Ryan Gosling stars as Neil Armstrong in ‘First Man.’ (Photo Credit: Universal Pictures)
Oscar winner Damien Chazelle reunites with his La La Land star Ryan Gosling for the dramatic film First Man. The Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment production just unveiled its first official poster featuring Gosling as astronaut Neil Armstrong. The studio also confirmed the first trailer will be released online tonight after Gosling appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
Ryan Gosling’s co-stars include Claire Foy (the upcoming The Girl in the Spider’s Web, The Crown), Jason Clarke (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Kyle Chandler (Manchester by the Sea), Patrick Fugit (Full Circle), and Ciaran Hinds (The Terror, Game of Thrones). Ethan Embry (Grace and Frankie), Shea Whigham (Fargo, Boardwalk Empire), Corey Stoll (The Strain), and Pablo Schreiber (American Gods, Orange is the New Black) also star in the film which chronicles astronaut Neil Armstrong’s mission to the moon.
Award Award-winner Josh Singer (Spotlight) wrote the script, based on the book by James R. Hansen. Damien Chazelle, Ryan Gosling, Wyck Godfrey, and Marty Bowen produced the drama. Adam Merims and The Fault in Our Stars‘ Isaac Klausner served as executive producers.
Universal Pictures hasn’t announced the premiere date, however the studio did confirm they will be releasing First Man in IMAX as well as 2D theaters.
The Plot: On the heels of their six-time Academy Award-winning smash, La La Land, Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle and star Ryan Gosling reteam for Universal Pictures’ First Man, the riveting story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the years 1961-1969. A visceral, first-person account, based on the book by James R. Hansen, the movie will explore the sacrifices and the cost—on Armstrong and on the nation—of one of the most dangerous missions in history.
“Why do you need to do this?” asks Lou (Cate Blanchett). “Because it’s what I’m good at,” replies Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) who’s immersed in planning the biggest heist of her criminal career – one she’s sure her older brother Danny would be envious of – in the crime comedy caper, “Ocean’s 8.
After making early parole, Debbie Ocean sets out to pull off the biggest jewelry heist of her career. However, she’s going to need the help of her old partner Lou to gather together a crew of seven women with certain special talents to make the heist a possibility. The targeted event is New York City’s annual Gala at the Met, and the targeted object is a famous necklace worth $150 million.
First up, Debbie and Lou recruit an old friend and former associate, Rose Weil (Helena Bonham Carter). In order for their plan to work, Rose needs to get hired by famous actress Daphne Kluger (Anne Hathaway), who will be the unsuspecting helper in the heist as the person wearing the necklace they hope to steal.
Next up is diamond cutter Amita (Mindy Kaling) and a talented hacker nicknamed Nine Ball (Rihanna). Constance (Awkwafina), a street pick pocket and petty thief, and another of Debbie’s old friends, Tammy (Sarah Paulson), are recruited into the gang next. Tammy’s specialty is the ability to get hired to help put on the gala, which will enable her to provide inside information.
Once her team’s assembled and on board with the heist Debbie spent the last five years in lock-up planning, Ocean’s 8 sets out to pull off the intricate plan.
Ocean’s 8 is a female-driven light and breezy caper film that’s missing the charm, panache, subtle humor, and slickness that made the original remake Ocean’s 11 and Ocean’s 13 so entertaining. (The less said or written about Ocean’s 12, the better). The film has a strong ensemble cast but unfortunately there’s little in the script to allow most of these talented actors a chance to shine.
Leading lady Sandra Bullock seems miscast as the little sister to Danny Ocean who spent her time in prison plotting out her dream heist. Bullock’s known for playing strong, assertive women and has given superb performances in films such as The Blind Side, 28 Days, While You Were Sleeping, and Gravity to name just a few. Unfortunately, Bullock delivers an unremarkable, forgettable performance as Debbie Ocean who at times seems bored with her own big heist.
Cate Blanchett’s talents are completely wasted as Lou, Debbie’s right-hand woman who basically stands around looking like she just walked out of a biker bar. What a waste of a great actress!
