THE PHOENIX FILM FESTIVAL STARTS APRIL 4th! Get some info here!!

Today is the first of March! What this means is the Phoenix Film Festival, which runs from April 4th to 14th, is fast approaching!

The festival already has the first round of the film’s up on their site and will be adding more films to it over the next few weeks. Time to start looking at what to go see and get your tickets early so you don’t miss out… as I did a few times last year!

Prepare ahead of time! You don’t want to miss out!

Hellboy (2019) ‘Red Band’ Trailer

HELLBOY

Based on the graphic novels by Mike Mignola, Hellboy, caught between the worlds of the supernatural and human, battles an ancient sorceress bent on revenge.

Starring: David Harbour, Milla Jovovich, and Ian McShane, Sasha Lane, Penelope Mitchell, with Daniel Dae Kim.
Directed by: Neil Marshall 

Lionsgate and Millennium Films present, a Lawrence Gordon/Lloyd Levin production, in association with Dark Horse Entertainment, a Nu Boyana production, in association with Campbell Grobman Films.

Social Media: 

http://www.Hellboy.movie
https://www.facebook.com/hellboymovie
https://twitter.com/HellboyMovie
https://www.instagram.com/hellboymovie/

In Theaters April 12

http://www.fandango.com

Rocking the Couch Trailer

One of the most important releases of the year, ‘ROCKING THE COUCH,’ now available On Demand from Avail Films.
 
Hollywood titans, Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby, have been brought to their knees by the #MeToo movement. But they did not invent Casting Couch. The term casting couch has existed for decades. But in 1992, a case against talent agent, Wallace Kaye, was brought to court by 12 unknown actresses, who braved the loss of their careers, their privacy, and their Hollywood dreams. They stepped forward, despite the advice of their union, and brought the case to the police. Against all odds, they won, and no one listened.
 
Our documentary explores the case and asks, “Why didn’t we hear about this?” More importantly, why didn’t Hollywood learn from this case? For, if they had, maybe the Cosbys and the Weinsteins would have learned as well, and these sexual exploitations could have been prevented.
 
“Those who ignore history are bound to repeat it.”

In Theaters May 15

http://www.fandango.com

ED HELMS TO NARRATE DISNEYNATURE’S ‘PENGUINS’

PENGUINS

U.S. Release Date: April 17, 2019

Ed Helms (“The Office,” “The Hangover” trilogy, “The Daily Show with John Stewart”) is diving in with “Penguins” this spring as narrator of Disneynature’s upcoming theatrical feature. The coming-of-age story follows an AdĂ©lie penguin named Steve who joins millions of fellow males in the icy Antarctic spring on a quest to build a suitable nest, find a life partner and start a family. None of it comes easily for him, especially considering he’s targeted by everything from killer whales to leopard seals, who unapologetically threaten his happily ever after.

“Disney movies are filled with poignancy and real emotion, but also are extremely funny and relatable—this movie is no different,” says Helms. “It’s a true-life adventure with real footage of penguins in Antarctica, but told in a way that tugs at your heartstrings a little and also has quite a few chuckles. For me, this movie is a very cool mash-up of narration and character work. I get to voice Steve’s inner monologue as well as straight narration. It was a really fun challenge for me—a privilege getting to imagine what this penguin might be thinking—and I’m really excited about it.”  

Check out a video Helms recorded to share the announcement:

As an actor, writer and comedian, Helms established himself as one of Hollywood’s most beloved performers with scene-stealing roles on both film and television including NBC’s award-winning comedy series, “The Office,” and the box office smash hit film trilogy “The Hangover.”

“Penguins,” the first-ever Disneynature film to be released in IMAX® as the label, celebrates 10 years since its first feature film hit theaters. The film continues Disneynature’s conservation tradition: for every ticket sold opening week (April 17-23, 2019), Disneynature will make a donation to the Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) to help protect penguins across the southern hemisphere. Founded in 2002, WCN invests in a select network of on-the-ground conservationists, including top experts in the field of penguins like the Global Penguin Society (GPS). The worldwide leader in science-based penguin conservation, GPS champions specific programs that align with Disneynature’s conservation mission.

