Category Archives: General
Saturday At The Movies: The Greatest Gatsby
The summer movie season is in full swing and our next entry is Baz Lurman’s The Great Gatsby. This is a supposedly unfilmable novella. Other productions have been somewhat cursed. Even the Robert Redford version fell flat. In an interview with Stephen Colbert, Baz stated box office sales were of no concern. The truly artistic director saw this as a challenge to his creative yen and that was satisfied just by making the movie. This attitude prepares you a bit for what you will see on the screen. The love and reverence for which Baz holds Fitzgerald’s actual words is obvious. Not only do they literally float across the screen in some places, we see Nick Carraway’s narration literally rips quotes from the book.
Guest Blogger JMT On Why We’re So Excited About Star Trek Into Darkness
At the Toronto Comic Arts Festival last weekend, I bumped into occasional BBP contributor JMT, and we got to talking about Star Trek and why so many of us are excited to the arrival of Star Trek Into Darkness. A few days later, this arrived in my inbox, and summed things up nicely! – Andy Burns
We at Biff Bam Pop enjoyed the JJ Abrams (gritty) reboot of the Star Trek franchise. The 2009 film was suitably rooted in Gene Rodenberry’s universe and conveyed all of the size and scale we were hoping for, from the shipyard on earth, to the reveal shot of the Enterprise docked at a truly massive space station.
The cast offered interpretations of character audiences were familiar with, rather than mere impressions of the original cast. Two hours of Chris Pine doing William Shatner would have been insufferable, even if Karl Urban, couldn’t help but impersonate Deforest Kelley at times.
The device that linked the reboot to the original franchise was elegant. It avoided becoming bogged down in a discussion of the mechanics of time travel and jumping between universes. Even the most cynical moviegoers could take pleasure in Leonard Nimoy’s role.
The many smaller nods to the original series (Kirk in bed with an alien, who’s costume consisted only of some poorly applied green paint), seemed sufficient to satisfy most trekkies, at least according the aggregate scores on Meta critic and IMDB.
The first film in a franchise is the easiest, with a tried and true structure to rely on. Act one is an origin story, act two shows the transformation into a realized hero and act three presents a threat for the hero to overcome. The second film in a franchise poses the difficult question: what now? Sequels often end up adding more to the original without expanding upon it.
However, the lack of a specific formula for a sequel presents an opportunity for filmmakers to tell a new story. We have seen how Abrams successfully wove two origin stories together within the context of the Star Trek universe, and we are intrigued by the possibilities of Abrams, unfettered by the constraints of a first film in a franchise, may deliver as a sequel.
If Star Trek Into Darkness turns out to be a standard sequel, more spectacular shots of space, more cameos from members of the original cast, more poorly costumed aliens (dare we hope for tribbles), we will be satisfied… at least until the trailer for the inevitable third film.
Star Trek Into Theatres – Biff Bam Pop’s Box Office Predictions
After a long wait, a new Star Trek instalment is on the big screen. Will the anticipation translate into dollars? Here’s our prediction.
To everyone except a vocal minority of fan boys who will still lay down their dough, the 2009 Star Trek reboot from J.J. Abrams was a huge success, bringing in the most money of all eleven films. Now, with a story shrouded in secrecy, the cast is back Star Trek Into Darkness, with a new villain in the form of Benedict Cumberbatch. There’s no question that film will claim the top spot this weekend, though it may lose out on a few bucks for its three-day total, since the film actually hit theatres this past Wednesday night. Regardless, with eager audiences and critical acclaim, Star Trek Into Darkness should bring in an amazing $90 million this weekend.
Find out how the rest of the weekend will turn out after the jump!
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Looking Back At Star Trek (2009)
Star Trek (2009) is not your father’s Star Trek, but dammit, Jim, it’s a hell of a lot of fun. It’s not as cerebral or as tactical as old school Trek, but it a solid blend of action and sci-fi that captured that sense of wonder from the old series.
This Star Trek reboot can be enjoyed by anyone, from Trekkies to casual Trekker to the sci-fi agnostic. Abrams went out of his way to write a story that tied in with the old series and creatively came up with a way to reboot the series without damaging the legacy of Star Trek. He also did his homework throwing in many tips of the hat to the old series, for example, using Enterprise’s mascot beagle Porthos, the familiar bridge sounds, and reusing the Kobayashi Maru’s no-win scenario.
Abrams’ team did an amazing job with the casting. He created a palpable dynamic between the crew and gave each of them the opportunity to shine on their own. I was really impressed with Bruce Greenwood’s portrayal of Captain Pike, playing a great mentor and leader. Karl Urban nailed Bones, channelling DeForest Kelly.
Star Trek: The Visual Dictionary Is Great For A Growing Trekkie (or Trekker)
How do you make sense of more than 45 years of interstellar history, hundreds of alien races, spaceships, and crew members across various fleets of star crafts?
Visually, my friend, visually.
Iron Man Still Soars, Gatsby Surprises: Biff Bam Pop’s Weekend Box Office Wrap-Up Report
Despite lukewarm reviews, Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby managed to exceed expectations this weekend at the box office. Here’s what went down.
While it didn’t receive much critical acclaim (par for the course with Baz Luhrmann films), The Great Gatsby had a fantastic opening weekend, bringing in a stellar $51 million. Audiences flocked to the visually stunning, 3D film (those higher prices definitely helped pad those numbers); we also can’t discount the ongoing popularity of Leonardo DiCaprio. While it has a way to go to make back it’s budget (estimated at over $100 million), I have a feeling that, based on this great start, the film could have some legs over the coming weeks. I know I want to check it out soon.
Find out how the rest of the weekend turned out after the jump!
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Saturday At The Movies: It’s Worth the Pain and Gain
I did not have high hopes for this Michael Bay film. I don’t have high hopes for any Michael Bay film. He’s a fine tent pole, summer blockbuster director but the previews of this movie suggested this was something with a little more finesse – not a lot but a little. Boy, were my socks blow off!
First Look: The Cast Of Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.
With the green light given, here is our first look at the cast of Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.LD., headlined by Clark Gregg’s Agent Phil Coulson.
Excited?
