Movie Trailer Review: ONLY GOD FORGIVES

"Wanna Fight?"

Those simple lines of dialogue spew innocently and chillingly from Ryan Gostling in his second collaboration with Director Nicolas Winding Refn. In 2011, mainstream audiences were widely introduced to Refn with DRIVE, in which Ryan Gostling plays a stunt driver, who, with a vast knowledge of cars moonlights as a professional escape route for criminals, thief's, and would be bad guys. You know the story; if you don't here's a taste.

Drive was a hit with critics and audiences alike and now the duo of Gosling and Refn are a bonafide hit! This brings us to their second collaboration: Only God Forgives, feast your eyes.



The two words that come to mind after watching this are "violent fairytale". The trailer for Only God Forgives is, emotionally, colorfully, and with the few lines of dialogue it let's go, setting us up for potentially one of the most unique revenge tales of which I am completely on board for. Director Nicolas Winding Refn and his muse Gosling unfortunately received boos and scathing reviews from this year's Cannes attendees.  However, negative reviews aside the sort of detached feel I get from this trailer really has me amped up for it.

Gosling plays Julian, a respected figure in the criminal underworld of Bangkok, runs a Thai Boxing club and smuggling ring with his brother Billy. Billy is suddenly murdered and their crime family matriarch, Crystal arrives from London to bring back the body. When she forces Julian to settle the score with his brother's killers, Julian finds himself in the ultimate showdown.

While watching this trailer I was struck with the thought: if Bruce Lee were alive today or his son Brandon; would this be something up their alley? Right?

The color palette here is balls out amazing, it adds another layer to the emotion of the trailer. Red's, purples, neon lights make it feel like some fucked up version of OZ.  The half covered faces in shadows really make you aware to the fact that that our hero could be or is just as evil as our villain. So who are you really rooting for? The motivation or lack thereof of each character in this trailer pushes to the limit wether or not we do or care for anyone one here. Bold yes, but it could also mean a dull flick at the same time. Here's hoping its balanced well. The music again is done by Cliff Martinez and is childish, yet creepy and the cut aways to some of the violence happening here are gruesome. On a technical scale this is truly a master at work for that I'm sure I will be grateful to fork over some cash.

Now, will you like it? I'll be honest with you, Refn's films; Pusher, Valhalla Rising, Bronson, and Drive all are very very different, like crazily different. So I would say see all those movies, but at the same time nothing expect for a uniqueness of his style of change will stay the same.  This is definitely a guy who loves sub-text; the dialogue underneath the dialogue. It's not for everyone I get it but give it a shot. There are some awesome revenge movies a float in cinema, even if you end up hating this movie the fact that you'll be talking about it means its done its job. We need more movies like that.

I want to see this movie, I am looking forward to it. But in all honesty part of of me is wondering if I'll enjoy it more if I completely hate it. Odd I know, but the mind plays funny tricks. The movie also co-stars Kristin Scott Thomas. Wether your a fan of conventional revenge or just really wacky fucked up revenge; this is definitely going to fall some where in there.

I encourage you all to meet the devil in theaters July 19, 2013.

Deuces!
StuntmanBob

MAN OF STEEL. (An Emotional) Trailer Review.

What can be said that hasn't already been said about this beautiful 3 minutes. In my mind Man of Steel is by far one of the most anticipated movies of this summer. Yes, we've gotten Iron Man 3; Marvel's proven their worth in building a universe. Mr. Abrams has solidified himself as a summer blockbuster pop corn movie auteur with his long awaited sequel Star Trek Into Darkness and I'm sure will continue that track record with his next film Star Wars VII (fingers crossed). Fast & Furious 6 proved that street racers can threaten NATO generals, drive fast cars, and we love them for it!

But in 4 days we get to see the story connected to these images and inspiring words. Take a minute and watch the trailer if you haven't already.



Tell me you don't have a heart wrenching knot in your stomach after that?!

Last July, yes that's right in 2012! nearly a year a go! when the first teaser trailer for this movie came out I wrote a little ditty on it it. Take a read if you if you like.  My review could very well be one of "ohhh how cool was this and how cool was that!!" talk, but oh no, this is not the review you signed for.

