Stepping out into the seaside region of Junon at the start of chapter four of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, I can feel the sun beaming down on Cloud and the gang as it was setting along the ocean’s horizon and painting the fields in a soothing orange glow. The craggy cliffs pave routes for my new rock-climbing chocobo to…
Stepping out into the seaside region of Junon at the start of chapter four of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, I can feel the sun beaming down on Cloud and the gang as it was setting along the ocean’s horizon and painting the fields in a soothing orange glow. The craggy cliffs pave routes for my new rock-climbing chocobo to…
On April 5th, 20th Century Studios will be giving a theatrical release to The First Omen, which serves as a prequel to the 1976 horror classic The Omen (watch it HERE). The film stars Nell Tiger Free of the Apple TV+ series Servant, and with its release date just a few weeks away, a new promo / TV spot has been unveiled. If you want to see a 30 second preview of what The First Omen has in store for us, check out the video embedded above.
The First Omen was directed by Arkasha Stevenson, based on characters created by David Seltzer. Here’s the synopsis: When a young American woman is sent to Rome to begin a life of service to the church, she encounters a darkness that causes her to question her own faith and uncovers a terrifying conspiracy that hopes to bring about the birth of evil incarnate.
Free is joined in the cast by Tawfeek Barhom (Mary Magdalene), Sonia Braga (Kiss of the Spider Woman), Ralph Ineson (The Northman), and Bill Nighy (Living).
The film was produced by David S. Goyer and Keith Levine, with Tim Smith serving as executive producer with Whitney Brown and Gracie Wheelan. The First Omen has earned an R rating for violent content, grisly/disturbing images, and brief graphic nudity.
We first heard that a prequel to The Omen was in development way back in 2016. At that time, Antonio Campos (The Devil All the Time) was in talks to direct First Omen from a script by Ben Jacoby (Bleed). Later The Conjuring writers Chad and Carey Hayes came on board to work on the script, and they were followed by author Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl). The film ended up in the hands of Arkasha Stevenson – who has previously directed episodes of the genre shows Channel Zero, Legion, and Brand New Cherry Flavor. Stevenson rewrote the script with her writing partner Tim Smith, then Firestarter‘s Keith Thomas worked on it as well.
The Omen (1976) was followed by Damien: Omen II in 1978, Omen III: The Final Conflict in 1981, Omen IV: The Awakening in 1991, and a 2006 remake. So this is the sixth entry in the film franchise.
Are you looking forward to The First Omen? What did you think of the new promo? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
The post The First Omen gets a 30 second promo ahead of April release appeared first on JoBlo.
Do you really, do you really wanna taste it? Yes, we do! But where will that taste — that is, season two of Peacemaker — land in the DC Universe timeline? That was one of the biggest questions when it was announced that the DCU would be replacing the DCEU. But James Gunn has stepped in to clear up any confusion…even if it still might be a little unclear just how it will all eventually come together.
James Gunn took to Threads — as he has grown quite fond of — to address where season two of Peacemaker sits in the evolving DC Universe, writing that it “will take place after the events in Superman.” It’s absolutely also worth noting that Gunn said that season one — which was released in 2022 and so part of the DCEU — is not canon in the DCU. Got it? Good, moving on!
The topic of Waller — the spin-off of both Peacemaker and The Suicide Squad based on the DC character Amanda Waller played by Viola Davis — was also brought up. And so where does that take place within the DC Universe? According to Gunn, “Everything in Waller will take place after Peacemaker.” So to break it down, Gunn’s 2025 Superman will take place before the next season of The Peacemaker will take place before Waller. See? That’s not too confusing!
The DC Universe has a lot of potential, at least compared to the works that came before it in the DCEU. Unlike that timeline, the DC Universe will have more than one television series, with Peacemaker and Waller being joined by Creature Commandos, Lanterns and a series centering on Arkham Asylum. Movie-wise, the DC Universe has much to hopefully be excited about, with Superman within the same timeline as The Brave and the Bold, The Authority, Swamp Thing, and more.
