Movie Review: Godzilla (2014)

What is up people.  Today I have a great movie review to share with you all today, and it is for a film that I have been really looking forward to for over a year:  Godzilla!  Or Gojira.  Directed by fairly new director Gareth Edwards, this film was looking to erase the memory of that late nineties Roland Emmerich piece of trash from everyones mind.  Last year at comic con I was able to see the big Godzilla presentation that featured the first look at the monster, plus some words from the cast (mainly Bryan Cranston).  It is safe to say I almost soiled myself due to the sheer awesomeness of what I had saw, but as with all marketing; it is easier to make a movie look good then it is to make a good movie.  Inevitably I became worried when I saw all these awesome trailers, because too many times have I over hyped movies based on previews and marketing only to be disappointed when I see the actual film.  Cough cough, Dark Knight Rises.....But screw all that this movie is amazing.  Like i've seen it three times already, amazing.  As a reminder, all of my reviews will be split into two different sections.  The first section will be for people who have not yet seen the movie and would like to know if I think it is worth seeing or not.  It will be more vague and generic and will not give away any important plot points or details.  The second section will be the bulk of the review, and will be much more detailed.  I must warn you that the second section may contain information that can be taken as a spoiler of sorts; so tread lightly.

Godzilla!  This reboot comes off as a film that is most definitely strong enough to stand on its own, but also feels like a setup for a potential franchise.  And if that is indeed the case, then bravo Warner Brothers.  This movie makes no mistake about what it is, or who it is targeting.  Sorry Ladies, this movie is for MEN.  Good old meat eating, denim wearing, manly men.  And nerds.  Can't forget the nerds.  Yeah....well the story follows the path of a young navy lieutenant named Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) as he tries to get back to his family in San Francisco from Japan.  Oh by the way, what is making this homecoming so difficult is the fact that there are enormous monsters wreaking havoc throughout the western United States.  While the movie remains focused on the human narrative for most of the film with only a few scenes featuring Godzilla; the movie is able to still entertain the audience to a large extent.  I would say the first hour and a half is a bit underwhelming simply because there isn't much Godzilla.  However the last half hour or so of "Godzilla" is well worth the price of admission on its own.  It is so breathtakingly amazing that it will make the issues of the first two thirds of the movie completely forgotten.  It features the best monster action I think I have ever seen amidst a race against the clock type scenario for the heroes on the ground.  Overall, if you enjoy large scale disaster movies, epic monster fights, or military thrillers; then I bet you will enjoy this Godzilla movie.  Be sure to see it in the theaters, preferably IMAX, because there are some things your television just cannot replicate.
Verdict:  Why have you not seen it already??? (Go See It!)


WARNING:  SPOILERS ARE AHEAD  

"I HATE SPOILERS" - Godzilla

I love Godzilla.  It is a fantastically entertaining movie, and I am incredibly excited to see where this film franchise goes heading forward.  I needed this.  After seeing that piece of human waste that Sony is calling The Amazing Spider Man 2; I needed Godzilla to be wonderful.  It did not disappoint.  The first 30 minutes of the movie that actually had Bryan Cranston in it were surprisingly emotional, and the film almost spun out of control once his character died.  The scene between Ford and his dad as they are walking through their old house was heartbreaking; especially that shot of Cranston looking up and seeing the old happy birthday banner.  After Cranston kicks it, we come to the weakest part of the film. The beginning is brilliant because of Cranston, the end is brilliant because of Godzilla, and the middle suffers due to a lack of either Cranston  or Godzilla.  Still, the middle was decent enough to hold me over until we finally see Godzilla start to kick some monster ass.  The other two creatures that he fights are pretty cool looking, and together are actually a viable threat to Godzilla.  Individually he wrecked both of them, but when they teamed up to fight Godzilla he was a bit over matched.  Aaron Taylor Johnson plays the main character Ford Brody.  A lot of other critics have been bashing his performance in this film due to his lack of emotion, and I am here to offer my reasoning as to why I disagree with that.  He does exhibit a fair deal of pain when his dad dies, but at that same time he cannot afford to be too overly distraught because he has a mission to get back to his wife and son who are in danger of their own.  Plus it came off to me that up until they see each other in the movie; they were never really close anyways.  Nevertheless I was not there to see Aaron Taylor Johnson.

