Some Star Wars fans are upset, again. Imagine that. The latest freak-out turns on a minor bit of canon that was just scrambled in episode 4 of Star Wars: The Acolyte. It has to do with the prequel movies and the lifespans of one particular race of aliens that really doesn’t factor into anything important. The response…
There is only one day until Shadow of the Erdtree launches, and ahead of the DLC’s release, Elden Ring is dropping a major patch. Version 1.12 is now live on all platforms and comes with a lengthy list of balance adjustments, bug fixes, and new features. While the most prominent note is that the game now has support…
There is only one day until Shadow of the Erdtree launches, and ahead of the DLC’s release, Elden Ring is dropping a major patch. Version 1.12 is now live on all platforms and comes with a lengthy list of balance adjustments, bug fixes, and new features. While the most prominent note is that the game now has support…
Microsoft’s shocking decision in May to close a collection of Bethesda-adjacent studios saw Dishonored and Redfall developers Arcane Austin suddenly closed down, before the studio was able to complete Redfall’s promised content. Those who bought the game’s never-to-be-released Hero DLC are now, a month later, being…
Microsoft’s shocking decision in May to close a collection of Bethesda-adjacent studios saw Dishonored and Redfall developers Arcane Austin suddenly closed down, before the studio was able to complete Redfall’s promised content. Those who bought the game’s never-to-be-released Hero DLC are now, a month later, being…
A while back, the Max streaming service unveiled a teaser for their upcoming series The Penguin, a spinoff from Matt Reeves’ The Batman that sees Colin Farrell (who has described the show as being “incredibly violent“) reprising the role of The Penguin. Now a second teaser for The Penguin has made its way online, and you can check it out in the embed above! A specific premiere date for The Penguin has not yet been announced, but we do know that it’s aiming for a September debut.
Set in the aftermath of the events of The Batman, The Penguin is an eight-episode limited series that’s coming our way from Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios. The official synopsis simply tells us that the show continues filmmaker Matt Reeves’ The Batman epic crime saga that began with Warner Bros. Pictures’ global blockbuster The Batman. The series was developed by writer/showrunner Lauren LeFranc.
As mentioned, Colin Farrell plays the title character, a.k.a. Oz Cobb. He’s joined in the cast by Cristin Milioti (Sofia Falcone), Rhenzy Feliz (Victor Aguilar), Michael Kelly (Johnny Viti), Shohreh Aghdashloo (Nadia Maroni), Deirdre O’Connell (Francis Cobb), Clancy Brown (Salvatore Maroni), James Madio (Milos Grapa), Scott Cohen (Luca Falcone), Michael Zegen (Alberto Falcone), Carmen Ejogo (Eve Karlo), and Theo Rossi (Dr. Julian Rush).
Farrell and LeFranc serve as executive producers alongside Reeves, Dylan Clark, Bill Carraro, Daniel Pipski, and Craig Zobel, who directed the first three episodes. Based on characters created for DC by Bob Kane with Bill Finger, The Penguin is produced by Reeves’ 6th & Idaho Productions and Dylan Clark Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television, where Reeves and 6th & Idaho are under an overall deal.
Zobel’s previous directing credits include episodes of Westworld, The Leftovers, American Gods, and Outcast, the entire series of Mare of Easttown, the indie film Z for Zachariah, and the Blumhouse movie The Hunt. Actress / director Helen Shaver was also at the helm of an unknown number of episodes.
What did you think of the second teaser for The Penguin? Are you looking forward to watching this show when it starts streaming in September? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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The international directors of thrillers will be combining forces. The Hollywood Reporter has said that Yeon Sang-ho, the director of the Korean horror film, Train to Busan, has just signed on to direct a feature film adaptation of Revelations, which is based on his own Korean internet animated series. This new film will be a Netflix original after Sang-ho already made three projects with the streamer. He directed the sci-fi feature Jung_E, as well as the popular high-concept series Hellbound and Parasyte: The Grey. A second season of Hellbound is also currently in development at Netflix.
THR has also reported that Sang-ho will be teaming up with Alfonso Cuarón on this picture. Cuarón is on board as an executive producer and he will be consulting on the project. Netflix did not divulge how Cuarón had come to join the film, but Sang-ho would express his enthusiasm for working with the acclaimed Mexican director. Sang-ho states, “Alfonso Cuarón, known for masterpieces like Children of Men and Gravity, has greatly influenced my work as a director. I am thrilled at this opportunity to collaborate with him on shaping Revelations, and I have high expectations for our partnership.”
