Highland Film Group announced today that it has locked distribution deals in key international territories in all media for the action comedy OLD GUY starring two-time Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz (No Time to Die, Big Eyes, Inglourious Basterds), Lucy Liu (Strange World, Shazam! Fury of the Gods) and Cooper Hoffman (Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza).
Directed by Simon West (The Expendables 2, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Mechanic) and written by Greg Johnson (The Last Son), Highland Film Group has sold the rights to OLD GUYto SND Films for France, Square One Entertainment GmbH for Germany, Vertigo Releasing and Lumiere Ventures for the UK, YouPlanet Pictures for Spain, Blue Swan Entertainment for Italy, Spentzos Film for Greece, NOS Lusomundo Audiovisuais for Portugal, SF Studios for Scandinavia, Vertical Entertainment for Eastern Europe, Aqua Group for Turkey, Falcon Films for the Middle East, Forum Film for Israel, California Filmes for Latin America, MovieCloud for Taiwan, Filmfinity for South Africa and Village Road Show for Australia and New Zealand.
Aging contract killer Danny Dolinski (Christoph Waltz) still believes he’s the best at what he does. Stuck at a dead end but vying for the love of club manager Anata (Lucy Liu), Danny is thrilled when The Company pulls him back in the field, but only to train Gen Z newcomer Wihlborg (Cooper Hoffman), a prodigy assassin with an attitude. The mismatched pair is asked to eliminate top members of a competing crime syndicate and, in the process, uncover their employer’s true motive: removing the old guard in a full takeover. However, The Company didn’t anticipate that Danny’s experience coupled with the kid’s brilliance would create such an unlikely bond between the two, enabling them, with crucial help from Anata, to turn it all back on The Company.
The film is produced by Jib Polhemus (The Last Son, The Expendables 2), Martin Brennan (One Way, Zone 414), West and R.U. Robot Studio’s Petr Jákl (Medieval,The Last Full Measure). Hal Sadoff (The Nice Guys, Orphan: First Kill) and Norman Golightly (Lord of War, Ghost Rider) will produce on behalf of Dark Castle Entertainment. The film is executive produced by R.U. Robot Studio’s Martin J. Barab, Blue Rider Pictures’ Walter Josten (Around the World in 80 Days, Holes) and Aperture Media Partners’ Jared Underwood, Andrew Robinson and Dan Mandel. Hannah Leader and Frank DeMartini serve on the production legal team.
Production recently wrapped in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Highland Film Group is co-financing the action comedy and handling worldwide rights. OLD GUY was filmed on location in Northern Ireland with support from Northern Ireland Screen.
“We are delighted to be working with such talented actors as two-time Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz, rising talent Cooper Hoffman and Lucy Liu in this fantastic action-packed comedy,” said Highland Film Group’s CEO Arianne Fraser. “With the help of our wonderful international partners, we look forward to introducing global audiences to this phenomenal project led by director Simon West,”added COO Delphine Perrier.
Advance tickets are on sale now for Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, opening in theaters June 30. The big, globe-trotting, rip-roaring cinematic adventure stars Harrison Ford and Phoebe Waller-Bridge and was directed by James Mangold. Tickets can be purchased on Fandango, the nation’s leading online movie ticketing service, or wherever tickets are sold.
Harrison Ford returns to the role of the legendary hero archaeologist for this highly anticipated final installment of the iconic franchise– a big, globe-trotting, rip-roaring cinematic adventure. Starring along with Ford are Phoebe Waller-Bridge (“Fleabag”), Antonio Banderas (“Pain and Glory”), John Rhys-Davies (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Shaunette Renée Wilson (“Black Panther”), Thomas Kretschmann (“Das Boot”), Toby Jones (“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”), Boyd Holbrook (“Logan”), Olivier Richters (“Black Widow”), Ethann Isidore (“Mortel”) and Mads Mikkelsen (“Another Round”).
Directed by James Mangold (“Ford v Ferrari,” “Logan”) and written by Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth and David Koepp and James Mangold, based on characters created by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman, the film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall and Simon Emanuel, with Steven Spielberg and George Lucas serving as executive producers. John Williams, who has scored each Indy adventure since the original Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1981, has once again composed the score.
