Lily James, Emma Thompson & Shazad Latif to Star in Shekhar Kapur’s New Rom-Com

Lily James (Yesterday, Cinderella, Darkest Hour), Oscar winner Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility, Late Night, Saving Mr. Banks), and Shazad Latif (Star Trek: Discovery, Departure, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance) are attached to star in Golden Globe-nominated director Shekhar Kapur’s upcoming romance comedy What’s Love Got to Do With It?, according to Deadline. The movie will serve as the first feature project helmed by Kapur since the 2007 Oscar-winning historical drama Elizabeth: The Golden Age, a follow-up to Kapur’s 1998 Oscar-winning movie Elizabeth, starring Cate Blanchett.

RELATED: Rebecca Trailer: Lily James & Armie Hammer in Netflix’s Gothic Drama

Plot details on the upcoming feature are being kept under wraps, but the outlet shares the project will be a “cross-cultural rom-com” about love and marriage “set between London and South Asia.”

What’s Love Got to Do With It? will be written and produced by Jemima Khan (Impeachment: American Crime Story, The Case Against Adnan Syed). Khan will produce through her Instinct Productions banner, with Nicky Kentish Barnes (About a Boy) also producing alongside Working Title’s Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan.

Studiocanal will fully finance the project and is launching sales at the upcoming virtual American Film Market (AFM). The studio will release in their own territories which includes the UK, France, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand. Studiocanal’s Ron Halpern and Joe Naftalin will oversee for the company.

RELATED: Betty Gilpin Joins Sarah Paulson in Impeachment: American Crime Story

Production on the movie is expected to begin next month.

(Photo by David M. Benett/Getty Images for Burberry, Steve Blackburn/Getty Images for RBC & Mike Marsland/Mike Marsland/WireImage via Getty Images)

The post Lily James, Emma Thompson & Shazad Latif to Star in Shekhar Kapur’s New Rom-Com appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

Rating: 

7.5/10

Cast:

Omari Hardwick as Marquis T. Woods

Loretta Devine as Eloise

Hannah Gonera as Samsara Woods

Lorraine Burroughs as Veora Woods

Kalifa Burton as Tydon Woods

John Beasley as Earl

Tumisho Masha as Sheriff

Steve Mululu as Lewis

Directed by Mark Tonderai; Written by Kurt Wimmer

Click here to rent or purchase Spell!

Spell Review:

The horror genre has explored a number of cultural subgenres over the years but one of the rarely explored yet thoroughly compelling areas is that of hoodoo, the last notable example being the Kate Hudson-starring disappointment The Skeleton Key, but now we’re getting another high-profile effort with the Omari Hardwick and Loretta Devine-led Spell and while it may suffer from some pacing and logical issues, it proves to be the most effective attempt yet.

While flying to his father’s funeral in rural Appalachia, an intense storm causes Marquis (Omari Hardwick) to lose control of the plane carrying him and his family. He awakens wounded, alone and trapped in Ms. Eloise’s (Loretta Devine) attic, who claims she can nurse him back to health with the Boogity, a Hoodoo figure she has made from his blood and skin. Unable to call for help, Marquis desperately tries to outwit and break free from her dark magic and save his family from a sinister ritual before the rise of the blood moon.

The film starts off a little slow, with the characters introduced not really proving to be that compelling, likable or very original, from the teenage son losing interest in sports to the success-hungry dad struggling to be attentive in his family’s lives. Despite this, however, the story establishes a deeper root to the distant nature of Marquis, a past trauma that he’s sought to run from more than embrace and heal from and Hardwick does a great job of tapping into the complex balance of emotions throughout.

Once the plane crashes and Marquis awakes in his rural prison, the tension skyrockets and the story does a phenomenal job of keeping this tension palpable as the audience is left wondering whether Ms. Eloise is truly a good samaritan or is planning something more nefarious, though it may be more obvious than other similar stories such as Misery. The casting of Devine for her first real horror film in 20 years and rare antagonist role was nothing short of divine, as she brings all the warmth needed for audiences to truly enjoy watching the character as well as mask the malice just beneath the surface of her bubbly smile and maternal care.

One of the film’s strongest points is its unique depiction of hoodoo culture, offering just enough backstory on the roots of the folk religion and some of its various traditions to set itself apart from both past representations of the hoodoo and voodoo cultures, namely its central usage of the Boogity figures throughout. More terrifying in concept than a simple voodoo effigy, the production team do a great job at making every figure look incredibly creepy and be used to their full menacing potential.

Despite only running at 90 minutes, the film does suffer a bit of an issue with its pacing as it struggles to find a good balance between a lean pace that delivers all of the thrills at breakneck speeds and a more character-driven chiller. On what feels like too many occasions throughout the film, Marquis appears to be able to escape his situation, especially so early in the film that it begs the question of how he kept taking steps back. The fact he’s able to escape the room he’s held captive in the same day he wakes from surviving the plane crash feels far too soon and far too rushed for the fact we then see him return to his room and plan his next move.

