Before she was Wonder Woman, she was Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained warrior. When a pilot crashes and tells of conflict in the outside world, she leaves home to fight a war, discovering her full powers and true destiny.
Director: Patty Jenkins
Cast:Gal Gadot (Diana Prince / Wonder Woman), Chris Pine (Steve Trevor), Connie Nielsen (Hippolyta), Robin Wright (Antiope), Danny Huston (Ludendorff), David Thewlis (Ares)
DC Comics
TM & © Warner Bros.
GUY’S BIG PROJECT
NEW Series Premieres Sunday, November 5th at 9pm ET/PT
New York – September 29, 2017 – Guy Fieri has visited thousands of restaurants on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, literally putting food-road shows on the map. Now, Guy is searching for Food Network’s next big culinary-travel series. After receiving and sorting through thousands of submissions from hopeful hosts with promising concepts, Guy and his team of food and television experts narrowed it down to a final group of prospects that will vie to have their idea developed into a show on Guy’s Big Project. The six-episode journey begins on Sunday, November 5th at 9pm ET/PT and documents every twist and turn as the prospects move from initial pitch through development to network review, to the ultimate end goal – the premiere of a new show on Food Network.
“Over a decade ago I was given a chance that I could never have dreamed of on Food Network Star, and now I’m honored to have the opportunity to help make someone else’s dream a reality,” said Fieri. “As a producer, I know what it takes to get a show off the ground, and we will see if these prospects have the passion and skills needed because a great idea is just the first step.”
“Guy’s Big Project invites viewers behind-the-scenes to see how a series goes from a passionate idea to a reality on-air,” said Courtney White, Senior Vice President Programming, Scripps Networks Interactive. “Guy’s betting on not only identifying the next big idea for the network, but he’s also committed to doing everything needed to help the prospects succeed.”
Guy and his team of experts including Food Network’s Alex Guarnaschelli and veteran television producer Mark Dissin, are taking the most promising prospects out on the road to see who has what it takes to be a success. The journey begins with the finalists picking a restaurant that best represents them and their show idea, where they film a pitch video to convey what their show would be about. Then, the pressure heats up as they whip up a meal in Guy’s personal kitchen that embodies their idea. One prospect will find the feedback hard to chew and will be sent home.
As the season progresses, the prospects are put through the paces by Guy and his team, learning that there is a lot more to hosting a food-television show than a passion for food and cooking skills. From describing each bite of food in order to convey the flavors, aromas and textures, to engaging the audience while eating and interviewing a wide variety of chefs, there is a lot to digest especially when your hopes and dreams are on the line.
On the finale on Sunday, December 10th at 9pm ET/PT, the remaining prospects each shoot a pilot employing all the skills they learned from the previous weeks. After submitting their tapes to the network, they must wait to hear the decision. Immediately following the finale, at 10pm ET/PT, viewers will find out who made the cut as they get a sneak peek of the winner’s series!
The prospects include: Mark Anderson (Boise, Idaho) together with Ryan Fey (Los Angeles, California), Zane Caplansky (Toronto, Canada), Sharon Damante (Napa, California) together with Sherri Williams (Crestview, Florida), Christian Gill (Cincinnati, Ohio), Lindsay Greene (Atlanta, Georgia), Rashad Jones (Ocala, Florida), Dariany Santana(Kenilworth, New Jersey), and Vincenzo Vaccaro (Astoria, New York).
Fans can get an insider’s look at the making of Guy’s Big Project with behind-the-scenes photos of Guy and the prospects, as well as bonus videos and recipes inspired by the show at FoodNetwork.com/GuysBigProject. To join the conversation on social media use #GuysBigProject.
Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther” opens in U.S. theaters on February 16, 2018.
Marvel Studios’ “Black Panther” follows T’Challa who, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king. But when a powerful old enemy reappears, T’Challa’s mettle as king—and Black Panther—is tested when he is drawn into a formidable conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people and their way of life.
