American Hustle and The Counselor Trailers

David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook had quite the showing during last year's awards season, and the director returns in 2013 with his caper film American Hustle. Boasting a complete all-star cast including Christian Bale, Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, Robert DeNiro and Jeremy Renner, American Hustle has all the makings of another Oscar-caliber film from David O. Russell. Although it feels more like a teaser trailer, check out what you can expect from American Hustle.





Much has been made about Ridley Scott's early awards season favorite, The Counselor. Michael Fassbender stars as a lawyer who finds himself completely over-matched after getting involved with drug dealers. With Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz on board, The Counselor could be Scott's return to Oscar glory.Check out the first trailer for The Counselor by clicking below.

Drinking Buddies

Film: Drinking Buddies

Starring: Olivia Wilde (The Incredible Burt Wonderstone), Jake Johnson (Safety Not Guaranteed) and Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect)

Director: Joe Swanberg (V/H/S)

U.S. Release: August 23rd, 2013 (Limited Release - Rated R)

Genre: Drama

Runtime: 90 minutes


It doesn't matter if it's a painter, musician or even a filmmaker, any artist trying to break into a specific scene deserves an enormous amount of credit for putting himself/herself out there. Opening yourself up for criticism is one of the most difficult things anyone can do. Writer/director Joe Swanberg has worked diligently over the past 7-8 years attempting to make a name for himself in the film industry. With his most notable work coming in the form of a director gig for one segment in the indie horror hit V/H/S, Swanberg hopes his latest effort, Drinking Buddies, can put him on the map.

Kate (played by Olivia Wilde) and Luke (Jake Johnson) are co-workers at a craft brewery in Chicago. Both are in committed relationships with separate people, however, these flirtatious friends can't escape their undeniable connection with one another. When a weekend alone together tests their boundaries, Kate and Luke recognize that they must either act on their feelings or put an end to these mind games once and for all.

Joe Swanberg's Drinking Buddies is a 90 minute marathon that examines the inner-workings of an opposite-sex friendship. While the subject matter is genuine and heartfelt, the young director's delivery is both sloppy and uneventful. For starters, the feature's main characters make it far too difficult for the audience to desire a connection with them. Playing out like a childish and awkward middle school relationship, the sexual tension between Kate and Luke becomes too uncomfortable and tiresome for any moviegoer to invest their energy. In addition to the irritating mind games, Drinking Buddies offers little to no story at all. Clearly a character study about these two immature co-workers, Swanberg's newest release fails to capture a worthwhile identity.

Although the film never reaches its full potential, the blame doesn't fall on the shoulders of its well-rounded cast. Olivia Wilde stars and even shines at times in her leading role. This is the first time that Wilde has ever legitimately caught my attention by stealing a scene, and it happens more than once here. Furthermore, her male counterpart, Jake Johnson, continues to reinforce the notion that he can be an effective in carrying a major motion picture. Anna Kendrick also deserves a shout-out for her adorable supporting role. She has a knack for lighting up the screen whenever she's given the opportunity. But despite a strong collection of performances from his cast, Swanberg's flimsy story and awkward vibe make Drinking Buddies a hard sell.

One interesting fact to point out is Joe Swanberg's Drinking Buddies is a largely improvised film. And as I mentioned earlier, the writer/director should be applauded for his efforts in pulling off something that's extremely difficult. Yet, the truth remains that Drinking Buddies is frequently uncomfortable and often irritating. I understand the challenges of making a mainly improvised film, yet, there's nothing better than a well-written story. Unfortunately, there isn't one here.


Stars: 2 stars out of 4

Grade: C

12 Years a Slave and (NEW) Gravity Trailers

Just last week we featured a look inside of this year's crop of Oscar-contending films (Part One and Part Two). Since then, there's been an onslaught of trailers for many of this Fall and Winter's most anticipated releases. One possible Academy Award hopeful is Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave. Following the real life story of Solomon Northup, a free black man living in New York during the pre-Civil War era who was abducted and sold into slavery down south. McQueen's newest effort centers on the 12 year struggle that Northup endured while fighting to stay alive and regain his freedom. Starring an A-list cast including Brad Pitt, Paul Giamati, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup, check out the trailer for 12 Years a Slave below.





While Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity debuted a teaser trailer months ago, the film has finally begun to release some new footage for audiences to see. With his latest offering we experience, first-hand, the intensity and torment of a space mission that goes terribly wrong. Although many are already branding Cuaron's Gravity as this year's Life of Pi, I have much higher hopes than that. Starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts hopelessly lost in outer space, check out the newest trailer from Alfonso Cuaron's Oscar-hopeful, Gravity.

