Cinema and Popcorn

Ed has been doing some research in order to make his 3rd round of Academy Awards predictions (they are comming soon - 1st August) and I've been helping him, so, I'm sorry for the almost inexistent blog's activity in the last couple of days. The new AMPAS rules for Best Picture nomination are a new factor that must be taken seriously, so, here's a part of an article that may help you understanding the new rules: " The academy uses a preferential nominations process whereby its nearly 6,000 voting members rank their preferred candidates for best picture from 1 to 10. Academy officials said that after much analysis, it was determined that a film must receive at least 5% of the first-place votes to receive a nomination. In a rare glimpse into academy voting patterns, officials said that over the last 10 years, the average percentage of first-place votes received by the top nominee was 20.5%. The officials said that if the new system had been in place between 2001 and ...

Today is a Marvel-ous day for all the Marvel comic-book fans or for those cinematic people who like a good Summer blockbuster: images of The Avengers ensemble were released today! The teaser movie poster and a more artistic poster were also released a couple of days ago, so, just see the little "gallery" with super-powers: A very low-profile teaser poster, but it isn't a bad think at all. While it is too simple, it's enough to make audiences starting wondering about the movie. At least it has no spoilers! It's a beautiful concept art teaser poster! This one makes The Avengers so EPIC LOOKING! And now, the dialogue in the "first-look" pictures : "Are you seeing the same I'm seeing?" "What?" "Are you talking about this woman's strong arms?" "I'm not a woman! I'm a Metallica fan! James Hetfield is a god!" "You're a dead man, Stark!" "But... by the way, what are you tal...

Some weeks ago, it was reported that Danny Boyle ( Slumdog Millionaire ) wanted Michael Fassbender ( Hunger ) for his upcoming thriller - Trance - but then Fassbender had a schedule conflict and he wasn't able to shoot the movie. Some days after, James McAvoy ( Atonement ) signed for a role in the movie and Boyle said he wanted Colin Firth ( The King's Speech ) for Fassbender's role and Scarlett Johansson ( Lost In Translation ) for the most important female role in the movie. But Firth also had a schedule conflict and wasn't able to shoot the movie, so Vincent Cassel ( Black Swan ) came aboard and he has just signed. The movie will start shooting this September and once Johansson starts shooting Jonathan Glazer 's Under the Skin in October, she's also out of the project and was replaced by Rosario Dawson ( Sin City ). This movie casting process it's almost a movie plot... Well, with Danny Boyle in the director's chair and a cast composed by McAv...

Here's the list of movies that are part of this year's edition of Toronto International Film Festival (and what an awesome selection it seems!): GALAS Albert Nobbs by Rodrigo Garcia , Ireland Butter by Jim Field Smith , USA A Dangerous Method by David Cronenberg , France/Ireland/United Kingdom/Germany/Canada A Happy Event by Rémi Bezancon , France The Ides of March by George Clooney , USA The Lady by Luc Besson , France/United Kingdom Moneyball by Bennett Miller , USA Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding by Bruce Beresford , USA Take This Waltz by Sarah Polley , Canada W.E . by Madonna , United Kingdom SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 11 Flowers by Wang Xiaoshuai , China/France 50/50 by Jonathan Levine , USA 360 by Fernando Meirelles UK/Austria/France/Brazil The Artist by Michel Hazanavicius , France Anonymous by Roland Emmerich , Germany A Better Life by Cédric Khan , France Chicken with Plums by Marjane Satrapi , Vincent Paronnaud, France/Germany/Belgium Coriolanus by Ralph...

Genre: Drama; Action/Adventure; Science Fiction/Fantasy; Director: Joe Johnston Starring: Chris Evans; Hayley Atwell; Hugo Weaving; Tommy Lee Jones; Sebastian Stan; Dominic Cooper; Release date: 22nd July, 2011 " Until the computer-generated effects bog it down and mess up its rhythms, Captain America: The First Avenger, has a measured, classical pace and a lot of good, old-fashioned craftsmanship (...) The movie looks wonderful. The production design by the great Rick Heinrichs is bold and unfussy, the palette monochromatic with splashes of comic-book greens and reds, and the compositions evocative of World War II newsreels and propaganda (Allied and Axis) without ever slipping into camp. Heinrichs mixes up architecture styles — Expressionist, futurist, Deco — into frames that might have leaped from the collective unconscious of forties moviegoers. The score by Alan Silvestri is a marvelous pastiche with a life of its own " by David Edelstein in New York Magazine "...

1. The Tree of Life is released (finally!) Terrence Malick's latest work - The Tree of Life - that became a cinematic event as every Malick movie (that are rare things we see being released). The movie won the Palme D'Or in Cannes and had a "not bad" box office performance for a so "art-house" movie, something so philosophical and "no mainstream". Famous names like Brad Pitt and Sean Penn bring even more pedigree to this unusual masterpiece at the same time that attract some people to the theatres, while delivering some great acting performances (Jessica Chastain is great too!). It's not a movie for all the audiences and some may not like it, but it can't make The Tree of Life less than the best movie of the year so far! 2. The charm of Midnight In Pari s Woody Allen's comeback to his more classic style which a movie that reminds the old school where he was the greatest teacher . Midnight In Paris was raved by critics, became ...

