Did you forget about Artemis Fowl? I bet you did, and that’s perfectly okay, because the Disney adaptation of Eoin Colfer’s bestselling YA novel has been on quite the break. Originally pegged for release last August (!!!), the Kenneth Branagh-directed film is finally set to arrive in May, when it’s hoped to be the next Harry Potter-sized breakout. Either that, or it’ll be the next Ender’s Game.
Artemis Fowl is a little bit different than others, as its central protagonist is basically a bad guy. Ferdia Shaw plays the titular 12-year-old criminal mastermind, who kidnaps a prominent fairy to force a random that will help him lead a quest to find his missing father and restore his family’s fortune.
Yeah, there’s a lot going on here, but how cool is it to have this kid who can basically do anything he wants, and exists with one foot in the world of technology and another in sorcery and fantasy. Pretty cool. The cast includes Colin Farrell, Judi Dench, Lara McDonnell, Josh Gad, Tamara Smart, Nonso Anozie, Josh McGuire, Nikesh Patel, Adrian Scarborough, Miranda Raison.
SYNOPSIS: Disney’s “Artemis Fowl,” is a fantastical, spellbinding adventure that follows the journey of 12-year-old genius Artemis Fowl, a descendant of a long line of criminal masterminds, as he seeks to find his father who has mysteriously disappeared. With the help of his loyal protector Butler, Artemis sets out to find him, and in doing so uncovers an ancient, underground civilization—the amazingly advanced world of fairies. Deducing that his father’s disappearance is somehow connected to the secretive, reclusive fairy world, cunning Artemis concocts a dangerous plan—so dangerous that he ultimately finds himself in a perilous war of wits with the all-powerful fairies.
Mark Ruffalo may be accustomed to play two sides of the same DNA as Marvel’s big green Hulk, but in the upcoming HBO series I Know This Much is True, he does it in a different way. Ruffalo plays twin brothers in the show by The Place Beyond the Pines writer/director Derek Cianfrance, which is based on Wally Lamb’s bestselling novel about the family ties that bind us and will steer us in unexpected, often tragic directions.
Ruffalo takes on the dual role of identical twins Dominick and Thomas, one brother suffering from severe schizophrenia, and the other who does his best to protect him. The cast is pretty great, with Ruffalo surrounded by a great group of women including Melissa Leo, Kathryn Hahn, Archie Panjabi, Rosie O’Donnell, Imogen Poots, Juliette Lewis, and Aisling Franciosi.
SYNOPSIS: I Know This Much Is True is a family saga that follows the parallel lives of identical twin brothers in a story of betrayal, sacrifice and forgiveness set against the backdrop of 20th-century America.
I Know This Much is True comes to HBO on April 27th.
On this week’s show, Travis and John review Blumhouse’s THE INVISIBLE MAN, quickly give their thoughts on EMMA., and talk about the future of INDIANA JONES 5 without Steven Spielberg in the director’s chair. Is James Mangold a step in the right direction, or what? Also, those She-Hulk rumors with Alison Brie, the Guns AKIMBO controversy, and more.
1. The Invisible Man (review)- $29M
Blumhouse and Universal’s horror reimagining The Invisible Man made itself quite seen with a $29M domestic debut, part of a $49M worldwide weekend. That should help take some of the sting of Fantasy Island‘s lousy launch just a couple of weeks ago for Blumhouse. In my review, I asked the question what Universal’s “Dark Universe” brand might’ve been if it had launched with this rather than the blockbuster dud The Mummy. Chances are we’d be looking at producer Jason Blum spearheading an entire low-budget franchise based on the classic movie monsters, and if Bride of Frankenstein ever gets going it may still happen. This is just a hugely positive launch for the $7M film, led by Elisabeth Moss and directed by Saw and Insidious 3‘s Leigh Whannell who is becoming quite reliable on his own without pal James Wan. With a couple of weeks before A Quiet Place 2 comes stomping in to devour everything, we could see The Invisible Man end its run as a sneaky box office hit, and with a B+ Cinemascore and an ending that teases more story left to go, don’t be surprised if fans clamor for a sequel.
2. Sonic the Hedgehog– $16M/$128M
3. The Call of the Wild– $13.2M/$45.9M
In general, a $45M stateside total for Fox/Disney’s The Call of the Wild would be pretty good, as would the $79M haul after just two weeks. But when you factor in the $125M price tag this survival story is way underwater.
4. My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (review)- $6.3M/$9M
Maybe I’m just ignorant to the popularity of Japanese manga My Hero Academia, but the success of Funimation’s Hero Rising took me by surprise. The animated action film opened in 1260 locations and earned $9M since its Wednesday launch.
