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There’s nothing more disheartening for a movie fan than when you go see a movie with a bunch of your friends, and while you absolutely love the movie, when the lights come on, and you walk out, you realize your friends absolutely Hated it. Sometimes this is justified, such as when my group of buddies rightly accused me of being insane for loving Die Another Day. At other times, they’re dead wrong, such as when one of my best friends tried to convince me Rushmore was bad (believe it or not – this also happened at The Matrix – but with a different friend). Another time I was totally disheartened by the reaction of a group of friends was back in the fall of 2004 when a group of us went to see Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow on opening night.

Wait a second, some of you might be asking.

Back in 2004, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow hit theaters in September 2004, but the science-fiction movie with lots of action and adventure didn't become the box office hit people were expecting. Rather, the star-studded "dieselpunk" movie became a box office flop with mostly positive reviews, earning it the title of a cult classic through the years.

In celebration of the movie's 20th anniversary, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow began streaming on Netflix in October 2024. The film comes from writer-director Kerry Conran and stars Gwyneth Paltrow as reporter Polly Perkins as she teams up with Sky Captain, played by Jude Law, to investigate the truth behind scientists disappearing and giant robot attacks.

Beyond Paltrow and Law in the leading roles, the cast also includes a small but memorable role from Angelina Jolie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Gambon, Omid Djalili, Bai Ling, and Laurence Olivier, who appeared as Dr. Totenkopf...

Released Sept. 17, 2004, “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” was a romance-tinged action adventure inspired by the same 1930s serials that inspired George Lucas and Steven Spielberg when they made “Star Wars” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Earning $58 million against a budget that at the time was reported to be $70 million, the film was considered a box office failure for Kerry Conran, the writer-director making his first film — and to date, his only one.

“As much as this film was a great thing for me, it was also a painful thing for me,” Conran told Variety during a recent interview.

The Flint, Michigan native was not the first filmmaker to employ a “virtual backlot” to tell his stories — notwithstanding Lucas’ use of digital pre-visualization and blue screen technology to make the “Star Wars” prequels, Kazuaki Kiriya’s “Casshern” preceded him, and Robert Rodriguez’ “Sin City” followed shortly afterward. But...

There's a current Hollywood trend that is wholly disturbing. Many major studios -- but primarily Disney -- have been spending millions of dollars and hiring hundreds of effects technicians, animators, and designers to digitally resurrect dead actors to include in their franchise movies. The film "Alien: Romulus" did this recently, while the movies "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" hired actors Guy Henry and Bob Gunton to portray characters previously played by the late Peter Cushing and Harold Ramis before digitally altering them to resemble their predecessors. While Cushing's estate and Ramis' family signed off on this, it's still different from a living actor giving their consent to be digitally altered, like Jeff Bridges did for "Tron: Legacy."

The first example of digital grave robbing likely came in 2004 with the release of Kerry Conran's "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," which featured a digital performance...

"I didn't feel like I really ever leaned into playing handsome," said Jude Law, speaking to DuJour in 2024. "[...] I was trying to play against my looks in my early 20s, and now that I'm saggy and balding, I wish I had played it up."

He's got a point. A survey of the English actor's roles after becoming a bigger name in the '90s reveals that he rarely played good-looking stand-up guys when he was younger. Not only that, but on those occasions where he did lean into his natural beauty, he would often play some kind of cad (like he did in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Alfie") or a character whose insecure, selfish behavior makes it difficult to appreciate his gorgeous features (like in "Closer" and "I Heart Huckabees"). "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" even went so far as to weaponize Law's looks by making them artificial and plastic-y...

“I’ve been married four times now,” Jennifer Lopez says to the camera during the opening minutes of “The Greatest Love Story Never Told,” “and I’m sure people watching from the outside are like ‘What is this girl’s fucking problem?’”

If nothing else, this semi-candid Epk of a film — which chronicles the making of “This Is Me… Now: A Love Story,” the self-financed musical fairy tale that Lopez released on Prime video earlier this month in support of her new album of the same name — identifies the multi-talented music icon’s “fucking problem” more nakedly than anything else she’s ever made: She’s desperate to be understood, but petrified of putting herself out there.

It’s a dilemma inherent to celebrity in the digital age, and one that might be relatable to anyone who’s tried to be vulnerable in a world that can destroy you for exposing your heart.

The 2000s were a great time for science fiction. Thanks to The Matrix closing out the 90s, studios were more willing to give the green light to stories about science gone awry, leading to favorites such as A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Paprika, as well as superhero hits like Spider-Man 2, X2, and Iron Man.

With so much good stuff out there, it’s no surprise that some really good movies would pass by audiences. Sometimes, these movies simply got buried by higher profile and more popular works. Sometimes, they were rejected by audiences disturbed by their audacious or disturbing ideals.

