The Non-SuperHero SuperHero Movie: Birdman at NYCC

There aren't many moderators at New York Comic Con who receive an ovation comparable to the movie stars they're interviewing, but Chris Hardwick, of Nerdist fame, is one of them. Late in the afternoon on Friday Hardwick sat down with Michael Keaton and Edward Norton to discuss their upcoming movie, Birdman.

The film, which was described separately by all three guests in equally confusing and ambiguous ways has Keaton playing an actor beat known for his run as Birdman in a popular movie franchise. Now, years later, he is directing and starring in a play but he can't escape the influence of the character on both himself and his fans.

Now that description sounds pretty straightforward, but one look at any of the film's footage and it's clear that this movie is a complex and trippy movie. The panel showed the first ten minutes of Birdman as well as a few additional scenes to conventioneers and it definitely piqued their interest. The film opens with Keaton levitating in his dressing room wearing nothing but his tighty whiteys. So let that set the scene.

With Keaton and Norton being comic book film alums, they seemed like a pairing tailor made for Comic Con, but the discussion had a different tone than the day's other panels. There was very little geeking out from the crowd, even when Keaton told a story about when he met with Tim Burton to discuss starring in Batman. Instead Keaton and Norton led each other into descriptions of the rehearsal process for the film and their combined love for the script and director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, which drew them to the project.

But for film buffs, this was a great look into a film that promises to stand out as one of the year's most unique. All three on stage claim it to be one of the best of the year too, but that may just be rhetoric.

The artists formerly known as Batman and The Hulk made sure it was clear to the loyal fans that they still have respect for the comic book genre, even though the film does have some criticism of it. Both even left things open to potentially playing a superhero again one day if the role is right. According to them their superhero pasts didn't play a part in wanting to be involved in Birdman. Even if that were a lie, New York Comic Con wouldn't have been the place to admit any negative feelings on adapting the comic personas.

Birdman is scheduled for an October 17th release.

Ron Perlman Holds Nothing Back in New Book and NYCC Panel

Ron Perlman has tended to play gruff characters throughout his career. Appearing at New York Comic Con to promote his new book, it's clear that there is a certain element of art imitating life. With a packed room featuring fans wearing "Sons of Anarchy" shirts, Hellboy cosplay and some other characters from Perlman's past, the actor pulled no punches while speaking his mind and pushing hard for everyone to buy his book.

Titled "Easy Street: The Hard Way," Perlman explains that many see his success and assume he's had an easy path to stardom, but that wasn't the case. Many anecdotes he gave throughout the 45 minute panel, were prefaced by saying you'd need to read the book to get the full story. His bout with depression was addressed as well as the loss of his father and his brother.

Not everything he said was serious though. Perlman joked about how good looking he was on the large screen projected next to the stage. When his role in "Pacific Rim" was brought up by a fan, he complimented his own performance and compared director Guillermo Del Toro to Buddha.

With the high pitched techno beats of a neighboring anime panel echoing through the walls, Perlman touched on many of the audience's favorite topics. He talked about how his work in prosthetics toward the beginning of his career helped him since he was uncomfortable in his own skin at the time. He would later, of course, earn loads of fans as Hellboy, with many prosthetic features. He got big cheers when admitting that he is pushing for a Hellboy 3 in the future.

Notably absent from his discussion was "Sons of Anarchy." (Spoiler Alert) Perlman's character, Clay, had an epic fall from power though out the show up until the character's death in season six. It's clear Perlman is not okay with that. The very mention of show creator Kurt Sutter seemed to anger him. But after a number of very short comments when fans asked about the show, he did give some insight into the show's rise to popularity. But it had the tone of fond memories about a relationship before a bitter breakup.

Ultimately, the panel proved to be one with its fair share of tension, a healthy amount of swearing and a lot of Perlman pushing the book. Even so, it was still interesting to hear about his inspiration from his father and classic actors like Burt Lancaster. Also, if you can believe it, he's claimed to quit smoking. Both Hellboy and Clay Morrow, cigar fans, wouldn't be happy about that.

Five Observations from The 86th Academy Awards

There are few events throughout the year that take over social media the way the Oscars do. For better or worse, the memes align and the snarky comments fill our feeds. Last night’s telecast, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, was no exception. The show met the Oscars status quo with predictable winners, standard acceptance speeches and an incredibly lengthy show. Here is what we took away from “Hollywood’s biggest night.”

1. No Surprising Winners. After watching the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards and half dozen other award shows recognizing the 2013 crop of films, obvious trends occur. Sure, it has happened that someone comes out of left field to win an Oscar. But when someone’s trophy case is filled in January and February and the audience has their acceptance speech memorized, it’s likely that they’re going to win with the Academy also. That was confirmed with Matthew McConaughey winning for Lead Actor, Jared Leto getting Supporting Actor and Cate Blanchett for Lead Actress. The one slight question mark between Jennifer Lawrence and Lupita Nyong’o fell the way it’s been leaning for a while, with Nyong’o. The two favorites in the film categories were also predictable. Alfonso Cuaron won Best Director for Gravity and 12 Years a Slave won Best Picture.

2. Safe, but Still Funny. Seth McFarlane had the execs sweating bullets leading up to last year’s show, so the safer bet, Ellen DeGeneres, was given the nod to host this year. She didn’t do anything too crazy and wasn’t terribly mean to anybody, except Liza Minnelli. She was still quite funny though and will be remembered for two moments in particular. After joking about ordering pizza, she followed through by passing out slices to Brad Pitt, Martin Scorsese, Jared Leto and the rest of the star studded audience. It made them all look very human, which doesn’t usually happen at the tuxedo and limo filled Oscars. Ellen also attempted to stage a “selfie” with Meryl Streep, which quickly evolved into a more star studded photo. Channing Tatum, Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt (he’s everywhere!) and a number of others jumped in. The result was the most retweeted image ever on Twitter. Sorry Barack Obama’s reelection tweet, you’ve got nothing on a picture that has Jennifer Lawrence and Angelina Jolie in it. Both these stunts started awkwardly, so it’s a credit to Ellen for making them work.

If only Bradley's arm was longer. Best photo ever. #oscars pic.twitter.com/C9U5NOtGap

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) March 3, 2014

3. Montages? After a low ratings year a few years back, the Academy made an attempt to appease more common moviegoers not interested in the indie fare that earns all the trophies. So themed video montages play a few times throughout the show with clips from popular franchises. This year’s “hero” theme played out like a half-executed prom theme that shows up nowhere except the invitations. The segments were well done, and it was fun seeing Harry Potter side by side with Iron Man and Indiana Jones, but they are absolutely unnecessary space fillers in a show that already runs way too long. This reminds me…

4. The Marathon of Awards Shows. Now I am quite a big fan of The Oscars. I look forward to the show and as a film blogger; I do my fair share of research. But I am not delusional. This show is too long. The red carpet ran for about two and a half hours. Then the show itself was three and a half hours. A person with a casual interest wasn’t making it through that. I don’t think there’s a ton in the show that could be cut, but those of us off the west coast have a late night on Oscar Sunday. Even moving it one hour earlier would make it more bearable.

