50page

www.groovekorea.com / November 2014 50 preview by Dean Crawford AT THE BOX OFFICE THE BIG SCREEN Edited by Jenny Na (jenny@groovekorea.com) MuSIC & ARTS GrooveCast GrooveCast host Chance Dorland and columnist Dean Crawford talk movies. Check out the podcast at groovekorea.com. Directed by Christopher nolan November 6 There are a handful of directors who can gen- erate a great deal of excitement when they re- lease a new movie. Quentin Tarantino is one, as is Martin Scorsese, despite being in the twilight of his career, and I would also put Wes Ander- son in that bracket. A person who also belongs in this category is Christopher Nolan, who I would argue delivers just as much excitement, if not more, than all of his current peers. You see, there are very few directors who can transcend the boundaries of what a sum- mer blockbuster should be by successfully merging high-spectacle visuals with interest- ing concepts. “Edge of Tomorrow” (2014) and “Snowpiercer” (2013) are two examples that spring to mind (directed by Doug Liman and Bong Joon-ho, respectively), but they were not nearly as commercially successful as Nolan’s “Inception” (2010) or his “Dark Knight” trilogy (2005–2012). Nolan’s next movie is “Interstel- lar,” which, as you may have guessed by the title, is a film that takes place among the stars. Even with Nolan at the helm, the idea of a big budget intergalactic extravaganza might have seemed quite risky a few years ago. But with the release of “Gravity” (2013) and “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014), and when you take into consideration how many “Star Wars” films are going to be produced over the next 10 years, the time is definitely right for Nolan to explore a galaxy far, far away. While we know “Interstellar” stars Matthew McConaughey and Jessica Chastain, the sto- ry is being heavily guarded. According to Par- amount Pictures, the movie revolves around a group of explorers who use a newly discovered wormhole to expedite space travel. Nolan elab- orated on some of the underlying themes during his talk at Comic Con, telling the audience that the plot is “about human beings and what it is to be human.” Still not a lot to go on, but when you hear that the film has been described as Nolan’s most ambitious film so far, I think it’s safe to say that it’s time for us to all get very, very excited again. Action / Mystery / Sci-Fi U.S. Interstellar Directed by Bobby farrelly and Peter farrelly November 27 There are certain movies we see as children that contain images so powerful they stay with us for the rest of our lives. Some of you will never forget the moment you saw E.T. go home. Others will always recall the first time they saw the Millennium Falcon take flight. Me? I’ll always remember the day I saw Lloyd Christmas get his tongue stuck to a pole in the Farrelly brothers’ “Dumb and Dumber” (1994). Two decades have passed since the movie’s release, but I would still rate it as one of my favorite comedies of all time. Though the film has many strengths, the orig - inal “Dumb and Dumber” was particularly mem- orable for the fantastic chemistry between Jeff Bridges and Jim Carrey, as well as the spot- on direction of the movie’s slapstick moments. In fact, most of the Farrellys’ early output was equally hilarious. “Kingpin” (1996) made Em - pire’s list of the top 50 comedies of all time and “There’s Something About Mary” (1998) has be- come a modern classic. But where once their hu- mor had audiences in stitches, the emergence of a new kind of comedy, kick-started by “The Office” and closely followed by the emergence of other comedic forces such as Adam McKay and Judd Apatow, meant that the Farrellys’ brand of humor simply wasn’t bringing the same laughs. The pair is hoping to reverse this trend with “Dumb and Dumber To,” the sequel to 1994’s “Dumb and Dumber.” (“Dumb and Dumberer” from 2003 doesn’t count, not just because it was terrible, but because it was a prequel and … it was terrible.) “Dumb and Dumber To” sees our two unlike - ly heroes, Lloyd Christmas (Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Daniels), heading out on another road trip. But this time they aren’t seeking love. In- stead, they are looking for their long-lost children in the hopes of gaining a new liver. While I’m excited for the Farrellys to return to some much-loved characters, I approach the film with a great deal of apprehension due to the failures that were “Hall Pass” (2011) and “The Three Stooges” (2012). Here’s hoping that “Dumb and Dumber To” is a return to form, and if all goes well, we’ll see the trilogy be completed in another 20 years. Comedy U.S. Dumb and Dumber To
50page


50page