Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Way Too Indie http://waytooindie.com Independent film and music reviews Fri, 02 Dec 2016 17:34:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Way Too Indiecast is the official podcast of WayTooIndie.com. Our film critics grip and gush about the latest indie movies and sometimes even mainstream ones. Find all of our reviews, podcasts, news, at www.waytooindie.com Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Way Too Indie yes Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Way Too Indie dustin@waytooindie.com dustin@waytooindie.com (Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Way Too Indie) The Official Podcast of Way Too Indie Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Way Too Indie http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/waytooindie/podcast-album-art.jpg http://waytooindie.com Movies and TV to Stream This Weekend – April 1 http://waytooindie.com/news/movies-to-stream-this-weekend-april-1/ http://waytooindie.com/news/movies-to-stream-this-weekend-april-1/#respond Fri, 01 Apr 2016 13:09:25 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=44698 One of the all-time greatest films, Bicycle Thieves is on-demand this weekend, plus some other classic movies available on various streaming platforms.]]>

A few weeks back, the next big plan for day-and-date home streaming was announced: a service called The Screening Room, which would work with exhibitors and distributors to offer new theatrical releases in the comfort of your own home for a premium price of $50. There have been similar ideas and experiments in the past that ultimately fizzled out, but this one seems to have some steam—big figures in the film industry, such as Peter Jackson, Martin Scorsese, J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg, have gotten behind it. According to Deadline Hollywood, The Screening Room will have its first big moment at the upcoming CinemaCon, where it will present to exhibitors. One of the stranger aspects of The Screening Room is the presence of Sean Parker, the man behind Napster and an early investor in Facebook—he isn’t exactly a well-liked figure for many in the entertainment industries, so it might be extra difficult for him to convince the powers-that-be of mutual benefits. Certainly, a $50-per-movie streaming service isn’t ideal for everyone, but it seems to have the best chance of breaking a new aspect for streaming cinema at home.

Netflix

Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)

Sunset Boulevard movie

Recently, film critic Matt Singer wrote a piece for ScreenCrush looking at the strange ways Netflix recommends movies and television when filling their streaming gaps. An interesting realization in his research was how few of the best films of all time are currently available—at the time, only 33 of the top 250 films on IMDb. Classic films are certainly in low supply at Netflix, which makes the release of fantastic film noir Sunset Boulevard quite notable. The film won three Oscars (nominated for 11 in total—it was a big year for All About Eve) and has lived on in the cinematic consciousness as one of the best films about Hollywood. Currently #52 on IMDb’s list, the inclusion of Sunset Boulevard to Netflix alone doesn’t solve the streaming services classic film problem, but it definitely adds a must-watch film for all film lovers. On this note, Netflix has also added Stanley Kubrick double-feature A Clockwork Orange and 2001: A Space Odyssey, two other top-250 films, so maybe the message was heard.

Other titles new to Netflix this week:
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (Series, Season 6)
Archer (Series, Season 6)
The Assassin (Hou Hsiao-Hsien, 2015)
Best in Show (Christopher Guest, 2000)
Bob’s Burgers (Series, Season 5)
Breathe (Mélanie Laurent, 2014)
Hard Labor (Marco Dutra & Juliana Rojas, 2011)
Mediterranea (Jonas Carpignano, 2015)
Mountain Men (Cameron Labine, 2014)
The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987)

Fandor

No Home Movie (Chantal Akerman, 2015)

No Home Movie 2015

The same week Chantal Akerman’s final film has its limited theatrical release you are able to stream it on Fandor. No Home Movie is a documentary involving conversations Akerman had with her mother just before the mother’s death. This is a big week to explore the under-appreciated filmmaker with I Don’t Belong Anywhere, a profile of her work, also being released. After Akerman’s own death in October 2015, many film fans discovered or revisited her best work, and now that circle can be closed with her final film. Given her active presence in No Home Movie and the themes of mortality it explores, the film is a particularly resonant one.

Other titles new to Fandor this week:
The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas (Elina Psikou, 2014)
Lady Snowblood (Toshiya Fujita, 1973)
Pandora’s Box (G.W. Pabst, 1929)
Sex and Broadcasting (Tim K. Smith, 2016)
We Go Way Back (Lynn Shelton, 2006)

MUBI

The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears (Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani, 2013)

The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears movie

Filmmaking duo Cattet and Forzani’s follow up to the amazingly bizarre Italian Giallo throwback Amer shows that they are clearly all-in on their stylish influences. Though it is a bit more narratively focused, the plot of The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears is not the drawing point—the film is a kaleidoscope of insert shorts, close-ups and double images, cut to harsh music and sound effects. It is certainly not for everyone (check out our full review, for instance), but the insane nature of the film showcases auteurs who are making films like no one else today. Anyone with an interest Italian horror flicks should check out The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears on MUBI until April 28.

Other titles new to MUBI this week:
GasLand (Josh Fox, 2010)
My Best Fiend (Werner Herzog, 1999)
The Perfume of the Lady in Black (Francesco Barilli, 1974)
Petropolis: Aerial Perspectives on the Alberta Tar Sands (Peter Mettler, 2009)
Prospero’s Books (Peter Greenaway, 1991)

iTunes & Video On-Demand

Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio Da Sica, 1948)

Bicycle Thieves movie

One of the most interesting aspects of iTunes Movies is their partnership with the Criterion Collection. Sure, you have plenty of opportunity to stream their selections on a number of services (like Hulu and Fandor), but the more the merrier—iTunes also allows you to buy the films, so that’s an added benefit. This week, Criterion is releasing Bicycle Thieves, one of the all-time great films. A staple of the Italian Neorealism movement, it’s stark black-and-white cinematography, complicated moral themes, use of non-professional actors, and overall documentary style will keep it in the cinematic conversation as long as we’re seriously studying the art form. Finally released by the Criterion Collection on Blu-ray, you can also rent or buy Bicycle Thieves on-demand through iTunes.

Other titles new to VOD this week:
Exposed (Declan Dale, 2016)
Justice League vs. Teen Titans (Sam Liu, 2016)
The Messenger (Su Rynard, 2015)
Of Mind and Music (Richie Adams, 2016)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (J.J. Abrams, 2015)

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Not Just An Indie Darling: Why Oscar Isaac is Hollywood’s Next Big Star http://waytooindie.com/features/not-just-an-indie-darling-oscar-isaac-could-revive-the-hollywood-movie-star/ http://waytooindie.com/features/not-just-an-indie-darling-oscar-isaac-could-revive-the-hollywood-movie-star/#respond Fri, 08 Jan 2016 21:48:12 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=42687 Oscar Isaac went from indie darling to major celebrity status is just a few years. Is he the next big movie star?]]>

2015 confirmed that the years of movie stars carrying huge box office weight are behind us more than ever. Stars and starlets who heralded huge hits in the past were in some of the biggest flops of 2015; Bill Murray with Rock the Kasbah, Sandra Bullock with Our Brand is Crisis, Hugh Jackman with Pan and Chappie, and Bradley Cooper with Aloha and Burnt. Yet Hollywood works in circles, so someone is bound to rise from the ashes to become a true “movie star”.

In 2014, Chris Pratt became the talk of the town after a giant year with Guardians of the Galaxy and The Lego Movie. He even had a pretty good 2015 starring in Jurassic World. Yet, Pratt doesn’t have all of the characteristics of the Golden Age of Hollywood’s leading men and women. His expressive charisma and good looks don’t completely compensate for his limited range. It’s hard for him to carry a film without strong assistance from a supporting cast, which was noticeable in Guardians of the Galaxy but was more obvious after playing second fiddle to Bryce Dallas Howard in Jurassic World.

Jurassic World movie stars

Jurassic World movie stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard

Furthermore, Pratt’s mark has never actually been tested; nothing has been sold on his image alone. The Marvel, Jurassic Park, and even Lego brands all have a built-in fan base that assures their films from being box office failures. In fact, many of Marvel’s biggest actors have proven to disappoint outside of the franchise: Chris Evans hasn’t led a non-Marvel film to a gross over $60 million; Robert Downey Jr.’s biggest hits have all been franchise films; Chris Hemsworth has had many leading endeavors tank. Marvel hasn’t historically made any bonafide box office stars; why would Chris Pratt be different?

But another talent has been awoken and he has been thrown into the center of the public’s eye: Oscar Isaac. In Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Isaac’s Poe Dameron isn’t as utilized as heavily as Finn and Rey, but the part does draw resemblance to the introduction of Harrison Ford’s Han Solo in A New Hope. The two are both cocky, sharp-witted pilots who play the magnetic, charming sidekick. What Isaac has in The Force Awakens that Ford didn’t in A New Hope is experience and a tangible acting prowess.

Oscar Isaac Star Wars Force Awakens

Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron in Star Wars: The Force Awakens

While A New Hope was essentially Ford’s acting debut, Isaac already has many acting roles under his belt showing his versatility and range. His first leading performance as Llewyn Davis in the Coen Brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis earned him critical praise and more than a dozen Best Actor mentions. In 2014, he received accolades for his leading performance in A Most Violent Year. And his most impressive box office turn was from this year, Ex Machina, which boasts many critical mentions and award traction.

