9-29-14/9-30-14 Movie News

        Hello ladies and gentlemen, Since I didn't get to bring you news from yesterday I figured that I would combine today's and yesterday's news (3 stories from each day). So here is some movie news with some of my thoughts and opinions (which will be in BOLD print). So without further ado...

(NOTE: All of these stories come from comingsoon.net)

(9/29/14)

        Although he's currently working on the second chapter of his "Great North Trilogy" with Yoga Hosers, Kevin Smith has revealed that a return to his "View Askewniverse" is finally moving forward as Clerks III has secured financing! Smith made the announcement on the latest episode of his Hollywood Babble-On podcast (via /Film).

        "'Tusk' was the absolute bridge to 'Clerks III,'" says Smith. "Because of 'Tusk,' I got my financing for 'Clerks III'. A year and change ago I was desperately trying to get 'Clerks III' made for the 20th anniversary... I must have reeked of [desperation], because I couldn’t f–ing find money and s--t. But it was 'Tusk,' with people going ‘Holy f–k, what else do you have?’ I was like, 'Clerks III!' and they’re like. ‘Done!’ Everybody that’s like, ‘He failed, he failed!’ I’m like, ‘Thank you, I failed into Clerks III!’"

        Jeff Anderson and Brian O'Halloran played Randal Graves and Dante Hicks in the original 1994 Clerks. A pair of young slackers working minimum wage customer service jobs, they reprised their roles for a short-lived animated series and then returned to the big screen in 2006's Clerks II. It's a pretty safe bet that they'll be back on the big screen for this trilogy capper (at one time planned to be Smith's very last film).

        This is awesome to hear. I'm a huge Kevin Smith fan and I really like Tusk and I'm glad to see that it's financial success is helping fund Clerks 3. I'm really enjoyed both Clerks and Clerks II (more the former than the latter). and I cannot wait to see Clerks III. 



        Regina Hall (Think Like a Man, About Last Night) and Keegan-Michael Key ("Key & Peele") have both joined the cast of Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema's now-in-production sequel/reboot, Vacation. Variety has the news, reporting that the pair will play the heads of an idyllic family that are friends with the Griswolds. Hall and Key join Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Chris Hemsworth, Charlie Day, Skyler Gisondo, Steele Stebbins, Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo in the Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley film. The new version of the vacation adventures of the quirky dad and his family will follow an adult Rusty Griswold (Helms), who now has his own family misadventures on the road.

        This is really great casting. Both Regina Hall and Keegan-Michael Key are to of the funniest actors working in the business today. They both lend themselves well to this type of movie and they may very well steal the movie. I know a lot of people don't want this, but I'm really curious and anxious to see this movie. 



        The first trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's latest, Inherent Vice, is now online. Check it out below. Marking the first-ever adaptation of one of Pynchon's novels, Inherent Vice begins when when private eye Doc Sportello's ex-old lady suddenly out of nowhere shows up with a story about her current billionaire land developer boyfriend whom she just happens to be in love with, and a plot by his wife and her boyfriend to kidnap that billionaire and throw him in a loony bin... well, easy for her to say. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Katherine Waterston, Reese Witherspoon, Benicio Del Toro, Martin Short, Jena Malone and Joanna Newson, Inherent Vice hits theaters on December 12.



        This was an awesome trailer. This film looks as if it is going to have a lot of humor mixed in with some mystery/action thriller tone. I'm a huge fan of Paul Thomas Anderson and this film looks to be his best to date. The film looks like Oscar bait and I cannot wait to see this film. 

(9/30/14)

        20th Century Fox has debuted the trailer for Taken 3, directed by Olivier Megaton and starring Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace. The January 9 release also stars Dougray Scott, Sam Spruell and Leland Orser. Liam Neeson returns as ex-covert operative Bryan Mills, whose reconciliation with his ex-wife is tragically cut short when she is brutally murdered. Consumed with rage, and framed for the crime, he goes on the run to evade the relentless pursuit of the CIA, FBI and the police. For one last time, Mills must use his "particular set of skills," to track down the real killers, exact his unique brand of justice, and protect the only thing that matters to him now – his daughter.



