I don’t know if Shia LaBeouf ever tried out to play Joker in Suicide Squad, but based on this first look at David Ayer’s Tax Collector he might have made a suitable option over Jared Leto. The controversial actor is covered in ink as part of Ayer’s upcoming crime thriller which was just announced a couple of months ago. The two previously teamed up on the WWII tank film, Fury, in which LaBeouf’s most distinctive physical trait was his mustache. Clearly that won’t be the case this time.
There’s a lot going on here: the too-small shorts, the stogie, the sunglasses, and Lord knows what’s in that cup. I’m guessing it’s not Starbucks? And then, of course, there are the tats. You can’t really miss that giant “Creeper” label all over his stomach, and I’m guessing that’s going to be a good descriptor for his character. We don’t know much about the film’s story, other than it will be a return to the gritty street flicks from Ayer’s past like Training Day, Harsh Times, and Street Kings. George Lopez, Lana Parrilla, and Chelsea Rendon
co-star.
LaBeouf’s been on a roll lately with American Honey and Borg vs. McEnroe. Hopefully this keeps his streak going, and I wouldn’t mind seeing Ayer get talked about in a positive way again. He’s a good director, and Suicide Squad and Bright get hammered a bit more than they deserve, but they don’t play to his strengths and The Tax Collector looks as if it might.
MoviePass temporarily crashed again on Friday night, which is bad enough because it’s happened three weekends in a row, but many subscribers were only left with two movie options: new but critically-reviled horror Slender Man or Mission: Impossible-Fallout which has been out for three weeks. Some users were given the option of selecting The Spy Who Dumped Me, now in its second week. If the theater you chose doesn’t offer advanced e-ticketing these were the options that were made available, and the showtimes were severely limited in some cases. In one case, Disney’s Christopher Robin, a movie pretty clearly made for kids, was only available late at night, then it was removed altogether when attention was brought to it.
Speaking with the New York Post, MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe confirmed the continuting problems, and that the two movies a day is the new policy subscribers will have to chew on, and the movies might change each day…
“Unfortunately, in order to stay financially stable we’ve had to curtail the service. We had to right the ship as far as the amount of money we were burning. This has been a challenging time for us and our customers. We’re just trying to save our service to be able to be available long term.”
Lowe denied that MoviePass was deliberately offering shitty showtime options, and that in a few weeks there will be availability at all times of the day. But what possible reason could people have to believe him when each day brings a new limitation?
1. The Meg (review)- $44.5M
Summer time and shark movies go together beautifully. Throw in an action star like Jason Statham, a diverse international cast, and a little bit of Jurassic World-esque prehistoric creature fun, and you’ve got a hit on your hands. The Meg chomped an impressive $44.5M domestic, on the way to $141.5M worldwide. The $150M Chinese co-production paired Statham up with Li Bingbing, Ruby Rose, Cliff Curtis, Winston Chao, and others as they battled a giant Megalodon terrorizing Shanghai. It was projected to do far better overseas than here, and chances are it still will, but it’s going to be a more even split than predicted.
2. Mission: Impossible-Fallout– $20M/$161.9M
3. Disney’s Christopher Robin– $12.4M/$50M
A 49% drop for Disney’s Winnie the Pooh drama Christopher Robin is a little steep, but the $50M domestic total is solid, and internationally it’s off to a semi-decent start with another $12M. Once again, not having China release the film could hurt the bottom line, though.
4. Slender Man (review)- $11.3M
Although it always looked like a disaster, and the constantly-shifting release dates suggested it was, Slender Man still did good business with $11.3M. The $10M horror, which has been met with terrible reviews, follows a group of kids who call on the urban legend/Internet meme known as Slender Man, and of course it goes horrifically wrong. Many had complained the film was insensitive due to the real-life tragedies caused by the Slender Man meme, but I think that stuff actually helped drive audiences toward it rather than away.
5. BlaKkKlansman (review)- $10.7M
It was a huge start for Spike Lee’s latest, BlaKkKlansman, his strongest and most mainstream work in years. The racially-charged cop comedy stars John David Washington and Adam Driver, telling the remarkable true story of a black cop in Colorado Springs who goes undercover in the KKK. This is the highest-grossing debut Spike’s had since Inside Man and at 1512 theaters his widest release since 2013’s Oldboy remake, which only topped out at 583 theaters and $4.8M worldwide. There’s potential for this to expand and make the kind of buzz that Get Out had, tapping into an audience who are interested in hot-button issues tackled in a different way.
