Now Showing: Lucky Luke and Billy the Kid

Lucky Luke and Billy the Kid
Genre: Western/Comedy
Director: Peyton Reed
Writer: Harry Wright
Based on the Lucky Luke comic series
Cast: Paul Rudd, John Cusack, Zach Galifianakis, Peter Dinklage, Charlie Day, Logan Lerman, Gwendoline Christie, Sam Elliott, Diana Rigg

Plot: Ma Dalton (Diana Rigg) is on her honeymoon with Sheriff Dunne (Sam Eliott). They got married after Dunne freed Ma from prison after she was imprisoned following a bank robbery, where she got all her cash, the same cash that allowed them to be in this very honeymoon. They cross a street, where Dunne is nearly knocked down by a man on a horse. It angers good ol’ Ma who takes out the gun she hides in her umbrella. Dunne tells her to calm down, but she refuses. She aims for the man and when she shoots, the recoil knocks her down and she misses her target completely. She takes down her suitcase with her and it opens. Some cash fly away, but nothing to concern her. She closes it fast. A man sitting across the street comes to their help, his name is Billy (Logan Lerman). He has a huge grin on his face and as he positions himself behind them, he points his gun at Ma and Dunne discretely. He says that once they cross the street, they will enter the hotel and they will follow him to his room, which is what they do. Dunne pees in his pants and Ma starts to panic. In the hotel room, Billy says he’s not just Billy, he’s Billy the Kid. Ma tries to take her gun out of her umbrella , but she can’t. Dunne asks if he can change his pants to be more presentable and Billy refuses. He says he will only accept one thing, their money, in exchange for their life. Ma is able to free her gun from the umbrella and she’s once again knocked down by the recoil and she misses yet, again. Her head hits the floor hard and she dies on the floor. Dunne can’t believe it and as he mourns the death of his wife, Billy steals the money. Dunne gets downstairs without his pants and asks for help, but nobody will help him.

The Dalton brothers, Joe (John Cusack), William (Zach Galifianakis), Jack (Charlie Day) and Averell (Peter Dinklage) are all sitting at a round table in a saloon in the middle of a small, unnamed town. They’re counting the money their mother left them before she ran away with Dunne, mere seconds after she unlocked their prison door. All four of them count a different total and they argue which one is right, it’s probably Averell, but the two others seem to favor Joe, as he’s the tallest. Averell doesn’t understand the correlation between the two, but at that point in his life, he learned that it’s sometimes best to let some of things slide, he learned to choose his battle and this is one that he chooses not to fight.

Lucky Luke (Paul Rudd) gets off his horse, Jolly Jumper and enters the sheriff’s office, where he meets the new sheriff in town, Calamity Jane (Gwendoline Christie). They had their differences in the past, but they decided to set their differences aside to achieve one common goal, catching, once and for all, the Dalton brothers. Calamity Jane has bad, or good news for Lucky Luke, it depends on which way you look at it. Ma Dalton is dead. Luke can’t believe the official cause of death. We see a montage of Ma’s life as a criminal, where she robbed banks and killed sheriffs and she ultimately dies hitting her head after firing a shotgun. A tough woman who became so fragile died so spontaneously, life is weird sometimes. Lucky Luke want to go there to interrogate Dunne who disappeared with Ma following her escape and he thinks he’s behind it all. Jane accepts and they both ride their horse in the desert.

The Daltons finally agreed on a sum, spoiler alert, they’re wrong. Joe and William want to go spend it all, but they can’t agree what to buy. Right now, it’s a tie between a streetcar a set of guitars. One is more useful than the other, but they settle with what will bring them the most joy, the guitars. This is a battle Averell decides to fight, but they quickly dismiss him, telling him that he’s just jealous because he can’t play the guitar. He argues that neither one of the can, but they don’t care. As they’re about to leave the saloon to buy their guitars, a man enters and joyfully announce that Ma Dalton, the renowned outlaw, is dead. The saloon owner rejoices as the three tallest Dalton start to cry. Averell begs them to shut up. They leave the saloon and go buy their guitars, as Averell looks on, disappointed with his brothers’ decision.

Lucky Luke and Calamity Jane are in the middle of the desert and both of them are bored. They decide to hold a contest to decide which one of them can shoot faster, to satisfy their burning ego. They get off their horse and place glass jars on rocks. They walk 20 steps and they agree that on three they will turn around and the first one to shoot is the winner. Lucky Luke and Jane start to count and Lucky Luke fast counts the three and shoots first. Calamity Jane wants them to start over, which they do, but this time, Luke just doesn’t shoot. Jane says she won, but Luke wants them to start again. They start again and this time, Luke turns around much faster than Jane and breaks the glass jar. Luke is the man who shoots faster than his shadow, so it’s sure he won. Jane asks him why he didn’t do that the first time around and he says that it’s because it’s more satisfying to see her face after she beat him first, it’s just for his ego. He smiles as he gets back on Jolly Jumper.

They are still riding in the desert, when two robbers stop them, asking them for their money. They don’t who they tried to rob… Lucky Luke uses his incredible speed to aim at the robbers and he starts shooting randomly at his feet, to make him dance, as Calamity Jane holds the other one at gunpoint. The dancing robber gets back on his horse and he rides away and so does the other one. Lucky Luke starts to whistle, flips his gun in the air and buries it in his pocket in an act of extreme coolness. Jane and him laugh as they realise that they just scared two robbers and made them run away.

The Daltons, now a group of drifters are going to their mother funeral, with the intent of signing an original composition. Believe me, it’s epically bad. They enter the saloon, where the funeral is to be held and they meet their step-father, Sheriff Dunne, who retells them their mother less than glorious last moments. He forgets to mention that he wet his pants and as he finishes the story, Billy the Kid arrives and adds the little detail, to the amusement of the Daltons. Dunne, who hasn’t seen Billy the Kid since that fateful day, challenges him to a duel, a good, old-fashioned stand-off. Everyone gathers outside but Averell who stays inside to drink. He tries to forget what happened in the last couple of days. They start their duel and they walk away from each other. A gunshot is heard as the camera focuses on Averell. Billy the Kid comes at the bar and taps Averell on the shoulder. The three other Dalton brothers are mourning the loss of their step-father, they were already attached. He peed in his pants before he died, how ironic.

Lucky Luke and Calamity Jane finally arrive at the funeral with the hopes of catching the Daltons. They enter the saloon as a very bad music group is playing on the stage. The sing a real bad song about Ma Dalton, really cringey. Lucky Luke laughs his ass off as they start another one, because the Daltons didn’t prepare one song, oh no. Inspired by the death of Dunne, they wrote six other songs in an intense jamming session. Lucky Luke has a feeling that the men on stage are the Daltons, but he can’t properly recognize them with their disguise and besides, there are only three members in the all-strings group. As the third song ends, William Dalton recognizes Lucky Luke and signals his presence to his two brothers. They start pointing at Luke who begins to wonder even more that it’s the Daltons up on the stage. He approaches them and he starts playing with them, asking them questions about their lives and he enjoy watching them struggle to come up with answers without consulting the other two. It all stops when Averell, drunk as a skunk, enters the room and starts trash talking his mother, who was never there for them when they needed her the most. His brothers are mad at him because he blowed their cover, but Lucky Luke reminds them that he already knew they were the Daltons. Calamity Jane arrives and puts them in custody. Luke asks them where their mother and their own money and they is answer that Billy the Kid took it. The name sounds familiar to Lucky Luke. As they leave the saloon, Lucky Luke hears someone calling his name; Billy the Kid.

