Trailers

Trailer Watch: ‘Goosebumps’, ‘The Finest Hours’, ‘Bridge of Spies’ & ‘Southpaw’ 0 1255

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It’s Trailer Watch time once more, where we collate all the major trailers of the day into one easily digestible dose! Today we present a whole load of new trailers, even more than usual: Goosebumps, The Finest Hours, Bridge of Spies and Southpaw. So let’s get to it, shall we?

First up we have the first trailer for Goosebumps, a live-action adaptation of the popular series of children’s book by R.L. Stine. It features Jack Black in the role of Stine himself, here’s the official plot:

After moving into a small town, a teenage boy named Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) meets Hannah (Odeya Rush), his new neighbor. Hannah’s father, R. L. Stine (Black), who writes the Goosebumps stories, keeps all the ghosts and monsters in the series locked up in his books. When Zach unintentionally releases the ghouls and the monsters from the storybooks, Zach, Hannah, and Stine team up in order to put the monsters back where they came from, before it’s too late.

It’s directed by Rob Letterman (Gulliver’s Travels) and written by Darren Lemke (Jack the Giant Slayer). This one looks like it could be a lot of fun. Watch the new trailer below:

Goosebumps is set for a 3D and 2D release in the UK on February 5th, 2016. The U.S. gets it much sooner on October 16th, 2015.

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Next up we have the first trailer for The Finest Hours, a drama-thriller from Fright Night and Lars and the Real Girl director Craig Gillespie. It has an impressive cast including Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Eric Bana and Casey Affleck. Here’s the plot:

In February of 1952, one of the worst storms to ever hit the East Coast struck New England, damaging an oil tanker off the coast of Cape Cod and literally ripping it in half. On a small lifeboat faced with frigid temperatures and 70-foot high waves, four members of the Coast Guard set out to rescue the more than 30 stranded sailors trapped aboard the rapidly-sinking vessel.

Watch the intense first trailer below:

The Finest Hour is released on January 29th, 2016.

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Moving on we have a new trailer for Bridge of Spies, the latest film from Steven Spielberg. Sporting an impressive cast including Tom Hanks, Alan Alda, Amy Ryan, Sebastian Koch and Mark Rylance, it tells the true story of an American lawyer recruited by the CIA during the Cold War to help rescue a pilot detained in the Soviet Union.

Watch the pretty lengthy new trailer below:

Bridge of Spies is set for release on November 6th, 2015.

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Last up we have the third trailer for Southpaw, an intense-looking sports drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a prize-fighting boxer who fights his way to the top, only to find his life falling down around him.

It’s directed by Antoine Fuqua (Olympus Has Fallen, The Equalizer) and written by Kurt Sutter (TV’s The Shield and Sons of Anarchy). The film looks amazing but the cast alone is worth the price of admission – alongside Gyllenhaal we have Rachel McAdams, Naomie Harris, Forrest Whitaker and, erm… 50 Cent and Rita Ora.

Check out the new trailer below:

Southpaw takes its cinematic bow on July 24th this year.

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Which of these films are you looking forward to most?

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I'm a freelance film reviewer and blogger with over 10 years of experience writing for various different reputable online and print publications. In addition to my running, editing and writing for Thoughts On Film, I am also the film critic for The National, the newspaper that supports an independent Scotland, covering the weekly film releases, film festivals and film-related features. I have a passion for all types of cinema, and have a particular love for foreign language film, especially South Korean and Japanese cinema. Favourite films include The Big Lebowski, Pulp Fiction and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

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Kung Fu Panda 3 Movie Review 0 1703

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This review was previously published in The National newspaper.

YOU would think that by the third part in a blockbuster animated franchise that things would have grown a little stale and repetitive. But that certainly isn’t the case with Kung Fu Panda 3, a sharp, visually resplendent and hugely entertaining third instalment in one of the best Hollywood animated series around.

The ever-lovable, charmingly buffoonish Po the Panda (Jack Black) and anointed Dragon Warrior returns after having saved his beloved village. It follows on from the surprise ending to the previous film that revealed Po’s real father (Bryan Cranston) was not dead, as previously thought. Po then reunites with long-lost dad – much to the dismay of his loving adopted one Mr Ping (James Hong) – who also reveals there’s a village of pandas waiting for his return.

While going back to his roots to get in touch with who he really is, Po learns that the villainous Kai (JK Simmons) has garnered dominating new powers afforded to him by stealing the “chi” of others. It’s then up to Po, Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) and his team of expert warriors to stop him.

All the things that people loved about the first two films – endearing characters, witty dialogue, acrobatic action, colourful visuals – are back and ramped up even further here, with a deft handle on the East-Asian-martial-arts-meets-goofy tone that sets it apart from other animated franchises.

Rather than falling into the sort of lazy narrative traps that many animated series so often do with increasingly cynical cash-grabbing sequels, this finds new ways to inject energy, wit and, when it comes down to it, even great emotional weight to the ongoing storyline.

It extrapolates the sumptuous visual style to greater heights, whether it’s whizz-bang fight sequences or moments of tranquillity that allow you to drink in the beautiful level of technical animation that’s gone into making it. But it also takes an even more ambitious step than before, showing off not only the ever-improving modern, 3D, Hollywood style of animation, but presenting entire sequences in a hand-drawn style that incorporates traditional Chinese painting. It’s a visual tapestry that’s something of a wonder to behold on the big-screen.

But it’s also a film that, like its predecessors, understands you need more than just visuals to make this work, as there’s a pleasing amount of work put into making us feel for the characters. The idea of delving into Po’s past turns out to be a satisfying, rather brilliant turn of plotting that’s at once full of surprises yet makes complete sense in the context of the saga.

Kung Fu Panda 3 is a joy of a film, vibrant and alive with energy, charm, top-notch voice work, memorable gags and a singular visual style that makes you wish you could stay for good in that fully realised animated world.

Competition: Win ‘The Program’ DVD, Poster & Book Prize Pack *CLOSED* 0 1635

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This competition is now closed – we had over 400 entries, our biggest comp yet! 

The winner is: Paul Stephens 

Runners up: Isabelle Smith, Lyndsey Webster and Joy Turner. Congrats!

This week sees the digital release – and next week the DVD/Blu-ray release – of The Program, the latest film from acclaimed director Stephen Frears (The Queen). It tells the controversial true story of Lance Armstrong, the once-revered seven time Tour de France winner who was outed as a steroids cheat.

Ben Foster gives an amazing performance as Armstrong himself and there’s a great supporting cast including Chris O’Dowd as journalist David Walsh, who uncovered the cyclist’s cheating.

To celebrate the film’s digital and home release we’ve teamed up with Studiocanal and Premier PR to give some great prizes away. The winner will receive a prize pack including the film on DVD, a quad poster and the book Seven Deadly Sins upon which the film is based. Three runners up will win a quad poster each.

the program competition dvd the program competition quad poster

The Program book

To enter the competition simply e-mail rosstmiller@thoughtsonfilm.co.uk with the Subject heading “The Program competition.” Make sure to include your delivery details so we can get the prize out to you should you win.

Now for the technical part:

  • UK residents only
  • Entrants must be 18 or over
  • Winners will be chosen at random
  • The prize is non-transferable
  • Competition ends on February 21st at 11:59pm GMT
  • Prize will be sent from PR/studio

Make sure you like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter @TOF_UK

The Program is available on digital download now and will be release on DVD and Blu-ray on February 15th.

Good luck!