A FANTASTIC FEAR OF EVERYTHING
Release Date: February 7, 2014
What it’s about: A former children’s author seemingly loses his mind.
What it’s got working for it: It’s certainly unique and inventive-looking.
What’s it’s got going against it: Pegg’s movies are hit or miss. Even going off the trailer, it’s hard to say what to make of this one.
AFTER THE DARK
Release Date: February 7, 2014
What it’s about: Twenty college students must ride out the coming apocalypse in a bomb shelter.
What it’s got working for it: It’s like Survivor except that the eliminated contestants die.
What’s it’s got going against it: Uh, I’m not exactly sure what’s going on in the trailer. Is it real? An exercise? An exercise that turns out to be real? Or – WORSE OF ALL – reality that actually turns out to be an exercise all along? I’m going to go with the latter.
KIDS FOR CASH
Release Date: February 7, 2014
What it’s about: Did a small town judge paid off to sentence kids to juvenile prison?
What it’s got working for it: A fascinating true-life account.
What’s it’s got going against it: A potentially inconclusive conclusion.
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE
Release Date: February 7, 2014
What it’s about: A corporate retreat goes horribly (hilariously?) wrong.
What it’s got working for it: Some very funny people.
What’s it’s got going against it: And some unintentionally funny people as well. Jean-Claude Van Damme? Comedic genius?
THE RETURNED
Release Date: February 14, 2014
What it’s about: A cure for zombie-ism creates moral and ethical issues. Also, lots of killing.
What it’s got working for it: An interesting take on the zombie genre.
What’s it’s got going against it: Some of the performances in that trailer are even more horrific than the walking dead.
THE WIND RISES
Release Date: February 21, 2014
What it’s about: The major events of 20th century Japan as experienced by an idealist young Engineer.
What it’s got working for it: Miyazaki makes beautiful movies.
What’s it’s got going against it: Sometimes, however, the stories leave a little to be desired. Loved Totoro, Castle in the Sky, and Spirited Away. Not so much Ponyo or Howl’s Moving Castle.
THE BAG MAN
Release Date: February 28, 2014
What it’s about: A tough guy get more than he bargained for when he agrees to deliver a mysterious bag for a powerful mobster.
What it’s got working for it: Its coming across as a more accessible David Lynch movie.
What’s it’s got going against it: At times, it looks downright silly. And not good silly. If there is such a thing.
STALINGRAD
Release Date: February 28, 2014
What it’s about: The battle of Stalingrad.
What it’s got working for it: It looks epic.
What’s it’s got going against it: The fact that its subtitled and may turn off the average film-goer.
WELCOME TO YESTERDAY
Release Date: February 28, 2014
What it’s about: A group of teenagers build themselves a time machine.
What it’s got working for it: I love a good time travel story.
What’s it’s got going against it: And absolutely despise the bad ones.
A gentle reminder that our Stargate: Atlantis re-watch kicks off tomorrow, January 31st, with the opener that started it all: Rising I. Watch tomorrow, then be prepared to discuss on Saturday. I WILL be checking to make sure everybody did their homework!
And another gentle reminder that our Book of the Month Club returns with a discussion, Monday March 3rd, of Marko Kloos’s Terms of Enlistment. That’s over a month away so there’s no excuse for not participating!
I’m broke, so I requested Terms of Enlistment through the library. They didn’t have it locally, so will have to make a nationwide request. It’s not looking very hopeful atm. 🙁 And, of course, now that I can’t have it I really want to read it!
das
Do you have a kindle?
Subtitles don’t bother me. I’ll go for Stalingrad. The rest I might accidentally miss. (But not Atlantis and the book club!)
