DWAYNE JOHNSON STARS IN “RAMPAGE,”

W A R N E R   B R O S.  P I C T U R E S

DWAYNE JOHNSON STARS IN “RAMPAGE,”

NEW ACTION ADVENTURE FROM NEW LINE CINEMA, NOW IN PRODUCTION

BURBANK, CA – May 2, 2017 – Global megastar Dwayne Johnson headlines New Line Cinema’s action adventure “Rampage,” for director/producer Brad Peyton. Beau Flynn, John Rickard and Hiram Garcia are also producing the film, currently on location in Atlanta, for an April 20, 2018 release. “Rampage” marks the third collaboration between Johnson, Peyton and Flynn, following the blockbuster “San Andreas.”

Primatologist Davis Okoye (Johnson), a man who keeps people at a distance, shares an unshakable bond with George, the extraordinarily intelligent, silverback gorilla who has been in his care since birth. But a rogue genetic experiment gone awry transforms this gentle ape into a raging monster. To make matters worse, it’s soon discovered there are other similarly altered alpha predators. As these newly created monsters tear across North America, destroying everything in their path, Okoye teams with a discredited genetic engineer to secure an antidote, fighting his way through an ever-changing battlefield, not only to halt a global catastrophe but to save the fearsome creature that was once his friend.

“Rampage” also stars Oscar nominee Naomie Harris (“Moonlight”), Malin Akerman (TV’s “Billions”), Jake Lacy (TV’s “Girls”), Joe Manganiello (TV’s “True Blood”) and Jeffrey Dean Morgan (TV’s “The Walking Dead”); as well as P.J. Byrne (“The Wolf of Wall Street”), Marley Shelton (“Solace”), Breanne Hill (“San Andreas”), Jack Quaid (“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”), and Matt Gerald (TV’s “Daredevil”).

Serving as executive producers are Marcus Viscidi, Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, and Jeff Fierson, with Wendy Jacobson co-producing. The screenplay is by Ryan Engle and Adam Sztykiel, story by Ryan Engle, based on the video game Rampage.

The creative team includes production designer Barry Chusid (“San Andreas”), director of photography Jaron Presant (2nd unit, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”), editor Jim May (“Goosebumps”) and costume designer Melissa Bruning (“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”). Music will be composed by Andrew Lockington, who created the scores for “San Andreas” and “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.”

The creatures of “Rampage” will be brought to life by acclaimed VFX supervisor Colin Strause (“San Andreas,” “X-Men: Apocalypse”), with five-time Academy Award-winning visual effects company Weta Digital (“The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”).

“Rampage” is a New Line Cinema presentation, a Wrigley Pictures/Flynn Picture Company/7 Bucks Entertainment production, in association with ASAP Entertainment. It will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

GIFTED movie review

Gifted is a story about Mary, pre-school age kid a hidden talent. She is gifted. She knows how to solve math problems like a Math major or even better. This is what usually described gifted children or a better term, a child prodigy. She is played by upcoming child star McKenna Grace.

 

Photo credit: 20th Century Fox

McKenna Grace will surely be noticed for this movie because her performance is fun and smart. She may be playing the role of a gifted child but you can’t expect her to say some lines unusual for a ten year old which is her real age. But what impresses me that she can pull off looking like a preschooler.

In the movie, Mary will undergo struggles. She is a seven year old kid but her intellect does not fit in with other children her age. This is the conflict that she will have in her struggle. Should she choose to have a normal life or go to a school with people at least twice her age?

Mary is raised alone by his uncle Frank Adler, played by Chris Evans; after Mary’s mom passed on. Frank wants Mary to have a normal life as his sister would. The conflict arrives when the grandmother suddenly entered their lives for the first time.

I remember back in grade school when gifted child Shaira Luna was five years old back then when she seated in in one of our batch’s classes. It was quite surreal to have a five year old sitting with a bunch of 12 year olds. Who can she talked to about her own concerns and we are surely asked to behaved properly especially in front of her.

