New Ghostbusters reboot trailer!

It's here!! We're waiting until summer gets here to feast our eyes on Paul Feig's Ghostbusters reboot but until then, we'll satisfy ourselves with the trailer instead. Introducing the characters played by Melissa McCarthy, Kirsten Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones, a group of scientists who get together to save the city from paranormal activity. Hey, somebody's got to do it. We also get a brief glimpse of their devastatingly handsome receptionist (Hi, Thor!) and some very familiar ghouls. Ghostbusters returns to theatres July 15, 2016. 

New Photos: Ghostbusters Reboot

Now, we've all heard enough on the new Ghostbusters reboot by Paul Feig to get us all excited. But, I have to say, these new photos of the Ghostbusters cast make me want to watch the trailer RIGHT. NOW.

Melissa McCarthy as Abby Yates
Paranormal researcher, supernatural scientist, entity trapper

Kristin Wigg as Erin Gilbert
Particle physicist, academic firebrand, spectral warrior

Kate McKinnon as Jillian Holtzmann
Nuclear engineer, munitions expert, proton wrangler

Leslie Jones as Patty Tolan
Ghost tracker, municipal historian, metaphysical commando

Chris Hemsworth as Kevin
Telecommunications expert, reception services technician, unemployed actor

(Photos: Official Website)

The new stills give us some more info on the new characters and the roles they'll play in the new film. Chris Hemsworth's role as the Ghostbuster's receptionist is already becoming my favourite thing about the movie. The good news, according to Feig, is that the trailer is due to drop this month. So it shouldn't be long now. Ghostbusters hits theatres this summer, July 15, 2016

New Cast Photo: Ghostbusters

Director Paul Feig had been teasing us with photos from the upcoming reboot of the Ghostbusters releasing next summer. First there were the updated suits, their proton packs, their Ecto - 1 ride and finally, here is it, the official cast photo with the hashtag #whoyougonnacall. Uhm, the Ghostbusters, amirite?

(Photo: Paul Feig)

Actresses Leslie Jones, Melissa McCarthy, Kirsten Wiig and Kate McKinnon look absolutely badass posed in front of the Ecto - 1 with that iconic logo in the middle.

There is one cast member who is missing from this photo and that's the Ghostbusters' receptionist played by Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth. Annie Potts was the receptionist in the 1984 version. I personally love this bit of casting and Feig's prior track record with ensemble casts could show us another side to Hemsworth's as yet untapped comedic abilities.

The film, which is currently being shot in Boston this month, will release on July 22, 2016. Are you already humming the Ghostbusters song? Who you gonna call? 

Movie Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers: Age of Ultron begins without much preamble, dropping us right into the action. There are no individual superhero entrances this time around. The Avengers are a team or so the world thinks, and they are there to protect the Earth against all evil forces, alien or human. But the challenge in this thrilling sequel to The Avengers is neither alien or human. Instead they are faced with an A.I. out to ruin them all.

The key to enjoying Marvel's Cinematic Universe films is to remember that they're all connected. The movies and TV shows all borrow heavily from the comic books in which all the characters are created. So if you saw last year's Captain America: Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy and followed Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D and Agent Carter, you'd know that the evil group Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. breaking it down to its core. Only a few remain dedicated to the real purpose of keeping the world safe. The Avengers are part of the few and dedicated, only in this film their methods of getting that done comes into question.

After recovering Loki's staff from Hydra and running into new Enhanced entrants to the films (the Wonder Twins,  Pietro and Wanda Maximoff), the Avengers return back to Stark Tower thinking that the battle has been won. Wrong, the water has gotten murky.  The science brothers Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) decide, on Stark's urging, that the Ultron program must be put to the test now that the staff is in their hands. Loki's staff, in case you've forgotten from the first film, contains one part of the famed Infinity stones given to him by Thanos. Control them all and you control the universe. Remember this, it will come in handy during future films.

The result of this unnecessary human meddling is the birth of Ultron (voiced by James Spader) who doesn't want to do the bidding of Avengers and wants to get rid of them altogether. As expected, this puts the Avengers at a crossroads. Steve aka Captain America (Chris Evans) and Tony have differing viewpoints on how to handle this. And after taking a beating going up against Ultron, Pietro (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen), the Avengers regroup at a safe house.

There are loads of revelations in this film. Each of the Avengers has hidden secrets and pasts they're not ready to confront. When up against evil forces, they are united but we've been given a sense that it won't last long. There are new recruits to the Avengers team and it looks like they might last. The Avengers, eventually, are just a unit of superheroes. It's not supposed to matter who's in it as long as they're together and can vanquish evil.

