It is a surprisingly light week, but strangely..they all have one theme in common. Monsters. One that shows monsters in a family friendly manner, one that shows them as the scary hordes that they are, and the last shows how monstrous a person can be.
Hell, lets actually start with that one….
Director: Franck Khalfoun
What’s it about? Frank (Elijah Wood) is the withdrawn owner of a mannequin store, but his life changes when young artist Anna (Nora Arnezeder) appears asking for his help with her new exhibition. As their friendship develops and Frank’s obsession escalates, it becomes clear that she has unleashed a long-repressed compulsion to stalk and kill. A 21st century Jack the Ripper set in present day LA, Franck Khalfoun’s “Maniac” is a re-boot of the William Lustig cult film considered by many to be the most suspenseful slasher movie ever made – an intimate, visually daring, psychologically complex and profoundly horrific trip into the downward spiraling nightmare of a killer and his victims.
My thoughts? Well, I think it’s pretty clear that this film isn’t really a reboot but so much as a VERY loose remake. Look at the trailer for the original….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btGEvamuaA4
Which isn’t a bad thing. Now, I haven’t seen the original one at ALL, but judging by the trailer for the new one, they definitely went out of their way to make a very unique film in this genre. Elijah Wood seems like he’s giving a really terrifying performance, and I’m sure he’s going to make the Frodo fans very uncomfortable. (not his first killer thought. He did play Kevin, the cannibal in the Sin City film.) One wonders how they will pull off the POV style of the film, since it seems like the entire movie will be shot that way. I hear good things about this film, and you know, remaking a horror film that isn’t as sacred as …say the first Halloween, and again, that isn’t a bad thing. Especially if the remake is even better the original.
Director: Dan Scanlon
What’s it about? Mike Wazowski and James P. Sullivan are an inseparable pair, but that wasn’t always the case. From the moment these two mismatched monsters met they couldn’t stand each other. “Monsters University” unlocks the door to how Mike and Sulley overcame their differences and became the best of friends.
My thoughts? Is this it? Are we finally at the point that Pixar is making…OK movies? I guess so. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Not saying that Monsters University is guaranteed to be “OK”, but I’m at that point with Pixar that I can finally lower my expectations. And you know what, it’s fine that they can make OK films. Sometimes, it’s cool to watch a decent flick. I would love to know that Monsters University turned out to be a classic, the best that Pixar has ever made, but I got a feeling that it’s not. It could be good thought, and good is still pretty damn good. In terms of Monsters Inc, I’ve always loved it, but I realized its one of the few Pixar films I haven’t revisited as much. A “prequel” to that world doesn’t really interest me, but at the very least, this is could be a really enjoyable film. The jokes in this trailer are good and I like that they are doing a ’80s style college movie but with these characters. Can Pixar BE that Pixar again? I totally think so. Will Monsters University be the film to get them back there? Probably not, but I would love to be wrong.
Director: Marc Foster
What’s it about? The story revolves around United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Pitt), who traverses the world in a race against time to stop the Zombie pandemic that is toppling armies and governments and threatening to decimate humanity itself. Mireille Enos plays Gerry’s wife Karen Lane; Daniella Kertesz is his comrade in arms, Segen.
http://youtu.be/qPGUtytMUk8
My thoughts? Lets pretend….that there was no Max Brooks book? Lets just do that first. Now that we have clearly accepted that the Max Brooks book doesn’t exsit, how does this look as a film? Did the trailer grab me? …..yeah….ehhhhh….I’m still underwhelmed. Maybe I’m a bit zombied out. Maybe between The Walking Dead comics and TV show (and the dozen other zombie films that have come out…both the good and the bad ones), I’m officially over seeing zombies. Maybe I’m just not into seeing a big budgeted Hollywood, PG-13 zombie movie that treat the zombies as if they are the tornadoes in Twister? Maybe I just don’t care that much for Marc Forster as a director, and I haven’t really been crazy for most of his films. Maybe….just maybe…..I can smell this being mediocre a mile a way.
How about you folks? Is Brad Pitt running away from Zombies sounding like your thing? Ready to enroll in Monsters University? Or are you going to seek out the film in which Elijah Wood will kill ya with a big ole knife? Leave a comment below and let us know!
I’m with you on the Monsters U movie.. Why would they do that or even Cars 2 for that matter when EVERYONE wants an “Incredibles” sequel. Hollywood has found a way to stab at our nostalgia and make prequels and sequels to things we love because they know we want to revisit “old friends”. The entertainment industry is holding our childhood hostage.
One of the main reasons why an Incredibles sequel hasn’t happened is is that Brad Bird hasn’t sat down to figure it out yet. I sense that Bird is the kinda dude who rather make new stuff all the time then revisit the past. BUT, he has also said he DOES want to eventually do an Incredibles 2, so Pixar is essetinally waiting for him as oppose to letting someone else do it.
What I’m trying to say is yes…they are all holding your childhood hostage.
Unfortunately Pixar’s decision to make mediocre sequels has very little to do with the people who grew up with the franchise and much more to do with the next generation of kids. I have a 7 year old brother and he loooooves Cars 2. He doesn’t care if it wasn’t a cinematic masterpiece, it has talking cars. And guess what, he got a ton of Cars 2 merch for his birthday. Now that Disney owns Pixar the chances of creativity over profit is unlikely.