5. It’s the Oscars! Sure, it isn’t the most accessible award show out there, and the movies represented aren’t that accessible either, but there is only one Academy Awards. An incredibly small sampling of actors, producers and others in the industry earned the highest honor someone involved in the silver screen could receive last night. Are there more important things in life than a golden statue voted on by a bunch of rich people living in the Hollywood sun? Absolutely, but it sure is fun watching people’s dreams come true and rooting for your favorite movies to win. So I’ll keep watching even if my favorite movies are only represented in out of context montages and dream casting presenter pairings. (Can someone make that Emma Watson- Joseph Gordon-Levitt movie happen please?

Let us know what you thought about the big show.

Top 10 Films of 2013

2013, just like every year, was filled with its share of stinkers released alongside some instant classics. But looking back at the list of reviews shows that even the best films don’t come across as very memorable. With the five arrow grading system, personal opinion is marginalized in order to create a more fair system. But months later when compiling a list like this, the memorability of the films often plays a big part to break any ties. In that regard this year’s list was more difficult to compile than previous years. Also, pinpointing the number one film has never been so difficult.

Our review total for the year fell just short of 2012 with 85. Last year there were 86. I knew missing that Metallica IMAX movie would come back to bite me. Out of those 85 the average rankings are slightly up from last year. Five films earned a perfect 5 arrows, 14 films earned 4.5 and 17 picked up 4 arrows. So there was definitely a healthy amount of strong movies in 2013. As is always the case, the latter part of the year brought the average up. So with a list that looks very different than a typical critic, here are the top 10 films of 2013.

(click titles to read full reviews.)

10. Captain Phillips

Those last scenes with the SEALS closing in on a resolution will earn Hanks a seat at a number of award shows, which frankly is a place he should be more often. This may not be the most glamorous credit on his résumé, but is intense and worthy of recognition.

9. The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug

At this point, we know what to expect in Peter Jackson’s Middle Earth. The slightly less dire circumstances in The Hobbit provide more opportunities for fun than LOTR, and they deliver in that regard. Plus the cliff-hanger ending in this one leaves a real intrigue for the final chapter next year.

8. The Way, Way Back

The conversations Duncan has are so painfully real, the audience can’t help but relate. He isn’t some muscle-bound actor that the directors throw some glasses on to convey awkwardness. Everything from Duncan’s slight hunch, to his awkward timing in conversations is spot on. I’ve seen my fair share of movies and I can’t recall another with dialogue this real.

7. Pacific Rim

Pacific Rim is the type of the movie that will inspire audiences by what can be done with a concept. All of Del Toro’s monster and horror movies come together in one of the most epic movies ever made. You read that right. This movie is a massive spectacle.

6. Much Ado About Nothing

It’s not all that common to have a writer/director come off one of the biggest films of all time (The Avengers) and dive successfully into a minuscule budgeted indie flick. But this is Joss Whedon we’re talking about. There’s a reason he is the champion of the comic-con crowd.

5. Ender's Game

Ender’s Game is book smart sci-fi for the modern age. It trades in blasters for drone warfare, which is something that seems more poignant in 2013 than it did in 1985 when the book was written. Visually impressive with a story to match, Ender’s Game snuck up on me 27 years in the making.

4. Lone Survivor

It should be remembered as one of the best military films of all time. Its story comes first. The film is shot beautifully, but that won’t be remembered in the face of the true story.

3. Don Jon

The way the script addresses pornography in mainstream culture isn’t preachy in the least, but it still gets a point across about separating one’s thoughts from gender stereotypes. Don Jon sends a message that Hollywood (and western culture in general) needs to hear. And it all came from the pen of the long-haired kid in “3rd Rock From the Sun.”

2. Gravity

Gravity is an emotional ride with an accessible presentation that gives it the rare feat of appealing to film purists and interesting the masses. So maybe I won’t ever go to space, but at least this movie told me what it’s actually like. I didn’t see a single Wookie in there.

1. The Wolf of Wall Street

DiCaprio gives a strong performance that is on par with the year’s best. The character is so intense and full of negative traits, it’s a testament to DiCaprio that the audience still cares about him. For Martin Scorsese, following up the child filled ode to film, Hugo with the drug-filled orgy that is The Wolf of Wall Street may seem like a strange choice. But one look through his filmography and it’s a transition that makes perfect sense.

Honorable Mention: The Remaining films that scored a 4.5

11.American Hustle

12. 12 Years a Slave

13. Rush

14. Man of Steel

15. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

16. Oblivion

17. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

18. The Great Gatsby

Please leave your top ten list in the comments and let us know why you liked what you did.

86th Academy Award Nominations: Who Got the Nod?

Oscar nomination morning is a bit more bearable for us on the east coast. That 5:30 AM PT start can be rough for the Cali-folk. But Thor made it there, or more accurately Chris Hemsworth, to announce the nominees for the 86th Academy Awards along with Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs. The announcement is nothing to write home about. They get immediately to the point and were done in about 10 minutes. It’s the complete antithesis of the award show itself which is quite long-winded. So enough babbling, who was nominated?

For the big prize of Best Picture, nine films were nominated. As always a number of them don’t stand a chance. 12 Years a Slave just won the Golden Globe, so they have to be the front runner at this point. After them it’s anybody’s guess. The hype for Gravity has waned a bit, but they, along with American Hustle and Her probably have the most realistic chances. The initiative put in place a few years ago to add nominees to this category to make room for mainstream films like The Dark Knight seems to have failed again. Gravity was a huge hit, but no action blockbusters turn up. Remember when Inception was nominated? That was fun.

In the acting categories there is a large variety of dynamics at play. For lead actor, only Christian Bale has won before so it’s possible we see another big star earn the trophy. Matthew McConaughey won the Globe and has a good chance of carrying the whole award season, but Chiwetel Ejiofor can’t be overlooked. How about Leonardo DiCaprio who, believe it or not, has never won an Oscar? He also won a Globe and is my current pick to take this category. For lead actress, your guess is as good as mine. Meryl Streep always has an above average chance of winning. But Amy Adams, Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and Judi Dench winning each have a nice ring to it. I wouldn’t be surprised with any of them to be honest. My pick is Adams, who is overdue.

Supporting actor always ends up being the most fun category. Jared Leto is the favorite for Dallas Buyers Club, but there are a number of names that interest the casual viewer. Jonah Hill adds a second nomination to his ever expanding career that began with teen comedies. Plus the well-liked Michael Fassbender and Bradley Cooper got their tickets punched to try and earn their first Oscars. The newcomer, Barkhad Abdi, from Captain Phillips is also a great story coming from Somalia to America and making a name for himself. Supporting actress is almost as much of a guessing game as lead actress. I’m anticipating it to come down to a battle between the current it-girl, Jennifer Lawrence, and the former it-girl turned superstar Julia Roberts. Can Lawrence repeat as an Oscar winner in her downtime from making blockbuster franchise films? Yes, I think she can and then her world takeover will be complete.

For a complete list of the nominees, click here. The Oscars air march 2nd on ABC and will be hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. Be sure to check back with What’s Up Movement as we will be covering the entire award season. Then tune in and see just how wrong my predictions are.

71st Golden Globes Recap: SNL Steals the Show

Was it just me or were the 71st Golden Globe Awards pretty awesome. They were um, well… I just… This is… I can’t… Woo I’m so nervous. I’d like to thank my dog groomer and um… Okay, they want me to wrap it up now.

I have just summed up 90% of the acceptance speeches from the Golden Globe winners. Sure the alcohol is flowing at the Globes, but who was the bartender, the Wolf of Wall Street, because everyone seemed to fall into an incoherent stooper. It was kind of fun when Jennifer Lawrence did it, but by the time Jon Voight did, enough was enough.

