The Way Back (2020), Ben Affleck, Warner Bros. Pictures
From director and co-writer Gavin O’Connor, The Way Back is a new drama starring Ben Affleck as Jack Cunningham, a former High School basketball phenom, who’s now struggling with alcoholism.
After being offered a coaching job where the team finally starts to win, Jack may finally have to start confronting his demons.
Additional key cast includes Janina Gavankar, Hayes MacArthur, Rachael Carpani, Da’Vinchi…
This trailer feels a tad too long but it does look like a good movie with a great Affleck performance. I do rather enjoy stories of unexpected lucky breaks.
T.K. Carter, Al Madrigal, Lukas Gage, Caleb Thomas, Christine Horn, Chris Bruno, Marlene Forte and Melvin Gregg also star.
The SpongeBob Movie – Sponge on the Run (2020), Keanu Reeves, Paramount Pictures
Popular animated TV series SpongeBob SquarePants has a new movie coming called The SpongeBob Movie – Sponge On The Run.
Directed by Tim Hill this third SpongeBob movie stars Keanu Reeves, Awkwafina, Clancy Brown, Lori Alan…
I never religiously watched SpongeBob Squarepants growing up but I have always been quite curious. Maybe Keanu Reeves involvement will finally get me to remind myself about why it’s so loved.
Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Mr. Lawrence, Mary Jo Catlett, Rodger Bumpass, Jill Talley, Carolyn Lawrence and Veronica Alicino also star.
Starring Emma Roberts, Awkwafina, Eiza González and Milla Jovovich, Paradise Hillsis not the kind of fantasy movie that I’d shout about so that no one misses out on the experience of seeing it. Yet, I wouldn’t say that it’s a completely terrible movie either.
Set in a mysterious boarding school with a mission to transform wayward girls so that they fit heir surroundings’ exact desires, it was inevitable that some of the girls were going to resist and rebel. A rebellion led by Roberts’s Uma character because she has zero desire to marry the man her family insists that she does.
What grabbed me immediately about director Alice Waddington’s film, besides a plot about rightful youthful rebellion is the generally visually pleasing colours, costume and set design. Paradise Hills has a general look and theme that reminded me of Melanie Martinez’s recent K-12 (2019)music film. I liked that the movie became more disturbing in a way that proved entertaining towards the end. I’m also glad for the one or two twists I didn’t see coming.
A definite downside to Waddington’s movie however is that something about the fantasy elements of the story and the films general execution didn’t quite have me fully buying into everything that was happening. This is likely why I wasn’t as horrified as I perhaps should have been when the most disturbing things were happening.
I was still very much about the uprising and grateful for the thrilling moments in the second half. Yet there remained an air of ‘this isn’t at all real’ and that truth very probably made me that little bit less invested emotionally in all that was happening. In other words, everything I needed wasn’t there to make me fully immerse myself and get lost in the story.
With that said, watch Paradise Hills you’re really curious.
The Last Right (2019), Michiel Huisman, Entertainment One UK
From writer / director Aoife Crehan, The Last Right is a new drama / comedy starring Michiel Huisman, Michael McElhatton, Colm Meaney and Brian Cox.
Huisman plays New York-based Daniel who’s on a plane home to Ireland for his mother’s funeral, when he wakes up to find that elderly passenger Padraig has died in the next seat…
‘Come back and let me hit ya!‘
The Irish charm, Huisman’s accent, the humour and strangers connecting are the reasons I’m interested.
Niamh Algar, Jim Norton, Aidan O’Hare, Samuel Bottomley, Donna Anita Nikolaisen, Eleanor O’Brien, Bryan Quinn, Sarah Caitriona Lynch and Louise Mathews also star.
Starring Zac Efron, Mark Wahlberg, Amanda Seyfried and Mckenna Grace, Scoob! is a new Scooby Doo movie that takes us back to when Scooby and the gang were all young trick-or-treaters.
From director Tony Cervone, the gang’s challenge this time is to stop a plot to unleash the ghost dog Cerberus upon the world – and end the dogpocalypse…
Nostalgia is the reason I’m curious about this one. I wonder if I’ll still enjoy Scooby and gang the way I’ll very likely always love The Simpsons. Especially my darling, super mischievous Bartholomew Simpson.
Jason Isaacs, Gina Rodriguez, Will Forte, Kiersey Clemons, Pierce Gagnon, Ariana Greenblatt, Frank Welker (Voice of Scooby), Ken Jeong, Iain Armitage (Voice of Shaggy) and Tracy Morgan also star.
A new official trailer has landed for Sonic The Hedgehog.
Starring James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz and Neal McDonough, this is the Jeff fowler directed story of a bright blue, super fast hedgehog destined to save planet. All with the the help of his new cop friend (Marsden)…
You may notice that Sonic looks quite different when compared to his appearance in the previous trailer released six months ago. It looks like all the fan complaints about the way he was animated have been listened to. The most noticeable difference I can see is Sonic’s nose. I have to admit, he looks better, right? Definitely cuter.
I’m in for the humour, speed and Jim Carey’s character, – who’s now giving me Will Farrell as ‘Mugatu’ in Zoolander (2001) vibes. I LOVE Mugatu!
Tika Sumpter,Leanne Lapp, Debs Howard, Elfina Luk, Shannon Chan-Kent and Frank C. Turner also star.
The Laundromat (2019),Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas
Steven Soderbergh’s latest drama The Laundromat is inspired by the ‘Panama Papers’ scandal; The 2016 publication of leaked documents detailing financial and attorney / client information for more than two hundred thousand offshore entities. A leak that led to the eventual shut down of one of the largest providers of offshore financial services, Mossack Fonseca & Co.
Focused on educating and entertaining, I found Soderbergh’s film to be only partly successful at both. This is mainly because I had trouble staying engaged. Particularly, to my surprise, for much of Antonio Banderas and Gary Oldman’s scenes. The way the film is written, structured and edited certainly didn’t help matters.
Soderbergh essentially shared the stories of some of the dealings of the offshore organisations / individuals who were helping the rich take advantage and get away with it. And they did it all with the help of the likes of Banderas and Oldman’s characters – the pair behind law firms like Mossack Fonseca & Co.
Eventually the whistleblower shows up; a character who, in real life has managed to remain anonymous, and this is where Soderbergh and the writers decided to get creative and give a face to the person behind the leak. It would be great to say that this is when things got really interesting. Sadly, no – due to the aforementioned story structure issues which resulted in the whole experience feeling quite disjointed.
The Laundromat felt like a series of very loosely linked stories that were somewhat entertaining on their own but together they didn’t make for a well put together finished product. Meryl Streep was of courser watchable, as always but that just wasn’t enough in the end.
Watch The Laundromat if you’re really, REALLY curious.
Starring Maggie Q, Lucy Hale, Michael Peña and Portia Doubleday, Fantasy Island is a new horror / mystery / comedy based on the popular 1970s TV show about a magical island resort
Directed by Jeff Wadlow, Additional key cast includes Kim Coates, Michael Rooker, Charlotte McKinney…
My familiarity with the TV show starts and ends with the knowledge that it existed. This trailer definitely has me interested.
I don’t usually watch the ‘international’ versions of trailer releases. For this movie though, I accidentally clicked on the international trailer first and found myself rather unimpressed. Luckily, the version I’ve featured is definitely a much better edit, right?
I’m now curious about the criteria that makes a trailer fit for an international audience.
Ryan Hansen, Jimmy O. Yang, Austin Stowell, Robbie Jones, Parisa Fitz-Henley and Goran D. Kleut also star.
