What happens when an advanced artificial intelligence is designed by someone with a desperate need to be reunited with lost loved one? Well, if you’ve ever seen a sci-fi movie in your life then you know what to expect from Archive, but there’s a reason why that story remains so popular to this day.
Archive marks the directorial debut of Gavin Rothery, a concept designer on Duncan Jones’ Moon. So his sci-fi creds are pretty well-established, and let’s hope he can say something new with a well-worn concept. The film stars Theo James and Rhona Mitra, both veterans of the Underworld franchise, along with Stacy Martin and Toby Jones. Pretty damn solid cast.
The film was to be part of the SXSW lineup before COVID-19 caused a cancellation.
SYNOPSIS: 2038: George Almore is working on a true human-equivalent AI. His latest prototype is almost ready. This sensitive phase is also the riskiest. Especially as he has a goal that must be hidden at all costs: being reunited with his dead wife.
Look for Archive to hit digital and VOD on July 10th.
How does Green Book director Peter Farrelly plan to followup his Oscar-winning film? A year ago we learned it would be with The Greatest Beer Run Ever, a buddy comedy set during the Vietnam War era. Info on it has been scarce since then, but news of a reunion with Green Book star Viggo Mortensen should stir things back up.
Variety reports Mortensen is in talks for The Greatest Beer Run Ever, reuniting with Peter Farrelly who will direct and co-write the script. Set in 1967, the true story is of a New York man who leaves the city to have a beer with his buddies fighting in Vietnam.
The combo of Farrelly and Mortensen led to Green Book winning two Oscars, despite the film becoming somewhat controversial in the time since. Of course, a depiction of a the Vietnam War era is potentially problematic, as well, so let’s see what Farrelly does to make that period palatable for mainstream audiences.
While Cats may have given adaptations of Broadway musicals a bad name lately, the upcoming movie based on Dear Evan Hansen should be considerably better. With Ben Platt set to reprise his role from the Tony Award-winning show, and he’s about to get a great co-star in Booksmart‘s Kaitlyn Dever.
Deadline reports Dever is in talks to join Platt in Dear Evan Hansen. The film adaptation of the Broadway show will be directed by Stephen Chbosky, best known for The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Wonder. Not much is expected to change. There will still be music provided by La La Land and The Greatest Showman composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, with the story following a teen with social anxiety as he tells a big lie to get closer with a family whose son has committed suicide.
Dever is a supremely talented actresses and singer. She recently earned a Golden Globe nomination in Netflix’s harrowing drama series, Unbelievable, and for her role in Olivia Wilde comedy Booksmart. She recently signed on for the Margot Robbie-produced TV series The Wildest Animals in Griffith Park.
Sorry, Beyonce fans. The Queen B won’t be joining the cast of Black Panther 2. Fans of the singer and occasional actress were abuzz with rumors she had signed a massive $100M deal with Disney to join the MCU and be part of multiple upcoming projects, which would’ve included a song and possibly more for the Black Panther sequel. It wasn’t completely out of the question, given her work on The Lion King, but alas, it ain’t happenin’.
Variety’s Matt Donnelly chimes in with an update that debunks the rumor…
Despite overwhelming excitement at the prospect, sources tell me there is no big Disney film deal for Beyonce, and she will not contrib to the soundtrack for #BlackPanther2. As a self-professed proud member of the Disney family, it's likely she'll work w them again at some point.
So while this rumor has been shot down for now, I would caution it may still come to pass. Beyonce’s prior relationship with Disney leaves the door open to a return, and we all know Black Panther 2 is going to up the ante big time. It doesn’t get much bigger than adding Sasha Fierce to the cast, does it? Actually, that does sorta sound like a superhero name, doesn’t it? Beyonce has often expressed her desire to play a comic book character, naming Wonder Woman specifically. If she wants it to happen, trust that it will someday.
Fans who have waited two decades for an adaptation of Eoin Colfer’s YA fantasy novel, Artemis Fowl, are going to have mixed emotions over this one. The writing has been on the wall for sometime that Disney has lost some faith in the Kenneth Branagh-directed film about a 12-year-old boy genius in a world of fairies and magic. Not only has it been delayed numerous times since wrapping production in 2018, but it was shuffled off the big screen and straight to Disney+ under cover of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, this disappointing, surprisingly dull adventure is going to need a lot more than pixie dust to be the next Harry Potter, and will barely stand out among Disney’s other family-friendly films on its streaming service.
