2020 has been a hard one, almost everyone can easily say, they were affected negatively one way or another by the raging pandemic, whether reasons be economic, physical or even our personal relationships.
Actor and director Ryan Reynolds and his production company, Maximum Effort, hilariously delivered to viewers just how crazy this year has been in an extremely entertaining video ad for the online dating service Match.com.
Reynolds, who is known for his quirky sense of humor described the commercial as a “A Love Story for the ages. Or at least this age”.
The devil himself, Satan is seen swiping on the doing app and matches with a woman with the user name “2020”. We see Satan and 2020 go on a series of date, including working out at a socially distanced gym, starting a dumpster fire, stealing armfuls of toilet paper, and eating scorching hot chili peppers at an empty sporting stadium. The two break all the rules and jokingly references in some form or another exaggerations on some of the struggles, limitations and restrictions set for covid-19.
The ad ends with the couple, in love, watching what looks like the end of the world, an apocalyptic backdrop with asteroids destroying buildings and the city around them. With the truly devilish end comment “ I just don’t want this year to end”. Although, unquestionably we all can’t wait for 2021 and better times to come. This ad brings much levity to the seriousness brought on this year.
The cherry on top is, we get to hear Taylor Swift’s romantic ballad and 2008 smash hit “Love Story” play in the background. Swift who is in the process of re-recording her songs due to battling with Scooter Braun, gave Reynolds a sneak peak for the advert.
Okay so while my new re-records are NOT done, my friend @VancityReynolds asked me if he could use a snippet of one for a LOLsome commercial he wrote so…here’s a sneak peak of Love Story! Working hard to get the music to you soon!! https://t.co/0vBFXxaRXR
Oscar buzz and predictions are building ahead of the Golden Globes, which are traditionally used as a gauge of what will most likely be among the Oscar nominations. The Globes are slated for January 6th, 2020 and the Oscar’s, a.k.a. 91st Academy Awards telecast is on Sunday, 24 February.
Some of the films that are getting the most buzz and are favored to be in the running can be seen by peeking at the trailers (with links to our in depth articles) below:
New Zealand director Taika Waltiti’s movie “Jojo Rabbit” was released October 18th. The critic’s reactions have been positive, and the film won the Toronto Film Festival audience award putting it in line, if past years winners are any indication, for a possible Oscar nod. Waititi was also awarded the Festival’s new Ebert Director Award.
Waltiti is known for directing wacky comedies such as “What We Do In The Shadows,” “Hunt For The Wilderpeople,” and the borderline parody Marvel hit, “Thor: Ragnarok.” His latest film, “Jojo Rabbit” follows this same vein of outrageous, yet charming humor, but there is one key difference… “Jojo Rabbit” focuses on Germany’s Nazi party during World War II, making its hilarity just a touch more complicated.
More specifically, “Jojo Rabbit” is about a young boy in the Hitler Youth. Like many German kids of the time, he aspires to be a Nazi soldier when he grows up. He buys into the party’s ideologies and believes their propaganda. That is until he comes face to face with a Jewish girl and learns, despite what the Nazis have taught him, that she is harmless, pleasant, and appealing.
On the surface, the premise seems like the bones of a complex and sophisticated historical drama. With Waltiti behind the camera, though, such is obviously not the case. Instead of dry historical accuracy, Waltiti makes the Hitler Youth look like a summer camp filled with likable children and goofy leaders. Most boldly perhaps, Waltiti himself plays Adolf Hitler in the movie, but rather than depict him as the brutal dictator that he was, Waltiti makes him out to be the kind-uncle archetype, a socially inept, hilarious motivator and idol for the children in the story.
Quentin Tarantino has had success with his ninth movie, “Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood”. In a slight departure from his stark early 70s styled crime dramas, this time Tarantino pays homage to the late- 60’s genre and his love for his hometown, Los Angeles.
The film takes place in 1969 Hollywood, amidst the chaotic events of that year, including the infamous Manson Murders. Much like The Altamont Free Concert, as chronicled in the film Gimme Shelter (with it’s high profile murder during the show), the gruesome, violent Manson murders are often cited as an historical moment marking the end of the free love 60’s and a pivot towards the darker times in the me decade of the 70’s.
