Overwatch 2’s ninth season is nearly over, and when the tenth begins on April 16, the hero shooter is getting a few significant changes.All of its heroes will no longer be locked behind the battle pass and the game will get a new shop dedicated to Mythic Skins only. But Overwatch 2 is also getting a new Damage hero in …
Plot: John Sugar is an American private investigator on the heels of the mysterious disappearance of Olivia Siegel, the beloved granddaughter of legendary Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel. As Sugar tries to determine what happened to Olivia, he will also unearth Siegel family secrets; some very recent, others long-buried.
Review: Detective stories and noir films are iconic genres in film and literature. Who doesn’t love a grizzled private eye who saves the girl and beds the femme fatale? From The Maltese Falcon to Chinatown, detectives have a long and storied history on screen. With the new series Sugar, Colin Farrell adds another great character to the list. A suave, calm, and skilled investigator, John Sugar is an idealized hero straight off the silver screen. And, like any number of great cinematic detectives, he has a weakness. Having seen the full eight episodes of Sugar, audiences will love or hate John Sugar’s weakness, but it certainly distinguishes this series from anything that has come before it. Full of familiar characters and plentiful homages to the genre that inspired it, Sugar is a fascinating mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Sugar opens with John Sugar (Colin Farrell) on a case in Tokyo. Shot in black and white with a jazzy score, this opening sequence sets the tone for the series that follows. Sugar remains calm even as the tension escalates, and we immediately learn much about him. Sugar speaks multiple languages fluently, abhors violence, and he is always in control. Soon, we find Sugar returns to Los Angeles, where his handler, Ruby (Kirby Howell-Baptise), preps him for his next case. Sugar is hired by Hollywood mogul Jonathan Siegel (James Cromwell) to find his missing granddaughter, Olivia (Sydney Chandler). Sugar feels drawn to the case as it connects to his past, even though Ruby cautions him against taking it on. Nevertheless, Sugar begins his investigation, unraveling a cast of suspects and theories that develop over the series run. Like any good detective tale, some are red herrings, while others are twists waiting to be revealed.
Right off the bat, I was fully invested in this story. Colin Farrell is a charismatic actor and was born to play this character. Sugar loves movies and revels in the classics featuring Jimmy Stewart and Glen Ford. He drinks whiskey and wears Saville Row suits in a stunning classic sports car while driving around Los Angeles. He also charms anyone he meets and has an affinity for dogs and cats. He is the perfect human being. But, like anyone that seems too good to be true, we quickly see his Achilles heel. Sugar deals with some physical trauma as well as flashbacks that echo through the series. We know very early on that there is more to John Sugar than his exterior, and this reveal catches some viewers off guard. I suspected the twist early on, but I still found it fascinating when it played out. I fear some viewers will be disappointed or underwhelmed by this twist, but I found it an unexpected way to tell a conventional detective series in a new light.
While Farrell and Kirby Howell-Baptiste lead the cast, the supporting players are all fantastic. In addition to James Cromwell, Sugar features Amy Ryan as rock star Melanie Mackie, Nate Corddry as David Siegel, Anna Gunn as Margit, Dennis Boutsikaris as Bernie Siegel, and Miguel Sandoval as Thomas Kinsey. More actors are in the cast, but revealing any of them would likely tell you too much. I highly recommend going into this series with as little knowledge as possible, avoiding the trailer if you have not seen it yet. You may be reticent to check out a series if you aren’t a fan of the genre, but I would put trust in Colin Farrell as a lead alone to invest in Sugar. He is so good at this that you need little else. If the first episode doesn’t hook you, I would be shocked.
