Matthew Vaughn Says Audiences “Have Had Enough” Of the Dark Super-Hero Films

Matthew Vaughn Says Audiences “Have Had Enough” Of the Dark Super-Hero Films
Kevin Jagernauth — The Playlist

Consider the gauntlet thrown. Matthew Vaughn has spent a good portion of his press run for “Kingsman: The Secret Service” declaring that his spy movie action/comedy/parody is a brazen return to fun at the movies that has been missing. He’s already described the first billion-dollar-earning Bond movie “Skyfall” as “pretty exhausting,” and now he’s taking aim at fanboy fave Christopher Nolan

“People want fun and escapism at the moment,” Vaughn told SFX (via THR). “Look at the success of ‘Guardians of the Galaxy.’ I think Nolan kick-started a very dark, bleak style of superhero escapism, and…

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The Imitation Game — Review

4.5 of 5 stars
The Imitation Game

I wonder what the process of casting for the part of the irascible “father of modern computing” looked like? I have to say I have no idea, but whatever process lead them to casting Benedict Cumberbatch was the right one! This film rises or falls on this one performance — even though there were several good performances in the film — and as always and ever, Cumberbatch elevates this film to a level I do not think would have been possible with any other actor.

There are many uncomfortable details about the work and life of Alan Turing’s life that the film does not shy away from.

An Odd… Read The Review

Films I’m Looking Forward To in 2015

Films I’m Looking Forward To in 2015

A new year is a time of retrospection, but also of looking forward. I’ve already looked back at my favorite films of 2014 — it was a pretty good year for films actually. Though there were no big standouts like Gravity from 2013, there were many great films that I included in my top list.

And now the question is, will there be any good or great films in 2015? There almost certainly will be — and many of them will probably not be on this list. And some that are on this list will likely be duds. That’s the way it works, but that does not make it any less fun to look forward and see what’s…

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TJ’s Top Films of 2014

TJ’s Top Films of 2014

Making a top films of the year list is hard. These things are so subjective, not to mention I have to remember my feelings about the various films I’ve seen this year — and I see lots of films. It’s made somewhat easier by the fact that if I have strong feelings about a film one way or the other, it tends to stick and or come back more quickly when I look over the list of films that were released this year.

There’s also the problem that there are simply too many films that come out in a year for me to see them all when budget and time-wise, I am only able to see one film a week most weeks.…

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Justin Lin Will Direct the Next ‘Star Trek’ Film

Justin Lin Will Direct the Next ‘Star Trek’ Film
Kayla Iacovino — TrekMovie.com

After the announcement that Bob Orci would no longer be manning the director’s chair for Star Trek 3, rumors began flying as to who would take his place. Many questions about the switch remain unanswered, but we finally know who will be the next leader of Trek on the silver screen. Justin Lin, who directed ‘Fast and Furious 6′ has reportedly taken over the role.

I have a bad feeling about this (wrong franchise for that language, I know). The spirit of Fast and Furious is not exactly what I want in a Trek film. I have recently been re-watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. There are a lot…

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Hackers Now Say Sony Can Release ‘The Interview’ With Changes

Hackers Now Say Sony Can Release ‘The Interview’ With Changes
Kevin Jagernauth — The Playlist

USA Today reports that the hacker group known as Guardians Of Peace issued a message last night, stating that “The Interview” could be released…but only if changes were made. Here is the anonymously posted message: 

This is GOP.

You have suffered through enough threats.

We lift the ban.

The Interview may release now.

But be carful.

September 11 may happen again if you don’t comply with the rules.

Rule #1: no death scene of Kim Jong Un being too happy

Rule #2: do not test us again

Rule #3: if you make anything else, we will be here ready to fight

There are conflicting reports of…

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‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ International Trailer and Featurettes

‘Kingsman: The Secret Service’ International Trailer and Featurettes

February has typically been a dumping ground for not-so-great films. But I want to believe that Kingsman is not a dumping ground film.

In Kingsman, Matthew Vaughn hopes to put a new twist on the super villain and spy flick. If you’re hoping to avoid spoilers, this trailer is probably not for you. But, it’s a comedy flick, so what’s to spoil. I’ll certainly be going to the theater for the laughs, not necessarily the plot. And it certainly looks to be pretty humorous and tongue-in-cheek.

On interesting thing I never took note of before, Mark Hamill has a part in this film. That’s… Read The Rest

Peter Sciretta Interviews Joss Whedon

Peter Sciretta Interviews Joss Whedon
Peter Sciretta — /Film

On June 12th 2014, I visited the London set of Avengers: Age of Ultron. In October, we posted our on set interviews with Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey JrToday we’ve been given the green light to publish our interview with Avengers series director Joss Whedon. Here is a short snippet from Joss explaining why he decided to come back for the sequel:

I didn’t actually want to make the film necessarily. I was ragged from the first one, and so I just turned off my brain. I was like, do not think of cool ideas for the next one. Just get through this. But after a few months when they talked…

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Marky Mark Will Star in ‘Transformers 5’ (in other breaking news, the sky is blue)

Marky Mark Will Star in ‘Transformers 5’ (in other breaking news, the sky is blue)
Edward Davis — The Playlist

Already committed to a new trilogy from the outset, as per the standard contract of all Hollywood tentpoles, actor Mark Wahlberg confirmed he will fulfill his obligation to star in “Transformers 5” by starring in “Transformers 5.” “Yeah, I committed to doing a couple more… you know I can’t speak for Mr. Bay, but something tells me we’ll be on the set soon,” he told MTV today.

MAKE. IT. STOP! End the madness!

Paramount Stops Screenings of ‘Team America: World Police’

Paramount Stops Screenings of ‘Team America: World Police’
Kevin Jagernauth — The Playlist

In response to Sony yanking “The Interview,” a small handful of theaters—Capitol Theater in Cleveland, Plaza Atlanta in Atlanta, and the Alamo Drafthouse in Dallas—revealed they would instead screen Trey Parker and Matt Stone‘s hilariously wrong puppet comedy “Team America: World Police.” It’s a fitting replacement, with the plot centering on a maniacal Kim Jong-il, who, among other things, sings a song called “I’m So Ronery,” gets impaled, and is revealed to be an alien from another planet. Ten years ago, this was deemed acceptable for wide release in cinemas around the world. Today? Not so…

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