The Movie Thread

[PSI Wind]

 

They are doing the final book 'Mockingjay' in the Hunger Games trilogy over two films. Part one will be out in November 2014. 

 

FUUUUUUUCCCCCCK. I am really getting sick of books being split into two films when the book isn't long enough to warrant this. I could understand the final Harry Potter book being split over two films because it's like 700 pages long. Doing two films for the final book in the Twilight saga was pushing it, because whilst that book is over 700 pages long, the story (which is rather weak) can be told comfortably in only a few hours. Stretching the Hobbit over three films was also unnecessary.

 

Mockingjay - which is a good read - doesn't even reach 400 pages. There is no way it warrants two films. It's just an excuse to make more money of course.

Maybe Part 2 will cover the war more and maybe get an R Rating?

[Indigo Rush]

Trailer for Maleficent is up:

 

 

 

Looks pretty cool - I really liked Sleeping Beauty as a kid, so I get the feeling that I'll like this one as well.

[turbojet]

So what happens when you mix the action packed sequences of Enter the Dragon and the gangland fiction of Godfather? 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG9uFX3uYq4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AhivlZO0us

If you have not seen the Raid, stop what the fuck you are doing, rent it somewhere, and enjoy your fucking self. This makes Avengers look like a Looney Tunes Cartoon. This shits on the Dark Knight Trilogy. I am not joking. It has a 93 rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 9.5 on IMDB with 264 ratings. This is when you say, "WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE?"

SHUT UP! WATCH THIS MOVIE!

[TearForFear]

Trailer for Maleficent is up:

 

 

Another one

 

 

The girl that plays Aurora awfully reminds me of that that played Katara in The Last Airbender, acting rage and all

[lucidshine]

I am so excited for that movie. Seeing that second trailer in theaters just made me even more excited. I know a lot of people dislike that Jolie is Maleficent, but I think she's perfect for it.

[DarkLight]

I want to be excited about this movie, but some things just put me off from it.

 

So far is that it's looking like one of those "We're showing as many pretty special effects in out trailers to cover up a lackluster story/characters" that they already did with Burton's Alice in Wonderland and Oz: The Great and Powerful. Two movies that I don't really care for. Plus, there's apparently a 'We're going to war!' scene that will undoubtedly be the climax, which was, again, already done with the already-mentioned films. It's almost as if they thought, "Hey, it worked for Narnia! Let's do it with every other live-action fantasy movie we do!" 

 

Also, not too keen on them making Maleficent herself a more sympathetic or 'misunderstood' villain after reading the synopsis a couple pages back. To me, she's always been more of 'love to hate' kind of villain. Gleefully enjoys being a cruel bitch because she can and has all the power she needs to back it up with. This is someone who revels in being the raincloud on a sunny day. You don't have to get personal with her for her to start zapping something. So you're going to try to tell me that her justification for cursing an infant to her death was not out of pure spite, but rather out of revenge for being allegedly betrayed by the king or something? That's the laziest 'I'm not totally evil' way to do it when she's always been irrationally evil. I'll admit that makes her far from being one of Disney's more complex villains, but this sort of thing kind of deludes her character and overall role in the original story. If anything, her desire to create malice towards anyone who embodies what she isn't, sets her apart from other animated Disney villains, who were mostly motivated by power, prestige, greed, or vanity. I've got nothing against making villains more multi-dimensional than being typical "moustache twirlers" but Maleficent's just not one of those villains that you can rationalize her actions without being hokey and again, deluding what she contributed to the story. Plus, evil does exist and sometimes that can be more frightening/interesting than 'a bad guy who isn't really a bad guy'. Evil is not always going to be redeemable. Evil is not always defined by being a poor victim just lashing out of anger and crying for help. Some people just do things out of bloodlust or because it's just fun for them. That's what made Maleficent so terrifying and something Disney has always capitalized on and consistently wanted her to be seen as such since Sleeping Beauty. So forgive me for thinking this movie's very existence completely misses that entire point of what she has represented for so many years.  

