Category: Flix Trailers

A sneak peek into the 8th annual Twin Cities Film Fest schedule

On By ruthIn Film Festivals/Events, Flix Trailers, Upcoming Flix8 Comments

Can’t believe it’s just a little over a month away until the fun film festivities begins here in the Twin Cities! If you follow me on Facebook, then you’d already know that this year’s film fest is an extra special for yours truly… yep, I’m still in a daze that Hearts Want is actually premiering at TCFF in October!! If you told me around the same time last year that I would have my own film playing at TCFF in 2017 I’d say that you are nuts. Our film will be playing in one of several short blocks at the fest, I will update this post as soon as I know the exact schedule.

Well, if you haven’t seen the teaser yet, well here you go…

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This year’s fundraising gala’s theme is A Year of Spectacular Women… which is as timely as ever and it’s also a play on this year’s Opening Night film, A Year of Spectacular Men, a directorial debut of Minnesota native Lea Thompson and stars her daughters Zoey Deutch and Madelyn Deutch. The upcoming drama-comedy will make its world premiere at TCFF on Oct. 18 with both Lea Thompson and Zoey Deutch in attendance.

We don’t have a trailer yet but here’s a clip from the film:

The official 2017 Centerpiece film will be the inspirational documentary Purple Dreams, which follows lives of inner-city, at-risk students who succeed at their passion while embracing the transformative power of their arts education. The true-life adventure screens Oct. 23.

TCFF will continue its tradition of honoring a Social Cause this year by putting a spotlight on ‘Addiction.’ To highlight addiction TCFF will screen three documentaries (Chasing the Dragon, Addicted to Porn and Screenagers) and a drama called Tatertot and Patton which showcases alcohol addiction.

Some of Fall’s most-anticipated films are also amongst the lineup…

Acclaimed director Sean Baker’s The Florida Project starring Willem Dafoe:

Dramedy Last Flag Flying starring Bryan Cranston, Steve Carrell and Laurence Fishburne:

WWII drama The Darkest Hour, starring Gary Oldman as Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

It’s a year of debuts it seems. Motion capture virtuoso Andy Serkis’ directorial debut Breathe, starring Andrew Garfield as a young man struck down with polio looks like a heart-warming tearjerker.

Those are just the studio films. There are plenty of indie features to be excited about…

The Bachelors stars J.K. Simmons dealing with an early death of his wife with his teenage son.

A grizzled, rugged looking Matt Bomer stars in Walking Out, where he plays an estranged father who faces a brutal encounter in the heart of Montana wilderness with his teenage son.

Little Pink House stars Catherine Keener and Jeanne Tripplehorn about a working-class neighborhood struggling to save their homes from political and corporate interests bent on seizing the land and handing it over to Pfizer Corporation.

I gotta give a shout out to Minnesota-made indie feature Twin Cities, produced by the filmmaker who directed my short film, Jason P. Schumacher. Hearts Want‘s lead actor Peter Christian Hansen also has a supporting role in the film. Directed by David Ash, its prequel 2021 actually premiered at TCFF in 2015.

The festival will close with writer and director Colette Burson’s Permanent, a film centering on a story of a hairstyle gone incredibly wrong and a young girl’s fight to fit in while encountering bullies at a new school. Burson will be in attendance for the red carpet and hosting a Q&A following the film.

Tickets will open up to members and pass holders on September 29th, with general public access the following week. To find out how to become a TCFF Member and for a full list of films playing at this year’s festival please visit TCFF official site »


Hope to see you at TCFF next month!
Which of these films are you most looking forward to?

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Everybody’s Chattin’ + ‘Professor Mars & The Wonder Women’ Teaser Trailer

On By ruthIn Everybody's Chattin', Flix Trailers11 Comments

Hello folks! What’s happening in your world? As you can imagine my life is still pretty much consumed by my short film… and will be so for at least the next year.

Hearts Want is currently on post production now, specifically in editing… where most of the magic of filmmaking happens. In the meantime, I’ve been busy working on getting the page up on IMDb, as well as planning our Kickstarter campaign that would hopefully launch sometime in mid June.

We need to get the word out about our film, and I do believe social media is a big part of that. So would you be so kind as to LIKE our FB page…

… and follow us on Instagram, too! 

Well, suffice to say I haven’t got much time for anything else. So pardon my lack of visit and comments to your blogs folks. But I do miss doing the community blogging thing on here, so I think this is as good a time as any.

So let’s get to those fine links now shall we?

I’m so thrilled that Wonder Woman is resonating in a big way w/ both critics and audiences alike. Over $100mil box office take, people, woot woot!!

Well, I’ve reviewed it earlier this week. Read on what Margaret, Chris, Brittani and Steven say about it.

