Perhaps I didn’t have enough coffee, and was a little sleepy before heading to the theater for the epic conclusion of the Planet of the Apes reboot trilogy (nominally)—that started with the surprisingly great Rise of the Planet of the Apes directed by Rupert Wyatt, and was followed in gripping fashion by Matt Reeves’ Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. But I suspect that perhaps there’s more to it than just my tired eyes.

“Even having seen the last two Apes flicks, I was fairly confused early on as to where we were, and what was happening, and more importantly, why I should care – I mean aside from the fact that I’m an animal lover.”

Director Reeves is back for War, too, and there’s no doubt he’s at home in the incredibly realized world, which finds genetically enhanced genius ape leader, Caesar (motion-capture performance wizard, Andy Serkis), just trying to keep his clan safe and free from humans, and unable to do so because of Crazy Colonel Woody Harrelson’s angry army of ape haters. But I wonder if maybe Reeve’s familiarity, and his belief that others are familiar as well, is a detriment to the film as a standalone piece of entertainment.

Even having seen the last two Apes flicks, I was fairly confused early on as to where we were, and what was happening, and more importantly, why I should care – I mean aside from the fact that I’m an animal lover. Those problems could very well be cleared up if you’ve got an good understanding of the set-up already, but not if you’ve got a memory problem, as there is definitely some catching up to do. Not to mention the story itself is kind of a slow burn, so if your brain isn’t working quickly enough, it may just fall behind and never catchup. And further weighing down the eyelids are the many subtitles you get to read when the apes are talking to each other – perhaps a record amount for a summer movie.

Still, I’m pretty sure the tissue will connect for me a lot more solidly upon not just a second viewing of War, but also Dawn. And judging by what others have said, I’m willing to invest that time to see if their right. Upon doing so, I’m pretty sure that I’ll agree with the vast majority of Tomato graders that with this final Apes installment, Reeves and company have accomplished something rare in the world of blockbuster franchises: an overarching story that makes you think, a lot, about the nature of man, of beast, and what it means to truly be evolved.

In recent years, I’ve left many a comic book movie and sci-fi epic belittling the writers for so many gaping, obvious plot points, that are so often just glossed over with mega set-pieces. It’s the thing I most deride about modern blockbusters. So I guess here I’m complaining about the very same thing I’ve been hoping for: a thinking man’s action movie. Just in this case, perhaps I could have used a bit more weight on the action side.

The post War for the Planet of the Apes Is an Endangered Species: A Smart Summer Action Movie appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

While touring Norway as a BMX rider sponsored by GoPro, Didrik was approached by the FlowMotion team to test out a new GoPro stabilizing mount that could be mounted to helmets and bikes as well as hand-held using an extendable pole. Like any proof of concept, the first iteration was less than beautiful. “This thing weighed at least half a kilo,” recalled Didrik, “there was a huge plate and wires were hanging off of it!”

By the second iteration of what would eventually become the FlowMotion ONE, Didrik quickly realized that Lars Flesland and Eirik Dyrseth, were on to a device that could revolutionize videography in the extreme sports industry. He quickly joined the team as their CMO and official spokesperson.

From the beginning, Didrik and the FlowMotion team wanted to “make everything from scratch and control everything in house”, so no royalties or fees for usage rights. Even though Lars, Eirik, and Didrik could have hit the easy button and payed to use a patented 3-dimensional stabilizing formula, they decided to build their own (AKA hire someone “who was way smarter than us!” -Didrik)

“The device runs via two sensors, an accelerometer and a gyroscope,” Didrik explained to me in layman’s terms. “Those two sensors gather data at 1000 times per second, which is enough to know how the GoPro is moving in all three dimensions in real-time.” With that much data, you can tell the small motors in the FlowMotion ONE how to move to correct for shaking, jostling, and general instabilities.

As the FlowMotion team refined the stabilizer, they realized they needed to make a hard pivot to reinvent their product for the cellphone industry. “We developed a GoPro Stabilizer for a long time, then we realized there is so much more you can do with your smartphone,” said Didrik. “Not only did we expand our market, but now users don’t have to move to different devices to shoot, edit, and share their video content.”

