New Trailer for CATS

Universal Pictures has released a new Cats trailer and, well, I'm sure based on the reaction to the first trailer you can guess how things went down with this one. What's crazy to me is, that despite remembering very vividly having a VHS tape of the stage production and very vividly recalling watching certain pieces of it, I have no idea what the Broadway musical is about much less whatever Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) and his collaboration with Lee Hall (Billy Elliot) on the screenplay might amount to. Whatever it might be, bad or good come the end of the day, an ambitious take on the long-running production seems to be what we're in for at the very least; and if there's genuine emotion and clear desire to make something real out of what is clearly a silly premise-I can get down with that. The ultimate thing is, despite the online backlash over the look of the titular characters (instead of using makeup to make the actors look like cats, Hooper and co. utilized new performance-capture technology to create entirely CG felines), I don't personally find it that distracting. I mean, c'mon-the now highest grossing movie of all time features a talking raccoon and a giant purple hero eater as its antagonist. Like that film, Hooper's Cats boasts a star-studded ensemble led by Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, and Taylor Swift and it is with musically inclined names such as these combined with the fact Hooper has more than a little experience in the musical genre (he also directed the Hugh Jackman/Russell Crowe Les Miserables) that one is led to believe there might be some genuinely cool ideas and effortlessly strong executions within this puzzle of a premise. And say what you will, but the production design here is kind of jaw-dropping while the clips of the musical performances we see look to be really well done, so why all the fuss? Is it simply because it's CGI cats doing these things? Sure, I get it, but if that's the only case against it yet the Broadway musical has somehow managed to be a long-running hit I have to imagine there is an audience out there who isn't as bothered by as much as the community on the internet who is ready to damn this thing to hell before it even arrives seems to be. I wouldn't say I'm necessarily excited to see Cats, but I'm certainly intrigued and not going to not see it based purely on the fact the character designs make me feel uncomfortable. I tend to appreciate Hooper's aesthetics and "on-the-ground" mentality meshed with the larger than life prowess of his visuals and I can only think that will be ratcheted up to eleven on this one. Cats also stars Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Ian McKellen, Rebel Wilson, Francesca Hayward and opens in theaters on December 20th, 2019.

FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW Review

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw is a movie where, in the breadth of a single scene, we are witness to a character stating that, "humanity's hate for itself is greater than its self-preservation" alongside another piece of dialogue that goes something like, "genocide, smenocide." This is to say that Hobbs & Shaw very much knows what it wants to be with the question being if by the end of its mammoth two hour and seventeen minute runtime it actually has become what it wanted to be. One might interpret these two opposing lines of dialogue (spoken by the same character, I might add) for a film that wants to have its cake and eat it too by being both a serious action film that in fact takes itself seriously while injecting consistent moments of humor with the obvious outcome being that the latter then also consistently undermines the former, but what sets Hobbs & Shaw apart from its Fast & Furious brethren is that, from the get-go, it's apparent this thing doesn't take itself serious at all-in any regard-and so, when a character does begin spouting philosophical verbiage as Idris Elba's Brixton Lore does from time to time he does it with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek. It only seems natural this would be the case in a movie where both Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham play what are more or less heightened versions of their own public personas whilst The Rock takes down a helicopter with his bare hands and Statham shows off his Wing Chun kung fu, karate and kickboxing skills to the extent that if he and director David Leitch (John Wick, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2) don't team-up for a martial arts-heavy film series to jump-start the next phase of Statham's career I will be sorely disappointed. As the ninth film in the series, but the first spin-off it only feels like the natural evolution for Hobbs & Shaw to be as outlandish and self-aware as it is and in following through on these instincts in every situation and not attempting to get too caught-up in plot, basing anything in anything resembling reality, or details such as logic and physics Leitch and his crew end up delivering exactly what audiences are looking for from this type of summer blockbuster. Keeping a keen eye on character and an even tone with the humor and its balance with the legit action Hobbs & Shaw maintains the emphasis on character being most important as that's what brought us here in the first place while the delivery of tight fight choreography and colossal action set pieces is what convinces us that not only should we continue to care about and invest in these characters, but that the creative forces behind the scenes care about them too...and that's ultimately what allows Hobbs & Shaw to succeed at becoming exactly what it wanted to be. 

