Spider-Man Will Return In Avengers: Infinity War

Spider-Man is back in a big way. After Sony's failed Amazing Spider-Man reboot, Marvel was able to cut a deal to have the webslinger be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Tom Holland debuted as Spidey in Captain America: Civil War last summer and even though he was only technically in two scenes, the results were very convincing. Now it looks like we are going to be seeing the new Spider-Man join up with Iron Man and the gang to help take down Thanos, because Tom Holland says he will be in Avengers: Infinity War.

The actor recently did an interview with Vogue Italia. Fortunately, the Tom Holland Italia Twitter account picked up on it and translated part of it. The translation is a bit rough, but in it, Tom Holland confirms that he will be in Avengers 3 and presumably, Avengers 4. Here is how the translation reads.

"It is they who convinced the marvel (downey and evans)..the producers wanted to be sure that I was the right person before you entrust three films over the next four years, including 'Avengers: Infinity War'"

Again, that is a pretty rough translation but it is enough to say that Spider-Man will be in Avengers: Infinity War, which is definitely good news. Some might think that seems like a no-brainer, but it has actually been pretty up in the air. By Tom Holland's own admission previously, he wasn't sure if he was going to be in the next two Avengers movies and a recent cast list that was posted MovieCastingCall.org didn't feature his name. So the evidence seemed to be pointing in the direction of Tom Holland at least not showing up in Avengers: Infinity War and that maybe he would show up for Avengers 4. The intricacies of the deal between Marvel Studios and Sony haven't been made public, so it seemed possible that the contract between the studios could have been a factor as well.

Either way, it seems like things have been worked out, or at least cleared up and we will get to see Peter Parker suit up and join the fight against the Mad Titan Thanos come 2018. Before that, we are going to see the first solo Spider-Man movie in the MCU later this year when Spider-Man: Homecoming lands in theaters. The first trailer recently debuted and was very encouraging for fans who may have been feeling a bit uneasy after what happened with The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Having Iron Man along for the ride to help take down Michael Keaton as The Vulture certainly doesn't hurt anything.

Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 are going to be shooting back-to-back starting this month and will be directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, who directed both Captain America: The Winter Solider and Captain America: Civil War. The movie is expected to start shooting this month and will be shooting in both Atlanta and parts of the U.K. It is going to have a reportedly huge budget of nearly $500 million for both movies and will have the largest cast we have ever seen in a Marvel movie. Outside of that and knowing that Thanos will be the main threat, we don't know much in terms of specific story. As far as Spider-Man goes, Spider-Man: Homecoming will come out on July 7, 2017. He will then show up in Avengers: Infinity War, which is scheduled to hit theaters on May 4, 2018, and Avengers 4 will come out a year later on May 3, 2019.

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John Wick 2 TV Spot: He Will Kill Them All

With the February 10 release date less than a month away, expect to see a lot more footage from John Wick: Chapter 2. Today we have a new TV spot which features Keanu Reeves's title character going back to work, which surely isn't good news for his multitude of enemies. We also get a few scenes with new characters played by Laurence Fishburne, Common, Riccardo Scamarcio, Ruby Rose, along with the returning Ian McShane as the Continental Hotel owner Winston. We also see John Wick make a promise that whoever comes for him, he'll kill them all.

This TV spot debuted on Lionsgate's YouTube channel, which comes less than a month after the second John Wick 2 trailer debuted. Last month we also saw the debut of a viral website that takes fans inside the now-iconic Continental Hotel, a hangout for assassins. Keanu Reeves revealed in an interview last year that director Chad Stahelski and writer Derek Kolstad really listened to the fans, and learned that they wanted to know more about the Continental Hotel and the assassins found within this facility, with the actor stating that this world gets opened up a lot in the sequel.

Keanu Reeves returns in the sequel to the 2014 hit as legendary hitman John Wick who is forced to back out of retirement by a former associate plotting to seize control of a shadowy international assassins' guild. Bound by a blood oath to help him, John travels to Rome where he squares off against some of the world's deadliest killers. Original John Wick stars Ian McShane (Winston), John Leguizamo (Aurelio), Bridget Moynahan (Helen), Thomas Sadoski (Jimmy) and Lance Reddick (Charon) have returned to reprise their roles.

John Wick 2 will have plenty of competition on February 10, 2017, going up against two high-profile projects. Also opening on that day is Universal's steamy sequel Fifty Shades Darker and Warner Bros.' The Lego Movie spinoff The LEGO Batman Movie. With this weekend filled with three movies from established franchises, it could make this frame a very interesting one to watch at the box office, to see which movie will come out on top. While the conventional wisdom would suggest that the family-friendly LEGO Batman Movie would triumph over its R-rated competitors, stranger things have happened at the box office.