It is also a change of scenery to see Chris Evans play serious roles besides being a superhero and he also used to play teenage roles. His character is not only the parental figure but also a single parent. Even in the new millennium, there are still conservative part of the society should think that a family is still traditionally with two parents. Frank didn’t want to be a parent but he felt that he is the right guardian for Mary. It only shows that even the non-traditional family structure can be complete.

After her successful movie Hidden Figures, Octavia Spencer played the part of the sympathetic landlady which is very protective to Frank and Mary.  Lindsay Duncan played a formidable role of Mary’s grandmother.

What makes this movie great because the story was like something that was made from the 80’s which we don’t see anymore. It also makes a good reference for those with child prodigies under their care or if you are related to one. I see more promising projects will come on McKenna Grace in the future after this movie.

I haven't seen 500 Days of Summer yet but I am curious what's the fuss besides the fact that Marc Webb directed it but judging it because of Gifted, it might be a good movie. For more quality movie reviews, follow this blog and like L.E.N.S. blogs on Facebook. Gifted opens in Philippine cinemas on May 3. Released by Twentieth Century Fox and distributed by Warner Bros.

“500 DAYS OF SUMMER” DIRECTOR MARC WEBB’S LATEST CHARMER “GIFTED”

Press release

From the director of the surprise hit “500 Days of Summer,” Marc Webb helms his latest endearing story “Gifted” - starring the world’s beloved captain Chris Evans along with the über-talented Oscar winner Octavia Spencer and rising young star Grace McKenna.   

 

Photo credit: 20th Century Fox

                  Frank Adler (Chris Evans) is a single man raising his spirited young niece Mary (Mckenna Grace) in a coastal town in Florida.  But Mary is a brilliant child prodigy and Frank's intention that she lead a normal life are thwarted when the seven-year-old’s command of mathematics comes to the attention of his formidable mother Evelyn (Lindsay Duncan)—a wealthy Bostonian whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Mary and Frank.  As family tensions and disconnections flare, uncle and niece find support in Roberta (Octavia Spencer), their protective landlady and best friend, and Mary’s teacher Bonnie (Jenny Slate), a young woman whose concern for her student soon develops into a relationship with her uncle as well.

                “Gifted” began its journey to the big screen when producer Karen Lunder, who has produced an assortment of films including “Arrival,” remembers a conversation with producer Andy Cohen in which she asked: “‘What do you have that’s great and different? What is the thing you’re most excited about?’ He sent me “Gifted.”  When I read the script, it had this timeless quality to it.  It felt like the kind of movies I grew up watching: it was a throwback of sorts to films of the 70’s and early 80’s that weren’t afraid to make you laugh and cry – that were both escapist and real.”

                Like Lunder and Cohen, director Webb responded immediately to the writing. “I kept on waiting for this script to get bad, but it just kept getting better.  It was simple, warm and uncynical. The writing felt nourishing to me.  Mary and Frank are something like a comedy team with a lot of heart.  After spending so many years on bigger movies, I just wanted to hang out with these two.”

                In his career, Chris Evans has judiciously chosen a balance of blockbuster and smaller, more interior films. He picked “Gifted” for many reasons but says: “It was more the director than the role. You can have a great role and a great script. You can have a lot of pieces in place but if you don’t have a great director, you don’t have much. So for me it was Marc Webb.”

                Webb is particularly pleased that “Gifted” is a movie in which all the intellectual powerhouses are women. “It’s a movie where women are really brilliant and it’s not done as a stunt. It’s something that feels weirdly rare, I don’t know why.  I love the idea of having girls who are good at math, women who are good at math. I mean, it happens in the world but we just don’t always recognize that in cinema.”

                Webb also thinks that fathers will respond to the message of the film, if his own reaction is any example: “I’m a forty-year-old dude, and I got choked up. All the burly grips hid behind the duvateen (light blocking fabric) because they were crying.  I think men are not encouraged to feel, which I think is one of the challenges that Frank has to face, but of course men are emotional creatures too.”          

                 “Gifted” will open in cinemas on May 3 from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros. 

“BAYWATCH” CAST STRIKES LIFEGUARD POSES IN NEW POSTER

Press release

Paramount Pictures has just released the new poster for its highly awaited raunchy comedy Baywatch, the big-screen adaptation of the iconic beach lifeguard show of the '90s.

