Movies

Many fans of Sam Raimi’s initial Spider-Man trilogy were skeptical when – only five years later – director Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer) delivered The Amazing Spider-Man to theaters. Some balked at the thought of rebooting the franchise so soon after Spider-Man 3, while others were hopeful that this new version could rectify the mistakes of that previous film and give the character a fresh start. Reaction to The Amazing Spider-Man may still be a bit mixed, given the film’s tendency to tread on a bit too much familiar ground regarding the origin of everyone’s favorite friendly neighborhood webslinger. However, one point that most fans can agree on is that this series seems intent on opening up Peter Parker’s world a bit ...Click to continue reading ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2′: Jamie Foxx on the Spidey Legacy; Teases Comic-Con 2013 Plans

Mundane, redundant and poorly acted, James Gray's The Immigrant refuses to strive to be anything more substantial than meek.

A new trailer has been released for Hiroyuki Nakao’s upcoming science fiction/historical drama film Time Scoop Hunter. Time Scoop Hunter is a TV drama which has aired on NHK since 2009. The program uses the theme of time travel to present fictionalized documentaries on lesser-know historical figures. In this film version, “space-time journalist” Yuichi Sawajima (Jun Kaname) is sent back through time to unravel the mystery of Azuchi Castle, which was built by famous shogun Oda Nobunaga and...

Though the second Fast and Furious movie was a hit, it left fans with a bad taste in their mouths. Star Vin Diesel didn’t return, the chemistry was slightly off and the action didn’t live up to the first film. Enter Justin Lin. With the third film, he didn’t exactly win (most) fans back, but he brought Diesel back and began a mythological arc that culminates this weekend in Fast and Furious 6. Over the course of four films, Lin has turned the franchise into a legitimate, studio saving blockbuster while simultaneously elevating the spectacle to totally different levels. With Fast and Furious 6, Lin does that again but now he’s leaving the franchise behind him. However he leaves behind a newly rejuvenated fan base, a laundry list of beloved characters and a complete story with room to expand. We spoke to Lin on the eve of Fast and Furious 6 and discussed those things as well as the wacky timeline, building a mythology, filming the street race scenes, trailers spoiling the action, shooting 6 and 7 back to back and and the all-important Corona budget. /Film: Hey Justin, congratulations on the movie. I’m a huge fan of the franchise and I thought this was insanely great. I really enjoyed it. Justin Lin: Thanks man, thank you. Fast Five was such a massive movie.  Did you and [screenwriter] Chris Morgan think you’d be able to top yourselves in terms of scope? (Laughs) Well it’s funny, because back in 2005 when I signed up to do the franchise, I was kind of pitching this idea of evolving it and trying to build a mythology and if people embraced it to keep going and at one point culminate. So it’s funny now talking to you eight years later, a lot of what you see in Fast Six actually was already talked about back in 2005. So that’s something that, for me personally, I take a lot of joy and pride in. The tank sequence for example, I started designing that in 2009 not knowing if people were going to embrace Fast Five or not or if we were going to have a chance. But it’s one of those things where you set out to do it and the fact that we got to do it is a dream come true. Obviously the centerpiece of these movies are action set pieces. Here we have the tank, the flip car, we have the plane. Do those get conceived before there’s a script and then backwards engineered? How does that work? It kind of has two folds. I have a little vault of crazy ideas and those are just for my own enjoyment and then I develop the scripts. A lot of times, the example on this one is the tank, almost didn’t make it into the movie. I remember after Fast Five we were talking about the vault and we were kind of joking around about how “Wouldn’t it be great if somebody could actually drive the vault and the vault could shoot?” Somebody was like “Wait, that’s a tank…” But it was just a fun idea. At that point it didn’t belong in the movie, so it wasn’t until development that I’m able to put in these sequences. I think the special circumstance was the plane. I knew the plane was going to be the culmination of this chapter of Fast and Furious, so that’s why that got going. When you look at these films, outside of action, there’s not a lot of real estate for characters, so unless I know where we are going and what the character arcs are, I can’t design the action. Is there anything that you or Chris Morgan have talked about that is just too big, too expensive to do? No. I mean I think for me the plane was the big idea. I was going to tie up a lot of loose ends with some characters and I knew we had seven characters on one side and of course you’ve got the other side. So I knew even four years ago where I was going. The technology at that point, I was looking at it and luckily it has been four years. By the time we really started putting this film together it just slipped right in perfectly. So I think if I would have started working on that plane sequence after Fast Five, it probably wouldn’t have been ready. One of my favorite parts of this

