Chicago being torn to shit. Today the Official Theatrical Trailer to Transformers: Dark of the Moon is online.

Watch it again in all its HD glory at Apple.com

StuntmanBob

Trailer Review: PROM

2011-04-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

No one's PROM is like this. Seriously. Here I'll prove it.

My Prom was started off good; got the school to pay for the ticket of my date and I, was rocking a stone cold zoot suit, danced, she won Prom Queen, I didn't win Prom King (awkward). THEN on the way home I get locked in a gas station because some guy is arguing over ten cents and gupta behind the counter gets all freaked out, electronically locks the door and calls the cops. Finally I got out, jump the expressway and as I'm paying a toll the toll booth guy asks if I just got married. Why not right? So I told him yea and he let me go for free through the toll. Went home and went to bed.

SEE!!

When I see trailers like this that are released by Disney I often wonder if the execs get handed the script, look at it and say, "well its not great, but we have Cars 2 coming out this summer and we really need some extra cash cause we are remodeling the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. OH! also that Star Tours revamp wasn't cheap either. You know what greenlight it. Pixar will keep us on track". This is by far one of the laziest movies that Disney has put out. This looks like it would have faired better on the actual Disney channel as a made for TV movie.

PROM looks like a feel good movie and the time its being released is perfect because it is around the actual Prom season, so I'm sure a lot of suburban high schools can relate. I think the trailer tries to follow to many characters, the dialogue is a clear sign of that. Its very flat, obvious and uninventive. Also there is nothing new being done with this concept. I argue that the movie 10 Things I Hate About You which is based off of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew is a far better representation of the ritual of Prom, than, well the PROM TRAILER.

Disney also likes to live in this fantasy world that is oh so tiring. The hotties are still blond. The bad boys are the people with long hair, some scruff and wear leather jackets. The nerds have no confidence and are slightly big 'round the midsection and sweat profusely. And there also has to be this "Bring it on" tension between the white hottie and the black girl. ENOUGH!!!! This is 2011, why is there no sign of it in here?

SIDENOTE: Ok so half way through the trailer the white girl tells the black girl that they crown the Prom King and Queen at as certain time, so don't be late. Was that some racial profiling insinuating that black people are always late? Yea I knew you caught that. #CPT

The movie is directed by Joe Nussbaum, whose last movies were Sydney White and American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile. I haven't seen either of those movies for obvious reasons but Mr. Nussbaum is most famous for, in my book, directing the short George Lucas in Love. If you have not seen this short, you are not a true Star Wars fan. There is a wit and cleverness within this short that is amazing! However those same traits are absent from this trailer.

Now there was a show on ABC, which is owned by Disney, called My Generation. This show had a documentary crew following a group of high schoolers through prom, graduation, etc. Then catches up with them ten years later to see what's changed and so forth. Sounds like an interesting drama right? While it did get cancelled, I would have challenged executives to go back to the drawing board, find the holes in why the show didn't work and taylor a movie about Prom using the documentary style. I know it might not have helped anymore than what we have now, but in terms of caring for the characters, it could have made somewhat of a difference.

I would personally stay away from PROM, yes it looks cute and cuddly, but I predict a lot of eye rolling and sigh's while watching this movie. Oh and someone needs to let the studio's know that they are really over using "Firework" by Katy Perry. It has to stop.

Well the final review of this movie will happen when someone (not me) sees the credits roll and house lights go up.

Prom asks you to Prom April 29th, 2011

If you curious in seeing George Lucas in Love, I've embedded it below

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

Trailer Review: FAST FIVE

2011-04-09T16:38:00.001-07:00

This movie looks crazy, ridiculous, but dammit if I'm not ready to blow 15 bucks on an IMAX ticket to see it!

The Fast and Furious franchise has had it's ups and downs (2Fast,2Furious), but had a slight resurgence with it's third installment Tokyo Drift, mostly because it abandoned the title characters and followed an entirely different group of characters and style of driving. At the end of that movie Vin Diesel makes a cameo that brought us the fourth film, simply titled Fast and Furious and now, Fast Five.

FF4 brought back all the original characters from the first movie and was by far the strongest of the series. Although it had a cliche villain in the form of a drug trafficker, the story was solid based on the characters history with each other and the loss of a key player, Michelle Rodriguez's "Letty". A moment of silence please.

Director Justin Lin has definitely pumped some much needed NOS back into the series that started with FF:Tokyo Drift. Much like what Len Wiseman accomplished with the 4th Die Hard, Lin has gone the route of good ol' fashion stunt work in complex action sequences, which has made the series more fun to watch in my opinion. He's also made this potentially one-time cast into a modern day Magnificent Seven-esque group of sorts. Not to mention giving us the coolest edition to the group into the form of Han, a drifter in Tokyo Drift.

I know it's been nothing but a constant praise for the series and Fast Five, but here are my bones that need a pickin'.

Fast Five collects characters from all four movies before it, to give us a Marvel-team up kind of adventure. The trailer was rockin' until I saw Tyrese and Ludacris.

Tyrese returns as Roman Pierce, whose wanna-be gangster attitude from 2Fast2Furious was one of the most annoying additions to the series. Perhaps under the care of Justin Lin that will change but I'm not holding my breath. Also, Ludacris, who was in the same basterd movie, made mention that his character doesn't even race anymore because of a previous accident. So why is he here?

I honestly would have loved to have seen Lucas Black and Bow Wow from Tokyo Drift.

We now come to the paradox of the character Han who sadly died in Tokyo Drift. But was in the opening action sequence in FF4 which in the FF timeline was revealed to be a prequel to Drift, so it made sense that he was there and now is part of Fast Five. I cringe at what the explanation will be for his resurrection but I hope it's not a lame one.

Another pitfall this trailer falls into is simply showing us way to much in the form of action. It looks like there are two different action sequences that we get too much of a preview of. A movie franchise as successful as this one could most definitely have gotten away with a teaser trailer. One of those scenes has Paul Walker and Vin Diesel going "car diving", which looks so 'effin cool, but should have cut away sooner from going off the cliff. I hope there is something even bigger than that sequence in this movie cause if thats it, then it blows that I've already seen it.

Second to last, the title of this movie sounds like a porno. No one can argue how terrible this title is. Some personal suggestions of mine are; FURIOUS, FURIOUSLY FAST, VROOOM!!, FAST to the 5th POWER, or FAST AND FURIOUS 5.

Lastly, the wild card;THE ROCK! I simply love that he's in this and that we are going to see a throw down between him and the Diesel. It's kinda nuts and a little corny that he's in this movie but what are the FF movies but nuts and corny fun.

Overall, Fast Five looks like the fun, over the top, tagline spewing, car crashing, money stealing, half naked girl wearing action movie that sometimes you just need to see. This is definitely an opening weekend movie for me. I've heard rumblings of a 6th and 7th movie, and although these are fun movies; how long can this really go on for?

The final review will be when the credits roll and the house lights go up.

Fast Five runs the red light to IMAX and regular theaters near you on April 29th, 2011

Deuces,
StuntmanBob

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Trailer Review: ARTHUR

2011-04-07T17:04:00.000-07:00

To preface I have not see the original movie that this remake is based off.

So lets break this trailer down. At its core its a movie about a guy not wanting to have an arranged marriage and trying to prove to his family and potentially himself that he can have a life separate from his wealthy lifestyle and be happy. This is obviously a plot line we are familiar with. Arthur looks funny, but more and more it looks very tiring. I like Russell Brand, he's unpredictable and funny, but only in small doses. The potential upside to this movies is that it ends up like the other Brand vehicle Get Him to the Greek. Greek was received well critically because it was more of a dissection of his character, Aldous Snow, than just a big, sex, party and drug movie. I mean it was "that movie" at times but the story, in the best way, was definitely more the main focus.

The supporting cast consists of Jennifer Garner as Arthur's arranged wife, who looks like she's trying really hard to be Isla Fischer from the movie Wedding Crashers. Fischer does a better job, for now. Luis Guzman plays the limo driver, which seems like a really reserved character for him. Guzman is usually seen as a more loud and punch line character but I'm hoping that his subtle comedy gets to due time in the spotlight. Lastly, we have Helen Mirren who gives this movie its biggest credibility. Mirren, who is Arthur's nanny and naturally the only one who believes in him I'm sure will make the most of the scenes between her and Arthur. I'm hoping she brings a very sweet and deeper subtext to said scenes.

Arthur seems like it will just be gags, massive amounts of pop culture references and crazy antics all the way through, then about halfway through he'll meet a girl he really cares for, lose her at some point, win her back and then his mom will let him be with whoever he wants cause she's seen a great change in lifestyle. Movies done, I just saved you $10 bucks.

I don't think this is an opening weekend movie for me, personally I'm hoping Hanna wins the weekend.

As always the final review of this movie will be when the credits roll and the house lights go up.

Arthur tries to prove to you that he's worth our time on April 8th, 2011

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

Trailer Review: HANNA

2011-04-07T14:22:00.000-07:00

"Once Upon A Time"

Director Joe Wright whose past work includes Pride and Prejudice, Atonement, and The Soloist; directs this story about a small girl trained by her father to be an assassin and from the looks of it go after a CIA agent played by Cate Blanchett. The juxtaposition in the opening words, the lullaby-like music and scenes of actress Saoirse Ronan as Hanna screaming like a viking and viciously attacking Eric Bana, her father, are just surreal. There's also a really nice color palette that go throughout the trailer. For example, those opening scenes start out in the snow; the stark, white, dream-like environment represents an innocence and the purity that we the audience should feel for the young girl. Which then shifts to very vast colors of blues, reds, and grays. Even Cate Blanchett's hair, RED, makes her more a villain. Aside from the action, drama, CGI and "entertainment" in movies trailers; colors, play a huge part.

What I find most interesting about this movie is its similarities to the movie Kick-Ass, directed by Matthew Vaughn. When Vaughn was shopping around the script for Kick-Ass there was an 11 year old girl who was cutting off people's arms and legs with samurai swords and brutally murdering bad guys. Studios only request was that they up the age of the girl to 19 or 20. Long story short, Vaughn didn't cave and Kick-Ass became a huge hit because of that young assassin.

Hanna, while it looks really good, is Hollywood's answer to Kick-Ass; A PG-13 movie with a small child assassin. PG-13, in a movie that looks this visceral really turns me off, because I get the feeling that the movie will be restricted by its rating and not reach its fully crazy, assassin like potential. Granted there are movies rated PG-13, like Taken, with Liam Neeson that still "bring the pain" as it were. But then there are movies like the Angelina Jolie vehicle Salt, that was really affected by its PG-13 rating and turn out to be very unoriginal as a result.

I'm not really a fan of Hollywood doing such things because once again we reach the reality of Hollywood not having anymore any original ideas. But at the same time all movies are inspired by something else. It shouldn't impair your judgement of a movie but its definitely something to look at when you see movies.

Personally, I'm going to be there opening weekend to see Hanna, I think Saoirse Ronan looks fantastic as the title character and I'm really curious at what the McGuffin in this movie, which is some sort of DNA revelation about Hanna. Test tube baby? Alien? Perhaps she was created from the DNA of the finest Judges in Megacity...oh wait sorry that was Judge Dredd.

Anyway the final review of this movie will be when the credits roll and the house lights go up.

Hanna screams its way into theaters on April 8th 2011.

Dueces,
StuntmanBob

oops almost forgot to mention, the score is done by the Chemical Brothers!!! Oh yea!

Trailer Review: THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU

2011-02-27T08:28:00.000-08:00

Do we control our own lives?

This is often something that I think about, being a writer, having an interest in various conspiracy theories, and of course the big kahuna; Aliens; why not, think that I'm not control of my own life. Movies that try to make this the main plot of their story are always very appealing to me, good or bad, because there are so many movies that are similar, that its interesting to see what new features can be added to the already established canon.

Director George Nolfi directs Matt Damon and Emily Blunt in a story about a congressman who falls for a ballerina. But that supposed to happen or was it? This is Nolfi's first directing credit he's written movies such as Ocean's Tweleve, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Sentinel, and Timeline. So obviously Nolfi has experience writing such thrillers, make sense that his directorial debut would be one as well. The movie is based off a Philip K. Dick short story called "Adjustment Team". Yes I like Bureau better too.

We all know Matt Damon pulls a good performance in ANYTHING we see him in and I'm really happy the world is getting more and more Emily Blunt; she's awesome. I think the parring of these two fits well and the on screen chemistry looks very believable. The movie co-stars John Slattery and Terence Stamp as two men of the Adjustment Bureau. These characters also bear a certain but more sophisticated resemblence to the tall, top hat wearing "adjusters" in Alex Proyas' Dark City. Who if I'm correct were aliens of some sort, the joy of that movie is part of me is still figuring it out. Also the idea of adjusting and even changing an event for the better or possibly worse has also been explored in another Philip K. Dick adaption; Steven Speilberg's Minority Report.