Focusing on cellphone videography meant the team could now add Bluetooth technology to the stabilizer as well as a compatible smartphone app. “Customers can give us direct feedback via the app… it’s a great way for us to stay connected with our customer base.” FlowMotion is one of the first accessories I’ve seen to fully utilize the capabilities of a smartphone through user feedback; offering tutorials and tips as users access new features as well as monitoring user behavior and updating the app accordingly.

By the time the stabilizer and app were in their final iterations, the FlowMotion team put their product in front of consumers for the first time with one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns ever. “We were something like 4400% over our expected goal of $30,000,” said Didrik, “… and right now we are focusing on shipping out to our Kickstarter backers; they are our core focus right now.”

Didrik and the FlowMotion team have no plans of cashing out after their September launch. “The future of making videos is not going to look the way it does now; its shifting from professional cameras to the phone and we have some really cool visions of how we can solve the problem of making video in the future.” Didrik couldn’t give away any more than that, saying that “its all under the radar right now,” and the team is completely focused on the launch of the FlowMotion ONE.

For more on FlowMotion, or to preorder your own FlowMotion ONE, visit Flowmotion.co.

The post Revolutionize the Way You Tell Your Story With FlowMotion ONE appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

I remember the first movie I rented by myself.

I was nine-years-old with four dollars to my name and I was intent on renting something I shouldn’t watch and snacking some candy I shouldn’t eat.

Naturally I wandered the horror section and, based entirely off the package alone, I chose Creepshow 2. The snack of choice was Milk Duds.

The clerk at the counter looked at me quizzically, switched his glance to the film, then looked back at me. He shrugged and, I swear to God, said to me, “Good luck, man, I shit my pants watching this.”

With trepidation I waited at home until it was dark out and everybody was in bed. Sneaking into the living room I popped the VHS into the VCR. I muted the volume and raised it one click at a time until I could hear it but nobody else could. With discretion I opened the Milk Duds, and sat on the ground with my eyes peeled to the screen.

I didn’t shit my pants, but that movie changed my life.

George A. Romero passed away July 16th. An icon in Hollywood and the world of horror, he effectively spawned the entire zombie genre. No doubt you’ll be bombarded with the details of his professional achievements and the enthusiasm he had for his craft in coming days.

“Romero had a quote saying, “Nothing’s ever real until it’s real.” I was struck by lightning. It’s a simple, powerful truth. Inaction gets us nowhere, it says, so stop fucking around and get to work.”

I mean, the guy had a film career that started back in 1968. He was one of the first Hollywood directors to cast a black man as a lead actor and distinguished his career by weaving sharp-witted social satire into films laden with horror and gore. Creepshow and Creepshow 2 featured stories written by Stephen King, but Romero is best known for his “… of the Dead” films.

But, again, you’ll read about all of these things in the coming days. There’s no discounting the enormous impact he had in the entertainment world, but it’s the mark he made on individuals that stands out to me as what’s truly significant.

Big-name writers and directors like Robert Kirkman and John Carpenter cite Romero as a major influence in their careers. Quentin Tarantino said that the “A” in George A. Romero stood for “A fucking genius”.

Even Mister Rogers himself was a fan of Romero, saying that Night of the Living Dead was a lot of fun to watch. Romero had directed some of the early segments for Mister Rogers Neighborhood and claimed that these were the scariest films of his career because he was terrified of messing something up.

That’s the thing I’m afraid will be overlooked in Romero’s death. It’s so easy to get lost in the details of his influence and his work, but George A. Romero was a human being. He died in his sleep surrounded by loved ones, listening to the soundtrack of one of his favorite films.

Romero had a quote saying, “Nothing’s ever real until it’s real.” I was struck by lightning. It’s a simple, powerful truth. Inaction gets us nowhere, it says, so stop fucking around and get to work.

I hope that’s why the man himself will overshadow the films he created. He inspired people to make the leap to work towards their vision.

At least he did for me. Romero made me fall in love with walking corpses. He’s also one of the cornerstone creative icons in my life and one of the inspirations for why I became a writer.

And I’ll always remember him the way I remember watching Creepshow 2.

