With Game of Thrones coming to an end, Emilia Clarke is about to have a big window of time to fill. Rather than jumping into another series, she’s landed her next major movie role, and it’ll be with two people with films currently burning up the box office.
Clarke will join with Crazy Rich Asians breakout Henry Golding for Last Christmas, the latest from director Paul Feig. Feig’s currently hot with his dark comedy A Simple Favor, which Golding also had a key role in. Plot details are few but it’s being described by Variety as a holiday romance set in London.
Sounds like another change of pace for Feig, who is typically known for his all-female comedies. With the exception of the romance drama Me Before You, Clarke’s work on the big screen has mostly consisted of big studio efforts, such as Solo: A Star Wars Story and Terminator Genisys. Given how those failed maybe a move like this is the right thing to do.
To celebrate the release of The First Purge on Bluray/DVD/Digital, we’re happy to offer our readers a chance to bring the politically-charged horror home for themselves.
SYNOPSIS: Blumhouse Productions welcomes you to the movement that began as a simple experiment: The First Purge. To push the crime rate below one percent for the rest of the year, the New Founding Fathers of America test a sociological theory that vents aggression for one night in one isolated community. But when the violence of oppressors meets the rage of the marginalized, the contagion will explode from the trial-city borders and spread across the nation.
To win The First Purge on Bluray or digital code, you simply need to complete the required steps in the Rafflecopter contest form below. Complete all of the steps to increase your chances! Winners will be selected on Friday, September 21st and notified by email. Good luck!
The First Purge is available now on Bluray, DVD, and Digital HD!
The last live-action film Angelina Jolie starred in was 2015’s unfortunate and deeply personal Beyond the Sea, in which she and then-husband Brad Pitt hashed out their marital woes for everyone to see. While she’s wrapping up on Disney’s Maleficent 2, Jolie has lined up her first legit action role since 2010’s Salt.
Jolie will produce and star in The Kept, a revenge-thriller based on author James Scott’s 2014 novel. Penned by award-winning Lady Macbeth writer Alice Birch, the story is “set in the winter of 1897, and follows a trio of killers that descends upon an isolated farm in upstate New York. Midwife Elspeth Howell returns home to the carnage: her husband and four of her children, murdered. Before she can discover her remaining son Caleb, alive and hiding the kitchen pantry, another shot rings out over the snow-covered valley. Caleb, who is 12 years old, must tend to his mother until she recovers enough for them to take to the frozen wilderness in search of the men responsible.”
The last couple of years have found Jolie spending more time behind the camera than in front of it. Along with the aforementioned Beyond the Sea, she’s directed Unbroken, In the Land of Blood and Honey, and 2017’s First They Killed My Father. No director has been found for The Kept just yet, but as of now it doesn’t appear Jolie has any plans of taking on that job, too.
Oh, this movie still exists? More than a year ago we got our first look at Keanu Reeves in the sci-fi flick, Replicas, mere days before it was to hit the New York Comic-Con. A trailer would be released shortly after, but as of today the actual movie still hasn’t been released. What’s going on? This is Keanu Reeves, right? John Wick himself? There must be some good reason for the long delay, but instead of a release date what we’re getting now is…a new teaser. Not even a full trailer.
Replicas is directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff, and stars Reeves as a man who uses advanced cloning technology to try and bring his dead family back to life, while the authorities seek to shut him down. Or at least that’s what the story looked like before, but this new footage has a clear shift in focus. Rather than Reeves’ attempt to resurrect his loved ones, this footage is mostly about bringing an experimental robot A.I. online. While we do get flashes of his family, and that plot does seem to still be in place, this change in strategy has to be an effort to drum up buzz for a movie that may never hit theaters. “Coming Soon” doesn’t count as an actual date.
Check out the trailer for Replicas below, followed by the original version.
When the first image from Stan & Ollie dropped a few weeks ago, it was tough to tell the difference between John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan from the legendary comedy duo. But a single still image means nothing if the performances don’t measure up to the subject matter. Based on the response out of TIFF, Sony Pictures Classics’ enthusiastic acquisition of the film, and now this debut trailer I don’t think that’s something we have to worry about.
The first trailer for Stan & Ollie promises a slightly unexpected look at comic pair Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Rather than focusing on the heyday of their decades-spanning comedy career, it follows them as they embark on one final tour of Britain with their best days long behind.
While there are glimpses of the slapstick Laurel & Hardy were famous for, this actually looks like quite the sobering biopic. Here’s hoping director Jon S. Baird (Filth) and Philomena writer Jeff Pope find a good balance. Also starring Shirley Henderson, Nina Arianda, and Danny Huston, Stan & Ollie opens in January across the pond but has yet to get a U.S. date.
