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Friday, 31 August 2018
20 Movies We Can’t Wait to See at TIFF 2018
Fall film festival is upon us and there is a plethora of new and exciting films debuting in the next couple of weeks. One of the biggest film festivals in the world, the Toronto International Film Festival, is set to being on September 6th. The world premieres include the debut of new films from Barry Jenkins, Claire Denis, Steve McQueen, and Xavier Dolan. In adfdition, the festival will welcome new films from Alfonso Cuaron, Damien Chazelle, and Bradley Cooper among many others. With so many choices to choose from it is difficult even to pick 20 films to watch among the films playing at TIFF.
Below are some of the films that are among the most anticipated TIFF films for 2018. The films run the gauntlet from first-time directors to legendary stand-bys. And some of these films are bound to be in the conversation for the best of the year. With the beginning of TIFF launches the start of prestige season and here are some to look forward to.
High Life
As if a new film by Claire Denis wasn’t enough to get excited about, High Life features a cast of Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, and Mia Goth among others. Pattinson is coming off a career performance in last year’s Good Time, and here he plays a space prisoner who is caring for his baby daughter on a dangerous flight. If you weren’t sold on Denis, Pattinson, and space, I’m not sure what else would entice you, but don’t sleep on this one.
If Beale Street Could Talk
Barry Jenkins’ last film, Moonlight, won the best picture amidst one of the wildest Oscars presentations in history. This time he is adapting a novel from James Baldwin. If Beale Street Could Talk tells the story of Tish and Fonny. Tish (Kiki Layne) is 19 and pregnant from the love of her life, Fonny. The big problem is that Fonny has been accused of a crime he didn’t commit. Moonlight was a beautifully realized picture given the budget that Jenkins worked with. There is little doubt that If Beale Street Could Talk will continue his ascension as one of the most essential voices in cinema today.
Roma
Alfonso Cuaron has taken us on many incredible journeys. With Y Tu Mama Tambien he took us on a road trip that would come to define the lives of those involved. In Children of Men, he showed us a bleak future where humans have lost the ability to reproduce, and chaos reigns supreme. Gravity showed the determination of one woman and her drive to return home from orbit. Now Cuaron is making his most personal film yet. Roma captures an important time in Mexico City that Cuaron lived through. Instead of retelling his own story, he focuses on the life of a middle-class family. Cuaron wrote, directed, and did the cinematography for Roma. Another master of cinema at the height of his creativity you won’t want to miss.
Widows
Director Steve McQueen returns with his first film since the Academy Award-winning, 12 Years A Slave. Widows follows the plight of four women whose husbands have left them in a world of trouble. The husbands, recently deceased, have a debt of criminal activities that are unaccounted for. The wives, played by Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, and Cynthia Erivo, have to take control of the situation or lose their lives in the process. Gone Girl and Sharp Objects author Gillian Flynn joined McQueen in creating the script, and with this cast on board, it is a must see.
First Man
When you hear biopic based on the life of Neil Armstrong, it doesn’t bring much excitement to the table. When you learn that it is another collaboration between Academy Award-winning director, Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling, the excitement turns up a notch. Then you include a supporting cast of Claire Foy, Corey Stoll, Kyle Chandler and this becomes one of the cinematic treats of the year. If the IMAX preview footage is indicative what to expect from First Man, this will be a lot more than a by-the-numbers biopic.
Burning
Burning is South Korean film director Lee Chang-dong’s first film in 8 years. The thriller, taken from a short story from world renown author Haruki Murakami, follows a young man and his suspicions of a new acquantice who has become too friendly with his childhood friend. The film stars Yoo Ah-in, Jun Jong-Seo, and Walking Dead star Steven Yeun.
Shoplifters
Winner of the Palme d’Or, Shoplifters, tells the story of a family that has taken in a little girl. The family doesn’t have much. Thus they have to make money through petty crime and shoplifting. They raise the girl as one of their own until it is discovered who the little girl might belong to. Kore-eda has been on quite the streak of films over the last five years. Like Father, Like Son, Our Little Sister, After the Storm, and The Third Murder have all examined different aspects of family life, and if reviews and acclaim from Cannes are to be believed, this might be his crowning achievement.
Kursk
Director Thomas Vinterberg has a new film in the submarine genre. His previous films, The Hunt and Far from the Madding Crowd, were incredibly entertaining and award-worthy. This time he teams up with Matthias Schoenarts, Colin Firth, Lea Seydoux, and Max von Sydow for a film that follows the events of the 2000 K-141 Kursk submarine disaster. On one side is sailors trying to survive, on the other is a political battle to gain approval to save them.
Beautiful Boy
Timothee Chalamet is mad about losing Best Actor for his role in Call Me by Your Name (not really.) This year he is back with another performance that will be a knock-out. Playing opposite Steve Carell, Chalamet plays a young man who is struggling with meth addiction and the hard battle to overcome the addiction. Trailers thus far have shown some incredible moments between Carell and Chalamet. Beautiful Boy should be on everyone’s radar.
Halloween
A true sequel to the original classic, Halloween brings Jamie Lee Curtis back into the fold playing her iconic character of Laurie Strode. Even director John Carpenter is providing music for the film. It has been 40 years since the events that led to Michael Myers killing spree on Halloween. This film notably ignores all the other sequels to Halloween and features a script by David Gordon Green and Danny McBride. Will Michael Myers get his revenge on Laurie Strode or will she be able to survive his torment once again? This is easily one of the most anticipated at the fest making an appearance in the Midnight Madness frame before making a premier date at Fantastic Fest.