        I'm just going to go ahead and say that this trailer looks amazing. Yes I know Taken 2 was an absolute disaster, but Taken was pretty darn good. The film looks like it could be bad, but I'm really looking forward to the film and hopefully it's not as bad as Taken 2.



        Just when you thought there were no more viable brand names for Hollywood to exploit, The Wall Street Journal scored some bonus points by reporting that a movie based on the classic video game "Tetris" is game-on for Threshold Entertainment. And no, it will not just be big blocky geometric objects falling and rotating for two hours. "It's a very big, epic sci-fi movie," Threshold's CEO Larry Kasanoff said."This isn't a movie with a bunch of lines running around the page. We're not giving feet to the geometric shapes."

        Kasanoff already earned video game cache as the producer behind both 1995's Mortal Kombat film and its sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, while Threshold as a company is best known for several LEGO specials as well as theme park attractions. Kasanoff is hoping that name-recognition value of "Tetris" will translate not only to big screen success but to potential theme park experiences and other ancillary media."Brands are the new stars of Hollywood," Kasanoff says. "We have a story behind ‘Tetris’ which makes it a much more imaginative thing. We certainly have the canvas for location-based entertainment based on the epicness. What you [will] see in 'Tetris' is the teeny tip of an iceberg that has intergalactic significance."

        I just want to ask one question... WHY IN GOD'S NAME ARE YOU MAKING A MOVIE BASED ON TETRIS! I mean I understand the whole recognizable brand part, but why can't we come up with another idea. Now look I get the argument on people begging for Hollywood to come up with an original idea, but the fact is that when a fesh idea is put on the big screeen nobody goes to see them so studios are forced to make movies like this. Another thing people are not seeing is that everyone complained and wondered how a movie about Lego's was going to work and it turned about to be one of the best movies of the year so far so we'll just hav to give it a shot. In all honesty this movie has no reason to happen and the bad thing is I'll have to sit through it.



        Lionsgate has released the new trailer and poster for the upcoming action-thriller John Wick, starring Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Adrianne Palicki, Dean Winters, Bridget Moynahan, Ian McShane, John Leguizmo and Willem Dafoe. You'll find both below and you can also check out a Reddit AMA with filmmakers Chad Stahelski and David Leitch here. In the film, an ex-hitman comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that took everything from him. With New York City as his bullet-riddled playground, John Wick (Reeves) is a fresh and stylized take on the "assassin genre." John Wick opens in theaters on October 24.

        This was a pretty meh trailer. It didn't really show anything new (which is a good thing) and different from the first trailer. All I can say is that I had no idea that this film was coming out and now after seeing the trailer I'm really excited to see Keanu Reeves back on the big screen.


        So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, which of these stories peaked your interest or was there another story that interested you? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Jonah Sparks

My Review of Jimi: All Is by My Side

        So I recently watched Jimi: All Is by My Side and I'm here to bring you my review. So without further ado...







        Covering a year in Jimi Hendrix (played by Andre Benjamin aka Andre 3000)'s life from 1966-67 as an unknown backup guitarist playing New York's Cheetah Club to making his mark in London's music scene up until his Monterey Pop triumph, the film presents an intimate portrait of the sensitive young musician on the verge of becoming a rock legend.

       

        This film was pretty disappointing. It's not really like most biopics in which you see the person's childhood, how they got started, the height of their popularity, their downfall and ultimately their death and this film mainly focuses on a short period of Hendrix's life. That part really disappointed to me in the sense that Jimi Hendrix had a very interesting life and it would have been nice to see his entire life be put into perspective. I'll also say that the script and dialogue is pretty weak and that's disappointing because the script comes from John Ridley (who just won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for 12 Years a Slave which was amazing). The film also hurts by not having access to any of Hendrix's songs (due to Hendrix's family not wanting to give up the rights to the songs). I will say that the one bright spot of the film s the performance of Andre 3000 and he takes the role and he makes it his own. In all honesty the film was going to be a misfire from the start and you can really tell. Overall the film suffers from everything you imagine but has a stellar lead performance. I give Jimi: All Is by My Side a 3 out of 10.

