Mark Wahlberg and director Peter Berg have a heart for American heroes. Fresh off the BP oil spill thriller Deepwater Horizon, Wahlberg and Berg reteam for a third time in Patriots Day. It will complete an "American Hero Trilogy" that began with Lone Survivor. Patriots Day is the true story of the 2013 Boston Marathon [...]
INSIDE OUT Writer Joins TANGLED Director For Disney’s GIGANTIC
Disney continues to embrace creative Girl Power. After the success of the Academy Award-winning instant classic Inside Out (which had, arguably, the best Pixar script ever), Disney has tapped that film's Oscar-nominated co-writer Meg LeFauve to co-direct Gigantic, an animated adventure that reimagines the "Jack and the Beanstalk" fable. LeFauve, who's also busy co-writing Marvel's female superhero blockbuster Captain Marvel (starring [...]
First Look At PIRATES 5 Teases Bardem Villain (VIDEO)
For a sequel that basically nobody's asking for, my hunch is that this teaser will still have the average moviegoer thinking, "Hey, that could be fun." Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is the fifth installment in the blockbuster franchise from action producer Jerry Bruckheimer. By the time Pirates 5 opens next summer it will have [...]
People & Politics On The Deepwater Horizon: A Conversation With Kurt Russell and Kate Hudson
It's a pleasant fall Sunday afternoon in New Orleans on the edge of the French Quarter, and Kurt Russell is pissed. We're talking about his new movie, Deepwater Horizon, on the eve of its official world premiere (attended by actual survivors of the petroleum disaster, along with family members of those who didn't) and I [...]
New Trailer For RULES DON’T APPLY, Warren Beatty’s Hollywood Throwback (VIDEO)
In the late 1950s, a young man and woman from two different conservative Christian traditions fall in love against the glamorous backdrop of Hollywood. Oh, and they both work for the eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes. That's the hook for Rules Don't Apply (see previous trailer and movie images here), the long-gestating passion project for the iconic [...]
First Photos Of Actual Beauty & Beast (IMAGES)
A tale as old as time can't come soon enough, not after these brand new images of Belle and the Beast have debuted - which range from the provincial to the elegant. Walt Disney Studios released the photos through the web site Stitch Kingdom, a Disney Fan page, and they capture the look that everyone's hoping [...]
A Final Look Forward At JACK REACHER: NEVER GO BACK (VIDEO/POSTER)
A quick, fun final trailer on the heels of the film's release, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back looks like it'll scratch that Mission: Impossible itch with less tech, more brute force, and a vigilante swagger. But the main thing to keep in mind while watching this IMAX trailer? Tom Cruise is 54 years old. Fifty-four. And looking as legit as ever. Jack Reacher: Never [...]
DEEPWATER HORIZON (Movie Review)
***1/2 out of **** Rated PG-13 (for prolonged intense disaster sequences and related disturbing images, and language including brief strong language) Released: September 23, 2016 Runtime: 107 minutes Director: Peter Berg Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, Kate Hudson, Gina Rodriguez, John Malkovich (To read my conversation with stars Kurt Russell and Kate Hudson, click here.) The ecological toll was [...]
Animated Indy Is Here! (VIDEO)
All 70 seconds of it! As I had previously blogged about, freelance animator Patrick Schoenmaker was inspired to make a "calling card" test clip of what an animated Indiana Jones series could look like. After years of development, the brief but thrilling clip is here. Working as a "proof of concept" piece, The Adventures of Indiana Jones (see [...]
Final FANTASTIC BEASTS Trailer Reveals Title Creatures (VIDEO)
Expecto Prequonum! Here's your last sneak peak, muggles: the final trailer for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is here. And it has some pretty fantastic beasts. Set in 1920s New York City, this Potter prequel stars Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) in the central role of wizarding world magizoologist Newt Scamander. [...]