The opening is powerful; a great war or battle is happening on Kypton (which for those of you who don't know, this is Superman's home world). Jor-El played by Russell Crowe speaks to his son for the last time. A father says good bye to his reason for living. A father makes the ultimate sacrifice. This small opening challenged me with the question of what I would be willing to do to save my son. The climax of this opening is seeing the pod fly to earth and our journey begins.

When it comes to movies trailers these days are they viciously plagued with 2 minute summaries of that particular movie and leave nothing for you to grasp on to when you actually see it in theaters. Its that, or it gives away all the good parts, best lines and then your left with cinematic blue balls! That being said I argue that this trailer which is long for most, it runs 3:45, sprinkles your cornea's with beautiful imagery, action and non action a like. But the dialogue lets you know that Kal-El. Clark Kent. Superman. Is an alien from another planet and we will challenge you with the emotional toll that takes on a young boy who grows to a man, fearful of what he is capable of. It gives you everything but also nothing at all.

This is handled beautifully when Jonathan Kent, Clark's human father tells him that he is the answer to "are we alone in the universe"; to which a young Clark reply's "Can't I just keep pretending I'm your son?" GODDAMN I WANTED TO CRY RIGHT THEN AND THERE. This small exchange between father and son is what I believe is at the heart of this movie and its what we as film goer's yearn for in our movies. Or at least I do. I want to be wowed and in awe of action, spectacle and things that go boom! But all that accounts for nothing if you, yourself cannot relate to the character, the man, and what he is going through.

We've all felt like an "alien" in our own right. Not accepted. Not included. Not seen. But just as the elder Kent tells Clark, "I have to believe that you were sent here for a reason", I am more convinced in my purpose here on this planet, I was sent here for a reason and so were you, who are reading this now. Yes, at its core you could call this a comic book movie, but I am going to say that this is a human movie. Even if you are not a fan of movies like this, I challenge you to see this movie, actually I take that back, experience it, allow yourself to be taken on an emotional journey that will hopefully change and make you think about life in a different way. This movie is for the outcasts, this movie is for our modern day heroes, and people like me, you and everyone in between.

It's no surprise that this trailer affected me deeply. I am hoping that this movie delivers on all cylinders and with this trailer my hopes are solidified. Please leave your comments below.

Man of Steel opens June 14, 2013.

-StuntmanBob

Super Bowl Spots: FAST AND FURIOUS 6 " VEHICULAR WARFARE"

Who would have though that we'd be at SIX! Writer Chris Morgan, whose written these movies since Toyko Drift has pleasantly surprised audiences refreshing this series that was once about street racing.

Director Justin Lin returns with great stunt work and series regulars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, Dwayne Johnson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, and new additions Luke Evans, Gina Carino, and of course...DRUM ROLL PLEASE; MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ IS BACK!

All you need to know is that this movie comes out May 24th, 2013. VROOOMMM!!! (speeds away)

Super Bowl Spots: OZ the Great and Powerful

Disney sadly is still not giving to much more away in this spot. I say sadly because the trailers so far haven't really convinced me of going to see this. However I do love me some Franco, here's hoping theres a story in here and not just Sam Raimi doing a Tim Burton version of this re-imaginiation.

The film stars James Franco, Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, Bruce Campbell and Rachel Weisz and will be out March 8th 2013.

Super Bowl Spots: THE LONE RANGER

Director Gore Verbinski channels the ghosts of the old west on July 3rd, 2013 with Armie Hammer, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, William Fichtner, Barry Pepper, and Tom Wilkinson.

Super Bowl Spots: STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS

The Crew of the Starship Enterprise Returns May 17th, 2013.

The film stars Chris Pine, Zachary Qunito, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yehlchin, John Cho, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Bruce Greenwood, Alive Eve, and Benedict Cumberbatch

Trailer Review: HANSEL AND GRETEL WITCH HUNTERS

Ummmmm...Huh?

In all honesty, I'm all for movie adaptions on fairytales and fables but now things are just getting a little out of control.  In 2012 and now in the beginning of 2013 the trend now seems to be superhero movies and adaptions of classic fairytales which one could argue run a fine line of being similar.  However the recent string of fairytale adaptions i.e. Red Riding Hood, Mirror Mirror, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, Beastly have all been really terrible adaptions on material that could haved been RE-TOLD, as these stories always are, through a unique vision. However studios just seem to want to get the hottest young star at the moment, put together the simplest story possible, make sure the main male lead takes his shirt off and...."yea let's post convert in 3D".

