The Raid Trailer

The Raid is a Indonesian martial arts film coming out in the U.S. toward the end of March. The film is about a SWAT team that raids a drug lord's high rise. The drug lord doesn't appreciate having cops all up in his business, so he puts the place in lockdown, unleashes his goons, and forces the SWAT team to fight their way out of the building.

Of course, the real reason to watch this film is to see the display of silat, an Indonesian fighting style that is proudly on display. It is said that The Raid will do for silat what Ong Bak did for Thai boxing and District B:13 did for parkour.

Let's have a look at the trailer, shall we?

That looks painful. I mean that in the best way possible, of course. I gather from that trailer that the best way to summarize the fighting style of silat is 'punch, kick, stab, shoot, like a maniac'. Do Indonesians value human life less than the rest of the world, because that looks like that hurt. A lot. I can't wait to see more!

Let me know what you think in the comments below and follow me on Twitter!

Wrath of the Titans Trailer

I really enjoyed Clash of the Titans, though I get the sense that I'm one of the few who did. It made barely enough money to warrant a sequel, but we are getting one. Wrath of the Titans will be hitting at the end of March. This sequel sees Perseus (Sam Worthington) battling all sorts of mythical creatures to save his father Zeus (Liam Neeson) from an evil plot by Hades and Ares.

The second trailer has just been released:

It looks loud and dumb and filled with silly action sequences. I'm there! Let's face it, we're never going to have a brainy, dramatic, soul-touching ____ of the Titans movie. All we can hope for is a film that delivers on the action front. Big battles, big monsters, big explosions, big, big, big. The trailer seems plenty big to me. If they can improve on the poor 3D for the sequel, then it should be a good time at the theater.

Movies of the Month: March 2012

Heading into March, we are starting to get through the early-year doldrums. There are a few big-time movies coming out this month. One from the House of Mouse has a reported production budget north of $250 million, and another is based on an ultra-successful series of young adult novels. There’s some good entertainment to be had this month, and we’re just getting started for the year.

Week of March 2, 2012

The Lorax

The Plot: Based on the Dr. Seuss children’s book, this animated film tells the story of a 12-year-old boy must uncover the mystery of the Lorax to win the heart of the girl of his dreams.

Who’s in it? The voices of Zac Effron and Danny DeVito

Ultimate Fate: Do you remember when they made a bunch of terrible live-action Dr. Seuss films with Jim Carrey hamming it up on screen? Fortunately, that model has been scrapped in favor of animated films. It looks cute, it looks fun, and it has a family friendly save-the-earth message. It’ll do just fine.

Project X

The Plot: A couple of loser-type teenagers film an epic house party that gets way out of hand. Madness and mayhem ensue.

Who’s in it? Some real-life teenagers

Ultimate Fate: This one looks absolutely insane. This one’s gunning for Animal House levels of craziness, and judging from the trailer, it might just succeed. This one could be a hit in the frat house community for years to come.

Where I’ll be this weekend: Neither of these two does much for me. I’ll probably be catching up on and Oscar films that happen to be playing in my area.

Week of March 9, 2012

John Carter

The Plot: A Civil War veteran finds himself leading a rebellion of giant aliens against oppressors on Mars.

Who’s in it? Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Defoe, Bryan Cranston

Ultimate Fate: Disney has spent a fortune on this film, so it better be successful. Parts of it look amazing, and the 3D IMAX promises to be quite the spectacle. I’m still not sure how the story works. The film is based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs serial novel A Princess of Mars. It’s taken 80 years for this film to make it to the big screen, but the story itself has influenced many of the greatest movies ever made, including Star Wars. I can’t help but wonder how original this film will look considering how much of the story has been pilfered by other works. A $250 million budget should at least give us a good show.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

The Plot: A fisheries scientist is brought to Yemen to stock a river for salmon fishing. There’s some romance involved.

Who’s in it? Ewan McGregor, Emily Blount

Ultimate Fate: It’s a romantic comedy in March, which isn’t necessarily the best time for rom-coms. Still, McGregor and Blount have some charm about them. It’s a movie about a marine biologist (like me!) so it has that going for it.

A Thousand Words

The Plot: A smart-ass is less than honest with a guru and must pay the consequence. The next morning he finds a Bodhi tree on his property. Every word he speaks causes a leaf to fall from the tree, and when the tree runs out of leaves, he dies.

