The Florida Project (2017)

The Florida Project Synopsis

Set over one summer, the film follows precocious 6-year-old Moonee as she courts mischief and adventure with her ragtag playmates and bonds with her rebellious but caring mother, all while living in the shadows of Disney World.

The Florida Project Release Date

In Theaters October 6, 2017

The Florida Project Credits

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Macon Blair, Brooklynn Prince, and Valeria Cotto

Written By: Sean Baker and Chris Bergoch

Directed By: Sean Baker

Produced By: Sean Baker, Chris Bergoch, Kevin Chinoy, Andrew Duncan, Alex Saks, Francesca Silvestri, and Shih-Ching Tsou

MPAA Rating: [ R ]

Distributor: A24

IMDB: The Florida Project on IMDB

Running Time: 115 min.

 Source: cinemablend

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The Mountain Between Us (2017)

The Mountain Between Us Synopsis

What if your life depended on a stranger?

After an incoming storm forces the cancellation of her flight to New York, talented photojournalist Alex Martin finds herself stuck in Idaho the night before her wedding. Scrambling to make it home in time, she hits upon a longshot idea and charters a plane to Denver in the hopes of catching the red-eye to New York that same night. Another stranded passenger, Ben Bass, a skilled British neurosurgeon due back on the East Coast to perform a critical, life-saving operation, tunes out his own misgivings about the plan and joins her.

As Alex and Ben fly ahead of inclement weather in a small Piper two-seater, their pilot suffers a massive stroke, and the small craft crashes in the deep snows of the Uinta Mountains in northeastern Utah. Trapped in the remote region with little hope of rescue, the two weary travelers embark on a terrifying and transformative pilgrimage across the unforgiving reaches of the vast, rugged terrain, fighting against the elements, animals and time. Under the most extreme circumstances imaginable, they gradually learn to trust one another, and a powerful connection grows between them---one that will reshape the course of their lives.

The Mountain Between Us Release Date

In Theaters October 6, 2017

The Mountain Between Us Credits

Starring: Rosamund Pike and Charlie Hunnam

Written By: Scott Frank and J. Mills Goodloe

Directed By: Hany Abu-Assad

Produced By: Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark, and Jenno Topping

MPAA Rating: [ PG-13 ]

Distributor: Fox

IMDB: The Mountain Between Us on IMDB

 

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American Made Review

Few titles similarly challenge the audience to simultaneously loathe and love a protagonist like American Made does with Cruise's Barry Seal.

A huge part of what's sustained Tom Cruise's longevity as a movie star is his immense charisma and likability. He runs real fast and flashes his million-tooth grin, and you're immediately on his side. Even when he's ranging from mischievous to dastardly, there's a part of you who roots for his side. It's a factor that makes Doug Liman's American Made a complex viewing experience, as few titles similarly challenge the audience to simultaneously loathe and love a protagonist like the new movie does with Cruise's Barry Seal.

In reality, Barry Seal was a rather terrible individual (and yes, American Made is based on a true story... or at least based on accounts and reports trying to piece together exactly what happened). As depicted in Gary Spinelli's screenplay, Barry was a thrill-seeking commercial airline pilot and small-time smuggler working for TWA in the late 1970s when he was approached by a member of the Central Intelligence Agency. Introducing himself as 'Schafer' (Domhnall Gleeson), an agent puts an offer on the table to the pilot in a hotel bar: providing him the adventurous life that he seems to seek, Barry would run a front with the brilliantly covert name Independent Aviation Consultants (IAC), and use it as cover to fly missions to Central America and snap secret reconnaissance photos.

Even though the deal requires lying to his wife (Sarah Wright) about how he's spending his days, Barry excitedly accepts the assignment -- but because he is disappointed with government pay and is nothing if not an opportunist, Barry ends up uniting with Jorge Ochoa (Alejandro Edda), Pablo Escobar (Mauricio Mejia) and the Medellín Cartel to start smuggling cocaine out of Colombia and into the United States. This activity fails to slip past the nose of the U.S. government, but still Barry's status is nonetheless raised, the size of his operation is increased, and he ultimately finds himself heavily involved with the start of the Iran-Contra affair, also known as one of the most controversial political scandals in American history.

While relatively short, clocking in at just under two hours, American Made is very much built to essentially be Doug Liman's Goodfellas -- chronicling the epic rise and fall of a criminal enterprise that generated insane cash flow and good times in addition to serious danger and terrifying violence. It's a natural story for cinema, full of enough extreme ups and downs and stranger-than-fiction events to trip out any audiences unfamiliar with the reality that inspired it, and it opens up Doug Liman to a sense of style not really seen before in his movies -- with lots of bold color and strong cinema verite influences providing an almost documentary-esque feel. It's easy to see the motivation to bringing the tale to the big screen in this sense, even while the storytelling feels hampered by its semi-glorification of its central figure.

American Made marks the second collaboration between Tom Cruise and Doug Liman after Edge of Tomorrow, but while it was great to watch Cruise become the fictional slimy jerk Lt. Col. Bill Cage in that movie, it's questionable if he was the appropriate choice for this feature. Because the film relishes so much in the insanity of its true story and the unfettered criminal activity that was allowed to persist, it never takes any time to look at all the people hurt by what Barry Seal was doing, and as a result doesn't take a judgmental stance on him beyond whether or not he is an interesting character. It doesn't even have a strong authority figure trying vigilantly to bring him down. Add in Cruise's presence and aforementioned charisma, however, and it winds up tilting the scales in the wrong direction -- and the result is that you have a lot of fun watching him in the moment (playing the government for fools, making so much money he can't even hide it on his massive property), but are left with an unfortunate after taste in your mouth while leaving the theater.

