May Movie Preview (Flack’s Preview)
Posted on | May 4, 2012 | Add Comments
And just when you thought I was gone….. I’m back with updated May box office predictions! And let me tell you: you have not seen this before! I will talk about The Avengers, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Dark Shadows, Battleship,What To Expect When You’re Expecting, Moonrise Kingdom, and Men In Black 3. The Avengers is the massive month of May movie that out of all these films I (and 1 billion other people who will help make it a box office success) am looking forward to the most month. NOTE 1: All the films I will talk about except The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom, and Dark Shadows are in 3-D. NOTE 2: OWG means opening weekend gross, DTG means domestic total gross, an ITG means international total gross all for my box office predictions. May the 4th be with you…………….always!!
May 4th: Walt Disney has made only a little over $200 million so far this year (that’s about $300 million off from the the highest amount from a studio so far which is $500 million). Luckily they’ve made a deal with Marvel Studios and are producing The Avengers. The film was released on April 27th in the rest of the world (Marvel’s foreign high was Iron Man 2‘s $316 million and this will likely surpass that number this weekend). This will definitely be the second highest grossing movie of the summer. Marvel’s largest opening weekend was Iron Man 2‘s $128 million and the lowest was The Incredible Hulk‘s $55 million. Here are some other stats: Domestic Money: Iron Man‘s $318 million is the most but The Incredible Hulk‘s $134 million is the least. International Total: The lowest was The Incredible Hulk‘s $128 million. However this film will likely do a lot better than all of those movies, not least because all the characters are being combined.Why? Fan anticipation, a recognizable previous franchise, added 3-D money, and a current 92% on Rotten Tomatoes will help this movie avenge at the box office. The will also likely beat The Hunger Games as the third highest opening weekend ever. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel will likely get a weak $1 million US opening.Meanwhile this will also be a weekend where past weekend releases The Hunger Games (now 4th spot: $5 million), The Lucky One (3rd spot: $8 million), and Think Like A Man (2nd spot: $10 million) will die down. The Avengers OWG: $157 million DTG: $500 million ITG: $1 billion The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: OWG: $1 million OWG: $15 million ITG: $75 million
May 11th: This will be one of the closest weekends of the summer. If Dark Shadows didn’t open the weekend after The Avengers then it might make more money but it will be top spot (The Avengers is safe with a $60 million second weekend, dwindling a little over 50%, similar to The Hunger Games although The Hunger Games would have done worse if it opened during the summer). Alice in Wonderland‘s $116 million opening is way out of reach but Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street‘s $9 million is also a lot lower goal. This will be in the middle of Johnny Depp\Tim Burton collaborations, which is not bad for an adaption of a 1960′s soap opera TV show. Meanwhile April releases and The Hunger Games will basically stop making money. Dark Shadows: OWG: $65 million DTG: $200 million ITG: $300 million
May 16th\18th: Another close weekend. Sacha Baron Cohen’s new movie The Dictator will easily get $25 million, which is not terrible for an R rated political spoof comedy. Cohen’s comedies have done okay in the past and this should do just a bit worse (there are a lot of comedies being released this summer). Dark Shadows will probably have about$26 million and The Avengers is a good bet for $40 million. Meanwhile the big new opener is Battleship which will wind up close to the first Transformers movie (in tone, style, critics reviews, and box office money). The film itself looks bad, but then so does Transformers. Meanwhile, What To Expect When You’re Expecting is a star studded romantic comedy that should open fairly high, due to it’s prestigious cast lineup. The Dictator: OWG: $24 million DTG: $75 million ITG: $175 million Battleship: OWG: $70 million DTG: $210 million ITG: $310 million What To Expect When You’re Expecting: OWG: $25 million DTG: $100 million ITG: $200 million
May 25th: The Avengers will be massive but to a lesser extent I’m predicting Men In Black 3 will too. The two previous Men In Black films (from 1997 and 2002) mad $51 million and $52 million on their opening weekends, $250 million and $190 domestically, and $589 million and $441 million, respectively. Of course adjusted for inflation these movies made a lot more, though the second film is widely considered to be one of the most disappointing sequels in movie history. However the first is said to be a comedy classic. The latest film should be a comeback movie and after the fun, funny trailers it should open to $55 million at the least. Also the movie is in 3-D which could boost it’s box office haul. Will Smith has not been in a blockbuster since Hancock (2008 so people will have an oppurtunity to see him in an action movie again. Tommy Lee Jones is back and Josh Brolin joins as Lee’s character in the 1960′s. Meanwhile that very same weekend Moonrise Kingdom gets a limited release and the movie it should open closest to is Midnight In Paris (OWG: $5 million DTG: $56 million ITG: $148 million). Both are star studded summer romantic comedies that open Cannes. Men In Black 3: OWG: $85 million DTG: $20o million ITG: $500 million Moonrise Kingdom OWG: $5 million DTG: $60 ITG: $145 million
May will have a massive blockbuster (The Avengers), a small art house flick (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) a surprise success (Dark Shadows), a profitable comedy (The Dictator),a big, bad blockbuster (Battleship), a comedy success ( a comeback hit (Men In Black 3), and an indie hit (Moonrise Kingdom). I can’t wait to see The Avengers and Men In Black 3, I hope to see Moonrise Kingdom, and wish I could see Dark Shadows. Bye- Bye!!!!!
Summer Movies 2012: Part 3
Posted on | May 2, 2012 | 1 Comment
This is the last of the three Summer movie previews. I’m going to talk about the movies that I’m personally looking forward to this summer. I will also predict what rating I’ll give the movies out of 5 and give an overview of other films coming out (that I don’t really want to see). Don’t forget to read Summer Movie Preview Part 1 (Flack’s Box Office Predictions) and Summer Movie Preview Part 2 (Flack’s Critics Predictions). Hope you enjoy “The Epic Conclusion To The Summer Movie Legend”. Clue: Watch the trailers of all the films I talk about and find what movie I just referenced.
