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All the movies you'll want to see in 2020
Filed under: Fantasy Realms, Movies, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café, Superheroes, TV — Leave a comment
It's that time of year again, time to take a look forward at what movies should be on your radar for 2020. Are you going to see them all? Heck no. These are the genre films we think borg readers will want to know about to make their own checklists for the coming year–and they are only the films we know about so far. We pulled 85 of the hundreds of films that have been finalized or are in varying stages of final production, slated for next year's movie calendar.
What looks to top the list for most fanboys and fangirls? Ghostbusters: Afterlife! Scarlett Johannson solo in Black Widow! A new James Bond movie, No Time to Die. Vin Diesel in Bloodshot and a new Fast & Furious. The original Tom Clancy novel series is finally continuing with an adaptation of Without Remorse. Comic book adaptations are in less supply in 2020, but look for Venom 2, Wonder Woman 1984, Eternals, The New Mutants, Morbius, Birds of Prey, The Old Guard, and did we mention Black Widow? Compare the below list to our 2019 list and even the 2018 list, 2017 list, 2016 list, 2015 list, or 2014 list, and your takeaway may be seeing the studios moving genre content from the big screen to the small screen via streaming services.
Do you like sequels? There are far less coming to theaters in 2020 than in 2019, but many more remakes of movies, books, and TV shows are on the way. In fact, with all the blockbusters in 2019, 2020 looks pretty tame as the cinema marquee is concerned. Some films don't have locked in release dates yet: Amazon Studios and Netflix haven't revealed dates for the following 2020 releases (those we know you'll find on the calendar below):
7500, a film about a highjacked airplane, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Amazon Studios)
The Dig, a film about a woman finding archaeological treasures on her land, starring Ralph Fiennes, Lily James, and Carey Mulligan (Netflix)
Horse Girl, Alison Brie stars and directs this story about an awkward girl who fuses her dreams with reality (Netflix)
Jingle Jangle, an animated Christmas story with the voices of Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, and Hugh Bonneville (Netflix)
Louis Wain, biopic of the 19th century artist starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, and Andrea Riseborough (Amazon Studios)
The Old Guard, adaptation of comic book story, starring Charlize Theron and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Netflix)
Radioactive, a film about Marie Curie, starring Rosamund Pike and Anya Taylor-Joy (Amazon)
Rebecca, adaptation and remake of the Daphne Du Maurier classic novel, starring Lily James, Keely Hawes, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Armie Hammer (Netflix)
Welcome to Sudden Death, sequel to Jean-Claude van Damme 1995 movie starring Michael Jai White (Netflix)
The Willoughbys, animated adaptation of the Lois Lowry book, with voices of Maya Rudolph, Martin Short, and Jane Krakowski (Netflix)
Wonderland, murder conspiracy mystery starring Mark Wahlberg, Allan Arkin, and Colleen Camp (Netflix)
Some of these films will have revised release dates, or get pushed to 2021.
So grab your calendar and start making your plans–here are the movies you'll want to see in 2020 (and some you might not!):
The Informer – Thriller, starring Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund Pike, Ana de Armas, Common, and Clive Owen – January 10.
Underwater – Thriller, stars Kristin Stewart in underwater horror story – January 10.
Dolittle – Family/Comedy, stars Robert Downey, Jr. in remake of the classic, with voices of Tom Holland, Rami Malek, Octavia Spencer, Emma Thompson, Antonio Banderas, Ralph Fiennes, and Michael Sheen – January 17.
