Tag: Rosario Dawson

Terminator: Zero Debuts its First Trailer Just In Time for Armageddon

[ad_1]

Netflix has released a trailer for its new Terminator anime series from Skydance, Production I.G, Masashi Kudō and Mattson Tomlin. Take a look:

Starring the voices of Timothy Olyphant, Rosario Dawson, Sonoya Mizuno, André Holland and Ann Dowd, Terminator: Zero concerns scientist Malcolm Lee (the world’s oldest-looking 32-year old man) after developing an AI to compete with Skynet. Since this is a Terminator story, “Lee finds himself and his three children pursued by an unknown robot assassin.” Luckily, “a mysterious soldier from the year 2022 has been sent to protect him.”

While the trailer doesn’t reveal too much, no one could claim it doesn’t look like another entry in the Terminator franchise. Androids missing half their faces, nuclear armageddon, a cool-looking heroine– it’s all here. That said, the trailer does include the striking new image of a T-800 wearing a parka– as well as a smaller cave search-and-rescue robot dressed in a yellow rain slicker. Caves are very moist, so it could absolutely use something to protect its inner workings from condensation and seepage. I love that.

Anyway, as the trailer promises “this isn’t what you think it is,” I’m sure its only meant to present a false sense of familiarity before pulling the rug out from under us with a brand-new, subversive take on some very familiar material. However, as the trailer also states, “there’s no going back–not really.” So who’s to say yet?

Come what may, the series premieres this August 29th (that’s Judgement Day, of course, according to Terminator 2) only on Netflix.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

[ad_2]

Gordon Jackson

Source link

July 15, 2024
Hayden Christensen Reveals Reaction to ‘Ahsoka’ Return

[ad_1]

For many, seeing Hayden Christensen return to the role of Anakin Skywalker was a huge deal. That’s even more true for the actor himself. The character is the defining role of his career so far, and one of the most iconic characters in Star Wars itself.

It’s more than a little bit cathartic to see Anakin return on Star Wars: Ahsoka so late in the timeline, even if this Anakin just exists as a ghost or a memory or whatever he was supposed to be. Either way, it gave Ahsoka the guidance she needed to continue fighting and to realize that she could carve out her own path in life. Dwelling in the past will only lead to her downfall.

In a short behind-the-scenes featurette posted to YouTube, Ahsoka series creator Dave Filoni recently talked about his idea to bring Anakin back on the show.

“You know, as I was figuring out the story for Ahsoka, I just really thought, ‘Well, there’s an opportunity, could bring Anakin and Ahsoka together.’ It’s just awesome,” he explained.

Rosario Dawson also spoke about the history she had with Christensen before they were reunited to work on the show together. They worked together on a 2003 film called Shattered Glass, but they’d also been in touch for years:

I met Hayden when I was 16. We were in an acting school together over a summer. To have that kind of history with him, it really was like seeing my old friend.

Christensen himself also talked about how amazing it was to be back in his Jedi garb, once again wielding a lightsaber.

Putting on the Anakin costume, getting to wear those Jedi robes, it kind of blows your mind every time. I just feel very grateful.

You can watch the full featurette on Anakin’s return on Ahsoka below:

Sign up for Disney+ here.

Every Star Wars Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best

Here is every theatrical Star Wars movie, ranked from the worst to the best.

[ad_2]

Cody Mcintosh

Source link

September 19, 2023
‘Ahsoka’ Director Discusses Show’s Huge ‘Star Wars’ Return

[ad_1]

The following post contains spoilers for Episode 4 of Star Wars: Ahsoka. (Obviously.)

For many who have been following Ahsoka’s saga since the beginning, the end of the fourth episode of the series held a reunion years in the making. Star Wars: Ahsoka, streaming on Disney+, stars Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano. She’s the former padawan of Anakin Skywalker and is doing her best to uphold his legacy after the fall of the Empire.

At the end of Episode 4, while trying to keep a map to Grand Admiral Thrawn out of the wrong hands, Ahsoka ends up seemingly dead. She finds herself in the “World Between Worlds,” a mysterious Star Wars realm beyond time and space, where she encounters her former master, played once again by Hayden Christensen. While it seems like a happy reunion, there are two indications that something more sinister may being on. First of all, Anakin is wearing black robes like he was in Revenge of the Sith. Secondly, during the fade to black, the “Imperial March” plays on the soundtrack. An ominous sign of things to come, perhaps?

STAR WARS: AHSOKA
Lucasfilm Ltd.

READ MORE: Anakin Skywalker’s Return on Star Wars: Ahsoka Explained

Peter Ramsey, the director of this episode, spoke with IGN about his take on the episode. Speaking of Hayden Christensen, he said “He’s a really sweet, low-key guy. He was pretty happy about being there after all this time. It had a lot of meaning for him.”