From the filmmaking team behind “Bears” and “Chimpanzee,” Disneynature’s “Penguins” opens in theaters in time for Earth Day.

PENGUINS

DISNEYNATURE

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U.S. Release Date: April 17, 2019

Narrator: Ed Helms

Directors: Alastair Fothergill, Jeff Wilson 

Producers: Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield, Keith Scholey, Roy Conli

Composer: Harry Gregson-Williams

A STAR IS BORN INVITES YOU TO A SPECIAL ENCORE ENGAGEMENT OF THE FILM, WITH NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN MOMENTS!!

“A STAR IS BORN” INVITES MOVIEGOERS TO A SPECIAL ENCORE ENGAGEMENT OF THE FILM, FEATURING NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN MOMENTS

The award-winning movie, with almost 12 minutes of additional footage, including extended musical performances, will be released on 1150+ screens in North America for one week beginning Friday, March 1

Burbank, CA – February 27, 2019 – This Friday, March 1, for one week only, Warner Bros. Pictures will release an “Encore” version of Bradley Cooper’s global hit “A Star Is Born” in theaters throughout the U.S. and Canada.  This special edition of the film contains extended performances of such songs as opener “Black Eyes”; “Alibi”; and Lady Gaga’s Ally in her impromptu a cappella performance of “Shallow,” which received the Oscar for Best Original Song at the 91st Annual Academy Awards, following Cooper and Gaga’s moving performance during the ceremony. 

Moviegoers will also be treated to never-before-seen footage of Ally singing to Jack “Is That Alright?” in the wedding sequence; Jack in his studio singing “Too Far Gone”; Jack and Ally writing a new song together, entitled “Clover”; and much more, totaling nearly 12 additional minutes.

HERE IS THE LINK TO PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS

About “A Star Is Born”

In “A Star Is Born,” Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga fuse their considerable talents to depict the raw and passionate tale of Jack and Ally, two artistic souls coming together, on stage and in life.  Theirs is a complex journey through the beauty and the heartbreak of a relationship struggling to survive.

In this new take on the iconic love story, seven-time Oscar nominee Cooper (“A Star Is Born,” “American Sniper,” “American Hustle,” “Silver Linings Playbook”), made his directorial debut.  He stars alongside multiple award-winning music superstar Gaga, who took home the Oscar for Best Original Song for “Shallow,” and who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress in her first leading role in a major motion picture.  Cooper portrays seasoned musician Jackson Maine, who discovers and falls in love with struggling artist Ally.  She has given up on her dream to become a successful singer until she meets Jack, who immediately sees her natural talent.

            The film also stars Andrew Dice Clay (“Blue Jasmine”), with Dave Chappelle (“Chi-Raq”) and Sam Elliott in his Oscar-nominated performance for Best Supporting Actor.

In addition to playing Ally, Gaga—who also previously earned an Oscar nod for the song “Til It Happens to You” from the film “The Hunting Ground”—performs original songs in the film with Cooper, which they wrote with a handful of artists, including Lukas Nelson, Jason Isbell, and newly minted Oscar winners Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt and Anthony Rossomando (Best Original Song, “Shallow”).  The music is original and all vocals for the movie were recorded live during filming.

            “A Star Is Born” was produced by Bill Gerber, Jon Peters, Bradley Cooper, Todd Phillips and Lynette Howell Taylor.  Ravi Mehta, Basil Iwanyk, Niija Kuykendall, Sue Kroll, Michael Rapino and Heather Parry served as executive producers.  The screenplay was written by Oscar-winner Eric Roth (“Forrest Gump”) and Bradley Cooper & Will Fetters.

Cooper’s behind-the-scenes team included Oscar-nominated director of photography Matthew Libatique (“Black Swan”), production designer Karen Murphy (“The Light Between Oceans”), three-time Oscar-nominated editor Jay Cassidy (“American Hustle,” “Silver Linings Playbook,” “Into the Wild”), and costume designer Erin Benach (“Loving”).

