As all you probably know, 20th Century FOX / Marvel released a new teaser trailer this morning for Logan, the last film to feature Hugh Jackman as the popular character of Wolverine. As you may also know, we are currently in the middle of our Harry Potter Movie Series on the show, so we don’t have any extra space at the moment to discuss new trailers in audio form. But we have thoughts on this trailer, so we are going to divulge them here. Below are both my (JD) thoughts as well as Brendan’s thoughts on the new trailer for Logan.

JD’s Thoughts:
Wolverine is a very popular comic-book character, so it made sense to me why they would want to start a series of standalone films feature such an iconic superhero. However, Origins: Wolverine turned out to be something nobody wanted. The Wolverine had its moments but in the end, we found that film rather disappointing too. So, the announcement of a third standalone film didn’t excite us too much, that is until now. Hugh Jackman has always been stupendous in the role, whether it be the X-Men films or his own movies, and Logan may be his best outing yet. This trailer is heartbreaking, authentic, honest, gritty and exciting, all in one experience. Jackman looks in top form, as does Sir Patrick Stewart as Professor X. You add in the dynamic of this little girl, played by Sienna Novikov, and the potential for this film has skyrocketed for me (PS, the poster for this film is incredibly emotional for me too). The music for this trailer is also perfect, setting the tone masterfully, which couples very well with the imagery James Mangold gives us. Yeah, mark me down as excited.

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Brendan’s Thoughts:
Wolverine and Professor X get dropped into what looks like Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, and all the better for it. As a result, this does not look or feel like your typical X-Men film; instead, James Mangold looks to be bringing a surprising authenticity and richness this universe doesn’t necessarily need, but more than welcomed nonetheless. Logan looks devastating, cruel, honest, but still exciting, and the inclusion of Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt” (originally by Nine Inch Nails) compliments this tone beautifully. Lump in a central child figure, giving this film a possible familial theme, and we are all in. If this is truly Wolverine’s final outing, Mangold and Jackman seem to understand that the character needs to go out on a sad, yet exciting high.

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What did you think of the new trailer for Logan? Let us know in the comment section below.

As many of you know, the InSession Film Podcast is broken up into two shows. Our main shows are released on Mondays and feature reviews, Top 3 lists and other film-related discussion. However, on Friday’s, we have a segment we call Extra Film. This segment features reviews only of films that we don’t have time for on our main show. Over the course of the last three years, both versions of the podcast have come into their own and have come to define us.

Given recent circumstances, we are now looking for a third co-host to help lead our Extra Film podcast every week and occasionally fill in on the main show as needed. Keep in mind, that most of our Extra Film reviews cover indie releases. So, we will need someone who loves indie film and is willing to be flexible when it comes to seeing those films. However, on occasion, we will see and discuss other mainstream films as well as older classics.

We also need someone who is going to be dedicated and available most weeks. We are flexible and understanding of life circumstances, but we want someone who is willing to make the time needed for this role and wants to have fun discussing film. This, of course, isn’t a paid position (we are in podcasting after all) but we promise that it will be satisfying, challenging and worth your time.

If you think this is a role that you can commit too, please email us at [email protected] and let us know you are interested. From there, we can discuss more privately and can figure out if this is the right role for you.

Thank you to all those who are interested and we look forward to what InSession Film has to offer in the future.

This weekend on Episode 191, we will be discussing Gavin O’Connor’s new film, The Accountant. Now, there’s many reasons to be excited for this film on paper. For one, it stars Ben Affleck. Yeah, yeah, I know that is a turnoff for some people but he’s not a bad actor. Since he’s started directing especially, his acting has improved significantly, making him a serviceable and entertaining watch each time he’s on screen. And based off of the trailer for this film, that trend doesn’t seem to be stopping. The Accountant also stars Anna Kendrick. Enough said, am I right? Additionally, we’ll see the likes of J.K. Simmons, John Lithgow and Jon Bernthal. Yeah, I’d say the cast for this film is quite excellent.