Who’s in it? Eddie Murphy

Ultimate Fate: I got bored just writing the plot. This one has been sitting around since 2008 waiting for distribution. That can’t be a good sign. This was a period when Murphy was taking high- or ridiculous-concepts and trying to morph them into comedies. There might be a few funny moments in there, but there are more likely to be more groans than laughs. 

Where I’ll be this weekend: John Carter all the way. Pro tip: the awesome poster I show here is free for folks attending the midnight IMAX screening on Thursday night. Good enough for me!

Week of March 16, 2012

21 Jump Street

The Plot: Two bumbling police officers are drawn into an undercover program at a high school on 21 Jump Street looking for the supplier of a new synthetic drug that’s making the rounds.

Who’s in it? Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum

Ultimate Fate: Does anyone remember that Johnny Depp got his break as one of the officers on the tv show 21 Jump Street? This new film looks to be a straight-up comedy rather than a drama like the tv show. The trailers have looked funny enough, and I’m a fan on Hill in general. If the two leads have any chemistry at all, then this could be a fun flick.

Casa de mi Padre

The Plot: A ranchers son schemes of a way to save the ranch from a drug lord.

Who’s in it? Will Farrell

Ultimate Fate: Will Farrell has lost his mind. There’s no other explanation for it. Why else would he star in a Spanish-language, Mexican soap opera? I think Farrell is pushing the boundaries of what it means to be over the top with this film. It could be brilliant or mind-numbingly stupid, but I’m betting it will have doses of both.

Where I’ll be this week: I’ll be at 21 Jump Street hoping that Johnny Depp makes a cameo and that Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum make a good team.

Week of March 23, 2012

The Hunger Games

The Plot: A young girl is drawn into The Hunger Games, an annual competition that pits boys and girls from across the country in a massive free-for-all fight to the death.

Who’s in it? Jennifer Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth

Ultimate Fate: Huge. This will be the first massively successful film of the year. Just ask any younger girl about The Hunger Games and hers eyes will light up. Just be prepared for a twenty-minute dissertation on how like, totally awesome the books are and how cool and stuff Kat Everdeen is. The film is based on the first book in wildly popular Suzanne Collins series aimed at the slightly younger crowd. Early buzz says that the film is good, and plans are already underway to shoot the second and third parts of the series.

The Raid (limited release)

The Plot: A SWAT team gets trapped in an apartment building by a drug lord and is forced to fight its way out.

Who’s in it? Martial artists

Ultimate Fate: This movie is supposed to kick all kinds of ass. It’s based on an Indonesian fighting style called silat. This film is getting comparisons to District B:13, which popularized parkour, and Ong Bak, which popularized Thai boxing. Color me excited for a good beat ‘em up.

Where I’ll be this weekend: Watching Indonesians beat the crap out of each other.

Week of March 30, 2012

Wrath of the Titans

The Plot: Perseus goes on a dangerous mission to save Zeus from the scheming Ares and Hades.

Who’s in it? Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes

Ultimate Fate: I enjoyed the first film Clash of the Titans, which probably puts me in the minority. That one was not well received by the public, and its marginal success raised doubt that this sequel would get made. But, here we are two years later, ready for another installment. I hope that they cleaned up some of the sloppy character portrayal and 3D effects this go around. Worthington’s past couple of films have underperformed at the box office (he will forever have Avatar to fall back on) but I’m hoping against hope that Wrath of the Titans turns things around.

Mirror Mirror

The Plot: The evil queen tries to secure her control over the kingdom by offing the beautiful Snow White.

Who’s in it? Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer, Lily Collins

Ultimate Fate: There are currently two Snow White themed films in production in Hollywood, and this one is first out of the gate (Snow White and the Huntsman will be out later this year). Mirror Mirror is directed by Tarsem Singh, who is known for his visual stylings more than his storytelling abilities (The Cell, Immortals). The trailer shows some beautiful scenery, but it also features a screeching Roberts, annoying dwarves, and dumb jokes.

Goon

The Plot: A hockey player leads his semi-pro team on the ice as an enforcer, beating the crap out of everything on skates.

