The CW’s released a new trailer for the upcoming series DC’s Legends of Tomorrow which is set to premiere on January 21, 2016 at 8pm ET/PT. The new trailer is just over a minute long and doesn’t lay out more of the story, but it does show off a few new action scenes from the comic book-inspired show.
DC’s Legends of Tomorrow is executive produced by Greg Berlanti (Arrow, The Flash, Supergirl), Marc Guggenheim (Arrow, Eli Stone, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters), Andrew Kreisberg (Arrow, The Flash), Phil Klemmer (The Tomorrow People, Chuck), Chris Fedak (Forever, Chuck), and Sarah Schechter (Arrow, The Flash).
The Plot:
In the year 2166, the immortal villain Vandal Savage (Casper Crump) is on the verge of his final victory – total chaos and the utter destruction of humanity. As the world crumbles, the Time Master Rip Hunter (Arthur Darvill) takes matters into his own hands; he travels 150 years into the past to assemble a carefully selected team of heroes and rogues, who together will be… Legends.
Hunter has chosen what seems like an ill-matched group: billionaire inventor Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh), who has created an exo-suit with the power to shrink him to miniscule size, as the Atom; Sara Lance (Caity Lotz), the White Canary, a trained assassin; Professor Martin Stein (Victor Garber) and Jefferson “Jax” Jackson (Franz Drameh), who together form the meta-human Firestorm; Leonard Snart (Wentworth Miller), known as Captain Cold, and his partner Mick Rory (Dominic Purcell), aka Heat Wave, a pair of career criminals; and Kendra Saunders (Ciara Renée) and Carter Hall (Falk Hentschel), who are really Hawkgirl and Hawkman, two souls who have been reincarnated many times, and who possess the ability to fly… and have a spiritual connection to Vandal Savage.
Convinced by Hunter to join him in the fight to defeat Savage, the group travels back and forth through time to try to stop Savage’s plans from being set into motion, while Hunter struggles to keep to his duty as a Time Master and avoid irreparable damage to the timeline of history. The fate of the world is in the hands of this unlikely team, and the battle to save the earth will be legendary.
Wil (Austin Butler) and Amberle (Poppy Drayton) in a scene from ‘The Shannara Chronicles’ (Photo Credit: MTV)
MTV is set to debut the fantasy series The Shannara Chronicles on January 5, 2016 at 10pm ET/PT with Austin Butler, Poppy Drayton, Manu Bennett, John Rhys-Davies, and Ivana Baquero in starring roles. Season one of the series, which is based on the bestselling books by Terry Brooks, will consist of 10 episodes centering on an Elf-Human hybrid named Wil (Butler), an Elvin Princess named Amberle (Drayton), and Eretria the Human Rover (Baquero). And months before the series’ premiere, The Shannara Chronicles stars Austin Butler and Poppy Drayton teamed up at Comic Con to talk about their characters, the series, the books, and why they found the subject matter so fascinating.
Watch the Austin Butler and Poppy Drayton interview:
Al Gough and Miles Millar wrote the series and serve as executive producers. Author Brooks, Jon Favreau, Jonathan Liebesman, and Dan Farah are also involved as executive producers. Jonathan Liebesman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) directed episodes one and two.
Warner Bros. Pictures officially announced Dunkirk will be director Christopher Nolan’s next film. The studio also confirmed Nolan will be reuniting with Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception) for the project which will also feature Bridge of Spies‘ Mark Rylance and Sir Kenneth Branagh, if their deals go through. Taking the lead in the ensemble will be unknown actors.
Nolan wrote the script and will produce along with Emma Thomas. The action thriller will begin shooting in May and, according to WB, will film in the actual locations where the real events took place. Nolan plans to shoot in both IMAX 65mm and 65mm large format film.
“We are thrilled to be continuing our collaboration with Christopher Nolan, a singular filmmaker who has created some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films of all time. Dunkirk is a gripping and powerful story and we are excited to see Chris, Emma and their cast realize it on the big screen,” stated Greg Silverman, President, Creative Development and Worldwide Production.
Po the Panda is back, Dory searches for her family, and Scrat’s acorn causes a catastrophe in animated movies heading to theaters in 2016. Studios are also offering up films about storks, Trolls, birds with anger issues, and an animated look at the world of cats and dogs when they’re left alone by their human parents.
