A while back, C​ocaine Bear surprised everyone with its box office haul. For fans of animal attack movies, this is not a shock. People love animal attack films and can’t get enough of them. I’m not sure if it’s the man vs. nature theme of the films, the animals themselves getting revenge on humans, or just the all-around fun these films bring. No matter what, they are enjoyable for audiences in theaters. T​here has been a long history of animals attacking humans on film. Some films that are classified as ‘classic’ cinema fall into the animal attack category. We can always use more movies of animals rampaging through humans on the big screen. What are some of the best animal attack movies?

G​rizzly (1976)

S​ince bears seem to be on everyone’s brain this weekend; then we might as well start with this classic. A fifteen-foot tall grizzly bear kills hikers and campers in a state park. When the supervisor refuses to close the park (sound familiar?), a park ranger and a military helicopter pilot take it upon themselves to kill the giant bear. This horror film has lots of bear savagery, which makes it a favorite among fans of animal attack movies.

D​ay Of The Animals (1977)

W​hen the Earth’s ozone layer begins to be depleted, animals above five thousand feet start to act aggressively. Their rage focuses on any human that comes in contact with them. Before a quarantine can be implemented, a group of hikers is dropped off on a mountain. Now they have to descend the mountain to get to safety, but can they trust each other? Leslie Nielsen, Christopher George, and Lynda Day George play the hikers fighting off animals.

C​ujo (1983)

F​rom the novel of the same name written by Stephen King. A woman takes the family car to a mechanic. With her husband out of town, she takes their son Tad with her. She doesn’t know that the family Saint Bernard has gone rabid and killed everyone it has come in contact with. Now she is trapped in her broken-down car while the summer sun beats down on them. No one else knows they are stuck there. They have little chance of being rescued. The St Bernard keeps trying to get inside the car, so she has to protect herself and her son. It’s an interesting single-location thriller. There are talks about remaking the film, but I’m wondering if it would work with modern technology.

R​azorback (1984)

A​ giant wild boar is wreaking havoc in the Australian outback. Locals scoff at the story of the giant boar as nothing but a made-up story. A hunter and the husband of one of its victims set out to find the swine while trying not to fall victim to its wild rampage. Turns out, giant pigs make for a great animal attack movie.

D​eep Blue Sea (1999)

S​ure we’ve seen sharks attacking people in movies. What would happen if the man-eating sharks were genetically modified to be highly intelligent? Well, then we’d be in big trouble. A group of scientists is looking for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. They increase the size of sharks’ brains to collect the disease-fighting enzymes found in them. Unfortunately, the sharks escape and begin to hunt down their captors. The film is star-studded, with Samuel L. Jackson, Thomas Jane, and LL Cool J leading the charge.

A​lligator (1980)

B​ased on the urban legend that someone flushed a baby alligator down the toilet in New York City, and it grew up to be a giant in the sewers. What if it actually happened? Well, this creature feature will tell you. Robert Forster is a cop looking into bodies showing up that appear to have been eaten by a giant creature. A reptile expert accompanies him as he tries to figure out what is killing people and how do they stop it.

P​iranha (1978)

T​his self-admitted rip-off of Jaws has weirdly spawned more films in its franchise than Jaws did. Joe Dante directed this Roger Corman classic. A tank of veracious piranha at a military base accidentally gets released into a river. These genetically engineered fish can survive in both fresh water and salt water. If they reach the ocean, they will multiply out of control and eat everything in their path. More importantly, the stream runs right by a summer camp on its way to a fancy country club. Carnage properly ensues. Alexandre Aja’s Piranha 3D (2010) is also well worth checking out… and speaking of Aja, his alligator movie Crawl (2019) is another great one.

T​he Birds (1963)

A​lfred Hitchcock was a master of suspense, and his entry in the animal attacks genre is no different. Only could make a gathering of birds on a school jungle gym seem ominous. Birds begin attacking people for unknown reasons. Anyone that is outdoors quickly becomes a target. Those still in the small town have to find a way to survive. A classic of Hitchcock’s filmography fits rights in. It even got a sequel called The Birds II: Land’s End in the nineties. This one is not remembered as a classic.

K​ing Kong (1933)

M​ost would probably discount this one as it features more in the giant animal category, but it still fits. A film crew heads to a remote island to shoot with their cast. They discover that the island has a giant ape that takes a liking to the lead actress in their film. Realizing they could make more money showcasing the giant gorilla, they capture and take him back to New York. When the primate breaks loose of his chains, he kidnaps the actress and takes refuge on top of the tallest building in the city. A true classic.

J​aws (1975)

It had to be the last one on the list, right? This Universal Pictures / Steven Spielberg classic is responsible for creating the summer blockbuster. The entire movie industry changed its release strategy purely based on this film. It was that big of a deal. A great white shark begins to attack people off the coast of Amity Island. The local Sheriff decides to hunt the killer down when the mayor won’t close the beaches down. The amazing part of this movie is how much went wrong during filming, which caused them to edit it in such a way that it made the film way scarier for the viewing audience. Nothing has touched the greatness of this one… but we still get several shark movies every year.

W​hat are some of your favorite animal attacks films? Let us know in the comments. Would you have included Piranha 3D, Crawl, the true story-inspired Open Water, the “plane crash survivors vs. wolves” film The Grey, or even Cocaine Bear?

The post Best Animal Attack Movies appeared first on JoBlo.

Marvel had a rough year in 2023. Many of its properties underperformed, and they lost their big villain due to Jonathan Majors being fired. Looking forward to their upcoming slate, comic fans have been excited about some of the studio’s projects over the next few years. Will these films help Marvel regain control? The upcoming Thunderbolts (or Thunderbolts*, as we’re told to write it, asterisk and all) film has been one that fanboys have been hoping to see since the MCU started. With some recent news about the property coming up, it seems like the right time to break down what we know about the production.

Who Are The Thunderbolts?

The team first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1997 in an issue of The Incredible Hulk. They seemed to be a new group of superheroes that had arrived on the scene and gained acclaim very quickly. The reader was informed that the group was actually a group of supervillains led by Baron Zemo. They were posing as new heroes to gain the trust of other hero teams and S.H.I.E.L.D. to gain access to all their secrets. This would allow them to sell them to the highest bidder. Eventually, some team members felt they should try to become heroes, and the group would fall apart.

Other versions of the team would appear throughout the years, but the version that the MCU seems to be leaning toward was a government-funded strike team. It would be filled with reformed supervillains looking to reduce their imprisonment sentence or redeem themselves for their past crimes. This is comparable to DC’s Suicide Squad. In the past, it has been led by characters such as Norman Osborne, Black Widow, and Hawkeye, and they’ve had run-ins with Captain Marvel.

MCU Team Members

For the MCU version of the team, we have seen Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ character, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, appearing in multiple projects to recruit team members. She first appeared in Falcon And The Winter Soldier to ask disgraced Captain America replacement John Walker to join her team. We would then see her show up in a post-credits scene in Black Widow to put Yelena Belova on Hawkeye’s trail, saying he was responsible for her sister’s death. Then, in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, she is revealed as the new head of the CIA. This puts her in the perfect position to run the team in the future.

So, who will we see on the team? As mentioned, John Walker (Wyatt Russell) and Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) have already been recruited to the team. Some other familiar faces will be joining them. Red Guardian (David Harbour) and Task Master (Olga Kurylenko) from the Black Widow film will be showing up alongside Yelena. I’m sure she has some issues with her fake father that she would like to work out.

Then, Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) from Ant-Man And The Wasp will be joining the group. With her phasing abilities, it should add some fun to the team. In a team leader role, we may see Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), The Winter Soldier, returning from Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. The team dynamics should be interesting. The talk is that the Thunderbolts will be brought together to take on the powerful character The Sentry.

Who Is The Sentry?

Back in 2000, then publisher for Marvel Joe Quesada announced that they had discovered a long-lost Marvel character that the company had completely forgotten about. He pre-dated Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four. Stan Lee was interviewed and said he remembered the character being created by a couple of writers, but they never did anything with the character.

Marvel said they were bringing him back into their current continuity and pushed him almost as Marvel’s version of Superman. He could fly, had super strength, and had a giant S on his belt. When his first miniseries concluded, fans discovered the whole thing had been a lie. Part of the character’s story was that this hero had disappeared, and no one in Marvel continuity remembered him. This whole thing had been a marketing ploy to introduce this new character.

On the surface, he seemed like a wholesome character like Superman, but it was revealed he was mentally unstable and threatened to destroy the entire Marvel Universe. The story was well received, and the character was believed to have a short shelf life. However, he was brought back for numerous Avengers storylines and became a compelling character in Marvel comics.

In the upcoming film, Steven Yeun was cast as the character. He had been very vocal about how excited he was to play the character and has been a fan of the MCU since it started. When the strikes happened over the summer of 2023, it was revealed that film production would have to be pushed back until they were over. Once those ended, it was put back on the schedule, which now caused issues with Yeun’s schedule. He had to drop out but hopes to return as another character at some point in the MCU. The role has not been officially recast, with Lewis Pullman being linked with the part. The Bear breakout star Ayo Edebiri also had to leave her role due to scheduling conflicts, with the reshoots. Geraldine Viswanathan of Drive Away Dolls will now be taking her place in the unidentified role, which is said to be the “right hand woman” to Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.