Tags: 2020 movies, 7500, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Adria Arjona, Alex Winter, Alexander Ludwig, Ali Fazal, Alice Krige, Alicia Silverstone, Alison Brie, All the movies, Allan Arkin, Amanda Seyfried, Amazon 2020 movies, Amazon Studios, Amy Adams, Ana de Armas, Andrea Riseborough, Andrew Koji, Angelina Jolie, Anna Kendrick, Anne Dagg, Anne Hathaway, Annette Bening, Antebellum, Anthony Michael Hall, Antoine Fuqua, Antonio Banderas, Anya Taylor-Joy, Armie Hammer, Arsenio Hall, Artemis Fowl, Awkwafina, Úrsula Corberó, Bad Boys for Life, Ben Affleck, Ben Whishaw, Benedict Cumberbatch, Benh Zeitlin, Bill & Ted Face the Music, Bill Murray, Bill Nighy, BIOS, Birds of Prey, Black Widow, Blake Lively, Bloodshot, Bloodshot movie, Bob's Burgers: The Movie, Brian Tyree Henry, C.S. Forester, Carey Mulligan, Cassie Steele, Charles Dance, Charlie Heaton, Charlize Theron, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Pine, Chris Pratt, Christopher Plummer, Cillian Murphy, Claire Foy, Clancy Brown, Clifford the Big Red Dog, Clive Owen, Cloris Leachman, Colin Farrell, Colin Firth, Colleen Camp, Common, Dan Aykroyd, Danai Gurira, Daniel Brühl, Daniel Craig, Daniel Mays, Dann Mintz, Danny DeVito, Darby Camp, Dave Bautista, David Harbour, Dawn French, Death on the Nile, Deep Water, Denis Villeneuve, Dev Patel, Diana Rigg, Disney, Dixie Egerickx, Djimon Hounsou, Dolittle, Donnie Yen, Downhill, Dune movie 2020, Dwayne Johnson, Dylan O'Brien, Ed Harris, Eddie Murphy and James Earl Jones, Eddie Redmayne, Edgar Wright, Eiza González, Elizabeth Debicki, Emily Blunt, Emma, Emma Mackey, Emma Thompson, Ernie Hudson, Eternals movie, Eugene Merman, Ewan McGregor, Fantasy Island, Fast & Furious 9, Finn Wolfhard, Florence Pugh, Forest Whitaker, Frances Hogson Burnett, Frank Langella, Free Guy, G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes, Gal Gadot, Gary Oldman, Gemma Arterton, Gemma Chan, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Godzilla vs. Kong, Gretel & Hansel, Greyhound movie, Halloween Kills, Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Henry Golding, Hong Chau, Horatio Sanz, Horse Girl, Hugh Bonneville, Hugh Grant, Hugh Laurie, Iko Uwais, Infinite movie, J.K. Simmons, James Corden, James Marsden, Jamie Foxx, Jamie Lee Curtis, Jane Austin's Emma, Jane Krakowski, Janelle Monae, Jared Harris, Jared Leto, Jason Isaacs, Jason Momoa, Jason Scott Lee, Jeffrey Wright, Jena Malone, Jennifer Connelly, Jennifer Saunders, Jessica De Gouw, Jessica Henwick, Jet Li, Jim Carrey, Jim Gaffigan, Jingle Jangle, Joe Keery, Joel Kinnaman, John Amos, John Cleese, John Krasinski, John Roberts, Jon Benjamin, Jon Bernthal, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Josh Brolin, Josh Gad, Jude Law, Judi Dench, Judy Greer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Julie Walters, Jungle Cruise, Karen Gillan, Keegan-Michael Key, Keely Hawes, Kelly Marie Tran, Ken Jeong, Kenan Thompson, Kenneth Branagh, King Richard movie 2020, Kristen Schaal, Kristin Scott Thomas, Kristin Stewart, Kyle Chandler, Kyle Richards, Larry Murphy, Last Night in Soho, Letitia Wright, Li Gong, Lily James, Lois Lowry, Louie Anderson, Louis Wain, Maggie Q, Maisie Williams, Manuel Garcia-Rolfo, Margot Robbie movie, Marie Curie, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Lawrence, Martin Short, Marvel, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Matt Smith, Matthew McConaughey, Maya Rudolph, Mckenna Grace, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Caine, Michael Jai White, Michael Keaton, Michael Peña, Michael Rooker, Michael Sheen, Michelle Williams, Milla Jovovich, Millie Bobby Brown, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Miranda Otto, Monster Hunter, Monster Problems, Morbius, Movies in theaters 2020, Mulan, Netflix, Netflix 2020 movies, Nicholas Cage, No Time to Die, Octavia Spencer, Onward movie, Oscar Isaac, Paramount Studios, Patrick