Charles Bramesco
Metacritic Unveils Best-Reviewed Movies of 2017 So Far
It’s August now, and horrifying as the information that 2017 is more than half over may be, it’s still a good time to take a step back and take stock of how the year has been going so far. For Earth, and to a greater extent, America — not good. For the movies — pretty great! The first half of the year has seen a generous number of strong releases at the arthouse and multiplex, and review aggregation site Metacritic has done us a service in our effort to keep track of it all.
Tim Curry’s Pennywise Makes a Split-Second Cameo in the New ‘It’ Trailer
Just yesterday, we noted the release of a new trailer for the upcoming re-adaptation of Stephen King’s seminal killer-clown novel It. Things seemed pretty normal, at first brush: terrified kids, children’s entertainer straight out of your worst nightmares, eerie red balloon, the whole nine yards. But sharp-eyed viewers have now noted a little Easter egg squirreled away for a split-second in one shot near the end of the trailer. Don’t blink or you’ll miss it, “it” referring in this instance to “IT.”
Daniel Craig Will Reportedly Return… For the Next ‘James Bond’ Movie
With the arrival of San Diego Comic-Con last week, the major announcements started flying fast and furious. After the avalanche of release date announcements, trailer releases, and other first-look headline-generators, the news broke that the gears of progress had begun turning for James Bond’s next cinematic outing. The official Twitter account posted that the still-untitled James Bond 25 would hit American theaters on November 8, 2019 after an earlier release in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, and also presumably after shiploads of online pirates have gotten their mitts on it. Americans do not tend to take delayed release dates lying down.
‘Wonder Woman’ Is the Top-Grossing Summer Movie of 2017 in the U.S.
Our children won’t believe us when we tell them that there used to be doubt over whether a female-fronted superhero movie would work at the box office. Even at present, the days of studio executive hand-wringing over whether audiences would deign to shell out their precious $11.75 to see a film in which a woman — who was not a man — did superhero things feel favorably remote. For director Patty Jenkins and her marble-carved star Gal Gadot have proven beyond all debate and rage-choked internet commenting that women are perfectly capable of making a whole mess of money during blockbuster season. And now it’s official.
Darren Aronofsky’s Jennifer Lawrence Vehicle ‘mother!’ Bumped Up a Month
For a movie directed by a well-regarded arthouse stalwart with mainstream appeal and starring an actress who was the biggest movie star on Earth as recently as three years ago, it’s weird that mother! has remained almost entirely shrouded by secrecy. We know that Darren Aronofsky’s new movie stars Jennifer Lawrence, it’s some manner of home-invasion psychothriller, and the cast includes Javier Bardem, Kristen Wiig, Ed Harris, and Michelle Pfeiffer. We saw the poster, which finds JLaw ripping her own heart out in a lush vernal scene like Mola Ram on vacation in Argentina. But apart from that, it’s a big, strange question mark. Word on the street says a trailer is on its way, and yet it’s still impressive that a project this high-profile has gotten so far while remaining almost totally incognito.
Ryan Gosling Reportedly Wants to Play Willy Wonka
Ryan Gosling is about to play himself. (In the DJ Khaled sense, not the Being John Malkovich sense.) The actor’s been on something of a roll recently, scoring critical plaudits for The Nice Guys and La La Land last year — the latter of which ended up a surprise blockbuster and less-surprise Oscar hoarder — and continuing on into 2017 with this past spring’s Song to Song. He’s got Blade Runner 2049 on the docket for this fall, a likely smash that may earn him admiration among nerd circles, the last niche demographic he has not yet charmed. But with the world at his feet, Gosling’s now making moves to dash all the goodwill he’s recently built up.
Ryan Reynolds Responds To a Heartbroken Fan Who Photoshopped Him Into Her Prom Photos
At last, a news item that combines the two most universally beloved genres of showbiz reporting: “Celebrities extending kindness to un-famous teens by acknowledging them through the internet” stories and “Ryan Reynolds getting into mischief again!” stories. We live in wondrous times, friends, where a skillful Photoshop job and a moment’s tweetings can get a bona fide movie star into your orbit — and change the trajectory of your life forever.
New ‘The Emoji Movie’ Trailer Will Make You Feel Heart-Eyes Cat, Coconut Shrimp
Will The Emoji Movie be horrible? We just don’t know. The premise of “Toy Story, but with the little pictorial icons that live inside your smartphone” sure sounds like something that an executive with an analytics page for a heart would come up with, but it’s the critic’s responsibility to reserve judgement until the film can be seen in full. At least today brings us a bite-sized sample of The Emoji Movie with a new trailer that contains both a painfully out-of-fashion “Bye, Felicia” reference and a sincerely humorous joke about forgotten phone passwords. So it’s really anyone’s guess, at this point.
Explore the World of ‘Blade Runner 2049’ in New Featurette
Denis Villeneuve’s getting ready to tie a ribbon on Blade Runner 2049. The French filmmaker behind Arrival told Entertainment Weekly that “we are running towards the finishing line right now” on the production due for release October 6, and added that “we are elated. It feels like Christmas as we look at the completed shots.” But directors of generously budgeted studio projects have to say that, nonspecific positivity is pretty much written right into their contracts. Footage, however, cannot lie, and so it’s enticing news indeed that Villeneuve’s little exclusive with EW comes packaged with a new featurette including fresh frames from the hotly anticipated sequel.
Elizabeth Banks Issues Apology to Steven Spielberg Following Gender Disparity Comments
A celebrity ritual no less time-honored than the public callout, the public apology is a vital part of being and remaining famous. Think of it like an annual physical, but for your public profile: say something wild enough to grab some headlines and ensure that your name’s sticking in the population’s heads, let it sit for a short while, and once the time is right, issue a dignified apology to show humility and self-awareness. It’s a rich Hollywood tradition, and Elizabeth Banks is the latest personality to run this gauntlet. But when you come at the king, and most especially when that king is literal King of Hollywood Steven Spielberg, you best not miss.