The new trailer for Hulu’s Nine Perfect Strangers finds nine imperfect strangers submitting to therapy administered by a mysterious woman with bizarre therapeutic techniques. Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman stars as the resort director who promises her clients miracles while keeping her real agenda hidden.
The cast includes two-time Oscar nominee Melissa McCarthy (Can You Ever Forgive Me?Bridesmaids), two-time Oscar nominee Michael Shannon (Noctural Animals, Revolutionary Road), Emmy winner Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire, Will & Grace), Independent Spirit Awards nominee Regina Hall (Support the Girls), Screen Actors Guild winner Samara Weaving (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Luke Evans (Beauty and the Beast), and Melvin Gregg (Snowfall). Asher Keddie, Grace Van Patten, Tiffany Boone, and Manny Jacinto also star in the eight-episode dramatic series.
The first three episodes will premiere on Hulu on Wednesday, August 18, 2021.
Nine Perfect Strangers is based on Liane Moriarty’s bestselling novel and was adapted by David E. Kelley, John Henry Butterworth, and Samantha Strauss. Executive producers Kelley and Butterworth serve as showrunners, with Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky, Jodi Matterson, Nicole Kidman, Per Saari, Molly Allen, Samantha Strauss, Melissa McCarthy and author Liane Moriarty also executive producing. Executive producer Jonathan Levine directed all eight episodes.
The series is a David E. Kelley, Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories, Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films, and Endeavor Content production. David E. Kelley and Nicole Kidman previously collaborated on the critically acclaimed series Big Little Lies and The Undoing.
The Plot, Courtesy of Hulu:
Nine Perfect Strangers takes place at a boutique health-and-wellness resort that promises healing and transformation as nine stressed city dwellers try to get on a path to a better way of living. Watching over them during this 10-day retreat is the resort’s director, Masha, a woman on a mission to reinvigorate their tired minds and bodies. However, these nine “perfect” strangers have no idea what is about to hit them.
James McAvoy will reprise his role as Morpheus the Dream Lord in Audible’s The Sandman: Act II. The second installment in the audio adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman graphic novel series is also bringing back Kat Dennings as Death, Michael Sheen as Lucifer, and Andy Serkis as Matthew the Raven. Neil Gaiman remains involved as the narrator, co-executive producer, and creative director.
Joining the cast for the second installment are Jeffrey Wright as Destiny, Regé-Jean Page as Orpheus, Brian Cox as Augustus, Emma Corrin as Thessaly, John Lithgow as Emperor Joshua Norton, and David Tennant as Loki. Bill Nighy is Odin, Kristen Schaal is Delirium, Kevin Smith is Merv Pumpkinhead, Bebe Neuwirth is Bast, Miriam Margolyes is Despair, Niamh Walsh is Nuala, and Joanna Lumley is Lady Johanna Constantine. Act II‘s cast also includes Aidan Turner, Adrian Lester, Arthur Darvill, and Ray Porter.
Dirk Maggs returns as director and also adapted Gaiman’s Volume Four: Season of Mists, Volume Five: A Game of You, and the “Distant Mirrors” quartet and “Convergence” trio from Volume Six: Fables & Reflections for The Sandman: Act II. BAFTA award-winer James Hannigan is once again composing the score.
The Sandman is now available for free for a limited time on Audible, Amazon Music, and Alexa-enabled devices. The first installment is currently the bestselling Audible Original in the company’s history. The Sandman: Act II will be challenging The Sandman for that top spot on Audible’s charts when it’s released on September 22, 2021.
Things have been looking up for two-time Oscar-nominated filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan who began his career with 1999’s The Sixth Sense and gave us decent scares with 2002’s Signs before his career careened off course with Lady in the Water, The Happening (wind as a villain is never a good choice), and After Earth. He got back on track with 2016’s Split and Apple TV+’s brilliant series, Servant, which he executive produces and directed episodes of. Unfortunately, Shyamalan’s mini-hot streak ends with the 2021 horror/thriller, Old.
Old’s loosely based on the graphic novel Sandcastle by French writer Pierre Oscar Lévy and artist Frederik Peeters. The action’s set in a tropical paradise complete with resort staff who immediately serve guests their favorite cocktails (based on a questionnaire completed before arrival) and supply a fully stocked candy station for the kiddies. The creep factor is instantly apparent; these resort employees are far too cheery and helpful.
The resort manager (Gustaf Hammarsten) selects a small group of guests to invite to a very private, secluded beach. First up is a family of four who desperately need a little R&R. Guy (Gael Garcia Bernal) and Prisca (Vicky Krieps) are obviously having major relationship issues and it’s hinted that Prisca is ill which is part of the reason they’re keeping their 11-year-old daughter, Maddox (Alexa Swinton), and six-year-old son, Trent (Nolan River), in the dark by pretending everything is hunky-dory.
