After a couple of months of this new year have gone by, I think it’s high time I make a list of some possible blockbusters that are to come in the next few months. Coincidentally, these are all movies I think I’s love to see! I think 2010 will be a good year for the cinema!

The upcoming movies are listed in chronological order! Mark your calendars!

March:

• How to Train Your Dragon (March 26th)
  A boy befriends a dragon and tries to stop the age-old conflict between the Vikings and dragons

April

• Clash of the Titans (April 2nd)
  A remake of the cult classic. This time the titans will be CGI instead of CRAP, lol

May

• Iron Man 2 (May 7th)
  The first movie was incredible, and the sequel looks to be just as awesome
• Robin Hood (May 14th)
  It’s got Russel Crowe, so it’s worth a shot!
• Shrek Forever After (May 21st)
  The fourth and final installment of one of the most entertaining animated film series ever known
• MacGruber (May 21st)
  A feature length film starring the SNL staple MacGruber

June

• The A-Team (June 11th)
  A feature length movie with an all-new A-Team. Will it sink or float?
• Toy Story 3 (June 11th)
  Pixar gives us another chapter of the beloved Toy Story series.

July

• The Last Airbender (July 2nd)
  From the popular Nickelodeon cartoon
• Predators (July 7th)
  The third installment of the Predator series, located on the Predator homeworld
• Despicable Me (July 9th)
  Interesting animated film starring Steve Carrell as a supercriminal.

August

• The Expendables (August 13th)
  A group of mercenaries is sent to overthrow a South American dictator

September

• Might be a dead month. I didn’t see anything I liked so far. Possible changes, but meh. I don’t know.

October

• The Zookeeper (October 8th)
  A quirky love story
• Jackass 3-D (October 15th)
  Not for the faint of heart
• Paranormal Activity 2 (October 22nd)
  Can it build on the first’s success?

November

• Megamind (November 5th)
  An interesting and animated twist on the superhero/supervillian tale
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part I (November 19)
  The beginning of the end in the wizarding world

December

• Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (December 10th)
  The third installment of the popular Narnia series
• Tron: Legacy (December 17th)
  An exciting return to the fight against the mainframe
• The Green Hornet (December 22nd)
  An obscure yet potentially entertaining superhero flick
• Gulliver’s Travels (December 22nd)
  Jack Black is Gulliver in a movie based on the classic book of the same name.

Phew! That’s a of interesting releases for this year! There are, of course, other films coming out other than these listed, but I think these are the best of the best for 2010. Time will only tell, though!

What are you looking forward to this year?

In this very first filmed episode of The Editing Room, I will share with you my thoughts on the results of the 2010 Academy Awards.

I busted out my new Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000 and filmed a video review of the recent release, Alice in Wonderland, starring Johnny Depp and Directed by Tim Burton.

Look! It’s a bird, it’s a plane -- no, it’s Brandon, rising from the dead to write a review! It’s a miracle, I know, but I just saw quite possible one of my favorite films of all time, and I decided to make my comeback with it.

I went into Alice in Wonderland with huge hopes. Ever since I’d heard bits of rumors that this movie might actually be made, I’d been on the edge of my seat with anticipation. From the first teaser trailer, I knew that I’d have to see this movie. I’m a huge fan of Tim Burton, and when Johnny Depp was announced as the Mad Hatter…well, that sealed the deal for me. This was going to be at the top of my “To See” list.

I suppose I should first start with my favorite aspect of the film, the visuals. As always, Burton has created a world unlike any other; he has taken a classic story and put a dark, semi-gothic twist on it. Just like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Burton completely flips and twists the world in which the story is set, from the one that the viewer is most familiar with -- in this case, the 1951 Disney animated feature. No longer is Wonderland a bright and mysterious place -- it’s taken an obvious turn for the worst. The landscape is barren, and the entire world seems to be gloomy. This is definitely a welcome change, as it completely fits the storyline of the movie.

Speaking of storyline, this version of Alice is what Burton calls a “re-imagining” of the story -- Alice is 19, and the events in Wonderland don’t directly follow Lewis Carroll’s original books, nor the 1951 Disney adaptation. Without giving any spoilers of the movie, I will say that the storyline is very well crafted. Burton has definitely achieved his goal of wanting this movie to “feel more like a story and less like a string of events”. This movie definitely moves from one scene to another much better than the ‘51 Alice, as this film actually has a set plot to it. The events are quite suspenseful as well, though I think some scenes were unnecessary, and were only added in for laughs.

