Who stars in Marvel’s Punisher special?

Reinaldo Marcus Green directs The Punisher Special Presentation, in addition to co-writing the screenplay with Jon Bernthal, who plays Frank Castle in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Joining Bernthal in the upcoming Disney+ special are Jason R. Moore, Roe Rancell, and Mila Jaymes, with Chelsea Brea, Dominick Mancino, Evelyn O. Vaccaro, and Tom Johnson contributing to the cast.

The 60-minute runtime makes The Punisher Special Presentation Marvel’s longest entry in its Special Presentation series, with 2022’s Werewolf By Night clocking in at 53 minutes, while the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special runs for 42 minutes.

Bernthal on giving fans the Frank Castle they deserve

While Marvel’s Punisher special does not have an official title or plot details, Jon Bernthal teased the upcoming presentation by saying the project “will not be Punisher-lite.” He added that “Frank has no interest in breaking out [of] the darkness.”

“I care very deeply about Frank, I’m really grateful that I’m getting the opportunity to tell the story that I think the fans deserve,” Bernthal said. “We’re giving it our all, and we’re trying to tell a Frank Castle story that we’re going to turn our back on the audience — it’s not going to be easy, it’s not going to be light.”

Punisher: Brand New Day

If fans want more from Bernthal’s Frank Castle, they can catch the bullet-chewing badass in the new trailer for Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In the trailer, Punisher and Spider-Man share a brief exchange while simultaneously chasing an armored car through the streets of New York City. Before Frank can cause too much damage, Spidey takes away his ride, then covers his filthy mouth with webbing before Frank can bump the wall-crawler’s movie up to an R-rating.

Are you excited about The Punisher Special Presentation? Are you curious to finally see a trailer for this project, and see what kind of writing chops Bernthal applies to a character that’s close to his heart? Let us know in the comments section below.

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When did DiSalle pass away?

Shockingly, DiSalle passed away in August 2025, but word of his death did not circulate until now. Shout out to the team behind Kickboxer: The Original Cut for giving us the heads up. Born in New York, DiSalle focused his talents on action films during the 1980s. His name picked up steam after he produced Bloodsport, a film that helped catapult Jean-Claude Van Damme to the top of the list of martial arts actors to watch. DiSalle directed Kickboxer, an all-time classic of martial arts cinema. I remember watching Kickboxer repeatedly while staying with my cousins back in the day, renting it again from the video store as soon as we had to return it.

Other DiSalle action bangers

DiSalle joined forces with Van Damme again for Death Warrant, starring JCVD as decorated cop Louis Burke, who must infiltrate the jail to find answers to a series of murders within. DiSalle also directed The Perfect Weapon, starring Jeff Speakman as Jeff Sanders, an expert in “kenpo” karate who avenges his Koreatown friend, slain by a mobster in Los Angeles. If you were watching martial arts action in the 1980s and early 90s, DiSalle contributed to your rotation.

If you want to catch DiSalle in minor action roles, keep your eyes peeled for him as a boxer in Bloodsport, a U.S. reporter in Kickboxer, a con food server in Death Warrant, the coach in The Perfect Weapon, a security guard in Street Knight, and as Bureaucrat #3 in Notorious Nick.

As I said, I spent countless hours watching Bloodsport, Kickboxer, and Death Warrant in my youth, and hearing that Mr. DiSalle has passed brings back many warm memories of time spent with family for me. Thank you, Mark, for sharing your talent with the world, and we hope you rest well in the Great Hereafter.

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Depending on when you grew up, Chuck Norris can take many forms. For Boomers, he was the fuzzy-chested, lightning-quick martial artist; for the Grunge era, he was Walker in Walker, Texas Ranger, his electric blue eyes squinting against the sun as he walked tall with swagger. For millennials and older Gen Z brood, Norris was a meme machine, a cinematic myth that punched holes in the sky and could kill a man simply by looking at him. As the memes grew, so did Norris’ legend, creating a living god among humankind, albeit with a tongue-in-cheek approach to comedy.

While legends never die, Chuck Norris passed away on Friday at 86 after a brief hospitalization. Still, while the flesh is retired, the epic saga of Chuck Norris lives on in spirit, and through an endless scroll of hilarious memes that lend to Norris’ mysticism and cache in a community of film lovers and martial arts enthusiasts who remember his power, precision, and knack for never using stunt doubles in his movies, unless those stunt doubles were there to perform the crying parts.

To celebrate Norris’ influence on meme culture, we’ve collected some of our favorite Chuck Norris memes from across the internet, and invite you to share your own in the comments. Help us build a collection of memes that honor the man, the myth, the warrior who was born on the 69th day of the year.

Also, keep in mind that the resolution for some of these memes can get iffy, but it’s likely because they were “of a time,” and harnessing the power of Chuck Norris is challenging for anyone or anything.

What are some of your favorite Chuck Norris facts, memes, or jokes? Feel free to share them in the comments section below!

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New cast members join Netflix’s Assassin’s Creed series

In addition to confirming the adaptation’s setting and time period, Netflix announced recurring roles for Sandra Guldberg-Kampp (Wildland, The Rain, Electric Child), Youssef Kerkour (A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms), Mirren Mack (Hedda, The Nest, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple), and Louis McCartney (Stranger Things: The First Shadow). The quartet joins previously confirmed cast members Lola Petticrew, Toby Wallace, Zachary Hart, Laura Marcus, Tanzyn Crawford, Nabhann Rizwan, Claes Bang, Noomi Rapace, Ramzy Bedia, Sean Harris, and Corrado Invernizzi.

What’s the Assassin’s Creed series about?

Here’s the official logline for Netflix’s Assassin’s Creed series:

“Assassin’s Creed is a high-octane thriller centered on the secret war between two shadowy factions — one set on determining mankind’s future through control and manipulation, while the other fights to preserve free will. The series follows its characters across pivotal historical events as they battle to shape humanity’s destiny.”

The creative forces behind Assassin’s Creed celebrate the series

Earlier this week, the creative team expressed excitement for the series, saying,  “We’ve been fans of Assassin’s Creed since its release in 2007. Every day we work on this show, we come away excited and humbled by the possibilities that Assassin’s Creed opens to us,” David Wiener and Roberto Patino say in a joint statement. “Beneath the scope, the spectacle, the parkour, and the thrills is a baseline for the most essential kind of human story — about people searching for purpose, struggling with questions of identity and destiny and faith. It is about power and violence and sex and greed and vengeance.

“But more than anything, this is a show about the value of human connection, across cultures, across time,” they continue. “And it’s about what we stand to lose as a species, when those connections break. We’ve got an amazing team behind us with the folks at Ubisoft and our champions at Netflix, and we’re committed to creating something undeniable for fans all over the planet.”

“We are so excited to work alongside Roberto, David, and our Netflix partners to bring this beloved franchise to series,” says Boykin, executive producer and head of content at Ubisoft Film & Television. “We look forward to delivering an experience that speaks to the heart of what fans love about Assassin’s Creed, while introducing its unforgettable worlds and timeless themes to new audiences worldwide.”

Am I out of touch with Assassin’s Creed?

I’m confused. I’ve played a lot of Assassin’s Creed over the years, but I don’t remember any romance or sex in the story or gameplay. Then again, the last game in the franchise that I explored entirely is Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate. I played for a couple of hours of Valhallah, though not long enough to get busy with the locals. Do I need to go back? Probably not.

I am looking forward to Assassin’s Creed: Hexe, though.

What do you think about Assassin’s Creed taking place in Rome? Is it the most obvious locale ever, or does the setting excite you? Let us know in the comments section below.

The post Assassin’s Creed adds four new cast members as the setting and time period for the Netflix series is revealed appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: Fresh off surviving her brutal, life-or-death game of hide and seek with her now-former in-laws, Grace (Samara Weaving) once again finds herself forced to participate in a deadly game. This time, she’s up against four families, each of whom is vying for the position she’s on the verge of winning — the head of the devil-worshipping council that rules the world. To make sure she plays, her estranged sister, Faith (Kathryn Newton), is forced into participating as well.

REVIEW: Ready or Not proved to be something of a sleeper for Searchlight when it came out in 2019, grossing $57 million worldwide on a reported $6 million budget. Now, directorial duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (aka Radio Silence), fresh off two successful Scream movies, are back with a bigger and bloodier follow-up, which seeks to expand on the demonic mythology by introducing a much larger organization controlling the world, with the patriarch played by none other than David Cronenberg.

While it’s not as surprising or innovative as the first movie, it’s still a bloody good time, with Weaving once again a delightful action heroine to follow around. The wrinkle this time is that not only is she wounded after her first game, but now she has to protect her sister, played by the ever-spunky Newton, who proves to be cut from the same cloth as her tricky, tough sister.

One thing that really works is the action design, which makes it more palatable that Weaving and Newton could hold their own, given that the families hunting them are well-armed but not especially proficient. They are the demonic equivalent of nepo babies. Some of the fights are a lot of fun, including a scrap between Grace and the woman her ex-fiancé jilted in favor of her, Maia Jae’s Francesca, with their fight being scored by Bonnie Tyler’s classic “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”

Yet, unlike the first film, the tone of Ready or Not 2: Here I Come is sometimes inconsistent. While a light action-comedy, one of the fights takes a disturbingly gruesome turn when Shawn Hatosy, as the most formidable opponent, brutally beats up Newton in a harsh, one-sided fight. The fact that it crosscuts back and forth with Grace and Francesca’s sillier, more comedic fight is jarring.

It’s also too bad that Sarah Michelle Gellar, perhaps wanting to save her action comeback for the new Buffy the Vampire Slayer, doesn’t really get too involved in the physical action, with her brother, played by Hatosy, more active. Perhaps knowing that topping the first film in terms of action would be tough to pull off, the movie also scales back on the fights in the third act in favor of a franchise-expanding twist, which is still nicely done, suggesting the franchise can go on. Elijah Wood also steals scenes as the unflappable lawyer assigned to enforce the diabolical rules, with him a nice addition to the franchise.

In the end, Ready or Not 2 isn’t quite the blast the first movie was, but I had a great time watching Weaving and Newton, who are both always easy to root for, do their thing. Gorehounds will appreciate the barrels of blood used, while the pace and momentum never lag. It’s a fun action-comedy (it’s lighter on the horror this time), and if the franchise continues, I’m more than ready for round three.

Ready or Not: Here I Come

GOOD

7

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The Weight

“When Samuel (Hawke) is torn from his daughter and sent to a brutal prison, Warden Clancy (Crowe) offers a high-stakes proposition: smuggle gold out of a remote mine with a dangerous crew of prisoners and he’ll win his freedom,” reads the official synopsis. “But as the group journeys into the unforgiving wilderness, the real threat isn’t the terrain – it’s the betrayal and violence festering within their ranks. Surrounded by greed, suspicion, and danger, Samuel must risk everything to reunite with his child.“

The Weight marks the directorial debut of Padraic McKinley, with Matthew Chapman (Runaway Jury) and Shelby Gaines (Wildcat) penning the script from a story by Matthew Booi (Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan) and Leo Scherman (Trench 11).

“The Weight is the result of a truly special collaboration between an exceptional cast, led by Ethan and Russell, and my partners at Fields Entertainment, augenschein, Under the Influence, and Construction Films,” said McKinley in a statement. “Seeing the film connect with and energize audiences at Sundance and Berlinale has been incredibly rewarding, and has only amplified my excitement to partner up with Vertical to bring this kind of big-screen, throwback experience to theaters in September.“

Vertical Partner Peter Jarowey added, “Anchored by powerhouse performances from Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe, The Weight is a smart, character-driven thriller that captures the tension and sophistication of the great 1970s classics while feeling sharp and contemporary for today’s audiences. We’re thrilled to once again work with augenschein Filmproduktion and to partner with Padraic, Simon, Ethan, Nathan, and Ryan to bring this elevated story to the big screen.“

What Did We Think?

In his review, Bumbray compared The Weight to William Friedkin’s Sorcerer, adding that the film was easily the biggest highlight of Sundance 2026. “Overall, The Weight is an immersive ride from beginning to end, and it would be a crime if it doesn’t get a theatrical release, as this is large-canvas filmmaking that absolutely kills in a theater,” he wrote. “Imagine Train Dreams if it were an action movie, and you’ll have a pretty good idea of what The Weight is like.” You can check out the rest of his review right here.