Hollywood Headlines 7/23/13

Over the course of the past week things have been stirring in Hollywood. First and foremost, geek-loyal fans of Star Wars can climb off of the tall bridges and building ledges as Lucasfilm has officially denounced the wide-spread rumors that director J.J. Abrams was jumping ship on Star Wars: Episode VII (more info here courtesy of Indiewire.com). Until Abrams confirms anything, it's safe to assume that he will helm the beloved franchises next installment.

Despite the fact that Man of Steel premiered this summer to mixed reviews, director Zack Snyder wasted no time generating buzz for the film's sequel. While a follow-up feature was quickly assumed after the movie's enormous opening weekend, Snyder upped the ante by confirming that his Superman sequel will also feature the DC character, Batman. By the hints floating around Comic-Con, the next addition will be billed something along the lines of Superman vs Batman ... yes, a battle between the two heroes (more info here courtesy of Entertainment Weekly). Furthermore, it's been reported that the DC hero Flash will receive his own film in 2016 and a Justice League super-installment in 2017.

When word broke that funny-man Sacha Baron Cohen would tackle the flamboyant role of rock-star Freddie Mercury in an upcoming biopic about the Queen vocalist, I was legitimately excited. However, Baron has officially dropped off of the film and rumors are circulating that it has to do with a clash between Mercury's former band members and their desire for a cleaner and more refined PG-13 project (more info here courtesy of Indiewire.com). With an Oscar-bait collection of writers and possible directors, Cohen must have been really upset if he walked away from this potential Best Actor opportunity. 

Finally, Harvey Weinstein's well documented dispute with the MPAA and their decision to refuse The Weinstein Company the rights to name their upcoming release, The Butler, after rival company Warner Bros. argued ownership of the title (from an outdated comedy short) has come to an end. After taking his case to the court of public opinion with an outspoken campaign against the initial decision, the MPAA has decided to overturn their ruling ... well, sort of. The feature, which will most likely be titled Lee Daniels' The Butler, has been given the permission to use the word "butler" in the title (more info here courtesy of Indiewire.com). While this petty foul play between rival companies is clearly entertaining, truth is the bickering does nothing to benefit the industry whatsoever.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Saving Mr. Banks Trailers

To many, Academy Award Winner Jennifer Lawrence will best be remembered for her 2012 role in David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook. However, it was Lawrence's The Hunger Games that ultimately surpassed the $400 million mark in domestic box office revenue. Just a year later and Lawrence returns as Katniss Everdeen in the highly anticipated sequel The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. Check out the trailer for Lawrence's follow-up film which is due out in November.

Due out in Mid-December is the Oscar hopeful Saving Mr. Banks starring Emma Thompson and Tom Hanks. The film centers around Walk Disney (played by Hanks) and his desire to purchase the rights to the children's book series Mary Poppins in order to make a film about its title character. Yet, the author Pamela Travers (played by Thompson) has her reservations about making the deal. This family-oriented drama looks to recapture the wonder and magic of the beloved childhood classic. Check out the trailer for Saving Mr. Banks below.

The Conjuring

Film: The Conjuring

Starring: Vera Farmiga (Source Code), Patrick Wilson (Young Adult) and Lili Taylor (Being Flynn)

Director: James Wan (Insidious)

U.S. Release: July 19th, 2013 (Rated R)

Genre: Horror

Runtime: 112 minutes


James Wan is a horror enthusiast, plain and simple. The director of the original Saw and Insidious has spent all of his rather young career refusing to break from the norm. He's arguably as dedicated to his craft as any other director out there. The only problem being that his craft comes in the form of horror movies. A genre that's often disregarded and kicked to the curb as if it were a piece of trash on the street. As a horror director, it proves difficult to garner the appropriate attention that you may actually deserve. Well finally, after years of providing quality scares to audiences all around the world, James Wan's The Conjuring has become the main attraction.

The Conjuring follows the real life story of famed paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) as they work diligently to help rid the Perron family of an evil and demonic presence that's terrorizing their newly purchased farmhouse.

