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
Flick and Flack: The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Posted on | April 26, 2012 | Add Comments
While at TIFF Kids, on April 18, 2012 Flick and Flack attended a preview screening of Aardman Animation’s new film, The Pirates! Band of Misfits. After the film, an approximately thirty minute Q&A with Peter Lord (director of Pirates!) followed. We asked him questions, got our picture taken with him (see below), and saw the real claymation puppets of the Pirate Captain played by Hugh Grant, and the dodo.
The next day we both went to the hour long Master Class with Lord. We were honored to be there and we both enjoyed hearing Lord discuss four of Aardman’s films (Chicken Run, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse Of The Were Rabbit, Arthur Christmas, and Pirates!) and a short from 1992 titled Adam (also from Aardman). A cool fact we learned? Steven Spielberg (head of Dreamworks, the studio that produced Chicken Run) approved Chicken Run because Spielberg has chickens, Aardman pitched it as “The Great Escape with chickens”, and The Great Escape is his favorite movie.
Next up for Aardamn is Pirates! 2, some secretive projects, and possibly another Wallace and Gromit movie. Hopefully The Pirates! is a box office hit (it deserves to make more money than Alvin and The Chipmunks). Here are both of our reviews of the film. The Pirates! Band of Misfits opens this Friday, April 27th.
Flack reviews The Pirates! Band of Misfits.
Flick reviews The Pirates! Band of Misfits.
Photos Courtesy of TIFF – Toronto International Film Festival.
Top 5 Picks for TIFF Kids (Flick and Flack’s Top 5)
Posted on | April 13, 2012 | 3 Comments
We are heading to Toronto for TIFF Kids. It’s the second film festival (after PCFF) and our first international film festival we have ever attended. Before we post interviews and reviews here are our Top 5 Films we are looking forward to.
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!!!!!
The Movie Crisis
Posted on | April 4, 2012 | 6 Comments
3-D, CG and Netflix have become more and more popular, while theaters and stories are dying. For better or worse? Should you pay the expensive price to see a film in the theater, or wait to rent it? Where did all of the stories go? Is Hollywood one big Michael Bay? They spent that much to make the movie and we spent that much to go and see it? Should we see it in 3-D or IMAX? Is the end of Hollywood near? Flick answers everything you could possibly think of… and what you can’t.
Where to begin? Let’s start with something I haven’t mentioned in my brief introduction: the general appeal of the audience. Nowadays every week at least one action/3-D/thriller/science fiction film is released. Some people like these movies. Some don’t. There is no real general appeal of the audience it’s all just “they like that”, “he like’s this” and “she doesn’t like this.” Hollywood thinks that they should release the action spectacle and so on because they will please the most amount of people they possibly can. (A.k.a get their hands on the most money they possibly can.) Then, there’s whether or not it’s worth it…
3-D is currently one of, if not the most popular addition to watching a film. At times it can be irritating, at times it can be exciting but it always serves up Hollywood’s first order of business: it serves up money. Either critics recommend it or some gut instinct inside of you says “3-D. Must watch movie in 3-D.” Whatever reason so many people go to see films in 3-D beats me. But one thing is certain: 3-D won’t be leaving cineplexes anytime soon. None of the stories “went anywhere”, they just disappeared because not enough people went to see them anymore. I could go on for hours about all this, but it all comes down to people are paying to go see spectacles more than they are paying to go see dramas or films with a story. Do you miss the movie theaters? Do you wish the ticket prices were less expensive? The theaters could be going out of business and streaming devices like Netflix could become the new movie theater. I think that watching a film on the big screen can make the way you view a film entirely different from watching it on your iPhone or iPad or even your TV. Not only is the screen much bigger, but also the shared experience of watching the movie with other people is entirely different (and in my opinion much more fun).
