If you’ve been enjoying the return of Dragon Age with The Veilguard, there are some cool quality of life changes and bug fixes in the latest patch that went live on November 21, 2024. I’ll break them down below to let you know what you’re getting into.
Dragon Age: The Veilguard had a lot to live up to. Its predecessor, Dragon Age: Inquisition, launched in 2014 and left the series on a devastating cliffhanger, a cliffhanger that went unresolved as developer BioWare went through 10 years of development hell and internal reboots, before ultimately making its way to a…
Dragon Age: The Veilguard had a lot to live up to. Its predecessor, Dragon Age: Inquisition, launched in 2014 and left the series on a devastating cliffhanger, a cliffhanger that went unresolved as developer BioWare went through 10 years of development hell and internal reboots, before ultimately making its way to a…
One of the most popular Christmas horror movies among genre fans is the 1974 classic Black Christmas (watch it HERE) – and this December, some of the movie’s fans are going to have the chance to catch it on the big screen! Variety reports that the American Genre Film Archive is celebrating the 50th anniversary of Black Christmas by bringing a 4K restoration to theatres across North America from December 7th through 22nd!
Directed by Bob Clark, the same filmmaker who brought us the family friendly classic A Christmas Story, from a screenplay by A. Roy Moore, Black Christmas has the following synopsis: As winter break begins, a group of sorority sisters, including Jess and the often inebriated Barb, begin to receive anonymous, lascivious phone calls. Initially, Barb eggs the caller on, but stops when he responds threateningly. Soon, Barb’s friend Claire goes missing from the sorority house, and a local adolescent girl is murdered, leading the girls to suspect a serial killer is on the loose. But no one realizes just how near the culprit is.
The film stars Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, Lynne Griffin, Keir Dullea, John Saxon, Marian Waldman, and Andrea Martin.
The American Genre Film Archive leadership had this to say about the theatrical re-release: “AGFA is proud to partner with our friends at Shout Studios and Mutant to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bob Clark’s Black Christmas by bringing the iconic holiday horror hit back to movie theatres in stunning 4K. This year also marks the 15th Anniversary of AGFA and our mission to preserve, protect, and promote the greatest genre films and their filmmakers. We’re grateful to partner with incredible collaborators to bring these films to a new generation of movie lovers.“
Hussey added, “I am so honoured that the American genre Film Archive and Mutant are presenting the 50th Anniversary of Black Christmas in movie theatres this year. The film world is lucky to have the AGFA, which continues to show the meaningful impact of going to the movies through screenings like this one. I’m so happy and honoured that AGFA is introducing this film to a new generation of moviegoers.“
Theatres that will be participating in the Black Christmas re-release include Olympia Film Society in Olympia, Washington, Grand Illusion Cinema in Seattle, the New Beverly Cinema and Vista Theater in Los Angeles, the Brattle Theatre in Boston, the Rivoli Theatre in La Cross, Wisconsin, AFS Cinema in Austin, Denver Film in Denver, Colorado, Rubber Glove Studio in Denton, Texas, Cinema Moderne in Montreal, Quebec, the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, Oregon, the Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, California, the Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline, Massachusetts, and the Metro Cinema in Edmonton, Alberta.
The collectible company Mutant has created an 18″ by 24″ Black Christmas poster that will be available at some of the 50th anniversary screenings. A five-color screen print, produced by Night Swim in an edition of 285, features brand-new artwork by Phantom City Creative. White and red variants will be sold through the Mutant website, beginning on November 29th. Mutant provided this statement: “What a gift it will be to see Black Christmas in theatres, in December, and in glorious 4K presentation. We are so excited to partner with our friends at AGFA and several of the best arthouse cinemas across the U.S. and Great White North to offer a beautiful new silkscreen poster for the original holiday slasher. With a film as influential (and Canadian) as Black Christmas, no artist is better suited to deliver the goods than Toronto’s own Phantom City Creative.“
Are you a Black Christmas fan, and will you be trying to catch the 4K restoration on the big screen during this theatrical re-release? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
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Sam Wilson is a hero, but he is also an ordinary human being. While Steve Rogers had the Super Soldier Serum, Wilson doesn’t have that advantage; And it’s an advantage he could surely use going up against Red Hulk in Captain America: Brave New World. The power balance feels so lopsided that some fans have wondered just how Wilson will avoid becoming a red stain on the floor after mere moments. While speaking at the Disney APAC Content Showcase in Singapore (via ComicBookMovie), Anthony Mackie addressed how Wilson will be able to fight Red Hulk.
It seems Wilson will be using more brain than brawn, with the added benefit of a Wakandan super suit. “It’s very different with the serum – you can fight anybody. When you don’t have the serum, you have to be smart and engineer different ways of defeating [enemies],” Mackie said. “With Sam, him being a counselor, he uses more of his brains than brawn. He uses more of his wit than his fist. He’s more of a friend to everyone.“
As for his new suit, Mackie said, “It’s a high-tech suit. I went to Wakanda, met with everybody in Wakanda, we had dinner. It was a great time. They threw me a welcome party. It was dope. But when I was leaving, they gave me a suit, right? I put it on. I can kick harder, I can fly faster, and it gives me the ability to be more agile in my skills, so it’s taking all my skills to a completely different level.” Even still, I’d imagine this is going to be a challenge.
