Anticipating The Martian

Okay, so I'll admit: the first time I saw the trailer for The Martian, I wasn't too impressed. It looked to me to be another Gravity which I consider to be one of the most annoying, contrived, grossly overrated movies of all time. I am not exaggerating. Read my review if you doubt me.

Fortunately, The Martian had just enough publicity going on around it to not let me forget about it, and eventually I discovered that it was based on a book. (Written by Andy Weir.) That changed my first judgment because I seriously doubted that anyone could write a book as bad as Gravity, and then even if they did no one would want to make it a movie. I found recommendations for the novel, saying that it was good, that it was gripping, and that it was realistic. I believe it was the last bit that sealed the deal for me. I bought the book at my first opportunity, and immediately... held on to it for two and a half weeks. I had just started another book, and I can't read two books at once. I hurried through the other book way faster than I would have otherwise, and very often glanced longingly at the striking orange cover of The Martian as it sat on the corner of my desk.

It surprised me how much I had flip-flopped. One day I wasn't even interested enough in the movie to think that I might want to see it in theaters, the next I was too anxious to know how the story went to even wait for the movie's release. But it really is simple: I decided that I wanted to be interested, and then I was. I gave my capacity for anticipation full range, and it ran wild. After buying the book I avoided spoilers from the movie like the plague, so I could enjoy the novel's twists as much as possible. And after I finally finished the 10-hour-read, The Romance of the Forest, I gave myself a few days off to cleanse my reading-palate (it's a thing) and then got started. I should have waited longer, because I finished in four days (it was 8 1/2 hours of reading time) and now I'm dying to see this movie that is releasing a week from today. I might not last that long.

I wanted to take all -- or at least most -- of the eleven days I gave myself to read so I could take my time and savor it, but as it goes with gripping books, I really just couldn't put it down. I when I had to I just spent all my time thinking about it, and gushing to my (annoyingly only-mildly-interested) family.

I won't go into spoilery details, but the book was downright incredible. I've never read anything like it. First of all it had more profanity in it than all the other books I've ever read combined (though that's really not a hard feat) but I was able to forgive that easily. Probably because of how realistic it was. Oh my goodness, it was so realistic. Math, physics, electronics, etc, etc, were all thoroughly explained. I admit I didn't understand some of it, but it all made sense, if you know what I mean. Besides that, it was extremely well-written with a very unique style, great humor and a great sense of action and excitement. And it was full of many, many, fantastic characters, which I didn't expect with it being about one man alone on Mars. I loved every second of the 8 hours and 30 mins it took me to get to the end.

And now it's movie time. I remembered from the trailer that Matt Damon was in the lead as Mark Watney, and also that Jessica Chastain and Michael Pena were in the cast. It was easy enough to guess who they were playing (and they absolutely perfect fyi). But I just looked at the whole cast list and who everyone is playing, and with each name I got more and more excited: "Chiwetel Ejiofor? Perfect. Jeff Daniels? Alright! Kate Mara? Right, totally! Kristen Wiig? Ohhh, yes! Wait a minute, Sean Bean???? YES! He's exactly Sean Bean! And what? Sebastian Stan? Did that say Sebastian Stan?!?!? OH MY GOSH THIS CAST IS AMAZING!"

And, also, you know.... Ridley Scott is directing.

I adored this book. It is currently my favorite book, though once my excitement over it settles it'll likely land at number two. And today marks the beginning of my week-long wait to see it in movie format. I'll try not to get my hopes up too high. I'm sure they'll have to at least leave some things out, after all. But if I'm honest with myself, my hopes and expectations have already gathered up all my excitement into a huge rocket and blasted off toward the skies. Mars, here I come.

The Martian opens on Oct. 2nd, and currently sits at a very promising 93% on Rotten Tomatoes!

Have you read The Martian? Are you planning on seeing the movie? How excited for it are you, and what are you expecting? Let me know in the comments!

