Teaser Trailer for BLACK WIDOW Starring Scarlett Johansson

Though it still feels somewhat odd still that Phase IV of the Marvel Cinematic Universe will kick-off with what is-as far as we know-a prequel one has to imagine that in a decade or so the current generation too young to see these early phases in theaters will pay little mind to the actual order in which these films were released and simply watch them chronologically instead. And so, while the MCU might be making good on some things it probably should have done much sooner with the release of Black Widow next summer it would seem this little facet of the films existence will soon be forgotten in favor of either how good or bad the film is. In this first teaser, Scarlett Johansson's Natasha Romanoff is heading back to "where it all started" in an adventure that would seem to take place after Civil War, but before the events of Infinity War. Maybe we'll find out how she came into that blonde hair? Either way, Agent Romanoff is on the run and returns to Russia where she is reunited with "family" such as Florence Pugh's Yelena Belova, a character who eventually adopts the Black Widow title, David Harbour as AKA The Red Guardian and Rachel Weisz who is said to be playing another Black Widow, but one who has been through the training and active duty cycle numerous times. Cate Shortland (Berlin Syndrome) directs with the screenplay written by Ned Benson (The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby) and Jac Schaefer (The Hustle). If one is to take away anything from this first look at the film it's that the ensemble seems like a lot of fun and hopefully the more grounded, hand-to-hand combat style of the action outweighs that of what Marvel is clearly baking on for their third act which features a multitude of characters falling through the sky while fighting which looks to be...a little silly, honestly. All of that said, it's hard not to be intrigued simply by the nature of the beast, but it will be interesting to see how much the studio, Shortland and Johansson can convince people to still invest in a character they already know is gone. Black Widow also stars O-T Fagbenle, William Hurt, Ray Winstone and opens on May 1, 2020.

First Trailer for POINT BREAK Remake

Confession time: I've never seen Kathryn Bigelow's 1991 film, Point Break, that starred Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in what are now considered classic roles. Even if you've never heard it before, Reeves character name, Johnny Utah, sounds like something from classic pulp lore. Naturally, as it's been nearly twenty-five years since the original Hollywood decided it was time for a remake and so we now have the first trailer for director Ericson Core’s (Invincible) reimagining of the material that stars Lukle Bracey in the role of Utah and Edgar Ramirez taking over for Swayze as Bodhi. Having not seen the original it is difficult to make any comparison on how this seems to measure up, but taking the new Point Break on nothing but its own terms it looks to be a visually stimulating action ride at the very least. Sure, there are a few moments here where I was laughing at something wholly unintentional of being comedic, but that is largely relegated to the stilted and clichéd dialogue whereas the action sequences are captured with a verocity and tone that feels incredibly attractive and practical. Honestly, the whole premise seems a little silly and little more than an excuse to show off some insane stunts, but then again, this may have worked for the original as people seem to love it and again, I'm not sure how much of the story has been modernized for today's audiences. That said, I'll definitely be checking out the original before wandering into theaters to see the remake this holiday season. Point Break also stars Ray Winstone, Teresa Palmer Delroy Lindo and opens on Christmas Day.

THE GUNMAN Review

The Gunman, which takes Sean Penn and does the only thing Hollywood now knows to do with aging male actors by turning them into would-be action stars, has some rather interesting elements to it. There is a clear issue to be addressed here that a news reporter even states while looking directly into the camera at one point which is that of large corporations seeking control of the development of resources in poor and impoverished countries. Where our titular gunman comes into the fold is when America's corporate and government contractors hire mercenaries to knock off Third World socialists in order to protect their profits. The issue here is that the film presenting these issues is neither as compelling nor as important feeling as it would like us to think it is. As directed by Pierre Morel (Taken) the film clearly knows it is a genre film, but even with this approach one would be hard pressed to find anything fun or interesting that it brings to the mix of this current crop of action flicks. As fun is clearly not the game this film wants to play one has to ask what unique or original element it brings to the table and in that regard there isn't much to discuss. Much like Get the Gringo, The November Man or even After the Sunset, The Gunman deals with the standard tale of an aged assassin somehow gone awry after his supposed last job who is looking for redemption as he comes to terms with mortality that also happens to feature exotic locations. Morel can always be counted on for highly-stylized and rather beautifully rendered action sequences especially considering his backdrops, but unfortunately here they end up being more riveting that the story or the characters they serve. As mentioned near the top, there are certainly some interesting elements at play including the overall mission statement of the film as well as the largely metaphorical, but extremely literal medical condition that Penn's character suffers from. It also cannot be argued that The Gunman features an impressive cast with a great mix of acting styles that fuse for some interesting moments, but there still remains a hollowness to the production that is inescapable and ultimately renders the film as unaffecting.

