Movie News Roundup!

Sadly, no movie reviews this time around. I hope to change that for next week, but for now, let’s look at some of the news around the internets. There's actually quite a lot to talk about; we've got superheroes, adaptations, rumors, anime, trailers and more! So let's get to it!



Wonder Woman Origin Trailer

We started off our week with a new trailer for the Wonder Woman film, dubbed the ‘origin’ trailer. There were some really interesting things in this trailer, including a young Diana and showing her Amazonian training. There are a few things that are especially intriguing to me: the idea that she should be trained to the extent that she is and that there is some truth that she shouldn’t know (I have a pet theory about this, but I could be way off on it). I really love one of the last shots there where she brings the gauntlets together lightning builds around them, it’s a great contrast to earlier in the trailer where their powers go off and she seems scared of it. I have hope for this one, and my little girl is really excited to see it, so I hope it all pans out.


Box Office
I just had to mention this quickly. Beauty and the Beast absolutely slayed this weekend, opening at $170 million domestic ($350 million worldwide total) and knocking Batman v. Superman off top spot for a March opening. It’s already the second-highest grossing film of the year behind Logan (which passed $500 million total worldwide). I haven’t seen it yet, so I have no idea how good the movie itself is, just that a lot of people must have been excited for and/or enjoyed it. It will be interesting to see how the next round of Disney live-action does, with Mulan scheduled for November of next year and Aladdin (directed by Guy Ritchie) about to begin casting. I’m intrigued, especially since they seem to be doing all of my favorites all at once.


Dark Tower 

 Now to another project I’m anticipating. Up till this point we have had so little regarding this adaptation/sequel-ish of Stephen King’s iconic gunslinger. No trailer yet, but now we’ve finally got a poster. I’m not entirely sure why they’ve gone the Inception/Doctor Strange angle for this, but it’s a neat visual. Especially Matthew McConaughey’s Man in Black upside down at the top, with Idris Elba’s Roland and Tom Taylor’s Jake at the bottom right-side up. As someone who loves the books, I can’t explain this choice, but I can tell you that the tagline is exactly what I thought they’d go with. It’ll bring in fans like me, even ones skeptical about the whole sequel/not adaptation of the thing, and pique the curiosity of people who don’t know what the phrase means in the context of the story. I also found an article posting a song (link is the whole thing from YouTube) that was supposedly supposed to be from the trailer that never materialized in October (though was apparently leaked. I didn’t see it either way). Again, another dark, moody cover of a classic. This one is somewhat better than the last few, at least. What makes me scratch my head is that it would be an excellent choice of song had they gone with Roland’s appearance from the book, but since they aren’t doing that, why use it? Either way, I really, really hope we get a trailer or something soon, if only to show us what we’re getting into come July.


Godzilla Anime

Let’s switch now from gunslingers to kaiju. Netflix is apparently working on an anime film featuring the King of the Monsters for later this year. It apparently has a more futuristic setting for the big guy to stomp through, and will be the 30^th Godzilla film produced by Toho. Not many other details yet, but once there’s more to tell, I’ll be sure to let you all know. Kaiju are a big deal (pun intended) in our house, so once it’s released, I’ll definitely be checking it out.

How big is Godzilla in our house? Big enough that Cookie Monster got a makeover for one of the kids' birthday parties.

Guardians Cast
What’s a movie news article without some Marvel, am I right? News is out that Sylvester Stallone and Michael Rosenbaum have parts in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 in roles that are significant to the film and the greater MCU. Of course, no word on who they are playing, but there is plenty of speculation back and forth on who they could be. This video posits Stallone could be playing an incarnation of Nova, but nothing else at this time. I’m not going to speculate too much (although I could totally see Rosenbaum as The Watcher) because who knows how Marvel/Disney is going to connect things at this point. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see, unless we get another trailer that gives us something more.



Valerian Trailer for Trailer
So, director Luc Besson released a trailer for a trailer for his Valerian and the City of the Thousand Planets on Twitter for his birthday. It doesn’t really tell you anything new at this point. I’ll check out the full trailer on the 29^th and see what happens. I’m not overly interested in this one, the first trailer made me feel like someone had smashed Mass Effect and Guardians of the Galaxy together, but in a cynical way, not a good way. So that’s there, if you want to check it out.

Commander Shepard would like her armor back. With the N7 logo reattached.

More Matrix?
I’ve seen rumors swirling the past few days about a reboot of The Matrix. I am, for the record, absolutely against such a remake. Apparently now it’s not a remake, but another film set in the same universe. That I can deal with. I really liked The Animatrix, so I would be down to see more of that world that wasn’t a prequel or a retread or any of those fancy buzzwords. Because you aren’t going to recapture the greatness of that first film, so I’d much rather see other parts of this world and other stories.


Unleash the Archers
One final note to music and especially heavy metal fans. A favorite of ours, Unleash the Archers, has a new album coming out that you can preorder now! I already did, and I cannot wait to get my hands on it (my preorder said shipping to arrive June 2^nd). Just had to share some love for Canadian metal.


