Summer Action Movies
Action Movies to Look Forward to This Summer
This summer should bring an exciting mix of action movies, from sequels and superhero flicks to fairytale and classic rewrites, there should be something for every film fan. So take a break from your college, job or fun online school classes to check out some of these much-anticipated summer action movies.
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Movies goers especially interested in the directing and producing process of films might want to develop their skills by completing an MFA Degree in Performing Arts, Studio Arts, or even Film Criticism. Also, check out the sources listed below for more news about upcoming hits.
Sources
IMDb (2012)
Flixter (2012)
Read MoreI Don’t Know Jack
But I do know it’s his birthday.
Happy 75, Jack Nicholson!
Dig your movies and your court side seats.
I’ve like seen almost every movie Jack has made, including all the bad ones and frankly — he’s made some real stinkers along the way.
We’re not going to talk about those.
Here’s my top ten favorite Jack movies:
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
It’s hard to pick a favorite. At least four of these on any given day could be a favorite for different reasons. Jack has a knack for playing the flawed and complicated character — Batman’s Joker, Fonda’s sidekick George Hansen in Easy rider, R.P. McMurphy in the Cuckoo’s nest, or the L.A. PI, Jake Gittes, in Chinatown.
Love him or hate him, you have to admit, Jack is a Hollywood icon.
What about your top-ten Jack list? Let me know below.
Read MoreQuill
The Life of a Guide Dog
As a Labrador puppy, Quill is sent to live with a couple, Isamu and Mitsuko Nii, who train guide dogs (seeing eye dogs).
When he grows to an adult dog, Quill is taken to a guide dog school, by a friendly, yet firm trainer Satoru Tawada.
Although Quill is a little slower than the other dogs at the school, he seems to have an unusual ‘empathy’ and remarkable patience with his trainers. Tawade decides that Quill would be the ideal guide dog for Mitsuru Watanabe. A lonely and ill-tempered middle aged man, Watanbe isn’t as enthusiastic – he would “would rather sleep than be dragged around by a dog.”
From here, the story is narrated by Wanatabe’s daughter, Mitsuko, and slowly, Wantanbe is rehabilitated, venturing into the outside world, and learning, not only to trust other humans, but the animal at his side.
Read MoreMen in Black 3
It was only a matter of time, relatively speaking. What would a world full of aliens do without the likes of Agent J and Agent K to watch their scaly backs? Get ready for Men In Black 3.
The Men in Black franchise of Will Smith/Tommy Lee Jones is back in business, May 25, 2012. It’s been ten years since the dynamic duo strapped on their out-of-this-world weaponry and battled the so-called intelligent life-form Serleena (Lara Flynn-Boyle) hot black leather and all. (Serleena, not Tommy Leee Jones)
In this reboot of the MIB team, Veteran MIB field agent Agent J learns that Agent K’s life and the fate of Earth are at stake. He must time-travel to 1969 to stop an alien criminal named Boris from assassinating K and changing the history of the planet, travelling back from the future to 1969 to team up with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to stop the alien, while apparently also facing a twenty four hour time limit before he will be trapped in the past forever.
I see Murphy’s Law all over this one.
All I can say is I am ready to see the Men in Suits hit the Big Apple and save the world from a life without Agent K.
Josh Brolin absolutely nails Agent K.
Read MoreMovie Characters
There’s a phenomenon that happens when pop-culture collides with history. Characters of our past take on the persona of the performer who played them on screen.
A great example is Vil Kilmer‘s Doc Holiday in the movie Tombstone. I’ve seen pictures of the 19th century Doc Holiday so I know what the guy is supposed to look at. But when I hear Doc Holiday, I see Vil Kilmer.
I’m confident Moses looked nothing like Charlton Heston, but there you are. If you think about it, even the cartoon Moses in the animated feature, The Prince of Egypt, favored Heston. (Coincidently the voice of Moses was Vil Kilmer.) Ben Kingsley played Moses in the 1995 TV movie of the same name, but it is the Heston portrayal that will stand the test of time.
Some other stand out character portrayals are:
Helen Mirren – Queen Elizabeth II
Phillip Seymour Hoffman – Truman Capote
Robert Downey Jr. – Charlie Chapman
Tom Hulce – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Faye Dunaway – Joan Crawford
James Stewart – Charles Lindbergh
There are many more but I can tell you when I think of any one of these people I usually see the actor who portrayed them.
One of the best is whenever I think of Julia Child, I can only see Dan Aykroyd doing Julia “I seem to have cut myself” Child. And when I think of Richard Nixon, I don’t see Anthony Hopkins, I see Dan Aykroyd doing Richard “I am not a crook” Nixon. And when I think of Sgt. Joe Friday, I don’t think of Jack Webb, I can only see Dan Aykroyd as Sgt. Joe Friday.
Come to think of it, Dan Aykroyd sort of reminds me of Beldar Conehead. It’s a small universe when you look at it like that.
Beldar Conehead
Long live Beldar Conehead!
Read MoreTotal Recall – 2012
Way back to 1990 when the former Governor of California was an occasionally pretty decent action hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger made a film named Total Recall.
This post is not about that film…mostly.
This is about a Hollywood slap-out of ideas and nothing better to do than rifle back through the catalog, shake the dust off an old script and see if a new movie falls out. It’s shake and bake movie making.
This is about the 2012 reboot of Total Recall with Colin Farrell reprising the Schwarzenegger role from the original. Watching the trailer I can gather that Farrell does a pretty first-rate job of rebooting Doug Quaid/Hauser. Farrell brings a certain savoirfaire to the role the Governator could never achieve.
But I have to ask you this… In what world could Kate “Beauty is such a burden” Beckinsale ever replace Sharon Stone? Surely a place does not exist.
Now, in the role of Melina, I liked the very under-rated b-role actress Rachel Ticotin who did a decent job in the original. She went on to do some very forgettable roles since including the hot prison guard in Nick Cage’s Con-Air. She was good but she’s no Jessica Biel. I expect Biehl, who rocks the action girl role, to really strut her A-game partnered with the action master, Colin Farrell.
I believe the original Total Call had one of the worst villain casting of all time with Ronny Cox in the role of Vilos Cohaagen. Cox was great as Captain Bogomil in Beverley Hills Cop but as a martian gangster, not so much. The flip side of that is the casting of Bryan Cranston, the chemistry teacher turned meth chemist in Breaking Bad, in the Cohaagen role. This oughta be something to see!
In the Kuato role, served up with a journeyman effort by Marshall Bell in the original, I’m interested to see what veteran British actor Bill Nighy can do with the part.
The original won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects in 1991. For the time it was all cutting edge stuff. The same gags in the 2012 remake is common Hollywood action now. What you can do with green-screen and a computer these days is amazing. We are almost at the point where they won’t even have to build anymore sets. Actors will soon be obsolete or at a minimum… redundant.
And then what will Beauty Beckinsale do for work? Barista? Bartender? Meter Maid? Spokesperson for Actresses of Hollywood Remakes, LLC? Only time will tell.
This looks like a definite big-screen watch but the cost of popcorn and gas to get there may keep me waiting for the Amazon Prime version for $3.99. It ain’t cheap being a big Hollywood film critic!
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