These issues aside, however, Spell still proves to be a fairly well-directed, compellingly tense and culturally unique chiller carried by incredible performances Omari Hardwick and Loretta Devine, establishing itself as arguably the best depiction of hoodoo culture in the horror genre.

The post Spell Review: Too Deliberately Paced But Well-Performed Hoodoo Thriller appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

James Bond Star Sean Connery Dead at Age 90

It is with great sadness that ComingSoon.net must report that Sean Connery has passed away at the age of 90. According to the BBC.com, the actor, best remembered for his portrayal of James Bond, died peacefully in his sleep in the Bahamas after being, in the words of his son, Jason, “unwell for some time.”

Jason said his father “had many of his family who could be in the Bahamas around him” when he died overnight in Nassau. “We are all working at understanding this huge event as it only happened so recently, even though my dad has been unwell for some time.

The post James Bond Star Sean Connery Dead at Age 90 appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

CS Score: Bride of Frankenstein and El Camino’s Dave Porter & Thomas Golubić

Hey there, soundtrack lovers! We’ve got another great batch of film score features for you to check out. First, we preview a track from the upcoming soundtrack to The Umbrella Academy 2, followed by a look at Waxwork Records’ fantastic new The Bride of Frankenstein vinyl soundtrack, an interview with renowned composer/producer Reinhold Heil and, finally, an interview with composer Dave Porter and series music supervisor Thomas Golubić who discuss everything from their work on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul to the upcoming vinyl release for El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.

Read!

LISTEN TO A TRACK FROM THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY 2 BY JEFF RUSSO & PERRINE VIRGILE

Check out a track from the upcoming soundtrack, The Umbrella Academy 2 titled “The Swedes.” Composed by Emmy Award-winning composer Jeff Russo and Perrine Virgile, the track is a jaunty opener to the strikingly orchestrated album. Lakeshore Records will release the album digitally on November 6. The series starring Ellen Page, Robert Sheen, Tom Hopper, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, David Castañeda, Aidan Gallagher and Justin H Min is currently streaming on Netflix.

Pre-order The Umbrella Academy 2 soundtrack here!

You can also pre-order the album here!

THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN: ORIGINAL MOTION PICTURE VINYL SOUNDTRACK

Looking for a way to spook up your Halloween season? Then check out Waxwork Records’ all-new The Bride of Frankenstein: Original Motion Picture Vinyl Soundtrack, which presents Franz Waxman’s classic score to the 1935 horror masterpiece in an all-new “deluxe album featuring re-mastered audio, new artwork and likeness approvals from famed actress Elsa Lanchester’s estate.”

Here’s what you get with this terrific new release:

• The Premiere Vinyl Release of the Soundtrack
• 180 Gram Black and White Swirled Colored Vinyl
• Old Style Tip-On Gatefold Jackets with Satin Coating
• Artwork by Phantom City Creative
• 12”x12” Booklet
• Scoring Session Photography
• Liner Notes

Purchase The Bride of Frankenstein here!

The Bride of Frankenstein is oft regarded as one of the finest sequels ever made. And while the film is certainly dated — the result of being released over 85 years ago — it still packs quite the punch and is, in some ways, more faithful to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein novel than the original Frankenstein film, what with its exploration of God and man and its lifting of several scenes and ideas from the text. Where 1931’s Frankenstein focused more on the basic horror elements inherit in a monster film, the sequel, released four years later to thunderous reviews and box office sales, keenly steps back and presents a sad tale of the Monster’s desire for acceptance. As directed by James Whale, Bride of Frankenstein is episodic in nature as it tracks the Monster’s dealings with local villagers, including a blind man (a scene later parodied in Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein); and his subsequent desire for a mate. It all comes to a head in the explosive climax where Dr. Frankenstein, forced into submission by Doctor Septimus Pretorius, creates the titular Bride, who awakens and hisses her way to movie history.

Your love for The Bride of Frankenstein will depend on your tolerance for the classic melodramatic Hollywood style; and your appreciation for old-school cinema. Keep in mind, this film floored audiences upon its initial release; and was popular enough to spawn six additional films — Son of Frankenstein (released in 1939 and the last to feature Boris Karloff in the Monster role), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945) and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).