Also invited are a racist douchebag doctor named Charles (Rufus Sewell), his trophy wife, Chrystal (Abbey Lee), their adorable six-year-old daughter, Kara (Kylie Begley), and Charles’ elderly mom, Agnes (Kathleen Chalfant). Jarin (Ken Leung) and Patricia (Nikki Amuka-Bird) join them and seem to be the only couple who enjoy being in each other’s presence.
A rapper with a bloody nose who goes by the ridiculous name Mid-Size Sedan (Aaron Pierre) and his dead girlfriend complete the carefully selected group who have the gorgeous beach all to themselves.
It doesn’t take long for the beachgoers to realize there’s something freaky going on. The dead woman on the beach isn’t nearly as worrisome to the group as Trent outgrowing his swim trunks for no logical reason. Soon it’s apparent Trent’s shorts aren’t the only thing growing as the kids mysteriously age up within hours of arriving on the beach. The youngsters become teenagers (played by Alex Wolff, Thomasin McKenzie, and Eliza Scanlen) while the adults begin showing the effects of age with new wrinkles and hearing loss. With no hope of escape from this twisted paradise, the strangers come to the realization their lives are slipping away as the minutes tick by.
Love the premise, hate the way it’s executed pretty much sums up my opinion of M. Night Shyamalan’s Old. It could have been a fascinating character study of how each member of this eclectic group faces the prospect of death – the keyword here being “could.” It’s not, because Shyamalan hasn’t offered us a single character to like or sympathize with. There’s no character development which makes it impossible to feel any empathy or become invested in their outcomes. When they die, we simply don’t care. Not only that, but we also root for quite a few of these insufferable characters to die horrific deaths because they deserve it. Or at least Shyamalan hasn’t given us any reason to believe otherwise.
In one of the film’s earlier scenes, Prisca warns her kids to stop rushing life and stop “wishing away the moment.” I’d loved to have seen a film that takes that line and runs with it. Instead, it’s just a throw-away piece of dialogue. Over the following hour and a half plus the characters never evolve past being two-dimensional, dispensable horror film caricatures. We’re provided no insight into how each of these strangers is dealing with their mortality. There’s simply nothing interesting going on.
There’s a classic M. Night Shyamalan twist at the end which is morally edgy enough to be interesting. However, after sitting through repetitive scenes with horrible dialogue spouted by disposable characters it’s difficult to justify sticking around for the twist.
GRADE: D
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for disturbing images, brief strong language, partial nudity, strong violence, and suggestive content
The new trailer for Warner Bros. Pictures’ Dune opens with Zendaya (Malcolm & Marie) as “Chani” describing her planet, Arrakis, as beautiful when spice fills the air. But life is anything but idyllic as outsiders ravage her planet and kill her people. The nearly three and a half minute trailer also introduces the other key players including Timothée Chalamet (Call Me by Your Name) as “Paul Atreides,” a young man from a powerful family who’s been having dreams about a girl on Arrakis.
The cast of the big-budget sci-fi epic also includes Rebecca Ferguson (Doctor Sleep), Oscar Isaac (the Star Wars franchise), Oscar nominee Josh Brolin (Avengers: Infinity War), Stellan Skarsgård (Chernobyl), Dave Bautista (the Guardians of the Galaxy films), and Stephen McKinley Henderson (Lady Bird). Chang Chen (Mr. Long), David Dastmalchian (Blade Runner 2049), Sharon Duncan-Brewster (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Charlotte Rampling (45 Years), Jason Momoa (Aquaman), and Oscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country for Old Men) also star.
Oscar nominee Denis Villeneuve (Arrival) directed the sci-fi epic based on Frank Herbert’s bestseller, with Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts, and Eric Roth adapting the screenplay. Villeneuve, Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, and Joe Caracciolo, Jr. produced, with Tanya Lapointe, Joshua Grode, Herbert W. Gains, Jon Spaihts, Thomas Tull, Brian Herbert, Byron Merritt, and Kim Herbert executive producing.
A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, Dune tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
The Suicide Squad from writer/director James Gunn, Reminiscence starring Hugh Jackman, and a three-part documentary series on President Obama will join HBO Max’s schedule in August 2021. Titans returns for season three, The Hype streetwear competition series debuts, Issa Rae’s new unscripted series Sweet Life: Los Angeles arrives, and The Other Two moves from Comedy Central to HBO Max for season two.
The August calendar also includes the Marlon Wayans: You Know What It Is comedy special, a new Dallas Cowboys’ season of Hard Knocks, and the documentary special Eyes on the Prize: Hallowed Ground.
