‘The Rise Of Skywalker’ Teaser Attached To ‘The Mandalorian’ Episode 7, Is There A Tie-In?

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December 4, 2019

There’s something possibly very interesting going on with episode seven of The Mandalorian on Disney+. The schedule is pretty consistent, with each new episode premiering on Friday mornings. However, those who have been paying attention know that seven has long been set for Dec. 18th, which is a Wednesday.

Now, there could be a simple explanation for this. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens on Dec. 20th and Lucasfilm/Disney may have wanted to keep fans focused on that. But with news that a teaser for that movie will be attached to The Mandalorian episode seven, it opens up speculation the two things will tie-in to one another.

There’s reason to think so. The Mandalorian takes place a few years prior to The Force Awakens as the First Order is being formed. There are so many questions left surrounding Kylo Ren and the First Order that it would make sense for a big reveal in The Rise of Skywalker that changes the entire Star Wars landscape. It’s possible The Mandalorian could reflect that new information. I would liken it, somewhat, to the way events in Avengers: Age of Ultron altered Agents of SHIELD going forward.

We’ll have a couple of weeks to wait and find out. Hopefully nothing gets spoiled in the meantime.

Here are the synopses for episodes 7 & 8, the latter arriving on December 27th.

Episode 7 — An old rival extends an invitation for The Mandalorian to make peace.
Episode 8 — The Mandalorian comes face-to-face with an unexpected enemy.

Disney Settles On ‘Planet of the Apes’ as First Major Fox Property in Development

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John Nolan

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December 4, 2019

In a world of Superhero movie franchises it’s probably easy to forget that the rebooted Planet of the Apes franchise was one of the most critically and financially successful franchise properties of the last 10 years. That said, it’s no surprise that Disney has marked ‘Apes’ for development to try and keep that money train rolling. Of course, there’s no word if they will keep the train rolling or build a whole new train. That’s my lousy analogy for saying that there’s been no announcement if this will be a sequel or reboot. All we know at this point is that they’ve hired Wes Ball (Maze Runner) to lead the project.

Personally, I’m not sure which way I want them to go. On one hand I thoroughly enjoyed the Rise of the Planet of the Apes run, which had an amazing film arc starting in a world just like ours, introducing the virus that wipes us out and makes the apes smart all the way through the apocalypse and to a world run by super smart apes. The film series covers the entire life of Caesar making us really identify with the simian hero. That’s just on the story side, from a technical angle the series was absolutely groundbreaking. While the LOTR series introduced us to Andy Serkis and the impressive novelty of MOCAP performance, the Apes series showed us that it’s far from a novelty and legitimized what Serkis does so far as to have his performance rumored for Academy Awards recognition, and while he was never nominated, at least the Washington Area Film Critics Association was enlightened enough to nominate the actor twice for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ awards for his portrayal of Caesar (Shameless Plug: The WAFCA awards are just around the corner! Nominees are announced this weekend and winners will be announced Monday morning Bookmark It!)

What do you guys think? Continue the story or start anew?

Donnie Yen Hasn’t Lost a Step In the Hard Hitting Trailer for ‘Ip Man 4: The Finale’

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John Nolan

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December 4, 2019

There was a time when I didn’t think there was a single Martial Arts move that could rival Van Damme’s split kick for it’s cinematic perfection. Then came Donnie Yen. Yen and his rolling punches, who’s been around for…well, basically ever, busted into the American cinema zeitgeist with the ground breaking Ip Man in 2008 and has been at the top of most movie martial arts lists ever since. Yen single handedly took Kung-Fu back to the top of the list. While the movies of the late 60s and 70s popularized Kung-Fu the years following painted the art as more of an elegant dance culminating in wire-fu films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Ip Man reminded the world what Bruce Lee had previously revealed, Kung Fu is a brutal and deadly art. Mixing the elegance and precision of the aforementioned films and the violent and effective strikes that have made the art last for so long, Yen showed everyone something new and none of us could look away.

