An older, battle-weary Wolverine is revealed in 'Logan' teaser

In 2000, an unknown actor by the name of Hugh Jackman was cast as Wolverine in Bryan Singer's X-men. Given the aggressive, silent warrior type with three claws coming out of his hands, the Marvel character was tough for Jackman to play; possibly a tougher sell for fans of this iconic comic book hero.

Seventeen years later, Hugh Jackman has made this role his own and is synonymous with that character. Throughout the original trilogy and the prequels, Wolverine has been the constant thread in Fox's X-men Universe. He's also starred in two solo spin-offs: X-Men Origins: Wolverine and The Wolverine. Now, Jackman dons the claws one last time in the third and final film in the spin-off trilogy, simply titled Logan.

The official premise of the film takes place years in the future, Logan (Hugh Jackman) and Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) must cope in a world with the mutant population dwindling near extinction. They must protect a young girl named Laura (Dafne Keen), who is very much like Logan, against sinister forces.

From the preview, brilliantly having Johnny Cash's "Hurt" playing, we can tell that Logan has gotten older and his healing factor seems to be failing now. His hands are bloody from where the claws come out and his body is scarred. Charles Xavier has also aged, looking physically weaker than we've ever seen him. We also get a look at the young actress who plays Laura, who has already been confirmed to play X-23. If you don't know who X-23 is, she is the young female clone of Wolverine. It looks like she will carry on the Wolverine mantle for the future X-Men movies but we'll see.

Overall, this movie looks like everything we, as fans of this franchise, wanted from The Wolverine: A deep cut character movie of Logan. We look past the Wolverine persona to the man behind the grizzled savage beast of the X-Men. If you are expecting the complete Old Man Logan story from the comic, stop right there. Fox doesn't have the rights to pull off that entire story but I think this film will be the proper sendoff for the Logan character and for Hugh Jackman in his last time as the character. That's by giving all the fans the Wolverine we want and deserve.

Logan comes into theaters on March 3, 2017.

'The Girl on the Train' runs on dark and twisted tracks

I'm so sorry that I've been away everyone, but you know how life can get in the way of things we love to do...you know, things not work or school related. And there comes in my passion for movies.

When it comes to book to movie adaptations, fans of the book will either love or hate it. There's no getting around that. There is also no getting around the fact that the entire book cannot be adapted. There will always be parts that will won't make the final cut of the film; sometimes, those can be something inconsequential and some are ones that we love. I've always stuck with the standard that as long as the adaptation stays true to the source material, I won't be too harsh of a judge. With that said, let's look into The Girl on the Train.

The Girl on the Train tells the story of Rachel (Emily Blunt), an unemployed, vodka-drenched, emotionally wrecked woman. Rachel maintains a routine by commuting to the city from her New York suburb. Rachel's favorite hobby is playing audience to her old life - particularly her ex-husband, Tom (Justin Theroux) living in her ex-home with the ex-mistress-turned-wife, Anna (Rebecca Ferguson), who is also now the mother of his child. Rachel also looks to the neighbors two doors down: a "perfect couple" (Haley Bennett and Luke Evans) where she imagines how their life is. But when the "perfect wife" disappears, Rachel becomes entangled in the missing persons case as the possible main suspect. 

Rachel's obsession with her neighbors comes from the careless glow of love that they have. The couple seems to live in their own bubble, not bothered by anything else in the outside world. They provide relief for Rachel and seemingly fills the bleakness in her life. When she sees the wife, Megan, betray her husband by kissing another man, this betrayal seems to mirror the one she went through personally and enrages her. From this event, we not only get Rachel's perspective but we also get Bennett's beautiful fragile, Megan, and Anna. While not sticking to the physical appearance of her literary counterpart, Emily Blunt definitely captured the despair of the main character. Blunt played the depressed ex-wife to perfection. Blunt's Rachel looked haunted and hollowed out by how her life has turned out. Instead of working, any semblance of a job gone, she fills her time with hobbies such as sketching in her notebook, finding solace at the bottom of a bottle, and of course, riding the train.

 

The breakout star was definitely Haley Bennett. She might be breakout star of the fall with this film and The Magnificent Seven (which a review will be coming!). Bennett plays the stunningly beautiful Megan with depth, showing her character to be three-dimensional and on the edge of her own oblivion with the secrets she hides.

Director Tate Taylor (The Help) doesn't bring the type of style and dazzle that you would expect with a thriller like this, which drew earlier comparisons to David Fincher's Gone Girl and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. But he did a great job translating the bleak menace of the film and balancing three intertwined plotlines and having them all pay off in the third act of the film. What really sells the film is the chilling realism of these two performances, especially Blunt's, carry this film. Personally, I liked the novel better than the film but overall, it is a solid movie. It is definitely geared towards women but a fan of the book, no matter the gender, will enjoy this film. 

