Interstellar News and Justice League Rumors

Rumors have been circling that Warner Bros. is desperately pursuing Mega-Star Bradley Cooper to join their upcoming Justice League movie as the role of Flash. It's also rumored that the studio is starting to doubt the entire project, in fear that a $200 million investment could be squandered. Therefore, locking in a household name like Bradley Cooper could be just the motivator Warner Bros. needs to restore confidence in the Justice League project. Another important factor will be the box-office in-take from this summer's Man of Steel. Just to point it out, Bradley Cooper's camp has not confirmed anything.

2012 proved to be a huge breakout year for Matthew McConaughey. The one-time Rom-Com star used dramatic turns in films like Magic Mike, Bernie and Mud to catch the eye of many Hollywood directors. None bigger than Christopher Nolan. Last week, rumors surfaced that Nolan had offered a role in his upcoming Sci-Fi picture, Interstellar, to McConaughey. It's finally been confirmed by McConaughey himself that the breakout star has officially signed on to Interstellar. While we can expect virtually no details on Nolan's (always secretive) project before its release, Interstellar supposedly follows a group of explorers who travel through a wormhole and experience time travel and alternate dimensions. Sounds pretty mind-boggling!

March 2013 Poll Recap

We all loved Christopher Nolan's 2008 sequel, The Dark Knight. The late-great Heath Ledger branded such a psychopathic and fearful interpretation of the Joker, one the world had never seen. In fact, that's most likely the biggest reason that you voters picked Nolan's The Dark Knight as "the greatest sequel of all-time". Pummeling the competition with 46% of the votes, Nolan's sequel was followed by a typical list-topping film, The Godfather: Part II (26%). Rounding out the vote-getters were Terminator 2 (20%) and The Empire Strikes Back (6%).

Thank you for all the votes, and be sure to check out April's poll question of the month as well (located in the upper right-hand corner of the page). In honor of this month's anticipated release, Evil Dead, the poll question asks, "What is the Greatest Remake of All-Time?"

Christopher Nolan Interstellar News

Whenever news breaks concerning Christopher Nolan's next project, Interstellar, everyone's ears perk up. The director's unscathed resume speaks for itself and now that he's officially finished with the Batman universe, we all want to know what's up with Interstellar? Although Nolan likes to keep his work as guarded as Fort Knox, some recent news regarding his upcoming project has surfaced. Apparently Nolan has seen Magic Mike, as Deadline.com has reported that the director has offered the male lead in Interstellar to Matthew McConaughey. Interstellar began as a Steven Spielberg project based on a scientific theory that wormholes could be used as a source for time travel. Spielberg brought sibling Jonah Nolan on board to write a script for the idea, making it very easy for Christopher to take the reigns after Spielberg jumped ship. The idea of a Christopher Nolan time travel film makes every other project floating around Hollywood seem as interesting as watching paint dry. Consider me sold.

(New) World War Z and This is the End (RED BAND) Trailers

Scheduled to make a HUGE box-office splash in June is Marc Forster's World War Z starring Brad Pitt. After a debut trailer nearly a year ago and an unrevealing Super Bowl Spot in February, the highly anticipated zombie apocalypse film has finally released a more telling trailer for audiences to get a better glimpse inside of the story being told. What is clearly shaping up to be an extremely intense perspective into the recently popular zombie phenomenon, we can only hope that World War Z will deliver a fresh take on the subject matter.





Keeping up with the "end of the world" trend, another June release comes in the form of the comedy This is the End starring Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Jay Baruchel and plenty of other big-named celebrities. Intended to be a real life satire in which these stars play themselves, This is the End follows a party at James Franco's house where everyone is forced to face the apocalypse.

Spring Breakers

Film: Spring Breakers

Starring: Vanessa Hudgens (Sucker Punch), Ashley Benson and James Franco (Oz the Great and Powerful)

Director: Harmony Korine (Mister Lonely)

U.S. Release: March 22nd, 2013 (Rated R)

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 92 minutes


If you've seen the trailer for Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers, chances are you're somewhat intrigued. You're probably wondering if the outlandish looking crime-drama is a laughable farce or an original piece of filmmaking from a director best known as the writer of the controversial 1995 film Kids. Truth be told, Spring Breakers is a lot of both.

Childhood friends Faith, Brit, Candy and Cotty (played by Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, Vanessa Hudgens and Rachel Korine) want nothing more than to escape their small town life and travel to Florida for Spring Break. Having saved nowhere near enough money for the trip, the three girls (minus a somewhat ethical Faith) rob a local restaurant and secure enough funds to embark on their journey of personal discovery. However, while enjoying their time in the sun a little too much, they end up arrested and charged with some hefty fines. Consequently, a local drug-dealer/rapper named Alien (James Franco) bails the ladies out of jail and introduces them to a world of crime.

