Kong: Skull Island is Ape-Tacular!

King Kong is my new favorite bad ass. In Kong: Skull Island, the great ape has never had more imposing swagger. He's massive, towering over any previous screen incarnations of the legendary beast. This Kong exists in the same cinematic universe as the decidedly less entertaining Godzilla - where the plan is to eventually "vs" these two in the same film. I'd honestly never heard of director Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer), so I had some trepidations (sorry, dude). But damn! This movie is the real deal! My inner nine-year-old, steadfastly raised on a diet of Gorgo and War of the Gargantuas, was in hog heaven.

Imagine a fusion of Pacific Rim, Predator, Apocalypse Now and The Land That Time Forgot, and you've got a pretty good idea of what you're in for - then plant this thing firmly in the 1970s and let it rage. John Goodman is a crypto-scientist explorer intent on proving a hollow-earth theory about as-yet undiscovered species hidden from the modern world. He talks his way onto a Landsat survey mission with some Colonel Kilgore level air support provided by Lieutenant Colonel Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson). Packard is the kind of soldier who starts twitching at the prospect of returning home. He needs to be on a mission. He needs to be in the thicket - he gets his wish. They're joined by Tom Hiddleston as a former British Intelligence special ops tracker, and soon-to-be Captain Marvel Brie Larson as a combat photographer looking for that "something" that will take her to the next level. It's a corny gang of incredibly pulpy characters, and that's exactly why it works. There's that same old fashioned larger-than-life charm that worked in the first Independence Day, of a diverse paperback rack group of disparate characters thrown into the unimaginable.

And WOW - do Vogt-Roberts and cinematographer Larry Fong (Batman v Superman) know how to render the unimaginable. Skull Island is a character itself. The filmmakers do a frankly jaw-dropping job of depicting the island as a completely primordial and utterly terrifying environment full of denizens that view you as food. The effects work here is off the charts, both in design and execution. Kong is introduced quickly, and in impressive fashion as he lays waste to Packard's 'Nam-era gunships, stranding everyone in the most horrific of all environments. I really don't want to spoil the glee that comes with discovering how messed up Skull Island and its bestiary is, but it's truly awesome. When a colossal water buffalo looms up out of a river, its muzzle is surrounded by swarming flies. Those kind of tiny details add a level of reality to the impossible, oversized insanity of the film.

A real standout for me is John C. Reilly, as a Hell in the Pacific era pilot, who crash-landed on the island decades ago. He's an eccentric, who's definitely there to provide the funny, but who also has some of the most poignant moments in the film. I just loved him here.

But it's all about Kong. Skull Island is his world, and like some colossal Charles Bronson, he surveys his dominion, enforcing his own code, a being of mystery, rage, and even wonder. If you're hungry for a serious dose of old school adventure on a massive scale, do yourself a favor and seek out Kong on the biggest screen you can find. This beast is the real deal.

New York Toy Fair 2017: Day 2

Some pretty cool news from Diamond Select - Pulp Fiction figures! Prototype pics were in Previews magazine over a year ago, so by this time, I think most of us had given up! But here they are, with Jules Winfield, Butch Coolidge and Marcellus Wallace looking pretty damn spot-on in the likeness department. Very little info is available, but with their Muppets, Ghostbusters and Marvel lines in resurgence, Diamond Select could be powering up to claim some turf. Here's hoping we get some decent versions of these characters, the audience is certainly there to support them in a major way.


















































In other news, NECA (online, not at the show) unveiled their Aliens series 11 assortment, featuring a long-anticipated classic character from the original 1979 Ridley Scott film - Lambert, as played by actress Veronica Cartwright, in her astronaut pressure suit. The figure comes with two heads, one with head cap, flashlight and removable helmet. This lets fans finally complete their collections of the three Nostromo astronauts, along with Dallas and Kane - though we're all still hoping someone (cough, cough - @sith_fire30) finally gives us a way to get an "un-facehuggered" John Hurt head!

