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Showing posts with label Imagine Entertainment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Imagine Entertainment. Show all posts
Streaming Service: Netflix Movie Name/Year: tick, tick...Boom! (2021) Genre: Biography, Drama, Musical Length: 115 minutes Rating: PG-13 Production/Distribution: 5000 Broadway Productions, Imagine Entertainment,
Netflix Director: Lin-Manuel Miranda Writers: Steven Levenson, Jonathan Larson Actors: Andrew Garfield, Robin de
Jesus, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexandra Shipp, Bradley Whitford, Joshua Henry, Judith
Light, Tariq Trotter, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Alex D. Jennings, Ben Ross, Beth
Malone, Danielle Ferland, Gizel Jimenez, Joanna Adler, Joel Grey, Jonathan Marc
Sherman, Kate Rockwell, Laura Benanti, Mason Versaw, Micaela Diamond, MJ
Rodriguez, Noah Robbins, Richard Kind IMDb Blurb: On the cusp of his 30th birthday,
a promising young theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressures
of life as an artist in New York City.
Cat’s Point of View: Tick, tick...Boom! was a feast for the senses. I got
everything I hoped for from this production, and then some.
Bravo to Lin-Manuel Miranda (Mary Poppins Returns, His Dark Materials, Duck Tales) for
absolutely smashing it with his directorial debut. It was kismet that he came
together with this particular project to bring us a window into the world of
the late, great Jonathan Larson. It was absolutely clear that this was a labor
of love and came from a place of deep resonance and understanding.
The story slipped between stage and ‘the real world’ so
seamlessly, and the music integrated in such an organic way that you didn’t
feel that slight pause as a typical musical’s cast is about to launch into the
big song and dance number. If there was dancing, the movement felt natural and
part of the scene rather than random people popping out of the woodwork for
some choreography. Of course, a lot of that genius is to the credit of Larson,
himself, given that tick, tick…Boom!
was originally written as a one-man-show. It was expanded to 3 people for its
actual stage run, but then this movie just blows that out of the water.
I felt so connected to all the characters, and felt I could identify
with them on some level – none moreso than Larson’s character specifically. Andrew
Garfield (Never Let Me Go, Hacksaw Ridge,
Under the Silver Lake) was an absolute dream in this role. He had such
wonderful chemistry with all of the supporting cast – from his girlfriend,
played Alexandra Shipp (Straight Outta
Compton, Tragedy Girls, Endless) to his best friend, played by Robin de
Jesus (Hair Brained, Law & Order:
SVU, The Boys in the Band). It was like watching pieces fall into place –
and people into parts – in a great composition coming together. Other stand-out performances included Vanessa Hudgens (Powerless, Rent: Live, My Little Pony: A New
Generation) and Joshua Henry (Winter's
Tale, American Renegades, See) as Larson’s friends that work with him on
his rock-musical and revel with him outside
of stage work. Everyone’s voices were on point, and the music was soaring.
I could babble on forever, really. Tick, tick…Boom! surprised me with how much I enjoyed it. Let’s
face it – I knew it was going to be good and I knew it would be enjoyable. I
just didn’t anticipate how much it would connect with me and how much of a
positive feeling it would leave with me in spite of some of the sad subject
matter. Tick, tick…Boom! celebrated
not only the connection between the characters and the message of making the
most of the time you have – but it also brilliantly underscored the creative
process. I can’t tell you how much I identified to Larson’s writer’s block as
he struggled to compose a key song for his musical. The show makes sure you get
it that things aren’t always glitzy parties with champagne. Larson wasn’t shy
in sharing every rejection he had to push through and keep working beyond to
attain his dream. I think that tick,
tick…Boom! has a lot to offer a wide spectrum of movie-goers and streamers
alike, and I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to offer my recommendation.