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Our fingers are crossed

While this “news” is unconfirmed, we know that Cruise and Kosinski are tight after joining forces on movies like 2013’s Oblivion and 2022’s box-office burner Top Gun: Maverick. If the rumor is true, it means that Cruise could join Austin Butler (Caught Stealing, Masters of the Air, Dune: Part Two) and Oscar-winner Michael B. Jordan (Sinners, Black Panther, Creed) as James’ Sonny’ Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs, respectively. The Miami Vice reboot should shoot this summer in Miami, and Cruise’s schedule is open until the promotional campaign for Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Digger starts in September.

On the creative side, Kosinski will direct the Miami Vice reboot with Dan Gilroy (Andor, Nightcrawler) penning the script, based on an early draft by Eric Warren Singer (Top Gun: Maverick). Kosinski also co-wrote the latest draft of the Top Gun: Maverick sequel, heading into production next year.

What’s the Miami Vice movie about?

According to the project’s description, Kosinski’s Miami Vice “will explore the glamour and corruption of mid-80’s Miami, inspired by the pilot episode and first season of the NBC television series that influenced culture and set the style of everything from fashion to filmmaking.”

The original Miami Vice helped catapult Don Johnson’s career. The dashing actor played Sonny Crockett, while Philip Michael Thomas co-starred as detective Ricardo Tubbs. The series ran for 111 episodes from 1984 to 1989. Michael Mann directed a remake in 2006, which starred Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. Although the film received mixed reviews at the time, not to mention a lackluster box office, it has since become a cult favorite.

What do you think about Tom Cruise possibly playing the villain in Miami Vice? Are you a fan of the original Miami Vice television series? Everything is coming up Milhouse for Kosinski’s Miami Vice film, and if today’s rumor is true, we could be in for something quite special.

The post Is Tom Cruise playing the villain in Joseph Kosinski’s Miami Vice? appeared first on JoBlo.

Jessica

The 80s were a time when country music and a type of hero born of the good ol boy class that came into his own. This could be seen in shows like The Dukes of Hazzard, BJ and The Bear, as well as movies like Any Which Way But Loose and Smokey and the Bandit. They were a time of what would be considered fun action films and TV. Again, this was personified in shows where usually no one got seriously hurt, like The A-Team. The bad guys went to the same shooting school as your friendly neighborhood Stormtroopers. But, one TV show that would personify this “nobody better get hurt” adventure series was The Fall Guy.  

The series was designed as a vehicle for star Lee Majors, who had become a household name thanks to The Six Million Dollar Man, but struggled to find a worthy follow-up. This would be it, with him playing Colt Seavers, a likeable stuntman who supplements his income in an interesting way: he moonlights as a bounty hunter. For Majors, this would be a passion project, with him even singing the theme song. The show became a major hit, with Majors riding a second wave of fame while his gorgeous co-star, Heather Thomas, would become one of the biggest pin-ups of the 80s. The show has just been given the big-screen treatment, with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt starring in the well-received remake (read our review here), so now it’s time to pay tribute to the original show.

How did The Fall Guy get made?

The Fall Guy came to be in probably one of the most bizarre ways a TV show would happen. And yet…for those who grew up with the series and that epic theme song, it makes complete sense.

Glen Larson, a name Gone But Not Forgotten viewers should recognize, was one of the gods of 80s television. He was hanging out with a friend of his named David Somerville who just happened to be a member of a music group named The Diamonds.  Somerville had written a theme song for a project about stuntmen called “The Ballad of the Unknown Stuntman,” which he was humming and singing. Larson heard him and asked his friend what it was. He had Somerville perform the whole song. Based on that song, Larson had an idea for a TV series.

Armed with Somerville and literally no script, Larson went in to pitch the idea of a show to ABC. The pitch consisted of Larson and Somerville singing the song. Lo and behold, that was enough for them, and the show got the greenlight. It’s as crazy as some scenarios Colt Seavers would wind up in.

Larson’s idea became a series that would give viewers exactly what was promised: crazy stunts and behind-the-scenes of what it was like making Hollywood action films. But consistently doing that for an hour a week would get really expensive and exhausting. So the lead character of our Fall Guy, Colt Seavers, would have a gig between his stunt jobs as a bounty hunter for bail jumpers, a scenario the film dropped for some reason. This concept would keep a level of action still going and allow Colt to use his stuntman abilities and training while dealing with this other dangerous line of work.

Where is The Fall Guy cast now?

The Fall Guy wasn’t a deep premise, but it was a hell of a lot of fun. And this was helped along in spades by casting Lee Majors as Colt Seavers. Majors had a history with Glenn Larson thanks to his work in Six Million Dollar Man. Lee was likable, had a glimmer in his eye, and was not from bionics this time. He had been around stuntmen and the industry for a while. He had a good ol boy charm, which was something that would work years later when he was cast in the role he seemed born for, Bruce Campbell’s father in Ash vs Evil Dead.

Majors would do many of his stunts in the series besides singing the theme song. He also directed some episodes and produced the series. A number of the guest stars who would show up or cameo were friends of Majors who had been around a while by this point in his career in numerous TV and film roles, several which were based in the Western genre.  

The Fall Guy definitely lent itself to this sort of “Redneck Cinema” genre, which was growing in popularity in the late 70s and early 80s, and Major’s western resume helped greatly with that mystique. It was something Larson would bring to the small screen in other series like The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo, BJ and the Bear, and, to some extent, Simon and Simon.

Majors is still working in both TV and film, most notably in the previously mentioned Ash vs Evil Dead where he gave as great a chin as Bruce Campbell on screen.  

Douglas Barr played Howie Munson, the naïve and lovable sidekick for Colt. Howie loved the ladies and would try his hand at being a stuntman alongside Colt and Jody, using his many failed attempts at degrees in college to help out when needed. Barr’s charming smile, good looks, and loveable personality made him a great foil for Major’s, and there was a great chemistry there.  

Barr had already been in a few TV series and films at this point. He’d go on to co-star alongside David Rappaport in the fantastic tv series called The Wizard as his bodyguard and partner. He’s since become more known for writing and directing TV movies like the Hallmark Channel’s Notes from the Heart Healer and Taking a Chance on Love. He’s also become a winery owner with the snazzily named Hollywood and Vine Cellars.

Heather Thomas played Jody, the stunt woman who helped keep Howie in line and was Colt’s right hand. Thomas was a stunning actress whose poster wound up on the wall of a LOT of 80s teenage boys. She appeared in several TV series in guest roles and some great cult films like Zapped alongside Scott Baio. But my favourites were the Fred Olen Ray-directed Cyclone opposite a very young Jeffrey Combs and Red Blooded American Girl, where she starred alongside Kim Coates, Christopher Plummer, and Andrew Stevens.

Thomas’s time in Hollywood wasn’t an easy one though, and she’s talked about the struggles that happened while she was more in the public eye.  Stalking became a life-threatening issue when one of Thomas’s stalkers came to her house and climbed a fence while brandishing a knife. Thomas did return to acting though and also became a writer, penning the book called Trophies.  

Jo Ann Pflug would star for the first season as Big Jack, Colt’s bondswoman boss. Pflug was in many TV roles, TV films, and feature films.  But I’ll always remember her as the fast-talking Louise Harper from The Night Strangler.

Markie Post would take over the bail woman role as Terri Shannon for all but the series’ last season. Post was a staple on TV throughout the 80s and had a massive career, with her most well-known role being Christine from Night Court. In fact, her commitment to being on The Fall Guy prevented her from joining Night Court until its third season. Sadly, she would pass away at the young age of 70 in 2021 after a long battle with cancer.

But, we can’t recite the cast of The Fall Guy without mentioning its most iconic character…and that’s Colt’s GMC Pick-Up. Many who owned the toy car version of this baby would have it race alongside the other famous vehicles of the 80s like KITT, the A-TEAM Van, and, of course, the General Lee.  The 1980’s was a magical time to be a car geek. The truck was a GMC K 2500 with some additions. They did many stunts and jumps with the trucks. Eventually, GMC would modify the pickups to help cut down on the number of them being trashed during stunts.

The Fall Guy would become a major, pun not intended, hit for ABC thanks to a great mix of comedy, action, and a massive guest star list. As said, Lee Majors got many friends to show up in the series. Just in the pilot alone, Lou Rawls would play Country Joe. And when you have a guy with a voice like Lou Rawls, you have to find someone with an equally unique voice to play the villain harassing him. That role went to Percy Rodrigues, the voice of over 100 movie trailers. When you heard that voice coming onto a trailer you knew you were in for something terrifying. From Jaws to The Exorcist, Rodriguez’s voice was always involved.  

Besides Rawls and Rodrigues, Delta Burke would appear as a waitress, and Lara Parker was a very unhappy resident in town. Terry Kiser (Bernie from Weekend at Bernie’s) was Jody’s director. Eddie Albert, another staple from film and TV played Big John, the child hit and runner in a villainous turn.  

James Coburn played himself, and so did Farrah Fawcett. Farrah’s appearance almost didn’t happen. In reality, she and Majors were getting divorced, and it was playing out across many tabloids and in the news. Her friends had asked her not to do the cameo, which was a really sweet moment where you could see the affection the actors still had for each other. But Farrah wanted to show the world that she and Majors weren’t at each other’s throats as the headlines would have you believe. So she did the cameo, which lends itself to the line Majors sings in the theme song (“I’ve been seen with Farrah”).

The guest stars and brief appearances over the show’s run were MASSIVE. Here’s a short sampling. Richard Kiel, Milton Berle, Linda Evans, Vincent Schiavelli, Lou Ferrigno, Tom Selleck, Heather Locklear, Richard Burton, Roy Rogers, Lindsay Wagner and many more. Much like Dukes of Hazzard, some country music performers like Johnny Lee, Mickey Gilley, Dottie West, Ray Stevens, and Charlie Daniels would be a part of the show.

But my favourite episode of The Fall Guy had to be the one that aired on October 31st, 1984…with the original title called October the 31st.  This episode sees Colt, Howie, and Jody all at a supposedly haunted mansion alongside Elvira and John Carradine.  But John isn’t the only Carradine here as his sons David, Keith, and Robert are also in the episode.  This episode would be followed up the following year with October the 32nd, which would have Elvira return where Colt and company are filming a horror film and dealing with an escaped mental patient.  This would see Doug McClure return as well as Schiavelli, and would also co-star Vernon Wells.

As I said previously, there were toy cars of Colt’s truck in different sizes and an airplane. The merchandise was huge, with things like lunchboxes, action figures, t-shirts, and a board game. 

Overseas, the show was also a hit, with Fall Guy Annuals produced in the UK, which was something done for series like Doctor Who. If you want to see the original Fall Guy series, you can order it on Amazon Prime.

Is the movie a fitting tribute?

The answer to the question of if Fall Guy should return has already been answered. Ryan Gosling stars in a big-budget remake feature film called The Fall Guy, with him playing Colt Seavers who in this isn’t a bounty hunter for bail jumpers but is simply a stuntman. The Jody here, played by Emily Blunt, isn’t his assistant but the film director of the project he’s working on and who also happens to be his ex-girlfriend. There’s no Howie around, but the Lee Majors does have a role in the film, which follows Colt as he tries to find the missing leading man of the movie, Tom Ryder, played by Aaron Taylor Johnson, before Jody’s film is shut down.

The movie is a great time with a funny and charming cast and lots of explosions and crazy stunts…which is exactly what The Fall Guy should be. It’s an amped-up peek into Hollywood. But more than that, it gives the guys and gals who risk their lives for our entertainment a spotlight that’s been well-deserved for a long time. And here’s hoping that with a film like this most assuredly being a hit, it will inspire the Oscars to give us a best Stunt Person award FINALLY. Check out our EIC Chris Bumbray’s review HERE!

The post The Fall Guy (1981-86): What happened to the TV show that spawned the movie? appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: Mike (James Marsden) is a low-level enforcer for a crime syndicate who wants to run away with his lover, Alice (Eiza Gonzalez), but he has a problem. She’s married to his former friend, a vengeful gangster named Nick (Vince Vaughn), who, when he learns of the affair, sets Mike up as a rat in his organization, with him being marked for death. But a remorseful Nick from the future unexpectedly shows up, having somehow gained access to a time machine, hoping to undo the damage he’s caused to Mike and Alice’s lives.

REVIEW: Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice is a movie that badly deserves a theatrical run but, for one reason or another, will be heading straight to streaming, premiering on Hulu on March 27th. It’s the highest-end movie to premiere on the service and is such a blast that one figures it would have done really well in theaters, but such is the state of the business nowadays that this high-concept action-comedy will never be seen that way. I saw it here at SXSW in a packed theater, and it rocked the house. It slaps and marks the arrival of BenDavid Grabinski (who wrote Scott Pilgrim Takes Off) as a major talent.

