Posts

The Key To Great Movie Villain, According To The Black Phone Director Scott Derrickson Universal Pictures By Debopriyaa Dutta/June 17, 2022 11:53 am EST Scott Derrickson’s “The Black Phone” features a terrifying, sadistic villain known as the Grabber (Ethan Hawke), a child kidnapper indulging in a sick game with one of his victims in the film. Traditionally, villains in horror come with elaborate backstories, some of which are rooted in childhood trauma or some scarring incident of a certain nature, which in turn attempts to explain their heinous crimes — essentially why they do what they do....

Welcome to IØ Lana Wachowski takes us back into the Matrix, but things are different this time around. Neo (Keanu Reeves) has aged, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) doesn’t remember who she is, and the way back in is one I absolutely didn’t see coming, despite having watched the first films plus the animated anthology way too many times. I’m three viewings in on the new one and I’m still finding new things....

The Morning Watch: Analyzing Psychopaths In Movies, Josh Brolin Sizzles On Hot Ones & More Warner Bros. Pictures By Jenna Busch/April 8, 2022 8:00 am EST (The Morning Watch is a recurring feature that highlights a handful of noteworthy videos from around the web. They could be video essays, fan-made productions, featurettes, short films, hilarious sketches, or just anything that has to do with our favorite movies and TV shows.)...

Why Jason Statham Wouldn’t Reprise His Role For The Transporter Reboot By Joshua Meyer/May 30, 2022 10:57 am EST It’s been 20 years now since the release of “The Transporter,” the 2002 film that put Jason Statham on the map as an action movie star. Statham’s breakout roles as an actor had already come in a couple of crime films, both directed by Guy Ritchie: namely, “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels” and “Snatch,” released in 1998 and 2000....

A Nightmare on Elm Street What do you get when you blend two real-life childhood traumas together? For director Wes Craven, the creator of the iconic “A Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise (among many others), the answer is Freddy Krueger. Krueger is the dream-invading child murderer in the “Elm Street” series where he terrorizes teens by stalking and killing them in their dreams, ensuring that they also die in real life....

Aging Up Goku For Dragon Ball Z Was A Controversial Move Behind The Scenes Toei Animation By Shania Russell/June 15, 2022 1:30 pm EST Long-running anime series have a habit of clinging to the status quo, especially when it comes to the look of their protagonist. Everything from hairstyle to clothing to their very age has a tendency to stay the same, which occasionally leads to eyebrow-raising situations like the “How old is Ash Ketchum” dilemma that continues to inspire memes and existential crises alike....

Alexis Bledel Is Leaving The Handmaid’s Tale Hulu By Joshua Meyer/May 27, 2022 10:31 pm EST After four seasons, Alexis Bledel is departing “The Handmaid’s Tale,” which earned her four consecutive Emmy nominations and one win for her role as Emily Malek, a.k.a. Ofglen/Ofsteven. The Hulu series, created by Bruce Miller and based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 dystopian novel, is gearing up for what could be its final season, and Bledel has been with it since it premiered in 2017....

Daily Podcast: Colin Trevorrow’s Atlantis, The Book Of Boba Fett & Weekend Box Office Warner Bros By Peter Sciretta/Dec. 27, 2021 4:24 pm EST On the December 27, 2021 episode of /Film Daily, /Film editorial director Peter Sciretta is joined by /Film news writer Ryan Scott to discuss the latest film and TV news, including weekend box office, Colin Trevorrow’s “Atlantis” movie, and “The Book of Boba Fett.” Opening Banter: Holiday check in....

What Happened to Kingpin In Hawkeye Marvel Studios To briefly recap, the episode sees Maya break away from her life of crime as the head of the Tracksuit Mafia. Leaving a life of crime behind isn’t easy, especially when a major, powerful figure such as Kingpin, once again played by Vincent D’Onofrio, is at the top of the food chain. But Maya does what she needs to do, even going so far as to kill (or seeming kill) her best friend Kazi (Fra Fee) in order to get away from all of this....

Questlove won an Oscar! The Academy doesn’t always get them right, but there’s nothing quite like seeing a much-deserved win happen in real-time. Just like Questlove’s emotional speech, “Summer of Soul” is an electrifying experience. With an unbelievable line-up that includes Nina Simone, Gladys Knight, Mahalia Jackson, and B.B. King, it’s shocking to know that something so incredible spent so many years in a basement. Just for this film to exist is a revolutionary act....