Wilson, Paul Rudd, Paul W.S. Anderson, Pedro Pascal, Peter Capaldi, Peter Dinklage, Pixar, Promising Young Woman, Rachel Weisz, Radioactive, Ralph Fiennes, Rambo: First Blood Part II, Rami Malek, Ray Liotta, Raya and the Last Dragon, Rebecca, Rebecca Ferguson, Richard Armitage, Roald Dahl, Robert Downey Jr, Robert Pattinson, Robert Zemeckis, Ron Perlman, Rosamund Pike, Rose Leslie, Russell Brand, Ryan Reynolds, Salma Hayek, Sam Rockwell, Samara Weaving, Samuel L. Jackson, Samuel Leakey, Sasha Baron Cohen, Scarlett Johannson, Scoob!, Sebastian Stan, Sigourney Weaver, Skeet Ulrich, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sophia Lillis, Sophie Okonedo, Soul movie, Sterling K. Brown, Steve Carell, Tatiana Maslany, Tenet movie, Terence Stamp, The Call of the Wild, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, The Croods 2, The Dig, The Gentlemen, The Informer, The King's Man, The Last Full Measure, The Lodge, The Many Saints of Newark, The New Mutants, The Old Guard, The One and Only Ivan, The Personal History of David Copperfield, The Rhythm Section, The Secret Garden, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run, The Tomorrow War, The Trial of the Chicago 7, The Willoughbys, The Witches, The Woman in the Window, The Woman Who Loves Giraffes, Tilda Swinton, Timothée Chalamet, Tina Fey, Tom Bateman, Tom Clancy, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Tom Hardy, Tom Holland, Top Gun: Maverick, Tracy Morgan, Trolls World Tour, Troop Zero, Uncharted movie, Underwater, Universal Studios, Vanessa Hudgens, Venom 2, Vera Farmiga, Vin Diesel, Viola Davis, Voyager space probe, Welcome to Sudden Death, Wendy movie, Wesley Snipes, Will Ferrell, Will Forte, Will Smith, William Hurt, Without Remorse, Wonder Woman 1984, Wonderland, Wyatt Russell, Yifei Liu, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Ziyi Zhang
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A harrowing, heart-pounding thrill ride takes off with The Aeronauts
Filed under: Movies, TV — Leave a comment
Review by C.J. Bunce
At one level The Aeronauts is a welcome reminder of how much humans take the science and technological achievements of their forbearers for granted. It is a harrowing adventure, heart-pounding like Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air (the story of a climb to the top of Mount Everest), and will leave you feeling like you, too, have spent a few hours dangling from the top of a temporarily frozen gas balloon on a record-breaking flight in 1862. And the Mount Everest comparison is no joke, as the balloonists soon realized what happens to the body on a climb that high was happening to them, including the addled brain from hypoxia. Of course this flight was 91 years before Edmund Hillary made his record-breaking ascent at 29,029 feet, about 6,000 feet lower than the real-life flight documented in The Aeronauts, so everything they learned on their balloon flight was new.
The real-life scientist James Glaisher is played by Eddie Redmayne (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) and the balloon pilot–a fictional composite named Amelia Rennes–is played by Felicity Jones (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story)–reuniting both Oscar-nominated stars of the historical, scientist biopic The Theory of Everything (which earned Redmayne his first Oscar). Glaisher seeks to prove that the study of weather can result in the possible prediction of weather and seeks the expert aeronaut Rennes to partner with him so he can prove his theories to the doubting aristocrats of London. To do that he needed to get higher into the sky than ever before. Rennes's role was based on actual aeronaut balloonists Henry Coxwell and Margaret Graham, with even more elements based on Sophie Blanchard, who was the first woman to work as a professional balloonist, and, like Jones's character, became famous as aeronaut following her husband's death.
