Deja Reboot: "Rosemary's Baby, Oh Baby!"

For those of you who may be unfamiliar, my segment titled "Deja Reboot" is when I write about any upcoming remakes (or, yeah, reboots) and review both...or in this case, make a prediction, as this remake is still in the making.
As a huge fan of horror films (please note Leatherface tearin' it up chainsaw style on my wallpaper) I must say that I am absolutely a fan of the original Rosemary's Baby, directed by Roman Polanski. Although I don't typically get into the oldies, as horrible as that might sound, this one is absolutely a classic. Obviously.
Rosemary and her husband, a mildly successful theater actor, are a young couple who have just moved into a brand new apartment. Surrounded by seemingly sweet, but actually creepy, old neighbors, things take a turn for the worst when mysterious things begin to happy to Rosemary. Long story short (mostly because I haven't seen the film for a while) the neighbors have planned a scheme to raise the devil to impregnate Rosemary. In the end, Rosemary comes to find a cult in her apartment after giving birth to Satan's spawn and famously exclaims "Those eyes! Those horrible eyes!" upon first seeing her infant demon child.
With a story like that, and with those unforgettable set pieces, why wouldn't NBC want to remake this classic film into a miniseries?
I must say, reboots don't necessarily rub me the wrong way, because there are instances when they have been done well, but when they're made for the cheap thrills and quick profits, that's when I become bothered by the idea. However, this remake seems to have somewhat of an original spin on it.
Firstly, it's being made into a miniseries which will be composed of four parts, as opposed to a good old fashioned feature remake. I'm interested to see how this translation will play out since we'll have about four hours of storytelling as opposed to about two. But seeing as this was originally based on a horror novel by Ira Levin, it could be a chance to make a more dedicated version of the story.
Lastly, and the reason I'm most attracted to this development, is the casting news of Zoe Saldana as Rosemary. Now, I am absolutely NOT the kind to make any racially driven comments about equality, because I think Saldana is one of the best young actresses in Hollywood right now, regardless of her ethnicity. I simply think she'll make a great Rosemary for this updated version. Although she has done a mix of racy and sexual roles, she also bodes well as an action star and more than holds her own in the drama department. I think this is a testament as to her versatility, and I can't wait to see her explore new territories in this horror/thriller.
Is anyone else as excited as I am about this new project starring the lovely Zoe? I really hope it lives up to the hype (which I've built up in my own head), but maybe others aren't giving it as much hope as I.
No solid release date yet, but only time will tell if this classic will hold up!

Comic Book Movies: Taking Over the Universe

Here's one I've been wanting to write about for a while now, and what better time than in the new year of progress and commitment! 

Anyway, now that that self-plug is out of the way...

I have never been a huge comic book fan per se (with the exception of Buffy the Vampire Slayer which continued on as a comic book series after the TV show...OH! Next blog post idea has been found), but despite my lack of knowledge of the famous comic books from the sixties-ish era, I have been a huge fan of the films since the first X-Men movie came out in 2000.  Granted there were other lesser known comic book movies out before X-Men such as Blade and...well that's all I can think of right now, but I think what really paved the road for the film adaptations was the success of the first Bryan Singer-directed X-Men.  

Shortly after this strikingly original idea (sarcasm) of taking intellectual comic book properties and turning them into movies because of their pre-existing fan bases, we saw the introduction of a slew of new franchises. Forgive my lack of chronological accuracy here, but the following films came in the wake of X-Men:

Hulk (Marvel)

Blade II (Marvel)

Spider-Man (Marvel)

Daredevil (Marvel)

X2: X-Men United (Marvel)

Catwoman (DC)

Elektra (Marvel)

Batman Begins (DC)

Spider-Man 2 (Marvel)

Fantastic Four (Marvel)

The Punisher (Marvel)

Blad: Trinity (Marvel)

Superman Returns (DC)

Ghost Rider (Marvel)

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (Marvel)

X3: The Last Stand (Marvel)

Spider-Man 3 (Marvel)

Now, as you've probably noticed, I only listed the most popular ones that are strictly based on well-known superheroes or superhero groups, but those are the ones I'm really a fan of.  The time span of that list from Hulk to Spider-Man 3 was bout 2002-2007.  Obviously, the studios decided to do some major ass-kicking of their own by churning out these lucrative properties (emphasis on the word "churn" as several of the aforementioned were pretty horrid).

However, it was in 2008 when Marvel Studios decided to step up their game, and quite on the sly I might add.  With the not-too-impressive results that came with Hulk, the idea of the "reboot" was introduced with The Incredible Hulk. It wasn't a sequel or a prequel, but more of a re-do entirely. With The Incredible Hulk in particular, though, I do remember them keeping it very vague so hat the audience could leave it up to their own interpretation whether it was a sequel or a stand alone film.  I swear these Hollywood hotheads just throw a bunch of mumbo jumbo out at the media wire in hopes of shutting the fans up to stop us from asking questions. 

Anyway, hot on the Hulk reboot's trail was Iron Man.  I remember not getting too hyped up about this one since Iron Man was one of the lesser known good guys...but what a MONSTER success that was! I remember its' opening weekend when it made $100 million in the first three days! Shows how pre-emptive I am.  Which is not at all, in case you were wondering.

That, my friends, is what got the ball rolling. With the Iron Man characters established and the Hulk characters, well, re-established, Marvel had set into motion Phase One of their Marvel Cinematic Universe movement.  Clearly, as you can see from the list above, Marvel had the upper hand on DC well into the game.  But what they've done with the culmination of the other films like Thor and Captain America is really unprecedented.  And who should they choose to helm this massive undertaking but the "Buffy"-est man himself. Joss Whedon. My creative idol.  

Naturally, DC has come in with some well-crafted attempts to compete with this idea, i.e. Green Lantern, Man of Steel and the recently announced Batman/Superman movie, but they just don't have the hype and excitement behind them the way Marvel does.

What I absolutely love about this whole mega-franchise is the concept of the crossover. In each of the previously mentioned films (Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America), there were "easter eggs" after the credits, thus leaving hints as to what everything was building up to; The Avengers.  

