Movie News: NEW TRAILER, POSTER OF “THOR: RAGNAROK” REVEALED AT COMIC-CON

The new trailer for Marvel Studios’ Thor: Ragnarok has debuted in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con along with a new poster!

Feast your eyes on the new trailer at http://youtu.be/ue80QwXMRHg and see the poster! Be sure to catch Thor: Ragnarok when it thunders into Philippine cinemas on November 3!

Directed by Taika Waititi from a script by Craig Kyle & Christopher Yost and Stephany Folsom and Eric Pearson, Thor: Ragnarok picks up after the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron.

In Marvel Studios’ Thor: Ragnarok, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is imprisoned on the other side of the universe without his mighty hammer and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok—the destruction of his homeworld and the end of Asgardian civilization—at the hands of an all-powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela (Cate Blanchett). But first he must survive a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against his former ally and fellow Avenger—the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo).

The film also stars Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban with Mark Ruffalo and Anthony Hopkins. 

Thor: Ragnarok is distributed by the Walt Disney Company (Philippines).

Movie News: Watch The First Trailer for Ready Player One

Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for Ready Player One, the already much-anticipated sci-fi action adventure, directed by Steven Spielberg.

The film is based on the Ernest Cline novel of the same name and takes place in the year 2045, where the world is on the brink of chaos and collapse.

Check out the trailer below and watch Ready Player One in Philippine cinemas in March 31, 2018.

Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/warnerbrosphils/videos/vl.104549400226619/1751533441542856/?type=1

YouTube:  https://youtu.be/txjVwsFndUE

The film is set in 2045, with the world on the brink of chaos and collapse. But the people have found salvation in the OASIS, an expansive virtual reality universe created by the brilliant and eccentric James Halliday (Mark Rylance). When Halliday dies, he leaves his immense fortune to the first person to find a digital Easter egg he has hidden somewhere in the OASIS, sparking a contest that grips the entire world. When an unlikely young hero named Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) decides to join the contest, he is hurled into a breakneck, reality-bending treasure hunt through a fantastical universe of mystery, discovery and danger.

Scripted by Cline and Zak Penn, Ready Player One also stars Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, T.J. Miller, Simon Pegg, and Mark Rylance.

Ready Player One is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Movie News: Watch the Trailer for Proud Mary

The first trailer has arrived for Columbia Pictures’ new action thriller Proud Mary starring Oscar-nominee Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Hidden Figures).

Check out the trailer at https://youtu.be/S1jVIRcIvhk  and watch Proud Mary in Philippine cinemas in January 2018.

Killing for the man, every night and day, Mary (Henson) is a hit woman working for an organized crime family in Boston, whose life is completely turned around when she meets a young boy whose path she crosses when a professional hit goes bad.

Babak Najafi (“London Has Fallen”) helms the film which co-stars Billy Brown, Margaret Avery, Xander Berkeley, Neal McDonough, and Danny Glover.

Proud Mary is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

Movie News: WATCH! EPIC FATHER & SON WAR IN “THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE” TRAILER 2

Watch the newly released “LEGO NINJAGO Movie” Trailer 2 to see the epic tale of good…and dad.  Catch the trailer at the links below and watch the film in Philippine cinemas starting September 27, 2017.

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YouTube:  https://youtu.be/sVea7hMLqec

A new animated adventure in Warner Bros. Pictures’ LEGO® franchise, “The LEGO NINJAGO® Movie” stars Dave Franco, Justin Theroux, Fred Armisen, Abbi Jacobson, Olivia Munn, Kumail Nanjiani, Michael Peña, Zach Woods, and the legendary Jackie Chan.

In this big-screen NINJAGO adventure, the battle for NINJAGO City calls to action young Master Builder Lloyd, aka the Green Ninja, along with his friends, who are all secret ninja warriors.  Led by Master Wu, as wise-cracking as he is wise, they must defeat evil warlord Garmadon, The Worst Guy Ever, who also happens to be Lloyd’s dad.  Pitting mech against mech and father against son, the epic showdown will test this fierce but undisciplined team of modern-day ninjas who must learn to check their egos and pull together to unleash their inner power of Spinjitzu.

