Despite a childhood infatuation with Star Wars and Marvel superheroes, I am genuinely concerned future generations will come to identify Disney as merely the parent company of Jedi Knights and Avengers. While recent acquisitions of Lucasfilm and Marvel Comics were sensible financial decisions, Disney would be mistaken to presume either brand is a defining cornerstone of the company. Thankfully, the production of a feature film seeped in Disney nostalgia provides a glimmer of hope that executives at Disney share my sentiment. Saving Mr. Banks tells the little-known story of Walt Disney's twenty years pursuit to the rights of Mary Poppins. Starring Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson as Walt Disney and author P.L. Travers, the trailer for Saving Mr. Banks exudes a sweet, high-spirited charm once common in Disney pictures.
To close the first episode of Disney's long-running anthology series, The Disneyland Story, Walt Disney famously remarked, "During the last few years we ventured into a lot of different fields, and we had the opportunity to meet and work with a lot of wonderful people. I only hope that we never lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse." Now more than ever, please Disney, heed this advice. (December 20)
Q: The Tony Awards are for achievement in live Broadway theatre, correct?
A: Technically, yes - that would be correct. However, for the purposes of this blog, the "Tony Awards" are an annual publication of a) the films released during the previous calendar year that I have seen b) a top-10 list of my favorite films of the year, and c) a 10-category award ceremony.
Q: The "Tony Awards" sound reminiscent of the Golden Globe and Academy Awards, which aired on January 13th and February 24th, respectively - aren't you a tad late to the party?
A: No. In fact, I would argue I am still quite early. The ability to withstand the test of time is the only true measure of artistic reverence. Which films released in 2012 will be admired for generations to come? Hint: No one knows. Critiquing contemporary cinema has long proven asinine.Just think - once a decade since 1952, the lauded British publication "Sight & Sound" has published a list of the 10 greatest films of all time, and not once has the preeminent picture (Bicycle Thieves, Citizen Kane, and Vertigo - for the curious reader) been a recipient of either the Golden Globe or Academy Award for Best Picture. Conversely, when have you last seen Shakespeare in Love or Slumdog Millionaire? Despite garnering the Best Picture Oscar, these films (and countless others) have quickly faded from public conscience. Using time as the litmus test for greatness allows for perception to evolve. Revered horror classics The Night of the Hunter (1955) and Psycho (1960) were originally dismissed by critics as offensive and gratuitous. Even It's a Wonderful Life struggled for decades to connect with general audiences - released 15 months following V-J Day, the film was deemed too depressing, too sentimental, and even too Communist (don't blame a rich banker, George Bailey!). The 1st Annual "Tony Awards" a) the films released during the previous calendar year that I have seen
My name is Jordan Belfort. The year I turned twenty-six I made forty-nine million dollars - which really pissed me off, because it was three shy of a million a week.
Knowing my penchant for Martin Scorsese in general, and his ongoing collaboration with Leonardo DiCaprio in particular, one could claim my admiration for the initial trailer of The Wolf of Wall Street is purely the product of unrestrained adulation and bias - but I don't care. Martin Scorsese, now seventy, has delivered a trailer reminiscent of earlier masterpieces, exuding the radiant energy of Goodfellas, the black humor of The King of Comedy, and the cathartic style of Raging Bull. But don't mistake The Wolf of Wall Street as a mere regurgitation of previous successes. Concerning the persistent onrush of time, Scorsese commented in 2010 that, "Given the amount of time and effort I put into a picture, there's no sense revisiting a similar one..." Following The Departed, I trusted Scorsese to approach successive features with uninhibited originality - Shutter Island and Hugo proved me accurate; the trailer for The Wolf of Wall Street proves me precise.
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, At the Mountains of Madness, Crimson Peak, Beauty and the Beast, The Haunted Mansion, Justice League Dark
Regularly labeled as one of the busiest men in Hollywood, Guillermo del Toro is attached to direct not one, but all of the aforementioned pictures. While the probability that all will come to fruition is minimal, a critically and financially successful Pacific Rim greatly increases their likelihood. del Toro proved himself to be a truly visionary director with Pan's Labyrinth in 2006, and I believe visionary directors deserve the artistic freedom to create movies any way they please (not the way the studio elite dictate cough The Hobbit cough). A successful Pacific Rim would allow del Toro the ability to develop his passion projects, and for that reason alone, I'm hopeful del Toro will deliver an imaginative, crowd-pleasing adventure. (July 11)
Is Drive the neo-noir masterpiece many critics have declared it to be? YES! While I previously likened Drive to the '73 Chevelle Gosling drove in the film (badass and striking on the exterior, but not a true muscle car under the hood), I was mistaken on two accounts. Not only is Drive a fully realized vision of arthouse action, the '73 Chevelle was more than capable of inducing a shot of adrenaline too. To follow-up Drive, Gosling and director Nicholas Winding Refn have gone completely off the grid and traveled to Thailand to make an independent "revenge fairy tale." Gosling stars as a man who has been living in exile in Bangkok for the past ten years after killing a cop. He manages a Thai boxing club as a front for a drug operation and finds himself in hot water after his brother is killed for murdering a prostitute. The boy's mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) arrives in Bangkok to collect her son's body and instructs Gosling to take revenge and "raise hell." Gosling is on record as describing the script as "the strangest thing I've ever read and it's only going to get stranger." Only God Forgives has the potential to be the most violent, daring, and unusual film to be released in years. Need proof? Check out the leaked 20-second clip below. Even in 360p - it's downright stunning. (May 23)
Is Drive the neo-noir masterpiece many critics have declared it to be? YES! While I previously likened Drive to the '73 Chevelle Gosling drove in the film (badass and striking on the exterior, but not a true muscle car under the hood), I was mistaken on two accounts. Not only is Drive a fully realized vision of arthouse action, the '73 Chevelle was more than capable of inducing a shot of adrenaline too. To follow-up Drive, Gosling and director Nicholas Winding Refn have gone completely off the grid and traveled to Thailand to make an independent "revenge fairy tale." Gosling stars as a man who has been living in exile in Bangkok for the past ten years after killing a cop. He manages a Thai boxing club as a front for a drug operation and finds himself in hot water after his brother is killed for murdering a prostitute. The boy's mother (Kristin Scott Thomas) arrives in Bangkok to collect her son's body and instructs Gosling to take revenge and "raise hell." Gosling is on record as describing the script as "the strangest thing I've ever read and it's only going to get stranger." Only God Forgives has the potential to be the most violent, daring, and unusual film to be released in years. Need proof? Check out the leaked 20-second clip below. Even in 360p - it's downright stunning.