Outlaw King
Netflix has plenty of big titles coming to the service this fall, but this one has the honor of being called the TIFF 2018 Opening Film. Outlaw King, from Hell or High Water director David Mackenzie, tells the story of Robert the Bruce, the renowned King of Scots. Featuring a cast of Chris Pine, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Florence Pugh, Outlaw King is a large-scale epic that is perfectly suited for the big screen. Chances are that it will be a treat to see it projected as such at TIFF before it makes an appearance on Netflix in November.
Sunset
Director Laszlo Nemes follow-up to the Academy Award-winning Son of Saul, Sunset depicts the story of 20-year-old Irisz Leiter. After years of being in an orphanage, she receives a letter to return home from her late parents. Upon arrival the situation is dire, and perhaps she would’ve done better to stay away. The trailer for this one shows Nemes continuing his guerrilla-style shooting, putting the audience right in the shoes of the protagonist as she goes through some troubling times. It will be exciting to see how he follows up Son of Saul.
Peterloo
One of the mainstays at Cannes, it was surprising not to see Mike Leigh’s Peterloo play on the Croisette. No matter as it has been given a big roll out with dates in Venice, London, and Toronto. The film depicts the Peterloo Massacre, as thousands of people from Manchester demanded Parliamentary reform. A conflict that led to hundreds injured and many casualties. Leigh has had a tremendous streak of acclaimed pictures dating back to the early 00’s, and Peterloo looks to be no exception.
Gloria Bell
Gloria Bell is a remake of Sebastian Lelio’s 2013 film, Gloria. This time Academy-Award winner Julianne Moore plays the titular Gloria, a free-spirited woman in her 50s who seeks out love by attending various dance clubs. The original film was well received, but an America remake should give the story a lot more attention. Usually, I’m a little apprehensive about remakes so soon, but with Lelio remaking his own film, he must believe there was enough here to go back to and revisit. The film has already been picked up for distribution from A24.
The Death & Life of John F. Donovan
A long delayed project is finally seeing the light at TIFF. The new film from Xavier Dolan featuring Game of Thrones Kit Harington, Natalie Portman, Susan Sarandon, and Kathy Bates among others will make its premier during TIFF. Dolan has already achieved plenty of acclaim in his young career earning multiple prizes at the Cannes Film Festival. This English-language debut is about a star who has died alone following scandals. One of his fans, an 11-year-old, recounts the time he was secret pen pals with the late actor. There has been plenty of back and forth on The Death & Life of John F. Donovan, it is exciting to see what Dolan has come up with.
A Star is Born
Bradley Cooper makes his directorial debut with a remake of a classic story. A Star is Born features Cooper and Lady Gaga as a pair of musicians. Cooper’s Jackson Maine has been doing the singing thing for a long time, and convinces struggling artist Ally (Gaga) to continue her dream of singing to really hit it big. The first trailer for the film lit up the internet when it was released in June and this one has been high on fan anticipation for months now. The only question will be if Cooper and Gaga can deliver a remake worthwhile of all the hype.
Boy Erased
Another debut from a actor, director Joel Edgerton shares the story of a young man who is forced to undergo a gay conversion therapy program. Featuring a leading performance from Manchester by the Sea’s Lucas Hedges, the film will certainly be a difficult watch as it is a story that far too many have had to suffer through. Boy Erased features supporting performances from Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Xavier Dolan, and musician Troye Sivan.
Vox Lux
Director Brady Corbet’s new feature showcases the life of a pop star. Starring Natalie Portman, Vox Lux will go through almost twenty years of being in the limelight and the ups and downs that come with it. The film features original music from pop superstar Sia and supporting roles from Jude Law and Stacy Martin.
Wildlife
Having played both Sundance and the Cannes Film Festival, Paul Dano’s directorial debut comes to Toronto. The story centers around a boy whose parents (Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal) are having marital problems. He witnesses their struggle and how his mother has to deal with the betrayal of her husband during the 1960s. This one has been receiving a lot of buzz and should be one of those films that is a little bit under the radar, but wholly satisfying.
The Old Man and the Gun
Robert Redford has had a historic career. He has chosen to wrap it up with his latest, The Old Man and the Gun. Director by David Lowery (Pete’s Dragon, A Ghost Story), the story finds Redford as Forrest Tucker, an older gentleman who has escaped prison and continues a string of heists. From the trailers, the film captures the spirit of Redford’s earlier films, while being something totally new. The supporting cast includes Casey Affleck, Sissy Spacek, and Danny Glover. If this is the goodbye Redford wants for his career, chances are he will be leaving on a high note.
The post 20 Movies We Can’t Wait to See at TIFF 2018 appeared first on Film School Rejects.
Venice 2018: Parables to Contemplate in 'The Ballad of Buster Scruggs'
Gather ’round everyone, take a seat by the fire, for Joel & Ethan Coen have some fun new tales to tell. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a six-part Western anthology film, the latest feature from the Coen Brothers. They've made Westerns before (most notably True Grit in 2010) but this is something else entirely - six different stories, each with their own unique characters, and locations, and ideas to consider. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is as intelligent, contemplative, comedic, and as beautiful as everything from the Coens, but it goes beyond that. These six stories are actually parables about humanity and the way people cheat, lie, deceive each other, and the way men are greedy, confused, ambitious, unsure, and careless. And they're all gorgeously filmed, captivating to watch, which is no surprise considering the Coens are filmmaking masters.
Originally intended to be a mini-series for Netflix, the Coen Brothers' The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (also written by Joel & Ethan) was repackaged and re-edited into a single feature that runs 132 minutes in total. There's six individual chapters each telling a distinct story about the American West, told in a lovely vintage book that provides the framework for the film. There's no actual connection or links between each story, aside from the fact that they're about humans and are as relevant today as the time (and place) in which they're set. That seems to be the point - the Coens have some things to say about how dumb and simple and unprepared human beings are, and they mock us in all their usual contemplative ways. Which is thoroughly amusing and compelling to watch; none of the six stories is any worse than any other, they're all top notch.
