This is not a review. This is a warning. If I gave Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” a standard movie review and told you that it was an incoherent mess on par with “Rebel Moon” (which it is), your fanboy reflexes would kick and you’d write me off. You’d take me as just another pair of glasses dead set on panning a movie just to bolster their art cred. I hate critics like that, and so do you.

So I’m telling you this not as a reviewer, but as a friend: Do not see this movie. It is a piece of s—t.

Maika Monroe is going to be one bad nanny.

In her first casting since starring in the horror hit Longlegs, Monroe has signed to topline 20th Century Studios’ remake of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle.

Michelle Garza Cervera is directing the feature that is being produced by Radar Pictures’ Ted Field and Michael Schaefer and Mike Larocca via their banner, Department M.

The project adapts the 1992 thriller originally distributed by Buena Vista Pictures and directed by Curtis Hanson. Rebecca De Mornay starred as a twisted widow who, distraught over losing her own baby, insinuates herself into a family as their nanny, with the ultimate goal of taking the kids and the husband for herself. Annabella Sciorra played the mother.

In other words: What’s a hidden gem I probably haven’t seen but totally should? And why is it a must-watch?

Filmmaker Mel Gibson has a couple of key sequels on his slate to direct in the coming years – namely a follow-up to “The Passion of the Christ” and a fifth “Lethal Weapon” entry.

Both projects have been floated as possibilities for many years now, but they have also taken on a new urgency recently and are seemingly much closer to fruition than ever before.

Gibson is also an industry veteran and is well aware of how film productions are all about various elements aligning just right – a big reason why so many filmmakers have multiple projects in development as you never know which one may suddenly be ready to move forward.

Speaking with ComicBook.com, Gibson was asked what film he would direct first to which he said it’s not completely clear which of the films might go sooner:

“I don’t know, and that’s the funny thing, I mean, there’s various obstacles to getting any film up on its feet, and not just budgetary, but there’s like, there’s 1,000,001 reason why something goes and why it doesn’t. So it’s really kind of a crapshoot at this point. You know, what goes first and which came first, whether it’s the chicken or the egg.”

The comments follow on from Gibson revealing earlier this year that he was still planning on directing “Lethal Weapon 5,” stepping in for the late Richard Donner who passed away in 2021.

Donner had done a bunch of work on a screenplay for a fifth film with Gibson getting further work done on it and, as of earlier this year, he was “pretty happy” with how it turned out.

The comments also follow reports a week ago that Gibson has been in Malta with a production team scouting potential filming locations for the “Passion” sequel and production could begin as soon as early next year.

Personal opinion, neither? 🤷‍♂️😄

It’s unusual for a movie to have inspired creations as diverse as Fritz Lang's Metropolis and Roland Emmerich's Independence Day, but a movie celebrating its 100th birthday today can claim just such an accomplishment. Loosely based on a 1923 novel by Alexei Tolstoy, Yakov Protazanov's 1924 silent film Aelita: Queen of Mars is, in fact, secretly one of the most influential sci-fi movies of all time.

Set in 1921, the film follows a group of people in post-civil war Soviet Russia as they reckon with their place in a rebuilding society. The movie begins with people worldwide attempting to understand a mysterious radio message, and the scene immediately makes Queen of Mars’ influence obvious. Seventy years later, its visuals were echoed by Emmerich as countries around the globe received transmissions from Independence Day’s invaders, then later used Morse code to coordinate a united counter-offensive.

...

It’s in these Martian sequences that Aelita’s impact on sci-fi film can really be observed. The Mars of Los' dreams is filled with constructivist sets and extravagant costumes, the latter designed by Cubo-Futurist artist Aleksandra Ekster, a Ukrainian colleague of Pablo Picasso. The costume’s oblique shapes, born of industrial materials like aluminum, acrylics, and steel, provided modern aesthetics that later appeared in the sets and costumes of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and Woman in the Moon. Both were produced at Germany’s UFA Studios, where Protazanov had worked in the early 1920s before returning to Russia after the revolution.

