Written By: Dan Geer

Hammer Films’ The Woman in Black was a very surprising throwback to classic gothic horror. Director James Watkins really understood the genre, filling up the big screen with just the right amount of creepy atmosphere and “jump out of your seat” moments. Nothing was overdone. The film hit just the right balance when it came to executing the fright factor, never letting us see too much. The camera work and lighting (or lack thereof) were so well done, that the eye plays tricks on the viewer when watching, often making us see eerie spectres that aren’t even there. The film simply had a great look to it, as well as a compelling story.

Read more »

Written By: Dan Geer

Watching The Hobbit Trilogy has been kind of like munching on a really good appetizer after you’ve already thoroughly enjoyed your filet mignon. We’ve already been blown away by The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, director Peter Jackson’s masterful film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s time-honored novel – a novel that perfected the world that was first established by Tolkien in The Hobbit twenty years prior. It’s one of the greatest sequels ever written. So it is probably inevitable that many will be underwhelmed with The Hobbit film trilogy as a whole after seeing The Battle of the Five Armies. Audiences have already been given the climax to the story, particularly with The Return of the King, and are now being asked to go backwards and enjoy the beginning just as much. That’s just not possible.

So while it is difficult to avoid comparing The Battle of the Five Armies with The Return of the King (or The Hobbit Trilogy to The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, for that matter), in the end we really should only be judging this final film in The Hobbit Trilogy on its own merits, and question whether or not it is a worthy ending to the story being told in this trilogy. To critque it any other way just doesn’t make sense. With that in mind, I’m delighted to say that this film is indeed a worthy conclusion, and actually connects to The Lord of the Rings Trilogy quite seamlessly. That’s really all we should expect.

Read more »

Source: Terminator Genisys | Posted By: Dan Geer

“We can stop Judgement Day,” says Sarah Connor in the brand new trailer for Terminator Genisys, the fourth sequel in the Terminator franchise. Does this statement indicate just how much they are trying to reboot what has come before, given that in Terminator 3, Schwarzenegger’s T-800 character says that “Judgement Day is inevitable”? Or will the T-800 in this film be butting heads with Sarah Connor in disagreement, already knowing the future?

All we know is that time travel will play a big part in changing what we’ve come to know about this franchise. The trailer even seems to indicate that we’ll be going back to 1984, the period of the first film and revisit events we already witnessed in the first film from a different angle… or something. And we see a gray-haired Arnold (apparently he’s a T-800 built to actually simulate age). It is kind of cool that we really don’t know how this will play out, which has piqued my interest significantly. And hey, the action looks great.

Check out the new trailer after the jump!

Read more »

Source: iTunes Trailers | Posted By: Dan Geer

The trailer to end all other trailers is here.

Today, Black Friday, we get our first glimpse of official footage from J.J. Abrams’ Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode VII of the Star Wars Saga). Until now, we knew next to nothing about this film when compared with any of the other sequels/prequels in the Star Wars Saga. Today, that all changes.

It’s best if I say no more, so just head on over to iTunes Trailers to watch 88 seconds of footage from the most anticipated movie since The Phantom Menace, then head back to this article for my initial reaction to the trailer.

Update: Trailer also embedded below in HD, along with my initial reaction.

Read more »

Written By: Brandon Engel

The United States of America has proved itself excellent at quite a few things, but one expertise that this fine nation has taken from a rude practice into a precise science is the concept of marketing and the upcoming holiday season is the perfect evidence of said mastery. The day after Thanksgiving, or Black Friday as it is colloquially known, is the official beginning of the Christmas/Holiday season and while the ideal of the holiday season involves good cheer, charity, and thankfulness, those qualities generally fade away amidst the maelstrom of bargain hunters prepared to draw blood for their favorite brands. Yet, despite the fact that the holiday season may or may not have been hijacked by consumerism, it has never faltered as a good reason to spend some quality time with one’s family. While most of the country may look at this upcoming season through White Christmas-inspired rose-colored glasses, there is a still a minority of those rebellious tradition-breakers who seek to celebrate the holidays in their own way and in that vein of thought, here’s a list of some of the best movies to watch on Black Friday for those with a slightly darker disposition.

