(L to R) John Cena and Jason Momoa to star in action-comedy ‘Killer Vacation.’
What, exactly, would a vacation featuring John Cena and Jason Momoa look like? Chances are it would involve weight machines, tanning oil and no little amount of surfing (Momoa loves it and Cena… played a wave-riding penguin in ‘Surf’s Up 2: WaveMania’?)
But for a new action-comedy called ‘Killer Vacation’, there might be more chance of bullets flying and cars blowing up (or maybe dolphins with rocket launchers if it’s a tropical trip).
The actual plot details, though, are a mystery (we’re willing to entertain cash offers if they want to add dolphins with rocket launchers), but what is known, per Variety’s story is that Warner Bros. is backing the movie and has recruited Cena and Momoa to star.
And they’ve reportedly been looking to work on something together after apparently having fun in the new ‘Fast & Furious’ movie, which has been busy shooting. Cena will return as Jakob Toretto, the brother of Vin Diesel’s Dom.
Momoa, meanwhile, is playing a villain that he’s described as “a peacock at the highest level and I’m having the time of my life.”
As for ‘Killer Vacation’, the script comes from Brian and Mark Gunn, who wrote ‘Brightburn’, and the story’s tone is being described as a fun, splashy adventure in the vein of ‘True Lies’.
The surname of the writers should ring some bells––Brian is James Gunn’s brother, and Mark is his cousin. There’s another connection, too, as one of the producers of ‘Killer Vacation’ is Peter Safran, who has just taken over DC Studios in partnership with Gunn (though this film was put together a while before that deal was locked down).
Both actors also have links to Gunn, either through Safran, or directly.
(L to R) David Dastmalchian, John Cena, Idris Elba and Daniela Melchior in ‘The Suicide Squad.’
Cena was one of the stars of ‘The Suicide Squad’, which Gunn wrote and directed (and Safran produced), and then Gunn created successful TV spin-off ‘Peacemaker’ for him.
Momoa is, at least for now, a key component in the DC universe––he plays Aquaman and has sequel movie (produced, like the original, by Safran) ‘Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom’ on the way on Christmas Day. You’ll have to wait, though: it’s Christmas Day 2023, so more than a year to wait.
No director is attached to ‘Killer Vacation’ yet, and all the talk of this team-up makes us wonder what is happening with the buddy cop action-comedy that Momoa and Dave Bautista were planning.
Born from a tweet by Bautista (see below), the project has a script from Jonathan Tropper and has since been picked up by MGM, but with that company’s absorption into Amazon, there has been little forward movement since then.
(L to R) Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc and Janelle Monáe as Andi in ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.’ Photo: Courtesy of John Wilson/Netflix.
When Blanc is accidentally invited to a “murder mystery party” held on a private Greek island by tech billionaire Miles Bron (Edward Norton), he soon discovers that all the other guests have close ties to Bron. But when someone is actually murdered, Blanc is on hand to crack the case.
(L to R) Kathryn Hahn, Madelyn Cline, Edward Norton, Leslie Odom Jr., and Kate Hudson in Netflix’s ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.’
Johnson has truly assembled an all-star cast that in addition to Craig and Norton also includes Janelle Monae as Bron’s ex-business partner Cassandra Brand, Kathryn Hahn as Claire Debella, the governor of Connecticut now running for Senate, Kate Hudson as Birdie Jay, an ex-supermodel turned fashion designer, Jessica Henwick as her assistant Peg, Dave Bautista as YouTube star Duke Cody, Madelyn Cline as his girlfriend Whiskey, and Leslie Odom Jr. as Lionel Toussaint, Miles’ loyal employee.
The result is a fun and funny sequel, which features great performances, a gorgeous production design, and an unpredictable twist, but relies too much on the basic formula of the original and features a group of fairly unredeemable characters.
Director Rian Johnson is a terrific filmmaker, as evident in his early movies like ‘Brick’ and ‘Looper.’ At one time it looked like he would be given the keys to the ‘Star Wars’ kingdom after his brilliant work on ‘The Last Jedi,’ but toxic fans made sure that would never happen. So, I’m glad that he has found a franchise of his own with ‘Knives Out,’ as Netflix already plans a third installment.
Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc in Netflix’s ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.’
It’s also a revival of sorts for actor Daniel Craig, as finding a second franchise has been difficult for many former James Bond actors, but Craig shines as the comedic Benoit Blanc. Part Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Inspector Clouseau, Foghorn Leghorn and Colonel Sanders, Craig has completely made the character his own and is excellent again in the sequel.
