‘Rogue One’ Prequel Series Featuring Cassian Andor Is Headed To Disney Streaming

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November 8, 2018

Man, Disney really is flexing their muscles with their streaming service, which is now known as Disney+. If you thought they were going all out with the series of Marvel shows they’ve already revealed, the slate of Star Wars projects is shaping up to be pretty sweet, too. Disney’s Bob Iger revealed to shareholders today that a prequel series was in the works centering on Cassian Andor, the Rebel pilot and intelligence officer played by Diego Luna in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Luna will reprise the role of Andor in the live-action series, which is being described as a “rousing spy thriller” in the official press release:

Disney Chairman and CEO Bob Iger announced today that Lucasfilm is in development on a second Star Wars live-action series for Disney+, the Company’s new direct-to-consumer streaming service. The series, which will go into production next year, follows the adventures of rebel spy Cassian Andor during the formative years of the Rebellion and prior to the events of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Diego Luna will reprise the role of Andor. “Going back to the Star Wars universe is very special for me,” said Luna. “I have so many memories of the great work we did together and the relationships I made throughout the journey. We have a fantastic adventure ahead of us, and this new exciting format will give us the chance to explore this character more deeply.”

The rousing spy thriller will explore tales filled with espionage and daring missions to restore hope to a galaxy in the grip of a ruthless Empire. A release date for the series has not yet been announced.

The Cassian Andor series will follow the previously-announced The Mandalorian, from Iron Man director Jon Favreau. In Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One, Cassian revealed that he had been fighting in the Rebellion since he was six years old. He’s fiercely loyal to it, and was assigned to kill Imperial scientist Galen Erso even though he was the father of his colleague, Jyn Erso. Like everybody else in Rogue One, Cassian died successfully retrieving the plans to destroy the first Death Star.

But since when has death meant anything? The solution to that is to simply do a prequel, and frankly I’m happy Cassian is coming back. Hopefully this means other members of the team can return? K2SO, please? It’s also worth noting that while Lucasfilm’s big screen spinoffs are “on hold”, they are announcing more TV shows than ever. Perhaps that is where all of those ideas are going?

As for when this Cassian Andor series can get rolling, it appears Luna has to finish up his comments to Narcos first.

Hate losing a scoop to an earnings call. Little context, Diego has to shoot another season of NARCOS first before CASSIAN, so will be a little bit before we see this series

— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) November 8, 2018

‘Jason Bourne’ TV Spinoff ‘Treadstone’ Casts ‘War Horse’ Star Jeremy Irvine

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John Nolan

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November 8, 2018

The story of Jason Bourne is likely dead on the big screen, but the story of the shady government that created him will continue on, albeit on your TV. Treadstone, the Bourne prequel series revealed earlier this year, has cast its first two leads. Sadly, neither of them is Matt Damon. They aren’t even Jeremy Renner.

War Horse star Jeremy Irvine and Sense8‘s Brian J. Smith have been cast in Treadstone, which has been given a full season order by the USA Network. The series is being created by Tim Kring (Heroes), and will center on the origin of the black ops program that birthed Jason Bourne and other programmable super-soldiers. The first season will find sleeper agents being activated all across the globe.

It’s likely we’ll see Treadstone as part of USA Network’s lineup in 2019. You won’t catch me watching it, though. I find Irvine either extremely dull most of the time, and laughably bad, like he was in Stonewall, the rest of the time.

Joe Russo Reveals The Current ‘Avengers 4’ Runtime

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John Nolan

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November 8, 2018

What’s the logical way to announce the opening of your brand new restaurant? For Avengers 4 director Joe Russo it’s by hosting a Q&A where fans ask you a bunch of questions, not about food or anything, but the fate of Captain America, movie runtimes, and shit like that.

