Gerald’s Game Review & Trailer

With the thrill and punch of the better Stephen King films we've experienced, Netflix has now officially entered the Stephen King business with Gerald's Game. If this is any indication of what a continued partnership would bring, both parties should look for as many chances as they can to stay together.

It's been said before, and it'll be said again: 2017 has been the year for Stephen King adaptations. And with Netflix's release of Gerald's Game, the famous author's work has yet again been plucked from the page, and given new life on the screen. While the novel seems to have a reputation as one of King's lesser works, the film is the polar opposite, as it is a claustrophobic head trip that is set to dazzle the audiences who are about to enjoy its contents.

Jessie (Carla Gugino) and Gerald Burlingame (Bruce Greenwood) head off to a secluded getaway for a weekend of marital rehab. With Gerald looking to spice things up with a little bit of kink, the couple gets off to a bad start when Jessie confronts him about his obsession with dominating her. Things only get worse when her husband dies due to a heart attack, just after he has handcuffed her to the bed. With no easy means of escape, and no one but herself in the room, Jessie's about to go through quite the interesting weekend.

So far this year, there have been two levels of Stephen King adaptation: either it's a Dark Tower level experiment, or an IT style success. Gerald's Game lands on the better side of the spectrum, as co-writer / director Mike Flanagan takes what could have been a solid hour of anthology TV and turns it into an engrossing feature film. The tension of Jessie's confinement, as well as the mental gymnastics she goes through due to her predicament, are all pitch perfect, with Carla Gugino carrying a substantial portion of the film.

Both Gugino and Bruce Greenwood turn in nuanced portrayals of a married couple on the proverbial rocks, and in the section of the film that opens on that story, they really do a good job of convincing the audience that they'd be perfectly ok if the film just focused on that story. Of course, this being a Stephen King story, things get deadly, and they get weird, with the stranger side of the spectrum allowing our duo to play different facets of their characters' psyches. While the bulk of the film is focused on Jessie's story, Greenwood's Gerald makes himself very much present throughout the narrative of Gerald's Game, without being intrusive or extreme. His character is ambiguous, being left for the audience to determine the level of his true villainy, and it shows through every piece of the finished product.

The best part about Gerald's Game, besides the presence of a powerful script with two equally luminary participants shining in its light, is the cinematography. Michael Fimognari's framing of the limited locations that the film takes place in is tight, but never restrictive for the sake of being so. Naturally flowing with the story's expanding and contracting viewpoint, it's a pretty fantastic film to watch, as well as to digest from a narrative perspective. Of course, all of this praise helps the one flaw of Gerald's Game's narrative stand out all the more.

While the film manages to bring itself in at a taut 103 minutes, the film could have been a little tighter if it didn't fall into an expository rabbit hole in its epilogue. Surely there are pieces and details that are vital to the story's ultimate catharsis, but considering how well paced the rest of the film before it was, the ending to Gerald's Game steals some of the wind from the movie's overall sails. The fact that a sequence of intense body horror and tension precedes this epilogue serves as a hard barrier between the two tones of the film, and if anything, the moments after the shock and awe of Flanagan's well-crafted film should have been shorter and sweeter.

With the thrill and punch of the better Stephen King films we've experienced, Netflix has now officially entered the Stephen King business with Gerald's Game. If this is any indication of what a continued partnership would bring, both parties should look for as many chances as they can to stay together.

