Blog Archives
Happy Monday!
It doesn’t hurt to shine a golden light on a Monday.
Rules Don’t Apply is a new movie that focuses on the late, great and eccentric aviation innovator Howard Hughes and the Hollywood film industry in 1958. This Golden Era of movie-making is as popular and captivating as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby. Fittingly, Lily Collins (Marla Mabrey) starred in the Amazon pilot based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s final and unfinished book, The Last Tycoon.
The decision to move The Last Tycoon to series (I voted yes in the post-viewing survey) is still being determined. The first chapter in this TV show shows promise and sparks curiosity. Rules Don’t Apply, on the other hand, will be premiered to the public in its full form on November 23rd of this year.
The star-studded cast will either work beautifully or, you know…Equally important, the story needs to elevate far above the seemingly predictable third act set on an all too familiar linear path. The cast suggests there should be entertaining twists-and-turns. Howard Hughes and the Golden Age of Hollywood deserve that, at a minimum.
The hope is that the old rules of unsurprising movie-making won’t apply to Rules Don’t Apply.
Have a Great Week!
A Lift Back in Time
Sequels, historically, have a mixed record. How about a non-sequel sequel?
The 2011 film Crazy, Stupid, Love starring Ryan Gosling, Steve Carell, Emma Stone and Julianne Moore is a wonderful cinematic achievement. Akin to the Ocean’s Eleven trilogy, the casting, writing and acting was pitch-perfect and clever throughout with fun twists and fantastic settings we wish we could hang-out in on the weekend or on vacation.
Great escapism.
Speaking of escapism…
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone’s chemistry in Crazy, Stupid, Love is clearly evident. Remember the Dirty Dancing-inspired scene with the famed lift? It’s fitting the two would make a movie that expands their burgeoning romance from that dynamite move.
Despite not being their first reunion on film (Gangster Squad in 2013), the brand new teaser trailer for La La Land is, in terms of tonality, a similar feel-good spirit for the actor and actress as their beloved roles as Jacob Palmer and Hannah. The classical, dreamy aura reminds us of the Golden Age of Hollywood, inviting us into a world that serves as confirmation for why we enjoy movie magic and how this magic is created.
This film is unapologetic in celebrating Hollywood’s bright, shining spotlight elevated on and for the stage of suspended belief.
La La Land doesn’t look crazy or stupid, but full of love.
Letting Go of Winter
Disney proved they are the kings queens of winter.
Now, they are trying their hand at an island paradise.
The next female heroine will arrive in theaters November 23rd, courtesy of Walt Disney’s Animation Studio, in Moana. Taking place thousands of years ago, Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) and Maui (Dwayne Johnson) battle the rough oceanic waves to save her fellow citizens. Witnessing the powerful response from both girls and boys to Frozen, the warm weather counterpart Moana could potentially spark similar fanfare.
This is, potentially, a very exciting prospect for Disney movie producers, as well as moviegoers.
The plot explores a culture and part of the world during a time that hasn’t seen its ship sail into a movie theater dock. As is the magic with movies, the story locations can inspire escapism, curiosity and, yes, trips to these exotic destinations.
(If you’ve traveled to Hawaii and you like movies, chances are pretty high/100% that you at least asked where they filmed Jurassic Park).
Even though TV fans fondly remember Hawaii from the Saved by the Bell movie and Danny Tanner’s “Clipboard of Fun,” Disney’s Animation Studio will give people a fresh look at this region’s past…very distant past. The teaser trailer didn’t reveal much (obviously, it’s a teaser), but the visual snapshot has given viewers enough to be intrigued at Disney’s post-Frozen potential.
By late November, we’ll know if Moana has melted away Frozen’s icy dominance.
Jimmy's Daily Planet 