New Trailer for TOP GUN: MAVERICK

It has been some time since I've sat down and actually watched Tony Scott's 1986 action/drama centered around students at the United States Navy's elite fighter school who competed to be the best with one daring young pilot learning a few things not taught in the classroom and yet I'm still anxious to see how that once daring young pilot has evolved in what will be thirty-four years since the original. Tom Cruise is obviously reprising his role in the long-awaited follow-up to Top Gun, but after Scott's untimely death in 2012 it seemed the sequel became even more of an uncertainty. It's kind of amazing that everything aligned in order for this film to have come into existence, but here we are with all the music, motorcyclin' and volleyballin' still intact for a legacy sequel in the vein of Creed that will hopefully earn its place along the highly adored original. Director Joseph Kosinski (who worked with Cruise on Oblivion, but also made Tron: Legacy and the severely under seen Only the Brave) has a knack for slick visuals and, as can be gleaned in this new trailer, has seemingly put an emphasis on the practicality of the flight sequences for-even as I watch the trailer on my iPhone-I know without a doubt I have to see this movie on an IMAX screen this summer. Besides the fact it was penned by Peter Craig (12 Strong), Justin Marks (Counterpoint), and Eric Warren Singer (American Hustle), with additional edits by long-time Cruise collaborator Christopher McQuarrie next to nothing is known about the plot of the film and this latest trailer tends to keep things that way. We do know that Val Kilmer will return as Iceman, Miles Teller will be playing the role of the now-adult son of Anthony Edwards' Goose and that Glen Powell impressed producers so much during his initial audition that they created a new, different character just for him. Next to these scant details, this presumably official, but definitely not final trailer for the film merely gives us more of a glimpse at the tone and aesthetic Kosinski has captured as it leans heavily on the familiar imagery that will play on the nostalgia for the original and (hopefully) put the butts in the seats. Cruise seems to be relishing in the opportunity to even make this movie while I'm anxious to see what he does with exploring this character who has seemingly been afraid to move on, but is finally being forced out of said comfort zone by the changing world around him. Top Gun: Maverick also stars Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris and opens on June 26th, 2020.

First Trailer for TOP GUN: MAVERICK Starring Tom Cruise

It has been some time since I've sat down and actually watched Toy Scott's 1986 action/drama centered around students at the United States Navy's elite fighter school who competed to be best in the class, with one daring young pilot learning a few things not taught in the classroom and yet I'm still anxious to see how that once daring young pilot has evolved in what will be thirty-four years since that original next summer. Tom Cruise is obviously reprising his role in the long-awaited follow-up to Top Gun, but after Scott's untimely death in 2012 it seemed the sequel became even more of an uncertainty. It's kind of amazing that everything aligned in order for this film to have come to exist, but here we are and less than a year from now everyone who loved all the music, motorcyclin' and volleyballin' of the original will seemingly be in for another treat as director Joseph Kosinski (who worked with Cruise on Oblivion, but has also made Tron: Legacy and the severely under seen Only the Brave) has included all of this and more in his follow-up. As penned by Peter Craig (12 Strong), Justin Marks (Counterpoint), and Eric Warren Singer (American Hustle), with a little help from long-time Cruise collaborator, Christopher McQuarrie, who was brought in after the fact to work on the script next to nothing is known about the plot of the film, but what we do know is that Val Kilmer will return as Iceman, Miles Teller will be playing the role of the now-adult son of Anthony Edwards' Goose, and that Glen Powell so impressed producers during his audition for the role of Goose's son that they created a new, different character just for him. Next to these scant details, this first trailer for the film gives us a real glimpse at the tone and aesthetic Kosinski has captured and while the imagery is familiar it possesses a modern sheen-especially in the aerial shots that place us right alongside Cruise's Maverick in the cockpit-that give it that Kosinski trademark look. Cruise also seems to be somewhat relishing getting the opportunity to play a more hardened version of this character as this clip hints at a narrative concerning a man unable to move on and a world that is set to leave him behind. I can't wait to see this thing in IMAX. Top Gun: Maverick also stars Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris and opens on June 26th, 2020.

