The final numbers are coming in, and Dune: Part Two is defying earlier predictions that it would open in the $75 million-ish range with a strong $81 million opening weekend. This is just slightly above what we predicted a few days ago. Why is it coming in so much higher than the trades predicted yesterday? The universally positive word of mouth (an A CinemaScore rating) propelled it to a stronger-than-expected Saturday night in sales. This, or course, is great news, with the sequel doubling the first film’s opening weekend take, although it should be remembered that film opened in the middle of the pandemic and was available day and date on HBO Max. 

This is a strong opening for Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic, with it the highest opening film since Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour back in October. It opened just short of Oppenheimer’s $82 million gross, but the audience polling and the Saturday boost at the box office has many thinking Dune: Part Two will leg-out to a massive final gross. The only real competition it has coming up is Kung Fu Panda 4, which plays to a bit of a different audience. The next big movie for Dune: Part Two’s demo is likely Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which comes out on March 22nd. 

As expected, the rest of the movies playing this weekend performed modestly. Bob Marley: One Love, which dominated the box office since Valentine’s Day, dropped to 2nd place, earning $7.4 million for a total of $82 million. A $100 million domestic finish is still possible for this crowd-pleasing musical biopic. It was trailed by the faith-based Ordinary Angels, starring Hilary Swank and Alan Ritchson, which dropped a steeper-than-expected 38% to $3.85 million. It’s earned $12.5 million so far, but seems destined to be a modest performer when all is said and done. 

In a bit of a surprise, Sony’s much hated Madame Web beat the latest round of episodes from The Chosen (barely) earning $3.2 million compared to the Christian show’s $3.1 million. Madame Web’s domestic total is just over $40 million now and is destined to be one of the lowest-grossing superhero movies in quite some time.

Meanwhile, Illumination’s Migration made another $2.5 million, now boasting a $123 million domestic total. While a modest performer for an animated comedy, it had good legs at the box office, considering there’s been a lack of family films in release. The anime Demon Slayer: To The Hashira Training fell a massive 82% to just over $2 million for the weekend. This isn’t a surprise as these limited run anime movies are always front-loaded. 

While he’s been kicking ass on Arrakis all weekend, a kinder, softer Timothee Chalamet also had a good showing at the box office this weekend, with Wonka coming in at number 8. With a $1.7 million gross, this film has proven to be a smash, clearing $216 million at the domestic box office. There’s no surprise that the studio, Warner Bros, wants a sequel immediately. In number 9 was Argylle, Matthew Vaughn’s flop spy flick, which earned $1.4 million for a domestic total just slightly under $44 million. Finally, Jason Statham’s kick-ass The Beekeeper started to wind down its theatrical run with a $1.14 weekend in 10th place, clearing $65 million domestically, a terrific result for an R-rated action flick.

How do you think Dune: Part Two will fare against Kung Fu Panda 4 next weekend? Let us know in the comments. 

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Oscar Weekend is coming up, and everyone is wondering if Oppenheimer will sustain its Awards push. Or will Lily Gladstone will take the Best Actress statue from clear front-runner Emma Stone after her surprising SAG win? But there’s one thing that comes across my mind every Oscar weekend: which horror movie deserved to make the cut yet didn’t? I’ve chronicled in the past how much the Academy tends to look the other way regarding great horror performances. But what about the films themselves? After the Best Picture nomination pool was expanded to ten films, we’ve seen movies that otherwise wouldn’t, get a place amongst the year’s best. They wanted to recognize those films making a cultural impact.

And while that position has mostly been reserved for comic book movies and summer blockbusters, I think it’s well past time that we give horror its due. Because what genre is more impactful than horror? They’re the films we think of when we go to bed at night. So I’ve looked through the last few decades and compiled what I think are some of the most deserving horror films, to be skipped over by the Oscars. And sure, some may have had some performances nominated, but we’re looking at the grand prize: Best Picture. We’ll look at which films were more than deserving of the honor but were looked over for one reason or another. I tried to include a video that goes over why the film is so great, produced by our wonderful team at JoBlo Horror Originals. Let’s get started.

10. Halloween

John Carpenter’s 1978 classic has the distinction of being quite possibly the greatest slasher of all time. And I know that slashers aren’t known as the bastion of quality. But Halloween is the exception to the rule, crafting a brilliant film that has persevered for 46 years. The innovation involved with the panaglide as well as its famous “one-take” opening brings this to a technical level that we rarely see in slashers. Jamie Lee’s Laurie Strode became the prototype for final girls in horror. Without Halloween, the landscape of horror would be completely different.

