THE GENTLEMEN Review

Given my 1987 born ass has always been a fan of writer/director Guy Ritchie's (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, RocknRolla) post-Tarantino style that pummels you with said style until you are essentially forced by submission into appreciating it one wouldn't be wrong in recognizing that Ritchie has strayed from that which made him a star in the late nineties/early aughts as his most recent, studio-centric efforts (King Arthur and Aladdin) have not only leaned toward the more conventional in their style, but also in their storytelling. 2015's The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was our first glimpse at the next step in Ritchie's evolution as it was meant to be (no, I didn't see Revolver, but have heard terrible, terrible things) delivering an action/spy thriller very much in line with the attitude of his earlier work while possessing a more refined, more finessed outward style. If the Robert Downey Jr./Jude Law Sherlock Holmes films were the apex of early Ritchie style with a big studio mentality then The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was Ritchie evolving before our eyes and taking it a couple of steps further than he needed to just to ensure us he was in fact maturing. With his return to form as it were though, Ritchie's The Gentlemen finds the filmmaker striking the best balance yet between his past and his contemporary status among his contemporaries. A more subdued and self-aware English gangster romp than his first few features, The Gentlemen compiles many of Ritchie's most recognizable tropes including classic English geezer names and clever overlapping narratives, but most importantly it retains the sense of fun those early films were regarded for as The Gentlemen's pomp and wit are at full exposure more so in the characters than they are anything having to do with the double-crossing, drug-dealing plot we've seen and heard countless times before.

Red-Band Trailer for THE BEACH BUM Starring Matthew McConaughey

Neon, the distribution house who has produced recent favorites such as I, Tonya, Vox Lux, and Three Identical Strangers continues its run of making real competition for prominent indie studios like A24 with what might possibly be the most outrageous film we see all year. While the studio released a first look at the film a couple of months ago they have now released a second, red-band trailer for the film allowing it to seemingly market itself in its truest and most liberated fashion. Writer/director Harmony Korine‘s comedy starring Matthew McConaughey as a “rebellious rogue” named Moondog living large, mostly high, and completely by his own rules in Miami is about as much as one can derive the movie is about from either trailer though. What makes the lack of any insight about the film in terms of its objective or what it hopes to relay is the sheer amount character, mood, and tone put forth in the images we have seen thus far. While McConaughey's stock has certainly taken a dive over the last few years post-Oscar win (last weekend's Serenity made for the star's sixth straight critical and commercial live-action flop following The Sea of Trees, Free State of Jones, Gold, The Dark Tower, and White Boy Rick as even his two animated films, Sing and Kubo and the Two Strings, either didn't perform critically or commercially), but with that in mind the guy is do for a win and if anything might bring him out of a funk-at least critically-it's that of a collaboration with Korine. The filmmaker originally made his name by writing the 1995's controversial Kids, the NC-17 drama that featured Chloë Sevigny and Rosario Dawson in their film debuts, but went on to wider acclaim after writing and directing 2012’s Spring Breakers and as this will be Korine's follow-up there is definitely a certain amount of anticipation-let's just home the filmmaker isn't peddling the same themes here as the setting, color palette, and character traits all share more than a little in common. The Beach Bum also stars Isla Fisher, Zac Efron, Snoop Dogg, Martin Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Jimmy Buffett, Stefania LaVie Owen, and hits theaters on March 22nd after making its world premiere at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival.

