It took three movies but Marvel finally got the god of thunder right with Thor: Ragnarok, and a big part of the reason was the pairing of Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson. While it seemed unlikely we’d see them back together again unless there was some kind of Valkyrie spinoff, we’re getting it for a totally different franchise flick, Sony’s Men in Black spinoff.
The Tracking Board reports that Thompson has joined Hemsworth in the film, which really does appear to be happening. F. Gary Gray (The Fate of the Furious) is behind the camera with a script by Iron Man writers Art Marcum and Matt Holloway. We knew along that Sony wanted a black female lead and they hit the jackpot by landing Thompson who is both an accomplished dramatic actress and has a knack for comedy. Her breakthrough role remains Dear White People and she’s great in Boots Riley’s upcoming satire, Sorry to Bother You.
Sony plans to release Men in Black, which I guess needs a name change now, on June 14th 2019.
You can’t believe everything you read, and recent reports that Deadpool 2 was testing poorly and undergoing reshoots turned out to be one giant dud of a chimichanga. Turns out things are going quite well, so much so that Fox has used part of those recent reshoots to add a little something extra for fans.
According to THR, the reshoots lasted only for six days, which is fewer than they had on Deadpool. Part of them included two hours shot in Los Angeles to add a “secret cameo”.
Ohhhh really? Secret cameo, you say? The obvious speculation is that it will be Hugh Jackman so Wolverine can get some revenge for all the jokes he was the butt of in the last movie. First of all, I don’t know if Jackman would do it now that he’s finally given up the role. Nor do we know if he or Fox wants to tarnish the beautiful conclusion Logan provided for the character. Honestly, it could be anybody from the X-Men franchise. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t freak out if Olivia Munn’s Psylocke showed up, or Tye Sheridan’s Cyclops. I know I would. As long as it’s not Stan Lee.
The report also adds that the test scores from audiences was higher than Deadpool‘s, which we should take with a grain of salt because those numbers are coming from Fox.
Even Dracula needs a vacation, and in Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, Drac (Adam Sandler) makes his a summer cruise. At night, of course. The third chapter in the box office heavyweight franchise finds Drac lonely and swiping through monster Tinder, until his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) convinces him to take a vacation from planning everyone else’s vacation.
Aboard a monsters-only luxury liner, Drac falls in love with a descendant of Van Helsing who has a secret plot to destroy them all. Should make for awkward dinner conversation. Kevin James, Andy Samberg, Fran Drescher, Steve Buscemi, Keegan-Michael Key, Mel Brooks, and Molly Shannon all return, with Kathryn Hahn joining as Drac’s monster-hating love interest. Here’s the synopsis:
In Sony Pictures Animation’s Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, join our favorite monster family as they embark on a vacation on a luxury monster cruise ship so Drac can take a summer vacation from providing everyone else’s vacation at the hotel. It’s smooth sailing for Drac’s Pack as the monsters indulge in all of the shipboard fun the cruise has to offer, from monster volleyball to exotic excursions, and catching up on their moon tans. But the dream vacation turns into a nightmare when Mavis realizes Drac has fallen for the mysterious captain of the ship, Ericka, who hides a dangerous secret that could destroy all of monsterkind.
The first two movies have earned over $900M combined, however they typically arrive closer to Halloween. We’ll have to see if the summer release date on July 13th was a good idea or not.
Netflix didn’t make a huge splash at Sundance this year, but they earned some of the festival’s best reviews with Come Sunday. Most of the praise was heaped upon star Chiwetel Ejiofor’s impassioned lead performance as real-life Bishop Carlton Pearson, whose views on the afterlife cause controversy within his congregation.
Directed by Joshua Marston, best known for Maria Full of Grace, the story centers on Pearson who hears a voice from God and comes to believe that man has already been saved and there is no reason to fear Hell. This belief in universal reconciliation got him labeled as a modern day heretic. It’s a slightly different exploration of faith than we’re used to seeing on the big screen, and again, Ejiofor looks like he is at his best.
Also starring Martin Sheen, Jason Segel, Lakeith Stanfield, Condola Rashad, and Danny Glover, Come Sunday hits Netflix on April 13th.
Not every spy movie can be James Bond, some just aspire to be Austin Powers. The espionage drama has been getting a comedic spin quite a lot lately, and now there’s one more with The Spy Who Dumped Me starring Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon. Early buzz on the film has been pretty good, and it’s beginning to sound like McKinnon may finally have that breakout screen role we’ve all been expecting from her.
