From the director of Frozen… no, not that one… the better one, comes a throwback horror film to the days when slashers were filled with blood, revenge, and bewbs. Join JoBlo Horror as we take you down to the bayou with Adam Green’s Hatchet (watch it HERE).

Welcome to our horror party, kids, where we take some horror films (good or bad) and make a fun game out of it. I’m Mike Conway, and today we break down all the gory bits of Hatchet, released in 2006. Hatchet follows Ben, a recently dumped twenty-something who was taken to a Mardi Gras celebration with his buddies to get over her ex. When Ben decides there’s too much nudity to be had, he and his friend Marcus ditch the group to find a haunted boat tour. However, when their boat gets stranded, they find themselves being hunted by Victor Crowley, a deformed and vengeful ghost. As the group tries to survive the night, they face gruesome and supernatural challenges, with Victor Crowley relentlessly pursuing them.

So, what type of party is this movie? Well, according to our scale, this party promises some old-school fun. And as always, I’ll be making a drink to tie in with the movie:

CROWLEY’S RUM PUNCH

1 ½ OZ SPICED RUM

1 ½ OZ RED WINE

¾ OZ SIMPLE SYRUP

¾ OZ LIME JUICE

¾ OZ TRIPLE SEC

ON CAMERA

Cheers Everyone.

THE RULES

As with any game, there are some basic rules you must follow. For today’s game, take a drink when: – There is a horror cameo – When Ben mentions his ex -When an alligator is shown or mentioned – When you hear the name Victor Crowley – Every time the tour guide changes his accent – When there is nudity -And finally, with any kill.

If alcohol isn’t your bag, there are plenty of other things to choose from. Cannabis if legal in your state, delta 8, 9, 10, or whatever the hell number they’re at now, caffeine, hot sauce, anything. Just know your tolerance. This is supposed to be fun; we don’t want to send you to the hospital. Basically, don’t be a dumbass.

So, with that list, we are going to travel back to 2006, the year that not only saw Justin Timberlake bring sexy back but also the year Adam Green brought the slasher back, and break down exactly why this deserves an entry into our horror party. And it all starts at the beginning. Right at the jump, we are introduced to a father and son on a boat in the swamp. And hey, look, a gator. It may be dead, but drink up anyway. And you may as well keep that glass to your lips because another one pops up right about… here. While the pair are out hunting these bad boys, the son, Ainsley, makes it clear he doesn’t want to be there by taking a piss in the swamp. This, in turn, pisses off the gator, who lunges at Ainsley and nearly ruins his weekend. Still not finished, he hops off the boat into the woods to finish what is apparently the piss of the century. When he returns, he sees his father torn open. While he assumes it was the gator, the POV shot suggests otherwise and chases Ainsley down. The unseen assailant then proceeds to completely rip the guy apart until the swamp becomes quiet. The cold open ends with the opening credits with Marilyn Manson’s “This Is The New Shit” very fittingly blasting through our speakers.

This opening oozes with some of that classic slasher formula we had been missing for quite some time. Characters who bicker at each other? Check. Fake-out jump scares? Check. Killer’s POV? Check. Awesome kills? Double check. From the beginning, Adam Green shows us how passionate he is about slasher movies by introducing us to two characters played by actors who are no strangers to horror. If you ever wondered what happened to Joshua Leonard after he got his teeth removed in The Blair Witch Project, well, here he is… and apparently still missing his teeth. The dad really needs no introduction, as this absolute legend has been responsible for giving us nightmares all throughout our childhoods with Freddy Krueger. And these two aren’t the only horror veterans to show up, but more on that in a bit.

From there, we are thrown right in the middle of Mardi Gras, filled with partying and, by my count, twelve sets of boobs I can’t show here, but take my word for it. Sorry, thirteen. Ben is taken to the party of all parties by his group of friends, one of whom is played by director Adam Green, to get over his ex-girlfriend, when in reality, he would rather be home, probably wanting to create the newest hit videogame. He ditches the group and brings his friend, Marcus, with him. Ben had been told of an awesome haunted boat tour, and once he found the place, he was greeted by yet another horror vet: Candyman himself, Tony Todd. He tells the boys he doesn’t do any more tours since he was sued and directs them to someone else who will do it at Marie Laveau’s House of Voodoo, led by tour guide Shawn, who has an accent just as bad as those in True Blood.