While some won’t be able to take the movie seriously because it uses a time machine, despite not being a science-fiction movie, it doesn’t really ask you to. The whole film adopts a kind of cartoonish anarchy that totally works thanks to the quality of the action and the committed performances by all three leads.

Vince Vaughn makes a welcome return to action as Nick, who, in the present, is a vengeful, cold-blooded gangster, but in the future is a man somewhat haunted by his own misdeeds, bitterly regretting setting up his friend to be killed. As future Nick, he has to not only win over Mike to make his plan work, but also somehow convince the mean-spirited present Nick to participate, and Vaughn expertly plays off both Marsden and himself. Vaughn gets to show off the comedy chops that made him one of the biggest stars of the 2000s, while also digging back into action for the first time since his two S. Craig Zahler films, Brawl in Cell Block 99 and Dragged Across Concrete, with the movie loaded with some major gunfights and violent scraps.

Yet, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice also marks a huge change of pace for James Marsden, who makes for a terrific action hero. His fight scenes are even better than Vaughn’s, with him really nailing the choreography while also not departing too much from the likable, easygoing presence he’s shown in his comedies. His Mike is a nice guy, with him convincing as a romantic lead opposite Eiza Gonzalez (who’s arguably never been this loose and seems to be having a blast), or a comic foil for the sharp-tongued Nick (both versions).

The film is set in a kind of heightened underworld, where a kingpin named Sosa (Keith David) is the boss and is celebrating the return of his beloved son, Jimmy Boy (Jimmy Tatro—who steals a lot of scenes as his amusingly moronic character), from prison. The cast is peppered with all kinds of recognizable names thrown into the fray, including Lewis Tan as an amusingly dumb muscle man appropriately named Road Rage Ryan (while Arturo Castro is funny as the aptly named Dumbass Tony). The film has to walk a thin line, as the tone has to remain comic but also set up real stakes, with Sosa being a legitimate threat—he’s so evil his favorite hitman is a cannibal who likes to eat his still-living victims (the ultimate identity of this killer, named The Barron, is too good to spoil).

Through it all, Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice’s pace never lags, with Grabinski contributing some witty asides, such as repeated deep dives into the leads’ shared love of Gilmore Girls. The film is also packed with eighties and nineties needle drops, which—for once—aren’t the obvious, lazy choices. It’s also gleefully R-rated, with tons of gory carnage, especially in the final battle royale, which even has a few nods to John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow with how weapons are hidden for our heroes. It’s a rollicking good time and is easily the best action comedy I’ve seen in the last couple of years. And really, how can you not love a movie that starts with a Billy Joel song from Oliver and Company?

Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice

AMAZING

9

The post Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice (SXSW) Review: This time travel action comedy is a blast appeared first on JoBlo.

Russell Crowe trains Daniel MacPherson to be a fierce fighter out of retirement in the new mixed-martial arts film Beast. Lionsgate has just released a new trailer for the film, where Crowe unleashes MacPherson’s inner animal in order to win an important match with a lot on the line. You can check out the new trailer in the embed above and check out the brand new poster below.

Tale of the Tape

In addition to starring in Beast, Crowe also co-wrote the script with David Frigerio (Muzzle). The film is directed by Tyler Atkins (Ocean Boy). The rest of the cast is rounded out by Luke Hemsworth (Westworld), Bren Foster (The Last Ship), Amy Shark (Love, Simon), Mojean Aria (The Enforcer), Kelly Gale (Plane). The producers on board for the project include John Schwarz, David Frigerio, Michael Schwarz and Tim O’Hair.

The official synopsis reads: “After years away from the cage, a once-feared MMA champion is pulled back in for the fight of his life when his younger brother is put in danger. Reuniting with the trainer who once made him a legend, he commits to one final showdown against the reigning title-holder — a brutal fighter determined to dismantle the ex-champ’s legacy in front of the world. Pushed to his breaking point, the contender’s stakes are simple: win, or lose everything he’s built.“

Grindstone Entertainment Group co-distributes the film as a Broken Open Pictures and Deeper Water Films production. It was made in association with Armagh Films / Media Finance Capital / Three 777 Films / Stan Entertainment / Black Pearl Productions / In the Tent Productions / Spectrum Entertainment and Solution Entertainment Group.

MacPherson on Beast

While speaking with People, MacPherson says Beast is a “true underdog story that’s full of heart and purpose. It’s both a family story of redemption and sacrifice as well as a high-level action film. It’s one for both MMA fans and film lovers alike.“

MacPherson has worked with Crowe before on Poker Face and Land of Bad. “Russell Crowe is a master, and I’m fortunate that this was our third film together,” he said. “He elevates every project he works on, and Beast was no different. He brings a lifetime of cinema experience to every day on set and I still learn so much working with him.“

Beast will hit theaters on April 10.

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What is Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 About?

The official synopsis for Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 reads:

“In Season 2, Mayor Wilson Fisk crushes New York City underfoot as he hunts down public enemy number one, the Hell’s Kitchen vigilante known as Daredevil. But beneath the horned mask, Matt Murdock will try to fight back from the shadows to tear down the Kingpin’s corrupt empire and redeem his home. Resist. Rebel. Rebuild.”

Here’s what people are saying about Daredevil: Born Again Season 2

As Marvel Studios continues to pull characters from Daredevil’s Netflix era, Krysten Ritter returns as Jessica Jones for Daredevil: Born Again Season 2. From what we’ve seen, she’s ready to bust some skulls in the name of justice and help Matt become an even bigger thorn in Kingpin’s side as he continues to rule New York with an iron fist.

Charlie Cox on Jessica Jones’ Return

Previously, Charlie Cox spoke with Entertainment Weekly about the character dynamic between Jones and Murdock, saying, “Just by the nature of who Jessica is and who Matt is, they both give as much as they get. I’m not sure we were aware of it when we were shooting it. So we’ve been really waiting for this opportunity for so long now to put these two on screen together and have more fun with them.”

Daredevil: Born Again Season 2 continues Marvel’s commitment to offering fans mature content while waiting for Spider-Man: Brand New Day to release in theaters on July 31, 2026. Born Again does not shy away from violence, harsh language, gritty drama, and interpretations of characters that go against the grain while remaining true to the source material. It’s been too long since Daredevil and Jessica Jones got a prime opportunity to break some bones, so anticipation for their reunion is creating quite the buzz among Marvel fans.

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Welcome back, Jack

John Krasinski returns as the popular Tom Clancy character in Jack Ryan: Ghost War. An international incident looms and Ryan is the only man for the job. There’s just one problem: he initially turns down the proposal. Amazon MGM and Paramount have released the teaser trailer for Jack Ryan: Ghost War and it shows just how old habits can never die, with Ryan back in the field. The cast for the new action film also includes Wendell Pierce, Sienna Miller, Michael Kelly, Max Beesley, Douglas Hodge, JJ Feild and Betty Gabriel.

Top Secret

The Jack Ryan series came to a close in 2023 after four action-packed seasons. Although plot details for the movie are being kept under wraps, it will once again feature Krasinski as the titular CIA analyst. Miller will play an MI6 agent who is essentially Ryan’s British counterpart. Wendell Pierce (The Wire) and Michael Kelly (House of Cards) return as James Greer and Mike November, respectively. Andrew Bernstein, who served as an executive producer and director on Jack Ryan’s second season, will direct the movie from a screenplay by Aaron Rabin, who was a co-executive producer and writer on the final season, and Krasinski is also credited as a co-writer on this installment.

Amazon produced the movie in association with Paramount Skydance. Additionally, Krasinski and Allyson Seeger are producing via their Sunday Night production, and Andrew Form is also on board this project as a producer.

The Jack Ryan series

All four seasons of Jack Ryan were huge for Prime Video, with the show ranked as one of the top three most-watched series on the streaming service. Our own Alex Maidy was a big fan of the series, although he certainly wanted more by the time the final season came to a close. “I am still shocked this series ends as early as this, especially without a tighter ending to the story, but I am glad we got the four seasons we have,” Maidy wrote in his review. “John Krasinski has become the definitive Jack Ryan, even if he will always be overshadowed by Harrison Ford’s brilliant and far different take on the character. This series has accomplished something that two prior attempts to adapt this character failed to do. I hope that someday we will see more of this version of the franchise continue in one capacity or another.” I think we know who will be first in line to check out the movie when it’s released. You can check out the rest of Maidy’s review right here.

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PLOT: When the interim sheriff of a small town (Bob Odenkirk) tries to defuse a bank robbery, he inadvertently stumbles upon a conspiracy that engulfs the whole town, leading to a massively violent firefight.

REVIEW: I really enjoy Bob Odenkirk as an action hero. While most modern heroes seem reluctant to take a big-screen beating, Odenkirk is defined by his willingness to take a licking, with his characters aspirational in their resilience. Getting knocked down happens—but can you get back up again? Just like Nobody spun his Better Call Saul persona into a killer action role, Normal does the same with the scene-stealing turn he delivered in Fargo’s first season. Here, he plays a modest part-time sheriff (albeit one with a tragic past) who makes up for what he lacks in brawn with craftiness, and who’s easy to underestimate thanks to his easygoing demeanor.

Normal, which comes from Nobody writer Derek Kolstad, plays perfectly to Odenkirk’s strengths. It’s loaded to the brim with action, mostly in the form of shootouts (though there are some brutal hand-to-hand scraps peppered in). It recalls Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire, with about an hour of the movie taken up by a sustained action sequence spanning the geography of the town in which Odenkirk’s character, Ulysses, is trapped.

The plot is admittedly convoluted, with the town somehow tied to the Japanese Yakuza, meaning everyone is armed to the teeth and thoroughly corrupt, aside from a few stragglers. Mostly, it’s an excuse for Odenkirk to wield heavy firepower as he goes to war with the townsfolk, with doses of black humor in the way he dispatches some unlikely villains.

The movie is definitely a showcase for Odenkirk, but he’s less indestructible here than Hutch in Nobody. Ulysses doesn’t have the same hidden skill set—he’s competent with firearms thanks to his lawman training, but when he starts firing off heavy artillery, his being outmatched becomes part of the appeal. The fights are similarly desperate and violent, as Ulysses usually faces opponents as untrained as he is, with both sides using anything around them to inflict maximum damage.

Ulysses is also shown to be highly empathetic, striking up a strong bond with Jess McLeod’s Alex, a young veteran and daughter of the late sheriff, who’s considered an outsider in town due to her identity (nicely conveyed in a quick sequence). Her training proves valuable, and she shares a father/child kind of chemistry with Odenkirk. Lena Headey is solid as the town’s barkeep, while Ryan Allen is alternately funny and menacing as the deputy sheriff eyeing Ulysses’s job. And then there’s Henry Winkler, cast against type as the shady mayor, who scores one of the film’s biggest crowd-pleasing moments.

As much fun as I had with Normal, Wheatley and company struggled at times to keep the tension alive, with the device that set up the final showdown feeling a bit too convenient. That said, the climactic battle royale is terrific, so it’s ultimately worth it—even if the resolution leaves a few too many threads dangling for my taste.

In the end, Normal was exactly what I wanted from a Bob Odenkirk action flick. It’s packed with carnage, with him in top form as both action star and leading man. His chemistry with McLeod is especially strong, and if a follow-up were to focus on the two of them as a team, I’d be first in line to check it out.

TIFF

GREAT

8

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EJ

In 1996, action star Jean-Claude Van Damme stepped behind the camera for the very first time. After nearly a decade of high-flying spinning kicks, underground tournaments, and splits as far as the eye can see, Van Damme directed a film that attempted to feel epic — something mythic, global, and steeped in martial arts tradition. That film was The Quest. But, for many audiences, it may have felt…familiar. Because nearly eight years earlier, Van Damme had exploded onto the international stage with Bloodsport — a film about a Western fighter traveling to Asia to compete in a secret tournament called the Kumite. Later, in The Quest, he was once again playing a Western fighter traveling to Asia to compete in a secret martial arts tournament — this time called the Ghang-gheng.

So what exactly was The Quest?

A spiritual successor?
A remake in disguise?
Let’s go back to 1996. Shall we?

Today, we find out: What Happened to The Quest?

A Martial Arts Odyssey

Jean-Claude Van Damme got his start in B-movies from Cannon Films. Dating back to a blink-and-you ’ll-miss-it appearance in the first Breakin’. But one Cannon movie would catapult Van Damme into becoming the new hot action star of the 80s. He starred as a real-life full-contact fighter.

Bloodsport was based on the life of the real Frank Dux. And he and Van Damme had naturally formed a good working partnership with that film. For Van Damme, the concept of an underground fighting tournament stuck with him. While he had something like Lionheart — a film that took him through another kind of fighting circuit — Van Damme had a vision for an international martial arts contest film like Bloodsport, but on a grander, global scale.

