Avengers: Infinity War Trailer Reaction

So anyone who’s spent five minutes on the Internet since this morning can probably tell you what today was: Infinity War trailer day! If you’re Facebook and Twitter feeds are similar to mine, then that’s about all anyone can talk about. So, why don’t’ we join in on the fun?

First off, the trailer itself:

So just a few things that stood out to me as I watched this:

-human Vision and Wanda. I want to know more about this. 

-The Spider Sense! This is one of the things I was most excited to see, to be honest. 

-Loki with the tesseract, possibly walking through a bunch of dead people. 

-Thanos’ skin is more of a muted purple than before. I like the way he looks here, less cartoony than before. 

 -Peter’s now wearing the Iron Spider suit. I dig the glowing eyes. 

-Whatever Thor’s doing at 1:27 makes me think I need to finally get around to seeing Ragnarok. 

-1:29- Google tells me the woman throwing the spear at this Steve Rogers-proportioned shadow is Proxima Midnight, one of the ‘children’ of Thanos. 

-I think there was a collective squee of ‘Yessss!’ when T’Challa said “And get this man a shield” and Steve walks out of the shadow in all his bearded gloriousness. 

-Is anyone else a little worried what Wanda is going to do if Vision dies from getting the Stone pulled out of his head? Just me? 

-I’d like to know how Thanos figures he’s ‘balancing the universe’ by having all the Infinity Gems to himself. I don’t think that’s how that works, man. 

-Nice to see Bucky got himself a new arm. 

-This invasion and fight in Wakanda is going to be badass. I already can’t wait for Black Panther’s movie and this isn’t helping. 

-And finally, I loved Mantis’ awkward wave. That was the cutest. 

So what’s the takeaway here? This looks awesome. At this point, I don’t think I need any more trailers. Let’s be real here, I was going to see this one anyway, but it’s nice to see the trailer and really confirm that excitement. This is going to be a massive undertaking of a film, but I have confidence in the Russo brothers to make this work. We’ll find out how they do May 4^th, 2018. I have to wonder how long this one is going to be, especially if it’s not a two-parter anymore and Avengers 4 is going to be its own thing. I’m thinking a good two-and-a-half hours, at least. And I am so on board.    

Deadpool 2 Trailer!

So, today instead of watching the next film in my horror series, I watched the new trailer for Deadpool 2.

What do you even say about this? It's totally insane and perfect at the same time. It's also and excellent litmus test to see if you can roll with the kind of movie that this is going to be.

We're already going to be seeing this one when it hits theatres, but this is still a funny, well-made trailer that gets you excited for the movie and shows you what to expect without spoiling anything. The Deadpool films have had fantastic marketing so far, and it's good to see that continuing. There are also way too many references in here to get into them all, but it's a fun game to see how many you get each time you watch it. Well done.

Marvel's The Punisher Trailer Reaction

The Dark Tower Finally Releases a Trailer!

Hey everyone, here with a very special bit of news! The film adaptation of The Dark Tower has finally released a trailer! And of course it had to do so while I was out of town for a couple of days and didn’t have time to do a proper review for it (although a post about what we did while we were gone is also forthcoming…). So now that we’re home again and work is done for the week, let’s check out our first look at The Dark Tower.

We started off with two teasers the day before the trailer dropped that were a kind of lead-in to our protagonist, Roland Deschain, and our antagonist, the Man in Black. There’s not much to them really, and the only thing I really want to point out from those teasers is the door in the first shot of Roland’s teaser. It’s a shot that isn’t in the full trailer, but it’s an image with a lot of meaning for a fan like me. I can’t read the nameplate at the top of the frame, but somewhere I saw it suggested it said ‘1919’, nineteen being an important number as well.

But let’s get into the real meat of the thing and talk the trailer itself. To do this as honestly and accurately as possible, I’m going to have to do a bit of a double-review. Basically, I’ll try and give my thoughts on it as a film separate from my thoughts as a fan. We’ll see how this goes. It’s hard, but I think we can get through this together.

My Thoughts on the Trailer as a Film

As far as this trailer goes, this provides an excellent introduction to the characters without giving away too much. We get a few lines about sort of who and what Roland is, and we see that contrasted with Jake, a kid from our own world. Intermingled with that is a few references to The Man In Black and the role he plays in all of this. I like that it gives enough for someone not familiar with the source material enough to have an understanding of who and what the characters are. There’s a good-vs-evil vibe spelled out quite clearly without needing to know anything else about the characters that makes it easy to put the characters in the right spots in your mind.

