Vin Diesel Makes Mysterious Promise for ‘Alpha Groot’ In Guardians of the Galaxy 3

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March 10, 2020

Everyone’s favorite lovable head of a crime family (like it or not, that’s what Dom Torretto’s “Family” Is) Vin Diesel, is out promoting his latest film Bloodshot. As any actor who’s associated with a Marvel property has to do, he took some time away from the movie he was promoting to talk about his Marvel franchise, Guardians of the Galaxy. Diesel told Comicbook.com

“I only have two words about that character and it is ‘Alpha Groot'”

If you ask me this can only mean one of two things;

Somehow the original Groot, who perished saving the gang in the first installment, comes back, possibly as a result of Avengers: Endgame. If you remember we got confirmation that baby/teen Groot were distinctive from the original Groot
Alpha Groot just means he’s grown and back to full power, which was pretty damn impressive if you remember way back when.

I think the best all around option for everyone would be option 2. The other big takeaway from the conversation was when Diesel revealed that some of the Guardians would make an appearance in Thor: Love and Thunder. While the chemeistry between Thor and the GotG team was awesome as a whole I think it a safe bet that only “rabbit and tree” join up with Thor in his stand-alone film, if for no other reason then that they are the easiest to get in the shooting schedule being CGI

DC Readers: Attend A Free Early Screening Of ‘I Still Believe’

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Travis Hopson

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March 9, 2020

We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a free early screening of I Still Believe. The film is based on the true story of Christian music megastar Jeremy Camp, and stars KJ Apa, Britt Robertson, Melissa Roxburgh, Nathan Dean, Shania Twain, and Gary Sinise.

SYNOPSIS: From the makers of I CAN ONLY IMAGINE comes the true life story of Christian music mega star Jeremy Camp. Jeremy’s remarkable journey of love and loss proves there is always hope in the midst of tragedy and that faith tested is the only faith worth sharing.

The screening takes place tomorrow, March 10th at 7:00pm at AMC Mazza Gallerie. If you’d like to attend, simply go to the Lionsgate site here. Please remember all screenings are first come first served and you will need to arrive early to ensure seating. Enjoy the film!

I Still Believe opens March 13th.

‘Uncorked’ Trailer: Mamoudou Athie Aspires To Be A World-Class Sommelier In Netflix’s New Film

By

Travis Hopson

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March 9, 2020

You might not recognize the name Mamoudou Athie, but you’ve undoubtedly seen his face. He emerged a couple of years ago in Netflix’s acclaimed series The Get Down playing the legendary Grandmaster Flash, and then in the breakout film Patti Cake$, once again spinning the wheels of steel. He’s since gone on to well-received supporting roles in The Front Runner, Sorry for your Loss, and he’ll soon appear in Jurassic World: Dominion. But first he returns to Netflix in a leading capacity, as an aspiring wine steward in the film Uncorked.

Uncorked finds Athie starring alonside Niecy Nash and Courtney B. Vance, in the story of a young man groomed to take over his family’s successful BBQ business. However, he has a dream of his own, to become a world-class sommelier, tasting the finest wines from across the globe.

The film is written and directed by Prentice Penny, best known for work on HBO series Insecure.

Uncorked comes to Netflix on March 27th.

SYNOPSIS: Fueled by his love for wine, Elijah enrolls in a course to become a master sommelier, an elite designation given only to a handful who are able to pass its notoriously difficult exam. It’s a dream that upends the expectations of his father, Louis (Courtney B. Vance), who insists Elijah take over the popular Memphis barbeque joint that’s been passed down from father to son since its inception. Elijah struggles with the demands of school and a new relationship, while Louis wrestles with the feelings of his son rejecting the family business until a tragedy forces both of them to slow things down.

DC Readers: Attend A Free Early Screening Of ‘Bloodshot’ Starring Vin Diesel

By

Travis Hopson

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March 9, 2020

We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a free early screening of Bloodshot, starring Vin Diesel as the Valiant Comics superhero.