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Full Pitch Perfect 3 Trailer Sends The Bellas Out On An Emotional Note

Pitch Perfect didn't strike me as a comedy that would produce numerous sequels. Even the original movie made a persistent running joke out of the fact that a capella singing was uncool, and aspiring music producer Beca (Anna Kendrick) wanted nothing to do with the Barden Bellas. Only, she did. Because a capella cover songs actually ARE cool. And Pitch Perfect dialed into an ensemble of witty and lovable actresses who we wanted to spend more time with. And so, this December, Pitch Perfect 3 brings the trilogy to a close (we assume). Check out the latest trailer:

Pitch Perfect 3 picks up the microphone and sings a number of expected sequels tropes, which is probably unavoidable but worth noting all the same. We catch up with the original Bellas -- a group that includes Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow and Anna Camp -- as they are being passed on the professional level by the next generation of Bella singers (led by newfound pop star, and Pitch Perfect 2 standout, Hailee Steinfeld). Eager to recapture their sliver of the spotlight, the Bellas hit the road -- taking the action to Europe for a USO tour, where they plan to compete against another round of colorful competitors who hate everything the Bellas stand for.

 

The new trailer also introduces a wrinkle in the close-knit community of the Bellas. A record producer wants to sign Beca to a recording contract. Only, they just want Beca, and not the rest of the Bellas. Will she sacrifice her on-stage family for off-stage success?

I mean, if you watched either of the first two Pitch Perfect movies, you know the answer to that question. But you aren't really showing up for Pitch Perfect 3 for monumental character development and/or soap opera twists. You want cover songs, and this new trailer suggests that versions of George Michael's "Freedom" will be on your iPod by the time this movie is out of theaters.

As for when Pitch Perfect 3 opens... well, it's in the shadow of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Which means it might work as counterprogramming. Or it might struggle to find a theater screen, as the Star Wars sequel gobbles up multiplex space. Will you see the conclusion of this fun and frivolous trilogy in theaters?

Read more >> Natalie Portman Confronts A Terrifying Mystery In First Annihilation Trailer

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Natalie Portman Confronts A Terrifying Mystery In First Annihilation Trailer

We don't know a great deal about the newest movie by the creator of Ex Machina which stars Natalie Portman. However, after seeing the first trailer for the new project, you will almost certainly be curious. The trailer shows a team entering a bizarre and mysterious stretch of wilderness and what they find there, well, it apparently defies description. Check out the trailer below.

Annihilation is based on a book series by Jeff VanderMeer, so those who have read the books will know exactly what it is that's being described here. For the rest of us, however, everything is being kept incredibly mysterious. The trailer gives away nothing about what's going on. The soundtrack makes everything in the trailer feel constricting and claustrophobic, even though everything we see feels open. There's clearly a horror movie vibe to the trailer, but there's just as clearly a lot more going on.

What we can discern from the trailer is that Natalie Portman is actually part of a second team to go into this strange area, following her husband who had gone in previously. However, even after this second incursion, it seems little more has been learned by the characters about what is going on, meaning that the audience is going to be that much more in the dark. This is how a good teaser trailer is made. The movie has only teased us with what is happening, but we're desperate to know more.

Annihilation has one of the more remarkable casts we've seen together in quite some time. In addition to Natalie Portman, the film stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny and Oscar Isaac.

It's been over a year since we've seen anything significant from the production of Annihilation. A couple of images from the set were sent out on social media. They looked like interesting pictures at the time, but they don't even compare to the final product that we're seeing here. Everything is both lovely and terrifying at the same time. Writer and Director Alex Garland brought in his Ex Machina cinematographer Robert Hardy to shoot this film as well and based on the trailer it looks like a masterful job was done.

 

While we're looking forward to solving this mystery, we'll have to wait a few more months to do so. Annihilation is set for release on February 23, 2018.

Source: cinemablend

Read more >>  Badass Thor: Ragnarok Chinese Trailer Has Doctor Strange, Hela Battles And Lots More

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Gary Oldman Looks Oscar-Worthy As Winston Churchill In Darkest Hour Trailer

Gary Oldman is quite simply one of the greatest actors living today. His next performance looks like it may be his greatest ever. The man who is known for his chameleon-like ability to change his look has virtually disappeared into the visage of Winston Churchill in the new film about the man's ascendance to the position of Prime Minister during World War II, Darkest Hour. Check out the first trailer below.

