'The Divergent Series: Insurgent' Reveals a First Teaser Trailer

Don't worry, fans of dystopic future YA adaptations, The Hunger Games may be wrapping up but The Divergent Series is here to pick up the slack. The first film arrived earlier this year and while it hardly set the box office on fire, it was more than enough to move forward on Insurgent and the rest of Veronica Roth's trilogy, expanded to four movies because that's just how things are now. With the full trailer expected to debut in front of 'Mockingjay', an exciting teaser has arrived featuring star Shailene Woodley.

Insurgent picks up where the last film left off with Tris (Woodley) and Four (Theo James) on the run from Erudite leader, Jeanine (Kate Winslet), who hopes to wipe out anybody who threatens the delicate "faction" system. This footage seems to take entirely in a simulated landscape, which will play a major part in the next three movies. Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Ashley Judd, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, Miles Teller, and Zoe Kravitz return, joined by an impressive pair of new additions in Octavia Spencer and Naomi Watts. The question is whether audiences will take to Insurgent more than they did Divergent, which was overtaken by the $300M success of The Maze Runner.

We'll find out when The Divergent Series: Insurgent opens on March 20th 2015.

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VFF Review: 'Big Stone Gap' starring Ashley Judd and Patrick Wilson

There's something about seeing your hometown on the big screen. Not just as part of a movie, but as the central, driving force.  Tonight at the Virginia Film Festival, more than a 1000 anxious locals had a chance to see their town represented in the opening night feature, Big Stone Gap, a heartfelt and earnest homespun comedy about the family ties that bind us all together.

Based on the book penned by director Adriana Trigiani and partially influenced by her own life, the story centers on Big Stone Gap's town "old maid", Ave Maria Mulligan, played by Ashley Judd with her usual blend of beauty and spunk. Of Italian descent, Ave makes for an odd fit in the Southern-rooted Big Stone Gap, but she stands as probably the most "normal" of a quirky cast of characters.  She's the shining, good-natured centerpiece of the coal mining town, delivering meds to her neighbors and directing the town's play, but passion is something she's sorely lacking despite being in a relationship with her longtime best friend, the flamboyant Theodore (John Benjamin Hickey).  But there's clearly something brewing between her and the town hunk, Jack MacChesney, played by Patrick Wilson whose Big Stone Gap roots run deep.

While the comedy and various romantic entanglements are pretty conventional, what shines through is that this is a labor of love for all involved.That includes Whoopi Goldberg as the acerbic Fleeta, who runs the town pharmacy along with Ave, and Jenna Elfman as the flighty and superstitious Iva Lou Wade, who believes love can be found through Chinese facial readings. It's an oddball mix of Altman-esque characters, with a deep multigenerational theme that really hits home.  Feeling as if life has begun to pass her by and that Big Stone Gap has become more confining than rewarding, Ave reaches out to find a piece of her Italian heritage by locating her estranged father, but it's a development that arrives after long stretches of narrative drift. Not much happens in Big Stone Gap, it's a gradually paced film about a gradually paced place. But there's real chemistry between everybody involved, most especially between Judd and Wilson, and their romantically awkward scenes together are a joy. It's also safe to say Goldberg, who doesn't make many appearances on the big screen anymore, chose the perfect role for her brand of sharp-witted humor.

After tonight's world premiere, a woman next to me captured the essence of Big Stone Gap and why this simple film of modest aspirations works: "I loved it. It reminded me of home, the people and the places I knew".

Rating: 3 out of 5

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Review: ‘Dolphin Tale 2,’ starring Nathan Gamble, Harry Connick Jr., and Cozi Zuehlsdorff

Dolphin Taleis not really a movie that needed a sequel, but here we are. It’s summer, parents need a family-friendly movie to take their kids to now that school is back in session, everyone loves dolphins. No real other explanation for Dolphin Tale 2 exists. Not really.

Everyone from the 2011 original film (which told the real-life story of the dolphin Winter, whose use of a prosthetic tail has made her an inspiration to disabled children and wounded veterans alike) is back for Dolphin Tale 2, but that reunited casting doesn’t make the film any less vanilla. The gist is this: Years after Winter was rescued, she’s beloved by practically everyone who visits her new home, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. The owner of the aquarium, Dr. Clay Haskett (Harry Connick Jr.); his daughter Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff); and the boy that found Winter when she was injured, Sawyer Nelson (Nathan Gamble), are the most constant people in Winter’s life, but when her female dolphin companion dies, they know they’re in trouble. It’s against the law for female dolphins to be unpaired in captivity, and if Dr. Clay doesn’t find another female dolphin soon, Winter could be removed from the aquarium.