6. The Spy Who Dumped Me – $6.6M/$24.5M
The Mila Kunis/Kate McKinnon action-comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me took a tumble in its second week, only earning $6.6M for $24M. It’s not a great film by any stretch but I expected better numbers than this. There’s simply too much competition for it to break through, and the international prospects probably aren’t good, either.
7. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again– $5.8M/$103.8M
8. The Equalizer 2– $5.5M/$89.6M
9. Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation– $5.1M/$146.8M
10. Ant-Man & the Wasp– $4M/$203.5M
The ensemble canine comedy Dog Days played dead, opening at over 2400 theaters for only $2.6M.
The director told HeyUGuys that he’s “probably” going to take a meeting with Marvel about an upcoming film, but of course he failed to say which one. What he did talk about were some of the concerns he has about it, and basically it comes down to control and whether he has it, or if Marvel does…
“For me it has to be the right one, in the right situation because there’s so much visual effects going on and – ‘Where’s the director in it all?’ I need to understand it because it’s like management…they have a machine, they’ve got people, there’s the design, the whole thing is sketched out[…]Is the director doing that? Or is it a hundred other people?”
I think his concerns are the same every independent-minded director has joining Marvel. I’m willing to bet James Gunn, Taika Waititi, and others have mulled these things over in their minds before agreeing to become part of the Marvel machine. Sometimes there just isn’t a fit, and we only need to look at the Edgar Wright/Ant-Man situation to see how that can go.
My gut tells me if Fuqua were to join with Marvel for anything it would be on a Blade relaunch. He’s familiar with Wesley Snipes from their work together on Brooklyn’s Finest, and it’s a character he has talked about in the past. He was previously said to be up for Sony’s Morbius film but turned it down, so he’s not just going to take anything thrown his way. That’s never been Fuqua’s style, and I don’t expect he’ll make any superhero movie unless it’s perfect…and maybe has the perfect role for his pal Denzel.
A24 release “A Prayer Before Dawn” is not a particularly enjoyable film, but it has a central performance from Joe Cole that is intense and unsettling. This isn’t an easy film to watch, but Cole has to shoulder the entire thing, and he does it well. in a role that was originally given to Charlie Hunnam, Cole adds a mixture of tension and vulnerability that will make you feel deeply for a character who seems caught in a series of impossible decisions.
An adaptation of the memoir “A Prayer Before Dawn: My Nightmare in Thailand’s Prisons” by Billy Moore, the film tells Billy’s story: A young British boxer living and training in Thailand, Billy is arrested for heroin possession and sentenced to time in a Thai prison, a place that is profoundly corrupt and unbelievably violent. One of Billy’s first lines is “I don’t fucking understand,” and the movie uses that confusion as its jumping-off point, especially when the action moves into the Thai prison where Billy will be held. The place is, to put it succinctly, a nightmare, not only because Billy barely speaks any Thai but because the people held here are mostly hardened criminals, killers, people who enjoy toying with Billy as someone new and someone different from them.
There’s a scene where the men — overwhelmingly tattooed, incredibly intimidating, and all with that look of “Oh yeah, this guy could fuck anyone up” — in Billy’s new dormitory all surround him, asking whether he’s gay, poking at his body, pushing him around. The undercurrent of potential violence is always there, which comes to fruition nearly immediately when (only 20 minutes into the movie), some of the men force him to watch them gang-rape another young inmate. The next morning, the inmate has killed himself, and the implication — which continues throughout most of the film — is that Billy is not one of them, they can do whatever they want with him, and he’s never going to be safe.
“A Prayer Before Dawn” spends its run time finding increasingly harrowing ways to drive this point home. Dormitories are littered with people who just lay down and die, and space is so tight that bodies are nearly stacked on top of each other; the person you go to sleep next to may never wake up. Heroin is available in the prison, sold by guards and other inmates, but the price is high, and if you don’t pay up, you’re in trouble (one of the film’s most shocking moments is when a group of inmates hold Billy down as another inmate, holding a syringe of his own blood to Billy’s skin, threatens him with AIDS if he doesn’t settle his bill). Billy’s family doesn’t know where he is, and a flirtation with a transgender inmate named Fame (Pornchanok Mabklang) seems like a chance at real human connection — but could they really be together? And although the prison has a boxing team, would they let Billy join — or is his attempt at recreating the outside reality of his life thwarted in that way, too?