Created by Mark Protosevich (The Cell, I Am Legend), Sugar is deeply rooted in nostalgia for the genre. Protosevich wrote half the season with David Rosen, Donald Joh, and Sam Catlin rounding out the scripters. Directing duties fell to Fernando Meirelles on all eight chapters. Meirelles, best known for The Constant Gardener, The Two Popes, and Blindness, combines classic black and white photography, copious film clips, and several visual techniques from handheld to stunning landscape shots. Sugar is a beautiful series enhanced by the sultry jazz score by Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge. Everything about the series worked for me except the ending. The final episode has the expected “one more thing” moment that every classic detective story has, but it felt rushed to me. There is no indication that Sugar is a limited series, even if it works as one, so the potential for future seasons could change appreciation for the final episode in hindsight.
Appreciating Sugar will rest on how much you appreciate the noir genre and your acceptance of the twists in the narrative that set this series apart from any other detective story that came before it. Based on Colin Farrell’s outstanding lead performance alone, Sugar is a must-watch for fans and non-fans alike. The potential for this to be an ongoing series leaves room for future cases for John Sugar that could delve into new elements of this over-arching narrative. With a great score, beautiful cinematography, and a solid cast, Sugar is a brilliant take on a legendary genre. I cannot wait for audiences to see where this story goes and whether they pick up the clues along the way. This is a fun mystery to try and solve and a thrilling ride to boot.
Sugar premieres with two episodes on April 5th on AppleTV+.
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The merging of the streaming apps Hulu and Disney+ is complete. The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Disney+ has now launched Hulu out of beta with a marketing push as the company wishes to attract more subscribers. The platform now has the ability to view the slate of Hulu’s content or consolidate the shows and films if you are a subscriber of the Disney bundle. Joe Earley, president of direct-to-consumer for Disney Entertainment, has stated, “Its whole goal is to make happier subscribers and healthier subscribers, provide them convenience, deeper engagement, better retention, and increase the value of the Disney bundle for our subscribers.”
The combining of the apps started beta testing late last year where some parts of Hulu could be accessed from Disney+ for bundle subscribers. Now, both are fully integrated, and executives are touting a bevy of technical steps needed to enable the move. Aaron LaBerge, who is the president & CTO for Disney Entertainment & ESPN, outlined the tech ingenuity, “This launch really represents the most extensive technical advancement to Disney+ and our entire streaming platform since we launched Disney+ over four years ago. Our teams have had to reimagine and redesign many core aspects of our platform. We completely redefined the way that we manage our video assets, integrating our libraries and improving quality. We shipped an entirely new content management system that delivers capabilities for editorial and programming teams to merchandise and promote our content with much more flexibility.”
Hulu and Disney+ bundle subscribers will have the benefit of scrolling through all of the content from both platforms for their viewing pleasure, while those who only subscribe to Disney+ without Hulu are only able to search through Hulu shows with the option to upgrade to the bundle. If you click on a Hulu show, you will be prompted to purchase the upgrade before the show plays on the app.
Earley adds, “We started out primarily focusing on the bundled subscribers and how this is going to increase their engagement and reduce the friction for them. But as you saw, there’s also three in-app entry points for those standalone Disney+ subscribers who want to upgrade to the bundle so that they can unlock all of this together.”
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Let’s be real. If you had to name the most badass action movie of the past few years, what’s the first flick that comes to mind? Yeah yeah, John Wick might be all the rage for teenagers, Liam Neeson continues to do his geriatric Charlie Bronson, and you can never discount Jason Statham and his brand of brutal butt-kicking. But come on, as far as violently visceral and scintillatingly satisfying underdog tales loaded with realistic fisticuffs and gore-sodden gunfights – nobody does it better than Nobody! Indeed, the 2021 cinematic blitzkrieg starring Bob Odenkirk as an unassuming everyman by day and certified ass-kicker by night hit all the right notes to deliver a vicious and delicious revenge dish for the ages.
With that being said, did you know that a Nobody 2 is currently back in the works? Did you know there were discussions about making a Nobody and John Wick crossover movie? Hell, were you even aware that the entire plot of the movie was inspired by a real-life home invasion experienced by Odenkirk himself? Well, we’re about to dig up all the buried bodies and hidden skeletons in Nobody’s past and give y’all a heaping dose of What Happened to this Movie.
