New trailer for Guardians of the Galaxy

I am just so happy.

American Hustle - Review

After a scheme gone wrong, top con-artist Irving Rosenfeld and his British partner are recruited and forced to work for the FBI under the direction of Richie DiMaso, an over-ambitious FBI agent. Little do they know DiMaso has his sights set on intentionally bribing and busting East Coast power brokers, politicians, and mobsters in American Hustle.


I probably found this movie a lot funnier than it was supposed to be perceived, but I did really enjoy American Hustle. I admit I went into it a bit uninformed and unprepared because I honestly didn't know what the movie was actually about. I got the basics of the FBI using con-artists for their operations but I didn't really know anything else. I think it's best that I went in that way because the movie was surprising, interesting, and hilarious. I feel like if I would have known more that the enjoyment would have been a little downplayed.
As far as acting goes, the entire cast was on point. There wasn't a single actor I didn't like, even Jeremy Renner, and they all played their roles great. Out of the choices I would say my favorite was Christian Bale as Irving Rosenfeld. The overall appearance alone just steals the show. Bradley Cooper and Amy Adams both played somewhat damaged characters but they still managed to get you to like them. Even though Cooper's character, Richie DiMaso, turns out to be a complete dumbass you do appreciate him in the end. One person I do wish would have been in the movie a bit more is definitely Jennifer Lawrence. I thought her character was hilarious and it's a shame that she was only a supporting role.
Direction and style were both well done, too. I liked what David O. Russell brought to the table with this one and he nailed the 70's style. There were some moments where I felt like I was watching a movie made in that timeframe and not in present day. The actors all had the look, the environments were all retro, and the dialogue was similar.

My only real complaints are small. I am not an advocate for long movies in any way, but I think this one should have been a bit longer. It seemed like they used the interchanging narratives to sum up what could have been shown and I thought that took away from the movie in a small way. The beginning moved a bit fast and a lot of the FBI operations did, too. They also didn't really explore exactly where Richie DiMaso came from. He just appears and all of a sudden gets to put together this massive fraud operation using two con-artists to try and bust the mayor of New Jersey. He set his sights too high and you don't really understand why he did it.

Overall I did enjoy this movie a lot. I think the humor came from the subtle things, like the character's style and dialogue. I found Jennifer Lawrence very entertaining as well as Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper. I understand the award frenzy over this movie and I must say after seeing it that I think it's well deserved. We will see how this pans out when the Oscar nominations are announced.

Thumbs up!

It's Official: Bradley Cooper to voice Rocket Raccoon

This was rumored earlier in the week, but it's been made official that Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) will voice Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy. Marvel made the announcement today. Now to wait and see if Vin Diesel is actually voicing Groot and we'll be all set.

"Rocket Raccoon has finally found his voice!
Academy Award-nominated actor Bradley Cooper has officially joined the cast of Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy,” lending his voice to the fan-favorite raccoon that will join Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Drax (Dave Bautista) on their epic adventure.
Cooper has previously starred in “Silver Linings Playbook,” for which he was nominated for an Oscar®, “Limitless,” “Place Beyond the Pines” and the “Hangover” trilogy, the latter of which has grossed $1.4 billion globally. He will next be seen in “American Hustle” which will reunite him with “Silver Linings Playbook” director David O. Russell. “Guardians of the Galaxy” will mark Cooper’s first voiceover work.
In the far reaches of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, an unlikely cast of characters including Peter Quill, Gamora, Drax, Groot and Rocket Raccoon must join forces to defeat a cosmic force of epic proportions. Directed by James Gunn, the live-action “Guardians of the Galaxy” will take fans to new corners of the Marvel Universe when it hits theaters August 1, 2014, but in the meantime stay tuned to Marvel.com for the latest news as it breaks, including official casting, first looks and more!
In addition to “Guardians of the Galaxy,” Marvel Studios will release a slate of films based on the Marvel characters including “Thor: The Dark World” on November 8; “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” on April 4, 2014; “Avengers: Age of Ultron” on May 1, 2015; and “Ant-Man” on November 6, 2015."

Bradley Cooper offered Guardians of the Galaxy voice role

Filming for Guardians of the Galaxy is currently underway, but there are still some characters that have not been cast. Those would be Groot and Rocket Raccoon. Vin Diesel is apparently on board to voice Groot but it hasn't been officially put through yet, but the rumor now is that Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook) has had the offer to voice Rocket Raccoon extended to him.

