The STAR WARS VII Trailer!

 

The wait is over!
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMOVFvcNfvE

The JURASSIC WORLD trailer is here!

After months of waiting, fans of the Jurassic Park film series were given a gift two days early!
Above is the trailer for JURASSIC WORLD which will be released on June 12th 2015.
Both Chris and I are huge fans of the series and we both have high hopes for this installment.
We are extra excited that our homes have some connection to the film:
It is directed by Burlington, Vermont resident, Colin Trevorrow and was filmed in New Orleans.
This is one of the best trailers since GRAVITY and I'm all-in on it being a super-dope nostalgia trip.

THE PARK IS OPEN!

Chris's Review: ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part I’

I will admit, way back in 2012, when the first The Hunger Games came out, my interest was hovering just below minimal. Having not read the books, it went fairly unnoticed on my movie-going radar. But when I did eventually catch it one rainy Sunday afternoon on Netflix, I was instantly hooked.

When the second film, Catching Fire, came out last year, because of my newfound appreciation, I made sure to see it in theaters and was not disappointed. So, needless to say, I have been eagerly awaiting the latest entry, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part I.

The Badass Ladies Lists

Tonight, THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART I is in theaters everywhere.
This will be the third of four films that will bring Suzanne Collins' three novels to the screen.
There are no more Hunger Games:
The Districts have gone to war with The Capitol and Katniss Everdeen is in the middle of the battle.

Jennifer Lawrence's portrayal of Katniss was great in the first two films.
"The Girl On Fire" has become one of the toughest and coolest cinematic heroines ever.
It got us thinking about the other most badass ladies in film history.
Chris and I mutually agreed on a Top 3 and then picked the rest of our favorites.

The All-Time Top 3

#3. Sarah Connor (TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY)

T2 was the first R-Rated movie I ever saw. I was seven years old and it blew my mind.
As a matter of fact, it still does. Anyway, Sarah Connor is tough as nails. Knowing the world is going to end soon, can be rough on a person, but she kept her mind and body in shape to help us avoid nuclear winter. Her escape from the mental hospital is so awesome. 

#2. The Bride (KILL BILL VOL. 1 and 2)

Beatrix Kiddo and her "roaring-rampage of revenge" earn her a spot among the all-time greats. They beat her, shot her in the head and buried her alive, but nothing stops her from taking her Hanzo sword and destroying everyone in her path.

#1. Ripley (The ALIEN Series )

The only survivor out of her entire crew, multiple times. She outlived Xenomorphs, space marines, crazy prisoners and poor Newt. She even killed herself for the good of the human race, only to be brought back (via cloning!) to destroy more aliens. She is one of the best heroes in the history of film, man or woman, and absolutely brings the pain in all four films.

Those Are The Best Of The Best.
Here Are The Best Of The Rest . . .

THE BADASS LADIES LISTS

Dan's List 

#5. The Phoenix (X-Men: The Last Stand)

Jean Grey had been living with demons all her life. She may be the most powerful mutant in the X-Men and sometimes that power is too great for her to control. When she saved everyone in X2, she basically hit the reset button on her life and The Phoenix is (re)born. The Phoenix is nobody's friend and atomizes Professor X. Everybody is scared of her, and rightfully so.

#4. Billie Jean (The Legend Of Billie Jean)

The Legend Of Billie Jean has to be one of the best 1980s Cult Classics.

It's as absurd and hilarious as it is angst-ridden.

Billie Jean was only 17 when she became a fugitive, but she inspired the youth of America.

Add in Pat Benetar's awesome, "Invincible" and you've got an epic tale of justice being served.

Fair is fair!

#3. -TIE- Foxy/Jackie Brown (Foxy Brown and Jackie Brown)

You wouldn't want to tangle with either of these fierce Pam Grier characters.

Talk trash to Foxy Brown? Not unless you want a bar stool across the face.

Try to outsmart Jackie Brown? You're probably going to end up dead.

Go ahead and throw Coffy and a whole lot of others onto that list as well.

We salute you, Pam Grier, for your permanent record of badassery.

#2. Alabama (True Romance)

This call girl turned into a great wife and mother before our eyes.

She likes to play dumb, but always uses it to her advantage.

Her 12 minute battle with a mob hitman was so hardcore that it had edited down, multiple times, for it to be released in some other countries. Alabama is a survivor and is another of Quentin Tarantino's many, crazy tough, female characters.

#1. Mrs. Voorhees (Friday The 13th)

You don't mess with somebody's children.
She's a terrifying, mad woman who gets in nine kills before you know it.
Mrs. Voorhees is the scariest part the entire FRIDAY THE 13th series, by far.
"Kill her, Mommy."  is something that will give kids nightmares, forever.