The film will be produced by Wow Point, which is a production company that specializes in content made for Korea, Japan and the U.S. Wow Point would make the statement, “With two globally renowned creators coming together, we sincerely hope that Revelations will thrill audiences worldwide.”
Per Deadline, Revelations‘ story “centers on a missing persons case and follows a pastor and a detective, each driven by their own beliefs. Korean star Ryu Jun-yeol (The 8 Show, The King, Alienoid) portrays Min-chan, the pastor of a small church in a provincial town. When a man named Yang-rae visits his church, Min-chan receives a divine revelation identifying him as the culprit who abducted his son, and he sets forth to pursue justice. Alternating between sincere faith and cruel reality, Min-chan becomes consumed by his quest for retribution. Popular actress Shin Hyun-been (Hospital Playlist, Reborn Rich) plays detective Yeon-hee, who is on the trail of Yang-rae, a suspect in the missing-person case — as well as the suspicious pastor Min-chan. Yeon-hee is constantly haunted by visions of her sister, who died due to a heinous crime.”
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With the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the middle of Phase Five and release dates for Phase Six set, we’ll be hearing a lot of casting news as the latter takes form. One who has had an active interest in joining the MCU is Jon Hamm, who says he has had continued conversations with the studio to officially join in…but there is one character he refused to play.
As Jon Hamm told The Hollywood Reporter on his MCU dalliance, he was far from being positioned as a top dog but interest was coming from both parties. “It’s not like they were saying, “We want you to be Iron Man.” But there were a lot of conversations, and I’m still in those. I talk to the guys that run Marvel and DC. And I’m a comic book nerd. So, we’ll see. Even that part of the industry is changing.” He added that he was sought after for Green Lantern while Mad Men was still on the air, although, “That was one I definitely didn’t want to do.” He, too, was poised to play Mister Sinister in The New Mutants, but his scene was never shot.
Even still, Jon Hamm continues to be excited for a potential MCU entry, continuing, “But I’ve pitched myself for a couple parts of the Marvel universe, I don’t want to say what exactly, but it was a part of a comic book that I really liked. I was like, “Are you going to do this story?” And they were like, “Yeah, we’re actually thinking of that.” I go, “Good. I should be the guy.” So maybe it’ll work out.” That’s one heck of a tease there but considering he has expressed desire to play Doctor Doom, maybe he could be introduced in The Fantastic Four, currently slated for July 25th, 2025. Hey, it couldn’t be any worse than Howard Stern being involved…
Jon Hamm even cited Jeff Goldblum as an example of how a career trajectory should work. Goldblum joined the MCU as Grandmaster for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, reprising him for Thor: Ragnarok and series What If…?
Where do you think Jon Hamm would best fit within the MCU? Do you see him more as a hero or villain type? Drop your thoughts below!
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PLOT: A troubled actor exhibits disruptive behavior while shooting a horror film. His estranged daughter wonders if he’s slipping back into his past addictions or if there’s something more sinister at play.
REVIEW: Just last year, we saw the release of The Pope’s Exorcist, and now, less than one year later, we’ve got Russell Crowe returning to the genre with a similar title. But outside of being about possession and starring Russell Crowe, these films could not be more different. Announced 5 years ago and even filmed before Pope’s Exorcist, The Exorcism was hit with delay after delay. That’s not often a great sign concerning a movie’s quality, but the June release seemed to show a little more faith in the product than expected. Unfortunately, the film fails to deliver anything outside of some decent performances.
The Exorcism follows Russell Crowe’s Anthony Miller, a struggling actor who recently booked a role in a horror movie after something tragic happened to the prior actor. He starts exhibiting strange behavior as it’s clear something much more sinister is going on. His daughter, Lee (Simpkins), is working as a production assistant on the film and is trying to repair her fractured relationship with her father. Saying Crowe is great in the role is a bit like saying water is wet; no matter the film, he always delivers. But the Tony character falls into the box of an alcoholic, neglectful dad and has a hard time getting out of it.
