Trailer Tuesday: Tron Legacy

At this point, nine months out, I’m not sure there’s anything we can say here about Tron Legacy that hasn’t already been said from what little we’ve seen. Andy’s not so hot on Tron Legacy. I think it looks exciting, slick and am chomping at the bit.

Tron‘s first theatrical trailer– the one debuted before Alice in Wonderland– has been released to the internet. Judging by the $114 million haul Alice made over the weekend, most of you have probably already seen its combination of adrenal kicking rhythm, crackling energy and uber-fine visuals, but that doesn’t make repeat viewings look any less sexy or thrilling. With Jeff Bridges’ recent stock  increase thanks to a Best Actor win, by the time December rolls around and Disney’s hyper-refined marketing machine’s had another nine months to play it up, Tron Legacy should be incredibly high profile.

Long term success will obviously boil down to whether director Joseph Kosinski has made a good movie, but I have yet to see anything that says he hasn’t.

In the mean time, enjoy… or enjoy more by viewing the Tron Legacy trailer in larger, sexier HD right here.

Crazy Heart Behind the Scenes Featurette

We sung the praises of Crazy Heart on tonight’s KVNU Movie Show, but if you’re still unsure on whether or not to give the film a shot, check out this behind-the-scenes featurette from Fox Searchlight. Happy Friday!

Movie Review: Crazy Heart

The first thing you should know about Crazy Heart – a simple yet searing portrait of a tired and broken country music artist named Bad Blake – is it will bring to Jeff Bridges (Iron Man) his first-ever Academy Award win out of five nominations over the last 40 years.  You should also know if you live in Cache Valley and plan to see this movie, you’ll have to head south to Ogden, where it’s showing at the Megaplex 13 at The Junction.  With all the crap jam packed into the multiplexes lately, Crazy Heart is a burst of fresh, inspiring cinema, driven by the haunting old school twang of the film’s soundtrack and the emotionally resonant acting from Bridges.

Crazy Heart is directed by Scott Cooper and adapted from the 1987 novel of the same name, written by Thomas Cobb. The main character, Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) is a mélange of country and Western music bad boys, namely Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard. Blake’s past is best summed up in a line from one of his songs, “I used to be somebody, but now I am somebody else.” The person he is now is an alcoholic drifter, wandering from one small-town, low-paying gig to another, all the while splitting time between cheap motels and his dilapidated old car. It’s never fully explained, but part of Blake’s wandering seems to revolve around a former protégé, Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell), and the assumption he’s left Blake alone in the wake and dust of his newfound success.

… Continue Reading

Movie Review (Dan’s Take): Crazy Heart

Some of cinemas most satisfying experiences can be found in small, quiet movies. The kind that don’t bowl you over with strength of their story, but rather the subtle unwrapping of their soul. Films whose strengths expand on the accessibility of its characters thanks in large part to actors who lose themselves in their roles. Crazy Heart is one of those films and Jeff Bridges is one of those actors.

If you’ve seen the trailer for Crazy Heart, you’ve sampled its flavor. Crazy Heart wears its emotions on its sleeve, gently allowing the audience into a simple country song captured on film: a story about a washed-up drunk, love and aching redemption. Crazy Heart‘s emotionally resounding  strength lies in its ability to avoid the kind of heavy-handed drama easily injected into a film about real-life blues, real-life mistakes and the man who succumbs to them. At times, Crazy Heart‘s events hint perilously close to cliche, but director and writer Scott Cooper, propelled almost single-handedly by Jeff Bridges, delivers an emotionally rich character arc that kindly averts the easy ledge and keeps things both authentically grounded and achingly real.

… Continue Reading

Tron Time is Sexy Time

I’m a sucker for visual/art/production design. Which explains why Andy’s correctly dubbed me a Bluray whore and why on Tuesday Pandorum (review here) made off with $20 of my hard-earned stripping dollars, why I periodically revisit the vile Alien: Resurrection and why The Spirit is shaming Spider-Man 3 and Starship Troopers on my Bluray shelf. It’s also why, whether Tron Legacy will be good or bad, I get all slobbery when I think forward (way, way off in the distance forward) to seeing the thing when it finally hits theaters –in 3D, of course– come December.

Every bit of Tron Legacy artwork and image that’s come down the internet fire hose has been super-sexy. SUPER sexy. So I kind of envy the fact Los Angelinos get to ogle an extra helping of Tron Legacy images thanks to Disney’s LA-based Tron billboard. The old-timey (what- no internet?) marketing campaign started in December (above!-click for bigness) and Disney’s since updated the billboard for January (below!). They’ll continue updating every month until Santa comes back. So far, the images have only been shots of the iconic Light Cycles– aka, Neon Motorcycles that grow out of dudes’ asses backs.

