Robert Downey Jr., who is only signed on through Avengers: Age of Ultron, took a surprising stance when it comes to his -- and others' -- future in Marvel projects. And given what we heard this morning about Bradley Cooper playing Indiana Jones instead of Harrison Ford, it sounds like Downey could just be speaking the truth.
"The smart money is you have to look at everybody’s age,” he said to Variety.
“I’ll put myself at the top of the list. Sooner or later, they’ve got to start over and get somebody young. I’m not there with them yet."
Although Downey hasn’t said he would not do an Iron Man 4, we tend to get the feeling from recent press conferences and interviews that Avengers: Age of Ultron may be the last time you see him in the Iron Man suit. Although, yes, he is the oldest of the bunch, he is in fantastic shape and easily could play Tony Stark for another few years.
Perhaps Downey is just being the wise one. Or, he’s the person who just has the guts to admit what everyone is thinking.
It’s true, he cannot play Stark and Iron Man forever. And although Chris Evans is signed for nine, count ‘em nine, Captain America appearances, there’s something to be said for these roles being bigger than the actors who play them.
It’s been that way for James Bond. And with James Bond 24 filming this October, that model seems to work.
Perhaps the day is over of seeing a character “retire” from the screen as the actor who is most known for playing them walks away from the part. Then again, athletes rarely retire with the team that made them famous anymore. Maybe it just took time for Hollywood to follow that model.
If Cesar Chavez is a success, it is largely due to the powerful performance turned in by Michael Pena, who portrays the legendary labor leader. He is joined in the explosive turn department by the woman who plays his onscreen wife, America Ferrera.
We caught up with Ferrera for an exclusive video interview where she revealed what a professional thrill it was to reunite with her co-star from the cop drama End of Watch.
Ferrera, more than anyone right now, knows what it is that makes Pena so powerful. “He’s a very intelligent actor,” Ferrera admitted. “He spends a lot of time embodying the role.”
The former Ugly Betty star treasured the time commuting to set together, which comes through on the screen in the powerful biopic that has long been needed.
“We had a very personal experience together. It was imbued with a lot of warmth. And I think we were lucky to have known each other before to get past that getting to know you stuff,” she said.
In the end, as we stated, Cesar Chavez is an important movie and one long overdue. “[Michael] and I both knew that we were telling a story that really mattered.”
As we await Cesar Chavez to arrive on screens the last weekend in March, watch End of Watch online and see why Ferrera and Pena have such powerful chemistry.
In Jupiter Ascending, Mila Kunis is leading an ordinary life. In fact, it’s quite boring -- which is strange, because it had been prophesied that she would bring great change in the world and be a unifying force for good.
One day, Channing Tatum shows up and saves her and she begins to understand that maybe there is more to her life than cleaning toilets. Judging by the entirety of the Jupiter Ascending trailer that just arrived, Kunis’ character holds the secret to the future of the entire universe.
The first Jupiter Ascending trailer teased the visual brilliance from the Wachowski siblings (they of those awesome The Matrix quotes). But this latest trailer is nothing short of a marvel of eye candy.
Let’s remind ourselves of what incredible filmmakers those siblings are and watch The Matrix online before Jupiter Ascending’s release date of July 18 gets here.
Warner Bros. also released a couple of character posters. We have them below! And stay with us as our Jupiter Ascending gallery grows larger!
The teaser trailer for Michael Bay’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is here! Check out the first footage from the highly anticipated reboot of the popular franchise.
The footage shows William Fichtner as Shredder, and Megan Fox as April O’Neill. Much of the scenes involve our favorite Ninja Turtles moving so fast, it’s hard to see (which is a good thing).
But, there is a killer look at Michelangelo!
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles also stars Will Arnett (recently seen uttering those awesome The LEGO Movie quotes) and arrives August 8.
Paramount has also unveiled the film’s official synopsis:
The city needs heroes. Darkness has settled over New York City as Shredder and his evil Foot Clan have an iron grip on everything from the police to the politicians. The future is grim until four unlikely outcast brothers rise from the sewers and discover their destiny as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Turtles must work with fearless reporter April and her wise-cracking cameraman Vern Fenwick to save the city and unravel Shredder’s diabolical plan.
