Outlaw Country: Rounding out the cast of the upcoming western from director David Michod and writer Dwight Gallo will be Jude Law (Cyrano de Bergerac, Jack the Ripper), Sissy Spacek (Life on Mars, Alan Wake) and Sean Bridgers (Free State of Jones, Room). Law will play Allan Pinkerton, head of the Pinkerton agents harassing the hometown of the James-Younger Gang, Spacek will play Ma James - the mother of Jesse and Frank, while Bridgers will play a conniving Union general working with Pinkerton. The film will be the first release of Season 9.
Captain Atom: Last Resort Films' latest entry into the DC Comics catalogue has added Michael C. Hall (Alien: Isolation, The Osterman Weekend), Holt McCallany (Splinter Cell: Double Agent, Cascade) and Chris Sullivan (Cyrano de Bergerac, "This Is Us") to the cast. Hall has been cast as the scientist behind Captain Atom's transformation, McCallany will play a captain under the command of General Eiling (David Morse), while Sullivan has been cast as a colleague of Hall's. Matthew Vaughn is directing the Mo Buck-penned superhero film.
God of War: Tom Hardy will have company in the big budget video game adaptation, God of War. He will be joined by the likes of Olga Kurylenko (Masters of the Universe, Johnny English Strikes Again), Sean Bean (Blood Countess, Hawkman) and Pedro Pascal (Cosa Nostra, The Prisoner). Kurylenko will play Persephone, Queen of the Underworld. Bean will play Ares, the God of War. Meanwhile, Pascal will play Helios, Titan God of The Sun. Duncan Jones is directing the film from a script by Carl Flimmer.
American Dream: Young star Alden Ehrenreich (Ranger, Death Dream) is set to return to work for Last Resort Films this time alongside John Boyega (Blue Heat, Pacific Rim Uprising) in a film inspired by the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy. Boyega will play a young man who dreams of becoming a model in LA, while Ehrenreich will play an aspiring filmmaker he befriends. Josh and Benny Safdie (Grand Theft Auto, Easy Money) will direct the film from a script by Chad Taylor (Cascade, Somewhere, Somehow).
ID:Queen Mary and Life of a Champion writer Alex Conn is back, but this time with a comedy. Alex Wolff (Somewhere Somehow, Cleopatra), RJ Cyler (White Boy Rick, Power Rangers) and Abraham Attah (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Beasts of No Nation) star in the film about a group of kids and the misdventures that occur when they get fake IDs. The curious choice of Rob Zombie (31, The Lords of Salem) will direct the film.
Scion 2: A sequel to one of the most successful original blockbusters in LRF history is one the way. Scion 2 will pick up several years after the previous film ended, with Phoebe Agrippa now a young woman who has been raised on Agora. Rising star Saoirse Ronan (Resident Evil, Amelie) will take over the role of Phoebe, while Chiwetel Ejiofor (Scion, The Price of Fame) will reprise his role as Creon, the chieftain of Agora, who killed Phoebe's family while taking her in. Jeff Nichols (Scion, Animus) returns to direct, once again from a script by the duo of John Malone (Revolution, Ranger) and Chad Taylor (Cascade, Booster Gold II: The Booster Gold Story)
October Crisis
Genre: Drama/Crime
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Writer: Mo Buck
Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Alfred Molina, Josh Hartnett, Will Poulter, Michael Keaton, Christian Slater, Ralph Fiennes, Peter Capaldi, Bill Pullman, Walton Goggins
Plot: Based on real events
October 5 - British Trade Commissioner in Quebec James Cross (Peter Capaldi) is sitting at home, just mere days after his birthday. He's watching the news. He hears someone knocking at the door and calls for his maid to go open it, but he’ll later wish that she never opened that door. She opens the door and briefly discusses with the gentlemen disturbing them in this quiet autumn night. They identify themselves as two brothers from a delivering company. They came to deliver a birthday package to Cross in person. The maid is happy to let them in and as soon as they meet Cross, they open the box. Instead of an expensive gift, the box contains two assaults rifles that the two brothers use to threaten them. They leave a note to the maid and they get away in their car, with James Richard Cross in the trunk. Paul (Alfred Molina) and Jacques (Josh Hartnett) Rose just became the most wanted men, not only in Quebec, but in the entire country.
October 6 - The police goes to Cross' house and look at the note they left. They demand that the FLQ Manifesto is aired lived on national television. They also ask the release of several FLQ members and money in exchange for Cross. The FLQ, a separatist, Marxist-Leninist paramilitary group in Quebec, strongly against the province attachment to the Canadian government is behind the kidnapping. The police understand that these guys are no joke. It’s the same group who likes to do fake bomb threats in factories and the same group of who likes to put real bombs in mailboxes. They describe themselves as paramilitaries with the intent of protecting the Quebecois identity in a country dominated by anglophones, but what they really are: anarchist, with only one goal in mind, creating a climate of fear and chaos, at least according to the police.
October 8 - The key members of the FLQ are united in their warehouse where Cross is held hostage. The leader, Bernard Lortie (Nicholas Hoult), the Rose brothers and Francis Simard (Will Poulter) are present. They turn on the television and the CBC is airing their separatist manifesto. Their manifesto criticize the Quebec electoral system, the bureaucracy, the “hypocrite” liberal government and the traitor, the Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre-Elliot Trudeau, a Quebec native, who now works for the real enemy, Canada. They also get a jab at the Catholic Church and the big businesses for good measures. They think their manifesto will rally people behind their cause, but the public opinion isn’t with them, at all. They all cheer and promise to do something else, but to attack the Quebec government this time.
October 10 - Bernard Lortie and Francis Simard are cruising down a street, near Montreal, Quebec. They stop the car in front of a house. Outside, Quebec's Minister of Labour, Pierre Laporte (Ralph Fiennes) is playing football with his kid. They put their masks on and kidnap him. The leave a similar note to the kid and drive away to the warehouse, where they put Laporte near Cross. They force Laporte to write a letter from captivity, addressed to the Quebec Prime Minister Robert Bourassa, a letter in which Laporte begs Bourassa to stop the search for him and that he’s well treated by them. Bernard Lortie dictates the letter to Laporte. The latter is surprised to see how much these guys know about his family. He now thinks it’s not just against the institution, it’s personal.
October 12 – The Quebec Prime, Robert Bourassa, following the airing of Laporte’ letter, contact the Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau (Michael Keaton) to beg him to act in the situation. After a lengthy phone call, in which Trudeau initially disagrees to help Quebec in the matter, Bourassa is able to convince him a bit and he agrees to send a regiment to guard every federal property in Montreal, to prevent another attack by the FLQ. They learn that the FLQ hired loudmouth lawyer Bob Lemieux (Walton Goggins) to negotiate the release of both Cross and Laporte. Lemieux is bad news, the kind of shady lawyers who never loses and pulls out every dirty tricks in the books to get his clients out of trouble. Trudeau comes to learn that the FLQ manifesto targeted him personally, he’s fuming.
