I’m not going to sit here and argue with you about who the better NBA player was, Michael Jordan or LeBron James (it’s His Airness), because the true measure comes later this year with the release of Space Jam: A New Legacy. The original 1996 film with Jordan was huge, and something of a cultural event. Now more than two decades later, with James’ sequel arriving in theaters and HBO Max, I’m not getting that same feeling, but King James has been known to pull one out in the clutch a time or two.
James teams up with Bugs Bunny and the rest of the Looney Tunes to engage in some b-ball action against the villainous Goon Squad led by a megalomaniacal algorithm played by Don Cheadle. The cast also includes Sonequa Martin-Green, Khris Davis, Cedric Joe, Ceyair J. Wright, Harper Leigh Alexander, along with a host of NBA all-stars and appearances by characters from across the Warner Bros. landscape. Ever wanted to see Lola Bunny hang out with the Amazons of Wonder Woman? Now’s your shot.
Directed by Malcolm D. Lee with Ryan Coogler as a producer, Space Jam: A New Legacy takes the court on July 16th.
I really dug Zack Snyder’s Justice League, as you well know, but it wasn’t all great. I have some real issues with the Knightmare sequence because…well, it just doesn’t make any sense, is badly acted, and I don’t know what purpose it serves. It’s “cool”, I guess, which is what a lot of Snyder’s stuff amounts to, but doesn’t really add anything to a film that is full of new stuff that makes the DCEU a richer universe.
Before the film was released, Snyder dropped a teaser from that Knightmare scene, featuring Jared Leto’s Joker saying “We live in a society…”. The Internet killed that joint hilariously, but ultimately, the scene never made it into the film. Well, Snyder has now released that scene in full and you can check it out below. It’s also available as part of the “Justice is Gray” edition of the film.
Yeah, I’m glad this was left out, but at least the Snyder completists can say they got to see it so there’s nothing to start another hashtag about. Think about it; Snyder cut this scene from his 4-hour version, the version of Justice League that allowed him to include anything and everything he wanted. That anybody was eager to see this at all is beyond me.
There’s not much we know about Jordan Peele’s followup to Get Out and Us. We’re not totally sure of the genre, and definitely aren’t aware of the plot. But one thing we can count on is that it will have one Hell of cast, including two current Oscar nominees.
Variety reports that Steven Yeun is the latest addition to Peele’s next film, which already has Judas and the Black Messiah‘s Daniel Kaluuya and Hustlers star Keke Palmer in the cast. We have zero information on his role, as that would be too much and Peele doesn’t give away anything for as long as he can help it.
Yeun is really on a hot streak right now. He’s coming off his Oscar-nominated performance in Minari, preceded by Burningwhich he also earned tremendous acclaim for. At this rate, every casting move made by Peele has been killer. I can’t wait to see who else he brings along.
Peele’s next film opens July 22nd 2022 with production to begin shortly.
This is gonna be hype, son. I don’t know if anything coming to Netflix has been more anticipated by me and my friends than Yasuke, an anime series about history’s first recorded Black samurai, voiced by that chill dude LaKeith Stanfield. Not that this is something you can just look up on Wikipedia. Based on the trailer, they’re clearly having some fun with this and going with a fantastical style that could have this replacing Afro Samurai in my heart.
Yasuke is based on the real-life Black samurai warrior of African origin who would wield his sword as a retainer in 16th-century feudal Japan. But this is no Japan as we know it, there’s magic and mechs to go along with all of the swordplay.
The series is the brainchild of Cannon Busters creator LeSean Thomas, and boasts a hip-hop soundtrack by Flying Lotus. Yes, please. The cool animation is by MAPPA, the studio behind Attack on Titan and Jujutsu Kaisen, both wildly popular.
Hollywood has been showing a lot of attention on Yasuke’s story lately. A few years ago Chadwick Boseman was going to play him in a live-action movie that, sadly, we’ll never get to see come to fruition.
Yasuke hits Netflix on April 29th. Just gimme it!
“The tale is set in a war-torn feudal Japan filled with mechs and magic, the greatest ronin never known, Yasuke, struggles to maintain a peaceful existence after a past life of violence. But when a local village becomes the center of social upheaval between warring daimyo, Yasuke must take up his sword and transport a mysterious child who is the target of dark forces and bloodthirsty warlords. “
Interpersonal relationships are generally frowned upon in dangerous lines of work, for obvious reasons. You never know when feelings for another will compromise a mission, putting another’s life in jeopardy. Above Suspicion, the latest film from Salt director Philip Noyce, is a thriller that looks at just such a real-life situation for the FBI, with Emilia Clarke and Jack Huston as the lovers in question.
