Join TJ and Chad for a review of the surprise hit, ‘Lone Survivor’. But up first, TJ got a cool ‘Star Trek’ shirt for his birthday. Then, ‘Atlas Shrugged 3’ is apparently a thing — whatever. TJ and Chad have fun walking through Mike Fissel’s list of top 13 films. The new Maleficent trailer is set to the classic Disney tune ‘Once Upon a Dream’, but it may not be the way you remembered it. And there are nine (count ‘em, NINE) new clips and a really awesome featurette for the upcoming ‘Lego Movie’. Folks, it’s looking pretty awesome! And obviously the reason you’re here is for the primary review. TJ and Chad may differ on their rating but they agree on many of the featured points.
Show Links
Guys. Your sister is just not as cool as mine because she didn't get you a cool shirt like this for your birthday. I'm just saying…
Well, “Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt?” is still an actual thing that is happening and the producers are continuing a trend that they started with the second film: bringing in an entirely new cast. For the final installment of the trilogy, John Galt will be played by Kristoffer Polaha (“Devil’s Knot”), Laura Regan (“Unbreakable,” “Mad Men”) will play Dagny Taggart, and the rest of the main cast includes Rob Morrow, Eric Allan Kramer, and Joaquim de Almeida.
TJ welcomes Joseph back from being away for an episode on jury duty. They discuss the situation with Wally Pfister making jabs at ‘The Avengers’ Cinematography and story telling style — TJ is fired up for sure, then they talk about the video circulating of Stephen Spielberg and John Williams composing the score for E.T. which of course leads to a discussion about the era of filmmaking back in those days and why film is still a superior format, and they also discuss ‘Skyfall’ and some thoughts on the ‘Bond’ franchise as a whole. But the main topic today is ‘Atlas Shrugged Part II’ which naturally means a discussion of part I as well. They discuss the political philosophies present in this film, likes, dislikes, budgetary constraints, the fact that mainstream Hollywood does not like this movie for it’s politics, the poor story telling at times, the acting, the changing of actors for the second film, and much, much more.
So, is it possible to run a movie review/conversation website and get away with not having a “Top X” list for a year? Well, I don’t think so! Actually, I think it’s one of the more fun things to do in this non-business. Taking a look back at the year in movies gives you an idea, not only what stuck with me or flopped (IMHO), but what themes and ideas culture really couldn’t get enough of. With that said, here is a list of my 13 favorite films of 2013. I had originally thought it was a poor year for films, but the year end really redeemed things!
Here there be monsters folks! Michael and TJ review ‘Pacific Rim’ But first: This week in trailers! Wolverine interrupts a funeral, plus he gets an honest trailer from his first film, Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson star in the upcoming film about bringing Mary Poppins to the screen, Christian Bale and Zoe Saldana make an appearance in an upcoming film titled ‘Out of the Furnace’, ‘Planes’ also gets a new trailer, and ‘How to Train Your Dragon 2’ has been properly teased! Plus in movie news, ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ gets a digital download and Blu-ray release date, Bruckheimer’s future at Disney looks grim, 3D is fairing poorly at the box office of late and good riddance! J.J. is still expecting to direct the next installment in the franchise, and a fifth season of ‘Arrested Development’ is in the negotiation stage. And of course the main topic this week is all about Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Pacific Rim’, not a bad film in the estimation of your hosts, though not without its problems, which TJ and Michael discuss in depth.
If the tone of the upcoming Maleficent film has been hard to pin down before now, I think this trailer will help you on that front a little bit. This trailer is set to the classic tune from Disney’s original Sleeping Beauty, but there’s a twist. This version of the song by Lana Del Rey is haunting and hollow and turns sinister. In addition, Angelina Jolie effects the most sinisterly creepy smile you’ve ever seen in the first few seconds of the trailer.
Man, this is the right way to market a film. Especially that featurette! I am now legitimately excited for this film. Also, let me tell you that the voice cast for this film is pretty much perfect in every way.
On the night of June 25th, 2005, a four-man Navy SEAL team - consisting of Lieutenant Michael Murphy, Sonar Technician 2nd Class Matthew “Axe” Axelson, Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Danny Dietz, and Corpsman 1st Class Marcus Luttrell - is lowered via fast-rope into the Hindu Kush Mountains near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. Their mission: track and eliminate notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah.
Marcus Luttrell and his team set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious al Qaeda leader Ahmad Shahd, in late June 2005. Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare.
While it may deliver its messages of patriotism, courage, and sacrifice a tad heavy-handedly, Lone Survivor finds writer/director Peter Berg wielding enough visceral power to mitigate many of his movie's jingoistic flaws.
Domestic Total as of Jan. 27, 2014: $94,765,641
Distributor: Universal Release Date: December 25, 2013
Genre: Action Drama Runtime: 2 hrs. 1 min.
MPAA Rating: R Production Budget: $40 million