Anonymous - Coming September 30 (US)

Director - Roland Emmerich
Main Characters
Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford - Rhys Ifans
Princess Elizabeth Tudor - Joely Richardson
Queen Elizabeth I - Vanessa Redgrave
William Shakespere - Rafe Spall

I have a very special weakness for period movies, especially those set during the formative decades of Tudor England, and Anonomyous will be just such a movie.

 It was a surprise to me several years ago to learn that there was a strong suspcion that William Shakespere may have in fact been illiterate, either having had someone else write down his ideas, or more likely, letting someone else use his name to publish his plays so that the real writer could remain anonymous. This movie is based around the latter theory, which in recent years seems to have been accepted as truth.

The works of William Shakespere, according to Anonymous were really written by one Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford, (Rhys Ifans) and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I (Vanessa Redgrave). Eventually, after losing the Queen's favour due to an unauthorized treaty negotiation while on a campaign in Irelad, he plotted to start a rebellion against the Queen.

So what does all this have to do with the plays and sonets he wrote that were attributed to William Shakespere (Rafe Spall)? Supporters of Oxford arranged for Richard II to be played at The Globe the day before the rebellion. Richard II tells the story of how Richard II was overthrown by Henry IV and how Richard, like Queen Elizabeth I had abdicated much of her power in favour of her advisers Cecil and Raleigh. For more information on that part of Queen Elizabeth's reign, check out Elizabeth  and Elizabeth: The Golden Age starring Cate Blanchette.

Anyways, back to the movie at hand, the intention of having this play performed was to try and stir up support from Londoners for the Oxford rebellion. Through history, the people of London have often been reluctant to take up arms against their Kings and Queens. Possibly because they got so much of the benefits of having the royal family immediately in their midst so much of the time?

So, now we see the political repercussions that the performance of a simple play could create, and a very good reason why if Edward de Vere was indeed the author of the works that William Shakespere was given credit for, he had every reason to want to remain Anonymous.

Usually go into who the actors are, what's they've been in and how I think they'll do in their roles, but this time to be honest, I don't recognize a lot of the names, and with the storyline being what it is, I don't really care. I'm very excited to see this movie! 

Thor - Coming May 6

 

Director - Kenneth Branagh
Lead Actors
Thor - Chris Hemsworth
Jane Foster - Natalie Portman
Odin - Anthony Hopkins

This movie looks like its going to be nothing short of epic, no doubt another blockbuster in Marvel's ultimate path to the Avengers movie.

You may remember in the scene after the credits of Iron Man 2 Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) saying four words while overlooking some kind on happening in the desert. "Sir, we found him." Followed by a shot of Thor's iconic hammer.

The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division or SHIELD is the agency tying all of the individual movies together.

After Thor is stripped of his powers by Odin (Anthony Hopkins) he is cast down to earth, a development that our blonde, hunky God of Thunder doesn't seem overly thrilled about. He is found by Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) who obviously becomes his love interest, and my guess is eventually he realizes earth isn't such a bad place, and decides to use his expertise to help save it from some kind of disaster, eventually being recruited by SHIELD of course.

Chris Hemsworth plays Thor, and he does indeed appear to have the body of a God! Hemsworth is another in the parade of Aussie hunks that seem to be taking over the silver screen, and I for one am not complaining. In 2009's Star Trek he played father to the legendary Star Fleet captain James Tiberius Kirk, and although he wasn't in the movie long, he must have made an impression. He seems every bit the obstinate, arrogant, but ultimately right? youth that Thor is supposed to be.

Other names of note in the cast for Thor include Ray Stevenson (King Arthur, Punisher: War Zone) and Kat Dennings, (Charlie Bartlett). Renee Russo, Idris Elba, and Stellen Sarsgård also appear.

Thor will be presented in 3D, which seems to be the way the movie going experience is headed, but I don't know that I would be willing to spend the extra $5.00 per ticket to see Thor in 3D. I mean, when a movie is going to have that much going on, the big screen and big sound is often enough for me. Besides that, of the movies I have seen in 3D, (Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, Clash of the Titans, Step Up: 3D) only Avatar and Alice in Wonderland had any kind of extra impact from being in 3D, for me anyways. It seems to me, that movies that have a lot of cg content lend themselves more to the 3D movement. I didn't find Clash of the Titans or Step Up: 3D to be any MORE enjoyable than I would have in 2D. I have a feeling that when my boyfriend and I go to see Thor a regular movie going experience will still be pretty awesome.

Something else I'm excited to see in this move is the cinematography when Thor is still in his heavenly realm of Asgard. You don't see tons of it in the trailer, but it looks like its going to be very opulent, and visually stimulating, with tons of attention to detail. Just because its an action movie, and a comic book movie at that, doesn't mean it shouldn't have some focus on other things, and I'm glad that the details don't seem to have gotten lost in all the butt kicking!