Similarly, your love for Waxman’s score will depend on whether you appreciate the more overwrought compositions found in Hollywood’s “black and white” era. (In other words: Hans Zimmer this ain’t.) That said, Waxman’s work here is absolutely superb, especially considering the small 22-member orchestra he was given; a feat that forced him to use an organ to enhance the sound. Yet, the music feels massive in scale despite the limitations; and caters to the obvious horror elements — as heard in the brilliant track, “The Creation,” featuring a recurrent drum beat played against powerful gothic orchestrations — as well as the film’s lighter, more comedic beats. All told, there are eight themes spread across the relatively short 34-minutes of score, with the Bride’s dreamy melody topping out as the best of the bunch, but each gets a chance to shine before merging together in the fantastic climax, “Presenting the Bride – The Explosion” and “The Creation” tracks that close the album.

Ultimately, this classic score is (surprise, surprise) solely for classic score lovers, though even contemporary soundtrack enthusiasts will likely appreciate the unique techniques at work, which served as a template for contemporary horror fare. If anything, The Bride of Frankenstein offers a unique look at early Hollywood and the extraordinary artists who created the foundations for a modern empire.

REINHOLD HEIL DISCUSSES HIS SCORE FOR DEUTSCHLAND 89

Reinhold Heil’s score for Deutschland 89 released earlier this month, and we reached out to the composer to get his thoughts on the sequel series, which follows an agent of East Germany following the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Intriguingly, Neil was present for the historic event, recalling, “In October 1989, our studio was only a few miles away from the Wall in West Berlin, and one of us always hung out in the TV room watching East-German TV, which was still mostly broadcasting Communist Propaganda but you could see and feel the façade coming down slowly. Whenever something awesome was on, the watcher started yelling and we all gathered around the TV to witness the small acts of resistance undermining the system.”

Obviously, that momentous event shaped his approach to the score.

“Deutschland 89 concludes this dramatic, fictitious but historically accurate trilogy,” Hein said. “Our main characters have to re-invent themselves and figure out how they make their way in the newly emerging political and economic landscape. So I had to re-invent their musical themes and create new ones and I had – as always – a wonderful time doing so. Nothing is more satisfying than working on a project you love with a team that supports you and teaches you new things every step of the way.”

Heil then explained how the new score builds on themes from the previous two seasons, albeit with a fresh prospective. “The main theme is much more aggressive and features Luanne Homzy and Evgeny Tonkha of the California String Quartet. There is also plenty of new material that I enjoyed working on very much because Showrunner Jörg Winger let me go a bit more experimental on the sequences with the RAF Terrorists. I’m very happy how the grand story arc unfolded and how the music evolved with it.”

A renown musician and music producer of that time, Heil got his start in the 70’s with the Nina Hagen Band, and later Spliff – one of the most popular German rock bands of the 1980s, and would go on to collaborate with the likes of Nena, Kim Wilde, and Rio Reiser. Heil became a film composer in the mid-90’s and worked with Johnny Klimek and Tom Tykwer on films such as Run, Lola, Run, Perfume, The International, and Cloud Atlas before leaving the team to pursue his own career, mostly composing for TV shows like Helix, Berlin Station, and the Deutschland series.

Between his experiences living in West Germany in 1989, and his storied past as a musician, producer, and then film composer, Reinhold Heil levies a deeply personal touch to his score for Deutschland 89.

EL CAMINO: INTERVIEW WITH COMPOSER DAVE PORTER AND MUSIC SUPERVISOR THOMAS GOLUBIĆ

It’s already been a year since Netflix released El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie to critical acclaim; and it’s taken that long to secure a soundtrack release for the film. No matter, the new El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie – Original Soundtrack Vinyl 2XLP is well worth the wait. Featuring every bit of music heard in the film — in the exact order heard in the film, no less — this new soundtrack is a must-have for fans of the Breaking Bad universe. If you needed further coaxing, composer Dave Porter and music supervisor Thomas Golubić sat down to discuss their work on this new release with ComingSoon.net, which you can read below.

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie – Original Soundtrack Vinyl 2XLP features nearly every needle drop from the film, including songs by Lynyrd Skynyrd, England Dan & John Ford Coley, Jim White (Feat. Aimee Mann), Red Snapper, and more, plus exclusive liner notes by composer Dave Porter and music supervisor Thomas Golubić.

Purchase El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie – Original Soundtrack Vinyl 2XLP here! 

ComingSoon.net: Let’s talk about this new 2-LP album for El Camino, which features every bit of music from the Netflix film. How did this release come about?

Thomas Golubić: I think it’s one of those things where the Vince Gilligan universe — what is so wonderful of being part of it and being part of this one in particular — is everything is done to exacting detail. And everything is done with an investment of creativity. So like every department really puts themselves into the experience and it all channels through Vince. And this movie is a good example of that. So I think the soundtrack came together slowly, perhaps, because a lot of times you try to time soundtracks with the release of the film, but I think that we always feel that the legacy of the work is the most important thing. We had really wonderful and patient partners in Mondo. They were just absolutely wonderful to work with. And we got a chance to kind of get really beautiful artwork and really unique artwork from like another member of our creative family. So it’s like, everybody got a chance to kind of add their paintbrush, and everybody did something, I think, really beautiful. So that’s what I like about it taking a little bit longer than you’d expect. But it’s been a really, really enjoyable experience.