If you all see this film, leave a comment about what you think. I'm catching up on this blog so there will be more reviews, previews, and news to come! 

Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence find romance in 'Passengers'

After much speculation and recent released shots of two of Hollywood's most likable stars, we were finally given our first real look at Passengers, the highly anticipated sci-fi adventure/love story co-starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence.

A spacecraft traveling to a distant colony planet and transporting thousands of people has a malfunction in its sleep chambers. As a result, two passengers, Aurora Lane (Lawrence) and James Preston (Pratt) are awakened 90 years earlier. The two soon discover that their early awakening is not the only problem affecting the huge spaceship.

I heard rumors about this movie and when I head that it was being filmed, I was instantly excited because some of the first movies I watched were about space travel. Then finding out two of the hottest stars in cinema today are in the lead roles and you have me sold! When I first saw this trailer, I honestly thought it looked like Titanic...in space. But I could be wrong and this movie could blow my mind.

Seeing Martin Sheen as a bartending robot was hilarious and I'm sure we're in for another solid performance from him. A few more shots of the trailer show other co-stars such as Andy Garcia and Laurence Fishburne. The shot we have of the spaceship named Avalon looks fantastic. For a teaser trailer, I think Passengers already has a solid following to watch this intergalactic love story play out and live up to its tagline: Every Moment Counts.

Passengers flies into theaters this Christmas.

Will Smith leads all-star cast in 'Collateral Beauty'

Hello, readers! I'm so sorry for the unexpected break in posts. Work, turning 27, and grad school can take up a lot of time but...I'm back. So I'm going to try and catch up with as much movie news as I can and post some new previews for you all!

With the summer season officially over and we're entering the lukewarm days of the fall, the box office should be quiet from after the big-budget hits and some misses of the hot season. Oscar season is slowly approaching and some studios got a head start at film festivals such as Toronto and their screening of potential Oscar contender, 'La La Land.' But I'm here to talk about another possible contender in Will Smith's next drama film, 'Collateral Beauty'.

Will Smith plays a New York advertising executive who suffers a tragedy that sends him on a downward spiral. During these events, he encounters three mysterious people (Keira Knightley, Jacob Latimore, Helen Mirren) who encourage him to forget about the past while his friends try to reach him and help get his life back on track.

This movie has been kept under a tight lock and key with little being known about the project. Usually, that creates a sense of concern from audiences, but I think this time the mystery and wait must be worth it. From this recently released preview, the film looks like it will be an emotional roller-coaster. I picked up a lot of traces of the holiday classic, A Christmas Story. Overall, I think this movie could tell a phenomenal story that anyone could relate to.

I'm not sure if this could be Will Smith's shot at a Best Actor Oscar or even a Golden Globe during award season but I think he has a fair shot.

Collateral Beauty comes to theaters December 16th.

Rest in Peace, Gene Wilder

Coming online to Facebook today, I came across some sad news as Hollywood lost one of its true iconic comic actors. Gene Wilder, who established himself with his amusing neurotic performances in three classic films directed by Mel Brooks and his star transforming role in "Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory", passed away early Monday morning at his home in Stanford, Conn. He was 83 years old.

Like many people in my generation, I was introduced to Gene Wilder with his eccentric role as the famous chocolate maker in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." His brilliant performance as the wizardly chocolate maker made me believe in the magic of pure imagination, even when teaching those naughty kids a lesson. Looking back at the film now, I admired his brilliance, comedic quickness, and how the film remains the first one you name when you think about Mr. Wilder. 

It wasn't until later that I watched his Mel Brooks-directed films, most recently this summer where I watched "Blazing Saddles" for the very first time. Mr Wilder has the relatively quiet role of the Waco kid, a boozy ex-gunslinger who helps the improbably black sheriff (Cleavon Little) save a town from railroad barrons and venal politicians. The raunchy, no-holds-barred spoof of Hollywood westerns might have lost its edge over the films but his next one has never grown old. 

"Young Frankenstein" showed Wilder as an American man of science and the grandson of the infamous Dr. Frankenstein. He tries to turn his back on his heritage but finds himself irresistibly drawn to Transylvania. Wilder envisioned a black-and-white film faithful to the 1931 monster classic directed by Boris Karloff. His winning chemistry with fellow comedian, Richard Pryor, in "Stir Crazy" made them a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood comedy. 

From Willy Wonka to the Waco Kid to young Frankenstein, you have entertained us for years, Mr. Wilder. Thank you for the gift of pure imagination that you presented.

You will be missed. Rest in peace, Gene.

Amazing animation boosts 'Kubo' into a summer surprise

The small-shop, stop-animation studio Laika has only released three full-length movies - Coraline, The Boxtrolls, and ParaNorman. Despite the small portfolio of films, each film has earned a Best Animated Feature Oscar nod. The studio has also built a reputation of providing a refreshingly odd alternative to the glossy squareness of most mainstream children's movies that come into theaters. I've never seen any of their three previous films so I decided to take a chance and see their fourth film...and I couldn't be more impressed. 

