Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 430

ENOLA HOLMES 3 Is in Development

Have any mysteries in need of solving? Don’t worry, Enola Holmes could be on the case again. In news we first saw at Collider, Netflix is developing Enola Holmes 3 and while the deal for a third movie in the film series starring Millie Bobby Brown is far from done, the streamer is back to work on a screenplay to hopefully make it happen. The Legendary-produced movies also star Henry Cavill as Sherlock Holmes and Helena Bonham Carter as Eudoria Holmes. The two Enola Holmes films have seen the teen detective make a name for herself apart from her more famous brother. Brown has brought Enola’s spunk to the screen with piles of charm, and Scott Stuber, head of Netflix film, talked to Collider about Brown.

Netflix

Stuber talked about Brown being such a star, which kicked off with her breakout role in Stranger Things. He mentioned Damsel, Brown’s upcoming fantasy adventure for Netflix, and then briefly brought up Enola Holmes. Stuber told Collider, “The Holmes IP is weirdly elastic. Obviously Warner Bros. did an incredible job with Downey and Jude Law, so this idea that we can extend the IP with her is exciting. So, we’re working once again on a screenplay to try to get that. But yes, aspiration. I’d like to do another one.”

It’s the kind of series perfectly suited for revisiting. Enola will always have more mysteries to solve. Plus the end of Enola Holmes 2 introduced Dr. Watson. That all could lead to enough material not just for Enola Holmes 3, but a collection of connected material.

Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.

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Here’s How THE BOYS Characters Showed Up on GEN V’s First Season

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The Boys‘ universe has a new class of supes who hope to join the Seven on Gen V. Marie Moreau, Andre Anderson, and others fought for the coveted #1 spot at Godolkin University and all the perks that come with being great. It’s an exciting new direction for the franchise, but our hearts are always with characters like Hughie, A-Train, and even Homelander. We knew a few characters from The Boys would appear on Gen V throughout its first season. But how did their stories intertwine with God U? Here’s which The Boys characters appeared on Gen V. 

A-Train Is a Beacon of Hope in Gen V Prime Video

A-Train appeared in the show’s opening scene in a flashback from eight years ago when he was drafted into The Seven. Marie’s dad was proud to see a Black man make it into the group. If he only knew the truth about that organization. A-Train’s draft clip is the only time he appeared on the spinoff.

The Late Madelyn Stillwell Comes Alive in a FlashbackPrime Video

There’s no use crying over spilled milk, but we’re still sad Homelander murdered Elisabeth Shue’s Madelyn Stillwell on The Boys. That made her quick cameo in a flashback to A-Train’s Seven draft day that much sweeter to drink in. And now we’re going to stop making milk drinking puns before we go too far.

Ashley Barrett Continues to Lie for Vought in Gen V Prime Video

Ashley Barrett first appeared at the end of episode one after Golden Boy’s rampage and death by suicide. Of course, the Vought CEO lied and said there’s nothing wrong at Godolkin. She called Golden Boy “psychotic” and a “drug user.”

She then showed up early in episode two on a board meeting/phone call with Godolkin University president Indira Shetty to discuss Golden Boy’s death. Ashley quickly created a narrative to push Marie and Andre as the “Guardians of Godolkin” who saved the day so they could score points with the public and the NAACP. Ashley purposefully left Jordan Li out of the narrative because of their race and gender identity. A private conversation between Indira and Ashley revealed The Woods as a big and “potentially fatal” problem. Indira assured Ashley she will handle everything from a PR perspective.

By the season one finale Ashley’s confidence in Shetty almost cost her and the entire board of trustees their lives. Ashley was at God U during the supe rampage. Marie and her friends managed to save Ashley and the others, and for that they got locked up.

Adam Bourke Is a Godolkin Professor in Gen V, Apparently Prime Video

Adam Bourke shows up exactly where we thought he would in Gen V—the school of performing arts. The famed director told his acting class to use their grief over Golden Boy’s death to push forward. His appearance is hilarious with a pitch-perfect monologue about the importance of the artist. Apparently, his students have to “bring the funk and not the junk” to get a passing grade.

