The Four Horsemen (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher) are back — to unite with a new generation of illusionists (Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt) for their most global, high-stakes magical adventure yet. Their mission: Expose the corruption of Veronika Vanderberg (Rosamund Pike), a powerful diamond heiress with ties to arms dealers, traffickers, and warlords. Aided by the legendary Thaddeus (Morgan Freeman), the two generations of magicians must overcome their differences to try and defeat their cunning and dangerous adversary, in this magic-fueled heist filled with the franchise’s signature twists, turns, and thrilling reveals — along with some of the most thrilling illusions ever captured on film.
NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DON’T is directed by Ruben Fleischer (Venom, Uncharted, Zombieland), from a screenplay by Michael Lesslie and Paul Wernick & Rhett Reese and Seth Grahame-Smith, story by Eric Warren Singer and Michael Lesslie, and based on characters created by Boaz Yakin & Edward Ricourt. Lionsgate presents, a Cohen Pictures production.
PG-13 for some strong language, violence and suggestive references.
Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves, and Justice Smith as Charlie in Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes
Lionsgate surprised New Yorkers and fans nationwide this morning by giving away $250,000 in digital payments as part of a jaw-dropping Times Square stunt celebrating the trailer debut of Now You See Me: Now You Don’t.
Residents and tourists alike were met with a massive digital billboard flashing the words “NOW YOU SEE ME,” a live countdown clock, and a mysterious phone number, inviting them to text or call for a surprise.
As the countdown hit zero, the billboard flipped to reveal: “NOW YOU DON’T” and fans received a surprise text with the brand-new trailer – and instant cash prizes, courtesy of The Horsemen.
Franchise newcomers Ariana Greenblatt, Justice Smith, and Dominic Sessa joined the magic in person to help stage the visual “heist” in the heart of Times Square.
The stunt was designed to capture the spirit of magic and mischief that the franchise is known for.
The Four Horsemen return along with a new generation of illusionists performing mind-melding twists, turns, surprises, and magic unlike anything ever captured on film. Stars Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa, Ariana Greenblatt, with Rosamund Pike, and Morgan Freeman.
NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DON’T is from director Ruben Fleischer and in theaters November 14, 2025.
Dominic Sessa as Bosco, Jesse Eisenberg as Daniel Atlas, Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves, and Justice Smith as Charlie in Now You See Me: Now You Don’t. Photo Credit: Katalin Vermes
Okay, the big Summer blockbusters are coming in “hot”, but there’s no reason for the offbeat “indies” to sit on the sidelines till the Fall. At least that must be the intent of the fine folks at A24, who are still basking in the box office of their biggest hit, CIVIL WAR. Ah, but this one is a true “test” for the studio’s fervent fans. It’s a truly “out there” ode to several small screen touchstones for ” 90’s kids”. In fact, you could probably have an interesting game (just not in the theatre, please) of “checking off” winks and nods to some “cult faves”. Oh, but there’s much more happening in this exploration of suburban teen life as its young hero seems to be energized by the tube’s warmth as he swears that I SAW THE TV GLOW.
That “hero” is the main focus, twelve-year-old Owen (Ian Foreman), who lives a fairly sheltered life in a small town in New York state. Due to his social awkwardness, stoked by over-protective parents. he’s glued to the big tube TV on weekends in 1996. While “binging” the shows on the “Young Adult” cable network. Owen absorbs several promo commercials for the tween supernatural serial “The Pink Opaque”. This bit of “forbidden fruit” (it airs past his bedtime, at 10:30 p, before the channel reverts to old black and white shows), He’s obsessed with it. Then on election day, he finally gets his wish. Tagging along with his mother Brenda (Danielle Deadwyler), Owen meets a slightly older young woman (he’s 7th grade, she’s 9th) who is a “super fan” of “TPO”, the dark moody Maddy (Brigette Lundy-Paine). Though at first dismissive (“You’re a baby!”) she takes pity on him and allows him to sneak over to her home for a Saturday night “sleepover” (Owen tells Mom that he’s at the home of an old male buddy). Owen is hooked, and when the story jumps two years, high school freshman Owen (Justice White) is “devouring” VHS tapes of TPO that Maddy leaves for him in the school’s photography dark room. After the death of his mother Brenda, Owen’s only relief from grief seems to be the passion for the program’s “mythology” he shares with Maddy. But when the series ends its run, she begins to drift into that fantasy world. Could Owen eventually join her in an escape from the cruelties of the upcoming 21st century?
