Upcoming Movie – Geek to the Future

Final Avengers Infinity War Trailer Breakdown.

We’re almost there, everyone! The movie event that has been brewing for the past 10 years and 18 movies is now just over a month away.

Tickets went on sale yesterday, and to help entice people to buy, a new trailer and movie poster were released. I’m not ashamed to admit it worked on me…but I would have bought tickets regardless.

Holy smokes, what a trailer! There’s several new clips with a ton of new insight to be gleaned from the trailer, so if you don’t want to know anything going into the theater, turn away now.

Who the heck is this Thanos guy? The trailer starts with Gamora talking about who Thanos is and what he wants. Then we see that she’s talking to at least Tony, but most likely other Avengers as well. This makes sense as the Guardians are the ones who have had the most history with Thanos up until this point.

Wakanda takes center stage. We already knew that Wakanda would play a large role in this movie, including a large-scale battle. Now the reason for that battle seems more clear: Wakanda will be the location the Avengers try to hide the remaining infinity stones from Thanos and his minions.

Star Lord doesn’t agree, but this seems logical considering Wakanda is the most technologically advanced city on the planet and would provide the best defense against Thanos.

The Avengers are in trouble. We see several heroes taking on either the Mad Titan himself or his henchmen in the trailer, and all of them seem to be completely outmatched. Fans are already anticipating heavy casualities and this trailer doesn’t do anything to change that idea.

A close up of the “Hulkbuster” armor. Last seen in Age of Ultron, the team will need everything they have to take on Thanos. There’s reason to believe there could be someone other than Tony in there…

Tony’s “Bleeding Edge” armor at work. This new armor pulled from the comics is based on tiny nanomachines that not only expand across his body to construct Tony’s basic armor, but they can also form new shapes such as wings, or the huge rocket booster we see form around his feet in the trailer.

Star Lord and Iron Man probably won’t be besties. This is the first interaction we’ve seen of the two so far. Knowing the size of both of their egos, things seem to be going about as expected.

A closer look at Peter’s “Iron Spider” suit. This is the same suit Peter decided not to take from Tony at the end of Spiderman: Homecoming. It’s inspired heavily from the “Iron Spider” suit he gets from Stark in the comics.

Flashback to when Thanos kidnaps/adopts Gamora. Both the child and another woman to the left of one of the clips have Gamora’s green skin and red hair. It seems safe to assume this is from a flashback to the day Thanos conquered Gamora’ s home world.

A blink and you’ll miss it look at “The Black Order.” These are the elite, alien henchmen who work for Thanos and do his bidding. It looks like they have been sent out into the universe to help Thanos track down the infinity stones.

Doctor Strange and Star Lord know that teamwork makes the dream work. This one is easy to miss but we get a super quick look at Doctor Strange helping Star Lord cross an area with a little use of magic. Peter Quill usually has rocket boots that allow him to fly; they must have been taken out of commission somehow.

Humorous introductions. Peter Parker introduces himself and we learn that joking about Doctor Strange’s name is still funny.

What do you think? Anything else cool that I missed? What are your predictions?

Avengers: Infinity War explodes into theaters April 27.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Trailer Reaction!

The first trailer for the new Fantastic Beasts movie is out today, and man does it look good!

While the trailer barely shows Johnny Depp who’s playing the big bad, we do get some great shots of Jude Law as the much younger Albus Dumbledore. I’ll admit I was a little surprised at the casting decision at first, but seeing him in this first trailer, I think he’ll be perfect. The more I look at his face, the more I can picture a younger Michael Gambon. Check out the comparison below and you can definitely see some similarities.

The movie title, poster and parts of the trailer also tease the 3 magical items known from the Harry Potter series as the Deathly Hallows. Looks like we’re going to see some epic wizard battles as well. I’m definitely looking forward to checking it out.

Eddie Redmayne will be reprising his role as Newt Scamander along with Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, and Zoe Kravitz.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald aparates into theaters November 16th!

Magizoologist Newt Scamander joins forces with young Albus Dumbledore to prevent the devious Gellert Grindelwald from raising pure-blood wizards to rule over all non-magical beings.

Trailer Round Up: The Grinch, Mary Poppins Returns, and Christopher Robin

A few new trailers have come out over the last couple weeks and you can check them out below.

