Getting stuck in town as a category 5 (or bigger!) hurricane makes landfall is already terrifying enough. But what if you throw a bunch of hungry sharks into the mix, too? That’s the kind of insanity you can expect from Tommy Wirkola’s disaster flick, Thrash, which is streaming on Netflix now.
Thrash stars Phoebe Dynevor as Lisa, a pregnant woman who becomes trapped in her car as the disaster strikes. Whitne Peak is Dakota, an agoraphobe who must overcome her fear in order to survive the calamity. And Djimon Hounsou is Dale, a marine researcher and shark expert who must race against time to rescue Dakota, his niece. If these people, and there entire community, is to survive, they’ll have to find a way to work together to not only overcome Mother Nature, but a shark feeding frenzy!
I was happy to share a few minutes talking with Dynevor, Peak, and Hounsou about Thrash. I’ve spoken with Hounsou in the past, and once again he’s like the calm of any storm, passionate and soft-spoken as he talked about the film’s commentary on climate change. Dynevor talked about the challenging production, being soaked from head to toe in cramped quarters, and the power of motherhood! Peak talked about how Dakota, and her agoraphobic nature stuck with her even after filming concluded.
Check out my Thrash interview below, and my review of the film here!
I’m happy to offer DC area readers the chance to attend a free early screening of Prime Video comedy, Balls Up, directed by Peter Farrelly (Green Book) and starring Mark Wahlberg and Paul Walter Hauser!
SYNOPSIS: In this raunchy, over-the-top comedy, marketing executives Brad (Mark Wahlberg) and Elijah (Paul Walter Hauser) go “balls out” and pitch a bold full‑coverage condom sponsorship with the World Cup. After their drunken celebration in Brazil sparks a global scandal, they must outrun furious fans, criminals, and power-hungry officials to salvage their careers and make it home alive.
The screening takes place on Monday, April 13th at 7:00pm at Regal Majestic. If you’d like to attend, RSVP at the Amazon site here. Please remember, all screenings are first come first served and you’ll need to arrive early to ensure seating. Enjoy the show!
Riz Ahmed has never been an actor who colors within the boundaries, he’s always pushing the limits in the roles he challenges himself with. Whether it’s his Oscar-nominated performance in Sound of Metal, or his hip-hop career, or his incredible Emmy-winning performance in The Night Of, Ahmed is always willing to take new risks.
And now Ahmed is taking perhaps his biggest risk yet. He stars in a new version of Hamlet, one of Shakespeare’s most iconic plays. Ahmed plays one of the most recognizable figures in dramatic history, Prince Hamlet, but in this case it’s in a story set within London’s affluent South Asian community following the death of his father, the head of a prominent construction company. Hamlet’s tragic descent into madness is given a contemporary spin, yet stays true to Shakespeare’s original text.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Riz Ahmed about Hamlet, his long-held passion to play the character, his interpretation of what Shakespeare’s dialogue means today, and the decision to set it within the Pakistani community with a focus on Hindu culture.
Hamlet is open in theaters now, and you can check out my review here!
The long, somewhat turbulent road to Tommy Wirkola’s disaster flick/shark thriller Thrash doesn’t inspire a ton of confidence. Shot back in 2024 under the title Beneath the Storm, it was set to be a blockbuster release by Sony Pictures. Those plans were derailed and it was moved to the following year, with a new title, Shiver. Ultimately, the film landed at Netflix with no theatrical release at all, and under the current title which, honestly, I still don’t think they got right. But if all of this sounds like the makings of a doomed project, trust in Wirkola, the filmmaker because gory genre flicks such as Dead Snow and Violent Night, to deliver the mindless, elevated camp full of blood, guts, and razor sharp teeth that fans are looking for.
Thrash is basically a better version of the ridiculous, poorly-acted Sharknado movies. Except here, the actors are Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak, and Djimon Hounsou, y’know, exceptional talents and not Tara Reid. They not only bring genuine emotion to an unfathomable situation, a category 5 hurricane along with a shark feeding frenzy, but when the situation calls for them to scream, cuss, and assert the obvious, they play along. I mean, what is there to say when you’re a pregnant lady about to pop, and you’re trapped in a car surrounded by sharks with rising flood waters up to your neck other than “Fucking shit!!”
Written and directed by Wirkola, Thrash is produced by Adam McKay. McKay, whose name is plastered on the side of a doomed meat truck, recently directed the star-studded disaster comedy Don’t Look Up, about a comet set to destroy civilization…and humanity is too stupid to pay attention. There’s a similar theme here, as well, because as the opening words tell us, there’s been a serious uptick in the power and frequency of hurricanes recently. And obviously, climate change is the cause of all of this and we’re too busy with our own shit to notice or care.