However, more than that, Gavin O’Connor is the big reason I’m personally anticipating The Accountant. He may not be a household name but he’s an underrated director that knows how to build drama. Everyone knows my thoughts on Warrior, which is one of the most underrated films of all-time, but his skills are evident in Miracle as well. And I’d argue Jane Got a Gun too. Jane was a messy film, but given that film’s production hell, it could have turned out a lot worse. Still, O’Connor saved that film as much as he could. I’m not saying he is one of the best directors working today or that his resume is the best thing since sliced bread, but I do think he’s a great director with huge potential. And that is enough to get me pumped for his films.

On top of all of that, the story sounds somewhat riveting as well. As a simple crime-drama, this looks to satisfy your basic movie needs here. What about you though, are you excited for The Accountant this weekend?

In some ways it’s hard believe that The Birth of a Nation is finally coming to theaters. Nate Parker’s directorial debut film made waves way back in January at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and we’ve been itching to see it ever since. The film was also highlighted because its praise came at the height of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy regarding the Oscars. It seemed early on that The Academy would have at least one film they could hold in their back pocket to help cover some ground when it comes to the lack of diversity in their nominations. However, The Birth of a Nation has somewhat fizzled out a little bit due to a few different factors. For one, as the film has seen more film festivals, critics have been a little harder on the film in their reviews. The more and more reviews that come out, it appears that Parker’s direction is reflective of a first-timer at the helm. Secondly, and speaking of Parker, his rape allegations have sparked further controversy. This may or may not hurt the film at the box office, however it will have significant awards ramifications. This is just my opinion, but I’m not certain that The Academy will be eager to vote for The Birth of a Nation given the discussion around Parker’s scandal. That said, if the film is good enough on its own, I would hope that would be enough for voters, but history has proven otherwise.

It’s been rather heartbreaking to see how things have developed for The Birth of a Nation. Given our current cultural landscape, this film could have reverberated in some really powerful ways. The film itself still may offer some relevant conversation, but I’m curious as to how much of it will be stifled due to its external mayhem. Even if the film is flawed, as it appears to be, I would hope people could look past Parker’s personal life and receive the film for what is. I don’t expect The Birth of a Nation to be on the same level as 12 Years a Slave, but our social landscape right now is ripe for this material.

Looking at the film on its own, it sounds great on paper. The story of Nat Turner is inspiring and tragic all at the same time. The film also stars Parker, as well as Jackie Earle Haley, Armie Hammer, Dwight Henry (who was amazing in Beasts of the Southern Wild), Aunjanue Ellis (who is underrated as an actress), Esther Scott and many more. Everything about this film looks great fundamentally. The big question is whether or not Parker is effective as a director. Can he take such rich material, with a robust cast, and do something resonate with it? We’ll find out the answer to that this weekend.

No matter how this film turns out, one thing is for certain. The Birth of a Nation has arguably the best movie poster I’ve seen all year. In fact, I’d go as far as to say it is the best I’ve seen, personally. Wow.

Are you excited for The Birth of a Nation this weekend?

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Here’s what else you can expect at the box office this weekend:

The Girl on the Train

Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
The Greasy Strangler (limited)
Blue Jay (limited)
Voyage of Time (limited)

The Fantastic Four first debuted over fifty years ago in 1961. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the duo wanted to do something different with the super-hero genre. They did things uncommon at the time, such as making the team a family, having one of the characters (The Thing) have unattractive powers, they were celebrities and in their first several appearances they didn’t have any sort of costume. The series would go onto be hugely popular, kick-starting what is now the Marvel universe. The adventures of Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, The Human Torch and The Thing, would continue under dozens of writers and artists over the years and the team would evolve and become more successful.

Stan and Jack’s work on the series is still considered one of the best today and is as one of the longest uninterrupted runs in all of comics. For over one-hundred issues they produced the book monthly, adding characters till popular today such as Dr. Doom, the Black Panther, Galactus, the Skrulls, the Silver Surfer and countless others. The heart of the Fantastic Four franchise has always been discovery and family. The team aren’t likely to proactively fight crime and instead combat situations arise as they explore new locations, worlds and ideas. The group’s membership has changed from time to time, but has focused mostly on the main four, with the children of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman becoming main characters.