Mark wrote about 12 Angry Men (1957) for the Decades Blogathon

Cindy‘s posted some gorgeous pics of cacti blooming in her hometown of Arizona

In honor of Roger Moore’s passing, Alex posted anecdotes from the late 007 actor

Nostra reviewed one of my fave films from last year, Hidden Figures

Last but not least…

Michael has a new entry of his ‘Same Song Different Movie’ series featuring Sinnerman by Nina Simone

Professor Marston & the Wonder Women Teaser

Well, talk about perfect timing. A few days after Wonder Woman opened with a box office smash, Annapurna Pictures, which unsurprisingly is founded by a woman (Megan Ellison) released this teaser…

Per SlashFilm, Professor Marston and the Wonder Women is a biopic about the three people responsible for creating DC’s most famous female hero.

Professor Marston & The Wonder Women is the story behind the creator of Wonder Woman and his unusual relationships that inspired the iconic super heroine. In a superhero origin tale unlike any other, this is the true story of 1940s Harvard psychologist Dr. William Moulton Marston (Luke Evans), the inventor of the lie detector and creator of the iconic Wonder Woman, who defends his feminist superhero against charges of ‘sexual perversity’ while at the same time maintaining a secret that could have destroyed him. Unknown to others, Marston’s inspiration for Wonder Woman was his wife Elizabeth Marston (Rebecca Hall) and their lover Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote), two empowered women in the field of psychology who defied convention, building a secret life together with Marston that rivaled the greatest of superhero disguises.

I’m really curious about this one, and I quite like the cast too. Check out the awesome teaser poster!

 

What do you think of this teaser trailer?

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Everybody’s Chattin’ + Trailer Spotlight: WONDER WOMAN (trailer 3)

On By ruthIn Everybody's Chattin', Flix Trailers35 Comments


Hi everyone! Hope all is well in your part of the world. Well I don’t have to tell you that my life’s been practically consumed by my short film now. As they say, writing is pretty much rewriting and that’s where it’s at now… constant script revisions. It’s a very exhausting, humbling and also fruitful learning experience for me. But believe it or not, that’s not the worst part of it so far… scheduling is definitely a bloody nasty process!

So pardon me if I haven’t been around your blog lately, heck I haven’t even been around MY own blog. But I do miss doing these community links… so let’s get to it!

Margaret participated on the Unsung Heroes Blogathon. Of course it’s one of Ed Harris‘ movies 😉

Let’s take some time from movies to gaze at Cindy‘s stunning shots of full moon over Sycamore Canyon, AZ

Jordan reviewed an Italian film Perfetti Sconosciuti (Perfect Strangers)

Meanwhile Allie just reviewed a book, Truly Madly Guilty. I actually haven’t done a book review before, not sure I’m cut out for that. I think I’ll stick to movies.

As I’m about to write my quick thoughts on LOGAN, glad my friend Mark loves it as much as I do!

On the other hand, glad I’m not the only one who isn’t so ga-ga over La La Land. Eddie didn’t fall head over heels with it either.

I love Michael‘s Best Album Covers series, this time he shone the spotlight on trumpeter Freddie Hubbard’s album Hub-Tones

Speaking of music… Chris has been listing his Top 100 songs of 2016. Check out if one of your faves made his list.

TRAILER SPOTLIGHT

Ahhh yes… wonder indeed!! I have posted about Wonder Woman here which was around Comic-con last year. Man I can’t be more excited for this movie. It’s one of the rare DC movies I’m actually super looking forward to.

Behold…

Woof, this gives me goosebumps! I love that first part of the Amazon princess Diana in warrior training. Gal Gadot IS Wonder Woman! I actually had trepidation about her casting initially, but just like Daniel Craig w/ Bond, I’m definitely sold as soon as I saw the first teaser!! Interestingly enough she actually auditioned to be a Bond girl in Quantum of Solace, heh I’d love to see her play a female spy, and the fact that she was in the Israeli Army, she likely could kick any of those Bond actors’ arses effortlessly 😉

I like this alley scene, definitely reminds me of a scene in Superman: The Movie, the first time Clark Kent saves Lois Lane from a bullet in an alley, complete with Diana wearing dark rimmed glasses too!

Nice to see Connie Nielsen back on screen again as Diana’s mom Hippolyta. Oh and Princess Buttercup er Robin Wright as an Amazon warrior? Yes please! Chris Pine is instantly likable as her love interest, glad he took on a second-banana role despite being one of Hollywood’s hottest leading men. But mostly I’m thrilled because we have a woman behind the camera this time! That in itself is history in the making, Patty Jenkins is the first woman to have directed a live-action movie with a $100 million budget.

