Teaser Trailer for THOR: RAGNAROK

I can't say that I've necessarily ever been excited for one of the Thor movies. Curious, sure, but more than anything I've always been a bit concerned that Thor is where the Marvel universe would surely lose its vanilla footing and their time-tested formula would finally fail them. And to a certain extent this is true; I don't know that I could find anyone who might not agree Thor: The Dark World is one of the lesser if not the least of the Marvel properties released thus far (though Iron Man 2 puts up a good fight). Thor has seemingly always received the short end of the hammer when it comes to either scope or director, but Ragnarok is seemingly making up for both as not only does the subtitle hint at the time in Norse mythology when the cosmos are destroyed, but Marvel Studios and Kevin Feige have brought in filmmaker Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) who, given the barrage of production stills we saw and now with this teaser, has brought what seems to be an air of fresh starts to the doomed Asgardian world. It may seem a little contradictory that the film dealing in the end of our titular characters world is also the one with the brightest color scheme and best sense of humor, but that's the main takeaway here. The trailer wastes no time in getting down to business and providing a quick synopsis of the story Ragnarok will offer as one of the first images we see is new villain Hela (Cate Blanchett) destroying the all powerful Mjölnir, Thor's hammer, along with his home world-forcing the Avenger across the universe into unknown worlds and to be imprisoned by unspecified beings that force him to participate in gladiator matches where he comes up against none other than Mark Ruffalo's Incredible Hulk. Needless to say, this is the first Thor film I've ever actively anticipated based on the credentials alone and this first look at actual footage does nothing but create more excitement and more hope that what we'll see on screen will be Waititi's unfiltered vision. Thor: Ragnarok also stars Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Jef Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Anthony Hopkins, Jaimie Alexander, Karl Urban, Idris Elba, Ray Stevenson, Sam Neill, and opens on November 3, 2017.

GOING IN STYLE Review

There is something to be said for movies that have no particular ambition due to a level of self-awareness. There is something to be said for swallowing your pride, accepting the reality of the situation, and doing what you can with the given factors. It's admirable and with such unabashed pride in the face of acceptance there is charm to be found. A different, slightly quirky, break from the norm type charm and this is what Going in Style relies on to let its audience know it is well aware of what it is and that it has no qualms about it. If you don't have any qualms with the type of entertainment a movie like Going in Style promises to deliver then you likely won't have any issue with the movie either. Going in Style is exactly what one would expect it to be given it comes from screenwriter Theodore Melfi (St. Vincent, Hidden Figures) and by his pen is an updated version of the 1979 film of the same name that starred George Burns, Art Carney, and Lee Strasberg. That film, which I admittedly haven't seen, came from director Martin Brest who may or may not have the strangest filmography in the history of directors. The man, who made his big studio feature debut with the original Going in Style at the age of twenty-eight, would go on to direct the likes of such films as Beverly Hills Cop, Midnight Run, and Meet Joe Black among others until he debuted Gigli in 2003 and hasn't worked since. If you're old enough you may recognize the guy as Dr. Miller from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, but all of this is neither here nor there (though someone should really look into how one film was so detrimental to an otherwise prosperous career). The point is, what made Going in Style a movie worth re-making seems to have been absent from the consideration of the studio and filmmakers and more was simply an excuse to round up some of our best aging actors, throw them in a film together, and let the chemistry and credibility do the rest of the work. If one has seen the like-minded Last Vegas then you know this actually turns out fairly well and to no surprise Going in Style yields much the same results. A superfluous and completely unnecessary re-make, no doubt, but a frothy enough excursion you don't take seriously enough to be upset about.

On DVD & Blu-Ray: April 4, 2017

Initial Reaction: Video Review - GHOST IN THE SHELL

After a rocky month in March, we close it out with the final blockbuster in a month filled with one every week and as nature would have it, the last week of the month is where the formula finally falters. After Logan, Kong; Skull Island, and Power Rangers all performed well on their inital weekends out the gate it was Ghost in the Shell, the film based on Masamune Shirow's original 1989 manga as well as the 1995 anime, that fell flat. With a reported production budget of $110 million the PG-13 rated, Scarlett Johansson-starrer brought in only $19 million from 3,440 locations. This was well below industry expectations as most had the film at least scoring a $30 million opening. I preface the numbers with the rating due to the fact most expected or at least hoped that Ghost in the Shell might appeal to those who recognized the brand as well as to those who made Johansson's 2014 A.I. action effort, Lucy, a hit. Lucy was an R-rated original property though and Ghost in the Shell has a storied past of being a groundbreaking graphic novel of sorts before being turned into a beloved animated feature in the mid-90's. Fans of the series weren't necessarily happy about the idea their source material was being mined by those in Hollywood who will take any brand and try to turn a profit from it and there is of course the outrage over the casting of a white actress in the lead role over a Japanese actress. Still, the problem here seemingly lied in none of those factors (fans were always going to be too curious to stay away), but rather the studios fear of going all out with the material. The film is fine enough and looks fantastic on the big screen, but after the successes of Deadpool, the John Wick films as well as Logan it seems going with the safe, PG-13 option so that more people are allowed to see your film doesn't necessarily yield results where people actually show up to watch your film. In other words, go big or go home. Another interesting factor is the breakdown of opening weekend audiences for Ghost in the Shell were 61% male versus 39% female whereas Lucy had an opening weekend audience that was 50% female. Wherever the fault may lie, one thing is clear: we won't be getting any Ghost sequels anytime soon. Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and subscribe to our YouTube channel as we have a new review (or reviews) up each week!

Official Trailer for ANNABELLE: CREATION

It seems I may in fact have to catch up with director John R. Leonetti's supposedly terrible 2014 spin-off Annabelle as the sequel that spin-off, or as it is now being labeled, "the next chapter in The Conjuring universe," Annabelle Creation looks to be rather intriguing. It seems after finding and producing a full length version of David F. Sandberg's Lights Out last summer horror maestro James Wan (Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring) enlisted Sandberg to also direct the next installment in his ever-expanding horror brand. Though Wan is currently busy prepping for Warner Bros. Aquaman solo film as part of their DC Comics Extended Universe there is no doubt the studio wants to also keep the director very much involved in the genre and properties where he built his name and where they see large returns on micro budgets. The first Annabelle was produced for a paltry $6.5 million and raked in $84 million domestically and $256.8 million worldwide. Add to that last summer's The Conjuring 2 which had a slightly bigger price tag at $40 million, but made over $100 million in the U.S. alone with a worldwide total of over $300 million and you'll understand why the studio will continue to pump out sequels and anthology films until they're blue in the face. All of that taken into consideration, it doesn't hurt that the studio and Wan are assigning such projects to people they believe in. Though Leonetti's initial film may not have been critically acclaimed he was a guy who'd served as Wan's cinematographer on a number of project's throughout the years and who Wan likely went to bat for. The same seems to be true of Sandberg who made a short film that he was lucky enough to get in front of someone as influential as Wan who liked it and has now given him the keys to the castle. As for this trailer, this looks like a much bigger, more refined piece of filmmaking than its predecessor as the period setting and grandness of the origin story lend the whole thing an aura of horrific prestige. A little too much of the story is divulged, but here's to hoping Sandberg and writer Gary Dauberman (who also helped pen the It re-make) still have a few surprises left for audiences. Annabelle: Creation stars Anthony Lapaglia, Miranda Otto, Alicia Vela-Bailey, Stephanie Sigman, Talitha Bateman, Philippa Coulthard, Lulu Wilson, Kerry O'Malley, Samara Lee, Brian Howe, and opens on August 11, 2017.