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‘Morbius’: Jared Leto Teases A “Web Of Opportunity”, New Trailer Arrives Tomorrow

By
Travis Hopson
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This morning it was revealed that a new trailer for Sony’s Spidey-verse flick Morbius would be arriving tomorrow. My reaction?

And I don’t just mean interested in the way we are all somewhat interested in any superhero movie, but I mean genuinely edge-of-your-seat excited for Morbius?  I can’t find anyone who is. And it’s up to Sony to try and change that, which is why you get featurettes like the one just released where Jared Leto claims there’s a “web of opportunity” for the franchise to grow.

“WEB of opportunity”? If that’s not a Spider-Man tease I don’t know what is. Trust me, his words were chosen to get exactly this kind of reaction.

For those unaware of who Morbius is, he’s a scientist who tries to cure his rare blood disorder with an experiment involving bats. The result? He takes on a number of vampiric superpowers but also needs blood to survive. In a way, he’s not unlike Venom; an antihero who must feed an insatiable hunger. Unfortunately, Morbius doesn’t have Tom Hardy and that whole odd couple thing working in its favor.

Morbius, which also stars Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, and Jared Harris, hits theaters on January 28th 2022.

‘Moonfall’ Trailer: The Moon Gets Knocked Off Its Axis And Only Patrick Wilson And Halle Berry Can Save Us

By
Travis Hopson
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Roland Emmerich and the word “apocalyptic” just go hand-in-hand. Whatever you think about the director, his style of disaster flick has been bangin’ out huge box offices for years. I mean, shit, even when he made 2011’s Anonymous, a movie about William Shakespeare, it was to do catastrophic damage to the playwright’s reputation! But he’s back in typically planet-destroying form with his latest, Moonfall.

Starring Halle Berry and Patrick Wilson, the film centers on two astronauts who must save the world when the moon is knocked off its axis (Oops!!!) and begins hurtling towards Earth. Game of Thrones actor John Bradley plays a conspiracy theorist along for the ride, because every world-saving mission needs one of those.

Also in the cast are Michael Pena, Kelly Yu, Charlie Plummer, Eme Ikwuakor, and Donald Sutherland.

This looks ridiculous in all of the ways I want an Emmerich movie to be. I think that was one reason I despised Midway so much; it took a real battle and made it look like just another of Emmerich’s silly disaster movies. I’d much rather he do stuff like this that is completely fictional…for now.

Moonfall opens in theaters on February 4th 2022.

 

‘The Book Of Boba Fett’ Trailer Has The Bounty Hunter Attempting To Rule With Respect

By
Travis Hopson
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Remember when the idea of a Star Wars television series was pie in the sky? Well, now TV is where it’s at, and undoubtedly you could place The Mandalorian as the most successful project the franchise has had in years. And all you need to do for proof is look at the spinoffs that are emerging from it, an Ahsoka Tano show led by Rosario Dawson, and the anticipated Book of Boba Fett which arrives this December.

A new trailer sets the table for what I think is going to be the most exciting series Star Wars has produced yet. Temuera Morrison and Ming-Na Wen return as Boba Fett and Fennec Shand respectively, who have taken over the criminal empire run by Jabba the Hutt. In this footage we see Fett and Shand taking over, with the ex-bounty hunter saying he plans to “rule with respect.” That’s good and all, but will everyone who followed Jabba simply bow down to Fett’s new world order? Of course not!

Jon Favreau, Dave Filoni, Kathleen Kennedy, Robert Rodriguez, and Colin Wilson all exec-produce, most of them having done the same on The Mandalorian. Favreau, Filoni, and Rodriguez will also direct episodes, along with Bryce Dallas Howard who is really carving a place for herself in this universe. She’s not getting run out of town like her old man did after directing Solo, that’s for sure.

The Book of Boba Fett hits Disney+ on December 29th.

“The Book of Boba Fett,” a thrilling Star Wars adventure, finds legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett and mercenary Fennec Shand navigating the Galaxy’s underworld when they return to the sands of Tatooine to stake their claim on the territory once ruled by Jabba the Hutt and his crime syndicate.

 

‘New Gods’: Ava DuVernay Teases DC Comics Film’s Cancellation Was Due To The Snyder Cut

By
Travis Hopson
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Our chance to see Ava DuVernay on a major superhero project when “POOF” earlier this year when Warner Bros. canceled her New Gods film for then-unknown reasons. The film, based on Jack Kirby’s other group of god-like characters (the other being Marvel’s Eternals), would have seen her paired up with Batman comics writer Tom King. The timing of the decision led many to speculate that it might have something to do with Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and in a recent Sirius XM interview DuVernay seems to confirm those rumors…

“The studio decided they did not want to pursue a certain part of that comic world based on some things that were going on with another film in that world. So, before I even was able to kind of complete my script with Tom King, they axed it,” DuVernay said.