        So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of Jimi: All Is by My Side, what would you rate it and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                           Jonah Sparks

Weekend Box Office Review 9-26-14 to 9-28-14

        Here are the weekend domestic box office results for the weekend of 9-26-14 to 9-28-14 as well as my 5 key takeaways. So without further ado...

TW	LW	Title	Studio	Weekend	Theaters	Total	Weeks
1	-	The Equalizer	Columbia Pictures (SONY)	$34,137,828	3,236	$34,137,828	1
2	1	The Maze Runner	20th Century Fox	$17,437,020	3,638	$57,955,347	2
3	-	The Boxtrolls	Focus Features	$17,275,239	3,464	$17,275,239	1
4	3	This is Where I Leave You	Warner Bros. Pictures	$6,894,340	2,868	$22,441,091	2
5	5	Dolphin Tale 2	Warner Bros. Pictures	$4,788,153	3,376	$33,618,190	3
6	4	No Good Deed	Screen Gems (SONY)	$4,509,127	2,130	$46,532,221	3
7	2	A Walk Among the Tombstones	Universal Pictures	$4,192,785	2,714	$20,830,290	2
8	6	Guardians of the Galaxy	Walt Disney Pictures, Marvel Studios	$3,765,941	2,451	$319,169,216	9
9	7	Let’s Be Cops	20th Century Fox	$1,516,021	1,534	479,628,884	7
10	8	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Paramount Pictures	$1,450,177	1,585	4187,182,309	8

1. The Equalizer opened up with nearly $35 million and took over the top spot at the box office
2. A Walk Among the Tombstones took the biggest drop of the weekend falling from 2nd place all the way to 7th
3. Guardians of the Galaxy, Let's Be Cops and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles all remain in the top 10
4. The Maze Runner continues to do well and only dropped 1 spot.
5. The Boxtrolls also had a decent opening weekend

        So ladies and gentlemen what do you think of this weekend's box office totals and what are some of your takeaways? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                                       Jonah Sparks

My Review of The Boxtrolls

        So I recently watched The Boxtrolls and I'm here to bring you my review. So without further ado...







        The Boxtrolls, a community of quirky, mischievous creatures who have lovingly raised an orphaned human boy named Eggs (voiced by Isaac Hempstead-Wright) in the amazing cavernous home they've built beneath the streets of Cheesebridge. When the town's villain, Archibald Snatcher (voiced by Ben Kingsley), comes up with a plot to get rid of the Boxtrolls, Eggs decides to venture above ground, "into the light," where he meets and teams up with fabulously feisty Winnifred (voiced by Elle Fanning). Together, they devise a daring plan to save Eggs' family.

       

        This film is really entertaining. It has a lot quirky and fun humor that is aapropriate for both kids and adults. I really enjoyed the voice cast as well and having actors like Ben Kingsley, Ell e Fanning Simon Pegg and Nick Frost does hurt at all. I'm also a huge fan of stop-motion animation simply becuase of how much work is put into a film like that and the hard shows in this film. While the visuals in the film are really great (and are especially good for stop-motion animation) some of them do look a little tacky. The same could be said for the humor where there a lot of hit-and-miss jokes. Overall the film is entertaining for both kids and adults but a few misfires in the humor really hurt the film. I give The Boxtrolls a 8 out of 10.

        So Ladies and gentlemen what did you think of The Boxtrolls, what would you rate it and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                           Jonah Sparks

My Review of The Equalizer

        So I recently watched The Equalizer and I'm here to bring you my review. So without further ado...







        McCall ( played by Denzel Washington) is a man who believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when McCall meets Teri (played by Chloë Grace Moretz), a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can't stand idly by - he has to help her. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.