The only member of the star-studded ensemble who does get a chance to have fun and who delivers a memorable and laugh-out-loud performance is Anne Hathaway as the self-absorbed, needy actress who’s the unsuspecting helper in the caper. Hathaway steals every scene she’s in and she’s able to lift the film from feeling dull and lifeless to energetic and fun. The scenes with Hathaway and Bonham Carter, playing her fashion consultant/member of the Ocean’s crew, are the absolute best in the film.
The stylish camera work and soundtrack of the film is so similar to the earlier Ocean’s films that it fails to add anything new or original. The heist itself is not that impressive and instead feels more like a paint-by-numbers caper than the thrill ride you’d expect from an entry in the Ocean’s franchise.
Another necessary element missing in Ocean’s 8 is a memorable, dangerous, and smart antagonist for the crew to go up against, such as the villain played by Andy Garcia in Ocean’s 11 or Al Pacino in Ocean’s 13. The former ex-con/ex-boyfriend of Debbie’s is an insignificant and uninteresting throw-away character, if there ever was one.
Ocean’s 8 is nothing more than a forgettable comedy heist film that commits the crime of wasting the talents of some of the best actresses in Hollywood.
GRADE: C-
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for language, drug use, and some suggestive content
Universal Picture has released the official trailer for the horror film, Halloween. Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Laurie Strode, only this time she’s a grandmother who admits to praying every night for Michael Myers to escape just so she can kill him. In the trailer, Curtis’ Laurie warns, “You don’t believe in the boogeyman. You should.”
The full two and a half minute trailer shows Michael Myers locked up when he’s approached by a man holding his the iconic mask. We then learn the bus carrying prisoners, including Michael, crashed and he’s escaped. Michael proceeds to rack up more kills as he tracks down Laurie on Halloween night.
In addition to Jamie Lee Curtis, the 2018 horror film stars Judy Greer, Andi Matichak, Will Patton, Virginia Gardner, and Nick Castle. Horrormeister John Carpenter, creator of the Halloween film franchise, serves as an executive producer and the film’s creative consultant.
The new addition to the Halloween film franchise was written by Jeff Fradley, Danny McBride, and David Gordon Green based on the characters created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. David Gordon Green directs and executive produces along with Jason Blum (Get Out, Paranormal Activity), Jamie Lee Curtis, Danny McBride, and Ryan Freimann. Malek Akkad and Bill Block serve as producers.
The 2018 film is a Trancas International Films (on board since the original Halloween movie), Blumhouse Productions, and Miramax production. Universal’s set to release Halloween in theaters on Friday, October 19, 2018.
The Plot: Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode, who comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago. Inspired by Carpenter’s classic, filmmakers David Gordon Green and Danny McBride crafted a story that carves a new path from the events in the landmark 1978 film.
Jamie Lee Curtis returns to her iconic role as Laurie Strode in ‘Halloween’ (Photo Credit: Andrew Eccles / Universal Pictures)
Screenwriter Drew Pearce’s feature film directorial debut, Hotel Artemis, is a bizarre action thriller/sci-fi medical drama elevated by an impressive performance by Jodie Foster. Two-time Oscar winner Foster delivers a quirky yet mesmerizing performance as the head of a secret members-only emergency clinic for criminals.
Foster plays Nurse, the agoraphobic leader of Hotel Artemis. Her world-weary appearance and shuffling gait corroborate the fact she’s spent decades inside the walls of Hotel Artemis. Nurse presides over the clinic disguised as a hotel with an iron thumb. No one is allowed inside the gated hotel floor if they’re not up-to-date on their membership fees. There’s a John Wick hotel vibe to the place reflected in the lengthy list of rules which include warnings to not abuse the staff or attack fellow patients.
For the sake of anonymity, the patients are referred to by the name of the room they’re assigned. As rioting breaks out and the city of Los Angeles burns, the criminals fortunate enough to secure rooms to heal their injuries include Waikiki (Sterling K. Brown), Honolulu (Brian Tyree Henry), Nice (Sofia Boutella), and Acapulco (Charlie Day).
