Film
The Matrix Resurrections Review: A Wild, Meta, Sometimes Muddled, Occasionally Transcendent Love Story
The Pitch: Here’s the problem with reviewing The Matrix Resurrections: At this point, we basically have to accept that the franchise peaked with the first installment. This isn’t meant as an insult, but an honest statement of fact– this is what happens when a film is a masterpiece. If 1999’s The Matrix is a nearly perfect movie, almost transcendent at some points with how it blended genre and technology in service of its storytelling, then yeah, it may be impossible to top it. What makes Resurrections such a fascinating viewing experience, though, is the fact that the movie knows this. And, rather than try to shift the narrative to some different angle on the original, director Lana Wachowski, who co-wrote the script with David Mitchell and Aleksandar Hemon, decides to take on that problem...
Jonny Greenwood, JAY-Z, Beyoncé, Brian Wilson, Billie Eilish on 2022 Oscars Shortlist
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed its shortlists for 2022 Oscar nominees in several categories, including Best Original Song, Best Original Score, and Best Documentary Feature. In the original song category, a longlist of 84 initial nominees has been whittled down to 15. They include husband and wife JAY-Z and Beyoncé, who are nominated for “Guns Go Bang” (The Harder They Fall) and “Be Alive” (King Richard), respectively. Billie Eilish’s Bond theme “No Time to Die” is also on the shortlist, as are songs by Sparks (“So May We Start?” from Annette), Brian Wilson and Jim James (“Right Where I Belong” from Brian Wilson: Long Rode Promised), Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi (“Just Look Up” from Don’t Look Up), Jennifer Hudson (“Here I Am (Singing My Way Home)” from Respect)...
Death on the Nile Keeps Armie Hammer on Board Despite Sexual Assault Allegations
Kenneth Branagh’s mystery drama Death on the Nile still has plans to set sail on February 11th. Today, Disney and 20th Century Studios have unveiled the latest trailer for the film, which has kept Armie Hammer on board despite allegations of sexual assault and abuse. In the adaptation of Agatha Christie’s novel of the same name, Hammer plays a man named Simon Doyle whose idyllic river steamer honeymoon goes awry when it’s discovered that a murderer is on the ship. Hammer appears to have a fairly prominent role in the film, meaning Disney evidently isn’t doing much to keep him out of public view amid the controversy. As a refresher, Hammer first began raising eyebrows back in January, when an anonymous Instagram account posted explicit messages that appeared to show the actor fantasizing ab...
Bette Midler Faces Backlash for Calling West Virginia “Poor, Illiterate, and Strung Out”
Bette Midler isn’t exactly one to conceal her political beliefs, but this time, her outspokenness came back to bite her: The actress came under fire yesterday (December 20th) for referring to the entire state of West Virginia as “poor, illiterate, and strung out” in a rant aimed at somewhat infamous Senator Joe Manchin. As a recap, Manchin — a Democrat — recently announced that he wouldn’t support President Biden’s Build Back Better bill, which includes plans to establish some desperately-needed efforts to combat the climate crisis (an issue close to Midler’s heart). Manchin’s opposition basically means the bill is now impossible to pass, and Midler took to Twitter to air her frustrations. “What #JoeManchin, who represents a population smaller than Brooklyn, has done to the rest of America...
Björk Plays The Slav Witch in First Trailer for Robert Eggers’ The Northman: Watch
The Northman, Robert Eggers’ epic Viking revenge saga starring Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Björk, will be released in theaters on Friday, April 8th, 2022. In anticipation, the first trailer has been released. Watch it below. In The Northman, Skarsgård plays Amieth, a Viking prince seeking revenge for his murdered father. The story is based on the medieval Scandinavian legend, which served as the inspiration for Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Ethan Hawke plays Ameith’s father, King Horvendill, who is married to Queen Gudrun (portrayed by Kidman). Björk, making her first on-screen appearance since 2000’s Dancer in the Dark, plays The Slav Witch. Advertisement Related Video The cast also includes Björk’s daughter, Ísadóra Barney, as well as Willem Dafoe as Heimir the Fool....
Spider-Man: No Way Home Makes History with Third-Biggest Box Office Opening of All Time
Spider-Man: No Way Home spun its web to the top of the box office this weekend, bringing in $253 million dollars in the US alone. That makes Tom Holland’s latest Spidey adventure the No. 3 domestic box office opening of all time, just behind Avengers: Endgame ($357 million) and Avengers: Infinity War ($257.6 million), per The Hollywood Reporter. The superhero three-quel, which saw Peter Parker accidentally open the multiverse and usher in Spider-Man villains from past franchises with some help from Benedict Cumberbatch’s Dr. Strange, also broke records internationally, where it also became the No. 3 leader at the global box office. Even without the lucrative Chinese market, the film brought in a global haul of $587.2 million. Advertisement Related Video “This weekend’s historic results, fr...