First Trailer for FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW

A spin-off of The Fast and the Furious franchise that might have simultaneously broken-up the Furious family, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw sees Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's US Diplomatic Security Agent Luke Hobbs forming an unlikely alliance with Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw. The two had some electric chemistry when they were finally allowed to face one another on screen in 2017's The Fate of the Furious, but no one expected-least of all Vin Diesel and (apparently) Tyrese Gibson-said chemistry to result in an actual stand-alone movie where the hardened secret agent and former villain would team-up to fight what I can only assume is Idris Elba's baddie, Brixton, who no doubt has some nefarious plot to steal a valued piece of technology. Hot off the success of Deadpool 2, the film is directed by David Leitch (John Wick) with a script by Chris Morgan, the franchise’s screenwriting architect since Tokyo Drift. I'm going to be honest, I've kind of fallen hard for this franchise and I need a new chapter in this ever-expanding series of increasingly ridiculous films every couple of years and when I don't see as much coming to fruition it makes me very sad. I'm happy Johnson and Statham are able to collaborate further and have some fun with this spin-off and I sincerely hope it helps boost Johnson's floundering financial reputation (Rampage and Skyscraper were not great for his brand) while only continuing to prove what a global star Statham is (The Meg was no joke), but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the littlest bit upset that Hobbs' side excursions will be keeping him from the penultimate chapter in the main Fast and the Furious series of films if it is to remain true that Diesel and the gang call it quits after Fast 10. Only time will tell how as much pans out, but for now Leitch, Johnson, and Statham seem to have crafted more than a worthy distraction. Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw also stars Vanessa Kirby as Deckard’s sister, Hattie, along with Eiza González, Eddie Marsan, and opens on August 2nd, 2019.

MOLLY'S GAME Review

Molly's Game begins with a prologue of sorts that efficiently and eloquently establishes who this woman is, where she comes from, what type of person her nurturing has led her to be, and how she is unable to approach anything without learning every aspect of it and giving it her full attention. Molly's Game begins as one would expect any Aaron Sorkin-penned script to: with a lot of big words, fast sentences, and overall impressive language that paint a picture of an even more impressive specimen. That's what Molly Bloom, as played by the beautiful Jessica Chastain, is here: a specimen. Bloom is an individual who might serve as the best kind of example of our species as she was raised on the assembly line of a father who manufactures exceptionally smart and athletically trained children; Molly being abruptly spit out into the real world when an injury sets her Olympic career back. That said, she has issues of her own and while most certainly stem from that overbearing and overly critical nurturing she received from her father (Kevin Costner) some can still be attributed to the nature of Bloom and who she grows to be as an individual outside of her father's control. This is all to say that Molly's Game, as it begins and as it continues to show us the layers and intelligence of its complex protagonist throughout, is a fascinating character study and peek behind the curtain into a world many knew existed, but few had any idea the details of or of how it operated. It's only a shame Sorkin's latest on which he makes his directorial debut is lacking in any type of visual flair that might match the wit and research that has clearly gone into the dialogue being spouted. It's not that Molly's Game doesn't look acceptable or even like a big Hollywood production should-it does, but the problem is that it looks so much like a standard Hollywood production it takes away from the exceptionalism of the story being told. This is a story as slick and as insider-y as one could imagine and thus the aesthetic and editing should match in a way that emphasizes as much. Instead, while having no doubt watched countless innovative filmmakers do their thing over the years Sorkin resorts to playing his debut as a series of safe choices that lend no style to a story that is all style. While this doesn't derail the film overall, it certainly doesn't enhance the rich material, character work, and lead performance Chastain has fully lent herself to.

THOR: RAGNAROK Review

You know those ideas that are better in conception that they ever turn out to be in actuality? The ones where the pairing of two things, like Vince Vaughn and True Detective, sound fantastic, but when the reality of it comes into being it only serves to prove that some mediums and personalities just weren't meant to be meshed? Well, for the first twenty or so minutes of the third solo Thor film I thought that might be what was happening. The idea of taking darling indie comedy director Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) and pairing him with the massive machine that is Marvel to bring their most self-serious and most dour hero into the new phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) that might bridge the Shakespearian those ideas that almost felt too good to be true, you know, like Edgar Wright making a Marvel Studios film (which, it turned out, was in fact just that). It was an idea that seemed it might produce something truly singular for the long-standing MCU, but would it be too weird for Kevin Feige and the gang to really let slide? Honestly, I was waiting for the moment over the last two years when the news would break that Marvel and Waititi had to break over "creative differences" but to my pleasant surprise that day never came and today we sit here with Thor: Ragnarok, the best solo Thor movie that has been made to date, the first Thor movie that truly seems to utilize the full spectrum of the character and the world he inhabits and the never ending reaches of the cosmos he can inhabit while also upending many of the story conventions we've come to expect from our super hero epics. That is all, of course, after the rather nerve-wracking twenty or so minutes at the beginning of the film where it looked as if Waititi had bitten off more than he could chew in terms of managing a production the size of Ragnarok while also in the simple splicing together of jokes and story, of tender moments and CGI-filled natural environments where it was apparent that maybe the best choices had not been made. It's a rough start, but this only makes all that follows that much more assuring in its competency. Thor: Ragnarok is slight to be sure, but it is a ton of fun and serves up just enough freshness for the title character and his present situations that it's impossible not to throw your hands in the air and just enjoy the cheeky ride this take on the super hero genre offers.

