Around the World in Posters: Mega Edition

It's been awhile since I did this.  Some of the best movie posters from the last two months.  Let's take a look!

Cute Christmas poster from Germany for Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked to start things off

Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) on the first Avengers banner.

Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) , Loki (Tom Hiddleston) , Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) complete the rest of the Avengers banner.

Oh, great! Now I want some cake too. 

Martin Scorsese makes a family flick, you'll have to see it to believe it.  The latest holiday family fare Hugo is sure to enchant.

Recognize these guys? It's been awhile.  The Men in Black will be back next summer for their third installment. 

The characters banner for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.  I'm so excited to see this.

The Muppets have been killing it with the parody trailers and posters.  These are my favorites.  Even after all these years, they still got it.  

The most adorable poster you'll ever see.  From Taiwan, it's baby Puss in Boots!

A picture speaks a thousand words.  The poster for Shame.

A rom-com flick featuring Chris Pine and Tom Hardy.  I'm so in.  

Cameron Crowe's latest We Bought a Zoo.

Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody team up again for Young Adult.

New Trailers: Madagascar 3, What to Expect When You're Expecting and The Five-Year Engagment

From Dreamworks Animations comes the third adventure about the gang from Madagascar, Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman as they navigate through another continent, Europe.  I'm not sure we needed another tale about these characters, I'm not sure if this movie is the right idea but I'm happy to see King Julian (Sacha Baron Cohen) again.  He should have gotten his own spin-off movie like Puss in Boots.  Just saying!  Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted will hit theaters June 8, 2012.

Here comes another giant star cast movie that's not about love or marriage.  This time it's all about babies.  What to Expect When You're Expecting stars Elizabeth Banks, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Matthew Morrison, Chris Rock, Rodrigo Santoro, Chace Crawford, Brooklyn Decker, Anna Kendrick and Dennis Quaid.  The movie is due to release May 11, 2012.  Pun intended!

Also releasing this week is the first trailer for The Five-Year Engagement starring Jason Segel and Emily Blunt as a couple who just can't quite set a wedding date.  Out of all these trailers released, this one looks the most promising.  Plus the movie cast also include many TV comedy faves such as Chris Pratt, Mindy Kaling and Alison Brie.  Win win!  The movie releases on April 27, 2012.

Recommended Links: Andy Serkis' Oscar hopes, Nolan's favorite scene, Pixar talk and more

Two opposing online articles for and against Andy Serkis' chances for an Oscar nomination for his outstanding work in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  I'm a bit on the fence for this.  I don't think the Oscars are quite ready for mo-cap nominated performance nominations as yet.

• Why Andy Serkis should not be eligible for an Oscar...
• But maybe he should be recognized?
• Christopher Nolan discuss his favorite scene from The Dark Knight.  A great read for Nolan fans.
• Watch John Lasseter on Charlie Rose talking about the upcoming new Pixar features.
• Interesting article over at Hitflix that asks the question: Are popular movies like The Muppets and The Avengers actually an example of fanfiction in the movies?  Point to be noted.

Annie Awards 2011 Nominations

It's that time again!  The Annie Awards, also know as the Animation awards, have announced their nominations for the best of the year in animation.

2011 ANNIE AWARD NOMINATIONS PRODUCTION CATEGORIES

Best Animated Feature

A Cat in Paris – Folimage

Arrugas (Wrinkles) - Perro Verde Films, S.L.


Arthur Christmas – Sony Pictures Animation, Aardman Animations

Cars 2 – Pixar Animation Studios

Chico & Rita – Chico & Rita Distribution Limited

Kung Fu Panda 2 – DreamWorks Animation

Puss In Boots – DreamWorks Animation

Rango – Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies present A Blind Wink/GK Films Production

Rio – Blue Sky Studios


Tintin – Amblin Entertainment, Wingnut Films and Kennedy/Marshall

Full nominations list after the jump

New Photo: Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters

(Photo: Entertainment Weekly)

People are fascinated with re-imagining or re-examining the dark themes from the fairytale-like stories we heard as children.  After Snow White, Cinderella and Alice were all given big screen treatments, here comes the story of Hansel & Gretel Witch Hunters.  Except they aren't children anymore, Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) are all grown up and are kick ass fighters!  I think I'm going to like this version.  Before the trailer hits next week, here's a quick look at Renner and Arterton as Hansel & Gretel.

Movie Reviews Roundup

This week has been super productive for only one reason.  I managed to view all the big summer blockbusters that I missed in theaters the first time around.  With the rising cost of movie tickets and the fact that these movies sometimes have a short run in theaters, it's better to catch them at your own convenience in your "home theater".  So in short span of four days, here are my quick reviews of the summer movie fare.


X-Men: First Class - I love the stories from the X-Men universe especially the ones that feature Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender).  This current installment directed by Matthew Vaughn tells us how the two met and later went on their separate paths.  Hank McCoy (Nicholas Hoult) aka Beast and Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) aka Mystique also show up as  youngsters along with other mutants like Banshee and Havok.  The big bad in this film is Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) who singlehandedly wants to start World War III by inciting USA and Russia into war.   The moments of the film that focused on Prof. Xavier and Magneto are the whole film because the actors who play them are riveting.  I wish it could have been more on their complicated relationship while the sequences featuring the younger mutants felt a bit amateurish.