Based on a true-crime book by Joe Sharkey, Above Suspicion stars Clarke as a Kentucky woman who gets romantically involved with the FBI agent (Huston) she’s turned informant for. Suffice it to say, their relationship only puts them in more dangerous circumstances. If you know the true story of what happened to these two, you know the severe swerve this one takes.
So there’s a ton of talent on this beyond Noyce, Clarke, and Huston. The script is by Oscar-nominated Mississippi Burning writer Chris Gerolmo. Also in the cast are Blow the Man Down breakout Sophie Lowe, Kevin Dunn, Thora Birch, and Johnny Knoxville.
Originally set to open in 2019, Above Suspicion will now arrive in theaters and VOD on May 14th, followed by DVD/Bluray release on May 18th.
“Based on the true story of one of the most notorious crimes in FBI history, this gritty crime-thriller stars Emilia Clarke (“Game of Thrones”) as Susan Smith, a young woman desperate to escape a seedy life of crime and drugs in a Kentucky coal-mining town. When a newly minted FBI agent named Mark Putnam (Jack Huston, “Fargo”) recruits Susan as his informant for a high-profile case, she believes her bad luck may finally be changing. But as Susan and Putnam’s relationship deepens, so does the danger, setting them both on a collision course with deadly consequences.”
Jeffrey Dean Morgan might want to get himself a traveling priest, because he’s stumbled into another horror film meant to scare the breath out of the devout. The Unholy is a reteaming with Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures, with whom Morgan starred in The Possession years earlier. That film was surprisingly good for an Exorcist knockoff, with a plot that waded into the waters of Jewish myth. But this time Morgan finds himself neck-deep in Catholic symbolism and glimpses of the Virgin Mary. Chances are truly God-fearing will want nothing to do with this movie on this particular weekend, but those of a different disposition will find it satisfying this battle of good and evil and the dark shadow it casts over the faithful.
In a rarity for the genre, The Unholy has a couple of plot lines really working in its favor. Morgan brings his disheveled beard and Negan-like sleaze to the role of Gerry Fenn, a disgraced journalist in the small rural town of Banfield, MA looking for a religious story he can sell for a few bucks. What he finds, instead, is a local deaf-mute girl named Alice (Cricket Brown, a future star), who suddenly enters a trance near a prominent, dead hollow. Suddenly, Alice is able to hear, speak, and heal the sick. She says it was a gift granted to her by the Virgin Mary. She can use these powers only on the most devout, those who pledge their undying faith to Mary, and if there’s even a shadow of a doubt…well, there’ll be some bad mojo.
For Gerry, this offers him a chance to be back in the spotlight again. He not only befriends Alice, but finds himself at the center of this global phenomenon that she has become. What’s interesting about Gerry is that he’s not just a straight scumbag, although he certainly gives that impression. And there’s definitely a side to him that sees this solely for the opportunity it affords him to get back on top. But as a lapsed Christian himself, seeing Alice make a paralyzed boy walk, or witnessing her cure Father Hagen (William Sadler) of his emphysema, offers Gerry another chance; to get right with God. There’s a tug of war going on within him between his personal greed and renewing faith that Morgan conveys extremely well.
Morgan gets upstaged by Cricket Brown, though. The newcomer shows uncommon maturity and the ability to take charge. As Alice, she shows both the awkwardness of your average teenage girl but the wide-eyed vision of someone who has had their connection to the world broadened. But when she’s under Mary’s thrall, Morgan shows Alice to be a fiery, resolute leader. You can see why so many would want to follow, and believe in, someone so young. I think Cricket Brown is going to be something before too long. She and Morgan fare better than their co-stars. Cary Elwes delivers a dubious Boston accent as a shady bishop testing the veracity of Alice’s miracles, while personal favorite Katie Aselton has the most ludicrous role of all as the town doctor who seems to know something about whatever it is the plot needs in the moment.
