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Movie Trailers

X-Men: Days of Future Past Trailer – Old Meets Young

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The day has finally arrived in which we get our first real look at Bryan Singer’s newest incarnation of the X-Men franchise. That’s right, the X-Men: Days of Future Past trailer is here!

I’ll admit that X-Men: First Class is easily my favorite of all the films to date so I was quite excited to see James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender back as Magneto and Professor X. Of course they aren’t quite themselves, especially Professor X, as shown by the copious amounts of dust being blown off Cerebro. Well, that and Patrick Stewart saying “I was a very different man.”

James McAvoy and Cerebro in Days of Future Past

The trailer seemed like it gave everyone a little bit of screen time, both returning mutants and those new to the game. If X-Men: Days of Future Past does nothing else, it will hopefully be remembered as the movie that featured actors named Bingbing and Booboo. Incidentally, they both look quite amazing as Blink and Warpath.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past

X-Men: Days of Future Past

There was very little to quibble over with this trailer. It had direction, gave a good look at the plot of the film (for those of us who are not very familiar with the X-Men books), and was pretty in doing so. However, outside of Nixon looking nothing like Nixon, my biggest issue was the use of “Adagio in D” from Sunshine. I understand that it is a beautiful piece of music and it does fit quite well with the action of this trailer, but it is getting dangerously close to being overused. I’d much rather have heard something from John Ottman’s score.

http://youtu.be/NQXVzg2PiZw

So, are you excited for X-Men: Days of Future Past? Does this first trailer make you more excited? This is the first of many, many, many trailer and posters and photos and pretty much the deluge of material that comes along with modern film promotion, but it is nice to enjoy this moment when everything is new and fresh.

X-Men: Days of Future Past is scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 23rd, 2014.

 

Movie Trailers

Non-Stop: New Trailer Looks Like Taken on a Plane

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The reason the 2008 film Taken is one of the best action flicks in recent years has nothing to do with its incredibly “original” plot, or the setting of the film. It has to do solely with the simple conceit of Liam Neeson being a badass. While we were given a poorly made sequel that decided to make him immobile for half the movie, it seems we might get to see him in a balls to the walls action film once more in the form of Non-Stop. In this one, Neeson plays an Air Marshall who, during an international flight, receives a menacing text that a passenger will be killed every 20 minutes. The synopsis sounds pretty neat, but the trailer takes it to insane levels, check it out:

Wow, that looks crazy. The trailer seems to go from tight psychological thriller to psychotic action with military jets shooting, Neeson snatching and shooting a gun in the air, and we also get some good hand to hand combat. This looks to be the perfect early year action film that’s nothing more than a fun time at the theater. Non-Stop‘s Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, the man behind Neeson’s other decent action movie, Unknown, and the horror film Orphan, and boasts a solid supporting cast including Julianne Moore (Crazy, Stupid, Love), Hell on Wheel’s star Anson Mount, and ‘House of Card’s Corey Stoll.

Non-Stop Movie Poster

Non-Stop is due out February 28th.

Movie Trailers

Final Hunger Games Trailer Has Arrived!

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If you happened to be watching baseball tonight (Go Cards!), you might have noticed a power surge during the fifth inning. That would be because it was announced that there would be a new The Hunger Games trailer shown after the top of the inning. Not only was it new, it was the final.

That’s right, we have officially reached the home stretch. While it seems like ages ago that the first Catching Fire trailer was released, all the waiting is about to come to an end. To help make the wait a little bit more tolerable, check out the trailer below!

There has been a lot of promo material of late talking about the Quarter Quell, and Haymitch, Effie, Finnick Odair… pretty much everyone, but this trailer goes back to where it all began, Katniss Everdeen and her bow. Katniss and her sister. Katniss and the President. And perhaps most important, Katniss and Peeta.

If there was any doubt that this sequel will lack any of the intensity the first film had, just watch Peeta try to convince Katniss that “It isn’t real” and all doubt will ease away.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire arrives in theaters on November 22nd. Do you have your tickets yet?

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Movie Trailers

Jack Ryan Trailer Looks Better Than Expected

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Diving back into the franchise started by the incredible author Tom Clancy, who sadly passed away last week, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit hopes to restart his franchise on the big screen. Directing is Kenneth Branagh (Henry V, Thor) whom also stars as the main antagonist opposite Chris Pine (Star Trek), who takes the titular role in this one, stepping into shoes previously filled by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and even Batman himself, Ben Affleck.

Joining him is Kevin Costner, who interestingly has signed a two-picture deal to reprise the same role in another Tom Clancy Series that Paramount is trying to kickstart, Without Remorse. Other notable faces are Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean) and David Paymer (Mr. Saturday Night).

