Box Office: ‘Barbie’ Nears $775M After Just Two Weeks, ‘Haunted Mansion’ Has Creaky Debut As ‘Talk To Me’ Makes Noise

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July 30, 2023

1. Barbie– $93M/$351.4M

It was a second gigantic weekend for Barbie with a dreamy $93M. That’s the second-best week two for Warner Bros. EVER, beating the second week of The Dark Knight at $75.1M. Worldwide, Mattel’s doll film is at $774.5M. This is after TWO WEEKS, ya’ll. Personally, I’ve seen the film three times, joining various friends who had yet to catch it. And each time, the theaters have been totally sold out, making it very hard to find anyplace with available seats. The marketing has been genius, and yes marketing played a big role in its success. So what? That’s what marketing is supposed to do; help a movie succeed. And this one definitely has, already having surpassed Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse‘s $678M.

2. Oppenheimer– $46.2M/$174M

Don’t fret for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer. The Cillian Murphy-led drama about J. Robert Oppenheimer has $174M domestic and $400M worldwide, which is damn good for an R-rated movie about a guy who helped create the atomic bomb.

3. Haunted Mansion (review)– $24.2M

A tough weekend for Disney’s Haunted Mansion. Facing the might of Barbenheimer, the latest attempt to turn the theme park attraction into a blockbuster opened with just $24.2M domestic and $33.3M worldwide. This is a middling debut and a disappointing start, as Disney continues to falter at these adaptations and it doesn’t seem to matter how much star power is attached. When it comes to star-driven films like this, I think it’s hard not to look at the impact of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

4. Sound of Freedom– $12.4M/$148.9M

5. Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part 1– $10.7M/$139.2M

6. Talk to Me (review)– $10M

A24’s latest trendy horror Talk to Me made some noise with a strong $10M debut. That’s the second-best debut weekend for the popular studio, behind Hereditary and just ahead of Midsommar. The film, which boasts only Miranda Otto as a “name” star, centers on a troubled young woman who communicates with the dead through the severed hand of a medium, only for evil souls to walk through into our realm.

7. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny– $4M/$167M

The fifth Indiana Jones movie has $355M after five weeks of release, which is disappointing to say the least.

8. Elemental– $3.4M/$144.9M

9. Insidious: The Red Door– $3.1M/$78M

10. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse– $1.4M/$378.7M

‘Saw X’ Trailer: Jigsaw Is Back And Out For Bloody Payback

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Travis Hopson

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July 30, 2023

The interesting thing about the long-running Saw movies is that the frachise’s most central figure John “the Jigsaw Killer” Kramer, has been dead since the third movie. Appearing in flashback ever since, each movie has played some clever tricks with the narrative to keep Jigsaw’s story going. And they’re doing that again with Saw X, which takes place between the events of Saw 1 and II.

We’ve already gotten a look at Tobin Bell’s return as Jigsaw, who has traveled to Mexico to attempt an experimental cure for his terminal cancer. But when it’s over, he realizes that there was never a cure, and the whole thing was part of a scheme to defraud desperate people just like him. Well, what do you think happens next? Jigsaw starts making deadly traps and forcing those con artists to fight for their lives.

Veteran Saw director Kevin Greutert directs from a script by Josh Stoldberg and Peter Goldfinger. The cast also includes franchise vet Shawnee Smith, along with Synnove Macody Lund, Steven Brand, and Michael Beach.

Saw X hits theaters on September 23rd.

Review: ‘The Unknown Country’
Lily Gladstone Proves Her Brilliance In Morrisa Maltz's Dreamlike Road Movie

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Cortland Jacoby
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When an up and coming actor is nominated for an Oscar, it’s almost inevitable that the rest of their filmography is looked into. If early reviews for Killers of the Flower Moon are any indication, a nomination is very likely in the cards for Lily Gladstone. If that happens, her two other performances from this year would get substantial viewing. As they should. We reviewed her brilliant performance in Fancy Dance earlier this year at Sundance. This week, the quiet and dream-like road movie The Unknown Country is released and if her other roles are any indication, it proves that Gladstone’s varied and layered performances are here to stay.

