Teaser Trailer for Martin Scorsese’s THE IRISHMAN

In what felt both like an uncertainty and an inevitability legendary director Martin Scorsese and one of his most notable collaborators, Robert De Niro, have once again re-teamed with one another to produce what is not only a mob/gangster drama, but to tell a decades-spanning story that follows Frank Sheeran (De Niro), a hitman whose actions changed the course of American history. Based on Charles Brandt's 2003 novel, I Heard You Paint Houses, the film chronicles the meeting of Sheeran and Jimmy Hoffa (played in the film by Al Pacino) and is based on interviews Brandt had with Sheeran over the course of five years detailing how he handled more than twenty-five hits for the mob, and for his friend Hoffa. Though I haven't read the book, I'll certainly be looking into it prior to seeing the film as Sheeran undoubtedly shared genuinely important and fascinating insights about both many a famous murders as well as this infamous chapter in US history and how intertwined it was with the mafia. And while it is nice to see Scorsese and De Niro reuniting with one another as well as including Pacino to boot the real draw here and who Netflix and Scorsese let drive this first, teaser trailer is that of the one and only Joe Pesci. Pesci hasn't had a substantial role in a film for nearly a decade with his last screen appearance being the little seen 2010 Taylor Hackford film, Love Ranch. Seeing and more impactful even, hearing, Pesci once again as he sets up the first lines of communication between Sheeran and Hoffa triggers immediate chills being experienced. Much has also been made of the rather hefty price tag on the film (a cool $160 million) much of which was attributed to the de-aging process applied to the three screen legends mentioned thus far given this is a story that, as was stated earlier, spans decades. It's difficult to even see where this technology comes in as far as the footage in the trailer save for the final, revealing shot that puts an emphasis on De Niro's face, but there is also this weird disconnect with De Niro's roles and his real life as it's difficult to sometimes remember that De Niro doesn't exactly look the way he did in Goodfellas anymore even if that's how he's been frozen in our memory as appearing. With the film premiering as the opening night film at this year's New York Film Festival on September 27th it's hard to imagine this won't be a major awards contender this year. Here's to oping! The Irishman also stars Harvey Keitel, Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, Anna Paquin, Stephen Graham, Stephanie Kurtzuba, Jack Huston, Kathrine Narducci, Jesse Plemons, Domenick Lombardozzi, Paul Herman, Gary Basaraba, Marin Ireland and will open in theaters and be available on Netflix sometime this fall.

ANT-MAN AND THE WASP Review

I heard a bug hit the windshield on my way home from the theater after seeing Ant-Man and the Wasp and genuinely felt bad about it. If that tells you anything about how well this movie will hit you. That isn't to say this superior sequel to 2015's Ant-Man is something of an emotional roller coaster that evokes real sympathy for characters that get minor in the most minor of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies, but in some ways...it kind of does. In its earnest portrayal of these characters we come to easily invest in each of their plight's largely (isn't that ironic?) because they are dealing in stakes that are so personal and thus small when compared to that of the end of the world. Is it kind of ingenious? Yeah, a little bit considering Doctor Strange goes to another dimension to stop a blob called Dormammu from engulfing the earth and all things considered that should terrify me far more than if Paul Rudd's Scott Lang survives his last few days under house arrest, but it didn't and I would rather watch Ant-Man and the Wasp a hundred times over than sit through Doctor Strange again. The best part of that? Doctor Strange isn't a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. Rather, Strange is simply a generic and forgettable one in the scheme of the last decade of MCU films whereas director Peyton Reed (Ant-Man) and writers Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Andrew Barrer, Gabriel Ferrari, as well as Rudd himself lend their movie a more memorable signature by allowing it to indulge in its inherent goofiness while simultaneously proving this isn't as cheesy an affair as it has to be. I mean, the basis of a super hero being a super hero because he shrinks down to the size of an insect and can then communicate with said insect is a premise wholly owed to whatever drug-induced haze Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby were in at the time (1962 to be exact) which isn't a bold claim considering Lee's cameo here hints at how crazy the sixties were, but the fact is despite their powers being corny and their abilities being used more so for their own agendas than maybe any other heroes in the MCU Reed is still able to execute and exhibit these technologies and the capabilities they enable in ways that are effective and dare I say it...even kind of cool. There are less than a handful of big action sequences here, but that doesn't matter because everything about Ant-Man and the Wasp is enjoyable, but more each of those few action sequences are crafted in ways where it feels every facet of who these characters are and the world they exist within is being utilized in creative and fun ways. This kind of passion for the material also assists with the level of compassion we, the audience, feels toward the characters and thus the level of investment we pledge to what is admittedly a less vital piece of the MCU puzzle. That Ant-Man and the Wasp challenges this precedent set by the first film is enough to solidify its worthiness among the ranks as well as its quality outside of them.

