skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Though I love checking out the latest movie trailers that hit the web and sharing my thoughts instantly, I occasionally fall behind on them and/or become too lazy to write up an article and snap several images of it. So to catch up, I decided to group all of them into one big article. Sadly, in order to do this and speed up the process, I decided to remove The Briggs Breakdown section. This format may be a recurring thing from now on, depending how sloth-like I become by the end of July.
The Good Dinosaur
Teaser Trailer
Watch It Here
Person of Interest: No one really. Well, there is a green dinosaur, his human pet-thingy, and a bunch of other dinosaurs.
Scene Pop: Nothing.
Effective?: Not really. The pompous score tries to make wonders out of the generic actions being displayed ("My God, he's jumping!!!"). Plus, the premise isn't as exciting as it wants to be.
Check it Out?: Inconclusive until a formal trailer is produced. However, the many horror stories this long-digested project as endured, hammered in recently by the announcement of its complete change of its voice actors, has left me thinking it will erase all of Pixar's re-acquired goodwill from Inside Out.
Bridge of Spies
Official Trailer
Watch It Here
Person of Interest: Tom Hanks is James Donovan, a real-life lawyer forced upon by the American government to represent a Mark Rylance's Soviet spy and to help negotiate a prisoner swap to save an American pilot. Amy Ryan also appears as Mrs. Donovan.
Scene Pop: Any of the Berlin shots as it is pure Spielberg.
Effective?: I would say so. It cleanly tells what's going on and the arduous tasks that Hanks needs to go through in order to complete. On the other hand, the brief CGI shots and the generic sound effects utilized are really distracting.
Check it Out?: Sure, especially since it's one of the early big Oscar wannabes of the season. I already have a hunch that Rylance may have a mighty chance to earn a Best Supporting Actor nomination.
The Martian
Official Trailer
Watch It Here
Person of Interest: Matt Damon as the titular character/stranded astronaut, Jeff Daniels as the possibly pseudo-evil head of NASA, and Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kate Mara, Donald Glover, Michael Peña, Sean Bean, Sebastian Stan, and Kristen Wiig as the rest of the Mars crew.
Scene Pop: "I'm going to have to science the SHIT out of this!"
Effective?: Yes, but it gives away the result of the film's first conflict (contact NASA ASAP) in order to build a Apollo 13-like dramatic conflict as the hook.
Check it Out?: Maybe worthwhile but I'm more pointed towards skip. Despite Drew Goddard on script-writing duties, director Ridley Scott hasn't made a true-blue good film in nearly a decade. Plus, Matt Damon isn't really an audience draw anymore, until the expected next Jason Bourne film comes along. Extra plus, the poster is generic as all hell; Michael Clayton much?
Zootopia
Teaser Trailer
Watch It Here
Person of Interest: Jason Bateman as the narrating fox and barely present Ginnifer Goodwin as the rabbit cop.
Scene Pop: Nothing.
Effective?: Sorta. It's just another cute teaser short, explaining a few elements of its story but not the whole picture.
Check it Out?: Inconclusive until a formal trailer is produced.
The Secret Life of Pets
Teaser Trailer
Watch It Here
Person of Interest: Louis C.K.(!) as Max and Jenny Slater as Gidget.
Scene Pop: Louis C.K. is the lead voice actor in an animated movie chiefly for kids!
Effective?: Dumb gags for the kids. That's all it is. Parents and others would see this as the perfect time to check out the phone one last time.
Check it Out?: I would say inconclusive again but I really don't see anything of true value coming from the final product. Looking at its plot, the film is going to be nothing more than The Odd Couple but with dogs.
Sicario
Official Trailer
Watch It Here
Person of Interest: Emily Blunt as a FBI agent who should know better than to hang out with a black ops group consisting of Josh Brolin, Benicio del Toro and Jon Bernthal.
Scene Pop: The spotter car. But really, any of Roger Deakins' beautiful cinematography on display.
Effective?: Yes, up until the sheer stupid use of the Goldeneye gun reload sound effect.
Check it Out?: Yes. Looks like a great little thriller from Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners) and the buzz from Cannes was mostly positive.
Kung Fu Panda 3
Teaser Trailer
Watch It Here
Person of Interest: The same ole kung fu gang plus the new inclusion of Bryan Cranston as Po's biological father.
Scene Pop: I would say the training scene but that's old hat by now with this series.
Effective?: Meh. It's a two joke teaser and it doesn't really have a hook beyond pandas being reunited and feeling so good. Kids will definitely dig it more.