Sam almost killed him in the season one finale, but Emma stopped Sam. Bourke thought he then saved himself by blackmailing Ashley to let him into her barricaded room by threatening to reveal their previous bathroom romp. Ultimately he survived the Godolkin massacre with an idea for his next film.

The Deep Ranked #6 at God U and Loved BrinkPrime Video

The Deep (well, his photo) shows up in a Godolkin University orientation video in episode one. While Queen Maeve and A-Train were #1 in their classes, The Deep came in at #6. Honestly, I’m shocked he made it that far up the rankings. He’s not qualified to be a professor, but he did send in a video for a fundraiser gala honoring Brink. In episode three, The Deep says Brink helped him hone his skills and sharpened his mind to turn him into the intelligent man he is today. He tells him to “rest in peace bro.”

Soldier Boy’s Gen V Cameo Is a Dirty DelightPrime Video

It only took six episodes for Jensen Ackles to return as Soldier Boy. His appearance wasn’t technically the real him, but rather how he exists in Cate’s mind/imagination as her childhood crush. He met Marie and company in Cate’s memories and told them a little too much info about Cate’s masturbation methods. A burst blood vessel in her brain then “killed” him in a lightning blast. Everything about him showing up was awesome, especially when you consider that Ackles improvs his lines.

Victoria Neuman Is on the Campaign (and Chaos) Trail Prime Video

Victoria Neuman makes her Gen V debut in episode six. The head-popping VP candidate is at a Godolkin Town Hall trying to repair her image as a supe hater. Predictably, the town hall goes completely off the rails and Victoria is rushed off stage only to be accosted by Marie Moreau. Through their conversation, Victoria affirms she also has blood manipulation powers. Marie hands her information about Vought and The Woods (which she may have been at least vaguely aware of) and Victoria uses that to kill Dr. Cardosa and take vials of the supe killing virus. She will be a big antagonist in The Boys season four and surely this virus will be a part of her nefarious plans. 

Cameron Coleman Continues to Carry Vought’s Water on Gen VPrime Video

Vought News Network‘s most famous lapdog/faux journalist showed up on Gen V to interview Polarity ahead of Victoria Neuman’s Town Hall. After Polarity’s seizure Coleman filled-in as the event’s host. There he pushed more pro-supes, anti-Singer/Neuman presidential ticket propaganda as only Cameron Coleman can (like a dishonest snake.)

The Boys‘ Grace Mallory Makes a Surprise Cameo Appearance in Gen VPrime Video

Grace Mallory, the former CIA Deputy Director who was caring for Homelander’s son Ryan, is known for being the founder of The Boys and working closely with Butcher. She appeared briefly in Gen V in a scene with Dean Shetty, who tried to convince Mallory to use the supe killing virus. Grace refused and then called a mysterious person to make sure they got the recording. That’s useful information for The Boys collective who could try and use that horrific virus for their own purposes in season four. 

Homelander Arrives at God U in a Bad MoodPrime Video

The most powerful supe in the world showed up after Marie and Jordan stopped the woods prisoners massacre, but rather than greet them as heroes Homelander attacked Marie for murdering her own “kind.” The blast would have killed most people, but Marie survived and is now imprisoned with Andre, Jordan, and Emma. Meanwhile Vought CEO and potential felon Homelander made sure to have Cameron Coleman promote Cate and Sam as the real Guardians of Godolkin.

Butcher Stops by The Woods For a Foul-Mouthed VisitPrime Video

Gen V‘s first season ended with a post-credits scene featuring the biggest supe-hater in the world, Billy Butcher. He appeared in the abandoned woods facility underneath Godolkin University. There he saw the horrific prison. Why was he there, though? What was he looking for? Butcher knows about the supe-killing virus created there, but Victoria Neuman has the only vials. Could Butcher be looking for a victim to find evidence of the virus? More information?