Movies I’m Most Anticipating:
The Avengers This 2 hour 22 minute super hero epic movie looks very entertaining. Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor will assemble, along with Black Widow, the Hulk, Nick Fury, and newcomer Hawkeye to battle Loki, Thor’s brother. If Robert Downey Jr. has great chemistry with all the other actors, then this will be hilarious. I think it would have been a good idea to have John Favareau direct it, but Joss Whedon might be a good choice, but I haven’t seen his other movies. I don’t think the story will be excellent, because all of the super heroes together might be a bit too much. But it should be overall entertaining. Reel prediction: 4 stars Release Date: May 4th
Men in Black 3 I have not seen the first 2 MIB films, but I have heard that they are entertaining. Some people say the second one was not as good as the first, so the third might not be either. I think this could follow the path of Indiana Jones, can Josh Brolin be as great as Sean Connery? The trailer looks pretty funny, especially Will Smith’s description of Tommy Lee Jones’ smile. Reel prediction: 3 stars Release Date: May 25th
Brave Pixar’s latest film is a departure from their previous work, but after the mediocre Cars 2 we’re also hoping that it’s a return to form. The latest trailer looks promising but not they’re best. Rude humor and an annoying song are some of the detractors. Meanwhile the brilliant animation, big castle battle, and stunning archery tournament all look amazing. Of course with any trailer there are also some intriguingly mysterious elements. In this case 2 shots in which Merida, the heroine, is caught between two black bears. I don’t think this movie will be as bad as Cars 2, but not as good as the Toy Story trilogy, WALL-E, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, Monsters Inc., or any of the other Pixar classics. Reel Prediction: 4 stars Release Date: June 22nd
The Amazing Spider-Man I am looking forward to this film a great deal. The actors all seem great, the trailer has loads of exciting action, and the director Marc Webb has been calling this more personal than most superhero movies. The only bad thing in it is the part in the first trailer when he’s flying and it looks too much like a video game. In the second trailer they didn’t put that part in: Could they secretly be hiding a huge mistake? Reel Prediction: 4 1/2 stars Release Date: July 3rd
Paranorman This looks like the must see August movie of the year. Last year August, a usually lackluster month for summer movies, (because they can’t play all summer long) brought us two surprise hits: The Oscar winning The Help and the massive blockbuster prequel Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Can this be the surprise hit of August? I am sure hoping so!!!!! Reel Prediction: 4 stars Release Date: August 17th
Family Films That Look Just Okay:
The Odd Life Of Timothy Green Peter Hedges, the Oscar winning writer/director of Dan In Real Life and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape presents a new Disney movie that (based on the short trailer, there will probably be another one soon) promises to be a sappy, formulaic, yet intriguing and fun, kids movie. Sounds way different than Academy Award winning indie pictures but no matter how this film turns out I am excited to see what it’s like. Go watch the trailer. Flick calls it “The Tree of Life for kids.” I’d call it “a realistic Peter Pan“. Reel Prediction: 3 stars Release Date: August 15
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted I am not particularly excited to see this film but the trailer looks okay and it’s playing out of competition at Cannes. I haven’t seen any of the others in this series because the annoying theme song and rude humor seemed unappealing. Still, potty joke seeking kids will definitely enjoy this summer movie. Add in a catchy new circus song, it’s festival schedule, and a trailer with great 3-D and no rude humor parents and critics may enjoy the film as well. Reel Prediction: 2 stars Release Date: June 8th
Ice Age 4: Continental Drift I know many people around the world will see this film. The previous installment, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs made $886 million worldwide (and the highest foreign box office ever for an animated movie:surprising but true). The rest of the series was not terrible but this is not top of my must see summer movie list. However, if you liked the other ones then you’ll probably like this one. Reel Prediction: 2 1/2 stars Release Date: July 13th
Other Movies That I Would Like To See, But Probably Can’t:
The Dark Knight Rises This is the most anticipated movie of the summer and quite possibly of the year. It’s a superhero threequel that continues the story line of The Dark Knight (4 years ago, in 2008) which followed the story of Batman Begins (7 years ago, from 2005). The newest trailer is awesome. After The Dark Knight became the highest grossing superhero movie ever made (a little over $1 billion worldwide) and won 2 Oscars (including Best Supporting Actor for the late Heath Ledger) a sequel became inevitable. Adding Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Joseph Gordon Levvit, and Marion Cotillard has added to fan’s anticipation. Will this new film get good as good reviews as the first ones (85% and 94%, respectively)? Will there be superb special effects and awesome action, as well? Find out this summer when this last in the trilogy movie is released. In the trailer Catwoman says “You don’t owe these people anymore”. Batman responds “Not everything. Not Yet.” Empire Magazine said that Batman’s answer could be applied to Christopher Nolan. Reel Prediction: 4 stars Release Date: July 20th
Moonrise Kingdom A shot in R.I. Wes Anderson film with a star studded cast including Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Jason Schwartznam, Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, and newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward: sounds like an Oscar hopeful and quite possibly an opening night Cannes summer smash hit. As for the plot, it’s a romantic comedy with a bit of adventure and drama, as it tells the story of two teenagers in love who run away from their families and then get looked for by their parents, the police, and a pack of cub scouts. Reel Prediction: 4 stars Release Date: May 25th
Dark Shadows Johnny Depp and Tim Burton team up to make an adaption of the TV soap opera series of the same name. Romance, fantastical humor, Burton weirdness, vampire violence, and a cast including previous Burton stars (Depp, Burton’s wife Helena Bonham Carter, Christopher Lee, and Michelle Pfeiffer) and newbies (Jackie Early Haley, Eva Green, and Chloe Grace Mortez). Many people disliked the first trailer but I thought it was very funny. Don’t forget to check out a special featurette on Apple Trailers about the film. It has new clips from the movie and behind the scenes insights from Burton and Depp. Reel Prediction: 4 stars Release Date: May 11th
And now last and least, the summer movies that seem to be all action, no story:
Battleship Transformers on water? Maybe. Robots, things blowing up, big battles, massive explosions, and possible aliens. Sounds a bit far from the board game. Reel Prediction: 2 stars Release Date: May 18th
G.I. Joe Retaliation Bringing in Dwaye Johnson and especially Bruce Willis will boost box office power but keeping Taylor Kitsch in the series was probably a bad move (after Battleship and John Carter but not Savages). The film looks like it has a smudge of fun action to it but not looking like a something that will become an all time classic at all ever. Reel Prediction: 2 1/2 Release Date: June 29th