Confused? What does the Snyder Cut possibly have to do with DuVernay’s project? Well, Snyder’s film included characters such as Darkseid, Granny Goodness, and DeSaad, who feature in Kirby’s New Gods. Clearly, the studio wanted to stay as far away from that cosmic corner as possible in order to get some distance from Snyder. That should tell you everything you need to know about his working relationship with the WB.

On the other hand, DuVernay is still very involved with them.  She’s got two DC Comics shows in the works right now. DMZ is coming to HBO Max with DuVernay directing the pilot, and she’s also developing a Naomi series for The CW that premieres in 2022.

 

 

Box Office: ‘Dune’ Nears $300M Worldwide As ‘My Hero Academia’ Tops All New Releases

By
Travis Hopson
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  1. Dune– $15.5M/$69.4M

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune plummeted 62% in its second week domestically, hitting $69M overall. Worldwide the film is faring much better with $292M, already a much better number than Blade Runner 2049 did in 2017 when it ended with just $259M and was considered a flop. Warner Bros. is happy enough to have greenlit a Dune sequel, and perhaps the strong word of mouth will bolster that film’s prospects.

2. Halloween Kills– $8.5M/$85.6M

David Gordon Green’s Halloween Kills continues to slash up the box office, adding another $8.5M for $85M domestic and $115M worldwide. It’s sticking around at a higher rate than horrors typically do, which says something about fans of this updated take on the classic franchise.

3. No Time to Die– $7.8M/$133.3M

In its fourth week, Daniel Craig’s No Time to Die has earned $133M stateside, and $606M worldwide.

4. My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission– $6.4M

The top new release of the week wasn’t Last Night in Soho, or horror flick Antlers. Nope, it was Funimation’s release of anime My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission with $6.4M. This has quietly been a pretty big year for the domestic anime market, even if this falls short of the $21M debut of Demon Slayer. Still, these movies are made for a niche market and those people are turning out for them.

5. Venom: Let There Be Carnage– $5.7M/$190.4M

6. Last Night in Soho (review)- $4.16M

In wholly depressing news, Edgar Wright’s amazing Last Night in Soho opened with just $4.1M, the same exact number for the Guillermo Del Toro-produced Antlers. I’m not sure what to make of this other than it’s another example of audiences not turning out for unique content that maybe challenges them a little bit, and isn’t part of some existing IP. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Wright’s films, with the exception of Baby Driver‘s $225M, aren’t known for being big box office draws. But I foolishly hoped that film’s success would carryover, but these are two very different projects and Last Night in Soho is obviously a much tougher sell.

7. Antlers (review)- $4.16M

Another long-delayed film that bit the dust this week was Antlers, the creepy folk horror from director Scott Cooper and producer Guillermo Del Toro. With middling reviews and not a lot of buzz, it had to lean hard on Del Toro’s name to get by and obviously audiences were not sold.

8. Ron’s Gone Wrong– $3.8M/$12.6M

9. The Addams Family 2– $3.2M/$52.8M

10. The French Dispatch– $2.7M/$4.6M

 

 

Review: ‘No Future’

Catherine Keener Leads A Dark Drama That Reveals Realistic Truths About Coping With Heartbreak And Grief

By
Jen Pourreza
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No Future is a dark drama film that drops right into the story and takes viewers on a wild ride full of grief, loss, and the struggle to find coping mechanisms through it all. Will (Charlie Heaton, Stranger Things) is a recovering addict who now maintains a quiet, settled life. He has a steady job, attends NA meetings, and has a supportive, understanding girlfriend Becca (Rosa Salazar, Alita: Battle Angel) that he’s recently met and starting to fall for. But beneath this façade is someone haunted by a troubled past. One that comes back to light when his estranged friend Chris (Jefferson White, Yellowstone) fatally overdoses after Will brushes him off the night before.

Haunted by past and present guilt that’s piling on, Will reluctantly returns home. A place he’s worked so hard to leave behind. Mostly because his father, Phillip (Jackie Earle Haley, Preacher) blames Will (Heaton) for the addiction that’s caused so much chaos. Not to side track but there is a noticeable feature with his character that stands out and can be rather distracting. Will (Heaton) fluctuates from a long bowl cut hair style to a chic trim. Not that big a deal but still distracting considering there’s no change to the movie/story timeline. Will reunites with Claire (Academy Award nominee, Catherine Keener, Get Out), Chris’ (White) grieving mother. Claire carries herself with a quiet strength as she hides her sadness and anger from the world but the loss of her son and the blame she places on herself weigh heavily on her soul. She is vulnerable and desperate as she tries to find a means to cope with her overwhelming grief, sadness, and loneliness. 

