Green & Red-Band Trailers for A BAD MOMS CHRISTMAS

Well, that was fast. Less than a year after the first film debuted in theaters we have trailers for a new Bad Moms movie and this time they're not just tackling everything moms have to take care of and look after in general, but they're specifically tackling the holiday season which, honestly, is totally fair game. Though I wasn't a fan of writer/directors Jon Lucas and Scott Moore's first film, you can read my review here, they have returned to write and direct this sequel as well. It would seem Lucas and Moore have a very limited range of topics they're interested in tackling as they wrote the original Hangover screenplay and then went on to pen and direct 2013's 21 & Over which was fine, but totally forgettable and that seems to be where this presumably never-ending line of Bad Moms movies will end-up. The casting of Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and (most importantly) Kathryn Hahn was one of the key highlights of that first film so having those three back and more in sync with one another's personalities this time around should bode well for the picture as does the fact Lucas and Moore have written in roles for their mothers who will be played by Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines, and Susan Sarandon. Boy, between A Bad Moms Christmas and Daddy's Home 2 this holiday season will have no lack of Christmas-themed family comedies or work for aging movie stars. And while I'm in no way excited for what A Bad Moms Christmas likely has to offer it could have found its groove and this time around provide enough charm that it could win me over, but even with a red band trailer to show us all the bawdy jokes this thing has to offer I'm still not sold as the only time I laughed throughout either of these trailers was when Baranski showed up to deliver her deadpan lines. Presuming the majority of the comedy will come from the dynamic between our three leads dealing with the holiday visits of their mothers and extended families it would be nice if the majority of the laughs derive from these situations rather than only counting on otherwise innocent moms cussing and doing things that are supposed to be outrageous while that latest DJ hit drops in the background. All of that said, I am sad Christina Applegate's character doesn't seem to be back for the sequel. Oh, well. A Bad Moms Christmas also stars Jay Hernandez, Peter Gallagher, David Walton, Wanda Sykes, Emjay Anthony, Oona Laurence, Ariana Greenblatt, and opens on November 3rd, 2017.

TROLLS Review

It's difficult to not feel indifferent about a movie like Trolls. In the end, it's fine. Is it somewhat offensive in terms of originality and cheap covers of gloriously good pop songs? It could certainly be taken that way, but when taking into consideration the target audience for this latest DreamWorks animated adventure it's hard to get too frustrated with the rote story Trolls tolls out or the advantage it takes in remixing recognizable songs into auto-tuned Kidz Bop versions you could have certainly lived without. Of course, Trolls doesn't mean to offend, but rather it simply means to entertain a fairly wide age range of kiddos while at the same time giving over tried and true lessons that deal in being true to one's self to find true happiness. No, Trolls isn't either a good film or a particularly bad one, but more it is simply one that exists to colorfully distract for an hour and a half only to mostly be forgotten the next day. No harm, no foul. Trolls is ultimately something of a mix between DreamWorks own Shrek series as far as character types go while more or less the same story The Smurfs told us as far as being small creatures who live in peace and harmony while having to battle a much larger being who threatens to eat them among other evil things. There wouldn't be anything necessarily wrong with restructuring these archetypes and plotlines were Trolls interested in doing anything fresh or interesting (and when I say interesting I, obviously, mean weirder) with as much as they've given themselves to work with, but by simply slapping a variety of pop covers throughout rather than going full-on musical and ultimately being more harmless than memorable this movie isn't exactly the kind of product a studio wants to put out if they want to retain any type of credibility. Though it really is difficult to say anything downright terrible about Trolls the bottom line is this was a product made to move merchandise and that it actually turned out as competent and sometimes even as fun as it is shouldn't be forgotten. Sure, one could point out the desperate lengths movie studios are now going to in order to cash in on brands given the troll dolls were first popular in the sixties (with a resurgence in the nineties) or one could point to The LEGO Movie as a film based on toys/superfluous junk that actually turned out rather inspired and great, but somewhere in the middle of those truths and thoughts we find Trolls; just happy to have been given enough room to dance and sing and hug.

INTO THE WOODS Review

Director Rob Marshall (Chicago) returns to the musical with a film adaptation of Into the Woods, Stephen Sondheim's 1986 concoction that intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Given this was produced by Disney though, many will surely think of it as another way for the mouse house to repackage their most classic of animated tales and turn them into a new holiday hit. Those same people will likely be somewhat surprised when some of the more violent twists of the Grimm tales come to light in the film. All of that said, Marshall's version of Into the Woods feels like a missed opportunity more than anything. I haven't seen the Sondheim play that serves as the source material, but I imagine there is much more to it than what has been put to the screen here. This film version never delves too deep into the familiar tales the main characters are taken from (which is fine) but it also doesn't have enough material in its original aspects to fill out the running time of a feature and so the last almost hour ends up feeling completely tacked on. This is a shame, really, because as far as musicals are concerned I was really digging what they were doing story-wise and Marshall has a keen eye for how to shoot people singing dialogue while making it exhilirating. What I don't understand is why they weren't able to somehow extend the story into one cohesive narrative rather than seeming to wrap up all the storylines nicely only to unravel them over the next fifty minutes so we end up with a less than satisfying conclusion that, more than anything, undermines all they'd worked so hard to set-up in the first place. And while this certainly takes a fair amount of enjoyment out of an experience you expect to be filled with familiar character tropes and choreographed numbers there is still plenty to feast your eyes and ears upon. Into the Woods may not be everyone's cup of tea and it may not even prove to be appealing to those who compare it to the stage show, but what it offers and what detracts just about even each other out to the point we care about what's happening while we're watching it, but won't remember a thing the next day.

Teaser Trailer for INTO THE WOODS

I'm not overly familiar with the original stage play that has inspired director Rob Marshall's (Chicago) latest film, but it certainly sounds intriguing. The play debuted in 1986 and features a story based on Bruno Bettelheim's The Uses of Enchantment with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and centers on a childless baker and his wife on their quest to begin a family. On this quest they are taken through the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales that explores the consequences of the characters' wishes and adventures. I have seen a lot of comments that have called this out for looking like Once Upon A Time with musical numbers which clearly isn't true as this came along way before the NBC show, but as NBC is owned by Disney, Disney has a certain stake in the whole fairy tale stories and those seem to be a hot property as of late it makes sense for a film adaptation of this to appear now. I have no relationship with Once Upon A Time as I tried to watch a few episodes on Netflix and couldn't get into it, but I am rather intrigued by this first teaser. The cast is expansive, the photography looks breathtaking and the original play won several Tony Awards when it premiered including Best Score, Best Book and Best Actress for a role that is being played by Emily Blunt in the film. So, there is good reason to be excited. As for director Marshall, the guy made Chicago twelve years ago and has followed it up with Memoirs of a Geisha, Nine and the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean, none of which I minded (though Nine was a total letdown), but were all rather boring if I remember correctly. Hopefully Marshall has his act together this time and will be able to combine his musical stylings and big budget reigns to bring us something truly magical this Christmas. Into the Woods also stars Meryl Streep, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp, Lilla Crawford, Daniel Huttlestone, Tracey Ullman, and Christine Baranski. Check out the teaser and several new pictures after the jump.