Official Trailer for HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD

By the time this third How to Train Your Dragon film opens next March it will have been a longer period of waiting in between the second and third installments of the series than it was between the first and the second and that wait for the initial sequel seemed like forever. It was because of that longer than usual wait that it seemed the box office for 2014's How to Train Your Dragon 2 was not what either writer/director Dean DeBlois hoped for or what DreamWorks Animation was betting on. The film made only $177 million domestically on a $145 million budget, but thankfully there was the internations totals for the film which garnered this thing another $444 million bumping its worldwide haul to that of just over $620 million. And so, it is likely DreamWorks lowered the budget a bit, but was still happy to have DeBlois cap off his trilogy of films with the continuing adventures of Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and Toothless. In this third and presumably final film (though there will no doubt be plenty of television series and maybe even spin-off movies should the brand endure) we see Hiccup fulfill his dream of creating a peaceful dragon utopia while Toothless' discovery of an untamed, elusive female Night Fury draws him away from his longtime friend. Of course, when danger mounts at home and Hiccup's reign as village chief is tested, both dragon and rider must make impossible decisions to save their kind. I've always had something of a soft spot for these films as they have both proved to be far better and far more enchanting and ambitious than I both expected them to be and in comparison to what DreamWorks usually rolls out in the animation department. There is a weight to these characters and their world and the emotion brought forth in both chapters thus far is notable in the beauty with which they are conveyed in the animation. That level of quality doesn't seem to have been diminished here despite that likely cut in the budget. The film looks flawless with it's sweeping landscapes and the characters look and feel as endearing as ever. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World features the voice talents of America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Kit Harington, Craig Ferguson, F. Murray Abraham, T.J. Miller, Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig, Djimon Hounsou, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and opens on March 1st, 2019.

DEADPOOL 2 Review

What if I told you the best parts of Deadpool 2 had nothing to do with the antagonist 20th Century Fox has been psyching everyone up for since last November? Or furthermore, since the post-credits scene in the first movie? I'll do you one more even-what if I told you the least interesting parts of Deadpool 2 in fact featured the same guy who was so charismatically devious three weeks ago in Avengers: infinity War? Well, for my money's worth-I'd much rather watch the Deadpool 2 that deals with the titular character figuring out how to balance his sarcasm and wit with that of being a part of something bigger-whether that be with Morena Baccarin's Vanessa or his newly formed X-Force family-but for the movie to go on for long stretches pretending as if Josh Brolin's Cable is a traditional villain in the sense that this is as much his movie as it is Deadpool's and that it is he who we will come to see the merc with a mouth clash with in the unavoidable climactic third act is a disservice to the movie in general as Deadpool 2 is simply better than that. It's better than this because, for a lot of its running time, Deadpool 2 (which is really a missed opportunity in terms of a title, guys-Untitled Deadpool Sequel is where it was at) balances so well the kind of irreverent humor that is the character's trademark and upending the expectations and conventions of the super hero genre in ways that aren't as obvious as one might imagine or as easy as it could be for writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland) to default to, but rather Reese and Wernick as well as star Ryan Reynolds, who gets a writing credit on this follow-up, insinuate from the get-go that this isn't just going to give you what you want while upending those expectations, but rather that it's going to do this in a way you don't necessarily see coming. The writers as well as new franchise director David Leitch (John Wick, Atomic Blonde) stick to this main idea, this thesis if you will, throughout and layer in a genuine emotional pull so as to not hang their main character out to dry with little more than the same shtick we've come to expect. That said, there are plenty of laughs to be had here and viewers won't be longing for more of the old because this isn't completely more of the same, but rather there is a more intense satisfaction to be had from the bigger ambitions Reese, Wernick, and Reynolds have for the character this time around. Still, I'd be lying if I said those ambitions don't get away from them throughout the course of this neXt-level adventure.