Originality gone.

But let's get back to this "fairy-fail".  The pitch for this movie is that Hansel and Gretel, who after killing the evil witch that tried to kill and eat them, now have a taste for blood and become witch hunters. Jeremy Renner stars as Hansel who as an actor has this swagger about him that makes even his most minor character very memorable. I look forward to his return as Hawkeye in the Marvel universe and The Avengers 2 in 2015. I don't see this being that much of a breakout role for him, his roles in The Town the most recent Mission Impossible are fair better game.  Gemma Arterton who plays his sister Gretel on the other hand I'm not a big fan of, she's always cast as these very weak and dainty princesses and annoying damsels and she's just terrible at them! It looks like this movie shows her as the more aggressive of the sibling pair, so it might be interesting to see what she can do with this "ballsy" female character.

The supporting cast include character Peter Stormare whose been in movies like Bad Boys 2, Jurassic Park 2, and Minority Report. He also played a key inmate in the prison drama Prison Break on Fox.   Famke Janssen rounds out the supporting cast, she is Jean Grey in the X-Men movies and has also been in the James Bond movie Goldeneye, and the Liam Nesson vehicle Taken.

The trailer itself looks very action packed and with the inclusion of 3D those close ups of guns cocking and shooting will most definitely wear-out their welcome.  With not a lot of story, a guarantee of witches being killed and some present day one liners, I feel like this movie will just land flat. This material and any fairy material is always ripe for a modern day take and its very disappointing that the opportunity to take the characters and dark themes of these stories somewhere new and unique has been passed up for "turn off your brain" movie with absolutely no substance.

My suggestion is get a better taste of revisionist fairytale, tales with Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrnith and Bill Willingham's graphic novel series Fables.

Leave this movie alone, but if you really have to see it, do a matinee. Please, do a matinee

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters begin the hunt on January 25th, 2013

Dueces!
StuntmanBob

THE. COUCH. PODCAST. BRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!! (inception sound effect).

Good Morning, Afternoon, or Evening!

Whatever time you are reading this I would just like to take the opportunity to announce that in 2013 The Couch will hit the airwaves in Podcast format!!!!!!

This little show, project/ passion of ours has gone through many incarnations but this next adventure will be one I hope gets us across to a wider audience. The overall jist of the podcast is to stick to our guns in reviewing movie trailers. Sure we could go the route of acquiring press passes and reviewing movies that require you to pay money to see; that is if you obey the law.  But we enjoy reviewing these couple minute highlights of upcoming movies because YOU, our audience can actually watch what we are talking about on your computer, smartphone, or tablet! And have an opinion on our opinion.

We are shooting to have our first episode up sometime in February! Exciting!

In addition to all of this we have added a wild card; Tyler Crane, our good friend and movie follower/lover to the mix. Tyler will be joining, myself (Bobby Navia) and Dorian Weinzimmer on the Podcast when the first episode goes up.

Thanks to everyone who has read what we've reviewed on here and still support this passion of ours. Look forward to hearing what you guys think of the 'cast when it becomes available!

Tweet or Email us at guysonthecouch@gmail.com and let us know of any trailers you think we should know about and or review!

Dueces!
StuntmanBob!

Trailer Review: THE LAST STAND

He said he'd be back.


After being Governor of California for eight years, Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as a local sheriff looking to stop a drug lord from crossing the US Mexico border. There's not much to say about this trailer other than it looks like a true return to form for the former Governor. The plays on his age and the opening line about not being recognized in regular clothes, made me chuckle quite a bit. With Expendables 2 coming out this weekend and now looking forward to this I think fellow cinephiles are on a high of seeing older war horses get back in the saddle of these 80's type action films. Nothing complicated, complex, just simple and executed well. Which is what I'm hoping for this movie. 

However... I cannot overlook the director; Mr. Kim Jee-Woon. Who you might ask?