As alluded to, Nobody was inspired by an idea by Bob Odenkirk after the actor experienced not one, but two, terrifying home invasions in real life. One of the break-ins was particularly traumatic for Odenkirk and his family, with the actor publicly recounting the time that burglars stormed into his house in Los Angeles. After bravely trapping the invaders in his basement, Odenkirk called the police to respond to the crime. However, Odenkirk was so discouraged and dissatisfied with the police response that he imagined what would have transpired if he had taken swift vigilante justice in his own hands and pulled a full-on Steven Seagal in the heat of the moment.
As Odenkirk continued to envision how things might have played out if he “was a badass” in real life, the idea bloomed into a cinematic story. For Odenkirk, the motivation for the story was meant to explore how “You always wish you’d done more” to protect one’s family in such a harrowing scenario. Apart from the home invasions his family suffered, Odenkirk was also interested in exploring his own internal struggles with aging and feeling irrelevant and ineffectual as his children matured.
Once Odenkirk’s concept was approved and his casting of Hutch Mansell was announced, Nobody began development in January 2018. John Wick writer Derek Kolstad conceived the story and penned the screenplay for Nobody, with John Wick co-director David Leitch producing the project for STX Entertainment. Around the same time in 2018, Russian director Ilya Naishuller was tapped to direct Nobody on the strength of his breathless action movie Hardcore Henry. By 2019, Nobody swapped distributors after moving from STX Entertainment to Universal Pictures. Christopher Lloyd and Connie Nielsen were cast in the fall of 2019 to play Hutch’s father David and wife Becca, respectively. It was Odenkirk’s idea to cast Lloyd as his father. Naishuller immediately loved the idea and described why he thought the decision worked so well, saying:
“Someone with positive baggage wielding a shotgun and killing people is gonna be more fun to see than someone we’ve seen do that.”
To his credit, Lloyd almost declined the role due to having irritable bowel syndrome. Yet, like a real trooper, Lloyd declined to use stunt doubles for the action scenes and insisted on toting the heavy shotguns in the film on his own. Never mind the IBS, the irony of Doc Brown dumping 1.21 gigawatts of lead on a gang of Russian mobsters only adds to the actors’ towering legend. Believe it or not, Odenkirk and Lloyd share the same birthday, October 22nd, and celebrated together when they both turned one year older while making the movie.
Following the casting process, Naishuller was pleasantly surprised that Kolstad was not too precious with his screenplay, telling the director that “the best idea wins,” should changes be required. After polishing the script and showing it to his Russian mobster friend, who in turn showed the script to associates in the Obschak (the Russian Mafia), Naishuller was delighted to hear how authentic and realistic the story was. We’ll delve into the efforts taken to make the movie as gritty and hyperrealistic as possible in a bit.
First, it’s worth noting that principal photography on Nobody began on September 30, 2019, and lasted until November 3, 2019. The whole movie was shot in just 34 days, which is quite a remarkable achievement given the excellent final result. Although filming commenced in Los Angeles, California for establishing shots, almost all of the movie was shot in Winnipeg, Canada. For instance, Hutch’s home was filmed at 20 Shillingstone Road in Winnipeg. Meanwhile, the unforgettable bus brawl was filmed on 171 Princess Street.
