Charles Bramesco
It’s a Jungle Out There (Inside a Video Game) in the First ‘Jumanji’ Reboot Trailer
Those of us who have dutifully followed Dwayne Johnson’s social-media updates from the set of the Jumanji reboot (fully titled Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, a series of words I will never say out loud) have been hotly anticipating the first official trailer for months now. And after all the online teasing from the Rock about how much excitement audiences can expect from his new revival of the ’90s kids’ classic, he’s finally putting his money where his bulging, oiled-up biceps are. Welcome to the jungle, director Jake Kasdan has fun and games, if by “fun” we mean “a massive FX budget” and if by “games” we mean “body-switching humor.“
Pixar Establishes New Division for Experimental Shorts
Is Pixar losing their touch? They’re no longer the coolest animation house, having ceded some of that street cred to the international curators of GKids and the stop-motion prestidigitators at Laika. They’re not the most profitable, either, as their box office receipts are regularly dwarfed by the money factories erected by parent company Disney or Illumination. (Last year’s mega-smash Finding Dory was sorely needed after the underperforming The Good Dinosaur.) Pixar’s rep as the industry’s most creativity-driven, unfailingly excellent studio has faded as they’ve leaned a little harder on moneymaking sequels — Cars 3, coming soon! — but today brings the news that they’ve taken a significant step into regaining supremacy over the industry.
‘Beauty and the Beast’ Knocked ‘Star Wars’ Out of the All-Time Domestic Box Office Top 10
This past weekend, a seismic shift in box-office history took place and went largely unnoticed. The writing was on the wall for Star Wars’ legacy in the all-time top 10 highest-earning films, as noted on Reddit prior to the start of this past weekend. Box-office behemoth Beauty and the Beast continued to generate healthy grosses in its fifth weekend of release, ending the weekend with a princely (or should I say, princessly!) sum of $471.1 million. This gave the film a slight edge of the next-most-lucrative film on the list, which just so happened to be George Lucas’ original space opus. Star Wars and its lifetime gross of $461 million have now slid down to the #11 spot.
See the First Footage from the Upcoming ‘Wonder Woman’ Movie
It’s been a whirlwind 24 hours for DC fans, what with the full-length Suicide Squad trailer barreling into the public view during its big debut in the CW’s Dawn of the Justice League special last night. But while fans tuned into the hypeathon were left in a daze by the high-energy spot, they might have missed a preview just as hotly anticipated, teasing a DC property just as major...
Channing Tatum, ‘Furious 7’ Declared Everyone’s Favorites at 2016 People’s Choice Awards
If the Oscars are like the electoral college, selecting the cream of the crop through an arcane and confusing process available only to an older, white, male elite population, then that makes the People’s Choice Awards the popular vote...
Armchair Film Critic Barack Obama Names His Favorite Movie of the Year
It’s hard enough for film critics without Barry O. snatching up our freelance gigs, but President Obama and the First Lady weighed in with their choices for 2015’s best film.
No ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Post-Credits Scene, Says J.J. Abrams
Q: What is the best part about getting a thing of fast-food french fries? A: Believing you have finished your cheat-day treat, only to discover that there are still a few stragglers with a pulse left in the bottom of the bag. This phenomenon might illuminate a bit of the logic behind the recent proliferation of post- and mid-credits scenes in studio blockbusters, the practice in which a film squir
Jared Leto Thinks Heath Ledger and Jack Nicholson’s Jokers Would Be Proud of Him
Jared Leto took to Twitter to reassure his 2.14 million fans that he had the situation well in hand. He did so by posting the following image:
Sight and Sound Names Best Films of 2015; ‘The Assassin,’ ‘Carol’ and ‘Fury Road’ Come Out on Top
The British Film Institute’s official publication brings a global perspective to their rulings, having polled 168 critics worldwide on their favorite releases of the past calendar year.
Emma Stone to Take the Court as Tennis Legend Billie Jean King in ‘Battle of the Sexes’
This larger-than-life story will form the basis of The Battle of the Sexes, a planned film with Emma Stone and Steve Carell in the starring roles. Variety reported on Stone’s involvement with the picture late last night, confirming that the star of Easy A and Aloha would replace Brie Larson (who had to drop out to star in The Glass Castle) for the Billie Jean King part.