Captain America: Brave New World “follows Sam Wilson, who after meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a nefarious global plot before the true mastermind has the entire world seeing red.” In addition to Anthony Mackie, the film also stars Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Xosha Roquemore, Carl Lumbly, Giancarlo Esposito, Liv Tyler, Tim Blake Nelson, and Harrison Ford as President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, aka Red Hulk. The film will hit theaters on February 14, 2025.
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Stalker 2 is out now on Xbox Series X/S and PC. And you might be curious to check it out despite the bugs and performance problems. However, if you are someone who can’t stand the idea of shooting or killing dogs in a video game, then you probably should stay far away from Stalker 2.
Stalker 2 is out now on Xbox Series X/S and PC. And you might be curious to check it out despite the bugs and performance problems. However, if you are someone who can’t stand the idea of shooting or killing dogs in a video game, then you probably should stay far away from Stalker 2.
Jump back to Christmas Eve, 2023. I was feeling a bit of a case of the old “Bah Humbugs”, and while flipping through my various streaming services, I was thrilled to see that PlutoTV has a 24 hour channel dedicated to perhaps the greatest Christmas movie of all time, It’s a Wonderful Life. Within seconds of tuning in, I realized that something very, very wrong was happening with this version of the movie.
Indeed, not since old man Potter stole $8000 from Uncle Billy and the Savings & Loan has poor George Bailey had to deal with so much misfortune on Christmas Eve. What was wrong with it? Simple – the version of It’s a Wonderful Life streaming on the service has an alternate score. Indeed, Dimitri Tiomkin’s classic score has been replaced by a new score that sounds like it was lifted out of a Hallmark holiday movie. No, scratch that. That’s not fair to Hallmark movies. It sounds like the kind of score you’d hear in a Canadian Hallmark rip-off or something on the Great American Family Network. And that’s not it. The movie also has a new title, A Wonderful Life, and the credits claim it’s based on “a story by Charles Dickens.” For the record, It’s a Wonderful Life has nothing to do with Charles Dickens. It’s based on a short story called The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern. I tapped out after 10 minutes, but if anyone else happened to suffer through more of this bastardization, then by all means, let us know in the comments. Truly, this was the worst thing to happen to the movie since it was colorized in the eighties, but even then we could always turn down the color on our TVs.
So what gives? It comes down to a rights issue. One of the interesting things about It’s a Wonderful Life is that the film was a notorious flop when it came out in January of 1947. Audiences at the time, perhaps reeling from the fallout of WW2, were more interested in film noir than an upbeat Christmas movie (albeit one with a heavy dose of noir-inspired melancholy worked in), stayed away, and the film sunk into obscurity. It was put out by a short-lived company, Liberty Films, founded by the movie’s director, Frank Capra, but it went under, and Capra’s career never recovered. Most of the company’s films lapsed into public domain, including It’s a Wonderful Life. Oddly, that was the movie’s salvation, as TV networks could show the film for free whenever they wanted to. It became constantly shown around the holidays beginning in the seventies, and that’s how it became a holiday staple.
Eventually, Republic Pictures (now owned by Paramount) could resecure the copyright because while the film elements were no longer protected by copyright, the musical score was. Thus, while still being shown by networks like NBC (who are still showing the legit version), the movie was no longer free to air. However, some ad-supported streaming services who don’t want to shell out big bucks for the streaming rights have found a way around this legal loophole by (badly) muting the score by Dimitri Tiomkin and replacing it with a cheap new version.
To me, this is nothing short of artistic vandalism. It makes a movie that’s distinctly not cheesy or cheap come off that way, and places like Pluto should not be allowed to do this as it trashes the original film’s legacy and sets a bad precedent. Studios are better at protecting the copyright of their movies than they were back in the forties, but there are a lot of classic films from that area in the public domain, and God forbid they get the same treatment.
So where does that leave us in 2024? Pluto hasn’t started streaming the movie yet, but they likely will once the holiday season kicks into high gear after Thanksgiving. I’ll keep an eye out and update this story accordingly, but if anyone else out there has noticed this cheapie version floating around, let me know. I hate it when soundtracks are replaced. Back in the 80s this used to happen all the time, most notoriously with Return of the Living Dead 2, which only recently got re-released with the right music. Another movie floating around out there with replacement music is the 1993 spoof Fatal Instinct with Armand Assante and Sean Young (directed by the late Carl Reiner). Two important songs have been replaced, “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” (which is weird because a character references it) and “Brown Eyed Girl”, by generic music.
