The once-delayed sci-fi film, Mickey 17, has shown proof of life with a trailer. Directed and co-written by Bong Joon-ho, Mickey 17 is adapted from Mickey7 by Edward Ashton (which is a great book, by the way) and the film follows the titular Mickey (played by Robert Pattinson), who signed on as an expendable (no, not as a member of that Stallone's ensemble action thriller) to work on the ice planet, Niflheim. As an expendable, Mickey is tasked with all the dangerous jobs—if he dies, a new body of his regenerates with his old memories.
Things come to head when the latest version of Mickey realised that his older clone is still alive. Given the limited resources on an alien planet, it's a huge problem when there's an extra body means that food and oxygen will be depleted much faster. With Robert Pattinson as the lead, we weren't disappointed that his character speaks with the confidence of a resigned death-row inmate. While, the voice may be startling at first, it's kinda perfect for this pushover of a character; one who gives himself over to being killed multiple times.
Previous films deal with the main character dying over and again like Groundhog Day and Edge of Tomorrow but with Bong at the helm, Mickey 17 looks like another feather in his cap. What's not to love with Mickey dying over and over again to the tune of Dean Martin's "Ain't That a Kick in the Head"? Also, given that this is a Bong project, you can expect a good amount of dark humour with the real-life crisis of the exploitation of human labour and... I dunno, fracking. Maybe?
Bong has directed a previous English sci-fi film, Snowpiercer, and the Oscar-winning Parasite. For Mickey 17, the rest of the cast looks exceptional, thanks to actors like Naomi Ackie (Star Wars: Episode IX), Steven Yeun (Nope), Toni Collette (Hereditary) and Mark Ruffalo (Avengers). Mickey 17 is expected to be released next year, 31 January.
Netflix shows have a certain look. I can guarantee I’m not the only one who’s noticed—but if you haven’t, hear me out. There’s a striking sameness to the streaming service’s offerings, making everything from Wednesday to Cobra Kai look like a Hallmark Christmas movie produced by The CW. Is it an intentional branding statement by Netflix? I’m not sure. I can’t tell you why 3 Body Problem seemingly shares costumes with Avatar: The Last Airbender, why One Piece looks like the Bridgertons with newly developed superpowers, or why you could absolutely convince me that the Love Is Blind pods are placed just a room away from Squid Game’s glass bridge.
And yet, with each and every debilitating binge, I find myself learning more about Netflix’s bizarre visual language. The streamer makes a point of putting every character in the brightest room imaginable. It’s more willing to throw questionably awful CGI at me than to simply film outside, and it really wants to ensure that my eyes are constantly assaulted by a kaleidoscope of colour. Choices! They were made.
But what is Netflix’s visual oeuvre, exactly? I’ve assembled a few of Netflix’s most glaring quirks below, which you’ve probably noticed as well. And if Bobby from Queer Eye designed every damn set himself, it wouldn’t surprise me either.
You can’t convince me that Love Is Blind and Squid Game don’t share a set.
(NETFLIX)
I can only describe the brightness level of a Netflix show like this: You know that Hinge guy who keeps the big dentist lights on in his apartment instead of buying a ten-dollar lamp from Ikea? That’s where Netflix lives. Someone in the C-suite must’ve watched that House of the Dragon darkness controversy go down and said, That’s never happening here! Even in a joint as dark as The Witcher’s candle-lit castle halls, I can still see the reflection of a beaming white light on Henry Cavill’s (soon to be one of the Hemsworths’) face. I’ll bet it helps the woman I saw watching The Gray Man on her phone on the subway this week, but I pray these actors don’t go blind on set.
This is the face I’d make if The Circle assigned me this room.
(NETFLIX)
I wouldn’t be watching a Netflix show if, at the end of an episode, I didn’t feel like Van Gogh had tried to paint my Roku. That decor on The Circle? Oof. If I had to spend a month locked in a hotel room with a Pink Lemonade Jungle theme, I’d go insane. (Here’s a drinking game! Have a single beer and try to figure out if you’re watching Emily in Paris or The Ultimatum.) But hey, nothing is more memeable than Netflix.
Sorry, I just had to show you another hideous room from The Circle.
(NETFLIX)
With each new show, it’s more and more obvious to me where a Netflix set ends and the green screen begins. Remember that room on Squid Game where they cut the cookies? Nothing else should make me feel like I’m back in that space, yet 3 Body Problem’s virtual-reality world is giving off major Dalgona Room vibes. Even when the characters are supposed to be outside, it still feels painfully obvious that I haven’t even left whatever soundstage Netflix rented for the month. I shouldn’t question anything’s realness unless I’m watching Is It Cake?
It couldn’t be any more obvious where the wall begins on 3 Body Problem.
(NETFLIX)
Quick, someone try to walk up those totally real stairs.
(NETFLIX)
Don’t tell me...it’s right behind me, isn’t it?
(NETFLIX)
My last example is a phenomenon I call “But What Does My Favourite Character Think?” This moment usually occurs after a shocking reveal, when everyone crowds into the frame and shares a big ol’ confused look. There’s a chance that any character on the show could be your favourite! So Netflix needs to make sure that you know how they feel about what’s going on as well. What if too many people are in one shot? That’s fine, too. Just have them line up in a row. Cobra Kai is notorious for this—even if there’s a campiness to these moments that sometimes win me over.
A classic Cobrai Kai line-up.
(NETFLIX)
Don’t move on with the plot until I see what my favourite character thought of what just happened.