Series 11 is part of the debut of NECA's new subscription service, NECA Club x Alien, which you can join right here:

https://thenecastore.com/collections/neca-club-x-alien

Members who purchase every release will be eligible for an as-yet unnamed end-of-the-year club exclusive figure. Be very interesting to see how this flies. What's got me confused is that Big Bad Toy Store already has Alien: Covenant figures up for preorder, yet NECA Club x Alien does not. So what if folks already ordered Covenant figs off BBTS, does that invalidate their eligibility for the exclusive figure? Will this cheese-off BBTS, who does plenty of NECA preorders...? We shall see. Estimated availability of Series 11 is this coming May.

 

 

It's New York Toy Fair! 2017 Edition

Day One of New York Toy Fair brought us all kinds of goodness!
Feast your eyes!

Dark Horse continues their massive rollout of figures from HBO's Game of Thrones, with first looks at Tormund...

...and a new Mother of Dragons version of Daenerys...

Fan-favorite NECA debuted some new goodies both online and in person. First, a completely unexpected Ultimate 2-pack Anniversary tribute to Evil Dead 2, with some terrific accessories and simply amazing sculpts. Given how insanely busy NECA is prepping new properties like Alien Covenant and Blade Runner 2049, it's amazing they found time to attend, let alone produce new surprises like these!

 

They're also going into the comic book realm with their Alien franchise, giving us 2-packs of both Batman vs. Predator, Batman vs. Aliens, and Superman vs. Aliens.

 

For fans of the larger 1/4 scale figures, NECA has a nice looking version of Doctor Strange...

 

...and a fantastic comic-inspired version of Dare Devil.

 Mafex gave us a glimpse of the soon to be released astronauts from 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as a new edition of Batman...

 

 

 ...and dammit, Jim, Mezco is continuing their hot One:12 Collective Star Trek line with Dr. Leonard McCoy - an absolute must-get!

 

That's it for day one, we'll see what else surfaces over the next couple of days!

2017 Oscar Nominations: La La, or Blah Blah?

The Oscar nominations are usually a pretty big deal in our house, but for the first time in quite a few years, the field has just failed to ignite much excitement.

 

I think a lot of it is the overall lack of more sprawling, epic films this year. Last season we had pictures like The Revenant, The Martian, Mad Max: Fury Road and The Hateful Eight. This year, out of nine Best Picture nominees, only two have captured my attention so far – Arrival and Hell or High Water. I’m sure I’m going to love Fences, Hidden Figures, La La Land and Manchester by the Sea, et al – but none of them have so far captured my imagination enough to lure me out to the theater – a rare thing – and none of them are available on home video yet, with the exception of Hell or High Water. I have a feeling I’m not alone this year, and I think that Jimmy Kimmel and the gang might want to brace themselves for some lower-than-average ratings for the broadcast on Sunday, February 26th.

  

One thing for sure, it's going to be the longest, saddest "In Memorium" segment in broadcast history.

 

Of course, being a little less engaged than previous years isn’t keeping me from having opinions.

 

Arrival nabbed eight nominations, a really substantial number, and a bit of a rarity for science fiction films, including Denis Villeneuve for Best Director – but shockingly, Amy Adams did not receive recognition for her work and was overlooked for Best Actress. This is ludicrous, as Adams pretty much is Arrival. She’s in nearly every scene and is basically the heart and soul of the picture. A truly embarrassing omission.

 

It’s great to see Jeff Bridges get the Supporting Actor nod for Hell or High Water, but where’s Ben Foster’s nomination?! It’s some of his absolute best work. Likewise, Chris Pine still hasn’t received the recognition his craftsmanship deserves, especially here.

 

I’m thrilled to see Life Animated receive a nomination for Best Documentary Feature – it’s a tremendous, insightful and uplifting film about the human condition. It’s among some pretty tough competition this year, but wonderful to see it acknowledged. 

 

After last years’ #OscarSoWhite, it was a better year for African American actors, with a record seven nominations representing people of color being recognized across every acting category. Though several news outlets managed clumsily merge two of these films via “Hidden Fences,” a hasty amalgamation of Hidden Figures and Fences. Perhaps some stronger coffee and better editing?