Opening in Philippine cinemas on May 31, 2017, Baywatch is directed by Seth Gordon (Horrible Bosses) and stars Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Priyanka Chopra, Alexandra Daddario, Jon Bass, Kelly Rohrbach and Ilfenesh Hadera.

Baywatch follows devoted lifeguard Mitch Buchannon (Johnson) as he butts heads with a brash new recruit (Efron). Together, they uncover a local criminal plot that threatens the future of the Bay.

“Baywatch” is distributed in the Philippines by United International Pictures through Columbia Pictures.

MCKENNA GRACE TAKES TITULAR ROLE IN “GIFTED”

Press release

TALENTED NEWCOMER MCKENNA GRACE TAKES TITULAR ROLE IN “GIFTED”

                An impressive ensemble of actors led by Chris Evans along with Oscar winner Octavia Spencer, Lindsay Duncan and Jenny Slate support young multi-talented actress McKenna Grace as she takes on the titular role in director Marc Webb’s “Gifted.”

 

Photo credit: 20th Century Fox

                Evans plays Frank Adler, uncle and guardian of Mary (Grace) in “Gifted” who both lead normal lives until Evelyn (Duncan), Frank’s mom and Mary’s grandmother, decides to take custody of her grandchild.  Frank’s sister entrusted him to raise Mary after she died for fear that her daughter might also be subjected to the pressures she’s been through as a prodigy.  But as soon as Evelyn finds out about Mary’s intellectual state, Frank finds himself in a custody battle to keep Mary under his care.  

                On finding the right child-actor, director Webb insists there was a good reason for the massive search: “I couldn’t have made “Gifted” unless I found the right Mary Adler. It was the biggest hurdle to making the movie. There’s an emotional depth and sophistication you don’t see very often in an actor, but for a child, that’s a level of

virtuosity that is incredibly rare.”

                Mckenna remembers it was very stressful meeting Marc Webb for the first time. “They had given me the wrong sides (scenes) to read, so he just gave them to me in the hallway. I had five minutes to memorize them. But once the audition was over, we just talked and had a fun time. I wanted this movie more than any movie I’ve ever wanted.”  She says that she and Webb “had an amazing connection together. He was the perfect director for this job because we needed someone with a big, caring, loving, heart. He let me take my time when there was a crying scene. I would walk in, and he’d sit by the camera and he would cry with me, so then I didn’t really feel alone.”

                Mckenna says she also learned a lot from working with Evans. “He was very focused on the set, and sometimes he would sit down and help me with my script.” Evans treated her “more like a friend, like he treats Mary. I really like that he treated me that way, except he did try not to say bad words around me.”

                Mckenna proves that she has a different kind of perspective, genius or not. When asked what the message in “Gifted” means to her, she gives a most moving and simple answer: “At the end of the day, no one can tell you if your family is perfect or not. You may just have a mom, or you may just live with your daddy, or two moms and two dads, or you may live with your grandparents, or you may have an uncle like Mary does. People say that the perfect family has to have a mom and dad, a big amazing house and a lot of money. But as long as you have a loving, caring person that you live with, then I think that’s perfect for you.” 

                “Gifted” opens May 3 in cinemas nationwide from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros. 

KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD” LAUNCHES PROPHECY TRAILER

Press release

The born king will come… it is inevitable. Warner Bros. Pictures has just launched a new trailer of its epic fantasy King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, from director Guy Ritchie.

Photo credit: Warner Bros.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword in Philippine cinemas starting May 17, 2017.

The film stars Charlie Hunnam, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou, Aidan Gillen, Oscar nominee Jude Law, and Eric Bana. Ritchie directs the film from a screenplay by Joby Harold and Guy Ritchie & Lionel Wigram, story by Joby Harold.