October 13 – The story of the Quebec kidnappings is gaining national recognitionnad every Canadian media outlet is covering the event. Everyone wants the scoop that will make them famous. In front of the Parliament, it’s like a circus, everyone bumping into each other to try to talk to everyone who leaves the building, with the hope of having an exclusive development on their channel. A lucky man, who isn’t even at the Parliament, representing CBC, is able to interview the Prime Minister. A pissed off and exasperate Trudeau gives an infamous interview in which the journalist criticizes his every move. It ends with words that will be remembered forever by the people who lived through these difficult times : Just Watch Me. (Integral interview: )
October 14 - Quebec Prime Minister Robert Bourassa calls respected Quebec lawyer Robert Demers (Bill Pullman) to represent the government's interest in the negotiations with the FLQ. The FLQ members feel that they will soon be discovered, after the Rose brothers noticed more police cars patrolling in Montreal, while listening to the police radio channel. FLQ leader Bernard Lortie agrees with them and along with Francis Simard, they plan a route to move the two hostages. During this time, their lawyer, Bob Lemieux is trying to spread the word to encourage the students to skip school in support of the FLQ, to moderate success. Pierre Laporte and James Cross can now talk to each other and they casually chat about their lives, while worrying if they'll ever get out of here. Laporte thinks this whole thing is personal, but Cross doesn’t agree, because they don’t have anything personal on him, unlike Laporte.
October 15 - FLQ lawyer Bob Lemieux and Quebec lawyer Robert Demers are negotiating terms together at the Parliament, with Robert Bourassa present. The discussion goes nowhere, as Lemieux is stubborn and isn't ready to hear what the government has to say. He leaves the office. After he leaves, Prime Minister Bourassa calls his federal counterpart and ask for his help, once again. Trudeau says he'll think about it, because since he sent the soldiers to protect the important people, nothing happened, so he believes the situation is under control. He doesn’t want to turn this whole crisis into something too big that will only benefit the FLQ, because of the publicity. Bob Lemieux organized a student rally in the streets of Montreal, with 3,000 students present. He makes a speech and declares : "We are going to win because there are more boys ready to shoot members of Parliament than there are policemen." A CBC footage shows the fear of other Canadians, who start to fear that Quebec is starting a revolution, to separate from the country. After Prime Minister Bourassa sees the rally on television, he asks to take over the air and delivers a speech in which he says that he's not negociating with the FLQ anymore (only available in French, sorry).
October 16 - In front of Canada's inaction on the matter, an irritated Robert Bourassa calls Prime Minister Trudeau and after a heated exchange, he agrees to implement the War Measures Act, for the first time in times of peace, which allows the police to arrest and detain anybody at anytime, despite not having significant proof of their guilt and it also implements a strict curfew. Canada will also send more military units in Montreal with the sole purpose of imposing the War Measures Act. CBC footage show tanks and soldiers in the streets of Montreal, with the looks of concern on the citizens' face.
October 17 - The FLQ members are now ready to move. Bernard Lortie and Francis Simard are in charge of moving Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte to an unknown location. The Rose brothers will move James Cross to the same place. They all leave together and go on the highway. They take an exit and drive on rural roads. Lortie and Simard stop when they hear Laporte knocking on the trunk. They stop. While they argue what to do with him, Jacques Rose decides to strangle him, just to scare him. He eventually kills the man. Panicking, they decide to leave the car in the forest and leave on foot, as the Rose brothers didn't stop. The same night, via their lawyer, Quebec is informed of the death of Pierre Laporte. Bourassa is devastated by the news. The FLQ members are watching the news and celebrate together, they view it as a small victory. Bernard Lortie leaves them to go back to the city. He needs to continue to spread the word about the FLQ and he still needs to contact their lawyers, who despite the government’s reticence, continues to negotiate with them.
October 18- November 5 – In collaboration with the army, the police forces proceed to raid various abandoned buildings in Montreal, Quebec and its suburbs. They base their raids on sightings of Lortie by members of the population. All of them are unsuccessful which disappoints both Trudeau and Bourassa, who just want this thing to end.
November 6 – Bernard Lortie is hiding in an abandoned apartment complex, listening to the police radio frequencies. It’s unusually calm. He has a gun near him. He doesn’t know why, but he feels like the end is near.The police raid is in progress and they inspect every room of the apartment complex. When they breach into Lortie’s apartment, he points his gun at them, but he soon backs down, out of fear that he will die. Bernard Lortie is charged with the kidnapping and murder of Pierre Laporte. Robert Bourassa celebrates his arrest on national television. Trudeau does the same. Both of them are happy that they finally find a FLQ member. The end is near.
November 7 – Robert Demers gets into a room with Bernard Lortie. He will interrogate him to try to find where the others are hiding. Lortie keeps his mouth shut the entire time, leaving Demers feeling like he’s talking to himself. Lortie is thrown in jail, awaiting the capture of his colleagues for his trial. They offer him a plea deal if he rats them out, but he refuses, convinced that Bob Lemieux will be able to free them at the trial.
December 4 - After lengthy negotiations between the two lawyers, they're able to reach the terms to release James Cross. Several members of the FLQ, also wanted, are able to flee to Cuba, with the approval of Fidel Castro and Pierre Elliot Trudeau. After 62 days of capture, James Richard Cross is free. Cross has national television exposure to express his gratitude to everyone who kept looking for him after all these days of captivities. He says he doesn’t know that happened to Laporte, but he wasn’t there when he died. His kidnappers offered no answer as to who killed him.
December 28 - The remaining FLQ members involved in the kidnapping are still hiding in a small rural house in Saint-Luc, Quebec, when they hear police sirens. They think that they can resist a simple police assault with their assault rifles, but Simmons peaks outside from a window and he sees a tank and a lot of soldiers.They start to panic, but they eventually realize that they can't escape the police forever. Paul Rose, Jacques Rose and Francis Simard are arrested without a fight. They lead them to Pierre Laporte’s rotting corpse, still in the trunk of the car. Everything is over. All they fought against during this time came back to haunt them. Quebec won collaborating with the federal government. The catholic church is still there, big businesses too. They failed and they know it.
Before the credits:
Bernard Lortie was sentenced to 20 years in jail. He only served 7.
Paul Rose was sentenced to life in prison. They later found out he was never present when Laporte was killed and was released in 1982. He worked in Quebec' political scene until his death in 2013.
Jacques Rose was sentenced to eight years in jail. He was released in 1978.
Francis Simard was sentenced to life in prison, but was released in 1982. He lived a quiet life until his death in 2015.
Huntress
Genre: Action/Superhero
Director: Michelle MacLaren
Writer: APJ
Based on DC Comics characters
Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Frank Langella, Michael Imperioli, Matthew Daddario, John Magaro, Jon Bon Jovi, Isabela Moner, Franco Nero, Shea Whigam, Rhys Coiro, Hannah Ware, Anthony Carrigan
Reaction: Huntress is our lowest budgeted superhero project due to its lack of reliance on CGI and big name actors. So while it didn't gross a ton of money at the box office and is our lowest grossing superhero film, it made a solid profit (more than Spawn and White Tiger from last season).