He also revealed that when directing Christensen in the scene, they “talked about what it’s like for him to be seeing Ahsoka after all this time, that it’s a reunion for them. And I just told him, ‘It’s like you haven’t seen your daughter in two years. She’d gone off to college and you’re seeing her again and she’s like a different person but still your daughter’”

The next episode of Star Wars: Ahsoka premieres tonight on Disney+.

Sign up for Disney+ here.

10 Actors Who Turned Down Star Wars Roles

[ad_2]

Cody Mcintosh

Source link

September 12, 2023
‘Haunted Mansion’ Announces Disney+ Premiere Date

[ad_1]

Just in time for the Halloween season, Disney’s new version of Haunted Mansion is coming to Disney+. The movie is based on the classic thrill ride at Disneyland, of course. It’s not the first time the ride has been adapted into film, since there was an Eddie Murphy-fronted effort back in 2003. In 2010, Guillermo Del Toro was attached to direct another Haunted Mansion-themed project, but it failed to materialize.

The new film stars a ton of heavy hitters in an all-star ensemble cast, made up of the likes of Lakeith Stanfield, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Jamie Lee Curtis and Jared Leto. If you don’t want to subscribe to Disney+ just to watch the movie, you’ll also be able to purchase a digital version of the film starting on the same date.

READ MORE: Several Upcoming Marvel Disney+ Shows Have Been Delayed

The film hit theaters on July 28, and it received pretty mixed reviews. Here is an excerpt from ScreenCrush’s own 5/10 review:

If Haunted Mansion had been a little more invested in this bereavement theme, it might have risen to the level of something like Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, which elevated an exercise in corporate brand refurbishment through sheer force of directorial vision. Simien’s film never quite gets there; it’s so possessed with recreating the ride’s details that it misses a bit of the ride’s spirit. A list of Easter eggs hidden in Haunted Mansion would be a waste of time; practically everything is an Easter egg, and none of them are hidden.

Unfortunately, the people involved in the project were unable to attend the premiere of the movie as a result of the ongoing strike. It seems like the consensus is that the film isn’t quite funny or scary enough to work.

Haunted Mansion premieres on Disney+ on October 4.

Sign up for Disney+ here.

10 Disney Movies That Deserve Their Own Rides

Here are 10 Disney movies that we think would make particularly great theme park rides, whether it be a dark ride, flume ride, or rollercoaster.

[ad_2]

Cody Mcintosh

Source link

September 11, 2023
Ahsoka Episode 1 Review: It Really Is Star Wars: Rebels 2

[ad_1]

You could certainly accuse creators within the Star Wars franchise of needlessly injecting their media with heavy doses of fan service, and Ahsoka series creator Dave Filoni might be the guiltiest of them all. There’s a reason a tweet from April 2023 sharing a fake page from a Filoni script that follows the famous “and my ax” format from The Lord of the Rings but with Star Wars characters is so funny—because it feels, in part, like something the man blessed with George Lucas’ trust would try to pull off.

Fortnite Introduces Force Abilities In Latest Star Wars Collab

Read More: Your Essential Ahsoka Refresher Before The New Star Wars Series

There are moments throughout the first episode of the new Disney Plus Ahsoka series that feel a bit like that tweet, and a bit like Filoni, who helmed the animated Star Wars: Rebels series, just wanted to finish telling that show’s story. But even though the frequent nods to content and characters from that beloved series may sometimes make Ahsoka feel like it’s only for the initiated, it still manages to be a compelling standalone story in its own right—maybe not as well as Andor does, but far better than, say, The Book of Boba Fett.

Stream it now: Disney+

The start of the Ahsoka series

I can fix her.
Image: Lucasfilm

Ahsoka begins with something that makes me genuinely squeal with delight: a traditional Star Wars opening crawl (though in a striking red font), filling you in on the key story beats you’ll need to know going in. This is a brilliant move by Filoni—not only does it help Ahsoka feel more like a full-blown film (which it does throughout the first two episodes that aired on August 23 thanks to fantastic VFX and excellent pacing), but it gives a little bit of context for fans who may not have sat through some 200 episodes across two different kids’ shows.

The crawl tells us that Morgan Elsbeth, an ally to Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn, has been captured by Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) and is being transported by the Rebel Alliance. Cue a giant Rebel ship sweeping into view, and a nice look at how the new government is running—a ship sending out an old Jedi signal is asking to board, but the Rebel captain thinks its passengers are bluffing. Most of the Jedi were wiped out during The Clone Wars, remember?