Piranha 3DD Looks bad except for the title of course.Reel Prediction: 1 star Release Date: June 1st
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter Lincoln will probably be a lot better. Reel prediction: 2 stars Release Date: June 22nd
Other summer movies being released that I will not do Reel Predictions for (they are not ones that I necessarily want to see a lot) include:
Dramas: Lawless (with an all star cast), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (with another all star cast), Savages (with a bigger all star cast than the two movies that I just mentioned), and To Rome With Love (with Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, and more)
Fantasy: Snow White and the Huntsman (with Kirsten Stewart as Snow White)
Musical: Rock of Ages (starring Tom Cruise) and Sparkle (with Whitney Huston)
Action Movies: The Bourne Legacy (a prequel to the previous trilogy of Bourne movies) Preminum Rush (an N.Y.C. bicycle action movie), and The Expendables 2 (with Sylvester Stallone and other famous action heroes)
Comedies: The Campaign (a political comedy with Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakas), The Dictator (a political spoof starring Sacha Baron Cohen), What To Expect When You’re Expecting (starring Cameron Diaz), That’s My Boy (starring Adam Sandler), Ted (with Mark Wahlberg and a teddy bear), Neighborhood Watch (with Jonah Hill and Ben Stiller and maybe some aliens), and Hope Springs (staring Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones, and Steve Carrell)
Sci- Fi: Total Recall (a remake of the 1992 Arnold Schwarsenegger but now starring Colin Farrell) and Prometheus (a Ridely Scott sci-fi horror movie with a tough Noomi Rapace, a flat Charlize Theron, and a scared Idris Elba)
Documentaries: ReGENERATION (from the 2010 PCFF) and First Position (from TIFF kids)
Thank you for following me on my epic journey of a trilogy of summer movie madness!! Thank you as well to my family for helping me and movie websites for increasing my movie knowledge (IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, Box Office Mojo, Lights Camera Jackson, EW, and The New York Times). Please don’t forget to COMMENT, COMMENT, COMMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also you should watch the trailers of the films I talked about about (on Apple Trailers) so you might have a little idea of what I have been talking about over the past three articles. During the summer movie season look for articles, reviews, news and maybe some videos and podcasts from Flick and I (in other words not a break from May 31st to August 21st like last summer, hopefully). And last try to go to the movies in the summer and COMMENT and COMMENT some more. You should make your own summer movie schedule of what you want to see for fun!!!!!!!! See you later!!!!!!
TIFF Interview: Kid Jurors
Posted on | April 28, 2012 | Add Comments
While at TIFF Kids International Film Festival we were honored to interview the Young People’s Juries. They are divided into three jury groups: Feature Films (Ages 8 to 10), Feature Films (Ages 11 to 13) and Short Films (Ages 9 to 13) to select the Golden Sprocket Award. We spoke with 6 of the 9 junior jurors. Three of them, Will (8 years old), Maggie (10 years old), and Jonathan (9 years old), selected one feature length movie to receive the Golden Sprocket. The other three we spoke to, Anthony (10 years old), Daniel (10 years old), and Dana (11 years old) selected a short film to receive the Golden Sprocket. We did not get to interview the three 11-13 year old feature film juror’s. During two festival weekends, they take notes after seeing a film at the festival, rank it out of 10 then discuss it together with their adult jury leader to pick the winners.
To get selected as jurors, children write a movie review online and submit it (for some it was part of a school project). Nine kids are picked. The jurors we interviewed, reviewed Captain America: The First Avenger, Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Hugo, Bridge to Terabithia, and WALL•E (reviewed by 2 kids). The kids are only allowed to be picked as juror’s once, but they can enter more times just for fun.
While watching TIFF films, they look for good acted, well done feature films and shorts with a great story. Films and shorts they juried included: Stay!, The Blue Tiger, Gattu, Alfie the Little Werewolf, Famous Five, Magic Piano 3-D, The Gruffalo’s Child, and Mouse For Sale. They watch each film only once with a regular audience or sometimes in a private theater. Then they agree on their favorite movies or shorts to award the Golden Sprocket.
It was interesting to hear how their jurying process is different from the Providence Children’s Film Festival‘s (PCFF) process. (awarding already picked TIFF Kid movies vs. selecting the movies to be in the PCFF) It was fun talking to people who love movies as much as we do and hearing what their favorite movies are. The jurors’ favorite non-TIFF movies include: The Hunger Games, WALL•E, Hugo, The Sting, Nancy Drew, The Harry Potter movies, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, John Hughes’ movies, and The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. We definitely enjoyed interviewing the Young People’s Juries, and it was loads of fun.
At a ceremony held April 22, 2012 at TIFF Bell Lightbox, the award winners for the 15th annual TIFF Kids International Film Festival were announced. In addition to Audience Choice Awards, three Young People’s Juries weighed in on the recipients of the coveted Golden Sprocket Awards. Winners of the Jump Cuts Young Filmmakers Showcase were also announced, as determined by a jury of film industry professionals.
AND THE TIFF KIDS AWARDS GO TO…..
TIFF KIDS AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS
TIFF Kids Audience Choice Awards are voted on by Festival-goers who attended public screening weekends (April 14 to 15 and April 21 to 22).
TIFF Kids Audience Choice Award — Best Feature Film
Cool Kids Don’t Cry (Achtste Groepers Huilen Niet), director: Dennis Bots, The Netherlands
Grade eight student Akkie has only two concerns: going to high school with her best friends and winning the soccer championship.
Tough-girl Akkie never backs down from a challenge or lets the class bully Joep target her friends. Her whole class is shocked when Akkie is diagnosed with leukemia, yet she faces the disease with unwavering courage. While on her class graduation trip she must rely on Joep, the one classmate who didn’t visit her in the hospital, to help her with a dilemma. Is this is the beginning of a new friendship? Akkie fears she won’t have time to find out. Based on the best-selling Benelux novel by Jacques Vriens, this film adaptation will leave viewers inspired by Akkie’s spirit and resolve in the face of adversity.
TIFF Kids Audience Choice Award — Best Short Film
Joanna Makes a Friend, director: Jeremy Lutter, Canada
Joanna likes to wear dark clothes and sketch spooky illustrations. As a result, the kids in Joanna’s class don’t like her, and she doesn’t much enjoy their company either. So, when her father tells her to “make a friend,” Joanna takes it a little too literally.
GOLDEN SPROCKET AWARDS
Two film juries representing different age groups — ages 8 to 10 and ages 11 to 13 — each selected a winning feature film. Another jury comprised of children aged 9 to 13 determined a winning short film.
