Thanks to the success of their Helldriver screening, the Philly Japan Arts Matsuri are back and planning another great event to benefit the Philadelphia-Japan Disaster Relief Fund. This time they are presenting 3 back-to-back nights of Japanese films currently hitting the festival circuit, as well as some great music.
The Dock Street Brewery is gearing up for another great season of Tuesday night movies, and this summer the focus seems to be on some great films of one of my favorite decades gone by… the 80′s.
Films start at 8:30pm on the big screen, with happy hour pricing on select beers of the night. You can also score $1 off small / $2 off large pizzas. Delicious, delicious pizzas.
Green Lantern is the story of Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds), a hotshot pilot who is chosen by a ring from a dying alien (Abin Sur) to join the Green Lantern Corps; an organization fueled by the power of will, that combats a new alien threat destroying worlds, who does so with the power of fear.
There is an overwhelming amount of mythology and back story forced on the viewer in the first act, that will make diehards happy, but likely overwhelm the casual viewer. Ryan carries the cast through this slick mostly CG adventure that takes almost an hour to gain momentum.
Story and pacing issues, coupled with some forgettable performances, make Green Lantern the weak link of this summer’s comic book blockbuster season.
Want to see some great films this summer, but don’t have a whole lot of money to spend? Josh Goldblum (the creative director for the 2011 Cinefest) is also curating Awesomefest at the Piazza in Northern Liberties, running all summer long.
Playing some old favorites and some films that are still on the festival circuit, Awesomefest looks to be an eclectic mix of great films to supplement the summer blockbuster season.
While the screenings are outdoors and free, there is a Kickstarter to help support the screenings which are coming out of pocket for Josh. Funds will also go towards doing some fun things in addition to the programming.
You can get more info on the Awesomefest and the screenings from their site here.
Tickets are still available for the next installment of the Filmadelphia Classics series, this time showing Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler. The film will be shown at the Asylum Arena in South Philadelphia (where portions of the film were shot) this Wednesday, June 15 at 7:30pm. Tickets can be purchased here.
The wrestler is the story of an aging professional wrestler who continues to wrestle in an attempt to cling on to his 1980s heyday despite his failing health, all while trying to mend his relationship with his estranged daughter.
Super 8, which opens today, is quite simply the summer film we have all be waiting for. The film stands alone as the most original offering this summer and a well needed respite for the film goer looking for a great narrative that won’t have you on Wikipedia when you get home from the theater.
Super 8 takes us back to 1979, and is the story of a group of teenagers that, while shooting a zombie film, accidentally witness a horrific train wreck. During the wreck, a mysterious creature is let loose, and the film then turns into a mixture of Cloverfieldand The Goonies as the kids try to finish their film while strange things are afoot in their small town.
Green Lantern, which opens Friday, June 17th, may very well be the most anticipated comic book film this summer. This probably is due to it being the first big budget DC adaptation that has nothing to do with The Dark Knight. The film stars Ryan Reynolds as the Lantern and is directed by Martin Campbell, who gave us one of my favorite Bond films, Casino Royale.
For those not familiar with Green Lantern, here it the official synopsis:
“In a universe as vast as it is mysterious, a small but powerful force has existed for centuries. Protectors of peace and justice, they are called the Green Lantern Corps. A brotherhood of warriors sworn to keep intergalactic order, each Green Lantern wears a ring that grants him superpowers.
But when a new enemy called Parallax threatens to destroy the balance of power in the Universe, their fate and the fate of Earth lie in the hands of their newest recruit, the first human ever selected: Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds).”
Want to win a pass for two to see the film next Wednesday, June 15th, at the UA King of Prussia? We have 15 passes for 2. Simply comment with your favorite Ryan Reynolds film and why, and you could possibly be checking out the film early thanks to Warner Brothers. Check out the trailer below!
The contest will be over and the winners will be notified that Monday, Good Luck!
X-Men: First Class is a great return to form for a franchise whose last entry was probably one of the worst superhero films in the last 5 years (I’m the Juggernaut Bitch! anyone?). While the film is more a reboot than a direct sequel, it once again takes a “timey-wimey” look at the X-Men character story-lines and gives you yet another “save the world while the mutants fight amongst themselves” scenario for your summer viewing pleasure.
Taking place during the Cuban Missile Crisis, we get a heavily stylistic and frantic look at the origin of the X-Men, the Xavier School For the Gifted and one of the greatest bromances gone wrong (Professor X and Magneto) in comic book history. The film moves at a breakneck pace and covers an immense amount of ground during its 2+ hour running time and could have easily been 2 films.
Brave New Worlds once again sets the stage on Friday, June 3rd, from 6-9pm for another awesome First Friday. Expect some truly great renditions of all things TMNT, and a special guest appearance by the Turtle Van, which will be on site throughout the show!
You can check out a preview of the show on the The Autumn Society ‘s blog here. After checking out some of the great pieces that will be on display, I definitely can’t wait to see what else they have in store for the event. See ya there!
Disney was nice enough to send me two of their biggest releases that are available in stores todayI Am Number Four and Gnomeo & Juliet on Blu-ray + DVD, and I am going to give both of them away to one lucky reader.
I Am Number Four was a fun young-adult sci-fi romp that debuts in a Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy release that has the following extras:
DVD:
“Becoming Number 6” Featurette
Bloopers
Blu-ray: Everything on the DVD plus…
6 Deleted Scenes with Introductions by Director D.J. Caruso
“Strangers in Paradise” (Extended)
“Sam’s Mom”
“Worth Mentioning”
“Power Prank”
“Trying to Connect”
“Extended Warsaw Basement”
Gnomeo & Juliet was a CG look into the secret live of garden gnomes by the same director as Shrek 2, and comes out today in a DVD + Blu-ray edition as well.
Wan to win this great combo of Disney Blu-rays? Simply comment with why you want these two discs in your collection and the best (and/or most entertaining comment) will win both discs! Good luck!
Hobo with a Shotgun the film that started its life as the winning entry from the trailer contest held by Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, finally hit Philadelphia theaters this past Friday, May 20th. iIt’s in town for one week only. I caught this film on VOD when it was first released back in April, and I am looking forward to checking it out on the big screen.
Hobo with a Shotgun is pure genre and exploitation perfection. From the look of the film to the fantastic soundtrack, this film transcends simply being an homage to those films of the 70s/80s and take its own place as one of the new genre classics. The film is unapologetic, ultraviolent and delivers on its namesake, which is all you can ask for from a movie called Hobo with a Shotgun.
I loved Hobo with a Shotgun and give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars and highly suggest it to genre fans, or if you enjoyed SUPER. You can catch it at the Ritz at the Bourse all week long.
If you haven’t seen the footage of the Bollywood sci-fi musical epic The Robot or Endhiran directed by Superstar S. Shankar that has been floating around the internet you probably should stop reading this review and check it out here on Youtube.
Now that you have seen that insanity, the next question that comes to mind is can that film sustain itself for 3+ hours at that level without burning itself out. Well I am here to tell you surprisingly yes it can.
When I first saw that The Robot was playing this year at Cinefest, I definitely made it one of my must sees for the festival. Not only was I curious about seeing the footage in its true context, there also seemed something else behind the insanity that drew me in.
Robot at its heart is a love story; it is the story of Dr. Vaseegaran a scientist that has been laxing as being the boyfriend he should be and that has put quite a strain on his relationship. This is because he has been tucked away laboring the last few months on his greatest creation, an android he hopes to give to India’s army to save on the death toll war has taken on the men of his country.
