Above: Scarlett Johansson as ‘Black Widow’ Photo Credit: Disney
Building to a climax? A tough road but Black Widow still has potential to be worth the wait…
A year since the first potential release window and various delays, and after a launch postponement from May to July, finally this new trailer is released, and is designed, it would appear, to keep the anticipation, suspense and interest in the future blockbuster in waiting.
Since this has to be the real and bonafide date we can confirm it here: “Black Widow” will hit theaters and Disney+ on July 9th, 2021.
“Black Widow is directed by Cate Shortland and was written by Eric Pearson from a story conceived by Jac Schaeffer and Ned Benson. Starring, as is well known, Scarlett Johansson, reprising Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, along with Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, William Hurt, Ray Winstone, and Rachel Weisz.
Set sometime after the Captain America: Civil War epoch, which had Natasha on the run from the government and dealing with her personal spy history, and the many personal changes since she became an Avenger.
Natasha’s voiceover sets the stage as the trailer begins, while flashbacks to previous movies are cross-cut beneath — and the focus on her secrets and mysterious past are intoned:
“You don’t know everything about me, I’ve lived a lot of lives,” she says. “Before I was an Avenger. Before I got this family. I made mistakes choosing between what the world wants you to be, and who you are.”
Dialog from new “Black Widow” Trailer
Synopsis: “In Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.”
Above: “Black Widow” Credit: Marvel Studios
Above Suspicion will open in US cinemas and on-demand on May 14. A UK release date is not yet confirmed.
Scarlett Johansson will make her first solo movie as the iconic character ‘Black Widow’ aka Natasha Romanoff, as well as set out to be the first film in Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
The Marvel Studios’ “Black Widow” has already been delayed, originally set for release in May 2020 and pushed again to December, a year later is now slated for the new release date of May 7, 2021. With the pattern of postponements to the film, another delay would not be much of a surprise.
There has also been been rumors that Disney will not even release the film on Disney+ and rather only roll out on theaters. If there will be a streaming option, based on speculative reports, it would only be via Premiere Access and cost an additional fee from monthly subscription. There has yet to be any comment from Disney regarding the rollout, we anticipate updates and confirmations closer to spring.
Florence Pugh stars as Yelena, David Harbour portrays Alexei/The Red Guardian, and Rachel Weisz is Melina. The film is directed by Cate Shortland and produced by Kevin Feige.
The runtime for “Black Widow” has been announced by Disney, and it is pretty big, or rather long, it will be the longest Marvel movie (aside from Avengers) in over 3 years. The total movie time is set for 2 hours and 133 minutes.
The action-packed spy thriller Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.
ScarJo and Joker cast shadows over the hope for new faces
On the morning after a Critics Choice Movie Awards ceremony that heavily paralleled the Golden Globes—“Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood” won best picture, Joaquin Phoenix won best actor, Renèe Zellweger best actress, Brad Pitt best supporting actor, Laura Dern best supporting actress, etc., the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences released their nominations for the 92nd Oscars, the pinnacle of the awards season that will take place in early February as per tradition at the famed Dolby Theater on Hollywood Boulevard.
Renée Zellweger as “Judy”
The Oscar Nominations for 2020 offer the usual suspects in most categories. Like the Critics Choice Awards’ Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Golden Globes’ Foreign Hollywood Press, the Academy is big on yesteryear’s work from Tarantino, Mendez, and Scorsese. Likewise, they favor performances from Phoenix, Pitt, and Zellweger.
That being said, there are still a few head turners on this year’s nomination list, from the names included, to the names left out, to the handful of names that dominated.
First off, it should really be no surprise at this point in the awards season that Netflix got a lot of love for its 2019 filmography.
The Academy nominated both Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” and Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” for best picture and Fernando Meirelles’ “The Two Popes” appeared in several categories as well.
This bodes well for the streaming service that clearly spent the year trying to produce and promote prestigious original content.
If one film dominated the list, however, it was Todd Phillips’ “Joker,” which garnered eleven nominations including best picture, best director, and best actor.
