Begin Again Trailer

I've been looking forward to this one for a while! Great cast and hopefully some great music. Premieres at the end of the Tribeca Film Festival!

We Made a Movie!... Out of a Book (And Then Made Trailers)

It seems that in honor of Divergent coming out in theaters this weekend, two big book-to-film adaptations released their new trailers. Ch-ch-ch-check them out!

The Maze Runner
Although, I've yet to read it (I KNOW, I'M GETTING TO IT), the trailer looks pretty great. And, I always love watching new, young talent. P.S. I love all cast members from Skins, so YAY for Effie!

The Giver
This one I have read, but not in a really long time. Maybe that's the genius of waiting to turn a book into a movie; everyone will have forgotten the details.

Dom Hemingway Trailer

Jude Law plays an insane, awesome person. Emilia Clarke (Mother of Dragons yo) stars as well.

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The Grand Budapest Hotel!!!

It's the one you've all been waiting for! And if you don't live in New York or L.A., you'll still be waiting until next weekend... If you haven't been eagerly and impatiently counting down for The Grand Budapest Hotel, I DON'T GET YOU. I mean, have you seen this trailer? It's frickin' phenomenal!

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It's such a good trailer, that I was actually fairly concerned that it may have set my expectations too high (like The Wolf of Wall Street did with it's super great trailer and super terrible film). And, I suppose some of that concern was valid. I did thoroughly enjoy the film, but I had very similar issues to those I have had with other Wes Anderson films. Let's talk about the good first though. To start, the film is absolutely beautiful. You can probably tell from the trailer and other pictures online, that every shot is a colorful masterpiece. You eyes feel like they're at Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. Ralph Fiennes (beloved by all as Voldemort), is simply amazing. His performance is comedic perfection from start to finish. The script is delightful and funny, but it is where I begin to have my problems. 

The film is laid out as an author telling the story of how he came to write the book, The Grand Budapest Hotel (I know, it's confusing even to say here). I think this device is a little tiresome and unnecessary. The story follows the antics of M. Gustave (Fiennes) and his new lobby boy as they become entangled in a murder and theft, and I would have much rather spent the time getting to know some of the other splendid characters introduced in the film instead of continuing to be interrupted by the "author" speaking. Adrien Brody, Billy Murray, Saoirse Ronan, Tilda Swinton only begin to touch on the incredible cast, and I wanted to see more of each of them. Anderson's work can sometimes come off as detached, which always seems a shame to me as the characters he creates are beautiful and yearning for more exploration. 

A NOTE: I believe I'm being more critical than usual because great filmmaking deserves thorough examination and causes you to think and analyze. These Anderson trademarks that are not my favorite may be exactly what someone else loves about his films. And a great film can do that. It inspires debate and pleasure. In summary, this is a whole-hearted recommendation for The Grand Budapest Hotel. 

More for you! See the Willy Wonka happening?

300: Rise of an Empire

I usually just include a film's poster with my reviews; but, this time I decided to feature the best part of 300: Rise of an Empire - Eva Green. To begin with, do you see that bad-ass and haute couture costume? She has tons of them in the film! My dream New York wardrobe would be her entire set of costumes from the film. But, goth-punk-rock epic outfits aside, Eva is also the stand-out performance in this standard, action film. The choice to have her as a strong, blood-thirsty, and cutthroat general is a genius choice that makes the whole premise a little less boring and "done." However, her excellent character also confuses the plot a bit. The combination of her being the most interesting person in the film with the fact that she's given a tragic backstory, makes it difficult to hate her as the villain of the film. You know who you're supposed to cheer for - the Greeks - but, it's kind of more fun to root for her. She takes what she wants, and while she may not be the ultimate strategist, she can recognize intelligence and manipulate people. 

Besides Eva, this was a weak sequel to 300. All the slow-motion blood splattered across the screen that was innovative and exciting in the original, now seems cheesy and overdone. The plot timeline jumps to before 300 takes place, after it takes place, and while it's taking place - leaving you feeling like you're watching an unimportant battle and missing the fun. Themistokles, the main Greek general, is a perfectly fine leader and main character, but he does not grip your heart like Gerard Butler did in the original. He often seems unsure and unhappy with what he's doing, only making you cheer for Eva more. The other two small, bright spots are Lena Headey (because she's my girl from Game of Thrones) and Jack O'Connell. O'Connell's character isn't particularly interesting, but I love Cook from Skins, so I cheered for him anyway. All and all, not the epic story I was hoping for, but way more high fashion than I expected. 

If you want to see more of Eva's costume's click here!

New Transformers Trailer!

In case anyone wanted another Transformers movie... anyone? anyone? Here's the trailer for the 4th installment starring Mark Wahlberg (instead of Shia).

Hot Trailers: Annie and Grace of Monaco!

The new, remixed version of Annie just got its first trailer! It's a more hip, updated take starring Jamie Foxx as the "Daddy Warbucks" character, Cameron Diaz as Miss Hanngian, and Quvenzhane Wallis as Annie. Quvenzhane recently stole everyone's hearts in Beasts of the Southern Wild, so I'm sure she'll be great in this role.

Next up is Grace of Monaco, the biopic starring Nicole Kidman as Grace Kelly. Let's hope it does better than the recent, Diana.