#i was looking for emily blunt doing tom cruise impressions

[sluttyhenley]

Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise (2014)

[youngerdaniel]

2018: Another(nother) Year at the Movies

Worms and Germs, we have successfully spun round the sun again. And with that, as is tradition, it’s time to babble and reflect on the things I’ve watched that made an impression. Before we get to that, I must also advise that I’ve decided to remove one part of the tradition, and that’s the movies I liked the least. 

Life is too short to think about the things you didn’t like, and movies are a herculean that many people have worked on. As with any art, not every work will be to everyone’s taste. That’s what’s fun about movies. But that’s just my opinion.

At any rate, there’s quite enough negativity in the world these days. So welcome to 2019, and here’s some of the stuff I super dug in no particular order:

THROUGHBREDS

Everything about this movie charmed me. Economic storytelling at its finest, and a true gem about a couple of incredibly warped teenagers plotting to kill one’s step father. It’s dark. It’s funny. Despite its sparse nature, there’s a surprising amount of social commentary writhing beneath its surface.

BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE

In case this was somehow ever news… I adore Drew Goddard’s work. Following up his directorial debut of The Cabin in the Woods with a contained thriller about seven strangers, each hiding a secret, whose agendas collide at a kistchy hotel planted smack in the middle of the border between California and Nevada. 

This movie is the Drew Goddard show, and if you’re into it, you’ll love its deconstruction of Tarantino-flavored noir narratives. Stellar performances, unwavering personality, brilliant production design and cinematography… And it was shot in my old hood!

WIDOWS

From its opening scene, Widows grabs your attention and refuses to let go. This is the kind of all-women led heist movie that for years I’d unknowingly yearned for. The twists and turns are crafted in a style that is totally Gillian Flynn. The brutal swiftness of its final act is exhilarating. A slow burn in the best sense, and a delightful exercise in tension. A particular scene between Viola Davis and Cynthia Erivo comes to mind as the most riveting pair of eyelines I think I’ve ever seen. Really something special.

SORRY TO BOTHER YOU

It hasn’t been since I first saw The Cabin in the Woods that a film’s third act took me so amazingly off-guard while absolutely earning it… And then there’s Sorry to Bother You. This movie is fucking great. A hilarious satire of class structure, racism and the failings of capitalism that never once feels like a lecture. The above comparison does nothing to describe this movie… I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it before. Go forth and see for yourself.

HEREDITARY

This movie will punch you in the gut, then slam your head against a table repeatedly… Because it’s just that much fun. Well, fun might not be the proper word. Certainly not for the faint of heart. It’s a ruthless portrait of a family tipping over the edge of sanity. It also has a lot of super cool magic and is creepier than your grandma’s doll collection.

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT

I like to think this is the movie equivalent of what cocaine must be like. Simple story, relentless pacing, spectacular action sequences. You know what you’re getting yourself into when you sit down to watch any installment of the M:I franchise: Tom Cruise running, pulling of absolutely batshit stunts that will surely kill him one of these times. Everything about this movie was fun, and also made my neck because of the tension. Lovely stuff. (The MOVIE, not cocaine.)

ANNIHILATION

I didn’t know what to expect from Alex Garland’s followup to the magnificent Ex Machina, but a group of scientists exploring a fragmenting reality caused by alien life? The crew is all women? It’s got a bear whose roar is the scream of whatever the last thing it was? SIGN. ME. UP. Some truly excellent performances, and the typically heavy and existential musings of its creator. Is the nature of everything to destroy itself? That’s up to you, and that’s what makes this movie such a treat.

SUSPIRIA

I will not spoil anything about this movie. What I will say is, it’s amazing. It’s not what you’re expecting. It may be based upon a classic, and it certainly has no business existing, but it is a cut of its own. Luca Guadagnino’s take on the story of a prestigious ballet school hiding a coven of witches is dense, with a smoldering pace and an overwhelmingly dreadful atmosphere. It’s rare these days to see a horror movie that takes its time and plays itself as a drama, and this one (as well as Hereditary) do just that. Also? It’s a surprisingly artful horror movie. Me likey. You should watchy.

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (SPOILERS BELOW!)

What I love about this movie is what I’ve always loved about the Avengers saga — the gargantuan feat of simply pulling off this sprawling narrative is always a treat. 

The real genius was structuring the movie around its villain was the only way to pull together such a massive lineup of characters, and its conclusion, though devastating, is really inspiring from a filmmaking perspective. 