HIDDEN FIGURES Review

Hidden Figures could have easily been one of those films that plays things right down the middle. Mainstream to the max. A standard structure with a likeable cast delivering an uplifting and equally heartwarming story that inspires us all to live our lives in something of a better fashion and to many ends-it is exactly that. That may sound as if I'm coming out the gate reducing the film to cliché via expectation, but it is how Hidden Figures both uses such identifiers to its advantage without reducing itself to those overused thoughts that make it charming while still routine. Exciting while ultimately a little obvious. It is a film with just the right amount of sass and just the right amount of authenticity to meet somewhere in the middle between a made for TV movie and that of a larger budget biopic, but this time with three central characters rather than just one formerly famous person. What Hidden Figures does so deftly is suggest how well-known its three protagonists should be rather than playing off how well known they clearly aren't. That their accomplishments are far greater than anything any musician or actor might be able to contribute to society, but due to the fact their profession is much less attractive (and their circumstances even less so) than performing on stage they seem fated to go down in history with little to no recognition. As these things tend to go though, Hollywood can't ignore a good underdog story, but when this is true in terms of something as large as the legacy of both the three individuals whose lives this film chronicles as well as all the women and women of color that these three stand to represent, such Hollywood reliabilities aren't always such a bad thing. From the director of the safe, but pleasing St. Vincent comes another competently made piece of cinema that exercises its big heart and sentimental streak in ways that are familiar, but that are executed so well and with such strong characters that it's impossible not to find yourself drawn to the satisfying journey Hidden Figures takes us on. Juggling three individual arcs with multiple facets within each and a scope that deals in the space race of the 1960's Hidden Figures is certainly a much more ambitious project than that of director Theodore Melfi's previous film, but one that he handles with assured grace as in only his second feature Melfi has proven he has the rare talent of crafting movies that are unabashedly feel-good while not allowing the saccharine aspects to overstep their boundaries forcing the story and the characters that craft that story to be as authentic as the beats are familiar.

First Trailer for HIDDEN FIGURES Starring Taraji P. Henson

Hidden Figures is going to be one of those late Oscar contenders that most of the country won't get to see until after the holidays, but that the critics will seemingly have been talking about for months-that is, if the movie turns out to be as good as this first trailer promises it is. Based on the little known true story concerning three African American women who worked at NASA in the early sixties and were integral to making the launch of astronaut John Glenn, and his being the first American to orbit the Earth, happen. At over three minutes the trailer hues dangerously close to feeling as if it spills every beat of the final film, but there is clearly a lot of ground to cover and hopefully 20th Century Fox is aware of what it potentially has on its hands here and are thus kicking off this marketing campaign accordingly. As far as trailers go we need to see little more, if anything at all, but rather the film would do best to promote the historical accuracy of the piece and the fact this is indeed based on an incredible true story. Focusing on highlighting the lives and real-life struggles of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson would seem most beneficial as it would not only make audiences aware of the story, but garner interest in these characters. These women, whose calculations were crucial to NASA’s space program, but who still faced discrimination as African Americans and women is enough to get people to the theater without giving away everything the film has to offer. This trailer does a fine job of highlighting why the movie will be worth watching as the leading trio, portrayed by Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monae, look to have strong chemistry with a plethora of solid supporting cast members. Hidden Figures also stars Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Aldis Hodge, and Glen Powell. The film has been directed by Theodore Melfi (St. Vincent) and was produced by Pharrell Williams who also collaborated on the score with Hans Zimmer. The film opens nationwide on January 13th, 2017.

EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! Review

"There's a party down on the corner, do you want to go? They got rhythm, a little blues, and a whole lot of soul. I don't care what you've got to say,  you're comin' with me anyway. We're not here for a long time, we're here for a good time." So go the words of Huey Lewis and the News' 2001 song "We're Not Here for a Long Time (We're Here for a Good Time)" and while Richard Linklater's latest film takes its name from the more appropriate Van Halen track from 1980 the writer/director is echoing the same sentiments as Lewis and his News were in their song. One of the many characters in Linklater's entertaining ensemble even throws out the familiar saying at a moment when we're discovering the drastic steps he's taken to recapture his more idyllic past. An idyllic past is mostly what Everybody Wants Some!! is really about, though. The ability to escape and live in an existence, at least for a period of time, that feels like the perfect mix of being care-free and celebrating that freedom by partying as consistently as possible. This window of unattached existence is what Linklater seems to have deduced brings out the most natural form of who we are meant to be as human beings. In experiencing this type of freedom by simply existing we are allowed to pine for that period of time the rest of our lives as most will go on to conform with the societal structures expected of them. Thus, our idyllic past is created with the key being it must remain that idyllic high point without any attempt to recreate such memories because we all know real, genuine fun can't be commonplace. It can't happen every night and the same thrills remain intact. If humans were to live forever as the characters in Everybody Wants Some!! do over the course of this three-day weekend we'd likely live half as long and grow tired of the emptiness drinking and promiscuous sex with many anonymous partners would eventually bring. And so, what Linklater is slyly conveying is that of a cherished time in his own life; memories that inform the man he is today with the added acknowledgment that it can't last forever, but it's beyond critical to drink in when that time arrives.