Check out Fichtner's last movie when you watch The Lone Ranger online... made with Bay's frequent collaborator, Jerry Bruckheimer!
Black Widow gets the spotlight in our latest clip from Captain America: The Winter Soldier!
Scarlett Johansson is back as Natasha and we've seen a behind-the-scenes featurette on what makes Black Widow tick, and now we get a full-on scene where she's doing what she does best: Kicking butt!
Black Widow joins Chris Evans' Captain America for his latest adventure, due April 4, and this time out they're battling a foe who truly puts fear in our favorite hero, the Winter Soldier... as seen in the latest Captain America: The Winter Soldier trailer.
Over his career, Arnold Schwarzenegger has uttered movie quotes like bullets flying out of one of his character's machine guns.
The superstar let his quote generating skills be known from his first big film (watch The Terminator online).
He made his presence felt with that one movie quote that he would embrace as his own. In fact, he said "I'll be back" in no less than six other movies in some form!
He even turns some famous lines said by others from the first Terminator film and makes them his own Terminator 2: Judgment Day quotes!
In fact, it's hard to watch any of Schwarzenegger's movies without coming away with a new movie quote that will go down in Hollywood history as one of the most iconic.
Click through and check out our 15 best Arnold Schwarzenegger movie quotes and see which lines we'll never say "Hasta la vista, baby" to!
Get to the chopper sounds like an easy enough order, but with his strong accent, it has become a classic line in how it sounds like, "Get to the choooooppper!"
Arnold's obsessed with Mars in Total Recall. One can see why!
I live to see you eat that contract, but I hope you leave enough room for my fist because I'm going to ram it into your stomach and break your god-damn spine!
Matrix: [holds the hotel key he stole from Sully that Cooke is staying at] Because I already know. Remember, Sully, when I promised to kill you last? Sully: That's right, Matrix! You did! Matrix: I lied.
How many times have we used this in our own lives? Every headache, perhaps?!
Lori: Doug, honey... you wouldn't hurt me, would you, sweetheart? Sweetheart, be reasonable. After all, we're married! Douglas Quaid: Consider that a divorce!
This Termiantor 2 quote is fascinating because it's coming from Arnold. In the first Terminator, it came from Kyle Reese under completely different circumstances.
We were sufficiently teased by the Into the Storm teaser trailer, and now we have a fuller teaser from the film that wonders what would happen to a small town if it were hit by a series of tornadoes on one fateful day.
Into the Storm hits theaters August 8 and is directed by Steven Quale and stars Richard Armitage ( you can see him when you watch The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey online), Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead), Matt Walsh, Arlen Escarpeta and Max Deacon.
The disaster pic (will it join our 15 best disaster movies list when it arrives?) not only focuses on the residents of the small town, but a series of storm chasers who actually run towards the mayhem while others take shelter from it!
The first clip from How to Train Your Dragon 2 is here!
After that majestic How to Train Your Dragon 2 trailer, we are all in on the sequel to the DreamWorks hit. This time out, peace seems to have come over the land as dragons and humans are not only getting along famously, they are co-existing in the most fruitful of ways.
Meanwhile, Toothless and Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) are out exploring the lands beyond their village and bonding ever further as friends. The below clip features them after they have explored some new territory and Hiccup is mapping out the area.
And what to call a newfound land is always a challenge. We love what Toothless’ suggestion seems to be!
Not only is Baruchel back, but he is joined by Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Kristen Wiig. Joining the series is Cate Blanchett!
Taking a foreign film and remaking it for American audiences can be a tricky endeavor. But, Vince Vaughn sought to make the French Canadian comedy Starbuck and the smartest thing he did was to insist that that film’s writer and director do the same for his Delivery Man.
Now, Delivery Man is out on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download.
Delivery Man tells the story of Vaughn’s David Wozniak. He’s getting by being a delivery man for his father’s Chicago meat company. He’s dating Emma (The Avengers star Cobie Smulders) and they’re kind of treading water. Not moving forward, not moving backwards. Then, he’s got a lawyer of a best friend in Brett (Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt) who is drowning in children, but loving every minute of it.
Just as his girlfriend gives him an ultimatum to grow up or more on, he gets news that is completely out of left field and utterly shocking: He is the father to 533 children. Seems our boy was a sperm donor back in the day and the facility where he donated used his specimens over and over and the results are those hundreds of kids.