THE MOUNTAIN BETWEEN US Review

Israeli-born director Hany Abu-Assad makes no apologies for the type of movie he's made in The Mountain Between Us. There is no reason to, either. The film is a handsomely mounted, beautifully photographed, human drama about two people who become stranded with no documentation whatsoever about where they might be. This is a movie that totally accomplishes what it sets out to do, that completely embodies what it is meant to be, and on most levels you have to applaud a film for being as much. It's admirable that Abu-Assad, working from a screenplay by Chris Weitz (About a Boy) who adapted Charles Martin's 2010 novel of the same name, followed this desire to adapt the source material in the vein of this grand romantic adventure tale of old that so willingly commits to the type of movie it wants to be that we honestly don't see much of anymore. Is there room for criticism? Of course, but it's difficult to balance. The movie is inherently melodramatic and rather frail in its plotting in how it documents the passage of time (hint: poorly), but stars Kate Winslet and Idris Elba always look just the right amount of roughed up to still be attractive in that rugged sense that will surely make couples on a date night want to get lost in the wilderness together. All of that said, this isn't a great movie despite having several positive attributes-most being in the sweeping visuals-but when taken on the terms of the type of movie it is aiming to be and given The Mountain Between Us is essentially the most prestigious pile of dopey cheese one could ever create-it works for what it is. It does, it really does. Early in the film a plane flies overhead while Elba's character struggles to shoot off a flare. Winslet's character yells at the top of her lungs, but out of frustration Elba's Ben turns to her and tells her that they can't hear her. "I know they can't hear me! It's just what you do!" She replies. Watching The Mountain Between Us is kind of like that as well; even if you're intelligent enough to know the movie isn't a great movie you keep watching out of a need and/or want to feel something specific and have a certain kind of experience. The Mountain Between Us fills this kind of quota in spades.

First Trailer for MOLLY'S GAME Starring Jessica Chastain

The first trailer for Aaron Sorkin's feature directorial debut, Molly's Game, has arrived and I didn't need to see it to be sold on the fact I'm going to be excited to see this movie. Based on Molly Bloom's 2014 memoir of sorts titled Molly's Game: From Hollywood's Elite to Wall Street's Billionaire Boys Club, My High Stakes Adventure in the World of Underground Poker the film tells the story of Bloom who was once an Olympic-class skier who ended up running the world’s most exclusive high-stakes poker game for more than a decade before being arrested by the FBI. Bloom's tell-all about her exploits clearly informed Sorkin's screenplay and his interest in the material, but I'm curious as to what about Bloom's story made the famed writer want to take this on as his debut directorial effort. Given it was just announced Molly's Game will be having its world premiere at TIFF next month I will definitely be adding this to my list of must-sees given the film doesn't open until Thanksgiving and will likely be making a strong Oscar campaign for itself if it turns out to be even half as good as its credentials would imply. Providing yet another strong leading role for Jessica Chastain Molly will hopefully garner the actress the consideration she deserved for last year's underseen and underappreciated Miss Sloane (I still need to catch-up with Zookeeper's Wife). Chastain has the support of some strong and seasoned players here as well, but of course her strongest asset will likely be that of Sorkin's words and how he puts them into play as the film not only seems to have been adapted from Bloom's book, but what happened after the fact given the lawyer she is pitching herself to holds a copy of that book. We know Sorkin likes to play with structure as well as with the challenge of being able to essentially convey action sequences via that of long monologues that are anything but tedious. Steve Jobs was one of my favorite films of 2015 and for me, personally, The Social Network is still one of the best films of the last decade and so there is not only a level of excitement, but a level of expectation to Molly's Game that I certainly hope Sorkin can meet. I'm ready. Molly's Game also stars Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Chris O’Dowd, Graham Greene, Brian d'Arcy James, Bill Camp, and opens on November 22nd, 2017.