            Warner Bros. Pictures Presents, in association with Live Nation Productions, in association with Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures, a Jon Peters/Bill Gerber/Joint Effort Production, “A Star Is Born.”  The film is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.  It is rated R for language throughout, some sexuality/nudity and substance abuse.

www.astarisbornmovie.com

Dark Phoenix Trailer

DARK PHOENIX

Written and Directed by: Simon Kinberg


Produced by: Simon Kinberg, Hutch Parker, Lauren Shuler Donner, Todd Hallowell

SYNOPSIS

In DARK PHOENIX, the X-MEN face their most formidable and powerful foe: one of their own, Jean Grey. During a rescue mission in space, Jean is nearly killed when she is hit by a mysterious cosmic force. Once she returns home, this force not only makes her infinitely more powerful but far more unstable. Wrestling with this entity inside her, Jean unleashes her powers in ways she can neither comprehend nor contain. With Jean spiraling out of control and hurting the ones she loves most, she begins to unravel the very fabric that holds the X-Men together. Now, with this family falling apart, they must find a way to unite — not only to save Jean’s soul but to save our very planet from aliens who wish to weaponize this force and rule the galaxy.

The film stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Evan Peters, and Jessica Chastain.
DARK PHOENIX is scored by composer
 Hans Zimmer. 

DARK PHOENIX Official Channels

OFFICIAL SITE: www.DarkPhoenix.com

FACEBOOK: www.Facebook.com/XMenMovies

TWITTER: www.Twitter.com/XMenMovies

INSTAGRAM: www.Instagram.com/XMenMovies

HASHTAG: #DarkPhoenix

In Theaters June 7

http://www.fandango.com

Storm Boy Trailer

A beautiful and contemporary retelling of Colin Thiele’s classic Australian tale. ‘Storm Boy’ has grown up to be Michael Kingley, a successful retired businessman and grandfather. When Kingley starts to see images from his past that he can’t explain, he is forced to remember his long-forgotten childhood, growing up on an isolated coastline with his father. He recounts to his granddaughter the story of how, as a boy, he rescued and raised an extraordinary orphaned pelican, Mr. Percival. Their remarkable adventures and very special bond has a profound effect on all their lives. Based on the beloved book, Storm Boy is a timeless story of an unusual and unconditional friendship.

DIRECTED BY: Shawn Seet

PRODUCED BY: Matthew Street & Michael Boughen

SCREENPLAY BY: Justin Monjo

CAST: Jai Courtney, Geoffrey Rush, Finn Little, Trevor Jamison, Morgana Davies, Erik Thompson

US DISTRIBUTOR: Good Deed Entertainment

RUN TIME: 98 minutes

RATING: PG

The Dove Take: Storm Boy is a deeply touching film about holistic stewardship that shows characters in an intimate light as they learn how to protect what they love.

Social Media:

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

#StormBoy

Visit the Site

In Theaters April 5

http://www.fandango.com

2018 Awards Winners vs. MY picks!

This years Academy Award®-Winners were quite different than what I had anticipated but what and who won was hardly disappointing. 2018 was a good year in film and in several catagories, it was hard to choose who I thought was the more worthy of the gold. Here are my pics for some of the best. My ultimate choice for the winner in these categories will be in bold type and italics following a list of four others, in order of best to worst, that I sent to the Phoenix Critics Circle to be widdled down for our Oscar nominations.

Under my choice will be the selections that were in the envelopes on awards night. How’d I do?? Keep in mind these are sent in early.
*Again, my choices are listed below but HERE is a link to the Phoenix Critics Circle and the winners we sent to the Academy this year. You’ll notice that some groups are ours and ours alone. 