Russo recently opened the doors on his restaurant, Duello, and decided to do an Instagram Q&A which ended up mostly being about Avengers 4. OF COURSE! He didn’t spill anything too important, but he did provide an update on where the film stands right now…

“We are about halfway through the editing process. So we’re just scratching the surface on our VFX shots. There are more than 3000 VFX shots in the movie… We just started work with Alan Silvestri on the score and still editing picture at this point.”

Seeing as they’re in the editing bay now, that leads one to wonder what is being left on the cutting room floor. Avengers: Infinity War clocked in at 149 minutes, so you’d think its sequel would be at least that long, if not longer. Well, as of right now it is longer…

“The running time on ‘Avengers 4’ is currently sitting at 3 hours, so we’ll see if that holds, but we’re sitting at 3 hours right now.”

Russo continued with the kind of bland hype that makes good headlines but means absolutely nothing…

“Will the stakes be higher in Avengers 4? Absolutely. 100%. The highest of any of the films to date, without question.”

Yeah, okay. We’ll see. Avengers 4 has a Hell of a high bar to reach when it opens May 3rd 2019.

Will Ferrell And Gus Van Sant Team For Amazon’s ‘Prince Of Fashion’

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John Nolan

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November 8, 2018

When you’re Will Ferrell and you want to make a film happen, it usually does. A few months ago Ferrell expressed his desire to work with director Gus Van Sant on a new film, but it was unclear if it was a thing that might actually happen. Well, it is actually happening, and the film will take Ferrell back into the world of high fashion, but no, this isn’t another Zoolander sequel.

Ferrell will star in Prince of Fashion for Amazon Studios, which Van Sant will write and direct based on Michael Chabon’s GQ article “My Son, the Prince of Fashion.” The story centers on Chabon and his son’s visit to Paris during Men’s Fashion Week, when the teen finds his passion for high fashion, meets his idol, attends multiple runway shows, and learns to find “his people”. Ferrell will play the father, of course, although the son has yet to be cast.

Game Night directors Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley are on board to produce, having first approached Chabon about adapting the award-nominated article.

Van Sant is coming off the Joaquin Phoenix drama Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot. Ferrell will be seen later reteaming with John C. Reilly for Holmes & Watson.

Review: ‘The New Romantic’ Doesn’t Know What it Wants to Say

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John Nolan

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November 8, 2018

The Orchard

For many, modern romance can be frustrating. Is it all modern with little romance? That’s exactly what The New Romantic is getting at, it seems. Dating apps lead to meet-ups, which might lead to hookups, which might even lead to dating long-term, but Blake (Jessica Barden), a senior in college and a writer for the school newspaper, isn’t exactly thrilled with the prospects. Her column, “The Hopeless Romantic,” is deemed “boring” and not what young people these days want to read. Apparently no one wants the romance, they just want the sex. Blake wants the sex, but she wants the romance as well. The real question is, why does it seem like she can’t have both?

Interestingly, it doesn’t seem like writer and director Carly Stone is overly concerned with the online dating scene so much as she is with going from one extreme to another with regards to romance versus the “sugar baby” concept. Do people enter into marriages for things other than love? Of course, even though many will never admit it. And this is where the film falters. Its attempts to compare Nora Ephron-esque romance to being in a relationship that is obviously transactional is a genuinely interesting one, even though it fails to truly comment on either form of relationship.

The Orchard

Blake wants the romance and, in part to spice up her column, joins new acquaintance, Morgan (Camila Mendes), in being a sugar baby–someone who’s in a romantic relationship for financial security and a relationship meant to be beneficial for both parties. Blake becomes entangled in a relationship with an older man, a professor named Ian (Timm Sharp). In exchange for things like sex, being his date to a friend’s wedding, and keeping him company, Ian gifts Blake with a moped, a diamond bracelet, and other material things. Meanwhile, Blake uses this relationship as fuel for her column, writing anonymously because it’s easier. However, despite the mutual benefits, Blake comes to find that being a sugar baby may not be for her after all.