I’m not going to sit here and pretend The Unholy is amazing. Once you get beyond Gerry and Alice’s inner turmoil it’s slow and pretty rote: statues bleeding from the eyes, a phantasm-like woman shambling in the shadows, quick bursts of evil meant to jolt you from your seat. But there’s very little that’s actually scary, at least not in that way. What does grip you is how easily faith is perverted for causes so common, whether it be the glitz of showbiz or money or politics. All weave their sinister, and very human, tentacles in such a way they supersede the supernatural: the devil has fertile soil with which to ply his trade.
The film marks the directorial debut of longtime franchise writer Evan Spiliotopoulos (Beauty and the Beast, Charlie’s Angels), and he brings those sentiments to a very simple, easy-to-follow brand of PG-13 horror. He’s not looking to elevate the genre here, but there’s value in his less-is-more mentality. Mary, who is obviously not the Virgin Mary but something else entirely, is scary for what we don’t see of her. Her masked visage makes her resemble a burnt porcelain doll, and is there anything creepier than an evil doll? Well, maybe children. Children are terrifying whether they’re good or bad. The Unholy isn’t out to find new converts, but to maintain the devotion of the genre’s zealots.
Shiva Baby might be the ultimate cinematic example of how to build tension. With each look from Rachel Sennott’s big doe eyes to every symphonic twang from Ariel Marx’s score, everything we experience is a purposeful and calculated attack on the senses. Writer/director Emma Seligman expertly stacks tension layer by layer to create the ultimate Jewish/bisexual dysfunctional comedy you can’t look away from.
Taking place in the course of a few hours, the film focuses on Danielle (Rachel Sennott), a young Jewish woman, just graduating from college and living off of her wealthy parents (Polly Draper and Fred Melmed) and a few New York City sugar daddies. When we first meet her, we see her leaving Max’s apartment (Danny Deferrari), with fresh cash and a new bracelet on hand. She arrives at a shiva for a distant relative, eager to cash in on the connections and free food. Right away she faces the badgering of her parents, who are bluntly attacking her with kid gloves. It’s the first of many well placed attacks by Emma Seligman leading up the big reveal that Max is also attending this same shiva with his gorgeous wife (Glee’s Dianna Agron) and their crying baby.
Nobody is safe under Seligman’s lens. Each character is realistically unlikeable and problematic for one reason or another. Danielle is extremely opportunistic and seemingly uncaring, every “good” thing she does for the new widow of the house is performative. The Shiva Baby vibrates with brilliant anxious intensity – a perfect example of “the uncomfortable comedy,” where you don’t know If you should laugh or scream at the screen.
As her lead, Rachel Sennott fluctuates between empathetic and an absolute nightmare at the drop of a hat. The plot, emotion, tension all ride on her shoulders and Sennott takes a make-or break character and turns it into a star making performance. In what is sure to be her seminal role, Sennott’s layered Danielle is a spellbinding performance that you can’t look away from – in horror or in awe.
Molly Gordon, playing Danielle’s high school rival and old girlfriend, provides us with a calmer presence on screen that is just as fantastically frustrating as the others. In projects like Booksmart, Life of the Party, and The Broken Hearts Gallery, Gordon played mostly quiky or misunderstood secondary and tertiary characters. With Shiva Baby, we not only see a different side to Gordon, we see her being pushed to the forefront, one or two roles away from playing the lead in her own comedy.
Playing a very similar overwhelming Jewish type in 2014’s Obvious Child with Jenny Slate is writer/director turned actress Polly Draper. Seligman smartly and constantly refers back to Draper, relying on her character to pivot the comedy from sentimental to uncomfortable and back again. Though many of the characters are purposefully overdrawn, Draper feels the most realistic, nagging you second and asking about your wellbeing the next. If Molly Gordon is Shiva Baby’s calming force, Draper is the realistically chaotic one steering the action forward.
As genius as Shiva Baby is, its hard to see its success going anywhere other than propelling a few careers and maybe becoming a cult classic. It’s release date and niche nature prevent it from exploding in popularity. However, as twenty-something Seligman’s cacophonously smart first feature, its hard to imagine Shiva Baby not being referenced in film textbooks, on multiple “underrated/hidden gem” film listicles, and as the source for Seligman’s, Sennott’s, and Gordon’s future success. How apropos that a film taking place at a shiva will birth new careers.
Shiva Baby is available in select theaters on through VOD. Watch the trailer below.
