Joseph Gordon Levitt makes his directorial debut in Don Jon, a film about a guy who’s obsessed with porn. He meets the girl of his dreams in Scarlett Johansson and things get a little crazy from there. The movie trailer is below.  EW and Rolling Stone have two glowing quotes for the film. The official synopsis from iTunes.

Jon Martello (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a strong, handsome, good old-fashioned guy. His buddies call him Don Jon due to his ability to “pull” a different woman every weekend, but even the finest fling doesn’t compare to the bliss he finds alone in front of the computer watching pornography. Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson) is a bright, beautiful, good old-fashioned girl. Raised on romantic Hollywood movies, she’s determined to find her Prince Charming and ride off into the sunset. Wrestling with good old-fashioned expectations of the opposite sex, Jon and Barbara struggle against a media culture full of false fantasies to try and find true intimacy in this unexpected comedy written and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Jennifer Aniston plays a stripper and one-time rumored romantic partner Jason Sudekis a loser who decides/has to smuggle some weed into the US from Mexico. We’re The Millers RedBand Trailer & Movie Poster is below for your viewing pleasure. Seems pretty much a standard run of the mill comedy, some decent humor, even a phallic shot and a potty mouthed Aniston to help steal the show. This one should truly test how well Aniston fares at the box office, though it seems she is kind of been veering down this more “risky” path for a while.

From fandango:

A drug dealer heads across the U.S./Mexico border with a large stash of weed while pretending to be a family man in this road-trip comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Jason Sudeikis.

Finally there is another movie to possibly get excited about (yet sadly, a quick glance at IMDB says otherwise..hmm). Blood Ties, from co-writer James Gray (Two Lovers) and directed by Guillaume Canet making his English language debut. The film is set in 70′s Brooklyn with a look and feel that based on the trailer and poster below, feels spot on. A brief desciption of the film:

Two brothers, on either side of the law, face off over organized crime in Brooklyn during the 1970s.

Those two brothers are played by  Clive Owen and Billy Crudup (still wondering why he doesn’t get more roles). One’s a cop (Crudup) and one is a criminal, who may or may not be trying to change. Kunis and Cotillard star as love interests (solid choices at that). Have a look for yourself.

Courtesy of Fandango, here is their unusual plot synopsis for Byzantium.

Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan star in Interview with the Vampire director Neil Jordan’s lavish yet decadent tale of a bloodsucking mother-daughter duo whose dark 200 year history threatens to catch up with them in a run-down hotel on the English coast. Their story begins during the Napoleonic Wars, when young Eleanor (Ronan) was abandoned as Clara (Arterton) fell into a passionate love affair. Two centuries later, demure Eleanor and extroverted Clara are on the run when they seek sanctuary in a dilapidated coastal resort. There, Clara sets her sights on a lonely soul named Noel (Daniel Mays) who has just inherited the Byzantium Hotel, a once-thriving inn that has fallen into a sad state of disrepair. Before long, the elder vampire has transformed the Byzantium into a makeshift brothel where she and her young companion can quench their thirst for human blood while maintaining a low-profile. Meanwhile, Eleanor falls for Frank (Caleb Landry Jones), a charming young waiter who unwittingly draws out the natural storyteller in her. Amidst a string of mysterious disappearances in the sleepy coastal town, Frank realizes that Eleanor’s extraordinary tales are much more than simple fantasy. As Clara and Eleanor’s sanguinary past slowly comes into focus, it’s only a matter of time until the two succubi will be forced to flee once again, or remain to face their fates with a sense of dark courage. Jonny Lee Miller and Sam Riley co-star.

Have a look at the trailer below.

Shane Carruth struck a chord with viewers his debut Primer in 2004. His  long-awaited sophomore effort Upstream Color, a tripped out sci-fi film, is a muddled mess that fails to hit the mark.. Carruth succeeds in bringing an excellent look to the proceedings, but the story is an incomprehensible wreck that fails to completely engage the viewer, which is ultimately too bad.

Color stars Amy Seimetz as Kris, a woman who – at least by appearances – is drugged, abducted and implanted with an exotic plant worm. The abductor then fleeces her of all her cash while she’s under hypnosis. The abductor will not resurface throughout the film nor be explained in any manner. That is a recurring theme in this film. There is a pig that becomes involved, a strange man who records sounds and shows up in numerous scenes, as well as some sort of karmic exploration and notions, but good luck successfully explaining any of it.

The fallout of Kris’ abduction makes her wary of men. She reluctantly forms a relationship with Jeff (Carruth). The lack of palpable compatibility between these two greatly foils that storyline. In truth, he’s not a very strong actor, but that would be forgivable if other things worked themselves out. 