                                

Cinematography is one of my personal favorite categories, as this is frankly, the very heart of cinema. Again, the field feels a little muted this year. While I still haven’t seen it, La La Land seems to be the favorite with 14 nominations, tying both Titanic and All About Eve, and it will likely take the category, with Arrival, Lion, Moonlight and Silence rounding out the category.

 

Interestingly, Nate Parker’s Birth of a Nation, once considered the unstoppable front-runner, could not escape the revelations shadowing its star and director, failing to capture a single nomination. Meanwhile, Mel Gibson is officially back in the fold, with Hacksaw Ridge garnering both Best Picture and Best Director nominations.

 

The gown-shilling and lobbying is now officially underway. Here’s hoping this inspires me to make time to seek out some of these films and discover their magic before the big night. It’s always good to explore new films and fresh voices, and there’s undoubtedly an immeasurable mountain of craft and vision in these films. I’m looking forward to getting to know them and to kicking myself for waiting so long to do so.

 

Here’s the complete list of the nominees for you:

 

 Best picture:

"Arrival"

“Fences”

“Hacksaw Ridge”

“Hell or High Water”

“Hidden Figures”

“La La Land”

“Lion”

“Manchester by the Sea”

“Moonlight”

 

Lead actor:
Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
Andrew Garfield, "Hacksaw Ridge
Ryan Gosling, “La La Land,”
Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”
Denzel Washington, “Fences”

Lead actress:

Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”
Ruth Negga, “Loving”
Natalie Portman, “Jackie”
Emma Stone, “La La Land”
Meryl Streep, "Florence Foster Jenkins"

Lead actor:
Casey Affleck, “Manchester by the Sea”
Andrew Garfield, "Hacksaw Ridge"
Ryan Gosling, “La La Land,”
Viggo Mortensen, “Captain Fantastic”
Denzel Washington, “Fences”
 

Lead actress:

Isabelle Huppert, “Elle”
Ruth Negga, “Loving”
Natalie Portman, “Jackie”
Emma Stone, “La La Land”
Meryl Streep, "Florence Foster Jenkins"
 

Supporting actor:
Mahershala Ali, “Moonlight”
Jeff Bridges, “Hell or High Water”
Lucas Hedges, “Manchester by the Sea”
Dev Patel, “Lion”
Michael Shannon, “Nocturnal Animals”

Supporting actress:
Viola Davis, “Fences”
Naomie Harris, “Moonlight”
Nicole Kidman, “Lion”
Octavia Spencer, “Hidden Figures”
Michelle Williams, “Manchester by the Sea”

Best director:

“La La Land,” Damien Chazelle

"Hacksaw Ridge," Mel Gibson
“Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins
“Manchester by the Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan
“Arrival,” Denis Villeneuve

 Animated feature:

"Kubo and the Two Strings," Travis Knight and Arianne Sutner

“Moana,” John Musker, Ron Clements and Osnat Shurer
“My Life as a Zucchini,” Claude Barras and Max Karli
“The Red Turtle,” Michael Dudok de Wit and Toshio Suzuki
"Zootopia," Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Clark Spencer

 Animated short:

“Blind Vaysha,” Theodore Ushev

“Borrowed Time,” Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lhadj
“Pear Cider and Cigarettes,” Robert Valley and Cara Speller
“Pearl,” Patrick Osborne
“Piper,” Alan Barillaro and Marc Sondheimer

Adapted screenplay:

“Arrival,” Eric Heisserer

“Fences,” August Wilson
“Hidden Figures,” Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi
“Lion,” Luke Davies
“Moonlight,” Barry Jenkins; Story by Tarell Alvin McCraney

 Original screenplay:

“20th Century Women,” Mike Mills

“Hell or High Water,” Taylor Sheridan
“La La Land,” Damien Chazelle
“The Lobster,” Yorgos Lanthimos, Efthimis Filippou
“Manchester by the Sea,” Kenneth Lonergan 

Cinematography:

“Arrival,” Bradford Young
“La La Land,” Linus Sandgren
“Lion,” Greig Fraser
“Moonlight,” James Laxton
“Silence,” Rodrigo Prieto

Best documentary feature:

“13th,” Ava DuVernay, Spencer Averick and Howard Barish

"Fire at Sea," Gianfranco Rosi and Donatella Palermo
“I Am Not Your Negro,” Raoul Peck, Remi Grellety and Hebert Peck
“Life, Animated,” Roger Ross Williams and Julie Goldman
“O.J.: Made in America,” Ezra Edelman and Caroline Waterlow 
 

Best documentary short subject:
“4.1 Miles,” Daphne Matziaraki
“Extremis,” Dan Krauss
“Joe’s Violin,” Kahane Cooperman and Raphaela Neihausen
“Watani: My Homeland,” Marcel Mettelsiefen and Stephen Ellis
“The White Helmets,” Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara

Best live action short film:

“Ennemis Interieurs,” Selim Azzazi

“La Femme et le TGV,” Timo von Gunten and Giacun Caduff
“Silent Nights,” Aske Bang and Kim Magnusson
“Sing,” Kristof Deak and Anna Udvardy
“Timecode,” Juanjo Gimenez

Best foreign language film:

"A Man Called Ove," Sweden

"Land of Mine," Denmark
“Tanna,” Australia
“The Salesman," Iran  
“Toni Erdmann,” Germany

Film editing:

“Arrival,” Joe Walker
"Hacksaw Ridge," John Gilbert
“Hell or High Water,” Jake Roberts
“La La Land,” Tom Cross
“Moonlight,” Nat Sanders and Joi McMillon

Sound editing:

“Arrival,” Sylvain Bellemare

“Deep Water Horizon,” Wylie Stateman and Renee Tondelli
"Hacksaw Ridge," Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright
“La La Land,” Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
“Sully,” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Sound editing:

“Arrival,” Sylvain Bellemare

“Deep Water Horizon,” Wylie Stateman and Renee Tondelli
"Hacksaw Ridge," Robert Mackenzie and Andy Wright
“La La Land,” Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
“Sully,” Alan Robert Murray and Bub Asman

Sound mixing:

“Arrival,” Bernard Gariepy Strobl and Claude La Haye                                                     

"Hacksaw Ridge," Kevin O’Connell, Andy Wright, Robert Mackenzie and Peter Grace           

“La La Land,” Andy Nelson, Ai-Ling Lee and Steve A. Morrow                                         

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” David Parker, Christopher Scarabosio and Stuart Wilson     

“13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi,” Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Mac Ruth

Production design:

“Arrival,” Patrice Vermette, Paul Hotte

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Stuart Craig, Anna Pinnock
“Hail, Caesar!,” Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh
“La La Land,” David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds-Wasco
“Passengers,” Guy Hendrix Dyas, Gene Serdena

Original score:

“Jackie,” Mica Levi

“La La Land,” Justin Hurwitz
“Lion,” Dustin O’Halloran and Hauschka
“Moonlight,” Nicholas Britell
“Passengers," Thomas Newman
 

Original song:

“Audition (The Fools Who Dream),” “La La Land” — Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

“Can’t Stop the Feeling,” “Trolls” — Music and Lyric by Justin Timberlake, Max Martin and Karl Johan Schuster
“City of Stars,” “La La Land” — Music by Justin Hurwitz; Lyric by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
“The Empty Chair,” “Jim: The James Foley Story” — Music and Lyric by J. Ralph and Sting
“How Far I’ll Go,” “Moana” — Music and Lyric by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Makeup and hair:

“A Man Called Ove,” Eva von Bahr and Love Larson
"Star Trek Beyond," Joel Harlow and Richard Alonzo
“Suicide Squad,” Alessandro Bertolazzi, Giorgio Gregorini and Christopher Nelson

Costume design:
“Allied,” Joanna Johnston
"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Colleen Atwood
"Florence Foster Jenkins," Consolata Boyle
“Jackie,” Madeline Fontaine
“La La Land,” Mary Zophres

Visual effects:

“Deepwater Horizon,” Craig Hammack, Jason Snell, Jason Billington and Burt Dalton     
“Doctor Strange,” Stephane Ceretti, Richard Bluff, Vincent Cirelli and Paul Corbould           
“The Jungle Book,” Robert Legato, Adam Valdez, Andrew R. Jones and Dan Lemmon

