The world premiere of Blindspotting in 2018 was exactly the way you want to kick off a festival. The wildly energetic spoken word film was a big breakout for Daveed Diggs post-Hamilton, joined by his pal Rafael Casal who has also moved on to bigger things. But the film still holds a place in the hearts of many people, and so its story continues as a TV series with many of the same actors returning.
While Diggs is busy over on Snowpiercer, the Blindspottingseries returns Jasmine Cephas Jones as Ashley, who is left to pick up the pieces when Miles (the returning Casal in a recurring role) is sent to prison. Casal will also serve as the series showrunner, and will direct an episode while writing others along with Diggs.
Also in the cast are Helen Hunt, Benjamin Earl Turner, Atticus Woodward, Jaylen Barron, and Candace Nicholas-Lippman.
The new trailer is interesting for the way it reframes Ashley as someone who is barely holding it together. In the film she was portrayed as probably the most stable of everyone.
Blindspotting will debut on Starz on June 13th, and will play at Tribeca Film Festival.
Those Who Wish Me Dead is an old-fashioned star vehicle. It probably wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for star Angelina Jolie, making an increasingly rare appearance in front of the camera rather than behind it. And like so many of those films fronted by a major celeb it is utterly functional as an action thriller, entertaining enough to sustain its 100-minute runtime and not a second beyond.
What’s odd about all of this is that Taylor Sheridan is behind it. The filmmaker who gave us gritty, muscular, deeply-textured films such as Hell or High Water, Wind River, and Sicario has been phoning it in of late, perhaps too busy with his Yellowstone tv series. Not that Those Who Wish Me Dead is a complete abdication of his skills; you still get the same ornery, neo-Western vibe that permeates all of his work (even the recent Without Remorse with Michael B. Jordan), but none of the social richness we’ve come to expect.
Jolie, who has done pretty much everything there is to do as an action heroine, suits up as a daredevil firefighter traumatized by a past wildfire gone wrong. She covers up the scars with a devil-may-care attitude that entertains the dudes on her team, and rankles the local sheriff (Jon Bernthal) who hopes to keep her out of trouble. He fails miserably at this task, and when she’s banished to a lookout station to basically dry out, Hannah stumbles upon Connor (Finn Little), who has just witnessed the murder of his father (Jake Weber) by a pair of shadowy goons looking to cover up a massive conspiracy. To hide their tracks, the killers set the Montana forests ablaze, but it also serves as a makeshift, fiery prison for those looking to get away.
There’s simply not a lot to this film, at least narratively speaking. Chase thrillers don’t get more efficient than this. Hannah and Connor get over their mutual distrust while fleeing their pursuers, learning to lean on one another as the blazing walls close in on them. As the armed predators, Aiden Gillen and Nicholas Hoult exude the appropriate menace and do their fair share of wonton murder along the way, however when certain deaths would be too disturbing, like say killing a key character or his pregnant wife, suddenly they turn into the gang who couldn’t shoot straight. Tyler Perry pops up in this, quite unexpectedly, for a role he probably could’ve hired someone else to do. Why was he in this?
On the other hand, someone like Jolie can make more of her thinly-drawn character than most other actors. It has been a solid decade since Jolie was considered one of the top action stars in the world (yes, Salt was that long ago), but she still has that believable edge. Little is also quite good in depicting Connor’s fear mixed with sheer disbelief at the sudden chaos his life has become, which would be too much for an adult much less a kid. Another standout for me was Medina Senghore as the previously-mentioned pregnant wife, Allison, making sure Hannah isn’t the only woman making these men regret putting so much up in smoke.
Those Who Wish Me Dead is another Warner Bros. film that will open in theatres and HBO Max streaming simultaneously on May 14th. It would be worth a rental under any other circumstance, so if you watch it at home you will be occupied for a while but little of it will be seared into memory.
I would argue that The Purge franchise is the obvious extension of what Saw accomplished before it. By using especially violent horror to explore wider socio-political issues, The Purge set itself as an especially relevant entry to the genre. And now, after showing us how the annual event where all crime is legal for a day got its start, we see how it continues on in The Forever Purge.
A direct sequel to 2016’s The Purge: Election Year (2018’s The First Purge was a prequel) which saw the Purge terminated with the arrival of a new President, The Forever Purge shows that some aren’t so willing to give up on it. As before, the privileged turn their aggression towards the powerless, the homeless, immigrants, and others deemed undesirable by the ruling class. Only now it’s taking place on the Texas/Mexico border, and all of the connotations you expect are definitely there.
Franchise creator James DeMonaco is back, having written every film and directed three. Making his directorial debut is Everardo Gout. The cast is led by Army of the Dead‘s Ana de la Reguera, Josh Lucas, Tenoch Huerta, Will Patton, and Cassidy Freeman.
The Forever Purge brings the franchise to a close on July 2nd. I’m sad to see it go as it’s been my favorite since launch.
Don’t be fooled by Spiral: From the Book of Saw; its use of big stars like Chris Rock (who developed the “story”) and Samuel L. Jackson and seeming connection to the torture porn franchise nine movies long is a trap as gruesome as any the Jigsaw conceived. For any ties to the previous films is tenuous at best, as frequent director Darren Lynn Bousman and co. seek to entice a new audience with the lure of amazingly torturous contraptions and better acting! On paper, anyway. Star power doesn’t lead to jack shit in this bland and surprisingly dull rehash that, one movie in, already feels dead on arrival.
Let’s get one thing clear: I’m actually quite the Saw fan. I’ve seen every movie, some more than once, and anyone who reads this site is aware how appreciative I am for its faithfulness to continuity. What they were able to accomplish over so many chapters, rebuilding and expanding on the Jigsaw’s twisted games of morality and murder by switching perspectives, never got the deserved credit. Spiral pretty much ignores all of that, with the exception of one or two slim references, this is an entirely new story that sticks closer to the lousy crime thrillers of the ’90s and ’00s, almost all of which dealt in corrupt cops. Timely, this is not.
Rock, grimacing through an awful cop act that’s like Pookie meets Sipowicz, plays Det. Ezekiel Banks. The son of a legendary police chief (Jackson), Ezekiel is persona non grata at the station for ratting on another of the boys in blue. When an apparent Jigsaw copycat strikes at another police officer with typically gory and ironic fashion, Ezekiel must not only find the killer before he kills again, but watch his own back for fear someone will put a bullet in it.
What novices to the Saw movies may not realize is that victims tend to be getting what they deserve, and die in ways that parallel their crimes. There are very few innocents to be found anywhere, and in the case of Spiral the killer is going after corrupt cops. While the movie makes pains to pretend this is something new, it DEFINITELY is not as Jigsaw went after police all of the time. Anyway, the first trap is the most inventive and will turn the stomach, as a lying officer is forced to choose between ripping out his own tongue or getting hit by an oncoming train. Every contraption tears, shreds, or sears the flesh, making them all a little tough to watch, but none are especially creative by Saw standards.
Ezekiel has few allies, with the exception being his police chief (Marisol Nichols) and unwanted partner, rookie detective William Schenk (Max Minghella), an admirer of Ezekiel’s father. William is such a good, earnest egg that we know something awful is going to happen to him, or there’s something he’s hiding. The screenplay doesn’t serve him very well, through everything that he endures along the way.
Spiral feels formulaic, but not for a Saw movie but for an episode of Criminal Minds. By making this more of a police procedural it has lost the one thing that made this franchise unique, which is the wild murder machines and unique punishments. Rock, who often goes on comedic riffs that I’m sure are just bits from his stand-up act, does nothing that makes him any more of a disposable character than the dozens of others who have passed through this franchise. Jackson is barely in the movie at all. He might’ve done this during his lunch break from The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard or something. On the plus side, Rock’s attempts at humor do lighten the mood somewhat, which I’m guessing is a play to attract casual moviegoers.
It used to be that Saw would use over-the-top violence to tackle current social issues, not too different from what The Purge films do now. But with Spiral, the cause is…dirty cops? *yawn* Of all the things that could have been done to attack the issue of police corruption, especially right now, Spiral chooses the path that is the most like a relic from yesteryear, and so isn’t impactful in the least.
After the accolades Regina King received for her directorial debut One Night in Miami, any project she takes from now on is going to get a ton of attention. According to Variety, she’s decided on an adaptation of 1920s-set comic book series Bitter Root as her next film.
Working along with Legendary and producer Ryan Coogler, King will direct the adaptation of David F. Walker, Sanford Green and Chuck Brown’s comic, which follows a family of once-great monster hunters fighting to protect New York City during the racially-charged Harlem Renaissance of 1924. You can already see some comparisons to Lovecraft Country, and perhaps even HBO’s Watchmen series from which King earned her latest Emmy Award victory.