This is significant as not every year does a movie based on a comic book character lead the race, especially not when that comic book character is a controversy-inducing villain brought to the screen by the director of “The Hangover.”
Nevertheless, “Joker” stood out amongst the competition. In terms of noms, the film was narrowly followed by “The Irishman,” “Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood,” and “1917,” all fellow best picture contenders that received ten nominations each.
Moreover, while there weren’t really any surprises on the best actor or best actress fronts, Scarlett Johansson managed to snag both best actress and best supporting actress nominations for her respective roles in “Marriage Story” and “Jojo Rabbit.”
Snubs and Overlooked Talent that was Coincidentally Diverse Abounded
Adam Sandler went unsung for his groundbreaking performance in “Uncut Gems,” and critic favorites Awkwafina from “The Farewell” and Jennifer Lopez from “Hustlers” were similarly snubbed, not receiving any accolades from the Academy despite earning praise elsewhere.
This brings us to the biggest elephant in the room, which has been a persistent topic for the past few Academy Awards—how diverse are this year’s nominees?
The noticeably whitewashed 2016 Oscars sparked this long overdue conversation about diversity in the Awards. Since then, the Academy has been seemingly more inclusive, nominating and honoring racially-charged films like “Moonlight,” “Get Out,” “BlackKklansman,” and, “Black Panther”, feminist features like “Lady Bird” and “Roma,” and queer narratives like “Call Me By Your Name” and “The Favourite.”
This year, however, despite all of the progress over the past couple of several telecasts, the Academy seems to have relapsed into yet another celebration of a white male dominated Hollywood. The only big 2020 nominees that deviate from this norm are Greta Gerwig’s female-centric “Little Women” and Bong Joon-ho’s Korean “Parasite.”
Both of these films were nominated for best picture and Bong Joon-ho was nominated for best director.
The rest of the nominations in these categories are filled with the work of white men. Characteristically, the films are overwhelmingly white as well—from the Western European World War I narrative in “1917,” to the Nazi-Germany satire in “Jojo Rabbit” to a movie literally titled “The Irishman,” there is not a whole lot of diversity going on.
Likewise, many of these movies also sideline female characters to subordinate roles such as wives, mothers, and girlfriends to the male leads.
While these skewed nominations may be mere products of their not being as many women or minority filmmakers in the industry, that very underrepresentation is a testimony to Hollywood’s systemic gender and racial inequality both in front of and behind the camera.
Thus, when the red carpet rolls out on February 9th, we can expect to see a lot of talent on it, but probably not as much color as we’d prefer.
Following the success of last year’s hostless ceremony, the Academy also recently announced that the event will again not have a host. Hence, there will be no central figure on stage to comically quell (or egregiously highlight) the Academy’s systematic issues regarding representation.
Still, if the Golden Globes were any indicator, we will probably still hear a lot of social commentary through the acceptance speeches.
In total, the Academy has taken a big step back this year, not showing the level of diversity that the public might desire or expect.
However, the Academy Awards are only the opinions of a handful of aged industry professionals. Just because they don’t recognize certain talent does not mean that there won’t be eventual recognition, at the latest once the demographics change in the voting block (cold comfort till then).
Academy Awards, Oscars, Joker, Scarlett Johansson, Whitewashed Hollywood, Netflix, Bong Joon-ho, Todd Phillips, Awkwafina, Jennifer Lopez, Movie,
You ever hear the one about the cop, the songbird, the psycho and the mafia princess? “Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)” is a twisted tale told by Harley herself, as only Harley can tell it. When Gotham’s most nefariously narcissistic villain, Roman Sionis, and his zealous right-hand, Zsasz, put a target on a young girl named Cass, the city is turned upside down looking for her. Harley, Huntress, Black Canary and Renee Montoya’s paths collide, and the unlikely foursome have no choice but to team up to take Roman down.