“Black Panther” stars Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, with Angela Bassett, with Forest Whitaker, and Andy Serkis.
The film is directed by Ryan Coogler and produced by Kevin Feige with Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Nate Moore, Jeffrey Chernov and Stan Lee serving as executive producers. Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole wrote the screenplay.
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A young woman is begging for her life, trying to escape the clutches of a sadistic… John Cusack?! I know. Doesn’t sound right, does it? Exactly! But, as he often does, he pulls it off even though he would never have fit the role… on paper, that is. I don’t know what it is with him but he manages to always surprise his audience and never lets them down. The movie itself, well, that’s a different story, but let me tell you the story first.
The credits roll with extremely fitting music that puts you in the mood to see a good thriller. Popcorn in hand, drink nearby… we’re ready for a good flick. We start the process of learning who the characters in the film are and we’re on our way. We meet three people right away, Lynn (Fitzgerald), the girl everyone wants, Vic (Coltrane) the clingy type, and Jeff (Artist) the one to use when all hope is lost. They’re three friends about to enjoy themselves in the wilderness when we cut to a man we find out is Miller (Cusack) propelling himself out of a plane after he first tosses bags of cargo out the side door. The plane then continues flying itself before crashing into the forest below.
To our surprise (not really), our young wandering besties seem to be heading in the same direction the bags are tossed They run into Miller and outside of Lynn thinking he’s sexy, which I assure you, unlike when he was in Serendipity, Cusack is NOT sexy in the film, they find him odd. Why do I sense this is going to get ugly? OH! I know… because they already show that to me in the first few moments of the movie. You’re watching the movie because you’ve already been intrigued by the trailer, am I right? There is no need to jump ahead in the story when I’m already watching. I digress.
So, our campers continue their deep forest frolic filled with friendship and FRUSTRATION. Frustration due to the green-eyed monster rearing its horrid head. Our buddies are caught in a love triangle which has the only female in the group running off in a huff and, as predicted, running into the money. You’d think that instinct would kick in and that she’s run like hell away from big black bags of cash but nope; she takes it without for one moment considering who might be looking for it.
Both Jeff and Lynn (I wonder if either of the writers, Jared Butler or Lars Norberg, are ELO fans), salivate at the idea of going home with this kind of money and are spending it before it’s even counted. Vic, the wiser head, bails. And here were get a bit weird. As Vic treks through the woods alone, he runs into Miller again. They begin talking and through their shared resentment or disenchantment with women, strike or sort of bond. It’s an interesting plot twist to be sure.
Cusack’s ability to deliver a line far exceeds Coltrane’s who’s too flat, but the filmmakers manage a few moments of cat playing with mouse and it works really well. However, when we go back to Jeff and Lynn, things aren’t going quite so smoothly. Lynn is getting a bit ridiculous and I don’t say that lightly. She’s acting crazy. The idea of being rich has turned her into a maniac. The dialogue written for these two is a bit far-fetched, Lynn has become a cold, witch with a capital B but when we’re on Vic and Miller, the story is much more interesting. What you find out as they get to know one another is that Miller isn’t a killer, isn’t a terrible, evil person but, much like the case with Lynn, he got the money and intends to do whatever it takes to keep it.
It’s said that money changes people. That would be the perfect tagline for this film because, damn! The two people in the power play positions here are almost savage.
*Opens at AMC Arizona Center and On Demand October 13th
What’s old is new again, sort of. In the movie “The Foreigner”, Jackie Chan is – um – not young, but he can still hold his own against an army of bad guys. And the bad guys are — the IRA? Yes, the defunct Irish Republican Army comes back, but only in cinema, to be the evil doers. And they are led by James B… I mean Pierce Brosnan (who has played Bond in the past). And the movie is directed by Martin Campbell, who has also directed prior Bond movies. So three cheers for the AARP crowd!