Bloodsport had all of the puzzle pieces that Van Damme wanted to preserve for The Quest. In that film, Van Damme played a fighter representing America. He travels to an exotic land for a tournament that is rumored to exist. All the other participants in the tournament have travelled from around the world and are trained in a unique fighting style from their home countries. The fighters compete for a priceless artifact. And the final opponent is the classic archetype of a hulking, unbeatable goliath, someone who could make the muscular, nimble Van Damme look like an underdog.

The Quest began as an ambitious idea for the Muscles from Brussels star. It wasn’t just another fight movie, but a passion project he intended to make as a statement piece and, in the late 90s, a kind of farewell to the martial arts genre that made him a star. In a candid interview with the French publication, Libération, Van Damme would bluntly reveal, “I really wanted to quit before [The Quest]. I was fed up. With Hollywood. With life. With people. With money.” He continued, “Now I’m starting different things. [The Quest] is a farewell to my earlier films, with a bit more scope and story.”

Around the time that Van Damme made Street Fighter, his drug habits and personal problems were pretty well-known in Hollywood circles — especially with his behavior behind the scenes on Street Fighter. So it’s understandable that he may have had enough of the celebrity machine and was thinking of possibly going all-out for one final big project, which would in turn serve as a tribute and a celebration of his breakout in Bloodsport.

The Journey to The Quest

Van Damme aimed to create a film blending the “secret tournament” concept along with the epic sweep of classic adventure films — he himself would even refer to his passion project as “the Ben-Hur of martial arts films.” The story evolved from an earlier screenplay tied to Bloodsport lore. That screenplay was something Martial artist Frank Dux had claimed that he and Van Damme had written in 1991, titled The Kumite: Enter the New Dragon, which formed the basis of what eventually became The Quest.

Unfortunately, the pair would butt heads in a heated conflict, though no real kicks were thrown. Dux had taken Van Damme to court in a legal battle over writing credit and payments that he says the Bloodsport star had owed to him. The trial was actually covered by CourtTV, and footage from the court case can currently be seen on YouTube, including over an hour of Dux’s testimony as he took the stand, courtesy of the Martial Arts Enterprises FIGHTCON channel. Ultimately, Dux would win a story credit through the Writers Guild of America, and when you watch the film, his name is right alongside Van Damme’s. However, Steven Klein and Paul Mones are credited as writing the script.

The project was originally developed at Epic Productions under the working title Enter the New Dragon in the early 1990s. Moshe Diamant (Van Damme’s longtime producer) would lead development there, aiming to start filming around 1993 for a Christmas 1994 release — but financial troubles at Epic would delay everything.

Diamant lost control of the project at Epic following a power struggle with the French financiers, so it shifted to his newly founded company, Signature Films. There, the movie was rebranded as The Quest and presented at the 1993 Cannes Film Market.

Despite being a personal project for Van Damme, he initially didn’t intend to direct the film. Instead, he was interested in collaborating with Andrei Konchalovsky. Konchalovsky’s resume included critically beloved movies like Uncle Vanya and Runaway Train. However, he’s also worked on more commercial films, such as Homer and Eddie and Tango & Cash. Discussions for Konchalovsky to helm The Quest would never take shape. Van Damme invited his former collaborator, Sheldon Lettich, to co-direct the film, but Lettich would opt out, and Van Damme would take on the directing duties himself.

He would also bring along second-unit director Peter MacDonald and cinematographer David Gribble to help mold the film after he became impressed by their work on Nowhere to Run, a movie that held back on the action and showcased Van Damme in a more dramatic light.

Van Damme in the Director’s Seat

Van Damme envisioned The Quest as an epic throwback adventure — something closer to a swashbuckling classic than a gritty 80s fight film. The 1920s setting. The globe-trotting adventure. The mystical tournament. It was bigger in scope than Bloodsport. Despite the obvious parallels, The Quest does its damnedest to secure its own identity. The 1920s period setting gives this film a more pulp-adventure tone — almost like an Indiana Jones martial-arts spin-off. Additionally, instead of Van Damme taking center stage, the movie features a more ensemble cast, including Roger Moore as Lord Edgar Dobbs. Dobbs is a charming arms dealer and gambler who adds a playful tone. This was a major get for Van Damme, having a former James Bond in his directorial debut.

And finally, the fights in this movie are more theatrical and choreographed, leaning into spectacle rather than raw brutality. The Quest sports a PG-13 rating. It’s apparent that Van Damme wanted this film to be enjoyed by a wider audience, and so the violence is significantly toned down. There isn’t an overwhelming amount of blood or protruding bones like Bloodsport proudly displayed.

Unfortunately, for Van Damme, the production would almost be as bad as the one for Street Fighter. According to Roger Moore (who had later voiced his displeasure with working on the film), the shoot was poorly organized. Van Damme’s frequent lateness and pressure to finish on time became so severe that crew members were asked to work extra hours without pay, angering many and nearly causing a strike on set.

Moore and some others believed Van Damme was out of his depth as a director, with Peter MacDonald carrying much of the practical filmmaking load. Fight coordinator Steven Lambert had creative tensions with Van Damme, especially over how fights should play out and which moves to showcase — including debates over the star’s signature spin kicks.

The Grand Tournament

After an ambitious vision proved to be a very difficult thing to accomplish for a first-time director, The Quest didn’t turn out to be a complete disaster. There are shades of an epic there, but the budget, which Van Damme claimed to be $12 million, didn’t allow room for the movie to breathe, and large set pieces, like a planned major horseback battle, had to be cut out of the film.

The movie is still a fun watch, even if the grand adventure Van Damme had intended turned out to be rushed. The first half is well-paced and gives us an epic, global scope, with sequences on the high seas and exotic locales. Our ensemble comes together like an adventure movie should — as we join our hero on his odyssey and he encounters colorful characters along the way.

It’s the tournament portion in the second half where Van Damme shifts all focus to the fighting. Van Damme (perhaps unintentionally) broke the mold of the usual story beats. When sports films tell the story of a tournament, they highlight several important matches, then show the rest in a montage. Hell, it’s how we get one of the greatest montages ever with Stan Bush’s “Fight to Survive” blasting in Bloodsport. With The Quest, Van Damme does something bold and opts to show the whole tournament in its entirety. However, given its 95-minute runtime, all the fights, with 16 combatants in total, last barely a minute each. But, to be fair, we do get some pretty thrilling fights in that time frame. Highlights include a Capoeira fighter and a Kung Fu fighter using animal styles.

The Quest performed modestly at the box office, grossing around $57.4 million worldwide. While it has its parallels to Bloodsport, just a year prior, the Mortal Kombat movie would hit the big screen and score big with fans, capturing the fun intensity of the video games. In an age when Mortal Kombat infused Hollywood action with more Asian influence, coupled with Jackie Chan’s big crossover into America with the release of Rumble in the Bronx. The genre was getting redefined. Although The Quest featured a lot of that, Van Damme’s style looked to be on the way out.

The Quest still has the potential to be the epic Van Damme envisioned. While it didn’t get to be completely realized, it’s still a nice tribute of a past era of adventure and action.

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It seems like fans of the game Doom, general audiences and even the people involved with the production of the 2005 film were woefully unsatisfied with the final product. Even Dwayne Johnson would roast himself after the movie bombed in a bit of self-deprecation. And this is a man who stood by Black Adam as a game-changing film in the former DCEU. The consensus is that, despite the movie turning out to be disappointing, it would sport a pretty fun sequence that was a loving tribute to the game’s signature first-person shooter presentation. Karl Urban would be the one to partake in the scene, right before he and Johnson have a mano-e-mano fight scene (which was kind of fun).

Rosamund Pike’s regret

Doom would score Rosamund Pike hot off her Bond Girl turn in the last of the Pierce Brosnan James Bond film, Die Another Day. Variety reports (through The Independent) that Pike would reminisce about what she considers a big blotch in her career while she appeared on the How to Fail with Elizabeth Day podcast. She would explain,

When I was making Pride & Prejudice and I was having great fun in my cornfields in my bonnet, I get a call to be in an action franchise. They were making a cinema version, a narrative version of the video game Doom. And I think in my bonnet, in my field of hay bales, ‘Yeah, I can do anything. I can jump on this hay bale in my crinoline, so I can certainly go and kill some zombies on Mars.’”

She continued,

So suddenly I’m in this film with the Rock, and I realize how utterly ill-equipped I am to be an action star. [There were] macho guys. There were weights on the set. Every time a gun was brought out, it was kind of like a holy relic for the Doom fans. I was just out of my comfort zone, out of my league, out of my depth.”

Then, she concluded,

It was an absolute bomb. I mean, I probably could have ended my career. It was just probably one of the worst films ever made. I mean, it was a catastrophe. I don’t read the reviews, but you get the sense like you’re lucky to have survived that one.”

Pike on her Doom ignorance

This isn’t the first time Pike has been transparent about her feelings on this film. Years ago, she also shared the blame when talking to Collider about the video game adaptation. She expounded, “I think I failed just through ignorance and innocence to understand, to fully get a picture of what Doom meant to fans at that point. I wasn’t a gamer. I didn’t understand. If I knew what I know now, I would have dived right into all of that and got fully immersed in it like I do now. And I just didn’t understand. I feel embarrassed, really. I feel embarrassed that I was sort of ignorant of what it meant and I didn’t know how to go about finding out because the internet wasn’t the place it is now for the fans to speak up. I wouldn’t have known where to find them. I do now! In fact, I now have many friends who were massive fans of the game and I just wish I had known them then.”

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It was previously announced last year that Netflix will be adapting Ubisoft’s iconic Assassin’s Creed video game franchise for a new series on their streaming service. Emmy nominees Roberto Patino (DMZ, Westworld, Sons of Anarchy) and David Wiener (Halo, Homecoming, The Killing) are all on board to serve as creators, showrunners, and executive producers. In addition to Wiener and Patino, executive producers include Gerard Guillemot, Margaret Boykin, and Austin Dill for Ubisoft Film & Television, and Matt O’Toole.

Additional cast added

It was announced that the show’s cast will star Lola Petticrew, Toby Wallace, Zachary Hart, Laura Marcus and Tanzyn Crawford. Now, Netflix is revealing some additional actors that they’ve added to the show for recurring roles. Assassin’s Creed is now set to feature Noomi Rapace (Lamb, Prometheus), Ramzy Bedia (Of Money and Blood, Haunted Minds, The Party’s Over, La Tour Montparnasse, H), Sean Harris (Mission: Impossible, The Stranger), and Corrado Invernizzi (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Ford v Ferrari, Vincere 2009, Marco Bellocchio, Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints, Marco Polo, Doctor Who) in some currently unspecified roles.

The show’s official logline from Netflix reads,
“Assassin’s Creed is a high-octane thriller centered on the secret war between two shadowy factions — one set on determining mankind’s future through control and manipulation, while the other fights to preserve free will. The series follows its characters across pivotal historical events as they battle to shape humanity’s destiny.”

Creative Excitement

The creative team expressed their excitement on the project. “We’ve been fans of Assassin’s Creed since its release in 2007. Every day we work on this show, we come away excited and humbled by the possibilities that Assassin’s Creed opens to us,” Wiener and Patino say in a joint statement. “Beneath the scope, the spectacle, the parkour and the thrills is a baseline for the most essential kind of human story — about people searching for purpose, struggling with questions of identity and destiny and faith. It is about power and violence and sex and greed and vengeance.

“But more than anything, this is a show about the value of human connection, across cultures, across time,” they continue. “And it’s about what we stand to lose as a species, when those connections break. We’ve got an amazing team behind us with the folks at Ubisoft and our champions at Netflix, and we’re committed to creating something undeniable for fans all over the planet.”

“We are so excited to work alongside Roberto, David, and our Netflix partners to bring this beloved franchise to series,” says Boykin, executive producer and head of content at Ubisoft Film & Television. “We look forward to delivering an experience that speaks to the heart of what fans love about Assassin’s Creed, while introducing its unforgettable worlds and timeless themes to new audiences worldwide.”

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UPDATE: Variety was able to get a quote from Landis on the situation, and he revealed the set-up for his idea: Landis told Variety he was “tremendously grateful to have been given the opportunity.” He elaborated that his pitch came together “very serendipitously based on the coolness of the weird and subversive idea.” That idea centered around the film franchise’s villain, Cobra, “having successfully taken over the world and reduced GI Joe to a conspiracy theory.” It’s very easy to understand why Paramount would pass on a story like that.