5. Bad Boys for Life– $4.3M/$197M
6. Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey– $3.9M/$78.5M
7. Impractical Jokers– $2.8M/$5.9M
8. Brahms: Boy 2– $2.5M/$9.7M
8. 1917– $2.5M/$155.7M
10. Fantasy Island– $2.2M/$23.9M
Pixar dropped a sneak peek of their latest toon, Onward (review), into 470 locations and it went off like magic. The film earned $650K, setting up the Tom Holland/Chris Pratt movie for success next week when it goes wide. This one has been flying under the radar a little bit, at least for a Pixar, and the good word-of-mouth will definitely help.
In disappointing news, Wendy (review), the long-awaited Peter Pan reimagining from Beasts of the Southern Wild director Benh Zeitlin, opened with just $30K and a miserable $7.5K per site average. I had hoped the eagerness for Zeitlin’s followup would carry it through, and perhaps it will upon expansion next week, but the utter lack of star power and good buzz may be too much to overcome.
FX’s Y: The Last Man series, officially just-titled Y, has had its share of problems getting off the ground. The latest hurdle saw star Barry Keoghan drop out, leaving the show in the lurch for a few weeks. But now it’s being reported that Warcraft actor Barry Schnetzer has been cast to replace him, taking on the role of Yorick Brown.
Schnetzer joins the adaptation of Brian K. Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s acclaimed comic book series, about a calamity that wiped out every other male on the planet, leaving only amateur magician Yorick Brown and his pet monkey Ampersand. The series will feature a top-notch cast of actresses including Diane Lane, Imogen Poots, Lashana Lynch, Juliana Canfield, Marin Ireland and Amber Tamblyn.
The ship seems to have been righted now with Schnetzer’s casting. Eliza Clark will act as showrunner, having come in to replace Michael Green and Aïda Mashaka Croal who left over creative differences last year. Told you this thing has had some issues, and that doesn’t include the years they spent trying to make it into a movie. On board to direct the pilot is exec-producer Melina Matsoukas, who most recently helmed Queen & Slim.
Y is expected to begin production in April for a late 2020 release but may get pushed back due to all of the recent shuffling.
Everyone’s got OC these days…if you don’t have some serious scripted content of your own you just aren’t running with the big boys. Sure, there’s the Breaking Bad and Mad Men of the world but some of my favorite shows from the last 10 years have been rather offbeat type shows on specialized channels. The shows that you KNOW wouldn’t have even made it past the pitch stage back in the days of the big 3. This funky wonderland of scripted cable TV can be hit or miss but when it hits, damn is it refreshing. SyFy has been in the game for a long time now and has cut out a nice little niche with their original films and TV. Warehouse 13 was one of my go-to hidden gems for a while. Currently their running shows like Wynonna Earp and Van Helsing which are both a blast to watch. It should come as no surprise that there are more shows like this on the way, but what may surprise those of you who know me is the one that I’m more excited about. Day of the Dead and The Surrealtor have both gotten orders from the geek-centric station, and for the life of me I can’t understand why Day of the Dead is on this list. Don’t get me wrong, all of the first three of Romero’s zombie saga are iconic and classic in their own right, but in a world where The Walking Dead is in double digit seasons, and SyFy has already had success with Z-Nation, why bring another Zombie show into the mix? The Surrealtor, a show about a real estate agent his team of specialists who investigate haunted houses that scare buyers away… now that sounds like the kind of quirky, off-beat fun I expect from SyFy
Handsome. Clever. Rich. Though those words were penned by Jane Austen to describe the titular character Emma in her beloved comedy, they certainly describe Focus Features’ newest adaption of the same work.EMMA. is certainly handsome with gorgeous costumes and set design, pops of color seem to fly off the screen. It’s clever, using sexuality as a way to bring out an unseen side of the classic. The film’s richness, however might be its downfall, being too long and overcrowded for its full potential to shine through. Directed by Autumn de Wilde and written by Eleanor Catton,EMMA. injects new life into regency classic.
Published in 1815, Austen’s last work she saw released before her death, the story follows Emma (Anya Taylor-Joy), a beautiful and rich young woman living in England with a knack for matchmaking and speaking her mind. Often unchecked by her peers, except by her intriguing neighbor Mr. Knightley, Emma has had great success with meddling in other peoples lives until she takes Harriett Smith (Mia Goth) under her wing and a farce ensues. When things unexpectedly and consistently start to go awry, Emma’s outlook on life and the treatment of others is called into question. As her love for Harriet grows and her feelings for Knightley change, her world view is blown apart and her expectations are proven wrong.