Peacemaker’s debut season not falling into the canon of the brand reboot may not sit well with its fanbase but it does also open up a lot of potential that DC truly needs to capitalize on to regain the faith of its followers. Let’s just hope we’re not being thrown an invisible bone.
How do you feel about season one of Peacemaker not being canon? What overall place do you see the series and character having in the DC Universe? Share your thoughts below!
The post Peacemaker season two takes place after 2025’s Superman; Gunn says S1 not canon appeared first on JoBlo.
Say it once. Say it twice. Three times a charm. Michael Keaton got to have a hilarious moment at last night’s Oscars with the Batman villains confronting him, and his week looks to be getting better for him as his most anticipated sequel is about to burst from its grave. Keaton recently said in an interview that he has seen Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, in which he reunites with Tim Burton, and he would surprisingly be moved by how it came out. Keaton stated, “It is really good. And beautiful. Beautiful, you know, physically. You know what I mean? The other one was so fun and exciting visually. It’s all that, but really kind of beautiful and interestingly emotional here and there. I wasn’t ready for that, you know. Yeah, it’s great.”
World of Reel has now unveiled that the movie has been test screening in California and a trailer may be crossing over into our world fairly soon. The screenings have garnered fairly positive reactions and some plot details have now surfaced. According to World of Reel, the plot synopsis reads, “After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return to the small Vermont town of Winter River. Paranormal empath, Lydia Deetz, begins to see the lecherous demon Beetlejuice, who haunted her as a teenager. His plans to finally marry Lydia are given extra urgency when his dead wife comes to life and begins to stalk the Afterlife hunting for him. Meanwhile, Lydia’s teenage daughter embarks on a romance with a local teen.”
More details from the screening confirm that Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin do not make cameos in the film (however, the movie does have some surprising cameos from other notable actors) and do not expect Willem Dafoe to have a significant amount of screen time. Some of the standout comments refer to the practical visuals. Tim Burton has said before that he’s gone back to basics with special effects and that he approached the sequel like he did with the original one. According to World of Reel, there have been “great things” said “about the visuals. Burton uses a lot of practical effects in this film, and it’s said to be visually beautiful to look at. Also, unlike the original, Michael Keaton’s titular character is the good guy this time around as he helps Lydia (Winona Ryder) find her Daughter and her boyfriend who somehow ended up getting trapped in the afterlife.”
The post Beetlejuice Beetlejuice trailer possibly drops within the week as plot details have been revealed appeared first on JoBlo.
Every March 10 (MAR10), we gather around and sing the praises of Nintendo’s Mario series and its eponymous hero, and for good reason! Mario and his respective franchise are basically the unofficial mascot for all of video games, and there’s little the guy hasn’t done over the years. Beginning as a beleaguered, but…
Every March 10 (MAR10), we gather around and sing the praises of Nintendo’s Mario series and its eponymous hero, and for good reason! Mario and his respective franchise are basically the unofficial mascot for all of video games, and there’s little the guy hasn’t done over the years. Beginning as a beleaguered, but…
After many years of being unavailable, James Cameron’s True Lies is finally out on physical media. While it’s been out digitally since December, it’s now on disc, but the 4K transfer is proving to be controversial. How so? During the initial digital release, many took issue with the film’s seemingly AI-assisted upgrade. Our own Luke Ryan, who ran the long-running Movie Endings Explained series for us on JoBlo Originals, took to Twitter (or X) to post some disturbing screenshots from the film, which suggests the film looks far different now than it did back in 1994.