Rumored Plot

Industry scooper Daniel Richtman hears this is the plot synopsis: “Yelena, US Agent, Ghost, and Taskmaster are sent by Val to kill someone in a vault. They realize they’ve been set up and were meant to die on this mission. So they team up against their boss to take her down.” The newly released teaser trailer seems to match that description.

Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, previously played by William Hurt, was the character who assembled this team in the comics, which is how they got their name. Harrison Ford is playing Ross in Captain America: Brave New World, but apparently does not make an appearance in Thunderbolts. So what is this team’s relation to the character? The asterisk on the title has something to do with that, but we’ll have to wait and see the movie to find out what it means.

Whatever is going on in this movie, David Harbour has hinted that it will have a major impact on the MCU. He told ComicBook.com, “There is a bomb drop thing we add to the universe, which will be very exciting for the movie to do at the end of this particular phase that we’re ending. … Our characters are going to interact with something that we don’t really understand, and it fundamentally changes the course of the way things expand.“

Teaser Trailer

A trailer for Thunderbolts was shown at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, and we have a description of what appeared on the screen: “The Thunderbolts trailer opens with Yelena coming to find Red Guardian, who is a mess and thinks she works for DoorDash. She recruits him – and like everyone else on the team, they drift without purpose. You can tell Yelena is still a killer. The trailer moves to her at odds with the U.S. Agent and the others, but they unite to find out who is trying to kill them. Scored by The Pixies “Where is My Mind,” the Comic-Con crowd is going nuts. “The are bad guys and worse guys.” It appears as if Julia Louis Dreyfus’s Valentina Allegra de Fontaine is the villain.”

The trailer includes a moment where Yelena is shown jumping off a tall building, and as it turns out, that was the second tallest building in the world and Florence Pugh apparently performed the stunt herself.

The teaser trailer has now made its way online, along with a poster:

When Can We See It?

Well, we will be waiting a while before we get to see the team in action. The film has been shooting (in IMAX format) throughout the year – and in late June, David Harbour (who has been working on the final season of Stranger Things simultaneously) took to social media to confirm that his work on Thunderbolts has wrapped:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by David Harbour (@dkharbour)

The official release date has been set for May 2, 2025. It will be preceded by Captain America: Brave New World, which comes out next Valentine’s Day. Until then, we’ll have to see what the MCU has to offer in its Disney+ series. The WandaVision spinoff Agatha: Darkhold Diaries, Eyes Of Wakanda, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, and Marvel Zombies are all scheduled to hit the streaming service before year’s end.

Will this hold fans over? The break on the films may help Marvel refigure its film strategy after the lackluster response of 2023. Most of the series won’t factor much into the current direction of the MCU. Fans should be able to skip over anything they don’t find interesting. The question will be if they will be back in 2025 to continue on the theatrical side of things. Fans have wanted a Thunderbolts film for a long time. Hopefully, they haven’t jumped ship just as they are getting what they hoped for.

Are you excited for Thunderbolts? What do you think of the direction of the MCU? Let us know in the comments.

The post Everything We Know About Thunderbolts (Updated with teaser trailer and poster) appeared first on JoBlo.

Everyone loves a good shark movie. Ever since Jaws hit theaters and broke box office records in 1975, it’s been a reliable horror movie genre. Case in point: Netflix’s Under Paris has become one of the streaming service’s most popular non-English language film of all time. While everyone knows Jaws is by far the best shark movie ever, there are loads of other movies out there that should make you just as afraid to get in the water. We’re gonna need a bigger boat as we travel these dangerous waters of shark films.

Z​ombie (1979)

O​k. Already I’m cheating, but I mean . . . come on. This has one of the best shark scenes in cinematic history. During an early scene of the movie, a woman decides to go for a swim in the lovely Caribbean waters when a tiger shark appears. As she hides among some of the terrain on the ocean floor, she quickly finds she is not alone. A zombie has found his way into the depths. As she swims away, the zombie turns its attention to the shark. What ensues is one of the greatest shark fights on film, and it involves a real shark.

M​ako: Jaws Of Death (1976)

T​his movie has a little bit of everything. Vietnam war veterans, evil strip club owners, and telepathic connections to sharks. What more do you need? Sonny is in Vietnam and is saved by a mako shark as he is being stalked by the enemy. He decides he loves sharks and is given a magic medallion by a shaman that lets him telepathically communicate with his beloved creatures. When he moves to Florida, he runs afoul of the owner of a local aquarium and a strip club owner who wants to use sharks in one of his acts. They try to convince Sonny to use his powers to help them, but instead, he declares war on those that try to hurt them. Ironically, for a movie that’s pro-shark, many of the tactics used off screen during filming were cruel, with sharks having had their teeth removed prior to filming.

Great White aka The Last Shark (1981):

This Italian-made Jaws-rip-off was a smash hit. It made $18 million and probably would have made a lot more, were it not for the fact that Universal Studios actually sued the American distributor to have it pulled from theaters. For the longest time, this was unavailable in the U.S, but now you can see the Italian release version, The Last Shark, online. While some may wonder, after seeing it, why Universal sued, part of the reason is the original score the American distributor commissioned for the film. It was very, very closely patterned on what John Williams wrote for Jaws, and isn’t available on any currently existing version of the film.

S​harknado (2013)

The cheesy shark film that started a phenomenon! This low-budget horror film seemed destined to follow the other such films that end up on the SyFy Channel, but this one caught on with audiences who fell in love. There ended up being six of these films made over five years. You don’t need to be in deep water for there to be a shark attack, but in this movie you don’t even need to be in the water at all. A freak weather accident causes a hurricane off the coast of Los Angeles and picks up a load of deadly great white sharks. It drops them on the unsuspecting public as the city is drenched. Finley has to fight his way to Beverly Hills to make sure his family is safe. The cultural impact of this movie immediately made it one of the best shark movies.

Deep Blue Sea (1999)

Another tale that proves that humans should not genetically meddle with ultimate killing machines in research facilities. Scientists in an underwater laboratory begin altering the DNA of a group of mako sharks. Now they are larger and way more intelligent than they should be. The group funding the project show up to question if it should move forward, but they all end up trapped in the base as a tropical storm rages above. The sharks get loose and begin wreaking havoc upon anyone they lay their eyes on. A fun movie that will have you pumping your fist in the air.

B​ait 3D (2012)

M​ade during the newer 3D craze, this film tries to make the best use of it by sticking you in a supermarket with sharks. A tsunami hits the coast of Australia, trapping a group of people in a quickly flooding grocery store. Among them is former lifeguard Josh who found a new profession after a shark attack. As they begin to wonder when the storm will let up, they realize that the flooded store has a twelve-foot-long killer shark patrolling its aisles. Now they must figure out how to survive and not become a cleanup in aisle five.

The Reef (2010)

P​roving that you should never go sailing with your friends. A group sets out for a fun day of sailing when the boat hits a rock. This opens up the bottom of the ship, and the group has to decide what to do. One of them recommends they try and swim to a nearby island as the overturned boat is being pulled out to sea. Then a shark fin appears in the water. As they swim, they are being hunted by a great white shark. They are being picked off one by one by the apex predator as they try to make it to land.

4​7 Meters Down (2017)

S​o not only are you being hunted by a man-eating shark, but you’re also trapped on the ocean floor? Sounds like a nightmare. This is precisely what happens to the two sisters as they go on vacation. They decide to do a cage diving excursion in shark-infested waters, but the cable holding onto the cage snaps. As they settle onto the bottom of the ocean, they see that sharks are starting to appear. Now they only have one hour of air left and can’t leave the cage as the sharks try to wait them out. Can you imagine cage diving and seeing a megalodon just show up like in The Meg 2?

The Black Demon (2013)

This was a surprise hit in the spring of 2023. While this Josh Lucas-led shark flick didn’t get much theatrical play via new distributor The Avenue (they had a solid theatrical hit with Land of Bad), this was a huge streaming hit and a sequel is in the works. While it’s lower-key than a lot of other movies on this list, the setting on a Mexican Oil Rig is cool, and Lucas is a better actor than usual for movies like this.

T​he Shallows (2016)

A​ surfer hears about a secluded beach that is supposed to be the ultimate destination to catch some waves. When she heads out, she quickly finds a shark hunting in the area and attacks her. She ends up on a rock only 200 feet from shore but can’t safely make it back without becoming a shark dinner. As she sits trying to figure out what to do, she realizes that high tide is coming soon and the rock she is safe on will be underwater. A great thriller that is tense throughout.

Open Water (2003)

M​aybe the most terrifying thing about this movie is that it’s based on a true story! It will keep anyone out of the ocean. A young couple books a scuba diving trip in the Caribbean. They have such a great time that they are the last to surface in their group. To their dismay, they find that the rest of their group has left them behind after a botched headcount. The couple is left to float out in the ocean and see that sharks could soon be the biggest problem. This one will make your stomach clench the whole time you’re watching it. Beware.