In fact, the all-star ensemble of actors were all really well cast, and play off their personal public personas, whether accurate or not. Edward Norton, known for his dedication to his craft, plays the pompous and conceited tech CEO. Kate Hudson, the “It girl” of the early 2000’s plays a party-girl and former model. Former Wrestler turned actor Dave Bautista plays a man who wants to be known for more than just his muscles. While Kathryn Hahn, known for playing tough yet funny characters, portrays a Marjorie Taylor Greene type politician. The entire supporting cast is excellent and really bring their otherwise unredeemable characters alive on screen.
However, actress Janelle Monae’s performance is filled with potential spoilers, so I’ll just say that acting wise, the singer and actress definitely had the most challenging role and completely nailed it. She created a very mysterious character, that is fully formed even if the audience does not realize it until the end of the film. Monae’s performance drives the drama and is the heart of the movie.
Janelle Monáe as Cassandra “Andi” Brand in Netflix’s ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.’
My biggest problem with the film is something that often happens when a movie that was not expected to become a franchise spawns sequels. With a sudden influx of success from the original, common thinking is that the sequel needs to be bigger, which is not always the case. With ‘Glass Onion,’ moving the story from a Massachusetts mansion to a Greek island was more than enough, and already made the film “bigger” than the original.
But Johnson shoehorns in a lot of needless cameos, or worst, big name actors in very tiny roles that distract from the rest of the project, and I’m not talking about the main cast of recognizable actors. Without giving anything away, there are two extremely well-known actors that appear in very small roles, basically a line or two each, and it’s very distracting. As an audience member you are almost like, “Hey, what’s that guy doing here?” There are also a few celebrity cameos where the famous person plays themselves, which is mostly used for comic effect and works. But with so many famous faces occupying the main cast, I found the other stunt-casting to be unnecessary.
The movie itself starts off slow, and is at about the half-way point before any murder even takes place, and I do think we could have gotten to that faster. There is a clever and inventive twist, which I of course won’t give away, but just say that it saves the film from being a complete rehash of the original. Without it, you are basically looking at the same movie, the outsider detective who stumbles upon a murder in a exotic remote location where a “family” of wealthy but despicable people are all suspect, and ultimately the detective must team-up with the only respectable character in the group to solve the mystery and catch the killer.
In some ways, ‘Glass Onion’ is not a “Whodunit” as much as it is a “When will they do it” movie. It’s fairly easy to know from the beginning of the film who the killer will be, but the fun is trying to figure out how they will do it, and who they will kill? In that sense, Johnson crafts an intriguing mystery, which is very fun and funny to watch unfold.
The movie also struggles with the despicable characters at the root of the film, as it’s hard to know who to root for besides Blanc. In fact, the main group of characters are so unlikable, it’s hard to care about what will happen to them at certain points in the middle of the movie, which is why it drags. But luckily the murder eventually kicks in reinstating the audience’s interest in Blanc solving the case and seeing these characters receive what they deserve.
In the end, writer and director Rian Johnson crafts another clever and funny mystery with ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,’ which is gorgeously shot and very well acted, but relies a bit too much on the original film’s formula and Craig’s new signature character.
(L to R) Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Kathryn Hahn, Dave Bautista, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Janelle Monáe, and Daniel Craig in ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.’
‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ receives 3.5 out of 5 stars.
The special follows Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom Klementieff) as they set out to give Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) the best Christmas ever, after discovering that Yondu (Michael Rooker) ruined the holiday for him as a child. So, the two Guardians travel to Earth to kidnap Peter’s childhood hero, the ‘Footloose’ actor Kevin Bacon (playing himself), as the ultimate gift for Peter.
The result is a fun and heartwarming holiday special, and while the plot is somewhat predictable, it features great alternative Christmas music, a funny Kevin Bacon performance, and tees up ‘Guardians Vol. 3’ perfectly.
Pound for pound, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is probably my favorite MCU movie, and the story was expanded well in ‘Guardians Vol. 2.’ But those two movies take place back to back, and with ‘Infinity War’ and ‘Endgame’ taking place before ‘Guardians Vol. 3,’ and the untimely firing and rehiring of Gunn by Disney, I’ve been concerned that the third ‘Guardians’ movie would not be what the filmmaker originally conceived for the trilogy. Remember, had Gunn not been fired, ‘Guardians Vol. 3,’ would have been released towards the beginning of Phase Four rather than the end.
