Keanu Reeves' John Wick 3 Circuit Workout Actually Looks Pretty Easy

Keanu Reeves' John Wick 3 Circuit Workout Actually Looks Pretty Easy

Keanu Reeves is one of those action stars who does most of his own stunts, and that was the case again for John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, which is coming out in two weeks. The John Wick films are "very hard on his body," trainer Patrick Murphy said. That makes sense, since John Wick is literally on the run for his life in Parabellum, and he's had to fight and shoot his way out of every situation in each movie. It's exhausting to even think about.

So trainer Patrick Murphy's job was to come up with a John Wick workout routine that would build up 54-year-old Keanu Reeves's muscle endurance without overtaxing him.

The result was a non-stop "circuit" workout that just keeps going, like John Wick himself. That said, based on the list of activities -- and the video Men's Health shared showing off the workout -- it actually seems doable for Average People like me. (Hopefully Keanu Reeves doesn't pull a John Wick and shoot me for suggesting his workout was easy. I just expected it to be something darn near impossible -- or at least as crazy as his impressive weapons training.)

Here's the routine Patrick Murphy created for Keanu Reeves, per Men's Health:

(Perform 20 reps of each exercise consecutively as a circuit, with as little rest as possible between moves. After finishing the round, rest for 2 minutes. Repeat for 6 total rounds.)

• Reverse Lunge Front DB Raise

• Bosu Lunge Shoulder Press

• Reverse-Step Resistance Band Row

• Squat with TRX Shoulder Iso-Hold

• Stability Ball Dynamic Plank

• Banded Lateral Walk Pallof Press

As Patrick Murphy explained of Keanu Reeves' routine to get fit for John Wick 3:

I would fit in, within the hour and a half, five to six circuits. Just think of Keanu Reeves performing a thousand reps a workout, minimal rest, and it was just go time. ... He wasn't lifting crazy heavy weights -- it was getting his body moving, getting his muscular endurance and stability -- it was just a mindset. He would leave the gym exhausted, but feeling great. Where his body got beat up was in all those scenes [filming the movie].

For a visual, here's the video with trainer Patrick Murphy showing some of the routine:

Keanu Reeves apparently has a history of injuries, so they wanted to be careful with that and not stress his body too much. But he still had a lot to do in John Wick 3 -- running, shooting, horseback riding, apparently even climbing some sand dunes in Morocco.

Franchise newcomer Halle Berry said she actually got injured trying to keep up with Keanu Reeves. She broke three ribs in rehearsals and needed a break. But after her own intense stunt work was all over -- including training with her character Sofia's own dogs -- she felt pretty badass herself.

Here's one of the training videos she recently shared on Instagram:

As she put it, through panting:

This is how hard you have to work in order to be in the John Wick world.

In Halle Berry's wrap post, after finishing her role, she emphasized that age is just an insignificant number. She and Keanu Reeves might be in their 50s, but they can kick ass like any 20-something.

So far it sounds like fans appreciate the results. Early reactions to John Wick: Chapter 3 have been very positive. The movie opens May 17. Keanu Reeves said he's up for continuing the John Wick franchise "as far as my legs can take me," so hopefully he keeps his legs in good shape for more.

Avengers: Endgame Is Still Hiding A Character We Think Is Going To Be Pretty Important

Avengers: Endgame Is Still Hiding A Character We Think Is Going To Be Pretty Important

We have a brand new trailer for Avengers: Endgame to pour over and while it does a great job hiding a lot of information, it's what is being hidden that has us curious. We know the Avengers have a hail mary play in mind to save half the world, but we have no idea what it is. We got to see glimpse all of the remaining heroes in the new film, except for one. The trailer gives us a single shot of Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner, and nothing of his big green friend, the Incredible Hulk.

At the end of Avengers: Infinity War Bruce Banner was having something of an anger management problem, which is to say he wasn't able to get his anger to produce the intended result. Hulk was refusing to surface for reasons that even Bruce Banner didn't understand. For a guy who, in the previous Marvel movie, Thor: Ragnarok, was afraid he might never be able to change back if he ever became Hulk again, this was quite a switch.

Exactly what the issue is, and how Bruce Banner overcomes it, will likely be the character's primary story arc throughout Avengers: Endgame. We know this. We also know, with near certainty, that he will overcome it. We know, as much as we can know anything, that the Hulk will return. So why are the trailers keeping this fact hidden?

This new trailer gives literally one shot, the image above, of Bruce Banner, and nothing else. He's not suited up with the team at the end, or if he is, that image wasn't shown. If he's not with the rest of the team, where is he?

The trailer only confirmed in those final moments that Tony Stark and Nebula will, in fact, make it back to Earth to rejoin the rest of our heroes. It gave us that, which was another moment that we "knew" would happen, but had previously been kept secret. It's ok that we know this, because we still don't know how they'll make it back, and that's the part that's truly interesting. The trailer could have done the same thing with Hulk, letting us know that he will be back, but without telling us how.