J​aws (1975)

I​t had to be right? This Steven Spielberg film not only changed the summer movie season forever but also terrified people of getting in the water. Sadly it also caused a worldwide problem when people began hunting sharks due to fear of this movie becoming a reality. Sheriff Brody thinks a shark may be patrolling off the coast of his small town and tries to convince the mayor to shut the beaches down. He refuses to do so because the July 4th weekend would be an economic disaster. Of course, then a giant shark shows up and kills a little boy. A team is assembled to hunt the shark down and kill it, but not before it takes out most of the crew and sinks their boat. A classic film that is worth a watch whenever possible. A classic film that is worth a watch whenever possible.

Honorable Mention: Jaws 2 (1978)

While making a sequel to Jaws was an act of pure commerce, the first one they did isn’t half bad. This time, a great white stalks a bunch of teens, and despite saving Amity just a few years before, no one believes Brody when he warns them that a shark is on the loose. This benefits from Roy Scheider reprising his role and the classy director of Jeannot Szwarc. That said, the next two Jaws movies are REALLY bad. Wanna know just how bad? Watch the two videos below:

W​hat do you think are some of the best shark movies? Where are the Ghost Shark and 2-Headed Shark Attack fans? Let us know in the comments.

The post The Best Shark Movies Ever Made appeared first on JoBlo.

W​ith No Hard Feelings hitting theaters last year, it seems that studios might be trying to bring back hard R raunchy comedies. The gamble of taking a well-known actor and throwing them into a raunchy, sex-filled comedy sometimes works out, and No Hard Feelings did end up pulling in over $80 million at the global box office. Could this bring about a new wave of R-rated comedies? We can only hope. So what are some of the best sex comedies? Let’s look back at this hilarious genre and find out which ones make the cut.

Z​ack And Miri Make A Porno (2008)

K​evin Smith is not a stranger to the raunchy realm of comedies, but this film is maybe his truest sex comedy out of all of his filmography. Life-long platonic friends Zack and Miri are in trouble as they are both dead broke and have mounting bills as their rent is coming due. To make a large amount of cash very quickly, they decide they should make a porno.

They set out to find some actors, film the movie, and get paid. Throughout all this, they realize they might have more feelings for each other than they thought. The film is funny but also has a lot of heart. No worries though, as it’s just about as raunchy as you can imagine.

R​isky Business (1983)

The movie that put Tom Cruise on the map. A young teenager stays home while his parents leave on a trip. While home alone, he decides to live a little and ends up with sex worker Lana. She suggests he could run a sex business out of his parent’s house, but he scoffs at the thought. When he accidentally drives his dad’s Porche into Lake Michigan, he decides that her idea might be how to earn a lot of cash quickly. As you’d expect, everything gets out of control.

The Last American Virgin (1982)

The progenitor of films like American Pie, The Last American Virgin follows three high school friends as they try to lose their virginity. They get caught in numerous situations throughout the film with their pants down. Literally. Gary delivers pizzas and finds a lonely woman whose boyfriend is never home. When he and his friends return to her house, her boyfriend chases them away.

The guys pick up a group of girls only to have one of the boy’s parent’s return home early and break up the party. Nice guy, Gary gets thrown out in just his underwear and has to make his way home. The film goes from overly comedic to dark quickly as one of Gary’s friends gets a girl pregnant and runs out on her. Gary decides to help her out and falls in love with her.

4​0 Year Old Virgin (2005)

T​his film pushed Steve Carell and Judd Apatow to the moon. When Andy’s friends discover he is a virgin, they try to set him up in situations to finally have sex. As they give him advice and try to control his sex life, Andy finds they have their own relationship problems. While he is trying to figure out what he wants, he falls for a woman that works across the street from him. He then has to decide if he is going to reveal his situation to her or try to fake his way through it.

National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978)

The college movie that all other college movies are compared. This film helped push sex comedies into another realm, and they would go on to rule the 80s. Two pledges try to get into a good fraternity house, but the only ones that will take them are Delta Tau Chi, the “worst” frat on campus.

The members party all the time and are constantly trying to score women. The college dean thinks they are a poor excuse for a fraternity and does everything he can to get them all kicked out of school. Before the film is over, Delta Tau Chi has to fight back against the dean and other frat houses to keep from getting kicked out.

Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)

A​ look at a group of students as they venture through a school year. Stacy wants to lose her virginity by the end of the year. Her older brother Brad decides to break up with his long-time girlfriend now that he is a senior so he can play the field. She ends up dumping him first. Spicoli finds himself at odds with his teacher. Throughout it all, the students try to figure out what their future holds and find that some of their decisions were the wrong ones. It has perhaps one of the most famous pool scenes of all time, that is the standard of what a sex comedy is.

A​merican Pie (1999)

F​our friends make a pact that they will all lose their virginity by the time they graduate. Each one takes a different approach to figure out how it’s going to happen. Jim keeps falling into various mishaps, which sees his dad catching him defiling a pie. Then he tries to seduce the foreign exchange student on video but gets too excited. This leaves him hopeless.

His friends have different degrees of success, but they all find it will come down to who can score on Prom night to fulfill their pact. The film doesn’t shy away from being overly raunchy and puts its characters in embarrassing situations. Even if some of them haven’t aged very well.

B​achelor Party (1984)

Before Tom Hanks became an A-List star, he used to do fun comedies like this one. Here he plays Rick, who is about to get married to his girlfriend, Debbie. Unfortunately, Debbie’s parents hate him and wish she would get back together with her ex-boyfriend.

Rick’s friends decide to throw him the ultimate Bachelor Party with just about all the debauchery you could imagine. When those that hate Rick find out what is happening, they hope to use that to sabotage the upcoming nuptials. Rick has to make his way through the party and keep from losing Debbie.

R​evenge Of The Nerds (1984)

F​or sure, not a movie that could be made today. Two nerds are starting their freshman year at Adams College. They immediately run afoul of the jocks from the fraternity Alpha Beta. In order to fight back, they create their own fraternity and take in the misfits that the popular crowd has rejected.

Lewis falls in love with a sorority girl but finds out that she is the girlfriend of the leader of Alpha Beta. As the two frats go to war, the nerds try to get the full college experience by scoring with any women that will accept them. Lots of problematic things in this film from a modern point of view, but it still is one of the best sex comedies to come out of the 80s.

P​orky’s (1981)

W​hen you think of the term “sex comedy,” this is exactly the movie you are thinking of. A group of friends set out to lose their virginity (I see a theme in all these movies) and get into various crazy scenarios. They end up spying on the girls in the locker room shower, get pranked by a local sex worker, and end up getting on the bad side of the owner of a local strip club. While they try and get into the strip club, they are humiliated by Porky.

They then come up with a plan to get even with him. When they attempt it, they find that Porky’s brother is the sheriff, and he can do anything he wants to them. They vow revenge and set out to get their payback one way or another. The movie is full of scenes you couldn’t even imagine filming today, but at the time, it was one of the biggest sex comedies ever made. Most people don’t realize that it was written and directed by Bob Clark, who would go on to make the holiday classic A Christmas Story.

W​hat do you think is the best sex comedy? Surprisingly, no road trip movies made the cut on this list. Would you have included one? Or maybe something more recent, like Blockers? Let us know in the comments.

The post Best Sex Comedies appeared first on JoBlo.

There are three generally accepted rules for living a long and happy life. 1) You don’t spit into the wind. That’s really just common sense. 2) You don’t tug on Superman’s cape. 3) By God, if you really want to live a long life, you 100%, not under any circumstances, for any reason, F*ck with John Wick’s dog. We have all learned nothing good happens from making John Wick angry. While we’ve already had one spin-off of the successful franchise, the upcoming film Ballerina promises to take us even further into the crazy underworld of one of the most fascinating franchises to emerge in a long time.

Where Did Ballerina Come From?

This film began life way back in 2017 as a stand-alone film. Shay Hatten wrote an action script with a female lead called Ballerina. The lead would be a ballerina assassin who goes on a revenge killing spree. Lionsgate picked up the script and decided to bring Hatten on board to rewrite it to make it part of the John Wick universe.

To give it a proper jumping-off point, the ballerina program was shown in John Wick 3, with Anjelica Huston leading the group as The Director. This was used to draw in the audience and make them curious about this other organization. The film was officially pushed forward as Len Wiseman (Underworld) was brought on to serve as director.

What’s It About?

From the little information available about the film, it seems to be a revenge film set within the John Wick universe. Eve Macarro is our title ballerina who this ruthless organization is training. She plans to use these newly acquired skills to hunt down the people responsible for murdering her family. Nothing quells the soul quite like good old bloody revenge. If the action scenes in the previous Wick films are anything to go by, we’re in for a wild ride.

Who’s In It?

Once the script was set, it was time to find some actors. Even before Len Wiseman joined the project, it was thought that Lady Gaga might be brought in for the lead role. Once Wiseman was on the project, it was said they were using actress Chloë Grace Moretz as the template for what they were looking for. Her turn in Kick-Ass as Hit Girl had set her up as a badass fighter, and the studio wanted someone similar.

Ana de Armas

In 2022, it was announced that Armas had secured the lead role and would lead this new hopeful franchise. The character of Eve had a small cameo in John Wick 3 but was played by ballerina Unity Phelan. The filmmakers decided to recast her with someone who had more experience. Armas entered negotiations, and with her strong turn in the last James Bond film, it’s easy to see why they chose her.

