Category Archives: Movie News and Articles

HOLLYWOOD WRITER’S BLOCK? SEQUELS, REBOOTS, & REMAKES

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If there is one constant in the modern-day movie industry, it’s the steady barrage of motion picture sequels, reboots, and remakes that bombard theaters each year. For a while now it’s seemed as if the sheer number of sequels, reboots, and remakes has steadily grown from year to year. Just look at 2011. The year featured reboots such as “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and “X-Men: First Class”. We also got several pointless remakes like “Footloose”, “Fright Night”, “The Smurfs”, and “Arthur”. And of course, the year was loaded with sequels from popular “franchises” such as Harry Potter, The Transformers, Twilight, and Pirates of the Caribbean; animated films like “Cars 2”, “Kung Fu Panda 2”, and “Happy Feet Two”; and a host of other stuff ranging from “Spy Kids” to “Scream 4” to “Hangover 2”.

That was last year. Just take a look at what we have already seen and what we can expect for the rest of 2012. It’s still early in the movie year and we’ve already seen remakes like “21 Jump Street” and “The Three Stooges” and a host of sequels such as “Journey 2”, “Wrath of the Titans”, “Underworld Awakening”, and “Ghost Rider”. To add to it, this year we have already seen  3-D re-releases of three movies: “Star Wars: Episode 1”, “Beauty and the Beast”, and “Titanic”. Here’s just a sample of what’s still coming out this year:

  • “Men in Black III” (sequel)
  • “Piranha 3DD” (sequel – I guess)
  • “Madagascar 3” (sequel)
  • “G.I. Joe: Retaliation (sequel/reboot)
  • “The Amazing Spider-Man” (reboot)
  • “Ice Age: Continental Drift” (sequel)
  • “The Dark Knight Rises” (sequel)
  • “Step Up: Revolution” (…….sigh…..)
  • “The Bourne Legacy” (sequel)
  • “Total Recall” (remake)
  • “The Expendables 2” (sequel)
  • “Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2” (sequel)
  • “Resident Evil: Retribution (sequel)
  • “Paranormal Activity 4” (sequel…kinda)
  • “Red Dawn” (remake)
  • “Skyfall” (sequel)

There are several more that you can expect to see in 2012 but you get the point. It seems that sequels and remakes aren’t a big thing these days. They’ve become commonplace. Now let it be known that there are some movies on the list that I am really excited about seeing. It’s also true that some sequels are incredible movies. It’s also worth noting that THE TOP 9 GROSSING MOVIES of 2011 were sequels which shows that there is an audience for them. So it certainly isn’t a question of bad financial decisions and it’s certainly not unreasonable to make movies that will sell tickets. But it begs the question, is there a shortage of originality and creativity in Hollywood?

I can remember when a movie sequel was a pretty big deal. You didn’t see many of them and when you did it usually drew a lot of attention. That’s certainly not the case today. And Hollywood’s sudden affection for remaking 80’s movies and TV shows has led to more head-scratching results than memorable films. I guess in a way that’s my biggest concern. Just how many of today’s sequels, reboots, and remakes are really good, memorable films? How many will stay with us for the rest of our lives. How many are just easy money grabs that have little to no lasting impact? I tend to think more of them are utterly forgettable than true movie treasures.

But as I mentioned, not every sequel, reboot, or remake is bad. Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” not only rose above the superhero genre but it was an incredible movie. This year’s “The Dark Knight Rises” is my most anticipated movie of the year. And there are still many good quality filmmakers that are making great original movies for us to enjoy each year. Add in independent films and foreign cinema and there are several outlets to discover good movies. But so much of Hollywood’s efforts and resources are going into treading the same water that I can’t help but wonder, is the struggling industry desperate for dollars at the theater or does Hollywood have a bad case of writer’s block that only seems to be getting worse?

“THIS WEEK IN MOVIES” (APRIL 13th)

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 The Weinstein Company has released what’s being called the first “teaser poster” for Quentin Tarantino’s upcoming western film “Django Unchained”. Other than a brief and vague synopsis, little is known about the film and we’ve yet to see the first trailer. As you can see below, the “teaser” poster doesn’t offer much more information but it does looks pretty cool. “Django Unchained” stars Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Christoph Waltz, and Kurt Russell and, of course, it’s directed by Quentin Tarantino. Look for it in theaters this December.

Director Christopher Nolan and Warner Brothers have released several new images from July’s almost guaranteed blockbuster “The Dark Knight Rises”. Nolan’s final installment in his brilliant Batman trilogy has a lot of promise but also a lot of questions. In one of the images we get to see Bane seemingly in control of a stock exchange and in another Selina Kyle in full Catwoman garb checking out an empty safe. “The Dark Knight” will be a tough act to follow but with Nolan leading the way, it’s bound to be good. 

