The marketing for this film has been spot-on. Considering that there’s only been one trailer thus far, Logan has drawn a significant following based heavily upon photos released.
What do you expect to see in tommorow’s trailer? Will we see more emphasis put on the story and characters like the first, or will the action take over be the main draw? And more imporantly, will we get another kickass Johnny Cash song stuck in our heads for weeks? All this will be revealed tomorrow, January 19.
Official synopsis: “In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hide out on the Mexican border. But Logan’s attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are up-ended when a young mutant arrives, being pursued by dark forces.” Logan stars Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/ Logan, Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier, Dafnee Keen as Laura Kinney/X-23, Boyd Holbrook as Donald Pierce, Doris Morgado as Maria, Richard E. Grant as Dr. Zander Rice, Stephen Merchant as Caliban, Elizabeth Rodriguez as Gabriela, and others. Click here for the full cast list. The film hits theaters on March 3.
AMC has released a new trailer for season two of its science fiction drama Humans.
The series features humanoid robots known as “synths,” which have been integrated into society. It explores the impact these inventions have on society, especially when they begin an “awakening.”
The eight-episode season, which debuted last fall in the UK, picks up where season one left off.
Carrie-Ann Moss joins the cast for the new season as Dr. Athena Morrow, an AI expert. Other new additions include Sam Palladio (Nashville), Marshall Allman (True Blood), Sonya Cassidy (Olympus), Bella Dayne (The Man in the High Castle) and Letitia Wright (Black Panther).
Writers Sam Vincent and Jonathan Brackley adapted Humans from the award-winning Swedish sci-fi drama Real Humans. Following its UK debut in 2015, Humans quickly became one of Channel 4’s highest-rated dramas.
Season two of Humans premieres February 13 at 10 p.m. on AMC.
About Humans Season 2:
The second season picks up several months after the events of Season 1 with Niska still at large and in possession of the consciousness code. Her Synth family, Mia, Leo and Max, unaware of her location, are each trying to find their place in the world, while Joe and Laura attempt to mend their marriage.
Humans stars Gemma Chan, Emily Berrington, Colin Morgan, Ivanno Jeremiah, Katherine Parkinson and Tom Goodman-Hill.
The series is a partnership between AMC, the UK’s Channel 4 and Kudos.
Watch the new trailer titled The Next Big Leap below.
Last week I highlighted the classic action movies that released in 1987. It was a busy year for horror too. The 80s were a grand time for all things gory, and in 1987, supplies of fake blood were in high demand. For most of the decade, Slashers like Michael Myers and Jason Vorhees ruled, but in 1987, Freddy was the only slasher to make an appearance. The year is marked by a diverse range of styles from a western vampire story to slapstick gore, a new 80s horror icon, and more. And not only did horror these films scare their way across cinema screens, they served as a stepping point for several actors and a few future Oscar-winning directors.
Lost Boys
“Don’t kill me, Mike. I’m basically a good kid.”
Before vampires shimmered in sunlight and were relegated to having crushes on high school girls there was Lost Boys. Joel Schumacher, the man who put nipples on Batman, is very hit or miss. But when you’ve got Keifer Sutherland as an 80s punk inspired bloodthirsty vampire it’s hard to miss. Lost Boys drips in 80s attitude while also being silly at times through characters played by Corey Feldman and Corey Haim.
Hellraiser
“Your suffering will be legendary, even in hell.”
Artist, writer and director Clive Barker made his directorial debut with Hellraiser which introduced one of horror’s most iconic villains — Pinhead. Hellraiser is gory, HP Lovecraft-inspired horror that’s a little rough today but still unleashes some brutal effects and mind-bending concepts about alternate dimensions and realities.
Near Dark
“It ain’t what’s goin’ on, son. It’s what’s comin’ off. Your face. Clean off.”
Director Kathryn Bigelow is critically-acclaimed today, but her rise to Hollywood fame started in earnest with the gritty horror flick Near Dark. A vampire film unlike few others, Near Dark, is dirty and bloody visual poetry that’s part western, part biker movie. Bill Paxton as a psycho, bloodthirsty vamp steals each and every scene. And hey, there’s a cameo by James Cameron!