The Darkest Hour is a phrase that Winston Churchill famously used to describe the period of World War II after France had been invaded by Nazi forces and Great Britain was the only major power fighting against Germany. The new film that borrows that phrase for its title isn't simply about the difficult time for the nation, but more specifically about that period for Winston Churchill himself. The trailer shows us a nation that is far from convinced that Churchill is the man to lead them through this difficult period.

We see two sides to Winston Churchill in the trailer. We see the outwardly tough face that the man is best known for, but we also see a vulnerable man who is far from convinced that he'll be as successful as he needs to be. Gary Oldman pulls both aspects of the man off perfectly from what we see. Darkest Hour is clearly designed to be an awards contender and based on this first sample we can't really argue. This movie could be huge.

Considering how broad and impressive Gary Oldman's career has been, he's only been nominated for an Academy Award once, for 2011's Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. While it may be too early to put his name on the ballot right now, his name certainly belongs in the early conversation. Biopics and movies based on true stories tend to do well when it comes to awards and the fact that film is releasing this fall surely shows the studio thinks this one will be a contender.

One of the more interesting elements to the trailer may be the reference to Dunkirk. We saw a pretty good film by Christopher Nolan this summer which told of the events on the beach at Dunkirk from multiple perspectives, but one thing that film didn't show us was what was going on at home and how the people in power were dealing with the situation. While Dunkirk will likely be a small part of Darkest Hour overall, it may form an interesting companion piece for those who saw Dunkirk earlier this year.

We're certainly excited to see more of this one. Darkest Hour opens in limited release in New York and Los Angeles beginning November 22 and will expand to other markets in the following months.

Source: cinemablend 

Read more >> Badass Thor: Ragnarok Chinese Trailer Has Doctor Strange, Hela Battles And Lots More

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Badass Thor: Ragnarok Chinese Trailer Has Doctor Strange, Hela Battles And Lots More

We're just over a month away from the release of Thor: Ragnarok. The next entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has promised more humor than previous entries in this particular series, but a new trailer shows it won't be lacking in action. The trailer that announces the film's release in China is much more focused on the action that we've come to expect in Marvel films, it also includes an appearance by one character we've been expecting to see, Doctor Strange. Check it out.

The trailer posted to YouTube jumps immediately into a sequence with Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange. We've known for a year that Doctor Strange would factor into Thor: Ragnarok in some fashion, as the pair appeared together in the post-credits scene of Doctor Strange. However, this is the first we've seen of him in the new film. The discussion of a dire destiny sets the tone for the trailer as a whole, which is very different than what has been released stateside. From there, the trailer shifts into a pretty continuous stream of action. The tone isn't dark, but it certainly isn't humorous either. The music, combined with the visuals, still gives us the same basic feel that Thor: Ragnarok is a prog-rock album cover come to life.

For anybody who hasn't been happy with the apparent shift that the Thor franchise has taken toward a more Guardians of the Galaxy-like humor, this trailer at least shows that the movie will be balancing that lightness with the sort of action we've come to expect from the great Marvel movies. We get to see a couple of great fight moments between Thor and Hela, that look awesome, as well as a battle between Hela and Valkyrie. Everybody on Thor's new team gets a moment to shine and they look great.

We get a bit more of Cate Blanchett as Hela here than previous trailers have shown, and overall, she looks and sounds great. Marvel is given a hard time for their villains frequently, not without justification, and the Thor franchise has not been immune to the problem. Does anybody even remember the name of the bad guy in Thor: The Dark World? We're guessing that Hela will be at least a bit more memorable.

It is interesting that the Chinese trailer is so different than the versions we've seen here. Clearly, there's a feeling that this will resonate better with the Chinese audience. China is an invaluable part of the global box office and success in China means as much, or in many cases more, than success here, to the studio's bottom line. One has to wonder how China will react if the audience doesn't really realize how much humor is being injected into Thor: Ragnarok before they go to see it.

Source: cinemablend

Read more >> Gerald’s Game Review & Trailer

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