I can't wait to see this movie!

The Debt - Coming August 31, 2011 (US)

Director - John Madden
Lead Actors
Rachel Singer - Helen Mirren
Young David - Sam Worthington
Stefan - Tom Wilkinson
David - Ciarán Hinds

This movie was originally scheduled to be released in 2010, but delays have been caused due to the prolonged process of the Miramax buy out. I hope this doesn't hurt the movie's chances to do well. The story line of The Debt is solid and will be undoubtedly well acted by a superb cast.

Helen Mirren, Tom Wilkinson and Ciarán Hinds play former Israeli Mossad agents who in 1965 were sent on a secret mission to capture and kill a notorious Nazi war criminal the Surgeon of Birkenau. 30 years later, a man surfaces claiming to be the doctor who was supposedly killed in the streets of Berlin decades earlier. Rachel Singer (Helen Mirren) must travel back to Eastern Europe to find the truth, along the way, being forced to relive the trauma of the original mission, deal with her own haunting memories of who she was, and confront the debt she has incurred.

Mirren, Wilkinson and Hinds' characters all have younger counter parts in the movie, as the story of what happened on the original mission is told. These counter parts are played by Jessica Chastain, Marton Csokas and Sam Worthington respectively.


The drama/thriller looks like it will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Something Borrowed - Coming May 6, 2011 (US)

Director - Luke Greenfield
Lead Actors
Darcy - Kate Hudson
Rachel - Gennifer Goodwin
Ethan - John Krasinski
Dex - Colin Egglesfield

I think this movie will be simply delightful.

Gennifer Goodwin plays Rachel, a woman who falls for a guy named Dex (Colin Egglesfield) who just so happens to be her best friend Darcy's (Kate Hudson) fiancé.

Gennifer Goodwin seems to have a soft spot for playing chronically single women. I mean, wasn't that pretty much the same role that she played in He's Just Not That Into You? One of my very favourite movies by the way! And I'm not holding it against her at all, when you find something that works, why mess with it right? I personally think she is adorable. Since seeing her in He's Just Not That Into You I've been hoping to see more of her.

Kate Hudson is another favourite actress of mine, especially for romantic comedies, among my favourites beind How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Bride Wars. Even when she's playing someone a little clueless, a little selfish, I can't help but love her.

Also appearing in Something Borrowed is John Krasinski, one half of my favourite Hollywood couple. I've loved him since his days on The Office and then on the big screen in smallish roles in Dreamgirls  and The Holiday. I was very excited to see him having more of a central role in Its Complicated, where he gave a performance that was even more hilarious for its subtlety and finesse. I can't wait to see him in what looks like its going to be an even more integral role in Something Borrowed.

The other lead actor in this movie is Colin Egglesfield, the guy in the middle of the two best friends. Although I've seen some of the movies that Egglesfield has appeared in, I don't remember him from any of them. So I'm assuming that Something Borrowed will be kind of a first leading role. It'll be interested to see how this relatively unknown will do along side three of my favourite names in the biz.

How Do You Know?

I love a good romantic comedy. I'd even go so far as to say I enjoy a mediocre romantic comedy. This movie unfortunately doesn't fall into either of those categories. This was just bad, and I only got 15 minutes in. Yes, that is correct, after fifteen minutes of mind numbing nothingness, I hit the info button on my Xbox to find that there was another hour and fourty-five minutes left! No, just no, that was not happening.

So there you have it, a movie review for a movie that the reviewer couldn't even sit all the way through. It really was that bad.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon - Coming July 1, 2011 (Canada)

Director - Michael Bay
Lead Actors
Sam Witwicky - Shia LaBouf
Hugo Weaving - voice of Megatron
Rosie Huntington-Whitely - Carly
Major William Lennox - Josh Duhamel
Robert Epps - Tyrese Gibson
Simmons - John Turturro

I am super excited for the next installment of the Transfromers franchise from one of my favourite directors, Michael Bay.

I remember seeing the first one in theaters opening weekend, and just marveling at how real the robots looked against natural backdrops. If you didn't know better, a movie like that could make you think that there really could be alien lifeforms living among us, disguised as cars!

Besides the promise of another action packed story line for the Autobots, and the revealing of more secrets about human's past knowledge of our alien friends, a huge plus for me in this movie is the fact that Megan Fox will not be in it! Oh yeah, I am thrilled! Okay so she's hot, fine, whatever, but is it too much to ask to have a hot chick in a movie that can actually act as well? I think not!

Besides, if you're gonna go around dissing your Director publicly, isn't it kinda a given that you run the risk of getting canned? I mean, do you dis your boss in any way or place where it might get back to him or her? I didn't think so, the rest of us are smarter than that. But then, I never gave Megan Fox a ton of credit for brains. How dumb do you have to be to get fired from the only movie in your career that's guaranteed to do amazingly well, before a script is written, or a name even given?

