Denzel Washington and Spike Lee are together again. For their fifth collaboration, they’re aiming very high with a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 classic crime thriller, High and Low, for Apple and A24.
The original movie starred the legendary Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune as a businessman whose plans to strongarm a business deal are upended by a kidnapping and ransom demand that puts him in a moral quandary.
Lee will not only direct but exec-produce the remake through his 40 Acres & a Mule banner. The film also reunites Washington with The Equalizer producer Todd Black.
It’s been nearly twenty years since the last time Washington and Lee teamed up. They’ve worked together previously on Mo’ Better Blues, Malcolm X, He Got Game, Inside Man.
A24 plans a theatrical release for High and Low that’ll be followed by streaming on Apple TV+. [Variety]
Throughout cinema history, teenagers have been trying to have sex onscreen for years. Films like Superbad, Porkys, and The Todo List, look at the trope from a comedic perspective, but the genre is twisted on its head in Molly Manning Walker’s directorial debut How to Have Sex. A raw and real coming-of-age drama, the young British filmmaker looks at how societal expectations of sex and wild parties often get in the way of one’s own boundaries.
Three 16-year-old girlfriends arrive at a Greek island for a “spring break holiday” so to speak. Hundreds of teens will flock to this resort to drink, hook up, and do other debaucherous activities for a few days before returning home to sort out their futures. Tara (Mia McKenna-Bruce) is a virgin determined to have sex for the first time and is not quite sure if she passed her A-levels (the British equivalent of the SATS). She is joined by her best friends, Em (Enva Lewis) and the jealous Skye (Lara Peake).
On their first day, they befriend the group nextdoor, including nice guy Paddy (Samuel Bottomley) and Badger (Shaun Thomas) with his bleached hair and plenty of tattoos. Think of a young Ryan Gosling in The Place Upon The Pines who acts like Gosling in The Notebook mixed with an everyday teenage boy. As Tara sets her eyes on him, she is pushed to hang out with Paddy by Skye which ends with them alone on the beach where unsaid boundaries are crossed.
It could be really easy for Walker’s script to feel traumatic and over the top. Instead, Tara’s inner conflict is written all over McKenna-Bruce’s expressive face, telling a story about the importance of consent but also not listening to your inner voice. While the plot isn’t anything new and the pacing is quite slow, Tara’s journey to realizing what happened to her is engaging.
I wish Em received more of a story considering she is the only person of color in the cast. Walker writes frustrating characters that lose or almost loses its audience as time goes on. But because Walker contains the plot to the moment they step off and onto the plane, How to Have Sex is concise enough to forgive most of its flaws. There’s a reason the film has become a festival darling since winning the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes: Walker’s direction is tight and raw and McKenna-Bruce’s performance is captivating.
How to Have Sex is playing in theaters Friday and will be released eventually on MUBI. Watch the trailer below.
Disney, just a day after emphasizing that more sequels and franchises are the order of the day, has dropped a new teaser for one of their most anticipated sequels, Inside Out 2. The original film, released in 2015, earned more than $850M but most importantly it earned some of the best reviews ever for Pixar. And there was pretty good reason storywise to do another.
The original movie centered on 11-year-old Riley, and took us inside her mind to follow her emotions; Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness, as they coped with a move into a new city and everything that comes with it. But now, Riley is a teenager and there’s a new emotion to add to the mix: Anxiety.
In this new clip, we see what happens when Riley’s hockey game gets interrupted by a hearty dose of anxiety.
Amy Poehler returns to voice Joy, joined by Phyllis Smith as Sadness, and Lewis Black as Anger. Tony Hale has replaced Bill Hader as Fear, while Liza Lapira has filled in for Mindy Kaling as Disgust. Stranger Things star Maya Hawke voices the newest emotion, Anxiety. There’s also a role for June Squibb that remains a mystery.
Here’s the synopsis: Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley just as headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone. Maya Hawke lends her voice to Anxiety, alongside Amy Poehler as Joy, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Lewis Black as Anger, Tony Hale as Fear, and Liza Lapira as Disgust. Directed by Kelsey Mann and produced by Mark Nielsen, “Inside Out 2” releases only in theaters Summer 2024.