Golden Sprocket Award — Feature Film
Jury 1 (Ages 8 to 10)
Famous Five, director: Mike Marzuk , Germany
Three siblings, their cousin and a canine companion become summertime sleuths in this adaptation of the famed Enid Blyton novels.
On choosing this film, the jury said, “Famous Five is a great mystery that keeps you guessing and makes you feel like part of the adventure.”
Golden Sprocket Award — Feature Film
Jury 2 (Ages 11 to 13)
Nicostrados, the Pelican, director: Olivier Horlait, France/Belgium/Greece
Fourteen-year-old Yannis enjoys a simple life with his widowed fisherman father on the Greek island of Zora. That is, until he trades his mother’s golden cross for Nicostratos, a neglected white pelican. This charismatic, mischievous and gigantic bird becomes Yannis’ best friend, but he also becomes a major tourist attraction.
The Young People’s Jury explained their decision, “We are in awe of how this movie took us on a rollercoaster ride of emotions in such a beautiful setting, which was exquisitely captured in the film’s photography.”
Honourable mentions go to Cool Kids Don’t Cry, The Netherlands and Havanastation, Cuba.
Golden Sprocket Award — Short Film
Jury (Ages 9 to 13)
The Little Team, directors: Roger Gomez and Daniel Resines, Spain
In this sweet and charming documentary, the fourteen little kids that make up the Margatania FC go over an unsolved football mystery, and they end up teaching an unexpected life lesson to grown-ups.
Said the Young People’s Jury of their unanimous decision, “We admire that this movie conveys messages of perseverance and inspiration that we can all learn from. And it is told from a great point of view.”
Photos Courtesy of TIFF – Toronto International Film Festival
Summer Movies 2012 Part 2: Flack’s Critics Predictions
Posted on | April 13, 2012 | Add Comments
Now that you’ve heard all about money and box-office predictions it’s time to learn about something else: critics. I will be talking about how 10 movies are likely to do brilliantly with critics and my educated guesses at what their Rotten Tomatoes scores will be. Rotten Tomatoes (in case you don’t know about it) is a movie website that compiles hundreds of critics reviews and then ranks them on a scale of 100%, with 1% being the worst and 100% being the best. If a movie is above 60% it is”fresh” and if it is below 60% it is “rotten.” From blockbusters I’ve already talked about that are likely to be critically acclaimed, to festival favorites you’ve never heard of, there’s star studded indies and summer Oscar hopefuls, I’ve selected a wide range of films that critics are bound to love. Without further ado the 10 movies are…….
11. The Avengers Release Date: May 4th Why critics will like it: Iron Man got a 94% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. If this one combines wit, humor, chemistry, action, adventure, a great story, and awesome special effects in the same way that the May 2008 blockbuster did, then this one will do great! Why Critics might not like it: Iron Man 2 got a 74%: fresh but not great… The other Marvel movies are also not as beloved (Thor: 77% fresh, Captain America: The First Avenger: 79% fresh, Hulk: 62% fresh, The Incredible Hulk: 66% fresh) but with the characters combined you never know: they could work better together. Still, hopefully there will be a good story and the special effects will hopefully not take over the movie!
10. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Release Date: May 4th Why Critics will like it: This movie stars Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Tom Wikinson, and Dev Patel. Alone, that’s a good reason for critics to probably like it. John Madden, the director also won Best Picture for Shakespeare in Love. But Steven Spielberg famously won Best Director that year in 1998 for Saving Private Ryan and beat John Madden. Why critics might not like it: The director also made the 2011 film, The Debt which got a 76% fresh which is a lot less than Shakespeare in Love‘s 93% fresh. Also as of now The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel only has a 77% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes guess: 82%.
9. The Wettest County Release Date: August 31st Why Critics will like it: This movie stars Tom Hardy, Shia Labeouf, Jessica Chaistan, Guy Pearce,Gary Oldman, Noah Taylor, and Mia Waskowska. The cast is o.k. but not as star studded as it could be. But what is the main reason this is a standout Summer Oscar hopeful? The Weinstein brothers are producing it. Why critics might not like it: The star of Transformers is in this movie. Uh-oh! Rotten Tomatoes guess: 83%
8. The Amazing Spider-Man Release Date: July 3rd Why Critics will like it: The director is more known for independent movies, the star was in The Social Network, and the trailer looks amazingly well done. I think this movie will have a good story, but not exactly an original one. Spider-Man (Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire version from 2002) got an 89% fresh and Spider-Man 2 got a 93% fresh. If this new movie is like the first two then it won’t do that bad. Why critics might not like it: Spider-Man 3 got a 63% fresh, which Empire Magazine called the 50th worst movie of all time. Hopefully this one won’t be as bad as that one. Rotten Tomatoes guess: 85%
7. The Intouchables Release Date: May 25th Why Critics will like it: Harvey Weinstein brought the movie to the US version. After having his movies win Oscars 2 years in a row, it would be hard to bet against him. It was nominated for 8 awards (including some of the main ones) and won best actor (Omar Sy) at the Cesars (like France’s Oscars) Why critics might not like it: There have been some rotten French reviews, and it’s hard to tell if that will affect the movie. One last note: This movie was beat out by The Artist at the Cesars Awards. Rotten Tomatoes guess: 88%
6. Prometheus Release Date: June 8 Why Critics will like it: Alien got a 96% fresh and Aliens (directed by James Cameron) got a 100% fresh. This movie is directed by Ridley Scott (once again) and has a cast including Idris Elba, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassebender, Patrick Wilson and Noomi Rapace (the original Girl WithThe Dragon Tattoo). Why critics might not like it: Alien 3 got a 39% splat and Alien 4: Resurrection got a 55% splat. Luckily Prometheus is not a sequel, although there will probably be Prometheus sequels. Rotten Tomatoes guess: 90%
5. To Rome With Love Release Date: June 22nd Why Critics will like it: Woody Allen’s best reviewed movie of the 2000′s just came out on June 10, 2011 (Midnight in Paris with a 93% fresh). His latest movie is about people in Italy and the adventures and romances that they have. The cast isn’t as star studded as Midnight in Paris‘ but the movie still stars Woody Allen, Jesse Eisinberg, Penelope Cruz, Ellen Page, Judy Davis, Roberto Beginini, and Alec Baldwin. Why Critics might not like it: The reaction to the trailer has been so-so and Allen’s recent movies have not always fared well (the 2010 film You Will Meet A Tall Dark Starnger got a 44% splat and the 2009 movie Whatever Works got a 50% splat). Also opening on June 22nd are Brave and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Althought these three films are vying for completly different audiences To Rome With Love will be a failre at the box office at least compared to those two filmsRotten Tomatoes Guess: 90%
4. Beats of the Southern Wild Release Date: June 27th Why Critics will like it: This is the most acclaimed movie of this year’s Sundance film festival. Based on what I’ve heard about it, this seems a lot like The Tree of Life of 2012 with monsters. Sounds interesting. Why critics might not like it: Critics were divided about The Tree of Life despite it’s 84% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes. They probably won’t agree about this movie also but just as with The Tree of Life people will love this film. Rotten Tomatoes guess: 92%
3. The Dark Knight Rises Release Date: July 20th Why Critics will like it: Batman Begins got a 85% fresh and The Dark Knight got a 94%. This one will probably follow more in The Dark Knight’s lead. Why critics might not like it: Without Heath Ledger’s Oscar winning Joker will people still like it? Probably but I still definetly don’t think that Tom Hardy will win an Oscar for his performance as the new bad guy, Bane. Rotten Tomatoes guess: 93%
2. Moonrise Kingdom Release Date: May 25th Why Critics will like it: This movie seems like it will turn out to be the Midnight in Paris of the year (an opening night Cannes comedy romance that’s made by a famous director, has a great cast, makes some money, and then ends up maybe even getting a few Oscar nominations and one win) and because that movie got a 93% fresh this film should get great reviews. Why critics might not like it: Will critics (as they did with Midnight in Paris) find the movie a bit too light? Maybe but probably not too much. Rotten Tomatoes guess: 95%
1. Savages Release Date: July 6th Why Critics will like it: This movie stars Benicio Del Toro, Taylor Kitsch (who described the movie as Pulp Fiction meets Goodfellas), Blake Lively, Uma Thurman, John Travolta, Aaron Johnson, Demian Bramchir, Emie Hirsh, and Salma Hayek. It’s a drama thriller directed by two time Academy Award winner Oliver Stone. I also think that it’s the most Oscar friendly movie of the Summer. Why critics might not like it: Oliver Stone’s recent movies have been badly reviewed (Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps got a 55% splat which is a lot less than Wall Street’s 78% fresh). Also the cast might not have chemistry and there could be too many characters. Rotten Tomatoes guess: 96%
Well now we’ll just have to sit back and watch how things turn out!!!!! Part 3 is coming soon!!!!!
Rear Window (Flack’s Review)
Posted on | March 16, 2012 | Add Comments
5 Stars
Rear Window is based on the short story “It Had To Be Murder.” The movie tells the story of L.B. Jefferies, a photographer with a broken leg in a cast. Because he gets stuck in his apartment with nothing to do because he’s in a wheelchair he decides to look at his neighbors. There are dogs, husbands, wives, and others that he peeks out at. But when he thinks he sees a man commit murder, his time-wasting game becomes something much more. He is joined in uncovering the mystery by his girlfriend, his nurse and an old detective friend. Together they must solve the possible crime.
Rear Window is a masterpiece. Alfred Hitchcock creates a fascinating story and develops interesting characters that make the mystery more emotional. You care for the characters and don’t want them to get hurt. Jimmy Stewart does a great job as L.B. Jefferies but I must admit it was weird watching George Bailey in a murder mystery movie. Stewart isn’t quite as good or at least as iconic as he was in It’s a Wonderful Life, but he’s still perfect in this. Grace Kelly plays his girlfriend and Thelma Ritter plays the nurse. Ritter steals every scene she’s in because of her pitch-perfect comic timing. Although some would argue the story is cliche and at times predictable, I would have to disagree. Except for a romantic subplot in a distant window, everything in the story adds to the mystery. The climax of bone tingling action sequences is riveting due not only to the actors but also to Hitchcock.
Another thing that surprised me was that the actors were not only great but also as important to the story as Hitchcock’s direction. It’s also interesting how the whole movie is set largely in one apartment room.
My favorite scene is the part when the suspected murderer walks into L.B.’s room because it’s is super scary and super suspenseful!!!!! And freaky!!!!!
My favorite character is L.B. Jefferies because he is likeable. Also Stewart does a good job making you want him to stay safe and not get hurt (after all he already is)!
Rear Window is better than the two other Alfred Hitchcock movies I’ve seen (the entertainingly enjoyable 1959 North by Northwest and the so-so 1934 The Man Who Knew Too Much.) Rear Window is well acted , suspenseful, exciting, full of mystery, funny, fascinating, perfect, a classic, masterfully edited, and most of all terrifically directed by Alfred Hitchcock!!!!!
Box Office Battle Brews (Flack’s Report)
Posted on | March 14, 2012 | Add Comments
When 2011′s total box office total grosses were announced to be the lowest since 1995, high expectations were already being set for 2012. I was personally surprised about 2011, considering that the last Harry Potter installment, not one but four super hero films, Transformers 3, and two Steven Spielberg films were all released. But with Batman 3, a Spider-Man movie, the Avengers, and another Steven Spielberg movie all being released in 2012, excitement is starting to brew.
So far the box office is 24% higher at this than point last year. But not quite as high as 2009 and 2010 at this point. Coraline and Pink Panther 2 were released in early 2009 and Avatar was released in December 2009 and obviously carried over into early 2010. This year 3 movies have already passed the 100 million dollar mark. In order from least to greatest, they are: the action movie, Safe House ($116 million), the romance, The Vow ($118 million), and the family film, The Lorax ($129 million). Those movies also have the highest opening weekends, with $40 million, $41 million and $70 million. Also twenty movies have passed the 30 million mark. Still there have been a large number of commercial flops, such as, This Means War, The Woman in Black, The Grey, Red Tails, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, and so far John Carter.
Now let’s take a look at what other March blockbusters are coming up.
March 16, 2012: The Big Opening: 21 Jump Street. Why it will be big? Starring comedian and Oscar nominee, Jonah Hill. And with a current Rotten Tomatoes score of 85%, it’s likely to become a semi-big commercial, crowd pleaser. Why it will not be big: It’s rated R, which means that younger audiences won’t go. Also others might not be old enough to remember the TV show. My box office predictions: Opening Weekend: $35 million, Domestic Total: $155 million, and International Total: $255 million. Other movies opening that week: Seeking Justice staring Nicolas Cage, Jeff who Lives at Home staring Jason Segel, and the Spanish film Casa de mi Padre starring Will Ferrel.