Check it Out?: Depends on your opinion with the last movie and/or the animated TV series. I was really disappointed with Kung Fu Panda 2 and don't really care for the franchise's future anymore. This may heal the wounds and be a better sequel or just be another one of Dreamworks' lackluster efforts.
Daddy's Home
Official Trailer
Watch It Here
Person of Interest: Will Ferrell as the step-father, Mark Wahlberg as the biological father, and Linda Cardellini as the actress who deserves far, far, far better.
Scene Pop: The much hyped NBA halftime stunt.
Effective?: A cookie-cutter trailer for a most probably below-average comedy. This also makes the 2nd comedy-and-family-themed trailer to use an AC/DC song.
Check it Out?: No. Looks to be a solid PG-13, even though Ferrell and Wahlberg are better when they have no reins.
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension
Official Trailer
Watch It Here
Person of Interest: Another batch of unknown actors looking to be killed off at the very end of the film.
Scene Pop: Nothing.
Effective?: No. It's nothing but the usual jump scares and horror tropes, including "something is behind me?" and the cannon fodder priest. Plus, who really would want to view 80 regular VHS tapes in this era?
Check it Out?: No. Everyone pretty much gave up on the series after the first three, aka the good entries, and the the franchise is way long in tooth. This is supposedly going to be the final film in the series, until the eventual reboot, and what better way to treat than let it quickly die in theaters.
Other trailers to consider: The suspenseful and hard-to-watch 99 Homes, where Andrew Garfield helps illegally evict people from their homes under the guidance of Michael Shannon; Dragon Blade, where Jackie Chan and John Cusack fight Adrian Brody in ancient China (wait, what?); and we finally get to see Rock The Kasbah and it looks no good.
Want to find out what movies are heading to Netflix Streaming? I got your back.
Upcoming Netflix Streaming Titles
6/26 - What Happened, Nina Simone?
6/27 - The Reluctant Fundamentalist
6/30 - Hard To Be A God
7/1 - Alive, Bad Hair Day, Bulworth, Grandma's Boy, An Honest Liar, Hostage, Invizimals: The Alliance Files, Piglet's Big Movie, Saw V, Set Fire To The Stars, Shooting Fish, The Secret of Roan Inish, Underworld: Evolution
7/4 - Faults*
7/7 - Monster High: Scaris - City of Frights*
7/9 - Monsters: The Dark Continent, Serena
7/10 - Chris Tucker Live
7/11 - These Final Hours
7/14 - Creep, Goodbye To All That, Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau
7/15 - Da Sweet Blood of Jesus*, Penguins of Madagascar*, The Physician*
7/16 - Changeling
7/17 - The Human Experiment*, Tig
7/18 - Java Heat*
7/23 - Teacher of the Year*
7/25 - The Guest
7/28 - Comet
7/30 - Almost Mercy*, The Wrecking Crew
7/31 - Wet Hot American Summer: First Day At Camp (Netflix Original Series)
8/1 - Outcast
8/11 - Two Days, One Night
8/28 - Narcos (Netflix Original Series)
What to Watch This Week
Your only worthwhile choice of the new releases is the Netflix exclusive What Happened, Nina Simone?. The documentary takes a close up look at one of most amazing blues vocalists, who quickly made a name for herself in the 60's, only to then disappear from the spotlight.
New Streaming Titles I Previously Forgot to Mention
Season 2 of one of the best TV comedy shows today, Louie; the Fight For Your Life 2015 remake no one wanted, Supremacy; anti-fracking documentary GasLand; a spoof movie of a certain TV show that is shockingly not written and directed by Friedberg and Seltzer, The Walking Deceased; and two Stephen Chow comedy films, King of Comedy and God of Cookery.
I'll see you again next Friday.
It has been sadly announced today that legendary film composer James Horner has died from a plane crash. He was 61 years old.
Horner was one of the premiere talents in the game of scoring movies, particularly in the 80's and 90's. After cutting his teeth on B-movies for a couple of years, he quickly shot up the ranks with his breakthrough score for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. According to the film's director Nicholas Meyer, Horner was hired as a cheaper replacement for Jerry Goldsmith, since the studio balked at paying a high fee for him to return. This turn of events would reverse itself later when Horner wasn't hired for the sixth movie due to his expensive stip.
