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View Full Version : Jason, any good movies coming up?



BCGroup
02-24-2007, 09:17 PM
Just wondering if you think there's anything coming out soon that is decent. Not seeing much these days.

JBDuke
02-25-2007, 12:52 AM
Well, I'm not Jason, and I don't get to preview movies like he does, but I can give you some that I'm looking forward to:

Near future: "Black Snake Moan" about a black man who finds a young, wayward white woman and tries to reform her with tough love, starring Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci opens 2 Mar.

"300", a stylized adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel about Leonidas, the Spartan king who, along with 300 of his warriors, held off the entire Persian army in 480 BC. Opens 9 Mar.

"Reign Over Me", about a man who has shut himself down after losing wife and child on Sept. 11th, and rekindles his desire for life when he reunites with his old college buddy. Stars Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle. Opens 23 Mar.

"Hot Fuzz", a cop comedy-drama-thriller from the production team that gave us "Shaun of the Dead". Waiting to hear more, but this could be good. Opens 20 April.

And then we get to the big "summer" season, which now starts the first weekend in May...

"Spiderman 3", wherein our hero faces two villains - Sandman and Venom. Opens 4 May.

"Shrek the Third", wherein our hero tries to avoid becoming the next king of Far, Far Away. Opens 18 May.

"Pirates of the Carribbean: At Worlds End", wherein two of our heroes try to save the third from the eternal damnation of Davy Jones's Locker. Opens 25 May.

"Ocean's Thirteen", can they keep this going? Opens 8 June.

"Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer". Wasn't a big fan of the first one, but the second may be better, right? Right... Opens 15 June.

"Ratatouille", the latest feature from Pixar. Directed by Brad Bird ("The Incredibles" and "The Iron Giant") I'm REALLY looking forward to this one. Opens 29 June.

"Live Free or Die Hard", wherein our hero (Bruce Willis as John McClane) battles an Internet-based terrorist organization. Opens 29 June.

"Transformers", the movie update of the 80's afternoon cartoon show. Laugh all you want, but the trailer (http://imdb.com/title/tt0418279/trailers) kicks butt. (I've seen the trailer in HD - wow!). Opens 6 July.

"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". Transformers better open up big, because HP is gonna rob a LOT of its audience just a week later. Opens 13 July.

"The Simpsons Movie". Can they translate to the big screen? We'll see on 27 July.

"The Bourne Ultimatum". They've done well with the first two, so the third looks to be good as well. Opens 3 Aug.


That's about it for what I'm looking forward to for the next few months. Of course, things may get added or dropped as release dates get closer and more info comes out.

JasonEvans
02-26-2007, 11:27 AM
JB did a nice job of summing up some of the top movies coming up. You simply have got to see the trailer for Transformers. I never would have thought I wanted to see that movie but that is one of the great trailers EVER! I have been dying to see it since seeing that trailer.

Similarly, the trailer for 300 has me intrigued. It looks like something out of a graphic novel and will certainly be ultra violent, but it looks compelling if you are into that kinda thing. http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/300/trailer2/

I liked the Silver Surfer trailer too, though I thought the first FFour movie was dreadful. I just cannot think of any way that Galactus does not suck though. http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/fantasticfourriseofthesilversurfer/

And have you seen this?!?!?! WOW!!! http://www.apple.com/trailers/disney/underdog/large.html

JasonEvans
02-26-2007, 11:57 AM
Ok, aside from films that look good in 2 minute trailers, here are some of the flicks I am looking forward to in coming weeks before summer. Be warned, I have not seen any of these yet and it is fairly rare to find a real gem in the spring-- it is generally the dumping ground for bad films.

Zodiac- David Fincher can be excellent and Jake G is always good. I like the story too about the hunt for the real (never caught) Zodiac killer. This film has gone through some re-shoots and has seen its release delayed a few times, which is never a good sign. For some reason though, I remain interested.

Premonition- I'll probably try to see this not because of Sandra Bullock but because Julian McMahon platys her husband and he is great in Nip/Tuck. Story seems lame though as it is about a woman who keeps bouncing back and forth between the future and the past centered around the accidental death of her husband. I fear The Lake House 2.

The Wind The Shakes the Barley- Winner of last year's Palme D'or has taken forever to get to the US. I love Cillian Murphy. Story of two brothers on opposite sides in the 1920s Irish civil war. Limited release so you will have to look for it to find it.

