You know him for making life saving inventions out of household materials. You know he knows how to get in and out of sticky situations. Now our favorite Saturday Night Live survivalist is back in Peacock’s new trailer for MacGruber.
The eight episode series will air on NBC’s streaming platform December 16. Joining Will Forte as the titular character are his trusty sidekicks from the 2010 movie, Kristen Wiig as Vicki St. Elmo and Ryan Phillippe as Dixon Piper. Laurence Fishburne, Sam Elliot and an evil beret-wearing BillyZane also star.
Time has clearly not been kind for MacGruber as he will start the series out in prison for allegedly committing a series of murders. Recruited by Fishburne’s General Barrett Fasoose, our hero and his team must face a villain from his past. Full of explosions, quippy one-liners, and overdramatic hilarity, MacGruber is sure to deliver laughs this holiday season.
It pays to be one of Marvel’s stable of directors. Not only do you put yourself in the position to helm a guaranteed blockbuster film, but on the TV side the Disney+ shows have all been successful and critically acclaimed. The result is that we’ve seen many filmmakers jump from Marvel projects into other high-profile gigs. Such is the case now with Falcon and the Winter Soldier director Kari Skogland, who has just landed the Cleopatra film starring Gal Gadot as the Egyptian ruler.
So you might be asking yourself what happened to Patty Jenkins? Wasn’t this supposed to be a reunion with her Wonder Woman star? Deadline reports that Jenkins will move over into a producer capacity, while Skogland makes Cleopatra the biggest project of her directing career.
It’s unclear what’s going on with Jenkins right now. Just weeks ago her Star Wars: Rogue Squadron movie was shelved over creative differences. Other than Wonder Woman 3 I’m not sure what else she has coming up, but Deadline says she will focus her energies on making these two films happen.
Anyway, this Cleopatra film is going to be huge, with Paramount throwing a ton of resources to craft a historical epic fitting for the legendary Egyptian queen.
It’s funny how the landscape quickly changes, especially at Marvel Studios. A couple of years ago, when the Netflix shows were all canceled and Kevin Feige took over, it didn’t seem like there was any chance we’d see Daredevil or any of those characters in the MCU. Fans kept saying it would happen, and Feige either played coy or denied it, even as rumors persisted that Daredevil star Charlie Cox would show up in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Well, those fans were wrong at the time, but now? Feige just made them all correct.
In an interview with Cinemablend, Feige was asked about the possibility of Charlie Cox playing Matt Murdock/Daredevil in a future Marvel project. This time, Feige all but assured fans that it will happen. Someday.
“If you were to see Daredevil in upcoming things, Charlie Cox, yes, would be the actor playing Daredevil,” confirmed Feige. “Where we see that, how we see that, when we see that, remains to be seen.”
Okay, that “If” is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Feige could have the confidence to make this statement because there are no plans to use Daredevil at all. But then, he goes the extra mile by adding a “where, how, and when” to the equation. In addition, a ScreenRant interview with Feige has him saying that more Netflix characters could show up…
“I always say that whenever a character comes back into the Marvel sandbox, it becomes another tool in the storytelling ability of the MCU. As I said before, the good news is, all will be revealed when people actually finally watch.”
The Netflix shows are officially non-canon to the MCU, so if and when we see these characters they could be different. That Feige went so far as to confirm that Cox would be playing Daredevil is a big step on his part. He could have easily recast the role, or put Cox in the MCU as an entirely different character. Rumors of a Daredevil reboot have been going around unconfirmed for weeks.
In other words, keep an eye out for Matt Murdock to show up in Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17th, possibly as Peter Parker’s attorney.
It’s time to enter the Matrix once again! Later this month the anticipated sequel The Matrix Resurrections finally arrives. The original film, released way back in 1999 (!!!) was a cultural phenomenon that sparked debate about the nature of our reality, while also setting the tone for every sci-fi movie that would follow for years. Can this new sequel have the same level of impact?
A new trailer has arrived featuring never-before-seen footage of dynamic, high-flying, wall-flipping, slow-motion action. Keanu Reeves returns as Neo, only now he seems to have forgotten everything about what happened to him before. Carrie-Anne Moss also returns as Trinity, joined by Jada Pinkett-Smith as Niobe, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as a younger version of Morpheus, plus Jessica Henwick, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris, and more.
Behind the camera is Lilly Wachowski, taking the reins for herself, joined by co-writers David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon.
The Matrix Resurrections opens in theaters and HBO Max on December 22nd.
Following his incredible performance in 1917, George MacKay is headed to a different kind of battlefield in Munich: The Edge of War. The British actor plays a diplomat who comes face-to-face with Adolf Hitler as the dictator prepares to attack Czechoslovakia. Also in the cast is Jeremy Irons, who plays British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, the infamous “appeaser” himself, as he prepares to do whatever the Third Reich demands in order to avoid war. The result? World War II, so his plan obviously failed.
