Cars 3 snagged an ‘A’ score from ticket buyers, according to CinemaScore, but good reviews from audiences and critics weren’t enough to help the third film of the franchise match either Cars‘ $60 million or Cars 2‘s $66 million opening weekends. Its $53 million domestic opening was enough to push Wonder Woman into second, although Warner Bros Pictures has no reason to be disappointed in that superhero film’s performance. Wonder Woman only dropped 30% over its third weekend in release and has now rung up an impressive $275 million domestically.
Up next, Transformers: The Last Night will be hitting theaters on Wednesday and the critically acclaimed drama, The Beguiled, arrives on Friday, June 23, 2017.
Kristin Chenoweth (Easter), Ricky Whittle (Shadow Moon), and Ian McShane (Mr Wednesday) in ‘American Gods’ (Photo Credit: Starz)
Arachnophobes may want to fast forward through the first couple of minutes of Starz’ American Gods season one episode eight. The season finale kicks off with spiders walking around material as Mr. Nancy (Orlando Jones) sews a jacket. He stops what he’s doing and proposes a story. Mr. Wednesday (Ian McShane) doesn’t think there’s time for a story, but Mr. Nancy insists. A spotlight shines down and organ music plays as Mr. Nancy talks about a powerful queen who had “the gift.”
The scene changes to the Temple of Bar’an where naked men and women are writhing in ecstasy as they worship their queen, Bilquis (Yetide Badaki). No king was able to unseat her from her throne as she absorbed each king as well as her worshippers into herself. Through the millennia Bilquis continued to consume her sexual conquests, yet the kings continued to come after her. She made her home in Tehran for a while until men took up guns and knives, stealing her power and forcing the queen to take a backseat. Still, she remained in the game and absorbed men and women as necessary.
Ultimately, Bilquis made her way to Hollywood where a downturn in fortune led her to forget she was a queen. Homeless, she roamed through the streets until she spotted the Marib Ethiopian Restaurant. With tears in her eyes, she watched through the window as the news reported the destruction of her ancient monuments in Yemen by ISIS forces.
Bilquis was sleeping on the streets when Technical Boy (Bruce Langley) arrived with an offer. He handed her a phone and showed her how easy meeting people is online. She swiped through the photos until she saw a gorgeous photo of herself. She looked up at Technical Boy with hope in her eyes and he asked, “Want to play?”
Mr. Nancy continues his narration, asking Shadow Moon (Ricky Whittle) if he understands the story’s moral. Shadow thinks it’s either not to compromise or not to make deals with “treacherous mother*ckers.” Neither answer is correct, and Mr. Nancy reveals Mr. Wednesday and Shadow need to get themselves a queen.
However, Shadow’s still not over the fact Mr. Wednesday cut off Vulcan’s head. He’s pissed off and has no idea what Mr. Wednesday’s name is or why they’re sitting around waiting for Mr. Nancy to sew them new coats. Mr. Wednesday suggests Shadow’s not angry yet, but will need to be very soon. “Angry gets sh*t done,” says Mr. Nancy, tossing Shadow a new jacket.
Back on the road, Shadow experiences a new vision of the Bone Orchard and the White Buffalo and then is jarred awake while Mr. Wednesday drives. They’ve just arrived in Kentucky on the way to Wisconsin and as they drive down the road, their car is chased by bunnies. Mr. Wednesday warns Shadow the woman they’re about to meet is something else and that they might not be greeted warmly at first.
The bunnies are now in front of the car and Mr. Wednesday plows through them without slowing down.
They make their way up to a gorgeous house that is lushly landscaped with colorful flowers. Inside, a party is going on and the buffet table is overflowing. It’s Easter Sunday and the pastries look delicious, and Mr. Wednesday explains that when we celebrate the holiday we are doing it in the name of Ostara, also known as Easter, Goddess of the Dawn.
