Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Release: Death and All His Friends








Death and All His Friends
Genre: Action-Adventure
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer: Mo Buck
Cast: Christian Bale, Uma Thurman, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Zoe Saldana, Walton Goggins, Steve Buscemi




Budget: $104,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $109,977,016
Foreign Box Office: $114,408,132
Total Profit: $52,994,321

Reaction: Given the star power and the director, we were honestly hoping for bigger numbers. In theaters, the film essentially broke even, so all the profits came from other ancillary income sources like home video and television licensing.



"The film is almost like a Quentin Tarantino version of Hunger Games. If that sounds as cool to you as it does to me, you'll love this film." - Stephen Ridley, Boston Globe



"Quentin Tarantino seems to have two modes as a filmmaker: pretigious films with a genre twist (Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained) and schlocky grindhouse films (Death Race, Kill Bill). You're enjoyment of this film will entirely depend on which version of the filmmaker you prefer. This is him in grindhouse mode, a mode I wish he'd retire." - Allen Poole, AV Club



"Death and All His Friends plays like a kung-fu video game on acid. The stars are huge and the fights are brutal. It's a blast." - Clark Davis, JoBlo.com

In Development

Heart of Stone: Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Godzilla, Nocturnal Animals) and Willem Dafoe (The Florida Project, Murder on the Orient Express) have joined Brie Larson in Jean-Marc Vallee's latest film. Dafoe will play the man she marries out of obligation, while Taylor-Johnson will play the man she really loves. Mo Buck penned the adaptation.

The Wolfman: The Wolfman has cast a couple actors who are quickly becoming regulars in the films of Last Resort Films. Ian McShane (Into Thin Air, "American Gods") and Gemma Arterton (Byzantium, Silver Surfer) have signed onto the film. McShane will play Javier Bardem's father, while Arterton will play his love interest. James Mangold is directing the Javier Bardem-led monster movie.

American Outlaws: Paul Thomas Anderson (Inherent Vice, The Master) has been hired to direct a western script from writer Seth Overton, and he has begun lining up an all-star cast to lead the film. Matthew McConaughey (The Dark Tower, Blood Meridian), Jessica Chastain (The Prisoner, Blood Countess) and Joaquin Phoenix (Inherent Vice, The Raven in the Night) will all appear in the film, a portrait of the criminal landscape in the late 1800s. McConaughey will play Adam Worth, a criminal mastermind, Chastain will play a notorious thief, and Phoenix will play Allan Pinkerton, famed private detective.

Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow: The sequel to the studio's highest grossing film has been greenlit, with Tom Cruise (Splinter Cell, American Made), Laurence Fishburne ("Hannibal", The Colony), Karen Gillan (Splinter Cell, Dino Crisis) and Joey King (Splinter Cell, Wish Upon) all returning for Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow. This time around Sam Fisher (Tom Cruise) is sent after a terrorist, who leads an operation involving setting up bombs with the smallpox virus on US territory. Joe Carnahan (The Grey, The A-Team) will direct this installment, with D.R. Cobb (The Question) taking over the writing duties.

Bride of Frankenstein: The sequel announcements for this season aren't quite finished. Bride of Frankenstein, sequel to Birth of Frankenstein, will hit the big screen before the season is over. Dan Stevens (Birth of Frankenstein, Sherwood) and Edgar Ramirez (Birth of Frankenstein, Paradise Lost) are both set to return as Dr. Frankenstein and his creation. The studio is reported looking at several high-profile actresses for the female lead. Mark Romanek (Every Secret Thing, One Hour Photo), meanwhile, has replaced J.A. Bayona as director.

Green Arrow: Hawkman hasn't hit the big screen yet, but Last Resort Films is already bringing another APJ-penned superhero film to the big screen, in addition to the already announced Batman film. This time around Green Arrow is the one getting the big screen treatment, with Armie Hammer (Nocturnal Animals, Call Me by Your Name) set to star as the titular hero. Wes Ball (The Maze Runner, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials) has been hired to direct the film which will be the first release of Season 4.

Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Now Showing: Death and All His Friends

Death and All His Friends
Genre: Action/Adventure
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer: Mo Buck
Cast: Christian Bale, Uma Thurman, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Zoe Saldana, Walton Goggins, Steve Buscemi

Plot: Dustin (Walton Goggins) and Alice (Zoe Saldana) peacefully eating their dinner, talking about their day and the importance of pop culture in our daily life in the 21st Century, when masked men kick down their door, with swords in their hands, targeting the two lovers. Unpleasantly surprised, Alice flips the table in the attackers' direction, giving time to her husband to reach his dagger and for her to reach her spear. They then start to fight the villainous forces sent to their house, while they were peacefully living their life. Blood is all over the place and they start to get pretty badly outnumbered. They are now surrounded by unknown attackers. Jack T. Sunsmith (Steve Buscemi) arrives and without saying a word, shots the husband and wife with small needles, putting them to sleep instantly. They are carried away by the small army, leaving their house in a bloody mess.