For anyone who wants to catch up on some sci-fi movies they have missed, here are ten great overlooked entries from the start of the millennium.

Solaris (2002)

After the 1-2-3 punch of Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and Ocean’s Eleven, Steven Soderbergh could do almost anything he wanted, especially since...

On paper, Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s “The Miracle Club” seems like it should be a backboard-shattering slam-dunk for the sort of people whose favorite movies all share the words “and Maggie Smith” in their opening credits, but this trite Irish trifle about a girls trip to Lourdes is so chalky and underbaked that its all-star cast (Laura Linney! Kathy Bates! Stephen Rea!) is left no choice but to chew on the scenery. That’s a glaring problem in a film whose marquee location is so crudely green-screened behind the actors that the Grotto of the Apparitions feels like a leftover backdrop from “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.”

Occasionally sweet despite its general flavorlessness, “The Miracle Club” may have its heart in the right place, but it beats for nothing in a 1967-set period piece that grows faint at the sight of its own blood, let alone in a film...

Gwyneth Paltrow has starred in a roster of hit films from Se7en to Iron Man. But a much lesser known project the veteran actor did was the feature Sky Captain And the World of Tomorrow.

One of her main incentives for starring in the underperforming feature was that Jude Law was in the film as well.

Jude Law was a big reason why Gwyneth Paltrow did ‘Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow’ Gwyneth Paltrow | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Law and Paltrow’s Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was a bit of a letdown financially. According to The Numbers, the film only made $49 million at the end of its run. But despite its box-office receipts, it received moderate reviews from critics, with the slight majority giving it a favorable rating.

Paltrow was attracted to the sci-fi project for several reasons. The veteran actor had just gotten off of...

Summer movie season is heating up, but if you can’t make it out to a theater, there are plenty of great films to stream at home in May. This month sees the streaming debut of Marvel Studios’ “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” which, judging by the box office, many of you skipped seeing in theaters. The sequel hits Disney+ on May 17, a week after the Disney+ streaming debut of the Tom Holland-fronted “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and a couple of days before the Jack Harlow-fronted “White Men Can’t Jump” remake debuts on Hulu.

The well-reviewed drama “Air” — written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, directed by Affleck and starring both — comes to Prime Video on May 12 after an exclusive theatrical run, and Netflix has an Anna Nicole Smith documentary hitting on May 16.

All that and more, including a bevy of great library titles, make up our list of the...

A series premiere, a long-awaited season return and a bevy of great movies are new on HBO and HBO Max this month. May 1 marks the series debut of “White House Plumbers,” the new limited series from “Veep” showrunner David Mandel that chronicles the Watergate break-in and fallout. That show airs on HBO and will stream on HBO Max. Then on May 4, the comedy “The Other Two” returns for its third season on HBO Max.

The sixth season of the animated series “Rick and Morty” will be available to stream on HBO Max starting on May 11, and in terms of library titles the “Men in Black” trilogy, the comedies “Step Brothers” and “Some Like It Hot” and Jonah Hill’s directorial debut “Mid90s” all come to HBO and HBO Max this month.

Also Read:

The Best Movies on HBO Max Right Now May 1:

Absolute Power, 1997 (HBO)

Alpha Dog, 2006 (HBO)

American Honey,...

Wait a minute, you might be asking, isn’t HBO Max supposed to be “Max” now? How then, am I seeing a list of HBO Max new releases for May 2023? Well spotted, dear reader. Warner Bros. Discovery did indeed recently reveal that it would be rebranding its combined HBO Max and Discovery+ streaming service as just Max. As the company notes in its press release for May though, that change doesn’t take effect until May 23. What follows is a list of everything coming to HBO Max through May 22.

The biggest releases this month are two TV series that arrive at the beginning of May. White House Plumbers is a comedic take on the infamous Watergate scandal starring Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux. That will be followed by season 3 of The Other Two, which I personally consider the funniest show on television. Catch up now before it’s too late!

HBO Max will officially be replaced by Warner Bros. Discovery on May 23 with a new and improved service called Max. However, that doesn’t mean the service is scrimping on content until then. One of the biggest new releases of the month is the new limited series “White House Plumbers,” which will premiere on May 1. Starring Woody Harrelson as E. Howard Hunt and Justin Theroux as G. Gordon Liddy, the pair portray two real-life Watergate burglars and Nixon saboteurs who ended up destroying the very president they desperately wanted to serve.

Check out the “White House Plumbers” trailer:

The platform will head to the pitch on May 16 with a three-part soccer docuseries “Angel City.” The series goes behind the scenes with the groundbreaking Los Angeles-based professional women’s soccer team, Angel City Football Club. It reveals the origin story through the 2022 inaugural season of the female-founded and led team — including owners and investors Uzo Aduba,...