Taking leave of his role in two big film franchises (“Jurassic World” and “Dungeons & Dragons”), Smith delivers a compelling performance, effectively going from 15 to 23 to a frail 43 (health issues take a real toll) as the shy, unsteady Owen. Smith conserves his energy in order to show that the real joy in Owen’s life comes from his escape into the world of TPO. But there’s still that child-like clumsiness and an aching vulnerability when he is humbled by the true monsters lurking around his life. In a way, Smith shows us that Owen is a true hero just by surviving and making it through every day. Plus he builds on the great work in the first act, by his young version played with a sweet sadness by Foreman, who yearns for any connection outside his stifling home life. His lifeline comes via an unlikely “big sister” Maddy, who is given a real rough edge by the talented Lundy-Paine. Though she is kind to Owen, there’s an underlying anger oozing from Maddy’s dark eyes. Lundy-Paine, through her often rigid body language, conveys the character’s disgust with her settings ignited by her mania for the show she wants to enter. Deadwyler, so wonderful in TILL, is another loving matriarch here, though her screentime is far too brief. It’s an extended cameo, though much longer than the scenes with actors from the original shows that inspired the story (Nice to see you, A.B.).
Writer/director Jane Schoenbrun has crafted a sometimes engaging, but often baffling exploration of teenage loneliness and the ways that the media can reach into their psyche. The time period is expertly recreated with exacting homages to several TV shows from 25 years ago. Many viewers will latch on to the details of TPO that are inspired by Nick at Night (here called the YAN) and their half-hour tween supernatural series. An even bigger influence seems to be the video version of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” even down to the credit font, the name of its creator (Joss Whedon becomes Josh Pemberton), the Tara character (with a baseball bat rather than a stake), and the fandom “catchphrases (“big bad”, “monster of the week”). all given a VHS grain and static. This is somewhat fun, but the story gets bogged down by the oppressive smothering atmosphere of the late 90s “Anytown USA” with empty shopping carts hovering outside to a loud garish kids’ arcade and pizza palace. The story meanders, stopping the drama for a self-indulgent music performance, and baffling bits of weirdness (is this really happiness are we inside somebody’s head). Plus there seems to be no life for Owen and Maddy outside their media mania, no insight about their classes, and just a glimpse of family. The sequences of Owen breaking the fourth wall to narrate and update feel clumsy, as do the extreme time jumps and the abrupt ending, making this feel more like a filmed foray into experimental theatre (especially as extras “froze” in the finale). The “tele-tributes” are fun, and the lead performances are very good, but I SAW THE TV GLOW frustrates more than it enlightens, though I wouldn’t mind seeing a full “ep” of “The Pink Opaque”.
2 Out of 4
I SAW THE TV GLOW opens in select theatres on Friday, May 17, 2024
Chloe Coleman plays Kira, Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga, Chris Pine plays Edgin, Justice Smith plays Simon and Sophia Lillis plays Doric in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves from Paramount Pictures and eOne.
So, it appears that the Spring of 2023 may just be recalled as the season of big movies based on toys (I know BARBIE is still several months away). Well, maybe not toys as much as games. The TETRIS movie is streaming, and that plumbing duo returns next week, but this new/reboot flick harkens back to those pre-video game olden days. It’s not based on a board game (the box office dud BATTLESHIP may prevent another one for a while), but rather the “in-between” era. This is based on the big role-playing game juggernaut that swept the nation about 40 or so years ago. Sure there was a big studio adaptation way back in 2000 and a couple of minor sequels followed. Ah, but now it’s time to start fresh with an all-star cast to “roll the dice” for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES.
