UPDATED: Star Wars: J.J. Abrams Reported to Direct Episode VII!

In a surprising turn of events, it seems as if J.J. Abrams, who is known for films such as Star Trek and the upcoming Star Trek into Darkness is directing the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII, In a news story first reported by The Wrap (and  reported by other sources such as Variety and The Hollywood Reporter), it seems as if Abrams is nearing a deal to direct the seventh installment in the legendary franchise, which to date has grossed $4.4 billion dollars worldwide.

This is interesting to me because Abrams said back in October that he did not want to tackle Star Wars. I guess now he changed his mind and is nearing a deal with Disney to direct. I'm taking all of this with a grain of salt until I hear confirmation from Lucasfilm and/or Disney.  Regardless though, if this proves to be offically confirmed by Abrams or Lucasfilm, I think this is absolutely fantastic news.  Abrams knows his way around science fiction. Look what he did with Star Trek. I wasn't even a fan of Star Trek before Abrams' 2009 reboot came out and after I saw it, I was blown away by it. And let's be honest here....Star Wars is not what it once was. The prequels SUCKED and all the rereleases adding new things into the original trilogy were unnecessary. Who better to breathe new life into a franchise then the guy who made another sci fi franchise feel new again?

Again I'm taking this all with a grain of salt and hoping to hear a confirmation from Abrams and/or Lucasfilm/Disney very soon. I'll keep you all updated when a statement does get released.

UPDATE: Well it's official folks: The Walt Disney Company and Lucasfilm issued a statement on Friday saying that J.J. Abrams IS the official director of Star Wars Episode VII. Click here for more info.

Zero Dark Thirty: A Powerful Experience

It's very rare for me to walk out of a film these days and have it leave a profound effect on me. Usually, when I walk out of a film, I'll be like "that was pretty good" or "wow that was great I loved it!" But it's rare for me these days for a film to leave me feeling something. It seems to be happening a lot with the movies I have seen recently, what with Silver Linings Playbook  also eliciting a emotion out of me recently.

Zero Dark Thirty is another one of those films.

Zero Dark Thirty (which takes its name from the military term meaning a non-specific hour where it's either extremely late or early in the morning when it's still dark out) reteams director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal, who first worked together in 2009 on The Hurt Locker.  The film recounts the 10 year manhunt for Osama Bin Laden, the man responsible for one of the worst attacks in American history. We focus on CIA agent Maya (Jessica Chastain) as she embarks on a 10 year mission to track down Bin Laden, a mission which consumes nearly 10 years of her life. Her mission ends in the now famous raid of Bin Laden's compound and his death during the raid.

Now as I said, this film elicited an emotion out of me after watching it, something films rarely do to me anymore. After watching this, I felt....stunned. Stunned at how powerful this film was. It seemed I wasn't the only one: when the credits rolled at the end of my screening, nobody said a word. Everyone left in silence. That's how powerful this was.

The acting in this movie is simply incredible. Jessica Chastain is an absolute powerhouse in this movie. She brilliantly pulls off the range of emotions Maya goes throughout her 10 year mission, from fresh-faced and naive in the beginning to becoming world-weary and hardened by what she has seen, with only one goal on her mind: to track down and kill Bin Laden by whatever means necessary. Chastain easily conveys these emotions well, especially Maya's frustration at not being able to have captured Osama yet. In my Silver Linings Playbook review, I said I would like Jennifer Lawrence to win the Best Actress award. However, if Chastain ends up beating Lawrence and winning the Oscar, I would be entirely fine with that Chastain gives a great performance.

The rest of the supporting cast did a fine job as well. George Clarke, who plays Maya's colleague Dan, did a great job. I have never seen him in anything else before this and I hope to see more of him in future films. Kyle Chandler, who plays Joseph Bradley, Maya's boss, also does a fine job with his role. It was also fun to see the way the Navy SEAL team who took down Osama interact with each other, especially Joel Edgerton and, surprisingly, Chris Pratt, who is well known for starring on NBC's sitcom Parks and Recreation and turns in a surpisingly dramatic performance. He and Edgerton and the rest of the SEALs interact so well with each other, you would think they actually went through a war together.

Also, this film is one hell of an intense ride. This is thanks in part to Bigelow's directing, which once again proves why she's one of the best directors working in Hollywood today. Her direction is excellent, building up scenes with a lot of tension and even making some scenes you would think would not have a lot of tension pretty intense. Also, she does not shy away from some of the waterboarding/torture scenes, which has caused a lot of controversy since it's released. I'll just say this: there were a couple times I flinched in this over how real these scenes were.