TITLES ARRIVING ON HBO MAX IN AUGUST 2021:
August 1:
2 Days in the Valley, 1996 (HBO)
9/11: Fifteen Years Later, 2016
A Mighty Wind, 2003 (HBO)
A Walk Among the Tombstones, 2014 (HBO)
The Accidental Spy, 2002 (HBO)
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, 2005 (HBO)
Americano, 2017 (HBO)
Anna to the Infinite Power, 1982 (HBO)
Backtrack, 2016 (HBO)
Basic Instinct, 1992 (HBO)
Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction, 2006 (HBO) (Extended Version)
Best in Show, 2000 (HBO)
Betrayal at Attica, 2021
The Betrayed, 2008 (HBO)
The Birdcage, 1996 (HBO)
Black Death, 2010 (HBO)
Blue Ruin, 2014 (HBO)
Brown Sugar, 2002 (HBO)
Changeling, 2008 (HBO)
Chasing Mavericks, 2012 (HBO)
Collateral, 2004 (HBO)
Constantine, 2005
Deep Cover, 1992 (HBO)
The Devil’s Double, 2011 (HBO)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, 1988 (HBO)
Dolphin Tale, 2011 (HBO)
The Double, 2014 (HBO)
Empire of the Sun, 1987
The End, 1978 (HBO)
Envy, 2004 (HBO)
Epic, 2013 (HBO)
Extranjero (aka Foreigner), 2018 (HBO)
For Your Consideration, 2006 (HBO)
Freejack, 1992 (HBO)
The Fugitive, 1993
Ghosts of Mississippi, 1996
The Great Gatsby, 1974 (HBO)
The Great Gatsby, 2013 (HBO)
Gun Shy, 2017 (HBO)
Hangman, 2017 (HBO)
Heaven Can Wait, 1978 (HBO)
Hitchcock, 2012 (HBO)
Horror of Dracula, 1958
How to Deal, 2003 (HBO)
Hudson Hawk, 1991
Humpday, 2009 (HBO)
Imperium, 2016 (HBO)
Inception, 2010
Joe, 2014 (HBO)
Johnny English Reborn, 2011 (HBO)
Julia, 2009 (HBO)
Last Action Hero, 1993
The Lincoln Lawyer, 2011
Malcolm X, 1992
Man Down, 2016 (HBO)
The Man in the Iron Mask, 1998 (HBO)
Mean Streets, 1973
Mr. Soul!, 2018
New in Town, 2009 (HBO)
Nobody Walks, 2012 (HBO)
Nurse 3D, 2013 (HBO)
One Hour Photo, 2002 (HBO)
The Out-of-Towners, 1999 (HBO)
Popeye, 1980 (HBO)
The Pope of Greenwich Village, 1984 (HBO)
The Prince, 2014 (HBO)
The Reader, 2008 (HBO)
Red, 2008 (HBO)
Red Riding Hood, 2011
Requiem for a Dream, 2000
Scary Movie, 2000
The Score, 2001 (HBO)
Sex and the City, 2008
Sex and the City 2, 2010
The Shawshank Redemption, 1994
Spawn, 1997
The Spirit, 2008 (HBO)
The Square, 2017 (HBO)
Stand and Deliver, 1988 (HBO)
Tango & Cash, 1989
Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo, 2006
Thirteen Ghosts, 2001
Vice, 2015 (HBO)
War, 2007 (HBO)
Woodstock (Director’s Cut), 1994
You’ve Got Mail, 1998
August 2:
Small Town News: KPVM Pahrump, Documentary Series Finale (HBO)
August 3:
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, 1993
Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union, Documentary Premiere (HBO)
August 5:
Furry Friends Forever: Elmo Gets A Puppy, Max Original Special Premiere
The Suicide Squad, Warner Bros. Film Premiere, 2021 (Available in 4K UHD, HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos in English Only on supported devices)
August 6:
Sin Aliento (aka Breathless), 2020 (HBO)
August 7:
All My Life, 2020 (HBO)
August 8:
A Different World
August 10:
Hard Knocks ’21: Dallas Cowboys, Sports-Based Reality Series Premiere (HBO)
August 12:
FBOY Island, Max Original Season Finale
Titans, Max Original Season 3 Premiere
August 14:
Jurassic Park, 1993 (HBO)
Jurassic Park III, 2001 (HBO)
The Lost World: Jurassic Park, 1997 (HBO)
August 15:
The White Lotus, Limited Series Finale (HBO)
August 16:
Hard, Season 3 Premiere (HBO)
Top Gear, Season 29
August 17:
Godzilla vs. Kong, 2021 (HBO) (Available in 4K UHD, HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos in English Only on supported devices)
August 19:
Eyes on the Prize: Hallowed Ground, Max Original Documentary Special Premiere