Bryan Edward Hill, who is writing the latest attempt to reboot Power Rangers, is rewriting the screenplay for Bitter Root, as well.
Let’s be honest and say that the ScreenLife genre of films, those which take place entirely on computer screens and devices, is a gimmick we assumed would be short-term. However, with films like Searching, Unfriended, and the newly-released, edge-of-your-seat thriller Profile, we’re seeing just how far they can truly go when applied to a real-life story with actual implications from its core relationship, built as so many are, on a web of lies shrouded with ease by the Internet. That it’s based on a true story, one steeped in the War on Terror, it adds a visceral immediacy that is undeniable.
Profile is indeed based on an actual story, that of a French journalist who used Facebook to make contact with a high-ranking ISIS recruiter in Syria and break. The fictional version from director and ScreenLife purveyor Timur Bekmambetov fiddles with the details, but the gist is the same and no-less timely. In his version, the journo is a British freelancer named Amy Whittaker (Valene Kane), who is scrambling to pay rent in her flat, while also house-hunting with her annoying boyfriend (Morgan Watkins) who insists on the most expensive spot way out of their budget. So she needs a full-time staff position STAT, and so comes up with a scheme so dangerous it might be the start of a horror movie.
Amy will go undercover as “Melody Nelson”, a recent convert to Islam, in in hopes of attracting an ISIS recruiter who will spill all of the details on how they entice young, pretty, white women to be gun-toting jihadists. It’s impressive the speed in which she creates this double-life of hers. A Facebook profile is whipped up in a few clicks, and within a few more Amy has shared multiple videos of ISIS propaganda, including grisly scenes of murder. Before you can say “Extremist Bachelorette”, she’s hit up on Messenger by Bilel (Shazad Latif), who starts spitting game almost immediately. Forget that he’s always got a machine gun in tow and his grainy video footage has him riding through war zones; Bilel is just a guy who really loves cats and is looking for a bride. Melody, YOU are that special someone. Won’t you come fly to Syria and get married up?
This is all set against the backdrop of a recent spate of deaths of young British women who fell for such schemes, only to arrive and be sold into sex slavery, or stoned to death when they tried to flee. Amy’s editor is cool with it, though. I’m sure wildly irresponsible editors like her exist in reality, but she felt like a cartoon character here. The only thing that matters is the story!
Tension arises from the little things we all do when sitting at our computers for too long. We get lazy, reckless, sloppy. For Amy, the slightest misstep would mean more than having her cover blown to Bilel, it could be death. So we bristle as she whisks through her various windows so haphazardly, or rushes to put on her headscarf at the last possible moment. Is that a tattoo on her finger? Make sure the dog in her apartment is quiet. Any of these things could trigger Bilel’s suspicion.
Bekmambetov is an old hand at this genre now, and he knows how to best utilize it. Our perspective is pretty much always from Amy’s view; we see how easily Bilel uses the distance, his surroundings, as means to seduce. It doesn’t hurt that he’s insanely charismatic and charming; so much so that you can almost ignore the awful things he brags about, because the next sentence he’s professing love and sharing cooking tips over Skype.
Have you ever felt a tight bond with someone you’ve only known online? Gamers do it all of the time, and it happens with such simplicity we don’t even think about it. For Amy, it’s unclear for a stretch whether she’s just really dedicated to the illusion, or if she’s fallen victim to the very techniques she hoped to expose? Are Bilel’s feelings genuine? Or is he so dedicated to his mission that he will pass up a possibility of actual love? Is that even a consideration for him? And what happens when this charade is finally exposed, as we know it must because there’s a story that needs to run?
The problem Profile faces is that it constantly needs to up the ante and can’t help taking some ridiculous detours that strain credulity. However, even then there’s an unnerving quality because this isn’t too far out of the realm of possibility from just about every angle. Amy’s willingness to engage in such a sensational gambit, to sell a news article, even feels like a comment on the desperation of online media. It’ll be interesting to see how this film ages, but for this moment in time Profile is incredibly scary and immersive for being so incredibly relevant.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw has been keeping it’s buzz going since the original announcement that Chris Rock (of all people) was putting together a sequel, of sorts, to the Saw series. The film releases in just 3 days, but you don’t have to wait that long for a taste of what’s to come. Lionsgate decided to give us a peak and release the opening scene in full, fair warning…it is disturbing to say the least. I’ve always ranked the pit of needles from Saw 2 as the most shudder inducing trap the series had to offer, it’s possible that trap just got replaced.
