RETROFILMMAVEN

Photo:MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images Well, another Oscar night is in the books. How did you do? I finished with 17 out of 24. I would have had 20 out of 24 had I not made some last minute changes; I changed my original picks for Best Picture, Song and Documentary. Receiving his fifth nomination, Leonardo DiCaprio finally took home an Oscar. Mad Max: Fury Road took away 6 Academy Awards; twice the amount of its nearest competitor. Witness! Here's the list of last night's

Zootopia is a place where no matter what you are—from the biggest elephant to the smallest shrew—you can be anything. But when rookie officer Judy Hopps arrives, she discovers that being the first bunny on a police force of big, tough animals isn’t so easy. Determined to prove herself, she jumps at the opportunity to crack a case, even if it means partnering with Nick Wilde—a fast-talking, scam-artist fox—to solve a mystery. ****1/2 Stars Zootopia Directors: Byron Howard, R

It's a feat that I've only managed to accomplish just a few times. Over fifty features and short films are nominated for an Academy Award and last night I watched the last remaining nominee I had yet to watch. Since the nominations were announced I watched 19 feature films and 3 short film programs. Yup, I watched "Fifty Shades of Grey." Why would someone want to watch every single nominee? Well for one I love movies. Also, it doesn't hurt to have an educated opinion a

18 years after the death of Master Li Mu Bai, Yu Shu Lien resurfaces to pay respects to a fallen mentor. No sooner does she arrive she discovers she must risk her life to protect and keep the sword Green Destiny from falling into the hands of a malevolent warlord. **** Stars Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny Director: Yuen Woo-Ping Screenplay by: John Fusco based on Du Lu Wang's 'Crane-Iron Series' Starring: Michelle Yeoh, Donnie Yen, Jason Scott Lee, Harry Sh

With the tremendous success of Deadpool, to date it's the 6th highest grossing R-rated release of all time, fans were left to wonder if they would be seeing more R rated comic book adaptations in the future. Word is that Hugh Jackman's final appearance as Wolverine will be an R rated adaptation of the Old Man Logan storyline. Can Spawn and Howard the Duck be far behind? I took to my twitter and decided to take some lines from the new film and make them a bit salty. Simple,

Ernest Cline's "Ready Player One" was a huge pop-culture hit and is certainly a novel that fan's have been eager to see unfold on the silver screen. If you grew up in the '80s the novel truly spoke to you and likely had you waxing nostalgic about the good old days. In fact, after reading it I found myself craving '80s films to watch and video games to play. Fortunately I got my classic arcade fix at Neon Retro Arcade in Pasadena, CA. Warner Bros. announced that they woul

Warner Bros. has taken to Twitter to annouce that advance ticket sales for Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice will go open on Monday, February 29th. BvS is the first major event film of 2016, Deadpool came out of nowhere and most people pegged this film as the first big release once its release date was announced, and is expected to open to huge opening weekend. In the film, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante, the Bat Man, fearing the actions of a god-like Sup

A few days ago Disney unveiled the first teaser poster for their reimagining of the 1977 family classic Pete's Dragon. During a television special celebrating Disneyland's 60th anniversary, the teaser had its world premiere and now Disney has also revealed the film's story. In a reimagining of Disney’s cherished family film, “Pete’s Dragon” is the adventure of an orphaned boy named Pete and his best friend Elliott, who just so happens to be a dragon. “Pete’s Dragon” stars Br

I was just a wee lad when 1977's Pete's Dragon was released by Walt Disney Pictures. It's quite easy to understand how a little kid could get caught up in the excitement and magic of having a dragon for their best friend. Thanks to Dreamworks it's still pretty cool to imagine having a dragon for a best friend. Pete (Sean Marshall) and his best friend Elliott the dragon in 1977's Pete's Dragon. It's been nearly four decades, and two generations removed, since the original f

After being banished by the town elders, a family ventures out into the vast, unexplored wilderness to find a new place to settle and call home. Life appears to be going well until mysterious events that grow progressively worse puts the family in grave danger. ***1/2 Stars The Witch Director: Robert Eggers Screenplay by: Robert Eggers Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Ellie Grainger, Lucas Dawson Rated R for disturbing violent content and graphic nudit

In 2011, it was announced that Alcon Entertainment acquired the franchise rights to Blade Runner and that they plan to produce prequels and sequels to the iconic, science-fiction film classic. Immediately questions arose such as what the sequel will be about, which version of the film is being sequelized, will Harrison Ford return and will Sir Ridley Scott be directing. The sequel will be directed by Denis Villeneuve (Sicario, Prisoners) and he will reunite with cinematogra

In October 2014, the world was introduced to retired hitman John Wick. He wasn't just any hitman. He was the hitman you send to kill the Boogeyman. Now, that is one man you don't want to run into. Wick proved to be a highly efficient killer with dogged determination. Genre fans liked what they saw and the film went on to gross $86 million at the world wide box office and became a huge hit on the home video market. When a film such as this achieves a certain level of suc

In 33 A.D., Clavius, a powerful Roman tribune, is tasked by Pontius Pilate to find the missing body of a crucified Jew who is rumored to have risen from the dead. **1/2 Stars Risen Director: Kevin Reynolds Screenplay by: Kevin Reynolds & Paul Aiello Story by Paul Aiello Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Peter Firth, Cliff Curtis Rated PG-13 for Biblical violence including some disturbing images Running Time: 1 hour 47 minutes Rating Scale: ***** = Outstanding ****1/2 =

In the '80s and '90s Cannon Films, headed by producers Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, introduced us to many action stars and provided us with countless hours of entertainment. Movie fans were introduced to Chuck Norris and Michael Dudikoff. Charles Bronson became a name synonymous with Cannon Films itself. American Ninja, Death Wish, MIssing in Action were just a few titles that established themselves as notable franchises amongst genre fans. Cannon brought us Breakin',

Director James Gunn has always had a strong presence in social media. Fans can always expect to find cool behind the scenes photos, hear great stories and read relevant insight on filmmaking in general. Today, Gunn took to his Facebook page to announce that the eagerly anticipated sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy has begun filming. He not only shared this cool official photo but also announced new and returning cast members. Gunn posted this on his official Facebook page