Blink Goes On The Run In 'The Gifted' Pilot's First Six Minutes

With X-Men: Dark Phoenix, New Mutants, Deadpool, and an X-Force movie, the big screen is crowded enough with X-Men. That makes Fox's TV series The Gifted a refreshing change of pace. While it's set in the same universe, it takes place at a time when the X-Men have vanished, and mutantkind has to learn to fend for itself. Pretty cool. I have my doubts they can pull it off for the long haul, but the premise is fantastic.

You can now watch the first six minutes of the pilot episode, from multi-time X-Men movie director Bryan Singer. The footage focuses on mutant teleporter Blink (Jamie Chung), who we've seen previously in X-Men: Days of Future Past. She's on the run here, and clearly still acclimating to her powers in this timeline, which was created by the events in that movie.

The Gifted premieres on Monday, October 2nd.

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Review: 'Band Aid' Starring Zoe Lister-Jones & Adam Pally

*NOTE: This is a reprint of my review from the Sundance Film Festival.*

We know plenty of relationships have broken up over rock music, but can it actually save a marriage? That's the question asked in Band Aid, one of the best comedies to emerge out of Sundance this year. From writer, director, producer, and star Zoe Lister-Jones, the film has laughs to spare but also the grit that comes from personal flourishes. Lister-Jones, who typically has been seen as the bitchy best friend or as part of a collaborative force with her husband Daryl Wein (Together they managed to make Greta Gerwig suck in Lola Versus), has done what I thought impossible and make a rom-com about a garage band supremely enjoyable.

Anna (Lister-Jones) and Ben (Adam Pally) are one of those couple that fight....a lot. But they don't break up. The fighting seems to spark something in them. Sure, they go through a lot of pain and misery but they always stay together. They live in a tiny house and fight over everything. He won't do the dishes and has no career ambition; she's a little bit stuck-up, body obsessed, and and not at all spontaneous. As unfulfilled as they are at home they are also unfulfilled in their careers. She had a book deal that fell through and now she works as an Uber driver (a popular career path in Sundance movies this year); he's a failed graphic designer who barely manages to complete the freelance gigs he gets. It should go without saying that their sex lives are pretty barren.

Even with all of that crap between them, they still live one another, and we always feel that they are meant to be together even through the worst of it. That's a tough thing to pull off but Lister-Jones does it with a sharp script that highlights the couple's connective quirks, like their mutual love of weed, Holocaust jokes, and music. It's the last one that's important, because while rockin' out with kiddie toys at a friend's party, they realize all of their problems seem to go away when in a jam session. Soon they're breaking out the real guitars and making music together in the garage, using their real-life issues as source material. The songs aren't anything great; certainly nobody is going to win any Grammys or anything, but they sound natural and are pretty funny. "I love you, but I don't wanna fuck you" being a particularly enjoyable standout.

Portlandia's Fred Armisen adds a funky twist as their neighbor, appropriately named Weird Dave. A sex addict living with two incredibly hot former addicts (That he has no desire to sleep with even though they're Jamie Chung and Erinn Hayes), Dave completes the band as Anna and Ben's drummer, and soon they are rockin' out at talent shows and dive bars, working out their issues through song. For a moment I worried Armisen would be too offbeat and begin to take over the movie, but he actually fits in neatly as part of this little world Anna and Ben have built for themselves.

While this is all charming low-key stuff, there has to be a point when things come to a head. Anna and Ben have real problems that even a few good jams can't cure, including one that has been festering for far too long. While it's a familiar source of tension that causes a blowup recognizable in similar indie movies, Lister-Jones does find a way of putting things back together that feels unique to these characters. The fight they have is powerfully raw stuff with both characters saying some awful things, but it all comes from a simmering tension we've all been sensing from the beginning. The only serious drawback is a scene in which Curb Your Enthusiasm's Susie Essman shows up and meticulously breaks down the differences between men and women. The film is a little bit messy and loose because the characters are, and having someone come in and explain everything feels like Lister-Jones didn't trust the audience enough. Band Aid hits a sweet groove that's easy to fall for. It's the kind of movie that was tailor made for the festival crowd, but it's funny and honest enough that others will want to rock out to it.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Mutants Fight Back In First Trailer For X-Men TV Series, 'The Gifted'

After dropping a teaser just a few days ago, Fox has finally debuted the x-treme first trailer for X-Men TV series, The Gifted. The show is loosely connected to the big screen franchise, and two mutants who were part of X-Men: Days of Future Past have regular roles and are seen in this extended footage.