 

*A-hem* Tangents aside however, I can slightly look past that since I highly doubt Disney will trout this movie around as her true/canon backstory regardless of how much money it'll make. It'll be nothing more than just a 'What If?' kind of thing, much like AiW and O:tGaP. At most, I think I'll just rent this. I'm in no real hurry to see it really.

 

Though I will admit Jolie's good for the role. At least the trailers show she's enjoying it quite a bit.

[Mega]

Beware. Live action Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers.

I... am not pleased by this. Knowing Disney's track record with movies like this, it'll just be G-force with another coat of paint. Besides, they already have an origin story in the cartoon itself. Why the hell do they need to do this when they can spend money on better films? :|

[Johnny Boy]

Well, looks like Disney found their answer to Alvin and the Chipmunks. Fuck.

[iDEATH]

Disney haven't really thrown their hat in the ring with this trend of live-action reboots yet to my knowledge, they might actually be able to pull this off. The closest thing I can think of is Enchanted (I know it's not a reboot, but it's a throwback to the princess films...) and that was good.

 

I'll remain optimistic until I actually see something from this...Disney's films have been of superb quality lately so this should be too...right?

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Disney haven't really thrown their hat in the ring with this trend of live-action reboots yet to my knowledge, they might actually be able to pull this off. The closest thing I can think of is Enchanted (I know it's not a reboot, but it's a throwback to the princess films...) and that was good.

 

I'll remain optimistic until I actually see something from this...Disney's films have been of superb quality lately so this should be too...right?

I am actualy optimistic myself, disney have been on an upstreak of quality and there is also another fact:

Disney has been combining animation and reality for over half a century from Mary Poppins to who Framed roger rabbit, if anyone can pull this off right, its disney (also I would argue that G-force was a nearly direct to video failed experiment)

[Marcello]

Oh great, I can't wait to hear adults whine about a popular kids movie not being made for them.

[Mega]

I don't think that "it's for kids" is a good enough excuse, though. Most of these live action reboots are of poor quality, just done as cheap cash ins, and children's entertainment CAN be better than that.

[Marcello]

And yet, kids loved Alvin and the Chipmunks and Smurfs, so they must be doing something right. Just because it's not something an older audience is interested in, doesn't make them bad.

[Irish David]

Mmmmmm not sure about a live action Chip and Dale film but you never know, it might work and be good. I enjoyed the Rescue Rangers when I was younger so I would hope it wouldn't ruin a great show

 

I haven't seen either Smurfs or Alvin films but they never appealed to me but if kids are enjoying them then they are doing something right as it is their main target audience. 

[...]

The Annie Awards (the awards show devoted strictly to animation) were last night, and Frozen ended up taking home Best Animated Feature, along with four other Annies.

 

Here's the full list of winners:

 

PRODUCTION CATEGORIES

 

Best Animated Feature: “Frozen” – 
Walt Disney Animation Studios
Best Animated Special Production: “Chipotle Scarecrow”
 – Moonbot Studios
Best Animated Short Subject: “Get A Horse!”
 – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Best Animated TV/Broadcast Commercial: “Despicable Me 2″ – Cinemark
 – Universal Pictures
Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Preschool Children: “Disney Sofia the First
” – Disney Television Animation
Best Animated TV/Broadcast Production For Children’s Audience: “Adventure Time” – 
Cartoon Network Studios
Best General Audience Animated TV/Broadcast Production: “Futurama”
 – 20th Century Fox Television
Best Animated Video Game: “The Last of Us” – 
Naughty Dog
Best Student Film: “Wedding Cake” – 
Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg

 

INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT CATEGORIES

 