In the Warner Bros. Pictures film, Margot Robbie (“I, Tonya”) returns as Harley Quinn, alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead (“10 Cloverfield Lane,” TV’s “Fargo”) as Huntress; Jurnee Smollett-Bell (HBO’s “True Blood”) as Black Canary; Rosie Perez (“Fearless,” “Pitch Perfect 2”) as Renee Montoya; Chris Messina (“Argo,” TV’s “Sharp Objects”) as Victor Zsasz; and Ewan McGregor (upcoming “Doctor Sleep,” the “Trainspotting” films) as Roman Sionis. Newcomer Ella Jay Basco also stars as Cassandra “Cass” Cain in her feature film debut. Directed by Cathy Yan (“Dead Pigs”) from a script by Christina Hodson (“Bumblebee”), the film is based on characters from DC. Robbie also produced, alongside Bryan Unkeless and Sue Kroll.
Black Widow is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is intended to be the twenty-fourth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film is directed by Cate Shortland, written by Jac Schaeffer and Ned Benson, and stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, alongside David Harbour, Florence Pugh, O-T Fagbenle, and Rachel Weisz. Set after the events of Captain America: Civil War (2016), the film sees Romanoff on the run and forced to confront her past.
The latest (number 25) in the James Bond franchise, “No Time To Die” features Daniel Craig in his fifth outing as the MI6 agent James Bond. Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Jeffrey Wright, Léa Seydoux, and Christoph Waltz reprise their roles from previous films, with Rami Malek, Ana de Armas and Lashana Lynch joining the cast.
Development of the film began and confirmed in 2016. It will be the first film in the series to be internationally distributed by Universal Pictures, acquiring the rights following the expiration of Columbia Pictures‘ contract after Spectre. In the United States, United Artists Releasing holds the rights. Universal will also release the film on home media domestically.
Directed by Clint Eastwood and based on true events, “Richard Jewell” is a story of what happens when what is reported as fact obscures the truth. “There is a bomb in Centennial Park. You have thirty minutes.” The world is first introduced to Richard Jewell as the security guard who reports finding the device at the 1996 Atlanta bombing—his report making him a hero whose swift actions save countless lives.
But within days, the law enforcement wannabe becomes the FBI’s number one suspect, vilified by press and public alike, his life ripped apart.
Reaching out to independent, anti-establishment attorney Watson Bryant, Jewell staunchly professes his innocence. But Bryant finds he is out of his depth as he fights the combined powers of the FBI, GBI and APD to clear his client’s name, while keeping Richard from trusting the very people trying to destroy him.
The film stars Oscar winners Sam Rockwell (“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) as Watson Bryant and Kathy Bates (“Misery,” TV’s “American Horror Story”) as Richard’s mom, Bobi; Jon Hamm (“Baby Driver”) as the lead FBI investigator; Olivia Wilde (“Life Itself”) as Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Kathy Scruggs; and Paul Walter Hauser (“I, Tonya”) stars as Richard Jewell. Oscar winner Eastwood directed from a screenplay by Oscar nominee Billy Ray (“Captain Phillips”), based on the Vanity Fair article “American Nightmare—The Ballad of Richard Jewell” by Marie Brenner.
Oscar buzz and predictions are building ahead of the Golden Globes, which are traditionally used as a gauge of what will most likely be among the Oscar nominations. The Globes are slated for January 6th, 2020 and the Oscar’s, a.k.a. 91st Academy Awards telecast is on Sunday, 24 February.
Some of the films that are getting the most buzz and are favored to be in the running can be seen by peeking at the trailers (with links to our in depth articles) below:
New Zealand director Taika Waltiti’s movie “Jojo Rabbit” was released October 18th. The critic’s reactions have been positive, and the film won the Toronto Film Festival audience award putting it in line, if past years winners are any indication, for a possible Oscar nod. Waititi was also awarded the Festival’s new Ebert Director Award.
Waltiti is known for directing wacky comedies such as “What We Do In The Shadows,” “Hunt For The Wilderpeople,” and the borderline parody Marvel hit, “Thor: Ragnarok.” His latest film, “Jojo Rabbit” follows this same vein of outrageous, yet charming humor, but there is one key difference… “Jojo Rabbit” focuses on Germany’s Nazi party during World War II, making its hilarity just a touch more complicated.