"Kubo and the Two Strings," Steve Emerson, Oliver Jones, Brian McLean and Brad Schiff
“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” John Knoll, Mohen Leo, Hal Hickel and Neil Corbould
 

We have a title: "The Last Jedi"

"Luke, when gone am I...the last of the Jedi will you be."
                                         -Yoda, The Return of the Jedi

We have a title, and it's awesome - Rian Johnson's Star Wars: Episode VIII will be titled The Last Jedi. That's a slightly ominous and attention-grabbing title, and I think it works wonderfully. It's got a definite Sergio Leone vibe to it - you can't help but picture hardened exile Luke Skywalker, his robot hand just itching to throw down some serious lightsaber smack on whoever disturbs his solitude.

It's also a title guaranteed to get us talking, because as we all know, "Jedi" is also plural, so The Last Jedi could easily refer to a small group of surviving Jedi Knights, or one lone Jedi who's determined to pass on what he knows to another, so no matter what, at least one Jedi will remain to be the keeper of the faith. None of this should come as any surprise, as the title phrase actually appeared quite prominently in the opening crawl of The Force Awakens: 

It's been a pretty downbeat, discouraging week over in our little corner of the galaxy, so today's news was frankly downright thrilling! It reminded me that yes, we do have more of these films to look forward to - to escape to - and sometime in the next month or so, odds are good we'll be getting our first look at a trailer. The first teaser for The Force Awakens dropped in November of the year prior to its release. So we're already past that timeline for The Last Jedi. We've got The Super Bowl coming up in a couple of weeks, so that just might be when we catch our very first glimpse.

I, for  one, can't wait!

2017 Movie Preview: Be the Year We All Need

That was a pretty brutal year. We lost more celebrities in 2016 than we can even process, from David Bowie to Carrie Fisher, and we discovered our eclectic little nation is more divided - and more racist - than most of us ever imagined. And no matter your politics or personal experience, it seems everyone I talk to couldn't wait to close the book on this year - despite how sobering and uncertain 2017 is looking. My guess is we're going to need our escapes more than ever - and movies are at least one thing that we can often come together over, and find some common ground. "You liked Rogue One? Hey! So did I!" And if the world does decide to give us a little too much of a wild ride again this year, you can bet we'll be clinging to the shared experience of retreating to the movies as a life preserver to help us get through it. 2016 wasn't all that generous, film-wise. While many of the bigger awards season favorites have yet to open wide, there were really only a handful of releases this year that truly got me fired up, including Finding Dory, Doctor Strange, Arrival, Rogue One and Hell or High Water. One thing's for sure, there are lot of potentially very exciting releases coming our way this year. I've narrowed it down to the top twenty films that have me most intrigued and likely to race out to the theater. Perceptions are bound to change, but these are the ones I'm most looking forward to, listed in order of their release. 

Logan - Hugh Jackman's final outing as Wolverine, once again directed by James Mangold (The Wolverine), tackles the fan-favorite Old Man Logan storyline. Logan's likely coming at us with an R rating and promises to go out with a bang, giving fans what they want. Nice use of Johnny Cash in the trailer - so why aren't I more confident?

Kong: Skull Island - The trailers look fantastic, and this iteration of Kong is enormous, dwarfing earlier versions. It's got a definite Apocalypse Now vibe, by way of Edgar Rice Burroughs. I love this kind of thing, so I'm definitely on board and ready to see Kong go ape.

Beauty and the Beast - Disney's been on a crazy roll, reimagining their catalog of animated classics into live action films (Cinderella, The Jungle Book). This one looks terrific, and expectations are high. This should be Emma Watson's big leap to adult roles, and Dan Stevens is a terrific, edgy actor. Director Bill Condon's big challenge? Getting audiences to buy the literalness of talking clocks and candlesticks from the whimsy of their animated ancestors. I think it's gonna be huge.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - And speaking of huge, there's these guys. Director James Gunn knocked the cover off the ball with the first Guardians, and audiences have been going nuts for the trailer. Disney and Marvel have redefined what success looks like, and Gunn is a massive fanboy himself, with a whip-smart sense of humor. Prepare to be very happy.

