Normally I’d have a podcast out that you, my dear listeners (now readers) would be listening to, but this week had other plans in store. Something went wrong somewhere and the file got corrupted so there’s no Podcast this week. Instead, I’m turning my notes into a blog so you can read about the news and see which movies are coming out! So instead of episode 20, Future Flicks with Billiam is going back to its roots. A blog.
As always lets start with some news.
Actor Robert Redford has announced he will retire from acting after he finishes the final two movies he’s working on. He is 80 years old and is known for his roles in such classics as The Sting, All The Presidents Men, and one of my personal favorites, Sneakers.
Actor Robert Vaughn passed away on the 11th at the age of 83. He was best known for his role as Napoleon Solo in The Man from U.N.C.L.E and the movie The Magnificent Seven.
The teaser trailer for Valerian and the City of A Thousand Planets dropped last week and it looks amazing. This movie is based off a graphic novel and is being written and directed by Luc Besson who wrote and directed The Fifth Element.
The first trailer for Ghost in the Shell came out and it looks… bad. Check it out for yourselves. I won’t put it in this blog because I don’t want it taking up precious room.
A Street Cat Named Bob: Based on the true story of James Bowen and how his life was transformed by a stray ginger cat he names Bob.
This stars Bob the cat and Luke Treadaway from the movie Unbroken. This is brought to us by Roger Spottiswoode who directed Turner and Hooch and Tomorrow Never Dies. This is based off a book by James Bowen and Garry Jenkins.
Remember the movie Nine Lives? Well, this looks like if that movie wasn’t terrible, no one was turned into a cat, and it didn’t look like it would make your eyes bleed. But what else can I say about this? A Street Cat Named Bob looks cute, something I want to watch but I won’t make time for in theaters
My Vote: Pass on it in theaters unless you really need an uplifting feel good movie with a cute cat.
The Take: A con artist and pickpocket is forced to team up with a CIA agent to stop a terrorist in France.
This stars Idris Elba from Lutor, Richard Madden from Games of Thrones, and Charlotte Le Bon from The Hundred-Foot Journey.
This movie has been done before. It looks just like every other “color by numbers” style crime drama. True, it may have Idris Elba in it which automatically makes it better than your average crime movie, but it needs something bigger to stand out of it wants to get anyone to see it in theaters. If the movie does have that thing, then the trailers did a piss poor job of showing it. The Take is full of tropes that are enjoyable at times but I’m just getting tired of seeing. Elba is your typical cop/special agent who doesn’t play by the rules and Madden is your criminal with a heart of gold. This could be fun, but save it for a sick day.
My Vote: Skip it unless you’re a big fan of these types of movies.
Life on the Line: A crew of men who work on power lines must fight through a storm to bring power back to their city.
This stars John Travolta from Grease, Kate Bosworth from Superman Returns, Sharon Stone from Basic Instinct and Devon Sawa from Final Destination.
This looks horrible. I will never ever watch this travesty and neither should you. It looks like complete crap. Some writer one day was on a bit too much cold medication and wrote this script. This should be a Lifetime Original movie. It’ looks that bad.
My Vote: Pass on this and never ever watch it.
Officer Downe:
An officer must clean up the streets of his city and will continue to do so no matter what because he never stays dead.
This stars Kim Coates from Sons of Anarchy and Alison Lohman from Drag me to Hell. It’s based off the graphic novel by Joe Casey and Chris Burnham. This is the first movie directed by Slipknot founder Shawn Crahan.
This looks stupid. I love it. The previous movie looked bad. This looks dumb. But the kind of dumb that I’d love to watch because of it’s insane plot, colorful characters, and shameless delivery. This looks like if Sin City and Machete had an ugly, ugly baby. This will probably be a limited release movie if it even hits theaters at all. So keep your eyes open for it and keep it on your mind for an eventual Blu-ray/DVD purchase or streaming.
My Vote: Watch this whenever you can find it.
Manchester by the Sea: Lee’s brother dies leaving behind a son, Patrick, who Lee is now the guardian of. He’s been asked to leave his home and move to Manchester by the Sea to take care of the boy and now he must learn how to raise a teenager.
This stars Casey Affleck from The Assassination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford, Michelle Williams from My Week with Marilyn, Kyle Chandler from Friday Night Lights the TV show, and Lucas Hedges from Moonrise Kingdom. This is an Amazon Studio movie written and directed by Kennith Longergan who also wrote Gangs of New York.
Casey Affleck is an amazing actor who needs bigger roles. I don’t think he gets enough love. He’s fantastic. He may not have the range his brother has, but he knows what he can do and does a great job at it. This movie looks like it’s an entirely plausible idea with realistic characters presented to us honestly. This is going to be an emotionally touching movie that will have you in tears but will more than likely en on a high note.
