Watch Matt Damon Get Stranded on Mars in Trailer for The Martian
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Ridley Scott is returning to the stars (doesn't he always) with his next film, The Martian. The film has similarities to other major space-bound box office hits Gravity and Interstellar. Matt Damon stars as an astronaut who finds himself stranded on Mars after a dust storm separates him from the rest of his crew. Initially considered dead, he relies on his ingenuity to scrounge up enough resources to survive until he can develop a way to contact help. Elsewhere, NASA and his crewmates must find a way to rescue him.
Damon leads an ensemble cast that also includes Jessica Chastain (Interstellar), Kate Mara (Fantastic Four), Michael Pena (Cesar Chavez), Donald Glover, Kristen Wiig (The Skeleton Twins), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Z for Zachariah), Jeff Daniels (Dumb and Dumber To), and more.
The Martian will be dropping in theaters on November 25th. You can read the film's full synopsis below.
During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive. Millions of miles away, NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring “the Martian” home, while his crewmates concurrently plot a daring, if not impossible, rescue mission. As these stories of incredible bravery unfold, the world comes together to root for Watney’s safe return. Based on a best-selling novel, and helmed by master director Ridley Scott, THE MARTIAN features a star studded cast that includes Jessica Chastain, Kristen Wiig, Kate Mara, Michael Pena, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Donald Glover.
Trailer for Jake Gyllenhaal and Antoine Fuqua's Boxing Film, Southpaw
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Coming off of his award-winning performance in Nightcrawler (which included a plethora of Best Actor nominations from various film critics and the Golden Globes) comes Jake Gyllenhaal's next film with Training Day director Antoine Fuqua, Southpaw. Gyllenhaal stars as Billy Hope, a boxer at the height of his career whose world suddenly falls apart following an incident at his retirement announcement party.
Gyllenhaal's been on a run of amazing performances from End of Watch to Prisoners to Nightcrawler, so it's easy to assume he'll knock this one out - pun intended. While the plot is a pretty run of the mill redemption story (at first glance), Gyllenhaal has proven himself to not only deliver outstanding performances time and time again, but also doing so with a pickiness towards the films he signs on to do. The combination of Gyllenhaal with a director like Fuqua almost guarantees a film worth watching.
We'll all get our chance when Southpaw hits theaters on July 24th.
Official Trailer for Post-Apocalyptic Love Triangle Film, Z For Zachariah
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Z for Zachariah might be one of my favorite "underrated" films of the year. I cautiously use the term underrated because I still reviewed it fairly well, the cast got their praise from various outlets, and the film hasn't even been screened for general audiences yet. Still, it's the type of film you see that, months later, you'll hear wind about and instantly remember everything you liked about it.
Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad), Chris Pine (Into the Woods), and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) star in the minimal film about survivors of some nuclear war. Robbie finds herself at the center of a love triangle between Ejiofor's non-religious scientist and Pine's religious, adventuresome type. As seen in the trailer, the tension is very high as you can begin to see the rivalry between the two men slowly grow.
Z for Zachariah will be in theaters on August 21st. You can read the film's full synopsis below.
In the wake of a nuclear war, a young woman (Margot Robbie) survives on her own, fearing she may actually be the proverbial last woman on earth, until she discovers the most astonishing sight of her life: another human being. A distraught scientist (Chiwetel Ejiofor), he’s nearly been driven mad by radiation exposure and his desperate search for others. A fragile, imperative strand of trust connects them. But when a stranger (Chris Pine) enters the valley, their precarious bond begins to unravel.
Bruce Campbell is Groovy in Ash vs. Evil Dead TV Teaser
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What pairs better with nice weather than being reunited with everybody's favorite groovy evil vanquisher? It's been a few months since we found out Bruce Campbell, Sam Raimi, and Rob Tapert were continuing the adventures of Ash Williams in a Starz TV series. However, with the sun coming out to play, so too does Ash and the iconic chainsaw.
In case you weren't aware, Ash vs. Evil Dead will carry on where 1992's Army of Darkness left off. While the trio have publicly stated their approval and enjoyment of the 2013 Evil Dead reboot, they've decided to move forward with the original timeline, ending any potential future for Fede Alvarez's take on the Evil Dead universe. However, both Raimi and Tapert are co-producing Alvarez's next film, A Man in the Dark, so the business relationship is still in tact (and could possibly lead to more Evil Dead from the talented director).
It makes sense for Campbell, Raimi, and Tapert to focus on their specific Evil Dead franchise, given the somewhat tepid response the reboot received. As I've noted lately, nostalgia is in right now, and who really wouldn't scoff at watching Ash mow through evil some more?
