Friday, May 31, 2019
Breaking News
Top 10 Season Finale Films
Top 10 Season Finale Films
10. The Life Ahead (Season 4)
9. Planet LV 426 (Season 2)
8. Odette (Season 11)
7. Life After Life (Season 9)
6. Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow (Season 3)
5. Skin Tight (Season 1)
4. Stained (Season 7)
3. Scion (Season 6)
2. Justice League International (Season 10)
1. Nevada, Iowa (Season 8)
Now Showing: Odette
Genre: Drama/Fantasy
Director: Patty Jenkins
Writer: Jacob Jones
Cast: Natalie Dormer, Mia Wasikowska, Sigourney Weaver, Amy Poehler, John De Lancie, Miranda Cosgrove, Elijah Wood, Dev Patel, Julie Christie, Ian McKellan, Stu Bennett
Plot: Amidst the darkness, a soft yet sinister voice can be heard calling for Odette's name. Odette (Natalie Dormer) slowly awakens from her slumber and to her surprise she finds that she has been transformed into a swan and on a river. Frightened, she demands to know the person responsible for this.
The voice of Baron Von Rothbart (John De Lancie) tells her that she needn't look too far, as he is already here with her. He asks her how she likes her new habitat, but an angered Odette tries to attack him. Rothbart manages to shield himself by using a magic spell and looks at her with little pity. He tells her that she should've thought better than to trust him.
With the wave of his hand and at the command of his voice, Rothbart introduces Odette to an army of swans who swims by and observe their newest companion. He explains that they will be her family for all of eternity.
He heads off to rest for the evening, leaving Odette to wallow in her own tears. Three swans look on in concern and proceed to check on her. They soon introduce themselves as Sandra (Amy Poehler), Claire (Miranda Cosgrove) and Evelyn (Sigourney Weaver) and as they comfort her, they encourage her to tell her story.
In a flashback, it is revealed that Odette was set to marry Rothbart as part of a deal between the king, queen and Rothbart, an intelligent, crafty and rather charming sorcerer. Odette did not wish to marry him however, as she found him rude and abrasive. But she kept silent out of respect.
One night, Odette would find Rothbart working on a magic spell. She would question him on the importance of it, in an attempt to get him to crack.
After denying it and assuring her that nothing is to be worried over, Rothbart snaps and tries to attack Odette. Odette however is able to hold him down long enough to get him to confess his plans to overthrow the monarchy and claim himself as the new king. He would be banished the next day.
Several days later, the king and queen would be found dead much to the devastation of Odette. She would roam the streets for many hours desperately trying to find out what caused the death of her parents before coming across what seemed like a sickly old man. He claimed to know what had occured and said that he would tell her on one condition. That she never tell a soul.
She promises and he reveals himself to be Rothbart, the murderer of her parents. Before she can do anything however, he spits blue mist from his mouth, putting her into a deep sleep.
The flashback ends with Odette admitting the rest is all a blur. But what she did know was that Rothbart cast a spell on her that turned her into a swan. The three swans sympathize with her, having also fallen for Rothbart's act. In fact, all of the swans Odette sees before her have interacted with him in one way or another.
The swans promise to stick together for as long as she remains in the lake and the four swans embrace before setting off for the night.
The next morning across the kingdom of Moscow, the young and handsome Prince Sigmund (Elijah Wood) laments his unwillingness to marry as he finds that he still has his whole life ahead of him. His tutor Wolfgang (Ian McKellan) tries to explain the benefits of marriage, but Sigmund is still convinced his mother Queen Wilfred (Julie Christie) is putting too much on him too soon.
His best friend Benno von Sommerstern (Dev Patel) assures him that life will continue even if he's married. For one thing, he and Sigmund will remain the best of friends. Sigmund then hears his mother call him over so they can make preparations for the costume ball occurring in two days. He obliges, but not before making plans with Benno to hang out at the lake.
That evening, Rothbart is shown by the lake explaining to Odette that she will remain a swan unless the moon shines on the side he stands on the enchanted lake. Odette asks how, if at all, can the spell be broken. Rothbart is reluctant to explain, but says that someone who has never known love is the one to do it.
Suddenly, arrows fly from the sky sending all the swans into a panic. Rothbart disappears leaving no trace of him behind. Odette looks around, frightened and is unable to hear her swan friends call out for her.
All of a sudden, a gust of wind blows through the lake. Odette looks down at the lake and finds that the moon is shining on the lake like Rothbart decreed. As this is occurring, Sigmund and Benno have split up in order to cover more ground. Sigmund soon finds the lake of the swans and prepares to aim his crossbow only to be mesmerized by a beautiful maiden standing in the lake.
He puts down his crossbow and softens his stance towards Odette, wanting to know her better. At first, she is terrified. But after Sigmund promises not to harm her, she explains her story to him. Sigmund vows to help her in whatever way, which is the cue for mysterious laughter coming from Rothbart.
Rothbart and Sigmund briefly duke it out, ending with Odette intervening and Rothbart injuring her arm. As Sigmund goes to check on her, Rothbart reveals one more thing he neglected to tell her. Should he die in any fashion before the spell is broken, she will remain a swan for all of eternity.
Odette tells Sigmund to leave before Rothbart returns, Sigmund obliges but promises to return and break the spell. As they wave farewell, the moonlight fades and Odette becomes a swan once more. Neither of them know that the daughter of Rothbart, Odile (Mia Wasikowska) has been watching the events and is already making plans of her own.
The next morning, Rothbart sets up a force shield around the lake so Odile will have no disturbances as she prepares for the costume ball. To be safe however, he disguises himself as a beggar by using his magic and heads into town so he can talk to local weapons store owner and hired assassin Brody Rommenhire (Stu Bennett).