Also, with the original Gamora (Zoe Saldana) dead, and a younger version of her running around the universe, this is not the Guardians team we began with and the ‘Holiday Special’ does a great job of setting up where our characters will be when ‘Vol. 3’ begins.
The Guardians now comprise of Star-Lord, Drax, Mantis, Nebula (Karen Gillan), Kraglin (Sean Gunn), Rocket (Voice of Bradley Cooper), new member Cosmo the Spacedog (Voiced for the first time by Maria Bakalova) and Groot (Voiced by Vin Diesel), who is now in his late teens but almost fully grown. We soon discover that they have inherited Nowhere from the Collector (Benicio del Toro) and are helping the locals rebuild their community. Other Marvel secrets revealed include the identity of Mantis’ father, and that Gamora is still missing at the time of the special.
Since this is a Disney+ special, and not a theatrical movie, obviously it did not have the same budget as other ‘Guardians’ films, but for the most part it never compromises the project. However, there were two scenes that could have used more effects work.
The movie begins with a flashback to Peter’s first Christmas with Yondu, and crude animation is used instead of live-action. One can assume this is because Michael Rooker is not in ‘Guardians Vol. 3,’ and was not available on set when they shot the special. The animation is rough, which matches Peter’s foggy memory, but distracted from the rest of the production. If animation was the only way to go with this sequence, using similar animation to the Disney+ series ‘What If…?’ would have fit the project better.
While Rocket and Groot are used sparingly, probably for budget reasons, Rocket looks good and is on par with his big screen appearances. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Groot, who at times looks more like the theme park character at Disneyland. In the special, Groot looks like someone in a rubber suit, rather than the CGI character we are used to.
But it’s the music, holiday themes, our beloved characters, and Gunn’s unique storytelling style that puts the “Special” in ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special.’ Gunn clearly understands the spirit of Christmas and knows what works in a project like this, with obvious influences from holiday specials of the past like 1964’s ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,’ 1966’s ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas!,’ and of course, 1978’s ‘Star Wars Holiday Special.’
The filmmaker also fills the special with non-traditional Christmas music like “Christmastime” by The Smashing Pumpkins or The Pogues’ classic song, “Fairytale of New York.” The underrated rock band the Old 97’s actually makes an appearance as an alien rock group on Nowhere learning about Christmas, and has a great performance at the end of the special with Kevin Bacon, who don’t forget is a musician himself.
Bacon is great playing a confused version of himself when Drax and Mantis abduct him, and he eventually befriends the whole group, becoming an honorary Guardian, which is fitting. The actor, who appeared in Gunn’s ‘Super,’ is a good sport spoofing his own persona and clearly understands what Gunn was aiming for. It’s also worth noting that Bacon’s real-life wife, actress Kyra Sedgwick makes a vocal cameo in the project.
As far as the core actors, Dave Bautista and Pom Klementieff have the largest roles, and have become a fantastic comedic team over the last few films. Drax and Mantis’ platonic friendship is one of the most engaging relationships in the franchise, and I’m intrigued to see where it goes in the next installment.
But the other Guardians have smaller roles. Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord does not have a lot to do but react to Mantis and Drax’s spontaneous Christmas, which he is emotionally touched by until he realizes that they kidnapped Kevin Bacon! Pratt’s basically just there to react, but has a touching scene with Mantis at the end, which I imagine will have large repercussions moving forward.
While Sean Gunn’s Kraglin is involved in the retelling of Peter’s first Christmas with Yondu, he’s basically in the background with Karen Gillan’s Nebula, who could have had a larger role. I also would have liked to see more interaction between Rocket and Groot, two fan-favorites, but we’ll have to wait for the next movie as Rocket mostly shares his scenes with Cosmo the Spacedog, who was originally introduced in the first film. But it was nice to get a tease of ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’s Maria Bakalova as the voice of Cosmo.
In the end, ‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ may not be the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.5’ fans were hoping for, but it is a very funny and entertaining Christmas special that should offer enough character interaction, humor, and music to hold fans over until ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’ hits theaters on May 5th, 2023.
‘The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special’ receives 4 out of 5 stars.