These indies are obviously in the little leagues when it comes to box office and public visibility, but with The Force Awakens, Oscar Isaac will now become a household name. On top of red carpet events and press conferences, Isaac has been making the rounds on talk shows displaying his confidence and personality. His real life persona is a dashing combination of Pratt’s goofiness and Tom Cruise’s charm, but his talent and scope arguably exceeds them both. Add in his musical talent, and Isaac becomes a double threat that is easy for the public to latch on to.

Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina

A pondering Oscar Isaac in Ex Machina

Even though Poe Dameron seems underutilized in The Force Awakens, it’s worth noting that Han Solo’s presence is much more noteworthy in the next two installments of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. With all signs pointing to a derivative series and some characters out of the way, Isaac’s Poe could have much more to do in the next episode. Furthermore, The Force Awakens is only the beginning of Isaac’s blockbuster reign; he is playing the titular villain in the upcoming X-Men film.

With a strong platter of future releases, Oscar Isaac has the potential to latch on to Hollywood and leave a lasting impact. The Star Wars series has started and killed many acting careers, especially Hayden Christensen and Mark Hamill who struggled to brand themselves outside of the series. But Isaac isn’t like these two; he has already proven himself to be strong enough in his past endeavors to outlast the curse. After his franchise contracts run up, he will be one of the most in-demand actors in Hollywood. His possibilities will be endless.

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Way Too Indiecast STAR WARS Special: ‘The Force Awakens’ Spoilercast http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/star-wars-force-awakens-way-too-indiecast/ http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/star-wars-force-awakens-way-too-indiecast/#respond Mon, 21 Dec 2015 17:00:22 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=42572 In the final installment of our series of Way Too Indiecast Star Wars Specials, Bernard and Dustin are joined by two new companions, WTI's own Ananda Dillon and Star Wars aficionado Justin Boo, to break down piece-by-piece Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Stakes were high going into this JJ Abrams-helmed mega reboot---did the movie meet the crew's expectations? Is this the moment Dustin finally embraces the light side and becomes a Star Wars fanboy, or has he lost hope in the force altogether? Will super fans Bernard, Ananda and Justin have their childhood dreams reawakened or extinguished forever? It's all on the line on this very special, extended, final edition of the series! ]]>

In the final installment of our series of Way Too Indiecast Star Wars Specials, Bernard and Dustin are joined by two new companions, WTI’s own Ananda Dillon and Star Wars aficionado Justin Boo, to break down piece-by-piece Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Stakes were high going into this JJ Abrams-helmed mega reboot—did the movie meet the crew’s expectations? Is this the moment Dustin finally embraces the light side and becomes a Star Wars fanboy, or has he lost hope in the force altogether? Will super fans Bernard, Ananda and Justin have their childhood dreams reawakened or extinguished forever? It’s all on the line on this very special, extended, final edition of the series!

Our Heroes:

Bernard “Boo-Boo Fett” Boo – Jedi Academy class clown. Lifelong Star Wars fan, loves all three movies in the original trilogy and hopes to find BB-8 in his stocking this Christmas.

Dustin “D-3PO” Jansick – Padawan. Never watched the original trilogy (may have seen A New Hope, but memory’s foggy) and has virtually zero familiarity with the universe. A rare breed in this day and age.

Ananda “General Ackbar” Dillon – Rebel Leader. Huge Star Wars buff and general pop culture fanatic. Has been awaiting The Force Awakens with bated breath.

Justin “BooBoo-8” Boo – Jedi Master. Mentor to “Boo-Boo Fett.” Lifelong Star Wars obsessive. Seen all of the movies countless times. Has boxes and boxes of Star Wars action figures.

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http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/star-wars-force-awakens-way-too-indiecast/feed/ 0 In the final installment of our series of Way Too Indiecast Star Wars Specials, Bernard and Dustin are joined by two new companions, WTI's own Ananda Dillon and Star Wars aficionado Justin Boo, to break down piece-by-piece Star Wars: The Force Awakens.... In the final installment of our series of Way Too Indiecast Star Wars Specials, Bernard and Dustin are joined by two new companions, WTI's own Ananda Dillon and Star Wars aficionado Justin Boo, to break down piece-by-piece Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Stakes were high going into this JJ Abrams-helmed mega reboot---did the movie meet the crew's expectations? Is this the moment Dustin finally embraces the light side and becomes a Star Wars fanboy, or has he lost hope in the force altogether? Will super fans Bernard, Ananda and Justin have their childhood dreams reawakened or extinguished forever? It's all on the line on this very special, extended, final edition of the series! Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Way Too Indie yes 2:02:35
Star Wars: The Force Awakens http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/star-wars-the-force-awakens/ http://waytooindie.com/review/movie/star-wars-the-force-awakens/#comments Wed, 16 Dec 2015 11:17:30 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=42234 An outstanding female lead and breathtaking visuals make this an essential installment in the ongoing 'Star Wars' saga.]]>

Editor’s Note: This review was written with a spoiler-free mindset; my intention was to preserve the film’s major secrets and revelations so that you may discover them on your own.

With a deep sigh of relief, Star Wars fans can finally rest easy: Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a bombastic, high-energy, eye-popping space opera with loads of heart and soul (two key ingredients the prequels tragically lacked). It doesn’t quite capture the storybook magic of the original trilogy, but the classic Star Wars spirit lives on via returning cast members and some scrumptious fan-service callbacks. What’s most intriguing is the new stuff: a hungry young cast putting on worthy performances; a savvy director whose eye for action makes the series’ signature space battles pop and sing like never before; an exhilaratingly dominant female presence. The film gives several of the series’ longstanding traditions a loving kiss goodbye while also forging forward, setting the tone for what Star Wars will be now and in the future.

The story, by director JJ Abrams and co-writers Lawrence Kasdan and Michael Arndt, picks up thirty years after the events of The Return of the Jedi, with the Empire long-fallen. Taking the Empire’s place is the First Order which, in all honesty, looks and operates exactly like the Empire (they’ve even got armies of stormtroopers, and fleets of TIE Fighters and star destroyers). The Rebels have been replaced by the Resistance, led by general Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher). The good-guy and bad-guy factions’ shared mission is to locate a digital map which contains the location of the long-missing Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Harboring and guarding the map is an adorable, globular droid called BB-8, who’s stranded on the desert planet Jakku when his master, Resistance ace pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), is captured by the First Order.

On Jakku, BB-8 meets tough-skinned scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley) and stormtrooper-gone-rogue Finn (John Boyega). Both are charismatic and have rich histories and a few secrets to hide. Poe is star quarterback-cool and makes a big impression though he’s less of a presence than Rey and Finn and looks to have more of a central role in future installments. Looking at the movie as a sort of baton pass from old characters to new, it feels like a clean, seamless handoff. The new heroes feel as organic and fleshed-out as their predecessors did in their respective debuts in A New Hope. The nature of heroism has been a primary theme throughout the series, and it’s further explored here; one of the protagonists could in a certain light be considered a bit of a coward. But there is no courage without fear, of course.

Personifying the dark side of the force this time around is the sinister Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), a volatile, loquacious villain with dreams of picking up where Darth Vader left off (he keeps Vader’s charred helmet as an object of inspiration). The movie’s open sees him slaughtering a small village on Jakku in search of the map-guffin, and in later scenes, we learn the source and extent of his inner rage. He works for a bigger bad (I’ll let you discover who that is on your own) and also has a peer/rival in General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson), a tyrannical, barking military leader who’d be a Third Reich shoe-in in our galaxy. His pet project is a massive, world-ending new weapon he can’t wait to unleash on the Resistance.

In what instantly becomes one of the series’ best aerial action sequences, Rey, Finn and BB-8 stumble upon a “garbage” spacecraft in a junkyard and use it to take out pursuing TIE fighters. Little do they know, they’ve just hopped into the legendary Millennium Falcon—Rey mans the cockpit, Finn takes control of the same swiveling turret Han and Luke once did, and a spectacular, careening, nostalgia-dipped dogfight ensues (this sequence really is a wonder). After successfully evading their enemies and exiting the planet’s atmosphere, our young heroes eventually find the ship’s original owners, Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), who reluctantly agree to help them deliver BB-8 to the Resistance (and Leia, who Han hasn’t seen in quite some time).

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Seeing the returning actors reprise their roles is a delight though unsurprisingly there are occasional lapses in conviction on Ford’s part (when the movie calls upon him to run and gun he puts on the face of a morning jogger). The prop throwbacks and easter eggs get tiresome after a while (the film will often all but pause for applause when showcasing these classic movie relics) but they’re sure to make fans go wild and maybe even draw a tear or two. The larger narrative pays homage to the first films as well (search for lost Jedi Knight, blow up big enemy weapon) and, uninspired as this is, Abrams and co. introduce enough twists into the formula to make old tricks feel new again. What makes the returning characters’ involvement worthwhile are plot developments that are best kept a secret, though what I will say is that the ongoing Skywalker/Solo family drama is kept alive in exciting, unexpected ways.

Something that feels sorely missed in this seventh installment of the long-running space opera is, well, operatic speech. There was a theatrical, melodramatic thrust to some of the original trilogy’s classic lines that, while cheesy to some, made those iconic movie moments feel timeless and momentous. Shakespearean, even. With the exception of one exchange during the film’s most emotional scene, there aren’t many lines I can point to as being quotable or particularly weighty. Perhaps time and rewatches will prove me wrong.

