24
Jan
A previously announced live-action television adaptation of Square Enix’s successful MMO, Final Fantasy XIV, is dead in the water. So says the co-founder of the production company behind the project, Hivemind.
Author: .
24
Jan
The Palworld and Pokémon drama continues. After Pocketpair’s monster-taming survival game was accused of ripping models from Game Freak’s RPGs, an X (formerly Twitter) user has gone viral for comparing monsters between the two games. The comparisons were similar enough to convince fans that Palworld’s characters…
24
Jan
The Palworld and Pokémon drama continues. After Pocketpair’s monster-taming survival game was accused of ripping models from Game Freak’s RPGs, an X (formerly Twitter) user has gone viral for comparing monsters between the two games. The comparisons were similar enough to convince fans that Palworld’s characters…
24
Jan
A year and a half ago, it was announcedthat Sydney Sweeney – whose credits include Euphoria, the recent romantic comedy release Anyone but You, and the upcoming Sony Marvel movie Madame Web – was going to re-team with Michael Mohan, who directed her in the erotic thriller The Voyeurs, for the psychological horror film Immaculate. Last month, NEON acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the film and let it be known they’re planning to give it a theatrical release. Now we know that Immaculate will be reaching theatres on March 22nd. With just two months to go until that date arrives, a poster has been unveiled, and you can check it out at the bottom of this article. The trailer will be making its way online tomorrow.
Scripted by Andrew Lobel, Immaculate sees Sweeney taking on the role of Cecilia, a woman of devout faith who is offered a fulfilling new role at an illustrious Italian convent. Her warm welcome to the picture-perfect Italian countryside is soon interrupted as it becomes clearer to Cecilia that her new home harbors some dark and horrifying secrets.
Simona Tabasco (The White Lotus), Alvaro Morte (Money Heist), Benedetta Porcaroli (Baby), and Dora Romano (The Hand of God) are also in the cast.
Sweeney produced the film through her company Fifty-Fifty Films, alongside Jonathan Davino. Also producing are Teddy Schwarzman and Michael Heimler of Black Bear and Middle Child Pictures’ David Bernad, who developed the project with Sweeney after they worked together on the Emmy-winning series The White Lotus. Will Greenfield and Black Bear’s John Friedberg and Christopher Casanova serve as executive producers. Black Bear provided the financing.
How does Immaculate sound to you? Are you a fan of Sydney Sweeney’s work, and are you glad to hear she’s working with the director of The Voyeurs again? Take a look at the poster, then share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
Other projects on the Sydney Sweeney line-up include a reboot of Barbarella, where she’ll be playing the title character; the thriller The Registration for producer Bradley Fuller and the writers of the Hellraiser reboot, Ron Howard’s survival thriller Eden, the Apple drama Echo Valley, and the Platinum Dunes production The Caretaker.
The post Immaculate poster unveiled for Sydney Sweeney horror film, trailer coming tomorrow appeared first on JoBlo.
24
Jan
The Day Before is dead and gone, but those behind the studio responsible aren’t quite done complaining yet. Apparently, according to a new statement from developer Fntastic, it’s not the developers’ fault that the disastrous game has bit the dust. The blame lies with the “bloggers” and “content creators” who’ve…
24
Jan
The Day Before is dead and gone, but those behind the studio responsible aren’t quite done complaining yet. Apparently, according to a new statement from developer Fntastic, it’s not the developers’ fault that the disastrous game has bit the dust. The blame lies with the “bloggers” and “content creators” who’ve…
24
Jan
PLOT: An undead monster is resurrected in the remote wilderness and goes on a rampage.
REVIEW: Stop me if any of this sounds familiar: an undead monster wearing a mask, partying teens getting slashed, and creepy urban legends coming to life. Indeed, director Chris Nash’s In A Violent Nature is unabashedly a slasher film, but it’s distinguished by its unique perspective. Basically, the entire film is shown from the killer’s point of view. The camera very rarely leaves his POV from the time he is resurrected, showing him walking confusedly through the woods, finding victims, killing them grotesquely, and moving on.