Looney Tunes Cartoons Back to School Special, Max Original Special Premiere
Marlon Wayans: You Know What It Is, Max Original Special Premiere
Sweet Life: Los Angeles, Max Original Series Premiere
August 20:
Half Brothers, 2020 (HBO)
Reefa, 2021 (HBO)
Reminiscence, Warner Bros. Film Premiere, 2021 (Available in 4K UHD, HDR10, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos in English Only on supported devices)
August 22:
100 Foot Wave, Documentary Series Finale (HBO)
San Andreas, 2015
August 24:
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy, 2021
August 25:
Lincoln: Divided We Stand, 2021
August 26:
The Other Two, Max Original Season 2 Premiere
August 28:
Magic Mike XXL, 2015 (HBO)
DETAILS ON NEW AUGUST TITLES:
HBO’s three-part documentary, OBAMA: IN PURSUIT OF A MORE PERFECT UNION, debuting TUESDAY, AUGUST 3 (9:00-10:40 p.m. ET/PT), with additional parts airing Wednesday and Thursday at the same time, chronicles the personal and political journey of President Barack Obama, as the country grapples with its racial history. Weaving together conversations with colleagues, friends and critics, and interspersed with his own speeches and news interviews, the series begins with Obama’s childhood and takes us through his perspective as the son of a white mother from Kansas and an African father, his spiritual formation by a generation of Black leaders, and his hopes for a more inclusive America.
Through the story of one man irrevocably bound to the history of a country, OBAMA: IN PURSUIT OF A MORE PERFECT UNION reflects on the country’s past and present national identity.
BETRAYAL AT ATTICA – On September 13, 1971 the State of New York shot and killed 39 of its own citizens, injured hundreds more, and tortured the survivors. The plan to retake D Yard led to one of the bloodiest days in American history, and set the stage for the worst aspects of modern policing. Radical lawyer Elizabeth Fink tells the story of the Attica prison rebellion, and how she exposed the cover up that went on for decades.
From writer/director James Gunn comes Warner Bros. Pictures’ superhero action-adventure THE SUICIDE SQUAD, featuring a collection of the most degenerate delinquents in the DC lineup — including Bloodsport, Peacemaker, Captain Boomerang, Ratcatcher 2, Savant, King Shark, Blackguard, Javelin and everyone’s favorite psycho, Harley Quinn — who will do anything to get out of prison—even join the super-secret, super-shady Task Force X on a do-or-die mission.
August also brings action thriller REMINISCENCE starring Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson and Thandiwe Newton. Nick Bannister (Jackman), a private investigator of the mind, navigates the darkly alluring world of the past by helping his clients access lost memories. Living on the fringes of the sunken Miami coast, his life is forever changed when he takes on a new client, Mae (Ferguson). A simple matter of lost and found becomes a dangerous obsession.
SWEET LIFE: LOS ANGELES, from Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Issa Rae, gives an honest and unique look into what it means to be young, Black, and in constant pursuit of one’s dreams in the heart of South Los Angeles. The series follows a group of ambitious childhood friends showcasing their relatable, authentic and sometimes stumbling mid-20s moments as they embrace the joy and struggles of adulthood, navigating love and family, and building their careers as tastemakers in the city where they grew up.