Ricky looks immediately smitten when he lays eyes on Ostara (Kristin Chenoweth) and as he listens to her speak, up walks Jesus Christ who calls Shadow by name, says hi, and walks away. Shadow’s confused that Easter is a God, but then he looks around and sees gods everywhere. “F*ck me,” he says, incredulously. He spots multiple Jesus Christs as Mr. Wednesday explains different religions see different faces. Shadow wonders who Mr. Wednesday actually is, but Mr. Wednesday tells him he wouldn’t believe him if he revealed his true identity.
Ostara’s shocked to see Mr. Wednesday in her home and after a friendly greeting, Ostara is introduced to a blushing Shadow Moon. She likes what she sees.
Ostara takes Shadow’s arm as they walk the grounds, with Mr. Wednesday confessing he’s there to enlist her help, but she wants nothing to do with what he has planned. Ostara can’t take her eyes off Shadow, calling him the sweetest thing she’s ever seen. But then she asks Mr. Wednesday if Shadow’s the one who has everyone worked up. Mr. Wednesday says yes, and then up walks multiple Jesus Christs as Mr. Wednesday reminds her she’s been forgotten on her special day and wonders if anyone prays in her name anymore. “It’s the same every spring. You do all the work, he gets all the prayers,” says Mr. Wednesday, indicating Jesus Christ gets all the attention on Easter. Jesus of Nazareth is upset, not meaning to usurp her special day, and Ostara drags Mr. Wednesday and Shadow back inside the house to yell at them.
Ostara is angry and even cusses, which is unusual on her special day. She can’t believe Mr. Wednesday disrespected the gods – the multiple Jesus Christs – and he reminds her they’re sons of God, not God. Mr. Wednesday wants her to admit people do not worship her and she agrees, saying she’s not a fool.
Mr. Wednesday shows her the blade Vulcan forged in his honor and tells her the New Gods killed Vulcan for pledging his allegiance to him, not them. He reiterates that he needs her on his side and that people will worship her. Mr. Wednesday is nearly desperate to get Ostara on his side and he sends Shadow out of the room, saying he needs a word alone with Ostara.
Gillian Anderson as Media in ‘American Gods’ episode 8 (Photo Credit: Starz)
The scene shifts to Bilquis inside a museum where Technical Boy catches up to her, accusing her of deliberately avoiding him. She claims to have been busy, and he’s pleased she’s done so well. She floats toward him and says, “I can take care of you.” He’s not taken in by her offer, and now he’s calling in his marker.
Laura Moon (Emily Browning) wakes Mad Sweeney (Pablo Schreiber) from a sound sleep to let him know they’ve arrived at Ostara’s house. She’s tracked Shadow there by following the golden glow he puts off, and then she sees all the Jesus Christs which only distracts her for a moment.
Shadow watches as one Jesus (Jeremy Davies) floats on water in an indoor swimming pool. Shadow wants to know if he’s always believed, and Jesus says he doesn’t know how not to believe. Shadow wonders if this is all a vivid dream and Jesus assures him no matter what he cannot travel any other road than what his senses showed him.
Mr. Wednesday suggests they starve humans into submission, reminding them all it was Ostara who gave them the harvest. If she starves them, they’ll pray to her once again. Suddenly, a bunny whispers in Ostara’s ear and she excuses herself from the conversation.
Meanwhile, Laura’s body is deteriorating and Ostara finds Mad Sweeney and demands he take the dead girl away. Laura introduces herself and Mad Sweeney says neither he nor Laura want Laura to be dead. Ostara examines Laura’s autopsy stitches while Mad Sweeney asks Ostara to help them as a favor. He reminds her she owns him a favor.
Ostara asks how Laura feels and she explains she feels her body and is thirsty and cold all the time. Ostara can resurrect people but normally wouldn’t. Laura says she has a lot to live for and doesn’t want to be dead anymore, and then asks how it works. Ostara needs to find out why Laura is dead and after looking deeply into her eyes, she explains that people have always been curious about death. As the last image on Laura’s retinas unveils itself, it’s Mad Sweeney and not Shadow who is burned into Laura’s mind. That startles Ostara and she quickly looks at Mad Sweeney who turns his head away.