 I was there to see Godzilla.  One of the weaknesses and one of the strengths of this film is that we do not see Godzilla all that much.  It is a weakness because he looks so awesome and you keep wanting to see more of him, but it is also a strength because his disappearance in the first two acts only make his moments in the last part of the film so much better.  If it were two hours of just Godzilla, then we would have gotten tired of him, and not appreciated him as much as we do now.  The look of Godzilla goes back to his original design but with a CGI makeover, and the result is so cool.  He is big, buff, and bad ass.  But really what sealed the deal for me as far as this movie goes is the ending.  The fight scene between Godzilla and the other two monsters had me jumping up and down in my seat like I was a little kid.  I can think of 3 separate times where I just pounded my chest and screamed "yeah!" in the theater.  That never happens anymore!  Trust me, the last 30 minutes of this film is worth the price of admission alone.  So epic.  Hopefully we do see a bit more of Godzilla in the sequel, but other than that I can not really think of any other major issues with this film.  In other words, I think this is the best monster movie ever made.
Rating:  8/10

Thanks for reading my review of Godzilla, and be sure to check back here tomorrow for other movie reviews as well as the days biggest movie news.  My next review will most likely be of X-Men:  Days of Future Past, and I have a lot to say about that little film.  Are there other movies you'd like me to review?  Please let me know, and also you can now subscribe to my blog via email.  There is a place to enter your email on the right side of the page, and it would really help out a lot if you did so.  I appreciate all the support, and until next time; have a splendid day.

-  Big D

Movie News 5/29/14: Jurassic Park 4 Details! Quentin Tarantino announces next movie, and is Johnny Depp cast as Harry Houdini?

1.  Director Colin Trevorrow reveals major Jurassic Park 4 plot details

-  Yes you read that right.  There is another Jurassic Park movie on the way, and it is set to come out in the summer of 2015.  The title of the film is actually "Jurassic World", and they have locked up a rising star in Chris Pratt to play the lead.  Besides the title of the film; no one has really heard any information regarding the movie as far as plot details.  This was until a couple weeks ago when a rumor came out detailing a couple specifics about the films new creatures.  The report revolved around the idea that the people behind Jurassic Park would begin to cross dinosaur DNA with the DNA of other animals like snakes, and fish.  When I heard this, I thought it sounded a bit dumb and that it probably was not true.  Well today a statement from the films director Colin Trevorrow detailing the plot of the new dino flick. He said the movie opens with Jurassic Park being a well functioning and operating amusement theme park.  The resort is on the original island from the first Jurassic Park, and features a safari, dinosaur park, golf course, hotels, and restaurants.  He also went on to say that the plot would revolve around the numbness of technology and innovation amongst the people of today.  Dinosaurs had been around for a while, and had kind of become obsolete.  Trevorrow said he pictures a scene featuring a  teenager texting his girlfriend with his back to a T-Rex.  This growing tiredness towards the dinosaurs leads to corporate heads at Jurassic Park to force the parks scientists to create a cross species dinosaur that is bigger, badder, and has more teeth.  Dang.  I don't know about you but that sounds awesome.  It makes sense too because this next film is supposed to be like a reset of the franchise.  I don't want to see another Jurassic park where a small group of people unexpectedly land on an island with dinosaurs.  The idea of a new dinosaur that is much bigger, and features characteristics of other animals is fascinating.  At first the idea was stupid, but put into the context of being prompted by corporate greed actually makes it seem possible.  Sweet.  I was not really looking forward to this movie, but now I have some pretty decent anticipation for Jurassic World.  Do you?

2.  Quentin Tarantino announces his next movie:  The Hateful 8!

-  A couple months ago, it was well known that Quentin Tarantino's next movie was going to be another western film called "The Hateful 8".  I really enjoyed his last movie "Django Unchained", and when it came out that he would be doing another film like it I was overjoyed.  However in January of this year, a leaked copy of the Hateful 8 script spilled into the internet.  Tarantino released a statement almost immediately that he felt so betrayed by the leaking of his script that he was immediately shutting down the entire project.  At the time I felt that the decision to stop production was a bit rash, because really who are you punishing?  Not the douche who leaked the script, but the production team and the fans.  Well we can all breathe a bit easier now, because Tarantino just recently confirmed that the production of The Hateful 8 is back on.  A lot of the people in the movie blog community had thought this decision to be inevitable, but to hear that it is official is very pleasing.  I love Tarantino, and he is easily in my top 5 favorite directors of all time.  ALL TIME.  Thankfully cooler heads have prevailed, and we won't lose out on a great film because of one non loyal a-hole.

