It goes without saying that the state of DC superhero movies isn’t great. Whether it’s good movies like “The Flash” and “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” or a not so good movie like “Blue Beetle”, Warner Bros. is struggling to find an audience for their DC releases (there are several frustrating reasons why, but I’ll save that for another day). “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” seeks to remedy that. Its predecessor made over $1.1 billion at the box office. It’s hard to see the sequel matching those numbers.

All that downer stuff aside, I really liked the first Aquaman and all I want from its follow-up is more of the same fun and wacky flavor. The long-awaited first trailer certainly promises that. Director James Wan and screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick return, as does the film’s fun-loving star Jason Momoa, reprising his role as Arthur Curry. Also returning is Patrick Wilson as Arthur’s brother Orm and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the revenge-fueled Black Manta. Temuera Morrison, Nicole Kidman, and Amber Heard are also back. I really like this gonzo first look, and I hope the movie is as crazy as it looks.

“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” swims into theaters on December 20th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is celebrating the 50th anniversary of William Friedkin’s 1973 horror classic “The Exorcist” with a new feature-rich 4K Ultra High Definition Blu-ray edition. It’s the first time the supernatural horror thriller has released in 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range. The beloved film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture (a first for a horror movie) and its influence is still being felt in the worlds of cinema and pop culture.

This terrific 4K UHD Blu-ray edition of “The Exorcist” will release on September 19th. See below for a full synopsis and release information.

Official Synopsis

Year: 1973

Runtime: 122 Minutes

Director: William Friedkin

Screenwriter: William Peter Blatty

Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran, Jason Miller, William O’Malley, Peter Masterson, Barton Heyman, Rudolf Schundler, Robert Symonds, Gina Petrushka, Arthur Storch, Thomas Bermingham, Titos Vandis

From the Studio:

Directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by Academy Award winner William Peter Blatty, the film is based on Blatty’s 1971 novel of the same name. “The Exorcist” stars Academy Award winner Ellen Burstyn (“Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore”), Academy Award nominee Max von Sydow (“Pelle the Conqueror”, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”), Academy Award nominee Lee J. Cobb (“On the Waterfront”, “The Brothers Karamazov”), Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowan, Academy Award nominee Jason Miller, and Academy Award nominee Linda Blair. 

Widely regarded as a supernatural masterpiece, the film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director as well as acting nominations for Burstyn, Miller and Blair.  The film won two Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay for Blatty.

In 2010, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

“The Exorcist” tells the now-famous story of a girl’s demonic possession, and a gripping fight between good and evil. Linda Blair, in a breakout role, plays Regan, a young girl who starts to exhibit strange, arcane behavior. Her mother (Burstyn) calls upon a priest, Father Karras (Miller), to investigate. But Karras, who has a spiritual crisis of his own, is suddenly confronted with the unimaginable evil of Regan’s possession. Father Lankester Merrin (Von Sydow), an archeologist-priest, is called to help, and a horrific battle for her soul begins.

The Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs include both the 1973 theatrical version of the film and the 2000 Extended Director’s Cut of the film which features eleven additional minutes of footage not seen in theaters.

Bonus Features:

“The Exorcist” Ultra HD Blu-ray disc (theatrical version) contains the following previously released special features:

• Introduction by William Friedkin
• Commentary by William Friedkin
• Commentary by William Peter Blatty with Special Sound Effects

“The Exorcist” Digital release (theatrical version) contains the following previously released special features:

• Commentary by William Friedkin
• Commentary by William Peter Blatty with Special Sound Effects Tests
• Introduction by William Friedkin
• “The Fear of God: 25 Years of the Exorcist”
• Original Ending
• William Peter Blatty Interviews
  • “The Original Cut”
  • “Stairway to Heaven”
  • “The Final Reckoning”
• “Sketches & Storyboards”
• TV Spots
  • “Beyond Comprehension”
  • “You Too Can See the Exorcist”
  • “Between Science & Superstition”
  • “The Movie You’ve Been Waiting For”
  • “Nobody Expected It”
  • “Life Had Been Good”
• Trailers
  • “Nobody Expected It”
  • “Beyond Comprehension”
  • “Flash Image”

“The Exorcist” Extended Director’s Cut Ultra HD Blu-ray disc contains the following previously released special features:

• Commentary by William Friedkin

“The Exorcist” Extended Director’s Cut Digital release contains the following previously released special features:

• Commentary by William Friedkin
• “Beyond Comprehension: William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist”
• “Talk of the Devil”
• “Raising Hell: Filming The Exorcist”
• “The Exorcist Locations: Georgetown Then and Now”
• “Faces of Evil: The Different Versions of The Exorcist”
• Radio Spots
  • “The Devil Himself”
  • “Our Deepest Fears”
• TV Spots
  • “Most Electrifying”
  • “Scariest Ever”
  • “Returns”
  • “Never Seen”
• Trailers
  • “The Version You’ve Never Seen”
  • “Our Deepest Fears”

The Arkansas Cinema Society and the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts has announced that writer-director Jeff Nichols will be bringing his new movie “The Bikeriders” to Filmland 2023. A live Q+A with the filmmaker will immediately follow the screening. Hot off of its August 31st world premiere at the 50th Telluride Film Festival, the star-studded American drama will screen for Filmland attendees on Sunday, October 15th. “The Bikeriders” opens in theaters nationwide on December 1st by 20th Century Studios.

Here’s more from the Arkansas Cinema Society’s official press release…

LITTLE ROCK, Oct. 15, 2023 – SAVE THE DATE!!!! Fresh off of its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, Jeff Nichols marks a triumphant return with his latest work, “The Bikeriders”. Don’t miss what Variety calls “pure Americana” and a “luscious period drama” when the Arkansas Cinema Society and the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts host a special pre-release presentation of the film on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. Jeff will attend the event and participate in a Q+A following the film.

Drew Taylor from The Wrap spoke with Jeff about The Bikeriders, the Arkansas Cinema Society and Filmland! Read this exclusive interview, hot-off-the-press, here!

“We launched ACS as a platform for Arkansas filmmakers to showcase their work so it’s an honor to bring my latest work to Filmland at the new Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts for one of the first screenings in the U.S.,” Jeff said. “The Bikeriders is a story that’s very personal to me and has been with me since my brother first gave me the book of Danny Lyon’s photographs. I can’t wait to share this one with all of my friends and family back home—see you in October.”

GET READY FOR TWO WEEKENDS OF FILMLAND!

We’ve got Filmland: Arkansas on Oct. 6-7th and Filmland 2023 taking place Oct. 13-17th at AMFA, located at 501 E. Ninth St. in Little Rock. ACS has added the extra dates to welcome Jeff home for this special screening of The Bikeriders and other top films coming you can’t see anywhere else! So, if The Hollywood Reporter is right and Jodie Comer snags an Oscar nomination for this one, you can tell your friends, “I saw it at Filmland first!”

Tickets go on sale in the coming weeks.  Visit filmland.org for more info.

Filmland is made possible by ACS Premiere Sponsor – the Tyson Family Foundation; Presenting Sponsors – Courtyard by Marriott–Little Rock Downtown and the Rahman Family Fund; and Executive Producer Sponsors – City of Little Rock, The Arkansas Arts Council, Slim Chickens, The Stella Boyle Smith Trust, and Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau.

About “The Bikeriders”

From writer-director Jeff Nichols (Loving, Midnight Special, Mud), 20th Century Studios and New Regency, The Bikeriders is a furious drama following the rise of a fictional 1960s Midwestern motorcycle club through the lives of its members, starring Jodie Comer (Killing Eve, The Last Duel), Austin Butler (Elvis) and Tom Hardy (Mad Max: Fury Road, The Revenant).
 