Anjelica Huston

The legendary actress returns in her role as the Director. This shady organization seems in line with the Black Widow program we saw in the MCU. They take young women and teach them how to become the perfect assassins. Having Huston in this role is excellent and gives it a nice balance with Ian McShane’s character from the Wick movies.

Norman Reedus

While Reedus has had major roles in films like The Boondock Saints and Blade II, he gained popularity in The Walking Dead as Daryl Dixon. He hasn’t done many film roles since, but this is one of his highest-profile roles since the end of the main Walking Dead series. Much hasn’t been released about his role, but it is thought he could be Rooney’s main physical adversary throughout the film.

Gabriel Byrne

Legendary actor Gabriel Byrne will lend his talents as the man behind everything that has gone wrong in Rooney’s life. He brings a grand presence to everything he’s in and will be great in this role. Looking at his range from movies like The Usual Suspects, End of Days, and Hereditary, you know he will bring something unique to the character.

Returning Characters

Ballerina will be set between John Wick 3 and 4, allowing a few familiar characters to appear even if they are no longer living in the proper series. Ian McShane will be back as the head of the Continental Hotel. Lance Reddick will be seen in his last on-screen role after his sudden death last year. Of course, the biggest appearance will be Keanu Reeves dropping in as John Wick one more time. This is possible due to the film being set before the events of John Wick 4 since we apparently saw his death.

When Can We See It?

Well, we were originally supposed to see it in June of this year. In February, it was announced that the film would be pushed back by a whole year to June 6, 2025. The reasoning was said to be that they had devised some new action scenes that they wanted to include. Ian McShane, on the other hand, said that after seeing the first cut of the film, they brought in Wick mainstay and Ballerina producer Chad Stahelski to redo large parts of the film to “protect the franchise.” With this extra year, it looks like they were hoping to shore up any weak points. Let’s hope it’s worth it, as extensive re-shoots are not usually seen as a good thing.

Are you excited to see Ballerina when it opens in theaters next summer? Let us know in the comments.

The post Ballerina: Everything We Know About The John Wick Spin-Off appeared first on JoBlo.

The 4:30 Movie, the sixteenth feature film from director Kevin Smith, is now in theatres (you can read a review by JoBlo’s own Alex Maidy at THIS LINK), and to mark the occasion we have decided to look back over Smith’s entire directing career and assemble a list of Kevin Smith Movies Ranked, from #16 to #1. This list doesn’t represent everything Smith has done; you won’t find movies he did uncredited rewrites on (like Overnight Delivery) or wrote for someone else to direct (Jay & Silent Bob’s Super Groovy Cartoon Movie), or even the segment he contributed to the anthology horror film Holidays. For this list, we’re only covering the features that had him at the helm. And here we go…

KillRoy Was Here (2022)

While recording an episode of the Edumacation podcast, Smith and co-host Andy McElfresh “accidentally brainstormed a Christmas horror anthology” that would revolve around the child-eating creature known as Krampus… but when Michael Dougherty’s Krampus movie was released, the anthology script was reworked and Krampus was replaced with a new character called KillRoy, inspired by the “Kilroy was here” graffiti that became popular during World War II, showing a long-nosed man peeking over a fence. This KillRoy was a cannibalistic soldier in the Vietnam War who was locked up in a mental institution and left to burn when the place caught on fire. Now he’s a supernatural being who stalks the Florida swamps – and this movie, which was made on a minuscule budget as a project with film students at the Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida (and has only been released through NFTs and special screenings), lets him slash his way through a few different bloody stories. This was a fun concept with franchise potential, even though the mythology doesn’t always hold up from one story to the next.

Yoga Hosers (2016)

With his walrus horror movie Tusk, Smith kicked off what he referred to as his True North trilogy, a trio of movies about weird events occurring in Canada. The second chapter in this trilogy, Yoga Hosers centers on Colleen Collette (Lily-Rose Depp) and Colleen McKenzie (Harley Quinn Smith), teenage clerks from the Canadian convenience store Eh-2-Zed who had minor roles in Tusk. Here, they find that something evil is lurking around their place employment – so the girls, aided by Johnny Depp as Quebecois manhunter Guy Lapointe, a role he previously played in Tusk, have to fight back to keep the evil at bay. Yoga Hosers has been described as “Clueless meets Ghoulies” because the evil in question involves tiny terrors called Bratzis, foot tall Canadian Nazis made of sentient bratwurst who have concentrated sauerkraut for blood and kill people by crawling up their asses and out their mouths. As you can tell from that description, this is a wild and weird movie, although it’s only about as edgy as a Disney Channel special. Fans are still waiting for Smith to complete the True North trilogy with the killer moose tale Moose Jaws.

Cop Out (2010)

Cop Out is an anomaly in the career of Kevin Smith, as it’s the one feature film he has directed that he didn’t write. The screenplay was written by Robb and Mark Cullen and had been going around under the title A Couple of Dicks for a while by the time Smith signed on. James Gandolfini and Robin Williams were up for the lead roles at one point and Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell were in the running at another, but Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan ended up starring in this story of buddy cops, drug smugglers, an extravagant wedding, and a stolen baseball card. Smith did this movie as an experiment, because he wanted to see how the big studio marketing machine worked (this was a Warner Bros. release) – and also because he was a big fan of Willis. Unfortunately, he had a miserable time working with the icon, who was grumpy and uncooperative on the set. But even though Willis wasn’t “there to play” and Cop Out has a terrible reputation, it’s a fine, middle-of-the-road movie with some funny moments and some nice action. Smith assembled a great cast around Willis and leaned into the fact that he was working in a sub-genre that was perfected in the ’80s, even hiring Harold Faltermeyer, the composer known for his work on Beverly Hills Cop and Fletch, to provide the score.

Clerks III (2022)

Seven years after the first attempt at making Clerks III fell apart, and a few years after suffering a near-fatal heart attack, Smith was able to get the clerks back together for this long-awaited sequel… which turned out to be a surprisingly downbeat heartbreaker of a flick that turns the Dante Hicks character (played by Brian O’Halloran) into one of the most tragic characters to ever lead (or co-lead) a franchise. Clerks III is way more of a bummer than it needed to be, but there are entertaining aspects to it, as we get to watch Dante and his longtime pal Randal Graves (Jeff Anderson) make a movie at the Quick Stop Groceries convenience store after Randal decides he needs to finally do something with his life after he suffers a near-fatal heart attack. It’s a Clerks movie about the making of Clerks, with some heart issues added in. But why is it so depressing?

Jay and Silent Bob Reboot (2019)

Smith was going to make Clerks III in 2015, but one of the clerks dropped out at the last minute. He was hoping to make Mallrats 2, but Universal wasn’t giving the greenlight. He wanted to play with his old toys again – and if Clerks and Mallrats were a no-go, at least he could get another Jay and Silent Bob movie into production. And since reboots and remakes have become the norm lately in Hollywood, why not do a reboot that in itself makes fun of the whole concept? Jay and Silent Bob Reboot has the same basic set-up as Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back: a new Bluntman and Chronic movie is being made and Jay and Silent Bob want to disrupt the production, so they go on another road trip. This time, the adventure involves a fan convention, the KKK, a Russian terrorist, Kevin Smith himself… and the unexpectedly emotional revelation that Jay has a daughter, played by Smith’s own daughter, Harley Quinn Smith. The writer/director uses pop culture to send up the superhero genre while also poking fun at himself and all of his films, and it’s a lot of fun to reunite with these characters and see where they have gone in the years since Clerks II.

Zack and Miri Make A Porno (2008)

Smith’s brand of humor was something unique when he first showed up on the scene, but then everyone else started making comedies that were a lot like Smith’s – and while his box office receipts remained comparatively low, the other guys were making hits that raked in over $100 million! Starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks (with Craig Robinson, Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson, Traci Lords, and Katie Morgan in supporting roles, plus a show-stealing cameo from Justin Long), Zack and Miri Make A Porno was Smith’s attempt to achieve a $100 million box office haul of his own. But thanks to the word “Porno” being in the title and a bad marketing campaign, it fell far short of that goal. Of course, the financial disappointment has no bearing on the quality of the movie, which blends inspiration from a couple of scrapped porn-related story ideas Smith had come up with years earlier with the experience of making Clerks to tell a funny and heartwarming story about friends falling in love while making smut together.

Jersey Girl (2004)

After Chasing Amy, Ben Affleck was hoping Smith would do another intimate story that focused on relationships rather than the over-the-top ideas he had been working on with films like Dogma and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. In his first film outside of his View Askewniverse, Smith did just that. Affleck plays the father of a young girl whose mother (played by Jennifer Lopez in the opening minutes) dies during childbirth. He is forced to quit his high-profile job and move back in with his father, who is played expertly by George Carlin. Caught up in the media circus of the “Bennifer” relationship, Jersey Girl was unfairly written off as a glossy, sappy misstep that Smith used as a punchline for several years after its release. It’s a shame it wasn’t given a better reception, because it’s a great story about three generations of a family trying to find their way in the world.