This is devastating news, of course, not only for Sawyer (who is essentially Winter’s best human friend), Hazel and Dr. Clay, but also for the aquarium’s investors, who have been seeing dollar dollar bills, y’all, in revenue since Winter became famous. So there are competing motivations at play here regarding Winter’s future, and at the same time, Sawyer has been invited to a prestigious semester-at-sea program that could take him away from Winter … and Hazel, his sort-of-kind-of crush.

You know how this ends, right? Of course you know how this ends. So the point of the film isn’t the foregone conclusion, but the journey, which is … bland. In light of the documentary Blackfish, it feels like Dolphin Tale 2 has a lot of language about how dolphins are wild animals, but Sawyer and Winter seem to have a great time doing underwater spins and twirls together; you’ll have a variety of these inspirational swimming montages. Every so often the aquarium will save another animal, like a turtle, that will do absurd things for children to laugh at. And Ashley Judd and Morgan Freeman are still lurking around, providing benevolent wisdom while collecting their paychecks.

For very young children, Dolphin Tale 2 will be fine; it has a straightforward narrative that’s easy to follow, and the dolphins are cute, and Florida looks very pretty. It’s an inoffensive-enough way to spend nearly two hours, and if you do, stay for the credits. The real-life footage of Winter and the aquarium employees that plays during the credits sequence is more inspirational and compelling than practically any of the other stuff that comes before it.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Guttenbergs

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Review: 'The Identical', Starring Blake Rayne, Ray Liotta, and Ashley Judd

Many people might not know this little tidbit about Elvis Presley's life: he had a twin brother. Although the twin brother of the legendary rock 'n roll artist did not live to see past birth, The Identical spews a fictitious story asking a single question. What if the twin had lived and been adopted and raised by another family? Sure, The Identical never actually tells us that this is loosely based on Presley's life, renaming the lead characters, but one look at Blake Rayne, who is an Elvis impersonator in real life, and you'll know that the story is practically Elvis remixed. Unfortunately, this doesn't save it from being a disaster of a film and painful to sit through. 

A young couple, living in Depression-era 1930s, are expecting a baby. But with no jobs and not enough food to feed more than three people, they decide to give one of their babies away after the unexpected birth of not one, but two babies. The local preacher Reece Wade (Ray Liotta) and his wife Louise (Ashley Judd) are unable to have children, and so the baby is offered to them to raise as their own. 


Of course, the usual storyline of the father wanting his son to follow in his footsteps ensues and Pastor Wade encourages and sets his son Ryan (Blake Rayne) on the path to also become a minister because he believes Ryan has a higher calling. But all Ryan can think about is that he wants to perform for people, sing. He finds inspiration in the music of Drexel Hemsley, who's unbeknownst to him, Ryan's twin brother. They're both drawn to music, though they live completely different lives, Drexel a very popular rock 'n roll artist. 

Ryan becomes semi-popular performing Drexel's songs, never knowing that the two of them are brothers. Without growing up together, Ryan's life is torn between feeling like a piece of him is missing, fulfilling his dreams of performing great music, and pleasing his father.  

This film is obviously geared towards the faith-based community, although you don't have to be a believer to watch it, since this very fictitious take on Elvis's twin could have been made to be very intriguing. So it's a shame to tell you that there isn't much to enjoy at all. One of the things that's most bothersome about the film is that the lead character, who is himself an Elvis impersonator in real life, looks like Elvis, talks like Elvis, moves like Elvis, and performs the same-sounding songs as the legendary musician, but the film takes caution to ever broach the topic behind it's inspiration, which is, ironically enough, Elvis. 


There's a nice touch in the beginning of the movie where the scenes play out in sepia tones to portray the fact that it takes place before present day, but nice small touches like this are easily drowned out by the slow pacing, lack of proper character development, and the need to suddenly shove religious politics down our throats for no particular reason. 

One of the most unsatisfying things about the film is that it takes no time to get into the background story of the famous musician twin. We see him when he's only a baby, and then very sporadically after that. We never learn very much about him except that he's famous and knew that he'd had a twin brother who "died". It's one of the major flaws of the film, which ultimately feels like a rip-off of sorts. Yes, the story is about the other twin, the one who leads a completely different life than the one we think we know, but it does the story a disservice, as well as to the character of Ryan himself, to never learn much about his brother. 

None of the characters are fleshed out enough to offer up enough sympathy for any of them. Ryan's story from start to finish is never anything exhilarating as we watch him go

from one thing to another as though his timeline is flat and uninteresting. And this is largely how the whole movie feels, flat and uninteresting. 

Performances from Ray Liotta and Ashley Judd are decent, but they don't have much to work with. Seth Green appears here and there as the supportive friend and band member, but there isn't anything memorable about him, and Ryan is torn about his life's journey and choices, yet there isn't much going on terms of showing us anything about his struggles. We're just told over and over again in hopes that we'll get it. 