In London, a simple noodle shop owner named Quan (Jackie Chan) drops off his beloved daughter at a SOHO dress shop to find a wedding dress. Blink your eyes and will miss the IRA terrorist attack on the street, which destroys the shop. Quan’s daughter is dead. He is heartbroken, but determined to find answers. He finds out about a Northern Ireland deputy minister who is part of the British government. Liam Hennessy (Pierce Brosnan) is a long standing politician in Belfast, and he once was a part of the old IRA.
Quan goes to the police and to Scotland Yard, but gets no answers. He decides to try and get the names of the bombers from Hennessy, but he just shrugs him off. “Surely, I don’t have any knowledge of who did this” Hennessy tells Quan. But Quan is determined, persistent and trained by many years in Special Forces Jungle Ops. So Quan knows a thing or two about making a homemade bomb that will rattle the windows and the rattle the deputy minister. Hennessy is put on notice that Quan is not taking no for an answer. Quan does his best ‘Jason Bourne’ to take control of the situation.
Hennessy keeps having major difficulties with his prior IRA contacts, who hate him for giving up. He has problems with his wife (Orla Brady), and also with his mistress (Charlie Murphy) – who might be deeply involved in the terrorist action. He has a problem with his nephew, who is visiting from New York – but still many connections with the old IRA.
But mostly Hennessy has problems with Quan. Hennessy’s office bathroom gets bombed, and then Quan targets his country estate barn and his car. Then Hennessy loses a few men who try and track Quan. He will not give up until he finds the people who killed his daughter…
Jackie Chan is an actor who can use his physical abilities to comedic or dramatic use. He plays an older character than he usually does, and his age does require that. Quan is smart and noble and dedicated, and he can MacGyver his way into gaining the upper hand. Pierce Brosnan also plays a character who attempts to scrape and claw his way into keeping a good thing that he has going. He does not know that his actions have triggered a relentless time bomb called Quan.
“The Foreigner” has the distinction of raising the specter of IRA terrorism in the modern day and age. It might be straight from the original novel, but that was written well before the peace accords in Northern Ireland. Perhaps not since “Patriot Games” has the IRA been cast as a boogeyman. It does not ruin the story, but it really stretches out the plausibility.
This movie will make you want to allow Jackie Chan to overstay his visa any day!
The origin of Wonder Woman goes back to one man named William Moulton Marston. He was a professor and an inventor. He came up with the first functional lie detector machine. But using his pen name of Charles Moulton, he created the Amazon warrior who was the female superhero that the comic books where waiting for. Only Professor Marston was quite a bit more Hugh Hefner than he was Stan Lee…
“Professor Marston and the Wonder Women” takes a look at the unusual mindset of Professor Bill Marston (Luke Evans) and his wife Elizabeth (Rebecca Hall). Marston was a respected psychology professor however his wife was not allowed to earn a PhD. She was limited by her gender, but not by her abilities. Marston and Elizabeth had very open ideas of sexuality. They both wanted to have a young female student as an assistant. They select Olive Byrne (Bella Heathcote) to help them in their studies.
However, their studies get off-track into three-way love triangle relationships. The university fires Professor Marston and they all are out in the cold. Bill and Elizabeth drag Olive into the whole thing. They have no real future without any income from the university. Bill starts writing textbooks and Elizabeth and Olive take menial jobs. They have a lot of sexual attraction between them, and much of it is on the kinky side.
Bill Marston has some unusual ideas for the early 1940’s, and most of them include sex. He is a fan of dominance and submission, and his life’s goal is to see it promoted and accepted in society. So his brainstorm is a new comic book character that will be a strong woman – a Wonder Woman. Of course, her comic book world will be filled with subtle propaganda, such as the ‘Lasso of Truth’, and frequently being tied up and bound by ropes or chains.
