According to my very minimal research the most popular TV Miniseries ever was It. Starring Tim Curry as the killer clown Pennywise (he's actually a shapeshifter and just seems to prefer the clown getup) It scared a whole generation of kids who went looting through the collection of movies their parents taped off television only to not sleep that night. I remember catching a re-run on Lifetime, not sure what the connection is there. Well now that it's 2017 and everything is terrifying (especially clowns) it's time for an It remake. Co-written by the creator of the utterly delightful True Detective, It tells the story of a group of young kids who cross paths with the evil Pennywise and try to fight a seemingly centuries old invincible walking nightmare. This stuff scares me but I still might have to check it out, see it in theaters, watch it (I can't think of any word other than It, oh no!)
Luc Besson has been regularly writing action scripts for about 20 years, some are great (Fifth Element, The Professional) some are mindless fun (The Transporter 1-2, Taken 1-2) some are terrible (Transporter 3, Taken 3). With assistance from Richard Wenk (Expendables 2, The Equalizer) it looks like Renegades might be one of the mindless fun ones. When a group of Navy SEALS discover an underwater treasure in a war torn land they attempt to steal it for themselves. These kind of movies usually end with the leads helping a disenfranchised group of civilians against an evil power of some sort so I figure that's where this movie is going. But then again it may just be a group of guys stealing for themselves.
At the moment it looks as if the “Young Adult books becoming movies” phenomenon is slowing down a bit. Since the source material for American Assassin is not a YA novel, the producers decided to have Maze Runner and Teen Wolf (TV show, not Michael J. Fox movie) star Dylan O'Brien to headline. This way it looks like their movie is based on a YA novel when it is actually the prequel story to an action series about a seasoned CIA contract killer. The plot revolves around an angry young man who attempts to track down the terrorist responsible for an attack that killed his fiancĂ©. The CIA takes notice of his actions and he's paired with a veteran agent, played by Michael Keaton, to track down the bad guys. Looks like pretty standard stuff but I'm intrigued by anything with Keaton in it.
Movie lovers seem to have a real appreciation for Darren Aronofsky. He takes his time with his films, they can be intense and look great visually. I've only seen Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan one time and I'll never watch them again. His take on obsession and addiction is a disturbing one indeed. Mother! looks to be another interestingly visual film, but being that trailers and plot descriptions have been pretty hush on the plot it's hard to tell exactly what we are to expect from this movie. All we do know is that Javier Bardem and Jennifer Lawrence play a couple whose relationship is tested when uninvited guests arrive. Per Aronosfky the script was written quite fast and per Michelle Pfeiffer, playing one of the guests, she didn't quite understand the script. This is being billed as a mystery-horror, a genre he hasn't dabbled in before, so it could be interesting.
Colin Firth isn't exactly the world’s leading action star so I haven't watched many of his movies, which is why Kingsman: The Secret Service was so surprising. He is very convincing as a suave, charming secret agent and makes an already pretty cool action movie into something better than it has any right to be. Then, spoiler alert, 75% of the way through he dies but, spoiler alert, he somehow survived and is back alive and well (with a 5 o'clock shadow and an eye patch) in Kingsman: The Golden Circle. When the Kingsman headquarters is destroyed by Julianne Moore (in a rare villain role) the surviving members, Eggsy and Merlin, need help from their American counterparts, The Statesmen. Played by Jeff Bridges, Pedro Pascal and Channing Tatum, the Statesmen are all named after different alcohol types and carry western era weaponry. They may not be as smooth as the Kingsman but they do equal amounts of destruction. The trailers for this have been very fun, I hope it maintains the lunacy from the first.
The phrase 'based on' is one of the loosest phrases in the film industry. Even if a story is mostly accurate there is usually some material embellished to make it more of an entertaining film. I just have to imagine that was the case in American Made when Tom Cruise crashes his small plane close to a neighborhood and emerges, seemingly unharmed, covered in cocaine. The plot revolves around Cruise as a pilot who is recruited by the CIA to deliver drug shipments during the 80's for a Colombian crime cartel. The trailer seems to have a fun 80's party vibe to it and if they stick to that it may be cool. The director has made movies like Jumper, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Swingers, Go, Bourne Identity and Edge of Tomorrow, which may not all be on Top 10 lists (although Edge of Tomorrow is something everyone should see), but they all have fun elements to them.
It's been a while since Little Miss Sunshine came out and it's been a while since the directors (a husband and wife duo) had a hit film. They're actually music video directors and have been working in the industry for quite some time. They did the music video for 'Freak on a Leash' by Korn so I'm interested in anything they do. Their newest film, Battle of the Sexes, is written by the Oscar winning writer of Slumdog Millionaire and stars Emma Stone as Billie Jean King and Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs. Now I'm familiar with King's name and the term 'battle of the sexes' but had no idea it had to do with their 1973 tennis match. Apparently Stone and Carell are nearly the same age as King and Riggs when they had their match so way to go Hollywood, I guess. I'm not a huge fan of sports movies but with this whole crew coming together I just have to check this out.
If you're going to do a remake or reboot it'd be really cool if the story connects to the previous film. Yes, that just makes it a sequel but if it's subtle enough, then the new film can stand on its own while still existing in the same universe as the original. I think that's what Flatliners is trying to do by casting Keifer Sutherland in a small role, supposedly reprising his role from the first that also starred Julia Roberts, Oliver Platt and Kevin Bacon. Starring Ellen Page this, like the first, follows a group of students who have access to machinery that can stop and restart their heart so that they can attempt to briefly experience the afterlife. Things go horribly wrong, as they often do in these medical experiment thrillers, and they all start to experience horrifying after effects. I'm curious to see how this ties to the first and if it's any good.
When The Lego Movie came out I was blown away by just how far reaching the brand went. That movie had everything! Star Wars, Simpsons, Harry Potter, Batman and a lot more. After the success of the first, instead of following up with a direct sequel they went ahead with the The LEGO Batman Movie, which was wise since Will Arnett's Batman was a highlight of LEGO Movie. I'm sure in due time we'll see more LEGO and LEGO Batman adventures but now the brand is looking to take one of their original creations to the big screen with The LEGO Ninjago Movie. From the minds of three different directors, and nine different writers (two of which worked on the first movie) comes the story of high schoolers by day, ninja warriors by night. When not dealing with the stuff that everyday students deal with they're using their cool costumes, skills and cars to defeat evil and its many LEGO forms. Expect lots of brick related PG destruction.
This doesn't appear to be your typical, potentially lousy, September fare. So enjoy!
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