First Trailer for THE 355 Starring Jessica Chastain & Lupita Nyong’o

While Jessica Chastain's AVA wasn't exactly the quality actioner one might have hoped for given the actor's pedigreed résumé and reputation there is some (slim) hope that The 355 might be a different approach to the genre. I'm not sure what it was about working with writer/director Simon Kinberg on X-Men: Dark Phoenix that made Chastain want to work with the filmmaker again given her under developed and rather forgettable villain in that final nail in the 20th Century FoX-Men franchise's coffin, but whatever it was let's hope the second time is a charm for these collaborators as both could use some favorable reviews. Honestly, I'm mostly sold on the "stunt" of the movie if nothing else as it centers on CIA agent Mason “Mace” Brown (Chastain) who forms a team that includes rival badass German agent Marie (Diane Kruger), former MI6 ally and cutting-edge computer specialist Khadijah (Lupita Nyong’o), skilled Colombian psychologist Graciela (Penelope Cruz), and a mysterious woman, Lin Mi Sheng (Fan Bingbing) who is tracking their every move. The team gets together in order to retrieve a top-secret weapon that has fallen into mercenary hands or some such boilerplate, but no matter the plot what the movie is going to live or die by is the camaraderie and chemistry this core group demonstrates. Written by Theresa Rebeck and Kinberg this trailer feels pretty generic with a visual style that looks competent and well-made without having a single distinctive aspect to it that would make me sit up and take notice otherwise. This could have been a short clip intended to advertise cars, jewelry, or guns from a company with a large marketing budget and I wouldn't have been surprised, but that isn't to say that's because it would make me want to buy any of those things, but more because a lot of it feels like white noise in the background. It's a "movie movie" in the vein of if aliens came to earth and we had to point out an example of the moviest of movies that ever movie'd this would seemingly be a contender. I have the urge to say just go back and watch Steve McQueen's Widows from two years ago as you probably didn't see as it at the time and it offers a similar all-female team up, but on a much smaller and more nuanced scale. Still, while Kinberg has done nothing yet to separate himself as a filmmaker and this trailer does nothing to sell me on this movie or story other than to say, "Hey! Look at this cast!" I can only hope the final product proves my initial pessimism wrong. The 355 also stars Sebastian Stan and Edgar Ramirez and is due for release on January 15, 2021.

IT CHAPTER TWO Review

IT Chapter Two is a film with great vision, while also being one that lacks focus. This lack of an anchor, or heart-if you will-is the source of much frustration as it's clear director Andy Muschietti has great ambition for what he not only wants his adaptation to be, but represent; this is to be the modern day equivalent of The Shining, a Marvel-esque sized accomplishment in the horror genre, but while the mission is clear and the intent appreciated it seems Muschietti's bloated sequel to his 2017 introduction to the Losers Club bit off more than it could chew. Rather than purely being the twenty-seven year-later sequel it was assumed to be, IT Chapter Two largely operates in a fashion where the first, more endearing chapter, didn't have to exist. It's nice that it does and of the two is the better film, but this is because that movie-while still sprawling in its scope-didn't have to deal in two separate timelines, didn't have to fully dissect the characters, but more just plant the seeds for them and it didn't have to somehow shoehorn in a story about an ancient ritual that would defeat this cosmic entity that we come to know is Pennywise the dancing clown. In other words, Muschietti's predecessor had the ability to focus on its characters in both its heroes and its antagonist while developing the undesirable, but sometimes symbiotic relationship between the two. In Chapter Two, Muschietti and his editor, Jason Ballantine, never find the necessary groove to make everything the film is trying to accomplish flow with the comprehension necessary to lend the film that needed focus, that necessary anchor that gives the viewer something specific to latch onto so that it connects to-if not everything the film is trying to do-at least one thing that will make it feel more personal and therefore more haunting. IT Chapter Two is such a film of fits and starts that it's almost impossible to find any one thing to latch onto at all, but lucky for us Chapter Two does in fact boast a game cast of adult Losers that make the jumbled narrative bearable while Muschietti's visual prowess remains on impressive display throughout. Furthermore, Bill Skarsgård's performance as Pennywise is still gold, but even in this regard the filmmakers don't take as much advantage of the performance as they should-layering in CGI and not allowing Skarsgård's disturbing portrayal to truly breathe. Like a buffet plate that's loaded with everything that looked good, IT Chapter Two ends up a pile of parts with a single bite out of each-nothing fully digested leaving the consumer full, but not satisfied.