Alien: Covenant - Man, do some people really hate Prometheus - and I do not happen to be one of them. With all the fan sniping, I was surprised Ridley Scott would go back into the lion's den again, but I don't think anything scares Ridley. So hot off The Martian, he's openly embracing the connection to his 1979 masterwork. Fox bumped this sucker from August up to May, so they're likely very high on what they've got. Me, I can't wait!

Wonder Woman - The folks shepherding DC over at Warner Bros are also all too familiar with fan-spitting bile, having taken a massive pounding over Batman v Superman. But even those who pile on the film mostly agree that the character of Wonder Woman was a bright spot, and director Patty Jenkins' film looks absolutely amazing - and funny. If Wonder Woman kicks as much ass as it looks like it does and responds to criticism that the DC movies are too solemn and joyless, Gal Gadot should have a massive hit on her hands. I'm super excited for this one!

Spider-Man: Homecoming - The old web-head's brand has become a bit of a muddle since about 2004, but now Peter Parker has been folded into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, and based on his debut in Captain America: Civil War, it's going to be a good fit. Having Michael Keaton as the villainous Vulture feels like a cool move, too. Should be a massive July hit.

War for the Planet of the Apes - Director Matt Reeves is back (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), and the first two outings of this franchise have been excellent. Now we've got all-out war between Caesar and a military zealot played by Woody Harrelson, who seems like a rural militia Colonel Kurtz. Will we turn the corner into a new trilogy, in a future more like that of Dr. Zaius? Fingers tightly crossed.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets - Luc Besson returns to his Fifth Element mode, and while this could very well be another John Carter or Jupiter Ascending, I'm betting Besson blows our minds. It's a must-see visually, regardless. Dane DeHaan is a terrific actor, but we've also got Rutger Hauer and Clive Owen in this thing, too. Besson has made some visionary films and I'd love to be stunned by him here.

Dunkirk - Christopher Nolan does World War II. This is going to be insane. Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance - this picture screams Oscar nominations, and there's every chance this is going to be Nolan's masterpiece. Chew on that.

The Dark Tower - This one's been a long time coming, daring to depict Stephen King's massive opus of the gunslinger and the man in black. I so, so want this to be the start of something major, to fulfill the surreal amazement that lives in these books. I want Idris Elba to make Roland his own character. But Matthew McConaughey worries me a bit. As awesome as he was in that first season of True Detective, he's become that ethereal Oldsmobile guy now. And to me, that guy ain't the Man in Black. But wild horses couldn't keep me from checking things out to see where they went with it.

Baby Driver - Are you kidding me?!?!? It's Edgar Wright, man!!! I'm all the hell over anything Edgar makes, and this is a crime thriller about a novice getaway driver. Mandatory.

IT - More Stephen King, daring to "reimagine" the iconic Pennywise the Clown. It's risky, but this is a phenomenally great story - if you've never actually read the book, oh, baby. Terror incarnate. I'm very open-minded and hope this one dares to go the distance and truly disturb.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle - The original Kingsman was wonderfully deranged, and director Matthew Vaughn is back, so expect gleefully stylish depravity. The biggest concern is how much of a role Colin Firth has, because he made that film. 

Blade Runner 2049 - Have we met? Then you know that Blade Runner is one of the Holiest of Holies, and I consider director Denis Villeneuve to be one of The Great living directors. Plus, they've got ROGER EFFING DEAKINS as cinematographer, the most visionary DP of all, along with original screenwriter Hampton Fancher. October can't get here soon enough. 

Thor: Ragnarok - There's that whole Fun Marvel thing again, and this one's going to be fantastic. Personally, I'm more excited about this than Spider-Man: Homecoming. It sounds like we're going to be diving into the legendary Planet Hulk storyline, which just screams mayhem. Plus the amazing Karl Urban has joined the show, and Benedict Cumberbatch's Stephen Strange is back, too. This is going to be a knockout, and I can't wait. 

Justice League - Like I said, Batman v Superman got a lot of hate. It also got $872 million, so consider that. I think Warner Bros wants to make good films here, and the early trailer they showed at Comic-Con sure seemed to signal that they'd heard fan's issues and were taking steps to address them, adding more humor. I'm definitely excited to see DC's version of The Avengers, and hope we get a story worthy of this massive team-up.