Production/Distribution: BRON Studios, Creative
Wealth Media Finance, Imagine Entertainment, Lionsgate, Studio Babelsberg
Motion Pictures, Lionsgate UK, Aurum Films, BF Distribution, Belga Films, Constantin-Film,
Golden Village Pictures, Independent Films, Metropolitan Filmexport, Mongkol
Major, Noori Pictures, Noori, Nordisk Film Distribusjon, Phars Film, Pioneer
Films, Roadshow Film Distributors (NZ) Ltd., Roadshow Films, Spentzos Films, StudioCanal,
TME Films, Eagle Films, Lionsgate Home Entertainment, Neon, Pris Audiovisuais, TV3
Director: Susanna Fogel
Writer: Susanna Fogel, David
Iserson
Actors: Justin Theroux, Mila Kunis,
Kate McKinnon, Lolly Adefope, Dustin Demri-Burns, David Iserson, Sam Heughan,
Hasan Minhaj, Mirjam Novak, Kev Adams, Gillian Anderson, Ivanna Sakhno, Jane
Curtin, Paul Reiser, Fred Melamed, James Fleet, Carolyn Pickles, Tom Stourton, Ólafur
Darri Ólafsson
Blurb
from IMDb: Audrey
and Morgan are best friends who unwittingly become entangled in an
international conspiracy when one of the women discovers the boyfriend who
dumped her was actually a spy.
Selina’s
Point of View:
This
movie started on a bad note for me. There was cringe and continuity errors galore,
neither of which ever endears me to a film. But the problems barely even lasted
to the title screen – then things got much better.
Mila
Kunis (Oz the Great and Powerful, Hell and Back, Wonder Park) and Kate
McKinnon (Office Christmas Party, Ferdinand, Bombshell) have such
amazing on-screen chemistry that I immediately bought the idea that they were
best friends. I’ve had some of the same back-and-forth bantering moments with
my best friend, and it felt natural to me when I saw it on-screen. I don’t
think anyone could fault either of their performances.
A lot
of critics had an issue with the humor in this film, but I don’t think they
gave it the credit it deserves. Yes, the movie does seem to try to give a few too
many poop jokes. When it’s not going to toilet humor, though, it had me
giggling out loud.
The
humor wasn’t the best part, though.
I expected
a fish-out-of-water comedy. I got a LOT of that, but I wouldn’t lean too
heavily toward ‘comedy’ when describing this film. It’s not a funny film with
some action. It’s an action film with some comedy. I don’t think the production
company did itself any favors by marketing it as the former.
The
action sequences in The Spy Who Dumped Me were on point. There was so
much more action, blood, and intensity than I expected. The first big shootout went
by and I was like, ‘yeah, ok. I expected that.’ But the movie never really slowed
down after that, and it caught me off-guard. You get a decent high-quality
action scene – then some comedy – then right back to the action.
Critics
didn’t seem to watch this film from the right perspective. I blame marketing
for that. Personally, I loved it. It’s one of those films where I could see it
becoming a guilty pleasure.
Cat’s
Point of View:
There’s
a feeling that you get when a movie opens with one of your favorite songs. It
amps you up and automatically puts you in the mood to expect, hope, and pray
the movie it’s attached to will be good. Quite a few times, I’ve been disappointed.
This was not one of those times. The Spy Who Dumped Me delivered a case
full of awesome.
I
remember that I’d been rather excited to see this movie from the get-go. I’ll
admit that this is actually my second viewing; albeit, my first watch-through
was when the film first reached On-Demand through my cable provider over a year
ago. I felt like I was watching again for the first time. I was taken back
along for the ride, swept into the story and the laughter. Aside from that,
Selina and I both scored this movie in our Top 10 movies to look out for in
August 2018. I had this one as my #4.
I
love the premise of this movie. You see so many buddy-cop and buddy P.I. movies
– the list really goes on – with a pair of guys involved. If it’s not two
dudes, then there’s a male/female pairing. This is one of those Thelma and
Louise (1991) sort of movies that tosses that old recipe out the window and
runs with the strengths of two capable women banding together.
Of
course, this movie spoofs the spy genre all over the place – that’s fun, too. I
just dig that ‘ride or die’ friendship that the two female lead characters
have. This is the sort of shenaniganry I would get into with my own best
friends. I’d like to think so, at least. Hopefully with fewer flying bullets.
Kate
McKinnon is one of my favorite comedians of today. I adore the quirkiness that
she brings to her roles. Casting did a wonderful job here pairing her with Mila
Kunis. I believed the dynamic of their friendship. It felt organic. Besides,
who doesn’t like a good ‘straight-laced’ foil to a kooky character?
