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**Reviews** **Rotten Tomatoes:** [77%](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/beetlejuice_beetlejuice) **Metacritic:** [62](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/beetlejuice-beetlejuice/) --- **Summary:** After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia's life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife. **Director:** Tim Burton **Writers:** Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Seth Grahame-Smith
www.thedrum.com
> When Beetlejuice first hit cinemas in 1988, it was a weird, wonderful, and wildly original experience. Tim Burtonâs dark yet playful aesthetic, Michael Keatonâs chaotic performance as the titular ghost, and the filmâs quirky humor combined to create something truly special. Beetlejuice became a cult classic, a film that embodied Burtonâs trademark balance of the macabre and the whimsical while introducing a unique world that spawned an equally unique and dedicated fandom. > >Now, more than 35 years later, the Beetlejuice sequel has arrived, and like so many remakes before it, itâs struggling to capture the essence that made the original so beloved. > > The sequel brings everything you would expect in the way of nostalgia but also an influx of brand partnerships: a whopping 35 in total. While brand collaborations are nothing new, Beetlejuice 2 has taken cues from the successful marketing strategy of Barbie, leveraging creative partnerships that aim to enhance the viewerâs experience. The key phrase being âaim toâ. > >The film has been criticized for tipping the balance, with some fans feeling the brand integrations are too heavy-handed. This turns the movie into more of a commercial showcase than a sequel that speaks honestly to a dedicated fandom that has embraced the original for decades.
gizmodo.com
> Earlier this week, a rumor went around alleging Warner Bros. was looking to start up a new Goonies movie. It sounded slightly official thanks to claiming the original cast was set to return, Steven Spielberg (creator of the first filmâs story) would direct, and that this would-be film was set for release sometime in 2026 or 2027. Things were further exacerbated by Sean Astinâor rather, whoever runs his social mediaâseemingly putting his support behind it. But itâs not to be, as fellow original stars Corey Feldman and Martha Plimpton shot that rumor down hard. Feldman said he had âno infoâ of any sequel in the works, while Plimpton was more direct in her words. > >âThereâs no Goonies 2 script, thereâs no one attached. Spielberg is not directing, itâs not real,â she said on Instagram. What IS real is CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION AND VOTE!!!!â > > Much like with Beetlejuice 2, thereâve been plenty of rumors and hopes over the years of a new Goonies movie coming to fruition. After the cast reunited for a virtual COVID-19 fundraiser in 2020, Spieberg admitted heâs talked over potential sequel ideas with co-writer Chris Columbus, the late director Richard Donner, and producer Lauren Shuler Donner, but they never settled on anything concrete. Funnily enough, thereâs a show about the Goonies movie in the works called Our Time, but as far as an actual continuation, it seems those dreams will have to stay dreams.
www.techspot.com
> The Watch Dogs movie is being produced by New Regency, the studio behind films like The Lighthouse, Bohemian Rhapsody, and the 2016 Assassin's Creed adaptation. Directing the film is Mathieu Turi, whose previous work includes smaller films such as The Deep Dark, which didn't exactly set the box office on fire. Hopefully, this time will be different.
www.engadget.com
> Surely this won't impact creators at all!
> From director Bong Joon Ho, comes Mickey 17 - only in theaters January 31, 2025.
