5-19-16 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)

        There appears to be a slight change in plans when it comes to who will be supplying the Krang voice in Paramount Pictures‘ upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. According to The LA Times, the film’s antagonist will now be voiced by Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond, Fargo). The film’s producers previously announced that Portlandia‘s Fred Armisen would be doing the Krang voice as part of the film’s WonderCon panel back in March. According to today’s update, the prior announcement ended up being a bit premature as Armisen’s schedule did not mesh with TMNT‘s post production plans. “I think seeing Krang is going to be trippy,” star Megan Fox previously told CS about the iconic TMNT villain. “He’s a very weird looking character. They’re going to make him real. He’s not a cartoon.” Although Krang’s cinematic origins have yet to be revealed, we asked if a potential Dimension X reveal could one day pave the way to the new film series existing in the TMNT multiverse. After all, previous animated iterations of the turtles have crossed over with one another on more than once occasion. “Krang opens up some big options,” says Fuller. “But that’s the challenge of the movies… Everyone comes to it with a different translation of their turtle knowledge. Someone might not know what Dimension X is… You used to make a movie and just think, ‘This is a great movie. I love the characters. I love the setting. Hopefully, it turns out.’ Now, you kind of have to think, “If we open this door, we kind of have to walk through it.’ That may be four movies down the line, but you’ve got to think about it. We definitely have to think more long term than we did before.” The Out of the Shadows cast also includes Will Arnett, William Fichtner, Laura Linney, Tyler Perry, Sheamus, Gary Anthony Williams, Brittany Ishibashi, Stephen Amell and Brian Tee. Alan Ritchson, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, and Noel Fisher are also reprising their roles as Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo, and Michelangelo.

        I hate to hear this news. I understand that it's just a voice role for a character, but sometimes voices matter especially when we are talking about a character like Krang. Fred Armisen would've brought the insanity out in his voice for Krang and it would've fit along with his voice in the animated series. I'm not a big fan of Brad Garrett in the least little bit and this kinda makes me almost not want to watch the film because his voice is unbearable and it just doesn't seem to fit the character at all. 

        Sony Pictures Entertainment and Annapurna Pictures have released a new trailer for Sausage Party, the first R-rated CG animated comedy from writers Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Kyle Hunter and Ariel Shaffir. You can check out the new Sausage Party trailer below. Sausage Party is about one sausage leading a group of supermarket products on a quest to discover the truth about their existence and what really happens when they become chosen to leave the grocery store. The film features the vocal talents of a who’s who of today’s comedy stars – Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, Bill Hader, Michael Cera, James Franco, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Paul Rudd, Nick Kroll, David Krumholtz, Edward Norton, and Salma Hayek. From a story by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and Jonah Hill, Sausage Party is directed by Conrad Vernon and Greg Tiernan. Sausage Party is produced by Rogen, Goldberg, Vernon and Megan Ellison with Hill, Hunter, Shaffir and James Weaver executive producing. Nitrogen Studios Canada Inc., in Vancouver is handling all CG animation, design, production and post-production. Sony will release the raunchy comedy on August 12.

        This was a pretty good trailer. Virtually this is the same as the red ban trailer just minus the swearing and it even added a few more scenes and they were just perfect. This might be one of the strangest ideas that has ever been seen, but I'm fully on board for the film. I think this film is going to be the best comedy of the year and it's insane to think this might get an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature. I love the talent involved in the film I'm looking forward to seeing how the film turns out. 

        Last year, Jennifer Lawrence put it bluntly when she was asked if she would be back as Mystique for more X-Men movies following this year’s X-Men: Apocalypse, simply saying it was her last one. She later changed her tune saying she’d like to return, and the actress is now doubling down on a comeback as Mystique. “I would love to come back,” Lawrence tells EW. “I love the fans and I love the character. But then you realize how important your year is, like how important three months out of your year is. I don’t know. I shouldn’t be that honest.” There is a caveat though, as Lawrence says it’s an all-or-nothing deal between her and her co-stars about coming back. “Fassbender and McAvoy and I were all talking like, ‘Will you come back?’ ‘I dunno.’ ‘I’ll come back if you come back.’ Fox should be terrified because the deal we made was like if one of us doesn’t come back, none of us are.”

