Author: Rob Dean (Page 2 of 9)

Part Deux It Again: The 10 best Part Twos in cinema

February 22, 2017 / Rob Dean

Sequels are all the rage right now in Hollywood. Studios are constantly looking for properties to expand into franchises, and after securing a popular first entry, the next step is the shaky second part. This is the make or break moment for the franchise – a chance to correct any shortcomings in the first one and deliver more of what people loved, while still expanding the world enough to give them a feeling of something new.

“John Wick: Chapter Two” is currently blasting through cineplexes with headshots and pencil deaths galore, proving that it’s still possible to make second entries that rival the first installment. And while there is certainly a slew of Part Twos in cinema history – some bad (“2 Fast 2 Furious,” “A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge”) and some passable (“Halloween II,” both versions) – the good ones also define themselves as being excellent movies in their own right that explore familiar characters in unexpected and novel ways.

Below are the 10 best second installments in cinema history. (And for those looking for the best threequels in cinema history, simply visit this entry as well).

Entertainment, Movies

Aliens best movie part twos best movie sequels best sequels Star Trek II Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back The Godfather Part II The Wrath of Khan

Rom-Coms That Won’t Make You Vom

February 13, 2017 / Rob Dean

The simple fact of the matter is that the vast majority of movies aren’t very good. There are always sterling examples of great films that emerge every year, and some years have a better crop of movies than others, but the reality of the situation is that it’s easy to indict a genre based on its worst examples, especially when there are so many. Perhaps no subgenre has been more maligned than the romantic comedy, as there’s been a plethora of clichéd, subpar and outright terrible entries in the form. But it isn’t the case across the board. Beyond just the classics – like “It Happened One Night,” “The Apartment,” “Splash” and others – there are other prime examples of filmmakers doing interesting and innovative things within the genre.

As Valentine’s Day approaches, here is a list of great romantic comedies that people who aren’t too into the subgenre should check out. Some are classics and some are overlooked gems, but they all make clever decisions that bring out the best in romance and comedy and produce something that has lasted the test of time.

Entertainment, Movies

best romantic comedies rom-coms romantic comedies Valentine's Day Valentine's Day films

The 17 Most Anticipated Films of 2017

January 27, 2017 / Rob Dean

Despite all of its many faults and shortcomings, 2016 had at least one bright spot: it was a very good time for some excellent films. From blockbusters to indies, almost every genre had at least one stellar example that will stand the test of time in the minds of viewers and the hearts of cinephiles. As the dust settles on 2016 and awards are given out to the year’s best films, it’s time to look forward. While 2017 is shaping up to be another rough 12 months for all sorts of reasons, what will it hold for moviegoers? Below is a list of the most hotly anticipated films of the new year broken down by release date. These are the movies we are most looking forward to in 2017, and hopefully, they will continue the trend of a good time at the movie theater.

“The Girl with All the Gifts” (January 26)

While the U.K. and a few other countries have already gotten a look at director Colm McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic zombie film, U.S. viewers will soon get a chance of their own to see this amazing film. Having caught it at Fantastic Fest in 2016, as well as being familiar with the original book by M.R. Carey, I can vouch that it is an incredibly original takes on the zombie subgenre that dares to ask tough questions and provide even tougher answers. It’s beautiful, impressive, tense, and it feels like something both oddly familiar yet utterly new.

Entertainment, Movies

2017 films 2017 movies Coming Soon

Bullz-Eye’s 2017 Alternative Film Awards

January 13, 2017 / Rob Dean

‘Tis the season for various critics groups and professional organizations to hand out their annual movie awards, recognizing various achievements in acting, writing and other areas of film production. These awards are prestigious but ultimately lacking in diversity and what audiences are truly seeking when they go to their local theater. To remedy that, we here at Bullz-Eye have created the Alternative Film Awards, which celebrates some lesser-acknowledged movies and performances that also shone bright in 2016. (Warning: Some mild spoilers follow.)

Best Action Sequence

The airport fight in “Captain America: Civil War”

There were more technically impressive action scenes in 2016, but what the Russo brothers captured so well with this set piece is spectacle and emotion. It highlighted the best parts of serialization and an expanded cinematic universe, and because audiences know these characters and care about them (possibly even siding with both parties as they each make excellent points), they are invested in seeing what happens when they clash. Add to that the fact that the sequence imitated the type of big, splash-page brawls often found in comic books (with multiple skirmishes happening at once), not to mention the admittedly cool sight of Spider-Man and Giant Man squaring off, and it’s no surprise why the moment was hailed as an instant classic among fans.

Runner-Up: The entirety of “Kill Zone 2”

Entertainment, Movies

best action scene best car chase best comic book movie best trailer best villain

Hollywood Resolutions for 2017

January 6, 2017 / Rob Dean

With the garbage fire of a year that was 2016 fading away in the rearview, it’s time to look forward at the prospects that 2017 holds. While 2016 was pretty awful in most respects, it did manage to deliver some excellent films, including a few instant classics. But will the studios learn the right lessons from these critical and financial successes, or will the new year simply regurgitate the same wrong-headed mistakes from years prior? To help Hollywood navigate the stormy seas of success, below is a list of five resolutions it should adopt in 2017 (and beyond) to ensure delivery of more great films in the future.

1) Embrace Diversity in Casting (and Behind the Camera, Too)

Two of the biggest successes of the year, “Doctor Strange” and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” were populated by a diverse cast of actors that were of different races and genders. And while they weren’t without controversy (the whitewashing of the Ancient One, for example) or their token white saviors (Benedict Cumberbatch and Felicity Jones, respectfully), it was still refreshing to see large studio films actually utilize women and people of color in bigger roles in their tentpole movies. But there needs to be more of this, and it needs to happen behind the camera, too.

The reason why this is so important, especially for blockbusters, is that it helps inspire the next generation of nerds and cinephiles. It’s easy to forget how transformative it can be to “see yourself” up on screen, especially for the white male population, but it really does matter to younger generations to see representations of themselves in movies. Embracing diversity in film helps audiences (particularly non-white, non-male viewers) connect better to what they’re seeing, which helps to inspire their dreams and imaginations, as well as reflects the actual diversity of audiences in today’s world. 2016 did an okay job of inclusiveness, but there are many miles to go before we sleep.

Entertainment, Movies

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