9. Scream

Sometimes a film comes along and it changes film as we know it, and Wes Craven’s 1996 classic did just that. The entire horror genre was upended upon release, with meta dialogue being the new hip thing. Now, in 2024, there’s hardly a horror film that releases that doesn’t feature the same insightful dialogue. But it’s more than just the witty conversation that makes it stand out, as the script dissects horror tropes in such a way that even the wisest of horror fans will notice new things on each subsequent viewing. And it features one of the greatest opening and ending scenes in any film, ever. I will fight anyone on that.

8. American Psycho

It’s insane to me that Christian Bale wasn’t nominated for his turn as Patrick Bateman, but the film itself is just as deserving. Putting the viewer in the mind of an absolute psychopath, American Psycho examines the life of serial killer Patrick Bateman. From his meticulous routines to his seemingly in-the-moment decisions to murder homeless folks, seeing Patrick get away with murder while being so sloppy, speaks to so much more than just a man wanting to kill people. This film breaks down how high society can get away with whatever they want, and it’s the common man (or woman) who must pay the price.

7. The Brood

This may be a controversial opinion but I’d argue that The Brood is Cronenberg’s greatest work. It’s a dissection of both marriage and divorce, while also delving into the difficult subject of mental health. And it’s anchored by a phenomenal performance from Oliver Reed. This is a psychological thriller that really takes you on a journey and will have you dissecting long after it ends.

6. It Follows

It’s hard to do something original in horror in the modern era, yet David Robert Mitchell managed to do just that. It utilizes an STD monster, who will slowly walk toward its victim until it can finally murder them in a brutal and violent way. The only way to get rid of the monster is to sleep with someone else and set the monster on them. It’s a great concept, especially when combined with the fact that no one except the victim can see the monster. This brings a sense of paranoia that finds its way into every corner of the film. Add in some technically perfect camerawork and tremendous performances, including a star-making turn from Maika Monroe, it’s hard to care. Here’s hoping the sequel is able to bring the same level of quality.

5. Hereditary

I’ve already gotten into the absolute sham that the 2019 Oscars were for not including Toni Collette’s mindblowing performance in Hereditary. But that also applies to the film itself. An absolutely harrowing story of loss and destiny, this takes you on a brutally dark journey. The effect that this is able to have on people is truly remarkable, with reactions unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Most will remember where they were when they first saw that telephone pole incident; I know I do.

4. Alien

Thankfully this film did receive nominations and even won Best Visual Effects, but it deserved so much more. Ridley Scott’s haunted house story set on a spaceship, follows many tropes we’d see in slashers with characters being offed till we’re left with just our final girl: Ellen Ripley. Sigourney Weaver is able to take over a role that would be stereotypically male and give us one of the greatest sci-fi characters ever created. Then there’s the xenomorph itself, whose life cycle is one of the most well-crafted in all of sci-fi/horror.

3. The Thing

John Carpenter’s notorious flop nearly destroyed the director’s will to create, yet he managed to bring us one of the greatest horror films of all time. The creature effects are often cited as the best practical effects in any film. Yet even those weren’t nominated, instead having to settle for a Saturn Award Nomination. But it’s how Carpenter handles the paranoia and uncertainty about who and who hasn’t been assimilated by this alien creature. Its true brilliance lies in how it doesn’t spell out the answers and instead lends the entirety of the film’s runtime to be studied for clues.

2. Rosemary’s Baby

There are many baffling things when it comes to Rosemary’s Baby‘s relationship to the Oscars. It was such a monumental film and even earned Roman Polanski a nomination for Best Screenplay. Ruth Gordon even managed to win the Supporting Actress statue yet Mia Farrow’s incredible performance wasn’t even worthy of a nom. But this was the 60’s and horror was still taboo (not that it isn’t, still). So the film itself was unfairly looked past, despite its grounded view of something as fantastical as a cult bringing the devil’s child into the world.

1. The Shining

Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 masterpiece is widely heralded as one of the greatest horror films of all time (just don’t ask Stephen King). And it’s easy to see why with its journey down the rabbit hole of insanity, as Jack Torrance loses it more and more, and his family pays the price. To further highlight the gross negligence of the Razzies, both Kubrick and Shelley Duvall were nominated for those awards, further proving how little they actually mean. The performances of both Duvall and Jack Nicholson are so iconic that they’ve been recreated in other forms for decades. Plus, there’s a reason there are documentaries devoted to all of the minor details in The Shining. Every element can, should be, and has been dissected and studied because Kubrick was able to capture something hypnotic.

What Horror Movies do YOU think should have been nominated for Best Picture? Is there any film that was released THIS YEAR that you feel was worthy of a nomination? Let us know in the comments!