The captain was right to suspect them, because it turns out they’re two red-lightsaber-wielding bad guys named Baylan Skoll (RIP Ray Stevenson) and Shin Hati (Ivanna Sakhno). Both Stevenson and Sakhno shine in their respective roles—Stevenson playing Baylan like a classically trained Shakespearean villain, Sakhno imbuing Shin with a feral, twitchy energy like a corner feral cat. They kill everyone on the ship and release Elsbeth (Diana Lee Inosanto, who first played the role on The Mandalorian), who tells Baylan that there’s someone after the “map”: Ahsoka Tano.

This is an early reminder that Filoni likes the toys in his sandbox a bit too much, as Inosanto’s somewhat bizarre line-read (she just says the name “Ahsoka Tano” before it cuts to the show’s title card) would have been so much more powerful if she never said it all. Instead, we just get snapped right to the name of the show. Listen, Ahsoka is Filoni’s best girl (and mine, too), so I’ll let him have this one.

Dave Filoni loves Ahsoka Tano.
Photo: Kate Green / Disney (Getty Images)

Then we see Ahsoka herself, walking through the ruins of what appears to be an old Jedi temple. It’s great to see Dawson physically embody the role—she is reserved, almost stoic as she moves through this space, but still occasionally offers flashes of playfulness that remind us of a younger Ahsoka. And, thankfully, her fucking lekku are finally the right length. In a scene that feels straight out of Indiana Jones, Ahsoka uses her dual lightsabers to slice through the ground and drop straight into a secret room that demands she complete a puzzle to get the object she’s looking for. She does so with ease, but when she tries to communicate with Huyang (a Jedi engineer droid voiced by David Tennant), she realizes something’s not right.

She’s attacked, and we get our second lightsaber fight of the show before we even hit the 15-minute mark (hell yeah). The fight is choreographed well, and it’s clear that the team made sure Dawson’s movements (and that of her stunt double, Michelle Lee) echo Ahsoka’s competency with many fighting styles—she can move swiftly and lithely when needed, but stand tall and powerful to deflect hard hits or blaster shots as well.

It’s a great fight, but it’s the scene afterwards that gives me pause—Dawson, clearly trying to embody an older, more stoic Ahsoka than the one we know from the animated shows, can occasionally feel stiff, a stark contrast to the lively take that voice actor Ashley Eckstein brought to the character. This could, perhaps, be because this is a much older Ahsoka Tano than the teenage girl in Clone Wars (she’s certainly more reserved in Rebels, and she’s in her forties now), but it feels jarring, especially since she is such a beloved character. As my partner said during the first episode, “Those contacts don’t help, do they?” Dawson feels the most like Ahsoka when she invokes a sort of bemused disdain, which we luckily get more of in the second episode.

Ahsoka and her rebels

I love a motomami.
Image: Lucasfilm / Entertainment Weekly

Ahsoka believes the map will help lead her to the location of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), the last leader of the Empire and its heir apparent. At the end of Rebels’ final episode (which aired back in 2018), Jedi Ezra Bridger used hyperspace-traveling space whales called purrgil to banish himself and Thrawn to the remotest corner of the universe. Ahsoka hopes that the map will find them both, so that she can save Ezra and also prevent Thrawn from retaking his mantle as imperial leader and plunging the galaxy back into war.

She’ll need help, however, so she turns to two of her oldest and closest allies: General Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo). Here is where Ahsoka slows down a bit too much for some, as it tries to give the audience a better understanding of the dynamics between these three women, which were properly fleshed out across 75 Rebels episodes. Ahsoka used to train Sabine, a Mandalorian warrior and close friend to Ezra, as her Padawan, before it became clear that the two weren’t a good fit, and they both fought alongside Hera (who lost her partner, a Jedi named Kanan Jarrus) in the rebellion for years.

Unfortunately for Dawson, her reserved approach to Ahsoka only makes it harder to fully dig into her relationship with Hera (who Winstead plays like a concerned but feisty aunt through several pounds of some of the worst FX makeup I’ve ever seen) and Sabine (who Bordizzo portrays beautifully as a brash, angsty riot grrrl who uses her cool speeder bike to do an Akira-esque slide when you first meet her). Whenever they’re interacting, she feels more like an exasperated mom than a former pain in the ass herself (which Ahsoka was, just ask her older master, Anakin Skywalker). It’s unfortunate, but I’m hoping that the three women stretch and flex into their roles in future episodes.

Awoop, jumpscare.
Image: Lucasfilm / Entertainment Weekly

Aside from the trio’s dynamic, however, Ahsoka looks and feels great. The lovingly recreated locations from the animated series (Ahsoka’s ship, the planet Lothal, Ezra’s crow’s-nest home that Sabine now lives in), all look amazing, like something out of a full-fledged Star Wars blockbuster. The animatronic Lothal cat has dethroned Grogu as the cutest Star Wars puppet in my opinion, and aside from Ashoka’s contacts and Hera’s far-too-cartoony outfit, the costuming and set-dressing are all top-notch. The lightsaber battles crackle and snap—there’s energy in every swing of the sword or blaster deflection that feels purposeful and well-directed, and the ASMR-heavy moments (Ahsoka twisting and turning stone columns to complete a puzzle, Sabine shifting a metal sphere to reveal a map) are tactile and almost sensual.

