'Magic Mike XXL' adds Donald Glover, Elizabeth Banks

Margaret here with a reminder to get your singles out and ready: the Magic Mike sequel has just added even more talent to its muscle-bound cast. 

 

Next in line for a full-body wax are Community's Donald Glover (better known to some as rapper Childish Gambino) and morning show host / former NFL player Michael Strahan. Elizabeth Banks, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Andie MacDowell are also attached.

Warner Bros. also released an official plot synopsis for Magic Mike XXL:

Picking up the story three years after Mike bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game, Magic Mike XXL finds the remaining Kings of Tampa likewise ready to throw in the towel. But they want to do it their way: burning down the house in one last blow-out performance in Myrtle Beach, and with legendary headliner Magic Mike sharing the spotlight with them. On the road to their final show, with whistle stops in Jacksonville and Savannah to renew old acquaintances and make new friends, Mike and the guys learn some new moves and shake off the past in surprising ways.

Those who might be mourning the departure of Matthew McConaughey will likely be cheered by the confirmation that Channing Tatum will be back in tear-away pants for at least a cameo role. (None of us are going to miss Alex Pettyfer's Adam character, right?)

The original Steven Soderbergh film, despite all its bachelorette-party hype, was very well-received by critics and praised for being naturalistic and sensitive. Now its successor looks to be carrying over the sense of raunchy fun, but as yet there's no indication that it will also have similar artistic merit. Magic Mike XXL will be helmed by Gregory Jacobs, a frequent Soderbergh collaborator but fairly untested as a feature director.

As a sequel and a road trip movie, and absent the guidance of Steven Soderbergh, does this have any chance of being a quality film? Does it need to?

Say What, Banks on Bike?

Amuse us by adding a caption or dialogue to this still of Elizabeth Banks from Walk of Shame. I'll announce the winner later. After the jump, see the winners of the last few "say whats" and what they won.

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Catching Teaser

Get More: 2013 MTV Movie Awards, Latest Movie News, Jennifer Lawrence, Elizabeth Banks

JA from MNPP here, with another example of what's become commonplace these days - the teaser for the trailer for the movie. In this case we have a preview for the trailer premiere of the second Hunger Games movie Catching Fire; the trailer proper will be unvelied during the MTV Movie Awards on April 14th, but for now they're giving us three whole shots amid flashes of fire and "Hosted By Rebel Wilson"-isms. We have a shot of the crowd waiting for Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), we have Effie (Elizabeth Banks, all cotton-candy'd up) about to lead them onto the stage, and we have a typically forced smile from everlasting sourpuss (with good reason, of course) Katniss as she greets her admirers.

I can't decide if this is more or less egregious an empty promotional tool than that seizure-inducer they released for The Wolverine last week before getting around to the proper trailer; that one had more images for us to look at (including a couple examples of shirtless Hugh Jackman, natch), but it compressed them into just a dozen seconds or so of strobe-like flashes; this one has fewer things for us to look at but it pauses long enough to give each moment a feeliing, a character beat. That robotic waving of Effie's hands, and Jennifer's grimace. (And I'm not the only one already happy to see the latter's face again, right? The Oscars were only a month ago but I already missed her.) And then I can't decide how depressing it is that this is a conversation I'm having with myself. And then I get distracted by another shiny thing and forget my momentary consternation til the next time. Ooh shiny!

12 Word Reviews: "Brave", "Beasts of Southern Wild", "Moonrise Kingdom"

My 1000+ word review of Magic Mike will be up tomorrow but in the meantime, let's clear the cache with a few words, a dozen in point of fact, on movies I didn't review properly.

Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin)
A six year old girl learns survival lessons from her father in a drowned world. But synopsis won't due its real poetry any justice. See it!
10WR: Overwhelming sense of loss tempered by vivid originality, guileless acting, flexible allegory.  A-
Oscar? I doubted it at an Oscar contender at first (defiantly weird and filled with first timers) but it has tremendous critical approval, and there's nothing else even remotely like it on the filmscape. It's very difficult to shake once you've experienced it. Could factor in across the board or, more likely, fight for a few key nods. Adapted Screenplay might be the safest bet (so far).

Brave (Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, and Steve Purcell)
A Scottish princess seeks to transform her fate but the magic she calls on has dangerous repercussions.
10WR: Refreshing steps outside Pixar comfort zones but oddly disjointed. Still... that hair! B
Oscar? A good bet in the Animated Feature category (Pixar has only missed that nomination once -- just last year with Cars 2) but anything beyond that and the music categories will be a tough sell.

What kind of bird are you?

Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson)
Troubled pen pals run away from home (and scout camp) in this darkly sweet tale of adolescent (and adult) loneliness.
10WR: Amusing affectations are balm and escape from real pain.Anderson's second best! B+
Oscar? That brilliant last movement in the end credits, with the narration of Desplat's music could go a long way for selling Best Original Score. But how about Screenplay and Art Direction? Too affected or just right?

People Like Us (Alex Kurtzman)
A young man (Chris Pine) discovers a half sister (Elizabeth Banks) he didn't know existed but keeps the truth from her and his angry recently widowed mother (Michelle Pfeiffer. 
10WR: Strong actresses but uncomfortably incestuous plot bizarrely filmed like an action flick. C-
Oscar? If it's an unlikely hit, Pfeiffer could win traction in Supporting Actress.

poll by twiigs.com

Peace , Love & Misunderstanding (Bruce Beresford)
An uptight depressed lawyer visits her estranged hippie mother and their cultures clash... again.
10WR: Kindhearted with enjoyable if obvious performances. Too programmatic when complexity is needed. C
Oscar? No. Though it sure is nice to see Jane Fonda back onscreen.

Prometheus (Ridley Scott)
A team of scientists seeks our genetic ancestors on a far away planet and discovers the diabolical origins of those pesky acid-blooded creepy crawlies instead.
10WR: Tremendously visual. Intermittently heart-stopping --  that abortion sequence!. Plot is a tough sell.  B
Oscar? We discussed this! 

YOUR TURN in the comments

Yes, No, Maybe So: "People Like Us"

It's time to buy your tickets -- or not -- for a new movie based entirely on its trailer. This one is called People Like Us and stars Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks (who introduces the trailer... I find it so weird when they do that). The film also stars La Pfeiffer but they weirdly pretend like it doesn't until halfway through. Which also happened with Dark Shadows. Marketing departments clearly think she has no bankability anymore which is depressing. She has a robust online fan community still -- far more than some other 80s superstars -- so it stands to reason that they go see movies if she's in them. Unfortunately there are few case studies to be had. And maybe Hollywood is basing everything on Chéri bombing a few years back?

Let's break it down after the jump.

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