We’ll have to wait until The Boys season four to find out.

Originally published on September 29, 2023.

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THE MARVELS Trailer Reveals a THOR Character Cameo

At San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Marvel’ head honcho’s Kevin Feige announced the MCU’s wild Phase Five lineup and even a little bit of Phase Six. The slate will introduce all new characters and stories, but it will also revisits some of the characters we know and love too—characters like Carol Danvers. Brie Larson will reprise the role of the hero in the Captain Marvel sequel, officially known as The Marvels, and she’ll be joined by Iman Vellani’s Ms. Marvel and Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau.

But there will also be other surprise guests in the movie. In previous The Marvels trailers, we got hints that a Thor character may cameo in the film. The iconic Asgardian bifrost appeared in one tease, and Captain Marvel noted, “I called a friend.” Now, thanks to the latest The Marvels trailer, we know that friend is none other than Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie. Valkyrie appears at the 1:37 mark to give Carol Danvers some advice. “You can stand tall, without standing alone.” She offers. And we truly do love to see it.

Fans have longed hoped there might be a spark beyond friendship between Valkyrie and Captain Marvel. And although we most likely won’t get a romance between the two in The Marvels, it will be nice to see Valkyrie cameo in the film.

This latest trailer for The Marvels also harkens back to the MCU’s past and Avengers Endgame, showing clips of Iron Man and Captain America—even giving Thanos a new line. In a voiceover, he warns, “My work is inevitable; there will always be more to finish it.” And then we cut to our latest MCU villain, The Marvels‘ Dar-Benn. The MCU heroes and foes of yore will probably live only in flashback, at least for now, but they do serve to set the scene and scope of the movie. The trills of the Avengers theme play very effectively.

Here’s everything we know about The Marvels.

Title

The Captain Marvel sequel is titled The Marvels.

The Marvels’  Plot

We don’t quite know what Brie Larson’s intergalactic warrior will be dealing with in her next venture. She became a full-fledged Avenger after the Snap, but she’s served more as a cosmic independent contractor than as one of Earth’s regular protectors. She was busy keeping the entire universe safe, only returning to Earth to help defeat Thanos. But a synopsis for The Marvels, along with its latest trailer, reveals more about what we can expect from the movie. It shares:

In Marvel Studios’ “The Marvels,” Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. But unintended consequences see Carol shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe. When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, and Carol’s estranged niece, now S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau. Together, this unlikely trio must team up and learn to work in concert to save the universe as “The Marvels.” 

Additionally, we know that, unlike the first Captain Marvel film, the sequel takes place in the present.

Behind the ScenesMarvel Studios

Candyman‘s Nia DaCosta will direct The Marvels. This is a change from the first film; Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck directed that one. In January 2023, Marvel revealed the film’s slate of writers including DaCosta, Megan McDonnell (WandaVision), Zeb Wells (Amazing Spider-Man comic series), and Elissa Karasik (Loki). All of these people are obviously well-versed in the Marvel universe, so we can expect this film to fall in line with our MCU norms.

The Marvels‘ Cast

Brie Larson will return. But who’s joining her? Iman Vellani, who played Ms. Marvel in a Disney+ TV series, will appear in The Marvels. Teyonah Parris, who plays a grown-up Monica Rambeau in WandaVision, will reprise her role for the sequel. Nick Fury will return too.

According to Deadline, Velvet Buzzsaw actress Zawe Ashton will play the villain in the film. We don’t yet know which character she’ll play. Park Seo-joon has also joined The Marvels‘ cast.

The Marvels‘ Release Date

The Marvels is scheduled for release on November 10, 2023.

Originally published on January 23, 2021.