Marvel essentially pulled the biggest reversal in movie history, priming you for over ten years to expect the heroes to always win. Letting that grow to the point where most of us are complaining about it… And boom. We got the rug pulled out on us. 

The theatre I saw this one in sat in stunned silence as the credits rolled. And somehow, along the way, this tragedy was a lot of fun.

BLACK PANTHER

I loved this movie the moment it opened in Oakland in the 90s. Looking at Black Panther as a superhero movie isn’t giving the story its due. This is a story about what Africa might look like if it were never colonized, and follows an antagonist whose convictions about empowering the oppressed are convincing. It’s a movie about duty, not just to one’s kingdom, but to our fellow beings. It’s about community and progress. 

And yeah, it’s got a lot of awesome action sequences and has magic spirit trip herbs and people turning into big cats (but who am I to judge that?). It’s a fun ride, and a masterfully crafted film that easily stands alone from its cinematic universe.

A QUIET PLACE

High concept thrillers are coming back, and it’s awesome! Following real life supercouple John Krasinski and Emily Blunt as they struggle to keep their family safe in a world overrun by alien creatures who hunt using sound. If they hear you, the hunt you, and the worst (best) part is — the family’s just about to have a baby. Tense, inventive, and remarkably heartfelt. Let’s be real, though. We’ve all already seen this one. Watch it again!

MANDY

If Fallout was cocaine, then Mandy is acid, DMT, and everything you shouldn’t mix in one delightful, Nick-Cage-doing-the-Nick-Cagey goodness. I will not speak of the plot (though there is one!), and will instead say only this:

Chainsaw fight. But one of the chainsaws is like 10ft long and it’s lit like a 70s hippy den. Chomp on an edible, toss this one on, and prepare for a legitimate experience. An urban fantasy novel in movie form. Candy. Yeah, I know. I did it.

The sheer number of auteur visions that came out this year is promising. For a long time, people have said the spec script is dead, and the proliferation of big-budget franchises dominating the box office has a lot of people saying good movies are dying. 

I’m not so sure that’s true. 

Low budget and medium budget movies keep popping up, and this year’s global turmoil did exactly what a lot of us were saying it would do — it produced good art. 

As we move into the new year, let’s hope these new avenues for smaller movies continue to grow. The big movies have their place, and they’re not going anywhere, so we might as well enjoy what’s to enjoy about them.

Limitations almost always yield the kind of creativity that produces awesome art. I’m at a bit of a loss over how many movies hit the list this year. I hope it keeps growing.

[screenandcinema]

Coming Attractions - July 2021

As usual, we present monthly previews of new movies being released and with a whole bunch of new movies hitting theaters or streamers this month, it is fair to say that the summer movie season is finally here! These are the movies that will be hitting your local cinemas (and streaming services) this month:

July 2nd

No Sudden Move (July 1) - Steven Soderbergh directs this new period crime thriller from writer Ed Solomon (Bill & Ted) set in 1955 Detroit. The movie features an overly impressive cast that includes Don Cheadle, Benicio de Toro, David Harbour, Jon Hamm, Amy Seimetz, Brendan Fraser, Kieran Culkin, Julia Fox, and Ray Liotta. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last month to generally favorable reviews, so be on the lookout for No Sudden Move available only on HBO Max today.

The Tomorrow War - When The Tomorrow War was initially announced in early 2019, then titled Ghost Draft, and set to star Chris Pratt with Chris McKay making his live-action film directorial debut, I was very intrigued. Flash forward more than two years later and Paramount has sold the film off to Amazon for a rumored cost of $200 million. The film hits Prime this month, and I hope it is good. We will see...

The Boss Baby: Family Business - The sequel to the 2017 film that my son absolutely loves will be coming to theaters and Peacock this month. This seems to be the first film in which Universal is following the HBO Max model of a streaming release (free for subscribers) concurrent with a theatrical release. Alec Baldwin returns to voice the titular Boss Baby, while James Marsden takes the place of Tobey Maguire who was apparently too busy to return for the sequel (No Way Home?) and Amy Sedaris joins the cast as a new baby at BabyCorp and the daughter of Marsden’s character. 

The Forever Purge - The fifth and final film in The Purge franchise hits theaters this weekend. The Forever Purge is a direct sequel to 2016′s The Purge: Election Year in which the events of the annual Purge have explored past their one-day-a-year allowance. As a fan of both the films in the series and the short-lived television show, I am excited for this final Purge film. With this film and Boss Baby 2 coming to theaters this weekend and F9 only entering its second weekend, it is likely that over the Fourth of July weekend, Universal could have 3 of the top 5 (if not the top 3) films at the box office. Way to own a weekend Universal (not that there is much competition at the moment).

Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) - Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson of The Roots directs this documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival that includes never before seen footage from the festival that set in a basement for 50 years. The film has garnered rave reviews since its premiere at Sundance in January where it won top honors in the documentary category. Summer of Soul hits theaters and Hulu this weekend.

Fear Street Part 1: 1994 - Hitting Netflix is the first installment of this slasher trilogy loosely based on R.L. Stine’s books. Netflix’s release plan for the trilogy is a unique one and thankfully audiences won’t have to wait long for the second installment of these inter-connected films.

July 9th

Black Widow - After almost two years away from the big screen, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is back in cinemas with the Scarlett Johansson-led Black Widow. The film which takes place after the events of Captain America: Civil War also stars David Harbour, Rachel Weisz, and Florence Pugh in a role that could be seen as one set to take over for the titular heroine after the events of Avengers: Endgame. During the second half of 2021, Marvel Studios has four films set to hit theaters and Black Widow is only the beginning of their comeback tour. See Black Widow in theaters or on Disney+ with Premier Access ($30).

Fear Street Part 2: 1978 - Here we go, the second installment of the Fear Street trilogy. What questions from the first film will be answered when a summer camp in 1978 is under siege, we will have to tune in to the sequel on Netflix to find out.

July 16th

Gunpowder Milkshake (July 14th) - Karen Gillan stars alongside Lena Headey, Carla Gugino, Michelle Yeoh, Angela Bassett, and Paul Giamatti in this action thriller from Israeli director Navot Papushado. The film, which has a John Wick feel to it, hits Netflix this month.

Space Jam: A New Legacy - The Tune Squad is back on the court alongside Lebron James in this standalone sequel to 1996′s Space Jam. The film, also starring Don Cheadle and Sonequa Martin-Green in addition to numerous Looney Tunes, will be released in both theaters and on HBO Max.

Escape Room: Tournament of Champions - After grossing $150 million on a $9 million budget, a sequel to the breakout hit 2016′s Escape Room was inviable. I rather enjoyed the first film and am eager to see this direct sequel which follows our champions from the first film, alongside other escape room survivors as they end up back inside the deadly game.

Fear Street Part 3: 1666 - At long last, the much-anticipated conclusion to the Fear Street trilogy hits Netflix, how will it all end? Who will live and who will die? And what does the 17th century mean to the story? Watch it and find out. Funny enough, by the time this movie comes out, everyone will be talking about Fear Street or no one will be.

July 23rd

Old - M. Night Shyamalan directs this new supernatural mystery thriller starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Ken Leung, and Alex Wolff. The less you know about Old the better, so I am going to stop right there.

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins - When deciding to make a film about a character who always wears a helmet and never speaks, what do you do? Well, you cast Henry Golding and make it an origin story, and there you have it Snake Eyes was born. If you are super excited for Snake Eyes, check it out in theaters. If you are lukewarm about Snake Eyes like me, you can wait 45 days and watch it on Paramount+.

Blood Red Sky - Remember Snakes on a Plane? Well, Blood Red Sky is essentially Vampires on a Plane, if the vampires were the good guys. This is a real movie coming to Netflix, I promise. 

Midnight in the Switchgrass - In this crime thriller based on a true story, two FBI agents, played by Bruce Willis and Megan Fox, team up with a Texas Ranger, played by Emile Hirsh, to catch a serial killer. Good luck.

July 30th

Jungle Cruise - Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt star in this Disney fantasy adventure based on a theme park ride of the same name. The film looks like if you mixed Pirates of the Caribbean with Anaconda. I cannot wait to take a ride on the Jungle Cruise later this month. The film will be out in theaters and available on Disney+ with Premier Access ($30).

Stillwater - Spotlight’s Tom McCarthy directs Matt Damon and Abigail Breslin in this drama that follows a Stillwater, Oklahoma oil worker to France to help his estranged daughter who has been charged with murder. The film is scheduled to premiere at Cannes later this month before hitting theaters nationwide.

The Green Knight - Dev Patel leads the charge in this highly anticipated medieval epic from director David Lowrey and co-starring Alicia Vikander, Joel Edgerton, Barry Keoghan, and Sean Harris. The film tells the 14th-century story of Sir Gawain, the nephew of King Arthur, on his quest to confront the Green Knight. The movie looks bonkers. Check it out in theaters.

