MISS BALA Review

Drug cartels and beauty pageants aren't exactly two things one might naturally pair together and certainly aren't two things one might believe to have similar skillsets, but in these opposing actions we find some crossover and it is in this intersection of the two as presented in 2019's Miss Bala that we find the most interesting theme director Catherine Hardwicke's (Thirteen, Twilight) film has to offer: appearance, pretense, facade. Both worlds in which these two seemingly distant activities take place present this outward appearance where it is key to maintain the less than pleasant reality behind the scenes. While no expert in either drug and weapons trafficking or in beauty pageants, it would seem that within a drug cartel what the money can buy you is obviously flaunted in the forefront while the dirty work is kept behind closed doors while with beauty pageants what is presented is the whole point and the whole point is to be pretty and appealing, but what no one sees is the hard work and dedication it takes to present such a veneer. What is interesting about this though, is that in keeping up such appearances the individual must learn to exude a certain level of confidence, to truly build this exterior based on their look and the way they carry themselves that might be completely misleading or the exact opposite of what they might be feeling inside. Of course, this could be true of any number of things and in any number of professions, but it is these parallels that the film examines and ultimately utilizes to its substantial advantage that give Miss Bala just the slightest amount of weight whereas otherwise this English-language re-make simply settles into a pattern of being a mostly interesting action noir of sorts if not ever being as fun as it feels it should be given the baked-in premise of this average, every-day protagonist discovering her own sense of worth and inner-strength that allows her to be able to combat this situation she's fallen into completely by accident. Gina Rodriguez (TV's Jane the Virgin) is more than formidable given what the role calls for and she graphs her character's arc in believable fashion, but it is the otherwise routine direction and lack of intuition into tone on the part of Hardwicke that levels the themes and character work clearly at play here.

THE HATE U GIVE Review

The Hate U Give might come off as a perfectly-timed opportunity given the "Black Lives Matter" movement and the unfortunate, consistent headlines that tell us a young, unarmed black individual was gunned down by a white police officer, but fortunately, director George "Notorious" Tillman's adaptation of the Angie Thomas novel is not an opportunistic publicity stunt aimed at an audience who are already well-aware of the points the film is making. Rather, The Hate U Give is a well-rounded and appropriately angry piece of filmmaking that tells of both these types of crimes and the reasons for the feeling of need for movements such as "Black Lives Matter" in our country at the moment.

Tillman luckily has a strong grasp on the multiple themes and rather epic scope of his film as Audrey Wells' adapted screenplay weaves in a multitude of challenges that face the black community outside of discrimination. Whether it be police brutality or white privilege or more universal issues that have become more associated with being black than is fair such as drug abuse, drug-dealing, and a lack of the traditional familial structure, Tillman is able to take each of these strands and weave them into a coherent narrative that, while maybe tying things up a bit too neatly at the end, is most admirable for admitting it doesn't have all the answers, but instead making plenty of suggestions on how to spark change.

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Review

Where does one even begin? That is the question the screenwriters of Avengers: Infinity War must have been asking themselves when they sat down to pen what will ultimately come to be a five-plus hour finale to what the world has been witness to the construction of for a decade. There is so much happening and so much seemingly left to happen with Infinity War and whatever the as of yet untitled sequel is sure to include that it's almost incomprehensible anyone in their right mind took this on as a challenging endeavor they'd be willing to try their hand at. And say what you will about Joe and Anthony Russo, the directors of Winter Soldier, Civil War, and now both the third and what will be the fourth Avengers movies, and how they might feel like Marvel's "directors for hire" that bend at any whim studio head Kevin Feige commands, but these guys get the work done and do so in a way that is both dramatically satisfying as well as colossally entertaining. With Infinity War, the Russo brothers along with series screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (all three Captain America films, Thor: The Dark World, as well as Agent Carter) have somehow managed to tackle the unenviable for them, but extremely exciting for audiences in the vein of making eighteen previous movies come together and intertwine in a way that is as natural as possible with clear motivation as to why as much is necessary at this point in time all while keeping it all, as Thanos would put it, "well-balanced." Where to begin in such an endeavor is certainly not a question with an obvious answer, but Markus and McFeely begin in what feels like the most natural of places given the hints that have been being dropped since that post-credits scene in 2012's The Avengers and where we last saw Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) after the destruction of their home world, Asgard. If you haven't been paying attention, the aforementioned post-credits scene delivered a slight smirk by a guy named Thanos (Josh Brolin) AKA a titan who sees fit to invade planets and wipe out half of their population in order to keep balance among the galaxies. This is who Infinity War centers around and in more ways than one this is Thanos' movie. This is a smart decision as this was never going to be able to be one heroes movie more than another's, but by giving this villain who we've been hearing whisperings about for almost six years now the credit he is due the movie allows this antagonist to live up to the mythos those past movies have built around him.

