Ryan Reynolds Joins Michael Bay For Netflix Action Flick ‘Six Underground’

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May 23, 2018

You don’t get Michael Bay for cheap. He’s a big time director and his movies cost a lot of money, but they also tend to bank a ton of cash so it’s worth it. How that translates for Netflix, who have just ponied up a whopping $150M for Bay’s previously announced action flick, Six Underground, remains to be seen but the investment is already paying off. How? Because Deadpool‘s Ryan Reynolds is coming on board to star.

Reynolds will star in Six Underground, and more than having a chance to work with Bay the reason probably has to do with writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The duo are behind both massively successful Deadpool movies that Reynolds stars in, so why break up the band? They’re also working together on a potentially R-rated remake of Clue.

Deadline describes Six Underground as a “high octane mission movie” which sounds like pure Bay all the way. This would be the biggest investment in a film by Netflix, surpassing the near $100M budget of Bright. While that film was panned by critics it was loved by Netflix’s subscribers and has a sequel in the works. So clearly they see the cost as worth it.

This will be Bay’s next film with production to begin this summer for release in 2019. He’ll follow that up with the long-developing adaptation of Robopocalypse.

DC Readers: Win Tickets To A Free Screening Of ‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’

By

John Nolan

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May 22, 2018

Welcome back to Jurassic World! We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a free early screening of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard!

SYNOPSIS: It’s been four years since theme park and luxury resort Jurassic World was destroyed by dinosaurs out of containment. Isla Nublar now sits abandoned by humans while the surviving dinosaurs fend for themselves in the jungles.

When the island’s dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen (Chris Pratt) and Claire (Bryce Dallas Howard) mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event. Owen is driven to find Blue, his lead raptor who’s still missing in the wild, and Claire has grown a respect for these creatures she now makes her mission. Arriving on the unstable island as lava begins raining down, their expedition uncovers a conspiracy that could return our entire planet to a perilous order not seen since prehistoric times.

With all of the wonder, adventure and thrills synonymous with one of the most popular and successful series in cinema history, this all-new motion-picture event sees the return of favorite characters and dinosaurs—along with new breeds more awe-inspiring and terrifying than ever before. Welcome to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

This anticipated screening takes place on Tuesday, June 19th at 7:30pm at Regal Majestic in Silver Spring. If you’d like a chance to win passes, simply complete the Rafflecopter contest form below. Winners will be selected on Saturday, June 2nd and notified by email. Good luck!

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom opens June 22nd.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

‘Papillon’ Trailer: Charlie Hunnam And Rami Malek Plot A Prison Break

By

John Nolan

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May 22, 2018

To be completely honest I had forgotten this movie exists. Papillon is a remake of the 1973 prison escape film that starred Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. This version, which quietly debuted last year at TIFF, stars Charlie Hunnam and Bohemian Rhapsody’s Rami Malek with Danish director Michael Noer at the helm. That it didn’t get much buzz and is only coming out now is probably not a good sign.

The trailer isn’t especially bad, but there’s little that sets it apart. Based on a true story and a pair of two autobiographies by Henri Charriere, the story centers on the titular Parisian criminal (Hunnam) who is framed for murder and sent to a penal colony on Devil’s Island. There he befriends a white collar criminal named Louis Vega (Malek) who agrees to fund his escape. Roland Møller, Tommy Flanagan, and Eve Hewson co-star. The script comes from Contraband and Prisoners writer Aaron Guzikowski, so maybe he can find some new angle on the story.

Papillon opens August 24th.

‘Damsel’ Trailer: Robert Pattinson And Mia Wasikowska Flip The Western Genre

By

John Nolan

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May 22, 2018

Sometimes I make the mistake of assuming everyone who attends Sundance knows their shit. At the world premiere screening of the Zellner Brothers’ comedy Damsel the people sitting around me were incredibly excited. Here was a movie with Robert Pattinson and Mia Wasikowska and clearly they were the reason these folks attended. But clearly they had no idea who the Zellners were, because Damsel is anything but your typical movie for a pair of A-list celebs.

The Zellners are the duo behind the oddball mystery film Kumiko the Treasure Hunter, which took the Coen Brothers’ Fargo and totally flipped that shit into something completely new. I loved it, but their humor takes some getting used to. They play around with genre again with Damsel, which stars Pattinson as a wannabe hero on a journey to save his lady love, only he isn’t what he seems and neither is she. There’s no “Hi-yo Silver!” or anything like that, either, but you do get a miniature horse named Butterscotch and a sketchy priest played by David Zellner.

Here’s the synopsis: “Samuel Alabaster (Pattinson), an affluent pioneer, ventures across the American Frontier to marry the love of his life, Penelope (Wasikowska). As Samuel traverses the Wild West with a drunkard named Parson Henry (David Zellner) and a miniature horse called Butterscotch, their once-simple journey grows treacherous, blurring the lines between hero, villain and damsel.”