Dave Porter: Yeah, Thomas got it, right. If there’s anything we have learned from working with Vince Gilligan, and all the other producers of all these things is that it’s much better to do it right, than to do it fast. And so that enabled us to really take our time with this. And I think that, particularly for fans of the Breaking Bad universe, they’re gonna love this thing, because it has so much quality inherent in all the thought process that was put into it.

CS: How do you guys decide which songs to include in the film and subsequently the soundtrack?

Dave: That’s one of the things Thomas does best.

Thomas: I would love to say that it’s really easy and the first idea is the last idea, but it’s never the case. Although I have to say one of the things I love about the experience of listening to the record — I listened to it again in preparation for the interviews that we’re doing this week — is that it is in the order of the film. And so I think what I liked so much about it is that it’s a little bit like if you’re going into a clockmakers video studio, and each room has another set of clocks that are all representing of a different, you know, part of their creative process, you get to really enjoy it. And I got to walk through the movie again and everybody’s there. In a weird way, like no, the most obvious answer is we took the sequence of the music in the film and replicated it on the album. And the number of not very good ideas that I worked on before getting to that very simple solution was insane. So I kind of work circles to try to figure out the right balance songs and score and the right energy and what do we include and not include and we just did the math on it and realized, wow, these four sides time out. In other words, with the technical limitations of a record, you have enough space to have a good quality sound recording on each side, they fall really comfortably in sections. And it was like the universe was saying this is ABCD, this is a two album set. And it’s literally all the music from the film so you have the experience as you’re going through it. I feel like it landed exactly where it needed to, though we probably made it more complicated than it needed to be as well. But, in the end, it ended up being really cool.

Dave: I love that about it too. One of the things that we always talk about — not only for score but for source also — is the musical journey that we’re following along with the film and how that’s helping to tell the story of the characters and the plot as the film moves along. I approached it that way when I wrote the music, I started at the very beginning and worked through it sequentially, which I don’t always do. But it made all the sense in the world for this movie because it is such a linear journey. Unlike Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul, the TV shows where we’re hopping around from character to character, sometimes in different storylines that are interwoven into each other, [El Camino] really is a coda of Jesse’s story, specifically; and follows him and in a pretty linear fashion from start to finish. And I love that the records follow that path without any picture.

CS: Speaking specifically of the score, what was it like to go back to Breaking Bad after all those years?

Dave: It was easier than I thought it might be. And I’ll tell you, if we had done El Camino a few years ago, in the earlier years of Better Call Saul, it would have been a much bigger juxtaposition. But what we have found, as we have been working on Better Call Saul, which is, of course, a prequel to Breaking Bad, as we get closer and closer to the end of Better Call Saul’s story, musically I’m getting closer and closer to the original Breaking Bad story. That’s just how the timeline works. And we’ve been introducing more and more Breaking Bad characters into Better Call Saul; and there’s just been that cohesion building up towards where we want them to begin Breaking Bad. So when I’ve already had Breaking Bad in my psyche, as we work that way. But then, of course, it is really a shift for El Camino to be at the end of Breaking Bad, which in itself is a bit of a shift musically over the course of that series. And so there was a little jump and a little trying to figure out where to go. One of the things that I really worked hard to do is to, at the very beginning of the film, El Camino, I tried to take over very sonically as closely as I could from when we left off in Breaking Bad. But then, after talking to Vince, we really wanted a little leeway to tell a new story. And really focus on a character I didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time with musically over the course of the series, originally. There always needed to be a connection to the Breaking Bad world and the connection to the Breaking Bad timeline, but — and keeping all of that in mind — we did want to expand the boundaries a little bit and tried to explore some new territory for El Camino.

CS: What’s it like working with Vince Gilligan? Does he let you do your thing, musically, or does he have very specific ideas he presents to you? 

Thomas: It depends, really, on each project, which is kind of the interesting part. I mean, Vince Gilligan is my favorite creative collaborator. Of all the people that I’ve worked with over the years, I feel more in awe of what I learned — and how the joy of contributing to fulfilling his vision and the vision of the team, it’s my favorite thing. So, going in already, these are people I have enormous respect for, obviously. I have enormous affection for them personally, and the generosity that they show me and just getting a chance to contribute. And then also celebrating that process, even when I get it wrong, is really the best thing because I think that the ability to fail with your friends is like the greatest luxury I can think of when you’re trying to be creative. And I think that is something that is really exciting as part of that process — I get a chance to really test myself and know that if I fall flat on my face, I have a group that know that I tried and it was an interesting idea. And now, let’s move on and try another one.

