Colman Domingo is back in the awards discussion for his remarkable performance in Sing Sing. But after that he’s going to an entirely different kind of Hellscape than the U.S. prison system. Deadline reports Domingo has joined Edgar Wright’s adaptation of The Running Man, taking on the role made iconic by the late great Family Feud host Richard Dawson.
Domingo will play the host of the deadly game show at the heart of The Running Man. Glen Powell plays Ben Richards, who signs on to participate in the lethal game, in which he must survive being chased by assassins, in hopes of winning enough money to save his gravely ill daughter.
Also in the cast are Josh Brolin, Karl Glusman, Katy O’Brian, Daniel Ezra, Emilia Jones, William H. Macy, Sean Hayes, and David Zayas. In the 1987 movie led by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Dawson’s performance as Damon Killian stole the show and was the primary antagonist. In Wright’s version co-written with Michael Bacall, Brolin’s corrupt TV exec is the one who’ll be pushing most of the buttons. But with Domingo aboard you can bet the host role will be quite juicy, and we already know he can play a bad guy when called upon.
We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a free early screening of Wolf Man, directed by The Invisible Woman‘s Leigh Whannell. The film stars Christopher Abbott, Julia Garner, and Matilda Firth.
SYNOPSIS: From Blumhouse and visionary writer-director Leigh Whannell, the creators of the chilling modern monster tale The Invisible Man, comes a terrifying new lupine nightmare: Wolf Man. Golden Globe nominee Christopher Abbott (Poor Things, It Comes at Night) stars as Blake, a San Francisco husband and father, who inherits his remote childhood home in rural Oregon after his own father vanishes and is presumed dead. With his marriage to his high-powered wife, Charlotte (Emmy winner Julia Garner; Ozark, Inventing Anna), fraying, Blake persuades Charlotte to take a break from the city and visit the property with their young daughter, Ginger (Matlida Firth; Hullraisers, Coma). But as the family approaches the farmhouse in the dead of night, they’re attacked by an unseen animal and, in a desperate escape, barricade themselves inside the home as the creature prowls the perimeter. As the night stretches on, however, Blake begins to behave strangely, transforming into something unrecognizable, and Charlotte will be forced to decide whether the terror within their house is more lethal than the danger without.
The screening takes place on Tuesday, January 14th at 7:00pm at Regal Majestic. If you’d like to attend, RSVP at the Gofobo site here. Please remember all screenings are first come first served and you’ll need to arrive early to ensure seating. Enjoy the show!
Universal opens Wolf Man in theaters on January 17th.
Following the success of last year’s The Beekeeper (which was among my Best Movies of 2024), Jason Statham is teaming up with a couple of old friends for his next film, A Working Man. Formerly titled Levon’s Trade and based on the novel by Batman comics writer Chuck Dixon, the film has a script by Statham’s Expendables pal, Sylvester Stallone, his first screenplay since 2019’s Rambo: Last Blood. Behind the camera is The Beekeeper director David Ayer. With those ingredients in place, you should have a pretty good idea of the violent action experience you’re in store for.
Statham plays ex-Black Ops agent Levon Cade who has given up a life of violence to raise his daughter and be a construction worker. But when his boss’s daughter, who is very close to him, vanishes without a trace, Levon is forced to dust off those old ass-kicking skills again, uncovering a vast criminal conspiracy.
Dixon has written a series of Levon Cade stories, so if A Working Man turns out to be a Beekeeper-sized hit expect to see sequels.
The film also stars David Harbour, Michael Pena, Jason Flemyng, and Arianna Rivas.
Amazon MGM Studios will release A Working Man in theaters on March 28th.
“Levon Cade (Statham) left his “profession” behind him to go straight and work in construction. He wants to live a simple life and be a good father to his daughter (Gie). But when his boss’s teenage daughter Jenny (Rivas) vanishes, he’s called upon to re-employ the skills that made him a legendary figure in the shadowy world of black ops. His hunt for the missing college student takes him deep into the heart of a sinister criminal conspiracy, creating a chain reaction that will threaten his new way of life.”
James Mangold is riding high on the critical and box office success of his Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown. But he’s about to enter an entirely new universe of expectations, as his next film is possibly the Star Wars prequel Dawn of the Jedi. Mangold, who recently directed Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is eager to do “something original” in a galaxy far far away and not rely too much on established canon.
Set 25,000 years before The Skywalker Saga, Dawn of the Jedi will explore the origins of the Force and the Jedi Order. For Mangold, the film’s setting is a big part of the appeal because it’s so far away from the current stories being told…
“To me, the really important aspects are the freedom to make something new. [Screenwriter Beau Willimon] and I, in relation to Star Wars, have been working on a script, and we’ll see what happens,” he told MovieWeb.