I, TONYA Review

The story of Tonya Harding is one of a true American tragedy. Tonya Harding is America. She is unapologetic for the way she was raised and is seemingly either embraced or rejected immediately. She is emblematic of America's tendencies to always need someone to laugh at, a necessary punchline to fool ourselves into believing we're better than something or someone despite the outward appearance of wanting to be welcoming and tolerant of all walks of life. I, Tonya is a portrait of this single woman's life that would seem the perfect vehicle for a rags to riches story, the kind of story America typically likes to celebrate and champion in showing how much we, the people, promote this idea of advancement and the improvement of one's status through nothing other than hard work, but in the case of Harding we get the opposite: a life of nurturing that was anything but; where every person wanted a piece of the only beacon of light and hope in their lives while punching her down to feel better about themselves rather than pull her up. Tonya worked hard her whole life-devoted every fiber of her being to this passion (which is something it seems no one in her life, with the exception of maybe her mother, would question the hyperbole of or dispute), but no matter how hard she dared work she was never a match for the fact her image was not that of who the skating world desired to represent them. It is these constant battles, the ones that cause people, relatives, coaches, to ask, "Why are you the way that you are?" that come to define exactly who Tonya Harding was and no doubt still is. She is a real human being who dared to have the right amount of balls to not be defined by a sport that never wanted her, but that she couldn't do without. Her relationship with figure skating being indicative of every other relationship Harding would have in her life; passionate, but flawed. Complicated being an understatement. And sure, there are two sides to every story, of course, but in the case of I, Tonya there are multiple sides to her story and in particular to the event that came to define her life and who she was in the public eye. It is in this examination of how Harding is forced and mostly refuses to balance herself between the world she is from and the world she is meant to be a part of that serves as the crux of what director Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl) and writer Steven Rogers (Hope Floats, Stepmom) are attempting to say while Harding herself and all her story represents just happen to be the perfect, searingly tragic vehicle for such a theme.   

JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE Review

I was born in 1987. Meaning I turned a perfect eight years-old in 1995. I don't know if I first saw Joe Johnston's Jumanji when it opened that December, but I know I saw it within a year of that release and many, many times after. Admittedly, I haven't revisited the whole of the picture in quite some time, but what I clearly remember about the experience of Jumanji at that impressionable age was the unexpected grandeur of it all-the substance the film carried in the tragedy of this child disappearing from this pristine town and the unfortunate dynamic between he and his parents that, when he did finally return, would lead to a lifetime of regret. These were big themes for a little kid and maybe even the first time I'd really been forced to contemplate as much. It was a movie that made a big impression if not for the mystery and implied scale, but for these themes of loss that resonated with me and now allow me to have these fond and rather heartfelt memories of the film. And so it goes, I could not have been less excited for a twenty-two-year later sequel that would seemingly have no connection to the original, but instead be branded as such to entice the interest of audiences such as myself while selling the movie to younger crowds on the concept of stars like Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Heart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan appearing in an all-out action adventure with a cool premise. I wasn't ready to think this kind of backwards engineering of new franchises by mining old movies that appealed to those who now have disposable income and children of their own so as to get as many butts in seats as such brand recognition could, but dammit if this twenty-two-year later sequel isn't a whole lot of fun. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle isn't going to break any barriers or win any awards, but that's not its intention and given that intention and my lowered expectations out of nothing more than my affection for the original I went into this new film hoping the well-rounded cast could turn what undoubtedly had to be a half-hearted story into something at least remotely entertaining. Not only is Welcome to the Jungle entertaining though, but it is consistently engaging in the obvious, but well executed video game-level structure it possesses as well as offering far more frequent and less obvious laughs than I would have expected the script to deliver. At just under two hours (credits and all) this belated, but welcome (who would have thought?) expansion on the world of Jumanji is certainly an adventure worth taking for those of us that seek to find a place to leave their world behind (and for those who just want to have a good time at the movies).