Tom Hardy as Bane in “The Dark Knight Rises“

 

Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle (Catwoman) in “The Dark Knight Rises”

What are you thoughts on “Django Unchained” and “The Dark Knight Rises”? Both are attention getters in movie circles and both promise to have a lot of people talking about them.

 

NEW IN THEATERS (April 13th):

  • “THE CABIN IN THE WOODS” (R) – Horror
  • “LOCKOUT” (PG-13) – Sci-Fi Action
  • “3 STOOGES” (PG) – Comedy
  • “THE RAID: REDEMPTION” (R) – Foreign Action
  • “IN DARKNESS” – Limited Release  (R) – Historical Drama

“BULLY” AND THE MPAA

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By now I’m sure you’ve heard of the war between Lee Hirsch’s documentary “Bully” and the Motion Picture Association of America. After viewing the film the MPAA decided to give it an R rating, a decision that raised the ire of the filmmakers, Harvey Weinstein of The Weinstein Company, advocacy groups, and even many celebrities. The MPAA gave “Bully” the R rating due to “some language”, more specifically the seven “f words” found in the film. Weinstein countered by threatening to release the film unrated. But this left him with several problems including the fact that most big movie theater chains have policies against showing unrated pictures. The MPAA stood its ground. Since then, “Bully” has been granted a PG-13 rating after editing out three of the seven “f words”.

But who was right? Was there grounds to be upset over the R rating? Was the MPAA simply doing its job? Those angered by the MPAA’s decision noted that the film’s potential social impact would be greatly hurt by the R rating. One protest group stated “Because of the R rating, most kids won’t get to see this film. No one under 17 will be allowed to see the movie, and the film won’t be allowed to be screened in American middle schools or high schools.” (This is only partially true. ANY child can see an R rated movie. The only difference is they must be accompanied by an adult). MPAA head honcho Joan Graves countered by pointing out the ratings association’s responsibility is to inform parents of content. She said “In the case of ‘Bully,’ the ratings system has worked exactly as it is supposed to: Parents have been kept informed of the content of each version of the film, and they have been given the information they need to make moviegoing decisions on behalf of their kids.”

While I have had my fair share of gripes about the MPAA, I tend to side with them on this one.  I don’t want the MPAA judging a film’s social impact or a filmmaker’s intentions. I want them rating movies based on the content found in the movies. They need to have a standard by which they judge content so that parents and moviegoers who don’t want to see or hear those things have a grounded point of reference. Some have objected saying “How does a movie like “Bully” with its instances of profanity get the same rating as a violent and grisly film like “Saw”? They point to that as one of the flaws of the current ratings system. But I don’t think you can compare movies like that. There needs to be a standard for violence, a standard for sexual content/nudity, and a standard for vulgarity/profanity. Have consistent standards and grant ratings based on how movies meet those standards.

But that also touches on some of the MPAA’s glaring failures. In many ways their lack of consistency has given people ammunition to use against them. The MPAA has given so many movies a PG-13 rating that’s had tons more profanity that what we find in “Bully”. I could give you so many examples. Just this year take a movie like “Chronicle”. It has over 60 uses of profanity. “Tower Heist” has almost 100 uses of profanity. Yet both of these pictures were granted a PG-13 rating simply because they kept their “f-bombs” to two or less. For some warped reason the MPAA sees three “f-bombs” in a movie considerably more serious than a film with 100 uses of every other bit of foul language. It’s this absurd reasoning that has breached the trust between the MPAA and many parents and moviegoers.

That kind of inconsistency could very well be what brought on this battle between “Bully” and the MPAA. On the flip side, Weinstein and company know the guidelines and shouldn’t be surprised when the MPAA doesn’t base their rating on the political and social message of the film. I also have a hard time believing those three “f-bombs” were crucial to the movie therefore editing them out without making it into a big issue shouldn’t have been a problem. I’m glad the MPAA didn’t cave in. I want them to have a standard and I want them to stick to it. But there lies another problem. They haven’t stuck to it and no one can argue that their standards could certainly use a little fine-tuning.

7×7 LINK AWARD

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A big thanks to Kristen at All Eyes on Screen for nominating Keith & the Movies for the 7×7 Link Award. It’s a chance to share with others the blogs that you really enjoy while also sharing a little about yourself. It’s an honor for me to even be considered by anyone. I’ve been writing reviews for several years first posting them on my Keith & the Movies Facebook page. I recently started this blog site and I’m still shaping it into what I want it to be. Thanks to fellow bloggers and movie fans like Kristen, I’m getting a better idea of what makes a site enjoyable. It’s a work in progress and I will be listing 7 other sites that have it right.

The Rules

Rule 1: Tell everyone something that no one else knows about you.

