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Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Latest Movie News From Moviefone

Latest Movie News From Moviefone

Crowd-Pleasing Movies for Your Next Family Movie Night

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20th Century FoxThe Bagel Bites are still frozen in the middle. Your friend with the popcorn popper sent you the patented "I think I'm going to bail on this one" text. Your uncle just got the entire "Hee Haw" series on Blu-ray and is a little too excited about it.

These are the things that can, have, and will go wrong on family movie night. Your best defense against movie night fails? Movies so impossible not to love that some states may have laws against not liking them.

So put those Bagel Bites back in the oven; bust out the microwavable kettle corn; ask your mom if your uncle is really related to anyone -- for it's time to please the whole crowd with your brilliant taste in movies.

'The Princess Bride' (1987)

OK, the MPAA is pretty solid -- we know "G" movies are good for kids, "R" for adults. Got it. But somewhere along the way, they forgot the "This Movie Is for Anyone on the Planet Who Has a Soul" rating. Because that's exactly what Rob Reiner's "The Princess Bride" is -- a soulful, joyfully swashbuckling romance, and a genuinely hilarious take on what it means to tell stories. A super-smart script from William Goldman -- the guy who wrote "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "All the President's Men" -- and iconic performances by everyone from Cary Elwes to Andre the Giant mean you'll be laughing and tearing up right alongside the kids, because this movie doesn't talk down to anyone. It wears its very big heart right on its very puffy sleeves.

'Moonrise Kingdom' (2012)

Who doesn't like whimsical things? People not named Wes Anderson, that's who. In a modern cinematic landscape that's constantly desaturated, Wes isn't afraid to bring us Crayola colors and framing that's so symmetrical it's weirdly comforting, like an old flannel blanket on a camping trip of yore.

That's exactly what "Moonrise Kingdom" is -- a raucous camping trip full of the warm fuzzies, but warm fuzzies that are sincere instead of pandering. Its 1960s setting will tickle the nostalgia bone of grown-up guests as they recognize realities that they lived, and for viewers with less years under their scout badges, "Kingdom" is the Technicolor camping trip that dances in their wildly imaginative, sugar-addled heads. It's a world where simple emotion and desire drive every beat, and everything is just a little magical. Plus, Tilda Swinton and Bill Murray never hurt anything. You should probably invite them to your movie night.

'Groundhog Day' (1993)

Did we mention Bill Murray? There are only two types of people who don't like Bill Murray: Aliens, and people who whisper, "Hail Hydra" in elevators. These are people you do not want at your family movie night.

What you do want at your movie night, though, is "Groundhog Day." Murray exudes that sort of world-weary dry humor that kids laugh at the same way they laugh at you stealing their nose. Adults will pick up on themes ranging from existentialism to the Buddhist notion of Samsara as Murray's beleaguered weatherman relives the same three days over and over and over -- until he gets them right. What some folks won't pick up on is that they're watching a ridiculously well-crafted romantic comedy; this is the rom-com for people who claim they hate rom-coms.

We're calling it now: "Groundhog Day" will be the next generation's "It's a Wonderful Life." Might as well serve it up with gingerbread cookies and pumpkin spice lattes, because it's a tradition in the making.

'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' (2015)

There has been an awakening. You have probably felt it. You have felt it in your cereal. You have felt it in your Underoos. And it is called "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."

At this point, the Star Wars theme might as well be our national anthem. It's our mythology, the song of our people. Everyone can tell you the story of Luke Skywalker, the same way they can tell you the story of Little Red Riding Hood or Superman -- and J.J. Abrams' rollicking, funny, tightly paced dazzler of a sci-fi action flick packs everything we love about Star Wars into 136 minutes. The mythology is there, and so are the crazy-good effects, the Jedi-Sith throwdowns, the romance, and the heart-tugging pathos we've been craving since "Return of the Jedi" rolled its credits. Your mom gets her Harrison Ford dosage, your niece gets Daisy Ridley kicking insane amounts of Sith tail, and everyone -- even those who don't get into the film -- will spend the entire post-party dishing about what exactly is up with Kylo Ren.

When Maz Kanata says, "The Force, it's calling to you. Just let it in," she's talking about this movie, in your Blu-ray player, right now. And if Yoda taught us anything, it's that tiny old aliens always know exactly what they're talking about.

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Why Korean Dramas Are Some of the Most Addicting TV Series Around

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Descendants of the SunAccording to Forbes, about 41 percent of South Korea's population tuned in to the 16-episode, military-themed romance, "Descendants of the Sun." Just for comparison, the sixth season finale of the "The Walking Dead" drew in 14.2 million viewers in the U.S. -- that's roughly 4.4 percent of the population.