The film is directed by Christian Schwochow (episodes of The Crown) and co-stars Ulrich Matthes as Hitler, Jannis Niewöner as German diplomat Paul von Hartman, plus Jessica Brown Findlay, Robert Bathurst, August Diehl, Alex Jennings, Anjli Mohindra, Sandra Hüller, and Mark Lewis Jones.
Ben Power adapted the screenplay from a book by author Robert Harris.
Munch: The Edge of War hits select theatres on January 7th, followed by Netflix on January 21st.
Adapted from Robert Harris’ novel Munich, MUNICH – THE EDGE OF WAR sees two young men embroiled in one of the most crucial moments in 20th Century history. In the autumn of 1938, civil servant Hugh Legat accompanies British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to Munich in a desperate bid to broker peace with German leader Adolf Hitler. Once there, Legat encounters his old friend Paul von Hartmann, a German diplomat who has in his possession a document signaling Hitler’s true intent: a war of conquest across Europe. Amid frantic negotiations at the Munich Conference, Hugh and Paul conspire to prevent a terrifying conflict.
Award-winning musical theater pioneer Stephen Sondheim, who passed away at 91 on November 26, started his professional career writing the lyrics to West Side Story. Since the musical’s premiere in 1957 and the subsequent movie that followed in 1961, this Romeo and Julietre-imagining is considered one of the most seminal pieces of performative art in American history. It’s apropos that director Steven Spielberg’s new adaption not only honors the source material but will be the last movie of Sondheim’s work he saw before his death.
For those who somehow missed watching West Side Story as a kid, the story follows two rival gangs, the white Jets led by Riff (Mike Faist) and the Puerto Rican Sharks led by Bernardo (a captivating David Alvarez), battling it out for control of their New York City neighborhood. Tony (Ansel Elgort), a former leader of the former gang, meets Bernardo’s younger sister, María (Rachel Zegler) at a school dance and the two immediately fall in love despite every force keeping them apart. As previously mentioned, the musical was based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet with pretty direct character comparisons and outcomes.
Taking on a remake of this magnitude is no easy feat and Spielberg made the correct decision of working with screenwriter and Angels In America playwright Tony Kushner. Spielberg and Kusher stay true to both the stage play and the original film adaptation, including similar choreography and framing. What follows in its fast-feeling runtime of 156 minutes is an amalgamation of both iterations of the musical that addresses some of the problematic racial issues of those previous works.
Songs are placed in different scenes, sung by different characters, or made into duets. How Kushner structured not only the plot but who is singing and when songs are sung is an integral part of why this 2021 West Side Story works. Instead of Riff singing “Cool” to hype up the Jets before their rumble with the Sharks, it becomes Tony’s plea to his friend to not bring a gun or fight at all.
Every single female performance is phenomenal. Ariana DeBose (The Prom, Schmigadoon) steals every scene she is in as Bernardo’s girlfriend Anita, similar to her film predecessor Rita Moreno (who won an Oscar for her work). Speaking of, the almost 90-year-old actress also appears in the film as Valentina, a role formed from soda shop owner Doc. Bringing a female sensibility to the mentor role, Moreno’s appearance doesn’t feel like a cash cow cameo connecting the two film adaptions. Instead, it feels like this is how it should have always been. By the time she starts to sing the show’s most iconic song “Someday”, the change not only feels right but earned. She could very well be nominated for an Oscar.
Rachel Zegler gives a star-making performance as María in her film debut. Her voice was made for this role. While Ansel Elgort feels wooden at times, Zegler clearly brings up his energy and performance level. Her doe-eyed heroine doesn’t feel cheesy or saccharine, but brilliantly complex for a character based on Juliet.
In a world of reboots and remakes, Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story doesn’t feel like the cash cow it could be. He respects and admires the source material while still acknowledging its problematic nature. Not only are all the Sharks played by people of color but a variety of skin tones are represented, something In The Heights was called out on earlier this year. Instead of portraying the rival gangs on equal playing fields, the racist undertones of the Jets’ motivations are brought forward. The androgynous Anybodys (Iris Menas), who is played more as a tomboy in the original film, is coded as genderqueer bringing a new layer into the story.
These changes made by Spielberg and Kushner don’t feel like they were made to placate a PC crowd or fill diversity requirements. Instead, it adds authenticity and power to its storytelling and to West Side Story’s legacy as a whole.
West Side Story will hit theaters Dec. 10. Watch the trailer below.
Jared Leto is currently receiving praise for his, let’s just call it what it is, overcooked performance in House of Gucci. Whether you think he’s deserving of the accolades that have been heaped on him or not, Leto remains quite a character who has done some unusual things to sink into a role. I hate to think what he did for Morbius, in which he plays Marvel’s antihero with a taste for blood.
Yesterday at the Brazil CCXP 2021, a place that is becoming a pop culture hotbed, the first clip from Morbius was revealed, showing his transformation from ailing scientist into a creature with vampire-like powers and thirsts. Also in the clip is co-star Adria Arjona as Morbius’ fiancee.