Rating: 

 Captain America: The First Avenger - Decent film about an earnest hero who gets a second chance at being a part of the war effort.  The movie is an origin story how Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans) becomes Captain America along with his fight against Hitler and the Nazis but mostly with rogue ex-Nazi, Red Skull (Hugo Weaving).  Along with a good supporting cast of actors as Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper), Bucky (Sebastian Stan), Colonel Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones) and Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci), it is this summer's second introduction to next summer's big Avengers film.  It is a hardly outstanding but I think that has to do with the subject matter.  It was missing that extra spark of excitement.  But eventually serves to introduce us further into the world and universe of Avengers.

Rating: 

 The Hangover Part II - The inevitable followup to Hangover which was the surprise breakout hit of summer 2009.  Here's the thing, Hangover was genuinely funny with outrageous yet hilarious situations.  This sequel tries to replicate that same magic again as the gang (Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Leong and Justin Bartha) all heads to Thailand for Stu's wedding.  This time round, the characters face more outrageous scenarios to gain laughs.  And those were too few in coming.  I think this film was trying too hard, I much prefer the first film.  You could almost guess what was coming next in the film, it became that predictable.  I'm glad I didn't see this in the theaters, I'd have been disappointed to spend money on this.

Rating: 

Thor - I've never been a fan of the character Thor but I admit I was intrigued by Kenneth Branagh directing this comic book film.  The result was highly enjoyable.  I had no clue about the character so the film did well to introduce me to its universe and the characters.  Anthony Hopkins as King Odin was well cast and I was quite impressed with Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tom Hiddleston as Loki; their sibling rivalry looks to spill over to next Avengers film.  Natalie Portman doesn't have much to do except smile here.  I also didn't quite recognize Idris Elba as Heimdall, the mask he wears totally obscures his face.  Like the other films, this one too sets itself up for future sequels.  I'd be interested to see where the story goes.

Rating: 

Rise of the Planet of the Apes - I saved the best for last.  I'm regretting missing this film in the theaters as it would have been amazing to view.  A scientist, Will Rodman (James Franco), testing a drug as cure for Alzheimer's for his father (John Lithgow), brings home a baby chimpanzee born in the lab.  As the chimp Caesar grows, so does his intelligence as he has genetically gotten the ALZ-112 drug in his DNA.  But Caesar begins to wonder about his place in society, he yearns to be free and be normal.  After an attack on a neighbor puts Caesar in an animal facility, he gets firsthand an experience of how other simians are treated.  He then assumes his role as the leader of the apes.  This is a well enacted film in all aspects; there is never a single dull moment.  The VFX is astonishing mostly because Andy Serkis' motion capture performance of Caesar.  The animation of all the other apes is well done too, the emotion seen in the eyes is especially chilling.  I enjoyed this movie immensely and wouldn't mind seeing it again.

Rating: 

New York Film Critics and National Board Review announce the best of the year.

It's December, which officially heralds the start of awards season with the critics across America bring out their "best of" lists.  Up first was the New York Film Critics Circle which handed out their awards.  Here is the list.

Best Picture: The Artist
Best Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki (The Tree of Life)
Best Screenplay: Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin (Moneyball)
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist)
Best Foreign-Language Film: A Separation
Best Actor: Brad Pitt (Moneyball, The Tree Of Life)
Best Actress: Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady)
Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Chastain (The Tree Of Life, The Help and Take Shelter)
Best Supporting Actor: Albert Brooks (Drive)
Best Nonfiction Film: Cave Of Forgotten Dreams
Best First Feature: Margin Call2011 Special Award: Raoul Ruiz (posthumous)


Surprises? Brad Pitt for Moneyball when most people might have assumed George Clooney or even Michael Fassbender as Best Actor.  The absence of the other actresses from The Help is also noticeable.  No surprise at Meryl Streep winning yet another Best Actress accolade.  She may be accepting her third (but long overdue) Oscar of her career.  But a great opening for The Artist which many people assume is going to win the big prize come Oscar night.


Onto the National Board of Review and their favorite films of the year.

Best Film: Hugo

Best Director: Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants

Best Actress: Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress: Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

Best Original Screenplay: Will Reiser, 50/50

Best Adapted Screenplay:Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash, The Descendants

Best Animated Feature: Rango

Breakthrough Performance: Felicity Jones, Like Crazy

Breakthrough Performance: Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Debut Director: J.C. Chandor, Margin Call

Best Ensemble: The Help

Spotlight Award: Michael Fassbender (A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre, Shame, X-Men: First Class)

NBR Freedom of Expression: Crime After Crime

NBR Freedom of Expression: Pariah

Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation

Best Documentary: Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Special Achievement in Filmmaking: The Harry Potter Franchise – A Distinguished Translation from Book to Film

Top Films
(in alphabetical order)
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Ides of March
J. Edgar
Tree of Life
War Horse

Top 5 Foreign Language Films
(in Alphabetical Order)
13 Assassins
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
Footnote
Le Havre
Point Blank

Top 5 Documentaries
(in Alphabetical Order)
Born to be Wild
Buck
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Project Nim
Senna

Top 10 Independent Films
(in Alphabetical Order)
50/50
Another Earth
Beginners
A Better Life
Cedar Rapids
Margin Call
Shame
Take Shelter
We Need To Talk About Kevin
Win Win

I'm really happy to see Martin Scorsese's first foray into 3D win a big prize.  I can't wait to see Hugo.  I'm also happy to see the final Harry Potter and Rango get some well-deserved recognition.  Point to be noted, these winners were decidedly different than the New York Film Critics Circle.  Who can be called a frontrunner now? Let's wait and watch.