After explaining the situation, he tasks Brody with killing Odette should she break free from the shield with the promise of inheriting his fortune should he pass on. Brody keeps it ambiguous, saying he doesn't just put his hands on a lady without a strong enough reason and price.
That evening, Odette and her swan friends come up with a plan to break the force shield. Claire worries that it may prove to be dangerous, but Odette assures it that everything will be fine. When Odile comes out, Odette puts her plan into action crying out in pain.
Annoyed, Odile comes over to the lake and is forced to turn off the force shield so she can check Odette’s wing. As she does so, Sandra, Claire, Evelyn sneak away from them without making a sound. As the moonlight casts over them, the three turn into humans and hurry off into town to find three dresses and masks.
Once Odile leaves, Odette transforms into a human and hurries off into town to join her friends. It isn’t long however until she comes across Brody and is forcefully tackled down. Brody expresses his discomfort with the situation but that he was given strict orders. Odette manages to fight back with a few kicks to the shin and runs off at a blistering pace.
At the ball, the prince appears to be anxiously awaiting the arrival of Odette when three more ladies in masks show up. Sandra and Claire go first but the end result in the same due to their personality quirks leaking out at the worst possible time. For Sandra, it’s her chatterbox like tendencies and for Claire, it’s her clumsiness that's making her trip over her dress.
As Evelyn takes her chance, Rothbart and Queen Wilfred meet up and briefly chat, Rothbart claims that he is a changed man and Wilfred puts his word to it. Just before Evelyn can whisper in Sigmund’s ear that he’s about to be duped, Rothbart then introduces the audience to a mysterious blonde haired girl who walks up towards Sigmund holding a swan mask and wearing a shimmering white dress. She introduces herself...as Odette.
Overjoyed by this, Sigmund and ‘Odette’ begin to dance together, her movements graceful as a swan. When the dance is finished, Sigmund declares that Odette will be her bride to a joyous celebration. Rothbart's slow claps however take the air out of the room as he saunters his way towards Sigmund.
Rothbart congratulates Sigmund on his new found marriage but tells him that the girl he was dancing with was not Odette, but his daughter Odile. Wi1th the snap of his fingers, Odile’s blonde hair and dress go black. She smirks at Sigmund as she tells him that the heart is a fool’s friend and he is the biggest fool of all.
Rothbart then comes into contact with Brody and Odette who are still duking it out via his magical powers and reveals to Odette what has happened. When Odette sees Odile kiss Sigmund in the lips, she is devastated and loses her will to fight.
When the magic fades away however, Sigmund pushes Odile away and runs off to find Odette, Benno and Wolfgang following suit. After much searching, Sigmund finds Brody about to cut open Odette's throat with a sword and chases him off. Remorseful, he tries to talk to her but a bitter, tear stricken Odette yells at him for breaking his promise.
By this point, the moon’s light has faded and as such it forces Odette to become a swan again and she flies away, tears flowing down her cheeks. Realizing what he has done, he slumps onto the ground softly crying as Benno and Wolfgang comfort her.
The next day, Rothbart punishes the four swans by cancelling their feed for the next three days. Not only that, Odile has been named the watcher of the swans and will be looking after them until further notice. Odile smugly looks at Odette and tells her that this is a view she can get used to.
Still angered over last night, she bites Odile’s hand and tries to attack her. The other swans restrain her as Odile calls her a ‘psychopath’. When Odile leaves, Odette breaks into more sobs and blames Sigmund for all of this. Evelyn is quick to remind her that Rothbart played a trick on them all and suggests forgiving Sigmund.
Odette isn’t sure at first and claims she needs time to heal. As she swims away, Evelyn worries that it may take weeks for her to truly recover. Sandra tries to keep some hope alive, but all the swans agree with Evelyn’s grim prognosis.
Inside Sigmund’s room, Sigmund stares at the wall forlorn when his mother enters and sits right beside him where she reveals that she knew Rothbart was a liar to begin with and refuses to go forth with the marriage of him and Odile.
Wilfred then comforts her son, letting him know that there will be others like Odette. Sigmund doubts it, calling her unlike anyone she has ever seen or known before comparing her beauty and grace to that of a swan. He realizes his promise to Odette and tells his mother that he will return to the lake where he first saw her.
Wilfred is reluctant at first, but after hearing her son’s pleas gives him her permission. But warns him of one thing: Rothbart will have many tricks up his sleeves should he find him. She encourages him to take his most prized sword just in case.
That night, Odette heads towards the edge of the river. This time however there is no moonlight, so she must remain a swan. Sigmund can be seen wandering the forest looking for the lake, sword in hand in case Rothbart comes along.
Sigmund is overjoyed to find the lake but finds that Odette has remained a swan. He gives a passionate apology and declaration of love which seems to touch Odette's heart. Unfortunately for him, Rothbart has been hearing and reminds him of his act of love to Odile.
With Sigmund ineligable to break the spell, he decides to fight Rothbart in order to prove his love. The two proceed to duel via swords for a bit until Rothbart plays a trick on Sigmund, teleporting from his front to his back and doing so to disorientate him.
The swans all watch in nervousness, awaiting to see the outcome. Soon, Rothbart captures Sigmund in magic chains and squeezes the life out of him. When Odette sees this, she tries to cheer on for Sigmund, slowly making him stronger.
However, it is only after a declaration of her love to Sigmund that he breaks free. Desperate, Rothbart tries to fight back, but Sigmund corners him to his force wall. Left with no choice, Rothbart transforms into his other form: That of an owl like creature and scratches away at Sigmund with animalistic fury.
Bloodied and bruised, Sigmund goes down hard onto the ground as Rothbart breaks open the force field so he can drown Sigmund into the lake. Odette looks on in horror as Rothbart flies up and towards the lake, ready to drop him a moments notice.
