I Blog About Movies So That You Do Not Have To...Posting industry news opinion our film reviews & trailers. Comments are always welcome and appreciated. Send them to thelastreel@comcast.net
Sure Star Wars: The Last Jedi opens in theaters today (I am excited to see it on Sunday) but I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the other reason this date is special to this self proclaimed fanboy.....
39 years ago today Richard Donner's Superman The Movie opened in theaters--and the "modern" superhero film genre was born. While I would not see the film for another 8 months--I remember that special dayLike It Was Yesterday.
The picture gave me a love for cinema and put me on a path--that shaped my life and influences me to this very day--indeed TLR and all of its permutations on social media would have never came to be without the 1978 classic. I am thrilled that the film--along with a few other favorites of mine--was recently added to the National Film Registry!! Beats me why it took them so long but better late than never.
The father-son drama is set during the horrors of September 11, 2001--where Guzmam plays a man who sees the news about the attacks, with his family and
travels to New York City to find his father (Olmos), who was working on the top
floor of the Twin Towers. The Windows on the World venues were on the
top floors of the North Tower.
A new RESTRICTED trailer for the film adaptation of "American Assassin" has dropped online ahead of its theatrical release on September 15th 2017.
Based on author Vince Flynn's eleventh Mitch Rappnovel that charts a Cold War veteran (Michael Keaton), who would be the most feared training officer in the CIA if more than a handful of people at the agency actually knew of his existence. CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) tasks him with training a black ops recruit (NJ native "The Maze Runner," and "Teen Wolf" star Dylan O'Brien) devastated by the loss of his fiancee to a terrorist attack. The pair is eventually dispatched to go on a joint mission with a lethal Turkish agent (Shiva Negar) to stop a mysterious operative (former Friday Night Lights TV fave Taylor Kitsch) from kicking off a global war.
Should the film spawn a few sequels Lathan's Kennedy could return. Scott Adkins and the great David Suchet co-star.
It seems O'Brien's all sorts of jacked in this film--a star rising for sure--Excited to see how it all turns out for him. In the meantime Teen Wolf ends its run this Summer on MTV after six seasons.
BE WARNED THE FOOTAGE INCLUDES DIALOGUE AND INTENSE IMAGES THAT ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR MINORS....PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK
A big thank you to all of you who entered the sweepstakes!
Congrats to Ron O. who got 2 of the 5 bottom answers correct and sent his entry in very fast!! An astounding hour and four minutes after the contest began on May 10th--WOW...While the entry sent in by Becky P had the identical number of correct answers those--came in 11 days later. As stated in the rules--in the event of a tie the first person to send in a correct entry wins the prizes listed.
To the winner--I will be in touch by way of the email address that you used to send your entry to me...Watch your inbox for more info.
Thank you all for your continued loyalty and support--even as I reduced my blogging considerably in the last 2 years. You are the best!
This will be the blog's last contest for the foreseeable future--Life is taking some turns for me again and as such--another IMPORTANT announcement is coming soon.
The story follows
two best friends (Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon) who become part of a conspiracy when one of them
discovers that the boyfriend who dumped her was actually a spy.
The story takes Peter back to High School and follows events chronicled in Captain America: Civil War where Holland made his debut as the wall-crawler as he takes on the Vulture played by Keaton
The movie is currently set to be released on July 7th.
The U.S. peek focuses on Peter’s learning curve with the new suit as designed by Tony Stark. The international one, meanwhile, hones in on callbacks to "Civil War"
The story explores the dysfunctional relationship between Bundy and his long-time girlfriend Liz. Regarded as charming and charismatic, Bundy was responsible for assaulting and murdering numerous young women during the 1970s, and ultimately confessed to 30 murders before his execution in 1989.
“I have been trying to work with Zac Efron for a long time,” said Chartier. “From his dramatic turn in Paperboy to his hilarious performance in Neighbors, he continues to impress audiences and critics alike with his extraordinary versatility and range. We couldn’t be more excited to see him in this amazing role.”
One of the most important aspects to a film is its music soundtrack--the contest will focus on that ingredient...The winner will receive 50.00 in movie theater gift cards from either AMC Theatres orRegal Entertainment.It's your choice! But that's not all...The winner will also get a 50.00 Amazon gift card as well--That's a pretty cool combo prize.
