Category Archives: classic

Genuine and Daring “Emma” Poster, Clips, Trailer

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

Directed by Autumn de Wilde, we have another angle of Jane Austen’s flair for writing intriguing stories that are not only funny but revealing.

Austen’s popular comedy is about finding your equal and earning a happy ending. Her story reimagined is a delightful innovative film adaptation of her book Emma. We follow handsome, intelligent, and rich, Emma Woodhouse, played by Anya Taylor-Joy, who is a restless queen bee without competitors in her sleepy little town. 

In this glittering satire of social class and the pain of growing up, Emma must adventure through misguided matches and romantic missteps to find the love that has been there all along.

Wilde’s directing credits are light, but the movie looks good as the trailer shows how funny and silly the film will be. The rest of the cast includes Johnny Flynn, Bill Nighy, Mia Goth, Miranda Hart, Josh O’Connor, Callum Turner, Rupert Graves, Gemma Whelan, Amber Anderson, Tanya Reynolds, and Connor Swindells.

The next two clips show how funny the movie is with the silliness of situations and characters.

The next two clips show us the drama and love in the movie.

Delightful and Exciting “Wendy” Poster and Trailer

adventure, children movies, classic, family movies, fantasy, kid movies, ,

Co-written and directed by Behn Zeitlin, Wendy takes the classic tale of Peter Pan and reimagines it.  The story goes on an adventure taking a look at the wild, untidy, disorganized group of kids epically.

Zeitlin, director of Beasts of the Southern Wild, wrote the screenplay with his sister Eliza Zeitlin. Eliza is also the production designer for the movie.

Lost on a mysterious island where aging and time have come unglued, Wendy must fight to save her family, her freedom, and the joyous spirit of youth from the deadly peril of growing up.

The cast includes Shay Walker, Tommie Lynn Milazzo,  and Stephanie Lynn Wilson.

Such a cute and inspirational movie, I hope Wendy gets the views it deserves.

“The Grudge” Clips, Posters, Featurette, and Trailers

classic, horror, remakes, , , , ,

Directed by Nicolas Pesce, The Grudge stars Andrea Riseborough, Demián Bichir, John Cho, Betty Gilpin, Lin Shaye, and Jacki Weaver. 

The screenplay by Nicolas Pesce and a story by Nicolas Pesce and Jeff Buhler, The Grudge storyline, comes from the film Ju-On: The Grudge, written and directed by Takashi Shimizu. 

Produced by Sami Raimi, The Grudge is a twisted take on Shimizu’s horror classic. I couldn’t watch the trailer because it was too scary.

The featurette explains how the story is based on a Japanese film, yet the American version is scarier. If you love horror, you will love this featurette.

The following three clips show how creepy and scary the movie is. The bathtub scene is the worst one out of all the clips — super frightening.

“Black Christmas” Poster, Clips & Trailers

classic, horror, , , , ,

From the script written by Sophia Takal and April Wolfe with Takal also directing, Black Christmas is a horror Christmas movie that is something to consider for the holidays. If you are a diehard fan of the genre, here comes a timely horror movie that takes on the 1974 slasher classic and sets the present tone as a campus killer faces a challenging group of friends in sisterhood.

Hawthorne College is rolling up its campus walkways and slowing down for the holidays. But Riley Stone, played by Imogen Poots, and her Mu Kappa Epsilon sisters, including athlete Marty, played by Lily Donoghue, rebel Kris, played by Aleyse Shannon, and chef Jesse, played by Brittany O’Grady.

They prepare to deck the halls with a series of seasonal parties, but a black-masked stalker begins killing sorority women, one by one.

The body count rises, and Riley and her squad start to question whether they can trust any man. The men Include Marty’s beta-male boyfriend, Nate, played by Simon Mead, Riley’s new crush Landon, played by Caleb Eberhardt, or even esteemed classics instructor Professor Gelson, played by Cary Elwes.

Whoever the killer is, he’s about to discover that this generation’s young women aren’t about to be anybody’s victims.

The next two clips lack information about the movie. They give you an idea of how the film flows.

Innovative “Little Women” Trailer, Clips, Featurettes, Posters

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Based on the perennial novel by Louisa May Alcott and written for the screen and directed by Greta Gerwig, Little Women comes to the movie houses once again with Saoirse Ronan in the lead role as the Alcott’s distinctly other-self, Jo March.

Most of you are familiar with Gerwig’s Lady Bird, where Ronan played Lady Bird, a teenage girl trying to find the meaning of life through a coming of age and innocence. Gerwig also casts another alumnus from the movie, Timothée Chalamet, who plays the neighbor Laurie.

Jo reflects back and forth in her fictional life as Gerwig crafts the beloved story of the March sisters. They are four young women, each determined to live life on her terms, which is timeless and timely.

The sisters in the movie include Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern as Marmee, and Meryl Streep as Aunt March. New York Film Critics Circle (2019) awarded Laura Dern Best Supporting Actress for both Little Women and Marriage Story.

Gerwig tight directing brings new life to Little Women, as you can see in this clip. 

I like this movie clip because it’s clean and smooth, and the message is clear.

The movie shot beautifully, love Dern as the mother.

I love this clip with Letts. It’s so good.

The next set of featurettes tells the story of making the movie.

“Little Women” Trailer

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

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.

“Cats” Featurettes, Poster, TV Spot & Trailers

classic, fantasy, music, , , , , , , ,

Directed by Tom Hopper, Cats is a musical film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical theatre sensation and the poems from Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot. 