I know its kinda terrible to compare movies but with even similar looking characters is very difficult not to. The all around look and feel of the movie has a gritty undertone to it, there's texture and it adds to the environment we are in. While the chemistry looks great between Damon and Blunt, my only fear is that the movie will be hijacked by their fight to be and love one another. From the trailer, obviously it looks like the entire plot of the movie and I hope that the stakes to be together are very high. So high that it possibly makes their efforts completely futile by the end of the movie. That sense of never escaping and that realism would be great and I hope it goes somewhat in that direction.

As mentioned before I'm definitely going to see this movie. It appeals to the theorist in me and just looks like a really good Twilight Zone-esque thriller.

As always the final review will be when the credits roll and the house lights go up.

The Adjustment Bureau tries to secretly alter out lives on March 4th 2011

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

PLAY BY PLAY

2011-02-06T20:54:00.000-08:00

Well the super bowl has just finished up and I've decided to introduce a new featured post that will pop up occasionally; aptly title "Play by Play".

If your as hyped about all the upcoming movies and their trailers as I am, I'm sure you go through the trailers with a fine tip comb, well that's exactly what play by play is. I'm gonna go through the entire trailer wether its :30 sec or 2min and just dissect the shit out of it.

Look for Play by Play's of some of the Super Bowl spots, such as, Captain America, Thor, Rango, Fast Five, and Transformers: The Dark of the Moon, this week.

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

Sanctum Trailer Review

2011-02-02T09:46:00.000-08:00

I am most certainly on a James Cameron high.

Sanctum is the "inspired by true events" story of a bunch of cave divers getting trapped in a cave and trying to escape/survive. Pretty simple, right? But if your going to have anybody behind this movie it had better be James Cameron.

A few weeks ago I just finished reading the book The Futurist: The Life and Films of James Cameron, by Rebecca Keegan. Aside learning more about Cameron's famous and groundbreaking movies I was surprised to learn what he did in his off time. Going on deep sea dives to the Titanic and of course his journey to shoot his infamous Abyss, really opened my eyes to the explorer he really is. His brother and him also hold quite a few patents on new camera's and diving equipment that they designed, so Cameron could shoot under water. Impressive; I recommend the book if any of you are interested.

I'm looking forward to Sanctum for a couple reasons. Richard Roxburgh and Ioan Gruffudd are two of those reasons. The latter is mostly known for playing Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards in the Fantastic Four movies and in a great indie movie called The TV Set as a tv exec. I caught wind of him in the movie King Arthur where he played a new incarnation of Lancelot. Richard Roxbugh has always been a favorite of mine, he's hammed up Dracula for Stephen Sommers in Van Helsing, battled it out with Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 2, and played the Duke in Baz Lurhman's Moulin Rogue. Both actors are incredibly versatile and I'm glad they are getting a movie to shine in, like this.

The size and scope are another reason, this movie just looks big! But really came in under the radar in terms of advertising and such. Of course they are using the fact that Cameron is producing as a marketing tool. But I must hand it to director Alister Grierson and just the cast and crew for pulling off an awesome looking flick, which I'm sure was without its problems. Movies like this really show you the joys and lows of filmmaking. You have a team of cave divers (filmmakers), going where no one has explored before and trying to make it out alive and in one piece. Same as a film crew; everyone must pull together to make an great and entertaining movie and survive in the process.

In my last few post on trailers I've been very big on authenticity. I will echo that same feeling here. I love that this looks like they are in really tight spaces without the help of CGI. Granted there are some shots of CGI in there but the great wide shots of the area surrounding the cave hole is a great juxtaposition to the claustrophobic spaces of the cave itself.

I love an adventure, that's why we all go to the movies and from the looks of it so far, the desperation to survive at the end of trailer really makes me feel like this movie will deliver.

Sanctum dives into theaters on February 4th, 2011

Dueces
StuntmanBob

The Other Woman Trailer Review

2011-02-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

Natalie Portman is everywhere and I'm loving it.

I like the trailer to this movie. When it first starts I honestly thought that it was going to sway into that same old cliche of a movie where the husband tries to have his cake and eat it too, but was pleasantly surprised when he actually marries the other woman. You'd think; maybe the ex-wife goes psycho and tries to kill them! But again, its about the other woman trying to figure out how to fit in. She sees it in the new life her and her husband have created and then sadly that is taken away from her. I've known people who have lost a child and I cannot imagine the feeling.

The trailer most reminds me of the Julia Roberts movie Stepmom. Only in the fact that Natalie Portman is trying to gain acceptance with her new husbands son. This feels like an un-official independent sequel to Stepmom. Aside from that interest, the authenticity of Portman's journey is truly poignant in the trailer. Here is woman who thinks that after she has a child of her own that everything is just right and her position as a the new wife and now, new mother solidifies her being there. But upon losing the child she delves into a mentality of there being no hope and that isn't true. She's now gotta do what she should have done in the first place and that is establish a common ground with the already established family she is now apart of.

Natalie Portman is again, everywhere and she's really blowing everything she does out of the water. While I didn't write a review for it, she was definitely the saving grace of the movie No Strings Attached. Having never been in a cliche movie like that before, she really showed her comedic talents to fullest.

In addition to the tears that will come from such an emotional movie, I fully recommend checking out this movie when it opens. There will be ups and there will be downs, but movies like this always show the hope at the end of that deep dark tunnel and sometimes you need a movie like that. Of course the final review will be when the credits roll and the house lights go up.

The Other Woman comes into your life February 4th, 2011

Dueces
StuntmanBob

The Eagle Movie Trailer Review

2011-02-01T14:50:00.000-08:00

The Eagle is directed by Kevin Macdonald whose past movies are the American adaption of the BBC original State of Play and The Last King of Scotland. Both movies I highly recommend. My real beef is not with this movies director but with tone and feel of the trailer itself. There are so many same shot references to other swords and sandals movies, in this trailer, that you might as well put on those; i.e. Gladiator, King Arthur, Centurion, etc. I mean the opening shot is of our main character sitting in a tented area praying to a clay figure. That is a scene right out of Gladiator! C'mon now! We've all seen this movie before and nothing is really setting it apart from the other movies. The bit of history explained in the beginning might peak my interest a bit, but that's not saying much either.

On top of the tone and un-originality, the casting of Channing Tatum is a bit of a double edged sword. The first movie I can remember seeing Mr. Tatum in was Step-Up; yes I saw it, get over it. Now he went on to do other work in some romantic movies and such like She's the Man and Dear John. However the movies that really made him stand out to me were A Guide to Recognizing Your Saint's and Stop-Loss. I think Tatum is a really good actor he brings a visceral and authentic rawness to his roles. Well at least the ones where he's got to be and its a treat to see, for me at least.

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saint's and Fighting, both directed by Dito Montiel, really show this energy. I can only imagine this is one of the reasons he was chosen for this role. But sadly, the authenticity of the film will lay on his shoulders and in the few scenes he does speak he sounds like he's really trying to have this roman accent but his "twang" or whatever keeps getting in the way. That in itself really just takes me out of the entire world the movie is trying to build. Hopefully the energy I like is enough to keep me interested but I doubt it.

Jamie Bell and Donald Sutherland round out the supporting cast and I think Jamie Bell is going really shine here. Bell has been seen in Billy Elliot, Jumper, and Defiance. Each of these movies are really good and entertaining and Bell has stepped up his game in each one. Be sure to look out for him in the future. He'll next been seen in Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of TinTin

Overall I'm thinking this movie will get some moderate attention when its released. My advice if you have seen all the movies nominated for a Best Picture already then go ahead and check this out. It might be some harmless fun or it could end up being the worst movie in the world, which will then convince you to go home, put on Gladiator, and reclaim your sanity.

As always the final review of the movie happens when the credits roll and the house lights are up.

The Eagle, does a spread, on February 11th, 2011

Dueces
StuntmanBob

Trailer Premiere: GREEN LANTERN

2010-11-16T22:13:00.000-08:00

email: guysonthecouch@gmail.com or leave your reactions and comments below.

-stuntmanBob

Trailer Review: THE NEXT THREE DAYS

2010-11-11T17:02:00.000-08:00

This is another movie trailer that basically shows and tells you more than you really need to know, cause if they did, which...OH THEY DID; they would be giving away everything and showing you the entire movie in the trailer.

Does he become the man who can leave his kid at a gas station? UHHH yea, its in the trailer.

Does he learn where the bullets go? UHHHH yea, its in the trailer.

This movie is written and directed by Paul Haggis who literally gave birth to Chuck Norris' return; Walker Texas Ranger. Alright, aside from that, the man is a great talent in the film industry, there is no getting around that. His writing credits include Million Dollar Baby, Crash, Casino Royale, In the Valley of Elah, and Quantum of Solace. His directing credits include Crash and In the Valley of Elah. I really got into Paul Haggis with his movie Crash, but really started to pay attention when he was part of the team that brought back Bond. I feel that's really where my comparison's lay with this movie; Bond vs. The Next Three Days.

I could be wrong, but if your a film geek, I'm sure you'll appreciate the mindless rambling. Both films seem to be about men who need to step out of themselves and become something else. Haggis' Bond is a cold hearted, take no prisoners assassin before he's thrown into having to be smooth, debonair and sometimes a bit controlled. Russell Crowe is a family man who must dip into something very dark in himself to do what it is he NEEDS to do. A feat like that is pretty massive, being able to sacrifice your son? Sacrificing you son's likely hood of ever growing up with no parents at all? Not cool DAD! At the end of Casino Royale, Bond loses something very dear to him and it changes him forever. I can only hope that a loss and for that matter a sense of reality is given at the end of this film.

I'm a big Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks fan and from the looks of the trailer they play a convincing couple and Crowe more-so a husband who decides he's going to break his wife out of jail.

When it comes down to it on the surface the movie looks like a good actioner and caper movie. But I'm just really upset that the whole story is all in the trailer. With Haggis at the helm, hopefully it brings something different.

As always the final review will be when credits roll and lights come up.

Dueces
StuntmanBob

RIP: Dino De Laurentis

2010-11-11T16:23:00.001-08:00

Cinema loses one of its greatest producers today, so in honor of him I present to you the trailer to the 1980 classic a FLASH GORDON! Find this movie blu ray, buy its soundtrack; completely scored by none other than QUEEN and celebrate this mans life with one of the greatest Rock Opera's in sci-fi.

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

Trailer Review: FASTER

2010-11-04T09:16:00.001-07:00

"He's Faster!"

REALLY!!! REALY!!!????

So Dwayne Johnson (The Rock) has been on a bit of a down slope as of late. A small role in this past summers The Other Guys brought us closer to the man we all know and love; you know the one from DOOM! His most recent movies were all Disney flicks the last one being about a hockey player who is known as the "tooth fairy" because he...oh well you get it. Long story short he becomes a tooth fairy. In tights. With Wings. (sighs)

But it looks as though Dwanye Johnson is starting an uphill battle to get back to the top of being an action star. Faster looks like the first stepping stone. I'm very torn right now about how I should feel about this movie. The story is a very familiar one and yet its being treated like a Michael Bay flick. I don't get a sense of urgency cause everything about this is just very formula, so it runs the risk of being boring. I mean we've all seen revenge flicks; a good one being Kill BIll, some formula yes, but even that had its little surprises here and there. Now, there is another movie coming out called Drive Angry with Nicholas Cage that looks like the exact same movie, with some supernatural elements loped in, but everyone in the movie seems to know the kind of movie they are making and they are just chewing up the material. (More on that movie in a future post).

Between the two I choose Drive Angry. However I not afraid to admit that I have been wrong. I once wrote about the A-Team and The Losers. I cited that The Losers looked like a far better movie in terms of action and just over all camaraderie, but in the end, when those house lights went up; The A-Team was the better flick. I'm hoping lighting doesn't strike twice here and my predictions are sound.

This movie is directed by George Tillman Jr. The man behind such movies as Men of Honor, Soul Food, and Notorious. He's also produced Roll Bounce, Barbershop 1 & 2, and Nothing like the Holidays for his production company State Street Pictures. As a director I really admire Tillman's work, for one he makes movies that are revolved around African Americans. Now its not all of his movies, but I point this out because as a Latino myself, I want to make movies that have minorities in the lead roles, mostly Latino. It also seems that everything he does is always something different, so he's versatile and always allowing himself to grow as an artist. As with Faster its a step into action movies. He's got a great eye for talent, comedy and drama. Its just kind of a shame that it doesn't quite mesh all together from the trailer.

The other surprising thing about this movie is that it is rated R. I'd imagine that just by the uneven feel of this movie it would be a PG-13 but I'd guess that it was Tillman Jr. who was all for sticking to a story that was true to its violent roots. Gotta give him props on that one. The R rating is one of the small highlights for me, for this movie.

Overall as an actor I like watching Dwanye Johnson, in a way he's like, but not up there with, Bruce Willis as being this very likeable, everyday man who is put into extraordinary situations. We like to watch him and see how he would handle a situation cause in a sense we'd do maybe the same thing? Aside from the uneven-ness, this movie definitely looks like it will deliver some pretty good action. I mean we've all seen revenge flicks and so seeing THE ROCK! walk into an office and just blow a guys head off is very promising. By this I mean that, we hopefully won't be treated to "please don't" speeches like the one that pastor gives towards the end of the trailer. Johnson is on a mission to kill 'em all and I'm glad at least that we are getting just that.