The episode ends with a fantastic lightsaber fight—Sabine, ever the stubborn one, takes the map off of Ahsoka’s ship despite her protestations, and discovers exactly where it leads before she’s attacked by Shin and her droids. Sabine gets a saber straight through her abdomen, something that Star Wars doesn’t do all that often (I gasped so loud I woke up one of my cats), and it fades to black. We know Sabine survives, but will her already fractured relationship with her former master, Ahsoka?

There’s love in every Ahsoka detail, like a jade heart sewn into the pocket of your jeans. You just have to allow for the hope that, like all things, it’ll get better with age.

Stream it now: Disney+

[ad_2]

Alyssa Mercante

Source link

August 23, 2023
Movie and TV stars join picket lines in fight over the future of Hollywood

[ad_1]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “Ted Lasso” star Jason Sudeikis, Rosario Dawson and other top movie and TV actors joined picket lines alongside screenwriters Friday on the first full day of a walkout that has become Hollywood’s biggest labor fight in decades.

A day after the dispute brought production to a standstill across the entertainment industry, Sudeikis was among the picketers outside NBC in New York pressing for progress following the breakdown of contract talks with studios and streaming services. Dawson, star of the film “Rent” and the “Star Wars” TV series “Ahsoka,” joined picketers outside Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, California.

“Lord of the Rings” star Sean Astin marched with chanting protesters outside Netflix’s offices in Hollywood. Also present at Netflix were “Titanic” and “Unforgiven” actor Frances Fisher and “The Nanny” star Fran Drescher, who is president of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

The actors’ arrival energized the picket lines outside Netflix, where music blared and the sidewalks were packed with demonstrators.

Hollywood productions and promotional tours around the world have been put on indefinite hold as actors join writers on the picket lines.

Hollywood actors are joining screenwriters in the first dual strike from the two unions in more than six decades, with huge consequences for the film and television industry.

A rocket being developed by the Japanese space agency has exploded during testing but there were no reports of injuries.

A sprawling, mighty galaxy was created in season one of “Foundation.” Now it’s time to rip it down. Season two of the ambitious Apple TV+ sci-fi series flashes forward some 140 years and it’s quickly clear that the clones who form the story’s authoritarian order are losing their grip.

Elsewhere, “Once Upon a Time” actor Ginnifer Goodwin stood with protesters at Paramount Pictures.

The famous faces of Oscar and Emmy winners will likely be seen with some regularity on picket lines in New York and Los Angeles, adding star power to the demonstrations outside studios and corporate offices.

The walkout is the first double-barreled strike by actors and screenwriters in more than six decades.

In recent weeks, many actors made a show of solidarity with the 11,500 writers, who walked out in May. On Thursday, 65,000 members of the actors’ union formally joined them on strike.

The two guilds have similar issues with studios and streaming services. They are concerned about contracts keeping up with inflation and about residual payments, which compensate creators and actors for use of their material beyond the original airing, such as in reruns or on streaming services. The unions also want to put up guardrails against the use of artificial intelligence mimicking their work on film and television.

Many on the picket lines took aim at Disney chief executive Bob Iger, who said Wednesday that the damage the strikes will do to the entertainment economy is “a shame.”

Justine Bateman, right, speaks outside Netflix during a Writers Guild rally as a strike by The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists is announced in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

“I think that when Bob Iger talks about what a shame it is, he needs to remember that in 1980, CEOs like him made 30 times what their lowest worker was making,” actor Sean Gunn, who starred in “Guardians of the Galaxy,” said outside Netflix.

Now Iger “makes 400 times what his lowest worker is. And I think that’s a shame, Bob. And maybe you should take a look in the mirror and ask yourself, ‘Why is that?’”

No talks are planned, and no end is in sight for the work stoppage. It is the first time both guilds have walked off sets since 1960, when then-actor Ronald Reagan was SAG’s leader.

“What we won in 1960 was our health and pension plans and the existence of residuals. That was the most important strike in LA union history, and now we’re on strike together again, and honestly, this strike is even bigger,” Adam Conover, host of the TV series “Adam Ruins Everything” and member of the Writers Guild negotiating committee, said outside Netflix. “We’re going to win. If you are gaining momentum like we are, 70-odd days into a strike, you are going to win.”

Conover was one of many picketers, including Sudeikis, who are members of both unions.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents employers including Disney, Netflix, Amazon and others, has lamented the walkout, saying it will hurt thousands of workers in industries that support film and television production.