Red Band Trailer for I, TONYA Starring Margot Robbie

One of the biggest stories to come out of TIFF 2017 was that of Craig "Fright Night" Gillespie's biopic I, Tonya starring Margot Robbie as the infamous Tonya Harding. It was a film that had almost zero buzz going into the festival, but shortly after the first screening it was clear I, Tonya was one to watch as it received rave reviews with much of the audience praising the films ability to balance both the comedy and tragedy of the situation. Given it's been almost twenty-five years since the events that turned figure skating into a full-on tabloid event and made Harding a household name for all the wrong reasons it will be interesting to see the varied audience reactions from those who are old enough to remember the actual events and those who weren't born yet who will go in not knowing the details of what went down in 1994 and only aware this is a movie that stars Margot Robbie and the Winter Soldier. For those who might not have been aware of who Tonya Harding is prior to this trailer or for those who need a refresher of the figure skating scandal this red band trailer for Gillespie's film certainly seems to serve as an enticing refresher as this looks as appropriately bonkers as one might hope while clearly having some semblance of a soul that will look past the chaos of the situation and into the circumstances of these characters that drove their choices and actions to the point of no return. All things taken into consideration, it seems pretty clear why I, Tonya received such a stunning response as everything about this trailer is intriguing and beyond fascinating to the point I can't wait to see it and only hope that the fairly new Neon production house that acquired the film out of Toronto is able to give this thing a wide release on the announced December 8th date. I, Tonya also stars Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Julianne Nicholson, Bobby Cannavale, Mckenna Grace, Caitlin Carver, and was written by Steven Rogers who is responsible for such nineties hits as Hope Floats and Stepmom.      

New Trailers for JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE Starring Dwayne Johnson

To the surprise of everyone the first trailers for Juamji: Welcome to the Jungle that dropped in June made it seem not terrible, but instead...potentially really fun. Updating from the board game that was used in the 1995 Robin Williams original to that of a 90's-era video game is a great hook and having four Breakfast Club-like archetypes stumble upon it in detention only to be sucked into the game and transform into the avatars they choose is another gem of an idea. While Welcome to the Jungle will no doubt profit from being yet another Dwayne Johnson vehicle, and he looks to be in fine comic form here, what is most exciting about this premise for me is being able to see Jack Black get a showy role that he can really elicit some big laughs from (which you see more of in the international trailer). Black has done well to understand the current phase of his career and with both this and Goosebumps the comedian is establishing himself as the guy who will be fondly remembered by the tweens and younger teens of the current generation for being the funny dude in all of their favorite movies-that is, if this turns out to be as good as it looks. Better even, when they get older, they can go back and discover even more of Black's rather impressive collection of work. Also of note is the inclusion of Kevin Hart who I am happy to see reunite with Johnson on any level after the terrific chemistry they displayed in Central Intelligence and who I look forward to seeing mix it up with Black as well. The wild card of the bunch is Karen Gillan, but these second trailers do well to establish her as one of the more confident members of the team while playing up the riffs on video game tropes. While I still can't get over how much better this looks than I initially imagined I'll hold out any official celebrations until after the movie opens this Christmas. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle also stars Missi Pyle, Bobby Cannavale, Rhys Darby, Marc Evan Jackson, Nick Jonas, Alex Wolff, Madison Iseman, Ser'Darius Blain, Morgan Turner, and opens on December 20th, 2017.

Official Trailer for JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE Starring Dwayne Johnson