The politics inherently tied up in the story make American Made a challenging film to recommend, but supplemented with appropriate extra research about the subject matter, I think it can be. After all, at the end of the day, it has one hell of a story to tell, and tells it in a visually arresting way, and sometimes that's enough for a proper cinematic experience.

Source: cinemablend

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Blade Runner 2049 Review

Blade Runner 2049 returns to Philip K. Dick's deep philosophical questions about the nature of humanity, and expressed through a captivating, epic mystery it amounts to a breathtaking, mind-bending cinematic experience.

Ridley Scott's Blade Runner is arguably the biggest and best cult movie ever made. Its original form was famously dismissed by critics and general audiences alike, but subsequent re-edits and the persistent fluorescent and rainy vision of futurist Syd Mead have allowed it to stay relevant in pop culture to the point where it's now viewed as a sci-fi masterpiece. The film took the long road in establishing its legacy -- but director Denis Villeneuve's new sequel, Blade Runner 2049, won't be taking that same path. It won't take 35 years to view it as a sci-fi masterpiece because this time around, people are going to recognize it immediately.

Like its predecessor, the sequel is a genius blend of sci-fi aesthetics blended with a dense and complex noir narrative, this time around written by Blade Runner's Hampton Fancher and Logan's Michael Green. Telling too much of the plot would effectively ruin part of the experience of watching the mystery unfold for the first time, but can be explained in broad strokes. Set 30 years after the first movie, the story follows a new Blade Runner -- a term for a police officer who is assigned to hunt down illegal replicants (synthetic humans designed for slave labor). Sent on what seems like a standard job, K (Ryan Gosling) makes a discovery that could have implications for the entire world.

Assigned an exploratory and termination mission by his superior, Lt. Joshi (Robin Wright), to end the threat before word gets out, K begins an investigation that leads him to uncovering secrets of the past, the actions of a fugitive Blade Runner named Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), and the nature of his existence. Blade Runner 2049 returns to Phillip K. Dick's deep philosophical questions about the nature of humanity, and expressed through a captivating, epic mystery, it amounts to a breathtaking, mind-bending cinematic experience.

Finding success where so many other long-awaited sequels falter, Blade Runner 2049 strikes a tremendous balance between old and new. K is far from a substitute for Rick Deckard in an identical storyline, and instead is a character with completely different agency, motivations and relationships. By the end you are as invested in his singular fate as much as the entire world's, and it's powerful enough to let this story stand on its own. At the same time, having awareness of the previous chapter certainly does enhance every aspect of the feature, as it gives illustrative background to some of the film's elegantly-laid exposition, and makes it that much more satisfying when certain important touchstones are hit upon. Unlike many other faulty follow-ups, it never feels forced, and builds on the world instead of feeling only ancillary.

After questions about Blade Runner 2049's fidelity to the original, one's attention might be drawn towards the blockbuster's two hour and 40 minute runtime -- which is intimidating for any movie-goer. Really, though, it's just another way in which the film reveals how impressive it really is. In classic noir fashion, each new scene offers a puzzle piece that is crucial for what's ahead and leads to the next step, and it not only never feels like it's getting bogged down in exposition, but Denis Villeneuve orchestrates an incredible flow that keeps everything moving scene-to-scene. It doesn't play down to the audience in any way, so you do have to pay attention, but that's hardly work for a movie that is this entrancing.

"Entrancing" is a good word to focus on there, because what director Denis Villeneuve and cinematographer Roger Deakins have created here is unquestionably one of the most breathtaking big screen experiences you can have. Obviously they had an incredible template to launch from, but that original vision has been able to marvelously evolve in the last 35 years, and it's ultimately just a starting point for what the filmmakers and their team accomplish with the look of rainy 2049 Los Angeles and the world beyond it. There are moments where you will feel compelled to yell at the projectionist to pause the reel just so that you can spend an extra moment reveling in the immense beauty of what's been constructed.

In the same way that revealing too much about the plot beforehand would do its part to soil the experience, so would talking too much about the characters -- but the performances by the incredible ensemble here demand recognition. For example, between this film, Drive, The Nice Guys, and La La Land, "Ryan Gosling In Los Angeles" deserves to be seen as the amazing individual genre that it is -- as he delivers yet another subtle-yet-powerful turn here. Likewise, Ana De Armas and Sylvia Hoeks give two very different but equally commanding turns on opposite ends of the protagonist/antagonist spectrum; and while appearing in what are fairly limited roles screentime-wise, both Harrison Ford and Jared Leto showcase the full extent of their talent and what they can really do when given the proper material to work with.

To be perfectly blunt, Blade Runner 2049 is far better than anyone could have expected it to be. Decades-late sequels are almost never actually satisfying, let alone stand out in the shadow of its predecessor. Yet what Denis Villeneuve has created here is nothing short of phenomenal, crafting a movie that is just as epic, fascinating and beautiful as the original. With time and reflection, it may even be judged as the superior film.

Source: cinemablend 

Read more >>   American Made Review

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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

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