I've loved crossover storylines for as long as I can remember. Even back when Lucy Lawless and Kevin Sorbo would tag team it up in their Xena/Hercules crossovers. And don't even get me going all fanboy-ish on what would ensue whenever Buffy and Angel would cross paths on their respective TV shows.  That'll make the geek inside me drool like Pavlov's dog.

As if this wasn't revolutionary enough, last year (2013) saw not only crossovers, but cross-platform crossovers with the TV show Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Wrap your head around that! Okay so it's not that hard to wrap, but there was even a special episode dedicated to the Thor sequel which was released in theaters just weeks before the episode aired. That is some exquisite planning on the development front.  

Honestly I think this is what made Joss the perfect choice for such an epic project. He has been a master of creating dynamic characters and then meshing their worlds together seamlessly since the beginning. Heck, it's practically what he has built his career on. 

Now Marvel has moved on to their next endeavor with Phase Two, which includes Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and also introduces a whole new group of superheroes; The Guardians of the Galaxy. I am so excited for where all of this is leading. Not to get too spoilery, for those of you who are sinfully behind on the mythos that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but there have been some very tasty easter eggs establishing Phase Two and leading into the Guardians, the first official cast picture of which was just released last week! And which I also posted below for your viewing pleasure...okay mostly mine, but yours too :).  

Lastly, these films are so NOT just for the geeks, or the closet geeks, even.  They are really that well made to have a wide appeal for people of all ages. Kind of like The Hunger Games, but a little less dystopian and depressing (Disclaimer: I also love The Hunger Games).  Anyway, do yourself a favor and get caught up before Phase Two hits full force with the release of The Avengers 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy next year! 

2014: The Year of the Film Jockey

Oh how time flies. Literally. It's sickening sometimes.
I vividly remember three years ago (again with that whole "Hi time. Bye time." scenario) when I began this blog. A family member put the idea in my head and I thought it would be a great way to discipline myself as a writer and to turn my focus more intently on the industry. Man, was that a bust. I must say, over the last couple of years I've had a few decent posts, but the consistency was always the hardest part. I was a junior in college when I started, and naturally school always gets in the way (let's be real here, school = partying most of the time). However, as a young professional now working in the film industry, I find it, not only necessary but, essential to remain relevant via social media in more ways than just Tweeting and Facebook-ing.

So, now that I've finished boring you all with my personal life, I wanted to take this brief moment to explain that I'll be somewhat redefining my goals as "The Film Jockey," as pretentious as that sounds. I'll be the first to admit that I don't know all that much about "what makes a great film." Honestly I think a lot of the critics out there are mostly full of themselves and just like to use big words that will, in turn, make the people reading their reviews think they know what they're talking about. But I digress. What I've done in the past is write about movie news and write reviews. Now, in what I'm calling "2014, the year of progress," I have decided to make this an opinion based blog.  In other words, I don't strive to be the first to break the news to you (whoever "you" are). I just strive to give you my two cents as a creative and entertaining expression. Just go check out my post from August 7th, 2012 about The Mortal Instruments. That's a slightly LESS tame version of what I'm striving for from here on out. But I do plan on getting passionate! So if you're not into passion, get the hell outta my blog-o-sphere! No, not really. Please stay.
Anyway, my goal is to become a more focused and dedicated writer, (much accredited to the "My 500 Words" challenge thanks to Jeff Goins at goinswriter.com) along with some other life goals, but you can read more about that over at my other less film-centric blog Toolbox Central...but probably not until tomorrow, because it's getting late and I have a pilot to work on!
Happy new year everyone!

2014: Progress

Film Jockey Fan Art - "City of Bones" - UPDATED

UPDATE - The last one had a weird pic of Izzy, so I changed it to this one...looks a little better.

Well, I'm not huge on creating my own fan art, but when I get passionate about a certain film or book etc., I like to get creative with photoshop. So, in honor of my crazed obsession with this book series of which the first book is being turned into a movie, here's my first official release of an attempt at fan art. A poster for "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones." (Due out August 2013).
For those of you who are familiar (or not familiar) the characters from left to right are Luke (Aidan Turner), Jace (Jamie Campbell Bower), Clary (Lily Collins), Alec (Kevin Zegers) and Isabelle (Jemima West).  I did leave out a couple other key characters, but like I said, this is the first of...well, probably not that many. I just used a bunch of pictures off of Google and Izzy's body is actually a picture of a drawing that I found of Izzy (with Jemima's head photoshopped, haha).  Then there's the logo of course.  I just wanted to take a whack and see how it would turn out. I think it looks alright! Let me know what you guys think!

"The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" film - Forsaken?

For those of you TMI fans who may be, but probably aren't reading this, you get the title of this post. But do you really? As everyone should know by now, The Mortal Instruments is a book series of six fantasy novels, authored by Cassandra Clare, and it's the most recent endeavor to fall victim to Hollywood's book-to-film adaptation frenzy. Although I had my apprehensions when I first heard about my favorite series getting the "celluloid treatment" (just made that one up...pretty good, eh?) two years ago, I quickly warmed to the direction that this film might be taking. However, upon the recent revelation of several casting announcements, my anger reached an alarmingly high pique.  I soon realized that I had no other choice but to turn to the blogosphere. (Spoilers ahead)

TMI: COB Cover Art

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this franchise, "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" is the first in a series of six urban fantasy books about our young, fiery, redheaded heroine Clary Fray. She is a fifteen-year-old, seemingly normal girl just going through the motions of adolescence with her best friend Simon Lewis. She lives in Brooklyn with her mother Jocelyn Fray, who is a single mother and an extremely talented artist; a trait which Clary has inherited to the utmost capacity.  Her mother's best friend Luke Garroway is a father figure to Clary.  He has been there for her ever since she was a toddler and, although he is gentle and understanding at heart, he has a fierce side that you wouldn't want to mess with.
While at a club one night with Simon, Clary witnesses a murder. The victim? A demon, or Downworlder. The perpetrators? Demon killers known as Shadowhunters. Jace, Alec and Isabelle are the three Shadowhunters whom Clary is first acquainted with. She is shocked at what she witnesses and immediately interrogates the three of them, who quickly shrug her off as a "mundie" (Shadowhunter slang for mundanes, regular humans). However, Clary is quickly sucked deeper into this hidden world when her mother is kidnapped by a demon the next night. Desperate to get her mother back, Clary seeks out the help of Jace and his friends and she discovers that there is much to her past that her mother kept hidden from her.
Valentine, the white-haired, rogue Shadowhunter, is the suave and seductive, yet terrifyingly motivated villain. He is the culprit behind the kidnapping. Why? Because he is Clary's father and he knows that Jocelyn holds valuable information that he needs.  Through this journey, Clary realizes much about herself that she never knew existed.

