’13 Going On 30′ Reboot At Netflix Casts Emily Bader And Logan Lerman, Jennifer Garner As EP

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March 24, 2026

Released in 2004, 13 Going On 30 was the first movie that established Jennifer Garner as a bankable movie star on her own. More than two decades later, and Garner is now attached to a reboot at Netflix.

Deadline reports Garner is attached to exec-produce a 13 Going On 30 remake set up at Netflix. The film will star Emily Bader and Logan Lerman. Directing is Brett Haley, who worked with Bader on the recent Netflix movie People We Meet on Vacation.

The original movie, directed by the late Gary Winick, starred Garner as the 30-year-old version of a 13-year-old girl who magically wakes up as her adult self, and must learn to navigate adulthood and her career as a fashion editor.

In my opinion, Haley has yet to direct a bad movie, but he hit his groove with acclaimed dramedies I’ll See You In My Dreams, The Hero, and Hearts Beat Loud. He seems to have found a home at Netflix, which has distributed his recent films All the Bright Places and People We Meet on Vacation.

That said, Haley’s comments about the new movie are perplexing: “13 Going on 30 is one of those rare, perfect films. Funny, emotional, deeply human, with unforgettable performances from Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo and Judy Greer. I’m a longtime fan, so stepping into this reimagining comes with tremendous responsibility.”

If it’s so perfect, why redo it at all?

Bader is another who has found her niche over at Netflix, where she’s just landed the role of soccer great Mia Hamm in the upcoming film, The 99ers. Lerman was last seen with Molly Gordon in the rom-com, Oh, Hi!

Review: ‘Forbidden Fruits’
Lili Reinhart Leads A Shopping Mall Sisterhood In Meredith Alloway's Toothless Satire

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Travis Hopson
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What do you get when you cross Mean Girls with The Craft? Maybe a dash of Clueless? You get Meredith Alloway’s Forbidden Fruits, and let’s be real, that combination of ingredients is extremely promising. It’s also an incredibly high bar to reach, and while this exploration of sisterhood and covenly pursuits has its comical highlights, what it lacks is the sharp satirical edge to cast a lasting spell.

You can’t knock the cast assembled for Forbidden Fruits; that’s for sure. Lili Reinhart of Riverdale fame plays Apple, the leader of this band of posh mean girls who work out of a Free Eden clothing shop in a mall. There are still malls??? Her fellow fruit-mates include Cherry, played by Victoria Pedretti, and Fig, played by Alexandra Shipp. After hours, they gather in the mall basement and do witchy things, but they aren’t actually witches. They’re more of a toxic cult of frenemies, with Apple pulling all of the strings. They judge people, they hate on others, and Heaven forbid you work at the nearby pretzel shop because it’s on the lowest tier of the mall totem pole, don’tcha know?

Enter Lola Tung as Pumpkin, one of those pretzel shop employees, who manages to win over the girls and enter their little coven. But Pumpkin isn’t like the others. She doesn’t quite subscribe to all of these performative expressions of female bonding, and her constant challenging of Apple’s authority forces them all to face their own problems, and discover who is really tearing them apart.

What’s frustrating about Forbidden Fruits is how close it is to being great, and a sure-fire cult classic. All four women are perectly in sync with the silliness of the premise, poking fun at shopping mall etiquette, fashion faux pas, and messiness of female friendships.The costume design is vibrant, and way too chic for a guy like me to understand other than it’s pleasing to the eye. The Fruits are fairweather friends, to put it bluntly. They love and support one another when it’s easy, but as soon as things go south, the backstabbing, lying, and sabotaging of one another begins. The film works best when it can be tongue-in-cheek while exploring the turbulent waters of sisterhood. Society puts a lot of pressure on women that can lead to insecurities, which makes being a true friend hard, even for those who claim to be part of the same coven.

Unfortunately, the film pulls its punches throughout, saving the really nasty stuff for the last 10 minutes or so. That’s when you realize why Shudder would have anything to do with Forbidden Fruits. Remember all of those warnings by your parents to make sure your shoes are tied when on the escalator? When the literal storm hits, and the nail-ripping, hair-pulling, glass shattering action begins, it’s too late to save what has been a disappointing dark comedy that doesn’t quite live up to its potential.

Forbidden Fruits opens on March 27th.

‘The Furious’ Trailer: Xie Miao & Joe Taslim Are On The Warpath Hong Kong’s Best Action Flick In Years

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Travis Hopson

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March 24, 2026

Ok, after all of these years, you know me pretty well. I’m hesitant to compare anything to The Raid because it’s truly a one-of-a-kind movie. Well, my favorite movie out of TIFF last year came pretty damn close to matching its visceral, intense, brutal action. That movie was Kenji Tanigaki’s The Furious, and if it had been released last year it would’ve topped my list of 2025’s best. Well, it’s here now and arriving in theaters on May 29th courtesy of Lionsgate, and if you better not miss it.

Xie Miao (The New Legend of Shaolin) and The Raid‘s Joe Taslim star in The Furious, and basically they will kick anybody’s ass to rescue the ones they love. Miao plays Wang Wei, an ordinary guy who turns into an unstoppable force when his daughter is kidnapped by traffickers. Taslim plays Navin, a journalist on the trail of his missing wife who was investigating the criminal syndicate.

Yang Enyou, Brian Le, Joey Iwanaga, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Manatsanun Phanlerdwongsakul, Guo Junqing, Winai Wiangyangkung, another The Raid alum Yayan Ruhian, and Jija Yanin round out the cast.

Director Kenji Tanigaki of Enter the Fat Dragon came up with even nuttier fight sequences than in that crazy flick. But who you don’t want to miss is Brian Le, who seriously throws his weight around demolishes everyone and everything in his path. You won’t forget him.

Synopsis: After the daughter of Wang Wei (Xie Miao) is kidnapped by a criminal network and he receives no help from the corrupt police, Wei sets out on a rampage to find her himself. His only ally is Navin (Joe Taslim) – a relentless journalist whose wife has mysteriously disappeared. Fueled by a furious vengeance, the unlikely duo ruthlessly fights against the kidnappers in this explosive martial arts showdown.

Lionsgate has an instant classic on its hands with The Furious. Check out the new trailer below and my early review here.

Marvel Renews ‘Wonder Man’ For Season Two, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II And Ben Kingsley Returning

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Travis Hopson

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March 24, 2026

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is Simon Williams in WONDER MAN

Marvel’s Wonder Man series never resembled one of the bigger TV projects to land at Disney+. The expectations for it weren’t particularly high, and for a time it even looked like it might not happen at all as Disney shifted away from streaming and back to theatrical projects. But it turned out that audiences loved the Hollywood story of a super-powered actor trying to catch his big break, and now the show is coming back for a second season.

Star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II confirmed that Wonder Woman is returning for season two on Disney+. Abdul-Mateen plays Simon Williams, a struggling actor trying to keep his superpowers hidden from the world at large, while also attempting to land his dream role.

Not only will Abdul-Mateen return, but so will Ben Kingsley as actor and faux terrorist leader Trevor Slattery. Trevor is becoming quite a fixture in the MCU, beginning with his debut in Iron Man 3 and subsequent appearance in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Wonder Man was created by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest. Presumably, they will be involved in season two in some fashion. Cretton is crazy busy as his next film for Marvel, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, hits theaters in July. Abdul-Mateen has Netflix’s Man on Fire series debuting in April.

Simon Williams and Trevor Slattery will return for Marvel Television's #WonderMan Season 2, co-created by Destin Daniel Cretton and Andrew Guest, coming to @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/XnOBYrYHaA

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) March 23, 2026

‘Moana’ Trailer: Dwayne Johnson Rocks The Long Hair As Maui In Disney’s Live-Action Remake

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Travis Hopson

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March 23, 2026

Moana…is back. Again. Hey, you can hardly blame Disney for seeing how far the franchise will go, considering the recent Lilo & Stitch made over $1B. And now today Disney has revealed the first trailer for the live-action remake starring newcomer Catherine Laga’aia in the titular role and Dwayne Johnson, who finally gets to play the demigod Māui for real this time.

The new trailer reveals how closely each shot is to the original, basically a frame-by-frame redo. However, the visuals are a mixed bag. The Rock looks kinda corny with his long hair as Maui, and some shots have a mediocre green screen look to them. On the hand, the breathtaking island locale and oceanic sweep are just too good, and the reason why remaking Moana in live-action is so appealing.

Also in the cast are John Tui as Chief Tui, Frankie Adams as Sina, and Rena Owen as Gramma Tala.

The film is directed by Thomas Kail, best known for directing Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton. Jared Bush (Zootopia 2) and Dana Ledoux Miller wrote the screenplay.

If I’ve learned anything from the recent How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake, it’s not to shut out the possibility of these films being just as good as their predecessors. After an impressive teaser last year, I’m less sold on Moana, but still have hope it lives up to the original.

Moana opens in theaters on July 10th 2026.

‘Carolina Caroline’ Teaser: Samara Weaving And Kyle Gallner Hit The Road And Play The Angles

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Travis Hopson

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March 23, 2026

Samara Weaving is pretty hard to miss right now. She can be seen in theaters leading Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, and has multiple films on the way. One of those is Carolina Caroline, a part romance, part crime flick from Dinner in America director, Adam Carter Rehmeier.

Weaving stars alongside Kyle Gallner in Carolina Caroline, about a small-town Texas girl who connects with a con-man, and they hit the road, Bonnie & Clyde style. The film has a script by Tom Dean, and boasts a cast that includes Kyra Sedgwick and Jon Gries.

Gallner previously starred in Rehmeier’s Dinner in America, as well as Smile, Scream, and Dear White People.

SYNOPSIS: Caroline Daniels (Weaving), whose desire to leave her small Texas town brings her into the orbit of a charismatic con man (Gallner), and together they weave a path of crime and passion across the American Southeast. Also starring Kyra Sedgwick, the film features a wide-ranging country music soundtrack, with tracks from artists such as Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton, Loretta Lynn, and over a dozen others.

Carolina Caroline opens in theaters on June 5th from Magnolia Pictures and Magnet Releasing. This one looks like a blast, as most of Weaving’s movies are.

‘The Housemaid’ Sequel Adds Kirsten Dunst To Star Alongside Sydney Sweeney

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Travis Hopson

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March 23, 2026

Kirsten Dunst wasn’t bullshittin’ when she said she wanted to make movies that actually make money. After signing up for A Minecraft Movie 2, Dunst has now landed a role opposite Sydney Sweeney in The Housemaid’s Secret, a sequel to last year’s $400M-grossing The Housemaid.

Paul Feig will return to direct the sequel, with Rebecca Sonnenshine adapting the second of author Freida McFadden’s trilogy of novels. Also set to return is Michele Morrone as the mysterious groundskeeper, Enzo.

Here’s the official synopsis, courtesy of Lionsgate: In “The Housemaid’s Secret,” Millie returns, taking a job keeping house for a woman she’s never allowed to see—only to discover the truth behind the locked door that threatens to expose secrets far darker than her own.

It’s been a really strong few years for Dunst, who is coming off some of her best performances in Civil War, Roofman, and The Power of the Dog. She’ll be seen next in Ruben Östlund’s The Entertainment System is Down, alongside Keanu Reeves.

Presumably, if this one is a hit, Lionsgate will push forward adapting the third book, The Housemaid is Watching.

Box Office: ‘Project Hail Mary’ Takes Amazon/MGM Into Orbit With $140M Global Debut

By

Travis Hopson

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March 22, 2026

Project Hail Mary (review)- $80M

Call it a Hail Mary if you want, but whatever it was, Amazon/MGM has a touchdown on its hands. Project Hail Mary scored the studio’s biggest opening weekend ever with $80M domestic, and $140M globally. That’s also the second biggest domestic debut for an original work/non-IP of the decade behind Oppenheimer‘s $82M. Other than Barbie‘s $162M, it’s also the second biggest launch for star Ryan Gosling, and the most for directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Furthermore, the film was a hit with both critics and audiences, with its Rotten Tomatoes score in the mid-90s for both. Clearly, audiences were dying for an uplifting, exciting original sci-fi film again.

2. Hoppers– $18M/$120.3M

3. Dhurandhar The Revenge– $9.5M/$13.5M

4. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (review)- $9.1M

Searchlight Pictures dropped the anticipated genre sequel Ready or Not 2: Here I Come into 3,010 theaters and earned $9.1M, surpassing the $8M debut of the 2019 cult classic. Samara Weaving’s return as the former bride forced into yet another lethal game of Hide & Seek, also features Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, and Elijah Wood, making for a slightly starrier cast. Critically, the film was favored by audiences with an 89% RT score, while critics kept it “Fresh” at 76%.

5. Reminders of Him– $8M/$33.1M

6. Scream 7– $4.3M/$114.5M

7. GOAT– $3.5M/$97.5M

8. undertone– $3M/$15.2M

9. Wuthering Heights– $475K/$83.3M

10. Avatar: Fire & Ash– $280K/$403.8M

Also…The Rose Byrne-led drama Tow (review), about a homeless woman who sues a corrupt towing company to get her car back, opened in 180 theaters for just $131K. So much for the buzz over her recent Oscar nomination rubbing off on this much smaller movie. [BoxOfficeMojo]

DC Area Readers: Attend A Free Screening Of ‘Pretty Lethal’

By

Travis Hopson

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March 20, 2026

PRETTY LETHAL streams on Prime Video on March 25th

I’m happy to offer DC area readers the chance to attend a free screening of Prime Video’s action-packed film Pretty Lethal, starring Iris Apatow, Lana Condor, Millicent Simmonds, Avantika, Maddie Ziegler, Michael Culkin, Lydia Leonard and Uma Thurman!

SYNOPSIS: An action-packed thriller where five ballerinas, on their way to a prestigious dance competition, are barely on speaking terms when their bus breaks down in a remote forest. With no other options, they reluctantly seek shelter at an unsettling roadside inn run by Devora Kasimer (Uma Thurman), a reclusive former ballet prodigy. From the moment they arrive, something feels wrong—and their worst instincts prove right. As the situation turns deadly, the fractured team must set aside rivalries and weaponize years of brutal training, turning grace, discipline, and even pointe shoes into tools for survival.

The screening takes place on Tuesday, March 24th at 7:00pm at AMC Georgetown. If you’d like to attend, RSVP at the Amazon site here. Please remember, all screenings are first come first served and you’ll need to arrive early to ensure seating. Enjoy the show!

Pretty Lethal streams on Prime Video on March 25th.

‘Project Hail Mary’ Interview: Drew Goddard On Making Science Cool Again, Writing For An Alien, And ‘Buffy’ Love

By

Travis Hopson

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March 20, 2026

Drew Goddard’s head is constantly in the stars, and that’s just how he likes it. Goddard, who earned an Oscar nomination for adapting Andy Weir’s book, The Martian, reteamed with the author for Project Hail Mary. The film stars Ryan Gosling as science teacher Ryland Grace, who is blasted off into space to figure out why all of the stars, including our sun, are dying.

It’s a story that appealed to Goddard on multiple levels. He’d already worked with Weir on The Martian, and felt that he had a good grasp of the author’s voice and style. But also, Goddard just loves science and finding ways to make it cool and relatable to the movie audience. Also, he talks about the impact of knowing that Gosling was already aboard to play Grace.

That said, Project Hail Mary also proved to be quite a challenge, or every screenwriter’s “nightmare” as Goddard puts it in my interview with him. We talked about the challenge of introducing Grace’s alien partner, Rocky, and giving voice to a character with no known language and, even tougher, no face. Goddard talked about the importance of getting their “first contact” moment just right, of balancing the science-speak of the book with the needs of making an entertaining, thrilling movie, and more. We even talked a little bit about his time writing for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, one of my favorite shows of all-time, and how it still influences his work today.

Project Hail Mary is open in theaters now.