january

Last January I noted how this month belongs to the action genre and January 2018 is no different. It's also when the Oscar nominated movies that premiered in December get wide releases, so there's that too.

Since restarting his career in his mid-50's and becoming an action star Liam Neeson has made about a dozen thrillers and The Commuter will be his fourth from director Jaume Collet-Serra. Unknown is very twisty and Run All Night is very violent but Non-Stop is great. The deliberately ridiculous story can be a bit much at times but it's played seriously and the acting is great. Fortunately The Commuter looks to have a similar tone. When Neeson, a commuter, boards his train he meets a stranger, Vera Farmigia, who asks if he could spot a person on the train who doesn't belong. Uninterested he ignores her, until a random passenger is killed. Now that he knows the stakes he's a bit more interested in the game he's been pulled in to. If this plays out anything like Non-Stop it will be an over the top, well-paced thriller that is very fun and exciting.

Having an assassin protecting a child is a pretty common trope in the realm of action cinema. It's been done before and it'll be done again, but Proud Mary is about a female assassin protecting a child. The action genre is short on female leads and even shorter on African American female leads, so having Taraji P. Henson playing the titular Mary makes this film a bit of a triumph before it has even premiered.While not a regular in action films Henson did have a pretty substantial role as a sniper in the uneven but entertaining hitman actioner Smokin' Aces, so this isn't entirely new material to her. It's from the London Has Fallen director, which has some impressive, and wildly violent, action sequences, so this should be entertaining for action fans while also serving as a call back to the days when Pam Grier was starring in movies.

London Has Fallen appears to have been a good career jumping off point for more than just the director. One of the writers is making his directorial debut with Den of Thieves which features London star Gerard Butler as a brutal cop after a group of bank robbers. The robbers are played by 50 Cent, Pablo Schreiber (half-brother of Liev) and O'Shea Jackson (son of Ice Cube) and this looks to be a bit more action packed than last January's cops and robbers movie Triple 9 (although in that the cops were the robbers). The trailer makes this clear with lots of machine gun fire and Butler, the cop, stating that he's worse than the robbers he's chasing down. This looks to be the type of thing that would pop up in Redbox had it not pulled together a decent cast. Perfect for a January release.

For all of the action films producer Jerry Bruckheimer has under his belt (like all of the Pirates and Transformers movies), he hasn't dabbled that much in the war genre. The war films he has made vary in terms of quality and pace but not in star power, the cast is always stacked. Crimson Tide is a tense, submarine-based cold war thriller, Black Hawk Down is a thrilling true story that has more character development than you'd expect and Pearl Harbor is a shameless attempt to shoehorn in a romantic subplot to cash in on the Titanic craze from years earlier. 12 Strong is another true story and, much like those other war films, the cast is loaded with recognizable faces. After the 9/11 attacks, a group of soldiers are quickly sent over to Afghanistan where they team up with local militia to do battle with the Taliban. Due to the terrain, the soldiers are forced to abandon contemporary methods of transportation and have to rely on horses (hence the title of the book - it's based on 12 Strong: The Declassified True Story of the Horse Soldiers). Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Pena and Rob Riggle (who, despite being recognized as a big goofy comedian, is probably one of the only actors in the film to serve as a Marine) star. 

There are quite a few dystopian film series based on young adult novels and the one I've enjoyed the most so far has been the Maze Runner series.The first was about a group of kids trying to make it past several deadly traps in a maze they've awoken in. They then realize they're test subjects under the control of an evil corporation known as WCKD (a bit on the nose) who's pretty much destroyed the world. The second one has them try to survive a burnt out city while WCKD soldiers and a horde of zombies hunt them down. Maze Runner: The Death Cure, will again put the group through another maze created by WCKD as they try to stop the zombie outbreak and hopefully never have to go through another maze again.

These movies about Paddington, the adorable British talking bear, look incredibly charming and Paddington 2 looks no different. In his second adventure he picks up odd jobs so he can buy someone a gift for their 100th birthday. I mean how cute is that? Then the gift gets stolen and that takes him on a whole new adventure. Not exactly the highest of stakes but I imagine this will be a fun family film.