Attempting to stand out as an original art-form, Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers offers a unique approach backed by very little substance. With overly repetitive dialogue (I swear you hear the sound clip of James Franco saying "Spring Break" about a hundred times) and a minimally progressing plot, the film serves as nothing more than a platform for director Harmony Korine's artistic expression. However, the director takes full advantage of the opportunity and conjures up a rare stylistic gem. With enough quick-cuts in the editing room to trigger a seizure, Korine continually interweaves images of the present moment with short glimpses of the future. It becomes a highly anticipated and clever way of approaching an otherwise hollow story. Given such a bland foundation to build from, Spring Breakers blends together a high-octane score (courtesy of Drive's Cliff Martinez and Skrillex) and profound direction that can definitely be classified as avant-garde.

Another glowing aspect of Spring Breakers is a convincing enough cast that helps transform a ridiculous concept into an engaging movie. Most notable is an often up-and-down James Franco who never disappoints in his role. I was blown away by the actor's Oscar Nominated performance in 2010's 127 Hours, but still await a return to such heights. Although Franco's onscreen efforts are by no means as transcending as his 2010 work, they represent a glimmer of hope that the potential to achieve similar results is still there. In addition to Franco, it deserves mention that all four of the girls leave their own impression on the story. Through the cast's ability to generate memorable personas, it's evident that director Harmony Korine has a deep understanding and purpose for each of his film's characters. Yet, as a writer, Korine fails to deliver a reasonable enough script and dialogue to elevate Spring Breakers to something better than a lavish tale of social deviance.

When you look back on Spring Breakers you'll appreciate the feature for its innovative direction, rare style and memorable imagery. However, the memories will far surpasses the level of enjoyment you'll experience while watching the film. This unorthodox consequence is the result of a flimsy foundation built on a one-dimensional story concerning multi-dimensional characters. Spring Breakers proves to be immensely bittersweet. You appreciate Harmony Korine's keen vision, yet his work never feels as groundbreaking as it should. It's worth waiting for Spring Breakers on DVD unless you're absolutely dying for a disoriented rave-like party with some Dolby Digital sound mixing.


Stars: 2 and a half stars out of 4.

Grade: B-

Top 5 Baseball Movies

Today marks the first day of Spring and with the sun shining bright and Spring Training baseball on the tube, I decided to make a list of my Top 5 Baseball Movies of All Time. While my list undoubtedly leaves off some dramatic crowd favorites, I had to keep it true to myself and, in many ways, my childhood. But before we dive into my Top 5 selections, let's acknowledge the honorable mention that failed to make the list: Field of Dreams, Bull Durham, The Bad News Bears (the original) and Rookie of the Year. They each offer a unique aspect that can be appreciated by the masses, but they just missed making the cut. Now, here are my Top 5 Baseball Movies of All Time:

*** View February's Movie List of the Month HERE

#5. Major League

I couldn't imagine playing baseball with a crazier group of guys. Talk about a collection of misfits and degenerates, 1989's Major League grouped together a recently imprisoned flamethrower Rick Vaughn (Charlie Sheen), a washed up veteran named Jake Taylor (Tom Berenger), a star only in his own mind Willie Mays Hayes (Wesley Snipes) and the voodoo believing slugger Pedro Cerrano (Dennis Haysbert). And when the franchise owner wants to relocate her baseball team to a warmer climate, she assembles this collection of so-called bums in order to draw poor attendance enabling her a way out of the current deal. However, this odds-defying team of "losers" decide to show-up their owner by putting on their work boots and getting a little dirty. Truly a piece of comedic genius, Major League serves as one of the greatest baseball movies ever.

#4. The Sandlot

Scotty Smalls (Tom Guiry) moves to a new neighborhood and doesn't know anyone. But when a group of local kids need one more person for a pick-up game of baseball, Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez (Mike Vitar) invites the new kid in town. Friendships evolve as these youngsters embark on a Summer filled with romance (we will always love you Wendy Peffercorn), rivalries, adventures and, most importantly, baseball. The Sandlot is a timeless film that perfectly embodies my youth through the love of America's Favorite Pastime. 

#3. The Natural

I'll never forget the first time I saw Barry Levinson's 1984 film, The Natural. There was something mystifying about Robert Redford's main character, Roy Hobbs. Hobbs is a middle-aged ballplayer who literally comes out of nowhere to help a losing baseball team climb to the top of the league in the 1930s. Hobbs and his bat "Wonderboy" (which was carved out of a fallen tree in his backyard that was struck by lightning) finally reach the heights that they were destined to accomplish 16 years earlier when Hobbs was shot by a crazed fan. With subtle elements of fantasy and mystique, The Natural is a brilliantly made film and one of baseball's finest theatrical representations.