...

Protazanov's unique style continued to influence films well into the 1980s, from a space opera revival of Flash Gordon to the low-budget queer sci-fi Liquid Sky, which New York Times writer J. Hoberman suggested had “a particularly Soviet quality,” noting that its “costumes, makeup, hairstyles, production design, and even the herky-jerky dances are also highly suggestive of Russia’s 1920s Constructivist avant-garde." He called it a "true ancestor" to Aelita.

New RoboCop TV series has James Wan as executive producer

James Wan is on board to executive produce a new TV series inspired by the classic 1987 film RoboCop for Amazon MGM

Back in 2022, Amazon closed an $8.5 billion acquisition of the film studio MGM, giving them ownership of the studio's thousands of films and TV shows. Last year, we heard that the six MGM properties Amazon was most interested in doing something with were Poltergeist, *Stargate, The Thomas Crown Affair, Legally Blonde, Rocky, *and RoboCop... and we've recently heard updates on some of those projects, with a Poltergeist TV series finding its showrunners and Michael B. Jordan signing on to both direct and star in a new version of The Thomas Crown Affair. Now Deadline has broken the news that a new RoboCop TV series is moving forward and has James Wan, the director of such films as Saw, The Conjuring, and Aquaman, on board as executive producer.

Peter Ocko (Lodge 49) has been hired to write, executive produce, and serve as showrunner on the potential series. Wan, Michael Clear, and Rob Hackett are executive producing through their company Atomic Monster, while Danielle Bozzone is overseeing the project for Atomic Monster. The series is being produced by Amazon MGM Studios.

Directed by Paul Verhoeven from a screenplay by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner, the 1987 film RoboCop has the following synopsis: In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith) so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters. The movie was followed by sequels RoboCop 2 (1990) and RoboCop 3 (1993), an animated series that ran for one season in 1988, a live-action TV series that ran for one season in 1994, a 2001 mini-series called RoboCop: Prime Directives, and a 2014 remake, as well as video games, comic books, toys, clothing, and other merchandise.

The new TV series has the following official logline: A giant tech conglomerate collaborates with the local police department to introduce a technologically advanced enforcer to combat rising crime

a police officer who's part man, part machine.

Now the last time they did this, it was back in 2000 with a series called RoboCop: Prime Directives. It comprised of four 90 minute films. I followed the official website for all the news, it sounded great. It was going to ignore the sequels and follow on from the original. I was quite excited as RoboCop is a scifi classic.

When I finally managed to see it here in the UK, I was so disappointed I didn't even finish the first episode. So I'm not holding out any hope here. I didn't think much of the 2014 remake either.

Giving my perspective so far with the new show that I doubt most people are giving a watch (I was forced to try it lol). It's only 2 episodes in, the first episode I wasn't that impressed with. It seemed to be wrapping up other storylines and trying to branch into it's new, own thing. It was a confusing episode trying to get a grasp of what they were doing. But, with the previous enjoyment of wandavision (at least the first few episodes of it), I decided to push through.

Then comes Episode 2, just completely blew me away. Not like it's a masterpiece but definitely feels like Marvel is attempting to let them do their own thing atm and is one of the best "Witch" related media since the Hocus Pocus original (made me realize that genre just completely fell off since the 90's with decently made stories that wasn't an action "van-helsing/hugh jackman" kinda thing. I'm really looking forward to where they might be taking this.

I wanted to highlight the song in episode 2 as well, utterly beautiful.

Agatha All Along Coven Sings The Ballad of the Witches' Road Episode 2

(I'm trying to think of a better Marvel song, but now I can't even think of any real singing besides this one)

Anyways, the 3rd episode drops in like 8 hours. Haven't followed a show while it's releasing in a while, and typically I don't, but I'm gonna try this one out. If it turns out great, awesome. If it's a horrible rest of the season, at least I can say I thoroughly enjoyed the hype of it while waiting for the next one.

tl;dr Episode 1, a little rough going down and finding it's footing. Episode 2, really has me excited for a real witch show about witches (doesn't feel like Marvel). Episode 3 drops tonight.