The tracking lines strayed down the screen in regular intervals and muted screams fuzzed out from the television speakers. A series of stories bombarded me with tales of horror that provided me raw inspiration for years of nightmares. I absently chewed on Milk Duds, heart racing, forcing myself to watch the screen even when I couldn’t bear to anymore. If I looked away, I would never know how to interpret what I saw.

It’s a lesson I’ve applied to my life ever since I watched that grainy videotape.

Thank you for teaching me not to look away, Mr. Romero.

The post Goodbye, Mr. Romero appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

Wonder Woman shows us the evolution of Diana Prince, the Wonder Woman. She grows from a strong child into a strong woman. She is raised with the mythical Amazon tribe, a group of women warriors hidden from the world for thousands of years. The outside world is unaware of the existence of this island, until World War I brings chaos to its shores. Cue Diana, the Wonder Woman; she will leave the sanctuary of her homeland to fight the evil powers that are rising in the world.

Armed with the weapons and armor of her people, she learns that the greatest strength is inside of her. Unfortunately Wonder Woman goes through a series of formulaic experiences to become fully aware of who she really is. This eye-rolling turn of events cheapen the experience and whatever lesson she learns.

And, of course, she has to fall in love to do it.

“I’m not going to outline the movie detail for detail. I’ll also say right away that a big chunk of it is fun to watch and an enjoyable outing. What I have to gripe about today is that this movie had the potential to put on the silver screen a paramount version of one of an conic female hero; instead, we’re given another throwaway character.”

I’m not going to outline the movie detail for detail. I’ll also say right away that a big chunk of it is fun to watch and an enjoyable outing. What I have to gripe about today is that this movie had the potential to put on the silver screen a paramount version of an iconic female hero. Instead, we’re given another throwaway character.

I could use a break from the self-loathing Katniss Everdeen’s and boy-crazy Bella Swan. I was excited to see Wonder Woman offering her own take on how to navigate the crazy journey to becoming a person. After all, that’s what our heroes offer; a bit of sound advice and the fuel for the courage we need to make a difficult decision, the ability to keep moving when we’re broken down, and to stay true to the ultimate vision we have for ourselves.

My expectations were, at first, met and satisfied. Wonder Woman displays herself as being an individual with a clairvoyant sense of truth and good. Even when she needs to tone down her gung-ho approach, there is a fire in her eyes that speaks of her intentions. She handles herself without need of protection or shielding from the world.

Halfway through the film Wonder Woman is thrust into a situation where her tolerance of injustice is pushed to its limit, and she leads a heroic charge on an enemy position across the hazards of no man’s land. It’s something shy of “subtlety” to show Wonder Woman doing something legions of men could not. But hey, it was a great scene and made me root for Wonder Woman.

Unfortunately, the movie goes downhill at a catastrophic pace from this powerful moment. Then, cue the formulaic romantic relationship and sudden, uncharacteristic loss of Wonder Woman’s personal conviction.

Challenged with a battle aimed at conquering a veritable god of war while her allies and new friends wage their own efforts to save the day, Wonder Woman disappointingly decides that this powerful, headstrong, and goodhearted woman can only truly learn her lesson by falling into romantic entanglement. What follows is a “seen that, seen that too” climax and conclusion to the film. Wonder Woman can only realize her true power when she falls in love, cheapening whatever legitimacy and integrity made viewers like her in the first place.

Wonder Woman enters the film as the embodiment of confidence and ability. She has a sense of self-direction the envy of any hero in any capacity. My hopes were raised that here, finally, we had a heroine that could stand in the ranks with Ellen Ripley, Cherry Darling, The Bride, and Sarah Connor.

But we don’t. Instead we have a heroine who cannot achieve her ultimate state without having fallen in love. And, about that romantic entanglement, it was a days-long relationship with a man she had literally just met. If that’s not a lesson to avoid teaching people, then I don’t know what is.

Something inside of me hoped that Wonder Woman would be a step in the direction of demonstrating that a powerful heroin was capable of doing the right thing on her own, a hero who didn’t need a man stepping in to show her how it’s done. Boy, was I wrong.

