The first full trailer for Mortal Engines, Peter Jackson’s latest epic world-building fantasy adaptation, appears to have everything Jackson fans want from their director. Not only will he be able to craft a terrific dystopian landscape, but Jackson gets to design a handful of rolling cities that look pretty cool.
Check it out:
Thousands of years after civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic event, humankind has adapted and a new way of living has evolved. Gigantic moving cities now roam the Earth, ruthlessly preying upon smaller traction towns. Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan)—who hails from a Lower Tier of the great traction city of London—finds himself fighting for his own survival after he encounters the dangerous fugitive Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar). Two opposites, whose paths should never have crossed, forge an unlikely alliance that is destined to change the course of the future. Mortal Engines is the startling, new epic adventure directed by Oscar®-winning visual-effects artist Christian Rivers (King Kong).
Joining Rivers are The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogies three-time Academy Award®-winning filmmakers Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, who have penned the screenplay. The Universal and MRC adaptation is from the award-winning book series by Philip Reeve, published in 2001 by Scholastic. On board as producers are Zane Weiner (The Hobbit trilogy), Amanda Walker (The Hobbit trilogy) and Deborah Forte (Goosebumps), as well as Walsh and Jackson. Ken Kamins (The Hobbit trilogy) joins Boyens as executive producer. Universal will distribute the film worldwide.
Hopefully Jackson’s vision will pass muster with the fan culture who is showing that they are totally cool and not gatekeeping whatsoever on all intellectual properties. Fingers crossed that he placates everyone so as not to “ruin childhoods.”
After the success of The Lego Movie, it was only a matter of time before Warner Brothers greenlit the sequel. On Tuesday, Warner Brothers released the first trailer for The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part which takes place five years since the events of “Taco Tuesday.” Lucy (Elizabeth Banks) and Emmet (Chris Pratt) are currently residing in what was Bricksburg but now resembles a world ripped out of Mad Max. Lego Duplo invaders arrive threatening their way of life taking all who Emmet holds dear prisoner. He’s forced to travel to a strange world where everything is a musical.
New character Sweet Mayhem (STEPHANIE BEATRIZ) in a scene from the animated adventure sequel “The LEGO®Movie 2: The Second Part,” in theaters February 8, 2019. The film also stars Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Tiffany Haddish, and Arturo Castro. It is directed by Mike Mitchell and produced by Dan Lin, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Roy Lee. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.
Here’s the trailer
I certainly applaud the original direction the sequel is headed and that they brought back most of the original cast for the sequel. It appears writers Christopher Miller, Phillip Lord, Matt Fogel, and Raphel Bob-Waksberg have also made a point to hit on some previous themes involving positivity and empowerment. What did you think of the trailer?
Returning character Lucy (ELIZABETH BANKS) in a scene from the animated adventure sequel “The LEGO®Movie 2: The Second Part,” in theaters February 8, 2019. The film also stars Chris Pratt, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Tiffany Haddish, Stephanie Beatriz, and Arturo Castro. It is directed by Mike Mitchell and produced by Dan Lin, Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Roy Lee. Courtesy of Warner Bros.Pictures.
A few days ago, seemingly out of the blue, legendary filmmaker Brian De Palma announced he was writing and set to direct a new horror film revolving around the Harvey Weinstein scandal that has completely changed the complexion of Hollywood. In case anyone scoffed at the idea as a faraway dream (or nightmare), De Palma is planning on shooting next summer with the help of a French production company.
One way or another, it appears this movie is coming.
That is, unless the Outrage Machine consumes De Palma. That seems unlikely, however, as the filmmaker responsible for a number of delightfully perverse and voyeuristic thrillers certainly does not give a shit who is clutching their pearls – my dude has never opened Twitter Dot Com. The film may be in poor taste, depending on who you talk to, but when has that ever stopped anyone from making art?
Brian De Palma has not made a decent film in over a decade, true, but to be fair he hasn’t attempted that many films. The Black Dahlia was the aforementioned decent film, which came out in 2006 and was followed up with two stinkers: Redacted and Passion. He is currently in postproduction on Domino, a murder mystery starring Carice van Houten, Guy Pearce, and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, but it has yet to find distribution. This one is beginning to reek of VOD fodder.