SYNOPSIS: Based on the bestselling comic book, Vin Diesel stars as Ray Garrison, a soldier recently killed in action and brought back to life as the superhero Bloodshot by the RST corporation. With an army of nanotechnology in his veins, he’s an unstoppable force –stronger than ever and able to heal instantly. But in controlling his body, the company has sway over his mind and memories, too. Now, Ray doesn’t know what’s real and what’s not – but he’s on a mission to find out.

The screening takes place on Tuesday, March 10th at 7:00pm at Regal Majestic. If you’d like to attend, simply go to the Sony Pictures site here. Please remember all screenings are first come first served and you will need to arrive early to ensure seating. Enjoy the show!

Bloodshot opens on March 13th.

Final ‘Black Widow’ Trailer: The Avengers’ Superspy Returns Home To Confront Her Past

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Travis Hopson

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March 9, 2020

We already know the fate that befalls Natasha Romonanoff long before Black Widow arrives, and that makes this walk into her secretive past very interesting. Marvel has dropped the final trailer to the Avengers’ first solo outing, with Scarlett Johansson back as the Russian superspy who returns home to where her story truly began.

Set between the events of Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, the film explores Natasha’s time in the Red Room, the mysterious Russian training ground where she learned her deadly tactics. We saw a glimpse of the Red Room way back in Avengers: Age of Ultron (one of many important things that popped up in that average flick), and how the time there deeply impacted Natasha’s psyche. No surprise that she now wants to bring it all to an end, and teams with her family to take down Taskmaster, the villain training a new group of recruits.

Joining Johansson are breakout star Florence Pugh as her sister Yelena, with David Harbour as the Red Guardian and Rachel Weisz as Melina. Behind the camera is acclaimed filmmaker Cate Shortland, as if this needs any more superstar talent. It just looks incredible and I can’t wait.

Black Widow hits theaters on May 1st.

‘The Undoing’ Trailer: Nicole Kidman’s Perfect Life Is Destroyed Once Again In HBO’s Miniseries

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Travis Hopson

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March 9, 2020

Nicole Kidman, David E. Kelley, and HBO are together again. Having partnered up on two wildly successful seasons of Big Little Lies, Kelley is once more putting Kidman through the ringer as a woman whose picture-perfect life is upended by murder and an entire closetful of secrets.

The Undoing is based on Jean Hanff Korelitz’s 2014 novel You Should Have Known, and finds Kidman as a therapist whose world is turned upside down just weeks before her book is to be published. That’s what a missing husband and a brutal murder will do!

The limited-run series is directed by Susanne Bier, Oscar-winning filmmaker behind In a Beter World, After the Wedding, and Bird Box. She’s coming off the Emmy-winning success of The Night Manager, and you know HBO is hoping she can replicate the acclaim that series received.

SYNOPSIS: The limited series The Undoing, premiering May 10, stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant as Grace and Jonathan Fraser, who are living the only lives they ever wanted for themselves. Overnight a chasm opens in their lives: a violent death and a chain of terrible revelations. Left behind in the wake of a spreading and very public disaster and horrified by the ways in which she has failed to heed her own advice, Grace must dismantle one life and create another for her child (Noah Jupe) and her family.

Also starring Hugh Grant, Noah Jupe, Lily Rabe, Donald Sutherland, and Edgar Ramirez, The Undoing hits HBO beginning May 10th.

Podcast: Talking ONWARD, THE WAY BACK, Coronavirus Delays, Christian Bale in THOR 4

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Travis Hopson

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March 8, 2020

On this week’s show, John and Travis review Pixar’s latest film ONWARD, Ben Affleck’s comeback film THE WAY BACK, and why boh struggled at the box office. Could it have anything to do with fears over the Coronavirus? Everything else is being impacted by it, right? That’ll be on the show, too, and how that might affect the fall of more movies get delayed. Plus, Christian Bale is signed on for THOR: LOVE & THUNDER!