RIDE ALONG 2 Review

The first Ride Along movie came out a little over two years ago. I saw that movie in theaters opening weekend, but admittedly haven't returned to the film and never felt any desire to do so (there are much better Kevin Hart comedies out there if you need to fill your Hart quota). Going into this unnecessary, but inevitable sequel (the first earned $134 million domestically on a $25m budget) I attempted to conjure up some type of memory of that first film, but other than the basic premise I had nothing. I couldn't even recall enough to know where they might go with things in this sequel. As it turns out, and if I remember correctly, not much has changed. Hart is basically still at security guard status in terms of how Ice Cube thinks of him and the whole point of the endeavor this time around is so that Hart's rather ignorant and annoying character might prove himself good enough to be a detective rather than simply a police officer. The effort put into story here is almost insulting as writers Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi (two of the four original screenwriters) essentially throw a bunch of clichés at us while having Hart's character try and comment on how clichéd they are by correlating them to the Grand Theft Auto-like video game that he's obsessed with. If you're wondering, yes, playing video games along with the online persona he's created in "Black Hammer" are the biggest character developments of Hart's character that we get. As for Cube, he sticks with the same, stern attitude that hates to put up with his partner's incessant talking, but is somehow okay with this guy marrying his sister and being a part of his life for the foreseeable future. It is this daunting thought that gives way to the epiphany of allowing Hart's Ben Barber to accompany his James Peyton to Miami for what is supposed to be a quick trip to obtain and question a witness. Of course, things don't go as planned and bigger crimes are connected to even bigger crime bosses and you know what beats this thing is going to hit and where it's going from the beginning.

First Trailer for RIDE ALONG 2 Starring Kevin Hart

In January of 2014 Kevin Hart continued his roll of starring in every comedy imaginable and out of all those attempts hit franchise gold in one of them. Cut to two years later and we will receive the sequel to Ride Along. Director Tim Story (Barbershop, Fantastic Four, Think Like A Man-the guy apparently knows sequels) has reunited Hart with Ice Cube and the first trailer just so happened to drop today, on the eve of the release of Straight Outta Compton. The original was average at best, but this time around Hart and Cube are taking their antics to Miami and some of the bits at play here have some strong potential (though I wish they wouldn't have given away as many). The Tyrese cameo, for instance, seems pointless to have in the trailer given he doesn't say a word, but would serve as a nice surprise when they infiltrate the Miami street racing scene (let's just hope Ludacris is on board too). Maybe with cinematic universes becoming such hip things Hart and Cube's characters could eventually team-up with Will Smith's Mike Lowrey and Martin Lawrence's Marcus Burnett, but given we're talking different studios that seems unlikely (I would love to see Lawrence and Hart in a comedy together, though). That said, it does feel like this unnecessary but warranted sequel is trying to emulate the Michael Bay production with the Miami police force aspect that introduces characters played by Olivia Munn and Ken Jeong. Regardless of if this turns out to be utter crap or not, I can't help but laugh at Ice Cube getting angry so I'll no doubt end up seeing it for that alone. Ride Along 2 also stars Benjamin Bratt, Glen Powell, Bruce McGill, Tika Sumpter Sherri Shepherd and opens on January 15, 2016.

THE EXPENDABLES 3 Review

Sylvester Stallone has defied what it means to be restless. The guy is beyond restless, he is still hungry and at 68 that is truly astonishing. You might think he and half of his co-stars in this third flick in the Expendables franchise might be tired of going through the motions and introducing new characters who are old friends with simple backstories, but defy you they will and with The Expendables 3 Stallone and crew have turned up the volume while toning down the blood and the swearing. I will admit to always having a good amount of fun with these movies and never really seeing any need to complain as they know what they are and more or less deliver on what they promise. To that point, I actually enjoyed what I can remember about the second one more than what I can remember about the first largely due to that finale where Stallone along with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis lined up and just gave us what we desperately hoped the first would deliver, not to mention the hand to hand combat showdown between Stallone and Jean Claude Van Damme. I appreciated the mixing of Stallone's mentality with Jason Statham who more or less is leading a new wave of action heroes today. These were elements we are meant to enjoy because of what they represent within the context of pop culture society and so I was at least appreciative for the countless winks and nods, the bad dialogue and the blood that spewed everywhere because that's what audiences wanted and that's what this mixed bag of knitty-gritty 80's stars and newly relevant tough guys planned to deliver. As we come to the third chapter in the saga though it is as if you can feel the toll the last two adventures have taken on our aging actioners no matter how much they try to mask it. The new rating wipes out a lot of the more honest aspects of what kind of relationships exist in a large group of all men and it certainly takes the CGI blood down a few notches (now there's just impact sounds!), but the elements of a large cast and a big action scene every now and then are still here, but the energy is clearly stalling.