Watch Tomorrow's THE HOBBIT Fan Event Live Stream HERE at 5pm!

As Warner Bros. gears up for next month's big release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, the studio will host a special world wide live fan event tomorrow afternoon with stars from the film participating from four theater locations in New York, London, Los Angeles and New Zealand.

NerdyRottenScoundrel.com will be streaming the event to you live as it happens at 5pm EST / 8pm PST as well, so check back here tomorrow!

CNN's Anderson Cooper will host the event from New York City, and will be joined by Richard Armitage (Thorin Oakenshield) and Orlando Bloom, who reprises his The Lord of the Rings role of Legolas. Bloom is currently on Broadway in Romeo & Juliet, and unfortunately Ian McKellen (also on Broadway with Patrick Stewart in Waiting for Godot) is not on tomorrow's bill.  

Lost's Evangeline Lilly, who joins The Hobbit cast as a new character, the Elf warrior Tauriel, will be based in Los Angeles. 

New cast members Lee Pace (the Elf King Thranduil) and Luke Evans (Bard the Bowman) join Andy Serkis (Gollum) from London. 

It wouldn't be a Middle Earth worthy event without Peter Jackson, who will be in Wellington, New Zealand.

Expect to see some new footage from the film, a Q&A from the cast and film makers, as well as some surprises to ramp up expectations for the movie. Maybe Ian McKellen will make an unannounced appearance from New York...

The cast will be led by Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey, Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins and Richard Armitage as Thorin Oakenshield. The ensemble cast features Benedict Cumberbatch (Smaug), Evangeline Lilly(Tauriel), Lee Pace (Thranduil), Luke Evans (Bard), Ken Stott (Balin), James Nesbitt (Bofur), and Orlando Bloom (Legolas). The film also stars (in alphabetical order) John Bell, Manu Bennett, Jed Brophy, Adam Brown, John Callen, Ryan Gage, Mark Hadlow, Peter Hambleton, Stephen Hunter, William Kircher, Lawrence Makoare, Sylvester McCoy, Graham McTavish, Dean O’Gorman, Mikael Persbrandt, and Aidan Turner.

Directed by Peter Jackson, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was shot in 3D 48 frames-per-second. The film will be released on December 13th in High Frame Rate 3D (HFR 3D) in select theaters, as well as 2D and 3D formats, and additional IMAX screens.

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Film Review: GRAVITY ★★★★½☆

It's been a whole since I left a screening feeling the way I did after seeing Gravity. Simply put, it's a film that is an experience like no other. Visionary director Alfonso Cuarón has delivered a mesmerizing edge of your seat story of outer space survival that will keep you and leave you gasping for breath from start to finish.

Cuarón dared to steer the big screen Harry Potter series off the page and into new dark territory with The Prisoner of Azkaban, gave us a unique bleak look at the future in Children of Men, and pulls no punches here by presenting one of the most harrowing and realistic depictions of the outer space dangers faced by astronauts.

Sandra Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, an NASA medical engineer posed with the unimaginable task of maneuvering through space with limited aid after her space shuttle and crew are violently wiped out by runaway shrapnel following the scheduled destruction of a obsolete Russian satellite. Also fighting to stay alive is Matt Kowalski, Stone's space veteran mission partner whose nerves are hardly rattled (because he's played by George Clooney) by the deadly turn of events during their daring tethered spacewalk 372 miles above the Earth.

The two rely on each other to share the rapidly dwindling oxygen supply left between them in order to make their way to one of the nearby remaining operational space stations in orbit. To think this would pose to be an easy task would rob the film's powers to immerse you in its prime directive of keeping the tension level on high alert.

To call Gravity a visual and technical triumph of film making may be just the tip of the iceberg. From the breathtaking 13-minute continuous shot the film opens with (only the first of many), to the jaw dropping visual effects, to the complete success of making you forget that the actors were not really in space but rather on green screen stages suspended with wires for weeks reacting to little more than meticulous director and  camera cues, the film never shows its hand.

Cuarón's penchant for numerous long takes and continuous shots are seamless, and the way they become such an integral part of his storytelling process is a testament to his successful groundbreaking marriage of effects and prowess behind the lens.

It's Bullock's show in a standout performance and she anchors the film as our outlet for the feelings of isolation, suffocation, and hopelessness. The drop dead sense of real world danger you felt in Children of Men is matched here by the unfathomable hopelessness of being trapped hundreds of miles above the Earth's surface. If you drift one way, off you go on an endless journey into the infinite void of outer space. You drift the other way, the Earth pulls you down and you will be burnt alive during atmospheric re-entry.

Gravity is groundbreaking with the terrifying realism regarding the dangers present in the vacuum of outer space. When disaster strikes, there is not a sound heard from the depictions of mass destruction. Space shuttles and stations are torn to shreds by incoming barrages of satellite scrap metal, and your sense of hearing offers nothing to add to the horrifying visuals of that. You don't realize how off putting that is until you see it in IMAX 3D.

Alien made the tag line "In space no one can hear you scream" a pop culture catch phrase. Gravity takes that to the limit and treats the science of science fiction in a similar fashion alongside 2001: A Space Odyssey and even the more recent action oriented fare like Ron Moore's Battlestar Galactica reboot by treating space as a cold scary adversary. There are also healthy similarities to the sense of hopeless dread felt in Apollo 13 and Castaway, but in Cuarón s hands, the stakes and level of tension are amped up exponentially.