The saga actually starts in the prison known as Revel’s End where an escape occurs during a meeting of the pardon review judges. This happens after we hear the tale of the “bard” Edgin (Chris Pine) who fell from grace as a member of the noble spies, the Harpers when his beloved wife was slain by the feared and despised Red Wizards. Luckily he befriends an exiled barbarian, Holga (Michelle Rodriguez) who helps him raise his baby daughter Kira. Soon the duo becomes part of an honorable (no-killing) band of thieves that includes sorcerer Simon (Justice Smith), rogue Forge (High Grant), and his mystic partner Sofina (Daisy Head). Edgin wants no part of a dangerous heist planned by Forge until word leaks out that part of the treasure is a resurrection tablet that would bring back Edgin’s wife. This leads to his and Holga’s capture, imprisonment, and now escape and on the run. The duo journeys to Neverwinter where Forge has been elected the land’s Lord and is raising teenage Kira (Chloe Coleman) with Sofina’s help. Ah, but Forge has poisoned Kira against her dad, then arranges for the duo’s demise. The two evade the chopping axe and dash away to form a new band to return to Neverwinter and take the riches (including that tablet) from Forge’s magically fortified vault. Edgin and Holga reunite with Simon who suggests that they enlist his former paramour, the Druid Doric (Sophia Lillis) for the quest. Ah, but the vault’s spell is too powerful and Simon needs a device to open it. It is an enchanted helmet. With the help of the paladin Xenk (Rege-Jean Page), they retrieve it. But even with this in hand, can this motley crew survive the forces of Neverwinter before the deadly masterplan of Forge and Sofina dooms Kira and all of the realm’s denizens?
And, just who should be considered the “leader” of this earlier mentioned “all-star” cast (though his character would insist on “planner”)? Probably the former Captain Kirk and Amazon beau, Pine as the lovable scoundrel (much like Han Solo), Edgin. Pine projects the needed amount of “daring do” and a big helping of knowing snark, though it’s tempered with Edgin’s deep loss. He’s a thief who has been robbed of his soulmate, but he won’t lose the child born of their love. Pine’s Edgin makes a good comic team with Rodriguez’s often stoic sullen Holga. It’s a splendid physical performance as her body language is close to a fierce coiled animal, one that strikes out with swift, deadly force when pushed. Oddly Rodriguez also gives her a nurturing tenderness as she becomes a big sister/mentor to Kira and later as she is haunted by her own lost love (fabulous cameo alert). Also balancing the comic and heroic is Smith as the often overwhelmed Simon, whose wizardry needs a big boost of confidence, as he tempers expectations (“Magic has its limits!!”). It doesn’t help that his “big romantic crush” is fighting alongside him. Lillis as the equally gifted Doric is more bold and brave, and appears a bit puzzled and charmed by Simon’s flirtation, while she puts up a stern, unyielding front. Though he joins the team briefly, Page seems to be having a lot of fun skewering his heroic heartthrob image as the “too-noble-to-be-true” Xenk (here’s a TV “deep dive as he was almost a swashbuckler take on Tom Sellek’s Lance White on the mush-loved “The Rockford Files”) who is a constant thorn in Edgin’s side. Oh, but he’s not having as much fun as Grant whose Forge always has a twinkle in his crafty eyes as pulls a con on everyone in sight. Who knew that Mr. 90’s Romcom” would age into such an engaging villain? He’s aided by Head as the creepy, sinister Sofina and the assured Coleman as the conflicted confused Kira.
Well, will you be completely lost if you’ve never seen the previous films, the 80s CBS Saturday morning cartoon (look for a knowing nod to it), or even picked up the multi-sided dice? If you’re like me, then not at all. Happily, this is a spirited and imaginative fast-paced all-ages ride that blends more bits of humor with the atmosphere of the LOTR franchise, though it’s blessed with brevity. That may be largely due to the creative duo behind the camera, who also wrote the screenplay from the story by Chris McKay and Michael Gillio. After some terrific recent movie comedies (GAME NIGHT deserved better at the box office), Johnathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (who is also a talented actor, having played the D&D-loving Sam Weir in the adored one-season TV wonder “Freaks and Geeks”) prove quite adept with fantasy adventure (did I mention they worked on the script to SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING), by delivering a witty grand experience, an unexpected charmer. Now there are superb action sequences galore, but some of the comedy bits are just as memorable (all I’ll say is “quizzing corpses”). Really, it didn’t have to be this good, but you’ll be happy it is. One thing that gave me a big smile was the great use of “practical effects”. In most fantasy/SF flicks today, every weird creature is made of pixels. For this, many life-sized creature suits and masks were made by skilled craftsmen and expert puppeteers (much like in the 1980s when the first Conan film started a “B-movie” boom). Mind you, there’s plenty of CGI, but it’s done with style and never detracts. Doric is an expert shapeshifter who uses this gift to spy on the baddies in an amazing chase sequence (she’s also a fearsome fun “owl-bear”). The costumes are eye-popping the locations are lovely. If they can keep up this level of quality, then let’s hope that a new family film franchise is launched by the entrancing DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES. Huzzah!
