Recent events have brought the danger of deep sea exploration roaring back into the spotlight. All of the preparation and money in the world can’t prepare you for the many threats of the sea, and they don’t all involve sharks looking to turn you into fish food. You’re basically at the mercy of Mother Nature, as is the case in the new thriller, The Dive.
Starring Louisa Krause (The Girlfriend Experience) and Blow the Man Down breakout Sophie Lowe, the film follows two sisters who go deep-sea diving in a remote location, only for a destructive landslide to send rocks crashing into the water, trapping one of them beneath the sea. With oxygen fading fast, it’s up to the other sibling to fight so that they both can survive.
The film is directed by German filmmaker Max Erlenwein, and looks like a pulse-pounding, nerve-racking race against time.
The Dive opens in theaters on August 25th.
A deep-sea diving trip at one of the world’s most remote spots becomes a fight for survival for sisters Drew and May when a catastrophic landslide sends rocks tumbling into the sea. After being struck by the rockfall, May now lies 28 meters below the surface, trapped by debris and unable to move. With dangerously low levels of oxygen, it is up to Drew to fight for her sister’s life. She must put her own life in jeopardy and risk paying the ultimate sacrifice. But with no help in sight, time is quickly running out…
Fans of Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij’s rather cult-ish work, which includes Netflix series The Oa and films Sound of My Voice and The East, have something to get excited over this summer. The FX series A Murder At the End of the World was created by the duo, who of course have put their own spin on the genre which is already red-hot right now.
Marling stars alongside Emma Corrin, Clive Owen, Harris Dickinson, Jermaine Fowler, Joan Chen, Raúl Esparza, and Alice Braga in the mystery series set at a reclusive billionaire’s retreat. There, a Gen Z detective/hacker investigates a murder and all of the guests are suspects.
Here’s the synopsis: “A Murder at the End of the World” is a mystery series with a new kind of detective at the helm — a Gen Z amateur sleuth and a tech-savvy hacker named “Darby Hart” (Emma Corrin). Darby and eight other guests are invited by a reclusive billionaire (Clive Owen) to participate in a retreat at a remote and dazzling location. When one of the other guests is found dead, Darby must use all of her skills to prove it was murder against a tide of competing interests and before the killer takes another life.
On the weekend of July 21st, movie fans will be treated to the showdown of the summer when Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer squares off with…Barbie. The two films couldn’t be more different, but both are already the most anticipated of the season and it’s surprising no studio has moved one of them to a different date. While we won’t know for at least a couple of months which one fared better with audiences, one way that Barbie could win is that it has franchise potential. Nolan’s film obviously does not.
As far as a Barbie sequel goes, star and producer Margot Robbie tells TIME that talks have already happened. However, she seems quite level-headed about that prospet, not wanting to put the cart before the horse. This is a lesson she undoubtedly learned during her time as Harley Quinn, when Warner Bros. was trying desperately to set up as many appearances for the character as possible…
“It could go a million different directions from this point,” Robbie said. “But I think you fall into a bit of a trap if you try and set up a first movie whilst also planning for sequels.”
Barbie has really captured national attention with its wild dance numbers, brightly-colored sets that are like the toys brought to life, and the incredible A-list star power. if it proves to be a hit, don’t be surprised at all if news of a sequel drops soon after. The only question I have is if Greta Gerwig could be enticed to return as director. Of that I’m not so sure.
Video game movies? Yeah, they’re quickly becoming the new video game movies, and there are more of them than ever. Universal and Blumhouse hope to land the next hit by veering into horror with Five Nights at Freddy’s, which finds Josh Hutcherson battling a bunch of murderous animatronics.
Long in the works, Five Nights at Freddy’s is finally happening with Emma Tammi behind the camera. Tammi is known for her breakout horror, The Wind. Joining Hutcherson in the cast is Elizabeth Lail, Piper Rubio, Kat Conner Sterling, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Matthew Lillard.
Here’s the synopsis: The film follows a troubled security guard as he begins working at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. While spending his first night on the job, he realizes the night shift at Freddy’s won’t be so easy to make it through.
Five Nights at Freddy’s hits theaters and streams on Peacock on October 27th.
