It’s been eight years since Paramount dropped GI Joe: Retaliation as the biggest, most starry attempt to get the popular toy line as recognized on the big screen as their Transformers counterparts. That film was only a marginal success, and so all of this time later they’re going in a different direction with focus on the most popular Joe of all: the ninja commando Snake Eyes.
The first trailer for Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins debuted last night during the MTV Movie Awards. Henry Goulding, who broke out in Crazy Rich Asians, takes on the role of Snake Eyes in an origin story of his elite training as part of the Arashikage ninja clan. The film may show us how that leads to his joining of the GI Joe squad, as his future love Scarlett also appears in the film, played by Samara Weaving.
Andrew Koji plays his rival Storm Shadow, with Ursula Corbero as Baroness, Iko Uwais as Hard Master, Peter Mensah as Blind Master, Haruka Abe as Akiko, and Takehiro Hira as Kenta.
Ray Park played Snake Eyes in the previous two GI Joe films, but since he never took the mask off (he almost never does in the comics or cartoon) the switch to Goulding should work out pretty well. While this trailer is only about a minute long, it does promise a ton of action from director Robert Schwentke, no stranger to it from his work on Red, two Divergent films, and RIPD.
Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins opens July 23rd, then will move to Paramount+ at a later date.
There was really only one major wide release this week and that was Spiral: Saw, the rebirth of the long-running horror franchise with a lot more star power. But the combined efforts of Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson still only netted an $8.7M start, which is…well, it’s alright for pandemic times but not great. Analyst projections were as high as $15M. This makes for the sixth Saw film to debut at #1, and at only $20M Lionsgate should have no problem recouping costs. Reviews have been about what you’d expect, for the most part. I don’t know, it feels like this relaunch is already on life support, doesn’t it?
Far from the blockbuster event films of Angelina Jolie’s early career, and yet feeling like one in terms of content, Those Who Wish Me Dead opened with just $2.8M. The film stars Jolie as a Montana firefighter who helps a boy escape both a raging wildfire and the assassins on his trail. Despite the high theater count of over 3000, this was always geared more towards the HBO Max audience so it’s no surprise if it draws bigger numbers there.
Disappointing numbers for Focus Features’ release of Profile, the latest ScreenLife thriller from director Timur Bekmambetov. A shame that in 2000 theaters the film, about a British journalist who poses as a recent Islamic convert and attracts the attention of an ISIS recruiter. As far as this brand of film, completely captured over computer screens and tablets, Profile is the best of the bunch but many may still see it as a gimmick. I also think there’s an apprehension to seeing these films on the big screen when they are so much more immersive when seen at home.
10. Here Today– $530K/$1.9M
In other releases news, Netflix gave Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead (review) a one-week theatrical run in 430 theaters (mostly Cinemark), making it one of the biggest theatrical releases the streamer has ever had. The result wasn’t great, however, with just $780K. Those who saw it, however, really enjoyed the zombie heist action, with the film getting some of the best reviews of Snyder’s career. Perhaps a bigger release in theaters would’ve been the wise move? Especially if Netflix truly hopes to build a blockbuster franchise out of this? It’ll move exclusively to the streaming service next week, followed by a pair of spinoffs, one animated and another live-action.
All you really need to know about the relationship between Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. right now is that he took Army of the Dead to Netflix. It’s been clear, ever since the release of his Justice League Snyder Cut, that things were strained between both parties, with the director talking quite a lot about it publicly. That trend continues in a recent interview with Uproxx, which makes it sound like the process of working with WB was a nightmare…
“Oh god yeah. God yeah. It was cool to do the Snyder Cut of “Justice League,“ and that was fun and everything. But Warner Bros. still tortured me the whole time for whatever reason; they can’t help it. I don’t know why I’m such a fucking pain in their ass because I’m not trying to be, honestly,” Snyder said.
He continued, “I don’t want to get in trouble either, but I’m not going to sit here and let them act like that and not… Look, they’re the ones that have been aggressive, not me. I haven’t done anything. Every day they’d turn around and do some weird passive-aggressive thing.”
On the plus side, he’s really happy that fans got to see his final cut of the superhero movie, and it must have been satisfying that it was better received than Joss Whedon’s version…
“But look, like I say, I had a great time making “Justice League.” I’m super glad I got to finish it,” Snyder added.