THE DARK TOWER Review

It seems like there have been rumblings of a Dark Tower adaptation for as long as my memory will allow me to recall, but never did it actually seem as if a feature film version of the material would make its way to the big screen. Well, here we are, the summer movie season of 2017 winding down and the feature film version of what is said to be Stephen King's magnum opus of sorts, his most expansive series to date which now consists of eight novels, 4,250 pages, and introduces concepts and characters from King's many other works that come into play as the series progresses has arrived. The first volume in the The Dark Tower series, subtitled The Gunslinger, was published in 1982 and comprised itself of five short stories that had been published between 1978 and 1981 to which those stories have now been condensed down into a 95-minute, PG-13 would-be blockbuster that never takes off in the way it would seem it was always destined to. Rather, director Nikolaj Arcel's (A Royal Affair) tight, but exposition-heavy film suggests there is much mythology left to be explored, but for one reason or another it was decided the Cliff Notes version was the best way to go out of the gate so as to no doubt make the movie on the cheap and hopefully as accessible for the uninitiated as it would be pleasing to the fans who've been waiting on it for twenty-five years. Sure, the film makes sense in the way that point A leads to point B which inevitably leads to a CGI heavy point C, but never do we feel compelled by anything that's going on, invested in any of the characters taking part, nor-as one of those uninitiated members in the audience-do we care to see the series continue which one might think would have been the key to Sony finally ponying up and making a Dark Tower movie in a current world of shared cinematic universes. Truthfully though, it kind of fails to emphasize this factor at all. In many ways one wants to commend the studio for telling a more contained story rather than baiting viewers with tease after tease so that they have to come back for a sequel to see what they really wanted to see the first time around, but at the same time fans also want to see what they imagined while reading the source material come to life in a good movie and whether or not The Dark Tower is that is what's up for debate. The Dark Tower is not necessarily a bad movie, but it's not very good either. It's very much a middle of the road affair; not bad enough to hate, but not good enough to remember. Let's put it this way: the best thing you can say about The Dark Tower is that it's competent and the worst thing you can say is that it's uninspired.

First Trailer for THE DARK TOWER

Man, I really need to read more Stephen King. Given the upcoming IT re-make and the fact I've never seen the original miniseries (don't kill me) I feel like I have a lot of King territory to cover. All of that said, I have no idea what The Dark Tower is about or what all the hype is concerning, but I'm certainly interested. That said, this trailer is the first thing I've seen around the material and while I'm not sure I exactly understand why the intrigue is seemingly so great I am naturally interested to find out about this world, these characters, and the story that has captured the imagination of so many of King's readers. Hell, I have three months I may even try to knock out the source material beforehand if I have the time. So, how does this trailer look from the perspective of someone who has no attachment to said source material? Well, it looks fine. It definitely looks like a big-budget summer movie and the fact it gives Idris Elba a marquee role in a potential blockbuster franchise as well as potentially giving Matthew McConaughey one of his more interesting roles in a few years is worth the investment alone. Apparently there are eight novels in King's series and I suspect Sony is hoping this first film is a big enough hit that they might continue to make films and build a franchise around them especially given the studio is now sharing its most profitable property with Marvel and hasn't exactly found any other solid ground in the past few years. With Bond up for grabs this would seemingly only make The Dark Tower series more vital and a fairly large gamble for the studio. Still, what is different about this offering is the fact it will likely be an R-rated summer offering in the midst of PG-13 action adventures and animated blockbusters. The fact it does come from King also leads me to believe there will be a fair amount of horror involved-setting the expansive landscape that features the Gunslinger and the Man in Black apart even further. Here's to hoping filmmaker Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair) can use everything working for him to his advantage. The Dark Tower also stars Tom Taylor, Katheryn Winnick, Abbey Lee, Jackie Earle Haley, Dennis Haysbert, Fran Kranz, and opens on August 4th, 2017.

GOLD Review

Kenny Wells is a mess and that is pretty evident from the moment he appears on screen hoping to charm the curls right out of Bryce Dallas Howard's eighties frizzled hair, but even as he does this it's easy to tell there is no real thought behind his actions other than what the immediate rewards might be. This is key to understanding the type of mentality we'll be working with for the next two hours as Wells is a man who believes himself lucky to have been born into a family that started a mining company and who intends to carry it on even after the death of his father (Craig T. Nelson). Wells takes the idea from his father that they don't necessarily have to do this for a living as it's a crap shoot of a business, but instead pride themselves of getting to do this for a living. The question they're seemingly missing the answer to though, is the ever-present why? What are they doing this for? Seven years on after the passing of the elder Wells and Matthew McConaughey's Kenny has his men working out of a bar, trying to keep a lid on expenses, and coming up short in seemingly everything, but chiefly in keeping his family's business afloat. As a man who can't help but to try and survive for the next few weeks rather than the next twenty years Wells sees no other option other than to do whatever it takes to keep that business running. He is a man who puts a lot of stock in legacy in the way that he seems to inherently ask himself how proud his father would be were he to still be alive-would he be happy with what Kenny has done with their business? After the rather stirring opening and tone-setting title card fade away it becomes pretty clear that Kenny Wells is in a position neither his father nor his grandfather ever found themselves in. The guy is desperate to find backers for digs that no one believes in and that no one seems to believe will yield any results. Sure, Wells has responsibilities to his employees that are dedicated enough to work out of that aforementioned bar, to Howard's Kay who has stuck with him still and now works at that same bar as a waitress most of the time doubling as his secretary, but the biggest responsibility Kenny feels is clearly to that legacy he is set to taint. And so, Wells takes a chance, a risk-one that could fail just as easy as it could succeed, but one that perfectly encapsulates and sets the stage for how this protagonist McConaughey fully commits to will operate in the mostly entertaining circumstances Gold presents.   

