Dragon Age: Inquisition Has Arrived


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I’ve not been buying that many games this year, but this is one little title from EA’s BioWare I know I must have and play before year’s end. That title is the third game in their fantasy rpg series Dragon Age.

Dragon Age: Inquisitor will mark the arrival of BioWare onto the nextgen platforms (Xbox One, PS4) and looks to combine what was good with the first two titles in the series while trimming off what went wrong with those two.

The game already looks gorgeous from just clips and gameplay videos shown leading up to this release. If the title looks to expand on the world-building that has been laid down by the first two titles in the series then I should expect to be playing this game for at least a minimum of 80 hours, if not more.

Now, I just need to decide on race and class for my character.

Trailer: The Cobbler


Listen, I’m just going to put this out there:

Adam Sandler can be a good actor.

I know, I know.  You scoff and you have every reason to do so.  After all, Sandler is best known for appearing in Razzie-winning films like Jack and Jill and That’s My Boy.  Sandler’s film career has been so lowbrow that, when Amy Dunne mentioned the misery of being forced to watch Sandler movies, audiences watching Gone Girl knowingly nodded and thought to themselves, “She may be a crazy but she knows her movies…”

And yet, occasionally, mixed in with all of the crap, you’ll come across a film that actually requires Sandler to act and play a character and he usually does a pretty good job at it.  It’s the talent that you see in films like Punch-Drunk Love, Spanglish, Reign Over Me, and Funny People that makes it so frustrating that Sandler has devoted so much of his career to things like Grown-Ups 2.

When Sandler stops trying to make everyone laugh and actually lets his guard down, he has the ability to be a surprisingly good actor.  And, though it’s hard to believe now, a lot of film bloggers — like me — were convinced that 2014 would be the year that Sandler would prove that he was capable of more than just winning Razzies.

He had two films scheduled to come out and both of them were directed by “serious” filmmakers.  And Sandler got some good reviews for his performance in Jason Reitman’s Men, Women, & Children but the film itself was critically reviled.

As for Sandler’s other 2014 film, Thomas McCarthy’s The Cobbler opened to mixed reviews at the Toronto International Festival and, as a result, it probably will only get a very limited release in the early months of 2015.

However, I’m still looking forward to seeing The Cobbler.  Thomas McCarthy’s previous film — Win Win — was one of the best of 2011 and the film’s premise — a cobbler discovers that he can assume anyone’s physical appearance and life simply by putting on their shoes — sounds like it could be promising, especially is Sandler plays to his natural sadness as opposed to going for easy laughs.

Here’s the international trailer for The Cobbler.

 

Trailer: Avengers: Age of Ultron (Extended)


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“I know you mean well. You want to protect the world, but you don’t want it to change. There’s only one path to peace…your extinction.” — Ultron

Marvel has released a new extended version of the teaser trailer they released a couple weeks ago. While it’s pretty much similar to the first teaser trailer this extended version has a new intro with Ultron in his initial form confronting the partying Avengers in Avengers Tower. The voice-over by James Spader as Ultron also sounds much different in this trailer than the first. We also get more lingering shots of all the Avengers from Iron Man all the way to Hawkeye rather than the rapid-fire cuts we saw in the first teaser.

May 2015 cannot come soon enough.

Avengers: Age of Ultron is set for a May 1, 2015 release date in North America.

Trailer: Exodus: Gods and Kings (Final)


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Ridley Scott has been hit-or-miss (mostly misses) of late and response to the trailers and news about Exodus: Gods and Kings doesn’t seem to be helping.

Yet, despite all the indifference to Scott’s upcoming Biblical epic (and calls of whitewashing) I am quite intrigued about this take on the Book of Exodus. Will it have the pageantry of Demille’s The Ten Commandments (both of them)? Or will it be another CGI-overload? Or will it be a piece of entertaining pulp a la Gladiator? I guess we will find out this Holiday season.

Exodus: Gods and Kings is set for a December 12, 2014 release date.

Trailer: Chappie (Official)


Chappie

District 9 introduced Neill Blomkamp to the world. People bought into that film hardcore and were soon wondering what he would be doing next. Some fans of Blomkamp who have been following his career since he was first chosen by Peter Jackson to helm the now defunct Halo film thought he now had the leverage to get the film made. This was never going to happen.

The follow-up to District 9 was Elysium and the visuals that was slowly released for the film and having Matt Damon star in it gave it some major buzz and hype. The finished product was more than just a tad disappointing.

Was Elysium a hiccup?

People will find out on March 6, 2015 if this was indeed just a blip on the rising career of Neill Blomkamp as his third feature film, Chappie, will arrive in theaters.

Trailer: Minions (Official)


 

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BANANA!

The Minions are back and all is right with the world. What better way to decompress from a month full of horror and everything horror than to get back to our helpful, little yellow henchmen.

Minions stars Stuart, Kevin and little Bob. They go on a journey in search of the ultimate master villain to pledge their race’s allegiance to. We’ll find out in July 10, 2015 if their search is one of success.

6 Undead Trailers For Halloween


Welcome to the last part of this special Halloween edition of Lisa Marie’s Favorite Grindhouse and Exploitation Film Trailers!  The Trailer Kitties have been out and busy and they’ve returned with 6 trailers that celebrate the undead!

1) White Zombie (1932)

2) I Walked With A Zombie (1943)

3) The Astro-Zombies (1968)

4)  Deathdream (1972)

5) Shock Waves (1977)

6) The Erotic Nights of the Living Dead (1980)

What do you think, Trailer Kitties?

Zombie Trailer Kitty

Final Trailer: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part One


It’s nearly the end of the year which, of course, means that it’s time to release the latest film in which Jennifer Lawrence kicks ass.

Here is the final trailer for The Hunger Game: Mockingjay Part One!

Horror Trailer: Insidious: Chapter Three


An Insidious film without Patrick Wilson!? What’s next — a Paranormal Activity film that doesn’t feature Katie killing Micah?

Then again, it makes sense.  As an actor, Patrick Wilson projects a good deal of intelligence.  That’s one reason why Wilson makes for a compelling lead in films like The Conjuring and Insidious.  But, at the same time, his characters usually come across like they would be too smart to keep getting stuck in the exact same situation.

However, that Micah …. I don’t think people will ever get tired of watching as Katie tosses his limp body around.

But anyway, here’s the trailer for Insidious 3, which appears to be a prequel and does feature Lin Shaye.  I loved the first Insidious and I thought the second one was okay.  Judging from the trailer, I really don’t have high hopes for the third one but I’ll be there on opening right regardless.

It’s insidious how that works, no?