On the latest Cinema Royale, is Free Guy the greatest video game movie EVER!? We discuss that very real possibility while admiring Ryan Reynolds’ new action-comedy with Jodie Comer and Taika Waititi! Plus, the Blind Man is back and he’s…the good guy? Don’t Breathe 2 is sure to be controversial but is the criticism on point? Plus, a review of the acclaimed feel-good comedy CODA, and news on Star Wars series Ahsoka, Venom: Let There Be Carnage delays, and more!
All of this and more!
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Confetti is written, produced, and directed by award-winning New York resident, filmmaker Ann Hu (Shadow Magic,Beauty Remains) and is based on her own personal experiences. She sheds light on the struggles often faced by so many immigrant families who come to America for the opportunity at a better life. Her film tells the story of a mother and daughter duo who possess a gift that requires out of the norm learning methods. These methods are necessary to better navigate through a functional existence and toward a better future.
Lan (Zhu Zhu, Cloud Atlas,Marco Polo) is a young mother who’s been keeping a secret from her family. A secret she thought she could keep buried forever. When Lan’s daughter starts school, she quickly realizes that she and her child, Meimei (introducing Harmonie He), have something deeply in common. The school Meimei attends feels that she does not match the standardized equivalency of education and is asked to be removed. Faced with minimal alternatives to proper education for a condition highly under-recognized in her country, Lan must decide how far she will go to reverse her child’s fate.
Inflicted with the learning disability, Dyslexia, Meimei is considered an outcast in her school and community. What no one understands, including her unknowing mother, is that she possesses a learning curiosity waiting to be unlocked and explored. The world seen through her adolescent eyes is uniquely filled with her brains interpretation of rich colors and shapes. Lan will stop at nothing to help Meimei even if that means leaving her life in China behind. Lan and Meimei get word that the states may offer the help they need. Together they venture from their small, rural town in China to the busy American lifestyle of New York City.
Lan speaks no English however, MeiMei speaks well enough to translate for her mother. They bravely take on their adventure and soon find themselves in a place they know nothing about. The finally reach the home of a woman who reluctantly provides temporary housing. Helen (Amy Irving, Crossing Delancy, Yentl) is a wheelchair-bound, outspoken writer who has her own demons to contend with. Over time, their relationship and respect for each other grows as the journey for Meimei’s education ensues.
Navigating schools for a recent immigrant with special needs presents a roller-coaster of challenges. Lan’s under-the-table, low-wage sewing factory job and visiting immigrant status endanger Meimei’s acceptance at a special school. To her dissatisfaction, Lan realizes that in a world where people are judged, they too are often left to fend for themselves. That nugget of knowledge, along with everything else, takes a toll on her mental health. Her courage to believe, against all odds, will eventually lead them to people who do see them for who they truly are. Despite all the roadblocks and an over 2 year waiting list, Lan is determined to get Meimei into the school she’s meant to be in.
Lan turns to Dr. Wurmer (Helen Slater, Supergirl) who is responsible for the admissions into the special needs school MeiMei requires. Already bombarded with parents who want to bypass the waiting list, Dr. Wurmer is unemotionally set on following the rules. Lan, with the help of Helen, devises a plan to hear Meimei’s story and both are determined to see it through. Regardless of how much time it takes.
Confetti features heartwarming performances of a mother’s love by Zhu Zhu, a steely and strong-willed turn by Amy Irving, and a delightful debut from the young and talented, Harmonie He. Their tiny bubble is impacted by the numerous people who come into their lives and affect their journey along the way. The film reveals dejected insight to Ann Hu’s own poignant experience and portrays a deluge of real-life challenges. Hope, heart, and determination help make sense of a confusing world and their place in it. Meimei suffers from Dyslexia, as do 1 in 10 people worldwide. There’s a genuine fight to stop the demeaning categorization of special needs individuals. Proper and affordable education are a real struggle for these people. Ann Hu’s tale is an eye opening reality that tugs at your heartstrings and is definitely worth a watch.