Luckily, the version of It’s A Wonderful Life available on good old physical media (or for purchase through digital retailers) is the real deal. So do yourselves a favour and skip this Pluto TV version (also showing on TubiTV and Roku in the States) in favour of the legit version.
The post It’s a Wonderful Life: The streaming version is an abomination appeared first on JoBlo.
Do you smell what The Rock is cooking while on the set of Disney’s live-action remake of Moana? It smells like sweat-stained rubber mats, Creatine, and tequila. For real, though, I’ve had Dwayne Johnson’s tequila, and it’s delicious. Allow me to get to the point. Photos from the set of Disney’s live-action remake of Moana are making the rounds thanks to The Daily Mail, and people are questioning whether Johnson’s physique for the upcoming film is genuine. This query sounds ridiculous. Or does it?
While Dwayne Johnson is undoubtedly a behemoth who tirelessly works to keep himself tip-top, there’s something strange about his proportions in the newly leaked set photos. I’m not saying The Rock is wearing a body suit for sure, but his costume strategically hides telltale areas of the body that would otherwise reveal body suit seams. He could easily enhance “the bod” with Maui’s signature necklace, vambraces, and grass skirt. Again, this is all for your consideration. The last thing I want is for Dwayne Johnson to show up at my front door with anything less than a handshake and the keys to a new SUV. He’d put me in the dirt, no contest.
Set in Ancient Polynesia, Moana tells the story of what happens when a terrible curse incurred by the Demigod Maui reaches Moana’s island. Answering the Ocean’s call to seek out the Demigod and set things right, the young woman reconnects with her ancestors and discovers she’s more powerful than she ever imagined.
Hamilton director Thomas Kail directs Disney’s live-action Moana, starring Catherine Laga’aia as Moana, Dwayne Johnson as Maui, Frankie Adams as Sina, John Tui as Chef Tui, and Rena Owen as Gramma Tala.
Although Kail directed Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights in 2008 and Miranda’s Hamilton in 2015, Moana is technically his first narrative directorial feature. Moana infuses musical elements with mythical adventure, making Kail a natural choice to helm the live-action adaptation.
Johnson, thrilled to return to the world of Moana, said, “I’m deeply humbled and overcome with gratitude to bring the beautiful story of Moana to the live-action big screen. This story is my culture, and this story is emblematic of our people’s grace and warrior strength. I wear this culture proudly on my skin and in my soul, and this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reunite with Maui, inspired by the mana and spirit of my late grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia, is one that runs very deep for me. I want to thank my partners at Disney for their strong commitment to this special endeavor, because there is no better world for us to honor the story of our people, our passion and our purpose than through the realm of music and dance, which is at the core of who we are as Polynesian people.”
What do you think about The Rock’s physique for Disney’s live-action Moana? Is he walking around the island au naturel, or is he wearing a body suit like “Weird Al” Yankovic during the Rambo sequence in the 1989 comedy UHF? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
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Josh Brolin, who plays Gurney Halleck in director Denis Villeneuve’s two-part adaptation of the Frank Herbert novel Dune, let it be known that he thought the Academy “blew it” when Villeneuve didn’t receive a Best Director Oscar nomination for his work on the first Dune, and now he has told Variety that he feels so strongly that Villeneuve deserves an Oscar nomination for Dune Part Two, that he will quit acting if the Academy doesn’t show the director some love
Scripted by Villeneuve, Eric Roth, and Jon Spaihts, Dune Part One introduced viewers to Paul Atreides (played by Timothée Chalamet), “a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding”, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence – a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential – only those who can conquer their fear will survive. Coming to us from Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment, Dune Part Two explores the mythic journey of Paul Atreides as he unites with Chani and the Fremen while on a path of revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family. Facing a choice between the love of his life and the fate of the known universe, he endeavors to prevent a terrible future only he can foresee.
Chalamet and Brolin are joined in the cast by Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Javier Bardem, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, Tim Blake Nelson, Christopher Walken, Souheila Yacoub, and Léa Seydoux.
Brolin told Variety, “If (Denis Villeneuve) doesn’t get nominated this year, I’ll quit acting. (Dune Part Two) was a better movie than the first one. When I watched it, it felt like my brain was broken open. It’s masterful, and Denis is one of our master filmmakers. If the Academy Awards have any meaning whatsoever, they’ll recognize him.“
Two weeks before Dune Part Two reached theatres earlier this year, Brolin pitched the movie in an epic way: “Robot Lady and Wonka fall in love. Then Elvis tries to f*ck it all up while his bad dad floats in a pool of pond scum. The WWE dude from Guardians gets super pissed while Midsommer hottie puts the eyes on Wonka Obi Wan just after his Mom gets caught taking LSD in a sandy bathroom. Chigurh still doesnt like the guy from The Goonies. I mean who doesn’t want to see all that on IMAX?“
Are you hoping to see Dune Part Two and Denis Villeneuve get Oscar nominations so Josh Brolin can continue acting? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
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