"While there are a few good fight scenes peppered throughout, Huntress is a film that is sorely lacking in the action department." - Dave Cone, New York Post
"Huntress has enough interesting elements going on to keep it watchable. The combination of crime drama, coming of age film, and superhero film doesn't always work here, but at least I was never bored." - Mark Rawls, Seattle Times
"Don't get me wrong, Hailee Steinfeld is a talented young actress - but I'm not sure she's ready to lead a film of this size, one with obvious franchise aspirations. Hopefully she can grow into the role." - Henry Stewart, Chicago Sun-Times
The next film on the release schedule will be the upcoming film October Crisis from writer Mo Buck and director Kathryn Bigelow. The film is based on the true story of the "October Crisis" where members of the Quebec Liberation Front (Front de liberation du Quebec) kidnapped the Deputy Premier and a British diplomat. To prepare audiences for the film, Mo Buck has prepared a little "history lesson" for everyone: https://mobuckwriters.wordpress.com/october-crisis-history-lesson/
Huntress
Genre: Action/Superhero
Director: Michelle MacLaren
Writer: APJ
Based on DC Comics characters
Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Frank Langella, Michael Imperioli, Matthew Daddario, John Magaro, Jon Bon Jovi, Isabela Moner, Franco Nero, Shea Whigam, Rhys Coiro, Hannah Ware, Anthony Carrigan
Plot: Helena Bertinelli (Hailee Steinfeld) is living alone on the Asaro Fmily farm in Sicily. She uses a crossbow to hunt deer, operating the weapon with impressive skill. Cleaning and dressing the deer, she flashes back to the night her family was killed. Her father Franco Bertinelli (Rhys Coiro) arrived home and began to beat his wife Maria (Hannah Ware) for not having his dinner prepared, despite her protesting that it was indeed ready. Eight-year-old Helena and her brother Pino hid behind the couch. After Franco is done beating Maria, the family finally sits down for dinner. Helena coldly tells her father that she prayed for his death. He jokes that perhaps she should take over the family business instead of Pino. Franco apologizes to Maria for having upset everyone. She offers to forget about the whole incident, when suddenly a masked man enters the house and kills Franco, Maria and Pino. The man spares Helena for some reason.
Back in the present, Helena watches an out of place car drive near the farmhouse entrance. As three men get out of the car and walk to the door, she remembers that her family's killer stood in the dining room doorway for a moment. Helena shoots the men with her crossbow as soon as they enter the house. She remembers that her family's killer snatched the cross from around her neck before leaving. She has tied up the three men who entered the house, all three bleeding from arrow wounds, and has taken their guns. She sneaks out to their car. She gets into the backseat of the town car and is shocked to find her Uncle Tommy (Michael Imperioli) inside. They discuss her upcoming 21st birthday, at which she finally becomes eligible to receive her trust. They also discuss the Asaro family, all of whom were arrested five years ago. Salvatore Asaro had been like a brother, but he was made to work for his father Nicola Salvatore which led to his arrest. Now that he's on her mind, Helena asks Tommy to arrange a visit with him. Helena packs a bag and leaves with Tommy to stay at a villa belonging to a mysterious family business associate nicknamed "The Pope" (Franco Nero).
Helena arrives in Palermo to visit Salvatore in jail. After she is checked for weapons, she sees that Salvatore (John Magaro) looks horrible, like he's been hit by a truck. She leaps up from her chair and begins attacking the prison officers, telling Salvatore that she's not leaving without him. The officers surround her with their weapons. Just as they are about to attack her, one of the officers gets a message over his radio telling them to back down and allow her to leave unpunished. Outside in the car, Tommy freaks out when she tells him what she tried to do. On their way back to the villa, he tells her he has no idea who could have made the call to get her out of the station without being arrested, pointing out that, if anything, people would have more reason to get rid of her than to save her.
Arriving at the villa, Tommy reintroduces Helena to her cousin Monica (Isabela Moner), who immediately begins complaining that Helena will be sharing her room. Tommy tells Helena that another family, the Angelos, are all staying at the villa. Helena excuses herself to the Pope's personal chapel. While she's praying in the chapel, a stranger (Matthew Daddario) enters to do the same. She looks at the man's eyes and has a vision of the two of them getting married. She runs from the church, and the stranger follows, introducing himself as Tony Angelo. Later at a dinner attended by both families, Nino Angelo (Jon Bon Jovi) mentions that his son Tony tells him that he remembers Helena from kindergarten back in Gotham City.
For the next couple of weeks, Tony makes himself a fixture in Helena's life by already being in the chapel when she arrives to pray. Unable to visit Salvatore because of her actions at the jail, she reads about his trial - for 18 counts of murder - in the local newspaper. She observes that her uncle is never in any meetings between Nino Angelo and the Pope - who appears to be one of the top men in Sicily.
On the eve of Helena's 21st birthday, Helena and Tony take a walk on the villa grounds. As a gift, Tommy gives Helena her mother's rosary. They almost kiss, but Helena runs away, telling him he scares her. While she runs, Tony tells her the same thing, that she's scared him since kindergarten. Returning to her room, Helena finds Monica beaten bloody. Monica tells her that Nino did it, but that nobody can know. Tommy enters the room, and Monica, panicking, tells him that Helena is the one that beat her. Tommy slaps her and tells her to get her inheritance the next day and get out of their lives. Helena enters another building at the villa and confronts Nino Angelo. He pulls a gun on her and tells her that he's untouchable.
Leaving, Helena plans to go see Salvatore in the morning, the only person she trusts to advise her on what to do. She goes back into the house to announce that she's leaving, she finds Tommy seated in a chair, drinking a glass of whiskey. He tells her that Salvatore has been killed in a prison fight. He tells her he can't take her back to America after what she did to Monica. Later that night, Helena dresses in an elaborate costume and sneaks through Nino Angelo's window and delivers a swift beating with a baseball bat.
The next day she visits her lawyer (Shea Whigam) about her trust fund, who tells her that the Bertinelli fortune comes to less than $2 million. Knowing he's lying, she reaches across his desk with a letter opener threatening to cut his tongue out. She bargains with him, if he tells her where the rest of the money is she'll pretend to believe him and find the money on her own.
She finds Tony when she returns to the chapel, who tells her that his father was beaten by a group of thugs the night before and his family is leaving for Gotham early. He was waiting to say goodbye to her. Tony confesses that on the day they met in the chapel he had a vision of them being married there. They share their first kiss, and he asks her to come back to Gotham with him. Helena tells him no, she says she's never going back to Gotham. Helena leaves the room telling Tony that they can't be together because there's too much they don't know about each other.