The film could have taken many different paths, Natalie Portman, Angelina Jolie and Robert Downey Jr. were attached to the film before Bullock and Clooney signed on to star. Who's to say what the other interesting possibilities different actors may have brought to the table, but the chemistry between Bullock and Clooney works, even if they are physically separated by NASA space suits. Make no mistake, in the screenplay the Matt Kowalski character could have simply had "George Clooney" substituted in up until the final shooting script. Clooney brings his A-game cool cat Clooney charm, and he's the sole source of any break in the thick tense tension.

Cuarón wisely treats the 3D technology with restraint for the most part, but makes it wildly effective for the FX heavy sequences that really hit home the sense of weightlessness or the mortal dangers of incoming space debris at high speeds. The meticulous camera choreography is not lost in translation on the big screen, and balances a fine line between grand big screen cinematography and a visceral documentary feel.

Cuarón  has crafted a unique and groundbreaking sci-fi tale that successfully combines his kinetic camera work and incredible storytelling abilities when dealing with the human element. I left the theater awe struck and searching for the chance to enjoy my first easy breath in 90 minutes. I really can't say the last time I was prepared to look up at the projectionist booth and demand a film be promptly repeated, but that was my immediate reaction. I can honestly say I have never seen a movie quite like it before. It is not to be missed. Gravity is mesmerizing, a mandatory must see in IMAX 3D, and the hands down reason movies still need to be experienced in all their grandeur on the big screen.

Gravity opens in 3D theaters and IMAX 3D on October 4th.

REVIEW RATING: ★★★★½☆
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney
Screenwriters: Alfonso Cuarón, Jonas Cuarón
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 93 minutes

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Film Review: METALLICA THROUGH THE NEVER ★★½☆☆☆

Thrash metal pioneers Metallica don't do anything small. So it's only fitting that their big screen concert film, Metallica Through The Never, goes big, as in IMAX 3D big. The band takes the stage, plays, plays, and without question rocks the beejesus out of the arena. The film is firmly targeted to the loyal fans who need no band introductions, on-stage banter between the boys, or song title announcements. If you have not put in your time on the Metallica tour bus over the years however, Through The Never may bleed into one extended distorted heavy metal guitar riff

Metallica Through The Never, an immersive IMAX 3D extravaganza, combines stunning concert performance footage with a dystopian narrative story line that adds more confusion than satisfaction to the overall experience. The closest I have seen the band live was in 1992 (during my high school years) in the floor section at Giants Stadium during their double headlining tour with Guns N' Roses. There is something to be said about the electricity of a live stadium experience, even standing on your tippy toes beyond the 50 yard line from the main stage. All these years later Metallica still knows how to rock out a concert. The performance parts of Through The Never go beyond putting you in the best seats in the house, but I also found the monstrous and intimidating IMAX sound mix to be equally impressive. It doesn't hurt that the band has retained their well honed Rock God chops decades into their career, and deliver a satisfying nearly ninety minutes of heavy metal glory.

Where the feature stumbles is its all too narrow trajectory straight to their loyal core fan base. Quite simply, Metallica takes right to their impressive in-the-round stage and plays. Play they do, but a straightforward performance is pretty much what you get. Do not expect any stage filler from frontman/vocalist/rhythm guitarist James Hetfield or anything particularly playful from drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo. No introductions, no song title announcements, or acknowledgements the cameras, which are to an extent sorely missed with this being a concert movie. Beyond a few shout outs and select interactions with the crowd, the boys are out to rock, not win you over with personality or get to know them moments. It's obviously the band and award-winning director Nimrod Antal's conscious decision to present the show this way, sans showy shtick, which robs it of basic old school  rock show fun.

To be fair, the band revealed more than enough of themselves during their last big screen outing, 2004's Metallica: Some Kind of Monster. I still consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to interview the band at the press junket for their fascinating in-depth feature documentary (to be the only Metallica fan in the office at the time had its perks). Monster allowed the audience to really get into their inner demons and dirty laundry while they auditioned and subsequently hired bassist Robert Trujillo, and recorded their album St. Anger. It would appear that they felt absolutely no need to open up any further and let the music do the talking this time around. You get no more from them than strict by-the-book Rock God stage etiquette here.

The supernatural narrative elements with Dane DeHaan are a strange inclusion that make less sense as they go along. DeHann plays a young roadie sent on a mission and must persevere through a nightmarish series of encounters and apocalypse worthy riots all the while the band plays on in the local arena. The footage doesn't play off as a straight side story or add enough to make the movie feel like an old school concept music video. Parts where the concert elements synced to and enhanced the narrative were too far and in between. I got excited as the beginnings of a riot scene (with police batons hitting riot shields) that were in time to the opening drums of Wherever I May Roam, but then not only was the song cut off, but the music as a whole was rarely an integral part of the story. I felt it was a big overall missed opportunity within the film.

The 3D aspects were strongest when there were grand stage theatrics to work off of (laser bullets during One, roadies assembling a Lady Justice statue during ...And Justice For All, and the given spectacle of Tesla coils and the go-to concert crowd pleaser that is on-stage pyrotechnics). Trust me, somewhere Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are now off planning their inevitable ultimate KISS IMAX 3D Experience. The pyro is effective, as is the elaborate stage whose floor is comprised of LED screens. The over the top theatrics do make for a better 3D experience given how little the band plays it up for an in-your-face experience to the numerous weighty Steadi-Cams that share the stage with them.

The big numbers were just that: BIG. Show staples like One, Enter Sandman, For Whom The Bell Tolls and Master of Puppets are worth the price of admission alone and during those songs I really wished a press screening was a place I could have yelled, head banged, air drumed along, or whoot whistled and applauded at the conclusion of a song. In retrospect I may have been better off a few rows down and in the mix with the audience members decked out in their well worn concert tees.