One question that I would like to have answered is “Do we have anything to look forward to?”. This whole article I’ve been talking about what isn’t good about the current state of films. I think effects will certainly advance which will completely change the way movies are made just the way films like Avatar have changed the industry already. Also new filmmakers will come into our world and someday all of the directors directing right now will be replaced by completely new directors.
With all the money they’re making (and all the money Flack predicts they’ll make in the future), Hollywood won’t be dying soon and as for the rest if you look hard you can find many enjoyable movies, lately War Horse and Hugo have been some of my favorites. Thanks for reading! If you agree or disagree with my predictions for the future or would like to add something that I didn’t mention please comment. After all, the future of the movies is endless in terms of possibilities.
Aliens of the Deep (Flick’s Review)
Posted on | April 2, 2012 | Add Comments
4 stars
James Cameron, Marine and Astrobiologists and more travel 2 1/2 miles below the surface of the ocean. They encounter alien-like sea creatures and test scientific experiments.
The man that made the two of the highest grossing films of all time, Avatar and Titanic (both beaten only by Gone with the Wind) is also fascinated by the depths of the ocean. In 2003, he made the film Ghosts of the Abyss where he and Bill Paxton, an actor in Titanic traveled to the sunken ship itself. Then, in 2005, he directed Aliens of the Deep. It’s no wonder that James Cameron shows off his knack for visuals; while this film is a documentary Cameron does show off his talent, and that’s fine with me, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of the documentary aspect of the film. Fortunately, it doesn’t. The creatures in the film are fascinatingly shown off in scenes that give us great cinematography and teach us interesting new things. It’s obvious that Cameron has talent, and he displays it, here but not in the way he did in Avatar. Here we actually learn something.
Cameron himself says, “Here’s the deal. I love this stuff.” That is completely evident here. I learned many new things that I didn’t know before. Absolutely nothing in the film is complicated (no brain work today buster!) but that’s not the point. Cameron is much more interested in trying to interest his audience. He does, brilliantly.
The film is basically two short films: the first half focuses more on the wonder and spectacle of the deep sea animals, while the second half focuses more on how Cameron and his crew traveled, explored and researched the deep sea. This is why the movie works well. Cameron doesn’t let his knowledge fall into a mess. No, no, he keeps everything organized. The whole film is organized. So perfectly. That’s actually my problem with the film: it’s so perfect. Only once do we see a failure with the crew. It would have been nice to see some more faults that occurred during the journey and that’s the problem with Cameron, he doesn’t want to show his mistakes or faults. A perfectionist as they call ‘em, a perfectionist.
My favorite character (explorer) was Dijanna Figueroa because she was (like so many of the other explorers) clearly interested in doing what she was doing.
My favorite scene was when James Cameron and some other divers saw the squid because it summed up the spectacle aspect of the film and the creature looked unique.
Aliens of the Deep is rated G and I agree.
Aliens of the Deep is almost perfect, it’s a hugely rewarding experience; you’ll come out of the theater or your living room or where ever and you’ll wish you’d never come out. This is James Cameron at his best.
2012 Summer Movies: Top 15 Blockbusters Part 1: Flack’s Predictions
Posted on | March 31, 2012 | Add Comments
Here is the first of my 3 summer movie preview articles. I will talk about my predictions for the top 15 biggest money making blockbusters from May to August 2012. I will have my predictions for the opening weekend (OWG), domestic total (DTG), and international total (ITG) box office grosses. The next 2 articles are my guesses for the top 15 best critically reviewed movies and my list of the ones I want to see. I have researched on such various websites as IMDB, Box Office Mojo, Rotten Tomatoes, Entertainment Weekly, and Empire as well as The New York Times. I’ll say why I think these movies will be big and why they might not be big. Plus I’ll throw in a few funny jokes and more.