Odette cries out, begging Rothbart that if he is to die that she shall die to. The three other swans urge her not to, but Odette says she has no other choice. If they cannot be together here, they will be together in heaven.
Willing to grant Odette's wish, he turns her into a human and drops Sigmund in the river. As they both plunge underwater, they stare into each others eyes and realize they must return to land. Odette is barely able to make it, being forced to carry a now lifeless Sigmund. She looks at his love, tears rolling down her eyes. Softly kissing his lips, she lays silently next to him and passes away.
Rothbart flies down and reverts to his normal form, satisfied with himself. What he doesn't realize that Odette's sacrifice was enough to break the spell and he soon finds a group of angry maidens ready to take on him for everything he's done.
Before they can get their hands on him, he reverts to being an owl and flies away, never to be seen again. The three former swans sit beside the bodies of Odette and Sigmund, mourning their death but praising their love as true.
Thursday, May 30, 2019
In Development
Spawn 2: Payback: Michael Chiklis (Spawn, Bad Education), Stephen Merchant (Spawn, The Girl in the Spider's Web), Eric Stonestreet (Spawn, The Life of the Party) and Stanley Tucci (Flash Gordon, Spawn) will all return for Spawn 2. Chiklis will play OvertKill (seen at the very end of the first film), while Merchant, Stonestreet and Tucci will reprise their primary roles of Twitch Williams, Sam Burke and Billy Kincaid, respectively. Antoine Fuqua directs from a script by Harry Wright.
Depth Perception: Anna Kendrick will have company in the latest thriller from M. Night Shyamalan in the form of Ethan Embry (The Tower, Blood on the Moon), Clifton Collins Jr. (The Mule, "Westworld") and John Gallagher Jr. (Swim Through the Darkness, Ubik). Embry and Collins Jr. will play escaped convicts while Gallagher Jr. will play Kendrick's boyfriend. The film is based on a script by Matt Parker.
Crimson Fox: Brendan Gleeson (Burial Rites, "Mr. Mercedes"), Amanda Seyfried (The Creature, Siren) and Bridget Regan ("The Last Ship", John Wick) have joined the upcoming DC Comics Universe film Crimson Fox. Gleeson will play the film's villain, while Seyfried will play a superhero, and Regan will play Alicia Vikander's mother in a flashback. Ana Lily Amirpour is directing the film from a script by Ann Morrow and Mo Buck.
Prey: Colin Farrell (Doppelganger 2, The Death of the Honest Man), Jon Hamm (Captain Atom, An Honest Mistake) and Vera Farmiga (Scion 2, Rasputin) are set to star in an adaptation of Michael Crichton's novel Prey. The techno-thriller is depicts the race to stop a cloud of escaped nanobots. Farrell will play a computer programmer, Hamm will play his friend and colleague.
Theater Kids: Greta Gerwig (Ladybird, Hippies in New York) has signed on for her next directorial project, re-teaming with writer Alex Conn (Oh Johnny Boy, The Host). Lucas Hedges (Letter to Myself, To the Moon), Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart, Mona Lisa) and Nick Robinson (Isla Vista, Queen Mary) will star in the film about a group of high school theater performers.
Release: The Raid
Genre: Action
Director: S. Craig Zahler
Writer: Mark Newton
Based on the 2011 Indonesian film
Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Eric Bana, Common, Demian Bichir, Stephen Dorff, Isaiah Washington, Dora Madison Burge, James Ransone, Luis Guzman, Gabriel Chavarria
Budget: $48,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $69,882,570
Foreign Box Office: $80,201,305
Total Profit: $28,669,329
Reaction: A solid success at the box office late in this season, where profits have been much lower than usual. Between this film and Police Story: The Return earlier this season, it shows that there is still a market for mid-budget action films.
"This remake doesn't re-invent the wheel, but it features a strong cast. It is a serviceable remake that doesn't tarnish the legacy of the original." - Grace Palance, indieWire
"This remake of the tremendous Indonesian action film from 2011 doesn't really add anything to the equation. The opening had me hoping it would really be a new take on the material, but once they were in the apartment it felt like deja vu." - George Ryan, Philadelphia Inquirer
"S. Craig Zahler is an inspired choice as director. He helms this remake with the same brutal energy audiences have come to expect from his films, which absolutely fits the material here." - Michael Carthage, Associated Press
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Rated R for language, drug content and strong bloody violence.
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
The Numbers: Highest Paid of Season 11
As the 11th season of Last Resort Films gets ready to come to a close, we are going to look at the highest paid talents of Season 11 in this latest edition of The Numbers.
10. Alicia Vikander - $13 million
- Mass Effect 3 - Part 1 - $13 million
9. Chris Evans - $14 million
- Metal Gear Solid 2 - $14 million
8. Mahershala Ali - $15 million
- Martian Manhunter - $9 million
- To the Other Side - $6 million
7. Matt Damon - $15 million
- Newbury Street - $15 million
6. Channing Tatum - $16 million
- Flash Gordon - $16 million
5. Bradley Cooper - $16 million
- Mass Effect 3 - Part 1 - $16 million
4. Chris Pratt - $18 million
- Sandbox - $18 million
3. Henry Cavill - $20 million
- Mass Effect 3 - Part 1 - $20 million
2. Alexander Skarsgard - $22 million
- Halo: The Fall of Reach - $22 million
1. Tom Hardy - $45 million
- Kingmaker Chronicles - $25 million
- Mass Effect 3 - Part 1 - $20 million
Now Showing: The Raid
Genre: Action
Director: S. Craig Zahler
Writer: Mark Newton
Based on the 2011 Indonesian film
Cast: Taylor Kitsch, Eric Bana, Common, Demian Bichir, Stephen Dorff, Isaiah Washington, Dora Madison Burge, James Ransone, Luis Guzman, Gabriel Chavarria
Plot: Houston SWAT Officer Cole Roberts (Taylor Kitsch) enjoys a nice breakfast with his wife Amanda (Dora Madison Burge) and their newborn daughter in their quiet suburban home. Roberts then heads into the precinct where he suits up with his colleagues Officer Diaz (Gabriel Chavarria) and Officer Bowers (James Ransone). The three then head to a briefing with their superiors, Sgt. Jensen (Eric Bana) and Lt. Wallace (Isaiah Washington). They are getting ready to conduct a raid on an entire apartment building in the slums of Houston that were mostly destroyed by Hurricane Harvey. Most people left the area after the hurricane damaged it to the point of resembling a third world country, but Jensen details that since then the area has been taken over by various criminals. Wallace explains that the city pretty much left the area to the drug dealers since there weren't any tax payers left to protect and serve. Jensen and Wallace give the squad details on their primary targets of the raid. First is Tejada, a former Mexican cartel enforcer who has gone into business for himself in Houston. He has taken over the apartment building where he has been allowing criminals and addicts rent rooms under his protection.
