Details Emerge On Studio Ghibli’s First All-CG 3D Film, Goro Miyazaki’s ‘Aya And The Witch’

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June 4, 2020

We’ve known for a few years to expect new animated films from Studio Ghibli, one from legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki, and another from his son Goro Miyazaki. Details on them have been scarce, however. While Hayao’s is still about three years off, what we knew about Goro’s film was that it would be the studio’s first all-CG feature in 3D. Well, with the recent release of the Official Cannes 2020 selection we now have new information on what the younger Miyazaki has been working on and when we’ll see it.

Studio Ghibli and NHK (via EW) have revealed Goro Miyazaki’s movie is an adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’ children’s novel Earwig and the Witch. That title looks to be changed to Aya to Majo, or Aya and the Witch. Jones is the author of Howl’s Moving Castle, which Studio Ghibli adapted into an anime classic in 2004. This will mark Miyazaki’s first film since 2011’s excellent From Up on Poppy Hill.

Here is the synopsis: Not every orphan would love living at St. Morwald’s Home for Children, but Earwig does. She gets whatever she wants, whenever she wants it, and it’s been that way since she was dropped on the orphanage doorstep as a baby. But all that changes the day Bella Yaga and the Mandrake come to St. Morwald’s, disguised as foster parents. Earwig is whisked off to their mysterious house full of invisible rooms, potions, and spell books, with magic around every corner. Most children would run in terror from a house like that… but not Earwig. Using her own cleverness—with a lot of help from a talking cat—she decides to show the witch who’s boss.

Magic spells, mysterious orphanages, mandrakes, a house full of secrets…yep, this is perfect for the Ghibli treatment. The film already has a number of supporters on its side, having been made an official selection of this year’s Cannes Film Festival virtual lineup. Since the festival is canceled it won’t be shown, but it’s good enough for them to make us all aware.

Aya and the Witch will air on Japanese TV this winter, while a stateside release has yet to be determined. The COVID-19 situation complicates theatrical info for the time being, but I would expect some news from GKIDS on that soon enough.

Ridley Scott Still Onboard With ‘Alien’ Franchise, Looks Further Back To Move Forward

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John Nolan

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June 3, 2020

Say what you will about the last few outings, there is no more terrifying horror or sci-fi antagonist then the Xenomorph. Fast, deadly, next to invisible, AND if you do manage to kill it make sure it’s clean, you don’t want and acid blood facial! H.R. Geiger’s legendary creature design is undoubtedly what still draws interest in the 40+ year old property, but Geiger isn’t the lead man here, that honor goes to Ridley Scott. Scott, a legend in his own right, recently sat down with The Los Angeles Times and waxed poetic about where he saw the future of the franchise, of course that future is in the past…meaning yet another prequel. This sounds a bit more interesting though, Scott seems to pose the question of WHY the Xeno’s ended up on LV-246 as opposed to how they originally came to be…which is interesting to say the least. From The Los Angeles Times:

“What I always thought when I was making it, the first one, why would a creature like this be made and why was it traveling in what I always thought was a kind of war-craft…”

This is the prequel that I wanted…we know that the creatures are bio-weapons essentially, and we know the thought process behind their creation with the architect and all that. What we don’t know is how and why they were deployed and to what end or purpose? Was there somewhere else it was supposed to go? Everything so far has said it was a crash landing, so where was it’s intended destination?

Checkout all of our Alien-centric coverage, right here!

‘Run With The Hunted’ Trailer: Crime Thriller Stars Michael Pitt, Ron Perlman, And Dree Hemingway

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Travis Hopson

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June 3, 2020

Sometimes doing the right thing has unexpected consequences. In the upcoming crime film Run with the Hunted, a selfless act of violence leads one boy down a life of crime he may never be able to come back from.

Run with the Devil stars Boardwalk Empire‘s Michael Pitt, plus Ron Perlman, Sam Quartin, Drew Hemingway, Dree Hemingway, Slaine, William Forsythe, Mark Boone Jr., Brad Carter, Kylie Rogers, and rapper Slaine, a tremendous cast for the sophomore effort from director John Swab. Swab’s previous film was 2017’s Let Me Make You a Martyr starring Marilyn Manson.

SYNOPSIS: Oscar, a young boy, commits a noble murder and is forced to run away from his rural hometown, leaving behind his best friend, Loux. 15 years later, he has forgotten his past and become the leader of a band of lost children. Loux takes it upon herself to find the boy who saved her life.

Run with the Hunted hits VOD on June 26th.

Review: ‘Becky’
Kevin James Turns To The Dark Side In An Ultra-Violent Home Invasion Thriller

By
Cortland Jacoby
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Did anyone else want to be Kevin McCallister as a kid? By yourself, no parents, no rules, and you get to outsmart two burglars with wacky hijinks. Well, directors Johnathan Milott and Cary Murnion and writers Nick Morris, Ruckus Skye, and Lane Skye took that concept, added real-world consequences to it and amped up the gratuitous violence up to an 11. One would think that they were watching Home Alone on bath salts. In reality, Becky is an exciting but slightly underdeveloped thrill ride that shakes up the home invasion drama.

Playing the titular character that the entire film hangs it’s hat on, is Lulu Wilson (The Haunting of Hill House, Sharp Objects). Reeling from her mother’s recent death and her father’s (Joel McHale, Community) new relationship, Becky has entered her teen years in full angst. Forced to spend the weekend at the family cabin with said-new girlfriend (Amanda Brugal, The Handmaid’s Tale) and her son, Becky’s plan of avoidance and quick quips are put on pause with the arrival of Kevin James’ Dominick, an escaped prisoner who also happens to be the leader of a neo-nazi gang. When he and his posse take everyone but Becky hostage in search of a family heirloom, Dominick awakens something dark and primal in Becky. It’s like if Kevin McCallister suffered from severe PTSD and family trauma and then had to deal with his home being invaded by neo-nazis escaped-convicts.

James gives one of his stronger performances, showing a menacing side we haven’t really seen from the comedy star. His chemistry with Wilson though is electric, playing off each other like a bloody violin duet. Despite being 13 at the time of filming, Wilson easily handles the emotional complexities and demands of the character.

Greta Zozula’s cinematography completely elevates the film past the over-done home invasion troupe, creating captivating visual storytelling through her playful approach to closeups and perspective. Cinephiles will notice stylistic nods to Hitchcock and Kubrick, the film’s first few moments referencing the first few moments of The Shining, complete with a jarring and ominous soundtrack and car driving down an abandoned winding road. Speaking of soundtracks, Nima Fakrana’s suspenseful score immerses you into the tension of the story, its breathy and abrasive instrumental playing with your narrative expectations.

Its ending doesn’t exactly give you the catharsis you want, which leaves more questions than answers. Becky’s fate, the film’s hidden meanings, and the origins of James’s character are left completely open, creating a vagueness and mystery quality that adds to the film and its hype. At times, the dialogue and a few narrative devices seem a little trite, but it’s the overall story and aesthetic that saves the film from seeming campy.

Becky’s main problem is its release date. To say this film is violent and bloody would be an understatement. A few moments are downright shockingly gruesome. At a time when people are protesting the death of a man killed under the knee of a police officer and America is once again reckoning its own dark history with violence, one may question whether we need to watch a white supremacist version of Kevin James and a clearly hurting and traumatized child running around the woods, wreaking bloody havoc over a family heirloom. I really don’t have an answer for this other than it could be a matter of preference or that it may fill some animalistic urge inside us all to watch violence instead of acting on it. However, I do believe it’s graphic content is worth knowing before going to watch it.

Because of our current climate, Becky might not be the film everyone sees right away. But it does have the makings of a heart-pumping cult favorite. It’s vagueness and shock value will only add to its buzz, being THAT film two bros at the bar will argue conspiracy theories about in 5 years.

Becky hits VOD, select theaters, and select drive-ins this Friday, June 5. Watch the trailer down below.

‘Lovecraft Country’ Teaser: Jordan Peele And J.J. Abrams’ HBO Series Hits A Little Too Close To Home Right Now

By

Travis Hopson

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June 3, 2020

JJ Abrams and Jordan Peele’s HBO series Lovecraft Country couldn’t be more timely if it tried. When the world is being torn apart by racism, the show takes the very-real fear black people have of whites and throws in a bunch of supernatural shit for them to deal with, too. This is going to be one Helluva ride.

Abrams and Peele serve as exec-producers, but the showrunner is Misha Green, best known for co-creating WGN series Underground. Jonathan Majors, great in The Last Black Man in San Francisco, leads a terrific cast that includes Birds of Prey‘s Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Michael K. Williams, Courtney B. Vance, Wunmi Mosaku (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), Aunjanue Ellis (When They See Us), Jamie Harris (Kingdom), Abbey Lee (Mad Max: Fury Road); Jamie Chung (The Man with the Iron Fists), and Jordan Patrick Smith (Vikings).

Yann Demange (White Boy Rick, ‘71) directs the pilot and serves as exec-producer. Victoria Mahoney, first woman of color to act as second unit director on a big-screen Star Wars movie, takes the helm of a latter episode.

SYNOPSIS: Based on Matt Ruff’s novel of the same name, Lovecraft Country follows Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors) as he meets up with his friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett) and his Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) to embark on a road trip across 1950s Jim Crow America in search of his missing father (Michael Kenneth Williams). This begins a struggle to survive and overcome both the racist terrors of white America and the terrifying monsters that could be ripped from a Lovecraft paperback.

HBO debuts Lovecraft Country in August.

AMC Theatres Has “Substanital Doubt” It Can Remain In Business

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Travis Hopson

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June 3, 2020

AMC Theatres, the largest movie chain in the world, is in serious trouble. It was only back in April that AMC filed for bankruptcy, just as theaters around the world were beginning to feel the full brunt of the COVID-19 outbreak. But at the time, AMC execs were confident they would pull through, if perhaps a bit leaner. Well, now they’re not so sure.

Without going too much into the boring details, AMC has filed an update on their financial situation, and the gist of it is that they are on the verge of going out of business. While they remain hopeful, all it could take is one major obstacle to send them teetering over the edge. The problems in a nutshell are two-fold: there is no income coming in as all theatres remain closed; and there is a drastic shortage of new movies on the horizon.

Now you know why there’s so much riding on Christopher Nolan’s Tenet to basically save the business.

From AMC’s statement: “We cannot be certain that we will have access to sufficient liquidity to meet our obligations for the time required to allow our cash-generating operations to resume or normalize. We may not be able to obtain additional liquidity and any relief provided by lenders, governmental agencies, and business partners may not be adequate and may include onerous terms. Due to these factors, substantial doubt exists about our ability to continue as a going concern for a reasonable period of time.”

Furthermore: “Even if governmental operating restrictions are lifted in certain jurisdictions, distributors may delay the release of new films until such time that operating restrictions are eased more broadly domestically and internationally, which may further limit our operations.”

It’s funny, because when this whole coronavirus thing shut everything down, we all thought it would be the little art house shops and indie chains that collapsed first. While they have certainly been hit hard, it’s AMC that may be in the greatest jeopardy.

Tenet is currently set to open on July 17th. If Warner Bros. dares move it…look out.

‘Shirley’ Interviews: Odessa Young And Josephine Decker On The Literary Psychological Thriller

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Travis Hopson

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June 3, 2020

Sundance feels like a million years ago at this point, but definitely one of the best movies I saw was Shirley. One of the reasons I dug it so much is that I went in expecting a biopic of the horror author Shirley Jackson, and what I got was a tense, downright vicious psycho-thriller with Elisabeth Moss at her cruel best.

This fictional tale of creative control and manipulation is directed by Josephine Decker, whose visual artistry (If you haven’t seen Madeline’s Madeline, please rectify that) is challenged in this isolated tale of terror. The cast is all-around phenomenal as Moss is joined by co-stars Odessa Young, who plays Shirley’s biggest fan and thus the author’s favorite target, plus Michael Stuhlbarg and Logan Lerman.

I had the chance to speak with Josephine Decker and Odessa Young about Shirley, the real-life inspiration for the film, and how it relates to some of their other work.

You can watch those Zoom interviews below. Shirley opens on June 5th.

Review: ‘Judy & Punch’
Mia Wasikowska Is A Puppeteer On A Quest For Vengeance In Mirrah Foulkes' Offbeat Dark Comedy

By
Travis Hopson
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Similar to this year’s Grimm horror Gretel & Hansel, the swapping of titular names in Judy & Punch speaks to the film’s divergent central focus. A traditional Punch & Judy show is one of masterful puppetry, led by the male figure Punch whose use of excessive violence, including against his wife Judy, is the stuff of well-worn British humor, an accepted part of society since the 16th-century. But what happens when that violence becomes ingrained within a society, corrupting it from within? Actress-turned-filmmaker Mirrah Foulkes tackles this question in one of the strangest revenge comedies of the year, albeit one that is tonally shaky even as it drives to make a point.

Punch (Damon Herriman) takes a little too much after his puppet namesake. The misogynistic, hedonistic, heavily-drinking puppeteer is a celebrity in the superstitious town of Seaside, a place where public witch burnings and hangings are a regular form of entertainment for its poor citizens. We’re introduced to him alongside his lovely partner and wife, Judy (Mia Wasikowska), as they perform their puppet show for a room full of awed children and poor adults. When doing their act, Punch and Judy are in perfect sync. The love they have for one another carries through the marionette strings. But at home, Punch is a self-obsessed alcoholic who lies through his teeth, philanders about town, and can barely be bothered to help take care of their child.

Foulkes has a hard time balancing the seriousness of her themes with the comic presentation of violence. In a drunken stupor, Punch, who has been chasing down a dog who stole his beloved sausages, accidentally causes a death that will be long-lasting and traumatic. But the catalyzing event is presented in a way that is so goofy it’s hard to take seriously, and you wonder when it’ll be rectified in some silly off-hand moment. That moment never comes; instead, Punch commits a deliberate act of heinous violence to cover up what he’d done. It’s clear Foulkes is trying to draw a connection between the fictional violence we tolerate in entertainment and its grim reality, but there’s an imbalance that makes Judy & Punch tough to take seriously.

When Judy & Punch drifts totally into magical realism it finds renewed purpose and energy, however. Judy makes herself at home among the misfits, the castoffs, the supposed-witches living on the outskirts of town in a forbidden forest that’s like something out of a Terry Gilliam movie. It’s here that Judy’s feminist spirit and need for vengeance takes hold, surrounded by other women who have been ostracized by society. Meanwhile, Punch is back home blaming others for his own failures, while trying to stay one step ahead of the law.

Production design is top notch (the film was nominated for multiple AACTA Awards, and for good reason), with detailed, intricate costumes and setpieces suggesting a larger world of dark fantasy ready to be explored. It’s undeniable Foulkes is a promising director who, in her first shot out of the gate, has created something visually unique and inventive with a clear perspective. Getting that message across is where the breakdown happens. Foulkes also gets a lot of help from Wasikowska who has made herself quite comfortable in these offbeat tales of revenge. Somehow a tale of cold-blooded payback between a pair of warring puppeteers feels like the most Wasikowska thing ever. Herriman is appropriately hateable as Punch, although his cartoon villainy is one of the things that helps cloud Foulkes’ true intent, and keeps Judy & Punch from reaching its full potential.

Judy and Punch pics

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‘Batwoman’ Will Introduce A New Lead Character After Ruby Rose’s Departure

By

Travis Hopson

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June 3, 2020

When Batwoman returns for season two, it won’t just be a new lead actress replacing Ruby Rose. It’ll be an entirely new character under the superheroine’s cowl.

THR reports The CW has opted to go in an entirely different direction and create a new character to replace Ruby Rose’s Kate Kane, cousin to Bruce Wayne. Rose recently made the surprise decision to exit the freshman series at the end of its first season.

Decider first broke the news, pulling from a since-deleted casting notice on the Batwoman Reddit. The new character currently has the name Ryan Wilder, although that could be a placeholder. The character description goes out of its way to note the differences from Kate Kane, putting as much distance from Ruby Rose as possible…

“She’s likable, messy, a little goofy and untamed. She’s also nothing like Kate Kane, the woman who wore the batsuit before her. With no one in her life to keep her on track, Ryan spent years as a drug-runner, dodging the GCPD and masking her pain with bad habits. A girl who would steal milk for an alley cat could also kill you with her bare hands, Ryan is the most dangerous type of fighter: highly skilled and wildly undisciplined. An out lesbian. Athletic. Raw. Passionate. Fallible. And very much not your stereotypical All-American hero.”

Casting is once again expected to include a member of the LGBTQ community, as Batwoman is the first scripted superhero TV series to be centered on a lesbian character.

Considering the final episodes featured the first look at the long-missing Bruce Wayne, it’ll be interesting to see how Batwoman continues that storyline while introducing a totally different hero with seemingly no connection to him.

Josh Gad Isn’t Sure When Or If There Will Be A ‘Frozen 3’

By

Travis Hopson

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June 2, 2020

Frozen has produced two gigantic hits for Disney, totaling $2.7B worldwide combined. While last year’s Frozen II wasn’t as well-received critically, its box office surpassed the original, and there has been little doubt that a third film is something Disney wants. However, word on a sequel has been quiet, and Josh Gad, the beloved voice of Olaf, doesn’t have much info on it, either.

Speaking with Pop Culture, Gad admits he doesn’t know anything about Frozen 3, but if it’s going to happen it’ll be when there’s a story need for one…

“I mean, here’s the deal, Frozen II wasn’t Frozen II until there was a reason to exist. And similarly, I don’t know if and when there will be a Frozen III. That’s way above my pay grade, but what I can tell you is this: There was an opportunity to take these characters and bring again a sense of hope and inspiration. And it’s why the team at Disney and I teamed up on the past couple of weeks to do At Home with Olaf […] And so the Frozen saga continues, even if it’s not necessarily in the form of a third movie. But we’ll see! If there’s always a story worth telling, I’m sure that Jennifer Lee and the incredible team over at Disney animation will tell that story one day.”

The Frozen story feels far from finished, and Disney has billions of other reasons to do a sequel. I actually liked Frozen II better than the first one, so as long as they keep up the action and build on the lore it’s worth making into a trilogy.