HBO Max will add several exciting new TV show premieres and movies to its catalog in May 2023 before being rebranded as “Max.” After launching in 2020 as the primary streaming home for Warner Bros – now Warner Bros. Discovery – titles, HBO Max is officially losing the first half of its name in a rebranding come May 23. After this point, the streaming service will be launched as Max, which will also come with some changes to subscription tiers. Nevertheless, HBO Max will still be releasing new hit titles between May 1 and 22 under the original brand, which includes the premiere of a highly anticipated HBO miniseries and the arrival of classic film franchises.

The biggest upcoming release on HBO Max in May 2023 is the series premiere of the satirical political drama miniseries White House Plumbers on May 1, which stars Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux. The month also brings new episodes of Succession season 4 to HBO Max,...

On The Vampire Diaries, both Candice King and Nina Dobrev played admirable women. Sure, they made mistakes in love and became vampires themselves, but who hasn’t made a few regrettable decisions? Elena (Dobrev) and Caroline (King) made the most of their situations, and the actors once said they looked up to pioneering women like Lucille Ball and Angelina Jolie.

L-r: Candice King, Nina Dobrev | Amy Graves/WireImage/Getty Images

King and Dobrev were on a 2011 Television Critics Association panel with their fellow Kick-Ass Women of The CW. Representing The Vampire Diaries, King and Dobrev shared their admiration for their predecessors. The Vampire Diaries is now streaming on Peacock and HBO Max.

Candice King admired Lucille Ball who could do it all

Love, drama and vampirism were a lot to balance, but King recognized she had it easy by comparison. She looked up to Lucille Ball, who did it all plus comedy.

Week in Geek is The Companion’s weekday digest of the latest handpicked trailers, announcements, controversies, spicy memes, previews, and listings. Not everyone has the time or inclination to sit on social media all day to stay on top of this… but we do and we need to justify the time we've wasted.

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Best Films Released This Week...

Netflix and Arte’s musical show “Le Monde de Demain” (“The World of Tomorrow”) took the top prize in the International Competition of television festival Series Mania at the event’s awards ceremony Friday.

The series, created by Katell Quillévéré, Hélier Cisterne – both also directing – Vincent Poymiro and David Elkaïm, takes a look at the birth of the French hip-hop movement in the 1980s. Made with the collaboration of Laurent Rigoulet and the participation of Kool Shen, JoeyStarr and DJ Détonateur S, it was described by the organizers as “a personal chronicle about a Parisian suburban youth reaching adulthood, claiming its own space in a new France, a country to reinvent.”

In the acting categories, Michelle De Swarte was noticed for her role in the U.K.’s “The Baby,” produced by Sky, HBO and Ocs, while Israeli actor Yehuda Levi impressed the jurors with his performance in “Fire Dance,...

Alexander Rodnyansky’s Ar Content is developing a slate of new series as the two-time Oscar-nominated producer continues his push into high-end episodic content.

Rodnyansky revealed details of two new projects to Variety during the Berlinale Series Market, just days after Fox Entertainment acquired U.S. rights to Ar Content’s upcoming epic action show “Khan: The Series,” as Variety previously reported.

“The Doghead” is a series loosely based on the book of the same name by best-selling author Alexey Ivanov, whose previous works adapted for the big screen include Cannes Un Certain Regard prize winner “Tsar.”

The series follows Kirill, a homebody historian who prefers stability to change or adventure, but who travels to a remote village to look for his lost girlfriend. Her disappearance is just the first in a chain of mysterious events that started in the 17th century around an enigmatic fresco of an ancient spirit known as the Doghead.

2021 is nearly in the books and Hulu is celebrating by heading back to the past…like, the way past. With its list of new releases for December 2021, Hulu is going positive Medieval with two swords and shield original series arriving this month.

Animated comedy Crossing Swords premieres its second season on Dec. 10. This stop-motion style tale follows Patrick (Nicholas Hoult) as he works his way up the feudal latter of The Kingdom. This will be complemented by Dragons: The Nine Realms on Dec. 23. This series is set in the How to Train Your Dragon universe and takes place over 1,000 years after the events of the films. In it, a group of modern day kids uncover the secret truth about dragons.

Hulu also has some more current options for TV this month. Original comedy Pen15 premieres the second half of its second season on Dec. 3. Watch it to relive the trauma...

Samuel Goldwyn Films has acquired North American rights to “True Things,” Harry Wootliff‘s critically acclaimed sophomore film headlined by “The Affair” star Ruth Wilson and Tom Burke.

