Apple Original Films has unveiled the trailer for the upcoming romantic drama ALL OF YOU, starring Emmy Award winner Brett Goldstein, Imogen Poots, Steven Cree, Zawe Ashton and Jenna Coleman.
Best friends since college, Simon (Goldstein) and Laura (Poots) drift apart when she takes a test that finds her soulmate despite years of unspoken feelings between them. Over the years, as their paths cross and diverge, neither can deny the feeling that they’ve missed out on a life together. Faced with the uncertainty of changing the course of their lives, are Simon and Laura willing to risk everything to experience the love that had been between them all along, or should they accept their fate? “All of You” explores whether one person can ever be your everything in this humorous and heart-wrenching romantic drama.
Co-written by Goldstein and Emmy Award winner William Bridges (“Black Mirror”), who also makes his directorial debut, and hailing from MRC, the Apple Original Film “All of You” is produced by Ryder Picture Company’s Aaron Ryder and Andrew Swett. Bridges and Goldstein also produce, with Alexander Black and Jon Rosenberg serving as executive producers.
ALL OF YOU is in Select Theaters and on Apple TV+ September 26.
Face front, true believers! This year we’ve had three multiplex visits to the realm of the “Distinguished Competition”, so you didn’t think the MCU would end 2023 with treks into Quantumania and Knowhere (hangout of those Galaxy Guardians)? Oh no, Smilin’ Stan wouldn’t want the fifteenth anniversary of the Studio to conclude without one more adventure. And it’s a sequel to a 2019 film that introduced the cosmic Carol Danvers, while also being somewhat of an expansion of her saga. That’s because she’s not completely going solo (oh, her old spy pal returns too) as she’s joined by two characters that made their heroic debuts on Disney+. Together this titanic trio is on a mission to save us all as THE MARVELS.
The action starts in a distant galaxy as a fleet of ships from the Kree empire converge on a desolate planet. The surface party led by the high-ranking officer Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) retrieves a familiar-looking “bangle”. Slipping it on her forearm, Dar-Benn creates a “hole” in the sky, a gateway “hopper” to other galaxies. And this hardware creates some unexpected chaos, reaching all the way to Jersey City, USA. That’s where Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) AKA Ms. Marvel is enjoying a quiet day in her super-hero decorated bedroom, upstairs from her parents, Muneeba (Zenobia Shroff) and Yusuf (Mohan Kapur) and big bro Aamir (Saagar Shaikh). Meanwhile, near the S.A.B.R.E. space platform, Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), who possesses light-based superpowers, is checking out one of those “space schisms” as Colonel Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) listens and observes. When Monica touches the glowering “hole” she switches places with Kamala and the protector of planets, Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) AKA Captain Marvel. The three continue zipping back and forth until a battle with Kree mercenaries ends. It’s decided that the three heroes must learn to work together as a team to stop Dar-Benn who wants to use the “gateways” to exact revenge on Danvers by destroying the worlds she loves, including her old home, Earth.
Though this is her third major appearance as the cosmic crusader (after a quick cameo in SHANG CHI), Larson brings an extra dimension to this story’s “big gun”. Yes, there is a steely confidence that conveys her strength without needing a “modified” uniform, but there’s also a bit of sadness. Despite the company of her trusty flerken Goose, we can see that her role of the “monitor of everything” quietly cruising the stars had taken its toll. And we see her remorse after a well-intentioned act went sideway earning her the unwanted moniker of “The Annihilator” (her downcast eyes tell us that this word truly hurts). But we see her mood lighten when meeting her “number one fan” Kamala played with buoyant energy by the bouncy Iman. She’s a bundle of sunshine, showing us that being a superhero can be fun (unlike the brooding folks at the other comics company). Temper that with her superb comedic timing and Ms. Vellani is certainly the MVP of this MCU entry (and you really should stream her solo series). Parris as the soon-to-be-named Photon is in the middle area of the other two characters as she does have a past with Danvers. Their reunion is awkward and melancholy as Danvers had promised to return to Monica, but couldn’t keep her word. She can’t be the “lil’ sister” to Carol, unlike Kamala, but Parris gives us hints that the emotional wound may be fading. Plus she scores a few laughs as she tries to hone her unusual abilities.
