Something I knew right away when I attended the premiere of Macon Blair’s road trip comedy, The Shitheads, was that it would never be released under that title. Unfortunately, I was right, because the new title, Idiots, is pretty forgettable. On the plus side, the film has a cast led by O’Shea Jackson Jr., Dave Franco, and Mason Thames, with the promise of stoner hijinks, that should more than compensate.
Blair is the director behind The Toxic Avenger and I Don’t Feel at Home in this World Anymore, films that are edgy, offbeat, and off the beaten path. He wrote and directed Idiots, about two screwups who get more than they bargained for while trying to escort a wealthy influencer to rehab. Also in the cast are Kiernan Shipka, Peter Dinklage, and Nicholas Braun.
In my review, I noted that Blair seemed to have one idea for what he wanted for the film, but ended up making something else. While there’s plenty of screwball chaos and gross-out gags, it too often asks us to take these characters seriously and that seriously undercuts the attempts at humor. That said, I have a good feeling that this film will find an audience.
The charm of a movie like The Wrong Girls is that it’s a stoner comedy with female leads, rather than the dude-heavy films we’re accustomed to. Not only that, but it’s led by Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat, who are not only a higher grade of actor than this genre usually demands, but they’re both incredibly funny, loose, and perfect for this kind of material even if they haven’t had the opportunities to show it off. You can see just how right they are in NEON’s new teaser, announcing the film’s release date of August 14th.
The Wrong Girls is written and directed by Dylan Meyer, the filmmaker behind XOXO, Moxie, and also Stewart’s partner. Joining Stewart and Shawkat in the cast are LaKeith Stanfield, Zack Fox, Seth Rogen, Kumail Nanjiani, Kate McKinnon, with Tony Hale and Geena Davis. An incredible ensemble.
The teaser is pretty silly, and shows Stewart and Shawkat, clearly high as Hell, and forgetting what they were supposed to be doing there in the first place, which is the release date announcement. It looks like something Cheech & Chong would love, but also co-star Rogen who has done his share of this kind of thing.
Two wrongs who can’t make a right.
THE WRONG GIRLS. Written and directed by Dylan Meyer. Starring Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawkat. Only in theaters August 14. pic.twitter.com/i6yRRhhdgb
No surprise here. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie held on to its mushroom kingdom as box office leader for a third week in a row, adding another $35M domestic for $355M. Globally, it now has $747M which catapults the franchise over $2B total with just two movies. Damn.
2. Project Hail Mary– $20.4M/$285M
3. Lee Cronin’s The Mummy– $13.5M
Warner Bros., James Wan’s Atomic Monster and Blumhouse teamed up on the release of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy, banking on the success of the director’s Evil Dead Rise ($147M worldwide) back in 2023. It doesn’t seem like that gamble has paid off this time, as the revival of the classic monster movie opened with just $13.5M in 3,304 theaters. Blumhouse has been whiffing pretty hard on these modernized classic monster flicks, as they bombed with Wolf Man ($35M) just last year. They didn’t even bother to screen the film for press here in the DMV, which was all I needed to know about the lack of confidence they had in it. There had been some early bad buzz about how tedious the film was, and you might recall rumors of a plan to change the title and distance it from the ‘Mummy’ franchise. Warner Bros. might want to give up on these horror flicks, too, as it follows on panned dud The Bride! from just last month. Critic reviews were in the toilet at 46% on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences were more generous at 76%.
Bob Odenkirk turned action hero once again for Normal, the Ben Wheatley-directed film that Magolia Pictures opened to $2.6M in 2,060 theaters. The promos leaned hard on Odenkirk reteaming with writer Derek Kolstad from the Nobody and John Wick franchises. Personally, I loved this movie, but it doesn’t seem to have caught. Critic and audience reviews were roughly the same, in the upper 70%, which is pretty good. Perhaps it will find a bigger audience on streaming?
8. BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’ in JAPAN: LIVE VIEWING– $1.8M
9. Busboys– $1.6M
Mind Blowing Films released the comedy Busboys written by and starring David Spade and podcaster/comedian Theo Von, into 800 theaters and earned $1.6M. The film, about a pair of idiot friends who become waiters to somehow solve all of their problems, has a 69% from audiences on RT. Unsurprisingly, not enough press saw it to give it a score. I know nothing about this movie but considering who is in it, I’m okay with that.
Disney and Lucasfilm dropped the final trailer and poster for The Mandalorian & Grogu, the first Star Wars live-action movie since 2019. That’s a long time, and if I’m being honest, expanding hit series The Mandalorian into a feature film doesn’t seem like the best idea. But, I guess if you’re desperate to bring fans back, piggybacking on most popular Disney+ show you’ve got isn’t the worst thing in the world.
This comes after a select number of press were able to check out the opening 15 minutes at CinemaCon. The footage finds Din Djarin and Grogu chasing down a crime boss through an icy landscape, which is where we get those cool promo shoots of the At-At Walkers tumbling down mountains. I’ve heard mixed things, overall, but a movie isn’t defined by its opening minutes.
Director Jon Favreau also took a few minutes to appear on Puck’s podcast, where he talked about how he had to approach the film differently than he did the TV series because it’s potentially a brand new audience…
“You gotta deliver something that the audience enjoys regardless of the medium,” Favreau said. “We have to treat it like the first season and the first episode of ‘The Mandalorian, ‘which is don’t assume anybody’s seen anything, but also make it clear to the people who’ve been with ‘Star Wars’ for 50 years that this is something that is for them.”
He continued, “Star Wars hasn’t been in theaters for almost seven years. There are audience members who were not old enough to know ‘Star Wars’ in the theater. We have to invite those fans in. We have to make them feel the way that I felt when I first saw ‘Star Wars.’ There’s a feeling that ‘Star Wars’ gives you on the big screen when it’s done well. And that’s what we concentrated on, really delivering that feeling.”
That feeling is clearly one of nostalgia, and you can see it not only in the trailers but in the new poster, which is a clear callback to Yoda and his time on Dagobah.
The Mandalorian & Grogu hits theaters on May 22nd.
I’m happy to offer DC area readers the chance to a true cinematic event, Michael, starring Jafar Jackson as the King of Pop, Michael Jackson! The film is directed by Antoine Fuqua and stars Nia Long, Laura Harrier, Juliano Krue Valdi, Miles Teller, and Colman Domingo.
Synopsis: MICHAEL is the cinematic portrayal of the life and legacy of one of the most influential artists the world has ever known. The film tells the story of Michael Jackson’s life beyond the music, tracing his journey from the discovery of his extraordinary talent as the lead of the Jackson Five, to the visionary artist whose creative ambition fueled a relentless pursuit to become the biggest entertainer in the world. Highlighting both his life off-stage and some of the most iconic performances from his early solo career, the film gives audiences a front-row seat to Michael Jackson as never before. This is where his story begins.
The screening takes place Monday, April 20th at 7:00pm at Regal Majestic. If you’d like to attend, RSVP at the Liongsate site here. Please remember, all screenings are first come first served and you’ll need to arrive early to ensure seating. Enjoy the show!
The first images from Ridley Scott’s post-apocalyptic sci-fi film The Dog Stars dropped just a couple of days ago, and now we have the full trailer. Fresh off his Oscar-nominated supporting performance in Frankenstein, Jacob Elordi takes on one of his first true lead roles in a feature, starring alongside Margaret Qualley, Josh Brolin, Guy Pearce, and Benedict Wong.
Based on the Peter Heller novel, adapted by The Revenant writer Mark L. Smith and Christopher Wilkinson, The Dog Stars is a story that Scott feels a close personal connection with, as we recently learned. At 88 years old, Scott hasn’t slowed down in the least with recent films Gladiator II, Napoleon, The Last Duel, and House of Gucci. No matter what you think of those projects, he’s still the director behind iconic sci-fi films Alien and Blade Runner, so when he tackles this genre you have to take notice.
Set in the aftermath of a global apocalypse, The Dog Stars features Elordi as Hig, a pilot who has a single-engine Cessna he calls The Beast, a loyal blue heeler mutt named Jasper … and not much else. The dog and the plane are Hig’s version of singing “Old McDonald”—small comforts to keep him going when all seems lost.
