Our favorite Super Bowl movie trailers

The Super Bowl came and went, and my boy Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers did NOT disappoint!  The Super Bowl isn't just for the game anymore, it's the movie trailers as well!  And below, you'll see our favorites and why, check it out!

Captain America

This list isn't necessarily in any order, but the Captain America: The First Avenger, was by FAR my favorite of the day!  We got to see Chris Evans as a scrawny, short soldier who could never be the 'Cap.  We see him enter the serum process and come out as ripped as I've ever seen Evans.  Equally as awesome, albeit a half second, was Hugo Weaving as Red Skull, awesome!  Never was a fan of the 'Cap when it came to the comics, but I'm really getting pumped for this movie.  Click the jump to see the trailer for the film as well as the other trailers we fell in love with during the Super Bowl.

Thor

I gotta say, I was a little disappointed... just a little.  There was indeed new footage in this trailer, especially of Thor on Earth, and that is a good thing.  I am not as anxious to see this one as I am 'Captain', but I will give director Kenneth Branagh credit for creating a world for Thor to exist.  Great special effects and the stunningly beautiful Natalie Portman... I'm sold!

Transformers

It is absolutely no secret to anyone who reads this blog how much Matt and I hated Revenge of the Suck.  The fact that a franchise could be tainted by the crap they called a film, is unforgivable.  I'm serious by the way... unforgivable.  I will not go see this in the theater as a personal boycott against making sequels just for the sake of making sequels.  Michael Bay has so much to learn, he should take a lesson from Christopher Nolan; if you don't have any idea how to improve on the predecessor, don't make it!  I will tell you the trailer is kick ass, and that is all.

Fast Five

I put up the poster a few days ago and spoke about how much I enjoyed the previous 'Fast and the Furious' film.  With the original cast returning, this trailer looks awesome!  I will tell you this; the filmmakers don't seem to be focusing so much on the car upgrades as much as they did in the previous films.  Which is ok by me.  I love the action in this trailer, check out the jump featuring Paul Walker and Vin Diesel, awesome!  I also think Dwayne Johnson will be playing his old self, as a bad ass FBI agent.  Enjoy this one.

Cowboys & Aliens

I'm gonna come off as a jerk... not impressed.  Matt loved it so I told him I'd post it.  To me, it's ho-hum.  Nothing really stood out as 'different' from anything I'd ever seen before.  It visually looks like I've seen it before and there is not a sign of real acting going on.  After the world premier trailer, I was really disappointed.  So I was looking forward to this trailer, but no... nothing.  I may not even see this in theaters.  Just sayin'. 

Kung Fu Panda 2

I absolutely loved the first Kung Fu Panda!  I didn't see it in theaters, and I didn't see it when it first came out on DVD.  But boy oh boy when it hit the premium cable channels.  I couldn't get enough of it.  I would finish it whenever I caught it while flipping through the channels.  Check out the sequel, same tone, same characters, same laughs.  Dreamworks has stepped up its game the last few years, it really has.  Remember the days of Shrek 3, as well as A Shark's Tale?  They've come a long way since those disasters.  How to Train Your Dragon is nominated for an Oscar, as was the first Kung Fu Panda.  As much as people hate Jack Black's acting, they can't deny his voice over skills.  Enjoy!

And that's all for now kids.  Another year, another awesome Super Bowl filled with a movie lovers dream.  There were of course more trailers, but to me, these stood out.  Check out the Super 8 trailer too, it was interesting to say the least. 