Also this is also means good things for its running time. I'm hoping for a short hour and half flick, which means that this movie will not overstay its welcome. My final review is always when the credits roll and the house lights go up.

FASTER walks into the theaters and attempts to blow your head off on November 24, 2010

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

TRAILER REVIEW: The Guardian's: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

2010-09-20T08:12:00.000-07:00

The man behind the Dawn of the Dead remake, 300 and Watchmen is now heading for the skies in this new animated adventure that deals with owls. Everytime I see this trailer is makes me think of The Goonies. Now I'm not saying that it looks better than the Goonies; only that the sense of adventure and discovery that's in The Goonies, is in some ways, recreated in this trailer.

That being said...

Lately more and more fantasy type novels and stories are being adapted. The Harry Potter movie series is finishing up its run and studios I'm sure are clamoring for the next big thing! So far its been failure's all around; Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Last Airbender.

I don't understand how the Harry Potter movie series, which is also based on a kids/young adult book if you've been living under a rock, can go on for two hours theatrically and have you hooked for the entire time and then you have two really great series' in your possession that have Harry Potter and even Star Wars like capabilities and you just short change the story completely!

I actually read a few of the books to Percy Jackson and was really looking forward to seeing the movie cause it brought the Gods into our generation in a new and exciting way. The book was filled with such history about all of the main characters interactions with the Gods and all we got was a cliff notes version of it. I saw The Last Airbender television series after seeing the movie and was immediately saddened that so much of the story was sacrificed to get to an ending that didn't mean anything, when it should. I know not every fantasy type novel or television cartoon has a history as rich as Harry Potter, but these two properties did, and more.

Here's hoping that Guardian's changes some of those things. The trailer opens with the legend of the Guardian's and their place in owls history. Being also based off a children's book, the trailer then shifts and has our young owl heroes out to find these legendary Guardian's, for help. For one, I really hope there is more of a history to these creatures than the voice over in the trailer.

Next we get this really horrific, inspirational, "you can make it to the finish line music", that I think completely shoots the trailer in its foot. The movie is directed by Zack Snyder which you would never known cause for some 'effed up reason his name isn't anywhere in the trailer. Even though Snyder is known for his very hard "R" movies, I think that this movie could benefit from his name being up there in bright lights. But then again, I could understand if the studios are like "we don't wanna give off that this movie is gonna have buckets of blood and action...sooo...take his name off"; fuckers. Aside from my Goonies nostalgia, I really feel or at least hope that Synder has crafted a much more serious and reality based movie than the trailer is showing off. What I mean by reality based is that while all the pretty lights and slow-mo is a Snyder trademark and exciting, I hope that real threats and consequences fall upon our heroes and their Champions.

This movie is also getting an IMAX release as well as a 3D release and the only reason I'm happy for that is because it will be getting Resident Evil: Afterlife out of there. THANK GOD! But I'm not sure yet if I will see it in either format yet. Perhaps the 3D, but IMAX is a little pushing it.

As always my final review will be when the credits roll and house lights go up!

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

Trailer Review: DEVIL

2010-09-16T19:48:00.000-07:00

M. Night Shyamalan is back this time as an executive producer and "idea giver" in the new thriller/horror movie, DEVIL. This is the first installment under Shyamalan's self-titled "The Night Chronicles" series. The movie is directed by The Brothers Dowdle, whose most recent credit is the movie Quarantine. I know my fellow film geeks, as a whole, have a wonderful time comparing Shyamalan to George Lucas, but I really think he's super-ceded with this move. I'm sorry sir, I may be one of the few people who liked Lady in the Water, but I think you should concentrate more time on writing and directing, like you actually care about the people who sit down and pay to see your films. Not go throwing around the word Chronicle, every time you come up with an idea and just so happen to have two more that follow.

Its okay Chronicle, I promise to lead a campaign that will save you from having to be fucked by M. Nights title card on screen.

So the trailer opens up with these really striking images of what looks to be the New York City skyline upside down with taglines going across it. If you read my Catfish review you know how I feel about taglines, so we won't go there. It makes it seem like everything that's happening, the interactions and those who get in the elevator is all by chance. But the trailer still has to remind me that "everything happens for a reason"....

...fucking taglines....

Anyway the elevator stops, people start screaming and then we are given a series of images from the movie of all the crazy scenarios that will occur. This brings me to the second highlight of the trailer which is when all these images are happening the sound is drown out and there is this low monotone sound that screeches through the rest till we are given a jump scare. Now I really believe that if Shyamalan's name wasn't all over this movie, audiences would have less of a grudge against it. Yes, it looks like another hapless horror movie thriller, with an idea, that by the end could have more done with it, but doesn't change the fact that the trailer isn't all that bad looking. Its an interesting idea, simple enough, and put in a location that suits its claustrophobic and terrorizing needs; its just the filmmaker its associated with that gives it its bum rap right from the beginning.

In summation, I'm honestly curious to see how this entire movie plays out. Less for Shyamalan, but more for the writer and directors of this movie. See Mr. "Unbreakable" is only credited with a "story by" credit. For those of you who think that "screenplay by" and "story by" are the same thing...they are not, let me clarify.

Screenplay by means that they actually wrote an entire script out.

Story by means that Shyamalan could have done anything from walk into and office and say; "Yo...5 people...Elevator...feel the tension...mmmhmmm..can you feel it? AND THEN BAM ONE OF THE IS DEVIL. Package it, sell it, knick knack, patty whack, give a dog a bone!" Or he could have wrote an outline with some plots points and another writer flushed the rest of it out.

I think the latter is what happened but its fun to wonder.

I haven't seen Quarantine and even though I've heard bad things about it, doesn't change that the movie's main plug is that a news reporter is trapped inside a building and has to get out before horrible things happen to her. The writer of this movie is Brian Nelson, who wrote the script for 30 Days of Night and Hard Candy. Both films take place in one location, but do a whole hell of a lot to make you feel as uncomfortable as possible and bring as much tension to the idea of being trapped into its small, but simple story ideas. I'm going to try and go into this flick with the thought that Shyamalan did nothing more than give creative control over to other talented writers and filmmakers and let them do what he hasn't been able to since Unbreakable; and that is make an M. Night Shyamalan movie.

As always my final review will be when the credits roll and house like come up.

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

Trailer Review: CATFISH

2010-09-13T06:59:00.000-07:00

Before you read, just know that this review has a spoiler for the movie District 9.

"Just True"

In recent years the docu-style of filmmaking has returned with movies like Cloverfield, Paranormal Activity, District 9, and in theaters now, The Last Exorcism. Catfish is the next installment in that style of filmmaking. The trailer does a good job at establishing this hapless guy that we are following who is having an online relationship with a girl whose voice, we think we hear and pictures from her Facebook, that we hope are also her.

After the swooning and dirty text messages, his friends who are documenting this series of events, and him decide to drive up to her farm in Michigan and once they get out of the car, the trailer shifts and I'm happy and kinda annoyed at the same time.

Annoyed

"The Final Forty Minutes of this Film will take you on an emotional roller-coaster ride that you won't be able to shake for days". - Chris BumBray Joblo.com

While this quote excited me when I first saw this trailer, it soon made me begin ask; are the last forty minutes of this film all I'm really going to be waiting for? Well... Yes! I think by adding quotes like these to trailers, the advertisement is literally telling me when things will get interesting in the movie! I think it sabotages the film in that your not letting the audience go on this journey and be surprised. I just wish the trailer did something with its already uneasy images to give it that same shift in tone. Instead it lazily relies on a quote.

Take a look at the trailer for District 9. Everyone I talked to said to me that it looked like another variation of a run-of-the-mill "alien invasion" movie; i.e. Independence Day. When in fact, sitting in the theater, you were rudely awakened. Discovering that the movie was more about a man who on the day of his promotion is infected in a way that would change his life forever and question his own treatment of the aliens.

Of course punch words like; "AMAZING", "OUT OF THIS WORLD", and "POWERFUL", were thrown around, as well they should be. But no where did it say in the trailer; "Just fucking wait till you see a scene where (SPOILER WARNING) they unwrap his hand and its an alien hand!, CRAZY!"

I just think for the sake of promotion, quotes like these should be chosen more carefully.

Also, while it won't deter my enjoyment of the movie, I highly question this film's validity in being "Just True". I don't know if any of you have seen the movie The Strangers, but that film was also based on a true story. However, it was later revealed that using that tagline, and I do think its more of a tagline now, was purely for advertisement. Although events depicted in the movie unfortunately do happen. The movie was just a look into those happenings. Which I think is what is happening in Catfish.

Happy

Aside from all that I will be definitely going to see Catfish. From the trailer alone I'm hooked. Get it? YucK YucK! It starts off as one thing, then shifts gears very quickly into something that we know is just bad. I like to see movies like this where the images are not all that clear, there is grain, you see people holding the camera; I just think it gives the movie more of a sense of realism and It will help establish the situation and actions more so.

Also with David Fincher's The Social Network coming to theaters a few weeks later, this movie I hope will crack open some interesting debate about social networking sites and meeting people over the internet.

As always my final review will be when the credits roll and the house lights go up!

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

Production Photos: Resident Evil: Rigor Mortis

2010-09-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

A few production photos from the shooting of Resident Evil: Rigor Motis at the 2010 Chicago Comic Con.

Resident Evil: RIGOR MORTIS

2010-09-08T12:42:00.000-07:00

While at the Chicago Comic Con, Dorian and I, came upon an epidemic that has slowly sucked the life out of rabid fans everywhere around the world. Here is that epidemic.

Why I liked the Ending of THE LAST EXORCISM

2010-09-07T17:32:00.001-07:00

DISCLAIMER: Spoiler-filled!!!!! If you plan on seeing the movie, I'd advise not to read, cause I pretty much give away everything.

So last night my sister and I went to go see The Last Exorcism. I wasn't thinking this movie was going to be anything special so I went in with an open mind to see what I could get out of it. If I had any drive to see this movie at all it was because of the article sticky'd to the front of my Yahoo homepage about people being upset at the ending of this movie. You could say, whether or not I saw it in theaters, my interest was peaked.

The movie is a horror mockumentary about a pastor in Baton Rogue, by the name of Cotton Marcus. Cotton is having problems with his faith and has for a long time since his son was born. Cotton has performed over some 50 odd exorcisms, yet, he believes that demons do not exist and that possession is all in the head. So when Cotton has gone to perform an exorcism he actual rigs the room with effects that are controlled by him to create this elaborate ruse and make it seem like its something out of the movie THE EXORCIST. He does not consider himself a fraud, but that he's still doing a service to people to make them feel better.

For being a man of God. Cotton is kind of an asshole. At one point he bets the head of the doc crew ten bucks that he can preach about anything; that even includes his mothers delicious banana nut bread. And he does so amazingly! I gotta admit, I kinda like Cotton. I like him because even though he looks like Matthew McConaughey, he seems to generally be convinced that possessions and exorcisms are bullshit and he's completely out to debunked these events. He's real and he's willing to fuck with peoples beliefs.

This leads him to Ivanwood, Louisiana, where a young girl named Nell is being terrorized. Cotton does his thing, performs a fake exorcism and collects his money and then goes on his way. This is when the real shit starts happening. Nell has always done drawings which says she dreams about, well she has a drawing of a dead cat, a man with a cross going into the fire, a cameraman with his head cut off and a woman chopped into pieces. One night as they are watching over Nell, Cotton and the film crew that is, she awakens and walks around with a camera and proceeds to beat a cat to death with it. You see where this is going?

During the course of the movie its revealed that Nell is pregnant which leads Cotton to still believe that what is happening to her is still physiological, because she lies about a boy who supposedly is the one who got her pregnant. But then turns out to be gay. The local priest from that area is brought in and lends his help with everything. While leaving the house Cotton is pulled by a sense of curiosity to find out why Nell lied. Upon his return they discover that the local priest is the head of a devil worshiping cult, Nell is on an alter and a some sort of creature is being pulled from her body and then is thrown into the fire that is crackling near them. The fire erupts into the night sky.

The doc crew urges Cotton that they should leave. Cotton hold his cross firmly and really begins to start praying for the first time in the entire movie. Did he get his faith back? He walks out with his cross held high, towards the flame. Pic #1, check. The woman and camera man run into the forrest and then the other two pictures are fulfilled. As soon as the cameraman's neck is sliced the camera falls to the ground, we get a static image of a rock and then SCENE!!!!! BLACK. OVER. CREDITS. FINITO.

Really? Your upset at this Ending? I was fucking relieved when it went black. For a movie like this that looks like every other exorcism movie out there, expect for the Paul Greengrass effect, I think it was really ballsy and a breath of fresh air to end it without knowing what happens next. It ended on a high. And in a movie like this that's the real fear; what happens next. The act of not knowing has always beem more terrifying that actually knowing.