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Huge LEGO Custom Build of Pirates of the Caribbean Ride Uses Real Water

Even over 50 years later, the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction remains one of the best dark rides in theme park history, and is still a fan favorite. The first version opened at Disneyland in 1967, and since then, they have recreated it in all the other Disney parks around the globe. Now, it has been recreated again. This time, in someone’s own home, only 120,000 LEGO bricks. The makers of this incredible LEGO build are brothers Joel and Jonathan Nueber, whose video they presented on the Beyond the Brick YouTube channel. And yes, this amazing LEGO build has real water. You can watch the full video right here:

The Nueber brothers mainly based their LEGO version of Pirates of the Caribbean on the one found in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The loading dock is similar to the one found there, which resembles an old Spanish Fort. The one at Disneyland has the name “Lafitte’s Landing,” named after the infamous pirate Jean Lafitte. But just about every famous scene found in the attraction found new life here in LEGO brick form. From the mysterious caverns with skeletal swashbucklers to the dreaded pirate ship The Wicked Wench. Yes, even the dog holding the key to the jail cell with the pirate prisoners is here.

Beyond the Brick

After the video showing the complete ride-through, there’s a side-by-side comparison with the original Disney Parks ride. And you can see how they thought of just about every detail. We’d love to see the video timed to the original soundtrack of the attraction at some point. Although it’s a small thing, we kind of love that one of the passengers is an Imperial Stormtrooper. Maybe he’s a cast member who came over from the LEGO version of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge? Now, we dare someone to make that in LEGO brick form! No really, we think that would be amazing. This LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean proved anything is possible.

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Is Loki One Giant TIME LOOP? | Loki Season 2 Episode 5

Welcome back to the TVA, Marvel fans! Time keeps on slippin’ in this week’s episode of Loki, as the group must deal with the aftermath of Victor Timely’s untimely pastafication. While the episode delivered some major answers, it also brought up an even bigger questions of the series’ timey-wimey secrets. Dan Casey hops on his jet ski in search of answers on today’s episode of Nerdist News!

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The MCU’s BLADE Movie Will Be R-Rated

We’ve known that a Blade movie is coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2019. Who can forget with the film’s star—Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali—put on a hat that said “BLADE!” and caused an excited uproar in San Diego Comic-Con’s Hall H?! Though there have been some ups and downs with this movie, hopefully, we’ll only see smooth sailing for our favorite vampire from here on out.

We don’t know too much about the movie yet; however, we now know that Blade will be rated R; the rating was recently confirmed by the movie’s director Yann Demange. Blade marks the second MCU movie to receive an R-rating, although we bet that it will be a very different R-rated experience than Deadpool 3. The rating opens up a whole new world of possibilities for the MCU movie and we can’t wait to see what how they will manifest.

Marvel Studios

Here’s everything we know about the upcoming Blade movie.

Title

The title of this movie is simple: Blade.

Blade‘s Plot

Right now, we don’t have any plot details for Blade. But, we can imagine the film will borrow from the character’s comic origins. Blade debuted in the tenth issue of Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula comic back in 1973, from writer Marv Wolfman and penciller Gene Colan. He quickly became a supremely popular character, a half-vampire killer of vampires and other occult baddies. Blade first made it to the big screen in 1998 starring Wesley Snipes. Two sequels followed—one of them good—but eventually, that franchise sort of fell by the wayside.

Behind the Scenes

Playwright Stacy Osei-Kuffour (Watchmen) wrote an early draft of the script. In 2021, Bassam Tariq confirmed he will direct the film via The Playlist podcast. However, Tariq has since left the project.

The director offered a brief statement about his experience with Blade.

Now Lovecraft Country‘s Yann Demange has come aboard as Blade‘s new director. In addition, Michael Starrbury wrote a new script for the vampiric movie. According to The Hollywood Reporter, True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto has recently joined the project to work off of Starrbury’s script.

Blade‘s CastMarvel Studios

As mentioned above, two-time Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali will play the daywalking half-vampire badass in the upcoming Blade movie. Meanwhile, Delroy Lindo is joining Ali in film. While we don’t formally know who Lindo is playing, we think he could be Jamal Afari, who in the comics raised Blade and taught him all about vampire slaying. As we saw (or rather, heard) at the end of Eternals, Kit Harington will cross paths with Blade, reprising his role as Dane Whitman.

