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Which of this year's movies deserve the industry’s highest honor?
This has been an incredible year for movie lovers, especially fans of genre movies. There were fewer superheroes on the big screen, but they ruled the box office, nonetheless, with smartly written, ingeniously directed and just plain fun comic book adaptations coming in first, second, and fifth on the list of the highest-grossing movies of the year. Sci-fi fans were made to suffer through a couple of early duds, but had their patience rewarded with the return of some classic characters and one of the most influential directors to work in the genre after a thirty-year hiatus. Fantasy fans got to choose between whimsical and warrior Snow Whites, and the world's most popular vampire couple had a baby, not to mention that the greatest high fantasy franchise of all time returns to theaters this month after a decade slumbering in the Shire. (Horror fans got the short end of the stake stick this year, with too many sequels and not enough original content.)
Women continued to assert themselves in 2012, with more female-driven comedies getting laughs for the kinds of jokes once reserved for men, and the first woman to win an Oscar for Best Director is almost a sure thing for another nomination. Independent studios also made a splash this year, turning out several engaging, moving, and downright brilliant dramas that are every bit as good as the big studio dramas with A-list directors.
Which movies were the best? Which ones deserve the honor of being nominated for the movie industry's top prize? That's up to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to decide, but we want to know what you think. Ignore genre and tell us which movies deserve to be nominated for Oscars, whether for Best Picture, Best Animated Feature or Best Documentary.
Top 10 Most Oscar-Worthy Movies of 2012 >>
Posted 12.11.12 by BrentJS -
It's difficult for a director to continue to up the ante as an auteur, but with The Master's record setting opening it's clear that director Paul Thomas Anderson didn't take anything in stride after his last critically praised outing, There Will Be Blood.
Richard Roeper says The Master is a "mesmerizing work." What do you think? Weigh-in in the comments.
the master of movie reviewsWeekday mornings on the REELZ Show
What are the critics saying? >> Posted 09.17.12 by reelz -
The Master loses big award at Venice Film Festival over technicality.
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Whether or not writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson's (There Will Be Blood) upcoming drama, The Master, is based on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's life and experiences or not, the new theatrical trailer that was just released is tantalizing and mesmerizing enough that we almost don't care about the origins of the movie. With the sound of Joaquin Phoenix pounding rhythmically on a pane of glass playing throughout the majority of the trailer and Philip Seymour Hoffman pontificating on the the true nature of human beings while sexually suggestive and violent imagery cascades in rapid succession, we found ourselves reaching a fever pitch of excitement and interest for the movie by trailer's end. Good thing The Weinstein Company moved the release of the movie up by a month!
watch the trailer >> Posted 08.29.12 by BrentJS -
If seeing the recently released first trailer for director Paul Thomas Anderson's (There Will Be Blood) upcoming drama The Master got you excited to see the movie, you now have a month less to wait. Originally set for release on Oct. 12, The Weinstein Co. has moved The Master's opening to Sept. 14 in Los Angeles and New York before opening nationwide on Sept. 21. THR reports that the movie could premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, which starts Sept. 6.
In order to facilitate the move, The Weinstein Co. has moved the Brad Pitt-starring thriller Killing Them Softly (formerly Cogan's Trade) from September 21 to October 19. The moves will likely be seen as a way to take advantage of the publicity surround the divorce of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, as The Master is clearly based on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, but Harvey Weinstein wouldn't admit to a Scientology connection in the movie during an interview with The Huffington Post.
more about The Master and Killing Them Softly >> Posted 07.29.12 by Ryan -
There's little doubt that Paul Thomas Anderson's new movie is about Scientology's L. Ron Hubbard
It's been five whole years since Paul Thomas Anderson's last movie, the near-perfect There Will Be Blood, but based on the new trailer for his new project, The Master, the writer-director seems to be still be at the top of his game. Starring Joaquin Phoenix (his first starring role since 2008), Amy Adams, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, the movie tells the story of a charismatic intellectual (Hoffman) who launches a faith-based organization after World War II. A young drifter (Phoenix) becomes his right-hand man, but as the faith begins to gain a fervent following, the onetime vagabond finds himself questioning the belief system he has embraced, and his mentor.
watch the new trailer >> Posted 07.24.12 by Chris -
Last month saw the first teaser trailer for director Paul Thomas Anderson's (There Will Be Blood) upcoming drama The Master. Supposedly based — however loosely — on Scientology, the surreal trailer revealed Joaquin Phoenix as a lonely drifter who is prone to violence and breaking the rules.
Nowhere to be found was Philip Seymour Hoffman's character, the intellectual leader of the faith-based organization who eventually brings in Phoenix as his right hand man. Hoffman does appear in the latest teaser trailer, and quickly shows that the reports of the story being based on Scientology aren't unfounded. Hoffman's character of Lancaster Dodd admits that he is a writer and (among other things) a "theoretical philosopher," which sounds an awful lot like Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, to say nothing of The Master's 1950s setting (Hubbard founded Scientology in 1952). Add to that Dodd's wife, Mary-Sue (Amy Adams, who also appears in the trailer), seems likely named after Hubbard's third wife, Mary Sue Hubbard, and the association is that much stronger. Other than those facts, however, the latest trailer is another excellent exercise in surreal enchantment, alluring the viewer while never fully explaining just what exactly is going on.
watch the trailer >> Posted 06.19.12 by Ryan -
Throughout his long career, actor Tom Cruise has received three Academy Award nominations, the last of which was for Magnolia, director Paul Thomas Anderson's 1999 ensemble drama. Anderson's latest work, The Master, recently debuted its first trailer. Cruise and Anderson apparently remain friendly, as the director screened the movie for him, The Wrap reports; however, Cruise apparently wasn't completely impressed.
According to the report, Cruise's disenchantment stems from his devotion to the Church of Scientology. The Master centers on a family man (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who starts his own cult-like religion, which has long been reported to be loosely based on Scientology. Apparently, two sources close to the movie claim that Cruise "had issues" with some parts, and that Anderson was hoping to head off conflict over the movie from the growing religious organization. The report also claims that The Master's distributor, The Weinstein Company, intends to show the movie to John Travolta, another follower of Scientology.
For now, The Wrap report should be considered a rumor since Cruise's spokesperson and another for the Church of Scientology have both declined to comment.
cruise wants to ride with The Magnificent Seven >> Posted 05.24.12 by Ryan -
It's been a while since either director Paul Thomas Anderson or actor Joaquin Phoenix have made or appeared in a movie — 2007's There Will Be Blood was Anderson's last, while Phoenix's was the 2010 faux-documentary I'm Still Here. The upcoming The Master will see them back on the big screen in a collaboration that emulates both of their unique careers.
Anderson, who became a sensation with 1997's Boogie Nights, has never been one to speedily churn out movies. He's been working on The Master for some time. A version of the script was leaked over two years ago. Then known as "Untitled Scientology, the movie follows Phoenix as a former Navy soldier who becomes the right-hand of a family man (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who happens to be the leader of his own cult-like religion (reportedly thought to be based on Scientology). The trailer offers no sight of Hoffman, instead focusing on a surreal Q&A between Phoenix and a Naval officer.
watch the trailer >> Posted 05.21.12 by Ryan