When The Great Gatsby was released last year in May, the soundtrack seemed to be the most popular part of the entire project. And overall, we all remember the chilling ballad of "Young and Beautiful" by the one and only Lana Del Rey. It added such incredible depth to what would've been just a generic love scene. But her unique and dark vocals saved the movie and, in fact, made it one of the most celebrated movies of the year. Not in the critical sense, but just that it was different from anything we'd seen.
And now we have the trailer for Maleficent, the upcoming summer movie based on the villain's side of Sleeping Beauty. Think Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland...one of those dark fairy tale adaptions. And what more of a perfect vocalist to do a dark and chilling ballad than Lana Del Rey?
The song Once Upon a Dream is absolutely incredible. It fits the film's tone so well and will definitely add to the story. I feel like I can already tell how the movie will play out based on this song alone. It leaves an air of mystery to it as well, like every good ballad should. I was already excited for the movie because darker adaptions of fairy tales have proved to be successful and wildly entertaining, and now they topped it off with the perfect theme song for it. Now we just wait until May to see how the story will play out with it.
Monday, February 10, 2014
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Grading the Super Bowl Trailers
Ah, the Super Bowl. Where advertisements cost millions per second, yet studios don't mind because their film is getting a hefty amount of viewers. So with the movies that are showing their trailers this evening, they certainly better bring their "A" game, because the world is most certainly watching. Here are some of my grades for the trailers shown during tonight's game.
1. Muppets Most Wanted: A-
Though I'm not the biggest fan of the Muppets, I've gotta say that this trailer rocked in so many ways. Instead of taking itself too seriously or dumbing it down to fit a typical children's movie, the trailer blends hilarity of the real world with the zaniness of the Muppets themselves. It's funny and is definitely memorable, which is what these trailers really should be aiming for. And even though I'm not the biggest fan, the trailer even persuaded me. Yet I don't think it did as good as it could've done, because it didn't really show too much of the plot. But all of that aside, it definitely worked, especially on the older generation (which is smart, because their the ones who are paying for all the tickets.)
2. Need for Speed: B-
With basically no dialogue except maybe two or three lines, this trailer is very plainly cars racing around with random explosions and gunfire. There's nothing that shows what it'll actually about (unless of course it literally is just driving and random explosions.) Though I will say the racing scenes seem to be really well made and they definitely intrigued me. But I really think it's just another forgettable car racing movie that'll try to be the next Fast and Furious.
3. Transformers: Age of Extinction: B-
A fourth one? Huh? Again with hardly any dialogue too. Unless you count the typical girl getting kidnapped and her yelling "Dad!" as he chases after her. It seems like yet another unnecessary film that should just end it where it is. I have to admit, though, that the effects and robot designs seem pretty awesome.
4. The Amazing Spider-Man 2: A
Finally, here's a trailer that's both visually incredible and shows us some of the characters (and villains) that we love. The plot seems to be thickening and the trailer sets the tone fairly well on what we can expect. There's an awesome opening shot of Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) falling high from the sky while trying to grasp our hero (Andrew Garfield) as they smash through a glass ceiling and Stacy only barely survives. The risks are higher and the trailer has definitely shown us that.
It's not all of the trailers, but that gives a pretty good view of what happened this evening. It was overall a kind of disappointing night because not a lot of studios bought time slots for their trailers. Perhaps because their budgets aren't huge and they can't afford the ad costs. But I just hope it isn't because a lot of the big movies this year aren't up to par with what viewers want. But we'll have to see.
1. Muppets Most Wanted: A-
Though I'm not the biggest fan of the Muppets, I've gotta say that this trailer rocked in so many ways. Instead of taking itself too seriously or dumbing it down to fit a typical children's movie, the trailer blends hilarity of the real world with the zaniness of the Muppets themselves. It's funny and is definitely memorable, which is what these trailers really should be aiming for. And even though I'm not the biggest fan, the trailer even persuaded me. Yet I don't think it did as good as it could've done, because it didn't really show too much of the plot. But all of that aside, it definitely worked, especially on the older generation (which is smart, because their the ones who are paying for all the tickets.)
2. Need for Speed: B-
With basically no dialogue except maybe two or three lines, this trailer is very plainly cars racing around with random explosions and gunfire. There's nothing that shows what it'll actually about (unless of course it literally is just driving and random explosions.) Though I will say the racing scenes seem to be really well made and they definitely intrigued me. But I really think it's just another forgettable car racing movie that'll try to be the next Fast and Furious.
3. Transformers: Age of Extinction: B-
A fourth one? Huh? Again with hardly any dialogue too. Unless you count the typical girl getting kidnapped and her yelling "Dad!" as he chases after her. It seems like yet another unnecessary film that should just end it where it is. I have to admit, though, that the effects and robot designs seem pretty awesome.
4. The Amazing Spider-Man 2: A
Finally, here's a trailer that's both visually incredible and shows us some of the characters (and villains) that we love. The plot seems to be thickening and the trailer sets the tone fairly well on what we can expect. There's an awesome opening shot of Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) falling high from the sky while trying to grasp our hero (Andrew Garfield) as they smash through a glass ceiling and Stacy only barely survives. The risks are higher and the trailer has definitely shown us that.
It's not all of the trailers, but that gives a pretty good view of what happened this evening. It was overall a kind of disappointing night because not a lot of studios bought time slots for their trailers. Perhaps because their budgets aren't huge and they can't afford the ad costs. But I just hope it isn't because a lot of the big movies this year aren't up to par with what viewers want. But we'll have to see.
R.I.P - Philip Seymour Hoffman
It was just announced today that Philip Seymour Hoffman, 46, was found dead today in his New York apartment. Sources say it was due to a drug overdose.
Hoffman has been an incredible actor to watch through his movies. Though I definitely haven't come close to seeing all of his movies, the ones I have seen just show he was an actor who knew what he was doing. Most recently we saw him in Catching Fire as Plutarch Heavensbee.
Though I'm not really trying to write a tribute to him or anything, since I'm not very well versed in his projects, I do know that this news is devastating. Another great person lost through drug addictions. It's time we start really focusing on how dangerous drugs really are. So many people, even in high school now, view them as a fun pastime that just provides some fun and pleasure. But how many times can we let tragedies like this happen before it affects our own lives? This isn't to say Hoffman was in any way weak, but it just showed that an addiction took over him.
Hoffman gave an excellent performance as Plutarch, and has already filmed all of his scenes for the sequel, Mockingjay Part 1, and only had 7 days of filming left on part 2.
His work as one of the most incredible American actors will be remembered for generations.
Hoffman has been an incredible actor to watch through his movies. Though I definitely haven't come close to seeing all of his movies, the ones I have seen just show he was an actor who knew what he was doing. Most recently we saw him in Catching Fire as Plutarch Heavensbee.
Though I'm not really trying to write a tribute to him or anything, since I'm not very well versed in his projects, I do know that this news is devastating. Another great person lost through drug addictions. It's time we start really focusing on how dangerous drugs really are. So many people, even in high school now, view them as a fun pastime that just provides some fun and pleasure. But how many times can we let tragedies like this happen before it affects our own lives? This isn't to say Hoffman was in any way weak, but it just showed that an addiction took over him.
Hoffman gave an excellent performance as Plutarch, and has already filmed all of his scenes for the sequel, Mockingjay Part 1, and only had 7 days of filming left on part 2.
His work as one of the most incredible American actors will be remembered for generations.
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