Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Liam Neeson Plays A Vengeful Snowplow Driver In His Next Movie



Yes, you read that headline right. It sounds like a joke, but no, it is not. Liam Neeson’s late-career action-star renaissance continues. He’s had his daughter taken in Taken, flew Non-Stop on an airplane, and even Run All Night. (He’s also going to ride a train and presumably commute in The Commuter.) Now he’s set to play a snowplow driver out for vengeance in…wait for it…it’s too good to let it out right away…Hard Powder.

Friday, January 27, 2017

Bask In The Post-Apocalyptic Mayhem Of This 'Chuck Hank And The San Diego Twins' Trailer



Remember Bellflower from a couple years ago? The unhinged indie about two friends building flamethrowers and weapons and a fire-breathing muscle car, all in anticipation of a global apocalypse? Well, it turns out they’re back with Chuck Hank and the San Diego Twins. Judging solely on this new trailer, it’s just a bonkers as the title suggests.

Supernatural Indonesian Horror 'Danur' Drops A Creepy New Trailer



Be careful what you wish for and all that. Every weird, lonely, outcast child just wants a BFF. In the trailer for new Indonesian horror film, Danur, when a young girl makes a birthday wish, she gets the wrong kind of friend. Check it out below.

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

'Savage Dog' Trailer: Watch Scott Adkins And Marko Zaror Pummel 1950s Goons In The Jungle



This probably isn’t surprising to anyone, but I’ve kept a close eye on the Scott Adkins/Marko Zaror-starring action joint Savage Dog since the first rumblings. Come on, it stars Scott Adkins and Marko Zaror. That alone is enough to make me watch anything. I’d watch them sitting around drinking coffee and chatting about the weather. Fortunately, there’s way more to Savage Dog than that, as confirmed by this new trailer.

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

'Commando 2' Trailer: Vidyut Jamwal Kicks Everyone In The Face



Holy fuck balls yes! I’m admittedly not well-versed when it comes to Indian action cinema. Part of it is access, but most of it is that I’m lazy and super backed up on movies I need to watch in general. I’ve seen a few of the Dhoom movies and a handful of the more widely known, readily available titles, but Sweet Baby Jesus, I need to see Commando 2: The Black Money Trail when it comes out because this new trailer is bad ass. Not one-word badass, two-word bad ass. There has to be a pause in there, that’s how badass this is.

Monday, January 23, 2017

'Star Wars: Episode VIII' Has An Official Title



Looks like they’ve ditched the Episode moniker once and for all—not really surprising after last time. We still don’t know much of anything about the eighth Star Wars movie to tackle the family drama of the Skywalker clan, but now we know what to buy a ticket for later this year. And there’s a nifty new poster to boot.

Friday, January 20, 2017

'Colossal' Trailer: Anne Hathaway Has A Giant Monster



I’ve been over-the-moon psyched for Colossal every since hearing the words “Nacho Vigalondo” and “giant monster movie” in the same sentence. Then the Spanish director put together a top-tier cast—Anne Hathaway, who I’m meh about, and Dan Stevens, who I’m very, very not meh about. Word out of the TIFF premiere last fall confirmed my excitement was justified, and the first trailer is right in my wheelhouse.

Thursday, January 19, 2017

'xXx: Return Of Xander Cage' (2017) Movie Review



xXx: Return of Xander Cage is nonsense garbage. But holy shit if it isn’t the most entertaining nonsense garbage I’ve seen in some time. Sit down, strap in, and prepare turn the person in the next seat and ask, “what?” repeatedly. All while wearing an irrepressible idiot grin from ear to ear.

Now You Need To Watch Two New 'Logan' Trailers



A gritty, R-rated story about a grizzled, older, world-weary Wolverine, I was in the bag for Logan from word one. Doesn’t hurt matters that it looks awesome, a trend that continues in two new trailers and a bunch of stills.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

'Split' (2016) Movie Review



Over the course of his career, M. Night Shyamalan has earned a certain reputation as a filmmaker. He’s the guy with the twist endings, every goddamned time, right? When his name appears on a film, wondering “what’s the twist?” is practically a Pavlovian response. So it’s no surprise that his latest, the psychological horror joint Split, attempts to pull off a last-minute shock-a-roo. 

Friday, January 13, 2017

'Raw' Red Band Trailer Chows Down On Teenage Cannibals



Happy Friday the 13th. Now this is a damn movie trailer. A French cannibal movie is always going to be on my radar, and it doesn’t hurt that Julia Ducournau’s Raw is supposed to be fantastic and reportedly made audience members faint at multiple festival stops. I still haven’t seen it yet, but as a U.S. release approaches, this new red band trailer gives us a taste, and I love the flavor (sorry, I couldn’t help myself). There’s also a green band trailer and poster.