The Hoax- Word is that this is Richard Gere's finest acting performance ever. I am not sure that is saying very much but it also features the always excellent Alfred Molina. Its the story of a man who sells a fake biography of Howard Hughes to a big publishing house.

The Invisible- This looks kinda cool to me as the story of a man who is murdered but still walking around on Earth trying to solve the crime. He is trying to communicate with the living. I am interested because I generally like stuff by writer/director David S Goyer... even the Blade films.

Fracture- How can you resist a movie with Anthony Hopkins as a killer who has escaped the law because of some legal technicalities. Opposite him are a pair of DAs (Ryan Gosling and David Strathairn). Did I mention that the woman Hopkins killed is Gosling's wife? It has a real Silence of the Lambs feel to me.

Griondhouse- Robert Rodriquez and Quentin Tarantino each directed one-hour flicks and then they put them together into one movie. The two films are all about gore and b-movie cheeze but the buzz is deafening. QT's segment is about a stunt man driving a car in which he cannot die and he goes out to find people to put to death in his car (or something like that). RR's segment is about 2 people fighting off a bunch of zombies. The woman in RR's segment loses her leg and is given a gun for a leg so she swings her leg around and shoots the zombies. It sound insane and it probably is. This movie is so cool, they actually got Rob Zombie to direct a fake trailer that is being shown attached to the movie for something called "Werewolf Women of the SS" and they got Nic Cage to star in the fake trailer. How freaky is that?!?!!

-Jason "lots of good looking stuff this summer, but Potter 5 along with Book #7 are at the top of my MUST DO list" Evans

Karl Beem
02-26-2007, 04:39 PM
Quote:

"300", a stylized adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel about Leonidas, the Spartan king who, along with 300 of his warriors, held off the entire Persian army in 480 BC. Opens 9 Mar.

Along with a few thousand allies. Sadly nothing seems to be happening to the adaptation of Pressfield's "Gates of Fire".

Clipsfan
02-26-2007, 06:21 PM
I know...every time I see something about The 300, I think of Pressfield's book (which I initially read years ago thanks to one of the summer book lists on DBR. We should do more of those!) Supposedly, the movie is a very accurate cell by cell depiction of the graphic novel, and I'm definitely going to see it, but I loved the story in Gates of Fire.

blazindw
02-26-2007, 06:23 PM
Yea, I'm looking forward to seeing 300. It looks like it will be a great adaptation of the movie, and the trailer also reeled me in. What about Harry Potter? Harry Potter will open up huge when it comes out, but does anyone think that the release of "Deathly Hallows" on July 21st will hurt ticket sales the second weekend? Most people who read the book usually do so the first week the book comes out. That could make for an intriguing element to the race for #1 movie of the year.

allenmurray
02-26-2007, 08:39 PM
Underdog is Here!

Jason, no fair posting the link to the underdog movie - now my wife and both my kids think I am crazy. It was by far my favorite cartoon ever - when I saw the trailer I screamed ot loud! I can't wait!

BCGroup
02-26-2007, 08:53 PM
Ah, the joy of the Off-Topic Board. Thanks to both JBDuke and Jason. I am looking forward to HP (movie and book) and to the Bourne Ultimatum (isn't Matt Damon perfect in that role), but the one that intrigues me from your post, Jason, is The Hoax. I hadn't heard of it but from your preview, sounds quite interesting. Thanks!

BluDvil03
02-27-2007, 02:24 AM
Reign Over Me, which has been mentioned, definitely looks promising. I'm particularly fond of the song used in the trailer, a Pearl Jam cover of The Who's "Reign O'er Me". It's haunting.

In the guilty pleasure department, I'm also looking forward to Blades of Glory.

JasonEvans
02-27-2007, 09:43 AM
Yea, I'm looking forward to seeing 300. It looks like it will be a great adaptation of the movie, and the trailer also reeled me in. What about Harry Potter? Harry Potter will open up huge when it comes out, but does anyone think that the release of "Deathly Hallows" on July 21st will hurt ticket sales the second weekend? Most people who read the book usually do so the first week the book comes out. That could make for an intriguing element to the race for #1 movie of the year.

I was stunned when I heard Deathly Hollows would come out on July 21st, just after Order of the Phoenix opens. I think it could play out one of two ways--

1) Folks who are furiously reading their way through DH decide they need a break and go see OoP to just clear their head. As a result, OoP remains strong in week 2. Plus, after finishing DH, fans who are still excited about HP go out to see OoP for a second time, giving the movie "legs" and making it the biggest HP film yet.

