Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is the latest addition to the small-screen, Disney Plus streaming version of the Galaxy Far, Far Away that we all know and love. Starring Jude Law, the series, which comes from Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts, aspires to be a throwback to the kind of movies Amblin’ Entertainment put out in the eighties. It’s led by a young cast of kids, with it very much in the mould of The Goonies, albeit in space. So far, it’s collected far better reviews from both critics and fans than many other, more divisive Star Wars projects have in recent years (read our review here).
Recently, we were invited to take part in the Skeleton Crew press day in NYC, and our interviewer, Eric Walkuski was able to speak to two of the stars, Kyriana Kratter & Robert Timothy Smith. Kyriana Kratter plays KB, who sports a cybernetic visor in the show, while Smith voices Neel, a blue, elephant-like boy who seems to be of the same species as Max Rebo from Return of the Jedi. Check out our interview (embedded above) as the two discuss their love of the franchise, bonding as a group, and more!
Plot: Set 183 years before the events chronicled in the original trilogy of films, The War of the Rohirrim tells the fate of the House of Helm Hammerhand, the legendary King of Rohan. When a scorned warrior named Wulf vows revenge for his fallen father, he ignites a war for the ages. The War of the Rohirrim tells of how an unforgiving war transformed an ancient stronghold of the Hornsburg into Helm’s Deep.
Review: Few dark fantasy properties are as timeless, influential, and well-guarded as J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien’s world of swords, sorcery, hobbits, and giant eagles that could have flown Frodo to Mount Doom in no time is sacred to many. So, when I heard the legendary Japanese director Kenji Kamiyama, the visionary behind 2017’s Napping Princess and the architect of Eden of the East,would direct an untold chapter of LOTR history, I took a celebratory toke out of my Churchwarden pipe replica and awaited the film’s arrival. Today, I’m excited to say that the movie has exceeded my expectations, as Kamiyama’s latest epic brings fresh air to a universe that’s been a part of the pop culture zeitgeist for longer than I’ve been alive.
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim begins quietly enough, with the film’s central heroine, Héra (Gaia Wise), gliding through a breathtaking expanse of Middle-earth to feed a pair of Eagles of Manwë. The stunning visuals, while taking a moment to get used to, leap off the screen, inviting you to gallop along and witness the world’s natural splendor. The War of the Rohirrim presents a slightly jarring blend of painterly CGI landscapes and traditional hand-drawn characters. While I admit it took more than a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the animation speed and format overlap, I quickly found myself dazzled by the beauty and grandeur of Kamiyama’s interpretation of the iconic terrain.
When night falls, and all is seemingly tranquil, Lord Freca (Shaun Dooley) and his son Wulf (Luca Pasqualino) arrive at the House of Helm Hammerhand (Brian Cox) to challenge a marriage proposal to Héra. As disagreements and accusations spoil the festive night air, Lord Freca and Helm Hammerhand come to blows. When Lord Freca gets dropped faster than a hobbit abandoning their task to attend Second Breakfast and dies, Wulf vows revenge, igniting a war that claims the lives of far too many on both sides of the struggle.
I’m describing these scenes in detail because they contain brilliant tension as hostility between the two lords turns to violence. Shaun Dooley speaks with pompous indignation while Brian Cox bellows with a commanding vigor. The transaction between the two rulers distills much of an inherent problem with powerful men. Violent paths always lead to more violence. Pride and territorial pissings divide alliances, and the kingdom’s people always pay the ultimate price. The writers of The War of the Rohirrim understood the assignment and set the pace for the carnage that soon followed.
The fight between Helm Hammerhand and a scorned Wulf soon becomes a war of attrition, with casualties on both sides, leaving Héra to assume command of House Hammerhand. At this point, The War of the Rohirrim becomes a rare tale in The Lord of the Rings universe in which a gifted, determined, and battle-ready female lead takes center stage. As I said, the movie is a breath of fresh air, as many stories in LOTR revolve around loathsome, power-hungry men. We get plenty of that material from Wulf, but Héra adds a delicate yet barbed perspective. Those thinking they can best a fair maiden of House Hammerhand are sorely mistaken. She’s as quick to run you through and leave you in the dirt as any champion from Beleriand to the Land of the Sun.
Gaia Wise delivers an outstanding performance as Héra, establishing her as a go-to voice actress for future projects. She’s regal but also scorned and calculating. It’s a divine mix for a newly established hero of Tolkien’s expanded lore. Laurence Ubong Williams also brings the goods as Lord Fréaláf Hildeson, Héra’s cousin and a noble warrior of virtue. Wise and Williams share a familial air when sharing the screen, making their character chemistry a film highlight.