Animated Effects in an Animated Production: Jeff Budsberg, Andre Le Blanc, Louis Flores, Jason Mayer – “The Croods” – 
DreamWorks Animation
Animated Effects in a Live Action Production: Michael Balog, Ryan Hopkins, Patrick Conran, Florian Witzel – “Pacific Rim”
 – Industrial Light & Magic
Character Animation in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production: Kureha Yokoo – “Toy Story OF TERROR!” – Pixar Animation Studios Character
Character Animation in an Animated Feature Production: Jakob Jensen – “The Croods” – 
DreamWorks Animation
Character Animation in a Live Action Production: Jeff Capogreco, Jedrzej Wojtowicz, Kevin Estey, Alessandro Bonora, Gino Acevedo – “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” – Gollum
 – Weta Digital
Character Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production: Paul Rudish – “Disney Mickey Mouse”
 – Disney Television Animation
Character Design in an Animated Feature Production: Carter Goodrich, Takao Noguchi, Shane Prigmore – “The Croods”
 – DreamWorks Animation
Directing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production: Angus MacLane – “Toy Story OF TERROR!”
 – Pixar Animation Studios
Directing in an Animated Feature Production: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee – “Frozen”
 – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Music in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production: Christopher Willis – “Disney Mickey Mouse”
 – Disney Television Animation
Music in an Animated Feature Production: Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, Christophe Beck – “Frozen”
 – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Production Design in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production: Angela Sung, William Niu, Christine Bian, Emily Tetri, Frederic Stewart – “The Legend of Korra”
 – Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Production Design in an Animated Feature Production: Michael Giaimo, Lisa Keene, David Womersley – “Frozen”
 – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Storyboarding in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production: Daniel Chong – “Toy Story of TERROR!” – Pixar Animation Studios
Storyboarding in an Animated Feature Production: Dean Kelly – “Monsters University”
 – Pixar Animation Studios
Voice Acting in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production: Tom Kenny as the voice of Ice King – “Adventure Time” – 
Cartoon Network Studios
Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production: Josh Gad as the voice of Olaf – “Frozen”
 – Walt Disney Animation Studios
Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production: Lewis Morton – “Futurama”
 – 20th Century Fox Television
Writing in an Animated Feature Production: Miyazaki Hayao – “The Wind Rises” 
- The Walt Disney Studios
Editorial in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production: Illya Owens – “Disney Mickey Mouse” – 
Disney Television Animation
Editorial in an Animated Feature Production: Greg Snyder, Gregory Amundson, Steve Bloom – “Monsters University”
 – Pixar Animation Studios

 

JURIED AWARDS

 

Winsor McCay Award – Katsuhiro Otomo, Steven Spielberg & Phil Tippett
June Foray Award – Alice Davis
Certificate of Merit – “I Know That Voice” (Documentary)

[Milo]

Two reviews in for Mr. Peabody and Sherman (UK gets the film a full month before it's released in the US) and both are positive.

 

Andy Lea for Daily Star: "Witty, beautifully animated and surprisingly educational, DreamWorks' time-travelling adventure should impress kids and parents in equal measure." 4/5

 

Mark Adams for Screen International: "An action-packed animated romp that will attract - and maybe even educate - a young audience, and might even strike a chord with reluctant older adults who recall the original cartoons from the 1960s."

 

Sounds like there's more to this movie than the ads/trailers let on.

 

EDIT: Here's a third review that is decidedly more mixed than the previous two. Leslie Felperin of The Hollywood Reporter got an early screening. "Hardly a dog of a movie, but DreamWorks’ latest 3D cartoon is mawkish even for a kids film and takes its time to get going."

Edited February 3, 2014 by Space☆Gabe

[Gabz Girl]

Great to see Frozen won some more awards! It's really sad that Monsters University is nowhere to be seen. I know it wasn't a great film, but I personally enjoyed it. I think it's just because of the college setting that it was ignored. PIXAR really needs to get their act together next year if they want to beat Disney at their game once again.

 

Also, I was so certain Mr Peabody and Sherman would get mixed to average reviews like Turbo. O.O But it's good to hear it's not as bad as the trailers made it out to be!

[Mogtaki]

Monster's University probably didn't get anything because it was a prequel with an already set story.