2) Every HP fan on the planet is so busy reading DH they have no time for OoP and its seccond weekend is a stunning 60%+ dropoff from opening weekend. Fans are so wrapped up in the series finale that they just ignore the movie after the book comes out and OoP fades into memory.

I will say that I think the frenzy and excitement over DH will make OoP have a stunning opening weekend-- perhaps a record. It will depend upon how many screens it is on when it opens.

It is going to be very interesting to see how the four huge/mega/event sequels of the summer compare in terms of opening weekend. The battle for summer supremacy between Spiderman 3, HP 5, Pirates 3, and Shrek 3 will be interesting. We are talking about 4 of the most successful franchises of all time-- 4 movies where 200 million is practically a given and anything less than 300 million in total boxoffice would be a bit of a disappointment (though HP expectations and past performance rank it a notch behind the others).

-Jason "as we get closer, it will be fun to guess at opening weekend totals and final total boxoffice for these 4 mega-franchises" Evans

BlueDiablo
02-27-2007, 10:32 AM
Of the films listed above, I'm really looking forward to "Hot Fuzz," "Spiderman 3" and "Harry Potter."

If you're interested in "Hot Fuzz," you might want to tape the episodes of "Spaced" that have been running on BBC America. "Spaced," a show about some loser Londoners, is where Simon Pegg and Nick Frost got their start. It's hilarious, but it does take a while to get used to.

"Spiderman 3" looks promising, and I've loved both of the first two. It'll be interesting to see if they can successfully bring Venom to the screen. I predict it will either be awesome, or a disaster of "Batman and Robin"-like proportions.

"Harry Potter" should be good for all the usual reasons. This book is probably the least liked in the series, but I think it might translate very well to the screen. The director, David Yates, also did a BBC miniseries called "State of Play," a journalism/politics thriller starring James MacAlvoy, Bill Nighy and David Morrissey that's one of the best things I've ever seen. (Brad Pitt apparently bought the rights to do an American version.)

BlueDiablo
03-27-2007, 09:41 AM
"Hot Fuzz", a cop comedy-drama-thriller from the production team that gave us "Shaun of the Dead". Waiting to hear more, but this could be good. Opens 20 April.


I've managed to score a couple of passes to see Hot Fuzz in Dallas on Thursday night as part of the AFI-Dallas festival. Reportedly, Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright and Nick Frost will be in attendance. Should be cool. I've heard nothing but good things about this movie.

JasonEvans
03-27-2007, 11:42 AM
Trailer for the Hoax, the Richard Gere flick with a ton of buzz: http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/thehoax/trailer1/

If you are into horror, here is a trailer for 28 Weeks Later: http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_atomic/28weekslater/

Also, there is a new Grindhouse trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/grindhouse/

-Jason "just a little more than a month until Spiderman 3" Evans

BluBones
03-27-2007, 12:02 PM
Zodiac- David Fincher can be excellent and Jake G is always good. I like the story too about the hunt for the real (never caught) Zodiac killer. This film has gone through some re-shoots and has seen its release delayed a few times, which is never a good sign. For some reason though, I remain interested.


-Jason "lots of good looking stuff this summer, but Potter 5 along with Book #7 are at the top of my MUST DO list" Evans

Zodiac is terrific. I saw it this weekend. Beautifully directed. Gyllenhaal, Downey and Ruffalo are all brilliant.

JasonEvans
03-27-2007, 03:33 PM
Zodiac is terrific. I saw it this weekend. Beautifully directed. Gyllenhaal, Downey and Ruffalo are all brilliant.

It is good-- which is probably why it is dying at the boxoffice. The American people's taste is sometimes really really bad. For example, no one went to see Children of Men (out on DVD today) which is as fine a directed film as I have seen in years!

Sigh...

-Jason "Children of Men on DVD today-- see it!!!" Evans

hc5duke
03-27-2007, 08:10 PM
In the guilty pleasure department, I'm also looking forward to Blades of Glory.

Add Reno 911 movie to that list... For an 85-minute long movie, I thought it was great. Very silly, not going to win any awards, but if you're a fan of the show, it was worth $10.

Blades of Glory is at the top of my "to do" list for the week :)

Clipsfan
03-27-2007, 08:58 PM
Trailer for the Hoax, the Richard Gere flick with a ton of buzz: http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/thehoax/trailer1/

If you are into horror, here is a trailer for 28 Weeks Later: http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox_atomic/28weekslater/

Also, there is a new Grindhouse trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/grindhouse/

-Jason "just a little more than a month until Spiderman 3" Evans

I may have to disclose that I work for the company behind 28 Weeks Later, and I don't want to come across as drinking the Kool-aid, but I've heard that the movie is good. As a fan of the first one, I'm hoping that this is true!