Speaking of the brutal bus battle, fans need to know that Odenkirk performed all of the fights and stunts in the film himself at age 56 and 57. To prepare for such a physically taxing performance, Odenkirk trained for two years before cameras began rolling. At the height of his training regiment, a famous unnamed actor whom Odenkirk respects greatly asked him why he was so committed to training when the studio could provide people to do the fighting for him. Odenkirk stands by the decision and has publicly stated, “I had so much fun doing the fight scenes!” It was Odenkirk’s idea to bash his head against the rail pole inside the bus. According to Odenkirk in the DVD commentary – which was recorded six months before the film was released – the idea was meant to reinforce Hutch’s status as an everyman rather than an infallible action hero. Odenkirk also trained under Swiss actor and Fight Coordinator Daniel Bernhardt, who plays one of the goons Hutch batters on the bus and knocks his teeth out. Meanwhile, the preamble of the bus fight was originally meant to utilize the song “Ava Marie” by Franz Schubert, suggesting that the Russian thugs were sent to Hutch as a gift from god to soothe his embattled soul. In the end, Steve Lawrence’s version of “I Gotta Be Me” was chosen to start the scene instead.
To backtrack a bit, Nobody was initially meant to open with the harrowing home invasion Hutch and his family encounter. However, to establish the mundane routine of Hutch’s daily suburban life, the opening montage of Hutch’s repetitive domestic cycle was added.
Shortly following the home invasion that incites the plot of the movie, Hutch visits a tattoo parlor to find the assailants. The memorable scene features Hutch revealing his perilous past through a tattoo on his wrist. The tattoo resembles a pair of playing cards with the 7 of Spades and 2 of Diamonds. First of all, the number 72 is a numeric code for U.S. Green Berets, a branch of Marines that Hutch belonged to in the past. Furthermore, in Tarot readings, Spades are associated with bad luck, death, and violence. Meanwhile, Diamonds represent jewels, coins, and money. Therefore, in addition to indicating his past with the Green Berets, Hutch’s tattoo signifies that he has dealt with death, violence, and hard luck directly for money and riches in his life.
Speaking of Hutch’s mysterious past, the character turns out to be revealed as an Auditor and government assassin for the various “three letter agencies.” Hints to Hutch’s true nature are given throughout the movie. For example, the Russian pop song that the main villain Yulian sings in the dance club is titled “Buhgalter” by the band Kombinaciya. “Buhgalter” translates as Accountant, which alludes to Hutch’s role in the film as an intelligence community Auditor.
Another awesome moment in the movie comes when Hutch is joined by his dad David and his former colleague, Harry, played by Wu-Tang Clan’s Rza. According to Naishuller, Rza only had four days, including rehearsal, to complete his role. However, because he’s seen more action movies than Naishuller has, something the director admitted is “quite rare,” Rza was able to slip right into the violent shootouts without missing a beat. Meanwhile, during the intense shootout at David’s retirement home, Naishuller makes a cameo appearance as a Russian goon sent to kill Hutch’s father. Naishuller’s wife, Darya Charusha, also appears briefly as Yulian’s ruthless henchwoman in the movie.
Indeed, much of Nobody’s appeal comes from its hyperrealistic violence and palpably painful action scenes. According to Naishuller and Kolstad, this was not an accident. The Firearms Safety Coordinator for the movie – Dave Brown – instructs real police officers and military soldiers on how to shoot targets with pinpoint accuracy. Brown worked closely with Odenkirk and the two spent extensive time together discussing the physical and psychological toll such shootouts would have on the human body and mind.
Part of turning Hutch from an ordinary suburban dad to a merciless cutthroat killer was to depict the mental and physical agony the character endures throughout the movie. For instance, when the human body suffers enough physical punishment, the perception of time appears to slow down, which is an effect known as Tachypsychia. Hutch also experiences hearing loss and a narrow sense of tunnel vision after taking physical beatings, all of which were deliberate effects used in the movie to underscore Hutch’s realistic sense of pain and discomfort. It’s precisely Hutch’s vulnerabilities that make him easy to relate to and root for, and also sets him apart from most indestructible action heroes.
Considering Odenkirk’s demanding performance and the rapid 34-day filming schedule for Nobody, it’s a minor miracle that the production went smoothly without any major injuries or mishaps. According to the DVD commentary, the biggest issues that arose on set related to whether parmesan cheese should be layered on top of the lasagna during a dinner scene. Connie Nielsen reportedly did not care for the topping and a minor argument broke out on set. Beyond that, Nobody was reportedly made with very few production hitches and hiccups.