Krypton actor Aaron Pierre has joined the cast of Blade in another undisclosed character. Unlike Lindo, however, this role will seemingly have bigger implications on the Marvel Cinematic Universe than just this one film. And Deadline has also reported that X and Pearl star Mia Goth will join the cast in an unspecified role.

Marvel ComicsBlade‘s Release Date

The Blade Marvel movie will arrive in theaters on February 14, 2025.

Originally published on July 20, 2019.

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ECHO Kicks off ‘Marvel Spotlight’ Banner for MCU Standalone Stories

The recent trailer for Marvel Studios’ Echo blew everyone away with its return to the gritty realism of the former Netflix shows like Daredevil. But beyond that, we recently learned another piece of fascinating information about the series. Echo will be the first in a new series of MCU projects using the label Marvel Spotlight. Marvel even unveiled a logo for this new initiative, which you can see below. If a project is released under the Marvel Spotlight banner, it will signal to fans that they don’t need to watch all, or in fact, any other MCU projects to be able to understand what’s going on in that series or movie. According to Marvel’s Brad Winderbaum, here’s what the Marvel Spotlight banner really means:

Marvel Spotlight gives us a platform to bring more grounded, character-driven stories to the screen, and in the case of Echo, focusing on street-level stakes over larger MCU continuity. Just like comics fans didn’t need to read Avengers or Fantastic Four to enjoy a Ghost Rider Spotlight comic, our audience doesn’t need to have seen other Marvel series to understand what’s happening in Maya’s story.

Marvel Studios

The massive MCU continuity, once its greatest strength, is viewed by many now as a hindrance. Casual fans feel there are too many MCU projects to catch up and watch the latest offering and understand it. Hopefully, the Marvel Spotlight arm will make it easier for fans, allowing the MCU to make projects that don’t require any previous knowledge. Even in the comics, tight continuity eventually goes from a strength to a weakness. This is why both Marvel and DC have done “fresh slate” takes on characters when it all gets too overwhelming.

Marvel Studios

We don’t know which Marvel Studios project will be next to get the Marvel Spotlight treatment. But since they mentioned Ghost Rider, we might interpret that as a hint. Certainly, Ghost Rider is a character that can exist without mentioning other MCU heroes or having any prior knowledge. Also, when Blade finally hits theaters, it seems like the perfect choice to arrive under the Marvel Spotlight banner. The first Marvel Spotlight series Echo, starring Alaqua Cox in the title role, hits Disney+ and Hulu on January 10, 2024.

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DOCTOR WHO 2023 Holiday Special Reveals Title and Release Date

Doctor Who sprinted back onto television in 2005 after a lengthy hiatus. Since then, the show has been running full steam ahead with several Doctors and companions traversing time and space for mind-blowing adventures. This year, fans will celebrate sixty years of Doctor Who with a slate of anniversary specials that end with us meeting the show’s Fifteenth Doctor. Ncuti Gatwa is set to helm the greatest sci-fi series of all-time and it is going to be a blast. Doctor Who series 14 will reset the series once again with another “clean slate,” bringing in fresh faces and familiar creatives to kick off a new era.

We’ll get our first adventure with Gatwa on Christmas Day of 2023. Doctor Who‘s holiday special will air on December 25, 2023. In the United States, it will stream on Disney+. And recently, the streamer revealed the name of Ncuti Gatwa’s first Christmas special in a release sharing its holiday line-up. Disney+ shared that the Doctor Who Holiday Special will be called “The Church on Ruby Road.” Sounds like it this festive episode will feature the Doctor’s new companion Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson. We’re excited to see how the two finally get to meet.

BBC

Here’s everything we know about Doctor Who series 14 so far. 

Doctor Who Series 14’s Plot 

Doctor Who? Plot? What does that mean? I am kidding. We can only assume that this season of Doctor Who will function like the others with a mix of episodic plots, two-parters, a few ongoing threads as the TARDIS team gels together, and some sort of seasonal arc. Based on a few outfits we have seen so far, we know that the Fourteenth Doctor will travel to several time periods in the past. This season will be short, however, with just eight episode and a Christmas special. 