The newest recruit (literally, he was born yesterday!) is The Vision (Paul Bettany) who's a fascinating addition to the team. His introduction is the standout scene of the film. The film has way too many characters and each one is given a moment. It would be wonderful to linger on the Hulk (who really does need his own proper movie - the first two don't count!) and even Natasha (Scarlett Johansson) to figure out where they're coming from. But this movie is the link to what happens in the next upcoming Marvel films. Stay tuned to Captain America: Civil War where all will be revealed, it seems to hint.

This film is also the last time where Joss Whedon will be directing a Marvel film. The success of the first Avengers allowed directors like James Gunn and the Russo brothers to be signed onto the Marvel universe. His unique voice will definitely be missed in future films. The actors playing the Avengers seem to be at it for so long that playing their alter ego comes naturally to them, especially Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. However, the real star of this film is CGI effects. Over 3000 of them!

The battle sequences are insane and take place all over the world. Thank you for sparing New York, Joss, I bet it's still recovering from the last one. Ultron and his army of lookalikes, the Hulk, the Hulk Buster, the Vision and Wonder Twins' abilities all loom larger with the amazing effects. The Avengers was extra-special because it was the first time you saw a superhero movie with such a grand scale all together on the same screen. Since then, many have tried to duplicate that, even this film, but nothing can really come close. I'm sure most of you out there will be watching but Avengers: Age of Ultron is really for the fans for the overall Marvel Cinematic Universe, stay tuned for the next chapter!

Written and Directed by Joss Whedon; Based on the characters created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee; Cinematography by Ben Davis; Editing by Jeffrey Ford and Lisa Lassek; Music by Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman

Additional cast: Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Linda Cardellini, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgard, Claudia Kim, Thomas Kretschmann, Andy Serkis, Julie Delpy

Rating: 

Avengers: Age of Ultron New Trailer!

They're back! The wildly popular gang of superheroes return in Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron where we see more of the new enemy they face.  Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) are all up against Ultron and the relentless army he's created. Besides the glimpses at the other new characters in the film, Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), the big matchup in this trailer is the Hulk going up against the... Hulkbuster??? What have been creating in your spare time, Tony Stark? What did you think of the second Avengers trailer? Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron reassembles May 1, 2015 worldwide.

Movie Review: Thor: The Dark World

After the events of Thor and The Avengers, many worlds have been altered.  Mortals now know about the existence of gods and while a demi-god named Thor (Chris Hemsworth) pines away on Asgard for a mortal named Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).  Jane is the catalyst in this sequel for accidentally unearthing a dark matter aka 'the ether' which is being pursued by the leader of the dark elves, Malekith (a scary looking Christopher Eccleston).

This put all the Nine Realms and Earth in danger as once-in-a-lifetime event that lines up all the realms together can change the universe irrevocably.  The story allows for Jane to see Asgard for the first time and meet Thor's parents, Odin (a disapproving Anthony Hopkins) and Frigga (Rene Russo).  We also see Asgard and its people suffer great losses as the kingdom is brutally attacked by the elves who want to possess the ether.

But where's foster brother Loki (a great Tom Hiddleston) in all this? He's unfortunately in a fine dungeon dig snarling at everyone and biding his time. In general, it's Loki being Loki and it's great fun.  And we're all waiting until he'll be unleashed. And the unleashing occurs as the brothers have to work together to save Asgard and the realms from Malekith's grand plans. The good and bad part of Thor is that his counterpart and sometime nemesis Loki is much more interesting than him. Tom Hiddleton as Loki has such an mischievious smirk on him, you're often rooting for him over Thor.

But I must say, there need to more moments of levity when Thor interacts with the mere mortals of this world. His interactions with Darcy (Kat Dennings) and Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgaard) were great, but nothing beats the shot of Thor of using the underground to get to his destination. Or quietly hanging up his hammer on the coat rack of Jane's flat.  I came thisclose to missing Thor: The Dark World in cinemas.  I'm glad I didn't because the film was a enjoyable experience. I hope I can say that about the next installment of Thor's saga too.

Directed by Alan Taylor; Screenplay by Christopher L. Yost, Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeeley; Story by Don Payne and Robert Rodat; Cinematography by Kramer Morgenthau; Editing by Dan Lebenthal and Wyatt Smith; Music by Brian Tyler

Rating:

Around the World in Posters: The Book Thief, Her, The Monuments Men and more!

