Disney Revs Up Nostalgia With First 'Aladdin' Teaser

In a very similar fashion to the first Beauty and the Beast teaser, we hear the original Alan Menken score and hear the voice of the Cave of Wonders, as Disney counts on the profound love of Renaissance-era Disney films among millennials (especially those first four, in The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Lion King) to gin up another billion dollar hit at the box office. I’d rather just watch the old movies, to be honest. There’s something weird and cynical about movies that exist solely to play off nostalgia and love of the old films- again, why not just re-release those old movies?

Clint Eastwood's 'The Mule' Coming in December

A last minute surprise release was added to the 2018 calendar last week, as Clint Eastwood’s The Mule (written by his Gran Torino screenwriter Nick Schenk) is suddenly slated to arrive in December. Eastwood actually stars in this, his first acting role in 6 years, and at age 88 too. As off as he might be in real life (I’ll never forget that empty chair moment at the RNC in 2012), it is admirable that anyone his age is still directing and starring in their own movies. Don’t know if this one will be any good or not, but you gotta give him that.

New Extended Look at James Wan's 'Aquaman'

I missed this one the other day, but here’s a 5 minute trailer for Aquaman, coming out in December. Curiously, this was WB and the DC Universe’s only movie this year. Looks pretty dumb if you ask me. I was one of the unfortunate few who saw the Justice League movie, and Jason Momoa’s Aquaman is not what I’d call a charismatic lead. Also, all the CG action looks like a video game in this.

New Look at 'Mary, Queen of Scots'

This is a better trailer than the first, which made it look pretty bad, but I’m still unsure on it. Also, Margot Robbie’s makeup in this is just SO distracting- I feel like the makeup department could have done a better job. It’s set to close the AFI Film Festival in November, which is kind of a hit and miss slot for premieres. There’s no telling on this one yet, but I don’t have a good feeling about it.

Christian Bale Transforms into Dick Cheney in Adam McKay's 'Vice'

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.