March 23, 2012: The Big Opening: The Hunger Games. Why: This is the biggest non-summer, non-holiday movie of the year. Comparisons to Twilight could give it a push…. or not. The first Twilight opened to 69 million dollars in it’s opening weekend, but this is likely to do better. It has a massive, massive, massive fan base and could get great reviews. Why not: It’s possible because not everyone is familiar with it, it might not do well. My box office predictions: Opening Weekend: $80 million, Domestic Total: $350 million, and International Total: $400 million. Other movies opening that week: The Raid: The Redemption, and Brake.
March 30, 2012: The Big Openings: Wrath of the Titans, and Mirror Mirror. Why? The first Titans movies was released to a $61 million weekend, suggesting this could very well possibly follow in its footsteps. The first Titans movie was badly reviewed, and got a 28% splat on Rotten Tomatoes. The 2 worst reviewed elements, however, are back: Sam Worthington and 3-D, but the first earned $300 million overseas, making this one a potential blockbuster. Also people now know that they didn’t like the first one so they might not return for a sequel. Meanwhile Mirror Mirror is the more family-friendly of the two Snow White movies, opening in 2012. It also stars Julia Roberts. But it’s not a summer movie, an action movie, or a Kristen Stewart movie, or even a movie with Thor in it, which the other one is all of those. My box office predictions for Wrath of the Titans: Opening Weekend: $40 million, Domestic Total: $200 million, International Total: $300 million. My Mirror Mirror box office predictions: Opening Weekend: $25 million, Domestic Total: $115 million, International Total: $170 million.
One last note, I wanted to point out is that all top 1o movies at the box office right now have a SPLAT on Rotten Tomatoes, which means they are badly reviewed. However I expect that to change for new movies coming out, particularly the first two ones I was just talking about Many people are saying that all this good box office will lead people into the Summer, however I hope that some of the Summer movies get good reviews. In December, I’m expecting The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey to be the big holiday movie and Lincoln (directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Daniel Day Lewis) to be the big Oscar movie and a potential blockbuster. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will probably be first or second place along with The Dark Knight Rises for the whole, entire year. The Amazing Spider-Man, Skyfall, and The Avengers will round out the top 5 for the year (not in order). More Summer movies preview for 2012 are coming soon.
Tags: Box Office Predictions
The Lorax (Flack’s Review)
Posted on | March 11, 2012 | 1 Comment
The Lorax (Flack’s Review)
4 Stars
The Lorax is loosely based on the classic Dr. Seuss book by the same name. It is about a young boy named Ted who sets out on a journey to find a tree for Audrey (which is also the name of Dr. Seuss’s wife) who he is in love with. He meets the Oncler who tells him the story of the Lorax and helps on his adventure. Along with his grandmother, his mom, and others, he embarks on a quest to find a non-plastic tree in his all plastic world, guarded by evil businessmen. However, if he doesn’t believe in his mission a lot he just won’t make it, he will not!!!!!
The Lorax is a surprisingly good family film with so-so songs, a great voice cast, and creative animation!!!!! Walking into the theatre I had pretty low expectations. Expecting to give it two stars, I was also wondering how the film would live up to the book. But in the end I was happily surprised. The movie is a musical. When comparing the songs to those of another recent family-friendly movie musical, The Muppets, the Lorax’s songs are just okay. “How Bad Can I Possibly Be” isn’t really that bad and “Let It Grow” is delightfully cheerful. But the show stopping opener has been done better and has been done before. None of them are as great as “Life’s A Happy Song” and the Oscar-winning “Man Or Muppet,” but they are okay.
Compared to the mega-popular blockbuster, Despicable Me (made by both the same studio and directed by the same directors) this is way better. Despite The Lorax‘s massive opening weekend at the box-office, I’m afraid that bathroom jokes and annoying minions will live on longer than the movie form of tree-choppers and furry orange animals. The Lorax does have some joyful jokes and great gags. My favorite? The part in which the Lorax robs the Oncler’s bed and all the tree animals start singing the Mission:Impossible theme song. I also loved the beautiful animation, even though at times it is a bit too candy colored. The 3-D is okay. It doesn’t even come close to Hugo, which I think is the best 3-D ever (I haven’t seen Avatar in the format of 3-D). But, hey it’s still always cool to see things go fly right up in to your face. After watching this I want to go back and rewatch Dr. Seuss’s Horton Hears a Who, from 2008.
My favorite scene is when the Lorax and the tree animals sing the Mission:Impossible theme song because it is hilarious and a neat and funny reference.
My favorite character is the Lorax because of Danny DeVito’s Robin Williams as the Genie in Aladdinish voice acting.
The movie is rated PG by the MPAA for brief mild language. The movie is rated G by Flack because there is nothing that inappropriate about it and so that more younger kids could see it and because I think they would like it.
With a great voice cast including Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, and Ed Helms, as well as the fabulously funny Betty White and Danny DeVito plus a great moralistic message, this a great movie. It’s even better than Cars 2 (the worst Pixar movie ever). And beneath the movie’s so-so songs, candy colored animation and okay 3-D it is a terrific tribute to Dr. Seuss.
The Tree of Life (Flack’s Review)
Posted on | January 22, 2012 | 1 Comment
5 Stars
The Tree of Life is about a man who has just gotten the news that his brother died. The man, named Jack remembers and reflects on his childhood. When he was a boy he lived in Texas in the 50′s with a mom, a dad, and two younger brothers. The mother says early on in the movie that there are two ways of life: the way of nature and the way of grace. Jack thinks about his memories including his rough relationship with his father, his mother’s niceness, his attitude towards his brothers, and his desire to fit into the world.
If you’re thinking this sounds like your average drama it’s not. The family flashbacks are interspersed with sequences involving dinosaurs, jellyfish, outer space, and the formation of Earth. These breathtaking moments are magical and quite obviously intended to be seen on the big screen. However it’s testament to the power of the director Terrence Malick’s vision that when I watched the movie on an iPad in a bumpy car that I was still completely wowed by, for example, a scene in which the entire universe is created. But although the film could be the most epic independent movie ever made I’ll pause from raving about the special effects for a minute and talk about the actual story.