 

Poster for Markus Zusak's novel adaptation The Book Thief. One of my favorites in the past few years, hoping the film adapts the book's themes well.

 J.C. Chandor's All is Lost starring Robert Redford - Basically Life of Pi for old people and without the tiger!

Simple words on the poster for Her, A Spike Jonze Love Story. 

Daniel Radcliffe has left Harry Potter far, far behind. Here he is in Kill Your Darlings as Allen Ginsberg.

 Directed by Oscar-magnet George Clooney, the all-star cast features Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Cate Blanchett, Jean Dujardin and of course, Clooney.  It's The Monuments Men.

Philomena is in my top 5 of movies I want to see by the end of this year. 

The always lovely Judi Dench and Steve Coogan star.

 Thor (Chris Hemsworth) vs. some guy. 

Actually it's Daniel Bruhl as Niki Lauda in Ron Howard's F1 racing thriller Rush.

In his fantasies, Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) can go anywhere. 

Welcome to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

You had me at Mark Ruffalo.  The poster for Thanks for Sharing featuring Ruffalo,
Tim Robbins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Josh Gad, Pink and Joel Richardson.

The first film made in Saudi Arabia by a woman with a young lead who enters a competition 

so she can win a green bicycle. I'm definitely rooting for Wadjda.

New Thor: The Dark World Trailer!

Debuting along with Iron Man 3 this Friday in theaters is the first ever Thor: The Dark World trailer.  After going back to his world Asgard at the end of Thor, we meet the hulky Norse God (Chris Hemsworth) once again on Earth as he is reunited with his lady love, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).  Familiar faces return (Anthony Hopkins, Kat Dennings) and some new ones are introduced (Christopher Eccleston's Malekith) but the one face we were looking forward to is definitely back, the fiendish Loki (Tom Hiddleston).  A Thor sequel without him would be unthinkable. Directed by Alan Taylor, the film releases this November 2013.  What do you think?

Movie Review: The Cabin in the Woods

So I saw The Cabin in the Woods.  This is very notable because I shy away from any kind of horror-type film but because I was also promised by people who had seen the film that this wasn't a typical horror film and it would be a shame if I missed out on it.  So I gathered my courage to watch it and what do you know? It wasn't as scary as I imagined it in my mind (it never is) and I actually enjoyed it quite a bit.

The film is about that requisite yet ominous trip to the cabin in the woods by five friends, Jules (Anna Hutchison), Curt (Chris Hemsworth), Marty (Fran Kranz), Holden (Jesse Williams) and Dana (Kristen Connolly).  It becomes fairly obvious that these friends aren't any different than the typical subjects of any such genre. They are categorized into the whore, the athlete, the fool, the scholar and the virgin.  

But they are typecast into this not by design but necessity of how these films are supposed to act.  But they weren't this way until they came into the cabin in the woods.  Because once you come into the arena, all bets are off.  This really reminded me of a Hunger Games-type of scenario with a pair of middlemen controlling the outcome.

A bit of a spoiler alert, although this is revealed from virtually the opening scene, this isn't your ordinary cabin.  This is a full-blown operation to save humanity.  It turns out that it's up to Japan and USA to save the world and the fate of the world lies in the sacrifice of these five youth.  So we have to wait and watch the inevitable as it is in any such film and take a look at how they meet their fate.

But The Cabin in the Woods takes an entirely new approach to this by alternating paying homage and poking fun at the slasher/horror/supernatural films that came before it.  The whole operation set in Japan, the whiteboard of doom, and the banter between Sitterson (Richard Jenkins), Hadley (Bradley Whitford) and Lin (Amy Acker) can be classically only found in a Joss Whedon script. 

And the sacrificial lambs do their best not to just lay down and meet their doom.  They fight against it with all their might.  The dumb athlete is not just stupid, he's a sociology major.  The scholar who suddenly dons glasses and can read Latin is also in college on a football scholarship.  The "virgin" is having an affair with her professor.  My favorite of the bunch, the fool might be the wisest one of them all.  

But the Ancient Ones must be appeased, a sacrifice must be given and there is a sequence towards the end that is so madcap, so fearless, so completely out there (in a good way) that you know that people will be talking about it after.  How did they manage to pull it off? I don't want to ruin for people who haven't yet seen the film but you know when you see a murderous unicorn (yes, unicorn), you've really seen it all.  

This film was made in 2009 when Hemsworth was at his pre-Thor, pre-Avengers fame and the rest of the actors are known by their TV work more than films roles.  The cast, the script and the chances taken by this film to be unique are the best reasons to watch it.  You'll go around recommending it to your friends. You'll see.  I already have.  