15. The Bourne Legacy Release Date: August 3 Why it will be big: The three previous Bourne movies grossed $121 million, $176 million, and $227 million. Their opening weekends were $27 million, $52 million, and $69 million. That means this one should do pretty good. The bad bars in the trailer are annoying but with a Casino Royale (violent spy prequel) approach it might just work. Why it might not be big: Casting Jeremy Renner instead of Matt Damon could be a mistake. The movie was Bourne to be in 14th place. OWG: $45 million DTG: $130 million ITG: $250 million
14. ParaNorman Release Date: August 17 Why it will be big: Despite only making $75 million, Coraline still got a good Rotten Tomatoes score (90%). ParaNorman is another movie from the same studio, Laika Entertainment, and is shaping up to be a hit. Why it might not be big: Another movie from Laika Entertainment, 9, only grossed $31 million, with a budget of $30 million. Also August is a bad release date because then the movies don’t play all summer long. However last year The Help and Rise of the Planet of the Apes were breakout box office biggies but were still released in August. Still, ParaNorman does not seem likely to make paranormal grosses at the box office. This will have to do a lot better than 9. OWG: $50 million DTG: $150 million ITG: $255 million
13. G.I. Joe: Retaliation Release Date: June 29 Why it will be big: Channing Tatum (he is in six movies this year) returns in this action-packed sequel. Adding Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis to the cast is a great idea and should give it an overall boost. The trailer suggests non-stop ridiculous action. Joe will go to 13th place. Why it might not be big: Stephen Sommers, the director of the first film had directed films with Dwayne Johnson, but for the sequel they have brought in Jon M. Chu, the director of the documentary, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never. Although the first film (G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra) in the series made $150 million and had a $54 opening weekend, it got a 34% SPLAT on Rotten Tomatoes, which means it got bad reviews. Big box office and bad reviews is a combination likely to happen again. OWG: $65 million DTG: $155 million ITG: $265 million
12. Neighborhood Watch Release Date: July 27 Why it will be big: Watch out this movie will be in 12th place. This sci-fi comedy stars Jonah Hill and Ben Stiller, a comedy duo that seems like it will work. Add in aliens and a good end of July release date, and you have got a hit. It’s the director’s first film (Akiva Schaffer), but Shawn Levy (director of the Night at the Museum movies, Date Night, and Real Steel) is producing it. The trailer shows both ridiculous comedy and funny comedy. Why it might not be big: Will a combination of sci-fi and comedy work? Will the actors have good chemistry? OWG: $55 million DTG: $200 million ITG: $270
11. Snow White and the Huntsman Release Date: June 1 Why it will be big: This movie will hunt down 11th place. The Twilight meets Alice in Wonderland without the humor approach will probably work. Add in the fact that it stars Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, and Charlize Theron, and the movie will probably do good at the box office (or at least better than Mirror Mirror). Why it might not be big: Mirror Mirror will draw in family audiences, but will enough teenagers and adults want to see this dark version of the tale. OWG: $65 million DTG: $200 million ITG: $300 million
10. Dark Shadows Release Date: May 11 Why it will be big: Tim Burton, Johnny Depp, and Helena Bonham Carter have made some big blockbusters, with such massive money makers as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ($472 million) and especially Alice in Wonderland ( $1 billion). Their newest effort will have tons of wildly eccentric comedy and the trailer looks pretty entertaining. Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, and Chloe Grace Mortez round out the supporting cast. Horror comedy and fantasy romance should prove to be a strong enough combination to beat The Dictator at the box office on the same opening weekend. Why it might not be big: Most people are not enjoying the trailer and few people are familiar with TV show (although that might be good, because fans of the TV show are saying that it is way too different). OWG: $65 million DTG: $205 million ITG: $315 million
9. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted Release Date: June 8 Why it will be big: This movie is wanted by 9th place. The two previous Madagascar movies made $47 and $63 million in their opening weekends, $180 and $193 million in the domestic total, and $532 and $603 million in their international total. Now, those are some movies that like to move it to the box office. Will the third film follow those foot steps? Why not? I mean it has 3-D, which the others did not have. Plus there’s a new villain played by Frances McDormand, some circus fun, bad pop songs, and Jessica Chastain. The makers even moved the rude humor out of the movie (or at least they moved it moved it moved it out of the trailer). Why it might not be big: Also being released on June 8 is Prometheus, which is although being targeted for a totally different audience will beat this at the box office. Will people still find this series likable? I haven’t seen any of them because they looked so terrible, but I might see this one if I have to. I think that this one will not make as much as the others because nobody wants to watch this movie series anymore. OWG: $70 million DTG: $210 Million ITG: $350 million
8. Ice Age: Continental Drift Release Date: July 13 Why it will be big: This movie will drift into 8th place. The previous Ice Age movies have all made over $176 million domestically, and more than $383 million internationally. The most recent movie made $886 million internationally, which means this one is sure to make money. The trailer shows a lot of action and comedy, a combination which well worked in the others. In this one the characters think the world is ending, and there are some new creatures joining them, including a band of evil pirates. Many family audiences will definitely rush out to see the movie. Why it might not be big: Will people have series fever and be tired of the Ice Age movie series as I’m guessing they might be with Madagascar. Probably not too much, but I don’t think this one will be quite as big a hit, as the previous two films internationally. OWG: $70 million DTG: $200 Million ITG: $400 million
7. Battleship Release Date: May 18 Why it will be big: The Transformers series did remarkably well. The first film had a $70 million opening weekend, made $319 million domestically, and even grossed $709 million internationally. Battleship is based on a game and has a trailer involving things blowing up, robots blowing up, people blowing robots up, things blowing up robots blowing up people blowing robots up etc. The movie looks like it has been created in the same mold as the Transformers series. What does this have though, that Transformers does not have? A star studded cast including Liam Neeson, Taylor Kitsch, Rihanna, Alexander Skarsgard, and Brooklyn Decker, a newbie who is also in the ensemble comedy romance What to Expect When You’re Expecting, which also opens on May 18, the same weekend as Battleship. Why it might not be big: The trailer looks like a dreadful mix of things blowing up robots blowing up people blowing up blowing up up up up up up up, you get the idea, a boring story, and uninteresting characters. Peter Berg, the director had stressed that the film had a great story and that no aliens are in it for over half an hour. After watching the trailer I can already tell that there is no story. And I bet that even if there are no aliens in it for a while that there is still just guns and other non-alien action. And the movie is probably 2 and a half hours or something. I love long movies but only when they have a story. But still people like and sometimes sadly love that stuff so why should they even care. OWG: $75 million DTG: $250 million ITG: $415 million
6. Prometheus Release Date: June 8 Why it will be big: Prometheus stars Noomi Rapace (the original Girl with The Dragon Tattoo), Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Patrick Wilson, and Idris Elba. It is a science-fiction horror movie from the acclaimed director Ridley Scott, and is said to be distantly related to the Alien franchise. With a cool yet scary trailer, this could be the biggest horror movie of the year. Why it might not be big: Because I can’t see it. Yeah, but a billion other people can and will, so it does not really matter. I think this movie will be the Super 8 of the Summer, meaning a surprising sci-fi film that has secrets and is a little scary. The only problem is that Super 8 was not a huge blockbuster (the good news: Super 8 was the best summer movie of last year, 2011 and the second best movie of the year). Also the Alien movies never made over $85 million domestically and $161 million internationally. OWG: $95 million DTG: $280 million ITG: $425 million
5. Men in Black 3 Release Date: May 25 Why it will be big: The previous 2 Men in Black movies were massive box office smashes. The first film got 91% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, but the second got a 39% splat, even though it was a box office success. That means 10 years after the third will have to be really good, make a lot of money, and do well with critics, in order for the series to continue. This will have to be a case like the Indiana Jones series, where the first one has good box office and does well with critics, the second one only does good at the box office but then the third one they bring in a new actor, Sean Connery, or in this case, Josh Brolin and the series is better than ever. Based on the funny and action-packed trailer, there’s no reason why this shouldn’t be a smash. Why it might not be big: As I said before the second MIB movie didn’t do well with critics, the third might not either. another problem is that like with other series, people might be tired of it. OWG: $100 million DTG: $285 million ITG: $450 million