When the Avengers: Infinity War trailers never showed us Hawkeye, we wondered if there was a reason. It turned out the reason was, because he wasn't in the film. We can be fairly sure that's not the case here. There was a story set up in the last movie that needs to be fulfilled in this one.

There certainly are numerous possible explanations as to why Hulk is being hidden. Perhaps he only appears at a moment in the story that the Russo Brothers want to keep off the screen. Showing Hulk in any shot of a trailer could potentially give away too much. Perhaps any hint as to the method of his return could give away a key aspect of the larger story.

While Marvel has always been good about not giving away too many spoilers, the franchise's trailers don't mind giving away big moments if they're the sort of thing that drum up excitement. How cool would it have been if you'd never seen Hulk in the Thor: Ragnarok trailers and the first moment you did was on the big screen? So why isn't Hulk getting similar treatment here?

It feels like the reason has to be a big one. They could be teasing us with Hulk's return, instead, it seems like they want us to forget he exists.

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Director Has A Wild Vision For A Spinoff

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Director Has A Wild Vision For A Spinoff

Five years after Godzilla was rebooted by Hollywood, the franchise goes into full gear this weekend with the release of Godzilla: King of the Monsters. The movie will see the return of the iconic Kaiju as he faces off with three behemoth titans: Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah. Legendary’s MonsterVerse is expanding!

Godzilla: King of the Monsters director and co-writer Mike Dougherty pitched a clever new way to present the rich mythology of these titans during a recent Twitter Q&A. Check it out:

Uhh… yes! This is a genius idea by the Godzilla director that would be great to see! Taking a note from the popular BBC docuseries Planet Earth, Michael Dougherty would like to focus on the monstrous creatures in their daily lives and natural habitats under the narration of the legendary David Attenborough. This documentary idea could be a great way for fans to geek out about the monsters close up and for newcomers to learn more about them.

David Attenborough has been narrating and reporting about nature and natural history since the ‘60s, but he is best known for voicing the Planet Earth series and most recently with Netflix’s Our Planet. It would be fun to see him spoof his other works in a sense with this unique contribution to the Godzilla series. Although these creatures are fictional, they have a rich history that has been legend on the big screen since 1954.

Michael Dougherty has more where that came from too! The filmmaker recently discussed another fun idea about a prequel that delves into Godzilla’s beginnings in ancient times. Check out his words:

I like the idea of going back in time and telling creatures' stories from different eras. Skull Island was set in the '70s, but personally I'd like to do Godzilla B.C., go back to ancient times and really see the Ray Harryhausen-esque world where primitive humans had to try to survive with these creatures. Maybe we'd get to see the first time mankind truly encountered Godzilla, and get to see how that relationship was christened.

Why not both? I can also see the Planet Earth type documentary including some background like this where it explores Godzilla’s interactions with early humans before fast-forwarding to the monster today, who often wanders around skyscrapers.

While we daydream about these potential additions to the franchise, fans already have tons to look forward from Michael Dougherty’s vision. King of the Monsters will follow the secret scientific organization Monarch’s dealings with the titans in this newly released film. The movie debuts this weekend to mixed to positive reviews.

On March 13, 2020, Godzilla vs. Kong will showcase an unlikely battle between the two icons. The movie is also co-written by Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields. The filmmaker could theoretically keep bringing more fresh ideas to the MonsterVerse depending on how King of the Monsters does at the box office this weekend.

Are you interested in these spinoff ideas? Let us know in the comments!

How Johnny Depp's Pirates Of The Caribbean Character Was Key To Building Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

How Johnny Depp's Pirates Of The Caribbean Character Was Key To Building Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

In a few short days, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, followed by the Walt Disney World opening in Orlando, Florida on August 29. The massive new lands, based on George Lucas’ beloved tales from a galaxy far, far away, are set to be the most immersive lands in Disney parks to date, truly making guests feel like they are visiting the Black Spire Outpost on the planet of Batuu.

To help achieve that new level of immersion, where guests can interact with bounty hunters and rebel spies, and become a part of the story, the plan is to eschew the character meet-and-greets Disney parks have traditionally used. Instead of having lines where guests wait to meet and take photos with a character, the focus will be on interactive experiences.

But you don’t just hope this new concept will work come opening day when the doors open to countless guests; you try it out first. So Walt Disney Imagineering did just that and enlisted the help of a Disney parks staple, Pirates of the Caribbean’s Captain Jack Sparrow.

The character played by Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise, was used as a part of a series of play tests Disney conducted to test what it hoped to do in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The play tests took place in-park at Walt Disney World several years ago and involved Jack Sparrow just walking around the land and interacting with guests.