The
icing on the action-laden cake for me was Sam Heughan’s (Young Alexander the
Great, Emulsion, Bloodshot) involvement with the project. Aside from
getting moony whenever I hear the Scottish actor speak, I like seeing the
different roles he takes outside of his lead role in Outlander (2014-).
Even though I’m an admitted fangirl, I feel that I can still be fairly objective
when I say that he excels in this sort of genre.
I
would definitely give this action-packed spy flick a hearty recommendation. In
fact, I’d have to say that the film is probably in my personal top 200 of all
time. I’d watch it again, and again.
Actors: Joe Thomas, Hammed Animashaun, Claudia O’Doherty, Jemaine Clement, Hannah Tointon, Kurt Yaeger, Noel Fielding, Nick Frost, Theo Barklem-Biggs, Leigh Williams, Lizzy Connolly, Hugh Coles, Chris Geere
Genre: Comedy
Rated: NR
Length: Unknown
IMDb Blurb: After Nick's girlfriend dumps him, his best mate Shane has the perfect antidote to his break-up blues: three days at an epic music festival.
I feel the need to explain that there’s a credit mentioned on IMDb for a “Smurf Maid of Honor” part. I just want to know what the fuck that’s all about.
Aside from that, The Festival looks like a funny and amusing look at a pretty basic post-break-up cheer-him-up plot. I don’t actually see a possible love interest in the trailer, either. There most likely is… but if the creators really did turn away from the romantic aspect of this kind of plot, that could make The Festival something new and interesting.
I imagine it will be cringy, though. I have a low cringe limit. I’d still be willing to risk it, though.
19 – Slender Man (8/24)
Tag Line: None
Production Company: Mythology Entertainment, Madhouse Entertainment
Director: Sylvain White
Writer: David Birke, Victor Surge
Actors: Joey King, Javier Botet, Annalise Basso, Julia Goldani Telles, Jaz Sinclair, Kevin Chapman, Michael Reilly Burke, Taylor Richardson, Kallie Tabor, Jessica Blank, Kayla Caulfield, Angela Hope Smith, Alex Fitzalan, Miguel Nascimento
Genre: Horror
Rated: PG-13
Length: Unknown
IMDb Blurb: Slender Man tells the story of a tall, thin, horrifying figure with unnaturally long arms and a featureless face, who is reputed to be responsible for the haunting and disappearance of countless children and teens.
At this point, everyone has heard of the Slender Man creepypasta. At least some version of it. Maybe you played the game, watched any of the films, or read the stories. Maybe you just read/watched the news when those girls named Slender Man as the reason they killed their friend. Whatever the source, I’m sure you’ve heard of this particular boogey-man.
The problem with turning this popular of a creepypasta into another movie is that there will always be a subsect of the fans that think it got screwed up. It doesn’t matter how well this film is done, there will be people who hate it on principle.
I’m not one of them.
Frankly, I’ve got an open mind here. As much as there is that could go wrong, there’s just as much that can go right.
The only reason it’s this low on the list is because I suspect – according to the trailer – that we’re going to wind up getting something a little more on the recipe side than we should.
18 – The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time (8/19)
Tag Line: History’s biggest disaster comes to an end.
Production Company: Syfy, The Asylum
Director: Anthony C. Ferrante
Writer: Thunder Levin, Scotty Mullen
Actors: Tara Reid, Ian Ziering, Vivica A. Fox, Jonathan Bennett, Cassandra Scerbo, Charles Hittinger, Lucia Oskerova, Roxanna Bina, Raine Michaels, Alexandre Ottoni
Genre: Action, Comedy, Horror
Rated: NR
Length: 90 minutes
IMDb Blurb: Fin must unlock the time-traveling power of the Sharknados in order to save the world.
On paper, this film really couldn’t get any worse. Between being the sixth installment of a series called Sharknado (2013) and being produced by The Asylum… why would anyone want to watch this travesty?
I hate to say just how much I enjoy this series.
Oh, it’s not good. Absolutely not. But it’s so terrible that watching it with friends is just a really fun time. I mean, this one is about time travel. We’ve already had sharks in space.