I definitely enjoyed Metallica Through The Never as an old school Metallica fan, and was blown away by how great the band looked and sounded in the IMAX 3D format. But I was also a bit taken aback by its approach (or lack thereof) to be an accessible film to anyone outside of the fan base, and some missed opportunities to really shine beyond the actual (albeit incredible) stage performance by dabbling with the use of unnecessary narrative elements. Through The Never is not out to strictly please their MTV-era fans by sticking to Black Album staples, but rather celebrate their hard rocking history with a welcome gift to the headbangers who have been at their side for the long run.

Metallica Through The Never opens on select IMAX 3D screens on September 27th.

REVIEW RATING: ★★½☆☆☆
METALLICA FAN RATING:  ★★★½☆☆
Director: Nimrod Antal
Starring: James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo, Dane DeHaan
Screenwriters: Nimrod Antal, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, Robert Trujillo.
Studio: Picturehouse Entertainment
Rated: R
Running Time: 93 minutes

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Film Review: THE WIZARD OF OZ - AN IMAX 3D EXPERIENCE ★★★★☆

For me, and like most fans, The Wizard of Oz is has been a movie that lived on through televised broadcasts and the numerous home video versions that have graced my collection shelves over the years. So the opportunity to experience it on the big screen is without question a big rare treat.

As one of the most iconic films of all time, Oz has been given the royal treatment to celebrate its milestone 75th anniversary. You can't help but be skeptical when you think about blowing up a classic film to IMAX proportions in addition to converting it to 3D. But the meticulous work put into the task boasts glorious results that truly makes following the Yellow Brick Road well worth the journey. This despite the countless times you may have seen Judy Garland's adventure as Dorothy Gale over the years.

Few find themselves strangers to the 1939 adaptation of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel that chronicles the adventure of the Kansas girl and her little dog who are transported over the rainbow to the magical Land of Oz. With the help of some new found friends, she follows the Yellow Brick Road to seek the help of a legendary wizard in order to get home. All the while breaking into song and eluding a green skinned wicked witch who has flying monkeys as minions. The story needs no scholarly film review here, a classic is a classic, so let's dig into the tech specifics of this anniversary edition.

The folks at Warner Bros. have put the 75-year old negative through several stages of restoration over the years for video releases, with each successive pass benefiting greatly from improved digital technology to remove dirt, scratches and enhance long dormant details. To take a print three quarters of a century in age and see it converted for a theatrical IMAX 3D run is a true test of the tireless work put into this latest restoration. Granted we have big TVs nowadays that are HD, but for me growing up I saw the film only through televised broadcasts or VHS copies on a 4:3 25" Magnavox TV set. The grandeur of the movie going experience all these years later, I'm happy to report, was an eye opening revelation.

The picture is simply stunning. Try and find a scratch or a speck of dirt on the "print" that was scanned frame by fame at an 8K resolution. The colors are vibrant and well within the color pallet you'd expect from the time and the Technicolor film process. You can imagine the color correction artists would have eagerly jumped at the opportunity to crank the knobs all the way to the right and over saturate the film. Thankfully there is a pleasant restraint to their efforts. Oz looks as colorful as you remember it, and still retains its vintage aesthetic. The greens particularly pop on Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch of the West's face as do the jewels that line Emerald City. The skin tones look fantastic, Dorthy's Ruby Slippers shimmer in its iconic red and the warm earth-tone hues of the Kansas scenes look great.

What the big screen particularly allows is a better appreciation of details lost on TV sets, notably the burlap layers in Ray Bolger's Scarecrow make-up and the constant wagging of the Cowardly Lion's tail. As a dog owner, I paid particular attention this time out to Terry, the canine who played Toto. On the IMAX screen you can appreciate how consistently on-point the dog was in wide shots, constantly following the cast, reacting at all the right times, and for God's sake maintaining correct eye-lines. It's these little things that come up big.

The 3D conversion here is also a welcome victory. Granted there is only so much layering you can do with a film negative that old, but the 3D was always present and never distracting. It fell in with the path the best new movies have taken with the technology, allowing it add only subtle layers to the overall experience and not have anything and everything shoot out at you. The second issue I typically have with 3D is the darker projection and too often resulting muddy picture. Oz passed the 3D test well. Was it necessary? Absolutely not given only the overall slight enhancement to the presentation, but it is by no means a reason to skip it. There were a few soft close-up shots, but I think its bound to happen with any IMAX conversion, and Oz has a lot of inherent accepted leeway on its side on the tech side of this.

I have been enjoying the trend of pre-Blu-ray theatrical runs in IMAX and / or 3D for the most part, some more than others. The return of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park on the big screen were victories, whereas Top Gun fell flat and short on all levels except for its rocking '80s re-mastered soundtrack. If certain modern movies do not hold up well in IMAX, its a testament to the artists and filmmakers involved here to have pulled off such a cinematic feat with Oz.

The main thing is I felt like a kid again sharing a big screen journey with old childhood friends. Lavish CGI-heavy prequels can't take away from the original's charm and rightful place in movie history (that means you Oz the Great and Powerful). There is no way around it, The Wizard of Oz is a movie that's impossible leave not in a good mood. This welcome 75th Anniversary edition of the timeless classic is a fantastic cinematic experience fit for the whole family, and the trip down the Yellow Brick Road has never looked so stunning.

The Wizard of Oz - An IMAX 3D Experience opens in IMAX 3D on September 20th.

The Wizard of Oz 75th Anniversary Collector's Edition hits shelves in Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD and UltraViolet verisons on October 1st.

