Character Posters for Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

All the way back March, 20th Century Fox released its first trailer for Tim Burton's new film, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. The film is based on Ransom Riggs' novel of the same name and is exactly as it sounds. 

The film has been compared to the X-Men movies, with Miss Peregrine (Eva Green) managing a home that provides refuge to children with "peculiarities", similar to Professor X's School for Gifted Youngsters. When Jake (Asa Butterfield) discovers this fantastical home, he becomes fascinated and wants to learn more about the house and its residents. However, he soon realizes that there are dangers with having these abilities and that powerful, hidden enemies seek to find this hidden sanctuary so he must quickly figure out who he really is and who he can trust.

Now 20th Century Fox has released new posters to give us a closer look at the unusual abilities of these characters.

 

 

It's still unclear if or when we will see more footage from the film, in the form of a second trailer, but I do know that we will have to wait until the 30th of September 2016 to see it in full, when it will hit UK cinemas.

Disney Teaser Trailer: Could Moana be the next Frozen?

On Sunday Disney gave us our first look at Moana, the studios newest animated feature film.

Moana will be the next film to come from Walt Disney Animation Studios and will have a lot of live up to after the huge success of Frozen. It will tell the story of Moana, Disney's first Polynesian princess and a born navigator, as she sets sail in the South Pacific to finish her ancestor's mission and find a mythical island. On her journey, Moana is accompanied by Maui, a human demigod, as well as a pig called Pua.

This teaser trailer mainly sees Maui, voiced by Dwayne Johnson, boasting to Moana about all of his amazing adventures, with the help of his moving tattoos and magical fishhook, but Moana does not seem phased by them, responding with her only word during this trailer, "uhmm". This relative quietness from the titular character maybe due to Johnson having the majority of star power compared to newcomer Auli'i Cravalho, who voices Moana.

Disney has a number of films coming out over the next few months including Finding Dory and The BFG, both due out next month, as well as Pete's Dragon in August. Moana is due for release on the 23rd of November 2016 although British audiences will have to wait another nine days for the UK release on the 2nd of December.

June 2016 - The Secret Life of Pets, Independence Day and more...

Hey guys! Now for the rest of June. This month continues to see the release of more must-watch films, including a few sequels and a couple of big name movies.

I had a few to choose from for the Movie of the Fortnight but I decided if I could only visit the cinema once in the next couple of weeks, it would be to see Universal's new animated comedy, The Secret Life of Pets. I don't know how many people sit at work thinking "I wonder what my dog is doing right now?" but for anyone who does, wonder no more because now we know. In this film, Max (Louis C.K.) is a pampered terrier living in Manhattan with his owner, Katie (Ellie Kemper) but when she brings home Duke (Eric Stonestreet), from the animal shelter, Max finds that he is not the only canine in her life now, but when the two get lost in New York it is time for their animal friends, led by Pomeranian Gidget (Jenny Slate), to save them whilst the pair learn to get along.

I nearly went with No Stranger Than Love, but as it is not being released in UK cinemas, I had to choose another. If anyone does have the chance to see it, then I would take that opportunity as it is a fun romantic comedy that takes a risk and steers away from the traditional rom-com premise. In it, we see Lucy (Alison Brie), a high school art teacher, about to begin an affair with high school football coach, Clint (Colin Hanks) when an interdimensional hole opens beneath his feet. Unharmed from his fall into nothingness, Lucy must now try and rescue Clint without revealing her affair whilst a new stranger in town, Rydell White (Justin Chatwin) is looking for him.

Another film I wanted to choose is Adult Life Skills, an award winning film at the Tribeca Film Festival, but although it will be released in the UK, it only has a limited release. In this off-beat comedy, Anna (Jodie Whittaker) is nearing thirty years old and is now living in her mother's garden shed. Her mother (Lorraine Ashbourne) insists that she finds something to do in life, other than making movies with her thumbs as the main characters. When Clint (Ozzy Myers), an eight year old boy, starts hanging around, the two form a mutual kinship through their bond and a shared sense of loss and Anna begins to confront her regressive lifestyle.

