20th Century Studios is kicking off this chilly Wednesday afternoon with some heat from Rami Malek‘s latest film, The Amateur. The studio debuted a new action-packed trailer and poster for The Amateur, an espionage thriller in which Malek’s character uses his unique set of skills to find the people who killed his wife. He has no experience in the field, but that won’t stop him from launching a manhunt that defies expectations.

James Hawes (Raised by Wolves, Penny Dreadful, Slow Horses) directs The Amateur from a screenplay by Ken Nolan and Gary Spinelli based on the novel by Robert Littell (Vicious Circle, The Revolutionist, Walking Back the Cat). The film opens in theaters on April 11, 2025.

Here’s the official synopsis for The Amateur courtesy of 20th Century Studios:

“Charlie Heller (Malek) is a brilliant, but deeply introverted decoder for the CIA working out of a basement office at headquarters in Langley whose life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack. When his supervisors refuse to take action, he takes matters into his own hands, embarking on a dangerous trek across the globe to track down those responsible, his intelligence serving as the ultimate weapon for eluding his pursuers and achieving his revenge.”

Rami Malek (Mr. Robot, Bohemian Rhapsody, No Time to Die) leads the cast alongside Rachel Brosnahan, Caitríona Balfe, Jon Bernthal, Michael Stuhlbarg, Holt McCallany, Julianne Nicholson, Adrian Martinez, Danny Sapani, and Laurence Fishburne.

In The Amateur trailer, Malek’s Charles Heller discovers devastating news when he learns a group of criminals killed his wife in a vicious attack. The agency he works for offers their sympathies but, in the end, considers her collateral damage in a much larger plot. Unable to do anything, Heller demands training and a bankroll to hunt the killers down and bring them to justice. He’s inexperienced, so no one at the agency has faith in his abilities. As it turns out, they’re dead wrong. Heller is more competent than anyone gives him credit for, and when hatred fuels a wounded heart, you’ll do just about anything to get revenge.

Let’s f**king go! The Amateur might have a by-the-numbers plot, but Malek is a fantastic talent, and the movie looks slick as hell. I’m excited to check this one out. How about you? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Plot: A pulse-pounding crime thriller that follows the investigations of brilliant forensic psychologist and DC Metro Detective Alex Cross. Together with his best friend and partner Detective John Sampson, Cross delves into the psyches of insidious murderers while fighting to protect his family from the dangers of the criminal world.

Review: After thirty-two novels and three feature films, James Patterson’s beloved character, Alex Cross, is returning for a new adaptation. With Morgan Freeman leading two films, based on Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider, and Tyler Perry portraying the detective in 2012’s Alex Cross, the character’s narrative exploits have been fairly well received on the big screen. For the new Prime Video series, Cross, the Patterson books serve as inspiration for the narrative rather than direct source material. Aldis Hodge leads the series as the brilliant detective who must hunt down a serial killer while maneuvering his own grief after the murder of his wife. A solid update of the character, Cross is an entertaining series featuring one of the best detective characters in modern publishing.

Rather than serve as an origin story or a retread of the adapted novels already turned into films, Cross opens with a scene depicting the death of Alex Cross’s (Aldis Hodge) wife before shifting forward one year later. Still overcome with grief and preparing to take a leave of absence from work, the renowned detective is pulled into a highly publicized murder involving a famous activist in the Washington, D.C. black community. Cross, who has a PhD in psychology, is reluctant to be used for publicity purposes, but when he begins looking into the suspicious death alongside his partner John Sampson (Isaiah Mustafa), Cross theorizes there is more than an accident or suicide on their hands. Cross and Sampson dig into the death which may be the work of a serial killer. This puts the cops on the path of a dangerous foe who has a complex and disturbing motivation for his crimes. Like the Patterson novels, this part of the mystery feels like it comes right from the source material.