       

        This movie was really good. The pairing of Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington is genius. Both worked togehter on Training Day (for which Washington won an Oscar for) and this film is as almost good as Training Day. I really liked the action in the film and in the action scenes Denzel proves that he can still get the job done. I also really loved the performances of the aforementioned Washington and Chloe Grace Moretz who is slowly proving her worth and showing what she can do. Now I will say that I have never watched Tv show called The Equalizer (for which the film is based off of) and I don't know how dark the show was, but i thought the dark tone of the film was just too much. But the one thing that was missing from the film was an Ethan Hawke (who co-stared in Training Day) type of character in the film to help counter-balance Washington. Overall the film  was fun and has great performances, but the film has to dark of a tone for me to take the film seriously. Overall I give The Equalizer a 7 out of 10.

        So ladies and gentlemen what did you think of The Equalizer, what would you rate it and what did you think of my review? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                           Jonah Sparks

Weekend Movie News 9-26-14 to 9-28-14

        Hello ladies and gentlemen, here is some movie news with some of my thoughts and opinions (which will be in BOLD print). So without further ado...


(NOTE: All of these stories come from comingsoon.net)


        Last week, an interesting rumor popped up that the original Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner, could have a role in the upcoming Star Trek 3, and that he would be reuniting with Leonard Nimoy's Spock for the first time on screen in decades. Though Shatner was quick to dismiss the rumor on Twitter, the actor confirmed at an appearance at Wizard World Nashville this weekend that he had in fact been contacted about appearing in the film.

        ComicBook.com reports that actor mentioned that producer J.J. Abrams called him directly about potentially returning, saying: "I'm calling because the director of Star Trek, the next movie, has had an idea where you might be involved, so I'm calling to find out whether you would be interested."
Shatner says he told Abrams, "It depends on what you do with the character, but I would be delighted." He went on to detail that he was sworn to secrecy on the matter but that after he was contacted the story managed to make its way online. "So the news is out that they have an idea that they want Leonard and myself…they might want Leonard and myself in it," the actor said. "But I would love to do it. But how do you get me fifty years later into the movie? I mean how do you rationalize it. I know it's science fiction, but even I couldn't come up with an idea. So that's the news on that."

        There's no announced timeframe for the next "Star Trek" film as of yet, but the expectation is that the new film will land in theaters in 2016, just in time for the franchise's 50th anniversary.

        This is great news to hear. I'm glad that Shatner is willing to be in the movie if it comes along (because god knows he needs something besides his Priceline commercials). If they do bring him back (which they probably will) then it'll be a nice tribute to the series. 



        Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves have long been promising us a capper to the "Bill & Ted" trilogy, but unlike traveling through time, it's not as easy as hopping into a phone booth and dialing. During an interview for the movie Grand Piano (via Yahoo! Movies) Winter bemoaned the "long, boring, protracted process" of getting Bill & Ted 3 to the screen while giving us a taste of what's to come.

        "[Bill & Ted] will be 40-something and it's all about Bill and Ted grown up, or not grown up," Winter said. "It’s really sweet and really f--ing funny, but it's a Bill & Ted movie, that's what it is. It's for the fans of Bill & Ted. It fits very neatly in the [series]. It's not going to feel like a reboot. The conceit is really funny: What if you're middle-aged, haven't really grown up and you're supposed to have saved the world and maybe, just maybe, you kinda haven't?"

        "There's many versions of ourselves in this movie," he continues. "[It's] answering the question: 'What happened to these guys?' They're supposed to have done all this stuff, they weren't the brightest bulbs on the tree, what happened 20 years later? To answer that question in a comedic way felt rich with possibility."

        This is awesome news to hear. I'm a huge fan of the first film (the second film not so much). I'm really anxious to see these two back on the big screen. I'm also curious to see how things have turned out for the pair and what kind of trouble they've gotten themselves into this time around.



        Fox Searchlight Pictures (via Vulture) has revealed a new poster for Birdman, the upcoming dark comedy from Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros, Babel) that stars Michael Keaton, Lindsay Duncan, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough, Amy Ryan, Emma Stone and Naomi Watts and you can check it out in the player below. Alternately titled "The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance," Birdman tells the story of an actor (Keaton) -- famous for portraying an iconic superhero -- as he struggles to mount a Broadway play. In the days leading up to opening night, he battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career, and himself. Birdman hits theaters on October 17.