THE DARK TOWER Review

It seems like there have been rumblings of a Dark Tower adaptation for as long as my memory will allow me to recall, but never did it actually seem as if a feature film version of the material would make its way to the big screen. Well, here we are, the summer movie season of 2017 winding down and the feature film version of what is said to be Stephen King's magnum opus of sorts, his most expansive series to date which now consists of eight novels, 4,250 pages, and introduces concepts and characters from King's many other works that come into play as the series progresses has arrived. The first volume in the The Dark Tower series, subtitled The Gunslinger, was published in 1982 and comprised itself of five short stories that had been published between 1978 and 1981 to which those stories have now been condensed down into a 95-minute, PG-13 would-be blockbuster that never takes off in the way it would seem it was always destined to. Rather, director Nikolaj Arcel's (A Royal Affair) tight, but exposition-heavy film suggests there is much mythology left to be explored, but for one reason or another it was decided the Cliff Notes version was the best way to go out of the gate so as to no doubt make the movie on the cheap and hopefully as accessible for the uninitiated as it would be pleasing to the fans who've been waiting on it for twenty-five years. Sure, the film makes sense in the way that point A leads to point B which inevitably leads to a CGI heavy point C, but never do we feel compelled by anything that's going on, invested in any of the characters taking part, nor-as one of those uninitiated members in the audience-do we care to see the series continue which one might think would have been the key to Sony finally ponying up and making a Dark Tower movie in a current world of shared cinematic universes. Truthfully though, it kind of fails to emphasize this factor at all. In many ways one wants to commend the studio for telling a more contained story rather than baiting viewers with tease after tease so that they have to come back for a sequel to see what they really wanted to see the first time around, but at the same time fans also want to see what they imagined while reading the source material come to life in a good movie and whether or not The Dark Tower is that is what's up for debate. The Dark Tower is not necessarily a bad movie, but it's not very good either. It's very much a middle of the road affair; not bad enough to hate, but not good enough to remember. Let's put it this way: the best thing you can say about The Dark Tower is that it's competent and the worst thing you can say is that it's uninspired.

SDCC: New Trailer for THOR: RAGNAROK Starring Chris Hemsworth

I can't say that I've necessarily ever been excited for one of the Thor movies. Curious, sure, but more than anything I've always been a bit concerned that Thor is where the Marvel universe would surely lose its vanilla footing and their time-tested formula would finally fail them. And to a certain extent this is true; I don't know that I could find anyone who might not agree Thor: The Dark World is one of the lesser if not the least of the Marvel properties released thus far (though Doctor Strange and Iron Man 2 puts up a good fight). Thor has seemingly always received the short end of the hammer when it comes to either scope or director, but Ragnarok is making up for both as not only does the subtitle hint at the time in Norse mythology when the cosmos are destroyed, but Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige have brought in filmmaker Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) who, given the previous teaser and now this fantastic trailer, has brought what seems to be a fresh start to the doomed Asgardian world. It may seem a little contradictory that the film dealing in the end of our titular characters world is also the one with the brightest color scheme and best sense of humor, but that's the main takeaway here. The trailer wastes no time in getting down to business and providing a quick synopsis of the story Ragnarok will offer as one of the first images we see is new villain Hela (Cate Blanchett) destroying the all powerful Mjölnir, Thor's hammer, along with his home world-forcing the Avenger across the universe into unknown worlds and to be imprisoned by unspecified beings that force him to participate in gladiator matches where he comes up against none other than Mark Ruffalo's Incredible Hulk. Needless to say, this things looks like it will easily take the cake for beingt he best Thor film we've ever seen as not only does the whole of the movie look good, but some of these visuals are genuinely stunning and I'm hoping that music is a sample from the score as it's not only unique, but pretty freakin' awesome. I was always slightly concerned we might get an Edgar Wright situation with Waititi, but it seems Marvel has learned a good lesson and I'm really excited and really hopeful that what we'll see on screen will be Waititi's unfiltered vision. Thor: Ragnarok also stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Jef Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Anthony Hopkins, Jaimie Alexander, Karl Urban, Idris Elba, Ray Stevenson, Sam Neill, and opens on November 3, 2017.