REVIEW RATING: ★★★★☆
Director: Victor Fleming
Starring: Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr, Jack Haley, Frank Morgan, Margaret Hamilton, Terry
Screenwriters: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf
Rated: PG
Studio: Warner Bros.
Running Time: 111 minutes

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A MUST See! THE WIZARD OF OZ Is Returning To The Big Screen, As In IMAX 3D Big!

I have found re-visiting timeless classics on the big screen to be a real treat. It goes without saying few are deserving of the royal treatment more than The Wizard of Oz, which celebrates its 75th Anniversary this year (it seems like only yesterday I bought the 70th Anniversary Edition on DVD).

I caught the amazing IMAX 3D re-release this morning in NYC and honestly it was a nothing less than a stunning experience to see it on the big BIG screen, digitally re-mastered and looking so good (this from a stickler of shoddy 3D conversion, muddy 3D projection and grainy IMAX blow-ups).

As the oldest film ever to be put to the test of IMAX 3D proportions, I went into it full of tech snob skepticism and came out feeling like a kid again. It is really a triumph and testament to the over 1000 artists and filmmakers involved in the 16 month long conversion process. Not that you're looking for film grain, but there is no film grain to look for (from a 75 year old negative!) much less scratches or dirt. The colors are vibrant, and the presentation showcased welcome restraint by not over saturating the film. The 3D was not overdone, just adding a minute extra layer that falls in line with the best of the modern 3D experience.

And lest we forget, it's THE WIZARD OF OZ!

You really owe it to yourself to take another walk down the Yellow Brick Road starting this Friday during its one week run in one of the 318 IMAX theaters set to showcase the timeless film. Most of us have only seen it on broadcast TV or on home video, so don't miss out on this big screen opportunity.

I will have a full review here in the next day or two, but for now enjoy IMAX's Behind The Frame featurette below which follows the production process involved in Oz's return to theaters, as well as the new trailer for its 75th Anniversary IMAX release.

SOURCE: IMAX

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Film Review: PACIFIC RIM ★★★★☆

If you grew up in the '80s like I did, and a fair, if not an unhealthy portion of your TV viewing time was spent on animated fare like Voltron and Robotech, Pacific Rim may be the answer your adolescent prayers. Guillermo del Toro's big screen giant robots versus giant monsters sci-fi extravaganza does not disappoint as far as taking CGI-heavy battles to a new level of intensity and intelligent storytelling in an age when Michael Bay's Transformers series had until now set the technical high bar for 3D mech FX-heavy acrobatics.

The plot is straight forward enough and easily best described by its tagline "In order to fight monsters, we created monsters of our own." But to elaborate further: In the future an inter-dimensional rift in the floor of the Pacific Ocean offers safe passage for invading giant alien monsters known as Kaiju to lay waste to cites all over the Earth. With casualties reaching the millions and conventional weaponry proving ineffective, humanity constructs giant mechanical warriors called Jaegers to counter the growing alien threat.

The human Jaeger pilots must jockey as neural pairs, one controlling the right hemisphere, the other the left of the 25 story high gladiators in order to effectively combat the ferocious threats. Sons of Anarchy's Charlie Hunnam leads the cast as Raleigh Becket, a troubled pilot who's still dealing with the loss of his brother years earlier in combat with a Kaiju (which means "Giant Beast" in Japanese). Idris Elba gives another stellar performance as Stacker Pentecost, the no-nonsense leader of the international Jaeger strike force. Few can deliver and pull off with the necessary weight and bravado a military pep rally speech capped off with the soon to be iconic "Today we are cancelling the apocalypse!" Attention Bill Pullman's Independence Day President Whitmore: You have been served.

The mind blowing visuals put forth come courtesy of Industrial Light & Magic. The jaw dropping battles between beast and machine have never been realized like this before on the big screen. For Rim's target audience, which I am unabashedly a part of, much of what we see may have been pre-visualized since our childhoods regarding the behemoths' battles, but it all seriously comes to deafening and tangible life when seen through del Toro's capable eyes. The director takes complete joy in staging sequences with epic scope and gritty weight you'd never think possible. Seriously who can't marvel at witnessing one of the massive mechanical gladiators double fisting train cars to pummel the living bejeezus out of one of the alien beasts?

I had three summer 2013 movies on my "insanely excited to see" list, Pacific Rim being the last of them to be released. I still find it hard to believe I left the theaters following the first two with a feeling of meh befuddlement at what I had just seen, instead of the "gee whiz" wonderment I had hoped for. The third time is a charm here with Pacific Rim, and when I reached the closing credits I felt like I had been taken back to my adolescent self right after a great episode of Voltron, Robotech, or a Godzilla Saturday afternoon movie double feature.

Much credit should be given for the human side to the story and the solid cast that pulls off everything that happens when the film is not in full throttle mode as an FX heavy extravaganza. Charlie Day brings his signature It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia cadence to Dr. Newton Geiszler, a high strung scientist who finds much nerd joy in analyzing the Jaegers' internal organs. Day's gift for comedic timing keeps the film from sinking too deep for too long into dark drama. del Toro's Hellboy himself Ron Perlman is also recruited here to do what he does best playing Hannibal Chau, an extravagant lord of the Hong Kong underworld who makes his fortune from harvesting and selling various parts of recently slaughtered Jaegers. The human cast, their stories, and the simple but nonetheless layered clever plot all add to Rim's big pluses that keep this from being a mindless one-dimensional big budget B-movie.

