All posts by Kenna

“Brittany Runs a Marathon” Posters, Clips & Trailer

comedy, drama, independent, true stories, ,

Written and directed by Paul Downs Colaizzo and winner of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award, Brittany Runs a Marathon follows an unusually poignant portrait of a young woman, played by Jillian Bell, uncovering her long-buried potential.

Brittany Forgler is everybody’s best friend ― except maybe her own. At 27, her hard-partying ways, chronic underemployment, and toxic relationships are catching up with her, but when she stops by a new doctor’s office to try to score some Adderall, she gets slapped with a prescription she never wanted: Get healthy. Too broke for a gym and too proud to ask for help, Brit is at a loss, until her seemingly together neighbor Catherine pushes her to lace up her Converse sneakers and run one sweaty block. The next day, she runs two. And soon, after finishing her first mile, she sets an almost unthinkable goal: running in the New York City Marathon.

The movie is the winner of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award.

The rest of the cast includes Michaela Watkins, Micah Stock, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Alice Lee, and Lil Rel Howery.

This movie could be the next sleeper hit.

Colaizzo won the Helen Hayes award for his playwrighting talent, and now, he is making his screenwriting and directorial debut with a slice of life movie. Brittany Runs a Marathon reminds me of Richard Curtis or Cameron Crowe storytelling.

The three movie clips show Brittany’s attitude before she starts changing her life around and getting in shape. The first clip is obscure, and its purpose of the scene is unconvincing.

The last clip is in the trailer but shows how Brittany managed to get by in life by lying. The doctor is smart and sits her on a path of redemption and a healthier lifestyle.

“Ad Astra” Posters, Trailers, Clips & Featurette

action, adventure, drama, science fiction, , , ,

Co-written and directed by James Gray, Ad Astra follows Astronaut Roy McBride, played by Brad Pitt, who travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father, Tommy Lee Jones.

Brad Pitt plays an astronaut in search of his father.
An interview with Brad Pitt at the NASA premiere in Washington, D.C.

His and the space program’s reasons are more than finding his missing father. He is sent to unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos.

The trailer, with tearing music, sets up a thriller, magical story about coming to terms with our concepts of the mysteries of the universe.

The movie is streaming and is available on Blu-ray and DVD.

Gray’s directing credits are impressive in genres like The Immigrant, The Lost City of Z, and Two Lovers. Ethan Gross co-wrote the screenplay with Gray, and it appears they have worked together on most of Gray’s movies, receiving “special thanks” for some. Gross also writes for the episodic Fringe.

The cast includes Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler and Donald Sutherland.

The second trailer shows a decadent society, and whether the location is on Earth or another planet appears unclear. I am sensing a thriller and mystery of a secret society is at play.

As a symbolic gesture, the studio released the featurette on the 50th anniversary of man landing on the moon. The featurette shows more clips and gives us insight into the movie.

The IMAX trailer says very little about the movie in general. The prior trailers tell more about the movie – espionage or government secrets. Having phenomenal visuals is cool, but the film will be worth watching if the ending is impressive and not wasted time.

The sneak peek shows how fantastic the movie will be with all the CGI and good guys against the bad guys, including a moon rover chase.

The following movie clip shows a grave, solemn side to the story. I am guessing this clip is where the movie heads toward the third act, where more action will occur.

The following clip, “Lima Project,” is astoundingly intense. Pitt knows how to show the intensity and use the camera to communicate the undertones of discovering that his father is still alive.

“Ford v Ferrari” Posters, Clips, Featurettes, and Trailers

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

Directed by James Mangold, Ford v Ferrari comes from a true story of the remarkable Shelby car from car designer Carroll Shelby, played by Matt Damon, and the fearless British-born driver Ken Miles, played by Christian Bale. 

Watch Ford v Ferrari with Christain Bale and Matt Damon

The movie is now available on Amazon, so that you can watch it in your living room.