The cameras have been rolling for a while now, with Mark Molloy directing, working from the most recent draft of the script by Will Beall. Details on the story at this point are unknown right now, but you’ve got to figure it’ll see Eddie Murphy’s back in action, still pissing off people in power while getting the job done, even if he is a little more senior himself these days.
We’ve a feeling that, even if he has been promoted up the ranks, he’s the same old Axel. And use of the character’s name in the title has us wondering if, like Tom Cruise’s Maverick, he’ll be sticking to his same old rank, but able to offer the benefit of his wisdom to others.
The cast for the long-anticipated fourth ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ movie is a mixture of veterans and new franchise faces, of which Bacon falls into the latter camp, alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Taylour Paige.
On the veterans side, mainstay Murphy will see some actors from past ‘Cop’ movies returning here.
Judge Reinhold is back as Detective Billy Rosewood, while John Ashton returns to play Sgt. Taggart, both of whom were sidekick cops to Murphy’s wisecracking Foley character. Paul Reiser was Foley’s Detroit cop partner, Jeffrey Friedman, in the first two movies. Bronson Pinchot, meanwhile, was sassy art gallery salesman Serge in the first and third.
Bacon’s character has yet to be detailed, though how much fun would it be for him to play a villain opposite Murphy?
It has been a busy time recently for Bacon, who has a regular gig on TV drama ‘City on a Hill’ while also finding time for work in movies ‘Space Oddity’, ‘They/Them’ and ‘One Way’.
Netflix has yet to announce a launch date for the new ‘Beverly Hills Cop’.
Again, according to Deadline, the movie will star Bautista as South Beach bouncer Ray Sagona, who is on the brink of finding redemption and getting his family back.
But when a drug-filled safe is stolen from the super club he works at, Ray is blackmailed into finding it before the Miami PD narcotics bureau comes to retrieve it on Sunday night.
Now, as his past and present collide in ever-more dangerous ways, Ray must survive an epic 36-hour odyssey across Miami Beach to get that safe back.
Pearce aims to kick off shooting this one in summer next year.
Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley in 1994’s ‘Beverly Hills Cop III.’
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Going to the woods in a movie is rarely the start of a happy day full of joy and counting butterflies – at least, after the initial moments. And if ‘The Cabin in the Woods’ taught us anything, it’s that anything can happen.
Combine that concern with the fact that this is M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film and you’ve got the recipe for unnerving tension and plenty of terror in ‘Knock at the Cabin.’
Still, the set-up is bucolic enough: dads Andrew and Eric (Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge) bring young daughter Wen (Kristen Cui) to a beautiful cabin somewhere in the States.
At first, it’s all jumping in a lake, studying insects and generally chilling out – the perfect family vacation.
Until, that is, Dave Bautista’s hulking mystery man rocks up, knocks at the cabin and announces he’s supposed to “make friends” with the family. And if that wasn’t enough, he then summons some others (Rupert Grint, Nikki Amuka-Bird and Abby Quinn), who proceed to break into the cabin, take the family hostage and unveil their true intentions.
They’re believers in a coming apocalypse, and according to their ideas, the family have a devastating choice to make. And if they don’t choose? The world will come to an end…
While he adapted this one (from Paul G. Tremblay’s 2018 book ‘The Cabin at the End of the World’) alongside Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman rather than cranking out an original script, this is Shyamalan firmly in ‘Old’ territory – a contained setting (at least from the looks of this first trailer) and a scary mystery that the characters must figure out.
What are the new arrivals’ true intentions? Why does the apocalypse seemingly hinge on a choice? And given that they’re stuck in an isolated area, what hope does the family have of avoiding the fate that appears to have befallen them?
‘Knock’ represents Night reuniting with a couple of people he’s worked with in the past – Amuka-Bird was part of the ‘Old’ cast, while Grint plays Julian Pearce on the director’s TV series ‘Servant’.
Bautista, meanwhile, continues his run of eclectic roles, switching between the heroic, comedic likes of Drax in Marvel’s ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movies and beyond (he cropped up briefly in this year’s ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’) and the more villainous types such as ‘Dune’s violent, cruel Glossu Rabban Harkonnen (the actor will be back for more of that in ‘Dune: Part Two’, due out on November 17th next year).
It’s a good news/bad news sort of day for those who are fans of Apple TV+’s Jason Momoa-starring post-apocalyptic action drama ‘See’. Because while the new trailer release means a fresh look at Season 3 of the show, it also brings us one step closer to the end of the series as a whole.
