90°F
weather icon Clear

CinemaCon Day Four, The End: The stars come out for Warner Bros.

On Thursday evening, Warner Bros. hosted a star-studded conclusion to CinemaCon, the annual four-day gathering at Caesars Palace for movie theater owners and companies touting the latest scientific advances in soft pretzels.

And the studio didn’t disappoint by giving the Colosseum stage an infusion of razzle-dazzle that’s largely been missing from this year’s event.

Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman introduced scenes from their trippy techno-thriller “Transcendence.” Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis debuted the trailer for “Jupiter Ascending,” the mind-bending sci-fi thriller from “The Matrix” creators, the Wachowskis. Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore got a little rowdy before discussing their comedy “Blended.” Melissa McCarthy showed off her comedy “Tammy.” And “The Hobbit’s” Richard Armitage and “The Walking Dead’s” Sarah Wayne Callies offered a look at “Into the Storm,” which looks like “Twister” on human growth hormones.

But the largest applause, a standing ovation to be exact, was reserved for director Clint Eastwood, who took the stage to preview footage from his next directing effort, the musical “Jersey Boys.” Of the special, spine-rattling sound system that was installed in the Colosseum for the week, the living legend joked that these were the first movies he’d heard in a while.

So what stood out?

In addition to new scenes of a destroyed Strip, footage from “Godzilla” included a gradual introduction of the beast: a leg, what might have been a shoulder, and part of the tail before the full monster was revealed as thousands fled. “Never mind ‘Blended,’ ” Sandler joked right after those scenes. “How about that (expletive)-in’ ‘Godzilla’!”

Tom Cruise’s “Edge of Tomorrow,” in which his futuristic soldier is trapped in a time loop, should appeal to his fans. It also should play well to his detractors since Cruise dies in it. A lot. A whole, whole, whole lot.

“Jupiter Ascending” could be epic. It also could be unwatchable.

“Jersey Boys” looks like a fun couple of hours.

And new scenes from “Horrible Bosses 2” showed Jennifer Aniston asking Jason Bateman to move his bowels on her. It may not be any good — heck, this time last year, the studio’s “Man of Steel” looked like it would be amazing — but it will definitely appeal to a certain audience.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
UK set to launch COVID-19 vaccination plan watched by the world

Around 800,000 doses of the vaccine are expected to be in place for the start of the rollout on Tuesday, a day that British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has reportedly dubbed as “V-Day,” a nod to triumphs in World War II.

Trump halts COVID-19 relief talks until after election; markets fall

Stocks dropped suddenly on Wall Street Tuesday afternoon after President Donald Trump ordered a stop to negotiations with Democrats over another round of stimulus for the economy.