And then you have the last 30 minutes of this film. The last 30 minutes of the film depicts the raid on Osama's bunker and are easily some of the most intense moments I've ever seen in a film. The entire time I witnessed this, I was on the edge of my seat. What's cool is during some parts of the raid, Bigelow shoots in night-vision mode, letting us see what the SEALs see through their night-vision goggles. Bigelow makes you feel like you're in the middle of the raid yourself.

The screenplay is also really well done. Mark Boal knows how to make an excellent military movie (see: The Hurt Locker) and he does it again here. The script crackles with intensity and true emotion.  What's interesting to note about the script is that this script was originally not the film Bigelow and Boal were supposed to make. They originally had another movie planned about finding Bin Laden which would end on an uncertain note about whether we would find him or not. But then, we actually got Bin Laden so Bigelow and Boal essentially started from scratch but still kept some elements of the original film in this movie. It never seemed like there was one part from the scrapped film and one from this newer movie clashing together so props to Boal for making it seem smoothless.

I will say that the film is a long one (two and a half hours to be exact) but it seemed to go by pretty quickly actually.

Overall, Zero Dark Thirty was an excellent, well-made film. It's definitely one of my favorites from 2012. I walked out of the theater stunned by the realism I had just witnessed. As I type this, nearly four hours after I drove home from the theater, it still sticks with me. If a film can evoke that kind of a response out of you and can stay with you hours later, then by all means it has succeeded as a film.

Grade: A

Silver Linings Playbook: A Wonderfully Enjoyable Film

 

When I first saw the trailer for Silver Linings Playbook, I thought it looked pretty good. It looked like a fun time at the movies, but I thought , "Eh if I miss it in theaters, it wouldn't be a total loss I'll just wait for it to come out on DVD." But then, I started to hear a lot of positive buzz coming out of its screening the Toronto International Film Festival this past year. Also, it got a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes at first (as of right now it's at 91% which still is pretty damn good). Then, the Oscar nominations came out, where it got nominated in all of the Acting categories along with Original Screenplay, Director, and Best Picture. So my thoughts went from "Eh I can wait for DVD" to "I need to see what all the hype is about." So now I get to review it because hey, better late then never to review a movie that came out two months ago.....

Silver Linings Playbook stars Bradley Cooper, Jennifere Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, and Chris Tucker. Cooper plays Pat Solitano, a man diagnosed with bipolar disorder who has just finished an 8 month stint in a mental institution and is released into the care of his parents (De Niro and Weaver). Pat is trying to turn his life around and thinks he can win back his wife, who placed a restraining order on him after his violent episode that caused him to go to the mental institution in the first place. While at a dinner with two of his friends, Pat meets Tiffany (Lawrence), who also has some problems of her own. Because of this, they strike up an odd friendship.

OK no bullshit, I'm just gonna tell you all flat out: I adored this movie. This is probably one of my favorites from 2012 hands down.

The acting in this is phenomenal. Bradley Cooper gives easily the best performance of his entire career. He blew me away by going through the emotions of someone with bipolar, with his moods changing from happy to angry to sad. It blew me away by how he portrayed this character. He portrayed him as someone struggiling to adjust, but still tried to maintain a positive outlook on life. Optimisitcally, I would like him to win Best Actor (realistically it will probably go to Daniel Day-Lewis or Joaquin Phoenix) because I truly think he deserves it.

Also Jennifer Lawrence....she is excellent in this. Easily one of the best performances in the entire film. She gives it her all here, portraying Tiffany as someone who is extremely vulnerable but in order to stay strong, has a very hard exterior. There's one scene in the movie that stands out in my mind where Lawrence's emotions go from calm to angry in the span of 2 seconds. I want to see her win the Oscar come Oscar night.

The supporting cast in this is great as well. Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver as Pat's parents are fantastic. In the movie, Pat's father is a supersititous Eagles fan who turns to bookmaking in order to earn money to start a resturant. He believes Pat is his good luck charm and De Niro nails the obessesive fandom perfectly. He plays the character so narrow minded as to having only one thing on his mind and one thing only: for the Eagles to beat the opposing team. Jacki Weaver as Pat's mom was good as well, though I wish they had given her more to do. But the biggest surprise in this movie? Chris Tucker. I mean where the hell did this come from? Keep in mind that the last three movies he's done was the Rush Hour trilogy. As Pat's friend Danny from the mental hospital, Tucker was really good in this. I hope this leads to more roles in the future that don't involve Jackie Chan.