Yes, ‘See’, created by ‘Peaky Blinders’ and ‘Locke’s Steven Knight is ready to ride off into the forest after this next season.
Still, there is plenty of fight left in the show, and even more fighting, as per this latest trailer.
‘See’, in case you’ve never watched the show, is set in a brutal and primitive future, hundreds of years after humankind has lost the ability to see. Warrior clans live in pre-medieval-style societies, having adapted to life without vision.
But time moves on, and so does science, and one group in particular has hit upon something that could change the game forever.
As Season 3 opens, almost a year has passed since Baba Voss (Momoa) defeated his nemesis brother Edo (Dave Bautista, who co-starred in Season 2) and bid farewell to his family to live remotely in the forest.
Jason Momoa in Apple TV+’s ‘See.’
But when a Trivantian scientist develops a new and devastating form of sighted, explosive weaponry that threatens the future of humanity, Baba returns to Paya in order to protect his tribe once more.
Another wrinkle, of course, is that Baba’s children Haniwa (Nesta Cooper) and Kofun (Archie Madekwe) are sighted, and that caused much friction within the society – Baba has had to keep them safe through the years.
And the Trivantians, whose territory borders Voss’ Payan tribe, remain a huge threat to everyone Baba loves and protects, even without Edo leading their army. Their new weapon marks a daunting, dangerous new era of war for everyone in ‘See’s world.
“The thing the world has been worried about coming back with vision, which is the science of the ancients, meaning us,” said showrunner Jonathan Tropper at the Apple TV+ panel at Comic-Con Saturday. The final season, according to him, explores “what happens when, after 500 years, the concept of bombs and explosives gets reintroduced into society.”
One thing that Momoa fans can at least take comfort in – he’s switching from ‘See’ to another Apple series, albeit a limited one. ‘Chief of War,’ starring, written by and executive produced by Momoa, and co-created by Thomas Pa’a Sibbett, follows the epic and unprecedented telling of the unification and colonization of Hawaii from an indigenous point of view.
With work on that one still at a very early stage, there’s no sign yet when it’ll be on screens. But ‘See’s third season arrives on Apple TV+ on August 26th.
This December, director Denis Villeneuve’s vision of Dune, Frank Herbert’s science fiction epic, will hit the big screen.
Here’s the official synopsis from Warner Bros:
A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.
Oscar nominee Timothée Chalamet stars as Paul Atreides, and the supporting cast includes Oscar Isaac, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem.
As you may know, this isn’t the first ‘Dune’ adaptation. In the mid 70s, filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky worked on putting the story on screen, but the project ultimately fell apart (the doc ‘Jodorowsky’s Dune‘ provides a fascinating history of the failed production). David Lynch’s film adaptation hit theaters in 1984, and although the film is widely considered a flop, author Frank Herbert was quoted as being pretty satisfied with Lynch’s version. And in 2000, the Sci-Fi Channel aired a three-part miniseries titled ‘Frank Herbert’s Dune,’ which was then followed up in 2003 with another sequel mini-series, ‘Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune.’
‘Dune’ is slated to open in theaters on December 18, 2020.
In an exclusive interview with Made in Hollywood, ‘My Spy‘ star Chloe Coleman talks about how much fun she had working with her co-star Dave Bautista, and she shares that she got to do some of her own stunts, too!
If you’re on the fence about watching ‘My Spy,’ these clips should give you a taste of both Bautista’s comic ability and his chemistry with his young co-star.
“Do Not Touch”
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“Cause a Distraction”
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“Let’s Dance”
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‘My Spy’ also stars Kristen Schaal, Parisa Fitz-Henley and Ken Jeong, and it is now available on Amazon Prime Video.
“My Spy,” a family-friendly comedy starring Dave Bautista, has been abruptly moved from its August 23 release date to 2020.
Variety reports that the studio STX Films is looking for a new date in the first quarter of next year. It could open as early as January, one of the insiders told the outlet.
“My Spy” finds Bautista (best known as Drax from “Guardians of the Galaxy”) playing a hardened CIA operative who has bungled a few intelligence operations. And he goes undercover in a last-ditch surveillance operation, only to get busted by a little girl (Chloe Coleman). She forces him to teach her spycraft — or is he the one taking notes from her?
According to Variety, the movie was drawing comparisons to the Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Kindergarten Cop,” but the studio wanted buffer time between it and Bautista’s buddy comedy “Stuber,” which opens Friday.
