Finding Dory continues to hold it's #1 slot in movies currently playing in theaters. I thought Independence Day: Resurgence or The BFG would knock it down a peg or two, but apparently not. The latter had a much lower opening weekend than I expected it would. I'm pretty surprised, given how most other animated features do so well, and this is Disney with Steven Spielberg. Well, the Finding Nemo sequel is obviously Disney too, but being beat by The Purge: Election Year? Interesting...

Today we have a handful of documentary trailers and I thought I would venture into the TV realm. There are so many new shows coming this fall that I may have to dedicate an entire entry to them! Fair warning, though, a lot of time the TV series trailers give away most of the pilot episode, so if wanting to remain in the dark, I'd suggest avoiding them.

Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You (7/8/2016):

I don't know the man, nor can I honestly saw I know of him, but I definitely know a lot of his work. Good Times, All in the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons. This seems like a very interesting documentary about one of the most successful TV producers to date. That, and he is still alive and kicking in the business? Much of his work was very controversial and important, touching on serious topics at the time. I'm curious to learn more about Norman Lear and some of his activist work. Owning a copy of the Declaration of Independence is pretty awesome too! No to mention what he used it for.

There's no doubt he was very influential to many people inside, and outside, the industry. And that statement about laughter... one can only hope.

Zero Days (7/8/2016):

I can't help but feel I've heard of this Stuxnet Virus before? Maybe it was highly discussed in news and media, but I missed much of it? It's interesting to me, and frightening, just how much we rely on technology for our day to day living. Then something like this, a computer virus, comes along and could easily completely dismantle our industrial infrastructures that many of us take for granted. I can't help but think of the TV show Revolution, even though this is talking about a virus being used specifically as a weapon against a singular target (if it could be used that way and not being global).

There's so much about this that intrigues me, which I am clueless about, that I'm looking forward to watching this documentary. The end of the trailer does a great job of hinting at a possible much larger conspiracy in the works as well. Whether it's a biological virus or a digital virus, it seems like the world is pretty screwed when it comes to being infected!

Gleason (7/29/2016):

Probably the one documentary of the bunch I'm most excited about and can't wait to see. This is the touching, emotionally charged story about Steve Gleason, a former NFL player, who diagnosed with ALS at the age of 34. Not long after, him and his wife come to find that they would be expecting a child. I can't imagine how I would handle such radically different, life-changing events, but Gleason decided to make video blogs for his son in attempts to share and pass on anything and everything he could, as he slowly succumbed to the disease.

This is an amazing story with an amazing movie trailer. If you don't at least tear up, let alone straight up cry, you're not Human. Not Human, I say! Gleason has already received many positive reviews and has gained many praises in its run through film festivals. Really looking forward to this one!

Life, Animated (12/9/2016):

Another touching documentary, this one focusing on autism and it's specific effects on one family. I haven't really experienced autism first hand through people I know in my immediate social circles (aside from possibly light cases), but I know of many bloggers who have children who are autistic. Many of them write about their personal trials and tribulations and it's so wonderful that these women (they are mostly mom bloggers, I pretend they love me) are so strong and brave enough to tell them, bringing further awareness to and dispelling shame that can sometimes be attached to the disability. Many of their stories are raw and powerful.

This movie seems to be along those lines. Maybe not as in your face about some of the "ugly" that undeniably takes place in many cases, but raw nonetheless. This seems to be an interesting case of a child who was suddenly inflicted, leaving their parents confused and frustrated (as I'd imagine is the result in most experiences), who eventually began to find his voice again with the aid of Disney and animated features. I wonder if it will attempt to discuss they believed causes of autism. I'm hoping not, rather focusing on the struggles and achievements of the family instead.

Lethal Weapon - TV Series (9/21/2016):

I am generally not a fan of movie remakes/reboots and even less so of movies being transitioned into television series. It seems like Hollywood is on a never ending kick of providing them, and while some of these small screen counterparts are sometimes based on books (Minority Report), others are not (Rush Hour). Lethal Weapon, starring Mel Gibson (Conspiracy Theory, Mad Max) and Danny Glover (Saw, The Color Purple) — playing Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh, respectively — falls into the latter category (to the best of my knowledge, anyhow) and the movie franchise (at least the first two movies are?) is beloved. When it comes to making a treatment of this nature, a lot of times it's important to stay relatively true to the original source.

This TV adaptation seems to do just that. Murtaugh, now played by Clayne Crawford (Wristcutters: A Love Story, A Walk to Remember) is still a reckless, suicidal mess of a man, attempting to make sense of a life after losing the love of his life (actually, it's been so long I can't even recall what made Riggs, of the movies, who he was) and Murtaugh. played by Damon Wayans (Blankman, In Loving Color) is a veteran cop (I assume close to retirement?) who knows he's getting too old for this shit...

A huge factor in this series being successful will be the comedic timing and chemistry between Crawford and Wayans. From the trailer, however, that seems fairly spot on and greatly reduces my hesitation about the show. To be honest, I was wanting to steer clear until I actually saw the trailer. Definitely going to give it a chance! Doesn't hurt that Jordana Brewster (American Heist, The Fast and the Furious) is attached to the project!

Timeless (Fall 2016):

This show seems to be getting a lot of promotion and is amping up to be the next huge show on NBC (where not many seem to exist nowadays beyond Blindspot, The Blacklist?). I'm not very familiar with most of the cast, Malcom Barrett (Dear White People, The Hurt Locker), Claudia Doumit (How to Be a Vampire, Losing in Love), and Matt Frewer (50/50, Watchmen).

I'm always intrigued by time travel storylines, but not impressed at how readily the attempts at succeeding in not royally messing them up fail miserably. It's depressing and can complicate the best of shows, like Heroes and Lost for example. Not that Lost needed anything more added to it to make it anymore confusing for its audience... I'm pretty torn on Timeless. Nothing in the trailer excites me and the humor didn't connect fully with me, but I may give the pilot episode a shot.

Did any of the featured documentaries or TV shows interest you? Have you ever watch one of Norman Lear's shows? Any favorites? Have you heard of the Stuxnet Virus? Do you think we may ever face a complete industrial infrastructure collapse at the hands of such a virus? Have you heard of Steve Gleason? Do you know anyone affected by ALS? Do you know anyone affected by Autism? If so, do you know any techniques/procedures that has helped? Are you a fan of the original Lethal Weapon movie franchise? Do you think the TV series will be successful? Do you have a favorite time travel show/movie? What show/movie do you feel has been totally ruined by the inclusion of time travel?