While we only have a few weeks left until John Wick: Chapter 2 hits theaters, the filmmakers and producers are already hard at work on John Wick 3. Director Chad Stahelski teased during a New York Comic Con interview that Lionsgate has asked him to come up with ideas for the third installment. The director teased that Ian McShane's Winston and Lance Reddick's Charon, the manager of the Continental Hotel, will be a "big part" of the sequel, which likely means fans will learn even more about the Continental Hotel and this underworld of assassins. While we wait for more on John Wick 3, take a look at this TV spot for John Wick 2

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X-Men Spin-Off Gambit Is Still Happening with Channing Tatum

Back in July, producer Simon Kinberg revealed that production on the Gambit spin-off was expected to begin in Spring 2017, although a concrete start date was not revealed. But then, just a month later, the project lost director Doug Liman, and that was the last we heard about it. The X-Men spin-off just keeps getting pushed back for a number of different reasons. Today, we finally have a new, albeit brief, update on the film, with confirmation that Channing Tatum is still attached to star.

The news came from Buzzfeed reporter Jarett Wieselman, who was present at the TCA Winter Tour today when producer Lauren Shuler Donner was promoting the new X-Men TV series Legion. Although there is no direct quote, the reporter revealed on Twitter that Lauren Shuler Donner told the assembled press members that Channing Tatum is still attached to star as Gambit in this spin-off. While she wouldn't offer more about Gambit she did state that the TV show Legion features characters they have no intention of using in the X-Men movie universe.

Channing Tatum's involvement as Gambit was first revealed in 2014, when it was originally announced that the character will be introduced in X-Men: Apocalypse before getting his own spin-off movie. His X-Men: Apocalypse appearance never did happen, but at the time, the studio was aiming for a 2016 release date. Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) signed on to direct, with a script from Joshua Zetumer (RoboCop), but the director parted ways with the project. Doug Liman came aboard to direct in November 2015, with a spring 2016 production start planned, but that was ultimately scrapped due to script rewrites. With no director attached yet, it isn't clear if a production start date is being planned, or if 20th Century Fox is seeking a specific release date.

Back in August, producer Simon Kinberg revealed that the Gambit adaptation won't happen until they can get the script just right. The producer revealed that a movie like this needs "a special and unique tone," and that is often very difficult to find. He compared the process to Deadpool, which may have seemed like an instant, overnight success, but he reminded fans that the film was in various stages of development for a decade before it hit theaters. With no director and an always-evolving script, it may just take that long to get Gambit off the ground.

20th Century Fox is also developing a few other X-Men spin-offs as well, with X-Force in the works along with The New Mutants. There are also rumors of another X-Men movie in the works with director Bryan Singer, which producer Simon Kinberg has teased in the past will be set in the 1990s. As for Gambit, there had previously been rumors that Channing Tatum was leaving the project, but that was debunked when he officially signed on in 2015. The actor actively campaigned for this role during interviews and on social media, so even if the film keeps getting delayed, Channing Tatum may still stick with it for the long haul, until all of the pieces finally come into place and production starts. Take a look at Jarett Wieselman had to say on Twitter about Lauren Shuler Donner about Gambit.

20th Century Fox does have a number of Untitled Marvel project release dates lined up for the future, the first of which falls on November 2, 2017. It's unlikely that Gambit could make this date, and whatever this movie is supposed to be will probably get pushed into 2018. Another untitled Marvel movie is scheduled to hit June 29, 2018, but there is no word on what this may be, either.

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Hidden Figures

In the early ’60s, NASA used “colored computers”—i.e., African-American female mathematicians—to check the work of its white male engineers at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA. These “hidden figures” were instrumental in getting the Mercury program (literally) off the ground, at a time when the U.S. was engaged in a fierce space race against the Soviets. Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) were three of the key women involved in this project, and it’s their stories that unfold in director Theodore Melfi’s remarkable, inspirational film.

While all three women are clearly brilliant, they face an uphill battle for equality at NASA. Their work is vital to the success of the space program, but, because of their gender and race, they are continually forced to take a backseat to their white male counterparts. Johnson is initially promoted to the Space Task Group by manager Al Harrison (a sturdy Kevin Costner), who quickly spots her potential. Unfortunately, her male peers aren’t as thrilled; they make her use a “colored” coffee pot, and only reluctantly recognize her contributions. Adding further insult is the fact that there are no colored bathrooms in the building, so she has to walk a half mile to use one on the other side of the compound. When Harrison finally realizes why Johnson disappears for long stretches, he takes action and declares: “Here at NASA, we all pee the same color.”

The other two women contend with troubles of their own. Vaughan oversees all of the “colored computers,” yet her white boss (Kirsten Dunst, perfect in a brief but crucial role) won’t give her a supervisor’s title or pay; meanwhile, Jackson dreams of becoming an engineer, but is forced to go to court to gain the right to study at an all-white school. Hidden Figures mainly deals with the women’s workplace and their struggles there, yet co-screenwriters Melfi and Allison Schroeder, adapting Margot Lee Shetterly’s non-fiction book, manage to offer insightful glimpses into the ladies’ private lives—with Johnson, a widow with three young daughters, given the brightest spotlight as she is courted by a handsome National Guard officer (Mahershala Ali).