I have to assume it’s the implications for the yet to be titled Avengers 4, but for whatever reason the buzz surrounding Marvel’s newest, and apparently most powerful, hero is as electric as the energy surrounding Thor when he shows up in Wakanda. To say this trailer was hotly anticipated is a monsterous understatement, well it’s here and damn does it deliver.
Setting up the time period right from jump street by having our hero crash land into a fully functional Blockbuster Video, the 90’s set Captain Marvel is astounding in every way. The most apparent, and technical reason is the deaging that has been done on SLJ’s Nick Fury and his #1 Phil Coulson. It’s one thing to see the results in a still picture but to see the flawless nature of the effect in full motion is a whole new ballgame, it’s something that appears so simple but is really game changing. The trailer itself doesn’t reveal a ton about the plot or Kree threat that has been teased. We see Carol Danvers struggle with memory loss keeping her human side and life as something between a broken memory and a dream. What we are given is a sumptuous taste of the vastness of the universe that Danvers brings to the MCU, just when you thought the universe couldn’t get any more diverse after Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy we are being opened up to a whole new section of sci-fi goodness.
Enough jabbering from me, check out the trailer below and let me know what you think!
I don’t like to admit this sort of thing but in the case of Life Itself it must be done: I knew within about five minutes that I would hate this movie. Normally, I’m not given to passing judgement on anything so quickly but Dan Fogelman, the guy whose NBC show This is Us has all of your Facebook friends weeping every week, is so self-important and “clever” so early on that it sets the bad wheels in motion. Life Itself is a more pompous Collateral Beauty; a manipulative, preachy and contrived mess full of big stars punching well beneath their weight class.
The only one who is exactly where we expect him to be is Fogelman, who is basically giving you a two-hour version of This is Us. Which begs the question, “Why does it work on the small screen but not as a movie?” Commercial breaks? Life Itself is multigenerational and overwrought, following scads of characters who rarely if ever cross paths but are connected by an event. It’s usually a terrible tragedy, but in this case it’s like multiple tragedies. This damn movie is dark, and gets dark quick, but Fogelman tries to lighten it up with some narrative slight of hand. The irritation begins with Samuel L. Jackson, who both narrates the early going and appears as a version of himself, filling our heads with drivel about who the hero of the story will be. The narration in this movie always gives away whatever theme Fogelman wants to get across, because he doesn’t have the capacity to express it through his characters, nor does he trust the audience to figure that shit out for themselves.
Tragedy befalls the apparent “hero”, a therapist played by the great Annette Bening. But Fogelman pulls the rug out from us; that’s not really the true opening of the movie. It’s all just a façade. Why? Well, later narration has some obnoxious crap for us about unreliable narrators, too.
Divided into chapters to stress how incredibly serious-minded this whole thing is, the film stars Oscar Isaac as Will, a New York City neurotic who has fallen madly in love with Abby (Olivia Wilde). He believes they are a perfect couple, always meant to be. Flashbacks to their courtship in college show the level of Will’s commitment to her and the book of corny shit no guy would ever say; “I’m waiting for the right moment, because when I ask you out, there’s not going to be any turning back for me.”
Oh yeah, that’s a Fogelman.
But are Will and Abby really happy? What was that about unreliable narrators? The opening thirty minutes of the film are aggravating, but there’s potential in exploring the way in which Will constructs fantasy in his head to cope with life’s many twists and turns. See, life itself is unpredictable. That’s a fine place to start for a movie, but that’s pretty much all Life Itself is. At one point Abby comes up with a college thesis that is, literally, a regurgitation of the whole “life is unpredictable/shit happens” narrative. But like her school paper it is merely an idea and never really explored in a way that is meaningful.
Again, I blame Fogelman for this. Rather than creating characters for the audience to connect with he’d rather shock them with one heart-tugging tragedy after another. We’re soon introduced to Will and Abby’s daughter, Dylan (Olivia Cooke), who is named after, of course, Bob Dylan. If you’re not a fan of the famous singer/songwriter then this movie will be like nails on a chalkboard, because his music is everywhere. And when it’s not playing, his music is referenced repeatedly. Outside of her caring, protective grandfather (Mandy Patinkin, a real pleasure), Dylan’s life is marked by loss, which has made her sullen and angry. Jump thousands of miles away to Spain, and we find out that Dylan’s life is connected to another family. Javier (Sergio Peris-Mencheta) is a simple olive picker who has earned the respect of his co-workers and the notice of his wealthy boss, Mr. Saccione (Antoino Banderas). Promoted to foreman, Javier is now able to care for his new wife Isabel (the always-terrific Laia Costa, doing her best work yet), and young son Rodrigo (Alex Monner), who has dreams of going to New York City. Hmmmm….
