‘Yes, God, Yes’ Trailer: Natalia Dyer Is A Catholic Girl Discovering The Joys Of Internet Porn

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June 28, 2020

While movies about teens growing up and learning about sex are a dime a dozen, they get a new wrinkle when religion is thrown into the mix. For my money, the best movie tackling this from a Catholicism angle is Saved!, but perhaps the new film Yes, God, Yes can give it a run for its money.

Starring Stranger Things’ actress Natalia Dyer, Yes, God, Yes is about a Catholic high school girl who discovers the joys of internet porn and indulges a little too frequently…while at the same time fearing that God is judging her for it.

If he exists, he probably is. Just sayin’.

The film is written and directed by Karen Maine in her directorial debut, and co-stars Timothy Simons, Wolfgang Novogratz, Francesca Reale, Susan Blackwell, Parker Wierling, Alisha Boe, and Donna Lynne Champlin.

Yes, God, Yes opens July 24th, then hits VOD on July 28th.

SYNOPSIS: In the Midwest in the early 00s, sixteen-year-old Alice (Natalia Dyer) has always been a good Catholic girl. But when an AOL chat turns racy, she discovers masturbation and becomes guilt-ridden. Seeking redemption, she attends a mysterious religious retreat to try and suppress her urges, but it isn’t easy, especially after a cute boy (Wolfgang Novogratz) starts flirting with her. Alice’s sense of shame is spiraling when she uncovers a shocking truth about the retreat’s most devout. Desperate and confused, she flees and meets an unlikely ally (Susan Blackwell) who offers an alternative view of what it means to be good. For the first time, Alice realizes she can decide for herself what to believe and finally gets the release she needs.

Kate Winslet Reunites With Ellen Kuras For Biopic On WWII Correspondent Lee Miller

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Travis Hopson

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June 27, 2020

Kate Winslet is reuniting with her Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind cinematographer, Ellen Kuras, on a biopic on fashion model turned war correspondent Lee Miller.

Deadline reports Kuras will make her narrative feature directorial debut with Lee, in which Winslet will play Lee Miller. Miller was a former fashion model in the 1920s who left that to become a photographer while in Paris. When World War II broke out, she became a war correspondent for Vogue. Miller would go on to marry surrealist painter Roland Penrose, and much of the film will be based on their son Arthur’s biography, The Lives of Lee Miller.

This is a project Winslet has been attached to for a few years, and will have a script by Liz Hannah, Golden Globe-nominated writer of The Post. Kuras’ cinematography has led her to work with some of the greats, including Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, and Sam Mendes. She has won the Sundance award for Excellence in Cinematography three times. She made her feature directing debut with the 2008 documentary The Betrayal.

Disney Moves ‘Mulan’ To Late August As Game Of Chicken With ‘Tenet’ Continues

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Travis Hopson

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June 27, 2020

Well, we’ve been saying that all eyes were on Disney, and now they’ve done what we knew they’d eventually have to. Mulan has been delayed for a second time, moving from its July 24th spot to August 21st.

This is funny because Disney and Warner Bros. are playing this game where nobody wants to have the first blockbuster out of the gate. WB recently shifted Tenet from July 17th to July 31st and then again to August 12th.

We’re in a place where WB and Disney are taking this scratch ‘n sniff approach, moving their films a couple of weeks here, a week there, in hopes that the COVID-19 situation will ease up. Instead, outbreaks are spiking all around the country, making a firm release date for anything impossible to come by. While some are hoping Disney decides to move Mulan to Disney+, as they did with Artemis Fowl, the difference is the $200M budget and potential $1B box office. So that’s unlikely to happen.

Meanwhile, Bill & Ted Face the Music will have to sing its song a bit late. The long-awaited reunion of Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter will now open on August 28th, a week after Mulan. Remember, the film had been moved up to August 14th, but now it’s imperative to get a bit of distance away from Tenet.

Also, the Russell Crowe thriller Unhinged, which had been the first “big” movie to open theatrical in the summer, has moved to July 31st now that it has been abandoned by Tenet.

Margot Robbie And ‘Birds Of Prey’ Writer Set Sail For New ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean’ Film

By

Travis Hopson

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June 26, 2020

Margot Robbie is setting sail for a new franchise, and she’s bringing her Birds of Prey writer Christina Hodson along with her. THR reports Robbie will star in a new female-led Pirates of the Caribbean film, with Hodson writing the script. While the ‘Pirates’ franchise has seemed to be on the skids lately, it’s actually getting much bigger.

This new film from Robbie and Hodson isn’t going to be a spinoff of the movies that starred Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow. It’s designed to be a totally separate thing, with new characters and new stories, all under the Pirates of the Caribbean banner.