Wooing through lies in “Upstream Color.”

Carruth can get away with a lot. He made this film practically all by himself, from directing to writing to acting to scoring to the distribution of the film. Still, that doesn’t excuse a storyline that lacks any sort of clarity or sense of purpose. The nature of well-done science fiction forces us to explore something about ourselves and human nature. In this instance, the message, if there is a specific one, is so muddled that there is no point in trying to figure it all out.

I cannot recommend this film on any level. It’s too bad because it is shot well and some of the plot elements are exciting. It’s almost a companion piece of sorts to Terence Malick’s To The Wonder in spirit and look. Unlike that film, but in a similar vein, the execution is too indecisive to make things matter in the end though. Shame.

Cornetto is one completely unique ice cream brand. The brand has developed ‘Cupidity’ under the moniker of Cornetto Films. ‘Cupidity’ is a series of four short films featuring eight lovers and “some very wise cupids.” Teenagers created these four films as part of Cornetto’s redesigned ongoing brand strategy, which focuses on online content more. These cleverly concocted films feature high production value as part of Cornetto’s “Enjoy The Ride, Love The Ending” productions.

The short titled “Margot” is below. The film features a star-crossed gal (Margot) who pines for a man photographed in magazines. When a thief enters her shop at closing time, he steals Margot’s most prized possession – her collection of photographs of the man she desires. The thief splits into a taxi, but ends up disappointed with his haul. Only then can fate intervene. I’ll let you inspect the rest of the tale for yourself, but there is a fun lesson for us all involved.

Additional films in the series are “Kismet Diner” (with a diner as a backdrop, naturally), “Beauty and The Geek” (self-explanatory? Maybe.), and “X Phobia” (a longer tale set in Los Angeles). All of these shorts can be accessed below. For more information on Cornetto, take a look at their Facebook page (where you can “Like” it, of course) or if you prefer, you can follow them on twitter. Feeling daring? Do both.

This post is sponsored by Cornetto, but all thoughts are The Film Nest’s.

Have a look at the video below. Enjoy!

Two of Hollywood’s biggest stars come together for a sci-fi epic in the Children of Men helmer’s Fall could-be blockbuster Gravity. The official movie synopsis for the October 4th debuter is below:

Bullock plays Dr. RyanStone, a brilliant medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (Clooney) in command of his lastflightbefore retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leavingStoneand Kowalsky completely alone–tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness.

The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth…and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

Enjoy the trailer and tell us what you think.

Director Terence Malick’s visual poetry reaches new heights in the Ben Affleck-led To The Wonder. The result is a near silent piece of filmmaking that uses images to rattle our emotions, challenging viewers to draw conclusions to a very loosely plotted exercise.

Affleck stars as a man caught between his foreign lover and an American childhood friend. Malick uses imagery and some light voiceover to set most of the story up. Things happen over time so there is not a true plot line that is discernable up front, which forces the viewer to stay incredibly tuned in to the material in order to uncover the meaning.

The stars wonder what they have to do to get fed some lines.

The film is a meandering one, with characters often walking around seemingly aimless and mute. They use their vision and touch to interact or not. This can be a challenging experience for any filmgoer not to mention the actors, including Javier Bardem, Rachel McAdams and Olga Kurylenko. The whole thing is not without its merits, however.

Bardem’s priest struggles with his faith and desires for a female lover. Kurylenko loves Affleck but can’t seem to capture his heart and thus their commitment is tested. The whole thing is interesting but still leaves you wanting some form of traditional storytelling. Even though Malick’s lens gives you some usual visual treats, the sometimes mundane setting of what appears to be a Texas town can’t compare to his last effort Tree of Life.

If that film left you challenged, then this film is not for you. This is a mood film that you must be open minded for. If you simply can’t have enough of The Thin Red Line director, then have a look, but be prepared for a completely unique “movie.”

Tom Hanks is in need of a hit in my eyes. Paul Greengrass, director of two of the Bourne films may be just the man to deliver. Captain Phillips, based on book of true events, sees the peaceful Captain hijacked unarmed. One minute he’s eating a Denver omelette, the next someone is sticking a gun in his face. The rest you can see for yourself. The official synopsis is below:

The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.

Enjoy the trailer, looks pretty good.

Terence Malick’s latest film, To The Wonder, is sure to confound audiences and critics alike. It is said to be a largely silent film, with images and emotion pouring off of the screen, allowing the story to seep into your cranium. The film stars Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Rachel McAdams and Javier Bardem, among others. Some other stars, as is the norm with Malick, were cut out of the film. The latest trailer is bold and satisfying in my eyes. Have a look and let us know what you think. Enjoy.