First Trailer for ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP

Despite the fact it feels like we should have maybe received a sequel to Zombieland five or six years ago I remember feeling so bowled over by that first original feature to capitalize on the popularity of Walking Dead that I'm just happy they were able to get everyone back together for a sequel at all. This includes director Ruben Fleischer who made such a strong feature debut with the original Zombieland that I'm always optimistic his next film might deliver on that promise even if everything since has yielded fair to middling results. And while it's kind of crazy Zombieland: Double Tap exists in today's world given the caliber of the cast and the fact Emma Stone had seemingly resigned from broad comedies it's nice to see the ole' gang back together and each of them at least appear to be having a good time. In this decade-later follow-up (though it still remains to be seen if it's been a decade in the world of the movie as well) Jesse Eisenberg's Columbus, Woody Harrelson's Tallahasse, Stone's Wichita, and Abigail Breslin's Little Rock move to the American heartland as they face off against evolved zombies, fellow survivors, and the growing pains of the snarky makeshift family. While this new trailer largely looks like more of the same in a new setting it's kind of hard to expect anything more than that from a ten year-later sequel set around a zombie apocalypse. More importantly is the fact Fleischer and screenwriters Dave Callaham (Wonder Woman 1984) along with Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (Zombieland, Deadpool, Deadpool 2) seem to have been creatively invested in the property and have come up with a few gags that appear to deliver in the same way as the gags from the first while not relying on throwbacks to jokes from that first film. That said, Bill Murray is on the cast list for this thing along with Dan Aykroyd, so make of that what you will. More than anything though, I'll go into Zombieland 2 with the hope of simply having a good time with some old friends; I'm not expecting this thing to break any new ground or even be the funniest film I see all year, but if it has a good time with a premise and cast who we know can deliver as much then the wait will have been well worth it. Zombieland: Double Tap also stars Zoey Deutch, Rosario Dawson, Luke Wilson, Thomas Middleditch, Avan Jogia and opens on October 18th, 2019.

VENOM Review

There's always been this desire by a certain generation of Spider-Man fans to see the web-slinger's villain, Venom, portrayed on the big screen in the effortlessly cool yet terrifyingly fun way he was presented in both the comics and the nineties animated series that devoted an entire stretch of episodes to the Stan Lee and Avi Arad-created story titled "The Venom Saga". Venom's popularity has always been about little more than how "cool" the character looks as there is little else of actual depth to the character beyond the fact it's a sludge from space that requires a host to bond with for its survival. In the comics, Venom became most notable as one of Spider-Man's archenemies after Peter Parker realized the insidious nature of what was referred to as the "symbiote" and trashed the suit only for the symbiote to then join with a second host: Eddie Brock. In the animated series Brock was a well-meaning guy looking for his big break who just so happened to view Parker as a rival reporter. Needless to say, in joining with the symbiote and becoming Venom Brock inherited the alien's enhanced abilities and felt a power for the first time in his life he wasn't going to readily give up. So, one can see how-despite the rather artificial intrigues of the symbiote in and of itself that-once this liquid-like form joins with a human host who has their own personality and problems things might become more complicated and therefore more dramatically interesting, right? Well, consider that and then consider the fact director Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Gangster Squad) and screenwriters Jeff Pinker, Scott Rosenberg, and Kelly Marcel only have about half of those source material ideas to work with in order to create a full-length feature around the character. This is what 2018's Venom was tasked with and thus why it turns out to be a mostly forgettable B-monster movie made in the vein of Sam Raimi's original live-action Spider-Man, but with none of the fun or genuine thrills that movie packed in. It's a re-purposed Spider-Man origin story, but with a symbiote instead of a radioactive arachnid where the individual blessed and/or cursed with these powers has to figure out how to control them and then decide how to use them for good. Seriously-Venom, the symbiote, likes to bites heads off, but Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock is an out-and-out good guy with no shades of moral conflict leaving the film itself to not be the interesting anti-hero tale it billed itself to be, but instead feels like a recycled Spider-Man movie from an alternate universe where the symbiote was brought to a world where Peter Parker doesn't exist (at least for the time being) and the titular character becomes by default the hero of the story. In other unfortunate words, Venom adds nothing to these tropes audiences have seen countless times over the last two decades, but is all the worse for it due to the promise of being a real scoundrel's story.

