Does anybody remember Lost in London? That was the weird 2017 comedy written and directed by Woody Harrelson that was shot, screened, and broadcast live into theaters. It was an odd experiment that kinda came and went without making much of a ripple, but it did see Harrelson and Owen Wilson team up with both actors playing themselves. Now they’ll be reunited in the upcoming crime thriller Lips Like Sugar.
Harrelson and Wilson will lead the the crime film directed by Grammy Award-winner Brantley Gutierrez and penned by Warrior writer Anthony Tambakis.
Here’s the synopsis: Set during the ’84 Olympic Games in LA and loosely based on a true story, LIPS LIKE SUGAR is a neon-soaked, coming-of-age thriller set against the gritty backdrop of the punk and skate worlds of West Los Angeles. As the new friendship of two teenage girls from different walks of life unfolds and city officials focus on the Olympics, a pair of former detectives’ (Woody Harrelson and Owen Wilson) lives become intertwined when one of the young girls goes missing.
Former Arcade Fire member Will Butler is set to compose the score. He previously co-composed the Oscar-nominated score for Her.
Ben Kingsley will have a Close Encounter in the upcoming sci-fi comedy, Jules, from director and longtime producer Marc Turtletaub. Kingsley stars as Milton, an ordinary guy in a quiet, small-town in Pennsylvania, whose life gets upended when an extraterrestrial crash lands in his backyard. After befriending the alien, Milton’s life gets even weirder when his two nosey neighbors figure out what’s going on and the government get involved.
This movie looks great, especially in the cast surrounding Kingsley. He’s joined by character actress Harriet Sansom Harris, who many will recognize from Memento, Nurse Betty, and Licorice Pizza; Jane Curtain of 3rd Rock from The Sun, and Zoe Winters from Succession.
Turtletaub last directed the terrific 2018 drama Puzzle, which featured Irrfan Khan in his final English-language role. It’s a personal favorite of mine and so I’m looking forward to this, too.
An award winner at the Sonoma Film Festival where its world premiere was held, the film was quickly picked up by Bleecker Street. The audience for this one skews a bit older, and we’ve seen in the past how catering to them can reap unexpected rewards.
Jules opens in theaters on August 11th.
Here’s the synopsis: Jules follows Milton (Kingsley) who lives a quiet life of routine in a small western Pennsylvania town, but finds his day upended when a UFO and its extra-terrestrial passenger crash land in his backyard. Before long, Milton develops a close relationship with the extra-terrestrial he calls “Jules.” Things become complicated when two neighbors (Harris and Curtin) discover Jules and the government quickly closes in. What follows is a funny, wildly inventive ride as the three neighbors find meaning and connection later in life – thanks to this unlikely stranger.
The days of poo pooing any TV or film based on a video game are long over. Not only are these movies becoming major box office success stories, such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Uncharted, and The Super Mario Bros Movie, but shows such as The Last of Us are achieving critical acclaim. And Peacock hopes to find the same with their upcoming Twisted Metal series, based on the demolition derby-esque Sony Playstation franchise.
Anthony Mackie stars as John Doe, a chatty guy with amnesia asked to deliver a package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. He’ll have to survive a bunch of colorful, deadly marauders just to have a shot at a better life.
Also in the cast are Stephanie Beatriz, Thomas Haden Church, Will Arnett, Neve Campbell, Richard Cabral, Mike Mitchell, Tahj Vaughans, and Lou Beatty Jr. For fellow wrestling fans, keep an eye out for ROH World TV champ Joe “Samoa Joe” Seanoa as the physical embodiment of Sweet Tooth, with Arnett as the voice. Honestly, they could’ve had the menacing Joe do the voice, too.
The series is penned by Deadpool writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, so you know the humor will be extremely dark, as it should be.
Here’s the synopsis: TWISTED METAL, a half-hour live-action TV series based on the classic PlayStation game series, is a high-octane action comedy, based on an original take by Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick and written by Michael Jonathan Smith, about a motor-mouthed outsider offered a chance at a better life, but only if he can successfully deliver a mysterious package across a post-apocalyptic wasteland. With the help of a badass axe-wielding car thief, he’ll face savage marauders driving vehicles of destruction and other dangers of the open road, including a deranged clown who drives an all too familiar ice cream truck.
