Mad Max Fury Road Main Trailer Thoughts

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This Mad Max movie is really starting to look completely and utterly insane. I mean that in a good way. In a time when all the other summer blockbusters are looking to create Cinematic Universes and highly connected and detailed stories, it is great to see a movie that is literally just going to be one massive car chase. This movie has never not looked awesome, but this trailer pushed it over the edge.

New trailer came out today. Link is here!

I watched this trailer at work today. I didn't watch it just once and I was not getting any work done after watching it. I had to get up and walking around a little bit. The intensity in this trailer is so high. I could not imagine going to a movie, sitting in my seat with my popcorn and pop, and then seeing this trailer for the first time, then be expected to watch a movie. Do we know if this is going to be attached to any movies coming out? Furious 7? I don't want to be the movie to follow this.

In the first trailers, I feel like we got a good feel for Charlize Theron's Furiosa character. In this trailer, we get a great look at Immortan Joe villain. Holy crap, he is super creepy. His whole outfit...Creepy. His voice... Creepy. His walk.... Creepy. That mask... Creepy. He looks and acts like a nightmare. That is what a villain needs to be.

Starting at the 1:31 mark, where they post "From Mastermind George Miller", this trailer kicks to a gear most trailers never touch. The music, the voice over, all the crazy scenes. I expect it to peak and wind down, but it doesn't for a whole minute. If this movie is two hours of that, I am not sure I am physically going to be able to handle it.

Everything I have seen and read about this movie is we are pretty much in store for one long car chase. Yes. Sign me up. Simple movie plot. A massive car chase from point A to point B. Chaos to get there. It seems to me George Miller is just trying to recreate a Hot Wheels chase he created as a child. I also read today (after researching more into this movie after the high from this trailer) that Miller wanted the visuals to come first and wanted the film to be understand in Japan without subtitles. If I read that Michael Bay was going to try that for a Transformers movie, I would be like "Yeah, good luck with that", but with Miller and this movie? It is going to work!

If you couldn't tell I am super excited about this movie and ready for the summer blockbusters to start!!!

Spectre Teaser Trailer Thoughts

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Bond... James Bond. Hooray! We get a Bond movie this year! I grew up playing Goldeneye. Then renting the early Bond movies and at the time going to the new Pierce Brosnan Bond movies in theaters. Then Die Another Die happened. I own it on DVD for some reason. The series needed to shift and it took a couple of years to do that. Enter Daniel Craig...

Daniel Craig's Bond run has a been pretty good so far (I would say great but Quantum of Solace happened) and Spectre hopes to continue that trend. Today we have our first trailer!

Here is the trailer. 

Very few characters in the trailer, but we can see that Spectre takes place almost right after Skyfall (which is interesting, see below). Bond looks very focused, which plays to Craig's strengths. Christoph Waltz makes an appearance at the end and no surprise it looks like he is going to deliver as the villain.

One thing that I am excited for in this movie, but we did not see in the trailer is Mr. Hinx, which is Dave Bautista's character. From what I heard, he is going to be like Jaws and Oddjob, but for our generation. I am all for this. I loved Jaws when I was growing up. Super campy character, but scary, power, and memorable. I doubt Mr. Hinx will be campy based on tone in Craig's Bond, but he should be going for memorable. Bond needs memorable villains and they don't have to be the main villain. I hope this means multiple movies for Mr. Hinx otherwise I do not consider him a memorable villain like Jaws. When you will have 24 Bond movies, to be a memorable villain you almost need to be in multiple movies just to stand out (yes there are exceptions). So I am excited for what Mr. Hinx will be!

Back to the fact this will all take place right after Skyfall. Let me paint you a picture. Imagine a great Bond film that rejuvenates the franchise. The next installment is announced, which is going be a direct follow up to that great Bond movie. This is different because Bonds are usually not direct sequels or tie too many events together. The film before was great so this story and continuation will be great, right? Sound familiar? We did this before with Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Casino Royale was amazing. Quantum of Solace not so much. It just seems interesting to me that based on what happened so recently with a directly connected follow-up (with the same Bond actor no less) they would try this again. This is just a teaser trailer and we could find out this is going to be completely different, but I am a little bit worried.