First Trailer for THE DARK TOWER

Man, I really need to read more Stephen King. Given the upcoming IT re-make and the fact I've never seen the original miniseries (don't kill me) I feel like I have a lot of King territory to cover. All of that said, I have no idea what The Dark Tower is about or what all the hype is concerning, but I'm certainly interested. That said, this trailer is the first thing I've seen around the material and while I'm not sure I exactly understand why the intrigue is seemingly so great I am naturally interested to find out about this world, these characters, and the story that has captured the imagination of so many of King's readers. Hell, I have three months I may even try to knock out the source material beforehand if I have the time. So, how does this trailer look from the perspective of someone who has no attachment to said source material? Well, it looks fine. It definitely looks like a big-budget summer movie and the fact it gives Idris Elba a marquee role in a potential blockbuster franchise as well as potentially giving Matthew McConaughey one of his more interesting roles in a few years is worth the investment alone. Apparently there are eight novels in King's series and I suspect Sony is hoping this first film is a big enough hit that they might continue to make films and build a franchise around them especially given the studio is now sharing its most profitable property with Marvel and hasn't exactly found any other solid ground in the past few years. With Bond up for grabs this would seemingly only make The Dark Tower series more vital and a fairly large gamble for the studio. Still, what is different about this offering is the fact it will likely be an R-rated summer offering in the midst of PG-13 action adventures and animated blockbusters. The fact it does come from King also leads me to believe there will be a fair amount of horror involved-setting the expansive landscape that features the Gunslinger and the Man in Black apart even further. Here's to hoping filmmaker Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair) can use everything working for him to his advantage. The Dark Tower also stars Tom Taylor, Katheryn Winnick, Abbey Lee, Jackie Earle Haley, Dennis Haysbert, Fran Kranz, and opens on August 4th, 2017.

Teaser Trailer for THOR: RAGNAROK

I can't say that I've necessarily ever been excited for one of the Thor movies. Curious, sure, but more than anything I've always been a bit concerned that Thor is where the Marvel universe would surely lose its vanilla footing and their time-tested formula would finally fail them. And to a certain extent this is true; I don't know that I could find anyone who might not agree Thor: The Dark World is one of the lesser if not the least of the Marvel properties released thus far (though Iron Man 2 puts up a good fight). Thor has seemingly always received the short end of the hammer when it comes to either scope or director, but Ragnarok is seemingly making up for both as not only does the subtitle hint at the time in Norse mythology when the cosmos are destroyed, but Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige have brought in filmmaker Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) who, given the barrage of production stills we saw and now with this teaser, has brought what seems to be an air of fresh starts to the doomed Asgardian world. It may seem a little contradictory that the film dealing in the end of our titular characters world is also the one with the brightest color scheme and best sense of humor, but that's the main takeaway here. The trailer wastes no time in getting down to business and providing a quick synopsis of the story Ragnarok will offer as one of the first images we see is new villain Hela (Cate Blanchett) destroying the all powerful Mjölnir, Thor's hammer, along with his home world-forcing the Avenger across the universe into unknown worlds and to be imprisoned by unspecified beings that force him to participate in gladiator matches where he comes up against none other than Mark Ruffalo's Incredible Hulk. Needless to say, this is the first Thor film I've ever actively anticipated based on the credentials alone and this first look at actual footage does nothing but create more excitement and more hope that what we'll see on screen will be Waititi's unfiltered vision. Thor: Ragnarok also stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Jef Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Anthony Hopkins, Jaimie Alexander, Karl Urban, Idris Elba, Ray Stevenson, Sam Neill, and opens on November 3, 2017.

STAR TREK BEYOND Review

Having never been a Star Trek fan it is difficult to gauge where the new series of films lands when it comes to understanding how much it draws on what made the original series and other features so endearing and loved by so many. With Star Trek Beyond, the third film in the re-booted series and the first not directed by J.J. Abrams, it finally feels like (to an outsider, at least) that this new set of films has found its footing. While I have thoroughly enjoyed the previous two Abrams films they have very much been in the vein of attempting to re-establish the brand and telling the origin of what became the legendary crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise on the Gene Roddenberry series that ran for eighty episodes beginning in 1966. This was all necessary, of course, though Into Darkness certainly could have come more into its own rather than once again feeling like an assembling of parts, but as an introduction to this world and these characters the 2009 version is almost flawless save for some third act story elements that cause the film to trip at the finish line. In saying that this third film has found its footing is to say that it finally feels these characters know who they are and are more assured in their roles (both in the actors playing them and the characters themselves). Much of this has come from being almost three years into a five year mission thus giving us our first glimpse of this newly assembled band of actors in these iconic roles in the midst of actually exploring uncharted areas of the galaxy. It seems, at least from my non-seasoned perspective, that Star Trek Beyond is the film Star Trek fans have likely been waiting on since the credits rolled on that 2009 re-introduction. Written by Simon Pegg and his writing partner Doug Jung (who has at the same time both a minor and major role in the film) and directed by Justin Lin (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift all the way through Fast & Furious 6) Star Trek Beyond is full throttle entertainment from beginning to end, packing in a contained and straightforward action narrative into an evenly paced two hours with interesting character dynamics abounding and even some slight philosophical meanderings to wonder about in the process. In essence, Star Trek Beyond does an exemplary job of compiling every facet a movie such as this should contain and executes them without question or hesitation-the only downfall to this being there isn't anything necessarily unexpected about what we receive. It's hard to fault a film for accomplishing the job it sets out to do and Beyond fills its sci-fi action/adventure quota with ease, but this lack of anything fresh or unique to make it stand apart or on its own is also what keeps it from being anything more than your solid summer blockbuster.