Those who know Fogelman will be able to suss out this circular journey pretty quickly, not that knowing makes tolerating it any easier. The Spanish portion of the story, some of it subtitled but the crucial bits in English, have the benefit of gorgeous cinematography taking in the countryside’s natural beauty. But there’s a massive disconnect that Fogelman struggles to fix, and every attempt to do so strains credulity. It works much better when Fogelman stops trying to connect the dots and just lets the story unfold and his actors perform. Isaac is in full Inside Llewyn Davis mode here, showing humor and deep reservoirs of soulfulness and pain that nearly overshadow Fogelman’s mawkish screenplay. Peris-Menchata, Banderas, and Costa are terrific, as well, grounding this drama in a way that it sorely needs. While telegraphed a mile away, the hero-or-villain dynamic between Javier and Saccione could be its own movie, and I would pay to see it. Unfortunately, it’s just a small piece of an unfulfilling, obvious film that never earns the feelings it wants from viewers. Life itself may be unpredictable yet sadly Life Itself is anything but.
Sometimes a film hits the festival circuit early, earns a lot of buzz, but then it takes forever for it to finally arrives in theaters so the rest of us can see it. Such is the case with Prospect, a SXSW standout that has already earned comparisons to Duncan Jones’s Moon for its use of practical effects and retro vibe. And those elements are certainly evident in the newly-released trailer, but what I’m digging is how seamless it appears to incorporate the look, style, and plot of an old school Western.
Starring Pedro Pascal, Jay Duplass, Andre Royo, and newcomer Sophie Thatcher, the film follows a father and daughter pair who venture to a faraway planet in hopes of striking it rich prospecting for a new and valuable resource. Basically it’s the Gold Rush interplanetary style, with Pascal as the deadly outlaw who makes their job considerably more difficult.
Prospect was put together by writer/directors Zeek Earl and Christopher Caldwell, based on their short film. The grit of the Old West and the sleekness of sci-fi tech make for quite the combination, and I can see why this one has everyone excited. I’m excited, too.
If you want an example how far Hollywood still needs to go in this #TimesUp and #MeToo era, look no further than Bryan Singer. The subject of years of sexual misconduct allegations levied against him by numerous young men, Singer has been a lightning rod of controversy, and was recently fired from directing Bohemian Rhapsody over his unprofessional conduct. While that potential awards contender was finished by Dexter Fletcher, it’s Singer who will get the directing credit, anyway. And now Singer is still apparently in high demand, because he’s being sought to direct that Red Sonja movie which has been in the works for years.
THR reports Millennium is looking to pay “top dollar” for Singer’s services directing Red Sonja, the Conan the Barbarian spinoff they hope will launch a franchise and tap into the Wonder Woman audience. The character is a fierce warrior fighting in the same world of sword ‘n sorcery as Conan. Brigitte Nielsen starred in a rather terrible 1985 film that also featured an appearance by Arnold Schwarzenegger, reprising his Conan role. Robert Rodriguez had been developing a version of the film for years that, ironically, would have starred his then-girlfriend and #TimesUp activist Rose McGowan.
According to an insider, Millennium is willing to work with Singer despite his problems because they don’t believe the allegations have any merit. Even so, why court the negative stigma that will instantly be attached by hiring someone like Singer? Throw aside the misconduct claims and you still have a director with a history of being sorta flaky, like not showing up on scheduled shoot days.
So while this is a step forward for Red Sonja to finally happen, I’m going to say it’s two steps backwards in the long run because this could backfire big time.
Elizabeth Banks’ Charlie’s Angels reboot has just doubled up on its Stewart quotient. With Kristen Stewart set to lead the team of female super-spies, the cast now adds Patrick Stewart in the role of Bosley. Well, he’s “a Bosley”, because this Charlie’s Angels is doing things a little differently.
In the original TV series, Bosley was the face of Charlie Townsend’s detective agency, and basically the liaison between Townsend the trio of female agents. In the earlier movies the role of Bosley was filled once by Bill Murray and then Bernie Mac (!!!) in the sequel. In this newer version, Towsend runs an ingelligence and security agency with branches all around the world, and each has its own Bosley. Banks will direct the film and star as another of the Bosleys.
The next-gen Angels will be led by Kristen Stewart, Power Rangers’ Naomi Scott, and rising star Ella Balinska in her first major screen role. Stewart recently spoke to IndieWire about her decision to do the film, since she rarely takes on blockbuster studio movies these days, and she says this version of Charlie’s Angels won’t look like anything we’ve seen before…
“I’ve never done such a fun movie. “’JT’ (her film Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy) was fun but it was dark and heavy, a lot of weight. [‘Charlie’s Angels’] was a lot of flouncing around joking, women supporting each other, not just kicking ass and being kitschy. It was so well-intentioned and warm and strong. The only reason to remake ‘Charlie’s Angels’ was to do a super-woke version, with no objectification whatsoever.”
Charlie’s Angels will hit theaters on September 27th 2019. [THR]