Evil Dead 2
“Groovy.”
After the massive cult success of Evil Dead, Director Sam Raimi was pressed to make a sequel. The result is Evil Dead 2 which is a sequel or a remake, depending on how you want to look at it. The same slapstick craziness of the first movie is just as prominent here, and it’s a virtuoso of gore. Some are purests, but in almost every way, Evil Dead 2 is a better version of the original film.
A Nightmare On Elm Street 3
“You’re mine now, piggy.”
The most iconic horror villain of the 80s, and arguably of all time, Freddy Kreuger’s third appearance took the series to new places. Freddy haunts the dreams of teens, but now those teens learn how to fight back with the help of Nancy, the protagonist of the first A Nightmare On Elm Street. Series creator Wes Craven returned as a writer after skipping involvement with the previous installment.
Prince of Darkness
“I’ve got a message for you, and you’re not going to like it. Pray for death.”
The second in John Carpenter’s “Apocalypse Trilogy,” Prince of Darkness is also the weakest. Where The Thing is isolated and paranoid, and Mouth of Madness is a surrealistic nightmare, Prince of Darkness feels trapped between Carpenter’s more subtle and slow style and Carpenter trying to appeal a little more to the norms of horror at the time.
The Gate
“Demons aren’t going to ring the doorbell!”
Actor Stephen Dorff made his film debut in 1987 with The Gate, a Canadian horror film about a demonic apocalypse starting in suburbia. Two white kids dig a hole in the backyard that turns out to be a gateway to a demon realm. Wackiness ensues. It’s an uneven film, but worth watching today for the fun and creative use of old-school film techniques to achieve some clever scenes.
The sequel to 1982s horror anthology Creepshow, the film takes its inspiration from Stephen King stories just like the first, but loses George Romero as director. Creepshow 2 isn’t highly regarded like the original, but the quirky short horror stories here have aged a little better, particularly “The Raft” and “The Hitchhiker.”
The Monster Squad
“Scary German guy is bitchin’!”
After the success of The Goonies, studios worked to recapture that magic. The result was a series of “kid adventures” including this little 1987 oddball called The Monster Squad. A group of nerdy friends, all into horror comics, call themselves “The Monster Squad.” The squad gets wrapped up in a plot by the resurrected classic Universal monsters. The kids, along with the help of Frankenstein, must defeat Dracula who has his own squad that includes The Mummy, Creature From The Black Lagoon, and The Wolf Man.
The Hidden
“A flame-thrower man, can you believe it?”
Sometimes I think the title of this film refers to the film itself. The Hidden is an 80s sci-fi-action-horror movie which gets little attention. It’s a gem, though, revolving around an alien serial killer with the ability to swap bodies and the law enforcers on E.T.’s trail. The Hidden is a weird buddy cop movie with a sci-fi twist, a lot of action, and a dash of horror.
Bad Taste
“Suck my spinning steel, sh*thead!”
In 1987, Peter Jackson made his feature film directorial debut with the low-budget Bad Taste. A strange, quirky horror film in which Jackson and his friends do everything. Jackson’s credits include writer, director, producer, co-editor, makeup artist, and co-star. All the signature elements of Jackson’s style are in their infantile stages here, and it’s so fun to watch.
I know I missed a few because I had to leave some stuff off of the list or I’d be writing forever. What’s your favorite horror film from 1987?
Jack Nicholson has officially retired from acting after 60 years in the business. Sure, one reaction might be “yeah didn’t he kind of already retire?” Well, now it’s official, and we won’t be seeing anything else from one of Hollywood’s greatest, most unconventional leading men. Nicholson’s career has had some fascinating ups and downs, but no matter how his films may have failed, he always had another hit just around the corner. One of his underrated talents as an actor was his ability to reinvent himself for his audience.