Honorable Mention
Zoe, Kim and Abernathy (Death Proof)- Not even Stuntman Mike could take down this trio.
Gogo Yubari (KILL BILL VOL. 1)- Dies in the only fight we see her in, but definitely a killer.
Buffy (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER)- Head cheerleader/a quick study, who catches knives.


Chris's List

#5 - Hit-Girl (Kick Ass, Kick Ass 2)

Kick-Ass, a divisive film and series, no doubt. The first one was fun and a breath of fresh air, while the second, well, kinda sucked. One thing is for sure, Hit-Girl (played by Chloë Grace Moretz) is the best part of both films.

#4 - Black Widow/Natasha Romanov (Iron Man 2, The Avengers)

Two things are all you need to know why she is on this list:
One, she is played by Scarlett Johansson, and two, this scene:

#3 - Trinity (The Matrix Trilogy)

Trinity rocks it in all three Matrix films, including the opening scene of the series and the famous freeway chase from Reloaded. Again, a video can explain her placement on the list better than I:

#2 - Yu Shu Lien and Jen Yu (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon)

The proof is in the video:

#1 - Hanna (Hanna)

 

I love this movie. One of the most underrated of the past few years. Great film and great, awesomely badass lead performance from Saoirse Ronan, as a 16-year old deadly assassin being tracked down by a rogue CIA agent played by Cate Blanchett.

Honorable Mention

Miho (Sin City) - Two samurai swords are better than one. Quiet, but deadly.

Sydney Prescott (The SCREAM Series) - Sure, she does not have a lot of skills, weapons, or power but she has survived four films and seven killers - including a murderous boyfriend, brother, and niece - with a nary a scratch on her. Impressive to say the least.


Thanks For Reading!
Follow Us On Twitter For Daily Movie News and Links: @NorthSouthFilm

Check Out Our Other Best Of Lists:

Bill Murray - Brad Pitt - Robert Downey Jr. -  Denzel Washington - Robin Williams 
Christian Bale - Matt Damon - Johnny Depp – Jamie Foxx
David Fincher - Wes Anderson - Ron Howard – Tony Scott – Michael Bay – Stanley Kubrick 
Space Movies – Movie Lawyers – Movie Bars – Concert Movies - Airplane Movies - War Movies
Baseball Movies – Films From 2000-Now – Movie/Video Game Combos - Kill Bill

Movie Award Season Begins... Chris's Early Thoughts on Foxcatcher, The Imitation Game, Birdman, Whiplash, and Dear White People

Every year, Christmas comes early for cinephiles – because with November, comes film award season. From early November (late October even), the studios roll out their big guns, the award-seeking missiles. Week after week, highly anticipated new films hit theaters week after week in hopes of riding the momentum into next year and the Oscars in February. 

12 Years a Slave director & cast at 2013 New Orleans Film Fest

With this time of year on the movie calendar also comes a myriad of film festivals. For the past several years, I have the honor and pleasure of covering the New Orleans Film Festival, a rapidly growing fest that is riding the tsunami wave of Hollywood South and the ever-growing film industry in the state of Louisiana. 

Last year, I got to cover the U.S. premiere of the eventual Best Picture Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave, complete with interviews with director Steve McQueen and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and eventual Oscar-winner, Lupita Nyong’o. In addition to cool things like that, I also get to see a lot of films early, many of which are equally as highly-anticipated films.

This year, in addition to many smaller and local films, I got to see a handful of this year’s big name films and potential award contenders, including Foxcatcher, The Imitation Game, Whiplash, Black and White, and Dear White People.

Here are my thoughts on these films before they hit theaters later this year, in addition to my initial thoughts on Birdman, which I saw last week and is now playing. 

The Space Movie Lists

If you've seen the trailer or read anything about Christopher Nolan's latest film, Interstellar, then you know: we've got a new space epic on our hands. Hollywood has a glorious history of films that take place outside our atmosphere, so we picked our favorite space film from each decade. 3,2,1 blastoff, it's . . .

The Space Movie Lists

2010s

Gravity
Dan:
This film was meant to be seen in 3D, on a huge screen.
The only people I met who weren't blown away by it, saw it in 2D and/or on a TV.
I hope you didn't miss out on one of the most riveting cinematic experiences in years. 
Don't think Sandra Bullock earned that Oscar? 
Just check out the making of the film.

