The sands of the hourglass are running thin. We are at the
end of the All-Out War…even if we can’t really classify most of what we’ve seen
as war. We come off two great episodes and sadly, take a downturn before the
finale. Negan has returned to the Sanctuary where Simon is enlisting Dwight and
a group of Saviors to overthrow Negan. Meanwhile Rosita and Daryl are staking
out the bullet-making factory for a way to stop production and Aaron is on
hunger strike outside the Riverside community hoping to change their minds on
joining the fight.
The thing is, 80% of this episode was not necessary. That is
the #1 issue with TWD in the last few seasons; I really do not see what the positive
side of treading water like this could be. Let’s look at the Eugues story arc
in this ep, my obvious disdain for the walking mullet with verbal diarehha
aside, the fact is almost nothing is accomplished by his 20 minutes of screen
time. Daryl and Rosita kidnap him, they walk him back to the Hilltop but on the
way there, some walkers confront them. For some reason Eugene sees his best
escape route is to make himself throw up on Rosita. He runs, hides in a
horrible pile of burnt bodies and sneaks his way back to the warehouse at which
point Daryl and Rosita head back to hilltop….what was the point? I suppose
there could be something popping up in the finale where he has a change of
heart based on seeing his old friends but really, there are other ways to
accomplish this. Aaron at the Riverside was not any better. We see the group
come upon him in the woods where he’s basically starving while waiting for them
to come around and join the fight. They say no and leave. Later in the episode,
he’s attacked and almost killed by walkers. The group finds him again and
appears to want to help him now…not only is there no clear reason why they
would change their mind it was just not an effective way to show this. There
has to be more thought put into these mini-arcs. Bringing our way to the only
worthwhile storyline of the episode, Negan’s return. While this had it’s merit
and brought along circumstances that will reverberate through the season finale
even it was drawn out for no apparent reason. Instead of confronting Simon on
his return Negan plays an elaborate game culminating in him hiding behind a
trash can while Simon let’s his whole plan be known like some balding Bond villain.
There was a GREAT scene earlier in the episode that would have been perfect to
dispatch Simon, yes, it was obvious but it would have been worth it for the
homage to Al Capone in The Untouchables
alone. As Negan walks around the table, bat in hand, he ends up behind Simon…instead
of bashing his skull in, he forgives him….only to set him up for admission
later. The result is the same, Simon is toast. The twist comes in at the very
end when Dwight, who is still in double…or maybe even triple agent mode at this
point, is lead back to his room by Negan. Upon walking in he is surrounded then
confronted by one of the Saviors he turned on earlier in the season. Dwight is
found out and captured, with the promise of a fate worse than death from Negan.
Why was this glossed over in 3 minutes? Wouldn’t that have been more
interesting to follow?
The Good:
Sadly, not much this episode. I will give credit where it is
due, to the continued growth of Negan’s character. Michonne travels to the Sanctuary
to read Negan Carl’s letter over Walkie Talkie’s. While he tries to be Mr.
Badass he is visibly shaken and you can tell the words of peace delivered posthumously
by Carl do have an effect on him, and will ultimately play a part in how this
thing ends.
The Bad:
So much time wasted. Seriously, there needs to be an efficiency
review in the writer’s room of TWD. This war could have been over at the
mid-season finale, there is literally no good reason to stretch out your
material, and they just do not seem to be getting that point.
More Eugene = more annoyed viewers. The only redeeming
quality of his arc this episode was Daryl threatening to cut his tongue out. Oh
happy day.
The Riverside community as a whole. They just haven’t
developed that location and it’s members enough for me to care or understand
why they are important. The only thing I can imagine they’d be useful for is
cannon fodder.
The Dead:
Something we have all wanted to see for quite some time.
Zombie Simon. Even after 8 seasons there is still something unsettling about
seeing a series regular change to undead mode. This one was one of the most
disturbing, Chained to the fence outside of the Sanctuary, Zombie Simon thrashes
around and gnarls at nothing…something about his movement was off, kind of like
how Samara moves in The Ring.
Whatever it was, I’m just glad he can’t talk anymore…dude was getting to Eugene levels of annoyance.
It still feels weird that a new “Star Wars” movie is coming out in a few short weeks, but now we have another official “Solo: A Star Wars Story” trailer to remind us. This trailer lays bare a lot of what we already guessed: that this movie seems to be another heist flick, with Woody Harrelson’s character explaining that they’re putting together a crew to somehow screw over Paul Bettany’s bad guy; that young Solo will be reiterating that he’s a flier, not some kind of revolutionary; and oh yeah, that Donald Glover as Lando is going to be great.