Dave: That’s totally true in every sense. And, of course, the beauty of having the working relationship with Vince and the other producers now for as long as Thomas and I have had, we have that shorthand; and we have the advantage of skipping past bad ideas pretty quick when we can all be on the same page to realize they aren’t working. For me personally, you know, the experience of El Camino was quite different than working on either of the series because we had the luxury of time, which you often have for score on a film in a way that you just don’t on TV. In a television series, Thomas and I meet with Vince and the writers and editors for every episode to talk about what our musical tasks are for that episode. But then I’m on my own from there, working alone in my studio, and I’m sending them finished products, which they “yay” or “nay,” or we tweak from there. But in the process of working on the movie, actually, for the first time in however long I’ve worked with Vince — over a decade — he got the comforts to sit here in my studio on the couch while I worked, which was a fascinating new wrinkle for us. We had to tiptoe our way a little bit at first because we had never worked together that way before. In the end, it allowed for a greater level of collaboration on El Camino than we’ve ever been able to do before.

CS: Does the success of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and El Camino surprise you?

Thomas: That’s a good question. Ultimately, you’re in the trenches working on something and you hope that the world will recognize it. And sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I’ll mention some of my favorite projects to people who tell me they have never heard of that. And it’s one of those things you realize people like lots of different things and there’s so much media out there. So to be part of something which has been resonating in a really powerful way with each community that embraces it, and a growing entity that’s part of this whole universe is really wonderful because you also see how invested everybody else gets into it. Matt Talbot, who did the artwork for the album, which is really unique and exciting, he used to create these wonderful posters for episodes of Better Call Saul; and he became a friend of our creative community. And so, having his work here, it’s just such a nice way of enjoying that particular part of that expanding growing family, and the fact that he knows about us because the show thankfully got successful — people started to really notice it and notice what we’re doing. And we kept on doing the best work we always could to make the best, most interesting story we could. We just feel very lucky that people have joined us in all these journeys. We try really hard to make this the best thing we can do. I’m just so proud of all the work. You can feel it when you watch it. It feels absolutely clear about what it is and it’s really beautiful in all of its individual moments.

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie

Dave: Thomas and I are happy to be able to work on these projects with Vince. To me, what has always been the most astounding aspect of particularly this Breaking Bad universe, is its consistency. It’s just consistently good. Part of that I believe is Vince’s overarching attention to every detail, but at the same time his willingness to take an idea from absolutely anyone — the newest intern in the room can pipe off and feel comfortable piping up at any time and it’s an idea and he will absolutely consider. And that combined too with the luxury that we’ve all had as a group to have worked this long together and creatively push each other, every year that we get together to do better and better work has led to some remarkable stuff. Thomas and I take a very small amount of credit for all of it and are mostly just feeling very blessed to be part of it.

CS: Are there any additional Breaking Bad spin-off movies in development that you can share with us or shows.spinoffs that you would like to see at some point in the future? 

Thomas: (Laughs.) If it existed we couldn’t talk about it anyway!

Dave: I will say that I don’t know any better than anybody else what the future holds or what Vince Gilligan is up to. I’m certainly the last to know. I would, of course, always be delighted to further explore this universe, but at the same time I’m actually kind of excited to see something totally new that Vince and all of us around the group could tackle. I know Vince has an endless amount of stories to tell and I certainly will always be available to him anytime.

Thomas: Same here. (Laughs.)

The post CS Score: Bride of Frankenstein and El Camino’s Dave Porter & Thomas Golubić appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

Rating: 

7.5/10

Cast:

Lin Shaye as Edith Cranston

Tobin Bell as Edward Cranston

Chester Rushing as Chris

Erin Sanders as Tonya

Mike C. Manning as Zack

Sloane Morgan Siegel as Brett

Judd Lormand as Harliss

Directed by Timothy Woodward Jr.; Written by Patrick Stibbs

Click here to rent or purchase The Call!

The Call Review:

Tobin Bell has enjoyed a wave of success over the past 15 years playing games with morally corrupt souls in the Saw film while Lin Shaye has enjoyed newfound stardom as the malevolent spirt fighting medium of the Insidious franchise and now James Wan and Leigh Whannell’s godchildren have come together for the supernatural pic The Call and while it offers a new side to each performer that’s wonderful to watch and some chilling imagery, its story leaves a little wanting.

From the opening moments, the film nicely sets up the film’s retro tone and ’80s setting, from period-accurate attire to killer tunes, but as we’re introduced to lead character Chris and his potential group of friends and love interests, the film immediately establishes that it’s going to be borrowing heavily from various horror movies tropes of the past, from the jealous boyfriend/group leader to the wavering love interest willing to flirt with Chris directly in front of her boyfriend without a care. It becomes very apparent who in the group the film is going to put a primary spotlight on leading up to and during the terror as well as who will more than likely survive and who will be quickly picked off.

