Matthew Monagle
Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Fate of the Furious’ Zooms Up the Record Books
Audiences don’t turn their back on family. That’s the lesson to be learned from this past weekend, anyways, when The Fate of the Furious proved that this is one franchise showing no signs of slowing down. It was never a question of whether The Fate of the Furious would take the top spot this weekend, but even the most optimistic of projections couldn’t have expected the global domination that this movie undertook. Here’s the box office estimates as of Sunday afternoon:
Earth Comes Under Fire in This New ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ Clip
With Star Wars: The Last Jedi dominating today’s conversations on social media, you might’ve forgotten that there are actually other movies being released in 2017. There are many! In fact, some of them are even being released by the same studio! One such film — the little-known Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 — braved the onslaught of Star Wars talk to release a brand new clip last night, setting the stage for future films in the franchise (and turning one late night sidekick into a movie star in the process). While the attached video shows the full segment, I’ve queued it up the relevant part.
Unused Carrie Fisher Footage Will Appear in ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’
It’s been a few months since the world lost Carrie Fisher, and while many would prefer to expand the conversation to her accomplishments outside of the Star Wars universe, plenty of people are anxiously wondering how her death might affect her character in the upcoming Star Wars sequels. For some, this can be viewed as a tacky approach to celebrity, but there’s a sweeter side to things as well. Leia Organa remains an icon for people around the world; finding an appropriate way to say goodbye to her character will be, in essence, the way many Star Wars fans say goodbye to Fisher herself.
Razzies Name ‘Hillary’s America’ and ‘Batman v Superman’ the Worst Films of 2016
The Razzies are a tough award show to love. Oh, I’m sure plenty of people probably read the headline to this article and — depending on their opinion of both Dinesh D’Souza and the DC Cinematic Universe — found great comfort in the public mockery of Hillary’s America and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. But while awards shows in general might serve the noble purpose of raising awareness about powerful films, the annual Razzies Awards often feel like you’re kicking someone when they’re already down. They’ve already flopped with audiences and critics; throwing a Razzie award at them is the Hollywood equivalent of kicking them when they’re down.
London’s Clock Is Ticking in the First ‘Unlocked’ Trailer
Since the presidential election, many critics have been quick to point out that not every film released should be viewed as a response to Trump’s presidency. Movies spend far too much time in production for any 2017 to really have a chance to incorporate the current political climate into its message. What is acceptable — and perhaps even necessary — is to acknowledge when new releases feel like the product of a bygone era. Sometimes, Hollywood is unprepared for large cultural shifts, and that means movies that would have been fine even a year ago sit wrong with most audiences.
Date Night Takes a Turn for the Steamy in This ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ Clip
For most people, the decision to make a sequel to 2015’s Fifty Shades of Grey is probably the punchline to a bad joke. But have you actually stopped and looked at the box office numbers for Fifty Shades of Grey recently? We’re not talking about $100 million at the global box office; we’re not even talking about $200 million. We’re talking about $571 million worldwide, more than Mad Max: Fury Road and Creed combined and the eleventh highest-grossing movie of the year. With those kind of numbers, you pretty much have to make a sequel. I don’t blame them.
No Coworker Is Safe in the Latest ‘The Belko Experiment’ Teaser
Sometimes a movie comes along and gives you something you didn’t even know you wanted. Take The Belko Experiment. I’ve seen movies like Battle Royale and even the fun-in-theory, bad-in-execution Operation: Endgame, but it wasn’t until I first saw the first red band trailer for James Gunn’s upcoming film that I realized exactly what I’d been missing. Those movies delivered on fun fight sequences and gratuitous violence, but they lacked the return of a creeper, sleazy, Ghost-era Tony Goldwyn. Not any more.
Dom Goes Bad in the First ‘The Fate of the Furious’ Trailer
Sometimes you discover something in your life that you didn’t know you needed until you finally have it. Take, for example, the brand new trailer for The Fate of the Furious. If you’d made me list the 100 different things I want from an action movie, I never would have thought to request a scene where a submarine chases a fleet of vehicles across an ice-field. Now that I’ve seen the first trailer for the film, I kind of wish every action movie was just that scene for ninety minutes.
Tom Cruise Is Only Mostly Dead in the First Trailer for ‘The Mummy’
Every year, when the bottom drops out of the summer movie season and audiences decide to stay home and watch television instead, some well-meaning critic will publish an article asking if cinema is dead. And every year, I pose the same question in response: “Is Tom Cruise still an action star?” As long as Tom Cruise is running across multiplex screens — fighting rogue nations, government consiparcies, and even the occasional mummy — there is still hope for cinema. Then, when Cruise’s career is done and Hollywood is in ashes, then, cinema, you have my permission to die.
See the Stubborn Cloak of Levitation in a New ‘Doctor Strange’ Video
While domestic critics and international audiences have already been treated to their first screenings of Doctor Strange, many of us — myself included — are still waiting for our chance to see the movie in theaters. That means we’re still glued to our computer screens for every new photo, video, or audio clip that comes to mind. And that means we get excited over the silliest things. I mean, did you listen to that track from the Doctor Strange score? That theme song is amazing!