As the old regime limps to a close, James Gunn is readying for the launch of the new DC Cinematic Universe under DC Studios. And the first shot out of the gate is Superman: Legacy, featuring a relaunched Man of Steel with an entirely new cast. With casting underway for the key roles of Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Lex Luthor, THR has an update on the previously-revealed contenders, as well as the sibling rivalry that could be going on to land one major part.
When you’re talking about Clark Kent and Lois Lane, chemistry is going to be key. Actors are being paired up to see how their chemistry is together, with Nicholas Hoult and Rachel Brosnahan paired up, followed by David Corenswet/Emma Mackey and Tom Brittney/Phoebe Dynevor. The men are said to be getting a lot of time in the Superman suit, and performing opposite Mackey. Does that mean she’s the top choice for Lois Lane? It’s unclear, but a decision should be made quickly, perhaps as soon as this week.
Incredibly, a pair of brothers are said to be up to play Lex Luthor. Alexander and Bill Skarsgård are reportedly competing with one another and other unnamed candidates to play Superman’s arch-rival. Hoult, who was initially said to be up for Lex Luthor, as well, could still be a factor. Frankly, casting Alexander would be a terrible idea because he’d tower over any actor they cast as Superman. Does anyone want a Lex Luthor who is more physically imposing than Supes?
Meanwhile, there are other big roles that need to be filled, including members of The Authority. If you’ve never heard of them, they were the preeminent super-team of the Wildstorm/DC imprint, and they are considered more mature, ultra-violent. Part of the Superman: Legacy story is that Superman arrives on an Earth that already has heroes on it.
Superman: Legacy is set to open on July 11th 2025.
The problem with the Indiana Jones franchise is one of its own making; the original three movies are just too damn good. They also came out in the ’80s, when most of us nerdy film critics were nerdy kids, so the nostalgia for early Indy is thick and unbeatable. There was never any hope that 2008’s Kingdom of the Crystal Skull could measure up. Not in our hearts, anyway. And unfortunately, the same fate will likely befall Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Directed by James Mangold and featuring a spry, energetic Ford in his final go at the whip-wielding archaeologist, it’s a fast-paced and well-constructed adventure that balances big studio spectacle with measured action fitting for Indy’s reduced physicality.
Set in the volatile 1960s, a time of great cultural change, Indiana Jones is a man out of step with the rest of the world. Some of the best scenes of the film are of Indy, now a grumpy old man living in a cramped apartment alone, dealing with a divorce. He’s being forced into retirement at the school he teaches at, a place where the students sit bored by his lectures; a far cry from the adoring fan girls who drooled over his every word in earlier films. It’s heartbreaking but also fascinating. More of this would’ve been welcome. Mangold, who wasn’t afraid to give us a slower-paced Wolverine story with Logan, is theoretically the director who could’ve pulled such a thing off. Clearly, that was not the mandate here.
And I don’t mean that in a bad way. The action picks up quite nicely when Indy is roped into an adventure alongside his shady goddaughter Helena, played with all of the fast wit and snarky energy we expect from Phoebe Waller-Bridge. They are on the hunt for Archimedes’ Dial, and they are trying to stop a bunch of Nazis from getting it. Leading the baddies is Voller (Mads Mikkelsen), who Indy stopped from getting the Dial decades earlier at the end of WWII. But Voller, who is now a respected NASA scientist involved with the Apollo moon landing, hasn’t let it go. The Dial is a total Macguffin, albeit one that can apparently screw around with time itself, although that doesn’t really become important until the final act. The rest of the way, Indy and Helena might as well be looking for a lost shoebox or something. There’s something missing when the item in question lacks the recognizability of the Holy Grail or the Ark of the Covenant, or fails to immerse Indy in an altogether different culture like the mystical Indian stone in The Temple of Doom.
At 80-years-old, Harrison Ford is no spring chicken, and the action reflects that. It makes sense that the biggest, most rollicking sequence is in the beginning with a de-aged Indiana Jones battling Nazis aboard a speeding train. The younger Indy looks extremely good, with Lucasfilm vastly improving on the technology since their earliest efforts. If there’s a problem with it, it’s that young Indy still sounds like old Indy and it’s very distracting.
Understandably, Ford does considerably less later, with much of the action featuring Indy riding on things; speeding rickshaws or racing horses. Mangold keeps it light and a bit silly, it sortof has to be for it be even marginally believable that Indy can still fight his way out of the messes he gets into. It should be said that Ford is up for all of it, and he wasn’t lying when he said the script doesn’t wear out its welcome of “old man” jokes.
