If you thought that Excel spreadsheets were just for mind-numbing office work, think again. A gaming hobbyist has created an Excel-based RPG game that he based on the popular post-apocalyptic game Fallout. It’s the end of the world, all over again.
Multiplayer tactical shooter Escape From Tarkov caused much upset in its passionate community last week when it announced it would be adding PvE to the game, but only for those who spent an astonishing $250 on a new bundle, The Unheard Edition. This was made even worse after those who’d previously bought the Edge of…
Multiplayer tactical shooter Escape From Tarkov caused much upset in its passionate community last week when it announced it would be adding PvE to the game, but only for those who spent an astonishing $250 on a new bundle, The Unheard Edition. This was made even worse after those who’d previously bought the Edge of…
The Circle of Life begins for Mufasa, the famous King of Pride Rock. Here, we are introduced to him as a lion cub. The official synopsis from Disney reads, “Mufasa: The Lion King enlists Rafiki to relay the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick. Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka—the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny—their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe.”
New and returning cast members were called on to lend their voices to the film:
Additional casting includes Braelyn Rankins, Theo Somolu, Folake Olowofoyeku, Joanna Jones, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim, Abdul Salis and Dominique Jennings. Celebrated award-winning songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda is writing the film’s songs produced by Mark Mancina and Miranda, with additional music and performances by Lebo M.
Director Barry Jenkins took the stage to promote the Lion King prequel at CinemaCon, adding that he had seen the original Disney animated movie over 200 times and knew he had to take the gig. “When the script came to me I was fascinated by watching these complex people dealing with complex emotions…this film explores Mufasa rise to become the heroic king that we know,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins wanted to make a movie that tackled the same issues as the first, hoping that it would help a new generation of children become who they really are. The teaser trailer here matches closely with the footage described from the preview at CinemaCon. One stand out poignant moment that was noted was in a voiceover where Rifiki designates the difference between Mufasa and his future son, Simba, “This is the story of a lion who is born without a drop of nobility in his blood.” According to our own Chris Bumbray, the animation is even more impressive than Jon Favreau’s movie with some huge set pieces.
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When we think of the greatest actors who opted to retire, there are really so few that ended on a high note. Daniel Day-Lewis in Phantom Thread is the first one that comes to mind, but who else would even be close? Unfortunately, it isn’t Gene Hackman, who left Hollywood after a 40+ year on the screen following 2004’s Welcome to Mooseport…which is just about the most embarrassing way to cap off such a legendary career. Then again, maybe it’s just the sort of movie that would make you want to retire.
By the time filming began on what would be his last movie, Gene Hackman was in his mid-70s and had seen enough in the business to know who was competent and, well, who would be directing Welcome to Mooseport. As co-star Maura Tierney remembered, Hackman and Donald Petrie (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, My Favorite Martian) did not get along at all when making the movie. “He didn’t like the director. But I don’t think he likes directors. I think that’s his schtick. I mean, he did, I believe, tell the director at some point to, uh… ‘Will you just shut the f*ck up and go over there and say ‘action’ or whatever it is you do?’ Now that’s funny.” Not only funny, but just the sort of story that makes us love Gene Hackman even more.
Tierney would also joke that Welcome to Mooseport was “the film that forced Gene Hackman into retirement.” And while it’s easy to crack, Hackman’s retirement actually stemmed from health issues, with the actor once saying, “The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York. The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.” And who needs the stress of filming a movie in Ontario with Ray Romano?
Now 94, Gene Hackman turned to writing historical fiction after leaving the business. But what he left behind on the silver screen is almost unmatched as far as actors of that generation go. After breaking out in 1967’s Bonnie & Clyde (receiving his first Oscar nomination in the process), he truly became a household name with 1971’s The French Connection, winning his first Oscar (his second would be for 1992’s Unforgiven). And then there’s The Poseidon Adventure, Scarecrow, Night Moves, Superman, Hoosiers, Mississippi Burning, The Royal Tenenbaums, and so, so many more.