The Identical had the potential to be an interesting take on a life that was never really lived in the real world, only for it to be told in an extremely underwhelming way onscreen. There's nothing that stands out about this film besides the music, which is fun and enjoyable, and sadly not enough of it. We move through Ryan's timeline as though the film is attempting a biopic, and pushes the envelope too far by practically making the lead character a carbon copy of Elvis. Why not just have created the story without the Elvis similarities? The story might have fared better. Underwhelming. boring, and unenjoyable overall. 

Rating: 2 out of 5

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New Trailer for 'Dolphin Tale 2' Starring Morgan Freeman and Ashley Judd

There doesn't seem to be much room for a movie like Dolphin Tale 2 in today's "bigger is better" Hollywood climate, until you look at the success they've had thus far. The first movie was a surprising hit three years ago, earning $95M and perhaps could have done more if it wasn't going up against another all-audience effort The Lion King 3D and Oscar-contender Moneyball. The sequel doesn't have as tough of a challenge this fall, and after a summer full of violent blockbusters we may see families eager for something they all can enjoy.

A new full trailer for Dolphin Tale 2 has been released, featuring the returning cast of Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr., Kris Kristofferson, and Nathan Gamble. Charles Martin Smith is back again to direct the film which continues the story of rescued dolphin, Winter, and the team at the Clearwater Marine Hospital who must find her a new companion. Basically, if the first film warmed your heart then chances are this one will, too.

Dolphin Tale 2 opens September 12th.


Dolphin Tale 2 - 2014 by Teaser-Trailer.com

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First 'Dolphin Tale 2' Trailer Swims to the Surface

For those who were worried Dolphin Tale was the end of Winter's story, never fear because it made $95M and thus Winter needs to stick around for a sequel. And so more wholesome family entertainment has been loosed into the wild with the trailer for Dolphin Tale 2, which brings back the inexplicably strong cast of Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, and Harry Connick, with a cameo by pro surfer Bethany Hamilton.

Charles Martin Smith, who helmed Never Cry Wolf back in the day, returns for a story that has Winter's surrogate mother passing away. Unable to be housed solo, Winter's human friends must find another dolphin poolmate before the feds take Winter, and her prosthetic tail, away to another aquarium....or to be canned tuna.

Dolphin Tale 2 surfaces on September 19th.

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Kate Mara and David Oyelowo are 'Captive'; Patrick Wilson Goes to 'Big Stone Gap'

* The true story of convicted serial killer Brian Nichols is being brought to the big screen, and it's got some great young talent attached to the leading roles. David Oyelowo and Kate Mara are set to star in Captive, an adapation of the best-selling book An Unlikely Angel by author Ashley Smith, who happened to be one of Nichols' hostages. Oyelowo will play Nichols who"broke out of a courthouse jail and shot dead the judge assigned to his case as well as a court reporter, sheriff’s deputy and FBI officer. While eluding a statewide manhunt, Nichols took Ashley Smith (Mara), a single mother struggling with meth addiction, hostage in her own apartment. Over the course of her ordeal, Smith used a book she had been given, Rick Warren's 'The Purpose Driven Life,' to reason with her captor, with surprising results." Directed by Jerry Jameson, filming is set to begin later this month.

* Patrick Wilson will leave the ominous world of James Wan's Insidious movies and into heartwarming family drama set in the Virginia mining country. He'll join Ashley Judd and Whoopi Goldberg (she still acts??) in Big Stone Gap, based on the series of novels by Adriana Trigiani, who is making her directorial debut. The film centers on a middle-aged woman who finds love amidst an eccentric Virginia coal town. Sounds positively lovely, and like something that should fit in nicely as part of the Hallmark Channel Hall of Fame.

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Ashley Judd joins Shailene Woodley in 'Divergent'

Her political career may have (sadly) been put on hold for now, but Ashley Judd is working to keep herself busy in front of the big screen. She recently played the First Lady in Olympus Has Fallen, and now she'll be joining the impressive cast of Neil Burger's adaptation of Divergent.

Based on the first book in Veronica Roth's best-selling trilogy, Divergent stars Shailene Woodley as Beatrice"Tris" Prior, who lives in a future version of Chicago where society has been divided up into five factions based on ideology. Prior learns she is "Divergent" and doesn't fit into any category, and learns of a plot to destroy everyone just like her. Judd will play Tris' mother in the film, who watches as her children join other factions.

Starring Kate Winslet, Aaron Eckhart Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ray Stevenson, Mekhi Phifer, Maggie Q, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, and Zoë Kravitz, Divergent is filming now for a release on March 21st 2014.  [THR]

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