Biggs' Zone

A Geek's Cogitations, Conjectures and other Cortical Experiences

Category: Movies Page 30 of 32

Biggs’ Cinema Scoop: Short and Sweet

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On March 18, 2013

In Cinema Scoop, Movies

at_the_movies

Statler: I guess all’s well that ends well.
Waldorf: Doesn’t matter to me, as long as it ends.

(New category of Biggs cortical cogitations – in these posts I am going to talk about some of the latest noteworthy minutiae in cinema. Movies are my second favorite pastime. I love the movie making process from acting to lighting, special effects, soundtrack and cinematography. If you like movies, I hope you find these tidbits interesting as well.)

Short and Sweet!

The Rock Possibly in Expendables 3. I think every guy has those badass, testosterone enduced movies or movie franchises. I’m ready to admit that Expendables is one of mine. Despite what others might think of him, I’m actually a bigger fan of Dwayne Johnson the movie actor then WWE superstar; so yea, I’d really like to see him in an Expendables movie. No confirmation yet, but I guess he and Sly are good friends.

Thirteen Wants to be Wonder Woman. Olivia Wilde (aka Thirteen from House) has expressed interest in playing Wonder Woman in the Justice League movie. Umm, Yes Please!!!! In addition to being hot, I think she is also an under-appreciated actor. The other films I’ve seen her in (ex: Tron Legacy), I thought she did a fantastic job. While I think sci-fi is more her forte, I think she could easily pull of a super hero.

Alan Cumming Will Reprise Nighcrawler. Despite some of the negative commentary from the peanut galleries, I’m still optimistic about the next X-Men movie. Day’s of Future Past was a very pivotal story arc in the X-Men comic series. I’m pretty excited to see how the movie pans out and so far I think its looking really good. Alan Cumming has been confirmed to come back as Nightcrawler and he did a great job portraying Nighcrawler previously in X2.

That’s a wrap!

Biggs’ Cinema Scoop: First!

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On March 6, 2013

In Cinema Scoop, Movies

at_the_movies(New category of Biggs cortical cogitations – in these posts I am going to talk about some of the latest noteworthy minutiae in cinema. Movies are my second favorite pastime. I love the movie making process from acting to lighting, special effects, soundtrack and cinematography. If you like movies, I hope you find these tidbits interesting as well.)

First!

This is going to be the most difficult post I think because there is so much movie news I’ve been reading that I don’t know what I want to talk about. I know that if I try to cram it all into a post I will bore you all to tears! I don’t want to do that, I want you to be interested enough to read everything and to come back and read future posts. I will try to limit it to only the most recent movie news I’ve heard.

Angelina Jolie Probably Not Lara Croft in Reboot – The rumor mill has churned out another tidbit; there is going to be a Tomb Raider reboot and it doesn’t look like Lara Croft will be reprized by Angelina Jolie. The producers want a younger Lara Croft and while I thought Jolie fit the profile, I think if they pick the right person I don’t see a problem. Many didn’t like the original movies so perhaps a reboot will be better, it worked a little bit for the Hulk movie (the one starring Eric Bana).

Christian Bale reprising Batman – No, this isn’t going to be another movie in the Dark Knight series. I believe its been confirmed that he will be playing Batman in the upcoming Justice League movie opposite Henry Cavill as Superman. Of all the actor’s that portrayed Batman (excluding Adam West because he’s in a class all his own) I’d say Christian Bale is probably my favorite if not tied with Michael Keaton. As long as the Justice League movie is done right, this will be awesome.

Hamill, Ford & Fisher Confirmed for Next Star Wars Film – Don’t get your Star Wars dungarees in a bunch, they won’t be the main characters of the next film. While nobody has officially confirmed anything, my belief is that they will play secondary roles. In fact the story of Episode VII will probably be focused on Han and Leia’s kids and, in my opinion, it makes sense that Fisher and Ford return to portray the parents, and Hamill as the Obi-Wan-like uncle to provide continuity with the previous films.