Ash vs. Evil Dead will premiere on Starz this fall.
[Trailer] Pixels
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It's been awhile since an Adam Sandler film intrigued me, let alone an Adam Sandler comedy. Yet, here comes Pixels. Directed by Chris Columbus (Home Alone, The Goonies), Pixels looks like it has the right mix of family-friendly appeal with content that will tap into adults' sense of nostalgia.
In the world of Pixels, NASA sent out a time capsule in 1982 to find alien life. However, once they made contact, the act was misinterpreted by the aliens as a threat, resulting in a wide-scale attack. The irony is the alien utilized imagery from the video games NASA sent to represent their attacks, leading '80s video game icons like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong to wreak havoc on the world. Of course, the only way the world can fight back is by reaching out to various '80s gaming champions to utilize their strategies to defeat the aliens. Sam Brenner (Adam Sandler) heads up a team of former gaming champions (Peter Dinklage and Josh Gad) to fight back.
What separates Pixels from the typical Happy Madison production is Columbus's involvement. While his films have been a bit stale in recent years, he understands the dynamics of a kid-friendly film mixed with enough excitement and nostalgia to attract older audiences. What's more, video game characters are front-and-center. There'll probably some lame jokes that don't hit and the typical brand of Sandler-style comedy. However, I'm willing to stand it just to see if Columbus still has it in him.
Pixels will be in theaters on July 24th.
[Trailer] Point Break
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In an era of remakes and reboots, which are more noticeable now thanks to the increased volume of available films in general, we were bound to get some weirder ones. Case in point is the latest reboot, Point Break, a now Keanu Reeves-less film where extreme sports athletes also happen to be extreme sports criminals. The film follows Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey), and FBI agent who joins the group of athletes led by Bodhi (Edgar Ramirez). Unfortunately for this film, The Fast and the Furious already remade and owned this premise sometime ago. It's also probably why the trailer has that same kind of cheesy/yet not cheesy enough vibe.
Where the original had color and humor, we have a darker (read as: boring) color palette and not a single joke to be heard. At the very least, the stunts look neat. They're all performed in camera (so very few cuts), so that could lead to a few visually entertaining pieces. We'll have to see what comes out of this as the trailer kicker didn't give me much hope.
Point Break opens in theaters Christmas Day.
[Red Band Trailer] DOPE (NSFW)
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Following yesterday's trailer release for Me and Earl and the Dying Girl comes the trailer for another breakout Sundance 2015 hit, DOPE. The film, which received multiple offers following its Sundance premiere, stars newcomer Shameik Moore as Malcolm, a geek living in Inglewood who doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the neighborhood. In fact, he and his friends Jib (The Grand Budapest Hotel's Tony Revolori) and Diggy (Transparent's Kiersey Clemons) are constantly picked on and bullied for their interests, such as punk rock, old school hip hop, BMX, and their desires to get into good colleges. When local drug dealer Dom (A$AP Rocky) gets Malcolm to convince hottie Nakia (Zoe Kravitz) to come to his party, the crew find themselves at the cusp of becoming "dope." However, circumstances surrounding the party result in Malcolm getting entangled in a drug deal that could jeopardize their futures.
DOPE had mainstream appeal from the get-go with a star-studded cast that also includes Workaholics' Blake Anderson, Tyga, and Forest Whitaker as the narrator (who also served as one of the film's producers), with Puff Daddy and Pharrell executive producing, and a soundtrack that features four exclusive new tracks from the latter. Beyond the star appeal, the critical response to the film was actually positive thanks to writer/director Rick Famuyiwa's depictions of racial and character diversity in a natural, entertaining way.
DOPE is coming to theaters on June 19th.
[Trailer] Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
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Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, the stand-out film of this year's Sundance Film Festival, is almost guaranteed to be everybody's next favorite indie film with its perfect mix of drama, comedy, great performances, and writing. Greg (Thomas Mann) is the titular "me," a high school loner who tries hard to blend in with all of the cliques without making meaningful attachments. In fact, he refers to his only friend Earl (Ronald Cyler III) as a "co-worker," who he's shot and filmed over 40 films with since grade school. However, this all changes when his Mom makes him hang out with the "dying girl," Rachel (Olivia Cooke). You can see where this is going...
Yet, the film subverts assumptions, which helps explain why Me and Earl and the Dying Girl won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at Sundance. I've been championing Mann's rise in Hollywood since Project X, and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is the perfect film to help elevate his star to new heights.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl will have a limited theatrical release on June 12th.