Take A Much Darker Look At The Jungle Book With First Trailer For ‘Mowgli’

Are you confused? Thinking to yourself, “Didn’t we already see a live-action Jungle Book movie?” The answer is yes. You did, and it was great. In 2016, Jon Favreau released a live-action remake of The Jungle Book, and it went on to make nearly $1 billion at the worldwide box office.

You’d think that one live-action remake of the same story would be enough, but no…there is one more coming.

Mowgli, directed by Andy Serkis, promises to be a much darker version of the story. It’s rated PG-13 and has a pretty impressive cast, including Benedict, Cumberbatch, Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett.

But even with the cast, and the incredible visuals found in the trailer below, it’s hard to see this even coming close to Disney’s 2016 film. It’s just too late in the game now. I mean, had Disney’s version been terrible, then sure…the door would be wide open for this movie.

The door is pretty closed, though. Everyone is satisfied when it comes to The Jungle Book. We don’t really need more of it right now.

We’re still willing to give this film a chance, we’re just not that excited about it. Mowgli will hit theaters October 19, 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GpxCT36DxKg

Andy Serkis Promises His Jungle Book Movie Will Be Darker And Scarier

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A year ago, when we learned the world would be getting two live-action feature films based on Rudyard Kipling’s classic The Jungle Book, we were a little concerned. We had a similar situation happen recently with the multiple movies about Steve Jobs, and not surprisingly, only one of those films had a positive reaction from fans and critics.

We figured the two Jungle Book films would have the same experience. One would be a huge hit, and one would be a huge failure. Well, we already know Jon Favreau’s version of the story is a huge hit. It has already grossed $828 million worldwide, and it received a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

This seems like bad news for Andy Serkis’ upcoming Jungle Book film; however, it looks like the two versions will be so different that they might not impact each other at all. Serkis made it clear while talking with Vulture that there are some major differences between his version and Favreau’s.

“Ours is for a slightly older audience. It’s a PG-13, more a kind of ‘Apes’ movie, a slightly darker take, closer to Rudyard Kipling’s. It’s great to scare kids in a safe environment because it’s an important part of development, and we all loved to be scared as kids, so we shouldn’t overly protect them. Kids are so sophisticated, and that is why our ‘Jungle Book’ is quite dark.”

Certainly sounds interesting, and it’s something fans have been waiting for. This might not please everyone in your family like the version released this year, but at least it’s trying something new and exciting.

In addition to directing, Serkis will play Baloo in the movie. He’ll be joined by Freida Pinto, Matthew Rhys and Rohan Chand in the live-action roles.

It’s scheduled to hit theaters October 19, 2018.

Movie Review: Avengers: Age of Ultron – Easy, Stupid Fun With A Ridiculously High Budget

The summer movie season rolled out with the first big blockbuster of the season. The much anticipated Avengers: Age of Ultron is finally out. While not the best in the series, it certainly looks like the most expensive.

The premise is this. Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) has created a villain. Ultron was initially designed to protect the planet earth. Of course, because it’s artificial intelligence, it immediately becomes an evil robot bent on world domination.

When will people learn?

The avengers, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) all get together to save the day. As if there weren’t enough main characters to remember, be prepared for a couple more including Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and sister Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).

The humor that made the first few movies good is still there and fans of the comic books series will appreciate some of the tongue in cheek comments, like why Thor is the only one who can lift his hammer. There’s a few side stories going on where the writers try to inject some humanity into their characters, by showing the burgeoning love affair between the Black Widow and Hulk, as well as Hawkeye’s rural life.

Despite that, this movie is nothing you don’t expect. It’s easy, stupid fun with a ridiculously high budget. Everything unfolds as you’d expect and it’s pretty much a paint by numbers big budget action movie. They didn’t climb too far out of the box on this one.

It’s absolutely CGI heavy, with extensive battle scenes filmed from impossible angles, with people doing impossible things. While visually stunning, it feels a bit like the battle scenes were padded out for the purposes of fleshing out a simplistic script.

Everyone reprises their characters with the same enthusiasm as they had in the first few movies. That’s a feat in and of itself, as they’ve all been at this for a while. Iron Man is still charming, the Black Widow is still creepy, and everyone still wonders why Hawkeye is even there.

This is Joss Whedon’s last direction go around with this franchise, and I will say he went out on a high note. The movie is well done, fun to watch and easy to follow. It’s exactly what a big budget blockbuster should be, and Whedon has managed to keep it going for awhile now. Here’s hoping when someone else takes the helm, it will be just as good.

