Entertainment

Sony, Disney, and Kevin Spacey: New Media Continues to Emerge (video)

by A Glitch | Sep 2, 2013 | 4 comments

Anyone who doesn’t live under a rock these days will fast admit that the landscape of media delivery is rapidly changing. Netflix, Hulu, iTunes and others offer an alternative to sitting down in front of the T.V. or heading to the theater at a pre-arranged time, which often leaves the viewer’s schedule at the mercy of said networks or theaters. While all of us consume media in one way or another, Sony and Disney are the first studios to undertake a venture that points to the continuing shift in how that media is received: the two giants have begun streaming new movies, making them available to consumers at home while they are still playing in traditional theaters.

After the break, read more details about about Sony’s project, what it could mean for those at home, and hear what Kevin Spacey had to say recently about television’s role in all of this, the emergence of new media and the responsibility companies have to their viewers.

Clooney Defends Sony Pictures Amid Investor Challenge

by Jonathan Nolan | Aug 31, 2013 | 4 comments

Hollywood star George Clooney intervened in billionaire investor Dan Loeb’s challenge to Sony which called for the company to sell a large stake in ‘underperforming’ units such as Sony Pictures. Clooney rejected the hedge fund owner Dan Loeb as a “carpetbagger” who does “not create jobs”.

Should You See ‘We’re The Millers’?

by Joel Dale | Aug 24, 2013 | 3 comments

One of the things I noticed about We’re The Millers, as I watched it with my friend Doug, is that he and I often laughed at different parts. Now this probably doesn’t seem like that big of a revelation except for the fact that comedies are usually designed to make people laugh at the same time. We’re The Millers has those moments too, a number of them really. Just a lot of other moments that could be described as “more pleasing than funny depending on who you are.”

Small time drug dealer David is forced by his ruthless boss, Brad Gurdlinger, to put together a fake family in order to smuggle a huge stash of drugs across the Mexican border. You can tell he’s ruthless because he has an aquarium with killer whales eating dolphins. First up is Kenny, his hapless dweeb of a neighbor to play the son. Kenny is in it for the fun because his life has no excitement and his parents have left him. David enlists his neighbor and erotic dancer Rose to play his wife. Jennifer Aniston brings an everywoman, down home, relatable vibe to all of her roles and in We’re The Millers it happens to be an everyday, down home, run of the mill stripper. She’s in it for the money. Social miscreant and probable criminal Casey, is bribed into being the daughter.

Should You See ‘The Way Way Back?’

by Joel Dale | Aug 13, 2013 | 1 comment

The opening moment of The Way Way Back is a make it or break it kind of deal. Steve Carell plays against type as Trent – father, divorcé, and new boyfriend to Toni Collette’s, Pam. She’s also a divorcé and also has a kid, Duncan. Trent is driving both families to his lake house and lays into Duncan (Liam James) telling him that on a scale of 1-10, he’s only a 3. This is one of those moments that is so strange and mean it’s hard to relate to. I’m sure there are fathers and boyfriends who’ve done similar things although I’m glad I’ve never met any. This first five minutes makes it incredibly obvious the film is going to focus on Trent’s abusive relationship to Duncan.

Except it’s a comedy.

A comedy about Duncan’s emotional abuse and his mom’s failed attempts at relationships.

Should You See ‘The Wolverine?’

by Joel Dale | Aug 3, 2013 | 0 comments

I was complaining to my friend GI Joe, that I had not given us enough time to get popcorn before going into the theater when a sense of self-consciousness hit me. Dana White, president of the UFC, and Matt Hughes, former UFC champion and hall of famer, were directly in front of me. I stared at them as we all walked into The Wolverine together. Apparently I share something in common with world famous tough guys. Beyond being tough that is.

Having listened to Joe Rogan, who is the color commentator for UFC fights, attack Kung-Fu and Tai-Kwon-Do as crap for real life fights, I was very curious what an educated fighting professional would think of the latest Wolverine movie, being set in Japan with all its martial arts. Can they take time from their actual world of actually beating people up with actual proven methodology to the world of a perpetually healing animal like human, hanging out with a bunch of kendo experts that probably have no fighting value outside of a movie.

Luckily The Wolverine doesn’t know Dana White is in the audience and keeps itself focused on being an all style points experience. It looks great when CGI is not involved. Director James Mangold and his camera man compose some wonderfully colorful shots. The action is usually fun. But the CGI moments can be distracting. Still, let it not be said though that Hugh Jackman isn’t amazing at playing Wolverine. Cause he is.

I take my roles very seriously.

I take my roles very seriously.

And if you know anything about his five other depictions of this character, then you will not be disappointed in the least. He brings the loner, angry, but sympathetic character to absolute life despite the fact the surroundings may be lack luster. At the top of the movie we find him living the loner life in the woods, communing with bears, until mysterious Yukio (Rila Fukushima) comes calling, complete with butt kicking Japanese sword skills, and a message for The Wolverine to come back to Japan to visit a dying friend he once saved back in WWII.