I, along with most of my generation, are massive fans of 1995's Jumanji that saw Robin Williams as a man who'd been trapped for decades in a board game and could only be saved by having new players finish the game. It was terrific, imaginative, and exactly the kind of movie that made being a kid in the 90's so much fun. Needless to say, when most of us heard Sony would be making a new Jumanji film after the passing of Williams in 2014 it seemed there could only be one way in which such a thing would turn out: as total garbage. Ahead of Sony's co-producing effort with Marvel next week on the latest Spider-Man film the studio has dropped our first look at the new Jumaji and to my great surprise the film, subtitled Welcome to the Jungle, looks like a blast (though I like the tone of the international trailer more). Updating the board game to that of a 90's-style video game is a nice touch and having four Breakfast Club-like archetypes stumble upon it in detention only to play it and be sucked into the game and transform into the avatars they chose is another. While Juamji: Welcome to the Jungle will no doubt profit from being yet another Dwayne Johnson vehicle, and he looks to be in fine comic form here, what is more exciting about this premise for me is being able to see Jack Black get a showy role that he could really elicit some big laughs from. Black has done well to understand the current phase of his career and with both this and Goosebumps he is kind of establishing himself as the guy that will be fondly remembered by the tweens and younger teens of the current generation for being the funny dude in all of their favorite movies-that is, if this turns out to be as good as it looks. Better even, when they get older, they can go back and discover even more of Black's rather impressive collection of work. Also of note is the inclusion of Kevin Hart who I am happy to see reunite with Johnson on any level after Central Intelligence and who I look forward to seeing mix it up with Black as well-there could certainly be some untapped comedic chemistry between the two especially given the characters they are playing here. The wild card of the bunch is Karen Gillan whose outfit was criticized after the first cast photo was released, but trust there is justification stated for it here. I greatly enjoyed Gillan's performance in Guardians Vol. 2 and hope she doesn't remain the wild card for much of this films runtime and is welcomed into the boys club with open arms. While I still can't get over how much better this looks than I initially imagined I'll hold out any official celebrations until after the movie opens this Christmas. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle also stars Missi Pyle, Bobby Cannavale, Rhys Darby, Marc Evan Jackson, Nick Jonas, Alex Wolff, Madison Iseman, Ser'Darius Blain, Morgan Turner, and opens on December 20th, 2017.

DADDY'S HOME Review

The Other Guys is a brilliant piece of satire that really gave way for director Adam McKay to go in the direction of crafting something like The Big Short. The Other Guys was also helped by the oddball pairing of Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg who proved to have almost as much chemistry as Ferrell and John C. Reilly. So, it was natural for the two to want to reunite given their past success, but The Other Guys Daddy's Home is not. This was clear from the beginning. Whereas The Other Guys felt like a film, an actual, real, weighted film with an objective and a structure that felt inspired without being standard, Daddy's Home feels like a rushed job of a couple of funny men getting together and seeing what they can hammer out. Daddy's Home is a movie and one that has seemingly been dropped off the Hollywood assembly line in hopes that it will appeal to enough people to make it's money back on the broad appeal of Ferrell and Wahlberg. There is nothing particularly insightful about the picture, there isn't even anything particularly funny to the point I'll remember it tomorrow, and the product placement is so abhorrently obvious the whole thing might as well be a commercial, but beyond these heavy complaints lies a movie that still stars the likes of Ferrell and Wahlberg. Both are very likable guys with a supporting cast that includes the always-pleasant Linda Cardellini, the outrageous Thomas Haden Church, a surprisingly funny extended piece enlivened by Hannibal Burress and, of course, a couple of cute kids saying inappropriate things. Given these factors, despite the sub par script and despite the fact the film has little to no visual flair, Daddy's Home comes out the other end being rather enjoyable for what it is. It is a movie one can put on in the background and still keep up with if the need to do other things arises while at the same time guaranteeing a couple of chuckles from friends or family that might also be in the vicinity. Daddy's Home goes a long way on the charm of it's cast making the product as a whole more endearing than it appears on first glance.  

ANT-MAN Review

There was always going to be a cloud of doubt, suspicion, or sense of "what if" hanging over Ant-Man after director Edgar Wright exited the project. Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz), an auteur in his own right, was the man who convinced Marvel that the pioneering Avenger was plausible on the big screen in the first place. Wright and screenwriter Joe Cornish (Attack the Block) completed the final draft of the script that serves as the basis for what will now forever play on DVD's and Blu-Rays. Wright was the one who cast the majority of the actors here. He was so close, in fact, to being at the helm of this project they had to delay the shooting schedule in order to find his replacement. All of this is to say that despite Edgar Wright not technically being the director of Ant-Man, one can still very much feel his fingerprints all over the film. That isn't to say this is an Edgar Wright film though, let that be clear, as I still believe Wright would have made a much different picture than what's been delivered. Given what we have though and that actual director Peyton Reed (Bring It On, Yes Man) came into the fold so late it would be wrong to not give the guy credit where credit it is due as he adds a competent and fun if not exactly enthralling piece to the Marvel cinematic puzzle. Along with this cloud of doubt there was always the question of how far was too far. Sure, Marvel pulled off Thor (a mythological Norse diety who wields an enchanted hammer) and they successfully made a talking raccoon and sentient tree cool with last years Guardians of the Galaxy, but was a shrinking man who communicates with ants just a little too much to ask for? Whether it be the way Wright originally wrote the story that weaved in the many advantages of being small with a large army behind you or the rather exceptional special effects that make these sequences and these capabilities more sophisticated, the film works. There is no doubt leading man Paul Rudd's humble turn is due much credit for this as well. Regardless, while Ant-Man may be minor when compared to his companions, this is a film that feels fresh and as much its own thing as we've seen from the earth-based MCU in a long time.