All you have to do is complete the following list:
Still too hard? OK you don't have to put them in the right order...AND... If nobody gets all five answers then whomever gets closest with one or two let's say--will win. The guessing period runs for THREE WEEKS--starting today 5-10-17 until 5-31-17 at 12:00 PM EDT The answers can be submitted via email thelastreel@comcast.net with words Blockbuster Contest in the Subject line or via Direct Message by way of the Twitter handle @TheLastReel.
Who Can Enter?: ANYONE WHO LIVES IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA WITH A VALID E-MAIL ADDRESS.
SHOULD THERE BE A TIE--THE INDIVIDUAL WHO WAS FIRST TO SEND IN THE CORRECT ANSWER(S) WILL BE DECLARED THE WINNER. ONLY ONE ENTRY PER PERSON WILL BE ACCEPTED AND THE LIST MUST BE COMPLETED. ENTRIES THAT DO NOT HAVE 5 CHOICES WILL BE DISCARDED.
The winner will be announced on 6-7-17 (WED) Once that's done he or she will provide a mailing address. Further info will be given to said winner at that tine.... Questions? Send them to the email address above DM on TWITTER or at The Last Reel Cinema Group on Facebook once you join the group.
I know that this contest is a bit harder than the last one--Still--if you do a bit of digging you might just find the answers that you seek in order to win. The extended time to submit your guesses should help too. 😀
Mom's favorite film star was James Cagney. Sitting down with her to watch White Heat was a both a treat and chore, because I really didn't understand the beauty of the black and white film yet. Into my adulthood I came to appreciate it for the masterpiece that it is. When the 4th of July rolled around, Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) became a family tradition. When Cagney died on March 30th 1986, I vividly recall her shedding a few tears upon hearing the sad news.
Mom liked films about the underdog overcoming adversity. The film saga of Rocky Balboa was her favorite of the genre.
Watching Ryan Coogler's excellent continuation Creed in the theater for Christmas of 2015--was very bittersweet. I thought about the time I saw the original film with my parents on the big screen. Memories flooded back. I think she would have loved it...
Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone were great together. They both deserved more attention from the Academy....Mom would have most likely agreed with me on that. If you have not seen it yet...It's a MUST WATCH...
Speaking of sagas...even though the first two Godfather films were not meant for kids my age, the first time they hit broadcast TV in the mid 70's, I was allowed to watch them. Of course I'm so glad my parents made the exception.
She warned me not to watch John Carpenter’s Halloween the first time it hit broadcast TV--It's not like the Creature Features she said... Sorry Mom--So glad I disobeyed you. Regular readers of the blog already know how special Carpenter's 1978 original is to me....And the Horror genre as a whole...the funny thing here is that The Godfather on network TV is waaaaay more violent and disturbing than Michael Myers.
When the news of Shirley Temple-Black's passing broke in February of 2014 ..I thought about my Mom...Oh how she loved watching Temple's films. At a young age I remember that she had them on nearly every Saturday when the local UHF station would run two of them back to back...At the time I did not appreciate them. As an adult--It's easy to see that Temple had a special kind of magic...that has never been duplicated. What I would not give for one more chance to sit with Mom to watch a Temple film.
When my sister Karen suggested that I study film making in college--while I was still in High School--Mom tried to steer me into a more "stable profession" She would say "you should be a college professor--you could teach the kids of the future so much..." I did think about the teaching idea for a bit--but the pull of cinema was too strong...Here I sit...There is a bit of Irony considering the path that I find myself on now though...
The last film that Mom saw in the theater was the live action/CG hybrid based the classic 1960's cartoon "The Flintstones" in 1994. Created by Hanna-Barbera the show premiered in 1960 and ran for six seasons before
going into syndication for decades. As a youngster Mom latched me onto the reruns....While she enjoyed herself watching the film...I think she still preferred the series over the adaptation. Her biggest joy was seeing screen legend Elizabeth Taylor in a fun cameo....The live action film did a good job at capturing the spirit of the TV series. It made her smile. And that's all that matters....soon after she got very ill and our family would never be the same...
Sadly, cancer took Mom from our family nearly 25 years ago...And now that Dad is also gone--It's been an even tougher slog.
Thanks Mom for all of your love, support, and kindness for all of those years. I miss you every day. But I'm grateful that we shared lots of love, laughter, and of course many movie memories. 💓💓
The first trailer for the film adaptation of "American Assassin" has dropped online ahead of its theatrical bow on September 15th 2017.