The New Romantic can’t seem to find itself or what it wants to ultimately say. The conclusion to the story and the questions Blake poses don’t provide much insight into where she stands on the issues and frustrations she deals with throughout the film. In fact, the film itself is just as indecisive in many respects. The fact that Stone almost completely disregards online dating as a factor and option for Blake in discovering the reasons behind her lack of romance in the modern world is a missed opportunity. In addition, there’s an inkling of a future romantic relationship (in what is an obvious place and a prime example of a romcom trope) set up with fellow journalist, Jacob (Brett Dier), but it’s underwhelming and not given enough time to develop. This renders Blake’s search for romance pointless.

The Orchard

What is the film trying to say? Obviously, it isn’t against the sugar baby concept because it’s understood that women do what they feel is right for them and make choices for personal reasons, but it’s also insinuating that someone like Blake, who comes off as your average, wholesome “girl next door” type, is above this kind of thing and clearly believes she’s meant for more. This is especially more noticeable given the fact that her best friend, played by Hayley Law, and Camila Mendes’ Morgan are women of color who play a bit too much into certain stereotypes and seem fine with their lives in comparison to Blake. The film might have worked better if Blake revealed more of her thoughts on the matter through her column, a la Sex and the City, rather than attempting to read Blake’s facial expressions, which honestly don’t give a whole lot away.

The New Romantic isn’t wholly unenjoyable, but it also doesn’t stand out in any way. It’s trying to be a romcom without actually being a rom-com and this prevents it from fully developing any of its characters, the attempted romance between Blake and Jacob, and fleshing out what it’s trying to say with more certainty.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

‘UglyDolls’ Trailer: Kelly Clarkson, Janelle Monae, And Nick Jonas Sing The Weird Plush Dolls To Life

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John Nolan

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November 8, 2018

In the ’80s we had the Garbage Pail Kids, and their name lived up to the characters’ descriptions. They were hideous characters and they were meant to be revolting. Today things are a little bit different. The UglyDoll plush toy franchise takes the meaning of “ugly” very differently. In the uglyverse, it means to be unique and special, something to be celebrated. And I think that’s something we all can support in today’s tough times, even if it ends up being in a movie we don’t necessarily want to watch.

And I certainly don’t want to watch UglyDolls, an animated musical by Kelly Asbury (Gnomeo & Juliet, Shrek 2) and produced by Robert Rodriguez. With Kelly Clarkson, Pitbull, Nick Jonas, Janelle Monae, Wang Leehom, and Blake Shelton in the voice cast you can bet they’ll be singing those familiar themes of friendship, diversity, joy, and acceptance. Others contributing to the film include Wanda Sykes, Gabriel Iglesias, and Emma Roberts.

Here is the synopsis: In the adorably different town of Uglyville, weird is celebrated, strange is special and beauty is embraced as more than simply meets the eye. Here, the free-spirited Moxy and her UglyDolls friends live every day in a whirlwind of bliss, letting their freak flags fly in a celebration of life and its endless possibilities, occasionally looking to the sky, where a new UglyDoll will appear and be embraced by the community.

Moxy (Kelly Clarkson) loves her square-peg life in this round-hole town, but her curiosity about all things leads her to wonder if there’s something – anything – on the other side of the mountain which nestles Uglyville. Moxy gathers a group of her closest friends and sets off to find what’s on the other side. They discover another world – Perfection – a town where more conventional dolls are trained in protocols before they graduate and are sent to the “real” world to find the love of a child.

In Perfection, Moxy and her crew are subject to the manipulations of Lou (Nick Jonas), the perfect doll in charge of training recruits. Here, the UglyDolls will confront what it means to be different, struggle with their desire to be loved, and ultimately discover that you don’t have to be perfect to be amazing because who you truly are is what matters most.

UglyDolls opens on May 10th 2019.