It's Johnson's (Samuel L. Jackson) first day in the retirement home. His family put him there, because he wasn't able to pay the rent alone anymore. The foul mouthed man isn't particularly happy with the situation and all of the employees of the Sunny Hill Retirement Home know about it, that's for sure. All the other residents are already complaining about him and doesn't give a single damn about that. During Bingo time, a mandatory activity in the residence, masked people arrive at the reception and kill the lady behind the desk. They enter in the Bingo room and start to kill everyone. Johnson went to retrieve his spiked baseball bat. You might think it is no match to the men's swords, but in his more glorious day, Johnson knew how to swing that bat. He's on a vicious rampage when Sunsmith arrives and puts him to sleep.

Charles Hermann (Christoph Waltz) is quietly sitting in is his office, watching two men battle themselves to death on his monitors, when Jack T. Sunsmith arrives in his office with Dustin, Alice and Johnson in chains. He presents them to Hermann and mentions their weapon of choice. Hermann assigns a letter to each of them. Dustin gets an E, Alice a D and Johnson a B. They leave Hermann's office and they're each assigned to their previously attributed cell. Sunsmith returns to Hermann's office to plan the future fights people want to see. Leonard, aka Fighter A (Christian Bale) the undisputed male champion has yet to meet an opponent worthy of his talent, so they decide to put him up against their two new acquisitions, Fighter B and Fighter E. Hermann suggests a fight between the newcomer Fighter D and the undefeated Fighter C, but Sunsmith disagrees, saying she'll get destroyed in mere seconds, Hermann doesn't care.

A woman in a yellow tracksuit is sitting in cell C, with her sword resting near her, when Hermann and Sunsmith interrupted her. Fighter C, aka the Bride (Uma Thurman) is the deadliest fighter Hermann ever had in his possession. He announces her that she'll need to fight a newcomer and she silently agrees. The Bride was captured by Hermann Enterprise on Christmas Eve, in the middle of the street with her kid by Sunsmith. She tried to fight them off, but she was badly outnumbered and didn't have her sword. They killed her little boy and finally managed to capture her. Hermann goes to Fighter D's cell and explain to her what's going to happen. She tries to fight him off, but she's chained to the wall and Hermann's guards have their electrical spear with them. He announces her that she'll die tomorrow at 9 am, the Bride and tonight will be her last dinner, with the others, in the eating room.

All the cells are unlocked now and the chains come off the wall and the five fighters can escape their cell. The only way for them to go is to the eating room, about half a mile away from their cell. They're escorted by armed guards. In the eating area, Fighter D goes to tell Fighter E what's going to happen to her tomorrow and he can't believe it. The newcomers all eat together Fighter D, E and B. The Bride eats alone and Fighter A eats alone. They start talking about a plan to try to escape out of this hell hole. All three are trained fighters and they'll probably all end up dead anyway, so why not try it. Johnson agrees with the couple. Fighter A interrupts their conversation and confesses that he heard everything they said and he will join them on one condition : they have to kill Hermann and Sunsmith in the process. They all ask him about what they should do about the Bride and he says he will take care of her. He says he has a fight scheduled against both Fighter B and E tomorrow and that's when they'll start the revolt.

The following morning, Johnson wakes up to the sound of a trumpet and realizes that he has to go "fight". He eats a lot, and I mean a lot, while having the weirdest, heavily vulgar conversation with his partner, Fighter E, aka Dustin Greg. They're interrupted by guards telling them it's time to go fight much to Johnson's disappointment. The three of them are ready to enter the cage when Fighter A tells them that he was unable to talk to the Bride during the evening as she wouldn't listen to him. They ask him why she acts so strangely and why she doesn't seem to care about what she's doing here and he tells them that she entered a sort of psychotic state when her kid got killed. They get their weapon and they start pummeling the guards before they enter the cage. One of them had enough time to turn on the alarm and we see all the guards preparing to kill the rebels.

They force their way to the other cage, hoping they were fast enough to save Alice before she's killed by the Bride. They enter the cage and see Alice still trying to defend herself against the Bride. They all join force against her and she resists them. Johnson says he has a plan and Leonard follows him. The couple is now all alone against the deadly Bride. She kills a couple of guards trying to get in the way. They defend themselves the best they can in a highly stylish fight before being saved by Johnson and Leonard who throw a sleeping dart at the Bride, putting her down. Johnson decides to carry the Bride with them, because she still has a chance to regain reason and they leave the cage.

Jack T. Sunsmith was escorting The Bride to Hermann's office shortly after she arrived at the facility. She was still in shock of the loss of her kid. She tries to fight her way out, by breaking her chains, but she's rapidly outnumbered and put in stronger chains. Hermann explains to her that she only has to do ten fights for him and after that she can return home to her husband and her other kid. She surprisingly believes him and Hermann warns her about what will happen if she tries to get away, before being escorted out by Sunsmith and his men.