BBCBehind the Scenes 

Russell T Davies is returning as Doctor Who’s showrunner and a writer in season 14. He was previously the showrunner during the show’s early revival years from 2005-2010. Mark Tonderai, who directed Rosa, will return to direct a couple of episodes, too. Other directors include Dylan Holmes Williams, Julie Anne Robinson, Ben Chessell, and Jamie Donoughue. This is the first season that the show will be produced by Bad Wolf, Ltd. Filming for the series concluded in July 2023. 

Doctor Who Series 14’s Cast 

Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson will lead the series as the Fourteenth Doctor and Ruby Sunday, respectively. And, as always with Doctor Who, there will be a lot of guest stars. Bonnie Langford will reprise her role as the Classic era companion Mel Bush. Jemma Redgrave will return as UNIT leader Kate Stewart. Drag Race star Jinx Monsoon will portray the Doctor’s “most powerful enemy yet,” Lenny Rush will play a character named Morris, Jonathan Groff will also take on a key role in the season.

Here is your first look at @JinkxMonsoon in character… as the Doctor’s most powerful enemy yet! #DoctorWho pic.twitter.com/HndwI1nhW2

— Doctor Who (@bbcdoctorwho) April 19, 2023

India Varma (Torchwood) is taking on a new role as the Duchess. Of course, there are other actors like Anita Dobson and Michelle Greenridge are taking on undisclosed roles. Hopefully we will know more about them as the season nears. 

BBC/Disney Branded TelevisionDoctor Who Series 14’s Release Date 

Doctor Who season 14 will hit the BBC and Disney+ sometime in 2024, following Ncuti Gatwa’s first full episode in a Christmas 2023 special which will air on Christmas Day. 

Originally published on July 20, 2023.

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DREAM SCENARIO Delivers Another Outstanding Nicolas Cage Performance

Nicolas Cage has always been a weird but captivating screen presence. Once people stopped trying to make him a bland action leading man, his talent has truly come to the fore. But unlike some other quirky actors—Christopher Walken for years; Jeff Goldblum more recently—who just get by on their familiar mannerisms, Cage continually tries new and different characters. Naturally he brings his trademark Cageyness to everything, but is recent filmography is supremely varied. From the brutal rage-filled Mandy to grizzled loner in Pig, to Count Dracula himself in Renfield. In Dream Scenario, Cage gives another outstanding performance playing one of his least likely characters.

A24

Norwegian writer-director Kristoffer Borgli’s latest follows 2022’s Sick of Myself, a nasty satire about fame in the vapid socialite scene. Here, he gives us the altogether more fantastical premise of shared dreams and instant, unearned fame, notoriety, hatred, and oblivion. Cage plays Paul Matthews, a college professor, husband, and father who longs for more recognition in his chosen field. A nice enough guy full of the all-too common 2023 problem of middle-class man-anger. Suddenly, he finds himself the center of a bizarre phenomenon wherein he is present in everybody’s dreams. Doesn’t matter the dream, doesn’t matter if the dreamer has ever met him before, he’s just there. Though outwardly uninterested in this instant pseudo-stardom, Paul begins to relish the recognition that comes along with being the man of everyone’s literal dreams.

Paul’s wife Janet (Julianne Nicholson) has zero interest in any of this. She wants Paul to just ignore it, but as more and more people want to figure out some way to monetize him, he lets all the trappings go to his head. Finally people will take him seriously, finally he won’t be looked over. Unfortunately that’s right when Paul stops being a passerby—or sexual object—in the dreams and becomes the monster in everyone’s nightmares. What does that do to people? What does that do to the nightmare man?