The new Hellboy movie, Hellboy: The Crooked Man, is skipping theatres and going right to a digital release this October (8th)

The Irish thriller Bring Them Down starring Barry Keoghan has won Best Picture at the Texas film festival Fantastic Fest.

Described in the festival's programme as a "beautifully crafted and assured character piece", Bring Them Down won Best Picture in the main competition of the annual Austin-based Fantastic Fest.

...

The debut feature of writer-director Christopher Andrews, Bring Them Down is billed as "a suspenseful thriller that observes the escalating tensions of two farming families in the west of Ireland, whose actions have increasingly devastating consequences".

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month.

Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi, known for starring in Barbie and Saltburn, are to join forces in a major new film adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

The Australian actors will play Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff in director Emerald Fennell's adaptation of the classic Emily Bronte novel, set on the tempestuous Yorkshire moors.

They may be two of Hollywood's hottest stars, and it may be one of the most enduring love stories ever written, but their casting has left many film fans unimpressed.

"Did anyone actually read the book before deciding this?" asked the Independent's film critic Clarisse Loughrey.

Some pointed out that Catherine is in her teens in the book, while Heathcliff is described in the novel, written in 1847, as "dark-skinned".

"White Heathcliff and 34-year-old Cathy, and they both look like they belong on Instagram. I'm obsessed," wrote TV and film critic Gavia Baker-Whitelaw.

She added: "Emerald Fennell does it again [derogatory]."

The Collider critic and editor Maggie Boccella vented: "It is painfully obvious that Fennell doesn’t actually care about Wuthering Heights’s themes.

"She just wants to make a tortured lovers drama with a name that’ll put butts in seats. As though her last two movies didn’t make that shallowness obvious already."

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/17862282

M. Night Shyamalan is the producer for an upcoming thriller titled Caddo Lake, formerly The Vanishings At Caddo Lake, and the official trailer has been released this afternoon

...

“The plot revolves around when an 8-year-old girl mysteriously vanishes on Caddo Lake, a series of past deaths and disappearances begin to link together, forever altering a broken family’s history.”

...

The inspiration for Caddo Lake was sparked after filmmakers, Celine Held and Logan George, came across a photograph of the real Caddo Lake online, leading to many visits to the cypress forest that rests on the border of Texas and Louisiana. The film was shot in late 2021 and 2022 in and around Karnak, Texas.

Trailer

IMDb

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/17856559

The Paddington films have always been imbued with a deep love of cinema. Paul King’s Paddington and Paddington 2 revelled in creating handcrafted textures, both beautifully shot and making nods to classic slapstick comedies, prison escape dramas, and soundstage musicals. Next, Paddington is venturing out of London – make way for Paddington In Peru, a threequel that sees Douglas Wilson make his directorial debut, taking the reins from King, and sending our young furry hero (and the Brown family) on an Amazonian adventure. That change of location means an influx of new cinematic touchstones.

Notably, Wilson mentions an influence from Werner Herzog’s jungle-traversing Aguirre, The Wrath Of God, and Fitzcarraldo. Yes, in a Paddington movie. It comes with the Peruvian territory – literally. “Peru has this incredible variety of landscapes, crazy geology, especially the Andes and the mysterious Incan side,” the director tells Empire. “If you’ve seen [Werner Herzog’s] Aguirre, The Wrath Of God, we go up into similar landscapes. And the people are incredibly friendly.” Part of the mission here is to portray that sense of place and culture. “Obviously there are mopeds and mobile phones and all that, but they do still seem to wear traditional-looking clothes in the rural Andes,” says Wilson. “So I tried to show some Peruvian culture; a Peruvian legend underlies our whole story.” And since Paddington In Peru features singing nuns (including Olivia Colman’s Reverend Mother), expect a bit of The Sound Of Music and Black Narcissus in the mix.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/17846396

While there’s no telling if or when a certain other Black vampire film will make its way into theaters, the first trailer for writer / director Ryan Coogler’s Sinners is here, and it looks sick as hell.

