Trailers

Illumination Entertainment posted up a trailer for next summer's Despicable Me 3.

As much as I enjoyed Despicable Me, I thought the sequel was just okay.  It wasn't bad or outright insulting like many sequels (looking at you Cars 2), but there just wasn't anything all that memorable about Despicable Me 2.  Watching the trailer for Despicable Me 3, I kind of felt the same way.  Kind of cool to see Trey Parker voicing the villain, and the 80's design for Balthazar Bratt was great.  But this feels like a cash grab and not much else.   

Last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live, they debuted a trailer for next year's Spider-Man: Homecoming.  

I am sure I am one of the few people who care about this, but so happy to see Jon Favreau back as Happy Hogan.  And I like the contining use of Iron Man as a mentor for Spider-Man.   The opening scene with the Avengers quip was pretty funny.  

Not quite sure how I feel about the costume.  It's not bad, just looks a little busy at times.  

Marvel has a new Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Trailer up!

I will admit, I am a little late posting this one.  Had the flu all weekend.  Real fun.  This video was already videoed 81 million times in the first 24 hours. Personally, I loved the first Guardians of the Galaxy, and I am really looking forward to the sequel on May 5, 2017! The trailer promises more of the same from the first movie.  Lots of wild looking alien creatures (including some giant monsters this time), stong well developed characters, and a lot of humor.  And Mantis?  I am still shocked that somehow probably the least significant Avenger ever is going to be in a movie!

When Disney/Pixar released the teaser for Cars 3, they clearly decided to go in a slightly different direction than the bubbly optimism from the first two movies…

I was pretty stunned watching it.  The teaser promises “From this moment, everything will change."  They sure weren't kidding. 

With the success of the faithful live-action translation of CINDERELLA, the folks at Walt Disney Studios have moved on to yet another Disney Princess to give the real-world treatment: Belle.

Just from the stills alone, it's apparent that a brilliant casting job has been done, particularly with EMMA WATSON (HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE) as Belle and DAN STEVENS (DOWNTON ABBEY) as The Beast. Muscle-headed Gaston will be portrayed by LUKE EVANS of the upcoming PROFESSOR MARSTEN & THE WONDER WOMEN, and his comedic sidekick, Le Fou will be represented by JOSH GAD (PIXELS).

From Director LUC BESSON comes this film adaptation of VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS, and the trailer for it is a mental whorligog of clashing environments, impossible physics, and illusory moments.

Set to The Beatles' "Because," this trailer immediately starts to put me in the frame of mind I was in when watching films like BLADE RUNNER, BRAZIL, and other scifidelic cinema treats (and a few not-so-treats, like JUPITER ASCENDING). It has all the right elements of "I don't know WTF I'm watching, but I want to see more of it!"

Warner Brothers has released the official trailer for the Patty Jenkins helmed WONDER WOMAN, and there are only two words that come to mind.

Nailed it.

(story submitted by Ronald Green)

"Stranger" is good for Marvel's upcoming movie DOCTOR STRANGE as it now banks on the comic book panels that fans have loved since the 60s.

DOCTOR STRANGE's first few teasers were a bit perplexing because the director seems to have taken his inspiration from Christopher Nolan's INCEPTION. Bending cities have so far been the theme of the previous DOCTOR STRANGE teaser clips. Now, it would seem that the creators have decided to show that the movie will be sticking to its roots; the Doctor Strange that Steve Ditko created.

Below is the latest DOCTOR STRANGE clip.

From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY, an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.

ROGUE ONE: A STAR WARS STORY is directed by Gareth Edwards and stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Mads Mikkelsen, Alan Tudyk, Riz Ahmed, with Jiang Wen and Forest Whitaker. Kathleen Kennedy, Allison Shearmur and Simon Emanuel are producing, with John Knoll and Jason McGatlin serving as executive producers. “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” opens in U.S. theaters on December 16, 2016.

Lionsgate posted up a first look at the new Power Rangers trailer.  I will say up front, I hate when movie trailers use a modernized version of one of my favorite songs (in this case "I Walk the Line").  And I have been struggling with the idea of a angsty remake of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.  All that said, I actually really liked this trailer far more than I expected to.  I am actually looking forward to this movie now.  Power Rangers comes to the big screen in March 2017...

Valiant posted this trailer earlier today.  They are partnering with Bat In the Sun on a new webseries called Ninjak Vs The Valiant Universe.  In the trailer we see Ninjak (played by Arrow's Michael Rowe), Bloodshot (played by Jason David Frank),Eternal Warrior (played by Johnny Mundo/John Morrison), Archer and Armstrong, X-O Manowar, Livewire.  This looks so damn cool!!

Yes, that's right, the next LEGO animated feature film is THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE. It focuses on the Dark Knight having to take responsibility for raising his son. And if you're thinking Damian Wayne, you couldn't be more off base.