I have a lot of faith in this movie, but this teaser made me curious though. We know Craig will kick ass and Waltz will be great, I hope the story does not disappoint!

Mission Impossible Rogue Nation Trailer Thoughts

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Movies usually do not sneak up on me, but yesterday and today Mission Impossible Rogue Nation snuck up on me. I went from not knowing when exactly MI5 was coming out to knowing when Rogue Nation is going to come out and I am pretty excited for it. I literally had/have a smile on my face after this trailer and thinking about it.

Here is the trailer. 

A trailer should get you excited for a movie. This trailer got me very excited for this movie. It just looks like it is going to be a lot of fun. While Bond is going a little darker and more gritty (which I have no problem with, I loved Skyfall), it is nice to have an action/spy movie franchise that is pretty much all about action set pieces, fun characters, and a plot that really is just there to drive the action set pieces.

One thing that MI has always had going for it is it's star: Tom Cruise. As an actor, he just makes great movies. Edge of Tomorrow (or Live Die Repeat or whatever you want to call it) was a great movie. Oblivion was a good movie. Age is not slowing him down. He is still an action star and I am glad that he hasn't stopped making action movies. I know that a lot of people dislike Tom Cruise off the big screen, but you cannot deny that he has/is/will continue making fun movies.

Simon Pegg has also been a great add to this series and really sets it apart from other franchises. He is just great comic relief, but he can also be serious. Just listen to his delivery at the 1:56 mark of the trailer. It sounds like that was unscripted; it rolls off so well. His character really is for the audience to help relate to. He is not going to shoot guns, hang from buildings, or get into a fight. He is there for the ride (and computer skills) and we are with him. Good humor in an action movie is really under appreciated.

As for the signature action set piece? That is featured in the poster and at the end of the trailer and I love it. Is it at all possible? Absolutely not, but who cares? There was crazy stuff in 1-4 that was not possible (you could say Impossible ;) ). Embrace the crazy action set pieces. Fast & Furious franchise is doing this too and I love that as well (although they are really starting to push my limit, which is driving a car out of a building into another building and ejecting from the car...really?). I am also glad Rogue Nation's signature action set piece will not feature a building. I believe 2, 3, and Ghost Protocol all had signature building action set pieces. Not that I don't like Ethan Hunt hanging from a building, but let's shake it up and have him hanging from a plane. I already am eager to know why the hell he is hanging from that plane and how is he going to get in it!

This summer is going to be an intense movie summer before really knowing what Rogue Nation was. Now that we know... Get your popcorn ready and buckle up for July 31st!

Why I Watch and Like The Following

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This week marked the return of The Following! I feel like I am one of the few fans of this show. I can understand some of the hate, but this show is good enough to stay on the air. I see a lot of comments that Hannibal is a better show. That is true, but that doesn't mean this show shouldn't exist! Here is why I enjoy this show:

The main reason I enjoy The Following is I like the cast. Who does not like Kevin Bacon? Have you ever said to someone "I am not seeing that, Kevin Bacon is in it." I haven't. You have be to a well liked actor to have this associated with your name. Still don't believe me... Watch this. If Kevin Bacon is your lead, then you are a step ahead of other shows. Also, I like Shawn Ashmore aka Iceman with Kevin Bacon. I have the tendency to transfer over my enjoyment of one character from a different show/movie to the new show/movie that actor is in. I liked Iceman from the X-Men movie, so I like Mike Weston. James Purefoy is great as Joe Carroll. If Joe Carroll was played by a crappy actor, this show would not work no matter what. Even though Joe is the villain you never really want to see him die.