The post Wonder Woman Wasted: Oh, What Could Have Been appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

A post shared by Nick (@truenortherncolorado) on Jul 2, 2017 at 8:50am PDT

The cosplayers I met this weekend were out of this world and had a quality higher than I have ever seen or could expect. Kronk and Yzma were on point to a spectacular degree while Deadpool was as hilarious and irreverent as the character in the comics.

Some other amazing cosplayers included great takes on old favorites as well as meticulously designed masks and avatars, the level of detail and care was astounding.

As great as all the dedicated cosplayers were, I have to say the highlight of the weekend were the informative and entertaining panels.

A post shared by Nick (@truenortherncolorado) on Jul 2, 2017 at 3:39pm PDT

It was amazing to see some of my childhood heroes so up close and personal. Weird Al told  amazing stories that many never get to hear and his plans for future in not only music but also TV and movies. James and Oliver Phelps from the Harry Potter movie series were authentic and hilarious as they relived their years on set of possibly the most iconic movie franchise in history

The panel with Luke Cage actor Mike Colter and Iron Fist actor Finn Jones made me so excited for the upcoming season of Luke Cage and even more excited for the Defenders series that promises to be epic. These two had such great chemistry together and I cannot wait for the upcoming series.

A post shared by Nick (@truenortherncolorado) on Jul 1, 2017 at 2:37pm PDT

The best panel by far however was with Kate Mulgrew who played Captain Janeway in Star Trek Voyager and Red from Orange is the New Black. Her panel was ferocious, full of strength and extremely inspiring. I was lucky enough to get to asker her a question about how Janeway’s background in science informed and influenced her leadership as the captain of Voyager. She answered directly to me and at length with such honesty and earnestness. It was an amazing moment I will cherish forever.

If you ever get a chance to go to Denver Comic Con or any other Comic Con, I highly recommend it. What a great experience.

The post Denver Comic Con Was a Heroically Amazing Weekend appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

Since I’m confident you’ll want a confidante afterwards, before we go on, you should probably go watch the movie. Because remaining spoiler free is going to make it really hard to discuss Joon-ho’s (Snowpiercer, The Host) gut-wrenching yet thoroughly entertaining action-adventure, semi-sci-fi drama. For as soon as I tell you who the titular character is, I’ve already spoiled a bit of a plot point. And we find that out some 10 minutes in, right after the film’s berserk, cartoonish prologue.

“As bonkers as Okja gets — and rest assured, it gets pretty bonkers — everything works because of the very real love between a small girl and her giant pig.”

We begin in 2007, with Tilda Swinton playing the first of her two roles, the braces-wearing, manically emotive Lucy Mirando, pandering to the cameras while giving her acceptance speech/sales-pitch after taking over leadership of the multi-national Mirando Corporation from her sinister twin sister, Nancy, who had taken it over from their publicly reviled grandfather. Lucy, with puppeteering guidance from Frank Dawson (Giancarlo Esposito, Breaking Bad’s Gus Fring), is trying to steer the family food business back to prosperity, while feeding the starving world at the same time.

But in order to do so, Mirando is betting big on genetically mutated giant pigs who will revolutionize the livestock industry. To give this new species a positive spin, and ostensibly lie to the public about what they’re eating, Lucy announces a superpig contest, emceed by world-famous zoologist Dr. Johnny Wilcox, as played by a never-creepier Jake Gyllenhaal (and that’s saying something). Mirando gives 26 of the best “bred” pigs to farmers and ranchers across the globe, and tells the world that the best superpig will be named in a pageant in New York City in 10 years. And the public is sold.

That’s just the fucking prologue. And it gets far crazier from there, as ten years later, we visit the mountains outside of Seoul, Korea, and are eventually introduced to the idyllic life of one of those pigs, Okja, and her young master, Mija (badass teenager Seo-Hyun Ahn), as they forage for fruit and fish along the splendid countryside. We’re soon introduced to Mija’s grandfather, as he barks over a loud speaker calling for his dinner. To get home more quickly, Mija decides to lead Okja along a short cut, which jeopardizes both girl and superpig. It’s here we fully realize just what an incredible creature Okja truly is. And what a special relationship she and Mija so beautifully share. That you never question the truth of either is what makes the film so magical.