Of course, you can’t have a Tim Burton movie without Johnny Depp. The two make for an infallible pair, and once again, the combination results in much entertainment. Depp again shows that he is the man to play the oddest characters, and gives the Mad Hatter the insane portrayal he deserves. Helena Bonham Carter makes an appearance as the Red Queen, and does an amazing job. The actress I was most pleased with, however, was Mia Wasikowska as Alice. She’s a relatively unknown actress outside of the United Kingdom, but I can’t see why. Her rendition of Alice was spot on, and she seemed to definitely enjoy the role. Not to mention the fact that she definitely looks the part. One more note on the acting -- as an avid Harry Potter film, I was quite surprised to see a few actors and actresses from the HP films make small appearances. Alan Rickman, Frances de la Tour, and Imelda Staunton all have small roles, and did quite well in them.

This movie isn’t perfect, but its flaws aren’t enough to make it less of a film. A few scenes of cheesy dialogue bothered me a bit, as I felt they really weren’t needed for the progression of the film. Even though Burton meant for the film to feel like a story, it felt like a rush to me -- some scenes were very quick, while others dragged on. There was a lack of balance between the two, and to me, it messed the flow of the story up just a bit. However, these flaws were not nearly enough to ruin the film for me, or the rest of the audience. One note -- you might want to reconsider if you were thinking of taking children to see this movie. There are some pretty intense scenes that might scare the little ones!

Overall, I found hardly any flaws with Alice in Wonderland. This movie definitely delivers. It is a worthy remake of the classic story, and will please everyone. I highly recommend you see this movie, whether you are a fan of Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, or just Alice -- this movie is definitely worth watching.

4/5 Reels
Golden Squid Rating
Check it out!

Trailer:

Intro:

Superheroes are the best tool for fighting crime in any major urban area. Batman protects Gotham City, Superman, Metropolis, and Spiderman, Manhattan. For the most part, the heroes listed are on decent terms with the cities and people they serve. Hancock, on the other hand, is a superhero that Los Angeles would be glad to be rid of.  He consistently demolishes various parts of the city whenever crime is afoot, can be found sleeping on the streets, and drinks heavily. In addition, he’s also a huge jerk. It’s no wonder everyone hates him.

Perhaps if he cleaned up his act, the public would start to appreciate him more. It takes a lot of persuasion from an adoring fan and PR man Ray Embrey to help improve his image. Just as things start to turn for the better, an unexpected discovery opens a huge weakness, an Achilles heel, to the mighty Hancock. Will he survive?Dialogue:

Hancock was action packed but also had some pretty decent dialogue. Nothing revolutionary, but it was funny to see the often outrageous and violent reactions he had in his conversations with the citizens of Los Angeles. Hancock’s lines also revealed glimpses of his mysterious past and origins.

Ray and Mary were true friends of Hancock, and the murderous bank robber Kenneth “Red” Parker, Jr, was chock full of classic criminal one-liners.

Acting:

The roles in Hancock were well cast. Will Smith was perfect for the role of Hancock, Jason Bateman as Ray Embrey, Charlize Theron as Mary Embrey, and Eddie Marsan as Kenneth “Red” Parker, Jr.

The various other supporting actors helped make the scenes and situations in downtown Los Angeles seem realistic.

Plot:

John Hancock is a drunkard with superhuman powers, including supersonic flight, invulnerability, immortality, and super-strength. Although he uses his powers to rescue people and stop criminals, his activities inadvertently cause millions of dollars in property damage due to his carelessness.

Hancock runs into PR man Ray Embrey when he rescues Embrey’s car from a train. Hancock derails the train and damages several cars. Instead of berating Hancock like the other people around, Embrey thanks Hancock for saving his life and invites him for dinner at his home.

Ray becomes a friend to Hancock and tries to work with him to improve Hancock’s very poor public image. Hancock voluntarily goes to jail to serve time for all the court subpoenas he skipped, and then successfully resolves a hostage situation without blowing everything to smithereens. The public is elated to see that their rude and drunk super-nuisance is a clean and friendly superhero.

Things take a turn for the worse when Hancock learns the truth about his past from Mary, who also possesses powers identical to Hancock’s. If the two are close to each other, their powers weaken, leaving them as vulnerable to death as a regular human. “Red” Parker attempts to kill Hancock once he learns of his weakness, but the result of that fight won’t be revealed  here! (Spoiler!)

Music:

The music in Hancock was well selected. It fit the action and lulls throughout the film. There’s not much else to say about this aspect of Hancock

Overall:

Hancock was a good performance that will cater to all audiences. If you are looking for a decent superhero movie with lots of action and an appreciated variation in the typical superhero storyline, then Hancock is a great deviation from the ordinary. I recommend you give it a watch!

