Movie Trailer Sunday (264)

Here are this week's trailers.

Priceless
Director: Ben Smallbone
Description: A widower who loses custody of his daughter finds himself unable to hold down a job. He agrees to drive a truck across the country, no questions asked. But when he discovers what he is delivering, he is faced with a life-changing choice.
Starring: Joel Smallbone, Jim Parrack
Trailer: Trailer "Priceless"
Comment: Looks like a made for TV movie.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Director: James Gunn
Description: Set to the backdrop of Awesome Mixtape #2, 'Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2' continues the team's adventures as they unravel the mystery of Peter Quill's true parentage.
Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Kurt Russell, Nathan Fillion, Glenn Close, Tommy Flanagan
Trailer: Trailer "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2"
Comment: OMG, Rocket and Baby Groot. They definitely saved the best for last for this teaser.

Logan
Director: James Mangold
Description: Set in the future, Logan and Professor Charles Xavier must cope with the loss of the X-Men when a corporation lead by Nathaniel Essex is destroying the world leaving it to destruction, with Logan's healing abilities slowly fading away and Xavier's Alzheimer's forcing him to forget. Logan must defeat Nathaniel Essex with the help of a young girl named Laura Kinney, a female clone of Wolverine.
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Boyd Holbrook, Stephen Merchant, Richard E. Grant
Trailer: Trailer "Logan"
Comment: Deep stuff and a perfect choice of song for this trailer!

A Cure for Wellness
Director: Gore Verbinski
Description: An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company's CEO from an idyllic but mysterious "wellness center" at a remote location in the Swiss Alps but soon suspects that the spa's miraculous treatments are not what they seem.
Starring: Dane DeHaan, Mia Goth, Jason Isaacs
Trailer: Trailer "A Cure for Wellness"
Comment: This trailer looks pretty creepy and interesting.

Assassin's Creed
Director: Justin Kurzel
Description: When Callum Lynch explores the memories of his ancestor Aguilar and gains the skills of a Master Assassin, he discovers he is a descendant of the secret Assassins society.
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson
Trailer: Trailer "Assassin's Creed"
Comment: Although I never played this videogame, I think I will watch this film.

Top 5 Thursday: Hottest Male Characters in Horror Movies

Since it is October and it’s the month of Halloween, I decided to share with you a top 5 featuring horror movies. Well, I do it my way. I focused on the hottest male movie characters in horror movies. Here they are.

5. Seth Gecko (George Clooney in “From Dusk Till Dawn”)
Seth Gecko manages to charm you and you almost forget that he is a criminal. And although I’m not much a tattoo kind of girl, his is pretty awesome. And sexy.

4. Patrick Bateman (Christian Bale in “American Psycho”)
Patrick Bateman is exactly the kind of man I would never date: a yuppie, narcissistic and vain man. But he is attractive.

3. Curt (Chris Hemsworth in “Cabin in the Woods”)
Curt is kind of a douche, the jock of the group. But come on, it’s Chris Hemsworth who plays him. I just had to put him on the list.

2. George Lutz (Ryan Reynolds in “The Amityville Horror”)
I don’t know why George Lutz is in this film shirtless so often, but I’m not complaining. George eventually turns into a psychopath, but he still got the looks.

1. Jerry (Colin Farrell in “Fight Night”)
I’ve never liked the swoony vampires, that don’t want to kill people. I liked the bad boys. Having Jerry as your neighbor is not that bad, weren’t it for the fact that he is an evil vampire. A hot evil vampire.

They Almost Made the Top 5: Jerry (Colin Farrell in “Fright Night”), Nick Jones (Chad Michael Murray in “House of Wax”)

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 136: House on Haunted Hill

Director: William Castle
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Runtime: 75 minutes
Year: 1959
Starring: Vincent Price, Carolyn Craig, Richard Long, Elisha Cook Jr., Carol omhart, Alan Marshal, Julie Mitchum, Leona Anderson, Howard Hoffman

Description: A millionaire (Vincent Price) offers ten thousand dollars to five people who agree to be locked in a large, spooky, rented house overnight with him and his wife.

