FilmJunkeez

2017-11-29T23:54:00.001-05:00

Beware: This review will contain spoilers, so if you haven't seen the movie just yet, please read this review at your own risk.

Before I go into my review, I want to share my backstory, for which I hope will provide you a perspective. Knowing a little about me, the type of movies I enjoy and my overall stance on the Marvel vs DC thing.

I'm a film buff, my favorite directors are Ben Affleck, Michael Mann, Chris Nolan, and Martin Scorsese. A list of my favorite movies is the Town, Heat, the Dark Knight series and Wolf of Wall Street.

I was more than excited when Affleck was chosen as the next Batman and I was equally excited about the Batman vs Superman theme. Yet, I did not think Snyder was the best man for the job. Man of Steel was..ok, but it was not the Donner Superman. BvS for me was a letdown...I think Snyder had a great cast of actors but failed to deliver a compelling story. A good story/film is when it connects to you...when you leave the theater, you should walk away with a bond with a movie. You should be thinking about it for hours, if not days and BvS was far from that.

Before BvS was released, we came to hear about Snyder directing Justice League. Hmmm....for those that may not be as familiar with the history of Justice League and Hollywood, there have been multiple attempts in making a Justice League movie. After watching BvS, and seeing that type of Batman Synder introduces, It made wonder hard and long of how will they connect this dark, older Batman with the light-hearted, colorful Justice League we all know of from the comic books.

The reason why Marvel has succeeded this long is that the tone of the individual movies was aligned and so as they all came together, their chemistry, energy was crystal clear.

Review of Justice League- So, now that you have an idea of my perspective and thought process, I hope my review will make sense to you. First off, I'm a huge fan of Ben Affleck. I became a fan after seeing him in the Town and following his directorial ventures. The man can act...not as great as Downey Jr, but he can deliver. The man understands directing so good that he's used it to improve his acting skills. Gal Gadot, for me was a good Wonder Woman, but I personally was hoping for a more full figure actress to play the part. Cavill as Superman in the Man of Steel was a great choice, however, BvS failed to provide him much substance.

Justice League has a weak story and the subplots from the beginning were weak. What I loved about Nolan's movies was that he mostly filmed on location (NY, Chicago, and Detroit). In JL, the opening scene was a film set and it was tacky. Why? It worked for Burton, but it failed for all the Joel Schumacher Batman movies.

It was stated in the news that WB trimmed the movie down to 2 hours due to the BvS experience, but here again, is an example of WB getting in the way of the director. What makes Marvel so successful is the Kevin Feige, the producer behind the Marvel movies doesn't micromanage. If you hire a director and want him to use his vision to make a movie, then you gotta have faith in this project...this is something WB fails to do. If you don't have faith in the director than don't hire him or her....

The Villian, Steppenwolf seemed like a character out of a video game. No character appeal, CGI to death...and just crappy. Than, Synder steps out of the movie due to personal reasons and they bring on the Maestro himself, Joss Whedon to help complete the movie. Sounds like a great idea but its' not the easiest of tasks. Where Snyder is known for his slow-motion visuals with dark backdrops, Whedon is colorful, has a great sense of humor...mixing the two didn't really make the movie all that better.

Superman dies in BvS, and we knew he was going to come back, but it was that easy to do so? I was turned off by this subplot. Okay, so he's back but he's in a bad mood. Why? I thought he and Batman had made up at the end of BvS? and what's his beef with Wonder Woman? So he hates Batman and remembers the line " tell me...do you bleed?" but forgot that Batman saved his mother? and then a quick visual of his lover, Lois Lane calms him down? CRAPPY!!!

Okay, so let's even go a point forward...Lois Lane convinces him to be the good Superman that he is, and he follows her advice....and all of sudden, he's got a sense of humor as he ends his battle with Steppenwolf? And guys, let's not forget, Superman is this super strong dude right....but then why wouldn't he just kill Batman....the human in a superhero suit?

What I liked about the movie was Batman, Aqua Man, The Flash, and Cyborg. Even though we hardly get any back story on the 3 dudes.

My final take- Snyder was the wrong choice from day 1. He's a decent director for the movies he's done outside of the DC. But he's no Nolan or Whedon. In fact, I would have asked Matthew Vaughn to direct this movie or perhaps a guys like F Gary Gray (Fast and Furious), Brad Bird (Mission Impossible 4) or Justin Lin (Star Trek) and if it was any way possible, I would have begged a guy like JJ Abrams to come on board.