Sometimes it takes a while for rumors to begin to coalesce into something real. Other times it just takes a day or two. It was only recently that we learned of a possible Birds of Prey spinoff that would star Jurnee Smollett as Dinah “Black Canary” Lance. Now Cinelinx chimes in with an update that says the project could be a reunion with Lovecraft Country creator, Misha Green.
The report goes that Green is writing the Black Canary spinoff, reuniting with Smollett who starred in HBO’s short-lived, critically-acclaimed Lovecraft Country. They add that this project, which is either a film or series, could be exclusive to HBO Max which is something I suggested in the previous story.
In that earlier post, I also referenced Smollett’s desires to return to the Black Canary role. What I left out because it didn’t apply at the time, is that Green had also expressed interest in doing a series on the character, revealing that she often used Canary to defeat Smollett in games of Injustice 2…
“I mean, you can’t help but imagine it a little bit… like, ‘What would I do with a Black Canary show?’” Green said. “It’d be exciting, I know that.”
Meanwhile, Green is already pretty busy writing a Tomb Raider sequel for star Alicia Vikander. She’s also developing a superhero project for Apple.
Dave Bautista has reached the point where he can basically call his own projects, and doesn’t need to lean on his Marvel work anymore. And when you’ve reached that level, one thing you might want to do is set something up with a friend. How does a buddy cop comedy with Bautista and Jason Momoa directed by the guy who did John Wick sound?
Posting on Twitter, Bautista pitched a Lethal Weapon-style action-comedy that would reteam him with Momoa, and be directed by David Leitch. Um, who could ever in their right mind turn something like that down?
Just going to throw this out into the atmosphere and see what happens. Here we go… Me and Momoa in a Lethal Weapon type buddy cop movie directed by David Leitch. Ok! There it is. Now we wait.?
Yes please! Bautista and Momoa have worked together a couple of times recently, on the second season of Apple TV+ series See, and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. Leitch is coming off of Hobbs & Shaw, and is currently shooting Bullet Train with Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock.
This combo needs to happen, so let’s hope Bautista putting it out into the world gets some producer’s attention. Next up for him is Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which begins shooting in November and is his final run in the MCU.
Call sheets are one of those organizational tools industry insiders know about but most of the rest of us have never heard of it, unless you’ve been called on set. But what is a call sheet? And why do we use it in the film industry?
What Is a Call Sheet?
A call sheet can be compared to an instruction set, though it is specific to the film industry. It will say where the day’s scenes will be shot. It will say what lights are required and who will provide them. It identifies who will handle the lighting, whether it is done by the production house or a third-party. Call sheets generally have a schedule, so that the set labor can be scheduled.
Why Is a Call Sheet Used in the Film Industry?
Call sheets are essential to management of the set. It is like a work schedule for both the actors and the support staff. It even gets its name from the crew call; the calls crew get telling them what day and what shift to be on set.
The director will give the artist dates and times to show up to shoot their scenes. While things may run over if they have to keep repeating the shots, the ideal situation is when it is finished within the defined time frame. The crew wants to know what the schedule is, so they know when they can take breaks and when they will wrap up.
The total schedule of all the call sheets is used to determine how many hours support staff like cameramen and lighting managers are working. If the labor and set management costs are too high, they may be told to cut scenes in order to cut costs.
How Do You Make a Call Sheet?
Call sheets are normally made by the assistant director of a show or movie. They’re distributed to cast and crew so that they’re on schedule. You can make a call sheet via a call sheet template. Then you fill in information such as dates, places, times, equipment and job duties. Save your initial call sheet, and you can update it with information as the shooting progresses.
You can determine what information should be on a call sheet by asking these questions: who, what, when, and where. Who needs to be there for the shoot? What are they going to do? When should they be ready, and when will they finish up? Where do they need to be? Add any additional responsibilities people have to their job, whether it is calling in lunch, picking up a co-star or bringing in a set piece. Or you might remind them to bring their old uniform. If you’re working with models, you could remind them of what they need to bring and what to leave out, whether it is reminding them to bring their wardrobe or skip the fake tan.
