More Super Bowl Teasers for 'Infinity War,' 'Jurassic World 2,' 'Red Sparrow'

During yesterday's game (yay Eagles!) there were a boatload of teasers and glimpses at the would be blockbusters coming out this year. Here's a recap of the most buzzed about ones:

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (May 4)

Everyone's really excited about this, which brings even more characters into the mega-universe, like the Guardians, Spider-Man, Black Panther and Doctor Strange, but I pretty much hated the last Avengers movie, so I'm meh on it. What I most noticed about this was just about everyone got a new hairstyle since the last one.

 

JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM (June 22)

Jurassic World was one of the loudest, dumbest movies I'd seen in a good decade or so, and the sequel looks to be following in that one's tone for the most part. Who thought it was a good idea to bring those stupid hamster balls back?

 

RED SPARROW (March 2)

I haven't actually posted anything for this movie yet, so I figured I'd throw this one in here. It's coming out next month, and it looks pretty iffy. Most of my skepticism comes from the fact that it's from the hack Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence, but who knows. Also not too sure about JLaw's Russian accent. Hasn't this been done a million times already? Wasn't this similar to the Angelina Jolie movie Salt? Actually, it looks exactly like the begged for Black Widow movie fans wanted, if Marvel had ever agreed to let a Black Widow movie happen. I guess we'll see if anyone's into this.

First Trailer for 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' Is Out

Well, here it is. The young Han Solo movie is coming and here's our first look at Alden Ehrenreich stepping into the shoes of the (most?) iconic Star Wars hero. Although the weird thing for me about the very idea of this movie has always been twofold: 1) we've literally already seen Han Solo as a young man- that was 33-year-old Harrison Ford in the first Star Wars and now that era Han is a new guy, and 2) this character wasn't really iconic because of what was on the page- it was entirely Harrison Ford's personal charisma, his demeanor, his style. That was all just him. So the love of that character was never so much about Han Solo as it was about cool, lackadaisical Harrison Ford taking over the silly, grandiose Star Wars universe and bringing it down to earth with his I-don't-give-a-shit attitude. Can this dude replicate that? Doesn't look like it to me. I wish this was a Lando movie, to be honest.

'Mission: Impossible- Fallout' Trailer Airs During Super Bowl

Yes!! I don't know how it happened, but I've gradually become a fan of this series as each new one is better than the last. For the first time in the franchise, a director returns for a second installment, as writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, who helmed Rogue Nation, is back for more. Also returning for the first time in the series is the major female character from the last movie, the awesome Rebecca Ferguson as a fellow agent Ilsa Faust, along with regulars Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg and Alec Baldwin. Newcomers Angela Bassett and Henry Cavill round out the cast for Ethan Hunt's latest. Looks pretty great!

Toni Collette Stars in the Sundance Horror Movie 'Hereditary'

It's become a tradition of late for the really good horror movies to premiere to ecstatic reception at Sundance, and then go on to cult-like indie status. In recent years we've had The Babadook, It Follows and The Witch, to name a few. Now we've got Hereditary, which I'm pretty sure got the most glowing reviews of them all, in large part thanks to Toni Collette's performance in this, which drew raves like no other out of the festival this year. Said to be more genuinely terrifying than any of the others, It's coming out on June 8th. I can't wait.

Paul Rudd Returns With Evangeline Lilly in 'Ant-Man and the Wasp'

I wasn't the biggest fan of Ant-Man, so I'm guessing whatever the sequel has in store probably won't win me over- but the most notable thing about it is Marvel inching ever closer to a having a female lead. Baby steps, right? This is the first with a woman co-lead, and look, her name even gets to be in the title! Next time, it's Captain Marvel, where they finally wade in altogether. 

Lightning Round Reviews, Part 3: More of 2017

Phew. Really trying to make it through the full list of films from last year, and once again I find that I'm going to have to extend this series to a Part 4, as there are a handful of movies that I haven't gotten to yet, but will soon. Here's the latest batch:

PROFESSOR MARSTON AND THE WONDER WOMEN * * *

The real life of the guy who came up with Wonder Woman is not what you'd expect

The real life of the guy who came up with Wonder Woman is not what you'd expect

A sexy, vibrant account of a true story most people would find extremely surprising- the very unconventional life of Dr. William Moulton Marston (Luke Evans), the man who created Wonder Woman. He was a professor and psychologist, the inventor of the lie detector, and a man who lived the last twenty years of his life in a polyamorous union with his wife and fellow psychologist Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall) and their lover Olive (Bella Heathcote), with whom he had two children with each. Both women and his interest in S&M would ultimately serve as his inspiration for the creation of the most popular female superhero in the world. This is the kind of “forbidden love” that’s not approved of today, to say nothing of the America of the 1930’s. Their arrangement isn’t judged by writer-director Angela Robinson though, who seems fascinated by it, as we can’t help but be as well. However, I myself suspect, given that the two women continued to live together as a couple for the rest of their lives after Marston’s death (without seeking out a third partner), that this may have been a case of two lesbians who sought the chance to make the best of their situation by using a man who was encouraging of their love (as long as he was part of it), to hide their relationship while still being able to live together and have children….but draw your own conclusions.