What is your favorite Gene Hackman performance? Drop your pick in the comments section below.
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This article will contain some spoilers for Challengers, so reader beware if you haven’t seen Luca Guadagnino’s new film…
Tennis isn’t for everyone – some people just want their Spidey fix. That’s what happens in one scene of Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers, where the daughter of Tashi (Zendaya) and Art (Mike Faist) asks to watch a Spider-Verse movie instead of tennis. But as the director explains, it wasn’t meant to be directly linked to Zendaya’s own Spider-Man movies.
As Guadagnino told Entertainment Weekly, those thinking that Spider-Verse moment in Challengers was an intentional easter egg are mistaken, as it was really just out of circumstances. “When you get rights for something to be used in a movie, it’s very complicated. Amy Pascal, our amazing producer, was of help there. I said, ‘Amy, can we use one of your catalog titles so it’s going to be easier to clear them?’ [Lily]’s a girl; she’s not going to choose to watch The Social Network or The Post, but maybe she’s going to watch a Spider-Man cartoon, so I said, ‘Why not Spider-Verse?’” Hence, the reference that fans have latched onto, to which Guadagnino said, “Now I realize that it sounded like an in-joke, which, you know, the unconscious guides us all the time.”
Fans have also pointed out something else that is pretty interesting: the key Spider-Man love interests have all starred in tennis movies: Kirsten Dunst – who played Mary Jane Watson in Sam Raimi’s trilogy – starred in Wimbledon; Emma Stone – who played Gwen Stacey in The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel – played the legendary Billie Jean King in Battle of the Sexes; and of course Zendaya – who played MJ in the most recent outings – leads Challengers. An odd coincidence to be sure, but whoever wants to get cozy with Peter Parker next better start stringing their racket.
Challengers “stars Zendaya as Tashi Duncan, a former tennis prodigy turned coach and a force of nature who makes no apologies for her game on and off the court. Married to a champion on a losing streak (Faist), Tashi’s strategy for her husband’s redemption takes a surprising turn when he must face off against the washed-up Patrick (Josh O’Connor – The Crown) – his former best friend and Tashi’s former boyfriend. As their pasts and presents collide, and tensions run high, Tashi must ask herself, what will it cost to win.” You can read our own Tyler Nichols’ 7/10 review here.
Have you had a chance to see Challengers yet? If so, what did you think?
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What’s the deal with being politically correct? Comedian Jerry Seinfeld is once again going after PC and woke culture, saying they are responsible for the demise of the American sitcom.
On a recent episode of The New Yorker Radio Hour, Jerry Seinfeld said that while there is always a hunger for good comedy, the sitcom has suffered greatly because people – both those making the decisions and tuning in every week – are too easily offended. “Nothing really affects comedy. People always need it. They need it so badly and they don’t get it. Used to be you would go home at the end of the day, most people would go, “Oh, Cheers is on. Oh, M.A.S.H. Is on. Oh, Mary Tyler Moore is on. Oh, All in the Family‘s on. You just expected, ‘There’ll be some funny stuff we can watch on TV tonight.’ Well, guess what? Where is it?”
With this, Jerry Seinfeld went after the “extreme left”, who he says is directly to blame for the lack of challenging works on television. “This is the result of the extreme left and PC crap and people worrying so much about offending other people. When you write a script and it goes into four or five different hands, committees, groups: ‘Here’s our thought about this joke.’ Well, that’s the end of your comedy. They move the gates, like in skiing. Culture, the gates are moving. Your job is to be agile and clever enough that wherever they put the gates, I’m gonna make the gate.”
Lack of challenge can absolutely hinder creativity. And when the industry gets to the point where they have tiptoe around certain topics – or avoid them entirely – we get prequels to The Big Bang Theory. And those prequels get their own spinoffs for some reason. Really, there aren’t a whole lot of sitcoms out there that allow characters to say and do things that might be deemed controversial, let alone put them on display without giving a single damn. The first one that comes to mind is It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, which has lasted an astonishing 16 seasons but hasn’t spawned any truly worthwhile followers that can ignite a television revolution.