Idris Elba plays Macavity with a stellar cast.

The film stars James Corden, as Bustopher Jones, Judi Dench as Old Deuteronomy, Jason Derulo as Rum Tum Tugger, Idris Elba as Macavity, Jennifer Hudson as Grizabella, Ian McKellen as Gus, Taylor Swift as Bombalurina, Rebel Wilson as Jennyanydots, and Francesca Hayward, principal dancer with The Royal Ballet, as Victoria.

Tom Hooper, who directed The King’s Speech, Les Misérables, and The Danish Girl, brings a new technology to transform his cast members in vivid cats, unlike the ones we see on stage. Costumes will not be in the movie, but CGI images of the cats created as they captured the actors performing for the camera. Hooper and Lee Hall, who wrote Billy Eliot, scripted the screenplay.

One of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history, the London stage production of Cats received its world premiere at the New London Theatre in 1981—where it played for 21 record-breaking years and almost 9,000 performances.  Based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, the show won the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for Best Musical.  In 1983 the Broadway production became the recipient of seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and ran for an unbelieve 18 years.

The next featurette shows excellent dancing. It appears that the movie has tons of dancing.

Seeing Taylor Swift creating with Andrew Lloyd Webber and the director is an inspiration to working in film. “Beautiful Ghosts” sounds like a lovely song, and I hope it inspires the movie to do well.

I was skeptical about this movie, but now, after seeing the new trailer, if the story moves along as it does in the second trailer and at a good pace, we have ourselves a box office hit.

Cats TV spot plays with Taylor Swift singing her song recorded especially for this musical movie. 

“All is True” Trailer & Poster

classic, comedy, drama, ,

Directed by Kenneth Branagh and written by Ben Elton, All is True is a take on the life of Shakespeare during his golden years. We are honored with a chance to take a good look at the final days of William Shakespeare. The movie presupposes the renowned playwright’s last days as Shakespeare.

There is not much written, yet, about the movie but it appears to be a frolic and comedy of errors.  I am sure innuendos and slight references to Shakespeare’s great work will be presented.

By watching the trailer, it appears the great scribbler dealt with some demons relating to his past transgressions.  His wife is aware of them in her own right and speaks of their relationship as it has evolved. I am curious though about his relationship with his daughter. The movie hits at something, but I am not sure what to make of it yet.  Also, I am not sure this is based on any real facts about Shakespeare’s final days. Hence, the title is sarcasm?

Branagh has directed Shakespeare movies before and even played some characters on stage and in the movies.  Elton is also an actor and starred in Branagh’s Much to Ado About Nothing.

The cast is stellar including Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, and Kathryn Wilder

“The Lion King” Trailers, TV Spot, Clips, Featurette & Cast Poster

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

Directed by Jon Favreau,  The Lion King is the same as the original Disney The Lion King. But this time, the production is taking the CGI and re-imagining the 1994 Disney classic. Both are from Disney, and Favreau directed The Jungle Book, which did great at the box office, and reviews were positive.

The movie is available on Blu-ray, DVD, or streaming. Make your choice, and see it again. 

Some of you may be happy to know the voices are also being redone with James Earl Jones, Seth Rogen, Donald Glover, Keegan-Michael Key, Alfre Woodard, and Beyonce.

The movie hasn’t even been released yet. The movie’s soundtrack is nominated for a Grammy as well.

Look at the movie trailer and see that the story is no different from the original. The only difference is it’s not a cartoon. It looks totally real.

The second trailer shows what to expect from the movie—a real-life version of the animated The Lion King. The technology in filmmaking and animation arrives at a whole new level with Disney productions. I wish for original stories and new adventures in all this fantastical technology. There are classics untouched, like The Count of Monte Crisco or Treasure Island. Even Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea is a great story to animate. I hope Disney will broaden their scope of future movies.

Still, I am impressed with the CGI; the movie will delight children of all ages. The box office will prove fruitful.

The TV spot is incredible because it shows us that the movie is like the original, but the computer-generated characters are more realistic.

The following three publicity clips show us the CGI and characters we know. The “Circle of Life” looks real, with all the African animals celebrating the birth of the Lion King. That clip is blocked, and you can only see the image from the video.

The two featurettes show the cast and director working together to make a new, different movie but the same movie.

“Twilight 10th Anniversary” Trailer and Poster

based on a book, classic, drama, fantasy, re-release, romance,

We all know the story, right?

The franchised started off with the first installment directed by Catherine Hardwicke. Twilight is based on a series of novels by Stephenie Meyer. Bella Swan, Kristen Stewart, doesn’t expect much when she moves to the small town of Forks, Washington until she meets the mysterious and handsome Edward Cullen, played by Robert Pattinson. Cullen is a boy hiding a dark secret.  He’s a vampire. As their worlds and hearts collide, Edward must battle the bloodlust raging inside him as well as a small group of undead that would make Bella their prey.

All five of the Blu-ray Combo Packs feature new unique box art designs from renowned illustrator Justin Erikson, who brings to life the epic saga with his distinct illustrations. The entire collection includes hours of special features including deleted scenes, character featurettes, cast interviews, music videos and more. For additional value, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn – Part 1 also include both the Theatrical and the Extended versions of the film. Each of The Twilight Saga Blu-ray Combo Packs will be available for the suggested retail price of $14.99.

I admit I never read the books nor seen the movies but I know of the Twilight craze.  Careers were launch from this franchise, and the fan-based is strong. With that, enjoy the tenth-anniversary trailer.