Movie Preview - The Force Awakens in the new Star Wars Trailer

     On Friday, November 28, 2014, I felt something I haven't felt in ages. I felt a tremor in the Force and it turns out that it was the new trailer for Star Wars : Episode VII - The Force Awakens.

     It doesn't reveal a lot and we don't see our favorite characters from the original trilogy but we are shown some new characters of this new trilogy. John Boyega (Attack the Block) is shown as a startled Stormtrooper, unaware of where he is. Whether he is a wearing this in disguise as Han and Luke did in A New Hope or an actual stormtrooper will be discovered soon.

     Daisy Ridley, a relatively unknown actress, is on a new speeder and in Rebel gear.

     Oscar Issac (Inside Llewyn Davis) is flying an X-Wing fighter on water with other fighters alongside of him. This won't be the only big film for Issac who has secured the role of Apocalypse in X-Men: Apocalypse.

     And a great evil has returned as we see a Sith lord walking in the snow covered woods and pulled out a broadsword-style lightsaber. Who is he or she hunting?

     But it wouldn't be a Star Wars preview without seeing the Millennium Falcon in action. It looks a little different from when we saw it during Return of the Jedi but still looks incredible. We all know that Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is piloting the ship and going against the remaining pieces of the Empire.

     As a fan, I was hoping to see the original characters in the first trailer but I understand that J.J. Abrams wants to save that for the next trailer. Despite what little we are shown in the two minute trailer, it's enough to keep fans interested and possibly bring new fans over to the Star Wars universe.

     Join the Light or the Dark Side on December 18, 2015.

Fire is catching in the The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

     After the success of the Harry Potter film series by making the final book into two movies, it seems like every movie adaptation of popular YA novels is following that model to get all the money possible. In Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, it made the most sense with the length of the book and not trying to cheat the fans; the same with The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn. With The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, the worst book of the series, splitting it into two movies made little sense to me but with more free reign in movies to make changes, it could be made better.

     After opening up to $123 million, the worst book might become the best movie of the series.

 

      

     Mockingjay - Part 1 picks up not long after the events of Catching Fire, finding Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), along with fellow Victors Beetee and Finnick Odair in District 13, an underground rebel facility. Katniss has been reunited with her mother and Prim. She doesn't have long to recover because our heroine is instantly brought into the revolution by President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), the leader of District 13. After learning her actions during the Quarter Quell has sparked unrest in the districts, Coin wishes to capitalize and strengthen the cause by making Katniss to becoming the "Mockingjay" - the symbol of the rebellion - but Katniss declines. 

     After seeing what the Capitol had done to her home of District 12 and seeing the Capitol using Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) to stop the rebellion and to shake Katniss, she reluctantly changes her mind and becomes the "Mockingjay". Along with her best friend, Gale (Liam Hemsworth) and a guerrilla film crew that records her battlefield heroics, exposes what the Capitol has done to the districts, and sends it back to the masses of Panem.

     I give a lot of credit to director Francis Lawrence and writers Peter Craig and Danny Strong for bringing in the politics to the forefront of a big-budget film. The subplot of exposing the Capitol's wrongdoings works well in the grand scheme of the propaganda war between the rebels and President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Jennifer Lawrence once again delivered in her role, taking Katniss in a different direction after the trauma she suffered during the Games. Katniss seemed passive, lacking the fire and smarts that she possessed in the previous film; showing that the events of the Hunger Games has finally caught up to her but once she sees the devastation the Capitol has caused, Jennifer brings the old Katniss out to fight. Hutcherson's Peeta didn't have much screen time except for the Capitol television interviews but still had a powerful performance and effect on the characters. During the progression, Peeta looks worse and worse, showing the effects of the torture the Capitol is enacting on him and this torture comes back to haunt Katniss before the film ends.