The pilot episode is directed by Bryan Singer with Matt Nix serving as writer/showrunner for the entire first season, which Fox has already given a full season order. Natalie Alyn Lind and Percy Hynes are Lauren and Andy Strucker, high schoolers who discover they have incredible powers. Those powers force them to go on the run with their parents (Stephen Moyer and Amy Acker) to escape from a hostile government. Eventually they connect with an underground network, and presumably that's where they encounter the popular teleporting mutant Blink (Jamie Chung) and John "Thunderbird" Proudstar (Blair Redford),the latter the leader of the group. There's also Lorna Dane aka Polaris (Emma Dumont), whose magnetic powers come from the fact she's Magneto's daughter...at least in the comics. Things are probably different here, but who knows? Can we get a Fassbender cameo to confirm? Probably not.

I don't believe in coincidences. The "Strucker" name means a lot in the Marvel Universe, just sayin'.

The Gifted debuts on Fox this fall.

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Jamie Chung To Play Blink On Fox's X-Men TV Series

Blink was one of the most popular X-Men around, which is why there was a great deal of excitement when the pink-skinned teleporter made her big screen debut in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Well fans of hers won't have to wait long to see her again because Blink will be a regular character on Fox's upcoming X-Men TV series, and she'll be played by Jamie Chung.

Chung, who got her start on MTV's The Real World and recently played Valerie Vale on Gotham, joins the previously-cast Blair Redford (Satisfaction) on the untitled show about a pair of ordinary parents who go on the run from a hostile government when their children are found to possess mutant powers. They meet up with an underground network of mutants and must fight to survive. Redford plays Sam, the strong-willed Native American leader of the resistance.

We've actually seen Chung in a bunch of comic book adaptations, including Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, and she was the voice of GoGo in Big Hero 6.

So that's one known X-Man we know will be part of the show, and chances are there will be more. Which X-Men characters would you like to see added?

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Sundance Review: 'Band Aid' Starring Zoe Lister-Jones And Adam Pally

We know plenty of relationships have broken up over rock music, but can it actually save a marriage? That's the question asked in Band Aid, one of the best comedies to emerge out of Sundance this year. From writer, director, producer, and star Zoe Lister-Jones, the film has laughs to spare but also the grit that comes from personal flourishes. Lister-Jones, who typically has been seen as the bitchy best friend or as part of a collaborative force with her husband Daryl Wein (Together they managed to make Greta Gerwig suck in Lola Versus), has done what I thought impossible and make a rom-com about a garage band supremely enjoyable.

Anna (Lister-Jones) and Ben (Adam Pally) are one of those couple that fight....a lot. But they don't break up. The fighting seems to spark something in them. Sure, they go through a lot of pain and misery but they always stay together. They live in a tiny house and fight over everything. He won't do the dishes and has no career ambition; she's a little bit stuck-up, body obsessed, and and not at all spontaneous. As unfulfilled as they are at home they are also unfulfilled in their careers. She had a book deal that fell through and now she works as an Uber driver (a popular career path in Sundance movies this year); he's a failed graphic designer who barely manages to complete the freelance gigs he gets. It should go without saying that their sex lives are pretty barren.

