So this looks like an Oscar movie if ever I've seen one. And kind of an old-fashioned one too, with espionage, romance, wartime setting...all that good stuff. This is being directed by Robert Zemeckis, who may even be trying to play up the throwback part of it- is this more of an homage to another kind of film than an original one? The best of these can work as their own story as well, on top of the winks. We'll see if this one can pull it off. Allied is coming out right in that Oscar sweet spot too, Thanksgiving weekend.
New 'Rogue One' Trailer Plays During the Olympics
So I won't lie- this trailer does look to me like a massive improvement over the first one. But of course, one thing to keep in mind with this movie are the extensive re-shoots ordered by the studio over the summer, supposedly in an attempt to match the more lighthearted tone of JJ Abrams' The Force Awakens. We all know how that turned out for Suicide Squad. But there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of evidence of that in this look at it, as the movie still seems more serious and intense than that film was. I'm hopeful for it, simply because this at least involves some new characters and may not be entirely based around the nostalgia fan-fic feel of Force Awakens. Of course, studio meddling could always ruin that element of it.
Billy Bob Thornton Returns for 'Bad Santa 2'
The recent trend in sequels to movies from the last decade has been a pretty unsuccessful one, so I suppose there's no reason to think this will break the mold. But I gotta admit, I laughed at this trailer. Of course, the original Bad Santa, while not everyone's cup of tea, cracked me up to no end and still does, so I like seeing nasty ol' Willie return for more depravities here. But this is also a completely different director and team of writers, so who knows if it'll amount to anything. That first one might have been black comedy lightning in a bottle.
First Look at Amy Adams in Alien Invasion Movie 'Arrival'
This could be interesting. Seems like every fall there's a new space movie in tow, and this time it's Amy Adams as a translator for a group of invaders from another planet. Jeremy Renner co-stars and the director is Denis Villenueve, who made Prisoners and Sicario. The full trailer arrives in a few days, but this early look is promising.
10 Movies For August
For the month of August, our theme is Going Global, and our films for recommendation this month include foreign-language films from different countries around the globe. This is one of my favorite categories of the year, because it feels like traveling to a different culture with each pick. Some of my favorite movies in our list this month include La Dolce Vita, Amelie, The Barbarian Invasions, Run Lola Run and Ju Dou, among others. Go ahead and go to the Movies for Every Month page to read more about the theme, and head to the August movie page to see the full list of films, complete with their original trailers. Enjoy the last cinematic summer vacation of the season and happy movie watching!
BOX OFFICE 8/05-8/07: 'Suicide Squad' Makes a Killing at the Box Office
Despite getting completely and utterly trashed by critics, WB's Suicide Squad wiped out the record for an August opening, pulling in 135 million over three days. However, there was a pretty steep drop-off from Friday to Saturday alone, and after receiving a mere "B+" Cinemascore, this one looks to be in for a fate similar to March's Batman v Superman, as audiences come out of this film more inclined to agree with the critics' disdain. Still, it made bank overseas this weekend as well, and already has 267 million in the can globally. It's enough to depress you, as the DC universe can't manage to produce a semi-decent film, yet continues to rake in the cash due to audiences' excitement over the idea of these superheroes. The female audience in particular turned out for this one, probably due to the idea of Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn being front and center. That bodes well for Wonder Woman, but given this track record, I wouldn't be getting my hopes up if I was a fan of any of these characters. Believe it when you see it.
Last week's winner Jason Bourne took a big fall, but continues to do well overseas, having earned 195 million so far. STX's Bad Moms is also holding well, serving a female audience that is mostly underserved all year round, which explains how the Mila Kunis comedy could end up with close to 100 million by the end of its run. The Secret Life of Pets and Star Trek Beyond rounded out the top five, with 11 and 10 million, respectively.
Top 5:
- Suicide Squad- 135 million
- Jason Bourne- 22.7 million
- Bad Moms- 14.2 million
- The Secret Life of Pets- 11.6 million
- Star Trek Beyond- 10.2 million
Kevin Spacey's Nine Lives, also critically panned, took in around 6 million over its debut weekend, while Ghostbusters has 116 million total, but not much overseas at all, and looks set to lose money, putting the future of the franchise in doubt. Next week it's Disney's Pete's Dragon against Meryl Streep's Florence Foster Jenkins, so who knows how Suicide Squad will hold up against those films targeting different audiences.
Early Teaser for Christopher Nolan's 'Dunkirk'
This movie isn't coming out until next summer, but this early tease is quite intriguing. You wouldn't think a guy like Christopher Nolan would make a straightforward war movie, so I wonder what the hook is for this one. Or who knows, maybe he did want to go straight with it this time (chasing the Oscar that still eludes him and all). We just have to wait and see.
Brand New Look at 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'
I missed this Comic-Con trailer a while back, so here it is now. I have to say, this has been a mostly terrible year for movies in general, with so little overall worth seeing, and as far as studio movies go, I don't think this one looks too bad. It's the same team that made the Harry Potter movies of course, this time with JK Rowling having actually written the script, but I'm kinda curious. I should probably read the actual book, right? I read all the Harry Potters but missed out on this one.
Matt Damon Stars in Fantasy Action Epic 'The Great Wall'
So, there's already been some reactions to this movie from those who are questioning, to say the least, the decision to cast Matt Damon as the star of an action movie that takes place in 15th century China, and it does look a little out of place. However, this is Zhang Yimou, master director of Raise the Red Lantern, Ju Dou, House of Flying Daggers, and the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremonies. As strange as this story may look [I don't know what's going on with the monsters over the wall], we're at least going to be getting some amazing visuals, I think it's safe to say. But yeah, it definitely looks...different.
Full Trailer for 'The Lego Batman Movie'
I wasn't the biggest fan of The Lego Movie, but I actually thought Batman was one of the funniest parts of it. So I have to admit, I laughed a couple times while watching this trailer. I think Will Arnett might be a better Batman than the current live action version. And now we get Robin too? Oh yeah, this movie's going to be huge.
Comic-Con Launches 'Doctor Strange' Trailer
The initial teaser was intriguing, but I have to say, this new trailer makes the movie seem a hell of a lot more generic than that first glimpse revealed. Huh. Then again, it is another Marvel movie. What can I even say now that hasn't been said about their films? The most distracting thing to me here though is Benedict Cumberbatch's jarring American accent. I don't even know if it's good yet, all I know is he opens his mouth and I expect to hear that slick, silky British baritone. Why couldn't they just let him keep it? Tilda Swinton and Chiwetel Ejiofor got to keep theirs. I don't like hearing him talk like that. It's weird.
Oscar Winner Brie Larson Stars in 'Kong: Skull Island'
So, the studio seemed to know that the whole King Kong character is old news, which is why they've apparently decided to turn him into Godzilla. Because that's what this ludicrous looking film is, King Kong by way of Godzilla. Not the Beauty and the Beast story we know, but a generic action movie with Samuel L. Jackson yelling at people and various other human cardboard cutouts looking scared before Kong appears, now the size of a mountain. Yeah. This does not look good. Thoughts?