Edward Norton Returns to Director’s Chair for 1950s Detective Drama
The last time Edward Norton directed, it was nineteen years ago for a forgotten Ben Stiller romantic comedy called “Keeping the Faith.” Since then, the three time Oscar nominated actor has remained primarily in front of the camera, starring in several iconic movies across the twentieth century and only occasionally dabbling in producing, cinematography, or editing.
On November 1st, however, Norton returns to the director’s chair once again, this time for a gritty, 1950s detective drama based off of a screenplay he wrote. The film is called “Motherless Brooklyn.” It is an adaptation of a 1999 National Book Critics Circle Award-winning novel by Jonathan Lethem. Norton’s screenplay of the story will go down as his first writing credit.
Starring a Detective with a Disability, Never-Before-Seen on the Silver Screen
“Motherless Brooklyn” is about a private investigator working in mid-twentieth century New York City—Brooklyn, obviously. Played by Norton himself, the private eye is named Lionel Essrog, and despite his daring profession, he is an estranged and lonely man who suffers from Tourette’s Syndrome.
Stuttering, twitchy, and seemingly nervous all the time, Essrog is not your everyday Hollywood protagonist. He is vulnerable and smitten with anxiety, as the movie will show by telling the story from his point of view. Essrog is a new kind of character for Norton as well, for the actor usually plays the serious, smart, but oftentimes devilish lead. Not since “Primal Fear”, where he played a schizophrenic murder suspect, with a severe stutter, has he dabbled in this type of over-the-top character portrayal. That performance was his career debut, and breakthrough, earning a Golden Globe supporting actor win and an Oscar nomination for same.
In the film, Essrog’s only friend is Frank Minna, his mentor played by Bruce Willis. After Minna is murdered, the crux of the story centers on Essrog trying to figure out who done it. Using his condition not as a disability, but as a resource for understanding and analyzing situations, Essrog employs his Tourette’s to his advantage, and they aid him in cracking the case.
Classic Oscar Bait Elements, perhaps, but Will it Play in 2020?
It is a classic detective story with an original twist. Everything about “Motherless Brooklyn” fits in with the bygone noir genre, but instead of having the leading character be overly hard-boiled, he is highly susceptible and must navigate a corrupt urban world while also dealing with his own inner-turmoil.
Alongside Norton and Willis, Alec Baldwin and Willem Dafoe also star in the film, making the cast pretty star studded. On top of disability, the movie’s themes will also include power, its limits, its ethics, and the layers of depravity that surround it. While the conventional noir genre may be dead in the twenty-first century, those themes have proven themselves timeless. Like any good noir film, “Motherless Brooklyn” is labyrinth-like in its structure and bound to throw a couple of unexpected narrative turns our way.
Although film noir may not be on the brink of a revival, “Motherless Brooklyn” could still be a stimulating project. The movie has clear talent and thematic relevance on its side, and the script is based off of popular source material that feels both familiar and fresh.
Given its 1950s setting and retro noir aspects, “Motherless Brooklyn” is not exactly doing anything to combat a whitewashed Hollywood. However, assuming that the movie handles it with appropriate sensitivity, we applaud Norton for bringing matters of disability to the big screen. Let’s hope that he plays the part with the grace it deserves, does right by the misunderstood trope, and perhaps even demystifies a few assumptions about the condition in the process.
Springsteen’s Introspective Brilliance Rocks onto the Big Screen in Lieu of a Concert Tour
Rock-n-roll legend Bruce Springsteen has appeared in films before. From dancing with Courtney Cox in his own music video, to chiming in on different rockumentaries, to making a hilarious cameo in “High Fidelity,” the Boss is no stranger to the screen. This is not even to mention the nearly three hundred movie soundtracks that he has appeared on—winning an Oscar for his original song “Streets of Philadelphia” in 1993 and more recently having a film made directly about his music in 2019’s “Blinded By The Light.”
On October 25th, Springsteen invites his audience to enjoy a new kind of filmic experience to compliment his music. Springsteen’s latest album, “Western Stars,” came out in May, and like all of the rocker’s work, it is ruggedly poetic and grippingly suggestive of something that feels fundamentally American. Instead of going on a tour to promote this album, though, Springsteen is releasing a film to accompany it.
A Documentary-Music Video that Expands Upon Bruce Springsteen’s Latest Album
“Western Stars” (the film) is a cinematic endeavor that combines many different kinds of footage and stories, all set to the music from Springsteen’s latest record. It is partially an elongated music video that goes on for the album’s entire twelve tracks. At the same time, it is also a documentary, using found-footage and voice over narration to create a commentary about Springsteen’s life and career. Then again, it is also a concert video, as it incorporates live performances from several Bruce shows.
A conglomeration of mediums and modes, “Western Stars” is a unique project. Given its motley style, the film is very hard to pin as a particular art form. It is just as musical as it is cinematic—a visual album with Springsteen as the glue holding everything together.
A Nostalgic Directorial Collaboration Rooted in Springsteen’s Earliest Years
Springsteen himself directed the movie alongside longtime collaborator Thom Zimny. In addition to Springsteen’s brilliant lyric-writing abilities, the singer also published a memoir in 2016 and curated his own Broadway performance in 2017. Both of these projects were highly esteemed, demonstrating that he knows how to communicate a story or message in more than just a musical medium.
Zimny, on the other hand, is a filmmaker first and foremost. He has been with Bruce since 2001, when he directed the concert video, “Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: Live In New York City.” Since then they have worked together on numerous documentaries and music videos. “Western Stars” however, is a first for both of them—an unprecedented blend of all the cinematic forms they’ve worked in so far.
“Western Stars” debuted at the Toronto Film Festival earlier this year, and it received positive reviews. It is praised for the way it captures and expands upon everything Springsteen says on the album. Although the musician hails from New Jersey, the film has an appropriately Western energy, with desert-country imagery that compliments the songs’ themes regarding growing up, growing old, and navigating your inner-American frontier through solemn ballads and explosive hard rock.
Robert Eggers Returns to Design another Horror-Period Piece in “The Lighthouse”
In 2015, production designer Robert Eggers pulled off something quite difficult—he successfully blended the horror and period piece genres to write and direct “The Witch,” a critically acclaimed film that deals with supernatural and terrifying phenomena during the early seventeenth century. Mixing these estranged genres together is a challenging feat, but Eggers managed to do it well, earning a name for himself in the movie business.
Egger’s next film, “The Lighthouse”—which he wrote with his brother Max Eggers—will also take place in a bygone era. Set in the 1890s, this upcoming black-and-white horror movie follows the story of two lighthouse keepers as they battle cabin fever, intoxication, madness, mystery, and mayhem on a secluded New England island.
Shines an Eerie Light on stars Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson
The two lighthouse keepers are played by Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson. These two stars are the only principle members of the cast. There is only one other credited role, and it goes to an unknown actress named Valeriia Karaman who plays a mermaid. Clearly, the movie will deliver on its eerie feeling of isolation.
Still, these two actors could be enough star power to carry the film along. Willem Defoe is a veteran actor at this point. He has been nominated for four Academy Awards, most recently getting back-to-back nominations for “The Florida Project” and “At Eternity’s Gate” in 2018 and 2019 respectively.
Meanwhile, many may still think of Robert Patinson as a pretty face from the “Twilight” series, and some are suspicious of his upcoming leading role in “The Batman.” However, those who are up-to-date on Hollywood’s indie scene will know that Patinson is a more than gifted actor, as he delivered wonderful performances in both 2017’s “Good Time” and 2014’s “The Rover.”
Both actors have already received praise for their roles in “The Lighthouse,” as the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May and critics raved about its beauty, brilliance, and above all, its masterful use of a sinister tone.
Prestigious Blend of Psychological Thrills and Supernaturalism that will Mess with Your Head
The movie is foremost a psychological thriller, as the loneliness of living together on a forsaken island leads the two lighthouse keepers into states of hypnosis and madness, so much so, that they become enemies. This makes the bulk of the movie fit into a certain subgenre of horror. One that bends the audience’s mind with surrealism in the same vein as Darren Arronofsky’s “Black Swan” or Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining.”
At the same time, given the character’s hallucinatory states, “The Lighthouse” also becomes a supernatural horror movie. We know from the casting that there will be a mermaid in the film, and the trailer shows us brief, partial images of a tentacled creature—quite possibly a sea monster.
Will these supernatural things really be there in the movie’s diegesis? That is likely up to the viewer to decide. Like many psychological thrillers, it is not always clear weather paranormal events are really going on, or if the characters are just losing their minds.
Black & White Aesthetic brings Artistic Brilliance Reminiscent of Classic Horror Films
Regardless, the black-and-white cinematography gives “The Lighthouse” a very cool look, especially when combined with these mysterious creatures. Of course, the lack of color primarily adds to the movie’s gloomy mood and ominous feeling, but on top of that, it also makes the film look reminiscent of classic Universal horror films, most potently “The Creature From The Black Lagoon.”