Luc Besson might be on the verge of a major comeback. After the big-budget flop Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and 2019’s hit-woman thriller Anna, the troubled French filmmaker is expected to be at Venice with the world premiere of his edge new drama, Dogman, starring Caleb Landry Jones.
A new trailer for the film suggests a tour de force performance by Jones, and a gritty, art house style we haven’t seen from Besson in ages. The story centers on Douglas, who had been abused as a child for his love of dogs, which he freely admits is greater than that for his family. Literally thrown to the dogs, they protected him rather than attacked him.
Later, we see that Douglas has reciprocated that love in kind…but for people? Not so much. What follows looks in some ways like the kind of assassin thriller you’d expect from the director of La Femme Nikita and The Professional. But as Douglas experiments with identity and dabbles around with gender, we see a character Besson has never tackled before.
Besson has long been among my favorite filmmakers as he basically defined my passion for this particular genre. I’m excited for this one and to see him score another hit, which would be his first since Lucy in 2014.
Dogman opens in France this September, and hopefully a U.S. date will soon follow.
Synopsis: The incredible story of a child, bruised by life, who will find his salvation through the love of his dogs.
Is Ridley Scott’s historical epic Napoleonthe Oscar contender many are predicting it to be? That’s a tough question, because Scott’s last few films; All the Money in the World, House of Gucci, and The Last Duel, were also pegged as such but didn’t pan out. This film, however, has something those other movies didn’t, and that’s a promising reunion with Joaquin Phoenix.
Phoenix plays the legendary French leader and military commander Napoleon Bonaparte in a film that chronicles his rise to power. The film will largely be seen through the eyes of Napoleon’s great love, Empress Josephine, played by Vanessa Kirby. Also in the cast are Tahar Rahim, Ben Miles, and Ludivine Sagnier. The screenplay is by David Scarpa, who penned Scott’s All the Money in the World.
Scott really hasn’t had a box office smash in ages, either. So there’s a lot riding on Napoleon to be a hit.
Napoleon opens in theaters on November 22nd, and since this is an Apple release it’ll probably hit streaming soon after.
Here’s the synopsis: Napoleon is a spectacle-filled action epic that details the checkered rise and fall of the iconic French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, played by Oscar®-winner Joaquin Phoenix. Against a stunning backdrop of large-scale filmmaking orchestrated by legendary director Ridley Scott, the film captures Bonaparte’s relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his one true love, Josephine, showcasing his visionary military and political tactics against some of the most dynamic practical battle sequences ever filmed.
Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of Wolverine in Fox’s X-Men movies is one of the truly great success stories. Remember when fans were against the move at first, largely because the Aussie actor was too tall? Well, and an Aussie? Other than maybe Robert Downey Jr.’s Iron Man, there is no other performance as a superhero nearly as beloved. And yet…we never got to see Jackman rock the classic yellow and blue Wolverine costume.
Until now.
Ryan Reynolds has revealed on his Instagram the first look at Deadpool 3, and in it we see Deadpool alongside Jackman in the classic Wolverine gear. Pretty goddamn awesome.
Yes, it looks sorta ridiculous but so what? This is something fans have been begging for and we’re finally getting it! It also suggests there will be a ton of fan service in this movie, which might explain why we’re getting cool stuff like Jennifer Garner’s return as Elektra.
It’s odd how relative total’s are when you’re looking at the box office week to week. Just last week we were lambasting Indy for pulling double the amount that we are praising Insidious: The Red Door for this week. Of course, that relativity is based on the budget. The Blumhouse franchise closer had a budget of $16 million, so even if you double that number to account for marketing the film is officially in the black. As they say, it’s all butterflies and rainbows from here on out (unless you’re actually watching the movie…there are no rainbows, just fear and death).
2. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny– $26.5M/$121.2M
The real problem with low opening weekend numbers is the drop. Most movies drop 35-55% in box office totals between weeks 1 and 2 (though Indy actually dropped 56%). Thanks to The Flash, which dropped completely out of the Top 10 this week, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny won’t go down as the biggest flop of the summer but it’s a close second.
3. Sound of Freedom – $18.2M/$40M
Apparently I missed the memo on this one, but I won’t let that mistake last long. Based on the true story of Tim Ballard, a federal agent who goes rouge to break up a child sex trafficking ring in Columbia, this movie looks awesome and normally I would say the box office receipts back that up. I’m not quite ready to say that yet, objectively. The film was crowdfunded and produced by Angel studios who specialize in faith-based film, and the faith-based film industry has a definite audience that shows up regardless of quality (see: Left Behind which pulled decent numbers but was horrible. The book series it’s based on deserves a real chance at cinema though….there is some astounding stuff in there).
4. Elemental – $9.6M/$109.1M
5. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse– $8M/$357.6M
Adele Lim’s road-comedy raunch fest opened just outside of the top 5 and probably deserved to be a bit higher on the list. With a $32 million dollar budget the paltry earnings will probably put a stopper in any hopes to get mid-budget R-Rated comedies back in theaters…especially when you pair it with our next entry
7. No Hard Feelings– $5.25M/$40.4M
8. Transformers: Rise of the Beasts – $5M/$146M
9. The Little Mermaid – $3.5M/$289M
10. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken – $2.8M/$11.5M
Just one word in week 2 for Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken. Ouch.
Unsurprisingly, the confirmed return of Jennifer Garner as Elektra in Deadpool 3, bringing over the character she played back in the Fox days, has led to a flood of rumors about who else might appear. So take all of it with a healthy dose of salt, even though it comes from the generally reliable Jeff Sneider.
Sneider suggests the possibility of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen returning as Charles Xavier and Magneto in Deadpool 3. He doesn’t add much else, although later he says he believes anybody who does show up is there just for a cameo, not a major role.
You can add these two names to a pile of rumored returns, including Halle Berry as Storm, James Marsden as Cyclops, Famke Janssen as Jean Grey, Ben Affleck as Daredevil, and even possibly Channing Tatum who would finally get to play Gambit after his solo failed to launch.
Tara Strong and Owen Wilson from Loki may also have a role.
Of them all, the one that seems most likely to happen, at least in my opinion, is Tatum because it would make for a pretty good gag, and Deadpool movies are all about the jokes.
The merging of the former Fox universe of Marvel characters and the MCU is yielding some unexpected rewards. While we knew Deadpool 3 would see Hugh Jackman suit up once more as Wolverine, now comes word from THR that Jennifer Garner will also clang sai once again as Elektra.
Garner first played ninja warrior Elektra Natchios in the 2003 Daredevil movie starring her future hubby, Ben Affleck. The movie didn’t do great, although I maintain the Unrated cut is pretty good, but Garner’s portrayal of Elektra went over well with fans. So much so that she got an Elektra solo movie in 2005 which…well, it’s pretty terrible, hence no sequels.
So here’s the thing; Garner’s role could be a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo. OR it could be just one of many such cameos. Whose to stop say Michael Chiklis from showing up as The Thing? Or Colin Farrell as Bullseye? Or Ben Affleck as Daredevil?
The possibilities are a lot of fun to think about.
Deadpool 3 opens May 3rd 2024, directed by Shawn Levy and starring Ryan Reynolds, of course.
It only took five years of making movies separately, and now the Coen Brothers are reuniting. The news was confirmed by Ethan Coen in an interview with Empire Magazine (via /Film) that the duo will be working together again on an unspecified future project. Will it be next for them? That much remains uncertain, too.
Joel and Ethan Coen last directed a movie together in 2018 with Netflix’s The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. After that, they went their separate ways. Joel found acclaim with 2021’s The Tragedy of Macbeth. Ethan directed the 2022 documentary Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind, and has the queer road comedy Drive-Away Dolls coming up this September.
Before this, the Coens directed 18 feature-length movies together, beginning with 1984’s Blood Simple. How long will this reunion last? Who knows? So enjoy it while you can.