Directed by Drew Goddard; Written by Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard; Cinematography by Peter Deming; Editor by Lisa Lassek; Music by David Julyan

Rating: 

Movie Review: Snow White and the Huntsman

A couple of months ago, I reviewed the other Snow White film, Mirror Mirror which after viewing this film seems like child’s play even though it was directed by Tarsem Singh Dhandwar whose previous film was the very bloody Immortals.  While Mirror Mirror looked beautiful with its outlandish costumes by the late Eiko Ishioka, Snow White and the Huntsman has much going for it with its spectacular effects and the much dark tone of the film than sanitized Disney version that remains foremost in people’s minds.

Even though it's all over the place, I definitely enjoyed this take on classic fairy tale that featured the other two important characters in the tale, the Queen who wants Snow White dead and the Huntsman who spares her life.  Since the story from the viewpoint of Snow White has been done to death, it's refreshing to see the focus on the other characters.  I loved Charlize Theron as the evil Queen Ravenna and in the war of the evil Queens, she wins all rounds against Mirror Mirror's Julia Roberts.

No turning subservient servants into cockroaches for this Queen as Ravenna sucks out the beauty from young girls and eats the hearts of birds.  Oh, she also like bathing in milk.  Charlize Theron thoroughly commits to the role and I wished there was more of her backstory as to why she became the person who has to rely on spells to maintain her youthful looks.

But we mustn't forget that Snow White (Kristen Stewart) too is in the film.  Locked away in a tower for several years, she manages to escape her imminent death and runs into the forbidden woods where the Huntsman is sent to capture her for the Queen.  The forest which causes one to have fearful hallucinations is where they manage to escape the Queen's brother Finn (Sam Spruell) and his men.  Snow White and her reluctant bodyguard journey towards the only men who are still loyal to the slain King Magnus, including her childhood friend William (Sam Claflin).

After meeting up with the eighth dwarfs (yes, like ABC’s Once Upon a Time), the Huntsman, William and Snow White hide out in a part of the forest dominated by fairies.  I loved these sequences.  They were so wonderfully imaginative.  The fairies look like little imps and become part of the forest, part of the creatures that inhabit it.  And then mysteriously Snow White meets this white stag who blesses her and declares her as the savior of the people against the Queen.  It was all very Miyazaki-ish. Which was  completely different from the angsty first part of the film.

But also like Once Upon a Time, the eighth dwarf Gus (an unrecognizable Brendan Gleeson) is killed and the dwarfs vow to be on Snow’s side forever. The decision to use normal-sized actors instead of actual dwarves initially met with criticism but I feel it completely works here when the actors playing the dwarves are Bob Hoskins (in his last film role now), Ian McShane, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Eddie Marsan and Toby Jones who give the film some more respectability.

So in the second half Snow White is not a damsel in distress can gathers up the remaining subjects from her father’s time and lead them into battle in mail chain.  And prevails in the end in the fight against Ravenna.  Which was to be expected.  But the transformation from former prisoner to leader of a kingdom was very fast and even though I saw the extended edition and I didn't feel there was much connection between Snow White and the Huntsman which is my gripe with the film.

Chris Hemsworth has had solid hits in the past few months with Thor, Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers and I guess I was expecting more for him here.  Kristen Stewart definitely looks the part of Snow White but she is saddled with impossibly lame dialogue.  I wanted to see the fire that was promised in the posters and trailer when they showed Stewart all decked out in battle gear.  And once again, she's placed into an awkward triangle with William and the Huntsman but thank God, they didn't make it the focus of the film.

If you hated the cutesy Mirror Mirror, you'll prefer Snow White and the Huntsman which has great sequences of promise but will leave you wanting more.  Good thing then that a sequel will likely tie up those loose ends.  A truly imaginative fairy tale!

Directed by Rupert Sanders; Written by Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock and Hossein Amini; Cinematography by Greig Fraser; Edited by Conrad Buff IV and Neil Smith; Music by James Newton Howard

Rating: 

Movie Review: The Avengers

The Avengers is the first co-production between Disney and Marvel and expectations are high.  After the lackluster collection of John Carter at the box-office, The Avengers has to be the start of a successful franchise.  The marketing for this film has been much better (and everywhere).  It's been hard to escape the posters, trailers and images on TV, the internet and around every corner.

