New X-Men Days of Future Past Trailer

You all know I'm not one for trailers. I think the art of marketing nowadays is sad. But I'm just really excited for this one. What do you all think? Comment below?

Sophia Grace to Play Little Red Riding Hood in the Into the Woods film

I wanted Rebel Wilson to play Little Red in the Into Woods feature film to be produced soon. But alas, those dreams got dashed away when I got word that Miss Sophia Grace has been cast in that part.

I was taken aback and a little confused, but it looks pretty legit. Sophia Grace - Youtube sensation and Ellen Show guest star - will play Little Red in the Into the Woods movie.

For the uninitiated, Litte Red, is NOT a little part. She is one of the main characters in this Fairy Tale epic. She has to sing those complicated Sondheim songs, and  she has a bunch of scenes with the wolf (played by Johnny Depp in the film) that are downwright creepy in the original libretto. She is usually played by a teenage girl. Sophia Grace wasn't anyone's choice for this part.

But I trust director Rob Marshall. I am in love with his work. I loved how he directed Annie, Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha and Nine. (I think I'm the only one who loved Nine though) And his work was amazing in musical films like Gypsy and Cinderella. I don't think he would've cast Sophia Grace if he didn't think she could do the part.

Movie musicals have a grand tradition of differing from the source material. Grease, Sound of Music, Hairspray the Musical... all of those movie musicals are very different from their stage incarnations and they still work... as films. I have no idea what Rob Marshall is going to do with Into the Woods. I really wish I did. The show itself is not easily adaptable to the screen. Rob Marshall has a lot to do in order for this film to work and I trust with his background in theater and movie musicals that whatever he does will be classic.

Also, I look at this from Sophia's perspective. Here's a little girl with big dreams and now she gets to star in a movie with Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep. She's going to be getting an education from the best in the business AND she gets to star in a movie musical version of one of the greatest fairy tale musicals of all time. I have to applaud Miss Sophia Grace and pray that the film succeeds if not for that alone - and I was already excited no matter who was cast in it.

NEON Movie Views: Episode 8 - Evil Dead (remake)

NEON Movie Views: Episode 7 - Man of Steel

NEON Movie Views: Episode 6 - Warm Bodies

N.E.O.N Movie Views: Episode 5 - Life of Pi

NEON Movie Views - Episode 4: Oz The Great and Powerful

NEON Movie Views - Episode 3: The Wizard of Oz

NEON Movie Views - Episode 2: Marketing

An episode based off of this article: The Movie Affect

The Perks of Being a Wallflower - So Classy

MAMA Short Film with intro from Guillermo del Toro

I  usually don't add to hype, but I am very excited for Guillermo del Toro's Mama. I was a little underwhelmed with Don't Be Afraid of the Dark but I didn't entirely hate it. I was in love with Pan's Labyrinth though.

Here's the short film that Mama came from.

Vamps - Clueless meets Twilight

So Mark saw this movie, Vamps, and he imagined I would enjoy it, due to me being a fan of Amy Heckerling, Clueless, Buffy and the Twilight Film Franchise.

Amy Heckerling, director and writer of Clueless and director of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, writes and directs Vamps, a modern day vampire comedy.

Alicia Silverstone (Clueless) reunites with Amy Heckerling. Joining Silverstone is Krysten Ritter (The B---- in Apartment 23). The two play a pair of socialite vampires who feed off of the blood of rats. Among the impressive cast are Sigourney Weaver (as "a glamorous lady vamp"), Malcom McDowell, Richard Lewis, Kristen Johnston and Wallace Shawn as a wacky modern day Van Helsing.

Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter play two socialite vampires. Silverstone's Goody has been around since the 1800s and approaches modern day devices like how an old lady would. I found this aspect of her character very amusing and fun. Ritter's Stacy is a little more modern than Goody and falls in love with the latest descendant of the Van Helsing (Vampire Hunter) birth line.

With all of the pieces in place, I was surprised to find that the movie doesn't exactly come together. The cast is obviously having fun and is very capable with the material. Heckerling script is very witty and has a nice story here, but as presented onscreen, it's all over the place. There are so many little subplots here that it's hard to distinguish what we're exactly supposed to be following. The effect is very episodic but badly organized. Indiviudally, certain scenes are very funny and charming, but one subplot in particular, involving a cancer victim, never fully comes together and it's conclusion is disappointing at best. There is much to love in this film though. Silverstone in particular is very fun to watch as she plays her character as an old lady in a modern world. I think a focus on this aspect would've made the film.

Heckerling appears to want to channel the same energy that was invoked with Clueless, but bad special effects, a lack of focus on the story and weird editing choices make this film feel like the film version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in New York; a lot of good ideas, but the wrong execution.