Anticipating The Guardians of the Galaxy

Confession time: I have not, to the best of my memory, ever read a superhero comic. So I have no previous knowledge about this superhero sci-fi action/adventure comedy called Guardians of the Galaxy, but it's as highly anticipated for me as a Marvel movie can be. (Marvel movies can be anticipated to a stronger degree than regular movies, don't cha know?) I may not be a comic reader, but I am certainly a Marvel fan, and I knew I would see this movie the moment I knew it existed. But I don't devote entire posts to the subject of anticipating something lightly. Here are 7 reasons why my excited anticipation is so extreme:

1. The cast of characters.

An assassin, a thief, a raccoon, a maniac, and a tree walk into a lineup....

The last time Marvel gave us a cast this unprecedented it was 2012, and it broke box-office records. Of course this is pretty different -- none of these characters have previous solo films. But they all look pretty fantastic in their own way.

Bradley Cooper is voicing Rocket, the raccoon with serious anger issues. (In the normal way, not in the turn-green-and-grow-huge-muscles way.) He appears to be the character that everyone will either adore or despise. I plan on adoring. And Vin Deisel is voicing Groot. The "tree." He says everything by saying, "I am Groot." Should be hilarious.

Dave Bautista is Drax. Very large, green and red patterned skin, no shirts required. I tried to figure out what their Avenger equivalent would be, and I got stuck with Rocket and Groot, (combined, they make up the Hulk) but Drax's would have to be Thor. The crazy muscles help of course, but mostly because Drax's way of speaking is very Shakespearean, and the intricacies of language escape him.

Zoe Saldana is a mysterious alien again as Gamora, but this time green. And the pink hair ends is a good touch. (Everyone knows the pink goes good with green, right?) She also gets some very dramatic cheekbones, and I would be surprised if she is given every ounce of dry wit this movie has to offer. Obviously, she's the Black Widow of the group, but even if she wasn't a girl, she'd probably still get the title. She looks to be the best at hand to hand combat, and is a loner, emotionless, and scary. Oh yeah, and pretty.

And Chris Pratt is the hero that no one has heard of, Star-Lord. Or just Peter Quill. Of Earth. The movie hasn't even released yet, but he's still already the latest go-to guy for a charming and handsome leading action/adventure man. You could attribute it to all the weight he lost for this role, but are people really that shallow? Uhm... Well, Director James Gunn isn't; he was ready to cast him and give him a CG six-pack. Fortunately that wasn't necessary. Star-Lord is the Iron Man (charming and cocky) Captain America (sincere leader) and Hawkeye (epitome of cool) of this group all at once, and is as good-looking as whichever one you choose. But the best comparison really is that he's like a space Indiana Jones. So, basically, he's Han Solo.

Look at this picture and then tell me honestly that it doesn't remind you of Indy. I can just see him rubbing his chin, and then pulling out a bag of sand...

And of course as a diligent Doctor Who fan, I must mention Karen Gillan as villainous lady Nebula. She shaved her head for this role, and looks awesome. I mean just absolutely fantastic. I have no idea what her character will be like, but do not doubt of its incredible-ness. And I fully expect an epic battle between her and Gamora.

This is what happens when you stop traveling with The Doctor, Amy...

Neither do I doubt the incredible-ness of Lee Pace (aka Thranduil of the Hobbit movies) as Ronan, (the ACCUSER!) who is the main villain of this film. Keep rocking those eyebrows, elf-king. I look forward to your evil monologues.

The rest of my points are all very closely connected. There is: 2. The trailer. Which features: 3. The soundtrack. Which helps give the movie: 4. The unique style.

Here's the original trailer which introduces the characters with some humor and gives out a taste of the snazzy action, all to the tune of Blue Swede's Hooked on a Feeling:



And the second trailer, which makes a valiant attempt to show us a serious and epic film, but can't help adding in a little comedy at the end.



And here's something fun -- a trailer for the original Star Wars trilogy, in the style of Guardians of the Galaxy! It makes me want to re-watch Star Wars almost as much as I want to see Guardians.



