'Frankie' Trailer: Isabelle Huppert, Marisa Tomei, And Greg Kinnear Lead Ira Sachs' Latest Drama

There's a lot of "The more I see of them, the better" going on with Frankie, the latest film from director Ira Sachs. First of all, there's Sachs himself, who has directed such winning dramas as Married Life, Keep the Lights On, Little Men, and Life is Strange. He's reunited with Oscar winner Marisa Tomei and nominee Greg Kinnear, always welcome no matter the project. And finally, the legendary Isabelle Huppert is in the title role, and her performance has already received rave reviews since the movie premiered at Cannes.

The Oscar-winning Huppert plays Frankie, who as is noted in the trailer, "people have a hard time saying no to". She gathers together multiple generations of her family in the resort town of Sintra, Portugal, where romance and drama unfold over the course of a single October day.

The film co-stars Jérémie Renier, Brendan Gleeson, Vinette Robinson, and Carnival Row's Ariyon Bakare.

SYNOPSIS: Three generations of a European family come together in the fabled town of Sintra, Portugal, for one last vacation before the family matriarch faces the next, and last, chapter of her life. Over the course of one crisp October day, the fairy tale setting brings about everyone’s most romantic impulses, revealing both cracks between them, as well as unexpected depth of feeling.

Frankie opens in theaters on September 25th.

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Review: 'Spider-Man: Far From Home', An Amazing Trip That Swings To Spectacular Heights

The last year has seen Marvel Studios drop a pair of $2B+ movies in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, plus a $1B-grossing hit in Captain Marvel. You might think they will start to let that kind of incredible success, where they can seemingly do no wrong, get away from them and perhaps take it for granted. Then you get Spider-Man: Far from Home, a film that not only has to follow one of the biggest movies of all-time, but serve as a sobering epilogue and a crowd-pleasing teen rom-com. Seemingly impossible odds for anybody else but not for Marvel, defying the odds with a sequel that is an amazing, spectacular thrill from start to finish that is such a welcome change from Endgame's gloomy finale.

Nothing against Endgame, but you don't realize how much an uplift in spirits is needed until the opening few minutes of Spider-Man: Far from Home. A welcome tribute to fallen heroes is setup to a goof involving Peter Parker's (Tom Holland) high school classmates, and just like that it's like everything is going to be alright. The Marvel Universe can be light and fun again, even if just for a little while. But don't take that to mean Spidey's latest adventure is meaningless. A seemingly trivial high school trip to Europe raising the stakes for Peter on a personal level, while at the same time knocking the status quo for a loop.

Following the reversal of Thanos' snap, the world is a very different place. The Avengers are nowhere to be found, and everyone is looking to Spider-Man to pick up the load. But for Peter Parker, he just wants to go back to school and hopefully tell MJ (Zendaya) how he really feels about her. A high school science trip to romantic Europe seems like the perfect place to do it, and maybe leave Spider-Man back home in New York. Of course, nothing is ever that simple and trouble follows Peter across the pond in the form of gigantic Elementals, creatures that control the immense powers of earth, air, fire, and water. When Nick Fury and Maria Hill (Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders) come calling for Spider-Man's help, Peter is forced to choose between what his heart wants, which is to stay on the trip with MJ, and his responsibility to help save the world.

It's a classic Spider-Man scenario, given new life with Jon Watts' energetic direction and a script that's full of humor, shocking twists, and awesome new characters. Straight-up perfection is the casting of Jake Gyllenhaal as Quentin Beck aka Mysterio, who arrives on the scene to battle the Elementals, having faced them in his own tragic world.  More than just a guy with a cool costume and mystical powers ("Was that Mr. Strange?", Peter gets asked at one point), Mysterio quickly establishes himself as a mentor to Spider-Man, filling a role that has been vacant without Tony Stark. Nick Fury? Not really the mentoring type. There's going to be a lot of talk, possibly divisive, about Mysterio when this is all over, but to me he's one of the most exciting new characters to be introduced in a long time and his impact will be felt.

Of course, the heart and soul of these films is Tom Holland, who continues to mature into the role and take Peter Parker from awestruck kid to full-fledged Avenger. How easily he moves from Parker's teenage antics into action hero is stunning. It reminds me a lot of Robert Downey Jr., who could also shift gears emotionally at a moment's notice. The supporting cast is great, as well, with Jacob Batalon's comic relief as Ned always welcome. The terrific Angourie Rice gets a lot more to do as Betty Brant; and the same goes for Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, who shares a lot of screen time with Jon Favreau's Happy Hogan, much to Peter's chagrin.

As far as Peter's relationship with MJ, it follows a pretty traditional roller coaster for high school romances, only with a lot more super spies, water monsters, and dome-headed masters of illusion. Zendaya continues to establish MJ as the most unique ever on the big screen, her cynicism and acerbic wit making for a different dynamic than we've seen Peter have with anyone before. There's so much going on that we probably could've seen more of that, but Peter's awkward attempts at a summer romance with her are always fun to watch.