Collins

I remember when I first heard that TMI: COB would be coming to the big screen. I read an article about two years ago which was announcing that Lily Collins would be starring as Clary Fray and that Scott Stewart, of "Legion" and "Priest" fame, would be directing. Naturally, my first instinct was to become overly elated. What crazily obsessed fan of any book franchise wouldn't want to see one of their favorite novels visually translated to the silver screen? I wasn't too thrilled about Lily Collins in the lead, simply because she wasn't (and still isn't) a well known actress and I had no idea how talented she may or may not be. The fact that she wasn't a redhead especially irked me. But once I did some research on her past acting credits (and saw her in a red wig) I became much more confident about the film.  My bigger concern was with Stewart directing.  Although I liked "Legion" and "Priest", neither of them were quality films. They were great, senseless action movies but nothing that I would pay to see in theatres. Little did I know at the time, but this would cease to exist as an issue in a couple years.
Then came the casting of Jace, who is the other main character, and a rather complex one at that.  He is a hotheaded and arrogant know-it-all who becomes surprisingly vulnerable when he meets Clary. Needless to say, a love story ensues. Anyway, the entirety of TMI fandom was dying for Alex Pettyfer to land the coveted role of Jace Wayland.  Although he definitely looks the part, I personally thought he was a crappy actor so I was glad to learn that the role went to Jamie Campbell Bower instead. Keep in mind this is a year after the announcement of Lily being cast as Clary.

Bower

So now both of my main characters are cast and it's thrilling. Bower is another guy who is pretty unknown amongst Hollywood, but he looked the part and considering he had small previous roles in two huge blockbuster franchises, the final two "Harry Potter" films and the "Twilight" movies (which I bloody hate with a passion and can't believe those films were ever successful or even made into films in the first place), I had to keep the faith. The next big news after this was that Stewart had been dropped as director and replaced by Harald Zwart.  He is a director whom I know nothing about other than the fact that he directed the updated version of "The Karate Kid" which I knew got some pretty decent reviews.  Regardless of the fact that I was unfamiliar with this guy, I remained very faithful because I know that unknown directors can still produce great, quality films.  Plus I was mostly thrilled that Stewart had been dropped.
Now, a year after the Jace casting news and just a few months after the switching of directors, the production of TMI is right around the corner.  Casting news is pouring in day after day and all of the major characters' real life faces are becoming seared into our minds. Next after Jace was the announcement of Jemima West as Isabelle. She's another British actor (Bower being the first Brit of the cast) and one that I, yet again, have never heard of.  I was becoming ever more slightly concerned about the film regarding this announcement. She does mostly look the part, but I just have nothing to base her acting chops off of.  Although I remained skeptical at heart, I brushed aside my worries and allowed my elation to continue.
After the announcement of a couple more minor characters, which I didn't really care about because they're so minor, came a huge bit of casting news. YET ANOTHER unknown foreigner was cast as Simon Lewis, Clary's best friend.  Robert Sheehan.  I'm not a huge fan of Simon as a character, although I know many many people love him and he is a huge central character.  I don't dislike him, he's just not one of my favorites. So when I heard about Sheehan it was just kinda like, "Hm, okay, that's random." But then came the BIGGEST announcement to date. We got THREE major characters cast in one week! Jared Harris as Hodge (a mentor to the Shadowhunters and a big character in the story), Godffrey Gao as Magnus Bane (another unknown actor, but he seemed like a great fit for Magnus who is another huge character), and my favorite cast member to be announced thus far...Lena Headey as Clary's mom Jocelyn!!! It's  not that I am even a big fan of Headey, I am just very familiar with her work as an actress because of her roles in "300" and the short-lived TV series "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles."  Granted I was very excited about Harris and Gao being cast in their respective roles, but Headey became the first cast member whom I was really familiar with, so it was extremely exciting to see a well-known actress cast in something that I have been a fan of for years. It was honestly like one of those things where you wonder who in the world could possibly be the PERFECT actor to portray a character you know so well, and then viola! She is placed in front of me. Headey is perfect for Jocelyn (once the red hair is added, of course).

Headey

But all of this excitement would be shattered when I would learn just a short few days later that Aidan Turner would be cast as my favorite character Luke Garroway, a character so wise and guiding for Clary. He is her father figure and mentor of sorts. He's also a love interest to Clary's mother. He plays a huge, invaluable role in this series. He should be mid-late 30's at LEAST, if not early 40's...and they cast a freaking 29 year old who looks like he's 24 to play this role. Not to mention...HE'S BRITISH!!! Nothing could infuriate me more than hearing this announcement.  As trivial as this casting may sound, this single revelation in the entirety of production on this film is the one thing that has shattered my hopes.  I was clinging to faith throughout all of my skepticism over Bower and West and Sheehan and all of these foreigners taking over my damn franchise! Then all of the anger that I had so willingly and peacefully swept under the rug immediately erupted from deep within my soul and spewed out in a fiery rage so powerful it could reignite a dying star.  WHY WHY WHY!?!?! Why does Hollywood insist on thinking that it knows what is best for a film? WHY would you sacrifice the quality of a character and a story just to make a quick penny? IDIOTS, I say.