New Trailer for THE GUNMAN

When the first trailer for the new Pierre Morel (Taken) film premiered a few months back I didn't feel inclined to really highlight it given it seemed little more than an attempt by Sean Penn to copy the same success Liam Neeson found in Morel's 2009 thriller. That success only came about as it was different and unexpected, lightning in a bottle if you will that rarely strikes twice (just ask Kevin Costner and Guy Pearce). With the latest trailer for the film though this looks less and less like a generic action thriller and more along the lines of something akin to Penn's 2010 flick, Fair Game. Based on the novel by Jean-Patrick Manchette this seems closer to a man on the run-type story where Penn is dealing with the dynamics of his role in the bigger scope of the organization he works for rather than a simple, catch the bad guys premise. In short, this seems to be a little more complex which is expected given Manchette was a French crime novelist who was credited with reinventing and reinvigorating the genre. It should also be noted that Morel didn't helm either of the horrible Taken sequels and that his keen sense of action and intimate character development could push this past the immediate generic vibe you take away from both the title and the trailer. It is also not just one well known, pedigreed actor in action here, but several. With a strong cast led by Penn who looks on point as a military contractor suffering from PTSD I'm optimistic this could turn out to be better than most are expecting. The Gunman also stars Javier Bardem, Idris Elba, Ray Winstone, Jasmine Trinca, Mark Rylance and opens March 20th.

NOAH Review

If there is one thing I've always admired and enjoyed about director Darren Aronofsky's films it is the ambition with which he constructs them and the innovation with which he operates within these worlds he builds. With Noah, the much talked about adaptation of the Bible story, Aronofsky has crafted what is essentially a mythological epic where our familiarity with the story and characters only serve as the intrigue to why we might be interested in what more is going on in this version. There has been much discussion over the content and the liberties Aronofsky has taken with the story from the book of Genesis, but if anything has been added or changed it seems to only serve the purpose of filling in the gaps of the story that the Bible didn't find necessary to go into detail about. To say that Aronofsky and his frequent collaborator Ari Handel have come up with some interesting theories and ideas within their script is a bit of an understatement. The bad news concerning this is that these sparks of creativity, where the story is allowed to diverge from the beaten path, begin to wear thin after the first hour or so. That isn't to say that the final hour and twenty minutes or so is any less interesting or drags as much of the inherent drama from within the family unit comes into play in these later stages, but it is the aura of those early scenes that stay with you as you leave the theater and the inherent attitudes of the characters that draw us in and make us question their sanity as much as we do our own faith, for better or worse. Noah is one of those films where I expected to walk in feeling one way and walk out with a new perspective on the difference between literal interpretation and what more accurately seem to be these metaphorical stories with implied lessons that influence over seventy percent of the worlds population. My world wasn't changed, my eyes weren't necessarily opened to a new way of thinking as I exited the screening, but what I did have was a sense of that still fresh ambition within Aronofsky. It is clear from the opening moments of the film that the director is still very much in tune with who he is and what kinds of films he wants to make and with as divisive a subject matter as this it is nothing short of rewarding to see that singular voice still come through.