Where does this leave us? I highly doubt a sequel to the Justice League movies. I'm even doubting standalone movies for the Aqua Man and Flash. I bet they will focus on Wonder Woman and the Matt Reeves Batman trilogy. I have no faith in WB with DC....I have no expectations, except for the Batman Movies. And after watching the Avengers Trinity War trailer today, I can bet almost anything that the Trinity War movie will be everything we expected and even more!

What to expect out of Tiger Zinda Hai?

2017-11-09T20:26:00.000-05:00

Sequel to "Eik Tha Tiger" (there was a tiger) comes "Tiger Zinda Hai" (the tiger lives). Same cast, but new directors. As the first one was a box office hit and was designed with an original story and plot, it seems that the sequel is burrowing a few elements from Hollywood.

Salman Khan snowboarding is a first for a Bollywood movie. This concept seems to be borrowed from the James Bond series or even Vin Diesels XXX.

The other aspect of Tiger, played by Khan being the woods reminds me of Logan.

The trailer shows a story of 12 girls being kidnapped by a terrorist group as a similar event had taken place a few years back. This part of the story is true, however, the trailer shows us Khan going undercover into the location of where they are captured and sneaking them out...does that remind you of Argo?

Either way, trailer is awesome and the director, Ali Abbas is known to provide a good plot and story with exciting action scenes.
Tiger Zinda releases on Christmas.

Justice League....if the 2009 script was to be made!

2017-11-06T23:44:00.000-05:00

Did you know? Back in 2009, Warner Bros made a decent attempt to push a motion picture in view of the Justice League of America into creation before the scholars strike. However, they couldn't get every one of their ducks in succession, and the undertaking was put on an uncertain hold. The names of the vast majority of the youthful cast had been spilled onto the interwebs, with very few fans content with the decisions. What's more, now that the strike is finished, Warner has reported that they are pushing forward with plans for a 2009 discharge

The agreement choices of the cast individuals were not worked out, but rather the youthful cast was guaranteed by the studio that they need to make the film with them in it. You can see a full rundown of the reputed cast underneath. George Miller is as yet connected to coordinate and is in pre-generation on the film in Australia. First-time a couple screenwriters Michele and Kieran Mulroney are as of now cleaning up the content.

Common – Green Lantern
Armie Hammer Jr. – Batman
Megan Gale – Wonder Woman
D.J. Cotrona – Superman (rumored)
Hugh Keays-Byrne – Martian Manhunter (rumored)
Teresa Palmer – Talia Al Ghul (rumored)

Adam Brody – The Flash- This would have been an interesting choice as Brody has good comic timing.

Stream Movies, Shows and Much More! Azulle Byte3 Mini PC

2017-10-30T00:10:00.002-04:00

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Sultan's latest trailer- Bollywood's answer to Rocky, Cinderella Man, South Paw..

2016-06-27T21:53:00.000-04:00

2015 was quite the interesting year for Bollywood's box-office bad boy. Salman Khan delivered 2 consecutive hits back to back as he was proven innocent for a automobile accident from years ago.

Khan now returns in 2016 with a movie that parallels his off screen life with his on screen life- Sultan. Khan, rose to stardom at the age of 25, yet in a 25 year career, Khan saw a bumpy road in his professional and personal life with his Sean Penn antics (rage against the media) and a equal number of box office hits vs duds. Yet in 2009, Khan fought for redemption and never turned back as he's become the "Tom Cruise" for Bollywood..."Salman Khan filmed sleeping on a bench can make millions of dollars" quote form director Kabir Khan who worked with Khan twice in Eik Tha Tiger and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

Kabir Khan (left) Salman Khan (right)

From the trailer of Sultan, one can only guess the plot line as the maker and actor aren't letting the plot line slip. The trailer shows a young wrestler making it to the Olympics, yet quickly losing his love and fame...as the trailer proceeds, we see the protagonist making a comeback as the odds are against him. Can this be a mixture of Rocky, Cinderella man and South Paw? Only time can tell as Sultan is slated to release on July 6

See below for the 2 trailers:

Rajeev Masand interview with Randeep Hooda

2016-06-17T19:16:00.002-04:00

Leonardo DiCaprio Interview On Charlie Rose from 2012

2016-06-16T20:02:00.002-04:00

Great interview of the Golden Boy- DiCaprio on Charlie Rose circa 2012

How JJ got the job?