On the tour bus, we are introduced to the characters we will spend the majority of our time with until they get axed, that is. There’s our Girls Gone Wild knockoff trio Jenna, Misty, and Murray brother Doug Shapiro. While technically not horror, folks who grew up in the 90s may recognize Mercedes McNab’s Misty from both Addams Family flicks. Rounding off the cast are elderly couple Jim and Shannon and our obvious final girl, Marybeth.

Once they get on the boat, everyone quickly learns Shawn may not be the tour guide he says he is as he crashes the boat. They are forced to get off and head into the woods to look for help. Marybeth reveals she is only on the tour to look for her missing father and brother, the ones killed in the opening, and tells the legend of Victor Crowley. Victor was a deformed boy who was kept hidden by his father, played by fan-favorite Jason actor Kane Hodder. One night, some kids decide to scare Victor by throwing fireworks into his home, which sets it on fire. Trying to free his son, the dad takes a hatchet and breaks down the door. However, the blade busts through the door and kills Victor.

As it turns out, they are in front of the Crowley house, and this is where a good slasher movie becomes great. Throughout the remaining back half of the film, our cast gets taken out by Victor Crowley in the gnarliest of ways until only Ben and Marybeth remain. The pair end up impaling Victor and escape to her dad’s boat feeling Victor-ious. But naturally, the movie ends with one last scare as Victor emerges from the swamp. It’s a pretty simple plot, right? So, what separates this movie from the slew of other slasher films of the 2000s that disappear to the floor of your local Dollar Tree? Let’s start with Victor Crowley.

If there’s one thing the 80s gave us, it’s a great iconic slasher villain. Freddy, Jason, Chucky, Pinhead. They are the ones who survived and who we all still talk about to this day. The 90s gave birth to Ghostface, and sure, I’ll throw the Leprechaun into the mix, but nothing much else. I can hear people screaming Urban Legend and the Fisherman from I Know What You Did Last Summer now, but really, do you see anyone dress up like them for Halloween? What the 2000s was sorely lacking was a return to the slasher feel of the 80s with a killer who would stand out amongst the rest who tried… looking at you, Cupid from Valentine. And that’s what we got with Victor Crowley. With him, we got a rich enough backstory, terrific make-up with no mask needed, insane kills, and no mystery about who the killer is. He’s just a good old-fashioned killing machine who has three sequels of his own. While many of you will say he’s best as Jason, Kane Hodder is Victor Crowley all the way.

And speaking of kills, there are plenty. Adam Green had a rule when making this film, and it was to have no CGI. These kills are all practical effects, baby. And if you folks are playing this at home, let’s rip into them and see why each one kicks so much ass. After the two from the opening, we get our first kill 45 minutes in, along with the reveal of an adult Victor. After old man Jim gets bitten by a gator, he and his wife head to the house to look for help. Suddenly, Victor emerges from the shadows of the entrance and chases down Jim. No walking for this hulking figure as he chops into Jim. And holy shit, it’s brutal the way he just constantly brings that axe down. There’s absolutely no way he can make a “Jump to Conclusions Mat” after this. But it’s not as brutal as what happens to the wife. While trying to run away, Victor catches up to her and unhinges her face like an oyster. Even though you know a kill is about to happen with the well-paced tension and musical cues, it’s unfortunate the first of the group to go are the sweet old folks. Next up on the chopping block five minutes later is the sleazy Joe Francis stand-in, Doug Shapiro, whose real name is Samuel Barret. After fleeing from the group to only help himself, it’s natural he’d be next on the list. And really, I feel this slimy bastard does the most cardio of the entire group. After hiding in a bush, Doug feels the coast is clear and runs out immediately into Victor, who points his head in the direction he should have been running.

So, it’s been a while since I’ve seen this film until recently. This next kill legit scared the shit out of me. So, if it’s been a while for you and you want to go in fresh, jump this video up about 30 seconds.