Yogi Berra smiling. Photo credit: Getty. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
It doesn’t get any more delightful than the surprising, warm documentary about beloved baseball legend Yogi Berra, IT AIN’T OVER. Surprising? Yes, as this well-made bio documentary looks back at Yogi’s outstanding baseball career as player, something overshadowed and even forgotten by fans, as he became best known as a lovable pop culture icon and for his “Yogi-isms,” quotable phrases like “it’s deja vu all over again,” “when you come to a fork in the road, take it” and “it ain’t over until it’s over.” Yet Yogi Berra was a baseball player whose record put him among the greats of the game, As actor and baseball fan Billy Crystal put it, Yogi was “the most overlooked superstar in the history of baseball.”
The numbers are impressive, jaw-dropping even, considering what we might think we know about Yogi Berra. With 10 World Series rings (still a record today for a player), three MVP awards in the American League, 18 All-Star Game appearances, Yogi Berra was a Hall of Fame catcher who caught the only – still the only – perfect game in a World Series in 1956. He was a powerhouse slugger who could turn balls that were not even over the plate into home runs.
IT AIN’T OVER starts with Berra’s baseball-playing childhood and his career as a big leaguer. There are plenty of thrilling moments with other baseball greats, including Jackie Robinson and Joe DiMaggio, as well as how Berra was treated by the press who had trouble giving credit to a player who did not look like the tall, blonde baseball ideal. The stats are impressive. In 1950, Berra had 597 at-bats, hit .322 with 124 RBI and 28 home runs and struck out only 12 times. A factoid from the record books, and the film’s notes, in 1950 “Berra hit 2.33 home runs for every strikeout. He drove in 10.33 runs for every strikeout. When Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in 1927, he hit 0.67 home runs for every strikeout and batted in 1.85 runs for every strikeout…In MLB history, there are only two players with more than 350 home runs and fewer than 500 strikeouts: Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra.” As a catcher, Berra still hold the record for most RBI for players primarily at that position, and he caught a record 184 shutouts in his career, followed by Cardinals great Yadier Molina at 175. And there are more records and firsts in this should-be-storied career.
How could this be? Yogi’s baseball career should have made him a legend. Instead, we tend to remember him as a clownish figure, a lovable fellow with a knack for managing the English language. Somehow, Yogi Berra’s impressive baseball career got overshadowed, as he became a manager, then an advertising pitchman, even a cartoon character, and a beloved pop culture figure known for his memorable if puzzling sayings. IT AIN’T OVER goes a ways towards setting the record straight, while providing audiences an entertaining cinema experience.
This excellent, entertaining, even heartwarming documentary goes a long ways to giving us a fuller picture of the man and the athlete, with interviews from former Yankee greats Derek Jeter, Joe Torre, Mariano Rivera, Willie Randolph, Don Mattingly, Tony Kubek and Ron Guidry. along with interviews with Whitey Herzog, Bob Costas, Vin Scully, Billy Crystal and Yogi’s childhood neighbor and friend Joe Garagiola. There is plenty of archival footage, on and off the baseball diamond, and lots of family stills, along with interviews with his granddaughter (and producer) Lindsay Berra, and his sons Tim, Larry and Dale. The documentary covers Berra’s career as a player, his personal life with his wife Carmen, his career as a coach and later an ad pitchman and of course those famous “Yogi-isms,” not all of which he actually said. Even that famous “It ain’t over until it’s over” actually started as “It ain’t over until it’s mathematical” which makes more sense but is less memorable. Real Yogi-isms have a strange kind of logic that the fakes don’t.
The documentary gives us a glimpse into the real Yogi. A kid from an Italian immigrant family, Yogi grew up in the working class Italian neighborhood in St. Louis known as the Hill. Yogi was born Lawrence Peter Berra (the Americanized version of the Italian name his parents gave him). As a kid, he loved playing baseball, as did his older brothers, and earned the nickname “yogi” for his tendency to sit cross-legged on the ground while waiting for his turn to bat. Across the street in his old neighbor was his pal Joe Garagiola, the second best baseball player on the street. A die-hard Cardinals fan, Yogi hoped to play for the home team but while Joe became a Cardinal, Yogi ended up with the New York Yankees. Yogi met and fell in love with his wife Carmen when she was working as a waitress at the legendary Hill restaurant Biggies. The documentary tells in better, with plenty of colorful baseball details but it doesn’t get any more classically St. Louis than that.