As bonkers as Okja gets – with Mirando taking their superpig back, and Mija chasing Okja from the malls of Seoul to the city streets of New York to the deranged depths of Mirando’s labs and stock yards, all while extreme animal rightist’s led by Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood) challenge Mirando every step of the adventure-laden way – it all works because of the very real love between a small girl and her giant pig.

If you have a special relationship with your pet, you’ll have a hard time not welling up. And one scene in particular will likely illicit rage (that’s the scene that sent my wife off to bed, unable to go on.) Indeed, it’s a disturbing film, that sticks with you hard. I definitely hugged my dog and cat a little tighter last night. And today I have no taste for bacon, whatsoever. We’ll see what happens next time I’m offered a steak, but I do know this: because of Okja, I’ll have a hard time calling myself a true animal lover without changing my meat-eating ways.

The post Okja: A Film Powerful Enough to Make Bacon Unsavory appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

For an epic, sweeping sci-fi film, Arrival (now available for home viewing) begins with the very small world of a mother and her daughter. Well, that’s if you believe in beginnings. Or endings. Or linear time, for that matter.

Complicating matters, the world’s geo-political communication shuts down in the face of alien Armageddon. The fear of the other, around the globe and the universe, quickly pushes the pod-harbored nations to raise up arms against the visitors. To close the lines of communication and cooperation. To create more fear through isolation.

Celebrated linguist/translator, Dr. Louise Banks (Amy Adams) seems to be questioning as much during the film’s powerful opening montage, which begins with a shot of her rustic ceiling spooling above. It’s a shot that’s repeated often throughout Denis Villeneuve’s subtly stirring film. That it’s bookended by the disorienting shot is obviously no accident.

Such chronological chicanery is greatly ramped up by the time the zero-emission alien pods arrive on the global scene. 12 of them, each the size of a mountain valley, sporadically placed around the world – or so it might seem. But why are they there? Are they friend or foe?

As the world starts to unravel while faced with these frightening questions, U.S. Army Colonel G.T. Weber (Forest Whitaker) invites Louise and theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) to help provide some answers. To do so, they must speak with the aliens face to… well, it’s unclear, because they’re behind a safety partition, which divides their space pod ingeniously.

Not that you don’t get a good look at the aliens. Oh you do, after a thrilling build (nearly as thrilling as the slow reveal of the pods themselves). And they’re spectacular. Thanks to their aqueous yet gaseous nature, they’re some of the most fantastically realistic aliens ever portrayed. Sort of like octopus Ents who lost one limb along the way, who sound like humpback whales playing an electric didgeridoo. (I would totally see that band.)

Much of the film is spent in the pod, or the Army base established nearby, with Louise and Ian trying to build effective communication with the aliens (and each other, in a surprisingly well-integrated B-story). It turns out the question of “Why are you here?” is actually quite a complicated one. With even more complicated answers.

Further complicating matters, the world’s geo-political communication shuts down in the face of alien Armageddon. The fear of the other, around the globe and the universe, quickly pushes the pod-harbored nations to raise up arms against the visitors. To close the lines of communication and cooperation. To create more fear through isolation. It’s a powerful warning. That now, more than ever, we must find ways to communicate with the other.

Well, that’s if you believe in the concept of now.

I do. Which is why I believe Arrival is the Best Picture for right now. Because unlike many of the nominated films, which are either out of touch with today’s politics or just tell tiny, personal stories (albeit with universal themes), Arrival reaches far and wide for connection. And it achieves it, stylistically, sonically, and most importantly, as a complete story — albeit one without a beginning or an end.

The post Why Isn’t Arrival the Best Picture Front Runner? appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

“For the most part, they went hand in hand. For how can you grow up without learning, whether that’s useful information or not? Like Bodevan, I’m still not sure if all that book smarts really helps in this big bad world. But I know it makes life more rich, knowing that many truths exist.”