Official Trailer for AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

In what will be ten years to the weekend after Iron Man arrived in theaters in May of 2008 we will see the (first part of the) culmination of the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It's hard to believe we've been living in this world for a decade now when, looking back, those beginnings were so humble. I clearly remember sitting in the theater not knowing what to expect from Iron Man, but mainly being excited that a new The Dark Knight trailer was playing before it. Oh, how the tables have turned as we come off the lukewarm reaction and success of the rushed Justice League and see what time, patience, and care have done for the MCU with our first glimpse at Joe and Anthony Russo's Infinity War. Bringing together all of Marvel's heroes has always been ambitious, but as the MCU-train has rolled on and the roster only continued to expand it has become more and more curious as to how Kevin Feige and the Russo's might bring this all together in a cohesive manner. If this first trailer is any indication it seems they have done so with real charm and scale. There isn't a lot of details plot-wise, but there are enough shots to suggest that, if you've been following along with the previous MCU films, many of the strands from previous films will be, if not resolved, at least touched upon in this first part of what will ultimately be a two-part finale. I honestly can't get over how this trailer has made me feel. It made more hairs on my arm stand up than do in that shot of Peter Parker experiencing his Spider sense. Spider-Man's suit looks amazing, Black Panther's line in regards to Captain America is fantastic, and that music...that music is really paying off for Marvel. Good for you, Alan Silvestri. The visual scope also looks to fit the number of characters which has been something of a shortcoming for Marvel in the past with many of their films feeling great, but looking flat. The location shots among the sprawling green planes of Wakanda lend a sense of true epicness and that final tag, that final tag is just perfect. I seriously can't wait. Avengers: Infinity War stars Tom Holland, Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Elizabeth Olsen, Chris Pratt, Chris Evans, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hiddleston, Zoe Saldana, Chris Hemsworth, Chadwick Boseman, Anthony Mackie, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Jeremy Renner, Cobie Smulders, Vin Diesel, Peter Dinklage, Sebastian Stan, Samuel L. Jackson, Bradley Cooper, Pom Klementieff, Dae Bautista, Josh Brolin, Paul Bettany, Tessa Thompson, Mark Ruffalo, Benicio Del Toro, Benedict Wong, Don Cheadle, and opens May 4th, 2018.

DETROIT Review

If you thought the sound design in Dunkirk was crazy effective wait until you get a load of Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit. That isn't to say one is more effective than the other, but both utilize their environments and the sounds that resonate most within those environments to help push the visceral experience of both films to the next level. A level that indeed truly transcends the space and time of where one might be viewing the film and places you among the riots of the summer of 1967 where fear, uncertainty, and chaos ran rampant. I open with such a statement not to emphasize the technical aspects over everything else in a film as important and timely as Detroit so as to draw attention away from the tough and difficult subject matter at hand, but more to begin a dialogue about why the movie itself becomes equally effective and affecting. It is through this portal of sound, of genuine gun shot smatterings that ring out at any given point in the movie and make you feel not only as if you’re in the room with these characters, but are then also inherently placed in the headspace of someone such as Larry Reed (portrayed by newcomer Algee Smith), a singer and aspiring musician who just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is interesting, seeing how writer Mark Boal’s (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty) screenplay brings several strands of characters, historical situations, and themes together into a single, encapsulating experience, but while we don’t meet Larry Reed until just prior to the events that the film dedicates its biggest chunk of time to it is his arc that we become most enamored with in many ways due largely to the fact he faces a wider variety of obstacles in terms of difficult choices as well as attempting to comprehend a life that seemingly has everything he ever hoped for stripped away in the matter of a handful of hours. That also said, Detroit is not about a single character, but more it is about how far away we still are from things being easy even if it would seem we’ve overcome so much in the fifty years since these infamous riots. As a piece of entertainment, Bigelow’s film isn’t something to be recommended for the experience which it entails, but rather because it is a heavy experience that needs to be known about and acknowledged. Detroit is about acknowledgment and about asking not why this happened in the past-we know why it happened-but rather if we’re doing today what we need to be doing in order to prevent as much from happening again. Detroit is a reminder we’re not doing as well as we should be in case you couldn’t tell already.