The team arrives at the apartment building undetected. They quickly sweep the first floor, rounding up a handful of low-level thugs and addicts. The officers zip-tie the criminals. They come across a man, Jorge (Luis Guzman), who they think is bringing drugs into the building, but it turns out it is just medication for his sick wife. They tell him the stay out of the way while they do their job. Tejada (Demian Bichir) is informed by a child lookout that cops are in the building. He calls in for reinforcements, who brutally attack the SWAT team on the sixth floor. Tejada then has the lights in the building turned off. He announces over a PA system that the SWAT team is stuck on the sixth floor and that he will grant a free lifetime residence in the building to anyone who kills one of the cops. The SWAT team is soon pinned down by a barrage of bullets from the low-level thugs in the building. Wallace admits to Jensen that the primary goal of the mission was always to kill Tejada since he is in league with corrupt cops, which is the real reason the police have stayed away from the area. Wallace then admits that he set up the mission himself and that it is not officially sanctioned by the department. Wallace was tasked with eliminating Tejada off the books since his corrupt superiors believed he would turn on them.
The SWAT team retreat into an empty apartment to figure out their next move. Diaz and Bowers cover the door while Wallace and Jensen argue about what to do. Roberts grabs an axe and begins chopping through the floor to make a hole so that they can go down to the fifth floor. The team drops down into the apartment below, but find a group of Tejada's thugs waiting for them. The SWAT team takes cover in the kitchen as the thugs fire upon them. Bowers is hit by the enemy gunfire. Diaz drags the critically injured Bowers out of harm's way. While Diaz, Wallace and Jensen trade fire with the thugs, Roberts makes a Molotov cocktail and throws it at the thugs, killing them. The team realizes that they're just about out of ammunition. With more of Tejada's thugs bound to come for them any minute, the team decides to split up. Jensen, Wallace and Diaz will stay on the fifth floor while Roberts and the injured Bowers will go back up to the sixth.
On the sixth floor, Roberts and Bowers find Jorge again. They plead with him to let them hide in his apartment since Tejada wouldn't be looking for them there. Jorge reluctantly agrees and tells them to hide out. Roberts tends to Bowers' wounds, before leaving the apartment to try and find the other SWAT members. Roberts crosses paths with some machete-wielding thugs on the eighth floor. He fights them in a stairwell. He defeats the group and then takes on their leader. He grabs the leader by the head and smashes him through a window. Roberts is then grabbed by Andy (Stephen Dorff), Roberts' brother. Andy reveals that he's been working as an enforcer for Tejada since being kicked off the Houston police force for stealing drugs from the evidence locker. Andy tells Roberts that they need to get out of the building now, but Roberts refuses to leave without the rest of his squad. Roberts leaves his brother to search for his team members.
One of Tejada's chief enforcers, Mad Dog (Common), discovers Jensen, Wallace and Diaz hiding out on the fourth floor. Wallace runs off, and Jensen tells Diaz to follow. Jensen stands in front of Mad Dog, who is pointing a gun at him. Mad Dog then tosses his gun aside and challenges Jensen to hand-to-hand combat. Jensen and Mad Dog exchange blows for a minute, but Mad Dog begins to overpower Jensen. Mad Dog grabs Jensen and proceeds to snap his neck, killing him. Mad Dog and Andy both report back to Tejada, who reveals he had a camera in the hall where Andy and Roberts met. Tejada tells Mad Dog to deal with Andy before leaving the room.
Roberts regroups with Diaz and Wallace on the fourth floor. They fight their way through a drug lab as they begin making their way toward the top floor penthouse where Tejada should be. Along the way Roberts looks for his brother. On the 12th floor, Robrets hears his brother screaming and runs off from Wallace and Diaz. Roberts breaks through a door where he finds Mad Dog torturing Andy. Mad Dog allows Roberts to free Andy from his restraints and challenges the two brothers to a fight. Mad Dog has seemingly super human strength and speed and initially has the upper hand over the brothers. Roberts and Andy soon start fighting in synch and start to wear Mad Dog down. Finally, after a long, brutal fight, Roberts manages to kill Mad Dog with the help of Andy.
Meanwhile, Wallace and Diaz confront Tejada in his penthouse after killing the remaining henchmen. Wallace, however, turns on Diaz and executes him in front of Tejada. Wallace then holds Tejada at gunpoint and orders him to help him escape the building. Tejada laughs at Wallace. Roberts and Andy make their way into the penthouse where they find Wallace and Tejada. Tejada reveals that he knew about the raid before the SWAT team arrived. Wallace's superiors were really trying to get rid of Wallace himself, not Tejada. Angered, Wallace shoots Tejada in the head.