For those of you who have seen the movie, the fire erupting is a little CGI-ish and having the movie end literally minutes from that point is a sign of not being put through another half hour where they could have possibly shown a very horrible looking CGI looking demon. I mean c'mon, you people woulda been fine with that? I know I wouldn't. Now I'm not saying that the movie is great, its a small simply film that you will most likely forget once you've had a post movie talk about it in the car with your friends. But I will say that the ending was something I wasn't really expecting and for that I appreciated what I saw a lot more than I would have, had the movie given me some sort of finite ending.

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

Machete Movie Review...Ah Fuck it, it was GREAT!

2010-09-06T16:06:00.000-07:00

I remember my cousin Chris coming over when I was small to babysit my sister and I. Or more like watch, not babysit, cause you know I was never a baby, just a little man. More often than not he'd bring a movie over with him and one night it was Robert Rodriguez's Desperado.

I remember the guitar case full of guns. How mysterious and just badass it must be to walk around with one. The cool gun fights, the bad language and wanting to see the part where Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek just got it on like they were the last two people on the planet! I also remember not being able to see that part either. Sucked being little. But anyway from here on in, this was start of what I knew what I wanted to aspire to do with my life. Make movies.

But that's a whole other topic. We are here to talk Machete!

Machete was born in '07, out of a faux trailer, of the same name, that was part of RR and QT's Grindhouse collaboration; Planet Terror and Death Proof. And for all of you who are gushing over how great Machete is and you didn't see Grindhouse...SHAME ON YOU! You deserved to be violated in unholy places on your body by the blade of Machete.

So now three years later we are treated to a feature length film of that trailer. The movie begins in Mexico where Machete is out to save a missing girl from drug lord numero uno, Torrez, played masterfully by Steven Seagal. Torrez then makes Machete watch as he massacres his entire family and thus the bloody revenge of Machete begins. The back drop of this movie is the immigration issue that, some would say, plague this nation of ours. Machete, being a man who is solely out to get even with the people who wronged him, inadvertently becomes the face of this revolution.

Along the way we meet a dirty Senator, played by Robert De Niro, a hick border patrol guard played by Don Johnson, Jessica Alba who plays a conflicted immigration agent and Michelle Rodriguez who plays Luz a taco vendor who has connections to "She", a person who "gives the people what they want and fills their belly with something more than hate". Sound familiar?

From our trailer review both Dorian and myself were kinda worried about how the movie would eventually look and play out, given that so much of the trailer was dedicated to making it look like Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat threw up on itself. But I must say that all that hesitation was laid to rest. Aside from having an exploitative look at how this whole immigration thing might turn out, I was surprised to see that everyone in their roles was perfect! EVEN LINDSEY LOHAN!!!

There were a few parts that I kinda laughed at, and those were seeing Jessica Alba take up this militant leader role near the end of the film and the more I thought it about it, her delivery of it was perfect and it was meant to make us, the audience just go "OH GOD! that was corny," cause its meant to be that.

Hints of Rodriguez's Desperado were sprinkled everywhere. A scene in particular where men come to ambush Machete while he lays in bed with Alba was very reminiscent of the scene with Banderas and Hayek after their porn scene together. But these scenes work in the context of the movie, its not like they are just lazy throw in's. While Banderas was memorable in his execution of certain baddies. Alba takes the gold in a duel with a Luchador-mask wearing assassin. Much like Grindhouse, we are also treated to massive amounts of blood, gore, nudity, beheadings, and homemade weaponery (a la the weed-whack machete) to make this movie a literal crowd pleaser!

While I think Rodriguez gets the right amount of cred for his action and low budgets. No one really comments on the people he picks for his villains! Did you know to fund his first film El Mariachi, Rodriguez subjected himself to experimental drug trials for three months? For a fee of course; and the villain in El Mariachi was a guy he met during those trials? Pretty crazy right? But anyway, you have Joaquim De Almeida in Desperado, Johnny Depp and Willem Dafoe in Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Bruce Willis in Planet Terror and now Robert De Niro, Don Johnson and Mr. Steven Seagal.

Seagal is at the top of his chessy self in Machete. Calling people puneta's at the start of each conversation and hearing him call other's carnal and speak with a spanish accent was just magical to behold. I really hope Seagal shows up in other future Machete movies or just other Rodriguez/Tarantino movies cause he has definitely opened up something that I'm not ready to close yet with Machete.

I don't think I have to tell you that I enjoyed this movie. So just go fucking see it!

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

The Couch Episode 3: MACHETE

2010-09-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

Our 3rd episode sees Bobby and Dorian heading to the Chicago Comic Con to talk about the trailer to Robert Rodriguez's MACHETE!

Enjoy
StuntmanBob

Episode Tres Production Stills: Machete Trailer

2010-08-31T19:18:00.000-07:00

Que Onda! Fellow movie lovers. Alright so Machete is out in theaters and our trailer review as well as a full movie review is up! Here are some Production stills from the making of our Machete episode from the Chicago Comic Con

Trailer Premiere: Darren Aronofsky's BLACK SWAN

2010-08-18T11:41:00.000-07:00

Imagery!

My first Darren Aronofsky movie was The Fountain; a movie that starred Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. The movie spanned the course of three time periods and dealt with life, death, and a possible afterlife. While it got mixed reviews, I thought it was a beautiful piece, visually and emotionally, of how we as people deal with wanting to live forever and what we would do, if we had the power to save the ones we love from death. I'll be honest when the credits rolled the night I saw the movie, everyone was just still in their seats as they all soaked in what we had just experienced. It's something about that movie that even though I couldn't fully come to an end in my mind about it; the visuals, the music, and the emotionality of it all struck a very hard chord with me. So resonant that I simply didn't mind the ambiguity of it all. Its these kinds of movies that I appreciate because they work so well upon multiple viewings!

This prompted me to learn and experience everything I could bout Darren Aronofsky, I proceeded to head out to Circuit City, yes you heard me right, and purchase a double disc of Requiem for a Dream and π (pi). Simply Amazing! I could write separate blogs on each!

Next, Aronofsky directed The Wrestler, which starred Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei. The Wrestler is about a beat up "WWE- like" wrestler who is still trying to keep the glory days alive. But after suffering a deadly match, he must come to terms with his own mortality and attempts to right wrongs he's committed in his life. A story of redemption and trying to find your place in this world after it seems its passed you by, really tugged at my heart strings. The striking imagery and reality of the pain this man puts himself through just to feel appreciated was painful to watch. But it brought Mickey Rourke back and made that character worth my feelings. This movie really taught me the sense of character. I had already known little things could go a long way, but just to pick up this guys life after such a successful run and then watch him try and piece it back together as best he can, really gave me an idea of the human spirit.

Which brings us to Black Swan, which stars Natalie Portman as a young ballet dancer who has just been cast as the lead in a new production of Swan Lake. After though, a new ballet dancer appears in the form of Mila Kunis and potentially threatens to take Portman from the limelight. Along the way it looks like our perception will be tested as the trailer looks to take a dip into the physiological. Or does it?

Natalie Portman has starred in the most recent Star Wars Trilogy's and V for Vendetta. Vincent Cassel has been in Ocean's 12 and 13, Brotherhood of the Wolf, and his new movie out is called Mesrine, which is based on a true story about French criminal Jacques Mesrine, and Mila Kunis who has been on That 70's Show, Extract, and most recently The Book of Eli. The person who is really surprising me here is Mila Kunis. I think I was one of those naive persons who could only see her as Jackie from That 70's Show. But with her work in The Book of Eli and from what I see from Black Swan; she's definitely spreading her wings....giggle.

I really hope that this is the ONLY trailer that comes out for Black Swan cause I don't want to know anymore than what it shows; and honestly why would you want to know more?! This trailer does its duty as a teaser because it merely gives us a basis for the story then shows us random images that are some how related to that story. Mission Accomplished. The images seem to invoke a great sense of loss of identity, pressure, perfection and a serious dose of a psychological break with reality. All this with what sounds like some original Clint Mansell and I smell hit!

With all of this building up in the trailer; Desire, Perfection in an imperfect world, and the grueling nature of dance and ballet; we are given the last scene of Portman's character pulling what seems to be the beginnings of a feather, out of scar on her back, that we see randomly worsen throughout the trailer. If this, isn't enough to make you want to see what the hell is happening on December 1st, you should seriously consult a physician.

This trailer is definitely a lesson in how much you can do, with so little. This write up is proof of that. The simple story and images given provide a plethora of speculation and excitement. I for one cannot wait to see this psychological ballet thriller; just listen to how that sounds, PSYCHOLOGICAL. BALLET. THRILLER. Where do I pre-order tickets from already!?

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

UPDATES: Chicago Comic Con. The Crew. The New Logo.

2010-08-13T23:55:00.000-07:00

We are officially one week away from our Chicago Comic Con Debut! Dorian and Myself have a lot of treats in store for all of you who check into our site regularly, so stay tuned.

CHICAGO COMIC CON:

We've just secured our very first interview with Alexandre O. Philippe, the writer/director of the documentary The People vs. George Lucas. Alexandre as well as Neil Marshall (The Descent, Doomsday, and the upcoming Centurion), Drew and John Erick Dowdle (Devil), and Stuart Levy (Van Von Hunterr) will take part in a panel called "Moviemakers meet Moviegoers". The directors will lead various discussions about their work and other topics.

Also screening at the Con on Friday August 20th in Speaker Room A is The People vs. George Lucas . The doc will screen at 8:30pm, followed by a Q and A with writer/director Alexandre O. Philippe. This is just the tip of the ice berg for events at the Con.

THE CREW:

Aside from Dorian and Myself (Bobby Navia), I wanted to let you all know who will be our crew on this adventure of ours. This would not be happening if these individuals hadn't agreed to lend a hand.

As our DP/Cameraman is: Gregory Cozzi
As our on location audio tech is: Kieran Dennis
and
As our on location photographer: Tyler Crane

Guys you'll never know how much this means to me. Thank you.

THE LOGO:

This new logo, pictured above, which will be incorporated into our show from here on out is a Chicago Comic Con exclusive. The designer of this logo is a good friend of mine Mr. Dave Curbis

-See you at the Con
Bobby

New THOR COMIC CON TRAILER

2010-08-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

If You Want a Solid Guarantee That I Will Not See Your Shitty Movie…

2010-07-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

…use this as your tagline – “From the Mind of M. Night Shyamalan”. There’s…something about this particular combination of words that I cannot understand, mostly in regards to its currency as a market proposition. Let’s face it, that’s really all movies are – market propositions. Going to the movies presents, at its essence, the exact same consumer experience as just about any other place of business – the product just happens to be temporally limited. But other than that, you are going to a business that specializes in selling a thing (electronics, movies, religion, or whatever), and has many varieties of that thing for sale (products/genres), from which you must select the particular thing that matches your specifications and preferences. Perhaps an example would help illustrate how ridiculous this “From the Mind of M. Night Shyamalan” business really is. Let’s say I’m buying a…car. Sure. Here we go.

DORIAN walks into a car dealership. Smelling fresh meat, SALESMAN ASSHOLE shares a private moment with a shit-eating grin before approaching Dorian.

As he walks over, Salesman Asshole feels a rush of endorphins, the physical manifestation of his belief that making this sale will allow him to achieve orgasm tonight without punching his wife in the stomach mid-coitus. His mind quickly veers, scoffing at her silly notion that there is a correlation between his sexual proclivities and her inability to bear children.

SALESMAN ASSHOLE (to Dorian): Aren’t women stupid?

DORIAN: That’s a fucked up way to sell cars.

Salesman Asshole winces. This isn’t the first time he’s done this.

SA: Look, I’m really sorry—

D (interrupting): No need for that. I’m game – what d’you got?

SA: Let me introduce myself first. My name’s Asshole.

D: That’s unfortunate.

SA: Well, I make it work.

D: That’s very…big of you? Look, I don’t really care. I came here to buy a car.

SA: Ah yes. Here, take a look at this baby – it’s called, “Devil.”

D: Bitchin’ name. Who makes it?

SA: Oh, it’s from the mind of M. Night Shyamalan.

D: Who the fuck is that?

SA: A famous car designer. He released his first car in 1999, which came out of nowhere and took everyone by surprise. Sold like crazy. Not a bad vehicle, but nothing revolutionary enough to warrant the acclaim it was receiving if you ask me. Anyway, he released three more cars over the next five years, all of which were basically the same as the first, so naturally, sales started to decline. He came up with another design in 2005 that his manufacturer told him had serious structural defects, but his ego had gotten so big by this point that he told them to fuck off and found another manufacturer who was so smitten by his celebrity that they were willing to overlook the obvious problems within this design. So they went ahead and made it. That car is still regarded to this day as one of the worst cars ever made.

D: I can’t imagine why you would posit this as a reason to buy this car - I’m guessing he had some kind of heroic comeback recently?

SA: Well, he designed an off-road vehicle in 2008, but he hired a former rapper to be the head engineer, so the final result lacked the balls to do any true off-roading. And actually, he just released his most recent car a few weeks ago. It’s his most expensive design yet!

D: …and?

SA: Sales are terrible and Consumer Reports called driving it, “an agonizing experience in every category I can think of and others still waiting to be invented.”

