Film

OLD

• By Quendrith Johnson

What JAWS did for ocean swimming, M. Night Shyamalan’s OLD threatens to do for beachgoers this Summer. You may want to skip sunbathing after you see this new movie from Universal. But that’s exactly why people flock to horror flicks, because things could always be worse. Mozart in the Jungle’s Gael García Bernal is the Dad who takes wife and mother (Vicky Krieps), plus two children, on an exotic getaway to a secluded sandy cove. The brochure explicitly warns: “no children are allowed on the beach.” 

Cut to M. Night’s mercurial gift for story craft. His adapataion of graphic novel “Sandcastle,” by Pierre Oscar Lévy and Frederik Peeters, comes to jaw-dropping conclusions. Not just about leisure activities, but about Life itself… with cryptic symbols, high adrenaline thrown into hidden fears about Time. After all, even without spoilers, if every minute alive equals half-an-hour? Then what could a whole day at the beach look like; which is the axis their vacation spins around. Chatroom furor on causes for sudden-creepy aging to decomposing puts the movie on deck as an unusual potential blockbuster. 

Rufus Sewell makes a line in the sand, as does a very well-chosen cast, including Embeth Davitz, troubled tourist Ken Leung, Nikki Amuka-Bird (Jupiter Ascending), Abbey Lee from HBO’s Lovecraft Country, and Aaron Pierre (Syfy’s Krypton). Alongside them are Alex Wolff, Eliza Scanlen, a wound-up Emun Elliott, Kathleen Chalfant, and Thomasin McKenzie from shock hit, Jojo Rabbit. How many have populated this strange beach-scape with no visible escape? 

“OLD” from Universal Pictures, see it July 23, click here.

The Tomorrow War

• By Debbie Emery
• Photo Courtesy of Amazon

A movie drought in 2020 means we have a plethora of fresh films in summer 2021. Among them is sci-fi action flick The Tomorrow War starring Chris Pratt – which has a plot that’s more than a little reminiscent of Terminator. Visitors from 30 years in the future travel back in time to 2051 to deliver a message to the world warning them of an alien invasion. They need more manpower to bolster troops in an attempt to win the war, and former Delta Force Operator Dan Forester (Pratt) is among the volunteers sent to the future. Determined to save the world for his daughter and the rest of humanity, Forester must team up with a scientist and his father. 

“You are dealing with people who are making life decisions based not on the life that they could lead, but rather the world that they’re leaving for their children,” Pratt said during a recent virtual press conference, according to Variety. “It’s a different theme to think about someone being drafted away from their children rather than children being drafted away from their parents.”

Directed by Chris McKay and written by Zach Dean, the futuristic thriller also stars J.K. Simmons, Yvonne Strahovski, Betty Gilpin, Sam Richardson, Edwin Hodge, Jasmine Mathews and Keith Powers.

“The Tomorrow War” premieres on Amazon Prime July 2nd.

LADY BOSS

• By Quendrith Johnson
• Photo Courtesy of CNN

She gave us Hollywood with wink, and best-selling author Jackie Collins who sold an eye-watering 400 Million books worldwide, had a catbird seat to classic “Tinseltown.” Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story from CNN Films, is director Laurie Fairie’s brilliant deep dive into the private life of this once-shy little sister of icon-to-be Joan Collins. Recounted by daughters Tiffany Lerman and Rory Green plus celeb intimates, Lady Boss follows Jackie as a gangly UK rebel as she trails Joan to Hollywood, The Golden Era. Collins fooled around with Marlon Brando, pegged the ultimate female screen goddess as “Marilyn Monroe could make a revolving door seem stationary.” Ciro’s vintage party moments became the source material for her books. While her racy divorcee-themed UK novels had some success, it was 1983 smash hit “Hollywood Wives,” that marked her as a polished denizen of global celebrity circles. 

Jackie Collins imbued the 80’s with leopard prints, high hair, and low necklines in a mirror image of favorite heroine, Lucky Santangelo. Stars from budding Sandra Bullock to Stephanie Powers to veteran Robert Stack peopled TV specials spun from the Lucky series. 

Next Joan Collins lands a $2 M USD book deal. The plot-twist sibling rivalry only added to twin flames of fame, as the shoulder-padded dominatrix-types tamed male-driven Hollywood. “Girls can do anything,” Jackie’s motto became updated to: “Women can do anything.” But Jackie Collins hit a wall in the 90’s, when tastes for leopard-skin illicit love affairs soured. Lady Boss is a must-see, as it follows Jackie even right up to her untimely death in 2015.

For more, click here.

Space Jam: A New Legacy

• By Debbie Emery
• Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Michael Jordan and LeBron James are always front and center in the debate over who is the real G.O.A.T. of the NBA, so it’s only fitting that the Lakers superstar is taking over the reins from the Chicago Bulls legend. While the lead athlete is different, the beloved Looney Tunes characters from the original 1996 movie are back and ready to ball. The plot of the long-awaited sequel sees LeBron and his son Dom (played by Cedric Joe) trapped in the Warner Bros. 3000 Entertainment Server-Verse, a virtual space ruled by a rogue A.I. named Al-G Rhythm (a.k.a. Don Cheadle). While the world expects Dom to follow in his father’s footsteps, he secretly dreams of growing up to be a video game developer. The only way LeBron can save the day – and his kid – is by leading a motley crew of players including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Lola Bunny to victory in a basketball game against Al-G’s digitized champions. “This is a fictional version of myself, but it’s also kind of who I am as well,” LeBron said. 

Produced by Black Panther’s Ryan Coogler, James and Maverick Carter and directed by Malcolm D. Lee, Space Jam 2 also features Khris Davis, Sonequa Martin-Green, Jeff Bergman, Eric Bauza and Zendaya.

“Space Jam: A New Legacy” opens July 16th.