Crimson Peak’s Visually Stunning Gothic Horror

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Arleigh

Guillermo Del Toro has become the one filmmaker who seems to excite both the elitist cinephiles and the geek community whenever he comes out with a new film. He’s done both pop-friendly extravaganzas (Pacific Rim, Hellboy) to critically-acllaimed arthouse fares (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Devil’s Backbone). His name has been attached to so many projects of all stripe that one wonders if he ever gets time to rest.

Most of these projects never get past the concept stage, but when one does and he goes all out in directing such projects we get something that excites the fanbase like his upcoming gothic horror film Crimson Peak. It looks to be Del Toro’s love letter to gothic horror of the past with his own visual flair for the morbid and the beautiful in one package.

The film stars a who’s who of powerful performers from Jessica Chastain and Tom Hiddleston to Mia Wasikowska and Charlie Hunnam.

Crimson Peak is set to haunt the public this coming October 16, 2015

Vacation Shows That Chris Hemsworth Is Quite Mighty (Red Band)

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Arleigh

Any kid growing up during the 1980’s remembers having seen the original Chevy Chase comedy classic National Lampoon’s Vacation. While subsequent sequels weren’t as memorable as the first film it didn’t diminish just how fun that original one was.

It’s been many, many years since the last Vacation film but now it looks like we have a new one set to release this year. Chevy Chase returns, though it would seem it might be more of a cameo. This latest film in the series looks to focus on Clark Griswold’s oldest son, Rusty, who now yearns to relive the happiest time of his life as a child: the road trip to Wally World,

The trailer looks to up return the raunch in the series with some help from Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth. From looking at the trailer’s payoff it looks like Hemsworth is quite mighty indeed.

Vacation is set to release this July, 31, 2015.

Here’s the Teaser For Fifty Shades Darker

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Why is there already a teaser for a film that’s not even supposed to come out until February of 2017? I have no clue. Judging from how little is actually in this teaser, I’m assuming that this little scene was filmed during the shooting of 50 Shades of Grey, just in case there was demand for a sequel.

Personally, I think they should call this movie Fifty Shades Darker: Return To The Puckered Love Cave but that might just be me.

(By the way, I’d be remiss if I didn’t quote director/writer Alan Ormsby’s response when he saw the above quote on my Facebook page: “PUCKERED LOVE CAVE! Hey, I have a title for my next horror film!”)

Anyway, here’s the teaser for 50 Shades Darker:

Trailer: The Connection

Posted on April 26, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

They played this trailer at the Alamo Drafthouse shortly before the start of Ex Machina. It appears to be a French version of The French Connection. Who knows? It might be good. At the very least, it’s a reminder for American audiences that Jean Dujardin is capable of playing someone other than a silent film star.

Johnny Depp Acts (!!!!) In This Trailer For Black Mass!

Posted on April 23, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here’s the first trailer for Black Mass, the upcoming film in which Johnny Depp plays notorious Boston crime boss and most wanted fugitive, Whitey Bulger. Judging from this trailer, this looks like it might be Depp’s Oscar performance.

Seriously, check this out!

(And after you watch the trailer, read my review of a documentary about Whitey and his reign of terror.)

Here’s the third trailer for Tomorrowland!

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Dammit, is Tomorrowland going to be any good or not? A third trailer for the film was released yesterday and I still can’t make up my mind. If I had to guess, I’d say that this will probably be technically impressive and narratively traditional. But who knows? I choose to have hope that it’ll be great.

Warhammer Gets The Total War Treatment

Posted on April 22, 2015 by Arleigh

Creative Assembly has made a name for itself creating just type of game and for fans of their titles that’s all well and good. Not every studio has to make every type of games. Some just figured out a way to do one type and just get better and better with each new title. This studio is one such company and even with Sega acquiring them they haven’t missed a beat.

Now, the studio ventures beyond the historical realm that the Total War series has always been based on. With Total War: Warhammer the studio now enters the realm of the epic fantasy. Nothing shouts louder in the epic fantasy genre than the world created by the minds over at Games Workshop with their Warhammer Fantasy gaming series.

While there’s still no release date as to when Total War: Warhammer will come out this title has already made my “buy-list” whenever they do announce the date.

Jurassic World Adds To The Summer Action

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Arleigh

Was there ever a need for a fourth film in the Jurassic Park franchise? For years many have tried to answer that and projects to get it up and running stalled for need of a director willing to sign on to a franchise that has been passed up by the superhero action tsunami that has hit pop culture.

It is now 2015 and we’re just months away from finally seeing the fruits of over a decade’s worth of labor to bring a fourth Jurassic Park film to the big screen. While it may still have Steven Spielberg attached as executive producer there’s no Joe Johnston anywhere near this fourth film. We have Carl Trevorrow taking the director’s chair with Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard taking on the lead roles.

Jurassic World is set to open it’s doors to the world on June 12, 2015 (took them long enough).

Ant-Man Keeps the Marvel Train Moving Along

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Arleigh

Will Marvel Studios have it’s first misstep when Ant-Man arrives in theaters this July? Or will it surpass many people’s expectations the way Guardians of the Galaxy did when it came out late summer of 2014? These are questions that fans and critics alike have been pondering since the rather underwhelming teaser trailer which was released earlier this year.

Now, with Avengers: Age of Ultron just weeks away from bulldozing over everything in it’s way it looks like Marvel and Disney have turned their attention to getting the Ant-Man hype train up to speed. If any film needs some fueling up it would be this one which has had a more than contentious production. It loses it’s original director in Edgar Wright after he and the heads at Marvel Studios (Kevin Feige) disagreed on how to proceed with the film. The search for a director to replace Wright became a game of which comedic filmmaker would pass on the project next (Peyton Reed finally was the last man standing).

When the teaser finally came out the tone it gave seemed too serious for a film that was being billed as a sort of action-comedy or, at the very least, an action film that included more than the usual comedic beats than past films in the MCU.

Today we see the first official trailer for Ant-Man and gone is the super serious tone of the teaser and in comes a mixture of action and comedy. It’s a trailer that actually gives us an idea of the sort of powers the title character has outside of being just being tiny. Then we get more than just a glimpse of Scott Lang’s main antagonist with Corey Stoll in the role of Darren Cross aka Yellowjacket.

Maybe this film will still end up giving Marvel Studio it’s very first black-eye, but this trailer goes a major way in making sure it doesn’t happen.

Ant-Man is set for a July 17, 2015 release date.

Here! It’s a Gift!

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here’s the new trailer for The Gift, in which it appears that Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall end up getting stalked by some guy named Gordo. This could be good or it could be bad, it’s hard to tell from the trailer.

On the one hand, the story looks rather generic and predictable and has a Boy Next Door feel to it. (“Oh! A first edition!“) It looks like it would be a fun Lifetime movie but maybe not quite as memorable when seen on the big screen.

But Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall, and Joel Edgerton! Seriously, that’s a great cast!

I’m going to see it just to see if I can finally bring myself to forgive Bateman for being so mean to Juno.