imagine_that

It’s always sad when we feel the need to push an actor to retirement, unfortunately this is the case for Eddie Murphy. I feel that he has given up being his true self in order to please a certain audience, and in the process of doing so, he is losing his original fans who fell in love with the real him years ago. Whatever happened to Axel Foley? The hilarious detective from the Beverly Hills Cop movies (alright fine, he is coming back in a couple years with a fourth addition, but lets not get me started on comeback sequels, thats a whole other post). How can we forget about Prince Akeem from Coming To America. These movies were true comedies, those were the roles the suit him best, especially with his slightly perverse sense of humor that we loved in his older movies and classic stand up such as Delirious (1983) and Raw (1987).

Upsets range from The Haunted Mansion, Meet Dave and here he is again with his latest film Imagine That. Eddie plays the role of a financial executive who’s job is in a downspiral, when one day his daughter draws on his work papers and he has no choice but to submit them. His boss notices that Eddie’s character seems to be displaying characteristics he was not before pertaining to his workmanship, after which things turn around for him. He learns of his daughters imaginary world and it is from here he finds solutions to his problems and in the process of saving his job, he saves his relationship with his daughter.

OK, I get it, he is trying to clean up his image by doing family friendly movies, but really…in this day and age what parents have the extra time to take their children to a movie theater? Moreover children are growing up so fast these days that it seems as if they are skipping the “childhood fantasy” age and skipping right to the “fast and furious” stage. If you ask me he should get back to catering to the older teenagers and young adults, the ones that enjoy jokes about body parts and functions, and irritating family members.

carole Comedy, Family imagine that, watch imagine that

Brüno

Rated: R
Genre: Comedy
Release Date: 10 July 2009
Director: Larry Charles
Cast: Sacha Baron Cohen

There are actors and then there are ACTORS. Sacha Baron Cohen is one of those ACTORS. His style has always seemed to include fully committing himself to the role of the character he has decided to take on, really showing his dedication to his work. First he gave us Ali G., a satirical character displaying the stereotype of a non-black British suburban male who consumes himself in black and Jamaican culture through hip-hop and reggae. Ali’s job description included interviewing various public figures in the UK, shocking them with his street image and his deeply stereotypical view of the world.

Then came our beloved Borat Sagdiyev, a popular Kazakh journalist traveling through the United States recording real-life situations on the behalf of the fictitious Kazakh Ministry of Information. The majority of the film features unscripted scenes of Borat interviewing and interacting with Americans, who truly believe he is a foreigner with little or no understanding of American customs, and they go out of their way to teach him their customs. He in return goes out of his way to further stereotype the image of a foreigner.

Now comes Brüno, a flamboyant Austrian fashionista who decides to take his show across the water to the USA. Similar to Ali and Borat, Brüno is also a reporter. However his niche includes fashion, entertainment, celebrities, and homosexuality. His interviews get funnier depending on how much of a prejudiced person the interviewee is, for the extremists he presents them with an over the top stereotype persona of a homosexual irking prejudice responses from them. I for one cannot wait to see the film, Sacha has been awesome in his acting, whether it be his own characters on TV and his feature films, or if its an assigned character in a movie such as his  Talladega Nights’ Jean Girard, a homosexual NASCAR champion. It won’t be long, a month flies by in the summer we’ll all be rushing in once the film is released, I would in no way be surprised if this movie does well in the box office. Want to know what you are in for? Video Google Brüno and watch the endless clips from past shows, or then again, there’s always the trailer.

carole Comedy Bruno, Sacha Baron Cohen

With Werewolves, motorcycles, cliff-diving and Italy in the New Moon film, there is a lot of more to film then the first film Twilight. As all you Twilighters know and happy to point out, there are already three penned smash sequels to Twilight, a love story about a human and an immortal.

For months now, New Moon news has been on a solid streamline, everywhere on the web. The anticipation for his film is unbelievably high, and every detail of the production process is of great magnitude to the Twilight fans. Some fans are going as far as visiting the locations (Vancouver and Italy) where the film is being shot. Obsession of The Twilight Saga is over the top; fans all over the internet have dedicated websites, Facebook pages, people arguing about all kinds of details of Rob Pattison and Kirsten Stewart. Why the obsession, probably because people love to be in love and see people in love. Not to mention Pattisons effect on screaming girls all over the world.