Not to take anything away from Spider-Man: Homecoming, but Far from Home improves on it in a number of ways. First and foremost, it finally takes the training wheels off and focuses solely on Spider-Man: Previously, he had so much help that he often felt like a passenger in his own story, but here he must fully tackle the enormous burden that comes with being an Avenger. Also, the action has received a serious upgrade, nearly rivaling Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse's breakneck pace. There are some truly bizarre sequences that will send you on a mind-boggling Inception-level trip, and the final battle may be the best we've seen in a Spider-Man movie. You'll need to see it a second time to just to make sure you caught everything.

If we're truly to see Far from Home as the final chapter to the Infinity War saga, a little more time exploring Peter's feelings about Tony Stark would've gone a long way. But that would've led to a very different movie, and there's so little about Spider-Man: Far from Home that needs to be changed. Marvel has now made two remarkable high school comedies, and I can't wait to see what they have in store for Peter Parker's graduation day.

Rating: 4 out of 5 

Trav's Tip: Not that you need to be reminded, but stick around for two post-credit scenes that include some unexpected cameos and a stunning reveal that changes everything for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!

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Marisa Tomei Joins Judd Apatow's Untitled Comedy Starring Pete Davidson

There are few things that interest me less than a semi-autobiographical comedy starring Pete Davidson, but one way to change my mind is adding Oscar winner Marisa Tomei. THR reports the Spider-Man: Homecoming actress will star in Davidson's untitled film directed and co-written by Judd Apatow.

Tomei will play Davidson's mother in what is being called a semi-autobiographical story of Davidson's life growing up on Staten Island, New York.” Davidson's father died on 9/11, which had a major influence on his worldview and was then used to fuel his stand up comedy routines at the age of 16. At the age of 20 he became one of the youngest to ever join the cast of Saturday Night Live. The film's script was co-written by Davidson, Apatow, and Dave Sirius. Others cast in the film include Bel Powley and comedian Bill Bur.

Filming on Davidson and Apatow's untitled film is underway. Next up for Tomei is a return as Aunt May in Spider-Man: Far From Home.

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'Spider-Man: Far From Home' Trailer: Nick Fury And Mysterio Hijack Spider-Man's Eurotrip

It's a shame about that Peter Parker kid, y'know? He went and got himself all deaded right before he was meant to go on a big school Eurotrip in Spider-Man: Far from Home. Oh well. Marvel will figure something else to do.  Obviously, the cat is out of the bag at this point, with Marvel putting Tom Holland all over their long-awaited and highly-anticipated sequel to Spider-Man: Homecoming that Spidey and the other Avengers will be just fine when Avengers: Endgame wraps up. And if that wasn't enough, Nick Fury is back, too.

The sheer level of Marvel's dominance can be shown in the three epic trailers they've put over the last couple of months, with Spider-Man: Far From Home maybe my favorite of the bunch. With Parker apparently back to the land of the living, he prepares to go on a European vacation with MJ (Zendaya), Ned (Jacob Batalon) and other school pals, but not before being properly grossed out by Happy Hogan's (Jon Favreau) flirting with Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). Dem's da breaks when your aunt is suddenly hot, buddy.   The trip is hijacked by that sneaky Nick Fury, and soon Parker's claim that "Europe doesn't really need a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man" looks stupid when a water Elemental attacks. Leaping in to save the day is Jake Gyllenhaal as the reformed villain Mysterio, looking a lot more powerful than a mere illusionist. He's giving off some serious Doctor Strange vibes with the magic he's throwing around.

I went from not really caring about Spider-Man: Far From Home to needing a much longer trailer from it right now.  Once again directed by Jon Watts, the film swings into theaters on July 5th.

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'After Everything' Trailer: Young Lovers Face A Terminal Illness Head-On

Did The Fault In Our Stars have you bawling like a child with a skinned knee? Eyes still get dusty at Me and Earl and the Dying Girl? Then you might want to have some Kleenex ready if checking out After Everything, Hannah Marks and Joey Power's directorial debut which again finds young love tested by a terminal illness.

Jeremy Allen White (Shameless) and It Follows star Maika Monroe are the lovely young couple at the center of this story. He plays a spirited NYC kid who meets and falls for Mia (Monroe) at about the same time he's hit with a cancer diagnosis. Together they must deal with the challenges life has thrown at them, and learn to stay happy despite all of the obstacles.

Surrounding the lead duo is a great supporting cast that includes the busy Sasha Lane, Marisa Tomei, Gina Gershon, Olivia Luccardi, Dean Winters, and Joe Keery.

After Everything debuted earlier this year at SXSW and I don't recall hearing much about it. The trailer is impressive, and seems to keep a pretty uplifting feel about it despite the subject matter.  The film hits VOD and select theaters on October 12th.

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Review: 'The First Purge', Trumpian Horror Gets A Blaxploitation-style Origin

Through what are now four wildly successful movies, The Purge franchise has been plugged into the raw anger being felt in this country like nothing else before it. There's no coincidence that the previous film, The Purge: Election Year, dropped in 2016 during the most "deplorable" political campaign ever. Its premise of an annual event in which all violent crime is legal for 12 hours highlighting the split between the defenseless poor and the bloodthirsty one percent who both created the Purge and use it to advance their agenda. And now we have The First Purge, which takes us back to the night of murder's origins, and the biggest surprise isn't how the Purge was started, it's how the first one ends.

