The Sinner

Genre Thriller

Cast Jessica Biel, Bill Pullman, Christopher Abbott, Robert Funaro

Rating TV-MA

Series Premiere Wednesday August 2nd, 2017 10:00 PM EST (USA Network)

“A young mother stabs a man to death, in front of dozens of witnesses, without motive or explanation.”

Written and directed by Derek Simonds, The Sinner is based on the international best selling book of the same name, written by Petra Hammesfahr. The show is of the "whydunit" as opposed to the traditional "whodunit", and chronicles the apparent unraveling of a woman with a dark past. The trailer is INTENSE and I am a sucker for crime dramas so I am looking forward to checking this one out. The cast includes Jessica Biel, Bill Pullman, Christopher Abbott, and Robert Funaro. The show will premiere on USA August 2nd at 10:00 pm EST. Check out the official trailer below!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, The Sinner:

• Premiered during the TriBeCa Film Festival April 25, 2017.

Atomic Blonde

Director David Leitch

Genre Action | Mystery | Thriller

Cast Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Eddie Marsan, John Goodman

Rating R

Release Date July 28th, 2017

“An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.”

From director/stunt coordinator David Leitch, who contributed to the directing of John Wick and is slated to direct the highly anticipated Deadpool sequel, Atomic Blonde looks like it could be the female version of John Wick and just as brutal. Sign me up! The cast includes Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Eddie Marsan, and John Goodman. Check out the badass official trailers below.

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Atomic Blonde:

• The movie is based on Antony Johnston's 2012 graphic novel The Coldest City.
• Charlize Theron spent five years developing this project, and cracked two teeth during filming.
• Before filming resumed, James McAvoy broke his hand on the set of Split (2016) and had to endure all his action scenes of "Atomic Blonde" with his imperfect hand-condition.
• Charlize Theron had eight personal trainers help her overcome the intense psychical performance. She also trained with Keanu Reeves who was preparing for John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017).

Need more?! Check out the newly released official trailer #2 below!!

Check out the newly released final trailer below!!

Room 104

Genre Comedy | Drama

Cast Davie-Blue, Spencer Garrett, Will Tranfo

Rating TV-MA

Series Premiere Friday July 28th, 2017 11:30 PM EST (HBO)

“Set in a single room of an average American hotel, Room 104, which tells a different story of the assorted guests who pass through it.”

From creators Mark Duplass and Jay Duplass, Room 104 is a unique comedy drama surrounding the events that take place inside one motel room involving the variety of guests that accompany it. HBO rarely misses on a series and I like the unique structure, reminds me of a anthology type film almost. Also, the trailers look pretty awesome! Some of the cast includes Davie-Blue, Spencer Garrett, and Will Tranfo. Check out the trailers for yourself below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts. HBO's Room 104:

• David Lynch and Monty Montgomery attempted a similar, albeit more 'them' version of this idea - oddly enough ALSO on HBO - back in 1993. Their idea, known as Hotel Room, lasted one, three-part, episode with a different cast for each, set in room number 603 of the New York City-based "Railroad Hotel", in the years 1969, 1992, and 1936, respectively. The three episodes were created to be shown together in the form of a feature-length pilot. Unfortunately the reception was very lukewarm and it was not picked up for further production.

The Emoji Movie

Director Tony Leondis

Genre Animation | Comedy | Family

Cast T.J. Miller, James Corden, Ilana Glazer, Steven Wright

Rating PG

Release Date July 28th, 2017

“Gene, a muli-expressional emoji, sets out on a journey to become a normal emoji.”

From director Tony Leondis,  The Emoji Movie is an animated take on the "social media" generation. Most people today use the aforementioned emoji's to express how they are feeling or to simply add a little flavor to a text message or social media post. It is too early to tell whether or not this film will be of the raunchy variety similar to Sausage Party, but considering the director I expect a film with a PG-13 rating with content more than okay for kids but geared towards adults. The cast of voice actors includes T.J. Miller, James Corden, Ilana Glazer, and Steven Wright. Check out the teaser trailer below. 

Check out the official full length trailer below!!

Brigsby Bear

Director Dave McCary

Genre Comedy | Drama

Cast Mark Hamill, Claire Danes, Kyle Rooney, Greg Kinnear

Rating PG-13

Release Date July 28th, 2017 (Limited)

“After being freed from the kidnappers he thought were his parents, a man sets out to make a movie of the only TV show he has ever known.”