SPY Review

Ladies and gentleman, Melissa McCarthy has brought us her version of Austin Powers and while it more or less diverts the James Bond tropes through a slew of supporting characters this is very much a breaking the mold kind of movie that not only puts a woman in the lead where a man typically reigns supreme, but a woman that looks like McCarthy who, per usual, recognizes where she fits into the Holywood lexicon and more or less takes a big ole dump on those expectations. Being unwilling to yield to anyone's pre-determined set of guidelines for what it takes to be an actress, a comedian or now, an action star, has made McCarthy one of the hottest properties around and with Spy she delivers a kind of definitive comedy that will seemingly launch her into the stratosphere of commanding her own franchise. Much like Mike Myers in 1997 McCarthy has used the same popular and well-known template of the spy thriller to lampoon any and all of the typical beats that Ian Fleming's most famous spy and his many imitators have acted out over the years. Opening with the more dashing version of Bond in Jude Law's Bradley Fine as he infiltrates a high class party to commandeer a nuclear bomb that has somehow managed to end up in the wrong persons hands we are taken through the scenario as expected until Fine comes face to face with Tihomir Boyanov (Raad Rawi) and the first of those many expectations are turned on its head and given a certain freshness that not only makes an audience member excited to see what the film will do with each scenario to come, but keeps us consistently laughing as both the sight gags and the one-liners the film delivers are expertly set-up and executed so as to get the biggest pay off. Needless to say, both McCarthy and frequent collaborator Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat) know what they're doing at this point and they use their assumed short-hand to create not only a solid, credible comedy in a world of sub-par and sloppily put-together comedies, but they so clearly know how to draw on the strengths of each cast members talent as well as the archetypes of the genre so that it all seems to effortlessly pull together to create a hugely funny and entertaining time.

Full Trailer for Marvel's ANT-MAN

With Avengers: Age of Ultron just over the horizon and the hype building to a fever pitch with the marketing campaign in overdrive it is easy to forget that Marvel has another movie coming out this summer. Maybe this was done on purpose given the road to completion was a rocky one for Ant-Man, but if the new trailer is any indication the worlds smallest hero is ready to put up a fight for his space in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In a strange bit of news that came out over the weekend with Avengers having it's main junket that included interviews with Marvel mastermind Kevin Feige; Ant-Man will not be the first film in Phase Three as suspected, but will apparently serve more as a culmination to Phase Two than Ultron. This is rather interesting given, up to this point, Ant-Man has felt like little more than an after-thought with questions surrounding if it will even be significant to the larger going-ons of the MCU, but Feige has confirmed that it very much does. While these connections were never going to determine the actual quality of the final product they would certainly assist in separating it from being significant or "just another comic book movie" in a summer saturated with these types of films. On the plus side, I look forward to seeing Paul Rudd in a leading action role and the balance of humor, action and most importantly: relevance seem to be in check in this second, full-length trailer making me, for the first time, pretty excited to see what's in store for us. Ant-Man stars Rudd in the titular role along with Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Judy Greer, Tip “TI” Harris, David Dastmalchian, Wood Harris, Martin Donovan, Jordi Mollà, Michael Douglas and opens on July 17, 2015.

First Trailer for Paul Feig's SPY

Director Paul Feig may currently be casting an all-female version of Ghostbusters, but before he gets around to promoting women in film to a greater extent with that re-imagining of the classic eighties property he will be pairing with Melissa McCarthy again for a rift on the spy genre that looks like nothing short of another massive hit. I have always enjoyed McCarthy's comedy, even in lackluster films like Identity Thief and the truly awful Tammy. Despite the projects themselves being close to unwatchable at times there is always an empathy McCarthy is able to pull from her characters besides the fact she is exceedingly talented at physical comedy and finding the perfect inflection for the perfect moment. When she teams with Feig we get to meet the likes of Megan in Bridesmaids and see the duo of McCarthy and Sandra Bullock in Heat, both of which worked to their advantage and proved to be breakout hits in the vein of largely female casts in broad comedies. While McCarthy will have a little more support from some heavy-hitting male leads here in the form of Jude Law and Jason Statham it will also be nice to see her back on screen and going head to head with Rose Byrne who she didn't get to share enough screen time with on Bridesmaids. While the overall tone of this trailer implies something similar to that of the Steve Carell Get Smart it is nice to know Feig and McCarthy won't be shying away from their R-ratings as 20th Century Fox has released both a green and red band trailer that you can check out below. SPY also stars Bobby Cannavale, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Peter Serafinowicz, Miranda Hart, Allison Janney, Morena Baccarin and opens on May 22nd.