The two standout actors of the film are, without question, Ridley and Driver, both of them sharing strong chemistry with the rest of the cast and, most of all, with each other. Rey and Kylo Ren are grade-A characters who are easy to invest in and bring a new energy to the Star Wars universe. Boyega, Isaac and Gleeson do fine jobs as well though I suspect those characters’ greatest moments are still yet to come. A major frustration for me was Iko Uwais and the rest of The Raid crew’s wasted casting—these guys are the best movie martial artists in the business, and they’re given nada in the way of fight sequences. Big shame.

One of the main points of anxiety for Star Wars fans anticipating this film is the implementation of CG effects. While for the most part the digital elements look fantastic (Lupita Nyong’o‘s character, Maz Kanata, is an incredible CG creation), some of them look downright out of place, like Kylo Ren and Hux’s master. This is the first successful marriage between Star Wars and digital effects, but the marriage ain’t a perfect one by a long shot.

There are moments when Star Wars: The Force Awakens feels like a modern action-adventure classic; the climactic, snowy-forest lightsaber fight, for example, ranks up there with the best in the series (in fact, the entire third act is unbelievably good). But where the movie falls short is in continuing the original trilogy’s spirituality angle. Star Wars has always been about faith and family—Abrams nails the latter, but has somewhat forsaken the former. We acquire little to no new understanding of the force and its mysteries, and the characters who do struggle with faith don’t do so in a way that we haven’t seen before. The movie gets more right than wrong, however, and all things considered, it delivers where it counts. This thing is an entertainment orgy of galactic proportions, a fun-filled, planet-hopping, visually breathtaking adventure that gets the next generation of Star Wars stories off to a good start.

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Way Too Indiecast STAR WARS Special: ‘Return of the Jedi’ http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-star-wars-return-of-the-jedi-special/ http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-star-wars-return-of-the-jedi-special/#respond Wed, 16 Dec 2015 11:15:02 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=42487 In part three of our series of Way Too Indiecast Star Wars Specials, Bernard, Dustin and CJ discuss the third entry in the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi.]]>

In part three of our series of Way Too Indiecast Star Wars Specials, Bernard, Dustin and CJ discuss the third entry in the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi. The boys again dissect the movie section by section, starting with Luke, Leia and friends’ rescue of Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt to the final showdown between Luke, Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. CJ and Dustin have still yet to be swept up in the magic and mythology of Lucas’ space epic, but maybe the thrilling conclusion to Luke’s odyssey will finally sway them over to the light side. Plus, our heroes share their Star Wars: The Force Awakens theories and expectations in anticipation of today’s grand opening.

Our Heroes:

Bernard “Boo-Boo Fett” Boo – Jedi Academy class clown. Lifelong Star Wars fan, loves all three movies in the original trilogy and hopes to find BB-8 in his stocking this Christmas.

CJ “Darth Dissenter” Prince – Sith Lord. Hasn’t seen the original trilogy since childhood, terrorizes the galaxy with shoulder shrugs and apathetic heavy breathing. Never connected with Star Wars on any level, but may open to change…

Dustin “D-3PO” Jansick – Padawan. Never watched the original trilogy (may have seen A New Hope, but memory’s foggy) and has virtually zero familiarity with the universe. A rare breed in this day and age.

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http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-star-wars-return-of-the-jedi-special/feed/ 0 In part three of our series of Way Too Indiecast Star Wars Specials, Bernard, Dustin and CJ discuss the third entry in the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi. In part three of our series of Way Too Indiecast Star Wars Specials, Bernard, Dustin and CJ discuss the third entry in the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Way Too Indie yes 1:12:13
Alamo Drafthouse SF Opens With ‘Star Wars,’ Five Screens and Loads of Queso http://waytooindie.com/interview/alamo-drafthouse-sf-opens-with-star-wars/ http://waytooindie.com/interview/alamo-drafthouse-sf-opens-with-star-wars/#respond Wed, 16 Dec 2015 04:34:55 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=42455 Standing in defiance of the techie takeover that’s been wiping clean San Francisco’s weird, colorful corners and pockets, the 100-year-old New Mission Theater—following a $10 million renovation by Alamo Drafthouse—opens its doors tomorrow, inviting us to dine on high-end finger food as we watch movies of all shapes and sizes within its historic walls. For its grand […]]]>

Standing in defiance of the techie takeover that’s been wiping clean San Francisco’s weird, colorful corners and pockets, the 100-year-old New Mission Theater—following a $10 million renovation by Alamo Drafthouse—opens its doors tomorrow, inviting us to dine on high-end finger food as we watch movies of all shapes and sizes within its historic walls.

For its grand opening, the theater will be playing Star Wars: The Force Awakens on all five of its screens. Moviegoers are offered assigned seating and can order food and drink throughout the movie via a silent ordering system involving pencils, paper, ninja-like servers and a whole lot of nervous hand gesturing. Not a perfect system by any means, but all the scrambling adds to the Alamo ambiance.

The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain was founded by Tim League in 1997 and has since expanded to 20 locations across the U.S., the New Mission being the latest addition. League’s hired former Roxie Director of Programming Mike Keegan to run the theater and, considering the man’s prior accomplishments (he’s helped program many of SF Indiefests wild and weird events and once organized a cat video film festival), San Franciscans are in for a treat. Helping Mike ensure the theater is an active contributor to the Mission District community is Private and Community Events Director Elizabeth Duran.

The theater’s adjoining bar, Bear Vs. Bull, will act as a separate entity; you can grab drinks before or after a movie or simply stop by and hang without purchasing a ticket at all. Beverage Director Isaac Shumway and Chef Ronnie New will be sure to keep your belly happy as you enjoy a night out with your buddies and/or significant other.

Sitting in front of one of the theater’s beautiful screens, I spoke with League and Keegan about the future of the New Mission and the journey that got them to this point. For more info, visit drafthouse.com/sf

Alamo Drafthouse

As far as magnitude goes, there’s no bigger way to open this theater than on this weekend, with this movie.
Mike: We like to live by the seat of our pants, and there’s nothing more terrifying than opening a giant project, years in the making, with unrealistically high expectations!

I think the both of you have done countless cool things for the film community, kind of keeping the game off-balance with your ideas. Talk about coming together to work on this particular project.
Tim: We’ve known each other for a little while. I think we met through a mutual friend—it’s a really small world of people who do this type of programming. Our friend said, “You guys should meet—Mike’s nice!” And this guy will tell you if a guy’s not nice. [laughs] We chatted and Mike had left the Roxie and was out doing cat fancier tours or whatever it was. [laughs] It wasn’t really a formal process. It’s cool in this world because you’re kind of judged by your past work. We liked what he had been doing and thought it would be a good cultural fit for Drafthouse.

I’ve enjoyed your work at the Roxie very much over the years, Mike. This is a great, big new platform for you. What can we expect from you in the future?
Mike: The cool thing is, it’s five screens. You have flexibility because you have everything from a 320-seat room to a 34-seat room. You can basically show the best version of whatever should play in each room. You could play a masterpiece gem in a 34-seat room and do great, and you can have a four-quadrant Marvel movie in the big room. Everyone’s psyched and everyone’s happy. You hope that the audience will get to a point where they’d want to see all five things and that they feel like this is their place.

Tim: That sense is what’s pretty unique about our company, in a way. We’re doing some pretty interesting, almost subversive advertising for people who are watching some pretty down-the-middle movies. It’s like, “You like movies? How about these movies you may not have heard of?” It’s a way of converting a lot of people who may not know a lot about film history to come check out some other stuff after they’ve watched something like Star Wars, for example.

Mike: I feel like, over the past fifteen years or so, there’s been much less of a divide between high and low art. “Content” is a big word going around—people are just open to things that interest them. Whether it’s a stuffy art movie, a crass action movie or anywhere in between. It’s the right time to open a place like this.

With The Hateful Eight, particlarly the road show version, Quentin Tarantino is trying to give people a movie experience they can’t replicate at home. Your company does that kind of work as well. Talk about the importance of watching movies in wild, weird ways.
Tim: We look at ourselves as not necessarily competing against home video. We look at ourselves as an option for people deciding on what to do when they’re outside the house. This experience, from beginning to end, has to be compelling enough for people to choose it over going to a comedy club or going out for drinks. It’s an out-of-the-house entertainment option. Sometimes it’s more over-the-top for us. But I just like watching a movie. The technical aspects, the food and beverage—that’s all a part of just watching a movie.

A lot of the new companies that have popped up in San Francisco have sort of taken over and farmed new money without giving back to the community. It seems like this theater will play a big part in preserving the integrity and authenticity of our city.
Mike: We have a Community Director, Liz Duran, who’s from KQED, Sketchfest and the San Francisco Film Society. She’s on the ground, letting neighborhood organizations know that we’re here and we want to work with them. Kids can come watch movies on the weekend for a dollar. We’re here for everything.

The queso’s still on the menu!
Tim: That’s the only holdout. It’s a brand new menu except for the queso. If you’ve lived in Austin, that’s the number one question me and Mike have been fielding. “You’re bringing the queso, right?” People who aren’t from Austin have no idea what you’re talking about. [laughs]

So this is the first theater in the Alamo chain to have a unique menu?
Tim: Yeah. What we normally do is, we have a core menu, and we hire a local chef in the market and they change about 25% of it or so. Then they work on rotating specials once a quarter. If Hateful Eight is coming out, they’ll make a special menu for it. That kind of stuff. For this one…so many things are unique about this facility. I wanted the San Francisco theater to be very special, so we spent a long time trying to find a chef that we liked and was also a big movie fan. I wanted this to be a dream job for that person.