2016 Animated Movies
The Angry Birds Movie (May 20, 2016) featuring the voices of Josh Gad, Jason Sudeikis, Danny McBride, Peter Dinklage, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Kate McKinnon, Keegan-Michael Key, Tony Hale, Ike Barinholtz, Hannibal Buress, Jillian Bell, Danielle Brooks, and Romeo Santos The Plot: In the 3D animated comedy, The Angry Birds Movie, we’ll finally find out why the birds are so angry. The movie takes us to an island populated entirely by happy, flightless birds – or almost entirely. In this paradise, Red (Jason Sudeikis), a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck (Josh Gad), and the volatile Bomb (Danny McBride) have always been outsiders. But when the island is visited by mysterious green piggies, it’s up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the pigs are up to.
The Canterville Ghost (October 31, 2016) featuring the voices of Freddie Highmore, Hugh Laurie, Miranda Hart, Toby Jones, Imelda Staunton, and Stephen Fry The Plot: Based on the classic short story by Oscar Wilde. Sir Simon de Canterville has been haunting Canterville Chase successfully for hundreds of years. Everything changes when an American family moves in, forcing Sir Simon to confront his own tragic past…
Finding Dory (June 17, 2016) featuring the voices of Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks, Ed O’Neill, Kaitlin Olson, Ty Burrell, Eugene Levy, and Diane Keaton
The Plot: Disney•Pixar’s Finding Dory reunites everyone’s favorite forgetful blue tang, Dory, with her friends Nemo and Marlin on a search for answers about her past. What can she remember? Who are her parents? And where did she learn to speak Whale?
Ice Age: Collision Course (July 22, 2016) featuring the voices of Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Simon Pegg, Keke Palmer, Wanda Sykes, Jennifer Lopez, Stephanie Beatriz, Adam DeVine, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Max Greenfield, Jessie J, Nick Offerman, Melissa Rauch, Michael Straha, and Neil deGrasse Tyson The Plot: Scrat’s epic pursuit of the elusive acorn catapults him into the universe where he accidentally sets off a series of cosmic events that transform and threaten the Ice Age World. To save themselves, Sid, Manny, Diego, and the rest of the herd must leave their home and embark on a quest full of comedy and adventure, traveling to exotic new lands and encountering a host of colorful new characters.
Kubo and the Two Strings (August 19, 2016) featuring the voices of Art Parkinson, Matthew McConaughey, Charlize Theron, Rooney Mara, Ralph Fiennes, George Takei, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, and Brenda Vaccaro The Plot: Clever, kindhearted Kubo (voiced by Art Parkinson of Game of Thrones) ekes out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town including Hosato (George Takei), Hashi (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and Kamekichi (Brenda Vaccaro). But his relatively quiet existence is shattered when he accidentally summons a spirit from his past which storms down from the heavens to enforce an age-old vendetta. Now on the run, Kubo joins forces with Monkey (Charlize Theron) and Beetle (Matthew McConaughey), and sets out on a thrilling quest to save his family and solve the mystery of his fallen father, the greatest samurai warrior the world has ever known. With the help of his shamisen – a magical musical instrument – Kubo must battle gods and monsters, including the vengeful Moon King (Ralph Fiennes) and the evil twin Sisters (Rooney Mara) to unlock the secret of his legacy, reunite his family and fulfill his heroic destiny.
A scene from ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’
Kung Fu Panda 3 (January 29, 2016) featuring the voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Seth Rogen, Lucy Liu, David Cross, James Hong, Randall Duk Kim, Bryan Cranston, J. K. Simmons, and Kate Hudson The Plot: When Po’s long-lost panda father suddenly reappears, the reunited duo travels to a secret panda paradise to meet scores of hilarious new panda characters. But when the supernatural villain Kai begins to sweep across China defeating all the kung fu masters, Po must do the impossible—learn to train a village full of his fun-loving, clumsy brethren to become the ultimate band of Kung Fu Pandas!
