All posts by Kenna

“Beyond the Gates” Trailer

horror, , , ,

Directed by Jackson Stewart, Beyond the Gates is a retro movie from the Day-Glo 1980s. This is a good trailer, too, for a low-budget horror movie. Nostalgia grabs viewers back to a time when VHS ruled, video stores were meccas for horror fans, and shocks came with a healthy dose of claptrap.

The story is not bad. It starts in the wake of their father’s mysterious disappearance and the meeting of two estranged brothers. The responsible Gordon, played by Graham Skipper, and reckless John, played by Chase Williamson. They reunite to sift through the contents of their father’s stubbornly outdated VHS rental store.

Among the inventory, they discover an interactive VCR board game, which their father viewed just before he vanished. Intrigued, the boys pop in the tape, press play, and soon discover that, far from an ordinary game, the video is a portal to a nightmarish alternate reality overseen by a sinister hostess, cult horror icon Barbara Crampton, and that to save their father’s soul, they must play by her rules.

I should note that Crampton starred in Days of Our Lives and made her film debut in 1984’s Body Double.

“The LEGO Batman” Movie

animation, comedy, super heroes, worth renting, , , , ,

Directed by Chris McKay, the release of The LEGO Batman Movie is proving that Legos are still in the saucy spirit of fun and a worldwide phenomenon, the self-described leading man of that ensemble – Lego Batman – stars in his own big-screen adventure.

But big changes are brewing in Gotham, and if he wants to save the city from the Joker’s hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others, and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up. Batman, lighten up? It’s hard to imagine.

The voices starring in this movie are Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, and Ralph Fiennes.

I hope you enjoy the movie!

“Renegades” Trailer

war, , ,

Directed by Steven Quale, Renegades is about a team of Navy SEALs on an assignment in war-torn Europe. They discover a treasure of gold at the bottom of a lake. The treasure is rumored to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

To help the locals, they go rogue and engineer a heist to retrieve the gold and return it to its rightful owners. But in a deadly turn of events, the enemy detects them and is left with only 10 hours to carry out their mission.

The film stars J. K. Simmons and Sullivan Stapleton and is an original story written by Richard Wenk & Luc Besson.

“Office Christmas Party” Comedy

comedy, holiday movies, , , , , , , , , , ,

Directed by comedy directors Josh Gordon and Will Speck, Office Christmas Party is super silly without a strong plotline to follow, but who cares? It’s funny and ridiculous when the CEO, played by Jennifer Aniston, tries to close her hard-partying brother’s branch, her brother, played by T. J. Miller, and his Chief Technical Officer, played by Jason Bateman, must bring the co-workers together and host an epic office Christmas party to impress a potential client and close a sale that will save their jobs.

The comedy also stars Kate McKinnon, Olivia Munn, Jillian Bell, Rob Corddry, Vanessa Bayer, Randall Park, Sam Richardson, Jamie Chung, and Courtney B. Vance. The movie seems funny, and it looks like they earned their SAG cards with one-liners from fresh faces.

“Sing” Fantastic Musical

animation, family movies, holiday movies, movies opening, worth renting, , , , , , ,

Directed by Garth Jennings, Sing features animated voices from Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton, and Tori Kelly.  The movie is a musical comedy about finding the shining star within each of us.

Set in a world similar to humans but inhabited entirely by animals, Sing follows Buster Moon, played by McConaughey, a dapper Koala who presides over a once-grand theater that has fallen on hard times. Buster is an eternal optimist, with a touch of irony. But he loves his theater above all and will do anything to preserve it. Now facing the crumbling of his life’s ambition, he has one ultimate chance to restore his fading jewel to its former glory by producing the world’s most fantastic singing competition.

Featuring over 85 hit songs, the story focuses on five lead contestants who emerge, including a mouse, played by MacFarlane, a timid teenage elephant, played by Tori Kelly, an overtaxed mother, played by Witherspoon, a young gangster gorilla, played by Egerton, and a punk-rock porcupine, played by Johansson.  Each animal arrives under Buster’s marquee, believing that this is their shot at changing the course of their life.

Sing has a special message for all ages, and the movie keeps getting cuter.

“Life” Science Fiction Storyline

science fiction, space opera, , , , , , ,

Life tells the story of the International Space Station’s six-member crew at the groundbreaking of one of the most important discoveries in human history. They discover the first evidence of extraterrestrial life on Mars. As the crew conducts research, their methods have unplanned consequences, and the life form proves more intelligent than anyone ever expected.

Directed by Swedish filmmaker Daniel Espinosa and written by Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, the movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare, and Olga Dihovichnaya.

The movie has a talented cast, it’s intense and will get your blood boiling.

“Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk”

drama, war, , , , , ,

Three-time Oscar winner Ang Lee dives right into an extraordinary vision of Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, based on the bestselling novel. The film tells the perspective of 19-year-old private Billy Lynn, played by Joe Alwyn, who, along with his fellow soldiers in Bravo Squad, becomes a hero after a harrowing battle in Iraq and is brought home temporarily for a victory tour.

The story spins with flashbacks, culminating at the Thanksgiving Day football game’s spectacular halftime show. The film reveals what really happened to the squad, which contrasts the war’s realities with America’s perceptions.

The film also stars Kristen Stewart, Chris Tucker, Garrett Hedlund, Vin Diesel, and Steve Martin. Lee used a new technology that, for the first time in film history, enabled ultra-high frame-rate shooting. He created an immersive digital experience that helped him dramatize war in a way we’ve never seen before. Lee directed and produced the film from a screenplay by Jean-Christophe Castelli and based on the novel by Ben Fountain.

“Logan” Trailers and TV Spot

adventure, science fiction, sequels, super heroes, , , , ,

The trailer begins with a grim story and continues to worsen, but smiles and laughter appear toward the end.  Almost titled Wolverine 3, Logan takes place in 2024. Mutant births are severely in decline, and people aren’t sure why.

A government-type operation is turning mutant children into killing machines. From this, Logan emerges as a mentor to a mutant girl with two claws instead of three. Marvel’s superhero movies are developing into a very supernatural human side, which is good to see.

Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, and Sienna Novikov star with direction by James Mangold. His impressive credits include Walk the Line, which he also co-wrote; The Wolverine; Cop Land; Girl, Interrupted; Knight and Day; and the 2007 remake of 3:10 to Yuma.

Check out the Super Bowl Ad if you can find it. I love the song.

I like this trailer, and it appears this movie is nothing like the Marvel movies we’ve seen for some time.  Tom Felton, Harry Potter alumnus, is looking mighty fine all beefed up and ready to be the bad guy again.

I love Paul Stewart’s line, “She’s eleven, and I am fucking ninety.”

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” Trailers

adventure, science fiction, sequels, super heroes, , , ,

The trailers’ music, with its tongue-in-cheek lines, can assume Guardians of the Galaxy’s next installment, directed by James Gunn, will be just as silly and crazy as before. But this time, Star-Lord gets a girlfriend. Fun stuff all around, with a solid cast including Chris Pratt, Vin Diesel, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, and Kurt Russell.

This is the real trailer…for now.

Comic-Con Experience 2016 in São Paulo, Brazil, James Gunn, the movie’s writer and director, premiered the new Teaser Trailer for Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

“Planet Earth II” Official Extended Trailer – BBC Earth

adventure, BBC, documentary,

I remember seeing Planet Earth 10 years ago, and it changed my view of our world. Now the BBC takes us closer than ever before. This is life in all its wonder. This is our planet, and this is Planet Earth II.