Franchise writer/director James DeMonaco handles scripting duties only this time, passing the directorial reins over to Gerard McMurray (Burning Sands), but you'll never know the difference. Dumpster fires still litter every street corner while masked killers stalk their prey, while rich white politicians in ivory towers plot the downfall of the less fortunate. As these movies have become scarily timely, DeMonaco's digs at our so-called democracy have become more overt. The marketing campaign for The First Purge featured prominently a red "MAGA" style Trump hat, and depending on who you ask these movies are the current Presidential administration cranked up to 11. In a sense they could be seen as a warning of what could happen if the most extreme, hardline strain of conservatism is ever allowed to go unchecked. There's undoubtedly an audience out there who see The Purge as the one good idea ever to come from Hollywood. They probably won't like the most blatant shot taken at Trump, a "Grab 'em by the pussy" moment that had the crowd howling.

No matter where you fall on the ideological spectrum, The First Purge will scratch your itch for politically-charged ultra-violence. The least complex and thus least creative film in the franchise since its debut, the inaugural Purge rolls out almost exactly as one might expect. With the economy in a shambles and crime at an all-time high, a third political party known as the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA)  get elected into office with the support of the NRA and other shadowy organizations. Newly-elected President Bracken, with the help of psychologist Dr. May Updale (Marisa Tomei, Aunt May created the Purge!!!?), decide Staten Island is the perfect test vehicle for the first Purge, taking advantage of the poor by paying residents to stay in town through the evening's killings. Or in other cases, paying residents to go out and do the dirty deeds themselves.

The city's residents rise up in opposition once the government starts taking steps to escalate the body count. There's local drug kingpin Dmitri (Insecure's Y'lan Noel) who is forced to reconcile his criminal activities with the love he has for his 'hood and the people in it, like Nya (Lex Scott Davis), his ex who has always stayed on the straight and narrow path. She fights to protect her brother Isaiah (Joivan Wade), who may be following too closely in Dmitri's footsteps. All of that gets pushed aside when there are roving packs of KKK members with military grade weapons, and entire squads dressed like members of Hitler's S.S.

The First Purge feels all too familiar until the final act when suddenly it starts to resemble an old school Blaxploitation flick. This gangbangers vs. Nazis riff is when DeMonaco is most inspired, and Noel does his best Wesley Snipes impression. There's something about a badass black action hero cutting a path through a bunch of Nazi assholes. It's a genius move both as a statement against those who foment the kind of racist hatred that gave birth to the Purge, but also just as a tonal change of pace for the franchise which could go on forever, shifting as the political winds so often do. It's funny to think back to how different these movies felt five years ago in the time of hope and change. And now they are the eerie reflection in a mirror. With a new TV series coming up this fall, it's a reflection we may be forced to look at a lot more, at least until DeMonaco gives us the inevitable Final Purge.

Rating: 3 out of 5

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'The First Purge' Trailer Makes America Deadly Again

While it may seem unfair, perhaps a little inflammatory, to compare the lawless political climate of The Purge movies to the current occupants of the White House, it doesn't come from out of thin air. The hit Blumhouse horror franchise has always been overtly political, but with the latest film in the series, The First Purge, explicit comparisons to the Trump era were quite literally drawn.

And it continues in the new trailer for The First Purge, which is a prequel of sorts revealing how our country got so twisted that our government would sanction a 24-hour "holiday" in which all violent crime is legal. Franchise director James DeMonaco sticks around as screenwriter while the talented Gerard McMurray (Burning Sands) takes over behind the camera.  Here's the synopsis:

Behind every tradition lies a revolution.  Next Independence Day, witness the rise of our country’s 12 hours of annual lawlessness.  Welcome to the movement that began as a simple experiment: The First Purge.

To push the crime rate below one percent for the rest of the year, the New Founding Fathers of America (NFFA) test a sociological theory that vents aggression for one night in one isolated community.  But when the violence of oppressors meets the rage of the marginalized, the contagion will explode from the trial-city borders and spread across the nation.

Marisa Tomei is the biggest name in a cast that includes Y’Lan Noel, Lex Scott Davis, Joivan Wade, and Luna Lauren Velez. Celebrate your independence by checking out The First Purge on July 4th.

