Here Are the St. Louis Film Critics Nominations!

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Golden Globes weren’t the only precursors to be announced today! Here are the St. Louis Film Critics Nominations. One thing that I like about the St. Louis Film Critics is that they give out an award for “best scene.” Personally, I would vote for the prison break from Guardians of the Galaxy.

Here are the nominees:

(h/t to awards circuit)

BEST PICTURE
Birdman
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
David Fincher, “Gone Girl”
Alejandro Inarritu, “Birdman”
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”
Morten Tyldum, “The Imitation Game”

BEST ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
Jake Gyllenhaal, “Nightcrawler”
Tom Hardy, “Locke”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”

BEST ACTRESS
Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night”
Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Josh Brolin, “Inherent Vice”
Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
Edward Norton, “Birdman”
Tony Revolori, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
Jessica Chastain, “A Most Violent Year”
Carrie Coon, “Gone Girl”
Mackenzie Foy, “Interstellar”
Kiera Knightley, “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone, “Birdman”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman
Boyhood
Locke
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Nightcrawler
Whiplash

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Gone Girl
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Unbroken

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Interstellar
Nightcrawler
Unbroken

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Birdman
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Interstellar
Noah

BEST ART DIRECTION
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Mr. Turner
Nightcrawler
Snowpiercer
Under the Skin

BEST MUSIC SCORE
Birdman
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Interstellar
Under the Skin

BEST MUSIC SOUNDTRACK
Begin Again
Boyhood
Get On Up
Guardians of the Galaxy
Into the Woods
Whiplash

BEST FOREIGN FILM
Force Majeure
Gloria
Human Capital
Ida
Two Days, One Night

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Big Hero 6
The Book of Life
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie
Penguins of Madagascar

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Citizenfour
Finding Vivian Maier
Jodorowsky’s Dune
Life Itself
Red Army
Rich Hill

BEST COMEDY
22 Jump Street
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Obvious Child
St. Vincent

BEST ARTHOUSE
Boyhood
Calvary
Frank
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Locke
Whiplash

BEST SCENE
22 Jump Street – End Credits
Birdman – Times Square
The Guardians of the Galaxy – Prison Break
Selma – Church Bombing
Whiplash – Finale drum solo
X-Men: Days of Future Past – Quicksilver Pentagon Escape

Here Are The Golden Globe Nominees!

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Golden Globe nominations were announced this morning and the big news is that Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken was totally and completely snubbed. Knowing the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, I figured that they’d nominate Jolie just to get her and Brad Pitt on the show.

(Does anyone remember when they nominated The Tourist for Best Comedy Film of 2010? For that matter, does anyone remember The Tourist?)

Also, it’s interesting to note that David Fincher was nominated for best director for Gone Girl but Gone Girl itself did not receive a nomination for best picture.

(As of this writing, Sasha Stone has yet to post her analysis on Awards Daily but I’m sure when she does, it will be depressing.)

Anyway, below you can find the Golden Globe nominations for the best films of 2014. (If you want to see a complete list with all of the television nominations, you can click here.)

BEST DRAMA FILM
“Boyhood”
“Foxcatcher”
“The Imitation Game”
“Selma”
“The Theory of Everything”

BEST DRAMA ACTOR
Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher”
Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”
Jake Gyllenhaal, “Nightcrawler”
David Oyelowo, “Selma”
Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything”

BEST DRAMA ACTRESS
Jennifer Aniston, “Cake”
Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”
Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”
Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”
Reese Witherspoon, “Wild”

BEST MUSICAL/COMEDY FILM
“Birdman”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“Into the Woods”
“Pride”
“St. Vincent”

BEST MUSICAL/COMEDY ACTOR
Ralph Fiennes, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman”
Bill Murray, “St. Vincent”
Joaquin Phoenix, “Inherent Vice”
Christoph Waltz, “Big Eyes”

BEST MUSICAL/COMEDY ACTRESS
Amy Adams, “Big Eyes”
Emily Blunt, “Into the Woods”
Helen Mirren, “The Hundred-Foot Journey”
Julianne Moore, “Maps to the Stars”
Quvenzhane Wallis, “Annie”

BEST FILM SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Duvall, “The Judge”
Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”
Edward Norton, “Birdman”
Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher”
J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash”

BEST FILM SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”
Jessica Chastain, “A Most Violent Year”
Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game”
Emma Stone, “Birdman”
Meryl Streep, “Into the Woods”

BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”
Ava Duvernay, “Selma”
David Fincher, “Gone Girl”
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, “Birdman”
Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”

BEST SCREENPLAY
“Birdman”
“Boyhood”
“Gone Girl”
“The Grand Budapest Hotel”
“The Imitation Game”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“Big Hero 6”
“The Book of Life”
“The Boxtrolls”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“The Lego Movie”

BEST SCORE
“Birdman”
“Gone Girl”
“The Imitation Game”
“Interstellar”
“The Theory of Everything”

BEST SONG
“Big Eyes” from “Big Eyes” (Lana Del Ray)
“Glory” from “Selma” (John Legend, COmmon)
“Mercy Is” from “Noah” (Patty SMith, Lenny kaye)
“Opportunity” from “Annie”
“Yellow Flicker Beat” from “The Hunger Games, Mockingjay Part 1” (Lorde)

The Brief Thrill Of The Phoenix Film Critics Nominations

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

I have to admit that, when I first looked at the just-released Phoenix Film Critics Nominations for 2014, I got really excited. I saw The LEGO Movie listed among the nominees for best picture and I thought to myself, “Oh my God! Could The LEGO Movie be set to be the fourth animated film to score a best picture nomination from the Academy!?”

Seriously, my inner movie trivia lover was so excited!

Then, of course, I remembered that critical recognition doesn’t necessarily translate into Oscar nominations. And I was forced to admit that The LEGO Movie probably will not be nominated for best picture, though it definitely remains a front runner for best animated feature.

But, for a few moments there, I was truly an excited Oscar watcher.

Anyway, here are the Phoenix Film Critics Nominations!

(h/t to Awards Circuit)

BEST PICTURE/ TOP TEN FILMS OF 2014

A Most Violent Year
Birdman
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Imitation Game
The Lego Movie
The Theory of Everything
Whiplash

BEST DIRECTOR

Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
David Fincher, Gone Girl
Alejandro G. Inarritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood

BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Bradley Cooper, American Sniper
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Brendon Gleeson, Calvary
Tommy Lee Jones, The Homesman
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Amy Adams, Big Eyes
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Hilary Swank, The Homesman
Reese Witherspoon, Wild

BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Logan Lerman, Fury
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J. K. Simmons, Whiplash

BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year
Carrie Coon, Gone Girl
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Emma Stone, Birdman

BEST ENSMEBLE ACTING

Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Into the Woods

BEST SCREENPLAY WRITTEN DIRECTLY FOR THE SCREEN

A Most Violent Year
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Whiplash

BEST SCREENPLAY ADAPTED FROM ANOTHER MEDIUM

American Sniper
Gone Girl
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Wild

BEST LIVE ACTION FAMILY FILM

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Guardians of the Galaxy
Into the Woods
Maleficent
Muppets Most Wanted

BEST ANIMATED FILM

Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
The Lego Movie
How to Train Your Dragon 2

OVERLOOKED FILM OF THE YEAR

Calvary
Edge of Tomorrow
Obvious Child
The Skeleton Twins
Snowpiercer

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Force Majeure
IDA
Mood Indigo
The Raid 2

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Citizenfour
Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me
Jodorowsky’s Dune
Life Itself
Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

Everything is Awesome, The Lego Movie
Immortals, Big Hero 6
Lost Stars, Begin Again
Miracles, Unbroken

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

Birdman
Gone Girl
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
The Theory of Everything

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

A Most Violent Year
Birdman
Interstellar
Into the Woods
The Theory of Everything
Unbroken

BEST FILM EDITING

Birdman
Boyhood
Gone Girl
Interstellar
Into the Woods

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Interstellar
Snowpiercer

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

The Grand Budapest Hotel
Inherent Vice
Into the Woods
Maleficent
The Theory of Everything

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Edge of Tomorrow
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Interstellar

BEST STUNTS

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Edge of Tomorrow
John Wick
Need for Speed
The Raid 2

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE ON CAMERA

Ellar Coltrane, Boyhood
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Jenny Slate, Obvious Child

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE BEHIND THE CAMERA

Damien Chazelle, Whiplash
Dan Gilroy, Nightcrawler
Gillian Robespierre, Obvious Child
Jon Stewart, Rosewater

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUTH – MALE

Ellar Coltrane, Boyhood
Daniel Huttlestone, Into the Woods
Jaeden Lieberber, St. Vincent
Ed Oxenbould, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
Tony Revolori, The Grand Budapest Hotel

BEST PERFORMANCE BY A YOUTH – FEMALE

Lilla Crawford, Into the Woods
Mackenzie Foy, Interstellar
Sterling Jerins, And So It Goes

Here Are The Online Film Critics Society Nominations!