Check out the new trailer below:
Favorite moments: Stormtroopers in fluffy white winter coats! Woody Harrelson warning that Solo’s going to be “in this life for good”! Thandie Newton’s gigantic aviator goggles! And the reveal that Chewie is 190 years old; good job for Alden Ehrenreich for his delivery of “You look great!” Downsides: that Michael K. Williams had to drop out of the film because of its extensive reshoots and was replaced with Bettany.
“Solo: A Star Wars Story” comes out May 25. We’ll of course have a review for you when the time comes — watch this space.
On this week’s Cinema Royale we’ll take a look at two big films that already have people buzzing. First up is John Krasinski’s A QUIET PLACE, a horror that has everybody too spooked to say a word. Plus, the teen sex comedy BLOCKERS may be one of the funniest movies of 2018, but is it as sex positive as it wants to be? We’ll be joined by my homie Wilson Morales of Blackfilm.com to talk about both movies, plus the TERMINATOR 6 delay, Dwayne Johnson’s FAST & FURIOUS future, and more!
1. A Quiet Place (review)- $50M
On a week in which all of the new releases got off to strong starts it was John Krasinski’s well-reviewed horror A Quiet Place that made the most noise. Its $50M opening weekend has to be music to the ears of Paramount, as it ranks as among their best debuts in years, and definitely their biggest since Star Trek Beyond back in 2016. The number charts as the second biggest opening for an original horror movie ever, just a tad behind M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village in 2004. The reason is simple: awesome reviews and a truly unique premise. The film sits at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and the audience consensus is high as well. We talk a lot about the negative impacts of Rotten Tomatoes but this is a case there it, along with good word of mouth, have taken a small-ish film to box office heights.
2. Ready Player One– $25M/$96.9M
Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One only had a single week at the top of the charts, but I don’t think Warner Bros. will complain. The pop culture adventure flick scored another $25M domestic for $96M overall, but worldwide its playing like a champ with $391M.
3. Blockers (review)- $21.4M
Teen sex comedies don’t always find the mark with audiences but Blockers is proving to be a winner. The comedy fromdirectorKay Cannon (writer of the Pitch Perfect trilogy) stars John Cena, Leslie Mann, and Ike Barinholtz as parents who set out to stop their teen daughters from losing their virginity on prom night. The premise seemed like a potential minefield, especially in today’s sex positive climate, but reviews have praised the film for being more thoughtful and feminist than expected, especially considering the five male writers who worked on it.
4. Black Panther– $8.4M/$665.3M
5. I Can Only Imagine– $8.3M/$69M
6. Tyler Perry’s Acrimony– $8M/$31.3M
7. Chappaquiddick (review)- $6.2M
In a win for older-skewing dramas, Chappaquiddick, which centers on the 1969 scandal that nearly destroyed senator Ted Kennedy’s career, opened with $6.2M. That’s pretty good considering it only opened in 1500 theaters, and of course the serious material that isn’t likely to attract anybody under the age of 35. I really enjoyed it and other critics are favoring it, as well. It could probably do with an expansion so that more people can have a chance to see what all of the good buzz is about. If this were later in the year we’d probably be talking about it as an awards season dark horse, especially for Jason Clarke’s lead performance.
8. Sherlock Gnomes– $5.6M/$33.8M
9. Pacific Rim Uprising– $4.9M/$54.9M
At $267M worldwide Pacific Rim Uprising is looking like a dude, and well short of the underwhelming $411M of the first movie.
10. Isle of Dogs (review)- $4.6M
Cracking the top 10 is Wes Anderson’s wonderful animated film, Isle of Dogs, which expanded to 554 theaters and earned $4.6M for $12M after three weeks.
In this week’s Gotham
we get an interesting family reunion and maybe the blossoming of a new love
story that had seeds planted a few episodes ago.
Jerome’s Family Reunion
story arc: “I’m an artist, I just want to paint the town crazy” –
This episode picks up right where we left off – Bruce goes
to visit the headmaster of St. Ignatius and find out if Jerome is there. Turns
out Bruce is a little late and Tetch has already paid the school a visit and hypnotized the
headmaster. Tetch was asking for the name of a particular student – Xander Wilde.