I sure hope this movie will be a huge success… I mean dayum, DC sure needs a hit right about now. As for me, I’m hugely optimistic… heck this scene alone looks darn epic!!!

I still gets goosebumps when the Wonder Woman theme came on… thanks to Hans Zimmer & Junkie XL. I love that they use it sparingly for the finale, which made it all the more impactful.

 

What do you think of the the third Wonder Woman trailer? 
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Five for the Fifth: MARCH 2017 Edition

On By ruthIn Five for the Fifth, Flix Trailers27 Comments

Welcome to FlixChatter’s blog series! As is customary for this monthly feature, I get to post five random news item/observation, etc. and then turn it over to you to share your take on that given topic. You can see the previous five-for-the-fifth posts here.

1. I know it’s been over a week since the death of Bill Paxton, who passed away on February 25 at the age of 61 from surgery complications. As this and many other tweets pointed out… Paxton was the only man to face off against a Terminator, Alien, and a Predator. He’s certainly famous for his sci-fi genre roles, but boy he’s done SO many memorable roles in his illustrious career. He’s such a consummate character actor who’s convincing playing anything… the ultimate ‘everyman’ in most of his movies as he’s so darn likable.

billpaxton

I pretty much grew up with Paxton in the 90s too, with movies like True Lies, Apollo 13, A Simple Plan, Titanic and of course Twister, where he got the lead role. It’s hard to pick which is my fave role of his, but certainly Twister is in my top 3.

What’s your fave Bill Paxton movie(s)?

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2. I got a chance to see an adaptation of Shakespeare’s epic tragedy King Lear at the Guthrie Theatre. One of the main reasons for me to see it is because Blood Stripe‘s lead actress Kate Nowlin plays Goneril, one of Lear’s three daughters.

kinglearguthrie

It was a brilliant stage performance, with great lighting effects and sound design. I actually hadn’t seen any film version of the movie, not the 1971 movie nor the 2009 PBS’ Great Performances version with Ian McKellen. So I saw it fresh for the first time and was quite riveted by it.

What’s your favorite film based on a play… and which play would you like to see made into films?
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3. Ok switching gears drastically… I hadn’t even been paying much attention to this sequel but when I saw the teaser last night I knew I had to include it here. Behold the Deadpool 2 teaser …

Ryan Reynolds and his Deadpool team has done it again! They’ve been very savvy w/ their promotional efforts for the first one and looks like their crazy, unhinged brand of humor is in full display! I wonder how much they had to pay DC to get the rights to use John Williams’ Superman music but man was it awesome!! It’s the kind of teaser I could watch over and over, let’s hope the sequel is as funny as this teaser!

Thoughts on the teaser? Are you excited to watch the Deadpool sequel?
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4. Well, some of you might’ve read that LOGAN is my pick of February Movie of the Month. I hadn’t been anticipating it much, my hubby was more psyched about it than I did, but I was blown away by the film.

jackman_logan

It’s incredible that the 48-year-old Aussie actor has played the role for 17 years in various X-Men films and their spin offs. It’s rare for any actor to have played the same role that long, so it’s no surprise that Logan marks he last time he’ll reprise the role.

Let’s walk down memory lane and watch this audition tape from back in 1999 when he first audition to the role that made him famous…

It proves that scheduling conflict can be a good thing for some actors… most of you know that Dougray Scott was originally cast as Wolverine, but he had to bail as Mission: Impossible II (2000) required more filming time. Well I can’t imagine anyone else but Hugh as Wolverine now.

What are your thoughts on Hugh Jackman retiring as Wolverine… and who do you think should play the role next?
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5. Ok, since this might be my last Five for the Fifth post in a while (given I’ll be filming my short film in mid April and the following months I might be tied up with post-productions), so I decided to come up with all five questions 🙂

I got a press release email in early February about The Ottoman Lieutenant I hadn’t even heard before. Perhaps this is the first time you’ve heard of it too? I also got another email from the press rep that there’s a possible phone interview with the lead actor Michiel Huisman, who I loved in Age of Adaline. We’ll see if that pans out. In any case, check out the trailer:

The Ottoman Lieutenant is a love story between an idealistic American nurse and a Turkish officer in World War I.

Well, I might check it out when it opens later this month, interesting to see Minneapolis native Josh Hartnett in it as well. It’s a pretty crowded Spring though with a bunch of big-budget releases like Kong: Skull Island, Beauty & The Beast, as well as smaller fares like Wilson,Kristen Stewart’s Personal Shopper and T2 Trainspotting.

So what’s the one movie you can’t wait to see this Spring?

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Well, that’s it for the MARCH edition of Five for the Fifth. Hope you’ll take part!

