First Trailer for A QUIET PLACE PART II

Happy New Years! To celebrate, as promised, Paramount has released the full trailer for John Krasinski’s upcoming sequel, A Quiet Place Part II. The what-is-suspected-to-be unnecessary sequel picks up right after the events of the first film and follows the Abbott family as they venture into the unknown and discover that there are more than alien monsters threatening their lives. I act cynical, but have enough goodwill for both Krasinski and his wife/star Emily Blunt that I'm rooting for them to pull this off. As for the trailer itself, Krasinski immediately shows off that he still has the goods with what looks to be a single take trip through the small town where the Abbott family lived on the day this alien invasion began as the shot concludes with as harrowing a moment as could seemingly be conjured. From here, we are brought into the moments immediately following the events of the first film AKA the moments when Blunt's now widowed Evelyn is attempting an escape from their once safe quarters with her two older children (the returning Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe) and new infant which seems to instantly prove more difficult than expected. It's difficult to tell where exactly Krasinski is taking these characters in this new film (he is solely credited as the screenwriter with others only receiving character credits) though this teaser would suggest that the other humans outside of the world of the first film will be just as much the enemy of our heroes as the aliens are. I'm also somewhat cautious to be too "in the bag" for this sequel due simply to the fact that the first film came out of nowhere and was successful largely due to the hook of its elevator pitch yet this first trailer for the second film shatters the core of that pitch by having more dialogue in its two minutes than the entirety of the first film featured; the fear being this film will inevitably become a riff on something akin to The Walking Dead or Spielberg's War of the Worlds than it will be an equally clever take on the same premise of the first film. Again, I'm rooting for it, but I would be lying if I said there wasn't some serious hesitation towards the film especially considering A Quiet Place was one of my favorite films of 2018. All shall be revealed shortly as A Quiet Place Part II opens on March 20, 2020 and also features supporting turns from the likes of Cillian Murphy and Djimon Hounsou.

HONEY BOY Review

"The only thing my father gave me of any value was pain...and you want to take that away?" 

As someone who is less than a year younger than Shia LaBeouf and grew up watching Even Stevens there was no doubt that Alma Har’el’s Honey Boy was going to be something of an emotional endeavor; a deeply moving experience that would both be reminiscent of while also completely unraveling this element of my early teen years that created nothing but fond memories. This is obviously an extremely personal piece and it's tough sometimes to criticize as much, but thankfully there's little need for that here as LaBeouf relays exposure therapy sessions that helped him work through the trauma caused by his relationship with his father during a specific point in time in a way that pieces together both how he grew into the person he's become as well as exploring how he's moved past it. It's cathartic, sure, but for viewers who can remember how naturally funny and flat-out talented LaBeouf came across in that Disney channel show, Honey Boy also serves as this honest, unguarded piece of insight into the pain behind that comedy.

The film goes back and forth between LaBeouf's time as a child actor (referred to as Otis in the film), when he was living in a motel with his father who would come to set and run lines with him, and the post-arrest version of LaBeouf (Lucas Hedges) as he attempts to immerse himself in this treatment that has him repeating these stories that scarred him until they don't hurt anymore. As played by Noah Jupe, twelve year-old Otis adores his father and seeks his affection unabashedly yet his father, James (LaBeouf), has no real idea what it means to be a good dad or role model; instead James simply dismisses any display of emotion with a distant, "wipe your face, Otis. Don't cry in front of me." It's devastating, but so is most of what we see depicted in the film. Jupe's younger Otis is dealing with this father figure who wants to be good to him, wants to be there for him, but isn't good for his development in any sense of the word (his dad nonchalantly offering him cigarettes and booze at the age of twelve) and it seems Otis understands this, but doesn't know another way to navigate what he's experiencing other than to go along with it. There are key lines that stand out as pure truth that one can tell stuck with LaBeouf from his childhood as well, things such as his father resorting to bragging about the sound of his own piss hitting the toilet. Moments when there aren't really words to describe the amount of tragedy being experienced and within many of these scenarios LaBeouf paints one simply has to let the heartbreak wash over them while knowing this little boy has comes out the other side and is doing better. Alex Somers' fantastic score also helps considerably in allowing said tragedy to flow over and around the viewer rather than overwhelm them.