Before leaving, Tetch had strapped a bomb to the headmaster and commanded him
to blow himself up when someone comes asking questions. Jim and Harvey join Bruce in the office and they try to convince the headmaster to put the detonator down,
but wind up being unsuccessful and he blows himself up. Outside of the school,
Bruce tells Jim that Tetch was looking for someone named Xander Wilde. Jim tells Bruce to stop meddling in the GCPD’s investigation and warns Bruce and Alfred that
if Bruce gets involved again, Jim will press charges. It turns out that Xander was
a child prodigy who is now an engineer at a company called Meyer & Hayes.
While this ruckus is occurring at St. Ignatius, Jerome puts
together a mandatory brunch – that Penguin is graciously hosting – with quite
the cast of characters. Around the table are Jerome, Penguin, Fries, Firefly,
and Crane. Jerome has assembled this crew to turn the city into a madhouse, and
once that has happened…he doesn’t care what any of them do to Gotham. Tetch
joins them at the brunch and provides Jerome with some valuable information
about Xander Wilde.
Jerome pays a visit to Meyer & Hayes in search of
Xander, but it turns out that he has never been there – Xander always
communicates with the firm through a proxy. Jim and Harvey get to the firm to
see that it is in chaos, with Jerome running around with a shotgun. The two of
them have a short stand-off with Jerome before Firefly comes and distracts them
long enough for him to slip away. Jim and Harvey find out that the only person
who knew the identity of the proxy was Allan Hayes and that Jerome just…made him
inaccessible for future questioning. Jim realizes that this must be personal
for Jerome and Xander being an engineer might be
inconsequential. Just then Jim notices a picture of Wayne Plaza that includes a
certificate initialed by the engineer – the initials read ‘X.W.’ Jim and
Harvey realize that they are going to have to go talk to Bruce to get some
information, and they may not welcomed with open arms after Jim just told him not to meddle in their case. Jim and Harvey try anyways, and after giving them a
little flack, Bruce agrees to help. Alfred says that Thomas took meticulous
notes of all his meetings, and after a very quick search – he minds a notation
about Thomas meeting with Xander. This notation lists a street, but not a specific
address. Jim is putting together the pieces and realizes that Xander is a recluse
because he is hiding from Jerome, not from the world.
While Jim and Harvey are visiting Bruce, Jerome goes to
Xander’s proxy (whose name is Ecco). He demands to know where Xander is and
threatens her with a knife. She has a plan of her own and knocks Jerome out and
transports him to a concrete cell at Xander’s house. The cell has a camera in
it that allows Xander to watch Jerome. Jim and Harvey go to Xander’s house
which looks like a fortified bunker. It is entirely concrete and there are
cameras everywhere. Jim and Harvey question Xander – who is actually Jerome’s
twin brother named Jeremiah. Jeremiah tells Jim and Harvey that Jerome made his
childhood a living hell – he used to threaten his life and even went as far as
to set his bed on fire. Their mother and uncle realized this and took him to
St. Ignatius to give him a new name and a new life. Jim and Harvey want to take
Jeremiah into protective custody, but he disagrees saying that he will be
safest at his own house and Jerome won’t be able to find him. Jim feels like Jeremiah
is being dishonest with them and realizes that all of the monitors in the room
are now turned off, even though Jeremish was able to see Harvey and him through a
camera at the entrance to the house. Jim turns on the monitors and sees that
Jeremiah is holding Jerome in a cell, and also sees that Jerome’s fellow Gotham
villains have followed him there and are now in the house as well.
Jeremiah leads Jim and Harvey through the back part of the
house which is apparently a giant maze. Unfortunately for them they run into
Ecco who is hypnotized by Tetch. She kicks Jim and Harvey’s ass and takes
Jeremiah who begs her not to. Harvey and Jim manage to get the jump on her and
knock her out, but not before Jeremiah runs away. At the end of the maze, Jeremiah gets ambushed by Jerome, Crane, and Tetch. Jerome sends Tetch and Crane to kill
Jim and Harvey so he can have some alone time with his brother. During their
conversation it becomes clear that Jeremiah actually made up all of the
terrible things that Jerome did to him as a child and convinced their mother
and uncle they were true. Jeremiah caused everyone that Jerome loved to turn
against him which eventually drove him insane. Jim and Harvey turn the tables
on Crane and Tetch and chase them out of the house. Jerome promises to see
Jeremiah soon and follows them out. Jim and Harvey take Jeremiah to the GCPD
under protective custody.