Cinematographer Jarin Blaschke also employs contrasting lighting and what seem to be primitive lenses in order to invoke a retro, almost German Expressionist feel. It gives the movie a very raw feeling that gives the audience a sense for the way things were at the turn of the twentieth century.
Robert Eggers impressed us with “The Witch,” and quite frankly, “The Lighthouse” looks like far less of a risk. The movie may send us back in time, but not so far back as the Salem With Trials. Likewise, it is backed by A24, which is essentially the go-to studio for indie projects nowadays. This creates an element of prestige in “The Lighthouse” that we did not quite have in Egger’s earlier films.
This is not a bad attribute. In fact, it is a very good one for both Eggers and the audience. Essentially, we are saying that “The Lighthouse” has a larger appeal, a more promising cast, and a story that will be easier to latch on to. Also, now that Eggers has a bit of a reputation under his belt, he may be more willing to bend some rules within his craft. Of course, there will be twists and turns along the way, but we are confident that “The Lighthouse” will rattle our bones throughout and keep us questioning the truth up until its very end.
The trailer for the action-packed reimagining of the classic tale of an eccentric doctor who can talk to animals is out now and the film is coming from Universal next year. The colorful cast has many high profile names, including: Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Tom Holland, Selena Gomez, and many more– but here’s the catch: they’re all animals! In charge of this fantastical comedy is director Stephen Gaghan with music composed by Danny Elfman. Coming to the big screen on January 17, 2020.
We are at points of transition in the worlds of vehicles and entertainment. On both fronts, the past few years have given us unprecedented change. For vehicles, the now practical concept of self-driving cars opens up the possibility of getting around without a human operator behind the wheel. Meanwhile, for entertainment, the rise of streaming services and cord cutting has changed the way we consume media on a mobile basis.
These two evolutions may seem unconnected right now. However, both concepts are still in their infancy. Given recent history, entertainment companies are currently dead set on finding the latest platform to create and distribute their content on, and self-driving vehicles have seemingly limitless potential. It is clear that these two innovative concepts will intersect, potentially in the near future.
With no one operating a car, traveling becomes an experience of little beyond being a passenger. Whether it is doing a daily commute or taking a cross-country road trip, “driving” no longer requires attention and awareness. Being in a car becomes a slot of time where people are essentially trapped in the confines of a small space with no responsibilities. It is the perfect time for catching up on news, entertainment, or communication.
While it might be easy to imagine people in self-driving cars perpetually staring at their smart phones or laptops, there is the possibility that entertainment companies could collaborate with vehicle manufacturers to change the very design of vehicles and make car-riding a transmedia experience.
A Completely new Lifestyle built around Time in Transit
What this would look like is unclear, but one can imagine a car surrounded in screens—on the backs of seats, propped on dashboards, and even over some of the windows, making entertainment accessibly (maybe even unavoidably) built into a vehicle’s architecture. Many companies are gearing up for the potential. Finnish company FlexSound is pioneering “augmented audio” devices that can produce movie theater quality audio by imbedding transducers into car seats and headrests, allowing the occupant to feel the sound directly, for example.
The potential does not stop there, though. Consuming media exclusively in a car offers a very particular experience, one that companies could capitalize on with originality. Virtual reality simulations are one of the latest breakthroughs in entertainment tech. Currently, virtual reality occupies a vague area somewhere between film and video games. Despite its growing popularity, VR is yet to find an exact home in the day-to-day lives of consumers.
Perhaps self-driving cars can provide that stable home for VR. With the help of technology, media equipped vehicles could change the very landscape that one is driving through everyday. With screens disguised as windshields, a boring commute could become an adventure through some of the world’s most interesting places. Perhaps the commute could even be through different worlds. Hypothetically, by hooking your Tesla up with a Disney or Warner Brothers package, you could find yourself driving across a Star Wars planet, Gotham City, or some other fictional place every single day.
Who will lead in the Contest to provide Entertainment Solutions for a Newly Liberated Population?
Of course, VR could offer more than just moving through these places. There could be narratives involved. During your drive across Gotham City, the Joker could pop out of an alley, or you could find yourself in a car chase with the Batmobile. On the other hand, your car could become a Disney World ride, and driving your kids to school could become a Millennium Falcon or Buzz Lightyear adventure that involves shooting down enemy ships in a distant galaxy.
The possibilities are endless. Of course, it will all be a façade, but so is every form of visual entertainment. Ever since Thomas Edison created the Kinetoscope in 1897 to produce the first motion pictures, we have been happily living in a world filled with enthralling illusions.
The future of entertainment is unclear, but self-driving cars merging with media outlets is one distant idea that has already crossed the minds of industry executives. If self-driving cars become more popular over the next decade, it is possible that we will see this conglomeration / convergence take effect. Perhaps Uber and Lyft will do away with their drivers and start producing movies instead. Or maybe they will team up with Netflix, Amazon, or Apple+ to have a constant stream of content. Or maybe instead of Ubers and Lyfts altogether, we will get around in Disney Taxis or join in on Universal Studios Carpools. Again, the possibilities are endless. What’s your take?
Number 1: 1917 is an upcoming war film directed by Sam Mendes and co-written by Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns. It stars George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Claire Duburcq, with Colin Firth, and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Fourth: Available via AppleTV+ starting on November 1 (free if you recently purchased qualifying Apple products) the Documentary showcases the majestic lives of an Elephant herd.
A Decade in the Making, showing how Predecessor was a Premonition Foretold
The trailer for “Venom” director Ruben Fleischer’s new movie starts out with a feeling of prestige. Over intense music, we see shots of an impressive cast as text introduces Academy Award nominees Woody Harrelson, Jessie Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin, and Academy Award winner Emma Stone. Just when you start to think you are watching an ad for the latest star-studded, Oscar-bait drama, you realize that the lineup feels somewhat familiar.
Suddenly the dramatic music comes to a halt as the shot of Emma Stone widens to reveal her loading, aiming, and firing a grenade launcher at a walking corpse. Music starts up again, but this time it is Ice Cube’s Click Clack-Get Back as the characters wade through a field of zombies towards a deteriorating Whitehouse.
Suddenly, we know where we are… We are back in Zombieland!
“Zombieland: Double Tap” is a follow-up to the 2009 zombie-horror-comedy “Zombieland.” It has been ten years since the first movie hit theaters and surprised audiences with its humor and fresh take on the genre. Fortunately, despite how long it has taken to produce a sequel, the aforementioned original cast and director are back in their rightful places for the new film.
In addition to Fleischer returning to the director’s chair and Harrelson, Eisenberg, Breslin, and Stone reprising their roles, writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick are also coming back for “Double Tap.” Since the first film came out, Reese and Wernick have become contemporary comedy legends, having written both of the “Deadpool” movies.
Joining the writing staff for “Double Tap” is also “The Expendables” and “Godzilla” screenwriter Dave Callaham. “Double Tap” will be the first of many upcoming blockbuster projects for Callaham. Over the next few years, he is lined up to write for “Wonder-Woman: 1984,” “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2,” and Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”
Photo / Sony Pictures Entertainment
Stellar Cast and Creative Team should produce Entertaining Bulls-eye
If the creative minds behind “Zombieland: Double Tap” are any signifier, the movie will not lack in humor or action. Like the first “Zombieland,” the sequel’s story takes place in a post-apocalyptic America, centering on a quartet of survivors who have come to depend on each other as a motley, makeshift family.
This time around, the characters are seeking refuge in middle-America, combating new kinds of zombies and encountering other survivors in the process. Joining the cast to play these other survivors are Zoey Deutch, Avan Jogia, Rosario Dawson, Luke Wilson, and Thomas Middleditch. The movie will also have a couple cameos from the likes of Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd.
Of course, comedy has noticeably changed since 2009. Ten years ago, the most talked about comedies were “Step Brothers,” “The Hangover,” and “Pineapple Express.” Will Farrell’s absurdist humor was still at its peak and Seth Rogen’s stoner bromance style felt fresh. These icons led the genre in a very goofy direction at the turn of the decade.
Today, however, audiences have shown that they want something a bit more socially telling. Viewers desire either genre parodies such as “Deadpool” or “Shazam!” or they want political satires that cross over into dramas such as “Vice” or “The Big Short.”
This raises the question of whether something as silly as rednecks and nerds killing zombies in over-the-top violent fashions will still be suitable for contemporary audiences?
Photo / Sony Pictures Entertainment
More Apropos in 2019 than 2009?
In response to that valid query, perhaps we can look at the first “Zombieland” not as a product of 2009, but rather as a film that was ahead of its time. After all, the movie is a parody of a specific horror sub-genre and it blends comedy with action quite well, leaving viewers feeling as if they laughed, but also enjoyed a solid zombie movie in its own right.