Tusk (2014)

The Bruce Willis issues on Cop Out, the disappointing box office of Zack and Miri Make A Porno, and the backlash to his Red State release strategy stunt at Sundance led Smith to consider leaving filmmaking altogether… but then, revitalizing inspiration struck. On an episode of their SModcast podcast, Smith and Scott Mosier riffed on a classified ad (which turned out to be a hoax) where an old man was looking for a lodger who would be willing to dress up as a walrus so he could relive some pleasant memories he had from a time when he was shipwrecked and only had a walrus to keep him company. Smith saw horrific possibilities in this scenario, and just months later he was on set shooting the film. Smith brought Red State villain Michael Parks back to play the madman at the heart of Tusk, and Parks gave a mind-bending performance as the old man who is looking for someone to become his old animal friend – and surgically turns an unwilling victim into a walrus. The film takes dark and weird turns throughout its runtime that keep the viewer wondering just how far the insanity will go.

Dogma (1999)

Many fans will call it blasphemy that Dogma isn’t ranked higher on this list, as it’s often cited as a top favorite, but the biggest movie of Smith’s career – it features a star-studded cast (Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Linda Fiorentino, Chris Rock, George Carlin, Alan Rickman, Jason Lee, Salma Hayek, Alanis Morissette, etc.) and deals with a potentially apocalyptic situation – has elements that make it feel like it’s falling short of its potential. The scope of the story exceeds the budget, some of the action beats are awkward, and a miscast Fiorentino manages to drain the life out of most of her scenes. Still, there is fun to be had with this movie, as the actors around Fiorentino do great work and we get to see Jay and Silent Bob help save the world. Written when the Catholic-raised Smith was experiencing a crisis of faith, the film caused the Catholic League to stage protests (which Smith himself attended). While on the outside it may look like the film is lambasting religion, it actually encourages people to ignore the sideshow aspect of religion and find something to hold onto for your own personal benefit.

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

After seven years of making films set in his own cinematic universe, the View Askewniverse, Smith decided to close the book on those characters (sort of; he did leave himself a loophole to return to them eventually) and move onto other films that would let him tell different stories. The Askewniverse goes out (for the time being) with a wild, over-the-top, cartoony adventure that sends Jay and Silent Bob off to Hollywood to disrupt the production of a movie based on a comic book where the title characters, Bluntman and Chronic, were inspired by them. Characters from all four of Smith’s previous movies appear along the way, as do diamond thieves, an orangutan named Suzanne, Star Wars cast members, Gus Van Sant, Wes Craven, and a goofball Federal Wildlife Marshal played by Will Ferrell. Most unexpected of all, Jay finds love! Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a victory lap of a movie, a celebration of all that came before, the Avengers of Askewniverse movies.

The 4:30 Movie (2024)

When Kevin Smith was growing up, his local movie theatre was the Atlantic Moviehouse in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey. He took ownership of that theatre in 2022, renaming it SModcastle Cinemas, and once he had full access to a theatre, he figured he should come up with a movie he could film inside the place. Set in 1986, the resulting film centers on a trio of teenage friends who plan to spend their day screen-hopping at their local theatre, watching all three movies the place has to offer. For Brian David (Austin Zajur) it’s going to be a special day, because he has invited his crush Melody Barnegat (Siena Agudong) to the 4:30 movie… but things don’t turn out quite as he had planned. A love letter to the movie-going experience, the 1980s, childhood friendships, and young love, The 4:30 Movie is a nice, charming, fun, and funny flick that’s packed with heart.

Mallrats (1995)

Following the triumph of Clerks, Smith secured a deal with a major Hollywood studio (Universal Pictures!) to make his own take on the sex comedies of the ‘80s; as producer James Jacks liked to say, they were aiming to make “a smart Porky’s.” Like Clerks, this movie is about two buddies – Jason Lee as the comic book-loving Brodie Bruce, Jeremy London as his mopey pal T.S. Quint – spending the day hanging out, this time at a mall instead of in a convenience store, and dealing with romantic issues while Jay and Silent Bob do their thing on the side. Unlike Clerks, Mallrats was a financial failure and took a beating from critics. The sophomore slump. But since this was a bigger budgeted studio movie (in color!) and more widely accessible than its predecessor, with a goofier sense of humor and slightly less vulgar dialogue, it ended up reaching a large audience over the years. For many fans, Mallrats is the movie that introduced them to Kevin Smith. Elements of the story also reveal that this film takes place firmly in the same world as Clerks – and while we’re used to this type of synergy now, at the time it was almost unheard of to see films take place in the same cinematic world if they weren’t direct sequels. The View Asknewiverse was established – fittingly, with a movie that features Marvel legend Stan Lee.

Red State (2011)

Smith wrote the scripts for Zack and Miri Make A Porno and Red State back-to-back, but while Zack and Miri received a greenlight immediately, getting Red State made was more of a struggle. It was something different than what was expected from Smith, a dark and bleak horror thriller – and it was considered to be too bleak by many who read the script. It eventually came together as an independent production that Smith then decided to self-distribute (a plan he announced after the Sundance premiere screening, to the outrage of some in attendance). The film tells the story of a confrontation between the ATF and a small church that has been designated a hate group (loosely inspired by a real-life church that picketed screenings of the movie), with a group of teens stuck in the middle. Michael Parks is captivating as Abin Cooper, the hate-spewing preacher at the head of this religious organization that tries to rid the world of perceived evils by any means necessary. This was an interesting departure for the writer/director, and he created a tense film that is not out of the realm of possibility.

Clerks II (2006)

Clerks II brings back the characters of Randal and Dante to dive into a story about getting older, taking responsibility for your life, and taking stock of what’s important. The setting shifts from the world of retail at the Quick Stop convenience store to the equally life-draining world of fast food at a Mooby’s restaurant (with Jay and Silent Bob following the clerks over to their new job). Dante is working his last day at Mooby’s and has plans to leave New Jersey with his fiancée (Jennifer Schwalbach) and work for her dad’s company in Florida… all the while being head over heels with his co-worker Becky (Rosario Dawson). It’s a lot of fun to catch up with the characters and see where their life ended up a decade after the events of Clerks, and Trevor Fehrman is a great addition to the mix as fellow Mooby’s worker Elias. Highly entertaining and deeply emotional, Clerks II delivers the laughs while featuring some of the best dramatic scenes in the Smith filmography. Plus, there’s a dance sequence!

Chasing Amy (1997)

Kevin Smith has said that many of his films have been such personal stories, they were like he was tearing out chunks of his heart and having it projected on the screen. That personal connection is especially apparent in Chasing Amy, the most intimate and heartbreaking story of his entire career. Drawing inspiration from his life – a straight male friend having a crush on a lesbian, the love life problems he was dealing with at the time, and what it was like to see critics turn against his second film – he crafted the story of a straight male comic book creator who falls in love with a female comic book creator whose sexuality hasn’t always been as clearly defined as his has. Playing the lead characters, Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, and Jason Lee deliver incredible performances in a film that stands as one of the truest cinematic presentations of what it’s like to be in a messy, complicated relationship.

Clerks. (1994)

The movie that launched not only Kevin Smith’s career, but also the careers of many filmmakers who have been inspired and emboldened by him to create their own art over the decades. Shot on a budget of $27,575, which was charged on credit cards, and filmed in Smith’s place of employment, the Quick Stop Groceries convenience store and the next-door video store, this acerbic film skewers the day-to-day mundane of the register jockey as we spend some hours with clerks Dante Hicks and Randal Graves. We also occasionally drop in on drug dealers Jay and Silent Bob, who spend their day standing outside. While it’s not surprising that the people that wait on you every day can’t stand all the annoying stuff customers demand, this was the first time it had been presented as raw and unfiltered on screen. Add in some surreal shenanigans (knocking over a casket at a lunch break funeral, a chewing gum salesman causing a near-riot, and one of the clerks’ ex-girlfriend having sex with a dead guy in the bathroom), and you get a film that makes you laugh while being far too relatable at the same time.

And there you have it, our list of Kevin Smith Movies Ranked. Is this how you would have ranked them? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

The post Kevin Smith Movies Ranked appeared first on JoBlo.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)

Fans fell in love with everyone’s favorite anti-authority high schooler when the film hit the big screen. As the secretary says, “He’s a righteous dude.” The big key was keeping the viewer on his side the entire runtime of the film. We can all understand wanting a day of adventure in the big city. Go to a game, see some art, eat at an expensive restaurant. Yes, to all of this. Ever wonder how they could afford to do all of these things?

In a deleted scene from the film, we see Ferris talking to his dad on the phone while he is at work. He gets his dad to mention where his bonds are kept in his home office. With this information, we see Ferris stealing them to help fund his day trip into the city. The filmmakers decided that it would turn the audience against Ferris. While he spends the entire movie sticking to obnoxious authority figures, stealing from his own parents would have given the audience a different idea of our fun-loving hero.

Aliens (1986)

Most fans of the Alien franchise already know that Ripley had a daughter, but no one knew back in 1986. What is deemed an important motivational scene was deleted from the theatrical cut of Aliens, where we learn that while Ripley was floating around in space for 80 years, her 10-year-old daughter grew up and died. It ended up being cut for time and James Cameron has said that Weaver was not happy about it. She says she based her entire performance around the fact that Ripley had missed out on her daughter’s entire life because of the company’s insistence on capturing a xenomorph.

