Monthly Archives: December 2018

“Teen Spirit” Trailers, a Clip and Posters

drama, music, , ,

Written and directed by Max Minghella, Teen Spirit follows Violet, played by Elle Fanning. She is a shy teenager who dreams of escaping her small town and pursuing her passion for singing. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a local singing competition that will test her integrity, talent, and ambition. A huge list of well-known pop-fueled songs is at the end of the movie trailer, making it a must-owned soundtrack. Watch the trailer, and you will see lots of angst and frustration. Violet learns a lesson on her journey to fame and fortune.

The movie is a “stylish spin on the Cinderella story.” With so little information on the story, I wonder who prince charming is.

The movie is available on Amazon or wherever Blu-rays and DVDs are sold.

I am guessing this is Minghella’s film debut as a director. He is an actor and stars in The Handmaid’s Tale. He’s starred in major movies like The Social Network and comes from a talented family. His father is the late, well-known, Oscar-winning director Anthony Minghella. His mother, Carolyn Choa, is a choreographer.

I am sure Fanning took on this role because it is challenging. She sings, dances, and carries the whole movie. She deserves the part of Violet because she is talented and has played several active roles. She’s starred in notable films like Super-8, Maleficent, and Trumbo.

The cast rounds out, including Rebecca Hall, Zlatko Buric, and Agnieszka Grochowska.

The second poster and trailer show us more about the movie. Fanning is excellent as the Russian teen star who loves to sing; that is all she wants to do.

The following movie clip is more like a music video we used to see in the 1990s. The movie soundtrack is all original songs, so I hope this clip plays here and doesn’t get blocked due to copyright issues. Fingers crossed. I hope you see it because it is nice and tells a beautiful story.

“Us” Trailers, Cast Interviews, Featurettes & Poster

horror, thriller, , , , , , , , , , ,

Written and directed by Jordan Peele, Us follows a family on a summer vacation. The focus of the promotion of this movie is the filmmaker and Oscar winner Jordan Peele. Peele made a name for himself by creating the box office and sleeper hit Get Out.

The horror movie is popular with a strong show at the box office. The Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming on-demand are happening. Now is your chance to see the movie or see it again.

IMDB plot summary says the movie is about a mother and father, who take their kids to their beach house. They are expecting to enjoy time with friends, but their serenity turns to tension and chaos when some visitors arrive uninvited.

On the coattails of his success, Universal Studios says Peele is bringing an original and provocative thriller to the movie theaters. By watching the movie trailer, it appears there is a family on vacation who has an encounter with another creepy family that looks and sounds just like them. The trailer shows screaming, blood, and the family struggling to survive. I am curious about the significance of the scissors, though. They appear in the poster and trailer. The weaving of each character’s profile view is mysterious and unnerving. I am spooked just thinking about this trailer.

The cast is impressive with Lupita Nyong’o, who won the 2019 New York Film Critics Circle for Best Actress, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Anna Diop, Evan Alex, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Madison Curry, Cali Sheldon, and Noelle Sheldon.

The second trailer is better because Nyong’o’s line about coincidences and things lining up means something, like a dark cloud. Creepy! Horror movie fans rejoice. A horror movie intelligently put together to scare the hell out of you.

Moss attended the red carpet premiere of the movie at SXSW. In this interview, she explains why this is her first time seeing the movie. She also talks about working with the director.

Watching these featurettes brings an understanding that Peele’s movies are not just horror movies. They resonate with learned and well-thought-out Hitchcock movies, with an undercurrent of meanings to the overall story and imagery.

Director Peele talks about making horror movies and why he likes making them. The audiences drive him in this direction of moviemaking.

The following featurettes are about Peele as a storyteller and his reasoning behind making this movie. One particular featurette he talks about is “Doppelgangers.” The word is German and means a double walker. The folklore about this phenomenon is a non-biological look-alike, such as a ghost or an evil twin. Doppelgangers are a sign of bad luck.

Peele refers to movies that use the doppelgänger angle, such as Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield comes to mind. The darker version or morally inverse character of his story – is Orlick.

“Hellboy” Trailers, Featurettes, Clip, Interviews & Posters

action, adventure, based on a book, fantasy, , , ,

Directed by Neil Marshall and based on the graphic novels by Mike Mignola, Hellboy follows the iconic character as he gets caught between the worlds of the supernatural and human. Played by Stranger Things David Harbour, he battles an ancient sorceress bent on revenge.