        This is an awesome poster. I really like the side shot of the character. eventhough I love the poster I'm not a huge fan of the names being put all over the poster and I think it's just overkill. They could have just left Michael Keaton's name on the poster and it would have done it's job. this film sounds and looks amazing and it very well could bring Micheal Keaton back into the spotlight and it very well could win him an Oscar.



        Anyone who's seen Comedy Central's phenomenal sketch show "Key & Peele"--or at least caught a few viral sketches on YouTube--has witnessed Keegan-Michael Key's militant substitute teacher character Mr. Garvey, which now might be heading to the big screen. There must be more to the character than hilariously mispronouncing student names, since an interview with Entertainment Weekly (via /Film) has Jordan Peele and Key revealing several of their percolating film projects, including a Mr. Garvey movie. "We’re in negotiations at Paramount to make a ‘Substitute Teacher’ movie," says Key. "Two of our writers are penning it. Well, they’re not penning it as we speak - it’s getting there."

        This is pretty cool to hear. Key & Peele are two of the funniest people on the planet and I huge fan of their work. I also really enjoy their substitute Teacher sketches and to see this character come to big screen sounds like a great idea. 



        Following his turn as Jordan Belfort in last year's The Wolf of Wall Street, star Leonardo DiCaprio is taking on another true "Wolf" tale, albeit one with a literally lupine protagonist. The Hollywood Reporter brings word today that DiCaprio is set to produce American Wolf, based on the upcoming book by Nate Blakeslee. American Wolf, which just sold to Crown publishing, tells the true story of 06 (Oh-Six), a female alpha gray wolf who, after being studied and tracked for years, was killed in 2012 just outside Yellowstone National Park, one year after the species was removed from the endangered list.

        This is really interesting news. Since the book hasn't come out yet, I don't really know anything about the story. I will say that Leonardo DiCaprio is not only an amazing actor, but an amazing producer (he helped produce both The Aviator and The Wolf of Wall Street and was nominated for Oscars in both cases). He' also an environmental activist so this isn't surprising that he's taking on this project and I'm really curious to learn more about it. 


        So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, which of these stories peaked your interest or was there another story that interested you? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                                        Jonah Sparks

My Top 10 Favorite Stop-Motion Animation Films of All-Time

        Stop motion (also known as stop frame) is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence. So with The Boxtrolls hitting theaters this weekend and as it is a stop-motion animation film, I thought it would be appropriate to give you my top 10 favorite stop-motion animation films of all-time. So without further ado...





10. ParaNorman 


        I'm a sucker for kids film and zombies, so when you combine the two I'm probably going to love the movie. a small town comes under siege by zombies. Who can it call? Only misunderstood local boy Norman (voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee), who is able to speak with the dead. In addition to the zombies, he'll have to take on ghosts, witches and, worst, of all, grown-ups, to save his town from a centuries-old curse. But this young ghoul whisperer may find his paranormal activities pushed to their otherworldly limits. ParaNorman was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Film and it has a rating of 87% on rottentomatoes.com.




9. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer


        I love Christmas films and this is one I always watch. The story chronicles the experiences of Rudolph (voiced by  Billie Mae Richards), a youthful reindeer buck who possesses an unusual luminous red nose. Harassed mercilessly and excluded by his peers because of this trait, Rudolph manages to prove himself one Christmas Eve after Santa Claus (voiced by Stan Francis) catches sight of Rudolph's nose and asks Rudolph to lead his sleigh for the evening. Rudolph agrees, and is finally treated better by his fellow reindeer for his heroism. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has a ratign of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.




8. Coraline 


        The film is amazing, but it really freaked me out. Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) is a girl of 11 who is feisty, curious, and adventurous beyond her years. She and her parents have just relocated from Michigan to Oregon. Missing her friends and finding her parents (voiced by Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) to be distracted by their work, Coraline tries to find some excitement in her new environment. Coraline seriously doubts that her new home can provide anything truly intriguing to her, but it does; she uncovers a secret door in the house. Walking through the door and then venturing through an eerie passageway, she discovers an alternate version of her life and existence. Coraline was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Film and it has a rating of 90% on rottentomatoes.com.