James Gunn has expressed his love for Rocket Raccoon and has stated a big factor in him even directing Guardians of the Galaxy was because of that character. However, this is a rumor about an offer so if it's true at all it is possible that Bradley Cooper might not accept the role. There is some possibility as Cooper does have some down time as the filming for American Sniper has been delayed after Steven Spielberg dropped out, but there is no guarantee. We will just have to wait for an official press release on this one. Marvel is pretty secretive about their casting news until they want people to know.

The Hangover Part III - Review

After the death of Alan and Tracy's father, The Wolfpack stages an intervention for Alan only to be abducted by a Las Vegas crime lord and led on a wild goose chase to find Mr. Chow in The Hangover Part III.


I was incredibly nervous for Part III for the sheer fact that... well, Part II was horrible. It was nothing but Todd Phillips trying to recreate the first movie in a different city and it didn't work one bit. Part III on the other hand is its own movie and I appreciated that. Of course there were references and there were returning characters and that was great, but it didn't try to just recreate what the first movie had. I think they finally realized that it is impossible to have another Hangover.

As far as humor goes, it was there but it wasn't overbearing and it wasn't just dumb luck. There were no accidental roofies, no missing persons other than Chow (but that is a given), and things were a bit more serious. Don't get me wrong it was funny, but it wasn't on the same level. The desperation to create situations and jokes to surpass the first movie wasn't as apparent to me and I liked that. There were a couple parts that cracked me up for sure.
I also liked how the return to Vegas was not a happy event for Stu, Phil, Doug, and Alan. They were doing what they thought they had to do and that was it. There was no time for pleasantries or accidents.

I know most reviews so far have deemed this one the "darkest" or whatever, but I wouldn't necessarily use the term. I would refer to it more as more down to business. They didn't use cheap distractions to get laughs and there was no appearance by a famous person playing themselves to make the audience go "wow!" It knew what it wanted to be and it got to it. I appreciate the hell out of that, especially for a Hangover movie.
Without ruining the movie I will say that I did enjoy it and that anyone going in who is a Hangover fan will probably appreciate what they did with this one. Just remember that The Hangover Part III is Alan's movie. Stu, Doug, and Phil are more supporting characters in this one. It was about getting Alan well and that is truly what they tried to do. That's all I'm going to say. Solid effort from Todd Phillips and a good conclusion to this trilogy.

At least I hope it truly was the conclusion.

Silver Linings Playbook - Review

Pat Solitano seeks to reunite with his estranged wife after a brief stint in a mental institution by moving back in with his parents only to come in contact with a young widow named Tiffany. Her own problems and desires make his journey back to marriage and sanity more challenging in Silver Linings Playbook.


I had wanted to see Silver Linings Playbook, but seeing that I live in a lousy city for limited releases I was forced to wait until the DVD release. I had some minor issues with the ending but overall I thought this was a great movie. Jennifer Lawrence's Oscar was well deserved and I would go far enough to say Robert De Niro deserved Best Supporting Actor over Christoph Waltz and Bradley Cooper should have been taken more seriously. Hell, the entire movie should have been taken more seriously.

As far as the plot goes, I really loved the general basis of the movie. I thought the concept of him being committed into a mental hospital after a fight rather than being put in jail was an interesting twist. Most of the time Hollywood just puts the "sick" in mental wards for being depressed or attempting suicide. I also loved how Bradley Cooper portrayed Bipolar Disorder. His character Pat Solitano was a man who knew what he wanted and was very analytical in expressing why he does the things he does and why he says what he thinks out loud. He was happy but lacking what he thought made him the happiest. It was great.

For acting... Jennifer Lawrence was just in another category. Her character Tiffany was sad, hilarious, and powerful all at the same time. Tiffany recently lost her husband Tommy in a freak accident and was searching for something, or someone, to fill the gap that Tommy had left. She recruits Pat by bribing him into thinking she would help him break the restraining order his wife had placed on him after his fight. She was deceitful but it worked.
Don't get me wrong, everyone was good in this movie. Even the minor characters played by Chris Tucker and Jackie Weaver were great. I just think Jennifer Lawrence carried the movie and gave it heart.