Two reviews in for Mr. Peabody and Sherman (UK gets the film a full month before it's released in the US) and both are positive.

It's really weird that it coming out here before the US because people here generally don't know who the hell Mr. Peabody and Sherman are.

[Gabz Girl]

Monster's University probably didn't get anything because it was a prequel with an already set story.

 

Hmm, that too I suppose. If only it was a sequel...

 

And yeah it coming out in the UK where hardly anyone knows the characters (I only know them because of Rocky and Bullwinkle) is strange but, when you think about it not so surprising. The Christmas lights in Oxford Street were switched on by Ty Burrell who voices Mr Peabody and there were posters and banners everywhere advertising the movie. Because of all this advertising and promotion, we get it earlier than anywhere else. I think that's the reason why anyway.

[Applejack1973]

 

 

'Omar' and the Oscars.

 

On Friday the 13th, the movie “Omar” won Best Film at the Dubai Film Festival. There is very little I could tell you about the plot of Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu Assad’s new thriller without turning this piece into one big spoiler. Abu Assad's new masterpiece is the perfect follow-up to the 2006 Golden Globe-winning “Paradise Now,” which he also penned and directed. “Paradise Now” was surrounded by controversy, from accusations that Abu Assad was glorifying suicide bombing to utter confusion as to what country the film would represent during the awards season.

The word “jasoos” in Arabic means traitor, but the worst kind of traitor, like Judas betraying Jesus. This theme was touched upon in “Paradise Now” and is eviscerated in “Omar.”

[Indigo Rush]

So, I don't know if any of you knew about this, but...

 

 

There's going to be a live action version of Kiki's Delivery Service.

[Milo]

A bit early as the film hasn't gotten a general US release, and only a dozen reviews in so far, but 11 out of 12 reviews for Mr. Peabody and Sherman's counted on RT are positive (so it's charting at 92% at the moment).

 

Hmm. If this trend continues, The Lego Movie and Rio 2 might have some strong competition on their hands.

[Applejack1973]

 

"The sequel to 'The Purge' delivers on the promise of the original in that we’re not staying in the house. It's not a home invasion movie," Fuller told the site."This is you’re out in the streets with people purging and a group of people who get stuck in the middle of it and have to get from point A to point B."

 Universal Pictures has already set a June 20, 2014 release date for The Purge 2, starring Frank Grillo.

[Milo]

It's March 2nd, the night of the Oscars, so you know what time it is...

 

Time to announce the "winners" of this year's Razzie awards! (winners in bold (and italic) )

 

 

WORST PICTURE
After Earth
Grown Ups 2
The Lone Ranger
A Madea Christmas
Movie 43

 

WORST ACTOR
Jaden Smith: After Earth

Johnny Depp: The Lone Ranger
Ashton Kutcher: Jobs
Adam Sandler: Grown Ups 2
Sylvester Stallone: Bullet To The Head, Escape Plan, Grudge Match

 

WORST ACTRESS
Tyler Perry: A Madea Christmas

Halle Berry: Movie 43, The Call
Selena Gomez: Getaway
Lindsay Lohan: The Canyons
Naomi Watts: Diana, Movie 43

 

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kim Kardashian: Tyler Perry’s Temptation

Lady Gaga: Machete Kills
Salma Hayek: Grown Ups 2
Katherine Heigl: The Big Wedding
Lindsay Lohan: In-App-Propriate Comedy, Scary Movie 5

 

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Will Smith: After Earth

Chris Brown: Battle Of The Year
Larry the Cable Guy: A Madea Christmas
Taylor Lautner: Grown Ups 2
Nick Swardson: A Haunted House, Grown Ups 2

 

WORST DIRECTOR
The 13 People Who Directed Movie 43 (Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill, Steve Carr, Rusty Cundieff, James Duffy, Griffin Dunne, Peter Farrelly, Patrik Forsberg, Will Graham, James Gunn, Bob Odenkirk, Brett Ratner, and Jonathan van Tulleken)
Dennis Dugan: Grown Ups 2
Tyler Perry: A Madea Christmas, Temptation
M. Night Shyamalan: After Earth
Gore Verbinski: The Lone Ranger