Elisabeth Moss Opens Up About Missing Out On The Power Of The Dog Netflix By Witney Seibold/April 14, 2022 6:06 pm EST Jane Campion’s film “The Power of the Dog,” adapted from the novel by Thomas Savage, was first announced to the public in a 2019 article in Variety. Later that year, Paul Dano was announced to star, with Moss dropping out because filming conflicted with her schedule on the hit TV series “The Handmaid’s Tale....

Eternals Blu-Ray Arrives In February Following Disney+ Debut Marvel Studios By Sandy Schaefer/Dec. 16, 2021 5:39 pm EST Director Chloé Zhao’s “Eternals” managed to divide critics and audiences in a way no Marvel Studios movie before it has, which is kind of an accomplishment in and of itself. Along the way, Zhao’s millennium-spanning cosmic epic also took in $396 million at the box office, which was a blip (see what I did there?...

Even A Die-Hard Trekkie Wouldn’t Recognize The First Version Of A Classic Villain Paramount Pictures By Devin Meenan/March 23, 2022 10:55 am EST Ask any “Star Trek” fan who the best villain in the series is, and you’ll almost always get the same answer: Khan Noonien Singh. A genetically engineered superhuman, Khan and his augmented brethren ruled much of the world in the late 20th century (“Trek” couldn’t be right every time it predicted the future!...

Hacks Season 2 Trailer: Deborah And Ava Take The Show On The Road HBO Max By BJ Colangelo/April 14, 2022 4:10 pm EST Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder are back, with HBO Max releasing the official trailer for the second season of the Emmy Award-winning comedy, “Hacks.” From the minds of Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky, “Hacks” centers on the hilarious adventures of Deborah Vance (Smart) a renowned comedian who has enjoyed spending her twilight years as a resident performer in Las Vegas, but while the world around her has evolved, her brand of comedy has not....

How Star Wars Subtly Influenced The Plot Of Lost Lucasfilm By Valerie Ettenhofer/Feb. 22, 2022 2:50 pm EST “Lost” is one of the most influential shows of the 21st century, but it also has its fair share of influences. Across its six seasons, the fantasy-tinged sci-fi saga offered up references to everything from Ingmar Bergman’s art-house film “The Seventh Seal” to Walker Percy’s dark novel “Lancelot.” One of the show’s most-mentioned properties, though, is a lot more mainstream than either of those....

The cast and crew of I Am Legend 2 Marvel Studios Actor Michael B. Jordan — Killmonger in “Black Panther,” for you Marvel nerds — is set to both star in and co-produce the film, following his directorial debut with “Creed III.” Additionally, “I Am Legend 2” will see the return of Will Smith who will be reprising his original role as scientist Robert Neville from the first film. Smith will also serve as a producer for the film alongside Oscar winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman, who co-wrote the first film and will also serve as a writer for the upcoming sequel....

The runtime probably won’t matter Universal Pictures In the superhero-focused landscape of blockbuster filmmaking, it can be easy to overlook just how popular these movies have been in recent years. “Jurassic World” still ranks as one of the highest-grossing movies ever, taking in $1.66 billion in 2015. Even “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom,” which was not nearly as well-liked, still took in $1.3 billion in 2018. To date, the five movies in total have earned more than $5 billion combined....

Making Doctor Who’s Daleks Move Wasn’t Exactly Easy BBC By Fatemeh Mirjalili/April 4, 2022 11:23 am EST Whovian or not, you must be familiar with the Daleks. These mutated blobs that hide inside mini tanks were created by Davros, a mad scientist type from the planet Skaro, and are very fond of obliterating everything and everyone that came in their way. They’re one of the most iconic villains in the sci-fi series “Doctor Who” and have regularly appeared on the show since its first season was released in 1963....

Marry Me Review: Jennifer Lopez And Owen Wilson Tie The Knot In A Glossy Rom-Com Relic Universal Pictures By Hoai-Tran Bui/Feb. 10, 2022 12:01 pm EST There was a time in the early aughts that you could walk into a movie theater on any day and be blessed with a middling rom-com that America’s Sweetheart du jour shot for a couple million dollars in one of her many stark white kitchens....

Michael Mann’s Ferrari, Two Decades In The Making, Loads Up Its Cast With Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz 20th Century Studios By Jeremy Mathai/Feb. 9, 2022 4:23 pm EST Never count out director Michael Mann. It’s been seven long years since his last feature film, “Blackhat,” but the acclaimed filmmaker is making his grand return on the small screen with HBO Max’s “Tokyo Vice,” of which he directed the first episode. Mann fans (you know, the kind who would ardently follow a Twitter account called “Michael Mann Facts”) also know that the director has long attempted to get an Enzo Ferrari biopic off the ground, based on the life of the groundbreaking racecar driver....