It's really the music that does it. Speaking of, below is the official GotG soundtrack cover.

Seriously. It doesn't get more awesome than this.

And here is the track list:

1. "Hooked on a Feeling" Performed by Blue Swede
2. "Go All the Way" Performed by Raspberries
3. "Spirit in the Sky" Performed by Norman Greenbaum
4. "Moonage Daydream" Performed by David Bowie
5. "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" Performed by Elvin Bishop
6. "I'm Not in Love" Performed by 10cc
7. "I Want You Back" Performed by Jackson 5
8. "Come and Get Your Love" Performed by Redbone
9. "Cherry Bomb" Performed by The Runaways
10. "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" Performed by Rupert Holmes
11. "O-O-H Child" Performed by The Five Stairsteps
12. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" Performed by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell 

 Retro meets sci-fi is one of my most favoritest things. And clever use of music in film is another -- when the music actually becomes a part of the film, not just something to listen to while there's no dialogue. I could put some examples, but really that's another whole post on its own. One I'll wait to write until I've seen Guardians, just in case it goes as I predict and has some of the best examples itself.

As for the style, well, I've never seen a James Gunn film before, so I don't know exactly what his style is. I do know that he was hired so that he could lend his unique style and flair to the film. And if any of what we're seeing here is at all a clue... with the overall overwhelming boldness... the quirky characters... the dark, gritty tone... with a shiny, space finish...

And just look at that color palette! The dark earth-tones contrasted with bright neons. Every single one of these pictures is a work of art in itself. Just look at the textures, and the lighting and the contrast...

Okay I'm getting a little of-topic. Photos and trailers have been misleading before, but if they were any indication, we're in for a real treat with this movie, and making it in the style of James Gunn was the right decision.

6. I have one final point to make. It's very simple, and gives the film the most credibility, and can be summed up in one word: Marvel. I trust that they know what they're doing (because they really really do) and am staking a ton of hope on the success and awesomeness of their latest film. I usually think it is unwise to set expectations so high and risk disappointment, but this is much more fun right now.

7. Wait wait, I forgot one. And this is, like, all my points combined. Very important. Look:

Their tagline is "You're welcome." People. Their tagline is "YOU'RE WELCOME."

So, tell me: on a scale of 1 to "dying," how excited for this movie are you? What in particular is most exciting to you? (I'm assuming you are at least a little bit excited since you made it to the end of this post.) (Did you notice I skipped number 5? I did. Just now. And now I guess I'll leave it.) And isn't that the absolute best tagline ever?

Matt Smith is Puddleglum (April Fool!)

The continuation/reboot of Narnia seems to have been stalling for quite a while, but is finally picking up speed -- zero to sixty in half a second in my estimation -- by finally beginning to gather a cast for the next installment, The Silver Chair!

One of my favorites of the series, and one that I think would make the best film!

Firstly, since it's been so long since The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Will Poulter, who played Eustace, has gotten too old, so, sadly, they have to recast the character. I thought Poulter was a fantastic Eustace, so the thought of anyone else playing him is mostly disappointing to me, but they allegedly have the list down to three guys and they look somewhat like a capable bunch: Gulliver McGrath, who is Australian, not English, and Tom Holland and Charlie Rowe who look rather too nice to be Eustace. I'll be interested to see what comes of that.

But as interesting as any casting for new Narnia movies may be, this post is for one particular piece of casting that has me so excited I hardly even care about anything else: Matt Smith (the Eleventh Doctor) is set to play Puddleglum!

The fandom world erupts into thunderous approval!

This is awesome for two main reasons. One: Matt Smith is awesome himself, and everything he does is awesome, so of course this is awesome. But two: the best reason, and why this news makes just want go full crazy fangirl everywhere is that he, by doing this, is following in the footsteps of his Doctor Who predecessor, the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker, who played Puddleglum in the 1990 BBC adaptation! I imagine it was an unintentional winking reference, but it doesn't make any less cool. I guess the character is suited to Doctor types.