It have been a great week for superheroes' movies with the release of the teaser trailers of The Avengers (2012), The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and, now, The Amazing Spider Man (2012). It seems that 2012 will be a great year for all the superheroes comic-books fans and I must say that this reboot of Spider-Man looks especially interesting mostly due to its director ( Marc Webb , the director of (500) Days of Summer ), its cast ( Andrew Garfield , Emma Stone , Rhys Ifans , Martin Sheen and Sally Field ) and a more "gritty" and "contemporary" look. Here's the official trailer with good resolution quality (much better than the unofficial one I posted previously):

The Dark Knight Rises promises to have everything you could ask for the third installment of the franchise: conscience/moral issues, drama, a villain, one of the major characters dying a look back to a hero's past. Christopher Nolan never let me down and I hope this one will be as great as The Dark Knight . The movie cast is composed by shinning names like Christian Bale , Joseph Gordon-Levitt , Tom Hardy , Gary Oldman , Marion Cotillard , Michael Caine , Anne Hathaway and Morgan Freeman and it will be released in 20th July, 2012 . Here's the teaser trailer:

Here's a video of the teaser trailer for next year's Summer blockbuster The Avengers , directed by Joss Whedon and starring Robert Downey Jr. , Chris Evans , Chris Hemsworth , Mark Ruffalo , Samuel L. Jackson , Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner . It was filmed during the post-credits scene of next week's Captain America: The First Avenger and I'm sorry about the low-quality , but it is the best I could find... In case of the video being removed, check this website, where you can watch the trailer (not bad quality): http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/joshw24/news/?a=42642&t=Superior_Bootleg_Copies_Of_The_First_Teaser_Trailer_For_iThe_Avengersi

Just because today I was caught in a music wave... There are my top 5 best/favorite songs that can be listen in 21st century movies (they aren't necessarily original songs written for the movie). Have a look: 1 " Falling Slowly " by  Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova in Once (2006) 2 " Tiny Dancer " by  Elton John in Almost Famous (2000) 3 " Hoppipola " by  Sigur Rós in Heima (2007) 4 " Ruby Tuesday " from The Rolling Stones in The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) 5 " Jai Ho " from A.R. Rahman in Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Genre: Drama; Action/Adventure; Science Fiction/Fantasy Director: David Yates Starring: Daniel Radcliffe; Emma Watson; Rupert Grint; Ralph Fiennes; Helena Bonham Carter; Michael Gambon; Tom Felton; Maggie Smith; Gary Oldman; Emma Thompson; Release date: 15th July, 2011 " The thrilling conclusion to a phenomenal cinematic story 10 years in the telling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 is proof that authentic movie excitement is its own form of magic (...) With so much heightened action and wrenching emotion, pacing is key. And here Yates and his outstanding production team excel (...) Composer Alexandre Desplat assists with a score that tunes in to our collective aural memory of Potter movies past; production designer Stuart Craig excites our collective tactile senses with a finale-size wealth of evocative objects " by Lisa Schwarzbaum in Entertainment Weekly " Yates and his team of design artists and f/x wizards take strategic advantage of the castle gr...

Well, a trailer for Martin Scorcese 's Hugo was released just right now! I've watched it a couple of times and it is almost painful to me to say that Hugo seems to be disappointing comparing to what I was expecting from a Scorcese's adaptation of a lovely book. Seems too "normal", too "childish", too "mainstream", too "popcorn flick"... While the production design seems to be absolutely beautiful and Asa Butterfield ( The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas ) and Chloë Moretz ( Kick-Ass ) make a captivating duo during almost 2 minutes of the trailer, the reality is that the trailer makes it look an average movie at maximum, the kind of flick ONLY CHILDREN CAN REALLY LOVE ! But a trailer may be a bit tricky and the movie may be better than what it seems in 2 minutes and 24 seconds. Here's the trailer: Robert Downey Jr. presents the first Sherlock Holmes: a Game of Shadows movie trailer and it seems to follow the first installment...

Here's the list of the best actors and actresses working today according to my point of view. I based my choices in a couple of factors like versatility or iconic performances. It's only my opinion here and I respect different points of view if you want to express them. If you think I snubed some names, please suggest them, maybe you're right and I'll edit this post. Just have a look: 1. Meryl Streep Born: June 22, 1949 Breakthrough Performance: The Deer Hunter (1978) 5 Best Performances: Kramer Vs Kramer (1979); Sophie's Choice (1982); Ironweed (1987); The Bridges of Madison County (1995); The Devil Wears Prada (2006); Oscar recognition: 16 nominations, 2 wins ( Kramer Vs Kramer - 1979; Sophie's Choice - 1982) 2. Al Pacino Born: April 25, 1940 Breakthrough Performance: The Panic in Needle Park (1971) 5 Best Performances: The Godfather (1972); Serpico (1973); The Godfather: Part II (1974); Scarface (1983); Scent of a Woman (1992); Osc...