As Mr. Knightley, Flynn is subtly passionate and plays the character delicately. His performance brings a rare masculinity to the character, one full of emotion and awareness. The way he plays Knightley to the character’s furthest potential, compliments and adds to his chemistry with Taylor-Joy. She nails her portrayal of the character at the beginning and end of the film brilliantly, but struggles to accurately capture Emma’s emotional journey. Channeling more Cher Horowitz from Clueless rather than Gwenyth Paltrow in 1996’s Emma, Taylor-Joy plays the beloved character with playful sass and arrogance and a breath of sensuality.
Like most things in life, EMMA, needs more Bill Nighy. As Emma’s pessimistic and hypochondriac father, Nighy steals every scene he’s in. Whether its flitting down the stairs or demanding servants deal with a draft, Nighy grounds the film in levity. Josh O’Connor (Season 3 of The Crown) also makes his comedic mark on the film as theimpish and rude vicar Mr. Elton. Showing off his comedic timing and cadence, O’Connor wisely uses his talents to compliment the character’s weaselly nature. The rest of supporting cast is a who’s who of actors in that BBC show you saw that one time. Gemma Whelan from Game of Thrones, Sherlock’sRupert Graves, Call The Midwife’s Miranda Hart, all charmingly play various members of Emma’s unofficial fan club.
The essential question that must be asked whenever a remake is made is “Does this adaption elevate the work?” A recent example of this is last year’s Little Women where writer/director Greta Gerwig not only used the original source material, but used Louisa May Alcott’s journals, other writings and even rants from Meryl Streep to tell with a modern sensibility. From first glance it seems like this version of Emma doesn’t do much to elevate past adaptions until you realize that the story isframed from the female gaze. Something commonly unseen in previous adaptions of Jane Austen’s work. We not only see Emma fall in love with Knightley over time but we her sexual attraction to him grow. From longing looks, to licking fingers after eating a sweet, never breaking eye contact, the control and sexual desire is completely framed from a female point of view. Emma owns her sexuality, well as much as she can for the regency period. Early on there’s a seemingly needless moment of male nudity, but its well placed and well appreciated. How much needless female nudity have we had to endure for the sake of it? De Wilde uses it to let us know that this version is going to be different. We are going to see Mr. Knightly through Emma’s eyes, that this story of matchmaking. And what comes after a match is made? Sex.
What holds this adaption back is its run-time. Normally with adaptions, so many plot points from the original work are omitted. Well, not this time. It feels like every little detail is included and it’s tedious. Smaller moments could be condensed and or cut all together. With so much going on, Emma and Knightley’s relationship seems to lag in the middle and some of these intricate interpersonal wheeling and dealings get muddled as a result.
Is it this the greatest adaption of Austen’s beloved comedy? Ugh. As if! But with its picturesque staging and delightfully charming and endearing performances, it is a refreshing take on the beloved piece. It’s a shame that its long run time and over-crowded nature make the business of matchmaking seem messier than it needs to be.
Mobsters and the police hunting them down. Corruption and deceit.
Surveillance, backstabbing, robberies, and of course…whistling – what else
would you expect from a modern-day film noir? Well writer/director Corneliu
Porumboiu gives us all of this and more in The Whistlers.
Cristi (Vlad Ivanov), a narcotics detective, gets pulled into
a seedy web of crime – and at the center of it is a group of mobsters. He is
taken to the island of La Gomera in the Spanish Canary islands to learn a secret
whistling language known as Silbo Gomero (which actually exists!). Silbo Gomero
essentially translates Spanish into a series of whistles, and they go even
further in The Whistlers by adding Romanian characters to it as well.
The goal is to help mob boss Paco (Agustí Villaronga) get his right-hand
man Zsolt (Sabin Tambrea) out of prison. Of course, Cristi and his fellow police
officers are the ones that framed and arrested Zsolt in the first place for drugs
and money laundering, but that’s neither here nor there.
Enter the femme fatale Gilda (Catrinel Marlon). A suave and
powerful woman who knows how to use her wits and looks to make men do what she
pleases. She toes the line and at any moment it can never be clear whose side she is on – the only thing we know is she always has her own best
interests at heart. Gilda and Kiko (Antonio Buíl) struggle teaching
Cristi the whistling language in a series of humorous, almost slapstick like, scenes
that show his knowledge of Silbo Gomero progressing. Back home in Romania Cristi’s
every move is being scrutinized by his hawk of a boss Magda (Rodica Lazar) – both
literally and figuratively as she has ordered surveillance to be placed on
Cristi by Alin (George Pistereanu), a fellow narcotics officer whom she
actually trusts. Cristi must juggle relationships on both sides of the law –
thinking he’s in control, but with such delicate relationships, it’s tough to
tell who actually is.