Laura wants to be alive again, but unfortunately Ostara says she can’t bring her back. She reveals Laura was killed by a god, looking directly at Mad Sweeney, and that that can’t be undone. A bunny appears and whispers to Ostara who excuses herself and leaves Mad Sweeney and Laura alone. After she leaves, Laura immediately asks Mad Sweeney which god killed her.
Ostara greets the just-arrived Media (Gillian Anderson) and they talk about the date they were supposed to have and their plans to celebrate Easter together.
Laura holds Mad Sweeney by his balls up against a wall. He finally admits he’s the one who ran them off the road. She doesn’t think he’s a god so she squeezes harder until he reveals it was Mr. Wednesday. Her death was a sacrifice so that he could have Shadow. Mad Sweeney says Shadow is no one, and then he admits it was also Wednesday who messed up her plan to rob the casino. Mad Sweeney says it was all done just to f*ck with her and she shouldn’t take it personally. They needed Shadow to be in a place where he had nothing left in the world. Laura then asks, “What does Wednesday have to lose?”
Mr. Wednesday sees Media and knows the New Gods are here.
Ostara lies and says Mr. Wednesday was there trying to enlist her but she dismissed him before hearing all the details. As they speak, Media’s minions multiply. She tells Ostara that what they’re offering is to make Old Gods new again. Ostara says she felt misrepresented in the media, and Media explains St. Nick took the same deal. Media puts her down, saying Ostara’s only relevant because Easter is a Christian holiday and suggests she needs to adapt or survive. Media reminds her she should be happy that anyone pays attention to anything without a screen anymore. “What happens if they all decide that God doesn’t exist?” asks Media.
Mr. Wednesday and Shadow join them, and an argument ensues. The face-off finds Mr. Wednesday arguing that God does exist. Media and Technical Boy declare they’re in control because they control the flow of information, while Mr. Wednesday thinks they just provide innovative distractions. Technical Boy warns Mr. Wednesday he can’t fight progress; times have changed and they’re no longer relevant. Mr. World (Crispin Glover) shows up and says the only way the Old Gods matter is if there’s a war, and there’s not going to be a war. He believes the Old Gods fight with outdated, inactive tools, but Mr. Wednesday says he doesn’t need to fight. He has faith and with that, he dedicates the death of the New Gods’ minions to Ostara.
Shadow asks again for Mr. Wednesday’s real name and this time he reveals the truth. Mr. Wednesday puts on an impressive display and then declares he’s Odin. He then asks Ostara of the Dawn to show what she’s capable of. She obliges, and all the life is sucked out of the trees, flowers, and anything else growing in the earth. The landscape goes from vibrant and colorful to grey and empty.
Mr. World threatens Odin that since he wanted a war, he now has a war – and it will be the one he dies in. “Tell the believers and the non-believers, tell them we’ve taken the spring. They can have it back when they pray for it,” says Mr. Wednesday. He asks Shadow again if he believes and Shadow says he does. He believes in everything.
Just then Laura clears her throat and Shadow and Odin turn to find she and Mad Sweeney standing on a balcony. She says, “I’d like to have a word with my husband.”
The final scene of the season shows Bilquis on board a bus that just passed the Wisconsin state line. She and the man who’s seated next to her head to the bathroom as she smiles. Outside, they pass a sign which reads “House on the Rock.”
Gravitas Ventures has unveiled a new trailer and poster for the comedy film Brave New Jersey about a small New Jersey town that fell for the War of the Worlds hoax. Jody Lambert (People Like Us) co-wrote the script with Michael Dowling (Law & Order) and directed the alien invasion comedy starring Tony Hale (Veep), Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect), Sam Jaeger (Parenthood), Heather Burns (Manchester by the Sea), Dan Bakkedahl (Life in Pieces), Raymond J. Barry (Gotham), Erika Alexander (Last Man Standing), and Mel Rodriguez (The Last Man on Earth).