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton, as an actor on a Western television series alongside Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth, Dalton’s stuntman. The two work and live closely together as they carry out their urban cinematic adventures. The characters and their friendship are said to be based on 70’s icon Burt Reynolds and his stuntman Hal Needham.
Even before seeing “Joker” the origin-story from Warner Brothers, there is a sense that this is an epic not easily categorized within the Comic-Book movie genre.
Starring Joaquin Phoenix (Oscar nominee for “Walk the Line”, “The Master” and “Gladiator”), directed and co-written by Todd Phillips (“Borat” and “The Hangover Trilogy”) and with Robert De Niro (as TV host Murray Franklin), the focus on how Arthur Fleck becomes “Joker” screams a muted, uneasy tension, that’s oozing from every pixel revealed so far.
In “Joker”, Batman’s Gotham City is a cesspool of dirt and depravity where Arthur appears doomed to live and die encircled with nothing but depression and humiliation. Mentally Ill and mercilessly tortured by the “sane” members of society all around him, he finds some respite in his chosen career of clown-for-hire and hopeful comedian wannabe by night.
The potential for the story to transcend the genre of Comic book heroes and villains is hinted at in the placard with the words “we are all clowns” scrawled on it, that can be seen in a flash, about halfway through the new trailer (above).
Followed by scenes showing mobs of clown-mask-wearing demonstrators / rioters (shades of anonymous, Guy Fawkes, Antifa and Hong Kong), there’s an implication that an anti-social movement is growing up around, and identifying with, the anger and twisted humor of the emerging “Joker” super-villain character.
The real life parallels to the fictional world of Gotham City and the way many could relate, after having suffered similar fates to those that produced the madness into which Arthur descends, are scary, already in previews, and could portend a film that is not only horrifically entertaining, but thought provoking, when seen in the shadows of current events and today’s zeitgeist.
In the wake of so many “uplifting” but heavily computer assisted films where Comic book superheroes battle cartoon villains (and each other) the emphasis on live action grit and human emotions and failings is, at first look, refreshing and terrifying (in an interesting way), and that seems to have hit a nerve with the general public, judging from the $1 billion plus bos office take so far.
From “Logan” and “Walk The Line” director James Mangold, “Ford v Ferrari” follows the true story of American engineer Carroll Shelby who is solicited by Henry Ford II to build a car that can beat Ferrari at the 1966 Le Mans World Championship in France. Shelby, determined to complete Ford’s ambitious task, insists on putting the wild and loose British driver Ken Miles behind the wheel. What ensues is the fast-playing tale of a couple eccentric and erratic people infiltrating a world filled with professional industrialists to take on the impossible.
Matt Damon plays Shelby in the film and Christian Bale as Miles. Rather than one being the lead and the other being a supporting role, both actors are co-leading the film, making them both eligible for Best Actor in a Leading Role nominations at the Oscars come February.
Amidst Family-Friendly ‘Billionaire’ Movies, ‘Joker’ is the Only R-Rated Feature to Break the Mold
“Joker” came out nearly two months ago on October 4th. Upon release, it earned an immediate $93.5 million, giving it the highest-grossing October opening weekend ever. Recently, however, “Joker” broke yet another record, this time solidifying it as a financial success and a milestone movie.
Earlier this week, “Joker” became the first R-rated movie to earn more than $1 billion at the box office, edging out “Deadpool” as the most lucrative R-Rated film of all time.
Only a handful of movies have managed to break the $1 billion threshold. This year, “Joker” joins the likes of “Avengers: Endgame,” “Toy Story 4,” and “The Lion King” as a film that managed to earn ten figures. It is also Warner Brothers’ biggest success since “Aquaman,” which came out in December 2018 and grossed $1.2 billion.
Almost every movie to make over a $1 billion has been a family-friendly action-comedy blockbuster, nestled somewhere between a PG and PG-13 rating. This usually allows for a wider range of people to buy tickets. “Joker,” however, stands out as an R-rated sinister drama that made an artistic debut at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. The movie even received some backlash for its ultra-violent themes and its humanization of the criminally insane.
