JJ. Abrams is a genius. I saw all of his films, but I didn’t appreciate until now. His films Super 8, Cloverfield, and 10 Cloverfield Lane have a lot more to them than meets the eye. After watching Dan Trachtenberg’s Reddit AMA Video, I realized how much of the big picture I was missing. Dan Trachtenberg directed 10 Cloverfield Lane, and when I didn’t understand some of the questions and answers I did some digging. I had seen Cloverfield, which took place in 2008, and it didn’t really have an effect on 10 Cloverfield Lane. It turns out that Cloverfield and 10 Cloverfield Lane take place in separate timelines, making them part of an anthology series. But the strange thing is that the movies have very similar backstories. Tons of movie “easter eggs” are in movies, and if researched in real life, lead to really interesting backstories. In Cloverfield, the main character is moving to Japan to work for a company called Slusho, a slushie company. The reason why this is special is because Slusho is made from a really rare sea nectar that can only be found in certain parts of the sea. But to make things more interesting, Slusho is owned by a company called Tagruato, a Japanese mining company, with a backstory leading back all the way to 1985, which shows how immense this movie’s history is. Tagruato also has other subsidiaries, such as Yoshida Medical Research which deals with deep sea genetic research, ParafFUN wax distribution, and Bold Futura, a contractor company that deals with advanced technology including space exploration. After the Cloverfield attack on New York, Tagruato was the clean-up crew; maybe they are the good guys or maybe not. An environmental company thinks otherwise. Before the attack on New York, a drilling station owned by Tagruato was destroyed. Oddly, the oil platform was located in a part of the Atlantic with no oil. And even stranger it is where they have their satellite orbiting. Tagruato knew something prior to the attacks on New York. On the separate timeline of 10 Cloverfield Lane one of the main characters, Howard, worked on Satellites… Owned by guess who? Tagruato. Howard found something that put him in a panic, so he made a bunker years before 10 Cloverfield Lane took place. He like Tagruato knew something no one else did, and when doomsday came he was ready. The secrets of Tagruato remain unknown but Cloverfield and 10 Cloverfield Lane aren’t JJ.’s only movies where Tagruato has been in the background of monster attacks. Oddly enough, the movie Super 8 shows Slusho ads in a gas station window that appears in 10 Cloverfield Lane. Tagruato presence makes Super 8 the unofficial prequel to the Cloverfield anthology. For those who saw these movies and missed this entire part, don’t feel bad because none of this was in the movie itself. Both movies only focused on the events during the attack. These companies aren’t even mentioned by the characters. This is why I love JJ. Abrams so much, because the movie doesn’t end after the credits.
As I prepare for my four-day weekend and Halloween, I think back to my favorite Halloween movies that I watched in elementary school, or even younger.
To this day I am not one for gruesome, gory Halloween films, but movies that resonate more with Hocus Pocus (AKA the best Halloween movie ever) rather than Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
What I’m saying is my Halloween is more Disney than AMC ( I’m looking at you The Walking Dead). But while some may be gearing up for Trick or Treating, going to Six Flags or Universal Studios to be scared senseless, or staying at home diving into a bowl of candy, Halloween, in my opinion, is a very retrospective holiday.
Whether it be looking back to all the things you did to celebrate years ago, getting the type of sugar rush that usually only seven-year olds are acceptable of getting, watching scary movies, or any other time-honored tradition.
But one thing I do know is that I won’t have to go to sleep tonight thinking that my dog coming up the stairs is actually a serial killer.
2015 has been a great year for movies. Many were surprisingly good and in honor of the great movies this year I have created a list of my 2015 favorites. How I decided what I put on the list is by asking could I watch it more than three times and still enjoy it.
Photo credit teaser-trailer.com
#5 Mad Max: Fury road
Many people didn’t see this and I highly recommend it. I went into the movie expecting the worst movie of the year but was pleasantly surprised. The movie is based on Mad Max a low-budget film from 1979. The major reason why I enjoyed the movie was because the first time ever I went to the movies and saw something with a really basic plot that was entertaining. There wasn’t a moment in the entire movie that I disliked. They cut out all the slow scenes that are just there to add time like in every other action movie post-2000. Along with the great plot, the costumes, scenery and vehicles are astounding. It was also refreshing seeing a dystopian movie without teenagers.