Jackie Chan (“Kung Fu Panda,” The Karate Kid”) stars as Master Wu; Justin Theroux (“Megamind 2,” “The Leftovers”) is Garmadon; Dave Franco (“Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising”) plays Lloyd; and Olivia Munn (“X-Men: Apocalypse”) is Lloyd’s mom, Koko.  Making up the secret ninja crew, Michael Peña (“Ant-Man,” “The Martian”) is Kai; Fred Armisen (“The Jim Gaffigan Show,” “SNL”) voices Cole; KumailNanjiani (“Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates”) is Jay; Abbi Jacobson (“Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising”) plays Nya; and Zach Woods (“Silicon Valley”) voices Zane.

“The LEGO NINJAGO Movie” will be directed by Charlie Bean, Paul Fisherand Bob Logan.  The screenplay is by Bob Logan & Paul Fisher & William Wheeler & Tom Wheeler and Jared Stern & John Whittington, story by Hilary Winston & Bob Logan & Paul Fisher & William Wheeler & Tom Wheeler and Dan Hageman & Kevin Hageman, based on LEGO Construction Toys.

The LEGO Ninjago Movie is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Movies: Watch! Kingsman: The Golden Circle Full Trailer!

The action ante just reached maximum level in the latest full trailer reveal of “Kingsman: The Golden Circle,” sequel to the sleeper hit “Kingsman: The Secret Service” that has already grossed more than US$400 million worldwide.   Trailer link:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_zZ-Tuzm5U

                The first hit movie “Kingsman: The Secret Service” based upon the acclaimed comic book introduced us to an independent, international intelligence agency operating at the highest level of discretion, whose ultimate goal is to keep the world safe.   

                Helming anew this action blockbuster is Matthew Vaughn with Taron Egerton reprIsing his role as Eggsy, now a full-fledged Kingsman who faces a new challenge along with his  elite team of spies in  “Kingsman: The Golden Circle.” The exciting sequel sees the über-spies, also considered as modern-day Knights of the Round Table take on an unexpected alliance when their headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage.  Teaming up with a spy organization in the US known as the Statesman, these two elite secret organizations join forces to take down a deadly common enemy.

                Returning cast includes Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Sophie Cookson and will be joined by a new cast members including Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry, Channing Tatum, Julianne Moore, Elton John and Pedro Pascal. 

                “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” will open September 20 in cinemas nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros. 

Movies: MAIN TRAILER FOR “THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE” BUILDS ANTICIPATION

Wake up and smell the justice. The bat is back! The main trailer for Warner Bros. Pictures' “The LEGO Batman Movie” has just arrived online and may be viewed at https://youtu.be/T51Y3iyYXNA.

In the irreverent spirit of fun that made “The LEGO® Movie” a worldwide phenomenon, the self-described leading man of that ensemble – LEGO Batman – stars in his own big-screen adventure. But there are big changes brewing in Gotham, and if he wants to save the city from The Joker’s hostile takeover, Batman may have to drop the lone vigilante thing, try to work with others and maybe, just maybe, learn to lighten up.

Will Arnett reprises his starring role from “The LEGO Movie” as the voice of LEGO Batman, aka Bruce Wayne. Zach Galifianakis (the “Hangover” films) stars as The Joker; Michael Cera (“Sausage Party”) as the orphan Dick Grayson; Rosario Dawson (TV’s “Daredevil”) as Barbara Gordon; and Ralph Fiennes (the “Harry Potter” films) as Alfred.

“The LEGO® Batman Movie” is directed by Chris McKay, and produced by Dan Lin, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Roy Lee, who worked together on “The LEGO Movie.” It is written by Seth Grahame-Smith and Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers, with additional screenplay material by Jared Stern & John Whittington, based on LEGO Construction Toys. Jill Wilfert, Matthew Ashton and Will Allegra serve as executive producers.

From Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Animation Group, in association with LEGO System A/S, a Lin Pictures / Lord Miller / Vertigo Entertainment production, “The LEGO Batman Movie” will open across the Philippines on February 9, 2017. It will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. #LegoBatmanMovie

BATMAN and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics.

LEGO, the LEGO logo, the minifigure and the brick and knob configuration are trademarks of the LEGO Group. © 2016 The LEGO Group. Used with permission. All rights reserved.

All Is Lost Movie Review

All is definitely not lost when it comes to the nominations, awards and praise for this movie which is another award winning movie in the American Survivor genre along with Castaway and 72 Hours. 

All Is Lost showcases man's perseverance for survival amidst the impossible forces of both nature and circumstance. The movie begins with Robert Redford's nameless character loosing hope and apologizing, saying goodbye to an unknown loved one. Then we are brought back eight days ago, to where it all began. 

Robert Redford (we never know the name of his character throughout the film) wakes up with a start as a floating shipment container hits his ship the Virginia Jean and water starts coming in his boat (think of Titanic beginning when they hit the ice burg) and this of course is the beginning of his insurmountable ordeals. 

The movie has no dialogue which gives more power to Redford's acting and why he deserved all those Best Actor Nominations and his win (in that category) from the New York Critics Circle. 
   
Most movies even get awards for the script and the screen play but All Is Lost had no dialogue but Redford was still able to deliver a powerful performance which really resonates throughout the film, even without words you know what he's going through and all this just through his great acting!  

Right after the movie. Two thumbs up - just holding a cup of soda from the Director's Club Cinema at the New SM Fashion Hall in SM Megamall. 

Redford gets through one challenge after the next displaying a seaman and a survivor's strength and resiliance. I thought that he was a different kind of "action star" on a league of his own (a different kind  of action star) from his contemporary Liam Neeson's gun wielding, bone breaking, threatening-over-the-phone Taken character. 

Redford's sea-savy character definitely walked the walk as he knew the different sailor knots and even knew how to navigate the seas using a sextant (and I actually had to Google that since I had no idea what it was!) and he seemed to know all the equipment inside his boat. I guess if you would be sailing in the middle of the ocean you would know a thing or two (preferably a lot) about sailing. 

One thing that I really don't get about American Survivor films is - why would you do -anything potentially dangerous and life threatening?! (sailing, rock climbing, biking etc) alone?! 

I really can't comprehend taking up anything that could be remotely dangerous (if not life threatening) as a hobby. Can you tell with all the movies/tv series that I watch, the books that I read and the music that I listen to that I am a home buddy?). Although I have friends who have taken up mountain climbing as a hobby I would not be joining them any time soon. 

The whole sail around the world alone or travelling in an RV or on a boat as an idea of a good time or even retirement is a concept that is very foreign to us Filipinos (so let's just keep our limbs and leave it to the foreign films). 

Our grand parents or retired parents are mostly home buddies who are happy taking care of their grand children.  

Okay enough with the personal thoughts on the dangerous side of things and on with the movie review. Well can I just interject that I'm so glad that I was in the comfort of the La-Z-y boy I was sitting on in the new Director's Club Cinema at the new Fashion Hall (blog post here) because I would surely not want to be where Robert Redford was. I would not last a minute there! 

Aside from the great acting, the musical score of the movie was also amazing and I couldn't blame the producers for wanting to focus on the musical score of the movie which was done so well it really does move you and tugs at your heart which is probably by the movie won for Best Musical Score in a Motion Picture during the Golden Globes and it's also up for the same nomination for the Oscars. 

More Rurouni Kenshin sequel news!

And then they were 10. The Juppongatana (Ten Swordsmen) prove to be a formidable foe for Kenshin and his allies in the sequels Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire and Rurouni Kenshin: The End of a Legend. 

As 2014 is ushered in more and more EXCITING Rurouni Kenshin news have been spreading like wild fire (coughs - Fire! Fire! Fire!) We'll definitely be seeing a lot of those in the two sequels slated to be released in the summer of 2014. 

Just last night specific dates of when the movies will be released have been announced. 