Meyers

As if matters couldn't get any worse...Valentine was cast today. Valentine, the villain and obviously another central and pivotal character in the story, will be played by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers. JONATHAN RHYS-MEYERS!!! Are you kidding me!?!? He is YET AGAIN about ten years TOO YOUNG for this role AND BRITISH!!! I am such at a loss for words.
Granted I probably wouldn't be as angry about Meyers being cast as Valentine if it weren't for my pre-existing anger about Turner as Luke.  I think I am slowly but surely becoming SOMEWHAT okay with Meyers as Valentine simply because I can see him being suave and evil. But he's still too young!!!
I thought I would feel better after getting my anger out in writing, but I'm still pretty fueled up on the hate juice. I guarantee you that they are using the success of the "Twilight" films as a reference for casting TMI.  This sole fact breaches any trust I ever had with any producer or filmmaker that I ever entrusted with this film.  TWILIGHT. IS. AWFUL. Those films are so phenomenally and infinitely and tragically despicable that I would personally pay all of my life earnings to see every millimeter of celluloid used on that film burnt to a poisonous liquid. It nearly brings me to tears thinking that the producers are sacrificing the quality of the story to go with a hot, young, inadequate cast because "it worked for 'Twilight.'" DO NOT compare this franchise to Twilight. EVER.
I must stop here before I say something that will get me arrested.
So there you have it my friends. The way things stand now, this production is as forsaken by me as a Mundie marked with angelic runes.
I guess I'll have to hope and pray that this film will redeem itself once it all comes together in the final product. If not, then by the angel...by the angel...

The Film Jockey reviews: "Our Idiot Brother"

Alright so I'm a couple days behind on this, but I have my reasons...and this will be a pretty short one because, well, I'm tired.
Anyway, my first review of 2012 (simply because it happened to be one of the first movies I saw in the new year) is "Our Idiot Brother."
I'm not a huge comedy fan, as one may have guessed from following this blog, so I naturally was not too thrilled to be watching this film. It's not that I dislike comedy, I just highly prefer horror, sci-fi, action or drama over it...but I still enjoy films of all kinds.
I must say that I was pleasantly surprised in this case...for the most part. It was good in some ways, but very flawed in others.
The film opens with the "brother" Ned, played by Paul Rudd, ignorantly selling marijuana to a uniformed cop. Right off the bat we get the clue that he's not a bright guy. Ned goes to his parole officer who tells him that he must live with a family member in order to keep a close watch on him. Ned is survived by his mother and three sisters, who also become central characters in the story. Of the three sisters, there is Miranda (played by Elizabeth Banks) who is a seemingly heartless reporter constantly trying to break a big story at the risk of other people's feelings. There is also Natalie (played by Zooey Deschanel) and Liz (played by Emily Mortimer). Nat is a hippie-like lesbian who is comically unsure of her sexuality while Liz plays an unhappy housewife struggling to come to terms with the fact that her husband is cheating on her.
As they all have their turns at taking Ned in for a period of time, each sister has a way of manipulating him into their lives, whether that be intentional or not.
While trying to adjust to this new "lifestyle," Ned really can't seem to get things right even though he tries to help everyone around him. What it comes down to is that he is too peaceful and too naive. Ned starts to get blamed for many things that were inadvertently his fault as a result of the girls' manipulation. He finally learns to stick up for himself and gets into trouble with the law, but the sisters come to the rescue and all is okay in the world of Ned.
Obviously I summed up a whole lot, but as I previously mentioned as a disclaimer, I am not a big comedy fan. Therefore I don't always know the rules of comedy, but I was sure not to take this one too seriously. Going in with that mindset really helped because there were definitely some elements of decent storytelling in this film. I thought the sisters were all very well developed characters and we actually came to know Ned better through their development. This was one of the big things that I enjoyed about the film. However, this is also where comedy fans may find it to be a flaw. Most comedies, with the rare exception, sacrifice good storytelling for laughs. This one actually had decent storytelling, but not a lot of laughs. I don't necessarily remember laughing out loud one time in particular, but I really appreciated the characters here.
The story itself is rather generic with a hint of originality. The major flaws, story-wise, that I found was that the beginning was way too rushed. We are immediately thrown into the first inciting incident with Ned selling drugs to the cop. We don't get eased in and we never really learn much about Ned until too late into the story.
Overall I give the movie about 2.5 out of 5, just because there should have been more laughs. Had I actually found the film to be funny it might have been raised to 3, or possibly 3.5 if it were really funny...but it wasn't. So this is where I stand.

New year, new goals, new content!

The Film Jockey is back! It's been a while, but I am here to stay!
I first started this blog as a way to keep some kind of regular routine for myself. Something that could help me keep myself in check as I attempted to immerse myself in the world of film.
As cliche as it might be, 2012 is a new year! With a new year comes a clean slate and new ideas.
So, in addition to critiquing films this year, I will also be reviewing some of my favorite TV episodes! Over the past month or so, I have begun watching a number of different television shows, including Dexter, Lost and Once Upon A Time, just to name a few.

Tonight marks the Film Jockey's official return, as I review "Our Idiot
Brother" starring Paul Rudd.
I will also be reviewing one of my favorite new TV series "Dexter" up to where it stands right now. with the 6th season having just ended and the 7th season beginning at the end of this year. I will review one season at a time rather than reviewing the series as a whole. That way I can hopefully do it more justice because there is a lot going on in this show! It's fantastic.

In just a few hours I will be back with full force!
I'll keep you posted! (pun intended)

The Film Jockey reviews: "Scream 4" (MAJOR SPOILERS)