Marston gets a comic book publisher named Max Gaines (Oliver Platt) to back him. Soon Wonder Woman is everywhere. Her story lines always involve somebody getting tied up or restrained. Mostly because Marston is one big kinky guy. He and Elizabeth, along with Olive are now living the sweet life. That is until the Decency Society starts a campaign to get rid of Wonder Woman…
The movie “Professor Marston and the Wonder Women” might also have a different title: “Fifty Shades of Marston”. The type of open marriage and three-way affections that this group had were not in the norm during the 40’s. They lived a life on the edge, but Marston was able to turn his SMBD thoughts into comic book gold. It was a way to promote their lifestyle in a hidden agenda.
Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall and Bella Heathcote play it all as high drama, and yet it could have had a lighter touch. They are not performing Shakespeare in the park, but they are more inclined for doing threesomes in the dark. The subject material is fascinating, and the final result makes you want to reconsider why Wonder Woman has become so popular.
It all makes you ‘Wonder’ what she was dong in that invisible plane…
“Marshall” is a movie that centers on Thurgood Marshall, a black man who is the main lawyer for the N.A.A.C.P. organization. His goal is to find ‘colored’ people who have been unjustly accused of a crime, and he will work diligently to get them freed. Marshall later becomes the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United State. But this story happens much earlier in his career, in a case that unfolded in 1940 in Connecticut.
Thurgood Marshall (Chadwick Boseman) gets assigned to a case in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Marshall does not have a law license to practice that state, so the N.A.A.C.P. finds a local lawyer to handle the case and have Marshall as an ‘associate’ attorney in the courtroom. Sam Friedman (Josh Gad) is the local lawyer, who has never tried a criminal case before in his life. Marshall comes to town and completely dominates. Sam is put off by Thurgood’s manner, but he sees that the outsider is loaded with self-confidence and moxie. Sam is Jewish, and he knows a little about feeling like an outsider.
The case involves Joseph Spell (Sterling K. Brown), who is a ‘colored’ man working for a married couple. The wife is Eleanor Strubing (Kate Hudson). She has accused Spell of attacking her and raping her in her home. She then accuses him of driving her out to a lake and throwing her over a side of a bridge to drown. The local law enforcement has collected testimony and evidence.
They have the local District Attorney named Lorin Willis (Dan Stevens) who is ready to see Spell put away for a long, long time. Spell meets with Marshall and Friedman, and he tells them he is innocent. When the case begins, the Judge (James Cromwell) has no love for outsiders in his court. He orders Marshall to stay in his seat and remain silent. He can assist the main lawyer, Friedman, but he must not speak in court or be an active member of the legal team.
Despite the Judge’s orders, Marshall becomes a useful part of the Spell’s defense team. He instructs Friedman which jurors to select or reject. He and Friedman go out to visit the bridge where the ‘attempted murder’ occurred. They gather evidence and spot clues that the prosecution seems to have missed.
Thurgood Marshall has a very abrupt manner and he has a high regard for himself. This puts him at odds with many people around him, at times including Sam Friedman. Civil Rights for ‘colored’ people were still pretty backwards in the country. Even the Jewish community was met with some discrimination and intolerance. Friedman and Marshall at one point are attacked by loser bigots, but it strengthens the resolve of the two men to see that justice is done.
But any justice for Joseph Spell is a little ways off, because they learn he is an unreliable witness himself. But if they show that there is enough doubt in the testimony of Eleanor Strubing, they can perhaps win the case. What will the jury verdict be? And will Marshall be still in town, or be pulled off on another case and be elsewhere?
“Marshall” is a study of the Civil Rights lawyer in his beginning years out on the road helping the downtrodden black folk to get a fair shot at justice. But actually the main character is found in Sam Friedman. Chadwick Boseman is a perfect choice for the Thurgood Marshall character. But the big surprise is the strength of Josh Gad playing the Sam Friedman role. Boseman is a perfect fit for a true iconic character. However Gad, more noted for light comedy roles, scores major points here.
Thorgood Marshall is self-assured, almost arrogant, at the start of the movie. He is also that same way at the ending, so he shows little character development. Sam Friedman, on the other hand, is settled in doing menial work for insurance companies, and his character really undergoes a great change when he is selected to work with Marshall. His attitude and his confidence change drastically by the end of the movie.