Yet, for as smoothly as the principal photography went, nothing could have prepared Naishuller and the Nobody team for the delayed release caused by the sudden outbreak of COVID-19. Before the pandemic resulted in a global lockdown, Nobody was scheduled to hit theaters on August 14, 2020. Once the outbreak of COVID-19 took place, the release of Nobody was delayed and rescheduled several times. Once the safety precautions were lifted, Nobody was eventually released theatrically on March 26, 2021, eight months after its initial release date. Fortunately, the movie came out when the masses were desperate to return to cinemas, and the movie became a financial success by turning a $16 million budget into a $57.5 million moneymaker worldwide.
Coupled with the critical plaudits, the commercial success of Nobody led the producers to consider a sequel of some kind. When Nobody bombarded theaters in March 2021, Connie Nielsen expressed her interest in returning for a sequel, declaring that she only took on the hapless role of Hutch’s wife so she could be part of a popular cinematic franchise.
By June 2021, Derek Kolstad began writing a script for Nobody 2, although the movie was not officially green-lit at the time. At the time, one of the ideas was to potentially make a Nobody and John Wick crossover movie. Remember, Leitch and Kolstad were partly responsible for creating the John Wick franchise and Nobody already has over connections to the popular action series. Secondly, a promotional poster for Nobody is very reminiscent of one of the posters for John Wick 2, with the guns aimed at Wick’s face replaced by fists pointed at Hutch’s head. The first trailer for Nobody also billed the movie as an intense action flick from the makers of John Wick. Also, in Nobody, Hutch discharges an empty magazine clip from his rifle in a way that is identical to the way John Wick does in John Wick 2. Furthermore, the song “The Impossible Dream” by The Quest heard in Nobody was also used in the trailer for John Wick 3.
Although the potential for a Nobody and John Wick crossover appears to have been laid, Kolstad claimed that if does materialize, he would like to see small, subtle connections made between the two action franchises rather than a full-fledged mashup. Kolstad also stated that the crossover would be minimal and that Hutch and Wick would be allies if they shared screen time. However, since different studios distribute Nobody and John Wick, it will be difficult to combine the two franchises in the future. When speaking about the potential crossover in March 2021, Naishuller maintained hope and kept the door open, stating: “I mean, everything’s possible. Stranger things have definitely happened.”
While a Nobody and John Wick crossover doesn’t appear likely anytime soon, fans should rest easy knowing that a Nobody sequel continues to pick up steam.
In March 2022, one of the production companies behind the first film – 87North Productions – expressed interest in making Nobody 2. However, no official production date was given. The project lingered for a few more months until David Leitch announced in August 2022 that the studio was committed to producing a Nobody 2. By December 2022, it was announced that a sequel to Nobody was officially in production with a shooting schedule slated for 2023. Most recently, in January 2024, Nielsen confirmed that the sequel is currently in development and that her character will return alongside Bob Odenkirk. At the time, there’s no telling if Naishuller will direct Nobody 2.
It’s also worth noting that, along with Nobody 2, Odenkirk is set to star in another action movie called Normal from screenwriter Derek Kolstad. The movie will be directed by Free Fire’s Ben Wheatley, with Odenkirk playing a sheriff named Ulysses in the small town of Normal, Illinois. Nobody producer Marc Provissiero is also set to work on Normal with Kolstad, Wheatley, and Odenkirk.
With not much else to cover, that’s essentially What Happened to Nobody! The story was inspired by Odenkirk’s real-life encounters with home invaders and became a kind of wish-fulfillment fantasy for the actor to live out onscreen what he couldn’t do in reality. Once the concept was green-lit, the creative forces behind the John Wick franchise – namely David Leitch and Derek Kolstad – propped the film up as a sick cinematic sidekick to the Keanu Reeves vehicle and launched Odenkirk’s newfangled career as an action star.
