Tag Archives: Leonardo DiCaprio

Most Anticipated Releases – July 2019

Happy Birthday, America! Summer is in full swing and there is a whole slew of great looking films coming to theaters. With so many things going on during the summer I want to make sure you have a guide for the best movies headed your way. Granted, not all of these will match every person’s taste. Hopefully if one or two aren’t your style the others will fit you well.

Spider-Man: Far From Home – July 2

If you haven’t seen Endgame then don’t watch this. For that matter, don’t read this article. Just go buy a ticket a watch it. Help it beat Avatar and The Force Awakens.

Well, Thanos and his armies are finished and the remaining Avengers are moving on with their lives after the traumatic events of Endgame. It will be interesting to see where Marvel plans to go from here. They have our attention and all of our money so now they can really shoot for the fences and give us all the superhero movies we never even knew we wanted.

I haven’t found anyone who doesn’t like Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. He brought the wit and frenetic energy to the web-slinger that we’ve been missing for quite a while. This really feels like a new beginning for the entire MCU, because from the trailer we now know that it does come after the events of Endgame. However, Kevin Feige back in April before Endgame was released said that this would be the final movie of phase three instead of beginning phase four. Part of me thinks that was just a dodge to keep from giving away details from Endgame including the fact that Spider-Man and all of his snapped buddies come back to kick butt.

Regardless of whether it is an end or a beginning, I’m excited to see what antics this friendly neighborhood Spider-Man gets into when he and his school friends leave the five boroughs and head to Europe for a summer vacation. We know that Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) will be making an entrance and at least according to Nick Fury he’s a good guy from an alternate dimension. I hope that’s true because he’s never been a good guy in this dimension before. Spider-Man: Far From Home swings into theaters on July 2nd.

Midsommar – July 3

We’ve always been taught to be afraid of the dark. What happens when the really scary things happen in the daylight?

Right on the heels of a fun superhero movie comes the creepiest looking movie of the year. Ari Aster made Hereditary last year and he was immediately recognized as a fresh new voice in the horror/thriller genre. Midsommar is his much-anticipated follow-up film and the trailers make it look like a suspenseful slow-burning horror film that leaves all the lights on instead of being all dark and creepy with shadows and jumpscares.

It looks like a combination of The Wicker Man (the original one from 1970s, not that horrible remake with Nicholas Cage.) with its strange pagan rituals and The Stepford Wives (the original one from the 1970s, not that horrible remake with Nicole Kidman.) with the idyllic surroundings and cheerful almost too happy people. It just makes you know that there is something darker lingering under the surface. If you haven’t seen either of those or Hereditary, I would recommend seeing them if this looks interesting to you. Midsommar will be in select theaters in time for the July 4th holiday.

The Art of Self Defense – July 12

Could this be the Lex Luthor origin story? After learning karate he unlocks his hidden passion to take down the ubermensch.

A dark comedy set in the world of karate. The film centers on Casey (Jesse Eisenberg), who is attacked at random on the street and enlists in a local dojo led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei (Alessandro Nivola), in an effort to learn how to defend himself. What he uncovers is a sinister world of fraternity, violence and hypermasculinity and a woman (Imogen Poots) fighting for her place in it. Casey undertakes a journey, both frightening and darkly funny, that will place him squarely in the sights of his enigmatic new mentor.

Let’s face it, Jesse Eisenberg is a wimp. At least that is the persona that he has chosen with his film career. Well, this film looks like it is playing right into that sniveling weakling persona and it could be the most Jesse Eisenbergian character that Jesse Eisenberg has ever played. Feeling inadequate, he is going to try and learn how to be a man and things are going to go wrong. If you couldn’t tell, this is a dark comedy and probably has a lot to say about the kind of stereotypical machismo that we all understand. The Art of Self-Defense will fight its way into theaters on July 12th.

The Lion King – July 19

Does it count as live action if all the characters are CGI?

Everyone knows the story of the lion prince who would be king who is betrayed by his evil uncle and leaves the kingdom in the wake of his father’s traumatic death. While he is away he makes friends and tries to forget his past. But his past finds him and he must choose whether he believes in himself enough to take his rightful place as king. Sounds Shakespearean right? That’s because it’s Hamlet with Lions.