Having watched the 4K restoration on iTunes myself, I’ll admit that in motion, the movie looks better than it does in the stills Luke has posted. However, it also looks quite different from how it used to, with actors having a too-smooth appearance, which makes me think Luke is correct in his assessment that AI enhancement was used rather than a negative scan of the original elements (or rather – some combination of the two). Simply put, the 4K version of the movie shouldn’t look this good, as we’re talking about a movie that’s 29 years old. Restorations like this are a kind of revisionist filmmaking, although one could argue that Cameron certainly has that right as the movie’s director and producer.
On disc, the movie apparently fares a little better, but the look is still getting mixed reviews. One of the best home media review sites, TheDigitalBits, tried to explain the restoration process:
“For its release on Ultra HD, Lightstorm, working with Park Road Post, has built a new 4K Digital Intermediate using recent 4K scans of the original camera negative (confirmed per Lightstorm). This footage has then been “optimized” by Park Road’s proprietary deep-learning algorithms. Photochemical grain has been greatly reduced, though not eliminated entirely, while fine detail has been enhanced algorithmically.”
While they say the film does indeed look better on physical media than it did digitally, the overall result is still the same. Whether you like it or not depends on your preferences.
The Abyss and Aliens have a similar look, but it’s a little less noticeable in those older films than it is in True Lies. End of the day, we don’t want to dissuade anyone from buying True Lies. It looks fantastic, and it’s great to finally have the movie available to own after many years of it being only available on a non-anamorphic DVD. But this kind of restoration reminds me a bit of how some early Blu-rays were overly DNR’d, with Predator being a notable early example, in a way that made the actors look waxy. Eventually, the film was re-released with a more normal look. That said, I wouldn’t hold my breath for a new version of True Lies as Cameron, the perfectionist he is, had probably gone over every frame of this restoration, with it looking exactly how he wants it to.
At any rate, the 4K UHD disc is due out March 12th.
Do you think Cameron went too far? Let us know in the comments.
The post True Lies 4K Blu-ray upgrade gets mixed reviews appeared first on JoBlo.
The 96th Academy Awards saw Oppenheimer taking home the most awards of the night, a fine selection of memorable speeches and even a dog in the audience. But some of the funniest moments of the Oscars came in between all of these. For us, the highlight was undoubtedly a showdown for the ages between Michael Keaton and two foes of Batman: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.
One presenter — well, pair of presenters — that got big laughs was the duo of Schwarzenegger and DeVito, who gave out the Oscars for Best Visual Effects and Best Editing. Now we all know that the two headlined Twins (which Oppenheimer editor Jennifer Lame was cool enough to shout out), but what they really wanted to focus on was taking down Batman, as Mr. Freeze and The Penguin were both discarded by the Caped Crusader in Batman & Robin and Batman Returns, respectively. And so their attention turned to Michael Keaton in the audience, who gave them intimidating looks and challenged them to give their diabolical moves another shot. Even still, Schwarzenegger kept his cool, telling him, “You have a lot of nerve to show your face around here.” While DeVito co-starred with Keaton in Batman Returns, Schwarzenegger starred against George Clooney’s Batman; while Clooney wasn’t in attendance, no doubt a cutaway would have blown the roof off of the Dolby Theatre.
One of the biggest laughs at last night’s Oscars came in an unsuspecting category. Cuing up Best Costume Design, host Jimmy Kimmel mentioned the time in 1974 when a streaker disrupted the show. This set up presenter John Cena, who got a little camera shy and wanted Kimmel to STFU before coming out entirely naked, covered only by an oversized envelope with the nominees. The award would go to Poor Things, but by that point, all eyes were on Cena’s five knuckle shuffle, covered up by a makeshift toga.
Presenting Best Sound was John Mulaney, who we expected to bring the laughs; what we didn’t expect was a full breakdown of the plot of Field of Dreams — itself a three-time Oscar nominee — complete with a point-by-point look at Gabby Hoffmann choking on a hot dog. It was a rapid-fire verbal reconstruction that both poked fun at the movie’s fantasy elements and paid tribute to a beloved runner-up. It also showed exactly why Mulaney should be given a shot at hosting the Academy Awards.