For me, episode 3 of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier was all about one thing: Madripoor. The notoriously crime-infested Asian city is a staple of Marvel Comics, but is famous for being the stomping grounds of a certain short, feral, Canadian X-Man with adamantium claws. After that whole Quicksilver fiasco in WandaVision you can bet I was looking for signs of Logan to show up somewhere.
But of course, there was a lot more going on than just Madripoor. For one thing, Sam (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky (Sebastian Stan) are reunited with Helmut Zemo (Daniel Bruhl), who has been imprisoned since the trouble he stirred up during Captain America: Civil War. Not only that, but another remnant from Cap’s solo franchise returns, Sharon “Agent 13” Carter (Emily VanCamp), the grand-niece of the love he went back in time for, Peggy Carter. There’s some pent-up feelings there as she and Cap also had a romantic tumble, and the only people she can vent at are his old pals who can’t do much but take the brunt of a woman scorned.
Things actually kick off with the new Captain America, John Walker (Wyatt Russell), who is definitely NOT anything like Steve Rogers. He’s off looking for intel on the Flag-Smashers but coming up with nothing, mainly because his bullying attitude is getting him nowhere. Even his sidekick Battlestar (Cle Bennett) sees it. They decide to follow another lead entirely, which means they’re going to be on Sam and Bucky’s tail.
That brings us to the titular duo, who have located Zemo in his holding cell. Bucky goes in alone, facing off with Zemo in a very Clarice Starling/Hannibal Lecter sort of way. While Bucky is no longer under Zemo’s overt control, it’s clear the villainous mastermind still knows how to manipulate him. It’s only a matter of minutes before Bucky has helped spring his old master, telling Sam this after the fact, and the trio are on Zemo’s private plane flying to Madripoor, where info on the Super Soldier serum can reportedly be found.
I’d watch an entire ongoing series of just Bucky, Sam, and Zemo with all of their twisted, complicated dynamics. The journey has a hilarious conversation in which Mackie comments on the tracklist of songs he gave to Cap way back in The Winter Soldier when they first met, pointing out how much Steve loved Marvin Gaye’s “Trouble Man”. Enter Zemo’s undoubtedly racist ass who chimes in, “It is a masterpiece James…complete, comprehensive. It captures the African-American experience.” Sam, puzzled but also sorta appreciative responds, “He’s out of line, but he’s right.”
I also like their conversation about the corrupt city of Madripoor, which has Sam, who seems to be flummoxed for most of this episode, asking the timely question “What’s up with Madripoor? You talk about it like it’s Skull Island.” Nice King Kong shout out there.
Once in Madripoor, Sam, who complains that he’s dressed like an American pimp, has to take on a separate identity while Bucky has to revert back into Winter Soldier mode. That also means he has to pretend to be under Zemo’s control, an identity he slips into quite easily. Let’s just say Bucky seems more comfortable as Zemo’s attack dog than he does as a regular person trying to figure himself out. They end up running afoul of a local gangster with ties to the Power Broker, and after a violent run-in end up with bounties on their heads. Fortunately, when things start to look bleak, who should come to the rescue but Sharon Carter, who has been going through some shit since we last saw her.
So here’s the deal with Sharon, because she’s quite an interesting character in the MCU. Although we haven’t seen her a ton, she played a big role during Civil War. It was her who stole Cap’s shield and Sam’s tech so they could take part in the final battle. She’s been a fugitive from U.S. justice ever since, and has taken to hiding out in Madripoor, where she’s apparently built quite a life for herself. But it’s weird, because all of the Avengers have been pardoned for their actions. Why not her? The answer probably has to do with her not being a superhero who saved the whole world, but the fact remains she has shouldered the blame for their actions more than they have. Suffice it to say, she’s a bit salty now.
Or as Bucky puts it, “She’s awful now.”
That’s not exactly true, just a bit cynical, maybe. In exchange for a pardon Sharon leads them to a shipping facility that is actually a lab belonging to Wilford Nagle, the scientist who cracked the Super Soldier serum. Nagle, who is just a lab geek basically, gives up the goat on just about everything. He worked for HYDRA to develop the serum, but when they were destroyed he took his work to the CIA. Then he got blipped out of existence like half of the world, only to return five years later with his research gone. But the Power Broker picked up the pieces, and Nagle works for him now. The problem is Karli Morgenthau (Erin Kellyman) and the Flag-Smashers stole 20 vials of the serum, and are on the run.