Damsel opens June 22nd, but you can read my review here right now.

Kiersey Clemons Is Staying As Iris West In The Flash’s Solo Movie

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John Nolan

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May 22, 2018

With so many delays to The Flash’s solo movie it would be understandable if there were some cast reshuffling. It’s been speculated that Kiersey Clemons’ role as Iris West was going to be recast, especially after her part in Justice League was slashed. But the Dope and Flatliners actress is sticking around, and she will confirm it on tonight’s episode of Conan.

BREAKING: Kiersey Clemons will play Iris West in The Flash movie. She confirms the news tonight on #Conan. pic.twitter.com/dBVw1oqLhV

— Batman-News.com (@BatmanNewsCom) May 22, 2018

Clemons and her Dope director Rick Famuyiwa were basically a package deal, so when he left the film it was always a question if she would stick around. A long search eventually led to John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein coming aboard as directors, and the whole Flashpoint aspect of the storyline may have been dropped, but Ezra Miller and Clemons are still there and that’s a good foundation to build on.

A Marvel Producer Really Didn’t Want This Character To Die In ‘Avengers: Infinity War’

By

John Nolan

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May 22, 2018

*SPOILERS*, of course.

The best part about seeing Avengers: Infinity War multiple times is being able to pick out those who have yet to experience it. The best time to do that is, obviously, at the end of the film when many of the heroes we’ve come to love turn to dust at the snap of Thanos’ fingers. Many characters vanish at that point; most of the Guardians of the Galaxy, Winter Soldier, Spider-Man, and others. It’s quite the emotional roller coaster that still leaves audiences gasping for air.

While I think most of us know that most if not all of these characters will return somehow, at least one Marvel exec wasn’t so sure. Producer Nate Moore, who happens to have worked on Black Panther, did his best to try and convince the Russos not to kill somebody. Any guesses who it was? Yep, a certain king of Wakanda…

“I knew pretty well what they were talking about and personally urged them to reconsider,” Moore told HuffPo. “But the storytelling made sense, so I love that we got to see a little bit more of Wakanda in that film, and I hope to see how they’re going to resolve that.”

He continued, “Touching on all the different ideas you can have, you talk about the pros and cons of each, and they had some really compelling arguments as to why what happened happened. I think ultimately it made for a really interesting, almost more complicated ending to that film because of how well ‘Black Panther’ was embraced by audiences. Again, personally painful, but I understand the reasoning.”

Knowing more about the Russos’ reasons would probably veer into spoiling Avengers 4, because otherwise I imagine the conversation went something like “Duh, because killing Black Panther would be a super cool twist!”

Anyway, expect T’Challa to return in time for Black Panther 2, unless they decide to have Shuri and M’baku battle it out for the crown?

Teaser For Nicolas Winding Refn’s Ultra-Violent Amazon Series ‘Too Old To Die Young’

By

John Nolan

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May 22, 2018

Oh yeah, this is Nicolas Winding Refn alright. How do I know? Because I have no idea what the Hell is going on in this teaser for Amazon crime series Too Old to Die Young. Not that it’s necessary to know everything, but this footage is little more than an atmospheric teaser.

Miles Teller, Jena Malone, Billy Baldwin, John Hawkes, and Cristina Rodlo star in the series that explores the Los Angeles criminal underbelly including the Yakuza, Russian mafia, Mexican drug cartels, and more. The style has been described as close to Refn’s Pusher trilogy, casting a wide net around various characters and their existential journeys.

Refn is working alongside acclaimed crime novelist and comic book writer Ed Brubaker, who is co-writing the 10-episode season’s scripts. No word on when Too Old to Die Young premieres, expect it to appear on Amazon sometime in 2019.

Punch Drunk DVDs: ‘Red Sparrow’, ‘Game Night’, ‘The 15:17 to Paris’, And More!

By

John Nolan

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May 22, 2018

NEW THIS WEEK

Red Sparrow

Jennifer Lawrence stars in this new thriller as a former Prima
ballerina forced to become a Russian special agent after an injury ends her
career. Enrolled at a secret school, she is trained to become a Sparrow, a
gifted agent trained to use their mind and bodies as weapons. Suddenly, her new
cold exterior is compromised by an American CIA agent she’s sent after, who
seeks to convince her that he is the only person she can trust.

We Said: “Red Sparrow is at
least an attempt to offer the kind of mature espionage film audiences are
frequently denied, and overall it’s a solid effort for fans of the spy genre.
Others expecting more than just a by-the-numbers effort may find that this Sparrow never soars as
high as it should. ” Rating: 3 out of 5

BUY NOW

Game Night

Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams star in this hit new comedy
as Max and Annie, a compettive couple who bound over their mutal love of weekly
game nights. When Max’s hotshot bother (Kyle Chandler) arranges for a murder
mystery party for them and their friends, complete with fake thugs and a
kidnapping. Unfortuantely, things take an unexpected turn when they discover
that the game might be real, and the gangsters their facing are more than just
well-payed actors. The friends soon find themselves in over their heads as each
twist in the game leads to another unexpected turn over the course of one
chaotic night.

