Before Deadpool came out, many people thought that the movie would probably never get made and if it was made, it would be a dumbed down movie for kids. Well, those people were wrong and that hard-R hilarious action movie made millions. In its wake it was announced that the next Wolverine movie would be rated R. I did not buy it. The X-Men film series is 17 years old and has always been PG-13. With the release of Logan it would appear that I, too, was wrong. Hugh Jackman has alluded that he may hang up his claws after this film so I imagine he wanted to make quite the mark in this last film. Taking place in the near future, there aren't that many mutants left. Patrick Stewart's Professor X isn't doing well and a weary looking Logan is looking after him. It's just these two mutants who've battled side by side for years now merely surviving. When a young mutant with similar abilities to Logan (for the uninitiated he has impeccable healing that makes him nearly invincible and retractable claws) appears these two mutants answer the call to action and come to her aide as a sinister force hunts them down. I believe I will enjoy this one. The director made the last solo Wolverine film and that did a good job of distancing itself from the whole series, so this last round should be good. Although we're all hopeful Jackman will show up in future Deadpool films (time/universe travel makes everything possible).
Doug Liman's resume includes some big movies. He's made The Bourne Identity, Mr. and Mrs. Smith and most recently Edge of Tomorrow (better known as Live Die Repeat, it's a better and more accurate title AND IT HAS BILL PAXTON RIP) and now he seems to be reeling it in with The Wall. Starring John Cena and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as sniper and spotter, respectively, it is the story of two soldiers who find themselves pinned down by an enemy sniper. Cena, taking a more dramatic role here, gets wounded while investigating the aftermath of a gun battle as Johnson dives for cover and scrambles to save Cena, stay alive and take out the enemy. Through radio he is able to communicate with the one targeting and toying with them. This is more of a game of wits film than a war film or shoot em' up. Films of this nature can be exciting but they can also be a bit slow. I enjoy the two leads enough and the director has more hits than misses so this should be good.
Before Jon Favreau made Iron Man, he got his start in comedy and since then many new action directors have origins in the field of comedy. Favreau made Elf before Iron Man. Before directing a couple Captain America movies, the Russo brothers directed a slew of comedy TV shows. Before being hired for the upcoming solo Han Solo movie (!!!), Phil Lord and Chris Miller directed the 21 Jump Street movies and before getting the job directing Kong: Skull Island, Jorgan Vogt-Roberts directed a small comedy with some recognizable people called The Kings of Summer. Now I've only used examples where it works because I'm optimistic and excited for a new Kong movie. Monsters are suddenly a big deal in Hollywood right now; I expect to see more like this in years to come. In this iteration, a research team and a group of soldiers travel to an undiscovered island and when they shake things up they become the target of King Kong. They soon find that unless provoked, Kong is actually a peaceful being but it's the monsters that live under ground that they should be afraid of. Starring Tom Hiddelston, Samuel L. Jackson, Brie Larson, John Goodman and John C. Reilly I'm pretty sure people would see it just for the cast. Toss a few giant monsters in there and you might just get the seats filled.
Brie Larson is having an action packed month here. She's got the King Kong movie, which is huge, and she's got a cool little period piece called Free Fire. From director Ben Wheatley comes the story of a group of criminals, played by Larson, Cillian Murhy, Armie Hammer and Sharlto Copely, who meet in a Boston warehouse in the 70's for a guns and money exchange. Things don't go as planned and suddenly everyone's shooting at each other. The director has made some disturbing movies but it looks like with this one he went in another direction. While everyone is firing off bullets, they're also smirking and taking jabs at one another. This is a film that doesn't take itself too seriously with a confident director and cast. It probably won't be huge but I hope a lot of people see this one.
Before writing and directing Guardians of the Galaxy, James Gunn was a relatively unknown screenwriter developing a diverse resume. He started out writing for Troma, which is a famously cheap and trashy production company, then he wrote the screenplays for the two Scooby-Doo movies and the Dawn of the Dead remake. After that he made a name for himself writing and directing Slither, a gross out alien invasion comedy, and Super, a very dark superhero comedy. Then came Guardians. Between that and releasing Guardians Volume 2 this summer, he wrote the script for The Belko Experiment. From Australian horror director Greg McCLean, The Belko Experiment takes place at an American office in Colombia. One morning after all of the employees have arrived, the building goes into lock down and a voice from the loud speaker commands all employees to join in on a game: kill or be killed. Then begins a fast paced, darkly humorous day at the office with lots of recognizable actors going up against each other in a fight to the death. This is geared towards the adult audience, probably not for the faint of heart.