His powerful form of musical expression would help make classics of several 80's movies, most notably Aliens, Cocoon, An American Tail, The Land Before Time, Glory and Field of Dreams. I can attest that his work on Aliens is one of my absolute favorites and has become a major part of film history, especially since his tune "Bishop's Countdown" was greatly abused in a ton of movie trailers. Also, I couldn't tell you how many people, including my own father, have actively cried a river of tears with his scores for Field of Dreams and An American Tail. The latter film also allowed Horner to work on an original song for a change, earning a major hit with "Somewhere Out There".
The first half of the 90's had Horner actively working in movies of various quality. Though he had a few excellent scores with the likes of The Rocketeer, most of the movies are now considered forgettable blockbusters or highly dubious fare. These years of struggle would then turn to absolute prosperity, starting first in 1994 with his sweeping score for Legends of the Fall. He would continue his streak of epic dramas with Braveheart and Apollo 13, two of the most popular scores of the decade. However, he easily triumphed over these and all of his previous work with Titanic. His score and work on its theme song "My Heart Will Go On" made him utterly rich and finally gave him an Oscar for his brilliant work.
Horner really had no way to top his success in 1997. He continued on working in his usual wheelhouse, often switching between blockbusters and would-be breathtaking dramas. He worked again with James Cameron to bring more life to Avatar but since 2009, he has greatly slowed down. 2015 was to be one of his biggest years in over a decade, with his work being featured in the upcoming boxing drama Southpaw and November's Oscar hopeful The 33.
He will sorely be missed.
Want to find out what movies are heading to Netflix Streaming? I got your back.
Upcoming Netflix Streaming Titles
6/12 - Champs, The Cobbler, Orange is the New Black (Season 3), Life of Crime
6/13 - Antarctica: A Year On Ice, Transformers: Age of Extinction
6/15 - Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer
6/16 - Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made Of, The Butler, Curious George; Two Days, One Night
6/17 - Point and Shoot*
6/19 - A Most Wanted Man
6/20 - Cake*
6/23 - Advantageous*
6/24 - Beyond The Lights*
6/25 - Ballet 422*
6/26 - What Happened, Nina Simone?
6/27 - The Reluctant Fundamentalist
7/10 - Chris Tucker Live
7/31 - Wet Hot American Summer: First Day At Camp (Netflix Original Series)
What to Watch This Week
Everybody will of course be binge-watching Season 3 of Orange is the New Black. Bad movie lovers, however, can take their pick with several "quality" titles including the Adam Sandler bomb The Cobbler and Michael Bay's latest "one for them" blockbuster Transformers: Age of Extinction.
New Streaming Titles I Previously Forgot to Mention
The return of art faves Upstream Color and Primer.
I'll see you again next Friday.
To further ruin this day, Dusty Rhodes has died. He was 69 years old.
Rhodes was both one of the most legendary pro wrestlers and one of the smartest minds in the entire industry. He was the son of a plumber, spoke in a lisp that famously made him sound black, and had a big girth and he was proud of it.
Starting off his promising career as a heel and later breaking out when he tag-teamed with Dick Murdoch, his natural charisma and draw with his blue-collar audiences eventually lead to a face turn. He quickly exploded in popularity and would win the NWA Heavyweight Championship several times, often doing battle with his constant rival Ric Flair.
Though he was above adequate in the ring, shucking and jiving with his Bionic Elbows, it was his promo skills that made him a legend. He would constantly back up his nickname as "The American Dream", waxing on about how, "he wined and dined with kings and queens, and lived off pork and beans." His most famous moment on the mic of course has to be his "Hard Times" promo, where he compared Flair's evil actions to the ills that plagued the American working class and how he and the viewers at home would come together and take the Heavyweight belt off of the Dirtiest Player in the Game.
Behind the scenes during the last stretch of the NWA era, Dusty was hired on as the head booker for Jim Crockett Promotions. Though he made some brilliantly creative decisions, including the famed War Games match, he was also mocked for his frequent preference for dirty endings to big money matches. The most infamous of these, now dubbed "the dusty finish", consisted of the heel champion taking out the referee or throwing their opponent over the top rope, the face getting their second wind and pinning the champion, only for a second referee to come out and reverse the clean decision and title change.
When he was fired after booking a violent angle where he was viciously bloodied by the Road Warriors on TV, he went up north to the WWF. Despite being forced by Vince McMahon to don attire littered with bright yellow polka dots (though Dusty later said he came up with the crazy idea), Rhodes found a way to make it work and become one of the most popular upper-mid-carders in the promotion. Having a killer theme song also helped.