The Grinch

Yes, it’s another remake of this Dr Seuss classic, this time with Benedict Cumberbatch voicing the vile green meanie. I feel like this story has been retold more than enough, but I guess there’s always a new generation of kids to cash in on. Cumberbatch is a good choice for the role, though.

The Grinch tells the story of a cynical grump who goes on a mission to steal Christmas, only to have his heart changed by a young girl’s generous holiday spirit. Funny, heartwarming and visually stunning, it’s a universal story about the spirit of Christmas and the indomitable power of optimism.

Mary Poppins Returns

The sequel to another classic movie…that no one really asked for. That may not be a bad thing as the trailer looks promising. Emily Blunt looks great as Poppins but its going to be difficult to fill Julie Andrews shoes for sure.

In Depression-era London, a now-grown Jane and Michael Banks, along with Michael’s three children, are visited by the enigmatic Mary Poppins following a personal loss. Through her unique magical skills, and with the aid of her friend Jack, she helps the family rediscover the joy and wonder missing in their lives.

Christopher Robin

Ewan McGregor plays as an adult Christopher Robin who is visited by his childhood friend, Winnie the Pooh. Seems like an interesting concept that should make for a heartwarming, Disney tale. I can’t help but think of this as a Disney version of Ted. Don’t lie, you did too.

A working-class family man, Christopher Robin, encounters his childhood friend Winnie-the-Pooh, who helps him to rediscover the joys of life.

Wreck-It Ralph 2 Trailer Reaction

Disney released a trailer today for the Wreck-It Ralph sequel: Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2. Why in the world isn’t it Ralph Wrecks the Internet? Such a missed opportunity. Check out the trailer:

The first one was released 6 years ago and was a fun look at the “secret lives” of arcade game characters when no one is playing. This time John C. Reilly’s Ralph and Sarah Silverman’s Vanellope will discover the craziness that is the world wide web.

There’s a couple moments in the trailer that are funny, but overall I gotta say I’m not super excited about this one…at least not yet. It just doesn’t feel like it has the same novelty to it that the original did.

Kids will undoubtedly eat this up, however and it is almost guaranteed to do well at the box office.

What are your thoughts? Excited for this sequel?

Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 releases November 21st.

9 March Movies You’ll Want to Check Out.

While you don’t typically think of March as a big movie month, there are surprisingly quite a few coming out that I’m interested in and think you should consider checking out. (MoviePass powers activate!) Some are admittedly a little riskier than others, but take a look at the trailers below and let me know your thoughts!

Which upcoming March movies are you excited for??

March 2nd

Red Sparrow

I love me some J-Law. This looks like the type of thriller that will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat until the very end.

Death Wish

A remake of the 1974 Charles Bronson movie. Whenever you have Bruce Willis out for revenge, it’s a good time.

March 9th

Gringo

I have no idea if this will actually be any good, but David Oyelowo’ s reactions to the situation his character finds himself in has me laughing every time I watch.

A Wrinkle in Time

I’m not familiar with the book, however this has a great cast. Disney has been on fire the last several years, so this looks promising, especially if you have kids.

The Hurricane Heist

This will undoubtedly be a horrible movie. However, a heist movie AND a disaster movie rolled into one? I’m there. This has the makings of a great guilty pleasure movie (Plus they get bonus points for trailer song selection).

March 16th

Tomb Raider

The 2011 video game this version of Lara Croft is based on was a phenomenal reboot for the franchise. This is a kickass trailer that looks promising. I’m hoping it can deliver the same level of story and drama as the game.

March 23rd

Pacific Rim Uprising

I’m admitting freely that I’ll be a little biased on this sequel: I absolutely love the original. Giant monsters fighting giant robots…suddenly I’m a kid again watching Godzilla. I’m disappointed Del Torro isn’t directing, but hopefully he can still help the movie as producer deliver the same level of fun.

Isle of Dogs

This looks….weird, and I want to see it for Jeff Goldblum alone. Then add Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Liev Schreiber and others? I’m too curious to say no.

March 29th

Ready Player One

Based on the popular book and essentially a futuristic Willy Wonka story, this looks like an epic line up of 80’s nostalgia goodness.

