What’s in the hopper?….the Lone Ranger!

I was a big fan of the 1950s Lone Ranger TV series starring Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels. Every Saturday it was on I didn’t miss it. The last attempt at a big screen film of the Lone Ranger was in the 1981 movie, The Legend of the Lone Ranger, which was a huge disaster. I remember reading about Johnny Depp being cast as Tonto and just rolling my eyes thinking what a huge mistake that was and further thinking that Hollywood must really want to see another Lone Ranger movie fail.

However, seeing the above picture, which is shocking because it is an authentic depiction of a native American and not the usual sanitized Hollywood version, I began to have higher hopes for this movie. Now after seeing the trailer which was released yesterday, my enthusiasm and hopes for this film has increased. Other than Johnny Depp, the movie stars, Armmie Hammer as the Lone Ranger and Helena Bonham Carter and Tom Wilkerson. Sounds like a great cast and the movie does look good! My expectations are up for this one! 

The movie hits theaters on May 31, 2013. 

Fall Movies Preview

Fall Movies

With the summer season over, now is the time for the fall movies. Generally the fall movies are a mixture of summer type movies that may not have been noteworthy enough to compete with the summer block busters and this is the time of the year when movies wanting to contend for the Academy Awards start coming out. As usual I will focus mainly on Science-Fiction and Fantasy films but there will be some exceptions made to historical and period pieces. This list is not complete they are the movies I am interested in. If I miss a movie you may like feel free to let me know in the comments section below.

The write up for each of these movies is from the Hollywood Reporter.

Dredd 3D
Release date: Sept. 21
Peter Travis directs Dredd 3D, a futuristic flick replacing Sylvester Stallone with Karl Urban as Judge Dredd, who’s fond of uttering such one-liners as “I’m the law.” In Travis’ Stallone-less version, the titular hero must vanquish the crime boss Ma-Ma (Lena Headey) who controls a destructive, time-stopping drug called Slo-Mo.

Looper
Release date: September 28
Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as a young Bruce Willis (um, just go with it) in this twisty mind-bender from writer-director Rian Johnson. In Looper, a Sony release, the two play a hitman sent back in time to be killed by his younger self. Gordon-Levitt wore heavy makeup and spent hours studying Willis to transform into a younger version of the actor.

Frankenweenie
Release Date: October 5
Finally, it’s alive. This film began as a live-action short made by Tim Burton in 1984, and now, 28 years later, it’s a full feature affair. Black and white and timed to run before Halloween, the charmingly creepy flick is about a boy named Victor Frankenstein (voiced by Charlie Tahan) who brings his dog Sparky back to life. Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Landau and Martin Short also provide voice work.

Cloud Atlas
Release date: October 26
The internet stopped dead in its tracks when Andy and Lana Wachowski, along with their co-director Tom Tykwer, personally introduced their new movie with a five-minute trailer that simultaneously confused, dazzled and delighted anyone who watched it. Based on the novel by David Mitchell, the film is a genre-busting exploration of humankind that leaps forward and backward in history with the blink of an eye. Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent and Hugo Weaving lead an international cast, each of whom takes on multiple roles.

Fun Size
Release date: October 26
The directorial debut of teen TV wunderkind Josh Schwartz (The O.C., Gossip Girl), this teen comedy stars Nickelodeon actress Victoria Justice as a hapless teen who only wants to go to a Halloween party to see her crush (Suburgatory’s Thomas McDonell), but ends up losing her little brother in the process.

Wreck-It Ralph
Release date: November 2
A 3-D computer animated feature from Disney, Wreck-It Ralph features John C. Reilly as the voice of a nine-foot-tall, 643-pound video game villain who, tired of being the bad guy for over 30 years, escapes from his game to pursue other things. Other voice talents include 30 Rock’s Jack McBrayer as Fix-It Felix Jr., the handyman hero of Ralph’s game, and Sarah Silverman as Vanellope von Schweetz, a character in Sugar Rush, a kart-racing game set in a land of candy.

Lincoln
Release date: November 9
Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s biographical film, based on Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Lincoln biography Team of Rivals. Lincoln, starring Sally Field as Mary Todd Lincoln, is a likely awards contender, hitting theaters just as awards season begins to heat up. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tommy Lee Jones also star.

Life of Pi
Release date: November 21
Ang Lee’s adaptation of Yann Martell’s novel has already wowed some with the epic, sweeping footage that’s been released. The 3D film was shot in Taiwan, using eight soundstages filled with water, to create a beautiful world that may be different than anything that’s hit the big screen so far.