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Let’s jump back to the year 2020, infamously known now as the year of Covid-19. One Friday morning, I’m at home, doing my work, when I get a phone call from Australia, with the voice on the other side of the line being unmistakable. Ah yes, that accent that all my childhood friends and I imitated as we called each other “mate” and said, “that’s not a knife – that’s a knife.” It was none other than Paul Hogan, who was promoting his film, The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee, which was kind of a mockumentary starring Hogan as himself getting “cancelled” on the eve of his knighting. Jacob Elordi from Euphoria played his son. The movie wasn’t great, but Hogan himself was amazing to talk to, with him chatting with me much longer than he had to, telling me stories, such as when he was hiking in LA and came across some folks being menaced by a snake they all assumed – incorrectly – that he would be able to deal with.

Naturally, we spent a lot of time talking about Crocodile Dundee, a movie I watched over, and over, and over again as a kid, and am still incredibly fond of.

People may not realize it now, but Crocodile Dundee is one of the most profitable films ever made. It was shot for only 8 million dollars in Australian currency and made $336 million at the global box office, equal to about $800 million now. It was the second highest-grossing film of 1986, after Top Gun. It led to an American fascination with Australia that was memorably lampooned on one of the best Simpsons episodes ever, and it got two sequels, one of which, Crocodile Dundee 2, was another huge blockbuster.

Paul Hogan became a pop culture icon, with Crocodile Dundee one of the most instantly recognizable heroes of the 80s, up there with Indiana Jones and Rambo. Yet, Hogan’s Mick Dundee is a gentler and perhaps misunderstood hero. For all its stereotypical Australian trapping, such as a love of drinking Foster’s and hellraising, with the sprawling Outback a treacherous but exciting playground for Mick and his love interest, the American Sue Charlton (played by Paul Hogan’s eventual wife Linda Kozlowski), to fall in love with, it’s forward-thinking in a lot of ways people don’t appreciate. For one thing, Dundee is shown to love and appreciate Australia’s Aboriginal population, which, in both films, are portrayed heroically and non-stereotypically. 

The movie also has a strong anti-poaching message, which becomes even more pronounced in the sequels. One of the most famous scenes shows a bunch of businessmen going crazy in the bush and shooting up a bunch of kangaroos. Mick grabs his rifle, and using a kangaroo corpse he calls Skippy as cover, he shoots up the poachers, sending them home licking their wounds. He doesn’t kill anyone, though. Even in the sequel, which is more of an action film, Dundee never takes a life. The only one who actually kills anyone in the second is Sue, who, in a recurring gag from the films, is presented as a better shot than Mick. As Hogan himself told me, “That was the thing – to make a hero character who didn’t kill people. He didn’t have any superpowers other than he had a good sense of humor. It’s like the famous knife scene. In a lot of movies, he would have pulled the knife out and stabbed a few people, but he didn’t. He dismissed the situation with humor. That was the intention.”

Ok, so Dundee never kills anyone, but I maintain that Hogan throws the best punch of the eighties, with amazing foley work backing up sequences where he punches out bullies, high society types, and even a vicious pimp and his goons. 

Indeed, Crocodile Dundee works on a lot of levels. It’s a really interesting take on the fish-out-of-water comedy, with Sue the naive one in the movie’s first half, but Mick takes the role in the second half as he goes to New York. Hogan never presents Dundee as too ultra-macho. There’s a great scene early in the film where he dismisses a brawl by kissing a guy on the lips (something no other leading man would have done), and little throwaway moments, like when he pretends to shave with his knife but has a plastic BIC razor hidden that he prefers. 

There are so many great scenes in Crocodile Dundee, especially when Mick gets to New York and tries to win over Sue, who’s torn between her love of Mick and her desire to marry into high society. She seems to be playing some cruel games with him early on, with her flirting and romancing him, only to surprise him that she’s engaged to another man. It all comes to a great ending, though, with Sue coming to terms with the fact that Mick is the man for her, and it ends with her having to win him back, in a nice role reversal.

Now, it should be noted that certain things about the movie haven’t aged well, such as Mick’s  -let’s say curiosity – when he meets a few trans characters, but it could be argued that his intentions are naive and not malicious. As Hogan told me when I asked him about jokes that haven’t aged well, “There are some attitudes that have been around forever and shouldn’t be. But, I never do anything with bad intentions. The object is to make people laugh and forget their troubles. But, you don’t want anyone crying in the back of the audience because you said something they consider hurtful.” It should be noted that he toned down that type of humour significantly in both sequels, although some of the racier jokers are funny, such as when he mistakes a cokehead for a guy with a cold, and accidently ruins his stash. It’s interesting because the first film is very casual about drugs. Still, the sequel is very much a product of the War on Drugs, with Hogan taking on a Pablo Escobar style baddie and leading him to his doom in the outback and him and his aboriginal pals have their way with him. 