The group of rebels are making their way in the vast facility, killing everyone in their sight and a bloody fashion and by every way they can. Johnson is still trying to carry the Bride. They kill about a hundred more men, before entering Sunsmith's apartment. He has a dozen of heavily armored guards by his side and he himself has a katana in his hands. They battle start and after they struggle a bit, they manage to kill the guards and killing a defenseless Sunsmith in a horrible way. They continue to force their way to Hermann's office, killing dozens of guard on their way. When they enter Hermann's office, he's behind his desk, smiling at them. That's when the Bride awakens and Hermann tells her that this was her last fight before being released and if she kills Alice, she's free to go. Desperate to see her family again and get out of the killing game once and for all, she turns her back on the group and they start to fight themselves. Hermann runs off by the back door. They all start to fight and are overwhelmed by the Bride's extraordinary fighting skills. They're unable to touch her and they don't even dare try to attack her, instead staying on their toes. She's able cut Dustin's left arm and he continues to fight anyway. She now focuses on his left arm and manages to cut it off. Greg falls on his knees, screaming and the Bride finishes him, by planting her sword through his brain. The others are shocked by the Bride's achievement and she continues her quest to kill Alice. They continue to fight, until Leonard shows her Hermann's screen, showing a conversation between a man named the Eraser. Hermann asked him to kill the Bride's husband and other kid and the Eraser later replying that it was done.

We finally hear what Hermann told her what would be happening if she tried to escape and that's exactly what he told her. She starts to scream and throws her katana on a framed picture of Hermann, hitting him directly between the eyes, as Alice Fletcher is mourning her deceased husband. She swears to get revenge on Hermann.



Release: Inhumans








Inhumans
Genre: Adventure/Fantasy
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Writer: Jack Ryder
Cast: Anson Mount, Serinda Swan, Keira Knightley, Ken Leung, Kevin McKidd, Eme Ikwuakor, Isabelle Cornish, Mike Moh, Sonya Balmores, Nick Nolte, Lee Pace, Doug Jones, Iwan Rheon


 Budget: $167,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $106,538,025
Foreign Box Office: $203,223,297
Total Profit: $9,985,790

Reaction: Not exactly the numbers one would expect from a big budget Marvel Comics film. Without the home video sales, this one would have bombed hard. Apparently the TV series really left a bad taste in peoples' mouths. While it's always nice to avoid losses, we must chalk this one up as a disappointment.


"It's always nice to see new corners of comic book universes on the big screen. While the cast of the film generally struggles to make much of their characters, Guillermo del Toro adds a certain flair to the material that keeps it interesting." - Paul Onkean, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette


"Aside from fancier special effects and a couple appearances from big name actors slumming it, this film does not improve upon much from the trainwreck TV series." - George Ryan, Philadelphia Inquirer


"Not even Guillermo del Toro behind the camera can manage to bring life to these boring characters." - Stephen Anderson, Entertainment Weekly

Monday, January 29, 2018

Now Showing: Inhumans

Inhumans
Genre: Adventure/Fantasy
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Writer: Jack Ryder
Based on Marvel Comics characters
Cast: Anson Mount, Serinda Swan, Keira Knightley, Ken Leung, Kevin McKidd, Eme Ikwuakor, Isabelle Cornish, Mike Moh, Sonya Balmores, Nick Nolte, Lee Pace, Doug Jones, Iwan Rheon, Tara Strong (voice), Coleen Villard (voice), Grey DeLisle (voice)

Plot: Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace) is in his ship, we see Accuser Huran (Kevin McKidd) joining him and informing him that he found the five inhuman species and asks for permission to attack them, which Ronan grants.

We see Blackagar Boltagon (Anson Mount) walking down in a ruined Attilan on the moon. Bodies of the fallen Inhumans of Attilan everywhere, One by one he sees the bodies of the the Royal Family, His face becomes horrified when he sees the body of his beloved Medusa (Serinda Swan). He runs towards her but she and everything else vanished, he shouts in despair, he hears an explosion and turns around to see Earth exploding. Blackbolt wakes up in horror, while also waking up Medusa.

The next morning he meets with Karnak(Ken Lueng) and in private communicates with him about last night incident. Karnak advises Blackbolt to meditate while he sends a team to check up the Inhuman City Attilan on the Moon which was destroyed during Maximus (Iwan Rheon) attempt to seize power, they plan to keep it a secret between them but Medusa is suspicious that Blackbolt is hiding something and talks to Crystal (Isabelle Cornish) about it.

Karnak selects Gorgon (Eme Ikwuakor) and Auran (Sonya Balmores) to go to moon with Lockjaw and check how is Eldrac (Doug Jones) holding up and assuring him that they are working to bring him here with them and scavenge the remains, Crystal forcefully joins them thinking this may have to do with the secret between Karnak and Blackbolt.

On the Moon, Gorgon and Auran sees something unusual is happening there. On further investigation they find a group of Aliens have made a makeshift base there. In a moment of ignorance Gorgon and Crystal attack the aliens leaving Auran no choice but to join them in the attack. In the coming moments they are defeated by the aliens and their leader introduce herself as Oola Udonta (Keira Knightley) and asks where is Blackbolt to them.

While Blackbolt was meditating he was visited by Wayfnder (Nick Nolte) who says the Midnight King and the five Queens shall unite to avoid the danger they all face. Also says that One of the Queen is waiting at the his old home. Blackbolt convenes this to Karnak who sais that he has read about the Midnight King and the Five Queens, He will re read them while he asks Blackbolt to go to Moon.