That being said, however, the film is not without unlikable or unrelatable characters as “antagonists” Edith and Edward Cranston are both well-written and heartbreaking souls that audiences might have an easier time connecting to than the young victims-to-be. Shaye brilliantly brings to life all of the paranoia and torment of a woman having lost her mind following a public shaming from the local town and, though also proving to be a thoroughly enjoyable and haunting villain when displaying her evil side, is really easy to sympathize with and understand her anger and even want to root for her to fulfill her desire for vengeance. Much can be said in the same vein for Bell’s Edward, though very much like Jigsaw and other previous villains he’s portrayed he brings a more tempered and calculated approach to the role but also taps into the vulnerability and hurt he’s suffering from the untimely loss of his wife that proves compelling and moving to watch.

In addition to the nicely-written “evil” couple from Patrick Stibbs, Timothy Woodward Jr. lends an incredibly stylish eye to the proceedings that keeps some of its creepy-yet-familiar imagery feeling shocking enough to keep the energy going. Nicely incorporating a fish-eye lens for some of the more mind-bending or devastating of sequences throughout, Woodward finds a way to nicely balance the intimate feeling of its character-focused tale with the larger-scope supernatural world that shows a lot of promise for what he could do if given a larger budget.

Overall, The Call might lean on a lot of formula and familiar storytelling, with a dour and predictable ending falling flat, but thanks to some chilling imagery, two well-written characters and phenomenal performances from Bell and Shaye, as well as solid performances from its younger cast, it proves to be an entertaining enough ride for horror genre enthusiasts.

The Call is now available on digital platforms and premium VOD!

The post The Call Review: Visually Stylish & Terrifying Albeit Predictable appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

BEGIN SLIDESHOW

Into the Spider-Verse suit revealed in new Miles Morales gameplay!

As a special Halloween treat for fans, Insomniac Games has unveiled new gameplay footage from the highly-anticipated Spider-Man: Miles Morales revealing the inclusion of the titular hero’s suit from the Oscar and Golden Globe winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which sees a stylish drop in framerate solely on the character to tap into the comic book panel feel of the film. The footage can be viewed in the gallery below!

RELATED: Insomniac Teases a Spidey Team Up In Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Since its announcement earlier this summer, there’s been a lot of debate and discussion as to whether the game would be an extended piece of downloadable content or an actual standalone title and after previously confirming it in June, Insomniac Games’ creative director Bryan Intihar recently expanded that it is indeed its own game but is a shorter spin-off akin to Uncharted: Lost Legacy or Wolfenstein: The Old Blood. However, he still assured fans that “it has a lot of heart” with the game’s creative director Brian Horton promising “this is a full arc for Miles Morales that started in Spider-Man.”

The Brian Michael Bendis and Sara Pichelli-created character originally appeared in Insomniac’s 2018 game as a playable character, though it wasn’t until the end of the primary story mode of the game in which Morales was bitten by a radioactive spider, therein setting up the long-rumored sequel.

Insomniac’s 2018 game was a surprise smash hit upon release, earning praise for its dynamic narrative and character development alongside its combat and web-swinging traversal mechanics, with only mild criticisms being directed at the open-world design of the game. It was compared favorably to Rocksteady Studios’ Batman: Arkham game series and has been frequently named one of the best superhero games ever made and became one of the fastest-selling games of the year and one of the best-selling PlayStation 4 games of all time.

RELATED: Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II Launch Trailer Released

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is set to hit shelves for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in select markets on November 12, followed by a November 19 international release for the latter console.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
  5
  images

The post Into the Spider-Verse Suit Revealed in New Miles Morales Gameplay! appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

Banks, Weaver, Mara & Friend sign on to lead Call Jane

After attempting to develop the film last year with Elisabeth Moss (The Invisible Man) and Susan Sarandon (Ray Donovan) leading the charge, women’s rights drama Call Jane is getting another shot at life as Elizabeth Banks (Charlie’s Angels), Sigourney Weaver (Avatar), Kate Mara (House of Cards) and Rupert Friend (Homeland) have signed on to star in the drama, according to Deadline.

RELATED: Focus Features Sets Justin Chon’s Blue Bayou for Summer 2021 Release

Written by The Resident co-creators Hayley Schore and Roshan Sethi, the story centers on Joy (Banks), a traditional ’60s housewife who unexpectedly becomes pregnant and learns about an underground abortion movement know as the Janes led by Virginia (Weaver), who saves her life and gives her a sense of purpose in helping women take control of their destinies.

“Call Jane was made for these times – and I have never felt more passionately that our culture is ready to embrace its call for decency, for community, for good will and humor in all things – and above all, its call for necessary change,” director Phyllis Nagy (Carol) said in a statement.