Even with all of that crap between them, they still live one another, and we always feel that they are meant to be together even through the worst of it. That's a tough thing to pull off but Lister-Jones does it with a sharp script that highlights the couple's connective quirks, like their mutual love of weed, Holocaust jokes, and music. It's the last one that's important, because while rockin' out with kiddie toys at a friend's party, they realize all of their problems seem to go away when in a jam session. Soon they're breaking out the real guitars and making music together in the garage, using their real-life issues as source material. The songs aren't anything great; certainly nobody is going to win any Grammys or anything, but they sound natural and are pretty funny. "I love you, but I don't wanna fuck you" being a particularly enjoyable standout.

Portlandia's Fred Armisen adds a funky twist as their neighbor, appropriately named Weird Dave. A sex addict living with two incredibly hot former addicts (That he has no desire to sleep with even though they're Jamie Chung and Erinn Hayes), Dave completes the band as Anna and Ben's drummer, and soon they are rockin' out at talent shows and dive bars, working out their issues through song. For a moment I worried Armisen would be too offbeat and begin to take over the movie, but he actually fits in neatly as part of this little world Anna and Ben have built for themselves.

While this is all charming low-key stuff, there has to be a point when things come to a head. Anna and Ben have real problems that even a few good jams can't cure, including one that has been festering for far too long. While it's a familiar source of tension that causes a blowup recognizable in similar indie movies, Lister-Jones does find a way of putting things back together that feels unique to these characters. The fight they have is powerfully raw stuff with both characters saying some awful things, but it all comes from a simmering tension we've all been sensing from the beginning. The only serious drawback is a scene in which Curb Your Enthusiasm's Susie Essman shows up and meticulously breaks down the differences between men and women. The film is a little bit messy and loose because the characters are, and having someone come in and explain everything feels like Lister-Jones didn't trust the audience enough.

Band Aid hits a sweet groove that's easy to fall for. It's the kind of movie that was tailor made for the festival crowd, but it's funny and honest enough that others will want to rock out to it.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5



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New Trailer For 'Office Christmas Party' Rocks The Holidays Right

Who doesn't love a good office Christmas party? Spiked egg nog, questionable pot luck dishes, awkward kisses in the copy room under the mistletoe, and loads of regret to carry into the following Monday. But the chance to see your co-workers cut loose and drop all of that stress is worth making a few foolish mistakes, and in the new holiday comedy Office Christmas Party those screwups lead to one wild night of drunken chaos.

Featuring an incredible comedic ensemble of Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Kate McKinnon, T.J. Miller, Olivia Munn, Jillian Bell, Rob Corddry, Vanessa Bayer, Karan Soni, Randall Park, Sam Richardson, Jamie Chung, and Courtney B. Vance, the film is exactly what its title implies. A crazy office Christmas party that goes off the rails just as everyone is fighting to save their jobs. If you're looking for the next It's A Wonderful Life this definitely isn't it, but I'm betting this will become an annual holiday favorite for a lot of folks.

 I had the chance to speak with directors Will Speck and Josh Gordon so keep an eye out for that interview in a few days. Office Christmas Party opens December 9th.

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New Trailer And Posters For 'Office Christmas Party' Throw A Holiday Rager

Depending on your outlook, one of the perks (or curses) of working in an office environment is the annual office Christmas party. If you're the type who punches out at 4:59pm every day just to get away from your co-workers as fast as possible, you may hate it. But if you're the type who digs happy hours with your colleagues then it's a chance to see everybody cut loose all at once, then try to pretend everything can go back to normal the next day. Yeah, right. We all remember what Bob from accounting did on the office copier. And you can expect some crazy stuff to go down in Office Christmas Party, which may have the best comedy ensemble we've seen all year.

Jennifer Aniston, T.J. Miller, Jason Bateman, Kate McKinnon, Olivia Munn, Jillian Bell, Rob Corddry, Vanessa Bayer, Randall Park, Sam Richardson, Jamie Chung, Abbey Lee, Oliver Cooper, and Courtney B. Vance star, and really that should be all anybody needs to check this out. The plot is simple enough not to compromise the antics, taking place during a wild Christmas bash where the workers must also win over a major client and save their jobs.

Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck, Office Christmas Party opens December 9th.