So let's talk the presentation. Hands down, IMAX 3D is seriously the only way to go. The kinetic energy, the spectacular big screen eye candy and the excessive (but welcome) primal pandemonium is a big screen triumph in tandem with both formats. There is nothing small about this movie. Go big. Go IMAX. You can also add del Toro to your list of directors who work with 3D with flawless results. Not once was I taken out of the moment with a sequence that didn't benefit, or worse was hindered, by poor conversion. Rim boasts one of the best conversions (shot digitally with the RED EPIC camera) I have ever seen for such a quick cutting, fast paced film. The past year has enjoyed improvements in leaps and bounds in regards to the technology. Sure its still vastly over utilized, but a year makes a huge difference in the big screen presentation. del Toro is never at a loss for a beautifully framed shot, and the film's extensive 3D conversion accentuates his layered canvass. Shallow depth of field makes the simpler wide shots epic while the battle scenes gain that much more of a deadly and mighty punch with the added dimension.

To write off this film with simple on the surface comparisons to Transformers, Godzilla, or various anime series would not be fair here, even though those respective franchises' DNA is easily detectable throughout. del Toro has drawn obvious influence from many sources to mash up their strongest and most familiar elements into intense high-tech big screen sparring matches in the ocean or in between towering buildings in Hong Kong. Pacific Rim is a fan boy homage made by a fan boy, and includes both overt and subtle nods to elements that made the climatic ending to battles on any given episode of Voltron exciting to viewers.

Pacific Rim, loud proud and intense, delivers everything promised to its intended audience on truly an epic scale, and in my book successfully hits all the right marks. Guillermo del Toro masterfully morphs his many influences into a stunning dark world of its own. Combating gargantuan metal gladiators and massive ferocious creatures from the underwater depths of hell have never been treated so well on the big screen and provide for a healthy amount of nerd cry worthy moments. Sure the film does skew heavily to a particular fan base, but it's by no means inaccessible. Rather I saw it as fun summer fare on a monstrous level. While it can be a violent ride at times, it manages to keep to the lighter side of its PG-13 rating. Pacific Rim is a spectacular ride, smarter and gloriously grander than anything else it can be compared, to and will rank as one of 2013's best action sci-fi crowd pleasers.

Pacific Rim opens in theaters in 2D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D on July 12th.

REVIEW RATING: ★★★★☆
Director: Guillmero del Toro
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Ron Perlman
Screenwriters: Guillmero del Toro & Travis Beacham
Studio: Warner Bros.
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 131 minutes

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Film Review - STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS ★ ★ ★☆☆

J.J. Abrams did what may thought was impossible, he made Star Trek cool, slick and damn fun. Rebooting and infusing new blood into the iconic original '60s TV series with a young cast, lavish special effects and a lot of lens flare proved to be the way to go for a franchise that was enjoying a well deserved hiatus following a run of five shows and ten big screen adventures.

2009's Star Trek was a hot box office hit that managed to gain scores of new fans and please conventions of old school Trekkers. Well, most of them anyways. As Spock would say: "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." And for my fellow fans that is what it really comes down to for Abrams' take, making Trek movies for the masses, not love letters to old school fans who will dissect the films to pieces regardless.

Bigger means bigger here. Bigger effects. Bigger ships. Bigger explosions. Bigger battles. Big thrills with massive twists and turns. Yes, buckle your seat belts for the said twists and turns you're in store for. Hell, after all this time, even the Enterprise is FINALLY outfitted with much needed seat belts. I'll refrain from stepping deep into any specific spoiler territory here, they already exist aplenty online and are easily within one or two quick clicks of this review. Needless to say, it's only fair to be vague on the story, and a entirely different discussion can be made once one is freed from tiptoeing around the meaty plot details.

That said, this epic well-paced second big screen adventure starts off as it should, right in the thick of the action. We already got the origin story, so thankfully absolutely no precious screen time is wasted on getting reacquainted with our iconic intrepid crew: Kirk (Chris Pine), Spock (Zachary Quinto), Dr. McCoy (Karl Urban), Uhura (Zoe Saldana), Sulu (John Cho), Chekov (Anton Yelchin) and Scotty (Simon Pegg).

What should have been a innocuous mission turns into a major breach of etiquette regarding Starfleet's Prime Directive, which protects primitive cultures from exposure to higher technology than they have developed on their own. Kirk being hotheaded Kirk pays no heed to such things from the rule book in order to save Spock's life on an alien world. Following the thrilling eye opening sequence, James T is stripped of his ship and command as a result of cheating death for his Vulcan friend. Echoes of plot points from the Shanter/Nimoy-era films will not fall on deaf ears to older fans.

Acts of brutal Earth-bound terrorism committed by Benedict Cumberbatch's former Starfleet officer John Harrison sees Kirk and crew sent off on a splinter cell mission to take him out while also leading them into a head to head battle with the Klingons. It's likely that the first half hour of Into Darkness contains more action and gunplay than we've ever seen in any version of Trek. Not only is that is a good thing, but now a staple regarding the more accessible direction the series has taken.

It's from this point on the highly appropriate Into Darkness title really kicks in as friendships are tested and lost, characters show their true colors, and the plot takes you on a rollar coaster ride free for all on what you think you know, and what you actually know. The first film which by including Leonard Nimoy as Spock, directly dealt with, explained and incorporated (but nonetheless rebooted) the original series' timeline. Into Darkness however plays with past ideas on a much more subtle level. It could have easily just moved forward freely on its own path, but fans (with varying degrees) will hear echoes from the rich history to recycle. How you feel about this here depends on your view of whether the series has earned the right to stand all on its own, or should adhere to taking various cues from the past.