Here are the 10 greatest Jack Nicholson roles, from this humble writer (with a shoutout to Wolf, a ridiculous movie that will always hold a special place in my heart for it’s campy brilliance):
If Easy Rider was Jack Nicholson’s coming out party, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, his first of three Oscar-winning roles, was an announcement that Jack was going to be here for a while. And causing a ruckus in Hollywood. His McMurphy is the audience’s anti-establishment inroad to a story about an oppressive, evil nurse keeping the nuts in the nuthouse under her thumb. His performance is all fire and energy and electricity from start to finish, all the way to the tragic final moments when a lobotomy lets us know the system always wins in the end.
Billy and Tommy are left powerless and trapped in a strange new world. Jason and the rest of the team must do all they can to track down their missing friends and bring Zordon back.
Writing
One of the best aspects of this series is how it tries to ground the Power Rangers in a mature story, which couldn’t have been done in the original show. In this issue, Billy and Tommy’s parents, realizing their children didn’t come home last night decide to call the police and file missing person reports. This is just in the first two pages and already the reader is gripped by what is happening, because the pair won’t simply be able to get out of this with a “got caught up in a school project” excuse. Actions have consequences and it makes reading every issue so very entertaining.
From there, the book focuses on the hellscape world Tommy and Billy are now stuck in. Without giving away too much spoilers, evil has won and the world is now under Rita’s control. Also, the mysterious villain of the previous issue is named. He is called Lord Drakkon and the Rangers of this world did everything they could to stop his rise to power. It’s starting to look like this storyline will help serve to introduce a different way for the series to introduce the Thunderzords. The issue offers little action but the atmosphere is so gripping it definitely makes makes up for it.
Artwork
The art team of Hendry Prasetya and Matt Herms really go all out in this issue. They put a lot of gritty and dark but realistic look into this new world. There a lot of great panels which really help to captivate the reader, especially when the pair find the Command Center. It will leave many fans filled with shock and awe.
Conclusion
Even with little action, this issue is a page turner. Watching Tommy and Billy explore a chaos filled world in search of answers was incredible. This series continues to deliver the best possible stories with these characters. Everyone needs to stop what they are doing and read this issue.
‘Split’ Delivers On Many Levels But The Shining Star Is James McAvoy
I sat in a stunned as the credits began to roll for ‘Split‘. The latest film from writer/director M. Night Shyamalan throws so much at you, hoping you can keep up.
Keeping up was fairly easy, even when James McAvoy was slipping between different personalities; it’s far more focused than many of Shyamalan’s other films. The narrative wasn’t straight-forward and it juggled a few plots but it never seemed overwhelmed by all the happenings.
The Good:
I can’t start off the praise without first bringing up the brilliant performance of James McAvoy as Kevin, the man with 23 different personalities living inside him. His acting in this film shows such craftsmanship and will go down as one of his greatest, most dedicated performances. Everything McAvoy does seems calculated and purposeful, especially when becoming some of Kevin’s most complex personalities.
My favorite personality of Kevin has to be Hedwig, the 9-year-old boy. Something about how James McAvoy brings Hedwig to life is both hilarious and deeply terrifying. He’s honest with this portrayal of this child that you can’t help but fall in love. On the other hand, the Patricia personality is wonderfully scary and off-putting. Seeing these two back-to-back shows the range of James McAvoy’s talents in this movie.
From the start though, the cinematography from Mike Gioulakis (‘It Follows‘) is pitch perfect. So many scenes stand out for their ability to instantly create a feeling. Certain shots are purposefully jarring as a means to disorient, and moments in which the framing alone tells a complete story. Like the performance from McAvoy, Mike Gioulakis doesn’t spend time on any wasted moments.
A lot of talk is being made about how the film handles Dissociative Identity Disorder. Some are saying it demonizes mental illness but, without giving too much away, the film does exactly the opposite. In between the madness lies a wonderful message of “being broken” making you special or even super-human. It’s what connects the main character Kevin with the female hostages, and his doctor. This isn’t touched on enough but some focus is put on the stigma surrounding this issue and how it affects the people involved.
The Bad:
Honestly, there just wasn’t enough tension. The situations in ‘Split‘ were innately tense but it never went that extra mile. Just when things would get to an unnerving level, it would either cut away to another scene or lead to nowhere. The subtly was there but when things needed to be more tense, the subtleness remained.