The actors’ strike will affect more than filming. Stars will no longer be allowed to promote their work through red carpet premieres or personal appearances. They cannot campaign for Emmy awards or take part in auditions or rehearsals.

The strike triggered cancellations of red carpet events scheduled for next week for “Special Ops: Lioness,” starring Zoe Saldaña and Nicole Kidman, and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.”

A “Haunted Mansion” premiere event at Disneyland on Saturday was set to go on as planned, but with no actors in attendance to promote the film.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said it was clear that the entertainment industry “is at a historic inflection point.” She urged all parties to work around the clock until an agreement is reached.

“This affects all of us and is essential to our overall economy,” Bass said in a statement.

The writers’ strike had already stopped much of television production, and the actors joining them immediately led to a shooting shutdown for many major films, including “Deadpool 3,” “Gladiator 2” and the eighth installment of Tom Cruise’s “Mission Impossible” series. All are scheduled for release next year.

The writers’ strike also shut down late-night talk shows and “Saturday Night Live,” as well as several scripted shows that have either had their writers’ rooms or production paused, including “Stranger Things” on Netflix, “Hacks” on Max and “Family Guy” on Fox. Many more are sure to follow them now that performers also have been pulled.

___

This story has been corrected to fix the misspelling of Jason Sudeikis’ last name and Ginnifer Goodwin’s first name.

___

Associated Press Writer Krysta Fauria contributed.

___

For more on the Hollywood strikes, visit https://apnews.com/hub/hollywood-strikes/

[ad_2]

Source link

July 14, 2023
Disney+ Plus Shares New ‘Ahsoka’ Trailer

[ad_1]

Disney has finally released a full trailer for the long-awaited Ahsoka. The new Star Wars series is premiering on Aug. 23 with a special 2-episode debut. The rest will likely be released on a week-to-week basis.

Unfortunately, the official synopsis from Disney doesn’t really tell us too much about the plot. That being said, it takes place well after the Clone Wars and even the fall of the Galactic Empire. Ahsoka is one of the few people willing to try to prevent the rise of Thrawn.

The official Disney synopsis is as follows:

Set after the fall of the Empire, Star Wars: Ahsoka follows the former Jedi Knight Ahsoka Tano as she investigates an emerging threat to a vulnerable galaxy.

Ahsoka stars Rosario Dawson, Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ray Stevenson, Ivanna Sakhno, Diana Lee Inosanto, David Tennant, Lars Mikkelsen and Eman Esfandi. The episodes are directed by Dave Filoni, Steph Green, Peter Ramsey, Jennifer Getzinger, Geeta Vasant Patel and Rick Famuyiwa. Dave Filoni is the head writer and executive produces along with Jon Favreau, Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson and Carrie Beck. Karen Gilchrist serves as co-executive producer.

In addition to the trailer, there’s also a short featurette that explores the path Rosario Dawson took to get to her role as Ahsoka Tano. What started as just a petition on the internet actually turned into a major Star Wars role.

The higher-ups must have taken notice of what the fans wanted and agreed that it was a good choice. From there, they brought her on board and gave her the role of a lifetime.

You can watch the trailer below:

You can watch the featurette here:

12 Surprising Character Cameos In Disney Movies You Might Have Missed

These iconic Disney characters showed up in other Disney movies — did you spot them?

[ad_2]

Cody Mcintosh

Source link

July 12, 2023
Summer movie season is in full swing. Here’s what’s coming through Labor Day

[ad_1]

The summer movie season goes into high-gear in July, with the arrival of the seventh “Mission: Impossible” movie followed by the “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” showdown on July 21.

Not that you have to choose one or the other — as Tom Cruise said on Twitter, “I love a double feature, and it doesn’t get more explosive (or more pink) than the one with Oppenheimer and Barbie.”

August also promises a new take on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and introduces a new DC superhero, Blue Beetle.

Moviegoers were only moderately interested in going to the theater to say goodbye to Harrison Ford’s archaeologist character in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”

Indiana Jones. Karen Allen always knew he’d come walking back through her door. Since 1981’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” Allen’s Marion Ravenwood has been only a sporadic presence in the subsequent sequels.

An international film festival in the Czech spa town of Karlovy Vary has kicked off its 57th edition with an award planned for Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe.

A London prosecutor says Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey is a “sexual bully” who assaults other men and doesn’t respect personal boundaries.

Here’s a month-by-month guide of this summer’s new movies. Keep scrolling for more info and review links for May and June’s releases.

July 7

” Insidious: The Red Door ” (Sony, theaters): Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne are back to scare everyone in the fifth edition.

“ Joy Ride ” (Lionsgate, theaters): Adele Lim directs this raucous comedy about a friends trip to China to find someone’s birth mother, starring Ashley Park, Stephanie Hsu, Sherry Cola and Sabrina Wu.