Who’s in it? Sean William Scott

Ultimate Fate: It’s a hockey movie comedy. Having grown up in the Deep South, I know virtually nothing about hockey (that’s the one that’s played on ice, right?). Hockey? Comedy? Why not? I’m sure somebody will watch it.

Intruders

The Plot: A faceless entity attempts to possess children while they sleep.

Who’s in it? Clive Owen

Ultimate Fate: It’s a Boogeyman film through and through. A menacing presence tries to turn children’s dreams into nightmares. It wants to take control and have them do its bidding, or it wants to punish them, or it just wants to be a jerk. Sound like a familiar setup? There’s very little buzz about this film; I can’t tell if people like it, love it, or despise it. Still, it has Clive Owen, which is a good thing, and it’s directed by the guy who did 28 Weeks Later, the decent follow-up to the excellent 28 Days Later.

Where I’ll be this week: Wrath of the Titans all the way. As I said, I enjoyed the first one. If they can clean up a few details, then this could be a good popcorn munching, semi-brainless action romp. Not a bad way to spend a Friday night.

Movie of the Month: I have to go with The Hunger Games. The book was a lightning fast read that felt very cinematic. I haven’t read many books recently that that felt like a movie transcribed onto the page. The Hunger Games has all the elements in place to make an exciting movie. John Carter should get mentioned here too. I’m not completely sold on the concept, and the trailers have left me feeling more 'meh' that 'Rock On!', but Disney spent a fortune on the movie and they can’t allow it to fail. It simply MUST be good in terms of story, visuals, or something for Disney to get their money back and save face. Not the most ringing endorsement, but I’ll see it just to see if it was $250 million well spent.

Thanks for reading the previews. I hope you find a movie in there that you like. Let me know in the comments, and while your at it follow me on Twitter!

New(ish) Prometheus Trailer

It’s no secret that Prometheus is one of my most anticipated films of 2012. Check out my Anticipated Films of 2012 to see for yourself. Ridley Scott returning to his Alien universe to tell us a brand new, terrifying story? Yeah, I’m down with that.

A new trailer for the UK market has been released, and it shows a tiny bit of new footage. I have to say, I’m digging every frame of this film. 

How awesome is that? Let me know in the comments below.
And, follow me on Twitter!

Men in Black III poster

Did you know that another Men in Black movie will be coming out later this year? In a few months, we'll be getting another film, whether we want it or not.

This time, Agent J (Will Smith) travels back in time to save Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) from assassination. I’m betting that Agent J and the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) are involved in some sort of world-saving scenario along the way.

Here’s a new poster for the film:

It’s a pretty lousy Photoshop job if you ask me. How is it that Will Smith looks so bloated? Jones and Brolin look pretty badass though. I’m not sure what to expect from this film or if I'm terribly excited, but I'm sure we’ll find out more before May.

Expect a trailer soon.

Are you excited for the third entry in the franchise? Let me know in the comments below.

And, follow me on Twitter!

New York City 2012

As you may have noticed from my post about Chicago in November (here), I am a fan of Guns N’ Roses. Say what you will about the pros and cons of the band as it stands today, there was a time when I never thought I would have the chance to see any lineup of Gn’R play the music that enjoy. I see them every chance I get. And, having seen them a few times already, in Las Vegas in 2001, Jacksonville, Florida in 2006, Chicago in 2011, and, now, New York City in 2012, I know these guys are good and that I’ll enjoy the show.

I also like to travel, and I’ve been able to combine those two joys of mine to see Guns play in some pretty cool places. Vacation days were meant for me to make quick trips to see Gn’R. I had never been to NYC, and I was looking for an excuse. Guns N’ Roses provided just the push I needed to finally make the trip up to the Big Apple.

Gn’R announced a series of club dates in NYC, stripped down performances in small venues, in late January just a few days ahead of the actual performances. Despite a number of good reasons not to buy a ticket (i.e., no money, work/school obligations) I stalked Ticketmaster and got my ticket on a Thursday afternoon. The concert was that Sunday night.

Knowing that the Gn’R boys never take the stage until around midnight and that they typically play for three hours, I made the brilliant decision to fly up Sunday morning, wander Manhattan all day, see the concert, wander Manhattan in the early morning, and catch the first flight back home on Monday morning. That’s exactly what I did. It was amazing.

I flew out early Sunday morning and was at Laguardia by 10 AM. That gave me all day to play in Manhattan.