The opening tale is about a talented, four-wall-breaking musician named Buster Scruggs, played by Tim Blake Nelson, who surprises others with his musical talent and fast fingers; until he's surprised himself by someone else just like him. The next tale is about a bank robber, played by James Franco, who just can't escape his fate. Next up is a tale about an armless, legless entertainer/storyteller who is carried around by Liam Neeson, until audiences prefer something else. That's followed by a tale about a prospector, played by Tom Waits, who discovers a beautiful green valley full of gold. Next up is tale of a young woman, played by Zoe Kazan, traveling in a wagon train to Oregon. And the final tale is about a group of travelers in a carriage heading to a town, featuring Jonjo O'Neill and Brendan Gleeson. They're all very entertaining.
It honestly goes without saying, but it's worth being said again - the Coen Brothers are masters of their craft. They know how to compose, shoot, edit, and build scenes with perfection. The classic Old West set design and cinematography in this is exceptional, looking truly better than ever for a western (comparable only to Tarantino's The Hateful Eight). The bits of action scattered throughout is awesome, even the gunfights are exciting despite seeing hundreds of them before. There's not a moment of this film that didn't impress me, from both a technical standpoint and a storytelling standpoint. The Coens didn't cut back at all, and while their style isn't as distinct as with some of their past films, it's nonetheless just as vibrant and beautifully realized, which is what is most important with these tall tales. I just love watching anything the Coens make.
Best of all, there's something worthwhile to extract from every one of the six stories. There's a good lesson to be learned, sure, but there's also some fascinatingly complex social criticism to unpack. Which is no real surprise considering the Coens are intelligent enough to work all this in in the most subtle of ways. A few of the segments reminded me of The Hudsucker Proxy, while others reminded me of Fargo. And there's not much more invigorating than seeing something that makes you think and discuss and analyze it in great detail, for the sake of admiring the work and talent that went into crafting these stories. And for the sake of saying, yes, this is what people are really like - then and now - and maybe we can be better. Or maybe we'll just end up the same as we've always been, never learning, always falling for the same tricks over and over.
Alex's Venice 2018 Rating: 9.5 out of 10
Follow Alex on Twitter - @firstshowing
The Shapeshifting Beauty of Alain Delon
To see the feline countenance of Alain Delon is to immediately understand his movie stardom. How could he have been anything else? It would almost be a cosmic insult to his beauty not to commit it to celluloid. But beyond the erotically-charged pin-up and genre tough guy, Delon would also become a respected actor with a long list of auteur collaborators: Visconti, Melville, Antonioni, Joseph Losey, and the like. The mega-star of European cinema, with his cold grey eyes and louche attitude, could be forbidding or aloof; dashing or innocent. There’s a chance to see all of those iterations of the actor at a new retrospective dedicated to him at New York’s Quad Cinema, aptly-titled "L’Homme Fatal."
Early in his career, Delon’s youthful beauty would be utilized in Luchino Visconti’s classics Rocco and his Brothers (1960) and The Leopard (1963), but filmmakers also quickly recognized his ability to play the cad, the deceiver, and the rogue: take René Clément’s Patricia Highsmith adaptation Purple Noon (1960), where a homicidal, seductive Delon plays Tom Ripley. He would be enshrined into existential gangster film legacy as hitman Jef Costello in Le samouraï (1967), and Jean-Pierre Melville would supply him with perhaps his most iconic roles. The endlessly poetic minimalism of the Melville / Delon collaborations (Un cercle rouge and Un flic among them) would make Delon’s cinema one of signifiers and symbols: a cat, a knife, a gun, a canary. He wears his loneliness like a mantle and his trench coat like a uniform. In similar films, like Henri Verneuil’s The Sicilian Clan (1969), he was united with older actors of the crime genre like Lino Ventura and Jean Gabin. Here, his type goes beyond the ritualistic and alienated men of Melville’s world: he’s a convicted murderer with a maniacal violent streak.
In his prime, there was something blade-like about the deceptively boyish Delon; even the soft vowels of his name end on spiky consonants. Everything about him seems sharp: both angular in features and prickly in demeanor. Delon was unlike most American leading men in his willingness to be disliked. Recall the actor’s criminal associations and his Sinatra-esque tendency to shill for real gangsters and thuggish right-wing politics. This is to say nothing of his rumored ties to a 1968 homicide.
Perhaps that’s why in his crime film outings with Jacques Deray—Borsalino (1970) and Le gang (1977) among them—Delon’s reputation is padded with old-time romantic mystique. This outlaw figure may seem, at times, a little bit toothless. George Roy Hill’s frothy period crime flick The Sting (1973) fell between the releases of these French films, suggesting Deray’s major influence on it, and all three films are nattily-costumed commercial prospects, seeing the charismatic tough through rose-tinted lenses. In Le gang, Delon and his crew are bank robbers operating right after the Second World War and seen mainly from the perspective of besotted girlfriend Marinette (Nicole Calfan). Yet the film’s bloodless larks and nostalgic tone are shot through with references to Vichy collaboration, the deportation of Jews, and anti-Algerian sentiment of police at the time; Delon’s populist genre fare never lacked wider insight. Le gang also distinguishes itself from Hollywood-like escapism with its bleak conclusion, leaving an anguished Marinette in freeze-frame over the closing credits. This may be among the closest any of Delon’s films came to commenting on the overwhelmingly patriarchal sexual politics of their milieu.
