As the title suggests, Denmark’s A War (originally titled Krigen) takes on a topic broad enough to play well anywhere in the world. War is messy, decisions must be made in the heat of the moment, and their ramifications are devastating. When a father and company commander makes a questionable call while deployed in Afghanistan, it follows him back home to his already tumultuous family.
Theatrical animated releases have evolved since their early years in the cinema. What started out as intermission filler accompanying news reels, grew to full-length features of fairy tales of classics. Innovative techniques such as rotoscoping, claymation and stop-motion animation gave birth to fare which mature audience members could marvel at as an artistic innovation disguised as light-hearted children’s entertainment.
Jodie Foster’s sporadic directing career continues with Money Monster, and it’s all but guaranteed to be her biggest hit. The leading duo of George Clooney and Julia Roberts alone should generate more than the $25 million Foster’s directorial debut Little Man Tate made back in 1991, and so far the box office totals for her movies have declined with every outing. Money Monster will crush that trend thanks to its leads, a summer release, and a storyline that’s both topical and entertaining.
When men find a world different from their own, their minds race with fanciful thoughts of what it might contain. The legends of the native people seem somehow plausible, and men risk everything to find the magical items squirrelled away in its depths. This narrative has played out innumerable times throughout history, often leading to devastation for the land that the men find so captivating.
Horror is a very particular thing. What brand you prefer says something very intimate about you, about what you value enough to fear losing. The horror I respond to normally involves family and religion and the slow dissolution of the ties that bind people together.
Few things bring a smile to my face faster than the term ‘McConaissance’. For one, it’s really fun to say, but it also reminds me that even in a seemingly jaded industry, there are people willing to use their power to champion quality material. Matthew McConaughey’s career turn in 2011 brought projects like Killer Joe, Mud, and True Detective to a much wider audience, and his post-Oscar career sees him taking on bigger but still interesting films like Free State of Jones.
A quick internet search confirmed that I’m not the only one sitting around wondering if 10 Cloverfield Lane is a true sequel to Cloverfield. I would personally lean towards a “no” answer, as the film began life as a standalone script and it shares no writing or directing credits with the original film. What seems to have caused all the confusion is the odd machinations of film financing, wherein a small label owned by Paramount Pictures folded and the project not yet called 10 Cloverfield Lane ended up with the company that made Cloverfield.
Bring your friends, buy some popcorn, and leave your cynicism at the door, because Eddie the Eagle isn’t hiding its feel-good roots. Based on the story of Great Britain’s first Olympic ski jumper (who oddly went to the same Olympics as the guys from Cool Runnings), this looks to have all the clichés of our most beloved sports movies. Eddie’s going to have the world against him, but with a down-on-his-luck coach and a plucky spirit, he’ll fight to make his dreams come true.
The fading of print news and the rise of legal marijuana in the United States meets in the festival documentary Rolling Papers, but this clever intersection might not be its main selling point. The trailer plays up a jaunty, engaging style, and the world it explores looks filled with good-natured, quirky folks. Characters make or break this kind of society-exploring documentary, and it seems that Rolling Papers will deliver on that front.
James Wan returns to horror and one of his most successful series with The Conjuring 2, which also brings back stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. This time the couple hop across the pond to take a case in England, and if the trailer is any indication, it looks like the sequel is sticking close to what made The Conjuring so successful. I anticipate a slow-building haunter with lots of classic horror imagery (like those upside-down crosses) and a big ending.
Tina Fey will inevitably put butts in the seats, but surprisingly this is her first solo vehicle as an actress. She’s previously been paired with the likes of Amy Poehler, Steve Carell, and Paul Rudd, making Paramount Pictures’ decision to promote her as the sole lead almost bold. It’s sad to think that someone as famous and successful as Fey still has something to prove in Hollywood, but Whiskey Tango Foxtrot will certainly be seen as a test of just how marketable she is.
They say that truth is stranger than fiction, but could a fictionalized account of a real-life event be even stranger? That seems to be the goal of Elvis & Nixon, a humorous take on the improbable meeting between the King of Rock and Roll and America’s uptight 37th president. The casting here will certainly raise eyebrows, with Michael Shannon playing Elvis and Kevin Spacey taking on Nixon.
Trailers are normally such fast-paced, choppy things that the movie being sold can get lost in its rigid formula. To get a clear look at what the film itself will be is something of a rarity, which makes the boldness of the Zootopia sloth trailer impossible to miss. After a brief introduction to the spry Officer Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin), it launches into what appears to be an intact scene of her and the amused Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) getting a plate run at the DMV.
Aferim!, which translates to Bravo!, is a Romanian comedy-western that’s been snatching up awards on the festival circuit for almost a year now, most notably taking home the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival.
The production nightmare of Jane Got a Gun garnered more media attention than a film of its size could hope for. Acclaimed director Lynne Ramsay quit one day before shooting was scheduled to begin, leading to a cast and crew shake-up and a very public (and very nasty) lawsuit. Once the film was in the can, distributor Relativity Media pushed the release for over a year only to be delayed further by the company’s bankruptcy filing.