Would you say you created a dream job for yourself?
Tim: That’s exactly what I did. I was an engineer and I didn’t like it at all. I got there right on time, left right at five and took an abnormally long lunch break. I would leave my door open, you know? [laughs] When I was 21-years-old I immediately leapt into the middle class, but it wasn’t how I wanted to retire. My satisfaction came after 5 o’clock. Now, I love what I do.

I think what’s cool about you guys is that you’re a chain but you don’t feel like a chain. You’ve grown and done it the right way. How big can the company get? How big do you want it to get?
Tim: I set a goal to be at 50 locations by 2018, and then we were going to assess it and see how we did. If it still felt right, we could go bigger. I don’t know. I’m focused on that 2018 number. It’s already gotten really interesting. We were talking to the VP of Disney because they like what we’re doing. We can find smaller movies and open a movie across our circuit. That’s how we started our distribution company. Anomalisa is Paramount, but it’s also a challenging film. It’s going to be hard for that film to find an audience if it doesn’t get an Academy Award. That’s a movie where everyone on the team loves it and we’re going to collectively dive in and do everything we can. We worked directly with the studio. We said, “We’re going to post some numbers because this movie is extremely special.” We want to share it with as many people as possible. You can’t do that as a single-screen theater. Now that we’re bigger, we can make some noise for a movie like that.

Sometimes I go to the theater and I look around, and no one looks like they’re actually present. Their mind is somewhere else, their hands are itching to grab at their phones.
Tim: I think that speaks to why our no talking/no texting policy is so important. Not to sound pretentious or old-fashioned, but it’s so crazy to me what’s happened to people throughout their day. You could be having a conversation with somebody and it feels like they’ve gotten bored with what you’re saying and they pick up their phone and multi-task. Going to see a movie and making this mandatory situation happen where you have to put your phone away and focus on something that’s longer than a minute is actually kind of important, to shut down for 90 minutes and dissolve into a movie.

Somebody asked me, “What do you think about the future of movies? What will movies be like in 25 years?” I want it to be exactly what it is today, which is exactly what it was in the ’40s. I want the lights to go down and you just lose yourself in a story. No bells, no whistles. I don’t want anything more.

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Way Too Indiecast STAR WARS Special: ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-star-wars-special-the-empire-strikes-back/ http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-star-wars-special-the-empire-strikes-back/#respond Mon, 14 Dec 2015 21:22:19 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=42385 In part two of our series of Way Too Indiecast Star Wars Specials, Bernard, Dustin and CJ discuss the second episode in the original Star Wars trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back. Luke Skywalker learns the ways of the force from Master Yoda and Han and Leia finally open up their hearts to one another in this pivotal […]]]>

In part two of our series of Way Too Indiecast Star Wars Specials, Bernard, Dustin and CJ discuss the second episode in the original Star Wars trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back. Luke Skywalker learns the ways of the force from Master Yoda and Han and Leia finally open up their hearts to one another in this pivotal entry in Lucas’ saga, but will their emotional journeys force-pull CJ and Dustin’s thus far indifferent feelings about the franchise over to the light side? What will they think of that classic movie moment between Luke and Vader? A hint: Empire is one of Bernard’s favorite movies of all time; CJ and Dustin land on the other end of the spectrum. Click play to hear their spirited debate!

Our Heroes:

Bernard “Boo-Boo Fett” Boo – Jedi Academy class clown. Lifelong Star Wars fan, loves all three movies in the original trilogy and hopes to find BB-8 in his stocking this Christmas.

CJ “Darth Dissenter” Prince – Sith Lord. Hasn’t seen the original trilogy since childhood, terrorizes the galaxy with shoulder shrugs and apathetic heavy breathing. Never connected with Star Wars on any level, but may open to change…

Dustin “D-3PO” Jansick – Padawan. Never watched the original trilogy (may have seen A New Hope, but memory’s foggy) and has virtually zero familiarity with the universe. A rare breed in this day and age.

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http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-star-wars-special-the-empire-strikes-back/feed/ 0 In part two of our series of Way Too Indiecast Star Wars Specials, Bernard, Dustin and CJ discuss the second episode in the original Star Wars trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back. Luke Skywalker learns the ways of the force from Master Yoda and Han and Le... In part two of our series of Way Too Indiecast Star Wars Specials, Bernard, Dustin and CJ discuss the second episode in the original Star Wars trilogy, The Empire Strikes Back. Luke Skywalker learns the ways of the force from Master Yoda and Han and Leia finally open up their hearts to one another in this pivotal […] Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Way Too Indie yes 1:04:39
Way Too Indiecast STAR WARS Special: ‘A New Hope’ http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-star-wars-special-a-new-hope/ http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-star-wars-special-a-new-hope/#respond Wed, 09 Dec 2015 12:43:17 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=42240 We talk 'A New Hope' in part one of our four-part Star Wars spectacular!]]>

Welcome to the Way Too Indiecast Star Wars Specials, a series in which we revisit the original Star Wars trilogy film by film, talking in-depth about George Lucas’ expansive space opera universe that changed movies forever. To cap things off, we’ll be reviewing Star Wars: The Force Awakens shortly after it drops on December 18th. It’s a four-part Star Wars spectacular that can be enjoyed by fans, non-fans and newbies alike!

Our Heroes:

Bernard “Boo-Boo Fett” Boo – Jedi Academy class clown. Lifelong Star Wars fan, loves all three movies in the original trilogy and hopes to find BB-8 in his stocking this Christmas.

CJ “Darth Dissenter” Prince – Sith Lord. Hasn’t seen the original trilogy since childhood, terrorizes the galaxy with shoulder shrugs and apathetic heavy breathing. Never connected with Star Wars on any level, but may open to change…

Dustin “D-3PO” Jansick – Padawan. Never watched the original trilogy (may have seen A New Hope, but memory’s foggy) and has virtually zero familiarity with the universe. A rare breed in this day and age.

In part one of our four-part series, we’re talking about Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, a movie widely credited for inspiring millions and launching the tidal wave of action-adventure blockbusters that’s still washing over us today. How will Bernard and CJ react to meeting Luke, Leia, Han and the gang once more? What will Dustin’s fresh-eyed take on the movie be? Will the boys think the grandaddy of them all is a galactic classic? A dark-side disappointment? Or does it hover like Luke’s landspeeder somewhere in between? Listen in to find out!

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Way Too Indiecast 47: Awards Season Scramble, ‘James White’ With Special Guests Josh Mond and Christopher Abbott http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/42171/ http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/42171/#respond Fri, 04 Dec 2015 19:58:01 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=42171 After a week off, we're back with a brand new episode of the Way Too Indiecast! This week, Bernard and CJ welcome director Josh Mond and star Christopher Abbott to talk about their new film, James White. The boys also discuss what is one of the most unpredictable awards seasons in memory and which movies they think will take home golden statues in a couple months time. Disney's controversial decision to not screen Star Wars: The Force Awakens for critics is also a topic of conversation as your hosts cry foul and risk sounding like film critic elitists. All that, plus our Indie Picks of the Week, on this super-sized edition of the Indiecast!]]>

After a week off, we’re back with a brand new episode of the Way Too Indiecast! This week, Bernard and CJ welcome director Josh Mond and star Christopher Abbott to talk about their new film, James White. The boys also discuss what is one of the most unpredictable awards seasons in memory and which movies they think will take home golden statues in a couple months time. Disney’s controversial decision to not screen Star Wars: The Force Awakens for critics is also a topic of conversation as your hosts cry foul and risk sounding like film critic elitists. All that, plus our Indie Picks of the Week, on this super-sized edition of the Indiecast!

Topics

  • Indie Picks (3:40)
  • Disney Snubs Critics (11:05)
  • Awards Season Scramble (28:46)
  • Josh Mond and Christopher Abbott on James White (1:15:36)

Articles Referenced

Arabian Nights: Volume 1 Review
Arlo and Julie Interview
James White Review

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http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/42171/feed/ 0 After a week off, we're back with a brand new episode of the Way Too Indiecast! This week, Bernard and CJ welcome director Josh Mond and star Christopher Abbott to talk about their new film, James White. The boys also discuss what is one of the most un... After a week off, we're back with a brand new episode of the Way Too Indiecast! This week, Bernard and CJ welcome director Josh Mond and star Christopher Abbott to talk about their new film, James White. The boys also discuss what is one of the most unpredictable awards seasons in memory and which movies they think will take home golden statues in a couple months time. Disney's controversial decision to not screen Star Wars: The Force Awakens for critics is also a topic of conversation as your hosts cry foul and risk sounding like film critic elitists. All that, plus our Indie Picks of the Week, on this super-sized edition of the Indiecast! Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Way Too Indie yes 1:39:59
‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Trailer Drops, Movie Ticket Sites Crash http://waytooindie.com/news/star-wars-the-force-awakens-trailer-drops-movie-ticket-sites-crash/ http://waytooindie.com/news/star-wars-the-force-awakens-trailer-drops-movie-ticket-sites-crash/#respond Tue, 20 Oct 2015 03:22:14 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=41365 A bittersweet moment for Star Wars fans.]]>

The new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer dropped tonight during Monday Night Football on ESPN, and while millions of fans rejoiced, many were too busy pulling their hair out trying to get tickets to the damn movie.