The psychological drama world premiered at this year’s Venice and went on to play at Toronto and London film festivals. It marks Wootliff’s follow-up to her BAFTA-nominated and BIFA-winning romantic drama “Only You,” which starred Laia Costa and Josh O’Connor.

“True Things” is an adaptation of Deborah Kay Davies’ book “True Things About Me,” based on a script by Wootliff and Molly Davies.

Wilson stars as Kate, a woman who is sleep-walking through life when a chance sexual encounter with a charismatic stranger awakens her. High on infatuation, what follows is an intoxicating car crash.

“We are very thrilled to team up with Samuel Goldwyn as a prestigious home for North America,” said Clémentine Hugot, head of The Bureau Sales,...

Stars: Drew Hirschboeck, Jeffrey T. Smith, Miranda Byers, Lyle DeRose, Tim Atnip, Rodrigo Tactaquin, David Iannotti | Written and Directed by Clay DuMaw

Imagine possessing unlimited power in the form of a pistol that never misses. When Jack Wyatt (Drew Hirschboeck), a gold miner, discovers a cursed weapon – the titular Gun From Hell – his world flips upside down. Little does he know that a gang of outlaws, led by the evil Thane Maddox (Jeffery T. Smith), is searching for the notorious gun and will do anything to take it. Now Jack must team up with the mysterious gunslinger, Rose (Miranda Byers), to save himself and his hometown.

Inspired by the likes of Sin City and 300, the Hollywood blockbusters that cleverly combined excessive visual effect, green screen and traditional filmmaking techniques, Jack Wyatt and the Gun from Hell is a one-of-a-kind visual experience shot on a green screen in Colorado Springs...

The Film

When cinephiles talk about film, we often find ourselves discussing directorial careers; the trademarks, the way we see their identities as filmmakers emerge and change. That’s fascinating, but equally interesting in their own way are those directors who give us only one film to look at. It might be a singular masterpiece, a cult item, or a contender for worst film ever made (Manos: The Hands of Fate). In the case of Joel Anderson, writer/director of Lake Mungo, what we have is not just a great film, but real unfulfilled promise of a career we’re yet to see.

Lake Mungo is a faux documentary telling the story of the Palmer family in the wake of the drowning death of 16 year old Alice (Talia Zucker). Her parents June and Russell (Rosie Traynor and David Pledger) and brother Matthew (Martin Sharpe) are obviously devastated, and all begin...

New Republic Pictures’ Founder Brian Oliver and President Bradley Fischer have inked Riff Raff Entertainment Ltd, the company founded by Oscar-nominated actor Jude Law and Ben Jackson, to a first look feature film and television production deal.

“We are thrilled to join forces with New Republic Pictures. They have a commitment to creating the highest level of content, and their slate of projects reflects that. We look forward to working with Brian, Brad and their whole team to elevate our current projects in development and to identify new and inspiring material to take into production together,” said Law.

“The New Republic team is thrilled to be working with Jude, Ben and the Riff Raff team, whose vision, talent and relationships make them incredible producers and enviable partners. We hit the ground running from our very first meeting and can’t wait to help them bring to life a quickly growing...

New Republic Pictures’ founder Brian Oliver and president Bradley Fischer have signed Riff Raff Entertainment, the company founded by Academy Award-nominated actor Jude Law and Ben Jackson, to a first-look feature film and television production deal, the company announced Tuesday.

“We are thrilled to join forces with New Republic Pictures,” Law said in a statement to TheWrap. “They have a commitment to creating the highest level of content, and their slate of projects reflects that. We look forward to working with Brian, Brad and their whole team to elevate our current projects in development and to identify new and inspiring material to take into production together.”

“The New Republic team is thrilled to be working with Jude, Ben and the Riff Raff team, whose vision, talent and relationships make them incredible producers and enviable partners,” Fischer and Oliver added. “We hit the ground running from our very first meeting and...

Pact follows similar New Republic arrangements with Cate Blanchett’s Dirty Films, Jake Gyllenhaal’s Nine Stories, Francis Lawrence’s about:blank.

Jude Law’s Riff Raff Entertainment has struck a first-look film and television deal with New Republic Pictures.

Law and Ben Jackson’s Riff Raff recently wrapped production on psychodrama True Things based on Deborah Kay Davies’ novel True Things About Me.

The company’s credits include Sleuth directed by Kenneth Branagh, and sci-fi adventure film Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow.

The first-look pact marks the fourth such deal by New Republic founder Brian Oliver and president...

Brian Oliver and Bradley Fischer’s New Republic Pictures has signed a first-look deal with the Jude Law- and Ben Jackson-run banner Riff Raff Entertainment. The deal encompasses both film and television.