Lastly, “Zombieland” is not without its own pinch of satire, as it characterizes certain America stereotypes and pokes fun at low-mimetic people by placing them in high-stakes situations. As previously described, the trailer begins with the characters fighting zombies on the Whitehouse lawn. In the next scene, Woody Harrelson’s hickish character is sitting in the oval office, explaining how he would make a good president. While such jokes could be excused as mere gags ten years ago, they now have a touch of real-world relevance.
In total, “Zombieland: Double Tap” promises to be the thrilling, yet gut-busting action comedy that we are expecting. Like its 2009 predecessor, it will cross boundaries and use humor to deliver a message while winking at the audience in the process. In 2019, though, that message may be more divisive or potent, ultimately making the wink a whole lot less subtle.
“Scandalous” Documentary Film Reveals the Corrupt History Behind the National Enquirer, Entertains with a point about Fake News
The promotional poster for Magnolia Pictures and Mark Landsman’s new documentary shows off in giant bold letters the alluring tagline, “Sex, Drugs, and UFOs.” Billowing around the words are a bunch of newspaper front pages, each with an infamous headline such as “Flying Saucers Are Real,” “I Saw O.J. At The Murder Scene,” or “Elvis: The Untold Story.”
If one even notices the title of the film printed in smaller letters in enormous tagline’s shadows, one might expect that “Scandalous” is a movie about conspiracy theories or some great national collusion that ties all of these pop-culture headlines together in some absurd way. However, beneath the title on the poster, seemingly hidden, is the film’s subtitle. It reads “The Untold Story Of The National Enquirer.”
For sixty years, the National Enquirer has been an American news source reporting on the latest events in pop-culture gossip, catering their articles to the average everyday American who is voyeuristically intrigued in the lives of celebrities and public figures. As Landsman’s documentary shows, however, the National Enquirer toed an unsteady line between information and entertainment, using borderline unethical or illegal reporting techniques to get the full scoop, and then milking that scoop for all its worth in order to sell more copies.
Poster Photo / Magnolia Pictures
Living Squarely in a Gray Area and Embracing Ambiguity
Thus, despite the way the film is marketed on the poster, “Scandalous” is not about conspiracy theories, but rather about a single pseudo-news source that changed the game of reporting by promoting stories that were overblown and exaggerated for the American public.
It is actually a strangely relevant topic in today’s world. Obviously, the National Enquirer still exists—James Cohen of Hudson News recently purchased the company—and it probably still partakes in some of the ethical ambiguities covered in the film. On a larger scale, though, today’s political debates regarding fake news give “Scandalous” a timely twist. Did the National Enquirer ever explicitly produce fake news in their articles? Perhaps not. But did they ever overstate certain details and indulge in stories for the sake of gaining readers’ attention? Most certainly. Then again, what newspaper hasn’t?
There is somewhat of a paradox here, for when the National Enquirer bends the rules in order to get a story, it comes off as an egregious affront. At the same time, though, when a more esteemed news source such as The New York Times or the Washington Post goes undercover to retrieve information, they are usually applauded for exercising freedom of the press. Sometimes Steven Spielberg even commends them with an Oscar nominated movie starring Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep.
Perhaps it is the fact that the National Enquirer is not usually publishing stories that are pertinent to the American people’s safety or enlightenment. Exercising freedom of the press may be admired when it is for investigating an issue of national importance, but not so much when it is investigating a celebrity couple’s latest fight. Then, it just comes off as a paparazzi-like invasion of privacy.
Photo / Magnolia Pictures
For a cinephile, it is also hard to watch a film like “Scandalous” and wonder where the documentary itself falls on that line between information and entertainment. Documentaries, existing somewhere betwixt feature films or news reports, are neither entirely fictional nor restricted to objectivity. Typically, they are didactic in some way, but also artistic and meant to be please the audience to a certain degree. While we are watching “Scandalous” criticize the National Enquirer’s techniques and rhetoric, we may find ourselves questioning what kinds of stylistic choices or intentional omissions Mark Landsman made when curating the film.
The National Enquirer’s history is not all black and white. In their questionable form of journalism, they actually ended up uncovering and reporting on some pertinent information over the years. Do these occasional revelations really justify the source’s tactics? On the other hand, though, do they really need to justify themselves? After all, they do claim to be a newspaper.
“Scandalous” might not be the fake news story that we were expecting right now, and despite the criticism it offers, it may not be entirely innocent or objective in its own right. Nevertheless, it is subtly timely. Enough so that we just might learn something pertinent about journalism, history, and ethics along the way. Or we might just choose to enjoy it as an interesting exposé about a fascinating news source that reported on some of the biggest stories in pop-culture across the second half of the twentieth century. When it comes to watching a documentary film, the choice is up to the viewer.
Will Sleeping Beauty Spin-off Franchise continue Disney Magic?
Joker is not the only iconic villain getting a feature film this fall. On October 18th, Academy Award winning actress Angelina Jolie will be returning to the role of “Sleeping Beauty” antagonist Maleficent in “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.”
While the story of “Sleeping Beauty” dates back to the twelfth century, it was Walt Disney who gave Maleficent her name and famous look in the popular 1959 animated film adaptation. In that movie, Maleficent is the main villain, an evil fairy who curses Princess Aurora to die before her sixteenth birthday—that is unless she is saved by true love’s kiss, which being a Disney princess, she of course is.
Since Disney’s rendition of the classic fairy tale, Maleficent has been a pop-culture icon. For the past sixty years, her greenish face, dark cloak, horned crown, and crow-like aura have made her the embodiment of wickedness. She stands alongside Ursula, Scar, Jafar, and Captain Hook as the greatest Disney villains of all time.
In the 1959 movie, Eleanor Audley provided the voice of Maleficent—the same actress who voiced Cinderella’s evil stepmother nine years earlier. Over the years a few different actresses have taken on the role. Lois Nettleton voiced Maleificent in the 2001 “Mickey’s House of Villains”; Kristin Chenoweth played her in the 2015 Disney Channel TV movie “Descendants”; and several women have portrayed her in different theatrical productions.
“Sleeping Beauty” is certainly a timeless tale, and thus Maleficent is an everlasting villain. However, there is one recent performance of the antagonist that stands above the rest. And that is Angelina Jolie’s.
Jolie first played Maleficent in the 2014 “Maleficent.” This live-action Disney film was an alternate telling of the Sleeping Beauty story with an obvious focus on the villain. Nevertheless, Jolie did not reimagine Maleficent as empathetic. Despite being the main character, Jolie’s Maleficent is as despicable as ever. Fortunately, her haughty, bad-tempered sternness is exactly what makes her so entertaining. While it is incredibly difficult to pull of a live-action performance that does justice to an iconic cartoon character, Jolie has the right amount of attitude and moxie to pull it off.
“Maleficent” was somewhat ahead of its time too, as it came out one year before Disney’s 2015 “Cinderella,” which kicked off the studio’s current cycle of live-action remakes. Today, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” feels a little more expected, as this year has already given live-action reimaginings of “Dumbo,” “Aladdin,” and “The Lion King” and will get one of “Lady and the Tramp” with the release of Disney+ in November.
While some fans criticize Disney for these constant rehashes, shaming the company for lacking creativity and constantly chasing the easy dollar, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” promises to offer a bit more novelty. Although the story is based off of characters and concepts from “Sleeping Beauty,” its screenplay is original. The narrative appropriately picks up a few years after the 2014 film left off. Princess Aurora is grown up and wants to marry her beloved Prince Phillip. Unenthused about this prospect, Maleficent is determined to put a stop to the wedding, and will employ all the dark magic she has to do so.
Although not Prime Marketing Focus, Maleficent will be in great company
The story will dig deeper into the Aurora’s royal family, their political ties, and the secret supernaturalism that lurks within the film’s fantastical world. As it is foremost a story about the villain, it will obviously be dark and moody in tone. However, it is still a PG rated Disney movie, so there is bound to be a high degree of playfulness, adventure, and family fun as well.
Returning for the sequel along with Jolie, the young Elle Fanning is reprising her role as Princess Aurora. Juno Temple, Imelda Staunton, and Sam Riley will also be returning from the 2014 film. Joining the cast will be the talented Michelle Pfeiffer, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Harris Dickinson, and Ed Skerein amongst others. Behind the camera, we will also see Joachim Rønning replace Robert Stromberg as director and Ellen Mirojnick replace Anna B. Sheppard as costume designer—the only category that the 2014 movie received an Oscar nomination for.
With all of the live action remakes, record breaking Marvel movies, “Toy Story 4,” and Disney+ preorders, 2019 has been one of Disney’s most profitable years to date… and we are still yet to see what kind of damage “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and “Frozen 2” do at the box-office. Because of the inner-studio competition, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” will likely not be the company’s most lucrative film of the year. It will also have to go up against “Zombieland: Double Tap” on opening weekend. Nevertheless, with strong marketing, star power, and a considerable fan base, it will likely fare well enough financially, and might just get some positive critical reception as well, all in all being a satisfying project for audiences and Disney alike.