Thursday, January 12, 2017

'The Bye Bye Man' (2017) Movie Review



A PG-13 horror movie released in early January, written by a cast member of Survivor, and directed by the woman who helmed Snoop Dogg’s Hood of Horror. I never go into a movie assuming it’s bad, but The Bye Bye Man certainly has an uphill battle to fight against a slew of potential preconceived notions. It checks off a lot of boxes that frequently keep audiences away from this sort of fare.

'Paterson' (2016) Movie Review



Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson is a movie about small things. It’s about finding the beauty in simplicity and the little ways we’re all creative. Almost nothing happens. That’s sure to turn off many viewers. But that’s also the entire point.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

Plot Details For Nicolas Winding Refn's Spy Thriller 'The Avenging Silence' Sound Weird As Hell And Amazing



After the critical and popular acclaim of Drive, Nicolas Winding Refn’s last two movies, Only God Forgives and The Neon Demon (both of which I adore, by the way), took a lot of flack. Still, my favorite NWR joint is 2009’s under-appreciated, epic, hallucinatory Viking road trip, Valhalla Rising. Off-kilter, savage, and hypnotic, it’s right in my wheelhouse. A ton of new plot details have emerged about the filmmaker’s next project, The Avenging Silence, and it sound like it strays into similarly nightmarish thematic territory, which is nice.

Bear Witness To A24's Mystery Sci-Fi Film Trailer



A24 has been on a tear. Just last year the indie factory farm released The Witch, Green Room, The Lobster, Moonlight, and a ton of other fantastic movies. Basically, they can do whatever the hell they want and I’ll at least give it a shot. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting. Such is the case with their new mystery science fiction project. There’s not much to go on from this trailer, which looks a little like Word Association: The Movie. Take a look.

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

'Idris Elba: Fighter' Trailer: It Might Hurt



Two things I love: watching people get kicked in the face and Idris Elba. Put them together and what do you have? The new Discovery series Idris Elba: Fighter. Check out the first trailer and try to contain yourself. This is going to rule.

Monday, January 9, 2017

'The Handmaid's Tale' Trailer Intends To Survive



Hulu’s upcoming adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s speculative fiction classic, The Handmaid’s Tale, couldn’t be timed any better. Unless maybe it debuted late next week. We’ve seen a few stills, but today brings our first look at actual footage. Check out the first trailer below.

Friday, January 6, 2017

'Silence' (2016) Movie Review



Martin Scorsese is one of those filmmakers who’s reached such a status he can do whatever the hell he wants. And with good reason. It’s been in the works since 1990, but the Goodfellas mastermind finally ushered his adaptation of Shusaku Endo’s 1966 novel, Silence (previously adapted by Masahiro Shinoda in 1971), to the big screen. The result of this passion project is bloated, plodding, overindulgent, and 161 minutes of 17th century Japanese peasants being tortured so a white dude can learn a lesson about his faith. Though I’m not entirely certain he learns anything at all.

Thursday, January 5, 2017

The 2016 Seattle Film Awards Winners



2016 saw the establishment of the Seattle Film Nerd Party Club (actually, it’s the Seattle Film Critics Society, but I’m going to keep using my preferred moniker until it sticks, so get used to it). And like every other critic’s group, we have our own awards. The nominations came down a while back, but today brings the announcement of the winners of the 2016 Seattle Film Awards (I have my fingers crossed for a live cable-access telecast hosted by the ghost of J.P. Patches for next year).

'The Girl With All The Gifts' Trailer Wants To Bite Your Face



Most of us don’t expect to turn on a zombie movie and find Glenn Close, and that fact alone is enough to set Colm McCarthy’s The Girl with All the Gifts apart from the shambling undead herd. The film looks solid—including this new trailer—but it’s received rave reviews, even from non-horror folks, since it made the rounds on the festival circuit. I was intrigued before, but all of these combined factors certainly piqued my interest.

Monday, January 2, 2017

It's Going To Be Good: 25 Most Anticipated Movies Of 2017



2016 is in the books and took with it countless celebrities, lingering notions of human decency, and my expectations of not being annihilated in a nuclear war started by a buffoon’s Twitter account. But as we prepare for the impending Mad Max/Red Dawn-style apocalypse, we still have a ton of movies to look forward to between now and imminent death. And here are the ones flying high on my radar.