(NETFLIX)
Make sure I can see everyone’s face as if they were standing for a photograph.
(NETFLIX)
The most important thing to remember is that these decisions are not that bad. I’m just lovingly ribbing the streamer. There are shows and original movies on Netflix that are actually a fit for this aesthetic. Bridgerton, for example, probably looks exactly the way it should. And after I conditioned my brain against change over several seasons, the Love Is Blind pods started looking normal to me. But not everything needs to look like this! Sooner or later, I might start thinking Wednesday Addams is on Stranger Things.
Originally published on Esquire US
We've barely recovered from the Marvel-branded bromance that is Deadpool & Wolverine (or rather, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman). Now, we're thrown this curveball of a team-up. A wordplay on two lone-wolves and not a grammatical error, Wolfs looks like it might just live up to expectations. Mainly because who doesn't want to watch Brad Pitt and George Clooney giving each other shit in matching leather jackets?
We've seen the co-stars share the spotlight before. First through Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean's franchise, and last in Coen Brothers' Burn After Reading (that was 2008! 16 years ago!). Yet this match up will see the A-listers go head to head, complete with indispensable zingers.
Filmmaker Jon Watts, who was on the director's chair for all three Tom Holland-fronted Spider-Man movies, also wrote the screenplay with the two leading men in mind, according to a chat with Empire. The film follows Jack (George Clooney) and Nick (Brad Pitt), two unacquainted professional fixers who are simultaneously called to cover up a high-profile crime.
Showing up in almost identical outfits and demeanours, the reluctant partners then set off on typical summer blockbuster action. While originally slated for a full theatrical release, Wolfs goes straight to streaming after a limited run. A strategic measure considering how poorly the star-studded Argylle fared. Still, with a sequel reportedly already approved, we're hopeful.
Hopeful not just because we're getting two big names and buddy banter in-between. More so that it would be interesting to observe how such genre and billing once a foolproof template for success pre-streaming, would perform in the current ever-evolving entertainment landscape.
This will be Pitt's pitstop (couldn't resist) ahead of his other Apple TV+ film that's unambiguously titled F1, premiering in 2025. Clooney's upcoming Netflix flick alongside Adam Sandler is likewise set to release next year.
Wolfs streams globally 27 September on Apple TV+.
Not long ago, I watched my eight-year-old daughter place a toy she’d just built from Lego onto an interactive display and press a button.
“Let’s hear about your idea behind this masterpiece,” said an outsize virtual Lego figure on the screen in front of her, in response.
Nina explained she’s built a car that went around parks and picked up litter. It had an antenna and was charged by solar panels. The Lego figure – who was dressed in a white lab coat complete with a pen clipped to its pocket – scribbled along on his virtual pad as she spoke, blinking enthusiastically.
“You have really thought this through,” the figure announced. “What do you say we send it to the laboratory, to see what my colleagues think?”
Nina pressed a button and a digital likeness of her physical creation appeared on the screen and was “beamed up” into the ether.
We were in the Blue Zone, one of four primary-coloured areas within Lego House, the architecturally spectacular 130,00sq ft marvel in Billund, Denmark – part-visitors’ centre, part-creative playground – known as the “Home of The Brick”, a reference to the fact Lego originated in the city.
Lego House was designed by Bjarke Ingels, one of the design world’s starriest names, whose commissions include Google’s HQ, the new World Trade Center and Audemars Piguet’s watch museum in Switzerland. Ingels, who is also Danish, certainly seems to have enjoyed himself.
The location resembles 21 giant Lego bricks stacked into a 30m tower. Visitors can climb up to the rooftop terrace and down the other side, pausing to take in attractions, restaurants, play zones and a gallery dedicated to fan-made Lego extravaganzas.
Lego House also expounds Lego’s brand values – Nina had been following a loose brief to come up with her litter-picking solar-panelled car, sadly her parents had not instilled those values in her – to create “playful learners for life”.
Wouldn’t we all like to be “playful learners for life”?
No one could say that doesn't sound like a nice thing to aspire to be.
And perhaps there’s something in those core values that helps explain Lego’s ongoing success – 75 years after it produced its first plastic brick, and 92 years after it was founded.
Despite a declining toy market, consumer sales of Lego were up again last year – with revenue at the company reaching DKK 65.9 bn [SGD12.9 bn].
You don’t achieve sales like that solely from eight-year-olds.
Lego has evolved with the times, expanding into different markets, different areas of the world, different themes, different virtual and physical mediums and a different target age range. By catering to its adult fans with complex, detailed sets that often tap into 1980s and 1990s pop culture, Adult Fans of Lego (AFOL) are growing more than ever before. By one estimate, 10 percent of all the Lego bought in America is purchased by grown-ups.
In my own personal orbit, I know a 49-year-old who always has one of Lego’s more challenging, black-boxed sets on the go – the 3,955-piece “Home Alone house”, or the 3,745-piece “Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale”, for example – in part to give him something to do now he’s given up the booze. Also, a 24-year-old who is stoked to be collecting this year’s 25th anniversary releases in the Star Wars Lego line.
Celebrity Lego fans include Brad Pitt, David Beckham, Orlando Bloom and, most pleasingly, Mark Hamill. Ed Sheeran is also on-board, see his song: “Lego House”.
This October we’ll be able to visit the cinema to watch Piece by Piece, a biographical musical drama of the life of Pharrell, the men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton and multihyphenate, also starring the voices of Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg, and told entirely through Lego animation.
