It looks like Matthew Vaughn’s ambitious plan for a superspy multiverse franchise is DOA, with his most ambitious film to date, Argylle, opening under expectations at the box office this weekend. According to Deadline’s stats, the film, which Apple acquired for a hefty $200 million, is set to open with a modest $16.5 million. This is a pretty disastrous opening for a would-be franchise movie. What makes it even worse is that the Cinemascore for the movie was a dire C+, meaning that word-of-mouth is pretty poor. Usually, an underperforming blockbuster would open in the B-range, suggesting a substantial day-to-day plummet for the film. It may come in well under Deadline’s estimates when all is said and done.

This opening aligns with the $15 million I predicted earlier this week. However, as one of the few critics who enjoyed it, I’m dismayed by its bad performance. One thing working against it is the bait-and-switch marketing. The film is sold as a Henry Cavill-led spy movie when he has a minor role. That said, Cavill in the lead isn’t a mark of box office gold either, with his (excellent) spy movie, The Man From UNCLE, opening to a poor $13.4 million in 2015.

The only thing working in its favour is that Argylle is a streaming play for Apple TV+, with Universal distributing it theatrically. Their other big-budget theatrical movies, Killers of the Flower Moon and Napoleon were in the red when they left theatres. However, at $156 million and $219 million, respectively, they earned a lot more money than the supposedly commercial Argylle will likely end up with.

Otherwise, The Beekeeper, Wonka, and Mean Girls will continue to perform well, while the Christian TV series The Chosen, which has episodes in theatres this weekend, will perform modestly. Most people who wanted to see this series on the big screen came out on Thursday night.

Did you see Argylle? Do you think it deserves to be a bigger hit, or did you hate it? Let us know in the comments.

The post Argylle on track for a disasterous opening; won’t crack $20 million dooming potential franchise appeared first on JoBlo.

For years, Awesome Art We’ve Found Around The Net has been about two things only – awesome art and the artists that create it. With that in mind, we thought why not take the first week of the month to showcase these awesome artists even more? Welcome to “Awesome Artist We’ve Found Around The Net.” In this column, we are focusing on one artist and the awesome art that they create, whether they be amateur, up and coming, or well established. The goal is to uncover these artists so even more people become familiar with them. We ask these artists a few questions to see their origins, influences, and more. If you are an awesome artist or know someone that should be featured, feel free to contact me at any time at theodorebond@joblo.com.This month we are very pleased to bring you the awesome art of…

Phil Shelly

Phil Shelly is a Freelance Illustrator primarily concentrating on all things pop culture especially Film, music and Television posters.

At achool Phil was always interested in the more creative subjects and that led him on to a foundation year at college before heading to Plymouth Uni to study Illustration. In his final year he got my first paid job, creating a large number of minimalist portraits of famous people who wore glasses for an Opticians. Here he found a style he enjoyed working with and has gradually built on that and developed it over the last 10 years adding more and more detail. He has always leant into the more messy side of illustration and enjoys using textures and messy brushes when he paints on his wacom tablet.

Phil now likes to work on his own ideas for illustrations inbetween taking on client work. Two of his ultimate career goals would be to design an official movie poster and also design an album cover for a band that he loves.

JOBLO: What got you started as an artist?
PHIL: I would say my family were a big part of my creative journey. My uncle, my grandad, and my Mum are all creative people.

My mum denies she is creative, of course, in that way all mums do, but she is and has always encouraged me. My mum helped me with all sorts of projects when I was young, like mosaics, sewing and painting for school.

In terms of my appreciation for art, at an early age I remember liking comics like Calvin and Hobbes and The Beano. The imagery in those comics sparked something in my brain and made me want to be able to create my own comics.

My older brother also used to draw a lot and I enjoyed copying whatever he did. We’ve both drawn since we were very young.

At school I found I was getting a good response from teachers and that encouraged me to follow the more creative subjects and I then found myself painting and drawing even more.

In middle school, I was once chosen to be part of a small group to create a sculpture which could sit outside the school. I believe opportunities like this one also helped me develop my skills and further my interests.

Who were some of your favorite artists growing up?
My grandad introduced me to Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, and whilst I loved the comedy of the comic strips, it was the art that I found beautiful. The full-colour pages have an amazing style, which captures the imagination.

As I got into my teens, I then discovered a lot of artists I wasn’t familiar with via CD covers. Artists such as Alex Pardee who worked with The Used, and Tim Marrs who worked with Something Corporate and Rise Against. And then there are the greats such as Edward Hopper, David Hockey and Francis Bacon, who I also started to learn more about.