Lucky Luke tells Calamity Jane and the Daltons to stay out of it. He comes face to face with Billy the Kid. Luke tells him that he will arrest him right here and there, for the murder of Sheriff Dunne and Ma Dalton, because we all know for sure that the old cookie didn’t die by herself. Billy the Kid challenges him to a series of duels and the winner will win Ma’s money. Luke doesn’t care about the fortune and he just want justice to be served, so he accepts.

The first challenge is a horse-riding obstacle course. Luke gets on Jolly Jumper and lays back, almost lying back-first on the horse, chewing tobacco. Jolly Jumper completes the obstacle course all by himself, beating Billy the Kid by a significant margin. Billy says it’s unfair because Jolly Jumper did it all by himself, but Luke laughs it off and reminds him that he’s the one who chose the challenges. The second challenge is the exact same thing he did with Calamity Jane in the middle of the desert, only this time, Luke isn’t able to fire his gun, it’s jammed, so Billy wins this one easily. Luke complains that there should be a redo, but Billy reminds him that he’s the one in charge of the rules and seeing that his gun is jammed and that they’re tied up, he suggests that they jump straight to the final challenge, a good, old-fashioned stand-off.

Calamity Jane expresses concerns about Lucky Luke, since his gun is jammed, but he assures that he has everything under control. They walk a certain amount of steps and they both take deep breaths. Luke calls for a timeout because he has a rock in his shoe, which Billy grants. They start the procedure one more time, only to have Lucky Luke delay everything once again, because he has something stuck in his eye. He goes to see Calamity Jane to request her help with his eye and he takes advantage of the distraction to switch their guns. They start again one more time and this time, they’re both ready. Lucky Luke draws a deep breath and he turns around. He plants a bullet right in Billy’s hat before he even has the time to move. He says he’s Lucky Luke, the man who shoots faster than his shadow, he flips his gun and buries it in his socket. He hands Billy over to Calamity Jane who has her hands full with the Daltons, as he Lucky Luke rides away in the sunset on Jolly Jumper with his bags full of money.

Mid-Credits Scene : We see Lucky Luke making all sorts of extravagant purchases, all unnecessary items that will be totally useless. In the end, Jolly Jumper is unable to carry everything and he decides to finally use everything he bought, including musical instruments. He composes a really bad song, but at least, he says, it’s not as bad as the Daltons’.

Post-Credit Scene: Lucky Luke is in jail and he pays a visit to the Daltons. He sings them his song and they all think think it’s the worst thing they’ve ever heard. Lucky Luke smiles as the camera fades.

Release: Hippies in New York

Hippies in New York
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Greta Gerwig
Writer: Alex Conn
Cast: Lucas Hedges, Timothee Chalamet, Saoirse Ronan, Elisabeth Moss, Johnny Simmons








Budget: $22,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $10,159,113
Foreign Box Office: $4,021,775
Total Profit: -$25,007,916

Reaction: Thankfully we were able to keep costs pretty low for the film otherwise to could have lost a lot more money. Foreign audiences showed no interest whatsoever in this NYC-set story, which definitely hurt the bottom line, but drama and comedy are the two primary genres that don't travel overseas well when it comes to the box office. The film also now has the unfortunate distinction of being the lowest grossing film ever released by the studio.

"The title is a bit misleading. It should probably be called "Young People in New York," but either way you're getting a film about whiny young people with no real problems." - Sean Williamson, Toronto Star

"While the story may not offer a whole lot that's new, the acting is uniformly strong across the cast. The film is worth seeing just to watch the group of great young actors practice their craft."  - Tim Durand, San Francisco

"I cannot describe quite how insufferable all of these characters felt to me. Each member of the talented cast is wasted on thankless roles. And don't get me started on that 20 year time jump at the end..." - Jeff Stockton, The Roundup

Last Resort Films Jukebox: Hippies in New York

1. "God Save the Queen" - Sex Pistols

2. "The End" - The Doors

3. "Blitzkrieg Bop" - Ramones

4. "Come Together" - The Beatles

5. "Holidays in the Sun" - Sex Pistols

6. "God Only Knows" - The Beach Boys

Breaking News

With Warner Bros. officially starting production on their own Birds of Prey movie (really a Harley Quinn-led Suicide Squad spin-off), Last Resort Films has shelved their version of the project which was set to star Hailee Steinfeld (Huntress, Bumblebee), Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Green Arrow 2: Hunters), Madelaine Petsch ("Riverdale", Batman: Gotham Knight) and Rose Leslie ("Game of Thrones", Reality) in the roles of Helena Bertinelli/Huntress, Dinah Lance/Black Canary, Barbara Gordon/Batgirl and Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy, respectively. Michelle MacLaren (Huntress) was set to direct from a script by APJ (Huntress, Plastic Man). With the cancellation of the project, the studio will work with the writer to try to include the characters into other some of their other future DC Comics Universe films. Vanessa Kirby will continue to appear in the Green Arrow series as Black Canary, while Petsch and Leslie will most likely appear in future Batman films. That leaves the question of when we will get to see Steinfeld as the Huntress again. Rumor has it that the studio is leaning towards having her as the female lead in a possible future Teen Titans film, but they are reportedly not sure about a sequel to Huntress since it has been by far the lowest grossing DC Comics Universe entry from the studio.

Now Showing: Hippies in New York

Hippies in New York
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Greta Gerwig
Writer: Alex Conn
Cast: Lucas Hedges, Timothee Chalamet, Saoirse Ronan, Elisabeth Moss, Johnny Simmons

Plot: In 1974 two young people who live together but they don’t date go to their first punk show together . The girl, Jenny (Saoirse Ronan) tells the boy, Tom (Lucas Hedges), that it is this new revolutionary style of music. Jenny who is bisexual has a crush on the drummer this makes the boy Tom uncomfortable. The drummer, Jake (Timothee Chalamet) goes to Jenny and Tom's apartment and he tells stories to Jenny and Tom about the groupies that they had and all the parties. Jenny watches in fascination and asks if she and Tom could come to one of those wild parties and the drummer says sure. Tom talks to Jenny alone. Tom says he’s disturbed by the misogynistic attitude he talks about women. Jenny says that it’s actually not misogyny it’s sexual freedom it’s empowering. She reminds him that back in the day they held free love signs. Tom leaves her alone and goes to bed. The morning after the show when Tom is waking up he notices Jenny and the drummer Jake having sex.

Tom goes away and leaves and stays with his friend Jonathan (Johnny Simmons) who is a bit older than him and it is revealed they met at an anti Vietnam protest when Jonathan was in college and Tom was in high school and they smoke pot and listen to The Doors and they discuss plans for Tom to get laid.

They go to a bar and meet a woman who is on the older side but is very attractive and Tom who was in high school during the sexual revolution is interested to hear what the sexual revolution was like and the girl named Julia says that the hippie movement is dead and that Richard Nixon stole it and now the environment will die and we’ll have endless war and mass hunger. They make out and have sex passionately to The Doors Light My Fire and he goes back to his house with Julia (Elisabeth Moss). Jenny talks to Tom about this and Jenny says she thinks that this is a Machiavellian move to spite her Tom mockingly says aren’t we about free love.

Jenny is soon having sex with Julia and Tom sees it happen and gets extremely jealous and Tom and Jenny have an argument outside in the hallway about how Tom isn’t even a real hippie as he’s so conservative and how he isn’t a real rebel and he’s just like the other guys that they would make fun of. Jenny then says that Jake makes her feel young again and Tom says that he is basically the same age as them and Jenny says it’s metaphorical.