MOVIES I WANNA SEE MOST: FALL 2019

Per usual, there are a lot of things to be excited for this fall at the movies. I'd like to state up front that when I say "fall" in terms of movie-going seasons that "fall" will be defined as beginning next week, the first weekend of September, through to the end of the year. This actually makes it more difficult to narrow down my most anticipated releases into a short ten as there are releases the first three weeks of September that I've been looking forward to the majority of the year, but I’ll hold off on those until I actually get to the list. Furthermore, I want to provide some context for this list by stating that the ten movies I’ve picked are the ten movies I would want to see most if I could only see ten more movies for the remainder of the year; if I were only allowed to enter a theater ten more times in 2019 these are the ten I would pick to see on those visits. Sure, there are things like Terminator: Dark Fate, Zombieland: Double Tap, the new Jumanji film and Frozen II that I’m excited for and interested to see for one reason or another, but if I don’t know that any of those would necessarily make the cut if it were an absolute scenario such as the one I'm putting myself in for the sake of widdling down the release schedule to the ten titles I'm actually most anticipating. What I do want to do first though, is go through some of the movies that aren’t going to make my list, but that I think deserve to be highlighted as they have a lot of promise and one can only hope they turn out to be as fantastic as they look.

Official Trailer for IT: CHAPTER TWO

Scoring the largest opening weekend for an R-rated movie ever, then continuing to perform week after week ultimately taking in over $700 million worldwide, the runaway success of 2017's IT gave director Andy Muschietti’s sequel the luxury of an A-list ensemble and plenty of time to develop and shoot it.  Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, and Bill Hader lead the cast of IT: Chapter Two as the sequel picks up with the characters from the first film as adults twenty-seven years later. While not too much is known about the follow-up, we obviously know from the book and previous mini-series that a devastating phone call brings "The Losers Club" back together and back to Derry, Maine. In speaking with Entertainment Weekly Pennywise himself, Bill Skarsgård, stated that, "The arc of the first movie is that he, for the first time, experiences fear himself,” which could certainly mean the character might go in one of two drastically different directions, but it seems rather than sulk back into the darkness from which he came Pennywise will be seeking revenge as Skarsgård reiterated that this encounter with fear, "fuels hatred and anger towards the kids, who are now adults, so I think there might be an even more vicious Pennywise.” And given some of the voiceover in this new, final trailer for the epic horror film it seems this is nothing short of accurate. While I've never read Stephen King's novel and only saw the 1990 miniseries in the lead-up to the release of the 2017 film, these two films seemingly set themselves apart from your typical trash horror flicks from the get-go as Muschietti’s objective is aimed at being more illustrious than is typically seen in the horror genre and in pulling off this level of grandeur really well in that first film it only creates more reason to be excited for what this final product might deliver thematically. Along with Skarsgård, McAvoy, Chastain and Hader IT: Chapter Two will also star Javier Botet, Xavier Dolan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Troy James, Jay Ryan, Jake Weary, Jess Weixler as well as seeing the return of Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Jack Dylan Grazer, Sophia Lillis, Chosen Jacobs, and Jeremy Ray Taylor. The film is scheduled to open September 6th, 2019.