Visually, there’s some really gorgeous stuff going on. There’s some great shots of bleak, broken down worlds in various states of decay contrasted by very ordinary, very modern shots of our own world. We even get a couple of brief glimpses of the Tower itself. I didn’t notice any CG that looked really dodgy the way I did with the Pirates trailers and I thought the visuals overall were really good. There is a bit of a dark palette throughout but it doesn’t wash the whole thing out like in something like Man of Steel.

The acting we see here looks very impressive as well. Idris Elba is both world-weary and completely badass as the gunslinger, a gruff-type but doesn’t come off too much like a stereotype. Matthew McConaughey doesn’t do anything overtly evil in the trailer, or even seem that scary, but there’s a certain maniacal menace in him that he really sells. I thought his casting was brilliant from Day One, so I’m happy to see him really fit the role. I didn’t know anything about Tom Taylor before this, but he is sizing up to make a great Jake Chambers from what we see here, even if he looks older than his book counterpart.

Overall, this is a really good trailer and was much better than I hoped/feared it would be. Now hopefully the film itself lives up to that promise because it really looks like we might have something good on our hands here, even after all the rigmarole we went through to get to this point.

My Thoughts as a Fan

As a fan, I have a lot of thoughts. Now that I’ve done my best to be objective, let’s throw all that out the window and fan-out. Some of this is speculation, and I don’t think there would be any spoilers in this part, except maybe for the books? This part might also be less structured. You’ve been warned. Also, I will link anything that needs further explanation because I’m sure a lot of it will sound like gobbledygook.

-First off, I apologize for any fan-lamenting or any untoward thing I even thought about Idris Elba’s casting initially. Yes, he might not look like Roland, but I’ll be damned if he isn’t embodying the character beautifully. I got chills when he said ‘I do not aim with my hand….’ near the end and was swooning by the time he got to ‘I kill with my heart’. I really like the accent he’s using as well, it feels like it will fit Roland’s way of speaking really nicely. Awesome all around.

-Matthew McConaughey is perfect for The Man In Black. Moving on.

-I’m seeing elements from the first three books or so here. Hope they aren’t cramming too much in/leaving too much out with however they plan on doing the story. There's a reason I always thought this unfilmable due to how complicated it is so I wonder how much will be 'streamlined'. Then again, it's not an exact adaptation, so who knows.

-The pictures Jake has drawn at 0:34 are really interesting. The Tower, the field of roses (The Can’-Ka No Rey), what could be some kind of tunnel, some possible Slow Mutants, doors, eyes, what might be a reclining/sitting figure, maybe alluding to Susannah? Maybe I’m reading too much into these, and I really need a better look at them. Or maybe I just really want Eddie and Susannah, too. They're such great characters and I hope that if these films continue, they will be introduced, even though they'd have to do something different with the relationship between Susannah and Roland.

-0:40- cameo from the Overlook Hotel!

-So we are skipping the whole being pushed into traffic thing and going straight to the Dutch Hill Mansion as Jake’s entry to Mid-World? Does that eliminate the part with the Slow Mutants under the mountains, and thus the tagline for the whole film now either makes no sense or has to change in context? Although we do get a quick shot of the house demon at 1:50, which looked really cool. Without Eddie, we’re also losing a lot of context of the mansion itself, not to mention his and Susannah’s actions when Jake uses that door.

-Roland better follow up that ‘there are no gunslingers’ line with something like ‘I am the last’. Why does he seem so reluctant at times in this trailer? If there is one thing the character of Roland Deschain is most definitely not, it’s reluctant. Especially when it comes to the Tower. Don’t pull that crap, trailer.

-1:29- long abandoned ride(?) named Pennywise. Nice.

-Okay, I know it looks like there’s a sky beam. I promise you, it shouldn’t be. There are Beams, but they aren’t the same as the ones that have become a standard trope in these kind of movies. At least they shouldn’t be. On that note, I want to see Shardik. Because I really wanna see a giant, cyborg bear on screen.

-The shot right before the Dutch Hill Mansion demon, ‘All Hail the Crimson King’ is written on the wall. Nice detail and glad to see it.

-At the end, in between watching that awesome shot Roland makes, I’m trying to place the location. They obviously are in some sort of settlement in Mid-World, but the only one in the first book is Tull, which is before Jake shows up. It ends badly for everyone in that town and I don’t know if they’ll go that route. No word yet on a rating but I doubt we’ll get the Battle of Tull as it went down in the books. I do wonder if/how certain things might be changed or toned down in the movie. Although Roland did plug that guy through the head at the end there, so maybe we won’t have to worry so much about that. There is some definitely weird stuff that happens, though, and I have a hard time believing that a lot of it will stay intact.