DevilAlumna
03-27-2007, 09:01 PM
Blades of Glory is at the top of my "to do" list for the week :)

Amen to that! I have now watched all the trailers so many times, I start to giggle as soon as a commercial comes on.

What is it with Will Farrell and sports movies? He's got one coming up about the ABA, iirc; I wonder whether there will be some good cameo appearances by bball pros.

Exiled_Devil
03-28-2007, 12:52 PM
It is good-- which is probably why it is dying at the boxoffice. The American people's taste is sometimes really really bad. For example, no one went to see Children of Men (out on DVD today) which is as fine a directed film as I have seen in years!

Sigh...

-Jason "Children of Men on DVD today-- see it!!!" Evans

I know I am opening myself to jibes (given an old thread where I said "I liked Children of Men, but I found flaws after the fact") saying this, but I am surprised it didn't get a little more love from the Academy. It seems to have fallen into the space of 'not popular' and 'not acclaimed' which is a shame, because it was a great movie.

Exiled

PS - Just saw a trailer for War, Inc. Very interesting looking flick with the Cusack kids.

JasonEvans
03-28-2007, 05:35 PM
Oh
my
gawd!!!

You have got to see this trailer. Words cannot describe how great it is.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/blacksheep/trailer/

-Jason "get ready for the violence of the lambs" Evans

JBDuke
03-28-2007, 08:34 PM
Oh
my
gawd!!!

You have got to see this trailer. Words cannot describe how great it is.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/blacksheep/trailer/

-Jason "get ready for the violence of the lambs" Evans

Please tell me this is a hoax...

feldspar
03-28-2007, 08:48 PM
Please tell me this is a hoax...

Looks like a sick, twisted mix between "Babe" and "Snakes on a Plane."

DevilAlumna
03-28-2007, 11:06 PM
Please tell me this is a hoax...

Oh, it's quite real. Black Sheep (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0779982/)

Tagline #2: Get the flock out of here.

Bwahahaha! :D

Mike Corey
03-29-2007, 12:59 AM
Have any of you seen The Namesake by chance? I know it's been released in New York and LA the past few weeks, and goes national Friday.

The film is based on one of my favorite books, and I'm hopeful that the movie does it justice.

accfanfrom1970
03-29-2007, 06:44 PM
Has anyone seen/have a review of Shooter with Mark Wahlberg? I remember reading the Steven Hunter book some time ago.....haven't talked to anyone who has seen the movie....

Clipsfan
03-29-2007, 08:42 PM
Have any of you seen The Namesake by chance? I know it's been released in New York and LA the past few weeks, and goes national Friday.

The film is based on one of my favorite books, and I'm hopeful that the movie does it justice.

I saw it a couple weeks ago and thought that it was alright, although a little slow. I haven't read the book, but the movie appears to attempt to capture all the elements of it, which leads to spending too much time on certain portions of time while skipping over others too quickly. I would guess that the book is better than the movie (which is the norm). Other people I know liked the movie a little more than I did, although I don't know if anyone I've talked to loved it.

Clipsfan
03-29-2007, 08:45 PM
Oh
my
gawd!!!

You have got to see this trailer. Words cannot describe how great it is.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/blacksheep/trailer/

-Jason "get ready for the violence of the lambs" Evans

That movie looks horrendous!

JasonEvans
03-30-2007, 09:28 AM
That movie looks horrendous!

Exactly-- I think that is the point ;)

BlueDiablo
03-30-2007, 09:54 AM
Have any of you seen The Namesake by chance? I know it's been released in New York and LA the past few weeks, and goes national Friday.

The film is based on one of my favorite books, and I'm hopeful that the movie does it justice.

I saw an advanced screening in Dallas and even got to talk to the director, Mira Nair about it. My review is here (http://www.beggingtodiffer.com/2007/03/06/movie-review-the-namesake) and a transcript of the interview is here (http://www.beggingtodiffer.com/2007/03/25/an-interview-with-mira-nair).

Good movie. A bit slow, but worth it. If you liked the book, I doubt you'll be disappointed. Apparently, it's a very faithful adaptation (I haven't read it). I love Mira Nair as a filmmaker, and she's a really nice person as well.