D (pointing to the Devil): And he made this car?

SA: No, it just came from his mind.

D: What the fuck does that even mean? Did he just will this thing into existence?

SA: I think he came up with the concept and someone else made it.

D: So why would I ever want to buy this thing? This Shyamalan character sounds like a hack – don’t you have something else?

SA: Yeah, but to be honest, they’re all pretty much the same.

D: Oh. Well, is there somewhere around that I can get a thought-out, innovative car of sound structural integrity?

SA: There might be one or two places still in business, but they’re out in the middle of nowhere, and they usually only sell the good ones on Friday and Saturday at midnight.

D: Well that’s horribly inconvenient – I’ve got five kids to feed!

SA: Well, that’s why we’re here, all day, every day.

And so the tired analogy comes to an end, but I think the point is made – who the fuck would buy a car with this pedigree?

As an aside, I would like to note that I do not actually have five, or any, children – I just can’t pass up the opportunity for a Total Recall reference. This is probably a good thing for both me and my imaginary children, as I don’t believe they would last very long with me being one of their primary caregivers. I’m sorry, but I simply do not respect any living creature that is incapable of feeding itself. It’s inexcusable.

But let’s get back to Devil – its makers were clearly unsatisfied with presenting only one potent argument against seeing their movie in their poster, so they added a second, self-prophesying tagline – “Bad Things Happen for a Reason”. See if you can identify the bad thing and the reason in this statement – if you produce anything conceived by M. Night Shyamalan, you will end up with a shit movie. It seems a simple enough understanding, yet so many people have failed to grasp it, which baffles me because I was under the impression this was common knowledge as of a few years ago, even before Lady in the Water. Does this pompous motherfucker think he can just ejaculate his lack of versatility as a film maker and a storyteller right in our faces and expect us to swallow? The only thing more harrowing is the follow up question – if so, is it working?

I guess that’s enough about the poster. As for the trailer itself, I mean, it’s terrible. What the fuck did you think I was going to say?

-Dorian

Catch Up On Older Episodes!

2010-07-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

So you say you've never seen an episode of The Couch? Well with our Comic Con debut coming up I think you should catch up. The Wolfman, directed by Joe Johnston was our first episode and Alice in Wonderland Directed by Tim Burton was our second both have recently been released on dvd and blu ray. Enjoy and leave comments.

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

The Couch. CHICAGO COMIC CON. Can you dig it?

2010-07-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

A few days ago we got the go ahead to shoot an episode of The Couch at the 2010 Chicago Comic Con! This is really a dream for us as this was one of our goals when we first started our show. Dorian and myself would like to thank all of you who have been reading and supporting us. We are only going up from here!

The Comic Con takes place August 19th, 20th, 21st, and 22nd. Throughout those days we will hopefully get the opportunity to talk with some celebrities and comic scribes, get their thoughts on movie trailers and review a trailer for debut in September. Please try and come out and support the Comic Con and us. Check back as we will post who we will be interviewing and what trailer will get the royal treatment from Dorian and myself.

Ticket information for the con is here
http://www.wizardworld.com/home-ch.html

Thanks for reading and as always if you have any trailers you think we should check out, movie recommendations, or pointless bitching hit us up at guysonthecouch@gmail.com

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

"POKE ME" I think I'm in Heaven. Teaser Trailer: THE SOCIAL NETWORK

2010-07-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

This is what TEASER TRAILER means!!! The Social Network is the new movie being directed by David Fincher. Fincher has directed Fight Club, Seven, Zodiac, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It chronicles the start up and drama of "the social network" juggernaut know as Facebook.

This trailer just get me pumped. If this is all we got from this movie until October, when its released, I would be happy. Lately there have been a string of teasers and full length trailers that are actually doing a good job of teasing! Inception, Predators, and the 1st trailer to Wall Street Money 2: Money Never Sleeps and I'm happy to see that in a way the movie industry has still got it!

So much today is given away in the trailers that when you go to see the movie, all the best parts or a portion of them are ruined. The Social Network teaser is inventive, fresh, exciting, and does so much with very little. You can feel the weight of this film. It accomplishes so much and I eagerly await its release. Enjoy and feel free to comment or shoot us an email at guysonthecouch@gmail.com

dueces
StuntmanBob

"Its So UN-FLUFFY!!!" Despicable Me Trailer Review

2010-07-07T17:01:00.000-07:00

Despicable Me comes from the Executive Producers of the Ice Age series which I'm a fan of and needless to say, I have a bone to pick with trailer(s) that advertise this movie.

Earlier in the week, I was listening to the Slashfilm Podcast in their after dark series. Which is the show after the show, and they were having a very interesting conversation about watching trailers. Now although I didn't agree with somethings that were being said, I appreciate the fact that they really got into talking about trailers as a whole. The conversation encompassed teaser trailers to full length trailers. How good they are. How much information they give away. How sometimes they don't do a movie justice. Etc.

This movie has so many trailers that its just confusing. I remember the first teaser for this movie had the main character, Gru, trying to get over this big ass wall. This was the home of his arch enemy, but his attempts were always being foiled by the extensive security system that was running. Nothing impressive, but it was what a teaser does; gives you a taste of what to expect. A clever battle of wits and technology between to evildoers seemed pretty awesome.

Next we were subjected to even smaller tv spot like teaser trailers with these little yellow thumb looking, overall wearing creatures as the advertisement for the movie. These..."things" literally looked design rejects for SpongeBob SquarePants. They were funny for a minute but just got real played out.

Coincidentally, on Father's Day weekend, a full trailer for the movie is finally released and we get an entirely different mood. One where Gru is trying to be bad but now has to assume a father-like role in taking care of three girls that are thrust upon him. This to me just felt like it came out of no where and it feels a little misplaced. Now this movie which started off looking like an interesting way to look into the world of villainy, care of some slick animation, has turned into a "Series of Unfortunate Events" for Gru, PUN INTENDED.

The cast for this as well as all animation films are very impressive, Steve Carell voices Gru and the supporting cast is Jason Segal, Russel Brand Kristen Wiig, Miranda cosgrove, Will Arnett, Danny McBride, Jack McBrayer, and Julie Andrews.

I like Steve Carrell, he always adds this sense of awkwardness that I think audiences can relate with. But why does Gru sound Russian? Is he Russian? He just sounds like a sober version of the Russian Cosmonaut in Armageddon. And what the hell is up with the Uncle Fester look? I might be knit picking but that's bugging me too. Are the filmmakers trying to make him sound like a terrorist type villain? I mean he is planning to steal the moon. So yea? Alright I feel if I go on I'll just get more picky so I'll finish up.

This movie, as with everything on the planet is being given the 3D treatment. (sigh). Looks like I'll be going to the 2D showing. The only saving grace for me is this trailer is the little girl who is gonna die cause "ITS SO FLUFFY!". Give me an entire movie about her, cause as of right now, I don't really care for anyone in this trailer other than her.

As always the final review will be when the credits roll and house lights come up.

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

"If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It". PREDATORS Trailer Review

2010-06-26T23:57:00.000-07:00

"Fear is Reborn"

For the first time in a long time, I feel like a tagline rings true. Let me just get this out. FUCKING ROBERT RODRIGUEZ IS PRODUCING A PREDATOR MOVIE!!!!!!!!

Alright now that, that bit of fandom is out of the way, we can continue. The first image we are given with this trailer is of space, I get chills every time I see it. I'm hoping to see that alien craft fly past earth, but then we cross fade into trees to indicate that we are back in the jungle. We are off to a good start. The rest of the trailer as you've seen is a series of shots that are introducing all these killers/mercenaries and warriors as they realize the planet they are on is a "game preserve" and they are the game.

We all know that after Predator 2 with Danny Glover there was talk of a Alien vs. Predator movie and we eventually got two. AVP and AVP: Requiem are the movies that have unfortunately filled our Predator void. AvP was good enough for a PG-13 movie, but still not that good. AvP: Requiem attempted to get back to the hard R of the series making the Predator his lethal self again. In addition to that, the Predator was also made into this detective as he hunted a hybrid Alien/Predator (predalien) that was born at the end of the first AvP. It was cool to an extent but there is just one problem, since when did the Predator become fucking Sherlock Holmes!!

Enter Robert Rodriguez; director of El Mariachi, Desperado, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Spy Kids Trilogy, Sin City, Grindhouse: Planet Terror and the upcoming Machete. In 1994, Rodriguez had written a script for a new Predator movie which ended up going no where. Now on July 9, 2010 we will see what a Rodriguez produced Predator movie will look like. The movie is essentially his script/treatment of what he wrote in 1994 with a script by Alex Litvak & Michael Finch.

Unless you had been following that Rodriguez was producing a Predator movie, you would have never known from the trailer until 3/4 of the way through when its revealed to be a new chapter in the series. The timeline for this movie is that it happens after the events of the first Predator.

This trailer really tips its hat to the first Predator, not only because we are back in the jungle, but because there is fear re-established with the images in the trailer. The quick edits and high pitch sound work, give back the Predator his horror street cred. The daylight images of wreakage all around the jungle and closed spaces with only a lighter as our source of light also make it known that once again we are no longer safe in the daytime or in the evening.

Rodriguez chose Nimrod Antal, director of the movie Armored as the director, based on watching a cut of Armored. I was first puzzeled as to why Antal was chosen. Given that I had seen Armored and that I thought it was alright B-movie fun. But Armored had such a versatile group of actors working together and Antal's work as a director to make all those characters work and believable proved that he could handle assembling and directing the wide array of actors for Predators.

My finals thoughts are just everything looks and feels right for this trailer. I mean that final shot with all the targets all over Adrien Brody's body...that's got classic written all over it! My only wish is that they would come out with a more extended trailer. Then again I applaud Antal and Rodriquez for not wanting to spoil the goodies.

As always the final review will be when the house lights come up and the credits roll.

Predators hits theaters July 9th, 2010

Dueces,
StuntmanBob

SALT Trailer Review

2010-06-26T17:05:00.000-07:00

If Pepper Potts and Evelyn Salt got into a fight, who would take that crown?

Salt, is the brand new or re-used story idea, starring Angelina Jolie. Before I begin the open heart surgery on this trailer, let me say that overall it feels like a big kid screaming at me; ( in annoying child taunting talk) "I have a secret and I won't tell you!!!". That shit is annoying. We get it, there is a possible twist somewhere in this movie. Way to give away the one thing you might have going for you!

The beginning of the trailer starts off with Ms. Jolie being hauled off by cops, a quick action sequence later and we are at yet another question; " You think everyone is who they say they are?" Well no, if your asking. There are so many questions in this movie trailer that I get the feeling that's what I'll be left with at the end of the movie. Questions.

The next few scenes look like episodes of the TNT show The Closer as we are informed by Liev Schreiber's character that no one can crack people faster in a room, than Salt. Angelina plays the title character: Evelyn Salt. A C.I.A agent who is "revealed" to be a Russian assassin set to kill the President of the United States. So... as any normal American would do, she goes rogue, jumps off a few expressways, turns herself into a Maxim model and attempts to prove her innocence, all in this rom-com of an action/spy thriller.

Its really a shame that nothing in this trailer looks original. There are hints of Mission Impossible 3 with her pulling a fake face off, walking along the edges of buildings and close shot chase sequences bring back memories of The Bourne Movies and the fact that she might be potentially framed for killing an important political figure is straight from the movie Shooter, with Mark Wahlberg. I cringe at the what future taglines of this movie might be. "Salt is the new Bourne!" or "Its Mission Impossible meets Bourne with a Shooter mixed in."

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of action and spy movies, but from the trailer it just doesn't look like there is anything that sets it apart from the mentioned movies. The supporting cast consists of some top gents, who are always at the top of their game; Liev Schreiber and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Schreiber was recently seen in the disappointing X-Men Origins: Wolverine in which he played Wolverine's nemesis Sabertooth. Ejiofor has played memorable villains in Four Brothers and the sci-fi action pic Serenity.

I really like both these actors and after doing research on the movie I found out that the original incarnation of the script had the main character as a man. Beat! Perhaps Salt is really a man? It might have been more cliche but if the original script was the one being shot, how would Liev or Chiwetel faired as the agent with a questionable identity? I think both of them are of the caliber of actors to bring something new to a role like that, if done correctly. Much like what Matt Damon did with Jason Bourne.

The movie is directed by Phillip Noyce whose past work includes The Bone Collector (urg!) which also starred Angelina Jolie. Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger both starring Harrison Ford and both are notable films is the Jack Ryan series. So its clear that Mr. Noyce is no stranger to the spy game, but why does this movies look like SPAM. I wonder how the tone would have been if the trailer had more of a Jack Ryan feel.

The movie is written by Kurt Wimmer and I would say he is the only reason I'm curious about this movie. I was first exposed to Kurt Wimmer with a movie he wrote and directed called Equilibrium, that starred Christian Bale. AMAZING shit! Go out and find it now, if you haven't seen it. His next writing credits included The Recruit, Ultraviolet, The Thomas Crown Affair, and most recently Law Abiding Citizen, which starred Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler. Each of these movies, except for perhaps Ultraviolet, were really good, watchable thrillers. The Thomas Crown Affair and Law Abiding Citizen especially. So its obvious the guy knows how to write, so I'm hoping that's what saves this trailer.

