Amy Schumer is a Trainwreck in Trailer for Judd Apatow's Next Film
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Can you believe it's been three years since Judd Apatow's last directed film, This is 40, was released in theaters? The director who practically single-handedly changed the R-rated comedy game with his directorial debut The 40-Year-Old Virgin is returning to the big screen next month, but is changing the formula up a bit. Known for casting everyman types as the leads in his films, Apatow's next film, Trainwreck, will have a female protagonist, answering the question that's sure to be on everyone's minds: Can Judd Apatow find the same success with a female lead?
Short answer: yes, especially when one of comedy's top ladies is in the role. Amy Schumer (Inside Amy Schumer) stars as Amy, a commitment phobe focused on her career as a fluff magazine writer. When she's assigned to write a profile on a sports surgeon (Bill Hader), she suddenly finds herself falling for him, despite learning from an early age that "monogamy isn't realistic." As you can expect from Apatow, the trailer is filled with sex jokes and pop culture references, as well as appearances from LeBron James and WWE star John Cena. One of my favorite indie actresses, Brie Larson (Short Term 12), also leads a supporting cast that includes Tilda Swinton, Dave Attell, and Ezra Miller (The Stanford Prison Experiment).
Trainwreck will be crashing into theaters on July 17th.
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Final June 2015 Update
The final Netflix update of the month doesn't offer too much. However, one title, All the Wilderness, is well worth a night in. As I wrote in my review this past February, the film " will appeal to indie film darlings that can't get enough of coming-of-age films." Indeed, it was an early 2015 favorite of mine. Also of note is A Most Wanted Man, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2014 and is the last of Philip Seymour Hoffman's films released before his untimely death.
You can check out the full list of new Netflix Instant titles below!
Cedar Cove: Season 1
Cedar Cove: Season 2
Earth From Above: Season 1
Earth From Above: Season 2
Earth From Above: Season 3
Earth From Above: Season 4
All the Wilderness
Revolver Rani
16-Love
A Most Wanted Man
Gori Tere Pyaar Mein
The Birthday Boys: Season 2
Some Assembly Required: Season 1
Daddy's Home
Supremacy
Cake
GasLand
Ugly
Walking with the Dead
Confessions of a Prodigal Son
Advantageous
Curious George 3: Back to the Jungle
Beyond the Lights
Green Street 3: Never Back Down
Total Siyappa
After the Ball
Twin Warriors
King of Comedy
Ballet 422
God of Cookery
My Italian Secret: The Forgotten Heroes
Watch the English-Subbed Trailer for Boruto: Naruto the Movie
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Even though the Naruto manga came to a conclusion this past spring and the anime is still several chapters away from reaching its end, the Naruto franchise is still thriving with an assortment of video game, movie, and manga releases coming out in the near future. As you can see, series creator Masashi Kishimoto isn't going the Dragon Ball route of making fans wait to see more of their favorite shinobi.
Boruto: Naruto the Movie continues where The Last: Naruto the Movie leaves off by focusing on the new generation of Leaf ninja, specifically Naruto's son, Boruto, and Sasuke's daughter, Sarada. The film takes place years after the end of Naruto and is being tied into the Start of a New Era Project to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Naruto franchise. As seen in the trailer, the plot will focus on Boruto's training with Sasuke in his attempts to surpass his father's legacy.
Boruto: Naruto the Movie will be in Japanese theaters on August 7th, and while there's no current information on an American release date, I think it's safe to assume it'll be dubbed and released before too long.
Marvel and Sony Find Their Spider-Man Actor and Director
Well, color me surprised.
Three weeks after Marvel and Sony reportedly shortened their list of prospective Spider-Man stars and directors, the studios just released a joint statement naming Tom Holland and Jon Watts as their next Spider-Man lead and director, respectively. This comes months after a series of screen tests that included such names as Asa Butterfield (Ten Thousand Saints), Judah Lewis (Point Break), Matthew Lintz (Pixels), Charlie Plummer (Boardwalk Empire), and Charlie Rowe (Red Band Society), while the directors in consideration included Jonathan Levine (Warm Bodies), Ted Melfi (St. Vincent), and the duo of John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein (Vacation).
Watts was a dark horse candidate that was added to the shortlist earlier this month despite after not being named in the first rumored short list. The new director is hot off the heels of his directorial debut, Cop Car, which received praise at this year's Sundance Film Festival where it premiered.
The selections are a bit surprising, considering Marvel Studios' penchant for signing big name actors and directors to their films. However, both Marvel and Sony are confident in growing with the two. Sony's Tom Rothman released a statement about the hirings, stating:
It’s a big day here at Sony. Kevin, Amy and their teams have done an incredible job. The Marvel process is very thorough, and that’s why their results are so outstanding. I’m confident Spider-Man will be no exception. I’ve worked with a number of up-and-coming directors who have gone on to be superstars and believe that Jon is just such an outstanding talent. For Spidey himself, we saw many terrific young actors, but Tom’s screen tests were special. All in all, we are off to a roaring start.
Spider-Man isn't scheduled to hit theaters until July 28, 2017, but he's rumored to make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Captain America: Civil War, which will be coming to theaters on May 6, 2016.
Official Trailer for the Wonderful '80s-Inspired Turbo Kid
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On one spectrum lies Mad Max: Fury Road, a very realistic (albeit exaggerated) take on the dystopian/wasteland film (that its predecessor, Mad Max, practically established back in 1979). On the other end lies Turbo Kid, a dystopian/wasteland film that wears its influences on its sleeve while still holding itself up alongside the litany of films it found inspiration from.