In New Moon, Edward leaves Bella (for her own good, but she thinks he doesn’t care anymore). She becomes depressed and careless, and develops a close bond with Jacob. I’m sure fans are a little disappointed by the fact that Edward is not with Bella in New Moon, but don’t worry I’ve heard from several sources that he is in the film more than you think.

The reunion between Bella and Edward in New Moon is good, according to Pattison in a recent interview he reveals that it is different from the book, people will be happy. New Moon will have a different mood than Twilight. In visual terms it’s going to be different, a lot scarier.

The countdown is on for the exclusive Entertainment Tonight on the closed Vancouver set of the Twilight sequel New Moon, Only seven days left! ET takes you behind the scenes with on-set interviews with the film’s stars, Robert Pattison, Kristen Stewart and Tyler Lautner.

New moon is set to hit theaters on November 20^th, 2009. Until then fans will have to settle for pictures, exclusives and fan made trailers.

Jenn Fantasy, Romance

Rated: PG-13

Genre: Drama

Release Date: April 24, 2009

Runtime: 117 minutes

Director: Joe Wright

Cast: Jaime Foxx, Robert Downey, Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander

Based on a book by Steve Lopez (played by Downey), this is a movie about two people who come together in the most unlikely way. Steve is a journalist looking for ideas on what to write about next, something different and original. Original is what he discovers on 3^rd Street in downtown L.A. This is where Steve’s first encounter with Nathaniel Ayers (Foxx) happens. Steve sees Nathaniel magnificently playing beat-up stringed instruments. Nathaniel may be a brilliant musician who had attended Julliard, but he suffers from schizophrenia, which Steve Accepts as more intriguing to his column.

What Steve didn’t expect is the friendship that would follow; their friendship becomes genuine and significant. It seemed to me that Downey’s Lopez was in need of friendship even more than Foxx’s homeless man did, the friendship continues to this day. Lopez can see the positive effect his work has conveyed to the homeless, yet he sometimes wonders how much better he has made things for them.

Downey and Foxx play their characters with flawlessness; the two were a great compliment to each other, making their characters believable. The great thing about this film is that it shows what can happen when just one Nathaniel Ayers is discovered after being almost non-existent for so many years. Doesn’t it make you wonder how many other undiscovered, forgotten but extremely talented people are out there. The film does not pretend to be something it is not. There is no happy ending where Nathaniel’s schizophrenia is magically cured. The film, based on a true story, really shows you the harsh reality of what life for some people is like. The next time you pass a homeless person, you might not be so quick to judge.

Jenn Drama The Soloist, Watch The Soloist, Watch The Soloist Online

Rated: R

Genre: Action/Adventure

Release Date: April 17, 2009

Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

Director: Mark Neveldine, Brian Taylor

Cast: Jason Statham, Amy Stewart, Clifton Collins, Efren Ramirez

Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) is back for round Two in the sequel to 2006’s Crank. For many of you who saw crank, I’m sure it’s safe to say that you were not expecting a sequel, after the way it ended with Chev falling out of a helicopter, hitting a car and smacking on to the pavement. Crank 2: High Voltage starts off pretty much where the last film ended with a mob of Chinese medics scooping Chev off the street (fast forward to 3 months later) and continues to wow us with its insane action and excitement, and of course it wouldn’t be a crank movie without the public sex scene.

British actor Jason Statham is great as Chev Chelios with his witty remarks and his outrageous over the top action scenes. He’s definitely a man’s man, both likable and bad ass at the same time. Even after he’s just had his heart removed and replaced with a battery-operated artificial heart, he is able to escape from the hospital he is being held.

Out to get revenge against Chev is Venus (Efran Ramirez), in the first Crank Chev killed his twin brother Kaylo (also played by Efran Ramirez), snapping his neck as they were falling from the helicopter. Like the first Crank Chev does a lot of running, shooting, fighting and public sex, all while trying to keep himself alive, with regular jolts of electricity to keep his heart from stopping.

If you liked the first Crank then you will absolutely like Crank 2: High Voltage, without a doubt it is not made to inspire you into deep thinking, It’s just good entertainment with hilarious sense of humor from Statham.