Director Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire, who assembled a cast with real-life inmates and shot part of the film in an actual Thai prison, does a good job capitalizing on the overwhelming tension of this place, and Cole’s performance is like a frayed nerve — once you realize the circumstances of how the film was created, his reactions seem even more intense. Fight scenes are extremely rapidly edited, and it seems as if milliseconds of action are missing, like you’re going in and out of consciousness during the fight. It’s an impactful effect, and Sauvaire provides screentime to other elements of Muay Thai training, too — the ritual of being rubbed down with Thai linament, the exhaustive repetition of practicing leg kicks, the unrelenting pace of a competitive fight.
“A Prayer Before Dawn” deals with so much ugliness that it’s almost impossible to watch at times, but Cole’s performance is worth seeing, and the movie does provide a glimpse into a world that will seem unimaginable for some viewers. This is a brutal, bloody film that offers no apologies, but its impact is undeniable.
While most of the Star Trek talk has revolved around that Quentin Tarantino project that, let’s be honest, probably won’t ever happen, Paramount has slowly been moving forward on a true sequel with the regular cast. With S.J. Clarkson recently named the franchise’s first female director, the next steps were to lock down the cast to return. Key to that were deals for Chris Pine and the returning Chris Hemsworth, but it looks like talks between the two are going nowhere fast.
THR reports both actors may walk away from Star Trek 4 as talks with Paramount have “fallen apart.” This is crucial because the film is said to be a time travel story in which Captain Kirk somehow meets up with his father, played by Hemsworth in a return of his small role from the 2009 movie. The problem is that both actors want to get paid the amounts they originally agreed to, but Paramount is trying to back out because these movies don’t really make that much money. The highest-grossing film since JJ Abrams rebooted the franchise was 2013’s Star Trek Into Darkness with $467M. The lowest was 2016’s Star Trek Beyond with just $343M, a number low enough that it forced Paramount to really think about whether it was worth it to do another.
It’s unclear where things go from here. If Hemsworth exits the story will have to be retooled, but if Pine leaves everything falls apart. As Kirk he’s the most important character and the centerpiece of a talented ensemble. I don’t see things moving forward without him, even if deals with the other actors are finalized as expected. Of course, this might just be a negotiating ploy.
As usual I was up all night catching up on wrestling, and between matches I stopped to check on any movie news. The first thing I saw was an article by the Daily Star, a UK outlet that isn’t really known for breaking big movie news, and the headline was this, “Idris Elba the next 007? Movie boss says ‘door open for first black James Bond’”.
I ignored it because Idris Elba as James Bond rumors are a weekly occurrence and have no real basis in reality. Plus, I read the article and realized the relevant portion comes from The Equalizer director, Antoine Fuqua, who has absolutely nothing to do with the Bond franchise. So how does Elba’s name enter the conversation? Well, it doesn’t. Fuqua, who is apparently a good friend with Bond producer Barbara Broccoli, asked her about the possibilty of a black 007, and he said her responses were “it is time” for that to happen and “it will happen eventually.”
Fuqua did add that “Idris could do it if he was in shape. You need a guy with physically strong presence. Idris has that.”
That says nothing about the actor being a contender for the role, and again, Fuqua has nothing to do with the franchise.
I pretty much took today off from posting (I do that on Fridays), but all I kept seeing were reports and think pieces about Elba as the next James Bond. And of course, the racists came out of the woodwork, too. But I think this is a perfect example of two things. First, a site with a bogus clickbait headline. And two, undisciplined news sites that don’t read past the headline. Elba has been rumored to be up for 007 for nearly a decade. It’s probably not going to happen at this point, and even if it does you can bet producers are going to make a show of it.
How does a Marvel film festival sound to you? Pretty good? Then you’ll be happy about this news, because Marvel is continuing their 10-year anniversary celebration by re-releasing all 20 of their feature films on IMAX screens nationwide. For one week only you’ll be able to see every Marvel film on IMAX, including those that have never been in the format before, like Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Captain America: The First Avenger.
The event begins August 30th through September 6th with four movies each day according to theatrical release date. Here’s the rundown:
Aug. 30: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor Aug. 31: Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World Sept. 1: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Ant-Man Sept. 2: Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming Sept. 3: Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp Sept. 4: Iron Man, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Black Panther, Doctor Strange Sept. 5: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Captain America: Civil War, The Avengers, Avengers: Infinity War Sept. 6: Fans will vote for two screenings.
You can pick and choose which movies you want to see and pay for them individually, or if you intend to sit through the whole thing Regal Cinemas allows you to pay for the entire package for just $50.