There is very little redeemable in Redacted, De Palma’s attempt to cash in on the Iraq War with a “serious drama.” It cannot hold a candle to his compelling Vietnam thriller Casualities of War. Passion is at least fascinating on certain visual levels. It is a lurid, shadow-soaked living nightmare where De Palma is most at home – it plays his camera hits – but the story and the direction beyond familiar aesthetics is dull and trite and sometimes suffocating; it does not vibrate with the energy of Dressed to Kill or even Femme Fatale in 2002. De Palma’s most recent films feel like a rock star who used to fill arenas trotting out those same old hits over and over and over again, but the songs just don’t sound the same anymore.
A Weinstein horror movie sounds like an unwatchable mess in the hands of just about anyone. It doesn’t seem like anyone is particularly interested in a dramatic retelling of a disgusting monster preying on women in his industry; but throw Brian De Palma into the mix, and the complexion of the story changes. De Palma’s strengths play right into the sort of predatory monster Weinstein appeared to be; a lurid and disgusting voyeur and rapist perusing Hollywood hotels in his bathrobe could be a character right out of an ’80s De Palma thriller.
The problem is, for many, that Weinstein is not a character from an ’80s movie. He is real, and in jail on rape charges, and he ruined many careers and lives. Dramatizing his horrific life in film feels a little gross and ironic, and most definitely in poor taste, but that doesn’t mean this movie won’t be absolutely fascinating, in one way or another.
This Harvey Weinstein story does not instill confidence that De Palma will be able to redirect his career. Sometimes, directors lose their fastball. It happens in every profession across the board, it should not be any different for the vast majority of film professionals. There are exceptions, sure, but De Palma has shown no signs of rekindling his former glory years. That being said, he can still be interesting, and this might be the right sort of salacious story to bring him back from the brink.
There have been five Transformer films directed by Michael Bay over the past ten years, and Monday night we finally got our first glimpse of Bumblebee. The first film in the Transformers franchise not directed by Bay, and it was a breath of fresh air.
Check out the trailer below.
Travis Knight who directed the underrated Kubo and the Two Strings, looks to strip down the franchise to its barebones and give fans a Steven Spielberg type of adventure. The 80s setting will only help brings back fans of the original cartoon as there are design nodes to the past. Sometimes all you need is a fresh set of eyes to see the heart of the story. Knight’s film doesn’t to be bloated with extra fluff and CGI to distract from the narrative. It’s just the first trailer, but it’s a step in the right direction for a franchise that needed a course correction.
Bumblebee is directed by Travis Knight and stars Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., John Oritz, Jason Drucker, Pamela Adlon, and Stephen Shneider.
AMC’s Preacher is back with an action-packed new trailer (seen below) ahead of its season 3 June 24th release date. Jesse, Cassidy, and Tulip are at odds with everyone as he heads back to the one place he doesn’t want to go, home.
Tulip portrayed by Ruth Negga is killed after uncovering The Grail organization had been spying on the crew. Which leads us to the events of season three’s trailer in which Jesse Custer played by Dominic Cooper and Cassidy portrayed by Joseph Gilgun, are forced to go back to Jesse’s hellish extended family the L’Angelles to bring Tulip back to life.
The trailer shows us, Jesse’s grandmother will be a new obstacle for Jesse and company to overcome – after Jesse is forced to make a deal with her to bring Tulip back from the dead. As we saw in previous seasons, Jesse and his family are less than close and him having to owe his them means a big bucket of new problems for him.
Unfortunately for Jesse, it is not out with the old, and in with the new, the trailer shows that Herr Star and The Grail organization is still on his tail with their own quest to replace Jesus’s descendant with Jesse as the organization’s figurehead savior. We also get a glimpse of the almost unstoppable Saint of Killers standing in a doorway.
As reported by AMC The L’Angelles family brings some familiar faces to the cast, Betty Buckley from the show Supergirl and the film Split will be playing Gran’ma, Preacher’s grandmother who has a thirst for eternal youth. Colin Cunningham from the show Falling Skies, he will portray TC a loyal caretaker and soldier for Gran’ma. Jeremy Childs from the shows The Last Castle, Nashville, will be starring as Jody, the enforcer for Gran’ma and the only man Jesse’s never beaten in a fight.
The trailer is packed full of action, violence, and fun in true Preacher fashion. I look forward to season 3 when it premieres on Sunday, June 24, on AMC.