www.forbes.com
> The owner of Framestore, the special effects powerhouse behind the visuals in many Marvel movies, has revealed that it is still reeling from the strikes which gripped Hollywood for more than six months last year and caused its revenue to plummet by $46.7 million to $665.6 million. > >Framestore has worked on more than ten movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe including all of the Guardians of the Galaxy films, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and next year's Fantastic Four. It is in a prime position to get the work as it is the leading SFX agency in the United Kingdom where many Marvel movies are shot due to the lucrative government incentives on offer to studios. > > ... > > The dark clouds began to gather in May last year when writers downed their tools in a bid to boost their pay and royalties from streaming shows. They were followed by actors two months later and although the curtain came down on the dispute in November, by then studios had delayed the release dates of many movies including this year's chart-topper Deadpool & Wolverine, which Framestore also worked on. > > ... > > The financial statements confirm that "due to the challenges faced by the group arising from the writersâ and actorsâ strike an impairment of $19,852,000 has been recognised in the year ended 31 December 2023 against the investment held in Infinity Bidco Limited." > >The value was written down despite an improvement in the fortunes of Framestore's direct operating company Guidedraw, which retained its value. Its revenue rose 8.1% to $376.2 million in 2023 as the decline in business from North America was more than offset by an increase from British productions which were not part of the Hollywood strikes. Combined with careful cost control, this helped it to generate a $7.9 million operating profit, up from a $6.3 million loss in 2022. [Archive](http://web.archive.org/web/20240917005630/https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinereid/2024/09/16/marvel-vfx-giant-reveals-damage-done-by-hollywood-strikes/)
variety.com
cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/17581294 > > The new horror and science fiction anthology, âDeepest, Darkest,â has added yet another cast mate to its already stellar lineup of genre heavyweights. > > > >Rahul Kohli, a beloved member of Mike Flanaganâs Flanaverse (âThe Haunting of Bly Manor,â âThe Fall of the House of Usherâ) and essential teammate in the crime-solving âiZombieâ series, has officially joined the star-studded cast of âDeepest, Darkest,â a new horror anthology from writer and director Marc Bernardin and actor Tiffany Smith. > > > > ... > > > > Kohli joins the previously announced cast of Smith (âGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3â), Rosario Dawson (âThe Mandalorian,â âAhsokaâ), Ernie Hudson (âGhostbustersâ), Yetide Badaki (âAmerican Godsâ), Phil LaMarr (âFuturama,â âSamurai Jackâ) and âQuantum Leapâ stars Raymond Lee and Caitlin Bassett. > > > > ... > > > > The anthology promises a genre-blending mix of horror, dark comedy, suspense and sci-fi, with a pitch that reads: âHave you ever had a secret? One so big, so awful, so horrifically extreme that you had no choice but to keep it to yourself? Something that if anyone else knew, that revelation would shift your world on its axis? What if there was someone whose job it was to listen to those secrets â because she could never remember them? What would you pay for absolution?â > > > > ... > > > > The film is currently raising funds through a [Kickstarter campaign](https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/deepestdarkestfilm/deepest-darkest-an-anthology), which has raised $128,000 toward its $250,000 goal. âKickstarter is always a gamble,â says Bernardin. âBut I believe thereâs an audience out there that might embrace a collection of cinematic short stories that aim to thrill and scare and provoke while also celebrating voices who donât often get to be at the center of narratives like this.â
www.joblo.com
# Kevin Smith reveals how and why KillRoy Was Here became an NFT release ====================================================================== Two years after his horror anthology KillRoy Was Here received an NFT release, Kevin Smith has revealed exactly how and why that happened By [Cody Hamman](https://www.joblo.com/author/cody-hamman/) September 16th 2024, 9:14am Two years have passed since [Kevin Smith](https://www.joblo.com/killroy-was-here-interview-kevin-smith/)'s horror anthology *KillRoy Was Here* made its way out into the world as an NFT -- and to this day, the only people who have seen the movie are those who have either bought the NFT, been given access to one of the NFTs, or attended a special screening. Which means so few people have seen *[KillRoy Was Here](https://www.joblo.com/where-is-killroy/)*, it could almost be described as Smith's "lost movie." Now, while speaking to [Entertainment Weekly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0r7s0GLJfc) and promoting his new film *[The 4:30 Movie](https://www.joblo.com/the-430-movie-review/)*, Smith has revealed exactly how and why the movie became an NFT release. Directed by [Smith](https://www.joblo.com/kevin-smith-films-ranked/) from a script he wrote with Andy McElfresh, *KillRoy Was Here* was made on a minuscule budget as a project with film students at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. The movie is a throwback anthology horror film featuring a creature that kills evil adults at the behest of victimized kids. The creature at the heart of