The lawyer informs Helena that her missing money is going to be divvied up in the catacombs beneath the opera, providing those involved with alibis. Clad in an all-black bodysuit with a weapons belt, she watches as six men enter a room in the opera basement. Helena bursts into the room after them. She takes out all the men, recognizing the oldest of them as Stefano Mandragora (Frank Langella) - the worldwide boss of bosses, whom she remembers giving assassination orders to the Asaro family when she was growing up. Helena finds the keys to six deposit boxes in Mandragora's pocket.
The next night, Mandragora sits at his kitchen table with bandages on his face. His men ask him about the bandages. He tells them that at least five big commandos busted in and stole the keys. He is informed that Helena Bertinelli was given her $2 million and that she is under the belief that's all there is. Mandragora says that's really all there is now. He decides to set into motion plans to have Helena killed following a party, after which they can turn their attention to finding the money stolen from them.
Helena goes back to her hotel where she looks through some mail waiting for her. The first is a letter from Tony, writing that he believes that she will return to Gotham City because they are meant to be together. The second letter is an invitation to Mandragora's party, complete with a note to go see a famous fashion designer to get a dress that has already been paid for - a birthday present from the "family". When she opens the third letter, she runs out of the hotel. She runs to a church, entering to find Salvatore Asaro, dressed like a priest. He explains that while in prison he fell in love with a nun. She helped him escape by staging a fight, during which he swapped clothes with a guard who was killed. When Helena tells Salvatore that she wants to kill the men who murdered her family, Salvatore tells her that he knows who ordered her parents killed: Mandragora.
Helena goes to see the fashion designer who fits her for the dress he plans to launch in Milan next season. After they discuss her loath of dresses, she asks to retain his services for a secret project, promising to kill him if anyone finds out about it.
The party is going on at Mandragora's. Helena enters through a window, in full costume. She corners Mandragora. He mocks her costume and throws a knife at her and signals for guards. She catches the knife. Helena subdues the guards, then shoots Madgragora through the hands with her crossbow to pin him to a door. He accuses her of stealing his money, and she rebuts that he stole her money and had her family killed in front of her. She demands to know the name of the trigger man. Mandragora insists that she doesn't know the name, just that he is called Omerta. Helena kills Mandragora with a shot to the chest. Helena leaps out the window. While the guards search for her, The Pope calls out to her and tells her she's done him a favor, and he can do one for her, then tells her to come to Mandragora's funeral.
Helena attends Mandragora's funeral, at which The Pope points out the hitman, Omerta (Anthony Carrigan), who murdered her family. She follows the man from a distance for 24 hours, ending up in Venice for Carnival. Omerta puts on a devil costume for the event. Helena continues to follow him, only to lose him in the crowd. Omerta ambushes her and tackles her into the canals. While they fight in the water, Omerta ties her hair to a pipe and leaves her. As she cuts herself free, Omerta tells her he plans to hang around Venice getting drunk for several hours, then fly to Gotham in the morning. As he leaves, he advises her that if she wants to be a "huntress", she better get better at stalking her prey.
Helena arrives in Gotham the next evening. She has her taxi take her directly to St. Augustine's Church. She arrives in the middle of a wedding, and from across the street is shocked to see the groom, Tony Angelo, walking out with a bride.
Helena changes into her costume and heads to her childhood home. She remembers the night her family was murdered again, but snaps out of it when she hears footsteps. Omerta tells her that he spared her because of the old saying about not leaving your enemy's son alive for fear of revenge, but that there's no such saying about daughters. Helena tells him that maybe there should be, before shooting him in the chest with her crossbow. He falls down, bleeding, in the very dining room that he killed her family in. She notices her cross around his neck and takes it back.
It's crazy to think that we are now headed into the final round of Season 8. Overall, I'd consider this past round to be a tad on the weak side. For more on that, here's The Roundup...
3. Margot Robbie It's great to see her on the big screen again. Honestly, I really did not enjoy Adr1ft as a film, but more on that later. I want to focus on how magnetic Robbie is on the screen (not to mention how easy on the eyes she is).
2. Wishmaster Who would have thought that Wishmaster would do as well as it did? While I recall liking the original when I was younger, it's not like it has big name value like Halloween or A Nightmare on Elm Street. What it does have, which the audiences must have responded to this time around, is a fun villain and concept that is full of horror potential.
1. Jesse Plemons About damn time somebody gave this man a lead role! He is such a great talent, he was long overdue. He has a had a great career with LRF in supporting roles, but he makes the most of his chance to shine giving a chilling performance complete with some classic scenes. I would not be surprised if the scenes of him calmly writing out his letter after murdering his mother and wife end up on Chad Taylor's Best Scenes list (if he does one for this season, which I hope he does).
3. Allison Williams Ugh! I cannot stand Allison Williams. It's been a while now since I have devoted time in The Roundup to talk about how much I hate someone, but here it is. I've hated her in everything I've seen her in. If Jonathan Rhys Meyers weren't so good in Wishmaster I would have walked out of the theater. She's just so smug in everything she does. There isn't an ounce of authenticity in any performance she's ever given. Clearly, nepotism has gotten her far...
2. The Tower I loved the first half of The Tower. The focus was squarely on Jesse Plemons as Charles Whitman, as it should be. When the second half then focused on the various law enforcement personal on the scene, the quality and enjoyment level of the film sharply dropped.
1. Adr1ft This is one of those films that started off strong. It gave us an mystery and a good looking leading lady. But as more and more of the mystery was revealed, the less satisfying everything became. The answers to the film's mysteries were pretty disappointing, and not nearly as exciting or interesting as I would have expected from a film directed by Alex Garland.
The Tower
Genre: Biography/Crime
Director: Scott Cooper
Writer: Roy Horne
Cast: Jesse Plemons, Michael Pena, Lucas Black, Florence Pugh, Elisabeth Shue, Richard Brake, Ethan Embry, Brett Cullen
Reaction: Can't complain about a profit from an R-rated mid-budget biopic about a controversial figure. While far from the studio's most successful biopic, it did far better than the most recent one, Decrescendo.
"Jesse Plemons has long been a favorite supporting actor of many writers and directors, but here he is given the chance to shine in the leading role and he does not disappoint. He gives a chilling performance, perfectly capturing Whitman's descent into violence." - Glenn Howard, Total Film
"There are some truly horrific scenes in Scott Cooper's latest film that are sometimes hard to watch. Scenes like those of Whitman reflecting upon his crimes against his mother and wife are sure to have audiences talking." - Jeff Stockton, The Roundup
"Jesse Plemons is so good as Charles Whitman that it became highly frustrating when the film's focus shifted away from him in the second half. We spent nearly every second of the film with him prior. Maybe the filmmakers were worried about us spending too much time with Whitman, but they made a mistake there, and the latter parts of the film suffer for it." - Ben Fullmer, Knoxville News Sentinel
October Crisis: The already impressive cast for true crime tale October Crisis from director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mo Buck just got even more impressive with the additions of Ralph Fiennes (Mass Effect: Silent Assassins, The Grind), Peter Capaldi (Paddington, "Doctor Who"), Bill Pullman (Paradiso, Ranger) and Walton Goggins (Blood Meridian, Fevre Dream). Fiennes will play Quebec's Minister of Labor, Capaldi will play the British Trade Commissioner, while Pullman and Goggins will play lawyers.