“Paradise Hills” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. After the festival, Samuel Goldwyn Films acquired it for distribution.
Samuel Goldwyn Films Brings Feminist Thriller From Sundance To Theaters on October 25th
The movie touts a novice creative team but an impressive cast of young actresses. Behind the camera is director Alice Waddington and behind the story are screenwriters Brian DeLeeuw and Nacho Vigalondo, none of whom have many noticeable credits to their names. The cast, however, has a few more familiar faces. It features Emma Roberts as the main character alongside Awkwafina, Danielle Macdonald, Milla Jovoich, and Eiza González.
The storyline focuses on a dystopian-like boarding school on an island. Young women wake up on this island and find themselves part of a social experiment, one that emotionally reforms them into becoming conformant members of their surroundings. Beneath the school’s idyllic surface, however, there is something threatening at hand, putting the girls in grave danger.
Mediocre Script, but Set & Costume Designs Save the Day
It sounds fascinating enough—almost like a modern YA-thriller rendition of the old British TV show, “The Prisoner.” Unfortunately, the script received heavy criticism at Sundance for having uncanny dialogue and numerous plot holes. What saved the film in most critics’ eyes were the set and costume designs.
Laia Colet and Sol Saban respectfully did the film’s set design and decoration, and Alberto Valcárcel created the costumes. Together, they built a colorful world for the characters to live in. Aesthetically, it is somewhat Hunger Games-like with flamboyant outfits, unique hairstyles, and a constant futuristic feeling of lavishness. It is more than enough to grip the audience from a visual perspective.
A Win for Feminism, But Will its Delivery Suffice?
Another area where the film received some praise was for its feminism. While the script may have been a bit hollow, the female characters have an impressive degree of complexity. Critics recognized that the women in “Paradise Hills” went beyond simple archetypes, and offered an array of original voices. Given the film industry’s current climate with #MeToo and its systemic underrepresentation of female characters on screen, it is important to see this kind of depth given to a primarily female cast, especially under the influence of a female director and in a genre that is far from a chick-flick.
However, despite whatever political angles one takes or how progressive a movie is behind the scenes, films must speak for themselves as pieces of art and entertainment. If “Paradise Hills” fails on those fronts, then its more powerful layers may go unnoticed, and sadly, it may end up forgotten despite its best qualities.
Will Sleeping Beauty Spin-off Franchise continue Disney Magic?
Joker is not the only iconic villain getting a feature film this fall. On October 18th, Academy Award winning actress Angelina Jolie will be returning to the role of “Sleeping Beauty” antagonist Maleficent in “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.”
While the story of “Sleeping Beauty” dates back to the twelfth century, it was Walt Disney who gave Maleficent her name and famous look in the popular 1959 animated film adaptation. In that movie, Maleficent is the main villain, an evil fairy who curses Princess Aurora to die before her sixteenth birthday—that is unless she is saved by true love’s kiss, which being a Disney princess, she of course is.
Since Disney’s rendition of the classic fairy tale, Maleficent has been a pop-culture icon. For the past sixty years, her greenish face, dark cloak, horned crown, and crow-like aura have made her the embodiment of wickedness. She stands alongside Ursula, Scar, Jafar, and Captain Hook as the greatest Disney villains of all time.
In the 1959 movie, Eleanor Audley provided the voice of Maleficent—the same actress who voiced Cinderella’s evil stepmother nine years earlier. Over the years a few different actresses have taken on the role. Lois Nettleton voiced Maleificent in the 2001 “Mickey’s House of Villains”; Kristin Chenoweth played her in the 2015 Disney Channel TV movie “Descendants”; and several women have portrayed her in different theatrical productions.
“Sleeping Beauty” is certainly a timeless tale, and thus Maleficent is an everlasting villain. However, there is one recent performance of the antagonist that stands above the rest. And that is Angelina Jolie’s.
Jolie first played Maleficent in the 2014 “Maleficent.” This live-action Disney film was an alternate telling of the Sleeping Beauty story with an obvious focus on the villain. Nevertheless, Jolie did not reimagine Maleficent as empathetic. Despite being the main character, Jolie’s Maleficent is as despicable as ever. Fortunately, her haughty, bad-tempered sternness is exactly what makes her so entertaining. While it is incredibly difficult to pull of a live-action performance that does justice to an iconic cartoon character, Jolie has the right amount of attitude and moxie to pull it off.
“Maleficent” was somewhat ahead of its time too, as it came out one year before Disney’s 2015 “Cinderella,” which kicked off the studio’s current cycle of live-action remakes. Today, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” feels a little more expected, as this year has already given live-action reimaginings of “Dumbo,” “Aladdin,” and “The Lion King” and will get one of “Lady and the Tramp” with the release of Disney+ in November.
While some fans criticize Disney for these constant rehashes, shaming the company for lacking creativity and constantly chasing the easy dollar, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” promises to offer a bit more novelty. Although the story is based off of characters and concepts from “Sleeping Beauty,” its screenplay is original. The narrative appropriately picks up a few years after the 2014 film left off. Princess Aurora is grown up and wants to marry her beloved Prince Phillip. Unenthused about this prospect, Maleficent is determined to put a stop to the wedding, and will employ all the dark magic she has to do so.
Although not Prime Marketing Focus, Maleficent will be in great company
The story will dig deeper into the Aurora’s royal family, their political ties, and the secret supernaturalism that lurks within the film’s fantastical world. As it is foremost a story about the villain, it will obviously be dark and moody in tone. However, it is still a PG rated Disney movie, so there is bound to be a high degree of playfulness, adventure, and family fun as well.
Returning for the sequel along with Jolie, the young Elle Fanning is reprising her role as Princess Aurora. Juno Temple, Imelda Staunton, and Sam Riley will also be returning from the 2014 film. Joining the cast will be the talented Michelle Pfeiffer, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Harris Dickinson, and Ed Skerein amongst others. Behind the camera, we will also see Joachim Rønning replace Robert Stromberg as director and Ellen Mirojnick replace Anna B. Sheppard as costume designer—the only category that the 2014 movie received an Oscar nomination for.
With all of the live action remakes, record breaking Marvel movies, “Toy Story 4,” and Disney+ preorders, 2019 has been one of Disney’s most profitable years to date… and we are still yet to see what kind of damage “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” and “Frozen 2” do at the box-office. Because of the inner-studio competition, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” will likely not be the company’s most lucrative film of the year. It will also have to go up against “Zombieland: Double Tap” on opening weekend. Nevertheless, with strong marketing, star power, and a considerable fan base, it will likely fare well enough financially, and might just get some positive critical reception as well, all in all being a satisfying project for audiences and Disney alike.
Kevin Smith’s Sequel follows a Decade of Offscreen Exploits
It’s been ten years since filmmaker Kevin Smith introduced us to Jay and Silent Bob in his 1994 indie cult-classic “Clerks.” Known for lazing outside of stores, smoking marijuana, and pondering the world, over the past twenty-five years, the pot-head duo has become a staple of Smith’s View Askewniverse, the fictional universe in which all of his films take place. Since “Clerks,” Jay and Silent Bob—respectfully played by Jason Mewes and Smith himself—have appeared in “Clerks 2,” “Mallrats,” and “Chasing Amy.” They even received their own movie, “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back,” in 2001.
Today, Kevin Smith is perhaps better known for his stand up comedy, pop-culture podcasts, and transmedia producing than he is for his movies. While he has some recent TV credits for directing episodes of the DCEU’s “Supergirl” and “The Flash,” it has been over three years since he last directed a feature film. That film was titled “Yoga Hosers,” and it received abhorrent reviews.
Still, perhaps more so than any other filmmaker, Kevin Smith is well aware of his artistic pitfalls and takes immense pleasure in mocking himself through his work. Nowhere does he do this better than in Jay and Silent Bob segments, which are filled with self-referential moments and humorous commentaries on pop-culture. With today’s audiences showing an appreciation for conglomerate media and throwback characters, Jay and Silent Bob would certainly have a lot of material to work with, and their return to the screen would likely be accepted with open arms.
For those reasons exactly, Jay and Silent Bob are finally coming back to the big screen together. Coming out Tuesday, Mewes and Smith are reprising their iconic roles in the new Kevin Smith directed “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot.”
If you exclude the 2013 animated movie, “Jay and Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie!” it has been over a decade since the two characters appeared in a film together. “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” came out over eighteen years ago. In that film, Jay and Bob went to Hollywood to sabotage a movie being made about their comic book counterparts, Bluntman and Chronic. After a wacky adventure filled with countless celebrity encounters, the two characters get their deserved royalties and return to their New Jersey roots.
Low-brow 90s Comedy, Loud and Proud with Star Powered Cameos
As the title of “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot” may suggest, this follow-up project will follow an almost identical plot. Again, a Los Angeles studio is trying to rip off the leading characters, and again, they travel to the West Coast to take back what they deserve. We cannot really criticize the movie for being unoriginal, though, for it is purposefully redundant, openly parodying the lack of new content and the constant remakes that contemporary Hollywood churns out.
