Moviefone Editorial

Tag: daniela-melchior

  • Scott Eastwood Returning to the Fast Movies For ‘Fast X’

    Britt Robertson and Scott Eastwood
    (L to R) Britt Robertson and Scott Eastwood in 2015’s ‘The Longest Ride.’

    Having seemingly sped around (or, given this franchise, though) its director departure roadblock, the Fast & Furious’ franchise is well and truly back in high gear. The latest installment, ‘Fast X’ is recruiting from among its deep bench of previous cast members, as Scott Eastwood will return for the new movie.

    Eastwood appeared in ‘Fate of the Furious’, the eighth installment, directed by F. Gary Gray and released in 2017. His character was a rule-following government agent who is frequently seen with his boss, Mr. Nobody, a shady manipulator played by Kurt Russell.

    Does this mean that Russell – whose character was briefly a plot point in last year’s ‘F9: The Fast Saga’ – will also return? No one is saying yet. But you wouldn’t be wrong if you started speculating that the slick Nobody could once again feature.

    Speculation is pretty much all we have at this point when it comes to the plot of ‘Fast X’. With Louis Leterrier now on board to direct, the story will likely see Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto and the rest of the ‘Fast’ family tackling another big threat from the likes of Charlize Theron’s calculating Cipher.

    Alongside Diesel, the returning cast also includes such core names as Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Sung Kang. Michael Rooker as mechanic and Toretto family friend Buddy) and Cardi B (as paramilitary leader Leysa) are reportedly back from ‘F9’. Given Buddy’s presence, that could point to redeemed villain John Cena’s Jakob Toretto also popping up, but the ‘Fast’ team have revealed nothing about his possible appearance.

    'The Fate of the Furious' Cast
    (L to R) Vin Diesel, Charlize Theron, Michelle Rodriguez, Dwayne Johnson, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, and Jason Statham in ‘The Fate of the Furious.’

    New faces this time are Jason Momoa, who will apparently be causing trouble alongside Cipher, ‘Reacher’s Alan Ritchson, ‘Captain Marvel’ star Brie Larson and ‘The Suicide Squad’s Daniela Melchior, who are all playing mystery characters.

    While Justin Lin left the director’s job a couple of weeks into shooting over creative and script differences, he’s still attached as a producer and wrote the screenplay with Dan Mazeau (though we’re fairly certain it has since gone through some changes).

    Eastwood, who followed his famous father into the film business, is best known for movies including ‘Pacific Rim: Uprising’, ‘Suicide Squad’ and ‘The Longest Ride’. He was most recently seen in Prime Video’s romantic comedy ‘I Want You Back’. Along with ‘Fast X’, he’s also filming LA riots drama ‘April 29, 1992’, in which a shopkeeper must save his son from an angry mob in the wake of the Rodney King verdict.

    Despite the delays, it seems that ‘Fast X’ is still on track to make it into theaters on May 19th next year. It’ll be followed by a second movie, which will wrap up both the story of these last two entries and, according to Diesel, bring the franchise as a whole to a close. At least until the various spin-offs start their engines…

    'Fast X' Logo.
    ‘Fast X’ Logo. Courtesy of Vin Diesel’s Instagram account.

  • Director Justin Lin Leaves ‘Fast X’

    Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson in 'Fast Five,' directed by Justin Lin.
    (L to R) Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson in ‘Fast Five,’ directed by Justin Lin.

    As a franchise, the ‘Fast & Furious’ movies have sped through all manner of challenges: changing cast rosters, the clashing, outsized movie star and music egos of some of its actors and even a long delay for the last movie because of the pandemic.

    Yet somehow, none of them have screamed, “the wheels are coming off!” quite like the departure of director Justin Lin 10 days into shooting the latest installment, ‘Fast X’.

    While it is not unusual for directors to depart movies, especially big ones, the fact that one of the acknowledged architects of the ‘Fast’ series, one who has produced and directed five of the movies since kicking off his association with ‘The Fast And The Furious: Tokyo Drift’ in 2006, has stepped away – in the middle of shooting, no less – is something of a shocker.

    “With the support of Universal, I have made the difficult decision to step back as director of ‘Fast X’, while remaining with the project as a producer. Over 10 years and five films, we have been able to shoot the best actors, the best stunts, and the best damn car chases,” Lin says in a statement posted to the franchise’s official twitter feed. “On a personal note, as the child of Asian immigrants, I am proud of helping to build the most diverse franchise in movie history. I will forever be grateful to the amazing cast, crew and studio for their support, and for welcoming me into the ‘Fast’ family.”

    So far, so diplomatic. And according to sources who spoke to the likes of Deadline, the parting was amicable, if rooted in the age-old reason of “creative differences”. It’s a little more surprising, (though again, not unheard of), for those to emerge now, while the cameras are rolling, than in the months of scripting and pre-production that precede a giant movie such as this.

    In the past few months there has been nothing but positivity from Camp Fast, albeit that’s because it’s primarily driven by star and producer Vin Diesel, who offers semi-regular updates on his Instagram page. It’s perhaps telling, though, that one recent example, shot to celebrate the end of the first week’s filming features a Lin who seems both tired and less than thrilled about participating.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CcqfJkADqkW

    At the time of writing, Diesel has made no comment on the matter, and Universal, which is about to present its upcoming slate to theater owners at this year’s CinemaCon, may be holding back until there is something to announced. Second Unit filming, also underway in London, is continuing.

    ‘Fast X’, which has kept its plot under wraps so far (though you can guess there will be outrageous car stunts, scheming villains to be thwarted and references to “family”), boasts the likes of Jason Momoa, Brie Larson and ‘The Suicide Squad’s Daniela Melchior joining the more regular ensemble, which includes Diesel, Jordana Brewster, Michelle Rodriguez, Ludacris, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang and Nathalie Emmanuel, plus Charlize Theron, returning as the crafty Cipher.

