Tag Archives: movie synopsis

First look: Meet Marvel’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’

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Here’s our first official look at Marvel’s upcoming superhero movie Guardians of the Galaxy. From left to right there’s Zoe Saldana’s Gamora, Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord), a raccoon named Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper), Drax the Destroyer (played by wrestler Dave Bautista), and a giant tree named Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel). United as one they are the Guardians of the Galaxy, and under James Gunn’s direction they band together in theatres August 1, 2014. Also starring are Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close as Commander Rael, and Benicio del Toro as The Collector.

In addition to this slick pic is the flick’s first official synopsis and it goes like this:

From Marvel, the studio that brought you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Avengers, comes a new team–the Guardians of the Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos, where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits–Rocket, a gun-toting raccoon; Groot, a tree-like humanoid; the deadly and enigmatic Gamora; and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand–with the galaxy’s fate in the balance.

[Via Marvel]

Movie poster: ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ [Update: An “announcement trailer” has arrived!]

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Today Paramount released the first poster for the highly anticipated sequel Star Trek Into Darkness. Who is that standing in the middle of debris and destruction? Is it Chris Pine’s Captain Kirk, or can it be the film’s antagonist (rumored to be Khan) played by Benedict Cumberbatch?

Whoever it may be, there’s no denying that the poster in general evokes an eerily similar scene of gritty chaos we envisioned with the Dark Knight Rises artwork. In Christopher Nolan’s piece, the crumbling city of Gotham was shaped into the Bat symbol. In J.J. Abrams’ art, a still unknown city on Earth is wasted and its ashes form the iconic Starfleet Delta symbol. Whether or not this imitation was intended by the marketing team (it had to have been, right?!), it serves to tell audiences that Into Darkness (if the subtitle didn’t hint at this already) is going to attempt to tell a gritty, dark tale involving our Enterprise crew and a formidable foe.

In addition to the poster, the studio also released an official synopsis that shines a light on the tightly wrapped plot.

When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.

With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction.

As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Star Trek Into Darkness is out May 17, 2013. And don’t forget that theatres will be screening the first nine minutes of the film leading into select showings of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey beginning December 14.

Update (12/6): I found something you’ll want to watch over and over again today. Paramount has dropped a teaser trailer (or what they’re calling an “announcement trailer”) for Star Trek Into Darkness. Each tantalizing glimpse is brief but there are so many of them it’s hard to shake off the sheer amount of excitement and anticipation. The best part, though, has to be what is heard, not seen. Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the still unidentified villain, narrates: “You think your world is safe. It is an illusion. A comforting lie told to protect you. Enjoy these final moments of peace. For I have returned…to have…my…vengeance. So, shall we begin?” Hey Trekkies, I wonder who that could be…

Watch the teaser trailer after the break. Continue reading Movie poster: ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ [Update: An “announcement trailer” has arrived!] →

UPDATE: ‘Iron Man 3’ official first trailer is here

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Update (10/23): As promised, Marvel has let loose the first full-length official trailer for Iron Man 3 today and it is mind-numbingly phenomenal. Tony Stark is having nightmares following the events “in New York” (aka The Avengers), Pepper Potts is in trouble, and at last we are formally introduced to Stark’s latest nemesis Mandarin (portrayed by Ben Kingsley) who believes there is no such thing as heroes. Voice overs from Iron Man and Mandarin, as well as crazy explosions and an epic score make this one exciting trailer that will surely induce a nerdgasm of intense proportions.

Eye official pictures from the movie at Apple Trailers. The short teaser has been relocated to after the break.

Previously: Today Marvel unleashed a trailer teaser (not even considered a teaser trailer) for Iron Man 3. The first real trailer is coming Tuesday, October 23, but the powers that be thought it’d be fun to tease the lengthier first look with this extremely brief, 17-second clip. Glean what you can from it, and then read the official synopsis below. Check back here on Tuesday for the upcoming trailer.

Marvel Studios’ Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy’s hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley, Iron Man 3 is directed by Shane Black from a screenplay by Drew Pearce and Shane Black.

