I have a very short list of favorite X-Men. It begins with Longshot, followed by Gambit; one of which is getting his own movie soon presumably, and the other who probably never will. But my third favorite is one who is really only a peripheral member of the team, and he’s about to get his own movie with James friggin’ Franco starring. Franco is set to star in Multiple Man, based on the popular X-Factor character.
This is pretty wild because I never thought this would happen. The film will be produced by Simon Kinberg with Allen Heinberg writing the script. Franco would star as Jamie Madrox, who has the awesome ability to create duplicates, or “dupes”, of himself. Now, when the character was first introduced Jamie was a wise-cracking douche, whose dupes didn’t really have much personality. Later on he would mature as a member the government sanctioned X-Factor team (led by Alex Summers aka Havok), and his dupes would evolve to the point where they had minds of their own. Sometimes his dupes would split off and go build lives of their own away from Jamie and the whole superhero thing. Jamie would later go on to become a mutant private detective, leading the X-Factor Investigations squad.
I really hope they make this a detective story.
Suffice it to say this news blows me away, and I can’t wait to see how this develops. Multiple Man has already been seen on the big screen, first on a list of names in X2, and then as a criminal in X-Men: The Last Stand, played by Eric Dane. [THR]
In a few short hours legions of eager comic book fans and movielovers will be filing into theaters to see Justice League. The early reviews are already pretty mixed, but the only thing that matters is how audiences respond to it, because if they love it, there will be plenty more where that came from. What we don’t know is if those films will include Ben Affleck as Batman, whose future in the role remains uncertain, especially after he admitted to looking for way to cool way to exit.
Well now there’s more fuel to the fire, as Collider’s John Campea (He had the original story of Affleck’s potential departure, so he’s credible.) says Matt Reeves has already found a replacement for Affleck in The Batman, should it become necessary…
“I’m hesitant to say anything, but I talked to somebody yesterday, and it was a Hollywood producer, who told me who Matt Reeves wants as Batman. I’ll be honest with you. The name they [gave] me caught me a little bit by surprise. I called somebody else later in the day saying, ‘I heard this. Is there any validity to this?’ and they said, ‘Well, Matt does want him, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. I mean there’s been no movement or anything like that. It doesn’t mean anything is going to happen.’”
Campea’s hesitant to say who the actor is because of some backlash to the original story he supposedly received. Whatever. He says he’ll think it over a while longer before deciding whether to reveal it or not. For now this has to be considered a rumor, but I think at this Affleck already has one foot out the door. So enjoy Affleck in the Bat-suit while it lasts, okay?
We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a free advance screening of Coco, the latest animated gem from Pixar!
SYNOPSIS: Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel (voice of newcomer Anthony Gonzalez) dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (voice of Benjamin Bratt). Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector (voice of Gael García Bernal), and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.
The screening takes place on Monday, November 20th at 7:00pm at AMC Mazza Gallerie. We’re really hoping to get as many families to attend as possible, so we’re offering 4-packs of passes to our winners. If you’d like to enter, simply complete the Rafflecopter contest form below. Winners will be selected tomorrow, November 17th, and contacted by email. Good luck!
Mr. Roosevelt isn’t your typical coming of age comedy. That’s a good thing, especially in a year that sees another atypical one in Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird. And like that one, this film has a unique, particular female voice. SNL vet Noël Wells stars in her writing and directing debut, which is about the mourning of a dead cat. Really. Well, it’s also about the changing face of her beloved town of Austin, Texas, and Internet celebrity. And of course, it also says a little something about growing up and leaving immaturity behind.
Wells first caught my attention earlier this year as the sidekick to Jessica Williams in The Incredible Jessica James. While she was pushed out by Williams’ oversized personality there, Wells shows she has more than enough personality to fill up a room when left to her own devices. She plays Emily, a sketch comedienne in L.A. and whose career hasn’t taken off as she hoped. But at least she’s got her YouTube celebrity, which finds her being recognized for all of the quirky self-deprecating videos she takes the time to share, yet seems embarrassed by. Like the one where she dumps spaghetti all over herself in the bathtub. People love that one, she doesn’t seem to like it so much. Emily’s embarrassed by a lot of things, and through the random hookups, self-deprecating comments, and rejections by Hollywood casting agents, it becomes clear that Emily has a self-esteem issue.