Aside from me picking apart this trailer, I do plan to see what its all about. Despite being overly cliche the trailer does do a good job of establishing tension, suspicion, and action. But as a fan of Kurt Wimmer in particular, I hope that he's thrown something in here that makes it worth my time at the movies.

Salt hits theaters July 23, 2010

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

The Last Airbender Trailer Review

2010-06-26T16:56:00.000-07:00

Could this movie make M. Night Shymalan "Unbreakable" again?

The last time Shyamalan did a movie he and his kids where over the hill about was Lady in the Water. That movie got put through the ringer critically, but I personally enjoyed it. It was the first time that he was delving into something that was fantastical and if you looked at it with those eyes then I think it worked. This trailer looks like he's taking a bigger step into that world and it feels great to me! The whole trailer feels like Night is standing up before all of us and saying "I'm Back!"

This is the first time that Night hasn't originally created something that we are about to see on screen. Although he's written this movie as well, or adapted it, The Last Airbender is based of a popular nickelodeon cartoon. This series from what I gather is about these four nations that represent the four elements; Air, Fire, Earth, Water. The Air nation is said to be extinct for sometime until new-comer actor Noah Ringer who plans Aang comes along. Aang is said to be the last of the Airbenders and the one destined to save the other nations from the destructive force of the Fire nation and restore everything to a balance.

Has a certain Star Wars feel to it, No? ( I may have just committed blasphemy there, but don't tell me you didn't see the comparison in some aspect.)

Although there have been epic looking movies like this in the past, this is the first time since Lord of the Rings that it feels like something fresh and worth getting invested in, as opposed to the same 'ole thing. I think what helps is that this doesn't feel like an M.Night Shymalan movie. Its exciting in a way, cause I know that personally I wanna see him come back and wreck shit!

Some of his past works include The Sixth Sense, Signs, and Unbreakable. All of those movies have a certain pace to them and it showed in their trailers. I see Shymalan trying to break out of his comfort zone with this and bring us something that looks more mainstream, but with his new found signature on it.

The CGI effects look very impressive too and also looked used well in terms of telling the story and it doesn't feel like cool looking shit will be there just because ILM (Industrial Light and Magic) is at his disposal. The movie is produced by Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy who are no strangers to adventure, having produced the Indiana Jones trilogy and that 4th one too. This trailer instills in me the adventure, spectacle, and effects I wish Prince of Persia could have come closed too. Fuckin' Prince of Persia.. urg!!

Now enough with all this praising shit! lets get to the nitty gritty. 2 things. GO!

Speaking of trilogies this movie is said to be the first in a proposed trilogy. I think one challenge that Shymalan faces is the hope that his adaption of this property transfers well to screen to audiences that are not familiar with the subject matter like myself. Story and character wise, but with Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy aboard, it eases my fear a bit.

My second fear, beef, call it what you will, is that this movie is being up-converted to 3D. Oh Jesus, God, No. Seeing the rise of movie up-conversions to the 3D, post Avatar, is sickening. When movies are actually shot with 3D in mind and with 3D cameras it completely works and I'm for it. But if its to make a few extra bucks and help box office, its then that I'm feeling robbed!

Shymalan is said to be very strict with what is done with his movies, so when the news broke that The Last Airbender would be in 3D everyone was surprised he was okay with it. Apparently the producers had always intended to release in 3D, they had just been looking for a very good up-conversion company. And there you have it.

With the grand ness and effects 3D would certainly look to help deepen the world we are being introduced to but until I hear some news on how it looks in 3D, its 2D all the way for me! As always the final review of this trailer/movie will be when the lights come up and the credits roll.

The Last Airbender hits theaters July 1st. 2010

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Trailer Review

2010-06-23T10:32:00.000-07:00

(Disclaimer: I'm almost positive Dorian does not agree with any reasoning behind this review, so send all hate mail to me).

Eclipse, the third movie in the Twilight Saga stars the two most depressing people in the world, Abs, that guy from the show Fastlane, Dakota Fannings eyes, and a shit load of Vampires and Werewolves.

Now when we first started this little show/blog called The Couch, Dorian and Myself made sure to inform you all that we were filmmakers as well. Personally for me I believe that as a filmmaker you should LOVE movies. But you should also expose yourself to movies of all kinds. Good or bad. Again personally I try to find something redeeming in anything I see. The Twilight series so far, has had some good and bad.

When Twilight came out, I was simply fascinated by the already established audience. But when the movies were being released it was like a maelstrom. Theaters where selling out in advanced, midnight shows, Hot Topic store appearances, Cats and Dogs living together; MASS HYSTERIA! I'll admit I read the first two books and after the hype I died down, I dragged some of my close friends to see the first Twilight movie in theaters and while I could see the downfalls, and there were many, I also saw the attraction to this story.

Enter New Moon, the 2nd book and movie in the series. New Moon had a lot more going for it from the trailers alone. For one it had Chris Weitz, a new and I argue better director, and huge fucking dogs, to represent the Rise of the Lycans...sorry wrong movie, I meant Werewolves. The movie to me was just better directed, it still had the essence/emo-ness of the characters which was established in the first one, unfortunately, but overall it was a better paced and more watchable movie.

It also introduced us to the Volturi, the Vampire Royalty of the Twilight Universe. These guys are badass and the actors playing them knew exactly what kind of movie they were in and just had fun with their roles. Sadly it came only close to the end of the movie, but again I argue it was worth the wait. (Spoiler for New Moon coming NOW...) So New Moon ends with Edward asking Bella to marry him and then cut to black. Why couldn't she have just said "yes" and then cut to black? We know she's gonna say yes, that's all she's been crying about for two movies!

End of Prelude.

We come now to Eclipse the third movie in this sexually frustrated series and just from the trailer alone it looks like we're not going to be wasting any time, its prompt, fast paced, has a purpose, and it looks like we are going to get a Marvel Team-Up of sorts. So, Vampires in Seattle are angry cause Edward has a human pet/girlfriend and now someone is building an army of vampires to go and take care of them. Personally I think their all jealous cause they can't get hot, sexually frustrated girls like Bella, so like all jealous individuals do, they are going to upset the established order and introduce a little anarchy. Haters, man.

The other interesting aspect to this series of films is the caliber of directors its attracting. David Slade, whose past works include, Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night, directs this outing of the Twilighter's and the images of people being brutally hunted down and murdered and said army of Vampires walking from out of the water are very cool and chilling.

The reason I'm willing to admit to being interested in this movie is because I'm a fan of drama and I see these movies as very over the top soap operas. Summit Entertainment has tapped into a tone, style, and 15 year old girls hearts everywhere and they are very smart in keeping with this style and going out to get these notable directors to churn out the best kind of soap opera ever!

I'm not saying go and see this movie. But if your even remotely curious, then why not? Who cares what anyone says. My only advice if you are curious, is that you should go when all the hordes of small girls have had their time.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse opens June 30th 2010

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

The Sorcerer's Apprentice Trailer Review

2010-06-20T22:08:00.000-07:00

Ok has anyone else noticed that ever since The Dark Knight came out ever action trailer has that really hard bass/rumble sound? Just food for thought.

So Nicholas Cage has been on a bit of a hot streak lately, in Bad Leuitenant: Port of Call: New Orleans he played a pain pill popping, coke snorting detective.....BRILLIANTLY, I might add and in the comic book satire, Kick-Ass, he played Big Daddy, who I will just say is someone you don't want to fucks with. It was only a matter of time before he got back to the Jerry Bruckheimer spectacles.

If you don't know what Jerry Bruckheimer movies are, here is a short list; Pirates of the Caribbean 1-3 and the upcoming 4th installment, National Treasure 1-2, The Rock, Deja Vu, Armageddon, and most recently Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

Apprentice stars Nicholas Cage as Balthazar, a Scorcerer out to save the world, but not before he comes across Dave, a physics nerd with "great potential". Balthazar reveals to Dave that he will one day be a great Scorcerer but that for now, he's an Apprentice. The film also stars Alfred Molina as the villain and on a sidenote he was the best part of Prince of Persia.

Pause for a moment.....

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time....(sigh)Why? Ok, I ask "why" because I wasn't expecting for Persia to be amazing, it would have been awesome if it had some redeeming qualities to it, BUT the fact that there was nothing there at all!? Nothing in the script, the acting, the CGI effects, I could go on, but anyway.... The Scorcerers Apprentice looks sleek, cool, funny, and action packed, but so did Prince of Persia. Here in lies my apprehension to even giving this movie a chance. I'll admit I'm a fan of Jerry Bruckheimer films, and when they have Nic Cage in them, doubly so, but c'mon Jerry, why you gotta me like that SON! You may be thinking to yourself, what the hell does this have to do with Apprentice. Well EVERYTHING FOOL! What if the same thing happens here!(sorry, pent up anger from Prince of Persia).

Let's hope director Jon Turteltaub, who was behind National Treasure 1 and 2: Book of Secrets, which also starred Nic Cage, washes out the sand in our mouths and ass cracks from Prince of Persia. Now say what you will about the National Treasure movies, but I find them very entertaining to watch. Its clear Nic Cage and Turteltaub have a good working relationship and it shows on screen. It looks like they will again deliver a fun, fantasy-filled ride for the summer. The special and visual effects just looked they were used better here too.

Overall this movie looks like its going to be fun. I'm still very apprehensive, given that Prince of Persia was so shitty, but it has action, mythology, real life setting, a kinda relatable main character played by Jay Baruchel, and another quorky role by Nicolas Cage. What more can your really ask for?....Story...ah yes Story, here's hoping that the story is about as same as the first National Treasure, just enough to enjoy and not so confusing that my head will hurt.

The Scorcerer's Apprentice opens on July 14th, 2010

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

Knight and Day Trailer Review

2010-06-20T16:00:00.000-07:00

"No one follows us or I kill myself and then her"

This single quote alone, from the new movie Knight and Day, starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, does a very good job at explaining the ridiculous, awkward, and outrageousness of this movie.

Forever burned into this generations pop culture is the day Tom Cruise decided to jump on a couch and profess his love for Katie Holmes. The media really did a number on Cruise after all the questionable appearances on television and basically portrayed him as this "crazy person". But through those tough times Cruise has been slowly making a comeback. First with Mission Impossible 3, courtesy of J.J. and company and his amazing comedic work in Tropic Thunder, where he played Les Grossman, an oversized, foul mouthed producer, funding a film that was already in debt three days into shooting.

(The latter has just earned Cruise a spin-off film.)

Now comes his latest; Knight and Day.

My first gut reaction to this trailer is that it really shouldn't work, I really thought Cruise was trying way to hard to be funny, where as it came so naturally in Tropic Thunder, this is just a little embarrassing. But as more full length trailers, like the one above, came to fruition I began to read into the story and characters more and came to the realization or maybe speculation of this movie being an allegory for the up hill battle Cruise is fighting to get back to being a powerhouse actor and box office champ.

I like that Cruise is taking "that crazy person" persona, the media tagged him with and is creating a character out of it, in Knight and Day. In the trailer Cruise plays, Roy Miller, a spy (actor) whose agency claims was one of their best agents (actors) until he had a full blown break with reality. Does this sound familiar to anyone? As such the agency (paparazzi) is now hunting Miller in the hopes of capturing, ruining and or ending his life as a spy (an actor). Does this sound like the paparazzi...oops sorry, I mean,... familiar to anyone...again?

The last time Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz where in a movie together was in Vanilla Sky, and while I liked the pairing there, I don't really see Cameron Diaz as a believable action star. I mean I played along with it in Charlie's Angel's but that was Charlie's Angel's.

James Mangold directs and his past work includes Walk the Line and 3:10 to Yuma. I would question why someone like Mangold would take a movie like this that at first, But if you look at both Walk the Line and 3:10 to Yuma, its clear he has a good eye for action and a good eye for duo's on screen that look like they are not a good match at first, but soon realize that they can't exist without one another.

Some of you may have already written this movie off, which of course your allowed to. Although this trailer review seems some what positive, my hopes are not that high for this movie. But I for one am looking forward to seeing the return of Tom Cruise and if he's gotta make fun of himself to get back there, well then kudos to you sir. Its a very ballsy move for a ballsy actor.

Knight and Day opens June 23, 2010

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

Jonah Hex Trailer Review

2010-06-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

(sigh)
Jonah Hex, which opens June 18th 2010, stars Josh Brolin as a brutally scarred/former confederate soldier/demon looking cowboy, who is an assassin for hire and is out for revenge against the men who murdered his family and turned his face into spaghetti. (sigh). Pretty simple revenge tale but at first glance I am not really holding my expectations at a high level.

Its seems as though that since a lot of the mainstream comic super hero's have gotten their time in the limelight, Hollywood is looking towards lesser known characters to bring to the big screen. Hex comes from DC Universe and from what I've heard and researched, its never been a super popular character but the comic is still around and doing very well.

