Film
Cast for Mad Max Spinoff Furiosa Confirmed: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
Things are starting to rev up for George Miller’s Mad Max spinoff film Furiosa. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II have climbed aboard the next parable in the wasteland. Taylor-Joy will play a young Furiosa, a role originally iconized by Charlize Theron, who will not be a part of the production. As of press time, it’s unclear who Hemsworth and Abdul-Mateen II will be playing. It’s funny how both have played gods of sorts. Miller will direct, co-write, and produce the project that’s yet to be greenlit by Warner Bros. However, seeing how 2015’s Fury Road proved to be both a critical and commercial success for the studio — even nabbing a Best Picture nom — the light is imminent. Back in May, Miller announced the project to in an in...
Eddie Murphy’s Coming 2 America Emigrates to Amazon Prime for Christmas Release
Perhaps movie theaters in the Kingdom of Zamunda are open, but here in the States things are looking bleak. The lack of cinematic release options is the main reason why Eddie Murphy‘s new film Coming 2 America is emigrating from Paramount Pictures to Amazon Studios. The sequel to 1988’s Coming to America was originally slated to drop on August 7th, 2020, before going on standby until Christmas. Then the coronavirus happened, and blockbusters such as James Bond’s No Time to Die and Dune were pushed back to 2021. But Crown Prince Akeem Joffer won’t have to wait that long; as Variety reports, Amazon ponied up $125 million for the streaming rights. Now, Coming 2 America is expected to premiere on December 18th. Some details are still bein...
Netflix Ends Free Trial Offer in the US
Those of you hoping to catch Adam Sandler’s Hubie Halloween, David Fincher’s Mank, or Volume 2 of Unsolved Mysteries are going to have to pony up the dollars, or borrow your mom and dad’s password. Earlier this month, Netflix ended its 30-day free trial offer for new customers. Variety reported the news after receiving confirmation from a Netflix spokesperson. “We’re looking at different marketing promotions in the US to attract new members and give them a great Netflix experience,” said the spokesperson.” There are still ways to consume some Netflix content for free via its Watch Free site, which launched back in August. The sampler site offers films including Birdbox, Murder Mystery, and The Two Popes, as well as pilot episodes of Stranger Things, Love Is Blind, and When T...
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie Soundtrack Gets First-Ever Release from Mondo
Yeah, bitch! A full year after the film’s initial release, the soundtrack to El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie is finally seeing release. The 26-track collection is being pressed as a double-LP exclusively from Mondo. On sale beginning Wednesday, October 14th, the soundtrack’s debut pressing features the complete score from Dave Porter, who also penned the award-winning music from Breaking Bad. Also present are nearly a dozen of El Camino’s perfectly timed needle-drops, such as Lynyrd Skynyrd (“Call Me the Breeze”), Jim White featuring Aimee Mann (“Static on the Radio”), Family Force 5 (“Kountry Gentleman”), and Lulu (“To Sir with Love”). In addition, there’s an exclusive Chloe x Halle bonus track called “Enchanted” that wasn’t featured in the movie. The vinyl comes housed in artwork from Ma...
Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange Joins Spider-Man 3
It’s becoming increasingly evidence that Spider-Man 3 is to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as The Flash is to the DC Extended Universe. We got our first real hint this was coming when it was revealed earlier this month that Jamie Foxx would be reprising his role as Electro from the non-MCU The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Now, another MCU character getting caught the tangled web of Spider-Man 3 all but confirms it, as Benedict Cumberbatch is reportedly appearing as Doctor Strange. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Cumberbatch’s Strange will fill the mentor/adult role held by Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark and Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury in the previous MCU Spidey films, Homecoming and Far From Home, respectively. But considering the upcoming Doctor Strange standalone sequel is enti...
Wonder Woman Collaborators Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins Team for Cleopatra Film
From Princess Diana to the Queen of Egypt: Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot and director Petty Jenkins have re-teamed for the new historical epic Cleopatra. 2017’s Wonder Woman was the highest-grossing live action film ever directed by a woman. So, it’s no surprise Gadot and Jenkins’ latest collaborator attracted an army of deep-pocketed suitors; Deadline reports that Paramount Pictures won a “wild auction” that included Warner Bros., Universal, Netflix, and Apple. The movie follows Cleopatra VII, a Greek descendant of of one of Alexander the Great’s top generals. After her father’s death, she fought a brutal civil war against her brother for control of Egypt. Her victory came as part of a more-than-casual alliance with Julius Caesar, but it was her ill-fated rela...