If this is truly how things went down, I have a feeling WB felt backed into a corner by fans, and they took out their frustration on Snyder. Just speculation on my part.
Things are looking up for Snyder now as Army of the Dead looks to be a franchise he and Netflix will grow. There’s the prequel film Army of Thieves starring breakout character Ludwig Dieter played by Matthias Schweighöfer, and the animated film Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas voiced by the original cast.
The traditional 90-day exclusive theatrical window? It’s a thing of the past, gone with the wind thanks to changes caused by the pandemic. Disney has really helped usher in this evolution of the industry standard by offering multiple distribution formats for its films. Such is the case for Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, and the Ryan Reynolds action-comedy Free Guy, which will both receive 45-day exclusive theatrical releases before heading to streaming.
The news was confirmed by Disney CEO Bob Chapek. For Shang-Chi, this is a change from the strategy employed by Marvel Studios for Black Widow, which will open in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access simultanteously. Other upcoming films debuting this way include Cruella and Jungle Cruise. Meanwhile, Disney has decided to send other projects straight to Disney+ for free, such as Soul, Artemis Fowl, and Luca. Frankly, considering Free Guy is a 20th Century Studios project, I thought that was going to be its fate.
It seems Disney is deciding on a release strategy on a case-by-case basis. Chapek spoke about that and the future of Premier Access as moviegoers begin a slow return to theaters…
“Of course, 90% let’s say of the domestic marketplace is open right now. And we’re encouraged in terms of polling in terms of that growing going forward, but if you look at last weekend’s box office for an example and compare the last three years of pre-COVID box office, it was 85% low domestically and … 67% below internationally. So we know the market is not quite there yet. So the Disney Premier Access strategy, one of the things it gives us right now, and we’re grateful for this, is the ability to go ahead and try to release things into the market, and try to reprime the pump, if you will, but at the same time know that for those consumers that are a little leery still about going into a packed theater, that they can go ahead and watch it in the safety and convenience of their home. In terms of going beyond this fiscal year, we’ve not announced exactly what our strategy is going to be in terms of which titles will be theatrical plus Disney Premier Access, which ones will be direct to Disney+ or which ones will go into theaters, but know that we’ll continue to watch the evolution of the recovery of the theatrical marketplace and we’ll use that flexibility to make the right call at the right time. But right now we’ve only called those films in this fiscal year because of the relatively fluid nature of the recovery of exhibition.”
Free Guy opens on August 13th, while Shang-Chi arrives on September 3rd.
*NOTE: This is a reprint of my review from the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. The Perfect Candidate is open in select area theaters now.*
It’s good to see Haifaa al-Mansour get back to basics, so to speak. Her 2012 debut, the uplifting, vitally-important coming of age film Wadjda, made her the first Saudi woman to direct a feature. She followed that up with two uninspiring English-language movies about other women experiencing personal triumphs, but the heart of her debut effort was lacking. It returns in full-throated glory with The Perfect Candidate, a timely, spirited feel-good movie that arrives when politics is really hard to feel good about.
If just riding a bicycle proved a nearly-unreachable goal in Wadjda, imagine what a Saudi woman running for political office must face. Mila Al Zahrani plays Maryam, an overworked doctor at an under-funded hospital in Riyadh where the male patients outright refuse to be treated by a woman. The road leading to their facility is unpaved, nearly impossible to get through (“difficult” is how one of her male benefactors puts it, before denying additional funding), and Maryam has had enough.
Short of taking a few days of vacation there isn’t much Maryam can do. Back home, she and her sisters Sara (Nora Al Awadh) and Selma (Dae Al Hilali) take care of their father, grieving over the recent death of his wife. It’s because of this that he doesn’t notice the expiration of Maryam’s travel permission has expired, which becomes a problem when she’s prevented from attending a medical conference. She goes to another family member, Rashid, for his assistance but out of frustration and desperation decides to run for municipal office, instead.
