Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS) and Pixar Animation Studios are teaming up this holiday season when WDAS’ new featurette “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” opens in front of Disney•Pixar’s original feature film “Coco” on Nov. 22, 2017. The new trailer for the featurette will run in front of Disney•Pixar’s “Cars 3,” beginning this Friday, June 16, when Lightning McQueen’s new big-screen adventure opens in theaters nationwide.
“I’m thrilled that Disney Animation’s featurette ‘Olaf’s Frozen Adventure’ will be coming to theaters in November with Pixar’s ‘Coco,’” said John Lasseter, chief creative officer, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. “It’s a perfect pairing – they’re both beautiful, heartfelt films about families and how people carry traditions forward. I can’t wait for audiences to get to see both of these terrific projects together on the big screen.”
Featuring four new original songs, the 21-minute featurette welcomes the original cast and characters back to the big screen, including Olaf (voice of Josh Gad), who is on a mission to harness the best holiday traditions for Anna (voice of Kristen Bell), Elsa (voice of Idina Menzel) and Kristoff (voice of Jonathan Groff). Directed by Emmy®-winning filmmakers Kevin Deters and Stevie Wermers-Skelton (“Prep & Landing”), produced by Oscar® winner Roy Conli (“Big Hero 6”), with original songs by Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson (“Between the Lines”), “Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” will be in theaters for a limited time beginning Nov. 22.
“Stevie and I were deeply honored to be entrusted by John [Lasseter] to create an all-new story with these characters we love,” said Deters. “We’re thrilled to have our film play on the big screen with ‘Coco’ during the holidays.”
“We loved getting in the recording booth with these incredible actors who know their characters inside and out,” added Wermers-Skelton. “We can’t wait for audiences to see the featurette, enjoy their performances, and hear the incredible new songs written by Elyssa and Kate.”
“Olaf’s Frozen Adventure” celebrates characters who won over audiences worldwide when “Frozen” first hit the big screen in 2013. Earning more than $1.27 billion globally, the film won two Academy Awards® (best animated film and best original song with “Let It Go”) and a Golden Globe® (best animated feature film). Slated for November 2019, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ untitled feature-length follow-up to the hit film reunites filmmakers Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck and Peter Del Vecho with the Grammy®- and Oscar®-winning songwriting duo Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.
Camera Obscura has an engrossing plot. The script has nods to horror classics like Amityville, Final Destination, and every haunted object film out there. Adding in the element of PTSD allows the audience to further question what is real and what is in the mind’s eye. There are some truly vibrant visuals when those lines are blurred. With a fair number of skin-crawling moments thrown in, Camera Obscura does its job at entertaining and keeping you guessing. I certainly did not see the ending coming. I will also give credit to the fact that the pace is already ramped up in full force before we’re even 20 minutes in. The cast is wonderful with particularly outstanding moments coming from Catherine Curtain and (no stranger to the horror genre) Andrew Sensenig. All while utilizing throwback ideas, Camera Obscura stands on its own as something disturbing and unique. You can catch the trailer below.
Directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg (Kon Tiki) are tasked with taking on the behemoth of a franchise and the two hold their own. The visual spectacle and the amusing action set pieces that have made this franchise so popular are bigger and more elaborate, but it’s the storytelling that has been lacking since the first film. The story for Dead Men Tell No Tales is not overly original, but does offer some complexity to the existing franchise storyline that will amuse fans and pump some much needed new blood into this series. Johnny Depp brings life to Jack Sparrow like no one else could. The character doesn’t evolve, but maybe he doesn’t have to. Watching the character on screen can, at times, feel nostalgic, but it’s still fun to watch him in action. Javier Bardem brings this franchise the best villain it’s had and commands the screen in every scene.
It’s the year 2104, the crew of the colony ship Covenant is bound for a remote planet, Origae-6, with thousands of colonists in stow. All are deep in hypersleep being watched over by Walter (Michael Fassbender), a synthetic charged with piloting the ship during travel. When an unexpected burst hits the ship, the crew are awoken to assess the damage and help reset the ship for the rest of it’s journey. During the repairs, they intercept a human radio transmission from a nearby unknown planet and acting crew chief Christopher Oram (Billy Crudup) makes the call to set a course for the planet. Daniels (Katherine Waterston) exercises her opinion as first mate against the move, electing to continue on to Origae-6, but reluctantly agrees to be part of a landing party to inspect the planet.
Upon landing, the team splits off to explore the new world while the core team searches for the signal to the transmission. Ultimately, they track the signal to a crashed Engineer ship and more questions than answers. Two crew members are mysteriously infected with an alien spore and the team is forced to defend itself against the unknown foe. Unable to contact the Covenant, Daniels and the remaining survivors must rely on the help of a stranger to lead them to safety and help them understand the impending threat. What will be unearthed will be like nothing this crew has ever faced. One thing’s for sure, for Daniels, the protection of the Covenant and its passengers must be protected at all cost.
Buster’s Mal Heart took everyone by surprise this year. There seemed to be 2 distinct reactions once the credits began to role. 1. That was terrible. 2. That was amazing. I happen to be in the party of the amazing. Rami Malek is the perfect choice for this role. With the incredibly successful run of Mr. Robot, Malek takes on yet another role that is mysterious and mind-bending. Whether you enjoyed the film or not, there was no arguing that it left you wondering what the hell you just watched. The plot is left to the audience’s interpretation at times. There is zero doubt about the talents of Malek in what is a challenging role. Half the film has no dialogue from his character at all. Nuanced and heartbreaking but also filled with innocent humor, you will never be bored and you will be made to think. Buster’s Mal Heart will keep you guessing long after you leave the theater and well, isn’t that what great cinema is all about?
The film is now in theaters and if you’re already a fan of Malek, I highly recommend you catch this film. The 1hr 36min run feels longer but in the best way possible. The film’s themes go full speed ahead, and there is a number of them. From best intentions, living up to other’s expectations, to anarchy and testing one’s own sanity, Buster’s Mal Heart will confuse and provoke you. You’re going to want to watch it over and over. We’d love to hear your thoughts once you’ve seen the film! Check out the madness that is the trailer below.
There is a ton of potential in The Shadow Effect. Stars Cam Gigandet and Jonathan Rhys Meyers are both absolutely on point with their performances. They try very hard with the material provided, so it’s not really their fault that the film’s inconsistent moments of great and not so good cannot match up to the caliber of their talents. The editing is the guilty culprit. There are moments in the first half of the film with stellar use of speed dynamics that set up the plot, but the CG is downright awful. Some of the action sequences, including punches, are ill-timed and/or missing the proper sound effect. It’s incredibly distracting. The Shadow Effect might have been better off as a series on SyFy network. The script is intriguing enough to hold your attention, but I yearned for more. There is so much we’re missing or quickly glazed over that I think multiple episodes would have done a better job at delving into the past of all the characters. Trying to shove everything into about a 95-minute run doesn’t do any one plot line the justice it deserves.
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