Directed by returning franchise filmmaker Kyle Balda, Minions: The Rise of Gru begins with the untold story of one 12-year-old’s dream to become the world’s greatest supervillain, voiced by Steve Carell.
The movie brings swarming subversive humor, pop-culture sophistication, full-hearted emotion, bold music sensibility, and over-the-top action.
Directed by Marc Munden and adapted for the screen by Jack Thorne, The Secret Garden stars Colin Firth, Julie Walters, and Dixie Egerickx. Munden helms a new take on the beloved classic novel of the same name written by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Set in England in 1947, which is a different time than Burnett’s book, the film follows a young orphan girl who, after being sent to live with her uncle, discovers a magical garden on the grounds of his estate.
This movie looks delightful, and it’s based on a classic story that is told again and again.
Directed by Armando Iannucci, we follow the story based on Charles Dickens’ classic tale of grit and determination. Dev Patel plays the lead role in The Personal History of David Copperfield. The studio calls it re-imagines of Charles Dickens’ story, giving it a comedic lens of the Dickensian tale.
Still, a remake is a remake, even though they say “new life of the story for a cosmopolitan age with a diverse ensemble cast of stage and screen actors from across the world.”
Armando Iannucci also co-wrote the screenplay with Simon Blackwell. They seem to lend their wry, yet heart-filled storytelling style to revisiting Dickens’ iconic hero on his quirky journey from impoverished orphan to the burgeoning writer in Victorian England.
Other cast members include Hugh Laurie and Tilda Swinton.
Jack London’s literary classic takes a new turn in the adaptation of The Call of the Wild with live-action and animation animals.
The movie is streaming on Amazon, and here is a featurette about the star of the film, Buck. The man who plays him is with Cirque du Soleil. Watch this clip and see how well he acts like Buck.
Directed by Chris Sanders and starring Harrison Ford as John Thornton, the vivid story comes is well-known. We follow Buck, a big-hearted dog whose blissful domestic life is turned upside down when he is suddenly uprooted from his California home and transplanted to the exotic wilds of the Alaskan Yukon during the Gold Rush of the 1890s.
As the newest rookie on a mail delivery sled team–and later its leader–Buck experiences the adventure of a lifetime, ultimately finding his real place in the world and becoming his own master.
Sanders helms the movie as a live-action and animation hybrid, employing cutting edge visual effects and animation technology to render the animals in the film as fully photorealistic, emotionally, and authentic characters.
Sanders credits include Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon. He holds quite a repertory of writing credits, including The Lion King, Mulan, and Beauty and the Beast. However, Michael Green wrote the script based on London’s novel and Egerton Ryerson Young’s source material.
The cast also includes Dan Stevens, Omar Sy, Karen Gillan, Bradley Whitford, and Colin Woodell.
Ford is a natural in this movie clip, an amazing actor.
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.
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.
Directed by Niki Caro, Mulan is the live-action feature film of the animated feature film the Disney Studios produced in 1998.
A young Chinese maiden, played by Yifei Liu, disguises herself as a male warrior so she can save her father.
Caro’s directing credits include The Zookeeper’s Wife, North Country, and Whale Rider. The screenplay has several co-writers, including Lauren Hynek, Rick Jaffa, Elizabeth Martin, and Amanda Silver.
Disney Studios is quiet about the storyline, but rumors are the dragon Mushu, voiced by Eddie Murphy in the original animated movie, will not be in this movie.
I was skeptical about the film, but after seeing the second trailer, I am utterly interested. I hope the story holds throughout and is not too slow.
The third trailer shows us more of the action and the story. It introduces the fact that the enemy has a witch fighting with him. I don’t think that was in the original animated version. So, there are some changes, which make this more unique and promising.
It is all about stunts, and Mulan has plenty of action sequences.
Elizabeth Banks wrote, directed, and stars in the new Charlie’s Angels installment. Based on the trailer, it looks like a new angel, played by Naomi Scott, arrives and seems a bit naive as we follow her learning about what it is to be one of Charlie’s Angels.
She gradually becomes accustomed to the other Angels as they solve cases the standard police aren’t equipped to solve. With a woman director and strong female roles, the next generation of fearless Charlie’s Angels looks like a fun movie to watch as long as it is not too ridiculous.
The modern and bolder version follows the Angels, which also includes Kristen Stewart and Ella Balinska. Still working for the mysterious Charles Townsend, whose security and the investigative agency has expanded internationally, hiring the world’s smartest, bravest, and most highly trained women all over the globe.