If you want to make a successful reboot you really have to make sure you have an audience for it. First you need to ask yourself 'do people really want a Power Rangers reboot?' If the answer is anything but a resounding 'yes', then you have to make sure you get some name actors involved, like Elizabeth Banks, Bryan Cranston (face only) and Bill Hader (voice only). Then you need to put together a fun trailer and I really think they succeeded in that. My inner nostalgia gets excited seeing the group don their Power Ranger armor and get into their animal shaped vehicles that all come together to become one giant fighting robot. I remember enjoying it as a kid and I'm pretty sure kids are going to enjoy it today. Plus the trailer has a sense of humor, no shortage of action and it looks better than the Transformers movies, a series that takes itself way too seriously.
I don't think we need a new King Arthur film. Between TV and film the story has been told dozens of times so why do it again? Well, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is being written and directed by Guy Ritchie, who is best known for the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock Holmes, but I feel he excels at sharp witted crime comedies like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, RocknRolla and The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Bringing his style to the classic tale might be reason enough to tell the tale once again. Charlie Hunnam plays the titular king and we will see him as a young crook until he finds Excalibur and becomes the hero we're all familiar with. As long as the action and dialogue are fun, this will be a good time at the movies. Hunnam can be fun and Jude Law as the villain is a great choice. The character of King Arthur will apparently also show up in the new Transformers movie this summer because, why not?
Action movies, comedies and cartoons are probably what takes up most of my movie watching time, and it's a lot of time. When I was a kid and was just beginning to find my palate they were all very accessible, always on TV and always available to rent. Anime was something I had to search out and I never really did - to this day I've only seen a handful of anime movies and shows. It wasn't until last week that I saw the original Ghost in the Shell, which was released over 20 years ago and is now getting the full Hollywood update with Scarlett Johansson as the lead. After seeing the original I am now much more excited to see the remake. There are certain scenes in the trailer that might seem odd but it's because they are true to the look and feel of the original, so that's good. You aren't guaranteed faithful adaptations with remakes but I like what I see so far. Johansson plays Major, a cyborg in the future working for an elite organization that takes out the criminals the cops can't get their hands on. When she uncovers a conspiracy connected to the company that programmed her she begins an investigation that will take her places she isn't sure she's ready to go. There's some thoughtful story telling here and plenty of stylistic action so I'm on board.
Speaking of faithful adaptations, did you know we're getting an update of Beauty and the Beast? The trailer looks great and I'm happy they're sticking with walking-talking appliances in a live action film. Emma Watson has acted in a few movies since the end of the Harry Potter series, but nothing so far has really stood out aside from her axe swinging cameo in This is the End. It's about time she gets another big role and she's perfect for Belle. Downton Abbey fans might be happy to see that Beast will be portrayed by Dan Stevens. I know him from the action-horror film The Guest and the TV show Legion and from what I can tell the guy’s got range. What I'm really looking forward to is Luke Evans and Josh Gad as Gaston and Le Fou, because even without make-up these two look the part. I'm really only familiar with Luke Evans from action movies but I imagine if he was cast in such a big role, then he can pull it off. From seeing Gad in The Book of Mormon and Frozen (well, hearing him anyway), I know he's a good choice. I'm pretty sure this will be a great adaptation of the classic Disney movie.
I've enjoyed a lot of movies with Anna Kendrick. 50/50, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Rapture-Palooza, Mr. Right and Drinking Buddies are just a few examples of her working in more of an indie field as opposed to a more Hollywood friendly field (like the fun Pitch Perfect movies and all of those Twilight movies she's apparently in) and she continues that trend with Table 19. Directed by Jeffery Blitz, who's mostly worked in TV comedy, and written by the Duplass Brothers, whose work has been dubbed 'mumblecore' as it's usually improv heavy and low budget, Kendrick stars in this tale of being seated at the dreaded 'random' table after losing her position as maid-of-honor when her best-man boyfriend breaks up with her right before the wedding. Feeling like the adult thing to do is to attend the wedding anyway, she is seated with strangers who all came alone for one reason or another. Since a few of the strangers are played by Lisa Kudrow, Craig Robinson and Stephen Merchant I imagine this will be a pretty funny time, especially if they're allowed to let their improv fly.