Much like the legendary work he did with Melville, Alain Delon’s movie stardom seems to be a Gallic reworking of American film vocabulary. From devising heists to personifying smooth Alan Ladd-esque hitmen, he remixed old archetypes and performed most of his roles as variations on a theme. Given how inflected with Hollywood both his persona and his star power are, his lack of success in America has always seemed strange. But Delon never could seem to find a foothold, starring in various unremarkable projects like Once a Thief (1965), opposite Ann-Margret and Van Heflin. The omission of any Hollywood-made fare in the retrospective speaks volumes on Delon’s minimal dent there.
The series touches on Delon’s early leading roles and hits all the major stops along the way, but the program also makes time to veer off-road somewhat. These are the real curiosities of Delon’s long career. Perhaps some of this breathing room came from the aging process. As time wore on, Delon’s features became worn by his years of debauch and weathered by the sun. His cheeks grew baggier, and those cold eyes were daubed with half-moon rings. The near-vampiric beauty of his youth made him seem prematurely haggard, but also maybe more human. No longer the self-contained Narcissus of his early mode, he starred in stranger films: romantic drama Notre histoire (1984), where he subverts his onscreen type and plays a rumpled middle-aged alcoholic. He also turns up in a surprising role in literary adaptation Swann in Love (1984), playing a flamboyantly gay nobleman.
In the most recent of the films being screened—Jean-Luc Godard’s Nouvelle vague (1990)—Delon is a mysterious interloper in a corporate world. This was his first time working with Godard, another overpowering icon of 60s French cinema. The result is fascinating, reading perhaps partly as a sly commentary on the moneyed glamour of Delon’s life and the concept of dueling selves—person vs. persona. In the film, Delon has a doppelganger or identical twin of some kind, though it is never explained. About a decade after Nouvelle vague’s release, Delon would give a magazine interview that summed up that balancing act pretty well: "All my life, I've played at being Alain Delon," he said. "For the rest, I couldn't give a damn."
L'Homme Fatal: Alain Delon is playing at New York's Quad Cinema from August 31 - September 14, 2018.
‘The Little Stranger’ Review: A Big Failure in Adaptation
Adapting Sarah Waters’ “The Little Stranger” was never going to be an easy task, but it should have been an obvious one. The 2009 novel is more than a ghost story, often seeming unfocused in where it’s guiding the reader through its combination platter of haunted house thriller, romantic drama, and metaphoric portrait of social class restructuring in postwar England. The movie version would have done well to really lean into the horror aspect of the book, however. Or at least done a better job of setting up the gothic nature of the narrative. As it is, Lenny Abrahamson’s The Little Stranger is a confused work that never settles on what it’s meant to be.
The plot follows a country doctor, Faraday (Domhnall Gleeson), through his involvement with a gentry family residing in a crumbling mansion (think Grey Gardens meets Downton Abbey). After being called out to treat the estate’s one lonely young maid (Liv Hill), Faraday offers to treat the man of the house, Roderick (Will Poulter), who suffers from residual wartime injuries, and in his visits he becomes friendly with Roderick’s sister, Caroline (Ruth Wilson), and somewhat cordial with the matriarch of the home, Mrs. Ayres (Charlotte Rampling). Over time, as Faraday becomes a regular guest, strange events occur at the manor, called Hundreds Hall, eventually resulting in tragedy.
Like the novel, the movie takes a while to get into the suggestion of a ghost in the Ayres’ home, but while Waters takes her time setting up the atmosphere and characters of her story, Abrahamson, working off a script by Lucinda Coxon (The Danish Girl), slogs through a skimming of plot details and character development, fixating on its perplexing voiceover narration and vague flashbacks to when Faraday was a boy visiting Hundreds Hall in its livelier days. There’s good reason for setting up the past, especially the backstory of another Ayres child who died as a young girl, but it winds up providing muddled rather than clarifying context.
There is a difference between being subtle or ambiguous and what transpires in The Little Stranger. The plot seems to thicken one night during a small social gathering when a kid is mauled by Caroline’s dog, yet its significance to anything is ignored for the longest time and so just seems like a random bit of extra misfortune for the Ayres. From there, Roderick experiences mysterious, maybe supernatural, incidents in his room, but Faraday dismisses them and has the man committed to a psychiatric hospital. The ordeal is swiftly montaged, and before we know it, the character is gone. Without time to get to know him or care about his fate and without seeing enough of his decline.
Whatever mystery lies in the story is in the wonder of what’s missing, what’s not being shown, rather than what’s causing sudden fires to combust and odd markings to appear on the walls and the servants’ call bell system to erupt in rings from vacant rooms. The question of what’s going on, which the audience may have regarding the plot, isn’t so much a curiosity of some revelation to come so much as bafflement in response to unclear direction. Thanks to the cinematography by Ole Bratt Birkeland (The Crown), the film is handsomely foggy, always pleasant to look at, but Abrahamson, who received an Oscar nomination for Best Director for his previous feature, Room, and his usual editor, Nathan Nugent, don’t connect those shots into a cohesive whole.
Admittedly, because I’d read the book, I wondered if I was only sensing gaps in the storytelling because there’s more detail in the novel. As there always is. But there is undoubtedly a deficiency in the establishment of the characters in the adaptation. Only Faraday borders on being a well-formed entity, and even then the character has the benefit of shorthand in the casting. Gleeson is a versatile actor well-associated with roles both charming and petulant, and the more we can project onto him of that known range matters to his performance of an inscrutable man who is agreeable or despicable in any given scene, and interchangeably either in most.