Director Kevin Smith has been very forward about this in interviews. In his usual self-deprecating way, he does not promote the new film by championing it as a work of art. Instead, he candidly sells it as a raunchy stoner comedy that nobody asked for and was made with no prestigious intent. At the end of the movie’s trailer, a character played by Jason Biggs even states on a Comic-Con Panel that the reboot “sucks” and laughingly asks, “who’s directing this [explicit] anyway? Kevin [explicit]ing Smith?”
Thus, there is really no excuse for taking “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot” too seriously. Nevertheless, with cameos from the likes of Matt Damon, Chris Hemsworth, Ben Affleck, and Val Kilmer, the movie cannot help but get us a little bit excited. Furthermore, as Smith is a comic book aficionado, we look forward to seeing what kinds of jokes and scenarios he will make up regarding the superhero genre’s current domination in Hollywood.
Roadshow to Drum up Support will follow Initial Release
Also joining the cast for “Reboot” is Kevin Smith’s daughter, Harley Quinn Smith, who comically plays Jay’s daughter in the film. Her inclusion in the duo’s journey across America will pave the way for additional humor—both metahumor about family and parenting humor, as the slacker weed-inhaling Jay will now be a father.
“Jay and Silent Bob Reboot” will have its world premiere in Los Angeles, at which time Smith and Mewes will also receive Stars on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame and get their hands ceremoniously engraved in cement before the TCL Chinese Theater. The movie will then have a limited theatrical release over the weekend before Kevin Smith does a roadshow tour of the film, screening it in different cities around the United States. Smith will attend all of these screenings and stick around for Q&A sessions afterwards. The tour starts on October 19th in Smith’s home state of New Jersey, and ends on February 26th in New Orleans. It will also have a few events overseas.
Norman Rockwell Harmony Voyage leads to Dangers from Within
The trailer for director Michael Goi and writer Anthony Jaswinski’s new film “Mary,” starts out feeling quite wholesome, as a father played by Gary Oldman buys an old sailboat from a shipyard with the intention of getting into the charter-boat business. First, however, he takes his family on a bonding voyage across the sea. Initially, looks like a hopeful, albeit a little sappy, family drama that will leave you feeling inspired and optimistic.
Once the ship is out at sea, though, and the family is alone on open waters, things start to get strange. The family’s youngest daughter named Mary starts talking to an imaginary friend aboard the ship, and soon enough, this imaginary relationship leads her to do sadistic things. The young girl becomes a threat to the family as they realize that the old ship is cursed and that everyone who has sailed it before has ended up engulfed in tragedy.
So no, “Mary” is not the pleasant melodrama that we might have been expecting or even hoping for. Instead it is yet another horror movie, and while the ship setting looks somewhat original, the possessed little girl trope and the cursed old relic convention cannot help but render the film a little clichéd.
The cursed ship in “Mary” is not an ocean liner or even a yacht. It is a small, manual sailboat that probably has no more than a single room beneath the deck. This setting gives the film a terrifically claustrophobic feel, which could further the horror aspect, but we have to question how much can actually be done within such a small setting.
After a while, it is very possible that the confined space will lose its suspense. The film really seems to be banking on the ship setting as its most distinguishing aspect, as even the trailer heavily explicates the fact that there is nowhere to run on a ship. Meanwhile, Gary Oldman’s character, the captain and family patriarch, must consider weather he should keep sailing forward or turn around, creating an internal struggle between ambition and safety that could lead to madness or strife—yet another horror movie cliché.
Can we really blame the writers or the Oscar winning Gary Oldman for what “Mary” is, though? For everything it does that has been done before, it at least makes an effort to be original in how it scares and intrigues its audience. However, the horror genre right now requires more than just scariness. Unless it is a Jordan Peele kind of social commentary or something deeply nostalgia like “It: Chapter Two,” it is very difficult for a horror film to stand out.
So if you want a fun-house horror movie to get you in the Halloween spirit with jump scares and general creepiness, “Mary” will probably do the trick. But, if you are looking for something that will garner critical acclaim or immense originality, you may want to take your money elsewhere, perhaps away from horror altogether and over to whatever movie follows through on that gripping family melodrama exposition.
New Album Brings An Unfamiliar Sound And Suggests More Grown Up Themes Than Its Predecessors
The notorious pop-punk band Blink-182 has released their ninth album—appropriately titled “NINE”—and based on everything we’ve heard so far, it seems promising that the new record will take the band in a new direction, one that is perhaps lighter on the punk and heavier on the pop aspect of their distinctive musical genre.
“NINE” includes fifteen new tracks from Blink, and they pre-released five of them to give listeners a taste of what is in store. The first song they put out, titled “Blame It On My Youth,” met mixed feedback from fans and critics for its somewhat synthesized sound. Subsequent releases—the explosive “Generational Divide,” the sing-along “Happy Days” and “Darkside,” and the gloomier “I Really Wish I Hated You”—are a bit more familiar sounding, but they still retain large traces of new-age music.
Of course, this is not the first time that Blink has changed-up their style. Since the San Diego band’s conception in 1992, they have gone through three different lineups and several different musical phases, each one bringing new influences into their unique sound.
Photo / Graphic Collage / MCA / Lynxotic
The original lineup of guitarist Tom DeLonge, bassist Mark Hoppus and drummer Scott Raynor played together on the band’s first three albums: “Buddah,” “Cheshire Cat,” and “Dude Ranch.” These records had a very raw punk sound with perverse lyrics. At the time, Blink sounded like kids making up dirty songs in their parents’ basement. It was fitting because, quite frankly, that is exactly what they were.
The band replaced Raynor with current drummer Travis Barker in 1998, and their subsequent albums had a new intensity. Because post-grunge had found a mainstream fanbase in the late 1990s, Blink also found more commercial success at this time. Their 1999 record, “Enema of the State” put them in the spotlight with hit songs such as “All The Small Things” and “What’s My Age Again?” dominating radio and MTV. They continued with a similar pop-punk sound on their next album, “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket” before dabbling in more hardcore, introspective, and emo tracks on their following untitled album.
The band then had a hiatus and each member got involved with their own side-projects—Angels & Airwaves for DeLonge, +44 for Hoppus, and a slew of collaborations for Barker. When the group reunited in 2011, they brought these outside influences and experiences together in the studio, recording their versatile sixth album, “Neighborhoods.”
Sadly, “Neighborhoods” was Blink’s final collaboration with DeLonge—not including the short 2012 EP “Dogs Eating Dogs”—before the signature lead-singer took off to focus on Angels & Airwaves and form a paranormal investigation company called “To The Stars.” From this separation, however, emerged Matt Skiba, lead singer of Alkaline Trio, who stood in for DeLonge on guitar and vocals at Blink concerts and recorded the 2016 album “California” with Hoppus and Barker.
Despite the switch from DeLonge’s unmistakable nasally SoCal voice to Skiba’s milder Chicago vocals and clean-sounding guitar, “California” was very much a retro-album, recapturing the early 2000s punk rock vibes of “Enema of the State” and “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket.” Most of the songs were energetic, simple, and familiar. All experimental material was left to the bonus tracks on the album’s deluxe version.
Photo / Graphic Collage / MCA / Lynxotic
Blink highlighted “California’s” retro aspect with the album’s accompanying tour, where they shared the stage with other pop-punk bands from yester-decade such as The All-American Rejects, All Time Low, and A Day To Remember.
As soon as Blink returned to the studio, however, they claimed that their next project would be playing it far less safe and that they would be trying out some new tricks. This was further confirmed when Hoppus released the EP “Strange Love,” which was the product of a side-collaboration called Simple Creatures with All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth. The EP featured highly alternative tracks, which perhaps foreshadowed the direction that Hoppus would take Blink in.
Meanwhile, Blink also announced that their next tour would be featuring rapper Lil Wayne, whose music has a strikingly different and more modern appeal than that of the “California” tour’s opening acts. Recently, the band even released a remix of “What’s My Age Again?” meshed up with verses from Lil Wayne’s “A Millie.”
At the same time, though, this tour also marks the twenty-year anniversary of “Enema of the State.” Thus, Blink has been performing the album cover-to-cover at every show, displaying a huge respect for the old and a ray of nostalgia persevering into the new.
Perhaps this temporal mixture paints a picture of what we can expect from “NINE”—a strained attempt at balance between Blink’s past and the future. This is evident not only from the new songs’ styles, but from their lyrics and themes as well. While the songs from “California” suggested that the band was reliving their glory days, on “NINE” so far, Blink seems to be writing from an older perspective, looking back on the past and attempting to digest how things have changed.