X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX Review

After experiencing the full-on force of a solar flare in the opening action sequence of writer/director Simon Kinberg's X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Sophie Turner's Jean Grey describes the after effects as if feeling like "everything is turned up." One might think this is a subtle way of hinting at the mantra of the movie itself, but in reality Kinberg and Dark Phoenix have taken the opposite approach and scaled things way down in comparison to Apocalypse. And I don't mean down in terms of quality, necessarily, as-let's be honest-the X-Men films have been all over the map in terms of quality over the years, but more simply in terms of the scope. Plus, after the disappointment that was Apocalypse, there wasn't much further down one could go quality-wise. While there was hesitance in approaching Dark Phoenix with anything more than slight optimism (and even that felt generous) given the rumored re-shoots, the attempt to re-tell this notable comics saga, as well as the multiple scheduling changes there was still this glimmer of hope given this was Kinberg's opportunity to finally take the reins meaning there might be some type of newfound energy to the characters and, given where the previous film had left off, some newfound enthusiasm for the world that was being built. And in many ways, this is true of the film as it is apparent from the get-go that Kinberg is taking a new approach to this world and to these characters both aesthetically as much as he is dramatically. In terms of what this fresh approach brings to this X-Men universe is the fact that, for the first time in a long time, it feels as if there is a clarity to what is transpiring-both in terms of the visuals and the direction of the story. Needless to say, Bryan Singer's aesthetic had begun to rely more and more on CGI while his stories felt more based on ideas that were fun in the moment without considering the bigger picture (I'm looking at you, timeline). With Dark Phoenix, there is this lucidity that pulses through the film's veins as it strives to at least try different, more interesting things with the surplus of characters in its possession. As is usual, some get the short end of the stick while others who are not necessarily worthy of the focus receive too much screen time, but while there are some major qualms to be had with Dark Phoenix there are also some serious highs that deserve acknowledgment. As someone who didn't grow up on the comics, but was instead introduced through the animated series and subsequent live-action films, this unexpected swan song of an X-Men film delivers enough of the familiar to make one happy and, surprisingly, enough of a renewed approach that shines new light on oft repeated arcs to make one kind of wish this wasn't the last time we'd see this particular group of mutants on the big screen.

Teaser Trailer for IT: CHAPTER TWO

The success of the first half of director Andy Muschietti’s adaptation of Stephen King's IT afforded him the luxury of an A-list ensemble and plenty of time to develop and shoot this sequel we kind of already knew was happening even before that first film blew all expectations out of the water; going on to score the largest opening weekend for an R-rated movie ever, then continuing to perform week after week ultimately taking in over $700 million worldwide. Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, and Bill Hader lead the cast of IT: Chapter Two as the sequel picks up with the characters from the first film as adults twenty-seven years later. While not too much is known about the follow-up just yet, we obviously know from the book and previous mini-series that a devastating phone call brings "The Losers Club" back together and back to Derry, Maine. In speaking with Entertainment Weekly Pennywise himself, Bill Skarsgård, stated that, "The arc of the first movie is that he, for the first time, experiences fear himself,” which could certainly mean the character might go in one of two drastically different directions, but it seems rather than sulk back into the darkness from which he came Pennywise will be seeking revenge as Skarsgård reiterated that this encounter with fear, "fuels hatred and anger towards the kids, who will be adults in this one, so I think there might be an even more vicious Pennywise. He’s really going after it.” While I've never read Stephen King's novel and  only saw the 1990 miniseries in the lead-up to the release of the 2017 film, this set of films (and maybe this simply comes from the precedent the sheer size of the book sets) quickly established themselves as separate from the pack of your typical trash horror flicks. Muschietti’s approach seemed to carry the objective of being more illustrious than usual and in pulling off this level of grandeur in that first film there is only more reason to be excited for what this final product might deliver thematically. Along with Skarsgård McAvoy, Chastain, and Hader IT: Chapter Two will also star Javier Botet, Xavier Dolan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Troy James, Jay Ryan, Jake Weary, Jess Weixler as well as seeing the return of Jaeden Lieberher, Finn Wolfhard, Jack Dylan Grazer, Sophia Lillis, Chosen Jacobs, and Jeremy Ray Taylor. The film is scheduled to open September 6th, 2019.

