Showing posts with label film. Show all posts
Showing posts with label film. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

To a trilogy, and beyond!

Disney studios has unveiled a lineup of 10 new animated films that will open within the next four years, the majority of which will be shown in digital 3-D.

Most notable on the list? Another installment of "Toy Story"--yessss! The entire cast (Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, etc.) will be back for the third film, which features main character Andy all grown up and moving on to the college life.

The robot love story "Wall E" will hit theaters at the end of June. I saw the trailer for this, and while the storyline made no sense to me, I'd go see it because that robot is freaking adorable.

The lineup will also feature a sequel to "Cars" and "Bolt," which will star John Travolta as the voice of a dog with super powers and Miley Cyrus as his owner. To see more of the upcoming films, click here.

Saturday, January 5, 2008

I am a sacred vessel--all you got in your stomach is Taco Bell.

I don't get out to the movies as often as I'd like, but last night, I was fortunate enough to catch Jason Reitman's new indie-like, "Juno." [click to watch trailer]

In a nutshell: Juno, a 16-year-old girl who gets pregnant by her nerdy best friend, searches for a suitable couple to adopt the child while dealing with her high school peers and semi-dysfunctional family.

Might not sound like a standout film, but it totally is.

The acting performances are all on-point, and I'm sure Ellen Page ("Juno") is going to blow up as a huge star in no time; she's like a young Janine Garofalo. Michael Cera, whom you may remember from "Superbad," isn't in the movie as much as you'd might think, but I laughed incredibly hard anytime Bleeker said anything (but that's because I'm in love with all things awkward). Jennifer Garner, who plays Vanessa, really makes you feel her pain as a mother who can't conceive and is struggling for the chance to be a mother with her husband, Mark, played by Jason Bateman.

This is a non-spoilers review, so I'll withhold all ending details, but the movie keeps your interest the entire time without fail. It's a dark comedy feel, mixed with some Napoleon Dynamite/Superbad-ness, but has also got a slightly heavy and emotional side when dealing with adoption and love of all kinds (yeah, I cried for the last 20 minutes of the movie after laughing for the first 75).

While the dialogue is a little off-putting at first (lots of abbreviations and trend-speak), you adapt after about five minutes and it becomes entertaining, brassy, cheeky, laughable, etc. etc. etc. "Can't we just like kick this old school. You know, like I stick the baby in a basket, send it your way, like Moses and the reeds?" [click to read quotes from "Juno"]

The soundtrack is also noteworthy--little odd, really catchy and the song that Bleeker and Juno sing at the end of the movie will undoubtedly become a huge iTunes download if enough people wise up and see this awesome movie.