No, I will not be missing Megan Fox in this installment of Transformers. So lets move on to Sam's (Shia LaBouf) new love interest Carly. Carly is played by Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. What a sweet name! I like her better already. So she's a Victoria's Secret model, I'd say that at least ties with Fox in the 'I'm super-duper hot' competition. But, I'm having the same concerns about acting chops that I had with Megan, Transformers being after all her first acting gig. You would think that with a director like Michael Bay and executive producer like Steven Spielberg, you wouldn't have to worry that all the actors would be top notch, but then again Megan Fox did appear in the first two installments.

I remember watching the special features from the first movie, and someone talking about casting for the roles of Mikaela and Maggie (the student who detected the Decepticons hacking Air Force One). I have a very clear memory of the woman on the screen saying that their whole mission in casting these two women was to find the most beautiful 18-year-olds possible, and that they had done just that. Conspicuously, no mention of acting ability, so I would say my concern about the performance of Huntington is well founded.

The other key players of the franchise will be reprising their roles, including John Turturro, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, and Hugo Weaving as the voice of Megatron. Also returning are my favourite ever big screen parents, Kevin Dunn and Julie White as the Witwickys.

A few newcomers to the Transformers universe to be noted are Patrick Dempsey and John Malkovich. Patrick Dempsey? Really? I guess I'll just have to see how that goes. Also Leonard Nimoy is rumored to be the voice of Sentinel Prime.

Again, I have high expectations for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and have no doubt that it will again be the blockbuster of the summer, even without Megan Fox!

Superman: Man Of Steel Update

Although Zach Snyder denied that General Zod would be appearing in the 2012 reboot of the Superman Franchise, turns out that wasn't quite the end of the story. Either he was trying to keep it a secret, or something changed his mind, because Michael Shannon has been cast to play the General.

Although, not terribly familiar to me, Michael Shannon has had recent success in the TV series Boardwalk Empire and apparently has been working like crazy, with 5 movies scheduled to be released in 2011 and 2 in 2012.

For those of you who are familiar with Michael Shannon, what kind of General Zod do you think he will play? Are you happy with the choice? Who would you have preferred to see in the role?

The Three Musketeers - Coming October 14, 2011 (Canada)

Director - Paul W.S. Anderson
Lead Actors
D'Artagnan - Logan Lerman
Porthos - Ray Stevenson
Athos - Matthew MacFadyen
Aramis - Luke Evans
Queen Anne - Juno Temple
M'Lady De Winter - Mila Jovovich
Duke of Buckingham - Orlando Bloom
Cardinal Richelieu - Christoph Waltz


I am so excited about this movie. I saw the teaser trailer (above) for it on Friday when I went to see Hanna. This movie looks like its going to kick some serious butt! I mean look at the top cast!

A 19-year-old Logan Lerman, possibly best known for very charismatic performances in Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief  and Gamer will be taking on the role of D'Artagnan in this remake of the classic Alexandre Dumas novel of the same name. I'm excited to see him in this role. He's a terribly charming young actor, and I think he'll be able to pull off this role with ease.

Juno Temple, another young talent at 22, will be playing the role of Queen Anne. Juno is known to me from roles in Atonement, The Other Boelyn Girl and Notes on a Scandal. In the Other Boelyn Girl Juno played Jane Boelyn, a young woman at the mercy of the men in her life who is married to the ill fated George Boelyn. The character was a strong one, if a little damaged. I think the role of Queen Anne will be an easy one for her to fill. She's had the practice of acting as you would in a court setting, and Queen Anne will be an opportunity to spread those wings that much further.

Mila Jovovich is another name that should definitely be noted in this upcoming release. After finding that the director for Musketeers (Paul W.S. Anderson) is also responsible for directing Resident Evil  and Resident Evil: Afterlife it doesn't come as much of a surprise that Mila was cast in this movie. She'll be playing M'Lady De Winter who in short, is the bad.......girl, of the story. And based on what you see of her in the trailer, she's a force to be reckoned with! She's amazing in everything I've seen her in, and Musketeers will be no exception.

The Musketeers themselves, Porthos, Athos and Aramis are played by Ray Stevenson, (Punisher: War Zone, King Arthur) Matthew McFadden, (Pillars of the Earth, Pride and Prejudice) and Luke Evans (Clash of the Titans, Robin Hood) respectively. All are faces I recognize, but with the exception of Ray Stevenson, I haven't seen them in roles that were as actions packed as I'm expecting to see in Musketeers. Most recently I saw Matthew McFadden in the miniseries Pillars of the Earth where he played a rather mild mannered Prior, so I'm very interested to see how he does as a Musketeer.

