Matthew Monagle
No Coworker Is Safe in the Latest ‘The Belko Experiment’ Teaser
Sometimes a movie comes along and gives you something you didn’t even know you wanted. Take The Belko Experiment. I’ve seen movies like Battle Royale and even the fun-in-theory, bad-in-execution Operation: Endgame, but it wasn’t until I first saw the first red band trailer for James Gunn’s upcoming film that I realized exactly what I’d been missing. Those movies delivered on fun fight sequences and gratuitous violence, but they lacked the return of a creeper, sleazy, Ghost-era Tony Goldwyn. Not any more.
‘King Arthur’ Promises a King in New Poster, Teaser Trailer
Is Guy Ritchie still one of our most interesting Hollywood filmmakers? After beginning his career with indie standouts Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, Ritchie has settled into a kind of forgettable jumble of big budget movies that hold their own both with critics and at the box office. I would certainly describe the Sherlock Holmes movies and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. as solid, but ‘solid’ isn’t the type of praise we typically issue to one of our best directors. And King Arthur: Legend of the Sword seems ready to continue this streak. The Arthurian legend with GoPros? Solid. Not great, but solid.
Watch the First Teaser for James Gunn’s Office Horror ‘The Belko Experiment’
I’ve always wondered why more horror films aren’t set in corporate environments. While the office remains a popular setting for comedies and the ubiquitous faux-documentary television programs, anything darker — such as the 2006 horror film Severance which centers on a group of coworkers in the midst of an office wilderness retreat — remains the exception rather than the rule. For how much hidden animosity and frustration your typical office building contains, you’d think this would be an area ripe for exploration by the right twisted storyteller.
The First ‘Ghost in the Shell’ Trailer Is a Lurid Dystopian Dream
This past weekend, Paramount Pictures kicked off the publicity tour for its upcoming Ghost in the Shell adaptation with a global launch party in Tokyo. Cast and crew were on hand to talk about the film; exhibitions of the film’s art and costume designs were on display for those in attendance. For the rest of us, something even better was announce: the first theatrical trailer for Ghost in the Shell is here, and it is not exactly short on style.
‘Kong: Skull Island’ Teases Its Next Theatrical Trailer
I’m not really sure how I feel about the new Hollywood trend of teasing out your trailers. On the one hand, it kind of takes the fun out of the equation; one of the best parts of coming back from a long day of meetings or classes is seeing that a brand new Star Wars spot has been dropped in your absence. On the other hand, though, it’s a real boon for cultural writers like me. Rogue One hints online that their next trailer will be released during the Olympics? You better believe we’ll be ready.
There Are Whole Seconds of New Joker Footage in This ‘Suicide Squad’ TV Spot
Look, all things being equal, I really didn’t mind Jared Leto’s take on the Joker in Suicide Squad. Yes, the constant news items about what latest “crazy” thing he did to get in character were pretty annoying, and yes, the number of people who seem to think that Joker and Harley Quinn’s relationship is something to emulate is downright disturbing, but Leto seemed like a perfect fit for the gloomy and angst-ridden universe that Warner Bros. has created for its DC Comics characters. At another studio, he’d be woefully out of place. In this one? He’s fine.
Hope Is Still Alive in This New ‘Rogue One’ TV Spot
We’re just about a month away from Disney’s biggest gamble on the Star Wars universe. While odds are good that Rogue One: A Star Wars Story will do well at the box office — projects this big rarely fail to find their audience — there must be a little anxiety in the hearts of Star Wars fans and Disney executives alike. The studio has made some pretty big financial investments in their upcoming slate of standalone Star Wars stories; if Rogue One disappoints in its opening weekend, it could be seen as a shot across the bow of Disney’s future slate.
Aaron Eckhart Loses His Mind in the New ‘Incarnate’ Trailer
A few years ago, I worked with a college professor who said that the key to understanding creativity is to take two familiar things, combine them, and try to create some third new thing out of the process. That seems to be the idea behind Icarnate, Blumhouse Productions’ latest horror film. Take one part The Conjuring, one part The Cell, and sprinkle in a handful of familiar veteran actors, and what do you get? Hopefully a smart piece of counter-programming just in time for the the holidays.
Keanu Reeves Just Can’t Stay Retired in the ‘John Wick Chapter 2’ Teaser Trailer
These days it seems like every recognizable actor above the age of 50 is getting their own spin on the Taken franchise. As a result, not a lot of people batted an eye when it was announced that Keanu Reeves would be playing a retired contract killer in some mid-range action movie called John Wick. Imagine our collective surprise, then, when John Wick was not only not another Taken clone, but one of the best action movies of the decade. Fans were quick to clamor for another glimpse at the violent action and posh criminal underworld of the first film.
Matt Damon Must Defend ‘The Great Wall’ in the First Theatrical Trailer
If the first teaser for The Great Wall piqued your interest, you’re in luck: Universal Pictures just released the first full-length theatrical trailer for The Great Wall as part of their New York Comic-Con panel on the film. Unlike the first trailer, here we actually get a good look at the monsters and an explanation for why Matt Damon and Pedro Pascal are fighting in China in the first place.
Watch the First Ten Minutes of ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’
If you’re one of those people who thinks that this past summer proved that movies are dead, may I cheerfully offer you Hunt for the Wilderpeople as Exhibit A in Hollywood’s defense? Not only did Taika Waititi give us one of the year’s best films in his hilarious and moving coming-of-age film, he also reminded audiences that Sam Neill is the kindly uncle we all wish we had in real life. Movies like this are one of the big reasons that Marvel was so quick to snap Waititi up for the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok movie… and why the current state of cinema is as good as it’s ever been.
‘Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children’ Gets a New Song and Featurette
If you’re anything like me, it’s probably been a while since you were really excited for a Tim Burton movie. While movies like Big Eyes, Dark Shadows, and Alice in Wonderland all did either OK with critics or at the box office, Burton has made too many wonderful movies in his career for “OK” to feel like anything other than a disappointment. Thankfully, Burton seems to be back on track with Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children, a YA adaptation that brings together the conflict of the X-Men with the sense of childish wonder that only Burton can bring to bear.