FINDING DORY Review

It has been thirteen years since Disney and Pixar released their fifth feature length film together in Finding Nemo, a movie about a timid clownfish who set out across the ocean to try and find his son. With that film, Disney and Pixar achieved the worldwide domination that the Toy Story franchise thus far had suggested and that Monsters Inc. had more or less solidified two years earlier. With Finding Nemo the animation studio proved once and for all they were no fluke and that their originals could be just as compelling and inventive as their sequels. So now, thirteen years later, we finally have a sequel to one of the Pixar films that both could have remained a stellar single film while also (along with The Incredibles) being one of the Pixar films that audiences longed for a sequel to and would have much preferred over another Cars movie. Has the moment passed though? Even Toy Story 3 came in under the thirteen year mark, but it has now legitimately been a full generation (or two) since Finding Nemo debuted in thetaers. Of course, the answer is no as through the power of DVD's, blu-ray's and the ever-improving home theater experience children and viewers who were once children who now have their own children will continue to watch their favorite Disney and Pixar films no matter how much time passes. I will certainly show my child the magic of Finding Nemo once she's emotionally ready for those first ten minutes, but the point is to say that it was never going to be too late for Finding Dory and more than anything most audiences will be happy to know it's finally here. And so, with that said and with all of that to live up to, how is the actual film? In short, it is perfectly capable. It is extremely sweet and cute in all the right ways. The flashbacks to Dory as a baby with her parents (voiced by Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy) teaching her how to cope with her short term memory loss will absolutely make a puddle out of any viewer with a heart. Finding Dory also succeeds in not being a carbon copy of the original and offers a fair amount of new characters that are also fun, sweet, and cute. As the film draws to its close though, it becomes clear Dory will pack none of the emotional heft that many of the best Pixar films do. While there are certainly moments of great weight and substance in Dory's quest to locate where she came from the overall arc of the film never latches onto a specific idea or theme in a way that through the films execution comes to feel profound. Instead, Finding Dory is a fun, beautifully animated diversion and sometimes that is just good enough.

Full Trailer for STAR TREK BEYOND

Apparently there were a few folks who weren't too pleased with the first glimpse of the latest Star Trek film we received back in December. I didn't realize I guess as I thought it was a fine enough teaser to let audiences know the movie was coming as well as get it in front of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. That's all it really was anyway, being it was still eight months out from release at that point-a short teaser cobbling together what completed footage they had to notify the masses that would be seeing Star Wars that a new Star Trek movie on the horizon. Five months later though, and we've hardly heard or seen anything else about this third film in the new trilogy. That changes today as last night Paramount held an event in Los Angeles where it not only premiered a new trailer but announced that the world premiere of the film will take place at San Diego Comic-Con on July 20th with the world’s first outdoor IMAX screening complete with a live orchestra. All of that sounds good and exciting (though I'm interested if critics will have a chance to screen the film more than two days prior to the films wide release), but I was generally excited for the film anyway given Simon Pegg co-wrote the script with Doug Jung and Fast & Furious helmer Justin Lin was taking over for J.J. Abrams. On top of all that, this second full-length trailer makes the film out to be nothing short of terrific. This is a full-fledged glimpse of what the story concerning Chris Pine's Captain Kirk and his crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise entails this time around. I'm sure we'll here complaints about how Lin and his team hid minority actors like Idris Elba and Sofia Boutella under pounds of make-up, but if the characters work (and Elba certainly seems to be intimidating here) I'm not sure that should matter. Regardless, I'm really excited for the movie and can't wait to see it. Star Trek Beyond also stars Zoe Saldana, John Cho, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, and opens on July 22nd, 2016.