Waller-Bridge is a swaggering breath of fresh air as Helena, Indy’s goddaugher and the daughter of his friend, Basil Shaw, played by Toby Jones. Basil makes for a fun hanger-on during the initial action, with his obsession over the Dial becoming the film’s driving force. He is, in a way, what Indy could’ve become and still threatens to become. This obsession with finding these special treasurs of significance can be all-consuming. But for Helena, her goals are less altruistic. She’s in it for selfish profit, not the historical value. If it weren’t for Waller-Bridge’s performance, she’d be extremely hard to like, being quite comfortable letting her godfather get blamed for crimes he didn’t commit even as he tries to help her.
Other supporting roles are hit-and-miss. Seeing Sliders vet John Rhys-Davies return as Sallah is a treat and a nostalgic blast. But what the heck is Antonio Banderas doing in this as Indy’s ship captain pal, Renaldo? His role must’ve been seriously trimmed down, resembling a cameo more than anything else. Mikkelsen and Boyd Holbrook are also unimpressive as the villain, lacking any real menace or memorable moments to speak of. Better is Thomas Kretschmann, such a great utility actor, as Nazi leader Colonel Weber in the prelude action. And Shaunette Renee Wilson makes an impression as federal agent Mason. As a Black woman caught in the middle of Indy and Voller’s chase, she is a reminder of the cultural changes of the time, putting Black agents in positions of authority in dangerous cases. A huge misfire is the inclusion of a kid sidekick, Teddy Kumar (Ethan Isidore), who is definitely no Short-Round. For one thing, he’s too old for anything he does to be considered cute, but he seems to be there because someone mandated that he be there to reach a younger audience.
With this being Indiana Jones’ final adventure, the film goes through some wild shifts in tone to try and answer all lingering questions. We get some finality to a major dangling thread from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, adding a harsh dose of reality to what is generally a light-hearted affair. The final sequence lurches into ridiculousness and the kind of screwy timeline stuff you wish had been left behind with Marvel and DC. One good thing does emerge from the big finale, which finds Teddy piloting an airplane in a…well, unlikely warzone. It’s the chance to see how Indiana Jones reacts when truly a part of history, not just an observer and protector of it. After all of these films, to finally get that moment is rewarding
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destinyis an imperfect but enjoyable swansong for Harrison Ford’s beloved hero. It often plays like a “greatest hits” version of the previous movies, recalling certain setpieces and relationships with a slight twist. And you know what? That’s okay. While the big swings of the original movies are gone, Indiana Jones is deserving of this last chance to bask in old glories, to recall past adventures, to be nostalgic. If this franchise is being put on the shelf for good, this film doesn’t hurt its well-deserved status as a national treasure.
Disney releases Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny into theaters on June 30th.
Shin’ichirô Ueda’s zombie movie One Cut of the Dead was a small-budget hit in Japan in 2017, earning accolades all across the country. But it is a very-Japanese movie, and because of that it simply had to be remade. Enter Michel Hazanavicius with Final Cut, which offers a French take on the horror about a zombie outbreak on the set of a zombie movie production.
The film stars Romain Duris, Bérénice Bejo, Matilda Lutz, and Finnegan Oldfield, with Hazanavicius writing and directing. Hazanavicius is best known for directing The Artist, which won him Best Director and Best Picture at the 2011 Oscars. Things haven’t gone as smoothly since, but Final Cut could be the start of a comeback.
Final Cut hits theaters on July 14th via Kino Lorber.
Oscar® winner Michel Hazanavicius’ remake of Shin’ichirô Ueda’s cult hit One Cut of the Dead follows a director (Romain Duris, L’Auberge Espagnole) charged with making a live, single-take, low-budget zombie flick in which the cast and crew, one by one, actually turn into zombies. Featuring hysterically unhinged performances from Oscar® nominee Bérénice Bejo (The Artist), Matilda Lutz (Revenge), and Finnegan Oldfield (Corsage), Final Cut is a sly love letter to the art of filmmaking and a blood-soaked, hilarious genre farce with a meta-to-the-max premise.
