Film
Woody Allen Says He’ll Retire From Filmmaking Following Next Movie
Woody Allen says his next film will most likely be his final directorial effort. Faced with renewed public scrutiny and backlash over the long-standing allegations that he sexually assaulted his daughter Dylan Farrow, the 86-year-old filmmaker has largely been blackballed from Hollywood in recent years. He has continued to make films, including 2019’s A Rainy Day in New York and 2020’s Rifkin Festival, but their distribution has been limited to Europe, with only a handful of US screenings. The same will likely be the case for Allen’s upcoming feature, Wasp 22, which is set to begin filming in France this fall. In an interview with La Vanguardia in anticipation of production, Allen said he intends for Wasp 22 to be the last film he directs. “My idea, in principle, is not to make more movies...
Keanu Reeves to Return for Constantine Sequel
Keanu Reeves is set to return for Constantine 2, a sequel to the 2005 superhero film, from director Francis Lawrence. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Lawrence is also returning for the sequel, while Akiva Goldsman will serve pen the script. The first Constantine film was written by Kevin Brodbin and Frank Cappello. Based on DC’s Hellblazer comic, Constantine centers Reeves as John Constantine, an exorcist who travels between Earth and Hell in his communications with half-angels and half-demons. Really, his character is more of an anti-hero than a superhero, as he’s pretty cynical about his abilities. Advertisement Related Video The release of Constantine 2 is another sign of Warner Bros. Discovery’s newfound preference for superhero films over ...
Confess, Fletch Review: Jon Hamm Finds His Perfect Post-Mad Men Role
The Pitch: Irwin M. “Fletch” Fletcher (Jon Hamm), an investigative journalist of some repute, arrives in Boston to help his lady friend Angela (Lorenza Izzo) retrieve some of her father’s paintings from an eccentric art dealer (Kyle McLachlan). But before he can unpack his bags, he finds a dead body in the apartment he’s borrowing. Pegged by two homicide detectives (Roy Wood Jr. and Ayden Mayeri) as the primary suspect, Fletch has to clear his name, secure the missing artwork, and fend off the advances of Angela’s stepmother (Marcia Gay Harden). Cards on the Table Time: Since he broke into the global consciousness through his still-outstanding work as morally bankrupt ad man Don Draper in AMC’s Mad Men, Jon Hamm has seemed content to serve as a utility player: For the better part of 15 yea...
Moonage Daydream Captures David Bowie’s Legacy and a Life Lived Magnificently: Review
The Pitch: The new David Bowie documentary, Moonage Daydream, succeeds not only for what it is, but what it isn’t. That has a lot to do with the clichés — and, occasionally, limitations — of the well-trodden format of the music documentary. We know bad ones — or just boilerplate ones — when we see them. They typically open in medias res; the subject mumbles something backstage through celluloid grain and a plume of smoke. Here come the talking heads: Jakob Dylan, Dave Grohl, Bono. The director takes us from the cradle to the grave — and you’re left a few bucks poorer, wondering if this is all music is, in the end. But never fear: Brett Morgen is at the wheel of Moonage Daydream, the new documentary plumbing the depths of Bowie. You may remember Morgen because he directed Kurt Cobain: Monta...
Magic Mike’s Last Dance Gets Theatrical Release Date
Magic Mike’s Last Dance will hip-thrust its way into theaters after all. Warner Bros. has set the threequel’s release date for February 10th, 2023, Deadline reports. Originally set as an HBO Max exclusive, the Steven Soderbergh-directed film will now have a window between its theatrical release and debut on the streamer, with availability on video on demand in between. The change falls in line with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s business philosophy that movies should be released in theaters first rather than premiering on streaming. Advertisement Related Video Channing Tatum, who will return in the title role, described the film as “a reverse-role Pretty Woman“ in a March interview with The New York Times. “We’re kind of swinging for the fences — there never needs to be ano...
See How They Run Review: An Engaging Meta Riff on the Fun of a Whodunnit
The Pitch: In part thanks to Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc, detective stories are having a bit of a moment right now, but stories of mysterious murders have been around for eons, with Agatha Christie being one of the 20th century’s pioneers in the genre. It’s Christie’s legacy that plays a huge role in See How They Run, which takes its inspiration from a famed play of the writer’s, but still has its own original mystery to unfurl. In the new film, directed by first-time feature director Tom George, it’s the 1950s, and a murder has taken place at the theater where Christie’s The Mousetrap has just celebrated its 100th performance. Enter Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) to investigate, with everyone present the night of the death, including producer Petul...
