Well,
that was a fast summer!
In the 80's and 90's there were dozens of big Stephen King movies but lately
they are few and far between (but I read King has this really cool clause that allows filmmakers to use his material on the cheap so there are LOADS of Stephen King based short
films out there). It seems Hollywood felt some sort of King fatigue so we're
being treated to two BIG King films this year. It is coming out in September but this month we have The Dark Tower to look
forward to. The Gunslinger, Idris Elba, is a man from a broken and
destroyed world who is searching for the Dark Tower before the Man in Black,
Matthew McConaughey, destroys it and brings the end to all worlds. From what I
understand this Tower connects many universes and in the King Universe, The
Dark Tower connects all of his works. While I don't think we'll have Idris Elba
gunning down killer clowns, possessed trucks, Jack Nicholson or bullied high
school students I do believe there will be a few subtle references to this
works throughout the film. This is a big deal for King fans, who may be
disappointed that this film is different than the books, (but aren't they
always?) but it does have support from King, who's no stranger to disowning
film versions of his books (The Shining especially).
Until Hurt Locker came out it had been quite some time since anyone had heard
of Katherine Bigelow. She had a few movies before and after Point
Break but nothing major (though Strange Days and Near Dark are definitely worth a
look). With Hurt Locker she revived her career,
made Jeremy Renner a star and beat her ex-husband, James Cameron, for the Best
Picture Oscar (even after he, supposedly, managed to up the Best Picture
nominees from 5-10 just to get Avatar in the running). After that came Zero
Dark Thirty, where she made the hunt for Bin Laden into an investigatory
thriller with heavy focus on everything leading up to the raid. So it's been a
few years and she's back with another movie based on true events. This time
it's about the 1967 Detroit riots, specifically the events that
unfolded at a Detroit hotel during that tumultuous time. Now Point Break,
Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty had exciting and well shot
action sequences, but I feel Bigelow and her crew excel at tension and this
film looks very tense.
There's
a lot I miss about Blockbuster. One thing in particular - walking down the aisles and seeing
recognizable actors on the cover of a movie I never heard of. Some of them were
just a quick cash grab for the star and were so-so at best but some were pretty fun. The
Hitman's Bodyguard looks like one of those fun movies. Starring
Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson, this film would probably be at your local
Redbox had the wonders of comic book movies not shot these two to a whole new
level of stardom. When hitman Jackson has to testify at the International Court
of Justice (I'm not sure that's a real thing) he is assigned the world’s best
bodyguard, Reynolds. Judging by the trailer the two use profanity and bicker as
much as they shoot at people. This looks like a fun goofy film and I'm glad
they still make stuff like this.
I'm
always interested when an actor tries their hand at writing. It's even more
interesting when it actually goes well. Taylor Sheridan was a character actor
who had a few film roles and some arcs on Sons of Anarchy and Veronica
Mars. Then after a 5 year hiatus from acting he came back as a screenwriter with the hit
thriller Sicario (which I kinda liked) and then a year later Hell or
High Water (which I really liked) and this year he's trying his hand at
writing and directing with Wind River. Starring not one, not two,
but three actors from the world of Marvel - Elizabeth Olsen (Scarlett Witch),
Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye) and Jon Bernthal (The Punisher) appear in this one. Olsen plays a young
FBI agent sent to investigate a murder on a Native American reservation and
needs help from the local game tracker, Renner. Judging from his past works
things are going to get violent and twisty.
The
Conjuring is based on
two real life paranormal investigators. That was their job. Whether you believe
in ghosts and hauntings is up to you, but in this film universe it's all real. So
is the killer doll, Annabelle, who got her own spinoff in 2014, and
since a killer doll is just so dang scary and people wanted more, we now have Annabelle:
Creation. I didn't see the first one but so far this one is getting
some pretty good reviews and, honestly, I find killer dolls to be absolutely
terrifying. This one seems to be a prequel to what was already a period piece,
so I'm not even sure when this is set, but it's about a doll maker who, after
losing a child, opens his house to a recently closed orphanage. And that's when
the doll maker’s most cherished item, Annabelle, begins acting up. Creepy.