This ceremony marks the opening of award season. Sorry People’s Choice Awards, you don’t count. Hosted by returning funny women Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, they set the tone for what turned into a night full of SNL love and some good old’ celebrity roasting. Their open was very funny. The most memorable moment was when Poehler referred to Matt Damon’s star power in the room of A-listers as being that of a garbage person. It was a good joke, but the whole night had a theme of insulting Damon for some reason. The guy is a good sport, so that’s probably why. He was the logical option since the usually game Tom Hanks, didn’t seem to be feeling it last night and Leonardo DiCaprio has an almost Jedi like aura surrounding him. Even the unflappable Ryan Seacrest seemed slightly off when interviewing him on the red carpet.

Before we get to the awards, it’s worth noting who exactly is giving out these awards. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) is a group of foreign journalists who cover Hollywood movies and TV shows. That is legitimate enough. But there are less than 100 members of this group. Remember statistics class? That sample size isn’t that big. So that would be why the Globes always seem to get some wonky winners compared to the other award shows. That isn’t a complaint; it actually makes it more fun. By the time the Oscars come around, almost everyone knows who will probably win. Not the case here. Plus with awards for comedy/musical in addition to drama, there is double the amount of categories viewers care about, even though the qualifications for being considered a comedy/musical are questionable.

Without listing all the winners, here are some of the memorable moments. For television, SNL alums Poehler and Andy Samberg won the comedy acting awards for “Parks and Recreation” and “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”. Both deserve it, but these wins were a bit shocking when looking at the award show favorites they were up against. Then “Nine-Nine,” a new show, won best comedy. For one minute it was like the Hollywood Foreign Press actually had the same taste as normal people. With hosts Fey and Poehler, wins from Poehler and Samberg, Jimmy Fallon and Seth Myers presenting and Will Forte there for his nominated film “Nebraska,” the night had a very SNL flavor to it. Even the clip from “12 Years a Slave” shown featured Taran Killam’s small role in the film.

With film, a number of the titles featured in the best picture discussion ended up walking away with a major award. “12 Years a Slave” lost in all of its categories until it won Best Picture, Drama. Spike Jonze won Best Screenplay for “Her.” Alfonso Cuaron won Best Director for “Gravity.” It was all incredibly well split up. Did the HFPA get together and figure out a plan to keep everyone happy? No because “Captain Phillips,” among others, won nothing. But the acting categories followed suit. Jennifer Lawrence and Amy Adams won for their “American Hustle” “comedic” performances. Matthew McConaughy and Jared Leto of “Dallas Buyers Club” did the same for the male drama categories. Cate Blanchett won for “Blue Jasmine,” DiCaprio for “Wolf of Wall Street.” See what I mean? It’s too well distributed.

The night’s success related to the fun variety of winners and the consistent laughs from the hosts and presenters. But there were plenty of moments that won’t be remembered. Woody Allen won the Cecil B Demille Award, but continued his trend of rarely showing for award shows. Instead we got to watch a kind of heartfelt, kind of weird tribute from Diane Keaton that included muted swearing and singing. The acceptance speeches were for the most part, as already mentioned, drunken stuttering thanks to lists of names the audience doesn’t know.

There were a handful of teleprompter snafus, and boy is it fun watching the rich and fashionable attempt to act cool when they don’t know what to say. Matt Damon pulled it off when he couldn’t read the prompter because he forgot his glasses. Jonah Hill took the pressure off nervous award show newcomer Margot Robbie when they tried to present their film, “The Wolf of Wall Street,” and the prompter had different lines on it. Hill told the audience the truth and drew a few laughs as he described the film by reading the description off a piece of yellow loose leaf paper.

Overall, that moment can be used to sum up the 71st Golden Globe Awards. A comedian, who has gained the respect of mainstream Hollywood, gets some laughs while some type of minor technical difficulty plays out. For an award show that began with a malfunctioning sprinkler that damaged the red carpet, it pretty much followed suit the rest of the way.

Now that the Globes are distributed, award season is off and running.

2013: The Year of the 3 Arrow

Closing in on the glorious blockbuster season, we’re being treated to some pre-season films that could easily fit into the summer rotation. GI Joe: Retaliation is massive in its action and next week’s Oblivion boasts Tom Cruise in a high profile sci-fi project. But we moviegoers are stuck in a very strange run of middle of the road features so far this year. When reviewing films What’s Up Movement has a 5 arrow system that rakes away a lot of the arbitrary guesswork that goes into rating films. The result is a fairly objective scheme that spreads out the appropriate scores of every film we see. But 2013 has proven to be incredibly baffling with most of the films earning three or three and a half arrows.

Usually the scores aren’t that big of a concern, but when so many films fall in line like this I begin to wonder. With 18 films reviewed in 2013, seven of them received scores of 3 arrows and six earned 3.5. That’s more than two thirds of the movies! Be impressed by my math skills. At first I pointed the finger at myself, thinking I was taking the easy way out by not committing in either direction. But after looking over the reviews, that’s not the case. Average performances and average movies without any real attempt at innovation end up in the middle. Sure I enjoyed a lot of them, but that’s not enough.

Looking at the films on the list we have the kinds of movies that tend to populate the first few months of the year on the big screen. There’s the entertaining but predictable action films (Snitch, A Good Day to Die Hard), the moderately funny comedies (The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, 21 and Over), a few “edgy” fairytale reboots (Jack the Giant Slayer, Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters), and the leftovers (Admission, Side Effects). But the category that has been especially surprising to constantly land in 3-3.5 town is the would-be blockbuster.

Oz the Great and Powerful is a massive hit, but the movie is not nearly as impressive as its ticket sales. GI Joe: Retaliation is incredible when compared to its predecessor, but it’s still a shoot-em-up action film that has a few very poor scenes that weaken its story. Even something like The Host, which could have picked up where Twilight left off with fans, collapsed under the weight of what was supposed to be an important message.

As we continue on, the threes may keep coming or maybe Hollywood will break their funk. Only Gangster Squad and Warm Bodies have been able to rise above the mediocrity so far. But I have faith in the summer tent poles. There’s a reason studios dump hundreds of millions of dollars into these movies. So hopefully some are good. But I have no problem continuing to dish out the threes if I need to.

The King of All Critics

Legendary film critic Roger Ebert died yesterday after a lengthy cancer battle. He was 70.

His career was an incredibly interesting one that evolved almost nonstop for more than 40 years. Posting about a deceased celebrity isn’t common practice for What’s Up Movement, but Ebert’s life and career is worth noting because without him, it’s possible that the process of critiquing films would look very different. If you’re interested, I encourage you to read his obituary in his own paper, the Chicago Sun-Times, to learn just how successful he was in bringing film reviews to mainstream America through journalism, television and the internet.

While the idea of turning my film hobby into a website and an exercise in writing can be credited to my mother, my oldest memories of rating movies was in association with Ebert and his rival/friend Gene Siskel on their PBS show “At the Movies.” Maybe it came on after Sesame Street or maybe my parents actively sought it out, I don’t know. But I remember watching the show at a very young age. The two were the odd couple. Siskel was tall and thin, Ebert shorter and stockier. Then when it became Ebert and Roeper after Siskel’s death, I watched even more often. The second pair argued much less if I recall correctly.