Waikiki and Honolulu are brothers who were involved in a bank robbery in which they accidentally stole millions in diamonds from the Wolf King of Malibu (Jeff Goldblum). Acapulco’s an arms dealer with a facial injury, and Nice is a French assassin who only kills the biggest marks. Helping Nurse run the place is Everest (Dave Bautista), an orderly who takes an exorbitant amount of pride in his medical career and in enforcing Hotel Artemis’ rules. If he needs to physically reprimand rule breakers, he’s more than up to the task.
In an unfortunate turn of events, the Hotel Artemis’ owner – the Wolf King – is gravely wounded and needs a room. With the electricity failing, the situation on the streets becoming increasingly dangerous, and the arrival of the Wolf King, the patients being treated at the Hotel Artemis appear determined to break every single rule.
It’s not until the film concludes that the simplicity of the story becomes apparent. Most of the movie takes place within Hotel Artemis’ walls, except for occasional flashbacks to fill in Nurse’s backstory and brief excursions to the immediate exterior of the building. Yet strangely for a film set in the midst of a riot, there are only a few action sequences. Hotel Artemis is more about defining and developing this motley assortment of characters than slamming them into each other. Although, that said, there is one incredible action sequence that spotlights Sofia Boutella’s character. She’s fierce and brutal, daring the Wolf King’s many men to cross a line she’s literally drawn on the floor.
Charlie Day steps out of his usual goofball characters to play a hostile creep who assumes he’s better than his fellow patients. This Is Us’ Sterling K. Brown makes Waikiki into a compelling antihero and one of the characters you’ll root for to survive the night.
Hotel Artemis is an entertaining alternative to the standard summer popcorn fare. The cast is terrific, the film’s pacing is swift, and writer/director Drew Pearce and his team have created visually impressive environments both on the streets of 2028 Los Angeles and inside the walls of the titular hotel.
GRADE: B-
MPAA Rating: R for violence and language throughout, some sexual references, and brief drug use
Running Time: 97 minutes
Release Date: June 8, 2018
Sterling K. Brown and Jodie Foster in ‘Hotel Artemis’ (Photo credit: Matt Kennedy / Global Road Entertainment)
The romantic comedy The Last Summer has found a home at Netflix. Netflix just announced they have picked up the worldwide rights to Gulfstream Pictures Production’s romantic comedy and they are targeting a 2019 premiere.
The cast of The Last Summer includes K.J. Apa (Riverdale), Maia Mitchell (The Fosters, Hot Summer Nights), Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf), Jacob Latimore (The CHI, Collateral Beauty), Halston Sage (Paper Towns, Before I Fall), Sosie Bacon (13 Reasons Why), Gage Golightly (Red Oaks, Ten Days in the Valley), Wolfgang Novogratz (Grown-ish), Jacob McCarthy (A.P. Bio), Mario Revolori (Sierra Burgess is a Loser), and Gabrielle Anwar (Burn Notice).
Filming is currently underway on the film in Cleveland, Ohio. Bill Bindley is directing from a script he co-wrote with Scott Bindley. Bill and Scott Bindley previously worked together on 2001’s Madison starring Jim Caviezel, Jake Lloyd, and Mary McCormack.
Mike Karz (Blended, Valentine’s Day), and Wayne Rice (Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve) are on board as producers. Writer/director Bill Bindley (The Nut Job) is also a producer on The Last Summer.
“We have had a wonderful experience working together on Green Eggs and Ham series and are thrilled to expand that relationship with our first Netflix feature film The Last Summer,” stated producer Mike Karz, commenting on the film’s acquisition by Netflix.
“I grew up on movies like Fast Times and Say Anything, and those films became iconic in large part because of their great casts,” explained Bill Bindley. “We’re really lucky to have this incredible group of young actors sign on with us.”
The Last Summer Plot: In the months before college, a group of teens navigate relationships with family and friends over a Chicago summer before moving on to adulthood.
Donald Glover as Earnest Marks in ‘Atlanta’ (Photo by Matthias Clamer/FX)
In a totally unsurprising move, FX has renewed the critically acclaimed series, Atlanta. The network confirmed the series has received a third season order and announced it plans to air season three in 2019.