The original article follows:

The Search Continues

While some will be upset by this news, it’s important to know that Paramount is still meeting to discuss ideas for rebooting the Real American Hero franchise. Plus, Danny McBride’s treatment is still in the mix. If you recall, both Landis and McBride were courting Paramount with their ideas, with the possibility that the studio would combine both scripts into one project. Now that Landis’ concepts are no longer in consideration, that makes more room for McBride’s idea to shine through.

Why Did Paramount Pass on Landis’ Treatment?

While not confirmed, Deadline says they heard Landis’ pitch was a grounded spy thriller featuring classic G.I. Joe characters but with a satirical adventure tone. Naturally, Paramount wants to sell action figures alongside the film’s release and passed on Landis’ treatment because it did not align with getting kids to buy toys. According to one source, “the studio didn’t commit to the project due to its satirical artistic tone, it had nothing to do with Landis’ past.”

Moving On

Yesterday, the loss of the Buffy reboot got me feeling bummed out, but I can’t say the same about losing Landis’ G.I. Joe pitch. I didn’t think he was the right person for the job from the start, and after hearing his idea was to present the brand with a satirical tone… yeah. I’m not a filmmaker, and I don’t know what G.I. Joe needs to be relevant again, but Landis’ concept doesn’t sound like the ticket. I wish the studio would focus more on making a fun movie than on using the film as leverage to sell toys, but that’s the nature of rebooting something like G.I. Joe. The two go hand-in-hand. The fact that they’re opening up the floor for more creativity is exciting. I’m sure there are plenty of filmmakers with nostalgia for G.I. Joe that would love to take a crack at rebooting the franchise. Line them up, and see what they’ve got.

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Interestingly, the pilot, helmed by Chloé Zhao, director of Hamnet and Nomadland, did not pass the sniff test at Hulu. Sources close to the matter say the pilot was “not perfect,” noting that Zhao – despite being a self-proclaimed life-long Buffy fan – might not be the best fit for the vampire-slaying drama. Sources say there were talks about reworking the pilot, but after much consideration, Hulu decided to pass on the project. However, all is not lost! Hulu remains excited about the Buffy IP and plans to regroup on how to approach new additions to the fan-favorite franchise.

UPDATE: The show, titled Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale, would have seen Buffy sharing the screen with a new teenage vampire slayer, played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong. Armstrong shared an image of her slayer character:

In early 2023, Gellar said she had no interest in ever playing Buffy again. She told SFX magazine, “I am very proud of the show that we created and it doesn’t need to be done. We wrapped that up. I am all for them continuing the story, because there’s the story of female empowerment. I love the way the show was left: ‘Every girl who has the power can have the power.’ It’s set up perfectly for someone else to have the power. But like I said, the metaphors of Buddy were the horrors of adolescence. I think I look young, but I am not an adolescent.”

But by the end of 2024, she had changed her mind. Appearing on The Drew Barrymore Show (via Deadline), she had this to say about resurrecting Buffy: “It’s funny, I always used to say no, because it’s in its bubble and it’s so perfect. But watching Sex and the City and seeing Dexter, and realizing there are ways to do it, definitely does get your mind thinking, ‘Well, maybe.'”

Welp, this is a bummer. I was interested in checking out Hulu’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot, especially with Chloé Zhao at the helm. I understand how Zhao might not have been the best choice to approach the beloved IP, but damn, I like her style a lot. Maybe the pilot will leak, and we’ll get to judge for ourselves. Who do you think should direct another attempt at rebooting the Buffyverse? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Chris

THE STORY: A corrupt American cop (Michael Douglas) and his partner (Andy Garcia) wind-up in Japan after a prisoner exchange gone awry. With their former captive cutting a swath through the local Yakuza in an attempt to establish himself as the new Tokyo boss, the cops are forced into an uneasy alliance with a by-the-book local police inspector (Ken Takakura).

THE PLAYERS: Starring: Michael Douglas, Andy García, Ken Takakura, Kate Capshaw and Yusaku Matsuda. Directed by Ridley Scott. Music by Hans Zimmer.

THE HISTORY: Michael Douglas was riding high in 1989. Following his Oscar-win for Wall Street, and Fatal Attraction’s boffo box office, his was considered one of the most bankable actors in Hollywood. Opting for a rare action role, grittier and more hard-edged than his turns in Romancing the Stone and The Jewel of the Nile, Douglas, with his Fatal Attraction producers Stanley Jaffe and Sherry Lansing (who would soon run Paramount Pictures), hired Ridley Scott, then on a career downswing following Legend and Someone to Watch Over Me, to helm this stylish East-meets-West thriller, which would shoot on-location in Japan.

I remember when Ridley showed us the first cut of the movie it was about two hours and forty minutes, and it was extraordinary… But, this was his first cut, and so we all new that he was going to go in and make the film under two hours. I mean, the texture of the movie, the performances, the visuals, the sound, we were thrilled. Then, Ridley called us back, I dunno, four weeks later and showed us a movie that was an hour and fifty minutes long. We looked at him and asked, “what did you do,” and he said, what do you mean “what did I do?” “You took out all the good stuff, why did you make it this?” He said, “but I had to,” and he DID have to, to make it under two hours he had to take out some of the texture and some of the finest scenes in the movie. So, we said, “just make it the right length, it doesn’t have to be under two hours, just make it the right length.” (note- the final cut runs 125 minutes) – Sherry Lansing (BLACK RAIN DVD).

Despite critical acclaim and Douglas’s star-power, Black Rain was only a modest hit upon its release in the fall of 1989. It grossed $46 million, decent enough numbers for the era, but it wound-up grossing far less than comparable action movies of the time, although worldwide it was a solid hit, grossing an additional $88 million, while it also became a hot rental on the VHS market.

Nowadays, Black Rain remains popular among aficionados of eighties action cinema, with it remaining Michael Douglas’s one real attempt to make an action-movie on par with what Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were doing at the time. Sandwiched between Douglas’s more well-known vehicles, with Basic Instinct another giant hit just a few years later, and coming along at a fallow time in Ridley Scott’s career, it remains a movie rarely discussed in examinations of either’s career.

WHY IT’S GREAT: Black Rain is an eighties gem for many reasons. For one thing, Michael Douglas aces his anti-hero part. While introducing him by staging a motorcycle race is maybe trying a bit too hard to establish him as a sexy rebel, it’s notable that his character, Nick Conklin, is allowed to be sleazy and imperfect. He’s under investigation for being on-the-take, and while, with another actor in the lead, he’d eventually be vindicated, we learn early-on that Nick is in-fact guilty. He’s also shown to be a racist, making derogatory comments about the Japanese, and often screwing up his own investigation with a mixture of ego and fool-headedness, all of which eventually gets his partner, played by the great Andy Garcia, killed.

I remember when the picture first came out, there was a very influential critics who called it a racist film because of how it depicted the Japanese. This really bothered me, so I called him up and asked him, “have you ever been to Japan?” Silence..”no.” “Then what do you think you’re talking about?” Then a few weeks later, it gets nominated for best foreign film in Japan. A very respected critic said, “well, this is the best Japanese film I’ve seen this year,” so it was a real compliment to Ridley. – Michael Douglas (BLACK RAIN DVD)

Lest you think he’s unlikable, Douglas makes Nick three-dimensional, to the point that even if we know he’s not too far removed from the baddies he chases, he’s essentially a good man, and his evolution is convincing. His relationship with Ken Takakura’s more honorable Japanese cop, himself a victim of the rigid class system in Japan, is touching. Douglas initially treats him like a joke, but he comes to realize Takakura (who’s one of the biggest stars in Japanese history – on the level of someone like Chow Yun-Fat in Hong Kong) is truly on his side, and an honorable man.

Meanwhile, Yusaku Matsuda’s bad guy is among the scarier ones of the eighties, sporting a crazed look and sense of sadism. Matsuda was, unbeknownst to the filmmakers and Douglas, terminally ill at the time. He apparently knew it would be his last role, and he put everything he had into it. Likewise, Ridley Scott, who one might assume would phone-in what, to him, might seem like a routine assignment, infuses Black Rain with oodles of style. His vision of Tokyo seems almost as futuristic as the Los Angeles of Black Rain, and his eye, matched with Jan De Bont’s cinematography and Hans Zimmer’s amazing, hard-edged score, makes this one of the most impeccably made action films of the era.

BEST SCENE: In cop movies, the younger, more inexperienced partner is always going to die. Even as a child watching Black Rain, I had seen enough of these movies to know Andy Garcia was doomed. As an action-junkie you almost look forward to the partner dying, because it’ll kick the hero into high gear. But, Garcia is so damn likable and charismatic, singing Ray Charles with Takakura (who apparently loved Garcia off-screen) and busting Douglas’s balls that you want him to pull through. All of this makes his eventual death all the more hard-hitting, with it being, in the annals of action movie murder, one of the most sadistic.

SEE IT: Black Rain is easily available on DVD/Blu-ray (I actually have it on HD-DVD), streaming, iTunes, Amazon and more.

You know, people always ask me in my career, what’s your favorite movie. And I have to say, Black Rain is right up there for the unique qualities of the movie, the execution across the board… – Michael Douglas (BLACK RAIN DVD)

PARTING SHOT: Black Rain is another entry into this column that many of you may remember having seen when it came out. If it’s been awhile, I urge you to check it out again, as it holds up really well. And to those younger readers who may have never heard of it, do you like Ridley Scott and Hans Zimmer? If yes, boy oh boy will you love this.

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Has someone finally made a live-action Street Fighter movie that’s worthy of the legendary fighting game franchise? I don’t know if it’s just good marketing or the art of showing select clips from the upcoming film that speak to old-school fans, but I am PUMPED for this movie to hit theaters on October 16, 2026! To get audiences excited about the upcoming adaptation of Capcom‘s time-honored fighting game film, a new featurette is making the rounds. For the latest behind-the-scenes look at Street Fighter, game director Takayuki Nakayama visited the set of Kitao Sakurai’s live-action adaptation, and things got exciting.

Nakayama talks about the authenticity of Street Fighter

While speaking with the cast, crew, and filmmakers, Nakayama said, “The director and everyone else involved in the production all love Street Fighter, and are fans, just like us, which gives me great comfort.”

“I think they’ve managed to accomplish something very difficult in a really smart way. This is the Street Fighter I know,” Nakayama added.

As the video continues, we find Nakayama challenging Cody Rhodes to a game of Street Fighter 6. Naturally, Cody gets his ass kicked, but that’s par for the course when challenging the man who literally directed the game. After Cody insists on “one more round” against Nakayama, the featurette goes into “Montage Mode,” with plenty of hard-hitting footage from the upcoming film. If you watch closely, many of your favorite Street Fighter characters are there, including one of my personal favorites, Cammy.

What is Street Fighter about?

Here’s the official logline for Street Fighter: “Set in 1993, estranged Street Fighters Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) are thrown back into combat when the mysterious Chun-Li (Callina Liang) recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament: a brutal clash of fists, fate, and fury. But behind this battle royale lies a deadly conspiracy that forces them to face off against each other and the demons of their past. And if they don’t, it’s GAME OVER!”

Who stars in Street Fighter?

Bad Trip’s Kitao Sakurai directs Legendary’s Street Fighter movie from a screenplay by Dalan Musson (Captain America: Brave New World, Iron Sky: The Coming Race, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier). Callina Liang (Presence, Bad Genius) plays Chun-Li, David Dastmalchian plays M. Bison, Orville Peck plays Vega, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson plays Balrog, Jason Momoa plays Blanka, Andrew Koji plays Ryu, Noah Centineo plays Ken Masters, Roman Reigns as Akuma, Vidyut Jammwal as Dhalsim, Hirooki Goto as E. Honda, and controversial podcaster Andrew Schultz as Dan Hibiki. Plus, Eric André as Don Sauvage, Mel Jarnson as Cammy, Cody Rhodes as Guile, and Rayna Vallandingham as Juli.

Are you excited about the new Street Fighter movie? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Netflix‘s One Piece: Into the Grand Line is striking it rich with a 100% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, fans going wild for the show online, and promises of more adventures to come as the world celebrates the greatest live-action adaptation of an anime yet! Can you tell I’m a fan? I love this series so much, and it was my honor to speak with Iñaki Godoy (Monkey D. Luffy), Emily Rudd (Nami), Mackenyu (Roronoa Zoro), Jacob Romero (Usopp), and Taz Skylar (Sanji) about boarding their ship, the Going Merry, and going in search of the sacred One Piece treasure.