But at least she’s beloved back home, right?
Of the many things Mr. Roosevelt is about, what it may be about most is how quickly life will move on without you. When Emily’s beloved cat gets sick, she goes rushing back to Austin to see him, which mean she must also see Eric (Nick Thune), the ex-boyfriend she left behind to pursue her dreams. Surely he, and the titular kitty Mr. Roosevelt, have been in a holding pattern waiting for her to return? Eh, not so much. Eric’s moved on to the so-perfect-we-know-she’s-crazy Celeste (Britt Lower), and she’s gone a long way in pushing him towards a maturity Emily has never come close to finding. Worse, she’s come to see Mr. Roosevelt as her pet, too, and Emily will be damned if some other woman is going to horn in on her grieving.
Wells seems to have a knack for dreaming up awkward situations for Emily to wallow in. The film is full of them, all caused by Emily’s insecurities, which leads to frustration, which generally leads to a temper tantrum and a lot of really confused stares from Eric’s friends. If anyone can find a way to make a cat’s wake more uncomfortable than it normally would be, it’s Emily.
Not only has Eric begun a life that may be better without her in it, but the Austin she knew and loved has changed into a hipster fantasy world she doesn’t really fit in. But it does allow her to find some new friends, like the “rebellious” Jen (Daniella Pineda), who introduces her to others who smoke weed and bask in the sun without their tops on. The sunbathing scene is refreshingly progressive in its depiction of the female form, with all different body shapes and sizes portrayed without judgement. Well, except from Emily who is, at least at first, ashamed of her own body until she learns to just get over it and love how she looks. It’s not a big statement Wells is making, but it’s a welcome one.
There’s no attempt to invent the wheel here; if anything, Wells’ film is a square peg in a round hole. But she has created a special character in Emily, one that simply must be drawn from personal experience. Like Emily, Mr. Roosevelt is quirky, a bit rough around the edges, but strangely sincere in a way that you want to just hang out with it for a while.
While John Krasinski has long since established himself as a director, most recently with the underrated family comedy The Hollars, it’s only now that he’s embarking on his first major studio project. And now that he’s making that leap with the horror-thriller A Quiet Place, it must come in handy to have a wife as talented as Emily Blunt.
The first trailer for A Quiet Place has arrived and it looks like a nifty film that should do some unique things with sound. Blunt and Krasinski star, along with the red-hot Noah Jupe (Suburbicon, Wonder) and Millicent Simmonds (Wonderstruck) as a family trapped in a cabin by a creature that is sensitive to sound. In other words, everybody better shut up to survive. Here’s the simple synopsis that I love for its brevity:
Karyn Kusama put together a great ensemble for her thriller, The Invitation, and the result was the best reviewed film of her career since Girlfight. It looks like she’s trying to up the ante with her followup, Destroyer, which already has Nicole Kidman set to star, and now she’s set to add Sebastian Stan and Tatiana Maslany.
Stan and Maslany are in talks to join the film which centers on LAPD detective Erin Bell (Kidman) who, as a younger officer, infiltrated a cult-like group in California. The leader of that gang re-emerges years later, and the detective must work through its members and face the demons of her past.
It’s unclear what roles the latest additions will take, but it sounds like they’ll have great material to work with.
Both Stan and Maslany are coming off some of the finest performances they’ve ever given. Maslany was terrific opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in Stronger, while Stan recently co-starred in Logan Lucky and will play Jeff Gillooly in I, Tonya alongside Margot Robbie.
Today brings the magical first look at the sequel to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and my first thought is “Thank Goodness” because they’ve given it a new title. From now on we can call it Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, for reasons that should get fans of the Potterverse soaring like they just entered a Quidditch match.