Who do you really dig these days, follow on Instagram?
I am heavily inspired by Eileen (SG Posters)(https://www.instagram.com/sg_posters/) who has been an incredible friend and help to me. In fact, there’s so many great artists in and outside of the poster community.

I’d hate to leave anyone out, but off the top of my head I would say Royalston, Corey Brickley, Courtney Autumn Martin, Luke Preece, Orlando Arocena, Chelsea Lowe, Mark Levy, Dave O’Flanagan and Freya Betts. There’s so many more I’d love to share, but I’m sure they know who they are. If we’ve ever interacted, I dig your work!

What advice would you have for budding artists today?
Practice practice practice, try new things, speak to other artists, and look after yourself mentally. I struggle with self-confidence, particularly on all the social media platforms where it can feel like everyone is moving faster or further than me, but in reality it’s all snapshots. You never see behind the scenes and the hard work that goes into each person’s work is often hidden.

I’m lucky enough to have a wealth of artists around me who support each other, so I would say, try and find a like-minded community who you can bounce ideas off. Then support one another whilst creating work you enjoy.

What should we be looking out for from you in the future?
I’m currently working on a poster for a documentary, which is really exciting and I’m working on a piece for the PosterSpy (https://posterspy.com/) Music brief that will be out in February. After that, I’m hoping to do some more personal work and I’ll be on the look-out for new projects.

Being a fansite, we have to ask you… what are some of your favorite movies/TV shows of all time?
I love this question. I was obsessed with LOST! I loved the mystery and excitement of it all, and waiting and talking about what was going to happen next in the show was all part of the fun.

I also love Vikings, Community, Arrested Development, Peep Show, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia… too many to name.

Film wise, In Bruges, Jurassic Park, The Lost Boys and Goodfellas are my top movies, but I also have a nostalgic soft spot for The Mighty Ducks, as I watched it over and over again as a kid.

Scroll down to check out some of our favorite art pieces from Phil as we continue to follow his journey across his Website and social media hubs: Instagram / X / TikTok @philshelly / PosterSpy / Commissions

Alien

Arwen

Blink 182

Daredevil

Darth Maul

Edward Scissorhands

Halloween

Harry Potter

Jurassic Park

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Marathon Mindset

Menu

Oppenheimer

Punch Drunk Love

Remember The Titans

Saw

Scream

Slipknot

Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

Ted Lasso

Vans

The post Awesome Artist We’ve Found Around The Net: Phil Shelly appeared first on JoBlo.

Many of us were dismayed to learn that the great Carl Weathers had passed away, especially with him being amid a terrific career resurgence thanks to his ongoing role on The Mandalorian. Of course, he’ll always be best known as Apollo Creed, with Sylvester Stallone (noticeably emotional) saying in his tribute that he could “have never accomplished what we did with Rocky without him.” Indeed, Apollo was integral to the films, with him being the sympathetic, honourable antagonist in the first two films and then a stalwart best friend and mentor in the third film before dying in the fourth. His legacy helped spawn a whole other franchise, the Creed films, which are still going strong to this day.

Nevertheless, there was more to Carl Weathers beyond the Rocky films, so we thought it might be appropriate to look at some of his other iconic parts on JoBlo, which deserve a lot of praise. So, here are our favorite Carl Weathers roles outside of the Rocky series!

Predator: Dillon

Outside of the Rocky franchise, action fans probably know Weathers the best from his role as Dillon in the first Predator movie. A CIA company man sent along to watch over Schwarzenegger’s (as Dutch) bad-ass crew of operatives, Dillon is initially a bit of an antagonist, using Dutch’s crew to put down a rebel movement in Guatemala, but he redeems himself in the end. Predator arguably had Weathers’ most viral scene ever, when him and Schwarzenegger go bicep-to-bicep in the iconic opening sequence.

Action Jackson: Jericho Jackson

Action Jackson should have been the movie that launched Carl Weathers as a solo action star. It did relatively well at the box office, but the company behind it, Lorimar, went bankrupt, prematurely ending what should have been a great franchise for the actor. Nonetheless, the film is a blast, with Weathers an iconic, Henley-wearing cop going after Craig T. Nelson’s sadistic auto-magnate. This movie has it all – kick-ass action, two super hot love interests (Vanity and Sharon Stone), and a buttload of fantastic one-liners (“How do you like your ribs?”). If you have yet to catch this one, it’s a gem waiting to be discovered.

Happy Gilmore: Chubbs

“Just tap it in”. Adam Sandler cast Carl Weathers to brilliant effect in his raunchy golf classic, Happy Gilmore. No doubt, Weathers was chosen due to being in the Rocky movies, but he displayed an unexpected flair for comedy in the role which would serve him well in the years to come.