Brave New Jersey is set to open in theaters on August 4, 2017.
The Plot: It was the original Fake News story. In a small New Jersey town on the night of Orson Welles’s legendary 1938 “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast, the hoax that terrified millions into believing Martians were invading America, citizens face what they think is their last night on Earth. The over-worked town’s mayor Clark (Hale) will take a chance on love. The neglected housewife, Lorraine (Burns) will break free from her big-cheese husband (Jaeger). The demure schoolteacher Peg (Camp) will become a warrior. The aimless reverend (Bakkedahl) will rediscover his faith. The scared Sheriff (Rodriguez) will find his courage. And the reclusive war veteran (Barry) will become a hero as he convinces the town to fight the aliens. All these characters join forces for a final “battle” that leads to a surprising and hilarious outcome. An alien invasion comedy where the aliens never show up.
“This is my last chance, Cruz, LAST! If I lose I never get to do this again,” says Lightning McQueen (voiced by Owen Wilson) to his new young trainer, Cruz Ramirez (voiced by Cristela Alonzo), as he struggles to get ready for what could be his final race in the third installment of Pixar’s animated film franchise, Cars 3.
As the film begins, Lightning McQueen is enjoying racing against his old competitors and adding more wins to his list of accomplishments. As the racing season continues, however, McQueen finds himself blindsided by a new generation of extremely fast racers, in particular a rookie named Jackson Storm (voiced by Armie Hammer) who leaves Lightning eating his dust as he beats him time and again.
McQueen sees his old competitors and friends retiring or being forced out of racing to make way for the new speedsters and becomes determined to prove he’s still the fastest car on the track on the last race of the season. Unfortunately, McQueen ends up in a very bad accident near the end of the race, finishing the season with a new career low.
Four months later, McQueen’s friends in Radiator Springs – including Sally (voiced by Bonnie Hunt) and Mader (voiced by Larry the Cable Guy – encourage a depressed Lightning to start training again to get ready for the next big race. Realizing he will need to learn some new tricks and moves on the track, Lightning teams up with a new sponsor and a new trainer named Cruz. Lightning also heads out to seek the help of those who knew his old coach and racing legend Hudson Hornet to get ready to take on Jackson Storm and prove that his racing days are not yet behind him.
Charming, sweet, and visually dazzling, Cars 3 brings back to the animated series the heart, fun, and humor of the original film. The strong script wisely focuses on Lightning McQueen, his relationship with his friends, his lost dreams, the memory of his mentor and coach Hudson Hornet, and striving to end things on his own terms while creating a new beginning.
The voice cast is great, with most of the talent from the original film returning to bring these lovable characters to life once again. Chris Cooper, who voices Smokey, Hornet’s best friend back in the day, is a welcome addition to the film. Cooper’s Smokey fills the void still felt by the absence of the iconic Paul Newman and Hudson Hornet. Sadly, the addition of McQueen’s well-meaning but at times annoying new trainer, Cruz, comes up short on introducing a likeable or interesting character for the audience to care about or root for.
Cars 3 looks fantastic, with beautiful animation, bright colors, and some wonderful visual effects. It’s perhaps the most visually dynamic film of the series. The musical score is also a highlight of the film, adding tension and suspense, effectively evoking an emotional response from the audience.
With a solid script that has plenty of heart, lovable characters, and fantastic animation, Cars 3 is a first-rate animated adventure for kids 7-70. Don’t miss it.
Adam Pally as Ben, Fred Armisen as Dave, and Zoe Lister-Jones as Ann in ‘Band Aid’ (Photo Courtesy of IFC Films)
Zoe Lister-Jones wrote, stars in, and makes her directorial debut with Band Aid, a quirky, touching, and nuanced romantic dramedy. The chemistry, performances, and realistic situations in Band Aid elevate this indie film beyond the expected into something surprisingly engaging and refreshingly real.