First Trailer for Kathryn Bigelow's DETROIT

The first trailer for Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow’s (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty) highly anticipated new film, Detroit, has premiered via Annapurna Pictures. The film, which was written by Mark Boal (The Hurt Locker), chronicles the Detroit riots of 1967. The riots are historically known to have been initiated by a police raid of an unlicensed bar in the city’s Near West Side when confrontations turned violent, ultimately resulting in the deaths of thirty-nine people and leaving hundreds wounded as the riots went on for five days. Bigelow and Boal have seemingly approached this event with the idea of telling several different accounts that occurred over the course of the five days in order to paint a full picture of what happened, why it happened, and how those on either side of the law were forced to handle themselves. In typical Bigelow fashion the film seemingly holds a number of tense moments while the ensemble cast as led by The Force Awakens' John Boyega are seemingly giving top notch performances to only accentuate that suspense further. Though not overly familiar with the details of the events that happened in Detroit that summer the tagline for the film, as shown at the end of the clip, hints that the film will paint a picture from a perspective most history books aren't accustomed to telling. I'm anxious not only to see what a talented filmmaker like Bigelow does with such material, but also the kinds of conversations it creates given the material couldn't be more relevant or a more timely reminder for the American conscience. The remainder of the ensemble cast includes Chris Chalk, Nathan Davis Jr., Kaitlyn Dever, Austin Hébert, Joseph David-Jones, Malcolm David Kelley, John Krasinski, Jacob Latimore, Anthony Mackie, Jason Mitchell, Hannah Murray, Ben O’Toole, Will Poulter, Jack Reynor, Algee Smith, Peyton Alex Smith, Jeremy Strong, Ephraim Sykes, and Leon Thomas III. Detroit opens in theaters on August 4th.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR Review

Super hero movies, as we know them today, must walk the difficult line of being somewhat grounded in a reality audiences can relate to while at the same time embracing (not just accepting, but embracing) the inherent goofiness of the facts of the matter. In a broad scope, this is about guys and girls in colorful suits with silly nicknames duking it out with what tends to be (at least in the Marvel Cinematic Universe) a flavor of the week villain that does just enough to further the arc of what remains to be built in this ongoing series. What grounds these colorful characters sporting strange labels is the repercussions of their actions. The Avengers can shut down an entire alien race while destroying New York in the process and widely be regarded as the heroes of the scenario, but the fact of the matter is that if this were to happen in our reality there would be thousands upon thousands dead and even more injured. With the third Captain America film, Civil War, Marvel has found it the necessary time to begin giving their heroes more heady spaces to wander. Sure, there is still a bigger antagonist than either Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) or Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in Civil War that leads to the plot being more run of the mill than I was hoping things might go, but there is enough justification and perspective to this villains plan that we go with what we're being offered. Perspective is a key word here. Not only in the driving force that puts the team at odds over the still brewing conflict concerning The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), but for these superior beings to take into account the consequences of their actions and come face to face with their shortcomings-the film more or less exploring how they deal with such realizations when they're brought up as potential charges. Captain America is a firm believer in consequentialism in that his goals are morally important enough that any method of achieving them are acceptable with the understanding of the unfortunate caveat that he will never be able to save everyone. It is in exploring such territory and being bold enough to bring their heroes face to face with such a reality that Marvel exceeds in walking that difficult line. Captain America: Civil War is very much a Marvel movie in that it is full of bright colors, genuinely funny quips, and some solid action set pieces, but bringing these characters (and these performers) into more interesting dynamics with one another notches up the reality factor with the result being an admirable balancing act that deserves to be applauded.