Other outstanding performances include Brian Cox as Helm Hammerhand and Luca Pasqualino as Lord Wulf. The animosity between these two brutes is electric, with Wulf unwilling to quell his bloodlust while Helm suffers the enemies of age and overwhelming odds. Meanwhile, franchise veteran Miranda Otto delights as Éowyn, a wise caretaker and shield maiden with plenty of fight flowing through her veins. Otto narrates the tale, too, making her a lasting presence throughout the film. She adds a familiar air to the story and a warmth that makes her words sound like she could be David Attenborough’s understudy.
Given the territory, Stephen Gallagher’s score is as grand as expected. Gallagher combines delicate fantasy fare with booming orchestral overtures. The soundtrack effortlessly sets the mood for any invasion, scenery slow-pan, or fleeting moments of respite from the drama. I could envision OST heads adding the Rohirrim soundtrack to their collection immediately after the movie ends, relishing in new tunes from Middle-earth.
Considering all my flowery, glowing words, you could ask yourself: Why not give the movie a perfect score? Allow me to reiterate the initial delivery of the film’s animation. It took me about 20 minutes or so to groove with the visual pace of the movie. Something about the camera speed and CGI elements initially disoriented me. It was distracting, and I questioned the presentation until I settled into Kamiyama’s approach. Thankfully, once I locked into the flow, it was smooth sailing.
Story-wise, The War of the Rohirrim is as epic as any other character-rich and action-packed chapter in LOTR lore. I’ll be honest. My interest in The Lord of the Rings has dulled since the release of Peter Jackson’s original trilogy. The Hobbit movies didn’t hit as hard, and I’ve made little effort to keep pace with The Rings of Power. I do plan to watch it, but I’ve allowed shows like Shrinking, Severance, and others to take priority. Keeping this in mind, The War of the Rohirrim has reinvigorated my love of the LOTR franchise. I’m genuinely excited for fans to watch this movie and enjoy an intense history lesson about how Helm’s Deep got its name.
Deadpool & Wolverine definitely elevated the box office this year and was the big success story in a time when films that were thought to be winners ended up flopping and getting prematurely released on streaming. The movie’s success continued it’s also done pretty well on Disney+. According to Disney, the film has garnered 19.4 million views globally in its first six days on the streaming service. A view is defined as total stream time divided by runtime. This makes it the most-watched live-action movie on Disney+ since the streaming release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in February of 2023.
As well-received as this movie was, fans would naturally wonder what the future holds in store, especially with Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine getting a new lease in the MCU. Variety recently held their annual Actors On Actors interviews, and in one episode with Andrew Garfield and Ryan Reynolds, Reynolds explains that fans will have to be patient. Garfield asks Reynolds what’s next for The Merc and he responds,
I don’t know. Honestly, my feeling is that the character works very well in two ways. One is scarcity and surprise. So it had been six years since the last one, and part of the reason is that it swallows my whole life. I have four kids, and I don’t ever want to be an absentee [dad]. I kind of die inside when I see their faces and they do a sports thing or something and I missed it. I don’t know what the future of Deadpool will be, but I do know that we made the movie to be a complete experience instead of a commercial for another one.”
Reynolds followed up his answer saying that Garfield’s own multiverse adventure with Spider-Man: No Way Home had also given fans “an experience.” He stated, “I love how you did this in Spider-Man: No Way Home: You’re weaving DNA strands of a cultural conversation along with the narrative of the movie. You guys did it in such a way that I burst into tears. One of the best feelings I’ve ever had is sitting in Hall H at Comic-Con and watching Wesley Snipes cross the frame and people are crying. They realize in an instant that they desperately missed this person, but they didn’t know they missed him.”
Last year, Final Destination 6 (which is going by the title Final Destination: Bloodlines) finally, after years of development and a thirteen year gap between sequels, made its way through production. Franchise producer Craig Perry previously let it be known that the film was aiming for a theatrical release in 2025 – in time to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of the original film. It will even be on IMAX screens! Now, Deadline has confirmed that Final Destination: Bloodlines is set to reach theatres on May 16, 2025. As of right now, it’s the only major studio film scheduled to get a wide theatrical release on that date.