READY PLAYER ONE Review

Director Steven Spielberg has a way with not only bringing the viewer into the spectacle, but making them appreciate the aura of the spectacle he has concocted on screen. We're not just in awe of what we're seeing on screen, but we're in awe of how it makes us feel. Spielberg is a master of this kind of spellbinding visual storytelling, but as the filmmaker has grown older his filmography has naturally become more serious. That is to say, it's been a decade since that fourth Indiana Jones movie and while Spielberg has co-directed a motion-capture Tintin movie here and an adaptation of The BFG there the majority of Spielberg's latter filmography consists of more "adult" projects. With his latest, Ready Player One, Spielberg returns to that era he helped define with films like Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Jurassic Park, and even Hook as Ready Player One mines the kind of wonder each of those films elicited as they were all, in some fashion, told from the point of view of a child who was allowed to run wild with and fully indulge in their imagination. Some may state that this is the very thing wrong with Ready Player One in that it is a little too indulgent in such imagination; reveling in the nostalgia of pop culture rather than relying on its own inventiveness to make it stand apart yet feel familiar. And yet, the way in which Ready Player One utilizes these aspects to tell a brand new story is so creative and so striking in its relatability-especially to an movie-goer-that it feels rooted in a truth that movies were afraid to discuss until now. It may be due to the fact that I came of age in an era where the site of that T-Rex in Jurassic Park was something that couldn't have been realized in such life-like fashion prior or because I grew up re-watching Hook to the point those lost boys became an integral part of my childhood, but the fact of the matter is Ready Player One doesn't just utilize the same tone and a barrage of references to trick audience members who might have an affection for any one of the many cameos this thing trots out in order to make them feel an affinity for this new product, but rather it takes the real world into account, advances it into a hyper, but all too probable reality, and then comments on how it's nice to indulge in our imaginations and appreciate what others have given us with theirs, but that-as with everything-balance is key and it requires real world interactions and relationships and experiences to allow those imaginations to grow. It's not a groundbreaking thesis, but it's executed so well and is such a fun journey to go on the fact its ideas aren't brand-spanking new isn't a deal-breaker. If nothing else, it's a comforting reminder told from the perspective of a filmmaker with fresh (or at least re-invigorated) eyes.

First Teaser Trailer for DEADPOOL 2

In the lead up to this week's Justice League it was always promised there would be some kind of onslaught of new trailers vying to get in front of the latest super hero team-up and naturally, as a  result, we are beginning to get our first look at what blockbusters will be hitting theaters next summer. Granted, this is nothing compared to what we'll see in a months time when everyone studio and their cousin will be dropping trailers prior to The Last Jedi, but it's admittedly nice to spread things out a bit. Furthermore, what is also nice is the reminder that Deadpool has to play by no rules whatsoever. This is made clear by this first trailer for the sequel to Ryan Reynolds crown jewel to his career as rather than release a traditional teaser in the vein of what we get a solid minute and a half into this just over two minute trailer is instead a take on "The Joy of Painting" and that otherwise innocent show as hosted by the always gentle Bob Ross. That said, this works unbelievably well (maybe too well, even) in terms of how much I'm sold on more Deadpool despite not really having seen anything from the actual movie which is great, but doesn't excuse the fact I'm a sucker for trailers and now really want to see a trailer for this thing! That said, Reynolds continues to make the most of this character as I genuinely laughed out loud twice during his Ross impersonation and couldn't help but chuckle and shake my head throughout the rest of it. Of what we know of Deadpool 2, Reynolds returns as Wade Wilson alongside Josh Brolin as Cable, Zazie Beetz of Atlanta as Domino, Morena Baccarin as Vanessa, T.J. Miller as Weasel, Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead, Leslie Uggams as Blind Al, Stefan Kapicic as Colossus, and Karan Soni as Dopinder. John Wick co-director and Atomic Blonde director David Leitch takes over for Tim Miller this time around, but both Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have returned to pen the screenplay so count on more of the same, but you know...bigger and probably more irreverent than ever. Deadpool 2 also stars Eddie Marsan, Jack Kesy, Julian Dennison, and opens on June 1st, 2018.

