Starring Reese Witherspoon, Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Selma Blair, Joshua Jackson, Eric Mabius, Louise Fletcher
Written by Roger Kumble
Based on the novel by Choderlos de Laclos
Cinematography by Theo van de Sande
Edited by Jeff Freeman
Produced by
Directed by Roger Kumble
Originally released by Columbia Pictures
Re-released by Sony Pictures
The year was 1999. Things were different back then. For example, my rent was only $400 a month! Gas was $1.25, Bill Clinton was President, the economy was doing great, and there was no internet! Teenagers used to go the mall to hang out with there friends. Yup, life sure was different; a lot simpler now that I stop and think about it. It was here where I saw a movie that is now celebrating its 20th anniversary! And yes, that makes me feel old! Now, thanks to Sony Pictures, they are bringing back the teen cult classic CRUEL INTENTIONS for a one week engagement, and, of course, I went and saw it over at the Cinemark Century Oakridge 20, where I saw it originally all those years ago.
The film's official synopsis: Annette (Reese Witherspoon) unwittingly becomes a pawn in
Sebastian's (Ryan Phillippe) and Kathryn's (Sarah Michelle Gellar)
deliciously diabolical wager of sexual conquest when she writes an
article in Seventeen Magazine about how she intends to stay pure until
she marries her boyfriend. However, Sebastian gets more than he bargained for as he attempts to woo Annette into his bed.
is playing for one week only at select theaters, including the Cinemark Century 20 Oakridge here in the Bay Area. To view showtimes, visit cinemark.com.
Ok, ok......I can do this.....I can do this review....I can do this....here goes.....Welcome folks to another installment of Phil's Film Adventures! Today's film is the continuation of a brave heroine who must save her people and the one she loves from an evil entity that........ummmmmmm.......oh boy this hurts. Seriously I'm in excruciating pain as I am writing this. Want to know the reason why? Well it's because I saw the film ALLEGIANT, the latest chapter in the DIVERGENT series and it sucked so bad that I can't believe I watched the whole movie in its entirety! What the hell is wrong with me?!? Why would info this to myself?!? Oh the pain! The pain!!
Theatrical Movie Poster
The film's official synopsis: After the earth-shattering revelations of INSURGENT, Tris (Shailene Woodley) must escape
with Four (Theo James) and go beyond the wall enclosing Chicago. For the first time
ever, they will leave the only city and family they have ever known.
Once outside, old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless with the
revelation of shocking new truths. Tris and Four must quickly decide who
they can trust as a ruthless battle ignites beyond the walls of Chicago
which threatens all of humanity. In order to survive, Tris will be
forced to make impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice
and love.
Holy hell this was bad movie! Everything that you would not want to seein a movie is here: bad acting, shitty story, crappy characters, lame motivations, pure boredom at its lowest!! I think I actually became dumber after watching this! And this was originally aimed at those tween kids who liked THE HUNGER GAMES, THE MAZE RUNNER and the TWILIGHT series. I hate to say this Summit Entertainment but those movies were made for an audience that are now ADULTS!!! Those kids are now in college, have jobs, dating and such. The audience for the DIVERGENT series is no longer there! You guys totally missed the boat and came in way too late. The first film came out a year before THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY PART 2 for crying out loud! Talk about being late to the party!!
To add further insult to injury, the company has now decided to release the final DIVERGENT film entitled ASCENDANT as a TV movie due to this film's very poor boxoffice take. Oh, you didn't hear about that bit of news? Well, it came to light during the San Diego ComicCon with lead actress Shailene Woodley being asked her thoughts about the film's theatrical cancellation during her panel for her upcoming film SNOWDEN. The film grossed $179.2 million at the boxoffice against its budget of $110 million. However, one needs to take into account the marketing budget they studio spent to promote the film. With that taken into consideration, the film lost money which again prompted this move that was taken by Summit Entertainment/Lionsgate.
ALLEGIANT is both a commercial and critical bomb!! This film has literally killed the franchise and will now be always referred to as the BATMAN & ROBIN of the series!! It's time to leave the tween book film adaptations behind and start making original films again. 1 out of 5 stars!! Not even worth your time!!
ALLEGIANT is still currently playing in select theaters nationwide. The film is also available on Blu-Ray and DVD as well as On Demand, digital download and at Redboxes.
You know, since I'm always going to San Francisco to see all the cool movies events and festivals, I should just move up here! Yup, I'm back in the City by the Bay to attend the latest Midnites for Maniacs show! The theme for Friday's show was "TWIRP: TRIBUTE TO SADIE HAWKINS." Host Jesse Hawthorne Ficks once again screened three great films, all on 35mm film prints! And as always, Jesse screened some excellent trailers before each movie. Joining me on all this fun was my fellow bloggers Jason Wiener (Jason Watches Movies) and Ms. Marya E. Gates (Cinema Fanatic) as well as my good friend Laura, making her Castro Theatre debut! So sit back and relax everybody, and away we go!