As needless as they are, most of the Disney live-action remakes have been good. None have surpassed their originals in my opinion and I think Lion King will be fighting an uphill battle to even get close. It is widely considered to be the pinnacle of Disney Animated Musicals. It doesn’t seem like this one can really miss at the box office. It is a sure success. Parents who loved the original taking their kids to see the movie that they were shown when they were babies. Hopefully, it will update and spin the story in a new way, but even if it doesn’t I think it will make heaps of money and probably get mostly favorable reviews. We’ll find out on July 19th when The Lion King marches into theaters.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – July 26

Quentin Tarantino’s 9th film according to the trailer, but 10th if you call Kill Bill two movies. Or maybe he’s not counting Death Proof. Anyway, I count ten.

Tarantino has called this his most personal film. Tarantino moved to a community called Torrance just southwest of L.A. with his mother in 1966 when he was 3 years old. Some of his earliest memories may have included discussion around the dinner table about Hollywood and hippie culture. When the movie was announced, and it was revealed that Sharon Tate would have a role, it was assumed that this would be a movie about the Manson family murders, but Tarantino has denied that saying that while many of the characters overlap, the movie is actually about the loss of innocence in the late 60s.

I’m excited to see what all the fuss is about, besides a cast that includes Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Kurt Russell, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, and Al Pacino. Apparently, it got a six-minute long standing ovation at Cannes. That seems excessive. Have you ever clapped for an extended period of time? It hurts your hands. Tarantino is probably one of the biggest geeks about that culture which included kung-fu movies and spaghetti westerns. I’m sure that much of that respect and admiration comes through. If there is one thing that you can count on Hollywood to love, it’s itself. We’ll see what secrets Tarantino holds in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood on July 26.

Do you have any thoughts on the movies I mentioned? What are you hoping to watch in July? Leave a comment below or find me on social media. I’m always ready to talk about movies.

2002 Best Movie Bracket

Welcome to 2002. It was a pretty awful year. If you don’t remember, it was the year following the most terrible terrorist attack on human soil. The papal sex abuse scandal was uncovered, President Bush created the Department of Homeland Security, the DC snipers killed 10 people, No Child Left Behind became law, the world was in political upheaval, wars were beginning, and Chicago won best picture over The Pianist. But at least we found water on Mars.

Perhaps the Academy chose the more brightly colored and glitzy musical over the gritty story of a man who survived the Holocaust because they needed something happy. If you recall, there were talks of cancelling the event or postponing it because we had just invaded Iraq and it didn’t seem right to have a glamorous celebration while we sent our children off to war. Eventually they decided that the show must go on, but they decided to forgo the red carpet with security concerns too high.

#1 – The Pianist

But I see it from the other side. Chicago was the favorite going into the awards. It had 13 nominations and was riding high much like La La Land did last year. However, The Pianist sneaked in to surprise everyone, taking home three of the major prizes of the night: Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. I’m not sure if it would have ever stolen away the Best Picture, it was a big enough surprise that Roman Polanski bested Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese. The Pianist might be a bleak story, but it is undeniably beautiful and shows the power of the human spirit to overcome adversity. It is truly the film that America needed to weather the dark times.

#2 – Gangs of New York

Some people think this isn’t one of Martin Scorsese’s best films. But what does that say when it was nominated for 10 Oscars. Granted, it was snubbed for all of them but that doesn’t make it any less impressive. Daniel Day Lewis is so impressive with his method acting skills. There is a scene where Bill the Butcher taps his glass eye with a knife, Daniel Day Lewis has prosthetic glass put on his eye and learned to actually tap it! That is dedication to your craft.

This also marked the first time that  Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio worked together. That relationship obviously developed and he has gone on to work with him on four more films so far (The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, and The Wolf of Wall Street).

#3 – City of God

This could have been called “The Gangs of Rio De Janerio,” because Martin Scorsese seems to have had a big influence on the director of this film, Fernando Meirelles. He uses close ups,  freeze-and-zoom shots, long takes and other trademarks that are easily recognizable to any fan of Scorsese’s work. The film is told through narration by Rocket, a young photographer in the slums. The story charts the growth of several members of the gangs from their childhood as young hoodlums through their transformation into adult drug barons. The final parts of the story focus on the battle within the Cidade De Deus “City of God” between two different groups pressed into an unavoidable confrontation. The result is a powerful story based around real-life events.

City of God is powerful and should be seen by everyone. If you are looking to start watching more foreign language films, start here. It is easily accessible and quickly digestible. In short, this is a superb achievement, and is easily one of the best films of the year.