Recent years have seen the company cater more and more to its grown-up fans with complex Lego Architecture sets – recreating the Notre-Dame de Paris, the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Taj Mahal, the Statue of Liberty, an almost five-foot-tall version of the Eiffel Tower, and more. Meanwhile, the Lego Botanical Collection — consisting of sets of roses, succulents, wildflowers and orchids — has proved an unexpected hit.
“The Lego Group is putting more focus on creating products that aren’t really seen as toys,” Mike Ganderton, creative director bricks & fans tells me. “They’re seen as something else – a pastime, or a project. Something you pick up and you do because you need a little break from everyday life. It was a bit of a surprise that you could make these quite realistic flowers out a Lego bricks. And suddenly you open up this new audience of ‘I never knew Lego could do that.’”
“We’re seeing more and more adults coming to Lego House without children,” he continues. “And what we’re trying to do is say ‘If you really love Lego, and you want to experience more, and maybe you want to meet your tribe, then the place to come is Lego House.’”
Still, it wasn’t always smiley Lego faces at the company.
From its founding in 1932 until 1998, Lego had never posted a loss. By 2003 it was in serious trouble. Sales were down 30 per cent year-on-year and it was in debt. An internal report revealed it hadn’t added anything of value to its portfolio for a decade.
Consultants were dispatched to Lego’s Danish HQ. Their recommendation? Diversification. The brick had been around since the 1950s, they said, it was old-fashioned. Lego should look to Mattel, home to Fisher-Price, Barbie, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, a company whose portfolio was broad and varied. Lego took their advice: in doing so it almost went bust. It introduced jewellery for girls. There were Lego clothes.
It opened theme parks that cost £125m to build and lost £25m in their first year. It built its own video games company from scratch, the largest installation of Silicon Graphics supercomputers in northern Europe, despite having no experience in the field. Lego’s toys still sold, particularly tie-ins, like their Star Wars and Harry Potter-themed kits. But only if there was a movie out that year. Otherwise they sat on shelves.
“We are on a burning platform,” Lego’s CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp told colleagues. “We’re running out of cash… [and] likely won’t survive”.
Vig Knudstorp turned out to be Lego’s saviour. A father of four, he had arrived from management consultants McKinsey & Company in 2001 and was promoted to boss within three years, aged 36.
“In some ways, I think he’s a better model for innovation than Steve Jobs,” writes David Robertson, the author of Brick by Brick: How Lego Rewrote the Rules of Innovation, a book that has now become a set business text. Sony, Adidas and Boeing are said to refer to it. Google now uses Lego bricks to help its employees innovate.
Vig Knudstorp rescued Lego by methodically rebuilding it. He binned things it had no expertise in – the Legoland parks are now owned by the British company Merlin Entertainments, for example. He slashed the inventory, halving the number of individual pieces Lego produces from 13,000 to 6,500. (Brick colours had somehow expanded from the original bright yellow, red and blue, sourced from Piet Mondrian, to more than 50.)
He also encouraged interaction with Lego’s fans, something previously considered verboten. Far from killing off Lego, the internet has played a vital role in allowing fans to share their creations and promote events like Brickworld, the adult Lego fan conventions.
A year before James Surowiecki’s landmark book The Wisdom of Crowds was published, Lego launched its own crowdsourcing competition: originators of winning ideas get one per cent of their product’s net sales, designs that include the Back to the Future DeLorean time machine, the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine and a set of female Nasa scientists.
Then came the films.
When The Lego Movie came out in 2014, Rotten Tomatoes deemed it worthy of a 96 per cent approval rating. Only Oscar nominees 12 Years A Slave and Gravity matched it. The follow-up The Lego Batman Movie outperformed the preceding “actual” Batman movie so convincingly that DC’s cinematic superhero exploits have never really recovered.
In 2015, the still privately owned, family-controlled Lego Group overtook Ferrari to become the world’s most powerful brand. It announced profits of £660m, making it the number one toy company in Europe and Asia, and number three in North America, where sales topped USD1bn for the first time. From 2008 to 2010 its profits quadrupled, outstripping Apple’s.
Indeed, it has been called the Apple of toys: a profit-generating, design-driven miracle built around premium, intuitive, covetable hardware that fans can’t get enough of. There are around 70bn pieces of Lego sold each year, across 150 countries. Lego people – “Minifigures” – the 4cm-tall yellow characters with dotty eyes, permanent grins, hooks for hands and pegs for legs – outnumber humans. The British Toy Retailers Association voted Lego the Toy of the Century.
Lego House, which opened in 2017, is a physical embodiment of that everything-is-awesome success. As well as the interactive Build the Change experience, the environmentally aware activation that my daughter enjoyed, it currently offers a new multisensory upgrade to its walkthrough History Collection, about as unstuffy a museum experience as you could imagine and a must for any AFOL, as well as the perhaps less environmentally aware chance to explore a life-size Lego Technic McLaren Formula 1 Race Car.
“I think what the House offers, truly, is that it does display all those endless possibilities that the bricks offer,” says Vinnie Kuld Jensen, the diversity and inclusion lead at Lego House. “It’s really that tangible manifestation of what play does for us as human beings, not only for children, but also for adults. There is such a variety in the different experiences you can engage with that no matter what you prefer, whether it’s going deep and staying focused for a long time on a certain build, or being competitive and playful, it truly offers you all those opportunities.”
The average visitor spends 4.5 hours at Lego House. That’s an incredibly long time to spend under the roof of one brand. A testament not just to the activities you can do once you’re inside, but to the building itself.