Mangold continued, “The Star Wars movie would be taking place 25,000 years before any known Star Wars movies take place. It’s an area and a playground that I’ve always [wanted to explore] and that I was inspired by as a teenager. I’m not that interested in being handcuffed by so much lore at this point that it’s almost immovable, and you can’t please anybody.”
Dawn of the Jedi doesn’t have an official release date yet, so it’s too soon to know if it’ll be next for Mangold. He also has a Swamp Thing movie in the works for James Gunn’s DC Studios, and maybe that’ll come first.
Has a Norwegian actress made her mark on Hollywood as quickly as Renate Reinsve? With her performances in The Worst Person in the World, Handling the Dead, and A Different Man, Reinsve has earned accolades and the adoration of critics and audiences alike. And yet it’s her role in Cannes award winner Armand that many say is her strongest yet.
Directed by Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel and winner of the Camera d’Or for Best First Feature at Cannes, Armand stars Reinsve as a defamed actress called into an emergency parent-teacher meeting after a fight between two boys.
Reinsve is joined in the cast by Ellen Dorrit Petersen and Endre Hellesvtveit.
IFC Films opens Armand in select theaters on February 7th before opening wide on February 14th. The film is also Norway’s selection for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards.
SYNOPSIS: When defamed actress Elisabeth (Renate Reinsve) is abruptly called into a parent-teacher meeting after hours, she is presented with scathing allegations that trigger a tangled web of accusations between parents and faculty. As Elisabeth struggles to uncover the truth amid the empty school rooms and dark corridors, a chaotic fight for redemption arises where desire, madness and obsession prevail.
“From the Studio that brought you The Notebook.” If you’re looking for a special romance movie to take your significant other to for Valentine’s Day, those words must be exactly what you’re hoping for. Well…hold your horses there, cowboy, because that studio is also behind Companion. And yes, it’s a unique kind of love story, but it’s also from the folks behind the hit horror film Barbarian, and that movie was pretty fucked up.
The first teaser for Companion followed the Barbarian model and kept a lot of the twists and turns a mystery. They seem to have given up on that plan with this full trailer, which I think spills too many details including the sci-fi nature of the character played by Heretic actress Sophie Thatcher. There are lots of gory images, some dark comedy, and the takeaway is to expect a movie that will definitely not be for those looking for a romantic date night flick.
It’s no shock that Barbarian director Zach Cregger is aboard as exec-producer. The film is directed and written by Drew Hancock.
Thatcher is joined in the cast by The Boys‘ star Jack Quaid, plus Lukas Gage, Harvey Guillén, Megan Suri, and Rupert Friend.
SYNOPSIS: New Line Cinema—the studio that brought you “The Notebook”—and the unhinged creators of “Barbarian” cordially invite you to experience a new kind of love story…
Companion opens in theaters on January 31st from Warner Bros.
It’s a good time to be Tom Holland. An engagement to Zendaya, a role in Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, Spider-Man 4 on the way, and now he’s landed a part in a new John Grisham adaptation. Deadline reports Holland will star in The Partner, based on Grisham’s 1997 legal thriller.
In The Partner, Holland plays a junior law partner who uncovers a crooked scheme between his firm and a corrupt client to steal millions from the government. Instead, he devises a scheme of his own and steals the money from them. Faking his own death, he starts a new life with a new love, only for the client to discover he’s alive and hire assassins to hunt him down.
The film will be adapted by Graham Moore, best known for writing The Imitation Game.
It used to be that you couldn’t throw a rock without hitting a Grisham adaptation, but there hasn’t been a major feature since 2004’s Christmas with the Kranks, hardly the best example of his work. Those would be bonafide gems such as The Pelican Brief, A Time to Kill, The Firm, The Client, and The Rainmaker.
A director still needs to be found, so The Partner is clearly still in the earliest stages.
Chris Jericho is a wrestling god, with the gifted ability to evolve himself so as to stay fresh for audiences. That’s how you become the current Ring of Honor world champion and “The Nueve” aka a 9-time World Heavyweight champion. Outside the ring, Jericho is also a busy actor with a clear attraction to gory horror movies, and his latest, Dark Match, finds him mixing two of his passions.
After his roles in the Terrifier sequels and Kevin Smith’s KillRoy Was Here, Jericho takes the lead role in Dark Match, about a small-time wrestling company that learns too late that they’re the target of a devious cult leader.
The film is written and directed by Lowell Dean, known for the films Wolfcop, Another Wolfcop, 13 Eerie, and SuperGrid. Cinematography is being handled by Karim Hussain, whose work on Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool and Possessor was excellent and should be here, as well.
Jericho is joined in the cast by Ayisha Issa, Steven Ogg, Sara Canning, Michael Eklund, and Jonathan Cherry.