Although the film shoot experienced very little drama during a rapid 34-day schedule, the movie’s release was delayed several times due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Fortunately, by the time Nobody stormed the theaters in March 2021, moviegoers were ready to flood the cinemas and the film became a commercial and critical hit. As a result, a potential Nobody and John Wick crossover was flirted with, ultimately leading to the announcement that a standalone Nobody sequel is currently in development. For action movie fans, there’s no better news than hearing that Odenkirk will bring Hutch Mansell back to the big screen sometime in the future!
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In his review of the new horror film Immaculate (you can read it HERE), JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray said the movie – which reunites Sydney Sweeney with Michael Mohan, who directed her in the erotic thriller The Voyeurs and the Netflix series Everything Sucks! – is “a decent throwback to Dario Argento-style Italian horror movies.” During a recent post-screening Q&A at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Boston Seaport, Mohan also revealed that one particular scene in the movie was inspired by the work one of my favorite grindhouse era filmmakers, Jack Hill – and that same scene also had to be salvaged with the help of Saw X director Kevin Greutert!
Our friends at Bloody Disgusting shared the information from the Q&A, reporting that Mohan said, “The biggest scene that did not work and I’m still not happy with is the scene when Isabelle tries to drown Cecilia. I studied a lot of ’70s exploitation movies featuring two women getting in fights, and I wanted it to be like a more direct homage to a genre known as nunsploitation. I studied some of Jack Hill’s work. Typically what they would do with those types of scenes is they would leave them in a medium-wide shot and just let it play out. The only thing I was doing differently was I wanted a slow push-in just to make it a little more elegant. Sydney can hold her breath for three minutes, so to not cut away would be really thrilling, because the audience would be like, ‘Wait a minute. We can see there’s no tank down there.’ I thought it would be really cool… and it wasn’t. It was boring! When you put this pulse-pounding music over it, it was like, the music doesn’t match what I’m seeing. When you took the music out, it was just flat. On the day, I knew something wasn’t working with it, so I shot a little bit of extra coverage. We tried re-cutting it a million times, and we finally got a pair of fresh eyes to actually look at that sequence.“
The person brought in to help out was Greutert… who not only directed Saw X, he also directed Saw VI and Saw 3D, in addition to editing the first five Saw movies and Jigsaw. He touched up the lacking scene in Immaculate and told the filmmakers how to get more thrills out of the footage. Mohan still isn’t entirely satisfied with the scene and wishes he had shot more underwater coverage, but Greutert helped them work with what they had.
Scripted by Andrew Lobel, Immaculate sees Sweeney taking on the role of Cecilia, a woman of devout faith who is offered a fulfilling new role at an illustrious Italian convent. Her warm welcome to the picture-perfect Italian countryside is soon interrupted as it becomes clearer to Cecilia that her new home harbors some dark and horrifying secrets.
Simona Tabasco (The White Lotus), Alvaro Morte (Money Heist), Benedetta Porcaroli (Baby), and Dora Romano (The Hand of God) are also in the cast.
Sweeney (who first auditioned for the project when she was a teenager, at which time the lead character was a high schooler rather than a nun) produced the film through her company Fifty-Fifty Films, alongside Jonathan Davino. Also producing are Teddy Schwarzman and Michael Heimler of Black Bear and Middle Child Pictures’ David Bernad, who developed the project with Sweeney after they worked together on the Emmy-winning series The White Lotus. Will Greenfield and Black Bear’s John Friedberg and Christopher Casanova serve as executive producers. Black Bear provided the financing.
Have you seen Immaculate? If so, let us know what you thought of the attempted drowning scene by leaving a comment below.
If you’re interested in the work of Jack Hill, his credits include Spider Baby, Pit Stop, The Big Doll House, The Big Bird Cage, Coffy, Foxy Brown, The Swinging Cheerleaders, and Switchblade Sisters, among others.