If there’s one thing the movie really shares with the book faithfully, it’s a rather rushed and anticlimactic payoff. But at least Waters’ novel is rich in its themes and tension and sense of time and place. The Little Stranger on screen isn’t a slow burn thriller, just a boring drama without a clear or consistent sense of terror or an interesting consideration of British history or an intriguing study of an obsessive and moody but intellectually rational protagonist with progress and mobility in his desires, coming up against a clan caught in the past. It’s difficult to see what or whom the adaptation is intended for, what reason it has to bring the story to cinematic form. In this case, it’s not a matter of the book being better. This film is so empty that the book is really all there is.
The post ‘The Little Stranger’ Review: A Big Failure in Adaptation appeared first on Film School Rejects.
‘The Predator’ Unleashes Its Best Trailer Yet
If at first you fail to excite, try, try again. I have been on such a seesaw of emotion concerning The Predator. I fell hard for that first teaser, but the subsequent peeks at the film were lackluster rehashes of the same set-pieces. What are they hiding? There has to be more.
Well, with a little more than two weeks before its release, 20th Century Fox has thrown the curtain back on their latest entry in the Predator franchise. You want more? You got more. This new red band trailer seemingly jams the entire film into its two minute runtime.
Be warned. If you’re already sold, don’t press play. However, if you need a little more encouragement, this final trailer might do the trick. Or it might not.
Does Shane Black still have any surprises left up his sleeve? I sure hope so, but I’m afraid that the Super-Predator and Predator dogs are it. There have to be a few more alien gadgets to reveal themselves, right?
Let’s not get depressed by how much movie is here. Let’s focus on the positive. Imagine we weren’t the sick little obsessives who have to consume every little bit of content before walking into the theater. Imagine we just plopped down and the film played, and we were actually surprised by the appearance of the Super-Predator and his hounds of hell. I’d probably jump right the hell out of my seat screaming. Can I get myself back to that place knowing what I now know?
The best aspect of this new trailer is the team. We’ve seen them before, but finally, the personality of these mental misfits is starting to show. Of course, I’m sold on Keegan-Michael Key. He comes armed with biting wit and savage takedown humor. I dig how Boyd Holbrook doesn’t bother to hide his close encounter with these degenerates, seemingly knowing that the extraterrestrial game hunter is about to explode their prison convoy. Thomas Jane’s line-reading of welp, “Alien” earns its chuckle. At the very least, it should be fun to hang with these maniacs.
For the first time, we are gifted plenty of infrared shots. From the logo to the Super-Predator staring down the tiny OG version. The marketers know what we want from this franchise, and I’m a sucker for it. Cue “One Shot One Kill” by Jon Connor feat. Snoop Dogg and the trailer has an exhilarating energy to it that none of the previous efforts could pull off.
Sterling K. Brown continues his act as the Predator hypeman. As he guides Olivia Munn around the lab, highlighting the beast’s superior capabilities, I fall for that twinkle in his eye. Heck, we share the same adulation of the space monster, and it’s a delight to see a fanboy meet the object of his affection. “Fuckin’ you up is their idea of tourism.” How do you not clap your hands to a line like that?
Shane Black rarely disappoints. Seeing him return to one of his most successful franchises adds an extra layer of intense anticipation. The fact that we’ve now seen so much from this movie gives me pause, but I’m still going in optimistic. Maybe there won’t be any surprises, but all they need to do is pull off the long form version of the trailer.
The post ‘The Predator’ Unleashes Its Best Trailer Yet appeared first on Film School Rejects.
Head Back to Hogwarts in New 'The Crimes of Grindelwald' Featurette
"I have some questions for you, Dumbledore…" Warner Bros has debuted a behind-the-scenes featurette for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, taking us "Back to Hogwarts" to remind us how this series is connected to Harry Potter. The latest extended trailer premiered at Comic-Con and actually had some exciting footage in it. This sequel is once again directed by David Yates, the next chapter in the newest J.K. Rowling spin-off series. Eddie Redmayne returns as magizoologist Newt Scamander, and the movie's cast includes Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Carmen Ejogo, Zoe Kravitz, Ezra Miller, Alison Sudol, Johnny Depp as Gellert Grindelwald, Jessica Williams, Claudia Kim, and Callum Turner, plus Jude Law as a young Dumbledore. There's not much to this featurette, but it's at least something new to enjoy as we wait for another final trailer before this movie hits theaters in November. Take a look below.
Hogwarts featurette for David Yates' Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, from YouTube:
You can watch the teaser trailer for The Crimes of Grindelwald here, or the second, full-length trailer here.
The powerful dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) was been captured by MACUSA, with the help of Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escaped custody and has set about gathering followers, most unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings. In an effort to thwart Grindelwald's plans, Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law) enlists his former student Newt Scamander, who agrees to help, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is once again directed by English filmmaker David Yates, of the first Fantastic Beasts, plus Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, plus Half-Blood Prince, and both Deathly Hallows. Warner Bros will release Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald in theaters everywhere starting on November 16th later this fall. Who's watching?
Danny Boyle’s Next Movie Stars Ed Sheeran as Himself
The announcement of a musical comedy from Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis came days after word got out that Boyle would be directing the next James Bond movie. Now that Boyle has left the 007 sequel, this other period-set project is all we have to look forward to from the Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire director. So, it’s time we learned more about it.
Rolling Stone revealed the feature will be about a singer-songwriter played by Himesh Patel (EastEnders) who wakes up one morning to discover that he’s the only person in the entire world who remembers The Beatles. And who better to help move along the plot than an actual real-life singer-songwriter? Joining Patel in the movie will be none other than Ed Sheeran, as himself.
“I discover him and take him on tour. Then he gets much, much bigger than me through doing stuff. Yeah, it’s very clever,” Sheeran said in an interview with the Associated Press. We can make an educated guess that Patel’s character will be using the songs of The Beatles to boost his fame in this apparent twist on the Star is Born model.