The Aeronauts is based on the death-defying feats of aeronauts in Richard Holmes' 2013 book Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air. Since the real flight itself lasted less than two hours aloft, the film is a great character study and closed room story, with an undeniable friendly, non-romantic chemistry between the two leads. But it's Jones's circus-esque, Flying Wallendas-like showmanship and stunts that will make you want to come right back and watch it again. Inspiring, soaring, and adventurous, it's the kind of film you'll want to show kids to get them excited about being all they can be.
Tags: adventure movies, aeronauts, Alexandra Byrne, Alice Sutton, Amazing High Adventure, ballooning, Christian Huband, circus acts, David Hindle, Eddie Redmayne, Falling Upwards: How We Took to the Air, George Steel, Henry Coxwell, historical drama, Into Thin Air, Margaret Graham, Mount Everest, real-life superheroes, Richard Holmes, Sophie Blanchard, steampunk, The Aeronauts, Tom Harper
A Grand Success!–Aardman team recounts journey to Oscar-winning stop-motion animation
Filed under: Backstage Pass, Comics & Books, Fantasy Realms, Movies — Leave a comment
You may not know it, but you probably first met them in their record-breaking music video that they pulled together in only two weeks for Peter Gabriel's song, Sledgehammer. It's a story of two teenagers borrowing mom's old kitchen table to use to film their Plasticine creations. Flash forward a few years and their multiple Oscar-winning company is negotiating for big-budget real estate for their movie studio. The company is Aardman Animations, named for the star character of their earliest film. And the founders are Peter Lord and David Sproxton, who have documented their journey in this year's latest chronicle of the history of animation, A Grand Success! The Aardman Journey, One Frame at a Time, now available from Abrams Press.
It's not just a biography of the two boys who would see their company bring home four Oscars and even more nominations and BAFTAs. A Grand Success! (the title a play on their first Oscar-nominated adventure, A Grand Day Out) is a time capsule of those key intersections of effort, skill, perseverance, and happenstance, that can make any endeavor a success. The efforts of the small British upstart found their footing in both the worlds of fantasy film and advertising. One put the food on the table until, like many creators, they could focus on their passions. And although they didn't sever their ties with commercial work, they created what are now among the most recognized characters in England and the world outside the United States (and their U.S. following isn't too bad, either). Before long their ideas had them sealing big deals with the likes of Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg, and having actors from Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Hugh Grant, Eddie Redmayne, Maisie Williams, and Tom Hiddleston–the cream of Britain's acting talent– providing the voices of their characters.
A crowning achievement in animation in The Wrong Trousers, from the studio lauded by Ray Harryhausen, Terry Gilliam, and Matt Groening.
Lord and Sproxton pull in two other key players in their look at Aardman's history, animators Nick Park and Richard "Golly" Goleszowski. Park grew up as a fan of Aardman's films as a kid, and by 1989, when he was only 31, he was attending Oscar parties as the face of the studio. All four would create iconic characters from Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, and the anthropomorphic "very British" animals of Creature Comforts.