Rule 2: Link to one of the posts that I personally think best fits the following categories: Most Beautiful Piece, Most Helpful Piece, Most Popular Piece, Most Controversial Piece, Most Surprisingly Successful Piece, Most Underrated Piece, and Most Pride-Worthy Piece.

Rule 3: Pass this award on to seven other bloggers.

1. A Little Something About Me…

Well, I’m 40 years old, married, and the father of two. I’ve been a movie junkie for years. My earliest movie memories date back to the 70’s where I would play with my army men in the backseat of the car while my parents were at the drive-in. My parents enjoyed going to the movies and I remember them taking me to films such as “Chariots of Fire” and “Tootsie”. Of course at a young age, those movies did nothing for me. But when I saw “Star Wars” everything changed. “Star Wars” was the first really strong response I remember having to a film. I grew up watching those “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” pictures and they introduced me to the power of motion pictures.

Another thing worth mentioning – I’m a HUGE Humphrey Bogart fan. He’s been my favorite actor for some time now. I have most of his films in my collection, even the smaller and more absurd roles that he had early in his career. I have collected things such as  Bogart neckties, an original death certificate, stamps, and a life-sized cardboard cut-out that stands right next to our bed (my wife is so nice). What can I say, I’m a Bogart geek.

2. My Personal Best???

I have no idea how to rate my own posts since I find them all lacking. But I’ll try my best…

MOST BEAUTIFUL PIECE – “The Tree of Life” Review

While there’s nothing beautiful about my review, this was a beautiful film. It touched me in so many ways and Terrence Malick’s vision is gorgeously rendered in this deeply moving picture. It certainly didn’t affect everyone as it did me, but “beautiful” certainly describes it.

MOST HELPFUL PIECE – Top 10 Most Anticipated Films of 2012

I guess I would call this post helpful. There weren’t a lot of comments but I received several messages from people who learned about a few new movies coming out that they hadn’t  heard of. While these were more personal choices of mine it was great to see others use the post as an introduction to some potentially good movies.

MOST POPULAR PIECE – “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” Review

While several posts have received more conversation, no review or post has received as much traffic as “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”. It surprised me especially considering all the other bigger named films I have reviewed. It’s also interesting that this film would be viewed and shared so much considering it’s subject matter. Nonetheless it was great to see the interest.

MOST CONTROVERSIAL PIECE – “Top 10 Movies of 2011”

I don’t know if I have written any blog that has been considered controversial. But if there’s one thing that sparks debate it’s putting together a list of the best movies of the year. Again, not a lot of posts but I had some really good discussion about my list especially my choice for The Best Movie of 2011.

MOST SURPRISINGLY SUCCESSFUL PIECE – “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” Review

OK, I know this is a cheat and I’ve already mentioned this review, but to be fair I have to mention it here too. I didn’t know how many people had even heard of “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas”. But I was so surprised to see the response.

MOST UNDERRATED PIECE – “No Country for Old Men” Review

I’m not sure if anyone really read this review but I was proud to give this incredible film some time. It’s grown into one of my very favorite pictures of the last 20 years and I love talking about it any chance I get. I do wish more people had a chance to not only read the review but share their thoughts on the movie.

MOST PRIDE-WORTHY PIECE – “5 Phenomenal Modern Day Actors”

I love good performances and I love talking about the actors and actresses that deliver them. In this post I tried to make a hearty case for each of the five great actors included. It wasn’t easy to narrow the picks down to just five, but it was loads of fun trying to put together a reasonable defense for each pick.

3. And the Award Goes to….

So many great movie blogs out there and I’m not sure how to pick only seven. But these are sites that I truly enjoy and I’m happy to share:

  1. All Eyes on Screen – I may be breaking another rule but I have to add this site that I love. An amazing mix of movie reviews & articles.
  2. Dan The Man’s Movie Reviews – A fantastic review site. Old reviews, new reviews, and everything in between.
  3. FlixChatter – Talk about a great assortment of movie related content! Informative, fun, and one of those sites I love to visit!
  4. 3 Guys 1 Movie – Adam, Scotty, and Griff offer loads of entertaining content and exchanges.
  5. My Filmviews – A really good-looking page with great reviews, news, & creative movie content.
  6. blood, dirt, and angels – The blog site of film critic Philip Martin. Lots of good stuff from movies, music, and pop culture.
  7. The Movie Blog8 – Lot’s of fun stuff including this year’s Sitcom March Madness.