3.5 Out of 4
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES is now playing in theatres everywhere
With this film’s release so close to the big “hearts and flowers” holiday, you might think that it’s a modern twist on the old romantic stories of boy meets girl. And you’d be mistaken, except for the “twist” angle. Yes, it does begin with a “meet cute”, but soon the filmmakers take us down a road of deception and devious designs, full of, yes, twists and turns. Now it’s not another thriller built on that cybercrime of “catfishing” as in the very recent MISSING. This tale owes much more to the previous “con capers” like THE STING, BODY HEAT, and, naturally THE GRIFTERS. Ah, but these “players” are aiming for much larger stakes as they go after their NYC high-society “marks”. That’s why they have to aspire to be SHARPER.
Oh, as I mentioned this story takes place in Manhattan and opens on a quaint dusty used book store in one of the quiet upscale neighborhoods. And the literary theme is used with the film being divided into four chapters, each title after a character in this quadrangle. The first is the owner/manager of the shop, a quiet twenty-something named Tom (Justice Smith). His dull afternoon next to the register is ended by the arrival of a lovely college student named Sandra (Briana Middleton). Their conversation leads to his clumsy invitation to dinner and leads to a whirlwind romance that ends in tragedy and heartbreak. In the next chapter named for her, we look into Sandra’s past and her life-changing encounter with the enigmatic “groomer” named Max (Sebastian Stan). This leads to his chapter that gives us an insight into his complex relationship with his social-climbing mother Madeline (Julianne Moore), who has become the fiancee of a Fifth Avenue financial tycoon named Richard Hobbes (John Lithgow). With her chapter, the dots are “connected”, the story comes “full circle”, and the quartet wrestles for control and makes a grab for the “big brass ring”.
With this type of film, it’s tough to get into the actor’s performances without revealing too much of their characters’ secrets (the whole plot peels back the layers). However, I can attest that the talented, always interesting Ms. Moore adds another complex role to her impressive screen resume. Madeline is more than the tortured matriarch as she tries to correct her past while forging ahead toward a lush future. That past, embodied by Stan’s Max, is dark and full of potential danger as Stan projects an air of edgy laid-back cool aloofness punctuated by a snarling intensity. At the opposite end is Smith as the quiet, reflective Tom who’s been beaten down by life but sees this new love as a chance to start over on the road to happiness. As his shining beacon, Middleton dazzles as Sandra whose own dark past threatens to doom this new love as she tries to bury those demons. In a smaller supporting role, Lithgow projects the proper gravitas as the man of “old money” who knows that some “class -climbers’ see a golden target on his back.
The tale’s many curves and turns are expertly guided by director Benjamin Caron in his feature film directing debut. He confidently keeps the drastic time shifts on track in the taut screenplay from Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka, which keeps us guessing and baffled till the final fade out (and at just under two hours). The Big Apple locations are superb, from the plush million-dollar-plus “cribs” to the cluttered Queen apartments and the neighborhood “dive bars”. And they’re lit with the story’s emotional shifts in mind. This is the cinematic equivalent to a good “page-turner”, something to devour on a rainy afternoon. As far as most dramatic thrillers go, I’d say that this is much, much SHARPER.
3.5 Out of 4
SHARPER opens at the Alamo Drafthouse in St. Louis and streams exclusively on AppleTV+ beginning on Friday, February 17, 2023
The first trailer for DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES kicked off San Diego Comic-Con in Hall H today with the world debut of the new trailer.
A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves brings the rich world and playful spirit of the legendary roleplaying game to the big screen in a hilarious and action-packed adventure.
The cast includes Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, Chloe Coleman, Daisy Head and Hugh Grant.
In 2020, directors Jonathan Goldstein & John Francis Daley, known for directing Game Night and writing Horrible Bosses and Spider-Man: Homecoming, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the next steps for D&D.
Does your vision for Dungeons & Dragons feel like a natural evolution for you in terms of the humor you’ve put into recent projects like Spider-Man: Homecoming and Game Night?
Goldstein: We want it to be fun. It’s not an out and out comedy, but it is an action-fantasy movie with a lot of comedic elements and characters we hope people will really get into and enjoy watching their adventures.
Daley: D&D is such a unique look at the fantasy genre where it is contemporary in terms of the people playing it and the way they speak to each other. So we never wanted to spoof the genre of fantasy or take the piss out of it. But we did want to find another way into it that we hadn’t necessarily seen before. Just the format of Dungeons & Dragons is so interesting and fun and all about critical thinking and thinking on your feet and figuring out ways to make things work after they fall flat. There’s a lot of the spirit of that that we’re trying to inject into the movie itself.