This long-awaited sequel is coming our way from Warner Bros. The studio also announced that they’ll be bringing Legendary Entertainment’s live action hybrid road movie Animal Friends to theatres on October 10, 2025. Unfortunately, Final Destination: Bloodlines could only secure its May release date because Warner Bros. had to push the David Robert Mitchell / Bad Robot collaboration Flowervale Street from that date into 2026. It moved to March 13, 2026, to be exact… a date that puts it in direct competition with the Exorcist sequel that Mike Flanagan is writing and directing.
According to entertainment industry scooper Daniel Richtman, Final Destination: Bloodlines has the following synopsis: Just as she’s about to leave home for college, 18 year old STEFANI, who’s been having horrific nightmares about dying in a tower accident in the 1960s, discovers that her dream is actually a premonition that happened to her grandmother, Esther, who thwarted death fifty years ago but is now running out of time. Stefani learns that though her grandmother thwarted Death (until she died in her 80s), and Death has been going after the would-have-been victims of that long-ago catastrophe, killing them off and then going after their children. Stefani and her family realize that their bloodline isn’t safe from Death, who will take them violently and gruesomely, in order, unless someone like Stefani figures out a way to stop it.
Jon Watts, director of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far from Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, is producing the film with Perry, Dianne McGunigle, and Sheila Hanahan Taylor. Watts also wrote the initial treatment, which was fleshed out into a screenplay by Lori Evans Taylor and Guy Busick. The directing duo of Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, who previously directed the 2018 film Freaks (starring Emile Hirsch and Bruce Dern) and the 2019 live-action Kim Possible movie, are at the helm. The late, great Tony Todd reprised the role of mortician Bludworth in this film, and he’s joined in the cast by Brec Bassinger, Teo Briones, Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Richard Harmon, Anna Lore, Owen Patrick Joyner, Max Lloyd-Jones, Rya Kihlstedt, and Tinpo Lee.
Directed by Peter Atencio from a screenplay by Kevin Burrows and Matt Midler, Animal Friends has a cast that includes Ryan Reynolds, Jason Momoa, Aubrey Plaza, and Vince Vaughn, but we don’t know much about it yet.
Pretty much everything about Flowervale Street is being kept under wraps. Last year, film journalist Jeff Sneider reported the rumor that Flowervale Street happens to be “a dinosaur movie set in the ’80s,” and The Hollywood Reporter’s sources have said it’s “a family adventure set in the 1980s that involves dinosaurs.” We know for sure that it has been directed by It Follows‘ David Robert Mitchell for Warner Bros. Pictures, Jackson Pictures, and J.J. Abrams’ company Bad Robot. The cast includes Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, and Christian Convery.
What do you think of Final Destination: Bloodlines and Animal Friends securing 2025 release dates, while Flowervale Street goes off to 2026? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
The crime drama series Dexter originally aired on Showtime for eight seasons, from 2006 to 2013… and even though I had access to Showtime during those years, I completely missed out on it. The show was revived with a season called Dexter: New Blood in 2021, and now a prequel series called Dexter: Original Sin is set to begin airing on the Paramount+ streaming service as of this Friday, December 13th, with the Showtime premiere to follow on December 15th. With those dates nearly upon us, Showtime has shared a behind-the-scenes featurette, which can be seen in the embed above, as well as a clip from the show, which can be found at the bottom of this article.
In recent months, I have been endeavoring to catch up on Dexter, and I have been loving the show. I’m currently at the start of season 7, so I won’t be fully caught up in time for Dexter: Original Sin, but I’m looking forward to it.
Dexter: Original Sin follows Dexter in 1991 Miami, as a student transitioning into a serial killer in training. When his bloodthirsty urges can no longer be ignored, Dexter finds solace and understanding in Harry. As his only confidant, he teaches Dexter a Code that’s designed to help him find and kill people who deserve to die—all while avoiding getting caught by law enforcement. This is a particular challenge for young Dexter as he begins a forensics internship at the Miami Metro Police Department.
Played by Michael C. Hall in the nine seasons of Dexter, the title character is “a serial killer with a code which directs his compulsions to kill only the guilty. As a blood spatter analyst for the Miami police, he has access to crime scenes, picking up clues and checking DNA to confirm a target’s guilt before he kills them.“ Hall will be narrating this prequel series.
