Warner
Bros. confirmed this rare bit of good news by way of a Friday meeting
focused on their two leading options, intel on which was obtained with Deadline. Per the report, the Powers That Be were initially undecided between Pattinson and Mad Max: Fury Road star Nicholas Hoult. The Pattinson move was decided on during a meeting Thursday, Mike Fleming Jr. said Friday.
With
the Pattinson-favoring decision having now apparently been made,
negotiations are said to be kicking off very soon. A separate report
from The Wrap, however, suggests such talks have already concluded. An official announcement from Warner Bros. is also expected soon.
Of course, word of Pattinson’s apparent official-ness regarding a role once largely botched by an Affleck should come as no surprise to tuned-in fans. We’ve been hearing near-confirmations on this Batman update for weeks now. Though it’s impossible to know just yet what sort of visual angle director Matt Reeves will take with his trilogy-starting film, I’m guessing it’ll all go down something like this: The Batman is imminent, with production slated to begin later this year. Next July, we’ll see the results of Pattinson’s inadvertently timely part in former Batman franchise helmer Christopher Nolan’s mysteriously titled Tenet.
The trailer for 21 Bridges (fka 17 Bridges)has been released by STXfilms. Chadwick Boseman stars in the film, reuniting with the Russo Brothers, who directed Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
The film also stars If Beale Street Could Talk’sStephan James, alongside Sienna Miller, Taylor Kitsch and J.K. Simmons.
The official description: 21 Bridges follows an embattled NYPD detective (Chadwick Boseman), who is thrust into a citywide manhunt for a pair of cop killers after uncovering a massive and unexpected conspiracy. As the night unfolds, lines become blurred on who he is pursuing, and who is in pursuit of him. When the search intensifies, extreme measures are taken to prevent the killers from escaping Manhattan as the authorities close all 21 BRIDGES to prevent any entry or exit from the iconic island.
When it
comes to streaming TV and films, Netflix has got you covered. In May
2019, lots of exciting new movies and TV shows are coming to the
streaming platform, across a variety of genres. Whether you’re into romantic comedies, documentaries, crime thrillers, prestige dramas, or horror movies, there’s something for everyone. And speaking of documentaries, Beyoncé’s Homecoming is
officially available to stream, so you can relive the magic
of Beychella, and then relive it again with her live concert album of
the Coachella performance. We stan a generous queen!
Recent blockbusters like Avengers: Infinity Warand the Oscar-nominated Black Panther and Coco, are also available. Barry Jenkins’ stunning 2017 Best Picture winner, Moonlight, his adaptation of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s unproduced play “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue,” is also coming to Netflix, along with some lighter comedy fare, including Zombieland and Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj. So what are you waiting for? Here are the best movies on Netflix right now.
Director: Lee Chang-dong Starring: Ah-in Yoo, Jong-seo Jun, Steven Yeun
One of the most acclaimed non-English movies of last year, Burning is the latest film from acclaimed South Korean director Lee Chang-dong. Based on the short story “Barn Burning” by Haruki Murakami, Burning follows Jong-su (Ah-in Yoo), as he watches former neighbor Hae-mi’s (Jong-seo Jun) cat while she goes on a trip. When Hae-mi returns, she introduces Jong-su to Ben (Steven Yeun), a man she met while abroad. While the plot may seem simple, Burning has a mysterious and tense atmosphere as we learn more about the mysterious Ben, played wonderfully by former Walking Dead star Yeun. At two and a half hours, Burning is a slow burn (no pun intended) that will keep you hypnotized from beginning to end with its elusive stories and well drawn characters. Despite wide critical acclaim, Burning was not nominated for the Best Foreign Language Academy Award, but became the first Korean film in history to make the nine-film shortlist for nomination.