4. Brave Release Date: June 22 Why it will be big: The people who work at Pixar are the best animation makers in the world. They also do good at the box office. Toy Story 3 made $110 on it’s opening weekend, $415 million domestically, and $1 billion internationally. It also got a 99% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes and easily earned back it’s $200 million budget. Meanwhile their next film, Cars 2 made $66 million on it’s opening weekend, $191 domestically, and $559 million internationally. It also got a 38% on Rotten Tomatoes and earned back it’s $200 million budget. Well let’s hope that Brave is more like Toy Story 3 (which has a better trailer than Brave) than Cars 2 (which does not have as good a trailer as Brave). Anyway medieval action sword fights, a strong cast of characters, and Pixar’s classic comedy plus a female heroine should prove to be a strong combination. It’s also a good idea to release Brave at the end of school, just exactly like Toy Story 3 and Cars 2. Why it might not be big: Will the female heroine work? Yes. Will the fairy tale elements work? Probably. So, what’s not to like? OWG: $105 million DTG: $300 million ITG: $500 million
3. The Amazing Spider-Man Release Date: July 3 Why it will be big: This movie will swing amazingly into 3rd place. With one of the top 3 trailers of the year (in my opinion) and involving a lot of action, this is sure to be a blockbuster. However, many people are hoping for a more emotional story than the previous 3 Sam Raimi directed, Tobey Maguire starred, movies. That’s because the director Marc Webb’s only other movie is the independent hit (500) Days Of Summer and the star of this version is The Social Network actor Andrew Garfield. Add in there a cool villain The Lizard played by Rhys Ifans, a love interest played by Emma Stone, some awesome 3-D, great web-slinging action, and a script by Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves and TA-DAAAAAAAA!!!!! I have high hopes. Why it might not be big: People are saying this is too soon for a reboot. I mean, Spider-Man 3 came out 5 years ago and this very same origin story was shown on screens just ten years ago, in 2002 when Spider-Man was released. Also I doubt this will do Spider-Man 3 numbers at the box office (that movie was the highest grossing of the year and made $151 million on its opening weekend). OWG: $125 million DTG: $400 million ITG: $850 million
2. The Avengers Release Date: May 4 Why it will be big: I think it’s a great idea that the movie is being release on May 4th, not only with the 4th be with it, but also it’s a great way to start the summer movie season. Marvel used this technique with both the Iron Man movies and Thor being released on May 2nd, May 7th, and May 6th, respectively. They debuted at $98 million, $128 million, and $65 million, respectively. Meanwhile Captain America: The First Avenger, on July 22, with $65 million. The Incredible Hulk was released on June 13th and made $55 million on the opening weekend. The worst domestic total was The Incredible Hulk at $134 million, meanwhile the best was Iron Man with $318 million. The worst international total was The Incredible Hulk with $263 million, meanwhile the best was Iron Man 2 with $623 million. This plan will be used again for the Iron Man 3 release planned for May 3rd 2013. Combining all these super hero characters together will surely pay off in some aspects: It will be fun watching them battle each other, and with so many actors they’ll have to have great chemistry. Joss Whedon is an acclaimed TV writer/director. If he writes a script anywhere as good as the one he did with 3 other people for Toy Story, this will be an amazing movie and one of the best super hero movies of all time. Why it might not be big: It’s possible that with so many characters the movie will become both distracting and bad.Will the focus be on Iron Man? I hope so because he’s the coolest. Will it be on Hawkeye? I think so because he’s the new character. Or will it be on Captain America? He’s the most likely because he’s now in 2012 not the 1940s and will be re-introduced to the Avengers in the same way the audience is. OWG: $155 million DTG: $450 million ITG: $900 million