Since Doug felt he should come first, that only means his Bayou Beavers are after him. While Ben and Marybeth separate, they leave Marcus, Shawn, Misty, and Jenna behind. A rustling suddenly happens in a bush behind Jenna. All four begin to debate who should check out the noise, which is the one thing you shouldn’t do in these flicks. Marcus gets nominated to check it out, which turns out to be a cute little misdirection. And then, a shit-your-pants jump scare. Seriously. My voice hit an octave I hadn’t been able to hit since I was a child. Crowley takes a belt sander and shaves down this Bayou Beaver and then chops off the head of Shawn with a shovel. While it may not be the best kill in the film (that one goes to the old folks), it is definitely the best scene in the movie. What makes this scene rock so hard is a nice blend of comedy, misdirection, and pure terror in a long take. The lack of music cues to make us jump makes it work even more and reminds me of a similar scene in The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. And once they get away, and you think you have time to breathe, something else happens just two minutes later. Shit, man. Now you can breathe a minute. Unfortunately, Misty’s kill is offscreen. And this painfully brings me to the final kill.

Deon Richmond’s Marcus is, by far, my favorite character in the movie. Not only is he the comic relief, but he’s also the smartest character who should have survived. Let’s get into it. With a mere 7 minutes left in the film, one would think everyone makes it out alive with the burning of Victor Crowley. They all find a way to escape to freedom when he jumps out of nowhere. Jesus. Just look at how badass he looks. He catches up with Marcus and gives him the Jax from Mortal Kombat treatment. And if that wasn’t enough, in an homage to Kane Hodder’s famous kill from Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, he takes Marcus’ body and slams it on a tombstone.

We do get one more Friday the 13th reference with the sweet finale music as the pair of survivors float down the swamp and Crowley blasts out the water. However, even though Ben looks dead as shit here, we end up seeing his fate in Hatchet III. As for Marybeth? Well, Victor Crowley scares this poor girl so badly that she ends up changing into a better actress for the next one.

And that’s it. If you want to play the game at home using my rules, here’s the Party Movie Talley. You have: – 3 Horror Cameos – 4 Mentions of Ben’s Ex – 4 Gator Sightings – 15 Mentions of Victor Crowley – 3 Accent Changes from Shawn – 15 Breasts – And finally, 9 Kills from Victor Crowley

Hatchet was released in 2006 with a festival run and released on DVD in late 2007, which is when I picked it up. Fans went absolutely nuts for this film and eventually generated sequels that are just as fun. What was your favorite kill in this movie, and what would you like us to cover next? Leave us a comment, and we will see you on the next one.

A couple previous episodes of the Best Horror Party Movies series can be seen below. To see more, and to check out some of our other shows, head over to the JoBlo Horror Originals YouTube channel – and subscribe while you’re there!

The post Hatchet (2006) Revisited – Horror Party Movies appeared first on JoBlo.

Sherlock Holmes is a character that has been iterated and reiterated for every living generation and a few dead ones as well. The character has been written in short stories, novels, films, TV, video games, and even comic books. No matter which direction you kick a can, you will likely hit someone who knows Sherlock Holmes and has their own version of them as “Their Sherlock.” For me, Guy Richie’s take on the pipe-smoking sleuth is the one that gets me the most excited about solving mysteries.

In particular, the first installment in the two-part series (with a long-delayed third potentially on the way) is a work of film that I rewatch often and am endlessly impressed by. And within that film, I think there is almost no better display of Robert Downey Jr.’s idea of what this 18th-century freelance detective was all about than the boxing match- also known as “The slow motion fight scene.” 

In the scene, Sherlock Holmes is in the middle of a bare-fist fighting match with a large opponent. The scene’s purpose is to show how quick Sherlock’s intellect is and how many steps ahead of everyone he really is. After nearly giving up on the fight, Sherlock is motivated to continue after being spit on by the other fighter in front of Sherlock’s on-again-off-again romantic partner, Irene Adler (played by Rachel McAdams). He maps out a theoretical brawl in his head using deductive reasoning and basic anatomy to demonstrate Sherlock’s wits. The scene was shot with specially made cameras that could capture a high frame rate, such that the footage could be slowed to an almost still shot to capture the detail of the hit’s impact perfectly. This fighting style is one that RDJ practices in real life and has dedicated the 10,000 hours it takes to be an expert in Wing Chun kung fu. Despite being a seasoned pro, he did incur a few real-life injuries during the film’s production- as did one of his scene partners, who states that Downey accidentally hit him in real life. 