#2. A League of Their Own

Call me crazy, but my second greatest baseball movie of all time is played by ... girls? 1992's A League of Their Own put such a fresh and innovative twist on my favorite sport by focusing on the women who were forced to play the game while men served overseas in World War II. Although some of these ladies could really play the game, like the Rockford Peaches' own Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) and Marla Hooch (Megan Cavanagh), A League of Their Own mainly succeeds on the shoulders of two-time Oscar Winner Tom Hanks. Offering up some of the most quotable lines of all time (i.e. "there's no crying in baseball"), Hanks and director Penny Marshall deliver a winning film in every sense of the word.

#1. 61*

Perhaps the biggest New York Yankees fan of all time is Billy Crystal and, in 2001, he gave us the greatest baseball film of all time, 61*. Centering around the historic chase to break Babe Ruth's single season home run record, we follow Roger Maris (Barry Pepper) and Mickey Mantle (Thomas Jane) on their unforgettable quest. With amazing attention to detail and historical accuracy, Crystal depicts the harsh actions demonstrated by Yankees' fans as "outsider" Roger Maris pulled away from his friend, teammate and fan favorite Mickey Mantle in the race to surpass Babe Ruth. Even more amazing is the fact that if you eliminate all steroid users from the equation, Roger Maris still holds the record with 61 home runs in a single season. It was an astonishing feat that forever impacted baseball and will always be remembered thanks, in large part, to a fantastic job by director Billy Crystal. Originally a made for TV movie, 61* transcends such a label and remains the greatest baseball movie of all time.

DVD Outlook: March 2013

While February saw the DVD release of Best Picture Winner Argo, March follows suit with many other Oscar contenders being released for your home-viewing pleasure. Although I was less in love with nominees like Life of Pi (3/12), Les Miserables (3/22) and Hitchcock (3/12), they are still big-named releases this month that will surely catch your eye. Now, on to the films I suggest renting for the month of March.




Zero Dark Thirty - 4 stars out of 4 (Read my full review here)

There was a moment in recent history when every prognosticator believed that Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty would win Best Picture. However, in the midst of controversy, the film only walked away with the Best Sound Editing trophy at the Oscars. Controversy aside, Zero Dark Thirty tells the unbelievable true story of a determined CIA operative (played by Jessica Chastain) who embarks on a decade long manhunt to find the Most Wanted fugitive in the world, Osama Bin Laden. Unrelenting, gripping and full of suspense, Zero Dark Thirty is a fantastic and well-rounded film that deserves every bit of your attention during its entire fast-moving two and a half hour running time. (MARCH 19TH)




Lincoln - 2 and a half stars out of 4 (Read my full review here)

Immediately following my initial viewing of Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, I never quite felt "blown away" by the film. Despite being somewhat let down by the heavy dose of dialogue that spans close to three hours, Lincoln has kept crawling back into my brain of late. Perhaps like a fine wine, Lincoln sits better with age. Therefore, I'm very eager to catch a second viewing of Spielberg's Best Picture Nominee later this month, The film mainly focuses on the 16th president's commitment to passing a law that would abolish slavery. Throughout the movie we see the inner workings of political posturing and some of the dirty deeds that float around our nation's capital. Brilliantly acted (including a game-changing turn by Best Actor Winner Daniel Day-Lewis) and phenomenally written, Lincoln is yet another wonderful piece of filmmaking by Steven Spielberg. (MARCH 26th)





This is 40 - 2 and a half stars out of 4 (Read my full review here)

Let me preface by saying that This is 40 is by no means a fantastic film. Overly long and bloated with an abundance of side characters and subplots, there's plenty of blemishes with Judd Apatow's latest work. On the other hand, This is 40 offers continual laugh out loud comedy from start to finish. No one can deny Apatow's unique sense of humor, but the director's obsession with creating a comedy-drama blend has proved problematic in the past (i.e. Funny People). This time around Apatow pushes the envelope a little too far, but enough to ruin the final product. The jokes are regular enough and funny enough to salvage the film. If you're looking for a light and hilarious piece of entertainment this month, look no further than This is 40. (MARCH 22ND)


Honorable Mention: The Oscar-Nominated children's film Wreck-It Ralph (3/5) is now available and horror fans may be interested in checking out Barry Levinson's The Bay (3/5) or The Collection (3/26). Until next month!