2014 Movie Preview: #6 - The Monuments Men

Release date: February 7

Plot summary: Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, "The Monuments Men" is an action-thriller focusing on an unlikely World War II platoon, tasked by FDR with going into Germany to rescue artistic masterpieces from Nazi thieves and returning them to their rightful owners. It would be an impossible mission: with the art trapped behind enemy lines, and with the German army under orders to destroy everything as the Reich fell, how could these guys – seven museum directors, curators, and art historians, all more familiar with Michelangelo than the M-1 – possibly hope to succeed? But as the Monuments Men, as they were called, found themselves in a race against time to avoid the destruction of 1000 years of culture, they would risk their lives to protect and defend mankind's greatest achievements.

My take: So we once again have a 2013 repeat here. Given the quality of the cast and the intriguing nature of the story, I refuse to believe that there are problems with the film. Instead, we will just all have to be patient until it finally arrives in theaters. Once it does, I know I'll be right in line to check it out.

Checking in

Given that I just promoted the film, it would probably make sense to share with all of you the trailer for Wes Anderson's latest, The Grand Budapest Hotel so you can see for yourself whether or not this is a film for you. As for me, I've already made my reservations.

2014 Movie Preview: #9 - The Grand Budapest Hotel

Release date: March 7

Plot summary: "The Grand Budapest Hotel" recounts the adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. The story involves the theft and recovery of a priceless Renaissance painting and the battle for an enormous family fortune -- all against the back-drop of a suddenly and dramatically changing Continent.

My take: Even though I pride myself on being a movie fan, I never really discovered the films of Wes Anderson until I finally saw his 2012 film Moonrise Kingdom. Since then I have gone back and watched some of his earlier stuff and have been impressed with the oddball stories and visual flair that he creates in each of his movies. Now I am as anxious to see what he produces next in the same way I do with some of my other favorite directors. This film looks to be no different in terms of quirkiness and boasts an impressive casts that mixes Anderson regulars with new, but familiar faces. I'm sure not a lot of people will see this, but I'll be happy to be one of the few.

Moving Monuments

From EW.com

George Clooney told the Los Angeles Times Tuesday that his World War II drama The Monuments Men would not meet its scheduled Dec. 18 opening and will instead hit theaters in early 2014. A representative from Sony Pictures, who is distributing the film, confirmed the news to EW and stated that the film would be released sometime in the first quarter of 2014, but no release date has been set.

“We just didn’t have enough time,” Clooney told the paper. The movie, which Clooney directed, produced, and stars in, boasts an all-star cast including Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, and Cate Blanchett and was considered an awards hopeful. According to the report, when Clooney arrived in London to work with composer Alexandre Desplat on the score, he and producing partner Grant Heslov realized they were in trouble.

“If any of the effects looked cheesy, the whole movie would look cheesy,” Clooney told the Times. “We simply don’t have enough people to work enough hours to finish it.” He added: ”All we’ve ever said, from the very beginning, is that we wanted to make a commercial, non-cynical piece of entertainment.”

The Monuments Men isn’t the first film to drop out of the late 2013 release schedule — others have included Sony’s Foxcatcher and The Weinstein Company’s Grace of Monaco, both of which have been pushed to early 2014 as well.

This is rather disappointing news for me considering this was in my Top 5 most anticipated films for this year. Then again, Clooney's current film, Gravity, was originally supposed to come out in 2012 and it's done all right with its delay. So I guess we just have to now play the waiting game.

Danny Ocean goes to war

Sorry for the glut of trailers this week, but they've been all good ones. Here's one for The Monuments Men, a movie that was in my Top 5 Most Anticipated for this year. The film stars George Clooney, (who also directs it), Matt Damon, Bill Murray, and John Goodman. Check it out below.

RBR: Moonrise Kingdom

It may surprise some of you, given my love for movies, that Moonrise Kingdom was my first entry into the Wes Anderson universe. The only other film of his that I've seen is Fantastic Mr. Fox, which doesn't exactly fit into the mold of his typical films. If you've seen Anderson's work, then you know to expect a strange, yet beguiling story filled to the max with quirky character. This one centers around a geeky young boy and a disillusion young girl who meet and run off together abandoning their boy scout troop and family, respectively. I found the first half of the film to be wholly enchanting. The relationship between the two protagonists as they go on their journey is sweet and charming while the laughs come from the adults who go on the hunt to find them. This includes Frances McDormand and Bill Murray as the girl's parents, Bruce Willis as the town's sheriff, and Edward Norton as the boy scout troop leader. There's a lot of fun in watching the kids act grown up while the adults have some serious arrested development issues. If the entire film had been the chase for these kids, this would have been a great movie. However, the kids are discovered midway through and the film has difficulty in continuing the story past that point. Things turn even more bizarre and surreal in the second half and a second escape by the kids isn't nearly as engaging. Those who enjoy Anderson's work will no doubt love this latest effort but I think it is worth seeing even if you are a neophyte to his work like I was. It appears I may have to play catch up now and start watching some of his older stuff to see if I've been missing out all of these years. Rating: **** 1/4

Call them, maybe

There's a really insightful and detailed interview with Dan Ackroyd about Ghostbusters 3 and the development hell it's currently in. In it he expresses his (and fans') frustration and also reveals some details about what we can and shouldn't expect if the film actually gets made. The Esquire interview is too long to post here, so I'll just provide a link for you to check out. If you're a fan like me, it's definitely worth a read.