The premise is relatively simple: a married couple deal with problems in their relationship by writing songs describing their marital issues. The film revolves around Anna (Lister-Jones of Life in Pieces) and Ben (Adam Pally of Happy Endings) as they move forward after a devastating event rocks their marriage. Attempting to hold it together, the couple stumble upon the idea of creating a band and writing songs as a form of therapy.
Their quarrels provide fodder for catchy but cutting tunes, and with the help of their neighbor, Weird Dave (Fred Armisen), they hit the stage at open mic nights. The unconventional therapy works to a point, and the marriage occasionally hits a harmonious beat off-stage as well as on. However, until they’re able to address the life-changing event at the center of their dysfunctional relationship, the music is nothing more than a temporary distraction.
Lister-Jones establishes herself as a filmmaker to watch with her rookie feature film. Wearing multiple hats, Lister-Jones wrote believable, flawed characters and then gathered a talented ensemble to create this alternately hilarious and heartbreaking relationship tale.
Pally and Lister-Jones truly sell the idea this couple is genuinely in love and seeking to reconnect to what initially drew them together. Once they take up instruments and hit the stage, Band Aid really slips into a groove. Still, there are a few rough moments when Band Aid briefly loses its way in the third act with an abrupt change in tone. However, even with its rough spots Lister-Jones’ Band Aid is a must-see comedy that signals the arrival of a talented filmmaker with a keen eye and the ability to create relatable, authentic characters.
GRADE: B+
Release Date: June 16, 2017
Running Time: 94 minutes
Cast: Zoe Lister-Jones, Adam Pally, Fred Armisen, Hannah Simone, Brooklyn Decker, Angelique Cabral, Susie Essman, Retta, Ravi Patel, Majandra Delfino, Colin Hanks, Daryl Wein, Chris D’Elia, Jamie Chung, Erinn Hayes, Gillian Zinser, and Jesse Williams
Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular (Photo by NBCUniversal)
Hailee Steinfeld, Brad Paisley, and Lady Antebellum are confirmed to perform on NBC’s Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular, and American Ninja Warrior‘s Akbar Gbajabiamila, Matt Iseman, and Kristine Leahy are set to host this year’s holiday special. The 2017 July 4th special will include the largest fireworks display in 10 years backed by the West Point Band and Glee Club along with featured vocalists Heather Headley, Craig Campbell, and Jamie Barton & the USO Troupe of Metropolitan New York.
“Our lineup of amazing musical acts and personalities will be the perfect lead-in to the incredible fireworks display the nation waits for all year,” stated Doug Vaughan, Executive Vice President, Specials & Late Night Programming, NBC Entertainment. “NBC is proud to partner with Macy’s and these talented artists to create the ultimate destination to celebrate Independence Day.”
The two-hour broadcast will air at 8pm ET/PT, with an encore presentation at 10pm ET/PT.
Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular will feature a firework display over the East River. Per NBC, “The incredible pyrotechnic spectacle, igniting the skyline with more than 60,000 shells launched from five barges positioned in midtown, will be the country’s largest display in over a decade and promises to be a must-see show from coast-to-coast.”
Last year’s fireworks show was watched by more than 6.9 million viewers, up 2 million over 2015’s broadcast.
History’s set a July 11, 2017 premiere date for American Ripper, an eight-part limited series executive produced by Matthew Ostrom, Laura Palumbo Johnson, Jason Fox, Kristen Burns and Sean Boyle. American Ripper explores the possibility that America’s first serial killer was also Britain’s Jack the Ripper. Jeff Mudgett, serial killer H.H. Holmes’ great-great-grandson, leads the investigation into ties between Holmes and Jack the Ripper. Holmes claimed to have murdered 200 people in the late 19th century at the same time Jack the Ripper was butchering five women in London, and the new series delves into the brutal murders from a fresh prospective.
