Tonight, tonight, we’ve received a surprise tonight.
An announcement was made over social media earlier today that during tonight’s Oscar presentation, the trailer for Steven Spielberg’s remake of Robert Wise’s 1961 classic, West Side Story. With Rita Moreno as an Executive Producer, the poster states that they’re keeping just about everything as it was, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s music included.
West Side Story is the tale of two individuals whose families are rival gangs, a musical version of Romeo and Juliet. It’s the kind of film that you normally don’t need to remake or even touch. It was perfect. As bold as it is to remake the film, I’m hoping it’s great.
The film stars Rachel Zegler, Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Corey Stoll (Ant-Man), Brian d’Arcy James (Molly’s Game) and Rita Moreno in a supporting role.
Warner Bros. has us prepped for the summer with another installment of The Conjuring! Michael Chaves (The Curse of La Llorona) takes over the directing duties from James Wan (who serves as a Producer here). This time around, Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) are investigating a case that puts them and an entire town in the spotlight. When a young man is arrested for a murder based on demonic possession, the Warrens are called in to find the truth. We’ll find out for sure when the film releases both in Cinemas and on HBO Max on June 4th.
Actor Simu Liu (Meeting Mommy) dropped some teaser images from Entertainment Weekly for Marvel’s upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, where he plays the lead. As I’m unfamiliar with the character, I found myself where I always go for information on Marvel Characters – my hardcover version of The Marvel Encyclopedia.
According to the Encyclopedia, Shang-Chi premiered in Special Marvel Edition #15 back in 1973, and while that version of the character didn’t have any superpowers, the trailer suggests this may be a little different. After all, he was also given an Ultimates treatment (where many Marvel characters were brought up to date with new stories and even new origin variants).
Shang-Chi also stars Awkafina (Jumanji: The Next Level), Michelle Yeoh (Crazy Rich Asians), Ronny Chieng (Bliss) and Tony Leung (Hero, Hard Boiled), who is trying to pull Shang-Chi back to a world he’s walked away from. Murmurs across the internet say that Leung’s character is tied to the Mandarin (or is the True Mandarin instead of Ben Kingsley’s fake one in Iron Man 3) We’ll have to wait and see. The fighting action looks great so far.
Marvel Studios is pushing for a September 3rd release. Whether that is on Disney Plus and in Theatres remains to be seen.
When it comes to writing, anyone who’s watched either Sicario, Hell or High Water or Yellowstone know that Taylor Sheridan’s a force to be reckoned with. The Sons of Anarchy alum has a pretty good track record. With his latest, Those Who Wish Me Dead, he’s also working in the Director’s chair, his first film since 2017’s Wind River.
Whether it’s onscreen or through activism, Academy Award Winner Angelina Jolie (Girl, Interrupted , Maleficent) always maintains a powerful presence. Jolie’s performance mixed with Sheridan’s script should prove to be really interesting. Based on Michael Koryta’s book, Jolie plays a forest firefighter who finds herself protecting a small child on the run. The film also stars Nicholas Hoult (The Favourite), Jon Bernthal (The Accountant), Tyler Perry (Gone Girl), Aiden Gillen (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword) and Finn Little (Angel of Mine).
Those Who Wish Me Dead is part of the WB’s Same Day Premieres, meaning that HBO Max subscribers can watch the film when it’s released on May 14, or in theatres.
I’ll admit to being a little excited for this newest generation of 1996’s Space Jam. I love cartoon / live action mashups, and Space Jam: A New Legacy looks like it’s all that and then some. Director Malcolm D. Lee (Roll Bounce, Night School) leads the update with LeBron James taking center stage. In this version, LeBron’s son is trapped in a different dimension. To save him, LeBron has to play against the Monstars, much like Michael Jordan did in the previous film. He won’t be playing alone, however, as he has various Looney Tunes characters to assist him.
Space Jam: A New Legacy also stars Sonequa Martin-Green (Star Trek: Discovery), Don Cheadle (Avengers: Endgame), along with a series of cameos from some of the NBA’s finest. The film, produced by Ryan Coogler (Black Panther) is set to release in theatres and on HBO Max on July 16.
Way back in 1995, Paul W. S. Anderson made his big break with the original Mortal Kombat film. 25 years is high time for an update. Produced by James Wan, this Mortal Kombat seems to be a little stronger with the story it’s sharing. So far, I’m liking the cast here. The Raid‘s Joe Taslim as Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada (Avengers: Endgame, The Wolverine) as Scorpion, True Blood’s Mechad Brooks as Jax, and those are just the names I recognize. I’m just happy they added Kung Lao to the mix. I’m hoping there will be more fighting action in this version, and a great soundtrack to boot.
Directed by newcomer Simon McQuoid, Mortal Kombat’s release date is set for later this year, and since it’s a Warner Bros. Picture, there’s a good chance HBO Max may get it early as well.