The focus of the story shifts too frequently. Either the scenes with Betty Buckley as Dr. Karen Fletcher needed more fleshing out, or they needed to be woven into the story more. Buckley played against McAvoy well and her character delivered some much needed exposition, but she felt disconnected. Same goes for Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) and her back story. The scenes were entertaining but never really served a purpose.
Both of these problems could be fixed if M. Night edited his own work. Might as well when he puts so much work into writing and directing these meticulous pieces.
Final Thoughts:
With ‘Split‘, I found my first favorite film of 2017. Expectations before going into this were fairly high so seeing M. Night Shyamalan deliver such a fun piece was refreshing. Following this and ‘The Visit‘ from 2015, it looks like Shyamalan is again getting some much deserved praise for his unique visions. Hope he can keep this up.
Synopsis: After three girls are kidnapped by a man with 24 distinct personalities they must find some of the different personalities that can help them while running away and staying alive from the others.
Genre: Horror Country: USA Directed By: M. Night Shyamalan Starring: James McAvoy, Anya-Taylor Joy, Betty Buckley
The Founder, believe it or not, won’t have you craving a Big Mac, fries, and a shake once the credits roll. In fact, you may find yourself thinking about swearing the stuff off.
Not because the film focuses on the food — this isn’t Super Size Me. In fact, it isn’t at all a celebration of McDonald’s or anything the franchise currently provides.
Rather, it’s a celebration of the virtue without which the current McDonald’s fast-food empire would not have been possible: persistence.
Michael Keaton’s portrayal of McDonald’s master franchiser Ray Kroc is the very embodiment of persistence. His eventual triumph, the film posits, stands as a testament to the importance of persistence, almost to the exclusion of all other virtues.
Nothing wrong with that, right? Well …
What’s it about?
In 1954, Ray Kroc (Keaton) was a struggling traveling salesman trying to sell milkshake mixers to Illinois-area drive-ins. Pounding pavement day after day for an uninspiring product was taking its toll, both on Kroc and his marriage. He needed a win, badly.
Then something truly unexpected occurs. He gets an unbelievable order from a restaurant all the way in San Bernadino, California, one so outrageous that he drives all the way out there to confirm it.
What he discovers there dazzles him. After experiencing time and again the slow and often-inept service of drive-ins, he finds a restaurant operation built on assembly line speed and efficiency.
The restaurant is McDonald’s, conceived, owned, and operated by the McDonald brothers, Mac (John Carroll Lynch) and Dick (Nick Offerman). As Kroc learns Mac and Dick’s story, he sees enormous potential, so much so that he can’t get it out of his mind.
Mac and Dick initially resist Kroc’s desire to do business and expand the McDonald’s brand. Every idea Kroc pitches they’d already tried, after all, with unsatisfactory results.
But eventually, Kroc’s persistence wins them over. They draw up a contract they feel will protect their control over their name and their product, and for a while, it works.
But there’s a saying about contracts, one that Kroc eventually quotes to an enraged Dick McDonald over the phone at a pivotal moment.
“Contracts are like hearts,” Kroc says. “They’re made to be broken.”
An empire is born.
Persistence of vision
Audiences watching The Founder may be somewhat surprised at just how little the script and director John Lee Hancock (Saving Mr. Banks) “sugarcoat” Kroc’s story.
Was he a genius? Not particularly. Was he a good guy or a great husband? Hardly.
Instead, the script by Robert Siegel (The Wrestler) depicts Kroc as driven and single-minded to the point of obsession. He was out to out-work and out-hustle everyone else, especially when no one else saw the potential he could so easily see.
That kind of dogged determination can, of course, yield tremendous rewards. It’s at the cornerstone of the American “can-do” work ethic.
But it can also render values such as loyalty, humility, and integrity into inconveniences. It can destroy lives and leave relationships in the dust.
The Founder depicts Kroc as committing all of the above. Does that make him a villain? Depends on your point of view.
The fact that the film doesn’t completely vilify Kroc is a testament to the subtlety of Siegel’s script and Hancock’s own vision for the story. There’s no morality bludgeon here, and the film is better for that.