Well, I haven't updated this blog in a few months. So, I decided, what better way to come back than with a review of the movie sequel that partially inspired this blog! Scream 4, or SCRE4M, has finally hit theatres, and after a year of impatiently waiting, I have already seen it twice!
I will start out my review by repeating what I mentioned in the title. There are MAJOR SPOILERS within this review. I considered trying to review this film without using spoilers, however, there is just so much going on in this movie that it would simply be too difficult to dance around the specific events that took place. With that being said...here we go!
Let's start with the beginning of the film, the opening scene. Ever since the original Scream in 1996, the Scream films have been known to have exciting opening scenes. So Scream 4 is expected to be no different...and it's not! The opening scene was my favorite since the original with Drew Barrymore! As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have been following scream-trilogy.net for updates since the beginning of production of Scream 4. It is a very trustworthy source for all of the latest updates. So all within a couple weeks, we saw that Lucy Hale, Shenae Grimes, Anna Paquin, Kristen Bell, Britt Robertson and Aimee Teegarden had all been hired for small cameos. There had been much speculation as to what roles they would be playing, the most popular of these speculations being that 2 of them would be appearing in the film-within-a-film series "Stab" which originated in Scream 2. However, we did not quite foresee the possibility of a film-within-a-film-within-a-film, which is exactly what happened! It was brilliant. The film opens with Lucy Hale and Shenae Grimes being stalked by a "Facebook killer" and soon they are both savagely murdered by Ghostface. After this, a title card flashes up saying "Stab 6." We then cut to Kristen Bell and Anna Paquin sitting on a couch together, watching Stab 6. They then begin to critique the opening that they just watched. Anna's character finds it to be "fucking bullshit" or something along those lines, whereas Kristen's character likes the idea of "a guy with a knife who just...snaps." Anna's character proceeds to ramble on about how all of the Stab movies are predictable, just as Kristen pulls out a knife and stabs her in the abdomen twice. After Anna asks "Why?", Kristen responds with "Because you fucking talk too much. Now shut the fuck up and watch the movie." Cue title card saying "Stab 7." Cut to Brit Robertson (Marnie) and Aimee Teegarden (Jenny) sitting on a couch in real Woodsboro watching Stab 7 and deconstructing the controversial opening scenes. Jenny and Marnie begin to discuss the Stab series, fitting in some of the meta-fiction, self-aware dialogue which the Scream franchise is so famous for. So one thing leads to another and Jenny and Marnie are murdered in what I found to be a rather suspenseful opening. After this, we cut to the title card reading "Scream 4."
I found this to be a very creative opening and it was actually pretty frightening at moments. Also very unexpected at times, which can be said for the entire film!
Now we are introduced to a new Sidney Prescott, who has written a self help book called "Out of Darkness." She is visiting her hometown of Woodsboro as the last stop on her book tour. She is accompanied by her publicist Rebeca, who resembles a young Gale Weathers with her bitchy and aggressive attitude. We then see the reunion of now-Sheriff Dewey Riley and his wife of 10 years Gale Weathers-Riley, who seem to be having some marital issues throughout the film. After a short introduction into the current lives of our 3 main cast characters, we are introduced to the new generation. This new generation of characters includes Emma Roberts as Sidney's high school age cousin Jill, and Jill's best friends Kirby, played by Hayden Panettiere and Olivia played by Marielle Jaffe. Among the new male cast members are Rory Culkin as Charlie and Erik Knudsen as Robbie who are the two leaders of the Cinema Club at Woodsboro High. We also have Nico Tortorella who plays Trevor, Jill's mysterious ex-boyfriend.
After the introductions of our new characters, the killings begin.
The first to go is Jill's friend Olivia. This was actually a very emotional murder scene. Olivia's bedroom window is directly across from Jill's bedroom window. Kirby and Jill are in Jill's room, and they witness the entire murder from across the way. I actually found Olivia to be a likable character, and watching her get thrown around her bedroom and stabbed repeatedly and gutted was a pretty tough thing to watch. Sidney soon rushes over to Olivia's bedroom, but she's too late. Jill follows her and they are both attacked by Ghostface, but not before Sidney tackles him (yes spoiler, HIM) down the stairs and gives him a high kick to the face. But, alas, he ends up disappearing into the night.
I found all of the new characters to be likable. Especially Hayden Panettiere's character Kirby. She's a feisty film geek with a bitchy side that makes her a very tough girl to mess with. Even though she ends up getting stabbed twice in the stomach by the end. This is another murder that I was upset about because Kirby was probably my favorite out of the new generation characters.
I also really liked the connection that we see between Sidney and her cousin Jill. There is a scene in the kitchen at Jill's house after Olivia has been murdered. Jill proceeds to ask Sidney how she deals with it and they are able to find common ground. We really see Sidney's protective side come out in this installment. She's definitely a fighter. Ghostface comes around, and she saves, not only herself, but other characters as well throughout the film. Sid kicks serious ass in number 4.
My one biggest flaw with this film is that they have tried way too hard to push the comedy. After Anthony Anderson is stabbed in the head, he stumbles around a little bit and, before he falls dead, he says one of the dumbest one-liners I have ever heard. It actually pissed me off because it was so awkward that it made the death scene completely unrealistic. There were a couple of these instances when a "funny ha-ha" one-liner would be uttered in the middle of a serious death scene and it just didn't fit with the mood at all.
Other than that, the film was absolutely enjoyable and the best in the series since the original. The climax had the most dramatic twist in the series, and that includes the original Scream. While the original is a better film overall, number 4 has the most dramatic twist for who the killer is....JILL!!!!!! Charlie the film geek is an accomplice, but the main twist is Jill, Sid's cousin! I did not see this coming from a hundred miles away. At first I was unsure whether I liked this revelation, but upon seeing the film a second time, I realized that I LOVED this. Throughout the film I had slight ideas of who I thought the killer(s) would be, but I never foresaw Jill as a killer. Not even a little bit. So looking back, had it been someone else, it just wouldn't have had the extreme dramatic effect that it did have. I also liked that Charlie was the second killer because he was a pretty creepy guy.
I loved the way they pulled the rug out from under us with every twist and turn. Throughout the beginning stages with casting, we saw all these young stars cast as, what we thought, were going to be important roles. We expected Sidney and Dewey and Gale to pass the torch onto this new cast so that they could take over for any, possible, sequels. And then EVERY new generation character was murdered. (Although Panettiere's character is still on the fence because we never saw her officially dead). In the original Scream, Drew Barrymore was hired and they promoted the film as if she would be a main character, and then she was killed in the first 10 minutes. Scream 4 pulled the "Drew Barrymore" move with the ENTIRE new cast! I found this to be very exciting and original. The big twists and turns (and there is more than one) were all so unexpected. The biggest, of course, being that Jill was the killer. And I actually found her motive to be very credible. She insists that living in Sidney's shadow has caused her to resent parts of her life, and so now she's trying to become Sidney and gain her own fans and fame. Anyway, it all ends with Jill and all of her high school friends (with the possible exception of Hayden) dying and none of the original 3 characters meet their demise.
Overall I give the film 3.5 out of 5 stars. Although it was flawed, I absolutely loved the fresh take on the meta-fiction horror plot. The dialogue is well written too, which makes it more enjoyable to watch. If you are a Scream fan, or even if you're not a Scream fan, GO SEE SCREAM 4!!!