Like any popular super hero franchise, it’s going to spawn adaptions. The first Fantastic Four animated series debuted in the 1960s produced by the Hanna-Barbera company. Another show would follow in the seventies (notoriously lacking the Human Torch), then again in the 1990s and the mid 2000s. The first live action film is the infamous 1994 film by B-movie legend Roger Corman. The film was only made in order for the studio to keep the licence and only ever released as a leak. With the modern popularity of super hero films, two movies would be released in the 2000s; Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. The films would be modest successes but the squeal made less than the first, despite costing more. A reboot of the series was released in 2015 and was met with negative reviews and was less successful than the other films.

Merchandise is ripe for the Fantastic Four. Any item you can think of, the team have had it. Toys, books, clothing, bedsheets, lamps, posters, confectioneries, albums and more have all been released based on the FF. Various video games have been produced in the past, with notable example being the 1997 release for the Playstation. Both of the 2000s films had video game tie-ins. You can play as the Fantastic Four until your heart is content today with online slots provided by Coral based on the team. The Fantastic Four have made numerous other appearances in video games, being playable in both Marvel Ultimate Alliance games, MMORPG Marvel Heroes, Lego Marvel Super Heroes and more.

The Fantastic Four have been around for over half a century and with all the ups and despite the downs, they’ll easily be around for the next half.

We all knew it was coming, right? Last week Disney announced that they would be joining forces with director Jon Favreau to create a live-action adaptation of The Lion King. Well, as you’ll hear on Episode 189, we couldn’t let that news slip through the cracks on our show. Despite being in the middle of our Harry Potter Movie Series, we needed to discuss this further. So, for the first time since Episode 5 all the way back in 2013, we decided to forgo our Top 3 segment, making #189 the first show since then to not have some sort of list segment. And it was totally worth it.

For a little bit of context, I’m a *huge* fan of The Lion King. It was a big piece of my childhood and I would still argue to this day that The Lion King is one of the best animated films of all-time. It perhaps *is* the best animated film of all-time. Simply on principle, this news is alarming. However, my biggest questions are more fundamental. If this is supposed to be live-action, but it’s executed with heavy CGI in the same vein as The Jungle Book, isn’t that still technically animated since there are no human characters? Also, how are you going to replace the iconic vocal performance from James Earl Jones? Should you just re-cast him? And don’t even get me started on Hans Zimmer’s Oscar-winning score. How are they going to replicate the music of this film, which is itself a significant piece of cinema history?

Laying all of that aside, there is reason to be hopeful for this project. First of all, Disney seems to have their heads on straight with all of their properties. Of course this is subjective, but if you ask me, Disney Animation, Marvel, Star Wars and these live-action remakes have mostly been great, with only a few misses here and there. Meaning, Disney has all of their arms working in unison right now. As for the live-action remakes, Cinderella, The Jungle Book and Pete’s Dragon, have all been solid re-imaginations. I haven’t seen the Alice in Wonderland films but I hear awful things about them. Maleficent was disappointing as well, but outside of those two, I’ve really enjoyed what Disney has been doing with their live-action remakes.

And that brings us to Beauty and the Beast, which is another animated film I hold very close to my chest. In fact, Belle is my favorite Disney Princess. Now, I understand that the marketing for these remakes are going to pander to what people love about the original animated films, but the teaser trailer and images have absolutely captured the spirit of Disney’s original Beauty and the Beast. All of the evidence suggests to me that Bill Condon’s film will 1000% render the heart of that story while visually regurgitating what we love so much about Beauty and the Beast aesthetically. I am so excited for that film and love the direction that film is heading at the moment.

If Beauty and the Beast lands for me, coupled with my already love for The Jungle Book and Cinderella, I may actively be in favor of a remake for The Lion King. At the end of the day, I still have questions and the very idea makes me nervous, but the evidence says to me that I shouldn’t be at this point. If you’re like my co-host Brendan, and you didn’t like The Jungle Book or Cinderella or Pete’s Dragon, then I sympathize with your more severe hesitations. However those films did land for me pretty hard, and I’m a big fan of Favreau’s work. If he brings the same kind of enthusiasm and vision to The Lion King as he did with The Jungle Book, that only adds to my potential excitement for this project.

What about you though? Where do you sit on all of this?

Listen to more of our thoughts on Episode 189 below: