Negromancer News Bits and Bites from May 19th to 25th, 2019 - Update #17

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BOX OFFICE - From TheWrap:  Disney's "Aladdin" looks to finish better at the 2019 Memorial Day box office than "Solo: A Star Wars Story" did at the 2018 Memorial Day box office.

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MOVIES - From Variety: Warner Bros. gets Clint Eastwood's "The Ballad of Richard Jewell" from Disney/Fox.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Christopher Nolan's next film has a title, "Tenet," and the cast is finalized with Michael Caine and Kenneth Branagh among the new additions.  Warner Bros. is set to release the "international espionage" film July 17, 2019.

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JAMES BOND - From IndieWire:  After begin hurt on the set of BOND 25, Daniel Craig will undergo ankle surgery.

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STREAMING - From THR:   Greg Kinnear joins Lisa Kudrow in the pilot for the Amazon comedy, "Good People," from Lee Daniel and Whitney Cummings.

From TheWrap:  Martin Short has also been added to "Good People."

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CANNES - From Deadline:  Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" screens at Cannes 2019, and gets a seven-minute standing ovation.

From YahooEntertainment:  On the set of "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio thought of the late Luke Perry as an icon of cool.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Fox Searchlights wins an intense bidding war for director Terrence Malick's much-talked about film, " A Hidden Life," which some consider a "return to form" and his best film since 2011's "The Tree of Life."  It is in competition at Cannes 2019.

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BOX OFFICE - From Variety:  The winner of the 5/17 to 5/19/2019 weekend box office is "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum" with an estimate take of 57 million dollars.

From Variety:  "Pokemon: Detective Pikachu" leads the international box office.

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CELEBRITY - From Deadline:  Arnold Schwarzenegger said that he will not press charges against the man who attacked him on Saturday, May 18th in South Africa at a children's sports event.

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MOVIES - From Deadline:  Just out is a new "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" faux movie poster featuring Leo DeCaprio as "Rick Dalton."

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TELEVISION - From Variety:  Showtime has won the rights to the feature-length documentary, "Hitsville: The Making of Motown."

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MOVIES - From TheWrap:  The worldwide rights to the Chris Hemworth-Tiffany Haddish buddy cop comedy, "Down Under Cover," have been picked up by Paramount Pictures.


TRAILERS AND VIDEO:

From YouTube:  First teaser for CBS All Access' "Star Trek: Picard" (May 23, 2019)

From YouTube:  First official teaser for "Terminator: Dark Fate" (May 23, 2019), which is set for a November 1, 2019.

From YouTube:  First official trailer (May 21, 2019) for Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in... Hollywood."

Christopher Nolan's "Tenet" Begins Filming

Filming is Underway on “Tenet,” a New Film from Christopher Nolan

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Filming has begun on Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Tenet,” being directed by Christopher Nolan.

“Tenet,” which is being filmed on location across seven countries, is an action epic evolving from the world of international espionage.

Nolan is directing from his own original screenplay, utilizing a mixture of IMAX® and 70mm film to bring the story to the screen.

The international ensemble cast is led by John David Washington and also stars Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Clémence Poésy, with Michael Caine and Kenneth Branagh.

The film is being produced by Nolan and Emma Thomas. Thomas Hayslip is serving as executive producer.

Nolan’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema, production designer Nathan Crowley, editor Jennifer Lame, costume designer Jeffrey Kurland, and visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson. The score is being composed by Ludwig Göransson.

Warner Bros. Pictures is distributing “Tenet” worldwide and has slated the film for a July 17, 2020 release.

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Review: "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" a Fall Off From First Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 (of 2019) by Leroy Douresseaux

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Running time: 128 minutes (2 hours, 8 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense sequences of science-fiction violence and peril 
DIRECTOR:  J.A. Bayona
WRITERS:  Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly (based on characters created by Michael Crichton)
PRODUCERS:  Belen Atienza, Patrick Crowley, and Frank Marshall
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Oscar Faura (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Bernat Vilaplana
COMPOSER:  Michael Giacchino

SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER

Starring:  Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rafe Spall, Justice Smith, Daniella Pineda, Ted Levin, Geraldine Chaplin, Isabella Sermon, James Cromwell, B.D. Wong, Toby Jones, and Jeff Goldblum

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a 2018 science fiction-thriller and dinosaur film from director J.A. Bayona.  It is the direct sequel to Jurassic World, the 2015 film that was a restart of the Jurassic Park film franchise, of which this film is the fifth installment.  Fallen Kingdom returns to Isla Nublar where an active volcano forces a rescue mission of the island's remaining dinosaurs, a mission that is not quite what it is supposed to be.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom opens on Isla Nublar, the setting of the failed dinosaur theme parks, Jurassic Park and Jurassic World, where a secret mission takes place.  A once dormant volcano on the island has roared back to life and threatens to initiate an extinction-level event for the island's remaining dinosaurs.  Benjamin Lockwood (James Cromwell) is the former partner of John Hammond, the owner of Jurassic Park and the founder of InGen (the company that first cloned dinosaurs).  Lockwood and his aide, Eli Mills (Rafe Spall), have a plan to relocate the dinosaurs to a new island sanctuary.

Lockwood summons Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), former Jurassic World operations manager, to reactivate the park's dinosaur tracking system.  She convinces Owen Grady (Chris Pratt), who trained the park's Velociraptors (raptor) to accompany her.  Grady is interested in rescuing the sole remaining raptor from his trainees, the pack leader, Blue.  With a former park technician, Franklin Webb (Justice Smith), and a paleo-veterinarian, Zia Rodriguez (Daniella Pineda), in tow, Dearing and Grady join mercenary leader, Ken Wheatley (Ted Levine), on a rescue mission to Isla Nublar.  As the volcano destroys the island, however, Dearing and Grady soon discover that not everything about this rescue mission as it is supposed to be.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom may be described as a science fiction-adventure film, but that is what the original Jurassic Park trilogy of films were.  Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, like the first film, Jurassic World, is a science fiction-action film with elements of a techno-thriller.  Hanging over Fallen Kingdom are the threats of ecological disaster and environmental or biological apocalypse.  The original Jurassic Park films were about adventure, the chase, and the escape.  The Jurassic World films are about technology and conspiracy.

Beyond that, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is a serviceable scary movie.  Director J.A. Bayona offers a by-the-numbers directing style that makes the work of Jurassic World's director, Colin Trevorrow (who returns as this film's co-screenwriter), seem more imaginative than it actually is.  At least in Jurassic World, Trevorrow was able to make the characters and their conflicts, struggles, and dilemmas seem interesting.

In Fallen Kingdom, Claire Dearing and Owen Grady are mostly wooden, except for a few moments.  When he has to play Grady as the ass-kicking hero and rescuer of white maidens in distress, Pratt does not seem to really put his heart into his performance.  I think a child playing with action figures could make his toys more convincing as heroes than Pratt in in this film.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is pass-the-time entertainment that you watch because it is the most convenient or most available thing available, the way a one-dollar McDonald cheeseburger has to satisfy your hunger because that is all that is available to you.  Would I watch Fallen Kingdom again once it starts making the basic cable movie channel rotations?  Sure, if Jurassic World is not playing.

5 of 10
C+

Friday, March 15, 2019


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site or blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Image Comics Rushes Black Magic Comic, "Excellence," Back to Print

EXCELLENCE FANTASY BEWITCHES FANS, RUSHED BACK TO PRINT

PORTLAND, OR. — Image/Skybound's all-new fantasy action series, "Excellence," by Khary Randolph (We Are Robin, Black, Tech Jacket) and Brandon Thomas (Horizon, The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury, Noble) will be rushed back to print in order to keep up with its growing fanbase.

Excellence #1 introduces Spencer Dales, a young man born into a world of magic. His father belongs to a secret society of magicians ordered by their unseen masters to selflessly better the lives of others—those with greater potential. Now Spencer must follow in his father's footsteps, but all he sees is a broken system in need of someone with the wand and the will to change it. But in this fight for a better future, who will stand beside him? 

Excellence #1, second printing (Diamond Code FEB198894) hits comic shops on Wednesday, June 12, 2019. The final order cutoff deadline for retailers was Monday, May 20, 2019.

Excellence #2 Cover A by Randolph (Diamond Code APR190138) and Excellence #2 Cover B by Sanford Greene (Diamond Code FEB198634) hits comic shops on Wednesday, June 19, 2019. The final order cutoff deadline for retailers is Monday, May 27, 2019.


ABOUT IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics is a comic book and graphic novel publisher founded in 1992 by a collective of bestselling artists. Image has since gone on to become one of the largest comics publishers in the United States. Image currently has six individuals on the Board of Directors: Robert Kirkman, Erik Larsen, Todd McFarlane, Marc Silvestri, Jim Valentino, and Eric Stephenson. It consists of five major houses: Todd McFarlane Productions, Top Cow Productions, Shadowline Comics, Skybound Entertainment, and Image Central. Image publishes comics and graphic novels in nearly every genre, sub-genre, and style imaginable. It offers science fiction, fantasy, romance, horror, crime fiction, historical fiction, humor and more by the finest artists and writers working in the medium today. For more information, visit www.imagecomics.com.