The scene shows off Holmes’ sharp cleverness and fighting skills and the character’s emotional vulnerability to Irene Adler. In one VERY entertaining scene, this tells us a lot about our titular character. Make sure you check out today’s episode of Scene Breakdown, where we watch the scene together, break it down, and have a few laughs along the way.

The post Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes: Does It Have The Best Slow-Motion Fight Ever Shot? appeared first on JoBlo.

Masters of the Air is the newest tribute to World War II veterans from Spielberg and Hanks. All of their projects on the subject, including Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers and The Pacific, concentrate on different aspects of the Great War and make for good viewing companion pieces. As the new series follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group (the “Bloody Hundredth”) as they conduct perilous bombing raids over Nazi Germany, the review from our own Alex Maidy spoke highly of the show. He stated, “It is unlikely that any series will equal the acclaim that Band of Brothers achieved. Still, the blend of feature film directors and a cast of actors more than up to the task, Masters of the Air is a powerful companion to that HBO series and ranks slightly higher than The Pacific.

The Pacific and Band of Brothers would go on to become landmark television and ushered in a grand viewership for HBO. Now, Variety reports that Masters of the Air has equally become a major hit as AppleTV+’s most-watched series launch in the existence of the programming platform. The series would even outperform Apple’s banner original shows like the popular and acclaimed Severance, The Morning Show and Hijacked. According to Variety, “viewership across all of Apple TV+ climbed by 65% worldwide when compared to the previous seven-day period. The streamer also maintained double-digit growth across more than 100 territories.”

Masters of the Air premiered on the streamer in late January and is still releasing episodes, with its sixth entry set to premiere on February 23. The finale is scheduled to be released on March 15. Hanks and Spielberg produce the show through their respective Amblin and Playtone production companies. Gary Goetzman produces along with Hanks for Playtone. Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey of Amblin Entertainment serve as co-executive producers of the series, along with Playtone’s Steven Shareshian, show writer John Orloff and Graham Yost.

While Spielberg and Hanks’ WWII shows sport large ensembles of established actors and up-and-comers, Masters of the Air features two stars currently making rounds in prominent film projects like Austin Butler, who broke out in the Baz Luhrmann biopic Elvis and will be seen in the upcoming Dune Part Two from Denis Villeneuve, and Barry Keoghan, who made a splash in The Banshees of Inisherin and the provocative Saltburn. Masters of the Air also features Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann, Rafferty Law, Josiah Cross, Branden Cook and Ncuti Gatwa.

The post Masters of the Air becomes the most-viewed series launch at AppleTV+ appeared first on JoBlo.

You remind me of the babe. What babe? The babe with the – woah! If there’s one thing we can’t shake from 1986’s Labyrinth, it’s not the remarkably inventive set design, the memorable characters from Jim Henson’s Creature Shop or the fantastic early performance from Jennifer Connelly. It’s the real scene-stealer and childhood-destroyer from Labyrinth – David Bowie’s junk. And if you thought you couldn’t rid your mind of it, imagine having to keep tabs on its size during filming.

Brian Henson – son of director Jim Henson – recently told ComicBook.com that Bowie’s “codpiece” actually changes sizes throughout the movie, which surely only the most devoted Labyrinth fans would have noticed. “The scene where it’s most prevalent I think, is the scene where David pretends he’s a beggar, and then pulls off the costume and stands up, and it’s the Goblin King. And that was, I think, maybe David’s first scene that we shot, so the codpiece was particularly big then, and then it got a little bit smaller. But the truth is yes, it’s absolutely deliberate. That’s from Brian Froud’s artwork.”