“Blame It On My Youth” vaguely tells the story of the bands origin. Meanwhile, “Generational Divide,” ends with Skiba jadedly belting out, “I’m not the generational divide,” in a way that seems all but defensive. Then, “Happy Days” feels like Blink’s love song to the past, yearning in the chorus, “I wanna feel happy days… walls of isolation inside of my pain, and I don’t know if I’m ready to change.” While the song is upbeat in tempo and structure, its lyrics certainly suggest a touch of emotional uncertainty when it comes to the band’s rocky relationship with the ticking clock.
Photo / Graphic Collage / MCA / Lynxotic
Some might argue that this new sound is not punk rock enough for Blink, and that they are straying too far from their roots. However, the paradox of punk rock is that it is a genre built upon generic defiance. Therefore, once conventional punk has become the expectation—as is the case here—perhaps the most punk thing a band can do is veer off in an entirely different musical direction. Blink becoming more alternative and entering a nebulous zone of unanticipated and genreless music is the ultimate break from any semantic constraints that may attempt to label and therefore restrain punk.
Then, of course, there is the absence of Tom to consider. Although DeLonge refuses to say that he is permanently gone from Blink, this is the band’s second album without him, showing that “California” was not a fluke and that there is no sign of a reunion in the near future. While most fans have come to accept Skiba as an addition to the band, for many, it is simply not Blink without Tom and his bratty, angst-filled pipes that distinguished the group from day one.
While the current lineup has come around to at least acknowledging Tom’s existence—Mark Hoppus now gives him shout outs before certain songs at shows—his absence on stage and in the studio remains an enormous elephant in the room. Tom’s inexact place in the band’s past and present will be one more detail for fans to consider while reading into “NINE,” as the band wistfully glances back in the rearview mirror, seeing how their family has changed over the years and doing their best to come to terms with this open-ended relationship.
It was twenty-two years ago when Blink released the hit song, “Dammit.” It its chorus, Mark Hoppus sings “Well I guess this is growing up.” At the time, Hoppus and DeLonge were in their early twenties. They were still playing alongside Scott Raynor and their rise to stardom was just beginning. Now, over two decades later, it seems that Blink-182 is still working to decipher what it means to grow up. From the five tracks we’ve heard so far, we reckon that “NINE” will be a testimony to this phase in the aging band members’ lives and careers. We look forward to what the album’s other ten songs have to say in that regard.
Ang Lee’s Newest Direction is an Attempt to Elevate a Clichéd Genre…
No two movies from visionary director Ang Lee are quite the same. One moment he is making a modern martial arts classic, the next, an introspective superhero movie, and after that, a heart wrenching romance about two gay cowboys. If there is one commonality across his entire filmography it is that every movie is ambitious. Thus, we knew from the get-go that his new film “Gemini Man” was unlikely to be a standard shoot-em-up action movie. The sight of a twenty-three year old looking Will Smith acting in the trailer confirmed this.
Skydance Media, the company behind the latest Mission Impossible and Terminator movies is producing Gemini Man. The film falls in with their impressive line of action movies that tout A-List stars in the leading roles, except this time, there are two leading men, but still only one A-List star.
In “Gemini Man,” Will Smith plays two versions of the same character. One of them is a middle-aged man who fits the actor’s natural current look. The other one, however, is a young adult that looks like Will Smith out of his “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” days… well, that plus a touch of CGI makeup.
Can VFX Extend the Reach of Will Smith via Digital Clone?
CGI has definitely come a long way since the turn of the millennium, but the human eye has also learned to recognize when things are off. Thus, generating a human face, especially one as recognizable as Will Smith’s, with computer technology is one of the trickiest tasks for a visual effects artist.
With the help of over seven-hundred people on the VFX team, “Gemini Man’s” young Will Smith was created through motion capture animation. Smith would perform all of the young character’s scenes wearing sensors on his face, and then the VFX team would animate over his face to essentially de-age the actor while preserving the performance. It is a technique made popular by Andy Serkis’ performance as Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and has more more recently been boldly used to recreate Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”
Attempts to create human beings out of CGI and motion capture are not without their critics. Especially when the CGI human being is based off someone whose look the audience knows, it becomes easy to tell when the slightest detail is off. Digitized images have a certain over-polished, almost plastic look to them. So when the image is trying to resemble something as organic as a human face, it is very difficult to fool the viewer.
We cannot deny that there is a something just a little prosthetic looking about the young Will Smith in “Gemini Man.” Then again, maybe that is just due to the fact that we know what Will Smith actually looked like at twenty-three and our knowledge of the on-screen face being artificial forces us to seek out the blemishes.
will Will Save You from Yourself? Hubris Implies only a Hero’s Clone can Beat the Hero
Narratively in the movie, the young Will Smith is a clone of the older Will Smith, whose blood was used for an experiment against his knowing twenty-five years ago. In the present, the two Will Smiths are both hit-men pinned against one another. When they learn that they are the same person, though, the situation becomes far more complicated.
The movie’s first trailer made it look like a flat out Will Smith versus Will Smith story, a sci-fi action flick about one version of the self against another in the vein of Rian Jonson’s 2011 “Looper.” However, the second trailer reveals more about the man behind the cloning, the young Will Smith’s mentor and the older Will Smith’s former boss. While there will still be plenty of Smith on Smith action, this crime-boss character, played by Clive Owen, will likely be the archvillain, and perhaps we will witness the two Smiths teaming up to take him down in the end.
Even if there is something a little uncanny about seeing a CGI Will Smith, with Ang Lee behind the camera, an enormous VFX department, and an impressive cast of writers including David Benioff, Billy Ray, and Darren Lemke, “Gemini Man” is bound to be an interesting ride, so much so, that we may be able to look past the digital imperfections to appreciate what it is in all of its originality.
‘The Addams Family’ tries to get 1960s Nostalgia Right, and still have a Contemporary Appeal
In a world of lack-luster “Smurf” and “Peanuts” reboots, we are really hoping that the new Addams Family movie finally gets the Baby-Boomer pop-culture icon recreation right. MGM and Cinesite Animation’s “The Addams Family” comes out October 11th, aiming to capture some family-friendly spookiness just in time for Halloween.
Of course, “The Addams Family” is based off of Charles Addams’ famous 1960s live-action TV series of the same name. Just like the series, it focuses on the title family, which is made up of ghoulish versions of American nuclear family archetypes. As aforementioned, though, while Hollywood has been successful in cultivating 1980s nostalgia in recent years, its attempts to bring back icons from the early days of television has been less than fruitful.
The last time that the Addams family appeared in a movie was 1998’s “The Addams Family Reunion” and that same year they came back for “The New Adams Family” TV series. In the nineties, however, such black-and-white television era intellectual property may have been more marketable. After all, this was the decade that gave us cinematic remakes of “Leave It To Beaver,” “Dennis the Menace,” and “The Little Rascals.”
In 2019, even parents may not be familiar with the characters from “The Addams Family.” This is not to say that the movie will lack quality, but rather that the appeal may not be as strong as it was twenty years ago.
Photo / MGM
Family Friendly Halloween fare that Resurrects a Favorite from the Boomer’s Childhoods
Nevertheless, “The Addams Family” has been getting a lot of marketing, and its trailer looks very endearing. Even if we may not recognize the characters by name, they all seem like fun, quirky people worth spending time with. Likewise, there are only so many Halloween movies that the whole family can enjoy—unless you want to terrify your kids by taking them to “Joker” or a delayed screening of “It: Chapter Two.”
Similarly, the film does not seem stuck in the past. It has many modern twists as members of the family attend contemporary schools and interact with neighbors who are suspicious of the Addams family’s abnormalities. The movie’s villain will even be a proper, overly-conservative lady who riles up the community with fear of the Addams family’s nonconformity.
This gives way to the film’s touching and timely message. As it always has been with the Addams family, beneath all the jokes and slapstick grotesqueness, family perseveres as the core theme. The movie’s first trailer begins with illustrations of different kinds of American families, from nuclear families to biracial families to queer families and so on. All the while, a voice over narration explains, “every family is different, but some families are more different than others,” before revealing the monstrous Addams.
Thus, the movie’s ultimate moral will likely have to do with diversity and acceptance within both families and communities. With a dazzling cast of Oscar Issac, Charlize Theron, Chlöe Grace Moretz, Finn Wolfhard, Nick Kroll, and Snoop Dogg, though, and wacky team of writers and directors who have credits ranging from the classic “An American Tale” to the raunchy “Sausage Party,” the new movie is likely to show this message in a very unique way. One that does not lack in humor, daringness, quality, or emotionality.
Before Natalie Portman returns to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in “Thor: Love and Thunder” in 2021 she is taking a journey through a more familiar cosmos in “Lucy In The Sky,” the grounded Fox Searchlight Pictures sci-fi movie that is loosely based on a true story.
Natalie Portman plays Lucy Cola, an astronaut who visits space once and from there on becomes obsessed with returning to the infinite frontier. While the small slice of the film that actually takes place in space has a celestial feeling in the same vein as Alfonso Cuaròn’s “Gravity,” the bulk of the story happens back on Earth, as Cola feels increasingly detached from the planet and trains tenaciously for an opportunity to go back to the stars.