I don’t want to spoil too much about the clip and let you enjoy it for yourself, but let’s just say, in addition to the clue-filled crappy puns I’ve included throughout this article, it is a TERRIFYING fate for someone who can’t stop talking, like myself.
Honestly, it’s a damn good thing that they put some real thought into these traps because I was ready to turn this off when I heard the voice. The Jigsaw voice is SO bad in this clip I almost want to think it’s a parody. Even if the killer is female, which the voice at least seems to be, there’s no reason for her to sound like a cross between an early 80’s Star Trek computer voice and a broken Speak n’ Spell. Try as I might I can NOT figure out how no one involved pointed out how stupid it sounds, the “I want to play a game” from the original is so iconic, you’d think they’d at least try to replicate it.
All that being said, if the traps are good, and the chase is good, I can get over the rest.
From Mission: Impossible III to the Nikita tv series, Maggie Q has long been one of the baddest women on the big screen, which makes some of the stuff she’s done (like Fantasy Island, ugh) seem beneath her. The Protégé is more like it, though, as it has her kicking ass alongside co-stars Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson, while veteran James Bond filmmaker Martin Campbell shoots the action. Yes, please.
This looks like the hitman films I loved so much from Luc Besson, and the storyline is there to match. Maggie Q plays a child saved by a legendary assassin, who trains her in the art of killing. When he gets killed, it’s up to her to seek revenge, putting her in the crosshairs of Keaton’s character.
The film is directed by Martin Campbell, who is best known for Goldeneye, Casino Royale, and…Green Lantern. On the screenplay is Richard Wenk, best known for writing The Equalizer films, so a lot of action/spy experience on this one, and to me, it really shows.
The Protégé opens August 20th.
Rescued as a child by the legendary assassin Moody (Samuel L. Jackson) and trained in the family business, Anna (Maggie Q) is the world’s most skilled contract killer. But when Moody – the man who was like a father to her and taught her everything she needs to know about trust and survival – is brutally killed, Anna vows revenge. As she becomes entangled with an enigmatic killer (Michael Keaton) whose attraction to her goes way beyond cat and mouse, their confrontation turns deadly and the loose ends of a life spent killing will weave themselves even tighter.
Okay, so Knives Out 2 is already shaping up to be incredible. With Daniel Craig returning as detective Benoit Blanc, and reuniting with his Spectre co-star Dave Bautista, the star power gets cranked up another notch with the addition of Edward Norton to the cast.
Of course Johnson is looking to pump up the wattage on this one. Deadline doesn’t have any info on Norton’s role, naturally, but I like him as a bad guy more than I do Bautista for this one.
This will be Norton’s first film since 2019’s Motherless Brooklyn, an adaptation he also directed. He also had a tiny role setting up an Alita: Battle Angel sequel that may never happen. Norton is an Oscar-nominated actor and one of the best around, but he’s also very picky about the roles he takes and that speaks well to what Johnson has in store.
What is it about the party movie that makes it the perfect backdrop for the exploration of life’s many twists and turns? It’s the feeling of freedom that comes with being around so many others who are going through the same thing, and looking to wash away their problems for one night. Of course, it rarely ever goes quite as planned, and that’s what the new film The Get Together is all about.
Directed and co-written by Will Bakke, and starring award-winning musician Shakey Graves aka Alejandro Rose-Garcia, Comedy Central’s Courtney Parchman, Glee actor Jacob Artist, and Easy A actress Johanna Braddy, The Get Together follows four twenty-somethings whose lives criss-cross over one crazy Friday night house party in Austin, TX.
We’re happy to debut an exclusive clip from The Get Together, which features Damien (Artist) making an awkward wedding proposal to his longtime girlfriend Betsy (Braddy) in front of a stunned audience.
Will she say yes? You’ll need to check out The Get Together when it opens on May 14th! Check out the clip plus the trailer below! Our review of the film will be up tomorrow.
The lives of four twenty-somethings intertwine over the course of one Friday night house party in this inventive and hilarious coming-of-age comedy. August, a quirky recent college grad struggling to find her footing in a new town, discovers her roommate and only friend has different plans for the future that don’t include her. Damien and Betsy, a cute couple returning to Austin, bump into an old friend of Betsy’s who invites them out to the party, upending Damien’s secret plan to propose. Caleb, a directionless musician whose life unravels after letting go of the love of his life, suddenly gets a second chance when he runs into her at the party. Each character attempts to navigate the often difficult and hilarious problems that come with growing up in the modern world.