3.   Johnny Depp in talks to play Harry Houdini in the famous Magicians biopic

-  Is anyone else tired of Johnny Depp playing the clown/fool character?  Jack Sparrow, Mad Hatter, and Willy Wonka?  Enough.  Johnny Depp is a world class talent, and should go back to searching for roles that bring out his dramatic side.  It looks like we may be getting a little bit of that in the next year.  Depp is already working on a heavy crime drama called Black Mask set to come out this year which looks fantastic.  If this report about Depp playing Harry Houdini is true then kudos to him.  It takes a lot of courage to step out of your comfort zone, and the fact that it looks as if Depp is serious about acting again; then we could all be in for a great treat.  Harry Houdini has a fascinating story including being one of the first pioneers in the field of magic/illusionary.  Throw in this cool premise with the prospect of some awesome visual effects possibilities, and this film could bring Johnny Depp back onto the A list.  We are all critical of Depp's choices because we know that he is such a tremendous talent, and anything other than brilliance is simply unacceptable.  Go Johnny.

Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think about all this news?  Are you excited for any of these movies?  Am I too critical of Johnny Depp?  Let me know.  Stay tuned for more news and movie reviews, and until next time you can follow me on social media here.  Twitter - @dominicksumma Instagram- @domsum  Facebook- Dominick Summa
Thanks and have a splendid rest of your day!

- Big D

Movie Review: The Amazing Spider-Man 2

The first super hero movie I ever saw was the first Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire Spider Man, and I absolutely loved it.  I was a little scared of the Green Goblin for a while, and that upside down kiss between Peter Parker and Mary Jane had my 7 year old self feeling some kind of way.....  Anyways, that being said I am not a big fan of Spider Man as a character, and all the movies to come out after that first one never had me salivating for more.  The first Amazing Spider Man with Andrew Garfield was pretty good, and it was a refreshing take on the character. A sequel was inevitable, and the early casting of Jamie Fox and Paul Giamatti made it sound as if the next installment had the tools to be bigger and

better.  The trailers from start to finish were all superb, but the quantity of trailers and set pictures began to be quite alarming.  Personally I HATE when a movie of the Amazing Spider Man 2's scale feels the need to force feed a dozen different trailers along with an entire photo album of Spider Man fighting the Green Goblin weeks before the movie came out.  STOP SHOWING US EVERYTHING YOU BUMBLING IDIOTS.  Leave a little mystery for the actual movie perhaps? No? Okay.  Thanks.  If you can tell where I am going with this, then you might have an idea about how I feel about this film.  As a reminder, all of my reviews will be split into two different sections.  The first section will be for people who have not yet seen the movie and would like to know if I think it is worth seeing or not.  It will be more vague and generic and will not give away any important plot points or details.  The second section will be the bulk of the review, and will be much more detailed.  I must warn you that the second section may contain information that can be taken as a spoiler of sorts; so tread lightly.

The Amazing Spider Man 2 was looking to follow the same trajectory as comic book film sequels like The Dark Knight, and Captain America: Winter Soldier:  get better.  Unfortunately it appears to me, and the many other people who saw this film, that TASM2 not only wasn't better than its predecessor, but it was a clear step back.  The film opens with Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) fully engaged in his everyday life of being Spider Man and dating Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone).  Early on we are introduced to the first of 3 villains in this movie in the form of Russian mobster "The Rhino" (Paul Giamatti), and immediately the tone that worked so well in the last movie is immediately put in danger.  This proved to be an ongoing issue throughout the film, as the tone would constantly switch between dramatic, comical, romantic, and at times to just flat out sad.  Once the supposed main villain Electro (Jamie Fox) is introduced, the movie began to lose its structure.  We never really know what his purpose is, or why he is so damn angry.  The only thing we do know is that he is now firmly a part of the cheesy villain pantheon alongside Jim Carey's Riddler and the Governators Mr. Freeze.  That is not a compliment.  With about 20 minutes to go, I was about ready to walk out the door.  Thankfully, the ending was not that bad.  Actually it was pretty good.  If you are not familiar with the comic books, then the ending of the movie might shock you a little; and you might like it or despise it.  Nevertheless, the one bright spot of the film is the fantastic chemistry between real life couple Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone.  Their relationship makes sense, and you cannot help but root for them in this movie.  That being said, it is not enough to make up for the clear flaws, and ultimately lead me to give it a positive review.  The people over at Sony better recognize that this movie is really close to being a flat out piece of trash.  