Jenn Action, Adventure action movies

earth

It seems as though within the last few years the issue of global warming has been put in the spotlight. Movies and television series alike have begun sprouting with the attempt to spread the word and emphasize what the world is going through via film from as early as 1995. Granted most of these films such as Waterworld (1995), A.I. (2001), The Day After Tomorrow (2004), and so on were made solely for the purpose of entertaining an audience. However there are those films and documentaries that are being made with the intention of educating and enlightening those who choose to watch it. One of the well known series in this category is Planet Earth (2006) an award winning series by BBC that is compromised of eleven episodes showing features, in unbelievable detail, of the globe and its different habitats and the challenges that living organisms face.

More popular films that hit the screens include An Inconvenient Truth (2006) by Al Gore and March of the Penguins (2005), voiced by Morgan Freeman. March of the Penguins tells the story of how penguins live their cycle and how global warming created by humans has effected their habits, making it harder for the penguin family, especially for the mothers, who go through harder and harder times every year, in order to be able to feed themselves and to provide food for their chicks.

The latest addition to this niche of documentaries is Earth, a movie released on Earth Day 2009 by Disney as the first of their Disneynature series. These series are to be narrated by James Earl Jones and they tell the amazing story of three animal families and of their remarkable journeys across the planet. Earth uses extraordinary shots in astounding locations that an average person would not be able to get to with easy access. The film shows intimate family moments and shares with the world the wonders of such simple creatures. It really makes you think how as the “superior” species, we ought to be more thankful for the world that we live in and not take it for granted. Unfortunately this is not the case and if we do not really put in the effort, who knows when, we may end up destroying not only ourselves, but all the creatures sharing the same space.

carole Documentary

Harry Potter’s sixth year at Hogwarts has almost arrived onto our screens. For those of us who have read the books know that this is quite the exciting year. This year Hogwarts gets introduced to another new teacher, Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent). Furthermore, Harry (Danielle Radcliffe) finds a new useful tool, this time a Potions book which used to belong to the Half-Blood Prince. Harry finds that within his book the Half-Blood Prince had scribbled notes along the margins of almost every page, subsequently leaving advice on how to improve spells in the book, that in no doubt ends up teaching Potter a few helpful spells that may come in handy later on, since we now know more or less, who Harry will meet at least once per book/movie.

Harry, Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) are well into puberty during this school year, as this time around romance, dating and jealousy are themes constantly popping up within the film. We even get to see a little bit more Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) in this film as he takes on the role of a private tutor to Harry. This movie delves deeper into the story of who the real Voldemort is and furthermore exposes the evil side of Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton).

The movie will obviously do well in theaters, assuming the fans of the books did not lose patience having to wait 12 months at a time for each movie. The expected scenario, as is the case more often than not with movies based on books, is that they very seldom live up to the standards of a book whether it be Harry Potter or the Da Vince Code. I suppose that after waiting so long after reading the actually book some of us have forgotten the details therefore giving this movie a better chance at doing well for the Harry Potter critics out there.

carole Adventure, Fantasy

Rated: R

Genre: Crime, Drama

Release Date: 1 July 2009

Runtime: 143 min

Director: Michael Mann

Cast: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum, Billy Crudup,

When was the last time Johny Depp made a movie we didn’t all want to go see? I agree, there is not a single movie he has made that I decided to pass on. Depp has always had the ability to accept the right movie roles that suit his acting skills and that have helped to move his career along. Whether it be in the beginning of his career with Cry Baby, his award winning character in Sweeny Todd: The Demon of Fleet Street or his much more quirky characters such as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean, Depp has once again chosen a role that seems to fit him like a glove.

We have already seen him take on the role of an Italian mobster in Donnie Brasco (1997), a film based on a true story, as an undercover agent infiltrating the Italian mafia of New York. Once again Depp takes on the role of a real life character in Public Enemies, this time on the other side of the law as John Dillinger, a gangster and bank robber from the Depression-era. This movie is based on the legendary story of the bank robber who was known for his tactical raids and on how J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) exploited the idea of Dillinger’s capture as a way of elevating his Bureau of Investigations bringing about the creation of the FBI and its then top agent, Melvin Purvis (Bale).