More specifically, “Jojo Rabbit” is about a young boy in the Hitler Youth. Like many German kids of the time, he aspires to be a Nazi soldier when he grows up. He buys into the party’s ideologies and believes their propaganda. That is until he comes face to face with a Jewish girl and learns, despite what the Nazis have taught him, that she is harmless, pleasant, and appealing.
On the surface, the premise seems like the bones of a complex and sophisticated historical drama. With Waltiti behind the camera, though, such is obviously not the case. Instead of dry historical accuracy, Waltiti makes the Hitler Youth look like a summer camp filled with likable children and goofy leaders. Most boldly perhaps, Waltiti himself plays Adolf Hitler in the movie, but rather than depict him as the brutal dictator that he was, Waltiti makes him out to be the kind-uncle archetype, a socially inept, hilarious motivator and idol for the children in the story.
Quentin Tarantino has had success with his ninth movie, “Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood”. In a slight departure from his stark early 70s styled crime dramas, this time Tarantino pays homage to the late- 60’s genre and his love for his hometown, Los Angeles.
The film takes place in 1969 Hollywood, amidst the chaotic events of that year, including the infamous Manson Murders. Much like The Altamont Free Concert, as chronicled in the film Gimme Shelter (with it’s high profile murder during the show), the gruesome, violent Manson murders are often cited as an historical moment marking the end of the free love 60’s and a pivot towards the darker times in the me decade of the 70’s.
The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton, as an actor on a Western television series alongside Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth, Dalton’s stuntman. The two work and live closely together as they carry out their urban cinematic adventures. The characters and their friendship are said to be based on 70’s icon Burt Reynolds and his stuntman Hal Needham.
Even before seeing “Joker” the origin-story from Warner Brothers, there is a sense that this is an epic not easily categorized within the Comic-Book movie genre.
Starring Joaquin Phoenix (Oscar nominee for “Walk the Line”, “The Master” and “Gladiator”), directed and co-written by Todd Phillips (“Borat” and “The Hangover Trilogy”) and with Robert De Niro (as TV host Murray Franklin), the focus on how Arthur Fleck becomes “Joker” screams a muted, uneasy tension, that’s oozing from every pixel revealed so far.
In “Joker”, Batman’s Gotham City is a cesspool of dirt and depravity where Arthur appears doomed to live and die encircled with nothing but depression and humiliation. Mentally Ill and mercilessly tortured by the “sane” members of society all around him, he finds some respite in his chosen career of clown-for-hire and hopeful comedian wannabe by night.
The potential for the story to transcend the genre of Comic book heroes and villains is hinted at in the placard with the words “we are all clowns” scrawled on it, that can be seen in a flash, about halfway through the new trailer (above).
Followed by scenes showing mobs of clown-mask-wearing demonstrators / rioters (shades of anonymous, Guy Fawkes, Antifa and Hong Kong), there’s an implication that an anti-social movement is growing up around, and identifying with, the anger and twisted humor of the emerging “Joker” super-villain character.
The real life parallels to the fictional world of Gotham City and the way many could relate, after having suffered similar fates to those that produced the madness into which Arthur descends, are scary, already in previews, and could portend a film that is not only horrifically entertaining, but thought provoking, when seen in the shadows of current events and today’s zeitgeist.
In the wake of so many “uplifting” but heavily computer assisted films where Comic book superheroes battle cartoon villains (and each other) the emphasis on live action grit and human emotions and failings is, at first look, refreshing and terrifying (in an interesting way), and that seems to have hit a nerve with the general public, judging from the $1 billion plus bos office take so far.
From “Logan” and “Walk The Line” director James Mangold, “Ford v Ferrari” follows the true story of American engineer Carroll Shelby who is solicited by Henry Ford II to build a car that can beat Ferrari at the 1966 Le Mans World Championship in France. Shelby, determined to complete Ford’s ambitious task, insists on putting the wild and loose British driver Ken Miles behind the wheel. What ensues is the fast-playing tale of a couple eccentric and erratic people infiltrating a world filled with professional industrialists to take on the impossible.