Pre-sale tickets to the hotly anticipated blockbuster went on sale tonight as well, and the sky-high demand crashed virtually every website that made the tickets available. The web’s largest vendor, Fandango, crashed almost immediately. Here’s the error message you’d see on the site if you tried to do, well, anything:

Somehow, I don’t think the thousands of frustrated Star Wars fans frantically clicking the refresh button on their browsers found the error “funny.”

Despite the online debacle, the new trailer did, in fact, play on ESPN on time, without a hitch, and it was AMAZING. Giving us longer looks at Adam Driver’s Vader fanboy Kylo Ren, Daisy Ridley’s Rey (and her cute lil buddy BB-8), and John Boyega’s lightsaber-wielding Finn, the explosive trailer is everything fans like yours truly could have hoped for. Check it out below (as if you haven’t already watched it 500 times):

Now that the trailer’s finally arrived, we’ll have to practice patience a little longer as we await the film’s December 18th release. For those of you who managed to secure your tickets, congratulations, you old pirate! For those of you who haven’t…

May the force be with you!

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Way Too Indiecast 39: Andrew Garfield, ’99 Homes,’ ‘Sicario’ http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-39-andrew-garfield-99-homes-sicario/ http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-39-andrew-garfield-99-homes-sicario/#respond Fri, 02 Oct 2015 18:35:52 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=40853 The tag team of Bernard and CJ run wild on this episode as they talk about Denis Villeneuve's new film, Sicario.]]>

The tag team of Bernard and CJ run wild on this episode as they talk about Denis Villeneuve’s new film, Sicario, as well as make sense of a blood-boiling argument Bernard had with a friend about the plausibility of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer. Also, highlights from the roundtable interview Bernard had with Andrew Garfield, the star of Ramin Bahrani’s housing crisis drama 99 Homes. All that, plus our Indie Picks of the Week on this week’s exciting installment of the Indiecast!

Topics

  • Indie Picks (3:34)
  • Plausibility For Dummies (10:02)
  • Sicario (29:22)
  • Andrew Garfield (48:03)

WTI Articles Referenced in the Podcast

99 Homes TIFF Review
Sicario Review
Victoria TIFF Review
Jafar Panahi’s Taxi Review

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http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-39-andrew-garfield-99-homes-sicario/feed/ 0 The tag team of Bernard and CJ run wild on this episode as they talk about Denis Villeneuve's new film, Sicario. The tag team of Bernard and CJ run wild on this episode as they talk about Denis Villeneuve's new film, Sicario. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Way Too Indie yes 1:16:39
Way Too Indiecast 38: Star Wars Hype, TIFF Wrap-Up http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-38-star-wars-hype-tiff-wrap-up/ http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-38-star-wars-hype-tiff-wrap-up/#respond Fri, 25 Sep 2015 17:02:01 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=40656 With Star Wars: The Force Awakens just on the horizon, Bernard, CJ, Dustin, and special guest (and giant Star Wars fanboy) Justin Boo go in-depth about the mass anticipation of the new film as well as the feverish passion of the millions of fans of the legendary franchise.]]>

With Star Wars: The Force Awakens just on the horizon, Bernard, CJ, Dustin, and special guest (and giant Star Wars fanboy) Justin Boo go in-depth about the mass anticipation of the new film as well as the feverish passion of the millions of fans of the legendary franchise. Why is there such excitement for the new trilogy when the last one was such an abomination? Also, film critic Rob Trench joins CJ and Bernard to recap the Toronto International Film Festival, from the best to the worst to the fantastic films flying just under the radar. Plus, the return of our Indie Picks of the Week!

Topics

  • Indie Picks (2:13)
  • Star Wars Hype (15:00)
  • TIFF Wrap-Up (45:12)

WTI Articles Referenced in the Podcast

The Fool Review
Me and Earl Review
TIFF Coverage

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http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-38-star-wars-hype-tiff-wrap-up/feed/ 0 With Star Wars: The Force Awakens just on the horizon, Bernard, CJ, Dustin, and special guest (and giant Star Wars fanboy) Justin Boo go in-depth about the mass anticipation of the new film as well as the feverish passion of the millions of fans of the... With Star Wars: The Force Awakens just on the horizon, Bernard, CJ, Dustin, and special guest (and giant Star Wars fanboy) Justin Boo go in-depth about the mass anticipation of the new film as well as the feverish passion of the millions of fans of the legendary franchise. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – Way Too Indie yes 1:22:20
Way Too Indiecast 28: ‘Ant-Man,’ Comic-Con Recap http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-28-ant-man-comic-con-recap/ http://waytooindie.com/podcasts/way-too-indiecast-28-ant-man-comic-con-recap/#respond Fri, 17 Jul 2015 13:35:02 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=38531 Way Too Indie gets it's geek on as Ananda and Scarlet describe their time at Comic-Con 2015 and Bernard reviews Marvel's latest 'Ant-Man'.]]>

The girls are taking over! Ananda and Scarlet talk about all the juicy news that came out of Comic-Con and talk about what it was like to be sitting in the middle of the biggest geek orgy in the world. Bernard makes a guest appearance to review Marvel’s Ant-Man, which is crawling into theaters as we speak. All that, plus our Indie Pick of the Week, on this week’s Way Too Indiecast!

MUBI is a strong sponsor of the Way Too Indiecast. MUBI is a curated online cinema that brings its members a hand-picked selection of the best indie, foreign, and classic films. Visit www.mubi.com/waytooindie to try MUBI 30 days for free.

Topics

  • Indie Pick of the Week (00:58)
  • Comic-Con Coverage (7:26)
  • Ant-Man Review (45:41)

WTI Articles Referenced in the Podcast

Star Wars: The Force Awakens panel
Warner Brothers panel
Ant-Man review

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Harrison Ford Isn’t Only Surprise At ‘Star Wars’ Comic-Con Panel http://waytooindie.com/news/lucasfilm-star-wars-the-force-awakens-comic-con/ http://waytooindie.com/news/lucasfilm-star-wars-the-force-awakens-comic-con/#comments Sun, 12 Jul 2015 18:19:47 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=38086 Watch special behind the scenes footage of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens']]>

 

Comic-Con isn’t over yet, but if there was a winner of the convention, the trophy might have been handed out early to the Lucasfilm Star Wars: The Force Awakens panel.

Chris Hardwick moderated the panel to a packed Hall H in San Diego where some fans had camped for two days and waited all day for the 5:30 event. Star Wars was the first film to try out film previewing back in the late ’70s before the film’s release, setting a precedent that has all but taken over what was traditionally a convention for printed comics. So it was all too fitting to have J.J. Abrams present his new installment of the famous film franchise at Comic-Con.

Along with exec producer Kathleen Kennedy and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (and Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi) writer Lawrence Kasdan, Hardwick generally gushed with the trio for a while about how momentous this project is, the significance of the Star Wars legacy and the wonder of the people who are involved in this new round of Star Wars films.

Abrams expressed awe around having just worked on the film’s soundtrack with John Williams—they have a rough edit of the film at this point—and stated “There’s nothing normal about anything that’s happening.”

They showed the behind the scenes footage (above) and there were many wet eyes at the care Abrams is taking with this sacred franchise. Among the things revealed by the footage: Simon Pegg clearly plays a role in the film (the only Star Trek/Star Wars crossover?) and also emphasized just how NOT CG this film really is going to be. (Though we have a feeling Abrams won’t be able to resist a lens flare or two.)

Abrams, Kennedy and Kasdan were joined by the film’s stars: John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, and Oscar Isaac. Shortly after them, the bad guys showed up: Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson (who we hadn’t known previously was on the dark side), and Gwendoline Christie as Captain Phasma. One of the things they focused on in the Q&A was the importance to the filmmakers to keep up diversity in the cast, in The Force Awakens and all upcoming Star Wars saga and anthology films.

Not much was revealed, Adam Driver was especially loathe to reveal too much. Gleeson let slip that the base his character presides over is called “Starkiller”.

Then Hardwick sneakily brought out Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, and Harrison Ford, which rather brought the hall of 6500 to their knees. They bantered about their age and the weirdness of being called the Legacy cast, and Fisher joked about how Star Wars has become a right of passage in families, where parents now strategize when to introduce their kids to the series saying “If we don’t like the same character, I’m not going to like my kid.” Ford expressed gratitude for the franchise, as it kicked off his career. As far as their roles in the new film, Hamill just said he was glad he didn’t have to go to Tashi to pick up any power converters and Fisher lamented that this film wasn’t more girly, suggesting to Abrams there should have been a shopping planet.

As if the audience wasn’t riled up enough, they were walked to an outdoor symphony venue behind the convention center and treated to an exclusive music of Star Wars symphony immediately following the panel, a first in Comic-Con history. It was a true Disney/Star Wars event with everyone receiving a free light saber and ending with an impressive fireworks display. Those of us there won’t soon forget the spectacle and the momentous feeling of the start to a new era of our most beloved franchise.