FORD V FERRARI Review

Ford v Ferrari is what one would call a well-rounded picture. Meaning, that it is wholly and completely a feel-good movie while also carrying a significant amount of weight. In other words, it will break your balls and your heart at the same time. It is big, flashy and somewhat indulgent large-scale studio filmmaking in the most classic sense of the idea as director James Mangold (Walk the Line, Logan) casts two larger than life personalities to portray two larger than life personalities against the backdrop of an historical event that is globally appealing yet couldn’t feel more American at its core. This is somewhat ironic given the type of racing Matt Damon’s Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale’s Ken Miles are seasoned in and the kind the Ford Motor Company is interested in engaging in is far more popular in the rest of the world than it is the United States, but like I said...well-rounded. While Ford v Ferrari boasts an impressive ensemble cast and truly immersive racing sequences that sometimes almost literally put you in the driver's seat the film is at its best when focusing on those two larger than life personalities and dissecting these men who, in many ways, are rightfully convinced of their own certainty but who take blows to their egos when they have to deal with things they aren’t expressly exceptional in. Whether it be Shelby coming to terms with his fragile mortality, Miles dealing with the bureaucratic nature of corporations as his intelligence and skill come face to face with entitled money and extending even to Henry Ford II (Tracy Letts, who's terrific) as he-someone who has every reason to believe he's in full control of every aspect of his life-is humbled in an instance where he comes to not only realize, but understand that there are things he simply can't understand and will never be able to control. Ford v Ferrari isn't necessarily about the tampering of men's egos and it doesn't aspire to explore the manifestations of as much through these cars and the amount of risk being taken by their drivers, but more it seems to seek to better understand these people through this thing they've given their life over to whether it be out of passion or inheritance. With such strong attitudes and strong points of view on display these characteristics are naturally lent to the film itself giving the entirety of the production this sense of confidence and control; both of which a good movie and a good driver require in order to be successful.

Official Trailer for FORD V. FERRARI Starring Christian Bale & Matt Damon

While Walk the Line was unfortunately released under the shadow of Ray, I always found it to be the more arresting film and have since been a loyal fan of director James Mangold; cheering him on as he made his way through the super hero genre with the character of Wolverine and coming to re-define the genre in many ways with Hugh Jackman's farewell to the character in 2017's Logan. Mangold has of course had his missteps (we won't harp on Kate & Leopold), but I didn't seem to mind Knight & Day as much as most and thought the 3:10 to Yuma re-make was quite fascinating. In his latest, an adult drama in the purest sense of the phrase, Mangold reunites with Christian Bale to tell the story of two men, American car designer Carroll Shelby (Matt Damon) and driver Ken Miles (Bale), as they battle corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their own personal demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford and challenge Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966. Written by Jez and John-Henry Butterworth (Fair Game, Edge of Tomorrow) along with Jason Keller (Escape Plan) with the screenplay itself being credited to Mangold, it's almost surprising a movie like this can still be made on the scope it has and with the grandeur this production seems to entail (this thing looks amazing) while not having been backed by Netflix or Amazon. Rather, 20th Century Fox is breaking out these big guns this awards season as this was originally scheduled to be released this summer, but was pushed back for a better chance at awards consideration. The film will no doubt be touted as Mangold's follow-up to his critically and commercially successful Logan that features two "movie star" names at the top of their games telling a fascinatingly wild story that will appeal to a variety of audiences alike. A film version of these events has been in the works for some time as the story goes that Shelby and Miles were dispatched by Henry Ford II and Lee Iacocca (Jon Bernthal) themselves to build an entirely new vehicle from scratch that could finally defeat Ferrari. This is all to say that while Bale and Damon look to be at the top of their game if the trailer is any indication the true scene-stealer will be Tracy Letts as Ford II as he gets to close out this teaser in pretty fantastic fashion. Ford v Ferrari also stars Caitriona Balfe, Josh Lucas, Ray McKinnon, Noah Jupe, and opens on November 15th.