Iron Man 3 hits theatres May 3, 2013. Continue reading UPDATE: ‘Iron Man 3’ official first trailer is here →

A 5-minute 41-second trailer for ‘Cloud Atlas’, a genre-defying film from The Wachowskis & Tom Tykwer

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Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave dramatically through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future.

That is the official synopsis out now for the upcoming film Cloud Atlas. Written for the screen and directed by siblings Andy and Lana Wachowski (The Matrix) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), Cloud Atlas is adapted from a 2004 novel written by David Mitchell. The epic tale tells multiple stories and intricately weaves them all together. It spans across centuries and travels between the past, present, and future. And it cannot be delegated to a single genre; Cloud Atlas is a romance story with elements of action-adventure, fantasy, mystery, and sci-fi. It’s also being described as political and philosophical. “Why keep genres separated?” exclaims Andy Washowski.

It’s got a great cast: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D’Arcy, Zhou Xun , Keith David, David Gyasi, Susan Sarandon, and Hugh Grant. And get this: The majority of these actors will be playing multiple characters in the film. “We all see this amazing opportunity to use the entire cast in multiple roles,” the filmmakers explain. “We love actors and we saw this chance to not just play different characters, but different ages, different races, different genders. Representing a core concept of the book: an idea of connectedness and karma, each character inheriting the consequences of their lives.”

To spread the word of their upcoming genre-defying epic, the Wachowskis and Twyker released a very long trailer maxing out at 5 minutes and 41 seconds. You’ll really get a sense of the massive scope Cloud Atlas brings to the table, both visually and in its storytelling format. For more, jump after the break to watch the filmmakers discuss how the movie came together and what movie-goers can expect from such a unique work of art.

Cloud Atlas hits theatres October 26. Continue reading A 5-minute 41-second trailer for ‘Cloud Atlas’, a genre-defying film from The Wachowskis & Tom Tykwer →

Trailer: ‘Men in Black 3’

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A decade after our last encounter with The Men in Black, they’re back. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones return in the third installment in the Men in Black franchise as Agent J and Agent K, respectively. Also returning is director Barry Sonnenfeld who helmed the original way back in 1997 and the sequel in 2002. The first trailer reveals an interesting plotline involving Agent J traveling back in time to save K. In the ’60s, young K is played by none other than Josh Brolin. Here’s the official synopsis:

In Men in Black 3, Agents J (Will Smith) and K (Tommy Lee Jones) are back… in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K’s life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him — secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind.

With updated CGI, a fun time-travel story, and a Will Smith who hasn’t seem to age at all over the last ten years, Men in Black III looks like it’s going to be a winner for Sony Pictures when it hits theatres May 25, 2012.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. The trailer shows no sign of a catchy Will Smith tune to hype you up for the film’s release. My question is… will it live up to the 1997 diddy “Men in Black” or (dare I say) 2004’s mega-hit “Black Suits Comin’ (Nod Ya Head)”? And you know he’s gonna star in an equally thug music video, too!

Trailer: ‘The Three Stooges’

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Here’s our first look at the The Three Stooges from the Farrelly Brothers. Sean Hayes, Chris Diamantopoulos, and Will Sasso are Larry, Moe, and Curly, respectively, and they star in this zany, slightly nostalgic trailer that places the trio in modern day. Originally enthused about this remake, now I’m not so sure how I feel. The slapstick comedy and classic sound effects are fun, but did they really have to resort to including the cast of The Jersey Shore? The Stooges return April 4, 2012. Here’s the latest synopsis:

Left on a nun’s doorstep, Larry, Curly and Moe grow up finger-poking, nyuk-nyuking and woo-woo-wooing their way to uncharted levels of knuckleheaded misadventure. Out to save their childhood home, only The Three Stooges could become embroiled in an oddball murder plot…while also stumbling into starring in a phenomenally successful TV reality show.