the story is KillRoy, inspired by the "Kilroy was here" graffiti that became popular during World War II, showing a long-nosed man peeking over a fence. In this case, KillRoy started out as a Florida man named Roy Huggins, who was a soldier in the Vietnam War, not World War II, and when he was captured by enemy soldiers he got loose, killed a whole lot of people, and cannibalized one of the corpses. He had to be locked up in a mental institution, and when the place caught on fire Roy was left to burn. Now he's a supernatural being who stalks the Florida swamps, and his burns have left him looking a lot like that figure in the Kilroy graffiti. They say he has a psychic connection to kids, and if someone says his name three times he'll show up with his machete and start hacking away at anyone who has wronged a child. The cast includes Harley Quinn Smith, Jason Mewes, Chris Jericho, Betty Aberlin, Ralph Garman, Daisy McElfresh, and Justin Kucsulain. Smith told Entertainment Weekly, "We made this movie *KillRoy Was Here* with the kids at the Ringling College of Art and Design. I wound up with possession of the movie. When it was all done, I had this movie; perfectly watchable, *Creepshow* type of movie. So I reached out to Shudder and I was like, 'Hey man, you guys wanna run this? It's a Kevin Smith original, kind of horror movie. 30 grand.' That was it. Shudder was like, 'This is terrible. This isn't good enough for Shudder.' Then our producer on the movie, David (Shapiro), he goes, 'I met with this company, they are interested in buying a movie to release as an NFT. The first movie to release as an NFT, and what they wanna do is use it to showcase their blockchain technology.' And I was like, 'Oh, all right.' Perhaps this is another version of indie film, this is a new playground to go play in. Company paid us over a million dollars. I made a million dollars off of this movie. 'Not good enough for Shudder.'" Now, with that explanation, the whole NFT release strategy finally makes sense. *KillRoy Was Here* may not meet up to Shudder's standards, but here's hoping more of Smith's fans will have the chance to see the movie eventually.
I'm joking BTW it's an acquired film with a budget of $11m https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_Things_like_These_(film) https://www.google.com/search?q=%E2%82%AC10+million+to+usd
www.buzzfeed.com
> With Hollywood budgets being what they are, a budget under $10 million is practically tiny. Despite this, many films have gone on to make a killing at the box office from budgets that barely scratch the surface of their competition. > > So, here are 14 smaller-budget movies that made the big bucks at the box office: 1. Juno 2. Mad Max 3. Paranormal Activity 4. Little Miss Sunshine 5. El Mariachi 6. The Blair Witch Project 7. Annabelle 8. Super Size Me 9. Rocky 10. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 11. The Devil Inside 12. Halloween 13. Moonlight 14. Napoleon Dynamite
collider.com
cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/17484663 > > The 2020s have already been great for folk horror, but the current folk horror revival really got its start in the previous decade. The niche subgenre, which had been around since the 1960s and 1970s, didn't get a name until actor Mark Gatiss of Sherlock fame used the term "folk horror" in 2010 to describe a trio of influential films in his BBC documentary series, A History of Horror. Suddenly, a generation of writers and filmmakers who had grown up on the old British films and television programs were inspired to revisit the rural terrors of their youth. > > > > Folk horror, which was initially recognized as a British phenomenon, became closely associated with imagery from the British Isles, such as stone circles, druids, and the green man. However, the modern folk horror revival has been more inclusive, as filmmakers from around the world draw inspiration from their countries' history and folklore. From Indonesia to Austria, these are the best folk horror movies of the 2010s. > > 1. Midsommar (2019) > 2. Kill List (2011) > 3. The Witch (2015) > 4. The Borderlands (2013) > 5. The Wailing (2016) > 6. The Ritual (2017) > 7. Impetigore (2019) > 8. La Llorona (2019) > 9. Hagazussa: A Heathen's Curse (2017) > 10. A Dark Song (2016) > > Warning: the image used dod The Ritual is a massive spoiler - go watch it first, it's worth going in blind. > > See also: > > * [10 best Folk Horror movies of the 2020s (so far)](https://feddit.uk/post/16878588)
> It's around here that a normal review would subtly transition to a summary of the plot. Unfortunately, Megalopolis is such a rambling, boring slog, I'm not sure I grasped the story writer and director Francis Ford Coppola actually had in mind. > > ... > > Inaccessible to the point of satire, Megalopolis also tarnishes Coppola's legacy. This is no Godfather. It is not The Rainmaker. It's not even Jack. It is, however, among the worst big-budget productions ever made â a late-career echo of Heaven's Gate, the sprawling vanity project by The Deer Hunter director Michael Cimino that was so monumentally awful it ruined Hollywood's trust in auteur directors for decades. > >With mostly his own money at stake, Coppola's latest may not have as big an effect on the future of film. But navel-gazey to the point of irresponsibility, sanctimonious to the point of insulting, Megalopolis is still a cautionary tale â though not about the entropic nature of empires and civilization. It's a warning about what too much money, too much self-seriousness and too little editing can do to an artist.