Cumberbatch, best know for his acclaimed work on BBC's Sherlock, brings a menacing cold steel elegance to the film's rogue villain. While his role here has been the object of obsessive online speculation since he was cast, Cumberbatch truly tests the mettle of the crew and effortlessly makes his mark among the best of the Trek villains.

Alice Eve joins the cast as Carol Marcus, a familiar character re-booted for the new timeline. While a welcome addition, her necessary role in the plot tips the balance for the ensemble crew and takes away some screen time from Sulu and Chekov. Genre icon Peter Weller turns in a truly memorable performance as her father Admiral Marcus, who proves to be a crucial chess piece to the dynamics of the dense plot filled with heavy political and personal overtones.

For the most part, the film held me firmly on board. I marveled at the intricacies of the screenplay and Abrams' lens flare-adorned spectacle that I am an admitted apologist for. But then came one pivotal point in the third act and it all crashed on me, and the film firmly loses its identity. I have to admit certain subsequent script decisions dropped me hard, real hard. It's easily a debatable point, and I can't really expand on it this early in the film's theatrical run. But it's a firm loud announcement from behind the curtain of "Oh yes, we're really gonna do this" to the audience in the know.

The screenplay takes the rebooted characters their next level, and some of the interplay is exceptional. While perhaps not quite the middle chapter of a trilogy we may have expected, it certainly frees the series up from some necessary building block bullet points (despite how much I knew about the plot ahead of time, I still found myself constantly surprised as the story progressed). Expectations are big, and film makers like Abrams set their own bar sky high.

What works tremendously is the top notch visuals, as if that would be in doubt. If you can hold on for cameras with contant yet precise motion, you're in luck. There is a boatload of glorious CGI magic, it always feels tangible with substantial weight behind it all. The healthy portion of practical sets and effects mixed in should be applauded. The 3D conversion is also quite good, Abrams' directing and framing style thankfully lends itself to the extra layer.

Old fans and newbie fans will take away different things from the experience, and I feel those with less baggage from the past may be better off for it in this case. My reservations lie directly with the script choices made that tested me as an old school fan who sees the blank slate of the alternate timeline a greater freedom to move beyond Trek history, which is not always the case here. If your Trek filmography is comprised solely of the 2009 film, pay no heed to my cavets (which marred, but did not supersede my overall enjoyment of the film).

Is this an event movie well worth the price of admission? Absolutely. Star Trek Into Darkness is a worthy epic experience that delivers heart, relentless action, massive stunning visuals and even finds appropriate spots for humor and deep arcs between the core characters. If you enjoyed the last installment, this is a thinker's amped-up must-see sequel. It expands the new Trek universe and firmly sets the stage to re-explore a welcome familiar path for the crew of the USS Enterprise. Casual fans will walk away happy go lucky, though Trekkers may require discussion groups to vent some issues amongst friends.

Up next for Abrams (in 2015) is nothing less than Star Wars: Episode VII. While I don't want Star Wars to look exactly like this, I sure don't mind knowing it may look a lot like this. 

Star Trek Into Darkness opens in 2D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D on May 16th.

REVIEW RATING: ★ ★ ★☆☆
Directed By: J.J. Abrams
Starring: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urba, John Cho
Studio: Paramount
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 132 minutes


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TRAILER: 'Gravity'

The long awaited first trailer to Gravity from director Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) has finally been released, and it's a nail biter. The sci-fi thriller starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, follows two astronauts trapped in space after an accident leaves them little hope for survival over 300 miles above the Earth.

Synopsis:

"Sandra Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney) in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalsky completely alone–tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth…and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space."

Gravity is set for an October 19th release in 2D, 3D and 3D IMAX

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FIlm Review - THE GREAT GATSBY ★★½☆☆☆

Adapting The Great Gatsby for the big screen is by no means a task to be taken lightly. Aussie director Baz Luhrmann, whose notable previous efforts include Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet, proves to be an interesting and wild card choice to take on F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic 1925 novel. This version will probably split the opinions of many moviegoers rather than win over the masses.

Luhrmann delivers a lively 3D spectacle that indeed, he has not take lightly by any stretch of the imagination and features a solid cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio as the enigmatic Jay Gatsby. The film is heavily armed with the expected kinetic extravagance and visual flair that should come from a fitting adaptation of the novel. The numerous lavish sweeping shots, vibrant grand party scenes and rich retro production design certainly pay proper homage to this tragic tale set in the Roaring Twenties.

Narrated from the perspective of Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), the film is a faithful version of the novel, chronicling the tragic relationship of Jay Gatsby, a mysterious millionaire who throws massive parties on his Long Island estate, and his former sweetheart Daisy Buchanan, Carraway's cousin who lives across the bay that separates the East and West Eggs of the affluent area.

For all its glitz and glamour though, in this case the love story comes off as all the more downtrodden and tragic since for many of us, how it all ultimately ends up is of little surprise. As governed by the book, Gatsby tells a complicated tale that is not a straightforward sweeping romance, and the title character has a healthy case of obvious creepy obsession over an opportunistic socialite who happens to be willing to tough it out in a sham marriage to an affluent cheating bastard. While there is much joy to behold in the constant barrage of big screen eye candy, the core nature of the story allows little joy for any of the characters who inevitably get far from what could be called a happily ever after ending.

DiCaprio is without question inspired casting for Gatsby. He looks the part, provides the perfect presence and certainly exudes all the qualities we expect when bringing the character to life. What goes against him is simply his own superstar power presence that at times had me struggling to separate seeing Leo up there over Gatsby, and calling to question if a lesser know actor may have allowed us to accept more Gatsby than DiCaprio. It's for this very reason DiCaprio is hesitant to take on roles like this, certainly one with the inherent weight that goes along with anchoring this film. Regardless, the DiCaprio contingent will be pleased by his performance.