Tags: A Grand Success book review, A Grand Success! The Aardman Journey One Frame at a Time, A Grand Success! The Aardman Journey One Frame at a Time review, Aardman Animations, Aardman Productions, Aardman Studios, Abrams Press, animated movies, animation, Creature Comforts, David Sproxton, Eddie Redmayne, filmmaking, Helena Bonham Carter, Hugh Grant, Maisie Williams, Nick Park, Pee-Wee's Playhouse, Peter Gabriel, Peter Gabriel Sledgehammer music video, Peter Lord, Ralph Fiennes, Richard Goleszowski, Shaun the Sheep, stop motion animation, Tom Hiddleston, Wallace & Gromit
The Aeronauts–New trailer arrives for steampunk era Redmayne and Jones adventure
Filed under: Movies, Retro Fix — Leave a comment
It's not historical fact as much as a depiction of an era, but Amazon′s original movie The Aeronauts has a gorgeous look with plenty of historical elements. We previewed the first trailer for the film two months ago, and Amazon just released the next. The film is billed as biographical adventure, and that comes from its depiction of Eddie Redmayne (Fantastic Beasts) as real-life balloonist James Glaisher. Glaisher, with another British aeronaut named Henry Coxwell, beat the world flight altitude record by reaching nearly 39,000 feet with a hot air balloon. For the Amazon production Coxwell is being swapped out for a fictional character played by Rogue One's Felicity Jones. Both Jones and Redmayne were nominated for Oscars for The Theory of Everything, with Redmayne taking home an award. Jones' character in this film will be an amalgam of the first woman who was a professional balloonist, Sophie Blanchard, and another famous aeronaut of the era, Margaret Graham.
Even if you dismiss the elements that aren't historical, you're left with a big budget steampunk era film, which is a rarity for fans of the genre, The Aeronauts had top designers re-create the 1860s. Alice Sutton, who was production designer on Bohemian Rhapsody, is production designer on this film (as well as next year's Emma adaptation starring Anya Taylor-Joy). The historical costumes were created by Alexandra Byrne, Oscar-winner for Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and she's known for her work on Marvel movies Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor, The Avengers, and Avengers: Age of Ultron, plus The Phantom of the Opera and Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet.
Take a look at the new trailer for Amazon's The Aeronauts:
Tags: 19th century history, Alexandra Byrne, Alice Sutton, Amazon Prime, Amazon Studios, Amazon Video, Anna Taylor-Joy, Anya Taylor-Joy, ballooning altitude record, Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Henry Coxwell, history of science and technology, Margaret Graham, Sophie Blanchard, Steven Price, The Aeronauts, The Aeronauts movie preview trailer
The Aeronauts–19th century ballooning is cutting edge tech in new biographical adventure
It's not historical fact as much as a depiction of an era, but Amazon′s forthcoming original movie The Aeronauts has a gorgeous look with plenty of historical elements. It's billed as biographical adventure, and that comes from its depiction of Eddie Redmayne (Fantastic Beasts) as real-life balloonist James Glaisher. On this day in September 1862, Glaisher with another British aeronaut Henry Coxwell beat the world flight altitude record by reaching nearly 39,000 feet with a hot air balloon. For the Amazon production Coxwell is being swapped out for a fictional character played by Rogue One's Felicity Jones. Both Jones and Redmayne were nominated for Oscars for The Theory of Everything, with Redmayne taking home an award. Jones' character in this film will be an amalgam of the first woman who was a professional balloonist, Sophie Blanchard, and another famous aeronaut of the era, Margaret Graham.
Besides having the greatest steampunk title you can think of, The Aeronauts had top designers re-create the 1860s. So even if we're not going to get historical accuracy, this seems like it may provide a good feel for an era that hasn't seen much screen-time outside the fictional realm of the steampunk genre. Alice Sutton, who was production designer on Bohemian Rhapsody, is production designer on this film (as well as next year's Emma adaptation starring Anya Taylor-Joy). The historical costumes were created by Alexandra Byrne, Oscar-winner for Elizabeth: The Golden Age, and she's known for her work on Marvel movies Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor, The Avengers, and Avengers: Age of Ultron, plus The Phantom of the Opera and Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet.
Take a look at the trailer for Amazon's The Aeronauts:
Moviemaking and coloring books bring Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald home
Today is our last day of reviews of the movie tie-in books for the new J.K. Rowling fantasy film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Rounding out the tie-in books is an exclusive behind the scenes account of the production composed of interviews with cast and crew, plus a new double-sized coloring book of the quality of adult coloring books but suitable for all ages.
