Enter the Royale with the Official Trailer and Poster for "Bad Times at the El Royale"

20th Century Fox recently released the official trailer and poster for their latest film "Bad Times as the El Royale". The film stars Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson and Cynthia Erivo.

"Bad Times at the El Royale" hits theaters on October 12th.

For more information on this film, you can visit the film's official website at: www.ElRoyalemovie.com  

Plot Synopsis:

Seven strangers, each with a secret to bury, meet at Lake Tahoe's El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one fateful night, everyone will have a last shot at redemption... before everything goes to hell. Jeff Bridges, Chris Hemsworth, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson and Cynthia Erivo lead an all-star cast in BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE.

"Bad Times at the El Royale": Official Trailer

"Avengers: Infinity War" Review by Tim Hellman

'AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR': Four Stars (Out of Five)

The third installment (not counting 'CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR') in the blockbuster superhero franchise, based on the Marvel Comics' characters. This one has the Avengers teaming up with the Guardians of the Galaxy, to stop Thanos from collecting all of the Infinity Stones so he can bend reality to his will. The movie was directed by Anthony and Joe Russo (who also both co-directed 'CAPTAIN AMERICA: WINTER SOLDIER' and 'CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR'), and it was scripted by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely (who also both co-wrote all of the 'CAPTAIN AMERICA' movies). It stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Chadwick Boseman, Tom Holland, Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Scarlett Johansson, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Don Cheadle, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan and the voices of Josh Brolin, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel. It's received mostly positive reviews from critics, and it's expected to break all kinds of records at the Box Office of course. The movie is a pretty epic action flick, but it's a little light on actual character development and meaningful story.

The story begins two years after the end of 'CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR', and the Avengers are still not on speaking terms. Thanos (Brolin) has come to earth to collect the last of the Infinity Stones, which will allow him to form a gauntlet that can bend reality to his will. Hulk (Ruffalo) has arrived just before him, to warn Tony (Downey Jr.) about his plans. At the same time Thor (Hemsworth) meets the Guardians of the Galaxy, in space, and the Avengers must later team-up with them in order to stop Thanos, and save the universe.

The film definitely has a great epic feel to it, and look, and the action scenes are spectacular. There's way too many characters in the movie though, and each one has their own little story; which when added all together makes the whole film feel kind of pointless and empty. I'm sure nerd comic book lovers will still love it, and on a purely superficial/technical level it's quite a film-going experience. In the end though, it's all style over substance, and it's kind of like movie junk food with no real value. It is better than 'JUSTIC LEAGUE' at least though.

"12 Strong" Review by Tim Hellman

'12 STRONG': Two and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A war film about CIA Paramilitary and U.S. Special Forces who were sent to Afghanistan, immediately after the September 11th attacks, to combat Taliban soldiers there. It's based on the non-fiction book 'Horse Soldiers' by Doug Stanton, and it was scripted by Ted Tally and Peter Craig. Sophomore feature filmmaker Nicolai Fuglsig directed the movie, which stars Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Navid Negahban, Michael Pena, Trevante Rhodes, Geoff Stults, Thad Luckinbill, William Fichtner and Rob Riggle. It's received mixed reviews from critics, and it's expected to be a modest hit at the Box Office as well. I found it to be pretty dull and uninvolving.

The story begins with the September 11th terrorist attacks being witnessed on TV by Captain Mitch Nelson (Hemsworth), and his family. Mitch is eager to retaliate against those responsible, and he begs his superior officers for his Captain position back, in order to do so. Mitch, along with Chief Warrant Officer Cal Spencer (Shannon), Sergeant First Class Sam Diller (Pena), and other U.S. soldiers, are then sent to Afghanistan to attack the Taliban forces there. Once there, they partner with the leader of the alliance, General Abdul Rashid Dostum (Negahban), and quickly start to plot their revenge.

The movie looks like a fun war action flick, and I like the premise to it, but for me the film is just way too boring. I couldn't even get into the action scenes (which I'll admit happens a lot for me with recent action flicks), but the whole story, and character development, is pretty weak and uninvolving. The performances are pretty dull and uninspired too, and it's definitely a talented cast. With the exception of Navid Negahban (he's a scene stealer in it), most of the actors seem to be just there for their paychecks. I could not wait for the movie to be over, for most of it's 2 hour and 10 minute running time, but I'll admit that I'm sure some action junkies, and war film fans, will probably enjoy it. Technically speaking, the movie isn't half bad.

"Ghostbusters" Review by Tim Hellman

'GHOSTBUSTERS': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A reboot to the classic 1984 sci-fi comedy hit, and it's 1989 sequel. This modern update has four women starting a New York City ghost-catching business together. It stars Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones (as the four leads); and it features Chris Hemsworth, Andy Garcia, Charles Dance, and most of the original movie's cast, in supporting roles. It was directed by Paul Feig (who previously directed McCarthy and Wiig in the hit comedy flick 'BRIDESMAIDS'), and it was written by Feig and Katie Dippold (who also wrote 'THE HEAT'; which was directed by Feig and costarring McCarthy). Ivan Reitman (the original two films' director) returned as a producer of this installment. The movie has received mostly positive reviews from critics, and female fans alike, but it's also taken a lot of sexist backlash from misogynistic moviegoers. It's been a hit at the Box Office as well (so far). I really liked it.