As Jerome, Jim, and Harvey were out on the hunt for Xander –
Penguin was creating a plan of his own. He thinks that when Jerome flames out,
the Gotham underworld will be his for the taking. Penguin goes to visit Butch
at a bar to recruit him in his efforts. Butch does not take too kindly to
Penguin visiting him and tells him to leave him alone. Butch is only focused on
trying to get his life back and not be the monster that Grundy is. Penguin
doesn’t take no for an answer and comes back later that evening. Penguin brings
some of the swamp water that transformed Butch into Grundy and tells him he can
help get Tabitha back and reverse his condition. Penguin promises that together
they will find Hugo Strange and he can fix Butch. Butch agrees and joins
Penguin. Penguin takes Butch to the villain’s new ‘hideout.’ Everyone is
assembled there and eagerly awaiting the test of Crane’s newest gas. The poor
victim is a businessman and Crane sprays a cloud of the gas in his face. The
man begins hysterically laughing with a huge grin and laughs until he begins
bleeding out of his eyes.Ha
My thoughts:
This episode was chock-full of fantastic Jerome moments. Cameron
Monaghan has really embraced the role and has delivered. There is still a lot
of speculation about if Jerome is the Joker or not and it is not really clear.
He certainly has his mannerisms, craziness, and now even has the famous Joker
laughing gas! Now Gotham’s creators
may have found a way to make Cameron Monaghan be able to continue the role and
have Jerome not be the Joker, which they have said in the past he isn’t. Let’s
say Jerome gives Jeremiah the laughing gas, causing him to go crazy and become
the Joker? He then kills Jerome and becomes the clown prince of crime. Plus, if
that were to come to fruition, we may have already met the future Harley Quinn
in Ecco. Jeremiah did say that she has devoted her life to him. Just a theory,
but I have a feeling we will know sooner rather than later the direction that
these two brother’s lives are heading! Honestly, as long as Cameron Monaghan
gets to continue portraying a character that is incredibly similar to the
Joker, or the Joker himself, I’ll be happy.
Lee & Riddler’s
Star Crossed Lovers story arc: “It’s riddle time at the riddle factory” –
In the narrows Riddler has developed another stage
spectacle. His new gameshow is clearly a crowd favorite. The basic premise of
the gameshow is that he asks a contestant a riddle. If the contestant gets it right,
he asks Riddler a riddle. If Riddler cannot solve it, the contestant wins cold
hard cash. However, if the contestant gets the initial riddle wrong, he must
spin the wheel of misfortune. Trust me – the wheel of misfortune is aptly
named. We see the game being played and sure enough, Riddler’s contestant doesn’t get the question right and the wheel lands
on “Rabid Sack of Rats”. Luckily for the contestant, Lee comes to shut down the
show.
Riddler and the crowd disagree with Lee’s position and want
the show to keep going. Lee extends a challenge to the Riddler that he accepts –
if she wins the contest then Riddler must shut down the show, if he wins then
she will spin the wheel. Lee is able to solve the riddle that he presents, but
she manages to trick him into not being able to provide the answer to her
riddle. The answer was ‘I love you’ – but Riddler is worried about Ed’s persona
taking over if he says ‘I love you’ to Lee. So Lee wins and the gameshow is
shut down. Lee goes to visit the Riddler after the show and wonders aloud why
he opened up his club in the narrows. She thinks that it is because he wanted
to get Lee’s attention and that both the Riddler and Ed love her. She wants
Riddler’s help in robbing banks and seals the deal with a kiss. Ha
My thoughts:
Riddler’s gameshow is fantastic and was a great scene to
watch unfold. The wheel of misfortune is perfect for the narrows and for Gotham as a whole. The punishments on
the wheel are absolutely absurd, but I would expect nothing less. I mean what
is more befitting for Gotham, the
Riddler, and the narrows than stapling a barracuda to someone’s forehead as a
punishment!? I am certainly curious about this new dark and scary Lee. Lee has
changed over the last few episodes – first smashing Samson’s hand, now trying
to set up bank robberies and kissing the Riddler. I am interested to see how
her character continues to progress.
Next week on Gotham:
Jerome and co. interrupt the Gotham music festival. Armed
with Crane’s new laughing gas, they are even more of a threat than before.
Jerome demands that Bruce and Jeremiah become their hostages or they are going
to unleash hell onto the city. Bruce immediately accepts, but we’ll see if
Jerome really gets his wish or not.
The Avengers: Infinity War marketing machine is cranking into high gear, and with it you’re going to have to make a decision. Do you want to go into the movie seeing as little as possible? Or are you going to take in all of the clips and TV spots that will be going around the next few weeks? Time to decide.