Directed by Susanna Fogel (Life Partners), the comedy centers on two BFFs who find themselves on the run from European assassins after one’s ex-boyfriend shows up out of nowhere. The film co-stars Sam Heughan, Hasan Minhaj, Ivanna Sakhno, Justin Theroux, Gillian Anderson, and Fred Melamed. Here’s the synopsis:
Audrey (Mila Kunis) and Morgan (Kate McKinnon), two thirty-year-old best friends in Los Angeles, are thrust unexpectedly into an international conspiracy when Audrey’s ex-boyfriend shows up at their apartment with a team of deadly assassins on his trail. Surprising even themselves, the duo jump into action, on the run throughout Europe from assassins and a suspicious-but-charming British agent, as they hatch a plan to save the world.
Kinda reminds me of Spies Like Us, and if it’s half as funny then we are in for a treat. The Spy Who Dumped Me opens August 3rd.
Pacific Rim wasn’t exactly high art when it debuted back in 2013, but it had Guillermo Del Toro and that counts for something. You had the sense that he was like a kid who had dumped out the entire toybox and was able to play with everything he ever wanted. There were giant robots, humungous monsters, cool suits, badass weapons, it felt like a Saturday morning cartoon sprung to life. Del Toro’s only around as a producer for the equally ginormous sequel, Pacific Rim Uprising, and that fundamentally makes it a different movie. That shouldn’t scare you. If you want more rock ’em sock ’em Jaeger action than this will feed those cravings.
I think the biggest surprise for some will be how little Del Toro is missed, because it frees up incoming director Steven S. DeKnight, best known for the awesome Spartacus TV series, to do his own thing without any baggage. Set 10 years after Idris Elba’s Stacker Pentecost saved the world from gigantic invading Kaiju by sacrificing his life to close the Breach, the planet is still very much under threat. But Stacker’s son, Jake (John Boyega), wants nothing to do with it. A washout from the Jaeger program, his life is that of a petty criminal and black market dealer specializing in Jaeger parts. The film begins by taking us through his irresponsible life of wild parties (at nearby Kaiju skeletons, naturally) and grand theft. That is until he’s screwed out of a lucrative deal by Amara (Cailee Spaeny), an orphaned rugrat who has built a homemade Jaeger for herself that looks like a wannabe Bumblebee.
When Jake and Amara are swept up by authorities, they are forced to enlist in a new battle against an unexpected threat. The Kaiju are back, but there’s also a rogue Jaeger on the loose, and a suspicious drone program by a shady corporation that threatens to ground all of the pilots. Just like the first movie there’s a density of plot that is completely unnecessary, and I haven’t begun with the longtime rivalry between Jake and fellow officer Nate (Scott Eastwood, trying too hard to act like his old man), the grotesque place science nerd Newt Geisler (Charlie Day) finds himself in, or any of the dozen other subplots introduced and given short end of the blaster.
The typical sequel clichés abound, too, but honestly it doesn’t hurt a movie like this where we kind of expect it. Jake is the reluctant hero trying to live up to his father’s legacy while being his own man, yeah, we get it. Some of the original cast return, like the aforementioned Charlie Day, Burn Gorman as his fellow nerdy misfit Hermann Gottlieb, and Rinko Kikuchi as Jake’s sister, Mako Mori, now a leader in the Jaeger program. They don’t quite fit this time around, though, and their presence feels more perfunctory than as essential parts of the plot. But Boyega kills it as Jake Pentecost, doing a much better job as lead hero than the half-awake Charlie Hunnam did previously. Spaeny is also a plus, bringing a youthful energy that reminded me of Ellen Page’s early career.
But it’s the smash ’em up battles that people really care about, and those are different than what we saw previously. DeKnight has done his homework, too, clearly drawing inspiration from Dragonball Z and dare I say Mighty Morphin Power Rangers for fights that emphasize hand-to-hand skills over cool weapons. I’m still not a fan of all the “neural handshake” lingo that bogs down the action, but whatever it’s Pacific Rim lore by now. It’s also a pleasure to actually be able to see what’s going on as DeKnight stages the most critical fights in the daylight rather than the heavy, rain-soaked cover Del Toro deployed to hide some of the technical deficiencies. Uprising is clearly working on less of a budget but DeKnight isn’t afraid to show what he’s working with, and the robot vs. monster mayhem delivers. If only there were a bit more of it. Without giving too much away, the only major Kaiju battle doesn’t occur until late in the film while surprising new foes occupy most of the earlier battlefield space.