And then there was Ryan Gosling, who gave an all-time great performance of Best Original Song nominee “I’m Just Ken”, beginning in the audience in between Margot Robbie and Billie Eilish (the eventual winner of the category), who couldn’t stifle their laughter. After a cameo by legendary guitarist Slash, Gosling took to the audience for a singalong, zeroing in on the cast and crew of Barbie, giving Greta Gerwig a shot at the mic after being “snubbed” for the Best Director Oscar. Even Emma Stone — who Gosling starred in La La Land with — joined in on the fun. Hell, it was so rousing that Stone even later blamed it for breaking her dress!
Those were just some of the most memorable moments from last night’s Academy Awards. What was the most standout Oscar moment for you? Give us your number one pick below!
The post Michael Keaton stares down Arnold and DeVito in epic Batman moment… and other hilarious moments from the Oscars appeared first on JoBlo.
The 96th Academy Awards saw Oppenheimer taking home the most awards of the night, a fine selection of memorable speeches and even a dog in the audience. But some of the funniest moments of the Oscars came in between all of these. For us, the highlight was undoubtedly a showdown for the ages between Michael Keaton and two foes of Batman: Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.
One presenter — well, pair of presenters — that got big laughs was the duo of Schwarzenegger and DeVito, who gave out the Oscars for Best Visual Effects and Best Editing. Now we all know that the two headlined Twins (which Oppenheimer editor Jennifer Lame was cool enough to shout out), but what they really wanted to focus on was taking down Batman, as Mr. Freeze and The Penguin were both discarded by the Caped Crusader in Batman & Robin and Batman Returns, respectively. And so their attention turned to Michael Keaton in the audience, who gave them intimidating looks and challenged them to give their diabolical moves another shot. Even still, Schwarzenegger kept his cool, telling him, “You have a lot of nerve to show your face around here.” While DeVito co-starred with Keaton in Batman Returns, Schwarzenegger starred against George Clooney’s Batman; while Clooney wasn’t in attendance, no doubt a cutaway would have blown the roof off of the Dolby Theatre.
One of the biggest laughs at last night’s Oscars came in an unsuspecting category. Cuing up Best Costume Design, host Jimmy Kimmel mentioned the time in 1974 when a streaker disrupted the show. This set up presenter John Cena, who got a little camera shy and wanted Kimmel to STFU before coming out entirely naked, covered only by an oversized envelope with the nominees. The award would go to Poor Things, but by that point, all eyes were on Cena’s five knuckle shuffle, covered up by a makeshift toga.
Presenting Best Sound was John Mulaney, who we expected to bring the laughs; what we didn’t expect was a full breakdown of the plot of Field of Dreams — itself a three-time Oscar nominee — complete with a point-by-point look at Gabby Hoffmann choking on a hot dog. It was a rapid-fire verbal reconstruction that both poked fun at the movie’s fantasy elements and paid tribute to a beloved runner-up. It also showed exactly why Mulaney should be given a shot at hosting the Academy Awards.
And then there was Ryan Gosling, who gave an all-time great performance of Best Original Song nominee “I’m Just Ken”, beginning in the audience in between Margot Robbie and Billie Eilish (the eventual winner of the category), who couldn’t stifle their laughter. After a cameo by legendary guitarist Slash, Gosling took to the audience for a singalong, zeroing in on the cast and crew of Barbie, giving Greta Gerwig a shot at the mic after being “snubbed” for the Best Director Oscar. Even Emma Stone — who Gosling starred in La La Land with — joined in on the fun. Hell, it was so rousing that Stone even later blamed it for breaking her dress!
Those were just some of the most memorable moments from last night’s Academy Awards. What was the most standout Oscar moment for you? Give us your number one pick below!
The post Michael Keaton stares down Arnold and DeVito in epic Batman moment…and other hilarious moments from the Oscars appeared first on JoBlo.