thedirect.com
www.joblo.com
> Blumhouseâs 2025 lineup seems to be spitting in the face of originality with Megan 2.0, An Untitled Insidious Movie, The Black Phone 2, and Five Nightâs at Freddyâs 2 all expected to release. And who knows what foreign remake theyâll target now that Speak No Evil is a nice little success. This is why itâs on us as the audience to seek out great cinema and not go simply because itâs the weekendâs new release. The studio and Indie world will just become more and more intermingled as we lose out on more and more mid-tier films. And we just have to hope that those meddling execs who usually focus on the bigger fare, donât start setting their sights on their low-budget offerings. Because otherwise, horror is doomed. > >Now, I fully acknowledge that Indie Horror is capable of being absolute shit. There are entire YouTube channels dedicated to all the awful films that get made on a daily basis. And sometimes too much creativity and lack of supervision can be a bad thing. But I will take something thatâs trying to fulfill some kind of creative niche versus solely trying to eek out a profit. Longlegs, Cuckoo, and Strange Darling are amongst the yearâs best and they are completely original works where the filmmakers were allowed to see their vision through. And Iâll take that over a bloodless CGI bear.
bloody-disgusting.com
> One of the most hotly anticipated horror movies in the remainder of September is the action-horror movie Azrael starring Samara Weaving (Ready or Not, Scream VI), in theaters September 27. While you wait, IFC Films has debuted a first-look clip via Rotten Tomatoes. > > ... > > The high concept action-horror film from Republic Pictures stars Samara Weaving and was directed by E.L. Katz (Channel Zero, The Haunting of Bly Manor, Cheap Thrills) from an original script by Simon Barrett (The Guest, Youâre Next, Godzilla x Kong). > >âIn a world in which no one speaks, a devout female-led community hunts down a young woman (Weaving) who has escaped her imprisonment. Recaptured by its ruthless leaders, Azrael is to be sacrificed to pacify an ancient evil that resides deep within the surrounding wilderness â yet she will stop at nothing to ensure her own freedom and survival. > >âFrom the seeds of this gritty, relentless parable of sacrifice and salvation, comes an immersive, real-time, action horror tale.â [Clip](https://youtu.be/j8nRnrBIgk8)
www.theguardian.com
> The Archival Producers Alliance (APA), a volunteer group of more than 300 documentary producers and researchers formed in response to concerns over the use of generative AI in nonfiction film, developed the guidelines over the course of a year, after publishing an open letter in the Hollywood Reporter demanding more guardrails for the industry. The guidelines, announced at the Camden Film Festival, are not intended to dismiss the possibilities of a technology that is already shaping all forms of visual storytelling, but to âto reaffirm the journalistic values that the documentary community has long heldâ. > > âIn a world where it is becoming difficult to distinguish between a real photograph and a generated one, we believe itâs absolutely pivotal to understand the ways generative AI could impact nonfiction storytelling,â said Stephanie Jenkins, APAâs co-director, in a statement. > > Dozens of prominent documentary film organizations endorsed the guidelines at launch, including the Documentary Producers Alliance (DPA) and the International Documentary Association (IDA), as well as over 50 individual film-makers such as Michael Moore, Ken Burns and Rory Kennedy. > >âDocumentary is a truth-seeking art practice, but the nature of truth has always been mutable,â Dominic Willsdon, executive director of the IDA, said. âGenAI will bring all sorts of new and profound mutations, some fruitful, some harmful.â APAâs guidelines âcan help the documentary field navigate this first phase of wider AI adoptionâ. > >Rather than rejecting the use of generative AI outright, the group encourages consideration based in four overarching principles: the value of primary sources, transparency, legal considerations and ethical considerations of creating human simulations.
www.darkhorizons.com
> Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura has revealed that writer Akiva Goldsman has put the finishing touches on the script for the sequel to 2005âs âHellblazerâ comic-to-film adaptation âConstantineâ. Talk of the sequel has swirled around for many years but picked up steam almost two years ago exactly when it was announced actor Keanu Reeves and director [âŚ] I really want this one to happen. I know there's a lot of hate for the original film, as it differs quite a lot from the original comic. Thing is, I never read or saw the comic, so I saw the film unaware of its origins and totally loved it!