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Josh Hutcherson & Suki Waterhouse Join Thriller 'Plume', Isabelle Huppert Joins Ira Sachs For 'A Family Vacation'

Josh Hutcherson will be joining with Assassination Nation's Suki Waterhouse in the upcoming thriller, Plume, from writer/director Mike Gan. Also starring Tilda Cobham-Hervey (Hotel Mumbai), the film centers on an unstable gas station attendant who is tired of being overshadowed by her outgoing co-worker, and takes the opportunity to connect with a desperate armed robber when he holds them up at gunpoint. [TheTrackingBoard]

Ira Sachs has made us wait a couple of years for his followup to Little Men, but it looks like it will be worth it. He's lined up Isabelle Huppert, Greg Kinnear, and Marisa Tomei for A Family Vacation. Sachs will join with usual screenwriting partner Mauricio Zacharias for a story that follows "three generations grappling with a life-changing experience during one day of a vacation in Sintra, Portugal, a historic town known for its dense gardens and fairy-tale villas and palaces." This will be Huppert's first time working with Sachs, but Kinnear and Tomei are reuniting with the filmmaker. Shooting on A Family Vacation begins in October. [Deadline]

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Review: 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Soars When The Training Wheels Are Off

Spider-Man represents everything that's great about the Marvel Universe. He's the working-class hero, gifted with amazing powers, yet his struggles are no different than yours or mine, with the whole exception of supervillains trying to kill him every day. And with those abilities comes the responsibility to use them for the greater good, that whole "With Great Power..." thing. The Marvel Cinematic Universe hasn't felt right without him, to be perfectly honest. With Spider-Man: Homecoming the MCU has finally been set right, and they did it with a film that's funny, light on its feet, a little bit retro, a little bit modern, and different than any Spider-Man we've seen on the big screen.

Different how? Haven't we seen how young Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man a bunch of times already, including just a couple of years ago by Sony? That's just it. Spider-Man: Homecoming skips all of that origin stuff we already know and jumps in with both webs, and somehow it's made a stronger film by doing so. Marvel and Sony, who struck a deal to bring Spidey to the MCU after the latter's failure on The Amazing Spider-Man, have gambled correctly that we already know everything we need to know about his past. We know how Peter Parker becomes Spider-Man, but how does Peter Parker learn to handle the responsibility that comes with it? All while trying to survive high school?

If it sounds like something out of a super-powered John Hughes flick, it's clear that's where director Jon Watts (of the little seen thriller Cop Car) and a handful of writers wanted to take it. And with new star Tom Holland, the third actor to play Peter Parker in recent years, and also the youngest, it actually feels like a film that should be set in high school. Oftentimes it feels like Spider-Man by way of Harry Potter-at-Hogwarts, and that's pretty cool for a superhero movie set in the Marvel Universe. Parker is exactly the dork we expect him to be. He's got an equally nerdy pal, Ned Leeds (Jacob Batalon), a girl he's seriously crushing on (Laura Harrier) who is way out of his league, an annoying bully in Flash Thompson (Tony Revolori), a doting Aunt May (Marisa Tomei, there's something weird about a sexy Aunt May) and other teen issues to deal with. But it's pretty tough when you've just finished hanging out with the Avengers, stealing Captain America's shield, and having Tony Stark on speed dial.

While Stark is dealing with the fallout from 'Civil War', Parker is placed under the not-so-watchful eye of Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau), who is busy preparing for the Avengers' big move into a new HQ. That leaves Parker free to do pretty much whatever he wants, and that does not include being a "friendly neighborhood Spider-Man" as Stark suggests. He instead latches on to a weapon ring led by The Vulture (Michael Keaton), who has assembled a crew powered with leftover alien tech. Other than the high school stuff, the plotline closely resembles the Marvel One-Shot, Item 47. That Chitauri tech from The Avengers sure has some staying power; it must be laying around everywhere across New York just waiting for bad guys to find. Vulture, who has reason to beef with Stark, has decided to take that tech and go into business for himself. If only it weren't for that meddling Spider-Man!

This version of Spider-Man is like none before it. Peter Parker is a kid fully from our time, one with the social media age and all that entails. If a kid nowadays got superpowers and fought the Avengers, he'd be Instagramming and tweeting the heck out of it. Who could blame him? And that's our Peter Parker. But he's still finding his way, and dividing his attention between school stuff and superheroics leads to a lot of mistakes and disappointments.  You can probably guess most of it; Parker is torn between doing cool stuff with his friends or stopping the Vulture, and his secret identity causes problems getting with the girl he likes. And at least in one case it very nearly gets everyone killed. And while we've seen it before elsewhere it feels fresh and new as part of the MCU, and with a tone that is even lighter than the Marvel movies tend to be. It really does feel like Ferris Bueller's Day Off  and The Breakfast Club on occasion, partly because of the many nods to them. But Parker isn't a model teen, he isn't perfect. He bucks authority (Stark, Happy), oversteps his bounds, and gets into trouble. His imperfections are what make him cool.

While many will be jazzed by Spidey's high-tech suit, a gift from Stark, it felt like an abandonment of Peter Parker's greatest attribute: his intelligence. Call me an old fogey but one of the best things about Spider-Man is that he was a homegrown hero, with a suit crafted from Parker's ample brain and imagination, not some slick, heavily-armed warsuit provided by a billionaire. This thing lets Spidey zip around the city at top speed, has multiple fighting forms and web combinations, along with more gadgets than a garage full of James Bond cars. Sure, it's "cool" to look at, but it takes away from Spidey that he's always relying so much on Iron Man. The number of times Iron Man arrives as a crutch to help get him out of trouble is seriously deflating.  It does ultimately pay off, in a tough confrontation where Stark reads Parker the riot act: “If you’re nothing without the suit, then you shouldn’t be wearing it.”  Sound familiar? Stark does turn out to be the perfect mentor figure, though. He's the only Avenger who truly gets where Parker is coming from, and in some ways this is as much a step forward for Stark as anyone else. Too bad this isn't his movie. Spider-Man: Homecoming reaches its most impressive heights when the training wheels are off and Stark isn't around.

