Latest Movie News From Moviefone |
- The New 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' Trailer Is One Wild Ride (VIDEO)
- 'X-Men': Is Mystique Getting Her Own Spin-Off?
- 'Jurassic World' Casts a Trio of Actresses
- 'Game of Thrones' Baby Names Are All the Rage
- 'Oculus' Review: 10 Things to Know About the New Horror Movie
- Weekend Movie & TV Preview: 'Rio 2,' 'Draft Day,' 'Mad Men,' & More (VIDEO)
| The New 'How to Train Your Dragon 2' Trailer Is One Wild Ride (VIDEO) Posted:  There are plenty of things to be excited about in this new "How to Train Your Dragon 2" trailer. Baby dragons, giant dragons, a more mature Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), the introduction of Hiccup's mother, voiced by none other than this year's Best Actress Oscar winner Cate Blanchett, and enough Toothless to make your adorable-meter short circuit. But you can't have the good without the bad, and lurking in the shadows is a dark force ready to take down the idyllic viking island of Berk. "Something is coming. Something you've never faced before," Blanchett's ominous voiceover warns. You can find out what that "something" is when "How to Train Your Dragon 2" hits theaters June 20. (Honestly, you can kinda tell from the trailer.) This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'X-Men': Is Mystique Getting Her Own Spin-Off? Posted:  If "X-Men" filmmakers have their way, audiences will see a lot more spin-off movies featuring their favorite mutants soon -- including Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, producer Lauren Shuler Donner and writer-producer Simon Kinberg teased that possibility, along with a few others, while discussing the future of the "X-Men" franchise at studio Fox. (A separate entity from the spinoff-loving folks at Marvel's movie partnership with Disney.) "There was a regime [at the studio] that didn't see the worth in [spin-offs], and the current people who run Fox understand, embrace it, and we're going to do right by it," Donner told EW. "I'd like to do Gambit. I'd like to do Deadpool. We'll see. There's a lot of really great characters." Donner added that she thought Lawrence's Mystique character -- who plays a vital role in next month's "X-Men: Days of Future Past" -- would also be a great subject for a standalone movie, a notion that Kinberg seconded. "I love what Jen Lawrence has done with [Mystique], and I feel like because she is in such a crowded ensemble, there's so much more opportunity if you were to follow her solo," Kinberg said. It's unclear just when such a spinoff would hit theaters, since the next two "X-Men" ensemble features are scheduled for this year and 2016, and another "Wolverine" spinoff is already slated for release in 2017. Guess we'll have to wait to see how "Days" fares before Fox gives a Mystique flick the go-ahead. "X-Men: Days of Future Past" opens on May 23. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'Jurassic World' Casts a Trio of Actresses Posted:  It looks like Chris Pratt will have some competition for the title of Most Delightful Person in "Jurassic World": Judy Greer has just joined the high-profile sequel's ensemble. Greer is part of a trio of actresses that just signed on to the fourth installment of the "Jurassic Park" franchise. Katie McGrath (NBC's "Dracula") and Lauren Lapkus ("The To Do List," "Orange is the New Black") round out the newest additions to the cast. The affable Greer, known mostly for her roles in rom-coms, has been undergoing a bit of a career reinvention as of late, playing parts in a wider variety of genres including prestige dramas ("The Descendants") and now sci-fi flicks (in addition to "World," she'll also appear in this summer's "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" and the mysterious George Clooney-Brad Bird vehicle "Tomorrowland"). Greer, McGrath, and Lapkus join the previously-cast Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, who play a cowboy-esque dinosaur wrangler and corporate scientist at the park, respectively, as well as B.D. Wong, who's reprising his scientist role from the 1993 original film. Nick Robinson, Ty Simpkins, Jake Johnson, Irrfan Khan, and Vincent D'Onofrio also star. "Jurassic World," directed by Colin Trevorrow ("Safety Not Guaranteed"), hits theaters June 12, 2015. [via The Hollywood Reporter] This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'Game of Thrones' Baby Names Are All the Rage Posted:  "Game of Thrones" character Daenerys Targaryen may have earned the title Khaleesi for marrying into Dothraki royalty, but apparently all an American baby needs to do to get the name is have fantasy nerds for parents. According to new data from the Social Security Administration, a slew of newborn babies have been given monikers inspired by HBO series "Game of Thrones," and one of the most popular by far is Khaleesi. In 2012, the year the show premiered on HBO, 146 female newborns were christened with that name. While not nearly as popular, the Khaleesi's birth name also got some love, with 21 baby girls named Daenerys in 2012. Another notable moniker from the show -- adapted from the "Song of Ice and Fire" series by author George R.R. Martin -- that has seen a significant upswing since 2012 is Arya, with 754 babies registered with that name that year. Though naming kids after pop culture icons is nothing new -- the names Isabella/Bella and Edward skyrocketed in popularity after "Twilight" premiered -- "Game of Thrones" characters tend to have more unique monikers, making their selection for non-fictional children all the more notable. We just hope that not too many people take inspiration from King Joffrey; no innocent babies deserve to be saddled with that jerk's name. [via Social Security Administration, h/t Entertainment Weekly] Photo courtesy HBO This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 'Oculus' Review: 10 Things to Know About the New Horror Movie Posted:  Besides making lots and lots of money, "The Conjuring" solidified the fact that, even in whatever you're supposed to call this decade, you can still make a scary movie that doesn't rely exclusively on buckets of blood and extreme sexual violence. Instead, you could tell a classy, subtle, emotionally engaging tale of everyday people faced with an otherworldly presence... And that people would actually show up.The same line of thinking is involved with this weekend's "Oculus," which we first saw back at SXSW --it's the tale of a pair of adult siblings (Karen Gillan and Brenton Thwaites) who confront the haunted mirror that was responsible for a seismic family tragedy many years earlier. Yes, that sounds like a very silly horror movie. But sometimes, in the words of George Michael, you've got to have faith. But does "Oculus" actually bring it? Or does it leave you screaming... for more? 1. It's Scary as Hell Seriously. This is one of those movies that I kind of want to go watch again this weekend just to see it with an audience full of jumpy strangers. I was squirming almost the entire movie -- and for good reason. This is an old-fashioned, scare-you-silly experience built not on jump scares or excessive gore, but on lengthy, suspenseful set pieces rooted in a relatable emotional truth. What's so amazing about the haunted mirror in the movie isn't the fact that it wants to kill you, exactly, but it wants to destroy your life in the most painful way possible. And that's even worse. "Oculus" is one of those movies that restores your faith in horror movies... If only for a minute. 