As for what David Bowie’s goblin represents – yes, it’s symbolic and not just for show – in Labyrinth, Henson added, “The codpiece represents male sexual aggression. Sarah is at a point in her life where she’s a child but she’s becoming a woman, she’s in that cusp period, and the character of Jareth is sort of an aggressive, adult, masculine sexuality, that is both terrifying to her and very attractive to her. So yes, it’s definitely part of the storytelling that he should have this codpiece that’s a masculine, sexual image, but nonetheless, they did shrink it a little bit a few days into the shoot.” From a character standpoint, it does make sense that Jareth’s masculinity and power would begin to dwindle as Sarah makes her way through the titular maze and defeats the Goblin King. We just never pictured it on the smaller end at all, what with the way Bowie flaunts it throughout Labyrinth.

David Bowie’s junk in Labyrinth is definitely the stuff of legend. Warwick Davis, who played a member of the Goblin Corps, said that the singer-actor stuffed upwards of seven pairs of socks down the front of his pants to enhance himself. While this might be slightly discredited by Henson, it does feel like a Bowie move.

Our own JimmyO recently visited the legendary Henson Studios, where he was able to discuss the recent 4K releases of both Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal with none other than Brian Henson and Toby Froud, who not only is the son of key Jim Henson collaborator Brian Froud and now works in puppetry but also played Toby – the kidnapped baby brother of Sarah – in Labyrinth.

What is the standout moment in Labyrinth for you and why can’t you shake the image of David Bowie’s codpiece?

The post David Bowie’s “codpiece” in Labyrinth has a much deeper meaning appeared first on JoBlo.

Things are going to get pretty Fallout-y this April. With Amazon Prime’s promising-looking TV adaptation due to hit the streamer April 12, Bethesda is leaping on its own bandwagon and releasing seven Fallout games, in one handy nuclear bomb.

Read more…

Things are going to get pretty Fallout-y this April. With Amazon Prime’s promising-looking TV adaptation due to hit the streamer April 12, Bethesda is leaping on its own bandwagon and releasing seven Fallout games, in one handy nuclear bomb.

Read more…

A24 will be giving Civil War, the latest film from Alex Garland, the director of Ex Machina, Annihilation, Devs, and Men, a theatrical release on April 12th – and with that release date just a couple months away, a new trailer for the film has arrived online. You can check it out in the embed above.

The screenplay Garland wrote for Civil War digs into what happens when 19 states secede from the United States, with factions forming in the West and Florida. Meanwhile, the President says the conflict will be dealt with swiftly, but are things already impossible to control? While some choose to engage with the catastrophe head-on, others prefer to pretend like it’s not happening right outside their door. As the President sends the American military out to “resolve” matters in the West, people are left to despair as the world burns around them. Meanwhile, Kirsten Dunst’s character appears to be leading a team of journalists toward the U.S. Capitol, presumably to get answers about how they plan to quell the ongoing violence.

As mentioned in the synopsis, the film stars Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man), and she’s joined in the cast by Wagner Moura (Narcos), Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla), Stephen Henderson (Dune), Sonoya Mizuno (Ex Machina), Jesse Plemons (Power of Dog), and Nick Offerman (The Last of Us).  

A24 produced the film alongside Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich of DNA and Gregory Goodman. 

In addition to directing the films mentioned in the first paragraph, Garland has also written The Beach, 28 Days Later, Never Let Me Go, and Dredd, among others. (There have been claims that he directed Dredd as well.) A couple weeks ago, it was announced that Garland and 28 Days Later director Danny Boyle are working on a sequel called 28 Years Later, which may be the first entry in a trilogy of sequels.

What did you think of the new trailer for Civil War? Are you a fan of Alex Garland’s work, and will you be watching this movie on the big screen when it’s released in April? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The post Civil War: Alex Garland film starring Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny gets a new trailer appeared first on JoBlo.

It’s showtime! OK, so we have until the summer to find out what Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has in store, but Michael Keaton is ready for the world to see what the sequel has going for it. As he put it, the production was less “strange and unusual” than one of the most fun he’s had in a while.