Assuming this turns out to be a trilogy, because that’s what every blockbuster aspires to be, Pacific Rim Uprising is a surprisingly upbeat middle chapter without the doom ‘n gloom. Nobody is going to go home smarter for watching this one but you could do a Hell of a lot worse. Did you see that last Transformers movie?
Truth: I haven’t seen a single episode of Dragon Ball Super, so I have no idea what’s happening with Goku, Vegeta, or any of the characters I used to watch back in the day. But I know my friends go apeshit for the show, so I must be missing something awesome. With only one episode left, the story will power ahead with a new Dragon Ball Super movie, and the first teaser for it is here.
The 30-second tease shows Goku getting loosened up and ready to fight an unknown foe. Who that opponent is doesn’t become clear, at least not to me. Maybe somebody more familiar with the series can figure it out. From the brief glimpses we get he/she does appear to be wearing Saiyan gear, and I can’t tell if that’s fur or cloth flapping in the energized wind. Whoever it is, Goku looks ready to face him. I hope it’s Vegeta, just because everything is better with more Vegeta.
Goku’s sporting a slightly different look, designed by Akira Toriyama who also wrote the script for Akio Iyoku to direct. Dragon Ball Super hits theaters in Japan on December 14th, and hopefully we’ll get it here soon after.
With The Myth of the American Sleepover and the breakout horror It Follows, David Robert Mitchell has become a favorite of the indie scene. For his third feature Mitchell is taking a departure, this time away from horror and into mind-bending neo-noir with Under the Silver Lake, starring Andrew Garfield in what looks like his strangest role yet. And he once played a guy who got bit by a radioactive spider and gained super powers.
The new trailer begins with Sam (Garfield), staring out at his alluring, billionaire neighbor (Riley Keough) before sharing what appears to be a perfect evening together. But when he goes to check on her the next day he finds that she is gone, and embarks on a weird, surreal quest throughout Los Angeles to find her. The film co-stars Topher Grace, Zosia Mamet, Laura-Leigh, Jimmi Simpson, Callie Hernandez, and Riki Lindholme. Here’s the synopsis:
From the dazzling imagination that brought you It Follows comes a delirious neonoir fever dream about one man’s search for the truth behind the mysterious crimes, murders and disappearances in his East L.A. neighborhood.
Sam (Andrew Garfield) is a disenchanted 33-year-old who discovers a mysterious woman, Sarah (Riley Keough), frolicking in his apartment’s swimming pool. When she vanishes, Sam embarks on a surreal quest across Los Angeles to decode the secret behind her disappearance, leading him into the murkiest depths of mystery, scandal and conspiracy in the City of Angels.
From writer-director David Robert Mitchell comes a sprawling, playful and unexpected mystery-comedy detective thriller about the Dream Factory and its denizens — dog killers, aspiring actors, glitter-pop groups, nightlife personalities, It girls, memorabilia hoarders, masked seductresses, homeless gurus, reclusive songwriters, sex workers, wealthy socialites, topless neighbors, and the shadowy billionaires floating above (and underneath) it all. Mining a noir tradition extending from Kiss Me Deadly and The Long Goodbye to Chinatown and Mulholland Dr., Mitchell uses the topography of Los Angeles as a backdrop for a deeper exploration into the hidden meaning and secret codes buried within the things we love.
Last week on Black Lightning, fan-favorite La La returned, despite having been murdered in his jail cell earlier on by Tobias. While his return is still shrouded in mystery, he’s now taking tips from spirit-Lawanda, including having sex with the spirit. Meanwhile, Jefferson is trying to lay lone after Lady Eve was killed by Tobias’s electrical weapons, turning the police and community against him. Trying to solve who framed him, he found the weapons, but some corrupt cops managed to destroy the evidence. To make matters worse, Gambi finally fessed up to his mysterious past as it pertains to Green Light and the creation of metahumans in Freeland, causing him to distrust and part ways with his former mentor. Jefferson’s youngest daughter Jennifer has started to gain powers like her sister did, that seems to have the same “spark” that her father does.