Keaton sneaks up on you
Naturally, The Founder either lives or dies by how much audiences buy into Keaton as Kroc. Fair to say the actor gives his all and the effort should stand among his very best.
What’s remarkable about this performance, however, is that it sneaks up on you. Yes, Keaton adopts certain speech affectations and mannerisms to “become” Kroc, and those affectations aren’t subtle.
But in the early going, Keaton doesn’t completely disappear into the role. His innate likability still shines through, and that serves the film well early on. Even if you know where the story’s going, you may find yourself still rooting for Kroc, at least at the start.
It’s only later in the film, when the nastier side of Kroc’s ambition and persistence manifest, that Keaton’s transformation is complete. The actor disappears. What’s left is Ray Kroc, for better or worse.
Worth seeing?
Count The Founder among 2017’s growing list of must-see films based on real-life stories. Keaton’s performance is stellar, and he makes the story here even more fascinating.
Can it be viewed as inspirational? Sure, but do note that this is also without question a “Nice Guys Finish Last” story. It’s not all just grit, determination, and persistence that yield the super-sized rewards here.
It’s the same trait made infamous by Keyser Söze more than 20 years ago in The Usual Suspects. It’s the ruthless will to do what the other guy won’t.
Chew on that thought for a minute, then ask yourself if you want fries with that.
The Founder
Starring Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Linda Cardellini, Patrick Wilson, B.J. Novak, and Laura Dern. Directed by John Lee Hancock.
Running Time: 115 minutes
Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.
Beer to go is turning into a necessity for craft beer lovers. Bottles and cans are great, but when you can take it right off the draft to your fridge, the choice is a simple one. Growlers have grown in popularity just as much as craft beer has. Being able to get a jug of take home beer is a total win.
A growler is a jug type device made for the easy transportation of draft beer. These days, most all breweries have the jugs in place to buy while you’re there. They come branded so people know where your loyalties lie.
There are a couple different types of Growlers:
Glass: These are by far the most popular, and the cheapest of the growler option. They come in clear and amber. It has been said that the clear ones will make the beer go bad if exposed to sunlight, so if you are going that route, have it just be for novelty. Being able to see the beer inside is helpful, and you can know how much you have left.They are glass, so they do break. Just treat them like children, and you will have them for years. 64 oz
Stainless Steel: Easy to carry around, keeps beer cold longer, very sleek looking, and basically indestructible. They are great for trips as they are insulated. Lasts longer than the glass. The only downside is you can’t see how much beer you have left, , and they are a bit more difficult to fill. 64oz
Ceramic: These are the unicorns of growlers. Ceramics are hard to fi but are so sought after by the beer lover. The bottles are often more expensive than the other types, and they are heavier, making them more difficult to carry around. They also chip and break just as glass ones do, but a keepsake any beer drinker would want. 64oz
Grunts: If you want a smaller amount of beer to go, you can get a grunt. It holds 32oz of beer instead of the 64oz. They come in the glass style with amber coloring. These are popping up are and more in breweries, for another size option.
Go get yourself a growler, and fill it! Great for parties, football games, and drinking by yourself!
In the last few years, predicting Best Director beyond a few obvious choices has become even tougher since the Best Picture pool has moved to a floating number. There could be ten BP nominees, and there will always only be five directors. It doesn’t make much sense, really.
Every year, there are shoe ins, and La La Land director Damien Chazelle is the biggest lock this season. Right behind him is Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester by The Sea. His directing may not be as flashy as Chazelle, but the ability to give his tragic film such humor and texture of reality should be recognized.
Barry Jenkins will get recognized for his tremendous work on Moonlight, and he is my choice to take home the Oscar. Three sure things, leaving two slots for so many hopefuls. My fingers are crossed for Denis Villeneuve. Arrival is my personal favorite of 2016, a beautiful and timely science fiction masterpiece, so I hope it still has enough momentum to grab a handful of nods.
For the fifth slot, Garth Davis and his film Lion have been picking up tremendous steam these last few weeks. He could sneak in as the fifth nominee. On the other side of things, Jeff Nichols’ Loving has been too quiet, so his chances at a nomination are slim. That being said, Fences has been consistently on hearts and minds, and Denzel Washington breathing vibrant cinematic life into a terrific stage play will get the actor his first directing nomination.