Andy helps Roberts escape the building with Bowers and Wallace. Jorge watches from his window as the squad exits the building. Andy gives Roberts blackmail recording Tejada made of his dealing with the corrupt officials he had been working with. Roberts tells him to take the recordings to Barnes in Internal Affairs, assuring Roberts that he can be trusted. Roberts asks Andy to leave with him, but Andy refuses, saying that he's a criminal now, he's good at it. Andy wishes his little brother good luck before walking back into the apartment building.
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Release: To the Other Side
Genre: Sci-Fi/Crime
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Writer: Mo Buck
Cast: Mahershala Ali, Michelle Williams, Ralph Fiennes, Don Cheadle, Cillian Murphy, Michelle Pfeiffer, Willem Dafoe, Giancarlo Esposito, Margo Martindale, Tom Wilkinson
Budget: $112,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $87,970,349
Foreign Box Office: $193,231,504
Total Profit: $22,692,597
Reaction: The low domestic box office gross definitely hurt the bottom line on this one, but at least it was a hit with overseas audiences, which saved the film from a loss.
"The film manages to bring new material to the time travel genre and is aided by a top-notch ensemble cast, led by Mahershala Ali and Michelle Williams." - Chris Knowles, TV Guide
"Despite strong acting and direction, the motivation of the characters didn't always ring true, with the characters' journey slowly unraveling by the end of the film into some over-the-top moments." - Mark Rawls, Seattle Times
"To the Other Side is based on a very clever concept, using time travel to profit on insurance scams, and the script by Mo Buck is able to have fun with both the crime and the sci-fi aspects of the plot." - Dave Vrosky, Den of Geek
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Rated PG-13 for violence and some sexuality
Breaking News
Monday, May 27, 2019
Now Showing: To the Other Side
Genre: Sci-Fi/Crime
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Writer: Mo Buck
Cast: Mahershala Ali, Michelle Williams, Ralph Fiennes, Don Cheadle, Cillian Murphy, Michelle Pfeiffer, Willem Dafoe, Giancarlo Esposito, Margo Martindale, Tom Wilkinson
Plot: It’s 2052, Earth changed way less than we imagined decades ago. There was no huge development in the last 40 years or so. We are in what we could call a stagnation period. No huge development, except for one thing. One thing that changed the life of many and it’s this one thing that contributed to this current period of stagnation: time travel. It seems like this particular breakthrough stopped everything, it came like a bomb. People gave up what they were doing and explored the possibility of time traveling. They can go back in the past and revisit some historical events, or they could go in the future and see what the world will become in hundreds, thousands of years. But, as with everything good, some people try to use it to their advantage and some people made it their mission to stop the ones with bad intentions.
Guy Wilson (Willem Dafoe) is in charge of a group of time travelers, today. He was one of the people who caught on the time traveling craze early and built a business out of it. People pay to revisit past events and today, they go back in time to witness the battle of Marathon, in Ancient Greece. In the group, his good friend and frequent client, Julia Wayne (Michelle Williams). She claims to be a fan of history and she never misses a chance to go back in time. The group enters the time machine, a huge structure in fiber glass and stainless steel, it’s all just design, really, you don’t really need this kind of thing, just a small wristband is enough to travel. Wilson presses on a couple of buttons and he closes the doors. People are nervous, but not Julia. She goes over and talks to Guy right before the travel starts. He gives her a Wilson Corps wristband, she wanted one for a long time now. They discuss about what they’ll see and he dictates the rules to the travellers, mainly that they can’t touch and interact with people. He tells people to stand still and to not panic, as a bright white light blinds them. He will see them on the other side.
Shadow (Cillian Murphy) specialises in time travelling crimes. He can do whatever you want, from killing someone, to changing the outcomes of minor events. Shadow will do it, in exchange of a small fee and he will not get caught. He receives a text message from his boss. He needs to change something in a document in the Pentagon. He looks at his cellphone and grabs the document, before leaving the room, nodding at the receptionist on his way out. She didn’t notice anything weird. The Shadow did it again. He finds a empty bathroom and he enters a stall. He enters coordinates on his watch and in an instant, he disappears, in the past or in the future, who knows?
Simon Turner (Mahershala Ali) and Jules Samson (Don Cheadle) are in the past. Together, they form a team of agents, tasked to prevent people from modifying past events. They are part of the group led by Wilson. They’re employed by D’Angelo Booths (Giancarlo Esposito), who’s at the top of the respected organization. They try to find suspicious looking individuals within the group, but they are well behaved, as Wilson describes the action happening in front of them, the battle of Marathon. They are unimpressed by it, having visited Ancient Greece many times before. After she chatted with Wilson, Julia decided to blend in the group and during the entire visit, she looks at Turner and Samson to see how they operate. Turner catches her staring a little bit too long and he wants to warn her. She notices him and smiles. Samson tells his partner that maybe she’s just interested in him, maybe she finds him cute. He says that’s impossible and lets it go. But Wayne wasn’t in love with Turner and she knows it. She was there to collect information on the agents and she got it. She follows the group as Wilson is giving his presentation and does everything in her power to avoid catching the attention, which she succeeds at. She doesn’t have the same attention to the historical event as the other visitors, that’s for sure. The group leaves and nobody touched anything, to the satisfaction of Turner and Samson. The group goes back to the present. Guy tries to find Julia, but she’s nowhere to be found, in fact, she already left the building, as if she was in a hurry.
Ann (Margo Martindale) and Arthur Wayne (Tom Wilkinson) are eating, joined by their friends Al (Ralph Fiennes) and Martha Grimsley (Michelle Pfeiffer) talking about their life and how they enjoy some things and some they don’t enjoy. All in all, it’s just a casual dinner between two couples. The phone rings and Ann answers. Out of nowhere, Arthur faints and he falls head first on his plate. Ann, Al and Martha are terrified and don’t know what to do. Al examines his old friend Arthur, he’s dead. That’s one way to end a dinner, isn’t it?