Kubo and the Two Strings is the epic tale of young Kubo, a young boy with only one eye, as he plays his two stringed instrument in the nearby town during the day to earn money and returning to care for his mother at night, constantly looking over his shoulder but he doesn't know why. When it turns out that the rest of his mother's family is coming after him, Kubo sets out on a hero's journey, protected by a drill sergeant monkey (Charlize Theron) and a forgetful beetle-like hybrid (Matthew McConaughey) to collect the pieces of a powerful armor to defeat his evil relatives. 

The ancient-Japan set animated film has its dark parts: a callback to the bad old days of gothic fairy tales where boogeymen lurk, parents die, and children must find the courage to be brave, strong, and resourceful to survive. Kubo is all of those things: a clever, self-sufficient boy; he goes into the town square every day and earns spare change by twanging his shamisen - a stripped down, three-stringed guitar - and telling stories with his ingeniously fashioned origami figures, channeling the magic that comes from him and playing the guitar. At the evening, he returns to a dank cave to tend to his mother. Her memory comes and goes, but the jagged scar running down her cheek - and the patch that permanently covers Kubo's left eye - reminds her that neither one of them are safe. If Kubo fails to follow her rules and stays out after dark, her estranged sisters will come to collect her son's remaining eye, and join it with the one that her father stole from him when he was born. 

As you would guess, Kubo does exactly that and, as the sun sets one day and turns into night before he can return home, his aunts (both voiced by a hauntingly-sounding Rooney Mara) arrive - witchy, terrifying twins with kabuki-white faces, black swirling shrouds as they appear in black smoke. And with that, the young Kubo is sent on a quest in the dangerous world to recover a magical suit of armor that will protect him. Along the way, many revelations, including the truth behind his mother's trauma and his Samurai father's fate, the supernatural origin of his extended family, and the mystery of the movie's title. 

First-time director Travis Knight, who served as lead animator on Laika's previous three films, gave Kubo a colorfully, solid look full of lavish depth and detail. The bickering interplay between McConaughey's Beetle and Theron's monkey protector shines bright throughout the narrative, helping balance the stakes of the tale. The animation really shines through each scene.This come not just from the animation but in the plot, themes, and film overall. The themes of family, bravery, magic, and love help transcend this hero's journey story into something that everyone of all ages can enjoy. Kubo is a marvel - a visually stunning, richly imagined paradise in a sea of Disney candy-colored safety, and one of the truly original films of this year. You can count on seeing this film in the Oscar race this year. 

Small skirmishes and an old adversary highlight the new 'Rogue One' trailer

After the first trailer of the Star Wars spin-off, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, we got an idea on the tone and the film's primary characters, all while getting everyone excited about a new tale in the Star Wars Galaxy. But we all knew that there would be another preview would be coming. And that preview came on Thursday during the Olympics. In case you didn't watch the preview between the gymnastics and the swimming events, here is the trailer for the Star Wars war film.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story takes place prior to the events of the original Star Wars, chronicling the Rebel effort to steal the plans that will allow them to eventually destroy the moon-sized battle station of the Galactic Empire.

This time around, we get a more in-depth look at the Rebel team tasked with the suicide mission of going against the Empire, led by Felicity Jones' Jyn Erso. Characters that every fan wanted to see included Donnie Yen's spiritual, Force-faithful warrior, Chirrut Imwe, Diego Luna's Rebel Alliance Intelligence Officer Cassian Andor, and Alan Tudyk's reprogrammed Imperial droid, K-2SO.

We also see how big the shadow of the Galactic Empire has cast over the galaxy. From the shot of a large Star Destroyer over a desert settlement or one creeping from the shadows while the Death Star is built in the background, you get a sense of dread and evil by seeing the Empire establish its claim in the galaxy.

As the familiar sound of past Star Wars plays, we're treated to small scenes of action. Familiar devices of war such as the AT-AT, X-Wing, and Imperial TIE fighters make appearances. We also catch a shot of the beach battle that everyone wants to see from this movie. But there is one shot at the end that die-hard Star Wars fans breathing heavy, including me. Speaking of, there was a familiar sound at the end that still gives fans chills.

James Earl Jones is returning as the voice of Vader, who will loom large as the Emperor's Right Hand - a position that other figures in the Empire would love to take, among them Director Krennic (Ben Mendelsohn), the head of the Death Star project. From previous articles, this will be a primary conflict to show the Empire is not a big family. No word yet on how big of a role the Sith lord will play but you know that it'll have an effect either way.

I hope everyone goes out to see this. I know I will be there on opening night. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story comes out of hyperspace and into theaters on December 16.