Huntress: Hailee Steinfeld's young vigilante just got more company as Shea Whigham (Bad Times at the El Royale, Sicario: Day of the Soldado), Rhys Coiro (Entourage, "The Walking Dead"), Hannah Ware ("The First", Aftermath) and Anthony Carrigan ("Gotham", "Barry") have joined the upcoming DC Comics adaptation. Whigham will play the family lawyer, Coiro and Ware will play Helena Bertinelli's parents, and Carrigan has been cast as an undisclosed antagonist. Michelle MacLaren is directing from a script by APJ.
Outlaw Country: Young stars Dakota Johnson (Suspiria, Fifty Shades Freed), Caleb Landry Jones (Runaway, Dark Places) and Lucas Hedges (Be More Chill, Amelie) have joined the upcoming western from director David Michod and writer Dwight Gallo. Johnson will play Garrett Hedlund's love interest, while Jones and Hedges will play the younger brothers of Aaron Paul.
Before You Help: Anthony Hopkins (Riot Love, The Life Ahead) will reunite with writer Jack Ryder and director Lynne Ramsay for the third time, having signed on to their upcoming drama, Before You Help. Joining Hopkins will be Kate McKinnon ("Saturday Night Live", The Spy Who Dumped Me) and Cillian Murphy ("Peaky Blinders", Dunkirk). Hopkins will once again play Cox's father, McKinnon will play the best friend of Tessa Thompson, and Murphy will play someone Cox befriends. Captain Atom: Add one more DC superhero has been added to Last Resort Films DC stable. This time it is the hero, Captain Atom. Jon Hamm (An Honest Mistake, Flicker) will star as Nathaniel Adam, a member of the US Air Force during Viet Nam, who is forced to undergo an experiment that turns him into a super-soldier. Isla Fisher (Tag, Keeping Up with the Joneses) and David Morse (Death Dream, "The Outsiders") have also joined the film. Fisher will play the terrorist Plastique, while Morse will play General Eiling, Hamm's military superior. Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman: The Golden Circle, X-Men: First Class) has signed on to direct the film from a script by Mo Buck (Runaway, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City). While the film won't be immediately connected to the main DC Universe characters written by APJ, Chad Taylor and D.R. Cobb, the option is reportedly being left open for future cross-over opportunities.
God of War: Tom Hardy (Crowley, The Squared Circle) may have a new franchise on his hands as he has just signed on to star in a film based on the God of War video game series. He will star as Kratos, a Spartan warrior who seeks revenge for the death of his family. Duncan Jones (V, Mass Effect: Silent Assassins) will direct the film based on a script by Carl Flimmer (Alien: Isolation, Resident Evil).
The Tower Genre: Biography/Crime Director: Scott Cooper Writer: Roy Horne Cast: Jesse Plemons, Michael Pena, Lucas Black, Florence Pugh, Elisabeth Shue, Richard Brake, Ethan Embry, Brett Cullen
Plot: United States Marine Charles Whitman (Jesse Plemons) is approved for a scholarship program to study mechanical engineering at University of Texas at Austin. While in school he meets Kathleen Leissner (Florence Pugh) and they quickly strike up a romance. They get married in Kathleen's hometown of Needville. Whitman's parents, C.A. (Brett Cullen) and Margaret (Elisabeth Shue) drive up from Florida for the ceremony. With the distractions of married life, Whitman's grades suffer and the Marines order him back to active duty.
Back in military life, Whitman is quickly promoted and is noted for his excellent marksmanship. However, Whitman resents his college studies being ended. He starts gambling with the other soldiers on-base, forming a sort-of portable casino. He is busted by his superior officers, and Whitman is soon court-martialed. He is demoted and sentenced to 90 days of hard labor, but he remains a Marine.
He is honorably discharged from the Marines and heads back to Texas to be with Kathleen. He works multiple jobs in order to return to school, this time enrolling in the architectural engineering program at UT. One night, stressed from work and school, Charles hits Kathleen while they argue about money. Charles hates himself for this and makes a vow to not end up like his father.
Charles receives a phone call from his mother Margaret. She tells him that she has decided to divorce C.A. because of his continued abuse. Charles drives to Florida to help mother pack up her things. He calls the local police and asks an officer to remain outside the house while his mother packs her belongings, so that C.A. would not dare resort to physical violence. Charles begins getting terrible headaches. He starts using amphetamines to help curb the headaches, as well as help him have the energy to get all of his school work done. Charles expresses frustration with how his life has gone. Kathleen suggests he seek counseling, but Charles doesn't like the idea. He begins to suspect something is wrong with his brain, and that is causing his headaches and irrational thoughts that he works hard to suppress.
Charles goes to a hardware store where he buys a pair of binoculars and a knife. He then stops at a 7-Eleven to buy a couple cans of Spam. He picks up Kathleen from work, and together they have lunch with his mother. That night Charles types out a letter: "I do not quite understand what it is that compels me to type this letter. Perhaps it is to leave some vague reason for the actions I have recently performed. I do not really understand myself these days. I am supposed to be an average reasonable and intelligent young man. However, lately (I cannot recall when it started) I have been a victim of many unusual and irrational thoughts. These thoughts constantly recur, and it requires a tremendous mental effort to concentrate on useful and progressive tasks."
In the middle of the night, Charles lets himself into his mother's apartment and stabs her in the heart as she sleeps. He covers her body with sheets before writing out a note: "To Whom It May Concern: I have just taken my mother's life. I am very upset over having done it. However, I feel that if there is a heaven she is definitely there now. I am truly sorry. Let there be no doubt in your mind that I loved this woman with all my heart."
Charles then heads back to his house and stabs Kathleen three times in the heart while she sleeps. He covers her body with sheets as well, then resumes typing his letter: "I imagine it appears that I brutally killed both of my loved ones. I was only trying to do a quick thorough job. If my life insurance policy is valid please pay off my debts, donate the rest anonymously to a mental health foundation. Maybe research can prevent further tragedies of this type. If you can find in yourselves to grant my last wish, cremate me after the autopsy."
At dawn, Charles calls his wife's work, telling them that Kathleen is ill and will be unable to come into work that day. Later that morning, Charles rents a hand truck and cashes $250 worth of bad checks at a local bank. He then drives to a hardware store where he purchases a M1 carbine rifle, two additional ammunition magazines, and eight boxes of ammunition. He tells the cashier that he is on his way to go hunt wild hogs. At Sears, he purchases a shotgun and some more ammunition, giving the cashier the same story.
Charles goes back home where he saws off the shotgun's barrel and packs it into his footlocker along with the M1, a Remington hunting rifle, a .35-caliber pump rifle, a 9mm pistol, a .357 Magnum revolver, and more than 700 rounds of ammunition. He also packs food, coffee, vitamins, amphetamines, earplugs, jugs of water, matches, lighter fluid, rope, binoculars, knives, a transistor radio, toilet paper, and some deodorant. He puts on khaki overalls and loads his footlocker onto the hand truck.