Most recently, Riff Raff wrapped production on True Things, directed by Harry Wootliff and starring Ruth Wilson and Tom Burke. The banner’s other credits include the Kenneth Branagh-directed thriller Sleuth and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, starring Law, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow.

New Republic, which recently released Coming 2 America through a co-financing deal with Paramount, also has first-look deals with Francis Lawrence’s about:blank, Cate Blanchett’s Dirty Films and Jake Gyllenhaal’s ...

Brian Oliver and Bradley Fischer’s New Republic Pictures has signed a first-look deal with the Jude Law- and Ben Jackson-run banner Riff Raff Entertainment. The deal encompasses both film and television.

Most recently, Riff Raff wrapped production on True Things, directed by Harry Wootliff and starring Ruth Wilson and Tom Burke. The banner’s other credits include the Kenneth Branagh-directed thriller Sleuth and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, starring Law, Angelina Jolie and Gwyneth Paltrow.

New Republic, which recently released Coming 2 America through a co-financing deal with Paramount, also has first-look deals with Francis Lawrence’s about:blank, Cate Blanchett’s Dirty Films and Jake Gyllenhaal’s ...

The idea of using an actor or actress that’s no longer with us in a movie is a very sticky ethical question, and usually depends upon the nature of the project. For example, Carrie Fisher was integral to the plot of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, and there was enough footage left over from her previous two efforts to make it work, but bringing Peter Cushing’s Moff Tarkin back to life in Rogue One 22 years after he died was definitely unnecessary and more than a little unsettling.

Of course, this is hardly a new phenomenon after CGI and camera tricks were used to complete Oliver Reed’s performance in Gladiator and Laurence Olivier bizarrely played the villain in 2004’s Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow despite passing away in 1989, but advances in visual effects technology mean that the lines could soon become impossibly blurred. In fact,...

Harry Wootliff’s “True Things,” starring Ruth Wilson and Tom Burke, has wrapped production after a six-week shoot in the U.K. and Spain.

The film, for which Variety can provide an exclusive first image (above), began shooting at the beginning of the year, but was forced to shut down due to the global pandemic. It resumed filming again in September in Ramsgate, in the east of England, and Malaga, in southern Spain.

“True Things,” which will now enter post-production, is being shopped internationally by The Bureau Sales. The film is Wootliff’s follow-up to the BAFTA-nominated and BIFA-winning romantic drama “Only You,” which starred Laia Costa and Josh O’Connor.

The film is an adaptation of Deborah Kay Davies’ book “True Things About Me,” based on a script by Wootliff and Molly Davies. The story, a psychological drama, follows Kate (Wilson), who is sleepwalking through life when a chance sexual...

HBO is out with its list of everything new coming to HBO in January, and everything leaving.

Highlights include “The New Pope,” out Jan. 13. Starring Jude Law, it’s a continuation of the 2016 series “The Young Pope.”

There’s also “The Outsider,” out Jan. 12. Based on Stephen King’s bestselling novel, it stars Jason Bateman, Cynthia Erivo and Ben Mendelsohn.

“Avenue 5,” about a luxury space-traveling company, is out Jan. 19, along with season 10 of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Here’s the full list for January:

Jan. 1

American Animals

Casi famoso (Almost Famous) (2019)

Vaca (2018)

Another Stakeout (1993)

Arthur (1981)

Arthur 2: On the Rocks (1988)

Cat People (1982)

College (2008)

Fast Five (Extended Version) (2011)

Filly Brown (2013)

Galaxy of Terror (1981)

Head Office (1986)

The Hitcher (1986)

Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (2011)

Les Misérables (2012)

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012)

Mr. Holland’s Opus (1996)

Odd Jobs (1986)

The Odd Couple II (1998)

Rock the Kasbah (1991)

The Russia House (1990)

Scary Movie 3 (2003)

Seventh Son (3015)

The Shooting...

Sun Valley Film Festival founder Teddy Grennan was driving through central Virginia near his home in Charlottesville when he stumbled upon a feature news segment on NPR in which a rancher was discussing the use of pesticides and GMOs in cattle.

“The reporter from NPR was trying to get this rancher to talk about how pesticides and GMOs were bad for cows,” says Grennan, “and the rancher let the [reporter] finish and then says, ‘let me tell you something. The inside of a cow is one of the most toxic environments in the world. You put anything in the world in there and it’s going to digest it.’ And I thought, what if you stuff a person in it?”

That one thought — dark and twisted as it may be — formed the basis of what would become Grennan’s directorial debut, “Swing Low,” an indie slasher movie that he wrote with...

Composer Edward Shearmur was eager to work on “Escape at Dannemora” because it was “asking for a different approach musically” than much of what he had worked on before. After years of scoring comedies and family entertainment, the music veteran wanted to “do something that had a little darkness to it.” Watch our exclusive video interview with Shearmur above.