The 85 minute drama follows the journey of Tana (Gladstone), an indigenous woman from Minneapolis, as she drives past cheap motels and dingy diners. We learn early on that she initially ventured on the road to visit a cousin who is getting married. She’s tired and rundown but lights up while spending time with her cousin’s daughter. Gladstone brings a solemn sadness with her that is hard not read into as director Morrisa Maltz doesn’t give the audience answers right away.

To balance out Tana’s silence, Maltz has these moments with the service workers Tana interacts with on the road. These real-life blue collar people tell their stories for two to three minutes before moving back to the main narrative. It creates a lyrical, poetic effect. The cheery waitress talks about her customer service methods. The friendly gas station clerk talks with slight melancholy about his partner through a dream he had as a child. It’s a dreamy and deeply personal way of filmmaking that could become a signature for Maltz, who has a background in documentaries.

As Tana drives from the top to the bottom of the midwest, she shows us barren and snowy highways to dry desert terrain in Texas. The stark and peaceful images are a magnificent foil to Maltz’s way of storytelling, complementing Tana’s emotional journey with her physical one. It’s giving Paris, Texas meets Nomadland and yet feels all its own.

Lily Gladstone doesn’t push her performance here because she doesn’t need to. A lesser actor would try to compensate for the less-structured form of storytelling, but Gladstone embraces it. A quiet contemplative sadness follows her that is fascinating to watch. Seeing her interact with the world, one that offers her real kindness, is something I could watch forever, similar to those who say they could hear Morgan Freeman read the phonebook. While it’s not the star-making turn Killers of the Flower Moon promises to be, The Unknown Country solidifies Gladstone as a cinematic force. It’s a breathtaking movie that feeds the soul.

The Unknown Country is playing in select cities. Watch the trailer below.

Review: ‘War Pony’
Riley Keough And Gina Gammell Direct A Story About Two Young Men And Their Daily Life On A Reservation

By
Cortland Jacoby
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Actress Riley Keough is making her directorial debut with collaborator Gina Gammell with the moving drama War Pony. Following the everyday and somewhat interconnected lives of two young men on an North Dakota Indian reservation, the film is a brilliant and moving first effort for both women.

In a very slow beginning, we meet Bill, a twenty-three year old living on the Pine Ridge reservation, caring for his two children by two different women. Relying on his grandmother for childcare, he gets it in his mind that if he starts to breed the labradoodle he bought, he would be able to provide for his family.

In another part of the community, middle schooler Matho, is living with his absent and abusive father while galavanting the streets with his friends during the day. After it is discovered Matho sold a bag of his father’s drugs, he is thrown out and goes to live with a local woman, who is also a drug dealer.

Bill on the other hand finds himself working at a turkey factory off of the reservation, getting closer to the white owner and his unhappy wife (a captivating Ashley Shelton-Edwards). Things seem to be going well for Bill despite him ignoring his incarcerated ex. He starts a side hustle for his boss, driving young women from his reservation to various hotels and his boss’s home. Though it is unclear if the boss pays for sex, he does receive it, making Bill’s transportation services akin to sex trafficking. He’s smart enough to know he’s part of the problem but can’t separate himself from his own needs.

First time actor Jojo Bapteise Whiting infuses Bill with enough charm and charisma, you forget in any other story, this guy would be perceived as the dirtbag. LaDainian Crazy Thunder’s Matho is an explosive ball of emotion, giving a performance well established actors can’t always pull off. Gammel and Keough know just how to ramp up tension and how to pull performances out of actors that drive that suspense. There’s no cliche or saviorism to their filmmaking. Everything we see feels natural.

