The past decade hasn't been too kind to filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, who broke out back in 1999 with psychological thriller The Sixth Sense and has been on a pretty consistent downward spiral since then. Unbreakable and Signs aside, Shyamalan has turned out some pretty awful movies. Moviegoers really didn't take to the "the trees are attacking" twist in his horror-thriller The Happening, Nickelodeon viewers certainly have him on their hit-list after the horrific, can't-look-away train-wreck that was The Last Airbender, and his latest film, After Earth, just earned the director six Razzie nominations, including ones for Worst Picture, Worst Director and Worst Screenplay. And so, going back to a simpler time for his next project likely sounds pretty good to Shyamalan right now.
Comic-book fans are in for a terrific year. X-Men: Days of Future Past, due to hit in May, is unquestionably one of the most risky superhero adventures ever made, as well as one that commits to a twisty, much-loved arc from the original comics. In addition to that star-studded blockbuster, comic-book aficionados are also patiently biding their time until Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. But, for now, let's go back to that first flick, undoubtedly the one with the highest chance of breaking box-office records.
Fresh off a well-received turn as Louis Gaines in Lee Daniels' The Butler, British thesp David Oyelowo has joined the already-impressive cast of All Is Lost director J.C. Chandor's next project: the 1981 crime drama A Most Violent Year.
Last summer, This Is The End proved that moviegoers will turn up en masse to see a lot of funny people doing crazy things on-screen, even in projects far out enough to feature cannibal gangs, demonic genitalia, high-speed rapturing and the Backstreet Boys (in under ten minutes of screen time). And so, confirmation that some members of that apoca-comedy's principal cast, including Seth Rogen, James Franco and Jonah Hill, will be joining forces for another project shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone who took a peek at just how much their last venture picked up at the box-office.
Perhaps he should have focused on saving his own show. After stumbling out of the gate back in October and continuing to lose viewers throughout its freshman run, Sean Saves the World has been pulled off the air by NBC.
The drop-dead gorgeous Scarlett Johansson playing an alien seductress was alone enough to pique my interest in Jonathan Glazer's newest project, the philosophical sci-fi drama Under the Skin. The more I hear about the film, however, the more intrigued I become.
As if we weren't already excited enough for Better Call Saul, AMC's planned Breaking Bad prequel series, which will follow the misadventures of criminal lawyer Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) before he met up with Walt (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul), now Deadline is reporting that Jonathan Banks, who played fixer Mike Ehrmantraut on Breaking Bad, has joined the show's main cast.
More good news today for All Is Lost and Margin Call director J.C. Chandor's next film, the 1981-set drama A Most Violent Year. Following its acquisition by upstart distribution company A24 last week at the Sundance Film Festival, Academy Award-nominated actor Albert Brooks has joined the already impressive cast.
Moviegoers are about to get very familiar with Chris Pratt. Though smart television viewers already know the actor from his role as loveable man-child Andy Dwyer on NBC's Parks and Recreation, Pratt has also been finding colossal success with his movie roles over the past few years. He'll voice the protagonist in next month's The LEGO Movie and star as Peter Quill/Star-Lord in Marvel's intergalactic caper Guardians of the Galaxy, due out in August. Now, he's officially locked in for the lead role in Universal's hotly-anticipated Jurassic World.
Sam Rockwell is one of the greatest actors working today. If you're not already in agreement with me, look over his diverse body of work. Rockwell has killed roles, both lead and supporting, in movies as weird as Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, as shattering as Conviction, and as breathtakingly original as Moon. Along the way, he's played integral parts in classics like The Green Mile and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. He's one of my favorite actors because, no matter how many great roles I see him in, he just sells it every time.
