There’s a line spoken to a young boy in the middle of Juan Antonio Bayona’s film The Impossible that brings a lot of gravity to the events he and his family are currently experiencing. It really captures the theme of the story and comes in a scene where one of Ewan McGregor’s sons talks to a woman as they discuss the stars in the nighttime sky. He’s fond of star gazing (as evidenced by the gift of a new telescope he received for Christmas at the beginning of the film) and in their conversation the woman tells him that some of the stars he’s looking at have been dead for a long…
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G-S-T Year In Review – Jessica's 2012 Wrap Up
Being the Indie lover that I am, I’ve decided to stick to independent titles only for my 2012 Wrap Up. After a fairly disappointing 2011, this year brought us so many amazing films it is difficult to chose only ten to discuss here, and with the limitations of the categories below, I am leaving out so many wonderful films, both studio and independent based, that I probably walked out of thinking it was the best film I’d seen to date. That’s what made picking a favorite film for 2012 so difficult. It seemed that the more I saw, the more favorites I had to add to the list. To name…
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Sweet (Teaser) Trailer…'Foosball'
From Toys to Bugs (or Antz), and from Gnomes to Smurfs and other assorted tiny creatures, computer animated films never fail to bring diminutive worlds to life on the big screen. From director Juan Jose Campanella comes this light-hearted and fun looking adventure into the world of foosball. That’s right, it’s not just for basement recreation or college bars anymore. The 3D animated film is about a young boy named Amadeo who, with the help of the foosball players, shrugs off his shyness and goes mano a mano against the infamous foosballer, the Champ. Enjoy! It’s just a teaser trailer so granted there’s not much to it. Still, with a little luck it looks like…
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Jo-Go In the Running to Guard the Galaxy
Marvel pulled off the finale to their impressive superhero balancing act this year with The Avengers, a trick they look to duplicate with a sequel in 2015. In between now and then, though, the studio– now positioned as one of the film world’s most important blockbusting authorities, at least as far as I’m concerned– looks to unveil a variation on that delicate but bombastic act with Guardians of the Galaxy, which at present boasts a release date of August 1st, 2014. Naturally, that means we know one thing for sure: that there’s very little information for us to go on beyond its title and its projected opening day. True, we…
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Pixar Reveals Concept Art For 3 Years of Releases (Plus: 'Monsters University' Promo)
Nothing says “Happy New Year” like a slew of preview material for Pixar’s release slate leading into 2016! Coming Soon had the good fortune to receive a fold-out card from the animation studio this past Monday, which contained concept art from each of their four pending endeavors– Monsters University, which hits theaters this June, The Good Dinosaur, and their two untitled projects– one that takes place inside the human mind and one which occurs on Día de los Muertos. To no one’s surprise, Pixar sprung a Monsters University promo clip on us yesterday as well, and while it’s pretty short it also completely nails the intended tone. If you’re a…
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G-S-T Year in Review – Marc’s 2012 Wrap Up
Year in and year out, from festivals to multiplexes the world over, film fans brave the dark of the cinema and are treated to what filmmakers have spent months/years crafting. The result? A mixed bag of titles from independent pictures to studio tent poles and with productions that range from shoe-string labor of loves to all out mega-budgeted features. Annually we theater goers witness a slew of hits and misses (sometimes more misses than hits) that light up the silver screen and 2012 was no different. For every half dozen stinkers we get one gleaming reason that kept us heading to the theaters and that’s what makes these year end lists…
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“The CineMagic 8-Ball” – In Theaters 01/04/13
When so many movies are released each week and trailers often seem better than the movie itself, what should one do? In this precarious situation, we consult the The CineMagic 8-Ball (TM) to help us see through the nebulous marketing haze. Doing so just might save us all a disheartening trip to the cinema and spare us the cost of ridiculous concession stand prices. See what the 8-Ball says about this week’s releases… ——————————————————————————————————————————————- A DARK TRUTH A former CIA operative turned political talk show host is hired by a corporate whistle blower to expose her company’s cover-up of a massacre in a South American village. When he arrives, he…
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G-S-T Year in Review – Andrew’s 2012 Wrap Up
I’m willing to admit that last year, I talked 2011 a bit more than necessary. Not that my feelings on the year were dishonest; contrary to many, I thought well of 2011, a year that didn’t contain a plethora of lasting classics but still offered a lot of excellent cinema for our viewing pleasure. But to call it a “great” year may have been a stretch, and I’m willing to admit that now in light of the fact that 2012 has, in fact, been a great year. How can you trust me on this one? Simple: I’ve written my top ten list, re-written it, scrapped that, started over from the…
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G-S-T Quick 5 – 2012's Underseen Gems
For critics, bloggers, and all-around cineastes, the end of the calendar year marks a time to look back and reflect on the best offerings of the last three hundred and sixty five days (and sometimes even the worst). This is when we talk about the There Will Be Bloods and the Hurt Lockers, the Slumdog Millionaires and the Yi Yis; it’s when we decry the dreck that fills the spaces in between the better releases, the Battlefield Earths and the Giglis, the Pearl Harbors and the The Number 23s. (And I realize that this collection of titles represents only a microcosm of the cinema that makes its way to theaters…