The cast of the show includes Patrick Gibson of Shadow and Bone (as the young Dexter Morgan), Christian Slater of Mr. Robot (as Dexter’s dad, Harry Morgan), Molly Brown of Senior Year (as Dexter’s younger sister, Debra Morgan), Patrick Dempsey of Grey’s Anatomy (Aaron Spencer, the Captain of Miami Metro Homicide who has a decades-long relationship with Harry Morgan), Christina Milian of Falling Inn Love (as Maria LaGuerta, Miami Metro’s first female homicide detective), James Martinez of Love, Victor (as Angel Batista, an up-and-coming homicide detective who leads with his heart), Alex Shimizu of The Blacklist (as Vince Masuka, a forensic analyst who eagerly shares his expertise while relishing the chance to boss around his new intern, Dexter Morgan), Reno Wilson of Mike & Molly (as Bobby Watt, the longtime partner and confidant of Dexter’s adoptive father, Harry), Sarah Michelle Gellar of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Tanya Martin, the CSI Chief at the Miami Metro Police Department and Dexter Morgan’s new boss), Joe Pantoliano of The Matrix (as Mad Dog), Brittany Allen of The Boys (as Dexter’s biological mother, Laura Moser), Randy Gonzalez of Bloodline (as Santos Jimenez), Aaron Jennings of Pure Genius (as Clark Sanders), Raquel Justice of One Day at a Time (as Sofia), Jasper Lewis of V/H/S (as Dexter’s adoptive mom and wife of Harry, Doris Morgan), Carlo Mendez of The Bay (as Hector Estrada), Isaac Gonzalez Rossi of That’s Amor (as Gio), Roberto Sanchez of Palm Royale (as Tony Ferrer), and Amanda Brooks of The Birch (as Becca Spencer, Captain Aaron Spencer’s ex-wife who shares custody of their son, Nicky).
The first season of the show is expected to consist of 10 episodes. Clyde Phillips, who served as showrunner on the first four seasons of Dexter and returned to the job for Dexter: New Blood, serves as showrunner on this new show as well. Phillips is also executive producing alongside Scott Reynolds, Mary Leah Sutton, Tony Hernandez, Lilly Burns, and Michael C. Hall. Robert Lloyd Lewis is producing with Showtime Studios and Counterpart Studios. Michael Lehmann, who directed Slater in the cult classic film Heathers, will serve as directing executive producer. The show is being creatively overseen by Gary Levine and Urooj Sharif for Showtime Studios, with production supervised by Tara Power. It will be distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution outside of Paramount+ markets.
Dexter: Original Sin looks promising to me, with the younger versions of familiar characters having been cast as well. Are you interested in this show? Watch the featurette and the clip, then let us know by leaving a comment below.
In addition to this show, a series called Dexter: Resurrection is also in the works.
The new Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game from Gun Interactive was just released for PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One last year, and the developers have been keeping a steady flow of updates coming ever since. The next update is coming up on December 12th – and with this one comes the addition of Skeet Ulrich from the Scream franchise as a new victim character named Wyatt and Chainsaw franchise veteran Bill Moseley as a new killer family member called Bones. Moseley is best known for playing the character Chop Top in Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (and he also appeared as Drayton Sawyer in Texas Chainsaw 3D), but since the makers of this video game only have the rights to base the game on the original film, Moseley has been given a brand new character to bring to life. You can see Bones and Wyatt in the trailer embedded above, courtesy of IGN.
The usual matches of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game pit 4 victim characters against 3 killer characters. The story of the game has the following set-up: When Maria Flores went missing, and local law enforcement seemed to stall out in their search, her younger sister Ana teamed up with some of Maria’s friends from college to pick up the trail. The game takes place before the events of director Tobe Hooper’s 1974 classic The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (watch it HERE).
Kane Hodder (who also worked on Leatherface: Texas Chainsaw Massacre III) did the motion-capture performance for Leatherface in the game, as well as the Grandpa character. Other motion-capture performers include Sean Whalen (The People Under the Stairs) as The Hitch-hiker; Troy Burgess (Swedish Dicks) as The Cook; Kristina Klebe (Don’t Kill It) as new killer character Sissy; and Dove Meir (Dig) as new killer character Johnny. Scout Taylor-Compton (Rob Zombie’s Halloween) did the mo-cap for all of the female victim characters while Hunter C. Smith (Lucky) did the mo-cap for all of the male victim characters. Although Whalen did the mo-cap for the Hitch-hiker, Edwin Neal, who played the character in the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre, provided his voice for the game. Damian Maffei (The Strangers: Prey atNight) provided the voice of Johnny, and Michael Johnston of Teen Wolf did the same for Danny. BAFTA winner Cissy Jones did the mo-cap and vocal performance for Nancy. Robert Mukes (House of 1000 Corpses) brought Hands to life. Barbara Crampton provided the voice and likeness of a character named Virginia. You can find out more about the killer characters at THIS LINK and the victim characters HERE. To learn more about the voice cast, head over HERE.