Kelsey Mann makes his feature directorial from a script by Oscar-nominated writer Meg LeFauve. Inside Out 2 opens in theaters on June 14th.
Euphoria has so many breakout stars in it that fans don’t have to worry about missing their favorite actors for too long. Obviously, you’ve got Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, and even Colman Domingo out there in multiple projects. But don’t forget about Hunter Schafer, who not only had a role in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes but is set for her first horror movie with Cuckoo.
The second feature from German director Tilman Singer (Luz), who shot it in 35mm, Cuckoo stars Schafer alongside Dan Stevens, Jessica Henwick, Jan Bluthardt, Martin Csokas, Greta Fernández, and Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey. An impressive group, to be sure.
Here’s the synopsis: Reluctantly, 17-year-old Gretchen leaves her American home to live with her father, who has just moved into a resort in the German Alps with his new family. Arriving at their future residence, they are greeted by Mr. König, her father’s boss, who takes an inexplicable interest in Gretchen’s mute half-sister Alma. Something doesn’t seem right in this tranquil vacation paradise. Gretchen is plagued by strange noises and bloody visions until she discovers a shocking secret that also concerns her own family.
Singer not only directed the film but also wrote the screenplay.
Neon has the rights and will take it to next week’s Berlin Film Festival for its world premiere, and next to SXSW.
Take this with a grain of salt because it comes from one of those alleged “scoopers”, Daniel Richtman, but this is a rumor worth keeping an eye on. The report goes that The Bear and Bottoms star Ayo Edibiri is up to lead one of Disney’s two Pirates of the Caribbean films in the works. The other with Margot Robbie attached isn’t as far along but has a script by Birds of Prey writer Christina Hodson.
Chernobyl writer Craig Mazin and franchise writer Ted Elliot are working together on the other Pirates of the Caribbean film that would star Edibiri. Neither film would have any connection to the original movies led by Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow, although there’s a chance one could crack open the door to his return.
For a time, Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy) was reportedly eyed to lead the film when it was to focus on Redd, a character from the Disneyland theme park attraction. If those plans were ever real (they also came from a Disney scooper), they have changed to put focus on “a younger cast of pirates looking for a hidden treasure.”
Edibiri was recently attached to Marvel’s Thunderbolts but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. She was replaced by Geraldine Viswanathan.
Disney has not set a date for either Pirates of the Caribbean movie, but with Bob Iger clearly wanting more sequels and franchises, expect that to change.
Ever since Thomas Cailley‘s The Animal Kingdom opened Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section last year, the buzz has been building for the sci-fi adventure. First of all, Cailley impressed in 2014 with rom-com Love at First Sight, with this as his first feature since then. Second, the film has gone on to win multiple Cesar Awards with a lot of the attention going to actors Adéle Exarchopoulous (recently of Passages) and Romain Duris, two of the biggest stars in all of French cinema.
So what’s it about? The film is set in a world where mutations have begun turning humans into animals. Duris plays a distraught husband who, along with his son, ventures into a forest to find his wife who has been mutated and fled with other creatures.
Paul Kircher plays Duris and Exarchopoulous’ son. Tom Mercier, Billie Blain, Nathalie Richard, and Saadia Bentaieb are also in the cast.
Cailley directed the film and co-wrote the script with Pauline Munier.
Here’s the synopsis: MAGNET invites you to screen THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, a visionary new thriller that drops viewers into an extraordinary world where mutations in human genetics cause people to transform into hybrid creatures, François does everything he can to save his wife, who is affected by this mysterious condition. As some of the creatures disappear into a nearby forest, François embarks with Emile, their 16-year-old son, on a quest to find her with help from a local police officer.
The Animal Kingdom hits theaters and VOD on March 15th.
DUNE: PART TWO- An exceptional sci-fi spectacle that has made me fall in love with a spice world I previously hated. The only problem is that my expectations for the future are even higher, and I'm not sure Denis Villeneuve can reach them.
We’re now about a month away from the arrival of Dune: Part Two, and it’s time to begin getting excited for Denis Villeneuve’s sequel. Warner Bros. has dropped an extended six-minute clip centering on a key action sequence with star Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides.