Initially written by newcomer Adam Cozad, David Koepp (Spiderman) was called in to do rewrites, and the film is only based on Clancy’s characters, not a specific book.

The plot for this one centers around a CIA analyst, Jack Ryan, who discovers a Russian plot to destroy the US economy. It sounds somewhat generic, but nobodies pegging this to be a complex character study, instead just deliver on its promise as an action spy flick that entertains. By the looks of the well-cut trailer, it seems to succeed:

Going in I had zero expectations for this because it seemed like another throw away action movie, kind of what the Die Hard series has become, but damn is this trailer put together nicely. Between the music, and the practical action scenes, this looks to be one hell of a good time at the theater.

As I said, this one isn’t going for Oscar’s, but likely be more in the vein of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol ,  it looks to simply be a fun movie with some cool action set-pieces. Also, the playback between Pine and Costner is a nice touch, and Branagh as the stoic russian villain could surely add to the entertainment.

The first official poster was also released:

Jack Ryan Shadow Recruit Poster

The film is due out Christmas Day against a packed line-up of new releases including Keanu Reeve’s 47 Ronin, Ben Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, the expansion to wide release of the new David O’ Russle film, American Hustle, and the De Niro vs. Stallone boxing movie, Grudge Match. 

Movie News & Opinions

Godzilla Teaser Leaked! UPDATED

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A teaser for the upcoming Godzilla remake from Legendary Pictures, potentially set for release in 2014, has just leaked to the internet. As of the time this is being written it’s still visible, however it’ll most certainly be taken down within the next 24 hours. Make sure you get a look at the footage now, you might actually not want to let this pass you by.

http://www.movieweb.com/v/VIpyxA0lqZq7sw/embed_video

It actually looks very good. I did not think I’d be interested in a Godzilla movie anymore with so many other action movies taking up the mantle of large-scale destruction. Creature movies like Pacific Rim and obviously Cloverfield have done a much better job of recreating the thrill of a Godzilla film than the last few Godzillas, so when the admittedly awesome-looking poster went public months ago I didn’t bite. This though? This has my attention. Most exciting for me is the brief look at what appears to be another monster that’s already come out on the losing end of a battle. If the upcoming movie brings back Godzilla fighting other monsters, this could be something truly awesome.

Unfortunately, in keeping with the teaser principle, we don’t actually see much of Godzilla himself or get a clear look at the CGI work, but we can guess that there is a very hard focus on realism for the film. The destruction looks more on par with a terrorist bombing than it does a dragon-monster on a cartoonish rampage, and based on the number of bodies strewn about the derailed train in the establishing shot, this movie is not shying away from the very real threat Godzilla presents to the city. I want nothing more than a mature Godzilla film, showing real casualties, that captures the actual shock and horror that would come from such an enormous monster attacking a cityspace. I also wonder if this Godzilla will behave  more like a wild animal or have more of a conscious awareness of his destruction.

This leak has me pretty floored, frankly. I’m extremely excited to see more about this in the future.

Movie News & Opinions

Elizabeth Olsen: The Scarlet Witch Has Been Found, So Says Nick Fury

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It looks like Marvel and Disney has found their Scarlet Witch, and her name is Elizabeth Olsen.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the cat was let out of the bag in an interview with Marvel film mascot Samuel L. Jackson. In their interview, they asked him about Avengers: Age of Ultron and he dropped some pretty juicy details about the movie.

[quote]”I don’t think we begin shooting before March of next year. I know we’re shooting in London, that James Spader is Ultron and going to be the bad guy, and that we added Ms. [Elizabeth] Olsen [who will play the Scarlet Witch], but I don’t know what she’s doing, if she’s on the inside or the outside. I haven’t seen a script.”[/quote]

Now, it’s very important to note that he did say that Ms. Olsen is in the movie, not specifically saying Elizabeth, but let’s be honest here. We all know what role she was rumored for and it’s obvious Joss and company didn’t hire one of the Olsen twins to portray a role that has been burning up the casting rumor mill. While she has been coy about it, this is pretty much confirmed from the Head of S.H.I.E.L.D. himself.

Of course, we also got a bit more detail about the new Avengers sequel; We are about six months away from principal photography and it will film in London. Now, whether the Scarlet Witch is a good gal or baddie, that has yet to be determined, but Elizabeth Olsen has done some great work. If you haven’t seen Martha Marcy May Marlene yet, it’s definitely something to check out because she owns the screen. She’ll also be in the Oldboy remake by Spike Lee and the Godzilla movie due out next summer. So it looks like we’ll definitely get to see her kick some ass and make a name for herself when Avengers: Age of Ultron kicks off the summer movie season of 2015.

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