First Trailer for GOLD Starring Matthew McConaughey

Fool's Gold this is not though Matthew McConaughey once again stars and the point of the story is to seek out a lost treasure. Gold really shouldn't be thought of as any type of relation to that 2008 rom-com though, as it marks the first film from writer/director Stephen Gaghan (Syriana) in over a decade. Having no idea what the film was about before seeing this initial trailer and only having McConaughey's choice to go bald atop his head as the main identifier I wasn't sure what to expect, but having now caught a glimpse of what Gaghan has in store for us I am certainly more intrigued. Telling the true story of the Bre-X Mineral Corporation mining scandal the film follows a struggling businessman who teams up with a hapless geologist to find gold in the Indonesian jungle. McConaughey looks to be in full Oscar-mode here as not only has he gone bald, but he's added a bit of a belly and just looks downright sweaty and smarmy throughout this entire clip. After seeing Hands of Stone last week and given he's part of the ensemble in the sure to be hit adaptation of The Girl on the Train later this fall I'm more interested in the career of Edgar Ramirez and what he might do in the future so it's good to see him alongside McConaughey and in a prestigious picture such as this. That said, Gaghan didn't have a hand in penning this screenplay as he did for his Oscar-winning Syriana and Traffic. Still, given this is only the director's third major motion picture one has to assume many of his tendencies and instincts to tell a story will align with what has provided a solid track record thus far. Hopefully, the script was so good already Gaghan didn't feel it needed polishing before taking it on. We can hope. Regardless, this trailer certainly sells the film well with the influence of Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone evident. Gold also stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Toby Kebbell, Rachael Taylor, Corey Stoll, Bill Camp, Bruce Greenwood, Stacy Keach, Adam LeFevre, Timothy Simons, Macon Blair, and opens wide on Christmas day.

KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS Review

Sometimes things just click. We've all seen instances where they don't. In fact, most movies seem like they could be examples of experiments that don't always pay off in the way the writers/directors/creative people hope they might, but this feels especially true when it comes to Laika productions. Coraline was a solid venture and a full on experience in the style of animation and kind of twisted tone of story that the production company would come to specialize in. With ParaNorman the studio would essentially excel at achieving what they set out to do. Complimenting the twisted and frightening elements of their storytelling with humorous characters and eccentric production design that was just quirky enough so as to not be legitimately scary. It was only with 2014's The Boxtrolls that the pieces felt as if they were all present and yet the final product didn't come together as those in charge of story and execution aspired it might. There were still elements that were visually stunning about the picture, but the script found trouble communicating its larger ideas with a premise that didn't hook audiences as well as the infinitely comforting ParaNorman did. This brings us to Kubo and the Two Strings and how Laika has more or less again found a balance of all these ambitions it desires to display both visually and story wise. It may not be a perfectly balanced package of all these ingredients, but as a whole Kubo is endlessly charming and to go one step further, wholly enchanting. Whether it be in the outstanding visuals that are abundantly creative at conveying the necessary story points of this folktale like narrative or the fully realized cast of characters that make stop motion animation feel more life-like than ever Kubo is a genuine treat. Why it is so hard to define or provide concrete reasoning as to why something works so well when all the pieces fall into place is simply by virtue of the fact it is more about the emotional reaction it stirs up in the viewer rather than anything analytical. Though Kubo has a few shortcomings in trying to clearly relay exactly what its story is trying to say as well as in the fact it didn't hit me with as much emotional heft as I expected given the first act of the film packs a tough punch it is still too beautiful and very much an achievement in visual storytelling that it would be a shame to hold too much against it.