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The Online Film Critics Society announced their nominees for the best of 2014 earlier today and what can I say other than the fact that I love them! Seriously, it’s such a wonderful mix of the expected (Boyhood, Selma) and the unexpected (Ida, Mommy).

If the Oscar nominations look anything like the OFCS nominations, then it will be a very interesting night. (Unfortunately, they probably won’t…)

(h/t to awardwatch)

Best Picture
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
The Lego Movie
Mommy
Nightcrawler
Selma
Two Days, One Night
Whiplash
Under the Skin

Best Animated Feature
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
How to Train Your Dragon 2
The Lego Movie
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya

Best Film Not in the English Language
Ida
The Missing Picture
Mommy
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Two Days, One Night

Best Documentary
Citizenfour
Life Itself
The Missing Picture
National Gallery
The Overnighters

Best Director
Wes Anderson – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne – Two Days, One Night
Ava DuVernay – Selma
Jonathan Glazer – Under the Skin
Richard Linklater – Boyhood

Best Actor
Ralph Fiennes – The Grand Budapest Hotel
Brendan Gleeson – Calvary
Jake Gyllenhaal – Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton – Birdman
Timothy Spall – Mr. Turner

Best Actress
Marion Cotillard – Two Days, One Night
Essie Davis – The Babadook
Anne Dorval – Mommy
Julianne Moore – Still Alice
Rosamund Pike – Gone Girl

Best Supporting Actor
Josh Brolin – Inherent Vice
Ethan Hawke – Boyhood
Edward Norton – Birdman
Mark Ruffalo – Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons – Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress
Patricia Arquette – Boyhood
Jessica Chastain – A Most Violent Year
Suzanne Clément – Mommy
Agata Kulesza – Ida
Tilda Swinton – Snowpiercer

Best Original Screenplay
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Selma
Two Days, One Night
Whiplash

Best Adapted Screenplay
Gone Girl
Inherent Vice
Snowpiercer
Under the Skin
We Are the Best!

Best Editing
Birdman
Boyhood
Gone Girl
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Whiplash

Best Cinematography
Birdman
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Ida
Mr. Turner
Under the Skin

Best Non-U.S. Release (non-competitive category)
’71 ,
10,000 km ,
Entre Nós ,
Han Gong-ju ,
Hard to Be a God ,
The Look of Silence ,
The Salt of the Earth ,
What We Do in the Shadows ,
Timbuktu ,
The Tribe

A Most Violent Year Is A Most Unexpected National Board Of Review Winner!

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The National Board of Review has spoken! They named their picks for the best of 2014 earlier today and — to the shock of many (especially me) — they picked JC Chandor’s crime drama A Most Violent Year as the best film of the year!

I love surprises!

Now, a lot of us were expecting A Most Violent Year to be an Oscar contender, with practically everyone expecting Jessica Chastain to either be nominated for best actress or supporting actress. (The NBR named her best supporting actress.) But I think a lot of us were expecting to see the NBR select Boyhood, Birdman, or maybe Selma.

Also of note is that Clint Eastwood won best director for American Sniper, which appears to be coming on strong as a potential Oscar nominee as well.

(Also of note: Foxcatcher was totally ignored by the NBR.)

Here are the NBR winners!

BEST PICTURE
“A Most Violent Year”

BEST DIRECTOR
Clint Eastwood, “American Sniper”

BEST ACTOR (TIE)
Oscar Isaac, “A Most Violent Year”
Michael Keaton, “Birdman”

BEST ACTRESS
Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Edward Norton, “Birdman”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain, “A Most Violent Year”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, “The Lego Movie”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson, “Inherent Vice”

BEST ENSEMBLE
“Fury”

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Wild Tales”

BEST DOCUMENTARY
“Life Itself”

SPOTLIGHT AWARD
Chris Rock for writing, directing, and starring in “Top Five”

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCES
Jack O’Connell, “Starred Up” and “Unbroken”

DEBUT DIRECTOR
Gillian Robespierre, “Obvious Child”

WILLIAM K. EVERSON FILM HISTORY AWARD
Scott Eyman

FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
“Rosewater”
“Selma”

BEST PICTURE NOMINEES (alphabetical)
“American Sniper”
“Birdman”
“Boyhood”
“Fury”
“Gone Girl”
“The Imitation Game”
“Inherent Vice”
“The Lego Movie”
“Nightcrawler”
“Unbroken”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE NOMINEES (alphabetical)
“Force Majeure”
“Gett: The Trial of Vivian Amsalem”
“Leviathan”
“Two Days One Night”
“We Are the Best!”