What distinguishes this series from the previous adaptations as well as the novels is the parallel mystery involving Cross’ family and his late wife. At home, Cross’ children Janelle (Melody Hurd) and Damon (Caleb Elijah) are cared for by their grandmother, Nana Mama (Juanita Jennings). There is love in the home, but the memory of their departed mother leaves them all missing something. Cross begins finding hints and clues as to why his wife was assassinated which connects back to older cases. The references to events from some of the Alex Cross novels add some dimension to the character as being an experienced investigator as the killer from Along Came a Spider is mentioned in the premiere episode. There are a few easter eggs for fans of the books, but most of this series is a new take on the mythology of the Alex Cross character. It is nice to see Sampson playing a significant role in the story after taking a backseat in the films. We also get time with tangential characters Kayla Craig (Alona Tal) with whom Cross has a past as well as his new romantic partner, Elle Monteiro (Samantha Walkes).

What helps Cross work better than the prior adaptations is Aldis Hodge’s pitch perfect casting as the title character. Hodge has already been exceptional in roles ranging from Hidden Figures and One Night in Miami… to superhero Hawkman in Black Adam. Hodge has a charisma that makes him both believable as the brilliant detective while having more of a ferocious energy than either Morgan Freeman or Tyler Perry were able to bring to the role. Hodge and Isaiah Mustafa have a solid chemistry that takes the onus off of Alex Cross needing to operate on his own and instead has a partner to work with and to call him out when his decisions to not align. Both actors carry the material and elevate it from feeling like another police procedural. The two main storylines in this season sometimes detract from one another, but the inclusion of solid supporting actors including Ryan Eggold, Eloise Mumford, and more give this ensemble a rounded cast of talent.

Creator and showrunner Ben Watkins (Burn Notice) shoulders a lot of the credit for being able to bring Alex Cross out of the 1990s when the novels were first published and present them in a modern context. A lot has changed in the last thirty years including the Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police movements, both of which play into element of the Cross plot. Because the main characters are educated and black and operate in a city with a very high crime rate and minority population, Cross never takes for granted the social commentary that typically gets overlooked in detective or crime stories over the last several years. Cross is never preachy but it does not avoid the elephant in the room and instead addresses it within the scope of the story. The eight episode series boasts a diverse batch of writers and directors including Nzingha Stewart, Craig Siebels, and Stacey Muhammad, all of whom give Cross a cinematic look and feel that reminded me of a similar level of quality seen in Prime Video’s hit series Reacher.

Cross has already been renewed for a second season which shows that Amazon has confidence in the series and for good reason. Aldis Hodge is the best actor to portray Alex Cross and elevates James Patterson’s creation from a literary icon to another level. I anticipate that the fan reaction to Cross will open up a whole new audience to Patterson’s books and could become another opportunity to expand from one series into multiple spin-offs including one for Isaiah Mustafa’s Sampson. Cross is a good mystery that has a fantastic cast and a solid original story that does not retread the source material or prior adaptations yet still enhances what makes the books so popular. I enjoyed the first season of Cross and cannot wait to see where they go in season two.

Cross premieres on November 14th on Prime Video.

Cross

GOOD

7

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Halloween may be over, but scary movies never go away. The latest chiller coming to streaming service Shudder is the unique ghost story Black Cab. Starring Shaun of the Dead‘s Nick Frost and directed by Bruce Goodison, Black Cab is an unconventional horror movie that harkens back to the supernatural chills of classic frights while also forging a unique story about the unknown. Boasting an original premise and a rate dramatic turn from Nick Frost, Black Cab is worth checking out.

Black Cab follows Anne (Synnøve Karlsen) and Patrick (Luke Norris) as they depart a party with their friends. With a rift between them, they chat up the odd driver of their car (Nick Frost). As the tensions begin to mount in the vehicle, Anne realizes this may not be the ride she expected. Things take a turn involving murder, ghosts, and something far more sinister. You probably think you know where Black Cab is headed, but trust me, the final destination is a detour.