In many ways Lights, Camera, Magic! The Making of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is like the souvenir books you'd get to commemorate a special event or show years ago. It has all the images from the film of the key characters, environments, and scenes. And it features interviews with all principal cast members except Johnny Depp. Elaborating on the motivations behind scenes, scope, and decisions made for the film are screenplay writer J.K. Rowling, director David Yates, producer David Heyman, graphic designers Miraphora Mina and Eduardo Lima, production designer Stuart Craig, art director Martin Foley, costume designer Colleen Atwood, hair and makeup artist Fae Hammond, set decorator Anna Pinnock, concept artist Dermot Power, prop designer Pierre Bohanna, and visual effects supervisors Tim Burke and Christian Manz. The book also features a foreword by star Eddie Redmayne. Readers will find more than one photo and section describing scenes that did not make the final cut of the film, too (did anyone have any idea Newt wrote a book that was made for a book-signing scene in the film?).
The Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Magical Adventure Coloring Book offers up several scenes from the film, as well as deleted scene images, to color. The coloring book is in the realm of the more elaborately designed adult coloring books, such as Sherlock and Doctor Who coloring books. quality artwork and photo-real images that look like the actors being portrayed, not just quick sketches. You'll find images of Newt, Dumbledore, Grindelwald, and more characters, plus several beasts inside.
Take a look at these excerpt pages from each book:
Tags: Anna Pinnock, Christian Manz, Colleen Atwood, David Heyman, David Yates, Dermot Power, Eddie Redmayne, Eduardo Lima, Fae Hammond, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald books, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald coloring book, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Magical Adventure Coloring Book, Harper Design, Harry Potter, Ian Nathan, J.K. Rowling, Lights Camera Magic The Making of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Lights Camera Magic The Making of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald book review, Martin Foley, Miraphora Mina, Nicolette Caven, Pierre Bohanna, Stuart Craig, Tim Burke
First look–Newt and his Fantastic Beasts return in trailer for "The Crimes of Grindelwald"
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Harry Potter fandom shows no signs of slowing down, thanks in part to J.K. Rowling herself. Just when we thought the Harry Potter universe had come to an end with Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, she took her layered fantasy world across the ocean and introduced fans to Newt Scamander and a legion of new creature creations in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Now she's giving her fans even more with the next chapter in the world of wizards and muggles, and giving us an early look at one of her most beloved characters.
That's right, the 2018 sequel Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald stars Jude Law as a young Albus Dumbledore, who is teaming up with Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander against a new foe we only got a sneak peek at in the finale of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them–Johnny Depp's Gellert Grindlewald. Warner Bros. has just released the first trailer for the new film and it looks like it might just rival the last chapter in the saga.
Dan Fogler and Alison Sudol will return as the adorable couple Jacob and Queenie, and Katherine Waterston is back as the magical auror Tina Goldstein. Newcomers to the series include Zoë Kravitz as Leta Lestrange (who seems to be a likely relative of Bellatrix later on) and Ezra Miller (Justice League) as Credence Barebone.
Check out this first trailer for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald:
Tags: Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald preview trailer, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, Johnny Depp, Katherine Waterston, Warner Bros, Warner Brothers, Zoe Kravitz
Advance review–Nick Park triumphs again with his next stop-motion animated comedy, Early Man
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Oscar-winning filmmaker Nick Park is back with his next entry in Aardman Animations' ingenious world of classic stop-motion animation. The family comedy Early Man takes audiences back to the city of Manchester, England, at the dawn of the Bronze Age. In this slapstick look at history, cave men created football (American soccer) from a fallen meteorite. The sport fell out of favor, but was picked up again and embraced in the early Bronze Age by a city of moderners, but the cave men are still around and have one chance to save their world if they can only beat the Bronze Age team at the game. Unfortunately it's a group of bumbling early humans who must learn the sport and take on a group of arrogant professional players. But it's in the genes of the cave men, so amid a non-stop volley of sports metaphors, tropes, and jokes, the cave men have a go at it.