My Vote: Watch this movie. But watch it from the comfort of your own home.
The Edge of Seventeen: 
Nadine is the girl who has never fit in but she’s always had her best friend by her side. One day she finds out her best friend is dating her brother and watches as her friend joins the popular crowd, leaving Nadine behind.
This stars Hailee Steinfeld from Ender’s Game, Haley Lu Richardson from Recovery Road, Blake Jenner from Glee, Kyra Sedgwick from The Closer, and Woody Harlson from Cheers.
I’m torn about this movie because it looks really good but it’s been done so many times before. It’s just another awkward teenager coming of age story. I do think that movies like this are important because a very wise person i know said “movies like this can help you feel less alone and less crazy if you’re of the age where you’re going through what she’s going through. They can also give you an idea of the kind of person you want to be.”
I agree with that but can’t Hollywood try and do something new while keeping this message? The only thing that places this as a modern movie is her use of social media. Also, this movie is rated R so maybe it’s more for the late teens and early 20’s crowd who is still searching for themselves. This looks like a fun movie that could be worth a watch if you’re more in the mood for a dramedy.
My Vote: Give it a watch but it’s up in the air if you see it in theaters or at home.
Bleed for This: This is based on the true story of World Champion Boxer Vinney Pazienza who survived a car crash and went though hell during rehabilitation all to get back in the ring.
This stars Miles Teller from Whiplash, Aaron Eckhart from The Dark Knight, Katey Sagal from Futurama, and Christine Evangelista from The Walking Dead.
Miles Teller constantly surprises me and he’s done some crap like the last Fantastic Four and the Divergent, Insurgent, Detergent movies. Then he also does movies like Whiplash which are simply mind blowing.
Bleed for This looks like a heavy and brutal movie that will show everything Pazienza went though during his rehab and how hard he worked to become one of the best in the world. This looks like a heavy drama with just a touch of lightheartedness to it to make it an enjoyable movie. That being said, this film isn’t going to be for everyone. The good thing is, you’ll know if this movie is for you or not. Just watch the trailer and find out.
My Vote: This looks like a great movie but not good enough to become my pick of the week. Watch this, either in theaters or at home.
My Pick of the Week!
Look, I made that title bold AND I underlined it. How fancy am I? Well, we all know what my pick is and for quite a few reasons. The first is that there’s only one movie left that I haven’t talked about and it’s a big one. Second is that this is a blog and you probably scrolled down far enough to see it already. Third is…. come on. What else was it going to be?
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The adventure of Newt Scarmander who must chase down a horde of mythical creatures that were let loose upon New York.
This stars Eddie Redmayne from The Theory of Everything, Colin Farrell from In Bruges, Ezra Miller from Royal Pains, Dan Fogler from Balls of Fury, Zoe Kravitz from Mad Max: Fury Road, and John Voight from Heat.
This is the perfect movie for the holiday season because for eight years running we had a Harry Potter movie for each Christmas and now w’er going to have a Fantastic Beasts movie for the next five. Also, this was written by JK Rowling herself AND directed by David Yates so it’s almost a sure thing.
Another up side to this film is that it’s only based in the world of Harry Potter so there’s no risk of messing up anything in a story we’re all so familiar with and attached to. Dealing with or tweaking an already established universe is very tricky, isn’t that right Mr. Lucas?
Movies like this are why I love being a writer. If you can create a rich enough world you can just keep creating stories in it. For the most part, the rules are already established. All we need to know is if there’s any new terms since it’s older (taking place 70 years before HP) and takes place in ‘Merica.
If for some reason you’ve never seen the Harry Potter movies or read the books, then you’re some sort of filthy scrub who needs to get good and start watching and reading. This isn’t where you should start. Now, if you’re a decent person then you’ve, at the very least, seen the movies and thus, can proceed without fear.
This looks like a wonderfully charming movie with impressive CG and an immersive magical world that’s both familiar and new. I’m looking forward to all five movies but for now I’m happy with the first one.
My Vote: Watch this and do it in theaters.
Well folks, that was my blog. Hope you read it in my oh, so dashing, voice. Please be sure to check in every week for a new episode of Future Flicks with Billiam and if you don’t see a new podcast then check this very site or the Facebook page for an update. Also keep an eye, or ear, out for my one shots that I do when I see movies.
Please be sure to check out SomewhatNerdy Radio and Nerds or the Square Circle podcasts also on the SomewhatNerdy Podcast Network. Our very own Critter has another podcast called Watch Your Mouth Podcast.
Need to reach me? Leave a comment here or on the Facebook page. Or…
Email: BilliamReviews@gmail.com
Twitter: BilliamSWN
And as always my dear friends. My dear readers. No matter where life takes you, no matter what your week has in store. Just take some time, to catch a flick. I’m Billiam from SomewhatNerdy signing off. I’ll see you in the future.