Review: In “House on Haunted Hill” the mysterious millionaire Frederick Loren invites a group of strangers to spend the night in a haunted mansion. Death lurks, but for the people who survive a night in the house there will be 10 000 dollars. The guests are okay with it and don’t seem to worry about it. Untill the atmosphere changes and the house really start to feel haunted. Who will leave the house alive?
Vincent Price shines as Frederick Loren. The strange relationship between him and his wife is mysterious. The deadline is only one night, but as a viewer you don’t really get to see the time that passes. This way the build up towards the climax might be blocked a bit. When it comes to tension, the movie isn’t timeless anyway. The effects are old fashioned and everything but scary. The film mostly leans on Price and the actual clue of the film.
For the modern day horror fan, “House on Haunted Hill” will probably not satisfy. It’s old fashioned theater. It’s a fun film, but not at all scary. Entertaining for the 75 minutes it lasts and has a good pace.

Rating: 3/ 5

Movie Trailer Sunday (263)

Here are this week's trailers.

Dunkirk
Director: CHristopher Nolan
Description: Allied soldiers from Belgium, Britain, Canada and France are surrounded by the German army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.
Starring: Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Harry Styles, James D'Arcy
Trailer: Trailer "Dunkirk"
Comment: Still not much of a trailer, but another look.

Patriots Day
Director: Peter Berg
Description: An account of Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis's actions in the events leading up to the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and the aftermath, which includes the city-wide manhunt to find the terrorists behind it.
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Monaghan, J.K. Simmons, Kevin Bacon, John Goodman
Trailer: Trailer "Patriots Day"
Comment: I'm not a huge fan of patriotic films.

John Wick: Chapter 2
Director: Chad Stahelski
Description: The continuing adventures of former hitman, John Wick.
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Ruby Rose, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, Bridget Moynahan, Peter Stormare
Trailer: Trailer "John Wick: Chapter 2"
Comment: The first film was a surprisingly good action movie, so pretty excited for this.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Director: Gareth Edwards
Description: The Rebellion makes a risky move to steal the plans to the Death Star, setting up the epic saga to follow.
Starring: Felicity Jones, Mads Mikkelsen, Forest Whitaker, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Ben Mendelsohn, James Earl Jones
Trailer: Trailer "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"
Comment: Another trailer, whoop whoop!!!

Bleed For This
Director: Ben Younger
Description: The inspirational story of World Champion Boxer Vinny Pazienza who, after a near fatal car crash, which left him not knowing if he'd ever walk again, made one of sports most incredible comebacks.
Starring: Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart, Katey Sagal, Ted Levine, Ciarán Hinds
Trailer: Trailer "Bleed For This"
Comment: Another trailer for the fighting drama

Top 5 Thursday: Movie Scenes with the Perfect Music

Some scenes are memorable, because of the great acting, dialogue, a quote. But sometimes it’s the music that makes the scene unforgettable. Here is a list of movie scenes with the perfect music.

5. “Free Bird” by Lynyrd Skynyrd (“Kingsman: The Secret Service”)
All hell breaks loose in a church. Unable to control themselves, the people engage in a battle royal and there is only one person to come out of that church alive. The power balad by Lynyrd Skynyrd elevates this action packed scene.

4. “The Murder” by Bernard Herrmann (“Psycho”)
If there is a piece of music that guarantees to give you the chills, it’s this. The violin screech from Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” is probably one of the most recognizable pieces of music in film history.

3. “Don’t You Forget About Me” by Simple Minds (“The Breakfast Club”)
Five teens have to spend a whole Saturday in detention. At first sight the gang couldn’t be more different. As the day progresses, they find out that they are all struggling with similar inner demons. And although they run in different social circles and at the end they will go their own separate ways, what they learned in that short time will never be forgotten. And that song makes it even better.

2. “Welcome to Jurassic Park” by John Williams (“Jurassic Park”)
During the moment where Alan, Ian and Ellie see a real life dinosaurs for the first time, the experience is enhanced by the perfect score created by John Williams.