Disney’s had some success with focusing on their villains lately. With Angelina Jolie’s turn as Maleficent having done well, it’s time for another classic enemy to take the stage. Academy Award Winner Emma Stone (La La Land) is Disney’s newest Cruella DeVille, the nemesis to all 101 Dalmatians. This film looks like it’s a prequel, focusing on how Cruella came into power and possibly why she despises spotted dogs so. The cast includes Mark Strong (1917), Emma Thompson (Late Night), Paul Walter Houser (Richard Jewell) and Dev Patel (Lion)
Cruella is directed by Craig Gillespie, who is known for I, Tonya, The Finest Hours and Fright Night.
The release date is set for May 28, 2021, though no statement on how this will play on Disney+ at this time.
1993’s Airborne is a guilty pleasure kind of film for me. It’s not a spectacular film by any means, but it has just about everything I adore from the 1990s.. Hockey, Rollerblades, Music, and a fun cast. Sometime last year, I was able to rent it off of Amazon, but it’s no longer available. I’m assuming it will eventually make the move over to HBO Max, but in the meantime, it’s available for rental on Youtube.
Airborne was Director Rob Bowman’s first feature after working on such shows as Star Trek: The Next Generation and Parker Lewis Can’t Lose. He’d later go on to become a producer/director on The X-Files before eventually directing the first motion picture for the series, X-Files: Fight the Future. He’s since directed Reign of Fire and produced the ABC detective comedy, Castle.
Airborne is the tale of Mitchell Goosen (Shane McDermott, Swan’s Crossing), a kid who loves surfing and rollerblading more than anything. When his parents win a trip to Australia for six months, they send Mitchell to live with his cousin in Cincinnati. Of course, he’s a little out of place, but his cousin Wiley (Seth Green, Without a Paddle) tries to make things a little easier for Mitch. Mitch’s laid back surfer attitude is a hit with the ladies, but the guys aren’t really liking his style. Jeff (Chris Conrad, The Next Karate Kid) has it out for Mitch, especially when Mitch meets Nikki (Brittany Powell, Fled) and costs Jeff’s hockey team a win against the annoying prep squad. Punishment for losing the hockey game is pretty messed up by high school standards, with the usual pranks laid out for both Mitch and Wiley. Will Mitch be able to adjust to Cincinnati life, make new friends and live without his surfboard? I enjoyed the way Mitch finds a solution to his problem that fit his style.
There’s not a lot to say about the casting here. Among the leads, there’s a lot of young talent that went on to greater work. Some other notable faces are Jack Black (Jumanji: The Next Level), Alanna Ubach (Bombshell), and Jacob Vargas (Devil). They round out the cast well, but you don’t get to know too much about them.
Being 1993, Airborne took place just as the Internet was getting really started. This meant that outside of playing a Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis after homework was done, you went outside and played something like Stickball, skateboarding, basketball, street hockey or rollerblading. I think the nostalgia of it all is what brings me back to Airborne over time (especially now with so many limits on going outside). The rollerblading scenes in the film are great for the time period, thanks in part to Team Rollerblade. We have close-ups of riding, along with action shots that capture all of the intensity of riding in traffic. Stunt skaters slide under trucks, down along stairs , leap over cars and make some great moves in the big race.
Airborne is not without some cheesy moments. The music, while fun, is very dated. It’s the same kind of music you’d expect from 1990’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Cool as Ice. The film has a number of filler scenes where Mitch is lost in a musical montage. Some tracks include the classic Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy”. and Jeremy Jordan’s “My Love is Good Enough”. There’s not a whole lot to be said about it. It was the Nineties. Additionally, it would be cool to find out what happened to Mitch after the six months. Did he decide to stay in Ohio for a while? Did he return to his parents, but still keep in touch with everyone on the skate crew? I suppose Mitchell Goosen’s future is left somewhere in the fan fiction world.
Overall, Airborne is a time capsule of a film, focusing on a time just before the Internet captivated everyone and going outside to play was the norm. It’s a good watch if you have a few hours to burn.
Back in 1986, Optimus Prime muttered 6 six words to Megatron that would sear itself into the minds of kids for a generation.
“One shall stand, One shall fall.”
And here we are, 30 years later, still using that phrase, or something like it. as Godzilla vs. Kong offers the tagline “One Will Fall”.
After 3 mega movies (Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island & Godzilla: King of the Monsters), we’re finally ready for a kaiju matchup of truly epic proportions. Godzilla vs Kong pairs the two legendary monsters against each other, though for what reasons, we’re not entirely sure. Neither side wishes to concede, and the battle looks like it’s going to be both in the water and on land. From the newly released trailer, it looks like Kong’s the current hero. The returning characters of Mark and Madison Russell (Kyle Chandler and Millie Bobby Brown) from Godzilla: King of the Monsters seem to feel that something’s wrong with our atomic breath spewing hero. Dr. Chen (Zhang Ziyi, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) is also on hand to help. After saving the world twice, why would he suddenly turn on mankind? I’m not sure I like the idea of Godzilla being a villain in all this, but they have to have a reason to fight, I suppose.