“ The Lesson ” (Bleecker Street, theaters): A young novelist helps an acclaimed author in this thriller with Richard E. Grant.

“ Biosphere ” (IFC, theaters and VOD): Mark Duplass and Sterling K. Brown are the last two men on Earth.

“ Earth Mama ” (A24, theaters): This acclaimed debut from Savannah Leaf focuses on a woman, single and pregnant with two kids in foster care, trying to reclaim her family in the Bay Area.

July 14

“ Mission: Impossible-Dead Reckoning Part I” (Paramount, theaters, on July 12): Tom Cruise? Death-defying stunts in Venice? The return of Kittridge? What more do you need?

“ Theater Camp ”(Searchlight, theaters): Musical theater nerds (and comedy fans) will delight in this loving satire of a childhood institution, with Ben Platt and Molly Gordon.

“ The Miracle Club ” (Sony Pictures Classics, theaters): Lifetime friends (Kathy Bates, Maggie Smith, Agnes O’Casey) in a small Dublin community in 1967 dream of a trip to Lourdes, a town in France where miracles are supposed to happen. Laura Linney co-stars.

“ 20 Days in Mariupol ” (in theaters in New York): AP’s Mstyslav Chernov directs this documentary, a joint project between The Associated Press and PBS “Frontline,” about the first weeks of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, in which Chernov, photographer Evgeniy Maloletka, and field producer Vasilisa Stepanenko, became the only international journalists operating in the city. Their coverage won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.

“ Afire ” (Janus Films, theaters): This drama from German director Christian Petzold is set at a vacation home by the Baltic Sea where tensions rise between a writer, a photographer and a mysterious guest (Paula Beer) as a wildfire looms.

“ They Cloned Tyrone ” (Netflix): John Boyega, Teyonah Parris and Jamie Foxx lead this mystery caper.

July 21

“ Oppenheimer ” (Universal, theaters): Christopher Nolan takes audiences into the mind of the “father of the atomic bomb,” J. Robert Oppenheimer ( Cillian Murphy ) as he and his peers build up to the trinity test at Los Alamos.

“ Barbie ” (Warner Bros., theaters): Margot Robbie plays the world’s most famous doll (as do many others) opposite Ryan Gosling’s Ken in Greta Gerwig’s comedic look at their perfect world.

“ Stephen Curry: Underrated ” (Apple TV+): Peter Nicks directs a documentary about the four-time NBA champion.

“ The Beanie Bubble ” (in select theaters; on Apple TV+ on July 28): Zach Galifianakis stars as the man behind Beanie Babies in this comedic drama, co-starring Elizabeth Banks, Sarah Snook and Geraldine Viswanathan.

July 28

“ Haunted Mansion ” (Disney, theaters): A Disney ride comes to life in with the help of Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish, Owen Wilson and Danny DeVito.

“ Talk to Me ” (A24, theaters): A group of friends conjure spirits in this horror starring Sophie Wilde and Joe Bird.

“ Happiness for Beginners ” (Netflix, on July 27): Ellie Kemper is a newly divorced woman looking to shake things up.

“ Sympathy for the Devil ” (RLJE Films): Joel Kinnaman is forced to drive a mysterious gunman (Nicolas Cage) in this thriller.

“ Kokomo City ” (Magnolia): A documentary following four Black transgender sex workers. One of the subjects, Koko Da Doll, was shot and killed in April.

August 4

“ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem ” (Paramount, theaters): This animated movie puts the teenage back in the equation with a very funny voice cast including Seth Rogen and John Cena as Bebop and Rocksteady.

“ Shortcomings ” (Sony Pictures Classics, theaters): Randall Park directs this adaptation of Adrian Tomine’s graphic novel about Asian American friends in the Bay Area starring Sherry Cola as Alice, Ally Maki as Miko and Justin H. Min as Ben.

“ Meg 2: The Trench ” (Warner Bros., theaters): Jason Statham is back fighting sharks.

“ Passages ” (Mubi): The relationship of a longtime couple (Franz Rogowski, Ben Whishaw) is thrown when one begins an affair with a woman (Adèle Exarchopoulos).

“ A Compassionate Spy ” (Magnolia): Steve James’ documentary about the youngest physicist on the Manhattan Project who fed information to the Soviets.

“Dreamin’ Wild” (Roadside Attractions): Casey Affleck stars in this film about musical duo Donnie and Joe Emerson.

“ Problemista ” (A24, theaters): Julio Torres plays an aspiring toy designer in this surreal comedy co-starring Tilda Swinton that he also wrote, directed and produced.

August 11

“ Gran Turismo ” (Sony, theaters): A gamer gets a chance to drive a professional course in this video game adaptation starring David Harbour and Orlando Bloom.