Another thing I really liked in this movie is the writing. David O. Russell, who directed the film as well as writing it, made this film almost seem like two different genres. For a while, it's this serious drama but halfway through, it becomea a light-hearted romantic comedy. By the end of this movie, I walked out in a really good mood. Also, the film is funny. There were some genuine laugh out loud moments.

Overall, Silver Linings Playbook is a fantastic film, It is easily one of the best films of 2012 and I adored it. If you haven't seen it, check it out before the Oscars on February 24th.

Grade: A

Oscar Nominations 2013: List of Nominees and My Thoughts!

So the nominations for the 85th annual Academy Awards were just announced and I have to say: there were a ton of surprises this year. Overall, there were things I had expected to see nominated and a lot of things that came out of nowhere for me. Below is a list of the nominees that were announced and my thoughts on the nominees.

(NOTE: This is only a list of the nominees of the big categories. On a side note, I have not gotten a chance to see all of the films that were nominated this year so I'm sorry if I don't mention all the nominees listed in my thoughts.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master
Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook
Alan Arkin, Argo
Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln

Now this list I was completely happy with. If any one of these actors won for their performance, I would have no complaints. The only two I have not seen yet are Hoffman or de Niro for their respective movies but I have heard both are fantastic. It's nice to see Waltz, Jones and Arkin get some love. However, I am genuinely surprised that Leo DiCaprio was snubbed for his role in Django Unchained. If he was nominated, he would have been my pick to win no doubt. He played a truly great villianous role and should have easily gotten a nomination.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables
Sally Field, Lincoln
Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook
Helen Hunt, The Sessions
Amy Adams, The Master

For me, Hathaway has this one in the bag. She gives one of, if not the best performances of her career. She brilliantly showcased the pain and sadness that Fantine was going through. She absolutely deserves to win the Oscar. The only person I can really see pulling a surprise win is Sally Field. She gave so much depth and emotion to her performance as Mary Todd Lincoln.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE:

Wreck-It Ralph
Frankenweenie
Brave
ParaNorman
The Pirates! Band of Misfits

It's nice to see The Pirates! get some love in this category because it was just such an enjoyable film and it's good that stop motion animation is finally getting some love again. I was shocked that Rise of the Guardians didn't get a nomination because I thought that was a solid effort from Dreamworks, one of their best actually. However, out of all these nominations, I can see Wreck-It Ralph or ParaNorman winning it this year. Although I can see Brave pulling an upset because when it comes to this category, don't ever mess with Pixar they've won almost every single year they've been nominated.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Mark Boal – Zero Dark Thirty
Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained
Michael Haneke – Amour
Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola – Moonrise Kingdom
John Gatins – Flight

It's a shame that Rian Johnson wasn't nominated for Looper this year that was one of the best original scripts in recent memory. I would have put that in instead of Flight. Out of these nominees, it would be nice to see Tarantino win for Django or even Anderson for Moonrise Kingdom, but I can see Boal or perhaps even Haneke winning for this one.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Tony Kushner – Lincoln
Chris Terrio – Argo
David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
David Magee – Life of Pi
Lucy Alibar, Behn Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

For me, I feel as if Silver Linings Playbook or even Lincoln will take this one although I would like to see Argo win it.  Yet at the same time, I can see Beasts of the Southern Wild pulling an upset and win it. Also, while I unfortunately did not get a chance to see it, I was surprised that The Perks of Being a Wallflower was not nominated because I know that was the one some had expected to win.

BEST ACTOR

Denzel Washington – Flight
Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
Joauquin Phoenix - The Master
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook

Daniel Day Lewis will probably win here. Why? Because it seems that every time Day-Lewis gets nominated, he wins. Although the only two who I could see winning it from under Day-Lewis are Phoenix or, optimistically, Cooper. Denzel is the absolute longshot here Jackman has a better chance than Denzel. But overall, I'm happy with the choices in this category

BEST ACTRESS:

Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Quvenzhane Wallis – Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts – The Impossible
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour

To me, the clear winners are either Chastain or Lawrence. However, I always believe in hoping for the underdog so if the little girl (who is now the youngest Best Actress nominee at 9 years old) from Beasts Of the Southern Wild , which I'm watching this weekend, wins, I'd be OK with that just because of what she accomplished at 9 years old.