2. Karen Gillan Is Ready to Be a Movie Star Some people might know who Karen Gillan is, particularly if you're a fan of the cult British series "Doctor Who." But I had no real idea who she was -- and I had met her before (only then she was covered in make-up and virtually unrecognizable). As the tough older sister in "Oculus," she makes a stand, outlining a plan to destroy the mirror in meticulous detail. She puts on this steely façade but she's still racked with guilt and pain over what happened to her family in the past, and has allowed herself to open up, at least for a bit, to her fiancé. But she is still that scarred little kid. It's a pretty miraculous performance, especially for such a limited amount of screen time. Gillan, with her perfectly calibrated American accent and swinging ponytail, is a performer that needs to be watched. 3. The Kids Are Great More than half the movie, I'd imagine, is devoted to a lengthy flashback to the first time the kids encountered this cursed mirror. In this section, the lead characters are played by amazing child actors Garrett Ryan and Annalise Basso, perfectly inhabiting the same emotional space and physicality as their adult counterparts. What's so incredible is how much of the movie rests on their tiny shoulders (and how well they pull off the complex emotions required of them). Whoever these kids are, expect big things. 4. Get Ready for the Apple Scene That's all we'll say. It's going to be one of those classic horror movie scenes. So be prepared. 5. Even Though It's a Jason Blum Movie, Don't Expect Any Found Footage Jason Blum, who has overseen everything from "Paranormal Activity" to the brilliant "Creep" (which was picked up earlier this week by Weinstein/Radius), is Hollywood's premiere horror movie producer. And most of his movies follow a certain aesthetic -- commonly referred to as "found footage." But this was an acquisition title and, even though Gillan's character sets up a number of video cameras to record the supernatural phenomena (and even addresses the camera directly), there is no trace of that particular aesthetic. This is classic haunted house stuff. Or rather, haunted mirror. 6. It's Nice to See Katee Sackhoff and Rory Cochrane Get a Shot Katee Sackhoff, who played Starbuck on the popular reboot of "Battlestar Galactica," and Rory Cochrane, a longtime Richard Linklater confederate, are performers who, outside of their respective comfort zones, rarely get the kind of work they should. Sure, Sackhoff popped up in "Riddick" last year, and it was great to see her as an empowered warrior woman again -- but she was also forced to take her shirt off, which felt like the worst kind of compromise. And it's hard to pinpoint what Cochrane has been up to, exactly. Sure he was in "Argo," an Oscar-winner for Best Picture, but can anyone remember who he played or what he did? (I'm assuming he was one of the hostages.) Whatever they've been up to, it's wonderful to see them together, and able to give strong, emotionally nuanced performances as a husband and wife torn apart by something truly horrible. 7. The Editing Is Really Clever As the movie progresses, the two timelines start to swirl together, like a chocolate and vanilla ice cream cone, and director Mike Flanagan has a lot of fun with this. He does really clever things like, say, a shot of the kids running down the stairs will end at the bottom of the stairs and he'll pan to the right and see the adult version of the siblings coming around the corner. It's all connected! It's sort of hard to describe, but it lends the movie a giddily dreamlike vibe that is much appreciated. 8. This Is Exhibit A in the Great Taste of WWE Studios In addition to Blumhouse, the movie got another big backer out of Toronto last year: WWE Studios, the cinematic arm of the wrestling giant. The studio has impeccable taste, and this is the clearest example yet of their ability to single out a top tier genre film and get their marketing might behind it. A couple of years ago, they had an unstoppable year with the surprise smash "The Call" (with Halle Berry) and "Dead Man Down," a severely underrated revenge movie starring Colin Ferrell and Noomi Rapace (seriously, watch it now). That should have been proof positive that there was more to this studio than direct-to-video action movies starring their stable of superstars. WWE Studios is a brand that you're going to depend on for a certain kind of film, and one that they are more than happy to deliver. 9. The Ending Is a Corker Again, all you're going to get out of me. But the final beat is one that leaves you absolutely shaken. 10. It Could Be a Franchise Another thing Jason Blum is known for, besides the found-footage shtick, is to cultivate unlikely franchises out of movies that seem to be one-and-done affairs (the second "Purge" comes out this summer for crying out loud). The possibility is certainly there for further "Oculus"-es, and what's more -- it's something that most people would actively get behind. Yes, there could be sequels, but there could also be prequels, inspired by the previous experiences with the haunted mirror. I'll be there for any future installments, squirming uncontrollably. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Weekend Movie & TV Preview: 'Rio 2,' 'Draft Day,' 'Mad Men,' & More (VIDEO) Posted:  This weekend, "Rio 2" flies into the wilds of the Amazon, Kevin Costner fights for his team in "Draft Day," Karen Gillan takes on malevolent forces in "Oculus," Conan O'Brien hosts (and Eminem performs) at the MTV Movie Awards, and "Mad Men" returns for its seventh and final season.Also in theaters this weekend:
Also on TV this weekend:
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