2000s 

Star Trek

Dan:

I freakin' loved this movie: 
The Cast, The Writing, The "Wow" Shots and of course, The Space Jump.
Sure, some die hard Trekkies were underwhelmed, but this is by far the best Trek film ever.
The greatness of Star Trek is what gives me high hopes for J.J. Abrams' Star Wars films.
Can't wait!

Moon
Chris:
A largely overlooked indie film from Duncan Jones (son of David Bowie) about one-man mission on the Moon starring the always delightful Sam Rockwell. A great psychological space movie with a great central performance. A beautifully shot minimalistic film that wonderfully wears its classic sci-fi influences on its sleeve (2001, Solaris, Alien, etc).

1990s 

Apollo 13

Dan:

Look at the lineup:
Tom Hanks, Kevin Bacon, Bill Paxton, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris.
That is a 90s All Star Team of powerhouse actors.
Throw in a quality filmmaker like Ron Howard and you've got one of the best movies of the decade.
If Apollo 13 is on TV and I catch it, I'm watching it.
Isn't that the best kind of film?

1980s

Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back
Dan:
Can you have a list of best space movies without a Star Wars film?
Episode V is bigger, faster and of course, has one of the best reveals in film history.
I met James Earl Jones and got him to drop "I am your father" on me.
Certainly a high point in my life.

The Right Stuff
Chris:

How could we talk about space movies and not mention the brave men who made it all possible?
Based on the novel by Tom Wolfe, the film follows the true story of the original Mercury 7 astronauts.
Great performances from Sam Shepard, Scott Glenn, Ed Harris, and Denis Quaid.

1970s

Alien
Chris:
My favorite space movie. Director Ridley Scott perfectly captures the claustrophobic nature of space, a place where, as the film's poster reminds us, no one can hear you scream. Probably the second most influential space movie in cinema history, trailing only the next film on our list...

1960s 

2001: A Space Odyssey
Chris:
Kubrick’s seminal and cerebral sci-fi film for which all space movies before and after well ever be judged against. As grandiose in its legendary visuals as it is in history spanning scope, this is the space movie.  

Thanks For Reading!

Follow Us On Twitter For Daily Movie News and Links: @NorthSouthFilm

Check Out Our Other Best Of Lists:

Bill Murray - Brad Pitt - Robert Downey Jr. -  Denzel Washington - Robin Williams 
Christian Bale - Matt Damon - Johnny Depp – Jamie Foxx
David Fincher - Wes Anderson - Ron Howard – Tony Scott – Michael Bay – Stanley Kubrick 
Badass Ladies – Movie Lawyers – Movie Bars – Concert Movies - Airplane Movies - War Movies
Baseball Movies – Films From 2000-Now – Movie/Video Game Combos - Kill Bill

Now Playing: Interstellar, Big Hero 6, Birdman

Interstellar

Official Synopsis: 
With our time on Earth coming to an end, a team of explorers undertakes the most important mission in human history; traveling beyond this galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars.

North's Thoughts:
The plot is the definition of epic and Christopher Nolan is directing.
What more do you need to know?
This is my most anticipated film of 2014 and the trailer is flat out awesome.
Nolan is obviously one of the best directors alive and Matthew McConaughey always kills it.
Films like this are why you go to the movies, so find the biggest screen around and enjoy.


Big Hero 6

Official Synopsis:
An action comedy adventure about brilliant robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada, who finds himself in the grips of a criminal plot that threatens to destroy the fast-paced, high-tech city of San Fransokyo. With the help of his closest companion-a robot named Baymax-Hiro joins forces with a reluctant team of first-time crime fighters on a mission to save their city.

North's Thoughts:
Whenever Disney puts out a new release, you have to give it a chance.
Nobody, including Disney, knew that Frozen would be one of the highest grossing films of all-time.
Big Hero 6 looks modern, smart and is getting very positive reviews.
Chances are you will be buying your kids one of these toys in the near future.



Birdman

Official Synopsis:
This film is a black comedy that tells the story of an actor - famous for portraying an iconic superhero-as he struggles to mount a Broadway play. In the days leading up to opening night, he battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career, and himself.

North's Thoughts:
If that synopsis sounds familiar, it's because it's basically the biography of star, Michael Keaton.
His film career took off in 1982 and didn't slow down until 1998, when suddenly he was gone.
Keaton stated he just became picky with his roles, but most speculated there had to be more to it.
Batman can't just disappear, right?
All I know is that his personal connection to this material makes me really excited for this movie.
It's one of the best reviewed films of the year, so don't skip it.


Next Week: Foxcatcher and Dumb And Dumber To


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Follow Us On Twitter For Daily Movie News and Links: @NorthSouthFilm