[Trailer] The Sacrament
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Found footage films are still being made. Why?! Whenever I hear of a new found footage horror/thriller, I let out a hard groan. I understand how the intrinsic qualities of the found footage medium suits the horror genre, but damn, I would love to see somebody take the played-out format and create a different type of story that doesn't involve supernatural elements. Thus ends my short rant on found footage films.
The Sacrament is yet another found footage horror film. However it comes from the mind and vision of Ti West (V/H/S) and produced/presented by Eli Roth (Hostel). The film's premise is about a VICE crew investigating the disappearance of their friend's missing sister. Their journey brings them to an unknown location outside of the United States known as Eden Parish where more than a hundred people live as part of a religious community (re: cult). However, like all similar stories, the cult and its leader aren't all that they appear to be.
Festival reviews of The Sacrament were mixed, and while I don't foresee the film doing anything different with the format that'll wow me the same way Paranormal Activity and Chronicle did, I won't exactly write it off just yet. The Sacrament will be available on iTunes and On Demand on May 1st, with a theatrical release on June 6th.
[via IGN]
[Review] Cheap Thrills
How far would you go to take care of your family, for a quick buck that could provide financial stability? Desperate times call for desperate measures, and Cheap Thrills is a film about desperation in two men. Framed as a "comedy thriller," E.L. Katz's film debut is a pulpy, late-night thriller that will attain a cult following. However, will that sense of appeal attract the average moviegoer? Read on and find out.
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Cheap Thrills
Director: E.L. Katz
Rating: N/A
Release Date: February 21, 2014 (Movies on Demand), March 21, 2014 (Limited)
Craig (Pat Healy) is an aspiring writer facing financial troubles with his wife and young son. After finding an eviction notice and being laid off from his auto shop job, he decides to drown his sorrows at a local bar. There, he is reunited with an estranged old friend, Vince (Ethan Embry). As they catch up, they attract the attention of a married couple, Colin (David Koechner) and Violet (Sara Paxton). The couple offer low-risk dares to Craig and Vince for a few hundreds of dollars, but as the night goes on, the dares become riskier... and the money greater. Exactly how far would the two old friends go for the promise of a new life?
The four characters play specific archetypes that help move the film along. Craig is the desperate lead audiences hope to empathize with; Vince is the down on his luck, selfish ne'er do well; Colin is the abundantly rich instigator; Violet is the mysterious, silent fourth party. However, unlike other thrillers that lack any real empathy or humanity, each character displays some level of decency. For example, while Colin is the main proprietor pushing Craig and Vince to embarrass and demoralize themselves (and each other), he still has a set moral line that he won't cross. At the same time, as the bets become larger, Craig and Vince's levels of morality are slowly stripped away. The real question, then, is the money enough to lose yourself and your humanity?
Unfortunately, Cheap Thrills doesn't answer this question. While there are shallow hints at the cost of Craig and Vince's sacrifices, it's never fully analyzed. As a pulp thriller, this is somewhat acceptable; it would just have added an extra level of depth to a film that, for better or worse, is perfectly summarized by its own title - Cheap Thrills is nothing more than that. With such a promising premise, the film falls flat and doesn't live up to its potential.
One of the largest reasons for the film falling short is the film's tone. Even though it's branded as a "comedy thriller" and there are a few light-hearted moments, any sense of comedy is gone by the wayside. Rather, the film is built up with more and more exploitative scenes of desperation, culminating in a really dark ending. While this will attract horror fans, it didn't work for me. If the tone were more in line with a dark satire or had something "extra," I think I would have been more receptive to the film.
As I insinuated earlier, Cheap Thrills is nothing more than its title. There will be scenes that'll make you cringe, and horror/thriller/gore fans will love them. However, if you're looking for something with much more substance, you'll be better suited looking elsewhere.
New Havoc-Wreaking Godzilla Poster
It's been awhile since the second trailer for the Godzilla reboot was released back in December, and while information has been light on director Gareth Edwards' reboot of the popular kaiju/monster movie franchise, expectations are still high for the film. Earlier today, a new poster was released showcasing all of the terror and havoc the Japanese monster wreaked upon a city.
Honestly, this is a light post, because there's only so much that can be said about a new poster release without diving deep into speculative analysis. Still, the poster is pretty amazing, with the focus rightfully put on Godzilla itself and not on any of the human cast, despite the large, talented names attached, such as Aaron Taylor-Johnson (The Avengers: Age of Ultron), Ken Watanabe (Inception), Elizabeth Olsen (The Avengers: Age of Ultron), and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad).
We're less than three months away from Godzilla's theatrical release. Are you ready?
[Video] Meet the Guardians of the Galaxy
Guardians of the Galaxy is at the top of my most-anticipated films of 2014 list, and with good reason. Not only does it represent a new frontier for Marvel and Disney, both in terms of scope and tone, but it also represents the comic book company's biggest cinematic risk since they properly entered the film industry with Iron Man. Simply put, while Marvel is setting its eyes on Guardians of the Galaxy being its next major Marvel Studios property, the characters and story aren't very well-known to both casual fans and comic book diehards alike.
