Wow. Okay, I was skeptical, but yeah, this looks like quite a performance from Christian Bale here. Could the Best Actor race be over? Adam Mckay’s Vice is said to be kind of a dark comedy (although not as comedic as The Big Short), and I was wondering whether a movie about the Bush administration in this climate might not feel relevant right now, but this actually looks pretty good. I’m in. It’s coming out at Christmas.
X-Men are Back With 'Dark Phoenix'
This movie looks pretty mediocre and it’s been delayed for a long time, having been filmed over a year ago. It looks like the same story as X-Men 3, honestly, with Sophie Turner’s Jean Grey becoming Dark Phoenix this time. For some reason I thought this was a spinoff of the younger characters, but it looks like McAvoy and Fassbender are in it again as Professor X and Magneto, and Jennifer Lawrence is back with the worst Mystique makeup yet (seriously, what have they done to her head?). It comes out next February.
Adonis and Rocky Are Back in 'Creed II'
So I guess Rocky survived his cancer. The first Creed was a really good movie, but this one isn’t directed by Ryan Coogler, so who knows if it’ll turn out as well (it was written by Stallone and Cheo Hodari Coker). Also, the idea of having him fight the son of Ivan Drago seems a little silly and predictable, but I guess the plot of every film in this series is more or less the same. It comes out November 21st.
Final Trailer for 'Fantastic Beasts 2' is the Best One
I thought the trailers for this sequel were pretty mediocre, but this last one finally makes it look more intriguing and magical. I don’t exactly have high hopes for it though, because even though I thought the last movie was okay as I was watching it, it was not a film that stuck with me for longer than a few minutes. And Johnny Depp’s involvement kind of soils this whole thing.
See the New Trailer for Keira Knightley's 'Colette'
Colette opened this last weekend in very limited release (just NY/LA) to very good reviews (92% Rotten Tomatoes) and many saying it’s a career best performance from Keira Knightley. Keep an eye out for it as it expands to more cities over the next few weeks. I love a good period piece and there haven’t been all that many recently, so I’ll be seeing this for sure.
'If Beale Street Could Talk' Gets a New Trailer
The new Barry Jenkins movie based on the James Baldwin novel was a runner-up for the TIFF People’s Choice Award, despite reports that it may have been too inaccessible for mainstream audiences. Apparently not, and that kind of response indicates it may not be just critics who warm to this movie. The trailer is certainly lovely. It comes out on November 30th.
Ralph and Vanellope Explore the Internet in Final Trailer for 'Wreck-it Ralph 2'
Finally some advertising that’s not just about that Disney princess scene. I actually liked the first Wreck-it Ralph and thought it was perfectly made for sequels, but then Zootopia came out and became my favorite Disney movie in the last two decades (and even MORE perfectly engineered for sequels), so I kinda forgot about this one. But this trailer makes it look pretty fun, so I’ll be seeing it.
John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan Take On Laurel & Hardy
This biopic about the legendary duo Laurel and Hardy is set to come out on October 21st, and has me sadly wondering how many people have even heard of the two iconic silent and early sound era screen stars. If you haven’t seen any of their stuff you should really look it up- I recommend the short Big Business in particular. Hilarious.
Brie Larson Crash Lands on Earth in First 'Captain Marvel' Trailer
Hey, this looks kinda good! Finally, after 11 years, we have Marvel Studios’ first film starring a woman superhero, as Brie Larson takes up the mantle of Captain Marvel, in a movie set in the 1990’s (making use of the whole digital de-aging process to bring back Pulp Fiction era Samuel L. Jackson, as you can see here). Have to admit, I might be sort of excited for this one. Can’t believe it took them so long, but it’s finally happening.
Emily Blunt is Mary Poppins for a New Generation in 'Mary Poppins Returns'
Months after the original teaser, and the trailer is finally here for this. Looks like Emily Blunt chose not to do a Julie Andrews imitation, which is probably smart, but I’m not sure. Looks okay, I guess. To me, the 1964 movie is iconic and singular, not something that can be redone in any way, really. And it sounds like they’ve got some new music here, but the best part of this trailer is seeing Dick Van Dyke dancing again. What do you think?
Here’s the retro poster they came up with:
Oscar Season Kicks Off as 'Green Book' Wins the People's Choice Award at TIFF
Well, there you have it. The first big prize of Oscar season is the Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award, which always goes to a movie that ends up being a heavy Oscar contender. Past winners have included Three Billboards, La La Land, Room, The Imitation Game, 12 Years a Slave, Silver Linings Playbook, The King’s Speech, etc. For the past ten years at least, it’s been a pretty reliable bellwether. A lot of people though A Star is Born would win this, but it turns out it wasn’t even one of the runners up. Green Book was so popular with crowds that it probably shouldn’t be that surprising, but the runners up here were Alfonso Cuaron’s Roma and Barry Jenkins’ follow up to Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk, which got quite good reactions from critics a few days ago as well. But this solidifies Green Book as a very strong Oscar favorite going forward, so look out for it.
Crowd Pleaser 'Green Book' is a Showstopper in Toronto
Reports out of TIFF indicated a surprise audience favorite in Green Book, this movie starring Viggo Mortenson and Mahershala Ali, which took the crowds by storm and is set to turn into a huge word of mouth hit around Thanksgiving. Comparisons to Hidden Figures abounded, and you have to admit that it does look crowd pleasing. I hadn’t heard of it before, but I’ll have to keep an eye out now.
