Tag Archives: Paul Giamatti

Trailers, Weekend Outlook

Suicide Squad – Weekend Outlook

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August is coming in like a lion with the release of one of the most highly anticipated films of the summer. It will break the August opening record. Alternatively, somehow Christopher Walken and Kevin Spacey agreed to be in a movie about a man who gets turned into a house cat, and the best movie of the weekend is being released by Netflix and will probably never going to see a theater.

Suicide Squad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyJH39ZbPAg

In contrast to the dour, happiness sucking waste of time that was Batman v Superman, Suicide Squad at least proves that DC knows how to have a sense of humor (as twisted as it may be) but that still didn’t make for a great movie.

I knew that the bad guys weren’t going to turn good all of a sudden, but I didn’t think that they would let themselves be held captive by a woman that makes Trump look like a bleeding heart liberal. Seriously, Amanda Waller and by extension the United States government is pure evil.

Visually, the film was great. it had a realism to the effects that was appreciated. It was a gritty and mesmerizing film to watch. However, the story just doesn’t work. There are too many characters and the flow of the movie is constantly interrupted to give us some back story on an extraneous character that is only going to get 5 minutes of screen time and is totally superfluous to the plot. These characters make very stretched choices and nothing feels real. However, that has always been my beef with DC vs Marvel.

Don’t get me wrong, I had fun with the movie, I laughed when I was supposed to and the theater seemed energized. Theaters are selling out, riding a wave of publicity and social media buzz, and the film will certainly break Guardians of the Galaxy‘s previous August record of $94.3 million. They are set up for more films in the future, with the Justice league and a Harley Quinn solo film, but I think I’ve been spoiled with Marvel films that seem like more than just vehicles to sell popcorn.

If you’re looking for a PG-13 film that should have gotten an R rating and want to watch a lot of disturbed individuals do a lot I’ve violent things then this is the movie for you. Maybe I’m just looking for a better class of heroes and villains. Take it or leave it, it’s your choice.

Nine Lives

I think you could find a funnier way to spend an hour and a half if you just binge watched cat videos on YouTube. I can’t believe that these serious actors agreed to be in such a dumpster fire. This won’t crack the top 5 this week and will likely be on the top of my worst movies of the year list. Instead, stay in and save your money. Turn on Netflix and watch a good kids movie.

The Little Prince

Kung Fu Panda director Mark Osborne teams up with Netflix to bring us this animated take on Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s beloved novella about a pilot (voiced by Jeff Bridges) who crash lands in the Sahara desert and encounters a mysterious young boy who claims to be an extraterrestrial prince. James Franco, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Benicio Del Toro, and Paul Giamatti also lend their voices to this production.

Weekend Box Office Prediction:

  1. Suicide Squad – $139 million
  2. Jason Bourne – $28 million
  3. Bad Moms – $14 million
  4. Star Trek Beyond – $12 million
  5. The Secret Life of Pets – $10 million
2010s, Best Movie Bracket, Review, Trailers

2013 – Best Movie Bracket

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You will probably notice a pattern with my picks as we continue to go through this exercise. I’m looking for films that have staying power. I have as much fun as the next guy in the moment, munching popcorn to an action flick, but if you ask me for details a month or two down the road I will give you a blank stare. I love movies that impact you and leave you thinking and feeling something more than entertained.

With that criteria in mind, 2013 was a solid year for cinema with unique and captivating stories like Nebraska, Captain Phillips, Prisoners, Dallas Buyers Club, Snowpiercer, and Inside Llewyn Davis. All of those could be considered honorable mentions to my top 3 of the year.

Continue reading 2013 – Best Movie Bracket →

Trailers

This Week in Trailers: Sing, Space Between Us, Little Prince, Deepwater Horizon, Beauty and the Beast

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Each year there are over 600 movies released in the US. About 150 of those are given a wide release. That is about 3 movies a week, every week, not counting those hidden gems that may not even make it to your local movie house. There are so many movies, it is hard to keep track of all of them.

In this weekly trailer roundup, I want to keep you informed about some of the movies that are coming to theaters soon, and put some others on your radar that are still a good ways off. I will list them and provide links to the trailers if you want to click through, but I will pick out a handful that I’m excited about and provide a synopsis and some color and tell you when you should expect to see it in your local multi-plex.