First Trailer for X-MEN: DARK PHOENIX

Simon Kinberg, the long-time writer and architect of all Marvel properties not owned by Disney, will make his directorial debut next year by continuing the convoluted storyline in the follow-up to the terrible X-Men: Apocalypse with X-Men: Dark Phoenix. The X-Men films have always held a special place in my heart as I was at just the right age of thirteen when the first Bryan Singer film debuted in theaters in 2000 and ushered in a new wave of comic book movies that would essentially instigate everything that has come along in the nearly twenty years since. In those years since there has of course been the sequels, the spin-offs, and the First Class re-boot that is now having its own trilogy extended as Kinberg will attempt to not only regain audiences trust after the misfire that was Apocalypse, but also re-write the history of the worst reviewed entry in the franchise prior to Apocalypse: The Last Stand. With Dark Phoenix, Sophie Turner's Jean Grey begins to develop incredible powers that corrupt and turn her into...you guessed it...the Dark Phoenix. The X-Men, including the majority of the First Class cast is (somewhat surprisingly) returning for a fourth go-around-including Michael Fassbender's Magneto, James McAvoy's Professor Charles Xavier, Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique, and Evan Peters' Quick Silver-as well as adding Jessica Chastain's villain to the roster which undoubtedly adds some weight to the project, but that's what we thought when Oscar Isaac signed on as the titular villain in the last movie, so...we'll see. What concerns me is the fact that in the comics, and even in that original trilogy of films-no matter how deep your hate for Last Stand runs, we'd had two previous films and some solid character arcs that were explored that granted a genuine compassion and familiarity for Famke Janssen's character. With Turner, we've barely had a single movie to get to know her iteration of the character and so it is with great optimism that I hope Kinberg has penned a strong script and worked with enough talented filmmakers to do justice to this iconic storyline as fans have already seen how wrong this can go once before. X-Men: Dark Phoenix also stars Tye Sheridan, Nicholas Hoult, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alexandra Shipp, Evan Jonigkeit, and opens on February 14th, 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.

Movies I Wanna See Most: Fall 2017

This fall has come to be something of a strange time in terms of movie-going as I was supposed to be attending the Toronto International Film Festival this week, but due to some unfortunate circumstances I wasn't able to make the trip. And so, in lieu of seeing and reviewing some of the big prestige pictures set to arrive this fall I decided to highlight some of the films I was most excited to see for the remainder of 2017. It's been a fairly dry year thus far with only a handful or so of exceptional films some of which include a rather stand-out year for super-hero films with Logan, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Wonder Woman all doing stellar jobs of sticking with me while Spider-Man: Homecoming was a ton of fun if not necessarily great. Still, I know plenty of people who would disagree with me on that point so I can only hope this spells good things for Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League come November. That said, given I was anticipating going to TIFF this year much of what makes up my most anticipated for the remainder of the year are those that I would have been seeing this week with others that I might have had the chance to see falling by the wayside in the wake of mapping out the final three months of the year, but that I'm still very much excited to see. For example, while titles such as Hostiles, Call Me By Your Name, The Shape of Water, and Downsizing are all films I look forward to for one reason or another they didn't make my final cut (though, if the word out of this year's collection of film festivals is to be believed I'll grimly regret leaving Call Me By Your Name out of this list).  Not to be left out, there are certainly other blockbusters that I wasn't able to include on the list either that I'm anxious to lay my eyes upon including Pitch Perfect 3, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, as well as the latest works from the likes of Steven Spielberg (The Post) and Ridley Scott (All the Money in the World). All of that said, let's get into the movies that I am excited to see and see which did and didn't make the cut.

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.