Verdict:  I want my $12 back (Don't See it)

WARNING:  MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD 

Are you still here?  Well if you are, I am obligated to warn you again that this portion of the review contains the biggest spoiler of any movie this summer; and knowing it will tremendously alter how you experience this movie.  Okay, you've been warned.  Good god.  The Amazing Spider Man 2 sucks.  SUCKS.  It really pains me to say that too, because I was so looking forward to this movie; and the first installment was a very pleasant surprise.  But just because you make one great movie, does not give you the right to assume we will just mindlessly praise the sequel if it is a sub par film.  I mean come on, why would you take everything that was great about the first movie, and then just do the opposite of it in the sequel.  It's like saying " You know my car works really well when I put gasoline in it, but maybe it will work even BETTER if I replace the gasoline with almond milk!"  Really?  The first Amazing Spider Man had a pretty consistent serious tone, but before it got too dramatic the director sprinkled in a few light hearted moments to keep the audience fresh.  In TASM2 it was oppositely overly comical with little bits of time where it actually took itself seriously.  

I knew I was in trouble as soon I heard the Rhino speak.  He literally acted and sounded like he should be in a saturday morning cartoon.  It screamed Jar-Jar Binks.  And Jar-Jar Binks syndrome is the movie equivalent of an STD.  Do you really want to advertise that you have a "Jar-Jar Binks"?  Probably not. Then you go and get a world class talent in Jamie fox, and turn him into this blue, one-liner dropping fool.  Some of the things he was saying had my jaw dropping, and not in the good way.  He said something like " Its my birthday....time to blow out my candles".  When that line was uttered, I looked around the theater and was like " did he really just say that"?  By the way where did he get that cool spandex suit that just happened to have a bunch of lightning bolts all over it?  If it were not for the Peter Parker and Gwen Stacy relationship; this might have been one of the worst movies of all time, and surely one of the biggest disappointments.  Their chemistry is fantastic, and that end scene where Peter holds her lifeless body in his hands knowing that he directly caused her death was very touching.  I hope you have seen the movie because yes, Gwen Stacy dies at the end of this film.  I warned you.  The Green Goblin did look pretty cool I must admit even though he was in the movie for a total of five seconds.  Upon watching this film for the second time I could not help but feel that this movie was just lazily put together.  The story was all over the place, and had no real direction.  This movie was made to simply introduce the Green Goblin and kill Gwen Stacy.  Here lies my biggest problem with this movie.  Sony clearly has plans to make more spider man movies.  What was the best part of this piece of crap movie?  Peter Parker and GWEN STACY.  Um, yeah, can't  bet on that being back for the sequel; so what do we have to look forward to?  More Rhino?  No thanks.  This franchise has killed off its most likable character at the worst time possible.  I have a deep fear for this franchise, as the fans have let there voice be heard as TASM2 is underperforming at the box office.  Not enough to where the sequels are being scrapped, but enough to where the people at Sony have to make changes.  I will see the next Spider Man movie because everyone is allowed one dud here and there.  However if we see more of the same from the next installment; I am done with this series.  So here is hoping that they fix this monstrosity that they have in theaters right now, and go back to the things that have been proven to work.

Rating:  4/10

Thanks for reading my review of The Amazing Spider Man 2!  What did you think of the film?  Was I too harsh?  If there are other movies out there that you would like me to review, new or old, do not hesitate to ask.  I hope you enjoyed this review, and be on the lookout for other reviews.  Cough, Godzilla, cough cough.  

-  Big D

Movie News 5/27/2014: Ant-Man loses director? X-Men DOFP box office, and New Harry Potter Movies?