Do you play The Texas Chainsaw Massacre video game, and are you looking forward to seeing what Skeet Ulrich’s Wyatt and Bill Moseley’s Bones add to the game? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
The company Kino Lorber previously announced that they will be releasing John Candy’s 80s comedy, Summer Rental, on 4K Blu-ray in January. The boutique label has now announced that the following month another beloved John Candy movie will be having a new physical video remastering. Blu-ray.com has revealed that Uncle Buck will get its own Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray release on February 18. This film was a much bigger hit for Candy and is seen as one of his best movies. This is also the film that would give Hughes the idea to write Home Alone with Macaulay Culkin in mind.
The movie stars John Candy, Amy Madigan, Jean Louisa Kelly, Gaby Hoffmann and Macaulay Culkin. The Description reads, “When Cindy (Elaine Bromka) and her husband, Bob (Garrett M. Brown), have to leave town for a family emergency, there is only one person available to babysit for their three kids: Bob’s lazy, carefree brother, Buck (John Candy). While he immediately gets along with the two younger children (Gaby Hoffman, Macaulay Culkin), Buck must change his bachelor lifestyle if he wants to be a responsible caregiver for the angst-filled teenager, Tia (Jean Louisa Kelly).”
Special Features and Technical Specs are set to include:
DISC ONE – 4K BLU-RAY
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
DOLBY VISION/HDR PRESENTATION OF THE FILM
NEW Audio Commentary by critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
NEW Audio Commentary by critic Historian Joe Ramoni
5.1 Surround and Lossless 2.0 Audio
Optional English SDH Subtitles
DISC TWO – BLU-RAY
Optional English Subtitles
NEW 4K RESTORATION FROM THE ORIGINAL CAMERA NEGATIVE
NEW Audio Commentary by critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Josh Nelson
NEW Audio Commentary by critic Historian Joe Ramoni
Sixteen Going on Seventeen: NEW Interview with Actress Jean Louisa Kelly
Theatrical Trailer
5.1 Surround and Lossless 2.0 Audio
Video Codec: HEVC / H.265 Resolution: Native 4K (2160p) HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10 Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Diablo-like Path Of Exile 2 is finally out in Early Access and taking over the charts, breaking records on Steam even as its servers buckle under the weight of its long-anticipated debut. And the team behind the action-RPG has wasted no time bringing some of its more OP builds to heel with a series of hotfixes aimed…
Diablo-like Path Of Exile 2 is finally out in Early Access and taking over the charts, breaking records on Steam even as its servers buckle under the weight of its long-anticipated debut. And the team behind the action-RPG has wasted no time bringing some of its more OP builds to heel with a series of hotfixes aimed…
While fans of the Showtime series Yellowjackets (read our review of season 2 HERE) patiently wait to see the bonus episode that’s going to air sometime between the second and third seasons, it was recently announced that Yellowjackets season 3 is set to premiere on February 14th – and with that date swiftly approaching, a teaser trailer for the new season has arrived online. You can check it out in the embed above.
Yellowjackets is described as “equal parts survival epic, horror story, and coming-of-age drama.” The story centers on a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the Ontario wilderness. The series will chronicle their descent from a complicated but thriving team to warring, cannibalistic clans, while also tracking the lives they’ve attempted to piece back together nearly 25 years later, proving that the past is never really past and what began out in the wilderness is far from over.
Created, written, executive produced by Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, the series stars Christina Ricci, Juliette Lewis, Melanie Lynskey, Tawny Cypress, Ella Purnell, Sammi Hanratty, Sophie Thatcher, Steven Krueger, Amy Okuda, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Courtney Eaton, and Liv Hewson. New cast additions in Yellowjackets season 2 included Elijah Wood (the Lord of the Rings trilogy), Lauren Ambrose (Servant), Simone Kessell (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Nicole Maines (Supergirl), François Arnaud (The Borgias), Nia Sondaya (Truth Be Told), and guest star Jason Ritter (Freddy vs. Jason). Lyle and Nickerson serve as showrunners with Jonathan Lisco.
We’ve previously heard that Yellowjackets season 3 will be adding characters played by Community‘s Joel McHale and two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank (Boys Don’t Cry and Million Dollar Baby). McHale has a guest star role, while Swank will have a recurring role. We’ve heard “she’ll make her first appearance in the latter stages of the season.” She might be showing up late, but she still managed to make it into the teaser trailer.
Are you looking forward to Yellowjackets season 3? Take a look at the teaser trailer, then let us know by leaving a comment below.