Harrison Ford Is Kind of a Big Deal! – Speaking of Harrison Ford, it looks like he has been cast to appear in the Anchorman sequel. I. Think. That’s. Awesome! I wonder if he is going to play the rival anchorman, which I heard was the plot of the sequel. I may be risking my man-card here, but I really liked him in the movie Morning Glory as the gruff, hard-nosed and washed-up news anchor forced to pander to a more lighthearted audience. “A hot pan makes the eggs fluffy.”

All right, folks, I’m going to stop there. Again I don’t want to overwhelm you with too much movie gossip. I hope to be able to keep doing this post so I would really appreciate some feedback.

Biggs On: The Oscars

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On February 26, 2013

In Biggs On, Movies

film_reelI didn’t watch the Oscars this year, honestly it’s been several years since I have actually sat down and watched them like I use to. I wanted to watch some of my favorite movies potentially win the most prestigious award in the movie industry; I don’t want to hear George Clooney or some documentary troglodyte use their acceptance speech to soapbox some political agenda. When it became about politics, it stopped being interesting. We all know the primadonnas in Hollywood have their skewed and obscene opinions about certain political issues. Oscar night is not the forum for that because I. Don’t. Care.

Be that as it may, I am considering watching them again. This year was perhaps the first year where all the nominees for Best Picture were all movies I had seen or heard of and were actually good movies. I do wish I had watched them this year because of the brouhaha and alleged calamity of having Seth MacFarlane as the host. As I’ve been saying the past couple of days, if you have the creator of Family Guy host your show then you shouldn’t be shocked by lewd and crass commentary. Everything that I have heard about his comments and antics I thought sounded pretty damn funny.

The movies have always fascinated me. How they’re made from sound to cinematography; blending reality with computer animation; watching new actors and actresses come out of their comfort zone and blow us all away. I’m honestly still holding out hope that the Academy will pick Mila Kunis for a nomination. Her performance in Black Swan alone should have been worth a nod.

If the Oscars start to become more about glamour and goofs; honor and tributes; a night to be remembered not only for who won but also about who was honored (ex: 50 years of Bond) and having the humility to laugh at ourselves (ex: Side Boob!), then I will start watching again. I use to participate in the prediction contests every year, and a couple years I came pretty close to winning. I’d like to be able to do that again and its all because of Seth MacFarlane 🙂

/cheers

Biggs On: Disney’s Acquisition of LucasFilm [UPDATE]

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On October 31, 2012

In Biggs On, Movies, Star Wars

In 1977 the production budget for Star Wars Episode 4 was $11 million (which is approximately $45 million today). It made $460 million in the U.S. alone which, after adjusting for inflation, makes it the second highest grossing film in the U.S. and Canada. The amazing world that George Lucas created has permeated over three decades. What is a legacy like that worth?

Apparently $4.05 billion (that’s $4,050,000,000).

George Lucas has been under quite a bit of scrutiny over the past 10-15 years so whether his motivation was to create some separation from Star Wars completely, or he needed that extra $4 billion, the purchase by Disney has left me with mixed emotions. On one hand perhaps its time for a new perspective since most of the decisions Lucas has made since he announced Phantom Menace have been bombarded by scathing criticism by “fans” that “obviously know better then he does”. Disney, as a conglomerate, isn’t popular among many in today’s society, but as a film producer they are extremely successful and have made quite a few really great movies.

On the other hand it does feel a bit like he has now completely sold out. He has abandoned his legacy for some “extra cash”. Granted he will be kept around as a “creative consultant” but Disney producers will have the final say. It’s hard to predict what will happen to the franchise now. Disney has already said the 7th film will be out in 2015 and they intend to make 8 and 9 (Star Wars was originally intended to be 9 movies). The Star Wars movies and universe have been such a large part of my life and the core of what defines me as a geek.

What really makes this more strange and difficult is usually when I blog about these kinds of things (either under the Biggs On category or the Soapbox category) I always seem to reach a conclusion or some level of personal understanding with the topic. That simply isn’t the case here. I know, without even looking on the social media sites, that a line has been drawn in the sand. There will be the purist on one side nerd raging over this event and there will be the optimistic group (usually the ones I call the “true fans of Star Wars”) on the other side. I feel caught in the middle but leaning toward optimistic.