Atlanta was created by series star Donald Glover who also serves as an executive producer. Paul Simms, Dianne McGunigle, Stephen Glover, and Hiro Murai also executive produced the award-winning series.
“Atlanta is phenomenal, achieving and exceeding what few television series have done,” said Nick Grad, president of original programming for FX Networks and FX Productions. “With Atlanta Robbin’ Season, Donald and his collaborators elevated the series to even greater heights, building on the enormous success of their award-winning first season. We’re grateful to the producers and our extraordinary cast and crew for achieving this level of excellence, and we share the excitement with our audience about the third season knowing they will continue to take us to unexpected and thrilling places.”
The series’ second season debuted on March 1, 2018 and aired on Thursdays at 10pm ET/PT. According to FX, Atlanta Robbin’ Season (season two) earned the highest ratings of an recent basic cable comedy. Season one collected two Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe awards, as well as AFI, Peabody, PGA, WGA, TCA, NAACP and Critics’ Choice Awards.
The Season Two Plot: In the recently concluded Atlanta Robbin’ Season, two cousins work through the Atlanta music scene in order to better their lives and the lives of their families. “Earn Marks” (Donald Glover) is a young manager trying to get his cousin’s career off the ground. “Alfred Miles” (Brian Tyree Henry) is a new hot rapper trying to understand the line between real life and street life. “Darius” (Lakeith Lee Stanfield) is Alfred’s right-hand man and visionary. “Van” (Zazie Beetz) is Earn’s best friend and the mother of Earn’s daughter.
20th Century Fox has released the official poster, photos, and the first full trailer for Bad Times at the El Royale, a new thriller from writer/director Drew Goddard (director 2012’s The Cabin in the Woods, writer of The Martian). The 2018 feature film reunites Goddard with one of his The Cabin in the Woods stars, Chris Hemsworth. Hemsworth didn’t survive long in Cabin in the Woods, but hopefully Goddard won’t be killing him off early in their latest collaboration.
Hemsworth, most recently seen reprising his role as Thor in Avengers: Infinity War, makes his entrance in the two-minute trailer doing a shimmy with an unbuttoned shirt. We’re also treated to clips of Hemsworth shirtless in the rain.
The cast also includes Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water), Cynthia Erivo (Mr Selfridge), Dakota Johnson (the Fifty Shades film franchise), Jon Hamm (Baby Driver), Cailee Spaeny (Pacific Rim: Uprising), Lewis Pullman (The Strangers: Prey at Night), and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation). In addition to writing and directing, Drew Goddard produced Bad Times at El Royale with Jeremy Latcham.
20th Century Fox will release Bad Times at the El Royale in theaters on October 5, 2018.
The Plot: Seven strangers, each with a secret to bury, meet at Lake Tahoe’s El Royale, a rundown hotel with a dark past. Over the course of one fateful night, everyone will have a last shot at redemption… before everything goes to hell.
Cailee Spaeny and Chris Hemsworth star in Twentieth Century Fox’s ‘Bad Times at the El Royale’ (Photo Credit: John P. Johnson)Dakota Johnson stars in Twentieth Century Fox’s ‘Bad Times at the El Royale’ (Photo Credit: Kimberley French)Chris Hemsworth stars in Twentieth Century Fox’s ‘Bad Times at the El Royale’ (Photo Credit: Kimberley French)Poster for ‘Bad Times at the El Royale’ (Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox)
The CW’s The Originals season five episode seven found Hayley’s friends honoring her life and mourning her death. It also found Klaus learning the agonizing news that any reunion of the Mikaelsons will ultimately lead to the death of all firstborns.
Episode seven also featured the return of Elijah and Antoinette to New Orleans, and an enraged Klaus reacted to their return by biting Antoinette. He then deposited Elijah and Antoinette in a cell where Elijah would be forced to watch the poison work its way through Antoinette’s system until it killed her. Elijah agreed to getting his memories back in order to save Antoinette, striking a deal with Vincent and Marcel – a deal Klaus was dead set against. However, Elijah resisted opening the door in his mind and something went terribly wrong with the spell. By the end of the emotional episode (Klaus said his own private goodbye to his “little wolf”), the feuding brothers were locked in a compound with no way to escape. And, Elijah’s memories still hadn’t returned.