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Review: 'Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong' Starring Jamie Chung And Bryan Greenberg

Two young people wander a foreign -- to us, anyway -- city at night, mostly just talking.  No, it's not the next installment in Linklater's Before series, though even the temporally-focused title of Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong points towards this influence.

This time it's Ruby (Jamie Chung) and Josh (Bryan Greenberg) meandering through Hong Kong.  In a bit of a change-up, Josh is more the native here, having lived in the city for ten years as an investment banker.  Ruby is visiting on business as a toy designer.

There's also a tinge of When Harry Met Sally going on, in that we actually see Ruby and Josh meet twice, about a year apart, and given their existing romantic partners there's a fair bit of talk about whether this is a burgeoning friendship or something more.  I actually hoped that writer/director Emily Ting would revisit the pair in a series of vignettes to see how things grow and change over time, but instead the first, short meeting mostly sets the stage for the second one, which takes up the bulk of the movie.

Speaking of which, this one clocks in at a brisk 81 minutes, and even a big chunk of that is taken up with montages of Ruby and Josh making their way through various night markets, in the sort of gee-whiz exoticism that it seems no Western-trained director making a movie in the Orient can escape.  I found myself wondering if a more ruthless editor could have cut the second section down to a really good short film that doesn't bury the best parts amongst others that come off more repetitious than anything else.

There's a lot of "hey, here's something weird (from an American perspective) about Hong Kong" moments, for example.  And these are usually followed by "yeah, but you get used to that; how about another montage?"  Some of them really work, like the street restaurant Ruby and Josh visit, or the fortune teller who lets his little bird select the fortune.  Even the shot of the Hong Kong skyline from the ferry manages to serve a purpose.  But after a while these start to get lost in the shuffle, and they take time away from the conversation.

Because if you're trying to draw on Before Sunrise, the conversation has to come first.  And, ideally, it should range a lot wider than this one does.  At its best, Already Tomorrow in Hong Kong puts some serious thought towards the disconnect between our assumptions and reality.  If you saw this couple on the street in Kowloon, which one would you assume spoke Cantonese?  What would you think their relationship is like?  Their talks even flirt with something more meaningful and dangerous: what are they assuming about each other?  Can culture-shock exist between two people?

But, ultimately, the movie we get always turns back to the safe ground of will-they-or-won't-they rom-com standards.  And I get it; I do.  It's the comfortable, familiar choice that might not be what you grew up with, but ultimately isn't going to ask too much of you.  Still, when it's over you might wonder, what if I'd pushed myself and tried those chicken feet after all?

Rating: 2 out of 5

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Review: Disney's 'Big Hero 6'

It's been said many times, and even mocked by Saturday Night Live, that Marvel can basically turn anything into a box office smash. The top-grossing movie of the year is Guardians of the Galaxy, for chrissakes, based on a comic book practically nobody read and less had heard of.  When Marvel and Disney essentially merged, it brought on a new challenge in territory that had yet to be conquered: animation. Big Hero 6 is the first Disney animated feature based on a Marvel property, and it's both the strangest choice and the perfect one. Blending super-powered heroics with kid-friendly action and an ethnically-diverse cast, Big Hero 6 has something for everybody to love.

Big Hero 6 is based on a super obscure manga-influenced miniseries from years ago; so obscure it makes the Guardians of the Galaxy look like the X-men. While Disney has made some significant changes in the transition to the screen, honoring its Japanese roots certainly hasn't been lost. Shedding the typical Disney homogenization and honoring a merger of many different cultures, it's safe to say this is one of the best looking Disney animated films ever made, certainly unlike anything in their vast catalog of classics. Set in San Fransokyo, a futuristic combination of San Francisco and Tokyo, a gorgeous blend of new and old world charms, the story centers on robotics genius Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter) and his equally brainy older brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney). Orphaned at a young age, the two now live with their eager aunt (Maya Rudolph), using their intellect in very different ways. While Tadashi studies at a prestigious university, Hiro builds robots and earns money fighting them in underground tournaments. Sensing his little bro may be on the wrong path, Tadashi brings him to the school where Hiro is blown away by the awesome stuff being built by the other geeks: the spunky racer Go-Go (Jamie Chung) Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr) the laser enthusiast; Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez) is a chemistry expert; and Fred (TJ Miller) is basically Shaggy minus his Scooby-Doo companion.