This week starts with a still confused Jennifer finally confiding with her sister as she feels she’s going crazy. Anissa basically tells her sister that she also has powers, which of course, is met with some skepticism. Only when Anissa uses her powers to lift Jennifer’s bed (with Jennifer on it) does she start to see just what’s going on. Anissa tries to tell the frightened Jennifer that not only does she have powers and is going as the vigilante “Thunder,” but their dad is also Black Lightning. It seems kinds of rushed with both the powers reveal and sharing the big family secret of their father. Jennifer confronts her father, who doesn’t deny it. Instead of being wowed by the fact that her father is a superhero (and a little hypocritical) and being excited, she’s angry and hurt that such a big secret was kept from her. Of course, it was kept from Anissa, but she has a much different reaction from her big sister, showing not only her maturity, but also that the sisters are two distinctly different people. This will play a big role later on in the episode. Jefferson and Lynn are angry with Anissa for letting the cat out of the bag before they could, but eventually, peace is made with everyone, except Jennifer who’s still upset.
Meanwhile, there is still a mystery surrounding Green Light and the death of Jefferson’s father that needs to get solved. While most superheroes just go around punching and kicking bad guys, this is a different type of hero. Like Batman, who’s the “World’s Greatest Detective,” Jefferson and Anissa have to do their own investigating that doesn’t require any powers, just their intellect. Looking at grandfather Alvin’s old records, they “follow the money” to determine who was behind the financing of Green Light for the past 30 years. Leading them to a shady lawyer (and wearing some political masks for great social commentary and comedic effect), they move closer and closer to not only the corruption within the police department, but ultimately the head guy in charge, Gambi’s former boss.
Lynn tries to console Jennifer about her new reality. Jennifer doesn’t want to have powers and be a hero. She just wants to be a normal kid. While Anissa wants to save the world, she wants to go to prom, college, get married, and have kids. You know, just normal people stuff. We also get our first clue that Black Lightning is in the Arrowverse. For a long time, the producers of the show stated that Black Lightning will be independent of Supergirl, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Arrow, it looks like all the DC CW shows are connected as Vixen and Supergirl are name-dropped. While Supergirl is from Earth-38 and Vixen is from Earth-1, both are mentioned. This probably means that Black Lightning is taking place in Earth-1. Expect the characters from Black Lightning to be in next year’s crossover event.
Still having Henderson as a resource, Black Lightning learns about an arms deal between corrupt cops and the ASA, Black Lightning and Thunder, head to the deal to stop them and destroy whatever supply of Green Light they have in their hidden lab. While big bad Proctor manages to escape, the lab is destroyed, and Anissa and Jefferson manage to have a badass slow-mo shot as they walk away from the exploding building.
Jefferson comes home where he finally has his heart to heart with Jennifer and they make some peace with the fact that she now knows about her father, their powers, and where to go forward. The episode ends with the two of them sharing a father/daughter moment watching a movie together.
Next week, Jefferson and Anissa get closer to learning about Green Light and the metahuman experiments in Freeland.
Wonder and Room star Jacob Tremblay will finally show his bad side with Good Boys, a comedy that is being described as Superbad meets Sausage Party. Ooooh boy. Warning, Raunch Factor 11! The film hails from Bad Teacher writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky who will be making their directorial debut. Tremblay plays one of four 12-year-old boys who skip school and cause some trouble during a day-long adventure. [Variety]
Amy Poehler will produce, write, star, and make her directorial debut in Wine Country, a Netflix comedy that she has assembled a great group of funny ladies for. Maya Rudolph, Rachel Dratch, Paula Pell, Emily Spivey, Tina Fey, and Ana Gasteyer will join Poehler in the film about a group of longtime friends on a weekend getaway to Napa for a 50th birthday celebration. And already they are having too much fun with this. Just look at the announcement video in which they may already have partaken of the grape.
It’s happening—Amy Poehler’s directorial debut, Wine Country, is coming soon to Netflix! Starring Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch, Ana Gasteyer, Paula Pell, Maya Rudolph, Emily Spivey and featuring Tina Fey. Get excited. Get real excited. pic.twitter.com/kZedPmzeVC
Y’know, this reboot of The Grudge may actually be pretty good with Sam Raimi as a producer, Nicolas Pesce (The Eyes of My Mother) directing, and a cast that now includes John Cho. He joins the previously cast Andrea Riseborough and Demian Bichir in the film based on the J-horror franchise about a rage curse that spreads from victim to victim. Cho was recently seen in the breakout Sundance film, Search, due out later this year.
