It looks like we have a viral site for the upcoming movie Jurassic World in the form of Masrani, a telecommunications company who bought up InGen facilities after the death of John Hammond. According to Jurrassic World dot Org, which is either a fan site or another marketing team (I am not sure which), the first trailer will be out in another week or so. Thanks to Empire Online for the heads up.
The winner this week is The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, the next installment in the Hunger Games saga. They had to break this one into two pieces, not because the book was huge, but because so much of the story happened off the page and was just mentioned as something the primary characters heard about. That doesn’t work as well in a movie, so those parts of the plot needed to be brought to the screen. Also out this week are Extraterrestrial (aliens out to kill you) and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (vampires out to kill you), but why go there?
Another tale of the future from South Africa, co-written, directed, and co-produced by Neill Blomkamp, the man who brought us District 9. Chappie is a robot with a brain based on learning heuristics and a neural net, meaning he starts out with only the instinct to learn, knowing nothing. Actors include Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman, Ninja and Yo-Landi Vi$$er (those last two you probably know better under the name Die Antwoord), and the trailer tells me I need to see this film. In the US it will be on the big screen on March 6, 2015.
With an amazing cast, the Disney film Into The Woods twists together some of the Brothers Grimm tales in ways the original authors never envisioned. It will be hitting the big screen December 25th, and I intend to be in the theater for it on opening day.
There doesn’t seem to be much this weekend. Wolves is a Werewolf coming-of-age film that is part action, part horror. I am not a big horror fan myself, so I won’t be there. Sounds like a good weekend to read a book to me.
The folks at the British Film Institute has recently made available an interesting collection of the best global cinema on-demand, some on a pay-per-view basis, some for free, most of it amazing, and a few things you just won’t find anywhere else. Movies like Only Lovers Left Alive, Under The Skin, and most of the things presented at the most recent BFI London Film Festival. They even have a Days of Fear and Wonder science fiction collection. While I prefer most streaming services monthly fees, rather than the pricier per-viewing charges, I am going to have to sign up with them to at least see some movies I have heard of that have yet to be released here. Plus, the payments support the BFI, an organization as worthy of support as the AFI.