What will strike longtime followers of Colfer’s books is the way they’ve watered down poor Artemis, played by bland actor Ferdia Shaw. Originally a brilliant criminal mastermind, he’s now just a really smart kid with a bit of an attitude, living on a posh Irish manor with his warrior-butler Domovoi (Nonso Anozie) and a world of gadgets at his disposal. If there was one thing that made Artemis Fowl interesting it’s that he was the antithesis of Harry Potter, a selfish kid-villain with a grudge.
Not only has Artemis lost his edginess, but the movie has completely shed any shred of individuality. The story, which feels bloated even at 93-minutes in length, is stuffed with expository narration, told in black & white “interrogation” scenes by an overgrown dwarf named Mulch Diggums (Josh Gad, doing his best Hagrid). From him, we learn of Artemis’ plan to find his missing father (Colin Farrell), a Bruce Wayne-esque figure who has stolen precious artifacts from the fairies and dwarves he used to tell his son stories about. Artemis plans to use a gigantic magical McGuffin called the Aculos to find him, but his plan involves being invaded by the fairy police force, led by Commander Julius Root, played by Judi Dench looking only mildly less embarrassed than she does in Cats. This has not been a good time for her and garish costumes.
There are also suggestions of rebellion, and a shrouded villain taunts but does absolutely nothing from a sewer in the middle of nowhere. Artemis is given multiple sidekicks who don’t hold much interest and the writers seem to have little interest in. There’s young fairy field agent Holly Short (Lara McDonnell), who in the novels represents the other side of the coin to Artemis in that both are stubborn and blinded by their preconceived notions. But she, too, is scrubbed of any sense of personality other than “cheerful”. She spends most of the movie locked in a cage, anyway. Another is Juliet Butler (Tamara Smart), Domovoi’s sister who is brought along because she’s a fierce combatant who can also understand the mind of a boy her age. She pretty much just serves him sandwiches.
The siege itself is nonsensical and baffling, with Branagh showing a chaotic lack of detail that should relegate him to Shakespeare and Agatha Christie adaptations for the foreseeable future. Characters dash from room to room while giant “time-stop” blobs occasionally muck around with their ability to move. How and when it works seems to depend largely on the needs of the moment. Those we are led to believe are badasses don’t do much (in the case of Domovoi this is especially egregious), and worst of all, Artemis doesn’t really come across as a genius at all. Branagh loses track of the action frequently, making the big finale a complete mess of uninteresting characters doing uninteresting things. If there’s a plus side, it’s the occasional tour through the fairy kingdom. Grand and expressive, Branagh seems to be having the most fun swooping us through the emerald realm, suggesting a much better movie if it could ever get away from the confines of the Fowl estate.
The biggest problem with Artemis Fowl? We just don’t care about him, have no reason to like him, and definitely don’t want to be on a rescue mission with him. Disney was obviously fearful that a child supervillain would be unlikeable, but if you’re going to change that part of his Artemis’ personality it must be balanced with other traits that make him unique. There’s nothing special about Artemis Fowl, and like another wannabe YA blockbuster Ender’s Game, we’re unlikely to see a part two.
All signs would seem to be pointing to a Man of Steel 2 in the near future, but Warner Bros. has yet to make anything official despite bringing Henry Cavill back for cameos as Superman. So what’s the holdup? Heroic Hollywood has “insider” information on why there’s hesitation to greenlight a sequel.
Take all of this as rumor for now, but the site says WB is concerned that a Superman movie wouldn’t be successful at this time. The hope is Cavill’s upcoming appearances will help drive momentum for a Man of Steel sequel…
“A standalone Superman movie would not be successful at this time. Perhaps once there’s more momentum after playing a supporting role in some successful DC films, there would be more of a chance for a stand-alone film.”
This is the rationale we talked about on a recent podcast episode and does make a certain degree of sense. While I think they’re being overly cautious, the first movie’s $668M worldwide haul is on the low end for what’s expected from a Superman movie.
“If your plan is to attract an A-list filmmaker like J.J. Abrams to direct a property like Superman, they’re going to demand to cast who they want in the title role.”
If Abrams does get involved, you can bet he’s going to want to do things his way, just as he did with the Star Trek franchise. I think it’s more likely Abrams does a Superman movie that’s outside of the DCEU, similar to what Todd Phillips did with Joker, but we’ll just have to wait and see how things shake out. How Zack Snyder’s Justice League is received will go a long way in clearing up Superman’s future on the big screen.
Who doesn’t love a good singing competition? Numerous hit shows have been built around them, even the Pitch Perfect franchise. So now it’s Netflix’s turn with the big summer comedy, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, which gives us the hilarious sight and sound of Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams as a pair of Icelandic songbirds.