Arrested Development: “Carl Weathers”

Carl Weathers has arguably never been better than when he played “himself” on Arrested Development as David Cross’s Tobias M. Funke’s life coach/ acting mentor. In it, the actor satirized the idea of being a “has been” brilliantly, with the fictional Weathers infamously cheap (“Whoa, whoa, whoa. There’s still plenty of meat on that bone. Now you take this home, throw it in a pot, add some broth, a potato. Baby, you’ve got a stew going”) and happy to exploit anyone he needs to for money or a job.

The Mandalorian: Greef Karga

It was pretty thrilling to see Carl Weathers pop up in the first episode of The Mandalorian as the country hunter who gave the titular character his first assignment – which would lead him directly to his beloved Grogu. Weathers was so likable in the series that he returned in seasons two and three as a good guy and even directed some episodes. In her own tribute to Weathers, former co-star Gina Carano said he was a mentor to her and was one of the few people who didn’t totally cut ties with her after her unceremonious firing from the show.

What are your favourite Carl Weathers roles? Let us know in the comments!

The post Carl Weathers: 5 Great Roles (Outside of Rocky) appeared first on JoBlo.

The end of January and first week of February brought with it the launch of a couple long-awaited RPGs—Atlus’s remake of a 2006 classic, Persona 3 Reload, and the Hawaiian-style yakuza tale Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth. The “Pokémon With Guns” sensation Palworld continues to grow in popularity, closing in on more…

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The end of January and first week of February brought with it the launch of a couple long-awaited RPGs—Atlus’s remake of a 2006 classic, Persona 3 Reload, and the Hawaiian-style yakuza tale Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth. The “Pokémon With Guns” sensation Palworld continues to grow in popularity, closing in on more…

Read more…

After years of trailers, delays, controversy, and leaks, Rocksteady’s big, live-service, open-world, villain-themed, DC third-person looter shooter—Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League—is finally out (for real). The narrative that has formed around this game over the last few years has grown as large and epic as a…

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After years of trailers, delays, controversy, and leaks, Rocksteady’s big, live-service, open-world, villain-themed, DC third-person looter shooter—Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League—is finally out (for real). The narrative that has formed around this game over the last few years has grown as large and epic as a…

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Jake Gyllenhaal is taking a long-awaited stab at action superstardom with his upcoming Prime Video remake of Road House hitting the streamer on March 21st (although it should really be going to theaters). Dev Patel also is making a promising attempt at the genre with his amazing looking Monkey Man hitting theaters in April. Not too long ago, we wrote a piece of JoBlo that asked who the next big action icons might be, and indeed, some fresh blood being worked into the genre is long overdue. Gyllenhaal and Patel both seem like great new additions to the canon, but who else could make it in the genre?

Here are a few stars we think have what it takes to be action heroes:

Zac Efron:

I would have thought you were nuts if you had told me a decade ago that Zac Efron would become an Arnold Schwarzenegger-style muscleman as he got older. Yet, the former High School Musical star has consistently pushed himself to the brink by packing on muscle. In The Iron Claw, he also proved, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he also has the acting talent to play darker roles brilliantly. Given how physically capable he is, it’s strange that Hollywood has never cast him in a major action flick, with him having the look and presence of a truly iconic addition to the genre. With Edgar Wright tackling The Running Man, wouldn’t Efron be an inspired choice to take the lead?

Jeremy Allen White:

The same goes for Efron’s The Iron Claw co-star, Jeremy Allen White. His performance on The Bear is already iconic, and while people are fond of saying he looks like he could be related to Gene Wilder, to me, he has a Steve McQueen-style presence that hasn’t been exploited yet. Steven Spielberg is doing a sequel to Bullitt with Bradley Cooper in the title role, but I can’t help but think White might be even better.

Michael B. Jordan:

Ok, Michael B. Jordan got a big action movie a couple of years ago – Without Remorse. Despite good Tom Clancy source material, the movie kinda fell flat. The studio that produced it, Paramount, made it too small-scale, and it’s no wonder they offloaded it to Prime Video during the pandemic. Jordan deserved more of a chance to shine, and apparently, the studio agrees as a sequel/ spin-off based on Rainbow Six has been greenlit, although it remains to be seen if it will ever get made.

Katy O’Brian

While known for small roles on shows like The Mandalorian, this actress is about to break out in a big way with Love Lies Bleeding (check out my Sundance review). In it, she plays a female bodybuilder who, along with her lover (played by Kristen Stewart), ends up embroiled in a noir-ish plot. In that movie, she shows some legitimate dramatic chops, and with her physical presence, casting her in a major action role seems like a no-brainer.

