My Day with Film (Friday, 12/9/16)

Friday, 12/9/16

Dear Diary,

Almost all the feelings I've had towards cinema over the last two weeks have stemmed from movie trailers. There have been so many! I started the day, or rather ended it late last night, with the trailer for SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING.

This looks fun enough for a Marvel movie. The wingsuit finally makes its big screen debut, and Michael Keaton looks incredible as the Vulture! He may be Spider-Man's best movie villain yet. However, I was sucked out of the whole thing immediately when I saw Peter in class watching footage of the airport scene from CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR on YouTube. Who on earth was filming it??? Giant W.T.F. there. I'm also wary of the relationship Peter has with Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.). Past SPIDER-MAN films have been interesting character studies because they're as much about how a young man grapples with both his personal relationships and his call to a higher duty as they are about action scenes. The whole allure of Peter Parker / Spider-Man is that he's forced to navigate the trials of young adulthood without a father figure. This iteration of the character - especially based on what we've seen in Civil War - feels like its beholden to a babysitter. I appreciate that they've skewed age-appropriate with the new casting, but I don't know if I'm entirely sold just yet. I am looking forward to seeing the finished product for Keaton's Vulture, if nothing else.

Then as I checked into Twitter this morning, I watched part of a live stream featuring the cast of ROGUE ONE. I guess they held some sort of event and Q&A at Lucasfilm, and then stars Alan Tudyk & Riz Ahmed and director Gareth Edwards took a tour of the Industrial Light & Magic offices. It was so cool to see all the different props and artwork in the halls from previous ILM features!

Later I saw even more new movie trailers! Can you believe it?? We got the first full trailer for WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES today and without a stupid fucking 15-second teaser days beforehand too!!!!

I've enjoyed this PLANET OF THE APES prequel series so far, and there's no reason to think WAR will be any different. I'm fascinated by Woody Harrelson's presence as much as I am eager to see Andy Serkis evolve the character of Caesar even further.

I've written before about how much I hate those "teasers for the teasers." Just give me the full two minutes. Universal did it late last week with THE MUMMY, and they're at it again with the first reveal of the next FAST & FURIOUS movie.

FAST 8 is officially titled THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS, and the full trailer will be available online sometime this coming Sunday. This is just another absurd superhero franchise anymore, but I've had a blast with the past few entries. I enjoyed some of the "behind-the-scenes" clips that the cast posted on Instagram during filming. Based on those alone, I'm excited to see what's in store for us next April.

In other news, /Film shared an insider report saying that James Franco has a role in the upcoming ALIEN: COVENANT. The report is a bit spoilery, so I'll leave you to explore further if you wish.

Warner Brothers officially announced the Blu-ray release of Ben Affleck's recent thriller THE ACCOUNTANT. It streets on January 10th.

I enjoyed this movie as much as anybody, but the superlatives they picked are just absurd. How can an acting performance be "action-packed?" That's literally impossible. The story has to be "action-packed." Stupid. Maybe I'm just irritated that Warner didn't contact The Reel for my superlative. A kid can dream.

I watched GANGSTER SQUAD this afternoon. I think it's massively underrated and that it features Sean Penn's best performance in over a decade. I'm sure I'm the only one on the planet who thinks so, but that's fine. I actually saw GANGSTER SQUAD for the first time in the theater as a double bill with ZERO DARK THIRTY. Guess which one I had more fun with?

I reviewed LA LA LAND today, so be sure to check that out!

Lastly, I've got plans to go see Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals tonight which has been drawing lots of critical acclaim. I also reserved HELL OR HIGH WATER and MIKE AND DAVE NEED WEDDING DATES at Redbox. That reminds me, I need to go pick them up!

Until tomorrow,

BC

My Day with Film (Thursday, 12/8/16)

Thursday, 12/8/16

Dear Diary,

I got through THE REVENANT late last night. It was my first time re-watching it since seeing it in the theater. I feel like if I ever want to watch that movie again, I need to rent out a movie theater. My 32-inch Vizio doesn't cut it. The visual experience of that film is just too good for an average home display.