Everything inside is clean, calm and nicely lit. Lego says its House received 300,000 guests last year, a record, and gets around 2,000 guests on a peak day. But it could be more. Tickets are capped so it never feels crowded. Given the sheer numbers of children inside, there is a notable absence of rowdy behaviour. And given the sheer amount of Lego lying around, 25 million bricks according to the Lego House website, there was a notable absence of conspicuous thieving. In short: it’s very Danish.
“I think that’s partly [thanks to] the architecture," says Mike Ganderton. "It's partly the Danish culture. But I think first and foremost, it looks neat and tidy and well looked after. If someone dropped a piece of litter, then everyone would drop a piece of litter.”
It might be, as Lego puts it, “the world’s best play date for adults, children at heart and actual children”.
“Play is for everyone,” says Kuld Jensen. “Everyone can benefit from play. The essence of what our product offers you, as a guest in our House, or just as a customer to the brand, is a really safe space to play and unfold yourself. There’s endless possibilities, because the versatility is so high.”
“We always said it could never be a museum of Lego,” Ganderton says. “Lego House opened seven years ago, but it can’t be stuck in 2017. It has to be Lego, whatever the year is. By definition we have to keep moving. Lego puts out 253 new products every year, along with innovations and new campaigns and new focuses. We’re the brand House and so we have to follow the brand. And that keeps things exciting.”
Or, as brand saviour and CEO Jørgen Vig Knudstorp put it when Lego House first opened:
“This had to be a place where even the most hardcore Lego fans would say, ‘Wow!’”
Originally published on Esquire UK
The Wolverine and Marvel Jesus save the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Six years after the events from Deadpool 2, Deadpool's (played by Ryan Reynolds) peaceful existence as a civilian comes to a halt when the Time Variance Authority recruits him to help safeguard the multiverse. When he realises that his own universe is at stake, he ropes in Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) (and a host of other familiar faces) to fend off the threats of Paradox (Matthew Macfadyen) and Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin).
If there’s ever a remedy for the Marvel Cinematic Universe slump (causes: Jonathan Major’s scandal; the pandemic; run-of-the-mill storylines) Deadpool & Wolverine is it. First, it’s a great buddy movie. Reynolds and Jackman are pals in real life and you can taste the chemistry between them in the film (Antman and Wasp, please take note). Second, it’s actually fun and it's a lot to do with the wanton fan service. Deadpool & Wolverine exemplifies what a summer tentpole movie should be.
(The fourth wall-breaking helps, sure. But poking fun at the character and actor, who plays them (“Who is your dialect coach?”), as well as at any of Disney's sacred cows. It's a wish fulfilment of sorts that someone else is voicing what EVERYBODY ELSE IS THINKING.)
Third, I'm kept guessing, which is great because I'm very hard to surprise. While there's a narrative through-line of Deadpool and Wolverine trying to save the day, there are moments that cause you to do a double-take. Like the gall that they revealed X-23 as one of the characters appearing in the final trailer. If they are gonna do that for a promo, imagine what they will do in the main film.
Lastly, Corrin’s portrayal of Cassandra Nova is great. It's such a great deviation from your usual villain tropes. Cassandra Nova is equal parts camp and menace with their character and I, for one, would like to see more of Nova.
The thing about fan service, it might get too gratuitous; especially to those who aren't fans. Take the Deadpool Corps. A travelling band made up of multidimensional Deadpools? Great, sign me up. Can't wait for the hi-jinks. But in the end, it feels like the presence of the Deadpool Corps came about because someone in the writer's room opined, hey, wouldn't it be cool if we have this big battle scene involving dozens of Deadpools? and then fail to justify how it moves the story forward.
And wouldn't it be great if Cable or Domino made an appearance? But, we suppose, there's only so much the budget can be stretched.
Dogpool. That's it. Just look out for the face that launched a thousand Titanics.
Oh, you want more? Fine.
Cameos. Loads of them. Even the voice actors.
Or and, as usual, stay until the credits end.
Deadpool & Wolverine is now out in theatres.
*This article contains spoilers. Like, tons of them.*
I get why reviews of Deadpool & Wolverine are divided. Half the critics mostly found the countless cameos and fourth wall breaking quips a tad excessive. The other half essentially reveled in these very mainstays.
Both are right. If you found Deadpool movies seasoned with inside jokes, it's safe to say that the third instalment practically triples it to the point where characters barely stop to catch a breath between them. Yet if anything, that's Deadpool DNA; manifesting in yellow speech bubbles per panel long before they were spoken gags in cinemas.
Whilst everyone is busy googling Full Cast/Every Easter Egg/All Marvel References the minute they leave theatres (What? Rob McElhenney? Matthew McConaughey??), the film itself felt very much like a full circle moment.
Apart from Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman being obvious BFFs IRL, the pairing's significance runs deeper than what it seems. The longstanding history between the two Marvel favourites goes from as rudimentary as Wade Wilson's origin story AKA Wolvie genes, to how they've been cinematically intertwined over the years. Deadpool 2 literally opens with "F— Wolverine".
Wolverine's very first spinoff movie was also where the merc with the mouth was first introduced to live-action audiences ...albeit in the worst possible way. (A wrong which its actor has since been on an unending mission to right, leading us to where we are today. Now look what you made him do.)
If this be the true swan song of Hugh Jackman's adamantium mutant, it's only apt that it culminates in a Deadpool threequel. It also gives double meaning to the movie posters. Would it be too far-fetched to speculate that not only is it a visual nod to X-Men ties, but the roman numeral marking as the 10th time the Australian heavyweight appears as Wolverine on screen?