Jenny invites Julia and Tom to Jake’s show at the CBGB. When they get home Tom and Jake have a discussion on why punk is really revolutionary Tom argues that the psychedelic rock and the hippie music was fighting against the Vietnam War and what is the punk music fighting against and Jake makes the argument that punk music is against the corporate authority as a whole and it is rebelling against the hippies too because the hippies became boring and not rebellious anymore.

In the hallway Tom sincerely asks Jenny why she loves Jake and she says that he’s smart. Tom says that what he was arguing in the dinner table was pure nonsense. The conversation quickly changes into Jenny admitting that she knows Tom has feelings for her and that she will never reciprocate.
Jenny and Tom and Jake and Julia go to a punk rock party and they watch the Watergate hearings on TV. Julia and Jenny decide to have a talk upstairs. Tom says to Jake that Jenny is having sex with Julia and Jake is pretty unphased about it and soon runs off to have sex with some girls from the party. Jake goes into their room and they have a three way and Ton rushes to tell Julia and Jenny and Jenny at first doesn’t believe him but walks into the room and finds Jake having sex with two different girls. Jenny and Jake have an argument and is about to break up with Jake when Jake reveals that he knows Jenny and Julia are having sex.

Jenny hatches a plan and invites everyone to lunch to discuss it. They all have sex with each other. Tom is hesitant about it but eventually agrees. But the rest of them agree. They do it and it fails horribly. Tom vomits and everyone else hates it.

Tom goes along and they go to dinner all of them Tom, Jake, Jonathan, Julia and Jenny and Jenny reveals the sexual deviance she has done where she had sex with Jenny and Jake breaks up with Jenny and Jenny reveals that Tom has always had a crush on her which makes Julia cry and leave Tom. Tom races out of the restaurant to comfort Julia. Julia and Tom have an argument about their relationship and whether there were feelings shared or whether she was just a vessel for his feelings for Jenny. Tom admits she was just a vessel but then he argues back with saying that Julia was having sex with Jenny. Julia says that she wanted different things from both of them.

The next day Tom and Jenny decide it is best for them to stop living together. Tom is packing up his stuff thinking about the memories of him and Jenny. Tom finally finishes packing and hugs Jenny and is about to leave for the train but Jenny asks to come say goodbye to him on the train. They walk to the train and discuss what had just happened and they both say they have learned something from the experience and that they will keep in touch. They finally arrive at the train and Tom goes on the train and hugs Jenny. Flash forward to 1995 Tom is working as a lobbyist now with short hair and a suit. He has a lunch meeting with a new intern who just transferred from Greenpeace. This is Jenny and she describes how she fell out with Jake as she actually started wanting wealth and how they were married until she took the lobbying job and he stayed at Greenpeace and in the 80s he always talked about how good the 70s were l and Tom asks out Jenny and she accepts. Tom explains how he got this lobbying job right after he left and he supported Reagan but he went on board with Clinton after he abandoned the progressives. Jenny and Tom walk out of the restaurant and talk about how their generation was so progressive but when they got into power they’re conservative Tom says that’s just growing up and Jenny looks and him intently knowing she is only doing this for the money.

Premiere Magazine #87

The Roundup with Jeff Stockton (Season 9 Round 7)

Looks like the box office slump is behind the studio with every film in Round 7 making a profit. Here's The Roundup...

3. Mass Effect: The Shadow Broker
The franchise has taken another step forward toward its inevitable conclusion. It may not get the press of other video game franchises like Splinter Cell or Halo, but the Mass Effect films are right up there with them in terms of quality.

2. Kirsten Dunst
It was great to see Dunst in a leading role again after her career has taken a downturn following the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films. She's still consistently done strong work, but in films people didn't go out and see.

1. Leonardo DiCaprio
It's hard to imagine anyone else successfully pulling off such a difficult role like the one DiCaprio played in Calamity. It was a true movie star performance. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (a talented actor in his own right) would have been all wrong for the role.

3. Mass Effect: The Shadow Broker
It was a good film, don't get me wrong. My problem with it featured prominent roles for some of the least interesting characters in the franchise (Ptacek, Vikander, Nyong'o).

2. Spike Jonze
Spike Jonze is a good director, but he was clearly in over his head with a film like Calamity. He was just wrong for the job as his sensibilities do not line up with the subject matter. I can only imagine what a director like Sam Mendes, Martin Scorsese or maybe even Denis Villeneuve could have done with the film.

1. Black Dublin
It's not a bad film, but like some of the critics pointed out, the story does not answer the questions it poses. Which, as any "Lost" viewer can attest to, is quite frustrating.

Release: Black Dublin

Black Dublin
Genre: Suspense/Historical
Director: Sofia Coppola
Writer: Ben Collins
Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Ben Mendelsohn, Abbie Cornish, Matthew Goode, Frank Dillane, Emily Meade, Mark Duplass, Samantha Morton, Damian Lewis, Aidan Gillen




Budget: $21,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $27,000,235
Foreign Box Office: $34,991,478
Total Profit: $8,056,339

Reaction: Sofia Coppola is not really known for box office success, but Black Dublin has become her most successful film since Lost in Translation 15 years ago. The film also continues Kirsten Dunst's success at the box office for the studio following roles in the hit films Blackwater and Scion.

"Sofia Coppola has branched away from her usual subjects and crafted an esoteric, spooky drama filled with duplicitous characters - all well played by the actors assembled." - Perry Manson, CinemaBlend.com

"While the film is well-shot and acted, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed with confusion by the time the credits began to roll. After a solid first half, the plot gets really hazy. Was Alice practicing witchcraft? Did she kill her husbands? The film leaves some major questions open-ended in an infuriating fashion." - Adam Carpenter, St. Louis Post-Disbatch

"Kirsten Dunst finally gets a leading role worthy of her considerable talent. She manages to play the mysterious nature of her character with aplomb, never quite tipping her hand to the audience." - Shawn Moseby, Fresno Bee

Now Showing: Black Dublin

Black Dublin
Genre: Suspense/Historical
Director: Sofia Coppola
Writer: Ben Collins
Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Ben Mendelsohn, Abbie Cornish, Matthew Goode, Frank Dillane, Emily Meade, Mark Duplass, Samantha Morton, Damian Lewis, Aidan Gillen

Plot: We are in Dublin in 1300. The film begins with a very attractive woman, Alice Kyteler (Kirsten Dunst), who is getting ready to go to the funeral of her third husband. She is accompanied by her mother. Alice also has a child from her first marriage, called William (Frank Dillane), a very closed-minded boy who seems to be a succubus of his mother. During the journey the two women are stopped by a group of thugs who accuse them of being dangerous women but are hunted by a friend of Alice, John Le Poer (Matthew Goode). John has known the woman for a long time and is one of the usual customers of the inn run by Alice. After the end of the funeral John and Alice spend time together and a few days later they spend the night together. John's step sister, Laura (Abbie Cornish), worried about him for whom he feels a love-like feeling threatens Alice and shows John a document that says Alice's third husband had changed his will and left all his properties to wife just the day he died. He also says that the two previous husbands had died very strangely, leaving all their belongings to Alice too.

The romance between John and Alice continued until a new marriage was celebrated on his return from his business trip. When Laura finds out about the marriage she goes on a rampage and goes to the bishop to try and have Alice condemned for witchcraft. Unfortunately, Laura was not frowned because of her past psychiatric disorders and was not believed despite a meeting between some members of the Catholic Church in Dublin and Alice, but the latter convinces the men of his kindness among many tears. At the meeting was also attended by a servant, Petronelle de Maith (Emily Meade), who spoke very positively about her mistress.