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Box Office: Pixar’s ‘Onward’ Goes Nowhere With $68M Worldwide, ‘The Way Back’ Scores $8.5M

By

Travis Hopson

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March 8, 2020

Onward (review)- $40M

The narrative all along was that Onward looked like a mid-level Pixar film. The early reviews, including my own, confirmed that, but it didn’t perform like mid-level Pixar. Onward, which features a fantasy tale about two elven brothers on a magical journey to resurrect their late father, opened with just $40M. That’s the lowest opening Fri-Sun weekend ever for Pixar. The Good Dinosaur had $39M but had opened on Wednesday. The $200M movie has just $68M worldwide, and while some of that may be due to the Coronavirus wiping out the international market, that certainly wasn’t the case stateside.

2. The Invisible Man- $14.5M/$52M

3. The Way Back (review)- $8.5M

Ben Affleck’s basketball drama The Way Back scored just $8.5M. That’s on the low side of what analysts were hoping for, and speaks to the difficulty of movies like this breaking out in today’s market. The well-reviewed film, which many see as a comeback vehicle for Affleck, is a deeply personal one for the actor, mirroring some of the struggles he has contended with the last few years. What’s sad is this is exactly the kind of movie Affleck has been dying to make, and I hope it holds well enough that he can do more.

4. Sonic the Hedgehog– $8.2M/$141M

5. The Call of the Wild– $7.2M/$57.6M

6. EMMA. (review)- $5.1M/$6.9M

The Jane Austen adaptation EMMA. expanded to over 1500 theaters and earned $5.1M, bringing its total to $6.9M after three weeks. The delightful period drama stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Mia Goth, Johnny Flynn, and Bill Nighy, and is the best take on the classic matchmaking story since 1995’s Clueless.

7. Bad Boys for Life– $3.1M/$202M

8. Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey– $2.1M/$82M

9. Impractical Jokers– $1.8M/$8.6M

10. Jumanji: The Next Level– $1.5M/$316M

James Wan Developing A Frankenstein-esque Monster Movie For Universal

By

Travis Hopson

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March 8, 2020

The success of The Invisible Man has Universal doin’ the Monster Mash again. While they aren’t formally recreating the failed Dark Universe experiment, the classic movie monsters are indeed coming back. And the latest, which sounds a lot like a Frankenstein movie, will be spearheaded by James Wan.

Wan is reportedly developing a new monster movie for Universal, with Supernatural writer Robbie Thompson on the script. The number of monsters out there for Wan to choose from are vast, including Dracula, the Wolfman, and more, but it sounds like this will be a contemporary take on Frankenstein, just as The Invisible Man was a modern version of that character. Here’s the description:

“With shades of Disturbia, the story will focus on a group of teens who discover that a neighbor is building a monster in his basement. Spoiler: the monster gets loose.”

Wan’s horror cred is beyond reproach, with Saw, The Conjuring Universe, and Insidious to his credit. He’s even got a horror-themed Aquaman spinoff, The Trench, in the works right now. Beyond that, he’s just a really smart businessman who knows how to crank out consistent blockbusters. There’s not much he can’t do. Surely, his version will be better than 2015’s Victor Frankenstein, which managed to be terrible despite James McAvoy and Daniel Radcliffe.

So add this movie to Universal’s growing lineup of monster flicks including Dexter Fletcher’s Renfield, Paul Feig’s Dark Army, and Elizabeth Banks’ The Invisible Woman. There’s also a Bride of Frankenstein movie out there, too.

‘Lost Transmissions’ Trailer
New Simon Pegg And Juno Temple Drama Marries Music And Mental Illness

By
Cortland Jacoby
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March 8, 2020

Mental illness and music harmonize together in the new trailer for the Simon Pegg/Juno Temple film Lost Transmissions. In it, Temple and Pegg star as musician friends who brave the L.A. music scene together. WhenTemple’s Hannah is taken under the wing of a huge pop star (Alexandria Daddario), tensions rise between the two friends and Pegg’s character seems to struggle with his mental health.

The film premiered at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, before being acquired by Gravitas Ventures. You can catch the film from home Friday, March 13th on video on demand and iTunes.