There are plenty of killer action sequences, given the blistering amount of speed that a Spider-Man fight should have. The highlights are a daring rescue atop the Washington Monument, and a showdown with Vulture on a Staten Island Ferry that recalls one of Tobey Maguire's best moments from the Sam Raimi movies. But the real pleasures come from watching Parker cope with the problems that come with being a high school student. The title 'Homecoming' has multiple meanings. There's Spidey's "homecoming" to the MCU, and then there's the actual school dance, which as you probably guessed turns into more than just a cool yearbook opportunity. Between Batalon, Revolori, Harrier, Zendaya Coleman, Abraham Attah (the kid from Beasts of No Nation is movin' up!), and others, the ethnic diversity reflects what a high school in Queens should look like. They make for an entertaining and believable supporting cast for Holland to play off of. Easily a better fit for Peter Parker than Andrew Garfield was, Holland gives the role the youthful energy it needed. Where's that been?

The MCU is littered with mediocre villains but The Vulture isn't one of them. While we don't get a lot of backstory, we don't really need it. It's all summed up in one scene early on. He's a guy who has been screwed by a system he sees as unfair, and Stark is the face of that system. What makes Vulture interesting is that he isn't a traditional bad guy by any stretch. He's not an angry god or an evil robot, he is in a lot of ways like the flipside to Spider-Man, using his wits to do what he thinks is right. A twist towards the end stretches the bounds of credibility and sends Vulture into one-note villain territory, but even then Keaton is never less than fearsome.

There are lots of little moments that stretch the bounds of credibility, like ANY high school kid being able to hack into Tony Stark's computer system. Come on, man. I don't care how smart Parker and Ned are, that shouldn't happen. And a final act twist, which complicates homecoming something fierce, is telegraphed from a mile away, probably a byproduct of the four credited screenwriters. Other than the Stark connection, and a very funny Captain America cameo, Spider-Man: Homecoming isn't seriously tied down by Avengers continuity. I'm not sure it could have been the same movie otherwise. Hopefully that freedom will become a trademark of the franchise moving forward, because we're going to be seeing a lot more of Spider-Man than any other Marvel character. And while Spider-Man: Homecoming isn't quite at the head of the class yet, it does something I didn't think possible, and that's breathe new life into the character, and the Marvel Universe is better for it.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Peter Parker Swings Into Action In New 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Trailer

It's been a very busy week for Spider-Man, not just because of Sony's plans to push forward on spinoff movies. Marvel and Sony have been dropping teasers for Spider-Man: Homecoming, with a handful of posters, new plot details and images of Michael Keaton as the Vulture, and now today comes the full trailer that actually debuted last night at CinemaCon.

This version of the character is played by Tom Holland, and he's already swung his way into a lot of hearts after Captain America: Civil War.  Peter Parker is very much a young high school kid here, and we see a lot of him, more than I was expecting, with his mentor Tony Stark. Plus, we get a healthy amount of the Vulture here, and after learning that he has a personal interest in destroying Iron Man he's suddenly become a more interesting bad guy, certainly more interesting than the comic book version of the character.

Directed by Jon Watts with Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Zendaya, Bokeem Woodbine, Tony Revolori, Donald Glover, and more co-starring, Spider-Man: Homecoming opens July 7th. 

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Review: 'The Big Short' Starring Steve Carell, Christian Bale, Ryan Gosling, And Brad Pitt

Adam McKay may be best known for making millions laugh as director of Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and other comedies, but he'd prefer to get you righteously outraged. His buddy cop comedy The Other Guys saw McKay introduce a new, angrier side as he ripped white collar criminals and exposed their crimes in a scathing credits sequence. That was just the tip of the iceberg, and while it felt a little out of place then it certainly doesn't in The Big Short, undoubtedly the most entertaining movie about the boring world of banking you're likely to ever see.

Based on the book by Michael Lewis, whose Moneyball managed to make baseball stats interesting, The Big Short educates, thrills, and angers. You may even find yourself laughing every now and then...when you're not clenching teeth at the Hell unscrupulous Wall Street bankers unleashed on the American people. What's fascinating is that McKay's film is, for the most part, about the very people who exploited the crashing housing market for their own personal gain. It's about the people we should be rooting for to fail, and yet their actions are only a small part of the problem. It's the system that we hate, not the individuals taking advantage of it.