I didn't see Insidious 3 but I really enjoyed the first two. The first two are about a family haunted by an evil entity so they contact paranormal investigator Elise Rainer. She brings with her two assistants and they're kind of like indie-film Ghostbusters whose casual attitudes towards dangerous and evil situations brings a levity to an otherwise pretty dark series. Spoiler alert: Insidious: The Last Key

is a prequel since Rainer dies at the end of the first movie. In this Rainer does battle with an evil entity at her own home. Lots of jump scares to be expected, maybe even a few laughs. 

Happy New Years folks! If you brave the cold and see a movie I hope you enjoy it!

december

It's very easy to say, 'Star Wars is coming out this month. I don't care about anything else,' but there's actually plenty of other stuff to care about this month! 

Might as well get this out of the way. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is nearly here! I’m very excited for this one because it’s directed by Rian Johnson, who made Looper which is one of the coolest sci-fi action films. Now recent Star Wars news regarding the Han Solo movie might suggest that any artistic influence from the director will be shut down by the studio, but I'm pretty sure Johnson can work within the studios parameters and still put out a great film. Hopefully Mark Hamill gets to speak in this one and we'll all try not to cry seeing Carrie Fisher's final performance.

James Franco likes to spread himself thin. He's involved in all sorts of projects. Movies, television, acting, writing, directing. He really seems to enjoy his job and this latest project has gotten some surprising buzz. It's surprising because it's about the making of The Room a.k.a 'the greatest bad movie ever made.' The Disaster Artist tells the story of Tommy Wiseau and Greg Sestero, portrayed by brothers James and Dave Franco, and their journey to make The Room. I haven't seen The Room but it's supposed to be enjoyably awful and the story behind it is supposed to be even better. Franco brought a lot of his famous friends together to make this, should be fun.

Guillermo del Toro makes some cool sci-fi action films and beautiful looking tragedies. The Shape of Water looks like it's somewhere in the middle. While working at a secret government lab during the Cold War, an employee comes across an amphibious man that seems to be the result of experimentation. This out of this world creature feature with a moving story will probably be more Pan's Labyrinth than Hellboy and that’s not a complaint.

Without researching (because I don't like reading sad stuff) I'll say that the 1973 John Paul Getty III kidnapping is one of the most famous in the history of kidnapping, Patty Hearst may be more popular. They're both related to famous rich people, that's probably the only reason I'm aware of them. When Getty was kidnapped in Rome and held for ransom. His mother Gail Harris, Michelle Williams, asks her billionaire father, Christopher Plummer, to pay since he has All the Money in the World. Instead of handing over the money he sends over his security man Fletcher Chase, Mark Wahlberg, and Chase and Harris try to sort out the kidnapping with little help from the stingy billionaire. 

Most movies know not to go up against Star Wars, but if you have The Rock, Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Karen Gillan you may as well give it a shot. Directed by Jake Kasdan (son of Star Wars regular screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, who is sitting out this next SW film and not competing with his son) Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, looks like it may be a lot of fun. In the first Jumanji a magic board game released characters from the game into the real world for some mid 90's Robin Williams insanity. This time around a Breakfast Club like group of teens come across a magic video game called Jumanji and get pulled into the world of the game. Once inside they take the look and power of their chosen character (the popular teen socialite becoming Jack Black will probably be mined for all jokes possible) and must work as a team to beat the video game and return to the real world. Unless they get trapped, only to be released decades later like in the first, but I doubt that.  

The Bellas are back at it and this time they're singing for America at a USO show in Pitch Perfect 3. Their competition, according to the film description, is 'a group who uses both instruments and voices,' which most of us would call 'a band.' If you've seen the first two then you know what to expect. Friends hanging out, singing, peppered with cameos and more singing. After watching the first one I realized I had a real love for mashup songs.