First Trailer for ANT-MAN

The road to completion has been a rocky one for Marvel's Ant-Man as it was originally brought to the table by director Edgar Wright as Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk were getting set to be unleashed upon the world. When those films became hits strong enough to spurn future origin stories so as to set-up The Avengers though, Ant-Man was sidelined despite being a founding member of the super-team in the comics. Wright worked with screenwriter Joe Cornish (Attack the Block) and even prepared a test reel, but as most of you know both Cornish and Wright were essentially wiped from the project when their minds didn't meet with Marvels vision. Actors had been cast and were no doubt caught in Marvel contract agreements, but most had been hired by Wright himself. In the wake of Wright's departure, would they stay? Would they even be able to leave? Much was up in the air until Marvel replaced Wright with director Peyton Reed (who ironically directed Yes Man) as well as bringing in Adam McKay to punch up the script with star Paul Rudd. Much of the cast remained in place (only Patrick Wilson, Matt Gerard and Kevin Weisman exited due to scheduling conflicts after filming was delayed) and production seemed to go smoothly starting in mid-August and wrapping earlier last month. While Wright certainly would have made a much different version of this film that I would've loved to see Reed has seemingly crafted something more in line with the universe the studio has created and, if nothing else, I look forward to seeing Rudd in a leading action role as well as how this will all tie in with the larger MCU. Ant-Man stars Rudd in the titular role along with Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Judy Greer, Tip “TI” Harris, David Dastmalchian, Wood Harris, Martin Donovan, Jordi Mollà, Michael Douglas and opens on July 17, 2015.

ANNIE Review

To set the stage: I've never seen any version of Annie other than the one I'm about to discuss here. I don't know that I would consider it essential viewing and by some off chance I never saw or read the stage play going through the public school system. Sure, I know a few of the famous songs that were spawned from the original production and I know the basic premise of what is going on, but anything more than that consider me in the dark. Having said that, I feel I can safely assume this latest version is a far cry from what the original had to offer, but that isn't the reason this modern day take on the story doesn't work. I was always somewhat hesitant to even be interested in the film as I am clearly not the target audience, but when the first trailer premiered I admit I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of careless fun that seemed to be brightly packaged with the pure pop confection giving the impression it would likely be a big holiday hit with the kiddos. These positive vibes were only reinforced when, upon doing a little further reading, I found out that Will Gluck would be at the helm of the project. Gluck, who has made three solid comedies since 2009 seems to direct what most have so much trouble doing with ease. There is a simplicity to his comedy that oozes naturally out of the characters he has at play and his pacing always compliments the rapid dialogue at which it is exchanged and thus at which the plot is advanced. Easy A is easily one of my favorite comedies of the last ten years as I've watched it more times than I can count and maybe one of the great high school comedies of all time. Needless to say, despite not being familiar with the material and despite knowing this wasn't going to be for me I was still excited to see Gluck work in a slightly different genre as well as what he might have to offer in terms of crafting a children's film that was both highly entertaining and insightful given the obvious emotion at the core of the given story. Unfortunately, this new Annie is anything but fun as it loses its energy and momentum soon after the opening number and is never able to regain that feeling for the remainder of the nearly two hour run time.