The story of Yogi Berra is so fascinating because he is a figure people think they know but in fact are missing whole aspects of his real life, of the man himself and his amazing accomplishments. There is great fun, and plenty of “wows” as this doc peels back the layers on this accomplished but modest man, a big personality who made others feel welcome and included, as he did for Jackie Robinson. While Jackie faced discrimination and racism from some other players, Yogi reached out to make Jackie feel welcome and part of the gang.
Lots of these tales are told by the people who were there or the people who knew Yogi personally, giving this documentary both warmth and the ring of truth. Funny stories abound but so do those that are touching, including of slights, towards a kindhearted, down-to-earth man who was smarter that people assumed. Yogi did not look like the era’s ideal of tall, blonde, handsome baseball player. At a mere 5-foot-7 and rather squat, with an odd face with a gap-tooth smile and wingy ears, the press compared him to a gnome and worse. But he was kind of cute, good-natured, and fun-loving, but most of all, a giant on the playing field.
There is hardly a dull moment in this thoroughly delightful film, with astounding revelations, interesting inside baseball facts, heartwarming and even heart-tugging stories, and an unparalleled human warmth, as you gain a deeper understanding of a man you thought you knew. You will leave realizing that Yogi Berra was one of baseball’s all-time greatest players, despite pop culture’s resistance to letting him be who he really was, and not just a funny character it has presented him as.
You can’t spend a more enjoyable and informative 98 minutes, if you are any kind baseball fan at all, than watching this delightful film about the wonderful little baseball giant Yogi Berra. IT AIN’T OVER delivers the goods – just as Yogi did, on the field, and off.
Jonathan Rhys Meyer (top) in the crime action thriller MERCY. Courtesy of Paramount
There isn’t much mercy in MERCY but there is a lot of action and stunt in this crime thriller set in a hospital, starring Leah Gibson (Jessica Jones), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Vikings) and Jon Voight (Coming Home).
Leah Gibson plays a surgeon at Mercy hospital, a former military doctor in the Afghanistan War, who finds herself caught in difficult spot when the wounded son of an Irish mafia leader (Jon Voight) is brought to her hospital, and the Irish mafia seize control of the hospital. As the mafia head and his hot-headed son (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) battle FBI agents guarding the wounded man, the doctor finds herself, and her young son, caught in the crossfire, forcing her to call upon her battlefield past.
There is a DIE HARD vibe to MERCY but a little TAKEN too, as this ex-military doctor has a “special set of skills” besides in the operating room, skills these criminals aren’t expecting. That is no spoiler, since the film gives away that history early on.
And that is part of MERCY’s problem. While the action thriller has a talented supporting cast in bad guys Jon Voight and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and the delight of a strong female action protagonist in Leah Gibson, the script gives away too much too soon. Director Tony Dean Smith does not help by doing little to build suspense, although the potential is there. Still, there are plenty of thrilling martial arts action scenes featuring Gibson, who trained as a dancer and really has some moves, but early on we get a flashback to Afghanistan that lets us know this hard-working female doctor is more than a widowed mother hoping to take a day off to spend with her young son on his birthday. After further flashbacks tells us she is a decorated sharpshooter too, we are not surprised she is a crack shot, although the bad guys are pretty taken aback by that discovery. Time and again, the script tips us off to the good doctor’s other skills before we get to see them in action.
But the real point of MERCY is the action. And the action sequences are good, with some thrilling martial arts work in the hospital corridors and stairwells. The action is kicked off with a nice, thrilling shoot-out car chase. An array of criminal henchmen are there to be picked off as this action-er unspools, and an internal divide in the Irish mafia gang, with a sibling conflict that dad Jon Voight is unaware of, gives dad and son Rhys Meyers different goals, adds to the tension.