Happy Tuesday movie fans, today I am starting what will hopefully be a daily thing; and that is making a post outlining some of the days major movie news while simultaneously analyzing said news.  Many sites do this, and it is a great way to stay informed while helping pass the information to people who would otherwise have not been able to attain it.  I will not be "breaking" news, but rather commenting on the stories broke by more reputable sites like AMC movie news.  Today I have three pieces of news to dive into, so lets get to it.

1.  Ant Man (2015) director Edgar Wright leaves the project due to "creative differences"

-  If you did not know already, there is an Ant Man movie in development set to come out in July 2015 fresh off the heels of Avengers 2.  Paul Rudd is playing the title character, and features a cast that also includes Patrick Wilson and Oscar winner Michael Douglas.  The most interesting aspect about this film was who they got to direct, and that man was Edgar Wright.  You may be familiar with his films "Shaun of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz".  Wright is a very different director when compared to the other directors who have helmed Marvel properties, most notably his style which revolves heavily around comedy and humor; which made the Paul Rudd casting make a lot of sense.  This pairing gave me high hopes for a film about a character who I knew virtually nothing about.  You can then understand my disappointment when it was announced that Wright is stepping down as director and leaving the film altogether.  What I have heard is that Marvel and Wright had differing views as to where the story was heading, and eventually caused Marvel to request a re-write of the script from one of their in house screen writers.  The new script was presented to Wright who did not approve, and it sounds as if Marvel could either keep Wright or keep their new script.  Read the title of the article and you know which route Marvel took.  It is a sad piece of news, but if it means that the end result is a really awesome Ant Man movie, then I think most people will get over it.  And do not worry about Edgar Wright, he is as talented as they come and will have no trouble finding other work.

2.  X-Men: Days of Future Past Wins the Box Office with $111 million Friday-Mon Opening Weekend

-  First off, if you have not seen X-Men: Days of Future Past; I honestly do not know what is wrong with you.  Do you enjoy awesome things?  If you do, then go see it.  As for these opening weekend numbers I am not sure whether or not they are encouraging or disappointing.  On the one hand, DOFP is doing much much better than X men first class, The Wolverine, and X men origins:  Wolverine, and that is great.  On the other hand, that's not really saying much.  This film was tracking a couple weeks ago to open at around $125 million for the memorial day weekend, and judging by the crowd on opening night; that figure seemed very reachable.  I don't know what happened.  It didn't go under expectations for the same reason that The Amazing SpiderMan 2 did.  Spider man underachieved because it sucked, X Men had to have lost that extra 15 or so million because the last couple X men films, with the exception of First Class, were sub par films.  Don't get it twisted, $111 million dollars domestically in 4 days is pretty damn good, and this movie will make the studio buckets of cash; but I just can't help but feel a little disappointed.  Let's not forget the important thing here, the movie was fantastic, and if you keep making X Men movies of this quality on a consistent basis then the box office will inevitably rise.  Look out for X-Men: Apocalypse, which is the next film in the series set to come out in 2016, as this film could cross the billion dollar mark easily if it is of equal or greater quality.  Nevertheless, the latest X Men film has me as excited as ever for the next installment in the saga, and that is all I can really ask for.

3.  Alfonso Cuaron Denies Director Chair for New Harry Potter Spin-Offs

- JK Rowling apparently has missed the billions of dollars being dumped into her lap since the last Harry Potter movie came out, because we have more movies on the way that take place in that same magical world.  The new movies will be based off Rowling's book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.  Supposedly the events of the story take place about 70 years before the birth of Harry Potter or something like that.  All Warner Brothers sees is dollar signs, and rightfully so.  If they can repeat the success of Harry Potter, then they will be doing cart wheels and grabbing each others wands.  I had no interest in the project until it was reported last week that Oscar winning director Alfonso Cuaron was the front runner to direct the first film.  Cuaron, famous for making last years "Gravity", also was the director of "The Prisoner of Azkaban".  Throw in his knowledge of this world with his world class directing skills, and this movie could turn out to be something special.  However it was reported today that Cuaron has declined the job due to his desire to stray away from visual effects based movies.  He just wrapped a five year production on a movie that was all visual in Gravity; so it is understandable that he would want to stay away from the green screen for a while.  He has earned that right to pick and choose his jobs, but it will be interesting to see where Fantastic Beasts looks next to helm this big budget spectacle.