Rurouni Kenshin: The Great Kyoto Fire will premiere in Japan on August 1. 
Rurouni Kenshin: The End of a Legend will premiere in Japan on September 13.

But before we go celebrating remember that the first Rurouni Kenshin movie was also slated for an August date in Japan but was only released in the Philippines in December. This was due to the fact that the local Warner Bros. distributor in the Philippines "did not have the rights" to release Rurouni Kenshin here but Pioneer Films took the reins and were finally able to get the rights in December. You can read more about that in my past blog posts here. 

The first Rurouni Kenshin movie was a surprise success earning $647,922 according to the 2012 Philippine Yearly Box Office, you can refer to it here. That is why I'm sure having the sequels distributed in the Philippines should not be a problem this time around. However, the question is will loyal fans have to wait months like last time? An earlier release date is definitely an effort against piracy and as I have always said if you are a fan you should support the franchise by catching it in cinemas. You cannot compare sitting back in front of a big screen and enjoying a movie from watching it in front of your laptop. 

While the big question of when will the sequels be released in the Philippines have not been answered (we all have to be like a true Samurai and practice the virtue of Patience) we can enjoy all these teasers that are being released online and here are just some of them. 

A 34 second teaser trailer of the sequels, 

aside from Kenshin Himura's lighting fast sword skills we also catch a glimpse of new movie characters Aoshi Shinamori and Shishio Makoto. 

Scourged (literally) Rurouni Kenshin Movie Posters 

As if the excitement to the sequels were not enough, the promotion team for the movies took it to the next level by actually burning old 2012 Rurouni Kenshin movie posters and pasting them on 2014 announcements. You can check out the making of the movie posters here. Just watching the making of these posters have made me admire the patience and creativity of the Japanese even more. I mean instead of just printing a whole new set of posters they actually invested the time, effort and resources to bring a unique flare to the posters by making each one of them special; since each of the posters had to be burnt one at a time. 

Aside from the trailer and the movie posters, photos of new characters both the good, the bad and the ugly have been getting the fans fired up. 

Here are some character stills have been keeping cyberspace a buzz with excitement. 

The Bad and the Ugly. Probably one of the most bad ass villains in manga and anime history, the translation of Shishio Makoto from the animated series to the big screen is without a doubt one of the most anticipated by fans who grew up cowering to this mad man's insane plans of domination and his firm belief in the law of nature: 'The strong shall live and the weak shall perish'. 

His burnt skin covered in bandages has been the stuff of nightmares of fans and probably the costume and design team of the sequels who impressively got the prosthetic and effects of burned skin, making handsome young actor Tatsuya Fujiwara unrecognizable in costume.  

The Bold and the Beautiful. While we see less of her cleavage in her movie version, half Pinay (Yes! She is half Filipina) Maryjun Takahashi will be playing Yumi Komagata, Shishio Makoto's dearly devoted arm candy. I just love her mole in the photo and look at that smile-it has a million secrets. 

Dead or alive, you're coming with me: Robocop trailer has landed!

While news of remakes and adaptations are nothing new and is rather commonplace nowadays in both movies and television, this particular remake really hits home since I remember watching the original TV series as a kid - I think it was on ABC 5 if I'm not mistaken. 

It's a little extra special since I remember watching this series with my dad - it was his thing, all my geekiness I got from  him. He passed away when I was ten and I just can't fathom what he would think of all of the remakes of all his favorites and well here's another one - Robocop! 

A franchise on its own, Robocop first came to film in 1987 garnering commercial success (it is considered as one of the best films of that year), spawning sequels and a television series in 1994.  

Robocop follows the story of policeman Alex Murphy who brutally killed and is revived as a cyberborg policeman/law enforcer known as RoboCop. 

A remake of the movie is set to hit the big screens in 2014. Jose Padilha is helming the remake with Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman cast to play Alex Murphy. 

Check out the first trailer below! I am soooo stoked about this movie but not entirely loving the whole tactical black look. Let me know your thoughts!  

The Robocop of my childhood. Used to watch the TV series when I was a kid.