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Spotlight on [ + review] of indie comedy ‘We Make Movies’

On By ruthIn Flix Reviews, Flix Trailers9 Comments

wemakemovies

A hilarious and heartfelt look “behind the scenes” as a group of college kids spend their summer making a movie for their town’s Film Festival. Cameras chronicle the tumultuous ups and downs as an egotistical student Director rounds up his friends (and some bystanders) to help make his masterpiece: a movie that blends together all the greatest films ever made.

;;;

Laura’s review:

I love mockumentary-style comedies. Christopher Guest movies always crack me up, and The Office is one of my top go-to binge shows on Netflix. So I was delighted to have the chance to watch We Make Movies, an independent film by Matt Tory, when I found out it was the same style as some of my favorite comedies.

We Make Movies follows a group of college-aged individuals, led by wannabe filmmaker Stevphen (Matt Tory -and yes, I did spell the name right), in their journey to make a great movie for their small town’s film festival. Stevphen is joined by his best friend and loyal assistant producer Donny (Jordan Hopewell), their friend and the movie’s straight man Garth (Jonathan Holmes), Garth’s acting classmate Leonard (Zack Slort), and Donny’s cousin Jessica (Anne Crocket). The group struggles with filmmaking logistics as well as personal conflicts behind the scenes.

wemakemovies_stills

I really enjoyed this movie. I laughed out loud multiple times (especially at the titles of some of Stevphen’s previous movies), and was impressed by most of the cast’s acting skills. Jordan Hopewell as the lovably dorky Donny was especially hilarious, and Jonathan Holmes as Garth struck a great balance of being the exasperated voice of reason while still bringing a lot of humor to his character. The writing overall was fantastic, with several hilarious one-liners and sight gags.

That said, there were a couple problems I had with this film. The main one had to do with Stevphen. While it can be interesting and funny to have an unlikeable main character, Stevphen is a little too one-note. He has absolutely no redeeming qualities: he’s pretentious, jealous, and self-absorbed. They try to give him a bit of a character development at the end of the movie, but by then it’s too little too late. Leonard, the lead actor in Stevphen’s movie, had similar flaws, but he was also self-conscious, which added at least some depth; I’m not sure why they couldn’t do that with Stevphen.

wemakemovies_jordan_matt

Jessica has a similar problem: her character is underdeveloped. I’m not sure if it’s the acting or the way the character was written, but it was unclear if she’s supposed to be a deadpan pessimist or the straight woman to Stevphen, Leonard, and Donny’s ridiculous behavior. I worry that, as the sole female character, she was just there as a romantic interest, and as such didn’t get as much effort put into writing her.

Despite these complaints, We Make Movies is a genuinely funny, enjoyable comedy, and I hope to see more from Matt Tory soon.

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wemakemovies

Visit We Make Movies‘ official site

 

Five for the Fifth: JANUARY 2017 Edition

On By ruthIn Five for the Fifth, Flix News, Flix Trailers, Upcoming Flix45 Comments

fftf

Welcome to FlixChatter’s primary blog series! As is customary for this monthly feature, I get to post five random news item/observation/poster, etc. and then turn it over to you to share your take on that given topic. You can see the previous five-for-the-fifth posts here.

1. Well HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone! (I think you can still say this for at least another week 😉 ) Hope you had a great Christmas break. I barely had any vacation left but I did take the last Friday of the year off, and since Monday was a company holiday it was nice to get four days off. It ended up being a pretty productive time as we were able to binge on Westworld! So yeah we’re done with all of season 1 and boy that season finale is phenomenal!!

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We got a free trial month subscription on HBO, but since we already got Netflix and Amazon Prime, we’re not gonna pay another $15 bucks to continue. But since we still have 3 weeks left, we’re hoping to catch up on season 1 of True Detective. We’re 2 episodes in so far and we loved it.

So did you binge on any TV show(s) this holiday season?  

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2. It seems easy to poke fun at the superhero genre. Veteran filmmaker Ridley Scott’s recently quoted as saying “Superhero movies are not my kind of thing — that’s why I’ve never really done one… [I’ve been asked] several times, but I can’t believe in the thin, gossamer tightrope of the non-reality of the situation of the superhero.” [per The Wrap] He went on to say, “I’ve done that kind of movie: ‘Blade Runner’ really is a comic strip when you think about it. It’s a dark story told in an unreal world. You could almost put Batman or Superman in that world, that atmosphere, except I’d have a f—ing good story, as opposed to no story!”

ridleyscott

No story. Ouch! Though it made me laugh when he said about the non-reality bit, I mean Alien and Prometheus aren’t exactly steeped in realism now are they? I agree BVS is shiat but he clearly hasn’t seen the Captain America trilogy.