Jeremy Allen White Joins Cast of Von Erich Brothers Film The Iron Claw
The Von Erich family is set to be immortalized in a new film from A24 called The Iron Claw, where Jeremy Allen White, Zac Efron, and Harris Dickinson will play three members of the wrestling clan. White has been cast as Kerry Von Erich, Efron as Kevin, and Dickinson as David. The film is written and directed by Sean Durkin and produced by Tessa Ross, Derrin Schlesinger, Harrison Huffman, and Angus Lamont. Led by their father Fritz Van Erich, the Van Erich family dominated the professional wrestling sphere in the 1980s, especially in the World Class Championship Wrestling circuit of their home state of Texas. While Kerry, known as “The Modern Day Warrior” and “The Texas Tornado,” was probably the most well-known Van Erich, Kevin and David became circuit staples as well, known respectiv...
Sublime Are Getting a Biopic
Sublime are coming to a screen near you. A biopic about the reggae-rock crew is currently in the works, with the band’s own Bud Gaugh and Eric Wilson executive producing. The as-yet-untitled film will document Sublime’s ascent from Long Beach misfits to household names, who didn’t achieve their first hit until after the tragic death of founding vocalist Bradley Nowell. Now, songs like “What I Got,” “Santeria,” and “Doin’ Time” are alt-rock radio staples, but there’s a lot more left to be told about the band behind them. Francis Lawrence will direct the Sublime biopic from a script by Chris Mundy. “Wow – we can’t believe this is finally happening and we couldn’t be more honored and excited to have the great Francis Lawrence and Chris Mundy telling our story,” Gaugh and Wilson wrote in a sta...
Unauthorized Queer Batman Movie The People’s Joker Pulled from TIFF “Due to Rights Issues”
The People’s Joker, an unauthorized queer coming-of-age movie set in the Batman universe, has been pulled from Toronto International Film Festival after a single screening “due to rights issues.” Helmed by and starring Los Angeles-based director Vera Drew, the film was scheduled for three more showings at TIFF following its premiere as part of the festival’s Midnight Madness programming on Tuesday, September 13th. Billed in the description of its trailer as “completely unlicensed by DC and Warner Bros.,” The People’s Joker was likely trying to operate under US fair use laws for parody. According to IndieWire, however, Warner Bros. Discovery informed the filmmaker of “a copyright issue” over the movie’s use of characters including Joker and “a Harlequin a la DC’s Harley Quinn...
David Harbour Cast in Upcoming Film About Gran Turismo
David Harbour is taking a vacation from the Upside Down to join the cast of Gran Turismo, the Sony Pictures and PlayStation Productions feature centered around the best-selling racing video game. The Stranger Things star will take on another fatherly role this time around, too, playing a retired race car driver who mentors the film’s young protagonist. Directed by sci-fi filmmaker Neill Blomkamp, best known for projects like District 9 and Elysium, the movie also pulls from a true story about a skilled teenage Gran Turismo player who would go on to become an actual professional race car driver. “As one of PlayStation’s longest standing and most beloved franchises, it’s great to be partnering with Columbia Pictures again to bring Gran Turismo to life in an exci...
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery Is a Silly, Absurd and Downright Fun Sequel: TIFF Review
This review is part of our coverage of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. The Pitch: Famous Southern detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig), whom we first met in the 2019 flick Knives Out, is in a pandemic-induced funk when he receives an invitation from eccentric billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton) to his next big case in Greece. There, on a remote island, Bron’s closest friends and “disrupters” congregate for a murder mystery party at his Glass Onion house — a spot so lavish even the Mona Lisa is there, on loan from the Louvre. There’s former model-turned-fashion-designer Birdie Jay (Kate Hudson), controversial social media star Duke Cody (Dave Bautista), brilliant scientist Lionel Toussaint (Leslie Odom Jr.), right-wing politician Claire Debella (Kathryn Hahn), and Bron’s s...
Awards Are Bullshit, But It Would Still Be Nice If Better Call Saul Could Win Some
After last night’s Emmy Awards ceremony, Better Call Saul can lay claim to a remarkable achievement: 46 Emmy nominations and zero wins over the course of its six-season run. Forty. Six. Forty-six chances to recognize one of the best shows on television for its remarkable achievements, and 46 failures to do so. It feels mean to keep harping on that number, but 46 is staggering. This TVLine list showcases 25 great shows that also never won an Emmy, but most of the shows on that list only received a few token nods during their run — they weren’t playing the game as hard as Saul has done over the past six years. And yet 46 losses. It’s a lot! Upon its initial premiere, the genre-defying crime drama may have been an immediate part of the Emmys race as a spinoff of Breaking Bad, which had a much...
