Another year, another list of movies that make me feel better about just sitting around watching movies all the time. Quite a crop this year. But I put this together to 1) see what I’ve forgotten about over the past 12 months (there’s a lot, I can’t lie) and 2) to remind myself what I liked and didn’t like now that the Awards Season Onslaught is upon us.
Here’s my regular-ol’ list of film: Continue reading
Let’s face it; Cloverfield was fascinating, but there were tons of questions I had afterwards. Why all the “Slusho” stuff during Cloverfield‘s viral campaign? Why did the monster come up anyway? And what the hell happened afterwards? Well, we may get an answer to that last one at least, since Abrams’ 10 Cloverfield Lane is officially happening.
So, what’s 10 Cloverfield Lane about? As usual. Abrams is keeping the storyline on the DL, but actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead (The Thing) dropped a little knowledge on Collider, letting them know that the film was basically a post-apocalyptic story where her character wakes up in a “cellar” and is told the world has come to an end:
“He tells me that basically the world is over outside because there’s been a nuclear fall-out. It does have similarity to Faults, in some ways, because you don’t know who’s telling the truth or who to believe. There’s a lot of, who’s manipulating who, and all of that. Tonally, it’s very different, but it has some of those same themes.”
(Check out the full article at Collider for more hints…meanwhile, back to TrailerWatch)
Love the use of “I Think We’re Alone Now”, especially the slowing of the record’s RPM as the trailer goes on. And I love seeing John Goodman in anything. Hopefully this film wil amp up the paranoia, and have a satisfying payoff. Hell, as with the last one, I’m in.
Check it out for yourself. Is it a sequel, or just another hat-tip from Abrams to his old Bad Robot digs? 10 Cloverfield Lane is scheduled to hit theaters March 11th, 2016. Better get your bomb shelter ready now. Y’know, just in case.
TGIF! And to help start the weekend right, how about some free passes to the Baltimore area screening of The Finest Hours? What’s that, you ask? Synopsis!
A heroic action-thriller, “The Finest Hours” is the remarkable true story of the greatest small boat rescue in Coast Guard history. Presented in Digital 3D™ and IMAX® 3D, the film will transport audiences to the heart of the action, creating a fully-immersive cinematic experience on an epic scale. On February 18, 1952, a massive nor’easter struck New England, pummeling towns along the Eastern seaboard and wreaking havoc on the ships caught in its deadly path, including the SS Pendleton, a T-2 oil tanker bound for Boston, which was literally ripped in half, trapping more than 30 sailors inside its rapidly-sinking stern. As the senior officer on board, first assistant engineer Ray Sybert (Casey Affleck) soon realizes it is up to him to take charge of the frightened crew and inspire the men to set aside their differences and work together to ride out one of the worst storms to ever hit the East Coast. Meanwhile, as word of the disaster reaches the U.S. Coast Guard station in Chatham, Massachusetts, Warrant Officer Daniel Cluff (Eric Bana) orders a daring operation to rescue the stranded men. Despite overwhelming odds, four men, led by Coast Guard Captain Bernie Webber (Chris Pine), set out in a wooden lifeboat with an ill-equipped engine and little, if any, means of navigation, facing frigid temperatures, 60-foot high waves and hurricane-force winds.
Gotta say I had some fun watching director Craig Gillespie’s Fright Night re-do. Plus, this trailer is chock-full of cool visual FX, so I’m interested in seeing how Gillespie deals with the off-sea action. How about you?
Nutshell: Read the title of this post. It’s Bay at his best. Bloody, fantastic, and bloody fantastic. A kickass ensemble cast, whipsmart direction, on-point cinematography and glorious art direction. Ooh-rah! Grade: A
“You can’t put a price on being able to live with yourself.”
If anyone has ever fist-pumped about a Michael Bay film, it’s this gal right here. Let’s face it; Michael Bay Go Boom. And it’s glorious. Except when it’s heartbreaking too. In 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (that I’m shortening to 13 Hours for this review because c’mon now) Bay and his cast dig deep, giving moviegoers not only the pomp and circumstance of war, but the pain, fear and uncertainty that goes along with all the ooh-rah.