I chatted about Black Cab with director Bruce Goodison and star/writer Nick Frost. Frost compared the path of his career from Shaun of the Dead twenty years ago to now how he has tried to bring elements of humor to all of his roles, and how comedy prepared him for the very dark angle of this character. Bruce Goodison discussed his love of making scary movies and the claustrophobic challenges of filming in a vehicle. They both also talked about some creepy drivers they have encountered over the years as well as whether or not this driver was inspired by anyone they have encountered in real life. Check out the full interview in the embed above.

Black Cab is now playing on Shudder. Read our review HERE.

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We’ve known for over a year that director David Fincher was working on a 4K (or 8K) restoration of his 1995 film Seven – or Se7en, if you prefer – and the 4K version of the movie was even screened at this year’s TCM Classic Film Festival. Now, we know when fans are going to have the chance to own the 4K restoration of Seven on disc, as Blu-ray.com has revealed that it’s set to be released on January 7th.

Scripted by Andrew Kevin Walker, Seven has the following synopsis: When retiring police Detective William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) tackles a final case with the aid of newly transferred David Mills (Brad Pitt), they discover a number of elaborate and grizzly murders. They soon realize they are dealing with a serial killer (Kevin Spacey) who is targeting people he thinks represent one of the seven deadly sins. Somerset also befriends Mills’ wife, Tracy (Gwyneth Paltrow), who is pregnant and afraid to raise her child in the crime-riddled city.

As reported by Blu-ray.com, “Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will celebrate the 30th anniversary of David Fincher’s Se7en (1995) with a new 4K Blu-ray edition, which is scheduled to arrive on the market on January 7th. In addition to the standard release, the studio will issue a Limited Edition SteelBook.”

Here are the special features and technical specs: NEW 4K RESTORATION SUPERVISED BY DAVID FINCHER – HDR10 PRESENTATION OF THE FILM – Four audio commentaries featuring David Fincher, Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and other collaborators on the film – Additional and extended scenes – Alternate endings – AND MORE… – Optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles for the main feature

Fincher previous said the 4K restoration of Seven, “is what it is, warts and all… And some of it is spectacular and some of it is stuff that I would change or fix today, but I didn’t want to mess with that. There’s a lot of imperfections, there’s a lot of things that you just don’t see on film. When people say they love the look of film, what they’re talking about is chaos, entropy, and softness. Now, of course, we live in an HDR world where you get those kinds of very deep, rich, velvety blacks for free. And we had to negotiate that fine between what to fix or not… So we attempted to go back in and fix to make it match. And kind of repaint stuff and just take out water spots and little edge flashes. And some of it is impossible to get it to match, certainly by today’s standards. So there was a lot of excavation.“

Will you be buying a 4K copy of Seven? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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The subgenre, Yacht Rock, is a relatively new term given to easy-listening older tunes of the 70s, 80s and 90s. HBO has now released the trailer for a new documentary in their Music Box series.

Directed by acclaimed director Garret Price (Daisy Jones & The Six; Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage; Love, Antosha), MUSIC BOX: YACHT ROCK: A DOCKUMENTARY chronicles the emergence and popularity of the West Coast, soft rock pop culture epitomized by such prolific musical artists like Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald, Kenny Loggins, Steely Dan, and Toto. It’s rare to see so many Yacht Rock artists in front of the camera telling their iconic stories, but finally viewers will get a rare glimpse into their worlds. 

The HBO Original documentary MUSIC BOX: YACHT ROCK: A DOCKUMENTARY is executive produced by The Ringer’s Bill Simmons (HBO’s “Andre The Giant,” “Showbiz Kids”), debuts FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 29 (9:00-10:35 p.m. ET/PT). The next installment of the Music Box series, which focuses on pivotal moments in music, will debut on HBO and be available to stream on Max.