7. Frankenweenie 


        This film is so touching and heartfelt. After unexpectedly losing his beloved dog Sparky, young Victor (voiced by Charlie Tahan) harnesses the power of science to bring his best friend back to life-with just a few minor adjustments. He tries to hide his home-sewn creation, but when Sparky gets out, Victor's fellow students, teachers and the entire town all learn that getting a new "leash on life" can be monstrous. Frankenweenie was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Film and it has a rating of 87% on rottentomatoes.com.




6. Fantastic Mr. Fox


This film is hilarious and the voice cast is just simply amazing. Mr. and Mrs. Fox (voiced by George Clooney and Meryl Streep) live an idyllic home life with their son Ash (voiced by Jason Schwartzman) and visiting young nephew Kristopherson (voiced by Eric Anderson). But after 12 years, the bucolic existence proves too much for Mr Fox's wild animal instincts. Soon he slips back into his old ways as a sneaky chicken thief and in doing so, endangers not only his beloved family, but the whole animal community. Trapped underground and with not enough food to go around, the animals band together to fight against the evil Farmers -- Boggis, Bunce and Bean (voiced by Robin Hurlstone, Hugo Guinness and Helen McCrory respectively) who are determined to capture the audacious, fantastic Mr. Fox at any cost. Fantastic Mr. Fox was nominated for Best Animated Film and Best Original score and it has a rating of 92% on rottentomatoes.com.




5. Corpse Bride


        This film is amazing and it is one of Tim Burton's best to date. Victor (voiced by Johnny Depp) lives in a small European village in the 19th century, where he is pledged to marry Victoria (voiced by Emily Watson), a partnership arranged by their parents. The two only meet the day before their scheduled nuptials, and Victor performs disastrously in the wedding rehearsal. Later that evening, while he is walking through the woods and hopelessly practicing his vows, he puts Victoria's wedding band on what looks like a branch. Victor quickly discovers this was a big mistake; as it happens, he has put the ring on the skeletal finger of the enchanted Corpse Bride (voiced by Helena Bonham Carter), who then whisks him off to a dark and mysterious netherworld where they are now married. Victor is frightened in the land of the dead, and even realizes that he has fallen in love with his true fiancée, Victoria, so he searches for a way back to his own world. Corpse Bride was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Film and it has a rating of 83% on rottentomatoes.com.




4. James and the Giant Peach


        I loved this movie so much that my mom refuses to watch it anymore. James (played and voiced by Paul Terry) is orphaned by the death of his parents and forced to live with two cruel, repulsive aunts (played Miriam Margolyes and Joanna Lumley). The visit of a mysterious stranger provides a means of escape, however, through a magic bag of "crocodile tongues" that bring about the appearance of the giant peach. The curious James soon winds up inside the fruit, at which point his body changes, and the film switches to a combination of stop-motion and digital animation. The new James meets up with a group of talking, oversized insects, including a vampish spider (voiced by Susan Sarandon), a sarcastic centipede (voiced by Richard Dreyfuss), and a matronly ladybug (voiced by Jane Leeves). These creatures become his traveling companions when the peach rolls into the Atlantic Ocean, and James and his new friends must brave a variety of dangers to reach the shore. James and the Giant Peach was nominated for Best Original Score and it has a rating of 93% on rottentomatoes.com.




3.The Nightmare Before Christmas


        Like I said before I love Christman and I also love Halloween and this film mixes both together very well. The film follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington (voiced by Chris Sarandon), Halloweentown's beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the same annual routine of frightening people in the "real world." When Jack accidentally stumbles on Christmastown, all bright colors and warm spirits, he gets a new lease on life - he plots to bring Christmas under his control by kidnapping Santa Claus and taking over the role. But Jack soon discovers even the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton men can go seriously awry. The Nightmare Before Christmas was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and it has a rating of 96% on rottentomatoes.com.