2016-06-15T21:30:00.003-04:00

Really cool but brief tidbit how JJ got to directo Star Wars..thank you Collider Videos

Ray Donovan Season 4 : Return of Swag

2016-06-11T08:14:00.001-04:00

Great Interview w/ Hrithik Roshan

2016-06-04T19:00:00.000-04:00

Dishoom Trailer - Bollywood Action Comedy trailer review

2016-06-03T01:43:00.000-04:00

Sajid Nadiadwala is considered to be the Jerry Bruckheimer of Bollywood. Nadiadwala is a film producer, director and owner of the production house Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment. He got his start as a production assistant in his uncle's production house before launching his own production company. He's been in the game for over 25 years and has delivered hits and a few flops.

He's known for his closeness to the current King of Bollywood, Salman Khan as Nadiadwala recently made his debut as a director for the movie titled "Kick" starring Salman Khan for which became one of the year's biggest hits.

Sajid & Salman

Varun Dhawan

Nadiadwala is back with the forthcoming "Dishoom" as the movie falls under the buddy action comedy genre. The movie stars John Abraham and Varun Dhawan. Abraham could use a hit as he's missing the mark for the past 5 years yet Dhawan is a promising new actor that is versatile and dedicated.

John Abraham

Take a glance at the trailer as it reminds you of 21 Jump Street, Bad Boys and a few other Hollywood buddy cop movies. Filmed in the U.A.E., you can see the movie aims to be aligned with the western filmmaking sytle... Trailer looks promising, please leave your commments below. The movie releases this summer on July 29th.

Director Brett Ratner speaks at New York Film Academy

2016-05-27T00:18:00.000-04:00

For some, he's known to be the director that almost ruined the X-Men franchise as he took of the director's seat from Bryan Singer. For others, he's the cool, hip director who brought Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan together and made a cult a classic. Either you love him or hate him, he's a man that continues to motivate and inspire film students. Check out the video below as Ratner shares his earlier days with the students at the New York Film Academy.

Salman Khan's SULTAN trailer arrives

2016-05-25T01:34:00.000-04:00

Bollywood's bad boy- box office king makes his return with the highly anticipated "Sultan". The movie was announced summer of 2015 and made headlines from day 1. Salman Khan, an actor that is infamous for his legal battles and controversies has made a comeback. It was 2009 that started the second coming of Khan as he has delivered the biggest hits for Bollywood till date.

Often, his fans have expressed their hopes of their hero to take on challenging roles that would elevate the actor from the previous slap stick comedy to more mature, plot driven stories...and their wishes came true.

Khan is on the prowl for picking the best screenplays and working with the best directors. His next, Sultan was referenced as wrestling movie that required the actor to go through numerous physical transformations.

Fans were eagerly awaiting for the trailer to premiere to see their hero in his new avatar. The trailer was accepted with positive reviews.
The trailers provides glimpses of a story that is burrowing from Rocky, South Paw and the Wrestler. Check out the trailer below and feel free to leave comments and thoughts!

Bollywood Cross Over

2016-03-05T16:15:00.004-05:00

Bollywood- the film industry of India, continues to strive and compete with Hollywood. In fact, the majority of actors in Bollywood hate the term "Bollywood". They prefer to be called "The Indian Film Industry". The exposure of Bollywood films to the global audience is growing by leaps and bounds.

From Germany to the US.....to far away Finland, these men and women manage to make Bollywood a very important part of their lives.

German-based Birgit Pestal, author of a book called Fascination Bollywood, analyses the impact Bollywood has had on the region. Pestal estimates that there are 50,000 viewers of Bollywood films in Austria and Switzerland and one million viewers in Germany.

Interestingly enough, Bollywood has produced many movies in which the theme, concept and storyline was replicated from Hollywood. Regardless of the global reach of Bollywood movies, many of the A-list actors and actresses have made attempts to star in Hollywood movies. Yet, their transition or entry to Hollywood was not successful.

Bachchan with Maquire and DiCaprio in the Great Gatsby

Mega star, Amitabh Bachchan a.k.a Big B, has acted in “The Great Gatsby” which starred Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role. The angry young man played the character of a Jewish gambler Meyer Wolfshiem. The movie also stars Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton in strong roles. It was a decent hit..Bachchan had a tiny role..