CHEF Review

The wisest thing you could do before going to see Chef is to make sure your stomach is not on empty, but you also don’t want to be full off a big meal either. A nice pre-movie snack is suitable as you likely won’t make it through the film if you go in on an empty stomach, but will be more than mad at yourself if you go in stuffed not allowing space in your tummy for a dinner afterwards that might at least attempt to rival the look and taste of what you just witnessed being crafted on screen. It is with this middle of the road mentality (and hunger) that you receive something wholly fulfilling from Chef and if nothing else are surprised at the deeply affecting ways in which this film, that may initially come off as nothing more than superficial, moves you and teaches a well-worn lesson. For, despite the full buffet of A-list names on the roster the food (or any idea, goal, theme, etc. you want to apply there, really) is the real star of writer, director and star Jon Favreau’s latest. Favreau, who has been around the block and back in terms of directing makes his glorious return to what he clearly has a knack for in terms of pure, character-driven stories here. Don’t get me wrong, the guy is clearly more than a capable director as he not only crafted the under-appreciated Zathura, the now holiday-classic Elf (we forget to give him the credit he deserves on that one) and launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we now know it with Iron Man while not buckling under the pressure of turning around and delivering a competent sequel, but he also poured his heart and soul into the writing of the cult classic Swingers (launching not only his own, but buddy Vince Vaughn’s career) and then returning to the characters for his feature directorial debut with Made in 2001. He’ll soon return to the world of big budget tentpoles, but it is with great delight that we first get this small, delicately prepared dish that not only gives us a break from the larger productions the summer season is known for offering but more than providing an interesting diversion is the fact this is a truly solid and moving film that while featuring the food as its star attraction, is more about the heart and soul that is poured into the creation of that food that makes the final product, that full meal if you will, all the more satisfying.

First Trailer for ANNIE

I've never been familiar with the story of Annie and have never seen any version of the stage play nor the 1982 film that I assume most would look toward as a point of reference, but it is hard to ignore the noise this one is making. I appreciate Will and Jada Smith as well as Jay-Z (we've always known he had an affinity for the musical) want to give young Quvenzhané Wallis a real shot at this movie star thing and not make her simply a flash in the pan that became the youngest Oscar nominated actress ever only to go on to not find her real acting chops until her mid-20's. I get it and I can appreciate that and the fact all of their friends like Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz were willing to jump in and help establish the young girls name by playing roles in a re-make that maybe don't suit their personas, but their names fill the bill and will no doubt have families butts in the seats come Christmas 2014 and this is the obvious choice because nothing screams the holiday season like a musical. The big question hanging over this one though is will anyone really care about it in the film community? No, is the definitive answer to that question and it is clear the film has not been made for the purposes of higher art, but simply to exist as a fun piece of entertainment that will keep kids occupied and their parents up to date on the latest trends as they can see what has been updated from the version they know and how the modernization makes this feel all the cooler to their kids, but will no doubt be just as dated as the previous versions in less time. I hold no prejudice against this new or any version of Annie, but that is only because I'm not familiar with them and so I will see this new adaptation because I enjoy the people partaking and director Will Gluck is a reliable source for solid comedy and so I hold nothing but optimism for this project, albeit cautious. Annie also stars Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, David Zayas and opens on December 19th.

BLUE JASMINE Review

As I'm not typically excited to see a Woody Allen film it came as a surprise when the trailer for his annual effort, titled Blue Jasmine this year, was immediately one that intrigued me and had me anxiously awaiting its arrival at my local cinema. After finally arriving I am again surprised by how taken I am with the film and the way in which it approaches its subject and above all, the craft of the writing. It has always been apparent, even to a Woody Allen-amateur like me, that the writer/director has a much stronger hand when it comes to his scripts than his direction. Still, Jasmine offers such a layered and complex character at the heart of its rather melodramatic story and is brought to life perfectly through an Oscar-worthy performance from Cate Blanchett that we don't look to the film for answers concerning plot lines, but instead we watch it to see the path this tragic character goes down. There is never any doubt that Jasmine's plight will not be a happy one, but as much as I'm not overly-familiar with Allen's older works I know that much of it skews closer to comedy than any other genre and while there are a few laughs here and there throughout the film this is ultimately a very dour, very emotionally complex film to watch and invest yourself in. So much so that when the film does come to an end there is almost a sense of relief that we are finally able to break away from Jasmine's troubles and issues and happy to encounter our own once again. This may not sound like a necessarily good time at the movies and to be honest, it's not. Still, there is something to the titular character that draws us in where, if we were to encounter her in real life, would no doubt push us away. We are literally watching a train wreck in motion as Jasmine falls deeper and deeper into the depths of lunacy and yet we don't feel sorry for her as much as we come to examine how she became the woman she did and that is what Allen is interested in; subtly building on the details and leaving clues for his audience to not only see Jasmine as she is in her now, almost repulsive form, but how easily she came to be that person. This is top notch writing and acting presenting a gloomy character study with the most vital of energies.  