The only one who seemed to believe the words of Laura was the councilor of the bishop, Ledrede (Ben Mendelsohn) who says to bring new evidence of witchcraft of the woman and he would do everything possible to make her condemn.
The wedding was celebrated and shortly after John set out for work and Laura discovered that inside the inn, in recent months, mysterious meetings were held and it began to rumor that Alice's inn, Kyteler's Inn, held satanic rites and that very dangerous objects were hidden inside it. Alice tries to defend herself by saying that she only gives way to people, even those who are considered heretical, to discuss and create a point of dialogue and aggregation. With these ambiguous meetings, meanwhile, Alice's earnings continued to grow and in Ireland very religious this led to arouse envy by some and disapproval from others. The people who frequented the inn could be particularly strange and disturbing. For example, two regular visitors were the couple formed by Carl (Damian Lewis) and Ellen Galrussyn (Samantha Morton), a very extravagant wealthy couple who always went around with a skull and a long snake.

While he is returning from his business trip, John begins to lose his nails and hair and sees his face ruining and then writes a letter to his sister Laura saying that he is afraid that Alice has made a curse and hides in a cathedral before dying .

Laura, meanwhile, discovers that the old bishop has left the post and has been replaced by Ledrede who, thanks to the new evidence brought by Laura and other false (such as the sacrifice of some black cocks in the inn and that someone has seeing some strange powders in front of the inn and singing a song in an unknown language with Petronelle and William.) Some tools to create poisons and potions were also found inside the inn. The trial was brief and was condemned for witchcraft along with Petronelle and some other person who had attended the strange meetings. One man,Jamie Castle (Aidan Gillen) said he had participated only once and said that there was a coven of witches, how Alice made a deal with Satan to kill the husbands, including human sacrifice, orgies and couplings with demons that regularly, they say, were held in the Kyteler's Inn. At this point also the various stepchildren of Alice seem to ally with Ledrede to accuse her of the various crimes.In light of the seriousness of these accusations, Ledrede wrote to the chancellor of Ireland Roger Outlawe to proceed to the arrest. But the chancellor opposed the bishop, along with a group of gentlemen, including Sir Arnold le Poe (Mark Duplass), a relative of Alice's fourth husband. Arnold asked the chancellor to ignore the case, which replied to the bishop that the arrest would be it was only possible after a trial and excommunication of at least four days. But Ledrede also decided to intervene and ordered Alice, who was at her son William's house, to appear immediately in his presence. She fled and, feeling herself attacked, in turn accused her son of heresy. Sir Arnold and William then went to the prior of Kells, where the vesovo stood, begging him not to go any further, and because the prayers seemed useless, Sir Arnold resorted to force: the day after, Ledrede was stopped by a group of men armed, arrested and led to Dublin prisons. This fact created a huge state of agitation in the city; the prisoner requested the sacraments and was denied, while all the clergy crowded on each side of the building, raising prayers and chants to the bishop.William informed Sir Arnold of the clamor that the event had aroused, which was then forced to give the prisoner more freedom and the opportunity to spend with his friends the day and night. The imprisonment lasted seventeen days, and the first thing the bishop once did free was to quote William Outlawe again; until Arnold le Poer decided to provide for the arrest of Bishop Ledrede, who had to appear before the Court and the Seneschal.

The scene described leaves us open-mouthed: the bishop advances in the hall carrying the sacraments with him in a golden vase, raised towards the sky, solemnly proclaiming his own reasons. The seneschal silences him by addressing him as "vile, rude, ape, with that crap he carries in his hand." Later Alice, who seems to have lost track of her, is called to appear at the Court of Dublin, to which the Bishop had finally addressed, after the burning humiliation. And this time he got the better: Sir Arnold le Pour was released and forced to ask for forgiveness; the two exchanged a forced kiss of reconciliation before the cardinals and the assembled archbishops, and this still was not enough for his purpose, his obsession was to ask the Chancellor of Dublin, the vicar general and the archbishop to arrest Alice the witch.Alice did however mysteriously lose her traces scaring the various members of the clergy, believed they had disappeared thanks to some dark magic. Those who were believed to be his accomplices as Petronelle and the Galrussyn couple were arrested. These people were savagely tortured and began to confess their alleged crimes. Meanwhile, Bishop de Ledrede listened to the confessions of the prisoners, who were all d agreement on one thing. Alice Kyteler was the leader. Also, Ledrede accused William of heresy, aiding and defending heretics and was forced to show up on his knees in front of Ledrede who ordered him, as a punishment, to listen to three Masses. a day for a year, provide for the sustenance of the poor and cover the presbytery and the bell tower east of the Cathedral of St. Canice. Laura, meanwhile, looked at all this without knowing what to do, in the end it was she who started this crusade against those people. She sees Laura secretly visit the prisoners and bring them food and water.

Finally we see Petronelle, on the day of the death sentence on the stake, who screams to all the people who have been cursed and that Alice would return for all of them.The Bishop solemnly organized a stake in the city square and threw flames of magical powders, human remains, hair, worms and various ointments into the flames. The film ends with a man who sets the girl on fire.We also see many of the other people taking part in Alice's meetings, like the Galrussyn couple, while they are waiting for their execution.

After the credits there is Laura, now old, who writes in a diary mistakes made by her because over the years she discovered that it was all a mount of Ledrede because she wanted to take Alice's estate despite write that some of her four husbands were certainly killed by her.

Release: Calamity

Calamity
Genre: Drama
Director: Spike Jonze
Writer: Mo Buck & Chad Taylor
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Anne Hathaway, Margot Robbie, Jason Bateman, Wyatt Russell, John Goodman, Richard Jenkins, Brooklynn Prince





Budget: $80,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $162,433,760
Foreign Box Office: $121,298,551
Total Profit: $89,319,467

Reaction: Leonardo DiCaprio is one of the few A-List stars left in Hollywood who can open a big budget drama and catapult it to a hit at the box office on a consistent basis, Calamity is just the latest example.

"The role of Stan/Fritz is type of role every actor dreams about playing. Leonardo DiCaprio gets to run the gamut of emotions in this tour de force performance." - Dave Cone, New York Post

"Calamity is an impressive story filled with strong performances from a group of terrifically talented actors. While DiCaprio gets the bulk of the screen time, every actor gets at least one scene to show off in." - Roger Taggart, Chicago Tribune

 "Spike Jonze, while a good director, doesn't seem like the strongest choice for this material. The acting and writing are both top notch, but with Jonze at the helm the tone just never quite fits as his trademark quirky touches don't find a home in this story. While Calamity is by no means a bad film (it is perfectly serviceable), it should have been a great film rather than just good." - Jeff Stockton, The Roundup

Last Resort Films Jukebox: Calamity

1. "Walkin' After Midnight" - Patsy Cline

2. "You Belong to Me" - The Duprees

3. "Tainted Love" - Gloria Jones

4. "Can't Help Falling in Love" - Elvis Presley

5. "These Arms of Mine" - Otis Redding

6. "Sleepwalk" - Santo & Johnny

7. "Release Me" - Engelbert Humperdinck

Now Showing: Calamity

Calamity
Genre: Drama
Director: Spike Jonze
Writer: Mo Buck & Chad Taylor
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Anne Hathaway, Margot Robbie, Jason Bateman, Wyatt Russell, John Goodman, Richard Jenkins, Brooklynn Prince

Plot: In 1957, Stan (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mary-Anne Griffin (Anne Hathaway) are a quiet suburban couple in Akron, Ohio. Stan works from home as a typewriter repairman while Mary-Anne recently started a break from her job as a schoolteacher as she very progressed in her first pregnancy. While there is not much animosity in their marriage, there does appear to be a lack of intimacy, which they are hoping the kid will be able to re-kindle. While alone, it is revealed that Stan is in large debt and has been cheating on his taxes but does not tell Mary-Anne this. An avid outdoorsman, Stan tells Mary-Anne he is going on a fishing trip to Lake Erie on the weekend and kisses her and her baby bump goodbye.