New Trailer for CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

The new trailer for the highly anticipated Captain America: Civil War comes two weeks before the release of the other big super hero smackdown this year. While I'm sure Disney is keen to keep as much focus on their follow-up to Age of Ultron as possible it is likely smart they've chosen to go ahead and release this trailer for the masses to chew up, dissect, and discuss over the next week before becoming engulfed in the unavoidable frenzy that will surround Batman V Superman. Of course, the second season of Daredevil premieres on Netflix a week from Friday on the 18th, only a week prior to BvS, so maybe they don't actually care. Whichever way you cut it, Marvel looks to keep their name in the conversation no matter how many heroes Warner Bros. have stuffed into Dawn of Justice. With a month and a half or so to go before Civil War kicks off the 2016 summer movie season though, we knew this second trailer could drop at any time and the barrage of "team posters" over the last week as well as the short teasers posted on the films official Facebook page yesterday made it clear that day would be today. Working from a script by Winter Soldier scribes Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely directors Joe and Anthony Russo return as well and look to have crafted something just as epic as fans of both the comics and the MCU could hope for. My biggest hope going into this second trailer was that Disney and Marvel would be smart enough to keep Spider-Man hidden throughout all of the marketing material as they clearly have plenty of other things to sell this property on, but unfortunately they couldn't help themselves. Captain America: Civil War stars Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Sebastian Stan, Chadwick Boseman, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, Daniel Brühl, Martin Freeman, Tom Holland and opens on May 6, 2016.

TRIPLE 9 Review

There is as much a vibrancy to Triple 9 as there is a subdued sense of dread. It's not hard to tell something bad or suspicious is lurking around every corner in this Atlanta-set cop drama from director John Hillcoat (The Road, Lawless, The Proposition) and yet, at the same time, you can't help but to want to turn those corners in anticipation of seeing the story develop. First time feature writer Matt Cook gives us a rather complex plot to comprehend, but that his script dives into the key characters head first and we come to know them and their circumstances almost immediately gives us reason to invest and want to understand these present complexities. From moment one, where we see a four man team robbing a bank with The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus serving as the lookout in an inconspicuous vehicle, I was into the dirty, grimy narrative that Hillcoat and Cook would be weaving to presumably get at bigger themes and larger statements about race, justice, and the gray lines that divide honor and disdain. The film accomplishes as much by not just being about bank robbers and corrupt police officers, but rather Triple 9 utilizes the unaccounted for details of emotion and other human elements to disturb the strict proceedings some, if not most, of its characters attempt to operate within. There is no room for emotions or a softened mental state within the Atlanta police department, especially for detectives. We see this in the toll that has clearly been taken on Woody Harrelson's character, Jeffrey Allen, while there is certainly no room for as much under the rule of Irina Vlaslov (Kate Winslet) a Russian Jew looking to free her powerful husband with the help of a few hired hands. Through each of these characters Cook enlists some type of inherent emotional attachment though, making things never as clear cut as the puppet masters would like them to be. While this may not be to the characters advantage though, it makes things all the more savory for the audience member waiting to see what decisions will be made and how such decisions will reverberate through to other aspects of the story. That said, Triple 9 is not a perfect film (far from it, really), but more times than not I was on the edge of my seat anxious to see where the film and more importantly, its characters, would take me.