That’s the path Ben Cash (Oscar-nominated Viggo Mortensen) and his wife, Leslie (Trin Miller) seem to be taking at the film’s outset, choosing to raise their six children in the secluded depths of the great, green Washington wilderness, without technology, or formal education, other than the extreme home-schooling variety. With Leslie away being treated for bi-polar issues, the teaching falls upon Ben’s strapping shoulders – which he performs with Sensei-zeal – kind of like a combination of Robin Williams in Dead Poet’s Society (if he quoted more Noam Chomsky) and Burt Reynolds in Deliverance. For Ben’s kids, who don’t really know any other way, home is heaven on earth (it helps that they’ve learned that God is a man-made creation.)

When Ben takes his oldest son Bodevan (Ben and Leslie wanted all their kids to have wholly original names) for their semi-regular mail-collecting/arts & crafts-selling/re-gridding trip into town, they find out that Leslie has succumbed to her mental illness and finally committed suicide. And worse yet, that her rich father, Jack (Frank Langella) is planning on having a proper funeral back in New Mexico, a stabbing affront to Leslie’s Buddhist beliefs.

That’s when the film reveals itself as a true fish-out-of-water tale, as Ben is convinced by his children to go save mom from such a buried fate. So they pack up the family school bus, custom fit for the apocalypse, and head East, into the heart of Midwestern Capitalism. And so we get the requisite fun and games as the wild crew reacts to the rampant consumerism their parents tried to shield them from in the first place.

It’s this culture clash that brings up the most important question Captain Fantastic is really asking: is Ben truly raising his kids responsibly? Or is his dogmatic self-reliance antithetical to true community? Has he rejected society so much that his kids can never be a part of it?

The great gift and curse of my own life has been my education and upbringing. For the most part, they went hand in hand. For how can you grow up without learning, whether that’s useful information or not? Like Bodevan, I’m still not sure if all that book smarts really helps in this big bad world. But I know it makes life more rich, knowing that many truths exist. It’s a gift to have been raised differently, as a free thinker, trained to question what everyone else tells you is true. It’s also very tiring, to be so outside. Perhaps the great lesson of Captain Fantastic is that we can question everything about society, so long as we don’t question the existence of it. The real world is a real thing, and it can be a fantastic place, as long as you run it on your terms.

The post Express Your Personal Freedom With Captain Fantastic appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

“The film casts a lasting spell. As any good coming of age film should, it takes you viscerally back to your own innocence. A lot of that has to do with the enlightening storytelling, which conveys growth not just episodically, but through multiple narrators, often reading revelatory passages from feminist tomes of the day.”

And Billy Crudup.

First, let’s start with our barely-post-pubescent young boy, Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann), skating his way through a confusing and fatherless existence in late ‘70s Santa Barbara. Jamie lives with his depression-raised-yet-modern mother, Dorothea (Annette Benning) in her old and in-constant-need-of-refurbishing home.

When Jamie stops listening to her, Dorothea employs the help of her renters — the handyman/mechanic/zen master William (Crudup); free and beautiful, Julie (Elle Fanning), who’s still-in-high school and celebrating the powers of her sexual liberation with everyone but Jamie; and afflicted Abbie (Greta Gerwig), a tortured artist with a keen eye for the impressively-hip Santa Barbara music scene.

The film casts a  lasting spell. As any good coming of age film should, it takes you viscerally back to your own innocence. A lot of that has to do with the enlightening storytelling, which conveys growth not just episodically, but through multiple narrators, often reading revelatory passages from feminist tomes of the day. The spell lingers all the more because of the sweeping cinematography, the airy score, and the many kisses of golden California sun. Combined with awards-worthy acting, the film subtly captures the magic in the mundane.

But for me, the music really sets 20^th Century Women apart. Upon listening to the soundtrack afterwards, you’re immediately taken back to a number of powerfully good scenes. Perhaps that’s because the music symbolizes the story, with age-old depression-era classics (Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman) discordantly juxtaposed against the nascent punk and glam rock movements of the day. It’s the friction between the old and the new that drives the movie, sonically exploring how our old values will adapt to such bold, new times.

While the soundtrack surely rocks, there’s much more to the film to make it one every 21^st Century Man should see. Former Beasties Boys album cover designer Mike Mills (Beginners) wrote and directed the film, based upon his own experiences growing up. it’s told from a male point of view, one shaped by strong, thinking, powerful women. If you’ve never had such an influence in your own life, get one. And start with these three. The movie (and life) prove it’s absolutely essential to becoming a strong, thinking, powerful man.