Moana (November 23, 2016) featuring the voices of Auli’i Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, and Alan Tudyk The Plot: Three thousand years ago, the greatest sailors in the world voyaged across the vast South Pacific, discovering the many islands of Oceania. But then, for a millennium, their voyages stopped – and no one today knows why. From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes Moana, a sweeping, CG-animated adventure about a spirited teenager who sails out on a daring mission to prove herself a master wayfinder and fulfill her ancestors’ unfinished quest. During her journey, Moana (Auli’i Cravalho) meets the once-mighty demi-god Maui (Dwayne Johnson), and together, they traverse the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous fiery creatures and impossible odds.
Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett in a scene from ‘Carol.’
The Alliance of Women Film Journalists* has just announced their picks for the best in 2015 feature films. Carol starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara led all of the nominees for the 2015 EDA Awards with nine nominations, with Mad Max: Fury Road earning six. Spotlight and Room tied with five each followed by The Martian with four nominations.
Winners of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists EDA Awards will be announced on January 12, 2016.
AWFJ 2015 EDA AWARDS NOMINEES:
Best Film
Carol
Mad Max: Fury Road
The Martian
Room
Spotlight
Best Director
Lenny Abramson – Room
Todd Haynes – Carol
Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu – The Revenant
Tom McCarthy – Spotlight
George Miller – Mad Max Fury Road
Ridley Scott – The Martian
Best Screenplay, Original
Ex Machina – Alex Garland
Inside Out – Pete Docter, Ronnie Del Carmen, Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley
Spotlight – Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy
Best Screenplay, Adapted
The Big Short – Charles Randolph, Adam McKay
Carol – Phyllis Nagy
The Martian – Drew Goddard
Room – Emma Donoghue
Best Documentary
Amy – Asif Kapadia
Best of Enemies – Robert Gordon, Morgan Neville
Going Clear: Scientology and The Prison of Belief – Alex Gibney
The Hunting Ground – Kirby Dick
What Happened, Ms. Simone? – Liz Garbus
Best Animated Film
Anomalisa
Inside Out
Shaun The Sheep
Best Actress
Cate Blanchett – Carol
Brie Larson – Room
Charlotte Rampling – 45 Years
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Rooney Mara – Carol
Kristin Stewart – Clouds of Sils Maria
Alicia Vikander – Ex Machina
Kate Winslett – Steve Jobs
Best Actor
Matt Damon – The Martian
Leonardo Di Caprio – The Revenant
Michael Fassbender – Steve Jobs
Eddie Redmayne – The Danish Girl
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Paul Dano – Love & Mercy
Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies
Michael Shannon – 99 Homes
Sylvester Stallone – Creed
Best Ensemble Cast
The Big Short
Spotlight
Straight Outta Compton
Best Editing
The Big Short
Mad Max: Fury Road – Margaret Sixel
Spotlight – Tom McArdle
Best Cinematography
Carol – Edward Lachman
Mad Max: Fury Road – John Seale
The Revenant – Emmanuel Lubezki
Best Film Music Or Score
Carol – Carter Burwell
The Hateful Eight – Ennio Morricone
Mad Max: Fury Road – Junkie XL
Youth – David Lang
Best Non-English-Language Film
Mustang – Deniz Gamze Eguven
Phoenix – Christian Petzold
Son of Saul – Lazlo Nemes
EDA FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS
These awards honor WOMEN only.
Best Woman Director
Isabel Coixet – Learning to Drive
Maya Forbes – Infinitely Polar Bear
Sarah Gavron – Suffragette
Marielle Heller – Diary of a Teenage Girl
Celine Sciamma – Girlhood
Best Woman Screenwriter
Emma Donoghue – Room
Marielle Heller – Diary of a Teenage Girl
Phyllis Nagy – Carol
Amy Schumer – Trainwreck
Best Female Action Star
Emily Blunt – Sicario
Jennifer Lawrence – The Hunger Games Mocking Jay 2
Daisy Ridley – Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Charlize Theron – Mad Max: Fury Road
Best Breakthrough Performance
Brie Larson – Room
Bel Powley – Diary of a Teenage Girl
Daily Ridley – Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Alica Vikander – Ex Machina, Testament of Youth, The Danish Girl
Female Icon of the Year Award (a woman whose work in film and/or in life made a difference)
Chantal Ackerman – In Memoriam For being a great filmmaker and sinpiration.
Maria Geise – Activist filmmaker who is spearheading the movement for parity for women directors.
Donna Langley – Chair(wo)man, Universal Pictures, who has brought the studio to unprecedented profits.