Just outside the top 3, I have 2 films from legendary director Steven Spielberg, Minority Report and Catch Me If You Can. I’m sad that I couldn’t fit either of these gems in my top 3. The fact is that I have rated them exactly the same as City of God and Gangs of New York (4 stars). They are both excellent and worth your time if you haven’t seen them. I chose to put the other two higher precisely because I think that less people have seen them and I always want to encourage people to reach outside of their comfort zones to watch movies that they wouldn’t otherwise be likely to see.

So, that’s the Top 5 of the year, but you know I can’t leave you with just that. There are a number of honorable mentions: Adaptation, Punch Drunk Love, Signs, The Bourne Identity, and Bowling for Columbine.

It was also the start of a number of big franchises: Spider-Man, The Bourne Identity, 28 Days Later, Ice Age, Resident Evil, Transporter, and Jackass. But it marked the continuation of even more: Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, Star Wars Episode IIHarry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsMen in Black II, Austin Powers Goldmember, Blade II, and Spy Kids 2.

Did I miss something? Am I way off? let me know in the comments below or on Social media. See you in 2001!

2006 Best Movie Bracket

What was the best movie of 2006? I’m going to change the way I do this a little bit. Normally I would share some information about the year and other movies that are honorable mentions in the first few paragraphs. However, I’m afraid that most of you are clicking away before you even get to the #1 pick.  So, I’m going to start with my top picks and I’ll try to pepper in more information about the year and other possible choices throughout my reviews.

3rd – Pan’s Labyrinth

From the innovative mind of Guillermo del Toro comes Pan’s Labyrinth. It is a coming of age tale of innocence and imagination. It is a story about a young girl who is other worldly. Like a crystal vase in a sea of tupperware, she doesn’t match her surroundings. Del Toro creates a fantasy world that is draws us in and leaves us feeling like a child who just heard a fairy tale for the first time.

A warning to my more language challenged readers, this film is in Spanish. It is subtitled. I don’t see that as a problem. I would like to hear why you do if you do. The story is set in Spain in 1944 following the Spanish Civil War. So really any language besides Spanish would feel forced and inauthentic. If you claim that you don’t go to the movies to read, then that is just laziness and you need to get over it. The story centers around Ofelia who is traveling with her pregnant mother. They are moving to a fascist command centre in rural Spain led by the fiendish Captain Vidal  who happens to be the father of the mother’s unborn child. Ofelia is the type of child whose imagination feeds her energy. Unfortunately, it is also her imagination that causes Ofelia’s disconnect with the real world.

Ofelia’s exploring leads her to meet a faun. This is the Pan of the English title of the film (del Toro has told us that that is not actually the faun’s name). The first interaction between Ofelia and the faun is revealing because Ofelia doesn’t draw back in horror at the sight of this creature, in fact she seems more comfortable in his presence that with her own mother. This fantasy is her reality and it becomes ours. Ofelia learns the fact that every little girl steeped in fairy tales has yearned to hear, that she is a long lost princess separated from her kingdom.

Half of the story plays out in this ominous and sometimes frightening dreamland. However, del Toro is using the other half of the story to give us a picture of good and evil. The real monster of the film is Captain Vidal despite his normal outward appearance. Let me be quick to say that this is not a kids movie. With the young protagonist and presence of fairy tale creatures it might be tempting to present this to a child, but violence play an important part in this film showing the harsh, unwanted situation that Ofelia’s real life presents her with and blood, guts, and broken bones are all present in this reality.

El Laberinto del Fauno (or Pan’s Labyrinth) is a gorgeously detailed and styled story with characters and creatures to love and despise. Del Toro gives me hope that imagination is not dead. However, it wasn’t the only imaginative film of the year. I would also check out: The Prestige, Little Miss Sunshine, Borat, The Fountain, Paprika, Stranger Than Fiction, The Fall, A Scanner Darkly, Idiocracy, Perfume and Science of Sleep. Perhaps there is still hope yet.

2nd – Children of Men

Children of Men is a near future science fiction film based on a 1992 P.D. James novel and directed by the ever versatile Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Gravity). It is set in 2027, but there is nothing special about that date. It could just as easily be 2050, or 2019. It feels like it is just a breath away. Forget giant asteroids or alien invasions, Children of Men conveys a doomsday scenario that is realistically frightening and contemporary.

Mankind has become infertile, there has not been a new birth recorded for over 18 years. Devolving into chaos from the ticking clock facing everyone, the world has resorted to violence. Britain, the only country that still “soldiers on,” has closed its borders to the swarms of refugees (sound familiar?) Those that make it through the cracks, called “fugees,” are captured and deported. The country is now a completely totalitarian state with state police and surveillance cameras everywhere.