Another slam to DC superhero universe comes from the Batman himself. It seems Ben Affleck isn’t too sure about directing the Batman films for DC. Asked by The Guardian about directing The Batman, he replied “That’s the idea. But it’s not a set thing and there’s no script. If it doesn’t come together in a way I think is really great I’m not going to do it.” Heh, he certainly doesn’t sound like he’s clamoring to save the DC universe, does he?

Thoughts on Scott’s and Affleck’s comments?
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3. After seeing Knight Of Cups, I felt inclined to just give up on Terence Malick altogether. I mean, a visual poetry should not be confused with feature films, and I bet even poetry has more to say than a film with no script. But dayum, does the guy knows how to get actors to star in his films, even despite not knowing if they’d actually end up in the final cut!

So apparently his latest film Song To Song (previously titled Weightless) is scheduled to be released in mid March. Here’s a first look image courtesy of Collider:

songtosong_still2

“In this modern love story set against the Austin, Texas music scene, two entangled couples — struggling songwriters Faye (Rooney Mara) and BV (Ryan Gosling), and music mogul Cook (Michael Fassbender) and the waitress whom he ensnares (Natalie Portman) — chase success through a rock ‘n’ roll landscape of seduction and betrayal.”

I also found this image from IMDb … is Bale wearing the same black shirt from Knight of Cups??

songtosong_still2

The film also stars Val Kilmer, Christian Bale, Benicio Del Toro, Cate Blanchett, Haley Bennett, and a slew of music artists: Patti Smith, Iggy Pop, Florence Welch of Florence And The Machine, and all of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Are you a Malick fan? Whether or not you are, thoughts on Song To Song?
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4. It’s just my luck that I always fall for actors whose work aren’t readily available in the US :\ I’ve been waiting for this BBC series for over a year now, and there’s barely any news on it! Well finally I got a glimpse of my darling Sam Riley on this BBC trailer…

RadioTimes also posted this article 17 TV dramas everyone will be talking about in 2017. Thrilled to see SS-GB on there. I’ve read the book, as I’ve mentioned about it here, and I knew Sam would be perfect in the role!

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Based on the 1978 novel by Len Deighton, SS-GB is a dystopian thriller set in an alternative 1940s London, where the Germans have won the Battle of Britain, and the capital is under Nazi occupation. Sam Riley stars as Douglas Archer, a Scotland Yard detective who’s torn between co-operating with the SS or joining the resistance. He becomes embroiled in a sinister underworld while investigating what appears to be a simple black-market murder.

Joining Riley is Kate Bosworth, as American journalist Barbara Barga, who finds herself linked to the case Archer is working on. SS-GB is written by James Bond movie writers Robert Wade and Neal Purvis, and other cast members include Jason Flemyng, James Cosmo, Aneurin Barnard and Maeve Dermody.

What do you think of SS-GB? What new/returning show(s) are you most looking forward to in 2017?
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5. This month Five for the Fifth’s guest is Jordan from Epileptic Moondancer Blog! Well, given US/Russia relations seem to harken back to the Cold War era, his question is ever so timely.

I love cold-war era films, with that paranoia always in the background. Some of my favorite cold war era paranoia/thrillers are ‘The Conversation’, ‘Seconds’, and to a more obvious extent, stuff like ‘The Spy Who Came In From the Cold.’
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Richard Burton in 'The Spy Who Came In From The Cold'
Richard Burton in ‘The Spy Who Came In From The Cold’

So what do you think is the best cold-war film that was made during the cold-war?

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Well, that’s it for the JANUARY edition of Five for the Fifth, folks. Take part by picking a question out of the five above or better yet, do ‘em all! 

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Everybody’s Chattin’ + Trailer Spotlight: DUNKIRK (Trailer #1)

On By ruthIn Everybody's Chattin', Flix Trailers47 Comments

everybodyschattin

Happy Wednesday! It feels like a sluggish past few weeks… especially when I got barely ANY vacation left through the end of the year. My European friends, you guys are lucky you get at least a month worth of vacation, I mean I’ve worked in the same company for a decade and only got three weeks of vacation :\ But hey, I’m seeing Rogue One tonight, so at least that adds an extra spring in my step in these cold, frigid Winter days!!

It’s been ages since I did some community links… so let’s get to it!

Jordan reviewed the music documentary of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, One More Time With Feeling

Margaret reviewed the last episode of Westworld (can’t wait to binge on this later this month)

I love it when a fellow blogger reviewed a little-seen indie gem I happen to enjoy. Steven reviewed the Welsh comedy Hunky Dory

Glad someone else thinks this film deserves to be seen. Brittani reviewed Loving 

Vinnie reviewed one of my Blind Spot picks (that I haven’t yet to see), The Big Sleep

Well, it’s that time of the year! Chris asked fellow bloggers ‘What’s their favorite Christmas movies?’

