Are you ready to soar into the clouds one more time with Hiccup and Toothless? Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon has been huge, breaking box office records, earning Oscar nominations, and spawning a huge multimedia franchise. But all good things must come to an end, and How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World will bring the epic story to a close.
Once again directed and written by Dean DeBlois, the third film finds Hiccup and Toothless pulled in different directions as they embrace a new destiny. Hiccup has settled into his role as leader of his Viking clan, while Toothless has discovered he isn’t the last Light Fury in existence.
Get ready to break out the waterworks for this one. It’s going to be tough to say goodbye to this franchise, assuming it really is coming to an end. I’m going to miss those incredible flying sequences most of all.
Here’s the synopsis: From DreamWorks Animation comes a surprising tale about growing up, finding the courage to face the unknown…and how nothing can ever train you to let go. What began as an unlikely friendship between an adolescent Viking and a fearsome Night Fury dragon has become an epic adventure spanning their lives. Welcome to the most astonishing chapter of one of the most beloved animated franchises in film history: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Now chief and ruler of Berk alongside Astrid, Hiccup has created a gloriously chaotic dragon utopia. When the sudden appearance of female Light Fury coincides with the darkest threat their village has ever faced, Hiccup and Toothless must leave the only home they’ve known and journey to a hidden world thought only to exist in myth. As their true destinies are revealed, dragon and rider will fight together—to the very ends of the Earth—to protect everything they’ve grown to treasure.
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World opens February 22nd 2019.
Following their previous collaboration on the excellent Hell or High Water, David Mackenzie and Chris Pine’s Outlaw King hit the festival circuit like a shot. And then the reviews came and they were just sorta alright. So the Scottish director went back into the lab and cut a slightly shorter, re-focused cut, and now there’s a new trailer showing off some of Mackenzie’s improvements.
Now that 22 minutes have been shaved off the previous 137 minute runtime, Mackenzie hopes you’ll be ready to get in touch with your inner Braveheart once again. This time the Scottish warriors are led by the outlaw king himself, Robert the Bruce (Pine), against those evil English colonizers. Pine has ventured into his grittiest roles when under Mackenzie’s guidance so I have high hopes for this one, and it feels like forever since we had a really good historical biopic with big, sweeping action. Not since Mel Gibson made them a regular thing, actually.
Also starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence Pugh, Billy Howle, Tony Curran, and Braveheart’s James Cosmo, Outlaw King hits Netflix on November 9th.
This has been another huge year for Chris Pratt, starring in massive blockbusters Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Avengers: Infinity War. But he’s also experienced a couple of setbacks in the delay of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and shelving of Cowboy Ninja Viking. Fortunately, they opened up a hole in schedule that has now led to something tremendously exciting, as he’ll star in the next film by Wind River director Taylor Sheridan.
Pratt is in final talks to star in the tentatively-titled Fast, which will be Sheridan’s followup to Wind River, his directorial debut. Sheridan will also write the script, as he did for Hell or High Water and Sicario, previously. He’s coming off his TNT miniseries Yellowstone, which was recently renewed for a second season.
Variety says the upcoming film “follows a former special forces commando (Pratt), who’s recruited by the DEA to lead a black ops strike team targeting drug dealers who are protected by the CIA.”
Are we sure this isn’t a backdoor Sicario sequel or spinoff? Sure sounds like it. Taylor will be working with a budget of around $70M to $80M, which is why he needed a star like Pratt to get it done. And if it works out we could see Taylor continue it on as a franchise.
In the opening moments of Bryan Singer’s (and pinch hitter Dexter Fletcher’s) Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, a springing, energetic Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek, overcoming bad dental prosthetics) literally bounds onto the stage, ready to perform to a crowd of millions at Live Aid. It’s only a tease of the epic show that bookends the film, but it’s also a promise that fans of the band will be energized by all of their favorite Queen hits, quite like how fans of ABBA can get ready to sing-a-long at Mamma Mia! And while the film is definitely entertaining because of extensive use of the group’s greatest hits and Ramek’s lively performance, the rest is as substantive as one of the band’s concert anthems.