THE JUNGLE BOOK Review

What's the point? That's the question director Jon Favreau and the brass at Disney had to answer if they were going to justify the money and man hours required to bring the visually stunning "live action" version of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book to the big screen some fifty years after the Disney animated version taught generations upon generations of children the bare necessities of life. What would be the point of retelling this story to the current generation in an updated form? What more could they bring to it that children might not elicit from that 1967 original? In short, would there be more of a point to it than simply showing off the technical wizardry of Weta Digital and their visual effects work? The funny thing is, we more than likely remember the 1967 version through nostalgia-filled eyes that cloud our judgment of the actual film. In going back and watching that film-the one I very much enjoyed as a child despite being born in the late eighties-it quickly became apparent there wasn't much substance to the story and that the film was more a collection of little scenes filled with different, but interesting animal personalities that featured catchy songs written by the Sherman brothers and very little more until Shere Khan showed up at the end to create some type of tension. And so, going into this latest version of Kipling's story that would pull from both that source material while being heavily inspired by the '67 film the biggest improvement they could make would be in the story department by crafting a narrative that held a driving force with serious forward momentum and a throughline plot that, at the very least, would add a little more significance and reason to seeing the film in the first place. With screenwriter Justin Marks (whose only prior feature credits include a Street Fighter film and a TV movie) though, we are brought the one thing I couldn't even have imagined to add and that was a cohesion to the thinly connected events of the original animated movie. Giving purpose and connection that take Mowgli (Neel Sethi) from point A to point B lends the film a real ambition making the stunning visuals only more of an achievement.

ZOOTOPIA Review

Zootopia is something of a combination of an analogy for our real world and the hopes and dreams of where we might one day end up-a utopia if you will. In Zootopia everything is indeed perfect and as animals have risen up to become responsible citizens of the planet it is of course, imagined. Still, this world is portrayed as a place where animals have evolved to the point there is no dividing line between the once vicious predators and the meek prey they once hunted, but rather both groups have moved beyond these primitive ways to conduct a society where everyone has the same opportunities and where all species get along with one another no problem. Of course, there are minor cracks of prejudice between certain sects of animals, but these seem to only be apparent in some of the more backward thinking individuals who still hold old traditions to be of an absolute truth. Sound familiar? Disney seems to be making no qualms about drawing the parallels between this imagined world where cute, animated creatures roam free and our own society where we too have trouble letting go of lessons drawn from a world of different circumstance and experience and not applying them to our current cultural landscape. That Zootopia is willing to display such faults is telling in the first place, but that it goes so far to make this desire to return to the old ways of thinking and ultimately existing by some tells even more. With a group of five writers and directors the film is primed to start many a discussions after viewing it as the film itself seems to have naturally come out of many a long conversations between its creators and their staff. If you're one who doesn't care to have your animated films relevant or culturally-charged rest assured the final product is still very much in the vein of what most parents and families will be expecting from the film, but with the added weight of such apt comparisons and broad resolutions of love and equality with acknowledged caveats to each situation there is certainly an added layer of meaning to the proceedings if you care to look.

New Trailer for FINDING DORY

As the summer movie season draws closer Disney and Pixar have decided to share a little more of their follow-up to the massively successful Finding Nemo. Nemo was Pixar at the height of its critical and commercial power and so it is no surprise that as the companies have become more comfortable with the idea of sequels that twelve years down the road we have a sequel to one of their biggest hits. While the teaser we received back in November was exactly that what we have now is a full fledged look into what the story of the film might be as well as being introduced to a few new characters. Pictured above are two of those new characters with Kaitlin Olsen's Destiny (the shark) being highlighted as a childhood friend of Dory's in the trailer. Catch the name? Hint hint. It has admittedly been a while since I've seen the original film and will definitely have to be re-visiting it before seeing this Dory-centric sequel, but this trailer certainly gives off the general vibe I remember from the original with Albert Brooks returning as Marlin and Hayden Rolence taking over as Nemo. We'll be getting Toy Story 4 soon, a sequel to The Incredibles (finally!) and another Cars film (why? WHY?!?!) as well as some original films that hopefully continue to ride the wave of creativity Inside Out created last summer over the next few years, but this summer is all about Finding Dory and, if nothing else, the trailer plays off the indisputable charms of the titular blue tang fish. Ellen DeGeneres returns as the voice of Dory with Michael Sheen, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, Ed O’Neill, Idris Elba, Dominic West, Willem Dafoe, and Ty Burrell also starring. Finding Dory opens on June 17, 2016.