The bold new story introduces a streetwise young Arthur who runs the back alleys of Londonium with his gang, unaware of the life he was born for until he grasps hold of the sword Excalibur—and with it, his future. Instantly challenged by the power of Excalibur, Arthur is forced to make some hard choices. Throwing in with the Resistance and a mysterious young woman named Guinevere, he must learn to master the sword, face down his demons and unite the people to defeat the tyrant Vortigern, who stole his crown and murdered his parents, and become King.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.www.kingarthurmovie.com

EMPOWERED LADIES ROCK THE "GALAXY" IN “GUARDIANS” SEQUEL

Press release

The women of Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2(read my non-spoiler movie review here) – Zoe Saldana (Gamora), Karen Gillan (Nebula) and Pom Klementieff (Mantis) are ready to rock the galaxy in the year's highly anticipated sequel.

Photo credits: Marvel Studios

In the film, reformed assassin Gamora hopes that her heroic deeds with the Guardians will help her atone for the sins of her past. Gamora must grapple with her own demons and the consequences of her flight from Thanos’ employ when confronted by her adoptive sister Nebula.

Saldana explains her character’s arc in the new film. “In the first ‘Guardians’ she’s on a mission to be free or die because she’s over it. There’s a selfish essence to her, and it makes prerogative very personal. Versus like in this one, she’s on a path of redemption, so she wants to be very present in trying to do good. And that also means, on a very personal and uncomfortable level, that she has to try to just let go of whatever animosity existed between her and her sister.”

“The challenging part of Gamora’s evolution is getting to that place as an older sibling of accepting and being the one to let that younger sibling know their true powers,” adds Saldana. “So that’s part of her arc in trying to make peace with her sister is a part of her redemption because she is starting to realize that she is the only family member she’ll ever know, and she's worth the sacrifice, work and the pain.”

Another character with a much bigger role in the film is Gamora’s adversarial sister Nebula, played by Karen Gillan. A supreme bad-ass, Nebula will not rest until she has destroyed Gamora and anyone or anything that gets in her way.

There is no doubt in that Nebula was a bad guy in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film, but Gillan admits, “That’s what I love about her, to be honest. I love that she has this real dark side, and I get to explore that, which is really cool. In terms of the second film, she’s still a bad guy. But we’re going to get to understand her motivations for being a bad guy a little bit more.”

Elaborating, she adds, “I feel like Nebula’s a little misunderstood, like a lot of villains. She’s a bad guy, but she has a real valid reason for it and it’s because of an even bigger bad guy, Thanos. She has so much pent-up anger and so much sibling rivalry inside of her that is just bursting out. I just feel really sorry for her, actually. Whenever you’re playing a villain, you have to become their lawyer and understand why they did the things that they did and sort of justify it. And through doing that, I really began to care about her. I think she’s a great interesting character.”

To cast the role of Mantis, the filmmakers auditioned many actresses and ultimately decided on Pom Klementieff, who takes on her biggest role to date.

For Klementieff, getting the part of Mantis was the beginning of an exciting experience. “When I had the audition, I had no idea how big the character would be and that it would be a really fun and moving and special character,” the actress says. “She makes me think of a kid who had a difficult and lonely upbringing and then meets people who open a new world to her. It’s a beautiful arc for the character.”

Describing Mantis, Klementieff says, “Mantis is an alien and an empath; she has some insect elements in her. She grew up pretty much on her own and hasn’t had much interaction with people.”

But over the course of the movie, Mantis develops a friendship with Drax, played by Dave Bautista. “I think they get along because they both have a weird sense of things, and they don’t really have the same sense of humor that everyone else has,” the actress comments. “I think what is interesting is that they’re just friends. There is nothing romantic about it. They just get along.”

Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 stars Chris Pratt as Peter Quill/Star-Lord, Zoe Saldana as Gamora, Dave Bautista as Drax, Vin Diesel as the voice of Groot, Bradley Cooper as the voice of Rocket, Michael Rooker as Yondu, Karen Gillan as Nebula, Pom Klementieff as Mantis, Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha, Chris Sullivan as Taserface, Sean Gunn as Kraglin, Tommy Flanagan as Tulik, Laura Haddock as Meredith Quill, with Sylvester Stallone as Stakar, and Kurt Russell as Ego.

Opening across the Philippines on April 26, 2017, Marvel' Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, is distributed in the Philippines by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.