Speaking with People, Michael Keaton hyped the production of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice by saying, “It’s the most fun I’ve had on set in a long time…On one hand, you’d go, ‘Well, of course it’s the most fun. It looks like fun.’ As you know, it doesn’t always work like that.” Fortunately, it has worked out in Keaton’s favor; and it may work out for viewers, too, as the filmmakers set out to capture so much of what made the first Beetlejuice – which had some of the most inventive practical effects and makeup of any ‘80s movie – so enduring. “The one thing that [director Tim Burton] and I decided on early, early, early on from the beginning, if we ever did it again, I was totally not interested in doing something where there was too much technology…It had to feel handmade…What made it fun was watching somebody in the corner actually holding something up for you, to watch everybody in the shrunken head room and say, ‘Those are people under there, operating these things, trying to get it right.’”

This “back to basics” approach has been teased before, but Keaton’s particular enthusiasm over Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’s practical effects gives further evidence that, while being in front of a green screen can present limitless cinematic possibilities, it’s tough to top the authenticity and draw of doing things by hand.

As we all know, a Beetlejuice sequel has been in the works for well over 30 years, with Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian the original plan. The ghost with the most may not be catching any gnarly waves this time around, but instead will focus on…actually, we don’t really know! Plot details have been thin for the follow-up, but we do know that it does lean heavily into the family aspect. This makes sense, as Jenna Ortega will be playing Lydia Deetz’s (Winona Ryder) daughter and Beetlejuice (Keaton, of course) is now officially a married man to Monica Bellucci’s character.

Filming wrapped in November, while Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is currently slated for a September 6th release.

Do you think Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will live up to the original? Give us your predictions below!

The post Keaton promises Beetlejuice Beetlejuice will feel like original…but will it? appeared first on JoBlo.

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article listing ten movies that – despite being well known – were difficult to find (legally) on any streaming service or even on disc. Those titles ranged from Ron Howard’s Cocoon to movies like Dawn of the Dead (the original). In the comments, many of our readers chimed in with their two cents on films they’ve found difficult to find over the years, so here are a few more challenging-to-find flicks, some of which may surprise you.

Dogma:

Now, unlike other movies on this list, there’s a legitimate reason why Dogma is so hard to find, and it goes back to the complicated way it was initially released in 1999. Kevin Smith’s film was originally made for Miramax Films, but the company that Disney owned at the time became worried about the risk of releasing a film deemed blasphemous. So, the heads of Miramax, Harvey and Bob Weinstein, released the movie on their own (through Lionsgate), meaning they owned the rights to it. With Harvey Weinstein now in prison, the former mogul has been holding onto the rights in a vain attempt to do something with the property to raise money. With him no longer on speaking terms with his brother Bob and Kevin Smith vowing never to associate with them again, I wouldn’t hold my breath for a re-release unless the rights are somehow pried from the Weinstein Brothers’ control. 

Shoot to Kill:

The late, great Sidney Poitier stars this underrated action thriller from 1987. In it, he plays an FBI agent on the trail of a serial killer. He’s forced to chase his prey into the remote Pacific Northwest, where he’s infiltrated a hiking group led by a woman (Kirstie Alley) whose boyfriend (Tom Berenger) is an expert tracker. To save her, the agent and the tracker must team up (in classic mismatched buddy fashion) to track down the killer. What’s cool about this one is that all of the men on the hike with Alley are played by guys who have played villains (Clancy Brown, Richard Masur, and Andrew Robinson), so you never know who the killer is. This was a Touchstone Pictures release, so Disney owns the rights. It’s out on DVD but has never been issued on Blu-ray, and it’s unavailable on any of Disney’s streaming services (not even on Star in Canada – which has most Touchstone movies). Of all the movies on the list, this is the one I’m most eager to see get re-released, as it’s a total gem. It’s Sidney Poitier’s only real-deal action movie, and despite being in his sixties at the time, he did many of his own stunts. His chemistry with Berenger in this is also really good. 

The Devils:

Ken Russell’s infamous film has a long history that explains why it’s never been issued on disc in North America. It’s an X-rated, surreal account of a catholic priest (played by Oliver Reed) who burned at the stake as a witch due to the hysterical accusations of a lusty, hunchbacked, maniacal nun, played by Vanessa Redgrave. In the UK, this is more of a cult movie so that you can find it on disc. It occasionally shows up in the US on The Criterion Channel (it’s streaming this month), but only in a dated transfer of the censored R-rated cut. Warner Bros, who owns the rights, has seemingly always been terrified of this film, but they won’t license it out either, despite interest from Criterion and other labels. 