Wow thanks for reading, and I hope you all enjoyed this post.  Any suggestions on how to make this better or more interesting?  Just let me know.  I updated the look of the page a little bit, and I hope everyone likes it as much as I do.  Anyways, stay tuned for a couple of movie reviews to come out shortly, and in the meantime you can find me on social media @dominicksumma (twitter) and @domsum on Instagram.  Until next time, have a splendid day.

-  Big D

Most Anticipated Movies for the rest of 2014

What up and whats happening movie peeps, I hope you're ready to talk some movies today because I have a nice little post for you all today.  While many people are already looking towards the 2015 movie schedule, and for good reason (Avengers 2, Jurassic Park 4, Bond 24), the 2014 slate is nothing to scoff at.  We have a healthy amount of summer blockbusters to go along with some nice little indie film to keep us humble.  We have the beginning of some new franchises (Godzilla), the sequels (Amazing Spiderman 2), and a few conclusions (Hobbit 3).  Enough banter, lets get into my 10 most anticipated movies that have yet to come out yet. By the way, reviews for Godzilla, X-Men DOFP, and Spider Man 2 will be up in the next week or so.  Until then, buckle up nerds.

10.  Transformers:  Age of Extinction

-  Mark Whalberg, Optimus Prime

June 27, 2014

                                              

-  After the first 3 Transformers movies made an average of $900 million at the box office, it is no surprise that a fourth installment is nearly upon us.  A couple of things excite me about this new Transformers movie.  The first 3 were about Shia labeouf and his hot girlfriend who could not act to save her life.  This new one is focused on Mark Whalberg and his family.......along with gigantic extraterrestrial fighting robots.  I think Marky Mark is the superior talent, and although I did like 2 hours of Megan Fox and her hotness; by the third film I was bored and asking for a new take on the story, and it looks like that is what we are going to get.

9.  Hunger Games:  Mockingjay Part 1

-  Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson

November 21, 2014    

-  Any of you who have read this blog before know that I have a thing for Jennifer Lawrence.  Anything with her you can sign me up to be there opening night.  Even if Katniss was played by a different actress, I still believe that I would be a fan of the Hunger Games franchise.  Put the two together and we get, in theory, a great finished product.  Not a big fan of Josh Hutcherson, or Liam Hemsworth as actors, but the presence of Lawrence is enough for me to be excited about this film.  Should make a lot of money at the box office, and hopefully it sets us up for an epic final chapter to come out in 2015.

8.  Chef

-  Jon Favreau, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson

May 9, 2014

-  I bet most of you have not heard much about this upcoming movie directed by and starring the extremely talented Jon Favreau.  Don't recognize that name?  You know some of his work for sure.  He directed the cult comedy classic "Elf", and the first 2 Iron Man movies starring Robert Downey Jr.  He has talent.  The plot of this film revolves around Favreau playing a recently let go 5 star chef who moves to Miami to start a food truck in hopes of finding the passion he once had for his food and his family.  The cast alone has me sold, and I am hoping that this film does not let me down.  Go check it out when its released; I think you'll be happy you did.

7.  The Fault in our Stars

- Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort

June 6, 2014

-  If you have not heard about this growing phenomenon, then where have you been.  Based off the very popular book of the same name, this romantic heartbreaker looks very touching to say the least.  It gives off the feel of something like a Silver Linings Playbook, and if it is half as good as SLP; then we could have something special.  It is tough to predict the box office for this film, I don't know whether it will make 10 million or 50 million opening weekend.  Fans of the book better be flocking to go see this, otherwise it could be in trouble.  This will also be a great indication of Shailene Woodley's ability as a dramatic actress, and I for one am rooting for her.

6.  Sex Tape

- Jason Segel, Cameron Diaz

July 25, 2014

-  One of my favorite comedies of all time is forgetting Sarah Marshall, and a big reason for that is that Jason Segel and his genius.  Everything he is in ends up being gold, and Cameron Diaz has shown at times that she has some comedic chops, or at least has been in some pretty funny movies.  Theres something about Mary? Anyone?  Anyways the premise sounds hilarious, and a bit disturbingly realistic actually.  This looks as if it will be nothing more than a fun night at the movies spent laughing at some really raunchy humor, and sometimes that is exactly what movie fans are craving.  I expect big success for this film if it ends up being as funny as advertised.