Damn near choked up seconds before their big heroic move when Deadpool tells Wolverine he waited a long time for this team up.
Atop being the studio's only theatrical release of 2024, the movie is the franchise's MCU debut (as it never fails to repeatedly point out). This provided a much bigger pool of references to draw from, and boy did they. Still, the most meaningful were the many Wolverine variants. Anatomically accurate short king, Patch, James Howlett...
...this iconic cover.
Even the blink-and-you'll-miss-it feature of Bruce Banner's alter ego is a callback to Wolverine's launch—in an issue of The Incredible Hulk.
And of course, the moment he put the cowl on. C'mon.
Grown men were pretty much sobbing on set at the sight of the actor in classic costume during camera test, according to Executive Producer Wendy Jacobsen in a HeyUGuys article. The audible awe in theatres echoed the same sentiment.
Honestly, initial reactions to Wolverine's return in the early trailers included a mental prep for potential disappointment due to the cash grab (or in Reynold's words: big, fat Marvel paycheck) nature of it. But witnessing the 55-year-old once again pour his emotions into the beloved tortured soul came as a stark reminder of his irreplaceability.
To crouch and growl animalistically without being overtly cringey is one thing; to carry the same magnetism in his vulnerability as in his action sequences is not something we're 100 percent sure the Cavillrine can pull off, aesthetically fitting as the fancast was.
It's admittedly heavy on the nostalgia. Especially amidst the bevy of forgotten characters (a Pyro VS Human Torch standoff? God bless us all). Plus that post-credit montage. Even the shirtless scene—brilliantly set up with the divorce jab—akin to X-Men: The Last Stand's everything-goes-except-the-pants finale.
Sidenote: Is it really accidental that what he dons after is a TVA jacket?
If you think about how long these actors have played these characters (nearly quarter of a century for Mr Jackman), and in tandem, how long viewers have watched them since, it's understandable for the movie to have the same effect as chancing upon a song you heard in your youth.
And if you've ever watched one of those behind-the-scenes documentaries about how much goes into making a movie, you'd know the superhero suit probably took multiple rounds in costume department finding the right hue (had to physically restrain myself from a pun there) of yellow that correctly matches the comics while simultaneously not translate as tacky on screen.
Not to mention studio complications and immense pressure on writers and all relevant teams. Surely these efforts count for some credit. As Kevin Feige acknowledges about character resurrection: It can be done—if great care is taken.
In the context of a bigger picture that is cultural zeitgeist, we'd argue that what Deadpool & Wolverine did was not pandering, but a love letter to the entities and universes that hold a special place in our hearts (yeah felt just as geeky writing it, but let this corner of the internet have it).
So no, this is not a movie review. It's an appreciation post of an appreciation post.
Deadpool & Wolverine is out in theatres
An unnerving horror that is upset by its own marketing.
Agent Lee Harker (played by Maika Monroe) is tasked to solve a series of murders from the 1990s where the patriarch, without any provocation, kills his own family and then himself. Aside from the MO, the only thing that ties all these cases are the cryptic letters left behind, and the name that signs them off: Longlegs.
The best sort of horror films are the ones that still stick around after the credits roll. In the company of Hereditary and The Silence of the Lambs, Longlegs cling to you like cigarette smoke. It's palpable; the atmosphere that director Osgood "Oz" Perkins conjures up. He withholds information—scenes are played out in areas where light struggles to take root; bits and pieces of Longlegs (Nicolas Cage) are hinted at or glimpsed in most of the movie. You're kept on tenterhooks before the inevitable tug.
Monroe, who found her sure footing in It Follows, plays the mousey agent Lee Harker. The detective seldom makes eye contact and is a bit of an odd duck but her anxiety is evident, especially whenever she deals with her religious mother played by the captivating Alicia Witt.
You won't get all your questions answered in Longlegs. That might be frustrating to have a lack of closure on certain issues but that's the appeal of the movie. That violent acts sometimes occur without rhyme or reason. In the movie, the Satanic Panic is given weight as the devil (or some paranormal simulacrum of Old Nick) is the entity pulling the strings. Or is it just a convenient bogeyman to point a finger at? We'd never know but, again, it's this sort of uncertainty that lingers.
Longlegs also features a well-trod theme: how children survive their parents. Whether how parents raise their kids is intentional or well-meaning, we bear the marks (or scars) of our upbringing. Real life seem to have spilled over into Longlegs: Perkins is the son of Antony Perkins and his father's homosexuality being kept a secret inspired the film. Cage based his Longlegs performance on his mom, who was a schizophrenic and severe depressive. The hair, the white face, the incoherent utterances, Cage's performance is unforgettable. But on the other side of that same coin...
...Cage's performance may not ellicit the proper reaction from moviegoers.
During my screening, a few patrons started giggling when Longlegs appeared on the screen. Is it from how over-the-top Cage's acting is? Or from nervousness? We don't know but it took the rest of us out of the movie. Then, again Cage's portrayal was egged on my Perkins' directions so maybe the director knows something that we don't.
In what is seen as the ballsiest marketing move ever, Longlegs' production house and distributor, NEON, ran a campaign that did better than "show-not-tell"—they didn't show Longlegs. Instead, they ran clips to set the tone. One such marketing stunt involved Monroe's heartbeat that spiked when she first met Cage in his Longlegs persona. While it created buzz, it also set the bar for how scary the film is unrealistically high. I enjoyed Longlegs and think the movie is in a league of its own but when it is set against NEON's marketing highfalutin claims, I was a tad disappointed.