The Film Jockey reviews: "Scream"

In dedication to the release of Scream 4 in less than 3 months, I am going to be reviewing "Scream!"

As I stated in my previous article regarding the Scream franchise, these films brought a new and original twist to the horror genre. Kevin Williamson wrote the script and Wes Craven took on the project as director. Together they made a great team and created a legendary horror film.

Scream opens up with one of the most memorable scenes of horror movie history, and my favorite opening scene of all time. The film opens with Drew Barrymore as Casey, a young girl alone in a big, but not typically creepy house. The phone rings and she answers it. It's a strange man on the other end, but she dismisses it as a wrong number and hangs up. Shortly after, the phone rings again. The man says he wanted to "apologize" but Casey's not buying it. She hangs up again. Eventually, the man continuously calls her and begins harassing her over the phone with death threats and such. Without spoiling anything (which everyone should have seen this movie already, so there shouldn't really be any spoilers) I will move on. This scene is so greatly directed by Craven. He creates a really scary atmosphere with this house and the character of the "voice." The build-up of tension is great and it keeps your eyes glued to the screen. All of this leads up to a great finale (as far as opening scenes go), as Casey is directly confronted with the Ghostface killer.

Now, moving onto the film itself. Scream centers around the character Sidney Prescott (played by Neve Campbell). Sidney is a little more than your average high school girl. We discover that Sidney's mother Maureen Prescott was supposedly raped and murdered one year ago by a man named Cotton Weary, whom Sidney sentenced to death row with her testimony in court. Following the death of Casey, the whole community is in an uproar and local media makes connections to the death of Sidney's mother. Most of this speculation is done by Gale Weathers (played by Courteney Cox) who is the local "tabloid twit." Quickly enough, however, Sidney finds herself as the target of Ghostace. Helping Sidney through this is her best friend Tatum (Rose McGowan) and Tatum's big brother/town deputy Dewey Riley (David Arquette). As Sidney tries to find out who is trying to kill her and why, she discovers some shocking secrets about her mother that she didn't know before.

All in all, this film has something that most other horror films lack. That "something" is substance. It's got real characters, real backgrounds and relationships to go with those characters and a great plot that doesn't just involve an unrealistic villain who can't die. This villain is a very real threat. Without spoiling anything, we find out that the killer has a very close relationship with Sidney, and in more ways than one. There is motive, but there isn't at the same time. Yes the killer(s) are psychotic, but they've also got their reasonings behind it. This always makes for an exciting twist when the killer has a real relationship with our protagonist. It gives the story that substance I'm talking about. After almost 2 hours of watching our heroine get attacked and nearly murdered, we better have a damn good revelation at the end for why it's been happening. And that is where Scream becomes smarter. Williamson had his story well thought out when he wrote it.

With that being said, everyone needs to see this film! Not only horror fans. Everybody in general loves a good horror flick sometimes, and this really is one of the best.

Anne Hathaway "Rises" to the challenge of playing Catwoman!

So as I mentioned in my article a few days ago, there were three contenders to take over as one of the two new leading ladies in "The Dark Knight Rises." Well, one of those ladies has been officially announced as being added to the cast! Anne Hathaway will be playing Selina Kyle aka Catwoman in the new Batman movie!

I know in the previous article I mentioned how I wasn't too crazy about seeing Hathaway, Biel or Knightley take on any role in the film, but the more I think about it, the more I think Hathaway will make a pretty good Catwoman. I can just see her as being a sly and sexual villain to taunt Batman. Like I said I'm really not a big Hathaway fan, but I am very anxious to see how she does as Catwoman. I think she'll pull it off!

The Film Jockey reviews: "Black Swan"

My second review, in honor of Natalie Portman winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress about an hour ago, is going to be Black Swan.

This film instantly shot up to one of my top ten favorites. I almost don't feel worthy to be reviewing it, but I'll hopefully do it justice.

As a modern take on the story "Swan Lake," Black Swan focuses on Portman's character Nina. Nina is a shut-in of sorts, living in New York with her single mother. When she wins the lead role in the Swan Lake production, Nina expertly portrays the White Swan. However, she becomes very pressured when she fails to successfully portray the much darker role of the Black Swan. Her instructor Thomas, played by Vincent Cassel, gives her several pointers on how to "loosen up" in order to more easily fit into the role. An example of these pointers he gives her is to "go home and touch yourself." Very dedicated to her craft, Nina works hard and takes these pointers from Thomas. However, she also finds herself being corrupted by her peer Lily, played by Mila Kunis. Lily portrays the darker side that Nina is striving to become in order to be the Black Swan. In a desperate attempt to fit into this character, she gives into Lily's corruption. Nina begins to hallucinate about things and she eventually can't tell what's real anymore.

Without spoiling anything, I'll move onto my review. Portman gives a mind-blowing performance as Nina. Obviously she's been getting a large amount of praise from critics and fans alike, and as I previously mentioned, she just won the Golden Globe for Best Actress tonight. Aronofsky is a great director and he, obviously, did a great job with this film. I like his very dark tone that he traditionally creates in his films so well, and Black Swan is no exception for that tradition. Mila Kunis also did a great job as the party girl Lily. I hope she gets an Oscar nomination for her role. All in all, there is just so much going on in this film that it's hard to really talk about without spoiling anything. I've always personally felt like ballerina's are stereotyped for their lack of eating and their hard work that they put into their craft. This film definitely enforces those stereotypes, but it's such a great story about the character of Nina. We slowly see her spiral out of control and become a completely different person. I really love the hallucinations that she has throughout the film too. It becomes hard for her to tell what's real and what isn't. And as the audience, we really get sucked into the story as we are never aware what is real and what she's hallucinating. The hallucinations are a great symbolic touch which really portray how she is completely becoming the Black Swan. Figuratively and literally.