Based on author Vince Flynn's eleventh Mitch Rappnovel that charts a Cold War veteran (Michael Keaton), who would be the most feared training officer in the CIA if more than a handful of people at the agency actually knew of his existence. CIA Deputy Director Irene Kennedy (Sanaa Lathan) tasks him with training a black ops recruit (NJ native "The Maze Runner," and "Teen Wolf" star Dylan O'Brien) devastated by the loss of his fiancee to a terrorist attack. The pair is eventually dispatched to go on a joint mission with a lethal Turkish agent (Shiva Negar) to stop a mysterious operative (former Friday Night Lights TV fave Taylor Kitsch) from kicking off a global war.
Should the film spawn a few sequels Lathan's Kennedy could return. Scott Adkins and the great David Suchet co-star.
This looks like it could be really good....Nice to see that O'Brien's back at it in a big way following his injury last year and the end of Teen Wolf--which happens this Summer.
Filmmaker Chris Esper's certainly been quite busy since I first met him in 2013--having produced the 13 episode series In the Bedroom, launching the media production platform Stories in Motion and directing a handful of shorts--among those The Deja Vuers.
The 8 minute fantasy comedy follows Chuck (Kris Salvi) who experiences deja vu when he spots Morgan (Christie Devine) sitting on a park bench - a woman that he remembers from a dream but has never really met. When their paths intersect, a portal opens which takes each of their lives into unexpected directions.
Esper and writer Jason K. Allen have concocted a whimsical little movie that examines how we relate to our past, while living in the present, hoping for a better future. The chemistry between Salvi and Devine is quite good--leading to some very humorous back and forth. Morgan clearly wants nothing to do with Chuck--while he hopes to score a date (at least).
The fantasy element of the piece is elevated--thanks to the gorgeous cinematography by Evan Schneider. It has a dream like quality to it with its soft lighting and use of saturated coloring. It reminds me of the way that the legendary Geoffrey Unsworth (2001: A Space Odyssey) used to photograph films. Esper's light touch certainly knows how to draw the viewer in--using a very simple filming approach and getting the most from what he has. Less is more if you will. It works beautifully here.
The Deja Vuers has received some well deserved attention on the festival circuit--and shows no signs of stopping.
The story takes Peter back to High School and follows events chronicled in Captain America: Civil War where Holland made his debut as the wall-crawler as he takes on the Vulture played by Keaton
The full trailer for the Baywatch Movie swam ashore today....
The film puts a comedic spin on the worldwide success of the TV show that ran from 1989–2001 charting the exploits and rescues of a team of lifeguards--ala 21 Jump Street
In late 2011 "Rescue Me" co-creator Peter Tolan and Jeremy Garelick had reportedly finished their script then--Reno 911 creators and stars Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant were attached to work on the pic at one point as well In June 2012, JustinTimberlake was linked to play a disgraced former Olympic swimmer forced to join the Baywatch crew as part of a community service. But that fell apart and now Efron fills those swim trunks
The short film Here Lies Joe touches on a subject matter that, unfortunately, hits very close to home for me...Suicide. The good news is that it manages to entertain while at the same time send a message of hope.
In the 23 minute film Dean Temple plays the title character--a depressed man who finds himself attending a support group where he meets Z (Andi Morrow) who turns his plans for the day upside down.
Director Mark Battle, who also co-wrote the script with Pamela Conway, uses what he has here and produces great product. The chemistry between Battle and Morrow is off the chart. The duo play meet cute in an oddly effective way given the subject matter--Some Hollywood produced rom-coms have less of that key element with a two hour narrative than "Joe" has within its format.
Battle's cinematography deserves a mention as well--the film makes the most out of its New Hampshire and Massachusetts locales. The film deserves your attention--once it has it--hopefully the all important conversation can begin.....
Late last night I pulled a muscle in my right leg....The discomfort is there to be sure...I have already been in touch with my doctor about a course of action. A visit will likely take place over the next few days. I have a bit of swelling--thankfully it's not too bad. Some 20 years ago I did a similar thing to my right shoulder while lifting weights--and that took a few weeks to work its way out. I don't feel quite as knotted this time as I did back then. Of course this happens right before a busy week. Rest assured that I will be fine...things are well in hand.
My social media presence may be lighter while I recover. Thanks in advance for understanding...Remember to stay positive and live life happy...
