FINAL TRAILER: "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies"

The last Hobbit movie gets a final, epic trailer, but it seems to me that in dragging this book out to three movies, buzz and excitement has decreased significantly for these entries. Of course, I'm biased, not being a big fan of either of the first two films. I'm sure the die hards will still be there to complete the trilogy, but most of this has seemed like a missed opportunity.

TRAILER: "Into the Woods"

Well, here we go with a full length trailer that finally decides not to hide that it's a musical. Yet, after seeing it, I'm still concerned. To be honest, the only person who looks like she's got the tone right here is Meryl Streep, hamming it up with some campiness in tow, while everyone else seems to be playing it deadly straight. This play was a flat out comedy, as it needed to be in order for the fairy tale universe to be believable. I don't think deadly seriousness is the right approach for this at all. Hopefully, this is just the trailer not conveying the tone properly, but we'll see. The Emily Blunt and Little Red Riding Hood characters in particular look worrisome, the polar opposites of their portrayals on stage.

TRAILER: "Furious 7"

Okay, so this one is decidedly not an Oscar contender, but expect it to be a monstrous hit next April. And yes, they're showcasing Paul Walker front and center here, maybe even in a fashion that's a little too on the nose, although it's probably considered a tribute to his memory. I'll be honest, I haven't kept up with the Fast and Furious series since seeing the first one in theaters way back when it came out, but I guess that opening action scene here looks kinda cool? With Kurt Russell in the mix now, it seems to have some kind of added pedigree. 

TRAILER: "The Gambler"

Hmm. This full trailer for The Gambler makes it look much better than that short little teaser did a couple weeks ago. Although every time I hear "Sympathy For the Devil" in a trailer it reminds me of The Departed, which, coincidentally, screenwriter William Monahan also wrote. This one's premiering at AFI Fest next week- maybe it's a surprise late breaking Oscar contender that nobody's expecting?

TRAILER: "Minions"

Well, for those who can't get enough of those lovable minions, behold, the trailer for the Minions movie is here. The spinoff/prequel to the Despicable Me movies is set to come out next July, is destined to be a smash hit and will be starring the voices of Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm, which to me is the only interesting thing about it. But these guys sure are popular, so here's what you've been waiting for:

Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Sherlock" Series 1-3

Okay, so I'm recommending something a little different this week, and mostly because the way too expensive gift pack of the BBC series comes with these awesome Sherlock and Watson busts that any fan would love to display in their house (I wish I could buy just those). But given that the gift set really is a lot of money, this is mostly a reminder to check out the show (it's streaming on Netflix) which just recently received a bunch of overdue Emmy love, including wins for Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman. It's not often that a breakthrough role can be so instantly iconic that it launches the actor straight from television into movies, but that's certainly what this show has done for Cumberbatch, and all it takes is one episode to see why. He's the real deal.

BBC Trailer:

TRAILER: "A Most Violent Year"

Thursday marks the start of the AFI Film Festival and with it comes the premiere of J.C. Chandor's A Most Violent Year, one of the last remaining Oscar hopefuls to be seen this season. We really don't know anything about this movie, other than the fact that its star Oscar Isaac was nominated for a Gotham award a couple of weeks ago for it, so clearly at least a handful of critics have seen it already. It wouldn't surprise me if he was great in this, given how terrific he was in last year's Inside Llewyn Davis. Here's hoping the movie lives up to this trailer, which makes it look pretty good, at least in my opinion. It's coming out on Dec 31st.