First offical 'Captain America' poster, incredible

This is the first official Captain America: The First Avenger movie poster.  I have to tell you, Chris Evans looks awesome in the suit!  The poster shows our hero in the middle of obvious chaos, holding his shield in a commanding pose.  I love it, it's ALMOST perfect.... if not for that stupid "Avenge" across the front!  What the hell Marvel?!  We get it!  The Avengers movie is a big deal, we freakin' get it, drop it when it comes to the individual movies.  Man, could you imagine this poster without the "Avenge"... no title, no text but the release date.  That would have been incredible!  Oh well, it's still eye candy for now.  Enjoy

The Kids Are All Right review

Brokeback Mountain was too soon for Hollywood right?  It didn't win a Best Picture Oscar.  Hollywood wasn't prepared to let a film about gays win gold, or so the rumors go.  Fast forward to 2010 and Hollywood seems to be a lot nicer.  The Kids Are All Right has now been nominated for 4 Oscars.  Whoa!  The movie is about a lesbian couple (Annette Bening and Julianne Moore), and their two children (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson).  As the children get older, they want to meet the man who's sperm helped create them through artificial insemination (played by Mark Ruffalo).  Let's begin.

What I liked about the film:
The Story

It's a cute and original story about a family that could easily exist in our modern times.  I could only imagine adopted children searching for their biological parents, much like the children in the film search for Ruffalo's character.  The drama occurs when Moore's character begins an affair with Ruffalo behind Bening's back.  Ignoring the execution, it's a great, original story. 

The Cast

I think every actor nailed it, but one (wait for the dislikes to find out who).  Even though Bening's character is an absolute B; she nails it.  She is the strong minded, head of the household figure; and she was rewarded with an Oscar nom.  Moore is the one actor in this film who was snubbed.  She has perhaps the most difficult role in the film, and also goes through the biggest transition.  It's too bad there are only five slots, otherwise, she would have easily been a sixth choice for the academy.

The kids do fine in their respective roles.  Wasikowska's character was born from Benning's character, and boy are they similar.  Strong headed, leaders, etc.  Hutcherson was born from Moore's character and the same thing, he's just like her too.  Passive, submissive, underachiever, etc.  The young actors did well with their material.


What I didn't like about the film:
Mark Ruffalo

Oh man I'm going to get ish from FattMatt.  Believe me, I had trouble even typing out his name just now.  I usually LOVE Ruffalo's work.  I am a huge fan.  But this is my opinion... he was God awful.  He plays this hippie, nothing is a big deal douche bag.  Some might say "that's just his character"; I say no.  The character is supposed to be a charismatic womanizer, that is a good father figure, but has an affair with Moore, but loves women, but wants a family.  A pretty complex character right?  Ruffalo plays him so monotone it's unbelievable to me that he was nominated for Best Actor.

The Director
Lisa Cholodenko was even considered for a Best Director Oscar nomination?!?!  What the heck.  She would have been nominated for a character piece, and Christopher Nolan who had literally one million things to keep track of with Inception didn't?  I just don't get it.  Any director could have filmed this movie.  Anyone.  It's a character piece.  It wasn't a sweeping epic, or war film, just five main characters and the way they live their lives.  I don't get it.


The Verdict:
Pass
I did not like the film at all.  In fact, when the final credits began to roll, I cursed the screen and asked for two hours of my life back.  Maybe the hype was a part of my disappointment.  But I doubt that, because I usually don't feed into the hype, just formulate my own opinions; as you can tell by the contradictory review.  The film did well in theaters and I think Moore was definitely snubbed.  Bening will unfortunately lose to Natalie Portman who absolutely kills it in Black Swan.  Again, this is a big time pass for me.  Wont see it again.

Black Swan review

Almost done!  I have almost seen all the Best Picture nominees for this year's Oscars.  This one.. Black Swan.  So I think everyone is familiar with the movie by now.  Natalie Portman stars in Darren Aronofsky's mind screw.  A dark movie that explores one woman's battle with her inner demons.  The film, Aronofsky and Portman have all been nominated for Academy Awards.  The film co-stars Mila Kunis as Portman's alternate to the ballet.  Barbara Hershey plays Portman's mother, and Vincent Cassel plays Portman's instructor.  There is also a small, but impressive role starring Winona Ryder. 

Portman is a hands down favorite for Best Actress; but I just don't see why anything else was nominated for this film.  You all may be surprised by this review.  Let's begin.