Scott Adkins:

A perennial favourite – it makes no sense that Hollywood has never given Scott Adkins a legit A-level action flick. He has it all: presence, looks, a cool accent and even some decent comedy chops. He would make for a terrific Jason Statham-style action hero if given a movie on par with The Beekeeper. If they do a sequel to that movie, Adkins would be an ideal antagonist. And, for those who may dismiss Adkins as an actor, do yourselves a favor and check out Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. His performance in that one is iconic.

Who do YOU think should be the next action icon?

The post New Action Stars: 5 actors who could pull it off appeared first on JoBlo.

Neon has done a great job of promoting the upcoming horror film Longlegs while also keeping the story’s secrets concealed. Although multiple teaser trailers and posters have made their way online, we still don’t know a whole lot about this movie, beyond the fact that it’s scheduled to reach theatres on July 12th. But if you want to know exactly how much we do know about it, just keep scrolling down, because we have compiled a list of Everything We Know About Longlegs.

DIRECTOR

Longlegs, which is said to be “in the vein of classic Hollywood psychological thrillers”, is the latest genre project from director Osgood Perkins – who, yes, is the son of actor Anthony Perkins, best remembered for his performance as Norman Bates in the Alfred Hitchcock classic Psycho. The younger Perkins has been building a solid career of his own, though, with his previous directorial efforts including the films The Blackcoat’s Daughter (a.k.a. February), I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, and Gretel & Hansel, as well as an episode of the recent revival of The Twilight Zone. He has also worked on the screenplays for the thriller Removal, the crime thriller Cold Comes the Night, and the horror film The Girl in the Photographs.

CAST

For many, the most eye-catching thing about Longlegs is the cast. Genre regular Maika Monroe, who has been seen in the likes of It Follows, The Guest, Independence Day: Resurgence, Tau, Villains, The Stranger, Watcher, and God Is a Bullet, stars as FBI Agent Lee Harker, a gifted new recruit assigned to the unsolved case of an elusive serial killer. As the case takes complex turns, unearthing evidence of the occult, Harker discovers a personal connection to the merciless killer and must race against time to stop him before he claims the lives of another innocent family.

That elusive serial killer is played by the legendary Nicolas Cage – and I’m sure a whole lot of people are going to be watching this movie just to get the chance to watch Cage play a serial killer. Also in the cast are Alicia Witt (Urban Legend, Fright Night Lights, Justified, Twin Peaks, The Exorcist) and Blair Underwood (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., L.A. Law, Dear White People, American Crime Story, Bad Hair). Who Witt and Underwood are playing, we don’t know for sure.

Cage is also producing Longlegs through his company Saturn Films, which recently had success with The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and Pig. Also producing are Dan Kagan, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Dave Caplan, and Chris Ferguson. Jason Cloth and Fred Berger of Automatik serve as executive producers with John Friedberg of Black Bear International. 

POSSESSED GEPETTO

One of the most intriguing things we’ve heard about Longlegs is a description Cage gave to genre icon John Carpenter when Document Journal had the two sit down for a conversation. Cage told Carpenter the film is “about a character who’s hearing voices. It’s kind of like a possessed Geppetto, who’s making these dolls…” at which point Carpenter cut him off to laugh and say, “I like it. Possessed Geppetto. Man, oh man.”

TEASERS AND POSTERS

The teasers and posters have given fans plenty of images and occult symbols to pore over and try to decipher, if they are so inclined. Cage may be playing a homicidal possessed Gepetto, but he’s not the only one we’ve seen committing violent acts in these previews, so there’s definitely more going on here than a simple “FBI agent tracks down a killer” story. The posters feature things like an injured nun, a bunch of covered corpses, a young girl being creeped on outsider her home, and a woman cutting her own stomach open. These posters can be seen below, along with the captions Neon sent with them.

The teaser trailer at the top of this article came with its own creepy message: “You’ve got the teeth of the hydra upon you.” Neon revealed the release date by telling us, “The man downstairs is coming July 12.”

And that’s everything we know about Longlegs as of right now. Are you looking forward to this movie? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The post Everything We Know About Longlegs appeared first on JoBlo.

We’re starting to get a much clearer look at the 2024 gaming calendar, after the Xbox Developer Direct on January 18 and now Sony’s State of Play event on January 31. The Sony event gave us an in-depth look at Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding sequel, On The Beach, and boy was there a lot going on. We also got a teensy…

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