Tuesday, May 19, 2015

5-19-15 Movie News

        Hello ladies and gentlemen, here is some movie news with some of my thoughts and opinions (which will be in BOLD print). So without further ado...


(NOTE: All of these stories come from comingsoon.net)


        20th Century Fox  has released the first trailer for the upcoming sequel Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials. You can viewthe trailer below. Starring Dylan O’Brien, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Kaya Scodelario, Will Poulter, Patricia Clarkson, Rosa Salazar, Aidan Gillen and Giancarlo Esposito, The Scorch Trials adapts James Dashner’s second book in “The Maze Runner” series, following Thomas and the other Gladers as they have escaped the maze and are put into a dormitory where they face new threats. Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch. There are no rules. There is no help. You either make it or you die. The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them. Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off. There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers’ destruction—and they’re determined to survive. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials will debut in 3D, 2D, and IMAX theaters on September 18, 2015. The first film, made for just $34 million, earned $340.8 million at the worldwide box office.


        This was a really great trailer. Having not read the books I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen in the film, but from what I can tell this film will be way more action pakced than the first film. I thought the film was decent for what is was and usually the second movie of YA (Young Adult) film series is typically the better film (i.e Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets or Hunger Games: Catching Fire), but sometimes they can be pretty bad The Divergent Series: Insurgent or New Moon). I think this film has a lot of potential and I can't wait to see it. 



        Escape to Neverland as Warner Bros. presents another look at director Joe Wright’s lavishly fractured take on Peter Pan. Check out the new trailer for Pan below! Pan is set for a worldwide release in 3D and 2D in theaters and IMAX on October 9. Offering a new take on the origin of the classic characters created by J.M. Barrie, Pan follows the story of an orphan who is spirited away to the magical Neverland. There, he finds both fun and dangers, and ultimately discovers his destiny-to become the hero who will be forever known as Peter Pan. Pan is a live-action Peter Pan feature directed by Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride & Prejudice). Offering a new take on the origin of the classic characters created by J.M. Barrie, the action adventure follows the story of an orphan who is spirited away to the magical Neverland. There, he finds both fun and dangers, and ultimately discovers his destiny—to become the hero who will be forever known as Peter Pan. The film stars Oscar nominee Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables) as Blackbeard, Garrett Hedlund (Inside Llewyn Davis) as Hook, Oscar nominee Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) as Tiger Lily, Adeel Akhtar (The Dictator) as Smee, and newcomer Levi Miller as Peter. Rounding out the cast are Taejoo Na (The Kick) as Kwahu, Nonso Anozie (Son of God, Atonement) as Bishop, Kathy Burke (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) as Mother Barnabas, Kurt Egyiawan (Skyfall) as Murray, Lewis MacDougall (UK TV’s “In the Name of the Children”) as Nibs, newcomer Leni Zieglmeier as Wendy Darling, Jack Charles (Mystery Road) as The Chief/Tiger Lily’s father, and Amanda Seyfried (Les Misérables) as Mary.


        This was a really amazing trailer. The film looks just absolutely beautiful and I like that we are getting a very very different take on the mythology of Peter Pan than we are used to seeing. I think that Hugh Jackman was the perfect choice to play Blackbeard and he looks almost unrecognizable. The film has a lot of potential to be an Oscar contender and I can't wait to see how it turns out.



        Sony Pictures has unleashed a new trailer for ’80s arcade comedy-action film Pixels which you can watch below! The film, which stars Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage and Brian Cox, hits theaters on July 24. In Pixels, intergalactic aliens misinterpret video-feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war against them and attack the Earth, using the games as models for their various assaults. President Will Cooper (James) has to call on his childhood best friend, ’80s video game champion Sam Brenner (Sandler), now a home theater installer, to lead a team of old-school arcaders (Dinklage and Gad) to defeat the aliens and save the planet. Monaghan plays the team’s unique weapons specialist. The film is directed by Chris Columbus from a story by Tim Herlihy and a screenplay by Tim Herlihy and Timothy Dowling, based on the original short film of the same name by Patrick Jean. Pixels is produced by Adam Sandler, Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe, and Allen Covert. Executive Producers are Barry Bernardi, Michael Barnathan, Jack Giarraputo, Heather Parry, Tim Herlihy, Steve Koren, Patrick Jean, Benjamin Darras, Johnny Alves, Matias Boucard, Seth Gordon, and Ben Waisbren.


        This film looks terrible. Now granted it's just a trailer and the film could be a completely different product than advertised, but don't get your hopes up. I think personally I've only laughed once in the two trailers that have been released and it came in this trailer when they make a joke about a Smurf. Look I know that a lot of you like Adam Sandler's movies and that's great because all film is subjective and me personally his comedy has gotten pretty stale and he reuses the same jokes in every film. I dare you to find a Comedy that he has done in which a pee of poop joke isn't used. If you can then well you've found the one possibly two out of his many movies and I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't multiple in this film. 



        According to Deadline, Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions are in negotiations with Academy Award winner Edward Zwick to direct Tom Cruise in  Jack Reacher 2, which he will also rewrite with frequent collaborator Marshall Herskovitz from a previous screenplay by Richard Wenk (The Equalizer).  The sequel will be based on Child’s most recent Jack Reacher novel, “Never Go Back,” in which Reacher (Cruise) goes back to his old Virginia military base to have dinner with a female colleague who he learns has been arrested, and soon, Reacher finds himself being charged with crimes himself. Once again, he needs to learn the truth the way that only Jack Reacher knows how, which often means violence. Zwick, who previously directed Tom Cruise in the 2003 hit The Last Samurai (also co-written with Herskovitz), has a history of making socially-relevant action dramas such as Courage Under Fire, The Siege and Blood Diamond. He also won an Oscar for producing Best Picture winner Shakespeare in Love. His next directorial outing is the upcoming Pawn Sacrifice, which stars Tobey Maguire as chess champ Bobby Fischer. The original 2012 Jack Reacher grossed $218 million worldwide on a $60 million budget. The original film’s director, Christopher McQuarrie, will executive produce Jack Reacher 2 with Cruise and Don Granger.

        I think this is a fantastic choice. This guy has directed a lot of great films (i.e. About Last Night (1986), Glory, Legends of the Fall and The Last Samuri) and I think he fits in well with this franchise. It also helps when you've worked with Tom Cruise before. I liked the first Jack Reacher film and it was better than I thought it would be so hopefully this film can capitalize on the success of the first one. 



       Galaxy director James Gunn has taken to Facebook to announce that Tony Award-winning Broadway, film and TV actor John Gallagher Jr. (“Spring Awakening,” Short Term 12, “Olive Kitteridge”) will star in his new film project The Belko Experiment (previously “The Belco Experiment”). The story revolves around the American Belco company in South America which is mysteriously sealed off at the beginning of a work day, and its employees are ordered to kill each other or be killed themselves. This starts an escalation of violence, where we discover the true nature of each and every Belco employee. Set to be directed by Greg McLean (Wolf Creek), Gunn wrote The Belko Experiment and will produce with Peter Safran (The Conjuring, Annabelle) for MGM, with filming set to start in Bogota, Colombia in early June. Gallagher Jr. will next co-star in the thriller Valencia opposite Mary Elizabeth Winstead and John Goodman.

        This is great casting. I've only seen Gallagher in Short Term 12, but he was pretty darn good in that film and I think he can . This film concept sounds really insane and it could end up being a sleeper hit. I can say that with this casting, I am now fairly interested in the film.

        So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, which of these stories peaked your interest or was there another story that interested you? Let me know in the comments section below and let your voice be heard.

                                                                                                                                        Jonah Sparks

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