There are now teams of Angels guided by multiple Bosleys taking on the toughest jobs everywhere. The screenplay is by Banks from a story by Evan Spiliotopoulos and David Auburn.
The new Charlie’s Angels movie is refreshing with rapid scenes and costume changes. I only hope the new version catches the audience’s attention enough to validate the prowess of these women.
The rest of the cast looks promising with Djimon Hounsou, Noah Centineo, Sam Claflin, and Patrick Stewart.
Watching to the movie trailer, it’s good to see Stewart in an upbeat role. I knew she had it in her.
The movie comes across so campy it might actually work.
The featurette shows a lot of behind the scenes footage and soundbites from the stars.
The movie clip called “Closet” is about the second closet.
A remake is a remake. Directed by Lars Klevberg, Child’s Play arrives again with the studio saying, “A contemporary re-imagining of the 1988 horror classic. “
I guess horror fans, who love Chuckie, will follow Karen, played by Aubrey Plaza, a single mother. She gifts her son Andy, played by Gabriel Bateman, a Buddy doll, unaware of its more sinister nature.
The Blu-ray and DVD arrived with streaming available online. Now’s your chance to see the movie again, or if you have not seen it yet.
Lars Klevberg directed Polaroid and Tyler Burton Smith wrote the screenplay. Smith’s credits include Kung Fury 2 and Quantum Break. Never heard of them.
Seeing a doll hold a kitchen knife is funny, if not cheesy. The movie is for horror fans who are obsessed with Chuckie.
The following trailer shows Andy has no friends because he moved to a new neighborhood. The app called Buddi sets the pace of a horrific doll that comes after these people who live in the area.
Now, Andy has friends who are helping him destroy Chuckie. I chuckled at some of the scenes. It’s pretty funny to see a doll drag with a kitchen knife.
The featurette is funny with the producers saying they had to get Chuckie right. Chuckie is a horror icon, and you don’t want to create a doll that looks cheesy. Then, here comes Cheesy Chuckie. All kidding aside, the fact that they used six different electronic dolls to portray Chuckie is impressive.
The featurette “Meet the Cast” needs no introduction because you meet the cast and understand how their characters play into the horror movie.
The story of Little sounds familiar because it is a take-off on some top-rated comedies.
Co-written and directed by Tina Gordon Chism, Little resembles movies like Freaky Friday or Thirteen Again. A woman suddenly becomes a teenager again. The film follows Jordan Sanders, played by Regina Hall (adult) and Marsai Martin (teenager). The adult Sanders is Hall, taking no prisoners tech mogul, and the 13-year-old version of Sanders is Martin.
Young Sanders wakes up in her adult self’s penthouse just before a do-or-die presentation. Watching the movie trailer, Martin is hilarious and fun to watch.
Sanders’ assistant, April, played by Issa Rae, is there to help. But Sanders is one of the worst bosses anyone has ever experienced. April’s suffering under her abusive behavior is now confrontational with Sanders at a younger age. Yet, April is the only one loyal enough to be in on the secret of her daily tormentor -Sanders. As everything is on the line, Sanders is now trapped in an awkward tween body.
Little is an irreverent new comedy about the price of success, the power of sisterhood and having a second chance to grow up — and glow up — right. The movie is an all-new perspective to the body-swap comedy.
The story is by Tracy Oliver, and the screenplay is by both Oliver and Chism and is based on an idea from Martin. Martin is a talented teenager who is also executive producing this movie.
The movie trailer is a kick to watch. I laughed a lot, and it has some funny bits.
The movie clip shows how mean and domineering Sanders comes across, but her assistant is just as strong.
The following two interviews I am adding because Hall is a fantastic actress and Martin is funny. These two separate interviews tell you what the movie is about and how it plays out.
The following two movie clips shine a light on Issa Rae and how talented she is on film. She carries the movie and is a fine choice of casting.
The following three clips take you on a great escape from a typical office or home day. Do yourself a favor and watch these clips. They are hilarious and move at a nice clip. The first one is with the Child Protective Services representative. This lady is funny, and both these actresses have met their match. My hat goes off to the casting director and director.
The following movie clip is so cute, with the school security watching these two actresses in the parking lot.
Here, we have Oscar winner Regina King playing the older version of Sanders before she becomes little. I am amazed at how she is owning up to being a tyrant. King is a true talent. The movie clip is no longer available, but the movie is super funny.
I posted a movie clip with some nice eye candy for us girls, but the studio blocked it. It is an essential clip because it gets interesting when Little Jordan goes to school. I can see the jealousy happening between these two women.