First Trailer for THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE Starring Miles Teller

The first trailer for Universal Pictures and DreamWorks'  film adaptation of journalist David Finkel's non-fiction book Thank You For Your Service has premiered and it seems Miles Teller will be gunning for some awards contention this year. Whether that will pan out or not remains to be seen, but judging by this first clip from the film Teller is certainly pulling out all the stops to bring a fair amount of gravitas to this story of the modern soldier and how Post Traumatic Stress Disorder affects American servicemen and women returning home from war. Adapted for the screen by American Sniper screenwriter Jason Hall who will also be making his directorial debut with the project, Thank You For Your Service looks to serve as a more introspective look at the repercussions of war than even Hall's previous writing effort did. Sniper was certainly notable for the attention Chris Kyle's name attracted, but it always seemed to want to ignore the fact that something could actually be wrong with its leading character and that as strong as soldiers are-they should be able to cope with any issues they have upon returning to a normal life. This is obviously not the case and isn't the truth for many men and women who come home after experiencing the traumas of the battlefield. Thank You For Your Service looks to dig deep into the psyches of these individuals and how they come to view themselves after being forced to do what are no doubt actions that forever singe themselves into one's memory. The vibe the this first trailer gives off as well is key as the soundtrack featuring Rag'n'Bone Man's "Human" relays a very distinct attitude as well as the lyrics working to underscore the state of mind these characters inhabit as the images Hall has captured paired with the music make for a really effective piece of marketing that not only makes me want to see what the full feature offers, but has me hoping I learn more about why PTSD is so prevelant and how it might be combated. Thank You For Your Service also stars Haley Bennett, Amy Schumer, Joe Cole, Beulah Koale, Scott Haze, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Brad Beyer, Omar J. Dorsey, Jayson Warner Smith, and opens on October 27th, 2017.

GREEN ROOM Review

Much like with director Jeremy Saulnier's previous film, Blue Ruin, his latest positions itself as something of a straight genre film with bigger ambitions underneath the surface. With Ruin, Saulnier was keen to allow the audience to piece together the story of the protagonist as he pulled back the layers at his own pace, but the real trick was that he kept audiences transfixed the whole time despite the fact we lacked large chunks of context. In his new feature, Green Room, Saulnier once again works from a script solely of his own doing, but instead of teasing out the challenges our main characters face this time around our "heroes" are placed on the front lines against their very visible enemies-Saulnier standing between them ready to let his checkered flag fly at any moment. This choice to not rely so much on mystery seems to come from nothing more than a need to tell a different story in a different way, but the tendency to want to hold back seems natural to the writer/director as the backbone of Green Room's plot (but not all of its tension) relies on the audience knowing the immediate threats of the situation without knowing what originally put these events in motion. It's a keenly crafted screenplay that tends to get slightly redundant near the end despite its already slim running time. That said, the main objective for the multiple protagonists is never unclear and the conspiring reasons they find themselves in the situation along with several other factors that come to be of critical importance are introduced in a sharp fashion. It is not the storytelling that will fascinate here though, but rather the way in which Saulnier and his team are able to balance the downright horrific nature of what unfolds in front of us while keeping the tone that akin to something of an eighties era slasher. There is a heft, an integrity even to a number of characters and events, but there is also a very knowing tone, a sarcastic or rather a very punk attitude to the whole affair that elevates what is essentially a hostage thriller to that of a true rebel among its genre trappings.