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Post-Weekend News Roundup – April 27 http://waytooindie.com/news/weekend-news-roundup-april-27/ http://waytooindie.com/news/weekend-news-roundup-april-27/#respond Mon, 27 Apr 2015 15:39:08 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=35332 Star Wars and superhero films dominated the newswire this past week, here's what you may have missed.]]>

As we ramp up to the summer movie season, the newswire this week was dominated by upcoming Star Wars and superhero films. First, last weekend’s Star Wars Celebration brought us a new trailer for The Force Awakens and the next cutest robot ever. Later in the week, we heard that Nightcrawler‘s Riz Ahmed was in talks to play a leading role in the first Star Wars anthology film Rogue One. For the other big Disney property coming out this year, apparently some German theaters are boycotting The Avengers: Age of Ultron due to the studio’s asking for too much money per ticket sale. But that might not be as bad as the predicament Warner Bros. founds itself in when its trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice leaked just days prior to a scheduled IMAX trailer release event, forcing the studio to officially release the trailer sooner than they planned. Oh, and then there’s the mostly negative response that trailer received online. We also got that Jared Leto Joker image shocking into our brains, never to be forgotten. With all this circling, how you honestly keep up with anything else? Check out other news you may have missed last week below!

Phil Lord and Christopher Miller Set to Make a Spider-Man Animated Movie

OK, so we’re not completely done with superhero film news, but this bit is a little more enticing. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have made a fine career out of adapting uninspired properties into intelligent and fun films – maybe they are the perfect filmmakers to get Sony out of their Spider-Man rut. Announced at Sony’s presentation at CinemaCon, the duo are set to direct an animated version of everyone’s favorite web-slinger to be released in 2018. This, of course, isn’t the first time Spider-Man has been animated, with multiple popular television series. If Sony has to release a film of their own while also handing off the character on loan to Marvel Studios, an animated film is probably the only way to differentiate it. And hiring Lord & Miller attached to write and direct the film is probably the only way to make it not feel like a total cash grab.

Ang Lee’s Next Film to be Shot at 120 Frames Per Second

Also announced at Sony’s CinemaCon presentation, Ang Lee is currently working with Sony to shoot his next film with a revolutionary new camera that can capture 120 images per second. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk will also be shot in the suddenly blasé 3D with 4k projection. A few years back, Peter Jackson’s first film in The Hobbit series was projected at 48 fps, paving the way for the next trend to keep us going to the movies, but this is a bold step up from that. Many of the technical details are still unclear, but it will definitely be interesting to learn more and see the results.

Virgin Mountain and Bridgend Biggest Winners at Tribeca

The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival is in the books, with Dagur Kári’s Virgin Mountain and Jeppe Rønde’s Bridgend sweeping the World Narrative Competition awards. Virgin Mountain took home Best Narrative Feature, Best Actor and Best Screenplay, graciously leaving Best Actress, Cinematography and Editing for Bridgend. Camilla Nielsson’s look at the the adoption of a new constitution in Zimbabwe, Democrats, won Best Documentary Feature. We saw Bridgend, but were pretty mixed on the film. You can find the complete list of competition award winners at Indiewire. While you’re at it, check out all of our Tribeca 2015 coverage here!

Gaspar Noé upcoming NSFW film Love

A few days after the competition and Directors’ Fortnight schedules for the 2015 Cannes Film Festival were released, a stimulating addition has been made. According to the Dissolve, film provocateur Gaspar Noé will be showing off his newest film, Love, at the festival. Though we know Love is a three-hour 3D porno, it is supposedly more joyous and lighthearted than Noé’s previous films Irreversible and Enter the Void. With Lars von Trier still banned from Cannes, his spot for controversy has been up-for-grabs, so perhaps it will be filled by the Argentinian auteur.

Trailer of the Week: Nightingale

After David Oyelowo’s disappointing snub at this year’s Oscars, I was very interested in seeing where his career would go. Oyelowo has long been putting in great performances in small roles in films like The Paperboy and A Most Violent Year, but could he sustain being a leading man? Well, by the looks of Nightingale, where he seems to be the only on-screen character, he’s doubling down. The film debuted at the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival, but will now get a broad release thanks to HBO Films, when it will show on the cable channel on Friday, May 29. Check out a tease of Oyelowo’s powerful solo performance in the trailer below!

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22 Most Anticipated 2015 Films http://waytooindie.com/features/22-most-anticipated-2015-films/ http://waytooindie.com/features/22-most-anticipated-2015-films/#comments Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=29329 22 films we're highly anticipating for 2015, which include films from Tarantino, Herzog, Del Toro, and Malick.]]>

So 2014 gave us over a 1,000 movies and 2015 may have just as many if not more. That’s a lot of options. Dwindling box office numbers last year lead us to believe you, oh moviegoer, are of a discerning nature. So for those of you looking for a little direction, here are 22 films hot on our radar here at Way Too Indie.

The lineup for 2015 looks too good to be true so far, and who knows what other surprises could be coming down the line! (Seriously…who saw Selma coming last year?) On the way this year are new potential masterpieces from some of the most beloved auteurs of our generation (Tarantino, Herzog, del Toro, Malick), the latest entries in the flourishing careers of today’s indie kings (Baumbach, Wheatley, Nichols, Saulnier), two planet-sized studio blockbusters that’ll have geeks soiling their pants (you know what they are…), and the returns of two powerhouses trying to reclaim their former glory (the Wachowski siblings, Pixar).

Oh yeah…and MAD F*CKING MAX.

We can’t vouch for any of these films yet, but they’re buzzing in our ears and on our lists of must-sees. What movies are you looking forward to? Let us know in the comments and stay tuned to Way Too Indie throughout the year to see whether these films live up to our expectations or make us howl in disappointment (*cough* Mockingjay *cough* Big Eyes *cough*).

Most Anticipated 2015 Films

Far From The Madding Crowd

Far From The Madding Crowd 2015 movie

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Based on Thomas Hardy’s book, Thomas Vinterberg’s (The Hunt) latest film doesn’t exactly look like something we’d expect from him, but because of the novel’s fame as a great love story it certainly seems as if he’s trying his hand at a grander scope. From the film’s first trailer it’s quite lovely to look at, and if there are more like myself, suckers for period pieces focused on a forward-thinking woman taking love into her own hands, then the film’s already got a built-in crowd. Carey Mulligan stars as Bathsheba Everdene, a woman suited by three very different men who offer her three very different futures. Everyone loves a good love triangle, er quadrangle, and it’s been a while since we’ve had a good film version of the novel. The film releases in May, just in time for spring fever, wink wink. [Ananda]

High-Rise

High-Rise 2015 movie

Director Ben Wheatley proved that he is more than adept at making audiences distinctly, yet subtly, uncomfortable with his 2012 film Sightseers, and this is a talent entirely necessary when tackling a novel by J. G. Ballard. Though the author’s most famous work might be Crash, High-Rise is undoubtedly a masterpiece that is eerily relevant even now, 40-years after its publication. As a fan of Ballard’s writing, Wheatley has stated that his plan is to stay true to the author, who is well-known for his dystopian visions of modern life. The plot of the novel revolves around the residents of a luxury high-rise building, and the way the highly developed technology available to them not only isolates them, but does strange things to their psychological states. With a strong cast including Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans and Elisabeth Moss, the film is bound to not only be interesting, but perhaps also one of the most unsettling things we shall see this year. Set in England, High-Rise doesn’t have a release date yet but is expected to be seen in British theaters first. [Pavi]

The Walk

The Walk 2015 movie

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James Marsh’s Man on Wire is my favorite documentary of all time, and its subject’s story is one of the most amazing I’ve ever heard. The film chronicles the events leading up to French tightrope walker Philippe Petit’s awe-inspiring, death-defying high wire act of a lifetime, when he danced in the sky on a wire stretched between the twin towers in 1974. Petit is the most mesmerizing documentary subject I’ve ever seen, and the film plays out like a heist movie as he and his team describe their intricate plans to break into the heavily guarded buildings and set up the daring spectacle (which was, of course, totally illegal). Robert Zemeckis’ upcoming dramatization of Petit’s story, The Walk, is exciting to me for obvious reasons, but what I’m really hoping for is a return to form for the director, who used to make excellent films but has fallen off in the past decade. Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Petit, an actor in whom I have all the confidence in the world. Hopefully Zemeckis can capture the thrill of the artistic caper as well as Marsh did. [Bernard]

The Hateful Eight

The Hateful Eight movie

I love Quentin Tarantino’s love of film. I love how every second of his films are soaked in that love and I love how palpable it is to his fans. Whenever he announces a new film I get excited, and even though I think Django Unchained is the weakest film he’s made as of yet, and I’m not over the moon that he’s doing another Western, that’s not stopping me from being excited for The Hateful Eight. What I’m most anticipating about ensemble piece is the cast Tarantino has lined up. Channing Tatum, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Michael Madsen, and Damien Bichir. Some of the cast have worked with Tarantino before, but how long has it been since Tim Roth or Michael Madsen graced a Tarantino flick? Way too long. Not much is known about the film plot-wise, but when has Tarantino really disappointed in that department? We all know what’s coming our way; lots of cussing, lots of violence, and lots of blood. [Blake]