Jeff Bridges on How His New Line of Eco-Friendly Guitars Abide by the Environment
When you’re buying a coffee table for your home or building a shed in the backyard, do you ever stop to think about where that wood came from? What about when you buy a guitar? Well, at Breedlove Guitars in Bend, Oregon, they are doing more than just creating environmentally friendly instruments; they are facilitating a new way of thinking. According to Breedlove, “owner Tom Bedell has traveled to each forest in Suriname, the Republic of Congo, and the Swiss Alps to verify individual harvest, chain of custody, and sound ecological practices.” Though what this company does is outside the norm, all it takes are the actions of one to create a chain reaction and potentially spark a huge wave of change. No one understands this concept more than Jeff Bridges. We all know the prolific actor for h...
Michelle Pfeiffer Goes from Catwoman to Cat Lady in the Messy French Exit: NYFF Review
This review is part of our coverage of the 2020 New York Film Festival. The Pitch: Frances Price (Michelle Pfeiffer) is a wealthy widow in her mid-60s, with a tongue as silver as the spoon in the mouth of her hanger-on son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges). Unfortunately, her gravy train is about to run out as her financial planner informs her she’s completely broke — a scenario he’s warned the mercurial Frances about for nearly a decade. Without skipping a beat, she illegally sells her worldly possessions and drags Malcolm (along with their cat, Small Frank) with her to Paris, along with the remainder of their funds. Together, they occupy her friend Joan’s (Susan Coyne) apartment and figure out what their next steps are — or, in the case of Frances, her last ones. Lost in Translation: At f...
The Wolf of Snow Hollow Adds Coen-Style Humor to the Werewolf Genre: Beyond Fest Review
This review is part of our coverage of the 2020 Beyond Film Festival. The Pitch: In a small and snow-covered mountain town, a series of murders suddenly create a sizable body count, leaving the townsfolk frightened and the humble police force confused. When a rumor runs through town that a werewolf is behind the kills, coinciding with full moons and savagely torn apart corpses, John Marshall (Jim Cummings) is suddenly tasked with proving that lycanthropes are a campfire tale. This proves difficult when it’s added to his long list of pre-existing duties, such as taking care of his teenage daughter and watching over his sickly father. It’s Like Fargo With Werewolves: Jim Cummings is a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to film. No, seriously, the guy has dipped his toes into everything. Writin...
Jeff Goldblum Recreates Iconic Jurassic Park Pose 27 Years Later
Jurassic World: Dominion may have been pushed back to 2022, but Jeff Goldblum has given thirsty fans quite the gift to tide them over until then. On Instagram late Friday, the actor recreated his iconic Jurassic Park pose, unbuttoned shirt, oiled up chest, and all. Goldblum reproduced the memorable 1993 shot as a reward to fans who registered to vote ahead of Election Day next month. “WOW! Thank you to everyone who used my @HeadCount page to make sure that you’re #GoodToVote!” Goldblum wrote on Instagram. “Nearly 3,000 of you are ready for this November’s election. Here’s your reward… how time flies.” Indeed, it’s been 27 long years since Dr. Ian Malcolm first posed ever so seductively. The fact that Goldblum, who turns 68 in just a few weeks, still looks this good should probably be a cri...
Freaky Expertly Balances Horror and Humor for a Hell of a Good Time: Beyond Fest Review
The Pitch: Millie Kessler (Kathryn Newton) is a year removed from her father’s death and her family is still grieving. While her sister Char has fittingly taken the role of matriarch, appropriate considering her career in the police force, her mother has taken to the bottle. It’s also senior year for Millie at Blissville High and things aren’t particularly promising; the boy she likes doesn’t seem interested, she’s constantly picked on by teachers and students alike, and she’s anxious at the idea of leaving her mom behind. Keeping her grounded are best friends Josh (Misha Osherovich) and Nyla (Celeste O’Connor). Things take a very sudden turn, however, when she’s attacked by the legendary Blissfield Butcher (Vince Vaughn) with a mystical knife that has them swap bodies. Now, she has 24 hou...
Synchronic Seamlessly Turns Paramedics into Time-Traveling Horror Heroes: Beyond Fest Review
The Pitch: Paramedics Dennis (Jamie Dornan) and Steve (Anthony Mackie) work together in the same ambulance and are also longtime best friends. Running the Garden District route in New Orleans, the two run into a string of incidents linked to a new synthetic designer drug, Synchronic, which is having preternatural effects on users. When a one-two punch of personal tragedy afflicts the friends, their lives are thrown into turmoil as they become inextricably linked to the dangerous narcotic. The Best Time Travel Stories Are Not About Time Travel: Time travel in film is usually best used when it’s a plot device but not the coda of the movie. Genre vets Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson are magicians here, using the script and pacing to nimbly carry us through a science-fiction adventure that tr...