Will it be the very last of the series as it seems to suggest? I couldn’t tell you that. But I can tell you that I’m getting a few friends together to watch it. I even bought my daughter a shark costume. It’s going to be a lot of fun.
Production Company: STX Entertainment, Closest to the Hole Productions, Film 44, The Hideaway Entertainment
Director: Peter Berg
Writer: Graham Roland, Lea Carpenter
Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Lauren Cohen, Ronda Rousey, John Malkovich, Iko Uwais, Poorna Jagannathan, Terry Kinney, Sala Baker, Alexandra Vino, Nikolai Nikolaeff, Sam Medina, Emily Skeggs, Carlo Alban, Elle Graham, Kate Rigg, Brandon Scales
Genre: Action
Rated: NR
Length: Unknown
IMDb Blurb: An elite American intelligence officer, aided by a top-secret tactical command unit, tries to smuggle a mysterious police officer with sensitive information out of the country.
I waffled on the positioning of this film.
On one hand, it’s got a pretty badass cast. Not just great actors, but people who are just generally badass in real life as well: like Ronda Rousey. When someone starts putting real fighters alongside actors at the top of their game in action films… they are definitely working on another level.
On the other hand? A lot of the trailer looks very basic.
If the cast was different, this film wouldn’t have caught my attention even a little bit. It looks like I should expect it to be a recipe movie. Granted, recipe films can be good… but they need something remarkable about them to really stand out. I believe this cast could elevate Mile 22 above that basic base.
16 – To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (8/17)
Tag Line: The letters are out.
Production Company: All The Boys Productions, Awesomeness Films, Overbrook Entertainment
Director: Susan Johnson
Writer: Sofia Alvarez, Jenny Han
Actors: Noah Centineo, Isreal Broussard, John Corbett, Lana Condor, Janel Parrish, Emilija Baranac, Andrew Bachelor, Trezzo Mahoro, Madeleine Arthur, Jordan Burtchett, Anna Cathcart, Christian Michael Cooper, Hunter Dillon, June B. Wilde, Kelcey Mawema, Isabelle Beech, Rhys Fleming, Joey Pacheco, Pavel Piddocke
Genre: Drama, Romance
Rated: NR
Length: Unknown
IMDb Blurb: A teenage girl's secret love letters are exposed and wreak havoc on her love life.
Who doesn’t remember the intense little crushes we all got when we teenagers? This film speaks easily to the younger generations, but also to the nostalgia in the older audience.
It looks like a semi-original coming-of-age film. I’m unfamiliar with a lot of the cast, but I am familiar with the director.
Susan Johnson (Destiny Stalled, Call My Name, Second Coming) directed Carrie Pilby (2016) – a film that I reviewed for the blog and, if you remember correctly, I fucking LOVED it. Johnson is still a new director when it comes to full-length feature films, which is the only reason this film isn’t higher on the list… but I have absolute confidence in her abilities.
It’s also a Netflix original, and I believe Netflix has shown a significant amount of sense in the films its allowed its name to be attached to – in this case as distributor.
15 – Support the Girls (8/24)
Tag Line: None
Production Company: Burn Later Productions, Houston King Productions
Director: Andrew Bujalski
Writer: Andrew Bujalski
Actors: Regina Hall, Haley Lu Richardson, Dylan Gelula, Zoe Graham, Ann McCaskey, Elizabeth Trieu, Krista Hayes, Victor Isaac Perez, Jesse Marshall, Luis Olmeda, Shayna McHayle, Jermichael Grey, Christopher Weimer, John Elvis, Lea DeLaria, Lindsay Anne Kent, Sam Stinson, Jonny Mars, Steve Zapata, Carlos Pina, Gerald Brodin, Laura Frances, Pete O. Partida, Sam Slater, Nicole Onyeje, James Le Gros, Bill Wise, Lawrence Varnado, Willita Mahone, AJ Michalka, Brooklyn Decker, AnnaClare Hicks
Genre: Comedy
Rated: R
Length: 90 minutes
IMDb Blurb: The general manager at a highway-side ''sports bar with curves" has her incurable optimism and faith, in her girls, her customers, and herself, tested over the course of a long, strange day.