In conclusion, this film is undoubtedly one of the best of 2010. I highly suggest everyone see it if you're into dark drama like this. Portman's performance alone is worth the 9 bucks for the movie ticket, but you also get a great story with other great performances as well. However, DISCLAIMER!, there is a pretty intense sex scene between Mila Kunis and Natalie Portman. So if that kind of stuff offends you, I would avoid it.

"Scream 4" looks guaranteed to have you SCREAMING!!! - UPDATE!!!

If anyone knows anything about me, it's that I'm a HUGE horror fan! (Hence Leatherface wielding his chainsaw in my background). As an aspiring writer/director, I just love the energy and the emotion behind (good) horror films. Although I even find entertainment in the really bad horror movies that don't require thinking. Just killing! Anyway, I always credit this love of horror to the revolutionary film franchise "Scream."

Of course the film was released in 1996, so I was only 7 years old at the time. No my parents did not allow me to see it at the age of 7. I think I was 8. Anyway, I saw it for the first time and I was immediately hooked. I loved the opening scene from the first time I saw it. I actually got scared the first few times I watched it. The creepy voice of Ghostface and the atmosphere that Craven created is really chilling.

So, unless you were born yesterday, or have been living under a rock for the last decade and a half, you have heard of Scream. In an era full of crappy horror films with no real substance as far as characters or plot, Scream re-invented the genre with its' smart script by Kevin Williamson and the amazing direction from Wes Craven. The film also made history with the previously mentioned opening scene featuring Drew Barrymore as Ghostface's first unlucky victim. Although I'm not a huge Drew fan, she did a great job in the opening scene.

With all that being said, Scream 4 is being released this April 15th!!! 3 months! I have personally been following the whole production since summer via a great blog site called www.scream-trilogy.net. Today, the full trailer for Scream 4 was released and it looks awesome! The teaser was released a couple of months ago, but this one is a full 2 and a half minutes! We get a lot of juicy info that we didn't get in the first one.

With Scream 3 being a bit of a disappointment, Scream 4 looks legitimately scary! Craven looks like he's really put his all into this film, and I am ecstatic about seeing all of these new characters thrown into the storyline. Newcomers include Emma Roberts (above), Hayden Panettiere and Adam Brody among a few others.

So without further adieu, do yourself a favor and watch the Scream 4 trailer! And don't forget to check it out on April 15th!!!

UPDATE! - The link I posted above no longer carries the embedded video of the new Scream 4 trailer...However! The HD version is available in much better quality at www.apple.com/trailers/weinstein/scream4 !!! ENJOY!!!

The "Dark Knight" needs TWO new ladies!

Well, with "The Dark Knight Rises" pretty much on the down low for a while, it's been said that Anne Hathaway, Jessica Biel and Keira Knightley are going through the testing process to take over as one of the TWO new female leads after Rachel Dawes bit the dust in "The Dark Knight." There are also a couple of other names being thrown around such as Naomi Watts, Gemma Arteron (Prince of Persia) and Eva Green (Casino Royale), but those three are strictly rumors for now. The actual

characters have not been confirmed as of yet either, so it's still a mystery as to who the new actresses would actually be playing in the film.

I personally don't think that the three going through the

testing process really fit into a film of this genre.

Hathaway would probably be my first choice. She's a good actress when she wants to be, but she has some personal mannerisms that make you say "Yep, that's Anne Hathaway." I always find myself catching onto these whenever I watch her in any film. I think they need an actress who can completely transform into the character without any of their own personal characteristics to take away from the experience.

Biel, well, she's a whole other story. She's kind of a crappy actress, but I've mostly liked her in action roles. She definitely kicked @$$ in Blade: Trinity, and she's very good when it comes to being an action star because of her athletic build. But, judging by the character of Rachel Dawes in the first two films, I think they'll need someone who can carry a pretty heavy dramatic role, and I don't think Biel can handle it.

And last but...probably least there's Knightley. I don't really like her as an actress. She just plays the same characters all the time. The only time she ever stepped out of the romantic/love type role was for "Domino" (2005) and, although I like that movie, there was

nothing outstanding about Knightley's performance. I don't see her being a huge contender for this film.

With that being said, I think they need a new lineup of possible leading ladies. I actually think Gemma Arterton would be a great addition to the cast. Although she got her start in a couple of crappy movies (Prince of Persia, Clash of the Titans) I think she has great potential to be a serious actress.

As far as the story goes, I just hope they don't make the same mistake as with Spider-Man 3 by cramming way too many storylines into one film. But I have the utmost faith in Christopher Nolan. He's a phenomenal filmmaker.

So what do all of you guys out there think about the line-up for leading ladies?

The Film Jockey reviews: "Thirteen"

For my first ever review as The Film Jockey, I will be reviewing one of my personal favorites, "Thirteen" released in 2003. You might be wondering, "Why is one of his favorite movies about a couple of teenage girls gone wild?" I respond to this by saying, this film is not just about crazy teenage girls running amuck.

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke (most known for directing the film adaptation of "Twilight"), "Thirteen" focuses on a young girl named Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) who lives with her brother and her divorced mother Mel (Holly Hunter). Living in a makeshift home of sorts, Tracy seems to have been brought up with a good head on her shoulders despite her family's paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle. When we are first introduced to Tracy, she's one of the "good girls" of her school. She does well in her classes, wears pigtails, dresses cutely and has a great relationship with her mother. She also seems to be among the minority, as her school consists of a very diverse population. So, right off the bat, we see that Tracy is in a very pressured environment. One day at school, Tracy notices the popular girls, led by Evie Zamora (Nikki Reed). Seemingly desperate to join the popular girls, we follow Tracy on a dark and rapid descent into popularity as she will do anything it takes to be friends with Evie. First comes the stealing and lying, then comes the all out bad behavior. She begins to do drugs, like acid, and drinks irresponsibly. On top of this, her relationship with her mother goes from great to basically non-existent over night. She yells, disrespects and lies to her mother at any given moment. All of this leads to a shocking confrontation between Tracy, Evie, Mel and Evies cousin/guardian Brooke (played by Deborah Unger).