     Mockingjay - Part 1 has one major problem and it's right there in the title: Part 1. Mockingjay felt like it was needlessly padded with filler scenes, even through they served a purpose to the overall film. It followed the formula that the previous films I mentioned utilized: build up the events in the first part and then create an epic and grand finale to the series in part two. If you have read the book, you know what happens in the novel and how the story ends but I won't spoil that here. I just wish we didn't have to wait until next year for the conclusion of The Hunger Games film series.

      
    

Established franchises announce their return.

     Hollywood has had a big day as breaking news was reported today when my phone was pinged with news from Entertainment Weekly. So without further ado...

The Galaxy far, far, away feels a little closer now...

     

     Do you feel that? That disturbance in the Force? It's the announcement that Star Wars: Episode VII has finished it's final day of shooting and now has a title.

     The next chapter of the Star Wars movie saga is called Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens.

     The title does bring to question what the Force has been doing the last few decades.  Has Luke been slacking over the last few years, resting on his success of helping destroy another Death Star? Are there any new Jedi that have joined the new Jedi Master? These

     This entry picks up three decades after the events of Return of the Jedi and is headlined by the original trilogy stars Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca), and Anthony Daniels (C-3PO). New additions include Lupita Nyong'o (Best Supporting Actress winner from 12 Years a Slave), and Gwendoline Christie, the British actress who plays the female knight Brienne from Game of Thrones. It's also been announced that Andy Serkis will be a part of this phenomenal cast.

     C-3PO star Daniels tweeted an expectation-setter by stating that this movie is better than The Empire Strikes Back. That is saying a lot since a lot of hardcore fans consider that film as the standard bearer of the entire saga. I suppose we'll find out how good this film will be around 13 months.

     Star Wars: The Force Awakens is set to fly out of hyperspace on December 18, 2015.

Send in the Toys!

     

    
     This was a pleasant surprise for me and made me smile like the frozen smile of the Woody doll before he comes to life when the kids are away.

     John Lasseter, the Pixar chief, returns to the directing chair and helms another entry in the movie series that changed the animation scene forever in 1995's Toy Story.

     The fourth film in the series is slated for release in June 16, 2017 and will be written by Rashida Jones, formerly of NBC's Parks and Recreation and her screen writing partner Will McCormack . The idea was kept under tight wraps by other Pixar directors and Walt Disney's CEO Robert Iger. It has not been revealed whether or not Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, or any of the other voice actors who voiced the toybox crew will return but it's hard to see this film go on without them coming back.

     As a fan, I am excited because this is a movie saga that I grew up with; that I was willing to go see Toy Story 3 eleven years after the last movie and I loved every minute of it. I felt that Toy Story 3 was the perfect ending to the beloved trilogy and another film might sully the franchise.

     The online Entertainment Weekly article states that Lasseter thinks of these characters as family and wouldn't do anything with them unless it lived up to or surpassed what came before. So I guess that helps my confidence in this film.

     While past Pixar films have not been as well accepted such as Cars 2 or Planes, Toy Story has always been reliable. Let's hope that this return to the toybox is as epic as before. 

Vengeance comes to our favorite team of racers in the "Furious 7" preview

     It's finally here. Months of hype and set photos put up by Vin Diesel through his Facebook page have built up to the first trailer of the next chapter in the high octane film franchise. Here is the first trailer for Furious 7.

     
    
     After an abrupt stop in production due to the tragic death of Paul Walker, the fate of The Fast and Furious franchise was in jeopardy. But pulling together through the tragedy and wanting the film to honor Walker and his Brian O'Connor character, filming resumed later and the high-octane franchise is ready to bring the next chapter to its legion of fans.

     This new film finds franchise newcomer Jason Statham (The Transporter series) playing Ian Shaw seeking revenge against Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his crew for the death of his brother. 

     Looking at this preview, it's safe to say that Furious 7 will have more insanely and over-the-top action pieces, exotic locations, and those fast cars. It could be the best film of the franchise that seems to keep getting better since the return of the original cast. Judging from this preview, the film does not lose its constant theme of family.

     Furious 7 roars into theaters on April 3, 2015.