Entertainment

‘The Amazing Spider-Man’ Suits that Could Have Been

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 25, 2013 | 2 comments

Before I get too far into this article, I must profess my love for Spider-Man. From the cartoons (the 90’s one being the best), to the comics to the films, I’ve always enjoyed Spider-Man in any incarnation that we’ve seen him in and think him to be the ultimate superhero. Despite my bias towards the original three Spider-Man films which starred Toby Maguire, I was still excited to see Spider-Man back in action in The Amazing Spider-Man and yet despite all the love I have for the character, something about the film didn’t work for me. Andrew Garfield channeled a great Peter Parker and yet something was missing that to this day, I can’t pinpoint. However, one thing the film did nail was the costume design for Spidy. Like all great works of art, what was seen on screen was not the original design as Sony and company toyed with different variations of the Spidy suit. After the jump, you’ll find three suits that could have been for Spider-Man which surely would have changed the tone of the film.

Sony Entertainment to Cut $100 Million in Costs

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 25, 2013 | 0 comments

Sony Entertainment and more specifically Sony Pictures has always been a bright spot in Sony’s portfolio. Despite the electronic giant having financial issues the past decade with a recent trend towards recovery, Sony Pictures has always been a bright spot for the company. Despite releasing less movies than other studios like Disney and WB, Sony Pictures has had some key franchises which include the Spider-Man franchise which to date has grossed $3.2 billion from just four films. With no Spider-Man or Men In Black movie this summer, SP dealt with a few movies in a row which include White House Down and After Earth which returned less than anticipated to the bottom line. Under pressure from some key investors, Sony Entertainment is now looking to cut $100 million in costs to help strengthen the bottom line.

Should You See ‘Thor: The Dark World’?

by Joel Dale | Nov 22, 2013 | 0 comments

Somewhere I read that Thor: The Dark World cost 110 million dollars to make. It certainly doesn’t look like it.

I would like to take 109 million of those dollars to build a time machine, travel back to 1982, and give the remaining one million to new wave band A Flock of Seagulls and see what kind of music video they could have made for “I Ran (So Far Away)”.

Why, you ask?
Why not.

That certainly seems to be the answer to every question asked of the filmmakers when making the piece of overstuffed nonsense where discretion and restraint have zero meaning. This movie is what people are referring to when using the phrase “threw everything in, including the kitchen sink”.

Whew - this plot makes me tired.

Whew – this plot makes me tired.

I knew something was wrong in the first five minutes of full on narration that just bombarded me with a fairly ridiculous story about some dark beings who controlled some substance that has some name that can destroy the universe, somehow. And then the planet of Thor people managed to beat the non-Thor people and bury the substance so that no one could find it again.

Except now. In 2013. On Earth. In an abandoned warehouse.

“Why Earth?”
“The Convergence,” answers Thor with the authority of a fifth-grader figuring out the secret to an Encyclopedia Brown mystery.

Should You See ‘Man of Tai Chi’?

by Joel Dale | Nov 12, 2013 | 4 comments

One can be forgiven for thinking there’s a certain similarity between Neo, the hero from the Matrix and Donaka Mark, the villain in Man of Tai Chi. Both have a clipped off, deliberate style to speech. Both use fairly matter of fact sentence structure. Both dress in black all the time. And both are played by the very unmistakable Keanu Reeves. And while Man of Tai Chi was written by Michael G. Cooney, it marks the directorial debut of Mr. Reeves, who seems heavily influenced by his time making the Matrix movies. To call this film an homage to kung-fu movies is probably not accurate. It is a kung-fu movie. And a pretty good one at that.

Sony Announces ‘Privilege Movies’ for Mobile Devices, Gives You Free Movies

by Sohrab Osati | Nov 7, 2013 | 0 comments

If you have a Sony Xperia Z1, Xperia Z Ultra, and/or Xperia Tablet, then listen up. Sony Mobile has announced a new app titled Privilege Movies for the given devices. The new app, powered by Sony Pictures, gives device owners access to six free films. Those films include 2012, Battle: Los Angeles, Django Unchained, Elysium, Men in Black 3, Premium Rush, Terminator 4, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Karate Kid, and Total Recall. One caveat is that not every country will have access to the free app. Let’s talk details.