Last but not least… Courtney reviewed critical darling of the year La La Land (and from her headline I think you know full well how she feels)

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TRAILER SPOTLIGHT

Well it seems that every movie out of Christopher Nolan is a big event… and DUNKIRK is no different. I’ve been excited for this for a while. I posted the teaser trailer here back in August, but now we finally got the full first trailer. Behold…

Woof, this gives me goosebumps! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film dedicated to the brutal event in Dunkirk, France. The only one I remember vividly was this scene in Joe Wright’s Atonement, with its stunning tracking shot. But it’s such a pivotal moment in WWII history, and if there’s a director who could do it justice on the big screen, it’d be Chris Nolan!

As always, Nolan’s always assembled top notch cast for his epic films…

  • Tom Hardy
  • Kenneth Branagh
  • Cillian Murphy
  • Mark Rylance
  • James D’Arcy
  • Aneurin Barnard

I love all of those actors, including my recent discovery (read: crush), Welsh actor Aneurin Barnard! Sorry I don’t care for that kid from the famous boy band, but surely it’ll bring a ton of teenyboppers to see this. So Tom Hardy plays a fighter pilot, but I hope he gets to talk in this movie? Yes it seems to be another male-dominated Nolan film, which made me think perhaps Nolan’s next movie should be a female ensemble cast? 😉

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Visually this movie just looks epiiiiic! It’s shot in IMAX 65 mm and 65 mm large format film stock by cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema who also worked with Nolan in Interstellar (though my fave work of his is the visually-stunning Her). Does that mean he’s done working with his longtime cinematographer Wally Pfister?? But looks like Nolan regular Hans Zimmer is back scoring this film.

It’d be amazing to behold how Nolan recreated the harrowing chaos of Allied forces who are surrounded by German army. It’s more than just staging a spectacle of aerial bombardments wreaking havoc on the beach and the ocean, destroying troops and sinking Allied ships. It’s also a tale of hope… as the evacuation is also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk. Per Wiki, on the first day of the evacuation, only 7,669 men were evacuated, but by the end of the eighth day, a total of 338,226 soldiers had been rescued by a hastily assembled fleet of over 800 boats.

I’m not usually a huge war movie fan just because I can’t handle the brutality, but yet I’m looking forward to this.

What do you think of the the first DUNKIRK trailer? 
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Five for the Fifth: DECEMBER 2016 Edition

On By ruthIn Five for the Fifth, Flix News, Flix Trailers, Upcoming Flix45 Comments

Welcome to FlixChatter’s primary blog series! As is customary for this monthly feature, I get to post five random news item/observation/poster, etc. and then turn it over to you to share your take on that given topic. You can see the previous five-for-the-fifth posts here.

1. We’re now on the last FFTF edition of 2016, wow! Well, just this past week, Netflix Offline was trending on Twitter and it was the biggest news on Flipboard that week. I actually haven’t been desperately wishing to download Netflix movies as even when I’m on the plane where there are no Internet, I usually just watch what’s available on the airline entertainment channel. But I could see that it’s a dream come true for many of you who’ve been wanting to watch movies anywhere on their smartphone or tablet offline. I’d also think it’d have greater appeal in international markets such as Africa and Asia, where internet service is less ubiquitous than it is in the United States.

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Now, not everything on its vast library is available to download, but surely all the Netflix Original series/movies would be available. Just don’t expect any of the Disney stuff to be downloadable anytime soon, or ever.

So which films or TV shows have you downloaded or planning on downloading straight away? 

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2. Boy, James Gunn has been quite busy lately. On top of working on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, he actually had time to write the script of this action thriller. One commenter on Youtube dubbed ‘Office Space meets The Purge, yikes! The Belko Experiment isn’t exactly my cup of tea, despite the pretty good cast, but surely it’ll find an audience.

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Now, switching gear to the follow up to yet another reboot of a franchise nobody is really clamoring to see. I gotta admit though, the cast of Tom Cruise AND Russell Crowe, and the fact that Christopher McQuarrie directs it, intrigues me a bit. Behold the first trailer of The Mummy:

It might as well be titled Mission Impossible: Paranormal. Cruise is on the run once again with a pretty girl (half his age) in tow. But is Cruise the mummy?? He’s shown waking up on a morgue after a horrific plane crash with not a scratch on him! That would be a fun twist wouldn’t it? But what is Crowe supposed to be in this story?? Well I’m sure we’ll have more trailers until its June 2017 release.

Anyhoo, thoughts about either one of these trailers?
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3. On Saturday mornings my hubby and I usually sleep in a bit and would watch some stuff on our iPad in bed. We ended up watching the entire episode of Variety’s Actors On Actors series featuring Taraji P. Henson and Ryan Reynolds. 