The Blacklist script project was previously in development in early 2019 with Moss and Sarandon attached to lead the cast, but after scheduling issues continued to abound, both actresses bowed out but the story has been a big enough draw to find a new ensemble roster for its tale. The film is set to be produced by Robbie Brenner alongside Kevin McKeon and David Wulf, with Schore and Sethi attached as executive producers with Lee Broda, Erica Kahn and Judy Bart while Leal Naim and Thomas R. Burke are set to co-produce.

“As a woman and a mother of two girls, I feel like the time is now and the moment essential to bring a film like Call Jane into the world. With such cultural uncertainty and when so many of our rights as women are under siege, I know that telling this important story couldn’t be more timely or necessary, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to collaborate with such an extraordinary group of creative and strong women at the helm,” Brenner said in a statement.

RELATED: Mads Mikkelsen & Armie Hammer to Lead Billion Dollar Spy

Production on Call Jane is being eyed for next spring, with Protagonist Pictures handling international sales for the feature.

(Photo Credits: Getty Images)

The post Banks, Weaver, Mara & Friend Sign on To Lead Call Jane appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

Scott Derrickson tapped to helm Blumhouse & Universal’s Black Phone

Since departing the highly-anticipated Doctor Strange sequel, Scott Derrickson has lined up a number of major projects for himself and now has expanded his roster as he has signed on to co-write and direct the horror-thriller Black Phone at Blumhouse and Universal Pictures, according to Deadline.

RELATED: Scott Derrickson Signs On To Helm Labyrinth Sequel

Based on the 2004 novella of the same name from Joe Hill, who will also executive produce the film, the logline for the source material reads as follows:

Imogene is young and beautiful. She kisses like a movie star and knows everything about every film ever made. She’s also dead and waiting in the Rosebud Theater for Alec Sheldon one afternoon in 1945.  Arthur Roth is a lonely kid with big ideas and a gift for attracting abuse. It isn’t easy to make friends when you’re the only inflatable boy in town. Francis is unhappy. Francis was human once, but that was then. Now he’s an eight-foot-tall locust and everyone in Calliphora will tremble when they hear him sing. John Finney is locked in a basement that’s stained with the blood of half a dozen other murdered children. In the cellar with him is an antique telephone, long since disconnected, but which rings at night with calls from the dead.

Click here to purchase Hill’s novella!

In addition to directing the project, Derrickson is adapting the story with frequent collaborator C. Robert Cargill, both of whom will be reuniting with Blumhouse following their fan-favorite 2012 box office hit horror film Sinister starring Ethan Hawke, which the two wrote together and Derrickson helmed. The film’s box office success spawned a sequel the two wrote together but handed the directorial duties off to Ciaran Foy, though it would see lower box office returns and was panned by critics and audiences alike.

RELATED: Chris Evans and Scott Derrickson Team Up for Bermuda

Derrickson and Cargill will produce the project via their Crooked Highway Productions banner alongside Jason Blum for his eponymous production banner, while Universal and Blumhouse will distribute. Black Phone has also already begun building its cast as Mason Thames (For All Mankind) and Madeleine McGraw (Toy Story 4) have both signed on to star in the film.

(Photo Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

The post Scott Derrickson Tapped to Helm Blumhouse & Universal’s Black Phone appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

Focus Features sets Justin Chon’s Blue Bayou for summer 2021 release

Just a few months after acquiring the rights to the drama at the virtual Cannes Film Festival, Focus Features has set a summer 2021 release date for the timely Justin Chon (Gook) written/directed/starring film Blue Bayou, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

RELATED: Blue Bayou: Focus Features Acquires Worldwide Rights to Justin Chon’s Drama

Written and directed by Chon, who won multiple festival awards for his 2019 written/directed drama Ms. Purple and 2017 written/directed/starring/executive produced project Gook, Blue Bayou stars Chon alongside Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl), Mark O’Brien (Arrival), Linh Dan Pham and Emory Cohen (Brooklyn).

Blue Bayou tells the heartbreaking story of Antonio LeBlanc, a Korean adoptee raised in the United States who is forced to confront his distant past and what it means for his own future and his family’s when he unexpectedly faces deportation.

“Justin’s ability to open our eyes to new perspectives by celebrating our shared humanity is more vital now than ever before. We’re so proud to help bring his voice to the world and to reunite with Alicia along with the brilliant teams at eOne and MACRO,” Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski previously said in a statement.

The film was financed by MACRO and eOne. Producers are Chon, Charles D. King (Mudbound), Kim Roth (Tigertail), and Poppy Hanks (Sorry To Bother You).