More and more stories are being produced about indigenous life on reservations, especially in the indie space. While one may question why Keough and Gammell are choosing this specific story to tell for their first feature, War Pony fits well into this narrative that some of the most moving and innovative storytelling happening right now are centered on indigenous communities.

War Pony is playing on-demand and in select theaters. Watch the trailer below.

‘Beyond The Spider-Verse’ Removed From Schedule As Sony Delays ‘Kraven’ And ‘Ghostbusters’ Sequels, Sets Dates For ‘Venom 3’ & ‘Bad Boys 4’

By

Travis Hopson

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July 28, 2023

Delays are the order of the day right now due to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, with major studios making some tough decisions about upcoming projects. Well, it’s Sony Pictures’ turn, and they’re making moves all across the board, from Marvel to Ghostbusters.

This first one will come as no surprise to anyone who has been paying attention to the struggles of Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. The sequel to the critically-acclaimed Across the Spider-Verse has now been pulled from the schedule and off of its March 2024 release date. Previous reports were that issues with the VFX artists were causing setbacks, and now we’re probably looking at a 2025 release for the film.

This next one hurts. Coming up for Sony was the anticipated Spider-Man spinoff, Kraven the Hunter, on October 6th. Well, that one’s not happening anytime soon, as it has been pushed to August 30th 2024, the very end of next summer. Ouch. That suggests a problem beyond the two strikes, as that weekend is generally not a strong one theatrically.

A sequel to Jason Reitman’s hit Ghostbusters: Afterlife had been set for December 20th, but it will instead arrive on March 29th 2024. This one isn’t shocking, either. It felt really soon for the sequel to arrive, especially since it still doesn’t have a title, and boasts a new director in Gil Kenan. There just hasn’t been much info on this one, so a delay makes sense.

A new Karate Kid movie originally set for June 7th 2024 has been moved to December 13th 2024. Details are still scarce on this one, but we do know it’ll be a continuation of the original franchise, which means a possible tie-in with Cobra Kai.

It wasn’t all terrible news, though. Sony has set a hard date for Bad Boys 4, with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reuniting on June 14th 2024. Directors Adil & Bilall are expected to return, as well.

Tom Hardy will suit up for Venom 3, which will now open on July 12th 2024. Kelly Marcel takes the director’s chair for this one, and will co-write the script with Hardy. Others in the cast include Juno Temple and Chiwetel Ejiofor in mystery roles.

Madame Web, the Spider-Man spinoff led by Dakota Johnson and directed by S.J. Clarkson, moves up a couple of days to February 14th 2024, so you can take a date for Valentine’s Day. There’s also a mystery Marvel/Sony date for summer 2024 that may or may not be a fourth Spider-Man movie with Tom Holland. That seems a bit soon, though.

‘Coup De Chance’ Trailer: Woody Allen’s 50th Movie Is A French Thriller Premiering In Venice

By

Travis Hopson

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July 28, 2023

At 87 years of age, Woody Allen has never been more irrelevant. That’s a damn shame to say given his legendary career, but it’s fact. His most recent film was Rifkin’s Festival three years ago and not only was it not very good, but barely anyone saw it. He basically can’t work in America anymore because actors won’t star in his movies, and for good reason. But he’s still got some cache in France, the setting for his new thriller, Coup de Chance, which will have its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.

Allen’s 50th movie stars Lou de Laâge, Valérie Lemercier, Melvil Poupaud, Niels Schneider, Grégory Gadebois, Elsa Zylberstein, Sara Martins, and Bárbara Goenaga. Basically, it sounds like an updated Match Point, which I still think is Allen’s best movie of the last 30 years and I maintain wasn’t really written by him it feels so different.

Here’s the synopsis: Fanny and Jean have everything, they are the ideal couple: fulfilled in their professional lives, they live in a magnificent apartment in the high-end districts of Paris and seem to be as in love as the first day they met. But when Fanny crosses, by chance, Alain, a former high school friend, she is immediately hooked. They see each other again, and, very quickly, get closer and closer.