Mistress America

Mistress America 2015 movie

Noah Baumbach’s already got one comedy coming out this year in While We’re Young (which I caught at Toronto and then again as the Surprise Screening during the New York Film Festival), and while that film’s comedic look into age and identity merits its own selection on a Most Anticipated of 2015 list, we’re intrigued by the prospect of Baumbach’s newer project Mistress America. Premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the movie features Baumbach re-teaming with his Frances Ha collaborator (and girlfriend) Greta Gerwig, who once again co-writes and stars. The story follows Tracy (Lola Kirke), a lonely college freshman in New York whose university experience is failing to match her expectations. When Lola is taken in by her soon-to-be stepsister Brooke (Gerwig), described on Sundance’s website as, “a resident of Times Square and adventurous gal about town,” Lola gets swept up in Brooke’s adventures around New York City. If Mistress America ultimately resembles a companion piece to Frances Ha we won’t mind (Frances Ha was WTI’s 2nd favorite flick of 2013), but what’s exciting is to see Baumbach return to a street-level look at NYC, where he and Gerwig previously created an enticing, exhilarating perspective on being young amid the overwhelming offerings of big city life. [Zachary]

Ex Machina

Ex Machina 2015

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Alex Garland’s career achievements so far have been penning novels and screenplays such as The Beach, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, and Dredd, but now he’s stepping behind the camera with his directorial début, Ex Machina. Set in the near future when artificial intelligence is beginning to make major breakthroughs, a young programmer named Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) is assigned to evaluate the humanistic qualities of a female A.I. robot. Caleb ends up falling in love with the beautiful robot girl, and she urges him to second guess his boss (played by Oscar Isaac) and question the motives behind the experiment. By the sounds of it, the film would make an interesting double feature with Spike Jonze’s metaphysical romance film Her. Given Garland’s previous writing efforts, there’s a good chance Ex Machina will be an imaginative and trippy thrill ride—exactly the type of sci-fi we like to watch. Those lucky enough to attend this year’s SXSW Film Festival in March will be able to catch the North American premiere. [Dustin]

Sisters

Sisters 2015 Amy Poehler Tina Fey

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I think Tina Fey and Amy Poehler have solidly established themselves as the queens of the comedy realm. People want to see (or read) whatever they do. Though their first attempt as a duo in a feature film, Baby Mama, didn’t make a big splash at the box office, with 7 years and (almost) 3 Golden Globes under their belts, they have been perfecting their chemistry since then. What’s really exciting is that adding to their biting wit and snarky banter, they will be directed by Jason Moore, whose job on Pitch Perfect took everyone by surprise and the comedic world by storm. SNL veteran Paula Pell will be handling the script, so we can rest assured that this super basic plot will be taken advantage of in every which way to give us a hilarious trip. I’m really looking forward to seeing the likes of Maya Rudolph, Ike Barinholtz, Kate McKinnon, and Bobby Moynihan make this perhaps the comedy of the year. Though SNL movies in the past have been mainly hit or miss, I’m banking on this one being a home run. [Scarlet]

Jupiter Ascending

Jupiter Ascending 2015 movie

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Like many indie cinephiles, I am an unabashed fan of the Wachowskis. After the groundbreaking success of The Matrix and their downfall throughout its sequels, the directing duo have seemed to reset themselves with a series of films that felt more pure while maintaining their incredible bold vision. There are many people that wouldn’t get behind Speed Racer and Cloud Atlas, but these are films I absolutely love for their visual and narrative uniqueness. Jupiter Ascending seems like it could be a slight return to a more mainstream genre exercise, but the Wachowskis are simply too interesting for me to ignore. The film’s delay from late 2014 to February should be a worrisome sign, but it almost feels like a badge of honor—perhaps it isn’t what the studio was looking for and won’t be what they expect as a sci-fi showcase for a mass audience. Even Channing Tatum’s (an actor I very much enjoy) weird blonde goatee isn’t enough to turn me off. Could it be a total garbage fire? Certainly. Then again, as the Wachowski’s have showed more than once, one man’s garbage fire could be another man’s masterpiece. [Aaron]

Queen of the Desert

Queen of the Desert Herzog

Oh, the plagues of film production. Werner Herzog’s next feature-length fiction film was all but set and ready to go for last year’s fall festival circuit, until the official announcement came through that the film had met with technical difficulties in post. My heart, along with many others, sunk. Time heals, however, and now that we’re in 2015 I’m hopeful once again. It’s Werner Herzog, someone whom I have a bottomless admiration for (check out WTI’s 20 Herzog Film Retrospective we did last year to mark the man’s birthday). This time around, he’s tackling the biopic genre again (something he’s mastered in the past), and what’s most curious is that it’s a biopic of a woman (fresh!). It recounts the life of British archaeologist and explorer Gertrude Bell, who became instrumental to British imperial policy-making at the turn of the century. Joining Nicole Kidman in the title role (which Herzog reportedly says she nails), are James Franco, Robert Pattinson (both men having proven great with the right material), and Damian Lewis of Homeland fame. But, in truth, all you had to tell me is that it’s a Herzog film set in a desert and I’d be sold. Which I am. No official release yet, but since it’s reportedly overcame its post-production hurdles, expect Queen of the Desert to make an appearance at Cannes. [Nik]

Evolution

Evolution 2015 movie

Last summer it was announced that French director Lucile Hadžihalilović was starting production on her newest film, and ever since then I’ve been anxiously looking for any news related to Evolution. For those unfamiliar with Hadžihalilović, I insist you go check out her 2004 film Innocence. It’s a little-known film about an all-girl boarding school that feels like an ominous fairy tale come to life. It’s a gorgeous, moody, atmospheric and undervalued work, one that would have established Hadžihalilović as one to watch if she made anything since then. Little is known about Evolution, except that it deals with young boys being the subjects of genetic experiments meant to reverse the stages of evolution. Hadžihalilović has cited The Island of Dr. Moreau as an influence on this film, so it’ll be interesting to see how she handles something more in the realm of horror and sci-fi. Will Evolution be worth the 11 year wait? Based on the strength of Innocence, I won’t be surprised if the answer to that question turns out to be a resounding yes. [C.J.]

Inside Out

Inside Out 2015 movie

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At this point, there is little anyone could say to deter me from being genuinely excited about every little piece of news we discover about the latest Pixar project. Inside Out, the animation that is quickly drawing more and more interest for its characterisation of human emotions—all inside the mind of a young girl—promises not only to uplift our spirits in the way most of Pixar’s original creations do, but also to be one of the most challenging adventures they have taken on to date. With little but the human mind as a backdrop, the film will no doubt be one of Pete Docter and Ronaldo Del Carmen’s most incisive deconstructions of human emotion and behaviour. Not to mention: is there anything more joyful than Amy Poehler being the voice of Joy? What could be more appropriate than Bill Hader voicing Fear? And Mindy Kaling is bound to bring unprecedented levels of sass to the role of Disgust. Announcing Inside Out, Pixar promised an exploration inside the world of the human mind, and with over a year having passed since their last film, it’s safe to say we can expect them to deliver on their promises. [Pavi]

Crimson Peak

Crimson Peak 2015 movie

My interest in the latest film from Guillermo del Toro was piqued (no pun intended) while at Comic-Con last July. Those in attendance were invited to a sneak preview of del Toro’s highly atmospheric film, and from what I could tell it appears to harbor all the creepiness of Pan’s Labyrinth combined with the ambiance of The Devil’s Backbone (my personal favorite of del Toro’s films). Emphasizing the horror elements was the blood-streaked logo of Legendary Pictures opening the teaser. Tom Hiddelston (master of dark macabre moods) plays the owner of an elaborate and gothic old house to which he has just brought his young bride Edith (Mia Wasikowska). Del Toro says he wanted a film led by a woman who gets the man and then has to deal with life beyond that, though of course it’s not likely most newlyweds’ experience to find themselves in a house alive with secrets and ill intentions. Jessica Chastain and Charlie Hunnam round out the cast for what looks to be a truly frightening and beautifully crafted gothic horror. The film is set for an October release (duh). [Ananda]

Midnight Special

Jeff Nichols Midnight Special 2015 movie

Writer/director Jeff Nichols garnered a significant amount of attention for attaching himself to the McConaissance, just prior to Dallas Buyers Club‘s rise to Oscars prominence, with the filmmaker’s 3rd feature Mud. That intriguing drama about two young Southern boys who cross paths with a fugitive and help him reunite with a mysterious ex-girlfriend illustrated Nichols’ ability to craft personable characters shrouded in secrecy. For my money, it’s his previous film Take Shelter that’s his best, an eerie, low-key thriller about a possibly psychotic man haunted by a series of apocalyptic visions debating how to best protect his family. His upcoming project, a supernatural sci-fi thriller titled Midnight Special, seems to take aim somewhere between those last two movies. The story concerns a man (played by Jeff Nichols’ muse Michael Shannon) and his son Alton (St. Vincent newcomer Jaeden Lieberher) on the run after the father discovers his son’s unique abilities. Also starring Joel Edgerton and Kirsten Dunst in the group trying to keep Alton safe, as well as Sam Shepard and Adam Driver among the villains hunting the child down, Jeff Nichols has described the project as an ’80s style genre flick in the vein of John Carpenter’s Starman. If that brew of ideas sounds enticing, look out for Midnight Special in theaters November 25th of this year. [Zachary]

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Jupiter Ascending 2015 movie

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I know, I know. Avengers: Age of Ultron is about as far away from independent filmmaking as it can get, but there are reasons to be excited for it. It gets people to the movies, which is always a good thing. It gives its stars freedom and clout to make smaller films and get smaller films made. It’s also the best at what it is—there’s always room for popcorn as long as it’s good popcorn, and Marvel makes the best popcorn. Most importantly, The Avengers franchise is an unprecedented achievement in storytelling and moviemaking. Until the MCU, film series have mostly been vertical—film one begets film two, then three, and so on. Quentin Tarantino has dabbled in the horizontal, making tangential references among his films, but nothing has been as ambitious in scope as the MCU. Characters routinely crossover from film to film. The events of one film impact others on both axes and everyone assembles for the climax. This ambitious design takes great creativity and vision, but to have the skill to turn that vision into ten (and counting) successful films over the last seven years is a creative feat that gets lost in both the fanfare and the hate. [Michael]

The Lobster

The Lobster 2015 movie

If you’ve seen Dogtooth (if you haven’t, make it your top priority), it will be easy to understand why we’re anxiously awaiting Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest project. Lanthimos, who helped birth the “Greek Weird Wave” movement, will be making his English language début with The Lobster, and he’s lined up a killer cast: Rachel Weisz, John C. Reilly, Ben Whishaw, Colin Farrell, Olivia Colman and Léa Seydoux, just to name a few. The only other things we’ve seen from this film are the amazing photo shown above and a completely bonkers plot-description. And what is that crazy plot-description? Well, the film takes place in a dystopian future where single people are captured, locked in a hotel and given two options: find a partner within 45 days, or turn into an animal and get released in the woods. How can you read that and not want this movie in front of your eyeballs right this second? [C.J.]