FREE STATE OF JONES Review

It is difficult to know where to begin when discussing the new Matthew McConaughey film, Free State of Jones. The film encompasses such a large canvas spanning nearly fifteen years from the heart of the Civil War in 1862 up until 1876 illustrating how, despite the war being over, many people-especially freed black men and women-were still fighting battles every day. If Free State of Jones is anything it is an admirable piece of work, a beautiful disaster in some ways, but more than anything Free State of Jones doesn't seem to know what to do with or how best to convey all that it so strongly desires to say. Writer/director Gary Ross (Pleasantville, Seabiscuit, and the first Hunger Games film) has created a two and a half hour epic of sorts, but in the end it still feels as if the movie has more to say. This isn't a good thing and it certainly doesn't do the audience, who have already sat through that extensive run time, much consolation if not some satisfaction. In many ways, Free State of Jones should have been an HBO or FX miniseries that simultaneously chronicled the life of Newton Knight and how he seemingly lived for others as well as his family tree that came about after having children with Rachel (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), an African-American who was once a slave. That the feature film version of this story even attempts to go back and forth between the actions of Knight himself as well as eighty-five years into the future where one of his great grandchildren stands trial for being a small percentage African-American and is thus charged with breaking the law for marrying a Caucasian woman is nuts. Sure, the parallels between what Knight was fighting for in 1875 and what his descendants were still dealing with in the 1950's is effective and certainly makes a strong statement about how little has changed despite a considerable amount of time passing-making the main idea of the movie more relevant than ever today-there just isn't room for it here. Going from the midst of the Civil War to our protagonist hiding out in a swamp, to him building a community that forms the basis of his rebellion and eventual secession from the Confederacy, and then going even further into the continued struggles during the Reconstruction period Free State of Jones leaves itself no room to breathe. That said, because there is so much there is a lot of stuff to find interesting as well. It is almost the opposite of that mantra that goes, "It's not what's being said, but how it's said," as Free State of Jones is more focused on what's being said given how it's being said is something of a mess.

Movies I Wanna See Most: Summer 2016

It's that time of year again, the summer movie season is upon us. As always, this annual commencement of super hero blockbusters and action films galore with high budget comedies and low budget horrors both looking to break out in their respective genres begins with the first weekend in May. As you likely already know with the present media blitz attacking every screen you look at it will be the latest Marvel adventure that will be kicking off summer again this year, but there is a whole lot more to talk about and a whole lot you might not have heard of yet. It was actually pretty difficult to break down the release schedule this year into just ten films that I'm genuinely excited to see. There are several smaller, more non-traditional films including Me Before You, Jodie Foster's Money Monster, The Infiltrator starring Bryan Cranston and Swiss Army Man that I'm interested in, but maybe not necessarily excited for. There are also a few other sequels including Now You See Me 2, The Conjuring 2, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, and Finding Dory that in a weaker year might have made the cut. There are of course several other sequels hitting the multiplexes this summer, but while TMNT: Out of the Shadows and Star Trek Beyond seem fun enough they will hardly be revolutionary and I can't seem to muster much of anything for either Independence Day: Resurgence or Alice Through the Looking Glass. Horror pickings are fairly slim this year as outside the James Wan sequel we have Lights Out which he also produced. the third Purge flick, and the Blake Lively-led The Shallows. There will of course be those that look to cash in on brand recognition alone including Warcraft, The Legend of Tarzan, Ben-Hur, and Angry Birds all of which could go either way, but Angry Birds brings us to what is quickly becoming the most interesting discussion of summer 2016: animated movies. Beginning with that game adaptation in May the summer of 2016 will see six animated releases over the course of four months including the previously unmentioned Secret Life of Pets, Ice Age: Collision Course, the R-rated Sausage Party and Laika's latest, Kubo and the Two Strings. Some will be hits, others will go quietly into the dark, but the sheer amount of them along with potential comedy hits this summer make them the most potentially interesting stories this year. Needless to say, there will be plenty to see at the movies this summer and since we're talking about family films let's go ahead and jump into number ten...(segue's are weird)...