The character that is sure to become a phenomenon in his own right is the lovable, cherubic Baymax (Scott Adsit). Basically a giant stuffed balloon robot, Baymax is pretty much impossible to resist. Designed by Tadashi as a nurse robot, Baymax is clumsy, lumbering, and helpful to a fault. When tragedy strikes the university and Tadashi is killed, he becomes an outlet for Hiro's grief and a willing companion. Somebody out there caused the explosion that got Tadashi killed, it’s up to Hiro, Baymax, and his newly souped-up nerd pals to uncover the truth.  Basically, Big Hero 6 is a classic superhero origin story, one alive with energy, humor, and even a few dark turns. It actually works best as Hiro and his pals are hanging out, joking, and using their intellect to design their wondrous powers, and it's so much fun that we almost forget there's a bad guy out there to be caught.

While there are plenty of laughs to be found, mostly through the constantly-bumbling Baymax, there's also a serious journey of self-discovery that Hiro must endure. Learning to cope with loss, making new friends, and using his genius for good are all lessons Hiro must learn, but there are plenty more that the story merely touches upon. In fact there are too many messages the screenplay wants to get across, throwing them at us a mile a minute. It's a distraction from what we truly want to see more of and that's the relationship between Hiro and Baymax. Threatening for a while to become a pet/master situation, Baymax's ever-present connection to Tadashi becomes an emotional touchstone, one that never fades away through the robot's silly antics. As a healing robot it's his programming to help Hiro through his brother's death, but in a way he becomes a surrogate sibling. Its touching stuff, some of the most emotional Disney has ever dared in a film geared at young audiences. I dare you not to shed a tear when Baymax asks if Hiro is satisfied with his care.

Directed by Don Hall, who gave us the excellent Winnie the Pooh a couple of years ago, and Chris Williams (Bolt), Big Hero 6 looks amazing. A merging of Eastern and Western influences, San Fransokyo is both fascinating and a little bit scary, with new wondrous discoveries to be made around every corner. When Baymax gets his new winged battle armor, he and Hiro embark on a soaring test flight that actually surpasses anything we saw in How to Train Your Dragon. Unfortunately, his new armor also signals a turn away from the character work that was so enjoyable and an emphasis on standard superhero action. There's nothing technically wrong with any of it, but nor is it especially inspired. We just really want to watch Baymax try to squeeze his fat body in and out of tight spaces, or patch up holes with duct tape, or learn how to fist bump. Can we get more of that please? No seriously, can we get more of Big Hero 6? There's so much to adore here that a sequel is an absolute must.  It's another big victory for Disney and Marvel, and to think this is just scratching the surface of their potential. Yes, Big Hero 6, I am more than satisfied with my care.

 Rating: 4 out of 5

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Check Out Baymax's Tragic Origin in New Trailer for Disney's 'Big Hero 6'

Disney is going to be pulling at your heartstrings later this year with Big Hero 6, the animated film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team. Most of the trailers we've seen for it up to this point have focuses on the mix of action and comedy, highlighting the bond between between boy genius Hiro Hamada and his inflatable robot pal, Baymax. But now we get a look at why Hiro feels such a connection with Baymax and it may have you shedding a few tears.

Presented as a team of nerds, Big Hero 6 consists of Hiro, Baymax, Honey Lemon, Fred, Wasabi, and Gogo Tomago who come together to defend the futuristic city of San Fransokyo from a kabuki-masked villain. It's our first real look at the entire team in action, but the focus is squarely on the clumsy Baymax who Disney clearly see big merchandising dollars in. The Baymax action figures were flying off the shelves at Comic-Con earlier this year.

