Quickie: Jonah Hex trailer is finally online!

Let me keep it up to you to judge... what do you think about this? I haven't decided what I think yet.

Quickie: New Inception movie poster

Not really anything revealing, just a cool poster from Christopher Nolan's Inception. Don't tell anyone, but I'm actually avoiding reading too much about the film. I like that I have no idea what I'm in for. All I know is it's about dreams, and that's ok. FattMatt taught me this little trick when The Bourne Ultimatum came out a few years ago. He REFUSED to see a single trailer for the film as not to spoil his movie-going experience. I like that. Now, I'm not that much of a purest (we have a movie blog after all); but I can appreciate not spoiling a surprise like Inception.
 

Tony: Kick-Ass review

Sorry for the delay everyone, but I've been a bit busy with the family business to be online blogging. So here it is, the Return of the King... my review of the comic-book film, Kick-Ass.

I know at this point I'm being redundant but, our blog is more about opinion than plot. Let's get right into what I liked and didn't like about the movie... let me give you a heads up, my likes far outweigh my dislikes!

What I liked:
The Concept/Story
The story is simple, but enticing. It tells the story of a kid who chooses to dress up as a superhero and fight crime against a Mob boss. Craziness ensues when the superhero (Kick-Ass) is joined by Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage) and Hit Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz). Like I said, the story is simple, very funny, and kept the audience engaged for the entire movie. I loved the pace of the film. It only slowed down to build up the characters, which is great. The rest of the time the movie moved forward very well. 

The Characters
Ho-ly moly! Hit Girl is one of the best, most bad ass characters in the history of cinema, and she's only 11 years old!!! That's right, Chloë Grace Moretz is only 11 years old calling people names that I'VE never used before. Nicolas Cage is awesome in this movie! He has to be tough, weird, a little creepy, but loving to his daughter, amazing job. Finally a movie OTHER than National Treasure where he does well. There is a scene between Cage and Moretz that is one I will never forget, just a hint... it involves him training her using a gun! I wont say anything else because it will give away the hilarity of the situation.

Now when it comes to Kick-Ass himself, great casting and a great job by Aaron Johnson. The rest of the cast is rounded out with some great performances... the mob boss played by Mark Strong, Red Mist played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Kick-Ass's real world friends played by Clark Duke and Evan Peters.

The Action
The action is great. The violence is over the top, but I think it has to be. You're trying to make us believe an 11 year old can kill 30 guys in a run down the hall, why not be over the top? Guns, check. Knives, check. Swords, check. There is nothing missing from the action in this film. Pay attention to an action scene that involves Nicolas Cage that feels like one long cut up and down a two story building, just fantastic!

What I didn't like:
Screen Time
Not really a complaint so much as wishing. I wish Nicolas Cage was in the movie more! Yeah, I never thought I'd say that either! Cage is so good as this character! I know this section is about what I didn't like, but I really really liked the movie. There's nothing else I could think of!

Go see this movie! And be ready for a ride. You'll laugh, you'll cheer and you'll clap your way through the movie. It's the most fun I've had at a movie since Iron Man two years ago; I mean it!

Quickie: How to Train Your Dragon sequel is coming!

Ever since I saw How to Train Your Dragon, I've wondered when Dreamworks would announce a sequel. Now they have! Coming in 2013, a sequel to the number one movie in America. Check out the press release from Dreamworks about their first quarter earnings.

2010 is off to a strong start, thanks in large part to the performance of How to Train Your Dragon, which – having grossed nearly $375 million to date in worldwide box office – has become DreamWorks Animation’s next franchise. We plan to release the sequel theatrically in 2013. 3D continues to have a tremendous impact on the industry at large and we are now looking forward with great anticipation to bringing Shrek Forever After, the final chapter in our beloved Shrek series and the first in 3D, to audiences across the globe next month.

Avatar on DVD and Blu-Ray today, will you be buying a copy?

Yes, today is the day a lot of people looked forward to as they walked out of the theater after watching Avatar. All of you know how much success the movie had in theaters, but will it have the same success on home video? Well, let's look at a few factors; some of you may care about and some I know you don't care about.


1: Who's seeing it for the first time? This will definitely pad the stats for the movies home video numbers. There are a lot of people who are just not that crazy about movies. There are a lot of people that can't afford to take a family out to see a movie, much less in 3D. There are a lot of people who don't like crowds at theaters (myself included). All of the above will elevate the number of discs sold.

2: Special Features; or the lack thereof. The DVD will just have the movie on it. The Blu-Ray will come with the high def movie and DVD version of the movie. That's it! Nothing more. No behind the scenes, no deleted scenes, no in-depth look into the technology that made the movie possible, nothing. Why you may ask? Because Hollywood is going to milk this "money grows on trees" beast of a movie! There will be different versions released in November, just in time for the Holiday Season of course. And a third, 3D version of the Blu-Ray released early next year. 'Cmon, seriously?!

This is very frustrating for me, and this is where a lot of you readers wont care. Well I CARE. If a movie distributed by 20th Century Fox only contains the movie (like Avatar will), should it cost the same as, let's say, X-Men Origins: Wolverine that had plenty of behind the scenes goodies? I don't think it should. Plus, this notion of re-releasing old matter sucks, it really does. I've purchased movies like Goodfellas and Shawshank Redemption multiple times because of this. Fans were so mad about the "Star Wars" trilogies, and just recently the Blu-Ray release of "The Lord of The Rings" trilogy. Both will be released multiple times because of "director's cut" type of changes. Nonsense.

3: People want the movie regardless! People want to own a copy, with or without special features, will buy a copy today. Pretty simple.

I have to tell you, I will not be buying a copy of the movie with today's release. I'm a nut for special features and think the added value is worth the wait until November; and I loved Avatar. So there is no hate to Mr. Cameron, but I just can't justify spending 50 dollars on the same movie over the next six months.

Actress set to be Little Red Riding Hood?

Remember when we told you there was a "Gothic" re-imagining of Little Red Riding Hood coming? Well it's here. The title has been changed to The Girl with the Red Riding Hood.

The director, Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight) is in place, so now the lead actors? Who will play Red Riding Hood? Reuters is reporting the "it" girl of the year, miss Amanda Seyfried will. This girl is everywhere man. Movies and TV, all over the place. The leading man is Shiloh Fernandez, a relative unknown.

The reports all agree the movie will be dark, very dark. I'm not opposed to any of this! I light dark, sadistic movies every once in awhile. Who am I kidding? I hate scary movies. Yes, call me all the names you want, I'm scared!

We'll keep you posted as news comes up.

Emma Stone's Easy A teaser clip

Ok, this blogger has a secret crush on Emma Stone, big time! She's super sweet, funny and looks great. She's a up and coming actress in Hollywood that actually DESERVES the success she's having.

She actually caught my eye in a little known show called "Lucky Louie", starring comedian Louie C.K. She had a guest spot on one episode and was so funny in it, when I saw her in Superbad, I was the only one in the theater that knew who she was!

She can play sweet (Superbad), she can play bad ass (Zombieland) and she can be sexy (House Bunny, kinda). For her age and experience in the industry, she really is a versatile actress. Ok, maybe I'm just patting her back because of my crush, don't tell anyone. But this is my blog and I can have a celebrity crush if I want to!

In her first starring role, Stone plays a nerdy high school in the upcoming comedy, Easy A. The studios summary:

After a little white lie about losing her virginity gets out, a clean cut high school girl sees her life paralleling Hester Prynne's in "The Scarlet Letter," which she is currently studying in school - until she decides to use the rumor mill to advance her social and financial standing. Written by Sony Pictures

Enjoy!