Sometimes a likable cast can make an otherwise iffy sounding movie more appealing. Such is the case with the upcoming family comedy from Netflix. The film stars the ever-pleasant Jennifer Garner who makes credit card commercials charming and the talented, often underappreciated Édgar Ramirez. Both will need to use all of their allure in “Yes Day”, a movie that’s built on a pretty shaky premise. But maybe that’s unfair. As the first trailer shows us, all it wants to be is a fun family romp with a little bit of heart. Is that so bad?

Garner and Ramirez play parents in a rut. Tired of always telling their three children “NO”, the couple agree to have a Yes Day. For 24-hours the kids get to make the rules and the parents have to say “YES”. Those of us who are parents know how terribly this would go in the real world. But in “Yes Day” the hijinks-filled adventure brings the family closer together in ways they never thought possible. Now I admit this isn’t my kind of movie meaning I may not be the best judge of such high-energy family chaos. But sometimes happy, fun-loving, all-age-appropriate movies are just what people need.

“Yes Day” premieres March 12th on Netflix. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Really bad decisions and horror movies go together like peanut butter and jelly. There are countless examples: reading the blood-inked Necronomicon, attempting to tame a zombie, reaching down to pull the mask off a downed serial killer, saying Candyman’s name five times to a mirror. In the upcoming “The Devil Below” a group of amateur (key word) explorers visit an old Appalachian mining town that was abandoned 40 years earlier following a mysterious coal mine incident. After seeing the first trailer that proves to be another bad decision.

The film is directed by Bradley Parker who did the not-so-great 2013 horror flick “Chernobyl Diaries”. Much like that film, “The Devil Below” has a good setting and a potentially cool premise. Our first look shows miner Will Patton losing his son to what appears to be a subterranean creature. A few decades later our foolhardy adventurers arrive in the name of ‘research’ only to encounter a grizzled Patton who tries to warn them away. Guess how that goes. I admit, I’m kind of a sucker for these types of movies and I’m rooting for Parker to pull this one off.

“The Devil Below” opens March 5th in select theaters and on VOD. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

It’s hard to believe it’s been thirty-three years since Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall let loose in “Coming to America”. That John Landis comedy was a surprise hit that ended up being 1998’s third highest grossing film at the US box office. Over the years it has maintained its legions of fans mainly due to the great comic chemistry between Murphy and Hall. The two played an assortment of unforgettable side characters from so-bad-he’s-good singer Randy Watson, Clarence the barber, Reverend Brown, and several more.

But now get to “Coming 2 America” which last week released a brand-new trailer. This long talked about sequel sees Murphy’s Prince Akeem of Zamunda returning to New York City with his lifelong best friend and perpetual pot-stirrer Semmi (Hall) to find the son he didn’t know he had, a street-wise kid from Queens named Lavelle (Jermaine Fowler). Akeem takes his son back to Zamunda to teach him the royal ways, flipping the culture clash element that made the first film so much fun. The awesome supporting cast from the first film return along with some fresh faces. The storyline opens up some big questions and capturing the laugh-out-loud humor of the first film will be tough. Can it deliver like its predecessor? I don’t know but we’ll soon see.

“Coming 2 America” premieres March 5th on Amazon Prime. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Well, we finally made it. Following a year of COVID-19 that saw numerous delays and so much industry uncertainty, cinema has finally reached the height of its awards season (well sorta). It kicks into gear with the Hollywood Foreign Press unveiling its Golden Globe nominations. It’s been a bizarre year for movies and it’s reflected in the nominations (announced this yesterday). So as I’m prone to do, here are a few Random Thoughts about this year’s batch.