To help accomplish this, McKay creates a surreal, fast-paced world with big, bold and weird characters, including one, Ryan Gosling's morally dubious Wall Street trader Jared Vennett, who speaks directly to us Wolf of Wall Street-style. Think of The Big Short as a close relative of Scorsese's film of white collar excess, and a sortof prequel to Rahmin Bahrani's 99 Homes which shows the crisis from the perspective of those getting screwed. Christian Bale, sporting a glass eye and a lisp only Mike Tyson could love, is Michael Burry, the antisocial hedge fund manager who figured out long before the 2008 financial crash that banks were flooding the market with dangerous subprime mortgages. He used that information to bet in his own favor, basically betting on the market to fail when nobody could predict that ever happening.  This was unheard of. To put it simply, Burry was hoping to cash in on an event that would devastate the lives of millions. Sounds awful, right? Do we hate Burry for it? Not really. There are other characters that respond to Burry's actions in different ways; Finn Wittrock and John Magaro play "garage band" traders looking to cash-in with the big boys, so they turn to an ex-Wall Street insider (a shaggy Brad Pitt) to help them do it. The heart, soul, and voice of outrage belongs to Steve Carell as Mark Baum, who has long believed in the system's corruption and gets all the proof he needs from Vennett in a visual display using Jenga. Sold!

It's Vennett and Baum who serve as our guides through a world of bragging bankers putting the screws to the middle class. Vennett makes all of the financial jargon palatable by introducing celebrity cameos to serve as welcome distractions to the hard and ugly truths being told. On the flip side, Baum is someone who has been personally and tragically affected by the topsy-turvy market. Although Baum is hardly one of the 99% he's someone we can identify with because he has skin in the game that isn't just about money.

Does The Big Short signal the end of McKay as a comedic filmmaker? Probably not, and to be fair his first dramatic effort sports a few awkward spots tonally as he tries to suppress his comic urges. But eventually McKay gets his legs under him, summons up that fiery indignation, and makes an impassioned plea for the rest of us to wake up to the reality of what happened.  The Big Short is McKay's desperate attempt to make sure something like this never occurs again; now let's just hope enough people pay attention.

Rating: 4 out of 5

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Review: 'Love the Coopers' Starring Diane Keaton, John Goodman, Ed Helms, and More

Few movies are as disappointing as one that raises your hopes only to let you down hard at the end.  From the outside, Love the Coopers looks like yet another cutesy, confluentialist holiday comedy in the vein of New Year's Eve, but at the scale of a single family gathering for Christmas dinner.  And if that's all it had been, I wouldn't be so frustrated.  But it spends most of its running time seeming like a much smarter story -- almost set out to undermine the sort of movie it's pretending to be -- before taking a hard turn at the end into exactly what it appeared to be all along.

The Coopers are Sam and Charlotte (John Goodman and Diane Keaton), living in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, and the extended family that's coming together for the holiday.  Charlotte's sister Emma (Marisa Tomei) will be there, and their father Bucky (Alan Arkin).  Their daughter Eleanor (Olivia Wilde) is flying in; their son Hank (Ed Helms), his kids Charlie (Timothée Chalamet), Bo (Maxwell Simkins), and Madison (Blake Baumgartner), and his ex-wife Angie (Alex Borstein) all live in the area.  Oh, and they're getting Sam's Aunt Fishy (June Squibb) out of the nursing home for the evening too.

Of course, everyone's got their problems.  Or at least most of them do; Aunt Fishy and Madison are largely around for comic relief.

Bo is upset at his parents' divorce and wants to earn his brother's respect, while Charlie cares more about the girl he likes.  The one-sided sibling rivalry is echoed in Emma's jealousy over Charlotte's life, which leads her to try -- and fail -- to steal a brooch from a local department store as a one-upping gift.  This leads to her arrest by Officer Williams (Anthony Mackie) and a long, winding drive around the city during which she tries to provide him impromptu counseling.

Eleanor has the usual dissonant relationship with her mother, and hangs out in the airport bar rather than go directly home.  It's here she meets Joe (Jake Lacy), a soldier headed to his own home for the holidays between boot camp and shipping out, but currently stuck with a cancelled flight.  They hit it off in an opposites-attract sort of way, and she asks him to fake being her boyfriend to avoid her mother's disappointment.

Hank has lost not only his marriage, but his job as a department store photographer, though he hasn't told anyone.  He's also nursing a crush on a young woman who came in with her family for a holiday card.  She just happens to be Ruby (Amanda Seyfried), the waitress at the diner where Bucky eats regularly, mostly to see her.  She's about to move out of town, desperate to make a change in her life, which comes as a real shock to Bucky.

But the biggest problem is between Charlotte and Sam: after forty years of marriage they've grown apart and Sam wants to call it quits.  Charlotte has made him promise one last "perfect Christmas" before he leaves, but the pressure of keeping up appearances is weighing on him.

The tone is all over the place, with some parts goofy and some parts almost somber.  And yet, for much of the movie this plays as a kind of exaggeration of the mood swings common to this genre.  Love the Coopers seems aware of what it is, and seems determined to deconstruct it.  More than once we hear a comment about how arbitrary the holidays are, and how weird it is to focus all our expectations of joy and happiness on a single day.  But that focus is key to a holiday movie like this; without it there's no reason to expect everyone's drama to come together in the same place and time.