The following titles will be leaving HBO Max in August 2021:
August 5:
The Windsors: Inside the Royal Dynasty, 2019
August 11:
A Mermaid’s Tale, 2017
Against the Wild 2: Survive the Serengeti, 2016
Against The Wild, 2014
Alpha & Omega 5: Family Vacation, 2015
Alpha & Omega: Dino Digs, 2016
Blue Valentine, 2010
Earth Girls Are Easy, 1989
The Escape Artist, 1982
Hecho En Mexico, 2012
Jennifer Lopez Dance Again, 2016
La Mujer de Mi Hermano, 2005
Leapfrog Letter Factory Adventures: Amazing Word Explorers, 2015
Leapfrog Letter Factory Adventures: Counting on Lemonade, 2014
Leapfrog Letter Factory Adventures: The Letter Machine Rescue Team, 2014
Love and Sex, 2000
Mistress, 1992
Mother’s Day, 2012
Tender Mercies, 1983
The Men Who Stare at Goats, 2009
Turtle Tale, 2018
August 14:
Leapfrog: Numberland, 2012
Teen Titans Go! vs. Teen Titans, 2019
August 15:
Joker, 2019 (HBO)
Space Jam: A New Legacy, 2021
August 27:
Dead Silence, 2007 (HBO)
White Noise, 2005 (HBO)
August 29:
Assault on Precinct 13, 2005 (HBO)
August 30:
Serendipity, 2001
August 31:
54: The Director’s Cut, 1998 (HBO)
40 Days and 40 Nights, 2002, (HBO)
A Cinderella Story, 2004
A Cinderella Story: If The Shoe Fits, 2016
A Cinderella Story: Once Upon A Song, 2011
Alpha and Omega: The Great Wolf Games, 2014 (HBO)
The American President, 1995
Another Cinderella Story, 2008
Astro Boy, 2009 (HBO)
August Rush, 2007
Babe, 1995 (HBO)
Babe: Pig in the City, 1998 (HBO)
The Barkleys of Broadway, 1949
Barnyard, 2006 (HBO)
Barry Lyndon, 1975
Battle for Terra, 2009 (HBO)
The Bay, 2012 (HBO)
Be Cool, 2005 (HBO)
Beverly Hills Cop, 1984 (HBO)
Beverly Hills Cop II, 1987 (HBO)
Beverly Hills Cop III, 1994 (HBO)
Beyond the Sea, 2004 (HBO)
Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, 1991 (HBO)
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, 1989 (HBO)
Billy Elliot, 2000 (HBO)
Black Hawk Down, 2001
Blade, 1998
Blade Runner: The Final Cut, 2007
Blow, 2001
The Bonfire of the Vanities, 1990
Bright Young Things, 2004 (HBO)
Butter, 2012 (HBO)
Cannery Row, 1982
Capricorn One, 1978 (HBO)
Carefree, 1938
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 2005
City of God, 2003 (HBO)
City Slickers, 1991 (HBO)
City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold, 1994
Clifford, 1994 (HBO)
Closer, 2004
Code 46, 2004 (HBO)
Cold Creek Manor, 2003 (HBO)
Cold Mountain, 2003
Countdown, 1968
The Crow, 1994 (HBO)
The Crow: City of Angels, 1996 (HBO)
The Crow: Wicked Prayer, 2006 (HBO)
Daddy Day Care, 2003
Dave, 1993
The Dirty Dozen, 1967
Dream House, 2011 (HBO)
Eight Legged Freaks, 2002
El Chata (aka The Sparring Partner), 2019 (HBO)
Freddy vs. Jason, 2003
Free Willy, 1993
Free Willy: The Adventure Home, 1995
Free Willy: Escape from Pirate’s Cove, 2010
Free Willy 3: The Great Rescue, 1997
Frequency, 2000
Get Shorty, 1995 (HBO)
Gone, 2012 (HBO)
The Hard Way, 1991 (HBO)
Harry and the Hendersons, 1987 (HBO)
Heidi, 2005
The High Note, 2020 (HBO)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, 2012
Home Alone 4, 2002 (HBO)
Home Alone: The Holiday Heist, 2012 (HBO)
Hudson Hawk, 1991
The Hundred-Foot Journey, 2014 (HBO)
Innerspace, 1987
Inside Moves, 1980 (HBO)
The Interview, 2014
Jack The Giant Slayer, 2013
Jackie Brown, 1997
Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, 2011 (HBO)
The Last Exorcism, 2012 (Extended Version) (HBO)
Lay the Favorite, 2012 (HBO)
Let’s Go to Prison, 2006 (HBO)
Life is Beautiful, 1998 (HBO)
Live by Night, 2016 (HBO)
Logan’s Run, 1976
Lolita, 1962
Look Who’s Talking, 1989
Malice, 1993 (HBO)
Man on a Ledge, 2012 (HBO)
Menace II Society, 1993
Miss Congeniality, 2000
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, 2005
Monkey Trouble, 1994
Mr. Nanny, 1993
National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, 1989
National Lampoon’s European Vacation, 1985
National Lampoon’s Vacation, 1983
No Eres Tu Soy Yo, 2011
Ocean’s 11, 1960
The Omega Man, 1971
On Golden Pond, 1981 (HBO)
On Moonlight Bay, 1951
Osmosis Jones, 2001
Our Brand Is Crisis, 2015 (HBO)
Over the Hedge, 2006 (HBO)
Parental Guidance, 2012 (HBO)
Pathfinder, 2007 (Director’s Cut) (HBO)
The People vs. Larry Flynt, 1996
Pinocchio, 2012
Point Blank, 1967
Popstar, 2005
Prometheus, 2012 (HBO)
PT 109, 1963
Replicas, 2019 (HBO)
Running on Empty, 1988
Ruta Viva, 2018 (HBO)
Saw, 2004 (Extended Version) (HBO)
Saw II, 2005 (Director’s Cut) (HBO)
Saw III, 2006 (Director’s Cut) (HBO)
Saw IV, 2007 (Director’s Cut) (HBO)
Saw V, 2008 (Director’s Cut) (HBO)
Saw VI, (Director’s Cut) (HBO)
Saw: The Final Chapter, 2010 (Director’s Cut) (HBO)
Shall We Dance, 1937
Sherlock Holmes, 2009
Sinbad: Beyond the Veils of Mist, 2000 (HBO)
Sling Blade, 1996 (HBO)