“At the Movies” had such influence that the definitive review that films sought was the pair’s signature two thumbs up. I actually borrowed a movie from the library recently (How old am I?) and above the title in bold type face was “Two Thumbs Up- Siskel & Ebert.” Since the show last went off the air there has been no successor to this prominent position. The rating was universal. Three options: good (two thumbs up), bad (two thumbs down) or so-so (one up, one down). Everyone understood. Now studios go with out of context snippets from reviews. (“Best Movie Ever!” says the cashier in the supermarket.) It just doesn’t hold the same weight. The two were so iconic that one of my favorite movies growing up, Roland Emmerich’s Godzilla even featured two characters with similar names and builds to Siskel and Ebert. They were the mayor and his assistant. Siskel and Ebert still panned the film.

In 2012 when I decided to change the grading system for What’s Up Movement film reviews, I researched what methods the prominent critics used. I went back and forth until I came across an essay by Ebert where he talked about his process trying to solve the same problem of rating movies. He mentioned that he preferred a 5 star system to four because some movies fall in that middle area. Four stars splits the options to either good or bad. As a self-proclaimed optimistic film critic, that made a lot of sense to me. You’ll notice we now have a 5 Arrow system here at W^M.

In the last act of Ebert’s career he became a prominent blogger building a huge web presence. To be honest, I very rarely read his blog or his reviews because it was near impossible to read his thoughts on a movie and not recycle his words into my own work. It may sound strange, but I was a fan, so I didn’t read his reviews. On the rare occasion I did, his points would immediately poke holes in what I believed to be a sound case for a film.

The headlines and coverage of Ebert’s death probably seem a bit odd for the casual moviegoer or non-fan, but Roger Ebert really was the most prominent film critic in history. He changed reviews from just a rehashing of the plot and characters into a commentary filled with jokes and opinions. I’d say he deserves one more day in the spotlight.

The Oscars Deliver and Close Out Award Season

It was a long award season, which ended with a marathon Oscars broadcast. But now that we’ve had a few days to think about it, it’s time to break down the 85th Academy Awards and why this year’s show will be one of the most memorable in recent memory. From Adele to Anne Hathaway and Daniel Radcliffe to Daniel Day-Lewis, there were tons of memorable moments and fan friendly winners. Here are our five observations.

5. Anne Hathaway’s Fashions There are always moments that seem like nothing when you witness them, but go viral and become major talking points. This year had plenty. Anne Hathaway was the heavy favorite to win the Best Supporting Actress award, which she did. But what everyone is talking about is her dress. For those who didn’t see it, the dress came to a point in a way that made it look as if the Les Mis star was chilly.

Then news emerged that Hathaway had switched dresses at the last minute because her original dress was almost identical to co-star Amanda Seyfried’s. Why the consensus favorite for a statue yielded to her whiny co-star, I don’t know. But she did and it became a storyline that didn’t need to ever be written.

4. Voters Share the Wealth It’s happened before, but this year Academy voters split all of the major categories among the year’s most acclaimed movies. Breaking it down, it’s actually quite a remarkable feat. Argo- Best Picture, Life of Pi - Best Director, Lincoln-Lead Actor, Silver Linings Playbook- Lead Actress, Django Unchained-Supporting Actor, Les Miserables- Supporting Actress. Things couldn’t have worked out that perfectly if they tried. The snub was Zero Dark Thirty, which was an apparent victim of Hollywood politics.

3. The Family Guy isn’t Family Friendly Let’s be honest, no child is staying awake once the technical categories were up. It gets boring. But people are still complaining the show was too vulgar. Host Seth MacFarlane did blend some traditional comedy with some PG-13 fare. Be honest though, it wasn’t anything worse than other controversial award show hosts and it was tame compared to his “Family Guy” material.

His opening was witty, his songs were sometimes funny and sometimes borderline offensive, but we obviously weren’t going to get Billy Crystal and the typical material when MacFarlane was chosen to host. His music theme proved to be semi-successful, but we could take it or leave it. He has already said on his Twitter page that he won’t return to host next year, so we’ll see what the producers come up with. I don’t think anyone would object to a Hugh Jackman return.

2. Argo, Argoing, Argone It seemed like it would happen after Argo won Best Picture at most of the major award shows, and sure enough Ben Affleck got to give the most important acceptance speech since he and Matt Damon won Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars in 1998 for Good Will Hunting. So even with the snub in the Directing category and the fact that he was never even mentioned for a lead acting nod, Affleck closed out the night’s speeches with a rushed but emotional ode to his wife, his business partners and everyone else he could possibly thank. It’s even reported that he shaved off his lucky beard at an Oscars after party. So we can now lay Argo to rest. Unless you haven’t seen it, then rent it immediately.

1. Jennifer Lawrence Completes Her Takeover The Silver Linings star was anything but a sure thing for Best Actress. Jessica Chastain had a bit of leverage over her until we discovered the Academy was leaving the Bin Laden film out in the cold. But Lawrence was a deserving winner and the moments that followed perfectly represent why the country has fallen in love with her. She stepped on the stage’s first step and promptly fell down. It was just a slight trip and she was up before Hugh Jackman and presenter Jean Dujardin could get to her to lend a helping hand. But it broke the ice with the audience and made her nervous speech come off as even more charming.

Then backstage she proceeded to playfully flip off a photographer. Of course it was captured on film. Then when questioned by the media, Lawrence was a seasoned pro giving witty answers to all the asinine questions reporters make their living asking. Much like how Ben Affleck shaved his beard right after the show, Lawrence died her hair brown the next morning and was off to finish filming The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. I think we all look at J Law as a buddy now.

We are officially done with award season, with Oscar season, with Argo season. There are some springtime blockbusters to prepare us for a very exciting summer film season coming up. There are even some intriguing indies if you haven’t gotten your fill. But it sure was a fun trip down the red carpet.

Live Oscars Results

After months of lead up and guessing, we are finally here at Hollywood's biggest night. We'll be live blogging tonight's show, so check back frequently.

12:06- This has been fun. A great Oscars night with some surprises and laughs. Can't wait until next year. Thanks for following along with us. Good night!

12:04- MacFarlane and Kristin Chenoweth round out the show with a song dedicated to the night's losers.

12:00- Ben Affleck gives a great emotional speech. He has been the MVP of the award season and gets his final trophy.

11:56- Argo brings home the bacon. Best Picture winner.

11:55- Jack Nicholson and Michelle Obama (via video) introduce the Best Picture nominees. It's weird she's involved and Nicholson seems to have gone crazy.

11:53- Meryl Streep gives the Best Actor award to Daniel Day Lewis. He is the first actor to win the category three times. This is the least surprising reveal of the night. Pretty witty speech for honest Abe.

11:42- Jean Dujardin presents Best Actress to Jennifer Lawrence, who falls up the stairs. Hugh Jackman and Jean Dujardin rush to help her, but Katniss can handle herself.

11:35- Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas give the Best Director award to Ben Affle... Oops, he wasn't nominated. Ang Lee takes home the award for "Life of Pi"

11:25- Tall actress Charlize Theron and short actor Dustin Hoffman announce "Argo" as Best Adapted Screenplay and "Django Unchained" as Best Original Screenplay. It's always fun when you get to hear Tarantino. He ends with a 90's throwback, "Peace out." He is insane... like a fox.