The rest of his career saw "The Dream" jumping in and out of every wrestling promotion, from WCW to ECW to TNA to ROH. Though his main work often laid in the booking department, he would sporadically pop up on shows, wrestle, or do commentary. He eventually was re-hired by the WWE, where he served as a backstage advisor and creative consultant. His most famous appearance during this era of his life was when he came out to support his two sons, Cody and Dustin "Goldust" Rhodes, during their red hot feud with The Authority. In recent years, he was operating in the WWE's developmental area, grooming future superstars in the art of the promo.
He will sorely be missed.
It has been sadly announced today that Sir Christopher Lee died on Sunday. He was 93 years old.
The legendary actor will forever be know for his breakout role as Hammer Films' version of Dracula. Though he didn't exactly relish the role in later features due to the lack of acting challenges, having no lines to speak and being emotional blackmailed by the studio, his handsome yet vicious interpretation helped revive the horror icon. He would participate in several other Hammer movies, often along side Peter Cushing, including The Monster in Curse of Frankenstein, the titled character in The Mummy, and Sir Baskerville in The Hound of the Baskevilles.
Though he suffered from being typecast as the villain in many films, including a ill-advised run as Fu Manchu, he was cast in some roles that gave him a worthy challenge. Beside Dracula and Frankenstein's Monster, fans of British horror will fondly remember him as cult leader Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man. He would then make a big splash with American audiences as James Bond's latest adversary Lord Scaramanga in The Man With The Golden Gun.
He moved to America in the late 70's to avoid being further typecast. Though he was occasionally cast as a villain, Lee started to appear in more comedic roles. The Return of Captain Invincible, an odd curiosity piece from Australia, gave Lee the chance to do a musical number. He would mock the stiffness of British horror roles when he participated in the terrible/entertaining sequel The Howling II, playing a Cushing-like role as a paranormal investigator who was a-okay with going to rave parties. And for those who grew up in the 90's, many will recall his lighthearted turn as a scientist in Gremlins 2: The New Batch.
Lee experienced a revival in his popularity in recent years when he accepted the mighty role as Saruman in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy. This then lead to his casting as Count Dooku in the Star Wars prequels and a working relationship with Tim Burton and his films. Though Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a polarizing experience, his brief role as Willy Wonka's dentist father is one of the genuine great moments in the film.
His acting career and refusal to retire is only one part of this great man. He fought in World War II as part of the Royal Air Force, survived six cases of malaria in under a year, worked as a Nazi hunter, had to go through a great ordeal in order to try to wed a royalist, climbed Mt. Vesuvius days before it erupted, and sang in several heavy metal bands.
He will sorely be missed.
Want to find out what movies are heading to Netflix Streaming? I got your back.
Upcoming Netflix Streaming Titles
6/5 - Sense8 (Netflix Original Series)
6/6 - On The Road
6/7 - Words and Pictures
6/8 - Grace of Monaco
6/9 - Free The Nipple, It's Hard Being Loved by Jerks*
6/10 - Nightcrawler, Rosewater
6/11 - The Legend, The Legend 2
6/12 - Champs, The Cobbler, Orange is the New Black (Season 3), Life of Crime
6/13 - Antarctica: A Year On Ice, Transformers: Age of Extinction
6/15 - Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer
6/16 - Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made Of, The Butler, Curious George; Two Days, One Night
6/17 - Point and Shoot*
6/19 - A Most Wanted Man
6/20 - Cake*
6/23 - Advantageous*
6/24 - Beyond The Lights*
6/25 - Ballet 422*
6/26 - What Happened, Nina Simone?
6/27 - The Reluctant Fundamentalist
7/10 - Chris Tucker Live
7/31 - Wet Hot American Summer: First Day At Camp (Netflix Original Series)
What to Watch This Week
Sense8 is the latest in Netflix's big wave of new TV shows. However, despite an interesting sci-fi concept (8 people from around the world share each other's skills and emotions), it comes from The Wachowskis and J. Michael Straczynski, three names that now live in infamy. Still, the globe-hopping storylines and action heroics look pretty amazing.
New Streaming Titles I Previously Forgot to Mention
Apocalypse Now and it's divisive director's cut Redux; Francis Ford Coppola is further spotlighted with his art films One From The Heart and Tetro; After Dark Action film series including Scott Adkins' huge bodycount in El Gringo and Van-Damme crossing Cung Le in Dragon Eyes; All of the Kickboxer movies, including the one starring the guy from "Step by Step" and written by David Goyer; See Eric Roberts with and without his thumbs in The Pope of Greenwich Village; Jonathan Demme's zany screwball rom-com/thriller Something Wild; Briefly controversial kid's animated show SheZow; John Wayne tries to save a plane in The High and the Mighty; The original vision of 1977's The Island of Dr. Moreau; The return of The 'Burbs and Dead Snow; And finally, the infamous Troll movies (cue the "Oh my GOD!!!" guy).