See Eric Lange interview: ‘Escape at Dannemora’

The Showtime limited series tells the true story of two convicted murderers (Benicio del Toro and Paul Dano) who escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York in 2015 with the help of a married prison employee (Patricia Arquette) who was sexually involved with both of them. All seven episodes were directed by Ben Stiller.

The music for the series was “about texture and tone more than anything else,” Shearmur explains. He wanted to create a feeling that the environment of Dannemora was...

Starring the controversial Chinese-American actress Bai Ling, ‘The Fatal Contract’ will be her first Chinese feature since her 20-year exile for openly criticizing Chinese government officials.

Los Angeles, CA – Tricoast Worldwide – Last month, TriCoast Worldwide CEOs were awarded Cultural Ambassadors of Guangzhou in the New Era in China and now will bring director Tan Bing’s murder-mystery thriller, ‘The Fatal Contract’ overseas for its U.S. release this month.

TriCoast Worldwide launched the global success for Tan Bing’s Chinese murder-mystery thriller, ‘The Fatal Contract’ (aka Zhing Ming He Yue) at 2018 Berlinale, gaining the exclusive headline, “Bai Ling To Star In First Feature In China in Over 20 Years – Berlin” by Deadline, which captivated and intrigued those worldwide about its controversial Chinese-American star, Bai Ling, and her return to Chinese cinema.

‘The Fatal Contract’ is an audience grabbing, dangerous and thrilling adventure that follows a young policeman and local bartender (Bai...

With a hiss of brakes, and a rush of steam, the next phase of SFW9’s launch is engaged. We have lots and lots to tell you, so settle down, grab your beverage of choice, put your feet up, and let’s go!

That’s right folks… Its time to start planning for SFW9, coming to you next March in Wales and we have a little bit of bad news but a massive whole bunch of good news to soften that blow. First things first though: there are only 18, yes 18 rooms left on site for the weekend so if you don’t have your tickets then you better get on that now. So first off here is a little comment from Sfw themselves with a little bad news…

First off, the bad news … As regular SFWers know, sometimes guests have to drop out, and since the last announcement, both Colin Baker...

Simon Brew Aug 18, 2017

Looking for a film to watch, that you might not have considered before? Try some of these...

Sometimes, we figure, you come to a site like this just to find out about a film you didn’t know about. That you want recommendations of movies that you might not otherwise have uncovered. This list, then, has no theme, save that the films on it are really good, and didn’t get much of an audience first time around. That, or they seem to have been forgotten. It’s a real mix, but hopefully, there’s something on here that appeals..

The Brady Bunch Movie

The Brady Bunch films never really seemed to do much business in the UK, and that’s a real pity. No foreknowledge of the series is required, and the first movie takes the Brady film and transplants them into 1990s America, with no...

Reel-Important People is a monthly column that highlights those individuals in or related to the movies that have left us in recent weeks. Below you'll find names big and small and from all areas of the industry, though each was significant to the movies in his or her own way. Harvey Atkin (1942-2017) - Actor. He starred in Meatballs and appears in Silver Streak, Atlantic City and The Stupids. He died of cancer on July 17. (THR) Trevor Baxter (1932-2017) - British Actor. He starred in Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, A Man for All Seasons, Van Wilder 2: The Rise of Taj and Cold Comfort Farm. He died on July 16. (Big Finish News) Chester Bennington (1976-2017) - Singer. As front man of Linkin...

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Welcome to Career Watch, a vocational checkup of top actors and directors, and those who hope to get there. In this edition we take on Jude Law, who’s always been hard to pin down, and his title role in HBO Emmy Contender “The Young Pope” is no exception.

Bottom Line: As he embraces his mid-40s, Jude Law has morphed from British golden boy to globally bankable character actor. His range is wide, from tragic robot Gigolo Joe in Steven Spielberg’s “A.I.” to Robert Downey, Jr.’s comedy sidekick Dr. Watson in Guy Ritchie’s blockbuster “Sherlock Holmes” franchise. Still stunningly handsome, Law is gaining grit and gravitas as he gets older. But there’s a sense he’s still holding back.

Latest Misfires: Law took on evil power-monger Vortigern opposite Charlie Hunnam as Arthur in Ritchie’s attempt to similarly update “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,...

Welcome to Career Watch, a vocational checkup of top actors and directors, and those who hope to get there. In this edition we take on Jude Law, who’s always been hard to pin down, and his title role in HBO Emmy Contender “The Young Pope” is no exception.