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Another reason I like this show? It is way over the top. Nothing close to this story is ever happening in real life, but I am completely cool with it. In the Series, Joe has now gone on three different killing rampages and prison escapes. Not possible. No way that anyone has a master plan this elaborate and it works to a T. Also no way that the FBI and people chasing him are this dumb/unlucky. YOu would think that they would catch a break at some point. I will say that the whole taking over a different Cult from season 2, pushed the limit. It proves that if James Purefoy is your Joe Carroll, you can get anyway with anything story-wise. Like I said, I am cool with all this. I am more invested in the characters then caring about if what is happening is really possible.

My biggest problem with the Series is it has been a little too happy killing off good characters (which is a funny statement since this show has way too many fake out deaths). My prime example is Jacob Wells from season 1. They really spent time developing his character. We got to see him struggle with everything that was happening and meet the people that really cared for him. I wanted more of him and less of Emma. Emma was a good character, but Jacob became a wild card that I would loved to see more of. Clearly they were probably going for this feeling with killing off Jacob. With the continual killing off of good characters, new characters are continually added and they are carbon copies of the characters that were killed off or not as well developed. I get based on the nature of the show, a lot of characters have to go, but it is still tough.

My season 3 thoughts: I have seen the first episode and it was typical The Following. I like where Mark Gray's character is going, something crazy and different for the show. I am really excited about Michael Ealy joining the show. He was great in Almost Human playing an android and I can picture that transitioning into a emotionless serial killer nicely. I am also interested to see how Joe comes back this season. He better not escape another prison.

I don't know what would have to happen in this show for me to consider that it jumped the shark, but it would have to be crazy. So I am invested until the end. If that is just this season, then fine. Hopefully we get a couple more and they only get better!

Age of Ultron Trailer 3 Thoughts

The third trailer hit today for most likely the biggest movie of the summer! Easily the best trailer for it yet. Got me really excited for the movie. Here are my thoughts after the trailer.

Here is a link to the trailer.

James Spader as Ultron is going to be excellent. I have a feeling he is going to be the star of the movie and the reason this movie will be great. His voice over at the beginning of the trailer is a lot of fun and I expect his dialogue to be like that in the whole movie.

Captain America doesn't say much in the trailer, but I am excited for his role in this movie. I am a big fan of Chris Evans, he has been good in a lot of different styles of movies. From the trailer we see that he is going to have a couple of good fights with Ultron and Quicksilver. I think his character has been the strongest throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and it does not look like that will change here.

Also, love that this trailer didn't reveal anything I did not already know. Trailers lately have really been giving a way a lot of the movie (looking at you Amazing Spiderman 2). We have seen most of these ideas already just some different shots and lines. We did get to see Vision. I have no idea what to expect from him, which is refreshing. Because of this I wonder if we have seen all shots of the final battle yet?? No more trailers needed for this movie. KEEP THE SECRETS!

I was not a huge fan of the first teaser trailer. It was filled with cliche trailer moments and quotes, for example Black Widow's "Nothing lasts forever" line is so cliche and sounds awkward. I know it is taken completely out of context (at least I hope), but I expect better from Marvel because they raised the bar with Avengers and Captain America Winter Solider. The trailer also played into my worry for the film, which is....

My concern for the film is it is going to feel too detached from the overall Infinity Gauntlet/Thanos theme of the MCU. Another way of putting it is that I feel it is going to feel too much like a side quest for the Avengers. When you think about a second part of a trilogy (not saying this movie is a second part, but you can make the argument that the Avengers movie series will be like a trilogy within MCU), you should leave your heros wounded, defeated, and lost, which I am sure they will feel (for sure Tony Stark), but it should also strengthen your overall villain aka Thanos. I am not seeing that connection yet. I am probably going to be totally wrong about this, but I wanted to express this concern.

Also, I know that the Hulkbuster armor Iron Man vs the Hulk battle is going to really look cool and be a really fun scene, but didn't we do this already in Avengers? Loki's plan was to turn the Hulk against them and now it is Scarlet Witch's plan too?

This movie is going to be the best movie of the summer and it is only two months away! Now that is exciting!

What were your thoughts?