Blackbolt and Triton (Mike Moh) goes to Moon and finds the Aliens and members of Royal Family and intervenes between their guest and his family members clarifying the misunderstanding and then invites Oola Udonta to Earth and bring them all back. While Medusa tries to talk to Karnak and know what him and Blackbolt are hiding, but Karnak excuses himself and locks himself in the Attilan Library.

Blackbolt comes back to the new Attilan with Oola Udonta ,her group and Royal Family members. Medusa questions Oola and Oola tells them about Kree experimentation on different species in the past which has created Universal Inhumans, consisting of Humans, Centaurians, Badoons, Kymellians and Dire Wraiths. For some reason the Kree came back to kill every one of their creation but these five were left out but now they have been found out and are being hunted by Accuser Huran. She reveals that he has already attacked her planet but they were successful in avoiding him as her adviser Arris (Doug Jones) is busy distracting Huran, while she arrived here.

She details how ruthless Huran was when he attacked her planet, he has killed nearly half of their population while other half is running in despair. In many of their recon missions they found him to be mad person obsessed with violence who claims that now as Ronan the Accuser has gone he will the true protector of Kree.

Medusa interjects then why are you here, Oola answers to end this by marrying Blackbolt as told in the the prophecy that the five queens will join the one king who returns from the forever night and band together in a new holy land which will be known as New Hala. Medusa gets angry hearing upon this while Oola says that she have made contact with others and they will also be joining them soon. Karnak while listening in secret enters the room and take Blackbolt into private and tells what Oola is telling might be true as he found similar rambling in their books. Blackbolt allows Oola and her members to stay at the new Attilan while they think about the next steps to be taken and confirm what she is saying is true., to which Medusa gets enraged thinking Blackbolt will think about marrying someone else.

Medusa and Crystal corners Karnak to know what is happening, after some back and forth Karnak suggests if they are not happy with the recent developments, there is a flawless way Medusa can replace Blackbolt as the leader of Inhumans and steer them in the way she likes as she is already the voice of the leader. Crystal asks what is the way to which Karnak responds that his allegiance is still towards Blackbolt as he believes he is way smarter than he let us know and thinks a lot of the consequences.

While Triton goes back to Moon to check Oola's story, suddenly he is attacked by a delusional Arris but after a good fight Triton puts him down and brings him back to Earth. Medusa seeing this think Oola is trying to do commit treachery and advocates that she should be put in prison. Arris wakes up to his normal self and warns that Huran has found them and is coming here to attack. Medusa not believing what Arris and Oola is saying engages in a fierce debate with Karnak and Blackbolt who belief in her story and want to put their defense up, while they were debating Wayfnder appears and confirms Oola Udonta story. Medusa now believes her story as in the past she has been visited by Wayfnder.

Karnak devises a defense plan with help from Blackbolt and Oola. They decide they can't fight here in the populated areas as they don't want to put spotlight on them hence decide to move their army in Antarctica.

While they wait at Antarctica they receive a video message from Huran whose ships now their technology can see has docked at Earth's moon. He calls them slaves and demands them to put down their weapons and meet their end or otherwise this whole Earth has to face the wrath of Huran. The Inhumans challenge him to meet at Antarctica and meet his demise and send their co ordinates.

Huran remains in his ship and like always and send his troops to attack Inhumans on Antarctica. After lengthy and a losing battle, Blackbolt sees they cannot win until they get hold of their ships. He decides himself, Karnak, Medusa and Oola will transport to the moon with Lockjaw and attack Huran while Gorgon, Crystal, Triton, Auran and Arris remain on Earth to fight their troops.

Blackbolt and his group do a stealth attack on Huran and his ship while he was busy devouring the violence his troops were involved in. They initially have the upper ground but Huran and his troops regain their balance and get the advantage. Blackbolt is afraid to use his powers because of the dreams he had before. Huran uses this and gains control over Blackbolt and goes in for the killing blow but seeing this Medusa regrows her hair which she lost because of Maximus cutting them off, demonstrating that power for the first time and protects Blackbolt but they where still on the losing hand but their tides turn when they are joined by Aladi Ko Eke (Tara Strong) and her troops. Blackbolt regains his confidence and uses his powers to destroy the ships of Huran and in process killing him.

On Earth, Remaining Royal family members are joined by the forces of Onomi Whitemane (Coleen Villard) and Avoe (Grey DeLisle).

Aladi Ko Eke reminds that by killing Huran their problems don't end as the Kree still desire to kill us all. Medusa after a long conversation with Karnak suggests that they should rebuilt their Moon Base so that Oola, Aladi, Onomi, Avoe and their troops can stay there and they should get married as the prophecy said to stop the destruction of their own kind.

After Credits:
In the great hall we see the Royal family celebrating the wedding with the officiant (Stan Lee), a gift reaches the hands of Blackbolt, when they open it they see it is a message from Maximus saying "Miss me? Brother" and laughing. Triton finds the barrack in which Maximus was locked by Blackbolt is empty.