When almost half a country goes gaga for a TV show, that's the kind of fandom that crosses oceans -- an effect now commonly referred to as "hallyu," or Korean Wave. With Korean dramas or K-dramas for those in the know (which is about to be you) cropping up all over the web and American remakes in the works, there must be a reason behind the bingeing. Let's start with just five reasons for the hype.

They're Low Commitment

For the average show, we're used to watching about 22 to 32 episodes each season. Add that to our love of building comic book inspired cinematic universes -- "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." ties into "Avengers: Age of Ultron," which takes places in the same universe as "Daredevil" and "Jessica Jones" -- and you're looking at a serious binge-watching commitment.

Not so with K-drama. With the exceptions of historical and weekend family dramas, each series is a self-contained story that lasts just one season of 16 to 20 episodes. That's a breezy binge with little-to-no-serious commitment; the compact format makes for less navel gazing and more action.

They're Absolutely Gorgeous

South Korea has an international reputation for impeccable skin care and cosmetic surgery, and that absolutely shows in K-drama. Every character from CEOs to soldiers is a perfect 10, and plenty of product placement means they're all rocking runway-ready wardrobes and sporting the latest smartphones you'll be using next year.

And that's to say nothing of the cinematography. While American soaps aren't necessarily known for their stunning camera work, K-drama's opulent locales ("Descendants" was shot on-location in Greece), slick production, and energetic camera work make each episode feel like a K-pop music video.

They're Familiar ...

Archetypes and accessibility go hand-in-hand, and K-drama has the both of them in spades. Rich boys -- or chaebols -- meet poor girls, and their overbearing in-laws most definitely step in. Mysterious lovers and plucky heroines have all the secret past traumas you've come to expect, and you can bet there will be Cinderella stories. It happened in hit drama "Coffee Prince" (in which a poor young girl disguises herself as a boy to work at a coffee shop and falls in love with its owner) and it'll happen again. Count on it.

... Yet Refreshing

Time-tested archetypes make it easy to slip into K-drama, but fresh, vibrant cultural differences keep you on your toes. Whether it's a character literally getting slapped across the face with kimchi (a thing that actually happened in "Everybody, Kimchi!") or a human being falling in love with an alien -- like in "My Love From Another Star" -- you can only expect one certainty: Your expectations will be defied.

Oh, and There's Makjang (Lots and Lots of Makjang)

Makjang roughly translates to "over-the-top drama" in Korean, and K-drama means makjang -- a whole lot of makjang. Star-crossed lovers, major characters taken out by ninja hitmen, revenge fantasies driven by sons tracking down their father's killers ("City Hunter" style), Darth Vader-level parentage reveals, and cliffhangers aplenty -- it's all there.

To be fair, not every K-drama is filled with makjang, but it's what keeps us coming back for just one more episode. And by "just one more," we mean two more. Or six more. Or, you know, the whole rest of the series.

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'Star Wars: Rogue One' Reshoots Report: Movie Felt 'Tonally Off'

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Star Wars Rogue OneAfter news surfaced earlier this week that "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" would go undergo weeks of expensive reshoots, the fans ... well, panicked. Now, the Hollywood Reporter has more details on why the prequel needs more tinkering from director Gareth Edwards.

"Execs screened the film and felt it was tonally off with what a 'classic' Star Wars movie should feel like," THR says. A source described "Rogue One" as "having the feel of a war movie."

"Rogue One" tells the story of rebel spies who steal the plans to the Death Star, a passing fact mentioned in the scrolling opening credits of "Star Wars IV: A New Hope." Those plans end up in the hands of Princess Leia and are key to the Rebel Alliance defeating the Empire.

There are some rumors floating around that the reshoots could add in a cameo for Alden Ehrenreich, who's been tapped to play the young Han Solo in another standalone "Star Wars" movie. But mostly, as THR reports, the reshoots are intended to "lighten the mood, bring some levity into the story and restore a sense of fun to the adventure."

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'Roots' Premieres to Solid Ratings, Despite Tough Critics & Competition

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Even airing across multiple networks, the "Roots" remake doesn't have a shot at matching the audience record of the 1977 miniseries. We'll probably never again have a series watched by 130 million people. But the first night of the 2016 "Roots" did pretty well on History, A&E, and Lifetime (plus the Lifetime Movie Network), especially when you consider tough competition from Game 7 of NBA playoffs, the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals, and even "The Bachelorette," not to mention people just out at Memorial Day events.

According to Deadline, Monday's initial broadcast of the four-night "Roots" event was watched by 5.3 million people, and it picked up more viewers through two more repeats that night, for a total of 8.5 million viewers. As they noted, that's the biggest overall audience for a cable miniseries opening in three years, since "Bonnie & Clyde" opened to 9.8 million viewers in December 2013. Unfortunately, it didn't come anywhere near History's "Hatfields & McCoys," which also had a Memorial Day opening in 2012, and picked up 13.9 million viewers. "The Bible" also premiered high with 13.1 million viewers in March of 2013.


TV By the Numbers added that "Roots" drew 1.8 million viewers in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic on Monday, which translates to a 1.4 rating. "That will likely rank it third for the night across all of TV, behind a record-setting NBA playoff game on TNT and 'The Bachelorette' on ABC."

"Roots" aired another episode Tuesday, and continues Wednesday and Thursday. As The Hollywood Reporter noted in its story on the premiere night ratings, "The real pressure on Roots now is not necessarily to sustain its audience on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday — but to grow that number with DVR and on-demand plays. A+E also is angling for prestige, premiering the mini within the window for 2016 Emmy eligibility. The critical response bodes well for that, with Roots averaging 83 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic."

The critics who watched it may have approved, but there are some critics who advocated for viewers to skip "Roots," in some cases because the original was considered a classic. Snoop Dogg posted an Instagram video saying he wouldn't watch "Roots" because it's time for more TV series and films about the modern successes of African-Americans, instead of more stories about slavery. That post went viral just before the premiere, and it's possible it had an affect on viewers. "Roots" producer Will Packer responded to critics of the remake, telling the Tallahassee Democrat, "I don't think we should get too comfortable as a country, as a society or as a race of people. I think this is a story that's important enough it should be told in repeated ways."

"Roots" continues from 9 to 11:21 p.m. tonight.

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'Marauders': See the Trailer and Poster for Bruce Willis Heist Movie

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"The rich will pay." That's the tagline of "Marauders," a new crime thriller starring Bruce Willis as a 1 percenter, but it probably doesn't mean the rich will pay for your ticket to see this movie. But, you know, maybe if you ask nicely?

Lionsgate Premiere just dropped an action-packed trailer for "Marauders," which co-stars Christopher Meloni, Adrian Grenier, Johnathon Schaech, Dave Bautista, and Lydia Hull. It's coming out July 1 in theaters and On Demand.

Here's the poster:


Here's the film's official synopsis:

"When a bank is hit by a brutal heist, all evidence points to the owner (Bruce Willis) and his high-powered clients. But as a group of FBI agents (Christopher Meloni, Dave Bautista and Adrian Grenier) dig deeper into the case - and the deadly heists continue - it becomes clear that a larger conspiracy is at play."


And here is the official trailer:'Marauders' (2016) Trailer
What do you think so far? Does this look worthy of your heard-earned money, or will you try to find some rich person to pay?

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Pregnant Megan Fox Is Moving to a New Home Because Her Fetus Said To

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2016 CinemaCon - Paramount Pictures PresentationThe current headquarters of the Fetus Rights Movement is in 's belly. She was on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" last night to promote "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows" and they got into the topic of her pregnancy. She has two sons, age 3 and 2, and a third child on the way with husband Brian Austin Green.

The entire family is apparently moving to a new home in the L.A. area, thanks to the powers of Megan's super-genius unborn baby. That's the scoop she shared when explaining to Jimmy how her baby communicates with her from the inside.

Megan Fox: "You don't hear an audible voice, but I feel like you receive messages from the child if you're open to it."

Messages like "Get me a pizza?" Jimmy asked.

Megan: "No, things like, for instance, this baby wanted me to live somewhere else. So we're moving to a whole different place in Los Angeles because I feel like that's where this baby wants to be raised."

Jimmy Kimmel: "For real?"

Megan: "And I also feel like this baby is telling me it's kind of like a Wernher von Braun or an Elon Musk."

Jimmy: "Really?"

Megan: "Yeah, like a super genius."

Jimmy: "OK, well, if this baby is able to convince you to move out of your house, it is a super genius. Or it's a Realtor. It might be a baby Realtor you're having. Have you seen your baby on a bus bench in the neighborhood?"


Good point; what's the baby's commission on this? Jimmy asked what Brian Austin Green had to say about moving because the unborn baby sent a message. Megan said he trusted her. She said she knew she sounded like a lunatic, but she has made some really good decisions based on what her higher power was telling her, and Brian just goes along with it now.

It's kind of an awkward interview, with Megan and Jimmy getting into it a bit on letting children decide what to do. But things get lighter toward the end when Guillermo gets involved to suggest baby names.

Watch the clip:

At least she feels a very close bond with her baby. That's the important thing, right? The new TMNT movie is out this Friday, June 3.

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Sarah Hyland's Coachella Trip Goes to the Devil in 'Satanic' Trailer

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Lucifer is breaking out the cutlery in a battle against Coachella-bound college hipsters in the new trailer for "Satanic." Is it wrong to have sympathy for the devil on this one?

