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Poll: Now That You’ve Seen “300: Rise of an Empire”

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Now That You've Seen 300: Rise of an Empire...?

Public Opinion Poll Results

Written by: Wesley Lovell - Mar 10, 2014 (6:00 pm) | Filed under: Polls ( Leave a comment )

Film Preview: 13 Sins (2014)

Poster

Trailer Link

Release Date:

April 18, 2014

Synopsis:

From IMDb: "A bright but meek salesman, drowning in debt as he's about to get married, receives a mysterious phone call informing him that he's on a hidden camera game show where he must execute 13 tasks to receive a multi-million dollar cash prize."

Poster: C+

Review: The puppeteer motif isn't new, nor is it a very good one to use. However, it almost works here, but only if you've seen the trailer. Otherwise, it doesn't make the least bit of sense.

Trailer: B-

Review: There's an interesting premise struggling to escape this generic and confusing trailer. There's a plot there, if you dig for it, but the excessive Seven-meets-Saw vibe almost derails it.

Oscar Prospects:

None.

Revisions:

(March 9, 2014) Original

Written by: Wesley Lovell - Mar 10, 2014 (4:00 pm) | Filed under: Film Previews ( Leave a comment )

Oscar Preview: Weekend of Mar. 7-9, 2014

We had two films release this past weekend with the potential for Oscar nominations.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman

Never count out DreamWorks, even when their film isn't a box office juggernaut. This weekend proved that even with mixed reviews, computer animated giants like DreamWorks aren't immune to box office foibles. The film may not have inspired excitement among critics, but that didn't keep The Croods from making a play at an Oscar nomination.

That being said, Disney/Pixar seems to be the only studio that can actively receive multiple nominations a year. There are some flukes among the recent slates, but there's seldom a guarantee. With that and DreamWorks' more high profile effort How to Train Your Dragon 2 coming out this Summer and you have a recipe for forgetfulness and Mr. Peabody & Sherman will likely be forgotten.

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Written by: Wesley Lovell - Mar 10, 2014 (2:00 pm) | Filed under: Oscar Preview ( Leave a comment )

The Morning After: Mar. 10, 2014

Welcome to The Morning After, where I share with you what movies I've seen over the past week. Below, you will find short reviews of those movies along with a star rating. Full length reviews may come at a later date.

So, here is what I watched this past week:

Nothing. Another week of catch up.

Written by: Wesley Lovell - Mar 10, 2014 (11:00 am) | Filed under: Morning After ( Leave a comment )

Oscar Preview: Precursor Winners & Losers, FINAL

It's the end of Oscar season and the awards have all been handed out. There isn't much left to do, but analyze just how accurate the precursors were. Here are the big winners & losers. This looks at only their winner selections. Comparing nominees to the Oscars would be far more challenging and time consuming. There really isn't much commentary for these, so I'll just highlight the rankings.

Big Winners

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Written by: Wesley Lovell - Mar 10, 2014 (9:00 am) | Filed under: Oscar Preview, Precursors ( Leave a comment )

This Day in Oscar History: March 10 (2014)

Here's what happened today in Oscar History.

Born

Died

Released

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Written by: Wesley Lovell - Mar 10, 2014 (6:00 am) | Filed under: This Day in Oscar History ( Leave a comment )

Poll: Best of March 2013, Limited

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What's the Best of March 2013, Limited?

Public Opinion Poll Results

Written by: Wesley Lovell - Mar 9, 2014 (6:00 pm) | Filed under: Polls ( Leave a comment )

The Inbox (Mar. 1-7, 2014)

Every week, I get several press releases, screening invitations and other notifications from a handful of studio contacts. While I won't be sharing any information regarding my screening invites, some of the press releases might be of interest to my readers, so I thought I'd start sharing them in toto with all of you. These could include new image galleries for various films or important updates to upcoming releases from various smaller studios and art house production companies.

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Written by: Wesley Lovell - Mar 9, 2014 (2:00 pm) | Filed under: The Inbox ( Leave a comment )

Gallery: Veronica Mars (2014)

Below is a gallery for the upcoming film Veronica Mars.

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Written by: Wesley Lovell - Mar 9, 2014 (1:59 pm) | Filed under: Image Gallery ( Leave a comment )

Gallery: Oculus (2014)

Below is a gallery for the upcoming film Oculus.

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Written by: Wesley Lovell - Mar 9, 2014 (1:58 pm) | Filed under: Image Gallery ( Leave a comment )

Weekend Preview: Mar. 14-16, 2014

Below are nine previews for films opening next weekend.
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Written by: Wesley Lovell - Mar 9, 2014 (11:00 am) | Filed under: Weekend Preview ( Leave a comment )

Film Preview: Shirin in Love (2014)

Poster

Trailer Link

Release Date:

March 14, 2014

Synopsis:

From IMDb: "Love has no borders and therein lies the premise of the charming, new Iranian-American romantic comedy "Shirin in Love." Nazanin Boniadi plays Shirin, an absent-minded, young Iranian-American living in "Tehrangeles" (the large Iranian community in Los Angeles) with her overbearing mother and empathetic father. Despite being engaged for years to a successful Iranian plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, Shirin finds herself breaking loyalty and tradition when she falls in love with a mysterious young man who lives in a lighthouse in northern California. As her secret unravels and cultures clash, Shirin discovers what it ultimately means to be true to herself."

Poster: C+

Review: A neat concept of a poster, though it tells a different story than the trailer does. Once you see the trailer, the reflective concept makes a different kind of sense, which may be a bit misleading.

Trailer: C-

Review: A confusing, convoluted trailer for a film with a relatively simple premise. I'm not sure why making a trailer that takes half its running time trying to make things hard to follow is a wise decision.

Oscar Prospects:

None.

Revisions:

(March 9, 2014) Original

Written by: Wesley Lovell - Mar 9, 2014 (10:59 am) | Filed under: Film Previews ( Leave a comment )

Film Preview: Le Week-End (2014)

Poster

Additional posters can be found below.

Trailer Link

Release Date:

March 14, 2014

Synopsis:

From IMDb: "A British couple return to Paris many years after their honeymoon there in an attempt to rejuvenate their marriage."

Poster: C+ / C- / C+

Review: There differing designs that are equally unimpressive. The first is more traditional, the third is more inventive and the middle one is more bland and unoriginal. Neither will do a particularly good job selling the film.

Trailer: B-

Review: There are some amusing elements in the trailer and I'd like to say that having a charming cast will make the film better, but as the trailer progresses, you have to guess that a lot of old romantic chestnuts about aging marriages will be trotted out without giving the audience something new or insightful.

Oscar Prospects:

None.

Revisions:

(March 9, 2014) Original

Additional Posters

Written by: Wesley Lovell - Mar 9, 2014 (10:59 am) | Filed under: Film Previews ( Leave a comment )

Film Preview: The Art of the Steal (2014)

Poster

Trailer Link

Release Date:

March 14, 2014

Synopsis:

From IMDb: "A third-rate motorcycle daredevil and part-time art thief teams up with his snaky brother to steal one of the most valuable books in the world."

Poster: D

Review: A bland, unoriginal design showing off the actors in poses that aren't very inspiring and definitely not very exciting.

Trailer: C+

Review: You've seen it before. MANY times. The need to rehash the same plot with only modest new twists seems unnecessary, yet here it is. That's not to say that the trailer doesn't present some charming bits of humor and some fun actors, but will anyone really care to see yet another retread of Oceans 11?