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It was really fun to watch these tête-à-têtes as various actors get candid about their struggles and triumphs in the business. There’s quite a lineup in this year’s series, so I plan on watching a bunch of them later.

Have you watched these? Which episode and/or actor pairings are your fave?
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4. Ok, for the fourth question, let’s discuss about cinematic discoveries. It’s up for debate whether 2016 has been a good or mediocre year for movies. But every year I’m always grateful for new talent discoveries… actors who either have been acting for a while (Mahershala Ali) or those who’ve made their debut (Julian Dennison).

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As you can see, I’m eternally grateful to Moonlight for introducing me to SO many great talents! I have to mention the trio of actors portraying the protagonist as well. I might do a full post on this topic later, but for now I’d like to know…

Who’s your favorite talent(s) you discovered in 2016?
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5. This month Five for the Fifth’s guest is Cindy from Cindy Bruchman’s Blog! It’s about a show on Netflix I’ve been curious about… and its leading man (Alexander Dreymon) sure looks very crush-worthy 😉

So here’s Cindy’s question:

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While a fan of Game of Thrones, I’m impressed with ‘The Last Kingdom.’ It simulates the historical culture of Britain circa 800 A.D., and I love the authentic touches of the filming, the plot, and the acting. It doesn’t have the magical realism of GoT, but I have to say I prefer it.
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So have you seen “The Last Kingdom”? What do you like about and/or who’s your favorite character?

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Well, that’s it for the DECEMBER edition of Five for the Fifth, folks. Take part by picking a question out of the five above or better yet, do ‘em all! 

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Five for the Fifth: November 2016 Edition

On By ruthIn Five for the Fifth, Flix News, Flix Trailers, Upcoming Flix43 Comments

Welcome to FlixChatter’s primary blog series! As is customary for this monthly feature, I get to post five random news item/observation/poster, etc. and then turn it over to you to share your take on that given topic. You can see the previous five-for-the-fifth posts here.

1. Hello everyone! As I’m posting this, I’ve just finished packing for a quick trip to Zion National Park, UT and Las Vegas! I’m in desperate need for a break after a super busy October, so suffice to say I’m taking a bit of blogging break as well.

Well, I occasionally like to highlight my vacation destination on my blog, and there are tons of movies set in Las Vegas. Here are just a sampling of some of memorable movies set in Sin City:

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So what’s your fave film(s) set in Vegas? 

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2. One of my most-anticipated movie of 2017 (if not THE most) is Wonder Woman. Well the second trailer just wet my appetite even more!! Seriously, it’s been over 120 years since the invention of the motion picture and FINALLY we get a feature film of a female superhero!

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I know this is just a trailer, but it’s enough to get me all verklempt on Thursday when I first saw it… thank you Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot, who looks phenomenal as the bad-ass Amazonian princess!! This movie is poised to be the BEST DC superhero movie to date… but not the worst part is the wait! The movie will be released in June, 2017.

 

Now, switching gear to a fun Honest Trailer on BBC’s Sherlock, which is perfect timing considering Benedict Cumberbatch‘s Doctor Strange opens this weekend.

I had a good chuckle watching this, it’s pretty spot on! Watson as the original cumberbitch, ahah! I used to like Benedict before he became ultra-famous, as you know I have a penchant for the more unknown, underrated actors. Not saying Benedict isn’t talented but really Hollywood, there are a plethora of equally talented Brits out there too [hint: Sam Riley] 😉

Anyhoo, thoughts about either one of these trailers?
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3. We’re just about three months away from Oscar telecast on Feb. 26, 2017, and award season has pretty much started with TIFF, so it’s never too early to talk about Oscar contenders! Since I just came out of Twin Cities Film Fest, I’ve mentioned on my recap post that one of the films that resonated with me most is Moonlight. I had read several reviews as well as interviews with writer/director Barry Jenkins, particularly this one in Esquire.

… Moonlight is neither a black film nor a gay film. “We’re not reaching for this great statement about [race or] sexuality,” Jenkins said. “What we’re reaching for is a portrait of people who are just trying to get through life.”

It’s so refreshing that Moonlight isn’t a big political/social agenda, it feels grounded and personal and that’s why it resonates so much with me. I think anyone of all races who loves great storytelling should absolutely see this and THIS is the film I’ll be rooting for on Oscar night!

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Mahershala Ali in ‘Moonlight’

I’d be seriously miffed if this film wasn’t at least nominated, I mean if there is justice in this world, Barry Jenkins should be getting multiple noms for writing & directing, and it’d be a bonus to see Mahershala Ali up in the Best Supporting Actor category! I remember seeing him in the last Hunger Games movie and groaned to see an actor of his talent so wasted. It’s great to see him in a meaty role for once.

