Tag Archives: Ben Mendelsohn

Robin Hood Trailer #1 (2018) *Look for the Hood*

While this looks nowhere near as egregious an error as last year’s King Arthur nightmare, I’m curious as to why Hollywood keeps feeling the need to “reinvent” stories like Robin Hood.  The character has been around for hundreds of years, has been interpreted dozens of times, and will be again, but there always seems to a need to rework a story that’s worked just fine: make it gritty and modern, give it attitude, whatever.  Those aren’t the things about the story or the character that have made it endure.  You CAN update a character and retain those qualities (BBC’s Sherlock did it and managed to produce the best adaptation of Holmes in my lifetime).  For more on the latest Robin Hood, read below and look for the Hood in November 2018.


In the film, a war-hardened Crusader and a Moorish commander mount an audacious revolt against the corrupt English crown in a thrilling action-adventure. Packed with gritty battlefield exploits, mind-blowing fight choreography, and a timeless romance, Robin Hood is a never before seen story of how Robin Hood became the icon and legend as we know him today.

The cast for the new Robin Hood includes Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Eddie the Eagle) as the title hero, with Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained, Ray) as Little John, Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey) as Will Scarlet, Eve Hewson (Bridge of Spies) as Maid Marion, Tim Minchin (Californication) as Friar Tuck, and Paul Anderson (Peaky Blinders, The Revenant) as Guy of Gisborne.

Described as having a “gritty tone,” the film finds Robin Hood returning from The Crusades to discover a Sherwood Forest rife with corruption and evil. Teaming with a band of outlaws, he takes matters into his own hands to set things right, with very little merry-making along the way.

Otto Bathurst directs from a screenplay by Joby Harold. Robin Hood is produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson Killoran, Basil Iwanyk, Tory Tunnell and Joby Harold. It will arrive in theaters on November 21, 2018.

Taron Egerton in Robin Hood

Robin Hood Teaser #1 (2018) *Look for the Hood*


While this looks nowhere near as egregious an error as last year’s King Arthur nightmare, I’m curious as to why Hollywood keeps feeling the need to “reinvent” stories like Robin Hood.  The character has been around for hundreds of years, has been interpreted dozens of times, and will be again, but there always seems to a need to rework a story that’s worked just fine: make it gritty and modern, give it attitude, whatever.  Those aren’t the things about the story or the character that have made it endure.  You CAN update a character and retain those qualities (BBC’s Sherlock did it and managed to produce the best adaptation of Holmes in my lifetime).  For more on the latest Robin Hood, read below and look for the Hood in November 2018.

In the film, a war-hardened Crusader and a Moorish commander mount an audacious revolt against the corrupt English crown in a thrilling action-adventure. Packed with gritty battlefield exploits, mind-blowing fight choreography, and a timeless romance, Robin Hood is a never before seen story of how Robin Hood became the icon and legend as we know him today.

The cast for the new Robin Hood includes Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Eddie the Eagle) as the title hero, with Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained, Ray) as Little John, Jamie Dornan (Fifty Shades of Grey) as Will Scarlet, Eve Hewson (Bridge of Spies) as Maid Marion, Tim Minchin (Californication) as Friar Tuck, and Paul Anderson (Peaky Blinders, The Revenant) as Guy of Gisborne.

Described as having a “gritty tone,” the film finds Robin Hood returning from The Crusades to discover a Sherwood Forest rife with corruption and evil. Teaming with a band of outlaws, he takes matters into his own hands to set things right, with very little merry-making along the way.

Otto Bathurst directs from a screenplay by Joby Harold. Robin Hood is produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson Killoran, Basil Iwanyk, Tory Tunnell and Joby Harold. It will arrive in theaters on November 21, 2018.


Taron Egerton in Robin Hood

Movie Review: Ready Player One (2018) *All Pop Without the Culture*

Tye Sheridan in Ready Player One
What happens when reality gets to be too much?  Well, most of us depart it as soon as possible.  “Humankind cannot bear very much reality,” (little T.S. Eliot for you) and it’s true.  Especially in the hypersaturated information age, reality is an overwhelming non-stop sensory onslaught.  People need to check out to stay sane.  Some find healthy ways of doing this, others not so healthy, but the need for escapism remains.  In Ready Player One, the enter world has escaped a depressing society into a virtual reality playground known as the OASIS.  Inside, the whole world is engaged in a treasure hunt to find three keys that will unlock the ownership of the OASIS embedded in the system by its deceased founder.  If that sounds like an awesome premise for a story, you are correct.  The book is one of my favorite of the last decade.  Whether you like Ready Player One or not, is probably going to depend on whether you have read the book or not and know just how much better THAT story is than the one Steven Spielberg delivers. Continue reading Movie Review: Ready Player One (2018) *All Pop Without the Culture*

Ready Player One Trailer #3 (2018) “Come With Me”

Ready Player One is a book I loved, and I have never felt that any of the trailers that have been presented for Steven Spielberg’s upcoming adaptation of the book felt like they were on point, and that continues with the final trailer, which is an homage to the Willy Wonkaesque quest that players will go on in the OASIS to find the hidden keys.  I have no confidence in Steven Spielberg as a director anymore, either as a serious film maker or a crafter of the kind of blockbusters he created as a the driving financial force in Hollywood.  There seems way more emphasis on Easter Eggs and cameos in this trailer than the actual plot, which is more than enough to sell the story.  If they’d pushed The Iron Giant this much before his own movie, more people would have seen that animated classic.  He’s gotten more screen time than the plot.  I hope I’m wrong, but I think this film is going to go horribly off the rails.  Ready Player One opens in March 29, 2018.


Set in the near future, Ready Player One follows outcast teenager Wade Watts (Sheridan), who escapes from his bleak surroundings by logging in to the OASIS, a globally networked virtual utopia where users can lead idyllic alternate lives. When eccentric billionaire who created the OASIS dies, he offers up his vast fortune as the prize in an elaborate treasure hunt. Along with gamers from around the world, Wade joins the adventure, and quickly finds himself pitted against powerful corporate foes and other ruthless competitors who will do anything, in the oasis or the real world, to reach the treasure first. The film stars Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cook, Leticia Wright, Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg, and Ben Mendelsohn.
Ready Player One Poster

Movie Review: Darkest Hour (2017) “We Shall Never Surrender”

Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour
Gary Oldman’s performance as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour has been hailed for months as the best of his career.  He’s been all but assured of his first Oscar (though now that Daniel Day-Lewis is retiring, who knows?).  Is the performance as good as the hype?  Yes.  Oldman disappears into the dogged British Prime Minister and is riveting to watch.  Unfortunately, similar to Denzel Washington’s excellent performance in Roman J. Israel Esq. this is a case where the performance is much better than the movie in which it takes place. Continue reading Movie Review: Darkest Hour (2017) “We Shall Never Surrender”