Sheeran’s acting credits so far are made up of some smaller roles on TV shows. But it seems like his experience on this Beatles project has been different for him. “I got to actually kind of learn how to act,” he explained. “With the Game of Thrones thing, that was literally me popping in for a day and making a cameo. Or Bastard Executioner was me popping in for a day. But this was like full days on set, like full 12-hour days.” Perhaps this could kickstart Sheeran’s future of acting in bigger roles.
Besides Sheeran, starring alongside Patel will be Lily James, fresh off of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, playing a teacher. So far, other credits include Ana de Armas (Blade Runner 2049), Lamorne Morris (New Girl), and Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live), who plays a talent agent. This is a very interesting mix for a cast, so I’m excited to see how this will all play out not only with the comedic side of the story but also with the musical aspects.
Obviously, given the plot of the film, the leading characters are going to have to have some sort of talent when it comes to singing. It’s no secret that Lily James is more than capable of carrying a tune, but as for Patel there isn’t much on the internet to back the fact that he can sing. One of my many questions is how the music is going to play into this new feature. Are we going to get an Across the Universe kind of deal, or will it only include a few songs as Patel tries to teach everyone who The Beatles are?
Another question I have is what exactly are the details of this plot that we aren’t being told yet? We know that one day a man wakes up and realizes that no one knows who The Beatles are, but how? Maybe the movie will never explain. It could just be something that happens for the sole purpose of the plot. But is there something that causes this sudden forgetting except in one person? This is everyone’s Mandela Effect nightmare come true.
Later on in the movie do people start to remember who The Beatles are? Do they start to rebel and realize that Patel’s character has been using the talents of other songwriters to get his career where it needs to be? We can’t say for sure right now, as the plot has been very hush-hush. But, this small amount of information that we have received is leaving me with even more questions than I had when I knew nothing about the casting or the plot.
The title for this upcoming feature isn’t known yet either. As of now, “Untitled Danny Boyle/Richard Curtis Project” is set to release on September 13, 2019.
The post Danny Boyle’s Next Movie Stars Ed Sheeran as Himself appeared first on Film School Rejects.
Final Red Band Trailer for Shane Black's 'The Predator' Touches Down
"My big boys a hunter - brought his dogs with him." 20th Century Fox has debuted one final, extra bloody red band trailer for The Predator, a new take on the Predator sci-fi action franchise, this time directed by Shane Black (of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man 3, The Nice Guys). The ensemble cast of this R-rated action movie is lead by Jacob Tremblay, who "accidentally triggers" their return to Earth again, along with Sterling K. Brown, Yvonne Strahovski, Olivia Munn, Lochlyn Munro, Thomas Jane, Boyd Holbrook, Jake Busey, Keegan-Michael Key, Niall Matter, Trevante Rhodes (from Moonlight), plus Edward James Olmos. This is premiering at the Toronto Film Festival at Midnight in a few weeks, and hits theaters soon after - tickets are available now. They have dogs! Gnarly. I'm so ready to see this film.
Here's the brutal final red band trailer for Shane Black's The Predator, direct from Fox's YouTube:
You can watch the first teaser for Shane Black's The Predator here, or the second, full-length trailer.
From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home. Now, the universe's most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a young boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled science teacher can prevent the end of the human race. The Predator is directed by American filmmaker Shane Black, director of the films Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man 3, and The Nice Guys previously; as well as a talented screenwriter. The screenplay is written by Fred Dekker (who directed The Monster Squad, Night of the Creeps) and Shane Black. Fox will release The Predator in theaters everywhere starting September 14th this fall. Thoughts? Looking better?
How DC’s New Streaming Service Plans to Stick the Superhero Landing
There’s a new streaming service soaring in from the minds at DC, and it’s making a very heroic superhero-landing right on “Batman Day,” September 15th. As the name would suggest, the holiday of sorts is set by DC Comics as the date to celebrate all things Batman. This will be the event’s fifth year, no doubt made all the more celebratory by the arrival of DC Universe. Kevin Smith announced the service’s debut on his DC Daily kick-off live stream yesterday — watch below!
DC Universe has a whole treasure trove of exciting features and shows lined up for fans of the superhero franchise. It boasts the expected collection of DC television series, live-action and animated, as well as a few unique additions to the subscription. Those who tuned in for the DC Daily live stream definitely have something to look forward to as the daily news show will be a staple attraction on DC Universe. The official description for the DC-packed series is as follows:
‘DC Daily’ will be hosted by a variety of faces familiar to DC fans, with special guests and other co-hosts joining the daily cast. Currently the ‘DC Daily’ format is scheduled to include ‘Headlines,’ a run-down of daily news briefs; ‘Reports,’ a single-topic segment that may feature an in-depth interview or deep dive into an upcoming book, film or series; and ‘Talk,’ a panel discussion including in-depth analysis about today’s hottest topics and news, which will be exclusively available only to DC Universe members via the subscription service.
Deadline reports that some of the talent hosted on the news show will include John Barrowman, Samm Levine and Harley Quinn Smith, Sam Humphries, Hector Navarro, Clarke Wolfe, Brian Tong, Markeia McCarty, and John Kourounis. During the initial DC Daily live stream, DC Chief Creative Officer and Publisher Jim Lee also revealed some intriguing new details about the other kinds of content available on the service.
One of the bigger standouts of DC Universe will be the brand new series Titans, which had that mildly concerning trailer back in July (see it below if you haven’t already). The dark take on everyone’s favorite teen team-up will be premiering at New York Comic-Con on October 3rd and will make its way to the streaming service on the 12th that month. Hopefully, the show itself can garner more appreciation than did its much-discussed initial trailer.