So guys, which film(s) are you rooting for this award season?
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4. I grew up watching Disney Princess animated films and lately we’ve got an endless supply of live-action versions. Well, out of those Princess movies, Beauty & The Beast is one I’d think would be challenging to film. But so far the casting and production stills have only made me anticipate it all the more. Behold…

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I was swooning hard looking at these pictures… surely on the visual front, it looks absolutely gorgeous and magical. I love how spot-on the casting are, esp. Belle, Beast and Gaston, which I’ve talked about here. Emma Watson looks like she’s born to play this role. Sounds like they’re going to be faithful to the animated version, and I sure hope they use the same music by Alan Menken!

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Images courtesy of EW.com

Updated 11/14: Now we’ve got its first full trailer!!

Are you as ready as I am to be swept away by this fairy tale?
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5. This month Five for the Fifth’s guest is Khalid from The Blazing Reel! His question couldn’t be more timely considering this coming Tuesday, November 8 is US election day and this has been, shall we say, a most unusual election year!

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So here’s Khalid’s question:

With the 2016 Presidential Election nearing close, what is in your opinion is the best election movie? Your choice doesn’t necessarily have to be about a film that focuses on a Presidential election.
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Well, I’m sure you have an opinion on this topic, So let’s hear it!

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Well, that’s it for the NOVEMBER edition of Five for the Fifth, folks. Take part by picking a question out of the five above or better yet, do ‘em all! 

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Everybody’s Chattin’ + John Wick: Chapter 2 trailer

On By ruthIn Everybody's Chattin', Flix Trailers42 Comments

everybodyschattin_movies

Happy Tuesday, or if you’re an eternal optimist, happy-three-more-days-until-Friday! 😀 My hand is still not well yet, apparently it’s NOT Rheumatoid Arthritis, it’s something w/ a fancy name: Extensor Tenosynovitis. Heh, it’s really annoying, I have to wear a splint daily which makes typing a chore. I might have to do MRI in a couple of weeks if it’s still not better by then.

In any case, it’s time for some community links… so here we go!

Ahhh I love Autumn… it’s my fave season. That’s why I LOVE Alex‘s latest quiz post

Michael reviewed the classic Hitchcock Strangers On A Train…

… whilst Keith just reviewed the New Zealand comedy I can’t wait to watch: Hunt for the Wilderpeople

A new blog I recently discovered, The Double Take, just reviewed Deepwater Horizon

Jenna & Allie reviewed Bridget Jones’ Baby which I also enjoyed (my review should be up later this week!)

The latest HBO show Westworld has got everyone talking, check out Margaret‘s recap of episode 2 (we’re gonna binge on it in November when most of the episodes are available!)

Speaking of TV, Getter just posted about The Fall season 3.

Since it is Halloween month, lots of sites are dedicating a month of horror…

Dell just reviewed Scouts Guide to Zombie Apocalypse which actually sounds like a hoot…

… and Steven just reviewed Bride of Frankenstein

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Now on to the sequel I can’t wait to see…

Though generally I prefer new, original stories, once in a while came a movie so fun I can’t help wishing for a sequel. Well, John Wick is such a movie and it seems that people are quite um, taken by this action franchise as there’s reportedly John Wick 3 in the works even as the first trailer just dropped!

Well, you don’t mess with Keanu, the seemingly meek and mild-mannered man who can spontaneously combust whenever his beloved dog is threatened. The trailer promises even more action and Keanu being as lethal as well as bulletproof as Neo! We’ve got the same director, Chad Stahelski, as the first one, and the movie looks just as stylish done on a modest budget (reportedly the first film was done for only $20 mil). Oh and speaking of The Matrix, gotta love the Neo + Morpheus reunion w/ Laurence Fishburne, woo hoo!

johnwick2_laurence johnwick2_keanu

I love the teaser poster of the hero being measured for a suit. Per HitFix, Keanu told the New York Comic-con crowd that “I really liked putting this suit back on and doing what John Wick gets to do… He’s a guy that’s really fighting to be free.” He’s just so perfect for the role and he makes John Wick so watchable!

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The Rome scenery looks gorgeous too. Not quite a Roman Holiday though… no rest for the wicked I suppose. Well let’s hope John gets a bit of some relaxing vacation in the Eternal city before all hell break loose and he puts an end to his enemies’ dream of an eternal life on this earth.

John Wick Chapter 2 is out a day before my birthday on February 10, so hey, nice to see something exciting released in the *dead months* of Winter!

 

What do you think of the John Wick 2 trailer? Are you as psyched as I am? 
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