Dillinger was like holding a wet bar of soap: impossible to hold and hard to stop when on the run. His natural charm and daring escapes from prison amused almost everyone, from his girlfriend Billie Frechette (Cotillard), to the American public who had no sympathy for the banks that were being robbed, reason being the locals blamed them as the cause of the countries fall into the Depression. Dillinger became America’s first Public Enemy Number One. Dillinger and his gang of thugs, including Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham) constantly outwitted and outran Purvis’ men in wild chases and shootouts. Anyone who knows the story will know how the movie ends. As for the rest of us who are not so well learned in the history of violence during the depression, well I guess we will just have to wait for the movie to come out.

carole Adventure, Crime, Drama

9

Rated: PG- 13

Genre: Animation, Action, Fantasy

Release Date: September 9, 2009

Director: Shane Acker

Cast: Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer, Crispin Glover, Martin Landau, Fred Tatasciore

Big names are a dime a dozen in Hollywood whether they be actors, writers, producers or directors. However there is one name that stands out above the rest, in three out of four of the aforementioned categories. Tim Burton is the definition of talented producer/director/writer. He is famed for his dark and often far-out themes, such as Edward Scissorhands, moreover his stop motion characters found in films like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride are easily distinguishable, not to mention his blockbusters including Batman and Sweeny Todd.

His latest project, to be released September 9th, is an upcoming animated action/fantasy film that is based on director, Shane Acker’s Academy-Award-nominated short film of the same name, initially screened in 2005. Unlike Burton’s other animations which run on stop motion, this film will be CGI with a stop motion look to it, although a different technique altogether, the trailer proves that this mix has resulted in beautiful animation results.

9 takes place in a post-apocalyptic world parallel to our own, in which the very legacy of humanity is threatened. A group of rag dolls, find one of their own, 9 (Elijah Wood), who proves to carry leadership qualities that may help them to survive. The struggling, but lively group includes 1 (Christopher Plummer), a war veteran; 2 (Martin Landau), an aged inventor; 5 (John C. Reilly), a mechanic; 6 (Crispin Glover), a visionary and artist; and 7 (Jennifer Connelly), a courageous warrior. Like any movie there are always forces fighting against the main characters, this film has at least several malicious creatures fighting them; namely, the cat-skulled robot creature from the short film. This film is definitely one to wait for and expect great things from, possibly joining the numerous other films directed by Tim Burton to win a nomination for animation

carole Action, Animation, Fantasy

So this is it, Summer 2009, a.k.a. “The summer of sequels”. Summer has started early in Hollywood with summer releases starting in May. Similar movies always seem to be released at the same time, e.g. Deep Impact & Armageddon, The Illusionist & The Prestige, Capote & Infamous. More “coincidences” are already being planned out such as the two versions of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde one with Forest Whitaker the other with Keanu Reeves. However it looks like this year producers decided to switch it up a little and instead decided to infest our theaters with prequels/sequels. Coincidence or not?

In my opinion Hollywood is losing its stride. It seems as though all the “good ideas” have already been taken and turned into movies and there is nothing left, hence all the sequels we are seeing as of late. I am not a critic and I have no credit when it comes to my opinion on a movie, this blog is simply me sharing my own thoughts. The 4^th Fast and Furious was good, who doesn’t enjoy fast cars and guns and hot girls, especially in the same movie, but really… already planning a fifth movie? It’s becoming like the Rocky series…want my opinion stop while your ahead. Does anyone remember Halloween? Ya neither do I, however H2 is on its ways to theaters shortly. And guess who is coming out to play with Michael? His good friend Freddy from Friday the 13th, that’s right..they are bringing the hits of the past and remaking them, I guess it works in that they will introduce them to a new generation that missed out on round one.

The list of unnecessary sequels goes on, about 17 of them for 2009. Saw VI is coming out this Halloween, some of the rest such as Streetfighter: The Legend of Chun Li , Terminator: Salvation, Night at the Museum: Escape from the Smithsonian, and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squekuel…thats right squekuel, will be playing at some point this summer. There are a few sequels that I am looking forward to though, so not all is bad. These include Crank 2 I cannot complain about anything that includes Jason Statham; Toy Story 3D, this movie will rock no matter what simply because it is a Pixar flick and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. I love animation films and let’s be honest, nothing is quite as entertaining than watching Scrat and his nut steal another movie.

carole Crime, Horror, Mystery