I'll see you again next Friday.
An one-armed female road warrior named Furiosa (Charlize Theron) secretly snatches a slew of nubile women from tyrannical post-apocalyptic warlord Immortan Joe. After one of the many, many driving action sequences in this movie, they cross paths with the titled character (Tom Hardy), who was briefly serving as a "blood bank" depositor for the vicious camp and now might serve as a crucial team-member in order for them to escape to a paradisal land. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD is one of the most amazing filmed spectacles in a long time from Hollywood. Its pure oz-ploitation story and visual structure, mixed in with the recent stylings crafted by Neveldine/Taylor, serves up a much needed chance of pace to the recent American vision of big-budget action flicks. In a world over-saturated with slow-mo violent beats and CGI, it's so refreshing to experience excellent use of undercranking and real vehicles blowing up for real. Visionary auteur George Miller and his masterful crew were able to brilliantly follow the strategy of "hide the negatives, accentuate the positives"; characterization and overall plot isn't robust and plentiful but you actually care about the mostly female crew and dread/overjoyed for what's to come next. I also adored how it played up the absurdity of its finale and having a meta moment with the villains. The utter rush of an unending chase, expertly handled by John Seale's camerawork and Margaret Sixel's editing, never fails to exhaust itself. Theron is sheer cool and badass as Furiosa, Hardy is great as the dark rogue who often plays second bill, and Nicholas Hoult steals scenes as an underdog henchman. The sole thing I hated about the picture is its beyond ugly "can you tell this was intended for 3D?!" gag at the last kaboom. Save for this very minor complaint, this film is a bonafide masterpiece. Just absolute wow.
FINAL REVIEW: 5 / 5
A massive earthquake destroys the Hoover Dam, only to then spread along the San Andreas fault line, starting in Los Angeles and moving all the way up to San Francisco, as it constantly rises its magnitude of destructive capabilities. A search-and-rescue helicopter pilot (Dwayne Johnson) seeks to save his ex-wife (Carla Gugino) and daughter (Alexandra Daddario) from the annihilation. SAN ANDREAS is really, really stupid but a fun flick nonetheless. The fact that Johnson somewhat forgoes saving other people's lives with his copter or even staying in his designated area of L.A. is the least of the concerns with the picture. The film plants a few seeds only to then refuse to see them grow; Characters are briefly introduced and scuttled off, scenes of characterization are erroneously skipped over, and it utterly wastes the talents of Paul Giamatti and Archie Punjabi with a minor subplot. The film is nothing more than CGI disaster porn and awkward tonal shifts, which could be just fine if you like myself take the pleasure over the pain. There are some harrowing moments, often when it's being performed with real dangers, and the acting is serviceable thanks to the effortless hero antics of Johnson. Though Daddario does a good job as a smart and capable female hero, she's nearly undercut due to her male-gaze-infused entrance. If have a lazy afternoon available and you enjoy seeing and hearing loud demolition, this film could be your ticket.
FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5
2015 will certainly be a great year for horror writer-director Eli Roth. First, his newest film Knock, Knock premiere at this year's Sundance to some critical praise and won over the Internet when its official trailer premiered online. Now, he's gets to pull a Spielberg and have two films come out in the same year. His previous film The Green Inferno, long postponed due to in-fighting between its production companies and a resident of my MIA movies list, is set to be released to the general public.
Blumhouse Pictures, through its new genre label BH Tilt, now owns the distribution rights and plans on setting it a blaze on September 25. In movie theaters I mean, not some weird type of anti-consumeristic display of the worthlessness of the products generated by the film industry. Anyway, joking aside, Blumhouse and Universal Pictures retrieved the film from Worldwide Entertainment and Open Road Films, who were engaging in a blood feud over who's to pay for the film's marketing, causing it to be pulled from theaters mere weeks away late last year.
Despite my cheering for a film that was finally able to escape distribution purgatory, The Green Inferno will be a hard pill to swallow by the general public. The film is a modern take on the infamous Italian cannibal films of old but with no despicable animal killings this time around. Unless the public wants to celebrate Halloween early and/or still have the stomach for dark violence, the movie will only find its audience with gorehounds and Roth defenders.