Jon Voight and Jonathan Rhys Meyer do their best to breath life into their underwritten bad guy characters. A lot of that burden falls on Rhys Meyer, in his larger role playing the loose-cannon son that his father Voight is always trying to rein in. Rhys Meyer’s character is violent and slightly crazy and his motivations don’t always completely make sense, but the actor does well menacing hostages in the hospital and the doctor, while directing his loyal gang of odd-character criminals in a hunt for the wounded brother.
MERCY delivers a series of action confrontations as Voight and Rhys Meyers separately hunt the wounded brother, while the doctor, other staff and FBI try to hide him, a cat-and-mouse game that whittles down the participants on both sides.
If you are just looking for fast and bloody action thriller, with clear good guy – bad guy lines and a kick-ass female hero, MERCY will fit that bill, as long as you aren’t looking also for plot surprises or character depth, or much mercy. But this thriller with a female doctor with a military background as a protagonist had potential to be a more suspenseful film, with a script that had taken a different approach to the idea. As is, it largely wastes the talents of Jonathan Rhys Meyer and Jon Voight in a script that just mechanically moves from one fight scene to the next without the suspense and character depth it could have had.
MERCY opens Friday, May 19, in select theaters and on digital, and will be available On Demand on June 2.
So, I stated in a review from a couple of weeks ago that the Summer movie season has officially begun with the early May foray into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And just when does the movie madness kick in, where’s the big action blockbusters? Well, it goes full-throttle right now as we shift (see what I’m doing here) from the MCU to the F&FU (maybe I should leave off that last letter). We can officially call this one of our most enduring film franchises as it’s now well over 21 (so don’t imbibe before sliding into the driver’s seat). This weekend, and for a few weeks thereafter, action enthusiasts will buckle up at the multiplex for FAST X. And man, you can pop your corn on those searing engines.
Just like today’s big streaming release, this one starts with a flashback, to the big stunt set piece from FAST FIVE. That’s when our heroes trekked to Rio in order to literally rip a big armored safe from the wall of the HQ of drug kingpin Hernan Reyes (Joaquim de Almeida). As radio comic Jerry Cologna said (aging myself here), “Ah, something new’s been added”. Turns out that part of the big chase was Hernan’s son, Dante (Jason Momoa), who took a dip as his pop was offed. And now we’re back to today as Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) hosts a big outdoor feast for his visiting grandmother Abuelita (Rita Moreno). Oh, and it’s also a going away party for the agency-backed mission in Rome lead by, appropriately, Roman (Tyrese Gibson), aided by Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel), Han (Sung Kang), and, of course, Tej (Ludacris). All seems right until they get a surprise late-night visitor, former enemy Cipher (Charlize Theron), who is badly wounded. Seems that she and her crew were ambushed by Dante and his squad. Dom contacts his man with US intel, Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood) who has no knowledge of the Rome mission. It’s a set-up, a trap! It’s off to Italy for Dom and his wife Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), who arrive just in time for Dante’s frame job. The Toretto crew is thought to have unleashed a big explosive device that almost levels Vatican City. Letty is nabbed, while Dom embarks on a globe-wide hunt for Dante, with the new agency head Aimes (Alan Ritchson) in hot pursuit. Luckily Mr. Nobody’s daughter Tess (Brie Larson) believes in Dom, as does brother Jakob (John Cena) and a reluctant Shaw (Jason Statham).
The action is so, well, F&F, it’s tough to focus on principal performances. Of course, the lead is, once again, Diesel, who is the anchor and father figure to his “famlee”, offering sage advice and mentorship to “little B’, a bit of romance to Letty, and snarling retorts to all the baddies. And the main one this time is the scenery-chewing Momoa, who seems to truly enjoy channeling his “dark side” as the gleefully sadistic Dante. Imagine the crossed DNA of the Joker (one scene actually recreates a bit of the 1989 BATMAN) and Fabio (could this be his audition for DC’s “Lobo”). Although many of the one-liners are “groaners”, nobody can accuse him of “phoning it in” even as he seems too “campy” for a fellow avenging his father. Theron gets to go more villainess in the last act, while MCU sister Larson flexes her martial arts chops while engaging in verbal showdowns with Ritchson. Coming off her recent triumph in the D&D flick, Rodriguez is a full warrior queen. Cena scores some laughs as the affable protector of Dom’s nephew, while Statham flaunts that surly attitude as Shaw. Naturally, we get to see Gibson and Ludacris bicker and squabble in bits that were tiresome three movies ago. And it’s nice to see screen vets Moreno and Helen Mirren even though they have little to do other than lend their still white-hot charisma.