In an attempt to save the world and create less waste, Matt Damon follows the trend of Downsizing, but instead of moving into a small home and recycling, he shrinks himself and joins a small but growing society. This one looks charming, not really a December release but it's from the director of Descendants, Election and Sideways, so when he makes a movie the Academy pays attention.   

When their mom, Glenn Close, tells them their father isn't really dead, Ed Helms and Owen Wilson go on a road trip to find out which character actor is their real father - or at the very least find a Father Figure. J.K. Simmons, Christopher Walken, Ving Rhames and Harry Shearer all show up. That's a lot of funny people. 

I imagine people have high expectations for a Spielberg movie starring Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep and a slew of others (including David Cross and Bob Odenkirk!), from the writer of Spotlight about a huge presidential cover-up discovered by journalists. The Post will most likely get a lot of attention. 

It always baffles me to see Wolverine signing, but then I remember that before X-Men Hugh Jackman was a stage actor who caught a lucky break. The Greatest Showman gives him the opportunity to sing once again as P.T. Barnum. This musical tells a rags to riches tale of Barnum and becoming the showman that he is recognized as. I imagine some artistic license was used here but it is a musical about P.T. Barnum so what would you expect? 

For all that Aaron Sorkin has done with film and television (A Few Good Men, West Wing, etc.) the man has yet to be behind the camera until now. Based on the memoir of Molly Bloom, famous skier turned host of underground poker tournament for the wealthy and the rich, Molly's Game will be the first time he'll be writing and directing. Jessica Chastain plays Molly and Idris Elba plays her criminal defense attorney, which she needed after Federal Agents catch wind of her massive poker racket.

Daniel Day Lewis' final film before he retires checks a lot of Oscar boxes. Phantom Thread is a 1950's period piece where he plays a dressmaker who's living the high life making dresses for the rich and famous, but things get complicated when he falls in love with a young woman. Oh, and it's directed by Paul T. Anderson, who directed DDL to an Oscar in There Will Be Blood. I don't think this one is for me but I expect it to be on some top 10 lists come year end. 

SO there’s some fun movies, some Oscar hopefuls and Star Wars. Happy December!

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November

Between traveling and watching horror movies I didn't take the time to write an article. This is rushed. Apologies. November is usually when we see some Oscar hopefuls come out and there's a few here. Several period pieces, docudramas and a thriller starring Franced McDormand are bound to catch the Academy's attention. I'm only really looking forward to one movie though.

Thor: Ragnarok - Marvel continues their trend of hiring interesting choices to make their massive movies. Shane Black being hired for Iron Man 3 was my favorite Marvel hire until they announced Taika Waititi was brought on for this one. Waititi's What We Do in the Shadows and Hunt for the Wilderpoeple are who of the best movies to come out recently. They both have a lot of humor, heart and great characters. I am so excited to see what he brings to the Thor universe. Reportedly this movie is hilarious which is great to hear since things got a bit bleak in Civil War.
 

Murder on the Orient Express - a period piece costume mystery by Kenneth Branagh. The Agatha Christie classic has been made into a movie before but this one has a stacked cast and this sort of thing is where Branagh shines.

Last Flag Flying - Drama about three soldiers reuniting after one of their sons dies in battle. Based on the book sequel to The Last Detail, one of the very few movies my dad told me I had to watch. The other was Being There.

A Bad Moms Christmas - After Bad Moms was a hit Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis and Kathryn Hahn return for this Christmas based sequel where they have to balance life, fun, the holiday season and  their own mothers.

Blade of the Immortal - Not sure if this is getting a wide release but if it does all action fans should see it. I caught it at Fantastic Fest and it rules.

Daddy's Home 2 - Why why why can't The Other Guy's get a sequel? This one adds Mel Gibson, John Lithgow and everyone's 2nd favorite wrestler-actor John Cena. I laughed at the trailer more times than I care to admit.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri - From the director of In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths comes a new crime-dramedy and stars Frances McDormand as an angry foul mouthed mother of a murdered teen. This is going to be good.

Justice League - Wonder Woman did a lot to help out the DC label and while I do think this seems rushed (since we've hardly seen Cyborg, Flash or Aquaman on screen) I am hoping this will be better than Batman v Superman.