Charles drives to UT and wheels his equipment into the Main Building on campus, which features a 300 foot tower. He exits the elevator on the 27th floor, and wheels his gear to the observation deck. There he encounters the observation deck receptionist. Charles beats her with the butt of one of his rifles and drags her behind a couch. Charles drags the desk in front of the doorway. A group of people try to get into the observation area, but Charles shoots them with his shotgun, before then shooting the receptionist in the head with his shotgun. Charles heads out to the observation deck and begins shooting at the people 230 feet down below.
Charles begins sniping every body he sees. People begin scattering, hiding behind any cover they can find. Many assume the noise is from nearby construction and that people the people falling to the ground are part of anti-war protests. Four minutes after Charles began shooting from the tower, the police are finally called. The first officer arrives on the scene and takes refuge behind a columned stone wall, but Charles fires a shot through a six-inch gap between the columns, killing the officer. Officer Houston McCoy (Lucas Black) hears about the shooting over his radio and makes his way toward the tower.
Allen Crum (Richard Brake), a retired Air Force tail gunner, is on campus managing the university book store. He heads outside to see what the commotion is. Realizing that gun fire is coming from the tower, he starts directing people out of harm's way. He then makes his way toward the tower where he meets McCoy and offers his assistance.
Around noon, Officer Ray Martinez (Michael Pena) is at home, off-duty, when he hears about the attack on the news. He calls his station to see how he can help, and is instructed to go to the campus to help direct traffic away from the incident. Once he gets there, he finds other officers already doing that, so he heads toward the tower. He assumes he will find a team of officers at the top of the elevator, but he only finds Crum, McCoy and public safety officer Dub Cowan (Ethan Embry). The police send a sharpshooter up in a small plane to see if he will be able to get a shot at Charles. The plane is driven back by Charles' fire, but continues to circle at a distance, hoping to distract him.
Martinez deputizes Crum and they begin searching the 27th floor of the tower. They find the first victims at the door to the observation deck staircase. Martinez heads for the observation deck, instructing Crum to wait at the door. Crum slips in blood and accidentally discharges a rifle.
Charles is alerted by the gunfire, but isn't sure where it came from due to the echo of the stairwell. While he is distracted, Martinez and McCoy round the corner of the observation deck. Martinez fires at Charles with his revolver, but misses. McCoy hits Charles twice with his shotgun. Martinez then borrows McCoy's shotgun and fires at Charles at point-blank range, killing him. The officers on the ground keep firing, almost hitting Martinez, not realizing that Charles is already dead.
In all, Charles Whitman killed 16 people over that 90 minute period atop the tower, injuring 31 others.
Adr1ft Genre: Sci-Fi/Mystery Director: Alex Garland Writer: Billy Cruder Based on the video game Cast: Margot Robbie, Liev Schreiber, Natalie Martinez, Katherine Waterston, Rupert Friend, Jack Huston
Reaction: We managed a tiny profit on this film. For as popular as Margot Robbie is, this film was really one of the first big tests to see if a film can be marketed around her star power. The results were alright, but we were hoping for a bigger profit on this one.
"Adr1ft works based on the strength of Margot Robbie's lead performance. The plot wasn't super interesting, but she kept me involved enough to make it all work." - Adam Carpenter, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"The film is set up as a sci-fi mystery. Unfortunately, the pay-off to the mystery is a big let down. It was an infuriating ending that made the main character and the plot itself unlikable." - Stan Kyle, Omaha World-Herald
"Adr1ft is a difficult movie. It's anchored by a strong performance from Margot Robbie, along with some strong supporting actors, but the story itself is frustrating. There's enough that works to recommend viewing, but don't be surprised if you leave the theater pulling you hair as it won't be for everyone." - Roger Taggart, Chicago Tribune
Adr1ft Genre: Sci-Fi/Mystery Director: Alex Garland Writer: Billy Cruder
Based on the video game Cast: Margot Robbie, Liev Schreiber, Natalie Martinez, Katherine Waterston, Rupert Friend, Jack Huston
Plot: The film begins with a woman who begins to awaken in a strange room. It's confusing and there's a lot of confusion around it and it does not remember anything about what happened. Also it has the fairly torn overalls. He begins to move slowly and looking out into the portholes and sees the planet Earth in the distance and remains entranced by the vision and understands that he is an astronaut. She sees an image of herself on a desk and understands that her name is Alexandra Osham (Margot Robbie). Looking outside, however, realizes that the space station in which it is located is quite destroyed and there are many debris that whirl in space and sometimes hears a robotic voice that says that the oxygen recharge is malfunctioning and there is loss of oxygen. Alexandra he begins to explore and at a certain point he hears the voice of a woman trying to get in touch with her and the rest of the crew but there is no way to answer. He understands that he is not alone and continues his exploration in the destroyed environment. He finds another personal abode of another astronaut, Sebastian Olivier (Liev Schreiber), but there is nobody inside. Just after he finds a recording of another member, Andrew Mcdonagh (Rupert Friend). Alexandra has a flashback in which Andrew says the mission was going longer than expected and that she wanted to go home to her family. Then it will be discovered that three days before the accident he would have returned home.
Then he continues to find from the recordings, e-mails and continues to have flashbacks and, it turns out that the scientist Elizabeth Hudson (Natalie Martinez), Alexandra's childhood friend and often critical of his choices, spent the shifts of rest doping and by involving in an erotic relationship with dangerous implications the medical officer Liam Edwards (Jack Huston), who for his part had concealed from Alexandrea to have a past as an alcoholic, of which he was far from liberated, with withdrawal abilities that they continued to persecute him. Teresa Lopez (Katherine Waterston), an astronaut who was enthusiastic about her work, died as she dreamed of going to space, Sebastian Olivier, a veteran astronaut who had already taken part in important missions and was now suffering from cancer, but according to the latest analysis he was healing. She then discovers that she, Alexandra, was the commander of the mission. On the Northstar IV station, in view of the Moon II lunar colony, Alexandra was working, under the auspices of Hardiman Aerospace, of the SPIRITUS project, whose goal was to be able to efficiently produce oxygen, and subsequently food, in space, through the life cycle of plants, of which the station is full, using hydroponic cultivation. But Alex had forced the extraction process, and an electric overload had already caused, before the actual accident, the breaking of the tanks for irrigation of plants. Alexandra is upset by this but manages with the force of despair to start a spacecraft and head towards the Earth. Once arrived on Earth there will be a media pillory against her without anyone defending it, not even her superiors.
Finally, after a few years, we find Alexandra in a small country house, with a mess and lots of open liquor bottles.