 

WORST SCREEN COMBO
Jaden Smith & Will Smith on Planet Nepotism: After Earth

The Entire Cast of Groan-Ups, Too
The Entire Cast of Movie 43
Lindsay Lohan & Charlie Sheen: Scary Movie 5
Tyler Perry & EITHER Larry the Cable Guy OR That Worn-Out Wig & Dress: A Madea Christmas
 

WORST SCREENPLAY
Movie 43: Written by 19 “Screenwriters” (written by Steve Baker, Ricky Blitt, Will Carlough, Tobias Carlson, Jacob Fleisher, Patrik Forsberg, Will Graham, James Gunn, Claes Kjellstrom, Jack Kukoda, Bob Odenkirk, Bill O'Malley, Matthew Alec Portenoy, Greg Pritikin, Rocky Russo, Olle Sarri, Elizabeth Wright Shapiro, Jeremy Sosenko, Jonathan van Tulleken and Jonas Wittenmark)

After Earth: Screenplay by Gary Whitta and M. Night Shyamalan, Story by Will Smith
Grown Ups 2: Written by Fred Wolfe & Adam Sandler & Tim Herlihy
The Lone Ranger: Screen Story & Screenplay by Ted Elliott, Justin Haythe & Terry Rosso
A Madea Christmas: Written by Tyler Perry

 

WORST REMAKE, RIP-OFF or SEQUEL
The Lone Ranger

Grown Ups 2
Hangover III
Scary Movie 5
Smurfs 2

 

Movie 43 and After Earth tie with three Razzies each, with the latter taking home the grand prize of worst picture. Oddly enough, no "wins" for Grown-Ups 2, despite having the most nominations (nine nominations, in eight out of nine categories).

[Milo]

And this year's Oscar winners are....! (winners in bold)

 

 

Best Picture
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
Captain Phillips
Her
American Hustle
Gravity
Dallas Buyers Club
Nebraska
Philomena

 

Best Director
Alfonso Cuaron -- Gravity

Steve McQueen -- 12 Years a Slave
David O. Russell -- American Hustle
Alexander Payne -- Nebraska
Martin Scorsese -- The Wolf of Wall Street

 

Best Actor
Matthew McConaughey -- Dallas Buyers Club

Bruce Dern -- Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor -- 12 Years a Slave
Leonardo DiCaprio -- The Wolf of Wall Street
Christian Bale -- American Hustle

 

Best Actress
Cate Blanchett -- Blue Jasmine

Amy Adams -- American Hustle
Judi Dench -- Philomena
Sandra Bullock -- Gravity
Meryl Streep -- August: Osage County

 

Best Supporting Actor
Jared Leto -- Dallas Buyers Club

Barkhad Abdi -- Captain Phillips
Bradley Cooper -- American Hustle
Jonah Hill -- The Wolf of Wall Street
Michael Fassbender -- 12 Years a Slave

 

Best Supporting Actress
Lupita Nyong'o -- 12 Years a Slave

Jennifer Lawrence -- American Hustle
June Squibb -- Nebraska
Julia Roberts -- August: Osage County
Sally Hawkins -- Blue Jasmine

 

Best Original Screenplay

Her -- Spike Jonze

American Hustle -- David O. Russell and Eric Warren Singer
Blue Jasmine -- Woody Allen
Nebraska -- Bob Nelson
Dallas Buyers Club -- Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack

 

Best Adapted Screenplay
12 Years a Slave -- John Ridley
Before Midnight -- Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke and Richard Linklater
The Wolf of Wall Street -- Terence Winter
Captain Phillips -- Billy Ray
Philomena -- Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope

 

Best Animated Feature
Frozen

The Wind Rises
Despicable Me 2
Ernest & Celestine
The Croods

 