The Shadow appears in the 1990’s. He’s in a dark alley with his sport bag and he enters a phone booth to change in period appropriate clothes. He puts on round glasses and a suit. He takes a cab to an office building. He gets in the elevator and gets on the top floor. He flirts with a receptionist until he sees Arthur Wayne coming in. He kisses her on the cheek and he runs to Mr. Wayne. He asks for a meeting with him and he accepts, but he better make it quick. The Shadow presents himself as a travelling salesman and he has a pitch. He tries to sell him pencils and when he brings one out to show it to him, he presses on a button and it shoots a small particle at Wayne. Wayne collapses just like he did at diner about 30 years later. The Shadow leaves and he disappears just like he previously did.
Julia is keeping a quick pace, as if she was in a hurry when she receives a first call. She just acknowledges what the caller just said to her and she hangs up. Julia receives another call from her mother this time, crying, still in shock that her husband just died like that. Julia is devastated by the news. She says she’ll come home as soon as she can, but she has to do something really important first. Ann hangs up, still crying, as the paramedics carry away her husband’s body. Julia stops at the insurance company to collect her severance because of her father’s death. She bought insurance a couple of weeks ago to receive money in case her father died. You see, he was the one paying the bills, as Julia doesn’t really have a job and he always wanted to support her, no matter what. She tells the clerk that her father just died and asks for the procedure to collect the insurance money. The woman notices that the insurance was bought too recently to not raise suspicions. So, she sends her in to see her superior, D’Angelo Booths. Mr. Booths presents her the irregularities in her case. She bought the insurance weeks ago and she comes in mere minutes after her father suspiciously died. He notes that she should be grieving his loss instead of coming in here to collect the money. He doesn’t believe her story and her case will be under investigation in the meantime. She needs to go now and they’ll contact her when they’ll have more details. When she leaves his office, Booths calls Turner and Samson, they need to get on the case, it looks like someone is trying to rip them off. On the other end, Julia calls someone and says that it didn’t work, and that someone is Martha. She’s mad at the whole thing, she could have use some more money. When Julia thinks about it, her plan had flaws and she intends to correct them.
Martha announces the news to her husband Al, they won’t get the money, but Al says they won’t get the money, for now… Martha turns around to reveal of wall full of pictures of Arthur and Ann Wayne. They decide to think what they did wrong for this job. They decide to revisit the events leading up to Arthur’s death. The Grimsleys are profiteers, working under the radar, taking full advantage of time travelling to gain money through insurance. Al recounts the time he went back in time to make friends with Arthur. He was sitting at the bar, watching the baseball game and Al just sat next to him and they chatted about baseball. Al worked him perfectly, he knew Arthur better than Arthur knew him himself.
For Martha, it was a little harder, Ann is in the alcoholic anonymous and she goes to the AA meetings when Arthur goes away to watch baseball. That night, she told her story, why alcohol got the better of her, why she drank to forget. Ann thinks she has been a failure in life. She never work, never made money and she feels like she’s just a gold digger who’s been living with her husband all these years because of his money (Arthur begs to differ, but Ann can’t accept otherwise). She’s also ashamed that her only heritage to the world was her daughter Julia, a nobody who never achieved anything except living of her dad’s fortune. She realises that Julia is in fact a younger version of herself and she can’t cope with the fact that she didn’t show her daughter otherwise, so that’s what she tries to forget by drinking. After her speech, Ann is just a mess, and it was really difficult for Martha to talk to her, but she did her best to console her.
After that, the Grimsleys spend almost their entire day going back in time to forge memories about them in their targets mind and they did so with the Waynes. Al tries to understand why the plan fails, but according to his and his wife’s logs, they didn’t do anything wrong, anything different, Julia must have screwed up on her end. Martha adds that she always found her sketchy, for some reason.
Julia hugs her mother really hard, as they both try to cope with the death of their beloved husband / father / cash cow. Julia asks her what happened and Ann proceeds to tell her that he just collapsed, without warning and he was… just dead. She says she wants to collect the insurance check to pay for nice funerals, but she spoke with a certain D’Angelo Booths on the phone and their case is under review. She sits down in the living room with her daughter and she says she needs to say something to her, something serious. She says that she regrets not showing her daughter nothing better, she says she should have been a better role model. Ann is now crying and Julia tells her that it’s alright, she shouldn’t worry about that. She has so much on her mind, right now. She says she really has to go, but tells her to call her if she needs anything.
Julia is back home and enters her bedroom in a negligee. The Shadow is in her bed, she calls him Tom. She tries to get intimate with him, but he reminds her that he doesn’t sleep with his clients, he never gets emotional. She then tells him about her little hiccup at the insurance office today. He says something happened to him too. After he killed Arthur, he logged in the coordinate to return to the present, but something went wrong, like he was intercepted. He was stuck in the 80’s, so he put on his 80’s clothes. He appeared in a disco and found out that his time travelling device was unresponsive.
Right after Julia left his office, D’Angelo Booths checked on her personal history and something ran a bell. He found out that she has a storied relationship with famed time travelling criminal known as the Shadow. Booths contacts his two most trusted agents, Samson and Turner to investigate on the matter. He’s able to track the Shadow thanks to their recognition system and he sends them his coordinates, they must act quick.
Following the successful time travelling session in Ancient Greece, Guy Wilson met with Samson in Turner as he wanted to know if he needed to improve anything security-wise, but they tell him that everything was alright, that they didn’t notice anything suspicious. Turner wants to bring up Julia, who starred at him repeatedly, but Samson dismisses it. Telling Turner that he was just too blind to see a woman clearly hitting on him. Guy Wilson receives a call and he asks the agents to leave. It’s the Shadow, he did it, the tango down. Wilson calls Julia, it’s done and the agents noticed her. She doesn’t say anything and he hangs up.