www.indiewire.com
> Thirty years ago, Kevin Smith burst into the world of independent filmmaking in a blaze of glorious serendipity that nobody could replicate if they tried. Self-financed for less than $30,000 and shot entirely in the convenience store where he worked, the original âClerksâ was an electrifying mix of slacker wit and utter absurdism at a time when putting pop culture-obsessed male mediocrity on the big screen felt like a genuinely novel concept. Even after double digit viewings, the film still feels like a pitch-perfect punk rock farce that can make even the most discerning cinephile laugh out loud more than it has any right to. > > None of Smithâs subsequent work caught that kind of lightning in a bottle, but quite a few of his early films were close enough to the original high to be watchable. âMallratsâ is a passable â90s comedy, âChasing Amyâ is a clever character study anchored by a great Ben Affleck performance, and âClerks 2â was a solid sequel. But for much of the 21st century, the pickings have been slim for Kevin Smith fans hoping for a renaissance. His body horror experiment âTuskâ was a great midnight movie, but it spawned the truly abysmal Nazi-sausage-centric spin-off âYoga Hosers.â And while âJay and Silent Bob Strike Backâ was tolerable as fan service, âJay and Silent Bob Rebootâ was unwatchable drivel. Even the long-awaited âClerks 3â amounted to little more than a trip down memory lane. > > All of which is to say that nobody would blame you for tuning out Smithâs directorial output years ago. His brand as a cultural figure remains strong thanks to an empire of podcasts and comic books that left him perfectly positioned to ride the wave of 21st century geek culture, but his movies have increasingly felt like self-contained efforts that existed only for his diehard fans. > > âThe 4:30 Movieâ could have easily been more of the same. It was filmed almost entirely at SModcastle Cinema, Smithâs childhood movie theater that he purchased and re-branded in 2022 â and the lack of external constraints could have permitted him to run wild with his worst impulses. But Smith has always done his best work when heâs forced to come up with an idea based purely on having access to a cool location, so maybe it shouldnât be a surprise that his coming-of-age comedy is easily his best work since âTuskâ â and possibly even since âClerks 2.â
bleedingcool.com
cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/17460727 > > SHOCKER: Napoleon: The Director's Cut is good! It may be longer, but it improves upon the theatrical version with better pacing, restoring scenes and moments that explain the historical and political reasons for the characters' actions and is also a more complete story that makes director Ridley Scott's true intentions, which is to make an anti-Great Man story as an utterly irreverent comedy. The main character is not a Great Man but a miserable jerk, and the message of the film seems to be "Don't trust the myth of any Great Men." This makes it the most subversive historical blockbuster epic of the 21st Century. If you watch it knowing this, it is actually very funny, even if some of that laughter turns bitter. > > > > Ridley Scott seems to have a very strong point of view here, which is in opposition to the "Great Man of History narrative." It feels like he deliberately had Joaquin Phoenix play Napoleon Bonaparte as the most unlikable, uncharismatic, insecure, incel dweeb imaginable. He's petulant and uncouth, makes weird noises with his mouth to get attention, and is prone to tantrums. He's the epitome of every unhappy twelve-year-old boy you've ever had the misfortune to babysit, made even worse that he's a horny grown man, and even sex and love don't make him happy. It's hard for me not to laugh at every scene in which Phoenix does something, either physical or verbal, that just makes this guy utterly appalling and hilariously unappealing. Phoenix plays Bonaparte as if he didn't want to be here, and Paul Schrader's complaint about his lack of charisma might be the whole point. Bonaparte's military prowess or skill does not make him charismatic or glamorous here; he doesn't even take any joy from winning. Some viewers might have found the subversion of "The Great Man" story confusing since we've all been conditioned to treat historical biopics as respectful, but this movie is very funny. The casting of many British comedy actors who are normally familiar to British TV audiences seems to be a clue to Scott's intentions here. > > > > ... > > > > The French still have a sentimental and romantic view of Napoleon and even his romance with Josephine, and Scott seemed to make it so toxic and horrible as if he really wanted to piss them off. The whole movie gets funnier when you start to think Scott spent over $100 million to piss off the French, which any Englishmen would love to do if given half a chance.