A QUIET PLACE Review

There is a lot to say about A Quiet Place, the third directorial effort from John Krasinski (The Office) starring real-life wife Emily Blunt in their first on-screen collaboration (and as a married couple no less), but more than anything this is a movie that encapsulates the equal amount of unexpected fear as compared to the expected amount of joy that comes along with becoming and being a parent. It is something society doesn't often prepare you for and that you don't hear much about when embarking on this particular chapter in your life. People tell you how it will change your life, certainly, and how it will do so for the better as well as how tough things will be at different times for different reasons, but no one ever seems to warn expectant parents just how much fear will encompass their lives and in what are otherwise seemingly normal of situations. This isn't what A Quiet Place is about outright, but as the father to a three year-old daughter that is what A Quiet Place is most explicitly about to me. It is a summation and tense execution of what it feels like to solely be responsible for the lives of those that are dependent upon you whether they see it that way or not; they simply expect you to be there for them because that has always been your role without a second thought to the worry and fear that role might encompass and carry. A child's perspective is difficult to re-adjust to the point they understand the full spectrum of various emotions we as human beings are capable of experiencing, but there is something inherent when becoming a parent where your brain automatically switches to all-of-a-sudden be weary of any potential dangers to your child while at the same time coming to the realization your strengths and abilities might not be enough to protect them from whatever the world throws at them. Granted, A Quiet Place is this times fifty-seven and represents the worst-case scenario of what are most of the time internalized fears, but that is what makes the film so effective and ultimately, so moving. At the center of the story is a family unit that has been fractured by grief in the midst of having to adjust to this new way of life thanks to an extra-terrestrial threat whose origins remain a mystery sans some quick glances at a few newspaper clippings, but the context doesn't matter as much as the concepts that bound forth from its simple, but intriguing premise. Through all of this, Krasinski hones in on what makes the premise work so well, that being the grief, necessary coping, and inherent fear that inevitably comes with making ourselves vulnerable enough to care so much about others. Realizing these emotions and this feeling of need to protect and shelter those you are responsible for even when you have no idea how you might accomplish as much into a tight, ninety-minute actualization that will have you holding your breath and remaining as still as the reflections we see on screen.

First Trailer for George Clooney's SUBURBICON Starring Matt Damon

After the first round of films slated to play at the Toronto International Film Festival were announced on Tuesday it quickly became more clear what the fall release schedule might look like as well as giving a clearer picture on who the awards contenders could potentially be come the end of the year. That said, George Clooney's latest directorial effort, Suburbicon, will be making bows at both TIFF and Venice, but what kind of role it will play in the eventual awards season is yet to be determined. Fashioned after a screenplay originally written by the Coen brothers Clooney, along with co-writer and producer Grant Heslov, apparently decided to take this in a darker direction rather than the more satiric one the Coens had in mind. The story of Suburbicon takes place in the late fifties and follows husband and father Gardner Lodge (Matt Damon) who must navigate his seemingly peaceful and idyllic suburban community’s dark underbelly of betrayal, deceit, and violence. In what is billed as a tale of, "very flawed people making very bad choices," the trailer certainly lives up to that description as Clooney's trademark gallows humor and classic aesthetic drip off every frame of this thing. I kind of adore the way in which Clooney consistently returns to this time period that has been so affected by nostalgia and those rose-tinted glasses that everything is now seen through this sheen of perfection and sparkling white teeth. Of course, the truth is, there was a lot wrong with America and the state of many a social issues at that time that were so swept under the rug it only seemed as if everyone was happy with the ways things are going. As we human history has learned time and time again when you bottle up something for too long the inevitable explosion to come will likely be worse than had we simply decided to address things head on. Suburbicon looks to be a tale of one of those moments in time when everything boiled over and the anger could no longer be contained. That said, it also looks like a really fun time at the movies and Damon looks to give a knock-out performance returning to a form he hasn't visited in some time. I'll certainly be making a point to see this at TIFF and hope it turns out to be as great as it has the potential to be. Suburbicon also stars Julianne Moore, Noah Jupe, Oscar Isaac, Glenn Fleshler, Megan Ferguson, Jack Conley, Steve Monroe, and opens on October 27th, 2017.