Have you ever been an actor or musician living in Los Angeles?
There is much more nuance to that question but at its heart, that’s the big, bold difference between 2016’s notable musical offerings, Sing Street and La La Land. Both are able to exhibit the magic nature of music and art and sacrifice but only one is able to find the universal human connection that makes it all worth while.
FULL SPOILERS FOR BOTH FILMS AHEAD!
In Damien Chazelle’s follow-up to Whiplash, La La Land strikes a perfect balance between classic hollywood musical and millennial love story. Two dreamers find each other amidst the sea of rejected souls also reaching for the same heights in Los Angeles. Ryan Gosling’s Seb represents the obsessively detail-driven artist who falls in love with the actress who has run the gamut of Hollywood audition hell in Emma Stone’s Mia. The two delve into each other as they navigate the most uncertain and vulnerable periods in their lives. What works at first in compromise winds up tearing the two apart and they willfully go their separate ways, achieving their dreams in the time after.
If what described above sounds like an intriguing story about love and loss and sacrifice, you wouldn’t be wrong, except La La Land fails to provide the necessary stakes in order to create the proper emotional reality.
John Carney’s Sing Street follows Conor, a boy forced to attend a rough religious school because his parents’ impending divorce requires a great deal of financial sacrifice. Set in 1980s Ireland against the backdrop of the incoming wave of MTV rock n roll, Conor goes after the pretty girl in his neighborhood the only logical way he knows how: start a rock band. With the guidance of his wise, yet constant failure of a brother, Brendan, Conor assembles his band and records original music (because cover bands be damned) all in the efforts toward this one girl. In the process of true coming-of-age greatness, his band discovers that steppin’ out (pun intended) and unabashedly being whatever it is that you are is a lesson that will outlive any difficulty.
From a pure surface level, La La Land asks more of its audience in its attempt to relate its story to every filmgoer. Ninety percent of its audience isn’t going to be a musician/actress/etc with a deep connection to Los Angeles or classic Hollywood. Ninety percent of Sing Street‘s audience also aren’t going to be teenagers growing up in poor Ireland but the difference comes with the stakes each character has in each film. La La Land presents a very privileged take on sacrifice where, if you don’t succeed, you get to go home to a loving family home in Nevada. I understand that Mia’s reached her breaking point after giving it her all and I’m not faulting the movie for the story it decided to tell. It did, however, decide to tell a story that has a built-in safety net for its characters.
Being an impressionable teenager where every choice outside the box invites ridicule and, quite often, physical abuse inherently means to not have a safety net. When Conor tells a beautiful and interesting girl that he has a band that doesn’t actually exist and even casts her in their music video shoot for a song that hasn’t been written, it is a complete leap of faith that could backfire and hurt worse than what any casting director might tell you through a mouthful of kale and quinoa salad at an audition.
Sing Street provides a sense of raw emotion and feeling as opposed to La La Land‘s manicured take on sacrifice. But wait– both films are actually quite lovely in their own right! La La Land gets a lot right when it comes to transmitting old Hollywood musical deliciousness to a modern format and the songs themselves are all layered ear worms we could hum for days. Sing Street might appeal more to a person who is completely unaware they’re watching a musical and would be baffled to find out that actually just watched one when the credits rolled. The songs in Sing Street may be even more catchy than La La Land’s which is a ridiculous complement in its own right.
I’m not surprised La La Land is the arguable favorite to win the top honors at the Oscars (Hollywood loves giving awards to such “insider” movies) but I’m most definitely underwhelmed.
For me it comes down to which stirs the most emotion and gives me the most drive to do something great when I leave the theater. Both movies no doubt have those motivations on their minds. As a person living in Los Angeles and wanting to be everything that La La Land presents as an option, I recognized everything I saw on screen but wasn’t moved to think any differently or be any braver in the end. Sing Street reminded me what it is like to go out on a limb, let it break and hit every branch on the way down but hit those branches back equally as I go.
Check out a two minute, mini-review of La La Land brought to you by the UnPOP Podcast hosts on SpareMin.