It’s been 11 years and three Ip Man films but now the road comes to an end…or at least that’s what the title implies. Ip Man 4: The Finale follows the peaceful teacher to America, for reasons that aren’t quite made clear in the trailer. What is clear is that he doesn’t find a peaceful life and is challenged by, well probably everyone that he encounters to prove himself. The big bad is…..Scott Adkins? Really…that’s who we get to close out one of the greatest Martial Arts franchises of all time, the guy that stared in freakin’ Hard Target 2? Whatever…it’s not about him anyway, this is a 90 minute showcase of why Yen is a legend and judging from the footage in the trailer that’s exactly what we’re going to get.

….I have got to learn that rolling punch move

Ip Man 4: The Finale hits theaters December 25th, 2019

He Has Returned? The Trailer for ‘Messiah’ Tries to Discover the Truth

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John Nolan

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December 4, 2019

Regardless of your beliefs you have to admit that a film following the appearance of a Christ-like figure in the modern age is a hell of a concept. It’s been done, but never seriously, and never in a very grounded way…it seems like that’s about to change. I’ve always though religious lore was a great source of film material (outside exorcisms). I mean, a film about a war between Heaven and Hell, if done right, would be the definition of epic.

Netflix’s upcoming film Messiah just jumped to the top of my most anticipated list, maybe its the lifelong Catholic in me, or maybe I just really dig superheros (Jesus was the OG superhero after all). Either way I think this film is going to have a lot to offer. Taking a hyper-realistic look at the arrival of a figure who is gaining a following and enacting miracles Messiah seems to go the route that the Governments of the world would probably go as well, to brand him a terrorist. That’s nothing new really, Jesus wasn’t exactly popular with the governments of his time, but they seem to be sprinkling in things that may or may not be miraculous throughout leaving us on the wondering line of is he or isn’t he. There is one thing I’m sure of, I’ll be queuing this up on Netflix the day of it’s release, New Years Day, 2020.

The Cast Looks Slick in These Character Posters for ‘No Time To Die’

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John Nolan

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December 3, 2019

It’s Daniel Craig’s official last outing as Bond and he looks mean! I guess that’s the positive side of hating your job while playing a suave killer, you just look that way. We also get 00-looks at Ana De Armas, who was recently discussed on an episode of ‘Smash Cut’ (you should be tuning in every Sunday at 2pm if you’re not already), Lea Sedoux, who is joining a super rare club of Bond girlfriends that make a return appearance and a great look at Lashanna Lynch who, as Nomi, will be playing the first female 00 agent and looks DAMN ready to fill those shoes! Ben Wishaw’s Q and Rami Malek’s baddie Safin also make appearances. I forget sometimes how much I love Bond, especially Craig’s Bond (Casino Royale was a masterpiece), but these posters spark that fire and have me ready for a trailer and more!

DC Readers: Attend A Free Early Screening Of Amazon’s ‘The Aeronauts’

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John Nolan

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December 3, 2019

We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a free early screening of The Aeronauts, the soaring adventure reuniting Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones!

SYNOPSIS: In 1862, daredevil balloon pilot Amelia Wren (Felicity Jones) teams up with pioneering meteorologist James Glaisher (Eddie Redmayne) to advance human knowledge of the weather and fly higher than anyone in history. While breaking records and furthering scientific discovery, their voyage to the very edge of existence helps the unlikely pair find their place in the world they have left far below them. But they face physical and emotional challenges in the thin air, as the ascent becomes a fight for survival.

The screening takes tomorrow, Wednesday, December 4th at 7:00pm at Landmark Bethesda Row. If you’d like to attend, simply go to the Amazon screening site here. Please remember all screenings are first come first served and you will need to arrive early to ensure seat. Enjoy the show!

Amazon will release The Aeronauts nationwide on December 6th, followed by Amazon Prime on December 20th.