Inspired by Danny Lyon’s iconic book of photography, The Bikeriders immerses you in the look, feel, and sounds of the bare-knuckled, grease-covered subculture of ’60s motorcycle riders. Kathy (Comer), a strong-willed member of the Vandals who’s married to a wild, reckless bikerider named Benny (Butler), recounts the Vandals’ evolution over the course of a decade, beginning as a local club of outsiders united by good times, rumbling bikes, and respect for their strong, steady leader Johnny (Hardy). Over the years, Kathy tries her best to navigate her husband’s untamed nature and his allegiance to Johnny, with whom she feels she must compete for Benny’s attention. As life in the Vandals gets more dangerous, and the club threatens to become a more sinister gang, Kathy, Benny and Johnny are forced to make choices about their loyalty to the club and to each other.
 
The cast, most of whom did their own riding on an array of period-correct bikes, also includes Michael Shannon (Bullet Train), Mike Faist (West Side Story), Boyd Holbrook (Logan) and Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead). Sarah Green, p.g.a., Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, p.g.a. and Arnon Milchan are the producers. Yariv Milchan, Michael Schaefer, Sam Hanson, David Kern and Fred Berger are the executive producers.

About Jeff Nichols

Born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Jeff Nichols is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts’ School of Filmmaking. Nichols wrote and directed the internationally acclaimed features Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter, Mud, Midnight Special, and Loving. His films have won numerous awards at festivals around the world. In 2022, he served as a juror for the Cannes International Film Festival. He currently resides in Austin, Texas.

Finally! 20th Century Studios has given us the official trailer to one of my most anticipated movies from one of my very favorite filmmakers. “The Bikeriders” sees writer and director Jeff Nichols (“Take Shelter”, Mud”, “Loving”) assembling a stellar cast that includes Austin Butler, Jodie Comer, Tom Hardy, Mike Faist, Norman Reedus, Boyd Holbrook, and Nichols favorite Michael Shannon. How can you not be excited with that kind of talent in front and behind the camera.

Set in the 1960s, the movie features Comer’s Kathy recounting her days with a biker gang known as the Vandals. During that time she fell in love with a young hellion named Benny (Butler) but soon found herself at odds with Benny’s older brother, Johnny (Hardy), the leader of the Vandals. The trailer teases us with a gripping and ultimately violent story carved out of the 1960s biker culture. This looks great!

“The Bikeriders” wheels into theaters on December 1st. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

A good reader reminded me that I had let the new trailer for “Ferrari” slip by me. With the festival circuit churning out new surprises nearly every day and awards season right around the corner, studios are hitting us with one exciting first-look after another. Among them is indeed “Ferrari”, the long awaited next film from director Michael Mann (“Thief”, “The Last of the Mohicans”, “Heat”). The biographical drama/thriller is fresh off its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival and is set release this holiday.

Based on the 1991 biography “Enzo Ferrari: The Man and the Machine” by Brock Yates, the movie sees Adam Driver playing the titular Italian race car driver and entrepreneur. It features the prestigious Mille Miglia race and the tragedy that occurred during its 1957 run. Judging from the new trailer, it looks like Mann will be showing the reverberations from that terrible accident, both professional and personal. Penelope Cruz portrays Ferrari’s wife Laura while Shailene Woodley plays his mistress, Lina. This film has a ton of potential.

“Ferrari” is scheduled to release in theaters on December 25th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

As we wait for the next Godzilla installment in Warner Brothers’ Monsterverse, the original creators of the iconic King of the Monsters return with a new movie starring the world’s most famous kaiju. “Godzilla Minus One” is written, directed, and features visual effects by Japanese filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki and is distributed by Toho Co., Ltd. It’s the 33rd Godzilla movie (the first released in 1954). Toho Studios and Robot have released a new teaser trailer and poster in preparation for the film’s upcoming release.

Fans can rejoice because from the looks of it Godzilla is returning to his roots, with the beast again being used as a means to explore the societally and economically devastated postwar Japan. Yet while it has that on its mind, the new teaser also shows us lots of kaiju action and destruction. The effects look fantastic and Godzilla seems to have a fun big city sandbox to play in. Should be fun.

“Godzilla Minus One” will release on November 3rd in Japan and December 1st in the United States. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.