5.  22 Jump Street

-  Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum

June 13, 2014

-  Now that the big May blockbusters are past us, this list has more room for the upcoming comedies.  One of the greatest surprises I have ever witnessed was 21 Jump Street.  I had no expectations, and was blown away with how awesome it was.  A lot of other people felt the same as the first installment was wildly successful.  If the trailers are any indication of what is to come, then 22 Jump Street should be bigger, funnier, and overall better.  However sequels to comedies have not been historically awesome.  Cough cough Grown Ups 2.  Excuse me.  I am really pulling for this movie to be awesome, and I think it will be ultimately.

4.  Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

-  Andy Serkis, Gary Oldman, Jason Clarke

July 11, 2014

-  Apes riding horses.  Need anything else?  I sure as hell do not; they had my $12 dollars six months ago when they released the first trailer.  The first Apes movie in this rebooted series was pretty damn good, and this next installment does not have to focus on establishing the apes as a threat because that was done in the last movie.  Now we just get two hours of Ape awesomeness.  Andy Serkis is brilliant as Ceasar, and the movie actually says a lot about where our society is going.....But forget all that stuff, and just go see this movie because you appreciate epic things.

3.  The Hobbit:  The Battle of the Five Armies

-  Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen

December 17, 2014

-  The first two Hobbit movies have been exceptionally well, and The desolation of Smaug was especially great.  That being said, I have come to expect anything set in Middle Earth to be pure gold.  The Lord of the Rings trilogy will always be better than the Hobbit trilogy no matter how great this next installment is.  However that is nothing to hold your head about, because LOTR is widely regarded as the best trilogy of films ever made.  Nothing has come out about this film since it is still a ways away, but I expect a trailer coming out within the next two or three months.  Peter Jackson will do what Peter Jackson does, and that is make a 6 hour movie that will make your eyes bleed; then strip it down to a two and half hour masterpiece.

2.  Guardians of the Galaxy

-  Chris Pratt, Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana

August 1, 2014

-  Hooked on a feeling.  Im high on believing.  That you're in love with meeeeeeeee.  If you have seen the trailer for this movie then you know what I am talking about.  If not......wow I am sorry, and I hope you continue to read my future blogs.  Anyways this movie is the latest one in the ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Yes, these people exist in the same movie verse as Iron Man and Captain America.  Will they ever meet or be in an Avengers movie?  I would have to think yes.  Until then, they get their own movie, and it is coming out in early august.  If this was not a Marvel studios film, I would be hesitant.  However since it is being watched over by those brilliant brilliant people, I am uber excited.  Chris Pratt is slowly turning into a leading man, and the supporting cast includes Bradley Cooper playing the voice of a machine gun toting raccoon for gods sake.  I hope people go see this, because the tone looks fantastic, and I will always have faith in a Marvel studios film because they have earned that trust over these last few years.

1.  Interstellar

-  Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway

November 7, 2014

-  This movie I believe will be the one to finally earn Christopher Nolan a best director Academy Award, and I am basing that only off one trailer and the plot synopsis.  Christopher Nolan I believe is one of the greatest directors ever, and he has not even hit his prime.  He made two of my favorite films of all time in Inception, and of course The Dark Knight.  The plot revolves around interstellar space travel through a newly discovered worm hole.  The tagline is something like "Man Kind was born on Earth, but it was never meant to die here".  Goodness Gracious how epic is that?  This just screams Inception sequel, and if it is anywhere near that quality, then we are all in for a great treat.  Inception was such a mind screw, but it worked due to Nolan's attention to detail.  He made it so that you actually had to pay attention in the theater and think a bit (what a concept!).  However if you paid the film the respect it deserved, then you were rewarded with a masterpiece.  Interstellar looks like one hell of a film, and until Nolan puts out a stinker, he will continue to have my money and my support; and you should all feel the same.



   Wow we have already had a ton of great films come out this year, but we are far from done!  Did I forget any movies that maybe you are really looking forward to? Stay tuned for some movie news, and movie reviews as we are back to full functionality!  Thanks again for all the support through this rocky time, but do not worry as I am most definitely still seeing movies, and I hope you are too.  I hope you enjoyed this post, and until next time; have a splendid day.

-  Big D