First Look: Redband Trailer for Mark Wahlberg’s ‘The Gambler’. Does a Bald John Goodman Steal the Show? (Video)

Balkd John Goodman

The dramatic pictures of a slimmed down Mark Wahlberg created quite the buzz on the internet, so we couldn’t wait for the trailer. There’s already talk surrounding the fact that Wahlberg might get an Oscar nomination for this role. The remake of the 1974 drama is written by William Monahan (The Departed) so there is potential.

Wahlberg who has really showed his acting chops in the last five years (Transformers aside) put a lot of work into this role. Wahlberg’s character is a literature professor with a bad gambling addiction. He says that convincing audience’s that he is a teacher was tougher then dropping the weight. During an interview he said,

“Forget losing the weight. Being believable as a teacher was one of my greatest challenges and most rewarding.”

Wahlberg just completed his high school diploma online last year at the age of 42. To prepare for this role he actually sat in on literary courses to better understand the classic literature references his character apparently uses throughout the film. The man is dedicated to his craft.

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If Wahlberg doesn’t get an Oscar maybe there’s some room for John Goodman as Best Supporting Actor. A bald John Goodman gives a speech that is destined to become a classic, which is used as the back drop for the trailer…and the only reason I see that it’s redband. Goodman is dropping F-bombs Galore. I thought he deserved something as the “Wingman” in Denzel Washington’s ‘Flight’; maybe this movie will right that wrong.

Enjoy the Trailer. The movie is slated for official release on December 19th.

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Movie Review: The Purge: Anarchy – A Depressing Social commentary on our Society

2014-The-Purge-AnarchyLast week was an eclectic week at the theater. You had Jason Segal and Cameron Diaz being silly in Sex Tape, you had talking planes and trucks in Planes: Fire and Rescue, and then you had the Purge: Anarchy, the sequel to last summers sleeper hit.

The Purge: Anarchy is set one year after the last purge, hence the whole annual thing. As it starts, we find five people, who were stupid enough to get trapped outside when they knew a year in advance the Purge was coming. These people include a woman (Kiele Sanchez) and her timid husband ( Zach Gilford); a no nonsense waitress (Carmen Ejogo) and her daughter (Zoe Soul); and a grumpy man in black (Frank Grillo). The group spends the night sneaking around the city, avoiding a machete wielding motorcycle gang and citizens who are more heavily armed than Rambo following a gun sale at WalMart.

The Purge is a unique movie, in that it’s one part gory horror and one part social commentary. The writers of this movie apparently have no faith in humanity, as they have filled the world with people who are just delighted at the opportunity to murder their fellow human beings for the 12 hours that its’ legal. It’s really a sad comment on the way we view the world, as the predators far outnumber the prey. The message is this; everyone would commit murder, arson, vandalism and theft if only they could get away with it.

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While I choose to be more optimistic than that, it does make for a fun watch…for the first 80 minutes. For the fist 80 minutes, while the movie is over the top, it’s not cartoony over the top. Then, the last 20 minutes rolls in and it gets over the top in a bad way.

There wasn’t much acting to be done here. The bad guys looked menacing and the good guys looked scared. I did like the addition of the angry policeman who is out to avenge his son’s death. It made for a nice side plot and kept me interested when I really would have gotten bored if they just spent the whole movie running around, trying not to get killed.

The Purge: Anarchy is a proficient movie. It gives people going to see an action/slasher flick exactly what they’d want. Lots of gore, lots of violence and lots of gun fire. It’s a clever premise which was expanded from the original, with a bit more depth given to the characters this time around. There are no big stars in this movie, but they really didn’t need them. It’s a good enough plot to stand on its own merits.

Granted, it’s patchy and there are plot holes. The last 20 minutes made it a little silly and cartoony and didn’t seem to match the rest of the movie, but it was still entertaining. It was also a pretty depressing social commentary on our society as a whole and it will make you wonder how you would behave during a Purge, if purges were real.

Me, I’d build a bomb shelter and I wouldn’t go out for a month prior and a month after, just to avoid getting stuck outside.

WE GAVE IT: 3.5 Stars: Official Movie Trailer and Movie Poster Below

3.5 stars

 

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The Purge Anarchy New Poster