You should add contact information of key people so that you can reach them, whether they forgot they were scheduled that day or simply late to the shoot. Or they might get lost on set.
Hard to believe that two years has passed since Avengers: Endgame, and in that time we haven’t heard much at all about a fifth Avengers movie. With Phase 4 well underway, and a bunch of new characters being introduced (a new Black Widow, Shang-Chi, the Eternals just to name a few) the team will look completely different whenever one does happen. However, we might be waiting a long time to see it.
Speaking with Collider about the upcoming release of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Kevin Feige says fans shouldn’t hold their breath about new Avengers film, but that the pieces for it are already coming together…
“I think we want there to be a reasonable amount of time from the Endgame to start a new saga,” he said, “which is already underway and already started. And then you need time, as you did in Phase 1, to build that saga before you start bringing everyone together.”
In other words, there’s a long way to go. The Multiverse has just been introduced and we know that will play a huge role; there will be a new Captain America on the scene, plus it looks as if Kang the Conqueror will be the big baddie to contend with. There’s so much more that has already started, and who knows where things will be by the time the Avengers assemble once again.
In 2010 Sylvester Stallone helped reinvigorate his career, and that of many aging action stars, with The Expendables. The franchise would bring together other big-screen stars such as Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and eventually include Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Wesley Snipes, and more. Stallone directed the first movie before passing the reins to Simon West then Patrick Hughes, who helped make 2014’s The Expendables 3 the series’ best.
Stallone has never kept these movies far from his mind, often referencing them on social media. Last year a rumor surfaced that Statham would star in an Expendables film centered on his Lee Christmas character, while Stallone has been talking up an Expendables 4 since 2018. Well now Stallone says that he’s part of an upcoming spinoff, going under the working title of Christmas Story, that will shoot in October.
The question is whether this spinoff, which appears to be the Lee Christmas film we heard about, and The Expendables 4 are the same thing?
Check out the post, which features some dude’s tattoo of Stallone’s character, Barney Ross. Yikes, that’s commitment!
The Expendables was never a gigantic franchise, but it has made nearly $900M on a combined budget of around $300M. That’s not too shabby. I’m not sure a fourth movie would perform as well in today’s landscape, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t room for more. There are so many stars left to add, with Jackie Chan top of the list.
The genre of female-led assassin thrillers has undergone a transformation in the era of John Wick, superhero franchises and cinematic universes. So we get over-the-top (and still wildly enjoyable) efforts like Gunpowder Milkshake that shake up the formula long ago established by Luc Besson in films such as La Femme Nikita and its lesser American remake Point of No Return. But there’s something comforting about a film that embraces the well-established story beats and surrounds them with top level actors and guided by a veteran director who just knows his shit. That’s whatThe Protégé offers and it’s not to be missed.
The Protégé is a showcase film for star Maggie Q, who has been kicking ass on the big screen to the delight of American audiences since her breakout role in Mission: Impossible III, and latter role in the TV series version of Nikita. Like director Martin Campbell, who rebuilt the James Bond brand a couple of times with Goldeneye and Casino Royale, Maggie Q is a perfect fit for this familiar material. She’s always been one of those actresses you can’t peel your eyes away from, but here she gets to strut her stuff alongside a couple of true heavyweights in Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Keaton.
Opening in 1991, the film begins with world-class assassin Moody (Jackson), who finds that his latest targets have already been taken out by a blood-soaked girl who could easily have gotten the drop on him, too. Rather than kiling her, Moody takes her under his wing as a student, a totally classic trope of the genre that was successfully seen in Besson’s The Professional. Years later, that girl, Anna (Q) is more of a peer than a student. Their interplay is fun, kinetic, and tinged with a bit of remorse (Moody is ill from some unspecified sickness) and self-righteousness. She respects Moody and he respects Anna, despite all of their jabs at one another.