During my chat with the Straw Hat crew, we discussed the spectacular sets and costumes for the second season of One Piece and discovered which are each cast member’s favorite. We also take time to pull up at the bar and discuss Taz Skylar’s drink-mixing technique and how he trained under a skilled mixologist to complete the scene in a limited number of takes. After that, we ask Emily Rudd about working alongside the show’s beloved CGI character, Tony Tony Chopper, whose spot-on portrayal is another reason to praise One Piece’s attention to detail and authenticity. Next, we talk with Mackenyu about his 100-person bar fight, and learn about the mind-blowing choreography for this fun display of badassery.

For more about One Piece: Into the Grand Line, be sure to check out our full review here. In my review, I encapsulate the experience by saying, “The second season of Netflix’s One Piece is epic, sprawling, and offers more variety than the first regarding character introductions, jaw-dropping set pieces, and imaginative ways of recreating Oda’s legendary creation in live-action. The show never shies away from its anime roots, choosing to revel in One Piece’s swashbuckling silliness, extreme sense of style, and powerful messages of optimism, adventure, and making your dreams come true. Hollywood often portrays pirates as crude, covetous villains of the high seas, but One Piece flies a different Jolly Roger, one that stands for exploration of strange lands, forging of unbreakable bonds, and limitless possibilities in the face of the impossible and strange. I can’t get enough of this series, and hope that Netflix continues to believe in it as much as Luffy does in his dream of one day becoming the King of the Pirates.”

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Every once in a while, I stumble across a franchise that has somehow spawned a completely absurd number of sequels. I’m talking about the kind of series where you vaguely remember the original, maybe the second one, and then suddenly you discover it’s been quietly multiplying for the last thirty years.

Case in point: in 1993, Tom Berenger starred in Sniper, a solid action flick about an elite marksman sent on a dangerous assassination mission. Pretty straightforward stuff. Fast-forward to 2026, and Berenger is back in Sniper: No Nation, which, and I’m not making this up, is the twelfth film in the franchise.

Twelve. As in a dozen. Somewhere along the line, this thing turned into the Fast & Furious of direct-to-video military thrillers, and I didn’t even notice it happening. Anyway, you can check out the trailer for Sniper: No Nation above.

Sniper: No Nation

“A covert operation in Costa Verde explodes into an international scandal, and the U.S. government responds by disavowing the Global Response & Intelligence Team (G.R.I.T.), branding its operatives as terrorists,” reads the official synopsis. “Hunted by the very country he served, Ace sniper Brandon Beckett goes AWOL only to learn that the Phoenix Rebellion, his last remaining allies, has been decimated by the Iron Legion, a mercenary force working for Costa Verde’s ruthless Prime Minister. With fellow soldiers imprisoned and scheduled for public execution, Brandon reunites with his father, legendary sniper Thomas Beckett, brother-in-arms Agent Zero, and a handful of rebels for an off-the-books rescue mission against impossible odds. As time runs out for his friends and global tensions rise, Brandon faces his most dangerous fight yet — without a flag, without backup, and without mercy.“

The film stars Chad Michael Collins, who has led the series for more than a decade, alongside Ryan Robbins, Manuel Rodriguez-Saenz, and Josh Brener. Tom Berenger is also featured as Thomas Beckett, the sniper who started it all.

Sniper: No Nation will be released on Digital and DVD on April 7.

The Sniper Franchise

Alright, so after the release of the original film in 1993, the Sniper franchise lay dormant for almost 10 years until Sniper 2 launched in 2002. Sniper 3 followed in 2004, and it was off to the races. Sniper: Reloaded in 2011, Sniper: Legacy in 2014, Sniper: Ghost Shooter in 2016, Sniper: Ultimate Kill in 2017, Sniper: Assassin’s End in 2020, Sniper: Rogue Mission in 2022, Sniper: G.R.I.T. – Global Response & Intelligence Team in 2023, Sniper: The Last Stand in 2025, and now Sniper: No Nation. I’ve typed Sniper so many times it doesn’t look like a real word anymore. Sniper. Sneeper. Snepare. Hodor.

Have any of you actually watched all of the Sniper movies?

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Winslet Joins a Band of OG Cast Members

Winslet joins Lord of the Rings veterans Elijah Wood (Mr. Frodo Baggins), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), and Andy Serkis (Gollum). Of course, the trio starred in Peter Jackson’s generation-defining trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

When Does The Hunt for Gollum Take Place?

Set between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, The Hunt for Gollum follows Aragorn’s perilous quest to capture Gollum before the creature can reveal the ring’s location to Sauron. The story hails from J.R.R. Tolkien‘s footnotes. Unfortunately, we know from events seen in Fellowship of the Ring that Gollum is eventually captured by Sauron’s forces and tortured for information about the ring’s whereabouts.

What Else Has Serkis Directed?

In addition to reprising the role of Gollum in the upcoming film, Serkis will direct the LOTR offshoot, with Phillipa Boyens, Phoebe Gittins, and Arty Papageorgiou penning the screenplay. Of course, this is not Serkis’ first rodeo in the director’s chair. He helmed the medical drama Breathe in 2017, the TV movie The Ruins of Empires in 2018, alongside Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and the upcoming adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm for Angel Studios. If you’re not aware of Serkis’ Animal Farm, it stars a hell of a voice cast, which includes Seth Rogen, Woody Harrelson, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close, Gaten Matarazzo, Andy Serkis, Kieran Culkin, Jim Parsons, Kathleen Turner, Laverne Cox, and Iman Vellani.

Having watched The Fellowship of the Ring this past weekend, I’m looking forward to seeing a film that’s essentially a “missing chapter” from that original film. How will Serkis slot the adventure into the overall narrative? Who will Kate Winslet play in the upcoming film? We’ll let you know as soon as we hear more about this exciting project.

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Sky recently released a UK trailer for Fuze. Now, Roadside Attractions and Saban Films have dropped a new US trailer for the film. Aaron Taylor-Johnson stars in the new action thriller with Theo James (Divergent), Sam Worthington (Avatar), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Loki), Elham Ehsas (The Kite Runner), Honor Swinton-Byrne (The Souvenir) and Saffron Hocking (Top Boy) making up the rest of the cast. Fuze comes from Hell or High Water director David Mackenzie. It was written by Ben Hopkins, who has previously written Simon Magus, Janice Beard, The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz, The Market, Lost in Karastan, Hasret: Sehnsucht, Marionette, In Search of Monsters, Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie, and Inside (2023).

The official synopsis reads,
“Set in contemporary London, Fuze unfolds after an unexploded World War II bomb is unearthed at a busy construction site, forcing a massive citywide evacuation. Amid the escalating tension and chaos, a daring criminal operation is set in motion—one that uses the evacuation as cover for a meticulously planned heist. As authorities race against time to contain the crisis, alliances blur and moral boundaries are crossed, the film deftly propels audiences through a series of calculated twists delivering a wildly entertaining ride”

Mackenzie is producing the film alongside Gillian Berrie of Sigma Films and Sebastien Raybaud and Callum Grant of Anton. Anton is fully financing the film and Sky will handle the theatrical release in the UK and Ireland. The UK release is scheduled for April 3, but Roadside Pictures and Saban picked the film up for distribution in North America for an April 24 release.

Our Chris Bumbray got to see the film at its Toronto International Film Festival screening and gave it a glowing review, saying, “Like Relay, Fuze relies on a handful of twists and reversals, and Mackenzie delights in subverting audience expectations. The movie is peppered with action sequences, including some solid gunfights and sniper moments, while also maintaining a light touch with music cues that occasionally lean on the nose but work within the film’s pulpy tone.” He, then, added, “TIFF is usually divided cleanly into two sections. One is the awards fare put out by major studios, while the other is devoted to more commercial movies up for acquisition. Fuze is one of the latter, and while it wasn’t part of the Midnight Madness selection, it probably would have fit nicely, as it gave me a much-needed blast of action and tension amid all the heavier fare I’ve been watching. This would be a smart acquisition for a high-end streamer.”

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It’s been 22 years since Tony Scott unleashed Man on Fire, starring Denzel Washington as former CIA operative John Creasy, and now Yahya Abdul Mateen II (Wonder Man, Candyman) is taking up the mantle for an action-packed Netflix series, based on the iconic character created by author A.J. Quinnell. Today, Netflix released the official teaser and first look images for the upcoming action drama, Man on Fire. The series stars Emmy-winning Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as former elite mercenary John Creasy, alongside Billie Boullet, Bobby Cannavale, Alice Braga, and Scoot McNairy, and premieres globally on Netflix on April 30, 2026.

Here’s the Official Logline for Netflix’s Man on Fire:

Based on A.J. Quinnell‘s book series, Man on Fire tells the story of John Creasy. Once a high-functioning and skilled Special Forces Mercenary, known for surviving even the most desolate of situations, Creasy is now plagued with intense PTSD. Determined to overcome his personal demons, he sets out on a path to redemption. But before he can adjust to this new life, he finds himself back in the fire, fighting harder than ever.

Stephen Caple Jr. (Transformers: Rise Of The Beasts, Creed II) directs the first two episodes, while Vicente Amorim helms episodes 3 & 4, Clare Kilner directs episodes 5 & 6, and Michael Cuesta directs episode 7.

In addition to helming the first two episodes, Steven Caple Jr. executive produces alongside Kyle Killen (Halo, Awake and Lone Star), who also serves as the writer and showrunner for Man on Fire.

Yahya’s Making Moves

Yahya Abdul Mateen II is coming in hot after starring in the well-reviewed Marvel Spotlight series Wonder Man. He’s also recently completed work on The Adventures of Cliff Booth, an offshoot of Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood…, starring Brad Pitt, Elizabeth Debicki, Timothy Olyphant, Carla Gugino, Emily Alyn Lind, Peter Weller, Holt McCallany, Scott Caan, and more. I remember loving Denzel Washington in Tony Scott’s Man on Fire, and can see Mateen II slipping into the role with ease. He’s got the look, the power, the dynamic screen presence, and everything else you’d need to bring Quinnell’s iconic badass to life. I’m putting this one on my radar. How about you? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Review: Who needs Disney to resurrect its Pirates of the Caribbean franchise when we’ve got One Piece? For my money, Netflix‘s adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s legendary series displays all the best parts of a rollicking pirate adventure, then washes it down with a swallow of rum, zany characters, impossible powers, and a treasure chest filled with lessons about friendship, camaraderie, and surrendering to the unknown. After a knock-out first season, released in 2023, One Piece returns as Luffy (Iñaki Godoy), Nami (Emily Rudd), Roronoa Zoro (Mackenyu), Usopp (Jacob Romero), and Sanji (Taz Skylar) head for the Grand Line, an expanse of ocean of mythical proportions, where the One Piece treasure lies in shadow.

The word that I keep returning to while trying to describe One Piece: Season 2 is impressive. From the jump, it’s crystal clear that Netflix, along with the help of Tomorrow Studios, believes in One Piece as something worth pouring some money into. Not to knock Netflix’s output, but more often than not, it feels like they cut corners while presenting other programming with abysmal lighting, too much/shoddy CGI, and cliffhanger endings that go nowhere when the streamer decides to cancel a series after its first season. One Piece: Season 2 is the polar opposite of that, with every aspect of the show coming off as a point of pride, with spectacular, practical set design, inspired costumes, and whip-smart writing across the board. Even the CGI is precisely what it needs to be when used sparingly and to significant effect.

While One Piece: Season 2 is a visual spectacle, it’s the spirited performances by every cast member that make this installment of the franchise a fun, memorable, and lively experience. Every actor involved with Netflix’s One Piece understands the assignment. Everyone plays their roles with such gusto and unabashed love for the source material that, at times, I forget I’m watching a live-action version of the beloved anime. The new season includes plenty of Easter eggs for fans, deep cut character introductions, villainous guest spots, and surprises that keep you on your toes, never knowing who or what could show up next.

The core cast continues to entertain, with Godoy, Rudd, and Mackenyu clearly having lots of fun as Luffy, Nami, and Roronoa Zoro. Godoy is practically bursting at the seams as Luffy. At the same time, Rudd does an excellent job breaking down Nami’s walls as she embraces her new life as an essential member of the Straw Hat crew. Mackenyu gets to slice and dice like never before, especially during a scene akin to The Bride fighting the Crazy 88 army in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Vol. 1.

Still, the spotlight shines even brighter on Jacob Romero and Taz Skylar as Captain Ussop and Sanji, respectively. While I enjoyed Ussop in the first season, his character had yet to come into his own. In the new season, Romero works wonders to make Ussop a more enjoyable character to follow and root for as he sorts out his insecurities and finds his inner pirate warrior. Meanwhile, Skylar brings depth and sincerity to Sanji in the new episodes. I’ve always liked Sanji, but he’s even better here, particularly when an act of poisoning threatens Nami’s life, and he becomes a concerned caregiver for his dear friend.