Wishmaster Genre: Fantasy/Horror Director: Tarsem Singh Writer: Clive Steinbeck Based on the 1997 film Cast: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Allison Williams, Danny Huston, Ambyr Childers, David Giuntoli, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Navid Negahban, Philip Quast, Anjelica Huston
Reaction: Wishmaster has become one of the studio's most successful horror films not based on a video game or part of the Monster Universe. The box office numbers put right on par with Siren and Salem's Lot - and with Wishmaster's more economical budget, it is more profitable those both of those films... combined.
"While still cheesy like the original, the concept of Wishmaster has aged surprisingly well. The idea of greed and wish fulfillment will always be relevant. The script wisely doesn't shy away from this." - Jeremy Raren, RottenTomatoes.com
"I'll be honest, I always had a soft spot for the original. The Djinn is just such a fun character. Here, Jonathan Rhys Meyers absolutely chews the scenery, giving a fun performance. If you like fun, gory horror, you won't be disappointed." - Clark Davis, JoBlo.com
"The script by Clive Steinbeck fails to add to the original film. It is a bit too paint-by-numbers. I would have liked to have a seen a film really take what is admittedly a strong idea for a horror story, and really do something interesting with it, not another half-baked rehash." - Joseph Thornton, Mercury News
Road Rash 3: Pitfall
Genre: Action
Director: John Hyams
Producer: Robert Rodriguez
Writer: Jack Ryder
Based on the video game series
Cast: Mike "The Miz" Mizanin, Adam "Edge" Copeland, Amanda Crew, David Ajala, Billy Zane
Plot: Larter (Mike "The Miz" Mizanin) is seen fighting two guys in a bar, after he beat them up he takes out money from their locker. He comes to the Smith's Mansion and delivers the money to Smith goons and goes inside to meet Julianne (Amanda Crew) to demand that she give him the complete information of his brother killers, but when he goes inside he sees a panicking Julianne. Julianne says she will give him the information after this last job. She takes him with her to Mr. Smith's room where he is supposed to be recovering from his injuries. When they enter the room they see it's empty and after Larter inquires, Julianne tells him that he has been kidnapped. She tells him that they have been expanding their business in other states but hit some roadblocks but eventually they were successful but one of their competitors Skarpa (David Ajala) was very angry with it and kidnapped her father. She shows him a video of Skarpa demanding that Julianne meets him in his house and there she can take his father back if she comes alive to his house.
Julianne says that she believes that her team has been compromised and can't trust them and she can't take the usual route to the house of Skarpa. So she needs his help to get there. After she promises that it will be his last job and after that he will get the info he need. Larter agrees to it and they plan to leave it in the night on their bikes.
Larter is ready and waiting for Julianne to come, when she sees Julianne is being followed by another person on bike he goes straight towards him and they start fighting, Julianne comes in between and stops them saying that the other person is Ricky (Adam "Edge" Copeland) and he is an old friend who will travel with them on the journey. After some miles they notice one of the old bodyguards of Julianne following them. Ricky and Larter both jump on him and they start competitively attacking the old bodyguard, one upping each other so they can brag that he was the one to deliver the killing blow but while they were arguing, the bodyguard successfully delivered a message to Skarpa about their location. Julianne kills the bodyguard.
While the three of them are on their bikes driving they notice that they are being surrounded by other bikers. Soon a Helicopter comes at the top of them with Skarpa in it. Skarpa taunts Julianne and says that he will be waiting for her at her house and he leaves. Larter takes out his bat and starts swinging around and hitting other bikers. Ricky takes out a chain and uses it with Julianne to attack. After some crazy road rash moments they defeat the group of Bikers.
They reach the house of Skarpa and are welcomed inside. Skarpa congratulates them on reaching here. When Julianne asks him about her father he brings out a masked person and shoots him when Julianne went to see it, it turns out it's another person. Skarpa tone changes to aggressive while he list out how the Smith's are ruining his life and attacks Julianne. Ricky and Larter comes to her rescue and they try to escape the mansion. Fighting Skarpa men along their way to their bikes. Finally they are successful in reaching their bikes and they start to run away but they are followed by Skarpa and his men in cars.
Soon the three of them outmaneuver the cars, making them crash one by one. They find a injured Skarpa and ask him about Mr Smith, when he doesn't answer they tie him to the bike with chains and start driving. He starts shouting that he doesn't know and it was Mr Smith's plan to bring you here. He shows them a video of Smith (Billy Zane) asking Skarpa to kill Julianne.
The trio goes into hiding with captured Skarpa.
The End.
Budget: $10,500,000
Total Profit: $8,010,349
Reaction: Road Rash is our second most profitable DTV film to date. Fans of the continuation of the Road Rash brand appear to be growing in number - and it doesn't hurt that this sequel cost a little less due to a less well-known cast (no paying Taylor Lautner or Antonio Banderas this time around).
Wishmaster
Genre: Fantasy/Horror
Director: Tarsem Singh
Writer: Clive Steinbeck
Based on the 1997 film
Cast: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Allison Williams, Danny Huston, Ambyr Childers, David Giuntoli, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Navid Negahban, Philip Quast, Anjelica Huston
Plot: Persia - 1127 A.D.
The Djinn (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is a creature condemned to dwell in the void between the worlds. If one wakes a Djinn, they are granted three wishes, but upon the granting of the third wish, the legions of Djinn will be freed to rule the Earth. The Djinn is asking a Persian emperor (Navid Negahban) to make his second wish. The emperor asks the Djinn to show him wonders. The Djinn grants his wish, using his powers to torture and mutilate every one in the palace. The emperor is horrified, but the Djinn suggests that he could use his third wish to undo the damage to his kingdom. Before the emperor can make his third wish, they are interrupted by Zoroaster (Philip Quast), a sorcerer and prophet, who tells the emperor that if the third wish is granted, a gateway between the worlds will be opened, allowing the evil race of Djinn to take over the planet. Zoroaster then pulls out a fire opal. The Djinn is sucked into the jewel, where he remains captured.
892 years later, Raymond Beaumont (Danny Huston), an industrialist and collector of ancient art, is supervising workers as they lower a crate containing an ancient statue of Ahura Mazda, the God of Zoroastrianism. The crane operator lowering the crate accidentally drops it from the crane, killing Beaumont's assistant and destroying the statue. A dockworker finds the fire opal in the statue's rubble and sells it at a pawn shop. The pawn shop owner takes it to his friend Nick Merritt (Pruitt Taylor Vince), owner of Regal Auctioneers, to have the jewel appraised. Nick has Alexandra Amberson (Allison Williams) examine the jewel.
While Alexandra is examining the jewel, the Djinn awakes. Alexandra sees something inside of the jewel and takes it her friend Josh Aickman (David Giuntoli), a UCLA geologist, to analyze. As he is scanning the rock, the gem explodes and the Djinn is released. Josh is wounded from the explosion, and wishes that he wouldn't be hurt. The Djinn grants his wish as the entire lab explodes, killing Josh.