Best Film – BlacKkKlansman, Roma, First Reformed, A Star Is Born, Leave No Trace

Academy Award®-Winner: Green Book

Best Director – Spike Lee for BlacKkKlansman, Alfonso Cuaron for Roma, Yorgos Lanthimos for The Favourite, Bradley Cooper for A Star is Born, Paul Dano for Wildlife

Academy Award®-Winner: Alfonso Cuaron

Best Film Based on a Graphic Novel or Comic Book – Black Panther, Venom, Deadpool 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp

Best Documentary – Free Solo, Won’t You Be My Neighbor, RBG, Active Measures, McQueen

Academy Award®-Winner: Free Solo

Best Foreign Language Film – Roma, Cold War, Shoplifters, The Interpreter, Burning

Academy Award®-Winner: Roma

Best Animated Feature – Isle of Dogs, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Incredibles 2, The Grinch, Ralph Breaks the Internet

Academy Award®-Winner: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Best Horror Features – A Quiet Place, Halloween, The First Purge, Hereditary, Upgrade

Best Science Fiction Film – Ready Player One, Solo, The Predator, The Meg, Annihilation

Best Comedy – The Favourite, Game Night, Eighth Grade, Crazy Rich Asians, Sorry to Bother You

Best Actor – Ethan Hawke for First Reformed, Rami Malek for Bohemian Rhapsody, TimothĂ©e Chalamet for Beautiful Boy, Bradley Cooper for A Star Is Born, Joaquin Phoenix for You Were Never Really Here

Academy Award®-Winner: Rami Malek 

Best Supporting Actor – Adam Driver for BlacKkKlansman, Richard E. Grant for Can You Ever Forgive Me? Steve Carell for Beautiful Boy, Michael B. Jordan for Black Panther, Stephan James for If Beale Street Could Talk

Academy Award®-Winner: Mahershala Ali — Green Book

Best Actress – Melissa McCarthy for Can You Ever Forgive Me? Lady Gaga for A Star is Born, Emily Blunt for Mary Poppins Returns, Yalitza Aparicio for Roma, Felicity Jones for On the Basis of Sex

Academy Award®-Winner: Olivia Colman 

Best Supporting Actress – Regina King for If Beale Street Could Talk, Emma Stone for The Favourite, Olivia Colman for The Favourite, Carey Mulligan for Wildlife, Meryl Streep for Mary Poppins Returns

Academy Award®-Winner: Regina King

Best Screenplay – Eighth Grade, First Reformed, Roma, The Favourite, Isle of Dogs

Academy Award®-Winner: Green Book by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly

Best Score – First Man, If Beale Street Could Talk, Black Panther, Green Book, Mary Poppins Returns
Academy Award®-Winner: Black Panther, Ludwig Goransson

IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THESE MOVIES YET… DO!!!
They couldn’t all win but they could have. Yes. 2018 was a marvelous year in film!! Try and see as many of the listed as possible… even the documentaries. I promise you’ll be surprised and how good they are and thoroughly entertained.    

The Secret Life of Pets 2 ‘Rooster’ Trailer

The Secret Life of Pets 2 will follow summer 2016’s blockbuster about the lives our pets lead after we leave for work or school each day. Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and his longtime collaborator Janet Healy will produce the sequel to the comedy that had the best opening ever for an original film, animated or otherwise.

The Secret Life of Pets 2 will see the return of writer Brian Lynch (Minions) and once again be directed by Chris Renaud (Despicable Me series, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax). www.thesecretlifeofpets.com

Genre: Comedy

Cast: Lake Bell, Hannibal Buress, Dana Carvey, Harrison Ford, Tiffany Haddish, Kevin Hart, Pete Holmes, Garth Jennings, Ellie Kemper, Nick Kroll, Bobby Moynihan, Patton Oswald, Jenny Slate, Eric Stonestreet

Director: Chris Renaud

Co-Director: Jonathan Del Val

Writer: Brian Lynch

Producers: Chris Meledandri, Janet Healy

THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2 

Official Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | #TheSecretLifeofPets2

Angry Birds Movie 2

From Columbia Pictures’ and Sony Pictures Animation comes THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2!


A hilarious all-star cast of new and returning talent are brought together as the flightless birds and scheming green pigs take their beef to the next level.
Directed by: Thurop Van Orman
Screenplay by: Peter Ackerman
Produced by: John Cohen
Starring: Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Leslie Jones, Bill Hader, Danny McBride, Peter Dinklage and Nicki Minaj

Follow them on Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/AngryBirdsMovie https://www.instagram.com/AngryBirdsM… https://www.twitter.com/AngryBirdsMovie