The post 20th Century Women Is Definitely One for the Men appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

But regardless of how enjoyable it is, and though it has its share of valleys to offset the show-stopping peaks, I’m sorry, but it just feels too… soft. At least too soft to be Best Picture.

While no sane individual should ever pay attention to them all, it is interesting to see which films start off awards season with a lot of pep, and which ones get stuck along the three-month road to the Oscars. Well, we already know one that’s got a lot of pep, La La Land, with its 12 Critics’ Choice noms, including Best Picture. But does it have what it takes to win the Academy Award come February 26th?

Having seen it this past weekend, I suppose I’d be surprised if it does. Not because La La Land isn’t a beautifully made movie — it’s that in technicolored spades, and leaps and twirls, and jazz scales for that matter. It’s a dazzling wonder to behold, a modern throwback that feels old and new all at once, where saving jazz is a romantic ideal totally worth fighting for (or at least a poppy, electronic, John Legend version of it).

Whiplash writer/director Damien Chazelle’s La La Land sublimely oozes the simple story of a hepcat jazzman (Ryan Gosling) and an awkwardly old-school actress (Emma Stone), two unlikely lovers and artists who dare to keep creating in a world that’s seemingly not all that interested in their charms. It’s a captivating, breathtaking, smile-making, old-dream recharging, belief in romance-instilling two hours.

But regardless of how enjoyable it is, and though it has its share of valleys to offset the show-stopping peaks, I’m sorry, but it just feels too… soft. At least too soft to be the Best Picture.

I know, I know, here we have a macho, manly writer bagging on musicals again. But that’s not the case, I’m as soft as they get when it comes to my musicals (don’t get me started singing Rent again, because I will out “Seasons of Love” you all day long). But in a year so filled with whatever the hell 2016 has thrown at us, aren’t we just climbing back in our bubble if we hand the golden little dude over to such escapism?

Perhaps not. Perhaps escapism is the best that Hollywood has ever had to offer in the first place. Perhaps seeing others diving into dreams is what we need to inspire us to do the same. Unfortunately, after two hours being swept away by La La Land, it’s the ridiculous orange face of reality that greets most of us. And though the show’s catchy songs and mysterious ending may linger a spell, you get the feeling escapism is going to be about as fashionable as jazz pretty soon.

In the face of such odds, maybe that’s the biggest reason to hope La La Land wins Best Picture after all.

The post Is ‘La La Land’ Too Soft for Best Picture? appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

“Though you know their actions are immoral, highly illegal, and, thanks to Tanner’s aggressive antics, dangerous, it’s hard not to root for the Howard boys in their quest to take down every branch of the Texas Midlands Bank.”

Part western, part thriller, part action movie, part crime drama —the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts, thanks in no small part to the acting. Far from his easy-to-love Captain Kirk, Chris Pine plays Toby Howard, a thinking man and divorced father in Texas, whose mother has recently passed. To add to Toby’s troubles, the bank is fixing to foreclose on her ranch, which Toby knows is worth a fortune, and which he plans on leaving it to his kids, come hell or high water.

With no other course of action readily available, Toby enlists his estranged, ex-con, older brother, Tanner — played with fly-off-the-handle intensity by Ben Foster — to rob the very bank that’s foreclosing on their family’s land. Though you know their actions are immoral, highly illegal, and, thanks to Tanner’s aggressive antics, dangerous, it’s hard not to root for the Howard boys in their quest to take down every branch of the Texas Midlands Bank.

Since the Howards are only aiming to steal from the tellers and not from the vaults, the feds aren’t called in. Instead, the Texas Rangers – the Lone Wolf McQuade variety, not the baseball-playing kind — are enlisted, with Jeff Bridges’ Marcus Hamilton leading the investigation. Made up of equal parts Jeff Lebowski, Rooster Cogburn, and Bad Blake, Hamilton is itchin’ to go on “one more hunt” before his looming retirement. And we’re thrilled to follow him every step of the way, particularly when engaging in far-from-gentle ribbing with his half Mexican, half Native-American partner, Alberto (Gil Birmingham).