Overall, Crocodile Dundee remains a favorite movie of mine, as its just so damn positive. It’s definitely a product of its time, but what movie isn’t? If you can get over that, it’s a great movie. One of the things I always liked about these movies is how Dundee’s superpower isn’t how well he hurts people but rather the fact that he makes friends so easily. They come to his rescue when needed, such as the great sequence at the end of the movie when his chauffeur, played by a pre-Die Hard Reginald Vel Johnson, beats up the pimps that get the upper hand on Mick. I can’t help but love this movie, so if you haven’t seen it in a while, give it a watch!

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Considering the stature of and how much is riding on James Gunn’s upcoming Superman movie, it’s no surprise that there has been a wealth of rumors and speculation about pretty much every aspect of it. Gunn has dropped some crumbs for fans through set photos and costume reveals, but that doesn’t mean fake leaks haven’t hit the internet. Now, Gunn is calling them out for not just trying to trick fans but doing it so poorly.

Responding to a Threads follower asking about a supposed picture from the set of Superman (formerly Superman: Legacy), James Gunn called out the utter ridiculousness of the image, which was obviously generated by AI. Hitting on the lack of texture, cartoonish outfit and physical deformities, let’s check out what Gunn had to say about the Superman image. “Let’s see. Can the man on the left take a photo holding an amorphous black blob while looking through an eyeball on the front of his cap? Can the man on the right’s torso grow out of his right hip and can he be stupid enough to wear his pants with the drawstring in the back? Are David Corenswet’s hands made of wax without any bones or veins? And might Superman’s trunks be knitted with yarn? Ask yourself these questions and I’m certain you’ll be able to answer the question on your own.”

Considering this Superman stunt is one of the most obvious fake images to ever “leak” from a movie set – watermark or not – and Gunn handled it the way it deserved to be. But we also can’t help but wonder just how detailed such an image will get as AI technology progresses. We’ve already begun to see the threat of it within the industry – with execs not nearly as eager to slow it down as the creative types – but how many filmmakers are as connected as Superman‘s James Gunn with audiences to slow down rumors on the web? It might look absolutely ridiculous to most of us, but this most definitely fooled a lot of people who just don’t know any better. As such, there have already been calls for Gunn to just release a picture of the full costume to help avoid confusion and misinformation.

Are you concerned that the general public will fall for fake leaks as AI technology advances? Share your thoughts below.

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Denis Villenueve has risen to the top echelon of Hollywood directors. Beginning his career in Quebec, his films eventually earned critical recognition at film festivals, paving the way for his widely acclaimed english language debut, Prisoners. Each of his films has been critically and financially successful, yet of all of them, what’s hi

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Ever since Steve Rogers decided to hand his shield off to Sam at the end of Avengers: Endgame, fans have wondered what was next. We got a Disney+ series that showed Sam’s hesitance to pick up the mantle of Captain America and the history that comes with it. By the end of the series, he knew he was the only person who could be the new Captain America. Now, where do we go? It looks like the upcoming film Captain America: Brave New World will tell us.

A Brave New World Order

First up, a name change. The new film was initially revealed to be Captain America: New World Order. If you’re a wrestling fan like me, you had visions of Sam decked out in his new Captain America gear, fighting off Hulk Hogan clad in his old black and white wrestling gear from the days of his heel run as leader of the faction the nWo. While these are only fun ideas that nerds like to put together at the mention of the New World Order, others seemed very surprised by the use of the subtitle.

Even before WCW thought up the name of the renegade group, it was used by conspiracy theorists to describe the powerful elite that want to form a single-world government and enslave everyone. There is a lot more to go into, but seriously, there is not enough time, and JoBlo doesn’t want to end up on a conspiracy hit list. Google it if you feel brave enough. Some believed it also has a tinge of antisemitism within these circles as well. As production began, the name was changed to Captain America: Brave New World. Some feel this sounds like a more positive-sounding title as it looks forward to a new world. Those who have read the Aldous Huxley book think that might be a little naive.

Who’s Coming Back

With this film being in the Phase 5 lineup of the MCU, you know there have to be some returning superheroes. Of course, Anthony Mackie will be back as Sam Wilson. He’ll don the red, white, and blue as the new Captain America as we saw him embrace the part at the end of Falcon And The Winter Soldier. How will the character handle carrying his own movie? That’s the big question. As a sidekick to Steve Rogers, Sam worked as the wise-cracking guy with wings. Even as one of the main characters of the Disney+ series, he could at least share some of the lead with Sebastion Stan’s Winter Soldier. Now, he will be front and center. We’ll see if the character has the legs . . . er wings to carry the story on his own.