Through it all, Nash mixes techniques, shooting the film in a minimalist art-house style (complete with the now pretentious 1:33:1 aspect ratio) until switching to maximalist gore for some (but not all) of the kills. That means the film often has minimal dialogue as we spend a not insignificant amount of time following the killer as he walks through the woods towards whatever noises he hears in the distance. One could imagine the intention might have been to answer a question like “What would it look like if Terrence Malick directed a horror film?” but at times, it was almost like watching a video game. The way we observe the monster (from the back) is just like in a video game, and the style occasionally grows tedious.
Another drawback to the style is that In A Violent Nature is never scary. The reason is that by putting the audience in the shoes of the killer, we know exactly when and where he’s going to strike. Nash compensates for this by making some of the kills extra gnarly, with one extreme evisceration on a clifftop being especially potent.
Like in other slasher movies, the kills lack impact due to the fact that we never really get to know the victims, as we’re never in their perspective. They’re all deliberately written thinly, with our “final girl” (Andrea Pavlovic) in a toxic relationship with the bullying Troy (Liam Leone), while her friend Colt (Cameron Love) pines for her. There’s also a park ranger (Reece Presley) who has some experience with the monster and tries to save the day – again it’s an intentionally familiar trope. But, the real star of the movie is Ry Barrett’s silent slasher, who’s hulking and, occasionally, gets some grace notes that tease a certain degree of innocence from a monster who, like many others, doesn’t understand his own bloodlust.
Through it all, Nash keeps the film stylish with excellent cinematography by DP Pierce Derks, who uses the Northern Ontario Wilderness to great effect. It has an interesting use of music, with it all being diegetic, in keeping with the vibe. It’s also proudly Canadian, which is doubly effective as many of the great slashers from the early eighties, such as Prom Night and My Bloody Valentine came from here.
In the end, Nash has made an arthouse slasher film, which is an interesting contrast to the old-school blood and guts of the Terrifier series. It’ll be interesting to see how hardcore genre fans react once it makes its debut on Shudder, although it’s probably more effective on the big screen, given how immersive an experience Nash is aiming for. It doesn’t always work, but it’s still an interesting watch.
The post In A Violent Nature (Sundance) Review appeared first on JoBlo.
24
Jan
If you know JoBlo, you know that we love us some 80s action. And it’s hard to even think of the genre without thinking of Mr. Dolph Lundgren. I can’t even see Dolph without having the mental image of the man saying, “I must break you,” come to the forefront of my mind. He’s an absolute legend, so it’s nice to see him get back behind the camera for Wanted Man. While the movie feels a bit familiar, I appreciated how much Dolph was willing to make his character look ugly. He’s got plenty of flaws, and that’s something that’s usually missing from the leads of these action ventures.
But we didn’t just talk Wanted Man, as I’m a huge It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia fan and, anyone who watches the show knows that Dolph is something of a legend on it. He even appeared in a brief role in Season 14. So I, of course, HAD to ask about his experience and if he was aware before appearing on the show himself. In regards to the Drago spinoff, Dolph seems rather optimistic. We went over where that project is currently at and the path he’d like to see Ivan go down. This was a great talk, so be sure to check it out!
Wanted Man plot synopsis:
Johansen (Lundgren) is an aging detective, whose outdated policing methods have given the department a recent public relations problem. To save his job, he is sent to Mexico to extradite a female witness (Villa) to the murders of two DEA agents. Once there, he finds not only his old opinions challenged, but that bad hombres on both sides of the border are now gunning for him and his witness.
WANTED MAN IS IN THEATERS AND ON DEMAND/DIGITAL ON JANUARY 19TH, 2023.
The post Interview: Dolph Lundgren talks Wanted Man + Ivan Drago Spinoff News appeared first on JoBlo.