variety.com
> Following a group of small-town, DIY Indian filmmakers, Reema Kagtiâs âSuperboys of Malegaonâ is a moving crowd-pleaser that constantly reaffirms its importance through its central theme. Although the film, which is based on real events, often tries to cover too much ground, it continually circles back to the idea that people must see themselves reflected in art, not just out of want, but out of deep desire stemming from need, in order to live with dignity. > > ... > > In adding years of context to each decision leading up to this superhero spoof, Varun Groverâs script also adds indelible (and tragic) context to the documentary, as well as the parody film it portrays, while transforming the filmâs own tale of scrappy creativity into a spiritually moving look at the meaning of cinematic images, and the immortality they offer. Its shattering climax makes for a wonderful complement to Spanish maestro Victor Ericeâs recent comeback, âClose Your Eyes,â which is no easy feat.
deadline.com
> The Peopleâs Choice Award from the just-wrapped 2024 Toronto Film Festival has gone to The Life of Chuck, first runner-up is Emilia PĂŠrez, and second runner-up is Anora. The Documentary Award goes to The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal, and the Midnight Madness winner is The Substance. > > Both runners-up Emilia PĂŠrez and Anora were big winners at Cannes in May (the latter taking the Palme dâOr), but Mike Flanaganâs Stephen King adaptation The Life of Chuck was a TIFF world premiere and a surprise winner of this award. > > Tom Hiddleston stars in the film based on Kingâs novella about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz. It is an unusual winner here for this award as it currently is looking for distribution and has no set release date, which means it could be the first Peopleâs Choice winner in recent memory to not be currently considered a contender in the 2024 awards-season race. It has been called âan apocalyptic version of Itâs a Wonderful Life,â and no doubt this award will speed up a distribution deal for the movie, which is atypical of Kingâs bread and butter but closer in spirit to the likes of movies like Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption, which both went on to Oscar nominations for Best Picture.
www.theguardian.com
> Sir Ian McKellen dropped a stinker on the British talkshow This Morning earlier in the week so putrid that even Gollum himself might steer clear of it. The 85-year-old star of the Lord of the Rings movies was being asked about a return to Middle-earth in The Hunt for Gollum, which will see Peter Jackson (this time as producer) and Andy Serkis (director, and Gollum) heading back to JRR Tolkienâs high fantasy classic more than two decades after the former completed 2003âs Oscar-winning The Return of the King. > >âThereâll be a script arriving sometime in the new year, and Iâll judge whether I want to go back,â laughed McKellen. âI would. I would love to go back to New Zealand, number one. And also, I donât like the idea of anyone else playing Gandalf.â > > But then he added: âIâm told itâs two films. I probably shouldnât be saying that. But I havenât read the script. So, I donât know if it is.â > >Is McKellen winding us up? For those who havenât been keeping a close eye on The Hunt for Gollum, which was announced in May, itâs possible this doesnât sound all that weird. After all, Jackson made trilogies out of both The Lord of the Rings (1,000 pages +) and the far more breezy, 300-page Hobbit. > > ... > > And here lies the problem with The Hunt for Gollum, and in particular the prospect of it being stretched to two movies. Itâs not a book at all, in fact itâs barely a few hundred words of high-end Gandalf-speak at the Council of Elrond, in Rivendell, before the quest to destroy the ring begins a-proper (though there are some background details in the Lord of the Ringsâ appendices and Tolkienâs posthumously assembled Unfinished Tales). Yes, weâre told that Aragornâs search for the wretched former ring-bearer, at the behest of the grey wizard, took many years. But while the future King of Gondorâs adventures in the period are well-documented in Tolkienâs writings, he definitely did not spend all this time trudging through murky pools in search of Middle-earthâs equivalent of the guy in the park whoâs always talking to pigeons. > > Fair enough, Gollum is essentially Middle-earthâs hide-and-seek champion, a creature with the ability to vanish into a rock crevice like a feral cat who owes you rent money. Tracking him would be like trying to follow lembas breadcrumbs through a hurricane on the peaks of the Misty Mountains, or chasing a hyperactive squirrel hopped up on pipeweed through Fangorn Forest. But two (probably two-hour plus) movies? Perhaps weâll get 20 minutes of Aragorn thoughtfully stroking his chin while staring at some vague footprints, or a 45-minute subplot where Gandalf takes a quick detour to the Prancing Pony for a not-so-swift half or eight. Or maybe there will be huge detours away from the dead marshes in which Strider gets involved in something else entirely, just for a bit of a break from the tedium. > > ... > > The only issue here, of course, is that Bloom will be approaching 50 when this thing eventually gets made, but will be appearing as a younger version of the character he played 20-plus years ago. But donât panic, the film-makers are reportedly planning to overcome such issues â elves are supposed to be immortal, but they do not age backwards â via the magic of artificial intelligence. âI did speak to Andy [Serkis] and he did say they were thinking about how to do things,â Bloom told Variety. âI was like, âHow would that even work?â And he was like, âWell, AI!ââ > > No doubt 65-year-old Viggo Mortensen will also be pricking up his ears at this news.