In this case, the fictional town that’s under threat of Hurricane Henry (so strong it could be a category 6) is Annieville, South Carolina. Prior to the storm’s landfall, it looks like a place that would be a perfect fit for a Nicolas Sparks or Colleen Hoover movie. It’s here that we meet Lisa (Dynevor), who was called in to work on a day when the weather service is telling everyone to get the Hell out of town before the hurricane hits. She’s nine months pregnant and abandoned by the kid’s jerkwad father, but Lisa has the perfect birthing playlist all ready to go on her phone. Lisa’s mother wants her to consider having a water birth…and, well, she just might get that.
There’s also a trio of rambunctious Olsen siblings, Dee, Ron, and Will (Alyla Brown, Leviticus breakout Stacy Clausen, and Dante Ubaldi), who have a pair of neglectful foster parents so awful they can’t even be counted on to be fed everyday, much less be protected by a natural disaster.
Finally, Hounsou is marine researcher and shark expert Dale Edwards, whose niece Dakota, played by Peak, is agoraphobic since the death of her parents. Dale can’t figure out why the coming storm has sparked so much shark activity, and even caught the attention of a massive Great White that he’s been tracking. The answer is kind of hilarious, and ties into those frequent mentionings of McKay.
For a good stretch of Thrash, it doesn’t exactly feel like a Wirkola movie. If you’re accustomed to his grisly, over-the-top style of genre flick, it can seem a bit tame. There are lulls in the shark feeding frenzy, especially when the story diverts to Dale’s slow race home to rescue Dakota. But things eventually pick up as limbs start being devoured; “He got my fucking arm!!” one victim shouts, fairly obviously. Dakota becomes Lisa’s last hope for survival and must brave the outdoors, and the risk of becoming a human buffet. The Olsen kids are trapped in a flooded home teeming with sharks, but they also have a pair of foster parents who are only looking out for themselves. Thrash becomes a crowd-pleaser about people coming together to help one another out when disaster strikes. If only the sharks were a bit more menacing and a more constant threat. The biggest danger is Mother Nature herself, as the relentless storm threatens to not just wash away our heroes, but the entire town itself. Shot on a soundstage mostly in Australia, Thrash is impressively scaled-up, with so much flooding it looks like you just wandered onto the set of Waterworld.
Thrash cranks it up a notch in the final stretch as the Wirkola we expected lets it rip with wild underwater births, taser guns, loads of dynamite, and an earful of Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles”. If there’s going to be a sequel, and since bad weather is forever that’s a distinct possibility, here’s hoping there are even more sharks thrown into the mix. And maybe a few crocs? Or would that be too much like Crawl? Whatever the case, Thrash delivers just enough shark-on-human action, in under 90-minutes no less, that it should be like chum in the water for those in need of a quick fix to watch at home.
Remember the Marvel One-Shot short films that used to fill in some of the gaps between MCU movies? They were pretty cool, such as one that featured Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery, and another titled ‘Item 47’ that picked up a loose thread from The Avengers. Marvel has stopped doing those, but they have been replaced by Special Marvel Presentations on Disney+, and the latest will center on Jon Bernthal’s The Punisher.
After a tease in the latest Daredevil: Born Again trailer, we’ve got a full look at The Punisher: One Last Kill, which hits Disney+ on May 12th. Plot details, and even casting, remain shrouded in secrecy, but based on this footage, Frank Castle is still racked with PTSD and the past demons that have always haunted.
Behind the camera is Reinaldo Marcus Green, the talented filmmaker behind King Richard, Bob Marley: One Love, and the HBO series We Own This City, starring Bernthal.
A super man needs a super woman by his side, and maybe Lois Lane just won’t be enough for Clark Kent? James Gunn has begun casting the role of Maxima in Man of Tomorrow, a super-powered love interest to Superman in the DC Comics, and THR reports on the shortlist of actresses up for the role.
According to the report, Adria Arjona, Eva De Dominici, Sydney Chandler and Grace Van Patten are testing for the role of Maxima. The four finalists tested this week in Atlanta, where Gunn is currently developing the Superman sequel.
Arjona is well-known for her role in Andor as well as Richard Linklater’s action-comedy Hit Man. She also worked with Gunn previously on The Belko Experiment. De Dominici will be seen in Peter Farrelly’s upcoming comedy, Balls Up. Chandler currently leads Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth series, while Patten starred in The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox, and was pretty great in the 2021 film Mayday.
