Directed by Ric Roman Waugh, Angel Has Fallen begins with an assassination attempt on U.S. President Allan Trumbull, played by Morgan Freeman. His trusted confidant, Secret Service Agent Mike Banning, played by Gerard Butler, is wrongfully accused and taken into custody.
After escaping from capture, he becomes a man on the run and must evade his agency and outsmart the FBI to find the real threat to the President. Desperate to uncover the truth, Banning turns to unlikely allies to help clear his name, keep his family from harm and save the country from imminent danger.
The screenplay is by Robert Mark Kamen and Matt Cook with the story by Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt.
Waugh is best known for being a stunt coordinator and doing stunts in tons of movies. He is also a screenwriter and directed a handful of movies.
The rest of the cast includes Danny Huston, Nick Nolte, Jada Pinkett Smith, Lance Reddick, and Tim Blake Nelson.
In the second trailer, Banning has a neurological issue from the attack on the President’s life. The overall feel for the movie is an action-pack intensity that is entertaining.
In this movie clip, we see the bad guy maneuvering the drones. He knows the Presidents entourage.
It’s good to see Nolte playing Butler’s dad. A little humor in the movie like this is good.
Directed by Rupert Goold, Judy begins during the Winter of 1968. The showbiz legend Judy Garland, played by Renee Zellweger, arrives in Swinging London to perform a five-week sold-out run at The Talk of the Town.
It is 30 years since she shot to global stardom in The Wizard of Oz, but if her voice has weakened, its dramatic intensity has only grown. As she prepares for the show, battles with management, charms musicians, and reminisces with friends and adoring fans, her wit and warmth shine through.
The movie derives from the play End of the Rainbow by Peter Quilter and the screenplay adaption by Tom Edge. On the IMDB website, Quilter says Edge’s screenplay is more edger than the imaginative play.
Judy is available on Amazon Prime or wherever Blu-rays and DVDs can be purchased.
Goold directing credits include True Story, King Charles III, and The Hollow Crown, which won Broadcasting Press Guild Awards for Best Single Drama. Goold works with executive producer Sam Mendes, who directed a couple of James Bond 007 movies. Mendes is not involved with the production of Judy.
The movie looks promising with Zellweger as Judy. We come to find even her dreams of love seem undimmed as she embarks on a whirlwind romance with Mickey Deans, played by Finn Wittrock, her soon-to-be fifth husband. Featuring some of her best-known songs, we celebrate the voice, the capacity for love, and the sheer pizzazz of “the world’s greatest entertainer.”
The next trailer shows more of the movie with is flashbacks and Garland’s drug dependency and separation from her children because she needs to go to London and make money. We see more of the other actors in the movie, including Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock, Rufus Sewell, and Michael Gambon.
Buckley is making quite a name for herself with her starring role in the award-winning Wild Rose.
Zellweger becomes Judy Garland, and she embodies her. She makes the movie.
Judy Garland is an endearing soul who understood the hardships that life can bring. She lived tragically in the end. But I am sure she is doing well.
In this clip, I can see Judy Garland as Dorothy when she comforts the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion. Zellweger is brilliant, and I hope she gets nominated for both the Golden Globe and Oscar.
It’s heartbreaking to watch this scene because of Judy Garland’s life rollercoaster. Here she is on an upswing when we know it will be tragic again.
Directed by Tom Harper, Wild Rose follows just out of prison Rose-Lynn Harlan, played by Jessie Buckley. She is bursting with raw talent, charisma, and cheek. Reunited with her son and daughter, she wants to leave Glasgow and become a country singer in Nashville.
On the other hand, Rose’s mother, Marion, played by Julie Walters, has had a bellyful of her worthless nonsense. Forced to take strict responsibility, Rose gets a cleaning job, only to find an unlikely champion in the middle-class lady of the house.
Harper is best known for directing episodic television shows and feature films. He has BAFTA nominations for both television and British cinema.
Written by Nicole Taylor, Wild Rose has a message — follow your dreams but keep your responsibilities in check. Home is where the heart is. Taylor is known for writing episodic television. Buckley also started in War & Peace, playing Marya Bolkonskaya, for which Harper directed several episodes.
Buckley won several awards, including the Dublin Film Critics Award for her role in this movie. She also starred in Beast, for which she won an award.
Watching the trailer, you get a feel for the pure Scottish story.
Directed by Tom Shadyac, Brian Banks is a true story about an injustice made right. The studios are calling it “inspirational true story” when in fact I feel treachery.
The true story follows Brian Banks, played by Aldis Hodge, an All-American high school football star verbally committed to USC. His life is upended when he is unjustly convicted of a crime he didn’t commit.
Despite lack of evidence, Banks is railroaded through a broken justice system and sentenced to a decade of prison and probation. Years later, with the support of Justin Brooks, played by Greg Kinnear, and the California Innocence Project, Banks fights to reclaim his life and fulfill his dreams of playing in the NFL.
Shadyac impressive credits offer encouragement for this movie to rock and entertain. He’s directed Ace Ventura, Bruce Almighty, and The Nutty Professional. Over the past decade or so, he’s involved himself in documentaries as director and producer. In 1983, he became the youngest staff writer for Bob Hope.
The cast also includes Sherri Shepherd, Melanie Liburd, and Morgan Freeman.
The injustice of what Banks went through is tough to face. The young woman lied and destroyed his life. The movie clip is a scene where Banks played the tap of the young woman confessing she lied.
The featurette tells what the story is about through the eyes of those who were there from Brian Banks as executive producer and Justin Brooks as executive producer to the actors who play the people who went through this tragic story about injustice.