Alexandra hears about the explosion and suspects that the jewel must have had something to do with Josh's death. Researching the opal, she finds out that it was part of the Ahura Mazda statue, and contacts Beaumont after learning that he purchased the statue. He tells her that the statue was destroyed, but that if she really wants to learn about the jewel and Ahura Mazda, that she should contact Wendy Derleth (Anjelica Huston), professor of folklore at USC. Beaumont then invites Alexandra to a party he is hosting. Alexandra meets with Wendy, who tells her all about Zoroaster and the legend of the Djinn, and its evil history. Wendy tells Alexandra that the Djinn would need to power the gem with the soul of humans through granting them wishes.
The Djinn removes the face of a corpse at the morgue, taking on the dead man's form and the name Nathaniel Demerest. The Djinn starts granting people wishes in return for their souls while he searches for the person who woke him up, Alexandra. He goes to Regal Auctioneers and offers Nick anything he wishes for in return for telling him who had the fire opal. Nick asks for a thousand pounds of gold. Nick gives the Djinn Alexandra's address, before gold bricks start raining down from the ceiling, bludgeoning and crushing Nick to death. Alexandra has a vision of Nick's death.
Alexandra goes to Wendy's house to consult with her again, but the Djinn has already killed her and taken her form. Alexandra realizes that she is really talking to the Djinn. He asks her to make three wishes. He even offers her a test wish in case she doesn't believe him. She wishes that the Djinn kills himself. He complies by blowing his head off with a shotgun, but the wounds heal instantly, as he is immortal. She then uses her first official wish to know all about the Djinn. He teleports her to the hellish Djinn world within the jewel, showing her his true nature. She then uses her second wish to be back in her apartment, alone.
Alexandra decides to go to Beaumont's party, taking her sister Shannon (Ambyr Childers) along with her. Unbeknownst to them, the Djinn is already at the party talking to Beaumont. Beaumont wishes that his party would be unforgettable. All of the statues and artwork in Beaumont's mansion then come to life and start slaughtering the guests. The Djinn traps Shannon, trying to scare Alexandra into making her third wish. Alexandra wishes that the Ahura Mazda statue was never destroyed. The events of the film are then undone, once again trapping the Djinn within the fire opal.
Inside the jewel on the statue of Ahura Mazda, now in Beaumont's private collection, the Djinn sits on a throne waiting to be released once again.
The Tower: Director Scott Cooper has rounded out the cast of his biopic of mass murderer Charles Whitman (played by Jesse Plemons). Florence Pugh (Lady Macbeth, The Commuter) will play Whitman's wife, while Elisabeth Shue (Battle of the Sexes, Death Wish) and Brett Cullen ("Narcos", The Dark Knight Rises) will play Whitman's parents. Roy Horne wrote the script of the soon-to-be released project.
Nevada, Iowa: Jacob Tremblay (Heavy Rain, Nocturne), Shannon Purser ("Stranger Things", Wish Upon) and Jeremy Ray Taylor (It, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween) have all joined the upcoming dark comedy from writer John Malone and director Jacob Aaron Estes. Tremblay will play the son of Reese Witherspoon and Kyle Chandler, Purser will play the family's usual baby sitter, and Taylor will play a student Sam Rockwell takes under his wing.
October Crisis: The true story film from writer Mo Buck and director Kathryn Bigelow has added the likes of Will Poulter (Life of a Champion, Death Dream), Michael Keaton (Spider-Man: Homecoming, Cape Torment) and Christian Slater ("Mr. Robot", Cape Torment) to its growing ensemble. Poulter will play a member of the Quebec Liberation Front, Keaton will play Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, and Slater will play Quebec Prime Minister Robert Bourassa.
Huntress: Hailee Steinfeld will have more company in the upcoming Huntress film. Matthew Daddario (Cabin Fever, "Shadowhunters"), Jon Bon Jovi (New Years Eve, Cry Wolf), Isabela Moner (Instant Family, Sicario: Day of the Soldado) and Franco Nero (John Wick: Chapter 2, The Lost City of Z) have all signed on to the project. Daddario will play Steinfeld's love interest, Bon Jovi will play Daddario's mobster father, Moner will play Steinfeld's cousin, and Nero will play a deeply religious crime figure. Michelle MacLaren makes her feature film debut on the project which was written by frequent DC writer APJ.
Outlaw Country: The first film of Season 9 has begun production. Garrett Hedlund (Damned Ship, The Creature), Taylor Kitsch (Revolution, The Creature: The Beginning) and Aaron Paul ("The Path", Hellion) will star in the western film, which will depict the famed James-Younger gang and their battle against the Pinkerton agents in Post-Civil War Missouri. Hedlund will play famed outlaw Jesse James, Kitsch will play his older brother Frank, while Aaron Paul will play their childhood friend and outlaw partner Cole Younger. David Michod (War Machine, The Rover) is directing the film from a script by Dwight Gallo (Blood on the Moon, The Lady in the Lake).
Before You Help: Frequent LRF writer Jack Ryder may have announced an upcoming break from the studio, but he has some already completed scripts that will be entering production soon. This one will star his go-to lead, Charlie Cox (Riot Love, White Tiger), as well as Tessa Thompson (Thor: Ragnarok, "Westworld"). They will play a young married couple who have to the deal with loss following a tragic accident. Another Jack Ryder-favorite, Lynne Ramsay (The Life Ahead, Riot Love) will direct the drama.
We will now be officially back to the usual format and scheduling for The Roundup...
3. Armie Hammer While the film, Green Arrow 2: Hunters, was not great, Armie Hammer continued to show that he is a star on the rise. He perfectly captures the character of Oliver Queen, from the action to the drama to the necessary arrogance of the character. The first film gave him plenty to sink his teeth into, and here's to hoping that the third film in the series gets the character back into interesting territory.
2. Caleb Landry Jones If you have a younger, aggressive, low-life character, Caleb Landry Jones appears to be the go-to name. He has such a unique energy that every performance he gives becomes instant must-see viewing. He may end up with another Best Supporting Actor nomination this season.
1. Cascade This unrelenting western is officially one of my favorite films of the season, if not at the top of the list. It gives us an angle the genre has never given us before, making this seemingly traditional story feel especially fresh and unique.
3. Box Office On paper, the box office numbers for the round don't look so bad. But in reality, Green Arrow 2 vastly under-performed, grossing well less than the first film in the series. Runaway failed to make a profit, granted with its subject matter, a huge hit was not expected. Cascade is the lone bright spot, making a minuscule profit. 2. Green Arrow 2 Villains The first Green Arrow worked so well because it had our hero taking on colorful, entertaining villains. A superhero film is only as good as its villains, and the villains of GA 2: Hunters were bland, and uninteresting. The lone interesting villain, the film's take on class Green Arrow baddie Count Vertigo, doesn't show up until the climax of the film. Villains like Clive Owen's Dark Archer were sorely missed.
1. Jack Ryder Word has come down that writer/nemesis Jack Ryder is taking a hiatus from his writing career due to personal reasons. We may have had our difference over the seasons, but he has always been an integral part of the Last Resort Films screenwriting community. Hopefully his break will be a temporary one and he will back with more interesting films (and lousy soundtracks) sooner rather than later.