First Trailer for CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

The first trailer for the highly anticipated first film in Marvel's phase three has debuted and for all those (and there are a lot, including me) fans of Winter Soldier it looks like we have something very much in line with that previous Cap film. The question of whether or not this was still going to be a Captain America film after the expansive cast was announced is answered in the form of the Captain clearly being at the forefront of this trailer and presumably the film. The likeness to Winter Soldier isn't necessarily a negative comment either as I loved the look of that film and it looks to suit the very military/Avengers world in as suitable a manner as it did when S.H.I.E.L.D. was the main focus. That directors Joe and Anthony Russo are returning certainly explains a lot of the same aesthetic choices, but it also makes me excited to see what they'll be able to do with Infinity War Parts I and II. While, in the grand scheme of things, this may just prove to be a trial run compared to what they'll do in those films it looks as if the brothers, working from a script by Winter Soldier scribes Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, have crafted something just as epic as fans of both the comics and the MCU could hope. The portions that give us our first glimpse at Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther are some of the most exciting among the nearly two and half minute clip while the capper of Chris Evans' Steve Rogers and Sebastian Stan's Bucky Barns wailing on Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man only serves to escalate the anticipation. Also, it looks like Disney will again be pulling a Luke Skywalker and (hopefully) hiding Spider-Man from any marketing materials. Captain America: Civil War also stars Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Emily VanCamp, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, Daniel Brühl, Tom Holland and opens on May 6, 2016.

THE NIGHT BEFORE Review

Sitting down for a Seth Rogen comedy now means one of two things in that 1) we're either going to get a stoner comedy extravaganza with over the top comedic bits or 2) we'll still get those things, but they will be balanced out by some type of life lesson that typically holds real dramatic weight. Which Seth Rogen movie we end up getting usually depends on who he's collaborating with and lucky for us, with The Night Before, Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt have reunited with their 50/50 director Jonathan Levine. 50/50 was one of my favorite films from 2011, but I haven't felt the need to re-visit it as often as I'd initially imagined. While The Night Before isn't as impactful simply by virtue of not dealing with as serious a subject as cancer it is a film I could see myself returning to more often than not, especially during the holiday season, due to the fact it's solid, raunchy fun. While the gist of the film is just that, to be a dirty, filthy, drug-fueled and foul language-filled R-rated Christmas comedy, there is clearly something more at play here and we can sense that from the opening sequence in which Tracy Morgan narrates as if reading a classic Christmas storybook. The film is framed and presented as something of a spoof on the traditional Christmas movie where everything is softly lit as if every viewer is cuddled up next to a fireplace watching and finding solace in the thought that things will never change and traditions will hold up for decades upon decades, but that is the exact theme in which The Night Before hopes to tackle. One has to wonder how long Rogen and his writing partner Evan Goldberg (who is credited as a screenwriter here along with Levine and two other writers) were going to continue to harp on the themes of boys becoming men and growing up even if it's something you don't necessarily want to accept. They have more or less been harping on these ideas for ten years now as here Rogen is playing the opposite of his Knocked Up character and the movie overall is something of a Superbad eight years down the road. The catch is, it works, and it puts a kind of kibosh on the theme as each character either comes to realize these truths or is able to get over the hump of revealing them to the ones they care about most.

OUR BRAND IS CRISIS Review

Note: This is a reprint of my review for Our Brand Is Crisis, which originally ran on September 13, 2015 after seeing it at the Toronto Film Festival. I am publishing it again today as it hits theaters this weekend.

Our Brand Is Crisis is a Grant Heslov/George Clooney production, but it's not Argo in the sense that it's not a political thriller and it's not Monuments Men in the sense it's not a heroic story parading around as a nostalgia trip. As this is a David Gordon Green picture though, this is a film that ends up being something of a mashup between a political drama and slapstick comedy. Green is an eclectic director who has dipped his hand in heavy drama (George Washington, Snow Angels) as well as broad comedy (Pineapple Express, The Sitter) and his latest somewhat blends these two styles to create something uniquely edgy if not completely conventional in the beats it hits. From the outset, Our Brand Is Crisis feels like a straightforward documentation of the carousel of politics this world and it's countries become wrapped up in every four years. Given this is Green we're talking about it also means the characters involved in such circumstances have a unique set of sensibilities that give the otherwise unsurprising narrative a twist. Early on in the film Sandra Bullock's 'Calamity' Jane Bodine tells a room of campaign volunteers they need to help make the narrative fit their candidate rather than the other way around. Green seems to have heeded his films own advice as he clearly caters his story to the character of Jane and her off the wall methods that have made her one of the most well-regarded campaign strategists in the game. Were Green to have not done this we would have little more than a standard political drama, but given the characters are fun and engaging it's impossible to not see it as at least a little more than that.