As seen in the footage, Atreides is engaged in the final test to become one of the Fremen, and lead them into battle against Harkonnen. But to pass, he’ll have to tame and ride one of Arrakis’ gigantic sandworms, or die trying.
Also featured in the clip are Zendaya as Chani, and Javier Bardem as Stilgar, leader of the Fremen of Sietch Tabr.
We also see new footage of the Fremen in a destructive battle against the forces of Harkonnen, and Paul squaring off with the ruthless Feyd-Rautha, played by Austin Butler.
Here’s the synopsis: “Dune: Part Two” will explore the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a warpath of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.
How confident was Paramount in their Sonic the Hedgehog franchise? Even before the sequel arrived in 2022, they had already announced a series spinoff. Knuckles would see the return of Idris Elba as the voice of the fearless red echidna antihero, and the first trailer for the Paramount+ show has arrived.
Designed as a bridge between Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and this year’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the Knuckles series features Elba and Adam Pally, the latter returning as bumbling Deputy Sheriff Wade Whipple as he is trained in the ways of the Echidna warrior.
Franchise regular Tika Sumpter is also in the cast, joined by Cary Elwes, Edi Patterson, Julian Barratt, Scott Mescudi, Ellie Taylor, Rory McCann, Stockard Channing, Christopher Lloyd, Paul Scheer, and Rob Huebel. Sadly, no Jim Carrey but at least he’s still part of the mothership as Robotnik.
Jeff Fowler, who has directed each film, has also helmed the Knuckles pilot. The series was created by John Whittington and Toby Ascher. Directors on future episodes include Jorma Taccone, Carol Banker, Brandon Trost, and Ged Wright.
Knuckles begins streaming on Paramount+ on April 26th, leading into Sonic the Hedgehog 3 which hits theaters on December 20th.
In the increasingly corporate world of entertainment, quarterly earnings calls are now the place to make big announcements to excite shareholders. Disney held their latest call yesterday, and as you probably already know, Moana 2 was the big surprise reveal. Well, there was a lot more that CEO Bob Iger had up his sleeve, so let’s just get to it.
First of all, Iger confirmed that Lucasfilm’s next Star Wars theatrical movie would be The Mandalorian and Grogu and it’ll arrive in 2026. Right now there are two opens dates on May 22nd and December 18th, so expect it to land on one of those.
Zootopia 2 was also confirmed to arrive in 2025, with no hard date set. Screenwriter Jared Bush is coming back to work on the film, joined by co-director Josie Trinidad. Expect to hear the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin as officer Judy Hopps and Jason Bateman as Nick Wilde. The Zootopia franchise kicked off in 2016 with the first movie earning over $1B worldwide and launching an animated series on Disney+. Right now, there’s a November 26th 2025 date that’s open where the film could land.
Disney continued to lean-in on sequels by revealing that Frozen 3 and Toy Story 5 would hit theaters in 2026. These are two of Disney’s longest-running franchises at this point, but they approach their audiences differently. The Toy Story films get more mature to reflect that the kids who loved them in the beginning are now adults. Frozen did that a little bit with its sequel, which I think was superior to the original, by the way, but it remains to be seen if that continues with this third (and final?) chapter. As for open dates, we could see Frozen 3 land on November 25th 2026, with Toy Story 5 on June 19th 2026. I suppose those could swap or perhaps could pushed to a later date, but we’ll just have to see how things progress.
The worst kept secret ever was confirmed as Fede Alvarez’s upcoming Aliens movie is officially titled Alien: Romulus. No release date for that one yet.
And for you Swifties out there, Disney+ will be the exclusive home of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version), premiering on March 15th 2024. The streaming film will include five bonus songs from Swift’s 2020 album, Folklore. Haters gonna hate hate hate, but Taylor Swift will keep making that money.
