Weekly News Roundup: 2

            After months of speculation, the leads for Sam Taylor-Johnson’s adaptation of E.L. James’ novel, “Fifty Shades of Grey” have been cast.

            Dakota Johnson is set to play Anastasia Steele, a 21-yearl-old college senior who begins a relationship with the titular character Christian Grey. Johnson, the daughter of actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith,  is best known for her supporting roles in films such as “The Social Network,” “21 Jump Street,” and “The Five-Year Engagement.” She also starred in the Fox comedy series “Ben and Kate.”

The charming and business mogul Grey will be portrayed by British actor Charlie Hunnam. Hunnam presently stars as Jax Teller on the FX series “Sons of Anarchy” and his film credits include “Cold Mountain,” “Children of Men,” and this summers’ “Pacific Rim.”

James’ erotic romance novels have been best sellers across the globe. However, the series has attracted plenty of criticism. Reception has ranged from mixed to poor, most criticizing its lack of prose and its origin as “Twilight” fan fiction.

While I’m not sold on the idea of this film being made, I’m buying the casting of Hunnam and Johnson. Both are young and talented actors who have a chance to be huge breakout stars, if the film manages to entice the mainstream audience, like myself. Until then, we have to wait for the first round of footage to be shown. “Fifty Shades of Grey” hits theaters on Aug. 1, 2014.

Filming is currently underway for the fourth installment of the “Transformers” film series, directed by Michael Bay. Earlier this week Paramount Pictures officially announced the tittle of the sequel: “Transformers: Age of Extinction.” Also, the studio released the first teaser poster for the upcoming film.

            The films have been highly successful at the box-office but the quality of the actual films themselves has been poor to say the least. With an all new cast including Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci, Kelsey Grammer and the inclusion of the fan favorite Dinobots; lets hope this installment is a bright fresh start for the series.

“Transformers: Age of Extinction” open in theaters June 27, 2014. Check out the film’s teaser poster below.

This past Thursday the Toronto International Film Festival officially commenced with the screening of Bill Condon’s “The Fifth Estate,” starring Benedict Cumberbatch. While the film underwhelmed with some critics, Cumberbatch’s performance as Wikileaks founder Julian Assange received high praise. Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph says, “Benedict Cumberbatch is inspiredly cast, serving up a technically ingenious performance which may be his juiciest ever.”

If Cumberbatch wasn’t on your film radar, he will be this year and for many more to come. After his villainous turn as Khan in “Star Trek Into Darkness”, Cumberbatch can be seen in the upcoming films “12 Years a Slave,” “August: Osage County,” and “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.” Also, he will reprise his role as Sherlock Holmes in the BBC TV series “Sherlock” airing at the beginning of the New Year.

Furthermore, the film that has captured audiences and critics alike so far at the festival is Steve McQueen’s “12 Years a Slave.” Already being hailed as a surefire Oscar contender, the film continued its run of praise from its screening at the Telluride Film Festival a week earlier, by receiving a standing ovation Friday night

“12 Years a Slave” is based on the 1853 autobiography of Solomon Northrup, a free African-American man kidnapped and sold into slavery.

The film has drawn comparisons to Stephens Spielberg’s “Schindler’s List,” a film that portrayed the gruesome real life events about human conditions.

Eric Kohn of IndieWire says, “More than a powerful elegy, ‘12 Years a Slave’ is a mesmerizing triumph of art and polemics.”

 William Goss of Film.com went on to praise Chiwetel Ejiofor’s performance as Solomon Northrup. Goss states, “Ejiofor’s tightly clenched conviction perfectly embodies hope and righteousness against all odds.”

“12 Years a Slave” is one of my most anticipated movies this fall. After reading and hearing the praise coming from Toronto, my enthusiasm for the film has skyrocketed.

Hopefully, this is one film you check out for yourself this fall. The film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Sarah Paulson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti and Brad Pitt. “12 Years a Slave” opens in limited release, Oct. 18, 2013. You can check out the trailer below.

Until next time, this has been Matinée Idol.