The traffic cop in the director’s chair this time out is Louis Leterrier, who is able to keep the film moving even as it slows down for some exposition that builds to another “can we top this” action set piece. And that’s in between the many locale changes, swiftly going from Rome to LA, to London to Puerto Rico and Portugal, with a side trek through the frozen tundra. What’s truly surprising is that the script, for one scene as Aimes gloms over the history of Dom’s crew, actually goes “meta” even veering into satire as it embraces the absurdity of the stunts (monitors behind Aimes replay clips from previous entries). So, yes they know it’s some goofball…stuff. It’s odd that they start with a sequence from FIVE since that’s the one that perhaps began the “break from reality” along with physics and gravity. And I know these flicks are review-proof since anyone that’s been exposed to the franchise knows what they’re “getting into”, despite what will probably be an irritating final act (at least they’re placated with a nifty mid-credits scene). If you approach this with the proper frame of mind, you’ll enjoy the wonky excess (and I’m including Momoa) of FAST X. For the rest of us, at least it’s well short of three hours. Whew!
So, do you have an appetite for sports films after the entertaining true life-inspired AIR from a few weeks ago (which, BTW, is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video)? To be more specific do you have, as Cheech and Chong most famously proclaimed, a “basketball jones”? Oh, here’s the movie for you! Now unlike the earlier film, this isn’t set in the 1980s, though it has a connection to a previous decade. And it’s not “inspired by true events”. This is more of a rollicking “buddy comedy” and is a remake of a movie from over 30 years ago (the decade being the 1990s). Perhaps it will once and for all either prove this true or false per the still provocative title, WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP.
Speaking of time, this version starts with a flashback going back only six or seven years. It’s a telling TV interview on a cable sports show profiling high school basketball phenom Kamal (Sinqua Walls), though the interview is dominated by his boasting blustering Papa Benji (Lance Reddick). We then are taken to a big championship game soon after, as Kamal has an off day leading to…an “incident”. Jump forward to now as Kamal works as a delivery driver and shares a small apartment with his mate Imani (Teyana Taylor) and their adorable five-year-old son Drew. She’s tired of styling hair in their home and is saving toward space for her own salon. Towards that, Kamal hangs out with pals Renzo (Myles Bullock) and Speedy (Vince Staples) at the basketball courts of the LA area to “hustle some cash” via “pick-up games”. But this day, an unlikely hoopster hustles them, the goofy “Whole Foods whiteboy”, Jeremy (Jack Harlow). He’s determined to work past the surgery in both (!) knees and try out for the minor leagues. Of course, he keeps that a secret from his live-in girlfriend, Tatiana (Laura Harrier), who wants to be a professional dance director. Jeremy tells her that he’s a personal trainer, and his goal is to move them out of his childhood home (he was literally born there). When he and Kamal clash again at a fitness center, an idea occurs. There’s a big hoops contest in a few weeks with a big cash prize (5 figures), but it’s got an entrance fee of over a grand. They’ll take their “act” on the “road” and accumulate the cash from “ballers” all around the SoCal area. But can these very different personalities mesh together and move past their personal demons to grab the life-changing jackpot?
Though the duo at the heart of the story aren’t major screen veterans they have an easy-going chemistry and a real rapport. Walls as Kamal may have the more compelling backstory, which he conveys just below the surface of his snarling swagger. And in his haunted eyes, Walls conveys the regrets and frustrations of a man whose future should have been “gold”. And some of that is in Harlow’s Jeremy, who keeps plugging along even as his body fights his efforts. Mainly known for his music, Harlow is a terrific screen presence with a great sense of comic timing aided by a wonky, off-kilter line delivery. Taylor is tough and tender as Imani, who also has her dreams but is angered by her role as the “planner” of her family’s destiny. Much as with Harrier, who has a softer side, until she “reads the riot act” to Jeremy when he’s too wrapped up in his goals while dismissing hers. The supporting comedy players are Bullock, who also has a quick quip ready while constantly eating, and Staples as the picked-upon (for his romantic choices) Speedy. Ah, but the real gem here is one of the last big screen performances by the much-missed Lance Reddick who turns Kamal’s blowhard daddy into a strong guiding force and later a tragic inspiration for his son. Few actors could give us such a wide character arc as this gifted man.