I was very connected to all the characters because of how great the actors all were. A startlingly mature Brad Pitt and the angel-like Jessica Chaisten are equally fantastic at respectively embodying nature and grace. I was also amazed by the stunning Hunter McCracken in his debut role as the young Jack. There are scenes that are very sad including one in which the Father loses his temper. Pitt is very different than he was in Moneyball. In Moneyball he was a good person in tough situations, but in this film he’s a troubled person in touch situations. I disagree with others that there are scenes that ramble on and I was surprised that I never got bored because I was so fascinated with the story.
I can understand when critics say that they think Malick has made this movie for himself rather than an audience (says ABC radio) but this is the kind of movie that is meant to be discussed and debated. But seriously what is Mike Ward (of Richmond.com) talking about when he says “I admire The Tree of Life – in the same way I admire the white-haired lady in the Guinness Book of World Records with 28-foot fingernails.” With a story this intensely emotional however I found it completleey impossible not to be hooked by this tale of love, family, space, life, and death.
It is very interesting how Malick displays his thoughts bout god and the universe. I think that all the characters are in some way trying to fit in the world or understand what life is about. The reason that Malick has decided to include scenes of dinosaurs is because he shows how different people have different thoughts in different situations for example when the dinosaur decides not to kill the other dinosaur, it’s an example of grace. Both ways of life come with consequences, because nature can make you lonely because you are the only person who has everything they want and grace could make you disappointed that even though you are helping many others you don’t have what you wished. The director’s point is not to decide which is necessarily the right way, but rather for others to decide and form their own opinions.
Amidst all the shots of stars and space is a very personal story about life and death. I suspect this film will become a classic. Many people will have different ideas about it, but when I was done watching it, the idea that was most in my head was this was a truly great film.
My favorite scene is near the end of the movie so I won’t spoil it. It involves people talking about a gun. I like it because of the great performances from Hunter McCracken and Laramie Epler and the scene is also very moving and emotional.
I am not sure who my favorite character is because I didn’t fully agree with any of their beliefs. Also the actors are all equally great so it really is hard to pick. I think Sean Penn was kind of wasted because he didn’t really do anything. I would like to point out that the rising star Jessica Chaisten was good and very different than how she was as Celia Foote in The Help. I also thought Brad Pitt was good and different than how he normally is. I also am guessing McCracken will soon become very popular.
The Tree of Life is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for some thematic material, and I agree.
This is one for the best movies of 2011 and it’s truly unlike anything you’ve ever seen. I suggest you see it right away because the cast is great, and the special effects are stunning. This is magical movie making at it’s most magical.
84th Oscars Predictions (Flack’s Predictions)
Posted on | January 22, 2012 | 2 Comments
84th Oscars (for movies that were released in 2011)
This year there will be 5 to 10 films nominated for Best Picture. A film must get 5% of the number 1 votes to qualify. Click here to read the rules announcement. This makes it more confusing to predict the nominees, but join Flack as he predicts the possibilities.
Since the nominations have not been announced yet, I’ll focus on the Best Picture predictions. I have not seen all the films I’ll be talking about, but based on predictions from such resources as Entertainment Weekly, Empire Magazine, the New York Times, my own movie knowledge, and help from other people, I will do my best.
So far I think there are 3 obvious front runners: The Descendants, War Horse, and The Artist. I cannot see the Descendants, but I did see War Horse and The Artist. War Horse is one of my favorite films of the year, but The Artist is pretty good too. Hugo and The Help also have good chances. Predicting the next batch of films is a bit trickier. The way you can tell which are the 5 front runners are for Best Picture when there are more than 5 movies nominated is by comparing them with the movies also nominated for Best Director. This a bit hard obviously because we don’t know which movies will be nominated for Best Direcor so I guess I’ll just have to get those as well. I’m guessing the nominees for Best Director will be Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist), Steven Spielberg (War Horse), Alexander Payne (The Descendants), Martin Scorsese (Hugo), and Tate Taylor (The Help). If there are any more than 5 nominated for Best Picture, I’m guessing they will be The Tree of Life, Midnight in Paris, and Moneyball. If there are 10, the last 2 would probably be blockbusters, like Harry Potter or dramas that got mixed reviews, like The Ides of March.
The Golden Globes can sometimes make predicting the nominees a little easier but only one movie (Slumdog Millionare) in the last seven years has been both the Best Picture winner for the Globes and the Oscars. Also for the Globes there is Best Drama and Best Comedy or Musical instead of one Best Picture like the Oscars. This year it didn’t help much either but as many had predicted The Descendants won Best Drama and The Artist won Best Comedy or Musical. Although War Horse hasn’t fared so well in the awards season I am guessing that the Academy will find it hard to ignore the movie’s emotional epicness and Spielbergian story.
The Help is likely to have Viola Davis win Best Actress and Octvaia Spencer win Best Supporting Actress. Meryl Streep, however could beat Davis and for Best Actor George Clooney for The Descendants is likely to beat Brad Pitt for Moneyball and Jean Dujardin for The Artist. I think that War Horse will also win for Best Cinematography, Musical Score, Adapted Screenplay, and Director as well as Picture. It will probably not win or even be nominated for any of it’s actors but in the past Titanic and The Lord of the Ring: The Return of the King (2 of the 3 movies to win 11 Oscars, which is more than any other) didn’t win in any of the acting categories. The 3rd movie was Ben-Hur, which won Best Actor for Charlton Heston and Best Supporting Actor for Hugh Griffith.
I am expecting War Horse to win but things might change. Almost 8 months ago I thought War Horse and The Tree of Life would be the two frontrunners and then in September I thought it would be War Horse against J. Edgar. See, things change. But will The Descendants, with it’s acclaimed script and applauded acting beat War Horse. Or could it be The Artist with it’s unique premise and magical music?
I think Billy Crystal will be a good host because he’s good in Monster’s Inc (Mike) and The Princess Bride (Miracle Max). Many people thought last year’s show with Anne Hathaway and James Franco was horrible but I thought they were just okay. I hope that this year the show can mix funny jokes, silly spoofs, celebrity cameos, great guests, and terrific hosting to excellent effect. If they can they will have succeeded at creating an enjoyable show.
Now I will list 8 movies. I’ve seen all of them except The Descendants and I have put them in order from most likely to win to least likely to win.