Rampage Trailer 2 Reaction

I am 100% convinced that if the money is good, the Rock will take on literally any role. Rampage, which is based on the 80’s arcade game with the same name, is a perfect example. Most actors of his level of fame wouldn’t dare get anywhere near a role like this, as the chances of it doing well are slim. Johnson basically said “hold my beer, watch this…”

It is true that Dwayne Johnson’s acting has drastically improved since his WWE days, and he’s had a decent track record lately with making magic happen with whatever movie he’s in (with the exception of Baywatch maybe).

I played Rampage quite a bit as a kid, so this definitely has some nostalgia factor that might also make it easier to overlook its inevitable flaws. In a time where most games had you play as a hero, Rampage gave you the choice between 3 monsters and then set you loose to destroy a city. For a movie based on this type of game, the story seems to make as much sense as it possibly could: science.

The bottom line is: this will not be a cinema masterpiece…not even close. What it does look like is a ridiculously entertaining popcorn flick that not only acknowledges it’s absurdity (“of course the wolf has wings”), but flaunts it while having a good time, that Dwayne Johnson is an expert at providing. He is the modern day action hero.

Rampage release on 4/20/18

Everything You Need to Know About Black Panther Before Going To See the Movie.

There is no question that Black Panther, releasing this week will be a big deal for several reasons; not only as a stand alone film, but also leading up to Avengers: Infinity War in just a couple of months. I’m all but certain we will see the final Infinity Stone pop up somewhere. This will definitely be one you won’t want to miss.

Who is Black Panther, anyway? Many movie goers will not be overly familiar with this character going in, however he is a heavy hitter in the Marvel universe that shouldn’t be overlooked. While there is a far richer background for the character in the comics, I’ll stick to covering primarily the cinematic counterpart to keep things simple.

First, I highly recommend at least making sure you’ve seen Captain America: Civil War before catching the movie, as this is where Black Panther makes his first appearance in the MCU.

A quick history lesson.

Black Panther, or the character’s real name T’Challa (“Ta-Cha-lah”), was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1966, during a time when comic book heroes were not ethnically diverse at all. In fact, he is the first African superhero to hit mainstream comics, paving the way for others to follow such as Falcon and Luke Cage…in other words, he’s a big deal.

Contrary to what some think: Black Panther does not have a connection with the Black Panther Party, and actually predates it by 6 months. For a brief time, Marvel even changed the character’s name to “Black Leopard” in an effort to sidestep any controversy, however it didn’t last long as the name didn’t sound quite as badass.

“Black Panther” is actually the ceremonial title passed down to each successive king of the fictional African nation, Wakanda. The title signifies that the king is both the ruler and protector of the people of Wakanda. During the events of Civil War, T’Chaka, T’Challa’s father, is the current king until he is murdered during the UN meeting to ratify the Sokovia Accords. This means that the kingdom, as well as the mantle of Black Panther now passes on to T’Challa.

As king, T’Challa also has an all female royal guard, known as the Dora Milaje (“The Adored Ones”) and are highly skilled with various weapons and fighting styles.

Wakanda is one of the most technologically advanced civilizations on the planet, and sits on one of the largest vibranium deposits anywhere. If that word sounds familiar, it’s because vibranium is the metal Captain America’s shield is made out of, so it’s an extremely valuable commodity. For comparison, much of the tech in Wakanda rivals that of what Tony Stark can cook up, in some ways even surpassing.

Vibranium plays a significant role for the hero, as the Black Panther suit is highly advanced and made out of the material, including retractable claws on both hands, effectively making him bulletproof.

Furthermore, T’Challa also has enhanced abilities including speed, agility, strength, and durability; gained from eating something called the Heart Shaped Herb. In the comics, (and most likely the movie) this herb is believed to grant a mystical connection to the Wakandan Panther God, however in reality, the plant is mutated from a vibranium meteorite that crashed to Earth long ago.

T’Challa/Black Panther is essentially the Marvel equivalent of Bruce Wayne/Batman; except T’Challa is not only richer than Bruce (by far), but also has super powers, unlike The Dark Knight.

A couple other characters you should know

Ulysses Klaue, the smuggler and arms dealer who lost his arm in Avengers: Age of Ultron will return in Black Panther. He’s actually been to Wakanda before, where he enslaved Wakandans to illegally mine vibranium for him.

