Month: October 2024

The A24 horror film Heretic, which is coming our way from the writing and directing duo of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, is set to receive a wide theatrical release on November 15th. The first trailer for the film made its way online a few months ago, the second dropped last month, and now, with the release date just one month away, a third trailer for the film has arrived. You can check it out in the embed above.

Hugh Grant – whose credits include Notting Hill, Love Actually, Wonka, and Unfrosted – stars in Heretic, which has the following synopsis: Two young missionaries are forced to prove their faith when they knock on the wrong door and are greeted by a diabolical Mr. Reed (Hugh Grant), becoming ensnared in his deadly game of cat-and-mouse.

Grant has previously said that he finds villain roles to be “more fun” to play, explaining why he has chosen to play the villain in this scenario. It should be very interesting to watch him take on a diabolic role in a horror movie, and the trailers give a nice preview of the performance he has delivered. He is joined in the cast of Heretic by Chloe East (The Fabelmans) and Sophie Thatcher (Yellowjackets) as the missionaries.

Grant hasn’t done much horror in his career, but he did have a role in Ken Russell’s Bram Stoker-inspired supernatural horror comedy The Lair of the White Worm back in 1988.

Beck and Woods’ previous credits include A Quiet Place (they wrote the original script), Haunt (as writers/directors), Nightlight (writers/directors), Spread (writers/directors), the “Adam Driver vs. dinosaurs” movie 65 (writers/directors), and an episode of 50 States of Fright (writers/directors). They also (alongside Mark Heyman) received writing credits on the Stephen King adaptation The Boogeyman – which happened to star Sophie Thatcher, who turned in a great performance in a movie I thought was just okay overall.

JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray had the opportunity to watch Heretic earlier this month and gave the movie a 7/10 review that can be read at THIS LINK. He said Grant “radiates fiendishly clever intelligence, and he’s given a sadistic streak I didn’t see coming, which feels bold for a mainstream horror flick.”

What did you think of the third trailer for Heretic? Will you be watching this movie when it’s released in November? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Heretic

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brady corbet, brutalist

Whether it be Robert Rodriguez making El Mariachi for just $7,000 or Godzilla Minus One looking like a big Hollywood epic with only a $15 million budget, it’s quite the feat when filmmakers are able to stretch a dollar. This year’s Venice Film Festival darling, A24’s The Brutalist, is a 3-and-a-half-hour drama shot on 70mm and it was made for under $10 million. The Brutalist was a sensation at this year’s Venice Film Festival, garnering a 12-minute standing ovation and winning the Silver Lion, which goes to the film’s director, in this case Brady Corbet. Although originally known as an actor (notably giving a terrific performance in Michael Haneke’s Funny Games remake), Corbet has been making his mark behind the camera. He co-wrote The Brutalist with longtime partner Mona Fastvold.

According to Deadline, Corbet would explain how he made this film with such a budget at a CAA screening. He made sure to note, “We’re not reinventing the wheel. The reality is that we would have been happier and more comfortable if we had more money.” He expounded, “It came at a great personal, physical expense at times because the number of sleepless nights in the last seven years. You have to have blind faith for getting this thing which is completely malnourished across the finish line.” One of Corbet’s advantages was to use the benefits of tax credits when shooting the film in Hungary.

Corbet explained, “We were shooting in a country where things would cost what they really should cost. Hungary is not that cheap where we shot. It’s cheaper than New York City where we spent $1M in transpo on the last movie.” He added, “We want to be in control of how sand is moved around in the box. We think money is frequently misspent; a reality that all of us exist in. I don’t think I’m overstepping by saying that. But also to make this movie for this amount of money meant that it was a real sacrifice from our HODs (heads of departments).”

JoBlo’s Chris Bumbray loved the film and stressed that the 70mm should be experienced when he said in his review, “However, it also demands to be seen theatrically, as more than any movie since Oppenheimer, it’s been designed to be enjoyed as a cinematic event – and those belong on the big screen. Hopefully, audiences can see it how intended, as this is pretty close to being a masterpiece.”