Genesis Rodriguez, James Cromwell, Damon Wayans Jr., Jamie Chung, Alan Tudyk, T.J. Miller, Maya Rudolph, Ryan Potter, and Scott Adsit lend their voices to Big Hero 6, which opens on November 7th.


Big Hero 6 - Trailer #2 [VO|HD] by addictomovie

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Review: 'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For' Starring Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Eva Green

Just how good of a year was 2005 for comic book movies? You basically had two groundbreaking films that turned the entire genre on its side opening within two months of each other: Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins and Robert Rodriguez's Sin City. Nobody disputes the impact of Nolan's trilogy but it can be argued Sin City, with its sleazy cast of hard-edged film noir archetypes and visuals literally popping from the pages of Frank Miller's graphic novel, was more immediately impressive. Copycats followed and Rodriguez's use of CGI technology became the new standard for by which all such films were measured. There just weren't any more Sin City flicks, at least not right away. Nine years later, after much teasing by Rodriguez, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is finally here and it offers sexier femme fatales, more angry antiheroes, more blood and nudity. And while that may be enough to satisfy the most hardcore fans others may feel like the long wait was barely worth it.

The genius of Sin City and its pair of adaptations, co-directed by Rodriguez and Miller, is that it resembles the nasty criminal underworld of Batman comics with the hyper-stylization of superheroes. It's a place where a crazed behemoth like Marv (Mickey Rourke) can get shot a dozen times and come back to pluck a guy's eye out, grumbling one-liners the whole way. Rodriguez doesn't so much as recreate the familiar film noir elements; dark shadows, cigarette smoke, vigilantes and manipulative vixens; he glorifies them while indulging in the comical violence he's always been such a fan of. In this case, the maddeningly over-the-top violence more closely resembles that of Rodriguez's Machete Kills, which couldn't be less of a film noir than Spy Kids was.

Rodriguez's computer generated backgrounds, which blew our minds nine years ago, no longer have that element of surprise but they are still breathtaking to behold. Shattered glass and spraying blood glisten in the eye-popping starkness of this black and white world, occasionally lit up by flashes of color. Usually these brief moments of vibrancy are reserved for the ladies, who are either arm candy or scheming she-devils. Like the first film, a series of loosely-connected short stories ripped from the comics comprise the bulk of the material, with a couple of new tales that introduce a new character and expand on another. The crisscrossing chronology allows for some dead characters to be seen once again, like Marv and his demented search for answers in "Just Another Saturday Night". In that one, Marv, whose head has never been screwed on too tight, cracks heads while trying to figure out why he killed a bunch of guys. A thread from the first film is followed-up on in "Nancy's Last Dance", in which the saintly (for Sin City anyway) strip club dancer Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba) goes nuts after the death of her savior, John Hartigan (Bruce Willis), and seeks revenge on the politically-connected Roark clan of psychos.

Because so much of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For remains unchanged from before, both in terms of tone and visual flourish, it's the new additions to the cast who are the greatest blast to spend time with. The centerpiece story “A Dame to Kill For" features the dangerously gorgeous Eva Green in various states of undress. No other actress so perfectly embodies the classic femme fatale as Green, who plays Ava Lord in a twisted tale that explains how street hero Dwight (now played by Josh Brolin) came to need that new face he had in the first film. Dwight's always had a soft spot for the ladies and Lord exploits that by calling on him for help against the torturous Manute (Dennis Haysbert) and her abusive billionaire husband. She and Dwight share a troubled romantic past and he can't resist her cries for help or her sexual advances. Of course she's not being totally honest about her situation, and when Dwight enlists Marv (who appears in practically every story) to take down Lord once and for all its bloody and kinky in all the ways we love about Sin City. Green slinks and slithers like a snake with her piercing eyes and Rodriguez lavishes us with every gratuitous shot of her shimmering body. He's as smitten with her as the many men who fall under Lord's spell, which includes Christopher Meloni as a married cop who haplessly carries out her orders. She's everything the title suggests and more.