In short, don't buy into the hype.
Kiernan Shipka, who was in Perkins' The Blackcoat's Daughter (another atmospheric horror), returns here as the only known survivor of Longlegs' crimes.
Longlegs requires multiple viewings to fully pick up on the bits of easter eggs and clues. Like the "cuckoo" that Longlegs utters. There's a theory that "cuckoo" refers to the real-life behaviour of the cuckoos, who lay their own eggs in other bird's nests and trick the host into raising the cuckoo's young. Whether that's the reason for Longleg's "cuckoo", it just adds another layer of lore to the movie.
Also, there's little information about the film's composer, Zigli. He's an almost-unknown to the music scene and all that is known about him is, according to Milan Records, that the composer described himself as a “humanoid vessel for the delivery of sounds and songs.”
Longlegs is now out in theatres.
It’s taken exactly twice as long as real-life Emperor Commodus’ reign to get another Gladiator movie. But finally, 24 years since Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, and the dog that played Well’ard in Eastenders taught us there’s no place like Rome, it’s here. Almost.
The swelteringly anticipated sequel to Ridley Scott’s sword-and-sandle epic hits cinemas this autumn. The original, about an all-conquering general betrayed and sold into slavery by a jealous new emperor, proved box office magic in 2000. It not only raked in USD 460 million worldwide, but won five Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor.
So big sandals to fill.
Beyond what we can glean from the trailer, the plot of the film is as closely guarded as an imperial bedchamber. Pretty much all we know is who’s in it – Pedro Pascal, Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington and Connie Nielsen. And, of course, Scott is again in the folding chair. We also know that it picks up the same story some 20 years later, following the (familiar-sounding) trajectory of Lucius (Mescal) – the cherubic boy in the first film, now with stubble and muscles – as he transforms into a ruthless gladiator.
As for the plot, here's what we know: Lucius, now an adult, has traded life at the top table (along with his mother) for one in the fields of Numidia, northern Africa. Now with a wife and child, he finally appears to have found inner peace. But then the armies of co-emperors Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn) invade Numidia, led by general Marcus Acacius (Pascal). Lucius is captured and finds himself in the shackles of the very empire he was once meant to rule.
Washington’s character is completely new – a former slave turned wealthy merchant called Mercius with his own grudge against the emperors. Cut from a similar cloth as the late-Oliver Reed's Proximo, most certainly.
So what can we expect? A lot more of the same, probably, and more. It’s being touted as the blockbuster of 2024. But how close to historical truth does it tread, and who were the real-life Romans who inspired this epic?
Played in the movie by Fred Hechinger and Joseph Quinn, these brothers gave off strong Cain and Abel energy throughout their lives, the former now recognised as one of the most bloodthirsty tyrants in Roman history.
Upon his deathbed in AD211, their father Septimius Severus, made them co-emperors – surely one of the greatest errors in judgment of the Roman era, in a crowded market. Trouble was, Severus didn’t set out a division of rule for the brothers, who engaged in a bitter tug-of-war for the best parts of the empire.
For two years they ruled miserably together, the time in which Gladiator II is set. But in the end, their fragile egos could no longer contain their jealousies, and Caracalla had Geta murdered by his own guardsmen. Geta is said to have died in their mother’s arms. Caracalla then went full-Stalin on Geta’s memory, having his image removed from every painting in sight, and ordering the wholesale deaths of his supporters.
Caracalla was also known for a face as ugly as his soul. He earned the nickname Tarautas, after one of the most famous gladiators of the time, who also had a reputation for being offensively ugly and violent.
He did some good things, like grant Roman citizenship to all free men throughout the Roman Empire, and build the great public Baths of Caracalla in Rome. But most of that was overshadowed by the trail of death and destruction he left in his wake. Once, after a satirical play mocked him in Alexandria, Egypt, he ordered the indiscriminate massacre of thousands of Alexandrian citizens as payback. He had senators murdered, slaughtered entire populations of cities he conquered, and ultimately left the empire’s economy in tatters.
He was said to have studied Greek and could quote long passages from the Greek playwright Euripides but also that he strongly despised education and educated people.
In some way Caracalla died as he lived – urinating on whatever he saw before him. While travelling through southern Turkey to visit a temple, he stopped for a toilet break by the side of the road. There, as he relieved himself in the mud, a disgruntled soldier named Justin Martialis, ran over and stabbed him to death. He was 29 years old.
You’ll remember Lucilla from the first film – the beautiful emperor’s daughter caught in an uncomfortable love triangle between her brother (Commodus) and former lover (Maximus).
First minor discrepancy between fact and fiction: Lucilla died six years before Caracalla was born. But still, details.
Born into the purple of imperial Rome, Lucilla was no stranger to power and privilege. As the daughter of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, she was groomed for a life of political significance. At the age of (ahem) about 11, she was married off to her father's co-emperor, 29-year-old Lucius Verus. It was a union designed to cement their alliance. As empress, she enjoyed the trappings of her position, but fate had a cruel twist in store.
Verus' untimely death left Lucilla a widow, her power and influence diminished. Yet, her lineage made her a valuable pawn in the game of empires. A hasty remarriage to a senator followed, but she yearned for the power she once held.
When her brother Commodus ascended the throne, Lucilla watched in dismay as his erratic rule threatened to unravel their father's legacy. Driven by ambition and a desire to protect Rome, she became entangled in a daring plot to assassinate the emperor. However, the conspiracy was foiled, and Lucilla faced the wrath of her brother.