New Trailer for Laika's KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS

While I wasn't necessarily on the Coraline train, I jumped on the Laika bandwagon with 2012's ParaNorman and have been excited to see what more they have to offer ever since. That late August, but fully fall-inspired release was an experience I didn't see coming and that it took me by such pleasant surprise is one that I'll never forget and am eager to re-live each Halloween. I was somewhat disappointed in 2014's The Boxtrolls in that I didn't mind it, but ParaNorman was always going to be a tough act to follow and it seemed Boxtrolls couldn't even compete if it wanted to. That said, I'm very much looking forward to this years late August offering after getting an extended look at the gorgeous visuals in this latest trailer. The film tells of Kubo who lives a quiet, normal life in a small village until a spirit from the past turns his life upside down by re-igniting an age-old vendetta. This, of course, causes all sorts of havoc as gods and monsters chase Kubo who, in order to survive, must locate a magical suit of armor once worn by his late father, a legendary Samurai warrior. While the trailer is heavy on visual splendor we glean little of the actual plot and I really dig that. Laika and Focus Features are selling their product purely on the promise of an adventure unlike any other and the beautiful splendor of their combined stop motion and computer animation. The inventiveness looks to be notched up to eleven here and while Finding Dory, Zootopia, and The Secret Life of Pets all look and sound promising this may be the animated movie I'm most excited to see this year. Kubo and the Two Strings features the voice work of Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, Art Parkinson, Rooney Mara, George Takei, Ralph Fiennes, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Brenda Vaccaro and opens on August 19th, 2016.

First Trailer for FREE STATE OF JONES Starring Matthew McConaughey

In my most anticipated of 2016 article posted last week I placed writer/director Gary Ross's Free State of Jones at number eleven and so one can imagine how pleased I am to finally see some footage from the upcoming civil war drama. The film stars Matthew McConaughey as Newt Knight, a Southern farmer who led a rebellion against the Confederacy during the war. Knight's opposition to both slavery and secession, led the farmer and soldier to launch an uprising of poor white farmers that led Jones County, Mississippi to secede from the Confederacy, creating a "Free State of Jones." Knight's relationship and post-war marriage to a former slave, Rachel Knight (Consussion's Gugu Mbatha-Raw), effectively established the region's first mixed-race community. While the nearly three minute trailer more or less seems to give away large portions of the films story that same story is so compelling it is difficult to deter my anticipation for the full film. McConaughey looks to be in full McConaissance mode as he leads the film with the charisma and layers of depth that crafted his resurgence a few years ago. Visually, the film looks stirring and I have enough faith in Ross alone (whose directing credits outside the initial Hunger Games film include Seabiscuit and Pleasantville while he also penned the screenplay for Big) that both his screenplay and his final product will be worthy of attention no matter how much the promotional material tends to give away. That said, I'm more than eager to see how the final product turns out and can't wait to see what drew Ross to this material. Free State of Jones also stars Keri Russell, Mud's Jacob Lofland, Mahershala Ali, Room's Sean Bridgers, great character actor Gary Grubbs and opens on March 11, 2016.

TOP 10 OF 2014

For me, 2014 has been something of a transitional year. A year where my tastes have shifted and my ideas of what makes a lasting film have changed. I wouldn't say I'm necessarily more cynical, but obviously the fact I continue to see more and more films and build a larger pool of knowledge makes it tougher for each individual film to impress me more. That being said, I actually found it easier to craft a top ten list this year than ever before. I've pretty much seen everything I imagine might have a shot at making my list except for maybe Selma (which I won't see until January 7th), but at this point the only year-end awards bait films I'd even consider including in a top fifteen are the likes of Foxcatcher and American Sniper. After repeat viewings one of them might even crack the top ten, but as of right now I feel strongly about the films I've selected. What I've done differently this year is to begin to leverage expectations; I thought this might help the films be more impressive if I didn't go in expecting too much, but even with that state of mind many of them simply met expectations or felt more insignificant than substantial. I don't believe this has made me a snob or prude in any sense as I would still boldly place The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in my top fifteen of the year when it is clearly nothing more than a pure popcorn flick and on top of that, one most critics absolutely hated. For me, Marc Webb's super hero sequel was one of the most entertaining experiences I had at the movies this past year and one I can watch at any time without fearing boredom. My final top ten will likely come off a little more pedigreed given that introduction, but while me liking something such as Spider-Man may make you question my taste just know that I went into every film this year really wanting to like it and the ones that follow are the ones that surprised me with their quality or surpassed every expectation I held for it. Enjoy!