The Brutalist is slated for a December 20 limited release.

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Martin scorsese

When it was announced that two high-profile Martin Scorsese films – one a biopic of Frank Sinatra, the other on Jesus – were being postponed, it led people to wonder what exactly was going on, with some thoughts leading the mind to consider: Is Martin Scorsese retiring? Well, Marty is here to tell you that he doesn’t plan on going anywhere.

Appearing at the Museum of Cinema in Turin, Martin Scorsese told the crowd, “I’m not saying goodbye to cinema at all. I still have more films to make, and I hope God gives me the strength to make them.” OK, so that whole “gives me the strength” statement does feel a bit uneasy, but considering the level of passion and drive that Scorsese still has – the guy released a three-and-a-half hour epic just last year, the same he turned 81 – we really don’t have any reason to worry.

Martin Scorsese’s Frank Sinatra biopic has been on the table for years, with the latest iteration set to star Leonardo DiCaprio as Ol’ Blue Eyes and Jennifer Lawrence eyed for Ava Gardner, a figure featured in Scorsese’s The Aviator two decades ago, as played by Kate Beckinsale. Scorsese, as we know, has a history of bringing real-life stories to the big screen; but will the Sinatra biopic ever make it or will it go the way of his once-planned films on George Gershwin, Teddy Roosevelt and Alexander the Great?

As for his film on Jesus, Martin Scorsese – who has frequently incorporated themes of Catholic guilt into his films and at one point considered becoming a priest – did at least get a fix with his controversial 1988 film The Last Temptation of Christ. This film, however, would be based on Shūsaku Endō’s novel and hope to bring something fresh to the subject. On it, he said, “I’m trying to find a new way to make it more accessible and take away the negative onus of what has been associated with organized religion. Right now, ‘religion,’ you say that word and everyone is up in arms because it’s failed in so many ways. But that doesn’t mean necessarily that the initial impulse was wrong…”

Whatever Martin Scorsese does decide to do next, we’re just glad that he will, as he so often feels like one of the last of his kind.

What do you want to see Martin Scorsese do next? Do either of these projects fit the bill or do you hope he chooses another?

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Chad Stahelski, The Professionals, John Wick, Clule

THR reports that Chad Stahelski is producing The Professionals. When I read the title, I initially thought this might be a remake of the 1966 Western starring Burt Lancaster and Lee Marvin, but no. The project is said to be a cross between John Wick and Clue. I can get down with that.

The film follows “a group of contract killers stranded in an English countryside estate when one of them is murdered and the remaining group has to solve the death.” Stahelski will produce alongside Alex Young and Jason Spitz, his partners at 87Eleven, as well as Jason Michael Berman and Jordan Moldo of Mandalay Pictures. Hunter Perot, grandson of the late Ross Perot, wrote the initial draft of the screenplay. Madison Turner, a stuntman-turned-writer and son of longtime stunt performer Tierre Turner, is now tackling the script.

Chad Stahelski has plenty of projects on his slate, including a reboot of Highlander. The project has spent years in development, but at long last, it finally seems to be moving forward. Earlier this summer, Stahelski said that he was slated to start shooting early next year. “We start shooting in January in Scotland, that’s why I go right after I leave. I go to Scotland on Monday to do the final location scout. It’s another opportunity to do a property that I love,” he said. “I love what it’s about, I love working with immortality and love stories through time. I think it’s a good way to take a great period piece, and sci-fi, and mix them together.

He’s also developing a TV series based on Jonathan Maberry’s Joe Ledger novels; a feature-film adaptation of hit video game Ghosts of Tsushima; as well as John Wick: The High Table, a TV series taking place directly after the end of John Wick: Chapter 4 which aims to “combine new and old and thrust the Wick universe into a new age.” He’s a busy dude.

Stahelski also produces the upcoming John Wick spinoff, Ballerina, which stars Ana de Armas as a young woman with killer skills who sets out to get revenge when hitmen kill her family. The film will hit theaters on June 6, 2025.