And the nominees will probably be…
Here are the top 5 no doubt about it nominees:
1. War Horse: Chance: I think this is the frontrunner. Why: The Academy loves epics and this is just that. Steven Spielberg is likely to win his third Best director award and second Best Picture award for this war adventure film. Other Possible Nominations: Best Director (Steven Spielberg), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Costumes, Editing, Art Direction, and possibly a few others.
Possible Total: 7
2. The Artist: Chance: I think is tied with The Descendants as the second most likely film to win. Why: Fantastic, fun, greatly acted, superbly directed, and sad. This movie is very entertaining and a good bet. Other Possible Nominations:Best Director (Micheal Hazanvicius), Actor (Jean Dujardin), Supporting Actress (Berenice Bejo),Original Screenplay, Original Score, Costumes, Editing, Art Direction, Editing, and possibly a few others.
Possible Total: 10
3. The Descendants: Chance: I think this is tied with The Artist as the second most likely film to win. Why: This George Clooney movie has been favored by many critics. The Academy usually prefers epic dramas rather than independent ones like this but the movie has gotten great reviews so I think it’s still a strong contender. Other Possible Nominations: Best Director (Alexander Payne), Actor (George Clooney), Supporting Actress (Shailene Woodley), Cinematogaphy, and possibly a few others.
Possible Total: 5
4. The Help: Chance: I think this movie probably won’t win but will definitely be nominated. Why: With a great cast and an inspiring story, the movie is a definite nomination. In terms of winning however it’s chances are rather slim. Other Possible Nominations: Best Director (Tate Taylor), Actress (Viola Davis), Supporting Actress(Octavia Spencer), Supporting Actress (Jessica Chaistan), Original Score, Original Song, and possibly a few others.
Possible Total: 7
5. Hugo: Chance: I think this movie will be nominated but not win. Why: Superbly directed and terrifically acted, the film has a good chance. Even though I highly doubt it will win it has gotten stronger buzz after Martin Scorsese won Best Director at the Golden Globes. Other Possible Nominations: Best Director (Martin Scorsese), Visual Effects, Original Score, Costume Design, Cinematography, and possibly a few others.
Possible Total: 6
I’m guessing this year there will be 3 more extra nominees:
6. Midnight in Paris: Chance: I think this movie will be nominated but not win. Why: Woody Allen’s “comeback” film has gotten strong reviews. I disagree with many others that is a frontrunner and I’m betting Tate Taylor (for The Help) will beat Allen for a Best Director nomination. But with a smart script and creative cast this movie will definitely get nominated. Other possible nominations: Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, and possible a few others.
Possible Total:3
7. The Tree of Life: Chance: I think this movie will be nominated but not win. Why: The winner of the Cannes Palm D’Or Award, the film has slightly lost it’s momentum from a definite front runner to being a possible possibility. Still Terence Malick could be a possible Best Director nominee and the Visual Effects could get a nod. Other possible nominations: Best Visual Effects and possibly a few others. Possible Total: 2
8. Moneyball: Chance: I think this film will be nominated but not win. Why: Brad Pitt will be no doubt about it be nominated for Best Actor. And the director Bennett Miller could be a surprise nominee. The script and Jonah Hill are also likely. Other possible nominations: Best Actor (Brad Pitt), Best Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill), Best Adapted Screenplay, and possibly a few others.
Possible Total: 4
I doubt there will be any other nominees for Best Picture, so I’m not going to list any more. If there are though I’m guessing they would probably be one of the following: Bridesmaids, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, The Ides of March, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, or the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
The final verdict: So far the race has been narrowed down to 3 top movies, although Hugo and The Help are good options too. The top 3 are in my order: War Horse, The Artist, and The Descendants.
I’ll be back to talk about the nominees (possibly with Flick), after they are announced on Tuesday by Melissa Leo and Colin Firth. In the meantime go buy the amazing book, The Academy Awards®: The Complete Unofficial History — Revised and Up-to-date. It tells you all the winners from 1927 to 2010. Also I cannot wait to watch Wings, the first movie ever to win Best Picture at the Oscars. You can get it on Netflix. The book Oscar Fever is also good but it is different than the other one because it is more of behind the scenes history of the Oscars. I can’t wait until February 26 (the show) but January 24 comes first (nominations announcement.) If you’re impatient go to the website to watch the show’s hilarious trailer and don’t forget to catch up on watching all the actual movies.
Midnight in Paris (Flack’s Review)
Posted on | January 8, 2012 | 4 Comments
4 Stars
Midnight in Paris is set in 2010 and is about Gil Penders, a Hollywood screenwriter who longs to write a great novel. When he travels to Paris with his girlfriend, Inez and is bored with all the parties and dancing, he decides to take a stroll. The clock strikes midnight and Gil is escorted to Paris in the 1920′s and there he meets F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Pablo Picasso and more. But as his writing career falters and he realizes he doesn’t have much in common with Inez, he wonders what will happen.
This is the first Woody Allen movie I have ever seen and it’s very entertaining. Owen Wilson leads a great cast and the supporting actors are delightful. Before I saw this movie I read a New York Times article about the famous people Gil meets in the film, so I understood the movie better. If you don’t know anything about Picasso or Fitzgerald you might be a bit bored… But if you do you’ll have a great time! Charming and witty at the sometime, this is a great film.
The story is fun and magical. Woody Allen directs magnificently. In some scenes you really feel like you are in the 1920′s with Gil in Paris. The film has some nice twists and turns and the music is perfect. There is not much depth to the character and it would be interesting if the conversations between Gil and the other writers and artists, were longer but the movie is still a lot of fun. Also it’s interesting to learn about all the famous people.
My favorite character is Gil because it’s interesting when he gets advice from writers. Also Owen Wilson is great at switching from seriousness to silliness effortlessly.
My favorite scene is when Gil talks to Adriana (Marion Cottilard) and tells her the only thing he has in common with his girlfriend, Inez, is that they both like pita bread, and my other favorite is when Gil talks to Salvador Dali (Adrian Brody). I love those scenes because they are both funny.
This movie is rated PG-13 for smoking, drinking, kissing and some romance.
Midnight in Paris is a wonderful movie. Even though its not that complex, it still has a great cast, a marvelous story, excellent music, fun scenes, super direction, nice shots of Paris and hilarious moments.
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