First Trailer for STAR TREK BEYOND

The Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer barrage wouldn't be complete without a look at the latest from J.J. Abrams previous franchise that also started with Star. And so naturally, we now have a quick minute and a half sizzle reel of footage from the latest adventure of the Enterprise crew this time around directed by Justin Lin (Fast & Furious 3-6). Co-written by Simon Pegg (who looks to have given himself a more substantial part) the film is said to follow Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) and the rest of the crew after they get stranded on a strange alien planet, but little more is known of the actual plot. What we can glean from this first look though is that director Lin will bring to this franchise what he seemingly excelled at in the Fast films and that is a ton of action. The majority of the audience for Star Trek Into Darkness was split on really enjoying the popcorn entertainment value of it all while the diehard fans essentially hated the re-writing it did of Wrath of Khan. While I'm not a diehard trekkie I was able to more or less enjoy Abrams second installment with zero qualms. With Lin at the helm and Pegg replacing original screenwriter Roberto Orci (who was originally hired to direct), John D. Payne, and Patrick McKay it seems as if Paramount is keen on changing the direction of where this franchise was headed by giving it a full makeover in the creative department. As much as I really loved Abrams 2009 film and enjoyed Into Darkness I'm really optimistic and hopeful for what new energy Lin might bring to this property and the idea that it will be fueled more by the tone set in this trailer. Star Trek Beyond also stars Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, John Cho, Anton Yelchin, Joe Taslim, Sofia Boutella, Idris Elba,and opens on July 22, 2016.

New Trailer for Disney's ZOOTOPIA

As Pixar has been working to re-establish it's dominance on the world of computer animation Walt Disney's own animation house has been turning out both commercial and critical successes one after another since the 2010 resurgence of Tangled brought the Mouse House firmly into the twenty-first century. Followed up by the likes of Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen and last year's Big Hero 6 the studio looks to continue their streak by going back to a formula that has always seemed to be a reliable staple of children's entertainment: talking animals. With Zootopia we have a world that is being called a "modern mammal metropolis" and features the likes of a fast-talking fox, Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), who's trying to make it big and goes on the run when he's framed for a crime he didn't commit. Zootopia's top cop, a rabbit named Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), is quick to jump on the suspected criminal's tail trail, but when both become targets of a conspiracy they're forced to team up and eventually discover that even natural enemies can become friends. Like with Big Hero 6 Disney's marketing team have chosen to go the route of releasing what is more or less a clip from the film rather than a traditional trailer. The scene we are treated to has a hilarious spin on DMV's with the reassurance that no matter what world we're in it's always as terrible an experience as one can imagine. Zootopia also features the voice talents of Shakira, Idris Elba, J.K. Simmons, Nate Torrence, Jenny Slate, Tommy Chong, Octavia Spencer, Alan Tudyk, and opens on March 4, 2016.

Teaser Trailer for FINDING DORY

The team of Disney and Pixar have had some massive hits, but their biggest in terms of initial box office and adjusted for inflation grosses outside of Toy Story 3 is that of Finding Nemo. It was kind of an odd pick as the story is simple: father searches for lost son. And the appeal was simply the branding of what the studio had delivered previously. Nemo was Pixar at the height of it's critical and commercial power-a kind of culmination if you will. It didn't hurt that the quality of the movie was nothing short of excellent. Twelve years down the road and Pixar has experienced something of a rough patch with originals like Brave not stroking the critical fire as highly as expected and sequels like Cars 2 (why? WHY?!?!) and Monsters University (I really enjoy this one, regardless) doing more or less what people expect if nothing more. And so, while Pixar is certainly on something of an upswing after this summer's smash Inside Out and looks to have another hit on their hands with The Good Dinosaur this Thanksgiving there is nothing better than a safe bet and thus why we are now getting a peak at a sequel that was apparently warranted after thirteen years. We'll be getting another Toy Story feature, a sequel to The Incredibles and another Cars film (why? WHY?!?!) as well as some original sprinkled in there somewhere over the next few years, but today is about Finding Dory and, if nothing else, the trailer plays off the charms of the original's three leading characters in hopes audiences will remember how much they loved Marlin, Nemo and of course Dory to the point they're willing to spend a whole lot of money on them next summer. Ellen DeGeneres returns as the voice of Dory with Albert Brooks, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, Ed O’Neill, Idris Elba, Dominic West, Kaitlin Olsen, Willem Dafoe, and Ty Burrell also starring. Finding Dory opens on June 17, 2016.