This dying friend is named Yoshida (Hal Yamanouchi) and he makes an offer to trade Wolverine’s infinite health for Yoshida’s impending death. A tempting possibility that Wolverine gives about 9 seconds of thought before turning down.

‘The Amazing Spider-Man 4′ to be About More Than Spider-Man?

by Sohrab Osati | Jul 25, 2013 | 5 comments

With The Amazing Spider-Man 2 scheduled to hit theaters on May 2, 2014, Sony Pictures is already talking about The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4 which makes sense, seeing how The Amazing Spider-Man went on to gross $752 million dollars. So with planned release dates for two more films after next year, does Sony want to continue to put Spider-Man against more foes or do they plan on taking the series in a slightly different direction? According to Marc Web, the films director, Sony plans on keeping things fresh by having the 4th film not be “just a Spider-Man movie.”

Sony Pictures Moves Forward with ‘Gran Turismo’ Movie with ’50 Shades of Grey’ Producers

by Sohrab Osati | Jul 24, 2013 | 1 comment

Despite having yet to utilize the ecosystem in a proper way, Sony has something that no other company does. Sony as an entity which has other divisions which include Sony Pictures, Sony/BMG, and PlayStation is capable of making electronics, movies/music, and video games. That really is the holy trinity, especially when you consider the affinity between Hollywood and the video game industry. While we’ve recognized this for years, it seems like Sony might actually be taking this seriously for the first time with their planned Gran Turismo movie.

Sony Pictures Announces ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4’

by Sohrab Osati | Jul 22, 2013 | 2 comments

You know you’re confident about your franchise when you announce not one, but two sequels before the 2nd film is even released. Sony Pictures has announced release dates for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and 4 which will continue the saga of the rebooted world. Just a little over a year ago (July 3rd, 2012), Sony Pictures released The Amazing Spider-Man which went on to gross $752 million dollars. With a franchise in mind already, Sony would begun production on the The Amazing Spider-Man 2 which is scheduled to hit theaters on May 2, 2014.

The Amazing Spider-Man saga release dates are as follows:

Should You See ‘The Conjuring?’

by Joel Dale | Jul 21, 2013 | 2 comments

If anyone was wondering where I was the past couple weeks, not churning out reviews, I was in Norway and Sweden. Seeing fjords and not movies. So now that I’m back, what better way to celebrate the stunning beauty of these northern nations, the amazing vistas of nature, the crazy viking history, the shifting monarchies, and the forgotten heritage attached to the world than to see James Wan’s film The Conjuring. He made Saw.

But what is life if not a series of different experiences. And I must say The Conjuring is different than other experiences similar in content. Let’s start with this, I didn’t like Saw. I thought it was poorly acted, hammy boredom with a twist I didn’t care for. In the interim Wan has improved. He has made a name of himself with more creepy, relatively inexpensive horror films, none of which I’ve seen. But also a remake of Death Wish called Death Sentence that I found straight forwardly brutal and fascinating. He continues this plain attitude in The Conjuring which is not an amazing film but is unreasonably entertaining nonetheless.

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg Offered to Script ‘Uncharted’ Movie

by Sohrab Osati | Jul 19, 2013 | 0 comments

From the time the first Uncharted title was released for the PlayStation 3, Sony Pictures has been wanting to get a movie going, based on the now extremely popular franchise. This should come as little surprise as the series developed by Naughty Dog has been a hit with fans and critics. In fact, one of the most enduring facts about the franchise has been its blockbuster movie-like experience that comes so natural to the series. While other games are at times a much harder transition to the big screen, Uncharted is rooted in a cinematic world with a modern twist on Indiana Jones. Now, nearly 7 years after the first title, Sony Pictures is no closer to getting a film going, despite previous having big names attached to the project like director David O. Russell and Mark Wahlberg who would eventually be replaced by Limitless director Neil Burger. With both directors off the project, Naughty Dog has turned their attention towards Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg to help get the project going.

Should You See ‘White House Down?’

by Joel Dale | Jul 2, 2013 | 0 comments

Until last night I had never experienced an audience clapping at the end of a film in derision. Usually we’ll clap for the sheer love of what we saw but with White House Down, they clapped at the audacity of what it takes to make a pile such as this. At present, while I write this review for White House Down, the Tomatometer is at 50%. I feel that is about fifty points too high. I warn you now, this review contains spoilers. Just like the movie contains spoilers. It spoiled my dinner, spoiled my evening, and spoiled my desire to go back to the theater. Wondering, as I left, if director Roland Emmerich’s greatest gift to humankind was the desire to work at a soup kitchen and give back to the world instead of sitting through crap like this. It’s sad considering he managed to woo a long list of top stars.