But nobody would be interested with a movie called “Friedman”. So Marshall is the title and the main character of this movie. But the actual primary character is the main lawyer who is central to the case. After all, Sam Friedman did not go on many years later to become nominated and then be approved to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.
The best-loved children’s book of all time is Winnie-the-Pooh. It was published in 1926 by a man ruined by war, for his son who was ruined by the book. This film brought a story that I wasn’t expecting to see. A.A. Milne, the writer of the infamous tales of Winnie-the-Pooh, came up with the story in a lovely way but the history of it and infamy from it all but ruined what was left of his family.
A very accomplished playwright and author, Milne found it hard to write at all after returning from a war he was so deeply against. Milne served in both World Wars. He joined the British Army in the WWI, served as an officer and was a captain of the British Home Guard in WW II. He was against the wars and it affected him greatly to have been a part of them. The film shows that the strain of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder destroyed an otherwise outgoing and accomplished man, making him somewhat misanthropic and reclusive. When he heard or saw any loud sound or flash of light, his mind and body would prepare for battle. Milne was against and afraid of war. He was a pacifist but joined to fight evil Hitler. He once explained that “In fighting Hitler, we are truly fighting the Devil, the Anti-Christ. Hitler was a crusader against God.”
The movie shows a man truly unhappy. What he thought would happen to him because of his writing, did not. What he desired to be known for wasn’t a little children’s book, no matter how popular. He wanted to be appreciated for his novels. The writers of the film, Frank Cottrell Boyce and Simon Vaughan, drafted for us a man torn completely in half, fighting what he wanted to and what he had become. He wanted to make a prolific statement against war. Milne shouts that he is, ‘tired of making people laugh… he wants to make them see.’ Once Pooh entered his life, however, that was all over.
What seemed so tragic is that Alan Milne, Domhnall Gleeson, (About Time, Calvary, The Revenant, American Made) and his wife Daphne, played ever so chillingly by Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street, Suicide Squad) had grown to enjoy a particular lifestyle that they didn’t want to leave behind. Having a child, Christopher Robin (Tilston) did get in the way of partying with friends, especially for Daphne. They hire a nanny right away named Olive, played rather warmly by Kelly MacDonald. I use the word warmly because for years she watches the boy grow without much love toward him coming from where it should. If it weren’t for her, he would have known almost none.
They all move to the country, hoping to spark something inside of Alan to get him writing again and when this doesn’t work, Daphne returns to London to give him time to think. She leaves her son, as well, which seems to bother neither of them. When at this time Olive must leave, Alan is left to look after his boy. He’s a father who loves his son but is broken and clueless about how to care for him on a day to day basis. When this is worked out, he finds himself enjoying time with the child. They walk through the giant wooded area that is their property and make up stories about animals in the wild. This is the inspiration of the world of Pooh. Alan sees the book come to life and gets his illustrator to come out and begin sketching. The creativity on director Simon Curtis’ (My Week with Marilyn) part to include the real boy turning into sketches is magnificent.
Daphne returns, the book is published and Christopher Robin becomes a sideshow. His parents allow him to be pranced around like a horse in a circus for any and everybody who wants to photograph, meet or speak to the child. Olive is worried about his popularity, so is Alan but not for the reason one would think. He didn’t want to write some story that made his child successful; the star of the show. He wanted the attention. The boy always seemed to get in the way of his desires and ambitions. And though he loved writing, he didn’t much like having written books that stole his own dreams.
Tilston is a cherub-faced, darling little boy with huge dimples in his cheeks and a cute haircut that frames his face. His voice and accent are incredibly pleasant and sweet, so much so that you’ll find nothing else interesting to watch if he’s on screen. He was absolutely adorable which makes you angry for how this boy is treated.