We Said: “Not all of the jokes score, of course, and the film gets
too big for its own good in an oversized finale that would be better off in a
different movie. There are also one too many twists for a film the audience
probably isn’t looking to be fooled by at all. Still, Game Night has the charm
and definitely the players to be a real winner for those willing to roll the
dice.” Rating: 3.5 out of 5

BUY NOW

The 15:17 to Paris

Clint Eastwood’s latest directorial effort tells the true
story of three Americans who stopped a terrorist attack aboard a French train.
Using the actual heores to play themselves, Eastwood attempts to capture the
intensity of their brave act.

We Said: “Overall,
The 15:17 to Paris is boarder-line unwatchable. It’s awkward, messy, boring,
and most of all incompetent. It’s honestly astonishing to see a movie this
troubled be released by a big studio like Warner Bros. Mr. Eastwood, it’s
really, really time to stop.” Rating: 0.5
out of 5

BUY NOW

Also Available: Early Man, Wonderstruck,
On the Beach at Night Alone, Daphne & Velma, I Kill Giants, and A Fantastic Woman

Donald Glover Is Down With Lando Being Pansexual, Says He’d Return For A Spinoff

By

John Nolan

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May 22, 2018

I imagine there have been more conversations about Lando Calrissian’s sexuality over the last few days than in forty years of Star Wars movies. Co-writer Jonathan Kasdan lit a fuse when he claimed in an interview that Lando was pansexual, that he had a “fluidity” to his sexual appetites. So of course, Donald Glover, who plays Lando in Solo: A Star Wars Story, was going to be asked his opinion the first chance available, and that’s exactly what EW did. Here is his response…

“How can you not be pansexual in space? There are so many things to have sex with. I didn’t think that was that weird. Yeah, he’s coming on to everybody. I mean, yeah, whatever. It just didn’t seem that weird to me ‘cause I feel like if you’re in space it’s kind of like, the door is open! It’s like, no, only guys or girls. No, it’s anything. This thing is literally a blob. Are you a man or a woman? Like, who cares? Have good time out here.”

Glover says that Billy Dee Williams, who originated the character and gave him the smooth Colt 45 persona we’ve come to expect, hinted to him about Lando’s possible pansexuality…

“One thing that Billy did say was [Lando] is somebody who goes around and tries everything, and I just didn’t think about it that much,” Glover said. “But I was like, he’s a charming person so I feel like he doesn’t have hard and fast boundaries about everything. But having somebody tell me that, I’m like, okay, cool, makes sense to me. Is it weird that I didn’t think about it that much?”

Meanwhile, Glover says he’d be open to reprising the role in a potential spinoff centered solely on Lando. Lucasfilm’s Kathleen Kennedy teased that it would be “next” on the agenda, although that remains up in the air…

“It would always be fun to be Lando again,” Glover said. “I would love to do it again…The movie, I feel like, is wide open. I feel like with the Skywalkers, it’s hard, because it’s almost like the Bible. There’s a story that you have to tell, and the lineage of that family. I feel like out here its like, yeah, we’re just like husters and gamblers and space pirates, essentially, so you can do a lot more and have a lot more fun.”

Solo: A Star Wars Story opens May 25th.

The Internet Isn’t Happy With ‘Thundercats Roar’, But I Don’t Really Care

By

John Nolan

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May 22, 2018

Normally, learning of a new Thundercats cartoon would send me soaring through the roof with excitement. But not so with Cartoon Networks’ Thundercats Roar, which fans of the classic ’80s cartoon clawing out their eyes in anger. Me, I’m content to just pretend it doesn’t exist.

Thundercats debuted in 1985 and centered on Lion-O, Panthro, Tigra, Cheetara, and other feline humanoids as they did battle against the ancient evil Mumm-ra. Lion-O had in his possession the Sword of Omens, which grants the Thundercats their power. Even for a kids’ cartoon it was pretty dark and serious, and the animation reflected its tone.

Thundercats Roar, on the other hand, looks like something the creators of Powerpuff Girls shit out during a sleepover. Frankly, it ain’t for me and I won’t be watching. But you can imagine the Internet is in an uproar over it. You can find a pretty good collection of angry tweets here. Mine won’t be one of them. I simply don’t care, and recognize that the version I want to see can be found elsewhere. This one ain’t for me.

The Thundercats I remember, the cartoon that inspired me to collect the toys as a child and their Pop! Vinyl figures as an adult, still exist. I can watch it whenever I want to, or read the comic books which are done in the style of the original cartoon. That’s good enough for me.

For others, Thundercats Roar arrives in 2019. Enjoy.