Red Dawn
Release date: November 21
Tom Cruise’s son, Connor Cruise, has his first major film role in Dan Bradley’s remake of the bloody 1984 film that featured Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen taking on Soviet soldiers. The long-delayed film stars Avengers’ Chris Hemsworth and The Hunger Games’ Josh Hutcherson as friends who wake up one morning to find their Washington town — and the U.S. — under siege from foreign invaders.

Rise of the Guardians
Release date: November 21
DreamWorks Animation’s film unites the most famous fictional characters of childhood – Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy – on a wild adventure. Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman and Isla Fisher lend their voices to the three main characters, with Chris Pine voicing Jack Frost, the new guy in the group. Baldwin called them “the Justice League of childhood,” and actress Isla Fisher called them the “animated Avengers” during a presentation at Cannes.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Release date: December 14
The highly anticipated first film in the Lord of the Rings prequel series sees hobbit Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Peter Jackson’s Hobbit franchise was originally planned as two films, but it’s been announced that there will be a third film released.

Django Unchained
Release date: December 25
The highly anticipated spaghetti Western from Quentin Tarantino stars Jamie Foxx as a freed slave who teams up with a bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) on a revenge mission that sees them colliding with a plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio). Waltz told THR that the “surprise element” is what Tarantino’s films so special. “But not just for the surprise’s sake, but because Quentin finds what makes true drama, he turns situations very often into their opposites,” he said.

The Films of Steven Spielberg

I think I remember hearing about Steven Spielberg in 1982 when ET: The Extra Terrestrial came out in 1982. If my memory serves me, and this is an iffy statement, I seem to recall that back in the 70s it was the producers of the movie that got a lot of the publicity. I remember the remake of King Kong being advertised as by producer Dino De Laurentiis and the ship disaster movie The Poseidon Adventure from producer Irwin Allen. I think it was in the 80s when that trend was reversed to now where the director received a lot of then buzz and publicity for their movies. Indeed, today directors such as Spielberg, Peter Jackson, George Lucas, James Cameron, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Kevin Smith and Robert Zemeckis and on and on are as famous as their movies and the actors that play in them. It wasn’t until many years after the releases of such movies as Jaws and Close Encounter of the Third Kind did I know who Steven Spielberg was.

I always believed that Spielberg’s film were universally liked for the most part. However, I have come to realize that is not the case. He has some people out there that do not like his work at all. There are some who have mixed feelings for his work. I am one of those that greatly enjoys the vast majority of his work and think he is the best director working today. There are those, usually in the “I don’t like him” camp feel his best work is behind him. I strongly disagree with that position. As I sit at my computer typing away I am eagerly anticipating his bio-pic about Lincoln. I have been waiting with excitement and anticipation since this project was announced. Viewing the fist trailer, and haven seen pictures of Daniel Day-Lewis transformed into the 16th president of the US, my desire to see this picture has greatly increased.

One of the aspects of his films that I like is the ambiance or tone of his movies. This might be due to his cinematography but my overall point is when I see a Spielberg film I can tell it is by him just by the way that it looks. Even films not directed by him, where he has worn the hat of executive producer, such as Poltergeist in the 80s and the most recent JJ. Abrams movie, Super 8, all have that classic Spielberg look to them. It is hard to define or put my finger on just how to describe that look, but it is one that evokes a feeling of familiarity and connection that enables me to be absorbed into the movie. I worked with a guy, who wanted to be a director himself, and he didn’t care for Spielberg’s work calling it “too commercial.” I understood what he meant. Commercialism is viewed as something that is polished and appeals to the masses. There are some pretentious artistic types that come off as snobs feeling that gritty realism or abstract expression is far superior to works that are more appealing to the general movie goer. The older I get I find myself not having too much tolerance for snobs whether they be films snobs, art snobs, music snobs, or social snobs. I won’t go off on too much of a tangent on this and I will file my zeal away and discuss this in another blog post all together. For me his commercial appeal is part of the charm of his films.

Since this is a blog dedicated to science fiction and fantasy films and although Spielberg has done some great work outside of this genre, such as the classic Schindler’s List for example, but for the remained of this blog post I will concentrate on his science fiction and fantasy films. I have said that alien invasion movies are one of my favorite topics in this genre and Spielberg has three great movies that deal with this topic in different ways. The first alien invasion movie is Close Encounter of the Third Kind released in 1977 and reunited Spielberg with his Jaws actor, Richard Dryfuss. This movie effectively uses the backdrop of government cover up and mystery to the alien invasion. These aliens are friendly, a new concept for the movies after the cold war type films of the 50s, and the great focus is on the character development and the obsession Dryfuss’s character is experiencing amidst these strange phenomenon. The special effects are spectacular and have not aged a bit since the 70s. The moment we see the massive mother ship behind Devil’s Tower is still breathtaking. The final encounter with the aliens and the musical attempts to communicate with them are awe inspiring and still fills me with as sense of wonder.