11:10- Seth MacFarlane busts out the night's first gay joke. The cast of "Chicago" gives Best Score to "Life of Pi" and Original Song to Adele for "Skyfall." (I wrote Adele's name down before the award was even announced. It was a sure thing.) In the meantime, Norah Jones performed her song from "Ted."

11:00- George Clooney intros the In Memoriam Segment. Barbara Streisand joins in to sing "The Way We Were." It's always a nice tribute. This year seemed short, which is definitely a good thing.

10:53- The Governer's Award montage introduced by Selma Hayek. These are honorary Oscars. Cool?

10:50-Kristen Stewart clears her throat into the microphone. Daniel Radcliffe is awesome. They present the award for Production Design to "Lincoln."

10:45- Nicole Kidman rounds out the Best Picture nominees. We're getting close.

10:40- Jennifer Lawrence introduces Adele who sings "Skyfall." It seems the musical theme for the broadcast is a massive success.

10:30- Sandra Bullock proves to be a likeable presenter with some self-depricating small talk. "Argo" nabs film editing.

10:25- Anne Hathaway completes the award season sweep and captures the Best Supporting Actress award. Christopher Plummer presents.

10:12- After some tech talk, Ted and Mark Wahlberg have some funny and not so funny exchanges. They give Best Sound Mixing to "Les Miserables." A tie for Sound Editing goes to "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Skyfall." Why don't we just give Oscars to every long haired sound editor in Hollywood?

10:05- John Travolta introduces three performances from this decade in musical film. Catherine Zeta Jones, Jennifer Hudson and the cast of Les Mis. Each is more impressive than the last. I bet a few voters would change their Best Picture vote after Hugh Jackman and co. just tore the roof off the Dolby Theater.

9:50- Jennifer Garner and Jessica Chastain give "Amour" the Best Foreign Language Film award. No surprise there. But the director put us to sleep with his speech.

9:45- Ben Affleck presents "Searching for Sugar Man" the award for Best Documentary Feature.

9:42- Our host is back to insult a few more people. Among them, Ben Affleck, who happens to be presenting next.

9:40- Liam Neeson, the most bad ass actor in history, introduces three more best picture nominees.

9:36- Jamie Foxx and Kerry Washington present the award for Live action short film to "Curfew" and documentary short to "Inocente." We're slogging through the minor categories.

9:28- Halle Berry introduces the celebration of 50 years of James Bond. The montage was exciting but nothing we haven't seen before. Shirley Bassey followed it up by singing "Goldfinger." She gets a standing ovation from the A-listers and deserved it. Pretty epic.

9:18- Channing Tatum and Jennifer Aniston have a funny exchange. They present the award for costume design to "Anna Karenina" and best makeup and hairstyling to "Les Miserables."

9:10- The Avengers are here! They present the awards for cinematography and visual effects. "Life of Pi" takes them both. Looks like we're going with loud classic movie scores to cut off the acceptance speeches when they go over. Funny, but rude. That's Seth MacFarlane.

9:05- Reese Witherspoon introduces our first three best picture nominees. This is a tough category to pick.

9:00- Paul Rudd and Melissa McCarthy award "Paper Man" and "Brave" with the animated short and animated feature awards.

8:55-Octavia Spencer presents Christoph Waltz with the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. That's a bit of an upset over the heavyweight favorites, Robert De Niro and Tommy Lee Jones. It looks like it's going to be a night full of surprises.

8:48- Seth's opening was pretty successful. Funny, a bit over the top and entertaining.

8:40- Seth MacFarlane hitting his stride. Who knew William Shatner would feature so prominently.

8:30- WE ARE LIVE!

8:22- In the home stretch. ABC is stretching to try and fill the final minutes.

8:03- I'm not sure why some of these people are here. I may or may not be looking at you Jennifer Aniston.

7:54- Looks like the women went first down the red carpet. The leading men now. Hugh Jackman, Chris Evans, Robert De Niro, Daniel Radcliffe. Nothing like a Harry Potter cameo.

7:49- Making my picks with the Oscar App. Going for the perfect score tonight.

7:32- Okay, too much fashion police. ABC has some great pre-recorded segments. The Google year in review montage really set the tone. 2012 was a great year on the silver screen.

7:25- So far it seems E! has the best red carpet coverage. Ryan Seacrest always has a leg up on the other on-air reporters.

7:15- Many of the nominees have given their two cents. Jennifer Lawrence, Naomi Watts, Anne Hathaway. Lots of fashions, no idea which ones are fashionable.

7:00 PM- The red carpet is in full swing.

Five Things to Expect from Sunday’s Oscars

As we said in our “Preliminary Award Show Review,” the main storylines for Oscar Sunday have been broken down enough. Many of the nominees are essentially eliminated from contention because of the few heavyweights who have established their positions at the other red carpet ceremonies. But there are a few reasons why the Oscars have the prestige and the reputation as the biggest night in movies. Here’s what we can expect.

1. Seth MacFarlane Will Get the Comedy Ball Rolling. It’s fairly safe to assume that the “Family Guy” creator will offend some people, but from what we’ve seen with his efforts so far, he seems to be taking the job seriously. He may not admit that though. That’s the difference between him and Ricky Gervais, another shock comedian, who made it perfectly clear that he didn’t care about his Golden Globes hosting gig.

Hopefully MacFarlane’s example will mean that the other presenters and participants will be in cheery and laughing moods. It’s definitely more fun to hear a witty acceptance speech than a gushy one. Wouldn’t it be great if Daniel Day-Lewis makes a crack about Steven Spielberg’s Harry Potter glasses up there with his statue instead of acting like the Lincoln director is Gandhi? That’s not going to happen, but it’s the Oscars, crazier things have.

3. Adele Will Make the Best Original Song Category Relevant. It was fun when “Man or Muppet” won the award last year, but with both Adele and Norah Jones performing on the Oscars stage, this is the year the audience will remember to care about movie music. “Skyfall” stands a very good chance of forcing Adele to make some room in her Grammy cabinet for the little golden man. It will also be very interesting to see what is being billed as tribute to musicals of the last decade. I think that means Les Miserables, Dreamgirls and Chicago. It must be like getting the band back together for the Les Mis folks.

4. The E! Red Carpet People May Explode. I always watch the red carpet broadcasts before award shows because that is the only time we get to hear from most of the nominees and other guests. Believe it or not, I do not enjoy Kelly Osbourne fawning over every single dress that steps out of a limo or the strangely creepy “mani-cam,” but after watching them cover award shows for the last few months, I think the only thing left for them to do is spontaneously combust. They can’t possibly have more empty compliments in their arsenals. With that being said, Ryan Seacrest knows his stuff (interview wise) and is a great red carpet reporter. Just get rid of the rest of them.

4. Potentially Innovative Nominee Announcements. We won’t know until the big show, but in past years there have been some really creative ways to present category nominees. The first that comes to mind is in 2009 where a handful of past winners in the acting categories individually introduced the nominees. The most memorable of those instances has Cuba Gooding Jr. describing Robert Downey Jr. as “a white actor, playing a white Australian actor, playing a black man, in black face.” Alan Arkin went on to award Heath Ledger’s Oscar to the late actor’s family in the same segment. So while some years are more exciting than others, the award presentations can go a long way in making the show exciting.