 

COCO * * *

Pixar remains the expert at drawing tears from the masses

Pixar remains the expert at drawing tears from the masses

Pixar’s latest film should be given a lot of credit for totally embracing a story centered on Mexican traditions, and even setting the story in Mexico itself. Little Miguel wants desperately to be a musician against the wishes of his domineering family, and when he gets lost in the world of the dead on Dia de los Muertes, he must find his way back while figuring out how to fulfill his dream and please his family at the same time. I won’t say the story is exactly revolutionary, but it fulfills the Pixar emotional requirement of making everyone in the audience cry senselessly by the time the credits roll. And needless to say, the visuals are gorgeous, but I do think the movie hedges its bets over whether it ought to be a full on musical or just musically inclined (should have gone with the former), and I also think the songs in this should have been kept in Spanish. Music has a way of transcending language with its own style of communication, which, oddly enough, is part of the film's message, yet they didn't think American audiences could handle Spanish lyrics? 

 

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME * * *

An early 80's love affair is a heartbreaker

An early 80's love affair is a heartbreaker

Luca Guadagnino directs this sensitive, coming of age tale of first love, in this case, a love between 17-year-old Elio (Timothee Chalamet) and the older Oliver (Armie Hammer) a student of his professor father who comes to visit in the summer of 1983. It’s kind of a coming out story, although Elio appears to be coming out mostly to himself, as he realizes the passion of his feelings for this other man, while still pursuing romances with teenage girls. The script was written by the 89-year-old filmmaker James Ivory, making quite a comeback after all these years, and the direction is lush, sensual, and uses the natural romance of its Italian setting to bring up feelings of nostalgia or even longing for a summer passion of your own. This is very much a story about the internal feelings of men (all female characters are pushed aside as props in fact), and the truth is I have never been on board with romanticizing relationships between teenagers and adults, no matter how “consensual” the affair may be. So that may be a barrier of mine that just can’t be broken, yet the performances and the filmmaking are so accomplished here that it demands appreciation.

 

THE SHAPE OF WATER * * * 1/2

A beautiful ode to the past and movie monsters

A beautiful ode to the past and movie monsters

Guillermo del Toro’s latest is an R-rated fairy tale and a tribute to monster movies and the disenfranchised, taking place in early 1960’s, Cold War era America where Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a woman with no speaking ability, works as a janitor in a government lab and falls in love with the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Well, he may as well be. It’s del Toro favorite Doug Jones in his usual full makeup job, who is being held captive and more than responds to Elisa’s affections. Then it’s up to Elisa and her friends, neighbor Richard Jenkins and co-worker Octavia Spencer, to rebel against the white male patriarchy (represented by Michael Shannon in a typical over the top, alpha male performance) and save the monster. This is del Toro’s most fully realized, stunningly directed film since Pan’s Labyrinth, and holds shots and sequences in it that are simply breathtaking. Even if you aren’t fully invested in the romance itself (the monster does come across as more animal than human, which brings up certain connotations regarding Elisa’s proclivities), the movie is a superb technical and storytelling achievement.

 

I, TONYA * * *

Margot Robbie deglams to play the notorious Tonya Harding

Margot Robbie deglams to play the notorious Tonya Harding

Tonya Harding is a divisive figure, to say the least. There’s no defending what was done to Nancy Kerrigan and Harding’s clear knowledge of the situation beforehand. But the movie of her life and dramatization of the “incident,” as it’s referred to here, is an entertaining and provocative exploration of the cycle of poverty and is so well-acted by Margot Robbie in the title role, Allison Janney as her monstrous mother, and Sebastian Stan as Tonya’s idiotic, abusive ex-husband that it’s easy to get wrapped up in the story as it’s happening and save the questioning of the characters for later. Craig Gillespie creates a kind of mockumentary style, darkly comedic take on Harding’s life, but she is hardly shown to be an angel or even a decent person. It does show what kinds of people can come out of an environment riddled with constant abuse and poverty, and the picture it paints is not pretty. I think the movie could go a little tougher on the tabloid sensationalism that sprung from 90’s cases like this one and the OJ Simpson trial, really explore what reveling in the hunger for heroes, villains and humiliation reveals about American society, but it stops short there, keeping the focus on Tonya herself. Does Harding deserve that? Well, I don’t know- did Jordan Belfort of The Wolf of Wall Street deserve that, or OJ Simpson for that matter? There’s never been a rule that movies are only made about American heroes. It also says right from the start that much of this might not have happened as shown, giving the movie an easy out in terms of whose “truth” is reality. Given the state of the world today, the parallels are obvious. 

 

THE POST * * * 1/2

Freedom of the press is once more under assault and Spielberg had to respond

Freedom of the press is once more under assault and Spielberg had to respond

Steven Spielberg’s latest episode in his American history saga (after Lincoln and Bridge of Spies) is a rollicking entertainment, an account of the drama surrounding the Washington Post’s decision to publish the Pentagon Papers in defiance of a federal injunction in 1971, a decision which put the paper in the national spotlight and forever changed its image. It’s also a love letter to American journalism, his answer to the current administration’s attacks on the free press, and the story of a woman who came out of her late father and husband’s shadows to reach heights that they never did. How’s that for timely? Meryl Streep is terrific as Katherine Graham, the new publisher of the family owned paper, who must manage the company’s going public during the crisis, while Tom Hanks is the famous Wapo editor Ben Bradlee, who pushes her to publish while attempting to change the focus at the paper from puff pieces to hard news. The atmosphere and environment of the newsrooms is meticulously recreated, recalling movies like Spotlight and All the President’s Men (which this is basically a prequel to) and as always Spielberg makes good use of the enormous casts willing to work with him (his movies are kind of like playing spot the TV actor). Spielberg being Spielberg, he can’t help but lather on the sentiment a bit at the end, but it takes nothing away from the crux of the story and the importance of the message, especially in today’s climate. Sometimes you need lessons from the past to remind you of what’s important in the present.