Stan went on a fishing trip by himself, only him and his thoughts, he thought. He didn’t even rent a room. He arrived with his suitcase, some cash and his fishing gear. There were heavy clouds on the horizon and a man initially refused to rent him a boat at first, as Lake Erie was supposed to become really agitated when the storm sets in. He said that he’ll be back before it gets dark and he to convince the man to rent him the boat even more, he even paid a supplement. The man couldn’t help but notice his huge wad of cash when he paid. Stan got on his boat and went fishing.

The water started to get a little agitated when a coast guard noticed Stan’s little boat. He went to see him and asked him to reach the ground in no time. Stan agrees and says he just wants to get another fish before leaving. The coast guard goes back to the little shop where the man rented him his boat. A couple of minutes later, the guard decides to go get him before it’s too late. He doesn’t find Stan on the lake. He continues to look for the boat. He eventually finds the boat, empty knocked down on the ground, with no trace of Stan Griffin.

The following day, policemen are actively looking for any traces of Stan Griffin. The man at the boat shop told them about all the money Stan had on him and he suggested that maybe he got robbed and it turned wrong. The officers are also looking with dogs all over the place. They finally conclude that he disappeared and he’s not within the area. The coast guard can’t believe that something happened to him in the five minutes he left him alone.

Mary-Ann Griffin was knitting when she heard someone knocking at her door. A policeman came to announce her husband’s disappearance. She’s absolutely devastated. She starts crying in the officer’s arms. As soon as they get out, she collapses on the ground, crying, completely destroyed by the horrible news.

Four days later, Fritz Holland (Leonardo DiCaprio) a man who looks exactly like Stan Griffin enters a bar in Omaha, Nebraska. He gets behind the bar and starts serving people, he works there. He also likes to drink all night with his clients, telling them various stories about the memories he had while serving in the Navy during World War II and the Korean War. He started to tell these stories when he noticed that it could be a way to get drunk without paying a cent, as people like to pay for a veteran’s drink. He gets wasted every night, drinking alcohol, talking loudly and making money. He was living his dream life.

Mary Ann had a tremendous difficulty to overcome the loss of her husband. She tried to share her grief with someone who was also deeply affected by the loss of Stan, his brother, Ken Griffin (Wyatt Russell). Together they decided that they want answers and since the police weren’t able to give them any, they decided to hire a private detective, who goes by the name Dick Russo (John Goodman). They arranged a meeting together and the man accepted to work on the case for a respectable fee, nothing that would ruin them. The talk around town is that he’s the best there is. During their first meeting, Russo gave himself a month to gather information before they meet again.

Fritz Holland took a day off a work to the devastation of the regulars to go to a swingers club. Sporting a mustache and a sport jacket, Fritz rapidly noticed a stunning blonde, alone in a corner of the room. Her name’s Jeanie (Margot Robbie). Fritz could listen to her talking all day. She described herself as a humanistic woman who loves to give chances to others, less fortunate. She also has the same outgoing personality as Fritz and she loves to get attention, to be desired. Fritz gives her the address of the bar he’s working at and asks her to come and see him tomorrow night. She accepts gladly and excuses herself to the bathroom. She never came back and Fritz leaves the club. He understood everything about and there’s no chance she’ll resist him.

The following day, Fritz stands outside the bar, in front of the United States of America flagpole. He announces to the clients that he will mix his two great love together: his country and helping others. This is why he’ll sit on top of this flagpole in order to raise money for a deadly disease known as polio. People are impressed by this feat and they all give money. Jeannie eventually arrives and she falls in love with him immediately, impressed by his incredible feat. She visits him day after day after day, during which they talk to themselves. He can’t wait to get down that flagpole to be with the woman he loves.

Mary-Ann called Ken to meet with Detective Russo. It’s been thirty days since they hired him, he must have news for them. They meet in a diner, where Russo likes to eat. He has a mountain of mashed potatoes in his plate, clearly he’s been here for a while. Mary-Ann asks for a milkshake, while Ken doesn’t order anything, he’s not hungry. He’s been really depressed since he lost his brother, who was not only his best friend, but also his role model. He lost a lot of weight too. Russo has bad news for them. He didn’t find Stan, but he found something else, Stan’s immense debts. Mary-Ann can’t believe that her husband had been hiding this financial burden from her. She starts to cry on Ken’s shoulder, who remains calm, but his silently devastated that Russo couldn’t find his brother.

Fritz Holland finally gets down his flagpole. He’s raised an hefty amount for polio, but the only thing he cared about was Jeanie. As soon as he got down, he went straight in her arms and it soon ended in the bedroom. They wake up from a night of passion and they embrace. Fritz is more popular than ever, drinking every night and coming back to Jeanie satisfies him way more than you can imagine. He plans on moving in with her, to leave his less than glorious apartment. He’s deeply in love with that woman.

Mary-Anne finds herself alone and pregnant at a diner. She just met with Russo who suggested asking the police to stop investigating and declare him legally dead. She juggles with that thought and goes to Ken’s to talk with him about it. He says he doesn’t really care what she does at that point, as he realized that nothing will bring back his brother. He cries with her again and she finally tells him that she’ll do it, in order to move on, to leave that part of her life behind. That way, maybe she could finally start living her life again and so will Ken. In a brief moment of happiness, he tells her that he has found himself doing more outdoor activities like fishing and archery, the same things that excited his brother, in order to help fill the void. They share a hug before she leaves. She goes to the police station and it’s with an heavy heart that Mary-Anne asks them to stop investigating the disappearance of Stan Griffin. He’s declared legally dead and she should expect his life insurance check soon. She goes back to the diner and starts crying. Lester Olsen (Jason Bateman) notices her. He asks her what’s wrong and, still a hot mess, proceeds to tell him her story. He’s clearly moved by her story and he shares his story with her. He too lost a loved one, his wife died a couple years back. He understands how she feels. He offers his shoulder for her to cry on and he pays for the lunch she barely touched. He brings her back to her home, where she invites him inside for coffee.

The following day, Mary-Anne goes to the post office and receives the life insurance check. She meets Lester at the diner and they go cash in together. She thinks Lester is really helping her dealing with all of this. He’s like a blessing from above. They cash in her check at the back and with Lester’s help, she pays off Stan’s debts. They leave the bank, holding hand. He buys ice cream cones at a shop and they eat them, hand in hand. It’s the first time she smiles since he disappeared. They leave together, her head on his shoulder. On the way home, Mary-Anne says that she might be falling in love with Lester and she asks him if it’s wrong. He says it’s not and he kisses her on the lips.

Fritz leaves the bar after admitting that he doesn’t feel so well. He did a drug with a client and he thinks it might be LSD. He goes back home to Jeanie. He stars to kiss her. They start to make out and he asks her if he can move in with her. She says the church wouldn’t approve it, but he doesn’t care. She accepts and she starts kissing him again. He passes out from the drug and the excessive alcohol consumption.

Mary-Anne and Lester were eating their daily ice cream together when Mary-Anne’s water broke. He rushed her to hospital. She delivers the baby and everything is a success, it’s a little girl. The doctor comes out and he asks Lester if he’s the father of the child. He says “no, but I’ll be the father of this child.” The doctor announces him it’s a girl and enters the room to finds Mary-Anne and her baby. They look at each other and you can tell they’re in love. She says her name will be Lucy, he smiles innocently and agrees.

