Han, The Falcon, Space fighters, and Lightsabers highlight the final preview for 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens'

This trailer has been months in the making! 

Eleven months after the first teaser, fans of The Force Awakens were finally treated for their patience with a full and final trailer for the reboot of the famous space-opera. 

Here is the final, full trailer of the most anticipated movie of 2015...

It begins, fittingly, with a question. A clipped, authoritative voice asking: "Who are you?"

Daisy Ridley's desert scavenger Rey is in the bowels of a crashed Star Destroyer and answers plaintively: "I'm no one."

John Boyega's runaway stormtrooper Finn faces a similar crisis: "I was raised to do one thing. But I've got nothing to fight for." 

Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) has no doubt or humility about his purpose: "Nothing will stand in our way," he says to the scorched remains of Darth Vader's mask. "I will finish what you started."

The Force Awakens takes place thirty years after the events of Return of the Jedi and those events seemed to have faded into legend with Rey talking about the stories that she has heard. Harrison Ford's Han Solo shows up and confirms that the stories they have heard are true: the dark side, the Jedi. They are real. 

Then he gets an embrace from Carrie Fisher's Princess Leia. Maybe once you have found someone else who is lost, you're not nobody anymore. One person seems to be lost from the original Star Wars trinity: Luke. 

After the first teaser hit last November, with Andy Serkis' still unseen Surpreme Leader Snoke intoning: "There has been an awakening...have you felt it?" That was followed by April's longer teaser featuring old friend Han and Chewie; Han declaring: "Chewie, we're home."

Then fans were treated to behind-the-scenes glimpses, both in video and print articles, hinting at the origin of the Darth Vader-obsessed and inspired Kylo Ren, but next to nothing has been shown of the classic hero, Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker (unless you believe the person with R2-D2 is actually Luke). 

Little tidbits like this have kept fans happy but everything associated with J.J. Abrams' journey has been aimed at cultivating an shroud of mystery and anticipation to keep fans, podcasters, and fansite operators guessing about the world we'll find in the galaxy far, far, away after thirty years. The new footage finally connects a few dots, but leaves a lot left unanswered. This might be better for fans until they settle into their seats on December 18. 

The preview made its debut in prime time during ESPN's Monday Night Football game between the New York Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles. I love football but this preview was the only reason I watched the first half.

The announcement of pre-sale tickets for The Force Awakens has already crashed online retailer websites such as Fandango, MovieTickets.com, Regal Cinemas, and AMC Cinemas. I think everyone has let the Force in. 

Matt Damon gets lost in space and is awesome in 'The Martian'

Ridley Scott's The Martian is more than another endeavor to save Matt Damon (seriously, Saving Private Ryan and Interstellar? How many times must America go out to save Matt Damon?). It is way more than that. Scott's sci-fi adventure is the kind of film that you leave the theater and long to tell your friends to spend their money and see. Like Apollo 13 and Gravity before it, this film turns to actual science and problem solving into an edge-of-your-seat experience for the audience.

First, let's address the biggest problem and the premise of the film: The crew of NASA' Ares III mission is collecting samples on Earth's red neighboring planet when a violent sandstorm whips through, ending the mission prematurely. In the zero visibility disorder, Damon's Watney is presumed dead after an incident. His team, led by Commander Lewis (Jessica Chastain) evacuates and heads back to Earth. But Watney isn't dead. He is roughed up in the wake of the storm and is 140 million miles away from home. Once Watney is settled, he discovers his team left behind provisions enough to last a few months. This doesn't sound too bad until we're told by NASA officials (Jeff Daniels and Chiwetel Ejiofor) that the next manned Mars mission isn't for another four years, even a rescue party would take that long to mobilize. Watney knows this and figures that he is living with a death sentence unless he can use his wits and his botany powers to turn the lifeless planet into a makeshift Garden of Eden with water and food.

To quote Watney, "I'm going to have to science the s*** out of this."

There have been a lot of books and movies about Mars and people being stranded on the Red Planet. But The Martian, based on Andy Weir's best-selling novel and the screenplay by Drew Goddard, is the first film that actually made you feel what it's like to be stranded there, especially if you saw this movie in 3-D but also his very own charismatic Robinson Crusoe, Damon. Damon's performance was captivating and entertaining, single-handedly turning an epic survival tale into something intimate and human. It really does make you believe in the perseverance of the human spirit. From documenting Watney's confessional video diary monologues about hexadecimals and thermodynamics to growing potatoes and bashing terrible disco music, Damon seems to enjoy peddling pathos and punchlines for the audience to enjoy.