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BOOM! Studios from Diamond Distributors for May 22, 2019

BOOM! STUDIOS

JAN191415    AMAZING WORLD OF GUMBALL ADVENTURES ELMORE GN    $14.99
MAR191269    AVANT-GUARDS #5 (OF 12) MAIN    $3.99
MAR191270    AVANT-GUARDS #5 (OF 12) PREORDER MCGEE VAR    $3.99
MAR191268    AVANT-GUARDS TP VOL 01 DISCOVER NOW ED PX    $14.99
JAN191372    BLACK BADGE HC VOL 01    $29.99
MAR191285    BONE PARISH #9 (OF 12)    $3.99
MAR198440    BONE PARISH #9 (OF 12) FOC REBELKA VAR    $3.99
MAR191266    BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER TP VOL 01    $14.99
MAR198441    FAITHLESS #1 (OF 5) CVR A 2ND PTG (MR)    $3.99
MAR198442    FAITHLESS #1 (OF 5) CVR B LLOVET EROTICA 2ND PTG (MR)    $4.99
MAR191284    FAITHLESS #2 (OF 5) CVR B EROTICA DEL REY VAR (MR)    $4.99
MAR198439    FAITHLESS #2 (OF 5) FOC MOON VAR (MR)    $3.99
MAR191283    FAITHLESS #2 (OF 5) MAIN CVR POPE (MR)    $3.99
OCT181284    WELCOME TO WANDERLAND #4 (OF 4)    $3.99

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for May 22, 2019

DARK HORSE COMICS

JAN190483    ELFEN LIED OMNIBUS TP VOL 01    $24.99
DEC180424    HELLBOY ENAMEL PIN SET    $14.99
MAR190360    INVISIBLE KINGDOM #3    $3.99
JAN190482    LEGEND OF KORRA TP PART 01 RUINS OF EMPIRE    $10.99

DC Comics from Diamond Distributors for May 22, 2019

DC COMICS

AUG180594    ABSOLUTE BATMAN THE BLACK MIRROR HC    $99.99
MAR190479    ACTION COMICS #1011    $3.99
MAR190480    ACTION COMICS #1011 VAR ED    $3.99
MAR190485    BATGIRL #35    $3.99
MAR190486    BATGIRL #35 VAR ED    $3.99
MAR190491    BATMAN BEYOND #32    $3.99
MAR190492    BATMAN BEYOND #32 VAR ED    $3.99
OCT180632    BATMAN FAMILY BATGIRL MULTI PART STATUE    $80.00
MAR190497    BOOKS OF MAGIC #8 (MR)    $3.99
FEB190568    COVER TP VOL 01 (MR)    $16.99
OCT180634    DC BOMBSHELLS POISON IVY SEPIA TONE VARIANT STATUE    $125.00
MAR190503    DETECTIVE COMICS #1004    $3.99
MAR190504    DETECTIVE COMICS #1004 VAR ED    $3.99
MAR190506    DIAL H FOR HERO #3 (OF 6)    $3.99
MAR190512    FLASH #71    $3.99
MAR190513    FLASH #71 VAR ED    $3.99
MAR190515    FREEDOM FIGHTERS #6 (OF 12)    $3.99
MAR190529    JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #11    $3.99
MAR190530    JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK #11 VAR ED    $3.99
MAR190533    LOONEY TUNES #249    $2.99
MAR190536    MARTIAN MANHUNTER #5 (OF 12)    $3.99
MAR190537    MARTIAN MANHUNTER #5 (OF 12) VAR ED    $3.99
FEB190598    OUTSIDERS BY JUDD WINICK TP BOOK 01    $24.99
FEB190603    SANDMAN TP VOL 08 WORLDS END 30TH ANNIV ED (MR)    $19.99
FEB190601    SCOOBY APOCALYPSE TP VOL 05    $16.99
MAR190545    SCOOBY DOO TEAM UP #48    $2.99
MAR190548    SILENCER #17    $3.99
MAR190554    TERRIFICS #16    $3.99
MAR190558    WONDER WOMAN #71    $3.99
MAR190559    WONDER WOMAN #71 VAR ED    $3.99