In Development

Mass Effect: Casting has wrapped up on Rian Johnson's Mass Effect with the additions of Dominic Purcell ("Prison Break", "Legends of Tomorrow"), Andre Braugher (The Gambler, "Brooklyn Nine-Nine") and Seth Green (The Story of Luke, "Dads"). Purcell has been cast as Urdnot Wrex, performing motion capture and voice work for a large, intimidating alien helping the lead characters. Braugher has been cast as David Anderson, a human war hero. Green has been cast as Jeff "Joker" Moreau, reprising his role from the video game as the wisecracking pilot.

Blood Countess: Angela Sarafyan (The Promise, "Westworld"), Sean Bean (the upcoming Hawkman, The Job) and Rhys Ifans (Roanoke, The Amazing Spider-Man) have all joined the Jessica Chastain-led Blood Countess. Sarafyan will play the lover of Gyorgy Thurzo (Mads Mikkelsen), Sean Bean will play King Mathias II, and Rhys Ifans will play a monk. Jennifer Kent directs from Clive Steinbeck's original screenplay.

Pudd'nhead Wilson: The cast of the peculiar Mark Twain adaptation has been completed. Zachary Quinto (The Fountainhead, Star Trek Beyond), Eli Roth (Aftershock, Inglourious Basterds), Stephen Amell ("Arrow", Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows) and Josh Hartnett ("Penny Dreadful", 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain) have all joined the film. Quinto and Roth will play brothers, Harnett will play a slave owner, while Amell will play a duel participant. Ava DuVernay is directing the Jack Ryder-penned adaptation.

V: Karl Urban (Thor: Ragnarok, Star Trek Beyond) and Onata Aprile (About Scout, What Maisie Knew) have rounded out the cast of V from writer John Malone and director Duncan Jones. Urban will play a mercenary who joins the alien resistance, while Aprile will play a human-alien hybrid.

Heart of Stone: The "terrific trio" of Brie Larson (The Fountainhead, The Child Martyr), director Jean-Marc Vallee (The Child Martyr, Maria) and writer Mo Buck (The Child Martyr, Inferno) are back at it again with an adaptation of Claude-Henri Grignon's 1933 novel "Un homme et son péché" (A man and his sin). Larson will lead the cast as a woman who marries an older man to pay off her father's debt, despite being in love with another man.

The Wolfman: Yet another new entry in the Last Resort Film Monster Universe will hit the big screens with the addition of The Wolfman. Javier Bardem (Skyfall, the upcoming Mass Effect) will star as the titular character. James Mangold (Logan, 3:10 to Yuma) has been hired to direct the film.

Premiere Magazine #24


Release: Metal Gear Solid








Metal Gear Solid
Genre: Action/Sci-Fi
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Writer: Mark Newton
Based on the video game
Cast: Chris Evans, Harrison Ford, Joel Kinnaman, Evangeline Lilly, Sophie Turner, Max Irons, Matthew Fox, William Fichtner, Keith David


Budget: $142,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $180,447,059
Foreign Box Office: $247,695,087
Total Profit: $108,734,551

Reaction: It's certainly nice to have a hit film for ourselves in this tough, unpredictable season. We will definitely consider sequels after a performance like this where the profits alone almost pay for the production of another film.



"Fans have waited a long time for this film to get made and I don't think they'll be disappointed with this tense, action-packed led by Chris Evans, proving he's not just Captain America." - Sean Williamson, Toronto Star


"They really assembled quite the cast for this one, although they aren't given a lot to do other than explain things or perform action scenes." - Jon Farrell, Hollywood Reporter



"The script by Mark Newton probably tries to pack too much information into one film, but Joseph Kosinski directs it well enough that the audience never gets too bogged down by the information overload." - Tom Lane, Detroit News

Sunday, January 28, 2018

Now Showing: Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid
Genre: Action/Sci-Fi
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Writer: Mark Newton
Based on the video game
Cast: Chris Evans, Harrison Ford, Joel Kinnaman, Evangeline Lilly, Sophie Turner, Max Irons, Matthew Fox, William Fichtner, Keith David

Plot: The year is 2025, six years after the downfall of Zanzibarland. A renegade genetically-enhanced special forces unit, FOXHOUND, has seized a remote island in Alaska's Fox Archipelago codenamed "Shadow Moses", the site of a nuclear weapons disposal facility. FOXHOUND threatens to use the nuclear-capable mecha, Metal Gear REX, against the U.S. government if they do not receive the remains of Big Boss and the ransom of $1 billion within 24 hours. Solid Snake (Chris Evans) is forced out of retirement by Colonel Roy Campbell (Harrison Ford) to infiltrate the island and neutralize the threat.

Snake enters the facility via an air vent and locates the first hostage, DARPA Chief Donald Anderson (Keith David). Anderson reveals that Metal Gear REX can be deactivated with a secret detonation override code, but dies of a heart attack. Colonel Campbell's niece Meryl Silverburgh (Sophie Turner), held hostage in an adjoining cell, helps Snake escape. Snake locates another hostage, ArmsTech president Kenneth Baker, but is confronted by FOXHOUND member Revolver Ocelot (William Fichtner). Their gunfight is interrupted by a mysterious cyborg ninja who cuts off Ocelot's right hand. Baker briefs Snake on the Metal Gear project and advises him to contact Meryl, whom he gave a PAL card that might prevent the launch, but he too dies of a sudden heart attack.