Bottom Line: As he embraces his mid-40s, Jude Law has morphed from British golden boy to globally bankable character actor. His range is wide, from tragic robot Gigolo Joe in Steven Spielberg’s “A.I.” to Robert Downey, Jr.’s comedy sidekick Dr. Watson in Guy Ritchie’s blockbuster “Sherlock Holmes” franchise. Still stunningly handsome, Law is gaining grit and gravitas as he gets older. But there’s a sense he’s still holding back.

Latest Misfires: Law took on evil power-monger Vortigern opposite Charlie Hunnam as Arthur in Ritchie’s attempt to similarly update “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,...

“We never lose our demons, we only learn to live above them.”

From Marvel Studios comes Doctor Strange, the story of world-famous neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), whose life changes forever after a horrific car accident renders his hands useless. When traditional medicine fails him, he travels to the remote Kamar-Taj in search of a cure, but instead discovers the mystical arts and becomes a powerful sorcerer battling dark forces bent on destroying our reality. You can now bring Home The Mystifying, Mind-Bending Journey!

Marvel Studios’ “Doctor Strange,” the story of Dr. Stephen Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, has mesmerized both audiences and critics, pulling in more than $658.3 million at the worldwide box office to date and earning a 90% critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes. The biggest single-character introduction in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (McU), it also carries on Marvel Studios’ winning streak as the 14th consecutive...

Doctor Strange his home video tomorrow and DIsney has released two deleted scenes show a few darker moments that were cut from the movie. They focus on Kaecilius and the Zealots that follow him, so, along with concept art where you can see how this character was developed.

The film boasts an award-winning cast, including Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game, Black Mass) as Dr. Stephen Strange, Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, Serenity) as Mordo, Rachel McAdams (Spotlight, Southpaw) as Dr. Christine Palmer, Benedict Wong (The Martian, Prometheus) as Wong, Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man, Steve Jobs) as Dr. Nicodemus West, Benjamin Bratt (Traffic, Piñero) as Jonathan Pangborn, and Scott Adkins (El Gringo, The Expendables 2) as Lucian/Strong Zealot, with Mads Mikkelsen (The Hunt, Casino Royale) as Kaecilius and Academy Award® winner Tilda Swinton (2007 Best Supporting Actress, Michael Clayton; Julia) as The Ancient One.

Bonus Features (Bonus features may vary by retailer.

Own the critically acclaimed blockbuster with 80+ minutes of extras highlighting the award-winning cast.

Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange, the story of Dr. Stephen Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, has mesmerized both audiences and critics, pulling in more than $658.3 million at the worldwide box office to date and earning a 90% critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes. The biggest single-character introduction in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (McU), it also carries on Marvel Studios’ winning streak as the 14th consecutive McU film to debut at #1 at the domestic box office.

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On Feb. 14, Doctor Strange fans can bring home the critically acclaimed blockbuster early on Digital HD/3D and Disney Movies Anywhere, or on Blu-ray 3D™, Blu-ray, Digital Sd, DVD and On-Demand on Feb. 28.

The Blu-ray and Digital releases come packaged with over 80 minutes of fascinating, never-before-seen bonus materials, including five behind-the-scenes featurettes, five deleted scenes, hilarious outtakes,...

Burbank, Calif. — Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange, the story of Dr. Stephen Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts, has mesmerized both audiences and critics, pulling in more than $658.3 million at the worldwide box office to date and earning a 90% critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes. The biggest single-character introduction in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (McU), it also carries on Marvel Studios’ winning streak as the 14th consecutive McU film to debut at #1 at the domestic box office.

On Feb. 14, Doctor Strange fans can bring home the critically acclaimed blockbuster early on Digital HD/3D and Disney Movies Anywhere, or on Blu-ray 3D™, Blu-ray, Digital Sd, DVD and On-Demand on Feb. 28. The Blu-ray and Digital releases come packaged with over 80 minutes of fascinating, never-before-seen bonus materials, including five behind-the-scenes featurettes, five deleted scenes, hilarious outtakes, part two of the comical mockumentary “Team Thor,” audio commentary, and an exclusive look at...

Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film and TV critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)

Warning: This article reveals critical plot plots from “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”

Of all the surprises seen in “Rogue One,” none was more unexpected — or more divisive — than the return of Grand Moff Tarkin, whose presence might have been less of a shock if actor Peter Cushing hadn’t died in 1994.

While this isn’t the first time that a movie has used technology to bring someone back from the grave, the prominence of Tarkin’s role in “Rogue One” has rekindled the debate over digitally manipulating deceased performers. For this week’s survey, we asked our panel of critics a question (or two...

Kayti Burt Sep 17, 2019

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow helped launch Hollywood into the current era of comic book-inspired films...

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, the retro-futuristic 2004 adventure drama based on the serials of the 1930s and 1940s and in the style of Golden Age comic books, is considered one of the first major Hollywood film to be made almost completely digitally — with only the main actors and some sets that are actually real.