Eurovision is another spoof dreamed up by Ferrell and writer Andrew Steele, the duo behind The Spoils of Babylon, Casa de mi Padre, and A Deadly Adoption. This time they’re not skewering soap operas or bad Lifetime movies, but the real-life international Eurovision Song Contest, which ABBA and Celine Dion both used to boost their music careers. But if you’ve ever seen the various misfit performers who have been part of the competition, it’s ripe for Ferrell and Steele’s brand of satire.
SYNOPSIS: When aspiring musicians Lars and Sigrit are given the opportunity to represent their country at the world’s biggest song competition, they finally have a chance to prove that any dream worth having is a dream worth fighting for.
Directed by David Dobkin and co-starring Pierce Brosnan, Dan Stevens, and Demi Lovato, Eurovision hits Netflix on June 26th.
Remember that animated Playmobil movie from last year? No? Don’t blame you. Well, if you took that visual style, gave it a medieval makeover and had the guys from Robot Chicken write raunchy jokes for it, that’s what Hulu’s Crossing Swords would be. Interested? Of course you are.
The 10-episode series features the voices of Nicholas Hoult, Tara Strong, Adam Ray, Tony Hale, Luke Evans, Seth Green, Alanna Ubach, Adam Pally, Yvette Nicole Brown, Maya Erskine, Breckin Meyer, and Wendi McClendon-Covey. Robot Chicken exec-producers John Harvatine IV and Tom Root created and wrote the series, so you know what kind of humor to expect. It ain’t for the kiddies.
SYNOPSIS: Patrick is a good hearted peasant who lands a coveted squire position at the royal castle however his dream job quickly turns into a nightmare when he learns his beloved kingdom is run by a hornet’s nest of horny monarchs, crooks and charlatans. Even worse, Patrick’s valor made him the black sheep in his family, and now his criminal siblings have returned to make his life hell. War, murder, full frontal nudity—who knew brightly colored peg people led such exciting lives?
As a longtime watcher of The Young and the Restless, I’m accustomed to actors leaving shows only to have someone else swoop in and takeover the role. That’s not what CW plans to do with Batwoman, now that Ruby Rose has left the show and her Kate Kane character behind. What we’ve since learned is that an entirely new character will pick up the cowl, but where does that leave Kate? Will writers kill her off? Or find some other means of writing her out of the show?
According to Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries, the answer is the latter, as Kate Kane will not be killed off. Dries explained her totally valid reason for the decision via social media…
It’s an interesting move, only because the whereabouts of her cousin Bruce Wayne was a mystery all throughout season one. Now that another member of the Bat-family has vanished, I imagine they’ll build a larger story out of their disappearances.
If there has been one unquestioned success story of the troubled DC Universe streaming service, it’s Doom Patrol. The oddball series about the misfit team of DC Comics heroes is loved by its fans and given a huge thumbs up by critics. But how will the move over to HBO Max affect things going forward? Judging by the new trailer for season two? Not one bit. It’s just as weird as ever.
Dubbed “DC’s strangest group of heroes”, Doom Patrol features Brendan Fraser as Robot Man, Matt Bomer as Negative Man, Diane Guerrero as Crazy Jane, April Bowlby as Elasti-Woman, Timothy Dalton as The Chief, and Jovian Wade as the Cyborg not played by Ray Fisher. As if things couldn’t get weirder, this season finds the team shrunk down to fun size, which gives us the bizarre sight of a rat-punching Robot Man.
Like many others, I have yet to catch up with Doom Patrol since I had no DC Universe subscription. But now with HBO Max that might have to change.
SYNOPSIS: DC’s strangest group of heroes — Cliff Steele aka Robotman (Brendan Fraser), Larry Trainor aka Negative Man (Matt Bomer), Rita Farr aka Elasti-Woman (April Bowlby), Jane aka Crazy Jane (Diane Guerrero), and Victor Stone aka Cyborg (Joivan Wade) — are back again to save the world. That is, if they can find a way to grow up…both figuratively and literally. Following the defeat of Mr. Nobody, the members of the Doom Patrol now find themselves mini-sized and stranded on Cliff’s toy race car track. Here they begin to deal with their feelings of betrayal by Niles Caulder aka The Chief (Timothy Dalton), while confronting their own personal baggage. And as each member faces the challenge of growing beyond their own past traumatic experiences, they must come together to embrace and protect the newest member of the family: Dorothy Spinner (Abigail Shapiro), Niles’ daughter, whose powers remain a mysterious but real threat to bringing on the end of the world.
