BLACK PANTHER Review

When your movie opens in Oakland you automatically enlist this inherent cool factor that appeals to this child of the eighties, especially considering I've watched The Defiant Ones, Straight Outta Compton, and Boyz n the Hood in the last week. Opening the film with a brief history of the fictional nation of Wakanda, its origins, and how the Black Panther came to be a symbol for the monarchy that reigned over it and a hero to the people who resided within it director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed) then drops us into this unsuspecting setting of Oakland, California in the early nineties where we are served a series of events that establish the basis for what will fulfill the drama that occurs in Marvel Studios' Black Panther. This is a smart move on the parts of both Coogler the director and Coogler the co-writer who, along with Joe Robert Cole (American Crime Story), roots the beginning of his film in the zeitgeist of hip-hop; when rap was finding its footing and when the world began to take notice of what was being said within the genre. This is most definitely intentional as Coogler no doubt means to draw the comparison so as to confirm any doubt that Black Panther isn't a movement within itself. Though there have been black super hero movies before (in this analogy Blade would be your Sugarhill Gang) Black Panther is more than a defining moment as there has never been anything this explicitly black in or about a super hero movie before. Black Panther doesn't just star an African-American in the lead role as the titular hero, but it is about black culture, about black heritage, and conveys the highs and lows, the good and bad of this world of which I have no rightful place to really speak and so I will trust that when the many black people I do know who have seen the film say it is a real *moment* for their culture and for society in general I will trust that it indeed is. On the other hand, the question is how does Black Panther rank in terms of being a piece of entertainment despite Coogler inherently making this about more than just entertaining the masses? Well, it's another in a long line of reliable if not completely singular Marvel movies that tend to only break the mold every once in a while. Granted, Marvel has been on something of a hot streak lately mixing up the genres of which inspire their fare (2017 was especially strong) and Black Panther is no different in this regard as it, by default of its source material, feels fresher than anything the genre has had to offer in some time even if the potential of all the positive factors going on within the film never seem to be fully realized.

New Trailer for BLACK PANTHER Starring Chadwick Boseman

Marvel's has somewhat unexpectedly, but not really dropped a new trailer for Black Panther today helping everyone's week get off to a better than usual start. While this was expected at some point before Thor: Ragnarok arrived in theaters I'm slightly surprised Marvel has decided to go a full two weeks before the actual release date. That said, this will only get all those who were going to see Ragnarok on the first day anyway all the more pumped for the next installment of their cinematic universe while simultaneously getting the the Marvel faithful as excited as ever for what's right around the corner. All of this is obviously a pretty big deal as it is one of the few African-American led comic book movies and the first for Marvel Studios despite having included characters like Falcon in other films. In the wake of Wonder Woman this summer Black Panther continues to shows the diversification of what that former status quo believed itself to be. It's frankly wonderful to see such major shifts taking place and being executed by major studios as it relays bigger cultural and social impacts than some might even realize, but all of this good is made even better when the film itself tends to look promising. Of course, there was no reason to ever think Black Panther was risky given Marvel enlisted director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed) to helm the project. This paired with the fact we already got our first look at Chadwick Boseman's titular character in last year's Captain America: Civil War which in and of itself was pretty fantastic. Take all of this and add to the ever-growing promise of the film that Coogler also rounded-up frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan to play the film's antagonist Erik Killmonger and you have what is more or less a guaranteed quality picture if not a guaranteed box office smash due to the fact it is another in a long line of Marvel successes. As for the trailer itself, Coogler and his team certainly seem to have found a look and tone they wanted to work in as the visual effects have improved since that first trailer and there is a scope here that was missing before-a scope that feels appropriate when introducing audiences to an entirely new nation. Black Panther also stars Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Andy Serkis, Forest Whitaker, Florence Kasumba, Martin Freeman, John Kani, Winston Duke, Sterling K. Brown, Phylicia Rashad, and opens on February 16th, 2018.