Some Came Running, 1958
South Central, 1992
Spies Like Us, 1985
Spooky Buddies, 2011 (HBO)
Steel, 1997
Still of the Night, 1982 (HBO)
Striptease, 1996
Stuart Little, 1999
Stuart Little 2, 2002
The Stunt Man, 1979 (HBO)
Summer Catch, 2001
Sweet November, 2001
Swimfan, 2002 (HBO)
The Tank, 2017 (HBO)
This Must Be The Place, 2012 (HBO)
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride, 2005
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, 1948
Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie, 1997 (HBO)
Twister, 1996
Un 4to de Josue, 2018 (HBO)
Unforgettable, 2017 (HBO)
Unlocking the Cage, 2017 (HBO)
Vegas Vacation, 1997
Wanderlust, 2012 (HBO)
Wedding Crashers, 2005
Within, 2016 (HBO)
Wolves at the Door, 2017 (HBO)
The Year of Living Dangerously, 1983
Netflix just offered up our first look at the upcoming The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf animated film, releasing a short teaser trailer along with four film stills. The streaming service also confirmed the four voice cast members who’ll be taking on key roles in the anime origin story.
Theo James (Underworld: Blood Wars) will voice Vesemir, Lara Pulver (The Alienist) is voicing Tetra, Graham McTavish (Outlander) is handling Deglan, and Mary McDonnell (Major Crimes) voices Lady Zerbst.
The Witcher‘s showrunner and executive producer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich is co-producing the film along with Studio Mir’s Kwang Il Han. Il Han is also directing from a screenplay by producer Beau DeMayo.
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf will premiere on Netflix on August 23, 2021.
The Plot, Courtesy of Netflix:
The world of The Witcher expands in this anime origin story: Before Geralt, there was his mentor Vesemir — a swashbuckling young witcher who escaped a life of poverty to slay monsters for coin. But when a strange new monster begins terrorizing a politically fraught kingdom, Vesemir finds himself on a frightening adventure that forces him to confront the demons of his past.
Vesemir, voiced by Theo James, in Netflix’s ‘The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf’Tetra, voiced by Lara Pulver, in Netflix’s ‘The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf’Lady Zerbst, voiced by Mary McDonnell, in Netflix’s ‘The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf’Deglan, voiced by Graham McTavish, in Netflix’s ‘The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf’
The new minute and a half trailer for Netflix’s The Chair finds 12 time Emmy Award nominee Sandra Oh wondering if the only reason she was chosen to be the first woman Chair of the English Department was so that a female would be holding the bomb when it explodes. The latest trailer is backed by The Linda Lindas’ “Oh!” and sets up life in the dysfunctional English department at Pembroke University.
The six-episode first season also features Jay Duplass, Nana Mensah, Ji Yong Lee, Holland Taylor, Bob Balaban, David Morse, and Everly Carginilla.
Actress Amanda Peet is the writer, executive producer, and showrunner. Sandra Oh, David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Bernie Caulfield, and Daniel Gray Longino also executive produce. Daniel Gray Longino directs and Annie Julia Wyman, Richard E. Robbins, Jennifer Kim, and Andrea Troyer join Peet as season one writers.
The Chair joins Netflix’s lineup on Friday, August 20, 2021.
The Chair follows Dr. Ji-Yoon Kim (Oh) as she navigates her new role as the Chair of the English department at prestigious Pembroke University. Ji-Yoon is faced with a unique set of challenges as the first woman to chair the department, and as one of the few staff members of color at the university. The older staff fear change, while new blood, like professor Yasmin McKay (Mensah), agitate for it. Ji-Yoon tries to juggle her new administrative responsibilities —clashing with close co-workers who were confidants before she became the boss— with motherhood to her young daughter Ju Ju (Carginilla) and caretaking for her father Habi (Lee).
Simultaneously she is struggling to discern if her platonic relationship with beloved English professor Bill Dobson (Duplass) is becoming something more and, if it even should. When Bill is captured on video making a controversial gesture the student body erupts into a call for accountability and Ji-Yoon’s ride gets even wilder as work, romance, drama, and comedy collide in this layered, multi-faceted tale also starring
Amazon has greenlit a limited series adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s bestselling novel Anansi Boys, with Gaiman on board to adapt, executive produce, and serve as a co-showrunner.