5. It’s the Oscars! Even if you haven’t seen a number of the movies, this is the Superbowl of the film year. After Sunday night, we begin to thaw out from the winter cold and the dense indie films and work our way toward the sunshine and blockbusters of the summer. Take advantage of the Sunday night festivities and watch as Hollywood awards itself. Remember The Artist and Hugo last year? Well Argo may make it two years in a row for movies about movies.

The 85th Academy Awards air Sunday night on ABC.

The What's Up Oscars

Last year at What’s Up Movement we made a more fan accessible Oscar ballot. The goal was to show a list of well-reviewed films and performances that better resonated with the common moviegoer, the popcorn buying fan, not art house features. This year for Oscar week, we continue that tradition by drawing from a pool of all the films that earned scores of four arrows or better in the W^M rating system during 2012. All actual Oscar nominees are disqualified. (One snuck in there for a different role.) This is the “What’s Up Oscars.”

Best Picture

21 Jump Street

The Amazing Spider-Man

Chronicle

Cloud Atlas

The Dark Knight Rises

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Lawless

Looper

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Woman in Black

Best Actor

Daniel Craig- Skyfall

Logan Lerman- Perks of Being a Wallflower

Joseph Gordon Levitt- Looper

Daniel Radcliffe- The Woman in Black

Channing Tatum- 21 Jump Street

Best Supporting Actor

Jake Gyllenhaal- End of Watch

Tom Hardy- The Dark Knight Rises | Lawless

Tom Hiddleston- The Avengers

Michael Pena- End of Watch

Ben Whishaw- Cloud Atlas | Skyfall

Best Actress

Halle Berry- Cloud Atlas

Jennifer Lawrence- The Hunger Games

Noomi Rapace- Prometheus

Zoe Saldana- The Words

Charlize Theron- Snow White and the Huntsman

Best Supporting Actress

Emily Blunt- Looper

Judi Dench- Skyfall

Anne Hathaway- The Dark Knight Rises

Busy Phillips- Pitch Perfect

Emma Stone- The Amazing Spider-Man

Just for fun, here are a few non-Oscar categories.

Best Ensemble Cast

The Avengers

Cloud Atlas

The Dark Knight Rises

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Skyfall

Best Bit Performance

Benedict Cumberbatch- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Liam Neeson- The Dark Knight Rises

Nick Offerman- 21 Jump Street

Paul Rudd- The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Cobie Smulders- The Avengers

Best Underrated Picture

John Carter

Lawless

Man on a Ledge

Total Recall

The Words

So would you be more likely to get invested in an Oscar broadcast with this cast of nominees? Leave your picks in the replies.

The Preliminary Award Show Review

Every year on a Sunday night in February, the movie going population parks it in front of their TV to see which films a selective group, made up of insiders, think are the best of the year. The Academy Awards, or Oscars, is the main event. They’re the headliner of an award season that sees movies judged by critics, writers, actors, directors, the British, and some organization called the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.

What must get old for some of the nominees is that very often the same films and individuals win all of those awards respectively. For example, using a core group of award shows that includes the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Critics Choice Awards, and British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) as a lead up to the Oscars, Argo has won the top award in all four instances. Now much more learned film historians than I could tell you what certain wins mean for a nominee’s chances for an Oscar, but it should be noted that if entering any kind of wager on this Sunday’s broadcast, the winners are all but decided. This isn’t like the Superbowl, some underdogs really don’t stand a chance.

From watching the four awards show listed above, this season’s storylines have already been dissected every which way. Expect more of that on Sunday. Ben Affleck’s massive snub as a Best Director nominee for Sunday’s show has turned his many wins during the preliminaries into a victory tour, which calls into question how important the Oscars should be viewed if they leave off the consensus best director of the other guilds and groups. The guy is a great director and actor who was definitely treated unfairly when the critics weren’t fans of his career choices, but his Oscars snub has turned him into a sort of cult figure. The attendees and interviewers at these award shows have been laying it on a bit thick regarding Affleck.

Those who have been watching all these shows along with me will probably be equally tired of hearing Anne Hathaway and Daniel Day Lewis’ unfocused, blabbering speeches, and the excessive praise Hollywood bestows upon itself. However, it has been nice to see Hugh Jackman cement his position as nicest person on the planet. If that’s acting, give him an Oscar for that. Never mind his on screen work. The award shows that split their comedy/musical and drama categories have given some exposure to other deserving nominees that are outsiders for the big award like Les Miserables and Silver Linings Playbook. When I say outsiders, I’m referring to any movie that doesn’t have Ben Affleck’s face featured prominently on the poster.

Ultimately, this year has been a very successful movie season regardless of how much Seth MacFarlane offends everyone on Sunday. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler hosted a Golden Globes broadcast that was one the best award shows in recent memory. They were funny and there was a sense of relatability to it that the audience could really get behind. With the fact that the Oscars has missed the boat on Affleck’s nomination and the Globes’ dynamic showing, it’s possible that the two have temporarily switched places as the award show to watch.

Top 10 Films of 2012

2012 was an interesting year in film. Some of the top rated movies by critics paralleled box office returns, comic book movies cemented their spot on the top of the genre heap and award season fare is full of movies the public generally approves of.

Our review total at What’s Up Movement was down from the century mark of 2011, but the new arrow grading system has allowed us to get a more accurate read of how the films compare to each other. Out of five possible arrows, four films earned 5, 12 fell just short at 4.5 and 15 films earned the strong rating of 4 arrows. A very solid last quarter of the year skewed the results toward the high scores, but we have no quota. If the movie meets the standards, it gets a high grade. So to begin Oscar week, here are the top 10 films of 2012.

(Click titles to read full reviews)

10. Lincoln

The supporting cast does very well. But the difference is they give good performances, the actor with his name above the title, Daniel Day Lewis, gives one of the best performances ever.

9. Les Misérables

The film is an accessible version of the dense book for audiences who never brought themselves to read or view a play whose title translates to “The Miserable Ones.” That doesn’t really sound like much fun.

8. Django Unchained

The aesthetically impressive scenes that separate the action and gore from dialogue and story development are worth the audience’s attention from shot to shot. There’s no doubt Quentin Tarantino is crazy, crazy like a fox. This is his crazy western.

7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower

It’s masterly crafted with precision dialogue and unmatched pacing. Director Stephen Chbosky, who wrote the screenplay and the original novel, has made a movie that deserves to go down as one of the great coming of age films of the decade.

6. 21 Jump Street

The fact that they rarely go more than a minute without a successful joke or funny moment means that 21 Jump Street is one of the best comedies in recent memory. The film is a perfect example of how to redefine a franchise. Just make the movie really good.

5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Director Peter Jackson definitely knows what the fans want, complexity and continuity. The film is long and requires a level of commitment to enjoy, but we know from experience Jackson likes to make the audience earn the rewards that come at the end of an epic story like this.

4. Looper

Looper is a new idea. The film has been highly praised for its innovative approach to a sci-fi genre which borrows heavily from itself. It’s a slow burn of a film that can keep interest through the relaxed parts and have you on the edge of your seat without even knowing it.

3. The Dark Knight Rises

Almost any other movie would collapse under this mountain of characters and established actors fighting for their minutes of screen time. But instead the film proves to be large enough for such a task. The Dark Knight Rises puts an end to one of the best trilogies ever made and is a defining work of both comic book and action film culture.