Dear Mr. Mallozzi:
Please excuse Grandma from the BOM read this month. She is busy with me and my dogs and kitties and cleaning and cooking and settling in our new house. Love, Michael/Anakin
No, Joey…no fancy contraptions in our house…unless you count the trapeze… 😉
das
@das… I sure would NOT call a Kindle a “fancy contraption”, a trapeze, well yes. You can read Kindle books with the free Android app available on Amazon, or you can also download their free app for Windows PC. You don’t need the eReader device (Kindle).
http://www.amazon.com/Amazon-com-Kindle-for-Android/dp/B004DLPXAO/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1391127397&sr=8-3&keywords=kindle+app+for+pc
http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000426311
Terms of Enlistment eBook:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=node%3D154606011&field-keywords=Terms+of+Enlistment
Happy reading! I loved this book.
2cats
Terms is out on paperback Das. http://www.amazon.com/Terms-Enlistment-Frontlines-Marko-Kloos/dp/1477809783/ref=tmm_pap_title_0
“What it’s about: A tough guy get more than he bargained for when he agrees to deliver a mysterious bag for a powerful mobster.”
Um, isn’t that “The Transporter”?
The rest of those movies – I don’t know. I’ve gotten so jaded about movies that I automatically assume they’re terrible and they have to be darn good to convince me otherwise.
I’m HOPING that the email that I got from Amazon.ca is wrong and my copy of the BOM is going to ship earlier than the LAST WEEK OF FEBRUARY! Ugh.
I’ll have to do some mighty fast speed reading, if so.
I’m actually headed to NH (I think I said that yesterday) for the weekend so I will sadly miss the first few episodes of SGA. It pains me to do so, but – you know. Need some R&R time, after tonight finally getting the last of my step-mom’s furniture moved into her new room at the nursing home.
*so very tired*
Hey Joe
That Simon Pegg film seems to be right up my alley. Thanks!
Elminster
I like real books. The paper kind. No Kindle for me.
I might go for the The Wind Rises. I like a lot of MIyazaki’s stuff. Including Howl (though the books were better) – which was probably too romantic for you, Joe. I wonder if it will be on any big screens near me, though. A lot of the places around here don’t do foreign movies much.
Stalingrad looks interesting, too, but my previous comment applies to that one, too.
Ready for SGA – queued up in the DVD.
My book is ordered and will be on the way tomorrow!
Um, Joe? Not to be nit-picky but you posted the link the The Returned instead of one for The Wind Rises.
nothing like writing a nice long post….then losing it. ah well. it was too long anyways.
DVDs of SGA….check. Terms of Enlistment ordered and arriving tomorrow…check. Speaking of which. Das, I am willing to ship you the book, with return postage, by the end of next week if you like. just let me know if you are interested
All the movies….a few potential good ones in there. In the Jungle looks perfect for a few brainless laughs. After the Dark has potential too, though I expect they will wimp out on the ending. As for Stalingrad, I find it hard to cheer for the Soviets, even against the Nazis. And I have always thought Stalingrad stole attention from the more crucial, and far more ruthless siege of Leningrad. Given the brutality of both the Soviet and German army during world war two. I can’t see either side as being heroes. The civilians of Leningrad, on the other hand….
Thanks for pointing out these new movies, something to look forward to.
Hi Joe: I, also, may not be able to join you all on the book of the month review. I got this message from Amazon yesterday:
Hello from Amazon.ca.
We now have delivery date(s) for the order you placed on January 13, 2014 (Order# xxx). We’ve listed the item(s) listed below with the expected delivery date(s):
Kloos, Marko “Terms of Enlistment”
Estimated arrival date: February 25, 2014 – March 03, 2014
Sigh…..
Oh, also, for security reasons, could you please delete my order number? I forgot. Thanks, Joe.
@ thornyrose01, et al – Thanks very much, but a certain birdy told me that the book is already on its way. I really appreciate it!
RE: Kindle – I tried to read a short story on one of them, and hated the entire experience. Not sure why. I was very distracted by it – kept wanting to play spider solitaire instead. 🙂 Electronic devices seem to set off my ADD something terrible, and I find it very hard to read anything that’s too long on a screen – probably why I sometimes read Joe’s blog in sections. Oddly enough, it doesn’t stop me from writing lengthy epistles on that same said blog. 😛
das
@Joe:
I like time travel stories too, but Welcome to Yesterday looks like it’s going to fall short of the mark. I’ll rate it a miss until I hear otherwise.