Alexander Payne To Direct Remake Of Oscar-Winner ‘Babette’s Feast’

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John Nolan

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December 3, 2019

For fans of Alexander Payne waiting on his next film after 2017’s Downsizing, this year has been quite the roller coaster. You may recall he was going to direct the star-studded culinary film The Menu led by Emma Stone and Ralph Fiennes, only to set that aside and take on a journalist biopic starring Mads Mikkelsen. That project was pulled at the last moment over rights issues, and it seemed like The Menu was back on. But not so fast, because Payne has lined up something else, a remake of 1987 Oscar winner Babette’s Feast.

Directed by Payne from a Gary Branum script, Babette’s Feast centers on two sisters in a small Minnesota religious community who accept a refugee into their homes and forces them to confront regrets over an extravagant 7-course meal. The original movie became the first Danish film to win the Oscar in the Best Foreign Language category.

This should be right in Payne’s sweet spot, and hopefully this one gets off the ground without a hitch. [Deadline]

‘Black Widow’ Trailer: Scarlett Johansson Finally Gets The MCU Stage To Herself

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John Nolan

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December 3, 2019

The wait is over. Not just for the first trailer for Marvel’s Black Widow, but for Scarlett Johansson’s Russian spy to get her own solo movie. Fans have literally been asking for years that she get one, and it’s coming, even though she had to perish first to get it. And judging by the looks of this footage, the wait was more than worth it.

Taking place in the two-year window between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, the film sees Natasha Romanoff exploring her bloody past in Budapest, something that has been hinted at since the character’s first appearance in Iron Man 2.

This footage is incredibly action-packed and is a lot of what was shown to audiences at San Diego Comic-Con last summer. It focuses heavily on “family”, although I’m uncertain the term is meant literally here. Black Widow’s “sis” is another Black Widow, Yelena Belova, played by Midsommar’s Florence Pugh, and it’s clear there’s some tension there. We also see Rachel Weisz as Iron Maiden, another veteran from the Russian “Red Room”, and David Harbour as Red Guardian, who may have gotten chubby but can still fit into his super-suit, apparently. They sit around chatting like family over the dinner table, but I think what brings them together is their shared past, not any kind of bloodline. There’s also a brief look at the villain Taskmaster, famous for being able to mimic any fighting style he encounters. Looks like he’s handy with a bow. Wonder where he got that from?

Directed by Cate Shortland, Black Widow opens May 1st 2020!

The New Ghostbusters Film has an Official Title!

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John Nolan

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December 2, 2019

It’s coming close! The Ghostbusters will be back soon and that is becoming more and more apparent. The production has finally revealed the official title and it turns out to not be a huge surprise. Ghostbusters: Afterlife is what you’ll be asking for at the box office next summer, the better news is that a trailer release is now imminent and is slated for some time this week. That title was rumored for some time (we covered it here) and its confirmation lends credence to the thought that the film will, at least partly, follow the original plan for a third film wherein the Ghostbusters traveled to hell and were surrounded by ghosts. While it sounds like this may not be so dark, with its synopsis indicating that the film surrounds a family who moves back into their old town. Regardless of the details I’m excited and can’t wait to get some footage later this week!

‘Just Mercy’ Brings Some Heavy Emotion with Its New Trailer

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John Nolan

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December 2, 2019

It’s seems almost ridiculous to speculate a “break-out” role for someone that’s already on the A-list, so let’s call this a career solidifying role for Micheal B. Jordan. Just Mercy stars Jordan as an attorney who begins a fight to clear an innocent man, played by Jamie Foxx, from death row. I watch this and I can’t believe that little kid from The Wire is now delivering on this level. While I haven’t seen the movie yet I can tell that the performance given by Jordan is going to be one that’s talked about and puts him in another strata of roles, from leading man in action movies to leading man in A-List dramas. Foxx also seems to be delivering the way he always does but there’s just not enough of him in the trailer to speak on. Check it out below and let us know what you think.