Co-written by Nikki Reed and Catherine Hardwicke, the film is based on real life experiences of Reed herself at the age of 13. Although it is a story that is all too familiar, a girl caught in the midst of peer-pressure and teenage angst, it is driven by the performances of Wood, Hunter and Reed. Wood absolutely outshines her co-stars as she flawlessly portrays Tracy's transformation from good girl to wrist-cutting troubled teen. Hunter also puts on a fantastic performance as we feel nothing but the utmost empathy for her as a recovering alcoholic mother who struggles to put food on the table for her family. Hardwicke is truly at the top of her game with this film, as her handheld/documentary style camera-work makes for fascinating storytelling. The cinematography portrays a gritty realistic vision that intrigues the audience as we witness Tracy's dark descent. Watching Wood and Hunter clash as mother and daughter is nothing short of captivating. However, Reed's performance should not go unnoticed as she also delivers a flawless portrayal of a rebellious and corruptive teenager (although Reed states that the Tracy character is based on herself).

Overall, I recommend everyone to see this film at least once. If not for the story itself, at least for the performances. Wood completely indulges the audience and the scenes between Wood and Hunter are something that should not be missed. This character driven story is an unforgettable one.

Deja Reboot: One bad "Nightmare"

When "A Nightmare on Elm Street" was first released in 1984, the film's villain Freddy Krueger struck fear in audiences around the nation. It contained an original story that hadn't been done before and a new kind of villain that could torture you and physically kill you in your dreams. Director Wes Craven was genius to bring this new twist of horror to life. Not to mention Robert Englund made a very terrifying Freddy Krueger. As previously mentioned, the thing that made the original so terrifying is that we'd never seen a villain like Freddy before. When we think of sleeping, we think of being at peace and it is our one time to ultimately relax and let go of all of our worries. However, this film takes that away from us. Craven took something that the body needs to physically function (sleep) and made it a place to be feared. On top of that, "Nightmare" was also a great film in general because of its' relatable characters and the complexity of Freddy himself as a character.

That being said, the remake was a semi-faithful adaptation in the visual sense, but it did manage to try and tie up loose ends that might not have been made clear in the original. In other words, there was an amount of over-exposition. Exposition is good, over-exposition is bad. The story behind Freddy in the original is that he was a child rapist and the parents of the town hunted him down and killed him. In this case, it was Nancy's mom describing to us what had happened, which explains why Freddy is trying to kill Nancy (our heroine). However, it is not made clear why he is killing her friends. The remake takes it one step further by trying to connect all of the characters in order to explain why Freddy wants to kill them all.

Here is where the reboot fails. It tries to take an original story and add to it so much that it ends up adding too much. There is no sense of mystery. The lack of mystery does not end there though. In the original, Freddy's face is kept mostly in the shadows until the end of the film. This adds a very creepy atmosphere to the film and makes Freddy's character even more frightening. However, in the remake, Freddy is completely exposed. There is no attempt to hide his mangled features in order to taunt the audience. (not to mention the "new" Freddy did not look nearly as frightening. He looked like an animal.)

In conclusion, the reboot was not quite as bad as I expected to be, but the original trumps it by a long shot.

New Column...

So I know this blog is still brand new, but I'm already starting a new column! It's called "Deja Reboot" in which I will compare original movies to their more recent remakes. My first comparison that I'm going to review will be...

Finally! The Mortal Instruments is coming to the silver screen!

I know this is a little late because the news was released a couple of weeks ago, but if any of you have heard of the young adult fantasy book series "The Mortal Instruments," it's officially been picked up to be made into a feature length film! Lily Collins (The Blind Side, Priest) has been cast to play the red-headed heroine Clary Fray. The director will be Scott Stewart who directed Collins in the upcoming "Priest" and also directed the 2010 film "Legion."

The storyline revolves around a 15-year-old girl named Clarissa (Clary) Fray. One night, her mother is mysteriously kidnapped from their home by a terrifying creature. This event sets off a suspenseful and exciting journey for Clary as she discovers secrets that have been hidden from her about her family and her destiny. Along this journey, she battles terrifying demons and other mythical creatures along side the mysterious Shadowhunter Jace, who also has a hidden past of his own.

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical when I first saw that Collins was going to be playing Clary. But after watching the "Priest" trailer, she looks like she'll be able to hold her own in a film of that genre, and she has the right look of what I picture Clary to be. However, I'm still a little skeptical about the choice of director. Of course he has some familiarity with the genre, but as a huge fan of this book series, I want it to be good. Legion wasn't all that great, and I'm still anxiously waiting to see Priest later this year. Either way, it can't just be another "Harry Potter wanna-be." If it's going to be a successful film franchise it has to be able to stand on it's own two feet. It has to be unique and create a new and fresh atmosphere that we haven't seen before. It can't just imitate what's been done in the past with book-to-movie adaptations. But, as we all know, Hollywood's main goal is to make the money. So I'm crossing my fingers and praying that they make good decisions. But hey maybe I'm just pessimistic. I mean Chris Columbus never directed any outstanding films but then he did a great job with the first two Harry Potter films. And he mostly stuck to directing comedies before that. At least Stewart has some experience in the same genre as The Mortal Instruments.

For you "The Mortal Instruments" fanatics out there...what's your opinion on the casting and director choice?

On DVD tomorrow...

January 4th, 2011:

"Machete" - Directed by Robert Rodriguez

Starring - Danny Trejo, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez

"The Last Exorcism" - Directed by Daniel Stamm

Starring - Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell

"Dinner for Schmucks" - Directed by Jay Roach

Starring - Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, Zach Galifianakis

New year, new movies, new blog!

As I mentioned up above, this is my blog dedicated to movie reviews and movie news. Every Sunday night I will create a new post reviewing a movie (good or bad) that I have watched within the previous week. In addition to this, I will also post any of the most recent movie news that I discover throughout the week. My first review will be next Sunday, January 9th. Stay tuned!