Rapid Reviews: Get on Up and Wish I Was Here

*** Guest Review Courtesy of Greg RouleauThis all seems very familiar.  That’s the impression we’re bound to get by the end of the James Brown biopic, Get On Up.  It’s another in the long line of musician biographies on film, this time tackled by The Help director Tate Taylor.  The Help featured an innocuous but heartfelt story of racism and civil rights in Mississippi during the 1960s.  In Get On Up we start back in roughly the same time period in Georgia.  Chadwick Boseman, who recently portrayed other famed African-American, Jackie Robinson in 42, plays the Godfath

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Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (Red Band) and Whiplash

As Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez's long-awaited sequel, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, creeps closer to its late-August release date, new Red Band footage of the film has been delivered to the masses. Boasting a cast filled with A-listers such as Bruce Willis, Josh Brolin, Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the return to one of cinema's most wicked towns is as anticipated as ever. Check out the R-rated trailer for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For below.One of the most well-received films out of this year's Sundance class was the Grand Jury Prize Winner, Whiplash. Director Da

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Rapid Reviews: Begin Again and The Purge: Anarchy

Slowly expanding its way through screens across the country this month is John Carney's Begin Again. While many moviegoers will recall the title thanks to its biggest mainstream identifier, the film acting debut of Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, I was eager to catch the movie because of a lead pairing that features Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley. Both performers starred separately in my two favorite films from this year's Sundance class, Infinitely Polar Bear and Laggies, and the idea of a collaborative effort immediately sparked my interest.There's certainly a magic surrounding Begin Agai

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Fifty Shades of Grey and Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (Red Band) Trailers

Women everywhere can finally rejoice as the best-selling novel from E.L. James, Fifty Shades of Grey, has officially released a trailer for director Sam Taylor-Johnson's (Nowhere Boy) 2015 big-screen adaptation. Relatively unknown stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan tackle the roles of naive literature student, Anastasia Steele, and billionaire, Christian Grey, who develop a wild sexual relationship after a friendly interview together. Fans of the novel can check out the first look into Fifty Shades of Grey below.Christmas brings an extra gift this year for fans of the 2010 wacky time-trave

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Boyhood

Film: BoyhoodStarring: Ellar Coltrane and Ethan Hawke (Training Day)Director: Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused)U.S. Release: July 11th, 2014 (Limited - Rated R)Genre: DramaRuntime: 164 minutesBy now most people have heard the rumblings about Richard Linklater's spectacular new film, Boyhood. There's very little I can add to the warranted praises that have flooded radio airwaves and internet websites. Truth be told, Boyhood is a magnificent cinematic feat that required vision and collective patience from its director, cast and crew. And I'm sure almost everyone involved would agree on one

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Laggies and The One I Love Trailers

One of my favorite films from this year's Sundance Festival lineup was Lynn Shelton's Laggies. This heartfelt comedy stars Keira Knightley as Megan, a twenty-something woman finding difficulty branching out from adolescence. And when Megan's longtime boyfriend decides to propose to her, she lies about going on a retreat and stays with a teenage girl she just met (Chloe Grace Moretz) in order to figure things out. As someone not too far removed from my late-twenties, Laggies proves to be a relatable film that helps define an ever-growing cultural trend.Another Sundance selection has recently r

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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Film: Dawn of the Planet of the ApesStarring: Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) and Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight Rises)Director: Matt Reeves (Cloverfield)U.S. Release: July 11th, 2014 (Rated PG-13)Genre: ActionRuntime: 130 minutesFollowing a well-received origin story that turned into a worldwide box office smash grossing just shy of $500 million, it was a no-brainer to expect a sequel to 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Yet, rather than immediately churning out a rushed and thoughtless continuation, the studio handled things perfectly by assembling a whole new team and taking the necessa

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Unbroken and Wild Trailers

As the elusive fall months begin to creep up on us, a barrage of theatrical trailers remind us that Oscar season is right around the corner. Early indicators have placed Angelina Jolie's sophomore directorial effort, Unbroken, as a serious awards contender. The gripping true story tells of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was captured and held in a Japanese prison during World War II. With a screenplay crafted by the Coen brothers, Unbroken appears to have the potential to be a truly epic feature.One of 2013's most recognized films was Jean-Marc Vallee's Dallas Buyers Club. The fil

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The Best Coming-of-Age Movies

In honor of Richard Linklater's groundbreaking cinematic achievement, Boyhood, a coming-of-age tale filmed with the same crop of actors over a course of 12 long years, I've decided to dedicate July's Movie List of the Month to the Best Coming-of-Age movies of all-time (you can check out June's list here).Now, I'm aware at how personal the genre can be to each and every individual, so I asked 9 of my movie-loving friends to choose from a relatively wide range of titles and order their favorite films. Then, each ranking was given a specific point value to create a collective list from all 10 of

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Gone Girl (NEW) and Exodus: Gods and Kings Trailers

This week we've been given new glimpses into two potential Oscar potential films. For starters, there's Gone Girl from acclaimed director David Fincher which starts Ben Affleck as Nick Dunne, a husband suspected of killing his wife after she disappears with very little evidence. Based on the Gillian Flynn novel of the same name, Gone Girl's latest trailer solidifies the early hype.The second feature is Exodus: Gods and Kings from Ridley Scott. Although Scott has struggled to regain his awards season stature of late with recent flops such as The Counselor and Robin Hood, perhaps this biblical

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DVD Outlook: July 2014

July has officially arrived and we're entrenched in the dog days of summer. And as far as the DVD prospects landing on shelves this month, there aren't any groundbreaking titles like I mentioned June, but there are definitely a few enjoyable selections. Here are the top three DVD releases for the month of July:Cuban Fury - 3 stars out of 4 - (Read my full review here)Although leading star Nick Frost's re-tweet of my review immediately boosted Cuban Fury to the most visited post of the year on my site, I give you my word that there is no bias to this selection. Cuban Fury is a legitimate laugh

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Foxcatcher (NEW) and Horrible Bosses 2 Trailers

I'm thrilled that during this temporary movie drought in the summer blockbuster season we're at least being given some anticipated trailers to enjoy. Although I've been dying to see Bennett Miller's Foxcatcher for almost two years now, thankfully the latest theatre trailer demonstrates just how intense the drama will be. Foxcatcher tells the real life story of multi-millionaire John du Pont (played by Steve Carell) and his obsessive relationship with Olympic wrestler Mark Schultz (Channing Tatum) that ended in tragedy. Early word out of the Cannes Festival is Foxcatcher will be a serious Osca

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The Skeleton Twins and Life After Beth Trailers

I'm excited to announce the recent release of theatrical trailers for a pair of Sundance Film Festival selections that I had a chance to catch earlier this year. First up is the comedy/drama The Skeleton Twins starring Saturday Night Live standouts Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader. After 10 years apart from one another, twins Maggie and Milo are forced to reconnect and discover where exactly their lives went wrong. There's plenty of laughs and certainly enough drama for both Hader and Wiig to put on fine acting displays. Feel free to read my review for The Skeleton Twins and check out the debut tr

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