Category Archives: based on a book

“Little Women” Trailer

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Written and directed by Greta Gerwig, Little Women comes to the movie screen once again with a stellar cast of women and a couple of men. Many renditions of the classic book have come to us over more than 100 years of moviemaking.

The first adaption of Little Women was a British silent film in 1917 starring Gaiety Girl Ruby Miller. In 1918, U.S. silent film starred Dorothy Bernard. The first talking movie starred Katherine Hepburn and directed by George Cukor in 1933. The second movie starred June Alyson and Elizabeth Taylor with Mervyn LeRoy directing in 1949. The third starring Wyona Ryder in 1998. Then, a modernized version in 2018 starring Melanie Stone.

Gerwig, who directed the sleeper hit Lady Bird, crafted Little Women in a way the draws both the classic novel and the writings of Louisa May Alcott. The movie unfolds as the author’s alter ego, Jo March, reflects back and forth on her fictional life.

In Gerwig’s take, the beloved story of the March sisters – four young women each determined to live life on her terms — is both timeless and timely.

Portraying Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth March, the film stars Saoirse Ronan, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, with Timothée Chalamet as their neighbor Laurie, Laura Dern as Marmee, and Meryl Streep as Aunt March.

Gerwig’s signature filmmaking shines through with stunning backdrops and charming costumes.

“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” Trailer, Clips, Featurettes & Posters

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Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers is perfect casting.

Only Tom Hanks can play Fred Rogers in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Watch the trailer, and tears will form. The kindness and generosity of Hanks are distinguished to portray one of the most well-known icons in children’s television.

Directed by Marielle Heller, who brings emotional rhythm to movies like Can You Ever Forgive Me? – nurturing Oscar-nominated performances from Melissa McCarthy and Richard E. Grant.

The studio calls this movie “a timely story of kindness triumphing over cynicism,” based on the true story of a real-life friendship between Fred Rogers and journalist Tom Junod.

After a jaded magazine writer, Junod, played by Matthew Rhys, is assigned a profile of Fred Rogers, he overcomes his skepticism, learning about empathy, kindness, and decency from America’s most beloved neighbor.

Inspired by the article “Can You Say. . . Hero?” by Tom Junod, Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster turned the story into a screenplay. Both writers worked together on the episodic show Transparency and the movie Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.

The rest of the exceptional cast includes Susan Kelechi Watson and Chris Cooper.

The featurette is a deserving message about a man who wanted people to be happy with themselves. It was okay to have feelings.

After viewing this featurette, all I want to do is see the movie.

I hope this movie changes people’s hearts, and they see the good in everyone.

Watching Tom Hanks in the next three clips is a treasure. He is such a fine actor and makes the movie believable.

“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” Poster, Clips, Featurettes & Trailers

based on a book, children movies, family movies, fantasy, kid movies, sequels, , ,

Directed by Joachim Rønning, story by Linda Woolverton, and the screenplay by Woolverton, Micah Fitzerman-Blue, and Noah Harpster, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil follows Maleficent. Played by Angelina Jolie and her goddaughter Aurora, played by Elle Fanny, begin to question the complex family ties that bind them. Being pulled in different directions, they face the impending nuptials, unexpected allies, and dark new forces at play.

A fantasy story begins several years after Maleficent. The story continues to discover the different relationships between the horned fairy and the soon to be Queen.  They develop more alliances while facing new enemies in their agony and hardship to protect the moors and the magical creatures that live within the forest.

The movie is available on Amazon. and I recommend you get it because it is a strong story and entertaining.

Screenwriters Micah Fitzerman-Blue and Noah Harpster worked together on the episodic show Transparency and A Beautiful Place in the Neighborhood with Tom Hanks as Fred Rogers.

The movie also stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Ed Skrein.

The featurette is short and sweet and to the point. Jolie is fantastic as Maleficent.

The next featurette tells us more about the movie and why there is a sequel. It looks like so much fun.

The next three clips show the choices each character has to make to handle the changes that are occurring in the story.

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

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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.

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

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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.

“Bolden” Man Who Invented Jazz: Trailer, Clips & Poster

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Directed by Dan Pritzker, Bolden follows the tragic life of Buddy Bolden, played by Gary Carr, an unsung inventor of jazz. The movie is filled with compelling images. It’s a story worth telling since his life ended up in a mental asylum. They were placed under their tragic and brutal treatment, never released, and died twenty-five years later.

According to production notes, little biographical information is known about Bolden, and no recordings of his music are available anywhere – tragically gone.

Pritzker uses fragmented memories of Bolden’s past against the political and social context in which his revolutionary music was conceived. The movie is about passion, greed, and a musical genius in the early 1900s in New Orleans.

Wynton Marsalis, who is also one of the producers, wrote, arranged, and performed the movie’s original music. The dance scene in the sweatshop looks promising.

The movie co-stars Erik LaRay Harvey, Yaya DaCosta, Ian McShane, and Michael Rooker. You can also see McShane in Hellboy. He plays men who are outraged in both movies.

The next run of movie clips shows how the movie is not linear but told in flashbacks. My favorite is the “Seamstress Dance” clip. The “Clapping Out” clip is my next favorite. Though there is not much information about Bolden, the movie is told as if Bolden is a mythical character, a legend.

“The White Crow” Movie Clips & Poster

based on a book, biography, drama

Directed by Ralph Fiennes, The White Crow follows the life of Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, played by Oleg Ivenko, and his defection to the Western world in 1961. The story is told in flashbacks with distinguishable ballet scenes.