Kim Jee-Woon is a South Korean writer/director who is making his American feature film debut. His last two films The Good, The Bad, The Weird and I Saw the Devil are very very good films. The Good The Bad, The Weird is an entertaining journey into the Clint Eastwood style spaghetti westerns where three individuals are after a map to a secret treasure that is on a train, however "The Weird" comes into posession of the map and from there its a chase to find the map and get the treasure. The ending of the film ending in true western fashion.

I Saw the Devil, is a fantastic, brutal, bloody and emotional revenge film. A mass murderer stalks and kills a young girl who ends up being the wife a police detective. The police detective is numb, numb to a point where he takes two weeks off to hunt the mass murderer down. However he does not kill him, he cuts him open and plants a tracking device inside of the murder and tracks him so that at his leisure can brutally beat and brake the murderer down. From then on its a game of cat and mouse. While being very bloody and graphic I Saw the Devil is a beautiful take on the morality of men pushed to their limits no matter what social position they hold.

Despite looking like your garden variety action film, I'm holding out big for this one. Its a return of one of the greatest action stars ever! and also the American debut of a director who execution on character of action and story I highly regard. I encourage you all to seek out those films.

The movie co-stars, Luis Guzman, Genesis Rodriguez, Johnny Knoxville, Jamie Alexander, Peter Stormare, and Eduargo Noriega

Join Arnold on his The Last Stand on January 18th, 2012

-StuntmanBob

Teaser Trailer Review: MAN OF STEEL

Hello fellow movie-goers, long time no post! This weekend THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, but another character from the DC universe makes his presence known: Superman. If you went to see TDKR this weekend in theaters then you were lucky enough to catch the teaser trailer to Man of Steel; the newest Superman movie to come out next year 2013.

This movie is Directed by Zach Synder whose filmography includes the graphic novel adaptions of 300 and Watchmen.  However, his third film Sucker Punch, while visually striking and filled with very attractive females who lived an insane asylum and fantasied their escape through highly stylized actions sequences, really didn't have enough weight or story to warrant a liking.

Christopher Nolan is producing this re imagining of Superman and has chosen director Zach Synder to helm it and while it was odd choice, I have full faith in Nolan's decision. I mean his track record in choosing talent, i.e. Heath Ledger as Joker and Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, hasn't failed him yet, why should it now.

Synder is a great director, his eye for action, the choreography of a scene and his pacing most notably in 300, is beautiful and poetic. Much like Nolan's Batman's films. So after all this let's breakdown this amazing looking and exciting 1:34.

This is a very moody teaser. The color tone is what really hits me first, very gray, dark, hopeless, and grounded. We see a bearded Clark Kent on a fishing dock, then on a boat, then finally hitchhiking. Images of a small child playing with a red cape on his back with Jonathan Kent's foreshadowing voice over; "You have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be, who ever that man is, good character or bad, is gonna change the world.", truly show us the weight this man will carry. Being the son of a destroyed world and being the adopted son of another. Never really fitting in, but eventually having the character and soul of a man who we all strive to be here on Earth.

Clark's father Jonathan Kent is played the great Kevin Costner, awesome right?!! I think his voice over is fantastic and will be tested when the villain General Zod appears and perhaps tries to get at the heart of what is right and wrong with the power they both possess. Being that Zod is from Kypton, Superman's home planet and while on Earth Zod posses the same powers that Superman does. What's great about analyzing this simplistic trailer is that there is so much subtext. Also the similarities between Bruce Wayne and Ra's Al Ghul in Batman Begins, played by Christian Bale and Liam Neeson could potentially mirror Superman and Zod. Both men are essentially the same however have taken different paths. It will be interesting to see how Zod is used more as a potential doppleganger in Man of Steel as opposed to a straight on villain from Superman's home world.

Who knew so much could be said about a minute and a half right? Well I hope I haven't talked your ear off or maybe this will inspire you to read some more Superman comics and get a feel for the true character out there.

I will leave with Batman Begins teaser trailer so that you can see how closely similar both are in the way they are edited and their voice overs. While director Zach Synder is at the helm of this movie, you can feel the hand of Christopher Nolan.

I cannot wait for a full trailer. Superman flies into theaters June 14, 2013 and bodes an all star cast that includes; Henry Cavill, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Amy Adams, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, and Michael Shannon.

Deuces,
StuntmanBob

p.s. Feels good to be back.


Batman Begins Teaser Trailer.