When it comes to owning intellectual properties, Disney pretty much owns them all. Leading moviegoers to wonder if we would see a movie where all of Disney’s characters would interact with one another. As the newest trailer for Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It-Ralph 2 shows, the answer is yes.
The trailer, like the previous one shows both Ralph and Vanellope taking a trip to the web. Except in this one we see Vanellope interact with multiple Disney characters like stormtroopers and Disney princesses. Not to mention Iron Man makes a cameo as well. The scene between Vanellope and the princesses looks to be key in terms of her arc and possibly the movie’s.
Before meeting the princesses, Vanellope tells the person who’s supposed to be Google’s search bar “Take me to a website that’s super intense and really nuts”. This command sends her to Oh My Disney where she meets the princesses after being chased by a group of stormtroopers. After a “One of us! One of us!” moment between them, certain arcs we’ve seen over and over make possible appearances in Wreck-It-Ralph 2.
The first being the arc of the wanderer. Someone (Vanellope) discovers a group of people and becomes part of the group. Jealousy of the new person then sets in among one or all of them. Leading to the casting out of the new person, or their capture. Think of Toy Story 3.
The toys go to a place that’s supposedly innocent, but contains a two-faced character like Lots-o’-Huggin Bear. What if the princesses or maybe just one of them (Cinderella) are those types of characters? If an arc like this does happen, it’s likely Princess Leia will be the one who aides Vanellope in her escape. Simply because she’s the one princess we don’t see in the trailer and maybe is seen as an outcast because of how she became a Disney princess.
The second arc could be one involving Vanellope’s unwillingness to leave the internet and go back to her game, causing a split between her and Ralph. While these two theories could be wrong, the former of the two could make the movie interesting if given proper substance. Outside of Vanellope’s potential arc, Wreck-It-Ralph2 does have something working against it. Time.
Doing a movie involving the actual internet itself is a major risk in terms of jokes, possible settings and characters. By the time the movie is released in late November, odds are the landscape of the internet will change. Certain websites, and visual gags may be deemed “too old” by the time the movie is released. But we will find out when Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It-Ralph 2 hits theaters on November 21.
Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It-Ralph 2 stars John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, and Jane Lynch.
Researching Cindy’s filmography, my eye landed on a late-90s hit action film starring Wesley Snipes. Yes, Cindy worked on Blade and about her experience she says “It was one of the first things I worked on when I started assisting Mark Isham. It was fun. Total grunt work.”
“It was the sound of a small, creepy women’s choir.”
Cindy’s hand was involved in working on The Crazies, a remake of the George Romero film. “Yeah, I’ve been involved in a number of horror projects.” Indeed, Cindy worked on The Conjuring series and The Mist.
What did Cindy’s work involve? “I sang [for The Conjuring]. It was the sound of a small, creepy women’s choir. Doing kind of dissonant sounds and murmuring. And then they used some of that for The Conjuring 2.”
Cindy has worked across every conceivable film genre. So what’s her favorite? “I love a variety. Comedies are always fun. Horror movies you get to have your players do interesting things. Everyone loves drama because you get to make beautiful themes. But if I had to pick one, it would be fantasy. Something like Once Upon A Time where the music can be larger than life.”
“I got so used to, ‘here’s your scene’ and that would guide what I would have to create.”
“More than once they’ve traveled to different realms and we got to create a sonic world for this realm. We went to the world of Jekyll and Hyde, this Victorian era with industrial and science stuff. We came up with sort of a baroque string quartet with industrial sounds.”
How does Cindy feel now that Once Upon A Time is over? “The first Friday without any work to do for the show was weird. But it was great fun. I was glad to be a part of it.”
What’s coming next for Cindy? “At this very moment, I’m writing a concert piece that I’m going to have performed with a live orchestra over the summer in the Czech Republic.”
“Usually it’s pretty fast and furious.”
There was a bit of a problem for Cindy and the current piece she’s writing. “The piece is for a deeper study of composing for Film and TV. I have to write a three-minute piece. But it’s about anything. I got so used to, ‘here’s your scene’ and that would guide what I would have to create.”
What’s the schedule like when working on a show like Once Upon A Time? “Usually it’s pretty fast and furious. We get picture and timing notes on a Tuesday morning. Then Mark Isham, myself and the team discusses which scenes each of us will do.”