Up next, season five episode eight titled “The Kindness of Strangers” airing June 13, 2018. Kellie Cyrus directed from a script by Beau DeMayo and Carina Adly MacKenzie.
The fifth and final season of The Originals stars Joseph Morgan as Klaus, Daniel Gillies as Elijah, Yusuf Gatewood as Vincent, Steven Krueger as Josh, Charles Michael Davis as Marcel, Riley Voelkel as Freya, Phoebe Tonkin as Hayley, Danielle Rose Russell as Hope, Nathaniel Buzolic as Kol, Candice King as Caroline, and Claire Holt as Rebekah.
“The Kindness of Strangers” Plot: CHAMBRE DE CHASSE — As pressing matters rage on in New Orleans, the Mikaelson siblings find themselves forced to set aside their differences and work together to escape a “chambre de chasse.”
The Season 5 Plot: The final season of The Originals begins seven years after the core members of the Mikaelson family – Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah and Kol — each absorb a quarter of the Hollow’s dark energy and flee New Orleans in order to keep both their beloved city and young Hope (guest star Summer Fontana) safe. In the interim, Vincent and Josh preside over a Big Easy almost devoid of conflict, while Hayley and Freya watch Hope grow into a teenager, eventually opting to send her to the Salvatore School so that Caroline can keep an eye on her.
With Marcel following Rebekah out of town and Elijah stripped of his memory, the danger seems to be contained… until a sudden tragedy forces the siblings to return home. As the Mikaelsons return to New Orleans, bringing the pieces of a centuries old evil with them, it becomes clear that the closing chapter of this family saga will be as bloody and emotional as ever.
Netflix will premiere the newly expanded critically acclaimed documentary series The Staircase on June 8, 2018. The Staircase is the grandfather of all true crime docuseries, originally airing as an eight-episode series in 2004. Two additional episodes were added in 2013, and now an additional three episodes have been added to The Staircase for its 2018 airing on Netflix.
In 1985, novelist Michael Peterson’s neighbor Elizabeth Ratliff fell down a flight of stairs in her home in Germany and passed away. Her death was ruled an accident, and Peterson subsequently adopted her two daughters, Margaret and Martha, and raised them as his own. On December 9, 2001, Michael’s second wife, Kathleen, met a similar fate. Kathleen stumbled down a flight of stairs in the Petersons’ North Carolina home and died surrounded by a large pool of blood and more questions than answers.
Michael, who was home at the time of Kathleen’s death and made what sounds like a frantic call to 9-1-1 for help, was immediately a suspect. The autopsy report lists seven large lacerations on Kathleen’s scalp that were suspicious and didn’t fit the scenario of a short fall down indoor stairs. The amount and locations of the blood splatter was also at odds with a fall.
Charged with murder, Peterson denied having anything to do with his wife’s death. His children stood by him as the prosecution built their case which posited the blood splatters reached too high and too far to have been made in a stumble down a flight of stars. The prosecutors suggested Michael had struck his wife with a blow poke – a long, slender pipe that the couple had received as a gift many years before.
As Michael Peterson and his highly respected defense attorney David Rudolf prepared for trial, they agreed to allow filmmaker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade and his team to film the process. The documentary crew was given an incredible amount of access to everyone involved. They followed Peterson throughout the trial and obtained hundreds of hours of footage including interviews with Michael, his legal team, and the Peterson family. The result of their lengthy undertaking is a documentary series that broke new ground when it originally aired and continues to be the source of fierce debate all these years after Kathleen Peterson’s murder.
The original eight episodes covered the trial, with two episodes added in 2013 during the appeals process. Peterson had already served eight years of his life sentence in 2013 when it was determined one of the key witnesses against him, forensic investigator Duane Deaver, falsified evidence in other criminal cases. Episodes 9 and 10 cover that period of time and show the emotional impact his eight-year absence had on his children as well as the physical toll those years in prison took on the novelist.