1. “A Real Hero” by College feat. Electric Youth (“Drive”)
Music acts like a window for the main character’s soul, because the Driver has limited dialogue or facial expressions. In one of the brighter scenes of “Drive”, Driver is taking Irene and her son for a L.A. tour in his car. We can see that there is more to the man than just an empty shell. The story says everything the hero can’t.

They Almost Made the Top 5: “The End” by The Doors (“Apocalypse Now”), “Lust for Life” by Iggy Pop (“Trainspotting”), “Mad World” by Michael Andrews and Gary Jules (“Donnie Darko”), “Born to be Wild” by Steppenwold (“Easy Rider”), “The Sound of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel (“The Graduate”)

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 135: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Director: Jim Sharman
Genre: Comedy/ Musical
Runtime: 100 minutes
Year: 1975
Starring: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O’Brien, Patricia Quinn, Nell Campbell, Jonathan Adams, Peter Hinwood, Meat Loaf, Charles Gray, Jeremy Newson, Hilary Labow, Perry Bedden, Christopher Biggins, Gaye Brown, Ishaq Bux, Stephen Calcutt, Hugh Cecil, Imogen Claire, Tony Cowan, Sadie Corre, Fran Fullenwider, Lindsay Ingram, Peggy Ledger, Annabel Leventon, Anthony Milner, Pamela Obermeyer, Tony Then, Kimi Wong, Gina Barrie, Rufus Collins, Petra Leah, Frank Lester, John Marquand, Koo Stark, Henry Woolf

Description: A newly engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must pay a call to the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

Review: When “The Rocky Horror Picture” was released, the audience ignored it and the movie was taken out of the theaters after a few weeks. It wasn’t until the early eighties that this movie got fans and praise. It’s one of the most extravagant, provocative and strange musical ever made.
The story itself isn’t very special. A newly engaged couple has car trouble and ends up in a castle, where they are trying to find a phone. It belongs to Frank-n-Furter.
The film is filled with catchy songs and dance routines, like “Time Warp” and “Sweet Transvestite”. “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is a celebration of sexuality, glitter and glamour.
Dr. Frank-n-Furter is played by Tim Curry, who shows how versatile he actually is. He steals every scene and has a surprisingly good singing voice. Meatloaf also shows up for one song, which is my highlight of the film. But for the rest “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is a weird mess. It’s a daring musical, that I was exciting to finally seeing. But I didn’t enjoy it as much as I hoped I would. It’s very kitschy and feels incoherent. Maybe this is one of those movies you have to experience on the big screen or as a live action stage musical.

Rating: 2,5/ 5

100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 134: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

Director: Jake Kasdan
Genre: Drama/ Comedy
Runtime: 92 minutes
Year: 2007
Starring: John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer, Kristen Wiig, Raymond J. Barry, Tim Meadows, Chris Parnell, Craig Robinson, Harold Ramis, Martin Starr, Jack McBrayer, Frankie Muniz, Adam Herschman, David Krumholtz, Cheryl Tiegs, Patrick Duffy, Morgan Fairchild, Cheryl Ladd, Jane Lynch, Simon Helberg, Jack Black, Jonah Hill, Justin Long, Paul Rudd, Jason Schwartzman

Description: Singer Dewey Cox (John C. Reilly) overcomes adversity to become a musical legend.

Review: Every genre is parodied these days. With “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” it’s a parody of the music biopic. John C. Reilly plays the title character and the movie is a parody of films like “Ray”and especially “Walk the Line”, the story of Johnny Cash. For the fans of “Knocked Up” and “Superbad”, this is a fun comedy. For the ones who didn’t like those, “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” isn’t going to be entertaining.
The film is filled with comedy that is anything but subtle and it is very crude at times. A lot of caricatured scenes and juvenile sex jokes. The most embarrasing scene is the moment where Dewey Cox wakes up after an orgie, in his hotel room.
The songs in the film are fun and catchy and sometimes have hilarious lyrics. And John C. Reilly is really funny in this movie. He can easily carry this comedy.
“Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” doesn’t take itself seriously, that’s why this film eventually is very funny. If you, as a viewer, do take it serious, you will hate it. Just pause your brain and enjoy the comedy.

Rating: 3/ 5