American Ripper will air on Tuesdays at 10pm ET/PT.
The Plot: Herman Mudgett, alias H.H. Holmes, was America’s first serial killer. No one knows for sure how many lives he took, but it’s believed he was responsible for killing as many as 200 people in the late 19th century. A con man, opportunist and evil genius, the crowning achievement of his dark deeds was the construction of a building later dubbed the Murder Castle: a hotel on Chicago’s south side that he engineered to be a factory of death, complete with a gas chamber, dissection room, trap doors and a basement furnace to destroy any trace of his sinister work. At the same time across the Atlantic, a killer was terrorizing the streets of London, murdering and mutilating at least five victims in the Whitechapel area of the city. To this day, the killer has never been caught or identified. He is known as Jack the Ripper.
In American Ripper, Holmes’ great-great-grandson, Jeff Mudgett, sets out to prove a controversial theory: that H.H. Holmes and Britain’s most notorious serial killer, Jack The Ripper, were the same man. After twenty years searching for the truth about his notorious ancestor, Mudgett partners with ex-CIA analyst Amaryllis Fox to launch an all new investigation, using 21st century science and methodology to unlock the secrets of one of the biggest cold cases of all time.
Mel Gibson arrives to ruin Mark Wahlberg’s Christmas in the trailer for the comedy sequel, Daddy’s Home 2. The action picks up with Wahlberg’s Dusty and Will Ferrell’s Brad now BFFs after a rocky start in 2015’s Daddy’s Home. However, the harmonic extended family is thrown for a loop with the arrival of Dusty’s dad. John Lithgow also joins the holiday comedy as Brad’s dad. Directed by Sean Anders, the sequel’s cast also includes Daddy’s Home‘s Linda Cardellini, John Cena, and Scarlett Estevez (Lucifer).
Daddy’s Home 2 arrives in theaters on November 10, 2017.
The Plot: Father and stepfather, Dusty (Wahlberg) and Brad (Ferrell), have joined forces to provide their kids with the perfect Christmas. Their newfound partnership is put to the test when Dusty’s old-school, macho Dad (Gibson) and Brad’s ultra-affectionate and emotional Dad (Lithgow) arrive just in time to throw the holiday into complete chaos.
Universal Pictures’ Happy Death Day‘s new trailer feels like 1993’s Groundhog Day minus Bill Murray and the weather-forecasting furry creature and with a gruesome murder. Christopher Landon (Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones) directed and co-wrote the script with Scott Lobdell.
The cast is led by Jessica Rothe (La La Land) and includes Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine, and Charles Aitken, Laura Clifton.
Happy Death Day arrives in theaters on October 13, 2017.
The Plot: Blumhouse (Split, Get Out, Whiplash) produces an original and inventive rewinding thriller in Happy Death Day, in which a college student (Rothe) relives the day of her murder with both its unexceptional details and terrifying end until she discovers her killer’s identity.
Musical Guest/Co-Host Miley Cyrus with Host Jimmy Fallon during “Google Translate” on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ (Photo by: Andrew Lipovsky/NBC)
The Tonight Show‘s Jimmy Fallon joined Miley Cyrus in singing popular songs after they’d been put through Google Translate. First up was Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” sung by Miley Cyrus and translated to “Your Body’s Curves.” Among the best lyrics following the translation were “We do not like pressure stones make” and the switch from “I’m in love with your body” which twisted into “I like that cadaver.” Jimmy Fallon handled the Google Translate version of Rick James’ “Super Freak” which had warped into “Really Weird.” The song was a mess after being translated from English and even the “She’s all right. She’s all right” didn’t come through the process unscathed, translating to “She is okay. She is okay.”
Cyrus took on Dusty Springfield’s classic hit, “Son of a Preacher Man” which became “A Minister’s Male Child.” The five-minute Google Translate Songs video finished up with Cyrus and Fallon dueting on Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” translated to “Landforms Don’t Prefer to Get High.”