Jennifer Lawrence – For breaking the silence about discriminatory practices and unequal pay for actresses.
Charlotte Rampling – Because she’s Charlotte Rampling and is iconic.
EDA SPECIAL MENTION AWARDS
Best Depiction Of Nudity, Sexuality, or Seduction
Anomalisa
Carol
Diary of a Teenage Girl
Actress Defying Age and Ageism
Helen Mirren
Charlotte Rampling
Lily Tomlin
Most Egregious Age Difference Between The Lead and The Love Interest Award
Danny Collins – Al Pacino and Katarina Cas
Freeheld – Julianne Moore and Ellen Page
Irrational Man – Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone
Spectre – Daniel Craig and Lea Seydoux
Actress Most in Need Of A New Agent
Bryce Dallas Howard – Jurassic World
Dakota Johnson – 50 Shades of Gray
Emma Stone – Aloha
Movie You Wanted To Love, But Just Couldn’t
Aloha
The Danish Girl
The Hateful Eight
Sisters
* – I am a member of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists.
Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, Ron Livingston, Maggie Siff, Nick Robinson, Alex Roe, Maika Monroe, Zackary Arthur, and Liev Schreiber
The Plot: Four waves of increasingly deadly attacks have left most of Earth decimated. Against a backdrop of fear and distrust, Cassie (Chloë Grace Moretz) is on the run, desperately trying to save her younger brother. As she prepares for the inevitable and lethal 5th wave, Cassie teams up with a young man who may become her final hope – if she can only trust him.
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Brendan Gleeson, and Jeremy Irons
The Plot: Through a revolutionary technology that unlocks his genetic memories, Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender) experiences the adventures of his ancestor, Aguilar, in 15th Century Spain. Callum discovers he is descended from a mysterious secret society, the Assassins, and amasses incredible knowledge and skills to take on the oppressive and powerful Templar organization in the present day.
Starring: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Jesse Eisenberg, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Michael Shannon, Holly Hunter, Jeremy Irons, and Jason Momoa
The Plot: Fearing the actions of a god-like super hero left unchecked, Gotham City’s own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis’s most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman (Ben Affleck) and Superman (Henry Cavill) at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it’s ever known before.
Starring: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Emily VanCamp, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Rudd, Frank Grillo, William Hurt, and Daniel Brühl
The Plot: Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War finds Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) leading the newly formed team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. But after another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps—one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark’s surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability.
Samuel L Jackson, Isabelle Fuhrman and John Cusack in ‘Cell.’
Cell (TBD)
Starring: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Isabelle Fuhrman, and Stacy Keach
The Plot: When a powerful signal is broadcast across mobile networks worldwide, cell phone users’ minds are instantly and dangerously re-programmed. Heading north through New England in search of his wife and son, Clay Riddell (Cusack) is joined by a group of survivors hoping to fend off the bloodthirsty and hyper-connected “phoners.”
Starring: John Boyega, Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, Karen Gillan, and Bill Paxton
The Plot: Dave Eggers’ novel focuses on a young woman (Emma Watson) who is hired for a big job in an Internet monopoly called the Circle, which links users’ personal emails, social media, banking, and purchasing with their universal operating system, resulting in one online identity and a new age of civility and transparency.
The novel turns into a contemporary thriller about the perils of life in a digital age where personal data is collected, sifted and monetized and used for surveillance, rendering privacy obsolete.
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Jeff Daniels, Octavia Spencer, Ray Stevenson, Zoë Kravitz, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer, Daniel Dae Kim, Rebecca Pidgeon, Xander Berkeley, Keiynan Lonsdale, Jonny Weston, Bill Skarsgård, Nadia Hilker, Andy Bean, and Naomi Watts
The Plot: After the earth-shattering revelations of Insurgent, Tris (Shailene Woodley) must escape with Four (Theo James) and go beyond the wall enclosing Chicago. For the first time ever, they will leave the only city and family they have ever known. Once outside, old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless with the revelation of shocking new truths. Tris and Four must quickly decide who they can trust as a ruthless battle ignites beyond the walls of Chicago which threatens all of humanity. In order to survive, Tris will be forced to make impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice and love.