First Trailer for TRIPLE 9 Starring Casey Affleck

When I was putting together my most anticipated list of 2015 it was hard for me to decide between including either Triple 9 or Black Mass. Based on their similarities of being crime dramas with directors known for capturing bleak material I felt I had to choose one of them. Both also featured rather solid ensemble casts that were hard to discount. I went with Black Mass which was fortunate for my list given that film actually opened this year while director John Hillcoat's latest was actually pushed to 2016. While Black Mass didn't exactly live up to all I'd hoped it might be based purely on it's aforementioned credentials there is still hope for Triple 9 as Open Road has released the first trailer for the film today and it looks as bleak and as fantastic as one could hope. From a screenplay by newcomer Matt Cook the film follows a group of corrupt police officers who are blackmailed into pulling off a seemingly impossible heist. I really enjoyed both Lawless and The Road even if both ended up somewhat underwhelming. While Hillcoat certainly has a knack for eliciting the specific tone and style necessary for this kind of dark crime/drama it's hard to know if the director has necessarily found his own persona as a filmmaker given what we're seeing here looks closer to something that David Ayer (End of Watch, Fury) would deliver. This isn't a bad thing per se, I like Ayer's films, but I'm interested to see what Hillcoat will be able to bring to the table that differentiates himself from his contemporaries. Triple 9 stars Kate Winslet, Aaron Paul, Norman Reedus, Chiwitel Ejiofor, Casey Affleck, Anthony Mackie, Gal Gadot, Teresa Palmer, Clifton Collins Jr. and opens on February 19th.

TIFF 2015: OUR BRAND IS CRISIS Review

Our Brand Is Crisis is a Grant Heslov/George Clooney production, but it's not Argo in the sense that it's not a political thriller and it's not Monuments Men in the sense it's no heroic story parading around as a nostalgia trip of the 1960's. As this is a David Gordon Green picture though, this is a film that ends up being something of a mashup between a political drama and slapstick comedy. Green is an eclectic director who has dipped his hand in heavy drama (George Washington, Snow Angels) as well as broad comedy (Pineapple Express, The Sitter) and his latest somewhat blends these two styles to create something uniquely edgy if not completely conventional in the beats it hits. From the outset, Our Brand Is Crisis feels like a straightforward documentation of the carousel of politics this world and it's countries become wrapped up in, but given this is Green we'r talking about it also means the characters involved in such circumstances have a unique set of sensibilities that give the otherwise unsurprising narrative a twist. Early on in the film Sandra Bullock's 'Calamity' Jane Bodine tells a room of campaign volunteers they need to help make the narrative fit their candidate rather than the other way around. Green seems to have heeded his films own advice as he clearly caters his story to the character of Jane and her off the wall methods that have made her one of the most well-regarded campaign strategists in the game. Were Green to have not done this we would have little more than a standard political drama, but given the characters are fun and engaging it's impossible to not see it as more than that.

First Trailer for OUR BRAND IS CRISIS Starring Sandra Bullock

I'll be seeing Our Brand Is Crisis on my third day in Toronto (which is this Saturday!) so it's nice to be getting a little more info on one of the bigger films that will be premiering at TIFF this year. The film comes to us courtesy of director David Gordon Green (All the Real Girls, Pineapple Express) is written by Peter Straughn (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Debt) and is an adaptation of the 2005 documentary of the same name. The film follows a group of American consultants who accept the challenge of getting an unpopular Bolivian president re-elected. Sandra Bullock will make her Oscar bid as maverick political consultant, "Calamity" Jane Bodine, who comes out of retirement to lead the team while Billy Bob Thornton portrays her nemesis, Pat Candy. The trailer offers a strong political satire vibe with the material in line to perfectly blend the more broad comedic strokes of Green's mainstream work with the low-key, dramatic material he seems to call home. In being able to find a balance in these two styles I can only hope to expect great things from the film and with Warner Bros. positioning this in a Oscar-friendly release date just before it was announced the film would premiere at TIFF I can only assume those expectations will be satisfied. Our Brand is Crisis also stars Zoe Kazan, Anthony Mackie, Scoot McNairy, Ann Dowd, Joaquim de Almeida and opens October 30th.