Photo / FoxSearchlight
John Hamm plays Lucy’s ‘other’ Obsession
The movie is inspired by the true story of Lisa Norwok, an ambitious astronaut who had an affair with her colleague William Oefelein and was arrested for attempting to kidnap Oefelein’s other lover at the Orlando airport in 2007.
It is unclear how much “Lucy In The Sky” will actually take from Norwok’s life. It looks like the movie will focus more heavily on the fictional Lucy Cola’s ambition and her ceaseless drive to get back to space. However, the affair will surely play some role in the movie, as John Hamm plays the William Oefelein character named Mark Goodwin. If nothing else in the film, Goodwin’s relationship with Cola will spark scandal and put up roadblocks to her achieving her professional goals.
This quasi-fictional story was pieced together by director Noah Hawley and writers Brian C. Brown and Elliot G. DiGuiseppi. DiGuiseppi is actually best known as an editor for TV shows such as “Teen Wolf” and “Faking It.” Meanwhile, this is the first major feature film credit for both Hawley and Brown, both of whom have backgrounds predominantly in television.
Photo / FoxSearchlight
Sometimes Bizarre Story not Strange Enough?
Naturally, with such an experimental creative team, we can expect a few narrative kinks in “Lucy In The Sky.” Ever since it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, the film has been meeting criticism. In terms of genre, many complain that the film is hard to place, toeing the line of tonal inconsistency. While there is nothing negative to say about Portman or Hamm’s performances in the movie, many claim that their talents are not enough to keep the project afloat.
At the same time, some have accused the film of being scientifically or historically inaccurate. According to real astronaut Marsha Ivins, the movie’s notion that astronauts lose their grip on reality once they’ve been in space, is simply non-existent on any recognizable scale. Likewise, some have pointed out inconsistencies in the way “Lucy In The Sky” tries to reconfigure the Lisa Norwok story in a way that is not entirely accurate.
At the end of the day, though, “Lucy In The Sky” remains a piece of fiction. It may not be the fantasy space epic of “Star Wars” or even the grounded hard science fiction of “Ad Astra,” but it is ultimately a made up story. Certain elements may come from the real world, but on the whole, we should not compare the story to reality, but rather appreciate it for the creative entity that it is.
Ridley Scott’s 1979 “Alien” was a game changing film. A classic in both the science fiction and horror genres, the movie offered grotesque imagery and an unprecedentedly eerie illustration of space. Set on a spaceship named Mother, and filled with uncanny fetal imagery and a one-of-a-kind set design that evokes senses of both past and future, “Alien” taps into emotions and feelings that are subliminal, perhaps even primal for the viewer.
From an industry perspective, “Alien” was also the beginning of a billion dollar franchise, starting a series that would include three sequels, two prequels, a line of comic books, and two spin-offs where the title extraterrestrials face off against the equally iconic monsters from the “Predator” movies.
Photo / Exhibit A Pictures
The series continues to this day, as a sequel to the 2017 “Alien: Covenant” has been tossed around in development for the past couple of years. With Hollywood in a current state of conglomeration and nostalgia for 1970s and 80s intellectual property—after all we are getting a new Rambo and Terminator movie this year—and with “Alien” being such an intriguing film, it is only natural that people are interested in the film right now. At forty years old, “Alien” is even returning to select theaters this October, showing that people are still seeking out new ways to analyze and enjoy it.
While there is still no new word on the “Covenant” sequel, a documentary about the making and legacy of Ridley Scott’s original “Alien” will hit theaters this Friday. The documentary is titled “Memory: The Origins of Alien” and it takes audiences behind the scenes of how Ridley Scott and his team developed, designed, and produced the revolutionary movie.
With exclusive footage inside interviews, “Memory” looks at how Scott pieced together inspiration from several different sources to come up with the movie’s unique story and vision. This inspiration did not just come from previous movies. As the documentary shows, “Alien” was a thematic amalgamation of ancient mythology, mid-century European art, early transmedia storytelling, and neo-Freudian psychology, all tied up in a harrowingly original screenplay from Dan O’Bannon.
Photo / Exhibit A Pictures
Historical Perspectives with Scholarly Deconstructions
To delve into all of this fully, “Memory” will be looking at “Alien” primarily from an academic lens, getting input from fans, critics, and scholars to analyze the film, the filmmaker, and all of their layered intricacies.
Alexandre O. Philippe is directing “Memory.” This is the same filmmaker who created “The People vs George Lucas” in 2010 as a scathing critique of the George Lucas and his Star Wars prequel trilogy. Clearly, Philippe does not lack cinephilic opinions, and he is not afraid to play hardball with his subjects.
Ridley Scott is not attached to “Memory” in any direct way. Thus, there are no rules dictating what Philippe might say about the director. Comfortingly, though, “Memory” does not look like it will be a critique of Scott or his legendary movie, but rather an intelligent and insightful deconstruction of one of the most important moments in science fiction cinema. “Alien” is truly a fantastic film that still conjures feelings of wonder and mystery to this day. “Memory” is thus a long overdue homage to the timeless picture and a necessary breakdown of everything it means.
Pedro Almodóvar is one of the most acclaimed Spanish filmmakers of the modern era. An Academy Award winning screenwriter and a nominee for best director, Almodóvar worked from the bottom-up, starting out poor and making independent films reflective of Spain’s counter-culture.
Now, Almodóvar may be more established, but he still implements his signature indie style and personal narratives into his project. This is more apparent than ever before in his latest film “Pain & Glory,” which tells the story of a fictional movie director reflecting on his long life and prosperous career.
The autobiographical inferences are countless in “Pain & Glory,” as the film is not only about Spanish cinema, but also deals with family, friendship, and a middle-aged perspective on life—the last of which may especially hit home for Almodóvar, who just turned seventy this past week.
Photo / Sony Pictures Classics
Penelope Crúz joins Banderas for possible renaissance accolades
Leading the film’s strong Latinx cast featuring Penelope Crúz, Asier Etxeandia, and Leonardo Sbaraglia, it is Antonio Banderas, who might be on the verge a mini-renaissance due to his starring role in Netflix’s much anticipated “The Laundromat.”
Banderas’ performance in “Pain & Glory” has already received praise, winning him Best Actor at this year’s prestigious Cannes Film Festival. At the Festival, “Pain & Glory” also won the Cannes Soundtrack Award for composer Alberto Iglesias’ score and Almodóvar received nominations for the Palme d’Or and Queer Palm Awards.
Coming from Spain, “Pain & Glory” is of course entirely in Spanish—its original title is “Dolor y Gloria.” An English subtitled version will debut in the U.S. this Friday. Although foreign language films do not always prosper in American theaters, perhaps the star power and hype around “Pain & Glory” will make it stand out. It is an exciting film that could even get some Oscar recognition, but at the very least, it is a fascinating form of self-expression from one of Spain’s most celebrated filmmakers alive today.
No doubt the most anticipated movie starring Aaron Paul to come out in October is Netflix’s “Breaking Bad” spinoff, “El Camino.” That being said, “El Camino” will only get an extremely limited theatrical release and most of its viewers will come directly from the streaming service. Thus, if you want the opportunity to appreciate Aaron Paul on the big screen, you will have to look elsewhere. Luckily, you won’t have to look very far.
Coming out a week before “El Camino,” Aaron Paul also stars in “The Parts You Lose,” a thrill-ride movie about a criminal on the run. The movie was announced nearly a year ago, but oddly enough, story’s bare bones actually sound pretty similar to “El Camino,” as Paul plays a fugitive in both.
“The Parts You Lose,” however, is different because the narrative focuses in particular on the fugitive’s relationship with a young, deaf boy, who finds and helps the criminal hide from law enforcement. It is therefore a story of vulnerability and friendship, as both characters have clear weaknesses, but they still manage to get along and look out for each other.
Photo / Samuel Goldwyn Films
Badlands Start Treating us Good?
Make no mistake, though, “The Parts You Lose” is not your everyday odd-couple flick either. The movie’s tone is actually quite grave. The story begins with Paul’s character being the sole survivor of an armed robbery attempt in South Dakota. The deaf boy then finds him lying somewhere on the remote plains, caked in blood and freezing to death.
Of course, Aaron Paul’s character is also a wanted vigilante. Therefore, although he is endearing enough for the audience to empathize with and approachable enough to foster a sincere bond with the boy, he remains a potentially dangerous threat. This kind of character is Aaron Paul’s bread-and-butter in a sense, as he perfected the likable yet jaded criminal archetype in “Breaking Bad” and has frequently returned to it in different roles.
The movie also introduces British actor Danny Murphy as the young deaf boy. Murphy is only fifteen years old, but he has been acting in skits and videos since 2008. It is all the more impressive that Murphy is deaf in real life and has learned how to act with imperfect hearing.
