History is filled with stories of talented women whose creative voice was buried simply because of their gender. In too many of those cases it was their less-talented husbands who reaped the rewards of their spouses’ work, and another of those unfortunate tales is recounted in Colette, which stars Keira Knightley as the famous novelist.
Debuting earlier this year at Sundance, Colette is the first film by writer/director Wash Westmoreland since 2014’s Still Alice, which earned Julianne Moore an Oscar for Best Actress. Knightley plays Gabrielle Colette, who is convinced to ghostwrite a novel for her abusive husband Willy, only for it to become a huge hit. Later she fights for the freedom to express herself creatively and sexually as she falls in love with another woman.
Considering Knightley’s awards season success with period dramas Atonement, Pride & Prejudice, Anna Karenina, and The Imitation Game you can bet distributor Bleecker Street will make a big push for her this fall. Colette hits theaters on September 21st, and co-stars Dominic West, Fiona Shaw, Denise Gough, Aiysha Hart, Robert Pugh, and Eleanor Tomlinson.
So with this news is MGM saying the recent Robocop was a big old dud? Why, that’s just crazy talk. Obviously, the Joel Kinnaman-led reboot from a few years ago was no way to revitalize the franchise built on Paul Verhoeven’s 1987 classic, one of the best pure pieces of satire you’ll find on the big screen. Earlier this year we heard from original Robocop writer Ed Neumeier that he and co-writer Michael Miner were working on a new film that would bring the hero back, and he wasn’t lying. It’s happening, and Neill Blomkamp is attached, too.
Blomkamp will direct Robocop Returns, which is based on a decades old script by Neumeier and Miner. Justin Rhodes, of the upcoming Terminator reboot, will give the script a fresh rewrite. This must feel pretty good to Blomkamp, who gets a shot at another iconic franchise after his Alien sequel went nowhere. Deadline describes the plot as “anarchy reigns and the fate of Detroit hangs in the balance as RoboCop makes his triumphant return to fight crime and corruption.”
In case it hasn’t been made clear, this is an old script that was originally intended as a sequel to Verhoeven’s film, and that’s what the plan is now. The terrible Robocop sequels and reboot that followed are being ignored, as they probably should be. Neumeier explains in great detail why their script wasn’t used back in the first place…
“Verhoeven felt at the time that making one would be de classe and he wasn’t interested in the politics of a sequel. Then, the writers strike came along in 1988 and we were force majeured off the project. They brought in Frank Miller on a waiver. He wrote a draft and then another with Walon Green, and it got made by Irvin Kershner, who directed The Empire Strikes Back. I went off and did Starship Troopers with Paul.”
He continues that what it really boiled down to was the election of Donald Trump, because in the end all things circle back to Trump…
“Right when Trump was about to be elected president he called me and said, ‘Did you actually predict in your sequel script that a reality star would run for president and win?’ We had. So Mike and I wrote a draft and gave one interview in Barbados and I think the only person who read it was Neill Blomkamp, and that set this in motion.”
The original Robocop earned three Oscar nominations, including a win for Best Sound Editing. I don’t know if that’s in this new movie’s future, but if Blomkamp is a director more than capable of reaching those heights.
For a time it looked like the Michael Pena alien invasion flick Extinction was never going to come out. The fan-favorite character actor is afforded so few lead opportunities it was a huge disappointment when Universal pulled its January 2018 release date. Fortunately, Netflix threw some of that cold hard cash around and acquired it just days later, and now today we have the first trailer. As usual, it arrives with the actual release right around the corner.
Directed by Ben Young and co-starring Lizzy Caplan, Israel Broussard, Emma Booth, and some guy named Mike Colter (Luke Cage, duh), the film finds Pena as a man who has terrible dreams of losing his family to an attack of some kind. While nobody believes him at first, they come around when the planet is suddenly invaded by an alien force bent on its destruction. That’ll learn ’em!
It looks like another big film for Netflix as they look to deliver more blockbuster content to their subscribers. Extinction will be available to watch on July 27th.
Warner Bros. continues to spill the beans days ahead of San Diego Comic-Con. Following the confirmation of Todd Phillips’ Joker movie with Joaquin Phoenix, now we have the first official image of Zachary Levi as the hero Shazam. Just one look and already the DCEU feels like a much cheerier place.
The photo was revealed by EW, and look how campy this thing is. It’s perfect for the tone of the film, which centers on young Billy Batson (Asher Angel), who gains the power to transform into the DC Comics hero just by shouting out the word “SHAZAM”!! Levi clearly added some muscle for the role but that suit he’s wearing has all the fake bulk of a Halloween costume. It looks silly, and that’s part of the fun. Look at how red it is. Can you imagine that red swooping down to the rescue in any of Zack Snyder’s superhero flicks? You’d think it was a joke. Shazam’s seen there gulping down a soda alongside It star Jack Dylan Grazer, who plays Billy’s friend Freddy Freeman.
Directed by David Sandberg, Shazam! opens April 5th 2019.