Getting back to the bigger films of the fortnight, we have the sequel to the original Independence Day, Independence Day: Resurgence. We always knew they were coming back, and now they're here! It's been twenty years since they first invaded and the Earth is now protected by a defence network, created from technology recovered from the invading spacecraft but will it be enough. Before being defeated, the aliens sent a distress signal and now an even larger fleet is on its way. Is the world ready for a bigger battle than the last one and will it be able to survive?

Although it has a number of "not great" reviews and crazy plot, I thought I would still mention Gods of Egypt as a lot of money went into this mad film. Gerard Butler plays Set [with a Scottish accent], the Egyptian god of disorder and now self-proclaimed ruler of Egypt after taking the throne from Horus (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau). Now the god of the air must work with a mortal thief named Bek (Brenton Thwaites) to restore himself to the throne and peace throughout the land.

The third film from the Barbershop franchise is Barbershop: The Next Cut. Twelve years after our last appointment, the shop has undergone some changes with the once male dominated team gaining some new colleagues. Now, as their surrounding community has taken a turn for the worse, the crew at Calvin's Barbershop come together to bring some much needed change to their neighbourhood.

 
In the dying days on the American civil war, sisters Augusta (Brit Marling) and Louise (Hailee Steinfeld), along with slave Mad (Muna Otaru) are struggling to get by in this old west drama, The Keeping Room. After going into town, Augusta is attacked by two drunken soldiers, Moses (Sam Worthington) and Henry (Kyle Soller), but manages to escape back to their isolated house. Determined to finish what they had started, the soldiers track down the house and begin to harass the women and attempt to enter their home so the three women must take up arms to defend themselves, at whatever cost.

And finally, The Meddler. After the death of her husband and armed with an iPhone and a full bank account, the eternally optimistic Marnie (Susan Sarandon) moves to Los Angeles to be closer to her daughter Lori (Rose Byrne). When dozens of texts, unexpected visits and conservations dominated by unsolicited advice start arriving, Lori is forced to set personally boundaries, Marnie finds a way to channel her optimism and forceful generosity to change the lives of others and herself, helping her to find a new purpose in life. 

UK Release Dates
Barbershop: The Next Cut                17 June 2016 TRAILER

Gods of Egypt                                17 June 2016 TRAILER
The Keeping Room                           17 June 2016 TRAILER  
The Secret Lifre of Pets                   18 June 2016 TRAILER 
Independance Day: Resurgence         23 June 2016 TRAILER
Adult Life Skills                               24 June 2016 TRAILER
The Meddler                                  24 June 2016 TRAILER

USA/Canada Release Dates
No Stranger Than Love                    17 June 2016 TRAILER

Helena Bonham Carter and Mindy Kaling join the upcoming Ocean's Eleven movie

Who is excited for the new, all-female, Ocean's Eleven reboot, or is a remake, or a sequel? Well, apparently it is going to be a spinoff of the 2001 trilogy starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Personally, with the number of big blockbusters due out in the near future, I had forgotten that this movie was still on the horizon.

So, as it will be a spinoff and reportedly going to be titled "Ocean's Ocho" (Spanish for eight) as the number of characters in this heist comedy will be reduced by three, what will remain the same? We know that Sandra Bullock is set to lead the cast as the sister of Danny Ocean, played by George Clooney, and like her brother, she will be an ex-con. The project is being kept pretty much under wraps at the moment, so not much else is known about the movie other than it will star Cate Blanchett alongside Sandra Bullock and according to Showbiz411, Helena Bonham Carter and Mindy Kaling were recently added to the cast list.

Jennifer Lawrence was another name floating around for a while but she could not take part in the film due to her busy schedule. The latest rumour is that Elizabeth Banks, star of Pitch Perfect and The Hunger Games, will take a spot in the film but this still leaves three places in the team unknown, so who could be filling them. Someone from the original movies perhaps, although we do know that George Clooney will not be in it. 

With still no official release date set, it could be tomorrow or we may have to wait a while until we hear anything else confirmed.

Could a Scarlet Witch movie ever happen? There's just one condition.

It feels like the only news I'm reading, as well as writing, at the moment is about Marvel movies. I know that this is a very popular theme in movie news nowadays, with new updates about multiple upcoming movies all the time but I am sorry, partly to myself, about that as that is not what this blog was created for. Anyway, now that I have said that, here is some more news about the MCU.