Best Foreign Feature
The Great Beauty (Italy)

The Hunt (Denmark)
The Broken Circle Breakdown (Belgium)
Omar (Palestinian territories)
The Missing Picture (Cambodia)

 

Best Documentary Feature
20 Feet From Stardom

The Act of Killing
The Square
Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars

 

Best Music (Original Song)
Frozen: "Let It Go" -- Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom: "Ordinary Love" -- U2, Paul Hewson
Her: "The Moon Song" -- Karen O, Spike Jonze
Despicable Me 2: "Happy" -- Pharrell Williams
Alone Yet Not Alone: "Alone Yet Not Alone" -- Bruce Broughton, Dennis Spiegel

 

Best Music (Original Score)
Gravity -- Steven Price
Philomena -- Alexandre Desplat
The Book Thief -- John Williams
Saving Mr. Banks -- Thomas Newman
Her -- William Butler and Owen Pallett

 

Best Cinematography
Gravity -- Emmanuel Lubezki
Inside Llewyn Davis -- Bruno Delbonnel
Nebraska -- Phedon Papamichael
Prisoners -- Roger Deakins
The Grandmaster -- Phillippe Le Sourd

 

Best Costume Design
The Great Gatsby -- Catherine Martin
12 Years a Slave -- Patricia Norris
The Grandmaster -- William Chang Suk Ping
American Hustle -- Michael Wilkinson
The Invisible Woman -- Michael O'Connor

 

Best Documentary Feature
20 Feet From Stardom

The Act of Killing
The Square

Cutie and the Boxer
Dirty Wars

 

Best Film Editing
Gravity -- Alfonso Cuaron, Mark Sanger
12 Years a Slave-- Joe Walker
Captain Phillips -- Christopher Rouse
American Hustle -- Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers and Alan Baumgarten
Dallas Buyers Club -- John Mac McMurphy and Martin Pensa

 

Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Dallas Buyers Club -- Adruitha Lee and Robin Mathews

The Lone Ranger -- Joel Harlow and Gloria Pasqua-Casny
Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa -- Stephen Prouty

 

Best Production Design
The Great Gatsby -- Catherine Martin and Beverley Dunn

12 Years a Slave -- Adam Stockhausen and Alice Baker
American Hustle -- Judy Becker and Heather Loeffler
Gravity -- Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin and Joanne Woollard
Her -- K.K. Barrett and Gene Serdena

 

Best Visual Effects
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Star Trek Into Darkness
Iron Man 3
The Lone Ranger

 

Best Sound Mixing
Gravity
Captain Phillips
Lone Survivor
Inside Llewyn Davis
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

 

Best Sound Editing
Gravity
All Is Lost
Captain Phillips
Lone Survivor
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

 

Best Short Film, Live Action
Helium

Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn't Me)
Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just Before Losing Everything)
Pitaako Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?)
The Voorman Problem

 

Best Short Film, Animated
Mr. Hublot

Feral
Get a Horse!
Possessions
Room on the Broom

 

Best Documentary Short
The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life

CaveDigger
Facing Fear
Karama Has No Walls
Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall

 

Despite 12 Years a Slave crowned Best Picture (making it the first time a film directed by an African American --Steve McQueen-- won Best Picture), Gravity otherwise dominated the Oscars this year, with seven Oscar wins out of it's ten nominations, with a complete sweep in the four technical/editing award categories, as well as a Best Director Oscar win for Alfonso Cuarón (making him the first Latino director to win the Best Director Oscar). Dallas Club Buyers (which claimed both of the male acting awards) and 12 Years a Slave tied for second place with the most Oscar wins, with each of them garnering three awards. Frozen (which garnered Walt Disney Animation Studios it's very first Best Animated Film Oscar as well as it's eight Oscar for Best (Original) Song) and The Great Gatsby tied for third place with most Oscar wins, each taking home two films.

 

And as expected, Leo didn't win another Oscar this year. Better luck next time, eh?