What I liked about the film:
Natalie Portman

Her performance is as good as you've read.  She is a force to be reckoned with.  She plays a ballerina that has been cast in the famous "Swan Lake" ballet.  She must play the timid, innocent white swan, as well as the evil, seductive black swan.  We can see Portman discovering her character's dark side.  At the beginning of the film, her character Nina is very delicate.  She's a calm and sweet girl who is sheltered by her mother.  As the film progresses, we see Portman becoming the metaphorical Black Swan.  I have no doubt in my mind she will win the Oscar.  Amazing!

The Score

Clint Mansell's score is the reason the movie could even be considered a thriller.  The music carries every scene, particularly those where Portman is acting alone.  She can act like no other with her eyes, no dialogue at all.  Mansell's score does the talking for her.  It's heart pounding, edge of your seat suspense that is second to none.  Great job!

Barbara Hershey
Wow, I did NOT see this one coming.  Barbara Hershey plays Portman's mother in the film.  At the beginning of the film, we see her as an overbearing, controlling monster.  But as Portman makes her decent into evil, she appears to be protecting Portman from herself.  There is a lot of stuff I want to mention, but it will spoil the film, if interested, leave a comment.


What I didn't like about the film:
The Contrast

Really?  Like really?  I need to see Portman wear light colors the entire film and Kunis wearing black to realize the contrast?!  Really?  He should take a note from The Sixth Sense, subtlety is best!  In that film, the director used reds as a sign of death and evil, usually in the form of something small like a blanket or a door knob.  Aronofsky wanted to say to the audience 'HEY LOOK... PORTMAN IS THE WHITE SWAN AND KUNIS IS THE BLACK SWAN'.  So stupid, give the audience more credit.

Darren Aronofsky

The man is nominated for an Oscar and he's an aspect of the movie I didn't like?  Yes, that's exactly right.  I don't like the art school canvas he's created.  I don't like his choice of lighting (yes I know that's the cinematographer's job).  I didn't like the OBVIOUS contrasts between Portman and Mila Kunis' character.  I didn't like the shaky cam for every freakin' shot.  I didn't like the fact that the film was essentially The Wrestler Part 2.  I seriously didn't like a damn thing about his directing.  I'm sure Portman benefited by Aronofsky directing.  Her performance along with Hershey's are what struck me as successes, not his directing.  Seriously, what the hell am I missing; I don't understand what the hell the hype is all about with this guy.  I've actually praised his visual style before, but this movie was just flat out bad to me.

The Verdict:
PASS
There will always be bad movies with amazing performances, this will be one of them.  I honestly have no clue how it was nominated for as many Oscars as it was.  I guess all I can say is; The Tourist was nominated for multiple Golden Globes this year.  Um, yeah, no more explanation is needed.  I know I'm going to get a lot of crap for this review, but I don't care.  It's my opinion and your on my blog, so you obviously are interested.  Secondly, it's art, and everyone reads art differently.  I'm just trying to figure out how paintings by 5 year old kids are considered art... to me, Black Swan is the same equivalent. 

Fast Five movie poster

Click to Enlarge

I know we haven't talked about Fast Five much on the blog; I can speak for myself by saying I'm not a huge fan of the franchise.  Well, I sort of take that back.  The first one did nothing for me.  The second one, which most people hated, was entertaining at best.  The third was terrible in my opinion.  But the forth film, Fast & Furious, really did it for me.  I believe director Justin Lin was the difference.  He re-invented the franchise with a swagger and grit, the franchise was missing.  He did great bringing back Vin Diesel back to the franchise, along with Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster and Michelle Rodriguez.  This year?  This year the franchise adds Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson!  Also joining the huge cast are Tyrese and Ludacris from the second film.  Check out the official synopsis and my thoughts below (minor spoilers):

Since Brian and Mia Toretto (Brewster) broke Dom out of custody, they've blown across many borders to elude authorities. Now backed into a corner in Rio de Janeiro, they must pull one last job in order to gain their freedom. As they assemble their elite team of top racers, the unlikely allies know their only shot of getting out for good means confronting the corrupt businessman who wants them dead. But he's not the only one on their tail.