This is very present in her bond with Newt throughout their time running from the deadly life forms. She can save this little girl since she wasn’t there for her own daughter. It also adds a deeper connection between her and the Xenomorph Queen. Both are mothers. Both will do anything to protect their children. Adopted or not. All of this is on screen anyway, but this one scene really adds so many more layers to it. Ripley’s daughter would show up as the main character in the fantastic video game Alien: Isolation. While on a space station looking for clues to her mother’s whereabouts, another killing machine is let loose. The goal isn’t to win, but just to survive.

Back To The Future Part III (1990)

While someone could say this doesn’t drastically change the outcome of the movie, this deleted scene will make the viewer completely re-evaluate a character throughout the entire trilogy. That’s no small feat. In a deleted scene we see that Buford “Mad Dog” Tannen is a thorn in the side of Marshall Strickland. After a slight confrontation, Tannen shoots Marshall in the back in front of his young son. As he dies in his son’s arms, he tells him to always remember the word discipline. This would be passed down to his son, who would become the principal of Hill Valley High School. No wonder Strickland didn’t seem to like Biff Tannen all that much.

Clerks (1994)

Alternate endings are their own kind of scenes. Obviously, ending the movie differently will completely change a movie. The stark difference between ending the movie on a down note and a more upbeat ending can be as simple as one small cut. Kevin Smith built his entire empire on the 1994 film Clerks, and the ending originally would have put the brakes on any future plans at The Quick Stop.

Originally the movie ended with Dante and Randal mending their friendship as the store closed. Dante stuck around to finish up and a robber came in to empty the register. Dante is shot and left bleeding behind the counter. Once the movie was picked up, it was suggested that he end the movie with Randal throwing the open sign in at Dante proclaiming, “You’re closed,” which is really the perfect way to end the day from hell for our main character. A jaunty song gives the close of the film the good feeling you need as the credits roll.

A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

This slasher made it so you weren’t even safe in your sleep. Somehow, the story of a child killer would rocket Freddy Kruger to a pop culture icon, and we’d see kids dressed up as him for Halloween. Did we forget he was a child killer and implied sexual predator? Well, one scene in the film made things a lot more personal for Nancy and Freddy.

We already see that her parent’s marriage fell apart because of the secrets that they kept, but if a deleted scene was kept, we’d know there was a lot more to all of it. When Nancy’s mom shows her that she still has Freddy’s glove in their furnace, originally, this is where we would have learned that Nancy used to have a brother. She was little when it happened, so she forgot, but her older brother was killed by Freddy. Now things suddenly jump into focus.

Nancy’s dad is a cop. The explanation is that a cop screwed up, and Freddy got off due to a loophole. Does Nancy’s mom blame her father for the screw-up? Possibly. They were never able to move past it, and the death of their firstborn just destroyed their marriage. It’s suddenly very personal. Freddy didn’t just give her nightmares, he took her entire family away from her. She was already upset that her friends were dying. Now she sees he has ruined her entire life.

Return Of The Jedi (1983)

The third installment in George Lucas’ Star Wars trilogy seemed to wrap up all the storylines we had been seeing since the 1977 original film. One thread that was kind of left hanging is why Obi-Wan never told Luke that Darth Vader was his father. Since then, it has been explored many times over, but we almost found out way earlier.

In a deleted scene, Yoda reveals before his death that Obi-Wan actually wanted to tell Luke much sooner. Maybe even before the original film took place. Yoda instructed him not to. New Star Wars material shows that the Jedi may not have been as pure as we originally thought. Back in Return Of The Jedi, it is possible they were trying not to tarnish their reputation. Taking this out leaves Yoda as a wise Jedi master rather than someone who manipulates situations to keep questions from being asked.

Little Shop Of Horrors (1986)

Somehow, a Roger Corman B-Movie became a smash stage musical, and a theatrical film was quickly to follow. When fans went and saw the movie, they learned it had a drastically different ending. We see Seymour defeat Audrey II, and he ends up happily married to the original Audrey. We do get a quick wink that not everything is as cleaned up as we thought when we see a new plant in front of their house.

In the film, they originally planned to show something more akin to how the stage play ends. The plants win! The original Audrey dies and is fed to her plant successor. Seymour allows himself to be eaten out of guilt. Then, we are shown a wild montage of a bunch of plants running amok through New York as they have grown to kaiju size. Humans are doomed and the last image is a plant bursting through the movie screen towards the audience.

Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King (2003)

When the original Lord Of The Rings trilogy was released in theaters, it was a spectacle to behold. Peter Jackson brought pure magic to the screen and brought the books to life. While much of what was shown was from Tolkien’s books, a few things were invented for the films. Most of them didn’t detract too much from their source material, but one altered scene bothered the director, so it was digitally changed in post-production.

Aragorn was originally going to have a sword fight with the physical manifestation of Sauron in the final battle. As Gandalf and the army he has assembled battle the forces of Sauron, he appears in physical form only for Aragorn to attempt to slay him. In the end, the director felt this detracted too much from the true name of the quest, so he altered it, and instead, Aragorn now fights a large troll. Probably smart to keep Sauron more of an overseeing presence.

I Am Legend (2007)

The third adaptation of the book I Am Legend by Richard Matheson had a few different endings they tried out. The one that actually got closer to the idea of the book but was still pretty different had Smith’s character finally seeing the enemy’s point of view. When the creatures raid his home, he finally realizes they are there to save the female creature he had been running experiments on. He sees that in their eyes, he is the monster that has been kidnapping and experimenting on them.

Rumors have been swirling about there being a sequel to the film starring Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan. Akiva Goldsman has said that they are planning on continuing the sequel from the alternate ending rather than what audiences saw in the theatrical version.  It’s an interesting idea, but will that work?

Do you have any favorite deleted scenes? Let us know in the comments.

The post Deleted Scenes That Changed The Movie appeared first on JoBlo.

With The Last Voyage of the Demeter now on home video, Dracula is once again on everyone’s mind. In it, Javier Botet plays a horrific version of the count that’s far removed from the recent, classic-style version played by Nicolas Cage in Renfield. How will he stack up against some of the best versions of the fanged Count? First, we must come up with our list of the Best Dracula Actors!

C​hristian Camargo – Penny Dreadful (2016)

W​hile Universal was trying to figure out how to create their Dark Universe, over on Showtime, Penny Dreadful was already doing a fantastic job beating them to the punch. The series pulled together literary versions of Frankenstein’s monster, the wolfman, Dorian Gray, and eventually Dracula himself. Christian Camargo played Dr. Alexander Sweet in Season Three, who begins to seduce Eva Green’s Vanessa Ives. It is revealed later that this doctor is, in fact, the Count himself, making him an unconventional addition to the Best Dracula Actors list. Carmargo brought out the seductive side of the vampire while later revealing just how deadly he could be.

D​uncan Regehr – The Monster Squad (1987)

His version of Count Dracula appeared in the kid’s film The Monster Squad but brought a lot of menace to the role. He appears in town with his other monster friends, looking for Van Helsing’s diary. Our group of young heroes crosses paths with him multiple times and only barely escape with their lives. Dracula has no problem using some dynamite to blow up their tree house and sees no problem with wanting a group of children killed. He was so terrifying in the role that child actor Ashley Bank legitimately screamed for her life during their face-to-face confrontation. Cage’s version in Renfield seems a little darker and funnier than this version, but Regehr scared a whole generation of movie fans. We would for sure list him as one of the best on-screen Dracula portrayals… and to make things he even better, he spends a good portion of his screen time hanging out with versions of Frankenstein’s Monster, the Wolf Man, the Mummy, and the Gill-Man.

K​laus Kinski – Nosferatu The Vampyre (1979)

I​n 1979, Werner Herzog remade the classic vampire tale, and in a twist of genius casting, put Klaus Kinski in the title role. His version of Dracula is more animalistic in its approach. He doesn’t seduce his victim but instead drinks from them in their sleep. His creepy look harkens back to the Max Schreck version but has even less humanity than that film put on display. With his giant lips and sharp teeth, he seems more like a leech than anything that can pass for human. Even though the performance from Kinski is completely strange (from Kinski? Go figure), it still is one of the best on-screen versions of Dracula. It’s probably safe to bet that Cage’s version in Renfield will take less inspiration from this one.

J​ack Palance – Dracula (1974)

W​ith the popularity of Dan Curtis’s series like Dark Shadows and his Kolchak TV movies, he decided to turn his attention to bringing Dracula to the small screen. He teamed up with his usual collaborator Richard Matheson to bring it to life. They cast Jack Palance in the role of Dracula, and he brings an edge of pathos to the character. In this version, he sees a woman that reminds him of his long-dead wife. We see a little more of the character’s humanity as he tries to find the one thing that used to make him happy. He’ll get it no matter who he has to kill.