When an investigation into a mysterious figure from the past gets Moody killed, Anna is out for revenge. But she also has a book store to run (it’s her passion), and it’s there that she meets Rembrandt (Keaton), a suave fixer who immediately takes a liking to Anna. Of course, he’s tied up in this mess, too, so there’s a back and forth about whether the two should be lovers, or one another’s killer.
The Protege doesn’t deviate from what fans of these kinds of movies will expect, and that’s perfectly alright. What few bells and whistles there are provide all the necessary punch it needs. Hit-woman movies tend to be dark and brooding, emanating from a place of grim tragedy, but Anna never comes across that way. She’s confident and forceful, and more than a match for the suave and sophisticated Rembrandt. And yes, Keaton is nearly 30 years older than Q but he’s still got it, and the two crackle with passion when together. They make a red-hot pair, dare I say it, reminding me of Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo in The Thomas Crown Affair.
Campbell shoots his action effectively so there’s no confusion about anything that’s going on, a much trickier thing than you might think. While we’re not talking about the bravura, balletic gun-fu of John Wick, it does have that calculated elegance we’ve come to expect from James Bond. Of course, Maggie Q is one of the most credible action stars around and she makes everything look amazing. She radiates with such strength that you believe everything she does. She walks into swanky restaurant and commands your attention; she kicks the snot out of some goon and you feel bad that he ever thought he could stop her in the first place. Not everything works. A journey back to Anna’s home country doesn’t have the emotional “coming home” impact the screenplay wishes it did, mainly because her character simply isn’t built to be bogged down in the past. She’s got a job to do, and we love her for stopping at nothing to see it through.
The Protégé isn’t looking to break the mold, and that’s fine. This is a killer flick that fans of this genre will love and appreciate, while those who are less familiar will also feel right at home.
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Maggie Q as Anna in The Protégé. Photo Credit: Jichici Raul
If you asked me to fully define the term epic, as it relates to cinema, in under three minutes I would just show you this trailer. Apple TV+’s upcoming series Foundation, which is based on a series of books by Sci-Fi Godfather Issac Asimov, has had my attention since the first trailer dropped. I’ve never been a full fledged sci-fi guy, sure I’m a die hard Star Wars fan, but that’s really more about action and laser fights mixed with eastern philosophy. I’m talking about real sci-fi, I appreciate it, but it has never pulled me in.
I have yet to see one episode ofFoundationbut I can say confidently that I am pulled ALL the way in. At it’s core it’s the story of a woman on who’s shoulders rest the future of the galaxy, but that’s truly the tip of the iceberg. Jared Harris, in top form, as a mathematician who’s devised an algorithm to see the future, a future which depicts the fall of the current empire is at the heart of the story. There’s simply too much to recap properly, and again…that’s just from the trailer.
I recently got my 7-Day free trial to Apple TV+, and have mostly used it to watch Mythic Quest but I’ll tell you one thing for sure come September 24th my subscription will still be active and I will be using it to watch Foundation.
Foundation premiers September 24th on Apple TV+
A complex saga of humans scattered on planets throughout the galaxy all living under the rule of the Galactic Empire.
With so many questions still surrounding Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, there’s been an interesting new wrinkle. Kevin Feige has confirmed to Comicbook.com that Dominique Thorne, who we know will play the brilliant Riri “Ironheart” Williams in her own Disney+ show, will first debut in the anticipated sequel.
“We’re shooting Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, right now, and the character of Riri Williams, you will meet in Black Panther 2 first,” Feige said. “She started shooting, I think, this week before her Ironheart series.”
This could have big implications for the Ironheart series and the MCU. Riri Williams is an African-American teenage girl with a genius-level intellect to rival Tony Stark’s. In fact, she reverse engineers Stark tech and creates her own suit of armor.
So Feige doesn’t say Riri will be in Wakanda, so it’s possible she gets visited by Wakandans in America. Maybe she’s being scouted to be the new Black Panther? Or maybe she bonds with Shuri as two of the biggest brains left on the planet? Or, and this is unlikely but I’m going to put it out there anyway, maybe she’ll be Wakandan in the MCU?
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever hits theaters on July 8th 2022.