THE EMOJI MOVIE Review

This may come as a shock to many of you, but The Emoji Movie is not good. In fact, it's really bad. Bad in the way that it doesn't even try much of the time. Bad in the way that it is intended to be a funny children's film with a message about championing individuality and being yourself, but even that tried and true formula falls flat. Did I say it was supposed to be funny? It's not funny. It tries, it has obvious attempts at humor, but it's not funny. Worse, it has a talented and typically hilarious group of people providing the voices for much of these humanoid expressions that exist in a world that doesn't make much sense in the first place. Let's start over as this would be the initial issue that only leads to more of these problems that spawn from the fact this is a movie based on emoji's. It would probably be big of me to say that this movie isn't bad simply because it is a movie based on emoji's, but it is. It represents everything wrong with the studio system from the perspective of attempting a cash grab without any measure of creativity or thought put into the actual work. There are no signs of life within this thing other than our protagonist going through the motions of feeling like an outcast, being brave enough to break out of his shell, and discover that it's okay to be different. That's all well and good, but you as well as your kids have seen this countless times before and The Emoji Movie brings nothing new to it with the fact it's emoji's going through these (e)motions only making it that much more grating. Worse even, it's beyond transparent that writer/director Tony Leondis (2008's terrible Igor as well as a few other animated shorts) and his two co-writers Eric Siegel (a TV veteran) and Mike White (Mike White!) could care less about the movie they are working on. No doubt receiving an assignment from head honcho's at Sony Animation that they needed something aimed at the kids after their one-two punch for teens and adults with Spider-Man: Homecoming and Baby Driver the studio latched on to current trends via The LEGO Movie and Wreck-it Ralph and demanded a movie based on those faces kids were using to communicate with on their phones. Leondis, Siegel, and White mix in a little Toy Story as well with hopes of no one noticing and yet The Emoji Movie is so distractingly bad that it doesn't become an issue of the movie being based around characters who are emoticons, but more the fact the whole thing never breaks through that barrier of convincing us why it's necessary.  

SDCC: Debut Trailer for Steven Spielberg's READY PLAYER ONE

It seems as if Steven Spielberg has been working on an adaptation of Ernest Cline's 2011 novel, Ready Player One, since it was released, but now that work is turning into reward and reality as the first trailer/footage for Spielberg's big-budget science fiction and utopian/dystopian adaptation has arrived via Warner Bros and San Diego Comic-Con this weekend. Spielberg made his first appearance at Comic-Con since 2011 when he came with Peter Jackson to promote The Adventures of Tintin though this time around it was all about Spielberg and despite the obvious fact that he was once again welcomed with open arms he also made good on what the fans seemingly expected from the adaptation in that this first look at the footage certainly seems to have delivered the goods. If Comic-Con and Disney's D23 Expo have taught me anything this week though it is the fat that I have a lot of reading to do over the course of the next several months between both this and A Wrinkle in Time. Spielberg, along with cast members Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, and T.J. Miller who were also in attendance alongside author Cline and screenwriter Zak Penn (The Incredible Hulk, X-Men: The Last Stand) presented the first footage from his highly anticipated sci-fi adaptation and as I've just stated the response seems to be overwhelmingly positive. As I personally had no expectations walking into the trailer or any real idea of what the story consisted of I was pleasantly surprised by the central idea the film and story seems to be centered around. At first, based simply on a plot description that told me that the creator of a massive multiplayer online game called Oasis dies and posthumously releases a video in which he challenges all Oasis users to find an Easter Egg that allows that player access to his fortune I thought it sounded very much like it would be akin to watching a video game play out on screen, but Spielberg has seemingly focused in on the mystery aspect of the story and the relevant themes of how each individual possesses their own particular version of reality via the ever-popular virtual reality. Spielberg also made heavy use of motion-capture for the film and that has made for what look to be some truly breathtaking visuals. That said, I'm also looking forward to getting a first look at The Papers, which is the director's real-life drama that’s currently in production with Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep and will actually be arriving in theaters first. Ready Player One also stars Hannah John-Kamen, Simon Pegg, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance, and opens on March 30th, 2018.

OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY Review

What is there to say about a movie that knows exactly what it is and executes itself in competent fashion? Turns out, not too much really-especially when one is talking specifically about something as frivolous as Office Christmas Party. After watching this hour and forty-five minute comedy my friend and co-host at Initial Reaction summed up what we'd just experienced perfectly. Describing the "here for a good time" flick that actually ends up overstaying its welcome as a raunchier version of one of those holiday themed, multi-plotted, department store advertisements as directed by the late Garry Marshall, Office Christmas Party piles on the recognizable names and faces (Hey! There's Jennifer Aniston again!), juggles a handful of plotlines, and ultimately comes off as trying too hard to have some kind of genuine heart when we all know the only reason it actually exists is to cash in on certain weekends of the year when viewers seek reminders for how they should/would like to feel around the holidays. This wouldn't be so bad considering Office Christmas Party has a more than capable cast and isn't nearly as hokey as those aforementioned Marshall pictures, but the film ultimately tries to do too much with very little when it would have been fine had it simply allowed its talented comedic ensemble to feed off one another. While Marshall's films more or less turned a holiday of its choosing into a combination of Crash and any Hallmark movie ever Office Christmas Party at least has a driving plot that keeps the focus on only the characters involved in the central narrative and has each of them chasing and contributing to the same goal. There are no extraneous stories that have to strain to connect all the random characters together, but that doesn't mean every subplot should have been kept either. It is in its inability to restrain from both following one too many superfluous factors as well as devolving into something it clearly had no intention of being until it realized the credits had to roll at some point that Office Christmas Party suffers, but when it is having fun, making jokes, and letting the comedic talent it has enlisted to roam freely it's a consistently hilarious time that delivers on what its promotional campaign promised.

DEADPOOL Review

The current cinematic landscape couldn't be more primed for a character like Deadpool. Audiences in general are all rather jaded when it comes to the superhero genre even if we don't care to admit so. That doesn't mean I think the genre and its success is going anywhere anytime soon, I don't. What I mean is simply that the genre is evolving and right now we're at the stage where we're all well aware that things have taken a turn into overdrive and are bordering on the ridiculous. That said, I kind of can't help but love it as the interconnected universes and team-up movies are everything I wanted the movies to be as a child. Even the TV platform is being invaded as super heroes are becoming just as present on the small screen as they are at the cineplexes. The market is saturated. There is no avoiding that truth and as we grow largely more self aware of what each of these comic book adventures will hold we expect our heroes to do the same thing. As the the genre grows and evolves we expect our heroes and their movies to grow and evolve as well. That is why, given his penchant for simultaneous self-aggrandizing and self-degrading humor, Deadpool is able to get away with being both a narcissistic degenerate yet inviting sympathy for his plight and pulling the audience to his side despite the fact he may not be that great of a guy. He's different. He's fresh, but it goes deeper than that. Much has been and will continue to be said about the self-aware nature of the character and his vulgar, R-rated humor that isn't inherent to the comic book movies that have allowed for the genre to become as mainstream as it is now, but the language, violence, and sex presented here is not solely for the sake of undoing every expectation set up by every super hero movie prior, but instead is simply part of who this guy is and the type of environment he was nurtured in. Deadpool AKA Wade Wilson (played by Ryan Reynolds as what I can only imagine is really just Ryan Reynolds) is simply a product of his environment in the same way Thor and and Captain America are fantastical products of theirs. The difference being what these environments stipulate as appropriate and in Deadpool's world there is no excuse to not let it all hang out and that's exactly what Reynolds along with director Tim Miller do here.

First Trailers for DEADPOOL Starring Ryan Reynolds

After premiering last month at San Diego's Comic-Con the rest of us are finally getting our first (high quality) look at Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool. If you're not up on the story here or what a "deadpool" even is, he is a Marvel antihero that first appeared as a villain in the X-Men series beginning in 1991. Known for his foul mouth and a tendency to break the fourth wall, Deadpool is intended as a humorous take on the super hero genre and it looks like we will have no shortage of humor if this trailer is any indication. As Deadpool himself stated in the teaser for this trailer that was released yesterday, 20th Century Fox initially avoided any chance of Deadpool running his foul mouth by sewing it shut in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but Reynolds and crew have crafted what they are calling "the first R-rated Super Hero movie" to do right by the character and his fans. The story of Deadpool actually runs deeper than that initial description gives him credit for as Reynolds will play Wade Wilson, a former Special Forces operative turned mercenary who is subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers. This leads Wilson to adapt the Deadpool alter ego which is the origin story this film seems to cover. Directed by Tim Miller (who has worked on several big projects, but never helmed a feature before) this first glimpse of the footage has both a unique look and tone to it, only setting it apart further from it's contemporaries. What is most refreshing is that Deadpool feels as if it is taking place wholly in it's own world and personally, I can't wait to take a trip there come 2016. Besides Reynolds, Deadpool also stars Morena Baccarin, Brianna Hildebrand, Gina Carano, T.J. Miller, Ed Skrein and opens February 12, 2016.