Directed by Dave McCary, Brigsby Bear is a unique indie comedy drama about a young man attempting to recreate a TV show that meant everything to him during his childhood. The cast includes Mark Hamill, Claire Danes, Kyle Rooney, and Greg Kinnear. Check out the official trailers below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Brigsby Bear:

• Following the world premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2017 at the Eccles theatre during the Q&A, the cast were asked what attracted them to the project. Mark Hamill talked about how much he liked the script and the originality of the story, but also joked: 'Also, I actually had lines. You know, that's always a bonus for me'. This is a reference to the fact that all of his lines were cut from Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015).
• Extremely talented actor/writer/director/producer Kevin Smith has stated that this is his favorite film of 2017 so far.

2017 Oscar Nominees

Check out the previews & exclusive trailers for the 2017 Oscar Nominated films. Who do you think deserves the gold?! Let us know in the comments section.

Be sure to watch the 89th Annual Academy Awards show LIVE on Sunday, February 26th 7:00 PM EST on ABC.

Ballers Season 3

Genre Comedy | Drama | Sport

Cast Dwayne Johnson, Rob Corddry, John David Washington, Troy Garity

Rating TV-MA

Series Premiere Sunday July 23rd, 2017 10:00 PM EST (HBO)

“A series centered around a group of football players and their families, friends, and handlers.”

Ballers is returning for its 3rd season, following the up and down careers of two sports agents trying to make it big. The show doesn't have as much of an edge as I wish it did, but it is still very entertaining and full of eye candy so I am looking forward to this new season. The cast includes Dwayne Johnson, Rob Corddry, John David Washington, Troy Garity, and a number of professional athlete cameos. Check out the official trailer for season 3 below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, HBO's Ballers:

• Dwayne Johnson was the first and only choice for the lead.
• Dwayne Johnson was a college football player himself for the University of Miami in the 1990s. He can be seen in his playing uniform in the beginning of opening credits.
• John David Washington is the son of two-time Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington. He also played professional football as a runningback for the St. Louis Rams in the NFL and in the defunct United Football League. He is an alumni of Morehouse College where he was also a star player on the football team.

Menashe

Director Joshua Z Weinstein

Genre Drama

Cast Menashe Lustig, Yoel Falkowitz

Rating PG

Release Date July 28th, 2017 (Limited)

“Within Brooklyn’s ultra-orthodox Jewish community, a widower battles for custody of his son. A tender drama performed entirely in Yiddish, the film intimately explores the nature of faith and the price of parenthood.”

From director Joshua Z Weinstein, Menashe is a drama that takes place in the ultra-orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, New York. I'm not a huge fan of films with subtitles but this is one that I would be more than willing to give a try. The credited cast includes Menashe Lustig and Yoel Falkowitz. Check out the official trailer below. 

A Family Man

Director Mark Williams

Genre Drama

Cast Alison Brie, Gerard Butler, Willem Dafoe, Gretchen Mol

Rating R

Release Date July 28th, 2017 (Limited & On-Demand)

“A Chicago personnel recruiter is hungry to stay on top of his competitive profession, but when his son is diagnosed with cancer, his priorities are called into question.”

Director Mark Williams directorial debut, A Family Man is a drama about a family and their struggle trying to find a work life balance while dealing with a real-life tragedy. The cast includes Alison Brie, Gerard Butler, Willem Dafoe, and  Gretchen Mol. Check out the official trailer below!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, A Family Man:

• Screenplay writer Bill Dubuque's wrote the story for the film in November 2012 under the title "The Headhunter's Calling" which remained its title until late January of 2017, in early February of 2017 it's distributor Voltage Pictures renamed the film "A Family Man".
• Is the 1st time ever that both Gerard Butler and Willem Dafoe have starred in a movie together.

Person to Person

Director Dustin Guy Defa

Genre Drama

Cast Michael Cera, Abbi Jacobson, Philip Baker Hall, Michaela Watkins

Rating Unrated

Release Date July 28th, 2017

“Follows a variety of New York characters as they navigate personal relationships and unexpected problems over the course of one day.”

From director Dustin Guy Defa, Person to Person is a indie comedy drama following various individuals during a day in New York. The cast includes Michael Cera, Abbi Jacobson, Philip Baker Hall, and Michaela Watkins. Check out the official trailer below!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Person to Person:

• The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 20th, 2017.

It Stains the Sands Red

Director Colin Minihan

Genre Drama | Horror | Thriller

Cast Brittany Allen, Juan Riedinger, Merwin Mondesir, Kristopher Higgins

Rating Unrated

Release Date July 28th, 2017 (Limited)

“In the throes of a zombie apocalypse, a troubled woman from Las Vegas with a dark past finds herself stranded in the desert with a lone and ravenous zombie on her tail.”