First Trailer for Marvel's BLACK PANTHER

Playing a little catch up today as the first teaser for Marvel's latest, Black Panther, dropped on Friday during game four of the NBA Finals, but unfortunately I haven't been able to really sit down and watch the clip until today. That said, this is obviously a pretty big deal as not only is this our first look at what is on Marvel's slate moving into 2018, but it's also our first glimpse at what is one of the few African-American led comic book movies. In the wake of Wonder Woman last weekend this is a big deal and only shows the continuing diversification of what that former status quo believed itself to be. It's frankly wonderful to see such major shifts taking place and being executed by major studios as it relays bigger cultural and social impacts than some might even realize, but all of this good is made even better when the film itself tends to look promising. Of course, there was no reason to ever think this Black Panther movie wasn't going to be promising given Marvel's Cinematic Universe enlisted director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed) to helm the project. This paired with the fact we already got our first look at Chadwick Boseman's titular character in last year's Captain America: Civil War and that too was fantastic. Take all of this and add to the ever-growing promise of the film that Coogler also rounded-up frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan to play the film's antagonist Erik Killmonger and you have what is more or less a guaranteed quality picture if not a guaranteed box office smash due to the fact it is another in a long line of Marvel's successes. As for the trailer itself, Coogler and his team certainly seem to have found a look and tone they wanted to work in for despite some of the visual effects shots still feeling incomplete the world in which they're taking us to is fully rendered. It's interesting to see Andy Serkis' Klaw (first introduced in Age of Ultron) and Martin Freeman's Everett Ross (also introduced in Civil War) open the trailer and discuss the mysteries of Wakanda as it only gives the audience a stronger desire to see this place for themselves. Black Panther also stars Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Florence Kasumba, John Kani, Winston Duke, Sterling K. Brown, Phylicia Rashad, and opens on February 16th, 2018.

ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY Review

"It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet." It is with these words that the original Star Wars introduced fans to a galaxy far, far away nearly forty years ago; despite the nearly four decades between then and now though, those words couldn't be more relevant today. It is in these two short, but descriptive sentences that one can understand the basis of where Rogue One comes from and its relevance in setting up the dots that will be connected throughout the original trilogy of films. For a Star Wars fan, this is nothing if not incredible-that the smallest of details from within the universe can be fleshed out so as to expand upon the rich layers of the world George Lucas created all those years ago seemingly opens up endless possibilities. For writers Chris Weitz (About a Boy, Cinderella) and Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) though, one could see how this might be more than a little intimidating to take on. As one might be inclined to do in such a situation Weitz and Gilroy have more or less crafted an old school genre film out of a franchise brand that has more or less become a genre of its own. And so, Rogue One is a genre film executed in a film universe that has defined the science fiction blockbuster genre since its inception forty years ago. That may sound inherently disparaging, but it really isn't. Rather, adjusting the Star Wars universe to fit that of a "(wo)man on a mission" template is rather inspiring and director Gareth Edwards (Monsters. Godzilla) has skillfully adapted the rich and textured aesthetic of 1970's sci-fi to this story that takes place just before Princess Leia sent her trusty droids to seek out an old Jedi friend. Though Rogue One may not ultimately break any new barriers and will undoubtedly serve more as the rule than the exception when it comes to this new breed of Star Wars stories we'll be receiving consistently for as far as Disney's bank accounts can go (hint: they go really far) it is still a more than competent action/adventure story that introduces a few new memorable characters, worlds of which we've never seen before, and a narrative that despite every single person in the audience knowing where it's headed still manages to keep us on the edge of our seats.