Rounding out the Straw Hat gang this season are Charithra Chandran as Miss Wednesday and Mikaela Hoover as the voice of Tony Tony Chopper. Chandran adds some much-needed femininity to the Straw Hat crew. She’s mysterious, cunning, and in awe of the Straw Hats’ dynamic. She desperately wants to be part of their gang, but her commitment to her people keeps her from living her own dream. Miss Wednesday gradually lets her guard down, becoming a strong member of the group, and the show is better for her contributions. At the same time, Tony Tony Chopper is a fun, fan-favorite addition to the group. Chopper is a reindeer who ate a Devil Fruit, transforming him into a walking, talking, transforming ally and would-be doctor. Hoover is excellent as the voice of Chopper, while the character, with his tragic backstory, brings more drama to the deck. One episode of the season tells Chopper’s origin in great detail, a tale that’s equal parts dark and endearing.

Adding to the sophomore season’s deluge of fan-favorite characters are Lera Abova as Nico Robin/Miss All Sunday and David Dastmalchian as Mr. 3. Abova is a scene-stealer if I’ve ever seen one. With her ability to teleport her limbs (even through flesh and blood), Nico Robin saunters through the new season of One Piece like a runway model on fire, her attitude and unnerving power striking curiosity and fear into all who gaze upon her beauty. Meanwhile, Dastmalchian chews the scenery as Mr. 3, a demented villain whose talent for creating art with “unbreakable” wax. Dastmalchian plays Mr. 3 with an unhinged swagger that gives pompous as much as it gives dangerous. He’s the type of villain who will try monologuing you to death before his hubris leads to his downfall.

There are almost too many inspired performances to highlight, such as Mark Harelik and Katey Sagal as Dr. Hiriluk and Dr. Kureha, respectively. Both actors are featured prominently in the Tony Tony Chopper-centric episode, with Harelik playing a doctor searching for a cure-all while caring for a young Tony Tony Chopper. At the same time, Sagal’s Dr. Hiriluk is a witchy booze hound with a more stern approach to her profession. Harelik and Sagal nearly steal the episode from Chopper, though all three work together in concert to present a heartfelt origin story for one of the franchise’s most beloved characters.

The second season of Netflix’s One Piece is epic, sprawling, and offers more variety than the first regarding character introductions, jaw-dropping set pieces, and imaginative ways of recreating Oda’s legendary creation in live-action. The show never shies away from its anime roots, choosing to revel in One Piece‘s swashbuckling silliness, extreme sense of style, and powerful messages of optimism, adventure, and making your dreams come true. Hollywood often portrays pirates as crude, covetous villains of the high seas, but One Piece flies a different Jolly Roger, one that stands for exploration of strange lands, forging of unbreakable bonds, and limitless possibilities in the face of the impossible and strange. I can’t get enough of this series, and hope that Netflix continues to believe in it as much as Luffy does in his dream of one day becoming the King of the Pirates.

One Piece

AMAZING

9

The post One Piece: Season 2 Review – The Straw Hat Gang’s Journey Along the Grand Line is Everything a Pirate Adventure Should Be appeared first on JoBlo.

Guy Ritchie is a workhorse. The director is certainly not taking a break between TV and movie projects of the past few years. He even reunites with Jake Gyllenhaal after working with him on The Covenant, as well as both Henry Cavill and Eiza Gonzalez after making The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare with both, then reuniting again with Gonzalez for Fountain of Youth. This time, Ritchie directs all three in the action comedy In the Grey, which comes from Black Bear. The studio has just premiered the trailer for your viewing pleasure.

The official synopsis reads,
“In The Grey follows a covert team of elite operatives who live in the global shadows, as comfortable wielding power and influence as they are automatic weapons and high explosives. When a ruthless despot steals a billion-dollar fortune, the team is sent to steal it back on what would be for anyone else a suicide mission. What begins as an impossible heist gets much worse, spiraling into an all-out war of strategy, deception and survival.” The film actually wrapped production almost three years ago, and a trailer was even screened at CinemaCon 2024.

The cast includes Jake Gyllenhaal, Henry Cavill, Eiza González, Kristofer Hivju, Emmett J. Scanlan, Jason Wong, Michael Vu, with Fisher Stevens, Rosamund Pike, and Carlos Bardem. Ritchie writes and directs the film. He also produced the project along with John Friedberg, Dave Caplan, and Ivan Atkinson.

The film was previously set for release by Lionsgate on January 17, 2025, but was pulled from the schedule until Black Bear picked up distribution rights.

In a statement, Benjamin Kramer, President of U.S. Distribution for Black Bear, said, “Guy is one of the all-time greats when it comes to creating action as fun as it is gripping. In the Grey features every ounce of his trademark style and wit, not to mention a hugely talented cast led by Jake, Henry, and Eiza. We are thankful to our partners at Lionsgate, whose flexibility and collaboration have been instrumental in bringing this together. We look forward to continuing to work with them as we bring this great film to audiences.“

In the Grey gets a wide release in cinemas on May 15.

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Gerard Butler has had a varied career so far, with him playing everything from action leads to rom-com love interests to a singing Phantom of the Opera for Joel Schumacher. But, it has to be said that his most consistently entertaining output falls squarely into the action genre, and as far as Gerard Butler movies go, the action films will always be our favorites… so don’t expect to see The Ugly Truth on this list, but the Jennifer Aniston adventure The Bounty Hunter might scrape by. Or maybe not. Let’s see how it goes:

300 (2006) 

Perhaps THE film that put Gerard Butler on the map for most people, particularly the action and comic book crowds. Butler is in peak physical form here, showing off his bod as the ultimate Spartan warrior and proving that he is indeed quite the leading man. His performance here is commanding, a bit in your face (in the right way), and exactly what the film needed. Considering 300 is still well-remembered by most while its Butler-less sequel seems to have disappeared from the common consciousness says a lot about how he embodies the character of King Leonidas and how viewers connected to him in this Zack Snyder adaptation of the Frank Miller and Lynn Varley graphic novel. The film being shot basically fully on green screen with brand new, at the time, technology created a very particular look for the film and from interviews with the cast and crew, it seems it required some adaptation and readiness to embrace the unusual ways of shooting scenes. Butler’s performance here works great with all the green screen and CGI and shows a good evolution from his previous action-fantasy roles in Beowulf & Grendel, Timeline, and (Best Movie You Never Saw fave) Reign of Fire. Plus it won an MTV Movie Award for Best Fight!

Plane (2023) 

Released right at that time of year (January) when it seems like nothing good gets to theaters, Plane was already working with the odds stacked against it. Beyond its less-than-ideal release date, the film had changed distributors a few times before finally getting released by Lionsgate. The trailer didn’t bode too well either, but it ended up getting some positive reviews that helped lead it to a $52 million box office. It’s even getting a sequel, albeit without Butler as the lead. Here, he plays an airline pilot who has fallen from grace and thus works away from his family with a home base in Asia. On this flight that starts the film, things go awry with the weather, and he is forced to land his few passengers and a felon (the great Mike Colter) being extradited to an unknown island where things go from bad to worse. Butler does quite well here, showing the public that he is still a go-to actor for action thrillers. His big fight scene near the middle of the film works well and he really gets into the character of a man who has lost almost everything but is more than willing to fight for what hs has left. Butler sells the part here and really works with the depressed lead and his issues who finds himself back in a crisis. This is a good Gerard Butler performance, one that works for his fans and for those willing to give this surprising film a chance. 

Olympus Has Fallen (2013) 

The first in a trilogy, Olympus Has Fallen sets up high stakes by making its story about the US President and his security. Gerard Butler comes into this as a secret service agent who must rescue the President who was kidnapped after a terrorist attack. Generally speaking, this one is a bit more generic, but the work by Butler and Morgan Freeman here helps rescue this from being just another late-night cable-bound action film. There’s a bit more here of course and a lot of that “bit more” comes down to Butler’s work and the direction by Antoine Fuqua who is a pro at bringing action films and thrillers to the screen. In the case of Butler in this film, he takes a part seen so many times before, the lone protector who is the only one able to rescue the victim, and turns it into something more interesting. Between his capacities as an actor, his ease in handling action scenes, and his charisma, Butler pulls off the part of Mike Banning very well. So well in fact, that he reprised this role in both sequels London Has Fallen (2016) and Angel Has Fallen (2019). Sadly, another sequel seems unlikely, with Butler initially taking Millenium to court over unpaid profits. While the lawsuit was settled recently, I wonder if Butler will be eager to get back in bed with them anytime soon.

Gamer (2009) 

Written and directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (the Crank guys), this film is a mix of science-fiction, action, and thriller set in a bleak, near-future where gamers play using death row convicts as their avatars, pitting them against impossible odds. Butler plays Kable, a convict whose teenage player is Simon (played by Logan Lerman). Should this team-up survive thirty brutal gaming sessions, Kable will be set free. Of course, much like the recent Death Race films, it’s not going to be that easy. Gerard Butler gets to be the man who has the carrot of survival dangled in front of him, making him a man ready to do almost anything to survive. His work here is on the darker side, playing a killer ready to slay anyone in his way so that he can survive and possibly get back to his family. This leads to a part filled with action sequences, fight scenes, and violence, with a bit of background to make him more human and likable. Butler does well here with a part that could have easily been completely one-dimensional. Ludacris also steals more than a few scenes in this one.

Greenland (2020) 

With it coming fairly close on the heels of Geostorm, many assumed Greenland would terrible. It is yet another weather disaster film with a man, his estranged wife, and their kid in the middle of it all. If it sounds familiar, it’s because it’s been done a ton of times (San Andreas, any random Syfy disaster movie, etc) so it was easy to see the trailer for Greenland and think, “Yeah, no…” And honestly, the presence of Butler in this was probably the only reason some folks saw this movie at first. Thankfully, the film was made for a fairly modest budget considering the subject and how it was released in theaters (like many pandemic-era movies it went straight to streaming in North America). Its $35 million budget means that the box office for it being at $52.3 million was not a complete loss. It was a mild hit and most people who dared to see it first were part of the reason why as it built quite a bit on word of mouth. The movie, to everyone’s surprise, was good, thanks perhaps to the great director at the helm, Ric Roman Waugh (Shot Caller). At this point, more people have seen it and a sequel, Greenland: Migration, is on the way with Butler returning.

Copshop (2021) 

Released during the pandemic post-lockdown, this one was skipped by far too many people. The trailer had some panache and the fact that it’s from director Joe Carnahan, who previously did the loads-of-fun Smokin’ Aces, Narc, The Grey, and a few more films, should have made it more of an attraction for action fans. Yet Copshop only made a measly $6.9 million which basically means the public slept on this one and did not give the film its due. Gerard Butler stars opposite Frank Grillo here in a face-off set in a police station where Butler is after Grillo to kill him due to a con he pulled. This one is a lot of fun and the fact that other killers come into play makes this a dynamic movie where you never really know where it’s going exactly. Butler is having a ball here, playing a man filled with evil and a sort of almost glee about his job. His back and forth with Grillo make this the kind of film that is easy to watch while the runtime flies by.   

Geostorm (2017)

Okay, to be fair, this is NOT a good movie. It’s pretty terrible, actually, and was marred by a never-ending series of delays and reshoots with the credited writer/ producer/ director Dean Devlin having been removed in favor of Jerry Bruckheimer and Judge Dredd director Danny Cannon. In the end, it lost somewhere in the neighborhood of $70 million for Warner Bros and resulted in Butler laying off the big PG-13 four-quadrant movies in order to do more modest actioners. Yet, if you like cheesy, fun movies, it can’t be denied that Geostorm fits the bill pretty well. It’s unintentionally funny (take a shot everyone says “Dutch boy”), but it’s curiously rewatchable.

So there you go, a bunch of suggestions that you can use to assemble your own Gerard Butler film festival.

What are your favorite Gerard Butler movies? Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life? The biopic Machine Gun Preacher? Law Abiding Citizen? His cameo in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)? The horror adventure Tale of the Mummy? Let us know in the comments.

The post Gerard Butler’s Best Action Movies  appeared first on JoBlo.

Over the past several years, revivals, reboots, and reimaginings have become all the rage. There’s something about getting the band back together, becoming reacquainted with old characters, or passing the torch that appeals to audiences hoping to relive the glory days or see one of their favorite IPs given a fresh coat of paint. In recent years, we’ve seen movies like Blade Runner 2049, Top Gun: Maverick, and Scream (2022) reinvigorate fans, and in some cases, pave the way for a new wave of sequels. With projects like a fourth film in the Mummy franchise, which reunites Brendan Fraser with Rachel Weisz, in active development, I began thinking about what other films could benefit from a legacy sequel. Hence, we’ve got this week’s thinkpiece, with a list of IPs I think could go back to the well, rattle some stones, and give audiences more of a good thing.