Will and Claire are instantaneously bonded by their shared emotions and together they quickly develop an intimate relationship. Their connection uncovers thoughts and feelings about themselves they’ve kept hidden from the world. The very feelings that Will refuses to share with Becca (Salazar) for fear that she will abandon him. Between the two, they hope for healing the wounds of their pasts and mending their damaged lives. However, the awkward truth of their relationship and what went down the night Chris went to see Will eventually comes out. As secrets are finally and uncomfortably revealed, new and already fractured hearts will be shattered all over again.

No Future is written and directed by Andrew Irvine and Mark Smoot. The pair created an intelligent and a fairly accurate depiction of people consumed by an array of heartbreaking emotions and circumstances as they attempt to come to terms with the darkness that surrounds them. The film can come across as long and drag on in parts but Keener, Heaton, and Salazar convey outstanding performances of emotionally stricken people coming to terms with themselves and their loved ones. Keener and Salazar are a great pair on screen when it comes to the dark and twisted and it’s great to see them together again since Netflix’s Brand New Cherry Flavor release this year. No Future may not be a feel good, happy ending kind of film but it’s amazing at pulling back the curtain to a traumatic truth of what really goes on in the minds, hearts, and bodies of people fighting through real life dilemmas. Definitely worth a watch.

No Future is playing in theaters and on VOD nationwide.

‘Mind Fall’: Daisy Ridley Lands Sci-Fi Project From ‘Babylon AD’ And ‘Gothika’ Director

By
Travis Hopson
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Daisy Ridley has landed on her next sci-fi role, and nope, it’s got nothing to do with Star Wars. Deadline reports Ridley will star in Mind Fall, a futuristic sci-fi thriller from director Mathieu Kassovitz, best known for directing Vin Diesel in Babylon AD and Halle Berry in Gothika. An actor who also directs, Kassovitz also helmed the acclaimed 1995 film La Haine which earned numerous international accolades including Best Director at Cannes.

The film is described as taking “place in near-future London, where the most sought-after drug on the black market is memories, physically removed from one person’s brain and implanted into another’s using a new illegal technology. Top trafficker, Ardis Varnado (Ridley) removes reminiscences from those looking for a quick buck, and then resells them to “clients,” who pay top dollar for these “mems” that bind to their subconscious, effectively becoming indistinguishable from their natural memories.

Meanwhile, she battles her own addiction to the mems, often struggling to distinguish between the life she’s lived and the memories she’s implanted. So, when she’s accused of murdering one of her clients, Ardis’ instinct is to doubt her own mind. She decides to solve the crime herself, hoping to clear her name but questioning everything she’s ever thought to be real. And as she pulls back the layers, she realizes that she has every reason to do so.”

Ridley was seen earlier this year starring opposite Tom Holland in Chaos Walking (I literally forgot about that movie until just now), and is in post on Neil Burger’s The Marsh King’s Daughter.

Review: ‘Heart Of Champions’

Michael Shannon Can't Save This Rowing Drama From Sinking

By
Cortland Jacoby
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It’s safe to say Michael Shannon was one of the best parts of Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers, which ended this fall. In his supporting roles in projects like Knives Out, The Little Drummer Girl, and What They Had, the actor is known for giving strong and stand out performances. In his latest film Heart of Champions, Shannon plays a college rowing coach who returns to his alma mater to lead a dysfunctional team. Ironically the film is just as flawed. 

The team itself is suffering under an unseen coach and a tyrant captain (Alexander Ledwig) who is being pressured to make the Olympic trials by his father. There’s the slightly laxidazical John (Alex MacNicoll) and the recently orphaned and very sad Chris (Charles Melton). Heart of Champions plays out like a typical “inspirational” sports movie would with the team not getting along until the touch but fair Coach Murphy (Shannon) comes in to set them straight. The approach is predicatable and too overly serious. 

The film’s issues does not lie with Shannon, other than taking a project beneath his caliber. He is easily the most fascinating thing on screen during its 2 hour run time. However, filmmaker Michael Mailer and writer Voijin Gjaja give him very little to work with. We know very little about Coach Murphy’s back story other than being a Veitnam Vet who is an alum of the college and who knew a few of his athlete’s parents. All of that information is delivered through dialogue and very little time is focused on Coach Murphy building relationships with his team.We just kind of hear about it. 

Instead of Shannon, Heart of Champions focuses on the rowing team and their personal lives at college. Melton, who is best known for playing Reggie Mantle on Riverdale, brings the same nonsensical melodrama from the teen soap to this film. His backstory is full of unrealistic coincidences that create a false sense of empathy. 

The heavy focus on the rowing team hurts the film. Their personal lives almost overshadow anything else on screen. Their problems are “so serious” that no one can really smile or create a bond. Any jokes that are made are contradicted by overdramatic lighting and trite dialogue.