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When director Yorgos Lanthimos and actress Emma Stone make a feature film together, Academy Award nominations follow. Their 2018 collaboration The Favourite was nominated in the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Production Design, Costume Design, Cinematography, and Editing categories, with supporting actresses Stone and Rachel Weisz also earning nominations and lead actress Olivia Colman taking home an Oscar for her performance. Their 2023 collaboration Poor Things racked up nominations in the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Cinematography, Editing, and Supporting Actor (Mark Ruffalo) categories – and won Oscar gold for Makeup and Hairstyling, Production Design, Costume Design, and Stone’s performance in the lead role. Now a teaser trailer has arrived online for the latest Lanthimos / Stone team-up, a film called Kinds of Kindness (previously known as And), and you can check it out in the embed above.
While walking the red carpet at the Golden Globes, Lanthimos described Kinds of Kindness as follows: “It’s three contemporary stories, and there’s a core of actors — seven total — who play one character in each story,” he said. “So, they’ll play three different characters.”
The film is officially described as a triptych fable, following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.
Joining Emma Stone in the cast are Willem Dafoe (The Lighthouse), Jesse Plemons (Civil War), Hong Chau (The Menu), Margaret Qualley (Drive Away Dolls), Joe Alwyn (The Favourite), Mamoudou Athie (Jurassic World: Dominion), and Hunter Schafer (The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Song Birds & Snakes).
Kinds of Kindness is set to reach theatres on June 21st. What did you think of the teaser trailer? Will you be checking this one out on the big screen – and do you think Lanthimos and Stone are in for more Oscar nominations with their latest collaboration? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
The post Kinds of Kindness teaser trailer gives a preview of Yorgos Lanthimos / Emma Stone triptych fable appeared first on JoBlo.
In a video game, you’re only as good as your weapon. Try getting through Elden Ring’s hardest boss battle without a powerful sword, or a tough multiplayer match in Halo 3 without nabbing the Needler and unloading on an incoming Ghost. Even the most elite-level gamers among us owe some of their talent to the quality of…
In a video game, you’re only as good as your weapon. Try getting through Elden Ring’s hardest boss battle without a powerful sword, or a tough multiplayer match in Halo 3 without nabbing the Needler and unloading on an incoming Ghost. Even the most elite-level gamers among us owe some of their talent to the quality of…
Not long ago, former James Bond actor George Lazenby, who has had the opportunity to star in a sole outing as the agent in the now-appreciated On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, threw his support behind the all-but-confirmed Aaron Taylor-Johnson in the role. Lazenby was reportedly saying to TMZ that Taylor-Johnson would be able to “handle the stunts and all the ladies who love a man in a tux.” However, he also thinks the reason for the delay in any kind of announcement is because “when he auditioned for the part back in the 1960s, he went through a bunch of different tests and auditions before he won the role.” Though, he still thinks Taylor-Johnson would make a great Bond “as long as they do the character justice.” His advice for the young lad would be “to be true to himself and reinvent the role to fit him.”
Now Pierce Brosnan, who starred in four films as the famous Ian Fleming 007 agent from 1995’s Goldeneye to 2002’s Die Another Day, has weighed in on the rumored successor to the small group of actors. Deadline reports that Brosnan recently appeared on The Ray D’Arcy Show on RTÉ Radio 1, where he stated, “I think the man has the chops and the talent and the charisma to play Bond, very much so.” Brosnan had worked with Taylor-Johnson in the 2009 film The Greatest, and Brosnan refers to that film, “One of the first movies we made, one of our earliest movies, was The Greatest – and he was in it. He was The Greatest in it. It’s a lovely movie with Aaron and Carey Mulligan and Susan Sarandon and myself. So yes, I read the news about his possibilities of being a Bond, so I would definitely tip my hat to the fellow.”