Directed and co-written by Colin Minihan, It Stains the Sands Red is a unique zombie horror thriller about survival. Very much a indie zombie flick, this actually looks like it could be pretty good, and for the most part critics seem to agree. The cast includes Brittany Allen, Juan Riedinger, Merwin Mondesir, and Kristopher Higgins. Check out the official trailer below!!

Dunkirk

Director Christopher Nolan

Genre Action | Drama | History

Cast Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh

Rating PG-13

Release Date July 21st, 2017

“Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire, Canada and France are surrounded by the German army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.”

From acclaimed director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Inception), Dunkirk chronicles the miraculous evacuation of Allied soldiers from Belgium, Britain and France, between May 27th - June 4th, 1940, during Battle of France in World War II. As a huge fan of Nolan's work I was already extremely excited for this film, but after watching the newly released full-trailer I am pretty much ecstatic! Dunkirk stars Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, and Kenneth Branagh. Check out the teaser trailer as well as the full trailer below. 

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Dunkirk:

• First Christopher Nolan movie to be based on historical events. All of his other movies have either been original scripts, remakes, novel/short story adaptations, or comic book adaptations.
• By the tradition, Christopher Nolan decided to use the real naval destroyers instead of CGI for sea battle sequences in this film.
• Christopher Nolan received a $20 million salary against 20% of the box office gross, the biggest deal for any director since Peter Jackson received the same amount with King Kong (2005).

Check out the brand new official final trailer for Dunkirk below!!

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Director Luc Besson

Genre Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Cast Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, Ethan Hawke

Rating PG-13

Release Date July 21st, 2017

“A dark force threatens Alpha, a vast metropolis and home to species from a thousand planets. Special operatives Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the marauding menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.”

Directed by the supremely talented Paris, France native writer and director Luc Besson, who wrote and directed the cult classic Léon: The Professional (1994), wrote and directed Lucy with Scarlett Johansson, and also co-wrote and directed the hit film The Fifth Element (1997), Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is a sprawling sci-fi adventure that has received some comparisons to The Fifth Element BUT most critics are hesitant to say whether it is quite that good. Nonetheless, sci-fi isn't my favorite genre traditionally but the trailers are amazing and this looks like one heck of a good time at the movie theater. I can't wait to check it out! The cast includes Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, Clive Owen, and Ethan Hawke. Check out the official trailers below!! 

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets:

• Luc Besson deliberately chose to shoot the film, an adaptation of a French comic, in English with English-speaking actors in order to raise its chances of a wider audience.
• The film is based on the French science fiction comics series Valérian and Laureline, written by Pierre Christin and illustrated by Jean-Claude Mézières.
• The futuristic New York City in Luc Besson's previous film The Fifth Element (1997) was visually inspired by "The Circles of Power", the fifteenth volume in the "Valérian and Laureline" comic series.

Check out the newly released official trailer #2 below!!

Trailer #3 is here, check it out below!!

Girls Trip

Director Malcolm D. Lee

Genre Comedy

Cast Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Regina Hall, Tiffany Haddish

Rating R

Release Date July 21st, 2017

“When four lifelong friends travel to New Orleans for the annual Essence Festival, sisterhoods are rekindled, wild sides are rediscovered, and there’s enough dancing, drinking, brawling, and romancing to make the Big Easy blush.”

From director Malcolm D. Lee (The Best Man Holiday, Barbershop: The Next Cut), Girls Trip is a no-holds-barred comedy about a group of friends reconnecting and letting loose. The cast includes Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Regina Hall, and Tiffany Haddish. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Girls Trip:

• The film reunites Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith just over 20 years since they co-starred in Set It Off (1996).
• This is the third film to co-star Jada Pinkett Smith and Larenz Tate. They previously appeared together in Menace II Society (1993) and The Inkwell (1994).

Ozark Season 1

Genre Crime | Drama | Thriller

Cast Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Jason Butler Harner, Anthony Collins

Rating TVMA

Series Premiere Friday July 21st, 2017 (Netflix)

“A Chicago-based financial advisor secretly relocates his family to the Missouri Ozarks when his dealings with a drug cartel go awry.”