One thing that made Teen Titans so popular back in the early 2000s was its ability to blend genuine humor with very real, serious episodes. Based on what we’ve seen so far, Titans (and for that matter Teen Titans Go! as well) has not been able to exactly capture that same balance which made the adventures of this teenage squad of heroes so winsome to begin with. However, at the very least, the allure of a live-action series featuring Dick Grayson’s Robin, who has not been seen in live-action form since 1997, makes Titans appealing nonetheless. Fortunately for fans, the original Teen Titans has also found a new home on the streaming service at its launch. This alone is a major draw for DC Universe.
Considerably more anticipated than Titans is the extremely popular series Young Justice, set to have its first two seasons available on DC Universe from the get-go. The Cartoon Network series, which started back in 2010, has always been a fan favorite and is a fun, action-packed adaptation of the young heroes of the comics. Even more exciting, the long-awaited third season of the show, titled Young Justice: Outsiders, is set to premiere on the streaming service in 2019.
Besides these knockout shows, DC Universe also has something special in store for longtime fans of the comic book franchise. Included with the subscription will be special issues of comics featuring the first-ever appearances of some of DC’s biggest heroes. These comic books spotlighting the debuts of characters like Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman are an unexpected addition to the new service, one that more than sweetens the pot. Other comics, such as fan favorites like Jack Kirby’s “New Gods” and some classic issues, will be available to subscribers as well.
To top it all off, DC Universe will, of course, have the four Christopher Reeve Superman movies (1978’s Superman is the greatest DC film of all time, after all) as well as Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. The addition of classic shows like Batman: The Animated Series and Lynda Carter’s Wonder Woman along with iconic animated films, including Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox, really beef up the service line-up.
Then in 2019 the brand new animated Harley Quinn series (where she will be joined by the incomparable Poison Ivy in the adult-oriented show) and the live-action horror Swamp Thing will be making their way onto the platform as well. All in all, it’s going to be very hard to decide what to watch first.
The post How DC’s New Streaming Service Plans to Stick the Superhero Landing appeared first on Film School Rejects.
‘The Front Runner’ Trailer Examines the Responsibility of the Press in an Evolving World
Just months after he gave us an unflinching portrayal of motherhood in Tully, director Jason Reitman is back with his second movie of the year. And this time he, along with screenwriters Matt Bai and Jay Carson, has his sights on the tricky relationship between politics and the press.
The Front Runner stars Hugh Jackman as Gary Hart, a candidate in the 1988 Democratic primaries who came under fire over a sex scandal. The film looks to use historical events to tell a contemporary story about the responsibilities of the press, and their ever-evolving relationship with politics. And if that sounds familiar at all, well The Post came out less than a year ago.
Here’s the first look at the upcoming movie, which comes out November 21st:
We start the trailer with a series of voiceovers that set the stage, telling us just why Hart is the ideal candidate. We then see Jackman for the first time, shooting an ad for his campaign. “My name’s Gary Hart, and I’m running for president,” he says before a title card tells us what year we’re in.
Hart is then seen smiling and shaking hands at a campaign event before we meet J.K. Simmons‘ Bill Dixon. He addresses the small gathering, telling them “I want you to think about the opportunity that we have right here, right now.”
We hear about Hart’s “gift” for talking politics, as we see him and his wife Lee (Vera Farmiga) preparing for an idyllic photoshoot. But as we keep cutting back to this setting, Gary looks increasingly uncomfortable, as highlighted by Dixon’s line– “all anybody wants is for him to take a stupid photo.” And Hart’s difficulty with his public persona may come back to haunt him.
Hart talks about holding “ourselves to that highest standard,” right before things take a turn. Photos emerge of Hart with another woman, and he’s soon confronted by journalists. “We wanna ask you some questions about the woman in your townhouse,” one asks, a question Hart is quick to shrug off. However, he quickly realizes the seriousness of the situation.
As Gary goes on with his campaign, Lee is forced to deal with the fallout– “the one thing I asked was that you don’t embarrass me,” she says defiantly. We see numerous instances of Gary being harassed by reporters, cameras flashing all over the place. “You can’t hide from this,” Dixon tells him.
As we flip over to the press side, we get discussions of the duties and responsibilities of the media. “Just because some other paper used gossip as front page news, that doesn’t mean we have to,” a young reporter says in confrontation. The reality, however, is that the story is out there by this point and cannot be avoided.
Hart’s harassment gets increasingly more intense. We get brief flashes of him hiding from cameras, while the big awards show clip plays out. “I care about the sanctity of the process,” barks Jackman, enforcing the idea that his campaign is about so much more than just “rumors” and “sleaze”. The trailer ends with a terrific little scene of Hart on the phone to his wife. The lighting is dark and moody, setting up the final line: “There’s gonna be a story tomorrow about me.”
While Reitman is coming off the back of the very strong Tully and this cast is terrific, it’s difficult to ignore the fact that a lot of this ground has been covered in recent movies like Spotlight and The Post. Speeches about integrity in journalism and the responsibility of the press have, after all, been easy to come by in recent awards seasons. And while the fact that this movie will be looking at the other side of that conflict, where the press may be in the wrong, is something, it’s perhaps not quite enough to convince me that this story wouldn’t be better served as a documentary.
Despite this, the performances from Jackman and Simmons look fantastic, and Reitman’s a strong enough director to hopefully make this work. And the fact that the current US president is embroiled in numerous scandals means this movie couldn’t be more timely. The Front Runner looks to be aiming for a similar crowd to a film like Green Book, in being a biopic with solid performances about an important piece of history. And while that film’s trailer displays more charm and energy than this one, here’s hoping this all works out.
The post ‘The Front Runner’ Trailer Examines the Responsibility of the Press in an Evolving World appeared first on Film School Rejects.