This is really Ryan Simpkins’ film, as her reactions to Tony’s behavior are where the true horror lies. Anyone who’s lived with an addict knows the pain of a relapse, and the viewer experiences Tony’s destructive behavior through his daughter. Using alcoholism to portray the possession was an interesting choice. Simpkins is able to say so much with so little, and it was easily my favorite part of the film. Chloe Bailey works well as the actor Lee knows from her past and is a bit of a love interest. I’d argue the character’s interactions are ultimately pointless, but it’s nice that not everything in Lee’s life is a mess.
David Hyde Pierce shows up in a fun role as a priest. He gets a bit of duality in his performance and really gets to go hard in the third act. If anything, I wanted more of him playing evil, even if his good-guy schtick also works incredibly well. Sam Worthington shows up in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it part that made me question why they even cast such a big actor for the role. And I’m absolutely flummoxed at Adam Goldberg’s Peter, the director. This character is such an asshole and spits such vitriol that I was shocked to see no real comeuppance for him. This is why very little of this works despite going into some dark places. If you’re going to set something up, you need to pay it off.
Given the writer/director’s relationship to the material, maybe the story’s point was lost along the way. There are times when logic exits the scene, and we’re just left with a sloppy narrative progression. Not much thought is put into the why, so the scenes feel very slapped together. I was shocked this came from the writing team of The Final Girls, given how tightly paced and genre-aware that script was. Instead, this is just teeming with cliches and lacking in any true scares. Hell, the jump scares in this one aren’t set up and are “cat jumps out of the closet” level of obnoxious.
It’s not all bad: I really enjoyed the sets, in particular the “dollhouse” which was the filming location for the film within a film. As a house cut in half, it provides a very interesting visual that evolves throughout the movie. But anytime you dig deeper into The Exorcism, it’s a very shallow experience. While I liked the performances, they exist within such one-dimensional characters. Lee’s focus on Blake takes the toll of what Tony is going through and its effect on Lee, and pushes it into less intense territory. If she has enough time to focus on love, then the horror going on around her can’t be all that bad.
I wouldn’t be shocked if people see an advertisement for another Crowe Exorcism film and buy tickets based on the merits of The Pope’s Exorcist. But that would be a massive mistake as the two films could not be more different. There’s no fun to be had here, and the subject matter is absolutely dour. From pedophilia within the church to intense alcoholism to an extremely toxic set, this is a rough viewing. And if those elements were handled with a bit more grace, this could have been a truly terrifying experience. Instead, it’s bad CGI, loud noises, and a demon that cares more about plot convenience than actual horror.
THE EXORCISM IS PLAYING ONLY IN THEATERS ON JUNE 21ST, 2024.
Check out my interview with the cast and filmmakers HERE!
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Almost two years have gone by since A24 announced that production was underway on the psychological horror film The Front Room, with Brandy Norwood (Queens, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer) taking on the lead role and Max and Sam Eggers – the younger brothers of The Witch, The Lighthouse, and The Northman director Robert Eggers – at the helm. Now we’re only a couple months away from the film’s theatrical release date of September 6th (a date that puts it in direct competition with Beetlejuice Beetlejuice), and A24 has just unveiled a trailer. You can check it out in the embed above.
Based on a short story by Susan Hill, The Front Room has the following synopsis: Everything goes to hell for newly-pregnant Belinda (Brandy) after her mother-in-law (Kathryn Hunter) moves in. As the diabolical guest tries to get her claws on the child, Belinda must draw the line somewhere… If you would like to read the short story source material, it can be found in Hill’s collection The Travelling Bag and Other Ghostly Stories. Copies can be purchased at THIS LINK.
Norwood is joined in the cast by Kathryn Hunter (The Tragedy of Macbeth), Andrew Burnap (WeCrashed), and Neal Huff (Spotlight).
The Front Room is being produced by A24, along with Lucan Toh, Babak Anvari, and Bryan Sonderman of Two & Two Pictures, as well as Julia Oh and David Hinojosa of 2AM. A24 is financing the project and will be handling the worldwide theatrical release.
Max Eggers co-wrote The Lighthouse with his brother Robert and was a production assistant on Robert’s 2008 short film adaptation of the Edgar Allan Poe story The Tell-Tale Heart. Sam Eggers was also a production assistant on that short film, and on The Witch. Sam also co-wrote and co-edited the 2018 documentary Olympia, about actress Olympia Dukakis.
Are you interested in seeing a horror film from the brothers of Robert Eggers? Let us know what you thought of the trailer for The Front Room by leaving a comment below.
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