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Jason Goes to Hell, 4K

Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday may be one of the most divisive movies in the Friday the 13th franchise, but I’m sure fans would jump at the chance to own the film on 4K Ultra HD. There have been rumblings that Arrow Video might be working on a 4K release of the sequel, which director Adam Marcus has confirmed.

I just supervised the 4K restoration, Color timing and clean up with cinematographer William Dill,” Marcus revealed on X. “It’s the uncut version and it’s never looked better.” It’s not clear when Jason Goes to Hell might be released, but I’d imagine we’ll hear a more official announcement before too long. Arrow Video released a 4K version of the Friday the 13th remake just last month.

Jason Goes to Hell is frequently seen as the black sheep of the franchise. It was the first Friday the 13th film to be released by New Line Cinema after Paramount Pictures sold them the rights to the character. After the critical and commercial failure of Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, the new team went in a very different direction. Unfortunately, this new direction didn’t go over well with fans. The physical version of Jason Voorhees we know and love barely appears in the film. Much of it follows Jason’s spirit as it possesses various people to continue his killings. In order to resurrect himself, Jason has to possess a member of his bloodline, but he can also be permanently killed by a magical dagger wielded by one of his relatives.

While the film was panned by fans and critics, it does have its moments, including some stand-out gore sequences and the great Steven Williams as Creighton Duke, an over-the-top bounty hunter who just so happens to be a Voorhees expert.

Adam Marcus has also been working on a documentary about the making of Jason Goes to Hell, titled Hearts of Darkness: The Making of the Final Friday. The project has been in the works for several years but was officially completed earlier this spring, with Marcus now in the process of figuring out distribution and screenings.

Would you like to add Jason Goes to Hell to your 4K collection?

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Joker: Folie à Deux, ending

MAJOR SPOILERS for Joker: Folie à Deux. The much anticipated Joker sequel is now playing in theaters, but unlike the first movie, it doesn’t look as though fans will help it become another billion-dollar success story. Joker: Folie à Deux has proven to be rather divisive, with the ending in particular coming under fire.

If you’ve seen the film, you know that the sequel finds Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) stabbed to death by a fellow inmate, who promptly carves a Glasgow smile into his own face. It was a shocking end for the character, proving that Fleck was never going to become the Joker we know and love. Joker: Folie à Deux director Todd Phillips spoke with Entertainment Weekly to break down the ending and explain why Fleck ultimately rejects his Joker persona.

He realized that everything is so corrupt, it’s never going to change, and the only way to fix it is to burn it all down,” Phillips said. “When those guards kill that kid in the [hospital] he realizes that dressing up in makeup, putting on this thing, it’s not changing anything. In some ways, he’s accepted the fact that he’s always been Arthur Fleck; he’s never been this thing that’s been put upon him, this idea that Gotham people put on him, that he represents. He’s an unwitting icon. This thing was placed on him, and he doesn’t want to live as a fake anymore — he wants to be who he is.

Phillips continued, “The sad thing is, he’s Arthur, and nobody cares about Arthur.” The director added that Lady Gaga’s character never refers to him as Arthur until their final interaction. “[She’s] realizing, I’m on a whole other trip, man, you can’t be what I wanted you to be,” he said.

Given the ending to Joker: Folie à Deux, it makes all the more sense why Phillips has said that he doesn’t intend on returning for Joker 3. “It was fun to play in this sort of sandbox for two movies,” he said, “but I think we’ve said what we wanted to say in this world.

Our own Chris Bumbray wasn’t a fan of the sequel, feeling that it only exists because the first movie made a boatload of money. “Perhaps Joker was too big of a hit not to get a sequel, but watching Joker: Folie à Deux, you get the distinct feeling that this was an exercise in style for Phillips rather than a sequel that HAD to be made,” Bumbray wrote. “As it is, though, this Joker sequel spins its wheels and winds up being an often dull courtroom movie livened up by occasional flights of fancy into musical numbers. Those sequences are the best in the film, as without them, this would feel like a wholly unnecessary epilogue to what was originally a pretty powerful film.” You can check out the rest of Bumbray’s review right here, and be sure to let us know what you think of the film as well.

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