This looks pretty good to me, and possibly like one of Scott’s better recent efforts. That said, the early buzz hasn’t been great, so I’m only cautiously optimistic. I think it’s key that 20th Century Studios has set it to open on August 28th, which means they don’t see it as either a summer blockbuster or an awards season contender.
Grief, guilt, and vengeance are intrinsically linked, which is why any good revenge movie is driven by these very human emotions. Chad Faust’s Ballistic has been teased as an action-fueled revenge flick, led by capable star Lena Headey, but it’s something else entirely. Yes, the desire to get payback is central to this powerful story, but greater is a mother’s desire to do right by her son, and the darkr road she travels to achieve it.
Ballistic is set in small-town Ohio (albeit shot in Ontario), where Nance works at a munitions factory, shipping ammunition to aid the war in Afghanistan. Her son Jesse (Jordan Kronis) is preparing to ship off to join that fight, and Nance couldn’t be prouder of him. Before that, he marries his pregnant girlfriend, Diana (Amybeth McNulty), with a plan that she’d move in with Nance while he’s away. But things go sideways quickly. Nance returns home from work, only to be met at the door by Galinda (The Handmaid’s Tale‘s Amanda Brugel), commander of the nearby Army base, that Jesse has been killed in action.
While this would be the end of the revelations for most movies dealing with a mother’s grief, Ballistic is truly unique in where it goes next. Nance, overcome with rage and despair, demands to see the bullet that took her son’s life. She isn’t allowed to rip it out of his body at the funeral, but her curiosity just won’t let this go. She eventually discovers that the bullet that killed her son was manufactured right there in the same factory where she works, possibly by her own hand, and sold to the Taliban on the Black Market.
This sets Nance off on a self-destructive path of revenge, driven by her own guilt and anguish. The thing about these emotions is that they open you up to even worse influences. Nance begins lashing out at everyone she once cared for; including her boss (Veronica Mars‘ Enrico Colantoni) who feels no responsibility for the bullets he sends out into the world. But also Diana, who needs Nance now more than ever.
An interesting subplot involves Nance’s turbulent relationship with Kahlil (Hamza Haq), head of a survivor support group. Her hatred curdles into bigotry aimed at anyone of Middle Eastern descent, including Kahlil, and conspiracy theories fueled by extremist podcast. It isn’t long before Nance, who disavowed the use of guns despite her profession, is spending all of her free time at gun ranges and looking up the best AR-15s to add to her arsenal.
As Nance begins targeting those she feels responsible for Jesse’s death, her real anger is towards the military-industrial complex. Ballistic is ultimately about how this behemoth swallows up entire towns and destroys lives, with most of never hearing a single word about it. Sure, we hear about the massive defense spending bills, but we never stop to think about what any of that actually means on the ground and in people’s homes. I find it funny that a movie about the United States military industrial complex is a Canadian production with an English lead actress.
Headey, who has a busy week with the action flick Normal opening in a few days, is incredible as a mother who is so racked with grief she becomes unrecognizable from her old self. Faust, whom I still remember from starring in the heavenly comedy Saved!, previously directed another small-town drama, Girl, that dealt with a different kind of death in the family. Better than most, Faust understands how trauma and tragedy can drag a person down into a sinkhole of terrible decisions that they might not be able to recover from. Clocking in at around 90-minutes, Ballistic still feels like it’s circling the drain for too long, and a tease that kicks the film off ruins an integral moment later. But that doesn’t take away from Headey’s performance or Faust’s nuanced examination of a mother’s grief, and a war machine that thrives on it.
With a lot of scrutiny from Hollywood aimed at Paramount right now (numerous actors are fighting the Paramount/WB merger), it was…well, paramount that it put on a good show at CinemaCon. And given the strength of the announcements today, that seems to be the case. The biggest news (via Variety) of all is that Top Gun 3 is a go with Tom Cruise set to return.