MISS SLOANE Review

Miss Sloane comes from first time screenwriter Jonathan Perera and promotes the idea that to get ahead in the vicious game of D.C. lobbying one has to know their subject. Perera obviously knows his subject. How Perera, who was living in Asia at the time he wrote the screenplay and who only optioned his work to literary agents over the internet before securing a production deal knows so much about the inside dealings of those hired to persuade legislators to support particular businesses or causes is a mystery, but he seems to have done a fair amount of research. Either that or what he feeds us in Miss Sloane is a huge pile of eloquently written BS. Like an Aaron Sorkin script (I haven't seen The Newsroom, but I imagine this might feel very similar) where dialogue is almost more important than emotion Miss Sloane fast tracks the audience through a deluge of day to day activities that a lobbyist at the top of their game such as the titular Sloane played with vicious velocity by the one and only Jessica Chastain might engage in. We are given little time to keep up and even less to really gauge what Sloane and her team are working on as the focus is not meant to highlight what kind of case our titular lobbyist and her team are working on, but more how keenly they are framing it to their client's advantage. While the objective for a lobbyist is the end-game it is the getting there, the journey if you will, that requires the creativity of someone in Sloane's position and the more creative one is the better the reputation they garner in their professional circles despite undoubtedly garnering a worse one among friends. Of course, this is why it is also made clear Sloane has no family or friends to speak of or to. It is a vicious circle of sorts and Perera makes that evident by reiterating the importance of how information is framed by framing his own film with that aforementioned end-game. In Miss Sloane the end-game is a hearing on Capitol Hill in Caucus Room 4 of the U.S. Senate. What is she doing here? What has brought her to this point? What accusation is being thrown around and what does it have to do with her abilities and/or the moral ambiguities of her techniques? Each are questions begged as small increments of information are fed the viewer within the epilogue of the film, but once the main narrative takes over it is easy to forget that framing device and simply go along for the ride which is exactly what Perera would prefer you do as he finds trouble in both sticking the ending and making it credible enough that we don't question how well he really does know his subject.

Teaser Trailer for MISS SLOANE Starring Jessica Chastain

With Telluride just finishing and Toronto in full swing at the moment the film community has begun to receive a better glimpse at what the major contenders might be come this awards season, but surprisingly there has been no mention of recent awards mainstay Jessica Chastain or her film that would seemingly be in contention, Miss Sloane. That is, of course, until now as Europa has released the first teaser for the John Madden (The Debt) directed film that tackles the United States gun debate. Get ready to hear plenty of opinions fly! In this particular evaluation of the debate Chastain plays ruthless and highly successful political strategist, Elizabeth Sloane, who exposes the cutthroat world of D.C lobbyists on both sides of the gun control debate. More specifically, the film follows a new legislation that would require more stringent background checks for gun ownership that is gaining traction in Congress. Sloane is approached to spearhead the campaign, pitting her against the formidable power of her political opponents. Deploying her notorious skills Sloane jeopardizes those closest to her while putting her career at risk-essentially doing whatever it takes to win. The short clip we've received certainly relays the intensity of what that synopsis suggests and what the final product will hopefully hold in store for audiences. Interestingly, the script (solely written by Jonathan Perera) was ranked in the Top five of Hollywood's Black List, an annual tally of the industry's favorite scripts of the year, just last year meaning it has been acquired, found a director, attracted the talent of someone like Chastain and was made in less than a year. In short, the excitement and promise around this one seems to be strong and I can't wait to see what that yields. Miss Sloane also stars Mark Strong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Alison Pill, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jake Lacy, Sam Waterston, John Lithgow, and opens on December 9th, 2016.

THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER'S WAR Review

The biggest fight this unnecessary sequel was always going to battle was the one for purpose. In 2012's Snow White and the Huntsman there was much to admire in terms of visually stunning design and creativity for the functionality of much of those designs, but both the story and the characters felt thin, cobbled together from different mythologies, and thrown together in hopes of becoming a new take on an old tale. With The Huntsman: Winter's War the film once again faces something of an identity crisis-wanting to be a number of things, but never focusing on one single aspect enough to actually be about something. As the first film was an attempt to capitalize not only on the idea of turning well-known fairy tales into live-action adventures, but on swinging the Hollywood pendulum towards more female-centric action vehicles the focus is still very much on the ladies. This is all well and good until you realize that once again this Huntsman film is simply pulling from other stories to try and cobble together a legend of its own to no avail-giving extremely talented actresses nothing to work with. While not a direct sequel or even a full prequel, Winter's War is a spin-off of sorts that encapsulates all of the previous film and intends to add a broader scope and depth to the proceedings. In doing this we are offered a take on recent female Disney characters such as Elsa's Ice Queen from Frozen in the form of Queen Freya (Emily Blunt) and Merida from Pixar's Brave in the form of Sara (Jessica Chastain). Done in the hope that telling a darker, more action packed story would appeal not only to the kids who enjoyed those movies, but to the adults who've likely seen them on repeat and might find it interesting to see variations on such characters in live action form it's a fine enough strategy. At the very least this strategy provides some kind of template for the film to build strong female characters upon, but as a final product the film does nothing interesting with the majority of its characters in a story so scattered and with one too many lulls that even the beauty of both the visuals and actors isn't enough to distract from the weariness of it all.