So what does this mean for the movie being developed by series writer Ted Elliott and Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin? Well, nothing. Both movies are developing independently from one another, so the franchise is actually expanding. Karen Gillan’s name had been mentioned to lead whatever the next film is to be, but it’s unclear if that rumor is dead, or if maybe that was about this project that ultimately went to Robbie, and not the Elliott/Mazin one?

So if they’ve got Robbie to front this new movie, does that hurt or help the possible return of Johnny Depp on the other one? Bruckheimer refuses to say anything about Depp, so I guess we’ll have to see what surfaces over the coming months.

‘Rebuilding Paradise’ Trailer: Ron Howard’s Documentary Follows a Destroyed Community’s Recovery

By

Cortland Jacoby

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June 26, 2020

2018 was one of California’s worst wildfire seasons. 8,527 fires destroyed communities, homes, forests, and wildlife from February to December. 103 people were killed and over 3.5 billion dollars in damage has been reported. Most of those deaths and damage was due to a fire that took place on Nov. 8, leaving the community devastated. Today legendary director Ron Howard and National Geographic released the trailer for Rebuilding Paradise, a documentary documenting the fire and its effects on the California community of Paradise.

The trailer not only hints at the total destruction of the town but at the complicated decisions and politics that follows a deadly fire. Should people try to rebuild? Is it environmentally responsible to rebuild? How do we move forward? According to the studio, the film’s synopsis is as follows.

On the morning of Nov. 8, 2018, a devastating firestorm engulfed the picturesque city of Paradise, California. By the time the Camp Fire was extinguished, it had killed 85 people, displaced 50,000 residents and destroyed 95% of local structures. It was the deadliest U.S. fire in 100 years — and the worst ever in California’s history. REBUILDING PARADISE, from Academy Award-winning director RON HOWARD, is a moving story of resilience in the face of tragedy, as a community ravaged by disaster comes together to recover what was lost and begin the important task of rebuilding.

The intense but hopeful looking documentary premiered at this year’s Sundance and is set be released in select theaters July 31st. No word yet if the film will be streaming on the Disney+ app, but my guess is that with the corona-virus keeping people inside, the documentary may find its home on the streaming site.

Watch the trailer below.

‘My Spy’ Interview: Chloe Coleman On Working With Dave Bautista, Her First Action Movie, Parkour, & More

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Travis Hopson

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June 26, 2020

At the age of 11, Chloe Coleman is a star on the rise, having already worked with Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Jean-Marc Vallee, Andrea Arnold, and James Cameron. Her latest film, My Spy, finds her teaming up with Dave Bautista for an action-comedy for all ages, and it streams starting today exclusively on Amazon Prime.

My Spy stars Bautista as JJ, a CIA agent who gets in over his head when his cover is blown by Sophie (Coleman), whose mother he’s been assigned to watch. To prevent being exposed, JJ befriends Sophie and they change one another’s lives.

I had a chance to speak with Coleman about working on My Spy, what it’s been like dealing with the movie’s many delays, performing action scenes with Dave Bautista, and much more.

You can check out that interview below, and find my review of My Spy here!

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Chiwetel Ejiofor Confirms Return As Mordo In ‘Doctor Strange’ Sequel

By

Travis Hopson

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June 26, 2020

Truly great villains the MCU are pretty hard to find, and I don’t know if Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Mordo from Doctor Strange qualifies since…well, he’s not really a villain yet. But at least now we know he’ll have a chance to turn fully to the dark side in sequel Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

While doing press for Netflix’s upcoming action film The Old Guard, Ejiofor confirmed to Screenrant he’ll return as Mordo in the Doctor Strange sequel. However, he isn’t sure when shooting will begin due to the worldwide pandemic…

“We’re hoping to start pretty soon is what I can tell you. So, you know, as soon as possible. We’re all really excited to get going and to get cracking with it. I can’t wait.”

Ejiofor will have a new director to work with, Sam Raimi, and of course, Benedict Cumberbatch is back as the good Doctor. Benedict Wong will also return as Wong, and Elizabeth Olsen is expected to have a sizable role as Scarlet Witch, who can assume is turning to Doctor Strange for some help with her magical abilities.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens March 25th 2022.

Review: ‘Run With The Hunted’
Or Stay Put And Choose A Different Movie To Watch

By
Jake Sokolsky
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Run With The Hunted tells the story of Oscar (Mitchell Paulsen) and his best friend Loux (Madilyn Kellam). Loux and her brother Amos (Evan Assante) come from an abusive household. Their mother is no longer in the picture, and their father is an alcoholic POS. Oscar can only stand by for so long watching the abuse before he snaps. One fateful night Oscar reaches his breaking point and kills Loux and Amos’s father. Oscar leaves their small rural town for the nearest city, 100 miles away, to start a new life. Right off the bat Oscar runs into Peaches (Kylie Rogers), who is part of a group of runaway children known as the family of broken toys. These kids commit petty crimes around the city for Sway (Mark Boone Junior) and ultimately Birdie (Ron Perlman). Oscar is eventually welcomed into the family, furthering his life of crime.