His next alien invasion movie was ET: The Extra Terrestrial. This movie really is about childhood and I have always seen ET as a metaphor for the child within us all. The movie is told from a child’s perspective, which is why the faces governmental authorities are not initially shown, and the lesson is about keeping alive that child aspect of ourselves. For me that child like aspect of myself is what gives me joy and makes life meaningful. Sorry to get preacher here for a moment but we live in a fast passed stressful consumerist driven culture and those aspect of the inner child, joy and wonder and mystery are cut off for many adults. This movie reminds me not to let that happen. When ET touches Elliot’s forehead and says “I’ll be right here,” meaning that child like aspect of Elliot, which ET represented, will always be inside of him. I admit by the time those lines are spoken I am a puddle of tears.

The other alien invasion movie Spielberg tackled was the remake of the Sci-Fi classis The War of the Worlds. HG. Wells short story was set in the 19th century. Both George Pal’s and Spielberg’s version update the story to the current time period in which each was filmed. I have already reviewed this movie on this blog so I won’t go into too much detail. I will say I was glad to see Spielberg tackle an alien invasion movie where the aliens are not warm and friendly like his previous films. No, these aliens are coming to take over the planet and desire our extermination. Ah, good old fashioned angry alien invasion movie. I enjoy the aspect of a dead beat dad who really becomes a father amidst this tragedy. The story is gripping and the special effects are out of this world.

I have only scratched the surface of the Steven Spielberg movies that I like. So I will have part 2 ready for next Tuesday.

Halloween Movie Recomendations

It is the 1st of October that means….It’s Holiday Season! Most people think of Holiday Season as composing the time surrounding Thanksgiving and Christmas. Not in my house. We add another season…Halloween. So for my wife and I Holiday Season includes the days leading up to Halloween. During that time we watch horror movies or movies with a Halloween theme. I must admit that although I like this time of year…the time from October 1st to January 1st I am very fussy about Halloween movies. I don’t like the crazy slasher films. I don’t really like disturbing movies. What I mainly like are monster type movies. I also like lighthearted Halloween movies. I know that may sound a bit of an oxymoron or a contradiction but trust me, those types of movies are out there. In fact the first three Halloween movies I will recommend are of the fun lighthearted variety.

I began this new feature of recommending movies this last Monday. So from today until Halloween, which is Wednesday October 31st, I will be recommending some horror and Halloween themed movies.

1. Munster Go Home. 1966.

I grew up watching the Munsters in re-runs as a kid and I loved it. This movie was actually in the theaters but it didn’t do too well at the box office. One of the things I liked about the movie is the fact that it is in color. I am so used to seeing them in black and white as they were depicted on TV so it is good to see them if full living color. Or should that be undead color? I also like the plot. I have a big interest in European Royalty and Nobility and the plot revolves around Herman Munster inheriting the title Lord Munster. They travel to England where the cousins who resent them inheriting the title try to do away with them and hijinks ensue! A fun fluffy frolic.

2. Young Frankenstein. 1974.

What can I say about this Mel Brooks film? Is is arguably his very best and it is a well deserved classic. The cast is just superb and it is hilarious from start to finish. Nearly 40 years later one of my good friends and I still are quoting the lines from this movie to one another. Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, the curvy and delicious Terri Garr are all on fire in this spoof of the Frankenstein movie. Here is bit of trivia. The set used for Dr. Frankenstein’s laboratory is the same one used in the 1931 Boris Karloff film. I know I will watch this movie at least a few times this month.

3. Ghostbusters. 1984.

Another movie that still is as fun and enjoyable as it was almost 30 years ago. Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd are in fine form as parapsychologists turned to professional ghost hunters in NY just when the apocalypse is occurring as Gozer the Gozerian, a Sumerian shape-changer god of destruction is about to bring down his reign of destruction. In an era prior to CGI the special effects still hold up very well. No matter how many times I view this film it never gets old. I still get squeamish opening my refrigerator late at night lest Zuul the Gatekeeper is sitting atop my left over dinner.

Halloween doesn’t have to be all scary, dark and foreboding. It can have laughs. So I recommend watching these movies sometime this month and tune in again to this site next Monday for some more fright filled videos to view.