1. The Dark Knight Rises Release Date: July 20 Why it will be big: This movie will rise to 1st place. With Christian Bale returning as Batman, fans are going crazy. And for fairly good reason. Batman Begins grossed $48 million on it’s opening weekend, $205 domestically, and $372 internationally. It also got an 85% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, earned back it’s $150 million budget, and became the 12 biggest superhero movie of all time. Meanwhile the 2008 sequel to the 2005 prequel, The Dark Knight, did the impossible. Making $158 million on it’s opening weekend (beat only by HP 7 part 2, but at the time the best ever), $533 domestically, and $1 billion internationally. It also received a 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, got back it’s $185 million budget, and became the biggest superhero movie of all time. Hopefully this final film in the trilogy will be just as fulfilling as Toy Story 3. The cryptic yet exciting trailers make this the event movie of the summer. Just like in 2010 (Toy Story 3) and in 2011 (Hp 7 Part 2) this year the biggest movie of the summer (and possibly the year) is another beloved franchise coming to a close. Why it might not be big: The consensus of preview screening buzz is that Bane, the bad guy played by Tom Hardy, has a hard to understand voice. If he doesn’t work out though Anne Hathaway as Catwoman certainly will certainly work out. In addition to Tom Hardy other Inception actors in the movie include Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotilard, as new characters, but will they make the story too confusion and complex. If they do prove too confusing, then at least there will be older fan favorites such as Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman. Although these problems are all possibilities, the movie is still likely to be a success. Why? Because with an intriguing cast, cool special effects, and the rising anticipation, the movies is going to be a hit. I think this movie is going to be 8th highest grossing film of all time and it will have the best opening weekend of all time. OWG: $175 million DTG: $550 million ITG: $1 billion
Honorary Independent Blockbuster. Moonrise Kingdom Release Date: May 25 Why it will be big: The movie stars a great cast including Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Frances Mcdormand, Harvey Keitel, Tilda Swinton, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, and newcomers Jared Gilman and Kara Hayard. It’s directed by Wes Anderson, maker of wacky comedies and dramas. I think this movie will be the Midnight in Paris of the year, because just like that other film it will be the opening night movie at Cannes and is a comedy/romance/drama. This movie could be nominated for Oscars just like Midnight in Paris. Plus another massive factor is the film was shot in Rhode Island, the smallest and best state. Why it might not be big: Will the newcomers be good or will this be their last movie? OWG: $5 million DTG: $55 million ITG: $150 million
Honorary Original Blockbuster. Preminum Rush Release Date: August 24 Why it will be big: David Koepp, the writer and director also wrote Spider-Man, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Mission:Impossible, Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds, and more. Plus it stars Michael Shannon and Joseph Gordon- Levitt. The trailer shows an odd yet original combination of crazy stunts and realistic action. Why it might not be big: I doubt it will rush past 15th place. Sadly but truly originality isn’t very popular these days so will the “you’ve never seen this before” approach. work or not? OWG: $35 million DTG: $100 million ITG: $150 million
Other Possible Blockbusters: The Expendables 2 Release Date: August 12 OWG: $40 million DTG: $115 million ITG: $300 million, The Dictator Release Date: May 11 OWG: $30 million DTG: $140 million ITG: $230 million, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Release Date: June 22 OWG: $40 million DTG: $200 million ITG: $240 million, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World Release Date: June 22 OWG: $30 million DTG: $100 million ITG: $130 million, Total Recall Release Date: June 22 OWG: $35 million DTG: $125 million ITG: $175 million, Rock of Ages Release Date: June 15 OWG: $35 million DTG: $125 million ITG: $200 million, The Campaign Release Date: August 10 OWG: $35 million DTG: $125 million ITG: $190 million, The Odd Life of Timothy Green Release Date: August 17 OWG: $30 million DTG: $125 million ITG: $150 million, and The Wettest Country Release Date: August 31 OWG: $25 million DTG: $50 million ITG: $100 million
Okay then, that’s it! Wait no, it’s not! Look out for a parts 2 and 3 (you’ll get to comment on favorites and critically acclaimed movies) coming soon to a computer near you. In the comments section tell me what you think will be the highest grossing movies of the summer and your OWG, DTG and ITG predictions. Also you can tell what you think of my predictions.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Flick’s Review)
Posted on | March 30, 2012 | 2 Comments
3 stars
Indiana Jones and his friends race against Irena Spalko and other Russian soldiers in order to get the crystal skull in the mythical city, Akator. The legend has it, whoever obtains the skull is granted control over it’s unearthly powers. Also, Indy reunites with an old time friend and deals with a double agent.