First Trailer for THE HUNTSMAN WINTER'S WAR

2012's Snow White and the Huntsman was a fairly modest hit, but didn't even recuperate it's budget stateside as it relied on the international box office to reach it's $400 million worldwide total that has seemingly justified the existence of this prequel/spin-off that will center on the second tier character of the Kristen Stewart starrer. A mouthful, I realize, but it has taken much to get to this would-be sequel to the screen. While I initially found it strange that Universal would take this opportunity to turn a Snow White film into anything but a Snow White franchise (especially given the success Disney is having with their live action fairy tales) the studio has essentially cut Stewart from the mix and added two of the more popular female actors working today. While Charlize Theron will return, making the story that Winter's War tells an obvious prequel or coinciding with the previous films events-type continuation, first time feature director Cedric Nicolas-Troyan (who served as second unit director on Snow White and the Huntsman) has also added Jessica Chastain and Emily Blunt to the mix. Having both starred in action-heavy films in the recent past both Chastain and Blunt are more than capable of hanging with the likes of Chris Hemsworth. Hemsworth, who is nicely shaping his resume outside of his Thor roles, looks as if he will bring more of the same here if not his typical balance of charm and intimidation. I enjoyed the aesthetic of the first film more than anything and if nothing else it seems Nicolas-Troyan has been able to keep that visual style intact. While I'm not necessarily excited for the film, I'm intrigued as to where this could possibly take us. The Huntsman Winter's War also stars Nick Frost, Sam Claflin, Rob Brydon and opens on April 22, 2016.

CRIMSON PEAK Review

To preface this review: I'm not the biggest Guillermo del Toro fan. I like his stuff well enough, but I don't understand the fuss around him that has essentially made him a brand. It's easy to go back and say how much you enjoyed Cronos as it was an introduction to the director for many or how great Pan's Labyrinth was because it is in fact that (I still can't see del Toro ever hitting that kind of high again), but beyond his somewhat spotty resume what is there? I thought Pacific Rim was fine, but nowhere near great or even worth the excitement many a fanboy have lauded it with since the films release two years ago that have garnered it a sequel campaign for the ages (will it be made or not?!?!? Ahh who knows!!). With Crimson Peak though, I was intrigued from the moment gothic horror and del Toro's name were thrown together in the same sentence. It made perfect sense, but more it would be magnificent to see something of this genre made in the modern Hollywood system. If there were ever a chance for del Toro to return to the heights of Labyrinth it would certainly have to be in this type of film, right? It's as if the horror genre is ingrained in the way the director thinks-each piece of writing attempting to elicit the horror of whatever circumstances his characters find themselves in with a flourish of the fantastical thrown in to boot. As penned by Del Toro and Matthew Robbins (The Sugarland Express, Mimic) Crimson Peak is an amalgamation of something Edgar Allen Poe might have thought up conveyed in the style of the horror films of the fifties and sixties. It is easy to say that the film could easily fall into the "all style and no substance" category, but it's also easy to see there is a lot going on under the surface here even if the film I saw isn't exactly the one I expected. Given the title seemed to be referring to the colossal gothic mansion that the trio of main characters inhabit I imagined this would be a tale of a haunted family heirloom that held plenty of secrets for the innocent Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) to discover, but while this element certainly plays into the film, Crimson Peak is more about desire and how the nature of such emotion can consume every inch of our being.