This film looks incredibly relatable. That alone would have made me pay attention to the trailer, but the main actress featured in it, took things up a notch.
The thing is, I’ve seen Regina Hall (Scary Movie, Superhero Movie, Naked) in some crap movies. I don’t think I can judge her by that alone, though. Especially since the films I’ve seen her in were all much less serious than this part seems to take her in. Yes, Support the Girls is labeled a single-genre comedy, but the trailer suggests there’s some drama thrown in… and Hall seems to be rocking the part pretty hard from what I can see.
The biggest thing I can say about Support the Girls is not only that it looks like it could be an engaging tale, but that it’s the kind of film that I really want to succeed.
14 – Destination Wedding (8/31)
Tag Line: Check your baggage.
Production Company: thefyzz, CISS, Chapman-Leonard, Company 3, GreenSlate, Lee & Thompson, Paso Catering, Ramo Law, Service Fish, Snap Sound, Steve Martin's Working Wildlife, Tunnel Post
Director: Victor Levin
Writer: Victor Levin
Actors: Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder, Dj Dallenbach, Greg Lucey, D. Rosh Wright, Ted Dubost, Sean Sullivan, Donna Lynn Jones, Curt Dubost, Scott Andrews, Michael Mogull, James Gallardo
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Rated: R
Length: 90 minutes
IMDb Blurb: The story of two miserable and unpleasant wedding guests, Lindsay and Frank, who develop a mutual affection despite themselves.
Ok, go ahead, laugh at me. Destination Wedding looks like your basic bullshit rom-com. It probably will be, too. Still, I’m ALL about what this trailer looks like.
I’m going to call this the Set it Up (2018) effect.
If you remember correctly, I grossly underestimated Set it Up when I saw the trailer, mainly because it looked like your basic run-of-the-mill rom-com. It wound up being a really great film with scenes that absolutely shattered my expectations.
My Set it Up effect hypothesis notes that there’s potentially a few minorly special notes in a rom-com trailer that are easy to overlook, but that could actually indicate that it’s anything but a basic film.
In this case, those special notes are in the banter between the two main characters. It doesn’t show that the plot will deviate from what we expect, of course, but it DOES give the idea that there will be a few scenes that are out of the norm and incredibly worth the watch.
If Destination Wedding turns out to prove my point, I might start paying more attention to new rom-coms. We could be looking at a shift in the kind of attention paid to the genre.
13 – Alpha (8/17)
Tag Line: Leaders are born from survival
Production Company: Studio 8
Director: Albert Hughes
Writer: Albert Hughes, Daniele Sebastian Wiedenhaupt
Actors: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Natassia Malthe, Leonor Varela, Jens Hulten, Johannes Haukur Johannesson, Mercedes de la Zerda, Priya Rajaratnam, Spencer Bogaert, Marcin Kowalczyk
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Rated: PG-13
Length: Unknown
IMDb Blurb: A story of survival set 20,000 years ago during the last Ice Age.
THIS is the origin story I’ve been dying for. My favorite superhero. The dog.
I’m sure this is not even remotely the true story of how we domesticated dogs, but it’s the story I’m being given and I’m damn well going to take it.
Dogs rule.
12 – Beautifully Broken (8/24)
Tag Line: Three families. Two worlds. One incredible true story.
Production Company: Big Film Factory, Film Incito, Red Entertainment Group, All Entertainment
Director: Eric Welch
Writer: Brad Allen, Chuck Howard, Mark E. McCann, Martin Michael
Actors: Benjamin A. Onyango, Scott William Winters, Emily Hahn, Caitlin Nicol-Thomas, Ditebogo Ledwaba, Sibulele Gcilitshana, Bonko Khoza, Michael W. Smith, Eva Ndachi, Toby McKeehan, Jessica Obilom, Frans Cronje, Maxwell Haynes, Eugene Khumbanyiwa, Alan Powell, Eric Roberts, Felicia Mahambehlala, Patrick Bokaba, Christopher Morrissey, Zimkitha Kumbaca, Welile Nzuza, Eddie Matthews, London Hibbs
Genre: Drama
Rated: PG-13
Length: 108 minutes
IMDb Blurb: A refugee's escape, a prisoner's promise, and a daughter's painful secret converge in this inspiring real-life story of hope. As three fathers fight to save their families, their lives become intertwined in an unlikely journey across the globe, where they learn the healing power of forgiveness and reconciliation.