Review: ‘The Grinch’, An Acceptable Retelling Of Dr. Seuss’ Holiday Classic

By

John Nolan

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November 8, 2018

How the Grinch Stole Christmas has become a staple in how people celebrate Christmas during the lead up to the holiday season. This is the third adaptation of the classic Dr. Seuss children’s book. This one, just titled The Grinch is from Illumination, the studio behind Despicable Me, Minions, and Secret Life of Pets is their second Seuss adaptation after 2012’s The Lorax. Unlike The Lorax this one has a lot to live up to. Not only is there the live-action 2000 film starring Jim Carey still in his comedic star heights but it has to live up to the classic, even better and more beloved than the book 1966 animated TV special co-directed by iconic animator Chuck Jones. It’s a big shadow to overcome that this new one really doesn’t at all, and for some pretty interesting reasons.

For the few who may not know the setup for this story is that there is a town of beings called the Whos of Whoville and they love Christmas, it’s their most favorite time of the year. The whole town celebrates it on a grand scale. There is one who hates Christmas with every fiber of his being, and that’s the Grinch who lives in a cave up the mountain outside of town. He wants to stop Christmas and figures out a way to do so.

Okay here’s the thing; right there I almost told you the entire story. It literally takes max fifteen minutes to tell the whole thing if you’re reading it from the book. The ’66 special had to pad the story with funny bits to make it a whole 26 minutes. This movie is 86 minutes long and it feels like an eternity. Like you’re binging a whole season of a TV show on Netflix or something. The film looks amazing, the quality of character design and art direction in how Whoville looks and the interior of the Grinch’s cave. Little visual gags really hit well but they are few and far between because the whole story feels so padded. These flaws also affected the Ron Howard 2000 movie as well. This film needs to give The Grinch a reason for his malcontent, he’s much sadder in this version than really an obstinate terror on the Whos. He’s a loner who’s always been alone and just doesn’t want to be told how to feel and act so he lashes out.

Benedict Cumberbatch does do a great job emoting with his performance as the Grinch. They take great care to foreshadow the reveal of the origin of the Grinch, and kids should find that great. The other thing added to this film is basically giving Cindy Lou Who, the only other real character in the original story, a real story arc. She has a whole plot about finding a way to talk to Santa Claus. So there is a point where the middle of the movie is watching the Grinch and Cindy both go about their prep for there plans to succeed.

The Grinch is a good Christmas movie, I guess. It covers all the bases and has a good message but it fails to be as good as other versions because it chooses to do too much. Too much licensed music that doesn’t make sense if you give it real thought. For most, this movie will work and should be something families can go see in this early proto-holiday season.

Rating: 3 out of 5

‘Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse’ Trailer: More Than One Can Wear The Mask

By

John Nolan

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November 8, 2018

You aren’t a truly great superhero until there are multiple, maybe even dozens of copycat characters. Superman has them, Batman has them, and definitely Spider-Man has them. Sony’s animated Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse basically sets out to introduce you to all of them in one movie, and it looks kinda cool as a result.

Dreamed up by fan-favorite filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Into the Spider-Verse centers on Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), the “Ultimate” version of Spider-Man a lot of folks wish was in the MCU right now. No offense, Tom Holland, it’s just true. Peter Parker (Jake Johnson) is in the film, too, albeit older and less in shape. We also get Hailee Steinfeld as Gwen Stacy aka Spider-Gwen, Nicolas Cage as Spider-Man Noir, Mahershala Ali as Prowler, Liev Schreiber as Kingpin, and yeah, this is hella cool. Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, John Mulaney, and Kimiko Glenn also lend their voices, and we get an appearance by Spider-Ham so I’m pumped for this.

How are all of these characters from alternate universe together in one place? The plot doesn’t give any answers, nor should we want it to:

Meet the Spider-people from another *another* dimension, joining Miles Morales and Peter Parker in this international extended sneak peek for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the creative minds behind The Lego Movie and 21 Jump Street, bring their unique talents to a fresh vision of a different Spider Universe, with a groundbreaking visual style that’s the first of its kind. Spider-Man™: Into the Spider-Verse introduces Brooklyn teen Miles Morales, and the limitless possibilities of the Spider-Verse, where more than one can wear the mask.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse opens December 14th.