The war-torn atmosphere and the mayhem that seems to erupt out of nowhere convey the urgency and danger of the situation. All of it is captured brilliantly by Alfonso Cuarón and the incomparable Emmanuel Lubetzki. Without hope, people are resorting to their base instincts ad lust for survival. Theo’s quest to protect Kee becomes the only thing that matters. The revelation that she is pregnant means that she is fighting for the future of all mankind.

Clive Owen plays Theo as a very ordinary man. With the action in this film, he could have easily become a 007 knockoff, but instead we are left in the frightening mess with him and allowed to feel his fear. In the same way, it would have been easy to write the appearance of this pregnant woman as a miracle, but Cuarón never makes that mistake. It’s hard to categorize this film as either a rich thematic drama when it elevates into a high-octane action film. That is one of the best things about it. It is a great dystopian thriller that is one of the best things that we have seen from a talented young director.

There were a couple of other Science fiction or dramas that almost made this list, but came up just short. Other films to add to your watchlist for the year are, The Lives of Others, Babel, Blood Diamond, Apocalypto, Last King of Scotland, and Little Children.

1st – The Departed

This is why remakes shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. The legendary Martin Scorsese with his screenwriter William Monahan have taken an okay Chinese film, Infernal Affairs, and breathed new life into it, framing it as an American epic crime drama. This is Scorcese’s best since Goodfellas and it deserves mention alongside Scorsese’s other most celebrated films Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.

I don’t want to go into the plot too far. The trailer goes a bit too deep in my opinion. I will just say that it is a high stakes game of lies, secrets, and hidden identities. This is among the greatest of ensemble casts of all time. We have headliners like Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg (Oscar nominated), and Alec Baldwin turning in superb supporting roles while Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon shine under the leadership of a premier director. This was the role that skyrocketed DiCaprio into the stratosphere. He and Scorsese work so brilliantly together, this was the best work he had done at the time. This is an amazing return to form for Jack Nicholson. He relishes every moment before the camera with this diabolical confidence and intensity. I think it was criminal that he wasn’t even nominated for an Oscar.

Speaking of Oscars, The Departed did go home with four awards on that night. Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Editing. As far as crime dramas go, this is one of the best. Take note, this is a gangster film by Scorsese so there is a fair amount of violence and profanity. However, The Departed is somewhat tame in comparison to some of the director’s other films. It is entangling and highly entertaining, truly the best of 2006.

These posts are getting pretty long as I can’t help but write a full review for the film instead of just a quick snippet, so to help with this, starting with 2005, I will be posting my reviews separately and the Best Movie Bracket post will fairly short. It will link to my full reviews and will help explain why I chose one film over another.

2012 – Best Movie Bracket

It is so hard to distinguish between the best movies of the year and the ones that I like to watch repeatedly. Sometimes they are one and the same. I absolutely loved The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but I have a feeling that my enjoyment of the movie is more about my personal connection than the actual worth of the film.

There are also several very good films that I consider extremely worthy of being considered the best of the year, such as; LincolnLife of PiThe Master, and Silver Linings Playbook. They are honorable mentions, but unfortunately I had to cut it down to three.

Continue reading 2012 – Best Movie Bracket

2015 – Best Movie Bracket

From start to finish, many of 2015’s biggest news stories were centered around violence and terror threats and they showed a general sense of fear. The year began with a targeted terror strike in Paris and closed out with another planned attack in San Bernandino, California, proving that threats around the globe remain an issue for all.

However, much of the world found a place of solace at the theater amidst the fear and violence. 2015 featured a variety of films that showed the triumph of the spirit in the face of adversity, bigotry, and evil. Movies like: Southpaw, The Good Dinosaur, Joy, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Room, Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Revenant, The Martian, Mad Max: Fury Road, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Inside Out.

As fun and epic as the continuations of Mad Max, Star Wars, and Avengers were, there was not enough to set them apart and leave a lasting legacy. Leonardo Dicaprio deserved an Oscar for what Innaritu put him through in The Revenant, but the movie itself though stark and piercing didn’t create the effect in viewers that you expect from the best. The Martian was alternatively hilarious and harrowing, and Room ripped my heart out and slowly put it back together again, but there were a lot of really good movies in 2015. I keep coming back to three films from the year that will have some staying power. Here are my top 3 films of the year. Continue reading 2015 – Best Movie Bracket