The international bestseller is a standalone project which originated during a conversation between Gaiman and Sir Lenny Henry. (Amazon’s official announcement makes a point of confirming the limited series has nothing to do with American Gods.) Henry is joining Gaiman as a writer along with Arvind Ethan David, Kara Smith, and Racheal Ofori. He’ll also executive produce the six-episode limited series with Douglas Mackinnon, Hanelle M. Culpepper, Endor Productions’ Hilary Bevan Jones, and Red Production Company’s Richard Fee. Mackinnon is Gaiman’s co-showrunner, and Culpepper, Jermain Julien, and Azhur Saleem are attached to direct.
“Anansi Boys began around 1996, from a conversation I had with Lenny Henry about writing a story that was diverse and part of the culture that we both loved,” explained Gaiman. “I wrote a novel, an (I hope) joyous and funny book about a dead god and his two sons, about birds and ghosts and beasts and cops, based in Caribbean and African tales. It was my first number one NYT Bestseller, and went on to become a beloved and award-winning book.
Anansi Boys as a TV series has been a long time coming — I first started working with Endor and Red on making it over a decade ago. We needed Amazon Prime to come on board and embrace our vision, we needed a lead director with the craft and vision of Hanelle Culpepper, we needed the creative and technical wizardry of Douglas Mackinnon (who worked out how we could push the bounds of the possible to shoot a story set all over the world in a huge studio outside Edinburgh), and we needed the rest of the amazing talents that nobody knows about yet.”
Gaiman continued: “I am thrilled that Sir Lenny Henry is one of our executive producers. He was there when it was conceived, he narrated the audiobook and he has kept the heart of the production true. We are trying to make a new kind of show with Anansi Boys, and to break ground with it to make something that celebrates and rejoices in diversity both in front of and behind the camera. I’m so thrilled it’s happening and that people will be meeting Mr. Nancy, Charlie and Spider, the Bird Woman and the rest of them.”
Filming is expected to get underway later this year in Scotland.
“I’ve been a huge fan (and couch sleeping friend) of Neil Gaiman’s for over 30 years and I have loved being a part of the Anansi Boys creative team,” stated Henry. “I love that we’re going to have a suitably diverse cast and crew to tell this joyous story! What’s great is that the whole production is listening and ensuring that inclusion is happening and is being seen to be done.”
The limited series is an Amazon Studios, The Blank Corporation, Endor Productions, and RED Production Company production.
“I’m thrilled that we get to take the story of Anansi Boys from page to screen with the creative powers of Neil and Lenny, as well as an extraordinary group of other writers, directors, and a cast and crew of so many diverse perspectives alongside us,” said Mackinnon. Mackinnon and Neil Gaiman previously collaborated on Amazon’s Good Omens series starring Michael Sheen and David Tennant. “We’ll be shooting in brand new studios in Scotland where we’ll have the most cutting-edge CGI technology in the world to make all the magic and wonder of Anansi Boys come to life.”
The Plot, Courtesy of Amazon:
Based on Gaiman’s novel of the same name, Anansi Boys follows Charlie Nancy, a young man who is used to being embarrassed by his estranged father. But when his father dies, Charlie discovers that his father was Anansi: trickster god of stories. And he learns that he has a brother. Now his brother, Spider, is entering Charlie’s life, determined to make it more interesting but making it a lot more dangerous.
The first teaser trailer for writer/director Neill Blomkamp’s Demonic gave absolutely nothing away. The new lengthy trailer lets us into the visually arresting world Blomkamp’s created for his fourth feature film.
Blomkamp’s (District 9, Elysium, Chappie) supernatural horror/sci-fi film stars Carly Pope (The Good Doctor), Chris William Martin (The Vampire Diaries), Michael J. Rogers (Siren), Nathalie Boltt (Riverdale), Kandyse McClure (Hemlock Grove), and Terry Chen (Jessica Jones). The behind-the-scenes team includes director of photography Byron Kopman, production designer Richard Simpson, and editor Austyn Daines (additional editing by Julian Clarke). The music is by Ola Strandh and Viktor Muller is the visual effects supervisor.
Discussing the inspiration for Demonic, writer/director Neill Blomkamp said, “It was really a combination of things. When the pandemic occurred and my other projects were put on hold, I wanted to do something we could control and just go out and shoot. References for that were films like The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, so I decided to do something in the horror realm. I also had this idea of using a new technology called volumetric capture, which lent itself more to science fiction. So it became a case of how do you create a story with those elements.”