Justice Smith plays Simon, Sophia Lillis plays Doric, Chris Pine plays Edgin and Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves from Paramount Pictures.
The film and journey happen in theaters next year on March 3, 2023.
Based on HASBRO’S DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
Chris Pine plays Edgin and Regé-Jean Page plays Xenk in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves from Paramount Pictures.
With all of the wonder, adventure and thrills synonymous with one of the most popular and successful franchises in cinema history, this all-new motion-picture event sees the return of favorite characters and dinosaurs—along with new breeds more awe-inspiring and terrifying than ever before. Welcome to Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard return alongside executive producers Steven Spielberg and Colin Trevorrow for Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Pratt and Howard are joined by co-stars James Cromwell, Ted Levine, Justice Smith, Geraldine Chaplin, Daniella Pineda,
Toby Jones, Rafe Spall, while BD Wong and Jeff Goldblum reprise their roles.
Directed by J.A. Bayona (The Impossible), the epic action-adventure is written by Jurassic World’s director, Trevorrow, and its co-writer, Derek Connolly.
Producers Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley once again partner with Spielberg and Trevorrow in leading the team of filmmakers for this stunning installment. Belén Atienza joins the team as a producer.
JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM opens in theaters June 22, 2018.
One year from today, June 22, 2018, Jurassic World: FALLEN KINGDOM opens in cinemas.
The epic action-adventure will star Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, BD Wong, Ted Levine, Justice Smith, Geraldine Chaplin and Jeff Goldblum.
Executive producers Steven Spielberg and Colin Trevorrow reunite with stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard for Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment’s Jurassic World sequel, a follow-up to one of the biggest blockbusters in the history of cinema.
Producers Frank Marshall and Pat Crowley once again join Spielberg and Trevorrow in leading the team of filmmakers for the next chapter in the franchise. Directed by J.A. Bayona (The Impossible), the film is written by Jurassic World’s director, Colin Trevorrow, and Derek Connolly. Belén Atienza joins the team as a producer.
2015’s JURASSIC WORLD had an opening weekend of $208 million at the box office. Universal Pictures’ film has a worldwide gross of $1.6 billion.
20th Century Fox and Fox 2000 Pictures has debuted the second trailer for PAPER TOWNS. The film stars Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne, Austin Abrams, Halston Sage, Justice Smith.
Adapted from the bestselling novel by author John Green (“The Fault in Our Stars”), PAPER TOWNS is a coming-of-age story centering on Quentin and his enigmatic neighbor Margo, who loved mysteries so much she became one.
After taking him on an all-night adventure through their hometown, Margo suddenly disappears–leaving behind cryptic clues for Quentin to decipher. The search leads Quentin and his quick-witted friends on an exhilarating adventure that is equal parts hilarious and moving. Ultimately, to track down Margo, Quentin must find a deeper understanding of true friendship–and true love.
Paper Towns was Green’s third novel and debuted in 2008 at number five on The New York Times Best Seller list for children’s books, and the movie rights were optioned by Mandate Pictures and Mr. Mudd. In 2009, Paper Towns was awarded the 2009 Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Novel and the 2010 Corine Literature Prize.
Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber wrote the adapted screenplay.
On Wednesday, 20th Century Fox, along with author John Green, director Jake Schreier, and actress Halston Sage, premiered the trailer of their new movie PAPER TOWNS for excited, lucky fans in New York City.
This morning, the studio released the first trailer for their upcoming drama.
Adapted from the bestselling novel by author John Green (“The Fault in Our Stars”), PAPER TOWNS is a coming-of-age story centering on Quentin and his enigmatic neighbor Margo, who loved mysteries so much she became one.
After taking him on an all-night adventure through their hometown, Margo suddenly disappears–leaving behind cryptic clues for Quentin to decipher. The search leads Quentin and his quick-witted friends on an exhilarating adventure that is equal parts hilarious and moving.
Ultimately, to track down Margo, Quentin must find a deeper understanding of true friendship–and true love.
Filmmaker Jake Schreier returns to the director’s chair with PAPER TOWNS. He helmed one of the best movies and true highlights of 2012, ROBOT & FRANK.
Starring Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne, Austin Abrams, Halston Sage, and Justice Smith, PAPER TOWNS hits theaters everywhere July 24, 2015.