Director Jessie Nelson finds plenty of creative expressions of fantasy as well.  Over and over we see what the characters imagine, often replaced immediately by the more pedestrian reality.  It highlights the artificial nature of these kinds of stories, showing us the "movie version" of the story before replacing it with something closer to real human relationships.

Until, that is, it doesn't.  The last twenty minutes depart radically from this strategy, fully embracing the artificial movie version of events, aimed towards resolving everyone's problems neatly and providing everyone a happy ending.  It's such a hard turn that I seriously wonder if Steven Rogers' original script continued in its more bittersweet direction, but the studio panicked after poor tests with audiences who wanted something more traditional.  The tone and even the language suddenly change, and whatever thoughtfulness Love the Coopers had built up vanishes into the cold winter's night.

Rating: 2 out of 5

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Another Major Spider-Man Character May Appear in 'Captain America: Civil War'

Captain America: Civil War has only just wrapped shooting, but for weeks the Internet has been abuzz with every little detail regarding it. This is especially true when it comes to the debut of Spider-Man (Tom Holland) before he swings over to his solo movie in 2017. But it turns out there may be another major Spidey character turning up in the already jam-packed film, and the scenes involving this character were shot totally in secret. Beware of spoilers below!

While she has yet to be officially confirmed by Marvel, Heroic Hollywood says Marisa Tomei will first appear as Aunt May in next year's Captain America: Civil War. Her scenes were shot totally on the sly just before production wrapped. It's also been revealed that there will be at least one scene taking place in Peter Parker's apartment bedroom, so don't be surprised if Aunt May is there telling him to clean his room.

Another rumor from the same source says that Spider-Man's major fight in the movie is against....Captain America. This would suggest that Spidey is on Iron Man's side during the war, but if it's anything like the comics he could end up switching sides. Surely Cap isn't going to have trouble with a teenaged kid, right? Even if he does have super speed and strength  he should be no match for the more experienced Avenger. We'll just have to wait and see.

Captain America: Civil War opens May 6th 2016.

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Marisa Tomei Up for Aunt May Role in the New Spider-Man Movie

Marvel and Sony weren't kidding when they said this would be a much younger Spider-Man than we've ever seen on the big screen. Not only did they cast Tom Holland to take the role of a truly high school-aged Peter Parker in the film, but now it looks as if his Aunt May will be a lot more spry.

According to Variety, Marisa Tomei is the top choice to play Aunt May in the solo Spidey film. The Oscar-winning My Cousin Vinny actress hasn't signed on the dotted line yet but an offer was apparently sent out to her last week. She recently agreed to join the second season of Fox's hit series, Empire. 

As someone who has basically been in love with Marisa Tomei since A Different World it's great to see her up for a big role like this. On the other hand, that it's the Aunt May role makes me feel incredibly old.

Directed by Jon Watts, the new Spider-Man movie opens July 28th 2017.

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Review: 'The Rewrite', Starring Hugh Grant and Marisa Tomei

Being a teacher usually means being in a thankless job. And for some, like Hugh Grant's character in The Rewrite, it means that it's a last resort for someone who can no longer do, so they teach. But what Grant learns is that regardless of his thoughts on teaching, when it comes to his dead-end career, it gives him a new perspective. And The Rewrite isn't necessarily a new perspective on the subject of teaching, nor is it a breakthrough on the topic of burnt-out careers (it's a writer this time and not an actor like we've previously seen a lot in 2014), but it serves its purpose as a comedy with heartwarming moments, a good cast, and the idea of finding something you're good at any age, because it's never too late.

Keith Michaels (Grant), an award-winning screenwriter, most popular for writing the screenplay for the fictitiously popular "Paradise Misplaced," is stuck in a rut. His career has taken a major hit, no studio producers are interested in hearing his latest pitch after a string of misfires, all critical and box office failures, and the best job he can get at the moment is as a professor at Binghamton University in upstate New York, where he's set to teach screenwriting to a small class.


At first, Keith doesn't take it seriously. He's so down trodden that everything and anything gives him misery. He's cynical and moody, chooses most of his class based on their looks and not their screenplay, sleeps with on of his students (Bella Heathcote), has a terrible working relationship with a Jane Austen-teaching professor (Allison Janney), and thinks this whole teaching thing is a waste of time and is only good money until he can get back on his feet. While he teaches, he's quickly given his own life lessons from many people while he's at the university, including the optimistic Holly (Marisa Tomei).

To start with (and this will probably be the most negative thing I write about the film), Hugh Grant's character comes off like a complete jerk in the beginning. He's mean-spirited and rude to the faculty members, and honestly unfriendly and semi-unlikable. Thankfully, after he starts taking his class seriously, all of this changes. Grant, to his credit, is always good at playing these kinds of characters. And this film, which is directed by Marc Lawrence (Music and Lyrics, Two Weeks Notice), makes clear that sour, quick-witted, and miserably funny is Grant's forte. He makes being unhappy funny, and that isn't easy.