Well, that’s what I’ve got for this week, everyone. What do you think of some of these rumors/stories? Anything exciting, anything make you want to tear your hair out in frustration? Next time I’ll hopefully have some new reviews, Power Rangers is out next weekend, as is Life, or might hit up Beauty and the Beast, depending on how much time we have. See you then!

Super Bowl Trailer Recap

So my Facebook and Twitter feeds tell me that there was some manner of large sporting event this past weekend.





I kid, of course. But, as far as the Super Bowl goes, this is kind of my attitude toward it:


So with that being said, let’s have a look at all the goodies we got this year!



John Wick 2

Remember how I said in my Movies of 2017 that I hadn’t actually watched the first one and I needed to remedy that? Well, remedy that I have and I’m kicking myself for not seeing it sooner. I haven’t had this much fun with a straight-up, unapologetically badass action film in a long time. It was insanely awesome and I am definitely catching the sequel in theatres (it actually opens this Friday). But let’s get back to the trailer. Thirty seconds it may be, but it just makes me want to see it all the more. Notice even the subtle jab at the competition also opening this weekend (although I’m not sure how much overlap there is between the two fanbase-wise). My reaction to this was hardly PG, mainly consisting of a word beginning with ‘F’, followed by ‘YES’. I think this one is going to be a good time.


Ghost In the Shell

There’s not really anything new in this one, only really one quick snippet of a scene that stands out as different from the longer official trailer. I hate the use of that loud, static noise, though. That’s not just limited to this trailer either, it’s always annoying. I would have preferred if they’d stuck with the remixed Enjoy the Silence from the first trailer. This one isn’t top of my to-watch list, but I’d like to give it a chance at some point.


Transformers: The Last Knight

This… well this looks like Transformers. At least the footage is new, I guess. Still not much information as to what’s actually going on. Which, while good in a way, it’s not really making me want to rush out and see it. This is the fifth movie in, deciding to go all Force Awakens with your marketing isn’t going to work when what we do see just looks like more of that same. I watched the trailer three times and I literally felt nothing after. Not excited or disgusted, just nothing. Probably not rushing out to see this one.


Life

Now this trailer is making use of it’s thirty seconds. There’s a definite Alien-ish vibe here that’s really cool. The longer trailer gave it a more science-like feel, but this one is playing up what I assume will be the other side of the story. I was already interested in this movie, but this trailer has certainly piqued my interest again in it. I love a hard, science-heavy sci-fi and I hope this delivers on that.


A Cure for Wellness 

This movie looks dark. That may be an understatement. If it’s anything like these trailers paint it out to be then this is going to be a twisted, suspenseful and beautiful-looking film. It’s one of those movies where there’s way more going on and it won’t be till the end (or multiple viewings) that we see the whole picture. At least I hope so. I’m interested to see how it all comes together, or comes apart, when all is said and done. The trailer has a wonderful atmosphere to it, very horror and also very old-fashioned and refined.


Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Well that was an abrupt shift in tone from the entry above. First off, can I say I love the music choice here and in everything Guardians related? There is literally nothing else I can say about this movie. There’s only so many times I can say I’m super excited and can’t wait to see it.


Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales 

I don’t know guys. I mean, once again, I approve 100% of the song choice here but you can’t just slap a Johnny Cash song over your trailer and expect me to fall for it. It’s kind of like the Transformers trailer, it doesn’t really feel new or fresh or like they’re trying to do something different with it. Undead pirates looking for Jack Sparrow? Wasn’t that the plot of the first movie? And those undead pirates looks pretty janky and badly animated (I’m sure it’ll be fine in the final cut. Right?) It’s been six years since the last Pirates movie, but I can’t help but wonder if it’ll pull a Jurassic World with little callbacks and Easter eggs to the first one and how good it was. If we see it, this one will be a rental. Best-case scenario, this one might be fun.


Logan

This is yet another movie I’ve already spoken about multiple times. I’ve been on board from the get-go and that’s unlikely to change. I’ve stuck by the X-Men and by Wolverine since the first film back in 2000 and I intend to see this one to its end.


The Fate of the Furious

This looks like more from what I expect a Fast and Furious movie entails, lots of fast cars, explosions, etc. I’m still wondering about that story, though, and how that comes about. Is it enough to get me to see it? Not really, much as I’d love to watch Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham trade barbs and blows back and forth. This is a rental, at best, for me but I bet it’s got fans of the series buzzing pretty good.


Baywatch

Okay, this one looks like it could be a lot of fun. I’m willing to give it a shot, probably as a rental. A few new bits in this trailer that wasn’t in the other one mixed in with some of the same. This one definitely plays up the humor whereas the first trailer was about split with action. Can I just point out that awful greenscreen at the end there? Ouch. Luckily Dwayne Johnson’s charisma looks like it’s going to be what saves the day here, and I’m interested to see his rapport with Zac Efron (who’s not a bad actor, but he’s in some pretty atrocious movies). This’ll be a fun movie night one time after the kiddos go to bed, most likely.


Anyways, that’s the Super Bowl Trailer report. I know Lego Batman and John Wick 2 open this weekend, but due to work I’ll probably being seeing them the following weekend. So you can expect reviews of those then. Until next time!