In the director’s chair is music video ver Calmatic in her second feature film after recently rebooting another comedy classic from the 90s, HOUSE PARTY. He brings lots of flash and rapid energy to the game sequences, while never ignoring the big dramatic beats in the script from Kenya Barris, Doug Hall, and the original’s scribe, Ron Shelton. The competitions are intense, and so are the passions between the two men and their partners. Some would zero in on the goofball antics of Jeremy and his “fish out of water” persona, but we see how the friendship with Kamal is healing for both of them, especially as Kamal learns to quiet his failure-fueled nightmares. Sure, we didn’t need a “redo” of the Snipes/Harrelson crowd-pleaser, but this “take” has some new things to say and its own retort to that put-down WHITE MEN CAN”T JUMP, because with the right pal, you can soar.
3 out of 4
WHITE MEN CAN’T JUMP streams exclusively on Hulu beginning on Friday, May 19, 2023
Apple Original Films today unveiled the teaser trailer for Martin Scorsese’s highly anticipated feature “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Premiering at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, May 20, “Killers of the Flower Moon” will be released exclusively in theaters worldwide, in partnership with Paramount Pictures, limited on Friday, October 6, and wide on Friday, October 20, before its global debut on Apple TV+.
Directed by Scorsese and written for the screen by Eric Roth and Scorsese, based on David Grann’s best-selling book of the same name, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is set in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion and Tantoo Cardinal.
At the turn of the 20th century, oil brought a fortune to the Osage Nation, who became some of the richest people in the world overnight. The wealth of these Native Americans immediately attracted white interlopers, who manipulated, extorted and stole as much Osage money as they could before resorting to murder. Based on a true story and told through the improbable romance of Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone), “Killers of the Flower Moon” is an epic western crime saga, where real love crosses paths with unspeakable betrayal. Also starring Robert De Niro, Jesse Plemons, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is directed by Academy Award winner Scorsese from a screenplay by Eric Roth and Scorsese, based on David Grann’s bestselling book.
Hailing from Apple Studios, “Killers of the Flower Moon” was produced alongside Imperative Entertainment, Sikelia Productions and Appian Way. Producers are Scorsese, Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas and Daniel Lupi, with DiCaprio, Rick Yorn, Adam Somner, Marianne Bower, Lisa Frechette, John Atwood, Shea Kammer and Niels Juul serving as executive producers.
To date, Apple Original films, documentaries, and series have earned 365 wins and 1,452 award nominations and counting, including multi-Emmy Award-winning comedy “Ted Lasso” and historic Oscar Best Picture winner “CODA.”
Lily Gladstone and Martin Scorsese behind the scenes of “Killers of the Flower Moon,” coming soon to Apple TV+.
In a recent Reuters story from May 17, it was reported:
The swift growth of artificial intelligence technology could put the future of humanity at risk, according to most Americans surveyed in a Reuters/Ipsos poll published on Wednesday.
More than two-thirds of Americans are concerned about the negative effects of AI and 61% believe it could threaten civilization.
Today, 20th Century Studios, New Regency and Entertainment One have released a trailer and poster for their epic sci-fi action thriller “The Creator,” which opens in theaters September 29.
Amidst a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence, Joshua (Washington), a hardened ex-special forces agent grieving the disappearance of his wife (Chan), is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war… and mankind itself. Joshua and his team of elite operatives journey across enemy lines, into the dark heart of AI-occupied territory… only to discover the world-ending weapon he’s been instructed to destroy is an AI in the form of a young child.