While it's easy to write off such a bland and generic premise to a scary movie, it's a simplistic approach that actually helps Wan's latest effort resonate so well with moviegoers. Much like the horror classics that I grew up loving such as John Carpenter's Halloween, Wan has finally begun to realize that sometimes it's a lot scarier to give a little less. And as a result, The Conjuring succeeds by allowing the audience to frighten itself. In his similarly based earlier work, Insidious, Wan showed a lot of promise with his attention to key horror elements such as sound, suspenseful build-ups and successful timing. However, where he shows a dramatic improvement over his earlier paranormal effort is in his restraint. With Insidious, Wan demonstrated a lackluster need to give an overly detailed and contrived explanation for the evil presence in the film. An unnecessary but often forced fatal flaw for many scary movies. Yet, in The Conjuring, the director shifts his focus from the origins of the demon to the characters themselves, and it pays off handsomely.

Now, for as much as I thoroughly enjoyed The Conjuring from start to finish, there are a few issues that arise with the film. For example, there aren't many distinct differences between James Wan's newest release and the other dozens of paranormal movies that have found their way to the big screen over the last decade. It's a difficult sub-genre to find a sense of originality. But despite the deja vu feeling that you've seen plenty of the same before, The Conjuring elevates its game by crafting meaningful characters and offering a solid collection of fine actors and actresses. The performances aren't groundbreaking, but they're all stellar and convincing enough to carry the film. Moreover with The Conjuring's diluted sense of originality, Wan tries to mimic the the comedic elements from last year's horror release The Cabin in the Woods. Characters such as the Warren's helper Drew and the police officer Brad are both meant to lighten the mood at times. I didn't find them to be necessary to the film at all and Wan could have done without them. However, The Conjuring ultimately leapfrogs all of the blemishes surrounding its creative shortcomings and wins the audience over with its clever scare tactics and strong performances.

Let me be frank, this is by no means an amazing film. In fact, most horror movies aren't. But if you enjoy a good scare and you can tolerate some of the awful talkers and laughing-to-hide-their-fear people that are guaranteed to flock to the theatre for this one, then I highly recommend taking a chance with The Conjuring. It's well paced and delivers some really interesting special effects that are worthy of praise. With high expectations, even I wasn't disappointed.


Stars: 3 stars out of 4

Grade: B

DVD Outlook: July 2013

While June's DVD selections were extremely mediocre, July's take a small step forward. With many middling releases as well, July's biggest boost comes from the #1 selection on my Top 5 of 2013 (so far) list. Here are some DVD releases you should look forward to this month:




Trance - 3 stars out of 4 - (Read my full review here)

As my favorite film of 2013 (so far), director Danny Boyle's Trance is a mind-bending and spellbinding journey into the world of hypnosis. Boyle, who is best known for directing hits such as Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours and Trainspotting, places the audience inside of an art-heist gone wrong. And when the thieves' insider, Simon (played by James McAvoy), can't remember where he stashed the valuable piece of art, they must resort to hypnosis. Backed by Boyle's always stylish directing and a collaboration of great performances from McAvoy, Vincent Cassel and Rosario Dawson, Trance is one of 2013's early-year highlights.  (JULY 23RD)




42 - Not Yet Reviewed - (No full review available)

While I'm doing something here that I RARELY ever do, I'm going out on a limb and recommending Brian Helgeland's 42 without having seen it myself. I plan on checking out this biopic of Jackie Robinson and his breaking of the color barrier in Major League Baseball very soon. With my first trip ever to MLB's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY scheduled for this weekend, now seems as good a time as any to check out 42. Despite the fact that I haven't seen the film, I've heard only average to good reviews and I anticipated that any fan of sports movies and drama will be able to find a silver lining in the movie. (JULY 16TH)




Evil Dead - 2 and a half stars out of 4 - (No full review available)

As a huge fan of horror movies, I was skeptical about Fede Alvarez's remake of the cult classic, Evil Dead. However, I was shocked to experience a terrifying and most certainly over the top horror extravaganza. If you love gore, violence and some of the freakiest things you'll ever see in a mainstream movie, then Evil Dead is right up your alley. When five friends in a remote cabin discover a mysterious book and unknowingly summon an evil demon living in the woods, their survival feel highly unlikely. Although the film is clearly overbearing, especially in its finale, there's still more than enough for any true horror fan to enjoy. (JULY 16TH)


Honorable Mention: For anyone who doesn't mind catching a foreign film, I am recommending Ron Morales' Filipino thriller, Graceland (7/23), as well as Ken Scott's french-spoken Canadian film, Starbuck (7/23). In fact, Starbuck has been remade into an American movie being released this November starring Vince Vaughn called Delivery Man. And finally, my last recommendation for the month is one I give with many reservations. Spring Breakers (7/9) is a trippy and stylish film that is sure to alienate many and please a few. If you think it could be something you'd enjoy, check out my review and take a chance on it.