The Cannonball Run:

You’d think that the third most popular film of 1981, and one that spawned two sequels, would be easier to find. If you grew up in the eighties, The Cannonball Run was everywhere, and the cast was jam-packed, including Burt Reynolds, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr, Farrah Fawcett, and even Jackie Chan. It’s about an illegal cross-country race and was a major blockbuster in its time. This one isn’t available because it was financed independently, while the sequels, which you can find, were not. One interesting thing about this movie is that Roger Moore plays a man who believes he’s…well…Roger Moore (or rather James Bond). EON Pictures were so upset that they included a clause in all future 007 contracts that actors could never wear a tuxedo in non-Bond projects while under contract. Moore himself had mixed feelings about the film, as one of the women who plays his companions in the movie, stuntwoman Heidi von Beltz, was left quadriplegic after a controversial accident during shooting. This is available on a DVD from HBO that was released in the 90s. 

Wired:

This controversial dramatization of Bob Woodward’s infamous account of John Belushi’s final days was roundly attacked by friends of the comedian back in 1989. Michael Chiklis plays Belushi in a performance that nearly ended his career – until he landed the lead in the series The Commish a few years later. Friends of Belushi’s took this movie so poorly that Dan Aykroyd had co-star JT Walsh blocked from a role in one of his movies years later. That said, the story has a happy ending as Chiklis, who’s gone on to a great career, ran into James Belushi, John’s brother, years later in a bar. He said the two had a drink and officially buried the hatchet after Chiklis apologized for taking a role in a movie that the family found hurtful. Of all the films on the list, maybe this is the only one that deserves the forced obscurity it’s found itself in, as its release serves no one. Also, it’s a bad movie. 

The post From Dogma to The Cannonball Run: more hard to find movies (keep your DVDs) appeared first on JoBlo.

We may not be getting a big-screen sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, but the saga will continue on Prime Video with Blade Runner 2099. Production on the live-action series is gearing up to start in April, but Deadline reports that a new director has been tapped to helm the first two episodes of Blade Runner 2099.

Game of Thrones director Jeremy Podeswa was originally tapped to helm Blade Runner 2099 but had to exit over scheduling conflicts. Deadline reports that Jonathan van Tulleken has signed on to replace him. In addition to directing the first two episodes of the sci-fi series, he will also serve as an executive producer. He recently came off directing the first two episodes of FX’s upcoming Shōgun series and has previously helmed episodes of Misfits, Trust, Upload, and The Changeling.

Blade Runner 2099 was originally slated to start shooting in Belfast last summer, but the Hollywood strikes put a stop to that. The push also found the series moving out of Belfast in favour of Prague. Shining Girls creator Silka Luisa is the writer, showrunner, and executive producer of the series. Original Blade Runner director Ridley Scott is also onboard as an executive producer through his Scott Free production banner.

“The original Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, is considered one of the greatest and most influential science-fiction movies of all time, and we’re excited to introduce Blade Runner 2099 to our global Prime Video customers,” said Amazon Studios head of global television Vernon Sanders when the project was announced in 2022. “We are honored to be able to present this continuation of the Blade Runner franchise, and are confident that by teaming up with Ridley, Alcon Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, and the remarkably talented Silka Luisa, Blade Runner 2099 will uphold the intellect, themes, and spirit of its film predecessors.“

“We are delighted to continue our working relationship with our friends at Amazon. And we are beyond excited to continue to extend the Blade Runner canon into a new realm with the provocative storyline that Silka has created,” Alcon Entertainment co-CEOs and co-founders Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson said. “Audiences first discovered Ridley Scott’s brilliant vision for Blade Runner 40 years ago, and since then, it has become one of the most influential science-fiction films of all time. Denis Villeneuve’s follow-up sequel, Blade Runner 2049, then became one of the best-reviewed sequels of all time. So, we recognize that we have a very high bar to meet with this next installment. Together with Silka and our partners at Amazon, and Scott Free Productions, we hope that we can live up to that standard and delight audiences with the next generation of Blade Runner.“

While I’m disappointed that we won’t get to see Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049 follow-up, I am curious to see what the Prime Video series will bring.

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