2. Chicken Run


        This was one of my favorite film as a a kid that I ruined the VHS tape (remember those things). The story follows the turbulent romance between Rocky the Rooster (voiced by Mel Gibson) and Ginger the chicken (voiced by Julia Sawalha), both of whom yearn for freedom and are planning a daring "prisoner of war" style escape. Both chickens are tired of being repressed and know they face an eventual certain death, so in planning their escape, they rally with their fellow chickens. Chicken Run has a rating of 97% on rottentomatoes.com.




1. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit


        I loved the half-hour short between these two and the feature film was just as amazing. It's 'vege-mania' in Wallace (voiced by Peter Sallis) and Gromit's neighborhood, and our two enterprising chums are cashing in with their humane pest-control outfit, "Anti-Pesto." With only days to go before the annual Giant Vegetable Competition, business is booming, but Wallace & Gromit are finding out that running a "humane" pest control outfit has its drawbacks as their West Wallaby Street home fills to the brim with captive rabbits. Suddenly, a huge, mysterious, veg-ravaging "beast" begins attacking the town's sacred vegetable plots at night, and the competition hostess, Lady Tottington (voiced by Helena Bonham Carter), commissions Anti-Pesto to catch it and save the day. Lying in wait, however, is Lady Tottington's snobby suitor, Victor Quartermaine (voiced by Ralph Fiennes), who'd rather shoot the beast and secure the position of local hero -- not to mention Lady Tottington's hand in marriage. With the fate of the competition in the balance, Lady Tottington is eventually forced to allow Victor to hunt down the vegetable chomping marauder. Little does she know that Victor's real intent could have dire consequences for her and our two heroes. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were- Rabbit was nominated for and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Film and it has a rating of 95% on rottentomatoes.com

        So ladies and gentlemen what are some of you favorite stop-motion animation films, are you excited for The Boxtrolls and what do you think of my list? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                           Jonah Sparks

9-25-14 Movie News

        Hello ladies and gentlemen, here is some movie news with some of my thoughts and opinions (which will be in BOLD print). So without further ado...


(NOTE: All of these stories come from comingsoon.net)


        Walt Disney Animation Studios has posted a new full-length trailer for their "big" fall movie, Big Hero 6, and after several trailers focusing on the 14-year-old lead Hiro and his cuddly balloon-bot sidekick Baymax, we finally get a glimpse of the whole superhero team in action and you can check it out below.

        Based on the Marvel Comics series that debuted in the late-90's, Big Hero 6 is an action comedy adventure about brilliant robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada, who finds himself in the grips of a criminal plot that threatens to destroy the fast-paced, high-tech city of San Fransokyo. With the help of his closest companion--a robot named Baymax--Hiro joins forces with a reluctant team of first-time crime fighters on a mission to save their city. The movie is set to hit theaters on November 7.

        This was a pretty good trailer. This trailer showed a lot more emotional moments mixed in with some comedic moments than the first trailer did. This movie looks like it could be another Frozen or Wreck-It-Ralph and it also helps with it being based off of a Marvel comic. I can't wait to see the film.



        Although the theatrical version of this year's X-Men: Days of Future Past is set to hit DVD and Blu-ray October 14, details are starting to come in about the long-rumored extended version of the film. To be titled the "Rogue Cut," the extended release will reincorporate the deleted sequence that features Anna Paquin's Rogue and will hit home video in the summer of 2015. “It’s a big chunk,", writer and producer Simon Kinberg tells Variety. "A substantial part of the movie. We want to give [fans] the fullest picture of the film -- behind the camera, and in front of it." Exact technical specifications are likely still some time off, but the "Rogue Cut" will run at least ten minutes longer and will also offer some cameo appearances from other popular X-Men characters.

        X-Men: Days of Future Past stars Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Nicholas Hoult, Ellen Page, Shawn Ashmore, Peter Dinklage, Omar Sy, Daniel Cudmore, Fan Bingbing, Boo Boo Stewart, Adan Canto, Evan Peters, Josh Helman, Lucas Till and Evan Jonigkeit.

