Top 5 movie news of last week

1. INTERSTELLAR Interview and Review
I’m not sure how anyone else takes it, but when I
hear that a film may be “too ambitious” I get
excited. Even though it implies that a work
ultimately misses the mark or falls short of its
goal, the fact that it aims that high to begin with
only heightens my anticipation. I’ve read similar
sentiments regarding Christopher Nolan’s
Interstellar and I can’t wait to experience it for
myself. For more on the film, check out Matt’s
review, Steve’s video interview with David Gyasi ,
and feel free to discuss the film with others
who’ve already watched it in our “What Did You
Think?” post.
2. STAR WARS: EPISODE VII Officially Titled
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
Having completed principal photography earlier in
the week, Disney and Lucasfilm wasted little time
announcing the official title for what was
previously referred to as Star Wars: Episode VII.
J.J. Abrams’ film is called Star Wars: The Force
Awakens. It’s concise enough, looks good in
the above image, and isn’t a tenth as cheesy and
painful to type as Batman v Superman: Dawn of
Justice which makes it three for three in my
book.
3. First Trailer for FURIOUS 7
Universal rolled out the first trailer for director
James Wan’s Furious 7 this week and, although
I’ve never seen a single entry in the franchise, I
have to say that it looks like a ton of fun. So fun
that I may even consider starting from the
beginning in order to be caught up in time for its
April 2015 release. Those who’ve watched the
first six, what do you think? Is this worth my time
or should I roll into Furious 7 cold?
4. BIG HERO 6 Interviews and Review
While I’m not in a race to the theaters to check
out Disney’s Big Hero 6 , I’ll admit that Baymax
looks about as cute and cuddly as they come and
that alone is enough to get me to watch it at
some point. Whether you’re like me and swayed
by Baymax’s Stay Puft Marshmallow Man
qualities or you’re excited about the film for other
reasons, I encourage you to check out Matt’s
review, our video interviews with Genesis
Rodriguez & Jamie Chung , filmmakers Chris
Williams & Don Hall , and T.J. Miller & Damon
Wayans, Jr. , and Christina’s roundtable text
interview with Chris Williams & Don Hall .
5. First Trailer for Neill Blomkamp’s CHAPPIE
Sony introduced the first trailer for Neill
Blomkamp’s Chappie to the Interwebs this week
and while it’s a bit overly sentimental for more
liking, it’s clear to me that few people in the
world make better looking sci-fi than Blomkamp.
He’s a true talent and I can only hope that the
full film explores greater thematic depths than
the “Chappie taught us more than we taught him”
angle the trailer leans heavily on. Regardless, I’m
giving this one the benefit of the doubt and look
forward to watching it in March 2015.