One of the characters we met in the series was Isaiah Bradley, who was the first African American Captain America. While Steve Rogers was taking an ice nap, the government was still working to find a way to replicate the super soldier serum. Unfortunately for Isaiah, his chance at becoming a super soldier was not his choice. He was imprisoned and experimented on until he escaped. His love for state and country is not riding very high these days.

Another character crossing over from Disney+ is Joaquin Torres, who seems to be taking up the mantle of Falcon. We saw him in some episodes of the show and had worked with Sam Wilson before. Now, it looks like he will earn his wings and help the Captain.

The two significant returns that surprised many people were two characters and actors from way back in The Incredible Hulk. Tim Blake Nelson will be returned as scientist Samuel Sterns. He was contaminated by Hulk’s irradiated blood and seemed to be set up as a future Hulk villain, The Leader. His enhanced intelligence due to the irradiated blood makes him a formidable foe. The plot thread seemed to have been left dangling as no more solo Hulk films were made. Now he’s finally returning along side . . .

Liv Tyler is returning as Betty Ross. She was the love interest of Bruce Banner and the daughter of Thunderbolt Ross. The entire film of The Incredible Hulk seemed to have been forgotten except for William Hurt’s appearance in a few movies and Tim Roth’s recent return on She-Hulk. Now it looks like they are finally pulling in some other characters to fill out the Hulk’s roster. Mark Ruffalo seemed to announce he’d be coming back for this film but Marvel has said that was untrue. Maybe a post-credits scene?

New Additions

The most significant addition comes with Harrison Ford taking over the character of Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross. William Hurt, unfortunately, passed away in 2022. Before, when an actor passed away, Marvel shied away from recasting the character. This time, they decided to bring in a new actor. This seemed to raise some questions about why it was okay in this instance but not for Black Panther after Chadwick Boseman died before being able to film the sequel.

Getting Harrison Ford in the movie is definitely a plus, no matter his role. This time around, Ross will be the new President Of The United States. Now that the gruff military guy is in charge of the whole country, how will that play against the world of superheroes? Well, there are some rumors that he could end up being the villain of the film. Some rumblings have been made that Ross will be turning into the Red Hulk. In the comics, Ross had found a way to turn into a giant monster just like Bruce Banner, only with a red tint.

The character of Sabra will be making her MCU debut played by Shira Haas. Some were concerned that debuting an Arab character during the times of unrest that is currently happening in the world might have consequences. Marvel has assured fans that they have taken care to update the character for a modern audience as they have with other heroes that have been brought to the big screen. In the comics, Sabra is a mutant who can transfer her life essence into others and even give them superpowers.

WWE Superstar Seth Rollins has filmed some scenes for the film. No one is sure what character he will be playing, but rumors are possibly King Cobra as part of the Serpent Society. The group was a snake-themed team that fought against Captain America numerous times. The film has undergone some reshoots with some claims that the Serpent Society arc has been completely cut out of the film. Who knows if Rollins will even make the cut?

Strikes

Filming began in March of 2023, and the looming writer and actor strikes had fans wondering if they would finish before the strikes started. Marvel indicated that it shouldn’t interrupt filming all that much as there were already planned breaks between the regular shoot and later reshoots. In theory, this film was already ahead of where Deadpool And Wolverine was at in production. They felt they should remain on course for their July 26th, 2024 release date. For whatever reason, it was decided to go full steam ahead on finishing Deadpool And Wolverine and release it on this date and push Brave New World to February 14, 2025.

In all honesty, it was probably their best decision. Deadpool And Wolverine seems guaranteed to be a billion-dollar movie. The hype is already at a fever pitch. This new version of Captain America still seems like it could end up being a gamble one way or the other. Fans can be fickle about their favorite character. Falcon And The Winter Soldier didn’t light up Disney+ but fared well enough. Gambling a summer release date on a character that is unsure if he can carry his own film might be something Marvel isn’t looking to do with some of their recent films falling below expectations lately.

Hopefully, we’ll be seeing a trailer soon. Possibly even attached to Deadpool And Wolverine. After watching Deadpool work with the TVA to clean up the Fox Marvel Universe, then maybe we’ll get the pleasure of watching Harrison Ford turn into a giant Red Hulk and face off against the new Captain. As President Ross, do you think we’ll get to see him grab someone by the collar at some point and tell them, “Get Off My Plane!” before smashing them?