Dark Match streams exclusively to Shudder on January 31st!
SYNOPSIS: A small-time wrestling company accepts a well-paying gig in a backwoods town only to learn, too late, that the community is run by a mysterious cult leader with devious plans for their match.
Pamela Anderson is making a comeback and a career pivot all in one role. With plenty of glitter and glam, she plays an aging Las Vegas dancer who has two weeks to come to terms with the show closing in Gia Coppola’s The Last Showgirl. In a way, it’s the perfect part to showcase what we have been missing all these years.
Joining Anderson’s Shelly onstage is Brenda Song as Marianne and Kiernan Shipka as Jodie. Both are significantly younger than Shelly, and each girl has a vastly different opinion about their show, Le Razzle Dazzle. For Marianne, being a dancer is a job, a means to an end. Jodie, the youngest, is genuinely interested in the showgirl lifestyle and doesn’t mind auditioning for seedier acts. Shelly, has been here for nearly three decades, sacrificing her marriage and even moments of her daughter, Hannah’s (Billie Lourd) childhood to do so. While she doesn’t have savings or any retirement, she believes she gave her all to the show for very little in return, only for it to be canceled.
Her best friend Annette (Jamie Lee Curtis) is a blatant and sobering reminder of what her future could be. Having left the show six years prior, she spends her days reminiscing about “the good old days” and cocktail waitressing at some casino. Jaded and bitter, she prepares Shelly for what’s next– the good, bad, and humiliating.
It’s hard not to watch The Last Showgirl and not think about Anderson’s journey to this moment. After years of being held to a certain reputation, she’s been able to shed a bit of the reputation thrust upon her in the 90s. Hulu’s miniseries Pam & Tommy helped with this, as it was made not only without her blessing but against her protests. Her Netflix documentary Pamela: A Love Story, showcased an intelligent and thoughtful woman who loved her family and wanted a quiet life. As an outside viewer, The Last Showgirl feels like a full-circle moment for Anderson, finally telling a story that she is spiritually close to. She is wonderful as Shelly – vibrant and naive, still swimming through oceans of denial of what she has given up. Her chemistry with the women is electric, at times her role serving as both child and mother.
Anderson also elevates the spectacular cast behind her, Keirnan Shipka has a juicy little part in Jody and gets to showcase that arc in all its glory. Jamie Lee Curtis is once again rocking a very particular wig and makeup combo. Another stand out is Dave Bautista as the Le Razzle Dazzle’s stage manager, Eddie, who is a bull during the show and a sweet puppy dog after. This might be Bautista’s best role yet, who has been stretching his dramatic chops after his Marvel run. He knows it’s Anderson’s movie and yet gives her the space to work and plays off her with grace and awe.
There’s a searing melancholy that reverberates under this film. Gia Coppola doesn’t exploit it but instead incorporates Vegas’ ugly underbelly seamlessly into the story. Kate Gersten’s script is slightly wooden in a few places, but Coppola’s visuals more than make for it. Expect a brilliant score and a well-put-together soundtrack, the former composed by Barbie’s Andrew Wyatt. There’s no weak link here. The stage is set for the Pam-aissance and The Last Showgirl proves it.
Reacher is such a popular show for Amazon that it’s solely responsible for turning Alan Ritchson into an A-list Hollywood stud. Nobody could’ve predicted the series would go this well following a pair of so-so movies starring Tom Cruise. This is the rare case of Cruise being upstaged by an actor most people had never heard of a couple of years ago, and it’s because the show has a completely different agenda than the movies. As much as we all love Cruise, Reacher’s intimidating physicality is integral to the character and you can’t simply remove that. And now Reacher is coming back for season three and it looks as hard-hitting as ever.
Ritchson, who is basically a walking refrigerator or a brick wall with legs, is back as ex-Army officer Jack Reacher who ventures into a vast criminal underworld to rescue an undercover DEA agent. And as usual, Reacher will have to beat some sense into anyone who stands into his way, although he’ll face the rare case of a foe who is bigger and stronger than him.
This season is based on Child’s book, Persuader.
Maria Sten returns as Reacher’s confidante Frances Neagley, joined by Anthony Michael Hall, Sonya Cassidy, Brian Tee, Johnny Berchtold, Robert Montesinos, Olivier Richters, and Daniel David Stewart. Nick Santora is back as showrunner.
Reacher season 3 hits Prime Video on February 20th. Sounds like it’s time for a rewatch of the first two seasons!
SYNOPSIS: Based on Lee Child’s novel Persuader, in the third season of the action-packed series, Reacher hurtles into the dark heart of a vast criminal enterprise when trying to rescue an undercover DEA informant whose time is running out. There he finds a world of secrecy and violence—and confronts some unfinished business from his own past.
