May Movies to See and Skip

April got better!  I saw two brand new April releases, well on release and one re-release, Oblivion and Jurassic Park 3-D (both worth it).  Place Beyond the Pines, and 42 are on my list to see as well.  Overall April showed a turnaround within the quality of film.  Now onto the the explosions and beautiful films which get tucked into the summer months to save audiences from the loud noises.  The cool thing about this month is that none of the films look simply unwatchable (except maybe one).

May 3rd

Iron Man 3

May the "Summer" movie season starts out with a bang.  Iron Man 3 is the perfect movie to start off this season.   At the moment reviews are favorable, and the film looks to be better than the sequel (thank God).

May 10th

The Great Gatsby

Peeples

I think Gatsby is going to be a flop, based on Lurhman's hit or miss track record, this just looks so messy, and all over the place.  This is just a judgement from the trailer.  I think it looks cool and DiCaprio is a great choice, but I am concerned about it being all style and no substance.  Remember Australia?

Peeples looks harmless, I am excited to see Craig Robinson getting more work he is a very funny guy, but I will not be seeing this.

May 17th

Star Trek: Into Dark Darkness 

Frances Ha

What a weekend!  Stark Trek looks incredibly awesome, and action packed.  Early reviews are not as glowing as the first, but that film is great and funny.

Frances Ha combines the incredibly talented Gretta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach.  Baumbach wrote the film with Gerwig, and just based on the trailer I am there!

(Frances Ha Trailer)

May 24th

Fast & Furious 6 

Epic

The Hangover Part III

Before Midnight

This is the most crowded weekend in May, with most of the other weekends having only one major film, this one has three.  The interesting question is which film ends up on top of the box office, my money is on Furious.

Furious 5 was supposed to be pretty good (I only saw the first).  This franchise is like a mini series on the big screen, bringing characters back to tell a continuing story, which is rarely done, and kind of fun.  No interest here.

Epic will please the families, but this looks just bad.  This movie has been made before it was called Ferngully.

The Hangover II was one of the worst films I have seen (EVER).  This film is changing the formula, but looks just as terrible as the second.  I did not pay for the second and I will not pay for this.

The film I am most excited about is the third in a series, Before Midnight.  This film started with Sunrise, then Sunset, now Midnight.  Sounds stupid, but these are the best films about a couples relationship, and their development.  So well written (see the trailer below).

May 31st

After Earth

Now You See Me

Kings of Summer 

With so many movies out towards the end of May, I have an odd feeling that this weeks movies will suffer a lot, and get lost in the shuffle.

Except for After Earth, Will Smith has sort of magnetism with the box office, although MIB III did not do that great.  Now You See Me, could be interesting with the cast, but I think I will disapear in the magicians wardrobe.

Kings of Summer is the film I want to see most, this looks like one of those great find yourself or "coming of age film" that is always needed for Summer.

See: Iron Man 3, Star Trek: Into Darkness, Frances Ha, Before Midnight

Skip: The Hangover III, Now You See Me 

Apocalypse Now? Film and Television's Obsession with the Apocalypse

Last night I saw the film Oblivion (review to come), and as I was sitting in the film I realized something, film and television have started to use the trope of the end of the world, more than ever before.  There have of course been numerous films about a post apocalyptic earth in both film and television ranging from The Planet of the Apes series (original 1968), to both versions of the television series Battlestar Gallactica (1978, 2004) to the Mad Max series (original 1979), 12 Monkeys (1995), The Road (2009), and so many more.  The end of world has always been on our mind, and whether its at the hand of apes, a cancer treatment drug, laziness, zombies, or aliens it appears to be on the mind of people more than ever.

NBC's Revolution may have been at the start of the most recent upswing.  The television series follows Earth as though the a big giant plug was pulled somewhere, and all the electronics we have come to rely upon have all but disappeared.  Like with most post-apocalyptic films or television series, a small group of tough as nails survivors battle against a group or people who will prevent the Earth from returning to its former glory.

Glory and empire status seem to be one of the trends which flow through these types of films.  As you you look at America specifically, America became a dominant power toppling the once great English empire in the Revolutionary War.

Martin Scorsese is quoted as saying "I love studying Ancient History and seeing how empires rise and fall, sowing the seeds of their own destruction."

Throughout time a cliche American phrase or quote has arisen "all great empires fall."  Which relates back to Scorsese's quote, and the recent trend within these apocalyptic films.  Film makers and television auteurs use these acts of destruction and rebirth to show the vulnerability and fragility within a people.

One of the few clever parts of the Oblivion screenplay is is the fact that Cruise's character picks up Thomas Babbington Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome, the passage specifically states:

“To every man upon this earth
Death cometh soon or late.
And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds,
For the ashes of his fathers,
And the temples of his gods?"

This quote relates beautifully to the the theme of Oblivion, but the book and the reference to the Roman Empire is what has started the inspiration for what I will refer to as the "end of days" films and television series.  As Scorsese stated studying the rise and fall of empires is fascinating, and many Americans believe the end is near or has essentially happened for America, so the jingoism is gone, and bring on the onslaught of films which not only show the end of one empire, but an end to everything.


Beyond this year's Oblivion and Revolution which started in the fall of 2012, there are numerous films about the "end of days" being released this year.  June kicks off with another film, entitled, After Earth which stars Will Smith, son Jaden, and directed by "I see dead people" M. Night Shyamalan.  Earth looks similar to Oblivion, in feel, but explores more of the father son dynamic as opposed to a love story in Oblivion.  World War Z looks more in the vein of I am Legend, and 28 Days Later.  Z follows the concept of a zombie like apocalypse, and a race for a cure to save the world.  Neil Blonkamp's August release Elysium is an apocalyptic world creating a division between the haves and have nots.

While Earth, Z, and Elysium follow the dramatics of an apocalyptic world, there are also numerous films which will explore the humorous side of the end of the Earth.  It's a Disaster is a comedy which follows two couples who are trying to escape a terrorist attack after brunch in New York City.  This is the End from Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (release date June 12th) is another comedy much like It's a Disaster (unnamed at the moment, which sets a set of celebrities basically playing versions of themselves fighting an apocalyptic situation. Craig Robinson (The Office's Darryl) stars in This is the End, and has his own June Comedy "end of days" film entitle Rapture-Palooza, which is also a comedy.  Who knew the end of earth or society was as funny, but I am intrigued by this different take on the genre.

If you look at all films and television series recently there is one clear trend, the fear and fascination of our crumbling world.  Whether through the lens of laughter, tears, or an action packed sci-fi world, all of these films are trending at the moment the way in which vampires did the last few years.  Will we move on with the obsession, or is "this the end of world as we know it."