Mallika Sherawat is one of those stars whose news of Hollywood acting made quite a buzz in the town. Famous for controversies, she has acted in many Hollywood movies and has even played a lead role in one. She acted in a movie called Hisss, in which she played the lead role and character of a snake woman. The movie also stars Irrfan Khan. She acted in movies like Politics of Love and The Myth as well. Hollywood Movies: The Myth (2005) Hisss (2010) Politics of Love (2011)

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan ( Daugther in law to Big B) is one of the most beautiful women in the world and has acted in many Hollywood movies. She played the character of criminology expert Sonia Solandres in Pink Panther 2. In “The Last Legion”, she played the role of martial arts expert, Mira. She played the role of a Punjabi Woman in the movie “Provoked” (2006). Other Hollywood movies which feature Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are “The Mistress of Spices” (2005) and “Bride and Prejudice” (2004). Hollywood Movies: Bride and Prejudice (2004) The Mistress of Spices (2005) Provoked: A True Story (2006) The Last Legion (2007) The Pink Panther 2 (2009)

Anil Kapoor made headlines when he acted in movies like Slumdog Millionaire and Mission Impossible. The actor even shared the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. He is more famous for playing a major role in English T.V series “24”. He is also the first Indian actor to be invited for a special segment, “In conversation”, at the Toronto International Fil Festival. Hollywood Movies: Slumdog Millionaire (2008) Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011)

Om Puri is considered as one of the finest actors in Bollywood which is the reason that he has acted in so many Hollywood Movies. His Hollywood movies include “City of Joy” (1992), “My Son the Fanatic” (1997), “East is East” (1999) and “Wolf” (1994). Hollywood Movies: City of Joy (1992) Wolf (1994) The Ghost and the Darkness (1996) My Son the Fanatic (1997) East is East (1999) Charlie Wilson’s War (2007) The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014)

Kimmel In Batman v Superman! Too Funny- Watch Now

2016-03-05T14:06:00.001-05:00

TRAILER: FAN- (Bollywood Trailer)

2016-02-29T20:19:00.001-05:00

Bollywood's Biggest Star Celebrates his 50th Birthday- Happy Birthday Salman Khan

2015-12-27T16:51:00.000-05:00

Gone are those day that the 20 or 30 year old male actors entering the game and taking it over. Similar to Hollywood, Bollywood is also led by the elder statesman. If Hollywood has Cruise, Washington, Hanks, Pitt than Bollywood has Shahrukh Khan, Aamir Khan, and Salman Khan. One would think that by the age of 50, one would slow down as the film industry tends to hawk on beauty and youth but that's not the case any more.

Bollywood's biggest bad boy actor (a mix of Stallone, Cruise and Sean Penn) celebrates his 50th. He delivered Bollywood it's 2 biggest hits of the year and 2016 is not slowing down for him.

He's known to have a temper and he never holds his words back, yet the man has a heart of gold. He's the founder of BEING HUMAN- a charity foundation that helps millions. He's known to help newcomers find movies, and the right projects.

He's launched the career of many male and female stars...

He's made the list of Forbes highest paid actor as he beat DiCaprio, yet he lives in a 1 bedroom apartment near his parents.

Film Junkeez wants to wish the bad boy of Bollywood a happy birthday!

Big Weekend- Across the World

2015-12-18T17:17:00.001-05:00

It's the weekend that many moviegoers and film buffs have been waiting for. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the Star Wars series, yet i'm probably the only one of the few that doesn't care for the movie. Millions of people around the world are jumping with joy as J.J. Abrams taking the director's seat from Lucas.
For the record, I consider Abrams to be one of the best directors of my generation. This man has proved himself over and over and I have no doubt that he's going to kill it with the Force Awakens.
As huge Star Wars is, Bollywood is becoming a force itself, and fans of Bollywood movies are not only the great people of India and Pakistan, but from all over the world.

This weekend, the King of Bollywood- Shahrukh Khan is returning in "Dilwale" with co-star and love interest from the classic Bollywood movie "Dil Wala Duniya le Jayenge". Kajol and Shahrukh are the equivalent of the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan onscreen couple. SRK ( nick of Shahrukh) and Kajol bring magic to the screen for the bollywood lovers.