New Trailer for VENOM Starring Tom Hardy

Sony has now released what is the second "official" trailer, but what is the third overall if you count that teaser trailer anyone unfamiliar with the fact a Venom movie was being made would still be unfamiliar with that fact after seeing that teaser. It's been difficult to be optimistic about a solo Venom movie since the get-go even with the casting of credible talents like Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, and Riz Ahmed. Sony was smart in waiting to release a new trailer that likely contains a lot of what the Comic-Con audience saw until after all the Comic-Con hype had mostly calmed down as this thing would have most certainly got lost in the shuffle among all the DC trailers (never thought I'd write that sentence). And while this latest and presumably final trailer for director Ruben Fleischer's (who hasn't made a solid film since his feature debut, but indeed made a hell of a debut with Zombieland) anti-hero movie is definitely the best one yet it's still hard to fully get behind this thing. Visually is where it seems to have the most trouble. The CGI in many places continues to look iffy and we can only hope this isn't the finished product, but given we're less than three months away from release it's difficult to not be skeptical. I'm not saying it looks X-Men Origins: Wolverine bad, but it definitely doesn't look convincing. We could have a similar situation to Green Lantern here where the unfinished effects in the trailer cause people to not show up for the finished product even if there is some improvement in the final product. There's also this hazy hue hanging over everything that makes the film look as if it were shot in 2002 which is to say the movie already looks dated and if your movie that features a completely CGI creature already looks dated before it comes out you might be in trouble. How some films can look so effortlessly real while relying on gobs of CG (see both Guardians of the Galaxy movies) while others seem to be limping to the finish line with their climactic computer generated battle (see Black Panther) I'm not sure, but this is a movie that needed more attention paid to the special effects than it did craft services and while I wasn't on set I'm willing to bet those spreads were more aesthetically pleasing. The story seems familiar enough if you know the arc of Eddie Brock and despite all my pessimism I still hope this turns out well-for all involved and for fans of the character, but I can't help but to feel the writing is on the wall. Venom also stars Woody Harrelson, Jenny Slate, Marcella Bragio, Michelle Lee, Scott Haze, Reid Scott, and opens October 5th, 2018.

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY Review

There is no mention of the force. Barely a lightsaber is wielded. In these tangential Star Wars stories Disney has somehow figured out how to not only expand a brand, but simultaneously how to sell what were once mid-range, star-driven vehicles that have more or less become obsolete in the current theatrical landscape of tentpole after tentpole. It makes sense: to be not what everything else is, but what you need to be sometimes means taking up the mantle of that which will make people feel the urge to venture out to the theater while ultimately delivering something they didn't know they missed seeing on the big screen. And so, Solo: A Star Wars Story is a heist film that just so happens to feature characters with names and a few locations a few of us might recognize. Moreover, these characters may not require further backstory or exploration as this may in fact be detrimental to the mythos of some while fascinating in other circumstances, but in this universe as it now exists both the recognizable and additional characters on display here all have their own stories that can be expanded upon and thus is the reason LucasFilm and Kathleen Kennedy no doubt found this a solid if not necessarily wholly compelling piece to produce in the beginning phases of these extraneous stories taking place around the core trilogies. Because of this and because of Disney's inability to add any genuine stakes to Solo given it takes place prior to the original trilogy and they've already spoiled what happens to the character after; the studio has been afforded the opportunity to make a Han Solo movie which isn't really as much a movie about who Han Solo is and why or how he became the Han Solo we all came to know and love in Star Wars, but more it is a movie about a team of scoundrels and smugglers who are always seeking that "one job to end all jobs". You know, the one they might retire on, settle all their debts with, and that will set them up prettily for the rest of their lives? Yeah, that's what Solo is. Solo is a mob drama of sorts, albeit an intergalactic one, that by default functions as part of two specific genres and works well enough to varying degrees in both for the general effect that it suffices to satisfy audiences seeking either type of movie just well enough. Does it hold much weight? No. Was it necessary? Of course not. Worst of all, it's not very efficient with its own storytelling in certain acts, but it's a fun enough time with characters that, if you loved them already, you won't mind hanging out with more and getting to meet some of their extended circles you weren't acquainted with prior.