Zemo, who still hates superheroes and anybody who will create more, promptly executes Nagle. A gunfight breaks out with Power Broker’s goons, the place catches on fire, and Zemo, donning his famous purple mask, gets in on the fight. But is he on the side of good or not? Can he be trusted? Absolutely not, but at least for now he shows up in a hot new car and they all drive away to safety.
If I’m honest, this episode was probably the weakest of the bunch. It felt a little scattered, the entire trip to Madripoor like a side mission in a video game. But there was still a lot to like here, including the closing moments. While shacked up in Riga, which is where the Flag-Smashers are reported to have been, Bucky suspiciously goes off for a walk alone. What he’s really doing is following a trail of familiar-looking beads, which lead him to an alley way…
“I was wondering when you were going to show up.”
Bucky turns around and comes face-to-face with Ayo, the member of Black Panther’s lethal Dora Milaje played by Florence Kasumba. She’s there to get Zemo, who lets not forget murdered King T’Chaka.
Yeah, that ending was hype, and our first connection to Wakanda and Black Panther since the passing of Chadwick Boseman. Ayo’s appearance could clue us in to what the future holds for that franchise, but also it’s just cool to see her showing up outside of that film.
Overall, this was another enjoyable episode that left me with at least one dangling question. Who is the Power Broker? It’s probably someone we’ve already met, and that likely leaves Sharon or Zemo as the prime suspects. This episode was also pretty damn long, nearly an hour in length, and they cram in a lot during that time. Not all of it was interesting; I’m still indifferent to Karli and attempts to humanize her actions as leader of the Flag-Smashers. But I do like everything we learned about Sharon, and what it could mean about her in the future, and Zemo’s manipulations are priceless.
In sad, and frankly disappointing news from the world of DC Films, the decision has been made to cancel Ava DuVernay’s New Gods film, also James Wan’s Aquaman horror spinoff, The Trench.
The news comes from THR, who also have a statement issued by Warner Bros…
“As part of our DC slate, some legacy development titles including New Gods and The Trench will not be moving forward. We thank our partners Ava DuVernay, Tom King, James Wan, and Peter Safran for their time and collaboration during this process and look forward to our continued partnership with them on other DC stories. The projects will remain in their skillful hands if they were to move forward in the future.”
In short: the DC Films brass has changed since these projects were announced and they would like to go in a different direction.
In the case of New Gods we can see why, right? The film would’ve centered on the weird cosmic creations of legendary artist Jack Kirby, and would’ve featured Darkseid as the villain. Considering his presence in Zack Snyder’s Justice League it’s unlikely WB wants to remind people of him right now.
The Trench was a horror spinoff of Aquaman featuring the monstrous creatures he and Mera faced. The film, which Wan would’ve produced, had a script by Noah Gardner and Aidan Fitzgerald but no director. As for why The Trench was canceled, “sources say that the upcoming Aquaman sequel was considered enough.”
I guess if the Trench is in Aquaman 2 that would make some sense.
But the New Gods thing is really disappointing because DuVernay is someone who could do something really special in the superhero genre. She’s eyed projects with Marvel in the past but it looked like DC was where she would call home. Now I’m curious if Kevin Feige is blowing up her phone right now. He should be.
Thank you, Ray. You’ve been nothing but gracious towards me. Appreciate you. And fans who supported. I’m told the studio will be speaking about their recent decision about NEW GODS characters soon. I hope our paths cross one day, sir. If not in the Fourth World, then in another. https://t.co/3Ncrqk1cXf
If you’ve been perusing the Internet today you probably noticed what was reported to be a leaked, cleaner version of James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad trailer. I left them alone, assuming they were probably part of some silly April Fools’ Day prank. Well, they weren’t a prank. They were real, and rather than let an ugly leak sit out there, Warner Bros. and Gunn have decided to just release an official version of the green band trailer.
It’s not too different, but if you’ve got something against F-bombs and King Shark devouring people this one’s for you. There’s also a bit more of Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian) in action. The film stars Idris Elba, Margot Robbie, Viola Davis, Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi, John Cena, and loads of others as the DCEU’s resident team of expendables. Sylvester Stallone, who voices King Shark, should feel right at home.
The Suicide Squad opens in theaters and HBO Max on August 6th.