After the leave Wilson’s office Turner and Samson receive a call from Booths. They take the Shadow’s coordinates and they jump back in time to intercept him. They are in some sort of interdimensional space and they intercept the Shadow and bring him to the closest entry point to the real world, the 80’s. They’ve done it again, they intercepted a criminal. They put on their 80’s gear to make them blend in their favorite criminal hunting territory, the 80’s disco, a clear clash with Turner’s more reserved personality, but a perfect match with Samson’s more showy side. They go inside the disco and they try to locate the Shadow. Drugs and alcohol rule the place and they must cope with all the distractions, but they remain focus on their task. On his end, the Shadow tries to make his time travelling device work in the bathroom. After he unsuccessfully tries to repair it, he goes on the dance floor. He sees Samson and Turner on the other side and he does everything in his power to avoid them. A woman flirts with Turner, but he doesn’t listen to her, which prompts her to continue to harass him. The Shadow is knocked over by a some guy fighting over a girl and it catches the attention of Samson. The Shadow checks on his device and it looks like it’s working again. He runs to the bathroom and he teleports back to the present. Turner and Samson kick down the stall and find out he’s gone. They try to intercept him again, but they can’t find him. They end up appearing in the present just outside Booth’s office, where Samson tries to put the blame of their failure on Turner, to the amusement of Booths. On his end, the Shadow chose to appear in Julia’s apartment.
Julia now knows the whole story of what happened. She connects the dots at the same time as Al Grimsley, even if they are not in the same room. They insurance company are aware that Julia is seeing the Shadow and they were suspicious after her father sudden death. So, she decides that if they change the insurance contract in order for one of the Grimsleys to be the beneficiary, the insurance company would not see anything wrong with that, since, for example, Martha isn’t affiliated with the Shadow. Julia calls Al, and they find out they had the same idea. Julia calls Guy to set up a meeting between the groups.
Julia, the Shadow and the Grimsleys arrive at the same time at Wilson Corp, where Guy unlocks the door. They sit down in a room, where Guy explains the plan. Al and Martha will go in the past to change details on the contract to make it look like it’s Martha who wants the money, while Julia and the Shadow will go in another time period to lure the agents away in case they’re still unto them. They all agree that it sounds good and they gather supplies to not look out of place in the historical setting. As she’s preparing, Julia receives a call from her mother, who’s drunk. She reminds her daughter that she told her she could call every time she needed something and she needs her now. She doesn’t know what she’ll do in the next few hours and she has suicidal thoughts. She needs her daughter now. Julia says she’s absolutely sorry, but she really can’t right now, to the chagrin of her mother, who drives her car recklessly on the freeway. She shakes the thought out of her head. Once they are all ready, Guy wishes them luck and they all leave, they'll see each other on the other side.
At Booth’s request, both Samson and Turner were posted in front of Julia’s apartment to watch her every move, so they evidently saw her leaving with the Shadow, all the way down to Wilson Corp. They alerted their boss who tell them to wait for them in the interdimensional space until they see them travel to another time period. They want to go in and arrest Wilson, but Booths declines. He’ll take care of Guy Wilson himself. What Guy is doing is inexcusable, he uses his honest business as a cover to fraud the insurance and who knows what else. Samson soon follows the Grimsleys and Turner takes care of Julia and the Shadow. They wish themselves luck, they'll see each other on the other side.
Al Grimsley needs to change Julia’s contract to make sure that Martha is the one receiving money when Arthur dies at a later date. It doesn’t change anything in the contract himself, as Guy explained. You only need to prove your link with the insured person when you’re the one paying the insurance, but you can arrange the contract to give the money to whoever you want and that’s what they want to do, so this way, they’ll have the money, because they won’t think the Shadow is involved when Martha will cash in the check. Well, that’s what they think. Martha plays her part really well. She plays the perfect victim, she gathers the attention of everyone by speaking loudly and crying. She catches the attention of everyone by claiming that her father just died and that the agent can’t find the insurance she had on her father, calling her names and everything. During this time, Al takes a computer and finds Julia’s insurance on Arthur’s life, days after she bought it and days before Arthur’s death. Everything is going so well, but he can’t see Samson tranquilizing his wife on the other side of the room.
Julia and the Shadow landed in the 60’s. They play the part of a young couple who wants to have dinner in a fancy restaurant. The waitress takes their order and they start to discuss innocently. Simon Turner enters the restaurant and he gets a table just across the room from them. He asks for a black coffee and nothing more. Julia and Tom think their lure is working and they even stop thinking about everything, they just want to enjoy a date together. Julia looks in her purse and put on lipstick. Turner laughs as he knows what’s coming for them and they don’t seem to realise it at all.
Al realises that Martha isn’t screaming anymore and as he exits the cubicle after completing his part of the job, he’s grabbed by Samson who drags him in the bathroom, where he hits his head on the sink, who breaks on the impact. He says he better cooperate or else his wife will die. He opens a cabinet to reveal Martha unconscious on a toilet. Samson promises a monetary reward for Grimsley if he helps him on the case. Al accepts but he wants to check on his wife first. He crouches near her and discretely reaches for her purse, where he pulls out a handgun. He turns around quickly and kills Samson with a bullet right between the eyes. He wakes up his wife and they go back to the present before anyone else enters the bathroom. However, it doesn’t work. Al and Martha are in the interdimensional zone and they’ve never been there before. Al looks at his wristband and it’s broken, unresponsive, Martha’s too. It looks like they’re going to be stuck there forever.