TIFF 2015: THE MARTIAN Review

It's weird. With everything The Martian has going on and going for it you'd think it might be more of a straightforward action film, but rather this is a movie about problem solving. Problem solving in the cheesy sense of never giving up, but legitimate in that our protagonists circumstances have him stranded on Mars. These days, one almost goes into a Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator) picture with the expectation of receiving something handsome without necessarily having any sustenance and that reaction has been warranted over the last few years (Prometheus has it's lovers and it's haters, but I'm in the former camp). What makes The Martian different than say Robin Hood, The Counselor or even Exodus though is that it once again sets the director up in what seems to be his most comfortable and inspiring setting: space. In going back to the cosmos, the director does his own problem solving and dives head first into his grand new science fiction film by embracing every aspect that makes up this story. Whether that be in the Mars-based segments with Matt Damon's astronaut Mark Watney or on Earth at the various NASA headquarters with engaging intellects like Chewitel Ejiofor and Jeff Daniels. Beyond having rounded up a stellar cast Scott has more or less crafted his most entertaining film in years by really seeming passionate about the material. Of course, rather than space, this could be the reason all of his films taking place out of our planet's orbit tend to generally turn out for the best. Scott is an explorer, a man who likes his scope large and his stories fairly bombastic. What bigger canvas is there to paint on than space?

First Trailer for Ridley Scott's THE MARTIAN Starring Matt Damon

I picked up Andy Weir's novel, The Martian, a few months back and plan on beginning to read it within the next few days. Naturally, my goal is to finish Weir's book before the film version arrives this Thanksgiving, but while that sounds completely plausible I have a bad habit of taking long breaks in between books. That said, I will at least have a strong point of visual reference once I do begin to read the novel as the first trailer for director Ridley Scott's (Gladiator, Alien) film adaptation has now premiered and gives away slightly more than I wanted or expected it to. Over the last few weeks we have received a barrage of marketing material in the form of stills as well as an introductory video yesterday to the Area 3 crew before the launch of their mission to mars. With the trailer though, we get our first glimpse at the tone of the film and Scott's visual style this time around. I have really relished in his visual approach for his last few films (Prometheus naturally coming to mind) and that seems to have been applied here as well. The visuals are stunning and, without knowing more of the story than what the trailer indicates, the narrative seems to have some exceptionally gripping aspects that I hope push this further than the rather lackluster efforts he's delivered as of late. The guy simply turns around projects so quickly it's hard to see how he can take the necessary care, but at the age of 77 it's likely not wise to argue with then man. The Martian stars Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Donald Glover and opens in 3D on November 25th. Hit the jump to also see the featurette released yesterday as well as several stills from the film.

First Trailer for Guillermo del Toro’s CRIMSON PEAK

I'm not necessarily a fan of Guillermo del Toro’s, but I certainly don't dislike what he has built and what he has going on. He is a director of a distinct flavor more than style and has used his power to bring wider audiences to the likes of solid horror flicks such as The Orphanage and Mama. In his own creations he has delivered the likes of Hellboy and its under appreciated sequel while consistently capitalizing on the artistic and critical success that was Pan's Labyrinth. As I seemed to be in the minority on Pacific Rim (fine, but not amazing) I found myself feeling on the outside of understanding what made del Toro singular in his approach that made his film worth celebrating more than those delivered by the likes of Shawn Levy or Michael Bay. I realize there is more of an artistry to the way del Toro looks at the detail and pulls meaning from his creature designs and shot choices, but I've never seen him as something of the auteur he has been credited with. If he is to prove me wrong though it looks as if he might do so with his latest, Crimson Peak. Visually, the film looks breathtaking and is a teaser in the true sense it doesn't give away much of the story, but only hints at certain dynamics. For not already being sold on the combination of director/star/concept I actually found the clip extremely enticing and look forward to what the film has to offer with the thought of not watching any further marketing items in hopes of making the experience of actually seeing the film all the more thrilling. As excited as I am to see the likes of Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain and Tom Hiddleston in a movie at all it does feel like somewhat predictable casting. Being as great as each of them are though I'm anxious to see them flourish with this material. Crimson Peak also stars Charlie Hunnam, Doug Jones, Burn Gorman and opens on October 16th.

