Tag: Top 10

Top Blockbuster Films to Look Forward to in 2020

Plenty of Blockbuster Films are coming this year to make Disney the dominant force in entertainment again. Good or bad, this company is the engine that keeps on churning them out.

Image result for dolittleThe blockbuster films coming this year shows that Disney the dominant force in entertainment again. Good or bad, this company is the engine that keeps on churning them out.

Tom Holland is keeping busy as details for the third Spider-Man film are being hammered out. As much as I like to see a certain anvil shaped villain enter the fore, it’s unlikely and the next film feels like it’s two years away than happening soon. After the success of Far From Home, I’m wanting more of this brand of Marvel and Sony Pictures magic!

On the live action front, I’m honestly impressed The Mouse is bringing the first title back to its roots. Thus begins a chronological list of films worth checking out:

Dolittle

January 17, 2020

Robert Downey Jr. will forever be remembered as Tony Stark Jr., aka Iron Man. Some may even cheer as he’s also Sherlock Holmes. Very few fans of this man will recall he was Chaplin—perhaps the best work he’s done in his prime. Now this man of a thousand characters is the seminal Doctor Dolittle, a Disney film which finally honours the setting to which the original stories by Hugh Lofting took place. Star power is definitely needed here.

Love those movies or hate ’em, I had no problems with Eddie Murphy’s version. They were made during a time as he shifted from a raunchy comedian to family guy. The studio was willing to take a chance on him, including suggesting a next generation to keep the franchise alive (which thankfully never happened)

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It’s The Vintage Tempest’s Hard Rock Christmas Countdown!

I’d rather have a Hard Rock Christmas and I’m not talking about wanting a piece of coal in my stocking.

Image result for trans siberian orchestraBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

When the malls are flooded with traditional music to get shoppers into the Christmas mood, I find I need heavy metal or grunge instead to start rocking it. I’d rather have a Hard Rock Christmas and I’m not talking about wanting a piece of coal in my stocking.

When considering my mood won’t always get uplifted by hearing those sleigh bells jingling, ring tingle tingling, and finding the lovely weather is colder than you like, it’s time to get the body moving to stay warm! When it’s time, I’m sure the last track is cozy enough to fall asleep to.

With only days left for that day (instead of counting down from twelve), I offer my picks to listen down to (the order is intentional) as that annual holiday draws near:

Manic Street Preachers
Ghost of Christmas

Not everyone will know of this Welsh rock band, but when I discovered them, I was hooked! Their sound brings a touch of Roy Orbison, The Clash and perhaps Sex Pistols together in a harmony which simply caught my attention. Ghost of Christmas is simply punk at its best.

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A Creepy International Movie Guide to Enjoying Halloween

HalloweenBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

The horror movie experience is subjective when looking at any screaming list of what to watch in the days leading to or on Halloween Day. Any long-time fan will have developed an immunity to certain levels of gore. When I was younger, I was not as hardened. What you see here is one where I reflect to those movies that really got to me when I was a tyke–still discovering what comes naught may.

I break a few entries down to include even more films since they represent a particular subgenre. Here’s my guide for what to view tonight (or any other). For a few of us, All Hallow’s Eve lasts longer. After all, the Day of the Dead takes place November 2nd, but this cultural celebration differs from the American-Celtic tradition.

Häxan
(1922)

Horror films from the silent film era are unique. The more aged the presentation is, the more detached it is from our sense of what modern times entails. Perhaps the way each frame flips or an original cinema screening skips, can jar our belief in reality–whether or not it is dreamlike.

There’s no denying Nosferatu (1922), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (109), The Phantom Carriage (1920) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925) are masterpieces. A bigger question lies in what can truly disturb, or cause nightmares to those not used to tales of the macabre? When this Swedish-Danish work was originally meant to be a documentary that looks at Witchcraft throughout the ages–also this film’s English title–and the gory practices involved that cast them as demons, this film does the job!

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2019 Vancouver International Film Festival Genre Picks!

Vancouver International Film Festival 2019
Runs Sept 26 to Oct 11 at various venues throughout Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia

Hot off the heels of the 2019 Toronto Film Festival is the Vancouver International Film Festival for locals and Hollywood North to savour. It’s safe to say a good part of my previous article’s wish list (namely Jojo Rabbit and No 7. Cherry Lane) will screen at this show.

This year’s event has my attention because of the following and these movies are listed in no particular order:

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Tough TIFF Picks for Future Festivals to Consider…

Image result for bombay rose Movie posterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Plenty of eyes and ears were on the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, and with it now over, I’m hoping for a certain selection of films will screen at upcoming events, namely the Vancouver International Film Festival coming up (I’m not looking online to cheat) or next year in my hometown’s own, the Victoria Film Festival.

It’s a safe bet that The Lighthouse will be coming. This title is already confirmed for the mainland show. As for other titles, that will be up to event programmers and whether the distributors involved have submitted for my local shows. Failing that, a lot of movies will be picked up for Art house screenings or eminent release in the next ten or so months.

My picks include:

Bombay Rose

Inspired by true events, Gitanjali Rao’s debut feature weaves together the experiences of several denizens of India’s largest city: A sweetly singing flower seller constructs garlands while dreaming of a fairy tale romance. A little girl befriends an orphaned deaf boy who has lost his job. Police conduct raids on businesses they suspect of hiring children. An English teacher prepares food and sets a place at the table for her long-dead husband. A troupe of dance-bar workers consider unionizing. A young Muslim man from Kashmir explores the metropolis he believes holds the key to his destiny — and finds himself falling for a Hindu woman, believing that true love trumps the confines of faith. These and other stories are connected by a single red rose.

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The Vintage Tempest’s Most Anticipated Films of 2019

Halloween
By Ed Sum aka (The Vintage Tempest)

When a huge plate of comic book films is being offered in 2019, is it possible to make a list of movies worth seeing without mentioning a comic book (especially Marvel or DC) title? That will be a separate article but within this category, M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass deserves special mention. It’s certainly comic-book inspired. Instead, it’s set in the reality only this auteur can imagine.

Works from Asia is just as important! Not on the list, but believed to release sometime this new year is a sequel to The Mermaid (2016). This runaway hit and director Stephen Chow‘s perchance for comedy has me waiting in bated breath for an American-side release. Chinese-made films rarely get noticed, and when making my list, I had Warriors of the Future as a movie of interest.

Anime-wise, Mirai no Mirai (未来のミライ) will get wider distribution in this new year. It released during winter of last year with limited screenings. I saw a clip in the promo reel for the Victoria Film Festival 2019, and am fairly sure this will be screened locally. I will be looking forward to watching this 76th annual Golden Globe Award-nominated film.

Listed in chronological order are:

Godzilla: The Planet Eater

January 9

The final part of Toho’s animated trilogy gets its worldwide release on Netflix! While this take takes on shades of Hideaki Anno‘s Evangelion, this concept should be of no surprise when considering this creator directed the last live-action work, Shin Gojira in 2016.

Kaiju fans are in for twice the fun this year, since King Ghidorah is the villain. I’m sure the planning was coincidental since one side of the Pacific was not in constant communication with the other for plans for big G. Not even a three-headed monster can choose sides for which is best.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkIe8xlfolU&w=560&h=315%5D

Cont’d on next page.

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