First Trailers for Darren Aronofsky’s NOAH

There has been much talk concerning director Darren Aronofsky's desire to adapt the tale of Noah and his ark for the big screen ever since that desire was made public. Aronofsky is a director who likes to push the limit and is always willing to look for an interesting perspective on subjects and a style to go along with that perspective that will influence how he captures the story on film. I have always been a big supporter of his 2006 passion project, The Fountain, and have enjoyed his work since as well as prior. With the ability to secure a massive budget and backing of a studio like Paramount Aronofsky is now operating on his biggest scale yet and if there is a story that might justify this excursion into big budget studio films for a more arthouse director, it would be a Bible story in which everyone will have plenty to say. Paramount is no doubt hoping this mentality means it will put up Passion of the Christ-like numbers though we've already heard reports that the director and Paramount are at odds over the final cut of the film after a few test screenings didn't come away with the most shining of results. All I care about though is that the final cut we see on-screen is the one Aronofsky originally had in mind when he began this project. The director knows what he is doing and the trailer implies he has a very specific way of channeling the aspects of God and how he communicated with Noah in a way that make this event feel all the more plausible. The visuals here are absolutely stunning and there is a grand scale to the film that a story like this justifies but going even further, Aronofsky has gathered a cast that will more than do their part to elevate the human aspects of this story we've all heard many times before and in doing so will no doubt deliver a complete film that packs plenty of its own surprises. Russel Crowe plays the titular Noah and is joined by the likes of Emma Watson, Jennifer Connelly, Logan Lerman, Ray Winstone, Douglas Booth, Kevin Durand, Martin Csokas, Mark Margolis, and Anthony Hopkins. Noah opens on March 28, 2014.

SNOW WHITE & THE HUNTSMEN Review

The most disappointing thing about Snow White & the Huntsmen is the fact that it just wasn't as grand as it should have been. Period. There could be no more to this review than that and it would be understood what I thought about it and why I think it. That it were a disappointment and that it could have been more. This is a case of when a movie looks truly promising and epic in the trailers but ends up in the final product being something much closer to bland. It elicits no real response from the audience while telling a story we have all seen before without offering any real variance on it. The characters are there and some of them are greatly realized but the anchor of the film, that title character is anything but. The film looks gorgeous and first time feature director Rupert Sanders surely knows where to place his camera and how to create a large, sweeping landscape look like exactly that while allowing imaginative enough creatures to inhabit these lands. In many ways the film seemed to reference a Guillermo Del Toro type tone with its roots in fiction and a layer of weird added over it, but what falls short here is the storytelling. We know the story, the problem is not that but instead lies in finding a new, fresh way to look at it. There is certainly more than one way to approach a story and while Snow White & the Huntsmen is of course the more darker of the Snow White tales out this year and has a definite vision it lacks a singular voice. It lacks a hero we can really believe in.

Snow White (Kristen Stewart) readies herself to scare off a troll by,
get this, screaming at it. Somehow, it works.

Needless to say the real source of the problem here is none other than Kristen Stewart. I have wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, I really have. I even watched the first two Twilight films to try and give the series a shot but just couldn't go past that. I think Robert Pattinson certainly has a career outside of Edward, but things are beginning to look slim for Stewart. She seems much better when in secondary roles as in Adventureland and Into the Wild. I even enjoyed her in The Runaways and am anxious to see how she fares in the upcoming adaptation of Jack Kerouac's On the Road but here she just doesn't have the skill to handle it. She is supposed to be portraying the fairest of them all, a princess who in this version has some real fight in her and decides to take matters into her own hands. When going up against the concoction of a witch that Charlize Theron has devised you need someone who can portray those strong qualities with real vindication and Stewart is simply to frail and feeble an actress to go for it. Speaking of Ms. Theron, she certainly has outdone Mirror Mirror's Julia Roberts in every way of portraying the evil Queen. While in Roberts defense hers was a much lighter role, Theron has brought her A-game to the table and is resilient in her commitment to the over the top qualities of her character. When she commits to a trait she sticks with it and we see that play out through the whole of the story. In the beginning, that necessary bit of exposition, focuses heavily on the evil Queen known here as Ravenna and how she is on a quest to simply stay young, earn her immortality no matter what it takes. Her life-long mission doubles as a message about the role of women in society but then we forget about all that because the film decides to take long breaks from the Queen and focus more on the heroine who can't seem to make us care.

The Huntsmen (Chris Hemsworth) joins the dwarfs to try and help
Snow White defeat the evil Queen.

