Lionsgate is responsible for the production and distribution of numerous films of various genres. Many of their films are action based films, but they have a number of mystery films as well. Most recently, Lionsgate released ‘Knives Out,’ a mystery thriller from Rian Johnson that tells a whodunit kind of story. Now, coming soon, is another mystery thriller film called ‘The Quarry’ which tells the story of a town sheriff and a drifter.
‘The Quarry’ tells the story of a drifter who was responsible for the murdering of a traveling preacher. He then travels to a small town and poses as the man he killed. The congregation that he ends up amassing in the town love his sermons about forgiveness, but not everyone trusts him. The local police chief doesn’t trust the words of the mysterious drifter and definitely thinks there is more to him. Soon, a discovery at the local quarry forces the drifter to fight for freedom.
The stars of ‘The Quarry’ are Shea Whigham, Michael Shannon, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Bobby Soto, and Bruno Bichir. The movie was written and directed by director Scott Teems. It was also written by Andrew Brontzman based on The Quarry by Damon Galgut. The film was produced by Laura D. Smith and Kristin Mann. It will release in select theaters and On Demand on April 17th, 2020.
As of now, on March 16th, it has been announced that movie theaters will be closing in New York City and Los Angeles due to Covid-19 concerns. They are being forced to close due to the fact they are massive, densely populated cities. However, they will not be the only ones closed for long since the number of cases is rising. Talks of theaters closing all over the country are happening just like how there are talks of all public gathering places being shut down. Given how quickly and easily this virus spreads, that is definitely the best option on the table at the moment. Luckily, this isn’t really much of an issue.
Covid-19 is a virus that can be deadly in the same way other viruses can be deadly; it can lead to more and more complications. Steps are already in place to keep more people from getting infected and the closing of public venues is part of it. Theaters are among a number of places which are obviously dangerous when it comes to the spreading of disease. People need to be safe and this is the best way of doing so; by forcing people not to gather in large groups, the risk of infection spreading lowers which ostensibly lowers the risk of high risk people dying.
People can keep safe by washing their hands and avoiding direct contact with others. A vaccine is currently being developed and tested in clinical trials, and hopefully with results soon to follow. Although the number of cases will only increase as time goes on, people shouldn’t panic as much as they have been. Sure, it isn’t easy to not be anxious about it because we think of it as being this horrific disease. Don’t let that make you decide on stupid or panicky decisions.
For instance, try to avoid public places like the government wants you to do and if you have to go out, then be careful. Take the theaters and other public places closing as a safety warning and take steps to avoid spread of the disease. The upcoming increase in isolation can be taxing, but it is necessary and we can take that time to focus on other things in our personal lives while we’re at it. People should take the opportunity to take advantage of the isolation and don’t worry because eventually everything will open back up again.
Pixar is known for churning out all different kinds of 3-D animated films with relative success. The premises of these films are almost always unique and tell stories that keep people engaged. While these movies are marketed towards children, they are meant to be watched by people of all ages. They will make any adult be able to find their inner child and can bring emotions out of everyone. Most recently, Pixar released the movie ‘Onward’ which received favorable reviews and not too long from now they will be releasing another film.
‘Soul’ tells the story of Joe Gardner, a middle school music teacher who has dreamed of performing jazz music onstage. Eventually, he manages to get a chance to impress other musicians with an opening act at the Half Note Club. Not all things are meant to last when, in an accident, his soul ends up seperated from his body. His soul is sent to The Great Before, a world where souls develop personalities, quirks, and traits before being sent off to Earth. Gardner must work with souls in The Great Before in order to return to Earth before he can’t return anymore.
‘Soul’ stars Jamie Foxx, Tina Fey, Questlove, Phylicia Rashad, Daveed Diggs, and Angela Bassett. The movie is directed by Pete Docter who also worked on Monsters, Inc., Up, and Inside Out. Docter also wrote the screenplay for the film along with Tina Fey, Kemp Powers, and Mike Jones. ‘Soul’ is being produced by Dana Murray who also produced the short ‘Lou’ for which she was co-nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. ‘Soul’ will officially release on June 19th, 2020.
There are plenty of ways in which men get involved in a life of crime, and a lot of the time it isn’t necessarily what they want to do with their lives. With that being said, those men can take a situation that they didn’t want a part of and turn it into something greater. ‘Arkansas’ is a film that is going to show us how two men are drawn into a fight they never wanted simply by making a few bad decisions. This draws them into the cross-hairs of the man they originally worked for.