The only reason this has come to light is that several of the children have discovered this fact, and are suing the clinic to break the confidentiality agreement so they can know who there father is. Good thing David’s BFF is a lawyer. But… maybe meeting them won’t be such a bad thing.
As we stated in our theatrical Delivery Man review, Vaughn is perfect cast and this is a role that suits his talents to a “T.” But, what is surprising is how heartwarming the film is as well. Yes, it has its outrageously funny moments… but they are all peppered with heart.
The film did decent business in theaters, but the arrival of Delivery Man on DVD, Blu-Ray and digital download should introduce this film to a wider audience.
The bonus features are solid, and not one is a wasted effort. Vince Vaughn: Off the Cuff gives us a front row seat to the supreme talent that is this comedian who can improv as well as channeling deep emotions. The I Got the Part featurette is also a joy in that it showcases one of the most hilarious moments of the film, and simultaneously delves deeper into the wider meaning and message of Delivery Man.
Lastly, there is a Blooper reel and a deleted scene (You are Under Arrest). Both don’t add too much to the entire package, but are a nice addition for kicks and giggles.
One thing that strikes us in our Sabotage exclusive trailer is star Arnold Schwarzenegger’s hairstyle for his latest action flick. “I cannot take credit for my haircut, and I refuse to take credit for my haircut. I just want to make this very clear,” Schwarzenegger said to Movie Fanatic recently.
“It was pitiful. I wore a hat the whole time I was getting off the set because people always asked me, 'Geez, you look weird!' But it was David’s (Ayer, director) way of authenticity."
Speaking of realism, even though he’s done dozens of action films (check out our 15 favorite Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes!), the superstar still trained hard and shadowed pros to truly capture what it would be like to lead an elite DEA crew who brings down the world’s worst drug cartels, like they do in Sabotage.
“David was the one that was the fanatic about bringing authentic realism to the screen. So he made us for months go down to see the L.A. SWAT team and hang out with them. 'I want you to think like them, I want you to look like them, I want you to train and work like them,'” Schwarzenegger recalled his director saying.
Besides the storyline of Schwarzenegger’s DEA team leader having his family kidnapped by the cartel, $10 million going missing from a huge drug bust and each of his team being picked off one by one as the movie progresses, the action hero adored the challenge of getting inside the head of a character that wasn’t simply two-dimensional.
"From an acting point of view, it was the most challenging because I’ve never played a character like this. My characters are usually black and white -- I’m the good guy and there are the bad guys, then with a little bit of humor throughout the movie and that’s it,” he said.
“I knew David Ayer’s script and his writing (Training Day quotes) and his directing (watch End of Watch online). I thought that it would really be great for me to be challenged like that. When we got together, David had a whole list of things that he wanted me to do. I love that he pushed me because sometimes directors get intimidated when they meet someone like me."
Schwarzenegger admitted that is not what usually happens.
“They say, 'You know, I’m looking forward to working with you. Let’s just figure out how we’re going to get ready for the movie.' David came in and was very clear with a set of things that needed to be done. There was weapons training. I said, 'Why do I need weapons training? I mean, I’ve shot more guns than anyone in movie history. I’ve killed more people than anyone, so why do we need to go through weapons training?' He said, 'Go down to the L.A. SWAT team and you have to figure this out. I want you to learn the ballet of this team.' And I said, 'Ballet? Oh, here we go again,'” Schwarzenegger said and laughed.
“David wanted me to hang out with those guys, learn how they think. Why are they the kind of guys that they are? They’re willing to risk their own lives to save others. What kind of a mentality does it take? It’s a very complex world. I wanted to get into that, so all of this was just really great advice.”
It was a cinematic rebirth for the action hero, and he clearly appreciates Ayer for putting him through the wringer. “As David says, when you get to the set, today it’s not any more like in the 1980s and 1990s where a studio throws $100 million at you and you do a great action movie. That was the old days. Now you have half of the money and you have to be very frugal and you have to really rehearse and be prepared,” Schwarzenegger recalled.
“So to have all of this stuff be second nature I think is very important and to understand the character really well I think is very important. I’ll tell you, what we’ve learned, they don’t hold a gun the same way as when you’re in the military or when you’re just playing an action hero. The authenticity of this was really important.”