D’Angelo Booths breaks in the Wilson Corp building, only to find Guy playing with a Rubik Cube in his office. Booths asks Wilson what he’s doing this time. Guy explains the plan the Booths, which is, long story short, insurance fraud. Booths says it’s clever and brilliant, he would have never taught about that. He then tells Wilson that his share will need to increase, because it’s harder than ever to keep the heat away from him. Wilson disagrees. They then come to terms that the only way for Booths to keep covering for Wilson is for Wilson to cut ties with Julia, the Shadow and the Grimsleys. Wilson smiles and agrees, but before they proceed, Booths wants to know why Julia hates her parents to much. Wilson and Booths travel to a precise instant, at a fundraiser, where one of Arthur’s colleague made a speech about how proud he was of his kids. Then, Julia, who was supposed to be at the bathroom, overheard his father and his mother say that Julia was a deception, that she was a nobody, a no life who always disappointed them. Booths says he understands why now, but now he needs to cut ties.
Simon Turner goes to Julia’s table to tell them their fate. He knows what happens to the people who do this kind of thing. He signals the waitress that he wishes to pay for the couple’s diner. She then goes to their table to tell them and she recognises him. He goes over and he starts by saying that he means no harm.
During this time, Guy and D’Angelo go back in time to the moment, when Guy gave the wristband to Julia, but this time he doesn’t. If you look closely, you see D’Angelo as part of the tourist group. They travel back in time to the moment when he gave one to Al, Martha and finally the Shadow. Guy is the one in control and they have one last stop. He travels back to the moment where he gave Simon Turner and Jules Samson one. They come back to the present and they shake hands they are both equal. They’ll separate the insurance check 50-50, no need to talk about it ever again. They'll see each other again.
Turner tells Julia and the Shadow to look for their wristbands and they can’t find it. They both start to realise that they’re stuck here forever. As they panic, Turner goes to the bathroom, only to find out that his wristband is gone too. The camera focuses on his look of despair as the credits start rolling.
In Development
Odette: Director Patty Jenkins' latest film has added Amy Poehler (The House, Wine Country), Sigourney Weaver (A Monster Calls, The Assignment), Miranda Cosgrove (The Intruders, "Crowded") and Julie Christie (The Company You Keep, Red Riding Hood) to its cast. Poehler, Cosgrove and Weaver will play a trio of swans, while Christie will play a queen. Jacob Jones wrote the script.
Orchid: The first release of Season 2 has been set, with it being the second directorial effort from writer Chad Taylor (Somewhere Somehow, Buried Child). Lily James (Darkest Hour, Star Trek: Enterprise) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Dark Matter, To the Moon) have signed on to star in the project which tells the story of the "famous for being famous" daughter of a movie star, Orchid (Lily James). Gordon-Levitt will play a musician she meets at an awards show.
Spawn 2: Payback: Idris Elba (Spawn, Ghost Town) will be back as Spawn early in Season 2. Kerry Washington (Spawn, Alex + Ada), Michael K. Williams (The Public, Spawn) and Sean Penn (Spawn, "The First") are also set to return for the sequel. Director Antoine Fuqua (Spawn, "Gauntlet") is also set to return behind the camera. Harry Wright (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Lucky Luke and Billy the Kid), who co-wrote the first film, wrote the script.
Depth Perception: Anna Kendrick (A Simple Favor, Pitch Perfect 3) has been tapped to star in Depth Perception, the latest original film from writer Matt Parker ("Gauntlet", The Stand). Kendrick will play a young woman who has recently gone blind and must fend off escaped convicts who want to hide out the cabin she's staying in. M. Night Shyamalan (Glass, Split) has been hired to direct the thriller.
Crimson Fox: The latest film in the DC Comics Universe will depict the character Crimson Fox. Alicia Vikander (Mass Effect 3 - Part 1, Dishonest) has been cast in the lead role, while Marion Cotillard (La Resistance, Assassin's Creed) and Jodie Foster (Elysium, Hotel Artemis) will take on supporting roles in the film. Ana Lily Amirpour (The Bad Batch, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night) has been hired to direct the film based on a script by Mo Buck (B.R.I.G.A.N.D.S, Radisson) and Ann Morrow (Suzanne, Decrescendo).
Sunday, May 26, 2019
The Roundup with Jeff Stockton (Season 11 Round 9)
Despite being one of the biggest films in studio history, it feels over-shadowed by the other films released this round. It's still a strong blockbuster though.
2. Buried Child
I was hoping it would be a little more mad cap like the play, but it was still a very strong adaptation of what may be Sam Shepard's finest play. Extra kudos to director Clint Eastwood and writer Chad Taylor for giving Brendan Fraser his finest role in many years (possibly since Gods and Monsters or The Quiet American).
1. The Raven
Despite having some issues, The Raven is immensely entertaining. Alden Ehrenreich has really built the character and made it his own despite the strong initial portrayal by Joaquin Phoenix.
I liked Mass Effect 3 - Part 1, but for what ever reason, it doesn't feel like the event it should be. I can't really put my finger on why, but the lack of fanfare in the community is noticeable.
2. Continuity
I loved The Raven and I loved Cosa Nostra, but even I will admit that the continuity of the series doesn't make a whole lot of sense at this point. Cosa Nostra was a prequel to The Raven in the Night, but it is hard to say how long prior it was set. Robert De Niro reprised his role as Tomino. Joaquin Phoenix was replaced by Alden Ehrenreich, who is 15 years younger. Alan Arkin was replaced by Stanley Tucci, who is 26 years younger. Kathy Bates was replaced by Julianne Moore, who is 12 years younger. Amy Adams was replaced by Sophia Lillis, who is 27 years younger. And now we have a prequel to Cosa Nostra, that is stuck with that same iffy continuity.
1. Multi-Part Films
I can't stand multi-part films. I feel it defeats the point of a film, as I believe each film should have a beginning, middle and end. Multi-part films like Mass Effect 3 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows can't help but feel incomplete by splitting up one story into multiple parts.
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