What is a female candidate in Saudi Arabia supposed to do? Not only must she be completely covered up when addressing the voters, she can’t even speak to them directly in campaign ads, and the whole ”shaking hands and kissing babies” thing is a definite no-no. Her family fears embarrassment, that Maryam will make them a pariah, but does that stop her? In true Wadjda fashion, Maryam is a firecracker who doesn’t stand down to any man. She yells when she needs to, wins arguments with reason when that’s called for, and becomes more than just some circus act. She begins to change hearts and minds, including that of her family.
The whole thing is a little bit silly, but told in such a simple, straight-forward manner that its charms are effective. Regardless of the actual change taking place in Saudi Arabia, al-Mansour makes you believe with feisty heroines and broad cultural signposts that evolution is happening. Your mileage may vary with The Perfect Candidate depending on how much you’re willing to go along with al-Mansour’s crowd-pleasing outlook. There’s rarely a moment where al-Mansour gives Maryam an obstacle she can’t overcome through sheer force of attitude. Even her father, a musician with dreams of playing in front of large crowds, not only gets his wish but his band become big stars in the process.
Truly, everything is well and good. There’s nothing wrong with a film that offers an unabashedly hopeful outlook, and even if The Perfect Candidate is just al-Mansour’s wishful thinking, she is to be commended for putting a little more optimism out there in the world.
There continues to be an effort by Marvel to take risks with their Disney+ shows, both in terms of content and in the production. Both WandaVision and Falcon and the Winter Soldier took narrative turns that broadened our view of the MCU, and we should expect the same out of Secret Invasion. According to THR, Marvel has named Thomas Bezucha and Ali Selim to direct episodes of the event series, which centers on the alien shapeshifters, the Skrulls.
Secret Invasion will reunite Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury and Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, previously seen together in Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far from Home. They’ll be investigating an infiltration by the Skrulls, using their shapeshifting abilities to impersonate powerful figures, likely to include many of the heroes we’ve been following for years. Also in the cast are Olivia Colman, Emilia Clarke, Kingsley Ben-Adir, and Killian Scott.
Bezucha is probably best known for directing The Family Stone and last year’s neo-western Let Him Go with Kevin Costner. Selim directed the 2005 drama Sweet Land and episodes of Hulu series The Looming Tower. Its unclear what the episode count will be between the two filmmakers. Kyle Bradstreet (Mr. Robot) is writing and exec-producing the show, which will have ramifications for Marvel’s movies.
Secret Invasion is expected to hit Disney+ in 2022.
A Snake Eyes movie was my dream as a wide-eyed 8 year old. It simply didn’t get cooler then that, no words, no look, just ass-kicking ninja action. Well, my dream is fulfilled and already I’m iffy. Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins, which hits theaters on July 23rd is capitalizing on the Joes greatest hero but I have to wonder if they learned anything about the character before making the movie. Snake NEVER unmasks….ever. It’s literally part of his core character. Now, I get it, you don’t cast Henry Golding and NOT let people see his Hollywood handsome face, but why cast him then? You make think I’m going overboard but Hollywood doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to movies featuring a masked character, who then takes off his mask….Judge Dredd anyone?
Ok, if I think I’m going a bit overboard now…after all, its Origins right? So maybe he’s horribly scarred by the end of the film forcing him to wear the mask. Now, the comics/cartoons never confirmed the reason Snake was always masked so that’s area they can play in. I’ll give credit where credit’s due, the stills we posted yesterday did look pretty awesome, so I suppose I should reserve judgement. We’ll make sure to get you a trailer just as soon as we have it, then we can get as judgy as we want to!
Snake Eyes: GI Joe Origins opens in theaters on July 23rd, followed by Paramount+ about 45 days later.
Influencer and fitness culture is about to get dissected in the new trailer for the Polish film Sweat. The 2020 Cannes selected film follows a fitness instructor’s rise to fame and her ultimate unraveling as she gains notoriety.
The candy colored film is the second feature of Magnus von Horn. Visually its reminiscent of the upcoming Apple TV+ show Physical starring Rose Byrne and this month’s Mainstream starring Andrew Garfield. All three seem to examine the pressures of fame and what that can do to a person psychologically.
Sweat’s synopsis is as follows:
Beloved fitness influencer Sylwia (Magdalena Koleśnik, in a star-making role) seemingly has it made: hundreds of thousands of social media followers, endorsement deals, photo spreads in magazines. But as she starts to share more and more online, the rising pressure from concerned sponsors and increasingly obsessive fans forces her to confront her deepest insecurities and the exhaustive demands of her lifestyle.