Schwarzenegger knows things have changed since he was governor to now, and since he is looking to keep making movies for some time, the Sabotage experience should prove quite fruitful on many levels.
“The style of shooting is different -- the younger directors that are being hired because they have new ideas and new visions. So it’s a different world but you have to adjust to that,” he admitted.
With superhero movies grabbing most of the action movie headlines of late, Schwarzenegger actually feels between The Expendables franchise and other films, that the action movie has really never gone anywhere.
“I think the action genre has always been very popular. There’s action movies that are multi-layered and have really interesting characters, they always will be popular. The key thing is to entertain people,” Schwarzenegger said.
He feels that Sabotage is the perfect example. “I think that what this movie has to offer [is] the realism. We had a director that was insisting on being as real as possible and was a fanatic about that. I think it all paid off. "
Sometimes telling a bible story on screen is a no-win situation. It’s not like the good book came with a screenplay attached should the work be made into a movie.
And also, some who read the bible as gospel might fault a screenwriter and director for filling in the blanks to create a dramatic film that fills out two hours -- all while still entertaining. Such is the quandary with Darren Aronofsky’s Noah starring Russell Crowe as the titular biblical hero.
Movie Fanatic may be a little biased in that the story of Noah is one of our favorites in the bible. So, our excitement level for witnessing this epic was palpable. And right at the outset our Noah review can state that Aronofsky did not disappoint. It is epic, to say the least.
Aronofsky actually begins his movie with a brief lesson in the chronology of the beginning of man, according to the bible. And it is impeccably important to understanding the scope of his film.
We first meet Noah as an older boy who is about to go through a ritual with his father that will “make him a man.” Tragedy strikes and Noah must run away and live in hiding.
We meet him again (as Crowe) and he is married (to Jennifer Connelly) and has several kids. They live a simple life, keenly aware that if their identity is revealed, they could be killed. Noah has a dream, and it presents him with a vision that God has a mission for him. A great flood is coming and he is the only hope of the “innocents.” And by that, we mean animals.
Most of us know the story from there, but the way that Aronofsky (he co-wrote the screenplay with Ari Handel) paints his Noah story is it plays out as a morality tale of the highest order. Although the film firmly stays in Noah’s world, there is one occasion where he heads out into a neighboring area and it is a horrific scene that certainly makes the audience understand why God would want to wipe out humankind and start again.
Noah even questions whether he is worthy of surviving the flood as his family is the last of mankind.
Aronofsky has truly grown as a filmmaker. Some may have wondered whether the filmmaker behind Black Swan (his most recent film) would be up to the task of the epic of all epics. But he wields his camera with a controlled power that befits the story he is telling. Yet, it is still very much an Aronofsky film and there are visual touches that are clearly from the auteur.
The supporting cast is more than up for inhabiting this biblical world. Connelly is solid as his wife, and gets many moments to shine -- especially in scenes where she challenges her husband.
Harry Potter veteran Emma Watson successfully further moves away from Hermione with her turn as Noah’s adoptive daughter. She too has moments to shine, as does her The Perks of Being a Wallflower co-star Logan Lerman. And Anthony Hopkins shines as Noah’s grandfather. But, then again, when does he not?
Noah is not a bible story in the strictest sense. Some purists may be put off by the dark elements of the film. But, overall, Noah is an intellectually stimulating film that will leave you thinking -- long after the credits have rolled.
April is starting to feel a lot like summer at the movie houses!
With Captain America: The Winter Soldier landing April 4, look for the blockbuster movies to come fast and furious... starting that first April weekend!
We present 11 must-see April movies that have got to go on your calendar.
There are films for all tastes and they feature some of Hollywood's biggest stars including Johnny Depp, Cameron Diaz, Kevin Costner and one of the final films of the late Paul Walker.
The second Captain America movie may be the best Marvel movie of all time! It lands April 4 and this time out, Cap is joined by Black Widow and the Falcon.
The second Captain America movie may be the best Marvel movie of all time! It lands April 4 and this time out, Cap is joined by Black Widow and the Falcon.
2.
Island of Lemurs: Madagascar
Love cute animal videos? How about watching some of the most adorable and exotic on Earth on the largest screen on the planet?! Check out Island of Lemurs: Madagascar on April 4 in IMAX.
3.