Over Codec, Meryl agrees to meet in the warhead disposal area on the condition that Snake contacts Metal Gear's designer, Dr. Hal "Otacon" Emmerich (Max Irons). En route, Snake receives an anonymous codec call warning him of a tank ambush. Snake and proceeds to the rendezvous, where he locates Otacon. The ninja reappears and Snake realizes it is his former ally Gray Fox (Matthew Fox), believed dead. Otacon agrees to aid Snake remotely using special camouflage to procure information and supplies.

Snake meets Meryl and receives the PAL card. As they head for the underground base, Meryl is possessed by psychic Psycho Mantis and pulls her gun on Snake. He disarms her and defeats Mantis, who informs Snake that he has "a large place" in her heart. After they reach the underground passageway, Sniper Wolf ambushes them, wounds Meryl, and captures Snake. Liquid (Joel Kinnaman) confirms Snake's suspicion that they are twin brothers. After being tortured by Ocelot, Snake is confused to discover Anderson's body in his cell, seemingly dead for days. He escapes, makes his way up the communications tower, and fends off a helicopter attack from Liquid. As he emerges onto a snowfield, he is confronted again by Sniper Wolf. He kills her, devastating Otacon, who was infatuated with her.

Snake continues to REX's hangar and is ambushed again by Raven. After Snake defeats him, Raven tells Snake that "Anderson" was, in fact, FOXHOUND disguise artist Decoy Octopus. Infiltrating Metal Gear's hangar, Snake overhears Liquid and Ocelot preparing the REX launch sequence and uses the PAL card, but this unexpectedly activates REX. Liquid reveals that he has been impersonating Snake's advisor Master Miller and that FOXHOUND has used Snake to facilitate REX's launch. He and Snake are the product of the Les Enfants Terribles project, a government program to clone Big Boss. He also reveals to Snake the government's true reason for sending him: Snake is unknowingly carrying a weaponized "FoxDie" virus that causes cardiac arrest in FOXHOUND members on contact, allowing the government to retrieve REX undamaged.

As Liquid, in REX, battles Snake, Gray Fox appears, destroys REX's radome, and is killed. Snake destroys REX and defeats Liquid, then escapes with Meryl and Otacon via an underground tunnel, pursued by Liquid in a Jeep. After their vehicles crash, Liquid pulls a gun on Snake but dies from FoxDie. Colonel Campbell, briefly ousted from command, calls off a nuclear strike to destroy evidence of the operation and has Snake registered as killed in action to stop the US government searching for him. Naomi Hunter (Evangeline Lilly), who injected Snake with the FoxDie virus, tells him that he has an indeterminate amount of time before it kills him. Ocelot calls the U.S. President, as he was a double agent whose mission was to steal Baker's disk of Metal Gear specifications.


Saturday, January 27, 2018

Release: Amelie








Amelie
Genre: Romance/Comedy
Director: Wes Anderson
Writer: Ann Morrow
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Lucas Hedges, F. Murray Abraham, Frances McDormand, Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Michael Gambon, Garance Marillier, Anjelica Huston


Budget: $44,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $23,537,084
Foreign Box Office: $28,465,587
Total Profit: -$30,654,103

Reaction: It seems that people just weren't all that interested in this remake despite the pedigree of the cast and filmmaker. Amelie continues the trend of any Wes Anderson film that costs more than $40 million doing poorly at the box office. We've had quite a bit of box office trouble for the most part with our comedic releases.


"I'm really not sure what the audience for this film is. Fans of the original are probably content with just having the original to watch, while fans of Wes Anderson will probably find the film too mainstream compared to his usual output." - Allen Poole, AV Club

"While the cast is full of talented actors, all of their performances feel like they are in different movies. Ronan and Hedges come across as too modern, while actors like Murray, McDormand, Swinton and Gambon act like they're in a more old fashioned tale. One has to wonder what kind of direction they were given from their director." - Mark Rawls, Seattle Times


"If you liked the original 2001 French film, you'll most likely enjoy the remake as well. It doesn't really change any of the story, not even updating the dates to a more present time period. Personally, I enjoyed the original a great deal, and enjoyed this remake as well, just not nearly as much." - Chris Mears, Slashfilm

Behind the Scenes: Casting the Joker


While most of the antagonists in Last Resort Films' upcoming Batman film will be fairly fresh to the big screen, one that was allowed to appear despite several different incarnations on film is The Joker. Historically the "Clown Prince of Crime" has been played by big name actors coming off of hit films: Jack Nicholson in Batman was one of the biggest movie stars in the world, Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight was coming off of several acclaimed performances including an Oscar nomination for Brokeback Mountain, and Jared Leto in Suicide Squad was coming off of his Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for Dallas Buyers Club. Studio head Phil Dolan is trying to buck that trend, insisting that no big name actors will be cast as The Joker in the APJ-scripted Batman film. Dolan has worked with writer APJ and star Jake Gyllenhaal to comprise a list of 10 actors to bring in to read with Gyllenhaal for the role. We will breakdown that shortlist below.