Theatrical Movie Poster (1997)
The first movie screened was the hilarious 90's comedy ROMY AND MICHELE'S HIGH SCHOOL REUNION. Best friends Romy (Mira Sorvino) and
Michele (Lisa Kudrow) are living the good life in Venice, California. Romy works as a cashier and Romy's unemployed, but hey, they're having fun going out to cool clubs and dancing...with themselves. But when Romy runs into her old classmate Heather Mooney (Janeane Garofalo) and tells her about their 10 year high school reunion, the girls pack up their car head back to Arizona. But along the drive there, the girls realize that they haven't really done much with their lives since high school. So they come up with a very clever lie, one that nearly destroys their friendship before they even arrive at the reunion!
I saw the film when it first came out and I laughed so hard in the theater. The film predates the blonde trend in movies (the LEGALLY BLONDE films and BLONDE AND BLONDER come to mind). Both Mira and Lisa have great on-screen chemistry and they play off one another with such ease and believability. They look and sound like the bestest friends in the whole wide world. Janeane Garofalo is great at playing spiteful, bitter, angry bitches that I found myself wondering if she typecast herself with this role? Could very well be. The film was directed by David Mirkin, who also made the 2001 film HEARTBREAKERS. Mirkin is more well known for directing several episodes of The Simpsons as well as writing the screenplay for THE SIMPSONS MOVIE. The film was originally released by Touchstone Pictures on April 25, 1997. Before the film, Ficks screened two vintage trailers: 1976's BAD NEWS BEARS and 1980's TIMES SQUARE. Click here to watch the film's original trailer.
Theatrical Movie Poster (198
Film number two of the night was the John Hughes teen classic PRETTY IN PINK. Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald) is a high school senior working-class girl who lives on the wrong side of the tracks, wears old lady clothes and jewerly, has a unemployed drunk dad, and has a major crush on her pretty rich preppie classmate Blane McDonough (Andrew McCarthy). This causes much pain for her best friend Phil "Duckie" Dale (Jon Cryer), who is secretly and hopelessly in love with her. With their love for each other hanging in the balance, can Andie and Blane make their relationship work or will the social circles and circumstances keep them apart?
Even though he was an adult, John Hughes had the uncanny ability to tap into the teenage world and display all their angst, hang ups, and . Molly's Andie is a strong character: she knows who she is, she takes care of her father, makes her clothes, works at a hip record store, and still finds time to do her homework. On wonders what she sees in Blane; rich, spoiled, lives a lavish lifestyle, and doesn't really have to work at anything. Even his name is freaking boring! Here is a classic example to that old adage "Opposites attract." But the screen stealer is John Cryer's Duckie all the way. Here is someone we can all relate to: he's weird, doesn't fit in with the other high school cliques, gets picked on, doesn't get the girl, but still comes out in the end. Another great attribute to the film is the kick ass soundtrack, boasting songs by the Psychedelic Furs, New Order, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, and The Smiths just to name a few. This 27th anniversary 35mm film print came courtesy from Paramount Pictures, which distributed the film on February 28, 1986. Three vintage trailers were screened before the film: 1987's THE PICK-UP ARTIST, 1985's THE BREAKFAST CLUB, and 1984's SIXTEEN CANDLES. Click here to watch the film's original trailer.
Theatrical Movie Poster (1976)
The third and final film of the night was a true horror classic! Based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, CARRIE tells the story of a young girl named Carrie White (Sissy Spacek). She's shy, unpopular, and all the other girls pick on her, especially popular mean girl Chris Hargensen (Nancy Allen). Also, she discovers that she has telekinesis, which freaks her out for a bit. It also doesn't help that her mother Margaret White (Piper Laurie) is a scary, mentally unstable, brainwashed Christian fundamentalist wacko! Feeling pity for poor Carrie, other popular girl Sue Snell (Amy Irving) has her boyfriend Tommy Ross (William Katt) take her to the prom. Carrie has the time of her life, even becoming the prom queen. But when Chris and her boyfriend Billy Nolan (John Travolta) pull a prank on poor Carrie, she takes bloody revenge on the entire senior class and the faculty.
The film was directed by Brian De Palma, and he has the perfect blend of horror, suspense, and exploitation with the T&A in the beginning of the film. De Palma has never hid the fact that he was a huge Alfred Hitchcock fan and has referenced the Master of Suspense in most of his films. In here, the name of the school is Bates High School, a reference to Norman Bates from PSYCHO. Sissy Spacek was fantastic in the film, but Piper Laurie' performance was just unnerving and just freaking creepy! This newly struck 35mm film print came courtesy of MGM. The film was origianlly released by United Artists on November 3, 1976. Once again, Ficks screened several trailers: 1980's PROM NIGHT, 1981's BLOW OUT, 1980's DRESSED TO KILL, and 1982's CREEPSHOW.