W​illem Dafoe – Shadow Of The Vampire (2000)

T​his fictional take on the making of Nosferatu turns Max Schreck into an actual vampire. The director F. W. Murnau brings aboard this strange actor who suddenly seems too well-equipped to play the famed vampire. Dafoe disappears into the role of the strange creature. The interactions between him and the rest of the cast is fantastic to watch, and Murnau getting frustrated that he won’t stop killing the cast is great. A strange meta performance but still ranks as one of the best on-screen Dracula portrayals even if it’s by technicality.

G​ary Oldman – Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Sometimes Dracula just can’t help falling in love. I​ don’t think it will be a shock to say that Gary Oldman is an amazing actor. Francis Ford Coppola cast him to play Dracula in his 1992 big-budget story version. They used some of the best state-of-the-art effects to transform Oldman during different stages of his rejuvenation. He starts out as a decrepit old man, and as he feeds, he ages backward until he becomes a spry young man. Oldman plays the character perfectly, and you can see how easily seductive he is. At the same turn, there is a danger underneath that seeps through onto the screen. Easy to see why he’s a contender for the best on-screen Dracula.

C​arlos Villarias – Dracula Spanish Version (1931)

W​hen sound was first introduced to films, studios would sometimes make foreign language versions as well with different actors on the same sets and using the same costumes. For the 1931 Dracula, they shot the English version with Bela Lugosi during the day, and then another crew would come in to shoot the Spanish Language version of the horror film at night.

When compared, Villarias’ version of the character isn’t quite as stiff as Lugosi’s. His expressions and movements were more free-flowing and set this version apart. This, along with making the female leads sexier due to less stringent film codes in other countries, made this version of the story stand out from its English counterpart. Some even like it better than the Todd Browning film that everyone knows. Should be interesting to see if it’s closer to Cage’s take on the character in Renfield.

M​ax Schreck – Nosferatu (1922)

E​ven if someone hasn’t seen this film they definitely know the look of Max Schreck in the film. It has transcended the film and lodged itself so completely in pop culture that a single image of the film is enough for people to recognize it. This silent film from Germany used light and shadow to give Schrek’s Count Orlok (we all know it’s really Dracula) such a commanding presence in the film. His look and mannerisms have given generations the creeps just by looking at him. The filmmakers were sued by Stoker’s estate and lost. All film copies were to be destroyed, but a few survived, which is good for history as this version of the character might just be the creepiest it has ever been.

C​hristopher Lee – Horror Of Dracula (1958)

W​hen Universal’s monster series began to grow long in the tooth (pun intended), they began to shift away from some of the classic monsters and move more into the atomic-age films that had started to become popular. Across the pond, Hammer Films decided to do their own version of these classic creatures. Christopher Lee was cast, and his take on Dracula was something audiences hadn’t seen up to that point. His version was very proper and dignified, but once he went into his blood-lust, he became savage and unhinged. You were in trouble if you were unlucky enough to come across him at this stage. He bared his fangs and hissed while his eyes became bloodshot and unsettled. The switch almost happens instantly. You could be having a thoroughly normal conversation, but he would suddenly go into a rage, and there would be no way to calm him down until he was able to dine. A scary portrayal of the character for sure.

Lee portrayed Dracula in a total of ten films. In addition to Horror of Dracula, he starred in Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966), Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), Scars of Dracula (1970), Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972), and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973). He also played the character in Jess Franco’s Count Dracula (1970), Jerry Lewis’s One More Time (1970), and Édouard Molinaro’s Dracula and Son (1976).

B​ela Lugosi – Dracula (1931)

The Universal horror icon. U​ntil the world finally turns to dust and escapes into the vacuum of space, no other actor will be as associated with the character of Dracula as Bela Lugosi. His slow walk and deep gaze became a stereotype for how the character was portrayed in every version afterward. His menacing stare and slow walk toward his victim became the stereotype for every characterization of Dracula. It will be interesting to see what Nic Cage took from this version in Renfield.

Even when Lugosi would return to the role in the Abbott and Costello movies, his presence was enough to send a chill down your spine even with all the comedy going on around him. The simple delivery of the line, “Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!” is enough to send Lugosi to the Dracula hall of fame. Even with a smile on his face, the darkness in his performance is bone-chilling.

Who do you think is the best on-screen Dracula? Would you have included Frank Langella, Gerard Butler, John Carradine, or Richard Roxburgh? Maybe George Hamilton in Love at First Bite? Adam Sandler (Hotel Transylvania)? Lon Chaney Jr. (Son of Dracula)?

Let us know in the comments.

The post Best Dracula Actors – the most memorable fanged Count appeared first on JoBlo.

Since his first film, Writer/Director Wes Anderson has become known for his highly visual combination of bright colors with an older aesthetic. His costuming and set design have a very specific signature that makes it easy to identify when watching a Wes Anderson movie. With him currently working on a new film, The Phoenician Scheme, which reunites him with his muse Bill Murray, we take a look back at all his feature-length films and try to figure out where they rank. To note, his recent Netflix shorts, including the Oscar-winning The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar aren’t included.

1​1. The French Dispatch (2021)

T​he only anthology movie Anderson has done so far, this film details the final issue of The French Dispatch. The paper will be shut down, so the editor brings together his best reporters and storytellers to publish one more edition. Each reporter narrates a section of the film as they go over what their story will be. We’re shown imprisoned artists, a May-December romance set among a student revolt, and the kidnapping of a police officer’s son. Anderson’s usual style is broken up a little for each segment but still keeps the overall quirky attitude of most of his work. A fun way to break down one of his movies and the cast – from Benicio del Toro, Timothée Chalamet, and Elisabeth Moss to Anderson regulars Bill Murray and Owen Wilson – is incredible.

10​. The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

Three brothers attempt to reconnect on a train trip across India. A year after their father’s funeral, they are coming together for the first time on a trip to see their mother. As the siblings try to figure out what each of them has taken from their father’s death, they realize that none of them have been happy with their life. The train keeps getting detoured and sending the brothers off into random situations. The cast of Adrian Brody, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson put in a lot of work as the brothers, but the story keeps straying from its focus too much.

9. Asteroid City (2023)

In what is Anderson’s largest cast to date, we see some new additions to his usual cadre of performers. Tom Hanks, Scarlett Johanssen, Bryan Cranston, and Steve Carell join the group. A small, roadside attraction, called Asteroid City gets a variety of visitors during a Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet event. While the scientists do their usual presentation and a young group of inventors show off their gadgets, a spaceship arrives. This sends the whole area into a frenzy, and the families try to figure out what it all means in the days that follow.

8. Bottle Rocket (1996)

A​nderson’s first movie, starring Luke and Owen Wilson. When Anthony (Luke Wilson) is released from a mental hospital, he reconnects with his friend Dignan (Owen Wilson). He says he needs Anthony’s help pulling a heist for his mysterious boss Mr. Henry. As the two fumble their way through preparing for the heist, Anthony meets and falls in love with the motel’s maid Inez. This movie helped put Anderson and the Wilson brothers on the map during the slowing indie boom of the 90s. This film has very little of the visual look Anderson has become known for but still has some quirky qualities that would continue throughout the rest of his work.

7​. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004)

W​es Anderson regular Bill Murray takes center stage as Steve Zissou. He is an aquatic documentary filmmaker along the lines of the famed Jaques Cousteau. After a shark kills his friend and filmmaking partner, Steve declares his intention to find and kill the shark. He puts together a team for the outing but quickly learns he has a son he never knew about. He invites him along on the trip along with a reporter to cover the hunting of the shark. Now he has to juggle finding the shark, learning to be a dad, and sparring with his son over the reporter’s affections.

6​. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

A​nderson’s first stop-motion animated film is an adaptation of the book by Roald Dahl. Mr. Fox is used to stealing from the local farmers but has to put that life behind him to be a good father to his kids. Before he finally calls off his wild ways, he wants to pull one more heist to put one over on three of the meanest farmers in the area. He gathers all his friends to see if they can get one more score.

5. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Sam and Suzy have fallen in love with each other. These two children decide to run away together, but they don’t realize a massive storm is about to hit their small town in a few days. Once their guardians realize what happened, they set out to find the duo before the storm. Once everyone sets out, relationships get complicated, and Sam may be sent away once he’s found. A fun movie from Anderson that explores the fun of youth and how love can make us do things we wouldn’t normally even consider.

4​. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

A​ recounting of the history of The Grand Budapest Hotel. Set in 1932, we meet our narrator, Zero as a lobby boy as he learns the ropes from the hotel’s devoted concierge Gustave. They try to make all the experiences of the guests a pleasant one. When one of the guests ends up killed, it is blamed on Gustave. Zero and his friends set out to clear his name and discover what happened to a famous painting the deceased’s son is looking for. A fun and quirky look at the running of a hotel in all the usual Anderson fashion, with great performances from Tony Revolori and Ralph Fiennes.

3. Isle Of Dogs (2018)

A​nderson’s second stop-motion film is set in the near future, where a bad dog flu has spread through the canine population. To keep it from spreading to humans, it’s decided to send all dogs to Trash Island. Six months later, Atari decides to go to the island to rescue his beloved pet. Once he lands, a pack of friendly dogs offers to help him find his friend and fend off a rescue party sent by his uncle.