My first introduction to the character of Jonah Hex is when I was a little kid watching Batman: The Animated Series and I vaguely remember there being an episode where Jonah Hex made an appearance. I just remember wanting to string that piece of skin hanging off his face like a banjo. Give me a break I was like 10 or something. Anyway, he looked creepy. I've never read any of the comics of Jonah Hex, so for those of you have and are looking forward to this movie, I apologize, If I "just don't get it".

The movie is written by Neveldine and Taylor. The ADHD minds behind the Crank films and Gamer. Originally they were tapped to direct, which to be honest, I would have liked to have seen their style taylored to a supernatural western.

Now let me indulged you with talk of the cast.

ACTORS:

Josh Brolin: I think Josh Brolin is a solid actor, the last movie I saw him in was "W", directed by Oliver Stone in which he eerily played former President George Dub-ya Bush. Didn't really think much of the movie it self but his acting was great. I'm glad to see that he's getting into the comic book game. For the most part, in this trailer, his portrayal of Hex is kinda of, Clint Eastwood meets The Man without of Face. If you expected more, than your hopeless. Anyway I really wish they would have gotten a bit more gritty and graphic with his make up. I mean Hex was scary looking! SCARY, being the keyword here. In the trailer he just looks like a cheap version of Two-Face.

Megan Fox: Who ever thought that Megan Fox could be a linguist should be shot! Her western accent in this trailer and the delivery of her lines through stints of breath annoy this shit out of me. I know Ms. Fox gets a lot of flack for being a dud, but I'd like to believe there is more behind the curtain. I just find it kind of annoying that she's cast as the whore like girlfriend to Jonah Hex. If your going to make a western but add this absurdity to it, like crows coming out of peoples mouths and machine guns on horses, then why not mess around with the roles of women and other norms of the time. Could Megan have been another awesome assassin type henchmen of Quentin Turnball; John Malkovich's character?.... Maybe. OR...dare I say it, Hex's wife, who I'm assuming gets killed? She coulda been the Steven Seagal of this Executive Decision*.

John Malkovich: I love it when Malkovich plays these villainous types, he's really good at them, but after a while everything starts feeling like his role in Con-Air; Cyrus the Virus. I'm expecting to see a deleted scene on the Blu ray to this movie where Malkovich actually holds up a bunny and threatens to shoot it, if anybody moves. He's also rockin some hardcore mutton chops which look pretty badass on him. If anything Malkovich's absurtity in this role will be a saving grace of the movie.

MIchael Fassbender: "Paris when it sizzles", If you haven't seen Inglorious Basterds, stop reading, and watch that shit! NOW! I've seen Fassbender in two movies; Basterds and Hunger. He was brilliant in both and if I have any reason to see this movie its cause of him. He plays an explosives obsessed, knife throwing henchmen of John Malkovich's character; Quentin Turnball. While I wish his villainous debut was in a more better looking movie. I anxiously await to see what he turns out.

The animated movie Horton Hears a Who was Director, Jimmy Hayward's first theatrical release and while I haven't seen it, the fact that he's making the jump from animation to live action is very very intriguing to me. I'm not familiar with much of his work but I'm interested how he'll do. Just recently I've heard that Brad Bird, the director of The Incredibles and The Iron Giant will be directing the fourth installment of the Mission Impossible series. So, I mean, its pretty cool to see directors of mainly animation movies getting their turn at the live action films.

Its obvious that this movie has action and one-liners but I hope there is more to the story than just that. I mean they lightly touch on Hex being something supernatural, but then, never really address it again in the trailer. He can bring people back to life but still needs guns to kill people? While I'm not looking to run out and see this movie, I will eventually go and check it out in the hopes that there is something redeeming about it.

*Steven Seagal was in a movie called Executive Decision, in which about 20-30min. into the movie he willing dies for the team. One of the greatest roles he's ever held.

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

The Ol' Switch 'o rue!

2010-06-14T22:44:00.000-07:00

" The Losers looks like a better version of the The A-Team" , those were the words that I said to Dorian, my partner in movie crime, when both the trailers to those movies came out. Today is the day that I've seen the A-Team for the second time! And I must say that The A-Team whipped The Losers' ass!

Now for a quick message about The A-Team. Having only seen a few episodes of the original series, I can truly say that director Joe Carnahan has crafted a film worthy of the word, ACTION! The movie opens perfectly as a mini origin story of how the team got together. Thank you Joe, cast, crew, crafty, and PA's for not making us sit through a 2 hour origin story and then at the end showing us how B.A. "gets the Mohawk". There are some movies that work as full on origin stories, a la Batman Begins, but I don't need another Ang Lee HULK*. You feel me? The movie wastes no time, as my my lady friend ;), who I saw the movie with, said, "this is why you go to the movies". You immediately get lost in all the crazy antics and camaraderie that Hannibal, B.A., Murdock, and Face have between them. The action, though ridiculous, is so fun and works for the simplicity of the story that you don't even notice the sometimes, ok, CGI.

So anyways, go see it, duh!.

So back to the show; When The Losers came out to theaters I was there opening weekend and the movie sadly was very unfulfilling, it had its moments and the only thing working for it was the believability in its characters, much like The A-Team. It felt like they had known each other for as long as Rusty and Danny Ocean had, from the Ocean's 11 series. The villain in The Losers was trying to hard and the main story line just didn't have enough believability to it. Yes, even for a comic book movie. Now as you all know I was very excited for this movie and gave a very positive review on its trailer but sad to say the outcome was less than thrilling. The A-Team was what I wanted and hoped The Losers would be.

This brings me to my point. Trailers, although entertaining, can be so deceptive, and even one such as I, can be deceived. I know right? Calm down no one is perfect. But in any case this is one of the reasons why Dorian and myself critique the trailers because so much can come from them! And you should too! Just because the trailer looks good doesn't me the movie will be phenomenal. I take this experience as a lesson learned. I love discovering things like this, when I think something is gonna be this and it turns out to be that. For me as a filmmaker, film lover and filmgoer it makes it all worth it.

If anybody has thoughts on the A-Team or The Losers hit us up at guysonthecouch@gmail.com

*I did enjoy Ang Lee's HULK on a completely artistic level. Don't Hate, but if you must, I understand.

Dueces!
Bobby

Trailer Review: The Losers

2010-04-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

"Outstanding"
-Clay from "The Losers"

"The Losers" is directed by Sylvain White and will be in theaters on April 23, 2010 and I'll say it, it looks pretty Outstanding.

Sylvain White's most recent film as a director is 2007's "Stomp the Yard", which aside from Fraternity aspect of it, its probably one of the better dance films out there. I say this because although a major part of the film is about dance or stepping there is a good balance of focus on the characters and their development as well as the stepping, which when directing an ensemble piece like "The Losers", is what you want.

"The Losers" is written by Peter Berg and James Vanderbilt. Peter Berg is a writer/ director whose writing credits include the movies "Friday Night Lights" and "The Losers". He's also directed "Hancock", "Friday Night Lights", "The Rundown", and "The Kingdom". James Vangerbilt's writing credits include "Zodiac", "The Rundown", "Basic" and the as yet untitled "Spiderman Reboot"

Its obvious these two artists like to work together which is already a good sign. Vanderbilt's very smart and calculated scripts "Zodiac" and "Basic", not to mention his Spiderman Re-boot being chosen as the new direction to go for the series and Berg's grittiness and action savvy mindset tell me that this property was researched very thoroughly and that the action and characters will live up to what we've seen in the graphic novel.

As mentioned before this is a movie based off a graphic novel and stars Jeffery Dean Morgan, Idris Elba, Zoe Saldana, Columbus Short, Chris Evans, Oscar Jaenada, and Jason Patric. Personally I love that Hollywood is recognizing the awesome stories is these relatively unknown graphic novels and I'm glad to see a cast that is filled with most actors we've seen in "that movie". Much like "Watchmen", its nice to see a group of actors chosen for their skill as an actor or actress and not just their name.

As you can already tell I'm really hoping this movie does well. I've read the graphic novel which is excellent and believe me when I say that almost most of the tag-lines from the trailer are actual lines from the book. Very good sign. Now this story is very similar to another movie coming out called "The A-Team", now I've already been talking a lot anyways but all I'll say is that when you compare both trailers, "The Losers" handles the action and comedy in a more realistic way and in "The A-Team" it just feels very very forced.

Based off the trailer I'm definitely going to see this movie because it looks action packed, smart, funny and all round fun. I say go out and read the graphic novel to get a bit of a background on the property, trust me you won't be disappointed.

dueces!
Bobby

Trailer Review: Death at a Funeral

2010-04-06T21:39:00.000-07:00

"Its like someone telling you a joke and then another person telling you the same joke and it just doesn't deliver".

So lets just say it, "This is One Sad TRAILER"! Death at a Funeral is a remake of a 2007 British black comedy of the same name. The original being directed by Frank Oz and the remake directed by Neil LaBute. The basic plot of the movie as you've already seen is the father of this family has died and during the wake crazy shit happens.

Neil LaBute's filmography includes more recently "Lakeview Terrace", "The Wicker Man" and "Nurse Betty". Yup! Haven't seen any of 'em. So it is definitely safe to say that, that streak will continue with "Death at a Funeral". The film is written by Dean Craig who also wrote the original. Already I'm very very upset.

The cast of this movie is...a lot. Chris Rock, who serves as a producer, Martin Lawrence, Danny Glover, Tracy Morgan, Kevin Hart, Uhura..oops sorry I mean Zoe Saldana, Keith David, Luck Wilson, James Marsden, Columbus Short and Peter Dinklage, who plays the same role he did in the original.

I listened to a Podcast today on the art of making a good trailer; who to market it to, how much to include, etc. I LIVE to see trailers! GOOD TRAILERS! So I'm glad that some people/studios actually take pride in taking the time to make good ones. This is not one of them. My curiosity for this one is, did anyone watch the original trailer to the original movie, because its almost exactly, frame for frame, the same thing!!!! I'm sure at some point Chris Rock saw the original and because he doesn't have any original ideas of his own said to himself, "wow this would be more funny if it was an African American family", wave the magical wand and poof! Add a few jokes about how all Asians look the same and you've got yourself a hit on your hands! Right?

Is this really where the remake has gotten to? To not even attempt and make the movie unique and the actors and filmmakers own, is just a pure lazy-ness. And I'm sure you might be asking; "Bobby! How do you know its not different?" If you've watched both trailers you'll realize what I'm talking about. There are even exact lines that are the same in both trailers!!

Anyways my final thoughts on this movie are just that its sad. Stay away from this movie at all costs and take the money you would have spent on seeing the movie and go treat yourself to renting the original on DVD. Now I know the possible reason for the remake might be that, there may not be a whole bunch of people who have never A. Heard of British Comedy or B. Have simply never seen it. Well take this opportunity to expose yourself to something new and open your mind to a different kind of comedy and stay away from this remake that sticks to the same old thing and doesn't even attempt to be original aside from changing the color of skin.

Normally this would be the part where I would determine how much money this movie will make opening weekend but I'm so enraged that I'm hoping that it makes no money! Again guys thanks for reading and....

dueces!
Bobby

(down here)

Here is the trailer to the original movie.

Is It Fair to Rate A Movie on its Trailers?

2010-03-03T08:39:00.000-08:00

Hello to all Couch Potato's! Yes I know that was lame, but just go with it. Well I would like to give a thank you to everyone reading the posts here and supporting the show. It is greatly appreciated. At present we have episode 2 of the show on youtube.com and facebook. So make sure you check it out.

Today I was talking with a good friend of mine and he asked me a question that was quite interesting. "Is It Fair to Rate a Movie on its Trailers" I thought this would be good fodder for a blog post.

So...is it? I'd be dumb to say no, but I think it is absolutely o.k. to rate a movie based off the trailer! Trailers are the first time we are getting a taste of the mood/style of said movie that we are possibly planning to see. Sometimes, just sometimes a poorly put together trailer to an amazing movie can put people off and then that movie loses out on some people because of how that trailer was cut. That's why I get excited to see a trailer, cause to me it can definitely tip the scales. Take for example the trailers to "The A-Team" and "The Losers"(which will have their trailer reviewed in full on the show or here), both of those movies have the same plot line or at least basic plot line. Personally to me "The Losers" looks like a better version of "The A-Team" and a bit more enjoyable at that, in terms of how the trailer is cut. Check both of those trailer out so you get a better idea of what I'm saying. Also my review for "Valentine's Day" is reason enough to rate movies based off their trailers. :)

Now as for our show. We review movies based off their trailer. But just because we say "this" or "that" about how its put together and what we think, doesn't mean that it will be completely terrible or that you should stay away from it. If your interested, I'd say go ahead and see it! Maybe wait for a matinee or something but check it out. Who knows there may be something in the movie that grabs you and it makes that trip to the movies worth it.

In any case this is a question that I'd like to hear what you think. please email us at guysonthecouch@gmail.com and let us know what you think. Is it Fair to Rate Movies based off its Trailers?

Dueces!
Bobby

Brooklyn's Finest Trailer Review

2010-02-19T21:33:00.000-08:00

Welcome back Wesley Snipes!