Public Obsession with ‘Joker’ Brings Alarm as Many Fear it could Spawn Copy Cats
Of course, the movie is about Batman’s arch nemesis and is technically under the DC Entertainment label. Thus, it was bound to find success from the beginning. Nevertheless, given “Joker’s” mature nature and radical subject matter, it remains quite impressive that the film is doing as well as it is.
Like most big-budget films nowadays, the majority of “Joker’s” success came from foreign ticket sales. The movie has earned $694 million abroad compared to $322.6 million domestic. However, Warner Brothers also managed to make this hefty figure without releasing the film in China, which is the second largest movie market in the world.
Some may find it disturbing that a movie focusing on the antagonist is drawing so much attention. Many fear that audiences will empathize with the Joker too much and perhaps try to follow in his deranged and violent footsteps.
Despite Criticism, Filmmakers Defend Artistry as a Potential Oscar Buzz surrounds the ‘Clown Prince’
Director Todd Phillips and lead actor Joaquin Phoenix (who plays the titular character) have heard these criticisms loud and clear, but they still defend their work. Essentially, they take the stance that filmmakers have artistic freedom to tell the stories they want to tell, no matter how unsavory the characters or how risky the themes. They contend that filmmakers (like any artists) do not have an obligation to teach viewers morality—it is up to the individual to interpret the story ethically and make the right choices.
Regardless, the criticism is not stopping people from seeing the movie. Evidently, millions of people from all around the world are flocking to theaters for “Joker.” Meanwhile, it is also getting positive reviews and potential Oscar buzz, especially regarding Joaquin Phoenix transformative performance as the Clown Prince of Darkness.
“Joker” as a whole is a divisive and morally ambiguous picture. The movie was a risk on Warner Brothers’ part and its ultimate legacy is yet to be determined. At the very least, though, Warner Bros knows that the risk paid off financially, and that they are cashing a big check for their fast and loose quasi-Batman anti-hero project.
Terminator: Dark Fates reunites Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor), Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator), and the film’s original director James Cameron in the Producer role. This time, Deadpool director Tim Miller guides the action and the David Goyer (Dark Knight), story.
Photo / Paramount
The story centers around a half-human/half-robot (Mackenzie Davis) who is assigned to protect a young girl from a liquid metal Terminator (Gabriel Luna). The liquid metal terminator isn’t too different from the T-1000 played by Robert Patrick from T2. Hence, Sara Connor (Linda Hamilton) joins the fight. We also see Sara Connor meeting with a T-800/T-850 played by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
“It has been nearly 30 years since I last stepped into the shoes of Sarah Connor, a character who definitely changed my life,” she said. “And only a script, a story, a director like this could bring me back into this world — a perfect confluence of events. Once in a lifetime, or maybe twice, an event comes along that you cannot turn away from. And for me, this is that moment.”
The Terminator franchise has had a bumpy go at it. Three films were made without James Cameron’s watchful eye. This is the first film since the 1991 film Terminator 2: Judgement Day that will include Cameron’s creative guidance. The three films made between 1991 and now will have no role in Dark Fate’s continuity.
A couple things to note regarding the Terminator timeline: Although the first film was made in 1984, the events in T2 took place in 1995 (it was actually released in 1991), this was the first appearance of future Skynet resistance leader John Connor, as a teenager. (Skynet is the company that somewhat accidentally caused the machines to take over). The timeline can get confusing, and this newest installment will take place in 2022.
Photo / Paramount
Both films consist of a cat and mouse road movie, where a Terminator from the future is sent to “terminate” a human, who is destined one day to hatch the resistance. The first film had Schwarzeneggar as the pro-Skynet Terminator hunting the mother of John Connor (who isn’t concieved yet) . Connor sends a human (from the future) named “Kyle Reese” to protect Sara Connor…and concieve himself. Yeah, I know.
The second film is about Skynet sending another Terminator, this time a liquid metal T-1000 to “terminate” the now conceived, born, and teenage John Connor. But, John Connor sends a reprogrammed T-800 (once again played Schwarzenegger) of his own, to protect himself.
Photo / Paramount
So, with Skynet failing to ‘terminate” it’s targets in the first two movies, we are wondering who the Terminator is going after this time. In the teaser trailer we see a young girl, protected by her own Terminator. A relative of Kyle Reese? I don’t know. See movie for the answer… ;-t
