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.

TIG Review

I like to listen to stand-up, but haven't in a long time. I went through the typical college phase of listening not only to what was popular and current at the time (Dane Cook, Mitch Hedberg), but digging into my dads collection and getting to know the stuff he was into (mainly Eddie Murphy, but there was plenty of Steven Wright and Steve Martin in there as well). Over the last few years I've dabbled in some of the more popular stuff like Aziz Ansari, Louis C.K. and Bo Burnham, but haven't explored the current scene as much as I would like to. That is, until I started listening to the top comedy tracks inside the Spotify app on my phone. This led me to not only appreciate the variety of personalities and insight I was missing out on, but also served as an introduction to Tig Notaro. I didn't know much about Notaro or what her story was other than that I'd seen her in Lake Bell's 2013 directorial effort, In a World..., but I liked her stand-up almost immediately given the first thing I heard was her story concerning Taylor Dayne. This immediate affection wasn't necessarily because I'm also a fan of Dayne (though "Tell it to My Heart" really is just the best), but because it allowed Notaro to put herself in her place. She understands where she stands in relation to Dayne as far as the pop culture pantheon is concerned and in relaying this story of unironic fandom she became one of us by divulging a piece of information most might consider at least somewhat embarrassing and going even further by consistently being shameless in her approach to how much Dayne's music meant to her in her formative years. As I continued listening to more of Notaro's material it became evident from her two album discography that some major things had occurred in her life between the release of her first and second albums. And so, when I came scrolling across this documentary simply titled Tig on Netflix the other day, I was more than thrilled to have access not only to what was going through Notaro's mind at the time multiple crises were taking place in her life, but how she's been since and what she's been up to.

On DVD & Blu-Ray: August 4, 2015

MR. HOLMES Review

There have been countless iterations of Sherlock Holmes over the years, but prior to this films release I'd not heard of Mitch Cullins interpretation of the world's greatest detective. At first glance, Mr. Holmes seems like one of those ideas that is better left as an idea rather than the likely failure to meet expectations result that would come from trying to make it a reality. What might actually be so fascinating about an older detective who can hardly remember his glory days let alone how he made his reputation? The possibilities are certainly intriguing, but the execution could be questionable given what one takes from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's works to inform the state of an elderly Holmes. Having not read Cullins book on which this is based, I don't know how much credit to give director Bill Condon (Dreamgirls), but by not simply telling another story revolving around a mystery the film starts off on the right foot. As the film plays out we see a mystery element incorporated in the form of flashbacks to Holmes' final case with which he is having trouble completely recalling. These flashbacks are more or less used to both create reason for why Holmes chose the course he did for his later years while also reminding him of a throughline theme by which he intended to live out the rest of his years. Solving the mystery of his forgotten case also incorporates the only way Holmes truly knows how to live and how to deal with getting older and facing death. By both incorporating these aspects, but keeping the film more focused on the man rather than the mystery the film seems to capture the only possibility that could make this type of story appealing without being completely depressing. There are themes of regret throughout that I can only imagine will be more resonant with a second viewing, but on a first pass still strike one as heartbreakingly honest. I say this because Mr. Holmes is as much about preserving the thoughts and correct legacy of one's life as it is making amends for the mistakes in one's life by passing on what they've learned to a younger generation so that they may not encounter the same regrets. The strong conveyance of these ideas are made largely possible through two wonderful lead performances in Ian McKellen and newcomer Milo Parker.

Teaser Trailer for ZOOLANDER II

It will be fifteen years since the original Zoolander debuted next year it's hard to believe Ben Stiller and his pals were able to get people interested in the male model once again let alone get a sequel made. I will never forget reading my local newspaper's movie section the weekend after September 11th and the writers pondering what would become of the movies that were left on the release schedule that year. The main picture on the article was one of Mike and Sully from Monsters Inc.-the family movie that would come out two months later and give us all a good dose of the warm, comforting experiences that we so desperately needed. The story also heavily discussed Arnold Schwarzenegger's Collateral Damage and it's content that would cause it to be delayed an entire year. In the middle of all of this was Zoolander. Two weeks after the World Trade Centers were destroyed Paramount dumped Ben Stiller's third feature directorial effort into theaters and not much was thought of it. At the time, I was fourteen years old and didn't see the movie until early December while attending a couple of friends joint birthday party where we all decided to see a movie at the local dollar theater. We didn't know what Zoolander was about, but we knew it had the guy from Meet the Parents and the other guy from Shanghai Noon that was also in Meet the Parents, so we were game. It may not have been an instant classic, but over the years Zoolander has come to be the flagship film for the once dominating Frat Pack and a reliable quote factory for people of a certain generation. While what we have here is only a short teaser, the fact it even exists is something of a miracle and hopefully a clear indication that Stiller knows what he's doing in continuing this characters story. Zoolander II opens on February 12, 2016 and also stars Owen Wilson, Christine Taylor and Will Ferrell.