Alright, so there are my myriad thoughts on The Dark Tower trailer. I’m kind of cautiously optimistic now, to be perfectly honest. This might actually be really good. I hope. Please. What did you guys think? Will anyone else be joining Roland on his journey come August 4^th? I know there were a lot of other trailers and things dropped this week, but this was kind of the big one I was waiting to talk about. In the next day or two I’ll also have a little write-up about our out-of-town trip and what we did there. So, until then, folks!

Trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi!

Look at this poster! Look at how awesome it is!

First Thor, now Star Wars! What a week! With Star Wars Celebrations on right now, there was a rumor/hope/thought that perhaps we'd see our first footage for the upcoming Last Jedi. And we got confirmation of that this morning:

Needless to say, we were waiting in anticipation but now, here it is!:

Okay so just a few thoughts from me before I leave you to bask in the Star Wars awesomeness. No spoilers, just musings (I'm obviously not at Star Wars Celebrations and have no inside knowledge):

1) It doesn't give away too much. I loved the marketing for The Force Awakens in that you knew almost nothing about what was going to happen but got lots of gorgeous visuals. I'd like to see that continue. 

2) Kylo Ren's (?) smashed helmet, surrounded by glass. What does that mean? Is he doing away with that persona, re-crafting himself into something else? Will he take on a Darth title after he finishes training, or did that practice die with Vader? You also don't get to see if he has a gnarly face scar or not from that blow he took at the end of Force Awakens.

3) That mysterious location that looks like tree roots or a crazy rock formation. That intrigues me. What intrigues me more is a book, with the Jedi symbol on it. How old is that? No one uses actual paper books in the Star Wars universe. I want to know more about that.

4) You get bits of the other story as well- the continued fight of the Resistance against the First Order. There's some really cool clips of bits and pieces from space battles, you get to see Finn and Poe briefly, etc.

5) Finding out about Luke's other students. There's a big shot that is clearly part of the story/flashback of what happened to them and should add more to his and Ren's characters.

6) Luke's words at the end are very interesting and could be taken more than one way. Should the Jedi end altogether, or merely the way the Jedi were organized and run prior to Order 66? Does he think that Light-side users should do something different than the way he was taught? Or is he just sick of it all?

7) Okay, last one. The music. It starts off so Star Wars. But by the end there's such a powerful darkness to it. We all know the main theme: it's grand but light in tone. It's bright and triumphant. This isn't. What does that mean for the movie? If anything? It's amazing though, and makes the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

So there's my rambling first thoughts. What do you guys think? Did any of that make sense? What did you take from the trailer? Anyways, we'll see you all next time!  


End note- Last Jedi is out in December. Dark Tower is out in July and we still haven't gotten a trailer. That both aggravates me and makes me nervous.

Trailers of the Week + Bonus Movie Review!

Hey everybody, how’s it going? We’re doing trailers again this week with a quick movie review at the end to round things out. These are in no particular order but I want to talk about ones I haven’t touched on as much first, with others that don’t need much discussion afterwards. We’ve got lots to talk about today, so let’s get started.


The Mummy

Well, I’m going to be honest, this is hilariously bad looking. Much like the first trailer, it has such a Mission Impossible feel to it that you almost expect that theme to start playing. That’s pretty much the tone of the trailer with paranormal elements thrown in the mix. I’m also going to admit that the song choice is a little weird. The first time watching this trailer I had to stop it and ask aloud ‘Why Paint It Black?’ and never really got an answer to that. The next thing that strikes me is the assertion that whatever they’ve found has been there for two thousand years. Two thousand years ago (from today, and the movie is set in modern times) is after the death of Cleopatra and in the Roman period of Egypt, which is clearly not what they’re going for based on the shots of Ahmanet before she was a mummy.  They should have tacked on another thousand or so and that honestly kind of bugs me. A lot. The rest of the trailer is more of the same and I’m starting to think this might be a hate-watch.


Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

So, Orlando Bloom is back. Really, this one could go either way. It looks very much like a Pirates film and seems to have a lot of the same tone. Some of the CG still looks dodgy but I’ll reserve judgment on that aspect until I see the final product. The trailer itself is fine, I’m personally just having a hard time getting excited about another entry into the franchise. This really doesn’t have anything that really grabbed me and made it a must-see.