Exiled to the picturesque island of Capri, Lucilla's fate was sealed. Isolated and disgraced, she met her end at the hands of an assassin sent by Commodus.
Probably the biggest creative liberty, this, given that the real Lucius died before Commodus even became emperor. His full name was Lucius Verus II, the son of Lucilla and Lucius Verus (Marcus Aurelius' co-ruler). He had two sisters: Aurelia Lucilla and Lucilla Plautia and a little brother named Pompeianus from his mother's second marriage.
Lucius and his two sisters all died in childhood, most likely of illness, which was common for children of the time. Pompeianus, however, did survive childhood to become a soldier and, later, a senator. He was five when his mother was executed, and in his early 30s when he was murdered by bandits on the orders of emperor Caracalla.
While the plot for Gladiator II is shrouded in secrecy, the historical backdrop of Emperor Caracalla's reign offers a glimpse into the potential brutality and political intrigue that could unfold on screen. Caracalla's reputation for violence and ruthlessness, coupled with the power struggles and betrayals that characterised his rule, provides fertile ground for a compelling and action-packed sequel.
Whether the film delves into the darker aspects of Caracalla's reign, such as his penchant for massacres and purges, remains to be seen. However, the historical context suggests that the gladiatorial arena could be a fitting stage for a tale of vengeance, survival, and the struggle for power in a corrupt and decadent empire.
Originally published on Esquire UK
If you thinks that Krumpus is the worst kind of monster to see during the Christmas season, buddy, you are about to meet the nosferatu. Sorry, Nosferatu with a capital "N". And we are talking about the version by Robert Eggers, he of The Witch, The Lighthouse and The Northman.
Some context: not willing to spare coin to adapt Bram Stoker's Dracula for film, Prana Film produced an unauthorised version of it. The film was called Nosferatu, which is an archaic Romanian word "a suggested etymology of 'Nesuferitu', meaning 'the offensive one' or 'the insufferable one'. Many details from the book were changed (Dracula is now Count Orlok; the setting was shifted to Berlin; Van Helsing was renamed as Professor Bulwer) but it wasn't enough to deter the Stoker Estate from suing. Alas, Prana Film declared bankruptcy but Nosferatu was hailed by film scholars that has set the standard for the horror genre.
Even though Nosferatu entered the public domain in 2019, it didn't stop unofficial remakes from being produced even earlier. With a tenuous connection to the original via its title, Werner Herzog's Nosferatu the Vampyre starred Klaus Kinski as Count Dracula, not Count Orlok. There was even a remake by David Lee Fisher on Kickstarter starring Doug Jones. Robert Eggers' version is the only official remake to date.
It was announced that Bill Skarsgård (who's in, apparently, his goth phase) was cast as Count Orlok in Eggers' remake (very apt). Then it was followed by the news that Willem Dafoe was cast as well. There's a sort of poetry of Dafoe being in Nosferatu—Dafoe previously starred in Shadow of the Vampire, a fictionalised account of the filming Nosferatu, where Dafoe portrays Max Shreck (the actor who played Count Orlok) as an actual vampire.
For this overture, Dafoe will play Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz, whose name was changed from Professor Bulwer (who was based on Van Helsing in Stoker's Dracula).
At least, we saw a reason to create this.
Robert Eggers' Nosferatu also stars Nicholas Hoult; Lily-Rose Depp; Aaron Taylor-Johnson; Emma Corrin and Ralph Ineson. While the trailer doesn't show Count Orlok in all his horrifying glory, the feel of the teaser and the silhouette at the end conveyed all that's needed to tide us over for the full reveal.
Nosferatu will be released this Christmas.
Although I do not believe that 2023 will go down as a stellar year for anyone – I asked six friends and they all agreed – there is something I cannot stop thinking about: Cannes 2023. We got The Zone of Interest, Anatomy of a Fall, May December, How to Have Sex, Perfect Days. There was Killers of the Flower Moon. There was that gay Western with Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal. And best of all – and yes, I really mean best – we got our first peak at The Idol, The Weeknd’s HBO critical darling (ha, ha) gone too soon. If the Oxford English Dictionary ever need to update their definition of “halcyon” – is that something they do? – they could just use two words: Cannes 2023.
Which leads us to the 2024 festival, its 77th edition, which takes place in a few weeks. This year’s jury is headed up by Greta Gerwig, former indie darling who last year managed to turn a toy franchise into an Oscar-nominated film (though missed actual gold: shame!). It’s probably not going to be quite as starry as last year’s affair – though, as evidenced by my introduction, what chance did it have? – but there are a few promising projects.
You can read the full list of in-competition and out-of-competition films here, but we have picked some highlights.
All eyes are on Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, about an architect who rebuilds New York following a disaster. The film, which Coppola has been working on since the early Eighties, stars Adam Driver, Nathalie Emanuel and Aubrey Plaza.
Barry Keoghan dropped out of Gladiator II (led by Esquire cover star Paul Mescal) to star in Bird, directed by Andrea Arnold (American Honey, Fish Tank) alongside the recent star of gay open relationship drama Passages, Franz Rogowski. And his Saltburn co-star and erstwhile Elvis, Jacob Elordi, will star in Paul Schrader’s Oh, Canada, which is based on 2021 novel Foregone. It’s about a an American leftie who heads to Canada to avoid being drafted for the Vietnam War.