My final thoughts are, Gleeson walks around half dead which brings the pacing down a bit but the boy and that face more than makes up for it. The illustrations are striking, the acting is well done and the story itself, one I was so shocked to learn, make this a compelling film for you to add to your weekend theatre visit.
Anyway, I haven’t told you the ending of what ultimately happens to the family. I will warn that the film does take some liberties with the truth. However, stay for the end to see real pictures and some postscript that gives you a little bit of extra detail.
Universal Pictures’ BLOCKERS is in theaters this April
When three parents stumble upon their daughters’ pact to lose their virginity at prom, they launch a covert one-night operation to stop the teens from sealing the deal. Leslie Mann (The Other Woman, This Is 40), Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors, Suicide Squad) and John Cena (Trainwreck, Sisters) star in Blockers, the directorial debut of Kay Cannon (writer of the Pitch Perfect series).
The comedy is produced by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver, under their Point Grey Pictures banner (Neighbors, This Is the End), alongside Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg (Harold & Kumar series) and DMG Entertainment’s Chris Fenton (47 Ronin).
Good Universe’s Nathan Kahane and Joseph Drake (Don’t Breathe, Juno) executive produce with Chris Cowles (Collide) of DMG and Josh Fagen, Dave Stassen and Jonathan McCoy.
The film is written by brothers Brian & Jim Kehoe, Hurwitz & Schlossberg and Eben Russell.
Genre: Comedy
Cast: Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz, John Cena, Kathryn Newton, Geraldine Indira Viswanathan, Gideon Adlan
Directed by: Kay Cannon
Writers: Brian Kehoe & Jim Kehoe, Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg, Eben Russell
Produced by: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, Chris Fenton
Executive Producers: Nathan Kahane, Joseph Drake, Josh Fagen, Chris Cowles, Dave Stassen, Jonathan McCoy
BLOCKERS – In Theaters April 6, 2018
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http://www.fandango.com
WILL ARNETT AND KRISTEN BELL JOIN VOICE CAST OF
WARNER BROS. PICTURES’ NEW ANIMATED FEATURE
“TEEN TITANS GO! TO THE MOVIES”
Stellar series stars Greg Cipes, Scott Menville, Khary Payton, Tara Strong and Hynden Walch are joined by Arnett and Bell to bring “Teen Titans GO!” to the big screen
BURBANK, CA, October 9, 2017 – Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Will Arnett (“The LEGO® Batman Movie”) and Kristen Bell (“Frozen”) will lend their voices to the first-ever big-screen version of DC Entertainment’s animated TV series “Teen Titans GO!”—the aptly titled “Teen Titans GO! to the Movies.”
The animated feature will also star Greg Cipes (TV’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”) as Beast Boy, Scott Menville (TV’s “Spider-Man”) as Robin, Khary Payton (“The Walking Dead”) as Cyborg, Tara Strong (the “My Little Pony” franchise) as Raven, and Hynden Walch (TV’s “Adventure Time with Finn & Jake”) as Starfire. In the film, they reprise their roles from the Cartoon Network series, which follows the crimefighting adventures and antics of the young Super Hero roommates.
The film will be directed by Aaron Horvath and Peter Rida Michail, from a screenplay by Michael Jelenic and Horvath, based on characters from DC. Michail, Will Arnett and Peggy Regan are producing, with Sam Register, Jelenic and Horvath serving as executive producers. Apart from Arnett, all are “Teen Titans GO!” series contributors.
No stranger to voice acting or superheroes, Arnett played the title role in this year’s hit animated Super Hero feature “The LEGO Batman Movie,” after creating the character in the wildly popular “The LEGO Movie.” He also voices the lead in the fan favorite Netflix series “BoJack Horseman.”
Bell starred as the voice of Anna in one of the most successful animated films of all time, “Frozen,” and has since lent her voice to the hit “Zootopia.” She can also be heard alongside Arnett in an episode of “BoJack Horseman.”
Set to release on July 27, 2018, “Teen Titans GO! to the Movies” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
