When I walked out of my screening for Lee Daniels’ The Butler, I was sure that I had seen a good movie. It’s probably why I wrote such a rave review over at Awards Circuit. However, the film has grown in estimation over the past few days to be one of the more impressive films in recent memory that dealt with issues in the African-American community. Black issues in films are very difficult to tackle on-screen, partially due to the fact that everyone is so used to the white heteronormative narrative. But I thought it would be nice to give kudos to Lee Daniels’ The Butler and analyze why it worked so well.
Originally published during Sundance at Awards Circuit
Do you all remember that split screen in 500 Days of Summer where we see the main character’s expectations vs. reality? Well my screening of Ain’t Them Bodies Saintswas very much like what the main character went through. In my mind, Aint Them Bodies Saints was a thrilling yet poetic film that would put Malick to shame with a lot of meat for gifted actors to chew on. However, in reality, it was a plodding, dimly lit slog of a film that was more style than substance.
It’s tough when you walk out of a film and aren’t sure whether you enjoyed it or not, but this was the situation I found myself in upon leaving my screening of Elysium. The film, Neil Blomkamp’s first after the superb District 9, isn’t a supremely ambitious film and yet it carries on as if it is, mollywhopping you over the head with big messages and set pieces. Whether that’s for better or for worse, is hard to tell and part of the reason why although this film will entertain you, it fails to really rise to anything more.
Ah August, the month when summer begins to dwindle away and the Oscar race starts to take some semblance of a form. It still feels like the wild wild West with regards to what could possibly end up in the lineup but with each passing month, and new trailer, we can at least get a better understanding of what the race could potentially look like. Here are my Oscar predictions and analysis.
The process of remaking something isn’t new, but it seems that today reboots and remakes have been dominating the film industry at an incredibly high degree. Whether it the superhero reboots that come out within five years of each other or the endless slew of classic horror films that get remade, Hollywood has really banked a significant portion of it’s business on them. So what are some things that make these remakes and reboots successful? I took a gander at the film landscape and came up with some Dos and Dont’s for having a successful remake.
UPDATE: It has been confirmed that Tyler is in the running for this role.
Why is it that foolishness always happens in the morning? I can’t even begin my day with peace before I am slapped with an interesting piece of news. According to Cosmic Booknews, the alpha of Beacon Hills, Tyler Hoechlin, is being heavily considered to play the role of Batman in the Man of Steel sequel where Batman and Superman will share the screen.