        This is great news to hear. Rogue has been a very underused character in the X-Men franchise and this will give her a moment to shine. I was disappointed to see Rogue in the trailer and then learn that she wouldn't even be in the film. I'm really curious to see her scenes and what impact they would of had in the film.



        The Telegraph has revealed the new poster for critically-acclaimed drama The Imitation Game, opening in theaters on November 21 and starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Mark Strong, Rory Kinnear, Charles Dance, Allen Leech and Matthew Beard. The English-language debut of Norwegian director Morten Tyldum (Headhunters), the film was the toast of the recent 39th Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the top honor "People's Choice Award for Best Film." It will have its European premiere as the opening film of the 58th BFI London Film Festival on October 8.

        In The Imitation Game, Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Alan Turing, the genius British mathematician, logician, cryptologist and computer scientist who led the charge to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies win WWII. Turing went on to assist with the development of computers at the University of Manchester after the war, but was prosecuted by the UK government in 1952 for homosexual acts which the country deemed illegal.



        This is a pretty cool poster. It really gives us a feel for what type of film this will be. This film is already getting a lot of buzz and it could be a major contender at the upcoming Oscars. The film sounds really interesting and it looks to be the best performance Benedict Cumberbatch has given in his career. I honestly cannot wait to see the film.



        Fans wanting to see more of the classic H.R. Giger Alien on the big screen are, unfortunately, going to have to keep waiting. Ridley Scott today tells Yahoo! Movies UK that, despite their tease in the first film, the Xenomorphs won't appear in his upcoming Prometheus 2. "The beast is done," says Scott of the creature design. "Cooked. I got lucky meeting Giger all those years ago. It's very hard to repeat that. I just happen to be the one who forced it through because they said it's obscene. They didn't want to do it and I said, 'I want to do it, it's fantastic.' But after four, I think it wears out a little bit. There's only so much snarling you can do. I think you've got to come back with something more interesting. And I think we've found the next step. I thought the Engineers were quite a good start."
Set to feature the return of Michael Fassbender and Noomi Rapace, Prometheus 2 hits theaters on March 4, 2016.

        Scott also offered a brief update on the status of his Blade Runner sequel. "It's on the charts," Scott adds. "I can't say when that would be yet, because of [Harrison Ford's] thing with 'Star Wars.' It's a sequel. It's what happens next. It's quite surprisingly clever."

        These are some pretty interesting comments. Let's start with the Prometheus 2 comments first. Look I'm a huge fan of the of the Alien franchise and I was let down by Prometheus, but I did like the tease that was in the film and I'm disappointed that we won't see Xenomorphs in the sequel. Now for the Blade Runner 2 comments, I honestly don't know if the film will happen. Ridley Scott has constantly repeated that Blade Runner 2 was on the way, but it has never come to fruition. Hopefully they can get everything worked out so we can see the sequel.




        Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow have released a new trailer for Andy and Lana Wachowski's Jupiter Ascending, which hits the big screen February 6, 2015 and you can check it out below!

        Starring Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis, Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, Douglas Booth, Tuppence Middleton, Doona Bae, James D'Arcy and Tim Pigott-Smith, the film follows Jupiter Jones (Kunis), a young woman born under a night sky, with signs predicting that she was destined for great things. Now grown, Jupiter dreams of the stars but wakes up to the cold reality of a job cleaning other people's houses and an endless run of bad breaks. Only when Caine (Tatum), a genetically engineered ex-military hunter, arrives on Earth to track her down does Jupiter begin to glimpse the fate that has been waiting for her all along—her genetic signature marks her as next in line for an extraordinary inheritance that could alter the balance of the cosmos.


        This was a decent trailer. The film still looks like absolute crap, but still the trailer was decent. Look the Wachowski siblings haven't had the best luck since The Matrix (which came out 15 years ago). The other thing to give me doubts about the film is that it was pushed back form this past summer to February of 2015 even after the film was completed. This is a big red flag, but I;m still going to give the film a shot. 

        So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, which of these stories peaked your interest or was there another story that interested you? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.


                                                                                                                                        Jonah Sparks