Green Room

Green Room 2015 movie

Jeremy Saulnier’s last film, Blue Ruin, was an out-of-the-blue masterpiece—its success even surprised Sundance, who initially passed on the film. Whenever a début is released that hits such a confident and stylish cord, there will always be pressure on the follow-up. Green Room seems to double-down on the dark and moody tone set by its predecessor. The basic plot has two separately, yet equally awesome, parts: a young punk band who somehow get wrapped up in a horrible act of violence at one of their gigs and a group of neo-Nazis who have some sort of relationship to said band. These groups coming together certainly has a great potential for dark humor and bone-chilling violence, which Saulnier has already wonderfully showcased the ability to meld and morph. But perhaps the most intriguing part of Green Room is the casting of Patrick Stewart, the grandfatherly actor and surprisingly wacky twitter persona, as the head of the neo-Nazi group. Green Room currently doesn’t have a theatrical release date set, but expect it to pop up at Cannes and top film festivals throughout 2015. [Aaron]

Mad Max: Fury Road

Mad Max Fury Road

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I’m going to be that guy for a second: sorry, but I will never say that Die Hard is the greatest action movie of all time. I firmly believe that the honor belongs solely to The Road Warrior, George Miller’s rough and tough Australian film from the early ’80s. So when I heard that the series was finally getting a fourth film, I naturally started fist pumping until my arms went numb. The film has been in production for seemingly a decade now, long enough for me to pull the ol’, “I’ll believe it’s being made when I see a trailer.” Well, that trailer premiered at Comic-Con last summer and has had fanboys (including yours truly) singing from the rafters ever since. Miller returns to helm the film which is now being led by everybody’s favorite actor of late Tom Hardy, who seems like an excellent choice to play Max, the ever tortured soul of Australia’s barren and wasted Outback. What’s immediately admirable is that Miller has decided to stick with mostly practical effects (crashing cars for real with stuntmen) over digital effects. Because who doesn’t love cars smashing into each other at a 100mph for 2 hours? [Blake]

Joy

Joy 2015 Jennifer Lawrence

David O. Russell’s first collaboration with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper was 2012’s Silver Linings Playbook. That film went on to great success, earning back six times its budget and collecting Oscar nominations for Russell for writing and directing, Lawrence and Cooper for acting (Lawrence won), and for Best Picture, among others. That turned out to be more than luck. One year later the dynamic trio joined forces for American Hustle to similar results. The film made back four times its budget and earned them another round of Oscar noms (as well as Best Picture, among others). After taking 2014 off (collaboratively, at least), Russell, Lawrence, and Cooper are at it again in Joy. The film is the real-life rags-to-riches tale of Joy Mangano, inventor of the Miracle Mop. Lawrence is playing the title role. Russell, Lawrence, and Cooper are on a hot streak. I can’t wait to see it roll on. [Michael]

Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland 2015 movie

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Brad Bird is one of my favorite directors currently working (I’m forever grateful for The Incredibles and The Iron Giant), and the fact that he’s helming Disney’s Tomorrowland instills a lot of confidence where, in a lesser director’s hands, I would probably write it off as a throwaway blockbuster with an arbitrary, shoehorned Disney trademark slapped on to inflate profits. I believe in Bird’s skills as a live-action filmmaker (I thought Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol was very good), and from what I saw in the inventive teaser trailer released last year (its highlight is one of the most fun, startling visual effects I’ve seen in a while), he seems to have a clear, fresh vision of the world of tomorrow. According to Disney, the film follows “a bright, optimistic teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor jaded by disillusionment as they embark on a danger-filled mission to unearth the secrets of an enigmatic place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory as ‘Tomorrowland.’” With George Clooney, newcomer Britt Robertson, Judy Greer, Hugh Laurie, and Kathryn Hahn, the film boasts a strong cast to boot. [Bernard]

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

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Adventure. Excitement. A Jedi craves not these things. I, on the other hand, really want this to be full of both of those. I can’t help but struggle, however, with a deep-seated fear…and we all know where that leads. Though our old heroes will be returning in the flesh—the real Han and Luke and Leia—will they bring back that original magic (Disney magic notwithstanding)? Or will they desecrate everything we hold dear? So, when I say this movie is anticipated, it’s an anxious anticipation. I want to love it. I dread the possibility that I will hate it. Some might find my lack of faith disturbing, but I tend to be a Star Wars traditionalist and still have a bitter taste in my mouth from the “special editions” of Episodes 4, 5, and 6 and consider Episodes 1, 2, and 3 to be nothing short of farcical. Though if you enjoyed those films, you’re pretty much guaranteed to enjoy The Force Awakens, so I won’t spoil it. For those in my boat? Well, it’s difficult to see. Always in motion is the future. Nevertheless, we have to know. This movie must be seen. [Scarlet]

Knight of Cups

Knight of Cups 2015

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For our money, Terrence Malick is one of the greatest auteurs working today, so it’s not a surprise to find his latest experiment (because that’s what his films are) on our most anticipated list. Knight of Cups has run laps in the rumor mill for a couple of years now, so when the trailer finally arrived last month we could breathe a sigh of relief. And judging solely from the trailer, it appears we’re in for another ambiguous story filled with gorgeous cinematography from Emmanuel Lubezki somewhat like The Tree of Life—and if it’s half as good we’ll be thrilled! Knight of Cups sounds as cryptic as it looks, loosely structured as a modern-day fable with Christian Bale as a “young prince” who gets caught up in the celebrity lifestyle of Hollywood, possibly pissing off his father (aka the king) in the process. The film has a huge cast of stars: Cate Blanchett, Imogen Poots, Natalie Portman, Teresa Palmer, Ben Kingsley, and Nick Offerman. Though we know little about the film (typical Malick), all that really matters is that Malick is behind the camera, which is enough for us to eagerly wait in line for tickets. [Dustin]

Macbeth

Macbeth 2015 movie

This is going to be a great year. Part of the reason I believe that is because I’ve had such a hard time trying to decide which two films to write about (after my top choices Knight of Cups and The Lobster were already shot-gunned). It wasn’t long before I remembered Macbeth and got all jittery with excitement. Where to begin? As a student of literature, watching any Shakespeare adaptation (especially when the original text is retained) is like eating homemade apple pie; there’s an intimacy there that’s unrivaled by anything else. And his tragedy about a soldier too ambitious for his own good, succumbing to his own twisted sense of righteousness (twisted, mostly, by his cunning wife), is one of my absolute favorites. I’ve been aching to see what director Justin Kurzel does next ever since he blew me away with his haunting feature début Snowtown, and once I heard that it was Macbeth, with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, I was hooked in an instant. Working again with his brother Jed Kurzel (who composed the hell out of Snowtown) and True Detective’s cinematographer Adam Arkapaw is like a scoop of delicious vanilla ice-cream next to the pie I would’ve gobbled up regardless. No official release date yet, but it’s been in post for a while so no reason not to think it won’t be ready in time for Cannes. [Nik]

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Star Wars: The Force Awakens Debuts Teaser http://waytooindie.com/news/star-wars-the-force-awakens-debuts-teaser/ http://waytooindie.com/news/star-wars-the-force-awakens-debuts-teaser/#respond Mon, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000 http://waytooindie.com/?p=28133 The teaser trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens is finally here.]]>

“There has been an awakening – have you felt it?” Thus begins the all-new teaser for J.J. AbramsStar Wars: The Force Awakens.

It’s a short teaser, that debuted in a select few theaters today and iTunes, but true fans will take whatever morsels Abrams gives us. Not much plot was revealed, and the teaser focuses on the tension around the force apparently waking up. The teaser focuses on the tech goodies, a new droid on a rolling ball, stormtroopers preparing for battle, a lightsaber that looks like a sword with a hilt.

We do get a slight glimpse at newcomers John Boyega and Daisy Riddle. They join Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Max von Sydow, and original cast members Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Peter Mayhew.

What fans will undoubtedly be amped most about is some awesome action by the Millenium Falcon. This is the seventh film in the franchise and will take place 30 years after Return of the Jedi.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens will hit theaters December of 2015. One more year guys, one more year.

Leave a comment, tell us your thoughts.

 

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