Finally, we have Orlando Bloom as The Duke of Buckingham and Christoph Waltz as Cardinal Richelieu. So, the cast is definitely top notch.

For me however, whenever a movie is made of any kind of classic literature, integrity to the original story is just as important as anything else, maybe even a little more. Unfortunately, this is a Dumas novel that I have not read, and since the trailer is so short, and the plot summary so succinct, its hard to determine how true this movie will stay to Dumas' original work. Of course the release date isn't until October, so I have plenty of time to get that novel under my belt.

I have very high hopes for this movie, based on the cast and director. What I've seen in the trailer looks great, and that's only the teaser trailer. Time will tell, but I would bet money that this is a movie that my boyfriend and I will add to our +400 strong DVD collection.

Fast Five - Coming April 29, 2011

Director - Justin Lin
Lead Actors
Brian O'Conner - Paul Walker
Dominic Toretto - Vin Diesel
Hobbs - Dwayne Johnson
Mia Toretto - Jordana Brewster
Roman Pearce - Tyrese Gibson
Tej - Ludacris
Han - Sung Kang

Today I'm going to tackle Fast Five! If there's one thing my boyfriend is into as much as comic book movies, its car movies, especially the Fast franchise.

So I gotta ask, am I the only one that spends an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out where in the story line each new Fast movie fits in with the others? If I am, this next part will be just for my own peace of mind, if not, you're welcome!

Release Order                                                                         
The Fast and the Furious                                                          
2 Fast 2 Furious                                                                       
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift                                     
Fast and Furious                                                                      
Fast Five                                                                                   


Storyline Order
The Fast and the Furious
2 Fast 2 Furious
Fast and Furious
Fast Five 
The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift 


There, now that we've got that out of the way......

The Fast franchise is a movie franchise that I know I will be seeing in theaters, no matter what, opening night if my boyfriend has anything to say about it, and I gotta be honest, every time I hear that there's a new sequel/prequel in the offing, my eyes involuntarily roll back in my head. I mean really, how many times can they try and make a story with almost no room for creativity fresh?

Dom does bad things, but he's not really a bad guy. Brian's a good guy, but he does bad things to get the bad guys, but maybe he's really a bad guy pretending to be a good guy. Hot chicks, fast cars. Okay so its pretty obvious why these movies appeal to the men that they're so blatantly marketed to. I will admit however, that Fast Five does have an unexpected draw for me in the form of my absolute, hands down favorite specimen of male perfection in Hollywood. (In my opinion) Dwayne Johnson? Yes please!

When I heard there was another Fast movie coming out, I considered telling my boyfriend I would see something else the day he goes to see Fast Five, but its no big secret among people that know me that if Dwayne Johnson is in it, that's really all I need to know, I'm in! Notably in the trailers, there's a big hand to hand fight scene between Dwayne Johnson's character Hobbs and Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel). Now ladies, let's be honest, the way that guys get all worked up to see two girls going at it, it works the other way too, and this will undoubtedly be one of those scenes.

What's more, Fast Five is the first movie that will unite cast members from all of the previous four movies. With the exception of Letty played by Michelle Rodriguez in the first and fourth movies, by release date, the whole gang's shown up for this one. Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), Tej, (Ludacris), Mia Toretto (Jordana Brewster)  and my favourite character in the series, Han played by Sung Kang. Could it be that reuniting all key players from previous movies for the first time will be the last hurrah for this franchise?

Personally I doubt it. As far as I can tell, as long as a movie makes money, there's possibility for a sequel, or in the case of the Fast franchise, a prequel/sequel. My suspicion is that as long as the key actors (Paul Walker and Vin Diesel) are willing to continue to make these movies, there will always be a writer, director and studio willing to back it.

One thing I do have to say strongly in favour of this series, the ladies of the Fast franchise have never been push overs, and I love that. I love seeing Mia get behind the wheel of a sexy, fast car and drive it every bit as well as her brother.

Fast Five  will be the first movie in the franchise to be released in IMAX. Hmmmmm 72 towering feet of Dwayne Johnson physique? Nothin' bad about that! IMAX does however have another draw for me with this movie. Do you know that feeling you get deep in your gut when an expensive car drives past you on the street? That rumble from the engine that's enough to make you follow the car with your eyes as long as you can. Well, in IMAX, the sound of the cars, which to me is every bit as sexy as the look, will undoubtedly be felt right through you. Sweet!

All in all, I don't doubt that this movie will be another hit for the franchise. It has such a hard core fan base, and with almost all the main characters back, there's just that much more possibility for mayhem. I wouldn't say I'm super excited to see this movie, and one viewing for these movies has always been more than enough for me, but I don't think I'll be disappointed either.