EDITORIAL: The Rise & Fall of the Found Footage Movie

This offering of something of a delayed review concerning Project Almanac comes on the heels of giving it a look yesterday as it has become available on all home video viewing formats. I was interested in the film purely from a standpoint of the fact it was delayed several times which was somewhat obvious given the "found footage" nature of the film. Made for $12 million (not counting marketing costs) the film ended up making $22m domestically and $32m internationally, but while the actual film is fine enough in itself if not completely mediocre as far as time travel flicks are concerned it is something of a mystery why the found footage aspect was necessary and if it makes it a better, more interesting film. The whole found footage gimmick can be utilized in interesting ways; I'm not saying it's a bad idea all the time, but it is a cheap option that was initiated by The Blair Witch Project that became seen as innovative in the wake of its release and gained big returns on a tiny budget. Blair Witch, while the pioneer, was not the one to kick the trend into high gear though as even that films sequel was shot in a more traditional manner. No, it wasn't until a decade later that producers and other assumed studio drones realized they could capitalize on this method that produced cheap products to gain big returns when Paranormal Activity, through a remarkable viral campaign, made almost $200m on a measly $15,000 budget.

BIG HERO 6 Review

Before going into animated movies I'm always somewhat apprehensive due to the fact I fear I won't have much to say about them. They are entertainment intended for children and as a result often offer very little in the way of substance and thus not much to comment on. In the wake of Disney animations current uptrend though there was something to be optimistic about in Big Hero 6. Initially, I wasn't as over the moon about the idea of Disney mining more Marvel material so as to fill in their animated films as we have enough super hero movies at the megaplexes as it is. To lose a release from a major studio many look forward to hearing from each year to yet another comic book adaptation is understandably disheartening. At the same time, it makes sense with Pixar slowly losing steam in its winning streak and Disney's singular animation department delivering the one-two punch of Tangled and Wreck-It-Ralph before last years behemoth that still is Frozen. They needed to offset the princess tale with another video-game/male-centric adventure while not excluding any potential audience members. The good and relieving thing about Big Hero 6 though is that once the film begins and the story starts to roll you forget this is supposed to be a super hero movie at all. There are no capes, no grand transformation montages where our protagonist is supernaturally altered and given powers beyond his comprehension, but instead the film focuses on the interests of its cast of characters and their love of science that will inexplicably come off as nothing short of neat to the children in the audience that don't know they crave a more practical approach to the barrage of Marvel productions they've seen over the past six years. It was probably smart for Disney to officially partner up with Marvel and reveal a new legion of fans to a more obscure comic book though and by the end of the film, when the super hero element becomes more prevalent without ever taking over the narrative, I appreciated it moreso for its restraint and patience to tell an actual story rather than throw fifteen minutes of exposition at us before putting our heroes in spandex suits. Big Hero 6, for all its visual glory, is frequently entertaining though unfortunately it does ultimately lack the component that makes Disney films wholly involving and part of our coding.

TRANSFOMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION Review

Is escapism really that if the relief we seek turns out to be just as unpleasant as the reality? It is questions such as this that begin to seep into your mind during the exhausting, nearly three-hour experience that is Transformers: Age of Extinction. Director Michael Bay has no intentions of creating anything other than grand escapism here in that this is not a film intended for a specific audience or niche, but is mass appeal in the largest sense possible. The thing about Bay that most people hate is that he has the mentality of a 12 year-old boy and composes his films from that perspective while being technically proficient. While there will be those who ask what might be wrong with the imagination of a pre-teen boy splattered across an IMAX screen the answer is technically, nothing, but might result in some incohesive story elements and slight exploitation of the young female body. There are stereotypes thrown around here from time to time, but the racism has been dialed back considerably from the truly messy second installment, Revenge of the Fallen. There is no mention of Sam Witwicky anywhere and thus there is no forced feeling of having to evolve that character from where we saw him last allowing for the new humans to simply exist in order to aid the giant robots in whatever quest they are out to achieve this time. The film is unnecessarily, even punishingly long in that you'll be sitting in the theater for over three hours if you arrive early and catch the previews. Bay could have easily kept this at a strict two hours while providing some solid entertainment, some stunning visuals and a story the majority of us could follow with ease, but he doesn't. Bay is not one to avoid indulgence and so what we have actually been given is an over-complicated version of a rather simple story that in being so big forgets the little things such as a reason for shoe-horning in robot dinosaurs. To be fair, Age of Extinction is in some ways an improvement over the last two films in that Bay seems to try and take the criticisms he's given and apply them to improving his work (the streamlined story, the less distracting human characters) yet in the end it more or less feels like we're watching the same things we've already seen before.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 Review