• Let me go ahead and get this out of the way. The Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy category is easily the worst of the bunch. In all fairness I haven’t seen “Music”, but the rest leave me scratching my head. Three (“Borat”, “Palm Springs”, “The Prom”) range from blah to bad. “Hamilton” is a play, not a movie (yes, I know that’s debatable). I’ll be rooting for Patel.
• BUT the HFPA did a much better job on Best Motion Picture – Drama. Three of the five nominees made my person Top 10, one just missed it. I can go with that.
• And a big tip of the hat to the HFPA for mostly nailing the Best Director category. With the exception of Sorkin (whose film wasn’t bad but wasn’t great), a strong case could be made for each of the nominees. And three women? Thumbs up.
• Not trying to pile on Sorkin, but I can think of several directors I would have rather seen. Nolan, Chung, Vinterberg, Kore-eda, Kaufman, Reichardt just to name a few.
• And let’s give a big hand to Regina King. What a debut. While her film barely missed my Top 10, “One Night in Miami…” is terrific. Maybe it should have found it’s way in the Best Picture – Drama list?
• As usual I’m woefully ignorant of the Animated category. I did like “Soul” so there’s that.
• Nothing for Spike Lee’s “Da 5 Bloods”. I’m actually okay with that. It’s a good movie but a flawed one. And I know there were some hoping for a DelRoy Lindo nomination. He’s good, no doubt about it. But for me his performance grew bigger and bigger until he sucked the air out of so many scenes. Not so much his fault as the direction.
• The HFPA got it right with Chadwick Boseman. They nominated him for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (the right choice). They didn’t nominate him for “Da 5 Bloods” (also the right choice).
• Speaking of that Best Actor – Drama category, I haven’t seen Tahar Rahim (no screener, boooo) but the rest are really good. And while I doubt he’ll win, the award should unquestionably go to Anthony Hopkins. Talk about career-best work in a career full of career-best work.
• Man I would have loved to see Mads Mikkelsen nominated. Outside of Hopkins it was the best performance I saw last year.
• Back to “Borat”, I can’t help but wonder if in a normal year the movie wouldn’t even be in the discussion. “Subsequent Moviefilm” starts strong but then strangles on its own gimmickry. Far too much feels staged this time around. And Baron Cohen for Best Actor – Musical or Comedy? Pass.
• And wasn’t James Corden excoriated for his performance in “The Prom”? Just asking.
• I really like the Foreign Language category. In fact two of the nominees should be in the Best Picture – Drama group. But I know….RULES. Still it’s great to see the HFPA showing love for “Another Round” and “Minari”. Both are among the 2020’s best movies. “La Llorona” is another one worth seeing. I wish “The Truth” would have made it but oh well.
• Speaking of “Minari”, it finds itself in such a weird place. It’s considered a USA film just like many in the Best Picture categories. But because of a goofy rule that reads “Motion pictures that qualify for the Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language award also qualify for awards in all other motion picture categories except Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy” it doesn’t get consideration for the more prominent awards.
• One more “Minari” gripe (sorry, I love the film), no Supporting Actress nomination for Youn Yuh-Jung who many considered a frontrunner.
• I do like that Colman and Seyfried gor Supporting Actress nominations. Both were superb. And I really liked Close who was the best thing about an otherwise mediocre “Hillbilly Elegy”. Zengel was really good but I’m not sure if she’s among the five best.
• Riz Ahmed everybody!
• The Best Actress – Drama category has three of the best performances of the year PERIOD, male or female. Vanessa Kirby, Carey Mulligan, and of course Frances McDormand should absolutely be there. Viola Davis was good but her character was stuck one gear for the entire film.
• Michelle Pfeiffer for “French Exit”? I love it. More on that film in a few days.
• “Mank” did a little better than I expected. Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay, Best Original Score. Fincher and company had a good morning.
• Chloe Zhao is such a talent. Does she nab both Best Picture – Drama and Best Director. I kinda think she might.
• Ok, I knew “Tenet” wasn’t going to get anything (it did get a nomination for Best Score), but consider this my obligatory defense of what I felt was the best movie of the year. Thanks for listening.
• That Supporting Actor category is pretty rich. Rooting for Bill Murray for “On the Rocks” and wouldn’t have a problem with a Leslie Odom, Jr. win. The other three are a little shakier.
• And quite a morning for Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross who were nominated for TWO original scores (“Mank” and “Soul”). I think by now everyone knows these guys have immeasurable musical talent.

And that’s all I got. I case you missed anything, here are all this year’s film nominees.