See this documentary. It is phenomenal. I first saw Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act of Killing at the New Directors/New Films fest at the Film Society of Lincoln Center earlier this year and was completely blown away. It's such a riveting, unbelievably real, challenging, but powerful documentary that, as is quoted in the official synopsis, "could well change how you view the documentary form." The movie challenges former Indonesian death squad leaders to reenact their real-life mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers. The result, and story that unfolds as Oppenheimer captures these murderers on film, is truly remarkable. See the official trailer below. ››› Continue reading Must Watch: Official US Trailer for 'The Act of Killing' Documentary

Marion Cotillard and Joaquin Phoenix play out a bad romance in 1920s-set drama.http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/in-contention

Well, the poster is slightly new. It was actually released earlier this month, but it's been ever so slightly tweaked so that Channing Tatum isn't covering Jamie Foxx so much. In a way, that's actually not a bad move since the second trailer for Roland Emmerich's summer action bonanza, White House Down, plays out more like a buddy cop action comedy as opposed to Tatum doing all the heavy lifting to protect Foxx as the President of the United States of America. Honestly, this could almost be a poster for a relocated remake of Die Hard with a Vengeance, because Tatum is clearly doing his best John McClane. Look below! ››› Continue reading Channing Tatum is John McClane on New 'White House Down' Poster

As usual – talk about whatever you like as long as it’s related to movies, TV or Screen Rant itself – just remember to play nice. Click to continue reading Open Discussion – May 24, 2013

FAST AND FURIOUS 6 Written by Chris Morgan Directed by Justin Lin Starring Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez and Luke Evans Brian: Maybe the Letty we once knew is gone Dom: You don’t turn your back on family, even when they do. Director, Justin Lin took over the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise in 2006, with the overtly disappointing TOKYO DRIFT. Since the true horror of that experience, Lin has gone back to basics by delivering an adrenaline-filled plot that captures the essence of the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise. FAST AND FURIOUS 6 is a character driven tale of family and revenge, with loads of unspeakably insane action. This stretch of the franchise has been Lin’s baby and he truly has done great things with it, especially considering his particularly rough start. Introducing a movie, then backtracking and doing a three-part prequel is a risky move. (Yes, the last three films are in fact prequels to TOKYO DRIFT.) The move paid off though as FAST AND FURIOUS 6 truly highlights what this ever-growing franchise is really about: fast cars, family, and the lengths we will go for those we love. The original gang is finally reunited in FAST 6, as Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), the leader of this band of former criminals, is on a mission to find out what really happened to his ex-girlfriend, Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), after the events of FAST AND FURIOUS (2009). The entire Toretto family, biological and extended, may have left their life of crime behind them, but a new threat has Luke Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson), a bounty hunter who once tracked Dom’s gang, coming to Dom and friends for help. Hobbs needs them to assist in taking down Owen Shaw (Luke Evans), a wanted drug trafficker and killer. Shaw’s team may appear more dynamic and prepared than Dom’s but the only real question is who will emerge from the wreckage. Chris Morgan, who has penned the last four FAST AND FURIOUS scripts, brings the series to new emotional heights, as he plays with this now familiar family by exploring the extremes in their dynamics and the intensity in their characters. Unfortunately, FAST AND FURIOUS 6 is a fangasm movie. Without the previous knowledge of TOKYO DRIFT and FAST AND FURIOUS (2009) you may be a little lost. What makes FAST AND FURIOUS 6 something of a love letter to the fans, is that it answers questions that have been pondered for years, connects missing dots, and brings back a strong, enjoyable storyline that was lacking last time out. This may be Lin’s final instalment in the franchise, and he almost single handedly killed it in 2006, but he has certainly finished with a bang. Guest reviewer: Justin Waldman @Jdubs12

Universal is heading into children's fantasy territory with the recently released The School for Good and Evil, the first book in a new trilogy from writer Soman Chainani. The studio landed to the rights to the book series which will be adapted by the author and Hook screenwriter Malia Scotch-Marmo. THR says the book hit shelves on May 14th and heads across the pond early next month with a story that follows two best friends on the opposite end of the spectrum as they head into The School for Good and Evil where they will be trained as either a hero or a villain. But things don't quite go as the young girls expected. Read on! ››› Continue reading Universal Lands Rights to 'The School for Good and Evil' Book Trilogy