Hehe, I do think Smith will be significantly more awesome in the role -- sorry Four!

And even though Matt Smith isn't naturally as, well, glum as Puddleglum, I think he will pull it off brilliantly and hilariously. His lanky build and strange, long face are perfect for a Marsh-wiggle.

What do you think of this news? Which Eustace do you think will land the part? And is not Matt Smith the absolute best, awesomest and the only choice for the next Puddleglum?

[Update: April Fool! On all counts except the sentiment, and The Silver Chair has been announced as the next Narnia film. Though, I haven't seen any of the "Eustaces" act, but I did spend a lot of time finding British actors (except Gulliver, who's face was just too good to pass up) who were a good age and looked the part. And, I would absolutely adore Matt Smith as Puddleglum. Please? If anyone who ever has any kind of authority in casting The Silver Chair is reading this -- take note. No credit needed.]

New Trailers: The Maze Runner & The Giver

It started with The Hunger Games -- this explosively huge fad of basing films on dystopian YA novels, and now everyone's rushing to capitalize on it. Ender's Game and Divergent have already squeezed in efforts, but neither were/are nowhere near close to finding fame like that of Katniss Everdeen. These two films are next in line to give it a shot:

The Maze Runner: Set to release in September, Dylan O'Brien leads, and at least two already-awesome-in-my-opinion actors also star -- Will Poulter, and Thomas Brodie-Sangster.



The Giver: Set to release in August, Brenton Thwaits is the lead, with two huge names in acting -- Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep -- supporting, and also Katie Holmes and... Taylor Swift? I kid not.


Both are based on novels of the same name, The Maze Runner is the first part of a trilogy, and The Giver already has a reputation of being a great book, being twenty years old. I admit it; I've been interested in these films (and books) since I heard of their existence, and these trailers only add to that. What can I say? I'm a fan of the genre -- in on the craze.

I also like reading the novel first, so this is what I want to know: are they any good? Has anyone read them, and liked them? Or disliked them? I'd love to hear your opinions. Also, whether you've read the books or not, what do you think of these trailers? In on the craze, or not?

Ben Affleck is Batman

People everywhere blink and yawn.

Ahem.

Ta. Da.

The 41-year-old American actor/director/screenwriter that you have probably heard of before, Ben Affleck has been confirmed as "the next Batman." (Is DC taking cues from Doctor Who now?) I don't think this is a good idea, but upon refection, I know it's not Affleck I protest to. The last thing we need right now is a new Batman, you might even go so far as to say.... he's the hero we deserve, but not the one we need right now.... ha... (or is that joke too obvious?)

Seriously though, we haven't gotten over Christian Bale and his gravely growl yet, so of course Ben Affleck isn't exciting to us! Putting all that aside though (just pretend it's actually about ten years in the future) Affleck is at least a very interesting choice.

First of all he's actually American, which is more than can be said for his growly predecessor (not that it matters since Bale is a perfectly convincingly American) and more than can be said for his soon-to-be alien "buddy" Henry Cavill.

Bats and Supes.

Affleck does seem well-cast for the Bruce Wayne part of the deal, and he no stranger to being a action/super hero either, though never to much critical acclaim. Critically, he best feature is directing, and I add my voice to this opinion as well. I never liked him at all until I caught The Town on the TV one day, and suddenly I respected him as a director. And curiously enough, his acting steps up a notch when he also directs.

Which leads to the most interesting factor of his casting. Apparently Warner Bros. has been eying him to direct The Justice League, and now that he's connected to the franchise, that idea becomes more and more likely. If he is hired to direct, I would be pleasantly surprised, but currently, my slight interest in all this Superman/Batman/Justice League stuff remains unvarying by this bit of casting news, and my low opinion of the franchise is only strengthened.

Here's something fun though, Batman and Superman discuss their upcoming "Vs." movie in a HISHE Super Cafe! If you haven't seen it, it's a must-watch, and if you have, I have given you the perfect excuse to watch it again. You're welcome.