Grant almost always has great chemistry with the leading actress of any film, and this is the case here. He and Marisa Tomei share an easy back and forth banter type of chemistry. Tomei's character is much more likable than him and through her, you kind of start to like his character more. Outside of Tomei, Grant, who isn't really anything without a fantastic supporting cast, definitely has one here and they make him better. From Chris Elliott, Allison Janney, to J.K. Simmons (whose character is used to good comedic effect), these three aren't just sideline support, but they're also memorable.

The story itself isn't unheard of, of course, but is comedic and charming. Replace the burnt-out, career-in-a-coffin storyline of the actor (Birdman, The Humbling, etc.) and put a writer in there, and there you go. However, in writing, it's much more intriguing in a way, because writing is much more muse-driven than just not being able to find a job or be as relevant as an actor. In this case, Grant has lost his muse, his mojo as a go-to writer, and that can be more traumatizing because in the world of actor-worshiping, writers get sidelined and are more easily forgotten. And for anyone who loves writing as a passion or as an art form, then the film plays to more of the emotional and creative side of writing. 

Ultimately, The Rewrite is an easily enjoyable film with a terrific cast. It sets out to be exactly as it comes across: a heartwarming and funny film that has audiences believing that they can do whatever they set out to do, no matter the age, as it really focuses on late bloomers and finding your calling later in life. Hugh Grant plays a character he's often played in the past, a miserable man who's only weapon is biting humor, but comes into his own later because of Marisa Tomei and other reasons. The film is feel-good, genuinely funny, and doesn't try to be anything it's not. A safe and entertaining watch-from-your-couch film.

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Review: Sean McNamara's 'Spare Parts'

They say there's only something like 7 different stories you can tell when you break it down. If that's true one of the seven has to be the underdog story...actually, even as I type this I realize the obvious David and Goliath. It's undeniably true that there are only a limited number of base stories you can start with, star crossed lovers, prodigal son (or daughter), etc, which is why it always bugs me when people blast movies for being unoriginal, it's all in the details folks. That being said the last thirty years has seen so many "underprivileged or inner-city school kids rise to a level they were told they never could" movies that I can understand why people get peeved at the similarity. The simple fact is that this plot has become a parent genre unto it's own, generally breaking down to one of two sub-genre's, sports themed ala Coach Carter or Glory Road and academic themed like Dangerous Minds, or Lean on Me. Spare Parts falls into the latter category and is based on the true story of a group of students from Carl Hayden High School who, with the help of a substitute teacher (who happened to have a Ph.D), take a minuscule budget and a whole lotta can-do attitude to a underwater robotics competition in 2004 and end up defeating well funded collegiate level teams including the defending champs from M.I.T.. The contemporary edge this film brings is that the students here are all undocumented illegal immigrants which gives us a look into something that most of us hear plenty about but know very little of. It's also worthwhile to mention that Spare Parts is the first film in a media deal struck by George Lopez with Pantelion films which will branch Lionsgate films with Televisa, a huge Mexican media corporation.

Yes, this film is very cliche at times, yes you know what's going to happen (even if you hadn't been aware of the true story beforehand), but does that make this film throwaway or forgettable? Not in the least, while it won't sit among the titans of it's genre like the aforementioned Lean on Me, which is the penultimate movie of this kind in my humble opinion, it delivers the kind of warm fuzzies these films are designed to give without overdoing it. The film, while uplifting, does not go out out of the realm of the real world to do so. All to often films of this nature, most of which are based on a true story, can feel so impossibly sweet that any attachment to the real world is lost, Spare Parts manages to not just keep you in the real world but also give you , what I assume, is a real look inside a world most of us know very little about, the life of a teenager raised in this country but saddled with that illegal tag. The flim walks a tightrope between warming and depressing, undoubtedly what gives it that real feeling I keep alluding to.

It's the humanizing, real world scenarios that help you to understand the plight of these kids, imagine living in a place, seeing all it has to offer, feeling a part of it, then being told that though you are a part of that place for all intents and purposes, technically you are not so there are things you can not do. Immigration is a hot button issue, and there are plenty of arguments that can be made on both sides of the fence, BUT, as with most situations, that all falls on the adults. It's the children who are hit hardest as they A. don't know anything different than the American lifestyle and B. are outside the law through no fault of their own. The student who kicks off the whole thing, Oscar Vazquez (Carlos PenaVega), highlights this so perfectly it hurts. The catalyst for him becoming involved is finding out that his dreams of enlisting in the Army are impossible due to his illegal status. George Lopez, who also produced the film, plays Fredi Cameron, the team's coach/mentor, with the exact right amount of warmth. The rest of the team, Lorenzo, Cristian, and Luis, are all surprisingly well-played given their somewhat limited cumulative acting experience. As the icing on the top of this happy ending cake (get your minds out of the gutter) you have Jamie Lee Curtis who brings some welcome funny as the school's principal.

At the end of the day you are not going to be surprised by anything you see in Spare Parts, but you will get another spoonful of that hope flavored ice cream. Unlike some of the less well thought through films of it's kind this pint of ice cream comes off as just the right amount of sweet, not to rich and definitely not bitter.

3 Out of 5 Guttenbergs

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