Fifteen years later and Oscar (Michael Pitt) is now in charge of the next generation of runaway kids, the lost boys. Having lived through a similar experience, Oscar can relate to their plight while trying to teach them valuable lessons. Birdie still has them committing crimes, but there are lessons now! Loux (Sam Quartin) and Amos (Gore Abrams) have moved to the city for a better life. Loux manages to get a job as a secretary for a grumpy private investigator named Lester (Isiah Whitlock Jr.) Almost immediately she stumbles upon an old box of files that include Oscar’s missing child ad from fifteen years ago. There is no doubt in Loux’s mind that Oscar is in the city, and she will stop at nothing to find him. Little does Loux know that Oscar is now one of the head honchos in Birdie’s operation.

One decision can change the trajectory of countless lives. Writer and director John Swab shows us just how drastically in Run With The Hunted. Oscar had a seemingly bright future, and caring family, that he threw away to protect Loux. Loux and Amos were saved from further abuse, but who would go on to raise them? There’s no way to know how Oscar would have turned up, but it’s safe to assume it would have been markedly different than the dirty and sleezy life he has.

Run With The Hunted explores the dark and gritty world of a city’s underbelly. The children littering the crime infested streets and the adults taking advantage of them. Swab weaves in flashbacks from the past, using red lighting to show the anger within people about to boil over. It is a technique seen before, but Swab takes it to another level – bathing scenes in red light.

Swab tries to weave in different story lines throughout the film, sometimes successfully and other times falling short. Storylines are left dangling and Run With The Hunted feels incomplete without natural conclusions to them. It is almost as if Swab felt like he ran out of time and rushed to end the film. Run With The Hunted has mediocre acting and a lack of action. The film drags on at times and never truly gets you to care for the main players. When the dust settles, Run With The Hunted does not bring enough to the table to separate itself or leave a lasting impression.

‘The Afterparty’: Apple TV+ Lands Phil Lord & Chris Miller ‘Rashomon-style’ Murder Mystery Series

By

Travis Hopson

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June 26, 2020

The streaming biz is tough to crack, and Apple TV+ has had its troubles. But they’re securing some really big projects, and if you want to snag the geek corner of the audience a good way to do that is to land a new episodic series from Oscar-winners Phil Lord and Chris Miller, best-known for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, 21 Jump Street, and The Lego Movie.

Variety reports Apple TV+ is the home for Lord and Miller’s series, The Afterparty, which sounds like it’s going to take a Rashomon-style look at a murder mystery. All eight episodes have been ordered straight-to-series, and will center on a murder that takes place during a high school reunion. What’s interesting is that each episode will look at the same events from a different character’s perspective “each with its own unique visual format and film genre to match the teller’s personality.”

Miller, who created the series, will serve as showrunner and exec-producer. This is a busy time for the duo, who are attached to a number of different projects. They’re producers on the upcoming animated film, Connected, as well as the Into the Spider-Verse sequel which opens in 2022. They’re also working with the Ready or Not directors for a “bear-driven horror comedy”, and of course, the astronaut film Project Hail Mary which is based on a novel by author Andy Weir (The Martian) and stars Ryan Gosling.

‘Black Water: Abyss’ Trailer: Killer Crocodiles Attack In Long-Awaited Horror Sequel

By

Travis Hopson

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June 26, 2020

The 2007 horror Black Water became something of a cult hit among genre fans who dig their creature-features swampy and scaly. Based on the true story of a crocodile attack in Australia’s northern territory, it followed a pregnant woman, her sister, and her boyfriend as they tried to survive something similar. The film went on to make a little over $1M on a shoestring budget, and now more than a decade later it’s finally getting a sequel in Black Water: Abyss.

Andrew Traucki, who co-directed the original movie, goes it solo this time, with a cast led by Jessica McNamee (The Meg), Luke Mitchell (Agents of SHIELD), Amali Golden (The Invisible Man), Benjamin Hoetjes, and Anthony J. Sharpe (Robert the Bruce). This time, the action moves from the swamps to a cave system during a tropical storm, where the people trapped inside are attacked by deadly crocodiles.

SYNOPSIS: In Black Water: Abyss, a group of friends explore a remote cave system deep in the forests of Northern Australia when a tropical storm hits. As rising flood waters trap them deep below the surface, something even deadlier emerges from the darkness – killer crocodiles.

Black Water: Abyss hits theaters and VOD on August 7th. Between this and the box office success of Crawl it’s like killer crocs are making a comeback.