I’m in love with the basic idea of the underlying plot of this film. In a world so incredibly split as ours? Beautifully Broken is necessary.
From what I can tell from the trailer, it takes a look at three families in drastically different settings, from drastically different backgrounds, and lets you see that none of them are without problems. The movie shows how the families intersect in order to tell a single story that belongs to them all.
Any film that promotes unity and hope is going to catch my eye right now.
11 – Running for Grace (8/1)
Tag Line: Love is worth going the distance.
Production Company: Kona Snow Pictures, Public House Films
Director: David Cunningham
Writer: David Cunningham, Christian Parkes
Actors: Ryan Potter, Jim Caviezel, Matt Dillon, Juliet Mills, Olivia Ritchie, Nick Boraine, Stelio Savante, Peyton Dilweg, Cole Takiue, Sara Naby Kim, Derek Hall, Jon Sakata, Rumi Oyama, Dann Seki, Shiro Kawai
Genre: Romance
Rated: TV-14
Length: 110 minutes
IMDb Blurb: A timeless tale that takes place against the backdrop of the segregated coffee fields in 1920s Hawaii - a coming-of-age journey about a young man who transcends the boundaries of race and class in pursuit of a forbidden love.
Although this is another romantic story, it’s more the story of the main character that I’m interested in. His entire story seems to be imbued with hope and diverting the expectations of others.
Ryan Potter (Big Hero 6, Titans, Underdog Kids) already seems like a force to be reckoned with in the trailer. I’m dying to see what he does with the entire plot of his character.
10 – The Little Mermaid (8/17)
Tag Line: A new twist on the classic tail.
Production Company: Conglomerate Media, Kingsway Productions (II)
Director: Blake Harris, Chris Bouchard
Writer: Blake Harris, Hans Christian Anderson
Actors: Gina Gershon, William Moseley, Jared Sandler, Poppy Drayton, Shirley MacLaine, Lexy Kolker, Loreto Peralta, Jo Marie Payton, Shanna Collins, Hunter Gomez, Armando Gutierrez, Claire Ryann, Tom Nowicki, Melissa Collazo, Antares Davis, Peter Groverman, Chris Yong, Alexis Balliro, James Bernstein
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Rated: PG
Length: 82 minutes
IMDb Blurb: A young reporter and his niece discover a beautiful and enchanting creature they believe to be the real little mermaid.
This looks like an awesome adaptation of the mermaid mythology. Granted, it’s likely not as close to the original stories of mermaids as I would like to see, but I don’t think it’s going to be a basic retelling of the Disney version, either. It seems to be mystical, but somewhat darker than Mickey’s version.
There are a lot of ways this can go wrong, but I don’t care. Mythology has my heart. I’m absolutely willing to give a new version of The Little Mermaid a chance.
9 – The Meg (8/10)
Tag Line: Opening wide.
Production Company: Apelles Entertainment, Di Bonaventura Pictures, Flagship Entertainment Group, Gravity Pictures, Maeday Productions
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Writer: Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, Steve Alten
IMDb Blurb: After escaping an attack by what he claims was a 70-foot shark, Jonas Taylor must confront his fears to save those trapped in a sunken submersible.
I’m so happy that the creature feature is starting to peek out of the B-Movie trap it’s been stuck in. Granted, I’ll watch all the dumbass Pterodactyl/Piranha/Shark/Mecha-Croc films that the weirder productions companies put out, but that doesn’t mean anything. I’ll watch pretty much anything at least once.
However, since Jurassic World (2015) came out, creature features have been peeking out into A-territory a little more. We get big, reliable actors up against ridiculous creatures that shouldn’t exist and that makes me so happy.
Much like Cat, I’ve been super looking forward to The Meg. I may even see it in theaters if only so that my money can encourage more production companies to go this route.
8 – The Happytime Murders (8/24)
Tag Line: No Sesame. All street.