Best Motion Picture – Drama
The Father
Mank
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
The Trial of the Chicago 7 

Best Picture – Musical or Comedy
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Hamilton
Music
Palm Springs
The Prom

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)
Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holiday)
Vanessa Kirby (Pieces of a Woman)
Frances McDormand (Nomadland)
Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal)
Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom)
Anthony Hopkins (The Father)
Gary Oldman (Mank)
Tahar Rahim (The Mauritanian)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm)
Kate Hudson (Music)
Michelle Pfeiffer (French Exit)
Rosamund Pike (I Care a Lot)
Anya Taylor-Joy (Emma)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm)
James Corden (The Prom)
Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton)
Dev Patel (The Personal History of David Copperfield)
Andy Samberg (Palm Springs)

Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
Glenn Close (Hillbilly Elegy)
Olivia Colman (The Father)
Jodie Foster (The Mauritanian)
Amanda Seyfried (Mank)
Helena Zengel (News of the World)

Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
Sacha Baron Cohen (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah)
Jared Leto (The Little Things)
Bill Murray (On the Rocks)
Leslie Odom, Jr. (One Night in Miami)

Best Director – Motion Picture
Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman)
David Fincher (Mank)
Regina King (One Night in Miami)
Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
Chloé Zhao (Nomadland)

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman)
Jack Fincher (Mank)
Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
Florian Zeller & Christopher Hampton (The Father)
Chloé Zhao (Nomadland)

Best Motion Picture, Animated
The Croods: A New Age
Onward
Over the Moon
Soul
Wolfwalkers

Best Picture, Foreign Language
Another Round
La Llorona
The Life Ahead
Minari
Two of Us 

Best Original Score, Motion Picture
Alexandre Desplat (The Midnight Sky)
Ludwig Göransson (Tenet)
James Newton Howard (News of the World)
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross (Mank)
Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, & Jon Batiste (Soul)

Best Original Song, Motion Picture
“Fight for You” (Judas and the Black Messiah)
“Hear My Voice” (The Trial of the Chicago 7)
“Is Si (Seen)” (The Life Ahead)
“Speak Now” (One Night in Miami)
“Tigress & Tweed” (The United States vs. Billie Holiday)

Benedict Cumberbatch leads the upcoming historical Cold War drama “The Courier”. Set in 1960, the film tells “the incredible true story” of humble businessman Greville Wynne. He’s recruited by both MI-6 and the CIA to penetrate Soviet ranks and connect with a Russian mole (Mereb Ninidze) in an effort to bring an end to the mounting Cuban Missile Crisis. Dominic Cooke directs from a script written by Tom O’Connor.

Cumberbatch looks to be a great fit but I’m more intrigued by the supporting cast. I’m always up for watching Jessie Buckley and here she plays Greville’s wife Sheila. And Rachel Brosnahan, who was so good in last year’s “I’m Your Woman”, plays a mysterious CIA operative. And the story looks to be an exciting deep-cover spy thriller, but one with a strong human pulse. Shamefully I’m not that familiar with the true story, but the first trailer has me intrigued to know more.

“The Courier” opens in theaters March 19th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

While not as prominent in today’s news headlines as the current global pandemic, opioid addiction is ravaging lives at its own unspeakable rate. The new drama “Crisis” from director Nicholas Jarecki’s (“Arbitrage”) looks to tackle the issue head-on by using its star-studded cast to cover several interconnected storylines. Jarecki’s goal is to show how the epidemic and its devastating effects are impacting every social group and every class. That’s a lot to cover but the first trailer looks promising.

The cast is filled with familiar names and faces, each representing different walks of life and each connected to opioids in one way or another. Gary Oldman plays a principled professor hoping to bring the crisis to light. Armie Hammer is a DEA agent battling the epidemic from the trenches. Evangeline Lily is a frustrated vigilante mother searching for her addicted son. Luke Evans heads a shady pharmaceutical company protecting its billion dollar interests. Add in Greg Kinnear, Michelle Rodriguez, Lily-Rose Depp, and Martin Donovan among others. Strong cast, strong subject.

“Crisis” hits theaters on February 26th and premieres March 5th on VOD. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.