Jerry Seinfeld has been going after wokeness for quite some time now, always taking the stance that it is more harmful to comedy than helpful for the culture. This is just the latest example, and one more instance of Seinfeld seeing the entertainment industry suffering, as he recently said that the days of opening weekend chatter and buzz have been killed off by streaming.
What do you make of Jerry Seinfeld’s comments? Do you agree or disagree? Share your thoughts below!
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Arrow Video is hitting the genre game in a big way this summer, releasing 4K editions of sci-fi favorite The Last Starfighter and Guy Ritchie’s adaptation of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in July.
While Arrow Video has released The Last Starfighter on 4K in North America just last year, this U.K. release will definitely be worth seeking out for our friends across the pond. On the transfer, the label wrote: “Now newly restored from a 4K scan of the original negative and featuring a 4.1 mix originally created for the film’s 70mm release – never included on previous home video formats – The Last Starfighter arrives loaded with brand new and archival bonus features. Strap yourself in: the Blu-ray adventure of a lifetime is about to begin!”
Special features for Arrow Video’s The Last Starfighter included two commentaries, as well as in-depth looks at the score, the special effects, the screenplay, and the namesake game. It also has a collectible booklet and a limited edition slipcover. This release comes out on July 15th.
As for Guy Ritchie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Arrow Video hyped the spy flick with: “A thrilling spy romp with rich period detail and an infectious soundtrack of cool pop classics, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. puts a colorful, contemporary twist on 1960s espionage and delivers pure entertainment with swaggering ease.”
Arrow Video’s 4K release of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. will feature a brand new critics commentary, as well as a wealth of new interviews and featurettes, including one on the original TV series, which aired from 1964-1968. Also included is a double-sided fold-out poster, an illustrated booklet and a reversible sleeve with brand new artwork. Expect to see it in the U.S. and Canada on July 30th and in the UK one day prior.
Other releases from Arrow Video in July include a box set of the works of Greek filmmaker Nico Mastorakis (Sky High in Blu? Yes, please!), the James Caan-starring racecar actioner Red Line 7000 and last year’s Loop Track. Considering Arrow’s track record of how they treat their 4K releases, there’s no doubt that these titles will be worth checking out.
Are you looking forward to 4K releases of The Last Starfighter and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.?
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It’s happened before, and it will happen again. Sometimes, a movie plays a film fest, gets picked up by a studio, and is changed. That’s exactly what happened to Boy Kills World, a movie I saw (and enjoyed) at TIFF’s Midnight Madness. The film had a pretty dire opening at the box office this weekend, barely cracking the top 10. But the cut folks saw (or didn’t) this weekend was not the same as what I saw originally at TIFF back in September.
So what’s different? If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll know that the entire film is narrated by Bill Skarsgard’s “Boy” character (who is deaf and mute) via his interior monologue. However, Skarsgard himself doesn’t provide the voice-over, which H. Jon Benjamin of Archer fame does. The conceit is that the narration is the last voice “Boy” heard before going deaf, being the voice of an over-the-top 80s-style arcade game. In the version that I saw originally, this idea was dropped, with Skarsgard narrating the whole film himself in an unaffected voice. I believe there’s yet another cut out there where Skarsgard himself does the video game voice, which was teased in a promo trailer that leaked months before the movie played TIFF.
So, how does the change affect the finished film?
For one thing, the first act of the film now plays a lot more comedically, although having seen the new cut, I did notice that as the film goes on there’s a lot less narration than there was originally. This makes the more dramatic second half of the film land a bit differently.
To be fair, I enjoyed both versions of Boy Kills World. I was originally dead-set against the idea of Benjamin doing a silly narration job, as it felt like a slight against Skarsgard’s terrific performance. Still, it works decently well in the film itself, so this isn’t a case where the original cut is some masterpiece and this a hack job. Both versions of the film are good. With the film opening so modestly at the box office, it’ll be interesting to see if any original cuts ever surface. Maybe somewhere down the line, a cult company like Arrow will give this a 4K release with some of the original cuts included.