We’ve seen Coogler direct powerful pieces of dramatic social commentary like Fruitvale Station and blockbuster genre features like the Black Panther films, but he’s turning to straight horror with his latest project. Set in the 1930s Jim Crow South, Sinners revolves around twin brothers (both played by Michael B. Jordan) who return to their small-town home hoping to start new lives, only to find something deeply sinister waiting for them. In the daytime, there’s an unsettling presence lurking in the shadows that keeps the townsfolk (Miles Caton, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, and Li Jun Li) looking over their shoulders.

Trailer

Casino Royale filmmaker Martin Campbell directs, with Ridley starring alongside Clive Owen and Taz Skylar. Anton produces with UK outfit Qwerty Films.

The story begins when a group of radical activists take over an energy company's annual gala in London, seizing 300 hostages. But their cause is hijacked by an extremist within their ranks, who is ready to murder everyone in the building to send his anarchic message to the world. It falls to an ex-soldier turned window cleaner, played by Ridley, to save the day.

Sky Cinema has snapped this up for broadcast in UK/Ireland early next year. Personally, I'm interested in seeing Daisy in an action role that sounds very Statham-y.

AGBO Creative Chief spills details about the upcoming sci-fi film, The Electric State

Angela Russo-Otstot, sister of Joe and Anthony Russo, shares new information on their production company’s new ambitious film.

September 24th 2024, 9:01am The Russo Brothers' sci-fi adventure film The Electric State, starring Millie Bobby Brown, has secured a PG-13 rating

The Russo brothers have quite a bit on their plate. Not only are they returning to one of the biggest franchises in movies with future Avengers films, but the brothers’ artist-led production company, AGBO, is also bringing the Citadel franchise to Prime Video with its many incarnations, as well as finally releasing their long-awaited sci-fi film, The Electric State, next year in March. The Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown film would finally secure a rating from the MPA with a PG-13 for sci-fi violence/action, language and some thematic material.

The Hollywood Reporter recently got to sit down with the Russo’s sister, Angela Russo-Otstot, who is the Creative Chief for AGBO, as she talks about the upcoming projects from their company. Russo-Otstot would divulge some details about The Electric State. She calls the film “a really interesting exploration of a world where service robots live alongside humans. Within their time performing specific services for humans, the robots start to realize that they may want something more than the purpose they [were made] for, and the humans begin to fear this. So, eventually, a conflict plays out. There’s a war between the humans and the robots, and the humans leverage technology to win, and they take all of the robots and banish them into an exclusion zone in the middle of a desert wasteland in the center of the U.S. But it’s a global conflict as well. So there are other stories and narratives that can play out in different countries around the world, but we witness the U.S. story in this film.”

Russo-Otstot also mentions that the robots “have a real nostalgia to them.” Some of them are based on actual brands, like Woody Harrelson’s Mr. Peanut-inspired robot. “And I remember when we had to approach Hormel to ask permission to do this. We were like: ‘It has to be Mr. Peanut. We have to make this work.’ And fortunately, it did work out.”

The Russo sister also talks a bit of the background behind the film, saying, “It’s a wonderfully imaginative alternate history that takes place in the 1990s. It’s based on an illustrated novel by an artist [from Sweden] named Simon Stålenhag.” It was adapted by frequent Russo and Marvel collaborators Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely. “They were the writers that did all four of the Marvel movies that Anthony and Joe directed. They work at our company as the co-presidents of story department. Christopher found this book on Facebook in a crowdfunding. And he said, there’s a movie here. And so we optioned the book, and he and Stephen built out a really rich mythology. There was an existing mythology in the book, but they expanded upon it.”