But the fight doesn't stop here as on the other side of the ring comes the magnum opus " Bajirao Mastani" directed by the highly acclaimed director - Sanjay leela Bhansali. Bhansali is known for taking it to the next level with each of his movies. This director is synonymous with grandeur and style, and his films are always larger than life.

Recap
Star Wars - with J.J. behind the camera, I smell a winner
Bajirao vs Dilwale? Can Bhansali take SRK's star power and give it the 1-2? Yes, I think Dilwale has a killer combo yet early reviews state the movie lacks substance and Bhansali's Bajirao has nothing but substance! But, let's not forget that SRK and Bhansali battled it out a few years back with SRK in Om Shanti Om and Bhansali's Saawairya and SRK hit it out the park!

Check out the trailers below for both films- what are you thoughts?
Please leave your feedback below!

Charlie Sheen - Career Perspective & Future....

2015-11-24T13:18:00.002-05:00

Born as Carlos Irwin Estévez before changing his name to Charlie Sheen. Charlie is the youngest son to actor Martin Sheen and artist Janet Templeton. Sheen's brother, Emilio Estevez was also a famous actor in the 80's and 90's. Charlie gained great success and fame as he starred in Platoon in 1986. Platoon is a movie directed by the infamous director- Oliver Stone and starred Tom Berenger,

Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen. Platoon was the first of trilogy of warm film ( Vietnam).

Sheen than went onto Wall Street in 1987 also directed by Oliver Stone, Young Guns, Major League and Hot Shots!.

Charlie Sheen and Oliver Stone on the sets of Wall Street

Sheen was carving a name for himself in drama and comedy. In the times of Michael J. Fox and Tom Cruise, Sheen wasn't too far back as being a heartthrob actor. He's buddies in high school were Rob Lowe and Sean Penn.

Robert Downey Jr, Charlie Sheen, Rob Lowe

As per Sheen, it was during the filming of Wall Street, that he started to enjoy the party life with a close association to high end call girls and illegal drugs.

Charlie Sheen and Johnny Depp

Charlie Sheen, Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise

Sheen went through a list of movies that bombed and his career took a huge noise dive until an opening for replace of Michael J Fox came up on the hit show "Spin City" The series ended in 2002.

In 2003, Sheen was hired to star in CBS sitcom 2 and Half Men. The show was a hit and made Sheen the highest paid actor on TV as he earned 1.8 million per episode.
Yet with the string of failed marriages and divorces, Sheen's personal life was unstable as usual. In 2011, Sheen was fired from the show due to his personal life in the media and Sheen took a fighting stance against the producer, Chuck Lorre and Warner Bros. Sheen was replaced by Ashton Kutcher and that was the end of that.

In 2012, Sheen returned to T.V. with the sitcom Anger Managment for which lasted 2 years.
n November 17, 2015, Sheen publicly revealed that he was HIV positive, having been diagnosed roughly four years earlier.In an interview, he referred to the phrase HIV as "three hard letters to absorb". He manages his condition with a triple cocktail of antiretroviral drugs, and said that it was impossible that he could have infected any of his partners.

How does this affect Charlie's acting career? As of now, there's no upcoming projects on IMDB. Nor as any major movie studio confirmed discussions, yet Sheen did mention that he and SONY were in the midst of taking about a sitcom.

This can go in many ways

1. Sheen let's the noise die out, and find a 3rd come back with major network sitcom. The HIV element can help fans feel sorry for him as that can help viewership.

2. Sheen goes down faster than we expected. The long lines of people with lawsuits, studios backing off due to the history of Sheen with CBS.

Either way, we wish Sheen the best of luck!

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice- The end result can go in any direction..

2015-11-16T01:55:00.002-05:00

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice- The end result can go in any direction

The initial response from fans when hearing that Zack Snyder is directing the Man of Steel movie brought mixed reviews. Some enjoyed and were big fans of his slow motion action sequences ( 300, Watchmen) and the others had zero hope. End result? mixed...Man of Steel didn't bring in the same mania as the Nolan Batman Trilogy.

Years later, Warner Bros announce Ben Affleck as the next choice for the role of Gotham's favorite. That, more than Snyder, brought negative press and tons of anger from fans. Most fans remember Affleck as Daredevil and can't forgive him for the movie.