Ender's Game -- Trailer

I stumbled across this film while looking at the cast of Iron Man 3, specifically, Ben Kingsley on Rotten Tomatoes. I was intrigued by the inclusion of Asa Butterfield in the cast list, cast for the second time as the title character in a film that also stars Kingsley -- the other being the impressively acted lead in Hugo. As I scrolled through the rest of the cast, I became more and more impressed and intrigued -- Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, and Viola Davis make up the rest of the big names splashed through the cast.

Butterfield and Kingsley in Scorsese's 2011 film, Hugo. Great movie.

The interest continues to grow. I discovered this science fiction adventure is being adapted from a novel written in the 80's. I researched the book, and (along with many more discoveries I won't mention for time's sake) decided the book could be worth a read. I gave me the impression of being the space version of The Hunger Games, but written before The Hunger Games of course.

That impression came from the fact that the story is basically one kid versus the world. Ender is the kid, molded influenced and manipulated since birth by mysterious people who hope he will one day save the earth and humanity from an alien race. Something he doesn't seem to have much of a choice about.

Hailee Steinfeld and Asa Butterfield in the movie.

Though I was only mildly interested in the book, I ended up getting my hands on a copy pretty quickly, started reading a day later, and finished it two days after that. I don't want to go too much into what I thought about it, as it could easily be an entire blog post itself, and I don't want to give away any spoilers, but it was a very interesting read. And I enjoyed it, though (since I've already compared it to THG) not as much as I enjoyed The Hunger Games. After having read it though, I realize that's not a very fair comparison. So forget that. I'll just say I didn't love it, but I did read and finish it happily, and most importantly, it consumed my thoughts during the read and for several days after.

I suppose it goes without saying now that I'm very interested in seeing the film. The trailer conveniently released the day before I finished reading, so I watched it as soon as I was done, and from the little information I gathered from the one-and-a-half minutes I think that it will at least be as good as the book. I optimistically imagine it will be better, mostly because the story demands creative and amazing visual sequences... and they're looking good.

Have a look.



I knew as soon as I started reading the book that Asa Butterfield was the perfect choice for Ender, and the rest of the cast looks equally great. I'm very interested to see how it's adapted, and if I'm right as I hope I am, and the film is equal to or better than the book, I will happily consider myself a new fan of the franchise. It's scheduled to release on November 1st this year.

Upcoming Movie: Rise of the Guardians

Seen this around?

This intriguing movie poster is for an animated movie scheduled to release on Nov. 21st. It's called Rise of the Guardians, a title that makes me think of The Dark Knight Rises, and Guardians of the Galaxy mushed together.

Concept art for Marvels upcoming film, Guardians of the Galaxy.

To clear up my confusion, I looked up Rise of the Guardians, and what I found was rather interesting. Here's the trailer:

This PG animated flick boasts the voice talents of several big names including Chris Pine as the apparent hero Jack Frost, Jude Law as the villain (the boogeyman? I don't know... his name is Pitch...) plus Hugh Jackman and Alec Baldwin as the Easter Bunny and Santa Clause respectively. Quite the cast. It also claims "the creators of 'How to Train Your Dragon,'" probably the best animated film DreamWorks ever managed, and what appears to be - in my opinion at least - an interesting and original premise, written in book form and for the film by William Joyce, who did the same thing for Meet the Robinsons.

How to Train Your Dragon surprised me; I didn't expect to like it so much.

Meet the Robinsons. Quirky, silly... not too shabby.

So I must say I'm intrigued. Mildly. There is, after all, always the possibility of it going way over the top, (or something similar) then falling flat on it face, (or something similar) and if that happens, I will likely not see it, but as it stands right now... I'll be keeping an interested eye on Rise of the Guardians.

What do you think? The top-notch cast is what got me.

Upcoming Film - The Great Gatsby is going to be a movie... again.

Tom Hiddleston as F. Scott Fitzgerald in Midnight in Paris.