“ The Last Voyage of the Demeter ” (Universal, theaters): This supernatural horror film draws from a chapter of “Dracula.”

“ Heart of Stone ” (Netflix): Gal Gadot played an intelligence operative in this action thriller, with Jamie Dornan.

“The Eternal Memory” (MTV Documentary Films): This documentary explores a marriage and Alzheimer’s disease.

“The Pod Generation” (Vertical, theaters): Emilia Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor star in this sci-fi comedy about a new path to parenthood.

“Jules” (Bleecker Street, theaters): Ben Kingsley stars in this film about a UFO that crashes in his backyard in rural Pennsylvania.

August 18

“ Blue Beetle ” (Warner Bros., theaters): Xolo Maridueña plays the DC superhero Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle in this origin story.

“ Strays ” (Universal, theaters): Will Ferrell and Jamie Foxx voice dogs in this not-animated, R-rated comedy.

“birth/rebirth” (IFC, theaters): A woman and a morgue technician bring a little girl back to life in this horror.

“ White Bird ” (Lionsgate, theaters): Helen Mirren tells her grandson, expelled from school for bullying, a story about herself in Nazi-occupied France.

“Landscape with Invisible Hand” (MGM, theaters): Teens come up with a unique moneymaking scheme in a world taken over by aliens.

“The Hill” (Briarcliff Entertainment): This baseball drama starring Dennis Quaid is based on the true story of Rickey Hill.

August 25

“They Listen” (Sony, theaters): John Cho and Katherine Waterston lead this secretive Blumhouse horror.

“Golda” (Bleecker Street): Helen Mirren stars in this drama about Golda Meir, the Prime Minister of Israel during the Yom Kippur War.

“ Bottoms ” (MGM, theaters): Two unpopular teenage girls (Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri) start a fight club to impress the cheerleaders they want to lose their virginity to in this parody of the teen sex comedy.

“The Dive” (RLJE Films): In this suspense pic about two sisters out for a dive, one gets hurt and is trapped underwater.

“Scrapper” (Kino Lorber, theaters): A 12-year-old girl (Lola Campbell) is living alone in a London flat until her estranged father (Harris Dickinson) shows up.

“Fremont” (Music Box Films, theaters): A former army translator in Afghanistan (Anaita Wali Zada) relocates to Fremont, California and gets a job at a fortune cookie factory. “The Bear’s” Jeremy Allen White co-stars.

September 1

“ The Equalizer 3 ” (Sony, theaters): Denzel Washington is back as Robert McCall, who is supposed to be retired from the assassin business but things get complicated in Southern Italy.

ALREADY IN THEATERS AND STREAMING

“ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ” (Disney/Marvel): Nine years after the non-comic obsessed world was introduced to Peter Quill, Rocket, Groot and the rest of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the misfits are closing out the trilogy and saying goodbye to director James Gunn, who is now leading rival DC. ( AP’s review.)

“ What’s Love Got to Do with It? ” (Shout! Studios): Lily James plays a documentary filmmaker whose next project follows her neighbor (Shazad Latif) on his road to an arranged marriage in this charming romantic comedy.

“ Book Club: The Next Chapter ” (Focus Features): Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen travel to Italy to celebrate an engagement.

“ The Mother,” ( Netflix ): Jennifer Lopez is an assassin and a mother in this action pic timed to Mother’s Day. (AP’s review here.)

“ Love Again ” (Sony): Priyanka Chopra Jonas plays a woman mourning the death of her boyfriend who texts his old number not knowing it belongs to someone new (Sam Heughan). Celine Dion (and her music) co-star in this romantic drama.

“ STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie ” ( AppleTV+ ): Davis Guggenheim helps Michael J. Fox tell his story, from his rise in Hollywood to his Parkinson’s diagnosis and beyond.

“ Monica ” (IFC): A transgender woman, estranged from her family, goes home to visit her dying mother in this film starring Tracee Lysette and Patricia Clarkson.

“ The Starling Girl ” (Bleecker Street): Eliza Scanlen plays a 17-year-old girl living in a fundamentalist Christian community in Kentucky whose life changes with the arrival of Lewis Pullman’s charismatic youth pastor.

“ Fool’s Paradise ” (Roadside Attractions): Charlie Day writes, directs and plays dual roles in this comedic Hollywood satire.

“ Hypnotic ” (Ketchup Entertainment): Ben Affleck plays a detective whose daughter goes missing in this Robert Rodriguez movie.

“ It Ain’t Over ” (Sony Pictures Classics): A documentary about Lawrence Peter ‘Yogi’ Berra.

“Blackberry” (IFC): Jay Baruchel and Glenn Howerton star in this movie about the rise of the Blackberry. ( AP’s review.)