Coup de Chance doesn’t have a US date, and you know what? It might not ever have one. That’s just the reality. It’ll definitely have a French release after it premieres in Venice, though.

DC Readers: Attend A Free Early Screening Of ‘Gran Turismo’

By

Travis Hopson

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July 28, 2023

We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to attend a free early screening of Gran Turismo, Sony Pictures’ upcoming film based on a true story and the hit Sony Playstation video game series. The film stars David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe, Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell Horner, and Djimon Hounsou. Neill Blomkamp (Elysium, District 9) is director.

SYNOPSIS: Based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough, the film is the ultimate wish fulfillment tale of a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills won a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional racecar driver.

The screening takes place on Monday, August 7th at 7:00pm at Landmark E Street. If you’d like to attend, RSVP at the Sony Pictures site here. Please remember all screenings are first come first served and you’ll need to arrive early to ensure seating. Enjoy the show!

Gran Turismo races into theaters on August 11th.

‘Lando’: Donald Glover Confirmed To Write And Star In Disney+ Series As Justin Simien Exits

By

Travis Hopson

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July 27, 2023

Ever since Donald Glover’s Lando Calrissian turned out to be the best thing about Solo: A Star Wars Story, fans have been eager to see him return. While reports he’d return for a new Lando television series on Disney+ have been frequent over the years, confirmations have been hard to come by. Well, what have we here? It’s an actual confirmation of Glover’s return, courtesy of Above The Line.

Glover is officially back as Lando Calrissian in the Star Wars series for Disney+. Donald will be writing the screenplay alongside his brother, Stephen. Dear White People and Haunted Mansion‘s Justin Simien, who had been previously attached, is off the project.

Just a few months ago Glover admitted he was in talks with Lucasfilm about playing Lando Calrissian again.

To be clear, this move was completed weeks ago before the SAG-AFTRA strike so Glover isn’t busting the line or anything. As for Simien, who bounced from the series when work on Haunted Mansion (which is out this week)began to take over, and that’s when Lucasfilm decided Glover should be more closely involved as a writer. Makes sense, given how in tune with the character he clearly is.

Finally, some forward momentum on this. Lando was announced three years ago along with Ahsoka, The Acolyte, and the former Rangers of the Republic. Those shows are right around the corner, and hopefully, Lando can get moving once the various strikes are over.

Review: ‘Sympathy For The Devil’
Nicolas Cage Gives Joel Kinnaman Hell In A Mediocre Thriller Only For Cage Die-Hards

By
Travis Hopson
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There’s a good and bad version of everything. Nicolas Cage movies are no different. His larger-than-life persona and devotion to offbeat character portrayals are often the key ingredient to bolstering some otherwise-lame projects. The bad version gives you something like Sympathy for the Devil, in which Cage dwarfs literally everything else about the movie, leaving the audience waiting on their hands for him to do something crazy and unforgettable. Because when Cage is not, there’s simply nothing else worth caring about.

Sympathy for the Devil is like the vehicular version of Phone Booth, or a poor man’s Collateral with Cage in the Tom Cruise role. The film stars Joel Kinnaman as David, a husband and expectant father racing to the hospital where his wife, who has had pregnancy complications in the past, has gone into labor. But before he can get there, a devilish, red-haired passenger hops into the backseat and holds him at gunpoint. He orders David to drive, but leaves his ultimate goal a mystery.

That mystery is what drives Sympathy for the Devil, as David struggles to understand who this Passenger is and what he wants. Unfortunately, their interactions aren’t terribly interesting. David is pretty bland as a protagonist, except for when he’s momentarily distraught at not being at his wife’s side. The Passenger takes glee at David’s suffering, suggesting a personal stake in the man’s pain.