Exactly how Morbius will fit into Sony’s Spider-Verse is unclear, but with the presence of Michael Keaton, reprising his MCU role as Adrian Toomes/Vulture, it’s clear something is going on. And we can bet that Leto will take his performance way over the top because he doesn’t know any other way.
Morbius opens on January 28th 2022.
One of the most compelling and conflicted characters in Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters comes to the big screen as Oscar® winner Jared Leto transforms into the enigmatic antihero Michael Morbius. Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder and determined to save others suffering his same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. While at first, it seems to be a radical success, a darkness inside him is unleashed. Will good override evil – or will Morbius succumb to his mysterious new urges?
The Washington DC Area Film Critics Association, of which many of us here at PDC are members, have announced the winners of this year’s WAFCA Awards. Emerging as the Best Film of the year was Kenneth Branagh’s heartwarming coming-of-age film Belfast, which also won Best Original Screenplay for Branagh’s deeply personal script.
Tying for the most awards with three was Jane Campion’s stunning Western, The Power of the Dog. Campion took the Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay honors, while Kodi Smit-McPhee won Best Supporting Actor. Also winning three was Denis Villeneuve’s Dune, for Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, and Hans Zimmer’s score.
In what could be the start of a trend, Andrew Garfield’s performance as Jonathan Larson in tick, tick…BOOM! earned him Best Actor, while Kristen Stewart’s transformation into Princess Diana for Spencer won her Best Actress.
The full list of winners is below.
THE 2021 WAFCA AWARD WINNERS:
Best Film:
Belfast
Best Director:
Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)
Best Actor:
Andrew Garfield (tick, tick…BOOM!)
Best Actress:
Kristen Stewart (Spencer)
Best Supporting Actor:
Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog)
Best Supporting Actress:
Aunjanue Ellis (King Richard)
Best Acting Ensemble:
Mass
Best Youth Performance:
Woody Norman (C’mon C’mon)
Best Voice Performance:
Awkwafina (Raya and the Last Dragon)
Best Original Screenplay:
Kenneth Branagh (Belfast)
Best Adapted Screenplay:
Jane Campion (The Power of the Dog)
Best Animated Feature:
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Best Documentary:
Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Best International/Foreign Language Film:
Drive My Car
Best Production Design:
Patrice Vermette, Production Designer; Richard Roberts and Zsuzsanna Sipos, Set Decorators (Dune)
Best Cinematography:
Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS (Dune)
Best Editing:
Myron Kerstein, ACE; Andrew Weisblum, ACE (tick, tick…BOOM!)
In what is historically one of the worst box office weekends of the year, Disney’s 60th animated movie Encanto beat a bunch of holdovers pretty easily. The film fell 53% for $12.7M and a $57M total domestically, while overseas has been better, taking its worldwide number to $116M.
2. Ghostbusters: Afterlife– $10.3M/$102.1M
3. House of Gucci– $6.7M/$33.6M
With much of the marketing buzz surrounding flashy, possibly Oscar-contending performances by Lady Gaga and Jared Leto, House of Gucci strutted its stuff to $6.7M and $33M domestic in week two.
4. Christmas with the Chosen: The Messengers– $4.1M/$8.7M
On a dead weekend such as this, there is plenty of room for a perfectly-timed release to dominate. Such was the case for Fathom Events’ special release of Christmas With the Chosen: The Messengers, a faith-based film about the birth of Christ from Mary and Joseph’s perspective. I’m actually quite surprised there was no attempt to move up American Underdog, a faith-based film that also involved the NFL, so it could take advantage.
5. Eternals– $3.9M/$156.5M
6. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City– $2.6M/$13.1M
So far the Resident Evil gamble doesn’t seem to be paying off. The rebooted franchise, based on the hit Capcom horror games, made just $2.6M in week two for $13M. Ouch. Worldwide it only has $25M, which is way below what the Milla Jojovich films used to do overseas.
7. Dune– $1.81M/$104.5M
8. Clifford the Big Red Dog– $1.8M/$45.7M
9. King Richard– $1.2M/$13.4M
10. Sword Art Online: Progressive – Aria of a Starless Night– $1M
Nearly a decade ago, right around the time of his Men in Black 3, director Barry Sonnenfeld revealed his plans to bring oddball DC Comics heroes the Metal Men to screens everywhere. Even earlier this year he was still claiming to be developing that film with Warner Bros., but it appears to have been reduced to scrap. THR reports that another Metal Men film is in the works, but this won’t be live-action and will instead be animated.
Warner Animation Group has an animated Metal Men movie with a treatment by Disney animation legends Ron Clements and John Musker, known for The Little Mermaid and Aladdin. They’ll be joined on the Space Jam: New Legacy writer Celeste Ballard. The expectation by Clements and Musker is that they’ll also direct.
The Metal Men are a group of six robots created by inventor Will Magnus, each imbued with the properties their names suggests: Gold is the field leader; Iron is strong; Lead is thick and stupid; Tin is shy and timid; Mercury is hot-headed and quick to anger, etc.
Ballard’s background is in comedy, so don’t be surprised if this Metal Men leans into their weird, humorous aspects.