In 1964, Fritz has parlayed connections around town and extroverted personality to become a popular radio personality in Omaha. Jeanie is seven months pregnant with their son. An outdoor enthusiast, Fritz heads off for the weekend to Chicago for an archery tournament. Also at the tournament is Ken, who has taken up archery as a hobby since his brother’s death. While taking in the sights, he spots Fritz – to his shock. He can’t believe what he sees. He tracks down Fritz and frantically says “Stanley?!” but Fritz only acts in confusion. Ken tells him he’s not dead, which confuses Fritz even more. Ken says that he is his brother Stan Griffin but Fritz shows his driver’s license to prove that he is not Stan Griffin. Ken starts to cry and pleads with him to come back to Akron with him, but Fritz apologizes and says there is nothing he can do. They go their separate ways.

Back in Akron, Ken hysterically tells Mary-Anne what he saw. Other than the eye patch and mustache, this man was a dead ringer for the missing loved one. While Mary-Anne is intrigued by Ken’s intense belief that this was Stan, she says they have finally moved from losing Stan and she doesn’t want to re-visit the grieving process if it is all for nothing. Disappointed, he decides to take matters into his own hands and gets back in contact with Dick Russo. He says he may have a potential lead on Stan’s location and is willing to pay him to travel to Nebraska. Unlike Mary-Anne, Dick is receptive to the idea that he may still be alive and says he will look into it.

In Omaha, Fritz debates telling Jeanie about his strange encounter in Chicago but he keeps it to himself. Meanwhile, Dick arrives in town and starts trailing Fritz. Like Ken, he is convinced that this is Stan and obtains Fritz’s fingerprint after following him at a diner. He uses a contact in the Navy to compare the print to the Navy’s database, as Stan once served with them in the 40s. The results are startling – it’s a direct match.

Upon receiving word from Dick, Ken breaks down in hysterics. He rushes to the home of Mary-Anne and Lester and delivers the news. Mary-Anne begins shaking and Ken embraces her, clearly more elated by the news than she. Ken says he has already contacted the Omaha police and informed them of the situation. Back in Omaha, Fritz is taken into the station and does a fingerprint test where he is confirmed to be Stan Griffin. He is visibly shaking in shock, unsure of what to say. Jeanie comforts him.

Upon the police’s request, he and Jeanie travel to Akron. They arrive at Mary-Anne’s home and there is a strange feeling in the atmosphere. No one in the room is sure how to approach the conversation as Stan is still adamant that he has no memory of a life before Omaha. Everyone is cordial, but it is difficult to break the tension. Mary-Anne holds Stan’s hands but it feels off for the both of them, and both of their new spouses. When Lucy (Brooklynn Prince) enters the room, Stan is friendly to her but still a bit awkward.

The next day, a police officer and lawyer arrange a meeting with the two couples. They are informed that now that Stan is declared alive, both of their marriages are nullified and that is recognized by law is Stan and Mary-Anne’s. All parties involved are angered by this and Jeanie reasons that that Stan and Mary-Anne could just get a divorce. Mary-Anne snaps back, saying that divorce goes against her Catholic faith and she will not do such a blasphemous act.

At their hotel, Stan swears his love to Jeanie and says that she is his true wife now and forever. She believes him when he says he has no memory of being Stan and similarly pledges a commitment to their marriage. Similarly, Mary-Anne tells Lester at their home that he is her true love and makes her feel more special than Stan ever did. She is clearly between her true feelings and her moral/religious obligations and Lester comforts her and tells her they’ll get through it. He says he’ll marry Jeanie if he has to, and they can all live in one big household, which gets her to laugh and quickly shoot down.

Stan meets with Ken at a diner. Ken, desperate, pleads with Stan to tell him that it is an elaborate hoax – he won’t care. Stan is obviously affected by Ken’s intense longing for his brother and feels disappointed that he cannot fully fulfill that role. He says that he really isn’t the Stan. Ken thinks he is and he is sorry to let him down. As they share a bond, brotherly or not, they share a long hug.

Meanwhile, Lucy – ever an astute 7-year-old - asks her mother who her real father is. Mary-Anne is clearly heartbroken by this question as she raised Lucy to believe Lester was her father but will feel guilty if she lies to her. Before they can answer, they are interrupted by a knock. It is a representative from her insurance company. He informs her that because Stan is now alive, she will have to pay back the $50,000 in life insurance payments that she has received steadily over the last 7 years. Mary-Anne feels numb to this news, with a simmering anger underneath. Lester tells her they can figure out and arrangement but Mary-Anne has finally broke. She says she will not stand for them becoming the victims of this.

Mary-Anne visits the police station and tells the detectives them of the staggering debt that Stan had when he died. Thus, she has reason to believe that this is a hoax and she should be relieved of the debt that his re-emergence has placed on her. The police agree that this could be a case of fraud upon which he could be charged for, but first they must put him through a psychological evaluation to see if he really has amnesia. They set up a session with leading University of Akron psychologist Dr. Edwin J. Jacobs (Richard Jenkins).

Stan and Jeanie walk along the streets of what is supposedly his childhood neighborhood. He talks about how strange it is that he grew up here but that he does not feel nostalgic for it at all. Jeanie tells Stan that she thinks she landed on the perfect name for their son – Charlie. He smiles and says it is perfect. Shortly after, they are approached a police vehicle and Stan is informed of court ordered psychological testing.

At the lab, Dr. Jacobs interviews Stan. After a lengthy session, he is unable to deduce that Stan has any memories of his past life. The doctor then informs the lawyers and Mary-Anne that they will now enter phase two: hypnosis. The psychologist’s assistant determines that Stan is too agitated to be able to be administered sodium pentothal –otherwise known as “truth serum”. Stan is hypnotized and starts receiving the questioning again. Just as before, there is no indication that he remembers his past life.

The psychologist hypothesizes that Stan likely experienced some sort of an event on his fishing trip that caused the amnesia, and his mind quickly made a fake backstory for his life on the spot. Additionally, the tumor behind his eye could have affected his brain and caused the amnesia. Upon hearing this news, and realizing the burden on her life is now very real, Mary-Anne blacks out and starts screaming hysterically towards Stan: “Tell the truth! TELL THE TRUTH!”. She is escorted out, while Stan is clearly shaken by the episode.

Back at his hotel, Stan informs Jeanie that the psychologist believes his amnesia is real and they are free to go back to Omaha. He then tells her about Mary-Anne’s meltdown and how guilty it made him feel. This angers her. She tells them she wants to give Mary-Anne some last words before they leave town.

They arrive at the home and Lester answers the door. He apologizes for Mary-Anne’s behavior from earlier and says it’d be best if they both moved on from this affair. Realizing they are not leaving, he then asks if they are going to help with the life insurance payments but Jeanie is determined to go inside. Once in, she viciously scolds Mary-Anne and says that she and Stan should not have to feel responsible for Mary-Anne’s hardships. Mary-Anne says that she knows Stan is lying as their boring marriage wasn’t enough for him and he always wanted more. This was his chance for a clean break. Jeanie says that if that was the case, why would he move to Nebraska and not L.A. or New York?

As the fighting continues in the background, Stan stands alone in the hallway. He slides down against the wall to a sitting position and is approached by Lucy. She stands next to him and asks if he is her father. He breaks down crying and mouths “I don’t know” but can’t get the words out amongst his tears. She hugs him, even with his inconclusive answer. She wanders back into the living room while he slowly explores the house in which he used to live. His hands slide amongst the countertops and furniture as he takes it all in.