For me, I’d only really heard about Benghazi in the news, usually when the city’s name was tossed like a grenade into some sort of political debate. So for everyone else who needs a bit of a refresher? On September 11th, 2012, a United States diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked by Islamic militants, killing a United States Ambassador and a member of his staff. Hours later, the militants attacked a CIA compound approximately a mile away from the first attack, killing two United States government contractors serving as the CIA’s Global Response Staff (GRS). 13 Hours follows the story of the six GRS members — former US military — on the weeks before, and all through, the attacks. Continue reading
Image: MUAHS Guild
This year has been an embarrassment of riches in all categories of hair and makeup, from contemporary to period to character (and sometimes a mix of all three…) Penny Dreadful, The Walking Dead, The Knick, Masters of Sex, Key and Peele, Astronaut Wives Club, American Horror Story, Vikings…and I’m just gettin’ started with the TV nominees this year. For film, nominees include Ex Machina, The Danish Girl, Mad Max: Fury Road (a film that cleaned up on Oscar noms earlier today), Spectre, and Spy. Yeah, Guild members have their work cut out for them this year. I’d love to be a fly on the wall to hear how some of the members decide.
I’m surprised that Hamilton didn’t make the cut for hairstyling in a theatrical production…but with nominees like One Night With Janis Joplin, Spamalot and The Ghosts of Versailles, I’ma let that pass. Plus, my favorite high-school guilty pleasure, Days of our Lives, got a double-nod for daytime TV hair styling. Can’t hate that.
Winners will be announced February 20th, 2016 at Paramount Studios. And as always, I’ll be pining away that evening, wishing I was there to clap my hands off for the winners. Oh, probably for the best; I’d faint dead away if I ever got to meet the awesome talent that is Greg Nicotero…
Congratulations to all nominees. Read on for the full list! Continue reading
So, been binging on movies so you can best your Oscar pool? How about one more, just for laughs? Kung Fu Panda 3 won’t be up for anything ’til same time next year, but it’s sure to be a fun ride.
Plus, this screening’s special; they’ll be showing attendees a LIVE stream of the actual Kung Fu Panda 3 red carpet event that will be taking place in LA before the screening. That’s right — red carpet action before the screening, just like you were right there. But with an easier drive home! Ready? Synopsis!
In 2016, one of the most successful animated franchises in the world returns with its biggest comedy adventure yet, KUNG FU PANDA 3. When Po’s long-lost panda father suddenly reappears, the reunited duo travels to a secret panda paradise to meet scores of hilarious new panda characters. But when the supernatural villain Kai begins to sweep across China defeating all the kung fu masters, Po must do the impossible—learn to train a village full of his fun-loving, clumsy brethren to become the ultimate band of Kung Fu Pandas!
I’ve been enjoying the trailer, and the fact that the entire voice cast is back again in its entirety. Oh, and did you know that the Kung Fu Panda series is slated for 6 installments? Ready for some passes? Right this way…
Ooh — docudramas are cool. Like bowties and fezes. Have you seen the trailer for 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi? It’s pretty sweet. Plus, there’s Jim being all butch and all (fine, it’s John Krasinski), Toby Stephens from Black Sails (seriously watch that if you haven’t), and Michael “Blow Up All The Things” Bay at the helm. Could be boom-tastic, all I’m sayin’. And I’ve got passes. But first? Synopsis!
From director Michael Bay, “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi” is the gripping true story of six elite ex-military operators assigned to protect the CIA who fought back against overwhelming odds when terrorists attacked a U.S. diplomatic compound on September 11, 2012. When everything went wrong, six men had the courage to do what was right. Based on the nonfiction book “13 Hours” by New York Times bestselling author Mitchell Zuckoff and Members of the Annex Security Team.
Grab your popcorn, and a steadfast friend’s arm (you’ll probably want someone to grab during all the Bay-tastic moments), and head this way…
I got word on The Witch last year, and it caught my eye; pre-Salem Witch Trials hysteria, with plenty of of religious obsession, isolation and paranoia in the trailer. Now they’re pushing up the release date — prime winter chills weather, perhaps? — to February 19th. Hey, as long as it’s not the week before. No, not because it’s Valentine’s Day, silly. KATSUCON.
Up for some spoopy? Check out the 411…
Greetings,
THE WITCH will be chilling your bones this winter one week earlier. This year’s most anticipated horror movie will now open nationwide in theaters on FEBRUARY 19, 2016.
Look out for the brand new trailer on Tuesday, January 12.