Reeve Carney
Age: 34
Height: 6'0"
Notable Works: "Penny Dreadful", The Tempest

















Caleb Landry Jones
Age: 28
Height: 5'11"
Notable Works: Get Out, War on Everyone, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Last Resort Films Productions: the upcoming Blood Countess














Michael Pitt
Age: 36
Height: 5'11"
Notable Works: Ghost in the Shell, Last Days, Funny Games
Last Resort Films Productions: the upcoming Femme Fatale














Will Poulter
Age: 25
Height: 6'2"
Notable Works: Detroit, We're the Millers, The Maze Runner
















Bill Skarsgard
Age: 27
Height: 6'4"
Notable Works: It, Atomic Blonde, The Divergent Series: Allegiant
















Matt Smith
Age: 35
Height: 6'0"
Notable Works: "The Crown", Lost River, Terminator: Genisys
Last Resort Films Productions: Creature from the Black Lagoon, the upcoming V














Dan Stevens
Age: 35
Height: 6'0"
Notable Works: "Legion", The Guest, Beauty and the Beast
Last Resort Films Productions: Birth of Frankenstein, Sherwood














Harry Treadaway
Age: 22
Height: 5'10"
Notable Works: "Penny Dreadful", "Mr. Mercedes", Honeymoon
















Gaspard Ulliel
Age: 33
Height: 5'11"
Notable Works: Hannibal Rising, Saint Laurent, It's Only the End of the World
















Rhys Wakefield
Age: 29
Height: 6'0"
Notable Works: "Home and Away", You Get Me, Endless Love

















Who Should Play The Joker?

Reeve Carney
Caleb Landry Jones
Michael Pitt
Will Poulter
Bill Skarsgard
Matt Smith
Dan Stevens
Harry Treadaway
Gaspard Ulliel
Rhys Wakefield
made here

Trivia Tidbits


Starting now on select film pages on the Last Resort Films Database, there will be trivia tidbits on the film. It will be at the end of the page following the box office report and the reviews. So even after you've read about a film here on the blog, check out that film's database page and you may learn some information never before revealed.

Friday, January 26, 2018

Now Showing: Amelie

Amelie
Genre: Romance/Comedy
Director: Wes Anderson
Writer: Ann Morrow
Based on the film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Lucas Hedges, F. Murray Abraham, Frances McDormand, Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, Bill Murray, Michael Gambon, Garance Marillier, Anjelica Huston

Plot: Amélie (Saoirse Ronan) is born in June 1974 and raised by eccentric parents who – incorrectly believing that she has a heart defect – decide to home school her. To cope with her loneliness, Amélie develops an active imagination and a mischievous personality. When Amélie is six, her mother, Amanda (Tilda Swinton), is killed when a suicidal Canadian tourist jumps from the roof of Notre-Dame de Paris and lands on her. As a result, her father Raph (Bill Murray) withdrawal from society worsens. Amélie leaves home at the age of 18 and becomes a waitress at the Café des 2 Moulins in Montmartre, which is staffed and frequented by a collection of eccentrics. She is single but not a virgin; she lets her imagination roam freely, and finds contentment in simple pleasures like dipping her hand into grain sacks and cracking crème brûlée with a spoon.

On 31 August 1997, startled by the news of the death of Princess Diana, Amélie drops a plastic perfume-stopper which dislodges a wall tile and accidentally reveals an old metal box of childhood memorabilia hidden by a boy who lived in her apartment decades earlier. Amélie resolves to track down the boy and return the box to him. She promises herself that if it makes him happy, she will devote her life to bringing happiness to others.

After asking the apartment's concierge and several old tenants about the boy's identity, Amélie meets her reclusive neighbour, Raymond (F. Murray Abraham) He correctly recalls the boy's name as "Brody". Amélie quickly finds the man, Dominic Brody (Michael Gambon), and surreptitiously gives him the box. Moved to tears by the discovery and the memories it holds, Brody resolves to reconcile with his estranged daughter and the grandson he has never met. Amélie happily embarks on her new mission.

Amélie secretly executes complex schemes that affect the lives of those around her. She escorts a blind man to the Métro station, giving him a rich description of the street scenes he passes. She persuades her father to follow his dream of touring the world by stealing his garden gnome and having a flight attendant friend airmail pictures of it posing with landmarks from all over the world. She starts a romance between her hypochondriacal co-worker Georgette (Frances McDormand) (and Joseph (Owen Wilson), one of the customers in the bar. She convinces Madeleine (Angelica Huston) who lives on her block of flats, that the husband who abandoned her had sent her a final conciliatory love letter just before his accidental death years before.

Raymond, having observed Amélie, begins a conversation with her about his painting, a copy of Luncheon of the Boating Party. Although he has copied the same painting 20 times, he has never quite captured the look of the girl drinking a glass of water. They discuss the meaning of this character, and over several conversations Amélie begins projecting her loneliness onto the image. He recognizes this, and uses the girl in the painting to push Amélie to examine her attraction to a quirky young man, Nino (Lucas Hedges), who collects the discarded photographs of strangers from passport photo booths. When Amélie bumps into Nino a second time, she realizes she is falling in love with him. He accidentally drops a photo album in the street. Amélie retrieves it.