Maybe that was inevitable. From the get go this film had issues, stretching back to when Sacha Baron Cohen wanted to play Mercury but ran into creative differences with the band, who are producers on this authorized biopic. He wanted a film that wouldn’t pull any punches and that simply wouldn’t do, so what we have is a fairly basic rock ‘n roll drama about Queen’s rise from obscurity to one of the most memorable groups of all-time. To be fair, Mercury’s homosexuality and eventual battle with AIDS aren’t completely scrubbed from existence, both are important if momentary concerns in the whopping 134 minute runtime. Sexuality was so much a part of who Mercury was, as were his many demons, that to show them so little attention is to do a disservice.
But if all you want is a standard sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll film, and a perfect excuse to crank up the ol’ Queen playlist, then Bohemian Rhapsody does the trick. Beginning in 1970 where the Tanzania-born Mercury is a baggage handler at Heathrow, the film quickly moves to his timely first encounter with guitarist Brian May (Gwilym Lee) and drummer Roger Taylor (Ben Hardy), eventually going on to form the legendary rock band with bassist John Deacon (Joseph Mazzello). Mercury goes from an awkward kid with a severe overbite to a flamboyant stage god whose style and incredible range draws attention from EMI records and manager John Reid (Aiden Gillen).
The script by Anthony McCarten (The Theory of Everything, Darkest Hour) races through the origins of many of Queen’s most recognizable tracks. Basically if there’s a mood McCarten needs to set there’s a Queen song for it. Sometimes this is painfully heavy-handed, like anytime we hear “Somebody to Love” when it comes time to explore Mercury’s sexuality. Other times its brilliant, like in the casting of Mike Myers as an EMI exec who has beef with the 6-minute long “Bohemian Rhapsody”, ironic because of its memorable use in Wayne’s World. Even at its most rousing bits, there’s very little straying from the biopic formula, which I think at this point we can say is becoming a McCarten trend.
When not gallivanting on stage or recording in the studio, Mercury’s personal life has him juggling expectations of conservative family while engaging in the flamboyant public persona people expect. He also meets, falls for, and marries his longtime friend Mary Austin (Sing Street‘s Lucy Boynton), while at the same time indulging in his pursuits of men. Well, there’s the suggestion of Mercury’s homosexual pursuits, and a healthy dose of gay villainy from band assistant Paul Prenter (Allen Leech), but it’s usually followed by a quick dash to less controversial areas.
While the run-up to the thrilling Live Aid sequence is contrived, with every subplot wrapped up quickly and in as unsatisfying a way as possible, the concert itself is an absolute stunner. Malek fully captures Mercury’s wiry energy and physicality in a jaw-dropping 11-minute scene that is worth the price of a ticket all by itself. It’s worth two tickets, maybe three. And while you’re rockin’ out it’s easy to forget that so much else about Bohemian Rhapsody is merely average, something Queen’s trailblazing frontman would surely consider an insult.
Hollywood is ready to pass through The Phantom Tollbooth again, this time with famed animation director Carlos Saldanha at the helm. Norton Juster and illustrator Jules Feiffer’s classic children’s book about a boy who travels to a magical world has been adapted before, once by legendary animator Chuck Jones in a live-action/animated hybrid in 1970. Now Saldana, best known for directing both Rio movies, Ferdinand, Robots, and a trio of Ice Age films, will attempt to put his spin on the tale.
Saldanha takes over from previous director, Matt Shakman, who came aboard last year but has left due to scheduling issues. Penned by Hidden Figures and St. Vincent director Ted Melfi, the story centers on “Milo, an apathetic child who is bored by everything. When a tollbooth mysteriously appears in his room, he drives through it and discovers the magical Lands Beyond — which is full of intriguing places and dynamic characters, like kidnapped princesses and Rhyme and Reason, and Tock, an oversized watchdog with a clock in his side — and learns that life is much more exciting than he had thought it to be.”
This will be Saldanha’s live-action directorial debut, although he’ll be blending in animated aspects, as well, much like the 1970 version. I expect he’ll lean hard on those elements and could have another animated hit family movie on his hands. Saldana’s movies tend to be bright, vibrant affairs with lots of music and I’m hoping he finds a way to incorporate that here. [THR]
If you’ve been paying attention to Richard Linklater lately, you might know his most recent work was a hilarious political campaign ad against Texas senator Ted Cruz. His Texas bonafides can’t be denied, and now Linklater is turning his attentions towards another prominent figure in his home state, the late comedian Bill Hicks, whose life will be chronicled in an upcoming biopic.