Red band teaser: ‘American Reunion’

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It was reported back in April of 2010 that the entire cast of the original American Pie trilogy would return in a new movie. I am happy to report that it has all panned out: the gang is back for “one more slice,” that is, according to the official movie website. Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Shannon Elizabeth, Tara Reid, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy, Natasha Lyonne, Mena Suvari, Jennifer Coolidge, Thomas Ian Nichols, and Chris Owen are all expected to return. In the fourth installment, Jim is still married to Michelle and now they have a kid! I’ll leave the rest to the released synopsis:

In the comedy American Reunion, all the American Pie characters we met a little more than a decade ago return to East Great Falls for their high-school reunion. In one long-overdue weekend, they will discover what has changed, who hasn’t and that time and distance can’t break the bonds of friendship. It was summer 1999 when four small-town Michigan boys began a quest to lose their virginity. In the years that have passed, Jim and Michelle married while Kevin and Vicky said goodbye. Oz and Heather grew apart, but Finch still longs for Stifler’s mom. Now these lifelong friends have come home as adults to reminisce about—and get inspired by—the hormonal teens who launched a comedy legend.

Watch the red band teaser trailer above. American Reunion hits theatres April 6, 2012.

Trailer: A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas

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After trekking to White Castle and busting out of Guantanamo Bay, Harold & Kumar are ready to take on the holiday season in A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas. And they’re going to do it in style: the third flick in the stoner franchise is 3D. Here’s the setup:

After years of growing apart, Harold Lee and Kumar Patel have replaced each other with new friends and are preparing for their respective Yuletide celebrations. But when a mysterious package mistakenly arrives at Kumar’s door on Christmas Eve, his attempt to redirect it to Harold’s house ends with the “high grade” contents — and Harold’s father-in-law’s prize Christmas tree — going up in smoke. With his in-laws out of the house for the day, Harold decides to cover his tracks, rather than come clean. Reluctantly embarking on another ill-advised journey with Kumar through New York City, their search for the perfect replacement tree takes them through party heaven — and almost blows Christmas Eve sky high.

David Krumholtz and Eddie Kaye Thomas reprise their roles as Goldstein and Rosenberg, and of course Neil Patrick Harris is back playing an outlandish version of himself. Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, directors and writers of the first two movies, penned the script and Todd Strauss Schulson was brought on to direct.

The trailer hints at so much we can look forward to: Harold wields a shotgun and shoots Santa out of the sky; NPH makes it into heaven and greets Jesus with this line: “you’re one of those”; he also gets a musical number; the stoners take a trip in claymation form; the fact that the movie is in 3D is acknowledged head-on by MADtv alum Bobby Lee; and hot women. Plus there’s bound to be a smorgasbord of memorable cameos; according to IMDb you can expect Danny Trejo, Thomas Lennon, Patton Oswalt, and Elias Koteas to show up at some point. Maria (Paula Garcés), Harold’s love interest from White Castle, is also expected to make a return.

Thankfully you won’t have to wait much longer; A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas hits theatres November 4.

Trailer: In Time

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In the late 21st century TIME has replaced MONEY as the unit of currency. At 25 years old, aging stops and each person is given one more year to live. Unless you replenish your clock…you die.

Intrigued, are you? Read on for the synopsis:

When Will Salas is falsely accused of murder, he must figure out a way to bring down a system where time is money — literally — enabling the wealthy to live forever while the poor, like Will, have to beg, borrow, and steal enough minutes to make it through another day.

Pop star-turned-actor Justin Timberlake stars in this must-see sci-fi action thriller along with Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Galecki (The Big Bang Theory), Alex Pettyfer, Matt Bomer (White Collar), Olivia Wilde, and Cillian Murphy. Andrew Niccol (Gattaca) directs. Watch an extended look at the film after the break.

In Time (originally titled I’m.mortal) hits theatres October 28, 2011. Continue reading Trailer: In Time →

Trailer: Martin Scorsese’s Hugo

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Scorsese’s fully embracing 3D with his upcoming flick Hugo. The family-friendly adventure film stars Asa Butterfield (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas), the phenomenal Chloë Moretz (Kick-Ass, Let Me In), Ben Kingsley, Jude Law, and Sacha Baron Cohen. ComingSoon.net provides a synopsis:

Hugo tells the story of an orphan boy living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station. With the help of an eccentric girl, he searches for the answer to a mystery linking the father he recently lost, the ill-tempered toy shop owner living below him and a heart shaped lock, seemingly without a key. Based on Brian Selznick’s award winning and imaginative New York Times bestseller, “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” this magical tale is Academy Award-winner Martin Scorsese’s first film shot in 3D.