Yorgos Lanthimos, fresh from a victory run with Poor Things, is back with Kinds of Kindness, an anthology film starring Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, possible tortured poet Joe Alwyn and a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it turn from Hunter Schafer. Tortured politician Donald Trump is the subject of The Apprentice, directed by Ali Abbasi, which follows the businessman turned politician’s early years. The dubious honour of playing the former president goes to Sebastian Stan and Succession’s Jeremy Strong co-stars.
Sean Baker, the American director behind the heart-stealing The Florida Project, returns with Anora, a New York rom-com about… well, who knows actually? Details are under wrap apart from the cast which includes Mikey Madison (Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood). Elsewhere Italian director Paolo Sorrentino returns with Parthenope, starring Gary Oldman. We don’t know much about that one either though the film’s title takes its name from a siren in Greek mythology (could be helpful to know for a pub quiz?).
David Cronenberg is premiering The Shrouds, a horror film with Vincent Cassel, Guy Pearce and Diane Kruger. Cassel plays a widower who invents a machine to connect with the dead. If movies have taught us anything, that will surely have zero consequences. Another horror, Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance, sounds interesting thanks to its cast alone: Demi Moore, Dennis Quaid and Margaret Qualley.
The biggie premiering out of competition is George Miller’s Fury Road prequel, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Anya Taylor-Joy takes on the lead role while Thor’s younger brother, Liam Hemsworth, joins in on the desert fun. Will Kevin Costner’s western, Horizon: An American Saga, be as fun? Who knows but its cast, which includes Costner, Sienna Miller and Luke Wilson, will surely give it a go.
And what will follow up Molly Manning Walker’s How To Have Sex in the Un Certain Regard category? By title alone, I am excited by On Becoming a Guinea Fowl from Zambian-Welsh director Rungano Nyoni. It is a family comedy-drama set in Africa and has already been picked up by A24 for international sales.
Originally published on Esquire UK
After 36 years, the long awaited Beetlejuice sequel is finally here. Having been in the works for many years now, it's finally set to release after several failed attempts. The majority of the original cast will reprise their roles. That includes Michael Keaton as the titular Beetlejuice, Winona Ryder as Lydia Deetz, and Catherine O'Hara as Delia Deetz. Goth gen Z princess, Jenna Ortega—previously as the lead in Netflix's Wednesday—joins the cast as Astrid (Lydia’s daughter). This makes this the second time the actress has worked with Tim Burton. Other new names to the film—Monica Bellucci, Willem Dafoe, and Justin Theroux—are also part of the sequel's cast.
Titled Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the sequel centres around the rebellious Astrid’s summoning of Betelgeuse and turning her mother’s life upside down. Harry Belafonte's “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)," plays in the background, evoking memories of one of the most memorable moments from the first movie. The trailer follows Astrid around as she cycles through town and across the infamous red bridge. We follow her into the attic, where she uncovers the scale model of Winter River in Connecticut. And, of course, unknowingly summon Betelgeuse.
Directed by Burton, the sequel will embrace his handmade aesthetic with practical effects and no CGI. Burton and Keaton had originally declared that if a sequel were to be made, it would have to stay true to the spirit of the first movie and carried out using the same techniques. Burton had adopted the use of puppets, strings, wire and make-up without any digital effects, reminiscent of how many of his other older films were made.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is scheduled for theatres on 6 September 2024.
Following nearly 16 years of development hell, The Crow is finally ready to seek vengeance once again. Based on James O'Barr's 1989 comic book series of the same name, the upcoming film was first announced in 2008. Various actors were in talks to lead over the years, including Bradley Cooper, Jason Momoa, Tom Hiddleston, and Luke Evans. Now, Rupert Sanders (Ghost in the Shell) will direct the film, which will star Bill Skarsgård and FKA Twigs.
Skarsgård will play Eric Draven, a murdered man who seeks to avenge the deaths of himself and his fiancėe (FKA Twigs). "A crow carries their soul to the land of the dead," the narrator says in the first trailer for the film. "But sometimes something so bad happens, that the soul cannot rest until you put the wrong things right." The trailer also shows the grittier and bloodier direction for The Crow. Danny Huston (Succession) plays the main villain. The Crow premieres in theatres on 7 June, 2024.
The original The Crow (1994) film was famously mired with tragedy. A prop gun disaster fatally wounded star Brandon Lee, the son of legendary action star Bruce Lee. Though Lee had already filmed most of his scenes, the rest of the movie was recut and edited with stunt doubles and digital effects. The Crow later went on to become a cult classic. It grossed USD94 million at the box office on a USD23-million budget. Three more The Crow films were subsequently released, including two direct-to-video sequels.
Though the upcoming reimagining of The Crow is technically the fifth film in the franchise, it marks the first time that the story of Eric Draven will be retold for a new audience. "I was a huge fan of the original film growing up as a kid and was so honored to take on the role of Eric Draven," Skarsgård said in the official press release for the new trailer. "But really what drew me to it was what Rupert Sanders wanted to do with it. He wanted to completely reimagine the story and the character and tailor it towards a modern audience... I felt a responsibility to Eric’s story and endeavored to stay true to the spirit of the source material."
Sanders hopes that the new film pays homage to Lee's iconic role. That and forging a new direction for the influential series. "What drew me to this was the opportunity to make a dark romance, something that dealt with loss, grief, and the ethereal veil between life and death and reaching through that," the director told Vanity Fair. "I grew up listening to Joy Division and The Cure, and this movie is a bit like a Cure song—the beauty of melancholy."