The best of the fresh material is Joseph Gordon-Levitt's "The Long Bad Night", in which the perfectly-suited actor plays Johnny, a cardsharp riding a hot streak and decides to see how far he can take it. With a hot dame (Julia Garner) by his side he decides to take on Sin City's most heinous villain, Senator Roarke (Powers Boothe) in a poker match and wins handily. Winning may have its privileges but not in Sin City, and Roarke makes Johnny's life a gruesome waking nightmare.

Sadly we don't get to see nearly enough of Rosario Dawson as Gale, leader of the Old Town prostitutes, while brief cameos by Ray Liotta, Jeremy Piven, and Stacy Keach mostly serve as "ah ha" moments rather than anything memorable. With all the CGI violence and sexy babes this is Rodriguez right in his element, but there's never any attempt to improve on what came before. Sin City was such a game-changer that it's disappointing Rodriguez doesn't try to break new ground with Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. He gives fans all the blood and guts they can handle and absolutely nothing more.

 Rating: 3 out of 5

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Trailer for William H. Macy's Directorial Debut 'Rudderless' with Billy Crudup, Selena Gomez, and Anton Yelchin

One of the movies I heard a great deal about at Sundance, some of it good and some bad, was William H. Macy's directorial debut, Rudderless. The film sounds a lot like John Carney's recent musical drama Begin Again, exploring music and its power to make our lives better even in the face of terrible hardship. And with a release date only a few weeks away the first trailer has been released and it looks those who heaped praise on it may have been right.

Macy has gathered a strong cast with Billy Crudup, Anton Yelchin, Selena Gomez, Felicty Huffman, Laurence Fishburne, and Jamie Chung for the story of Sam (Crudup) a father struggling to deal with the death of his son. Turning to alcohol to cope with the pain, he finds a different coping mechanism when a box of his son's demo tapes is uncovered, revealing a gift for music Sam never knew he had. Learning to play the songs as a means of connecting with his child, Sam and another young man (Yelchin) form a rock band that becomes more popular than expected.

Rudderless hits VOD and theaters on October 17th.


Rudderless trailer 1 (2014) - Selena Gomez Movie (HD) by MovieTrailerz

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Jamie Chung is the Deadly Miho in New 'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For' Clip

Robert Rodriguez was able to lure back most of the original cast for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, but it was necessary to make a few changes. Dennis Haysbert has replaced the late Michael Clarke Duncan as the villainous Manute; Josh Brolin plays a pre-facial surgery version of Dwight; and Jamie Chung has taken over for Devon Aoki as the deadly Old Town assassin, Miho.

A new clip serves as reintroduction to the sadistic Miho, with heads getting lopped off at an alarming rate. Clearly, Rodriguez and Frank Miller haven't dialed down the nasty violence, and really it wouldn't be Sin City without it. Chung doesn't have the iciness Aoki brought to the role but she seems capable enough to play a silent killer.

There's still something about this film that isn't quite clicking with me and I'm having a hard time putting my finger on it. Maybe it's that the visuals are exactly the same as they were eight years ago and it looks dated as a result. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For opens August 22nd.

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First TV Spot, New Trailer, and Full Voice Cast for Disney's 'Big Hero 6'

Although we've seen trailers and promos for Disney's animated Marvel Comics film, Big Hero 6, very little of the characters' voices have been heard. The only confirmed voice casting up until now had been TJ Miller (currently seen in Transformers: Age of Extinction), Maya Rudolph, and Jamie Chung (Sin City: A Dame to Kill For), but now we have the full rundown along with a new trailer and TV spot for the superhero 'toon.

Teenaged martial artist Ryan Potter of Nickelodeon's Supah Ninjas will voice robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada; his robotic pal Baymax will be played by 30 Rock's Scott Adsit; Damon Wayans Jr. (New Girl) voices Wasabi No-Ginger; and Genesis Rodriguez (Casa De Mi Padre) is Honey Lemon. Miller is voicing Fred aka Fredzilla, Chung is Go Go Tomago, while Rudolph is Aunt Cass. Also coming aboard are James Cromwell, Firefly's Alan Tudyk, and Daniel Henney (Shanghai Calling)  in supporting roles.