During one such conversation, it’s Alberto who shines a light on the grayness that makes Tyler Sheridan’s (Sicario) script so complex, noting that the white man took his ancestral land, and now the bank is taking it from the white man. Such a convoluted reality is what makes the whole film work so brilliantly, and what makes you root for the law and the unlawful at the same time.

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“Cumberbatch was born to play Doctor Strange, and he brings an incredible range —giant ego, classy snark, true suffering — to this unapologetic superhero flick. Amid inescapable special effects, he inhabits Strange with gravity while being thrown down Kubrick-style pipe after pipe of inexplicable gorgeousness.”

So repeat after me: Benedict Cumberbatch.

If she swoons and starts fanning herself with her phone when you mention the name, you’re attached to a true girl geek. And such a woman might even take you to this movie, as Cumberbatch anchors this epic. Fortunately, the lanky Brit was born to play Doctor Strange, and he brings an incredible range —giant ego, classy snark, true suffering — to this unapologetic superhero flick.

Amid inescapable special effects, he inhabits Strange with gravity while being thrown down Kubrick-style pipe after pipe of inexplicable gorgeousness. You will see Strange trying to hold onto to his deflated self-image as he fails to get anyone to address him as “Doctor,” and it’s more powerful than you might guess. Mads Mikkelson contributes rock-hard villainy and lip-curling relish, as martial arts combine with mystical weaponry in fight after fight. I liked this movie, so I don’t want to provide any spoilers — other than it’s end-of-the-world stuff driving the narrative.

I was barely ten years old when I held Strange Tales #110 in my hands. Divided into halves like Tales of Suspense and featuring appearances by Iron Man and the Hulk, I’d never seen anything like it. No matter what credit Stan Lee gives himself, Doctor Strange came from the mind of writer and artist Steve Ditko. But fanboys should have no fear, as Stan the Man gets his not-so-surprising cameo, reading a thematically appropriate copy of Aldoux Huxley’s The Doors of Perception.

In the pages of the comic, Ditko drew the wildest, most psychedelic settings imaginable, and the movie is filled with them, causing both spatial displacement — as in I’m dizzy — and cognitive dissonance — as in I don’t get it. That said, Doctor Strange certainly out-trips any trippy film ever made in plot heaviness, and in mind-blowing visuals.

While many characters and situations are adapted from a written legacy of nearly six decades — including Frank Brunner’s revitalizing 1970’s take on the good doctor — devotees of the comics will love that a complicated scene is lifted straight out of a later work, The Oath, and the exact recreations of the drawings are simply stunning.

IMAX and 3D are totally worth the money, so catch this flick on the biggest screen you can find.

The post Benedict Cumberbatch Was Born to Play Doctor Strange appeared first on FactoryTwoFour.

Boyhood follows the life of one Texas kiddo from age six to age 18. But unlike most movies that have one actor playing the kid at age six and a different-but-similar-looking-actor playing the kid at age 18, this movie has the same actor, Ellar Coltrane, playing the kid all along the way. Not only that, but we get to check in on Mason every year – see what friends he’s made, what kind of trouble he’s gotten into, what new styles he’s rockin’, what major life mistake his mother’s just made. If you do the math, that means the film was 12+ years in the making. In the age of 6-second Vines, Boyhood represents an astonishing commitment from everyone involved – from Linklater, from Coltrane, and from the actors who play his divorced parents, Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke.

Even if you’re not interested in getting to know Mason and his family, in watching year by year as he grows up and learns to deal with the slings and arrows life throws his way, the film is fascinating to watch just because of the novelty of it. How do you shoot 15 minutes of film every year for 12 years, then splice it together so it all makes a cohesive whole – so that it makes sense from a storyline perspective and visually looks like it came out of the same can? I haven’t the foggiest notion, but Linklater certainly does.

He’s a director known for his cinematic innovations, from compact 24-hour stories like Dazed and Confused, to the sprawling Before Sunrise trilogy, to 2011’s Bernie, for which he ingeniously hired handfuls of town locals to play the town locals. The man’s clearly not afraid to take a risk, even if it means putting your latest film project in the hands of a six-year-old boy and waiting 12 years to see if it pays off.

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