This long gestating documentary project from the illusive filmmaker Terrence Malick is finally coming out this year, and in IMAX at that. It's written and directed by Malick, about the origins of the universe, from its birth to final collapse. For anyone who saw Tree of Life, this should look vaguely familiar, as that film took elements of his vision for this one in the birth of the universe segment. Ennio Morricone did the score for this, and it was his first collaboration with Malick since Days of Heaven, interestingly enough. There will be two versions of this film- a 40-minute IMAX one narrated by Brad Pitt and a feature length version narrated by Cate Blanchett. It's hard to know how much interest there will be after the failure of his last two films though.
Miles Teller Goes for an Oscar in 'Bleed For This'
You can't tell me that's not what he had in mind when he signed up for this movie, right? Playing real life boxer Vinny Paz, who on top of the boxing thing, actually got into a life threatening injury from a car accident, was told he'd never walk again, and came back from that to ultimate victory? Sounds like all the requisite cliches are in there, that's for sure. And Martin Scorsese produces it too. I don't think Miles Teller has enough good will from other actors, but if he's that good in this, I guess it could happen. He's made it clear in interviews he wants it badly enough. We'll see when this comes out in November.
Bryan Cranston and James Franco Face Off in 'Why Him?'
Ugh. A cheaper, even more sitcom-y version of Meet the Parents. Why, Bryan Cranston, why? His post- Breaking Bad film career hasn't exactly been spectacular, has it? The premise of these kinds of movies is just ridiculous, and it's always centered on making the girl look like as big an idiot as possible, even though she's clearly supposed to be an afterthought, because it's all about the battle between the boyfriend and the dad. But she's the one who picked the asshole, right? So to me it's always clear who the real villain is. Blech.
Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick Lead the 'Trolls' Movie
I'm not a big fan of most DreamWorks animated films, and I'm tempted to predict right now that the best thing to come out of this one is the JT hit "Can't Stop the Feeling," which seems to be entirely what they're selling the movie on here. Seriously, is it me or is that song about 45% of this trailer? Whatever the plot is, it's bound to be thin.
Tom Hanks Pulls Off the Miracle on the Hudson in 'Sully' Trailer
Clint Eastwood's latest takes us back to the day that "Sully" Sullenberger heroically landed that plane on the Hudson river and saved every person on board...and then apparently was the subject of an investigation into the incident and what might have gone wrong. When I first heard about this movie, I did wonder exactly what the story was going to be, since I'm not sure that other than the incident itself, Sully had anything other than an ordinary pilot's life before or since. If there were some repercussions to what happened that day I certainly never heard about them, and probably not too many others know either. So maybe there is more to it after all.
Jamie Dornan and Sarah Gadon Star in 'The 9th Life of Louis Drax'
This is one of those tearjerker mystery movies about a kid who cheats death and a doctor who goes Inception on him to find out the truth in the kid's unconscious mind. Super cheesy, I know. When will Jamie Dornan get to finally be in a good movie? He was SO good on that show The Fall, with Gillian Anderson and he's getting stuck in the 50 Shades of Grey movies and now this. Too bad.
See the Second Look at 'Bridget Jones's Baby'
I wonder if there will be any interest in this movie when it comes out in September. It actually doesn't look AS bad as that second one did, but come on. Choosing between Patrick Dempsey and Colin Firth? And I hate to say this, but...I don't totally buy that Bridget could just get pregnant by accident with her first child in her late forties. I guess it happens sometimes, but that's extremely uncommon, especially with your first baby. As a premise, it's a little bit distracting, actually.
Kate Mara in the Trailer for Sci-Fi 'Morgan'
This looks a little more interesting from today's batch of new trailers, a sci-fi/horror flick that's the directorial debut of Ridley Scott's son Luke. Actually, it looks kinda reminiscent of Ex Machina, with Anya Taylor-Joy, from The Witch, playing the human-esque creature who goes nuts on everyone after being experimented on. The release date of September 2nd is questionable though- usually if a studio thinks it's got something good that's not the best spot to place it in, so obviously Fox is unsure about this one. But it caught my attention.
Maria Bello Stars in Horror Movie 'Lights Out'
With Don't Breathe and now Lights Out, it looks like there's a new trend in horror movies for really simple concepts easy to fill with jump scares. It doesn't look too bad, but I'm just not much of a fan of this James Wan style of horror, which seems to me to be mostly packed with false starts, followed by things constantly jumping out at you from the side of the room, around the corner, etc. There are other ways to do horror, but I guess not for mainstream audiences right now.
New 'Star Trek Beyond' Trailer Debuts Rihanna Song
Just when I was happy that the trailers for this were getting better, they decide to release a third one with a new Rihanna song attached to it. Is a Star Trek movie really the best place to do that? Is this song in the movie? Clearly Paramount is confused who the audience is for this and is just trying to attract a younger crowd, but come on. Aside from that oddity, this still looks better, but I'm weary. Not that it matters of course. For this one I'll be there it even if it sucks.
BOX OFFICE 6/24-6/26: 'Dory' Crushes 'Independence Day'
The 20-years-later sequel to the '96 hit Independence Day turned out to be kind of a bust this weekend, with critics and audiences, as it opened with just 41 million and a lowly "B" Cinemascore, after getting savaged by critics on Friday. It joins the ranks of 2016's sequels no one asked for, while last year's winner Finding Dory continued to dominate, pulling in 73 million and now on track to be Disney's highest grossing film of the year, and the highest grosser of the year, period. It has 286 million in the can already and looks well on its way to surpass The Jungle Book, Zootopia and Captain American: Civil War, possibly headed for a stunning 500 million finish.
Meanwhile, Blake Lively's B-movie The Shallows, did better than expected, coming in with 16 million for the weekend, on top of decent reviews as well, and could hold up in the coming weeks as fun counter-programming of sorts, with not much else out to compete for its audience. Central Intelligence held well, with another 18 million, bringing the new total to 69 million and a likely 100 million grosser for Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson, while newbie Free State of Jones rounded out the top five with just 7 million, a disappointing open for Matthew McConaughey's first starring wide release since Interstellar.
Top 5:
- Finding Dory- 73.2 million
- Independence Day: Resurgence- 41.6 million
- Central Intelligence- 18.4 million
- The Shallows- 16.7 million
- Free State of Jones- 7.8 million
Nicholas Winding Refn's Neon Demon flopped hard in release this week, opening in over 780 screens with a pitiful PTA of 775 dollars. Why on earth they put that movie out in relatively wide release is anyone's guess. And the Daniel Radcliffe "farting corpse" Sundance movie Swiss Army Man actually made about 114k from just three screens, so I guess you can probably attribute that to curiosity more than anything else, because it certainly did not get great reviews. Next week it's the 4th of July holiday, with Spielberg's The BFG and The Legend of Tarzan opening, neither of which are expected to break out exactly, so that's good news for the continued reign of Finding Dory. It's been a pretty dismal summer for movies thus far. I just hope maybe Star Trek or Bourne can break the mold in July.
Trailer for Ewan McGregor's Directorial Debut 'American Pastoral'
Even though this is McGregor's first film, it actually looks kind of intriguing. Although, perhaps I'm being fooled by the music in the trailer. Based on the Pulitzer prize winning novel by Philip Roth, it's about a man conflicted by the turmoil of the late 60's and 70's, and it looks like Dakota Fanning is playing his activist teenage daughter here. May be one to keep an eye on.