Oculus
Oculus will have the scary movie fans screaming for more when it lands April 11. Something about a mirror and the death that follows it, oh, and a little boy accused of murdering his parents. Yeah, that.
4.
Rio 2
Go deeper into Brazil in the sequel to Rio! April 11 finds our favorite rare birds (Anne Hathaway & Jesse Eisenberg) heading into the Amazon for another fantastic, music-filled adventure.
5.
Draft Day
Kevin Costner celebrates Draft Day on April 11, returning to the sports movie genre that he has had previous success with. This time out, he's the GM of the Cleveland Browns and it's NFL Draft Day... and all eyes are on him.
6.
Heaven is for Real
The bestselling book, based on a true story, lands in theaters April 16 with Greg Kinnear starring as a father struggling with how to share his son's amazing story with the world.
7.
Transcendence
Johnny Depp melds his mind with a computer in Transcendence on April 17. You had me at Johnny Depp.
8.
Bears
DisneyNature does it again with another Earth Day movie that is sure to please parents and kids of all ages. This time out, we get a bounty of Bears on April 18!
9.
A Haunted House 2
April 18 finds Marlon Wayans getting haunted and hilarious all over again. This time out, he's joined by Jaime Pressly.
10.
The Other Woman
Cameron Diaz is in love. Then, she discovers he's married to Leslie Mann. They form a bond over trying to destroy the man, and discover he's also dating Kate Upton. And yes, hilarity will ensue when The Other Woman lands April 25.
11.
Brick Mansions
April 25 finds one of the last movies Paul Walker ever made arriving for his fans. And this action flick finds him as a cop ready to clean up the evil streets of Brick Mansions.
Which April movie are you most thrilled to check out?
Movie Fanatic has been a huge fan of David Ayer since his screenplay gave us those riveting Training Day quotes that earned Denzel Washington an Oscar. He added director to his screenwriter title with the powerful End of Watch and now he’s back in both capacities with Arnold Schwarzenegger, no less, in Sabotage.
Ayer co-wrote the Sabotage screenplay with Skip Woods (A Good Day to Die Hard) and it is easy to tell that this is not completely an Ayer movie from a creative standpoint.
Sabotage stars Schwarzenegger as the leader of an elite DEA squad who has had such success bringing down members of drug cartels that their bravado is equal to their keen knowledge that any day may be their last. After one of the biggest busts in history, the gang celebrates while trouble looms.
They awake to a world where, as our Sabotage exclusive trailer teases, $10 million is missing from the bust and members of Schwarzenegger’s team are being killed one by one… cartel-style.
The role of John “Breacher” Wharton is a good one for Schwarzenegger at this point in his career. He gets into his fair share of action, but he does so as the wise one with decades of experience under his belt. He is joined in the cast (who is outstanding) by Joe Manganiello, Sam Worthington, Terrence Howard, Josh Holloway, Max Martini and Mireille Enos. Each are solid performers but put aside their need for the spotlight to efficiently and effectively be part of an ensemble, both on screen and off.
Once bodies begin piling up, a local cop (Olivia Williams) starts investigating the murders, and at first, Wharton and his team don't like her being around. Schwarzenegger and Williams make a good pair, and in many ways, it reminds us of the action chemistry he had with Tom Arnold in True Lies.
How Sabotage is not exactly an Ayer movie is that the violence is more pronounced and bloody. Both Training Day and End of Watch had violence and portrayed the cost that many who enforce our laws endure (watch End of Watch onlineand see what we mean).
But, rarely is it as present as it is in Sabotage. We’re not saying that is a bad thing, by any means. It’s just that between some of the quip-heavy dialogue and the graphic brutality, those who appreciate Ayer's work can tell that there was another chef in this kitchen.
Our Sabotage review finds that the film is overall a pretty solid action movie. We know there is a mole in Wharton’s group and Ayer manages to keep us guessing until the very end. And then… the entire thing gets flipped on its head. The conclusion of the film is a bold move and one we truly can appreciate. Schwarzenegger fans will enjoy it, and we suspect action movie aficionados will too.
The Raid: Redemption was such a revolutionary movie, it is no wonder it is near the top of our 19 action movies that changed everything. The Indonesian martial arts thriller came from writer-director Gareth Evans and now the wunderkind is back with the sequel, The Raid 2.