Roman J. Israel, Esq. - Legal thriller starring Denzel Washington as a well meaning defense attorney who gets recruited by Colin Farrel's law firm that puts money first.

The Man Who Invented Christmas - Dan Stevens as Charles Dickens during the period in which he wrote "A Christmas Carol."

Darkest Hour - I imagine Gary Oldman will get a nomination as Winston Churhill during early World War 2.

LBJ - And going up against Oldman will surely be Woody Harrelson as LBJ chronicling his journey to the White House.


So there's some stuff to keep you busy while we all wait for Star Wars.

October

It's October, the month I spend watching as many horror movies as possible! This month actually has a pretty good line up so I may have to venture into other genres. 

I'm only just now beginning to crawl through Jackie Chan's back catalogue of action movies and wow it is quite the catalogue. The guy has been acting since the 60's and is in more than 100 films so it'll take me some time. It's made more difficult by the fact that he is regularly putting out movies. Some are from China and not released here until years later on streaming, some are voice roles but then you have stuff like The Foreigner which just looks awesome. In this one Chan loses a child during a terrorist bombing and tracks down a government official, Pierce Brosnan, to get answers on who may have been involved. When Brosnan refuses to assist Chan begins to show off some dangerous skills from his checkered past and when men come to silence him he shows off all of the skills from his checkered past. This is another in a long line of films that are made in the fall out of the Taken film series where a 50+ year old star shows he can still kick butt. I have yet to be tired of this and am excited for this one.

Chadwick Boseman's has made a career starring in docu-dramas portraying Jackie Robinson, James Brown and now Thurgood Marshall in Marshall. I'm not sure if this is a recent trend but I've noticed a few films taking a real life character and instead of telling their whole life story in 90-120 minutes the creators decide to focus on one particular event that they feel represents the character. In the case of Marshall the focus is The State of Connecticut v. Joseph Spell which was one of the earlier cases in his career which took place nearly 30 years before he would become the first African American Supreme Court Justice.

I watched Blade Runner once as a kid and another time as an adult and it's one of those classic films that I hear about all of the time but I can't remember anything about it. Not sure if that speaks to the film or my attention span. I'm pretty interested in Blade Runner 2049 so I may revisit the first. Taking place 30 years after the first Ryan Gosling plays a new blade runner, which I'm pretty sure is a cop who tracks down robots disguised as human, who tracks down Deckard, Harrison Ford returning as his character from the first. This will be the 3rd time in recent memory that Ford has returned to a character he first portrayed in the late 70's-early 80's. Let's hope this is more Force Awakens and less Crystal Skull.

I'm not one to judge so I'll just say there's a thing called Bronies where grown men dress up as My Little Pony characters and leave the judging to you. I wonder where they stand on the My Little Pony: The Movie, a film I was completely unaware of.  There's seems to be an Avenger's thing going on here when Ponyville is under attack and the group of hero pony's unite and be friendly and colorful and save their world. I know this is probably shameless product placement but I can't really dis a movie that pushes the idea of friendship on kids.

The Friday the 13th series, like it's lead character, is dormant but not completely dead. A new one was supposed to have been released on Friday the 13th this October but the studio bailed. So horror fans might be delighted to hear that slot has been filled with Happy Death Day. Using the Groundhog's Day trope that has been used rather successfully for a couple sci-fi films the film features a college student who dies, wakes up and has to repeat the day until she finds out who the killer is. Not sure how this will play out quality wise but I'm always happy when a horror film actually gets and October release.

With George Clooney directing, the Coen Brothers writing and Matt Damon, Oscar Isaac and Julianne Moore starring Suburbicon has a lot going for it. The plot seems to be secondary to the star power with this one but it's about Damon trying to cover up a murder after a home invasion and Isaac trying to uncover the truth. Expect bursts of violence and satire. Might not be for everyone but it'll be hard to ignore.