Dr. Erin Gilbert (Wiig) and Dr. Abby Yates (McCarthy) co-wrote a book on the existence of ghosts, many years earlier. Gilbert has since attempted to distance herself from the publication; in order to become a teacher at Columbia University. Yates has continued to study paranormal activity, at a technical college, with her new colleague Jillian Holtzmann (McKinnon). When Gilbert is approached about a possible ghost sighting, she reunites with Yates (in order to investigate it). Gilbert, Yates and Holtzmann later start a 'ghost busting' business together; where they're soon joined by a subway worker named Patty Tolan (Jones).

The movie is without a doubt funny, and also aptly made. Feig is definitely a talented director, and he and Dippold wrote a great script together. The cast is all exceptional as well. While the film is definitely not as memorable as the classic original, it is undoubtedly superior to 'GHOSTBUSTERS II'. I think it has the perfect combination of supernatural thrills, intelligent humor, and nostalgic magic. As far as your average reboots go, it's nearly flawless. The movie is also a very noticeable crowd-pleaser (at least at the theater I saw it at). It's definitely a lot of fun!

"The Huntsman: Winter's War": Review by Tim Hellman

'THE HUNTSMAN: WINTER'S WAR': Three Stars (Out of Five)

A spin-off to the 2012 fantasy adventure flick 'SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN'; which serves as a sequel, and a prequel, to that hit film. The story was once again based on characters from the classic fairy tale 'Snow White' (by the Brothers Grimm), as well as 'The Snow Queen' (by Hans Christian Anderson). It was scripted by Evan Spiliotopoulos and Craig Mazin (this time around), and directed by first time feature filmmaker Cedric Nicolas-Troyan (who also did visual effects on the first movie). The story deals with the Huntsman (once again played by Chris Hemsworth) taking on a vengeful ice queen, named Freya (played by Emily Blunt); who's also the sister of the evil queen from the first movie, Ravenna (once again played by Charlize Theron). He has help from another female warrior, he also loves, named Sara (played by Jessica Chastain). Nick Frost also reprises his role, as the dwarf Nion. Kristen Stewart does not return as Snow White, although the character is mentioned (and briefly seen, from behind). I was a big fan of the original movie, when it came out, not so much this one.

The film begins before (most of) the events of the original movie; with the sorceress Ravenna (Theron) becoming queen, by killing her husband (Robert Portal). Ravenna then also kills her sister's baby, in fear that she'll grow to become more beautiful than her (as her magical mirror warns). Ravenna's sister, Freya (Blunt), then becomes a powerful, and very vengeful, queen (of her own kingdom); ruling with deadly ice powers. She begins enslaving children, and training them to be obedient warriors; while also forbidding them from falling in love. When two warrior Huntsmen, Eric (Hemsworth) and Sara (Chastain), defy Freya's orders, she casts a powerful spell; which makes Eric believe Sara is dead. Eric then makes it his mission to stop the evil ice queen.

The film has great visuals, and the cast couldn't be better (I'd trade Kristen Stewart, for both Jessica Chastain and Emily Blunt, any day). They're all wasted in this movie though, and Charlize Theron is barely in it (despite her demands for a $10 million payday; equal to Hemsworth's, who's on screen about four times as much). Theron was the best part of the original film, and she's awesome in this follow-up as well; I just wish they would have used a lot more of her. As it is, the movie is very slow-paced; and completely uninvolving. I hope the next spin-off is all about Queen Ravenna!

"Avengers: Age of Ultron" Review - Written by Tim Hellman

'AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Sequel to the 2012 blockbuster superhero flick 'THE AVENGERS'; and the 11th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Joss Whedon returned to write and direct this installment (as he did the first) and most of the cast reprises their roles; including Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson, Paul Bettany and Cobie Smulders. Don Cheadle, Anthony Mackie, Idris Elba, Hayley Atwell and others also reprise their parts from other Marvel films; while James Spader, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen and Linda Cardellini join the cast. This time around the mighty superhero team must battle an artificial intelligence unit, created by Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, that's bent on revenge; against all of humanity. I found the film to be entertaining, and it's sure to satisfy most comic book fans, but it's definitely a mixed bag.

The story revolves around an A.I. named Ultron (Spader), who comes to life as part of Tony Stark's (Downey Jr.) defense program. Ultron is bent on destroying humanity, instead of protecting it, and enlists the help of two genetically altered twins (Taylor-Johnson and Olsen). He also builds an army of deadly robots, to serve as his army. It's up to the Avengers to stop Ultron and once again save the world.

The movie is all over the place; there's a shitload of characters and most of them are pretty underdeveloped. We do get to learn more about Hawkeye (Renner) and Black Widow (Johansson), the two Avengers who haven't had their own movies yet, but the rest of the principal players don't have engaging story lines. Thor (Hemsworth) serves as great comic relief; but Stark's one-liners are getting very tired and poorly written. There's also some pretty badly done melodrama (throughout the movie) and an oddly placed romance between Hulk (Ruffalo) and Black Widow (What happened to Betty Ross?!). It's also never explained why Tony Stark came out of retirement and has several suits of armor again (after destroying them all in 'IRON MAN 3'). The action scenes go on for way too long (and are pretty reminiscent of 'MAN OF STEEL', or a Michael Bay 'TRANSFORMERS' film). It does have plenty of good moments too, though, and most die-hard fans will still love it; for all the geeky comic shit it does stay true to. It's just not the most well developed, or balanced, movie (as a result). The first film and some other installments, in the Marvel Universe, are better; but this film is definitely still an entertaining and mostly satisfying addition!