The film foregrounds the musicians and producers of the yacht rock scene, giving them their own platform to detail the genesis, evolution, and downfall of the sound, which was appreciated for its high-quality production, soulful vocals, and breezy, emo lyrics. Michael McDonald, Christopher Cross, Kenny Loggins, and other indelible musicians of the time, along with rock journalists and scholars, define the music as taking its cues from jazz, funk, and R&B, laying out its crossover origins and wide reach. The emergence of MTV and slick music videos crowded out the genre but, in the 1990s, hip-hop artists started to sample yacht rock and the music gained a new audience and new respect for its high standard of songwriting excellence, becoming a cultural touchstone for playful ribbing by comedians. Filled with the sounds of the era, incredible archival footage of recording sessions and performances, and humorous, self-reflective interviews, the film lovingly embraces the key players of the scene and the genre they didn’t even know they were creating.

The film includes soulful insight from musical artists Kenny Loggins, Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald (Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers), Steve Porcaro (Toto), Steve Lukather (Toto), David Paich (Toto), Prince Paul (De La Soul), Brian Robert Jones (Vampire Weekend), Thundercat, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (The Roots), Mac DeMarco and more; “Yacht Rock” web series creator J.D. Ryznar and host Steve Huey; comedian Fred Armisen; music producers, journalists, scholars, and rock critics.

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Drew Starkey’s credits include roles in Love, Simon; Scream: The TV Series, The Devil All the Time, The Terminal List, and Queer, but he’s probably best known for playing the role of Rafe Cameron on the Netflix series Outer Banks – and now, Deadline is reporting that Starkey is the latest actor to join the cast of the action thriller Onslaught, which is coming our way from director Adam Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett.

Fresh off the success of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and with Face/Off 2 in development, Wingard and Barrett are returning to their roots with Onslaught, as the project is said to be “in the vein of their cult classics like The Guest and You’re Next.“

Starkey joins a cast that includes the previously announced Adria Arjona (Hit Man); Dan Stevens, who worked with Wingard and Barrett on The Guest and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire; and UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Alex “Poatan” Pereira. Pereira is playing a villain called The Butcher. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pereira will be able to “bring his set of skills to the role — including anaconda chokes and roundhouse kicks.” They also note that “Pereira is a former kickboxer and Brazilian mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He is one of a handful of fighters to become a champion in two different weight divisions.”

Speaking of skillsets, sources say that Arjona’s character is “a mother who falls back on a particular set of skills in order to protect her loved ones after she runs afoul of a threat that has escaped a secret military base.” Stevens plays a German scientist who is working on the experiments that escape. Details on Starkey’s character have not been revealed.

Lyrical Media and A24 are co-financing Onslaught and A24 will handle worldwide distribution. Onslaught is expected to go into production in New Mexico this fall. Aaron Ryder and Andrew Swett are producing the film under their Ryder Picture Company banner, alongside A24. Alexander Black is producing for Lyrical Media. Wingard and his manager Jeremy Platt are also producing, through their new shingle Breakaway Civilization, along with Barrett. Lyrical’s Jon Rosenberg and Natalie Sellers serve as executive producers.

Working on Onslaught means that Wingard, who also directed Godzilla vs. Kong, has to miss out on the third film in the Godzilla / Kong series. He had been open to returning, previously saying, “There’s always the seduction of making a trilogy out of it, and I think that there’s some untapped areas to go into. There’s also ways to continue to innovate the stylized approach to the MonsterVerse, and what’s great about the MonsterVerse is that it’s allowed so many different directors to approach it with their unique style and color palette.” When he stepped away to make Onslaught, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures hired Grant Sputore, the director of Hilary Swank’s sci-fi thriller I Am Mother, to take the helm of the new installment. Dave Callaham (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) is writing the script. The MonsterVerse film is scheduled for a March 26, 2027 release.

