I’m always up for more Pierce Brosnan, but I’m not sure what to think of his new film “The Misfits”. It comes from director Renny Harlin who’s perhaps best none as the director of “Die Hard 2”. The film is built around a very familiar premise – a ragtag group of (you guessed it) misfits team up to pull off the ultimate heist. While nothing new, these movies can still be fun with the right people in place. After seeing the first trailer it’s hard to tell if “The Misifts” has the right people or not.

Brosnan plays a brilliant architect and international thief who is persuaded by a group of young Robin Hoods to help them swipe a ton of gold from a ruthless businessman (Tim Roth) known for funding terrorists. And it just so happens the architect and the businessman happen to have a history. The film co-stars Nick Cannon, Jamie Chung, Rami Jaber, Hermoine Corfield, and Mike Angelo. The trailer doesn’t leave the best first impression, showing a movie that seems content to mimic numerous other films. Hopefully I’m wrong.

“The Misifits” releases June 11th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Netflix’s upcoming apocalyptic thriller “Awake” sees Gina Rodriguez playing a mother protecting her two children after society plunges into chaos following a mysterious end-world event. The film is directed by Mark Raso whose last film was the 2017 road-trip drama “Kodachrome”. Along with Rodriguez, “Awake” stars Jennifer Jason Leigh, Barry Pepper, Finn Jones, and Shamier Anderson.

The first trailer dropped earlier today and opens things up quite a bit. It looks like Rodriguez and her kids wake up in a world where all access to technology has been wiped out. To make matters even worse, no one is able to sleep. As scientists frantically look for a cure, humanity quickly begins falling apart. Without question it’s an interesting concept with a lot of potentially fun and fertile ground to cover. At the same time it needs to have some kind of reasonable explanation. Hopefully Raso and company can pull it off.

“Awake” premieres June 9th on Netflix. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Good news for those movie fans itching for a love story. Yesterday Netflix dropped the first trailer for it’s time-hopping romantic drama “The Last Letter From Your Lover”. The film is based on a 2008 Jojo Moyes romance novel and features two interwoven stories, one set in the 1960’s on the French Riviera and the other in present day London. It’s helmed by Augustine Frizzell and stars Felicity Jones, Shailene Woodley, Callum Turner, and Nabhaan Rizwan.

Jones plays an enthusiastic London journalist who discovers a collection of love letters from 1965. They chronicle an intense forbidden love affair between the wife of a wealthy businessman (Woodley) and a journalist (Turner) assigned to cover her husband. It looks like Frizzell’s movie will bounce back-and-forth between present day and the past as two different romances unfold. The film looks beautiful but it’s hard to get a read on it. Will it be a sweet and heartbreaking or sappy and schmaltzy? I’m anxious to see.

“The Last Letter From Your Lover” premieres on Netflix July 23rd. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

It’s May 4th which means it’s Star Wars Day. Sadly I dropped the ball this year. Due to the load of movie screeners I STILL need to watch, I wasn’t able to put together a big post celebrating that galaxy far, far away. But that couldn’t stop from at least geeking out a little. After all, that’s what this day is all about and as an unashamed Star Wars geek, I feel it’s my duty.

This year’s highlight is the premiere of a new Disney+ animated show “The Bad Batch”, a spiritual successor of sorts to the acclaimed “The Clone Wars” series. I had the privilege of seeing the first two episodes early and let me just say the series gets off to a stellar start. The 72-minute pilot is available now on Disney’s streaming service and you don’t want to miss it.

So how can I pay tribute to this franchise that has meant so much to me over the years? How about with a simple gallery of some of the greatest, most unique, and utterly unforgettable characters who have populated this incredible universe over the years? Enjoy them, let me know which are your favorites, and share some of your favorite Star Wars memories. Oh, and of course, May the 4th be with you….always.

Christoph Waltz makes his feature directorial debut in the acidic crime drama “Georgetown”. The film actually had its world premiere way back in 2019 at the Tribeca Film Festival and is just now set for its release here in the States. It’s based on Franklin Foer’s 2012 New York Times Magazine story “The Worst Marriage in Georgetown”. Waltz not only directs but also stars alongside Vanessa Redgrave, Annette Benning, and Corey Hawkins.  

Waltz plays Ulrich Mott, a man starving for social status who marries a wealthy 90-year-old socialite (Redgrave). When she suddenly winds up dead, attention turns to Mott. Soon a web of previously unnoticed lies and deception reveal that Mott may not be the man he claims to be. This looks like a nasty and toxic crime drama which (if handled well) could be utterly fascinating. It could also go the other way fast. I’ll remain optimistic. I really like the cast and I love the potential bite that this movie could pack.

“Georgetown” is set to release May 14th in select theaters and May 18th on VOD. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

German filmmaker Christian Petzold made two of my favorite films of the last decade – 2014’s crushing post-World War II drama “Phoenix” and 2018’s beguiling “Transit”. His most recent film “Undine” released in Europe in 2020 and now it’s finally getting a US release courtesy of IFC Films. And considering his last two stellar efforts, I’m for anything Petzold puts out there.

The film sees Petzold reuniting with his two stars from “Transit”, Paula Beer and Frank Rogowski. Beer plays the titular character, a historian and museum guide who watches her world crumble after she learns her love Johannes (Jacob Matschenz) is leaving her. But when she meets Christoph (Rogowski) the movie takes on a sly fairy tale feel. The new trailer gives us a lot to chew on and makes it clear Petzold’s romance will be filled with mystery and may have a supernatural flavor. I’m incredibly intrigued.

“Undine” releases June 4th 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.