Should You See ‘World War Z?’

by Joel Dale | Jun 26, 2013 | 1 comment

World War Z does something few movies have ever done for me. It places me next to the protagonist and compels me on the same journey he or she is on. In this case it’s a he. Brad Pitt to be exact, as retired United Nations investigator Gerry Lane. He’s seen some bad stuff and wants no part of more bad stuff because now he has a family. Bad stuff and family do not mix. But Gerry can’t turn his investigator brain off and when the movie opens to him racing his family through an unexpected outbreak of some crazy, super fast zombie disease – he takes a moment watching someone get bit and counts how long before they become a crazy, super fast zombie. I think the count was 12 seconds. And this should give you some idea of how this movie works. It relentlessly pushes the pace at you but not in some clunky, when is this fight scene ever going to end kind of way (See Man of Steel for that). Instead everything from the opening credits drops you right down in the center of the action. There’s no overly long explanation of what’s going on. And that’s the point. You find out what everybody finds out AS they find it out. This is not the film yanking out the rug from underneath you. It just lays out information at the rate any human would find it out whilst being chased by crazy, super fast zombies.

Red Rover send Zombie right over.

Red Rover send Zombie right over.

The closest comparison I can make is to the masterpiece Children of Men. And yes I am using a strong word there. Children of Men is a better movie. I will not say World War Z is a masterpiece but they share something very special. As an audience member you live the pace the movie puts out. Z is a white knuckle thriller with simple, effective, and obvious motivations. When Gerry gets his family onto a military boat, a safe haven from the zombies, he’s compelled to join in the fight for a possible cure. He refuses because he wishes to stay with his family, but an incredibly simple argument is made to convince him. The captain of said safe haven says in essence: “if you’re not going to help us, then we are going to fill your spots with people who will and you shall leave.” I mean wow. No muss. No fuss. It’s not pandering. It’s brutal and smart and totally believable.

Should You See ‘Man of Steel?’

by Joel Dale | Jun 21, 2013 | 8 comments

In the parking lot, walking to my car after having seen Man of Steel, I listened to a guy telling his girlfriend that one of the common complaints of the first Christopher Reeves’ Superman movie is that it’s too slow and it takes 45 minutes before anything happens. Since that 1978 film has a 93% on RottenTomatoes, I’m not sure which group of common people are making this common complaint. But if it is so common, that would go a long way to explaining the pacing of Zach Snyder’s newest reboot.

Snyder is an incredibly capable director who commands power over visuals like no other. When given lower end scripts he still makes something that’s hard to not watch. 300 is like the first truly mainstream gay movie and it looks great. Suckerpunch is kind of a mess and often accused of horrible misogyny, and yet for even those who don’t like it, try taking your eyes away. But for a truly great script, like Watchmen, Snyder is a genius that made one of my favorite films. And so for Man of Steel the question is will it be a great script inspiring genius or meager writing that’s a treat to stare at despite the weak foundation. The result is somewhere in the middle.

Should You See ‘Now You See Me?’

by Joel Dale | Jun 9, 2013 | 6 comments

I’m debating which of two moments in time were my favorite parts of my experience watching Now You See Me. Either it was near the end when the final reveal occurs and a lady in the front left of the theater started laughing uncontrollably and causes the rest of the theater to start laughing with her, or it was in the parking garage, listening to all the cars beeping as people were trying to locate them en masse. Both of these moments were more entertaining than most everything actually in the film.

Here's what movies like this do to my legacy.

Here’s what movies like this do to my legacy.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: it’s usually a warning flare for a film to be an ensemble of famous people because it shifts focus from doing what is best for the story to doing what gets the largest audience. And apparently the studio thought that was ok because this cast of famous people phone it in.

A figure, cloaked in secrecy (a.k.a. wearing a hoodie), clandestinely recruits four talented magicians by sticking a tarot card with an address on it somewhere each of them would be surprised to find it. For instance, in the middle of a piranha-infested fish tank. I thought it strange these magicians knew that upon receiving said cards they were to do as they were told. Obviously they knew something I didn’t. Some secret magician’s code or something.

Should You See ‘Fast & Furious 6?’

by Joel Dale | Jun 2, 2013 | 1 comment

Fast & Furious 6 is a movie with Michelle Rodriguez as Letty. At one point, in an earlier film, she dated Vin Diesel, who plays Dominic Toretto, until he stopped dating her because she got killed. But nows she’s not dead, which is good, because he didn’t like how they broke up. Except now she’s a villain, which is bad. But Vin Diesel doesn’t care and gets all stupid around her. Like when he smiles at her and she shoots him. Vin Diesel does a bunch of other ridiculous things, like jump from moving cars to his certain death and explains it by saying “family.” Paul Walker plays Brian O’Conner, who used to be a cop, but that stopped in The Fast and The Furious, back before they dropped the “The” from the title and back before they used an ampersand instead of the word “and” and back before they needed numbers to tell these apart – basically back when The Fast and The Furious was really Point Break. Paul Walker isn’t the best actor, but he did start this off and since he’s not dating Vin Diesel, he doesn’t have to die to break up with him. So instead he gets himself imprisoned to ask a question of a super criminal about Letty not being dead. The super criminal says “she didn’t die.” I hope that answered Paul Walker’s question because that was a lot of trouble to find out the answer. But, you know, “family.”