This week, we got brand new trailers for:

Sing

Synopsis: Set in a world like ours but entirely inhabited by animals, Sing stars Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey), a dapper Koala who presides over a once-grand theater that has fallen on hard times. Buster is an eternal optimist—okay, maybe a bit of a scoundrel—who loves his theater above all and will do anything to preserve it. Now facing the crumbling of his life’s ambition, he has one final chance to restore his fading jewel to its former glory by producing the world’s greatest singing competition.

Five lead contestants emerge: A mouse (Seth MacFarlane) who croons as smoothly as he cons, a timid teenage elephant (Tori Kelly) with an enormous case of stage fright, an overtaxed mother (Reese Witherspoon) run ragged tending a litter of 25 piglets, a young gangster gorilla (Taron Egerton) looking to break free of his family’s felonies, and a punk-rock porcupine (Scarlett Johansson) struggling to shed her arrogant boyfriend and go solo. Each animal arrives under Buster’s marquee believing that this is their shot to change the course of their life.

Release Date: December 21st

Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, and Tori Kelly.

The Space Between Us

Synopsis: In this interplanetary adventure, a space shuttle embarks on the first mission to colonize Mars, only to discover after takeoff that one of the astronauts is pregnant. Shortly after landing, she dies from complications while giving birth to the first human born on the red planet – never revealing who the father is. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Gardner Elliot – an inquisitive, highly intelligent boy who reaches the age of 16 having only met 14 people in his very unconventional upbringing.

While searching for clues about his father, and the home planet he’s never known, Gardner begins an online friendship with a street smart girl in Colorado named Tulsa. When he finally gets a chance to go to Earth, he’s eager to experience all of the wonders he could only read about on Mars – from the most simple to the extraordinary. But once his explorations begin, scientists discover that Gardner’s organs can’t withstand Earth’s atmosphere.

Eager to find his father, Gardner escapes the team of scientists and joins with Tulsa on a race against time to unravel the mysteries of how he came to be, and where he belongs in the universe.

Release Date: August 19

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Britt Robertson, Gary Oldman, and Carla Gugino.

The Little Prince

Synopsis: A little girl lives in a very grown-up world with her mother, who tries to prepare her for it. Her neighbor, the Aviator, introduces the girl to an extraordinary world where anything is possible, the world of the Little Prince.

Release Date: August 5th (Netflix)

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Rachel McAdams, Paul Rudd, Marion Cotillard, James Franco, Benicio Del Toro, Ricky Gervais, Bud Cort, Paul Giamatti, Riley Osborne, Albert Brooks, and Mackenzie Foy.

Deepwater Horizon

Synopsis: On April 20th, 2010, the world’s largest man-made disaster occurred on the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. Directed by Peter Berg (Lone Survivor), this story honors the brave men and women whose heroism would save many on board, and change everyone’s lives forever.

Release Date: September 30th

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Hudson, Dylan O’Brien, Gina Rodriguez, Kurt Russell, and John Malkovich.

Beauty and the Beast

Synopsis: Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” is a live-action re-telling of the studio’s animated classic which refashions the classic characters from the tale as old as time for a contemporary audience, staying true to the original music while updating the score with several new songs. “Beauty and the Beast” is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true Prince within. The film stars: Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston, the handsome, but shallow villager who woos Belle; Kevin Kline as Maurice, Belle’s eccentric, but lovable father; Josh Gad as Lefou, Gaston’s long-suffering aide-de-camp; Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, the candelabra; Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza, the harpsichord; Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, the mantel clock; and Emma Thompson as the teapot, Mrs. Potts.

Directed by Oscar® winner Bill Condon from a screenplay based on the 1991 animated film.  Eight-time Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, who won two Academy Awards® (Best Original Score and Best Song) for the 1991 animated film, is returning to provide the score, which will include new recordings of the original songs written by Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as several new songs written by Menken and three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice.

Release Date: March 17, 2017

Starring: Emma Watson, Dan Stevens, Ewan McGregor, Ian McKellan, Luke Evans, Josh Gad, Kevin Kline, Stanley Tucci, and Emma Thompson.

What do you think? Are you excited about any upcoming movies? Let me know in the comments. Full list of Trailers released this week after the jump. Continue reading This Week in Trailers: Sing, Space Between Us, Little Prince, Deepwater Horizon, Beauty and the Beast →