Joel Edgerton on the other hand, easily slips into the sleaze and hot temper that is Tom Buchanan. Carey Mulligan makes a fine Daisy, but isn't allowed to play it with much depth, and seeing the character here on the big screen, it's apparent what little was brought over in the translation. Maguire I admit, successfully brings his best Toby Maguire to Nick Carraway, who at the opening of the film is telling the tale of the summer of 1922 to his therapist in an alcohol rehabilitation hospital. He plays a great second fiddle and the only true friend to Gatsby, plus Maguire's wide eyed awkwardness is perfect and necessary for not going toe-to-toe opposite DiCaprio.

The 3D in an interesting choice here, as these days I tend to more frequently dissect the motivations for utilizing the technology in so many tentpole studio releases (other than inflating ticket prices). Luhrmann displays a keen eye and knows the proper place has 3D in this film. Whether it's the sweeping crane shots that successfully sell the lavish decadent atmosphere of Gatsby's parties, the speeding car scenes over the Queensboro Bridge, or even the many picture perfect establishing shots that would not be possible without a lot of help from expensive computer imagery, Luhrmann thankfully knows how to paint his cinematic canvas correctly with the additional dimension. Sometimes though, the simplest image of a single character framed in a shot with shallow depth of field is actually what works the best. But a lot of the film's expansive exterior shots rely heavily on CGI, which despite the best intentions of recreating the past, still look unabashedly CGI.

What surprised me was the much talked about Jay-Z-produced soundtrack, which sees fit to juxtaposition the sounds from the Jazz Age with contemporary artists tunes from Jay-Z himself, Florence + The Machine, Beyonce and Andre 3000. Frankly this overt musical stunt did little for my enjoyment of Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge, so I expected to abhor a similar attempt in Gatsby. But I was wrong on this count. The music is surprisingly not overdone or does it ever overstay its welcome in any of the scenes its utilized in. Don't get me wrong, you are well aware you are not hearing music historically accurate to the period, but with the Luhrmann's music video style of direction, the songs add another layer without becoming over the top distractions.

There is little subtlety or an attempt to re-invent the story itself, which will relieve literary purists (one of my junior year high school teachers particularly comes to mind), and The Great Gatsby certainly does not fall short in both the visual and musical departments. You may however grow weary of Gatsby's familiar penchant for calling folks "Old Sport," which he uses with drinking game frequency. It's a case of what works on the page quickly grows tiresome as movie dialogue. There are definitely many moments that are spot on, mainly the party scenes and rich retro costumes and decor, but you unfortunately don't get big pulses often enough throughout the near two and a half hour running time to really capture all the magic you have envisioned from the novel.

But for what could be considered the thankless task of bringing an iconic literary work to the big screen, what we get is an overall mixed bag blessed with lot of extravagant flash but in the end has far less soul. Though that almost seems fitting where Jay Gatsby is concerned.

The Great Gatsby opens in RealD 3D on May 10th.

REVIEW RATING: ★★½☆☆☆
Directed By: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher 
Studio: Warner Bros.
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 142 minutes

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Intense Extended Trailer For 'Pacific Rim' Roars Online

The extended trailer for Pacific Rim that debuted at WonderCon 2013 has gone online. Guillermo del Toro's Robots versus Monsters epic show no signs of disappointing us fans of everything from Robotech, Voltron, Anime, Transformers and Godzilla.

This new preview offers more on the backstory of the giant mechanical Jaegers and how they are operated by a pair of human pilot combatants. The FX look grand as does the scale of the film.

Per Warner Bros:

From acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro comes Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ epic sci-fi action adventure Pacific Rim.

When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge.


But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

Directed by Guillermo del Toro, Pacific Rim is set for release in 3D on July 13th and stars Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy), Idris Elba (Luther, Prometheus, Thor), Rinko Kikuchi (The Brothers Bloom), Charlie Day (It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Horrible Bosses), and Ron Perlman (Hellboy).

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Martin Freeman Talks Playing Bilbo Baggins in 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey'

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, which has amassed over $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales since its release in December, made its debut for home viewing on 3D Blu-ray and DVD earlier this week with an impressive amount of bonus features. Director Peter Jackson returned to New Zealand to film the highly anticipated prequel trilogy to The Lord of the Rings, and fans returned to theaters in droves to see what he had up his sleeve, and we have two more chapters on deck for December 2013 and 2014.

You can read my review of the film, as presented theatrically in 3D and 48 frames per second HERE.

I was thrilled to cover the press junket in New York City in December as a producer for Access Hollywood, and had the opportunity to talk to Peter Jackson, Andy Serkis, Sir Ian McKellen, Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage in one-on-one interviews shortly before the film opened.

Below are excerpts from my chat with Martin Freeman, who plays Bilbo Baggins, the title Hobbit of the trilogy who talked about the good chemistry he had with the cast of, discusses filming his very first scene on the set with Andy Serkis in the crucial cave sequence between Bilbo and Gollum, and why his Sherlock co-star Benedict Cumberbatch wanted the role of Smaug (who will appear in the second installment).

SOURCE: AccessHollywood.com

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New 'Star Trek Into Darkness' International Trailer & Poster Promise Much Mayhem and Destruction

New poster and international trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness.

Enjoy.