Dwayne Johnson is incredibly busy, and it seems like every other week he’s found something new to do. His crammed schedule is just one reason he’s been attached to the role of DC Comics antihero Black Adam for so long with very little movement on it actually taking place. While the plan had been for shooting to begin early next year, Johnson now tells German site FilmStarts it may not be until the end of 2019…
“With Black Adam I don’t think we’re going to start early next year. Early next year right now it looks like I’m going to be shooting Jumanji, and then after that if everything goes well I’ll shoot a movie called Red Notice with Rawson Thurber again, with Gal Gadot, and another actor yet to be named. But Black Adam possibly at the end of next year. It’s coming along great, the script is coming along great we’re very happy with it.”
That’s not surprising. Johnson was originally set to star in a Shazam movie, but when given a choice he decided to play the hero’s nemesis, Black Adam. Rather than having them both in the same film the decision was made to split them up. It’s been nearly ten years since Johnson first became involved, and yet there is still no director. The Black Adam movie script is being written by Adam Sztykiel (Undateable), and according to Johnson it may include some big cameos from DC Comics heroes…
“Without giving anything away, there MIGHT be maybe a cameo or two of some of the other DC superheroes. We’ll see. That’s been the beauty of Black Adam as we’ve been developing it is that we could make a movie that just stood on its own too as well, but that’s also the beauty of those universes coming together at DC.”
I’ll continue to hold out hope Johnson hits the stage at Comic-Con to give us some real news on Black Adam, but I won’t hold my breath. You can see Johnson play the hero in this week’s action film, Skyscraper, which I reviewed here.
From Director John Krasinski comes the most intense thriller
of the year. A Quiet Place stars Krasinski and wife Emily Blunt as parents
trying to do everything they can to keep their family safe in a society overrun
by creatures who hunt by sound.
We Said: “Expressive
performances by all four leads anchor the lean screenplay, necessary because
sign language isn’t always the best way to communicate interpersonal
relationships. […] A Quiet Place packs a lot of scares and technical precision,
making for one of the best monster movies in recent years.” Rating: 4 out of 5
Based on the tragic real life scandal, Chappaquiddick tells the
story of the fateful accident in which Sen. Ted Kennedy (Jason Clarke) drove
his car off of a bridge, killing passenger Mary Jo Kopechne (Kate Mara) , a young
campaign strategist who worked for him. The film follows the fallout of the
incident and the mysterious and scandalous investigation that leftits mark on American politics.
We Said: “Chappaquiddick presents the Kennedys
in a vastly different light than we’re accustomed to seeing, and probably won’t
see again on the big screen for a long time.” Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Lean on Pete tells the powerful story of the bond between a young man and
an aging horse. When neglected teen Charley finds work caring for the eponymous
aging racehorse the two discover a friendship and respect neither had known.
Unfortunately, Pete’s days are numbered, and learning this, Charley frees him,
traveling across the country to find a new home for them both.
We Said: “When it’s about a
boy and a horse, it’s compelling. When it’s about being a homeless youth in
America, it’s compelling. Lean on Pete is a pretty solidly
crafted movie, even if it is too long for its own good.” Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Hey, if Bruce Willis isn’t going to do anything worthwhile with the Die Hard franchise, why not hand it over to Dwayne Johnson? Not that the generically-titled Skyscraper is exactly a remake of Die Hard but it might as well be, only with a few more bells, whistles, muscles, and prosthetic legs. Everything else remains in place; brawny Dad-turned-action hero, vaguely European villains to contend with, and a towering building to scale. Skyscraper isn’t going to win anybody over with ingenuity, but for pure, dumb fun it should suffice.
A reunion of Johnson with his Central Intelligence director Rawson Marshall Thurber, Skyscraper is one of those movies clearly designed for the international audience. Sure, Johnson is the lead here and he does everything we want him to do: hang off of buildings, sweat bullets, beat up bad guys, wear tight shirts, and so forth. But the largely international cast and Hong Kong setting mark this as a movie that knows its biggest payday will come from outside the United States.
The Rock suits up as Will Sawyer, a former FBI agent hired as a security expert in the largest skyscraper in the world, a futuristic city in the sky designed by billionaire Zhao Long Ji (Chin Han). Will’s had it tough, having lost a leg in a hostage situation years earlier, but it was through that he met his wife (Neve Campbell), a military surgeon and mother of his two kids. While the family is assumed to be away, Will and his shady pal (Pablo Schreiber) meet with Zhao and his security personnel. It isn’t long after the building is overrun by terrorists who set the place on fire in search of something valuable in Zhao’s possession. The problem? Will’s family is still inside, and he has to do whatever necessary to get in and save them.
From the moment we see Will snap on that prosthetic, we know he’ll be using it for more than walking. Having “laid down his sword” following the tragic incident that cost his leg, Will literally jumps right back into action to save his family. The wildest sequence is before he ever gets back into the building, as he uses a massive crane to carry himself above the fireline on the 96th floor. From there the bulk of the film finds Johnson doing his best Tom Cruise impersonation, scaling along walls miles above the city streets, where thousands of anxious on-lookers gasp at his every move. If you’re someone who suffers from vertigo or a fear of heights this is probably not the movie for you as some of the early sequences are pretty stunning. If there’s a flimsy or burning ledge anywhere in the building you can bet Johnson will be hanging from it at some point.