‘Mowgli’ Trailer: Andy Serkis’ Dark Vision Of ‘The Jungle Book’ For Netflix

By

John Nolan

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November 8, 2018

Andy Serkis’ incredible motion capture performances will probably always be what he’s remembered for, but he’s making moves as a director that could earn him all sorts of new accolades. He made his directorial debut just last year with the stirring drama Breathe, but his sophomore effort is considerably more ambitious and in line with his mo-cap sensibilities. Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle is Serkis’ darker adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book, and the beauty he’s brought to it can be seen in the new trailer.

While Disney’s take on The Jungle Book was wildly successful just a few short years ago, Serkis hopes there is room for audiences to appreciate his vision of the material. His film won’t feature any musical acts, and tells the origin of Mowgli (Rohan Chand), who is raised by the wolves and other animals in the wild jungles of India. The motion capture cast is phenomenal with Benedict Cumberbatch as Shere Khan, Christian Bale as Bagheera, Cate Blanchett as Kaa, Naomie Harris as Nisha, Jack Reynor as Brother Wolf, and Serkis as the lovable Baloo. Frieda Pinto and Matthew Rhys join Chand in the other live-action roles.

Netflix will release Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle theatrically on November 29th before streaming globally on December 7th. Synopsis and trailer are below.

Acclaimed actor and director Andy Serkis reinvents Rudyard Kipling’s beloved masterpiece, in which a boy torn between two worlds accepts his destiny and becomes a legend. Mowgli (Rohan Chand) has never truly belonged in either the wilds of the jungle or the civilized world of man. Now he must navigate the inherent dangers of each on a journey to discover where he truly belongs. Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Benedict Cumberbatch, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto, Matthew Rhys and Naomie Harris lead an all-star cast along with newcomer Rohan Chand in this visually spectacular and emotionally moving adventure.

‘Missing Link’ Trailer: Hugh Jackman Tracks A Legendary Creature In Laika’s New Stop-Motion Film

By

John Nolan

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November 8, 2018

Laika, the studio behind stop-motion animated treasures Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, and Kubo and the Two Strings is back with another film that will wow audiences and have critics wishing it made a bigger splash at the box office. Missing Link features the A-list voice cast of Hugh Jackman, Zach Galifianakis, Zoe Saldana, Timothy Olyphant, Stephen Fry, and Emma Thompson in the story of an explorer investigating the legendary Missing Link.

Written and directed by ParaNorman‘s Chris Butler, the film has Jackman voicing fearless explorer Sir Lionel Frost, an investigator of myths and legends, although few ever believe what he claims to have found. When he seeks to prove the haters wrong by finding the Missing Link, who as it turns out is a sensitive and lonely creature in need of Frost’s help.

All of Laika’s films are gorgeous but they are always getting better. I wasn’t sure they could ever top the beauty of Kubo and the Two Strings, but Missing Link is absolutely stunning based on this footage, although I’ll admit this story intrigues me less than their previous efforts.

Here’s the synopsis: This April, meet Mr. Link: 8 feet tall, 630 lbs, and covered in fur, but don’t let his appearance fool you… he is funny, sweet, and adorably literal, making him the world’s most lovable legend at the heart of Missing Link, the globe-trotting family adventure from LAIKA. Tired of living a solitary life in the Pacific Northwest, Mr. Link recruits fearless explorer Sir Lionel Frost to guide him on a journey to find his long-lost relatives in the fabled valley of Shangri-La. Along with adventurer Adelina Fortnight, our fearless trio of explorers encounter more than their fair share of peril as they travel to the far reaches of the world to help their new friend. Through it all, the three learn that sometimes you can find a family in the places you least expect.

Missing Link opens April 19th 2019.