First and foremost, it’s nearly impossible to find someone in The
Whistlers that is a good person. The cops are corrupt, the criminals are…well
criminals. The police are working with the criminals and backstabbing each other
– no one knows who they can actually trust. It’s a twisted web of lies and
conspiracies and one that causes the film to become murky and confusing.
We go back and forth through time, jumping from La Gomera to Romania and even making
a stop in Singapore. This shifting and hopping leads the narrative to become difficult to follow. Yet no matter where or when in the film, an underlying question remains – when even the supposed good guys are breaking the rules, who do
you root for?
There are certainly things to like in The Whistlers,
with the music and cinematography leading the charge. Porumboiu makes numerous interesting stylistic choices and his sense of timing and pace results in some
truly hilarious moments throughout the film. Porumboiu also makes nods to classic
films from the past, including a glaringly obvious one to Psycho – that did
not go unnoticed or unappreciated. The entire film seems to be made up of dichotomies
– the good guys and bad guys, loud blaring music immediately followed by
deafening silence, the music itself ranging from Iggy Pop’s The Passenger to
Opera, the paradise of the Canary Islands to the bleak and cold Romania. Yet these
dichotomies start to blend – yes, the Canary Islands are gorgeous, but once you
realize your phone is being tapped and people are watching you, can you enjoy paradise;
and what do you do when those in a position to uphold the law are the ones
skirting it themselves? Porumboiu weaves an interesting tale in The
Whistlers, however it does become a little too convoluted at times which takes
away from the film. All in all, there is enough here to make it worthy of a
watch, but I’d wait for a Netflix release.
Worker rights is one of those issues we tend to take for granted, but the safe working conditions we have were earned by those who fought, and often died, to get them. One of these great American stories that has gone mostly unnoticed gets its due on the big screen with Radium Girls, which stars the promising duo of actresses Joey King and Abby Quinn.
If you don’t know, the “Radium Girls” were the female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning while painting glow-in-the-dark watch dials and other products, having been led to believe that radium was safe. King and Quinn play sisters Bessie and Jo, who in 1928 are two of these girls working at a fictional plant, only to have one fall ill under mysterious circumstances. When other girls also start getting sick, they join with other activists to expose a corporate scandal.
King is coming off her Emmy-nominated performance in The Act, but has been doing great work ever since her breakout role in Ramona & Beezus, which seems like forever ago. Quinn became a festival darling a couple of years ago in Landline, and was seen recently in both After the Wedding and Little Women.
The film is co-directed by Ginny Mohler and Oscar-nominated Cutie & the Boxer producer Lydia Dean Pilcher, with Lily Tomlin on board to exec-produce. Shot in 2017, it debuted at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and is finding its way into theaters this year on April 3rd.
SYNOPSIS: Based on true events set in 1928, in New Jersey, teenage sisters, Bessie and Jo, dream of faraway places as the paint glow-in-the-dark watch dials at the American Radium Factory. When Jo loses a tooth, Bessie’s world turns upside down as the mystery of Jo’s disease slowly unravels. Bessie befriends two young activists and in a radical coming of age, she exposes a corporate scandal. Bessie and the “Radium Girls” file a lawsuit against American Radium. This notorious case ultimately led to a lasting impact in the area of workplace health and safety as well as the study of radioactivity.
Rumors are something that must be wade through like a thick bog every single day, but that goes double or even triple whenever Marvel has a new project in the works. Most of those stories turn out to be crap, and you just gotta pick what sounds real and roll with it. One rumor that gained traction recently had Alison Brie being eyed for the role of She-Hulk in Marvel’s Disney+ series, but according to the actress herself, there’s nothing to it.
Brie was confronted with the She-Hulk rumors by James Corden, and while she finds the role “interesting”, she blames the whole thing on social media…
“I woke up with a bunch of Instagram posts of side-by-side pictures of me and She-Hulk, which I just thought, ‘Cool.’ And then the quote about the ‘Alison Brie-type,’ which honestly I found very exciting because for years I auditioned for the ‘Anne Hathaway-type’ or the ‘Zooey Deschanel-type.’ I was very flattered to be my own type.”
Over the course of Corden’s joking and Brie’s laughing denials, the host pretty much says he’s now more convinced than ever that she is playing She-Hulk. While I wouldn’t go that far, she doesn’t exactly mount a strong defense. If Marvel had signed her, Brie would be on there denying it, anyway. But based on the fan response I have a feeling Marvel may be giving her a call, if they haven’t already.