Once inside the towering inferno, the action is pretty formulaic and the only thing elevating them is Johnson, who manages to be entertaining in a role that is somewhat toned-down for him. For the most part this is a role he has to play straight, and there isn’t another actor to be the comic relief. The premise is so over-the-top and so are some of the ridiculous stunts Johnson pulls off that you wish there was more humor as a complement, like we see from him in the Fast & Furious flicks. He’s not exactly playing John McClane here; he’s more like the amiable Johnson we’ve seen in most of his family-friendly roles, except he occasionally punches people in the face. He isn’t given enough personality, other than his utter devotion to duct tape’s ability to fix anything.
I don’t know if a “hall of mirrors” shootout was Thurber paying homage to Orson Welles’ 1947 noir The Lady from Shanghai but it adds a bit of visual spice to a lackluster finale. Let’s give him credit and say he did it on purpose.
Nobody is going to put Skyscraper on the same level as Die Hard, the ground it’s built on is too generic for that. But it’s also hard to go wrong with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson saving people from a couple thousand feet in the air. He remains one of the most watchable and bankable stars in the world, and there’s no reason to think he’ll hit rock bottom any time soon.
With Avengers 4 wrapping up, so too does the Russo Brothers’ stint at Marvel Studios. The directing duo came out of nowhere when they took the reins of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, quickly becoming Marvel’s go-to directors for their biggest projects. But now that they’ve launched their own studio, the films they’ve taken on have nothing to do with Marvel, but in many cases they’ve stayed in the realm of superheroes. Their latest fits the bill, as it’s an adaptation of the popular Valiant Comics series, Quantum and Woody.
The Russos will exec-produce a TV series for TBS based on Christopher Priest’s Quantum and Woody comics. Inspired by Marvel’s Power Man & Iron Fist, along with the buddy sports comedy White Men Can’t Jump, the comic centers on estranged adoptive brothers who are reunited over the death of their father. While investigating his death they are accidentally imbued with unstable powers, forcing them to clang their metal wristbands together once every 24 hours to avoid being dissolved. What stood out about Quantum and Woody was its sense of humor. One brother was a straight-laced hero, while the other is a total slacker, and flying against comic book norms it was the white character portrayed as the irresponsible comic relief.
Joel McHale (Community) has been rumored for one of the lead roles, while the pilot will be written by Ant-man & the Wasp duo Andrew Barrer and Gabriel Ferrari.
Add this to the growing list of Valiant Comics adaptations including Bloodshot, Faith, Harbinger, and Harbinger Wars. [Deadline]
As tends to happen in the days leading up to Comic-Con, the biggest news you’d expect to drop in Hall H have been revealed early. THR confirms Warner Bros. has greenlit a Joker origin movie directed by Todd Phillips and starring Joaquin Phoenix.
While there is a Jared Leto version of Batman’s arch-nemesis lurking in the DCEU already, and with a solo movie apparently in the works, Phillips’ version will be a standalone film as part of a completely different banner. Set in the 1980s and co-written by Phillips and Scott Silver, it will be a gritty, criminal drama about how the Joker rose to power in the Gotham City underworld. This will be a much smaller movie compared to others in the DCEU, with a reported budget of around $55M. Production will begin this September.
The start date should offer up plenty of time to figure out exactly what this movie is going to be. Martin Scorsese’s name is mysteriously absent from the latest update, odd because he was so prominently attached before and clearly an inspiration for the project’s tone. Will the rumored Robert De Niro be involved? And what about any connections to Matt Reeves’ Batman movie?
When Solo: A Star Wars Story writer Jon Kasdan came aboard to write Indiana Jones 5, it was largely expected the film would miss its 2020 release date. Well now Lucasfilm has made it official by moving it to July 9th 2021. It’s just one in a handful of changes worth taking a quick look at.
When and if Indiana Jones 5 arrives on July 9th 2021, it will be just days shy of Harrison Ford’s 79th birthday. Largely expected to be his final time in the role, Ford will be working alongside Steven Spielberg who has returned to direct. No other plot details are available, and much of the speculation has already turned towards the future of the franchise if Ford isn’t a part of it. We HAVE been hearing a lot about de-aging technology lately…
Disney’s next big move involves Mary Poppins Returns, which has been moved up a few days to December 19th 2019. Why is this important? Because opening just two days later are Aquaman and Bumblebee, meaning there’s very little room for any of these movies to succeed. I expect something will tuck tail and run to a different date at some point. Looking at you, Warner Bros….
Dwayne Johnson’s amusement park adaptation Jungle Cruise has been set for October 11th 2019, while Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent 2 will hope to recapture the magic on May 29th 2020.