ARRIVAL Review

Arrival is one of those movies where you understand you're waiting for the resolve to see if it justifies the journey we've taken to (pun intended) arrive there. This doesn't mean the one hundred minutes prior aren't fascinating and worthwhile, but it's clear we're ultimately waiting to see what bigger picture these pieces are painting. This can of course be something of a double-edged sword given how the approach effects the re-watchability of a picture, but by the time we come around to the conclusion of Arrival it only seems repeat viewings will do nothing but make it more moving if not add shades and complexities to small nuances we may not have noticed upon that initial viewing. In other words, Arrival is a masterfully told narrative that deals in themes of interpretation and perspective through conveyors such as language and the guise of an alien invasion movie. What's interesting though is, despite the marketing, Arrival is hardly about an alien invasion, but more a film about communication and figuring out one another before jumping to conclusions based on cultural precedent or expectation. Arrival is about that fear of what we don't know and how such a phrase manifests when a genuine situation arises that it can be applied to. In the barrage of CGI summer blockbusters that depict alien invasions more as mass extinctions it's become easy to feel nonchalant about the ramifications of proof of life beyond our earth and solar system legitimately existing and furthermore, showing up in our backyard. In Arrival, director Denis Villeneuve conjures not only a palpable fear and panic that would sweep across nations in light of such events, but more he and specifically Amy Adams in an absolutely stellar performance highlight the sheer incomprehensibility of the situation. Giving insight to the smaller moments, recognizing the first time Jeremy Renner's Ian Donnelly touches the material this alien craft is constructed from as a major moment rather than choosing to ignore its significance speaks volumes. In this way, moments that are actually bigger play as that much more profound. Villeneuve is a master of restraint and the slow burn as he has shown in previous features such as Enemy and Sicario, but Arrival may be his most accomplished work to date as not only is it visually enrapturing, but the larger ideas the film has on its mind are applied to its precise visual sense giving the experience an all-around aura of awe.

Full Trailer for ARRIVAL Starring Amy Adams

Paramount Pictures released a short, one-minute teaser for the latest Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Sicario) film last week and honestly that probably would have been enough for a long time, but by the end of that exceptional tease we were already promised a full trailer less than a week down the line and here we are-with a full minute and a half more footage to better wrap our heads around what exactly Villeneuve will be exploring this time. Each of the directors last three films have been in my top fifteen of the year and so it is something of an understatement to say I'm excited to see what he does next though the fact the films screenplay was penned by the guy who wrote Final Destination 5 and The Thing re-make is a bit concerning. That said, he also penned Lights Out which has been getting great reviews (I still need to see that one) and so maybe it is all in the execution which is something Villeneuve excels at-just look at Prisoners especially. With Arrival, the director has paired with Amy Adams for the story of an expert linguist who is recruited by the military to determine whether the aliens on a craft that has landed have come in peace or are a threat. The trailer looks insanely tense and well photographed, but unfortunately it feels as if it gives away more than I was hoping it would. The aspect of focusing on language and the breaking down of how we communicate with an invading species though is insanely interesting and seems to have given way to a number of interesting facets that have been explored throughout the film all of which garner strong repercussions on the life of our protagonist. Arrival will play at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and Venice Film Festival before opening on November 11th and features a supporting cast that includes the likes of Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, and Michael Stuhlbarg.

New Trailer for ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY

Since the teaser trailer dropped for Rogue One four months ago a lot has changed. That initial teaser gave us a glimpse of the Star Wars universe from a perspective we hadn't really seen before-through the lens of an actual war film. Director Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Godzilla) had clearly become accustomed to operating on a large scale while focusing in on the character intricacies that take place within that scale. Though there has been talk concerning production drama as producer/writer/director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) was reported to have first been brought in for reshoots and has since been bumped up to supervising the final edit of the movie. While the studio is certainly downplaying the negatives of what this could imply it is hard to be overly confident in a product that gets the board room treatment rather than the original vision of a director that you supposedly hired for their unique vision. I rather loved the first teaser we received and hoped Edwards final film reflected the tone and space of mind that trailer conveyed, but with reports of such post-production troubles I doubt we'll see that original vision. Still, this is a Star Wars movie and I'm going to see it regardless-hopefully the changes won't be too drastic and this will ultimately still be Edwards film. If you're not up on what is going on, Rogue One will take place just prior to A New Hope as it tells the story of the rebels who set out on the mission to steal the plans for the Death Star. Chrs Weitz (About a Boy, Cinderella) penned the screenplay with Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) credited as coming in and overseeing necessary changes. All of that said, this new trailer still looks fantastic and I can't wait to see this portion of the Star Wars universe on the big screen. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story stars Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Ben Mendelsohn, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Forest Whitaker, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, and Jiang Wen, and opens in theaters on December 16th, 2016.