Released on Christmas Day, 20th Century Fox treated Deadpool fans with a green band trailer (okay for general audiences) and a new red band trailer that’s restricted for adult audiences who don’t mind blood or bad language. A little more of the backstory’s revealed in the new trailer as well as few more clips of action scenes with Deadpool showing off his dark sense of humor.
Directed by Tim Miller, Ryan Reynolds leads the cast as Wade Wilson/Deadpool, with Morena Baccarin as Vanessa Carlysle/Copycat, Gina Carano as Angel Dust, Ed Skrein as Ajax, T.J. Miller as Weasel, and Brianna Hildebrand as Ellie Phimister/Negasonic Teenage Warhead. Deadpool is set to open in theaters on February 12, 2016.
The Plot:
Based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero, Deadpool tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.
The Revenant is brutal, harsh, and unflinching in its depiction of America in the 1800s, but it doesn’t include a scene of a bear raping Leonardo DiCaprio. The internet was in an uproar after someone wrote a click-bait article claiming DiCaprio was raped not once but twice by a bear in the film and that you could actually see it happening on screen. That’s utter nonsense and whoever first spread the lie should be banned from advance film screenings for life. Fortunately, that person’s claim was shot down quickly by people who weren’t looking to up their website’s page views and who took to Twitter to clear up the matter.
DiCaprio’s character, Hugh Glass, is ruthlessly and relentlessly attacked by a mother bear protecting her cubs, but how anyone mistook the attack as sexual is completely beyond me. However, the bear attack is likely to have audiences flinching in shared pain as it – and the rest of The Revenant – does not hold back in its portrayal of violence in the Wild West.
Revenant:
1. a person who returns.
2. a person who returns as a spirit after death; ghost.
Directed by Birdman’s Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu’s, The Revenant is based on the remarkable true story of one man’s survival against incredible odds and through multiple near-death experiences. Set in the early 1800s, the film kicks off with a fierce fight between Indians and a hunting party that includes explorer Hugh Glass, his son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck), leader Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson), over-his-head and out-of-his-league Jim Bridger (Will Poulter), and Glass’ nemesis, John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Attacked by the Pawnee while collecting furs, the group is forced to flee down a river, ultimately setting ashore at a remote location far from their destination. It’s there that the aforementioned bear attack occurs and Hugh is so grievously injured that the group is forced to leave him behind in the care of Fitzgerald and Bridger who will be compensated for volunteering to watch over Glass until he either dies or is strong enough to travel to their fort.
Glass’ encounter with the bear is only the beginning of a journey for the death-defying traveler who will survive multiple attacks including one which sends him off the edge of a cliff, into a pine tree, and seeking shelter from the freezing temperatures by cutting open his dead horse, removing its entrails, and nestling inside its skin. (Think Luke Skywalker crawling into the belly of his dead Tauntaun in The Empire Strikes Back).
The Bottom Line:
Everything in The Revenant is gorgeously shot, with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki’s mesmerizing work thrusting the audience into the snowy, inhospitable wilderness alongside Glass. Director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu chose an interesting subject for his Birdman follow up, and once again delivers a solid film with a compelling human story brought to life by an outstanding ensemble.
Will Poulter (remember him rapping in We’re the Millers?) plays the wide-eyed Jim Bridger with the right mix of innocence and gullibility. Domhnall Gleeson had an outstanding year with terrific performances in Ex Machina, Brooklyn, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and in The Revenant he displays yet another side as the leader who makes the most difficult of decisions and then must live with the consequences of his actions.
Tom Hardy, although once again occasionally difficult to understand, does despicable well and is unflinching in his portrayal of the loathsome John Fitzgerald. But this is truly Leonardo DiCaprio’s film and it’s obvious how committed he was to making this as gritty and realistic as possible. DiCaprio’s performance is what drives The Revenant and makes this R-rated violent Western not only one of the year’s best films but also one of the best Westerns in decades.
GRADE: A
Rating: R for strong frontier combat and violence including gory images, a sexual assault, language and brief nudity
“This here is Daisy Domergue. She’s wanted dead or alive for murder and when that sun comes out I’m taking this woman to hang. Is there anybody here committed to stopping me from doing that?!” announces and asks John “The Hangman” Ruth (Kurt Russell) as he enters Minnie’s Haberdashery with his fugitive prisoner (Jennifer Jason Leigh) in the Western film The Hateful Eight.