I feel like there's been nothing to report on but movie trailers in the past two weeks. Today we've got full looks at the BAYWATCH reboot and THE WALL, a war thriller from Doug Liman (THE BOURNE IDENTITY) starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and John Cena.

If you ask me, BAYWATCH looks like a trainwreck in the making. I understand the commercial appeal of Dwayne Johnson and the cast of insanely attractive people, but, my God, Zac Efron is comedic cancer. He singlehandedly ruins this trailer for me. The script also sounds abysmal from the sound bites included here. As a fan of Alexandra Daddario's (*ahem*) body of work and the likely scene-stealing turn by comedian Jon Bass, I'll probably see this anyway. Expectations couldn't be lower though.

THE WALL could be solid. Liman is a director with marvelous control of action and suspense, which look to be delivered in spades here. If you think this seems like an interesting premise, go watch Mickey Keating's CARNAGE PARK on Netflix. Imagine the concept of THE WALL crossed with THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and you'll have a modest idea of what to expect.

In other news, Bloomberg reports that Fox, Universal, and Warner Brothers have entered into negotiations with Apple to offer first-run theatrical releases to iTunes & AppleTV users at a premium price point. It was really only a matter of time before something like this happened. The theatrical release window is only going to shrink with the rise of digital platforms. This move really only benefits families who would pay around $100 for a night out at the movie theater. I, for one, would not pay to watch JUSTICE LEAGUE at home for $50 on release day. Now if the studios agreed to release films on AppleTV a week or two before their theatrical run, that might be a different story. Only time will tell.

Paramount announced today that the next film in the CLOVERFIELD universe has been moved from March to October of next year. It's rumored that the film will be titled "GOD PARTICLE," about a team of astronauts who are forced to reckon with a shocking discovery. Sounds like an ALIEN reboot to me. J.J. Abrams would do that to us too. It sounds awesome though, especially with the cast of David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Elizabeth Debicki, Daniel Bruhl, Chris O'Dowd, John Ortiz and Ziyi Zhang. 

Kodak also launched a new website and mobile app today called "Reel Film." It shows you locations where you can watch movies projected from actual film, as well as where you can see movies that were shot on film stock. I'd have to go to Columbus in order to see IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE on 35mm, but still, that's pretty rad. Check it out for yourself.

I got an email yesterday updating me on the status of an Indiegogo campaign I contributed to for this new '80s-style horror film called THE BARN. I've been following this thing closely for about a year and a half, and I contributed enough money to the campaign in order to receive a DVD. Allegedly, the DVDs had some printing and formatting issues which is why they're now over a month late on delivery. I've heard great things about the movie, and I cannot wait to see it! I'm disappointed it wasn't in my hands in time for Halloween this year, but I'd much rather have a quality product at the end of the day. Tom Holland's Terror Time got an inside scoop on what exactly this DVD will look like, and I couldn't be more stoked. 

Indiegogo contributors get first dibs and then the remaining stock will go on sale to the general public. Visit TheBarnMerch.com for all the goods!

Speaking of DVDs, I went to Best Buy today looking for Seth Rogen's Christmas movie THE NIGHT BEFORE. I found it and then some. 

I've never seen MUNICH, but I've heard that it's arguably Steven Spielberg's best film. MIDNIGHT SPECIAL was an interesting sci-fi thriller from earlier this spring that I've been eager to revisit. CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON just got a 4K remaster for its 15th anniversary and was re-released with a bunch of new bonus material. For the price, it was a wonderful pickup. 

I'm going to see FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM with my sister tonight. It will be my second time seeing it and her first. She's writing a report / review on it for extra credit for a mythology class. 

Okay, I think that about covers everything today. By the end of the night, though, who knows? It's a lifestyle. 

I'll leave you with this badass photo of Josh Brolin and Paul Thomas Anderson on the set of INHERENT VICE. (Courtesy of @TheFilmStage)

Until tomorrow, 

BC