December Movie Preview!

December Movie Preview!!

    So, it's December and the year is almost up.  I'm a little late, cause where did the time go.  What a year it has been for movies.  I have seen some amazing films and I have seen some stinky movies!!

   Last month, was another good month for films.  Oscar season is here and its getting excited.  So, shall we begin?


December 5, 2014:
The Pyramid, Top Five, Dying of the Light, Wild, Pioneer.

Excitement: 2.5 
Reason: This looks like the movie "Tracks"  from a few months back.  Though Reese Witherspoon looks like she is trying for an Oscar nod.  

December 12, 2014:
Exodus:God's and Kings,  Inherent Vice, After the Fall

Excitement: 3.5
Reason:  I'll be honest with you here, I made bet with my friend that I would not watch a single trailer about this movie.  So far so good anyway.  All I know is that it's based a book (that I have not read)  Also that Joaquin Phoenix looks amazing in the only picture I have seen from this film.  Going in blind.

Excitement: 2.5 
Reason: I'm a little nervous about this movie for the simple fact that I didn't like "Noah".  Also, does anyone think that Christian Bale is playing Moses Batman Connor in this movie.  Though Joel Edgerton looks awesome in this.

December 17, 2014:
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Excitement: 4
Reason: The final Hobbit movie and final journey to Middle Earth.  This has all the makings of having a grand conclusion to this world that has been so gloriously crafted by Peter Jackson.  This has been one of my most anticipated movies of the year.  I'm ready to take my final journey!

December 19, 2014:
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb, Annie, The Gambler, Mr. Turner

Excitement: 3
Reason:  Mark Wahlberg looks great in this film.  But John Goodman looks even better.  I'm very intrigued about this film.

Excitement: 2

Reason:  The first musical of the month.  It will be interesting to see how this remake will turn out.  I wonder if Jamie Fox will start rapping in this???

Excitement: 1

Reason:  Well, the one high note from this tired franchise is that Rebel Wilson joins the cast.  But there is also a sad note too.  This is one of Robin Williams final films. 

December 24, 2014:

Two Days One Night

December 25, 2014:
Into the Woods, Unbroken, The Interview, Big Eyes, Selma, American Sniper

Excitement: 4
Reason:  When I first watched the trailer, I was stunned.  This will be nominated for sure at the Oscars.  Angelina Jolie is become a pretty dang good director.

Excitement: 3.5 

Reason:  Bradley Cooper looks like he might be in Oscar territory with this role.  This movie looks like it might be a tough movie to watch about the choices we make in war.  We shall see.

Excitement: 3

Reason: I really like this cast.  I know, its the second musical of the month, but it still looks like it has something to offer.  Plus, I'm hoping that the Star Wars trailer gets the wide release for this movie.  Please Disney!!! 

Excitement: 2.5

Reason:  When I first heard that they were making this, I rolled my eyes and said to myself, "I rather see Pineapple Express 2"  But with each trailer, it gets funnier and funnier each time.  "We're going to North Korea!!!"

December 31, 2014:

A Most Violent Year, Leviafan

Excitement: 3.5

Reason:  It has one of my favorite actresses in it, Jessica Chastain!  Based in New York City in the winter of 1981, statistically the most violent year in America.  Oscar Isaac, might be an Oscar candidate too.

My Top Five Most Anticipated Movies of the Month:

1. The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies

2. Unbroken

3. Inherent Vice

4. American Sniper

5. A Most Violent Year

Summary of the Previous Month:

Last Month was really interesting.  It had some epic films and disappointments too.  Here is my rankings for what I witnesses!

1. Whiplash

2. Interstellar

3. The Theory of Everything

4. Big Hero 6

5. Horrible Bosses 2

6. Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1

And my favorite performances...

1. J.K. Simmons (Whiplash)

2. Miles Teller (Whiplash)

3. Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything)

4. Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything)

5. Jenifer Aniston (Horrible Bosses 2)

Also I watched some movies on DVD

1. Psycho (1960)

2. Red Dragon (2002)

3. How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

4. Wreck it Ralph (2012)

5. Dallas Buyers Clubs (2013)

But my movie of the month goes to...

What did you see?  What do you want to see?  Do you agree with my list?

       Thank you again for reading and I hope you have fun at the movies!

Adam

The Great Gatsby (2013) Review

Directed by

Baz Luhrmann

Let me start out by saying this was my first experience with Gatsby in any way, shape, or form.  I never read the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald book, never saw Robert Redford play the iconic character or any other movie version.  I didn't even have any idea what the plot was.  I came into this film knowing that there was a mysterious guy named Gatsby, and apparently he's a big deal.  That was about it.  This larger than life portrayal of the classic story was a great way to get immersed in the world of The Great Gatsby.

Baz Luhrmann creates a larger than life setting for this simple story of love, loss, and the pursuit of happiness.  Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) starts the movie recalling a summer that forever changed his life; his summer with Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio).  We see everything through Carraway's eyes from the larger than life status of Gatsby to the terrible unhappiness of his cousin Daisy (Carey Mulligan) at the hands of her husband Tom (Joel Edgerton).  It soon is revealed that Gatsby's history with Daisy haunts him in a way that only she can satisfy his pursuit of happiness.

This is Luhrmann's fifth feature film, however only the second one I have seen after Moulin Rouge!.  I can see many similarities between these two films.  Both films have this great grand setting to tell what turns out to be a very simple human story.  In Gatsby, the world of 1920's New York becomes the larger than life city it truly was in the Roaring 20's.  The parties were outrageous, the rich got richer, and the world was in an environment of excess.  The private yet legendarily popular persona of Gatsby only becomes more vivid and real the bigger the world around him gets.  Gatsby can exist in that world.  However, as you discover more about Gatsby and Daisy, you realize that through this grandiose world the plot is very simple and human.  The scale of the film I think makes the story more interesting when it strips back all its layers so you can see the heart at the center of it all.  The one complaint I have in Luhrmann's execution is the use of the modern music in the 1920's setting.  It is just distracting to hear Jay-Z blaring through the speakers as everything around screams 100 years earlier.  Now the music is used so sparingly and the right times as to not kill the story, but it is still distracting when it does happen.

After finally being exposed to this iconic story and the iconic titular character, I could not see anyone better suited to play Gatsby than Leo.  He is Gatsby in every way; the mystery, the glamour, the wounded, the passionate.  I can't think of another actor that could have done this role so much justice.  The rest of the cast was in top form as well in characters perfect for them, especially Mulligan and Edgerton.  If there was one character that didn't quite work, it was Tobey Maguire's Carraway.  Tobey Maguire is such a weird actor that doesn't seem to fit perfectly in any role besides Peter Parker (and that is debatable).  This role was no exception for him, but it was about as good as Maguire can be.  It seemed to be very similar to his role in The Cider House Rules where he was in the center of a story that was never really about him.  He becomes a main character whose role is to be the passive observer.  Because I had recognized this connection that he had played this role before, his performance didn't bother me quite as much as it may have bothered others.

Above all else, this brilliant story shone through and proved why it has become such an iconic plot.  The story is fascinating as it tells of a man trying to recapture a moment in time.  This story could have been told in a much more Todd-friendly fashion by only involving four actors and taking place in a single room over the 90 minute movie.  However, the scope and scale adds so much to the story as it allows Gatsby to be such a public celebrity yet a private mystery.  This dichotomy allows Gatsby to be one of the most fascinating and iconic characters of all time, and thanks to Luhrmann and DiCaprio, the legend of Gatsby lives on for a new generation.

Rating: 3.5 stars