First Trailer for SECRET IN THEIR EYES

I love movies like this, but they are of course more appealing as I get older. As Hollywood pundits grow more and more jaded with the onslaught of action and super hero sequels that take up cineplex screens though there is certainly a need to acknowledge and appreciate films like the somewhat awkwardly titled Secret In Their Eyes. In what feels like a 90's drama that might have starred Harrison Ford and Jodie Foster that looks to bury itself in the murder mystery genre this remake of a 2009 Argentinian film of the same name is the type of entertainment we get from staying in on a Friday night and watching an episode of 48 Hours. There is no rhyme or reason as to why such a subject or story should elicit such enjoyment, but more a reaction and that is where this film will capitalize as well as doing so commercially with its exceptional cast. Julia Roberts and Chiwetel Ejiofor are FBI agents who find themselves in the midst of the event that will mark everything before and everything after in their lives. In a case where Roberts character finds her daughter murdered it is both agents inability to let the case go after being unable to bring the killer to justice that will push them both to operate outside the law. Adapted and directed by Billy Ray (who's written The Hunger Games, Captain Phillips and the 2009 State of Play adaptation, but hasn't directed a film since 2007's Breach) this first trailer hints at a strong adult thriller with even stronger performances that will offer solid counter-programming from the aspiring (and likely inspiring) Oscar contenders with something purely interesting on a mature level. Secret In Their Eyes also stars Nicole Kidman, Dean Norris, Michael Kelly, Lyndon Smith, Joe Cole, Don Harvey and opens on October 23rd.  

On DVD & Blu-Ray: June 30, 2015

New Trailer for LEGEND Starring Tom Hardy

Brian Helgeland has written a number of high profile scripts that range from the acclaimed L.A. Confidential and Mystic River adaptations all the way down to Ridley Scott's 2010 attempt at reviving Robin Hood, but he has only directed a handful of features with the most recent being the straightforward, but solid Jackie Robinson biopic 42. With his latest project in which he serves as both the sole screenwriter and director Helgeland seems to be looking to make his biggest splash yet. With Legend, the writer/director has enlisted Tom Hardy (who just seems to be unstoppable at this point) to play both Ronald and Reginald Kray who were identical twin gangsters that essentially ran the London crime scene in the 1950's and 60's. With the second trailer for the film Universal is really beginning to sell this film as a must-see and the potential for greatness seems to be off the charts. With the success of Mad Max: Fury Road Hardy has become a more visible star than ever before and Legend seems perfectly poised to be that definitive performance that forever puts him on the map as one of the greats. If you've been watching a variety of movies for a few years now you already know the true talent that Hardy is, but based purely on the footage we're seeing here he's seemingly getting ready to make sure the rest of the world knows who he is. The film overall looks to be a massive gangster epic with a top shelf supporting cast that includes Emily Browning, David Thewlis, Christopher Eccleston, Chazz Palminteri, Tara Fitzgerald, and Taron Egerton. Legend opens everywhere on October 2nd. Check out the trailer after the jump.

Favorite Films of 2015 So Far...

It has been something of a strange year so far as much of what has garnered the most attention has been fine enough in my humble opinion, but more often than not just that and little more. Much of what I'm referring to here are the massively successful critical hits that are Mad Max: Fury Road and Inside Out. I enjoyed both of the aforementioned films and both would make my current top ten were this the actual end of the year, but considering we are just closing out the sixth month there is much more to see. The thing is, I've only seen Max and Inside Out once and have a sneaking suspicion that I will enjoy them more and more with each repeated viewing that will certainly happen before the end of the year and so there is plenty of time for things to change as well. I have also missed a few of the smaller films that have garnered critical praise that either didn't open in my comparatively smaller market or were only available to catch for a limited time that I wasn't able to make time for. I have yet to see Sundance winner Me & Earl & the Dying Girl, but hope to catch it this week when it opens in my area as well as catching up on the likes of Clouds of Sils Maria, Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, Faults, The Duke of Burgundy and What We Do In the Shadows each of which have all been recently released on home video or are coming out soon. It is uncertain if any of these will leave an impression as big as some of their reviews would suggest, but I'm hopeful. Some of my choices are rather obvious as they will no doubt appear on 90% of year end top ten lists, but others I hope might not be and I've added a few close calls so as to round out a top ten for this point in the year. With so many highly anticipated releases coming this fall and winter none of these films are safe, but I'll be surprised if at least two or three of these films don't also end up on my year-end top ten, especially considering I'll have seen many of them more than once at that point.

First Trailer for DADDY'S HOME Starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg

As it was father's day weekend it comes as no surprise that Paramount Pictures decided to release the first trailer for the Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg reunion that will be hitting theaters this Christmas and is appropriately titled, Daddy's Home. Given The Other Guys is one of the most underrated comedies of the last few years and that Ferrell has been hitting a few speed bumps lately (though Sundays Fatal Adoption may be the best move the star could have made for his career while also being the most unexpected) I am really rooting for this one to work, but I can't help but feel about the trailer the same way I did when I saw the initial preview for Get Hard. I want Ferrell to be funny, I want him to be successful so that more people will convert and understand why his fans, myself included, find him as funny as we do, but dammit if this doesn't initially look like another misstep. There is hope in the fact that this might be rated-R (which I'm not saying is necessary to be a good comedy, the aforementioned The Other Guys was PG-13 and flourished, but the R-rating certainly gives the comic actors room to flourish) given it is directed by Sean Anders (Sex Drive, That's My Boy, Horrible Bosses 2). Each of Anders credits are willing to go the distance for whatever joke needs to be made, no matter how dirty and while Sandler's film is my least favorite of Anders trio I still laughed at large portions of it. I'm hoping this effortless quality of comedy comes through in the final product as Ferrell and Wahlberg are almost as good together as Ferrell and Reilly and there should be more than enough to work with between them and this premise. Daddy's Home also stars Linda Cardellini, Thomas Haden Church, Alessandra Ambrosio, Paul Scheer, Hannibal Buress and opens on December 25, 2015.