Blomkamp offered the following description of the volumetric capture process, something he believes has never been used in a feature film to this extent before. “It’s basically three-dimensional video, where you’re turning your actors into geometry. You need about 260 cameras arranged in some sort of grid or dome that can see the actors from all points of view,” explained Blomkamp. “On our stage where we had our 260-camera volumetric setup, the only thing we were gathering was the actors. They were in a very difficult non-conducive-to-acting environment where there was scaffolding and cameras everywhere they looked. And the only elements we got out of those sessions were the actors in that volume. Then separately we photographed the environments they would be put into, which are turned into 3D objects. And then you drop your actor captures into those 3D environments. Once they’re combined, you can set up the shot exactly as you want to see it in the movie and film that with your virtual digital camera.”
IFC Midnight has set an August 20, 2021 release in theaters, on demand, and digital.
Chris William Martin in the horror film, “DEMONIC,” an IFC Midnight release. (Photo courtesy of IFC Midnight)
The Plot, Couresty of IFC Midnight:
When Carly Spenser (Pope) learns that her estranged mother Angela (Boltt) has fallen into a coma, she reluctantly agrees to take part in a cutting-edge therapy that will allow her to tap into Angela’s still-active brain and communicate with her. Observed by physician Michael (Rogers) and neuroscientist Daniel (Chen), she enters a harrowing simulation of Angela’s mindscape where she discovers the powerful supernatural force that drove her mother to commit unspeakable acts of violence nearly two decades earlier.
Afterward, haunted by terrifying visions, Carly joins forces with her old friend Martin (Martin) as she desperately tries to fend off the monstrous demon before it can enter a new host and inflict more pain and suffering on the world.
Netflix has just announced the animated music-driven comedy Vivo will premiere on the streaming service on August 6, 2021. The family-friendly, wild beasty-friendly animated film features the voice of Lin-Manuel Miranda as a kinkajou on a special mission. Music icon Gloria Estefan also lends her voice to a key character in Netflix’s Vivo.
The release date announcement was accompanied by a nearly four-minute video featuring the original song, “Keep the Beat,” performed by Lin-Manuel Miranda as Vivo the kinkajou and newcomer Ynairaly Simo as Gabi. The clip introduces Vivo and his traveling companion Gabi as they set out on a quest to deliver a special song.
The cast of the animated comedy also includes Zoe Saldaña as Rosa, Juan de Marcos as Andrés, Brian Tyree Henry as Dancarino, Michael Rooker as Lutador, and Nicole Byer as Valentina.
Oscar nominee Kirk DeMicco (The Croods) directs and co-wrote the screenplay with Quiara Alegría Hudes (In the Heights), based on a story by Hudes and Peter Barsocchini. Brandon Jeffords (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2) co-directed. Lin-Manuel Miranda composed the original songs and executive produced with Laurence Mark, Louis Koo Tin Lok, and Alex Lacamoire. Lisa Stewart, Michelle L.M. Wong, and Rich Moore served as producers.
Acclaimed (and Oscar-winning) cinematographer Roger Deakins (Blade Runner 2049) contributed to the film as visual consultant. Tony and Grammy award-winner Alex Lacamoire (The Greatest Showman) is the film’s composer and executive music producer.
From Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation — the studio that brought you Oscar winner Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and this year’s critically acclaimed blockbuster The Mitchells vs. The Machines — comes Vivo, an animated musical adventure featuring all-new songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Tony, Grammy, and Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of Hamilton and In the Heights.
Vivo follows a one-of-kind kinkajou (aka a rainforest “honey bear,” voiced by Miranda), who spends his days playing music to the crowds in a lively square with his beloved owner Andrés (de Marcos). Though they may not speak the same language, Vivo and Andrés are the perfect duo through their common love of music. But when tragedy strikes shortly after Andrés receives a letter from the famous Marta Sandoval (Estefan), inviting her old partner to her farewell concert with the hope of reconnecting, it’s up to Vivo to deliver a message that Andrés never could: A love letter to Marta, written long ago, in the form of a song. Yet in order to get to Marta, who lives a world apart, Vivo will need the help of Gabi (Simo) – an energetic tween who bounces to the beat of her own offbeat drum to fulfill his owner’s wishes.
Also featuring the voices of Zoe Saldaña as Gabi’s mother, Rosa; Michael Rooker as a villainous Everglades python, Lutador; Brian Tyree Henry and Nicole Byer as a pair of star-crossed spoonbills; and Katie Lowes, Olivia Trujillo, and Lidya Jewett as a trio of well-meaning but overzealous scout troops, Vivo is an exhilarating story about gathering your courage, finding family in unlikely friends, and the belief that music can open you to new worlds.