Sony Financial Results Q2 FY13, US Market Distance

by Jonathan Nolan | Nov 1, 2013 | 0 comments

Many of us here at SonyRumors have been watching Sony’s mobile strategy carefully and wondering what their next plans are, particularly, regarding the US. With the stellar success of the Xperia Z – a phone which ranks in the top three smartphones in over 20 markets by revenue, followed by the mammoth Xperia Z1 it has been an antagonizing wait for US consumers to see when the next hot Sony smartphone will come to US shores, or worse – if at all.

The company has just released it’s second fiscal results which tells us a lot more about what’s going on at the company and we can’t forget CEO Kaz Hirai’s unpopular announcement that the US was not a priority market at the moment and hinting at a reduced presence in the market. With a combination of CEO comments and fresh fiscal results we can start to see exactly why Sony is bailing the US and perhaps estimate when they might return. After the jump, the Q2 FY13 Sony financial results.

Heavenly Sword Theatrical Trailer

by Sohrab Osati | Oct 30, 2013 | 0 comments

Despite being released over 7 years ago as a launch title for the PS3, Heavenly Sword continues to be one of my favorite games of this generation. Not only did the game boast some fantastic gameplay, but the quality of visuals, sound, and voice acting still rivals and outweighs some 2013 titles. While we’ve never received a sequel to this game, Sony is following up the tale with an animated film that will be released digitally worldwide, as well as theatrically in select global markets, in the Spring of 2014. After the jump, we have the first Heavenly Sword theatrical trailer.

Sony and Vudu to Offer Extra Streaming Features, Dubbed VUDU Extras+

by Sohrab Osati | Oct 29, 2013 | 0 comments

One of the reason for holdouts on streaming services like Netflix and Vudu has been a lack of extra content. Behind the scenes content tends to be a treasure trove for movie buffs with director commentaries, extra footage, and additional insight on how a film is put together. In addition to this, extra content on Blu-ray and DVD can also provide different languages, enhanced audio, and closed caption which a streaming film currently lacks. Now Sony Pictures and Vudu are looking to change that, starting with District 9.

Should You See ‘Captain Phillips’?

by Joel Dale | Oct 28, 2013 | 2 comments

There is a correlation between the trailers before the movie you are there to see and the movie itself. Horror films usually have other horror or suspense trailers preceding them. G-rated kids cartoons promote other kids movies, not RoboCop. So I wasn’t sure what to think at Captain Phillips when my friend Shay turned to me and said “this set of previews is disproportionately Nazi heavy.”

As far as I’m aware, Captain Phillips is playing well across audiences. But the crowd around us was geriatric. It’s probably true that it skews older. And younger kids probably don’t care as much about Tom Hanks as I might, who grew up watching his career. However, in case you’re reading this and you’re like “meh, Tom Hanks” … go see Captain Phillips. The final scene has Hanks delivering the best actings I’ve ever seen from him and one of the best pieces of acting I have ever seen period. It’s easy to give extra credit for sad stuff. The Oscars love to give awards to dramas and leave comedic acting by the wayside, but I can tell you that Tom Hanks won from me an all new level of respect in one 5-minute scene.

Should You See ‘The Family’?

by Joel Dale | Oct 8, 2013 | 0 comments

On my way to picking up G.I. Joe to go see a movie I narrowly escaped an accident. An unusual amount of traffic had come down my street and lined up more than two blocks deep at the stop sign. So, the view to my right was blocked. A woman in a Passat was driving up to what would have been directly in front of me but she stopped short. She saw I wanted to make a left turn and was giving me the space. I took a quick look to the right and couldn’t see any movement or lights or cars coming. I looked to the left, waved at the nice lady and started to make my turn. It was at this moment her eyes widened and she started to clutch her face in horror that I realized I was about to be in an accident. Looking in my rearview mirror I saw another driver had completely stopped and slightly turned off the road to avoid hitting me. That is about as close as one can get to being in an accident without crashing. I felt embarrassed. I was angry with myself for making such a mistake. I felt this pit open in my stomach about how close I came and knew right then, this was going to be the worst feeling I experienced all day.

