I mostly just stick to reviews, but I figured I’d get others talking about some of the stuff I’m interested in. As the title of this post suggests, there’s some interesting new releases coming out soon.

The first film in the “Upcoming Movies” section is a little film entitled Moon. This one looks a little trippy. The synopsis, according to the official site is as follows:

“It is the near future. Astronaut Sam Bell is living on the far side of the moon, completing a three-year contract with Lunar Industries to mine Earth’s primary source of energy, Helium-3. It is a lonely job, made harder by a broken satellite that allows no live communications home. Taped messages are all Sam can send and receive. Thankfully, his time on the moon is nearly over, and Sam will be reunited with his wife, Tess, and their three-year-old daughter, Eve, in only a few short weeks. Finally, he will leave the isolation of “Sarang,” the moon base that has been his home for so long, and he will finally have someone to talk to beyond “Gerty,” the base’s well-intentioned, but rather uncomplicated computer. Suddenly, Sam’s health starts to deteriorate. Painful headaches, hallucinations and a lack of focus lead to an almost fatal accident on a routine drive on the moon in a lunar rover. While recuperating back at the base (with no memory of how he got there), Sam meets a younger, angrier version of himself, who claims to be there to fulfill the same three year contract Sam started all those years ago. Confined with what appears to be a clone of his earlier self, and with a “support crew” on its way to help put the base back into productive order, Sam is fighting the clock to discover what’s going on and where he fits into company plans.”

…And yes that’s Kevin Spacey as the voice of the Gerty the computer.

The next film has been out for a while, so it’s not really “upcoming” but I figured I’d mention it. It’s a new one from Steven Soderbergh called The Girlfriend Experience. The synopsis for this one is:

“Set in the weeks leading up to the 2008 presidential election, “The Girlfriend Experience” is five days in the life of Chelsea (adult film star Sasha Grey in her mainstream film debut), an ultra high-end Manhattan call girl who offers more than sex to her clients, but companionship and conversation – “the girlfriend experience.” Chelsea thinks she has her life totally under control—she feels her future is secure because she runs her own business her own way, makes $2000 an hour, and has a devoted boyfriend (Chris Santos) who accepts her lifestyle. But when you’re in the business of meeting people, you never know who you’re going to meet…”

If it is out of theaters, it will be on DVD soon.

The next film is a new one from Martin Scorsese entitled Shutter Island. It’s been a while since Scorsese has done anything like this but I would definitely qualify this film as being “creepy”. The synopsis is as follows:

“From Oscar®-winning director Martin Scorsese, “Shutter Island” is the story of two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), who are summoned to a remote and barren island off the cost of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island’s fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane.”

Finally, the last film is one I’m really looking forward to. It comes out in August and it’s called The Time Traveler’s Wife. I love Rachel McAdams and would watch her in anything. Not only is she gorgeous, but she’s a terrific actress. This actually looks like a good romantic dramedy. The synopsis is:

“‘The Time Traveler’s Wife’ is based on the best-selling book about a love that transcends time. Clare (Rachel McAdams) has been in love with Henry (Eric Bana) her entire life. She believes they are destined to be together, even though she never knows when they will be separated: Henry is a time traveler—cursed with a rare genetic anomaly that causes him to live his life on a shifting timeline, skipping back and forth through his lifespan with no control. Despite the fact that Henry’s travels force them apart with no warning, Clare desperately tries to build a life with her one true love.”

In TV News…

I’m really becoming obsessed with AMC. I know, of all channels to be obsessed with, this is the one I choose. I can’t help it. From a writing perspective, their new slogan, “Story Matters Here” seems to be true. They’ve got only two shows on currently, Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Both of which are amazingly well written and the control seems to be in the hands of the creators themselves. Matthew Weiner runs Mad Men and Vince Gilligan, one of my favorite X-Files writers, runs Breaking Bad.

I’m encouraging anyone reading this to check out these shows. I’ve just started watching them and both are brilliant. You can watch the pilots for yourselves HERE and tell me if you agree!

The other reason I think that AMC honors their slogan is because they just green-lit their third show, entitled Rubicon. They take their time with shows because again, story matters. Most channels that offer original programming get many shows all at once. Not AMC. I don’t know why, but I have a lot of confidence in these guys working there.

Check out the full scoop on Rubicon HERE

HBO also has a new show entitled Hung. It stars Thomas Jane as a male prostitute. I really don’t need to give any more detail than that. It speaks for itself!

The other HBO news is about the second Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks WWII epic entitled The Pacific.

AND THE FINAL PIECE OF NEWS IN THIS LONG ASS POST…

Kevin Smith is coming to the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, Saturday September 19th @ 8pm. I bought my tickets, and so should you.

The Michigan Theater

Leave a comment, let’s talk about all this stuff. I’m excited, aren’t you?

Written by Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman

Directed by Michael Bay

Maybe I’m not qualified to write this review. I was never a huge Transformers fan as a kid. Sure I had the toys and played with them often, but I never knew the different Autobot names, nor that they were in fact called “Autobots”. At any rate I will say that the first film was not bad. Yes, there was a lot of pointless characters (many of which ended up being under served anyway) and yes, the comedy felt forced in a lot of places and I could go on and on. However, for me it worked because it was more of an introduction to the actual bots themselves that I never had when I was a kid. Enough said.

Read more…

Written by Bob Peterson, Pete Docter and Thomas McCarthy

Directed by Bob Peterson and Pete Docter

I’ll admit this early on: I’m very partial to PIXAR films. I have seen all but one film from the company and I never walk away disappointed. I’ll also go on to say, as much as I’ll fear for my life after posting this, that I loved this film even more than Wall*E. My primary reason is simple enough, Wall*E is a story about love and Up is focused more on friendship and loyalty. I also need to mention my love for one character in particular in this film, and that’s Dug the dog. Never before in anything I have watched has a dog been more accurately portrayed than Dug.

Read more…

Pixar has become one of the most respected movie studios, consistently releasing movies of superior quality. Up adds to Pixar’s winning track record. Make sure to check out the website at www.thefilmassassins.com for more reviews and news. You can leave a comment or email us at contact@thefilmassassins.com.