Production Company: Black Bear Pictures, Henson Alternative, Huayi Brothers Media, On The Day Productions, STX Entertainment, The Jim Henson Company
Director: Brian Henson
Writer: Todd Berger, Dee Austin Robertson
Actors: Melissa McCarthy, Elizabeth Banks, Joel McHale, Maya Rudolph, Leslie David Baker, Brian Henson, Jimmy O. Yang, Fortune Feimster, Bill Barretta, Cynthy Wu, Colleen Smith, Pamela Mitchell, Mitch Silpa, Dorien Davies, Julianne Buescher, Drew Massey, Brekkan Spens, Allison Bills, Victor Yerrid, Ryan Tran, Ted Michaels
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
Rated: R
Length: Unknown
IMDb Blurb: When the puppet cast of an '80s children's TV show begins to get murdered one by one, a disgraced LAPD detective-turned-private eye puppet takes on the case.
This trailer is just… I can’t… there are no words.
It’s a rated-R Muppet film that is likely going to make Avenue Q (2003) look tame. Just remember, these Muppets are NOT kid-friendly despite it being a Henson production.
7 – The Spy Who Dumped Me (8/3)
Tag Line: They got this.
Production Company: Imagine Entertainment, Lionsgate
Director: Susanna Fogel
Writer: Susanna Fogel, David Iserson
Actors: Justin Theroux, Mila Kunis, Kate McKinnon, Lolly Adefope, Dustin Demri-Burns, David Iserson, sam Heughan, Hasan Minhaj, Mirjam Novak
Genre: Action, Comedy
Rated: R
Length: 116 minutes
IMDb Blurb: Audrey and Morgan are best friends who unwittingly become entangled in an international conspiracy when one of the women discovers the boyfriend who dumped her was actually a spy.
I originally wrote this film off. It was on the list, but much lower. As I continued to re-watch the trailer, though, I changed my mind.
Mila Kunis (Boot Camp, Ted, That 70s Show) is always a win, without a doubt. And, in this case, the majority of the trailer had me laughing – or at least chuckling – throughout. I think, even if the plot winds up being too basic, the actual comedy portrayed in it will still be special.
It’s not likely to change the cinematic landscape of our movie-watching future or anything, but I have faith that it’ll be at least enjoyable.
6 – BlacKkKlansman (8/10)
Tag Line: Infiltrate hate.
Production Company: 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Blumhouse Productions, Legendary Entertainment, Monkeypaw Productions, Perfect World Pictures, QC Entertainment
Director: Spike Lee
Writer: Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kavin Willmott, Spike Lee, Ron Stallworth
Actors: John David Washington, Alec Baldwin, Topher Grace, Adam Driver, Ryan Eggold, Laura Harrier, Jasper Paakkonen, Robert John Burke, Paul Walter Hauser
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Crime
Rated: R
Length: 135 minutes
IMDb Blurb: Ron Stallworth, an African-American police officer from Colorado, successfully managed to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan and became the head of the local chapter.
Spike Lee (Chi-Raq, Rodney King, Pass Over) is a brilliant artist.
BlacKkKlansman looks like an amazing call-back to the blaxploitation era, but it’s got a project head that’s so active in equality politics that it flips the whole idea of blaxploitation on its head. It brings the style into the current-day era and takes the exploitation out of it. What we’re bound to get from this film is something that feels kind of throw-back-ish, but with a social statement about the state of racial relations today.
I’m really looking forward to this.
5 – Searching (8/3)
Tag Line: He just missed his daughter's final call.
Production Company: Bazelevs Entertainment, Bazelevs Production
Director: Aneesh Chaganty
Writer: Aneesh Chaganty, Sev Ohanian
Actors: John Cho, Debra Messing, Joseph Lee, Michelle La, Sara Sohn
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Rated: PG-13
Length: 102 minutes
IMDb Blurb: After his 16-year-old daughter goes missing, a desperate father breaks into her laptop to look for clues to find her.
I believe Searching could wind up reinventing the wheel where missing persons plot films are concerned. The way the movie is presented makes it feel like something you’re not really meant to watch on the big screen. It feels like you’re meant to watch it on your computer, or your phone. Doing that could actively put you into the story with the main character as he searches for his daughter.
We have seen this format for movies before, primarily in horror films, but we’ve also seen it in video games such as Sara is Missing (2016). It’s a format that is very good at immersing the viewer in the world.