A24

It’s around this point in Dream Scenario that the central metaphor starts to break down for me. Paul starts to be much less the everyman and more just an a-hole who plays the victim. It feels very of-the-moment, surely, but ignores the kind of fantastical-meets-mundane elements that won me over early on. Not that Paul was ever particularly likeable, but it became much more a case of “Ugh, this effin’ guy” every time he did something. Maybe that’s the point, but it wasn’t what grabbed me early on. Despite the 100-minute runtime, it started to drag on at around the hour mark.

This is not to say it’s not an interesting movie still, nor that Cage and the rest of the cast aren’t excellent. He is, and they are. Cage’s idiosyncrasies add such a weird layer to Paul Matthews, and Paul feels like he’s putting on socially acceptable masks to hide all of his many insecurities. Masking is, of course, quite common for those with autism. Overall, Cage plays such a great dingus with a mean streak. It’s his most best, assured performance since Adaptation.

A24

Nicholson is superb as the most normal person in the movie, and you totally buy her struggle between loving this man and getting increasingly irritated with the whole situation. Their relationship needs to work for the movie to work, and it does by and large. Michael Cera and Kate Berlant play members of a digital marketing team who hope to represent Paul in something. As someone who works on the internet, their breed of trying to shoehorn products into whatever client they have hit very close to the mark. Tim Meadows has a smaller role as the dean of the college and Paul’s friend and I wish he had more to do because he’s terrific as always.

Dream Scenario has one of the best and freshest premises I’ve seen in a movie in a while and while I didn’t need it to go absolutely wild in the third act like Ari Aster’s Beau Is Afraid or anything, it felt like it had the opposite problem and petered out. (Incidentally, Aster is a producer on Dream Scenario.) I wish I could have loved this movie outright, but it’s still a great showcase for one of Hollywood’s most reliably out-there actors and worth your time.

Dream Scenario ⭐ (3 of 5)

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.

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Max Legacy Ad-Free Plan Subscribers Will Lose Access to 4K Streams and One Device

We’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times, and we’ll probably say it again tomorrow. Every day streamers are complicating lives for their subscribers in a bid to increase their bottom line. So far, we’ve seen streaming price increases, password-sharing crackdowns, and ad tiers by the fistful. But now, a new shadow looms over the streaming landscape, and that’s feature reductions. It doesn’t have quite the impact of asking a user to pay more money. But in some ways, this shift feels more menacing. In a new chessboard move, Max recently began letting its legacy ad-free subscribers know that if they didn’t shift to a more expensive plan, they’d soon lose access to some features. Specifically, Max shared that users who subscribed to its standard ad-free plan would no longer have access to 4K titles and would be able to concurrently stream Max on one less device.

Max

Per Variety, Max noted the following in an email, “On your next billing date, on or after December 5, 2023, the price of your subscription will stay the same, but some of your plan features will change… You can still stream all your favorite blockbuster movies, fresh originals and iconic series. Or even switch to the Ultimate Ad-Free plan to unlock more features.”

No price change sounds nice in theory, but subscription features “changing” isn’t actually much better. Because, of course, by changing Max really means some features of a subscriber’s plan will be removed. For Max legacy users subscribed to the standard ad-free plan, currently priced at $15.99/month, this means losing some useful aspects of their subscription. A subscription which will still cost a chunk of change. Namely, subscribers will no longer be able to watch 4K Ultra HD movies or TV shows on Max. Additionally, Max will also remove one concurrent stream from the standard ad-free plan. Previously users could stream Max on three devices at one time, and now they will only be able to stream on two. For now, the amount of titles a user can download on this Max subscription plan (30) remains unchanged.

HBO

To unlock these features once again, Max suggests upgrading to its Ultimate Ad-Free plan. This plan will return the 4K Ultra HD video quality to the table, as well as Dolby Atmos audio quality. It will also allow a user to concurrently stream Max on up to four devices. Of course, this shift does come with a price increase. Max’s Ultimate Ad-Free plan costs $19.99. And while that doesn’t seem like much overall, we expect this isn’t the last time we’ll see features being removed from a plan in the hopes of driving users to a more expensive one.

Godspeed, streamers.

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