Teaser Trailer for SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY

We got our first, brief glimpse of proof last night during Super Bowl LII that Solo: A Star Wars Story is an actual movie that exists and that it is in fact coming to theaters on Memorial Day weekend this year (that's just over three months away, mind you). The morning has now brought us the full version of that tease. Outside of the fact this thing looks pretty spectacular from a visual standpoint (it was shot by Arrival cinematographer Bradford Young) there isn't much to go off of as far as how the final product will turn out given the rocky production the film faced. If you haven't heard, don't follow movie news, or have otherwise been living under a rock you may not be privy to the fact that original Solo directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (21 Jump Street, The LEGO Movie) were essentially given the boot with less than a month to go in principal photography. Lucasfilm, and more specifically Kathleen Kennedy, then brought in Ron Howard to re-shoot much of the film and complete production. At the very least, Solo will be a film that will keep attentive audiences brimming with curiosity up until the release date as it's worth speculating as to whether or not Disney and Lucasfilm will even drop another trailer prior to the film's release. I'm sure there will be another trailer of some sort-likely an extended "Official Trailer" released just before Infinity War bows in early May, but I'm willing to bet the new footage included will be minimal and the story beats even more so. With this teaser no doubt being attached to prints of Black Panther though, Disney and Lucasfilm seem to be using Solo as a test case for how far they can push the Star Wars brand name with how much they can limit the advertising while still managing to have a sizeable hit on their hands. As a result of this, it will also be interesting to see how fans respond in terms of awareness and excitement for what will undoubtedly become more common in the Star Wars filmscape as these kinds of anthology films are far more easier to develop and make in terms of nailing down stories than the episodic films will be. Where will Lucasfilm and Kennedy take the brand after the current trilogy finishes and Rian Johnson begins work on his own trilogy? Who knows, but films like Solo seem to be the future of Star Wars. Solo: A Star Wars Story stars Alden Ehrenreich, Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Joonas Suotamo, Thandie Newton, Paul Bettany, and opens on May 25th, 2018.

THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI Review

In the first scene of writer/director Martin McDonagh's (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths) new film, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Mildred Pierce (Frances McDormand) drives past three billboards that are falling apart on an old road outside the titular small town she lives in that no one has used since the freeway opened. Hell, the last time a company even utilized the billboards for actual advertising was Huggies in the mid-eighties. Due to the contemplative look on Mildred's face we know the inciting incident is set to occur at any moment, but more important is the fact we take in the appearance of Mildred. Her hair is down, her clothes rather casual, and while Mildred never seems like she was ever the kid of woman to get too made-up, she looks to be in a certain place in her life that, while not peaceful, is one where she's come to terms with the reality of her situation. You see, Mildred's daughter was murdered a year or so prior to the beginning of the film and the investigation by her local police department seems to have waned over time-Mildred stating she hadn't heard a peep from them in at least seven months-prompting her to take matters into her own hands, but not in the manner of a revenge fantasy a la The Punisher or a recent Quentin Tarantino flick, but more in the vein of calling out those responsible for seeking her daughter's killer and rapist and holding them accountable for failing at their civil responsibilities. If you've seen the trailers you know Mildred does this by renting the three aforementioned billboards to send a very clear message to the Ebbing police department, calling out Police Chief George Willoughby (Woody Harrelson) in particular. Once Mildred goes through with this though, her look changes and, in turn, so must her mentality. No more does Mildred ever look as casual as she does in that first scene. No more does it feel as if Mildred might ever be at peace with what has occurred in her life. Rather, from the end of this scene on through to the end of the movie Mildred pulls her hair up into a tight ponytail, the back of her neck now shaved as if to say she has no frills about what she's doing. Never again do we see her in public with her hair down or her wearing anything resembling khaki or flannel, but rather Mildred only wears her industrial work uniform and bandana. This outward exterior that takes no crap from no one is key to her surviving the ramifications that come from her actions and the complexities she didn't expect as a result of those actions. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri takes on this exterior as well, but don't be fooled as this is one of the most brutal, funny, dark, sad, and best movies of the year.

WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES Review

It's a weird feeling, rooting for the end or at least the defeat of mankind, but that is what this new trilogy of Planet of the Apes films has done. Each of the installments has done so well at tracking the progression of how these apes, namely Andy Serkis' mind-blowing creation that is Caesar, have become more human-like in their emotions as well as their mannerisms that it has become harder and harder to differentiate between the fact that what we're technically watching is a man versus beast tale. Of course, it's easy to throw those two labels around, but who actually deserves to have the title of beast fall upon them is debatable and especially in this final installment. In the inevitable War for the Planet of the Apes we find series screenwriters Mark Bomback and director Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) bringing the reinforcements that Gary Oldman's character made contact with in Dawn to the front lines and drawing the line in the proverbial sand. Reeves, who took over for Rupert Wyatt after the first installment, has crafted two distinct, but equally effective pieces of filmmaking that are as well-crafted as one could hope for. The film hits all the marks of a masterful technical achievement while at the same time deviating story expectations by not necessarily being generic summer popcorn entertainment, but are rather some heavy and heady pieces of cinema that have plenty of thoughts jumping around inside their heads as well as layers upon layers of allusions to the point each individual viewer could potentially see and receive something different when experiencing them. That said, both Dawn and now War never display that factor that pushes either of them over the edge of good, solid entertainment into something greater. It's a difficult feeling to describe given it is also a difficult thing to come up with anything negative to say or anything that specifically detracted from the experience of viewing the film, but speaking to the emotional state you reach after said experience War leaves you with a strong impression of being truly impressive, visually magnificent, but not nearly as intellectually or emotionally stimulated as it seemed you would be about midway through the movie. War for the Planet of the Apes makes us root for its primate protagonists, but it never lends the viewer the weight it seems to desire nor does it hit with enough of an impact that it will leave you contemplating all those ideas it has floating around inside its mind in your own for longer than a few hours. It is grand without necessarily being epic, distinctive, but not necessarily special.

First Trailer for THE GLASS CASTLE Starring Brie Larson

Short Term 12 was one of my favorite films of 2012 and made me take more notice of Brie Larson's undeniable magnetism than 21 Jump Street already had the year before. With the adaptation of Jeannette Walls' memoir Larson reunites with her Short Term 12 director, Destin Cretton, to relay the story of a young girl who comes of age in a dysfunctional family of nonconformist nomads with a mother who's an eccentric artist and an alcoholic father who would stir the children's imagination with hope as a distraction to their poverty. With the likes of Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts playing the disillusioned parents and Larson at the forefront as the daughter who must learn to grow up faster than she should only to eventually abandon her parents in favor of a more traditional lifestyle, this looks to be rather straightforward awards fodder. Not that such fodder is necessarily a bad thing, it's just that The Glass Castle hits all the marks of what we expect from an awards season contender. All considered though, this actually has a late summer release date and visually, looks gorgeous. Very clearly a period piece the film has a lush color palette with the more posh costume designs that Larson gets to sport really showing off the style of the film as a whole. Story-wise as well as the inclusion of several red-headed children, there are certainly shades of last year's Captain Fantastic at play as that film also dealt with parents revolting against society and raising their families off the grid (The Glass Castle even stars Shree Crooks and Charlie Shotwell who played brother and sister in Captain Fantastic). While the reasons for leading such a lifestyle seem a little more nefarious, but not necessarily evil in The Glass Castle it will be interesting to see how different the two movies actually turn out to be. With a terrific cast, a writer/director whose debut feature made my top ten list of that respective year, and an engaging if not exactly fresh story I'm intrigued to see how the film turns out and, as always, am hoping for the best. The Glass Castle also stars Max Greenfield, Ian Armitage, Sarah Snook, and opens on August 11th.

First Trailer for WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

And the revolving door of trailers continues as 20th Century Fox has thrown their hat in the ring with the first trailer for War for the Planet of the Apes or the the third film in their re-booted Planet of the Apes trilogy that will follow up Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. If nothing else, this week has shown what a stellar year 2017 could be for blockbusters as not only do the two Marvel offerings we've seen so far look genuinely solid, but Transformers always feels like an event, Baywatch looks like The Rock will continue his hot streak and Zac Efron will continue doing what he does best in R-rated comedies, as he also appears in the highly-anticipated eight entry in the Fast & Furious franchise, while any summer with a new Christopher Nolan film is one to be cherished. Sure, The Mummy may end up being a little underwhelming or it could turn out to be fantastic-who knows, but the point is that adding War for the Planet of the Apes to this roster only makes it look that much more impressive. I was genuinely thrilled and surprised when director Rupert Wyatt's Rise  turned out to be one of the best offerings of the summer back in 2011 and thus immediately became more interested in the mythology of the series as all I'd seen prior was the original and Tim Burton re-make. When Matt Reeves took over the series for 2014's Dawn it was easy to tell the direction they were going and how we might eventually connect the dots from one movie to the next, but that didn't make the journey any less thrilling. Though I was somewhat underwhelmed by Reeves' film there was still much to admire about it including the lush visuals and attempts at addressing larger themes (albeit this is a theme throughout the entire series). It seems the director has once again accomplished as much with this third installment as it looks truly epic in both thought and visual scale. War for the Planet of the Apes stars Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Judy Greer, Terry Notary, Karin Konoval, Max Lloyd-Jones, and opens on July 14, 2017.

THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN Review

We all lead complicated lives. This is the simple lesson Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld) takes away from her experiences as documented in the directorial debut from Kelly Fremon Craig who also has the sole credit on the screenplay for The Edge of Seventeen. We all lead complicated lives and unfortunately, having problems isn't what makes Nadine special despite the fact she thinks it does. Given Nadine is a junior in high school who has little to no social life outside of her best friend Krista (Haley Lu Richardson), who doesn't get along with her mother, and who is the younger sister of all-star older brother Darian (Everybody Wants Some!!'s Blake Jenner) there seems valid reason for her amount of self-loathing. Of course, the main idea in Edge of Seventeen is for Nadine to come to the realization her problems aren't singular to her life, but that there are in fact always those who have it worse. That type of hackneyed advice isn't what teenagers want to hear though, and Edge of Seventeen isn't here to serve as a lecture for those who can associate with its protagonist. Moreover, Craig's film feels very much like a personal essay or even more, a love letter to her own formative years that, despite feeling like hell in the moment, she couldn't be more thankful for now. This is a difficult task. Capturing the essence of what you were feeling throughout a certain time in your life without spelling it out in the dialogue is one thing when writing the screenplay, but when actually attempting to do so through execution of that written word it becomes clear how critical tone is and if the tone isn't right, the themes and ideas won't translate and you end up with a final product as foreign a feeling as popularity is to Nadine. To say that Craig excels in overcoming these obstacles would no doubt make the writer/director chuckle as she likely questioned herself and her abilities on a daily basis, but what has come out of what I have to believe was a slew or re-writes and re-calculations to make sure that not only was the essence of her youth captured, but also a character arc that rings true for a number of us is a high school movie for the ages, a close relative to those John Hughes movies that captured all the angst and innocence of adolescence, but with the natural edge of the current culture.

NOW YOU SEE ME 2 Review

2014's Now You See Me was an unexpected hit that made $351 million worldwide on a budget of $75 million and so here we are, two years later, with what is ultimately an unnecessary sequel. There is no need for this movie to exist, there was no reason for these characters to have another similar adventure to that of the one they experienced in the first film and yet, because the dollars dictate it, The Four Horsemen have returned to give us another trip through the secret world of magicians and to point out just how detached from reality they've become if they think they can trick us into believing magicians would ever garner the kind of media attention they do here. I digress, but I can't help but to be a little perturbed by the fact there is a sequel to a film that was a perfectly smart and entertaining one off story that will now forever be tarnished by the existence of this unnecessary successor. In short, NYSM2 is a whole lot of nonsense that doesn't necessarily go anywhere meaningful or comment on anything relevant, but in its defense is something of a crowd-pleaser. It is easy to see the broad appeal of what is at play here as all of the actors are engaging and clearly audiences enjoyed the first one enough to presumably show up and give what is essentially more of the same their money. NYSM2 is a sequel in the tradition of those retreaded sequels that used to be the norm, before the whole expanded universe thing came along, and thus could serve as an example under the definition of guilty pleasure. There is nothing particularly fresh this movie intends to do with the premise and character traits that were defined in the first film, but more NYSM2 desires to expand upon story aspects of the original to the point they no longer make as much sense or hold as much weight as they once did when this was a contained story. There might be new characters played by Daniel Radcliffe and Lizzy Caplan, but they aren't really new-they're just excuses to tread the same water the first film did with updated facades meant to trick the audience into thinking this sequel has something new and exciting to offer. Don't be fooled. There isn't much to see here. Though the film is more consistently funny than I expected and the rapport between the actors even smoother than before the final product still feels more like a magician blowing hot air at their audience for two hours rather than actually daring to dazzle us.