BEST DOCUMENTARY NOMINEES (alphabetical)
“Art and Craft”
“Jodorowsky’s Dune”
“Keep On Keepin’ On”
“The Kill Team”
“Last Days in Vietnam”

BEST INDEPENDENT FILMS (alphabetical)
“Blue Ruin”
“Locke”
“A Most Wanted Man”
“Mr. Turner”
“Obvious Child”
“The Skeleton Twins”,
“Snowpiercer”,
“Stand Clear of the Closing Doors”
“Starred Up”
“Still Alice”

The Nominees for the 42nd Annual Annie Awards Have Been Announced

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 42nd Annual Annie Nominations (honoring the best in animation) were announced today! You can see a full list of nominees here. Below are the nominations for best animated feature film, television series, and video game.

(Hopefully, at some point in the future, the Academy will finally start to give out an award for Best Voice Over Performance, which will make the Annies even more of an important precursor to the Academy Awards.)

Best Animated Feature
“Big Hero 6”
“Cheatin’”
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”
“Song of the Sea”
“The Book of Life”
“The Boxtrolls”
“The LEGO Movie”
“The Tale of The Princess Kaguya”

Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production
“Archer”
“Back To Backspace”
“Bob’s Burgers”
“Rick and Morty”
“Mike Tyson Mysteries”
“Regular Show”
“The Simpsons”

Best Video Game
“Forza Horizon 2”
“Valiant Hearts: The Great War”
“Child of Light”

Arleigh’s Top 9 Films of 2014 (Front End)

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Arleigh

We’re now past the halfway point for the film season of 2014. The year has seen it’s share of hits, bombs and surprises. Many look at the box-office numbers some that these films generate as a sign of their success. Others look at how the critics-at-large have graded these films as a way to determine whether they’ve been successful.

I know some people would list nothing but independent arthouse films as their best. They look at genre and big-budget films as not being worthy of being the best of the year, so far. It’s that sort of thinking that limits one’s appreciation of film, in general.

Does having a 150 million dollar budget mean that a film cannot be one of the best of the year. Past history will suggest that’s not the case. Yet, there are cinephiles out there who will dismiss such films because they consider it as being too Hollywood. The same goes for people who look down upon genre films like horror, scifi, westerns and many others that do not fit their slice-of-life drama study. They’re not existential enough for some.

I’ve come to look at all the films I’ve been fortunate enough to see through the first six months of 2014 and picked 9 of the best (I picked a random odd number since Lisa Marie already does the even numbers thing) no matter their genre, type of film and budget. I’ve picked a couple of scifi films, a documentary, an action-packed blockbuster sequel, a wonderfully made 3-D animated film (itself a sequel), a neo-noir Western, a brutal crime-thriller, an indie horror-thriller and one of the best comedies of the last couple years.

In no special order….

Noah (dir. by Darren Aronofsky)

Captain America: The Winter Soldier (dir. by Anthony and Joe Russo)

Cold in July (dir. by Jim Mickle)

How To Train Your Dragon 2 (dir. by Dean DuBois)

Jodorowsky’s Dune (dir. by Frank Pavich)

The Raid 2: Berandal (dir. by Gareth Evans)

Snowpiercer (dir. by Bong Joon-ho)

Grand Piano (dir. by Eugenio Mira)

22 Jump Street (dir. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller)

My honorable mentions: All Cheerleaders Die, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Joe, Edge of Tomorrow, Lego: The Movie, Blue Ruin, Locke, Under the Skin, Only Lovers Left Alive, The Sacrament

Quick Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2 (dir. by Dean Dublois)

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Leonard Wilson

Ah, Berk. That fictional far away land where Dragons once plagued humans, until a young boy made friends with a Night Fury and changed everything.

How I’ve missed this place.

