2010
is going to be a great year for movies. I’m confident of this. Since
we’re in this ride together I figured we’d get ready for the year in a
fun and exciting new way. First, over the course of the next fifteen
weekdays we’re going to highlight one mainstream film a day. Some of
them are slam dunks, some of them have a cloud of trouble floating
above them, but all represent a great way to spend a Friday night at
the movie theater even if it results in you ripping its ass thereafter.
One
of the things this site is built on is a love of movies. Some folks
think we’ve let some of that go by the wayside. I disagree, but
regardless, I want 2010 to be a year where this site restores some of
that wonder. Though the glass can never truly be half-full in a
business so driven by rehashes and hollow entertainment, we’re going to
have fun with it and prepare you guys with as many tools as possible to
make the moviegoing experience worth it. Especially as the internet
gets more and more bogged down with people who have no right serving as
an authority of film blabbering all over blogs and Twitter and beyond.
There’s a reason you come here.
Tron: Legacy
Directed by Joseph Kosinski
Starring Jeff Bridges, Garret Hedlund, Michael Sheen, and Olivia Wilde
Written by Adam Horowitz, Richard Jefferies, Edward Kitsis, Brian Klugman, Steven Lisberger, Lee Sternthal
The Gist
They’ve taken a moderately successful (and that’s being kind) Disney movie and finally gotten a sequel out there after what seemed like two decades of blue balls.
Here’s the IMDB plotline:
“Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn, looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant, father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.“
Plot be damned at the end of the day. I mean, I don’t mind if they get all mindfucky on us but this is a pretty straightforward conceit and the joy that comes from Tron is enough, especially when there’s such a unique look and feel to this world it’s just a really fun place to go and be swept up in.
Can’t tell you how thrilled I am that we’re getting a new Tron and that it’s going to weird and stunning if the trailers and artwork shared thus far is any indication.
Participants to Watch
Garrett Hedlund is really good, surprisingly. Granted, his entire job in most films seems to be the young dude that the star really digs who gets jacked up, causing the lead (or leads) to seek retribution. He’s good at being dead in the second act of films. I don’t think that’s going to happen here and he’s a decent actor and a good looking dude. We need more of that. Ryan Phillipe is but one man.
Joseph Kosinski is attached to a bunch of big Disney remake stuff. Apparently he’s no small fry if he’s got enough juice already. Of course we can recount the many sure things who had deals out the ass until their movie tanked but here’s hoping this guy is the real deal. Especially if he’s doing The Black Hole, a film I was campaigning with a major producer to get our hands on. This movie looks shit hot, here’s hoping this is a guy we cover here for a long time.
You are the real x-factor, and I’m speaking to you folks who were way too young to see the original or only know of it as this artifact and footnote in the history of CGI. It’s not going to be fans of the original that make or break this. It’s if this thing has enough juice to connect with the youth.
The Buzz
I don’t know if there’s genuine buzz yet, but it seems the internet is getting behind this one. That could be great, or not. A lot of good it did Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
Best Case
The legacy of Tron is solidified and we have another amazing franchise to love, hate, and debate.
Worst Case
Disney loses interest in making genuine and creatively robust movies of their older and beloved properties, unless they’ve got Pirates of the Caribbean level names attached.
CHUD’s Prognosis
It’s going to work. Jeff Bridges just doesn’t put himself in shitty movies too often, especially now. It looks great, has real energy behind it, and it’s Tron. It doesn’t carry the same weight as a Star Wars sequel after all.
Useful links
Official Site
Next: A movie I’m pretty sure is going to live up to the hype.