Marshall’s directing credits include episodic shows like Lost in Space and Westworld. He’s also directed features, including Dog Soldiers and Doomsday.

Harbour is fantastic and so believable as Hellboy. Delivering his lines straightforwardly with a touch of irony makes each scene in the trailer fun to watch. The song in the trailer brings us a whole new level of entertainment.

The rest of the cast includes Milla Jovovich and Sasha Lane. Jovovich is familiar with this genre and adds credibility to the storyline. Jovovich is known for her dynamic work in the Resident Evil franchise.

I am not planning on seeing this movie because it is not my genre. The trailers look fantastic, and Harbour is impressive. He is so right for Hellboy. I am excited for him.

The movie clip shows how tongue-in-cheek the story moves along through archetype villains. Hellboy is not serious, but it’s all for fun. 

The featurette shows how the movie follows one of Hellboy’s comic book stories, comparing some movie images with the comic book drawings.

The movie clip shows some impressive CGI effects. Then we see the more we know, and the movie follows the comic book.

I picked three interviews that offer insight into what the newest version of Hellboy will bring us in the movie theaters and the box office. First, we have Daniel Dae Kim as “Major Ben Daimio,” listening to Kim talk about his character is surreal. He is so in tune with Daimio that it goes to another dimension.

The second interview is with Milla Jovovich, known as “Nimue and The Blood Queen.” She explains the story in the movie. She has Hellboy dialed. Her Beastie Boys t-shirt adds a lot to the interview, as well. This lady is a stick of dynamite, continually blowing up with excellent and refreshing energy.

Finally, David Harbour, as the “Hellboy” interview, is terrific. Ian Shane, who plays his adopted father, says in an interview he’s seen Harbour on Broadway. I can’t believe this guy’s been on Broadway. I thought  Stranger Things was his only avenue other than Hellboy. No wonder he is so talented. I admired his remarkable work in the first season of the Netflix series Stranger Things. 

“Greta” Trailer, Movie Clips, & Interviews

drama, horror, suspense, ,

Co-written and directed by Neil Jordan, Greta is an awkward movie with many undercurrents as one heck of a scary movie.

Jordan’s directing credits are impressive, with Interview with a Vampire, The End of the Affair, The Crying Game, and Mona Lisa. The story Greta came from Ray Wright, who also co-wrote the screenplay. His credits are few, with movies like Crazies and The Pulse.

The movie follows a young woman Frances, played by  Chloë Grace Moretz, who befriends a widow, played by Isabelle Huppert. The widow is not as sane as she appears. Watch the trailer, and the plot is easy to follow. Maika Monroe also stars in the movie playing Erica. It isn’t clear her character’s role in the story. In the trailer, it appears she is a close friend of Frances or perhaps her sister.

The movie clips show more of the story about how this woman is a crazy psychopath. The third clip is even better and tells more of the story. Greta is looking like a horror movie more and more.

The following clip shows five warning signs that you have a crazy lady stalking you and wanting to kill you. The last warning sign is a huge spoiler.

Moretz talks about the movie and the role she plays. She explains why she likes the film and picked to star in the thriller.

Jordan is best known for directing The Crying Game and Michael Collins. The soundbites with him offer insight into his approach to directing Greta.

The following movie clip shows the difference between the two young woman characters. The movie is a thriller, horror, and suspense. This scene defines Moretz’s character’s vulnerability – kindness and virtue. Is that a realistic quality to drive people to the box office?

“The Last Man” Trailer and Poster

drama, thriller, , , , , ,

Written and directed by Rodrigo H. Vila, The Last Man trailer lacks the strength needed to entice people to go to the movie theaters and watch it. The trailer is unclear and graining without any direction.

The story follows Kurt, played by Hayden Christensen, who is suffering from the aftermath of being in a war. He is now a vet and dealing with the emotional problems of being in a war and coming home to an unholy, unruly land.

Clearly, the world is wicked and in a state of unrest. A local street prophet, Noe, played by Harvey Keitel, preaches that it will only worsen and predicts a catastrophic storm will strike, making matters even worse.   