The two men take on corporate interference, the laws of physics, and their demons to build a revolutionary race car for Ford Motor Company and take on the dominating race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966.

Any racecar aficionado who followed racecar driving knows this story. It is an intense and fun story to see on the movie screen. The rest of the cast includes Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Remo Girone, and Ray McKinnon. I am sure you recognize Balfe, the star of Starz’s popular series Outlander.

Letts, who plays Ford II, stars in quite a few movies as a supporting role, but in The Lovers, he stars with Debra Winger as a lost, married couple, which plays like a dry comedy. 

The second trailer is different from the first but tells the same story. The characters are angry and are ready to fight each other.

The movie clip seems ridiculous and nonsensical. I am looking forward to seeing better scenes that make more sense.

The featurette shows an interview with Bale and Damon with cuts to the movie’s intensity.

The following movie clip is beautiful.

The following clip tells it all. Why did Ford back the Shelby car for the Le Mans?

The following featurette talks about the friendship between Miles and Shelby.

Last Chance at Magic “Onward” Poster, Trailers, Clips, Featurettes

adventure, animation, children movies, family movies, fantasy, kid movies, , ,

Directed by Dan Scanlon, Onward is a Disney and Pixar movie with the substance leaning heavily toward Pixar. The story takes place in a suburban fantasy world where two teenage elf brothers, played by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, drive off in their van on a journey to discover if there is still magic out there.

Scanlon works for Pixar as a miscellaneous crew, writer, and director. His credits include Monster University as a writer and director, and Brave and Inside Out as miscellaneous crew.

The other cast members currently listed are Octavia Spencer and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

The second trailer is almost a minute longer than the first trailer and tells us the story about the two boys using magic to bring back their father. It’s a road movie like Finding Nemo, an adventure where they run into all sorts of magical creatures. Watch the trailer until the very end because it is hilarious. Onward is going to be one of the best Pixar movies yet.

The third trailer tells us the story and the premise of the movie.

The featurette will get under your skin and drive you to see this movie.

The next three featurettes are kind of fun to watch and share a little information about the Pixar movie.

And, now, a publicity clip and another movie clip you might not be able to see because it could be blocked.

“Rambo: Last Blood” Posters, Stallone Interview & Trailers

action, legend, sequels, , , , , , ,

Directed by Adrian Grunberg, Rambo: Last Blood (aka Rambo V) arrives four decades after John Rambo, played by Sylvester Stallone, hitchhiked through the Northwest small town looking for a place to stay the night. The sheriff, played by the late Brian Dennehy, drew first blood, and Rambo showed him the who is most skilled and toughest.

The interview with Stallone is heartfelt and wise words from a man who knows the industry and understands the components to produce and story worth seeing.

After three Rambo movies, he is back for the final installment of the franchise. You can hear his words from the movie trailer. He becomes a man who must confront his past. He will be ruthless, using his combat skills achieve revenge in his final mission of vengeance. The studio says it’s the closing chapter of the legendary series.

Stallone calls this the last Rambo movie.

Grunberg worked as a second unit director and first assistant director for several well-known movies including Man on Fire, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. He directed the Mel Gibson headliner Get the Gringo. With his direction, the last installment of Rambo looks promising. 

Matthew Cirulnick and Stallone wrote the screenplay, and Cirulnick writing credits are impressive with tons of episodic television and a few movies in pre-production.

The rest of the cast includes Paz Vega, Sergio Peris-Mencheta, Adrianna Barraza, Yvette Monreal, Genie Kim aka Yenah Han, Joaquin Cosio, and Oscar Jaenada.

Never mess with Rambo. He kicks some booty in this movie.

The movie clip promotes the release of the movie. It shows the action and destruction Rambo is known for doing. The oneliners are expected but true to form.

“Abominable” Posters, Clips, Featurette & Trailer

adventure, animation, children movies, comedy, family movies, fantasy, kid movies, , , , ,

Written and co-directed by Jill Culton, Abominable is a DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio’s co-production. The story follows Yi, voiced by Chloe Bennet, as she encounters a young Yeti on her apartment building’s rooftop in Shanghai. Her impish friends Jin, voiced by Tenzing Norgay, and Peng, voiced by Albert Tsai, named the Yeti “Everest.”