Instead of keeping potential fans in the dark, Marvel has released a series of short videos that feature the film's primary actors introducing their characters, with some of the videos featuring even more footage not seen in the film's first trailer that released earlier this week. While the Guardians of the Galaxy may not be a household name on the same level as The Avengers, I believe that they'll definitely attain their own popularity come the film's release this August. You can also see the film's first official poster below, as well.
Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper)
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Groot (Vin Diesel)
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Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista)
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Gamora (Zoe Saldana)
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Star Lord (Chris Pratt)
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[Trailer] Tammy
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Melissa McCarthy always to be so hit or miss with me. For example, her performance on Bridesmaids was hilarious, but I absolutely despised Identity Thief. However, she is a girl of the Chicagoland area, and her overall good natured vibe keeps me hoping she will do more work.
The most recent film she is to star in will be one called Tammy. The description states that a young woman heads out on the road with her alcoholic grandmother after losing her job and discovering that her husband has been cheating on her.
Ben Falcone, the husband of McCarthy, directed the upcoming film. However, the writing of it was a duo collaboration between the husband and wife, and both make numerous appearances in each others' works. Additionally featured throughout the film will be Susan Sarandon, Dan Aykroyd, and a few other buzz-worthy names.
Tammy will hopefully bring some good, hard laughs when it releases in theaters on July 2, 2014.
Rumors: Jamie Bell And Kate Mara To Join Fantastic Four
Fox's Fantastic Four reboot has been rumored and pressed for info more than most other superhero movies, but it seems that the casting speculations are the closest they have ever been to being official.
According to Variety, Kate Mara just closed a deal to play Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman. Miles Teller seems to be the star withholding the rumors for awhile, and he finally has an offer from Fox to play Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic. Jamie Bell will be Ben Grimm/The Thing, but no offer has been made yet. Michael B. Jordan has been attached to the project for awhile now to play Johnny Storm/The Human Torch. Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan actually have a film out right now called That Awkward Moment.
While that work of theirs hasn't been doing so well critically, both have had brilliant performances recently with Teller in The Spectacular Now and Jordan in Fruitvale Station. The film is based on the Ultimate Fantastic Four comic books. It will focus around the lives of the heroes when they are younger. Josh Trank will be the director of the film. Fox's next goal in the next few weeks is to find someone to play the villain. The reboot is to be released June 19, 2015.
[via Variety]
American Psycho's Bret Easton Ellis Writes Movie For Kanye West
Writer of the popular novel American Psycho Bret Easton Ellis seems to have an appreciation for the obscure, but a recent collaboration request from awhile back was something that he finally considered. According to Ellis, Kanye West has been approaching the writer more than a few times to write up a screenplay for him.
The seemingly odd film partnership came up in Ellis's recent interview with Vice magazine.
"[Kanye] came and asked me to write the film. I didn’t want to at first. Then I listened to Yeezus. It was early summer last year and I was driving in my car. He’d given me an advance copy, and I thought, regardless of whether I’m right for this project, I want to work with whoever made this. So fuck it, I said yes. And that’s how it happened. That was seven or eight months ago. We’ll see what happens."
Bret Easton Ellis and Kanye West may appear to be a random pairing. However, between Kanye's stunts with the media and Ellis's infamous creation of a psychopath that everyone enjoys, I think that the collaboration between these two controversially creative men could quite possibly have some potential as long as Kanye doesn't repeat his semi-awful impromptu performance at the end of Anchorman 2.
The date for the film has yet to be set. When asked about the production of the project, Ellis responded, "It’s in Kanye Land, and that’s subject to a whole other time frame."
[via /Film]
[Documentary] Instafame
Internet fame is such a mixed bag of "success." Is it even fair to encapsulate internet fame as being "successful"? Many so-called internet celebrities are known for arbitrary reasons, whether they're super attractive or know the right people or any stupid reason. Some legitimately have earned that fame, such as the many musicians and artists that have found their following through their interactions online.
One such platform used to attain internet fame is Instagram. Since the social network platform/application launched back in October 10th, it has become a formidable platform for users to share their amateur photos, selfies, food, you name it. After Facebook acquired the business in 2012, the platform has seen an enormous growth, both in users and visibility. As a pro-Instagram lot, we give so called "Instagrammers" their due with our "IG Weekly" posts, sharing the spotlight on those who have taken to the service in creative, inspiring ways.
In a documentary entitled Instafame, a "strategic planning consultancy" called Sylvain Labs centered on the 15-year-old Shawn Megira, an Instagram user with more than 81,000 followers. By focusing on and following him, they attempt to analyze what it is about this so-called "Instafame" that drives teenagers, and whether it can be seen as a true measure of success. However, by doing so, they lose sight of their main goal: analyzing what exactly it is that brings this so-called fame. What did Megira do to attain so many followers, to be followed when out in public, to amass a purported "fan page" in his honor?
They pose an interesting thesis, but don't ultimately delve into whether Megira's "instafame" was gained by merit or circumstance. Without it, all of the speculation about how online fame affects teenagers and their personal dreams and goals is a bit moot. Nevertheless, the documentary serves a purpose by exploring this rising level of "success" that seemingly anybody can attain. If you have 12 minutes to spare, it won't be wasted watching Instafame.
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