I don’t hate Disney, even Disney the Conglomerate, but I do fear that they could ruin the franchise, more then many have “claimed” Lucas has, if they don’t proceed carefully. I guess we will know in 2-3 years.

UPDATE:

Shortly after publishing this post I happened to be reading the recent post of The Queue over at WoW Insider and, coincidentally, someone asked a question about this very topic. Despite the fact that it wasn’t WoW related the author responded and there was a very excellent point.

The Avengers is probably one of this summer’s biggest blockbuster movies, and it is a Disney movie. In fact Disney owns Marvel Entertainment so every Marvel movie produced since 2009 is a Disney movie. That helps quell my fears because it does show that Disney does care about the fan perspective of cult classics and cult genres. Perhaps Star Wars is in better hands now. Perhaps it is something to be excited about.

/Cheers

Movie Review: The Dark Knight Rises

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On July 21, 2012

In General Cogitation, Movies, Reviews

[rating: 5]

Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman

Synopsis: It has been 8 years since Batman took the blame for Harvey Dent’s evil indiscretions and in that time nobody has seen or heard from Batman or Bruce Wayne. Now a new evil emerges connected to Bruce Wayne’s past, Bane. Now Batman must learn to accept the past tragedies and save Gotham once again but he isn’t alone as some new allies come to his aid.

Biggs’ Review:The previous Batman franchise began degrading after the second film, when Tim Burton was no longer involved with the movie and Michael Keaton was no longer Batman. This was the stigma Christopher Nolan had to overcome. The fact that this film kept the same director and the same actors for all three films already puts it ahead of its predecessors.

I would say that The Dark Knight (the second film) is the best movie of the franchise but this movie definitely comes in second place. I thought Tom Hardy was incredible as Bane. Just as Heath Ledger, you hardly knew it was Tom Hardy but Heath Ledger’s Joker is still far more legendary. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was also incredible. I really liked him in this movie and his character’s story takes on an unexpected twist at the end. In fact the end of the movie leaves a few options open for a spin off or two. Christopher Nolan does a great job of wrapping up his Dark Knight trilogy. I think one of the best things about this movie, its not in 3D!

May the Force Be With You, George

By

On January 19, 2012

In Movies, Star Wars

The man that brought us our beloved Star Wars universe announced on January 18th, 2012 that he is retiring from the film making industry. While many so-called “fans” continue to belittle and berate the man, I wish him Happy Retirement and Thank You. Your stories will live on forever in the hearts of millions.

I honestly can’t stand all the negative press and despicable grief thousands have been giving him over the prequels and the minor (and I mean extremely minor) changes that he has done to the original trilogy. I don’t blame him for retiring for these reasons; some ungrateful “fans” we turned out to be! Unless you can cough up a few million bucks and purchase the rights to the Star Wars movies, I say leave it be and STFU. These are his movies, his stories, his intellectual property. He is entitled to make, change or remove anything he feels like and if you don’t like it, well … tough! Buck Up, Sally!!

If it weren’t for him in the beginning we wouldn’t even have a community. We would all be worshipping Klingons and wearing pointed ears, and who wants that?? (Just teasing Trekkies!) I’m just saying that just because you have been a fan since you were 10 years old doesn’t entitle you to dictate how the story should be told when it’s not your story to begin with. I admit that the prequels have their flaws, but a true fan, a dedicated fan, can learn to accept the flaws and embrace all of it, unequivocally.

Besides, in the end it isn’t about midichlorians, or who shot first, or what Vader should or should not have exclaimed. It’s about immersing ourselves in the lore and adventure of different worlds and different species. It’s about total strangers from all over the world, coming together under a single, unifying, albeit fictitious, universe. This is what George Lucas has done; that is his legacy.

Thank you, George! And May the Force Be With You!
Cheers!

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