Leading the team and the story is Dug, voiced by Eddie Redmayne (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), along with his companion, an eager early-era wild boar named Hognob, voiced by the film's director Nick Park. The duo make for a solid homage, albeit a prehistoric incarnation, of Park's famous Wallace & Gromit. The villain in the tale is Bronze Age leader Lord Nooth, lover and hoarder of all things bronze, especially bronze coins. He's voiced by a nearly unrecognizable Tom Hiddleston (Thor: Ragnarok) playing an over-the-top, snooty opportunist in full-on Monty Python comedy style. Game of Thrones and Doctor Who actor Maisie Williams offers her own voice acting talent as Dug's new friend Goona, and Timothy Spall (Harry Potter series, Alice in Wonderland, Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams) is Dug's good-natured and encouraging leader, the firmly about the old ways Chief Bobnar.
Little kids will laugh at the silliness of the characters and adult U.S. anglophiles will understand most, but probably not all, of the British comedic references. And there are many. Soccer fans will pick up on references to the sport, to Manchester United, zebra crossings, and puns that will work for fans of any sport. Want to see why Stonehenge was built? Ever seen the genesis of the electric razor? The film has already opened to positive reviews in the United Kingdom, but does not arrive in theaters in the States until later this week.
Tags: Aardman Animations, Early Man, Early Man advance movie review, Eddie Redmayne, football, Maisie Williams, Mark Williams, Miriam Margolyes, Nick Park, Ray Harryhausen, Rob Brydon, soccer, sports movies, stop motion animation, Studiocanal, Tom Hiddleston
First look– Nick Park and Aardman Animations return with their next stop-motion film, Early Man
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Aardman Studios is that British animation company known for director Nick Park and his stop-motion clay animation films, most notably the Academy Award winning Wallace & Gromit , and the groundbreaking series Creature Comforts . Its full length feature Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit also won an Academy Award for best animated feature. And the studio produced the popular Chicken Run , Shaun the Sheep , and Pirates! Band of Misfits. Director Hayao Miyazaki, widely considered one of the best animators of all time, counts himself as a fan of the Aardman movies.
Haven't seen this kind of animation before? It's the style every kid in the 1960s grew up with. Start with the three Wallace & Gromit shorts A Grand Day Out , The Wrong Trousers , and A Close Shave featuring a cheese loving British inventive chap named Wallace and his smart, loyal, and cynical dog Gromit. The animation, and the quick speeds of certain segments, are simply stunning. Then try Creature Comforts , a half-hour television series that aired in both the UK and USA, where every day folks were interviewed on the street, then their voices were dubbed into farm and zoo animal characters. The result is laugh-out-loud funny.
Just released is the preview to the next stop-motion, full-length film, Early Man. It features the voices of Eddie Redmayne (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them), Tom Hiddleston (Thor), Maisie Williams (Doctor Who, Game of Thrones), and Timothy Spall (Harry Potter series). Check out this trailer for the film:
Tags: Aardman Animations, Aardman Studios, Chicken Run, Creature Comforts, Eddie Redmayne, Hayao Miyazaki, Maisie Williams, Nick Park, Pirates Band of Misfits, Shaun the Sheep, Timothy Spall, Tom Hiddleston, Wallace & Gromit
Fantastic Beasts–The world of Harry Potter without the wonder
There's no such thing as a "sure thing." If there was, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them–the big screen adaptation of J.K. Rowling's spin-off novel from the Harry Potter series–would have been an easy success. Released in the same month, a trailer for Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson set YouTube viewer records. Why? Fans of Potter can't get enough, they'll never get enough, and that means anything related to Hogwarts is prime territory to exploit, including its actors.