Brosnan would also give his advice to Taylor-Johnson should he officially be named in the part, “Be bold. Go out there, have a great time. Just love it. Just go for it.” Back when Brosnan was promoting Black Adam in 2022, he was asked about his impressions on Daniel Craig’s Bond in an interview since Craig had taken over after his incarnation. “I have the greatest admiration for Daniel Craig and what he did. The physicality he brought to the performance was monumental.” Then, Brosnan shared his personal opinions of Craig’s movies where he implied he wasn’t too impressed with No Time to Die. “I saw the last one, and I saw Skyfall. I love Skyfall. I’m not too sure about the last one. Daniel always gives of his heart. Very courageous, very strong. But…” Brosnan would trail off and not put a cap on that comment.
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PLOT: Not wanting to live in the shadows any longer, Winnie-the-Pooh, Piglet, Owl and Tigger take their fight to the town of Ashdown, leaving a bloody trail of death and mayhem in their wake.
REVIEW: Last year’s Winnie the Pooh Blood and Honey proved to be one of the worst horror films of the year. It was my least favorite theatrical experience and completely barren of any passion. It was a dull affair that failed to deliver much on the horror or the fun. So I rolled my eyes when a sequel was announced. Then they reached near the back of my skull when the Poohniverse was announced. But I’m here to tell you that it appears the filmmakers learned their lesson and understand what their films need to be: fun.
Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 follows Christopher Robin (now played by Scott Chambers) one year after the events of the original film. Only the film that we saw (and I reviewed HERE) was actually a movie within this world. This explains the Monster redesigns as well as the change to the lead. And it honestly feels like a nice reset for the series. If they’re planning on making this a whole universe, then the world set up in the last film wasn’t exactly vibrant. But this one does a better job of actually establishing a town for the 100 Acre Wood to exist near. It’s not just some phantom wooded area. This opens the film up to the more slashery elements.
Most of the film follows Pooh and the crew as they’re killing residents of Ashdown. And holy hell are there a lot of deaths. I lost track at somewhere around 40 but it really wouldn’t shock me if it actually hit north of 50. And these are more than just simple stabbings and quick cutaways. There were at least five decapitations, with each managing to be a bit different. It’s not quite to Terrifier-levels, but it’s clear that’s the direction they were going for. And since none of the characters are worth caring about, the deaths leave little emotional impact. So expect a lot of cheering in your theater when someone gets theirs.
The designs in the last film were very generic so I was happy to see an update. Piglet, in particular, had a terrible Halloween store look. And I’m not going to claim that these creatures don’t look like men in costumes, but that’s part of the charm. Especially Owl who looks absolutely ridiculous; especially when flying. Though there were times when the silhouettes of Tigger and Pooh were a little hard to differentiate from. I think their faces were just too similar. Another element they vastly improved upon was the animations, which have a lot more character to them. I liked the blue hue and they clearly put a little more of the budget towards quality animation.
Even the technical side of the film feels vastly improved upon. Given how many eyeballs often land on these Public Domain Horror projects, it’s nice to finally see the technical handled with a bit of professionalism. It should be seen as a job opportunity for their own original ideas, so I’ve never understood just phoning it in. Thankfully, there actually feels like a bit of passion exists with the filmmaking here. I’m not sure what changed between the first film and this one, but I’m glad that they didn’t just put their head in the sand and just produce the exact same film a second time.
I’m shocked to say that I had a fun time with Blood and Honey 2. I went into this showing with my heels dragging and was shocked at the balls it managed to have. The kills are nasty and nearly nonstop. Anytime the story starts to feel dragged down by lore they quickly go to a creative and satisfying kill. It’s clear from the introduction that ran before the movie, that filmmakers Scott Chambers and Rhys Frake-Waterfield have a lot in store for us. And honestly, it seems like they’ve course-corrected and understand the kind of movies these Public Domain Horror Films need to be. And that’s a breezy story that facilitates kill after kill which eventually leads to a nifty final showdown. So long as they don’t break the formula too much, it should be a fun universe to follow.
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