The Martian isn't completely perfect. Outside of the Ares III crew, NASA's officials, and the band of engineering elves, there are too many secondary characters. Kristen Wiig, as a NASA functionary, just stands around, looking concerned along with taking orders from Daniels, and Donald Glover's socially awkward physicist is like the long lost member of The Big Bang Theory crew. Scott's ending is corny, tying everything neatly in a bow for the characters but considering the events of the film, I don't have a big issue with this. But it would be rude to point out small flaws in a film that is a thrilling testament to the human spirit and ingenuity. It's a rare blockbuster that has the brains to match its power.

This film will definitely be in my Top 10 at the end of the year.

Vin Diesel readies for one last Fast and Furious trilogy

By now, everyone has heard or seen Furious 7, the most recent installment in the successful Fast and Furious film series. The tag line for this film was 'One Last Ride'. Instead of one last ride, how about we have one last trilogy? On Sunday, via his Facebook page, Fast and Furious star/producer Vin Diesel wrote that he planned to produce a trilogy of films to end the series.

"Universal has been so good to me and so trusting of the vision...they have been like family," Diesel wrote in his post. "I promised the studio that I would deliver one last Trilogy to end the saga."

Diesel's announcement comes after news reports that the progress of bringing Fast and Furious 8 to the screen has proven difficult. As of right now, the film is set for release on April 14, 2017, but they have yet to decide on a director.

"My producing partner Neal would like me to just sign off on a director, but this is too special a franchise, so these matters have to be very carefully handled." Diesel also wrote in his post. "To be clear, NO ONE has been offered to helm Fast 8 yet... let alone seen a script." According to Diesel, he will announce the "directors" in his next Facebook post.

This isn't the first time that Diesel has discussed making more Fast and Furious films. Back in 2013, during press and promotion for Fast and Furious 6, Diesel mentioned making even 10 Fast and Furious films.

I'm a fan of the Fast and Furious film series since the very first film. After the passing of Paul Walker and the emotional ending of Furious 7, I saw this as the perfect ending of the series that the fans could walk away from and be happy for the ride the saga has taken everyone on. Ever since Fast Five, the series has gotten better with each installment. The success has been incredible, especially considering the series that started in 2001.

My fear is that another trilogy could ruin the saga. With the death of Paul Walker and his Brian O'Connor character given a happy ending, the series might not be the same for the fans but time will tell.

Hathaway and De Niro are full-time enjoyment in 'The Intern'

Triple-threat writer, producer, and director Nancy Meyers (The Parent Trap, Something's Gotta Give, It's Complicated) always seems to turn her movies into a grown-up, first world problem-laden production. Each problem has a happy resolution, despite how difficult it is. Unfortunately, the real world doesn't always work like that but in the world of films, there is a happy ending in a Meyers comedy. With each of her movies, you have a certain expectation for them. The Intern does not disappoint.  

The Intern stars Robert De Niro (Casino, Raging Bull, Silver Linings Playbook) as Ben Whittaker, a lovable 70-year-old retiree who has loose ends and looking to matter again after the death of his wife. His days are filled with morning Starbucks runs and frozen lasagna dinners for one; even tai chi and yoga lessons in the park don't fill in the lonely hours he used to spend working years ago. Coming across an ad for "senior interns" at an e-commerce start-up in Brooklyn, he jumps at the chance and applies. Getting accepted, Whittaker is assigned as personal envoy/errand runner/generational sounding board to Anne Hathaway's (Interstellar, Les Miserables) Jules Ostin, the stylish, hardworking, thirtyish entrepreneur who runs the whole company. Ostin is whimsical (riding around the office in a white bicycle and sometimes takes customer-service calls) but also overworked and overwhelmed to find a work-life balance. Once she gets used to Ben's presence, Ostin finds out that his experience is just what she needs. 

The Intern balances between humor and pathos without really determining which the film is going for in its two hours. Every crisis has a plush and soft-cornered answer (unlike the real world's hard, direct response) and gets resolved quickly, mostly with Ben's assistance. De Niro's Whittaker is always helpful and different from the gruff and tough roles of the past, which was refreshing but he was also very muted so a tad weird. What really pulls this film together and drives it is the unorthodox chemistry between the leads. Hathaway and De Niro seem comfortable around each other and supports the comedy of the film as Whittaker leads Ostin onto a better balanced life. 