Of course, this isn’t exactly shocking. 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick was a massive $1.5B hit, the biggest in the studio’s history and also in Cruise’s storied career. There’s been talk of a sequel ever since, so it being made official is just a formality. What’s unclear is if Joseph Kosinski will get back behind the camera, and if co-stars Glen Powell, Miles Teller, Lewis Pullman, Monica Barbaro, Tarzan Davis, and Danny Ramirez will return. All of them are much more in demand now than they were back then.
What we do know is that Cruise’s pal and Mission: Impossible director, Christopher McQuarrie, is co-writing the script with Ehren Kruger.
Another huge franchise flick getting a sequel? World War Z. A follow-up to the 2013 zombie horror that earned $540M worldwide has been in the works for over a decade. David Fincher was attached to direct until the whole project collapsed in 2019. There have been rumblings that Dan Trachtenberg (Prey, Predator: Badlands) might take over as part of his new deal with Paramount, but nothing is set.
Finally, the long-awaited video game adaptation Call of Duty finally has a release date: June 30th 2028. The military film from Peter Berg (Lone Survivor) and Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone) will probably start casting soon.
Aw man, you remember the reaction by toxic dude bros about the ending to Barbie, where Ken and the other guys acquiesced to living in a candy-colored world dominated by women? It struck hard with a certain segment because, well, the real world is just the opposite. Guys rule everything, and based on the shape of the world right now, maybe that should change. A flipping of power dynamics is also at the core of Ladies First, a new Netflix comedy starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike.
The film is directed by Thea Sharrock (Wicked Little Letters) from a script by Katie Silberman (Booksmart), Cinco Paul (Schmigadoon!), and Natalie Krinsky. Cohen stars as a male chauvinist ad exec who has his world turned upside down when he wakes up in a parallel reality where women are in control. Pike plays his workplace rival, who doesn’t mind throwing her weight around.
Also in the cast are Charles Dance, Emily Mortimer, Tom Davis, Richard E. Grant, and Fiona Shaw.
Netflix has already invested in this story once before, as Ladies First is a remake of the 2018 French rom-com I Am Not an Easy Man.
SYNOPSIS: A ladies man finds his life upended when he wakes up in a parallel world dominated by women. With the rules of engagement changed, he goes head-to-head with a fiery female colleague in a playful satire about what happens when the script is flipped.
Jack Ryan has been a busy guy both on the big and small screens. Played by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and Chris Pine across five movies and a couple of reboots, Tom Clancy’s heroic CIA analyst is back with Jack Ryan: Ghost War. The film stars the latest actor to fill the role, John Krasinski, and is a continuation of the hit Prime Video series that ran four seasons and remains one of its most popular.
Sienna Miller is a new addition to the returning cast of Krasinski, Wendell Pierce, and Michael Kelly, with Max Beesley, JJ Feild, Douglas Hodge, and Betty Gabriel.
Jack Ryan finds himself pulled back into the world of espionage for his “most personal and dangerous mission yet.” The film is directed by Andrew Bernstein (Ozark) from a script by Krasinski and Aaron Rabin.
Amazon/MGM is going all-in on the Clancyverse, with multiple projects in the works including a Jack Ryan spinoff starring Michael Pena, and a Rainbow Six movie directed by Chad Stahelski (John Wick) and starring Michael B. Jordan, reprising his Without Remorse role as John Clark.
SYNOPSIS: In this new film, Jack Ryan is reluctantly thrust back into the world of espionage when an international covert mission unravels a deadly conspiracy, forcing him to confront a rogue black-ops unit, and the clock is ticking. Operating in real time with lives on the line and the threat escalating at every turn, Jack reunites with battle-tested CIA operative Mike November (Michael Kelly) and former CIA boss James Greer (Wendell Pierce), their combined experience the only edge they have against an enemy who knows their every move. Backed by an unlikely new partner – razor-sharp MI6 officer Emma Marlowe (Sienna Miller) – Jack and the team navigate a treacherous web of betrayal, facing a past they thought was long put to rest – making this the most personal, high-stakes mission any of them have ever faced.
Jack Ryan: Ghost War hits Prime Video on May 20th.
