After two films of genuine friendship and relentless flirting, Poppy, voiced by Anna Kendrick, and Branch, voiced by Justin Timberlake, are now officially a couple!
As they grow closer, Poppy discovers Branch has a secret past. He was once part of her favorite boy band phenomenon, BroZone, with his four brothers: Floyd, voiced by Troye Sivan; John Dory, voiced by Eric André; Spruce, voiced by Daveed Diggs; and Clay, voiced by Kid Cudi. BroZone disbanded when Branch was still a baby, as did the family, and Branch hadn’t seen his brothers since.
But when nefarious pop-star villains kidnap Branch’s bro Floyd for his musical talents, they embark on a harrowing and emotional journey.
The villains are Velvet, voiced by Amy Schumer, and Veneer, voiced by Andrew Rannells. Poppy and Branch reunite the other brothers and rescue Floyd from a fate worse than pop-culture obscurity.
Directed by Walt Dohrn, Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake return in a massive cast of talented stars to the sequel Trolls World Tour. The movie is an adventure. We follow Poppy, played by Kendrick, and Branch, played by Timberlake, to a place where they discover they are but one of six different Troll tribes. Each scattered over six different lands and devoted to six different kinds of music: Funk, Country, Techno, Classical, Pop, and Rock. Their world is about to get a lot bigger and a whole lot louder.
A member of hard-rock royalty, Queen Barb, played by Rachel Bloom, aided by her father King Thrash, played by Ozzy Osbourne, wants to destroy all other kinds of music to let rock reign supreme.
Because the fate of the world at stake, Poppy and Branch, along with their friends — Biggie, played by James Corden, Chenille, played by Caroline Hjelt, Satin, played by Aino Jawo, Cooper, played by Ron Funches, and Guy Diamond, played by Kunal Nayyar — set out to visit all the other lands. They visit the different territories to unify the Trolls in harmony against Barb, who’s looking to upstage them all.
Cast as members of the different musical tribes is one the largest and most acclaimed groups of artistic talent ever assembled for an animated film. The cast list continues with the land of Funk are Mary J. Blige, George Clinton, and Anderson. Paak. Representing Country is Kelly Clarkson as Delta Dawn, with Sam Rockwell as Hickory and Flula Borg as Dickory. J Balvin brings Reggaeton, while Ester Dean adds to the Pop tribe. Anthony Ramos brings the beat in Techno, and Jamie Dornan covers smooth jazz. World-renowned conductor and violinist Gustavo Dudamel appears as Trollzart and Charlyne Yi as Pennywhistle from the land of Classical. And Kenan Thompson raps as a hip-hop new Troll named Tiny Diamond.
Dohrn served as co-director on Trolls and is co-directed by David P. Smith and co-produced by Kelly Cooney Cilella, both of whom worked on the first Trolls. Trolls World Tour will also feature original music by Justin Timberlake, who earned an Oscar nomination for his song for 2016’s Trolls, “Can’t Stop the Feeling!”
The second trailer is fun to watch, and I guarantee you will laugh because it is so silly.
The String by String featurette shows some behind the scenes clips with Justin Timberlake. Kids will enjoy the story and watch it over and over again.
Based on a novel by Darcy Bell and co-written and directed by Paul Feig, A Simple Favor follows Stephanie, played by Anna Kendrick. She is a mommy vlogger seeking to discover the truth behind her best friend Emily’s, played by Blake Lively, sudden disappearance from their small town.
Feig directed Bridesmaids and is used to comedy, so this storyline is different for him. I can see by the way the trailer’s edited there are some humorous undertones.
I saw the movie through Amazon Prime and found it to be delightful. Kendrick pulls off the best part for her in a big way. The film starts off a bit rough with the peripheral characters, but once the movie gets into the meat of the story, it is fabulous. I am so glad I saw it. I highly recommend it.
The movie is now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming. Now is the time to see the film if you haven’t yet, or you want to see it again.
The second trailer shows more of what the story is about the sharp cuts of Stephanie upset and doing so off the wall stuff means Emily has a dark side or both do.
Several different posters were released. The one to the right is the latest. I still like the one above with the question mark collage because it communicates the mystery of the story. It is clever with a 1960s theme. The one on the right seems playful. With that, the movie is supposed to be a mystery but playful.
I am amazed at who many posters the movie is generating. I still like the question mark poster the best. But, the one with the fan design is pretty cool, too.
This is called a specialty poster, which I like. I am thinking about embedding the poster before my YouTube interviews with the cast and crew of A Simple Favor.
Directed by Trish Sie, the cast just keeps getting larger and larger with an impressive list of talent.
Now graduated from college and out in the real world where it takes more than a cappella to get by, the Bellas return in Pitch Perfect 3, the next chapter in the beloved series that has taken in more than $400 million at the global box office.
After the highs of winning the World Championships, the Bellas find themselves split apart and discovering there aren’t job prospects for making music with your mouth. But when they get the chance to reunite for an overseas USO tour, this group of awesome nerds will come together to make some music, and some questionable decisions, one last time.
The Blu-ray/DVD hit the streets, so if you missed the movie in theaters, and now you can buy the movie for real. The package includes new songs.
Comparing the Blu-ray cover with the movie poster, the yellow background makes the movie seem lighter not as dark or foreboding.
Perhaps, shoppers are likely to pick up a lighter colored package than a darker one.
Directed by Jeffrey Blitz, Table 19 follows ex-maid of honor Eloise, played by Anna Kendrick. She’s been relieved of her duties after being unceremoniously dumped by the best man via text – decides to hold her head up high and attend her oldest friend’s wedding anyway. She finds herself seated at the ‘random’ table in the back of the ballroom with a disparate group of strangers, most of whom should have known to just send regrets (but not before sending something nice off the registry). As everyone’s secrets are revealed, Eloise learns a thing or two from the denizens of Table 19. Friendships – and even a little romance – can happen under the most unlikely circumstances.
Watch the trailer and enjoy the simple story about misfits who know they are better and deserve a better table.