INTERSTELLAR Review

Where does one even begin? To describe a film as ambitious and overwhelming as director Christopher Nolan's latest is to take on as daunting a task as Nolan likely felt in making sure the science of his script was accurate. I don't know that anything I say in this review will perfectly capture the way I'm feeling about Interstellar because honestly, after three days of thinking, I'm still not sure I know exactly how I feel about it or what I think. I know that I was fascinated by it, I know that there is so much going on within it that I will need to see it again to feel I even somewhat understand it and I know that no matter how much I want to be able to say I either decisively adored or disliked the final product that kind of ruling won't come down until I've had multiple viewings and allowed plenty of time to pass. In this age of instant gratification where first weekends determine whether you are a success or failure, Interstellar offers an experience that demands to be contemplated, debated and seriously considered before ever giving anything close to a defiant verdict. I will admit to my initial reaction being that of pure awe while somewhat corrupted by the fact there were facets that didn't thrill me as much as others; sequences where the film felt it could have been trimmed or was a little too scatterbrained in contrast to the more precise scenes where Nolan is clearly in control of his spaceship. Ambition is key though and that is the one thing Nolan is never short of. Always pushing the limits, not only visually, but within the story, this time backed up by science that places the events of the film within the realm of real possibility. We are asked to make a few exceptions in how far we are willing to go with all we see being steeped in reality, but unlike some issues of the past Nolan and his screenwriter brother Jonathan have crafted dimensional characters that are able to keep the sentimentality in check. There is never a moment where the film regresses from not being one hundred percent about the actuality of the situation at hand and the facts that support it, but it is able to take into consideration what we cannot explain or fully understand and how that might indeed factor into what is best for the characters outcome. It is a genuine mix of heart and facts that meld together over the course of three hours leaving you bewildered, haunted, alarmed and mystified to the point you may not be able to swallow everything you just took in, but will certainly be able to appreciate the intent.

Movies I Wanna See Most: Fall 2014

I never much consider it, but I don't know that I could make a list of ten of my favorite films at this point in the year yet. I don't know if there have been enough, but I imagine I could pull some of those I really enjoyed but didn't necessarily come to think of as exceptional onto the list and be satisfied. I say this because as I began to put together my most anticipated list for this fall and winter I began to realize that if my hopes and excitement for each of these films pays off in the way I hope it does, this could just as well be a list of my favorite films of the year. That may seem a simple conclusion to draw given these are the ten films I'm most excited to see the remainder of the year, but what I mean to say is that I think the following films I'm most excited about have the potential to surpass anything I've already seen this year. Having done this a few years now though it becomes apparent there will always be a few of these films that ultimately don't move you or live up to the ambition their early marketing suggested. It always feels like a good majority of these films are still largely mysteries despite the fact the longest length of time between now and the last release on the list is four months.

New Trailer for Christopher Nolan's INTERSTELLAR

At the screening I attended of Godzilla last night I was almost as excited for the movie as I was the fact the new trailer for Chris Nolan's latest was attached. In that trailer we are taken just further than the teaser that was delivered last December took us. There is plenty of new footage here and the main focus of it is the relationship between Matthew McConaughey's Cooper and his son and daughter. The trailer gives away little in terms of plot, but plays up the idea the poster introduced last week with its tagline that reads "Mankind was born on Earth. But we were never meant to die here.” We get a few shots of Jessica Chastain and Casey Affleck who I'm going to venture to guess are the adult versions of McConaughey's children which already makes the idea of the last line in the trailer all the more engaging and possibly all the more heartbreaking. Beyond that I won't pretend to know more than I actually do as I love how Nolan continues to leave much to the imagination with his trailers. The only other information as far as plot is concerned derives from a synopsis that states the film is about "a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations of human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage." This is easily the film I'm most anticipating this year and if the reason put forward in any of my previous comments doesn't explain why maybe the cast roster will. Besides McConaughey, Chastain and Affleck the film also stars Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, David Oyelowo, Wes Bentley, John Lithgow, Ellen Burstyn, Topher Grace, David Gyasi, Mackenzie Foy, Bill Irwin, Timothée Chalamet, and Matt Damon. Interstellar opens November 7, 2014.