Everett Ross is the CIA operative from Captain America: Civil War that worked with the government to attempt to control the actions of the Avengers. He will be returning with unknown motivations so far.

Stay tuned for my full review at the end of the week!

Black Panther is releases in theaters tomorrow.

Black Panther follows T’Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king. But when a powerful old enemy reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king—and Black Panther—is tested when he is drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people and their way of life.

VENOM Trailer Reaction

Here it is ladies and gentlemen; the first look at the infamous Venom movie, starring Tom Hardy:

So this trailer doesn’t actually reveal much; just establishes some foundation for Tom Hardy’s character Eddie Brock, who is clearly having a rough time. The trailer does establish a nice suspense, almost horror vibe. I would have liked to have seen just a quick look of him as Venom, but the trailer at least shows enough to make you want more…which isn’t that the goal?

Hardy is a fantastic actor and also a master of voices, but I can’t decide if I like what he’s doing here yet or not. He sounded better as the trailer progressed, but those first couple lines just sounded a little weird for me.

There are some interesting shots throughout the trailer though. The beginning starts with what seems like a very serene mountain location and ends up being just the opposite: Hardy in some type of facility, having tests run. The camera trick is a nice touch, and is an ironic play on what’s most likely about to happen to him.

Also worth noting is that most of the shots of Hardy are looking at his back, as he walks around like a brawler who’s expecting to have to fight at any moment. These are some silent cues as to how Hardy will play the character.

Their are a lot of doubts floating around right now about this Sony made Marvel movie, and while it’s still too early to tell if the movie will be any good, I think this trailer is at least a small step in the right direction.

Who is Venom?

A very quick rundown for those not familiar: Venom is essentially the name given to the result of an alien creature called a Symbiote, bonding with a human host for survival. The Symbiote looks like squirming black goo, and once it overtakes its host’s body, the two become one symbiotic creature, known as Venom.

Venom enhances the abilities of whatever host it’s joined with. Due to its first host being Spider-Man, any future versions of Venom take on all of Peter Parker’s abilities. Eddie Brock is the most well known host the Symbiote has joined with, however there have been several others. Primarily a villain in the Marvel world, there have been quite a few instances of him taking on more of an anti-hero role (which is closer to what we’ll see with Tom Hardy here).

An even darker and more powerful Symbiote creature named Carnage is rumored to be the main villain of the of the movie. This Symbiote bonds with a lunatic in the comics named Cletus Kasaday (originally modeled after DC’s Joker, if that tells you anything about his personality) While Venom represents the dark side of Brock, Carnage takes things to another level: a truly psychotic and blood thirsty creature with absolutely no morals.

So What’s the Story Going to Be?

Promised to be “as true the the comics as possible,” the story will be based on 2 different Venom story arcs:

Lethal Protector

Planet of the Symbiotes

Both titles see Venom actually team up with Spider-Man to take on other Symbiotes. This all has posed a very important question fans want answered: will we see Spider-Man in Venom? After all, it seems almost wrong to have a movie devoted to one of Spidey’s greatest “frenemies” without the web-slinger himself. There’s been a lot of back and forth on that subject. First, there was an emphatic no; this Venom exsists in a separate universe from that of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, now it’s being at least rumored that Tom Holland could be in the film in some form. Either way, if he is in the film, it will most likely be a minor role.

What are your thoughts? Are you excited or will not even the great Tom Hardy with the clever promotional hashtag #wearevenom keep the movie from flopping? Time will tell for sure.

Venom is set to release October 5

Deadpool 2 Trailer: Say Hello to Cable

Ever since he was teased in the post-credits scene of Deadpool, fans have been anxiously waiting to see the time traveling X-Men turned Deadpool sidekick, Cable. The wait finally ended today with the first Deadpool 2 trailer to feature him.

First, let me say that I love that this trailer doesn’t even identify itself as a red band trailer. Fox is passively stating if you’re not sure what you’re getting yourself into when you press that play button, you deserve to be offended. (Except if you’re a parent of young kids and you don’t know anything about Deadpool. In that case please don’t let them watch this: it’s really bad and will possibly scar them emotionally for life…which also means they nailed it once again).