Ralph Fiennes also stars in the movie as Pushkin. The movie is based on the book by
Julie Kavanagh called Rudolf Nureyev: The Life and the screenplay by David Hare. Hare wrote the screenplays for The Hours and The Reader, which Fiennes starred in the latter.

The three movie clips show scenes from the movie but the movie trailer is not available yet. It is hard to tell what is happening in the clips. I am guessing, Nureyev is not happy, and he defects from Russia. Pushkin is a prominent male ballet teacher, and Nureyev and him do not get along.

“Cruel Intentions” Witherspoon, Phillipe and Gellar

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Written and directed by Roger Kumble, Cruel Intentions arrived in the theaters in 1999. The movie played in the theaters again to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Now, there is a Cruel Intentions series set to stream on Amazon.

Let’s savor the award-winning movie first and foremost.

Based on a novel by Choderlos de Laclos, the story follows Kathryn, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sebastian, played by Ryan Phillippe. It’s summer break, and Kathryn is dumped by her beau, Court Reynolds, played by Charlie O’Connell, for the innocent Cecile, played by Selma Blair.

Desperate to get even, Kathryn challenges Sebastian to ruin Cecile by taking her virginity and turning her into a tramp. The intent is to humiliate the Court by presenting him to Cecile, who is damaged goods.

Until now, Sebastian feels he has been with all the girls in New York City. He is bored with it all. Though this is too easy a conquest for him, he agrees to it.

He sets his sights on a greater challenge—the new headmaster’s daughter, Annette, played by Reese Witherspoon, who wrote an article in a magazine about how she intends to stay pure until she marries her boyfriend.

Sebastian bets Kathryn that he can seduce the chaste and pristine Annette before school begins in the fall. Kathryn thinks this exploit is impossible and agrees to the wager. As the stakes stand, if Sebastian succeeds, Kathryn must give him a night of unrestrained divine pleasure. A fantasy he’s dreamt about and wanted since their parents got married. If he fails, he must relinquish his 1956 Jaguar to Kathryn and suffer the shame of defeat.

The movie won several awards, including several MTV Movie Awards and one Teen Choice Award. Witherspoon also won the Blockbuster Entertainment Award (remember those?) for Favorite Supporting Actress in a Drama/Romance.

“After” Trailer, Clips, Posters & Interview with Todd

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Bad boys are sexy, but be careful.

Tessa, played by Josephine Langford and directed by Jenny Gage, Anna Todd’s best-selling novel After comes to the silver screen in this soft-porn movie.

After the novel became a publishing sensation on the social storytelling platform Wattpad. As a movie, the visceral and inner thoughts might be hard to convey. The story follows Tessa, a good girl, a dedicated student, and a dutiful daughter.

She is also a loyal girlfriend to her high school sweetheart. When she enters her first semester in college with only positive and grand ideas for her future, her cocoon world opens up when she meets the dark and mysterious Hardin Scott, played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin.

Tessa is drawn to Hardin as a magnetic, brooding rebel who makes her question all she thought she knew about herself and what she wants out of life.

If you haven’t read the book, you can tell by the movie trailer that Hardin is a dark and tragic character – a naughty boy. The story makes going to college a whole new way of getting an education.

Do you recognize Hero Fiennes Tiffin? He played another bad boy in a top-rated franchise—the young Tom Riddle in the 6th Harry Potter movie.

The young-adult romance stars Peter Gallagher, Jennifer Beals, and Selma Blair.
Shane Paul McGhie has a decent role and is starring with Taraji P. Henson in What Men Want.

It looks like Gage worked her way up in the film industry as a production assistant to a documentarian, and now her directorial debut with After.

The five movie clips are the story, and one has a theme song. Enjoy them while they last.

After is the first movie, and there are others you’ll find on Amazon.

I include an interview with the author of the online and celebrated book. I don’t understand all the sites or terminology she uses to describe how the book After became an Internet sensation. Anna Todd seems low-key and calm about her success in bringing Tessa and Hardin together.

“Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” TV Spots, Featurettes, Trailers and Posters

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Directed by André Øvredal, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is inspired by one of the most horrific and terrifying children’s book series of the same name authored by Alvin Schwartz. The movie follows a group of young teens. Each teen must try and solve the mystery surrounding sudden and macabre deaths in their small town.

The ensemble cast includes Zoe Colletti, Michael Garza, Gabriel Rush, Austin Abrams, Dean Norris, Gil Bellows, Lorraine Toussaint, Austin Zajur, and Natalie Ganzhorn.

Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman hold top billing as screenwriters of the movie, and four more screenwriters worked on the script, including Guillermo del Toro, one of the producers. Øvredal directing credits include Trollhunter and The Autopsy of Jane Doe, both scary and creepy movies.

The four TV spots that arrived during the Super Bowl commercials were being touted. Keep in mind these TV spots are short and quick to the scare.

The TV spots arrived before the trailer, and now, the trailer is here. Scary Stories is a horror movie with different related stories as the movie. The public will flock to the box office when it comes to horror movies. This movie will be no different.

The trailer presentation featurette tells us how the movie idea started with
Guillermo del Toro. He talks about collaborating with Øvredal.

The next trailer tells us more about the book of scary stories and promotes the director and producer of the horror movie.

The next movie trailer shows us more of the horrific aspects of the movie. Each scary story is told as a lesson learned.

The featurette is creepy and sets up a conceptual understanding of what to expect from the movie in general. The idea that these are old and simple horror stories told over a campfire is intriguing.

The next three featurettes are scary and creepy.

The interview with the producer and director is worth watching.