Photo Credit to marvel.wikia.com
#4 Ant-Man
Ant-Man was great it was a perfect combination of action and comedy – plus the film makers did a fantastic job with character development. I liked this movie more than Avengers age of Ultron and that is because marvel has finally introduced the Wasp. After age of Ultron, I was outraged that they expanded the team and didn’t have the Wasp. Then when I saw the trailer for Ant-Man I was even madder because I thought “OMG there replacing the wasp with an Ant!” But at the end of Ant-Man I realized, “wait the girl is the Wasp” and sure enough at the end they reveal she is going to be the Wasp. I really did love Ant Man and even if they didn’t introduce the Wasp. An expert thief turns to a badass superhero who doesn’t love that?
Photo Credit to cinedude.com
#3 Jurassic World
I was on the Jurassic World hype train since the day the preview came out. Jurassic Park was a huge part of my childhood and I am glad they made a new one. It was great from the special effects to the acting. It’s just an all around entertaining movie.
Photo Credit to teaser-trailer.com
#2 The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. was made spy movie of the year in my books. The perfectly executed 1960’s theme, pretty girls, and unique plot are a rare sight in most spy movies recently. Based off of the hit TV show The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (which I binge watched prior to the movie), has Russia and the United States working together to save the world during the cold war. Between the tough Russian and the arrogant American, all the bases are covered. I love the 60’s – just the time period alone made me put this above Mission Impossible.
Photo Credit to potentash.com
#1 The Martian
Mark Watney portrayed by Matt Damon was left behind on mars he has to find a way to survive against all odds. After contacting NASA the whole world is shocked by his survival and space programs join together to bring him home. This movie was so good it even made interstellar look bad, and for that reason it easily made the top spot on my list.
From the first time I saw Nightmare Before Christmas I knew I loved his style. Burton’s dark and quirky genre of film has attracted many fans, including me, over the years.
The thing that always appealed to me about his work, is that no matter how dark the colors and the characters may be, the movie always seems so bright.
Take Edward Scissorhands, for example. This movie terrified me the first time I saw it, 7-year-old me would cling to my mother at the sight of a transformed Johnny Depp.
As I got older, I began to look past the frightening front of this movie to the much deeper meaning found in it.
Edward Scissorhands was much more than a bizarre story about a man with scissors for hands.It was about isolation and self discovery, and I learned so much from it.
Movies have always been a constant in my life.
Whenever I was sad, angry or just felt alone, the eccentric and beautiful characters of Tim Burton would fill me with laughter and joy.
I related to his characters so deeply – so much they’ve almost became apart of me.
In my life, I’ve always been considered an outsider, I’ve done my own thing and been happy while doing it.
When I started high school things began to change.If you weren’t like every other girl in the school you were suddenly weird.
Not fitting in is an age-old story, especially for teenage girls, but that doesn’t make it hurt any less.I was different, and I knew that, except suddenly it didn’t feel so great.
Naturally, I turned the imagination of Tim Burton.His characters are almost always outsiders, look at Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice or Sally from Nightmare before Christmas.
These two outsiders both have huge hearts and make a difference to the people around them.That’s what I strive to be.
While I know I’ll probably never be a Tim Burton character (though Tim if you’re reading this, call me), I know, no matter how weird or different I may be, I can make a difference.
Most of us know at least one person who can’t get through the week without quoting their favorite cult film,whether it be Heathers, Carrie, Rocky Horror Picture Show or some other enthusiastically admired film.
But what makes a movie a cult classic?The term was originally coined in the late 1970’s but has now grown into many captivated fan bases.
Films that are able to be called a ‘cult classic’ were usually box office flops, or movies nobody really cared about at the time of their release but gained popularity in the years later.
Cult films are usually timeless, adored by people who watched them at the time of their release along with teenagers and young adults.Even today you can catch a midnight screening of Rocky Horror Picture show at the Art Theatre in Long Beach.
Even though I have never attended one of these legendary screenings, I’ve heard it’s quite an experience.
Along with a love of Whole Foods, Arcade Fire and ugly shoes, admiration of cult movies have become a defining characteristic of the young hipster.
This probably has something to do with the fact that these ‘cult films’ were ripped to pieces by the critics and virtually ignored by the public at the time of their release, and like any good hipster, they loved it just because it was hated.
While most cult movies were not positively received at the time of their launch, doesn’t mean they are all bad. For example: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – it’s a great movie but Roger Ebert gave it a 1/4.
Likewise not all Cult Movies deserved to be on the high pedestal their zealous fans have put them on, such as “The Room”, which one IMDB comment stated “watching this movie felt like being stabbed in the head”.
Why this movie still has a following, I’m not sure.
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