Well folks, there you have it! Another M4M show has come and
gone! If you missed out, no worries my friend! There's another show next month at the Castro Theatre on
Friday, May 17th. The title for that show is called "Dirty Little Munchkins" so mark that date on your calendar! To learn more
about Midnites
for Maniacs, visit their website at www.midnitesformaniacs.com. To view upcoming shows at the Castro Theatre, visit their website at www.castrotheatre.com.
So there were some chick flicks and romantic comedies that came out around Valentine's Day. Since I was so busy this past weekend, I didn't have time to see them all. I know, shocking huh? However I did see one film that caught my eye. So on Sunday I headed on down to the Camera 12 to see the romantic/teen/zombie/comedy film WARM BODIES.
Version "A" Poster.
Meet R (Nicholas Hoult). He's a zombie, but he's not your typical zombie. He's very introspective, trying to figure out who he is and whatnot. He sometimes hangs out with his only friend M (Rob Corddry). While out looking for food with his zombie pack, R meets Julie Grigio (Teresa Palmer) and a group of her friends in an abandoned building. After killing her boyfriend Perry (Dave Franco) and eating his brains, R rescues Julie and takes her back to his place (an airplane at the airport) to keep her safe. The two begin to form a bond, which makes R fell alive again, literally, and it soon affects the other zombies as well. But when they're being chased by a horde of living skeletal zombies (also known as Bonies), they must reach the barricade city in hopes that Julie's military father Gen. Grigio (John Malkovich) will aid them to defeat the army of Bonies and not kill R in the process.
Version "B" Poster.
Based on Isaac Marion's novel of the same name, the film was written and directed by Jonathan Levine, the man responsible for making the films ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANY LANE (2006), THE WACKNESS (2008), and 50/50 (2011). Levine changes the tone of the film from the book, giving it more light heartiness and more laughs. The film focuses on the romance between R and Julie, which creates some very funny and memorable laughs. When they're surrounded by zombies, he tell her to pretend she's one. When she does her imitation, complete with Romero-esque grunting and groaning, he whispers to her, "Too much." Another interesting aspect of the film is that a zombie is our protagonist, and we get to hear his inner thoughts. Who knew zombies could think? Again, Levine finds just the right balance of love, comedy, and bloodshed.
Version "C" Poster.
Actor Nicholas Hoult does a great job of playing a teen angst ridden zombie. Some of you out there might recognize him from such films as CLASH OF THE TITANS (2010), X-MEN: FIRST CLASS (2011) and he'll be staring in the upcoming film JACK THE GIANT SLAYER. Believe it or not, Hoult and other zombie actors practiced with circus performers to achieve the right body moves. Talk about taking their roles seriously! Teresa Palmer has appeared in numerous films like THE GRUDGE 2 (2006), DECEMBER BOYS (2007), BEDTIME STORIES (2008), THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE (2010), and I AM NUMBER FOUR (2011). Both Palmer and Hoult have great on-screen chemistry, which makes the audience feel sympathetic to them and their cause. We are rooting for this 21st Century Romeo and Juliet to cross the finish line and live happily ever after.
Version "D" Poster.
For those of you who may not know this, but horror films have always carried some sort of social commentary that relates to the time to which they were filmed in. Don't believe me? Well then, let me drop some film knowledge on you. Vampire films such as DRACULA and NOSFERATU pray upon our anxieties about sex, disease and death. FRANKENSTEIN and THE GOLEM provokes unanswerable questions about the origins of man and the existence of God himself. DR. JEKEL & MR. HYDE and THE WOLFMAN deals with human nature's darker, more violent side. George Romero's LIVING DEAD films have provoked the issues of civil rights, comparing consumers to zombies, military paranoia, and so forth. HALLOWEEN emphasizes that the killer could very well be your next door neighbor. Need I say more? So in the case of WARM BODIES, you have several different messages within the frames.
Version "E" Poster.
First being is never judge a book by its cover. Or in this case, just because he's a zombie doesn't mean he's going to eat your brains. The second message is that we all strive to become a better person. Just because your labeled as this or that, it shouldn't define who you are and who you want to become. There's also the message of tolerance and accepting those who are different than you. Through this we have the capability to change and reshape our future. And the last, and most obvious, message is that love knows no boundaries. Whether your white, black, brown, gay, straight, bi-sexual or whatever you are, love is not prejudice. This topic has sparked a great many debates, especially regarding gay marriage. I for one believe in equality, and I support gay marriage. If two people have found that special someone and they want to spend the rest of their lives together, then let them! Tolerance and understanding can help bridge the gap of ignorance and bring people together.
So to wrap this up, WARM BODIES is this year's great date film! If you're looking for a clever, funny, witty, sweet and entertaining zombie-filled, romantic comedy, then you must see this film! 5 out of 5 stars!! Highly recommended!!
WARM BODIES is currently playing in theaters nationwide, including at the Camera Cinemas here in the Bay Area. To view showtimes, visit their website at www.cameracinemas.com.