TRIPLE 9 Review

There is as much a vibrancy to Triple 9 as there is a subdued sense of dread. It's not hard to tell something bad or suspicious is lurking around every corner in this Atlanta-set cop drama from director John Hillcoat (The Road, Lawless, The Proposition) and yet, at the same time, you can't help but to want to turn those corners in anticipation of seeing the story develop. First time feature writer Matt Cook gives us a rather complex plot to comprehend, but that his script dives into the key characters head first and we come to know them and their circumstances almost immediately gives us reason to invest and want to understand these present complexities. From moment one, where we see a four man team robbing a bank with The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus serving as the lookout in an inconspicuous vehicle, I was into the dirty, grimy narrative that Hillcoat and Cook would be weaving to presumably get at bigger themes and larger statements about race, justice, and the gray lines that divide honor and disdain. The film accomplishes as much by not just being about bank robbers and corrupt police officers, but rather Triple 9 utilizes the unaccounted for details of emotion and other human elements to disturb the strict proceedings some, if not most, of its characters attempt to operate within. There is no room for emotions or a softened mental state within the Atlanta police department, especially for detectives. We see this in the toll that has clearly been taken on Woody Harrelson's character, Jeffrey Allen, while there is certainly no room for as much under the rule of Irina Vlaslov (Kate Winslet) a Russian Jew looking to free her powerful husband with the help of a few hired hands. Through each of these characters Cook enlists some type of inherent emotional attachment though, making things never as clear cut as the puppet masters would like them to be. While this may not be to the characters advantage though, it makes things all the more savory for the audience member waiting to see what decisions will be made and how such decisions will reverberate through to other aspects of the story. That said, Triple 9 is not a perfect film (far from it, really), but more times than not I was on the edge of my seat anxious to see where the film and more importantly, its characters, would take me.

Teaser Trailer for NOW YOU SEE ME 2

When Now You See Me opened a little over two years ago no one expected the small-ish Lionsgate heist thriller with a rather credible cast and cool premise to outgross the Will Smith sci-fi flick it was opening against, but Now You See Me then went on to gross over $350 million worldwide on a budget of $75m. Cue the need for a sequel and almost three years to the date after the premiere of the Louis Leterrier-helmed original property we will receive the Jon M. Chu directed sequel. Now, Chu is coming off one of the worst box office performances for a movie ever with Jem and the Holograms and so this will be a perfect opportunity to rectify whatever damage Jem might have done to his career. I haven't seen Jem and the Holograms so I can't speak to the quality of that film, but the reputation it has garnered alone for it's poor box office performance and the fan backlash it received for seemingly straying so far from it's source material (again, I've never seen the 80's cartoon that inspired it) has been nothing short of pure vitriol. Chu has also made several of the Step Up films as well as the G.I. Joe sequel that was, if nothing else, better than it's predecessor speaking to the fact the guy is more than capable. From this initial teaser it looks as if Chu has at least kept Leterrier's kinetic energy intact and has enlisted the likes of Lizzy Caplan and Daniel Radcliffe to fill fill the hole left by Isla Fischer as well as carrying on the ongoing struggle between the Four Horsemen and Michael Caine's Arthur Tressler as Tressler's son, Walter, intends to mix things up. Now You See Me 2 also features the return of Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Morgan Freeman and opens on June 10, 2016.

Full Trailer for THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY – PART 2

It's hard to believe The Hunger Games franchise is coming to a close, though it seems Peeta confirmed there will be some type of spin-off or prequel in a few years time. What is strange about The Hunger Games series though is that I tend to care less about them in between installments despite having read all of the books and still being interested in the film adaptations. I was beginning to put together my most anticipated list for the fall movie season the other day and I completely forgot we had the finale to Suzanne Collins trilogy coming out. I don't know if this means I'm not really excited to see the movie or if in the three years since the first film premiered I've grown tired of these types of films. That said, I still get excited for a good super hero movie so who knows, maybe I'm really just not that pumped for it. Either way, you won't see it on my list despite this full trailer for the film looking nothing short of fantastic. I guess it could be due to the fact I wasn't able to catch Mockingjay - Part 1 in theaters and thus it felt like less of an event, but I will still be seeing Part 2 in IMAX opening night as director Francis Lawrence has seemingly put together a worthy final chapter to the three rather solid films that have come before it. While Catching Fire is easily my favorite so far, Mockingjay - Part 2  may well in fact top it given it's the conclusion and it looks packed to the brim with both action and drama. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Willow Shields, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Stanley Tucci, Julianne Moore, and Donald Sutherland all return when The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 opens November 20, 2015.