He enters the master bedroom, the one he used to sleep in every night, and opens a bedside drawer. He pulls out a notepad and tears off five pieces of paper. The scene silently intercuts him writing on the pieces of paper with Mary-Anne and Jeanie arguing. After finishing his work, Stan stands up and takes his belt off. He goes to the closet, moves the clothes aside, and ties the belt to the elevated beam. The camera slowly pans away from him and back towards the bed, showing five folded pieces of paper, each addressed differently: “To Jeanie” “To Mary-Anne” “To Ken” “To Lucy” “To Charlie”.

Release: Mass Effect: The Shadow Broker

Mass Effect: The Shadow Broker
Genre: Action/Sci-Fi
Director: Patty Jenkins
Writer: Seth Overton
Based on the video game series
Cast: Alicia Vikander, Lupita Nyong'o, Tom Hardy, Steve Buscemi, Fatima Ptacek, Ken Watanabe, Will Yun Lee, Jennifer Garner, Mickey Rourke, Henry Cavill



Budget: $200,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $287,333,021
Foreign Box Office: $350,093,506
Total Profit: $169,000,013

Reaction: The best numbers yet for any of the Mass Effect spin-offs (although this one featured more characters from the main series than the other two spin-off films). The film lost a bit of the potential profits due to the contracts of stars Tom Hardy and Henry Cavill (both received a small percentage of the profits of the film).

"Easily the best of the Mass Effect spin-offs, Patty Jenkins' film combines some the franchises favorite characters into one fun, action-packed film." - Michael Van Patten, Slant Magazine

"Each film in the Mass Effect series has managed to remain fresh, with this film being a breezy, easy-viewing build-up to the inevitable Mass Effect 3." - Charles Yost, Oregonian

"A top notch production on paper, this film simply makes the mistake of following two of the franchise's least interesting characters - those played by Alicia Vikander and Lupita Nyong'o. If it had followed Mickey Rourke's new character, or Tom Hardy's return as Garrus, things could have worked out better." - Paul Ontkean, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

In Development

Tenth Circle: To round out the cast of Taylor Sheridan's Tenth Circle, Rory Culkin (Lords of Chaos, Columbus), Janeane Garofalo (Speech & Debate, "Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later"), Martha Higareda ("Queen of the South", "Altered Carbon"), Forrest Goodluck (The Miseducation of Cameron Post, The Revenant) and Jerry Wolf ("Extant") have been added to the film in supporting roles. H.G. Hansen wrote the film.

Doppelganger 2: Fionn Whitehead (The Beatles, Doppelganger), Tommy Lee Jones (Just Getting Started, Jason Bourne) and Carrie Coon (Cascade, Widows) have all signed on to the sequel to Doppelganger. Coon will play Natalie Portman's sister, Whitehead will reprise his role as scientist Albert Hawking, while Jones will join the film as a new Earth chief. Neill Blomkamp is directing from a script by Dominic Wilkins.

Life After Life: J.J. Abrams' time-jumping historical drama has added the likes of Kiernan Shipkan ("Mad Men", "The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina"), Gabriel Byrne ("Maniac", Hereditary), Will Poulter (October Crisis, Life of a Champion) and  Kathy Bates (The Raven in the Night, "Disjointed") to its ensemble cast. Shipka and Poulter have been cast as Margot Robbie's sister and brother, respectively, while Byrne has been cast as their father, and Bates has been cast as a midwife during Robbie's character's multiple births. New screenwriters T.F.W. Hallowayne and Willem Mainwright penned the adaptation of Kate Atkinson's novel.

Batman: Caped Crusader: Production has been underway for sometime without any news on the casting front... until now. Eddie Marsan (Batman: Gotham Knight, "Ray Donovan") has reportedly been seen on the set reprising his role as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, while Matt Smith (Burial Rites, Standing Back) has also been photographed on the set, but no word yet on his character. The studio has announced, however, that Bella Heathcote (Sisters, "Strange Angel") has been signed to play Julie Madison, who is Bruce Wayne's longtime girlfriend in the comics. Joseph Kosinski directs from a script written by APJ.

To the Moon: Charlie McDowell (The Discovery, The One I Love) has been tapped to direct the upcoming sci-fi drama To the Moon, based on the video game of the same name. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Neuromancer, Missoula), Zazie Beetz ("Atlanta", Deadpool 2) and David Harbour (Dark Places, Atlantic City) have been tapped to star in the project which tells the story of scientists who can implant artifical memories to fulfill the wishes of dying people. Gordon-Levitt and Beetz will play two scientists tasked with fulfilling the lifelong dream - going to the moon - of the character played by Harbour. Seth Overton (Mass Effect: The Shadow Broker, Sweet Tooth) wrote the script.

Lucky Luke and Billy the Kid: The entire cast of the second film in the series, Lucky Luke and Calamity Jane, returns for the third film. The only new addition to the cast will be Logan Lerman (Every Secret Thing, The Informers) as Billy the Kid. Behind the scenes there will be some changes though. Taikia Waititi, who directed the first two films of the series, will not return to direct this entry. Instead, Peyton Reed (Ant-Man and the Wasp, Yes Man) has been hired to direct the western comedy. Harry Wright (Spawn, Maple Leaf) has returned to write the script.

Now Showing: Mass Effect: The Shadow Broker

Mass Effect: The Shadow Broker
Genre: Action/Sci-Fi
Director: Patty Jenkins
Writer: Seth Overton
Based on the video game series
Cast: Alicia Vikander, Lupita Nyong'o, Tom Hardy, Steve Buscemi, Fatima Ptacek, Ken Watanabe, Will Yun Lee, Jennifer Garner, Mickey Rourke, Henry Cavill

Plot: The Citadel - heart of Galactic civilization and center of communication for political interactions between the various races that inhibit the galaxy. Flying cars move around like ants in the sky. On the ground, citizens of this gigantic space station wander through artificial parks. Upon the central ring, diplomats enter the Presidium of the Citadel, where the offices and embassies of all galactic races are situated. From here, the five arms of the Citadel on which the Wards area is built upon, can be seen in the distance.

A C-Sec police van carrying an unidentified group of suspects moves through traffic. It flies past Shepard's statue which the Council previously raised in his honour. It finally stops at the Main Courthouse. The group is handcuffed and escorted inside by C-Sec officers.

In the courtroom, the handcuffed suspects rise as the judge enters. They are Tali (Lupita N'Yongo), Liara (Alicia Vikanderr), Garrus (Tom Hardy) and Gillian (Fatima Ptcacek).

"You stand accused of conspiring against the interests of the Council and assassination of a Council official. How do you plead against these charges?"

3 WEEKS EARLIER
Location: Lair of the Shadow Broker

Liara, Tali and Garrus arrive at the secret lair of the Shadow Broker, in order to retrieve the Geth virus that would help them defeat the Geth occupying Tali's homeland. An indistinguishable shadowy figure is seen following them. A henchman invites them to the hallway. They are told that the Shadow Broker is currently in a meeting with a human diplomat and that it might take a while.

Suddenly, they hear two loud consecutive blasts. The henchmen run towards the Shadow Broker's office and Liara, Tali and Garrus decide to follow them. When they arrive at the office, they see that The Shadow Broker is being held at gunpoint by Gillian. The girl followed Liara and her group to the lair of the Shadow Broker and then infiltrated his office in order to ask for information on the Cerberus facility where her sister is held. However, the sight of a little girl holding the most dangerous entity in the galaxy at gunpoint is not what's most shocking. The most shocking thing is that the previously unseen Shadow Broker (Steve Buscemi) is just a frail, old Salarian of small stature, with a whiny and trembling voice.