EDITORIAL: The Best Actor Race 2014

Leonardo DiCaprio should probably win an Oscar this year, but he won't and that doesn't really matter because he is a movie star and we all understand he is a serious one. Is being a movie star better than being an Oscar winner? Cuba Gooding Jr. probably wouldn't think so, but I'm sure Jason Statham would argue that point and just for the record: he would win. What would winning an Academy Award, an Oscar if you will, actually do for DiCaprio anyway other than symbolically confirm (for him, maybe) what the masses already believe? It is a reasonable question to ask as the Oscar voters seem to have grown more disconnected with mainstream audiences the past few years than even the despicably contrarian critics seem to be lately. This brings in a more interesting question though as there have been plenty of discussions surrounding the film in which this DiCaprio performance takes place. The Wolf of Wall Street has been accused of many things, both from general audiences and those who participated in the actual events it's based on, but strictly as a film it fulfills what both mainstream audiences and critics are typically looking for in their movies: entertainment as well as higher art. It has succeeded in being successful not only from a financial standpoint (over $300 million worldwide on a $100 million budget), but also in creating ongoing conversation that debates the point of the amount of lewdness and profanity in the film and whether it's glorifying excess or simply holding a mirror up to society and forcing us to take a hard look at what we've made the points of our lives out to be. This is a film that will continue to be discussed and won't simply fade out of public consciousness and this status is owed, in many ways, to the presence of someone like DiCaprio in such a film.

THE WOLF OF WALL STREET Review

Just because a film depicts the excess of its main character doesn't necessarily mean the film itself falls under those qualities, right? Sure, many movies make it easy to relate much of a films overall tone and attributes in a way where one can speak unanimously about the main character and the film itself, but the big question with Martin Scorsese's latest is does he allow his film to fall into the trappings of the same temptations and indulgences his protagonist does? For the most part I would say the answer is a solid no. There is no way to look at the film and really get the sense that what the director and his now five time collaborator Leonardo DiCaprio are doing here is glorifying a man who doesn't deserve to ever have his name spoken in good regard again, not to mention in such a high profile film that numerous people will see and wonder how we'd even allow a dirtbag like this to seep into our competent consciousness. The reason why we don't mind watching this despite the unjust attention it will draw to the main character, why we find the tragic tale of someone like Jordan Belfort so intriguing is because he seemingly had everything anybody could want in order to experience a satisfying existence on this earth, but couldn't step back and appreciate how far he'd come, no, he always kept his eye on the future and how far he still felt he had to go. The Wolf of Wall Street can be an excessive film, it had a strong stopping point just after the two hour mark that would have made for a more than satisfying experience and would have allowed it the convenience of wrapping up the story with a few cue cards, but instead it continues on for almost another full hour hitting the narrative beats we've already seen before again only to result in conclusions we could have called the first time we got a real taste of just how far Belfort's greed, drug use and consistently unsatisfied carnal desires really went. Yet, at the same time it is very aware of itself and the point it intends to make. There are moments throughout the film where Scorsese hints at greatness, entire scenes even where you wish you could stay tucked in that little moment for a little bit longer while others go on for far too long and rather than re-enforce the throughline plot or contributing to character development, stand as evidence that more time was needed to fine tune the film. This is by no means a disappointment, as it is a strong film with easily the best performance of DiCaprio's illustrious career, but it is not the coherent masterpiece individual aspects of the ensemble piece hint it very well could have been.

