This Week In Movies

In this new segment, we'll take a look at the news stories making movie news headlines in Hollywood and my opinion on the matter. So let's get this started....

The Oscars

With the Academy Awards wrapping up last Sunday, we saw who our big winners were and who left empty handed. However, the biggest story is Lupita Nyong'o taking home the best supporting actress award. I was a great supporter of Nyong'o winning the award. I've read many opinions that Nyong'o did not deserve the award, but that it should have gone to Jennifer Lawrence. While JLaw's performance in American Hustle (a film which won no awards) was good, it was not special, unlike her performance in Silver Linings Playbook last year.

From the most anticipated movie awards of the year to...

The MTV Movie Awards Nominees

So the MTV movie awards released their nominations.... yeah, not really news, but I do want to touch on something (well, two things)

First, who decided that the cast of Catching Fire fighting mutant monkeys was a better than fight than Superman vs General Zod? or Iron Man and his suits vs Killian? or one of the shoot outs in Lone Survivor?

Second, who decided that Mila Kunis was a better Villain than... well... ANY other villain this year???

At least the nominees for best hero include the big three comic book heroes of 2013.

Maybe we'll see this next guy become the next big hero...

The Mask of Zorro Reboot!

Seeing how I am SeñorMovie, how could I not talk about this? Growing up on 1998's Mask of Zorro, I always had a soft spot for Antonio Banderas. Unfortunately, he won't be returning for the reboot. So will this new 'Zorro' reboot be a success or a another failed reboot? The producers are stating they want to give this new film "The Dark Knight" treatment (and who doesn't want to emulate what The Dark Knight did for vigilante movies?). Does this mean we'll be ditching the humor of The Mask of Zorro and be treated to a memorable (hopefully Hispanic) villain? We'll just have to wait, as the script is still being written.

 

Speaking of comic book movies....

 

The Amazing Spider-Man Releases Clips and New Posters 

Stop releasing so much, Sony!! I've already started avoiding new images and trailers for this movie because I'm pretty sure I'd be able to piece the entire movie together by how much they've released. But if you want to watch these clips (narrated by Stan Lee), here's the link to the Schmoes Know website, where the clips are conveniently located on one page. 

http://schmoesknow.com/three-new-amazing-spider-man-2-clips-narrated-by-stan-lee-mild-spoilers/

Check out this awesome poster, though! It's really cool, but does anyone else think it looks like a video game cover? 

Speaking of video games...

 

 

The Last of Us Headed to the Big Screen

The popular and acclaimed video game about zombie survival The Last of Us has gotten the green light by Sony, Naughty Dog, and Screen Gems. With Director Sam Raimi attached to the project, can we expect a movie that will make video game adaptations legitimate? While I didn't play the game, I'm hoping the film proves to be successful, along with the Assassin's Creed adaptation that is in the works. It'll help further the interest in video game film adaptations, and maybe, just maybe, some day we'll get a Halo movie. Who knows, maybe video game adaptations will become the billion dollar generating movies that comic book movies have become.

This has been SeñorMovie news, I'll see you at the theater!

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The 86th Academy Awards - Señors Predictions!

The Nominations

Best Picture - 12 Years a Slave
Head to head against American Hustle, the historical significance of the this movie is what I think will push it ahead of the competition.

Best Director - Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity)
Introducing new technology, incredible effects, and delivering a wonderful theater experience makes Alfonso Cuarón my top pick.
 
Best Actor - Matthew McConaughey
Winning other awards for the same category, such as the Golden Globes, Matthew McConaughey has remade his acting career, proving the actor that he is.

Best Actress - Amy Adams
Nominated for the same category before, but with no wins, Amy Adams may see herself taking home the win. I think, despite her competitors, it's Adam's turn for the gold.

Best Supporting Actor - Jared Leto 
Along with his co-star Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto won this category in the Golden Globes, ad has proven with his performance that he is a respectable actor, worthy of Academy recognition.

Best Supporting Actress - Lupita Nyong'o
Her very first Oscar nomination, Lupita Nyong'o is going to head to head with Hollywood's favorite girl, Jennifer Lawrence. Although Lawrence took the Golden Globe, Lupita Nyong'o took home the SAG award, proving this is going to be one to watch. I personally think, given the performance of
Nyong'o and last years win for Lawrence, Nyong'o will take the gold home

Best Animated Feature - The Wind Rises

Cinematography - Gravity

Costume Design - American Hustle

Original Score - Thomas Newman (Saving Mr. Banks)

Best Original Song - "Original Song" (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)

Production Design - 12 Years a Slave

Visual Effects - Gravity

Adapted Screenplay - 12 Years a Slave 

Original Screenplay - Her


These are my predictions for this years Oscars! Who do you think will win? Who are your favorites? Let me know in the comments! Don't forget to follow me on Twitter and like my Facebook page :D

This has been SeñorMovie, I'll see you at the theaters!

Señor Review: The Monuments Men

Based on true events, The Monuments Men stars George Clooney, Matt Damon, John Goodman, Cate Blanchett, Bill Murray, and Jean Dujardin. As WWII comes close to an end, Frank Stokes is tasked with making a team, known as The Monuments Men, to travel through Europe and rescue pieces of art before the Nazi regime steals and/or destroys the works of art. With the preservation of history and culture at stake, The Monuments Men will risk their lives to save as many paintings, statues, and drawings possible.

Going into this film I was not expecting an Academy award worthy film. Or a thrilling action film. I actually didn't really know what to expect from this movie. I wasn't dreading watching this movie and I wasn't particularly excited either. After watching the movie, I still feel the same way: I don't hate it, but it wasn't very good either. The best way to describe this movie is that it is just...bland.

While the performances are good (with remarkable actors, at that), there is no connection made with any of the characters on screen. The movie suffers from an over abundance of characters, actually. There is no time dedicated to each character to truly get to know them on a personal level, as the movie jumps from one set of characters to another, and to another. Writing this review, I didn't even remember the name of the supposed main character played by George Clooney, less the names of the other characters. There are no exciting, or engaging, characters; they are just there, pushing the story along. The characters themselves are boring.

Before the film was released I had heard others commenting that it looks like Oceans 11 during WWII, and while watching The Monuments Men I definitely felt that vibe, but only in some parts of the movie. The movie changes tones very often throughout: from an interesting historic piece, to an Oceans imitation, to a comedy, to an overly dramatic film, and back to a historic tale. This was my biggest problem with the movie: it didn't decide what it wanted to be. It kept trying to be too many different things and that kept pulling me out of it, and thinking, "Huh? What just happened?"

One thing I did like about the story was the idea of "is art worth the lives of these men?". An interesting concept that was explored throughout the film, and executed quite well.

I would have very much loved to see this movie utilize its amazing cast in a better way. Better character development, a consistent tone, and even a better score would have propelled the performances of the cast. While there's nothing that detracts from the movie, there certainly isn't very much that gives it life.

I give The Monuments Men 3.5/10 Señor thumbs up.

This has been SeñorMovie, I'll see you at the theater!