So why should Fantastic Beasts work? It's a story written by Rowling. It's in the same universe as her past successes (or is it?). It's about fantasy beasts (or is it?). Fantastic Beasts follows a Dr. Doolittle-inspired wizard named Newt Scamander (played by Eddie Redmayne), who is in 1920s New York City hunting a new beast to protect for his unique version of a magical zoo. He keeps these beasts in a suitcase, which is either bigger on the inside (sounds familiar?) or it somehow serves as a portal to a wider world where Scamander can protect the beasts from those that don't fancy beastie types. If the beasts remained the focus of the story, a journey where we met several of these creatures and explored the awe and majesty of these brilliant creations from the visual effects artists, liked the klepto duck-billed platypus or the Groot-like Bowtruckle–or maybe actually explore where in the world to find them as the title says–Fantastic Beasts could have been what fans are looking for. Unfortunately the story doesn't know what it wants to be and instead gets bogged down in a dark and gloomy drama about a troubled, victimized orphan of the Anakin Skywalker variety.
A glimmer of heart can be found in a hapless wannabe baker named Kowalski, played by Dan Fogler, and a woman from the magical world named Queenie, played by Alison Sudol. You could edit out every scene these two characters are not in and be left with a compelling story. Their acting, the characterization, and chemistry is the stuff of a good romance movie. Their performances are also the only strong ties in the film to a believable 1920s setting–both, with their accents and mannerisms, seem to fall out of a film from the Golden Age of Hollywood, despite art direction that never quite gives the feel we're in the Roaring '20s.
Tags: Alison Sudol, Colin Farrell, Dan Fogler, Eddie Redmayne, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie poster, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them movie review, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, Jon Voight, Katherine Waterston, Samantha Morton
Dispatches from Elsewhere is AMC's next quirky, strange drama
Rom: Dire Wraiths–Sci-fi monster tale pits the Apollo 11 astronauts against classic alien threat
Gears of War: Ascendance–Tie-in novel leads into the Gears 5 video game
Next Black Widow trailer arrives with Taskmaster face-off and a look back
First look–Team Jared leads Marvel/Sony's next comic book adaption, Morbius
Now streaming–Dark, vivid futurism awaits in Netflix's Altered Carbon, with new season on the way
New Back to the Future and Ghostbusters toys bring 1980s sci-fi favorites home
Now streaming–DC Universe's Swamp Thing is not a superhero series to skip
Supernova Era–Cixin Liu's ambitious sci-fi novel of children leading the world arrives in English edition
Designing Jaws–Production designer Joe Alves reveals concept art and more in new look at the 1970s blockbuster
Killing Quarry–Max Allan Collins puts Quarry in the crosshairs in latest novel
New trailer–Finally! X-Men origin story The New Mutants is almost here
The Moviemaking Magic of Star Wars–Ships and battles take center stage in new Star Wars guide
Doctor Who in theaters today, returns to regular timeslot tonight after strong opener
Retro fix–Vertigo, Boileau and Narcejac's novel that inspired the Hitchcock film classic
Retro fix–Bond on Bond, Roger Moore's reflections on 50 years of James Bond
Review–Approaching Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker from many angles
Start the new year with the hilarious new adventure, Jumanji: The Next Level
The 2019 Borg Hall of Fame
borg's Best of 2019–The Best Books of the Year
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The Byrne-ing News, June 2019 Edition – Byrneholics Online on Now streaming–Gabriel Byrne and Michael Gambon star in BBC noir mystery series Quirke
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Preview--Harry Potter Film Vault looks behind the fantasy films in 12-volume series
Rom: Dire Wraiths--Sci-fi monster tale pits the Apollo 11 astronauts against classic alien threat
Dispatches from Elsewhere is AMC's next quirky, strange drama
History Channel previews bloody fourth season of Vikings
Armor and props from The Great Wall movie provide another success for auction house
100 movies in a box--Warner Bros. releases gigantic set of hit movies
Now streaming--At last, Shetland season five begins on BritBox
All 84 variant Detective Comics #1000 covers complete checklist & gallery--Detective Comics reaches landmark issue this week
Reader Poll--Celebrating 50 years of Bond: Vote for your favorite Bond girl
Happy Arbor Day! Plant a tree, and check out these three great nature books
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