We’ve seen Johnny Depp show up at Disneyland as Jack Sparrow in the past, but this Jack Sparrow had a very specific purpose. The mission of these tests was to figure out the logistics of these story-driven interactive experiences that would be used in place of traditional meet-and-greets as Imagineering portfolio creative executive Scott Trowbridge explained to The Orange County Register:

If Captain Jack Sparrow was just walking through the land, how would guests react? And how can we create constructs that allow the story-driven experience? How can we let those story-driven experiences happen and still allow people to get the photo they want, but not turn it into a line of people waiting to take photos?

Guests weren’t clued in to the underlying purpose of these Jack Sparrow encounters, so Disney Imagineering got a raw and real look at what they could expect when they replicated this kind of experience at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. The biggest questions involved how to maintain the desired experience, without it devolving into everyone just lining up to take photos like a traditional meet-and-greet.

That is definitely an interesting and complex problem with a lot of variables. But smartly, Disney used the play tests with Jack Sparrow to gain a better idea of how these story-driven experiences could work in practice, what the potential pain points are and how best to solve for them.

So with a big assist from Jack Sparrow, Disney has a better idea of how the guest interactions at Galaxy’s Edge will work. But Scott Trowbridge admits that there are some things they just won’t know until they are actually trying this in the new land and seeing what works, what doesn’t and how people respond.

If nothing else, it is a bold swing Disney is taking to try something like this. Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is wildly ambitious to begin with, primarily on a technical level. But changing the way guests interact with characters in a theme park involves going against pre-established modes of behavior and expectations for how things operate, which is tricky in a very different way.

It will be very cool if this works out because it will just make things feel even more immersive and hopefully more fun and rewarding and be worth the absurd crowds and expensive tickets.

Besides Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, you can head back to the galaxy far, far away on the big screen when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker opens on December 20. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule for all of this year’s biggest movies.

The Curse Of La Llorona Pokes Fun At Avengers: Endgame's Runtime And Poster

The Curse Of La Llorona Pokes Fun At Avengers: Endgame's Runtime And Poster

Avengers: Endgame is officially in theaters and it seems almost destined to become a box office legend. But even though Endgame is the big title right now, there are other movies in theaters as well, such as the horror flick The Curse of La Llorona. The film came out last weekend, but with all eyes on Endgame now, the marketing for Llorona decided to have a little bit of fun with the Marvel blockbuster. Check out this official character poster for Llorona mimicking Avengers: Endgame.

If you didn't manage to catch the film last weekend, The Curse of La Llorona follows a mother in 1970s Los Angeles who must save her children from a ghost who is trying to steal them away. The film was directed by Michael Chaves, written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis, and starred Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz and Patricia Velásquez.

The movie received mostly negative reviews, with critics noting issues with the film's storytelling and an over abundance of jump scares. The film earned $62 million worldwide at the box office off of a reported $9 million budget, so it can't be considered a box office failure.

However, Avengers: Endgame basically made The Curse of La Llorona's entire worldwide take in one night, so you can understand why La Llorona is trying to catch some of that Marvel hype.

The horror film shared a character poster of its titular ghost, but the format of the poster should be more than familiar to Marvel fans. It's based on the Avenge the Fallen character posters that featured both the alive and Snapped superheroes. Only this time, it's "Avenge the Children."

Not content to leave it there, the caption for the Instagram post reads "Twice the scares, half the time," a reference to Endgame's colossal three hour runtime. Llorona is a much shorter, breezier 93 minutes long film.

You can hardly blame the movie for trying to capitalize on the hot movie of the weekend (and likely the next several weekends). Llorona didn't exactly set the world on fire last week, but it could be a decent alternative option for people who are looking for non-superhero-related thrills this weekend. Plus, May is going to be an absolutely jacked month for movies, with Detective Pikachu, Aladdin, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters all coming out shortly. Llorona doesn't have much more time to stay on the board before it starts to get very crowded.

Avengers: Endgame might be on a lot of people's minds, but The Curse of La Llorona is also in theaters and ready to give some scares to those looking to do something else this weekend. For everything else coming to theaters this year, be sure to check out our 2019 movie release guide.

New Child's Play Trailer Will Make You Rethink Your Smart Home

New Child's Play Trailer Will Make You Rethink Your Smart Home

While the original Child’s Play had a magic angle to it, with the soul of killer Charles Lee Ray transferred into a doll, the upcoming remake goes with a different tactic. Replacing fantasy elements with science-fiction, the new take on Chucky sees him as a bit of artificial intelligence gone wrong – and that’s a pretty dangerous thing in the age smart phones and smart homes. Don’t believe me? Just check out the brand new trailer for the film that has just been released online and see for yourself:

In this revamped take on the Child's Play franchise, Gabriel Bateman stars as Andy Barclay - an introvert who is nervous to move to a new town. His mom, Karen (Aubrey Plaza), is hopeful that the change of scenery will be good for him, and that he'll be able to make friends fast, but things initially don't go as planned. To help with Andy's loneliness she buys him a Buddi– a toy designed to sync up with the other technologies created by the tech giant Kaslan Corp. – but things start to go horribly wrong when the doll, named Chucky (Mark Hamill), becomes homicidal.