    Right now, the movie is still scheduled to race into theaters on May 19th next year.

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  • ‘The Suicide Squad’ review: grisly, funny, & one of Gunn’s best

    ‘The Suicide Squad’ review: grisly, funny, & one of Gunn’s best

    (L to R) Margot Robbie, Daniela Melchior, Idris Elba, Sylvester Stallone, and David Dastmalchian in 'The Suicide Squad'
    (L to R) Margot Robbie, Daniela Melchior, Idris Elba, Sylvester Stallone, and David Dastmalchian in ‘The Suicide Squad’

    ‘The Suicide Squad’ begins with our introduction to Savant (Michael Rooker), a criminal behind bars, with a talent for geometry and a mean streak when it comes to birds. He’s given the set-up for the story; he’s going to go on a black ops-type mission with a team of fellow convicts, and in return, ten years will get knocked off his prison sentence. This is explained to him by one Amanda Waller (Viola Davis), who also informs him that if he tries to escape, or ditch the operation, or double-cross her in any way, she’ll detonate the tiny bomb in his head.

    So if you never saw the 2016 ‘Suicide Squad,’ you’re pretty much caught up at this point – Waller uses incarcerated super villains for spy missions, and she’s not really concerned if they make it back alive. If you did see the previous film, you’ll recognize some returning faces, like military liaison Rick Flag (Joel Kinnaman), Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney), and the inimitable Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), who says she’s back in the joint for “road rage… in a bank.” Savant and the rest of Task Force X are off to the (fictional) South American island nation of Corto Maltese to destroy a science lab called Jötunheim.

    James Gunn wrote and directed this latest entry in the DCEU, and he brings his own impressive stamp to the movie. I think it’s fair to say that Gunn’s ‘The Suicide Squad’ is closer to his films ‘Slither’ and ‘Super’ than it is to either of his Guardians of the Galaxy outings. Given the R-rating in play, it probably won’t be surprising to learn that this is a particularly grisly comic-book movie with more than a few risqué (if now downright dirty) jokes. But it is surprising how much emotion Gunn brings into this story.

    Being that this takes place in a comic-book world, the characters personalities are as extreme as their powers. Idris Elba’s Bloodshot is a violent mercenary who thinks the best parenting advice he can give his recently-arrested daughter is to make sure she has a lookout the next time she steals something. John Cena’s Peacemaker is a jingoistic meathead who will happily kill (among other things) to make peace. Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn is… well, you’d have to have been living in a cave for the past few years not to know who she is. And King Shark (voiced by Sylvester Stallone) is simply the bestest boy.

    As expected, some of these characters don’t get along, and the rivalry between Bloodshot and Peacemaker is particularly well served by Elba’s tired sighs and Cena’s gung-ho cluelessness. But some of the other characters ground the movie with unexpected empathy. Daniela Melchior’s Ratcatcher at first seems like she’s in over her head, but she’s the first to show she’s willing to reach out to others in the group, and Melchior makes us believe it. And David Dastmalchian’s Polka-Dot Man is… I’ll put it this way; Polka-Dot Man is a terrible comic book character. He’s down there with Crazy Quilt, Clock King, and Condiment King in the DC Villains Hall of Lame. But between Gunn’s script and Dastmalchian’s pathos, Polka-Dot Man becomes a tragic figure (albeit a crazy one). At the same time, Gunn and Margot Robbie show us the continuing evolution of Harley Quinn, showing us that she’s learned from (some of) her mistakes, but she’s willing to make entirely new ones, too.

    Team movies can be tough, especially when team members have superpowers. But the movie doesn’t get bogged down in origin stories; at most, Davis’ Waller might give a rote description of someone’s role on the team, but not much more than that. She gives us the sense we’ll learn about what someone can do when we need to, and in that, she’s doing what Gunn does as a director. And it works. That lets him deftly balance the various character arcs, and make sure that they’re all relevant to the main story at hand. And you’d never think this movie is 132 minutes long; Gunn capitalizes on the abundance of characters to keep the story moving around, but never so much that we lose track of the overall plot. Henry Braham’s cinematography helps give us a sense of place, both in his long shots of pitched battles and giant monsters, or the mobile camera work in a nightclub and on rooftops.

    Ultimately, this is a great example of a director being given the freedom to bring their own style to a big-budget production. The cast is clearly having a good time making this movie, and that energy is infectious. I, for one, would watch another mission from this crew if Gunn is in charge again.

    4.5 stars out of 5.

    ‘The Suicide Squad’ is now in theaters and on HBO Max.

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  • Portuguese Actress Daniela Melchior To Play Ratcatcher in ‘The Suicide Squad’

    Portuguese Actress Daniela Melchior To Play Ratcatcher in ‘The Suicide Squad’

    Daniela Melchior/Instagram

    A relative unknown (at least in the US) has been tapped to join James Gunn‘s “The Suicide Squad.”

    Portuguese actress Daniela Melchior will play Ratcatcher, a Batman enemy who was a man in the comics. She’ll reportedly have a connection to the as-yet-unknown character Idris Elba will be playing.

    They join fellow newcomers John Cena and and David Dastmalchian, as well as returning “Suicide Squad” stars Margot Robbie,  Viola Davis and Jai Courtney.

    Gunn is writing and directing the DCEU movie, which is expected to go into production this fall. It has a release date of August 6, 2021.

    This will be Melchior’s first major studio role: She’s mainly worked in Portuguese film and television.

    [Via Variety]