First Red-Band Trailer for GREEN ROOM

If there was one film I was most upset about missing at last years Toronto International Film Festival it was Green Room. It premiered on the first night I arrived in Toronto, but I wasn't aware of it at the time and after receiving rave reviews from that initial screening I unfortunately couldn't fit any of the other screening times into my schedule. Given how some of the films I did see have panned out I wish I would have seen Green Room instead, but oh well-what can you do? The good news is that A24 (a serious studio to watch if you haven't already noticed) acquired the distribution rights for the film and will be releasing it this spring. Given they also acquired the much buzzed about horror film The Witch (which I did see at TIFF, but wasn't as crazy about as I'd hoped) and are giving it a wide release in two weeks its clear why the promotional campaign for Green Room is beginning to ramp up now. About a young punk rock band who find themselves trapped in a secluded venue after stumbling upon a horrific act of violence this first red-band trailer certainly gets across the tone of confusion and bloodshed that seem to make this horror film as hip as many have claimed it to be. What I look forward to most is seeing how the film upends many of the tropes of the horror genre while still committing to each of them. Written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier who burst onto the scene a few years ago with the transfixing Blue Ruin I'm anxious to see his follow-up and if it meets the hype that has surrounded it for months now. Green Room stars Patrick Stewart, Anton Yelchin, Alia Shawkat, Callum Turner, Joe Cole, and opens in New York and LA on April 15th before expanding on April 29th.

SECRET IN THEIR EYES Review

There was a time when something like Secret in Their Eyes would have reigned supreme at the box office and likely been heralded as something of a dramatic force of nature that was brought to it's emotional edge by three daring lead performances. There was a time when both Julia Roberts and Nicole Kidman could have played these same roles in this same movie and it would have been a lot buzzier a film with bigger box office returns based off their names alone (more, of course, for Roberts as Kidman has never been much of a big money movie star). Unfortunately for Roberts this is not the world we live in anymore. Instead, we live in a world where the best hope you have of becoming something even resembling a cultural phenomenon is if you're based off a comic book, young adult literary series, or have any other type of brand recognition/nostalgia factor you can tap into. When it comes to purely adult dramas like Secret in Their Eyes though, chances are slim of anything greater coming of your efforts unless you have David Fincher behind the camera. All of that said, this is a movie that is just fine. There are moments of potential greatness, of truly riveting material and the three leading performances, including a heartbreaking psychological exploration of the struggle for atonement in Chiwetel Ejiofor's character, that more than deliver, but there is nothing about the film that feels exceptional by the time the credits begin to roll. Instead, writer/director Billy Ray (who's written The Hunger Games, Captain Phillips and the 2009 State of Play adaptation, but hasn't directed a film since 2007's Breach) has taken director Juan José Campanella's 2009 Argentinian film of the same title that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film (which I have not seen) and has adapted it for American audiences in a way that makes it feel more procedural than it should be given the emotional resonance of the situation at hand while never feeling as urgent or compelling as the original must have been to garner such praise.

First Trailer for SECRET IN THEIR EYES

I love movies like this, but they are of course more appealing as I get older. As Hollywood pundits grow more and more jaded with the onslaught of action and super hero sequels that take up cineplex screens though there is certainly a need to acknowledge and appreciate films like the somewhat awkwardly titled Secret In Their Eyes. In what feels like a 90's drama that might have starred Harrison Ford and Jodie Foster that looks to bury itself in the murder mystery genre this remake of a 2009 Argentinian film of the same name is the type of entertainment we get from staying in on a Friday night and watching an episode of 48 Hours. There is no rhyme or reason as to why such a subject or story should elicit such enjoyment, but more a reaction and that is where this film will capitalize as well as doing so commercially with its exceptional cast. Julia Roberts and Chiwetel Ejiofor are FBI agents who find themselves in the midst of the event that will mark everything before and everything after in their lives. In a case where Roberts character finds her daughter murdered it is both agents inability to let the case go after being unable to bring the killer to justice that will push them both to operate outside the law. Adapted and directed by Billy Ray (who's written The Hunger Games, Captain Phillips and the 2009 State of Play adaptation, but hasn't directed a film since 2007's Breach) this first trailer hints at a strong adult thriller with even stronger performances that will offer solid counter-programming from the aspiring (and likely inspiring) Oscar contenders with something purely interesting on a mature level. Secret In Their Eyes also stars Nicole Kidman, Dean Norris, Michael Kelly, Lyndon Smith, Joe Cole, Don Harvey and opens on October 23rd.