It’s been a long stagecoach ride across the mountains of Wyoming on the journey to Red Rock for bounty hunter Ruth and his prisoner as they attempt to stay ahead of a terrible blizzard. While in route, they stop to pick up another bounty hunter, Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), and a man who claims to be the new sheriff of Red Rock, Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins). Marquis and Chris have been left stranded in the snow by their dead horses. The newly formed group of travelers isn’t able to make it to Red Rock before the blizzard will overtake them, so the stagecoach makes a stop at Minnie’s Haberdashery seeking shelter from the storm.
With Minnie gone, supposedly visiting her mother on the other side of the mountain, and at least two of the four men who are already at the haberdashery seeking shelter from the blizzard seeming to be out of place, it’s not long before both Ruth and Warren begin to suspect that at least one of the four men are not who or what they pretend to be and just might be in cahoots with Domergue to try to break her free.
Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, The Hateful Eight is an over-the-top, extremely violent Western with dynamic characters, strong performances, an ominous mood-setting musical score, and beautiful cinematography. With its three-hour run time, an opening overture, plus a 15-minute intermission, Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight is modeled after and harkens back to the great epic films of the 1950s and ’60s.
Kurt Russell gives a great larger-than-life performance as John “The Hangman” Ruth. a tough, no-nonsense, always on his guard, bounty hunter determined to not only collect his bounty but see his prisoner hang for her crime. It’s a character who, had the film been made in the ’50s or ’60s, John Wayne would have been perfect to play…in fact he did in the film True Grit.
Without a doubt, the stand-out performance in the film is delivered by Jennifer Jason Leigh as the fugitive Daisy Domergue. Her callous, vile, and ugly behavior toward almost everyone in the film, and especially her contempt towards Warren because he’s Black – the film is set only a few years after the Civil War – makes her a completely unsympathetic character. Yet with her little flickers of malevolent smiles and grins, Leigh conveys a sinister, dangerous, and clever woman who seems to be one step ahead of all the men around her. Here’s hoping her performance is remembered during Oscar nominations.
The film is masterfully shot, and the cinematography, especially before the stagecoach gets to the haberdashery, is breathtaking. The opening sequence where the camera has a close-up of what seems to be a sign and turns out to be a large crucifix on the side of the mountain road covered in snow is stunning. The use of the snow, trees, and bleak weather conditions almost becomes a character itself in the movie.
The score of the film composed by Ennio Morricone is fantastic, setting up perfectly during the overture of the film, the tone and ominous trip with deadly characters the audience is about to spend three hours watching. It also gives a dark soul to the picture and enhances every scene, making it much more powerful.
There is a problem with the film, however, after the intermission. For some reason, Tarantino decides to give the film a narrator to point out a plot device that ruins the tone and part of the mystery of what is really going on at the haberdashery. After that and the telegraphed demise of one of the major characters, the film becomes all too reminiscent of an earlier film of Tarantino’s and becomes, unfortunately, very predictable. Any audience member familiar with the director’s earlier films will know exactly what is going to happen and how the film will end.
Even with a predictable third act, the compelling performances, a wonderful soundtrack, and stunning cinematography make The Hateful Eight the second-best film of Tarantino’s career and one of the best pictures of the year. See it.
GRADE: B-
Rating: R for strong bloody violence, a scene of violent sexual content, language and some graphic nudity
Natalie Dormer stars in ‘The Forest’ (Photo Credit : James Dittiger / Gramercy Pictures)
What can fans of the horror genre expect from movies released in 2016? Underworld, Purge, Conjuring, The Ring, and Amityville Horror will all have prequels or sequels heading to theaters this year along with films featuring zombies, ghosts, and other scary beasties that go bump in the night. Here’s a preview of what horror fans can look forward to throughout 2016:
Horror Movie Preview
31 (TBD) starring Sheri Moon Zombie, Malcolm McDowell, Judy Geeson, Lew Temple, Judy Carr, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, and Jeff Daniel Phillips The Plot: On October 30, 1975, five carnival workers were kidnapped and held hostage until the following night (Halloween), where they are put in a compound. They’re told that they are there to take part in a game named “31” where the goal is to survive past the next 12 hours. This is made difficult by the fact that they are not alone; a violent gang of evil clowns are there and stalking their every move.