While I haven’t had the chance to see Starkey’s performance in Queer yet, I did just start making my way through Outer Banks – and with one season down, I’m finding Starkey’s character to be an incredibly irritating scumbag. So I could definitely imagine him playing a slimy villain in this movie… but maybe they’ll surprise me and make him a good guy.

Are you interested in Onslaught? What do you think of Drew Starkey joining the cast? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The post Drew Starkey joins the cast of Adam Wingard’s Onslaught appeared first on JoBlo.

His name is not Oswald! It’s Penguin! But there’s another Penguin floating about Gotham other than just Danny DeVito – and despite previous statements pointing to the contrary, DeVito is giving Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb his approval.

While Colin Farrell made an immediate mark as the Penguin in 2022’s The Batman, his namesake HBO show has shown just how much he has transformed the character, playing him like a harp from hell. And DeVito can’t help but give credit where it’s due, saying of Farrell’s Penguin, “Oh, Colin’s giving me a run for my money. And it’s totally different. I’ve been watching it. I haven’t watched the whole thing, but I watched most of what was out…and you know, it’s really good.” Obviously the show was all DeVito needed to turn the other beak, as he said after The Batman’s release that his own Penguin was superior to Farrell’s.

Still, Danny DeVito notices just how different the two takes on Penguin are, adding, “But I think we both really do a substantially good job with Oswald from different angles. You know, mine had no Italian overtones of mafia or guns in that way. I was just the, you know, egomaniac trying to take over the city. I was, you know, a misunderstood bird, a bird who cannot fly. So mine is a totally different character than in The Penguin with Colin, which is good. It’s good. Here you got a gangster penguin. It’s fine, and he’s doing a great job.” He, too, praised the makeup as entirely transforming Farrell into the Penguin, something that didn’t entirely happen with him on Batman Returns (although it didn’t need to, either, since one of the draws was seeing DeVito as the character).

It’s been more than three decades since Danny DeVito last played Penguin (aka Oswald Cobblepot), but he might still have a hankering for the character, expressing an interest in reprising him if Tim Burton were to direct another movie. Since we know there’s zero chance of that happening, we’ll stick with Colin Farrell, who wants to return for a second season of The Penguin.

Let’s settle this: which version of Penguin do you think is the best? Put one on the pedestal by commenting below.

The post Danny DeVito says Colin Farrell’s Penguin is giving him a run for his money…But who’s really the best? appeared first on JoBlo.

His name is not Oswald! It’s Penguin! But there’s another Penguin floating about Gotham other than just Danny DeVito – and despite previous statements pointing to the contrary, DeVito is giving Colin Farrell’s Oz Cobb his approval.

While Colin Farrell made an immediate mark as the Penguin in 2022’s The Batman, his namesake HBO show has shown just how much he has transformed the character, playing him like a harp from hell. And DeVito can’t help but give credit where it’s due, saying of Farrell’s Penguin, “Oh, Colin’s giving me a run for my money. And it’s totally different. I’ve been watching it. I haven’t watched the whole thing, but I watched most of what was out…and you know, it’s really good.” Obviously the show was all DeVito needed to turn the other beak, as he said after The Batman’s release that his own Penguin was superior to Farrell’s.

Still, Danny DeVito notices just how different the two takes on Penguin are, adding, “But I think we both really do a substantially good job with Oswald from different angles. You know, mine had no Italian overtones of mafia or guns in that way. I was just the, you know, egomaniac trying to take over the city. I was, you know, a misunderstood bird, a bird who cannot fly. So mine is a totally different character than in The Penguin with Colin, which is good. It’s good. Here you got a gangster penguin. It’s fine, and he’s doing a great job.” He, too, praised the makeup as entirely transforming Farrell into the Penguin, something that didn’t entirely happen with him on Batman Returns (although it didn’t need to, either, since one of the draws was seeing DeVito as the character).