The cute little movie is available for Blu-ray, DVD, or streaming.

They embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth. The journey takes audiences on an epic 2,000-mile adventure from the streets of Shanghai to the breathtaking Himalayan snowscapes.

But the trio has to stay one step ahead of Burnish, voiced by Eddie Izzard. Eddie is a wealthy man intent on capturing a Yeti along with zoologist Dr. Zara, voiced by Sarah Paulson. If Yi and her friends can’t evade these two evildoers, they might not help Everest get home.

Culton’s directing credits include Open Season, Monsters, Inc., and Toy Story 2, and the movie is co-directed by Todd Wilderman, who directed Trolls and Crood.

The movie clip looks like a fun movie to see with the kids. It’s magical and spontaneous.

The movie clip explains more about the silliness and craziness that goes on with their newfound friend.

The featurette shows how the voice cast values the story, and it relates to their heritage.

“Terminator: Dark Fate” Posters, Clips, Featurette & Trailers

action, science fiction, sequels, , , , , , ,

Directed by Tim Miller, Terminator: Dark Fate continues the Terminator franchise that launched the careers of James Cameron, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and I am sure dozen others who work behind the scenes in the production.

The story attaches several writers to the screenplay with David Goyer, Justin Rhodes, and Billy Ray credited. James Cameron, who produced the movie, too, Charles Eglee, and Josh Friedman credited for the overall story along with Goyer.

The movie follows Linda Hamilton, who played the original Sarah Connor. She joins a group of misfit survivors. Their purpose to keep a particular young woman, who can save the world, alive. They eventually hook up with Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plays T-800. It appears there are many T-800s or half-human and half robots in this movie. Some are good and some not so good, downright deadly.

Cameron and the two main characters are back.

The excitement of Hamilton and Schwarzenegger returning to their iconic roles is the driving force of the franchise claiming the box office, once again. Miller established himself as a director in the business for directing Deadpool.   Goyer also wrote The Dark Knight and Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice.

One-page production notes indicate the latest installment follows the events of Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the cast includes Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, Gabriel Luna, and Diego Boneta. You might recognize Davis who played Tully in the Tully.

The third trailer looks inviting and entertaining. I am thinking about seeing it in the movie theater before it comes out on Blu-ray.

Watching this Spanish featurette, you can see the original Terminator storyline in the new movie. A woman is being chased by a robotic, and another robotic is trying to protect her. She needs to be kept alive to save the world. The scenes look sharp, and the acting is perfect. Call it nostalgia, seeing Hamilton and Schwarzenegger together, again, is way cool.

“Sarah’s Entrance” movie clip is perfect. She knows the lay of the land.

The feedback from people who have seen the movie is positive, and they say it’s similar to T2, which is a good thing.

The next clip is so cool to watch. We see the original Terminator, Schwarzenegger, take on the newest version.

“Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love” Poster & Trailer

biography, documentary, true stories, ,

Directed by Nick Broomfield, the documentary Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love is Broomfield’s personal and romantic film of his multi-level career.

The documentary starts on the Greek island of Hydra in 1960, where Leonard Cohen, then a struggling and unknown fiction writer, and Marianne Ihlen, a single mother with a young son, became part of a community of expat artists, writers, and musicians.

Never-before-seen footage shot by documentarian Broomfield brings to light a unique portrait of an idyllic 1960’s bohemia. It was a time that left a lasting imprint on both Marianne and Leonard, whose friendship would last another fifty years before their deaths in 2016.

The movie trailer is bleak with out of focus shots and undefining frames of a woman and a man. I never heard of these two people. I sense this documentary is for a limited audience. An audience who knows these individuals and can relate to them on a personal or fandom level.