Big Hero 6 opens November 7th. Check out the new TV spot, a Baymax promo, and some new images below.

Big Hero 6 Trailer #3 by itsartmag

Big Hero 6 - Spot TV #1 [VO|HD] by Team Lyricis


Big Hero 6 Official Viral Video - Meet Baymax! (2014) by Teaser-Trailer.com

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Crazy Sounds Good to Jessica Alba in First 'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For' Clip

We're burning through the summer blockbusters pretty fast, and with only a handful left Robert Rodriguez's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For is starting to get a little more attention. Dimension Films has released the first clip from the film, and it features the returning character of Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba), and apparently she's gone a little nutso since the death of her friend, Hartigan (Bruce Willis), the man who saved her life. And when Nancy goes nuts, she starts cutting things. Suffice it to say this will not be the same Nancy, all dolled up in cowgirl gear, that we saw before.  Along with it are a couple of new photos of Old Town's toughest ladies. Jamie Chung (taking over for Devon Aoki) as the deadly assassin Miho, and Rosario Dawson as her fearsome leader, Gail.

Co-Directed by Rodriguez and Frank Miller, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For opens August 22nd.

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Jamie Chung Voices 'Big Hero 6'; Eliza Dushku Joins 'Eloise'; Annabelle Wallis Boards 'Grimsby'

* Ex-Real Worlder Jamie Chung, who will be seen later this summer in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, will be lending her voice to Marvel's animated Big Hero 6. The Disney Animation film is based on the quirky Japanese superteam created by Scott Lobdel, and centers on robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada who, along with his powerful robot Baymax, joins an oddball team of heroes to defend the city of San Fransokyo. Chung joins the only other confirmed cast member, TJ Miller, who will be voicing Fredzilla. Big Hero 6 is set to open November 7th.

* Chace Crawford, Eliza Dushku, Brandon T. Jackson, and PJ Byrne will star in Eloise, a psychological thriller that marks the directorial debut by Academy Award-winning visual effects wiz, Robert Legato. They play four friends who break into the Eloise mental hospital "in hopes of finding a death certificate, which will provide Jacob (Crawford) with the rights to a sizable inheritance. While inside the asylum, the group not only finds that the institution houses a horrifying history but also the truth about their own tragic pasts." The script was written by Vatican Tapes scribe, Chris Borrelli. Filming begins next month at the infamous Eloise Insane Asylum, one of the largest in the world. [Deadline]

* With Mark Strong just coming aboard to play Sacha Baron Cohen's brother in Grimsby, the spy comedy now has a female lead in Annabelle Wallis. Cohen plays a British football hooligan who is forced to go on the run with his brother, a Black Ops super-spy. Wallis will play a love interest, of course. She'll also be seen, coincidentally, in The Conjuring spinoff titled Annabelle.

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New Looks at Eva Green, Bruce Willis, and More in 'Sin City: A Dame to Kill For'

It's been a long wait to get back to the crime-filled, pulpy streets of Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller's Sin City, but this summer that wait finally comes to an end. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For brings back much of the original cast while adding a few new faces, and the latest batch of photos give us a look at both. Eva Green stars as the titular "dame", Ava Lord, and clearly she's as beautiful as she is deadly. We also get a look at Dennis Haysbert as Manute, replacing the late Michael Clarke Duncan; Jamie Chung, taking over for Devon Aoki as Miho; and Josh Brolin standing in for Clive Owen as Dwight. Joseph Gordon-Levitt can be seen as a completely new character dreamed up for the film, while Jessica Alba, Powers Boothe, and Bruce Willis are all back in familiar roles.

Basically, Rodriguez seems to be giving fans more of what they dug before. Can't really argue with that approach. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For opens August 22nd.

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