Amélie plays a cat-and-mouse game with Nino around Paris before returning his treasured album anonymously. After arranging a meeting at the 2 Moulins, Amélie panics and tries to deny her identity. Her co-worker, Gina (Garance Marillier), concerned for Amélie's well-being, screens Nino for her; Joseph's comment about this misleads Amélie to believe she has lost Nino to Gina. It takes Raymond's insight to give her the courage to pursue Nino, resulting in a romantic night together and the beginning of a relationship. Amélie finally finds happiness for herself.

In Development

Welcome to Paradise: Rounding out the cast of director Ethan Hawke and writer Billy Armstrong's drama Welcome to Paradise will be Devon Bostick (Okja, Regression) and Finn Wolfhard ("Stranger Things", Salem's Lot). Bostick will play a member of the main group of punks, while Wolfhard will play Asa Butterfield's younger brother.

Femme Fatale: Michael Pitt (Ghost in the Shell, I Origins), Toby Kebbell (Dracula Origins, Fantastic Four) and Jim Sturgess (Geostorm, Kidnapping Mr. Heineken) will complete the cast of the Suki Waterhouse-led Edie Sedgwick biopic, Femme Fatale. Pitt will play a filmmaker who worked with Andy Warhol. Kebbell will play Bob Neuwirth, a friend of Bob Dylan's who has a relationship with Sedgwick. Sturgess will play Michael Post, who marries Sedgwick after a stint in rehab. Derek Cianfrance directs from a script by Lon Charles.

Mass Effect: Director Rian Johnson and writer Seth Overton, despite missing out on star Christian Bale, are still managing to line up a pretty high pofile cast with Rebecca Hall (Christine, Iron Man 3), Javier Bardem (The Last Face, Skyfall), Tom Hardy (Without Remorse, The Prisoner) and Alicia Vikander (Gorky Park, Ex Machina) joining the already cast Henry Cavill in the film. Hall will play Ashley Williams, Cavill's love interest. Hardy will play Garrus Vakarian, a member of Shepard's team. Bardem will play Saren Arterius, the villain. Vikander will play Liara T'Soni, another member of Shepard's team. Bardem, Hardy and Vikander's roles all primarily involve motion capture and voice work, which is how all three were able to fit it into their busy schedules.

Blood Countess:
Mads Mikkelsen (The Question, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Mia Wasikowska (The Prisoner, Crimson Peak), Michael Sheen (Solution, "Masters of Sex") and Caleb Landry Jones (Get Out, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) have joined Jessica Chastain in the Elizabeth Bathory horror-biopic Blood Countess from director Jennifer Kent and writer Clive Steinbeck. Mikkelsen will play Gyorgy Thurzo, a man who seeks to enter the higher circles of Hungarian nobility at any cost. Wasikowska will play a young woman accused of being a witch who befriends Bathory. Sheen will play Bathory's husband. Landry Jones will play Bathory's nephew-in-law.

Pudd'nhead Wilson: Director Ava DuVernay and writer Jack Ryder continue to cast up their Mark Twain adaptation with the additions of Julianne Moore (Carrie, Still Alice), James Spader ("The Blacklist", Lincoln) and Sissy Spacek (Deadfall, "Bloodline"). Moore will curiously play a 94% white slave, Spader will play a judge, while Spacek will play a resident of the town.

V: The Jake Gyllenhaal-led tv adaptation V has added Hailee Steinfeld (101, Pitch Perfect 3), Kate Mara (Fantastic Four, "House of Cards") and Matt Smith (Creature from the Black Lagoon, "The Crown") to its cast.  Steinfeld will play a young woman impregnated by a Visitor, Mara will play a biologist who joins the Resistance, and Smith will play a Visitor who helps out the human resistance. Duncan Jones directs from a script by John Malone.

Thursday, January 25, 2018

Release: The Informers








The Informers
Genre: Drama
Director: Elizabeth Wood
Writer: Lon Charles
Cast: Connie Britton, Kyle Chandler, Brady Corbet, Dane DeHaan, Blake Jenner, Logan Lerman, Jane Levy, Dora Madison Burge, Ezra Miller, Nicola Peltz, Glen Powell, Shane West, Michael Shannon


Budget: $27,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $25,140,022
Foreign Box Office: $36,841,671
Total Profit: $1,878,375

Reaction: The well-selling soundtrack album is what saved this film from losses. We were hoping to keep the budget of this film under $20 million, but with the expansive cast involved, that really just wasn't possible.


"Definitely more faithful to Bret Easton Ellis' source material than the first adaptation of the book, but it isn't a whole lot better, and suffers from many of the same issues." - Michael Wilmington, Rolling Stone


"The film meanders around Los Angeles just like its characters, giving us a look at various unlikable protagonists and their (mostly) self-inflicted problems." - Henry Stewart, Chicago Sun-Times



"Elizabeth Wood's cast really delivers in the film. There's not a single faulty performance in the film, despite the faultiness and emptiness of the characters." - James Tubbs Jr., Vice Magazine