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There’s already a new one planned, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1, that is expected out in 2018. This is a franchise that has still managed to not lose its steam and will probably be around for a long time to come…as long as they keep making money.

While a bit heavy on battle scenes and CGI, it’s still a commendable effort and was the perfect start for the summer movie season. If you’re looking for fun that won’t make you think so much, this one is worth the watch. .

WE GAVE IT: 4 Stars – Watch the Official Trailer and Official Movie Poster below!

4 stars

 

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Introducing the Marvel Movie Marathon and the Avengers: Age of Ultron Marathon Trailer (Video)!

58921LThis is the type of news we like to start the week with.  This is the season where Marvel fans go completely out of their minds with anticipation.  I would have to say this is pretty cool for just movie fans in general.

How does 29 hours of all 11 Marvel movies released since 2008 sound?  To my girlfriend that probably sounds like a nightmare, but to my collegeroommate (who is now 34) it sounds like two amazing days off of work.  This is all going to go down at AMC and Regal Movie theaters located around the country.

Fans who actually manage to stick around for the entire thing will be rewarded with the first showing of Avengers: Age of Ultron!

So far Regal movies have identified 4 locations and AMC theaters have many more locations but will not be showing all eleven Marvel films.  Here is how they breakdown:

REGAL

Ultimate-marvel-Marathon

 

They will be showing all 11 films.  If you live in the following cities you are in Luck:

Ontario, CA,

Atlanta, GA

King of Prussia, PA

Houston, TX

AMC

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Amc will be showing only 6 but they have many more locations, including some that are very close to me.  Here is their list of cities:

Atlanta, GA,

Baltimore, MD

Boston, MA

Chicago, IL

Cincinnati, OH

Dallas, TX

Denver, CO

Detroit, MI

Hosuton, TX

Indianapolis, IN

Jacksonville, FL

Kansas City, MO

Los Angeles, CA

Miami, FL

Minneapolis, MN

New Orleas, LA

New York / New Jersey

Philadelphia, PA

Phoenix, AZ

San Diego, CA

San Francisco, CA

Seattle, WA

Tallahassee, FL

Tampa, FL

Toronto, ON

Washington, DC


 

I advise you to visit both sites for the latest most up to date information and Advance ticket sales.

REGAL MOVIES  |  AMC

WHAT IS A MARATHON TRAILER?

I can’t believe you don’t know what a marathon trailer is!  And you call yourself a movie fan?  Of course you don’t know what it is because I made the term up.  It sounded much better than a “mashed up, long ass” trailer, but that’s exactly what it is.

A Youtuber by the name of JohnnyB2K (cool name), has decided to take all three Age of Ultron trailers and link them together in chronological order.  I think he did a pretty good job despite all of the petty Youtube comments on the sound quality.  To those people pressing thumbs down I say, “Where’s your trailer”.

JohnnyB2K tried to put everything in chronological order to the best of his ability.  The order dictates a lot of the story so it will be interesting to see how close he got.  People are complaining about spoilers from this trailer.  Maybe they missed the part where he just used the EXISTING TRAILERS. People, it’s not that serious.

Maybe I will see some of you on April 29th.  I will be the guy wearing one of those hats that holds the drinks on each side and an adult diaper on.  Can’t afford bathroom breaks.  Enjoy the trailer!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Teaser Trailer arrives and Silences the critics; at least for Now.

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So the trailer for the new Star Wars movie finally hit the interweb and I have to say people are surprised.  Surprised and impressed.  From the start to the finish the trailer draws you in and leaves you wanting more.

The first character we see is an intense faced John Boyega.  Right then you tell yourself that Boyega is perfectly cast.  Not too big of a star and he is known already from his Sci-fi role in 2011 ‘Attack the Block’ and he is immediately believable.  We see him rockin the familiar Stormtrooper outfit and from that point on, all you can think of in your mind is, “It’s on”.

Then you see Daisy Ridley swoop in, and quickly it cuts over to Oscar Isaac piloting an X-wing leading  the other X-wings into formation, then the scene quickly flashes to what appears to be at least one of the films villains yielding a light saber.

OMG!  At this point you forget about Disney, you forget about all of your J.J. Abrams worries and your Star Wars senses are on overload.  You can’t handle anymore.  That’s when you see the Millennium Falcon swoop in and you hear the John Williams’’ classic Star Wars theme…….then your head explodes, or you applaud.  Or your head explodes while you are applauding.