I’m all set on the SGA re-watch; I’ll just need to copy over a few of the episodes for my travels next week.
@Tam Dixon:
I won’t have much time for getting fancy on my meals with all the driving I’ll be doing, but I’ll probably be eating at Papa Bucks BBQ sometime while I’m in Twin City. It’s become a favorite when I visit. Other than that, it may be grab and go. I’ll just have to see.
When I go back to Savannah in September, I’ll definitely be getting some Blue Crabs at the Crab Shack and I will hopefully find a couple of boiled peanut stands. And then there’s the Pink House and Paula Deen’s place, so that trip should be more of a culinary adventure.
I am curious to see how the filmmakers handled the Kids for Cash movie. I want to see if they take a different angle than Michael Moore did when he talked about it in Capitalism: A Love Story. I got to watch this terrible thing unfold on my local news as I live less than an hour from Luzerne County, PA. The potentially inconclusive conclusion is very true because I still believe they haven’t fully resolved it. I think there is still a lot of outstanding lawsuits.
My New Year Resolution was to comment more, participate in BOM and not lurk so much. Here is to starting a little late!
But Stalingrad is from 1993?! Hardly a new movie…
Sorry, you’re right, there is a new Stalingrad movie. Watched the trailer – you picked the wrong picture. It’s Stalingrad 3D…
Ah, Jean-Claude is always a fun watch. For a drinking game night.
Hi Joe! I thought Baron Destucto might like this Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/#!/susiesseniordogs . It highlights senior dogs who need homes.
Well, hmm. Hollywood is definitely running out of good ideas for movies. Either that or they’re getting worse at making trailers. None of these trailers really entice me to want to see these movies. Some of them I feel like I’ve already got everything I need from them. No need to spend the $12 to go see it. I have no idea what The Bag Man is supposed to be about and Welcome to the Jungle….all that’s missing from the trailer is the reveal that the whole thing(including the pilot “dying”) was planned all along and that it was part of the work retreat “package” deal. Seen it: Anger Management.
The only two that really stand out are Simon Pegg’s movie and Welcome to Yesterday. I’ve always had an appreciation for British comedy, I get it, so this one might be enjoyable. I didn’t catch the director though. If it’s Edgar Wright, I’m in for certain.
Welcome to Yesterday looks like it’s a nice spin on a time travel movie, but with Michael Bay behind it, I’m not expecting too much. Besides, it looks like it’s just Bruce Almighty with time traveling teens instead of one man’s newfound omnipotence with a little bit of Super 8 thrown in. Basically another “you CAN’T have your cake and eat it, too” movie.
-Mike A.
I wonder how many more times Miyazaki will announce that he’s retired, and then retract? He’s done it a few times now. I think he deserves a full on retirement, he’s 73 now, he’s done enough for the anime industry, he needs that break. I admire his will to do more movies but surely he needs to take a well deserved break.
Hey Joe
Just got home from a long day at work (day? hell, it was a long week) and going to put Rising in the the Blu Ray, come to think of it, it’ll be the first time watching in HD. Am I in for better thrills?
Elminster
Joe, I don’t understand how you can watch Stargate completely backwards. Wouldn’t it be better to start at the beginning so that each episode has context?
The original movie, then SG1, then SGA, then SGU… the way god intended.
Finally! After the Dark (originally The Philosophers – a title I preferred) is coming out. I think I saw this trailer a year and a half ago for the first time. I think it looks brilliant. I also hope that at the end, it truly is only a thought experiment. Sure, it takes away the dramatic things that happened, but when he talks about iterations…well, I only wish I could get through to students via thought experiments as dramatic as this.
I can’t believe I’m this far behind in your blogs. Ugh. Will life ever slow down?