Sony Pictures Replaces Marketing Chief After Turbulent Summer

by Jonathan Nolan | Oct 1, 2013 | 4 comments

The Mortal Instruments

The Mortal Instruments, Sony Pictures

Sony has shuffled the worldwide Marketing President at Sony Pictures presumably in response to some summer flick disappointments and investor criticism. Marc Weinstock has held the position since 2000 but was taken out of the post this week, though he is expected to remain on at the company. He has now been replaced by Dwight Caines who moves up from digital marketing. Is Sony Pictures getting hot-under-the-collar after the investor spotlight from Daniel Loeb?

Should You See ‘One Direction: This Is Us’?

by Joel Dale | Sep 11, 2013 | 3 comments

After seeing One Direction’s feature film, I felt the need to write to them directly. After the jump is that letter.

Should You See ‘The World’s End’?

by Joel Dale | Sep 6, 2013 | 5 comments

I looked up that The World’s End cost somewhere in the 20-30 million dollar range. If that’s the case, then Edgar Wright should direct all future special effects movies because he gets more bang per buck than movies with six times the budget. I’m sad the American box office for this film is currently underwhelming. More people should buy a ticket. Especially when failed garbage like White House Down managed to pull in much bigger numbers despite being a much bigger flop on a much larger blank check.

Nothing suggestive here.

Nothing suggestive here.

In attempting to describe The World’s End I am faced with the problem of trying to review the film without giving away the best moments. The advertising campaign already says too much and ruins one of the big reveals. It’s much like what happened with the promotions of From Dusk Till Dawn. So I will hold back and obtusely say that if Jack Finney and Ira Levin wrote a comedy together, it would be this.

However, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright wrote the script. Frequent collaborators with past films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, the duo conjure up another wacky comedy that has trouble being defined in any normal terms. Simon Pegg plays Gary King, middle-aged man but former childhood peer leader who’s in drug rehab and desperately wants to relive his youth. He wishes to avenge a failed attempt to complete “The Golden Mile”: a path through his college town, filled with twelve bars that one drinks a pint at each, culminating in the eponymous bar “The World’s End.” Hatching a plan to gather his four other friends from that fateful night of drinking failure, they head back to town to complete what they couldn’t as youngsters. And along the way reacquire a part of what made being young great. Or at least that’s what Gary wants. The rest seem fairly content being adults.

Sony Presents World’s First Curved LED HDTV in 65″ Style

by Jonathan Nolan | Sep 5, 2013 | 6 comments

Outside of the fanfare of IFA in Berlin this week, Sony quietly launched the first curved LED HDTV – the S990A priced at $3,999 in the US. The 65″ HDTV boasts a Triluminos display with X-Reality Pro, built-in Wi-Fi for cable-less Internet viewing and multi-angled S-Force surround sound speakers designed to bring more of the cinematic experience home than ever before. The gentle curvature in the screen promises to make every seat in the room look like the center seat.

Sony Video Unlimited 4K Service Goes Live with Rentals and Purchases

by Sohrab Osati | Sep 4, 2013 | 0 comments

Being one of the biggest proponents of 4K, Sony is doing everything it can to ensure the new standard is available in every category possible. This includes Sony Pictures using 4K cameras on their films like After Earth and on their newest TV shows. With content being a key factor for consumers when deciding if a new standard is something they want to get behind, Sony is hoping that their Video Unlimited 4K service quenches that thirst which allows for purchasing and renting of 4K content. Announced earlier in the year, the Sony Video Unlimited 4K service is now live and is serving up 70 native 4K movies and TV shows. That list includes hit TV show Breaking Bad, as well as movies including Moneyball, Ghostbusters, and The Amazing Spider-Man. By year’s end, Sony expects that number to grow to over 100 titles.