Director: Andrea Arnold Starring: Sasha Lane, Shia LaBeouf, Riley Keough
Actress Sasha Lane has steadily made a name for herself with eye-catching roles in indies such as The Miseducation of Cameron Post and Hearts Beat Loud, but her career started when director Andrea Arnold discovered her and cast her in the lead role of American Honey. Lane plays Star, a young woman who runs away from home to join a traveling sales crew that sells magazine subscriptions door to door across the Midwest. She soon gets sucked into their lifestyle when she becomes close to crew member Jake (Shia LaBeouf). Arnold is known for her realistic depictions of young women, and she’s in top form here, creating an unconventional coming of age drama around Star. Lane is remarkable in the lead role, and her performance is made all the more astonishing when considering that it’s her first performance. All of that, combined with a perfect soundtrack (Rihanna and Calvin Harris’ “We Found Love” is put to perfect use), makes American Honey a coming of age road movie classic.
Director: Steven Soderbergh Starring: Andre Holland, Melvin Gregg, Zazie Beetz
One of Netflix’s latest originals is also one of the most critically-acclaimed movies of 2019 so far. Based on the real-life 2011 NBA lockout, High Flying Bird follows sports agent Ray Burke (Andre Holland) as he advises his rookie client (Melvin Gregg) on a controversial business opportunity that might just end the lockout and change the game forever. Logan Lucky director Steven Soderbergh is known for his flawless directing and uncanny ability to capture institutions, and High Flying Bird is further proof of this, boasting stunning iPhone-exclusive cinematography and sketching an efficient portrait of the (slightly fictionalized) NBA. Moonlight writer Tarell Alvin McCraney’s script crackles as well, featuring scenes filled with wall-to-wall fast-paced dialogue. McCraney and Soderbergh manage to make High Flying Bird so much more than just a typical sports drama: it’s also a deep look into the racism ingrained in the NBA and how one can be an activist within the institution itself. High Flying Bird is an intelligent and riveting watch.
Beyoncé is extremely private, and only lets you know what she wants you to know, when she wants you to know it — typically, in a surprise post be it on her website or Instagram. But throughout the years, she’s slightly cracked open her door to reveal parts of her life and personality — apart from what she gives through strong singing and extraordinary dance moves — to help remind us that though she is epic and flawless, she is still mortal. “HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé,” which premiered Wednesday on Netflix, captures the human side of the superstar singer with behind-the-scenes, intimate moments of a mother, wife and artist tirelessly working on what’s already become one of most iconic musical performances of all-time: Beyoncé’s headlining show at the 2018 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. The performance marked the first time a black woman headlined the famed festival and made Beyoncé just the third woman to score the gig, behind Bjork and Lady Gaga. Beyoncé took on the role seriously — as she does all live performances — giving the audience a rousing, terrific and new show highlighted by a full marching band, majorette dancers, steppers and more that is the norm at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The film takes it a step further to showcase what was happening to get to the historic moment: you see a mother bouncing back from giving birth to twins via an emergency C-section; an African American woman embracing her family’s history and paying tribute to black college culture and honoring black art; and the world’s No. 1 pop star defying the odds yet again and pushing herself to new heights, creating an even wider space between herself and whoever is No. 2. Simply put, Beyoncé changed Coachella — forever — and performing after her is like trying to out-ace Serena Williams or dunk better than Michael Jordan: You won’t win. Woven into the film are audio soundbites from popular figures to help narrate the story: Nina Simone speaks about blackness, Maya Angelou talks about truth, and Tessa Thompson and Danai Gurira explain the importance of seeing people who look like you on large screens. Beyoncé speaks, too, saying that she dreamed of attending an HBCU, though she explains: “My college was Destiny’s Child.” She also says the importance of her Coachella performance was to bring “our culture to Coachella” and highlight “everyone that had never seen themselves represented.”