Don't be surprised when you watch the trailer for Geostorm and think 1. That's not a real word and 2. This looks pretty similar to world ending films like Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow and 2012. Because it's not a real word and it's directed by Dean Devlin who is the protege of Roland Emmerich, the director of all those films. In the time of the Geostorm the planet is surrounded by satellites that have the ability to stop natural disasters before they cause severe damage. So of course someone wants to reverse the effect and destroy the world. In comes Gerard Butler, the man who helped program the satellites. When something goes awry he goes up to space, realizes there's a conspiracy at hand and enlists his brother, a secret service agent, to kidnap the president with his girlfriend because only he can shut off the satellites. The trailer promises goofy fun alongside disturbing world ending destruction much like Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow and 2012. I have no idea why this was not released during the summer.

Back in 2004 the first Saw was a bit of a surprise and as a series did see a lot of success. The creators churned out a new film year after year until 2010, which has the overused and often inaccurate subtitle The Final Chapter. It's been 13 years since the original so obviously it's time for a new one and lo and behold we have Jigsaw, the killers call name. I'd usually have no interest but the pair of brothers who directed this one have made some pretty decent genre films in the past. The plots of these films usually revolve around criminals and low lives stuck in traps that will kill them unless they figure out a riddle. Spoiler alert: they usually don't. Oh another spoiler alert: Jigsaw died way back in Saw III so, not sure how that's going to work. The films following III had a copy cat so it'd be boring if that was the case again.

SEPTEMBER

This September is loaded with action films, some sequels, two movies with the word 'American' in the title and a Stephen King adaptation; hopefully it fares better than last month’s Dark Tower.

According to my very minimal research the most popular TV Miniseries ever was It. Starring Tim Curry as the killer clown Pennywise (he's actually a shapeshifter and just seems to prefer the clown getup) It scared a whole generation of kids who went looting through the collection of movies their parents taped off television only to not sleep that night. I remember catching a re-run on Lifetime, not sure what the connection is there. Well now that it's 2017 and everything is terrifying (especially clowns) it's time for an It remake. Co-written by the creator of the utterly delightful True Detective, It tells the story of a group of young kids who cross paths with the evil Pennywise and try to fight a seemingly centuries old invincible walking nightmare. This stuff scares me but I still might have to check it out, see it in theaters, watch it (I can't think of any word other than It, oh no!)

Luc Besson has been regularly writing action scripts for about 20 years, some are great (Fifth Element, The Professional) some are mindless fun (The Transporter 1-2, Taken 1-2) some are terrible (Transporter 3, Taken 3). With assistance from Richard Wenk (Expendables 2, The Equalizer) it looks like Renegades might be one of the mindless fun ones. When a group of Navy SEALS discover an underwater treasure in a war torn land they attempt to steal it for themselves. These kind of movies usually end with the leads helping a disenfranchised group of civilians against an evil power of some sort so I figure that's where this movie is going. But then again it may just be a group of guys stealing for themselves.

At the moment it looks as if the “Young Adult books becoming movies” phenomenon is slowing down a bit. Since the source material for American Assassin is not a YA novel, the producers decided to have Maze Runner and Teen Wolf (TV show, not Michael J. Fox movie) star Dylan O'Brien to headline. This way it looks like their movie is based on a YA novel when it is actually the prequel story to an action series about a seasoned CIA contract killer. The plot revolves around an angry young man who attempts to track down the terrorist responsible for an attack that killed his fiancé. The CIA takes notice of his actions and he's paired with a veteran agent, played by Michael Keaton, to track down the bad guys. Looks like pretty standard stuff but I'm intrigued by anything with Keaton in it.

Movie lovers seem to have a real appreciation for Darren Aronofsky. He takes his time with his films, they can be intense and look great visually. I've only seen Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan one time and I'll never watch them again. His take on obsession and addiction is a disturbing one indeed. Mother! looks to be another interestingly visual film, but being that trailers and plot descriptions have been pretty hush on the plot it's hard to tell exactly what we are to expect from this movie. All we do know is that Javier Bardem and Jennifer Lawrence play a couple whose relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive. Per Aronosfky the script was written quite fast and per Michelle Pfeiffer, playing one of the guests, she didn't quite understand the script. This is being billed as a mystery-horror, a genre he hasn't dabbled in before, so it could be interesting.