        This is great news to hear. Look I'm a fan of Jennifer Lawrence for a few reasons, but I will agree with a lot of people in the sense that she is a little overexposed and is way too many films right now. Just look at her filmography and you'll notice that she is usually in 3 films a year and for an actress of her caliber she only needs to be in one, maybe two. She might need to follow the DiCaprio route in doing maybe one film every two years. Anyway to get back on track, seeing that she is willing to come back to the franchise is news you get excited to hear, but at the same time it's a little spoilery in the sense that if she is willing to come back for more, that Mystique is alive at the end of X-Men: Apocalypse so when she looks like she might be close to dying, we all know she lives. Other than that I think bringing Lawrence back is a great idea as it will just be a plus in having a star of her caliber in a comic book film. 

        Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions have a new trailer for The Purge: Election Year, the third chapter in the “Purge” franchise coming to theaters on July 1, 2016. Check out The Purge: Election Year trailer below. Expanding the universe introduced in the hit franchise that electrified the culture and earned $200 million at the worldwide box office, Universal Pictures’ The Purge: Election Year reveals the next terrifying chapter that occurs over 12 hours of annual lawlessness sanctioned by the New Founders of America to keep this country great. It’s been two years since Leo Barnes (Frank Grillo) stopped himself from a regrettable act of revenge on Purge Night. Now serving as head of security for Senator Charlie Roan (Elizabeth Mitchell), his mission is to protect her in a run for president and survive the annual ritual that targets the poor and innocent. But when a betrayal forces them onto the streets of D.C. on the one night when no help is available, they must stay alive until dawn…or both be sacrificed for their sins against the state. Once again returning to collaborate with franchise creator James DeMonaco on The Purge: Election Year are the series’ producers: Blumhouse Productions’ Jason Blum (Insidious and Ouija series, The Visit), Platinum Dunes partners Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ouija series, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), and writer/director DeMonaco’s longtime production partner, Sébastien K. Lemercier (Assault on Precinct 13, Four Lovers). The new film features the return of Frank Grillo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Grey) alongside Elizabeth Mitchell, Edwin Hodge, Betty Gabriel, JJ Soria and Mykelti Williamson. Grillo starred in the second film, The Purge: Anarchy, which earned $110.6 million on a budget of just $9 million in 2014.

        I love this trailer. One of the biggest complaints about the first Purge film is that it didn't really focus on how the rest of the world is effected by The Purge and as a matter a fact that point is what basically started this very blog. The second film mainly focused on the rest Los Angeles and this one is focusing on the rest of the country so to have that continued elevation is neat to see. I love how the film is subtitled Election Year when we happen to be in an election year and the ending of the trailer might be a shot at Donald Trump . I think this is going to be a fun summer film and I'm hoping that it just continues to expand the universe even more. 

        According to Variety, in-demand actress Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, Focus) is circling a role opposite Domhnall Gleeson (The Revenant, Star Wars: The Force Awakens) in Goodbye Christopher Robin, the latest biopic from director Simon Curtis (My Week with Marilyn, Woman in Gold).  The film is set to tell the true story of “Winnie the Pooh” creator A.A. Milne and the relationship with his son Christopher Robin Milne that inspired the character Christopher Robin in his stories. The iconic characters of Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet were named after Robin’s toys. Robbie would play Milne’s wife, Dorothy “Daphne” de Sélincourt. Damian Jones and Steve Christian are producing Goodbye Christopher Robin for Pathe and Fox Searchlight. Robbie will be seen in two big summer blockbusters this year, with The Legend of Tarzan opening July 1 and Suicide Squad hitting theaters everywhere on August 5. Gleeson is currently hard at work reprising his role as General Hux in Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: Episode VIII.

        I love this casting. Margot Robbie is a brilliant actor and for to be as young as she is, she has a long career ahead of her and this just adds to already young legacy. I think she is a great fit to a film that sounds really interesting. This feels like another version of Finding Neverland where that film talked about how J.M. Barrie got inspired to write Peter Pan. I think both Robbie and Domhnall Gleeson are a great one-two punch and this is a film that could receive a lot of Oscar attention. 

        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