53 | TRAILER TUESDAY | 53
As expected, The Magnificent Seven has galloped into first place! What is surprising, though, is that Storks has taken over the skies, forcing Sully to make an emergency landing into third place. I feel the animated feature has gotten little promotion, so it's nice to see that it hasn't been completely overlooked.
This week we have a variety of horror films in the mix — one I've been curious if it would ever be made — all coming out before Halloween, along with a family comedy and an action flick.
Blurbs will be coming soon!
Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life (10/7/2016):
I'm not familiar with the source material for this, but I guess it reminds of Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Mind you, I've never read those books or seen their adaptations either. Just the vibe I get, from my completely limited knowledge on both. This movie seems like a cute family picture that hopefully places a lot of emphasis on holding on to your imagination and creativity, which seems to be an underlying theme. Naturally it's going to be a bit slapstick and unrealistic, but it has that Nickelodeon quality fun that kids should enjoy.
I'm not sure what the first trailer I saw for this movie, but it was a lot longer and I felt showed way too much. This one does a much finer job at keeping things a bit more tight-knit. The movie stars Lauren Graham (Parenthood, Gilmore Girls), Griffin Gluck (Just Before I Go, Just Go with It), Rob Riggle (Absolutely Anything, Let's Be Cops), Thomas Barbusca (Preacher, American Horror Story), and Isabela Moner (Splitting Adam, Growing Up Fisher).
Underworld: Blood Wars (10/14/2016):
I will say that I've long been a fan of the Underworld franchise, but that I have only seen the original trilogy. I recall being excited about the fourth installment, but it slipped by me. These movies always had that Matrix film-making that I love. Dark, crisp, and stylized. Plus, I love werewolves and vampires and having both mythical creatures locked in eternal combat with one another only appealed to me even more. Then there is Kate Beckinsale (Whiteout, Vacancy).
It seems like the same war is being waged, and Selene is still in the middle of it all, so I'm not sure there will be anything groundbreaking at this point. Just some sweet mindless action scenes full of gun-play and superhuman fistfights. Probably some blood spatter and hokey CGI moments placed in solely for 3D effects. Whatever, I'm ready to watch the earlier installments to prepare for this sequel!
Theo James (Divergent, The Domino Effect) and Charles Dance (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Child 44) also star.
Boo! A Madea Halloween (10/21/2016):
I know there are many Madea movies, but I've yet to ever watch one. I guess they remind me of Big Momma's House, which I watched originally because I'm a fan of Martin Lawrence. I don't have any real attachment to Tyler Perry (Gone Girl, Alex Cross). The films do seem to be funny in some respects, I just haven't given them a chance yet. Boo! A Madea Halloween is obviously aptly times, and looks to parody many horror tropes in the vein of the Scary Movie franchise. I can't lie, the punching of the clown was satisfying and I'm sure there will be other humorous moments. Unless they were all featured in the trailer...
I won't be seeing this in the theater, but I may finally check this (or those of its ilk) on Netflix and/or Redbox. Tyler Perry continually pumps out movies, so they have to be fairly decent, right? This Madea film stars Bella Thorne (The DUFF, Blended), Brock O'Hurn (Too Close to Home), and Jimmy Tatro (22 Jump Street, Grown Ups 2).
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (10/21/2016):
Tom Cruise (Vanilla Sky, A Few Good Men) is back in the role of Jack Reacher, a character based on a popular book franchise. I recall many fans of the books were upset, because Tom Cruise didn't quite live up to Reacher's... stature. Being I never read the novels I really had no expectations. I ended up really enjoying the first, and this trailer for the sequel seems to show that this installment will be just as good, if not better. Hopefully, not going too over-the-top...
In Jack Reacher: Never Go Back — not sure I'm a fan of the tagline, maybe it's a title of one of the books? — Cruise is joined by Cobie Smulders (The Intervention, They Came Together), playing a friend who has been framed for espionage, so of course Reacher has to be his badass self and help. And he is pretty badass, as you can tell from that opening clip in the trailer! A friend and I joke about who is more badass, Jack Reacher or John Wick. Obviously Wick. But I digress, I think the Jack Reacher character makes for an excellent addition into the modern action hero club. He may even have a better moral compass bearing too...
I'm really interested in seeing this in theaters as it's bound to have some great firefights and explosions. Plus, I plan on seeing the John Wick sequel on the big screen too and it just wouldn't be fair to not allow both characters to display their skills of badassery on an equal platform. Robert Knepper (Hitman, Prison Break), Aldis Hodge (Straight Outta Compton, Leverage), and Holt McCallany (Fight Club, Alien 3) also star.
Rings (10/28/2016 OR now delayed until 2/3/2017):
So it appears that not only has this long-awaited The Ring sequel been completed for over a year, but it's constantly had its release date pushed out. And I just found out that it was pushed out again. To February, just in time for Valentine's Day... I guess. Fuck Halloween! Considering I can't tell if the trailer literally shows scenes of the movie in chronological order (it appears to), I would already be hesitant to see this in theaters. Combine that with the fact that Rings looks to be a reboot of sorts (quite possibly following the same beats of the original, a new Hollywood fad) and issues with securing a release date (possibly due to poor test screenings and reshoots) I feel this is a Redbox/Netflix viewing for me.
Rings stars Vincent D'Onofrio (Daredevil, Full Metal Jacket), Aimee Teegarden (Star-Crossed, Friday Night Lights), and Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory, Suicide Kings).
Did any of the featured movies interest you? Did you have a rough time in middle school? Does Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life remind you of Diary of a Wimpy Kid? Are you a fan of the Underworld franchise? Are you Team Vampires or Team Werewolves? Are you familiar with the Jack Reacher books? Who would win in a fight, Jack Reacher or John Wick? How many of the Madea movies have you seen? Do you think the Halloween one will be just as good (or bad) as the previous installments? Have you seen The Ring and/or its sequel? Are you excited for the reboot?