It

Ah yes, the Stephen King adaptation. We’re getting two of those this year, between this and The Dark Tower. This movie, however, has actually released a trailer. And it’s actually a pretty good one. It starts off with the familiar scene with the boat in the sewer and Pennywise showing up and builds up quite nicely. It doesn’t really give much away either, even if it’s a familiar story. It definitely looks like they’re going full-on scary and none of the cheesy charm that the last attempt at this property had. There’s going to be some of those horror tropes, you can see that already, but it overall looks pretty solid.


King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

I’d heard about this one, but the first time I actually saw something for it was the trailer that ran before Power Rangers. My reaction to that was basically ‘well, that’s a Guy Ritchie movie right there’ and that was about it. So now this trailer drops and I kinda feel the same way. It looks like it’ll be about as historically accurate as 300, but also that it could be a lot of fun the way that movie was. It’s going to be visually stunning, and Guy Ritchie’s trademark style is all over it. This could be a lot of fun. I’m not sure whether I’ll see it in theatres, but I’d certainly be up for seeing it in some capacity. And unlike The Mummy’s trailer, the inclusion of Led Zeppelin’s Babe, I’m Going to Leave You actually fits the tone and works really well for the trailer.


War for the Planet of the Apes

This is one of those trailers where nothing needs to be said. I’m eagerly awaiting July 14^th.


Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

This trailer didn’t really add anything especially new. As I’ve said before, I didn’t know anything about this or the comics it’s based on beforehand, so it kinda just looks like Mass Effect meets Guardians of the Galaxy to me. I’ll give it a rental because if nothing else, it’ll probably be really cool visually.


Spider-Man: Homecoming

Another trailer with nothing else that needs to be said. Just sit back and enjoy.

Moana Quick Review

Finally, we finally got around to seeing Moana and I just wanted to give my quick thoughts. I didn’t take any notes for this one, this is just off-the-cuff. The short version: this is a great movie and everyone should see it. The music is fantastic, the animation is beautiful, and the characters are super engaging. All the voice work is top-notch, even Dwayne Johnson’s singing is really not as bad as others have said. There were parts that had the four of us howling with laughter, and others that were really heartfelt. It has a certain self-awareness of the tropes of the ‘Disney Princess Movie’ while also kind of following a lot of them. As far as the Disney Princesses go, Moana is a damn good one and I’d say up there with some of my favorites. Go check it out, it’s well, well worth it.

Well, that's it for me. I'll see you next time!

Geostorm Trailer Drops!

I just had to share this will all of you. After a number of teasers popped up Tuesday, we were told that a full trailer for what will probably be one of the most anticipated movies of 2017 would be debuting Wednesday. I speak of course, about Geostorm. Yes, that weather-disaster thriller brought to us by Dean Devlin and starring Gerard Butler (why do you keep doing this to me, man?). Also, Jerry Bruckheimer and another director, Danny Cannon is involved too. It’s kind of complicated. But on to the trailer.

Now I just want to give some quick thoughts here. Firstly, the last disaster movie I actively watched was The Day After Tomorrow, so I’m a bit out of the game as far as these go. But this trailer was hilarious. It had everything: big, over-the-top set pieces just bleeding CGI all over, ridiculous premise that could probably be a lot more interesting if done more intelligently, a classic song done in an overly slow and melodramatic way… I could go on! I mean, it seems like they hire the same woman for every one of these trailer songs nowadays, so I guess she’s got a good thing going at least. To be honest, I thought the teasers (which I conveniently watched in one video) were a lot more intriguing and interesting than the full trailer. The viral/found/secret-government- footage quality of the teasers gave the clips a little extra something, a Cloverfield-esque feel that is probably better than it deserves. The trailer, in contrast, was just every trope of the genre and what you’d expect of a Devlin, Emmerich, or Bay film mashed into one big pile. Let’s be real, this movie is probably going to be terrible. Amazingly terrible, even. What we see of the effects are the same glossy, over-the-top kind we see in all of these kinds of films and which after a while just sort of runs together.

I miss the days of blowing up tiny White Houses

We’re pairing that with what looks like some dramatic family issues crammed in the corners to pad it out. There’s the usual ex-wife, a kid, a brother, all that good stuff which I’m sure will be integral to the story. And, as bad as this is probably going to be, some perverse part of my mind wants to see it in all its terrible glory, Gods of Egypt style. Or maybe I’m just a little loopy from digging ourselves out of the massive blizzard that just blew through our part of the world.

This was my car this morning. There was also a second drift on the other side.

Either way, we’ll see what happens come October. Our next film is Kong: Skull Island, hopefully this weekend as long as the weather cooperates. So I’ll see everyone 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!