As the worlds single most popular form of communication it
was inevitable that the internet would generate its own library of urban
legends and it didn’t take long for that to happen. In 2006 the term ‘Creepypasta’
was coined by users on 4chan to describe horror based legends and pictures
circulated on the net. The most popular, and now notorious (but not because of
the movie), of these is Slender Man. Described as an abnormally tall and thin
faceless figure, usually wearing a black suit he is known to abduct and kill
children. The character appears in countless fanfic type stories and people
even took to photoshopping him into the background of seemingly normal
pictures. Sadly, in 2014, two 12-year-old girls stabbed a friend of theirs 19
times in an attempt to impress the fictional Slender Man, that’s the story they
gave at least. I give you this subject history so, if you were unaware, you
could see the obvious potential for Hollywood to adapt this lore to a feature
film. You have a visually striking figure with an open backstory just waiting
to be expounded upon. This was a real chance for a studio to find a talented
writer and morph this into the next big thing in horror, but that would have
cost too much I guess…
Slender Man takes
place in a small Massachusetts town and centers around a small group of
friends. As teenagers are prone to do in these films, they decide to summon the
Slender Man in an attempt to debunk the myth itself. They perform the ritual, which
involves church bells and a knock off of the VHS from The Ring, nothing happens and they all go home….roll credits. Nope,
as you probably guessed it isn’t long until one of the girls goes missing and
the rest of the group must investigate the disappearance while avoiding the
gangly poltergeist following them around. The thing that stings the most is
that a true iconic movie monster is really hard to come by, since 2000 there’s
really only been Samara from The Ring
as far as a recurring widely known monster, you can also include Victor Crowley
form Hatchet if you’re a horror fan.
Even these do not have the pull of a Jason, Michael Myers, Freddy, Leatherface,
or even Scream’s Ghostface. Done correctly,
the Slender Man had the potential to join this group. His look, made terrifying
by the absence of detail and distorted normalcy of a guy in a suit, holds the same
quiet terror-inducing quality that made Michael Myers so special. The look is
usually the hard part, finding something truly unique and captivating is not an
easy venture, that’s why every time a look hits there are unending carbon
copies. How many movies featured a gray slow-moving child after The Ring hit big? Yet that promising
look is squandered on the most generic cheap thrills possible, with no depth
and nothing to generate more interest. This seems to be a problem with any
web-based horror entries, there is no interesting backstory. The cast, while
fine, is as generic as any new CW show. In fact pretty much everything included
in the film is as generic as it comes.
I will give credit where it’s due, the look of the film is
great. Held up by the aforementioned qualities of the title character the movie
makes great use of its visuals, using all of the set pieces to ramp up the
anxious atmosphere. Director Sylvain White makes the most of what he has to
work with and creates jump scares that hit almost every time. It’s something
you expect in these movies, the camera pans left and no one’s there, it pans
back right and BOOM monster…but somehow he manages to keep it surprising. White
also manages to show some major restraint, making the impact of the film more
about the anxiety of not knowing where Slender Man is rather then the fear of
seeing him coming. As with the rest of the film, there are moments that shine
with potential, like the suggestion that it’s all in their heads, but they’re
short lived and dropped without resolution.
A real disappointment Slender
Man leaves you wishing for so much more; even if you weren’t familiar with
the character the movie does enough to make you realize they just didn’t try
that hard. This hits even harder when one considers the controversy surrounding
the “Slender Man Stabbing” I mentioned in the beginning of the review and the
accusations that the film is capitalizing on that tragedy. Many things can be
forgiven if the end product is up to snuff, it’s just too bad this one isn’t.
Gal Gadot is pretty busy right now with Wonder Woman 1984, but she’s managed to find time to voice a brand new character in Disney’s Ralph Breaks the Internet. Yeah, they got rid of the Wreck-It Ralph 2 part, thank goodness, and streamlined the title.
Gadot has tweeted rather excitedly about her voice role in the Disney sequel that finds ham-fisted video game hero Ralph (John C. Reilly) and hyped-up sidekick Vanellope von Schweetz (Sarah Silverman) journeying through the Internet. She’ll voice Shank, described as “a tough and talented driver in an intense and gritty online racing game called “Slaughter Race”. Shank might be carrying a key part to help fix Vanellope’s “Sugar Rush” game, and it looks like she’ll have to race for it. She kinda looks like Gadot, too. Diggin’ it.
Ralph Breaks the Internet opens November 21st. You can check out a clip of Shank in action below!
I’m so excited to finally announce that I am playing a character named Shank in Disney’s #RalphBreaksTheInternet hitting theaters this November! Such an amazing experience to be apart of this project with such great creators and cast! Welcome to Slaughter Race! ??? pic.twitter.com/MxLuWFPJ0L