While I enjoy the idea of these fairy tales being turned into big live action epics, it goes without saying that all of them have fared pretty poorly in their transition. I didn't mind the Tim Burton take on Alice in Wonderland but I didn't necessarily care for it either. I didn't care at all for Catherine Hardwicke's Red Riding Hood attempt last year though it had plenty of talent going for it. Snow White & the Huntsmen is definitely the best out of the bunch, but again, that really isn't saying much. The Grimm inspirations are in place from the beginning as Ravenna takes over Snow White and her fathers kingdom. She kills her poor dad on their wedding night and locks the princess up in one of the towers. Ravenna is content with devouring young girls looks to keep her the fairest in the land while running the kingdom into the ground, that is, until one day the mirror has some different news to report. We find out the queen needs Snow White's heart to keep her forever youthful and immortal while allowing her to continue her reign as fairest of them all. Wouldn't you know on that same day Snow White decides she has it in her to escape. She does so and is chased into the dark forest by the Queens guards and albino brother with that pesky haircut. The Queen really needs that heart though and so she recruits the Huntsmen (Thor himself Chris Hemsworth) and sends him out to bring her back. We know he isn't going to bring her back, we certainly know they will fall in love but I do have to give the story some credit for allowing itself to not rely on the love aspect of this whole deal. Snow White and Thor team-up, meet the dwarfs and round up the refugee army led by Snow White's papa's old Duke (and his son who therein lies the love triangle) to storm the castle and kill the Queen. Sound familiar? It is and it is sometimes just as slow and sloggish as you might expect a two hour telling of that story to be, but alas it has its moments dammit!

Ravenna (Charlize Theron) talks to her mirror, mirror on the wall.

As in Mirror, Mirror one of the highlights here is certainly the set of the seven dwarfs. In this more serious version we have a regal group of actors portraying the helpful and prophesying companions. Bob Hoskins leads the crew as Muir who is the one real anchor of heart in the film. He allows us to see what Stewart should have been playing, what her character should represent rather than the awkward invert that Stewart is giving us. I hate to point the finger at Stewart so much as she might be a really cool chick who is just trying to do her thing the best she can, but she is the one who has chosen to take on this role. She knew if she had the chops to pull it off or not and she should have known her persona was not going to allow her the right qualities to play this character correctly. Take the job because you think you can give the best representation of the character not because it will add another hit to your resume. That is where I have the problem with Stewart, this has nothing to do with her public persona, who she is dating, or what the tabloids are saying; this is purely based on her range as an actress and I don't think she had what it takes to pull it off and I think she knew that too. It is clear when it comes down to that final rallying speech where you should want to stand up in the theater and join the fight. All I and everyone else in the screening could do was hold back laughter as she yelled her lines to the audience. Delivering not a shred of real emotion or genuine relation to the words she was saying. No, she was simply spouting her lines in a higher volume. There are plenty of reasons to see the film, Ian McShane, Ray Winstone, Toby Jones, and Nick Frost all offer lovely supporting bits as the dwarfs and Hemsworth does his best with an underdeveloped cliche as well as the part about it looking amazing. The end no doubt is left open for a sequel and let us only hope that the studio decides to go Bond style on this potential franchise and casts another actress in the title role next time she decides to go all Joan of Arc.

   

SNOW WHITE & THE HUNTSMEN Review

The most disappointing thing about Snow White & the Huntsmen is the fact that it just wasn't as grand as it should have been. Period. There could be no more to this review than that and it would be understood what I thought about it and why I think it. That it were a disappointment and that it could have been more. This is a case of when a movie looks truly promising and epic in the trailers but ends up in the final product being something much closer to bland. It elicits no real response from the audience while telling a story we have all seen before without offering any real variance on it. The characters are there and some of them are greatly realized but the anchor of the film, that title character is anything but. The film looks gorgeous and first time feature director Rupert Sanders surely knows where to place his camera and how to create a large, sweeping landscape look like exactly that while allowing imaginative enough creatures to inhabit these lands. In many ways the film seemed to reference a Guillermo Del Toro type tone with its roots in fiction and a layer of weird added over it, but what falls short here is the storytelling. We know the story, the problem is not that but instead lies in finding a new, fresh way to look at it. There is certainly more than one way to approach a story and while Snow White & the Huntsmen is of course the more darker of the Snow White tales out this year and has a definite vision it lacks a singular voice. It lacks a hero we can really believe in.