Amityville: The Awakening (Apr 15, 2016) starring Bella Thorne, Cameron Monaghan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Taylor Spreitler The Plot: Belle (Bella Thorne), her little sister, and her comatose twin brother (Cameron Monaghan) move into a new house with their single mother Joan in order to save money to help pay for her brother’s expensive healthcare. But when strange phenomena begin to occur in the house including the miraculous recovery of her brother, Belle begins to suspect her Mother isn’t telling her everything and soon realizes they just moved into the infamous Amityville house.
Kate Bosworth stars in ‘Before I Wake’
Before I Wake (Apr 8, 2016) starring Kate Bosworth, Thomas Jane, Annabeth Gish, Dash Mihok, and Jacob Tremblay The Plot: Jessie (Kate Bosworth) and Mark (Thomas Jane) decide to take in a sweet and loving 8-year-old boy, Cody. Unbeknownst to them, Cody is terrified of falling asleep. At first, they assume his previous unstable homes caused his aversion to sleep, but soon discover why: Cody’s dreams manifest in reality as he sleeps. In one moment they experience the incredible wonder of Cody’s imagination, and in the next, the horrific nature of his night terrors. To save their new family, Jessie and Mark embark on a dangerous hunt to uncover the truth behind Cody’s nightmares.
The Boy (Jan 22, 2016) starring Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans, Jim Norton, Diana Hardcastle, Ben Robson, and James Russell The Plot: Greta (Lauren Cohan) is a young American woman who takes a job as a nanny in a remote English village, only to discover that the family’s 8-year-old is a life-sized doll that the parents care for just like a real boy, as a way to cope with the death of their actual son 20 years prior. After violating a list of strict rules, a series of disturbing and inexplicable events bring Greta’s worst nightmare to life, leading her to believe that the doll is actually alive.
Cell (TBD) starring John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Isabelle Fuhrman, and Stacy Keach The Plot: When a powerful signal is broadcast across mobile networks worldwide, cell phone users’ minds are instantly and dangerously re-programmed. Heading north through New England in search of his wife and son, Clay Riddell (Cusack) is joined by a group of survivors hoping to fend off the bloodthirsty and hyper-connected “phoners.”
The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist (June 10, 2016) starring Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Frances O’Connor, Madison Wolfe, Lauren Esposito, Patrick McAuley, Benjamin Haigh, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Simon Delaney, Franka Potente, and Simon McBurney The Plot: Reprising their roles, Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, star as Lorraine and Ed Warren, who, in one of their most terrifying paranormal investigations, travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by malicious spirits.
A Cure for Wellness (Sep 23, 2016) starring Dane DeHaan, Jason Isaacs, Mia Goth, and Celia Imrie The Plot: The movie follows a worker who is sent to rescue his boss from a European “wellness spa soon” and realizes that he’s trapped and discovers that the facility has a more sinister purpose than just serving the healthy needs of it patients.
Delirium (Sep 30, 2016) starring Topher Grace, Genesis Rodriguez, Patricia Clarkson, and Callan Mulvey The Plot: A man inherits his family’s mansion and comes to believe it’s haunted.
The Forest (Jan 8, 2016) starring Natalie Dormer, Taylor Kinney, Eoin Macken, and Yukiyoshi Ozama The Plot: Rising with terrifying grandeur at the base of Mt. Fuji in Japan, the legendary real-life Aokigahara Forest is the suspense-filled setting of the supernatural thriller. A young American woman, Sara (Natalie Dormer), journeys there in search of her twin sister, who has mysteriously disappeared. In the company of expatriate Aiden (Taylor Kinney), Sara enters the forest having been well warned to “stay on the path.” Determined to discover the truth about her sister’s fate, Sara will have to face the angry and tormented souls of the dead that prey on anyone who dares come near them. These malevolent spirits lying in wait for Sara at every turn will plunge her into a frightening darkness from which she must fight to save herself.
The Labyrinth (Oct 18, 2016) starring James Franco, Josh Peck, Jim Parrack, and Jason Ritter The Plot: An alcoholic father is given a final chance to redeem himself by a mysterious barkeep. A Mandroid (part man, part android) desperately searches for energy before his battery power dies. A new homeowner stumbles upon the secrets of the universe in his very own basement. The stories within The Labyrinth are sure to provoke, inspire and entertain audiences.