Marvel has dropped a killer new TV spot that takes place mostly in Wakanda as Black Panther , his forces, and the Avengers gather to defeat Thanos. Titled “Chant”, the teaser has the Wakandans leading a battle cry as they prepare to face their powerful foes. The teaser is about a minute long and is full of new footage. My favorite part doesn’t include any fighting, though. It’s near the end when Okoye jokes with T’Challa about opening up Wakanda to the outside world.
Next up is a brief clip that is an extension of the school bus scene that has been in virtually all of the trailers and TV spots. It features Tom Holland’s Peter Parker asking his buddy Ned (Jacob Batalon) to cause a distraction so he can change into his Spider-Man costume and swing into action. It’s only about 30-seconds long (the rest is stuff we’ve seen before) but surprisingly thrilling. If the rest of the movie is like this we’re going to need a cigarette to relax afterwards.
I don’t know if there are a lot of people eager for another Terminator movie after the failure of Terminator Genisys, but if so they are going to be waiting a while longer. THR reports that James Cameron’s Terminator 6 has been pushed back from its original date of July 26th 2019 all the way to November 22nd of the same year.
No reason was given for the move, but I imagine it’s to give the story more time to develop, and not because of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s recent heart surgery. Cameron is overseeing the project while Deadpool director Tim Miller is at the helm, but actual details are pretty slim. We do know that it will be a sequel to the classic Terminator 2: Judgment Day, ignoring the three movies that followed. Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as the T-800 and so is Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor. Recently we learned they would be joined by Blade Runner 2049‘s Mackenzie Davis as a human assassin on a mission of her own.
Also opening on that date in 2019? An untitled Fox/Marvel superhero movie. Shooting on Terminator 6 was to begin this summer but will likely get a new start date.
Ben Affleck may have starred in bigger movies but I think it’s safe to say The Accountant is his most successful of the last few years. Well-liked by audiences but mostly dismissed by critics (I dug it!), the unusual thriller that saw him as a math savant/assassin did modest business overall with $155M worldwide on a $40M budget. Not exactly numbers that scream for a sequel, but we know one is in the works with Affleck and director Gavin O’Connor (Who directed the shit out of the first one, f’real.) returning. So what’s driving the need for more?
Turns out The Accountant was the most rented movie for all of 2017 based on an MPAA report. It beat out bigger blockbusters, and far more family-friendly fare such as Moana and Wonder Woman on the list of digital rentals. Well, damn. That explains it.
That The Accountant was able to expand its audience in home release based on word-of-mouth is a credit to Affleck, O’Connor, and Warner Bros. who probably didn’t predict they had a franchise on their hands. The people spoke with their time and their dollars, so let’s see how they react to the sequel. [THR]
Screenwriter Joe Eszterhas’ most notable credits include Basic Instinct and Showgirls, two erotic thrillers that helped define the genre in the ’90s…for better or for worse. But one of his most respected and accomplished films came in the ’80s with the courtroom thriller Jagged Edge, that not only was a success finally but earned co-star Robert Loggia an Oscar nomination. Now Sony is looking to give the film a redo that will find Halle Berry in the lead role.
Berry would be starring in the role previously played by Glenn Close in the original movie. Still in the very early stages, there are no writers or directors attached, but we can presume the plot will be mostly unchanged. Jagged Edge centered on a high-profile attorney (Close) who is hired by the husband of a murdered heiress so she can prove his innocence in her death.
Sony’s digging deep for this one, especially since courtroom dramas aren’t exactly a big draw anymore because there are so many available on the small screen. But it could be a solid role for Berry if she’s surrounded by enough talent. Next up for her is the L.A. Riots drama, Kings, opposite Daniel Craig.
Insane enough to fall in love with a killer? There has been a great deal of buzz from the festival circuit for the British thriller, Beast, since it debuted at last year’s TIFF. The film then had a prime slot at Sundance a couple of months ago where it was greeted with almost universal approval. The film marks the debut of writer/director Michael Pearce, but it looks to be a breakout role for young stars Johnny Flynn and Jessie Buckley.
Coincidentally, both Flynn and Buckley are musicians as well as actors. Flynn’s most prominent role to date was Song One, in which he played a famous musician opposite Anne Hathaway. This movie is a very different beast, no pun intended. It begins with 27-year-old Moll (Buckley) being rescued from an attacker by the mysterious, free-spirited Pascal. Moll has lived a sheltered life in her small, conservative island community, but the arrival and subsequent relationship with Pascal opens her up to a new world. When Pascal is accused of a series of brutal murders, it’s all Moll can do but to defend him with everything she’s got.
The sands of the hourglass are running thin. We are at the
The thing is, 80% of this episode was not necessary. That is