Sweat is premiering on MUBI and in select theaters June 18.
The troubles that have plagued Indians Jones 5 literally for years (Harrison Ford has aged, well, quite a lot during this stretch) seemingly behind them, Disney has gotten down to casting the damn thing. With Phoebe Waller-Bridge and Mads Mikkelsen set to join Ford for Indy’s latest/final adventure, two more are coming along for the ride.
Deadline reports Boyd Holbrook and Shaunette Renée Wilson have joined Indiana Jones 5, which we still know precious little about. Holbrook is probably best known for his villainous role in Logan, and his starring gig on Narcos. Wilson starred for four seasons on Fox drama series The Resident, and played one of the Dora Milaje in Black Panther. Details on their characters are under wraps, of course.
Indiana Jones 5 is slated to open on July 29th 2022, with James Mangold directing.
The Man In The Hat right off is a tough movie to define. It’s a comedy, but really is quirkier than but-gusting. It’s silent, if you don’t count all the French dialogue and the music, which is throughout the film. However, that doesn’t mean that the film isn’t uniquely entertaining, and that’s mostly due to 3 things: first-time director Stephen Warbeck (yes the Oscar, BAFTA, and BMI winning composer), lead actor Ciarán Hinds (as well as a great supporting cast), and the landscape of France itself, which blend perfectly to make The Man In The Hat a charming and whimsical movie.
“The Thin Man” (Hinds), weirdly named since the film is called The Man In The Hat, is sitting eating food at a café, when he notices a group of men seemingly dumping a body into the river. As soon as they lock eyes with him, he realizes he may be the witness to some bad men committing a serious crime and bolts out. He packs his bags, runs out of his hotel, and jumps into his Fiat 500 to evade them. The Fiat itself is a gag because Ciarán Hinds is by no means a small man. Oh, and he hasn’t said a word this entire time.
At first, the Thin Man’s silence feels off-putting, but then you realize that The Man In The Hat is going to rely on what you see, not necessarily what you hear during the film. In fact, there is very little English during the film. There is a song sung at the end in English, but most of the seldom-used dialogue throughout the film is in French, well, because the film takes place in France, so that would kind of make sense.
After narrowly escaping the gang of criminals after him, the Thin Man proceeds to travel the French countryside in his car, and as he does he meets all sorts of characters. He first meets “The Damp Man,” (Game of Thrones vet Stephen Dillane) who is aptly named that as he meets him soaking wet wearing a suit by the river when the Thin Man’s hat falls in from him looking over a bridge. The Damp Man comes in and out of the story throughout the film. The Thin Man continuously runs into “The Biker Girl” (Maïwenn Le Besco), a woman who is always riding her bike in the town that the Thin Man shows up to. Both he and the Biker Girl seem to have an affection for each other, but once again, there are no words in the film. As the Thin Man stays at a hotel, he runs into the hotel manager (Brigitte Roüan) who also has a few moments with The Damp Man as well. Every town the Thin Man visit, he continues to meet a wide range of interesting characters.
As fun as Ciarán Hinds is doing his subtle take on Mr. Bean, the true star of The Man In The Hat is the French countryside. While Paris always gets the love from us Westerners, the film gives the audience such a breathtakingly beautiful look at small-town France as the Thin Man continues to evade the gangsters and meet new and interesting people. The scenery makes The Man In The Hat an interesting road trip movie as you kind of want to renew your passport and soak in the sights as he did. France itself ends up becoming a character in the film.
While often in movies the motto is “show, don’t tell,” it feels weird that there wasn’t much “telling” in The Man In The Hat. Director Stephen Warbeck makes up for the lack of dialogue with incredible, which, of course, he composed. Co-director John-Paul Davidson and cinematographer Kaname Onoyama’s incredible visuals of the scenery make you forget that you haven’t heard the dialogue between countless people and still manage to tell a story. While the plot itself is rather simple, it’s the experience of the lack of dialogue that keeps the audience glued in. The Man In The Hat definitely has a quirkiness that takes some getting used to, especially when there’s no dialogue, but is still a fun and entertaining film.
The Man In The Hat is currently available in select theaters and on VOD.