Colin Firth isn't exactly the world’s leading action star so I haven't watched many of his movies, which is why Kingsman: The Secret Service was so surprising. He is very convincing as a suave, charming secret agent and makes an already pretty cool action movie into something better than it has any right to be. Then, spoiler alert, 75% of the way through he dies but, spoiler alert, he somehow survived and is back alive and well (with a 5 o'clock shadow and an eye patch) in Kingsman: The Golden Circle. When the Kingsman headquarters is destroyed by Julianne Moore (in a rare villain role) the surviving members, Eggsy and Merlin, need help from their American counterparts, The Statesmen. Played by Jeff Bridges, Pedro Pascal and Channing Tatum, the Statesmen are all named after different alcohol types and carry western era weaponry. They may not be as smooth as the Kingsman but they do equal amounts of destruction. The trailers for this have been very fun, I hope it maintains the lunacy from the first.

The phrase 'based on' is one of the loosest phrases in the film industry. Even if a story is mostly accurate there is usually some material embellished to make it more of an entertaining film. I just have to imagine that was the case in American Made when Tom Cruise crashes his small plane close to a neighborhood and emerges, seemingly unharmed, covered in cocaine. The plot revolves around Cruise as a pilot who is recruited by the CIA to deliver drug shipments during the 80's for a Colombian crime cartel. The trailer seems to have a fun 80's party vibe to it and if they stick to that it may be cool. The director has made movies like Jumper, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Swingers, Go, Bourne Identity and Edge of Tomorrow, which may not all be on Top 10 lists (although Edge of Tomorrow is something everyone should see), but they all have fun elements to them.

It's been a while since Little Miss Sunshine came out and it's been a while since the directors (a husband and wife duo) had a hit film. They're actually music video directors and have been working in the industry for quite some time. They did the music video for 'Freak on a Leash' by Korn so I'm interested in anything they do. Their newest film, Battle of the Sexes, is written by the Oscar winning writer of Slumdog Millionaire and stars Emma Stone as Billie Jean King and Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs. Now I'm familiar with King's name and the term 'battle of the sexes' but had no idea it had to do with their 1973 tennis match. Apparently Stone and Carell are nearly the same age as King and Riggs when they had their match so way to go Hollywood, I guess. I'm not a huge fan of sports movies but with this whole crew coming together I just have to check this out.

If you're going to do a remake or reboot it'd be really cool if the story connects to the previous film. Yes, that just makes it a sequel but if it's subtle enough, then the new film can stand on its own while still existing in the same universe as the original. I think that's what Flatliners is trying to do by casting Keifer Sutherland in a small role, supposedly reprising his role from the first that also starred Julia Roberts, Oliver Platt and Kevin Bacon. Starring Ellen Page this, like the first, follows a group of students who have access to machinery that can stop and restart their heart so that they can attempt to briefly experience the afterlife. Things go horribly wrong, as they often do in these medical experiment thrillers, and they all start to experience horrifying after effects. I'm curious to see how this ties to the first and if it's any good.  

When The Lego Movie came out I was blown away by just how far reaching the brand went. That movie had everything! Star Wars, Simpsons, Harry Potter, Batman and a lot more. After the success of the first, instead of following up with a direct sequel they went ahead with the The LEGO Batman Movie, which was wise since Will Arnett's Batman was a highlight of LEGO Movie. I'm sure in due time we'll see more LEGO and LEGO Batman adventures but now the brand is looking to take one of their original creations to the big screen with The LEGO Ninjago Movie. From the minds of three different directors, and nine different writers (two of which worked on the first movie) comes the story of high schoolers by day, ninja warriors by night. When not dealing with the stuff that everyday students deal with they're using their cool costumes, skills and cars to defeat evil and its many LEGO forms. Expect lots of brick related PG destruction.

This doesn't appear to be your typical, potentially lousy, September fare. So enjoy!