"Objection, your honor! I don't see how my appearance is relevant to all of this. The fact of the matter is, I invited a beloved Council diplomat into my home and these insolents assaulted me in exchange for information and wouldn't take no for an answer. I think the Councilman was collateral damage. It was probably the little girl who did it, in her blind quest for revenge."

Gillian was indeed furious. She was separated from her father at a school for gifted biotic children who turned out to be a Cerberus experiment facility, she found out she had a sister she had never met who had been held captive in a Cerberus facility her whole life and her mentor and only friend Hendel Mitra was killed by the Drell assassin Thane Krios.

Garrus tries to reason with Gillian, telling her that the Shadow Broker is of no use dead. Liara enters the office and as soon as he sees her, the Salarian calls off his henchmen. His demeanor suddenly changes and he agrees to cooperate. He gives Liara the Geth virus, but tells her that only one man knows how to upload it into the geths' system. His best mercenary and right hand, the no-nonsense human bounty hunter Zaeed Massani (Mickey Rourke). He also gives them a map of all the Cerberus facilities that conduct biotic experiments and one of his ships. It becomes apparent to Garrus and Tali that the Shadow Broker must owe a lot to Liara, given his sudden shift of attitude.

As the group leaves the premises, the Shadow Broker is called by one of his henchmen in a hurry. The henchman shows him that the diplomat he was about to meet had been assassinated. He asks if they should deal with it, but the Broker tells them to call the police instead.

Tali lets out a chuckle. "Pardon my quarian, your honor, but this is bullshit. This man sent us on a suicide mission with a faulty geth virus. His so-called mercenary tech expert was only there to confirm our demise. Had his plan worked, we would have been the perfect scapegoats for this assassination. Ones that couldn't defend themselves."

2 WEEKS EARLIER
Location: Ranoch - Tali's homeland

Liara, Tali and Zaeed arrive on planet Ranoch. Zaaed tells them they must infiltrate a communication tower in order to spread the virus to all Geth on the planet. As expected, they are attacked by a group of Geth, but less than the resistance they had expected on this mission. As a matter of fact, most of the planet seems deserted.

Tali walks through the rubble. She remembers the building that used to stand there, a tall impressive structure. Or maybe it only seemed that way at the time, since she was so little when the Geth rebelled and took over her homeworld. She comes to the sudden realization that she spent most of her childhood on a Quarian migrant fleet. That she never experienced all the customs and traditions in a Quarian's life.

For instance, it was customary for Quarians that reached young adulthood to go on a Pilgrimage - to leave their home planet on a quest given by their Elders (based on their skills and social status). Failing the quest was allowed, but there was a degree of social stigma for Quarians that did not complete their Pilgrimage. The ones that went and never returned are memorialized in a mausoleum, which Tali recognizes in the distance.

This moment of contemplation is interrupted when a larger group of Geth approach. Tali, Liara and Zaeed pick up the pace and outrun the Geth to the communication tower. However, the Geth virus does not work and the three of them must once again fight off the Geth androids. Two Geth corner Liara into a corner, but Zaeed shoots one of them, rips off his arm and beats the other one with it.

The Shadow Broker frowns. "Zaeed? There to confirm your demise? Did he not help you fight off the geth at the communication tower? Your theory doesn't fit the facts. And where was the Turian all this time? Given the tumultuous history between the human and Turian race, given the fact that tensions still exist between these two races even today, I think Garrus is as good of a suspect as any. Would you not agree, your honor?"

Liara intervenes. "Objection, your honor. Conjecture!"

Garrus steps in to tell his side of the story.

4 DAYS EARLIER
Location: Unknown Cerberus Facility

Garrus and Gillian walk past fallen Cerberus henchmen. They use a key-card to enter the solitary room. Here, Gillian finally sees her sister.

"I'm sorry but I'm a bit confused. I feel like there are some details missing from this story." The Shadow Broker interrupts.

Dr. Jiro Toshiwa (Ken Watanabe) sits at his office. A bullet-like biotic blast pierces through his skull. Garrus and Gillian take a key-card from him. They fight off Cerberus henchmen as they arrive to the solitary room. Here, Gillian finally sees her sister. Her file says she is codenamed "Jack" (Jennifer Garner). They look nothing alike, but Gillian recognizes her by the pain in her eyes. The same pain she has felt many times as a Cerberus captive.

After they explain everything to her, the three of them prepare to leave the facility when they are attacked, to their surprise by a group of Geth androids. With a single blast, Jack nearly disintegrates all of them. Gillian and Garrus are shocked by her power. Going through Dr. Toshiwa's files, they find out that the Illusive Man did indeed retrieve the Geth virus and that Zaeed is in fact an undercover agent working for him. The Illusive Man had been using the Geth from Tali's homeland as slaves in order to work on a project called "The Ark". The remaining ones which Tali, Liara and Zaeed encountered were ones that managed to rewrite their source code and became immune to the virus.

The sound of sarcastic clapping echoes from the hallway, as Kai Lee (Will Yun Lee) walks past the disintegrated Geth. He injures Garrus with a biotic blast. Gillian and Jack team up and fight him off. Jack is obviously stronger, but Gillian gives him the final blow, a blast so powerful it decapitates him. Jack smiles at Gillian.

"Heartwarming as this tale of two psychopaths murdering a man in cold blood may be, I still don't buy it. In the beginning, when the little girl had me at gunpoint and you heard the blast, you said that the three of you rushed to my office. However, you later said that my demeanor only changed as soon as Liara entered the office. So you did not in fact rushed to the office at the same time. Liara joined you moments after. What did she do in this time she was away?"

Zaeed steps forward. "Your honor, I plead guilty. The two blasts you heard were not coming from the Shadow Broker's office, but from the room the diplomat was in. Shot him twice. One in the back and one in the head, at the Illusive Man's orders."

Liara steps forward as well. "As for me, the reason I stayed behind is that I received an important call from someone."

The judge finds Zaeed guilty of killing the diplomat and gives him the death penalty. After giving him the sentence, the Shadow Broker asks Liara who was the call she received from. Moments before she can finish her thought, none other than Shepard (Henry Cavill) enters the courtroom. He tells everyone that he is authorized by the Council to render the proceedings of the court null and void. He warns them that he received a message from his home planet, Earth, and that the Reapers have arrived.

The team, including Jack and Zaeed, regroup at the Normandy ship. Gillian is shocked to see Thane there. Tali tells everyone that the migrant fleet returned to Ranoch, and in exchange, the Elders sent all the eligible quarians, including her, on a common Pilgrimage: to help Shepard defend the galaxy against the Reapers.

Meanwhile, Liara and Shepard share an intimate moment in his quarters. As they lay in his bed, Liara reveals to him that she had been in fact responsible for the killing of the diplomat the entire time. Even more shockingly, she had taken over the actual Shadow Broker's organization months after Shepard died. The Salarian was just a front. When she found out that the diplomat had information that would have led to another war between humans and Turians, she decided to assassinate him so that all the races could focus their forces on the Reaper threat. She concludes that this war has changed her, made her ruthless. Shepard tells her that war changes everyone, and that her sacrifice of a single diplomat might have saved billions of people. She is still not convinced she did the right thing.

Days after the Normandy left the Citadel, an alarm is heard through the entire space station, warning every civilian to retreat to safety. The five arms of the Citadel close, forming a defensive fortress. A Reaper ship is seen approaching.

The war has begun.