The image give us our first look at Jude Law as a young Albus Dumbledore, with his beard only at quarter-mast at this point. Standing opposed to him is Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald, and we know this franchise is building up to an epic showdown that has been teased in the novels but never captured on screen. And maybe I’m not totally down on my Potter lore, but does Grindelwald have the Elder wand at this point? Somebody clue me in.
Anyway. the image also shows returning stars Eddie Redmayne as magizoologist Newt Scamander, Katherine Waterston as Tina Goldstein, Alison Sudol as Queenie Goldstein, Dan Fogler as No-Maj Jacob Kowalski, Ezra Miller as Credence Barebone, and Zoe Kravitz as Leta Lestrange, who was barely seen in the first movie but gets an expanded role here. Her last name should send a chill down fans’ spines. We also see new additions Callum Turner (The Only Living Boy in New York) as Newt’s brother Theseus Scamander, and Claudia Kim as an unnamed character said to be the main attraction of a wizarding circus. Her name must be hidden for a reason.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald opens November 16th 2018. I’m pumped!
Dashcam footage has come to have a negative connotation here in the States, and for good reason. It’s usually associated with whatever the latest case of police brutality happens to be. But in Russia practically every car is fitted with a dashboard camera (Guaranteed the Kremlin is using them to spy on people), and they capture all types of batshit insanity. Director Dmitrii Kalashnikov has taken the wildest dashcam footage he could find and crashed them together into The Road Movie, a literal wild ride like nothing you’ve ever seen before.
I don’t know if there’s a story to tell or if it’s just scenes of Russian vehicular craziness, but I can see where the “Jackass meets Faces of Death” descriptor comes from. This shit has everything: naked bystanders, car crashes, road rage, runaway bears (!!!), trucks skidding on icy roads, a Hellish trek through burning forests, crashed comets, and that’s just a fraction of it. To me it looks like Final Destination brought to life, and maybe I’m a little bit sick in the head but dammit I want to see it.
The Road Movie hits theaters on January 19th 2018.
In Bill Willingham’s awesome Fables comic book it was revealed that all of Disney’s various fairy tale princes were the same dude, who REALLY got around. He just couldn’t leave the ladies alone. Ever since Disney announced a Prince Charming film back in 2015 I was hoping they would take a similar approach, and who knows? Maybe they will, and if they do it will be The Perks of Being a Wallflower director Stephen Chbosky who makes it happen.
The day before his latest film Wonder (review here) hits theaters, Chbosky has signed on to write and direct Prince Charming. The latest in Disney’s run of live-action reimaginings will be a twist on the classic handsome prince trope seen in multiple Disney movies, including Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. The film will actually center on the less handsome, less charming brother to Prince Charming, who doesn’t measure up to the family standard.
This marks a return to Disney for Chbosky, who helped write this year’s mega-hit Beauty and the Beast. I’m guessing that factored into their decision to give him another shot. [THR]
While Mel Gibson just had one of the biggest openings of his career with Daddy’s Home 2, and has been allowed back into the Oscars with Hacksaw Ridge, the film that felt the most like old school Gibson for me was Blood Father. The gritty action flick proved that Gibson is still a badass when it counts, and now it looks like he’ll get to show it once again. He’s set to star alongside another screen ass-kicker, Frank Grillo, in Boss Level, which sounds like it shares the same DNA as Source Code and Edge of Tomorrow.
You know what that means; someone is going to be reliving the day of their death over and over again. In this case it’s a retired special forces agent who is stuck in the time loop, and in order to stop it he must discover who is responsible. Behind the camera will be Joe Carnahan, having also penned the screenplay.
Sounds like a pretty sweet trio, and I’m hoping we get to see Gibon and Grillo square off. Gibson is back in the mainstream and Grillo is quietly having a career year. He’s just coming off the worldwide box office phenomenon Wolf Warrior II and the Netflix thriller Wheelman, and seems to be more in demand than ever. Shooting on Boss Level is to kick off next year. [Deadline]