So I recently read The Great Gatsby for the first time. It was after watching the trailer for the movie, coming in 2013. The trailer piqued my interest, and then I saw the book was relatively short, and even looked easy to read. So I read it. And I loved it. I loved the simplicity of the plot, the wit, the imagery, and the first person writing. I imagined Fitzgerald as Tom Hiddleston, writing all those witty lines for my entertainment. It was a lovely, pretty short read, and now, of course, I’m ready for the movie. Because what’s the point of such a great book if it’s not going to be made into a movie?

I assume that the one and only reason this is being made into a movie again is so Carey Mulligan can play Daisy Buchanan. She is obviously the only person who should ever do it; she’s perfect for it. I heard Daisy’s very specific voice effortlessly as I read, and it sounded exactly like Mulligan. I’m excited to see her, but what about the rest of the cast? Well, here come my opinions, ready or not.

Carey Mulligan looking lovely as Daisy from the trailer.

I will never complain about seeing Joel Edgerton in a movie, and I think he is very well cast here as Tom Buchanan. As I read the book, I forgot Edgerton was going to be staring, but I knew there was someone I was forgetting from the cast. I didn’t look it up though, because I wanted to keep my imagination untainted. Ironically, I imagined Tom to look rather like Tom Hardy, whom Edgerton played a brother to in Warrior.

Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton in Warrior.

 I was this close to unknowingly imagining the character as the person actually going to play him. When I finished the book and looked at the cast list again I had a pretty good chuckle. And then I was very happy of course.

Obviously, Edgerton will be great.

Tobey Maguire’s look as Nick from the trailer stuck with me pretty well, but one thing about him worries me... Maguire’s usual characters are at least slightly awkward, especially in the way he talks, but Nick wasn’t like that; he was more normal, laid back and observing; like the audience or reader in character form. Tobey Maguire is not the person I would think of for this role, but he if does it right… i.e. if he leaves all things “Peter Parker” behind, this role has the potential to be my absolute favorite of his.

Here Maguire is wondering if he should play the character to my liking, or not. Please do!

(I noticed people suggesting Joseph Gordon-Levitt for Nick, and I think he would've been amazing, but I am heavily biased on that particular subject.)

And finally the main guy, Gatsby himself. And I don’t know what to say. The fact is I'm having a hard time seeing DiCaprio as Gatsby. He’s a great actor and I have no doubt he can perform it well – he does play insecure, desperate characters exceptionally – but he just doesn’t seem quite right. His voice is wrong, his looks aren’t classic enough... I guess I just can’t hear DiCaprio say “old sport” and not have it come out funny – in a bad way. I’m pretty sure my worries will be proven wrong in the end though, and he’ll be a fine Gatsby.

 

See? He looks fine. I should relax, right?

No one really jumps out at me as being better for the role than DiCaprio anyway. Certainly no American actors, but is that important? Mulligan and Edgerton are British and Australian respectively, and the newcomer playing Jordan is also an Aussie, and I’m sure an American accent is no problem for them. If I think British, Cary Elwes comes to mind, and he naturally has some of Gatsby’s qualities… if only he were twenty or so years younger. Jude Law is also an interesting thought, and he has the air, and also the acting chops for the role. If it were up to me to cast the film, he’d probably be my pick, but alas, I’m just a consumer and must be satisfied with DiCaprio, and as I said I’m sure he’ll be fine, at least.

 

A very young Cary Elwes, and...

Jude Law looking very dapper.

This book is in need of a successful film, and the trailer looks promising, and faithful to the source material, if a little modernized feeling. It’s going to be in 3D, which is odd, but if it’s quality 3D, I won’t complain, and who knows, it might even be improved by it. Visuals seem to play a big role here if you can judge by the trailer, and 3D was made for big visual movies. I’m excited to see it, then remember my opinions on it from now, and see how they've changed. And now that I have stated my opinions, I will move on and get excited for different movies, like the first installment of The Hobbit, and wait patiently for May 10.

Looks promising now - we'll see for sure in eight months.