Peterson was ultimately released from prison in December 2011 and episodes 11, 12, and 13 pick up Peterson’s story as he and his defense team attempt to figure out their best option. Should he undertake another trial or plead guilty and get off with time served? The never before aired new episodes series examine the thought process behind Michael’s ultimate answer to that question.
Questions continue to linger about his guilt or innocence at the conclusion of the 13 hour-long episodes. His initial trial revealed the many skeletons that reside in Michael’s closet, including the fact he was engaged in relationships with men. He says Kathleen was aware of this facet of his life, but no one can back up his claim Kathleen knew he was bisexual. The death of his neighbor years earlier under similar circumstances was also introduced in his trial, with the prosecutors taking the extraordinary step of having her body exhumed and examined. After an initial ruling of accidental death, Elizabeth Ratliff’s cause of death was changed to homicide. Prosecutors were able to introduce details on Ratliff’s death into the trial, revealing that in addition to be being a neighbor and close friend, Michael Peterson was the last person to see Elizabeth alive.
Michael Peterson and David Rudolf in court in a scene from ‘The Staircase.’ (Photo Courtesy of Netflix)
Is Michael Peterson innocent of the murder of Kathleen Peterson? Is there a logical explanation for the similarity between the deaths of two women he was close to? What caused the multiple lacerations in the scalps of both Elizabeth and Kathleen? The case is now closed, but doubts remain as to what really happened to Kathleen Peterson.
The Staircase examines every aspect of the case from Michael Peterson’s point of view, and he never shies away from playing to the camera. There’s very little coverage of Kathleen the person rather than Kathleen the possible murder victim in the documentary series; she’s almost relegated to being a footnote in Michael’s story. The Staircase is all about Michael’s thoughts and feelings, tipping the scales toward Michael over his deceased wife throughout.
The Staircase is one of the few documentaries that allows the audience to see all the facets of the criminal defense process, guiding the audience through Michael Peterson’s arrest, his jury trial, and into the appeals process and beyond. It’s a fascinating series that well deserves to be held up as the gold standard among true crime documentary series.
The first official trailer for The Girl in the Spider’s Web teases that the past never forgets. The trailer also shows the first footage of Claire Foy taking over the lead role of Lisbeth Salander. The sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo replaced Rooney Mara (who replaced the original Swedish film’s Noomi Rapace) with Foy, an Emmy Award-nominee for her starring role as Queen Elizabeth in The Crown.
David Fincher directed the 2011 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo while the sequel has Fede Alvarez at the helm. Alvarez’s credits include 2013’s Evil Dead remake and the 2016 horror film, Don’t Breathe. The book was written by David Lagercrantz, and Alvarez adapted the screenplay with Steven Knight and Jay Basu.
In addition to Claire Foy, the cast of the 2018 crime thriller includes Sverrir Gudnason, Lakeith Stanfield, Sylvia Hoeks, Stephen Merchant, Claes Bang, Christopher Convery, Synnøve Macody Lund, and Vicky Krieps.
Scott Rudin, Ole Søndberg, Søren Stærmose, Berna Levin, Amy Pascal, Elizabeth Cantillon, and Eli Bush produced the thriller. Robert J. Dohrmann, Line Winther Skyum Funch, Johannes Jensen, Anni Faurbye Fernandez, and David Fincher served as executive producers.
The Girl in the Spider’s Web, adapted from the fourth book of the Millennium series, opens in theaters on November 9, 2018.
The Book’s Plot: A genius hacker who has always been an outsider. A journalist with a penchant for danger. She is Lisbeth Salander, the girl with the dragon tattoo. He is Mikael Blomkvist, crusading editor of Millennium. One night, Blomkvist receives a call from a source who claims to have been given information vital to the United States by a young female hacker.
Blomkvist, always on the lookout for a story, reaches out to Salander for help. She, as usual, has plans of her own. Together they are drawn into a ruthless underworld of spies, cybercriminals, and government operatives—some willing to kill to protect their secrets.