Is there ever a scene that everyone wants to score? “Absolutely. But Mark is the boss, so he gets to pick.”
“We have a genius music editor who keeps track of all the music.”
The relentless pace for a TV production continues “We try to finish everything by Saturday night and get it to the orchestrators. Monday night we record and Tuesday we get the next episode.”
TV show characters often come with a musical theme which is reused from episode to episode when necessary. “We have a genius music editor who keeps track of all the music. He will figure out how much new music is required. We have seven seasons of evil Rumplestiltskin sounds, so we probably don’t need to make anything new for that.”
As always, I end with one question to help spread the love: Who is a composer you admire working today? “I really love John Powell’s work. I love the stuff he did on How To Train Your Dragon and his sort of adventure music. His score for the Bourne movies was a fresh way to do action. I’m really excited to see what he did with Solo too.”
The chemistry between the cast and a compelling narrative have setup HBO’s newest drama Succession up for long-term success.
While the network, which has been home to some of the best comedies and dramas of the past fifteen years, hasn’t pushed this show in ways we’ve grown accustomed to, there’s something different about this series. Shows like The Duece and Insecure stifled their ability to develop due to a limited narrative.
Succession (on Sunday’s at 10 pm EST on HBO) not only has laid the groundwork for a successful show, but the story also has limitless possibilities. This, of course, is enhanced by a cast who seemingly have developed a connection which would lead anyone to believe they’ve been together for years.
Alan Ruck, Kieran Culkin and Sarah Snook, photo credit: Craig Blankenhorn/HBO
The narrative in the first episode centers around a celebration for Logan Roy’s (Brian Cox) 80th birthday and a surprise announcement. Roy announces at the birthday that he’s no longer stepping down as CEO of his company (Waystar Royco), which instantly destroys his son Kendall (Jeremy Strong) who had assumed he’d be gaining control of his dad’s firm.
As all of this is unfolding, Kendall is trying to purchase a digital media company run by Lawrence (Rob Yang). Roy’s other children all start to come into the picture and are immediately put on the spot. Dad wants them to sign off on having their dad’s third wife (played by Hiam Abbass) join the trust. Roman (Kiernan Culkin), Shiv (Sarah Snook), Connor (Alan Ruck), and Kendall aren’t thrilled with the idea and discuss voting as a block to keep their step-mother out of the family business. However, a family tragedy may have dramatically altered things for the foreseeable future.
Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox, photo credit: Craig Blankenhorn/HBO
Succession’s creator/showrunner Jesse Armstrong also wrote the first episode and did a lovely job laying down the groundwork for future episodes. Armstrong doesn’t reveal too much in the first episode, but gives us glimpses into who each member of the Roy family is. The scene which stood out most for me was the one with Roman (Culkin) taunting the 5th grader with a check for one million dollars if he could hit a home run during his dad’s birthday ball game. While each character isn’t fully realized at this point, it becomes crystal clear from the onset that the Roy family is driven by a passion for prestige which in their minds comes from power.
Adam McKay (The Big Short) who serves as both executive producer and director of the first episode, has an excellent feel for when the pacing should vary during the first episode. Any scene in the boardroom has a slightly rapid feel to it which heightens the tension of those moments. When the Roy’s are playing at the ballfield as part of their dad’s 80th birthday bash, there are some revealing moments which don’t seem rushed and it doing so reveal much about this twisted clan.
The strength in Succession doesn’t come from one individual’s performance, but the chemistry of the ensemble. In reality, this is far more important than having any one actor stand out because it’s the show’s who have this type of chemistry which last longer. The Deuce certainly had star power, but that was about it.
Remember, James Gandolfini and Will Arnett didn’t break out until they were cast in their respective shows. If the quality of the season doesn’t slip, it wouldn’t be shocking Succession becomes another breakout hit for HBO. Until then, let’s sit back and enjoy what’s hopefully to come.
The Whisper Wave 1 is an independent anthology comic compiled and illustrated by Jamie Jones, with stories written by Jones, Vita Ayala, Matthew Jones, Ryan Williams, Frank Barbiere, and Tres Dean.