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The Criterion Collection is known for their dedication to championing classic and contemporary movies we should all be seeing, showcasing them with exquisite transfers and film school-level special features. But when it comes to their streaming service The Criterion Channel, the catalog is a bit looser. And it got weird and worse(?) this month, as they added a 14-title retrospective of the Golden Raspberry Awards. Titled “And the Razzie Goes To…”, Criterion’s grouping compiles 14 movies that come complete with bees, turkey time and whatever the hell Tom Green was doing for the duration of Freddy Got Fingered.

Here is the full list of Razzie flicks now available on The Criterion Channel: Cruising (1980), Heaven’s Gate (1980), Xanadu (1980), Querelle (1982), Under the Cherry Moon (1986), Ishtar (1987), Cocktail (1988), Showgirls (1995), Barb Wire (1996), The Blair Witch Project (1999), Freddy Got Fingered (2001), Swept Away (2002), Gigli (2003), and The Wicker Man (2006). That’s more than 80 Razzie nominations, ranging from Showgirls’s record-setting 13 to The Blair Witch Project’s mere two.

While it can be easy to make fun of a lot of these titles (although I’ll defend Showgirls in any venue), this is a fantastic way to experience these much-maligned movies whether for the first time or for a few nostalgic laughs. Sure, a lot of them earned their reputations, but there are also some that are far from deserving of their Razzie wins: we now know that Heaven’s Gate gets a bad wrap for helping kill the New Hollywood (it’s a masterpiece, people!) and that Ishtar isn’t all that bad (…right?). Plenty have also gone on to become cult favorites among a niche crowd, such as Barb Wire, Showgirls and Freddy Got Fingered. As a matter of fact, I finally watched Pamela Anderson’s futuristic twist on Casablanca — (“winner” of the Worst New Star Razzie) — courtesy of Criterion and you know what?…OK, it’s not very good but it does have some high-energy camerawork and editing and Anderson owns every moment. So, what else got included in Criterion’s ode to the Razzies?

Criterion highlighting this selection of Razzie movies might seem odd — and it is, don’t get me wrong — but they do have a terrific sense of humor about them. Remember their short-lived April Fools Day pranks where they announced movies like Kindergarten Cop and C.H.U.D. as part of their collection? Think of this as the streaming version of that, except they actually pulled the trigger on the ridiculous lineup.

The Razzies have made a lot of headlines over the last few years, from picking on an 11-year-old to showing some sympathy to the likes of Shelley Duvall and Bruce Willis.

Which past Razzie winner would you want to see get the full Criterion Collection treatment? Give us your pick below!

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Victims, aren’t we all? Well, Eric Draven is at least, and we’re not talking about his Devil’s Night death. When the first look at Bill Skarsgård’s version of the character arrived earlier this week, the reception was poor to say the least. One peek at this new Eric Draven and pretty much one thing came to everybody’s mind: Jared Leto as The Joker. Complete with a tattoo above the eyebrow and one that even let his left nipple stand in for an eyeball, the look has been widely blasted by fans and even those directly linked to the 1994 cult favorite. Now, someone tied very closely to Leto’s Joker, David Ayer, has chimed in…although his dig is a little more subtle than most.

Responding to a post showing Skarsgård as Eric Draven in the upcoming reboot, David Ayer said nothing, only laying down a sly side-eye emoji. This is clearly in reference to just how similar the updated look is to The Joker as featured in Ayer’s Suicide Squad, a design that itself has rightly received criticism. Considering Ayer himself has gone on to criticize The Joker’s look – particularly the “Damaged” face tattoo – it’s pretty obvious he thinks Eric Draven’s new style missed the mark.

And he’s not alone, although original The Crow director Alex Proyas was a lot more blunt about his take on Eric Draven ‘24, mocking the Dominik Mysterio haircut, awful tattoos and beer of choice. “Eric Draven’s having a bad hair day. Next reboot thanks…I guess he’s supposed to be a bad mofo with all those tats and werewolves and skulls on his jacket…Samuel Adams! Jesus! He could at least drink something more bad-ass…”

We all get protective of movies we love when a remake or reboot is announced. And while many were skeptical from the get-go of The Crow franchise being resurrected (it only had one great entry anyway), the first look at Skarsgård’s Eric Draven undoubtedly impaled any hopes there may have been. The Crow arrives on June 7th, a confident spot that will see it opening against Bad Boys 4.

What was your first reaction to seeing Bill Skarsgård as Eric Draven? Could he pull off the character?