My first stop was the concert venue. I wanted to scope out where to be later that night. Terminal 5 is located on 56^th street in Hell’s Kitchen. I’m not sure why they call it that because it was about 25 degrees F when I was there, but I guess Hell’s Kitchen sounds tough.

I then wandered my way to the Museum of Modern Art on 53^rd. I have a thing for modern art, and this is one of the best art museums in the world. I had to check it out. Guns N’ Roses and MOMA in one day? Yes, I am a very cultured dude.

They have some stunning pieces in there, including a giant Monet, a couple by van Gogh, and one from my personal favorite artist, Mark Rothko.

van Gogh - Starry Night

Rothko - #10

An enormous Monet - Lily Pads (I think?)

After perusing the collection for a while, I worked my way down Park and 5^th Avenues to the World Trade Center site. You know you’re getting close to the spot when suddenly the skyline opens up and you can see blue sky instead of a canyon of concrete, steel, and glass. Even though they are rebuilding down there and signs of progress are everywhere, you can’t help but be a little unnerved. All those images from CNN came flooding from the corners of my brain where I tried to repress them. It was wild to think that so much trouble in the world was centered on this spot.

Way too much open space for Manhattan.

I then walked 70 blocks up Broadway back to Terminal 5, stopping off for dinner at the Hard Rock Café in Times Square like all the rest of the tourists. My excuse was that I was looking for Gn’R memorabilia on the wall (found Duff’s bass guitar), but I was really just being a touristy tool. Why not?

Times Square - loud and boisterous

After dinner was the concert. Small venue, not many people, I’m twenty feet from the stage. Stuck behind some guys who were not only tall but who decided to take off their hats and wave them over their heads as soon as the house lights went down. I guess they were trying to attract the band’s attention, but they only succeeded in blocking my excellent view of the stage and pissing me off. I finally found a spot where I could see the band perform (I knew they were there; I could hear them just fine), but it took a few songs to maneuver into a good concert-watching spot.

After settling down a bit, I was able to enjoy the show. The guys in the band are pros. They can play, they know how to perform, and they put on one hell of a show. They ripped off a set of 25 songs and took their final bow at about 2:30 AM. I left Terminal 5 with a pleasant ringing in my ears and feeling pretty good about life in general.

The final bow. Time to wander the streets of Manhattan!

I still had seven hours to kill in NYC before my flight home. Back to Times Square! Unfortunately, despite an hours worth of wandering about, the only place I could find open was a McDonalds. Well, I did walk past a few strip joints, but I had a feeling from the look of the places that the girls dancing inside at 4 AM on a Monday morning probably weren’t worth the price of admission. I got a hot chocolate and hung out with the homeless guys in the McD’s for a while. See, I told you I am cultured. By 4:30 I realized I wasn’t going to have any luck finding something fun to do, headed back to Laguardia, and dozed in the terminal until my flight home.

Goodbye Laguardia. I'll be back!

I spent roughly 23 hours in NYC and loved every minute of it. That quick trip reaffirmed my love for big cities. I know I’ll have to make my way back to New York City soon for a longer visit. I don’t even need Guns N’ Roses in town to draw me back. I just need a few days of free time, a few more dollars in my pocket, and perhaps a few friends to come with me on a grand adventure.

Stallone the Animal

Did you know that Sylvester Stallone is 65 years old? He was born on July 6, 1946. How many 65 year old guys do you know who look like this?

This is a still from his upcoming film Bullet to the Head, which is due out in April. In the film, he faces off against Jason Momoa, who you might remember as the new Conan from Conan the Barbarian. That failed attempt at a reboot was absolutely tepid, but that wasn't Momoa's fault. He did a good job in a film that was hamstrung by a horrid script, horrid special effects, horrid direction. You get the idea.

In Bullet, a cop and a hitman watch their partners die and decide to team up to take down their mutual enemy. It may not be the most original film premise, but it does feature Stallone and Momoa fighting with axes. Yes, I'm interested. Expect a trailer soon.

How is it possible to be that ripped at age 65?

You may also have seen this photo featuring Stallone and another of the stars of The Expendables 2.

Yes, that's Arnold and Stallone, two action-movie icons, in the hospital getting their shoulders worked on after The Expendables 2 wrapped up. I guess even tough guys need maintenance from time to time.