Kurt heeds Noe’s advice and readies for the apocalyptic storm when he meets sultry Jessica, played by Liz Solari. She, too, believes Noe. The story’s irony is that Kurt finds his life finally coming together as the planet falls apart.

The rest of the cast includes Marco Leonardi, Fernán Mirás, Justin Kelly, and Rafael Spregelburd.


“Five Feet Apart” Trailers, Featurettes, Interviews & Posters

drama, ,

Directed by Justin Baldoni, Five Feet Apart follows Stella Grant, played by Haley Lu Richardson. She is like every other seventeen-year-old, but she ill.  She spends a great deal of time living in a hospital because she is a cystic fibrosis patient.

She has best friends, and she seems pretty happy except when her illness brings her way down.  She lives her life, which is full of limitations and self-control if she wants to stay alive.

The point of the story is that all the things that keep her alive and relatively happy are put to the test when she meets an impossibly charming fellow, who is also a CF patient. His name is Will Newman, played by Cole Sprouse. They instantly become attracted to each other, though restrictions dictate maintaining a safe distance between them. The relationship intensifies, and so does the temptation to throw the limitations out the window and embrace that attraction they share.

Added to the story is Will rebels against the medical treatment, and Stella steps up and helps him understand he needs to live. He needs to live a fulfilling life.  

The movie is a tearjerker and reminds me of the book and movie Fault in Our Stars.  The ending might be just as sad but uplifting as John Green’s story. 

I am having a hard time wrapping my wits around this movie. The trailers are not grabbing me in the least because I feel the movie will end sadly like John Green’s book, which I have mentioned before.

A new poster is released, and a trailer along with it. I am still not convinced this movie will do well. I am sure it ends on a downer like The Fault in Our Stars. The post shows the two main characters five feet apart, and the title is Five Feet Apart, but the nurse in the trailers says six feet apart. The first poster shows them close as can be. I am not quite sure what that means, but it is a discrepancy.

The studio blocked some clips that told more of the story and the relationship that builds without giving away the ending. The ending is crucial and will make it a great movie or not. The point is movies about terminal illness end sadly.

The following two features explain why the director wanted to make this movie. He relates to terminal illness by meeting a young woman who had this disease. This is a tough movie to make and even tougher to watch.

The interviews tell you about the story, and this is a spoiler alert. The producer praises Richardson for being bubbly with “sparks” in her eyes. Watching her interview, she is smart and knows her character.

Not only is the director nice eye candy, but he is also a great guy. He knows this story and is passionate about the situation people with this disease go through in general.

The character Will is hard for me to like or appreciate because he is always whining. The interview with Sprouse, who see a totally different person. In the interview, he talks about how Will is feeling sorry for himself. I am impressed.

“Bathtubs Over Broadway” Trailer

documentary, music, ,

Co-written and directed by Dava Whisenant, Bathtubs Over Broadway follows a late-night comedy writer, Steve Young, who wrote for David Letterman. He stumbled on a fantastic, crazy, and hilarious hidden world of entertainment. He locates some oddball and old musical records about various commercial products. Created only for businesses and their employees or peripheral connections.  Each album featured professionally produced numbers and songs while strangely and esoterically focusing on their corporate brands. 

Watch the trailer and view talented people promoting the glories of anything and everything: cars, toilets, tractors, and refrigerators. The secret productions of industrial musicals are now known thanks to Young.

Screenwriters Ozzy Inguanzo and Dava Whisenant documented Young’s determination to locate more of these rare records and the people involved with them.  It sounds like an interesting subject focusing on the creative talent behind these bits of musical history. The movie won several awards on the film festival circuit. The most notable is Tribeca Film Festival Albert Maysles New Documentary Director Award. The movie includes interviews with David Letterman, Martin Short, Chita Rivera, Martin Short, and Jello Biafra.

“Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” Trailers, Featurette, and Posters

based on a book, comedy, drama, , , ,

I decided to place the second poster above the first poster because it illustrates the movie better.

Co-written and directed by Richard Linklater, Where’d You Go, Bernadette? focuses on 
15-year-old Bee, played by Emma Nelson, after her stressed-out mother, played by Cate Blanchett, disappears.  Bee does everything in her power to track her down, discovering her mother’s troubled past in the process.