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Five years have gone by since Tom Cruise announced that Paramount Pictures had given the greenlight to two more Mission: Impossible movies, with Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015) and Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018) writer/director Christopher McQuarrie returning to the helm. At one point, we thought these movies were going to carry the titles Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part Two… but Paramount is backtracking from that decision. After Dead Reckoning Part One underwhelmed at the box office when it was released last year, the studio has dropped Part One from the subtitle and has let it be known that the next film, which is still in production, will have a different title. A decision they really should have made before releasing the first half of the story. At least we’re still getting the second half of the story, with the next Mission: Impossible film set to reach theatres on May 23, 2025. And here’s Everything We Know About Mission: Impossible 8 (actual title still to be determined):

DIRECTOR

As mentioned, both of these new Mission: Impossible movies are being directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who also directed the two films before this duo. McQuarrie is the first director to be at the helm of more than one film in this franchise; previously, Mission: Impossible had been seen as a sort of “director’s showcase” series, where a different director would bring their own style to each individual film. Brian De Palma directed Mission: Impossible (1996), John Woo directed Mission: Impossible II (2000), J.J. Abrams directed Mission: Impossible III (2006), and Brad Bird directed Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (2011). Then we entered the McQuarrie era.

STORY

In Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023), McQuarrie and co-writer Erik Jendresen told us of a Russian stealth submarine that was equipped with an AI defense and navigation system called The Entity. The AI system gained sentience and sabotaged the submarine, sinking it to the bottom of the sea somewhere. Now The Entity is loose in the digital world, and our Impossible Missions Force heroes have to stop it. Dead Reckoning ended with IMF agent Ethan Hunt (the role Cruise has been playing throughout this film franchise) getting his hands on the key that will allow him to access the chamber where The Entity resides on that sunken submarine and destroy it… So in the second film, he’ll need to locate the submarine and overcome whatever obstacles McQuarrie and Jendresen throw his way so he can clean up this Entity mess.

CAST

Well, of course Cruise is still in the lead as Ethan Hunt. For this mission, we’re expecting to see him share the screen with Hayley Atwell, reprising her Dead Reckoning Part One role of thief-turned-IMF-recruit Grace; Vanessa Kirby as arms dealer Alanna Mitsopolis, a.k.a. the White Widow, a character who was previously seen in both Fallout and Dead Reckoning; Ving Rhames as IMF agent Luther Stickell, who has been part of this franchise since Mission: Impossible in 1996; Simon Pegg as IMF agent Benji Dunn, who joined the party back in Mission: Impossible III; Henry Czerny as CIA director Eugene Kittridge, who was introduced in Mission: Impossible (1996) and finally made his long-awaited return in Dead Reckoning; Rolf Saxon as William Donloe, a CIA analyst who got in trouble after Ethan Hunt accessed his computer way back in the first Mission: Impossible; and more Dead Reckoning reprisals: Esai Morales as the Entity-serving terrorist Gabriel; Pom Klementieff as Gabriel’s former ally Paris; Shea Whigham and Greg Tarzan Davis as US Intelligence agents Briggs and Degas; Mariela Garriga as Marie, a mysterious woman from Ethan and Gabriel’s past; Mark Gatiss and Charles Parnell as the heads of the NSA and NRO;. There are also a handful of new additions to the franchise: Holt McCallany as Secretary of Defense Bernstein; Nick Offerman as Sydney, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Janet McTeer, Hannah Waddingham, and Lucy Tulugarjuk in unspecified roles.

FILMING LOCATIONS

Mission: Impossible movies tend to be globe-trotting adventures, and the currently-untitled Mission: Impossible 8 is no exception. Filming locations have included Longcross Studios and the Lake District in the UK, Malta, South Africa, and the Arctic region of Norway. We know that Atwell and Tulugarjuk were present for the filming in the Arctic. We also know that Waddingham’s scenes with Cruise were filmed on the USS George H.W. Bush fighter carrier when it was off the coast of the Apulia region of Italy.

MASSIVE UNDERTAKING

Making two Mission: Impossible movies essentially back-to-back was never going to be a walk in the park, but Dead Reckoning and its follow-up have both hit some rough patches during production. Dead Reckoning had the bad luck of going into production at the start of 2020 – right before the pandemic lockdowns hit and slow the project down for quite a while. Mission: Impossible 8 (or whatever it ends up being called) started filming in early 2022, then had to be paused for McQuarrie, Cruise, and their cohorts could do press for Dead Reckoning. That was followed by the Screen Actors Guild strike, which brought filming to a halt for several months. Obviously, Paramount has given both of these films mind-bogglingly long production schedules and have dropped a lot of money into their budgets. Dead Reckoning alone is said to have cost nearly $300 million, but at least they got £57 million from Swiss insurer Chubb to make up for the delay caused by the pandemic.

NOT A SEND-OFF

Early on, it was said that Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 would be a “culmination” of the entire series that would serve as a “send-off” to the Ethan Hunt character. That’s not the case. When he saw 80-year-old Harrison Ford reprising the role of Indiana Jones in Dial of Destiny, 61-year-old Cruise said he hopes to be making Mission: Impossible movies until he reaches Ford’s Dial of Destiny age. McQuarrie has said these films won’t be the end for the franchise, and he and Cruise even already have ideas for what comes next. So if the next film is a success, we can expect to see Ethan Hunt return for more adventures.