While it doesn’t look like anyone returns from Kong: Skull Island, we still have Kong and some supporting characters in Alexander Skarsgard (The Legend of Tarzan), Julian Dennison (Deadpool 2), Jessica Henwick (Underwater), Eiza Gonzalez (Bloodshot), Danai Gurira (Black Panther), and Lance Reddick (John Wick 3 – Parabellum).
Godzilla vs. Kong is due in IMAX and on HBO Max on March 26th, 2021.
Dylan O’Brien is one of those actors that I’ll run to watch anything they’re in. I did so for 2017’s American Assassin, and have been making my way through MTV’s Teen Wolf. The guy oozes charisma, so when I found out his latest film, Love and Monsters, was available both in theatres and on Demand, I scooped it up without blinking. It’s kind of ironic that both he and his Teen Wolf co star, Tyler Posey, both have films this month (Posey is in Alone, also on demand) where their characters are caught up in apocalyptic nightmares.
Love and Monsters is a lighthearted monster film about stepping out of one’s shell, making some mistakes and growing along the way. O’Brien carries the film with humor and action, along with help from the supporting cast. It’s still a monster story, but it’s one just about anyone but the youngest of viewers can watch (and even then, it should be okay).
Sometimes, you just have to come out of your shell, which really isn’t easy to do when the world is suddenly populated with giant creatures. Joel (Dylan O’Brien, American Assassin) loves Aimee (Jessica Henwick , Underwater), but they happen to be separated in underground colonies about 90 miles from each other. Everyone manages to survive in their own way, and going up to the surface is particularly dangerous when everything wants to eat you. Joel does the small work around the underground bunker he’s in – making Minestrone, cleaning up the place – because he can’t handle the monsters outside.. When Joel decides to make the trek to reach Aimee, he has to learn how to survive in a world where everything wants to eat you. Befriended by a dog, Joel meets some friends along the way. Love and Monsters is a near perfect fit for the post Quarantine world. It speaks of isolation, communication over distances, while still hitting some themes on taking some risks (calculated, when possible), and learning to trust one’s instincts.
Joel (Dylan O’Brien) and Boy (Hero the Dog) navigate the unknown in Love and Monsters.
The cast for Love and Monsters is so nice. In addition to O’Brien and Henwick, we have a pair of Marvel Alumni in Michael Rooker (Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy), and Ariana Greenblatt (Little Gamora in Avengers: Infinity War) as Clyde and Minnow, respectively. They help to add to the comedy that O’Brien’s already offering.
I think what surprised me the most about Love and Monsters was the look of the monsters themselves. I was expecting something more along the lines of your typical Syfy channel movie fare. The CGI and monster effects in Love and Monsters are pretty good. I would have liked to have seen more monsters, but I really enjoyed it what was offered. Marco Beltrami and Marcus Trumpp also get some kudos for the soundtrack, having worked with Wes Craven and Guillermo Del Toro in the past. The theme for Love and Monsters has a pinch of Hellboy to it, and fits well to Joel and Boy’s (Hero the Dog) adventures.
If there are any problems with the film, I guess it would be that it moves a little faster than anticipated. That’s hardly a complaint. At about an hour and 50 minutes, it moves somewhat fast. Additionally, if anyone’s expecting a full fledged horror film, they might be a bit disappointed. It’s a comedy first, with monsters. As long as you’re not expecting serious horror, it’s great, but the film does have it’s moments of little jumpscares. There’s also the notion that if you’ve already watched How to Train Your Dragon or Zombieland, Love and Monsters might not feel entirely new. It does, however, manage to take what’s going in the world right now with social distancing and reference it without directly saying it has anything to do with it. I feel audiences might relate to Joel’s isolation from that aspect, and his journey based on any trial we’ve ever gone through in learning a new skill or stepping outside of our comfort zones.
Love and Monsters is a cute surprise of a film that might have you chuckling more than jumping around in your seat, but that’s okay. At least it’s entertaining. I really wouldn’t mind a sequel to this.
Dylan O’Brien is one of those actors that I’ll run to watch anything they’re in. I did so for 2017’s American Assassin, and have been making my way through MTV’s Teen Wolf. The guy oozes charisma, so when I found out his latest film, Love and Monsters, was available both in theatres and on Demand, I scooped it up without blinking. It’s kind of ironic that both he and his Teen Wolf co star, Tyler Posey, both have films this month (Posey is in Alone, also on demand) where their characters are caught up in apocalyptic nightmares.
Through the Shattered Lens 