After a nine year hiatus from the big screen our favorite archeologist returned in 2008 with this over two hour epic that brought back old characters and introduced Indy fans to the supernatural. This is without a doubt entertainment. The franchise would have been better off without the preternatural and yes, Harrison Ford’s performance isn’t quite what I hoped for, but at least the man with the fedora and whip is back.
Indy and his friend, “Mac” are held captive by the Russians. The first five minutes of the film I can’t really argue with, but then, comes Area 51 where the E.T. and Close Encounter‘s feel is thrown into the mix. I really have no idea why Steven Spielberg wanted to bring back alien elements from his old films into his new Indy film. Anyway, it just doesn’t work here because Indy has never seen aliens before and the aliens are only in the film for about two minutes.
While I wish there weren’t any aliens, the action scenes are fast moving, epic and easy to follow which makes for some superb battles. The chase with the cars in the jungle in particular is one of the best scenes in the film, simply because every movement in the sword fight, every turn of the wheel in the car chase and every line of dialogue is choreographed in an exciting way. Even better? Spielberg manages to have the sword fight, the car chase and the dialogue all happening at the same time without anything becoming confusing. The editing, by Michael Kahn is quick and the cinematography, by Janusz Kaminski is bold. The rest of the film, however is anything but bold; it’s full (and I mean full) of fun action but the story is lacking in many ways. It lacks the suspense that the first and third delivered and it’s also more predictable which is not what you would hope for in a Spielberg film. Picture this metaphor: Indy is riding in a car and he’s zooming along (the action scenes are swift) but the tires, what’s holding the entire truck up are wobbling and flattening. The tires are the story and the story is falling apart.
My favorite character is Indiana Jones because he’s funny and adventurous.
My favorite scene is when Indy, Mutt, Marian Ravenwood, Oxley, Mac, Irena, Dovchenko and the other Russian soldiers are in the boats/cars in the jungle because it’s full of action, sword fighting and lots of fun.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is rated PG-13 for adventure violence and scary images and I agree.
Spielberg’s forth Indy film doesn’t rival the first and third, however it does bring back the classic Indy fun, despite it’s many plot flaws.
Pina (Flick’s Review)
Posted on | March 30, 2012 | 2 Comments
4 1/2 stars
Pina Bausch, a dancer and dance choreographer died in 2009. Her students pay tribute to her.
Pina is a tribute to Pina Bausch and it features nonstop dancing. That is all you need to know before going to see the film. If that is all you want to know before seeing the film, stop reading now. However, there’s no way to “spoil” the movie because after all it is nonstop dancing interspersed with Bausch’s students describing her. Helene Louvat, the film’s cinematographer uses the camera in an indescribable way. In all the movies I’ve seen, I’ve never seen anybody use a camera like this; Louvart is an important part of why the film works. Her use of the camera is stunning. Also the music, by various artists that include Thom Hanreich and Jon Miyake (the writer of the best track in the film, Lillies of the Valley) is catchy and jazzy, the perfect paring for a beautifully shot tribute to Bausch. A problem in many films these days is the length. At 103 minutes, Pina moves along quickly and rightly so; Wim Wenders’ film could get tiring after a while because the dancing is so mesmerizing.