The idea of Alfred taking charge of the man-child that is the LEGO Batman character is absolutely in character, and totally hilarious. The nod to the many costumes of Batman are a nice touch, although I cringe at the new Robin costume routine. And the trailer also offers up the most profound statement on the relationship of Batman and Bruce Wayne:

"Does Batman live in Bruce Wayne's basement?"

"No! Bruce Wayne lives in Batman's attic."

Enough philosophizing. You want to see the trailer. So here it is.

Just to get it out of the way right up front, I saw Zach Galifianakis listed in the credits, and was looking for him -- not realizing I was seeing him. Zach's really gotten into shape -- good on you, Zach Galifianakis!

Now on to the trailer:

Galifianakis and Isla Fisher (NOW YOU SEE ME) play a typical suburban family who become suspicious of their new neighbors when they find them to be "impossibly gorgeous and ultra-sophisticated." The Joneses -- Jon Hamm (MAD MEN) and Gal Gadot (WONDER WOMAN) -- do end up being more than they seem. They're covert agents, and their lives are more adventurous and upscale than James Bond's.

I haven't read the series MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN, even though I've been aware of it, and have thumbed through it in bookstores. Now, having seen this trailer for the upcoming film, I want to read it more than ever.

The story is reminescent of UNCANNY X-MEN, back in the not-so-long-ago day when it was comprised of truly unusual mutants. There's a little girl with a monstrous mouth on the back of her head. There's a boy who's invisible. There's Emma (Ella Purnell), a girl who's lighter than air. There's a headmistress, Miss Peregrine (Eva Green), who cares for them all.

And there's Jake (Asa Butterfield), who believes he is completely normal, but who must discover his own peculiarity so that he can take up the hero's mantle and save them all from people like Barron (Samuel L. Jackson).

He was an executed man. He now no longer exists. But he is alive -- and being trained to become an assassin.

This is great! I knew there was a rumor out there that Shane Black was going to helm the next REMO WILLIAMS: THE DESTROYER movie, but I didn't think it was coming out this... Wait a minute, that's not Master Chiun. And why are we in The Matrix? Oh my God, someone turn off that Kanye West music!

Okay, so I'm kidding. A little. While the plot of ASSASSIN'S CREED is (cough) similar in its initial concept to Warren Murphy's assassin, it veers wildly from there into a science fiction process of the restoration of genetic memories. The assassin is Callum Lynch (Michael Fassbender), and he has been brought to The Animus so that he can relive the memories of his ancestor from 500 years in the past, during the Spanish Inquisition.

Dreamworks has released an all-new trailer for the explosive return of Voltron: Legendary Defender, which makes its debut on Netflix June 10, 2016!

(Skip to the end for the trailer)

VOLTRON: LEGENDARY DEFENDER is not a reboot, not a continuation but a reimagining of the fan-favorite science-fiction saga, promising action, comedy, and adventure. The series will launch with an hour-long origin story called “The Rise of Voltron,” and will be followed by 10 episodes.

The animation is worthy of a Dreamworks production. As I watched the trailer I laughed, became excited, and I got chills. Yes, I'm a Voltron fanboy and it was one of my favorite cartoons as a child. This new show will be exciting for me and I can't wait to share it with my kids.

From the presser:

Doctor Strange will be in theaters November 4, 2016, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Michael Stuhlbarg, Mads Mikkelsen,  and Tilda Swinton.  Here's a first look at the trailer!

Commentary: Is it just me, or does it seem like Benedict Cumberbatch is speaking with an American accent throughout the trailer?  I was a little surprised by that, but he seems to make it work.  Personally, you can probably get away with Strange speaking with a British accent, he just seems pretentious enough that you almost expect him to have a British accent, even if he is from the United States.

After the runaway success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I was not particularly looking forward to waiting 2 years for the next Star Wars movie.  Fortunately, Disney will be filling the gap years with side stories set in the Star Wars universe.  On December 26, they will release ROGUE ONE, directed by Gareth Edwards and written by Gary Whitta and Chris Weitz.  ROGUE ONE stars Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Riz Ahmed, Ben Mendelsohn, Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen, Forest Whitaker, Mads Mikkelsen, Neil Breen and Alan Tudyk. From what we know about the movie, it focuses on a group of Rebel spies working to steal the Death Star plans prior to A NEW HOPE.  

Here's the teaser they posted up this morning on Star Wars.com

We still have two months to go until Captain America: Civil War hits screens on May 6...but we've got the new trailer, and it's...Amazing!

Sony has released the first full trailer for the upcoming Ghostbusters relaunch.  As expected, this has been pretty controversial.  When I posted this, on Youtube there were pretty much exactly as many likes as there were dislikes.