Needless to say, Turbo Kid was my favorite film out of SXSW this year, and for a good reason. While countless other films have gone the '80s aesthetic route (Kung Fury being a recent notable film) that borderlines gimmicky, Turbo Kid is able to not only have fun with its tone, but also has a darker side that doesn't feel out of context.
With an official trailer finally released, larger audiences can catch a glimpse at what makes Turbo Kid so fun. Directors Anouk Whissell, François Simard, and Yoann-Karl Whissell, collectively known as RKSS, strike the right balance between homage and original. If watching the trailer piqued your interest for more Turbo Kid, I highly recommend checking out our video interview with RKSS for more insight.
Turbo Kid will be hitting theaters on August 28th.
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Champs, Orange is the New Black
It's been a week since the surprise early release of Orange is the New Black's third season on Netflix. I'm sure you've all binge-watched the entire 13 episode season, but if not - why haven't you? Our other main highlight for this new installment of Weekly Netflix Fix is the boxing documentary Champs. Keen readers will remember we not only reviewed the film back in March, but we also interviewed Champs director Bert Marcus. I highly recommend watching the documentary, then reading our review and interview!
You can find the full list of new Netflix Instant titles below.
Life of Crime
When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism
Life with Boys: Season 1
If I Had Wings
Champs
Orange Is the New Black: Season 3
The Cobbler
Austin to Boston
High Fidelity
Snap
Transformers: Age of Extinction
Vengeance of an Assassin
Antarctica: A Year on Ice
Grey's Anatomy: Season 11
Scandal: Season 4
Avengers Grimm
The Radio City Christmas Spectacular
Danger Mouse: Season 10
Danger Mouse: Season 9
Danger Mouse: Season 8
Danger Mouse: Season 7
Danger Mouse: Season 6
Danger Mouse: Season 5
Danger Mouse: Season 4
Danger Mouse: Season 3
Danger Mouse: Season 2
Danger Mouse: Season 1
Hawaizaada
Toby's Travelling Circus: Season 1
InuYasha: Season 2
Vecinos: Season 2
Vecinos: Season 1
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit: Season 1
Bite Size
Know How
Rita: Season 3
Rodney Carrington: Laughter’s Good
Wizards vs. Aliens: Season 1
Wizards vs. Aliens: Season 2
Wizards vs. Aliens: Season 3
Really Me: Season 1
Really Me: Season 2
Bindi's Bootcamp: Season 1
Team Toon: Season 1
Black Friday
Death Note
Paa
Nana / Season 1
Cuidado con el Angel
Teresa
Isa TKM
Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer
Miss XV
Eastern Boys
3 Nights in the Desert
Vampire Knight: Season 1
Vampire Knight: Season 2
B.B. King: The Life of Riley
Leprechaun: Origins
Little White Lie
Gukjeshijang
Monster
Venus Talk
Curious George
Lee Daniels' The Butler
Backstreet Boys: Show 'Em What You're Made Of
Jurassic World Breaks World Record with $511m Debut
In a completely surprising (though not undeserving) turn of events, Jurassic World broke world records with its $511m worldwide box office debut this past weekend. While the film's domestic debut at $204.6m is the second-highest debut of all-time (the distinction belongs to The Avengers' $207.4m debut in 2012), its international gross of $307.2m helped bring it over the threshold. Its debut eclipsed the previous record holder, 2011's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 and its $483.2m debut.
Furthermore, Jurassic World shattered its own studio's expectations, which were set conservatively low at $125m. The film's reported budget is roughly $150m, meaning the $511m Jurassic World grossed is nearly 350% its budget, which is typically unheard of in Hollywood, especially for such a large film franchise like Jurassic Park. Jurassic World's success also cements Chris Pratt's status as a bonafide Hollywood star.
Jurassic World's theatrical run won't end any time soon, and with the hype and acclaim it's been receiving will result in more ticket sales. At this point, it has quite a ways to surpass Hollywood's two highest-grossing films, 2009's Avatar (nearly $2.8b) and 1997's Titanic (nearly $2.2b). However, it certainly has a shot.
[via The Independent]
[Weekly Netflix Fix] Nightcrawler, Rosewater, and Primer
I know what you're all thinking - Orange is the New Black Season 3 comes out on Netflix tomorrow, and there's nothing more alluring than spending a weekend in Litchfield with Piper, Red, Taystee, Crazy Eyes, and more. However, you still have a few good hours, so why not check out some of Netflix Instant's new offerings?
Some of my personal recommendations include the first Mortal Kombat film, Shane Carruth's debut film Primer, Jake Gyllenhaal's award-winning Nightcrawler, and Jon Stewart's directorial debut Rosewater. Check out the full list of new titles below.
Asmodexia
Bad Asses on the Bayou
Diplomacy
El Niño
God's Slave
The Lost Boys: Special Edition
Mortal Kombat: The Movie
My Mistress
The Nun
Sense8: Season 1
Happy Valley
The Kidnapping of Freddy Heineken
Killers
On the Road
Primer
Words and Pictures
Grace of Monaco
The Dramatics: A Comedy
Farewell Herr Schwarz
Free the Nipple
It's Tough Being Loved by Jerks
Nightcrawler
Quiz Time
Remote Area Medical
Rosewater
Quiz Time: Season 1
The Garfield Show: Season 1
The Garfield Show: Season 2
The Sisterhood of Night
Taratabong: The World of the Meloditties
Trotro