Movies I Wanna See Most: 2014

2013 was a great year for film. When looking back on the list of my top ten films I wanted to see for the year there were a few that ended up being some of my favorite films of the year which speaks to anticipation vs. expectation in many ways. I was indeed more excited to see some of the films I put on my most anticipated list last year despite the fact I knew their eventual quality would not measure up to what would be necessary to make them one of my favorite pictures of the year. Even that type of list is ridiculous in many ways, but it is easier to make when you have ten solid films that year (and most of the time a few more than that) that you wouldn't mind watching over and over. That is the main ingredient I look for when I narrow down every movie I've seen in the previous year to what I would consider the ten best and that is which ones would I like to watch again? Which ones am I eager to experience one more time? I hope that many of the films I've placed on this list will end up making me feel this way and of course the main reason they are on here is because I can't wait to see them the first time, but the true test is if they deliver on that anticipation and live up to the expectations myself and plenty others will be holding for them. This year, as Marvel Studios and others who own Marvel properties (Sony & Fox) have decided to release a combined four films and I've placed them all in a single slot as I'm excited to see each (some more than others) but more than anything I'm excited to see how they continue to allow the genre to thrive. Other than that I have three other sequels on the list while the remaining six have a particular director or assembled cast that cannot be ignored which means their films will no doubt demand our attention. Here we go...

Teaser Trailer for Christopher Nolan's INTERSTELLAR

There is something so ambitious and so grand about the way Christopher Nolan thinks of his films and like the theme of the trailer re-iterates it seems that is something often forgotten in the world of Hollywood. Things have become such a machine, such a factory with a product line spitting out the same thing over and over that the majority of the time even big, tentpole movies feel like just another cog in the machine rather than something truly special or exceptional. It seems Mr. Nolan is keen on getting this point across and hopefully changing that perception, but on his own terms of course and in this case it concerns a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations of human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage. That is all we've heard in terms of plot synopsis and the trailer does little to give us any further indication of story, but instead relies on the philosophical narration of our assumed protagonist Matthew McConaughey. As with anything Nolan does, I'm more than intrigued and this trailer is specifically designed to elicit the interest of those who don't know anything about the film or that it even existed. This is easily the film I'm most anticipating in the new year and if the reason put forward in any of my previous comments doesn't explain why maybe the cast roster will. Besides McConaughey the film also stars Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Casey Affleck, Michael Caine, David Oyelowo, Wes Bentley, John Lithgow, Ellen Burstyn, Topher Grace, David Gyasi, Mackenzie Foy, Bill Irwin, Timothée Chalamet, and Matt Damon. Interstellar opens November 7, 2014.

DALLAS BUYER'S CLUB Review

I never thought myself smart enough to be a doctor and never had any ambition as a child to reach for those stars, but as I got older it became more and more clear why the rewards of such a job might not justify the many negatives that come along with the business of saving lives. There always seem to be these rules in place to dictate how we live and how our society operates and we always seem to come across scenarios where those rules seem completely out of sync with the reality of what is going on in the world. While the latest film in Matthew McConaughey's career turn-around isn't fueled by these issues, but more so by the strength of the human condition, it takes them into a large account due to the fact that in this case our protagonist must deal with humanity as a business and push back against those attempting to somehow make the case that the aforementioned rules outweigh actual humanity. How it all boils down to being a business rather than abiding by the no doubt patient-centric ideals of their mission statement, the pharmaceutical companies and the FDA are the baddies here; one paying the other to push their product no matter the health of their "customers" or the opposing team McConaughey's Ron Woodroof brings to the game that might be better, but doesn't carry the backing which means little extra profit for anyone involved. Why someone chose to tell the story of Woodroof though is because he decided to take up arms against the corporation that began as a gratifying profession and has evolved in many aspects to a business much like any other that deals with products that bring comfort and luxury to our lives but are not providing the luxury of sustaining life as hospitals do (a point many of the doctors represented in the film seem to be missing). Woodroof wasn't the most ideal of people to head this kind of revolution up, he had more faults than he did kind qualities, but it sometimes takes that kind of attitude to say, "screw it, I'll do it my own way if the only option you're offering is to die comfortably." There is just the right amount of rebel cowboy and logical thinking in our main character for him to stand by those words and provide the incredibly gratifying character arc in which director Jean-Marc Vallée's film delivers while opening our eyes to the harsh realities of our systems flawed philosophies.