Having re-watched the first installment of Hiccup and Toothless' adventures the night before venturing into the sequel I wondered how things might hold up. I remembered going into How to Train Your Dragon (HTTYD) with nothing in terms of expectations, but looking more for a care-free movie going experience. Clearly, what was found in the film that night was something much more substantial, something special that came completely out of left field and took me by surprise. HTTYD not only exuded a fun, adventure story but it developed relationships to the point of authenticity whether they were between Hiccup and his father, his friends or his dragon. In the four years since the release of the first film it feels only more and more good will have built up for it which built a mounting set of expectation for the sequel, one that would pick up in real time and have the glorious advantage of being summer 2014's animated record-setter. Besides a sequel to last years Planes from Disney that was intended for direct-to-DVD release anyway, Hiccup and Toothless have the season all to themselves and needless to say they take full advantage of it. How to Train Your Dragon 2 (HTTYD2) takes what we enjoyed about the first film and places things on a grander scale, but not because that's necessarily what sequels should do but because with their dragons the people of Berk have a much bigger world to explore. This idea of scope is introduced early when Hiccup skips out on a dragon racing competition and instead has taken Toothless out to explore in hopes of discovering new lands. Hiccup is putting together a map of what he discovers, essentially attempting to piece together the world he lives on. It is an admirable goal and one that shows how much the boy has grown since we last met him. Hiccup's consistent quest to push the envelope and discover the fascinating things around him has not subsided but the scale on which he pursues his inquisitiveness has only been heightened which helps to further define why he is such an interesting and worthy protagonist. He has grown into his lanky build and his just out of bed hairstyle is working much better for him these days, but while all seems well we know there can only be a sequel if trouble is brewing right around the corner. HTTYD2 does its best to make these consequences not feel like a necessity but more the natural progression of Hiccup's adventures and they do and we are all the better off for it.

Full Trailer for TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION

It has been three years since we've seen Optimus Prime and his fellow Autobots on the big screen and that last impression left by Dark of the Moon was at least better than Revenge of the Fallen though it came with -an air of conclusion, that this was the end of a good run and one that would be re-visited by youngsters again and again as time went by and the films became more regarded for what they were rather than what grown-up fanboys wanted them to be upon initial arrival. They are beautifully rendered images of giant robots fighting one another that provide guilty pleasure entertainment for the more sophisticated mind and awe-inspiring wonder for those who are just discovering what movies can really do when the cinema screen is taken advantage of. Unfortunately, most of Michael Bay's films get a bad wrap on the fact he takes pleasure in consistently directing as if he were a 13 year-old boy. Still, when this mentality is applied to the premise of, again, giant robots fighting one another I don't necessarily understand why it is a bad thing and have to wonder how it could be done better? Today we get our first look at the fourth installment in the series (the one Bay said he wouldn't be back for, but is) and how the franchise will live on with Shia LaBeouf (I think it will be fine, they got Mark Wahlberg). I was skeptical of where Bay would take his robots this time around, but getting a certified movie star like Wahlberg to take the leading role does nothing but lend this installment a renewed sense of credibility. Though it is hard to take a robot riding a dinosaur robot while holding a sword seriously, the first trailer for Age of Extinction does its best to make us believe this will be a nice departure from the previous trilogy and that there is renewed reason for us to be investing in these robots again. Transformers: Age of Extinction stars Nicola Peltz, Jack Reynor, Kelsey Grammer, Stanley Tucci, T.J. Miller, Titus Welliver, Han Geng, Sophia Myles, Li Bingbing and opens June 27th.