Nine Days - Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong, and Bill Skarsgård star in this supernatural drama that made a big splash at Sundance in January 2020. Now the film is finally seeing a limited release this month, before a wide release on August 6th. 

Now for a quick look ahead to August, my top picks for next month are The Suicide Squad, Free Guy, and Reminiscence.

-MB-

[ernestosfilmhouse-blog]

2018 Movies you should consider checking out (1/2)

While this year has already seen quite a few noteworthy movies come out, it's still far from over. As with every year there's ups and downs, mistakes and accomplishments in the movie industry, so let's take a look at some of the most promising potential accomplishments that will honor us with their arrival in what's left of 2018. Here are the movies in no particular order, ranked by me:

A Quiet Place

Directed by: John Krasinski

Starring John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, this movie seems like it's trying some interesting things for itself. The first few seconds of the trailer make it seem like just another disaster/post apocalyptic movie, but early on we learn this film's unique quirk: everyone has to stay completely silent no matter what. Why? Because there are monsters or aliens roaming the Earth who are hyper-sensitive to sound and will instantly track you down and murder you if they hear you. Not terribly unique as ideas go but you have to admit: nothing like this exists out there and it would be real fun to watch. with John Krasinski (Jim from The Office) in the directors seat AND starring as one of the main characters, it's sure to be a fun and thrilling time in the cinema.

A Quiet Place is out in cinemas now!

Avengers: Infinity War

Directors: Joe & Anthony Russo

The long awaited third Avengers movie hits cinemas on the 25th of April. Even if you absolutely hate the Marvel Cinematic Universe and everything it stands for you must have heard about The Avengers, as it's one of the most profitable and popular movie franchises in history. This movie will have an impressively huge amount of characters in it (around 60 in total) and it will be the culmination of the past 10 years of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies. Characters like Iron Man, Captain America, Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Tom Holland's Sider-Man, The Guardians of The Galaxy and many others will unite to defend the universe from ultimate destruction. A lot of people will argue (as they do with every new MCU movie) that this movie is the exact same as all the other MCU movies, while it is true that all of their movies follow a similar formula of character introduction, villain introduction, character overcoming obstacles and eventually defeating the villain at the end, it's a formula that has proven time and time again that it works. The movies get good ratings and insanely huge profits and it doesn't look like Marvel Studios is gonna stop anytime soon.

Infinity War hits cinemas as early as the 25th of April in some places so keep a look out for tickets people!

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Director: J.A. Bayona

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a mixed bag of tricks. On one hand it's epic to see dinosaurs with modern special effects (just like the original Jurassic Park back in the day), on the other it seems to follow standard movie tropes and can seem quite generic. Fans of the Jurassic movies will of course be excited for this new installment and it will probably be fun for casual movie goers as well. Critics might be harsh on this but to be honest it seems like a competently made movie that will probably earn a lot of money just like the first Jurassic World did and with Chris Pratt in the lead, it's certain to draw in audiences.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom comes out on the 8th of June.

Skyscraper

Director: Rawson Marshall Turber

Ok so I literally just looked at the trailer for this for the first time, first impressions: it seems like it would be fun to watch. It is another Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson flick (he seems to be the go-to action movie star of this generation) but the fact that it takes place in a massive skyscraper that acts as an entire vertical city....well the concept seems interesting, just don't go see this expecting it to be masterpiece, it really is just a one-off action movie that looks semi-interesting.

Skyscraper comes out on the 13th of July  

Mission: Impossible Fallout

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

The newest Mission: Impossible movie. Honestly, I haven't even seen any of them apart from the 1st and 2nd movie back when I was a kid, but seeing the trailer for this got me intrigued. I've seen trailers for the newest Mission: Impossible movies across the years but never really cared about them that much for whatever reason. I know Tom Cruise does a lot of his own stunts for them and he loves it, it's quite impressive what the man is ready to do for his movies. I kind of want to watch the entire series now because I honestly have no idea why I've been ignoring it all this time.

Mission: Impossible Fallout hits cinemas on the 3rd of August

Continued in the next post cuz Tumblr apparently doesn’t allow more than 5 videos on a post.

[vrheadsets]

VR vs. The Mobile Divide

It’s funny how things work out isn’t it? Things are never quite the same no matter how you figure it out.

So let me set a scene for you: a parent raises two sons, or daughters, it doesn’t matter which in this instance so long as they are the same gender in this case. They are highly fortunate to have steady, stable, let us say picture book upbringing. The parents love them the same, they treat them the same, they raise them the same. They go to the same school, take the same courses in the same classes. They have equal the amount of attention and equal the amount of possibility, positivity and opportunity in their lives.