First Trailer for ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY

It seems strange now in (very short) retrospect that Disney and Lucasfilm didn't place a "sneak peak" type feature of the next Star Wars story on the Blu-Ray release of The Force Awakens this week. Not that fans needed another reason to go out and buy (or purchase a digital copy) of the film, but this extra incentive of being able to see the first footage from Rogue One certainly would have been a worthwhile bonus. Instead, Disney and Lucasfilm have waited a mere two days after Episode VII's home video release to deliver our first look at director Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) first installment in what is expected to be an expanded universe of Star Wars films. If you're not up on what is going on it basically boils down to the fact Disney spent $6 billion dollars on the Star Wars brand and they're intent on milking it for all it's worth meaning we'll be getting some type of Star Wars feature once a year for the foreseeable future. In accomplishing this goal, Disney has put together highly credible teams and casts to tell these stories. Rogue One will take place just prior to A New Hope as it tells the story of the rebels who set out on the mission to steal the plans for the Death Star. Chrs Weitz (About a Boy, Cinderella) penned the screenplay with Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) credited as coming in and overseeing necessary changes. The trailer looks downright fantastic and might even capture the balance of old with a twist of new in a way even The Force Awakens didn't manage. I'm not quite sure yet though, let me go watch it about five hundred more times. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story stars Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Ben Mendelsohn, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Forest Whitaker, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, and Jiang Wen, and opens in theaters on December 16th, 2016.

SOUTHPAW Review

We are what we choose to be or so goes the saying someone said once upon a time and has been repeated countless different ways a billion times since. In the case of Billy Hope (Jake Gyllenhaal) though, one seriously begins to wonder what kinds of choices dictate a meteoric rise and then a literal loss of everything precious in his life. Is it simply defending his wife? Getting angry over a fellow boxer challenging his strength and insulting his woman in the process? Would we have done something different than Billy or was he destined for this path of loss and eventual redemption? That seems the simple answer, yes. You strip away the key stone and the rest of the rocks come tumbling down. Why does such an insignificant seeming choice dictate the remainder of your life? It is an impossible question to answer and one that would make anyone want to end their own life were they to contemplate it for too long. Yes, life is about choices-some that we are proud of, others that we will regret and then there are the ones that will haunt us forever. When we meet Billy Hope he is on the top of the world. He is the undefeated lightweight champion of the world at 43-0, he loves his wife Maureen (Rachel McAdams) more than anything and they have a young daughter, Leila (Oona Laurence), who Billy adores. He seems to make more money in one fight than most pro athletes do in a season as he, Maureen and Leila reside in a mansion outside of New York City while his boys (who came up with him through an orphanage in Hell's Kitchen as did Maureen) hang out and collect benefits. His manager, Jordan (50 Cent), seems more than a little sleazy, but his only real point of stress in the opening moments come from fellow boxer Miguel Escobar (Miguel Gomez). After the opening fight in which Billy takes a beating before finding the fuel to light his fire to deliver a knock-out punch, Escobar shows up to taunt the still undefeated champ into fighting him next. Proclaiming Billy's afraid to go against a real fighter, Escobar knows just how to get to Hope. It is in the split second decision to react to Escobar's taunts rather than think it through that Billy makes the choice that will alter his life and his career in unbelievably depressing ways, setting Southpaw up as little more than a familiar story that is carried by great performances.

DOPE Review

Dope is something of an exquisitely stated thesis with the outer shell of a "drug deal gone bad" movie understated by the culture within where this rather typical (for the area and in the movies) excursion occurs. There is an angle that feels like the drug plot in Dope is necessary to make the movie feel more exciting, but that it actually makes this unique take on black culture all the more generic. Director and writer Rick Famuyiwa (The Wood) smartly uses both of these preconceptions to his advantage by allowing the regularity of a drug deal and the race and culture typically related to such going-ons to highlight the point he is intending to make. The main ideas here are simple: to not sell yourself short and to not settle for what's expected of you; seemingly talking as much about one's predestination due to their inherent preferences as he is the color of their skin. That Famuyiwa is able to somewhat blur this line of not simply defining people by their baseball stats, but for the character they display is what he really wants to explore which he does magnificently by cultivating the affinity we all have for nostalgia to display how we tend to believe it was somehow better in someone else's time despite us really knowing the reality was never as pleasant as the high points in pictures paint. There is a whole treasure trove of ideas and concepts within Dope and some are more highlighted than necessarily explored, but Famuyiwa does a solid job of capturing the essence of what is necessary to get his point across here. This essence is as present in the musical stylings chosen to power the movie along as it is the slang verbiage and dated styles that Malcolm (Shameik Moore) and his co-horts rock throughout. Dope is certainly nothing short of an independent-minded take on a subculture that is more than under served, but as a movie it somewhat lacks that definitive spark that actually sets it apart as something exceptional. There is something muddled and incoherent about the way it chooses to lay out its ideas which is odd because I rather enjoyed the freewheeling editing choices, but walking out and considering what I'd taken away from the film it came down more to the broad strokes than the brass tacks when it would seem Malcolm's genius is in the details.

First Trailer for SOUTHPAW

One of my most anticipated films of the year is director Antoine Fuqua's Southpaw. Not necessarily for Fuqua's involvement (though I do generally enjoy his work and truly appreciate his passion), but for the involvement of one Jake Gyllenhaal. As of late, Gylenhaal has been on something of a hot streak re-defining his place in the public eye and universe of film as one of the most reliable actors working. Whether it be in small-scale pictures such as Source Code and Enemy or in sweeping dramas such as End of Watch and Prisoners, not to mention last years career-defining performance in Nightcrawler, the guy has consistently been hitting it out of the park for almost half a decade now. I can only imagine that way of thinking concerning his career will continue into the projects he's chosen next which are highlighted by Fuqua's latest as well as the Baltasar Kormákur-directed Everest due out in September. While Southpaw doesn't look to necessarily be an Oscar-contender with its late summer release date I still have nothing but high hopes for the project and the first look at the film via the trailer only amps up the anticipation. While I do hate that much of the broad strokes of the story are given away to the point any casual movie-goer can likely tell where things are headed I'm also hoping whoever cut this trailer as well as Fuqua himself (who I assume had some say over the final cut) know better than what they've seemingly done here and are giving us the main points to hook us while hiding much of what is in store for the actual experience. Regardless, I'm putting the trust in Gyllenhaal and Fuqua to hopefully deliver one of my favorite films of the year. Southpaw also stars Forest Whitaker, 50 Cent, Rachel McAdams and opens July 31st.

TAKEN 3 Review

If only these Taken movies escalated themselves to an R-rating we might have something of more aspiration here. Instead, this series quickly dissolved into quick cash grabs that felt like little more than afterthoughts to everyone involved. The original film seemingly caught everyone off guard with its brilliant marketing campaign and the inherent rush of excitement it delivered to the point that when we were looking for more of the same from the sequel, none of those surprising feelings were readily available. It seemed the general consensus on the Olivier Megaton-directed sequel was that it was rather horrible and resorted to showing Liam Neeson's Bryan Mills smother folks to death rather than doing anything that was actually impressive. And yet, here we are with the third and presumably final film (again directed by Megaton no less) and it does little to redeem the legacy of what was originally the film responsible for bringing us the Neesploitation period, but may actually tarnish that legacy the more I continue to think and write about the film. If one wonders why such a pedigreed actor such as Neeson would continue to return to a series that has long since run its course you'd only have to look as far as his paycheck to find an answer. To be clear: Taken 3 has a reported budget of $48 million and almost half of that budget was consumed by the actors salary. For this third film Neeson was paid a handsome, and very exclusive, $20 million. So, if you thought the makers of this unnecessary sequel might take the road less traveled or that Mr. Neeson might use his pull and demand he only appear in the film if they came up with a story that truly justified another film you're sorely out of luck as he is laughing all the way to the bank. People clearly don't care though because despite the second film being little more than a cash grab with little effort to hide that intention and this third film being nothing except more of the same, folks still showed up in droves when they could have been seeing the best film of the year instead.

First Trailer for TAKEN 3

I was not a fan of Taken 2 after it essentially felt like a film of leftovers rather than a justifiable premise for a second installment. That talks even surfaced for a third film after critics and audiences alike freely expressed their disdain for the money-grubbing sequel was surprising but here we are two years later and we have the first trailer for that threequel appropriately titled, TAK3N. If you're already laughing you may not want to hit the jump to take a look at the actual trailer as it is clear Luc Besson and his team of writers have sunk to desperate levels in order to come up with another chapter in the Brian Mills story. The problem is, no matter what he does, Liam Neeson automatically brings credibility to it and dammit if I wasn't eventually sucked into the scenario at hand here due to how intimidatingly badass Neeson is able to come off in the trailer. The third film will also feature the credible Forest Whitaker as a law enforcement agent who is after Mills after he is framed for murder, so there might be a chance of some redemption here. Still, before I get ahead of myself we have to take into consideration the fact that Taken 2 director Oliver Megaton (Colombiana, Transporter 3) is back behind the camera leading me to have to hope this isn't as completely forgettable as the second film, but might, at the very least, contain some of the excitement and thrills that made the original such a surprise. Leland Orser, Famke Janssen and Maggie Grace return with Dougray Scott and Jon Gries rounding out the cast. Tak3n moves from the October release of part two back to the early year release date of the original as we will get what Neeson says is the final chapter on January 9, 2015.

OUT OF THE FURNACE Review

There is something both numbing and strangely profound about the second directorial effort from Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart). There is a menacing grim to the overall proceedings, yet it is almost impossible to not feel enlightened by what we see unfold on screen and by the development (or lack) of character and the insight that we gain as to why these people that Out of the Furnace zeroes in on are so compelling without being considered extraordinary. Where director Cooper and his cast excel are in how they don't decide to focus or rely as heavily on the events in which the story documents because in all honesty it feels that after about fifty or so minutes the narrative comes to somewhat of a halt and the momentum slows incredibly despite the fact what we see unfolding has yet to come to fruition and it remains unclear if things will turn out in the best interest of our lead character Russell Blaze (Christian Bale). Still, what keeps the ship from sinking is the fact that Cooper and his gritty eye keep the focus on the actors and the characters they are portraying and allow those performances to carry what might have otherwise been a sometimes silly, most of the time studied account of the backwood folks that apparently live in the hills outside of New Jersey. The site of an old steel town that allows the town resting below it to feel like it's stuck in the mid-70's, Cooper is clearly paying homage to the films of that era (namely Deer Hunter), this is where the story is set circa 2008, right around the time Obama was elected President and this little statement is used (as Killing Them Softly not-so subtly stated last year) to re-enforce the state of the economy at that time. All of this is effective in building the atmosphere and setting the tone for a film that knows who its characters are, where they've come from, but more importantly what little they likely have to look forward to and Cooper lets the weight of the narrative rest on their shoulders rather than the twists and turns we might expect from the more plot-driven revenge film that this has been made out to be in the marketing. Out of the Furnace isn't necessarily an exceptional film, but it provided a substantial amount of thought-provoking ideas in terms of the mentality of man in a remote region and the reasoning for a life that seems more simple than most would like to even consider. No, there is nothing exceptional here, but it is a solid film nonetheless with both Bale and Casey Affleck giving audiences something to remember it by.

LEE DANIELS' THE BUTLER Review

Though not initially overcome with excitement for this project the good word of mouth and box office success increased my interest in the latest from director Lee Daniels. This lack of excitement doesn't come from anything more than the fact I didn't really enjoy Daniels' last effort, The Paperboy. I completely expected to be intrigued by that film as it seemed a modern film noir with plenty of genre elements at play with solid actors like John Cusack and Nicole Kidman doing interesting work, but instead it was a disjointed mess of a movie that not even the renaissance of Matthew McConaughey could bring out of the gutters. With The Butler Daniels has decided to take on a different beast entirely and tell a historical drama but from the point of view of a quiet perspective, someone who stood in the rafters and saw time pass, decisions be made and did little on his own accord to influence those decisions other than simply be who he was. That he continued to fill a subservient position for such a period of time did more to change the hearts of those he never imagined and seemingly much more than the countless sit-ins and protests that we hear about when schooled on the civil right movement. While Lee Daniels' The Butler is littered with stars, recognizable faces, names and historical events it is first and foremost the story of a man not many knew of before this film shined a light on and Forest Whitaker does a superb job of bringing that mans story to life. Add in the elements of his oldest son taking the opposite route and becoming entangled in those events we now recall with shame as played by up and comer David Oyelowo and an imperfect marriage that is only come to be appreciated in the correct way with the necessary passing of time and perspective as portrayed so effortlessly by Oprah Winfrey and you at the very least have a very engaging, very interesting film. Just because a movie is "based on a true story" (which if you do a little reading, you'll find much of this film has been manufactured) though and concerns an exceptional human being doesn't mean the film based on he or she will come out the same way. Lee Daniels' The Butler is not a great film necessarily, but it is a good one and yes, an important one.  

First Trailer for OUT OF THE FURNACE

Out of the Furnace wasn't really on my radar until just recently when production stills began to be released, followed by the poster and today we have the first trailer for the film which comes from director Scott Cooper. I am a big fan of Cooper's directorial debut Crazy Heart and while this sophomore effort looks to tackle the same type of people geographically it also seems to come with a completely different tone and a story that has several layers of topics it intends on tackling. This on top of a stellar cast that features Christian Bale in the lead lends serious expectations to the film. Bale looks to be the perfect balance of brooding and genuine as Russell Baze, a steel worker, who is forced into a vengeance mission when his brother (Casey Affleck) goes missing after getting involved with the likes of Woody Harrelson who runs a crime ring that deals with some intense hand to hand combat. Harrelson may very well steal the show in what looks to be a downright evil role while supporting players at the caliber of Willem Dafoe, Forest Whitaker, Sam Shepard and Zoe Saldana only lend to what looks like an intense drama filled with thrilling moments. Though I wasn't aware of the film (and its potential for greatness) until just recently it has quickly jumped to one of my most anticipated films this fall and as it looks to have more atmosphere, raw style, and several great performances in a single film as any other upcoming Oscar-bait (here's looking to you The Monuments Men). Out of the Furnace opens in limited release on November 27th and expands wide on December 6th. Hit the jump to check out the trailer and be sure to let me know what you think.

THE LAST STAND Review

You get what you pay for with The Last Stand and though that may be a generic movie, it is a generic action movie in top form. It earns this reputation largely due to the fact it has the man who defined the action genre at its center. It is a good thing Arnold Schwarzenegger chose this as his welcome back film otherwise it wouldn't be nearly as fun or even been made in the first place I imagine. There has been a good amount of positive press going towards these kind of throwback films to 80's no-brainer B-movies that shoot first and think later. Schwarzenegger has been featured in both Expendable films and though he makes his grand return with this one he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon as he will re-team with pal Sylvester Stallone again later this year in The Tomb. As the first shoot, think later train of thought plays fast and loose with the standard script structure allowing plausibility and logic to fly right out the window, none of it matters as the reason people even go to see a movie like this is not for the insightful story or original storytelling methods but instead to see things and people blow up. There is no shortage of that here as director Jee-woon Kim makes his English-language debut with a film that mixes in tons of over-the-top violence with a cartoonish style that never meshes as well as it should to find a balance in tone. I haven't seen any of Kim's previous films, but despite his lack of story to work with and his tendencies to sway between gritty and silly the guy knows how to utilize his star and he plays that angle nicely. He helps the iconic action star prove he really might be back even if not as many people were waiting on his return as he expected.