More than a decade later, this visually-unique movie may be largely forgotten by mainstream audiences, but its influence on the comic book blockbuster world remains...

A movie that looks like Golden Age comics...

In many ways, Sky Captain was the first real modern comic book movie — even though it's not a straight comic book adaptation as it has no single source material.

While Spider-Man and X-Men had already hit the mainstream scene when the film debuted,...

Alec Bojalad Dec 19, 2019

We have the highlights of what's coming and going from HBO Now and HBO Go in January 2020.

A new year will eventually mean a new HBO with the release of HBO Max. But for now HBO Now and HBO Go continue on and are putting their best foot forward with the HBO new releases for January 2020.

Comedy is the name of the game for the HBO originals in January 2020. Larry David returns as Curb Your Enthusiasm season 10 premieres on January 19. Veep creator Armando Iannucci takes his satirical ways to space with Avenue 5 the same night. The New Pope is...sort of a comedy and arrives on January 13. The Stephen King series The Outsider is very much not a comedy but it will come to HBO on January 12 all the same.

The list of movies coming to HBO in January 2020 are surprisingly action-packed as well. John Wick...

Robots have been a staple on the big screen for many decades, showing up as far back as Fritz Lang’s 1927 classic Metropolis and as recently as Alex Garland’s 2015 film Ex Machina. With numerous depictions of robots have come numerous ideas of what they look like, what they’re capable of, whether they’re good or evil, and other such concerns.

Now vimeo user Mennomail has made a mashup of the various robotic representations on the big screen over the years. The video is set to both Fractals by Monea Music and Ich Will by Rammstein, and highlights both the similarities and differences in how robots have been depicted by various filmmakers. Mennomail also released a list of films from which scenes appear, which is as follows:

Films used (in alphabetical order)

1. Automata (2014)

2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

3. Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)

4. Alien (1979)

5. Aliens (1986)

6. Bicentennial Man (1999)

7. Big Hero 6 (2014)

8. Blade Runner...

Directed and written by Nadeem Soumah with Vinnie Jones, Michael Rene Walton, Viveca A Fox, Bai Ling

A mysterious Englishman who calls himself “John Doe” (Vinnie Jones) hires a professional hit man. The target? A drug cartel leader named Sonny “Sundown” Garcia (Michael Rene Walton), a rich, powerful and dangerous career criminal who “stole everything I ever loved” according to John Doe.

The movie begins with the hit taking place, in full view of a crowd of dancers at Sonny’s night club. This occurs, even though the hit man states he does not make any hits in front of witnesses. John Doe also insists the hit be done with a particular weapon that Sonny used in the past, the incident the movie keeps flashing back to, which “took everything I ever loved.” This is all about revenge you see.

6 Ways To Die proceeds to tell us the 6 ways to die,...

Rushes collects news, articles, images, videos and more for a weekly roundup of essential items from the world of film.Above: The trailer for Alejandro González Iñárritu's The Revenant, his follow-up to Birdman.Mubi has signed its first theatrical deal, to distribute Miguel Gomes' beautiful three-part epic Arabian Nights in the UK.The big news of the week is the theft of F.W. Murnau's head. No kidding.At Film Comment, Portuguese master Pedro Costa, subject of a retrospective at New York's Film Society of Lincoln Center, has written on Howard Hawks' Land of the Pharaohs, which Costa has selected to show in his carte blanche program there.Above: Tony Zhao's Every Frame a Painting series of video essays continues with Chuck Jones - The Evolution of an Artist."The sheer amount of Woody Allen films means that each one—especially the less sensational among them—seems to lose its identity.

Before Disney brought John Carter to movie theaters, resulting in one of the biggest box office bombs in recent memory, the film was in development at Paramount Pictures. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow director Kerry Conran was attached to direct the adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough‘s classic sci-fi novel John Carter of Mars, […]

The post Votd: Pitch Reel for Paramount’s Abandonded ‘John Carter of Mars’ appeared first on /Film.

John Carter was a very public disappointment for Disney, the studio posting an $84 million dollar loss on the Edgar Rice Burrough’s beloved series of sci-fi novels. But there was a time, before the property landed in the House of Mouse, that the project, at the time called John Carter of Mars (a better title, in my opinion, because it let audiences know what they were in for) was in the hands of Paramount and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow director Kerry Conran, and before that project was axed, Conran made a presentation reel of his vision for the movie, complete with concept art and very early effects work. A lo-res version has been doing the rounds for some time, but below you can find a much more clean and crisp version, uploaded by Ain’t It Cool News founder Harry Knowles, who was also set to produce the Conran directed adaption,...