Fox & Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon 2 brings us back to its dragon riding fun, taking place 5 years after the events of the first film. While the story doesn’t have the same level of depth as say, Kung Fu Panda 2, it still manages to be an enjoyable thrill ride when the dragons are taking flight.

Since this is an animated feature, let’s do visuals first. The animation is roughly the same as the original, with a bit of aging here and there for the main characters, but both the colors and the depth of field are a major standout. Cinematographer Roger Deakins (Skyfall) was brought back on board as a consultant for the lighting, focus and color tones and it definitely shows. If at all possible, this film should be seen in its 3D format. The flight sequences are a joy to behold and when they’re not flying, you shouldn’t find yourself squinting and pinching your nose too much. Chris Sanders wasn’t on hand this time for the writing and directing, although you can still see his designs all over the film.

Additionally, there were a number of technical changes that improved the process. Just as Pixar did with Renderman, Dreamworks ended up creating their own software, Apollo. Apollo uses two tools – Premo, which allowed the animators better control of characters through the use of Wacom tablets. Even more magical is Torch, a lighting system developed with Deakins’ assistance that allowed for more natural setups in animation. One of the best uses of this is when Hiccup is surrounded in a dark room and needs to use his sword to illuminate the area. It’ll be interesting to see how it’s used in other Dreamworks projects.

All of the familiar characters are back – Jay Baruchel’s Hiccup is a little older, and much wiser than in the original, with he and Toothless mapping the lands around Berk during their flights. Hiccup’s flair for gadgetry hasn’t left him, as in this film, the character is introduced almost as a medieval Batman. Between he, his father Stoic (Gerald Butler) and his girlfriend / Dragon Racing Champion Astrid (America Ferrera), they get the bulk of the screen time. His friends, played by Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Kristen Wiig, felt more like cameos than anything else here. Then again, they really didn’t have that great a part in the first film. Toothless, the Unholy Offspring of fire and darkness itself, is still as cuddly and emotive as ever, despite not being able to actually speak. Through the film, both Toothless and Hiccup find themselves growing up in different ways and their relationship is at the heart of everything here. Hiccup and Stoic still have family issues, this time centering around Hiccup preparation for becoming Chief of the town after Stoic steps down.

When Astrid and Hiccup discover dragon hunters (Lead by Game of Thrones’ Kit Harrington, whose character here still knows nothing), they find a new evil on the horizon in the form of Drago (Guardians of the Galaxy and Blood Diamond’s Djimon Hounsou), who is building a dragon army to do some harm.

Where the movie may stumble is in its last act. It felt abbreviated to me, but as this is meant for children, I suppose it’s not meant to be that long of a film. Clocking in at 102 minutes, it moves fast. For a kid’s film, Dragon 2 rises to some interesting heights that even adults would appreciate. The film doesn’t assume you need to be retold everything you may have missed in the first film, though it does reference some elements of it. The themes of the story are coexistence (between humans & dragons), leadership, friendship and family, and they’re done well.

Teasers & Trailers: Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon 2

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Leonard Wilson

It’s been 3 years since Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon was released. Though Chris Sanders has moved on to The Croods and that sequel, his animation style is in good hands. It looks like How to Train Your Dragon 2 has Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), Toothless and all of Berk adjusting very well. All appears to be well, but you wouldn’t have a story without a new threat, and maybe some new revelations. Part of me thinks that the setup for this story may also be similar to what could happen for Kung Fu Panda 3 (if done), with regards to family reunions.

Below are both the teaser, which has Hiccup and Toothless showing off a few improvements, and the trailer, which showcases more of the story.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 comes out June of 2014.

Trailer: How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Teaser)

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Arleigh

Dreamworks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon was one of those films for 2010 that caught me completely off-guard. I had dismissed it as another Dreamworks attempt to try and take the crown from Pixar. So, it was quite a surprise when I finally saw it and realized that Dreamworks had out-Pixared Pixar with this latest offering.

The film did great in the box-office and made the names Hiccup and Toothless names to remember fondly. So, it was a given that a sequel was going to be made and now it is 2013 and we finally have the first teaser trailer for How to Train Your Dragon 2 which will splash across all big-screen theaters around 2014.

To say that this teaser trailer evoked all the fun of the original would be an understatement. I would say that this simple teaser showing Toothless just flying around with Hiccup gave a better sense of the joy of flying than this year’s Man of Steel.