Photo / Samuel Goldwyn FIlms
Subtle Signals and Communications that build Rapport
Hearing impairments run in Murphy’s family. Both his parents are deaf and British Sign Language is the actor’s first language. His talents have already won him awards from the British Deaf Association, and he landed the role in “The Parts You Lose” with casting support from the Deaf West Theatre. For the film, he learned and uses American Sign Language.
In short, Danny Murphy is a remarkable young man and it is wonderful to see production companies The H Collective and Samuel Goldwyn Films championing disabled people with this kind of authenticity. Starring alongside Paul and Murphy are Scoot McNairy and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Behind the camera are novice director Christopher Cantwell and reputable writer Darren Lemke of “Shazam!” and “Goosebumps.”
“The Parts You Lose” looks like it will be an exciting trip with a unique sense of people and place. Perhaps it will fall in the shadow of “El Camino,” but on the other hand, perhaps “El Camino” will spark additional interest in Aaron Paul and “The Parts You Lose” will find a larger audience its second week at the box office.
You may not recognize animator Jill Culton by name
or face, but odds are, her work had some impact on your childhood. With an
aptitude for art and a strong imagination, Culton played crucial roles in some this
generation’s of the most foundational and celebrated animated films.
Her story begins way back in 1995, when she
served on the animation team for Pixar’s “Toy Story,” the groundbreaking
film that revolutionized the world of cartoons forever by introducing 3D
animation to the big screen. After “Toy Story,” Culton stayed with Pixar for
several years, being an art director for “A Bugs Life” in 1998, a story artist
for “Toy Story 2” in 1999, and taking a more-than-successful stab at co-writing
“Monster’s Inc.” in 2001.
In 2003, she went over to Sony Pictures
Animation, where she had her directorial debut with “Open Season” in 2006. She
then served as executive producer for “Open Season 2” in 2008 before moving
over to DreamWorks in 2010.
Shortly thereafter, however, she went on a hiatus and created nothing. For years, vague rumors circulated about
Culton working on a new project, one that would center on a girl and an
abominable snowman and their epic journey to Everest. In 2016, however, it was
stated that she was dropping the project, and that there were no expected
future endeavors for the influential animator.
Photo / Universal
Now, three years later, with DreamWorks under
the wing of Universal’s Illumination Animation, Culton’s illusive project from
the turn of the decade is finally going into theaters.
“Abominable” comes out September 27th.
It is the story of a girl named Yi, who comes across a captive yeti in the
city and helps him escape back to his Himalayan home. It is a narrative
reminiscent of the original “Free Willy,” except “Abominable” is set in an ultramodern
world filled with fantasy and magic, a world that Yi and her group of friends
must traverse in order to return their furry ally to his rightful habitat.
The enchanted world is the product of Culton
herself, who not only wrote the screenplay for “Abominable,” but also directed
it along with Todd Wilderman, a fellow animator and art director known for his
visual effects work on “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and his more
recent story art on DreamWorks’ “Home” and “Trolls.”
Culton was unfortunately not a direct animator
on the project, but as director, she did create the vision. Actual animation was
in the more than capable hands of some of DreamWorks’ most talented and
experienced employees.
Photo / Universal
The 3D computer animation style of “Abominable”
is similar to that of DreamWorks’ “How To Train Your Dragon” and Disney’s “Big
Hero 6.” Essentially, the characters are bubbly and caricature-esque. The form
may lack some of the finer details and texture seen in recent Pixar movies, but
it is full of expression and makes for some very compelling landscapes. After
all, when it comes to this kind of animation, the goal is not realism but
rather a unique aesthetic that feels playful and evokes imagination.
For a PG rated DreamWorks movie, though, it is
not really the cast, crew, or animation style that makes or breaks the project
at the box office. “Abominable” is the third sasquatch-themed animated movie to
come out in the past twelve months. Annapurna Pictures’ “Mission Link” and
Warner Animation’s “Smallfoot” both have their similarities to “Abominable,”
and although “Missing Link” touted the most impressive cast and perhaps the most innovative
animation style of the three, it flopped at the box office.
Photo / Universal
With
few exceptions, kids do not really care for those kinds of details in movies.
This is not to say that children lack taste or do not recognize quality. In
fact, it is quite the opposite. Children usually do not think about who is in
the movie or who made the movie. All they really focus on is what the movie is
in its finished form. As far as marketing goes, if the movie looks fun and
entertaining, then they will want to see it. And if they see it and it delivers
on their expectations, then they will talk about it at school and convince
others to see it.
Many
films have children as their target audiences, but children are not the ones writing
the reviews. They don’t know who Jill Culton is even if they’ve seen all
of her movies. They do not know the voice actors are in “Abominable,” even
though the movie is awesomely featuring a nearly all Asian-American cast fit
for its East Asian setting.
So, what is all of this saying? Unless you have
children or are a child yourself, you probably weren’t planning on seeing
“Abominable.” However, perhaps by knowing the background of director Jill
Culton or the effort put into the film, we can be reassured by the fact that studios
aren’t slacking off on animated projects just because they are meant for kids.
And maybe by learning where “Abominable” comes from, you will get a jolt of
nostalgia, learn to see the value in animation as an adult, and see that even
if a movie is marketed to one group of people, the screen does not discriminate,
and anyone has the right to go see and enjoy a movie.
Earlier
this year, the struggling movie theater subscription service MoviePass
announced that they would be producing and distributing its first original film
in an effort to combat rising debt. It was a bold tactic, but once we learned
that Bruce Willis had signed on to the project, it seemed more legitimate, and
we became eager to find out what would happen when “10 Minutes Gone” hit
theaters.
“10 Minutes Gone” is directed by Brian A
Miller, a frequent collaborator with Bruce
Willis on movies such as “The Prince,” “Vice,” and “Reprisal.” In
this new movie, Willis will only be taking a co-starring role, the lead going
to Michael
Chiklis of FX’s “The Shield.”
Both of these middle-aged bald actors have
talent, but can they draw in an audience? Chiklis may be recognizable on
television, but he is yet to have a hit on the big screen. Willis is of course
a household name and face, but he is arguably over-saturated in the action
genre. His last few action movies, “Reprisal,” “Air Strike,” “Death Wish,” and
“Act of Violence,” all managed to fly under the radar and underperform at the
box-office despite having his renowned star-status attached to them.
The virtually unknown Kevin Mao and Jeff
Jingle wrote the script for “10 Minutes Gone.” It is the first writing credit
for Mao, who has only been involved in one other short movie as a producer, and
the second writing credit for Jingle, who is best known as a special effects
artist on films such as “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra,” “Pacific Rim,” and “Cowboys
& Aliens.” It is a daring move for MoviePass to put the story in the hands
of such inexperienced talent, but young minds should of course not be
underestimated, and script can speak for itself.
The plot starts out simple enough, with
Bruce Willis’ crime-boss character curating a team of highly skilled people to
pull off a robbery. The heist is an effort to break into a vault and steal an
unmarked case that supposedly contains something immensely valuable. The team,
which includes Chiklis’ character Frank and his brother Joey, manages to
retrieve the case. However, during the getaway, somebody hits Frank over the
head, knocking him out. When wakes up ten minutes later, Joey is dead, the case
is gone, and he has no idea who is responsible.
Photo / Lionsgate
For the rest of the movie, Frank must track
down whoever took the case. It also becomes a revenge story, though, as Frank
obviously wants retribution for his brother being murdered. Meanwhile, there is
a hint of mystery, for Frank and the audience alike want to figure out not only
who is responsible, but what happened during those crucial ten minutes when
Frank was unconscious.
As the plot progresses, it gets more
complex and nobody can be trusted. Willis’ character remains the heist’s
overlord, but other members of the team become prime suspects in Frank’s
search. Meanwhile, government officials are also after the case, making it so
even those on the right side of the law could be culprits. The trailer also
ends with Chiklis and Willis standing face-to-face as Chicklis sinisterly
remarks “so much for honor among thieves,” so it is quite possible and even
probable that Willis’ character will end up more involved than we think. After
all, if you have Bruce Willis in your movie, you might as well use him to his
maximum potential.
Anyway, the hallowed case in the movie will
probably remain a MacGuffin, and the plot will likely lead to a climactic downtown
shootout between the film’s central characters and the police department. It
will probably be a satisfying, albeit predictable, ending to a pretty standard
film.
Sadly, “standard” will probably not be
enough to save MoviePass. The company, which allows subscribers to see three
movies a month for $90/year, has hit hard times lately. It is unlikely that it
will be able to sustain itself for much longer. While we applaud their audacity
to collaborate and create an original film in an effort to pull themselves out
of financial trouble, it does not look like “10 Minutes Gone” will be anyone’s
ultimate savior.
Given the
limited marketing, generic heist-centered backdrop, and corny trailer featuring
a dated Don LaFontaine-like voiceover, it
unfortunately looks like “10 Minutes Gone” will be no more than just another
title in a long list of forgettable action movies. If that is the case, then MoviePass
will need to find a new way to keep itself afloat.
