3-22-16 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)

        Following yesterday’s reveal of the first images from the film, the official The LEGO Batman Movie poster has been released online featuring that familiar symbol for Bat-fans around the world. Check it out below and if you look close enough, you might see the skyline of Gotham City hidden inside it. The trailer for The LEGO Batman Movie will debut tomorrow, March 23. Will Arnett reprises his role of Batman from The Lego Movie as the voice of the titular Dark Knight, alongside Michael Cera as Robin the boy wonder, Rosario Dawson as Batgirl, Ralph Fiennes as Alfred Pennyworth, Mariah Carey as Gotham’s mayor and Zach Galifianakis as The Joker. Chris McKay will direct The LEGO Batman Movie from a script by Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter creator Seth Grahame-Smith (who will direct The Flash for Warner Bros. Pictures). Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who directed The LEGO Movie, will produce the film along with Dan Lin. The LEGO Batman Movie will open in theaters on February 10, 2017.



        I really love this poster. The Lego Movie was a fascinating film and one of the best parts was Batman and when I heard a solo film was in the works I immediately got excited. As for the poster the lego bricks in the form of the Batman logo is amazing and it's even better that it takes the shape of the logo that was used for Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight franchise which could suggest on what type film we could get. This cast is stacked with amazing talent and I'm looking forward to what the trailer has in store and I cannot wait to see the film.



        Following the amazing earlier Red Band trailer from last year, Warner Bros. Pictures has revealed a new The Nice Guys movie trailer featuring more hijinks from the upcoming action comedy. Check out the new Nice Guys movie trailer below. “It is an R-rated film and it’s a caper,” director Shane Black (Iron Man 3, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) recently told People Magazine. “It’s a little fast, a little funny and a little rough in places, kind of coarse. These guys are working-class dudes, they’re not really sophisticated private detectives, so it’s a chance to do the kind of thriller I don’t see too much of anymore.” Set in Los Angeles in the 1970s, The Nice Guys pairs a fighter and a private detective together as they attempt to solve a murder. Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe star a the titular “nice guys,” alongside Keith David, Matt Bomer, Beau Knapp, Angourie Rice, and Margaret Qualley. Black co-wrote the script for the film with Anthony Bagarozzi. The Nice Guys is set to debut in theaters on May 20, 2016.

        This was a really great trailer. It gave us more of a look at what the film is about and it showed us a lot of new footage, but it didn't really give too much away. Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling look like they are a perfect fit for each other and I can't wait to see their chemistry play out on the big screen. The film is basically going to be a funnier version of L.A. Confidential which is a fantastic film and I think Shane Black is going to do a great job with the material at hand. 

        Universal Pictures has released the new Huntsman: Winter’s War trailer, featuring the returning Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth (as the Evil Queen Ravenna and The Huntsman Eric, respectively), as well as Jessica Chastain’s Warrior Sara and Emily Blunt’s Ice Queen Freya. Check out the new Huntsman: Winter’s War trailer below! The fantastical world of Snow White and the Huntsman expands to reveal how the fates of The Huntsman Eric and Queen Ravenna are deeply and dangerously intertwined. Long before the evil Queen Ravenna (Theron) was thought vanquished by Snow White’s blade, she watched silently as her sister, Freya (Blunt), suffered a heartbreaking betrayal and fled their kingdom. With Freya’s ability to freeze any enemy, the young ice queen has spent decades in a remote wintry palace raising a legion of deadly huntsmen—including Eric (Hemsworth) and warrior Sara (Chastain)—only to find that her prized two defied her one demand: Forever harden your hearts to love. When Freya learns of her sister’s demise, she summons her remaining soldiers to bring the Magic Mirror home to the only sorceress left who can harness its power. But once she discovers Ravenna can be resurrected from its golden depths, the wicked sisters threaten this enchanted land with twice the darkest force it’s ever seen. Now, their amassing army shall prove undefeatable…unless the banished huntsmen who broke their queen’s cardinal rule can fight their way back to one another. Directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, The Huntsman: Winter’s War is produced by Joe Roth (Maleficent, Alice in Wonderland). Look for it to hit theaters on April 22, 2016.

        This trailer really didn't do much for me. It didn't grab my attention like the other one did mainly due to just showing nothing, but action scenes. On the flipside, I don't really know the context in which those fights take place so I can't really judge those. It did give us an idea of the synopsis, but this film mainly feels like a more action-packed and darker version of Frozen and I just don't think I'm excited for this film. I didn't particularly enjoy Snow White and The Huntsman all that much and I don't have high hopes for this film.



        Warner Bros. Pictures has today updated its upcoming big screen release schedule, setting dates for Ben Affleck’s Live By Night movie. Live By Night will be arriving October 20.Live By Night is set to be directed by Affleck, who also stars alongside Elle Fanning, Sienna Miller, Zoe Saldana, Chris Messina and Chris Cooper. An adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s 2012 prohibition era thriller, the Live By Night movie will open opposite an as of yet unrevealed project from Blumhouse Productions. Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson Killoran and Jennifer Todd are producing the Live By Night movie alongside Affleck, who also adapted the screenplay. If you missed them, be sure to check out a round of Live By Night set photos that arrived earlier this year.

        I really like this release date. Right now there is no competition for the film to go up against, but that date is a long ways off and anything could changes between then and now. I like the date mainly because it puts the film in a great position to win quite a few awards. We have to remember the last time Ben Affleck directed a film it went on to win Best Picture. The story of this film is just fascinating and I think Ben Affleck is the perfect person to play the lead role. It fits the mold for a lot of the films I like so I am very curious to see this film. 

        The Wolf of Wall Street star Margot Robbie has signed on to headline a budding Tonya Harding movie that will tell the true story of the disgraced Olympic figure skater. Titled I, Tonya, the script originated as a spec by Steven Rogers, the scribe behind big screen fare like Kate & Leopold and Love the Coopers. Per Deadline, Rogers’ script is based on firsthand interviews with the real Tonya Harding and her former husband turned partner in crime Jeff Gillooly. The Tonya Harding movie will shine a light on the infamous 1994 incident wherein the Olympic figure skater was connected to an attack on skating rival Nancy Kerrigan. Kerrigan was attacked by a hired thug following a practice session in Detroit. Although the intent was to break Kerrigan’s leg, the skater was only bruised and went on to significantly outperform Harding in the Olympics. Following the event, Harding was prosecuted for the attack alongside Gillooly and several additional parties. Margot Robbie has been on a roll as of late. Last year she starred opposite Will Smith in Focus, opposite Chris Pine and Chiwetel Ejiofor in Z for Zachariah, and memorably cameoed as herself in Adam McKay’s The Big Short. She’s in theaters now opposite Tina Fey in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot and can be seen coming up in both the DC Comics antihero ensemble Suicide Squad and in the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ adaptation The Legend of Tarzan. It’s still early days for I, Tonya, which does not yet have a director attached and is currently in the process of securing financing. Robbie herself will produce the project through her LuckyChap Entertainment while Bryan Unkeless is also set to produce through his Clubhouse Pictures.

        I love this casting. As of late Margot Robbie has made a name for herself and she has turned into one of the best actresses the business today and the fact that she is only 25 even more impressive. I think she fits the role for a couple responses and one is that she is relatively young and I think she looks a little bit Harding. I think this film can be really great, it just depends on who they can get to surround her in the film when it comes to other cast members as well as the director.  

        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