Last month, we saw Elizabeth Olsen return to the big screen as the Scarlet Witch in her second MCU film. During her two films we have only begun to see the character scratch the surface when it comes to her powers, controlling minds in Avengers: Age of Ultron and then showing her telekinetic abilities in Captain America: Civil War. As such as powerful character, should Wanda Maximoff be given the chance to show off more of her powers in a Scarlet Witch solo movie?

 
When recently asked by the Huffington Post, Olsen said that she wouldn't be against the idea of a solo movie, as long as one condition was met. 

"It's not something I'm opposed to, but it's also something that has to make a lot of sense. I wouldn't just do it just to do it. It'd have to make sense for how it advances in the world. But I'd be open to talking about it. I'd never say no to just an idea."

So, if the actress who plays her is willing, could a Scarlet Witch solo movie be on the cards? I would definitely be excited to see it, but I think it unlikely to happen. However, there are arguments to be made both for and against the possibility of the film ever coming to fruition.

Firstly, Marvel seems to be steering away from solo movies at the moment, at least for its established characters, with the latest Captain America film having a huge line-up as well as the Hulk starring in Thor: Ragnarok and Tony Stark visiting Queens to see Spiderman again next year, so could the chance of a solo movie be shrinking. If necessary, there is always the possibility of a team-up movie to explore the chemistry between Scarlet Witch and Vision that we saw in Civil War and an even more out-there idea is a magical team-up with Doctor Strange in an MCU Phase 4 (or 5) film. 

But... as the Marvel Cinematic Universe becomes ever more diverse, with more female superheroes, such as Captain Marvel and the Wasp, taking the lead in their own movies, the idea is not impossible. Kevin Feige had even stated that, of all the secondary characters, Marvel is "most committing to doing [a] Black Widow [movie]". If it was to happen though, it may take a while as the studio has already announced that they have their movies planned out up until 2028, although admittedly, we still do not know which characters those movies will focus on. Could there already be a Scarlet Witch movie in the works that we, as fans, don't know about yet?

Could Brie Larson play Marvel's Captain Marvel?

It's still a long way off and there are plenty of other movies to come before we see Captain Marvel join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it looks as though we could find out who will play the Air Force pilot turned superhero very soon. Marvel Studios president, Kevin Feige, said last month that the studio would "be announcing a filmmaker […] and probably some cast members later in the summer” and with the Academy Award-winning Brie Larson already in talks with Marvel, it is looking like she may get the role, with sources saying that she is not only the frontrunner but that she herself is also leaning towards playing the part.

 
There have been other names flying around the internet as fans argue over who would best suit the role. Some of those names include Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson and Charlize Theron, but I think Brie Larson is a great actress and a great choice. Marvel often chooses the less high profile and the more unexpected actors to take up the superhero persona and this is one example of that. Others include Chris Pratt as Star-Lord, Elizabeth Olsen as Scarlet Witch and the recent introduction of Tom Holland as Spiderman. There are some possible exceptions of Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans as Iron Man and Cap’, but bigger names may have been necessary to jump start the Universe.

Captain Marvel first appeared in the Marvel Universe in 1967 and has gone through several incarnations since then but the version we will see on the big screen will be Carol Danvers. Already known as Ms. Marvel after an accident led to her DNA to be fused with that of alien origin which left her with powers including flight and increased strength, Carol Danvers took the mantle of Captain Marvel in 2012 and in 2019, she will become the first female character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to lead her own movie.

However, Danvers’ solo movie may not be her first appearance in the MCU. With the Captain Marvel movie having been pushed back to after the Avengers: Infinity War - Part 1 (still to be renamed) and the current line-up of Avengers probably needing as much superhero help as they can get to defeat Thanos, Captain Marvel could be introduced to the MCU through the ensemble movie, similar to Spidey and Black Panther’s introductions through Captain America: Civil War. This theory can also be backed up by what seems to be a genuinely accidental admission of the characters appearance from the Russo Brothers’ during recent promotion for the next Avengers movie.

Larson can be next seen in the independent musical comedy, Basmati Blues and then in next year’s reboot of the King Kong franchise, Kong: Skull Island. 

As for Captain Marvel, the movie is due out on the 8th of March, 2019.