In the film’s final act, writer Gjaja gives us a narrative twist that truely makes no sense. Coming out of nowhere, the choice doesn’t have any emotional legs to stand on and ruins any sense of realism the film had left. 

Overall, Shannon’s performance is at least reserved and interesting, trying to balance out the film. He doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to the college coach archetype but he does enough with his role that its interesting to watch. It’s a testament to a great actor who can steady a bonkers ship. Well, he tries to any way.

Heart of Champions is playing in select theaters. Watch the trailer below.

Dwayne Johnson Reteams With ‘Jumanji’ Director Jake Kasdan on Amazon Holiday Action-Comedy

By
Travis Hopson
-

If it ain’t broke. Following a pair of Jumanji movies that have grossed $1.6B combined, Dwayne Johnson and director Jake Kasdan are teaming up again, this time on the Amazon holiday action-comedy formerly titled Red One.

Deadline has news on Kasdan agreeing to direct Johnson in the film, which they call “a globe-trotting, four-quadrant action-adventure comedy, imagining a whole new universe within the holiday genre.”

So a funny action movie with a Christmas theme. Got it.

The script is by Chris Morgan, who wrote seven of the Fast and the Furious flicks including five with Johnson on board.

Next up for Johnson is Netflix’s potential blockbuster Red Notice alongside Ryan Reynolds and Gal Gadot. Kasdan’s previous hit films include Sex Tape, Orange County, and Bad Teacher.

Review: ’13 Minutes’

A Mediocre Tornado Disaster Film More Focused On Current Social, Economic, And Discriminatory Injustice

By
Jen Pourreza
-

13 Minutes is a tornado disaster thriller who’s title indicates the time it takes to seek shelter for when they do occur. For residents in a small Heartland town of Oklahoma, the day starts out as usual. It’s springtime and big storms are just part of life. Nothing to get worked up about…until they are. Inhabitants will have to get to shelter in those 13 minutes before the largest tornado on record ravages their small town. Once the big storm passes, those that have survived will search for their loved ones. In the wake of total devastation, a couple of families face some tough challenges and must find strength in themselves and each other in order to survive.

Director Lindsey Gossling teams up with co-producer and certified storm chaser Travis Farncombe to give an intimate look at understanding the monstrosity of tornado damage and its effect on small town communities. Although it takes about an hour for the tornado storm to make its appearance as the film is more wrapped around the before and after circumstances of how these particular families are socially and economically impacted. The threat in this film may come from mother nature but the stories in 13 Minutes are grounded in the real world. Every creative element has been designed to drop directly into a time and place in an attempt to feel authentic. The idea behind this film is well intentioned but for featuring an all star cast, a bulk of emotions portrayed fell flat and felt staged. However, Shaylee Mansfield  (Netflix’s Feel the Beat, Noelle) is an incredibly talented young deaf actress who gives a solid performance throughout the film. She’s a well known YouTube influencer who initially caught the world’s attention when several of her videos went viral, garnering millions of hits.

13 Minutes is the time it takes to seek shelter whereas in this film, the tornado barrels through what feels like a brief few minutes. The film uses a tornado storm more as a backdrop and focuses on issues that are the real divide for these families in mid-western America. This tornado thriller features country music star and actor Trace Adkins (The Lincoln Lawyer, Deepwater Horizon) runs a farm and his wife, Emmy-award winning actress Anne Heche (Chicago P.D.Donnie Brasco, Six Days Seven Nights) works at the local planned parenthood clinic and uses her platform to push a Pro-Life stance. Both are a stickler for rules and deep into their religion and religious intolerance. Their only son (Will Peltz) (Unfriended, Manifest) considering his parents beliefs, is closet gay. 

Golden Globe and Emmy nominated actress Thora Birch (The Walking Dead, American Beauty) is a free but tough spirited mother to teenager and newly pregnant Sofia Vassilieva (The Little Things, My Sister’s Keeper, Looking For Alaska). They have a wonderful bond but also, their own opinion to their most recent news. Paz Vega (The OA Part I and Part II, Spanglish, Rambo: Last Blood) is a hardworking Hispanic woman who’s fiance is undocumented. They are in the process of buying their first home. Amy Smart (DC’s Stargirl, Varsity Blues, Just Friends) and Peter Facinelli (The Vanished, Nurse Jackie, Can’t Hardly Wait) are the town’s meteorologist couple and very committed to their jobs. They live in the upscale part of their rural Oklahoma town with their deaf daughter (Mansfield). These families are forced to cross paths as well as their own demons when the tornado wreaks havoc upon them. That instantaneous chaos will impact their lives in ways they never planned or expected before. A mediocre disaster film more focused on current social, economic, and discriminatory injustice but otherwise, a considerably decent film to watch.

13 Minutes will open in theaters and on premium VOD October 29th.

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