Chris Hemsworth and the Russo Brothers Team Up for Kidnap Drama ‘Dhaka’
Over the years, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe gradually evolved into the enormous franchise success that it is today, it has consistently introduced fresh faces to the world stage and fostered massive careers. This is both applicable in front of and behind the camera.
It was not so long ago that Chris Hemsworth was one such actor who shot to superstardom thanks to his role as the God of Thunder in the Thor and Avengers movies. Anthony and Joe Russo directed comedies like Welcome to Collinwood, Arrested Development, and You, Me, and Dupree before finding their knack for hair-raising action-thrillers in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. They’ve worked on some big-ticket MCU entries since, which will culminate in next year’s Avengers 4.
In the meantime, Hemsworth and the Russos will aid in kickstarting the feature directing career of Sam Hargrave, erstwhile stunt double to Chris Evans on The Winter Soldier. Hargrave’s MCU journey has involved him climbing the ranks behind the scenes, working as the stunt coordinator on Captain America: Civil War before taking up second-unit directing on Avengers: Infinity War.
According to Deadline, Hargrave will make his directorial debut with Dhaka, a drama set up at Netflix that will star Hemsworth. Joe Russo will pen the script while both brothers are to serve as producers via their AGBO banner. The film is due for an international shoot covering India and Thailand.
Dhaka will primarily be an action vehicle. Hemsworth will play an extractor hired by a powerful if unscrupulous businessman to save the latter’s son, who has been taken into hiding in the eponymous capital of Bangladesh. The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Hemsworth’s protagonist will be called Rake while Deadline specifically mentions his propensity to be “physically brave but an emotional coward.” Clearly, in this film, saving lives is not merely an exercise of good faith, but one fueled by inner demons and a potential identity crisis.
My gut reaction to this news has been admittedly mixed, but let’s first talk about the good stuff that Dhaka brings to the table. Hemsworth is probably one of the most lovable Hollywood stars out there and has proven himself charming enough to headline movies of all sorts. He has done more than his fair share of big-budget flicks across a number of genres and is an asset to comedy and drama alike.
Particularly at the hands of the right director, Hemsworth definitely shines. His work with Drew Goddard in The Cabin in the Woods is fantastically layered, and I’m hoping for something similar in Bad Times at the El Royale. Hemsworth’s dramatic turns in Ron Howard’s Rush and In the Heart of the Sea prove that his actorly mettle can move beyond mere likability and into the realm of gravitas.
These projects even do a good job to offset Hemsworth’s more muddled movies like The Huntsman duology and Blackhat, too. These less successful films exemplify that a good story has to exist for him to really work his magic. Hence, while Hemsworth’s filmography is peppered with varied results, he isn’t necessarily a tired face in the industry just yet. The material just has to be worth his while.
Hargrave isn’t as sure a bet, but the Russos’ endorsement and creative involvement in the scripting and producing process eases some worries about Dhaka. Before their bigger ensemble forays with Civil War and The Avengers sequels, the Russo brothers made the ideal character-driven spy flick in the MCU. The Winter Soldier is a storytelling wonder that keeps its protagonist’s motivations in check and crafts an exhilarating action-adventure experience.
A collaboration among such talents is worth celebrating. Yet, the white savior trope that is made glaringly obvious in the Dhaka summary alone does give me pause. White-centric stories continue to proliferate western media at a regular rate, and defining the extent of a savior complex that exists in each one would logically happen on a case-by-case basis. Far be it to judge a film before it’s even made, but elements about Dhaka — in particular, the film’s description in its preliminary stages — already feel dated and eye-roll-worthy.
As stated, plain as day, Hemsworth saves an Indian child in the movie. The story is told through Rake’s eyes and is primed to focus on his struggles. Thus, the fear is that such a tactic will actively sideline Indian culture and citizens, relegating them to backdrops or props in some white dude’s story as opposed to becoming proactive agents in a film set in their own country.
And not only will Rake somehow “find himself” through this path of heroism, there is no mention of characters of color who could fill a role of a similar size and importance. Furthermore, when Dhaka was mentioned back in April per the Empire Podcast, the Russos briefly noted that at least one potentially unsavory Indian role will be in the film:
“[The film is] about a kidnap extractress going to Dhaka to save the son of a drug dealer from India, so it’s a complex movie with a lot of political texture in it.”
Individual storytelling elements involving typical action thriller tropes — such as hero and villain archetypes and scenarios — don’t have to combine to produce something offensive. Drugs are a huge theme in cinema; so are men seeking redemption. However, whatever “political texture” that may exist in Dhaka ultimately comes from the writers’ and filmmakers’ western perspectives. This has to be made clear and challenged in the movie for the narrative to adequately engage with any “complex” social ideas it may wish to purport.
The question of Hemsworth’s involvement should also be addressed. He is clearly a big draw for Dhaka, but could there be a way for a movie starring someone so famous to focus more keenly on lesser-seen perspectives? It’s worth noting that Hemsworth has filled supporting character shoes to great results in the past, as Ghostbusters demonstrates. That said, the Paul Feig film had huge personalities to counteract Hemsworth’s from the get-go. In Dhaka, he’ll likely lead with his omnipresent star power. I would nevertheless like to see the film attempt to find a balance between his action hero and the characters in his periphery.
That’s how Dhaka should surprise skeptics. At the moment, the film does not seem to align with the supposed “progressive film studio” label that AGBO has adopted if it wants to retell a basic white savior tale. But practically everyone involved in it knows what a good story entails. Now, their job is to ensure that such nuances find a way to this film for it to truly work.
The post Chris Hemsworth and the Russo Brothers Team Up for Kidnap Drama ‘Dhaka’ appeared first on Film School Rejects.
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