First Trailer for LOVE THE COOPERS

Christmas movies are almost as old as the medium itself. In my own, limited time on this earth I've come to love only a few that I can watch over and over again when that time of year comes around. While I enjoyed The Family Stone (which this trailer trades off of given it was produced by the same person) it isn't one I've returned to over the years. Maybe Love the Coopers will be a little different as this first trailer indicates a pretty solid family dramedy with a solid cast. Of course, you could describe The Family Stone that way as well...and I did like it...maybe I need to re-visit that this year instead of watching The Santa Clause for the billionth time (who am I kidding? I'll watch both). Anyway, in this new Christmas comedy that is once again led by Diane Keaton playing the matriarch of a somewhat large family (the Cooper's, duh) four generations come together for an annual Christmas Eve party. Naturally, things don't go as planned when a series of unexpected visitors and unlikely events turn the night upside down, leading them all toward a surprising rediscovery of family bonds and the spirit of the holiday. Sounds about right, right? And yet, as I watched the trailer I chuckled enough times and was happy enough to see certain actors show up to make me think this might actually have some potential. I like that Jake Lacy (The Office) is getting more work and strangely enough it's good to see Olivia Wilde back in comedic territory after seeming absent from it for a couple of years. Love the Coopers also stars John Goodman, Ed Helms, Amanda Seyfried, Marisa Tomei, Alan Arkin, Anthony Mackie with Steve Martin as the narrator and opens on November 13th.

Red Band Trailer for THE NIGHT BEFORE

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is putting in work in some high caliber projects this fall by portraying real-life figures Edward Snowden and Philippe Petit in movies for Robert Zemeckis and Oliver Stone. Seth Rogen is also portraying a real-life figure as Steve Wozniak for director Danny Boyle while Anthony Mackie will play a supporting role alongside Sandy Bullock in director David Gordon Green's Our Brand is Crisis that just received an Awards-friendly release date yesterday. Needless to say, these three young actors from varying backgrounds have a lot going on later this year, but that hasn't stopped them from getting together to make a comedy about getting together and continuing a tradition. In The Night Before (formerly titled X-Mas) Ethan (Gordon-Levitt), Isaac (Rogen) and Chris (Mackie) come together for one last debauchery-filled Christmas Eve reunion before officially becoming too old for the tradition. Chris is apparently some sort of sports star which makes it difficult for the three to carry out their tradition without some sort of interruption and Isaac is getting ready to become a father which will mean holidays equal family only from this point on. There is the glaring omission of any reasoning behind Ethan's need to move on, but I'm sure that is where co-writer/director Jonathan Levine (50/50, Warm Bodies) will find his opportunity to include the more dramatic and emotional side of things. Taken on its own though, this red-band trailer delivers some serious laughs and looks to be a nice deviation from the family-friendly material that will crowd the cineplexes during the "most winderful time of the year." The Night Before also stars Mindy Kailing, Lizzy Caplan, Jillian Bell, Kanye West, Lorraine Toussaint, Heléne Yorke, Michael Shannon and opens on November 25th.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER Review

The looming question after The Avengers was always going to be if movies only featuring one of the team members would suffice after this all-star team-up and while I enjoy Iron Man 3 more and more with each viewing and appreciate it for what it did for the character I have to say the opposite of The Dark World. The Thor sequel sacrificed going through with the clear demise of a character for the sake of fan affection and in no real way contributes to the larger arc of the story Marvel seems to be telling within its criss-crossed cinematic universe. I may come to regret that sentence when either Guardians of the Galaxy or Avengers: Age of Ultron takes some big notes from the introduction of the Aether that drives the plot in The Dark World, but for now it seems that the introduction of this new energy source could have served as a small subplot in the film rather than being the main reason for conflict while also providing Malekith's sole reason for existing in the film. With The Winter Soldier though, Marvel had its back to the wall in being forced to push the narrative forward as Captain America operates within the world most of our heroes also reside and more than that is affiliated with the organization that brought the super group together thus meaning if this sequel turned out to be a place holder then there was going to be a new wave of doubt in Marvel Studios and its master plan that would feel more off the cuff than meticulously planned. Lucky for audiences, Winter Soldier is both a solid film on its own terms and a solid entry in the Marvel canon that not only moves the story forward and reveals new, unexpected developments but also sets-up an interesting dynamic for how things will unfold in the upcoming films. Within all of these films the struggle is to make a sufficient stand-alone piece that works with what it is trying to accomplish on its own and without simply leaning on the fact there is another, inevitable chapter coming. As much as these Marvel films have become big, expensive episodes in an ever-evolving cinematic version of a television series, if they were going to survive as singular pieces of entertainment they were going to need to have a strong sense of individuality and The Winter Soldier, for the first time since The First Avenger, has that singular style and tone that separates it from its cohorts while understanding the necessities of contributing to things bigger than itself.