"Modern Family" star Sarah Hyland leads the cast in this story following four friends who decide to tour "Satanic Panic-era" sites in Los Angeles before heading to the music festival. According to the synopsis, the pals end up following the creepy owner of an occult store home, "only to find themselves saving a suspicious girl from an apparent human sacrifice. Only this 'victim' turns out to be much more than dangerous then the cult from which she escaped."

One character asks, "Satanic tourism, I have to take this seriously?" which seems like a decent question, and you might also wonder how the hotel room forks and knives got on the ceiling.

Anyway, here's the trailer:
"Satanic" is billed as "from the producer of 'The Walking Dead'" (David Alpert's production company Circle of Confusion is credited) and, at the very least, it has a pretty cool poster. It's being released in theaters, On Demand, and via Amazon Video, and iTunes on July 1st.

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'America's Got Talent' Premiere: Did 13-Year-Old Opera Singer Deserve Golden Buzzer?

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AMERICA'S GOT TALENT -- "Auditions Pasadena Civic Auditorium" -- Pictured: Laura Bretan -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC)Is Laura Bretan the Jackie Evancho of "America's Got Talent" Season 11? She's well on her way already.

The 2016 season started last night, featuring new judge Simon Cowell as Howard Stern's replacement, a bunch of wild auditions, and Laura Bretan earning the first Golden Buzzer of the season. The 13-year-old eighth-grader said she was nervous before singing "Nessun Dorma" for the audience (and Simon), but she didn't show it. AGT has a history of loving opera singers and now we have another to follow for (probably?) the whole season. Mel B. gave Bretan the coveted Golden Buzzer, sending her straight through to the live shows.


Was it the right call? Bretan is an amazing performer, with a strong voice and a dramatic, emotional interpretation. (She was also apparently on "Romania's Got Talent.") Bretan was probably going to get through no matter what, especially after that standing ovation and Simon Cowell's glowing review: "I have never heard anything like that in all the years I've been dong this show. Seriously. It was unbelievable." (Cowell is a veteran of "Britain's Got Talent" and, of course, "American Idol.") He said what made it even better is that she is such a sweet, humble person. We'll have to see what she does next to keep up this momentum.

AMERICA'S GOT TALENT -- "Auditions Pasadena Civic Auditorium" -- Pictured: Tape Face -- (Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC)What about Tape Man? It looked like a creepy Tim Burton-esque routine was coming, then the oven mitts popped out for a sweetly hilarious rendition of "Endless Love," and we were hooked.

Watch Tape Man, and more AGT videos:

What were your favorite auditions of the premiere?

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'Cursed Child': See First Photos of Ron, Hermione, and Daughter Rose

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It's time to meet the Granger-Weasleys! Yesterday, fans got their first looks at Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, and their son Albus, in images from the "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" stage play that starts previews in London on June 7.

Today's Pottermore pics show Ginny's bro/Harry's best friend Ron Weasley (Paul Thornley) and the great Hermione Granger (Noma Dumezweni), along with their daughter Rose Granger-Weasley (Cherrelle Skeete), who is about to start at Hogwarts (like Albus Potter).

Check out individual images below (with their wands!), along with thoughts about the characters from the stars and author J.K. Rowling.

ROSE GRANGER-WEASLEY
It sounds like young Rose is more like her mother than her father (which, let's be honest, is probably a good thing). As actress Cherrelle Skeete put it, "Rose is ambitious, obviously her mum is Hermione so she's got a lot to live up to. I think they're quite similar in the fact they put a lot of pressure on themselves. And she just wants to do the right thing."

J.K. Rowling added, "Rose is like her mother, but more secure, more grounded. She was born to wizards and knows her place in the world. Cherrelle plays her perfectly: bossy but deeply lovable."


HERMIONE GRANGER
J.K. Rowling raved about Noma Dumezweni in the role Emma Watson played in the movies. "I saw Noma workshop the part and when John Tiffany told me he'd cast her, I was overjoyed. She gets Hermione inside out." She also gets the best wand. Look at that thing -- it's practically a lightsaber.


RON WEASLEY
Paul Thornley said they wanted to find a jumper (sweater) for Ron that is his favorite one and only occasionally gets washed, and he doesn't care much what he wears in the morning. J.K. Rowling said to expect the Ron you remember from the books (and from Rupert Grint in the movies). "Ron in his forties isn't very different from Ron in his teens, except that his feet hurt a bit more. Paul's so funny and brilliant in the role."


And there's more! Pottermore will share one final first look this week, with images of two more characters from "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two." So expect that on Thursday.

This looks so good, we hope it takes off and flies/portkeys its way over to the U.S. for a later run. For now, unless you get tickets in London, the best you can do is pick up the "Cursed Child" script book on July 31, which is both Harry Potter's and J.K. Rowling's birthday.

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