The movie is available on Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming sites. It’s a fun movie to watch about family, being a mother, and coming to terms with destiny.

Holly Gent and Vince Palmo co-wrote the screenplay based on the book of the same name by Maria Semple. Linklater’s credits include writing and producing. His last well-known movie is Boyhood. 

Blanchett is a stick of dynamite, an award-winning actress, and Bernadette is another explosive role for her to play.  A talented cast surrounds her, including Judy Greer, Kristen Wiig, Laurence Fishbourne, and Billy Crudup.

The second trailer draws you in and includes how much fun the movie is to watch. Blanchett is coming from so many levels as Bernadette. It is delightful to watch. Mothers who put their careers aside for marriage and family will find companionship.

I am adding Blanchett’s soundbites concerning the movie because any mother and daughter can relate to this movie.

Watching the featurette compels me to read the book. I agree with the director. Bernadette is not crazy; the world is crazy.

“The Mustang” Trailer, Interviews & Movie Clips

drama, true stories, , ,

Co-written and directed by  Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, The Mustang is based on a true story about convicts working with wild mustangs as a rehabilitation process. 

Robert Redford is the executive producer, and the movie is hanging with the Sundance Film Festival shingle.  The movie follows a convict named Roman Coleman, played by 
Matthias Schoenaerts. In solitary confinement for 12 years, he’s a basket case.  He takes on a wild mustang that is as crazy as he is. 

Somehow, he ends up in a rehab program where convicts take care of mustangs.  By watching the trailer, Coleman changes into a better person because of this program.

The program is known for rehabbing inmates with a recidivism rate of zero percent. Any program like that is worth knowing. An article here talks about another program Criminon where inmates regain their self-respect, very similar to what happens in The Mustang.

The Mustang is about rebuilding your life after making some terrible and stupid mistakes. Coleman’s daughter, played by Gideon Adlon, comes to visit him in prison.  He needs to confront the issues that plague their obviously troubled relationship.

Bruce Dern and Connie Britton also star. Dern appears to play the guy who oversees the mustang ranch. 

The movie clips show some fine-acting chops. The first clip shows the before, and the second clip shows the after. The story is heart-wrenching, and it is hard to imagine what this man went through to get to the other side and gain his self-respect back.


Clermont-Tonnerre talks about directing the movie and the story. The true story that influences the movie is fascinating.

Robert Redford talks about working with Clermont-Tonnerre when she was at Sundance. Redford was her mentor, and they became good friends. He talks about the movie and his love for horses.

“Fighting With My Family” Trailer, Clips, Interviews with Paige

drama, true stories, , , , ,

Written and directed by Stephen Merchant, Fighting With My Family is based on a true story. The movie follows WWE Superstar Paige, played by Florence Plugh, whose family is tight-knit about wrestling. 

Paige and her brother Zak, played by Jack Lowden, are ecstatic when they get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to try out for WWE.

Paige earns a spot, and her brother didn’t win a place. She begins the competitive training program and leaves her family. She faces the new, cut-throat world alone.

Paige’s journey pushes her to dig deep, fight for her family, and ultimately prove to the world that what makes her different is the very thing that can make her a star.

Merchant is best known for his work as a screenwriter for television. He wrote quite a bit for the popular series The Office. 

The casting includes Lena Headey, Nick Frost, Vince Vaughn, and Dwayne Johnson. 

The two movie clips give a feel for what to expect from the movie. Comedy is one of them because I don’t believe “The Rock” is like he is portrayed in the film. Unless I am wrong, which I am known to be from time to time.

The extended movie clip is no longer available. It showed how a WWE celebrity made it into the arena and became famous. From what I see, so far, I like it. The pace is a bit slow, but it’s funny. The movie is now available on Blu-ray/DVD or streaming. If you are a WWE fan, you need to see this movie or see it again.

Paige shares moments when she first met Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. She talks about WWE and her family and how that relates to the movie.

The second interview with Paige is at The Sundance Film Festival screening. She is more down-to-earth and seems more relaxed and approachable. Her endearing persona shines through to us, though the interview is much shorter.

“The Underdog Story” featurette shows a great movie. We get the jokes, the angst, and the competition.

Here is the final trailer, and it is a bit raunchy but funny.

Here is another clip of the famous phone call to Paige’s family. It shows how crazy her family gets sometimes.