2. Argo

I can’t recall another film that is able to cut between such intense drama and witty comedy like Argo does. There is always that moment in espionage thrillers that presents the common citizen as gullible for believing the untrue reports, but now we’re in on the secret.

1.Zero Dark Thirty

Even if only half of the events on screen are true, millions of people were invested in the hunt for Bin Laden and the film is a chance to gain some closure. Culturally, it’s a very important film and will stay with you days after viewing. Jessica Chastain is near flawless in her lead performance. Combining confidence, vulnerability and a social awkwardness that fits so perfectly with a character in her position,

Honorable Mention: The remaining films that scored a 4.5

11. Life of Pi

12. The Amazing Spider-Man

13. The Woman in Black

14. Lawless

15. Chronicle

16. Cloud Atlas

Please leave your top ten list in the comments and let us know why you liked what you did.

The Super Bowl's Off-Field Winner

This year’s Super Bowl proved to be a pretty exciting game, but for those of us located outside of California and Maryland who weren’t particularly invested in the teams playing, still had plenty to focus on off the field. Social media erupted with shouts that Bane from The Dark Knight Rises was involved in the lights going out and that the loss of power was a glimpse into NBC’s "Revolution," where the future is void of electricity. Then there are the pricy commercials, which included spots for Oz the Great and Powerful, World War Z, Iron Man 3 and Fast & Furious 6.

So besides the Baltimore Ravens, who was the big winner of Super Bowl XLVII? That would be Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Showing early in the game, the Fast 6 spot caused big buzz with huge pyrotechnics, insane auto stunts and a promise that all the familiar faces of the fifth installment will be back. Even the “dead” Michelle Rodriguez made a cameo. Johnson takes lead in the ad asking Vin Diesel and crew for help. How a newcomer, who didn’t play a part in the series until the fifth movie pushed his way to the front of the marquee, I don’t know. But the actor’s likeability definitely played a part.

Johnson also starred in a milk ad that saw the star rush through the streets in his pajamas searching for milk. He passes on all kinds of situations that need a hero, but once he has his milk he “goes to work” to save the planet. It’s a fun ad that was one of the night’s strongest, partly because of the star power. Ads also played frequently throughout the pre-game and post-game shows for Snitch, which opens later this month. The film doesn’t have the hype of Fast 6, but Johnson’s presence is featured prominently. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the actor can single-handedly draw large box-office receipts, but he can bring his commanding presence into any role. See Journey 2: The Mysterious Island for an example of his control over the cameras.



The Rock has been a certified action star for a while now, but never has his status been showcased on such a large scale. It is apparent movie studios and companies entrust their reputation on showcasing a guy who got his start as a professional wrestler. Oh and did I mention The Rock became the WWE champion at “WWE Royal Rumble” a week before his Super Bowl ads aired? I guess we smell what The Rock is cooking, success.

In Defense of Twilight... No, Seriously

So here we are. I can’t believe it’s over. After five films and four books, one of the most hotly debated franchises ever is finished. “Twilight” has been incredibly popular, but has always faced questions. People love it, people hate it. It’s sometimes unfairly compared to “Harry Potter” and “The Hunger Games” because of demographic crossover and the fact that the movies are all based on popular books. But the series must be given credit where it’s due. While JK Rowling and her “Harry Potter” books can be credited with a young reader revolution, “Twilight” expanded that base among young females, bringing about a whole new genre. Barnes and Noble shoppers may notice the relatively new “teen paranormal romance” section. These are all books that draw from “Twilight.” “Twilight,” the poorly written series, which borrows a lot from “True Blood” and spends time telling young female readers they should change to be like the one they love. Yes, that one.

I obviously don’t have an infatuated interest in the series like the countless fans do. In fact, I think a good amount of the material in the books and movies is poorly done. But I do understand the appeal of escapist fantasy books and films. This is what author Stephenie Meyer does best. Creating an explanation for how vampires could exist right under our noses is something authors have been doing for a long time. But to do it in a (relatively) family friendly way, to ground it with a Romeo and Juliet like forbidden love was a multi-million dollar decision. But getting to know the five vampires living in Forks wasn’t enough. Meyer created a whole world and needed to prove it. The Volturi, rival covens, Carlisle’s accounts of vampire history, make the world bigger than the books. While “The Hunger Games” books are better written, their ambiguous back story is where they fall short of “Twilight.”

When Summit Entertainment was bought By Lions Gate earlier this year, Lions Gate CEO Jon Feltheimer mentioned that the series may continue after the release of the final adapted film. This idea has gained a bit of traction as the cast answered questions about it during their lengthy press tour for Breaking Dawn Part II. We don’t have any solid evidence this will happen, but I’m actually more excited about this idea than the five initial films. I think getting away from Bella and Edward would give the franchise a breath of fresh air. If the films were to be original and not based on new Meyer novels, it gives screenwriters freedom they haven’t had before. The currently released films are forced to navigate awkward dialogue and one-liners that the readers have deemed memorable, but the screen dictates as being ill-fitting.

The cinematic legacy of the movies will ultimately be casting and writing that couldn’t live up to the scale presented in the aesthetic. But more importantly as a movie fan, it can be appreciated for the sold out midnight screenings and box office dominance. It’s no secret that it’s easier to get a male audience into a movie theater. But “Twilight” and its four sequels have solved the young female demographic, who have transferred seamlessly to” The Hunger Games” films. So before you blindly criticize “Twilight,” which I have been known to do, consider how much they’ve done for literature and film. Not too shabby.

Transformers 4: Say Hi to Your Mother for Me

If you want a perfect example of how public perception can change one’s mind about a movie, look no farther than the Transformers franchise. Yes, the second one, Revenge of the Fallen, didn’t make sense. But the Third one made up for it and the first one was a lot of fun. Yet for some reason when I think of Transformers my first thoughts are usually negative, which is weird because I like them.

But what does this matter because the series is over, right? Wrong. Michael Bay is returning to do a partial reboot of the franchise without Shia Labeouf. And now for the exciting part. Entertainment Weekly is reporting that Bay has confirmed that Mark Wahlberg will star in the upcoming Transformers 4. I imagine the movie will receive a subtitle at some point. Something like Transformers: Say Hi to Your Mother for Me. But no matter what the title, this is exciting news. It reveals that the story won’t follow teenagers again, which has been done before. Instead we get an actor who has done action and done it in both critically acclaimed settings (The Departed, The Fighter) and in blockbusters (Planet of the Apes, The Italian Job).

I’d like to see the franchise go back to the “robots in disguise” theme from the first movie instead of trying to outdo the scale of the sequels. It’s clear that less is more when it comes to the number of combatants in a rock ‘em sock ‘em robots kind of franchise like this. As you can see from the accompanying photo, a new logo for the film has also been released, which combines the 4 and the mark of the Deceptions, the film’s villains for those non-fans who are reading.

It looks pretty cool, but I don’t think we’ve been shown enough to get too excited about the movie yet. The Happening tells us that Wahlberg can’t save a stupid movie from being stupid. So I send this message to any surviving Transformers writers taking refuge among the stars. We are here. We are waiting. Get it? That’s what Optimus Prime says at the end of the first one, but directed to other Transformers… Boy, I’m clever.

Marvel Makes Announcements Left and Right

It seems like any entertainment rumors or news items this week just don’t seem that important compared to the mammoth announcement of new Star Wars films coming our way, but the Marvel machine, which spans multiple studios, keeps chugging along regaining our attention. Three new items have come to light that brought me out of my Star Wars coma.