Marvel’s latest series, Secret Invasion, has only one episode in the can and already it’s got fans buzzing. Forget the crap about the AI-generated title sequence or whatever, the real shock is the conclusion of the first episode, which sees a major character killed off. *SPOILERS FOLLOW*
At the end of Secret Invasion‘s first episode, Maria Hill, who Cobie Smulders has been playing since The Avengers in 2012, was killed by a Skrull impersonating Nick Fury. Hill has been Fury’s right-hand-woman, even when he was acting outside the law she was there by his side. She has been a mainstay of the MCU and her death is huge.
Of course, this has people wondering when her death will be revealed to be a trick, or retconned somehow. Isn’t Secret Invasion all about Skrulls impersonating humans? When will Maria be revealed to be alive elsewhere? Well, Smulders doesn’t think that’s going to happen, and she’s making her peace with it.
“There is a multiverse now, so anything is possible. But I’m pretty sure this is it,” said the actress to Vanity Fair. “It felt and it feels strange. Maria Hill’s passing is very real, and it’s shocking, and it feels very human. It was a sad day.”
That said, Smulders is sad to see her time in the MCU come to an end…
“I mean, listen, it would’ve been great,” Smulders said. “Of course, I would’ve loved to do more, but I trust that Marvel is doing the storyline that they think is best.”
Maria Hill’s death isn’t likely to be the last. Secret Invasion debuts new episodes every Wednesday on Disney+. You can check out my review of the first two episodes here.
Um, what? Nicolas Winding Refn, the guy who gave us uber-violent/erotic projects such as Drive, The Neon Demon, and Too Old to Die Young…is making a children’s television series.
I’m sorry, this can’t go well, can it?
THR reports Refn is the creator and producer of The Famous Five, based on the series of adventure novels and short stories by author Enid Blyton. The stories follow the wild adventures of Julian, Dick, Anne, George and their dog Timmy, as they face criminals and seek lost treasure.
The series is being developed for BBC and German public broadcaster ZDF. Tim Kirkby (Action Point, The Pentaverate) will direct from a script co-written by Matthew Read, Priya K Dosanjh, and Matthew Bouch. There have been multiple adaptations of The Famous Five, including audio adaptations, TV shows, and movies, the most recent one in 2012.
“All my life I’ve fought vigorously to remain a child with a lust for adventure,” Refn said. “By reimagining ‘The Famous Five,’ I am preserving that notion by bringing these iconic stories to life for a progressive new audience, instilling the undefinable allure and enchantment of childhood for current and future generations to come.”
“Reimagining”, eh? I wonder if by that Refn means he’s going to fill these child-like stories with brutal, bloody beatings or rampant displays of sexual deviance.
Have you seen Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse yet? Considering the $560M it has already earned after just three weeks in theaters, chances are you have. It’s arguably the most critically-acclaimed movie of the year and the clear frontrunner for Best Animated Feature. Next year’s sequel, Beyond the Spider-Verse, can’t get here fast enough, right? Sony Pictures certainly agrees…however, there’s a big problem, and it threatens to delay the sequel from its 2024 date.
See, the VFX artists responsible for the incredible visual style in Across the Spider-Verse aren’t happy, and they’ve spoken to Vulture about unsustainable working conditions on the film that caused huge delays. Remember, it was initially expected to open in April 2022 before being pushed to October and finally the June 2023 date it managed to hit, but not without considerable problems.
So what’s the problem? Animators complain of seven-day work weeks, eleven-hour work days, and producer Phil Lord meddling with fully-rendered, already-completed work that had been approved by directors Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thom, and Kemp Powers. Lord’s overbearing style would see him going over the directors’ heads on numerous occasions to get animators to redo their work repeatedly, causing huge delays on the film. It got so bad that up to 100 animators hired for Across the Spider-Verse quit the production before it was finished.
The general consensus is that if this management style continues, there’s no way Beyond the Spider-Verse will hit its target March 29th 2024 release date.
As with any story of this type, there are quotes on both sides of the argument. You’ve got animators claiming that Lord & Miller productions have a bad reputation; while on the other side Sony execs are downplaying the exodus of animators as completely normal.
The truth likely falls somewhere in-between, but the bigger problem is that Hollywood has a bad reputation of late for allegations of treating VFX artists like crap with poor working conditions and unreasonable expectations.
Look, most people are never going to hear about any of this. They just want to know when they can expect to see Miles Morales again. Here’s hoping that this situation can be worked out in a way that everyone is treated fairly, and Beyond the Spider-Verse can arrive right on time.