Spoiler alert: There is no Santa Claus.

Read more »

Source: CinemaBlend | Posted By: Dan Geer

John Hammond found out the hard way that we can never have control, along with many others who ventured to Isla Nublar where the first Jurassic Park was built, or to the lost world of Isla Sorna where the dinosaurs were first created. Even unsuspecting citizens of San Diego got an unwanted close-up of a T-Rex that ravaged the city and killed quite a few people.

And yet, there will always be someone – someone who did not bear witness first hand who thinks that playing God is no big deal and can somehow obtain that control Hammond tried so hard to achieve but never could. There will always be a John Hammond.

Hence the creation of Jurassic World – an all-new dino park! But this time, it’s open to the public. For the first time, we get to see on screen what would happen if a park like Disney World, filled with thousands of people, gets attacked by dinosaurs because, well, it’s inevitable (and it’ll make a great movie).

Check out the first full trailer for Colin Trevorrow’s Jurassic World after the jump!

Read more »

Source: StarWars.com | Posted By: Dan Geer

Anyone following the recent rumors online about a possible teaser trailer for J.J. Abrams Star Wars: The Force Awakens debuting some time soon can finally know the truth, thanks to a Tweet from J.J. Abrams, and official news from StarWars.com. Read on to find out when and where you can catch the first teaser for Episode VII of the Star Wars Saga!

Update: The following also contains how and when everyone can see the trailer online!

Read more »

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures | Posted By: Dan Geer

It has arrived. The latest, and presumably final trailer for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies has landed online, and it definitely justifies the film’s recently-renamed title (it was previously titled The Hobbit: There and Back Again), as it pretty much only shows us clips of the epic battle scenes from the film. This is completely fine with me, by the way.

But there’s also a lot of heartfelt emotion coming from the characters featured here, particularly with Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), who will most definitely be one of the film’s most highlighted characters. His journey in this story is really just as important as that of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), so it doesn’t bother me too much that he is featured in this trailer a bit more than Bilbo. Plus we get to see glimpses of some other much-beloved characters that we haven’t seen since An Unexpected Journey, which is just fantastic. Overall, this trailer has everything we could want.

Hit the jump to watch the best trailer yet for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies!

Read more »

Source: Hammer | Posted By: Dan Geer

In 2012, British film studio Hammer Films produced a little gothic horror film starring Daniel Radcliffe (in his first movie role outside of the Harry Potter franchise) that was received well enough by critics (I loved it), and apparently managed to pull off enough of a profit to warrant a sequel – The Woman in Black: Angel of Death, debuting January 2nd.

Jeremy Irvine (War Horse), is the only actor I recognize out of the film’s all-British cast (Radcliffe will not be in the sequel), but this is a great thing, keeping in line with the Hammer tradition of casting English actors. I, for one, cannot wait for this sequel, as the first film was the best horror film Hammer produced since the studio resurfaced back in 2010 (Let Me In, Hammer‘s British take on the Swedish film Let the Right One In, comes in at a close second).

Gothic horror is a very difficult genre to get right, and director James Watkins nailed it in my opinion with the first film. One can only hope that the sequel’s director Tom Harker can create that same kind of spark. From the looks of it, Harper and his creative team know what they’re doing. Let’s just hope I’m right on this. Hit the jump to watch the new trailer that landed online just in time for Halloween!

Read more »

Source: Marvel | Posted By: Dan Geer

Joss Whedon’s The Avengers busted a lot of blocks when it debuted two years ago. It represented everything Marvel fans had been waiting for, ever since the news broke that a big budget live-action cinematic universe was being created through various stand-alone comic book movies that would eventually unite the title characters of those films into one gigantic mega force to be reckoned on screen. The idea was bold (very bold indeed), and it paid off – big time. Expectations were through the roof for Marvel’s The Avengers, and as far as I can tell, those expectations were pretty much met all across the board. Everyone loves this movie.

So how do you live up to the seemingly unbeatable legacy of the first film with a sequel? Honestly, I have no idea. All I know is that the first teaser trailer for The Avengers: Age of Ultron makes the movie look like it has a pretty darn good chance. Hit the jump to watch (Updated with new clip from the film)!

Read more »