Most Anticipated Movies – MAY

May marks the start of the summer movie season, a time when movie theaters offer popcorn entertainment, entertaining corny pop movies, and air conditioning. And even though my school district assigns June as the start of summer, the theaters say May, and based on how good the May movie lineup looks, I think we’re in for an excellent start to a hopefully excellent summer movie season.

Avengers: Age of Ultron (May 1)

The summer is kicking off in a big way with what will most likely be the biggest movie of the summer, and maybe the year. It has already come out in most of the world already, making the next five days leading up to this movie all the more painful. Blockbuster movies like this aren’t my favorite, but I’ve been a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and this entry looks so far so good.

Far from the Madding Crowd (May 1, limited)

Is it wrong for me to say that I am more excited for this movie than Age of Ultron? Regardless, I am a fan of Carey Mulligan and director Thomas Vinterberg, and though reviews are indicating that this isn’t quite a home-run, but at least a triple. Mulligan stars as Bathsheba Everdene, a young woman courted by various suitors, based on the novel by Thomas Hardy. I love the world that Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles occupied (captured brilliantly by Roman Polanski in 1979), and this looks like a visually astonishing and welcome entry into the Hardy Cinematic Universe (but imagine if that became a thing).

Mad Max: Fury Road (May 15)

This one has a different Thomas Hardy, who goes by the name of Tom. Tom Hardy stars as Max in the reboot(?) of the classic Mel Gibson post-apocalyptic franchise. This is directed by George Miller, the man behind the original series. From the trailers, this looks balls-to-the-walls/holy-shit/fuck-fuck-fuck/damn insane. I can only say it looks awesome, and I hope it is.

Slow West (May 15, limited)

This one is a directoral debut by John MacLean, and it won the World Cinema Prize at Sundance this year. It stars Michael Fassbender as a stranger helping a teenage boy find his lost love. From the trailer, the movie looks like stylistic fun from a welcome and original voice in world cinema. Also, it’s rare for me to have a distributor bias, but I’ve put blind faith in A24 before and have yet to be disappointed.

Tomorrowland (May 22)

This one is one of the big question marks of the summer. Does it look awesome? Hell yea. But does anyone know any idea of what it is about? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’m putting my faith into director Brad Bird for this one. Hopefully it is good, because I’m all for original blockbuster filmmaking.

Aloha (May 29)

To be honest, this looks pretty awful. But, there’s a strong cast in Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, and Alec Baldwin. Plus, it’s from Cameron Crowe, who desperately needs to make another great movie. Fingers crossed.

Alphabetical April 2015 (Part 3)

“C”: Cool Hand Luke (1967)

I blame a shitty TCM recording, a loud thunderstorm, and a break half-way through to eat dinner for damaging my maximum enjoyment of Stuart Rosenberg’s Paul Newman classic Cool Hand Luke. Newman is an actor I’ve gained mad respect for because only in the past few months, I’ve seen The Hustler and The Verdict. Compared to the other two, Luke is the weakest, in both quality and Newman performance. But it’s certainly his most iconic. In the movie, Newman is Luke, a fighter against in the prison system that he has been introduced to. He’s a broken man, and all comes out in the final thirty minutes. But what about the hour and a half before? Roseneberg depicts Luke’s revolutionary “against-the-system” actions with a balance of fun and dead seriousness, and maybe forty-some years ago Luke’s behavior would have been considered rude, but today it feels mild. George Kennedy is terrific as Luke’s friend, deservedly winning Best Supporting Actor in 1968. (7.7/10)

“K”: Klute (1971)

Often I divide movies by pre-Godfather and post-Godfather, almost as if cinema is a religion and The Godfather is Jesus. The pre-Godfather era is a much tamer one than the post, so I was totally surprised by Klute‘s explicit nature. Think of Klute like Charade, sans playfulness plus seriousness. Donald Sutherland is dead serious like Jesus Christ dude can you stop being so serious sometimes, I’m like 100% sure there has been more evidence of Bigfoot over Donald Sutherland smiling John Klute, an investigator searching for a missing friend. His key? Jane Fonda’s NYC prostitute character. Do they fall in love? Yes. Is the missing friend revealed to have been killed by a friend? Yes. Klute, though mature and stylistically exciting, offers few things that haven’t already been seen before. I guess Jane Fonda was alright in the movie, though. (6.6/10)

“S”: Syriana (2005)

In this year’s Oscar season, Inherent Vice was ridiculed for being nonsensical and impossible. But did those guys even see Syriana, Stephen Gaghan’s exposé into shady oil going-ons? The movie has an all-star cast, with George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Amanda Peet, and William Hurt, to name a few. Though the plot is as tangled as Disney’s 2010 animated Rapunzel movie, maybe that was what Gaghan intended. There’s a lot of stuff happening in Syriana, and more often than not I was confused, but it still proves itself as bold adult filmmaking that the studio system needs a whole heck of a lot more of. (7.6/10)

By this time next month, I will have wrapped up my Alphabetical April challenge. Stay tuned for a final post in the coming weeks ranking all 27 films that I watched for the challenge.

Alphabetical April 2015 (Part 1)

Last month I conquered a unique film challenge, which had me watch 30 foreign films from 30 different countries in the 31 days of March. I enjoyed the constraints that came with watching films within a challenge like ‘March Around the World’, so I gave myself another challenge: watch 27 films, each representing a letter of the alphabet (plus a number).

Most recently I watched One9’s documentary Nas: Time is Illmatic, about rapper Nas’ famous debut album (6.8/10). It was not a notable film of the challenge. However, I have watched 17 films of the 27, and there are some very important movies that I would love to talk about.

Note: I watched Au revoir les Enfants for “A”, Elevator to the Gallows for “E”, The Fugitive Kind for “F”, and The Verdict for “V”. You can see those reviews here and here.

“L”: Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)

Max Ophüls is melodrama done right. He’s made many great films, like Madame de… and Lola Montes. Letter from an Unknown Woman is an English-language picture from him, and his first masterpiece. Starring Joan Fontaine and Louis Jordan, Letter is the type of movie that makes your heart swell and ache in its portrayal of doomed love. They don’t make ’em like they used to. (9.4/10)

“T”: Three Kings (1999)

1999 is often hailed as one of the best years for film, ever, with films like Magnolia, Fight Club, American Beuaty, Toy Story 2, The Green Mile, and The Matrix, just to name a few. But, the real best film of that year is Three Kings, David O. Russell’s anti-Hussein action-dramedy. Shot with great style and featuring hilarious performances by George Clooney, Ice Cube, Mark Wahlberg, and Spike Jonze, Three Kings is a total surprise. It’s five movies in one, but never lets it’s powerful message get weighed down by its fun. (9.3/10)

“Y”: Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

Sorry all. Michael Curtiz’s Yankee Doodle Dandy was the best film I have seen so far this month. Starring James Cagney as Broadway legend George M. Cohan, Yankee Doodle Dandy is a celebration of entertainment. A lot of the movie wouldn’t work without Jame Cagney’s song-and-dance performance, which might have been one of the five best performances I’ve seen. Watching Cagney tap his way though a life well lived is simply marvelous – it makes the movie as great as it is. It’s so flawed, but Cagney more than makes up for it. His charisma outpaced Gene Kelly or Fred Astaire in any of their musicals combined. Believe the hype. Yankee Doodle Dandy is a masterpiece if there ever was one. (9.5/10)

And if you enjoyed this, chart my progress through the alphabet here.