The truth of David and the Passenger’s connection isn’t worth the long, drawn-out suspense. Long gaps of inactivity grind the film to a halt, including an interminable standoff at a local diner. When the quiet breaks, Cage’s character is recklessly violent, with director Yuvan Adler focusing in on the terrible ramifications of his bloodshed. But we find ourselves just sitting around until Cage can go wild. An impromptu dance break does the trick for a few fleeting moments. Cage snarls and screams, his eyes bulging like they’re about to pop out of his head. With the red streak glowing on his head, he really does look like the Devil incarnate. He’s the only reason to be even slightly invested in Sympathy for the Devil. His most eager fans will want to check it out for completion’s sake, but others will get no sympathy for the time they waste watching it.

Review: ‘Susie Searches’
Kiersey Clemons Is The Nancy Drew Of True Crime In An Uneven Whodunnit Comedy

By
Travis Hopson
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Ever since her breakthrough role in Dope, Kiersey Clemons has pretty much always been irresistible. It doesn’t matter the film or the role, her perky spirit and wide smile are enough to charm any audience, and she has done a fantastic job of choosing roles that accentuate this gift. She does so again, albeit with a heavy dose of subversion, in Susie Searches, an expansion of Sophie Kargman’s short about a Nancy Drew-esque true crime enthusiast who solves crimes in her spare time. Clemons is winning as ever in the title role and cleverly plays with our expectations, although awkward tone and execution hinder the film from being more than it turns out to be.

The opening act of Susie Searches is so much fun, so sharp and silly at the same time, we think we might’ve stumbled into the next Enola Holmes. We learn that Susie, a bit of a misfit college student with bright blue braces, has always had a knack for figuring out the end of any mystery novel. Her mother, who would later be stricken with MS, would read these books to young Susie and rarely get beyond the first pages before the young girl had it all figured out. Later, Susie would use this gift to launch a true crime podcast called, what else, Susie Searches, that nobody listens to. Her internship with the local sheriff (Jim Gaffigan) helps pass the time, and so does her part-time job working with a weirdo boss (Ken Marino) and mean co-worker (Rachel Sennott).

But Susie is clearly lonely and dying for attention. When a popular local boy named Jesse (Alex Wolff) goes missing, Susie puts her sleuthing skills to the test in hopes of finding him; the plan is that this would be the case that makes her popular.

In short order, Susie does just that. Not only is the town grateful, welcoming her as a hero, but so is Jesse. The dopey Youtuber can’t stop fawning over Susie for saving his life, and soon they become very good friends. But that’s when the movie takes a wild tonal shift that flips everything on its head, adding something sinister to Susie’s rise to investigative glory.

To be clear, this twist by Kargman and co-writer William Day Frank is tremendous, and totally threw my unsuspecting ass for a loop. Having never been acquainted with Susie Searches or its short predecessor, the turns it took it took were legitimately shocking. And Clemons rolls with every single one of them, somehow keeping Susie likeable even as shadows begin to creep in around her motives. The film explores the depths of a person’s loneliness, our need for celebrity, fame, and acceptance.

But the tonal swerves are uneven, and Kargman never manages to maintain steady control. A cutesy atmosphere lingers throughout, like something out of Sweet Valley High, and it undermines the darker elements’ impact. There’s a way to keep the joyful tone of the film’s early scenes while introducing some cracks in the foundation, but Susie Searches can’t put the clues together to do it.

While Clemons and Wolff are committed and even excellent in their performances, Gaffigan, Sennott, and Marino are unforgivably wasted. Sennott in particular, such a comedic force in Shiva Baby, Bodies Bodies Bodies, and the upcoming film Bottoms, is given a venomous role seemingly perfect for her. And yet the script offers up little to bite into. The finale shows just how far Susie Searches has fallen, with one character being transformed in such an over-the-top way it makes absolutely no storyline sense, and serves only to distract us from a proper resolution for Susie. As light and genuine as it started, you’d need more than a magnifying glass to find that Susie Searches by the time the credits roll.

Susie Searches opens on July 28th.