www.pcgamer.com
> So that's bad, yeah, but just how bad is it? With help from Google and The Numbers' movie comparison feature, I can tell you this: It's really bad. > > I present to you... > > ## An Incomplete List of Shitty Videogame Movies That Made More Money Than Borderlands > > (in no particular order) > > * Warcraft ($439 million) >* Max Payne ($88 million) Doom ($59 million) >* Street Fighter ($99 million) >* Assassin's Creed ($241 million) >* Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time ($336 million) >* Hitman ($99 million) >* Mortal Kombat (but Mortal Kombat is actually good) ($122 million) >* Need for Speed ($194 million) >* Five Nights at Freddy's ($297 million) >* Uncharted ($401 million) > >One big-budget, big(ish)-cast Hollywood film Borderlands managed to beat, which I bring up only because I paid good money to see it in theaters and I'm still sore about the whole thing, is Wing Commander, an utterly execrable celluloid waste of time and effort that bumbled to $11.5 million globally. Frankly I'm surprised it did that well.
www.worldofreel.com
> The 49th Toronto International Film Festival is winding down, and the audience winner will be announced tomorrow. What film will win the prize? My money is on either âAnoraâ or âConclave.â Other possibilities include âThe Life of Chuck,â âEmilia Perez,â âSaturday Nightâ and âThe Wild Robot.â > >Having seen close to 40 films in 7 days, I managed to find 10 that stood ahead of the pack and are worthy of being called one of the yearâs best. > >Of course, Iâm not counting [the essential titles I saw at Cannes](https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2024/6/2/cannes-post-mortem), which also screened at TIFF, and they include Sean Bakerâs âAnora,â Coraline Fargeatâs âThe Substance,â Jacques Audiardâs âEmilia Perez,â âAlain Guiraudieâs âMisericordia,â Mohammad Rasoulofâs âThe Seed of the Sacred Fig,â Boris Lojkineâs âThe Story of Souleymane,â Ali Abassiâs âThe Apprentice,â Leonardo Van Dijiâs âJulie Keeps Quietâ, and Arnaud & Jean-Marie Larrieuâs âThe Story of Jim.â > >Having to cut it down to just 10 films wasnât easy, I could have included Ron Howardâs âEden,â far and away the darkest and most twisted film of his career. Paul Walter Hauser is great as a sad sack loser of a gameshow contestant in Samir Oliverosâ âThe Luckiest Man in America.â I should also mention Morgan Nevilleâs Pharrell Williams doc âPiece by Piece,â which was a visually inventive treat. > > It turns out that half my list is composed of films that premiered at Venice. Not a surprise. TIFF world premieres tend to be films that couldnât get into Venice and/or Telluride. With that said, these are the 10 that stood out. * âAprilâ (Dea Kulumbegashvili) * âThe Brutalistâ (Brady Corbet) * âConclaveâ (Edward Berger) * âQueerâ (Luca Guadagnino) * âThe Room Next Doorâ (Pedro Almodovar) * âBabygirlâ (Halina Reijn) * âHard Truthsâ (Mike Leigh) * âPresenceâ (Steven Soderbergh) * âSaturday Nightâ (Jason Reitman) * âFriendshipâ (Andrew DeYoung)