‘Arkansas’ tells the story two men, Kyle and Swin, posing as junior park rangers during the day, they are actually low-level drug couriers by night. Working for drug-lord Frog, the two are constantly watched over by his proxies. Swin ends up settling into his day job and ends up in a relationship with Johanna. Kyle, on the other hand, decides to look into Frog who they haven’t ever met before. With Kyle investigating him and Swin standing out despite being told not to, Frog decides to target the two of them, mistakenly thinking they are a threat to his empire.
‘Arkansas’ stars Liam Hemsworth (Kyle), Clark Duke (Swin), Michael Kenneth Williams (Almond), Vivica A. Fox (Her), Eden Brolin (Johnna), Chandler Duke (Nick), with John Malkovich (Bright), and Vince Vaughn (Frog). This film is Clark Duke’s directorial debut and he also helped write and produce the film. The movie is also being produced by Patrick Hibler, Jeff Rice, and Martin Sprock. Duke wrote the screenplay for the movie alongside Andrew Boonkrong based off the novel by John Brandon. The movie releases on May 1, 2020 (In Select Theaters, on Apple, Amazon, and On Demand platforms) and on May 5, 2020 (Blu-ray™ and DVD).
With Covid-19 being declared a pandemic, this past weekend didn’t really bring much at the box office.
1. Onward– ‘Onward’ only brought in $10.5 million for a gross total of $60.3 million, though I’d like to think it would have brought in a lot more.
2. I Still Believe– Among a few movies that released this past weekend, ‘I Still Believe’ did the best with a gross of $9.5 million.
3. Bloodshot– In its opening weekend, ‘Bloodshot’ followed close behind ‘I Still Believe’ with $9.3 million for a gross total of $10.5 million.
4. The Invisible Man– ‘The Invisible Man’ goes into its third weekend having brought in $6.0 million for a total of $64.4 million.
5. The Hunt– Like a few other movies that released this past weekend, ‘The Hunt’ probably didn’t bring in as much as it normally would have with $5.3 million for a total of $5.8 million.
6. Sonic the Hedgehog– Like other affected movies, ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ only brought in $2.6 million for a gross amount of $145.8 million.
7. The Way Back– ‘The Way Back’ didn’t do so well in its second week with $2.4 million for a total of $13.4 million.
8. The Call of the Wild– At the end of its first month, ‘The Call of the Wild’ brought in $2.2 million for a gross total of $62.1 million.
9. Emma.– ‘Emma’ is continuing to not do very well with only $1.4 million for a total of $10.0 million one month after initial release.
10. Bad Boys for Life– After this past weekend, ‘Bad Boys for Life’ still sold out a few seats with $1.1 million for a total of $204.3 million.
By George Robbins
[usr 4.7]
First off, to go on record, I would like to just simply put it out there that I loved this movie and don’t have many negative things to say about it. Even though I say that there are negative things, the movie builds a unique and well-spoken narrative and those things don’t mean much. ‘Onward’ tells a story about family bonding, but with a twist. After all, it isn’t often in movies that casts are full of characters made up of magical beings or creatures. Pixar movies usually consist of those things, but this is kind of new, even for them. The only issues I had with the film revolve around the fact that the plot seems a bit similar to other Pixar movie plots. This might just be because I am old enough to see a lot of consistent tropes in films, especially Pixar films.
‘Onward’ was, of course, going to be a film that was respected solely based off the talent that was brought in for the voice acting. With Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Octavia Spencer appearing together in the film, it was bound to do well. The credit for the movie’s success goes to everyone who worked on it as well, of course including director Dan Scanlon who joined Pixar in 2001 and most recently directed ‘Monsters University.’ The art and animation team working on the film are the ones who made it all possible and regardless of what anyone thinks of the plot, the movie itself is animated beautifully.
There is not a single shadow of a doubt that the film wouldn’t be an artistic beauty of a film, because Pixar always improves upon their previous films. Either that or they keep up their standard that keeps them at the top of their game. The character design lends to the world around them, and that world is simply designed with its own atmosphere. A magical world where technology is the main way that people live their lives instead of actual magic is an interesting concept. With character design in mind, I think the casting was nailed down perfectly. The main duo of the film play off one another so well because their voice actors, Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, played so well off one another. Their brotherly dynamic feels like it is real and feels like it comes off the screen.
The dynamic between the two main characters ends up taking the film in a direction many may not have expected. I feel like this next bit will be a massive spoiler, so it is safe to bail now. While many may have expected the film to be about a journey for two brothers to find a way to see their deceased father one last time, it is actually a story about two brothers bonding on a journey they never would have expected to be on. Main character Ian, played by Holland, discovers that the people you have always known are more important than the ones you may want to know. This film is one that made me appreciate the story it told and the messages it was trying to convey. It will definitely go down as one of my favorite films from Pixar because it just felt like a good- heartwarming film by the end.
Get Some Strange!