Getting back to the review, The Avengers opens with Loki capturing the Tessaract (the glowing blue box first found in Captain America) from Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and his S.H.I.E.L.D team, also managing to kidnap Hawkeye aka Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner) and Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard), previously from the Thor universe.  This worries Fury immensely and he sets out, along with the spy-for-hire Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) to recruit Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans) into the Avengers Initiative to fight against Loki.  

After some persuading, they eventually come aboard the superhero control center in the sky and get to know each other.  This is putting it nicely as some of the superheroes (We're looking at you, Stark) don't "play well with others" and are naturally wary of each other's presence.  A run-in in Germany with Loki leads to the Avengers first banding together to bring him back to the sky lair.  But he manages to escape and bring the fight to New York city and Stark Towers. Ah, poor New York, a city that gets battered through alien attacks, superhero fights, end-of-the world disasters and even Godzilla.  This time around, there are aliens from another realm (Loki's army) and six superheroes to make it into their personal battleground.

The Avengers is a fun start to the summer blockbuster season filled with action and adventure to satisfy any movie fan's superhero appetite.  This is a superhero film times three.  Directed by Joss Whedon who handles the difficult task of making sure that all of these superheroes (most of which have their own film franchise) don't get shortchanged and receive enough screen time.  This being a Whedon film, the characters all spout quippy dialogues and don't spend too much time feeling sorry about themselves and get on with the action.  Most big special effect blockbusters (Green Lantern, the Star Wars prequels) suffer from bad and cheesy dialogue but not this film.  I enjoyed the first interactions of Captain America and Tony Stark with Thor (Chris Hemsworth).  Basically every line out of Stark's mouth was a gem, from calling Hawkeye "Legolas" to addressing Loki as Reindeer Games.  Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) also got some big laughs in his role.

I saw this film at an advance fan screening so the audience reaction was pretty positive.  Throughout the superhero introductions during the film, Thor got the biggest claps but the loudest cheers were saved for Bruce Banner's The Hulk.  I must say, this is the Hulk we fans were waiting for.  Mark Ruffalo's portrayal is the best Hulk out of the bunch.  I loved how the Hulk was allowed to finally be himself in the climatic sequence.  "Hulk...Smash!" He sure does.

Robert Downey Jr. plays Tony Stark with such ease, it's almost like his second skin.  It was also nice to see Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Jarvis (Paul Bettany) make a brief appearances as Stark's support team; we'll see them again in Iron Man 3. Captain America and Thor fit in well with the rest of the Avengers but you know the good stuff is yet come in their respective upcoming sequels.  Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow kicks major ass as the lone female fighter in the group.  She fits right in and I had major Buffy flashbacks at some moments.  While Hawkeye spends the first half on Loki's side before coming, literally, to his senses.  His archery armor would make Katniss Everdeen very envious.

The supporting cast, namely the S.H.I.E.L.D team of Nick Fury, Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) and Agent Coulson don't get to join in as much of the action as the heavy lifting is done by the Avengers team.  The villain of the piece is Loki, brother of Thor and presumed dead at the end of Thor.  We know they rarely stay dead long.  Besides, he's a god as he tells the Hulk.  It leads to my favorite scene in the film which I will watch on repeat when I get the DVD.  Basically, any scene with the Hulk was my favorite.  I think the fans will definitely demand a new Hulk movie. 

But back to Loki.  Denied a kingdom of his own in Asgard, he wants to rule over Earth.  The Avengers team will make sure that won't happen.  Tom Hiddleston plays Loki with a evil smile ever present.  He relishes the role of the baddie given to him.  Stay tuned until after the credits roll for the post-credits scene which has now become mandatory for franchise films.  Overall, The Avengers is great fun and the 3D works extremely well in the battle sequences.  Make it a must-view to start off the summer.

Directed by Joss Whedon; Story by Zak Penn and Joss Whedon; Screenplay by Joss Whedon; Based on the comic books by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby; Cinematography by Seamus McGarvey; Edited by Jeffrey Ford and Lisa Lassek; Music by Alan Silvestri

Rating: 

Thor Trailer Debuts

I love this poster, the dominant red and the rest in strong black and white.  Perfect.  

It's finally here, the Thor trailer debuts. From director Kenneth Branagh and strong cast of Chris Hemsworth (Star Trek) as Thor, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Natalie Portman, and Stellan Skarsgard, the trailer shows how Thor is banished from Asgard and has to live on Earth where he meets Jane, Portman's character. The film is due to release in May 2011 and I am really keen to see how Branagh turns this hero epic into Shakespearean saga. Come on, you know, there will be hidden metaphors in this all over.