Tom Holland Says Sex Scenes Aren’t “Appropriate for the Spider-Man Franchise”
As much as the internet has been swooning over the newly-public romantic relationship between Tom Holland and Zendaya, don’t except to see them consummate their relationship on-screen: Holland, who stars as Peter Parker opposite Zendaya’s MJ in Spider-Man: No Way Home, told Yahoo Entertainment that he doesn’t see any need for sex scenes in the latest Spider-Man film. “I don’t think it’s appropriate for the Spider-Man franchise,” Holland said. “We are still very much young kids. Should there be a future for this character maybe one day we will explore that. But at the moment, this is a film about celebrating friendships and young love.” Despite Eternals having broken the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s sex-scene barrier earlier this fall, Zendaya evidently agrees, adding that “Pe...
Robert Pattinson’s Batman Was Inspired by Kurt Cobain
Robert Pattinson’s upcoming version of Bruce Wayne was inspired by Kurt Cobain, according The Batman writer and director Matt Reeves. “When I write, I listen to music, and as I was writing the first act, I put on Nirvana’s ‘Something In The Way,’” Reeves explained in a new interview with Empire. “That’s when it came to me that, rather than make Bruce Wayne the playboy version we’ve seen before, there’s another version who had gone through a great tragedy and become a recluse. So I started making this connection to Gus Van Sant’s [2005 film] Last Days, and the idea of this fictionalized version of Kurt Cobain being in this kind of decaying manor.” Reeves said he was convinced Pattinson was perfect for the part after seeing his performance in Good Time. “In that movie you could really ...
Former Olympic Speed Skater Allegedly Stole $10 Million and Financed Elijah Wood Movie
A one-time Winter Olympic speed skater found herself in hot water today when she was charged with defrauding the federal government of $10 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, part of which she allegedly used to help fund an Elijah Wood movie. In court papers filed in Utah, prosecutors allege that Allison Baver — who represented the United States in the 2002, 2006, and 2010 Olympics as a member of the women’s speed skating team — filed multiple loan applications claiming her production company, Allison Baver Productions, had as many as 430 employees and a monthly payroll of $4 million. According to the indictment, the Taylorsville, Utah native’s eponymous company was all smoke and mirrors, with no employees at all. And yet, Baver’s applications were approved to the tune of a...
Chloe Grace Moretz Explains the Ending of Mother/Android: “Everyone Was Not Okay”
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for Mother/Android.] The new Hulu film Mother/Android is a story about the robot apocalypse that’s really about the power of parental love. Chloe Grace Moretz stars as Georgia, a young woman living in a world where robot servants are a normal part of life; until, that is, the night the androids rose up in violent revolt against humanity. Up until then, the biggest problem Georgia had was how she and her boyfriend Sam (Algee Smith) were going to handle her unplanned pregnancy — several months later, they’re making their way through the northeast backroads towards Boston, where there’s promise of a ship that might help them escape from a ruined America. All they have to do is survive the constant threat of robot attacks, not to mention her own ...
Betty White Celebrates 100th Birthday in Trailer for Special Documentary: Watch
Betty White is turning 100 years old next month, and to celebrate she’s headed to movie theaters around the country. For one day only, Betty White: 100 Years Young — A Birthday Celebration will screen in 900 US theaters on January 17th — the same day the beloved screen legend hits the century mark. Check out the trailer below. The film is directed by Steve Boettcher and Mike Trinklein, and will document the icon’s real-life 100th birthday party, attended by a guest list including Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman, Carol Burnett, Ryan Reynolds, Tina Fey, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Clint Eastwood, Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel, and more. It will also give fans a peek at White’s personal life off camera and look back on her more than 80-year career. “Who doesn’t love a party?!? This one is gon...
Filmmaker of the Year Janicza Bravo on Zola’s Legacy, Directing TV, and Why She Wants to Write Her Next Film on Her Own
Our 2021 Annual Report wraps up with the announcement of Janicza Bravo as our Filmmaker of the Year. You can find all of our awards, lists, and articles about the best music, film, and TV of 2021 in one place here. A thread that ran through Consequence’s hourlong conversation with filmmaker of the year Janicza Bravo was the concept of what we leave behind in life. This isn’t too surprising, given that both Bravo and this writer were musing about what’s like to be a woman who just turned 40. But what was a bit unexpected was that we got there by way of David Tennant. “The first line of the obituary, I suspect, has been written,” the Scottish actor said a few years ago, commenting on how playing the 10th Doctor of Doctor Who has affected his legacy. When Consequence brought up that quote, it...