Brooklyn's Finest is out March 5th 2010 and is directed by Antonie Fuqua, whose past works include Training Day, King Arthur, and Shooter. Fuqua to me has made some very solid and watchable movies. Training Day alone should lead to you believe that as cliche as the stories lines in this trailer look, nothing is what it seems with this material in the hands of this director.

The cast for this movie is top notch and everybody seems to fit perfectly into their respective roles. Personally I've been on a little bit of an Ethan Hawke-high. Having watched Daybreakers, Gattaca, and his performance as a smooth talking, sexually open writer in the film compilation New York, I Love You, has made me realize how much I like him as an actor. The reality and intensity he brings to his characters, is one of the reasons I look forward to seeing this movie. Don Cheadle and Richard Gere fill the card as tortured cops counting the days till they are released from the duties, respectively. But I feel the real story here is....Wesley Snipes. I REALLY like him in this trailer. I got flashbacks of movies like New Jack City and Sugar Hill. I hope this is the movie that brings him back to doing Hollywood films and not just straight to dvd releases. Although they were entertaining, the Blade movies were bringing him down and I'm happy they didn't continue them any further. The dichotomy between Wesley Snipes' gangster character and Don Cheadle remind me of a another good cop drama called In Too Deep. The story of an undercover cop struggling to keep his eye on catching the bad guy, but struggles when he's "in too deep" and becomes the closest and most trusted person to this bad guy. I suggest if you haven't seen that movie to check it out. But you can tell from the trailer that the relationship is doomed as Don Cheadle struggles to decide which side he's really on.

So many cop movies have come out and are coming out, your probably asking what makes this one so different and why am I praising this one in particular? It's all in the execution. When I first watched this trailer I was immediately reminded of another cop drama called Pride and Glory, which starred Edward Norton and Colin Farrell, as two brothers who get wrapped up in an investigation that hits close to home. The actions that took place in the movie, mostly the violence, just seemed real unecessary and actually overshadowed the character drama that was supposed to be, I'm assuming, the main focus of the movie. The same could also be said about the movie Max Payne, with Mark Wahlberg, whose over use of in-camera slow motion was only the real decent thing to watch in that entire movie.

There are a lot of things in this trailer that we've seen before. Normally the adding of a song like Jay-Z's "Run this Town" and the prayer to St. Michael that Ethan Hawke's character recites would bother me cause they are in some instances really tacky. But in the execution of the trailer, they don't seem to overshadow the characters or single out just one of them. I could believe that Wesley's gangster persona and Ethan's desperate cop, even though they may have different story lines in the movie, could say that same prayer every day of their lives. So in that one feature we are given a deeper sense of the characters, their motives, and what they could or are going through. Which makes for a successful trailer all around for me.

Box office Prediction- 20 million

Dueces!
Bobby

Cop Out Trailer Review

2010-02-19T21:27:00.000-08:00

Is is just me or do you get this "huh?" feeling from watching this trailer?

Cop Out opens February 26th 2010 and is directed by Kevin Smith, whose past works include Clerks 1&2, Chasing Amy, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Zack and Miri Make a Porno. This is a debut movie for Kevin Smith because it is the first movie he's directing that he hasn't written himself and it is also his first studio movie. But sadly from the trailer, you'd never know that.

For whatever reason Warner Bros. Pictures is not making more out of the fact that Kevin Smith directed this movie. Which I think could have been a powerful marketing tool. You have tons of people who are loyal followers of Kevin Smith, who would go see it based off his name alone! I mean just because you released movies like The Departed, doesn't mean that people will go see this. I'll be honest had I not been following the progress of this movie and known that Kevin Smith was directing, it would have been definitely something I would feel ok with skipping.

My initial reaction to this trailer is apprehension. Even though its directed by a man I greatly admire as a filmmaker this looks like just another studio-formula-driven "buddy cop" movie. Which is really sad because this being Smith's first studio movie you'd imagine it would have some of his touch in it and maybe it will, but I don't see it in the trailer.

The movie stars Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan as partners who don't play by the rules,(the original title of this movie was A Couple of Dicks). I'm sold on Willis, but Tracy Morgan is just downright annoying to me in this trailer! I have a hard time believing his character made it out of basic training to become a cop, much less be a detective. For me he's an actor who is really hit or miss, and based off the trailer he misses. We don't get a good sense of the story either. Only jokes about Tracy Morgan's character being able to make decisions now because we have an Black President and Willis trying to ham up lines that seem like leftovers never used by John McClane. But from the research I've gathered, Willis and Morgan are on the trail of some stolen baseball cards that are worth quite a lot of money. Now you could say that the plot sucks! But in a weird way, one could say that this could be a dirty minded, heartfelt story about two friends that Smith is known for creating, with all the bells and whistles of an action movie.

Maybe?...I know seems far fetched. But it could be an interesting dissection. Don't let yourself think to much on it though.

Anyway the plot is simple enough that people won't lose track of what's going on and it gives the "bad guy moving some crazy amount of drugs" senario a rest, from this rom-com of cop movies.

The big question: Should you go see this movie?

It's obvious that this trailer is terrible! But I am a fan of Kevin Smith and while I might not be there opening night, I'm gonna give this movie some benefit of the doubt. I say give this movie a shot. Could it be horrible? YES! But then again if your a fan of Kevin Smith, if you've been with him throughout the years and appreciate the chances he's taken as a filmmaker a la Jersey Girl, (I really liked that movie, so all you haters can suck it!), then I'm sure you'll be able to find something unique about his take on a buddy cop movie. This is at least what I'm hoping for when I go and see the movie, I believe that even in a bad movie you can find something redeeming and worth it. Smith old buddy, don't let me down!

Box office Prediction- $30-$34 million

Dueces!
Bobby

Valentine's Day Trailer Review

2010-02-08T09:00:00.000-08:00

Let's not waste anymore time. Here is how much unoriginality is in "Valentine's Day", Patrick Dempsey is still playing a doctor.

Also as I'm writing this, "Dear John" has just beaten "Avatar" at the box office. WHAT THE FUCK!

"Valentine's Day" opens on Friday February 12th 2010 and is directed by Garry Marshall. Marshall's filmography includes "The Princess Diaries 1 & 2", "Georgia Rule", "Frankie and Johnny" and of course "Pretty Woman". "Pretty Woman" is easily one of the most popular romance movies ever and for me the only romantic movie of Marshall's work that I would own up to owning. Marshall does have the skill as a director to make movies such as "Valentine's Day" "cute", but I'm sure after the opening credits it will feel like the same old thing we've seen again and again.

Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Bradely Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Aston Kutcher, George Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Queen Latifah, Emma Roberts and Julia Roberts.

Can we say overcompensating?

I'm going to guess these were the leftover audition tapes from the "He's Just Not That Into You" casting session. There is no doubt that this cast is impressive but I'm sure they solely saw that Garry Marshall was directing the movie and immediately thought of "Pretty Woman" and signed on, no questions asked. Actually upon further research I found out that most of them worked for a discounted salary and some even negotiated for a back end deal, probably a share of the box office revenue, because they could shoot their scenes fairly quickly and be away on another project. Basically easy money.

Another huge problem with this trailer is that all its doing is highlighting the faces of these actors and we as the audience are given no idea as to what the story might be, which leads me to believe the story is crap!

A better version of this idea of a movie is the short film compilation "Paris, Je T'amie" or even its successor "New York, I Love You", both of these movies took the idea of the romance movie and made it into something that was fresh and new. 5 minute short films about the different kinds of love; erotic, young love, love between an elderly couple; you see where I'm going with this. Judging by the trailer "Valentine's Day" is doing the same thing but with but an obvious watered down story and formula.

Two of the films writers Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, previously wrote the movie "He's Just Not that Into You", (Queue the dramatic music) which was another poor dissection of love. So its only fitting they would do the same thing over again, but attach a popular holiday to it. The only reason that this movie will do good is because its called Valentine's Day. Its a smart move from New Line to invest in such a movie and release date, cause it pretty much guarantee's them a strong opening box office weekend. My box office prediction is $40 to $50 million, unfortunately.

So in terms of trailer etiquette what have we learned?

1. Get a director whose all about the love.
2. A shit load of actors who can sell the movie.
3. Get the editor to only highlight said actors in the trailer itself.
4. Make sure the movie revolves around a popular holiday.
5. AND.....Don't forget the cool Black Eyed Peas song for the cherry on top.

My suggestion is to stay clear from this movie. Just because its about Valentine's Day and its opening on the same weekend doesn't mean we are obligated to see it. Also if your significant other wants to see this movie, I might suggest a separation or possibly even a trade, "Ill see this if you watch "Star Trek" with me whenever I want", kinda deal. If that doesn't work treat your sweetie to romance movies that are worth the price; "The Apartment", "Ghost", "(500) Days of Summer", or "Sabrina".

Sadly according to Nikkie Finke (DeadlineHollywood.com) there is already talks of a sequel...drum roll please....New Year's Eve. God help us all.

Dueces!
Bobby

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Trailer Review

2010-02-07T17:27:00.001-08:00

"The Wolfman" and "Valentine's Day" have competition coming in the form of lightening wielding, water commanding GODS! "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief", finds its way into theaters on Friday February 12th, 2010.

What I can gather from the trailer is that the plot revolves around a young boy named Percy Jackson who inevitably discovers that he is the son of the Greek God Poseidon and for some reason at this exact moment in his life, his Uncle Zeus' lighting bolt has been stolen. QUESTION? Why does Zeus only have ONE lighting bolt?.... Just a thought. So anyway, as the "hero's journey" creedo demands, Percy seems to take up the mantle in finding Zeus' lighting bolt, fulfilling some sort of destiny in the process, that makes this movie possible.

The movie is directed by Chris Columbus whose most recent work includes "I Love, You Beth Cooper" and past works including "Adventures in Babysitting", "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" and "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". Granted, the only thing "I Love You, Beth Cooper" had going for it was a naked Hayden Paneittiere, the movie was down right horrible and not something I would base the success of "Percy Jackson" on. So stick with Columbus' skill as a director in the fun times of Babysitting and the magic and wonder he so wonderfully kicked off the Potter films with, to compel you to see this movie, or at least consider it. There is no getting around the fact that after seeing this trailer I was immediately reminded of the Harry Potter films the difference being that we are dealing with bringing the Greek Gods in our world as subject matter here, and I for one am sold on that concept alone.

The movies star power is in its Gods. You have Sean Bean from The "Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" as Zeus, Rosario Dawson from "Clerks 2" and "Sin City" as Persephone, and Uma Thurman from "Kill Bill" as Medusa. I'm sold on the women but I honestly wish they could have gotten another actor for the role of Zeus. For me Zeus is a character that is commanding, not just someone who "looks" commanding sitting in a chair made by the art department. Don't get me wrong I enjoy Sean Bean's work as an actor but seeing him in the role reminds me too much of Lord of the Rings. I would have preferred some one like Ray Winstone (Beowulf, Sexy Beast, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) for the role. All of these actors have been in these genre fantasy movies at one point and like this one, I'm expecting nothing less than for each of them to chew up the screen having fun playing their iconic roles.

Chris Columbus selected one of the most famous trio's/casts' in cinema for the Harry Potter series and judging by how well that series is doing presently, whose to say it can't be done again. Each of the actors seems to be put in a roll that fits them and no one seems out of place.

Like most movies these days "Percy Jackson" is based off another popular children's novel from author Rick Riordan and of course Greek Mythology. What I like about this movie is that its set it the present day. Its nice to see a fresh new take, spin, vision, of very famous beings from Greek Mythology. There have been older T.V. shows, like Young Hercules, that dealt with the same subject matter, but when you bring it into present day your introducing a wider audience and a newer one at that to said Mythology.

I think this movie will do very well at the box office because of the wider demographic the movie looks to be aiming for. Who knows it may be the surprise hit of that weekend. My prediction is $20 to $25 million

I'm really hoping that this movie delivers on the excitement and adventure the trailer gives us, cause if not, Zeus might as well have swallowed this flick along with all his kids. But If your not sure about "The Wolfman" and if you don't have the desire to hear grown men and women figure out why they don't have dates in the movie "Valentine's Day", then I say Go and See "Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief". It looks to be a movie that will suspend the imagination of kids, teenagers, and adults alike for a few hours and have a good time. If anything it may make you want to look up some Greek Mythology.

Dueces!
Bobby

Exploding Vaginas.

2010-02-04T18:59:00.000-08:00

Welcome the to the official blog for The Couch! Dorian and Myself (Bobby Navia), thank you for checking out our first episode and blogspot.

The purpose of the blog is simple, since we can't get to review all the trailers we want, we will give you a rundown of what we think here. In addition to reviewing trailers, we'll also make mention of any DVD's or lesser known movies that we think should be something to check out, or not.

Also, everyone involved with making The Couch are all filmmakers, and as such, we make mistakes and are always looking to improve our skill. So occasionally there might be an episode of the show that we will re-edit and release on YouTube.com, so you can view the changes and improvements.

Once again, hope you enjoy the show and let us know what you think at guysonthecouch@gmail.com

dueces!