So tell me reader, does this mean that Sibling A and Sibling B are the same?

The answer is no, of course not.

There are always differences in people, the personalities aren’t cloned. Each is their own person. Such is the same for the two technologies we cover most on VRFocus – virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Two, maybe not sibling technologies but technological cousins at the very least. They too have a number of similarities, cut from the same cloth, albeit with a different pattern, and probably a different pair of scissors too. Perhaps those crinkle-cut ones you only used to see in secondary school art class and on no other place in the known universe.

Yet they are very different technologies too, each providing their own solution to different problems, utilising alternate methods, and very often the supporters of VR do not think on things quite the same way as the supporters of AR either – and vice-versa. After all, how many articles, features and hot takes have you seen online that declares one the end of the other? AR and VR have killed each other off more times than two duellists caught in a Groundhog Day style time loop. Or maybe it’s all just Live Die Repeat/Edge of Tomorrow except with Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt and everybody else is replaced by a slightly funny looking headset.

So, bearing all of this in mind it is perhaps not that big a surprise that when we look at both VR and AR the general response to one of the main platforms is not the same. Yet at the same time you can’t help but furrow your brow and wonder why that is. I’m talking about, as if the title of this week’s column hadn’t already given it away, about mobile.

Yes, mobile. You will have no doubt seen or heard, hopefully via VRFocus.com (please like, comment, subscribe, etc.), is that AR is very much in the ascendency at the moment; and deservedly so. There is as always lots going on with AR but this has, much like Pokémon GO did last year, seemingly been wiped into irrelevance by a juggernaut announcement.  I am of course talking about ARKit (or ‘ARK it’ depending on who you listen to, but trust me, it’s the former).  It’s been something of a revelation bringing developers from the bedroom to the boardroom an easy-to-use toolkit to bring whatever they imagine to life in AR.

What’s been shown off so far in various demos has, to be frank, been bloody impressive. Be it a SpaceX rocket coming in to land on a drone ship, versions of facial recognition, measuring a distance and acting as a virtual tape measure, subtly altering the look of a building, or conjuring into existence a giant can of Red Bull. Which presumably wouldn’t give you wings, but more send you to a hospital. It’s also gotten people very excited.

Now contrast this excitement about using AR on mobile to what you often see with regard to VR on mobile. Mobile VR is often much maligned, thought of as inferior – which of course it is in comparison to the power behind console/PC VR – but smartphone-based VR content is often all lumped together just as “bad”.  You’ve likely seen comments here, there and everywhere that even its mere existence is somehow a detriment to VR. It is, and this is particularly good one also not “real” VR. Said in much the same way some gamer on a message board says “You’re not a REAL fan of ____” because the person doesn’t fit someone’s personal checklist of what a fan should like/dislike and have done in their life.

Whilst AR on mobile is rightly getting praised, mobile VR is almost the opposite. Not at the beginning of its road as with AR and the various forthcoming more affordable AR head-mounted displays (HMDs) but with the Gear VR as the elder statesman of the modern generation of mainstream VR HMDs.  Mobile is still VR’s biggest platform (sorry PC/console fans), yet there’s no one out there really championing what Mobile VR does. The good things being developed and how things are improving. Whenever a story of a new Gear VR or Google Daydream game or piece of software comes out there’s always this weird feeling like you can tell some people are rolling their eyes and giving a dismissing ‘hmmph’ noise. Yet Gear VR and Daydream are helping push that quality baseline upwards much as Sony, Oculus and HTC are working to push their line upwards.

It’s a never ending developmental push to moving things up and make things better.

Perhaps then AR’s mobile-centred praise is more to do with it being far more difficult to experience an AR HMD.  Like comparing a label branded food to a gourmet equivalent you can’t tell whether or not the more expensive option is truly better if you can’t sample it. With VR you can, and relatively easily nowadays especially in comparison to even early 2016. But if you try an supermarket own brand sausage, then try some pork and apple sausage with herbs and spices and made from select cuts- and you prefer it – it doesn’t mean Sainsbury’s or Tesco or whoever should stop making sausages entirely. Them doing that allows more people to try sausages. People might even prefer the taste of the ‘simpler’ sausage for all you know.

My point is that maybe VR aficionados should give some love, or at least some nodding respect, to mobile on VR; and maybe AR aficionados should try not to forget how mobile was the forerunner for the better quality AR that is being praised in the years to come.

And there’s no need to be a silly sausage about it.

from VRFocus http://ift.tt/2eKAEHn