So many people were represented during those performances last April — her stage was packed with about 200 performers, from dancers to singers to band and orchestra players. Beyoncé kicked of the performance dressed like an African queen, walking up the stage as the jazzy, soulful big band sound of New Orleans is played. After letting her dancers and backing band shine, she emerges again, this time dressed down — like a studious, eager, hopeful college student. The musical direction and song selection flows effortlessly and was purposely crafted to tell a story: the first song is 2003’s “Crazy In Love,” a massively successful No. 1 hit and her first apart from Destiny’s Child. It also was Beyoncé’s first of many collaborations with Jay-Z. But then comes “Freedom,” representing the Beyoncé of today, unconcerned with having a radio or streaming hit, but more focused on the art, and the message. And her message was loud and clear on “HOMECOMING”: Her performance is a homage to the culturally rich homecoming events held annually at HBCUs, but also showcases Beyoncé’s own homecoming — her return to her roots, and how she’s found a new voice by reinterpreting her music through the lens of black history. Young, gifted and black, indeed.
“HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé,” a Netflix release, is rated TV-MA. Running time: 137 minutes. Four stars out of four.
Directed by Joe Talbot and starring Jimmie Fails, Jonathan Majors, Rob Morgan, Tichina Arnold, and Danny Glover. Winner of the Sundance Best Director and Special Jury Awards. The Last Black Man in San Francisco — Summer 2019
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From writer/director Joe Talbot and starring Jimmie Fails, Jonathan Majors, Rob Morgan, Tichina Arnold, and Danny Glover. The Last Man in San Francisco – In Theaters Summer 2019.
RELEASE DATE: Summer 2019
DIRECTOR: Joe Talbot
CAST: Jimmie Fails, Jonathan Majors, Rob Morgan, Tichina Arnold, and Danny Glover
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Tyler
Perry’s final Madea release was not enough to unseat Universal’s “How
to Train Your Dragon” trilogy-ender at the box office this weekend.
“How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” maintained the top spot after two weekends at the box office, adding $30 million for a cumulative $97.7 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.
Lionsgate’s “A Madea Family Funeral” opened at No. 2 with $27 million, above analyst predictions
of $18 million to $20 million. It earned a 24% “rotten” rating on
Rotten Tomatoes. “Madea,” however, on 1,800 fewer screens, had the
higher per-screen average, $11,077, to “Dragon’s” $7,010.
The
final movie in the long-running series, “A Madea Family Funeral” is
Perry’s biggest opening since 2010’s “Why Did I Get Married Too?” opened
with $29 million. The previous year, “Madea Goes to Jail” opened with
$41 million, his highest opening.
Perry’s
Lionsgate deal kicked off with 2005’s “Diary of a Mad Black Woman,”
which grossed $50 million despite having a micro budget. “A Madea Family
Funeral” is the 11th theatrical film to feature Perry as Madea over the
course of 14 years. The Madea films have grossed more than $500 million
to date.
In third place, Fox’s “Alita: Battle Angel” added $7 million in its third weekend for a cumulative $72.2 million.
At
No. 4, Warner Bros.’ “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part” added $6.6
million in its fourth weekend for a cumulative $91.7 million.
This
weekend’s haul is the third biggest weekend gross for the film. Ticket
sales were at a high during the film’s initial wide release expansion in
late November and again in late January in the wake of its five Oscar
nominations.
Other
Oscar winners that saw a notable bump this weekend include Sony’s
animated feature winner “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” which added
1,661 locations (for a total of 2,404) and $2.1 million in its 12th
weekend for a cumulative $187.4 million and Warner Bros.’ “A Star Is
Born,” which added 490 locations and $1.8 million in its 22nd weekend
for a cumulative $213 million.
Also
new this week, Focus Features’ “Greta” opened at No. 8 with $4.6
million, just below analyst predictions of a soft $5-million opening.
The
dark mystery stars Isabelle Huppert and Chloe Grace Moretz as a pair of
New York transplants who bond over a sense of loneliness. It earned a
58% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In
a limited IMAX release, Neon released the documentary “Apollo 11” in
120 locations with $1.6 million, a per-screen average of $13,750. The
film opens in traditional theaters next week.
A24 released Gasper Noe’s “Climax” in five locations with $121,655, a per-screen average of $24,331.
Next
week, Disney debuts the highly anticipated “Captain Marvel,” starring
Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson, which is expected to give the box
office a much-needed jolt. The year-to-date total now trails 2018 by
25.8%.