A MOST VIOLENT YEAR Review

As you allow A Most Violent Year to slowly sink in the first theme you recognize is truth. Complete honesty is the way Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) chooses to conduct himself and throughout the entire running time of the film it is difficult to decipher whether or not he is a corrupt man who wants to believe he is good or if he genuinely strives to be honorable. With this kind of reciprocal psychology constantly battling within Abel, Isaac's is able to dig in and deliver a performance that continues to prove his excellence while also anchoring the film with the bigger ideas that director J.C. Chandor (Margin Call, All is Lost) is intending to convey. Within Abel Morales Isaac finds a man who we don't get much insight on up to the point that we meet him. He is an oil distributor, he is attempting to acquire a piece of real estate that will do nothing but expand his business and his control on the market, but to reach this point of seeming solidarity within his business and personal lives he will have to make choices not akin to his way of thinking; choices influenced by the time period Chandor has chosen to place these characters in. In not really knowing the mentality of this character and only having it slowly revealed to us over the course of two hours we are kept in a constant state of suspense with Isaac at the steering wheel taking us only as far as Abel is willing to bend his morality. It is an interesting take on what could have easily been a more Goodfellas or Scarface-inspired film, but rather than make this about the mob or about being a gangster as we generally think of them we are given this idea on what it truly takes to get what you want, to earn real respect. There is plenty to like and admire about A Most Violent Year and its methodical sense of storytelling, but it can't help but feel somewhat scattered in getting the sum of its parts to come together and deliver a wholly satisfying conclusion. Chandor clearly knows what he is doing and is somewhat of a master at putting the pieces in place and building the tension, but it is the payoff where things don't necessarily feel as compelling as one might expect. Given the grace and precision with which he puts these pieces in play I expected more from the third act, but in a film as full of atmosphere and subtly great performances as this it is hard to complain at all.

INTERSTELLAR Review

Where does one even begin? To describe a film as ambitious and overwhelming as director Christopher Nolan's latest is to take on as daunting a task as Nolan likely felt in making sure the science of his script was accurate. I don't know that anything I say in this review will perfectly capture the way I'm feeling about Interstellar because honestly, after three days of thinking, I'm still not sure I know exactly how I feel about it or what I think. I know that I was fascinated by it, I know that there is so much going on within it that I will need to see it again to feel I even somewhat understand it and I know that no matter how much I want to be able to say I either decisively adored or disliked the final product that kind of ruling won't come down until I've had multiple viewings and allowed plenty of time to pass. In this age of instant gratification where first weekends determine whether you are a success or failure, Interstellar offers an experience that demands to be contemplated, debated and seriously considered before ever giving anything close to a defiant verdict. I will admit to my initial reaction being that of pure awe while somewhat corrupted by the fact there were facets that didn't thrill me as much as others; sequences where the film felt it could have been trimmed or was a little too scatterbrained in contrast to the more precise scenes where Nolan is clearly in control of his spaceship. Ambition is key though and that is the one thing Nolan is never short of. Always pushing the limits, not only visually, but within the story, this time backed up by science that places the events of the film within the realm of real possibility. We are asked to make a few exceptions in how far we are willing to go with all we see being steeped in reality, but unlike some issues of the past Nolan and his screenwriter brother Jonathan have crafted dimensional characters that are able to keep the sentimentality in check. There is never a moment where the film regresses from not being one hundred percent about the actuality of the situation at hand and the facts that support it, but it is able to take into consideration what we cannot explain or fully understand and how that might indeed factor into what is best for the characters outcome. It is a genuine mix of heart and facts that meld together over the course of three hours leaving you bewildered, haunted, alarmed and mystified to the point you may not be able to swallow everything you just took in, but will certainly be able to appreciate the intent.