The only gripe I had was with the ending. I thought it was a little too abrupt and predictable. It was a classic ending that we have seen a million times so that I wasn't too happy with, but again... it worked.


Overall I think Silver Linings Playbook was great. I don't really get why people were calling this movie a comedy, but whatever floats your boat. I recommend it!

Bradley Cooper drops out of Jane Got a Gun

I'm starting to feel like Jane Got a Gun is the next Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. So much bad keeps happening.

Bradley Cooper is the latest casualty of the upcoming (maybe) Western starring Natalie Portman. She seems to be the only cast member who has remained attached since the beginning. So far Michael Fassbender, Jude Law, director Lynne Ramsay, and now Bradley Cooper have all exited the project.
However, this time around Cooper was forced to drop due to scheduling issues. After the Boston bombing, American Hustle was delayed as filming was taking place in Boston. Due to the filming reschedule it clashed with Jane Got a Gun so Cooper couldn't be involved anymore. Cooper was set to play the lead villain in the film.

Now production is looking at a shortlist of actors which includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hiddleston, and Tobey Maguire. Cast members besides Portman who have remained involved are Joel Edgerton and Noah Emmerich. Gavin O'Connor (Warrior) is still set to direct if the film ever happens.

Teaser for The Hangover Part III finally surfaces

I feel like I should be excited... but I'm not.

Don't get me wrong, I loved the first Hangover movie. It was hilarious. I just hated The Hangover Part II so much. It was a carbon copy of the first one only in a different location. I am hoping this one will be different, but I am not expecting too much.

Zero Dark Thirty named best film of 2012

The National Board of Review, the second major critics organization, released their list of 2012 winners for achievement in film. Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) took home Best Film for Zero Dark Thirty. Bigelow also took Best Director for the same film. Zero Dark Thirty also took Best Actress for Jessica Chastain.

Aside from the major success of Zero Dark Thirty, Bradley Cooper took Best Actor for Silver Linings Playbook, Best Animated Feature went to Wreck-It Ralph, Best Adapted Screenplay went to David O. Russell for Silver Linings Playbook, and Best Original Screenplay went to Rian Johnson for Looper.

Click the jump for the full list of winners and top lists:

2012 Governors Awards draw in Oscar hopefuls

This weekend was the Governors Awards in Los Angeles. It is an event that gives a lot of foreshadowing to the Academy Award possibilities and gives potential Oscar hopefuls the chance to expose themselves to the press and promote their films.
According to EW there was a general consensus hinting at Best Picture possibilities; those being Life of Pi, Argo, Les Miserables, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, and Silver Linings Playbook. Personally I think those are all possibles just due to the media buzz around them, specifically Life of Pi and Lincoln, but I would like to at least see The Dark Knight Rises on the list. It deserves to be there. I'm going to be pissed if The Hobbit swoops in at the last minute and takes it.

Apart from Best Picture buzz there is a lot of speculation for the actor and actress categories, both lead and supporting. In attendance were Kristen Stewart, Tom Hanks, Bradley Cooper, John Hawkes, Amy Adams, Helen Hunt, and quite a few others who have Award buzz movies out. Stewart and Adams have On the Road, Hanks has Cloud Atlas, Cooper has Silver Linings Playbook, and Hunt and Hawkes have The Sessions. I am still kind of baffled at the fact that Kristen Stewart could potentially be nominated for On the Road, but I still haven't seen the movie so I can't really comment. She should have been nominated in 2010 for Welcome to the Rileys but that's just me. Same goes for Bradley Cooper. I guess I just never figured him for an Oscar nominated actor. That is if he is nominated.


Awards season is starting!

Location announced for The Hangover III

Collider has reported that a location for The Hangover Part III has been set. As we know the first film took place in Las Vegas and the second took place in Bangkok. The upcoming third movie is said to be taking place in Tijuana. Production begins this September and has a release date set for May 23, 2013.

I loved The Hangover and all but I do not want any more movies. I thought The Hangover Part II sucked and was basically the same movie with a different setting. I am expecting more roofies, another member of the party getting lost, another song from Stu, and someone will lose some part of their body. Stu lost a tooth, Alan shaved his head, and Teddy lost his finger. What next?

You just can't produce the same magic that happened the first time around. Todd Phillips needs to quit with The Hangover.