The Raid 2, in short and believe it or not, pushes the envelope even further than the original.
Iko Uwais is Rama, a policeman with a wife and baby who is compelled to leave them behind and go undercover to once and for all rid his city of the crime lord that runs it. There’s a reason the time is now: Said crime lord’s son is in jail serving a prison sentence and Rama has to be arrested and head to one of Indonesia’s most notorious prisons.
To say he is greeted with open arms is the exact opposite of what occurs. In fact, there are a couple of fists and fury fights that kick off this film within the first act. Uwais battles dozens of men at once in each fight and it is truly mind-blowing. What’s absolutely incredible is how Uwais and Evans up the ante with each successive fight scene.
See, Rama befriends the son of the gangster in prison. And when they both get out, Rama is taken into the family business because of how he protected the son in prison. Then, he more than proves himself when the gangsters come under attack. But, things are not easy for Rama. He misses his family, and the killing he has to do on a daily basis -- he begins to think -- is not why he signed up to be a cop.
Evans is not only a powerful filmmaker in terms of capturing violence as ballet with its fluid motion and kinetic intensity, he also has written a screenplay that is one of the more compelling crime stories we’ve seen in some time. There are real levels of emotion that run the gamut throughout his film, and what Rama feels, we feel. It is astounding.
But, at the end of the day why people must see this film is teased in The Raid 2 trailer -- non-stop action that is eye-popping at a minimum and revolutionary at its best.
There is even a car chase that features a one-on-four martial arts fight... in the car! Imagine some of the most astonishing fight choreography you’ve ever seen, all within the landscape of a pedal-to-the-medal car chase. And that is just one example of how Evans is a force of nature in action movie making.
A third The Raid has already been green lit and we cannot wait. The British-born, Indonesian-raised filmmaker clearly has had the freedom to build his craft in his adopted homeland. We honestly cannot wait to see what he does with an expanded budget and film infrastructure like we have here in Hollywood. If he is truly left to his own devices, he will change filmmaking forever.
But, for now, our The Raid 2 review can report that Movie Fanatic urges you to run, don’t walk, to see Evans’ latest.
To get caught up on all that is the world of Evans, watch The Raid online and prepare to be amazed.
That first The Purge: Anarchy trailer teased what would happen if you had the misfortune of having your car break down on the way home during that fateful night.
The arrival of the second trailer today delves deeper into the once a year night of horror that finds every crime legal -- even murder.
Frank Grillo (soon to be seen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier) is introduced for the first time. And by doing so, the filmmakers behind the franchise that started with The Purge (starring Ethan Hawke) have now expanded the world to show us who exactly participates in the Purge -- beyond those nutrolls who simply enjoy senseless violence.
Grillo is on a mission of vengeance and this night is his chance to get it.
If you need a refresher, watch The Purge online and the film series’ premise becomes immediately clear.
Crime is down in America to next to nothing. Our leaders believe it has everything to do with the fact that once a year Americans can go out and get the “violence” out of their system.
Godzilla has released 11 new stills that show off more of the movie monster from the Gareth Edwards-directed film than we've seen before.
Sure, there have been flashes of the big guy in the Godzilla trailer.
But, these photos not only show off Godzilla, but the stars of the film -- including Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston and Avengers: Age of Ultron stars Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
Click through our Godzilla slideshow gallery and see why Godzilla is one of our must-see movies of 2014!
Transformers: Age of Extinction star Mark Wahlberg is front and center in the newest poster for the fourth chapter in Michael Bay's larger than life toy stories.
We weren't so sure about another chapter in this series, but after seeing that Transformers: Age of Extinction trailer, with Wahlberg as the lead -- this may be one fantastic fun ride at the movies this summer.
The weekend movie preview is feeling a little biblical this week, and with the arrival of Darren Aronofsky's Noah, we can see why.
We look at that movie, plus two other action filled entries:Arnold Schwarzenegger's Sabotage and the envelope pushing The Raid 2.
Noah: Aronofsky may seem like an unusual filmmaker to bring the story of Noah to life. The Black Swan director is in fact, a solid choice. Russell Crowe stars as Noah, and this is an impressive effort, given that in the bible there is not much to go on and make a full length movie out of. But, as we stated in our Noah review, the film is truly engaging and will make you think long after the credits roll. An all-star cast supports Crowe, including fellow Oscar winners Anthony Hopkins and Jennifer Connelly. And Emma Watson and Logan Lerman re-team after The Perks of a Wallflower as Noah's kids and score in their supporting roles.