The main supporter of the “big three”, maybe their “Dutch Uncle, is the always entertaining Jackson in his fifteenth turn (including TV) as the stalwart spy turned “space cop”. He’s still an old school hard…case, but he lets us know with a hint of a wink in that “one good eye”, that he’s very impressed with this new team and has to control the urge to flash a beaming proud smile. He’s a great “straight man” for the “emotionally available” members of the Khan family. Their leader is the imposing Shroff, who is tough on daughter Kamala, but is also her biggest defender and a fierce “mama bear”. Kapur as the “papa bear’ is more of a pushover, but always attempts to offer aide, though it results in some slapstick with Shaikh as the baffled but loving big brother. As for the “big baddie,” Ashton projects a cool often unreadable menace as Dar-Benn, who believes her cause is just as she sets out to punish Carol while ending her peoples’ suffering. She’s more interesting than the other Kree villain Ronan (the first Guardian foe) as she has the noble pursuits of Thanos mixed with the rage of Star Trek’s Khan. Turning in good performances in brief roles are Gary Lewis as a somber Skrull leader and Park Seo-joon as a most helpful prince who has a diplomatic “bond” with Carol.
Once more Marvel Studios has handed the directing reigns to a talented filmmaker mainly known for “indies” (though her CANDYMAN reboot was more high profile), Nia DaCosta, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Megan McDonnell and Elissa Karasik. DaCosta makes good use of this bigger “canvas” and stages some impressive action sequences along with some scenes of old school “disaster”, especially the razing of the Skrull sanctuary. And she conveys some claustrophobic tension in the big attack on the Khan cottage. She is also adept in the comedy stretches, whether the rat-a-tat interplay between the three leads or the slapstick silliness of the Flerken (CGI can be silly). Happily, she also keeps the story briskly paced, so that it doesn’t have the “epic bloat” of many recent fantasy flicks, bringing it to a nice 105-minute runtime. In hindsight, a couple of extra minutes could have been used to better “flesh out” the masterplan of the “wormholes”, but the grand bonus “bits’ will leave MCU fans with big grins during the walk out to the parking lot. It may not have the emotional gravitas of the last MCU outing (oh Rocket Racoon), but the engaging performances from the cast (more, more Ms. Vellani) make us want to soar through the stars with THE MARVELS.
Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel and Captain Monica Rambeau go HIGHER. FURTHER. FASTER. TOGETHER. in an exciting new trailer for Marvel Studios’ feature film “The Marvels,” opening in theaters on November 10.
The film is sequel to Disney+’s WandaVision, Ms. Marvel and Secret Invasion – all amazing and intriguing series.
Check out the trailer
Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. But unintended consequences see Carol shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe.
When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan, Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel, and Carol’s estranged niece, now S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau. Together, this unlikely trio must team-up and learn to work in concert to save the universe as “The Marvels.”
Dar-Benn, whose powers are revealed in this video, is an revolutionary Accuser for the Kree Empire, who’s fighting to restore her homeland after a long civil war. At the end of Eternals, audiences saw Avenger Dane Whitman, AKA Black Knight, and could figure into this and future MCU films in connection to the Kree Supreme Intelligence. A demanding and unforgiving ruler, Dar-Benn comes to believe that all members of the old regime should be eradicated, including Kree enforcer Ronan the Accuser.
Marvel Studios’ “The Marvels” stars Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Park Seo-joon, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Nia DaCosta directs with Kevin Feige producing. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Mary Livanos, Jonathan Schwartz and Matthew Jenkins serve as executive producers. The screenplay is by Megan McDonnell, Nia DaCosta, Elissa Karasik and Zeb Wells.
This morning, the first trailer for Marvel Studios’ “The Marvels” debuted on “Good Morning America”.
In Marvel Studios’ “The Marvels,” Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. But unintended consequences see Carol shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe. When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, and Carol’s estranged niece, now S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau. Together, this unlikely trio must team up and learn to work in concert to save the universe as “The Marvels.”
The film stars Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Samuel L. Jackson, Zawe Ashton and Park Seo-joon. Nia DaCosta directs, and Kevin Feige is the producer. Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Mary Livanos and Matthew Jenkins serve as executive producers. The screenplay is by Megan McDonnell, Nia DaCosta, Elissa Karasik and Zeb Wells.