Trailer Review: AMERICAN REUNION

Its been 9 years since American Wedding, the supposed last movie in the American Pie series. But now the boys are back for their high school reunion and boy does it look fun.

Watching this trailer again, I was reminded of a Kevin Smith series Clerks. I wasn't old enough to watch the first Clerks when it came out but by the time the second was released I was a cinephile in my own right and Smith was a favorite. Watching interviews with him he touted that he would not have done the movie if he didn't have something to say about turning 30, which is where his characters are in the movie.

This is exactly where I think this series is going.

Generally speaking I'm a fan of the American Pie series of movies, NOT those fake ass "National Lampoon Style" movies that went straight to dvd. I'm talking about the ones with all the original actors in them. In their dirty minded way each movie has got something to say about growing up, going to college, getting married and just life in general. Now there are plenty movies like this out there, but some just stick to one part of life, its nice to have had a journey with a certain group of characters and see their progression in life. Its kinda like watching Boy Meets World. Anybody remember that show? What an awesome show. When Corey and Topanga (sp) got married in Disney, I think.

Ok sorry way off topic the show has been on MTV lately and I've been watching a lot of it. Back to our review.

We all have a Jim, we all have a Stifler in our group of friends and I think that's why anytime these movies come out, its not met with disappointment or with the title of a money grab; they've got something to say.

This outing of a class reunion plays great into the series, the characters are older now, some have families, are married and have real jobs. The fun of it will be seeing what they still think is still fun and what old antics still play in their small Michigan town. I'm sure none of you are surprised that I'm a fan of the series, "oh cause Bobby likes everything", but let me ask you this you still get excited to see a Die Hard movie right?

Cause you know exactly what your going to get.

The invitations for American Reunion go out April 6th, 2012


Dueces!
StuntmanBob

Trailer Review: WRATH OF THE TITANS

Let's brake this down like a fraction.

The remake of Clash of the Titans showed great promise. Capitalizing on the success of the original classic as well as its stop motion monster animation that is about as famous as the movie, it should not have been hard to screw up right? The remake trailer had a kick ass alternative song to it, striking CGI and just the feeling that you were going to feel every punch in this movie. However the movie we got was a very hollow shell of a remake that could have been a pretty neat epic. The effects were top notch, but the characters and the story just felt like an ESPN highlight reel.

So do I really want to see another one?

The Wrath trailer continues its predecessor's style with the addition of more extensive CGI for the use of 3D. Believe it or not its the 3D that has me wanting to see this movie. Some movies throw the 3D tag on the marquee solely for the purposes of robbing you of a few extra bucks. But Wrath looks as though its going to use the 3D to its fullest which I actually appreciate more. If your going to do 3D, make it worth it; either do the whole James Cameron thing where it adds a depth of field to the surroundings in movie or just put me in the action in a fun, creative, big popcorn movie way!

I'm really happy to see Liam Neeson back as Zeus and Ralph Finnes as Hades, those to actors add of level of majesty to their God alter egos that makes watching them on screen more fun. Director Jonathan Liebesman's last film Battle: Los Angeles was not really loved that much by most people, I'll admit the soldier banter felt very forced and unnatural but the staging of the action sequences were great. It had the feeling of a documentary/POV movie, but didn't get all Cloverfield on you. This is what the trailer for Wrath of the Titans does for me; it looks like the action will be over the place but I'm hoping its contained to the point where despite the panic we know what's going on and who is where and doing what in said action sequence.


I predict one of two things will happen with Wrath.

A. The 3D will be so good that it will allow you to get more into the action and thus making you care more about what's happening to the characters and its better fleshed out story line.

or

B. The amount of stuff being thrown at you is a tool being used so that you don't notice that there is absolutely no story and character development going on at all.

I'm inclined to go with the latter, but as of right now, this movie looks so ridiculous that for me I'm ready to get on that winged horse and fly through skies prepared for battle! If you liked the first movie, obviously your going to see it, but if your not sure, I say save your money and do a matinee. If you are curious enough to pay full price I say go all the way and do it big in IMAX 3D.

Wrath of the Titans attempts to shove a lighting bolt up your ass on March 30th, 2012


Dueces!
StuntmanBob

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

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

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.

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!"

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

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

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

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

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.

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StuntmanBob