Todd Phillips’ 2019 “Joker” turned out to be a blockbuster smash, making over $1 billion at the global box office and earning Joaquin Phoenix an Academy Award for Best Actor. Gritty, violent, and rooted in realism, “Joker” took the legendary DC Comics villain in some dark yet captivating directions. To no surprise a sequel was eventually announced. But rather than offer your run-of-the-mill follow-up, Phillips and Phoenix return with “Joker: Folie à Deux”, a movie that has been described as a super-villain movie musical.

Phoenix reprises his role as Arthur Fleck (aka Joker) who was last seen attempting to break out of Gotham’s Arkham Asylum. Where this second installment goes from there is anyone’s guess. What we do know is that Lady Gaga takes on the role of Harley Quinn. The first trailer shows the two meeting in Arkham and eventually breaking out together. But what really has me curious is the use of music. It’s been said the movie will include a total of 15 musical numbers which both piques my interest and causes concern. The trailer does hint at how the music will be used. It has the potential to be utterly spellbinding or a major miscalculation. Either way, I’ll be there on opening night.

“Joker: Folie à Deux” dances into theaters on October 4th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

I don’t cover much television, but occasionally a must-see show comes down the pike that I can’t pass up. One of the latest is Prime Video’s upcoming “Fallout”, an eight episode series based on the extremely popular Fallout video game franchise from Bethesda Game Studios. Created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy (Nolan will also be directing several episodes), “Fallout” will premiere on Prime Video tomorrow, April 10th (a day earlier than its originally scheduled April 11th release).

For those unfamiliar, the Fallout series is set within a retrofuturistic wasteland. During the post-war 1950s, a nuclear war decimated our planet. Those who were able survived in massive bunkers across the United States known as vaults. The games follow dwellers around the country who leave their vaults for the first time only to encounter a dangerous, savage, and violent new world. The streaming series looks to follow the same formula as a young woman named Lucy (Ella Purnell) leaves her home in Vault 33 and ventures into the devastated and hostile remains of Los Angeles. Walton Goggins and Aaron Moten also star.

Prime Video’s promotion for the series has been off the charts. The trailers are filled to the brim with cool easter eggs and the production design seems plucked right of the games. They’ve also released a number of killer posters that feel right in tune with the franchise’s unique vibe. Check out the trailer and the posters below and tell me what you think. Are you excited for “Fallout”? Will you be checking it out? I know I will.

“The Strangers: Chapter 1” is set to hit theaters May 17th and Lionsgate has began their promotion with a bang. Three new character posters were released today along with some cool and creepy security camera footage highlighting the film’s titular terrors. Directed by Renny Harlin, the film is the first installment in a new horror trilogy based on the 2008 home invasion chiller “The Strangers”. The original (written and directed by Bryan Bertino) was an effectively unsettling movie and if Harlin can tap into that same sense of horror he may deliver something special.

The film’s official synopsis: After their car breaks down in an eerie small town, a young couple (Madelaine Petsch and Froy Gutierrez) are forced to spend the night in a remote cabin. Panic ensues as they are terrorized by three masked strangers who strike with no mercy and seemingly no motive in THE STRANGERS ― CHAPTER 1, the chilling first entry of this upcoming horror feature film series.

Check out the three character posters and security footage below…

I get that this may be a bit premature, but could we be witnessing a revival of the Western genre? There have been several smaller independent Westerns that have popped up in recent years and Kevin Costner is set to release his massive two-part Western epic this summer. Now we have “The Dead Don’t Hurt” – a new film that’s directed, written, produced, and composed by Viggo Mortensen. If that wasn’t enough, Mortensen also stars in the film which just released its fantastic first trailer.

Set in the 1860s, Mortensen plays a Danish immigrant named Holger Olsen who falls in loved with a French Canadian woman named Vivienne Le Coudy (played by the always terrific Vicky Krieps). The two start a life together on Holger’s Nevada homestead. But when the headstrong Holger’s convictions drive him to enlist in the Union army, Vivienne is left alone on a frontier dominated by ruthless men. The film also stars Danny Huston, Solly McLeod, Garret Dillahunt, Ray McKinnon, Colin Morgan, W. Earl Brown, and Atlas Green. The trailer offers a tantalizing first look for what is a clear passion project for the 65-year-old Mortensen.

“The Dead Don’t Hurt” gallops into theaters on May 31st. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

So I’ve found myself falling behind in my efforts to highlight some of the very best movie posters. I’m a sucker for these things and I had to take a moment to share the brand new poster for the upcoming film “Alien: Romulus”. This long awaited seventh installment in the beloved Alien franchise is directed by Fede Álvarez, known best for his 2013 “Evil Dead” remake and 2016’s “Don’t Breathe”. Ridley Scott produces the film which is said to take place between “Alien” (1979) and “Aliens” (1986). How connected “Romulus” is to either of those movie’s remains to be seen. Either way I’m excited.

“Alien: Romulus” was originally slated to release on Hulu but will now be getting the full theatrical treatment on August 16th. The film stars Cailee Spaeny (“Priscilla”), David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Isabela Merced, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu. Check out the killer new poster and let me know what you think…

Zack Snyder’s two-part space epic “Rebel Moon” kicked off a few months ago with “A Child of Fire”. Well, it kicked off in part. What we actually got was a shortened and toned-down PG-13 version of the film (Snyder’s fully realized vision for Part One will be in his extended director’s cut due out soon). Most critics teed off on the film with many lighting their torches just from hearing Zack Snyder’s name. “A Child of Fire” wasn’t nearly as bad as it was received despite only being a taste of the finished product.

Now we’ve been given our first proper look at “Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver”, an equally epic-sized streaming blockbuster that picks up right where the first film left off. The first trailer is loaded with eye-popping action and striking imagery which are Snyder staples. It also reintroduces us to the terrific ensemble that includes Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Anthony Hopkins, Michiel Huisman, and Doona Bae among others. It all culminates in a movie that should be catnip for Snyder fans and fuel for Snyder haters. I’m onboard.

“Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver” premieres April 19th on Netflix. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.