The Iron Trailer

Marvel Studios have begun phase two of their genre defining Avengers Initiative that was pulled off so perfectly during the last few years. We now have the first trailer for Iron Man 3. I must admit that while I’ve enjoyed the first two installments, plus the character’s involvement in The Avengers, I’m always less excited for Tony Stark than I am other Marvel commodities. This probably stems from my indifference toward the character in the comics. But this trailer has bucked that trend.

The fact that all three Iron Man films feature Academy Award winning actors as the lead villain, Jeff Bridges, Mickey Rourke and now Ben Kingsley, has me realizing how important these films are to the comic book film genre. Kingsley plays The Mandarin in the new one, a character long overdue to make his big screen debut. Apparently his origins have changed for the film, but count me intrigued. Watch the trailer for yourself. It looks pretty intense.



Sing-Along

The year was 2003 and the comic book world was raving about X2 and the further possibilities for the X-Men world. But director Bryan Singer decided to try his hand at Superman Returns rather than return for the third film in the trilogy. The subsequent film X3: X-Men United was successful, but it brought the saga to a standstill. Now we have Wolverine spin-off films and the smaller scale reboot X-Men First Class. Well guess what folks, Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that Singer will direct the First Class sequel Days of the Future Past.

Comic book fans will know the possibilities for such a title. It presents a chaotic future and the possibility to unite characters from the original trilogy and First Class. The fact that Fox has decided to bring in a director who has a report with the likes of Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen is very interesting. My guess is that McKellen and Halle Berry wouldn’t return since Berry almost opted out of X3 and McKellen needed some big convincing to return to his other franchise, The Hobbit. But Stewart has expressed interest in the past and Jackman has always been vocal with his love of playing Wolverine. It would be great to see the X-Men timelines interact.

It’s Electric

Variety is reporting that Jamie Foxx is in early talks to play Electro in the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man. Wow. The rumor regarding Electro being the film’s primary villain has been around for a little while, but the Academy Award winner’s involvement is new, fueled by a tweet this week claiming he was Electro for Halloween. Many eagle eyed fans have pointed out that the scene at the end of TASM has Dr. Connors speaking to a shadowy figure accompanied by lightning. Was that Electro? Maybe. Or maybe the lightning was just for dramatic effect to accompany Norman Osborne, Mysterio, The Shocker, or a number of other characters.

Foxx fits really well in this franchise. He’s a good actor who will have no problem making the long living character his own. Plus it’s a smart move to keep digging into the rogues gallery rather than rebooting villains. But I imagine Osborne/ The Green Goblin will show up pretty soon.

So there you have it. Marvel on all cylinders. It looks like X-Men is trying to bridge gaps to make Avengers-like continuity and Spider-Man just gets cooler with every rumor. We’ll keep an eye for more Marvel news.

Disney Buys Star Wars

In terms of movie news, it doesn’t get much bigger than Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm Ltd. and the rights to Star Wars. As for a reaction from the purchase, I don’t really know what mine is. My initial concern was that George Lucas was forced out of the brand he built. Not so. He was in on the deal and will stay on as a consultant. Then I figured that this wouldn’t make a difference since the Star Wars world mainly consists of cartoons, books and merchandise these days. Wrong again! A treatment has been completed for Episode VII, which will apparently take place after the events of Return of the Jedi. This will lead to Episodes VIII and IX all without Lucas directing.

While I usually love making hypothetical lists in situations like this, I currently have no idea which way this trilogy will head. It’s already been said that the next movie won’t be based on a book, comic book or video game that’s already been written. So while the buzz on the internet questions this new series’ ability to fit into the packed timeline of the books, I think that the super “fans” will likely be disappointed.

The prequels were able to take characters the audience had already seen or heard about and put them into a storyline that was relatively well known. Obviously Anakin was going to become Darth Vader, the Jedi would be killed off and the Republic would become the Empire. I anticipate the new trilogy doing something like that. So, familiar characters should appear. Obviously C-3PO and R2-D2 will be there, but some Rebels or even some combination of the big three (Luke, Leia and Han) would be great. It never made sense to me that people complained that the prequels were inaccurate to the timeline. Since Star Wars was first a movie, that medium is the infallible one in my mind. Just like how a Spider-Man story-arc in comic book form is the real story holding more weight than the movies.

But no matter how this plays out there will be masses who bash the films for not being a shot for shot remake of The Empire Strikes Back. But fans like me will cling to this news because it means more midnight premieres, cryptic trailers for deciphering, and cross-over promotions at the grocery store. Okay maybe we don’t need the Star Wars pop-tarts, but I’ll buy them anyway.

**Update** George Lucas has confirmed that the new film will feature Jar Jar Binks as the main character.

**2nd Update** I completely made up the last update.

Make Your Own Halloween Movie Marathon

To give my Halloween movie list would be a bit unnecessary since everyone has different tastes and different favorites. But I’ve seen enough movies to know that there’s more to Halloween than watching Hocus Pocus on cable. Follow our formula to make your own Halloween movie marathon.

+1 Horror

I may not be the biggest fan of the genre, but many are and it would be a crime against the movie going public if I left these films out. I would suggest going with something that features an inherent Halloween concept or character. I choose the smart and edgy zombies from 28 Days Later. The scares are divided into tolerable bursts that make it more reasonable for those with different scare tolerances.

+1 Franchise

If you want to watch a full franchise, I suggest you give yourself more than one day. Trying to jam in too many movies makes the marathon a chore. This is another place for the horror fans to throw in their favorite Saw or Paranormal Activity film, but it also means you can watch something like Twilight. My suggestion is the standout Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This installment is filled with pumpkins, crows, Dementors and an overall look that suggests Hogwarts exists in perpetual autumn.

+1 Tim Burton

One live action Tim Burton film will put the filmmakers stamp on your marathon. He definitely deserves recognition too considering most of his movies fit the season perfectly. You have the option to go old school with Beetlejuice or Edward Scissorhands, though my suggestions come a few years later. Sleepy Hollow is a classic and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a good one if you don’t mind the singing.

+1 Animated

It’s amazing how many Halloween appropriate animated movies are out now. The past few months have seen three hit the theaters. Including one on your list gives some variety to your October and allows younger family members to join you for a few hours. With that being said, many of these movies are shorter than 90 minutes so they’ll put a relatively small dent in your day. I suggest expanding your Burton viewing with The Nightmare Before Christmas or The Corpse Bride. But Coraline will more than suffice if you want to move in a different direction.

+1 Outside the Box

Many of the films so far are ones you could have thought of yourself. But it’s definitely worth it to try and dig up one that your friends/ family haven’t considered. This could be a sci-fi/fantasy movie or a comedy. My suggestion is the first two features in the “Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy” Shaun of The Dead and Hot Fuzz. Hot Fuzz in particular may not seem to fit, but watch it during this time of year and you’ll find it’s actually perfect.

+1 New Film

Whether you head to the theater for a new release or rent one from earlier in the year, it makes sense to continue adding something new so your Halloween doesn’t get repetitive. This year had ParaNorman, Hotel Transylvania and Frankenweenie in addition to some horror selections. Though my suggestions come from Red Box or Netflix. Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows is a light option and the Daniel Radcliffe vehicle The Woman in Black for those looking for a fright.

What are your favorite Halloween movies?