I saw a clip of Cohen talking about the love between a man and a woman. I am not sure how it relates to promoting the movie, but it offers insight into his psyche – who this being is and how he feels about his relationship with Ihlen. The clip blocked, so you cannot see it. I have it posted below in hopes they will release it soon. At least, you can see an image of Cohen and how he looks, in the interview, an older man.

“Downton Abbey” Movie Clips, Posters & Trailers

BBC, drama, historical, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Although Downton Abbey, directed by Michael Engler, is no longer a television series, many fans followed the lives of the Crawley family and the servants who worked for them at the turn of the 20th century in an Edwardian English country house.

The movie is streaming and available on Blu-ray and DVD. The first motion picture of Downton Abby is a keeper.

I saw the movie opening weekend; it is everything I imagined it to be and more. The film is like a television series with a significant storyline and many subplots that entertain the audience. Julian Fellowes’s screenplay’s fast-paced and witty dialogue is a pleasure to follow, with the same characters as if nothing has changed. A revelation happens at the end, but other than that, we know everyone else will return.

The final one-sheet says it all.

Over its six seasons, the series garnered three Golden Globe Awards, 15 Primetime Emmy Awards, and 69 Emmy nominations. It acknowledges Downton Abbey as the most nominated non-US television show in the history of the Emmys – even earning a Special BAFTA award and a Guinness World Record for the highest critically rated TV show along the way. 

The movie arrives in all its signature storylines. Watching the second movie trailer, we can see those storylines picking up where the television show left off. The benefit of a visit from the King and Queen of England proves to the fans that even though the popular television series is now a movie, nothing is different; Downton Abbey is the same.

The movie is like its television show but with more grandeur. The sneak peek shows the actors’ perspective of returning to Downton Abbey.

The movie clip shows how dialogue can move a story along with the action in the scene.

The following two clips show how the movie is just like the television show. That is an intelligent decision by the producers. The story moves along at a quick pace without any meandering.

Do you recognize Imelda Staunton? She is a Harry Potter alumni and played the caustic evildoer Dolores Umbridge.

The following three clips prove the movie is exactly like the television series: the same women bicker, the same downstairs staff, and the same love between husband and wife.

“The Art of Racing in the Rain” Poster, Clips, Featurette & Trailer

based on a book, drama, romance, , , , , ,

Directed by Simon Curtis, The Art of Racing in the Rain is based on Garth Stein’s bestseller. Kevin Costner narrates the witty, heartfelt, and philosophical dog named Enzo.

Enzo gets to know his owner, Denny Swift, played by Milo Ventimiglia, while he develops his career as a Formula One race car driver. Enzo gains tremendous insight into the human condition. He discovers that the same techniques on the racetrack can be applied to life.

The movie is available on Blu-ray or DVD; you can download or stream it. People embraced the book, and the film received mixed reviews but was entertaining.

The movie accompanies Enzo as the story follows Swift and the loves of his life – his wife, Eve, played by Amanda Seyfried, and their young daughter, Zoe, played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong. Ultimately, the story is about Swift’s best friend, Enzo.

Enzo, a wise old dog, inspires dog lovers with his thoughts about life experiences. Ultimately, they prepare him to protect his family when they need him the most.

Curtis’s impressive directing credits include My Week With Marilyn, Woman in Gold, and Goodbye Christopher Robin.

The movie also stars Gary Cole, Kathy Baker, and Martin Donovan.

Bring plenty of tissues to the movie. The movie trailer is a tearjerker.

The camera angles from the dog’s point of view help keep the movie engaging. The clip is about the couple meeting for the first time – a good scene to watch.

The best way I can describe the “Pick of the Litter” clip is it relaxed me. The movie seems refreshing and delightful, and this clip proves it.

The following clip seems like a Hallmark movie with the intensity of racing at a low grade.

The featurette explains the relationship between Denny and Enzo — universal.

Denny and Enzo

The movie clip is adorable. Kevin Costner’s narration is endearing and heartfelt.