Linklater will write and direct a biopic on Bill Hicks, a groundbreaking and highly controversial comedian who rose to prominence in the ’90s. It will follow his career trajectory and rise through the comedy ranks, hopefully to include getting censored by David Letterman, and ultimately his early death from cancer at the age of 32. His angry style of comedy left a deep impact, and was seen as a major influence on the career of Denis Leary.
This looks to be Linklater’s next film after he wraps up on Where’d You Go, Bernadette? Linklater had been developing a movie on the 1969 space race but according to Collider that has fallen through.
We’re still waiting for Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, his first venture with Netflix, to finally arrive after an eternity in development. But before that happens the director has already lined up what he’ll be doing next, and it’s another project that has been on his plate for a long time: Killers of the Flower Moon.
Variety reports Scorsese will shoot Killers of the Flower Moon next summer, with his pal Leonardo DiCaprio set to star. The film has been in the works since 2017, but not much has happened with it as Scorsese has focused on completing The Irishman. The story is based on the book by David Grann, set in 1920s Oklahoma where the wealthy, oil rich Osage Nation starts being murdered off one by one and the newly-created FBI is called in to investigate.
We’ve seen Scorsese spend an extensive amount of time on his last couple of films so predicting when we’ll see Killers of the Flower Moon is silly. Hopefully more details on that will emerge soon.
It was a big year for Hereditary director Ari Aster, as A24 released his creepy debut horror over the summer, following a buzzy run on the festival circuit. The $10M film earned $79M and will probably be seen as a cult classic when all is said and done. Now A24 is hoping to recreate the same summer magic by setting Aster’s next film for August 9th 2019.
The still-untitled movie was announced earlier this year and stars Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, and Will Poulter. Based on what little we know, the story will follow “a couple (Pugh and Reynor) that travels to Sweden to visit their friend’s rural hometown for it’s fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult.”
I’ll be honest in that Hereditary didn’t really do much for me. Maybe it’s because I had been hearing its praises sung ever since Sundance when EVERYBODY was talking about how fucked up it was. Then I saw it for myself and was left kinda cold by it. But I like the sound of this new project, which Aster has also called an “apocalyptic breakup movie”. Aster’s a talented director and he may have an even bigger hit on his hands now that audiences have an idea what to expect.
There can be only one Man of Steel, right? So what happens when that one no longer exists? It’s a world without Superman in the upcoming animated film, Reign of the Supermen, a sequel to last summer’s The Death of Superman. The film is an adaptation of the hit DC Comics storyline from the ’90s that saw four unlikely heroes emerge in the wake of Superman’s death, each claiming to be his true successor.
The four would-be Superman include John Henry Irons (voiced by Black Lightning‘s Cress Williams), a regular guy inspired by Superman who builds a literal suit of steel; my favorite version of Superboy (voiced by Gotham‘s Cameron Monaghan) with the cool shades and leather jacket; the deadly Cyborg Superman (voiced by Patrick Fabian); and the Eradicator Superman, a powerful energy-powered alien. Jerry O’Connell returns to voice the original Supes, with Rebecca Romijn as Lois Lane, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, and Rainn Wilson as Lex Luthor.
Reign of the Supermen will hit Bluray, DVD, and digital in 2019.
While successful horrors spawning multiple sequels is expected, one of the most surprising franchises to emerge of late is Blumhouse’s The Purge. The politically-charged thriller kicked off in 2013 and has grown to include three chart-topping sequels, including this year’s prequel The First Purge, and a USA Network TV series. But all good things must come to an end, and The Purge creator James DeMonaco says it’s time to wrap things up.
Speaking with EW, DeMonaco says he has an idea for a fifth Purge movie which he wants to conclude the franchise…
“I have it in my head. I think I’m going to write it. I think it’s a great way to end it all. We want to end it all, I think, in this one, and I’m very excited. When I came up with the idea and pitched it to everybody, they seemed psyched, and I think it will be a really cool ending, how we take this one home.”
If true then DeMonaco is going out on top before audiences grow tired of the concept. The First Purge earned a franchise high $136M, and what’s interesting is that it has become more popular as it has begun to reflect our real-life politics pretty closely. Something tells me this won’t be the end, but I’m excited to see DeMonaco’s plans for a big finale play out.