For now the score is, Disney and JJ one, cynical doubting fans 0.  But this is just the first battle.  The scary part is there is so much more to come.   Enjoy the tease.

 

Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett And Many More Added To Cast For ‘Jungle Book: Origins’

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Andy Serkis and Warner Bros. have loaded their ‘Jungle Book‘ adaptation with a cast full of stars. We have now learned that Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Tom Hollander and Naomie Harris will all join Benedict Cumberbatch as the animal characters in the movie.

The film, which will feature CG animation, motion capture and live action, will also star the adorable Bad Words actor Rohan Chand as the human boy Mowgli. It’s being reported that Christian Bale will voice the panther Bagheera, and Cate Blanchett will take on the menacing python Kaa.

Andy Serkis, who will be making his directorial debut on the film, will also take on the role of Baloo the bear. The casting is now complete on the film, which means Warner Bros. and Andy Serkis are ready to take on Jon Favreau and Disney. As most of you know, Disney is also mounting their own Jungle Book film, with Jon Favreau in the director’s chair.

Disney’s version has a cast full of stars, as well. Bill Murray, Christopher Walken and Scarlett Johansson have all agreed to join the cast. The film is expected to hit theaters October 9, 2015.

Which version are you looking forward to the most?

Movie Review: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

DAWN-OF-THE-PLANET-OF-THE-APES-Movie-Poster-Version1This is not the Planet of the Apes of your childhood.

four and a half stars

I’ll be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of the Planet of the Apes movies. I just don’t get the premise. I mean, if the apes have evolved into talking and thinking, shouldn’t they have eventually just evolved into being humans? But I decided to set my skepticism aside and instead, focus on being entertained. After all, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is both a box office and critical success, so there has to be something there right?

Dawn picks up where the last movie left off, with Ceaser leading a growing band of genetically improved apes, to fight with the humans for supremacy of the planet. For the humans, a search for a cure for the virus has obliterated half the world. Humans are fighting to survive in primitive landscapes, while the apes struggle with things like class warfare and rebellious children.

This is not the Planet of the Apes of your childhood. In 1968, Charlton Hesston created the first version as a way to satire the problems in the world. For many, it became a cult hit simply for the ridiculous costumes, but people, aside from die hard movie buffs, rarely discussed the political implications of the movie.

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This new version is possibly the smartest version yet. The CGI is fantastic and realistic, and the apes now have a full range of facial expressions that make them more human and sympathetic. In fact, I wound up rooting for the apes for the majority of the movie.

The dialog is realistic and heavy, and the actors who gave voice to the characters do a great job of verbally expressing their emotions. They created a great humanity for the apes that made them more sympathetic than they’ve ever been before. This movie was very intelligently written.

My big gripe is that the movie has no release from the tension. It’s heavy, it’s depressing and it’s realistic, but there’s no humor to break it up. Instead, it’s a very grim look at the world and manages to be extremely depressing and hard hitting. I could have done with some kind of hope.

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Also, there was a major plot hole. There’s no indication that the apes have the knowledge to make weapons and after 10 years of warfare, they still seem to have an endless supply of both guns and bullets. Guns that never seem to jam, by the way. That didn’t really ring true. Jeez, on the Walking Dead after only a few months following the zombie apocalypse, they’re running low on guns and ammunition. How are the apes doing it after 10 years? Do they have a magic ammunition genie?

Plot holes and depression aside, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is intelligently written, acted and directed. The CGI is fantastic and realistic and the comparisons between the movie and our society are intelligent without being preachy. Currently performing at number 1 at the box office, this is a highly recommended watch. In fact, it might be the smartest movie you see all summer.

Watch the Trailer below!

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Scary Clip and last Trailer for ‘Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes’

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If you saw 2011’s ‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ then you know things get real very quickly with these apes. Below is the latest trailer and a super crazy clip from the film.
THE CLIP SET UP
In the clip Toby Kebbell is playing Koba, who was previously played by Christopher Gordon. Kebbell was tapped for the role in the new film because Kobas role will be much more in this film. In the clip you it looks like monkey business and then things get serious, FAST. All I can think watching it is….wait for it….wait for it…..

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The trailer is most likely the last one that will be released in anticipation for the July 11th release. The Matt Reeves directed sequel will indeed be one of the most anticipated movies of the summer.

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