Murder on the Orient Express - I'm a great admirer of Kenneth Branagh, both as an actor and a director. He brings both talents to bear here, and an incredible cast including Daisy Ridley, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Judy Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer and Derek Jacobi. I'm drooling for this. 

Star Wars: Episode VIII - I mean, come on...the word on director Rian Johnson's screenplay is whispered awe, and I'm dying to spend a movie getting to know old man Luke. We know that Benicio Del Toro has joined the cast, as well as (rumored) Tom Hardy, so this is going to just floor us all. I don't know if my heart can stand it. 

The Six Billion Dollar Man - Now this has a December 22nd release date, but if I had to pick one of these films to get bumped to 2018, this is the one. Peter Berg is directing Mark Wahlberg as Steve Austin, but that's about all we know, and there' very little info about this picture yet. But I'm listing it here out of a combination of my affection for the old series, and the completely ludicrous shot this movie has of even vaguely resembling what inspired it. 


PHEW! I think I need a cold one, after that. Looking back at last year's preview, things didn't shake out too badly. There are always disappointments, and until that first wave of reviews hits, all you can do is keep your glass half full, and stay cautiously optimistic. So here's a half-full glass raised in your direction - may most of these films fulfill their promise and give us the escape, wonder, and insight that we all truly need and depend on from our time hunkered together in the dark. 

Hell or High Water - Love Letter to a Throwback

When you think of seventies cinema, there are certain films that help define the era by their sheer rebelliousness - Badlands, Mean Streets, Dog Day Afternoon, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, The Last Picture Show - films where authority was not only distrusted, but where the law was a gray area you punched through when you'd been pushed too far by those in control. It was an amazing era, and those fond of it often wonder if films of that stripe would ever come again.

Make no mistake, Hell or High Water is one of the best American films of the year, and if you missed it in theaters, it’s on home video now, so do not let this amazing slice of adult awesomeness slip through your fingers. If there’s any justice, it’s a Best Picture nominee, hands down. 

Set in modern-day Texas, Hell or High Water grows out of the dust of the Western outlaw genre. Two brothers, Tanner (Ben Foster) and Toby (Chris Pine) are starting up a string of low-rent bank robberies across small towns in west Texas. They don’t seem to know what the hell they’re doing. All they know is that they need to raise enough money to keep the bank from foreclosing on the family ranch – and while these two are breaking the law, the real villains in Hell or High Water are the banks. Banks who offer to “help” struggling farmers with a reverse mortgage, knowing they’ll never be able to get square, cross-hairs set the entire time on getting their land – period.

Focusing purely on smaller, untraceable bills, the brothers’ activity soon draws the attention of the Texas Rangers, led by Marcus Hamilton (Jeff Bridges). Bridges is on the cusp of retirement, and where lesser men would avoid being drawn in, Bridges' measured, irascible curiosity can’t leave anything alone, especially a very specific, modest crime wave that seems to be following a careful recipe. Bridges and his partner (Gil Birmingham) have a great dynamic, where annoyance and fondness have blurred into a begrudging co-dependence. 

Ben Foster’s long been a live-wire supporting actor doing amazing work in film and TV, from Six Feet Under, 3:10 to Yuma, Thirty Days of Night to The Messenger. He’s an electric, uncontained presence, and he nabs a role here that really lets him step forward in a terrific character dynamic with the always reliable Pine. These are two fantastic actors who play a complex sibling relationship. They’re at opposite ends of a moral spectrum, but when push comes to shove, they’ll each draw cards from the others’ deck as the situation demands.

Directed by David Mackenzie and written by Taylor Sheridan (Sicario), Hell or High Water has the same fondness for character, realism and dialogue that would make Elmore Leonard proud. Indeed, if you’re at all a Leonard fan, Hell or High Water is bound to have roped your attention by now. The tone and sense of place evokes films like Lone Star and No Country for Old Men. In this new west, outlaws still brandish iron, but as much of modern America has come to learn, when the adversaries are financial institutions, patience and planning are likely to trump good aim every time. Very highly recommended.