There’s something rotten stinking up Zelda Williams and Diablo Cody’s Lisa Frankenstein, and no, it’s not the corpse half of this undead teen rom-com. Unfortunately, it’s Williams’ clunky direction and the surprisingly lame script by Cody that buries the committed lead performances by the talented Kathryn Newton and Riverdale star Cole Sprouse. On paper, this has the makings of a high school comedy classic. Cody, writer of Juno, Young Adult, and the more apt cult favorite Jennifer’s Body knows her way around offbeat, savage tales of burgeoning womanhood. Williams, the daughter of the late Robin Williams, is set to make her own mark in the field of comedy. And Newton, who has shown her comedic chops in this arena already with the body-swapping horror-comedy Freaky. It takes a concerted effort to mess this up quite as badly as Lisa Frankenstein manages to.
The rhythm and tone are off almost immediately. In the screening I attended, filled with giggling young influencers ready to pop at every joke, the room was silent for the first 40 minutes as every punchline wiffed badly. The flatness is felt right away as we’re introduced to Lisa Swallows (Newton), a high school misfit who witnessed her mother butchered by a random slasher. Her father (Joe Chrest) quickly gets remarried to the wicked Janet (Carla Gugino), who hates Lisa and everything about her. But at least Lisa has her new stepsister, Taffy (Liza Soberano), popular/slutty cheerleader who cares enough to try and make her less of a social disaster.
Set in the 1980s with all of the requisite pop songs and outrageous outfits to match, Lisa Frankenstein feels like a film that Cody probably would’ve directed herself if her one directorial effort, the long-forgotten 2013 religious-comedy Paradise, wasn’t such a misfire. It seems that she’s going for a Tim Burton vibe but Williams doesn’t have the experience to bring that vision to life. Newton’s Lisa carries the big hair and dress of a young Helena Bonham Carter as she hangs out at the nearby graveyard, pining for the Victorian era man whose grave she frequents. After experiencing a humiliating day at school, a freak storm brings Lisa’s wish to life. He rises from the grave to be with her, but it seems the spirits have made a boo-boo. Lisa doesn’t really want to BE with him. So into the “friend zone” he goes. Sprouse tries his best to match that Johnny Depp macabre Edward Scissorhands vibe.
Lisa Frankenstein has a great idea, a fun, almost Heathers-esque take on Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel. We’ve seen a lot of Frankenstein riffs lately but this is the only one that doesn’t seem to know how to achieve what it wants to be. While some of the visuals, supernatural humor, and even an opening Corpse Bride-esque animated sequence continue the Tim Burton similarities, the film isnt nearly sly enough or grisly enough to make much of an impression. And that’s even as Lisa and her zombie beau begin hacking her rivals to death so they can claim appendages for him. With each new limb, the undead creature looks less like a shambling monster and more like the handsome star of a CW series. You’ll get a few giggles when “On the Wings of Love” backs the wanton slaughter, but the film never fully commits to the craziness of its premise. While Focus Features wants this to be seen as a Valentine’s Day date film for teens, Newton and Sprouse don’t really click on a romantic level. They work better together during the comically murderous moments when Lisa gives in to her oddball sensibilities and he ratchets up the body count to impress her.
The thing is, I still admire Lisa Frankenstein for attempting to recreate the sort of eccentric 1980s teen comedy that I, and clearly Diablo Cody, used to love. If this movie had been released when I was a kid, it would probably be a personal favorite. But it didn’t come out then; it’s here now, and the demands of this kind of film are just different. There’s no energy to speak of, and a curious lack of audaciousness for such a zany idea hatched from the typically reliable Cody. This movie should be outrageous from start to finish and it just isn’t.
Recently, Cody revealed that, to her anyway, Lisa Frankenstein and Jennifer’s Body exist in the same cinematic universe. It’s funny, because Lisa Frankenstein almost feels like an attempted correction of what went wrong with that 2009 film, which was unfairly destroyed by people who just didn’t like Megan Fox at the time. But if you were to go back and watch it now, Fox wasn’t ready for that kind of demanding lead role and its mixing of genres, and the film suffered as a result. At least in this case, Newton is more than ready. She’s a special talent, I think with the potential to be the next Goldie Hawn. But she’s been let down by unsure writing and inexperienced direction. That said, Lisa Frankenstein will probably still find an audience who love its outsider spirit, grisly bloodshed, and unusual love story, while the rest of us will wish it had stayed buried.
Lisa Frankenstein opens in theaters on February 9th.