4/5 Reels
Gold Squid Rating
Pretty decent action!

Trailer:

It was our great pleasure and honor to have the opportunity to meet with director Frank Henenlotter over Skype this past Wednesday. Frank has directed several cult classics, and defines his work to fall under the exploitation and sexploitation genres. Some his films include:

• Basket Case (1982)
• Brain Damage (1988)
• Frankenhooker (1990)
• Bad Biology (2008)

This is the first episode of Reel Talk in over a year, but I think that based on the great outcome of the interview with Frank, you can expect much more frequent episodes of Reel Talk! Just click the link below and the audio player will start.

Frank Henenlotter Interview

Jay Leno wrapped up his final episode of The Jay Leno Show last night. He will be returning to The Tonight Show which was  previously hosted by Conan O’Brian.

Leno was ‘fired’ by Donald Trump. In his final monologue, Leno said, “It seems like just yesterday I was telling NBC this was not going to work. This show was supposed to be on for two years, but we got five months for good behavior.”

After the debacle caused from last year’s Oscars ceremony, where films like The Dark Knight, which grossed over 1.4 billion and was seen by hundreds of millions of people, was beat out by a limited-release, Milk, for best picture, things have not been looking too good for Hollywood’s most prestigious award.

Naturally, if all the movies, actors, and directors that people know about aren’t in the running for an award, then people aren’t going to watch the ceremony. That’s exactly what has happened for the decade since Titanic swept through the awards in 1998.

It seems like those tightwad ‘film buffs’ are finally seeing the light, but it had to come after a good punch in their wallet. The general public almost always likes the opposite of what so-called film critics like. I figure that being a film critic for The New York Times or <Insert Newspaper Here> to be the equivalent of paying someone to diss everything that appeals to the common man. The Dark Knight or Milk? That’s not a very difficult question for about 98% of the population!

However, Avatar is shaking things up. James Cameron’s last film was coincidentally one of the last good years to watch the Oscars. Can Avatar save the Oscars? With 9 nominations, it could run the tables for sure!

Maybe things will be better this year. I am willing to watch and find out. How about you?

The lord almighty gives many of us gifts in life. Some are called to help the homeless, abandoned children, or the sick and elderly. These people are the real heroes in the world. What if you’re mission from God was to secure the holiest book of all? That’s exactly what Denzel Washington must do in the 2010 release of “The Book of Eli.”

Dialogue:

Written by Gary Whitta, the dialogue was appropriate for most of the film. I felt like there could have been a few more epic speeches, or conversations between Dezel and Oldman, but I was still satisfied with what I was given. It flowed fairly decent.

Acting:

The acting in “Eli” was superb!! Dezel played the role of the badass bible carrier amazingly. He was humble at times, and then at times he was a guy you sure as hell don’t wanna meet in a dark alley late at night. Gary Oldman too deserves a shout-out for his magnificent portrayal of the villain in the film, he was made for this kind of evil that’s obsessed with gaining something. Sweetness all around.

Plot:

The story was really original, which was a plus. I like the setting of the futuristic sense. It had elements of lots of western, a lone man wandering to a unpredictable location. I liked the biblical references and meanings, but I don’t know, it felt like something was missing from this otherwise amazing film. It needed a BAM, something to make a statement and to build upon, sadly I couldn’t find that here.

Music:

Composed by Atticus Ross, the music in this film was very unique. Ross did a great job at bringing out the absolute best in each and every scene. For this to be his first film composed, im eager to hear more of his work in the future.

Overall:

Overall, “The Book of Eli” is a great film. He has a great message for all to interpret, and everyone should definitely see it. I think it’s an underrated film. Kudos go out to Denzel Washington and Gary Oldman, for two great performances in this one.

4/5 Reels
Golden Squid Rating
Check it out!!

Trailer:

James Cameron’s Avatar is now the number one highest grossing international release, surpassing the 1.8 billion dollar record that James Cameron’s previous film, Titanic, set.

This is an incredible feat, and it is even more amazing that both of the films had the same director. Patrick made the comment that Cameron could retire now, and his family would probably never have to work again for at least 3 generations!

While that may be possible, I don’t think Mr. Cameron should stop any time soon. If anything, I’ll bet he’s already got another project underway as I write this.

I think that it is safe to say that James Cameron has set a film precedent that will be very difficult for anyone else to reach. Avatar remains the number one film for the sixth week in a row, once again shadowing a myriad of new releases. I don’t care who you are, because that’s freakin’ impressive. End of story.

Congrats, Mr. Cameron, your success is well-earned. I personally enjoy quality over quantity, and I think you subscribe to the same school of thought.