Oscar – The morning after…

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Well it has come and gone. The 2012 Oscars seemed to get here in a hurry and be done just as quick. As usual for the more recent Oscars, there were few surprises. Most of the “Big 6” went as I predicted and the only real surprises were with the technical awards. But overall it was a fun night. Here’s a few thoughts…

Billy Crystal hosted the 2012 show after the Eddie Murphy debacle (or should I say the Brett Ratner debacle) and he did a solid job. Unlike last year’s odd and sometimes uncomfortable hosting from James Franco and Anne Hathaway, this was more grounded but still quite funny. Crystal used several tried-and-true antics such as the song detailing the Best Picture Nominees and the “What they’re thinking” segment. I found them and several of Crystal’s adaptive one-liners to be very funny. Several of the presenters provided some good laughs including Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, Emma Stone, Chris Rock (I was surprised, too), and of course Robert Downey, Jr. Oh, and c’mon Academy! Am I the only one who thinks that Downey, Jr. would be the funniest Oscars host of all time? Sign him up.

“Hugo” ended the night with five Oscars. It was awarded for its technical achievements and it’s hard for me to argue with that. “A Seperation” won for Best Foreign Language film which was followed by a rather unusual acceptance speech from director Asghar Farhadi. “The Descendants” won Best Adapted Screenplay and I was thrilled that “Midnight in Paris” won for Best Original Screenplay. Of course Woody Allen wasn’t there but did we ever expect him to be?

The supporting categories went exactly as expected. Octavia Spencer (The Help) and Christopher Plummer (Beginners) had already been christened the winners well before the ceremony began and that’s exactly how things played out. Spencer gave one of the most genuine and emotional acceptance speeches of the night and Plummer became the oldest Oscar winner ever. It was good seeing Nick Nolte recognized with a nomination even though I’m not sure he knew where he was last night.

Meryl Streep won Best Actress for her performance in “The Iron Lady”. That category had turned into a two person race and I really felt that Viola Davis had a good chance to win. But Streep was awarded for a performance that certainly outweighed the rather mundane and mixed reviewed movie. The Oscar media had tried their best to sell the whole Clooney (“The Descendants”) versus Pitt (“Moneyball”) Best Actor race. But as I expected (and hoped), Jean Dujardin won the Oscar for his wonderful performance in “The Artist”. Working with several more handicaps than the other nominees, Dujardin nailed his performance and deserved the award. His acceptance speech and subsequent dance showed his enthusiasm and I found myself applauding from my recliner.

The night only got better for “The Artist”. Michael Hazanavicius won the Best Director Oscar which is almost always a sign of which film will win Best Picture. Last night was no different. Hazanavicius’ gutsy project won Best Picture and I have no problem with it. While I was personally rooting for “The Tree of Life”, this was a case where the Academy got it right. “The Artist” was a nostalgic but touching film that felt plucked right out of the silent movie era. I loved seeing it win.

So while it was a fairly predictable night, it was a good night. The stars played dress-up and movie fans witnessed new films and new performances added to that Valhalla of motion picture history. I went 5 for 6 in the “Big 6” categories so that speaks to the shows lack of suspense. But there were some genuinely funny moments and some good movies received their due.

It’s Oscar Time….

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We are only a couple of hours away from the 2012 Oscars. It’s the Super Bowl of movies minus the mystery and minus without the clear deserved winner when the show is over. But it’s still fun and exciting, filled with stars and linking a new group of Oscar-winning movies with a great history. So with just minutes to go, once again here is what I expect to happen tonight…

Tonight will be a big night for “The Artist”. I fully expect it to take home the Best Picture Oscar with its closest competition being Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants”. While personally I’ll be rooting for “The Tree of Life”, it has no chance. This is a two movie race. I also expect Michel Hazanavicius to win Best Director, an award than often times signals what film will be winning Best Picture.

The Oscar media is desperately trying to hype a George Clooney (The Descendants) vs Brad Pitt (Moneyball) Best Actor race but Pitt really has no shot. This is a race between Clooney and Jean Dujardin (The Artist). While Clooney is the golden boy of Hollywood is was strong in “The Descendants”, I expect Dujardin to win the Best Actor Oscar and rightly so.

Yes, Meryl Streep has been nominated 257,000 times and only won twice. Yes, many believe she will win tonight for her work in the underwhelming “The Iron Lady”. I’m not one of those believers. I think Streep will settle for another nomination as Viola Davis gets the win for her work in “The Help”. While it’s also a flawed movie, Davis’ performance outweighs Streep’s and it’s hard to argue with her winning.

The Supporting awards are pretty much a sure thing. Octavia Spencer will easily beat her “The Help” co-star Jessica Chastain (who should have been nominated for her much stronger performances in “Take Shelter” and “The Tree of Life”). Christopher Plummer seems to be the Academy’s choice for Best Supporting Actor already even though I would much rather see Nick Nolte get it for “Warrior”.

I’m hoping “Midnight in Paris” and “Hugo” get some love tonight as well but these are the big winners. What are your thoughts? Agree or disagree? Feel free to share below. One things for sure, it should be a fun night.