(L to R) Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù stars as “Mr. Malcolm” and Freida Pinto stars as “Selina Dalton” in director Emma Holly Jones’ MR. MALCOLM’S LIST, a Bleecker Street release. Credit : Ross Ferguson / Bleecker Street
The streaming hit “Bridgerton” has opened a new style of period romance, a fantasy historical romance in which bits of anachronism are plainly on view and color-blind casting enlivens interest. In that show, tales of romance feature essentially-modern people, dressed in the colorful costumes of Jane Austen’s time, pursuing love under the rules of that time period – well, some of the rules. MR. MALCOLM’S LIST is a Regency romance following “Bridgerton’s” lead with the color-blind casting but without the anachronisms, for a romantic romp with an attractive cast in a story that blends elements of Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” and “Emma.”
Director Emma Holly Jones makes her feature film debut with MR. MALCOLM’S LIST, adapting Suzanne Allain’s novel and with a script written by the author. The film provides plenty of snappy dialog and intriguing situations, all set in beautiful locations, with those lovely costumes and period furnishings. For fans of period romances, MR. MALCOLM’S LIST delivers solid entertainment, although not always in the ways anticipated and with a bit more humor than might be expected.
Zawe Ashton stars as Julia Thistlewaite, a wealthy and pretty young woman who has a high opinion of herself but is less charming and well-informed as she thinks she is. Julia had set her sights on the season’s most eligible bachelor, the rich but aloof Mr. Jeremy Malcolm (Ṣọpe Dìrísu), but after briefly capturing his attention, she is dropped. Stung by the snub, and particularly a publicly-circulating cartoon satirizing it, she is particularly outraged when she learns, through her cousin, Lord Cassidy (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), that Mr. Malcolm has a secret list of requirements for a potential wife, and she failed to make the grade. Julia determines to get revenge, and calls on an old school friend, Selina Dalton (Freida Pinto), a country girl and the daughter of a vicar, to help her. Julia’s plan is to remake her friend into the perfect match for Mr. Malcolm’s list but after he falls for her, have her then spurn him for not meeting the requirements of her own list. Sweet, innocent Selina initially balks at this scheme but is persuaded when Julia appeals for her help based on their long friendship.
After outfitting the less-affluent Selina with fashionable new clothes, coaching her in dancing, and a little brush-up on current political issues like the corn laws, Julia arranges a meeting with Mr Malcolm at a ball. It all goes better than hoped. When handsome Captain Henry Ossory (Theo James) turns up shortly afterwards, with his own plans to court Selina, things look even better in Julia’s eyes. What she fails to note that Selina and Mr. Malcolm really are attracted to each other.
Of course, where this goes is no surprise but the fun in this kind of tale is in the characters themselves. But the thing is that in this Austen-esque drama, it is the supporting characters who are much more interesting than the couple supposedly at the center of the plot.
Zawe Ashton’s Julia is positioned to be the villain but Ashton is so funny and so human in her failings that we easily fall for her flawed character. Likewise, Oliver Jackson-Cohen’s charmingly lazy Lord Cassidy, as his cousin’s reluctant partner in this plot, amuses and entertains us with his quirkiness. Theo James as the handsome captain becomes more of presence, charming us with his insights and steady nature as he slowly shifting his attentions towards the plotting Julia. On the other hand, Freida Pinto’s Selina is just too pure and sweet to have much depth, and Sope Dirisu’s Jeremy Malcolm remains so reserved that it is hard to connect with him. Unlike Austen’s Mr. Darcy, he never opens up much and the character does not win us over in the same way.
The re-direction of our interests to supporting characters may have been the director’s plan all along, but a little more depth for the purported main characters would have made this period romance a bit more fun.
Certainly, the actors have the chops to do that (if unfamiliar with Sope Dirisu, check out the amount of magic he generates in his very small role in another costume drama, MOTHERING SUNDAY). But the delightful Zawe Ashton more than makes up for those thinner characters, turning her clueless, selfish Julia from a source of humor into someone we care about and cheer as she evolves.
There are other entertaining supporting characters to add to the entertainment, a footman and a maid, Selina’s embarrassingly outre’ widowed cousin Mrs. Covington (Ashley Park), Julia’s exasperated mother Mrs. Thistlewaite (Naoko Mori) and, particularly delightful in a smaller role, Dona Croll as Jeremy Malcolm’s regal mother Lady Kilbourne. The film, shot on location in Ireland, looks gorgeous, packed with beautiful scenery, lush interiors and lovely colorful costumes.
It’s not Jane Austen but MR MALCOLM’S LIST has enough fun to keep “Bridgerton” and other period romance fans happy.
MR MALCOLM’S LIST opens in theaters on Friday, July 1.