RELATED: MGM Delays Releases of Respect & Tomb Raider Sequel

Clara Wu, eOne’s Nick Meyer, Zev Foreman, and Eddie Rubin are executive producers. Greta Fuentes of MACRO and Yira Vilaro are also co-producers. Focus Features will distribute the film in the U.S. and Universal Pictures International will distribute internationally.

(Photo Credit:  Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images For Sundance)

The post Focus Features Sets Justin Chon’s Blue Bayou for Summer 2021 Release appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

CS Soapbox: Freddy, Michael & Jason: Why We Can’t Seem To Let Them Die

A serial killer (wearing James T. Kirk’s face), Elm Street’s disfigured midnight mangler, and the boy (with an overbearing mother) who drowned at Camp Crystal Lake. According to our recent poll, Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, and Jason Voorhees are the greatest slasher icons of all-time. This comes as no surprise. Despite horror’s Jackson Pollock subgenre, slasher, dating back to Psycho and Black Christmas (arguably), John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) jump-started the slasher movement, paving the profitable way for A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th. 

RELATED: Friday the 13th Collection Details Released by Scream Factory!

Halloween is an independent film. That said, Carpenter did not own the rights to Michael Myers. As of Halloween 2020, there have been 11 Halloween films, 11 Friday the 13th outings, 8 Nightmares, and one Freddy vs. Jason crossover. As supernatural beings, Jason has been “killed” 3 times, Freddy twice, and Michael has never bit the dust. After being shot, stabbed, and burned (among other things), they keep coming back to slaughter another round of young-adults in sequels or remakes—we just can’t seem to let them die.

There are other notorious serial killers/stalkers like Chucky (recently rebooted), Leatherface, and Ghostface that keep coming around. Still, they’re not quite as iconic as the reigning champs (which we’re using as the paragon here). Wes Craven’s Scream certainly modernized the slasher genre in unexpected/borderline whodunnit ways, but Ghostface is just a mask, donned by many different people. There’s only one Jason, Freddy, Michael, and everyone wants to be like Mike.

Since Scream, has there been any notable (and by notable, I mean profitable) slashers? Thumbing through that mental IMDB, your mind undoubtedly wanders to either The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) or Rob Zombie’s 2007 remake of Carpenter’s Halloween. The financial success of the latter resulting in, of course, remakes of Friday the 13th (2009) and A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010). It’s as if history is determined to repeat itself. To quote Bad Boys, “we ride together, we (never) die together, [slashers] for life.”

The bulk of the Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare franchises have been panned by critics. As the kill count goes up, and the mythology grows, a ridiculous (and inconsistent) storyline has linked one sequel to the next, trudging further and further away from the spirit of their respective debuts. Do we not respect slashers enough? Hollywood’s ugly stepchild? When a bad Star Wars or beloved comic book sequel/spinoff is made, audiences freak out. The backlash is often so intense that the studio’s fear and trepidation moving forward becomes palpable (for better or worse). Maybe this next-gen slasher revival will change everything.

Following the recent horror resurgence on the small screen, and with the help of Carpenter, David Gordon Green brought us the soft reboot/sequel to the original, 2018’s Halloween. As you know, it was a critical and commercial hit. The new teaser for its sequel, Halloween Kills, recently released, foreshadowing a future filled with Friday the 13th, Nightmare, Scream, and Texas Chainsaw revivals as well. It’s 1978 all over again. Hopefully, this time, quality supersedes quantity.

RELATED: John Carpenter Calls Halloween Kills ‘The Quintessential Slasher Film’

This round of slashers might break the periodic resurgence of Michael, Jason, and Freddy. The reason those guys kept popping up is that iconic slashers, that abide by their simplistic hack n’ slash rules, don’t really exist anymore. Horror is evolving into something more cerebral (or at least it should). It’s more about mystery/elaborate torture than jump scares, gore, and brute force. 2018’s Halloween was a perfect combination of old and new, capitalizing on nostalgia while implementing just enough story. Still, audiences want to be challenged intellectually. We don’t necessarily want to know who the killer is right away (the first Friday the 13th did this very well).

So why is it that we just can seem to let them die? Money, duh. You know this. Slashers aren’t superhero movies. Creating a new slasher antagonist is as risky/hard as, well, coming up with (and funding) any original idea outside of the superhero, sci-fi, fantasy, or action genres. While it’s disconcerting to see memories dragged through the mud for the sake of a paycheck, this time, it might be different. 

The Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare revivals of this decade should be solid. However, if they’re not, Hollywood shouldn’t wait just long enough for us to kind of forget and then bring them back, they need to let them die. Let equally vicious yet modern icons manifest, inspired by elements of the slasher, Elm Street’s resident dream walker, and that zombie goalie. Those guys have been waiting to burn in Hell for years.

The post CS Soapbox: Freddy, Michael & Jason: Why We Can’t Seem To Let Them Die appeared first on ComingSoon.net.