24
Jan
Christopher Nolan has had the unique distinction of being an auteur who makes heady films with deep themes, but they are also big-budget films with commercial appeal. After tackling an over-the-top concept with the divisive action-thriller Tenet, Nolan has made what has been arguably his most talked-about film since The Dark Knight with Oppenheimer. While many attribute a lot of its success to being part of the Barbenheimer phenomenon, the movie has had its own merits that gave it it’s own time in the spotlight, from IMAX film showings to Cillian Murphy‘s Academy Award-nominated performance.
Nolan is one who isn’t trivializing this recognition as even someone like him tries not to jinx his chances of winning the biggest awards of the Oscars, “Don’t take it as being blase. We just didn’t want to jinx anything. Watching the nominations was more than our nerves could take so we just had a restless night and slept through.” Nolan speaks to the Associated Press about the whopping 13 nominations his latest effort has garnered. Nolan tries to deconstruct how this project blew up (pun intended) so well with audiences, “It’s always a tricky thing to try to analyze the zeitgeist or analyze success. We were really interested and excited, in particular, to see young people responding to a piece of history. I keep coming back to the unique nature of the story. I think it is one of the great American stories. It encompasses so much that’s important and dramatic about our history. That gives audiences a lot to hang to, when you get a great group of actors and incredible cast like we have, you can make this feel real and emotionally accessible. That’s as far as I can analyze its success. Beyond that, sometimes you catch a wave and it’s a wonderful and unique thing.”
As successful as Nolan has been, and with his past movies consistently receiving praise from critics and audiences, this is the first real love fest he’s gotten from industry awards factions since Dunkirk. In fact, it was the crossover appeal of The Dark Knight that a push was made for the academy to start expanding to certain genre pictures and instituted an expanded Best Picture palette. When asked if Nolan and his wife, and producing partner, Emma Thomas, feel more confident this year, Nolan replies, “I think the breadth of recognition that we woke up to this morning is something we haven’t experienced before, and it’s really thrilling for us. It’s a very unique feeling to see in academy recognizing all different aspects of the film, from the performances to the technical achievement of the film. I mean, I grew up watching the Academy Awards. It’s the pinnacle of sort of the recognition of your peers.”
The post Christopher Nolan reacts to Oppenheimer’s Academy Awards nominations appeared first on JoBlo.
24
Jan
The second season of Marvel’s animated series What If…? (read our review HERE) was just released through the Disney+ streaming service over the last days of December, but Marvel Studios has already started building the hype for the third season of the show, sharing the first images from What If…? season 3 on social media. You can check them out at the bottom of this article. A premiere date for season 3 has not yet been announced.
Marvel’s What If…? season 2 has the following synopsis: The Watcher continues the journey as our guide through the vast multiverse, introducing brand-new and familiar faces throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The animated anthology series questions, revisits and twists classic Marvel Cinematic moments with an incredible voice cast that includes a host of stars who reprise their iconic roles.
The first season of the show consisted of these episodes: What If… Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?, What If… T’Challa Became a Star-Lord?, What If… the World Lost Its Mightiest Heroes?, What If… Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?, What If… Zombies?!, What If… Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?, What If… Thor Were an Only Child?, What If… Ultron Won?, and What If… the Watcher Broke His Oath?
Here are the questions that were asked (and answered) in the second season: What If… Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?, What If… Peter Quill Attacked Earth’s Mightiest Heroes?, What If… Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?, What If… Iron Man Crashed Into the Grandmaster?, What If… Captain Carter Fought the Hydra Stomper?, What If… Kahhori Reshaped the World?, What If… Hela Found the Ten Rings?, What If… The Avengers Assembled in 1602?, and What If… Strange Supreme Intervened?
We don’t know what topics What If…? season 3 will be covering, but the images let us know the Sam Wilson Captain America, Bucky Barnes, Monica Rambeau, Ant-Man, and what looks to be a young Red Guardian will be involved. There’s also a giant mecha Captain America in there.
What do you think of the What If…? season 3 images? Are you looking forward to the next season of this show? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
The post What If…? season 3 first images unveiled by Marvel Studios appeared first on JoBlo.