And that’s everything we know about Mission: Impossible 8 at this point. Someday, McQuarrie and Cruise are finally going to finish making this movie, and in May of 2025 we’ll have our chance to see how it has turned out.

In the meantime, you can check out a review of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One from our own Chris Bumbray right here, and be sure to let us know what you thought of the film as well.

The post Everything We Know About Mission: Impossible 8 appeared first on JoBlo.

The new action film Lights Out has stepped into the ring for viewers to enjoy. Frank Grillo stars as a mysterious wanderer who is haunted by a past of seeing his comrades die in combat and now finds himself thrust into the underground world of mixed-martial arts fighting. Mekhi Phifer also stars as Grillo’s only ally with Durmot Mulroney as a crime boss and Scott Adkins making a special appearance as Grillo’s former brother-in-arms.

The movie also stars Jaime King as Ridgeway, who is a police detective who is seemingly pulling all the strings behind it all, but is there more that she’s hiding? King had starred opposite Johnny Depp in Ted Demme’s film Blow, followed by Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor starring opposite Ben Affleck. You may recognize her as Goldie in Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City and the sequel, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. She also showed off her own fighting chops opposite Hong Kong legend Chow Yun Fat in the action fantasy, Bulletproof Monk. She can recently be seen in the critically acclaimed hit series, Black Summer, which is available on Netflix.

Ms. King recently spoke with JoBlo about the complicated nature of her character of Ridgeway in Lights Out.

JoBlo: Your character is, with the highest of respect, the HBIC. She’s pulling all the strings behind the scenes, but there were also a lot of unspoken moments that showed some inner conflict within her. Was there something you felt you need to bring to this person to round them out so they’re not just a figure head of this crime syndicate?

King: Thank you for asking the question! There’s a pattern I’ve been noticing with a lot of films lately where there’s a real lack of what I call “the Divine Feminine.” What I loved about the process of working on the script is that the filmmaker was so open to my thoughts and my point-of-view and to developing it and working on it together, which is really the process that I enjoy the most. With Detective Ridgeway, I really needed intense stakes for her. I’ve been researching cops for, like, a decade now. I do a lot of research on positions of power, because I find that oftentimes that it’s abused. I spent a lot of time with a detective and another officer as I was preparing for the film.

She revealed the long hours that she spent with the two persons of authority for her research had her thinking, “What truly makes a detective corrupt?” and found a list of possibilities that some people find themselves in, which may trap them in the compromising situation. King detailed that the answers are usually the same, and it could be a wide range of explanations like they “f*ck with the cartel or [they’re suffering from] a drug problem or a drinking problem or a gambling problem. Those are some of the main factors of it.”

King: And when I spoke to [director Christian] Sesma, I was like, “I really need to create a story here.” I’d ask the officers [she spent time researching with], “If your husband was dying and you had a child…would you do this?” And they said, “Yes.” And so, those are the stakes I created. I called up Sesma and said, “Here’s the deal. She’s married. She has a child. A small child. Her husband is very, very, very sick and dying. And this is the only way…the ONLY way…that she can keep him alive. I really look at those tilting points! There’s always a specific reason for why they do what they do!

JoBlo: The look of your character is so distinctive. It feels like different [fashion] eras were smashed together. What was the inspiration for it and was there a deliberate image you wanted to convey?

King: Yes, there was a deliberate image! It was [Greek Goddess] Calypso! If you look up Calypso, she’s got curly…very, very curly hair. And I wanted it very pale and curly and feminine. And no make-up. I wanted dark eyebrows. I dyed my eyelashes a deep black and the rest I wanted very, you know, pure. And for the look, I wanted it to be very grounded, like feet grounded, and kind of have swag to her! But without intent. Like, that’s who she is.

King had also worked previously with Frank Grillo on the film The Resurrection of Charles Manson, which stars Frank and was written and directed by his son, Remy Grillo. King reveals that her friendship with Frank dates back to the 2010 film, Mother’s Day, where they first worked together. The two families have since been close, and when Remy Grillo had the idea for his Charles Manson film, he pitched it to King for her production company to take on. We inquired if it got her to think about her own children possibly breaking into the business-of-show in the future and direct her like Remy did with his dad. She would glow that her children have already been directing her as they create their own projects for social media and momentarily run the house like a studio.

Lights Out is available for streaming and on-demand now!

The post Lights Out: We interview Jaime King on her new action film starring Frank Grillo appeared first on JoBlo.