ABOUT THE WITCH
Studio: A24
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQXmlf3Sefg
Genre: Horror
Directed By: Robert Eggers
Written By: Robert Eggers
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger, Lucas Dawson
Runtime: 92 Minutes
Release Date: February 19, 2016
Rating: R for disturbing violent content and graphic nudityOfficial Channels
TheWitch-movie.com
EvilTakesManyForms.com
Facebook.com/TheWitchMovie
Twitter.com/TheWitchmovieSynopsis: In this exquisitely made and terrifying new horror film, the age-old concepts of witchcraft, black magic and possession are innovatively brought together to tell the intimate and riveting story of one family’s frightful unraveling in the New England wilderness circa 1630. New England, 1630. Upon threat of banishment by the church, an English farmer leaves his colonial plantation, relocating his wife and five children to a remote plot of land on the edge of an ominous forest – within which lurks an unknown evil. Strange and unsettling things begin to happen almost immediately – animals turn malevolent, crops fail, and one child disappears as another becomes seemingly possessed by an evil spirit. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, family members accuse teenage daughter Thomasin of witchcraft, charges she adamantly denies. As circumstances grow more treacherous, each family member’s faith, loyalty and love become tested in shocking and unforgettable ways. Writer/director Robert Eggers’ debut feature, which premiered to great acclaim at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival – winning the Best Director Prize in the U.S. Narrative Competition – painstakingly recreates a God-fearing New England decades before the 1692 Salem witch trials, in which religious convictions tragically turned to mass hysteria. Told through the eyes of the adolescent Thomasin – in a star-making turn by newcomer Anya Taylor-Joy – and supported by mesmerizing camera work and a powerful musical score, THE WITCH is a chilling and groundbreaking new take on the genre.
Time for the cool kid movies y’all — and since you’re all cool kids, I’m sure you’ll be chomping at the bit for this one. It’s Charlie “OMG Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is awesome” Kaufman’s new film, Anomalisa. And it looks pretty darn cool. One word: PUPPETS. Don’t scoff before you check out the trailer. Seriously. Synopsis!
Michael Stone, husband, father and respected author of “How May I Help You Help Them?” is a man crippled by the mundanity of his life. On a business trip to Cincinnati, where he’s scheduled to speak at a convention of customer service professionals, he checks into the Fregoli Hotel. There, he is amazed to discover a possible escape from his desperation in the form of an unassuming Akron baked goods sales rep, Lisa, who may or may not be the love of his life. A beautifully tender and absurdly humorous dreamscape, from the brilliant minds of Charlie Kaufman (SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK) and Duke Johnson (“Community” episode, Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas), this stop-motion animation wonder features the vocal cast of Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan and David Thewlis and a stirring strings-based score by Carter Burwell. The darkly comedic and surreal stop-motion journey of a man’s long night of the soul, ANOMALISA confirms Charlie Kaufman’s place amongst the most important of American filmmakers, and announces Duke Johnson as a major creative force.
And btw, this screening is at the Charles Theater. A cool kids movie at a cool kids place — how cool is that? Ready to get your puppet pathos on?
UPDATE: all the passes have been handed out. THANK YOU to everyone who entered — y’all have some seriously awesome ride-along ideas!
Whee — time for comedy! Love Kevin Hart? (Oh come on, that’s a trick question; who doesn’t?) Well, I’ve got passes for the Baltimore area screening of Ride Along 2! Synopsis!
Kevin Hart and Ice Cube lead the returning lineup of Ride Along 2, the sequel to the blockbuster action-comedy that gave us the year’s most popular comedy duo. They are joined in the film by Ride Along co-stars Bruce McGill and Tika Sumpter, as well as those new to the series, including Ken Jeong, Benjamin Bratt and Olivia Munn. The behind-the-scenes team also returning for the next chapter are director Tim Story, as well as Cube’s fellow producers —Will Packer, Matt Alvarez and Larry Brezner.
Rookie lawman Ben Barber (Kevin Hart) aspires to become a detective like James Payton (Ice Cube), his future brother-in-law. James reluctantly takes Ben to Miami to follow-up on a lead that’s connected to a drug ring. The case brings them to a homicide detective and a computer hacker who reveals evidence that implicates a respected businessman. It’s now up to James and Ben to prove that charismatic executive Antonio Pope is actually a violent crime lord who rules southern Florida’s drug trade.
Sound good? Um, YEAH. Right this way…
Got a dollar to spare? A quarter?
Atomic Fangirl 