Dig the trailer above. Hugo hits theatres November 23, 2011.

Trailer: Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol

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Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt in the fourth installment of the Mission: Impossible franchise. Ghost Protocol is directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles). Ving Rhames and Simon Pegg reprise as Luther Stickell and Benji Dunn, respectively, and Jeremy Renner, Josh Holloway (Lost‘s Sawyer), Anil Kapoor, Paula Patton, Vladimir Mashkov, Michael Nyqvist, and Lea Seydoux join the cast. M:I 4 is a Bad Robot Production; J.J. Abrams produced the film (with Cruise and Paula Wagner) and co-wrote it with André Nemec and Josh Appelbaum (these guys previously worked with Abrams on Alias).

Here’s a synopsis that’s making rounds across the ‘Net: This is not just another mission. The IMF is shut down when it’s implicated in a global terrorist bombing plot. Ghost Protocol is initiated and Ethan Hunt and his rogue new team must go undercover to clear their organization’s name. No help, no contact, off the grid. You have never seen a mission grittier and more intense than this.

The trailer, in a word, is awesomesauce. It’s action-packed, thrilling, and sexy–a great mix if you ask me. And how insane is that final sequence we’re left with? Cruise actually scaled Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, to get the shot. Plus the theme song, it never gets old.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol hits standard and IMAX theatres on December 16, 2011.

Pixar ventures into new territory with upcoming fairy tale ‘Brave’ [Update: teaser trailer]

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Oh, isn’t it beautiful? Take some time to scan the official movie poster for Pixar’s Brave above.

Pixar’s thirteenth animated film Brave is going to shake things up on more than one level. Firstly, go girls: Brenda Chapman is helming the film alongside Mark Andrews; she is the Pixar’s first female director. In addition, the movie stars Princess Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald), the first female protagonist in a Pixar film. Second, Brave plans to go where no Pixar film has ventured before. “What we want to get across [with the teaser] is that this story has some darker elements,” co-director Mark Andrews spills to EW. “Not to frighten off our Pixar fans — we’ll still have all the comedy and the great characters. But we get a little bit more intense here.”

The animation is spectacular, and the first official poster really does an impressive job getting that idea across. The detail is incredible. See those stones looming behind the letters? “[They] are actually a pretty important set in the film,” producer Katherine Sarafian tells EW. “We can’t say what happens there, but they were inspired by an actual location in Scotland that we visited multiple times during our research. It was a very powerful setting for the kind of things we want to have happen in the story.”

Here’s a brief synopsis of the story: Brave is set in the mystical Scottish Highlands, where Merida is the princess of a kingdom ruled by King Fergus (Billy Connolly) and Queen Elinor (Emma Thompson). An unruly daughter and an accomplished archer, Merida one day defies a sacred custom of the land and inadvertently brings turmoil to the kingdom. In an attempt to set things right, Merida seeks out an eccentric old Wise Woman (Julie Walters) and is granted an ill-fated wish. Also figuring into Merida’s quest — and serving as comic relief — are the kingdom’s three lords: the enormous Lord MacGuffin (Kevin McKidd), the surly Lord Macintosh (Craig Ferguson), and the disagreeable Lord Dingwall (Robbie Coltrane).

Brave is slated to release in 3D on June 22, 2012. After a look at this grand poster, anticipation is high. A teaser trailer is expected to play before Cars 2 (which hits theatres tomorrow, June 24). Once it hits the ‘Net I’ll make sure to embed it after the break.

Update: The teaser trailer has arrived. And it’s just as gorgeous and thrilling as you probably expected it to be. Watch it after the break.

[Via EW-InsideMovies] Continue reading Pixar ventures into new territory with upcoming fairy tale ‘Brave’ [Update: teaser trailer] →