Boy Kills World hits theaters on April 26th.
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As expected, Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers scored an easy win this weekend, with a $15 million weekend, just a touch softer than we predicted earlier this week. The tennis-cantered love triangle was no doubt boosted by Zendaya’s star power, with her hotter than ever in the wake of Dune: Part Two’s blockbuster showing this winter. IMAX screens were dominated by Zendaya in one form or another, with both Challengers and Dune 2 playing in the format this weekend thanks to the latter’s re-release.
Notably, the film posted Guadagnino’s best box office opening to date, with the weekend total more than doubling the total take of his previous biggest opener, Bones and All. It’ll be interesting to see if Challengers can hold up in the coming weeks, with The Fall Guy opening next weekend and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes opening the weekend after. With the summer movie season kicking off, one wonders whether the Euphoria star’s fans will come out to see Challengers on the big screen, with it an Amazon-MGM production that will eventually run on Prime Video. Some folks may opt to wait out its streaming release, where it will no doubt become much-memed in the way their last really racy movie, Saltburn, did when it hit the streaming service over the Christmas holidays.
In second place, the Christian music biopic Unsung Hero had a mild $7.7 million opening. But, the film also posted an A+ CinemaScore, so it’s possible the targeted Christian audience may turn this into a word-of-mouth hit, similar to the recent Jesus Revolution. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire also held up quite well in its fifth week of release, making $7.2 million, declining a mere 25% from last weekend. With a running North American total of $181 million, this will easily crack the $200 million mark (maybe more). A24’s Civil War dropped to fourth place with just over $7 million, losing its IMAX screens to Challengers. It now has a North American total of $56 million, making it A24’s second-biggest grosser of all time behind Everything Everywhere All At Once. It seems unlikely that this film will beat that total of $77.2 million, but nevertheless, this is a great showing for Alex Garland’s speculative war flick.
Radio Silence’s Abigail came in fifth with a $5.2 million weekend. The good news is that it only dropped 49% from last weekend, but the bad news is that the opening was widely considered a huge disappointment. With a total of $18 million, it seems unlikely this will end with much over $25 million domestically, making it a film that will likely find more of an audience when it hits Peacock several weeks from now.
Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare also had a hard time holding on to its audience this weekend, making a modest $3.8 million for a total of just over $15 million. As I noted last week, this movie has an oddball release, with it not playing theatrically in Canada or the UK, where Prime Video has the rights (the film hasn’t been dated yet), thus limiting its chance at making a dent at the box office.
Seventh, eighth, and ninth place went to holdovers, with Kung Fu Panda 4 and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire battling it out for the family audience and posting weekends in the $3 million-plus range. Against all odds, Frozen Empire held up better than anyone expected at the box office. However, it will undoubtedly finish quite a bit shy of Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s $129 million domestic result. Dune: Part Two got a bit of a boost this weekend thanks to an IMAX re-release, although it also hit digital recently, so the $1.9 million total is a touch soft. It’s a bit shy of grossing $280 million at the box office. While it will fall short of a $300 million finish, the movie is still considered a pretty major blockbuster.
However, the outlook was much less rosy for Boy Kills World, which imploded at the box office. ComScore has this movie opening in 10th place with a $1.6 million opening. However, Deadline has the film in 11th place, with them stating that the re-release of Ridley Scott’s Alien (celebrating its 45th anniversary) actually outgrossed it with a $1.8 million weekend. Whatever this case, this is a bad result for the would-be franchise starter, which will undoubtedly make a bigger dent on streaming. Notably, the film went through some post-production drama following its TIFF Midnight Madness debut in the fall, so it’ll be interesting to see if any alternate cuts ever see the light of day in the wake of its poor box office showing.
Did you see anything in theaters this weekend? Let us know in the comments!
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