Matthew Monagle
Watch School Pride Turn Into Song in This ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Deleted Scene
It’s the little touches that help make a world feel authentic, which is why the Harry Potter universe has always stood above its peers. There’s a sense of history to the schools in this universe; you never feel like these characters are the first to experience any part of the world of wizards, only the latest in a chain of events and people that existed long before they arrived. And while this new deleted scene from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them may not exactly move the plot along, it certainly makes the universe feel more cozy for all who jump in.
James Franco Starts an Apple Revolution in the ‘In Dubious Battle’ Trailer
Here’s a question for you: does James Franco continue to make juvenile comedies as a way of subsidizing his serious work, or does he make serious movies to provide himself the latitude to make juvenile comedies? I honestly have no idea. For every The Night Before, there seems to be an As I Lay Dying; for every Why Him?, a Child of God. While many actors and aspiring filmmakers try to find their niche and consolidate their power, Franco seems to be split pretty evenly among his penchant for comedy and his desire for drama. He could win an Oscar or a Razzie at any given moment.
Super Bowl 51 Gets a Coen Brothers ‘Easy Rider’ Commercial
While countless football fans — myself included — embark on a stomach and liver-related training regimen for next weekend, there is more to the Super Bowl than just the game on the field. The Super Bowl has always secretly been a big day for cinephiles as well, featuring big trailers for much-anticipated movies and clever commercials from some of the best filmmakers of our generation. Directors such as Doug Liman, Ridley Scott, and Judd Apatow have all directed Superbowl commercials, and now you can add two more big names to the mix: Joel and Ethan Coen.
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 Emily Browning Sing ‘New York Groove’ in the ‘Golden Exits’ Teaser
While countless people descend on Park City to watch the best and brightest of independent film, things aren’t all bad out here on the sidelines. True, the people in Utah may get to gorge themselves on brand new films, but the Sundance Film Festival also means a deluge of new reviews, interviews, release dates, and, yes, trailers for those of us who couldn’t make it. Which means you can read about the buzz for a movie like Golden Exits and find yourself with a new trailer to watch almost simultaneously.
Watch Chewbacca ‘Disarm’ an Enemy in This ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Deleted Scene
While Star Wars: The Force Awakens was an international smash hit, it wasn’t devoid of criticism. Some people felt that the film veered a little close to the storyline of the original Star Wars film; others felt that the family friendly action didn’t quite line up with the darker tone they expected from movies like The Empire Strikes Back and Revenge of the Sith. So to those fans, I offer you the above deleted scene (via i09) where Chewbacca rips out the arm of Unkar Plutt. It may be another throwback to the original movies, but at least it’s one with a little bit of bite.
Ben Affleck Explains What Separates His Batman From His Predecessors
After years of watching a certain segment of fans argue over which Enterprise captain was the best, I think it might be time for Star Trek fans to admit that they’re no longer the leader in casting fan arguments. Now all the cool kids want to argue over which Batman actor played the role best. While the obvious answer for most millennials would be Christian Bale, I tend to gravitate towards the early performances of Michael Keaton, a Batman who was a bit more believable as an intellectual than subsequent versions of the character. To each their own, I suppose.
Watch Cate Blanchett Play 13 Different Characters in the ‘Manifesto’ Trailer
Despite being around for more than a century, one of the major failings of cinema as an art-form is that it hasn’t found a way to make an entire film where Cate Blanchett plays every single role. Thankfully, 2017 will bring that horrifying streak to a close with Manifesto, a film adaptation of the Julian Rosefeldt art installation that will feature Blanchett in a total of 13 different roles. The only downside is that we’re going to have a tough time adjusting back to the non-Cate Blanchett characters out there. It all seems like such a waste of time now.
Dom Goes Bad in the First ‘The Fate of the Furious’ Trailer
Sometimes you discover something in your life that you didn’t know you needed until you finally have it. Take, for example, the brand new trailer for The Fate of the Furious. If you’d made me list the 100 different things I want from an action movie, I never would have thought to request a scene where a submarine chases a fleet of vehicles across an ice-field. Now that I’ve seen the first trailer for the film, I kind of wish every action movie was just that scene for ninety minutes.
Tom Cruise Is Only Mostly Dead in the First Trailer for ‘The Mummy’
Every year, when the bottom drops out of the summer movie season and audiences decide to stay home and watch television instead, some well-meaning critic will publish an article asking if cinema is dead. And every year, I pose the same question in response: “Is Tom Cruise still an action star?” As long as Tom Cruise is running across multiplex screens — fighting rogue nations, government consiparcies, and even the occasional mummy — there is still hope for cinema. Then, when Cruise’s career is done and Hollywood is in ashes, then, cinema, you have my permission to die.
Go Behind the Story With This ‘A Monster Calls’ Featurette
While not quite an award season darling, one of the more anticipated movies of the next two months is Juan Antonio Bayona’s adaptation of A Monster Calls, a movie about a young boy who dives into a fantasy world to deal with the pain of losing his mother. Sitting as a cross between The Iron Giant and Calvin and Hobbes, A Monster Calls is a film about childhood loss; those who saw the film on the festival circuit have already described it as an earnest tearjerker, including our own Erin Whitney at the Toronto International Film Festival.