Aliens

For this first entry, I’m taking us back to 1986, the year James Cameron made audiences collectively shit their pants with one of the greatest sci-fi action movies ever made, Aliens. Starring Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley, Aliens takes all the best parts of the pulse-pounding horror series, forgoes the convoluted lore, and presses the pedal to the metal with urgency, gore, and claustrophobic environs. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to get back to basics with Alien, seeing Ripley return to the fold, with either Cameron or someone like Zach Cregger at the helm.

Granted, we almost got this project via Neill Blomkamp’s Alien in the mid-2010s, but 20th Century Studios scrapped it in favor of Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant, a sequel set approximately a decade after the events of Prometheus. Covenant failed to set the Alien fandom on fire, with its CGI Xenomorphs, been-there-done-that plot, and misuse of the headier philosophical elements of Prometheus. Covenant does have its fans, but how nice would it be to get back to basics, with the Xenomorphs as mysterious killing machines rather than part of some inconsistent evolution? Interestingly, after so many years, Weaver says she’s game to return to the Alien franchise after reading a 50-page treatment by producer Walter Hill. Weaver says the project offers a “very different kind of story,” which has me curious about Hill’s concept. While I don’t think all the Alien sequels and crossovers should be ignored, this is a rare instance where a retcon or two could go a long way to give us the Aliens sequel we deserve.

Big Hero 6

If there’s anything Walt Disney Animation loves more than an original idea that makes them a Scrooge McDuck money bin worth of cash, it’s sequels that perform better than the initial box office-breaking product. While Disney is in the process of developing Frozen 3 and Frozen 4, and Pixar is hard at work putting the finishing touches on Toy Story 5, I can’t help but think of Big Hero 6, the 2014 animated feature that took the box office by storm with $657M+ in worldwide ticket sales. Yes, Big Hero 6 did get an animated series for three seasons, but that’s not the same as a full-blown theatrical sequel.

What I want is a larger-than-life theatrical follow-up to Don Hall and Chris Williams’ Big Hero 6, a sequel with seasoned heroes, larger stakes, and dynamic animation that takes advantage of everything Disney’s learned in the past decade and change. Plus, it’s not like Disney has too many animated superheroes running around. Yes, they have Marvel, and okay, The Incredibles 3 is also “in the works,” but how cool would it be to see Hiro Hamada, Honey Lemon, Wasabi-No-Ginger, Go Go Tomogo, Fred, and Baymax back in the mix? Oh, and let’s not forget Aunt Cass. While looking at the box office returns for Big Hero 6, and knowing that superheroes are still in vogue, I can’t figure out why Disney let this IP fall by the wayside. They’d be fools not to revitalize Big Hero 6 with a big-budget sequel.

Galaxy Quest

Never give up! Never surrender! One of the greatest science-fiction satires of all time, Galaxy Quest, deserves another chance to shine. Yes, there have been several attempts and false starts to get the crew of NSEA Protector assembled for another laugh-out-loud homage to Star Trek. Still, until recently, every college try has ended in confusion about the sequel’s direction or the loss of a beloved cast member, including the late and great Alan Rickman, who played Sir Alexander Dane, a.k.a. Dr. Lazarus, in the 1999 film. Rickman died in 2016 from pancreatic cancer, and the thought of replacing him is damn-near sacrilege.

According to reports, a Galaxy Quest series is in active development at CBS Studios (via Paramount+). What the series entails is anyone’s guess. However, the show could introduce a new crew with original stars like Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Daryl Mitchell, Sam Rockwell, Enrico Colantoni, and Missi Pyle dropping in and out as guests. In terms of the story, it would be all too easy for Sarris’s offspring (the villain from the original film) to seek revenge for their father’s death. As far as plots go, it’s a tad unimaginative, but I’m not giving away my great ideas for free. If you want the good stuff, call me.

Labyrinth

In the almighty pantheon of 1980s fantasy cinema sits Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, a timeless tale of mystery, goblins, and puppetry that harkens back to a time when filmmakers conjured movie magic with blood, sweat, tears, and bottles of Advil for back pain. With Seth Rogen resurrecting The Muppet Show to much acclaim on Disney+, now is the perfect time to rush a sequel to Labyrinth into production.

Before we continue, yes, Nosferatu filmmaker Robert Eggers is expected to write and direct a Labyrinth sequel for TriStar Pictures, but I’ll believe it when I see it. Stranger things have happened, but with Eggers being in such high demand, I have difficulty believing that his schedule would permit time to develop, let alone film a sequel to one of my favorite films of all time. That said, Eggers may be even more passionate about Labyrinth than I am, and wants nothing more than to bring Henson’s imaginative world of baby-stealing creatures to life on the silver screen. I’d love to see Eggers lend his style and moody filmmaking sensitivities to another film in the Labyrinth universe, and while he’s at it, get Jennifer Connelly to sign on the dotted line for a lead or guest role. Who would play the Goblin King, though? Who has the voice? The commanding presence? The bulging package? Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments section below.

True Lies

File this one under sequels that James Cameron should have made years ago. No amount of de-aging technology would help Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis with the action sequences required for a legacy follow-up to Cameron’s 1994 one-person-army action comedy. Still, with the right creative forces behind the project, I could see True Lies 2 becoming the sequel audiences didn’t know they were missing. Plus, who’s to say Schwarzenegger and Curtis couldn’t sit shotgun for a globe-trotting sequel? The movie may focus on another couple altogether, while Harry and Helen Tasker (Schwarzenegger/Curtis, respectively) work the coms, lending their expertise and encouragement to the new guard. Dana Tasker (Eliza Dushku) might get involved. Maybe she has kids? There are ways to make it work.

Okay, so maybe they tried to revitalize True Lies in 2023 with the CBS comedy-action series created by Matt Nix, but c’mon! Not to be reductive, but I’m talking about a real-deal effort here.In a world where we’ve got eight Mission: Impossible movies, and rumours of another under the eye of Chloé Zhao on the way, why couldn’t we figure out the magic formula to bring True Lies back to the fold? Which would you rather have? More Avatar sequels, or True Lies 2? You tell me.

C’mon, Hollywood! I know these projects don’t happen overnight, and several stars must align, but get while the gettings good. Some of the talent attached to these legacy IPs isn’t getting any younger, and before we lose the ability to honor the original releases with a sequel that expands the story with authenticity and respect, let’s get to work!

The post Five Movies That Deserve a Legacy Sequel appeared first on JoBlo.

Review: Much like a crowd of zombies after hurling a leaking gas tank into the oncoming horde, Capcom is on fire right now. The time-honored game studio unleashed the latest chapter of its Resident Evil franchise late last month, Resident Evil: Requiem, and it’s an all-timer. From the start, Requiem takes a different approach to the hallowed horror franchise by putting you in control of Grace Ashcroft, an FBI analyst with a traumatic past, an anxiety disorder, and personal demons to exorcise. As Grace, your boss tasks you with investigating a rash of mysterious bodies, the latest body having been discovered at the Wrenwood Hotel, where Grace’s mother met her untimely end several years prior. Gathering her wits and limited expertise in fieldwork, Grace investigates and quickly discovers that the past is far from over, and the reason she’s a walking disaster is that the horror will start again if she doesn’t get her s**t together.

By placing us in Grace’s shoes, Requiem leaves players feeling vulnerable as they explore the hotel, Grace’s labored breath catching with each discovery, and startling revelations about a shadowy organization, Umbrella, striving to create bioweapons out of humankind, living or dead, it doesn’t matter. On a similar path to uncover the truth about Umbrella’s latest apocalypse in the making is Leon S. Kennedy, a seasoned veteran and fan-favorite hero of the Resident Evil franchise. By giving players control of two vastly different characters, Capcom splits the game into two halves. Grace traverses the game’s terror-inducing, haunted-house-like beats. At the same time, Leon tackles the more action-heavy sections like a ’90s action hero on steroids, complete with one-liners and grimdark humor that make him a fan favorite.

Among many stand-out elements of Resident Evil: Requiem is the game’s pacing. The writing team knows exactly when to end a chapter of the game, pushing you toward set pieces involving over-the-top action or the next piece of a dark mystery. At the center of both game types is Requiem‘s villain, Dr. Victor Gideon, a former Umbrella Corporation researcher obsessed with carrying out the eugenicist legacy of Oswell E. Spencer. Antony Byrne plays Dr. Gideon to perfection, introducing a corrupt antagonist who’s oddly charismatic, creepy, and dangerous. Beyond his imposing look, with his infected complexion, Icabod Crane-like headgear, and crooked gold teeth, I love, love, love Dr. Gideon’s voice. It’s strangely soothing, and one of the best voice performances I’ve ever heard in a video game.

Regarding gameplay, Resident Evil: Requiem never stops perfecting old tricks or introducing new ways to fight your way through hell while playing as either Grace or Leon. While not as skilled as Leon, Grace is a survivor, constantly innovating and using her know-how to craft items that give her an advantage. At the start of the game, Grace can barely wield Leon’s Requiem revolver. When she takes aim, her hands tremble, the gun sways, and you essentially need to fire it on a wing and a prayer. However, as Grace makes her way through the game, she becomes more capable, her aim steadies, and by the end, she’s firing that cannon as straight as an arrow. It’s an awesome progression, and we love to see it. In the handful of reviews I’ve seen, critics aren’t giving Grace’s evolution enough credit. She’s a fantastic addition to Resident Evil‘s pantheon of heroes, and I’d like nothing more than to continue her story in another game.

Meanwhile, Leon’s gonna Leon, with his knee-slapping one-liners, no-holds-barred attitude, and fearless approach to reducing zombies to nothing but a pile of mince meat. I played through the game on a PlayStation 5, and the control over both characters was flawless. I never felt the game hitch, my character never misbehaved, and if I died, I knew it was my fault, not the game’s. Capcom has spent decades polishing the Resident Evil gameplay experience, and its efforts have never been as rewarding as with Requiem.

Another outstanding element of Requiem is that the game doesn’t forget its roots. Included in the dread-filled adventure are all the puzzle elements you remember from the game’s past. Find the key, read the document, locate the missing fuse, fill a tank with gasoline. All the stars are here! Still, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, and Requiem does an exemplary job of impeding progress through puzzles without losing the game’s killer pace or sense of urgent exploration. Furthermore, while some Resident Evil games tend to dip in quality during the game’s final act, Requiem feels like a game comprised of three Act 1s stitched together for a non-stop injection of fun, action-packed immediacy. In my experience, there are no boring stretches, and, as I said, switching between Grace and Leon and back again feels like a formula Capcom has perfected and should use in RE games in the future.

If you’re looking for Resident Evil: Requiem to do more than play the hits, don’t worry, there’s some cool stuff waiting for you in this game. For example, the infected behave differently in Requiem. Blind zombies, for example, will only react to sound, so if you don’t make any noise, you can usually sneak past them pretty easily. However, if you want to use this quirk to your advantage, you can throw a bottle toward an enemy, and the blind zombie will follow the sound, swinging its IV pole in blind rage, damaging nearby enemies to a significant degree. In fact, if you’re strategic about it, you can get the blind zombie to take out some of the game’s stronger foes, like the Butcher, or Chunk, a massive, blob-like zombie slithering through the halls of the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center. There are other enemies with behaviors that could work to your advantage, but I don’t want to spoil all the fun. My advice is to get creative. The game allows for several combinations of combat and antagonism that could turn the tide in your favor.

I remember buying the original Resident Evil sight-unseen from Planet Comics in the Smithhaven Mall on Long Island, New York, in 1996, and having it change my opinion of what horror video games could be. I’ve played every mainline entry in the franchise (and many of the spinoffs and offshoots), with my favorites being Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 7, and Resident Evil Village. If RE 7 felt like an homage to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Village was a twisted fairytale that was never concerned with taking itself too seriously, Resident Evil: Requiem is a shining example of how dedication, hard work, and imagination can take a decades-old property and make it feel like an essential example of how video games are still capable of blowing our minds. Resident Evil: Requiem is not only an early Game of the Year contender, but it’s also an entry that stands out as one of the best in the RE franchise. I’m already counting the days until Capcom officially announces DLC for Requiem, and I’m the proud owner of Grace Ashcroft’s Fortnite skin. I started my second playthrough of the game last night and don’t plan to stop until I’ve at least gotten all the alternate costumes. Or, until Capcom’s Pragmata comes out next month. Whichever comes first.

Resident Evil: Requiem

AMAZING

9

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