Sabotage: Schwarzenegger shines in an ensemble action movie from the guy who gave us Training Day and End of Watch. The action hero is the leader of an elite DEA squad who has a knack for bringing down members of drug cartels. That will make you a few enemies! Those enemies start to strike back as members of Schwarzenegger's team are picked off, one-by-one. But is there a mole in his team? Because there is also $10 million missing from their last bust! For more, check out our Sabotage review.
The Raid 2: Gareth Evans wrote and directed this action film that pushes the boundaries of what we've ever seen onscreen before in an action pic. The Indonesian martial arts fest is an astounding piece of work and the little that is said about it the better. This is one movie that needs to be seen to believed -- as we report in our The Raid 2 review.
Found footage movies first truly landed on the map with the success of The Blair Witch Project.
But, it was the explosive phenomenon of Paranormal Activity that made it a thing that Hollywood would revisit again and again and again.
They have taken all kinds of formats -- even the party film (check out these Project X quotes) -- and grown in stature and quality as filmmakers have used the point of view method of storytelling to truly grip audiences.
We love all the Paranormal Activity movies, but the first one -- as is often the case -- is the best. And thanks to PA, found footage became a go-to format for storytelling.
We love all the Paranormal Activity movies, but the first one -- as is often the case -- is the best. And thanks to PA, found footage became a go-to format for storytelling.
2.
The Blair Witch Project
The Blair Witch Project is truly the found footage movie that got this ball rolling. It was revolutionary and surprisingly, still holds up to this day.
3.
Chronicle
Found footage movie as a superhero origins story? Yes, please! And it introduced us to the power of Dane DeHaan and Michael B. Jordan.
4.
The Bay
The Bay showed how far the found footage movement had come. Its director is the Oscar favorite Barry Levinson. Also, using environmental destruction as the source of evil is utterly brilliant.
5.
Project X
The guy behind The Hangover movies jumped on the found footage bandwagon and Todd Phillips gave us a party movie that put us IN the party.
6.
End of Watch
We count End of Watch as a found footage movie because so much of the story is told through policeman Jake Gyllenhaal's aspiring filmmaker's camera.
7.
V/H/S/2
V/H/S/2 took off where V/H/S/ ended and elevated the found footage genre to new levels.
8.
Cloverfield
Found footage movie as monster flick? You bet! And with visionary J.J. Abrams behind the "camera," this one was one heck of a thrill ride.
9.
The Last Exorcism
The Last Exorcism took a subgenre of horror -- exorcism -- and gave it a fresh take... a la found footage. Truly scary.
10.
The Devil Inside
By having a documentary crew chronicling the day in, day out activities of the Catholic church's little talked about exorcism training program, the film allowed us to have a birds-eye view of the horror. And we loved it. Oh, and that story of a woman trying to get answers about her mother's possession truly brought it home.
11.
Apollo 18
Found footage... in space! To hear there was one last moon mission that we never heard about was an interesting enough idea for a movie. The fact that the story was told through found footage... all the more frightening.
12.
Devil's Due
One of the more recent found footage entries arrived with Devil's Due. The movie started out fun enough, a couple documenting their wedding and honeymoon. Then, it all (literally) goes to hell.
There may be an array of villains teased in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 trailer, but just wait until the ending! In the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly, the magazine devotes its cover article to the upcoming May 2 release of the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man from director Marc Webb.
As they have said, Sony will expand the Spider-Man universe, and we don’t have to wait long to find out how and what. “At the tail end of this movie we set up some of the other characters that will probably end up being in the Sinister Six,” Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal said to EW.
“We’re going forward on all fronts.”
It’s left open exactly who these villains will be beyond the Sinister Six, but longtime Spider-Man producer Avi Arad is thrilled at the prospect.
“Villains can be very entertaining. It’s not like somebody’s born and they’re a villain,” Arad said.
“Something happens and it changes their lives. Some people can deal with it — they become the heroes. Some people can’t and hate the world because of what they felt was done to them -- they become the villains.”