In this case, we have some reliable actors dipping their toes into the new genre. This could mark the beginning of something big if it works out well… though the fact that it’s likely to work better on smaller screens makes me think that any success it sees with be of the cult variety.
4 – Papillon (8/24)
Tag Line: The greatest escape adventure ever told.
Production Company: Czech Anglo Productions, FishCorb Films, Red Granite Pictures
Director: Michael Noer
Writer: Aaron Guzikowski, Dalton Trumbo, Lorenzo Semple Jr., Henri Charriere
Actors: Rami Malek, Charlie Hunnam, Eve Hewson, Tommy Flanagan, Roland Moller, Michael Socha, Christopher Fairbank
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Rated: R
Length: 133 minutes
IMDb Blurb: A prisoner detained on a remote island plots his escape. A remake of the 1973 film 'Papillon'.
This is simply a solid crime/mystery/thriller kind of remake with great actors. There are some unique aspects to the plot as we see in the trailer, but it’s the cast that really stands out.
3 – Kin (8/31)
Tag Line: No force is stronger than family.
Production Company: 21 Laps Entertainment, Lionsgate, No Trace Camping
Director: Jonathan Baker, Josh Baker
Writer: Daniel Casey, Jonathan Baker, Josh Baker
Actors: James Franco, Zoe Kravitz, Carrie Coon, Dennis Quaid, Jack Reynor, Myles Truitt, Jonathan Cherry
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
Rated: PG-13
Length: Unknown
IMDb Blurb: Chased by a vengeful criminal, the feds and a gang of otherworldly soldiers, a recently released ex-con and his adopted teenage brother are forced to go on the run with a weapon of mysterious origin as their only protection.
Kin looks like a great film. It has some interesting cast members, but this movie definitely made the list based on the merit of the story.
It’s about a big badass gun lost by some weird alien creatures or Area 51-type government people and found by a teen that is experiencing a lack of control in his own life? I see where this is going and I absolutely love it.
Child actors make me nervous, but Miles Truitt (Queen Sugar, Jay, Black Lightning) seems to have it under control. He definitely owns the part in the trailer.
2 – The Darkest Minds (8/3)
Tag Line: If you're one of us, come find us.
Production Company: 21 Laps Entertainment
Director: Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Writer: Chad Hodge, Alexandra Bracken
Actors: Bradley Whitford, Mandy Moore, Amandla Stenberg, Gwendoline Christie, Harris Dickinson, Mark O’Brien, Wallace Langham, Patrick Gibson, Wade Williams
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller
Rated: PG-13
Length: 105 minutes
IMDb Blurb: Imprisoned by an adult world that now fears everyone under 18, a group of teens form a resistance group to fight back and reclaim control of their future.
This film would be number one but there’s some issue with the trailers for me. One looks incredibly awesome and the other looks like a teen love story that could have it compared to Twilight (2008).
For the purposes of this list, I’ve decided to assume that The Darkest Minds is going to be more like the awesome version of the trailer than the teen-angsty one. If I’m right, then this is a film would be worth seeing in the theaters.
1 – Christopher Robin (8/3)
Tag Line: Out of the Wood. Into the City.
Production Company: 2DUX², Walt Disney Pictures
Director: Marc Forster
Writer: Alex Ross Perry, Tom McCarthy, Allison Schroeder, Greg Brooker, mark Steven Johnson, A.A. Milne, Ernest Shepard
Actors: Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell, Bronte Carmichael, Mark Gatiss, oliver Ford Davies, Ronke Adekoluejo, Adrian Scarborough, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Ken Nwosu, John Dagleish, Brad Garrett, Nick Mohammed, Peter Capaldi, Sophie Okonedo, Sara Sheen, Toby Jones
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Rated: PG
Length: 104 minutes
IMDb Blurb: A working-class family man, Christopher Robin, encounters his childhood friend Winnie-the-Pooh, who helps him to rediscover the joys of life.
Oh. My. God. The nostalgia. It’s too much. I’m drowning in it. And it still looks so good that I don’t give a fuck. I want my Winnie the Pooh (1977) story for adults that need a reminder to never stop being a kid! Gimme!