Matt Damon plays Shelby in the film and Christian Bale as Miles. Rather than one being the lead and the other being a supporting role, both actors are co-leading the film, making them both eligible for Best Actor in a Leading Role nominations at the Oscars come February.
New Zealand director Taika Waltiti’s new movie “Jojo Rabbit”will not be widely released until October 18th but a few lucky patrons were able to catch an early screening at the Toronto Film Festival. Their reactions were positive, and the film won the audience award putting it in line, if past years winners are any indication, for a possible Oscar nod. Waititi was also awarded the Festival’s new Ebert Director Award.
Waltiti is known for directing wacky comedies such as “What We Do In The Shadows,” “Hunt For The Wilderpeople,” and the borderline parody Marvel hit, “Thor: Ragnarok.” His latest film, “Jojo Rabbit” follows this same vein of outrageous, yet charming humor, but there is one key difference… “Jojo Rabbit” focuses on Germany’s Nazi party during World War II, making its hilarity just a touch more complicated.
More specifically, “Jojo Rabbit” is about a young boy in the Hitler Youth. Like many German kids of the time, he aspires to be a Nazi soldier when he grows up. He buys into the party’s ideologies and believes their propaganda. That is until he comes face to face with a Jewish girl and learns, despite what the Nazis have taught him, that she is harmless, pleasant, and appealing.
On the surface, the premise seems like the bones of a complex and sophisticated historical drama. With Waltiti behind the camera, though, such is obviously not the case. Instead of dry historical accuracy, Waltiti makes the Hitler Youth look like a summer camp filled with likable children and goofy leaders. Most boldly perhaps, Waltiti himself plays Adolf Hitler in the movie, but rather than depict him as the brutal dictator that he was, Waltiti makes him out to be the kind-uncle archetype, a socially inept, hilarious motivator and idol for the children in the story.
Of course, radical World War II and Nazi-themed comedies have existed in the past. From Quinten Tarantino’s “Inglorious Bastards” all the way back to Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 “The Great Dictator,” filmmakers have mocked the Nazi party through satire for generations. “Jojo Rabbit” will be no different in that regard. Obviously, given the current political climate in America and the world, a movie about the buffoonery and absurdity surrounding Nazi ideologies is somewhat timely. It will probably be impossible to watch this movie from an apolitical perspective while retaining a clear conscious.
At the same time, though, “Jojo Rabbit” is not a Nazi satire or comedy quite like we’ve seen before. Despite the heavy subject matter, the movie doesn’t look particularly dark. In fact, it looks incredibly playful, almost like a children’s movie. In many ways, it seems reminiscent of Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom,” which essentially turned a kids summer camp story into an artistic film for adults. “Jojo Rabbit” looks like it will do the same thing, but then go the extra subversive mile by putting that summer camp in Germany circa 1939.
The trailer effectively presents this by including German versions of heartwarming American songs like The Monkees’ “I’m A Believer,”and by showing examples of slapstick comedy and cute gags around the relationships between our young protagonists. The characters—even those playing Nazis—all seem to have endearing qualities to them. It looks heartfelt, and almost kid friendly, as the children banter, grow up, and learn about the world all before the harrowing and bizarre backdrop of World War II Europe.
So where do we place “Jojo Rabbit”? Is it a movie about friendship? A romance? A historical piece? A coming-of-age-comedy? A feel-good movie? Who is its target audience and what is its intended message? Is it a social commentary? If so, then for who and on what? All of these questions are impossible to answer in any general sense right now, for the movie looks of no particular genre and is unique on so many levels.
Photo / Fox Searchlight Pictures
The only thing that seems predictable about “Jojo Rabbit” is that it will make us laugh and that it will make us think
There is no guarantee that it will leave us feeling any better or worse about the world, that we will necessarily learn anything from it, or if we will exit the theater any less confused than we are right now. All we know is that we don’t know what to expect, and we are all excited to see what Taika Waltiti has in stores… excited, but with a hint of respectful, perhaps even nervous, reservation.