I didn’t see the film in 3-D, but I think that would add another layer to the film. That leads me to my next compliment of the film. The dancers in this film are amazing. However it’s obvious that Wenders adds another layer to the dancing. The dancing + the cinematography + the score + the costumes (which I haven’t mentioned, but are very good) = a cinematic delight. Wenders uses everything to make the dances more exciting, more vivid, more real. He brings a boulder, chairs, water and (best of all) a red jacket to life on the big screen.
My favorite character (dancer) is Pina Bausch because almost all of the dancers described her and yet so much was left unsaid, especially how she died making for an interesting portrait of her.
My favorite scene is the second scene in the film with the brown dirt, women, men and the woman with the red jacket because the use of color was so effective and the dance was very well done.
Pina is rated PG for some sensuality/partial nudity and smoking, however it’s is appropriate for almost anybody (whether or not they’ll sit through it is a different matter).
Pina is provocative, full of color and a must see for any fan of cinema.
John Carter (Flick’s Review)
Posted on | March 23, 2012 | Add Comments
3 stars
John Carter, a civil war veteran is transported to Barsoom (Mars) via magical silver medallion. Carter finds himself trapped in the middle of chaos; the Tharks, a green alien species struggle to stay peaceful, meanwhile the Helium people are on the brink of war with the Zodangan people. All of the species want Carter because after being transported to Barsoom, Carter acquires the power to leap as high as he wants.
I didn’t know what to expect going into John Carter. The trailers are packed to the brim with action, but Andrew Stanton, the director or Finding Nemo and Wall-E, has shown that he’s a master at storytelling. Now that I’ve seen the film, I can tell you that any predictions I had were wrong. The beginning of the film is in simple terms a mess. Many subplots are introduced very quickly but not very coherently. It seems to me as if Stanton and co. were very ecited about the middle of the film, so they didn’t spend much time on the beginning. The dialogue is hard to understand. Whenever anyone on Jarsoom (Earth) says a word they mutter it while they breath heavily and in Taylor Kitsch’s (John Carter) case you might see a muscle or two (more on him later).
Once Carter meets Tars Tarkas, voiced expertly by Willem Dafoe, the film kicks off. Tarkas is a unique character especially when it comes to his relationship with Carter: the two are friends but they both have different ideas about what’s best for everyone. Many ideas are very interesting and a lot of the scenes are exciting. There are also a considerable amount of subplots that include: Carter and Tarkas’ shaky relationship; Carter’s life on Jarsoom; Carter, Dejah Thoris, and Sab Than’s love triangle; Matai Shang and Sab Than’s “let’s go destroy the world” story; Edgar Rice Burroughs figuring out who Carter was and more. The end isn’t as bad as the beginning, but it’s still confusingly uninteresting. Not to say I didn’t get caught up in the world of John Carter (I did for some of the film), it’s just that by the end I felt like saying “again?”. Really? 
Taylor Kitsch. Next up is big ships in the ocean and an Oliver Stone drama, but right now he’s sinking. His muscles are big but his performance could have been much better. Kitsch speaks and acts in a way that leads me to believe he doesn’t want to be in the film. What’s even worse is that Kitsch is surrounded by Defoe, Mark Strong, and Thomas Haden Church who are all giving expert performances. Muscles and Martians and Mars, oh my!
My favorite character is Tars Tarkas because Dafoe’s acting is great, the Virginia scene is funny and the CGI is good. Carter and Tarkas had a great relationship and the CGI was wonderful.
My favorite scene is when Matai Shang captures Carter and then Shang tells him (I won’t spoil it) because Mark Strong was great and the dialogue was well written and spoken.
Andres Stanton’s live action film debut is incomprehensible at the beginning and end, the 3-D is not impressive, and Taylor Kitsch is a bore. However, the middle is fascinating, all of the actors other than Kitsch are strikingly powerful and the original book was one of he first sci-fi books. So I recommend it.
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