LOVELACE Review

There is a certain disconnect between myself and the time period in which Lovelace takes place. The early-70's are a time I've completely come to know through there representation in films and the popular music of that time. Watching a film set around that period and concerning the star of one of the most popular adult movies in history is like coming to fully realize the underbelly of the time period while at the same time getting to know a character who might have just as easily been the subject of a Lifetime movie. Essentially this is what Lovelace becomes as the real story of Linda Susan Boreman is one of an abusive marriage as well as a testament to the type of control people can subject others to. While this is certainly nothing to be made light of and it becomes clear just how tragic Linda's story really is, this standard bio pic account does nothing to make us feel much for Linda other than the inherent sympathy anyone would feel for a woman who has been part of an abusive relationship. The only thing that differentiates Lovelace from being featured on the television for women station is the caliber of talent involved and the vulgarity that comes along with Linda's profession. The only other film I've seen in which directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman were at the helm is the similarly low key biopic of poet Allen Ginsberg, Howl. While I wasn't particularly attracted to that film either it at least conveyed the story in a way that would have likely made the subject proud. It had an element of originality to it and intertwined real interviews, animation, and heavily documented re-enactments that at least flowed together to create an interesting piece of work. When compared to that inventive approach Lovelace is completely straightforward with only a structural shift in the middle of the movie that is more jarring than effective. I didn't mind the film, but I didn't necessarily enjoy it. Linda is an interesting person and has a story worth telling and there is enough talent invested in her portrayal and the people around her that make this movie worth seeing if not just to see how a soul can become so easily lost, but for how success can look different to the people on the outside and the person at the heart of it all.

First Trailer for BLUE JASMINE

I've never been a huge Woody Allen fan, but then again I haven't really bothered to get to know his body of work all that well either, so I could possibly be I guess. I really became more aware of the writer/dierctor in 2011 when I was taken completely by surprise with his wonderful Midnight in Paris. I'd seen Match Point my senior year of high school have since seen a few more of his yearly efforts. I knew going into Paris it was an Allen film, but was mainly there for the fact it was Owen Wilson and the storyline pertained to classic literary and other artistic figures. As it went, that turned out to be one of my favorite films of that year and so I was very much looking forward to the continued efforts of the aging filmmaker. His To Rome With Love was fine enough, but certainly not the worthy successor Midnight deserved, but his latest, Blue Jasmine looks as if it might have that potential. Alec Baldwin again appears here, this time as a white collar criminal who wines and dines Cate Blanchett only to leave her penniless. The trailer gives a distinct Allen vibe as it is dialogue-heavy and sets up several dynamics between what seem like some pretty interesting characters. Not to mention Allen has rounded up a rather eclectic cast here as Blanchett's Jasmine goes from being a New York housewife (Allen's safety zone) to living with her sister (Sally Hawkins of Happy Go Lucky) in San Francisco. The ensemble cast looks to provide plenty of Allen's typical comedy while the conflict of the lead character in the middle of a kind of identity/emotional crisis seems to have provided Blanchett a nice platform to deliver another great performance. I'm not usually excited for the next Woody Allen film as much as I'm willing to give it a shot, but this one has captured my attention and I'm genuinely looking forward to what it has to offer. Blue Jasmine also stars Louis C.K., Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Stuhlbarg, Andrew Dice Clay and Bobby Cannavale and opens in limited release on July 26th.  
Hit the jump to check out the trailer.

PARKER Review

As it goes every time Jason Statham puts out a film that isn't part of the Transporter or Expendable series we are prone to get a well executed action film that has the chrome domed star doing what he does best: kicking ass and taking names. This is only the first of four films the guy has slated to come out this year and though each of them has to deal with some type of thief, agent, soldier, or bodyguard they will likely each also have a very distinct style to them. You see, the thing about Statham is despite his ability to make total B-movies that have you munching on your popcorn and sipping on your Coke Zero with glee he also has an eye for who he works with and makes sure there is something of a twist with each character type he will undeniably be playing in their film. In his three other films one of them is directed by Gary Felder and co-stars James Franco, Wynona Rider, and Kate Bosworth and was a novel that was adapted into a screenplay by pal Sylvester Stallone. His others include a first time feature from writer Steven Knight (Eastern Promises) as well as one in very early pre-production that re-teams him with his The Mechanic and Expendables 2 director Simon West (Con Air,Tomb Raider). You see, the guy knows what he is doing as he doesn't simply sign up for any throw away piece of action trash that could just as easily go straight to DVD (though some of his less flashy ones have) but instead he keeps a nice flow of consistent work that gives the people what they want from him and does so in a fashion that shows he's reliable and that they can trust in him when they come back for more.