Pan may be the origin story nobody wanted but it is certainly not the disaster I was expecting.
The idea that Peter Pan had to have come from somewhere is one that, I admit, I had never pondered, but Pan tells that story in a way that has much to offer for both kids and adults – though it doesn’t really achieve maximum impact until about two-thirds in.
Usually, when a studio moves a movie on its schedule, it’s a bad thing, but Warners relocation of Jow Wright’s fresh take on Peter Pan, Pan, was dropped into a prime fall slot so they must be pretty confident about it.
Check out the new trailer after the jump. Pan opens on October 9th.
We all know the story of Peter Pan – whether it be through J.M. Barrie’s novel or Disney – or at least we think we do. In fact, we know the story of the Darling children’s encounter with Peter Pan. Peter’s origin is something else again – and that’s what addressed in Pan: the story of the orphan boy with a destiny to never grow up.
Starring newcomer Levi Miller as Peter, Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard, Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily and Garrett Hedlund as Hook, Pan will be in theaters, in 3D, on July 17, 2015. Check out the first trailer after the jump.
When you think of the name Joe Wright, you think of period pieces like Atonement and Pride & Prejudice – not action flicks that twist fairytale themes into something the Brothers Grimm would approve of. You certainly wouldn’t expect him to do it so well, either, but Hanna is an absorbing, hugely entertaining movie.
Continue reading Hanna Updates the Brothers Grimm for the 21st Century!
I don’t know who made the decision to back The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as Paramount’s most likely Oscar® candidate, and to shuffle The Soloist to the spring release schedule where it will undoubtedly get lost among the spring blockbusters, but they definitely backed the wrong metaphorical horse. The Soloist is a film of subtlety and intelligence and does not do something that most movies do: manufacture a happy ending.
Even though changes have been made to make the film a better story, The Soloist shines like the music of Beethoven, the particular favorite of Nathaniel Anthony Ayers Jr. [Jamie Foxx]. Ayers came to national prominence when he was discovered, by Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez [Robert Downey Jr.], playing Beethoven’s music in the street. The column Mr. Lopez wrote garnered more attention than anything he’d ever written and sparked a huge amount of interest in Mr. Ayers, who had been a student at Julliard before succumbing to schizophrenia.
Continue reading MOVIE REVIEW: The Soloist Plays Brilliantly!