The story is real, and injustice happens, unfortunately. In this clip, I understand what Banks mother is saying because I am a mother. I want nothing but good for my daughter.
“The System” movie clip sets the pace for going to trial.
Directed by Edward Zwick, Trial by Fire is a true story that took place in Texas. It follows an unlikely bond between an imprisoned death row inmate, played by Jack O’Connell, and a mother of two from Houston, played by Laura Dern. The mother faces staggering odds and fights with all her skills and smarts for his freedom.
The real story is about Cameron Todd Willingham, a poor, uneducated heavy metal devotee with a violent streak and a criminal record. He ended up convicted of an arson-related triple homicide in 1992.
During his 12 years on death row, Elizabeth Gilbert, an unlikely ally, uncovers questionable methods and illogical conclusions in his case, and battles with the state to expose suppressed evidence that could save him.
The movie trailers show fine acting talent, and its good to see these to actors working together.
These two movie clips are the meat and potatoes of the movie with “Life is Fair” and “He Threatened You” as prevailing themes.
The story follows Dern’s character because she is the one who sees Willingham’s innocence. She believes more in him than he does in himself.
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 calledRudolf 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.
Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon a Time in…Hollywood goes back to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age in 1969, Los Angeles. A time when everything changed, as TV star Rick Dalton, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth, played by Brad Pitt stroll their way around a magical business, they barely identify with anymore.
The below press junket is a marvel of information about movie making and how Tarantino makes his movies. The tone in itself expresses the joy of making a movie. It’s great to see Pitt so animated and happy. One of the best interviews on filmmaking I have seen in a long time.
Tarantino’s ninth movie with a large ensemble cast and multiple storylines in a tribute to the final moments of Hollywood’s golden age. With David Heyman, Harry Potter franchise, producing along with Tarantino and Shannon McIntosh, the movie is in good hands.
The rest of the ensemble cast includes Dakota Fanning, Tim Roth, Emile Hirsch, Al Pacino, Kurt Russell, and the late Luke Perry.
The first trailer is a mishmash of clips from the movie, but the focus is on DiCaprio and Pitt. Margot Robbie also stars, but we barely see her in the trailer but the full view in the above poster wearing go-go boots. Go-go boots arrived on the streets in the mid-60s, white with the low heel.
The next movie trailer tells us this is Tarantino’s ninth movie and a longer cast list, which includes Dakota Fanning and Kurt Russell, plus the late Luke Perry. The music is ironic and appropriate for the scenes and situations. The story is more transparent now with Pitt’s character hooking up with a young woman, and DiCaprio deems himself a has been.
The other interview is a rarity. Pitt and DiCaprio have a joint interview. They talk together about Tarantino’s directing style, and how he helped them prepare for their roles.
Here are a couple of interviews with the director, Tarantino, who describes what he is achieving when he is directing a movie. Robbie sits with him and gives her impression of the screening of the film.
The other interview is a rarity. Pitt and DiCaprio have a joint meeting with the press. They talk together about Tarantino’s directing style, and how he helped them prepare for their roles.
The studio released another poster with a retro look of the 1960s. Each movie poster appears to be a retro look, but this one is more retro than the others. The poster shows all the characters in the movie. Who is the girl with the teddy bear? The daughter of one either DiCaprio’s or Pitt’s character?
You call this “a great scene acted by legends,” and Kurt Russell nails it.
The three featurettes are astounding and offer an insight into the making of this classic movie — one of the best movies I’ve seen in a long time.
Co-written and directed by Sebastián Lelio, Gloria Bell follows Gloria, played by Julianne Moore, as she tries to find meaning to her life. She meets a man, played by John Turturro. They begin a relationship and Gloria tries to end it.
Directed by Nisha Ganatra, Late Night follows two women. Katherine, a late-night talk show host, played by Emma Thompson, suspects she is on the verge of losing her long-running show.
In walks Molly, played by Mindy Kaling, the new staff writer, who is a bit quirky. Sure enough, she slowly builds her trust with Katherine and is in good graces with her. Where the story goes from here is hard to tell from the movie trailer.
I watched the movie last night on Prime with my daughter. Emma Thompson is fantastic, she nails it, as does John Lithgow. However, the story falls flat, and it was not as upbeat as it could be. The script jumped around without intent of where it was headed. Thompson kept the focus and my interest.
Mindy Kaling wrote the screenplay, and it seems funny. We are seeing more and more women buddy movies, and this is another one.
Ganatra directing credits are episodic television shows like Mr. Robot and You Me Her.
The rest of the cast includes Megalyn Echikunwoke, Amy Ryan, and John Lithgow.
The movie clip “Teachable Way” shows how Thompson’s character is so cut-throat with innuendoes.
The second poster shares the spotlight for both of the lead women in the movie. They are so opposite of each other that the poster attracts our attention.
The second trailer shows are the makings of a great comedy. The cast of professionals is stellar. It is obvious that they make their marks. I see a fun movie with some serious social issues staying out of the radar. I look forward to seeing Lithgow and Thompson play off each other as husband and wife.
The third movie trailer is like the second trailer. Only, it explains the story better, and we see more of Lithgow and Thompson together.
The interview with the female stars of Late Night discusses women’s roles in late-night television as hosts and writers, the lack thereof. It is definitely something everyone needs to watch whether male or female. Thompson’s viewpoint of men is funny.
Kaling talks about writing the role for Thompson before she even agreed to play the lead. There is so much more in this interview — don’t pass it up.
The movie clips are adorable and offer insight as to what you can expect when you see that movie at the theater. Thomspon is great in this movie. She nails it.
The studios are callling this the final trailer. It’s flashy and hard sell, but there are some clips we haven’t seen yet, so enjoy.
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.