This trailer is fantastically funny, with the same old Deadpool humor: taking shots at everyone from DC to Disney, to even the writers of his own movie. Some actors feel like they’re made for certain roles, and Ryan Reynolds is without a doubt, made for Deadpool. Josh Brolin, also looks to be a great fit for the rough, and overly serious doomsday soldier as well.

Tim Miller, the director of the first film, left over “creative differences,” so the torch fell to David Leitch for the sequel. It looks like it should be in good hands though, especially the action scenes, as Leitch’s other work includes movies like John Wick and Atomic Blonde.

Who is Cable anyway?

Cable’s real name is Nathan Summers. If that name rings any bells it’s because Cable’s parents are Scott Summers aka Cyclops and Madelyne Pryor (a clone of Jean Grey). Cable is sent to the future as a baby, and after being raised in a possible future where everything has literally gone to shit, travels back to the present to prevent said shit from going down.

These days Cable also spends a lot of time in the comics going on crazy adventures with Deadpool, which usually consists of Deadpool aggravating the piss out of him. Cable is a fan favorite from the comics, and so far it looks like Josh Brolin will do a fantastic job bringing him to life.

We also get some quick shots of Domino, played by Zazie Beetz who in the comics is a member of the X-Force, a group of mutants who are much more militant than the X-Men, and led by Cable. There’s actually an X-Force movie in the works, so we’ll no doubt see some setup for that in this movie.

Ryan Reynolds posted a great new poster for the movie as well, with Deadpool taking his own spin on the 80’s movie Flashdance:

Take your passion. And make it happen. #Deadpool pic.twitter.com/7MY7z7x6pj

— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) February 6, 2018

Deadpool 2 hits theaters May 18

Solo: A Star Wars Story First Full Trailer

There’s a full trailer of the upcoming Han Solo movie online today, following the short Super Bowl teaser last night.

In it, we not only get a better look at Donald Glover’s young Lando Calrissian, but we also get to hear what Alden Ehrenreich sounds like as Han. Take a look:

While it is a good-looking trailer with some incredible visuals, I’m still not sold. This is going to be a tough one to win over many of the fans with. Unlike the never before seen characters of Rogue One, we definitely know Han and Lando. Fans have grown up watching and listening to Harrison Ford and Billy Dee Williams for decades.

Purely judging from the trailer I think Ehrenreich will do a decent job mimicking Ford’s mannerisms (He nails a laugh at the end of the trailer)…but there’s something about the voice that feels off. For a younger Han, it has too much edge to it. The jury is still out on Glover, however he looks more the part than Alden does. I’m just not convinced it will “feel” like Han and Lando.

I know some of you may say, wow that’s incredibly picky (and something only a movie geek would say), but if you’re going to recast two of the most iconic characters in movie history…it has to be spot on. There’s no room for error.

The goal can’t be to watch this movie thinking “that guy does a decent impression of Harrison Ford as Han Solo.” The goal is to make the audience forget he’s been recast altogether and believe that this really is a younger Han Solo. Maybe this is asking the impossible, but with a production period with a series of troubles including the original directors being canned and re-shoots ordered…well let’s just say “I have a bad feeling about this.”

And where in the world did Woody Harrelson come from?? Of all the people I never thought would be in Star Wars movie, he has to be near the top of the list. These are crazy days we live in, folks.

One final note on the trailer is that the also iconic Millennium Falcon is notably different; as it should. For one, it looks like it just flew off the assembly line (not quite the “bucket of bolts” we all know, yet). Also, at the nose of the ship, it looks like the middle section has been filled in. It should be interesting to see how the change in design comes about.

Along with the trailer, we get 4 character posters, which I posted below. Same story here as with the trailer: While the posters are well designed, something doesn’t feel quite right; especially with Han. They do give you a good shot of the front of the Falcon to see what I mentioned about the design.

I am interested to find out more about Emilia Clarke’s character Qi’Ra. The recent Star Wars films have had several fantastic, strong female characters so far, and with Khaleesi herself on-board, the trend should continue.

We all know Disney is out to make money as any business with a property as successful as Star Wars would be. I’ll still be at the front of the lines to see this, I’m just afraid, Solo might be the first one that actually feels like a cash grab.

Here’s hoping it’s not. What’s your thoughts on the trailer? Let me know.

Solo: A Star Wars story releases May 25th.