BEST DIRECTOR:

Ang Lee – Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg – Lincoln
David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook
Michael Haneke – Amour
Behn Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

OK this was the category that made me go, "What the hell?" I mean no recognition for Quentin Tarantino, Ben Affleck (who cemented himself as one of the best directors in Hollywood this year) or Kathryn Bigelow? Really Academy? I guess in this case, my pick for Best Director would have to be Spielberg or Russell though Lee or Zeitlin could easily swoop in and win the award. Now usually, Best Director usually goes in hand with Best Picture (or that's what I've noticed) which means.....

BEST PICTURE:

Argo
Amour
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

...if any one of the four director I mentioned above wins for Best Director, that could mean their film could win for Best Picture. As I type this, Lincoln leads the most nominations with 12 nominations while Life of Pi comes in second with 11. However, while I can see Lincoln or Life of Pi  possibly winning, at the same time, Silver Linings has a pretty strong chance of winning as well. Beasts of the Southern Wild could also surprise me and become the Little Movie that Could in the coming month (can't make full judgements on how I feel about the film, which I will do this weekend). Optimistically, I would LIKE to see Django or Les Miserables or possibly Argo win it, but I have a feeling that's a long shot.

But overall, The Oscar nominations, for the most part this year, were pretty solid with a few notable snubs. I can't wait to see how it all unfolds February 24th.

For a full list of the nominees this year, click this link: http://oscar.go.com/nominees

Django Unchained: One of Tarantino's Best.

Quentin Tarantino is easily one of my all time favorite directors. He's got this incredibly unique style to his filmmaking that makes his movies almost an event when they come out. He's covered a wide range of genres from revenge thrillers to war movies. So when I heard his next film after Inglourious Basterds was going to be a spaghetti Western, needless to say, I got very excited.

Django Unchained is Tarantino's lastest film.The film takes place in the late 1850s, set against the backdrop of slavery. The film is about a slave, Django (Jamie Foxx), who is enlisted by bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) to help him track down the Brittle Brothers, three ruthless killers with a bounty on their heads. Schultz also agrees to help Django trsck down his wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington), who is being held by Calvin J. Candie ( Leonardo DiCaprio), a plantation owner who is as charming as he is ruthless.

Going into the film, I had very high expectations. So what did I think of  Tarantino's vision of a spaghetti Western?

I'm going to be honest with you, I flat out loved this movie. This is easily one of the best films of 2012 for sure.

The acting in this movie is fantastic. Jamie Foxx gives one of his best performances to date as Django. His character goes through a great arc throughout the film, going from hesitant and unsure to completely confident of himself. Foxx expresses these feelings with ease. Kerry Washington did pretty good as well, even though she is not in the film for that long.

But there are three performances that were my absolute favorites in this. Christoph Waltz, Leo DiCaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson, who plays Candie's racist right-hand man Steven. All three steal every scene they're in. Christoph Waltz is completely charming as Dr. Schultz. He plays it so charismatically that he's so entertaining to watch. As for Leo DiCaprio, this is his first truly villianous role and he plays it brilliantly. His character can be completely charming and charismatic but can turn into menacing and brutal at the turn of a hat. DiCaprio deserves some recognition for this role come Oscar time. And Samuel L. Jackson was just entertaining to watch. His character was so damn funny in this movie.

One of Tarnatino's strong points in his films has always been his dialogue and it's at its strongest in Django. The dialogue is so snappy and witty it's brilliant. It's also extremely funny there's one scene in the film that I won't spoil but it had me laughing hysterically.  Also, his dialogue excellently builds up tension in some scenes. It just builds and builds until it all comes to a head and it's done excellently here.

Another thing that was interesting in Django Unchained is Tarantino's use of music. Tarantino has always had a wide range of music in his films and this is no exception. The mix of music is definitely an interesting one. He ranges from music made by film composers such as Ennio Morricone to original songs by John Legend and Rick Ross of all people. It's definitely worth checking out for how unique it is.

The action in this movie....my God does Tarantino have fun with the blood splatter in this movie. The action is over the top ridiculous that it's awesome. Also, the film is shot beautifully Tarantino gives some stunning shots of the South. He shot this whole thing on film and with every thing going digital nowadays, it's nice to see someone still doing things old school.

I really don't have any complaints with this movie. Django Unchained is one of Tarantino's best films in a while and is easily one of the best films of 2012. Check it out if you have the chance.

Grade: A