Awesome.

I can’t say if, beyond the “apple and Droid had a baby” motif, Tron Legacy as a film will be as invigorating as its design, but that’s OK. I’m happily soaking up the eye candy in the mean time. Join me, won’t you?

(Want bigger? Click to see the larger version at MTV)

Ryan Bingham Sings The Weary Kind from Crazy Heart

Crazy Heart is in limited release so I’ve been forbidden to post my review yet, but I will say this – it is definitely one of the year’s best films. It’s like a kinder, gentler, blue-sky version of last year’s The Wrestler. One of the film’s strengths is the soundtrack, especially the song “The Weary Kind.” Jeff Bridges, Robert Duvall and Collin Farrell all sing on the soundtrack, due out on January 19th, 2010.

Ryan Bingham co-wrote the song with T-Bone Burnett and the duo scored a Golden Globe nomination last week for Best Original Song. You probably recognized Burnett’s name, as he produced the soundtrack for Walk the Line and worked with the Coen brothers for 2002′s O Brother, Where Are Thou (he won an Album of the Year Grammy award for that soundtrack). I hadn’t heard of Bingham until Crazy Heart, but that’s because I don’t listen to alternative country music, or any country for that matter. Even still, Bingham’s got a melodic, raspy, whiskey-meets-velvet voice and I think you’ll enjoy the live performance of “The Weary Kind” below.

Tron Legacy Poster is Actually Not Lame

You know, for a movie I still think is going to suck the sweat off a dead man’s gut sack, this Tron Legacy poster is pretty sweet. The movie opens on December 10, 2010 and is directed by Joseph Kosinski. That’s not a household name to anyone but Joseph’s mother, but Halo fans might get a nerdgasm to learn he was the director of the “Starry Night” commercial that aired back in December 2006. This is Kosinski’s first feature film. If you’re wondering about the plot of Tron Legacy, here’s what Disney has to say via an official press release:

Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidante (Olivia Wilde), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.

Click the poster above to supersize and, as always, let us know if your stoked to see this, or if you think it will be a steaming pile of peanut sauce.

Trailer Tuesday: Crazy Heart

Jeff Bridges is one of my favorite actors, so reading he’s receiving Oscar buzz for his portrayal of an alcoholic country singer in Crazy Heart comes as no surprise. Whether he’s resurrecting a deer in Starman, drinking a White Russian in The Big Lebowski, or chucking Robert Downey Jr. into a bus in Iron Man, the guy is 100 percent solid. Add to the cast the equally dependable Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Dark Knight) and Robert Duvall (We Own the Night), as well as the underrated Colin Farrell (In Bruges), and I think you indeed have a movie with some awards potential.

Check out the trailer below and share your thoughts. Like many other movies generating Oscar buzz, Crazy Heart is only available in limited release on December 16. I think it looks fantastic. What say ye?

Mustachio. Goatee. Mustachio. Goat.

Not long ago, we shared the trailer for the quirky, funny, golden-cast The Men Who Stare at Goats. It’s pure sell, magic and win-win… and I haven’t even seen it yet. So what’s up with all the premature prognosticating?

This poster. Sure, it may be a liiiiittle too Burn After Reading-esque, but those hairy new age faces, peacefully smiling at the honor of serving both country and The Age of Aquarius, are sublime.

Tron: Legacy Gets Release Date, Internet Collectively Yawns

Best. Picture. Ever. Tron Mooseknuckles is set for a 12/2012 release.

Wow, December of 2010 is shaping up, at least to this film fan, to be a real slice of stink. So far the lineup for 12/10 includes The Smurfs, Yogi Bear and The Green Hornet. I don’t know about you, but that sounds like two potential rivals to the suck created by Alvin and The Chipmunks, and a Seth Rogan movie that willl most likely go down in flames. Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but I get no sense of excitement or creativity with any of those titles. Smells like burnt fruitcake to me.

Hollywood is currently stuck (and probably has been for a few years now) in this dark love funk of all things 1980s. This explains the constant barrage of 80s craptastic TV heading to the big screen, as well as Hollywood’s leg-hugging and re-introduction of  the never-was-cool, never-will-be-cool gimmick that is 3D movies. But I digress. This post is really about Tron: Legacy and how it’s scheduled to hit multiplexes in 3D on December 17, 2010. 1980s Tron was lame. No reason to suspect this won’t be even lamer. Jeff Bridges. Pfft! Sellout!