It’s been more than three decades since Danny DeVito last played Penguin (aka Oswald Cobblepot), but he might still have a hankering for the character, expressing an interest in reprising him if Tim Burton were to direct another movie. Since we know there’s zero chance of that happening, we’ll stick with Colin Farrell, who wants to return for a second season of The Penguin.

Let’s settle this: which version of Penguin do you think is the best? Put one on the pedestal by commenting below.

The post Danny DeVito says Colin Farrell’s Penguin is giving him a run for his money… But who’s really the best? appeared first on JoBlo.

One of the stars of ABC’s beloved T.G.I.F. comedy block, Dave Coulier, who portrayed the resident comedic guardian in the popular family sitcom Full House, has delivered some shocking news for fans. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Coulier told People Magazine an unfortunate development was announced to him when he went to the doctor for what he initially thought was a head cold and he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Per THR, Coulier revealed that he received the diagnosis in October after an upper respiratory infection caused swelling in his lymph nodes. This lead his doctor to advise him on getting PET and CT scans, as well as a biopsy. Coulier recalls, “Three days later, my doctors called me back and they said, ‘We wish we had better news for you, but you have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and it’s called B cell and it’s very aggressive.’” He continued, “I went from, I got a little bit of a head cold to I have cancer, and it was pretty overwhelming. This has been a really fast roller coaster ride of a journey.” 

The heartbreaking diagnosis would drive Coulier into action as he assembled close friends who are in medicine along with his wife to hit this condition “head-on.” He would also share that his bone marrow test has come back negative, “At that point, my chances of curable went from something low to 90 percent range. And so that was a great day.” Coulier also shared on The Today Show that he had been through three surgeries since he was diagnosed five weeks ago and he has already started chemotherapy, with the chemo treatments expected to wrap in February.

The actor who played Joey Gladstone told Today, “Should be total remission by that time. Fingers crossed. I’m treating this as a journey. If I can help someone who’s watching today get an early screening — a breast exam, a colonoscopy, a prostate exam — go do it because, for me, early detection meant everything.” As the usual side effect of chemo involves losing hair, Coulier said he made a “preemptive strike” to shave his head. He added, “I kind of look like a little baby bird now.”

The post Full House star Dave Coulier announces he has been diagnosed with Stage 3 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma appeared first on JoBlo.

One of the stars of ABC’s beloved T.G.I.F. comedy block, Dave Coulier, who portrayed the resident comedic guardian in the popular family sitcom Full House, has delivered some shocking news for fans. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Coulier told People Magazine an unfortunate development was announced to him when he went to the doctor for what he initially thought was a head cold and he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Per THR, Coulier revealed that he received the diagnosis in October after an upper respiratory infection caused swelling in his lymph nodes. This lead his doctor to advise him on getting PET and CT scans, as well as a biopsy. Coulier recalls, “Three days later, my doctors called me back and they said, ‘We wish we had better news for you, but you have non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and it’s called B cell and it’s very aggressive.’” He continued, “I went from, I got a little bit of a head cold to I have cancer, and it was pretty overwhelming. This has been a really fast roller coaster ride of a journey.” 

The heartbreaking diagnosis would drive Coulier into action as he assembled close friends who are in medicine along with his wife to hit this condition “head-on.” He would also share that his bone marrow test has come back negative, “At that point, my chances of curable went from something low to 90 percent range. And so that was a great day.” Coulier also shared on The Today Show that he had been through three surgeries since he was diagnosed five weeks ago and he has already started chemotherapy, with the chemo treatments expected to wrap in February.

The actor who played Joey Gladstone told Today, “Should be total remission by that time. Fingers crossed. I’m treating this as a journey. If I can help someone who’s watching today get an early screening — a breast exam, a colonoscopy, a prostate exam — go do it because, for me, early detection meant everything.” As the usual side effect of chemo involves losing hair, Coulier said he made a “preemptive strike” to shave his head. He added, “I kind of look like a little baby bird now.”

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