Debuting in the pages of Action Comics in 1989, Maximia is the powerful queen of an alien world, who becomes obsessed with Superman as she believes he is the only being strong enough to be her king. While she has often been portrayed as an antagonist, Maxima eventally reformed and even became part of the Justice League.
Assuming Man of Tomorrow follows the same trajectory, Maxima will obviously come at odds with Lois Lane, played once again by Rachel Brosnahan. David Corenswet returns as Superman, with Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. The two archrivals will be forced to team up to defeat the alien threat of Brainiac, played by Lars Eidinger.
Aaron Pierre is expected to reprise his Lanterns role as Green Lantern John Stewart. Skyler Gisondo (Jimmy Olsen), Sara Sampaio (Eve Teschmacher), Isabela Merced (Hawkgirl), Guy Gardner (Nathon Fillion) and Edi Gathegi (Mister Terrific) are also returning.
“To be or not to be, that is the question!” Prince Hamlet’s iconic words have never been spoken quite as they are in director Aneil Karia’s modern take on the Shakespeare classic, as the doomed figure speeds recklessly, suicidally, behind the wheel of his BMW. To be completely honest, adaptations of the legendary playwright’s works are unappealing to me because there have been so many. It’s gotten to the point that there is even an overload of contemporary takes on the material. So what’s the reason for this version of Hamlet and what, if anything, sets it apart? Well, that would be star Riz Ahmed in the titular role, as well as the change of setting to London’s affluent South Asian community.
Penned with efficiency by Michael Lesslie, who previously adapted Shakespeare’s Macbeth for director Justin Kurzel, Hamlet is driven by Ahmed’s ferocious performance as the tragic prince, who begins seeing ghosts of his recently deceased father, the head of a prominent construction company. In keeping with tradition, Hamlet’s mother Gertrude (Sheeba Chadha) is to wed his father’s brother, the conniving Claudius (Art Malik), which he thinks is kinda shady. In an effort to exact revenge for his father, Hamlet begins lashing out at everyone around him, including his potential wife Ophelia (Morfydd Clark), loyal friend Laertes (Joe Alwyn), and their father, Polonius (Timothy Spall), also Claudius’ mouthpiece.
Ahmed attacks the role of Hamlet with the intensity he brings to every role, and one can easily see him as the driving force, making the film a reality. He’s such a commanding, theatrical performer that it seems like he should be center stage on Broadway, not necessarily on the big screen. He’s surrounded by a cast who, let’s be honest, fade into the background whenever he’s around. Perhaps it’s due to the economy of Lesslie’s script that the other characters, many of which are celebrated in their own right, feel so incomplete here. That said, Ahmed brings passion and believability to Hamlet’s paranoid turn and ultimate descent into insanity.
Shakespeare’s text still sounds unnatural in a modern setting, and I have a chuckle every time a character is alone and waxing poetic to themselves in a bathroom or something. But the core themes of power, family legacy, greed, and corruption are as relevant as ever, especially in a corporate setting. Aria and Lesslie put in the work to make Shakespeare’s verse fit with the visual and pacing needs of a feature film, with multiple locations and high-pressure interactions keeping the plot moving.
Despite being largely cast with Pakistani and Indian actors, Hamlet doesn’t go deep into exploring how Shakespeare’s dialogue would specifically impact that community today. It’s simply not enough to take the Bard’s words and have people of different cultures recite them. We need to see why they matter; otherwise, what’s the point? That said, Ahmed’s go-for-broke performance is incredible. His devotion to making his own one of the most important figures in dramatic history is worth seeking out.
Vertical releases Hamlet in theaters on April 10th.
Lionsgate has released a final trailer for Michael, the King of Pop biopic that they are hoping will be a massive, global event on April 24th.
There are plenty of larger-than-life musical artists out there, but when it comes to biopics, it’s all about the presentation. Look at the recent Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, which was smaller in scale and sort of evaporated in theaters. Well, that’s not happening with Antoine Fuqua’s Michael, a splashy, glittery look at the life and career of Michael Jackson. Lionsgate is giving it a massive April rollout, complete with IMAX, that is fitting for a superstar of Jackson’s stature.
