News: Dwayne Johnson is Kamehameha in Epic "THE KING" From Robert Zemeckis

.@TheRock to play Hawaiian king in epic from Robert Zemeckis https://t.co/d5tdm4svKl pic.twitter.com/b6KqAQKAKT

— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) August 29, 2018

While we all know that The Rock puts a lot of effort and time into his movies, one where he has such a strong connection to the source material means there's going to be extra passion and effort here.

Johnson, who is of Polynesian decent, has been hoping to make a movie about Kamehameha for the better of the past two decades.

And the companies involved seem to have zero problem footing the bill - We know Warner Bros loves throwing vast amounts of money at people, directors, and characters who have proven themselves before, and while the time for epics may or may not have passed (When was the last one? That people saw?), the time of Johnson, Zemeckis, and amazing effects and CGI focused on a part of history most people do not know, have not.


Unfortunately, Deadline reports that the film should start shooting in 2020. That's a long time to wait, but The Rock is a very busy dude, so it's understandable.

source: THR/Deadline

#65: 2001: A Space Odyssey in IMAX

I have always wanted to see Interstellar in IMAX, and arguably this is a far better option.

Once again, in the modern day, this movie falls victim to a lot of people feeling that a movie needs a story 100% of the time.

This movie isn't even set up narratively - The first fifteen minutes or so is showing us the Dawn of Man, and that sequence ends with them learning how to use tools.....to beat the shit out of opponents.

When an ominous black rectangle shows up (twice, once far before anyone could reasonably record it's existence, and later in the "present day" of 2001), humans on the moon are trying to figure out what it's deal is.

It's aliens. I spoil it because it's not a big deal.

What is a big deal is the sheer scope, beauty, and technicality of nearly everything.

And, today I learned that the main song is only the opening fanfare of a song called Also sprach Zarathustra.

#64: To All The Boys I've Loved Before

East Asian people bringing back the rom com!

It's subdued but also cheerful in it's way. I'm happy to see that Lana Condor has a role where she can speak more than two lines, let alone being the lead!

Also, when did Netflix originals get such high production value.

Lara Jean has two sisters - The distant and capable Margot and possibly my favorite character, the snappy and smart Kitty.

She writes letters she never plans to send to crushes - Five letters, to five guys, though only two have a large role in the story (Though one turns into the Gay Best Friend!)

I don't think this should be clocking in at an hour and a half. Maybe 1:15.

As someone who doesn't feel strongly about wanting a fairytale romance - or any at all - I didn't fall head over heels in love with this film.

#63: Crazy Rich Asians

As a huge fan of the 2013 novel, I was happy to see this was being shopped around as a film, and happier still that Kevin Kwan, the author, did not allow them to whitewash it - and Warner Bros. agreed.

I can't touch upon any of the cultural nuances simply because I'm not Asian. I read the series several times, but that's all I did - Read about it.

I'm genuinely proud and happy that this is sweeping the nation. The preview screenings (Which we did not get) were nearly sold out across the country on August 8th! Some theaters had to add another one!

Did I like it? Overall, yes, it's a big improvement over this year's earlier rom-com.

It's astonishingly well made (except for poor sound mixing - Why is this such a trend these days). A lot of the music, score, and camera choices were amazing and really elevated an essentially simple story.

The wedding scene alone was perfection.

Did I like all the changes from the book?

Well.

Spoilers for both the book and the film.

#62: Santa Jaws

Okay, I tried to write a synopsis for this, but I think the official one says it best;

Trying to survive the family Christmas, Cody makes a wish to be alone, which ends up backfiring when a shark manifests and kills his entire family.

Seriously. It's Krampus but a lot uglier and with a shark. I mean, it is a Syfy movie.

The acting is surprisingly not awful from the main character, but his uncle's wife is really hamming it up. Some parts are absolutely hilarious, and everyone's pretty aware that this is not to be taken seriously.

There's an eleventh-hour switcharoo that tries to make the comic book store owner the bad guy but you don't really know why, as if they couldn't just share the magical pen that bought the shark to life.

Film in 2017: YASS, QUEEN!

#25; Chicago & #36; The Handmaiden 

These were my two favorites of last year. Point blank.

Book Look: Artemis Fowl #5: The Lost Colony

I think one day,when someone asked Colfer, "In a world with fairies, pixies, sprites, goblins, trolls, and centaurs, where are the demons?", he said "...Good question."

They're in an island out of time, of course.

I am no stranger to the Artemis Fowl series. Hell, the movie adaptation, despite multiple casting fails, is one of my most anticipated of 2019.

While my personal favorite of the series remains The Opal Deception, The Lost Colony is right up there.

Ten thousand years ago, humans and fairies fought a great battle for the magical island of Ireland. When it became clear that they could not win, all of the faeries moved below ground—all except for the 8th family, the demons. Rather than surrender, they used a magical time spell to take their colony out of time and into Limbo. There they have lived for decades, planning their violent revenge on humans. 

Book Look: The First Rule of Punk by Celia C Pérez

I saw this in Books a Million one day; Seriously, how can you not be curious at this cover;

So I bought and read it.

There are no shortcuts to surviving your first day at a new school—you can’t fix it with duct tape like you would your Chuck Taylors. On Day One, twelve-year-old Malú (María Luisa, if you want to annoy her) inadvertently upsets Posada Middle School’s queen bee, violates the school’s dress code with her punk rock look, and disappoints her college-professor mom in the process. Her dad, who now lives a thousand miles away, says things will get better as long as she remembers the first rule of punk: be yourself.

Film in 2017: Disney Darling and Disaster

# 64 Pinocchio & #74: The Princess and The Frog 

Film in 2017: Mystery Music

#72: The Sound of Music & 94: Mystery Men

The Sound of Music is one of the greatest movies of all time. Point blank. I'd love a remake of it, I really would. Make it as timeless as you can but redo it.

You probably have never heard of Mystery Men, a 1999 film that ran with the foolishness of superhero movies instead of trying to make it super serious. The heroes are people with plates, mining equipment, anger, talking bowling balls. It's both a curious oddity and something could be brought back into the modern day with it's weirdness.

Because, it's not a wry, Deadpool-ish smartassery. It's people working with what they're given and taking it very seriously.

Film in 2017: Fable Fury

#27: American Fable #30: Kung Fury

American Fable had gorgeous cinematography. Absolutely beautiful. And while it semi-focused on the imaginary world of a rural girl in the 80's, her life is falling apart, as the local farms are being foreclosed by bankers.

And unfortunately that just isn't so cool to watch when it's not heavy on the fable part. She finds her father is holding a man captive who would foreclose the farm and...that's about it.

Kung Fury leans heavily on the sillyness and that's really about it.

Film in 2017: Kids Not Living Their Best Lives (Also; Deliver it like You Stole It)

#10; Sing Street & #33; Kiki's Delivery Service