Over the course of six short stories, we meet six different people who have taken on the mantle of The Whisper. Each is a story of heroics, but from very different angles, from warzones to dark and gritty city streets to a high tech future.
What’s great about The Whisper is that it reminds comic fans why they love comics. It shows off the range of the medium. It covers multiple genres while maintaining a constant through line. And, above all else, it’s inspirational. Again, these are stories of heroism, and by making The Whisper a mantle instead of a single person, Jones hammers home the point that anyone, at any time, in any place can be a hero. The mantle angle also shows how one person can inspire another to step up and be a hero.
There’s something for everyone in The Whisper. There’s something for the noir fan, for the sci-fi fan, and even the manga fan. This anthology celebrates comics in all forms, and each writer brings a palpable passion to their respective story.
While each chapter features a different writer, Jamie Jones draws, colors, and letters the entire book. His style is versatile; it works in all of these different genres without missing a beat. It’s almost hard to believe that a single artist did all of the stories; that’s how unique each chapter is. Even stories four and six – both of which step into crime/noir territory – feel distinct from each other.
But no matter the setting, Jones’ art is energetic. There’s real motion in the action, and real emotion in the quieter moments. His color work is extraordinary. From the bright and vibrant future of 2080, to the water colors of 1990 Kuwait, to the dark and muted city streets, every page of The Whisper pops in its own way. And again, Jones conveys strong emotion through his coloring, making you care about these characters that you only get to know in 5 to 8 pages at a time.
His lettering is also a huge part of generating tone and emotion throughout these stories. Each chapter is lettered differently, and each style puts you in the exact right head space from the first word. If it’s a more low-key story with a little brashness hiding just beneath the surface, the lettering conveys that. If it’s a 1980’s noir story, reminiscent of Sin City or Watchmen, the lettering coveys that. If it’s a big, bold manga-style punch fest, the lettering sure as hell conveys that. Lettering is one of the most powerful, yet subtle tools in a comic creators toolbox, and Jones seems to have a strong handle on it.
The Whisper is a celebration of all things comics, a reminder of what makes the medium so great. But most importantly – more than the subtext or the tributes – it’s so damn fun.
The Whisper Wave 1 will be available at Jamie’s booth at HeroesCon in June. You can also read it digitally and support Jamie’s work over on his Patreon page. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @ArtOfJamieJones.
What comics pros are saying about The Whisper:
“The Whisper is Jamie’s plastic spoon as he chisels his way from the talent-to-watch-out-for cell and into the realm of fan favorite.” – Michel Fiffe (COPRA, BLOODSTRIKE)
“The Whisper is full of energy, complete with genre shifts and a blend of art styles that surprise. The art, all by Jamie Jones, is remarkable. Whether it’s a light, water color approach, or a dark noir-esque field of shadows, it’s all wonderful to look at.” – John Arcudi (RUMBLE, BPRD)
“Often, comics with experimental formats hang all of their value on the experiment itself, but in The Whisper, Jamie Jones and collaborators use the innovative structure the way an accomplished jazz trio use a composition, using the framework as a playground to create comisc with true vitality.” – Phil Hester (GREEN ARROW, SHIPWRECK, THE WRETCH)
It’s taken quite a while, but the remake of Dario Argento’s giallo horror masterstroke Suspiria is finally here, courtesy of director Luca Guadagnino. Any hardcore fans of the original, or fans of the 70s aesthetic in general, should be pleased.
Check it out:
A young American ballet dancer travels to a prestigious dance academy in Europe, only to discover it is something far more sinister and supernatural. She becomes increasingly terrified after a series of gruesome murders ensue, and she slowly unravels the dark history of the academy.
This new Suspiria has the same grainy sheen and detached visuals that were prevalent in several 1977 horror films, in films like Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen, although the original Suspiria was soaked in technicolor nightmare visuals. My guess is, they’re holding back for the theater. Something always feels threatening in ’70s horror films, as if the camera is almost afraid to look. Guadagnino captures that vibe pretty well it seems.
Dakota Johnson and Tilda Swinton both starred in Guadagnino’s criminally underseen drama A Bigger Splash. Mia Goth and Chloë Grace Moretz join Johnson and Swinton here. Early previews were met with the right sort of disgust and fascination from critics and audience members – any surrealist horror film should have its handful of vehement detractors – and the release date has been pushed up from December to some time this fall.