Yet, few months ago as Warner Bros release the trailer of the upcoming Batman v Superman movie, fans ( the haters and the optimistic) went crazy ( in a good way). It took away of the nervousness and it brought great hope that Ben may do it a great job.

Where does this take us? let's stay tuned and keep our fingers crossed-remember, Daniel Craig was first shunned as he was announced to take over the James Bond movies and so was Heath Ledger for the Joker.

Cruise back in the driver seat? Studio's should and will learn a lesson in messing with talent!

2015-10-19T14:02:00.001-04:00

Right now, Paramount Pictures needs Tom Cruise. The Viacom-owned studio is dangerously low on the film industry’s most-coveted commodity: profitable franchises. Their list of controlled properties includes two recently failed franchise re-boots (Jack Ryan, Terminator), a couple of franchises stuck in development hell (Beverly Hills Cop, G.I. Joe, Tom Raider) and a pair of modestly budgeted comedies (Zoolander, Anchorman). That really leaves them with just Star Trek, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers and Mission Impossible as significant players moving forward, but almost all of them have question marks. Can Star Trek ever turn the corner and become one of the mega film franchises instead of just a middle tier player? Will TMNT stall after its second installment? How concerning is it that the last Transformers movie was the lowest grossing in franchise history at the domestic box office (and by a very wide margin)? What does that signal for the shared cinematic universe they’re currently planning for Transformers sequels and spin-offs?

Mission Impossible is unquestionably solid, though. With the one-two punch of Ghost Protocol in 2011 and Rogue Nation in theaters now, the franchise is trending upwards, both in box office returns and critical acclaim. Paramount essentially has its own Fast & Furious now, i.e., a franchise finally hitting its creative and financial stride right after most observers had given up on it. It’s one of Paramount’s few sure things.

It’s quite the turnaround for Tom Cruise, who also produces all of the Mission Impossible movies, working hard to get all of them done on time and on-budget. Back in 2006, Paramount wanted out of the Tom Cruise business. The man with the dazzling smile and infectious laugh had, through a couple of public relations disasters in 2005, turned into the man with the insane smile and laugh which lasted just a bit longer than it should. We want to like our movie stars, and it had always been easy to ignore Cruise’s Scientology associations. However, now here he was refusing to shut up about it and picking fights with Matt Lauer and Brooke Shields for seemingly no good reason, and threatening Comedy Central if they reran South Park’s “Trapped in the Closet” episode.

So, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone canceled Paramount’s 14-year-relationship with Cruise’s production company, Cruise/Wagner, and told The Wall Street Journal (via CNN), “As much as we like him personally, we thought it was wrong to renew his deal. His recent conduct has not been acceptable to Paramount.”

To some degree, Cruise has yet to fully recover. Outside of the Mission Impossiblemovies, his films don’t make the kind of money they used to, and studios are left wondering whether or not intended-franchise starters like Edge of Tomorrow and Jack Reacher made enough to justify sequels, regardless of how well they did internationally. However, a lot has changed in movies since 2006, particularly once Iron Man came out in 2008. Cruise’s ever so slightly faded star might be attributable to changing viewer habits as much as the fallout from his Scientology meltdown. Things could be shifting again since the growing backlash against the CGI spectacle of comic book movies makes Cruise’s brand of practical but insane stunts seem more like the work of an actual superhero than anything The Avengers have green-screened into existence (though now there’s a backlash against the CGI backlash).

But Cruise’s “recent conduct” is not really why Paramount cut ties with the biggest movie star in the world in ’06. Not according to economist Jay Epstein. No, what really ended that relationship is that Cruise out-negotiated Paramount:

When Paramount decided to reinvent its TV series Mission: Impossible as a movie, Cruise not only starred in it, but he (along with partner Paula Wagner) produced it. In return for deferring his salary, he negotiated a deal for himself almost without parallel in Hollywood. To begin with, he got 22 percent of the gross revenues received by the studio on the theatrical release and the television licensing.

Nobody in Hollywood ever really gets “gross revenue” because the studio accountants funnel the money through various entities to work around any gross revenue obligations. Well, Cruise wouldn’t stand for that.

He insisted on—and received—”100 percent accounting,” which means that the studio, after deducting the out-of-pocket manufacturing and distribution expenses, paid Cruise his 22 percent share of the total receipts. As a result, Cruise earned more than $70 million on Mission: Impossible, and he opened the door for stars to become full partners with the studio in the so-called back-end.