First Trailer for THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART 2

It's somewhat hard to believe The Hunger Games franchise is coming to a close, though I'm sure in three to four years time there will be some type of spin-off or prequel that will need to come to the big screen. Nonetheless, it seems as if the first film in the franchise opened just the other day. Granted, Harry Potter was a much longer journey and I didn't get caught up in the Twilight saga so this is really my first time dealing with a shorter series that I've actually become so invested in. What is strange about The Hunger Games series though is that I do tend to care less about them in between installments despite having read all of the books and still being interested in the film interpretations when they come around; which is more than I can say for the Veronica Roth series. With both parts of the series finale being filmed simultaneously last year, it has been a long time since even the actors have been close to the material and with Mockingjay - Part 1 feeling more like a blip on the radar than a worthy chapter in the story of Katniss I can only hope this final film really delivers on what its source material executed rather well. If this first trailer is any indication I'm feeling fairly optimistic we're still in good hands with director Francis Lawrence. Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Willow Shields, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Stanley Tucci, Julianne Moore, and Donald Sutherland all return when The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 opens November 20, 2015.

Official Trailer for THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY - PART 1

At long last, the full-length trailer for the first installment of director Francis Lawrence’s conclusion to the Hunger Games franchise has been released. Lionsgate has been playing this entire series close to the chest after the first film became somewhat of a phenomenon simply because it knows what it has on its hands. At this point, people are going to show up to this no matter if they've seen a trailer or not and so we get glimpses of what is to come, but not a marketing onslaught that wears us out before the final product arrives (take note, Sony). Having read all three of Suzanne Collins' books on which these films are based I found "Mockingjay" to be the least satisfying which has always made me weary of the film adaptation yet Lawrence took "Catching Fire" (my favorite reading experience of the series) and made it a much better film that the initial installment giving me hope for what he might do with the conclusion of this story. It was inevitable that the studio would split the final book into two features (despite the book length being about the same as the first two) and with this first real look at footage from the first half of the finale it looks like Lawrence has taken the themes of what this world of districts represents and has turned the emotional repercussions up to eleven. The book did take some interesting avenues with the characters though and naturally I look forward to seeing those play out on the big screen. It also looks like Gale will finally get his due after being heavily sidelined in the first two films, only building to a more emotional ending than we might be ready to handle. here's hoping it actually gets to us that much, signaling some real depth in blockbuster filmmaking. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson,  Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Elizabeth Banks, Jena Malone, Sam Claflin, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Natalie Dormer, Donald Sutherland and opens in theaters on November 21st.

OUT OF THE FURNACE Review

There is something both numbing and strangely profound about the second directorial effort from Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart). There is a menacing grim to the overall proceedings, yet it is almost impossible to not feel enlightened by what we see unfold on screen and by the development (or lack) of character and the insight that we gain as to why these people that Out of the Furnace zeroes in on are so compelling without being considered extraordinary. Where director Cooper and his cast excel are in how they don't decide to focus or rely as heavily on the events in which the story documents because in all honesty it feels that after about fifty or so minutes the narrative comes to somewhat of a halt and the momentum slows incredibly despite the fact what we see unfolding has yet to come to fruition and it remains unclear if things will turn out in the best interest of our lead character Russell Blaze (Christian Bale). Still, what keeps the ship from sinking is the fact that Cooper and his gritty eye keep the focus on the actors and the characters they are portraying and allow those performances to carry what might have otherwise been a sometimes silly, most of the time studied account of the backwood folks that apparently live in the hills outside of New Jersey. The site of an old steel town that allows the town resting below it to feel like it's stuck in the mid-70's, Cooper is clearly paying homage to the films of that era (namely Deer Hunter), this is where the story is set circa 2008, right around the time Obama was elected President and this little statement is used (as Killing Them Softly not-so subtly stated last year) to re-enforce the state of the economy at that time. All of this is effective in building the atmosphere and setting the tone for a film that knows who its characters are, where they've come from, but more importantly what little they likely have to look forward to and Cooper lets the weight of the narrative rest on their shoulders rather than the twists and turns we might expect from the more plot-driven revenge film that this has been made out to be in the marketing. Out of the Furnace isn't necessarily an exceptional film, but it provided a substantial amount of thought-provoking ideas in terms of the mentality of man in a remote region and the reasoning for a life that seems more simple than most would like to even consider. No, there is nothing exceptional here, but it is a solid film nonetheless with both Bale and Casey Affleck giving audiences something to remember it by.

THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE Review

There are plenty of perks to being the middle installment of a giant trilogy. Whether you've read the books or not I think it goes without saying that Catching Fire, the film, is a much bigger and more impressive exercise than what the first film was able to deliver after it finished setting up the world all of this would be taking place in. This, coming from the benefit of being that middle child. It has always been the case though (Empire Strikes Back, The Dark Knight, X2: X-Men United, Spider-Man 2) that without having to deal in exposition and not having to worry itself with how to wrap everything up nicely, that the second chapter of a larger story is the one where we get to dig in, where we are able to see the meat of the conflict, and get to really know the characters and what drives them, what makes them different and why we remain interested in their plight past the unbelievable circumstances they were thrown into the first time around. All of this remains true in director Francis Lawrence's follow-up to Gary Ross's faithful and fervent opening chapter. Yes, it is important to note that I am a fan of the books, all three of them, but that Catching Fire was by far my favorite and for all the reasons I've listed above I desperately hoped the film turned out the same way. As we reach the final shot of this film it became all the more clear that we'd just witnessed something rather special. It may not have been a game-changer like The Dark Knight or as exceptional as X2, but it has some clear moments and techniques that are more than impressive and more than intriguing that lead us to becoming intensely wrapped up in the world of Panem and the brewing revolution. The scope and scale, the performances all-around, the more confident hand behind the execution; it all adds up to a film that knows what it is, what its message and main themes are, and where it is going because there is a driving force behind the narrative that makes the briskly paced film (not a bad thing with a run time of two and a half hours) feel like a consistently mounting piece of music that perfectly staggers its force and intensity until hitting that crescendo. This is only one passage though, and that perfectly timed climax of this specific progression only leaves us wanting more which can only mean part two has done its job and done it well.

First Trailer for OUT OF THE FURNACE

Out of the Furnace wasn't really on my radar until just recently when production stills began to be released, followed by the poster and today we have the first trailer for the film which comes from director Scott Cooper. I am a big fan of Cooper's directorial debut Crazy Heart and while this sophomore effort looks to tackle the same type of people geographically it also seems to come with a completely different tone and a story that has several layers of topics it intends on tackling. This on top of a stellar cast that features Christian Bale in the lead lends serious expectations to the film. Bale looks to be the perfect balance of brooding and genuine as Russell Baze, a steel worker, who is forced into a vengeance mission when his brother (Casey Affleck) goes missing after getting involved with the likes of Woody Harrelson who runs a crime ring that deals with some intense hand to hand combat. Harrelson may very well steal the show in what looks to be a downright evil role while supporting players at the caliber of Willem Dafoe, Forest Whitaker, Sam Shepard and Zoe Saldana only lend to what looks like an intense drama filled with thrilling moments. Though I wasn't aware of the film (and its potential for greatness) until just recently it has quickly jumped to one of my most anticipated films this fall and as it looks to have more atmosphere, raw style, and several great performances in a single film as any other upcoming Oscar-bait (here's looking to you The Monuments Men). Out of the Furnace opens in limited release on November 27th and expands wide on December 6th. Hit the jump to check out the trailer and be sure to let me know what you think.

NOW YOU SEE ME Review

As the films mantra goes, the closer you look the less you see, but if you are going to enjoy this film it is a wise decision to do exactly the opposite. There is no need to investigate or inspect each and every twist and turn this film throws at you because there are bound to be holes. No, in fact what is best to do in order to enjoy Now You See Me is to simply sit back and take it in for what it is: pure, escapist cinema that delivers a relentlessly fun and entertaining ride that speeds by and leaves you satisfied when the credits begin to roll. Kudos to this movie for being able to stand on its own two feet in a season where every Friday is dominated by a sequel or spin off or re-make or something that is a familiar product that is sure to find an audience somewhere. Now You See Me is a completely original film in the midst of big studio fare that has the star power, the concept, and the appeal to win over those movie-goers who aren't just looking for an escape from the real world, but from the saturated sci-fi superhero adventure genres that are playing on every other screen. That is not to say I don't enjoy those kinds of movies as well and this year has been particularly good so far in terms of summer popcorn entertainment, but simply knowing going into this film that we are up for a fun ride that takes a subject that's commonly considered nerdy, such as magic, and combines it with the formula of a heist film to create something imaginative and fresh is indeed refreshing. Though there are certainly plot holes to be picked apart once people have the ability to re-watch the film several times, upon first viewing this is nothing more than a caper of a good time that has an incredibly strong cast each member of which is doing what they do best, churning out some solid and genuine laughs while balancing the never-serious tone with a fair amount of action and mystery that is compelling and keeps you guessing until the very end.