Michael Jackson’s nephew Jaafar Jackson plays his uncle, and to be fair, he’s a spitting image. Disturbingly so. The film, penned by 3-time Oscar-nominated writer John Logan, tracks Jackson’s life and career from the discovery of his immense talent, to his time with his brothers in the Jackson 5, and later his emergence as a solo superstar and cultural icon. What you probably won’t find? A lot of the controversies that dogged Jackson later in his life.
Also in the cast are Nia Long, Laura Harrier, Miles Teller, Colman Domingo, Kendrick Sampson, Kat Graham, Larenz Tate, Jessica Sula, Derek Luke, and Juliano Krue.
To get an idea of how video game movies have shifted, one need only look at the adaptations released over the last week. On the one hand, you’ve got the massive blockbuster The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which takes a maximalist approach to exploding the Nintendo Cinematic Universe. And then you’ve got director Genki Kawamura’s Exit 8, a sparse, psychological nightmare based on the Kotake Create game that is essentially a really creepy walking sim horror. There’s so little to the latter that it frees up the movie to be pretty much anything and everything, and what Kawamura came up with was to make a paranoia thriller that doubles as a coming-of-age drama. Weird, yes, but somehow it works…eventually.
The premise of Exit 8 is deceptively simple. The protagonist, referred to only as Lost Man (played by J-Pop star Kazunari Ninomiya) must find his way out of a seemingly endless labyrinth of subway tunnels. Ever been temporarily lost in a subway station of a parking gargage? Well, imagine that times a thousand. The man’s indecisive nature enhances the story. It begins as he watches an angry commuter yelling at a new mother about her crying baby, and chooses not to get involved. While walking to a job interview, the man gets a phone call from his ex-girlfriend who reveals she is pregnant and doesn’t know what to do about it. He doesn’t have any answers there, either, and walks around in a daze for a until he figures out that he’s been walking around the same bland, white-tiled tunnels with all of the signage leading him back to the beginning.
While Lost Man is typically alone for the first half of the film, he’s not the only one in those hallways. There’s the creepy, grinning Walking Man (Yamato Kochi) with his briefcase, and The Boy (Naru Asanuma), a lost child who becomes more of a fixture later on. Similar to the video game, Lost Man’s only hope of getting out is to spot the various anomalies and reverse course. To miss an anomaly will only get him sent back to the entrance, or possibly to reap increasingly bizarre, supernatural repercussions.
The success of Exit 8 is how brilliantly it translates the addictive nature of the game for the moviegoing experience. Because the central conceit is so simple, audiences can spend their time obsessing over the anomalies and spotting them before the protagonist does. These can be anything; such as different posters along the walls, different signage, or characters acting strangely, which they all do at some point.
Lost Man’s guilt and timidity are themes that inform his every action, but other than that we don’t get to know much about him. He, and the other characters in Exit 8, are thinly defined for a reason, so that we can map our own attitudes and beliefs onto them, to better relate. They are quintessential video game avatars that don’t require a lot of backstory. That said, this only works the more you are invested in the mind-boggling premise. For me, the film starts off extremely slow and Lost Man isn’t interesting enough to see that through.
However, the psychosis-inducing production design and eerie corridors captured by DP Keisuke Imamura eventually ensnare you like poor Lost Man himself. And just as we think we’ve got Exit 8 all figured out, Kawamura and co-writer Kentaro Hirase flip the script, not only adding a new protagonist but increasing the otherworldly strangeness to ridiculous levels. And yet, as the film gets odder, a larger ethical message emerges that adds unexpected depth. Ultimately, Exit 8 is about a lot more than a man trying to find a way out. As video game movies get bigger, louder, and franchise-heavy, Exit 8 is itself an anomaly that dares to be different.
Noah Hawley’s mainly known for successful TV series such as Legion, Fargo, and now Alien: Earth. But his drab feature film debut, Lucy in the Sky, came and went without making a blip, and efforts for him to direct a Star Trek feature failed. But Hawley is giving movies another shot, as THR reports he’ll direct Terrified, a remake of the 2017 Argentine supernatural horror.
Hawley will direct and produce Terrified, working alongside the original film’s director, Demián Rugna. However, Hawley’s film will be a reimagining of the story, which follows a police officer and a group of paranormal researchers investigating supernatural events in a Buenos Aires neighborhood.
Rugna is probably best known to U.S. audiences for 2023’s When Evil Lurks, which Khalil reviewed and loved.
So, an unexpected move from Hawley as he works to establish himself in the world of cinema. It does make me wonder on th status of Nowhere Fast, the Texas crime thriller he’s developing that will star Chris Pine. Perhaps that one is moving along slowly and is still a long way off.