“ Fast X ” (Universal): In the tenth installment of the Fast franchise, Jason Momoa joins as the vengeful son of a slain drug lord intent to take out Vin Diesel’s Dom. ( AP’s review.)

“ White Men Can’t Jump ” (20th Century Studios, streaming on Hulu): Sinqua Walls and Jack Harlow co-star in this remake of the 1992 film, co-written by Kenya Barris and featuring the late Lance Reddick. ( AP’s review.)

“ Master Gardener ” (Magnolia): Joel Edgerton is a horticulturist in this Paul Schrader drama, co-starring Sigourney Weaver as a wealthy dowager. ( AP’s review.)

“ Sanctuary ” (Neon): A dark comedy about a dominatrix (Margaret Qualley) and her wealth client (Christopher Abbott).

“ The Little Mermaid ” (Disney): Halle Bailey plays Ariel in this technically ambitious live-action remake of a recent Disney classic directed by Rob Marshall (“Chicago”) and co-starring Melissa McCarthy as Ursula. ( AP’s review.)

“ You Hurt My Feelings ” (A24): Nicole Holofcener takes a nuanced and funny look at a white lie that unsettles the marriage between a New York City writer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and a therapist (Tobias Menzies). ( AP’s review.)

“ About My Father ” (Lionsgate): Stand-up comic Sebastian Maniscalco co-wrote this culture clash movie in which he takes his Italian-American father (Robert De Niro) on a vacation with his wife’s WASPy family. ( AP’s review.)

“ Victim/Suspect ” ( Netflix ): This documentary explores how law enforcement sometimes indicts victims of sexual assault instead of helping.

“ The Machine,” (Sony): Stand-up comedian Bert Kreischer brings Mark Hamill into the fray for this action-comedy.

“ Kandahar ” (Open Road Films): Gerard Butler plays an undercover CIA operative in hostile territory in Afghanistan.

“ Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ” (Sony): Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) is back, but with things not going so well in Brooklyn, he opts to visit the multiverse with his old pal Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld), where he encounters the Spider-Society. ( AP’s review.)

“ The Boogeyman ” (20th Century Studios): “It’s the thing that comes for your kids when you’re not paying attention,” David Dastmalchian explains to Chris Messina in this Stephen King adaptation.

“ Past Lives ” (A24): Already being hailed as one of the best of the year after its Sundance debut, Celine Song’s directorial debut is a decades and continent-spanning romance about two friends separated in childhood who meet 20 years later in New York. ( AP’s review.)

“ Transformers: Rise of the Beasts ” (Paramount): Steven Caple Jr directs the seventh Transformers movie, starring Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback. ( AP’s review.)

“Flamin’ Hot” ( Hulu, Disney+): Eva Longoria directs this story about Richard Montañez, a janitor at Frito-Lay who came up with the idea for Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. ( AP’s review.)

“ Blue Jean ” (Magnolia): It’s 1988 in England and hostilities are mounting towards the LGBTQ community in Georgia Oakley’s BAFTA-nominated directorial debut about a gym teacher (Rosy McEwan) and the arrival of a new student. ( AP’s review.)

“Daliland” (Magnolia): Mary Harron directs Ben Kingsley as Salvador Dalí.

“ The Flash ” (Warner Bros.): Batmans past Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton assemble for this standalone Flash movie directed by Andy Muschietti and starring Ezra Miller as the titular superhero. ( AP’s review.)

“ Elemental ” (Pixar): In Element City, residents include Air, Earth, Water and Fire in the new Pixar original, featuring the voices of Leah Lewis, Mamoudou Athie and Catherine O’Hara. ( AP’s review.)

“ Extraction 2 ” ( Netflix ): Chris Hemsworth’s mercenary Tyler Rake is back for another dangerous mission. ( AP’s review.)

“ Asteroid City ” (Focus Features): Wes Anderson assembles Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johansson, Jason Schwartzman and Jeffrey Wright for a stargazer convention in the mid-century American desert. ( AP’s review.)

“ The Blackening ” (Lionsgate): This scary movie satire sends a group of Black friends including Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg and X Mayo to a cabin in the woods.

“ No Hard Feelings ” (Sony): Jennifer Lawrence leads a raunchy comedy about a woman hired by a shy teen’s parents to help him get out of his shell before Princeton. ( AP’s review.)

“ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ” (Lucasfilm): Harrison Ford puts his iconic fedora back on for a fifth outing as Indy in this new adventure directed by James Mangold and co-starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge. ( AP’s review.)

“ Every Body ” (Focus Features): Oscar-nominated documentarian Julie Cohen turns her lens on three intersex individuals in her latest film. ( AP’s review.)

“ Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken ” (Universal): Lana Condor (“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”) lends her voice to this animated action-comedy about a shy teenager trying to survive high school as a part-Kraken. (AP’s review.)

[ad_2]

Source link

July 2, 2023