For Mission Impossible 2, Cruise’s cut of the theatrical gross increased to 30% and he also got 12% of the total video/DVD receipts with no expenses deducted by Paramount.

If Mission: Impossible sold $320 million worth of DVDs and videos (which it did), Cruise’s cut would be $38.4 million. In return for this amazing deal, Cruise agreed to pay the only other gross participant, the director John Woo, out of his share. As with Mission: Impossible, Cruise’s company produced the film, and Cruise, who proved to be a relentlessly focused producer, brought Mission: Impossible II in on budget. The movie went on to be an even bigger success than the original, earning more than a half-billion dollars at the box office and selling over 20 million DVDs. Cruise’s share amounted to $92 million—and he was now the key element in Paramount’s most profitable franchise.

Cruise got the same deal for Mission Impossible 3 with Paramount giving him $1.80 per every DVD sold (assuming the DVD retailed for $15). Better yet, Cruise was the only gross participant on the movie meaning he didn’t have to pay anyone their share like he did with John Woo on MI:2. Unfortunately, Mission Impossible 3 ended up costing $180 million to make, and grossed considerably less than MI:2, just $397 million worldwide. Still, Cruise had his lucrative contract, and in the end Sumner Redstone realized Cruise was now making more from the Mission Impossible franchise than Paramount. The fact that he was also undergoing a public relations meltdown which hurt the studio’s MI3promotions made the decision to part ways that much easier.

And then a couple of years later Cruise disappeared under prosthetics and make-up inTropic Thunder and forced us to love him again, moving away from PR disasters to the point that not even Alex Gibney’s damning documentary Going Clear is sticking to Cruise on the promotional tour for Rogue Nation. Now, we just want to see what crazy stunt Cruise will do next, and Paramount probably misses the days when DVD sales used to be so important. There were plans to use Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol as a means of handing the franchise off to Jeremy Renner. Yeah, that didn’t happen (nor did that really work out for Renner with The Bourne Legacy). Now, nearly 40 percent of the North American audience said they turned out for Rogue Nation this weekend just to seeTom Cruise, an insane number for any actor in a big movie these days. Those type of numbers are surely very acceptable to Paramount now.

2015 Upcoming Movie Posters / Images- The Junkeez Review

2015-01-03T02:25:00.003-05:00

1. Mad Max - Fury Road
Move over Mel ( Gibson)! Hardy is taking over the Max Max franchise. Regardless of the production delays and trouble on set, the Mad Max re-boot is completed and the trailers are looking nothing but Mad Nice!!! Check out Hardy in the new Mad Max Poster

2. Taken 3
Okay, so the first one had a low budget, lousy acting ( except for Neeson) and a plot line that resembled a Harrison Ford / Charles Bronson flicks from the 80's, yet the movie kicked ass. It was a surprise hit as the promo's didn't do justice. Word of mouth made the movie a household name / cult classic. Of course the suits ( Hollywood Studios / Executives) must make sequels- hence came Taken 2- Meh! Expectations too high? yes!...yet were we wrong for having high expectations?
See below as " It Ends Here"

3. Escobar: Pardise Lost
Many of my favorite directors attempted to make a feature film about the infamous Colombian Drug lord - Pablo Escobar.
Oliver Stone, Antoine Fuqua (Training Day), Joe Carnahan (Smoking Aces), and Brad Furman (Lincoln Lawyer) have all tried to bring Pablo Escobar to the big screen.

Javier Bardem and Christian Bale were signed on at some point, yet the project never took off. Yet Director Andrea Di Stefano signed on Benicio Del Toro as Escobar and the movie is releasing in 2015.

Blackhat Official Trailer (Directed by Michael Mann) Starring Chris Hemsworth Movie HD

2014-12-28T18:02:00.001-05:00

Director Michael Mann returns next year with the cyber thriller, Blackhat. Here's the second UK trailer...

Given just how prominent hacking has been in the news recently, Blackhat may prove to be as relevant as anything director Michael Mann's made so far.

Starring Chris Hemsworth as a computer expert on the trail of a cyber criminal, Blackhat looks like a stylish thriller in the vein of Heat or Miami Vice.

Trailer : Entourage Official Movie Trailer

2014-12-23T14:27:00.001-05:00

True Story Official Trailer

2014-12-22T10:25:00.002-05:00