Hart-nosed federal agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) never misses his target. When he is assigned to track down Dom and Brian, he and his strike team launch an all-out assault to capture them. But as his men tear through Brazil, Hobbs learns he can't separate the good guys from the bad. Now, he must rely on his instincts to corner his prey...before someone else runs them down first.

 I have to give credit where credit is due.  The franchise has financially always done well.  I'm really not into cars, but I know a LOT of people who are.  I have to give the producers credit for always making the films different and distinctive from one another.  That's really hard when you're dealing with relatively the same subject matter.  I doubt I will go see Fast Five in theaters, but you can bet I'll rent it.  Your thoughts?

UPDATE: 5 Women, 1 Role, 1 Huge Movie... "Superman" Leading Woman Casting

 

Lois Lane casting choices

UPDATE:
Olivia Wilde:

Olivia Wilde has joined the competition.  That's what LatinoReview are reporting.  This is a VERY interesting rumor.  I like Wilde (I'm a fan of TV's "House").  I think she's a smart, talented and a very sexy actress.  I would be totally OK with her playing Lois Lane.  McAdams is still my hands down favorite, but Wilde is great.  Read the post from yesterday below to see who all the other actresses rumored to play the part are.

If the title looks similar to a title a few weeks ago, it's on purpose.  A few weeks ago, we were all guessing who was going to be cast in the next Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises.  That question has been answered... Anne Hathaway will be Catwoman.  Now?  Now it's time to talk about Superman's leading lady, Lois Lane. Click the jump for more.



Hollywood Insider has a list of 5 potentials and 2 long shots.

5 potentials:

Kristen Stewart:

Please God no.  Please God no.  The end.












Malin Akerman:

Now this actually makes SOME sense.  She's worked with the director of Superman, Zack Snyder, before.  That movie, Watchmen, sort of put her on the map.  I like Akerman, but not for this.  This is needs to be a powerful leading lady, and when I think of Akerman, I don't see it. 








Dianna Agron:

I don't know much about this girl, but what I do know, I don't like.  I think she is too inexperienced to play such an important role.  She's mostly done television, and that's not neccessarily a bad thing, but for Superman, we need a better actress.  She IS young, and that's what Snyder and company are shooting for, so you never know.  Check out her limited IMDB.






Jessica Biel:

Next up is an actress I do not like, nor do I want in this film! Jessica Biel would definitely look the part of Vicki Vale, but I don't like her, so we're going to move on.

By the way, the above is exactly what I wrote about her when the news came out she was auditioning for The Dark Knight Rises.






Rachel McAdams:

Awww, the best for last.  And what I like to say, "I told you so".  In early December of last year, there was a rumor Anne Hathaway was up for Lois Lane.  I hated it of course, being that I hate her acting.  So I gave my own two cents.  You know what my two cents were?  Rachel-McAdams!  I suggested to you 5 readers of the blog, that McAdams be cast if they were going younger.  What do you know?  She's reading for the part.  I love McAdams.  She is by far, the best actress on this list.  It would make me a happy man if she was cast and we could all begin to forget the horrific job Kate Bosworth did with the character.



The long shots:

Kristen Bell:

I saw these two ladies rumored on JoBlo.com.  I have a crush on Bell that is hard to describe.  I think she is REE-DICULOUSLY hot!  But Lois Lane she is not.  That rhymed.  Bell is fun, spunky and that side of Lois Lane is important, but nothing about Bell says "take me seriously", so we cant.  I love her, but not for this. 







Mary Elizabeth Winstead:

All I have seen her in were two movies.  The first being Final Destination 3, and I walked out the film.  The second was Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and I loved her in the that film. I like the idea, but with McAdams in the running as well, it's hard to choose Winstead.  But still a great choice.







There you have it guys, and girls.  The 5 leading ladies that want to steal Superman's heart.  Then there's the two wild cards, but we wont count them.  Who should play Lois Lane along side Henry Cavill?

Captain America on the Empire Magazine cover

Chris Evans as Captain America

This looks awesome, that is all!