Henson, Spencer, and Monáe all excel in their roles and are a constant joy to watch. Jim Parsons is also quite good as Johnson’s racist co-worker, who redacts most of his reports before handing them over for her to check. Pharrell Williams, who serves as one of the film’s producers, contributes some catchy original songs (“Runnin’,” “I See a Victory”), while Melfi’s straightforward, unfussy direction allows the story to simply speak for itself.

Hidden Figures sheds illuminating light on dark, racist days, and is an empowering tale that will inspire adults and youngsters alike. Turns out that Alan Shepard, John Glenn, and their fellow Mercury Seven astronauts weren’t the only ones with the right stuff.

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Passengers

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Passengers

The trailer for Passengers promises a sexy, interstellar romance between stars Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt, and hints at possible sabotage aboard the starship they are traveling on; some nefarious deed apparently causes them to wake up from their hibernation pods 90 years too soon during a 120-year intergalactic journey to Homestead II, a privatized colony that is -- unlike "overpopulated, overpriced, overrated" Earth -- a veritable paradise. And they, of course, will have to unravel this conspiracy and discover who is behind it, all while falling madly in love and trying to save their doomed vessel. That would be a movie worth seeing. But that's not what happens.
Passengers begins with the Avalon, a sleek spaceship with more than 5000 hibernating passengers and crew members, hurtling through a meteor shower that damages the spacecraft and pops open the pod of mechanical engineer Jim Preston (Pratt) only 30 years into the trip. He awakens, confused and disoriented, and soon realizes that something has gone horribly wrong as he's the only person awake. He tries to contact Avalon support on Earth, but is told via a computerized voice that it will take 19 years to deliver the message -- and 36 more to get a reply. Over the next year, Jim desperately tries to find a solution to his predicament while slowly going bonkers. His only companion is Arthur (an amusing Michael Sheen), an android bartender whose cheery disposition isn't enough to keep Jim from contemplating suicide. (Up to this point, Passengers is virtually Cast Away in outer space.) But then something wonderful happens a quarter of the way into the film: Aurora Lane (Lawrence), a gorgeous fellow passenger, wakes up and gives the plodding story some spark. Unfortunately, something horrible also occurs, something so off-putting that it sours the remainder of the movie -- especially the budding romance that quickly develops between Jim and Aurora. It's a revelation that would have worked better had it been kept secret at first, and only revealed to the audience much later when another passenger awakens and accidentally uncovers the ugly truth. In that case, it would have been an intriguing "aha!" moment that could have stunned viewers, and led the characters to honestly confront the thorny moral predicament at the heart of the film.

This fatal flaw could, perhaps, have been overcome if Passengers weren't so boring and didn't unfold at a somnambulant pace, or if Pratt and Lawrence had any onscreen chemistry, or if there were a clever mystery to figure out. Lawrence is, as always, radiant, but her character is nothing more than a clichéd damsel in distress waiting for a white knight to rescue her. What drew the Oscar winner to this wimpy role, apart from a 20-million-dollar payday, is anyone's guess. As for Pratt, he's flat and shows little of the derring-do of Jurassic World or the charm he displayed in Guardians of the Galaxy. And it doesn't help that Jon Spaihts' misguided script makes Jim into a first-class creep and gives us zero insight into his past.
Passengers is full of promise and toys with some lofty concerns -- the dangerous pitfalls of technology, man's endless search for meaning in a seemingly indifferent cosmos, and the aforementioned sticky ethical dilemma -- but none of these are ever adequately addressed. It's a major disappointment, especially considering that it was directed by Morten Tyldum, white-hot off of his Oscar nomination for The Imitation Game.
In short, Passengers is a distasteful, mind-numbing journey that is simply not worth taking.

 

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Monster Trucks

The Onion made a video a few years back depicting a mock morning-show interview with “the screenwriter for the latest Fast and the Furious movie,” a five-year-old boy who threw his Hot Wheels in the air and hollered: 

I want the cars to go fast!” That same hyperactive spirit must have been behind the elevator pitch for Monster Trucks: Kids like monsters, kids like trucks, so how about a family film in which high-school misfit and budding mechanic Tripp (Lucas Till) discovers a creature in his garage that’s half Cthulhu and half baby-faced manatee? It guzzles oil, makes cooing sounds, and loves to wrap its feelers around the axles of a beat-up pickup truck and burn rubber around town; unfortunately, a mean old oil-company CEO (Rob Lowe) and his hired goon (Holt McCallany) want to exterminate said beast in order to cover up the accident that unearthed it and two other members of its species. It’s up to Tripp, his plucky, biology-tutor classmate (Jane Levy), and a concerned company scientist (Thomas Lennon) to get “Creech” the creature home. If all of this sounds as stupid as Snakes on a Plane, then the joke’s on you, because Monster Trucks is actually great fun in the vein of the “wheeee!” stuff a pre-gravitas Spielberg used to executive produce in the ’80s (think *batteries not included). Tenderhearted kids will warm to cuddly Creech, and their more energetic peers will enjoy trucks racing, crashing, and driving over other trucks in the many well-done action sequences. And their parents might appreciate it, too, along with the fact that there’s no cursing, no fart jokes, no mushy kissing scenes, no one gets hurt, just trucks! Trucks

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