2​. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)

The Tenenbaum children were all geniuses. Once their mother and father split, these early gifts fell apart, and the family turned into a dysfunctional mess. Royal Tenenbaum has brought the whole family back together to tell them he only has six weeks left to live. Once everyone is back under the same roof, the same squabbles, tension, and betrayal enters back into their lives. Royal wants to fix everything before his time is up, but he isn’t sure he can. One of Wes Anderson’s best films which is no surprise it ranks so high.

1​. Rushmore (1998)

Max Fisher is a gifted playwright who loves attending the Rushmore private school. He befriends a local businessman and falls in love with a new teacher. As he tries to impress everyone, he finds out that his new friends have fallen in love with each other. He gets kicked out of school when he tries to take measures to impress the teacher. From there, he has to find a way to get his friends back and figure out what his life will be.

Where do your favorite Wes Anderson films rank? Let us know in the comments.

The post Wes Anderson Movies Ranked appeared first on JoBlo.

Say his name three times. Do it. Unlike Candyman, most people would love to summon the bio-exorcist Beetlejuice. He’s the Ghost With The Most. The film Beetlejuice became an instant classic when it haunted theater screens in the spring of 1988. Burton’s visual aesthetic, along with the amazing performances by Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder, captivated audiences. The horror comedy easily grossed over $75 Million at the box office on a $15 Million budget. People loved the character, and he even got a Saturday morning cartoon spin-off that kids loved, but it’s taken thirty-five years for them to get Beetlejuice 2 (or as it’ s now called, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice) off the ground! While, after many false starts, the Beetlejuice sequel has finished shooting, believe it or not, work on Beetlejuice 2 began not long after the original movie premiered! We did a whole video that dived into the production history that you can watch here, but here’s the gist of it:

Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian?

In 1990 Tim Burton was riding high on his Batman film breaking all sorts of records at the summer box office. He had a golden ticket to work on anything he wanted. As he was finishing up work on Edward Scissorhands, he began to turn his attention to what his next projects would be. He had another Batman film on the horizon but wanted to get working on one of his other projects. Burton hired British playwright Jonathan Gems to work on a script for Beetlejuice 2 called Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian.

Tim Burton wanted to take the character out of the dreary underworld and put him in the colorful and sun-filled islands. The Deetz family was going to move there to open a new resort. Turns out Charles didn’t do any research and ended up building it on the resting place of a great Hawaiian Kahuna. The spirit would come back to the world of the living and cause problems for the family and surrounding citizens causing them to call in the big guns. At one point Beetlejuice even wins a surfing contest by using his magic. It seems strange but Jonathan Gems said Burton loved the idea. “Tim thought it would be funny to match the surfing backdrop of a beach movie with some sort of German Expressionism because they’re totally wrong together,”

Keaton and Ryder both agreed to return on the condition that Burton would again be directing. Before work could get started on it Burton and Keaton got busy with Batman Returns. A few years later producer David Geffen would hire writer Pamela Norris to take a shot at rewriting the script. It eventually fell into development hell. Famously Kevin Smith was offered a chance to take a shot at it. He turned it down in favor of writing Superman Lives. When asked why he turned it down he replied, “didn’t we say all we needed to say in the first Beetlejuice? Must we go tropical?”

Eventually, the project died. When he was asked about the Beetlejuice Goes Hawaiian script, Jonathan Gems said it was too late to make the film as Ryder had aged out of the part as it was written. They would have to recast and no one really wanted that.

New After-Life

After two decades of sitting on the shelf, in 2011 Warner Bros. approached Seth Grahame-Smith about writing a new sequel and even producing it. He had worked with Burton on Dark Shadows and Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter previously. Smith said he signed to make sure it was “a story that is worthy of us actually doing this for real, something that is not just about cashing in, is not just about forcing a remake or a reboot down someone’s throat.” He said he had met with Keaton about doing the film, and he was on board.

They had gone over the story and Keaton seemed to be really excited to finally get back to the character. Ryder herself said that she was excited to return to the role but only if Burton and Keaton were involved. She stated that Lydia was an important part of her that she wanted to explore again 27 years later. Burton said that they had been working on the script and were excited to get started in 2014.

It seemed that the sequel was moving forward and everyone was happy . . . but that window came and went and no movement happened on the film. In 2015 Ryder was on a talk show and said she was for sure coming back to the role and that she couldn’t wait to get started. By 2017 screenwriter Mike Vukadinovich was hired to do a re-write of the script. In 2019 Warner Bros. confirmed that the project was in fact sitting in the waiting room of the afterlife. Burton and Keaton eventually did reunite, for the Disney remake of Dumbo in 2019.

Our only hope is . . . Brad Pitt?

With the project once again dead on arrival there looked like no hope of ever seeing a Beetlejuice 2… until Brad Pitt stepped in. Well, not Brad Pitt personally but his production company Plan B Entertainment. In February of 2022, his company announced its producing the new film, and sure enough – it actually happened this time, with Alfred Gough and Miles Millar writing the screenplay.

Beetlejuice 2: The Cast

Burton has stated in the past that he would only do the film if Keaton agreed to return, but the stars aligned and it finally happened. We never thought we would see him back in the Batsuit either but hey, that happened too. Just recently, we got our first look (thanks to Entertainment Weekly) at Keaton reprising the role for the first time in thirty-six years!

Costume designer Colleen Atwood confirmed that Keaton would be wearing his iconic black and white striped suit again, although she admitted that Keaton has more of an affinity for the Burgundy tux.

Other confirmed cast members include original Beetlejuice heroine Winona Ryder, who’s reprising her role as Lydia Deetz (now the host of a TV series called Ghost House with Lydia Deetz) opposite Catherine O’Hara, who also returns as her mother Delia Deetz. It’s been confirmed that Jeffrey Jones, who had a rather sordid brush with the law many years ago and has not worked much since, will not be returning. In fact, the newly released teaser seems to suggest his character has been killed off.

Jenna Ortega, who previously teamed with Burton on Netflix’s wildly popular show Wednesday, plays Lydia’s daughter Astrid. Justin Theroux is in there as a character named Rory, Lydia’s fiancé. Monica Bellucci, who in real life is dating Burton (lucky guy!), is also in the cast, apparently as Beetlejuice’s wife, while Willem Dafoe apparently plays a dead B-movie action star, which sounds kind of hilarious. There’s also a rumour that Jean-Claude Van Damme has a cameo. Maybe as a former co-star of Dafoe’s?

Keaton Loves It!

While promoting his new film, Knox Goes Away, Keaton raved about an early cut of the film he saw on the Jess Cagle Show: “It is really good. And beautiful. Beautiful, you know, physically. You know what I mean? The other one was so fun and exciting visually. It’s all that, but really kind of beautiful and interestingly emotional here and there. I wasn’t ready for that, you know. Yeah, it’s great.”

Keaton told Total Film that Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has a stronger story than the first movie had and “there’s more of a connection for the audience in terms of the other characters. There’s things in here that I wasn’t ready for, that are beyond delightful. Instead of saying, ‘I can’t wait until this thing shows up,’ or, ‘I just want this thing called Beetlejuice to go nuts.’“ Ryder added, “I feel very confident that it will match and exceed expectations. It certainly did mine, and mine are way up there. I literally think every generation can find something in it that they’ll really appreciate.“

Keaton has also said that he didn’t want Beetlejuice to have too much screen time in this movie, after he only appeared in the first film for 17 minutes. He said to GQ, “The idea was, no, no, no, you can’t load it up with Beetlejuice, that’ll kill it. I think the Beetlejuice character doesn’t drive the story as much as he did in the first one. He’s more part of the storyline in this one as opposed to the first one, which is a case of, this thing comes in and drives the movie a little bit.”

As for what the character is like now, 36 years after we first met him… well, he’s the same guy. Burton told Collider, “Michael [Keaton] and I both love the fact that he was politically incorrect then, and he’s politically incorrect now. [Laughs] I’m just laughing because somebody asked him the other day, ‘Michael, how does Beetlejuice’s character evolve?’ And we just started laughing because he doesn’t evolve — that’s the whole point!“

What’s It About?

Here’s the official synopsis from the studio:

“Beetlejuice is back!  After an unexpected family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River.  Still haunted by Beetlejuice, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her rebellious teenage daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic and the portal to the Afterlife is accidentally opened.  With trouble brewing in both realms, it’s only a matter of time until someone says Beetlejuice’s name three times and the mischievous demon returns to unleash his very own brand of mayhem.”

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has been rated PG-13 for violent content, macabre and bloody images, strong language, some suggestive material and brief drug use.

When Will We See It?

As of now, Warner Brothers have set the release of the film for September 6, 2024. They recently put out the first poster, which also confirmed the new title, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice as well as the release date:

Trailer

Multiple trailers have been released, and here’s the final one:

Attendees of the Warner Bros. panel at the CinemaCon event got to see an extended preview that highlighted the film’s practical effects. JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray reported, “WB showed more of what Keaton’s performance is like, and it’s fantastic! The full trailer is much better than the teaser. Beetlejuice had pined for Lydia, and he was still obsessed when he was awakened. Notably, you see the Jeffrey Jones character get killed by a shark, but in stop-motion.”

Are you excited to see Beetlejuice Beetlejuice? Let us know in the comments.

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