Overall, The Intern is a charming film that Meyers can add to her resume of solid romantic comedy films, powered by the friendship of the two main characters. This film isn't just a chick flick but a film that everyone young and old can enjoy. 

Movie Preview - The Jungle Book

Disney seems to be ready to dig deeper through their film archives to produce current versions of their classic animated films. After the recent success of Cinderella (finally got down to watching it and loved how it stuck with the original animated movie) and Maleficent, another animated classic is swinging its way into theaters next year. 

The Jungle Book explores the adventures of Mowgli in the jungles of India. It is a CGI remake of the 1967 animated classic and this adaptation is supplemented by live-action of Rudyard Kipling's 1894 book of the same title. The cast includes Scarlett Johansson as the Indian Python, Kaa, Idris Elba as the Bengal Tiger, Shere Khan, Bill Murray as the fan favorite bear, Baloo, and Ben Kingsley as Bagheera, the black panther. 

With this film and the upcoming live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast scheduled for 2017 starring an all-star cast led by Emma Watson and Alice Through the Looking Glass scheduled for May 2016, it can be assured that there will be more live action updates coming in coming years. Disney could bring fans new, young, and old to the theaters with their updated live action classics. 

The Jungle Book is scheduled to be released on April 15, 2016. 

Movie Preview - Creed

I know it's been a while since I've posted but that should improve as we get fully into the fall season. One of the movies I put in my Top 10 Fall List released a brand new trailer. These days, boxing seems to have become a lost art in the sports world. With the "retirement" of Floyd Mayweather and the rise of UFC as far as a fighting sport, boxing fades into the sunset slowly with no new, big names bringing it back to prominence.

The same can be said for boxing movies. Sylvester Stallone's successful Rocky film series spans nearly forty years and helped the popularity of the sport. But boxing films are few and far between now, only coming around every couple of years; this year's Southpaw being a prime example. Creed looks to be a better version of this film, powered by the star power of legendary actor Stallone. This movie could also be the vehicle to help Micheal B. Jordan's career into the stratosphere.

In Creed, Michael B. Jordan plays Adonis Johnson, the son of Apollo Creed. He seems to reject and want to separate himself away from his father's legacy. When he comes across the now-retired Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), he requests that the former world heavyweight champion trains him.

This trailer presents itself as more of a deeper cut for the film. While Johnson is starting to find his way and make his own legacy, Balboa seems to be on his last legs personally. Seeing himself as the last survivor of his family (his wife, Adrian, and best friend, Paulie, have passed on), he's content moving on because he is alone but his bond with his former rival's son brings purpose back to Balboa.

Directed by Ryan Coogler, who also co-wrote with Aaron Covington (Fruitvale Station) seem ready to deliver a gritty, relatable film filled with heart and punching power for the audiences to enjoy.

Remembering Wes Craven

I know that I'm a little late with this message for personal reasons but a word should be said to honor the horror legend, Wes Craven. The innovative writer, producer, and director died on August 30 at the age of 76 from brain cancer.

I grew up on the latter half of Craven's career, being first introduced to his work with the 90's classic, Scream. The film has spawned three other sequels with 2011's Scream 4 being the director's final film. His slasher series playfully stabbed as many holes in the conventions of scary films as Ghostface did to his victims.

According to his family's statement in the article on EW, Craven stayed "engaged and working until the end", listed as an executive producer on the MTV series based on Scream. It seemed the only problem he had was the dropping of the distinguishing "Ghostface" killer mask.

Only later did I watch more of Craven's earlier work, especially the cult and pop culture classic A Nightmare on Elm Street. Wes Craven's molten faced, fedora-wearing, red and green sweater clad monster was and is unforgettable. A true terror that kept me up on some dark nights, wondering if I would ever see the razor sharp blades on his leather glove come into my dreams once I closed my eyes.

Kruger was Wes Craven's first iconic horror creature, always finding a way to come back no matter what is done to him. Nothing could hold his spirit for long and keep him away from his children. Freddy has not only come back from the dead again and again, Craven's entertaining creation has withstood the test of time and endured, displaying a longevity of die-hard and casual fans, especially those looking for a Halloween costume.

Hollywood lost a true legend, not just in horror but a trailblazer in movies. Many of Craven's films have achieved cult-fan status and being involved in creating two figures that will persist as representations of boogeymen for generations to come.

Rest in Peace, Wes Craven.