Directed by Gareth Edwards (“Rogue One,” “Godzilla”), the film stars John David Washington (“Tenet”), Gemma Chan (“Eternals”), Ken Watanabe (“Inception”), Sturgill Simpson (“Dog”), newcomer Madeleine Yuna Voyles and Academy Award® winner Allison Janney (“I, Tonya”).
“Ten years ago today, the artificial intelligence created to protect us detonated a nuclear warhead in Los Angeles.” This nightmarish sentence and the eerie timing of the release of this trailer also coincides with the global concerns over AI.
The CEO of OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT, told a Senate panel on Tuesday:
“I think if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong.”
U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, questioned the government’s role in the use of artificial intelligence in a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Hassan spoke about the importance of developing a national strategy to prevent AI from being used in a way that’s harmful to the public.
“My worst fears is that we cause significant harm to the world,” Altman said.
If any of this story’s premise sounds familiar, check out THE TERMINATOR and T2 where AI (Skynet and Cyberdine) took over. “In the original 1984 movie, Skynet is a revolutionary artificial intelligence system built by Cyberdyne Systems for SAC-NORAD. The character Kyle Reese explains in the film: “Defense network computers. New… powerful… hooked into everything, trusted to run it all. They say it got smart, a new order of intelligence”. According to Reese, Skynet “saw all humans as a threat; not just the ones on the other side” and “decided our fate in a microsecond: extermination”. It began a nuclear war which destroyed most of the human population, and initiated a program of genocide against survivors. Skynet used its resources to gather a slave labor force from surviving humans.
For those of you who love sci-fi dystopian films, the phrase “THERE IS ANOTHER SYSTEM” is a chilling and foreboding line from COLOSSUS: FORBIN PROJECT. The film is about an advanced American defense system, named Colossus, along with its Russian counterpart, Guardian, becoming sentient. After being handed full control, Colossus’ draconian logic expands on its original nuclear defense directives to assume total control of the world and end all warfare for the good of humankind, despite its creators’ orders to stop.
THE CREATOR’s screenplay is by Gareth Edwards and Chris Weitz, from a story by Edwards. The producers are Gareth Edwards, p.g.a., Kiri Hart, Jim Spencer, p.g.a. and Arnon Milchan. The executive producers are Yariv Milchan, Michael Schaefer, Natalie Lehmann, Nick Meyer and Zev Foreman.
The hottest comic in America, Sebastian Maniscalco joins forces with legendary Italian American and two-time Oscar winner, Robert De Niro, in the new comedy ABOUT MY FATHER. The film centers around Sebastian (Maniscalco) who is encouraged by his fiancée (Leslie Bibb) to bring his immigrant, hairdresser father, Salvo (De Niro), to a weekend get-together with her super-rich and exceedingly eccentric family (Kim Cattrall, Anders Holm, Brett Dier, David Rasche). The weekend develops into what can only be described as a culture clash, leaving Sebastian and Salvo to discover that the great thing about family is everything about family.
#AboutMyFather will be in theaters on May 26.
The advance screening is Monday May 22nd at 7PM at The AMC Esquire Theatre. Please arrive before 6pm to secure seats.
Sebastian Maniscalco as Sebastian and Robert De Niro as Salvo in About My Father. Photo Credit: Dan AndersonSebastian Maniscalco as Sebastian and Robert De Niro as Salvo in About My Father. Photo Credit: Dan Anderson
Directed by legendary cult filmmaker Mark Polonia (Sharkenstein, Sharkula, Jurassic Shark 2: Aquapocalypse) and written by B-movie legend Bret McCormick, Wild Eye Releasing heads back to the deep this summer with the newest entry in the long running, cult hit shark series JURASSIC SHARK 3 : SEAVENGE.
The unstoppable Megalodon is back, stalking the inhabitants of a stranded boat off the coast of a small fishing community. A reporter, her cameraman and some thieves must work together to finally put an end to this legendary man-eater, but that won’t be easy as this aquatic serial killer has emerged to exact it’s own brand of revenge on them.
Who thought sharks had a love of helicopters. Oh wait, we knew that in JAWS 2 when the shark took down a chopper.
Check out the carnage in this trailer below.
The digital and DVD, which includes an audio commentary, scene selection, and trailers, hits June 13.
