Category: Movies

Star Wars meets Ken Burns in this new mash-up video from the Washington Post. This video was initially posted on Friday when Star Wars: The Force Awakens first hit theaters, but if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a fun recap of the original trilogy. Their pitch: “Like Ken Burns’s “The Civil War,” Star Wars depicts an epic conflict. So we mashed them up.” Ken Burns is the documentarian whose techniques have become so iconic they’re literally named after him. Burns is not involved in this, they just wanted to make a short doc about Star Wars in his style. It’s a fun way to keep the Star Wars buzz going and review all the major events of the original three before seeing The Force Awakens for a fifth time. Watch “The Galactic Civil War” below. ›››

Continue reading Watch: ‘The Galactic Civil War’ Doc – A Ken Burns ‘Star Wars’ Recap

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“The forest is very dangerous – do not leave the path.” Gramcery Pictures has debuted a second trailer for the supernatural horror thriller The Forest, starring “Game of Thrones” actress Natalie Dormer as a woman who heads to the mysterious forest in Japan to find her sister. As explained for the first trailer, the forest she goes to is Aokigahara Forest in Japan (a very real place), which is also the same place where the film The Sea of Trees directed Gus Van Sant takes place (due out later in 2016). The full cast includes Taylor Kinney, Eoin Macken and Yukiyoshi Ozawa. This doesn’t really make me any more interested than the first trailer, but maybe it’ll appeal to more horror fans. It all seems a bit too cheesy for my liking. ›››

Continue reading Second Trailer for Horror Thriller ‘The Forest’ Starring Natalie Dormer

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“Daddy will make you lots of dollars!” Kino Lorber has debuted a new official US trailer for veteran Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke’s latest film, titled Mountains May Depart. This film premiered at Cannes in May and played at a bunch of prestigious festivals through the year. I saw it at the New York Film Festival and was taken back by it, still impacted by the audacity of the story. Set in China and Australia, the film is a tryptich that follows a few people across three different periods of time – showing how China has devolved into a culture of materialism and how this will affect relationships and human connection in the long run. It stars Zhao Tao, Zhang Yi & Liang Jingdong. Anyone in search of bold storytelling should take a look at this. ›››

Continue reading Watch: Official US Trailer for Jia Zhangke’s ‘Mountains May Depart’

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One year to go until the release of the Assassin’s Creed movie, starring Michael Fassbender as Callum Lynch, who becomes a Master Assassin. 20th Century Fox has kicked off their marketing (via ComingSoon) and released one tweet with the text “12.21.16” (the release date of this movie next year) as well as a photo of a stack of business cards. The cards are for Alan Rikkin, the CEO of Abstergo Industries, well known in the Assassin’s Creed universe as the primary front for the modern day activities of the Templar Order. If you call the number on the card, the voicemail says he’s unreachable until March 25th – the same day as Batman v Superman’s opening, meaning that’s likely when we’ll see the first trailer hit for this movie. More below. ›››

Continue reading ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Viral Website Launches One Year Before its Release

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In cinemas around the world this past weekend, millions of people came out to experience the new Star Wars movie on the big screen. It wasn’t just an event, it was much more than that. It’s an experience that moviegoers have been anxiously awaiting for years (technically 32 years since last saw Han & Leia & Luke), with many challenging themselves to not watch any footage before release. And I’m not just talking about waiting to see our old friends again, but savoring a chance to go in and experience a movie without any of the major plot points or big reveals being ruined before. It’s this kind of communal cinematic experience, and the ensuing discussions/arguments/enthusiasm that arise afterward, that I relish. And it’s something I feel has been missing from Hollywood recently. Of course it was Star Wars that brought that feeling back. ›››

Continue reading ‘Star Wars’ Proves How Much the Experience Still Matters to Most

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This could be interesting. With the upcoming release of Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight in 70mm, at least 100 different theaters have now been setup with 70mm projectors to properly run the roadshow version. Tarantino has been advocating for equipping more theaters with proper 70mm film projectors, and he has made things happen, though it has yet to be seen if it will pay off. Part of the concern is additional use in the long run. In article on THR about 70mm, it’s mentioned that “a lot of people” are thinking about other things to show in 70mm – including classics like Lawrence of Arabia. But also hinted is that Warner Bros is considering a 70mm release of Zack Snyder’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice. Really?! ›››

Continue reading WB is Considering a 70mm Release of ‘Batman v Superman’ in March

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“We have perfected and streamlined the process, devising a zero mistake workflow.” Warner Bros has debuted a trailer for their new animated movie called Storks, which is actually co-directed by Nicholas Stoller, the director of the comedies Neighbors, Get Him to the Greek and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The voice cast features Andy Samberg as the voice of Junior, the top delivery stork at a global internet sales company; Kelsey Grammer voices the CEO of that company. This is mostly just an introductory trailer with Grammer explaining what goes on at their baby delivering factory. “From the studio that delivered The LEGO Movie, see Storks in theaters September 2016.” I don’t know, I prefer Secret Life of Pets a bit more. ›››

Continue reading First Trailer for WB’s Animated ‘Storks’ Movie from Nicholas Stoller

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Meet the new Ripley. THR is reporting that director Ridley Scott has cast actress Katherine Waterston in the lead role opposite Michael Fassbender in the upcoming Alien: Covenant film. Throughout this past year we’ve been reporting on Ridley kicking this new Alien film into production after catching the sci-fi bug working on The Martian again. He’s so invested in this one, that Neill Blomkamp’s Alien movie has been postponed. Waterston will star along with Fassbender, with filming starting in Australia in early 2016. The story will follow a colony ship that lands on a planet where they find the android David from Prometheus. ›››

Continue reading Katherine Waterston Lands Lead Role in Next ‘Alien: Covenant’ Film

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Now that you’ve seen it, what did you think? “The Force, it’s calling to you. Just let it in.” It’s here!! It’s time!! Lucasfilm and Disney present Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens, now playing in theaters worldwide. The return of Han and Luke and Leia and Chewie and all of our old friends. But it’s also an introduction to a new set of characters – Finn, played by John Boyega, as well as Rey, played by Daisy Ridley, and Poe Dameron, played by Oscar Isaac. On the bad side, there’s Adam Driver as Kylo Ren + Domhnall Gleeson as General Hux. Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Peter Mayhew all return. Star Wars is back! Does it live up to the hype? How does it compare to the Original Trilogy? Or is it a mess? Once you see this, leave a comment below with your thoughts on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. ›››

Continue reading Sound Off: J.J. Abrams’ ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ – Thoughts?

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“We have to make a decision.” The first trailer for a Sundance 2016 documentary has premiered, thanks to our friends at The Film Stage for the tip. It’s a doc called The Land of the Enlightened, a “creative documentary” made by Pieter-Jan De Pue shot over the course of seven years in Afghanistan. He follows a group of Afghan kids in a gang who dig up old Soviet mines and sell them. It’s another unique perspective on the wars in the Middle East, this time from the angle of a group of young kids growing up. There is some incredible footage in this. The Land of the Enlightened looks like a doc worth seeing if you’re at Sundance. ›››

Continue reading Trailer for Sundance 2016 Documentary ‘The Land of the Enlightened’

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