Official Trailer for Christopher Nolan's DUNKIRK

The final, official trailer for the latest epic from director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Inception, Interstellar) has arrived and it looks rather glorious. This is easily my most anticipated film of the summer. Dunkirk was shot completely on IMAX 65mm film and 65mm large-format photography with Nolan and Interstellar cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema reuniting once more for what will hopefully be a World War II film for the ages. While my concern with Dunkirk comes more out of the fact the market for WWII film is rather saturated these days than any worry with Nolan or the story he wants to tell there is a certain familiarity with these types of images that no longer allow them to feel as fresh no matter what scope one is shooting on. That said, the imagery we get here in this extended trailer only reinforces the beauty the filmmakers have found in this tragic event. The story concerns the real-life events of the evacuation of Dunkirk, known as Operation Dynamo, during the British military operation that saved 330,000 lives as Allied soldiers were surrounded by German forces. Nolan wrote the screenplay himself without usual collaborator, brother Jonathan, but the picture will reunite the director with longtime collaborator/composer Hans Zimmer. We already seem to know there is no one particular protagonist, but rather that Nolan's film will consist of several different perspectives on similar scenarios that will only stand to increase the tension within each of these situations. Granted, I'll see anything Nolan decides to put his time and effort into so all of this may not exactly be saying much, but nonetheless the idea we're getting a WWII film from the perspective of one of our great modern filmmakers is nothing to be dismissed. Dunkirk stars Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Cillian Murphy, Aneurin Barnard, James D’Arcy, Jack Lowden, Barry Keoghan, Tom Glynn-Carney, Harry Styles, and opens on July 21, 2017.

First Trailer for THE DARK TOWER

Man, I really need to read more Stephen King. Given the upcoming IT re-make and the fact I've never seen the original miniseries (don't kill me) I feel like I have a lot of King territory to cover. All of that said, I have no idea what The Dark Tower is about or what all the hype is concerning, but I'm certainly interested. That said, this trailer is the first thing I've seen around the material and while I'm not sure I exactly understand why the intrigue is seemingly so great I am naturally interested to find out about this world, these characters, and the story that has captured the imagination of so many of King's readers. Hell, I have three months I may even try to knock out the source material beforehand if I have the time. So, how does this trailer look from the perspective of someone who has no attachment to said source material? Well, it looks fine. It definitely looks like a big-budget summer movie and the fact it gives Idris Elba a marquee role in a potential blockbuster franchise as well as potentially giving Matthew McConaughey one of his more interesting roles in a few years is worth the investment alone. Apparently there are eight novels in King's series and I suspect Sony is hoping this first film is a big enough hit that they might continue to make films and build a franchise around them especially given the studio is now sharing its most profitable property with Marvel and hasn't exactly found any other solid ground in the past few years. With Bond up for grabs this would seemingly only make The Dark Tower series more vital and a fairly large gamble for the studio. Still, what is different about this offering is the fact it will likely be an R-rated summer offering in the midst of PG-13 action adventures and animated blockbusters. The fact it does come from King also leads me to believe there will be a fair amount of horror involved-setting the expansive landscape that features the Gunslinger and the Man in Black apart even further. Here's to hoping filmmaker Nikolaj Arcel (A Royal Affair) can use everything working for him to his advantage. The Dark Tower also stars Tom Taylor, Katheryn Winnick, Abbey Lee, Jackie Earle Haley, Dennis Haysbert, Fran Kranz, and opens on August 4th, 2017.

On DVD & Blu-Ray: May 2, 2017

Initial Reaction: Video Review - THE CIRCLE

The final weekend before the summer movie season begins is typically a rather quiet one and as far as major U.S. releases were concerned this weekend that remained true in 2017. There were certainly some surprises at the box office in what was the final week of April though as Pantelion's How to be a Latin Lover and Great India Films' Baahubali 2: The Conclusion made headlines as the two films finished in second and third place at the domestic box office, despite the fact they played in just over 1,500 theaters combined. Where did this leave what was thought to be the biggest release of the weekend in The Circle, then? Well, unfortunately director James Ponsoldt's transition to bigger budget material was a miss commercially, but that doesn't make me as sad as it would had the film been on par with his previous efforts that include The Spectacular Now and The End of the Tour. That the film itself is something of a dud (it scored a downright terrible "D+" CinemaScore from opening day audiences) is comforting only in the fact that Ponsoldt may yet get a rare second opportunity to introduce himself to the masses in a more appealing way. It's hard to imagine how The Circle went so wrong given it is based on a New York Time's Bestseller by Dave Eggars and not only stars Emma Watson hot off her Beauty and the Beast success, but America's favorite actor, Tom Hanks, in a supporting role as well. Pepper in the fact Bill Paxton gives one of his final performances here, Finn from Star Wars shows up, and the concept itself is modern and interesting enough to sttract younger audiences and one would think it was the complete package, but with little awareness and lukewarm reviews at best it seems The Circle was destined to flounder. The $18 million film from STX Entertainment in cooperation with Europacorp as part of its three-year deal opened in fourth at the domestic box office this weekend with only $9.3 million from 3,163 locations. Though things are quiet now they will certainly pick up this week with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 kicking off the biggest movie season of the year.  As always, 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!

New Trailer for IT COMES AT NIGHT

A new trailer for director Trey Edward Shults follow-up to his homemade breakout hit, Krisha, has arrived online and is definitely one of my most anticipated films of the summer. The film, which just debuted at the Overlook Film Festival, a Shining-inspired horror film festival, has critics already singing its praises. I saw Krisha back in 2015 when it began making the rounds on the festival circuit and was impressed by what Shults was able to pull off with a micro budget and his family for actors. After showing the film at Cannes and it winning the 2015 SXSW’s grand jury and audience awards for narrative feature, the young writer/director inked a two picture deal with A24. It Comes at Night is the first film to be produced from that deal. The film is said to be a psychological horror film about a father who will stop at nothing to protect his wife and son from a malevolent, mysterious presence terrorizing them right outside their doorstep. To this effect, this first full-length trailer for the film still doesn't spill much in terms of such plot. We receive the bear minimum as far as story is concerned with the focus primarily on atmosphere and tone which is in line with the type of horror A24 has released thus far. If you're a fan of The Witch this trailer will likely be all the more enticing, but while that film certainly had atmosphere for days I didn't think the story was as strong as it might have been and found the film not nearly as satisfying as some. So, in hopes of striking the balance between the engaging narrative and the other, key elements of tone and atmosphere when discussing horror films-I hope Shults can pull it off in his first, major studio feature. A24 is one of the most interesting studios out there and anything they choose to either produce or acquire is worth taking note of. Here's to hoping their bet on Shults pays out. It Comes at Night stars Joel Edgerton, Riley Keough, Christopher Abbott, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Carmen Ejogo, and opens on June 9th, 2017.