From creators Bill Dubuque and Mark Williams, Ozark is an intense crime drama about a wealthy financial adviser who gets mixed up with the wrong people putting him and his family in imminent danger. The cast includes Jason Bateman, Laura Linney, Jason Butler Harner, and Anthony Collins. Check out the teaser and official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Ozark:

• The show is set at a modest waterfront resort at Lake of the Ozarks, inspired by the Alhonna Resort and Marina where series creator Dubuque worked as a dock hand at the resort while he was at school in Missouri during the 1980s.
• Rather than filming at the Lake of the Ozarks, most of the shooting locations are in the Atlanta area because of tax breaks offered by the State of Georgia.

Killing Ground

Director Damien Power

Genre Thriller

Cast Harriet Dyer, Maya Stange, Tiarnie Coupland, Stephen Hunter

Rating Unrated

Release Date July 21st, 2017 (Limited & On-Demand)

“A couples’ camping trip turns into a frightening ordeal when they stumble across the scene of a horrific crime.”

The feature-film debut for Damien Power, who also penned the script, Killing Ground is a Aussie thriller with an edge unlike much else out there. Distributed by IFC Midnight, who also brought us the indie horror hit The Autopsy of Jane Doe, this looks like it could be yet another gem if the intense trailer is any indication. The cast includes Harriet Dyer, Maya Stange, Tiarnie Coupland, and Stephen Hunter. Check out the official trailer below!!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Killing Ground:

• Killing Ground is highly influenced by the hit thriller Deliverance (1972).
• Official selection of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

Landline

Director Gillian Robespierre

Genre Comedy

Cast Jenny Slate, Finn Wittrock, John Turturro, Edie Falco

Rating Unrated

Release Date July 21st, 2017 (Limited)

“In 1995, a teenager living with her sister and parents in Manhattan discovers that her father is having an affair.”

From director Gillian Robespierre (Obvious Child), Landline is a comedy drama (dramedy) that takes place in the mid 90's. The cast includes Jenny Slate, Finn Wittrock, John Turturro, and Edie Falco. Check out the official trailer below!

Ted Takes Fun Facts, Landline:

• On May 15, 2016, it was reported that Jenny Slate would star in the film, reuniting with Obvious Child director Gillian Robespierre and producer Elisabeth Holm.
• It had its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2017.
• Amazon Studios acquired distribution rights to the film.

First Kill

Director Steven C. Miller

Genre Action | Thriller

Cast Bruce Willis, Hayden Christensen, Gethin Anthony, Magi Avila

Rating R

Release Date July 21st, 2017

“A Wall Street broker is forced to evade a police chief investigating a bank robbery as he attempts to recover the stolen money in exchange for his son’s life.”

From director Steven C. Miller (Marauders), First Kill is a crime thriller about two men who find themselves involved in a very dangerous situation following a bank robbery. The cast includes Bruce Willis, Hayden Christensen, Gethin Anthony, and Magi Avila. Check out the official trailer below!! 

War for the Planet of the Apes

Director Matt Reeves

Genre Action | Adventure | Drama

Cast Woody Harrelson, Judy Greer, Andy Serkis, Steve Zahn

Rating PG-13

Release Date July 14th, 2017

“After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind.”

“In War for the Planet of the Apes, the third chapter of the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise, Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.”

From director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In), War for the Planet of the Apes looks to be the action-packed sequel fans have been waiting for! They certainly didn't hold back on the CGI this time around, that's for sure, and the cast looks more than promising. The cast includes Woody Harrelson, Judy Greer, Andy Serkis, and Steve Zahn. Check out the official trailer below.

Ted Takes Fun Facts, War for the Planet of the Apes:

• This will be Matt Reeves second directorial film in the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise. The first being Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014).
• According to director Matt Reeves, the apes that serve the humans are called "Donkeys", both as a reference to Donkey Kong and like donkeys, they are used as pack animals.
• Human soldier slogans as seen on the poster include quotes about: "The only good ape, is a dead ape", which is a reference to the gorilla General Ursus' popular quote from the 1970 "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" film, albeit the tables have turned.

Check out the newly released trailer #2 below!!

It's almost here!! Check out the newly released final trailer below.

Check out the brand-new official trailer #4 below!!

Game of Thrones Season 7

Genre Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

Cast Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harington

Rating TV-MA

Series Premiere Sunday July 16th, 2017 9:00 PM EST (HBO)

“Nine noble families fight for control over the mythical lands of Westeros; A forgotten race returns after being dormant for thousands of years.”

Game of Thrones, one of the most popular shows on television, is returning for it's 7th season!! It will premiere on HBO Sunday, July 16th 9:00 PM. Check out the official trailer below!!

The new trailer just dropped, check it out below!!