First Trailer for CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER

Captain America: The First Avenger was surprisingly pleasant and satisfying. I have been unexpectedly excited to see what the follow-up has to offer as Marvel, in its ever revolving door of directors, hired Joe and Anthony Russo (Community, Happy Endings) and allowed them their take on the next chapter in the Captain's saga of adjusting to the modern world. Chris Evans continues to be in fine form and while this somewhat looks to be a higher-level, more expensive episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. it is nice to see the inclusion of Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow and Sam Jackson's Nick Fury still playing a prominent role in the development of our titular character. That the world continues to be consistent is one of the biggest pleasures this Marvel cinematic universe delivers. What I enjoyed most about this first trailer though is the fact it doesn't divulge every beat the eventual film will hit. We get a lot of fast paced, quick cut action montages and a glimpse into the main conflict that will be presented to Steve Rogers in the form of a moral dilemma with his employer. It is an interesting take as the makers could have just as easily pitted him against his nemesis, "The Winter Soldier" aka Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) who apparently didn't die in the first film and left it at that. There is a lot more going on here though as Stan gets limited screen time in the teaser and hardly any close-ups until that final tease which is just enough to keep us interested. After seeing the trailer I'm certainly still excited to see what the film holds and hope the tone of a 70's thriller as the directors have referenced is indeed intact. Captain America: Winter Soldier also stars Cobie Smulders, Georges St-Pierre, Frank Grillo, Hayley Atwell, Toby Jones, Emily VanCamp, Maximiliano Hernández, Anthony Mackie, Robert Redford and opens on April 4, 2014.

THE FIFTH ESTATE Review

We go to the movies to be entertained and not necessarily for history lessons. That hasn't stopped writers and filmmakers from making countless films that chronicle historical events since the beginning of the mediums inception. Even D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation which is credited as one of the first motion pictures and innovating several techniques that shaped modern filmmaking is a story revolving around the Civil War and reconstruction-era America. The majority of the time though there seems reason to bring these stories and settings to the big screen by way of there being an inspirational, harrowing, unbelievable, or simply engaging story that deserves to be told and expressed to the largest audience possible. That something engaging about the story would likely be the key element were you to talk to any writer or filmmaker and it is easy to see how writer Josh Singer who has written for several credible TV shows such as The West Wing and Law & Order, and Lie to Me and director Bill Condon (Dreamgirls, Kinsey and yes, the last two Twilight films) saw the inherent drama and, to use that word again, engaging elements of the story of Julian Assange, the Australian activist who began the website WikiLeaks which publishes secret information that has been submitted to his website as he claims to protect his sources who would otherwise be too afraid to come forward with said information. There is naturally a human element to this story as Assange is an intriguing public figure that has received plenty of press coverage over the past few years as his name and image might very well be more popular or recognizable than the reasons why this is so, but there is also a cultural aspect of Assange's story that addresses the changing of the tide on how the world receives information and this aspect, while I didn't see it coming as a part of the narrative, has a very interesting idea to it that could have been taken advantage of and conveyed in a much more interesting way while the human element is simply left to the performers trying to make the drama function while having nothing solid to work with. They are left to trying to make staring intently at a monitor and typing ferociously as intense as possible rather than backing up and dealing with the actual emotions that come with the weight of what they're typing on their laptops. It isn't so much engaging as it is facts being stated with nothing for us to be moved, shocked, or entertained by.