Set to hit theaters in 3D on May 17th, the film stars Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Karl Urban (McCoy), Simon Pegg (Scotty), John Cho (Sulu), Zoe Saldana (Uhura), Anton Yelchin (Checkov), Bruce Greenwood (Pike), and Alice Eve (Carol Marcus).

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Film Review: JACK THE GIANT SLAYER ★★☆☆☆

The very expensive FX-heavy high adventure Jack The Giant Slayer, courtesy of X-Men's original big screen mastermind Bryan Singer, is unlikely to swap places with your fond childhood memories of the familiar fee-fi-foe-fum fairy tale it takes an obvious lead from.

The basics are all still there: Jack, giants, magic beans and an upwards path to the sky via a mystical beanstalk.
While Jack the Giant Slayer will not wow you overall with originality, it does pack enough pop, punch and spectacle to keep your attention.

Following an unexpected opportunity to rescue the fiesty and incognito Princess Isabelle from a group of drunk hooligans in a tavern, common farmhand Jack (Nicholas Hoult) soon finds himself on an epic quest to save her again alongside all the King's men by climbing up the beanstalk and beyond the clouds to the land of giants.

There is both a backstory of an ages old struggle between humans and evil giants who enjoyed feeding on their smaller counterparts, and the villain arc of the treacherous traitor (Stanley Tucci) who has a dastardly plan up his sleeve to conquer both lands, but "Jack goes up the beanstalk to save the Princess " (Elanor Tomlinson), seems adequate enough for bullet points.

The film cruises at a brisk pace with its straightforward plot and inspired cast, and can be loud with plenty of PG-13 violence, but it never takes itself too seriously or gets heavy handed in the proceedings. Even clocking in at nearly two hours, it unfortunately often comes off like a condensed Syfy version of The Hobbit (and we have two more entries of that waiting in the wings).

While Hoult adds the necessary everyman conection to this fairy tale David & Goliath, I found the true heart and charm of the film belonged to Ewan McGregor as Elmont the knight, who leads Jack on the rescue mission on behalf of the King (Ian McShane). Hoult's Jack is unfortunately literally and figuratively constantly trying to climb upwards, whether its to prove his mettle, win the hand of the Princess, or defeat an army of angry human hungry giants. There isn't much depth to Jack beyond him living up to the title of the film. McGregor, who has been keeping to things as far removed from Star Wars-esque fare as he can, slips into this swashbuckling role of a non-Jedi knight with flawless ease and charm.

In the solid cast assembled, Stanley Tucci as Roderick, the turncoat who also has an arranged marriage to fair Princess Isabelle, finds a great balance as a PG-13 villain whose adept in R-rated murder (in a film ripe with well timed cut aways to avoid gore).

Tucci twists his proverbial bad guy mustache enough to be despised in a way that would make even Prince Humperdinck proud. Ian McShane never fails to bring presence to any role he takes on, but as King Brahmwell is given very little to do beyond delivering weight to a character who spends most of the film in a regal golden suit of armor.

The elaborate special effects and action sequences are hit and miss, ranging from awesome to cringe worthy. Detail in select close-ups of the all-CGI giants can look astounding, while numerous other digital reliant action shots look no better than poorly layered sequences from an outdated video game.

Sometimes the mash up of practical and digital sets works, sometimes it doesn't, with the latter primarily showcased in most of the trailers and ads on the web and TV. This surreal digital world seems to be the thing now with fantasy films, hitting high gear after Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland grossed over a $1 billion worldwide.

The giants, man eating monsters banished above the clouds ages ago are at times a frightening threat given their disheartening appetite and imposing size. Sadly though, the instrument of their eventual defeat is clearly revealed far too early in the film which offers little surprise when it counts.

The overall epic grand scale and ambition of the action and set pieces make it an ideal candidate for its IMAX presentation, but the 3D projection as always brings with it an overall darker appearance and casts on it a muddy haze. Singer thankfully keeps his 3D to surprisingly unobtrusive levels. It seems the format, now blatantly beyond overkill mode from every Hollywood studio on the map, is now being utilized more to rightfully add layers to a film rather than delivering speeding objects directly into the audience's lap.

Jack The Giant Slayer is an overall mixed bag that gets too caught up in its digital overkill and straightforward action adventure plot. Despite its good intentions and humor, it unfortunately also squarely fits into the book club of previous uninspired CGI fairy tale extravaganzas like Alice In Wonderland, Mirror Mirror and Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters. But fret not fantasy fans, more is on the way with Oz The Great And Poweful hitting theaters next Friday.

Jack The Giant Slayer opens in 3D, RealD 3D and IMAX 3D on March 1st.

REVIEW RATING: ★★☆☆☆
Directed By: Bryan Singer
Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Ewan McGregor, Eleanor Tomlinson, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy
Studio: Warner Bros.
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 114 minutes

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'The Hobbit' Reveals Its First TV Spot

The first TV spot for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been released, which in its 30-second running time, blends its darker elements with the film's at times whimsical nature.

The first chapter in Peter Jackson's epic trilogy prequel to The Lord of the Rings, An Unexpected Journey will follow Martin Freeman, as the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, as he is joined by a whole new eclectic group of Middle Earth's heroes and villains in addition to returning Rings cast members Ian McKellan (Gandalf), Andy Serkis (Gollum), Cate Blanchett (Galadriel), Hugo Weaving (Elrond), Orlando Bloom (Legolas), Ian Holm (Bilbo Baggins), and Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins).

“The Hobbit” follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, which was long ago conquered by the dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen), Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage). Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is set to hit theaters in 3D and IMAX on December 14th. Additional select theaters will screen the film in 48fps, which was the native format Peter Jackson shot the film in.

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