The new Child’s Play has been a bit deliberate when it comes to revealing details about the evil doll at the center of its plot, with the casting of Mark Hamill only revealed a few weeks ago at WonderCon, and our first full look at Chucky dropping a couple days ago. This trailer still plays a bit coy, only showing him in brief shots, and showcasing only one line at the end (“Goodnight, Andy”), but it does leave an impression.

In addition to finally getting creeped out by an in-motion Chucky, this preview also gives us a brief glimpse at what to expect from some of the creative kills that will be featured in the movie – despite the fact that it’s a green band trailer for what will be an R-rated flick.

Those concerned that the evil doll wouldn’t get to wield his most iconic weapon – a chef’s knife – must certainly be breathing a sigh of relief, but stabbing seems like it’s only going to be one of the many causes of fatalities in this new Child’s Play. The sequence with the tangled Christmas lights and the lawnmower looks like it’s going to have a seriously bloody conclusion, and it also looks like Chucky is going to have a bit of fun when it comes to controlling various technologies, including cars. This is just a taste, though, and presumably we’ll be getting a whole lot more when the finished film comes out this summer.

Speaking of which, Child’s Play – which co-stars Brian Tyree Henry and Tim Matheson – will be in theaters in just a couple of months, set to be released by Orion Pictures on June 21st. We’ll have a lot more content about the film coming your way between now and then, so stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for all of the latest updates.

The Story Behind Good Omens And All The Queen References

The Story Behind Good Omens And All The Queen References

Spoilers ahead for Good Omens on Amazon.

When Good Omens premiered on Amazon as an adaptation of the Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett novel of the same name, it proved three things: the apocalypse can be hilarious, the characters could not have been better cast, and the music of Queen makes everything better.

While all the Queen tunes came as no surprise to book fans, viewers who never picked up a copy of the novel were undoubtedly at least a little perplexed at all the Freddie Mercury. Well, there is a reason for all the Queen, and the answer lies early in the text of Good Omens.

Viewers probably noticed that the Queen tunes generally played in scenes featuring Crowley and/or the Bentley. The explanation comes in the first 15 pages of Good Omens, saying this:

Crowley was currently doing 110 mph somewhere east of Slough. Nothing about him looked particularly demonic, at least by classical standards. No horns, no wings. Admittedly he was listening to a Best of Queen tape, but no conclusions should be drawn from this because all tapes left in a car for more than a fortnight metamorphose into Best of Queen albums.

When Good Omens was published in 1990, tapes were the non-radio way to play music in cars. Neil Gaiman revealed to Vulture that the joke about metamorphosing Queen tapes started when he and Terry Pratchett concocted the theory "that any cassette left in a car long enough turned into the best of Queen."

If the joke had stopped with just the one Queen mention in the book, the Good Omens show probably wouldn't have been packed with Queen songs. Instead, the book continued to show Crowley (and Aziraphale, on one occasion) trying to play some non-Queen music, only to be blasted with the tunes of Freddie Mercury.

Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" turned into "Bohemian Rhapsody," The Traveling Wilburys turned into a rendition of "Radio Ga Ga," Aziraphale was dismayed to hear "Another One Bites the Dust" play from a tape labeled "Tchaikovsky," and the angel and demon's attempts to listen to William Byrd, Beethoven, and Vaughan Williams turned into "We Are The Champions," "I Want To Break Free," and "Fat Bottomed Girls."

Crowley briefly considered putting the tape on which he'd trapped Hastur into the Bentley and leaving it for a fortnight, turning him into Freddie Mercury. He decided against it because, in the immortal words of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, "He might be a bastard, but you could only go so far."

Now, the differences between book and television meant that the show had the freedom to use Queen more liberally than the book, which basically required Crowley to be in the Bentley on the page. The show could just blast a Queen classic over whatever scene seemed most fitting.

Given that technology in the past 30 years has definitely moved away from cassette tapes, the Good Omens adaptation was bound to get creative with including the running Queen joke from the book. So, let's take a look back at some of the most notable Queen sequences from the show!

Crowley's Arrival - "Bohemian Rhapsody"

Although Crowley technically made his debut earlier in the first episode at the Garden of Eden, his arrival in the Bentley to the tune of "Bohemian Rhapsody" to pick up the Antichrist was a real entrance. Could the show have done anything more perfect than blast the "Beelzebub has a devil put aside for meeeeeeee" line as he pulled up?

Crowley's arrival was actually only one instance of "Bohemian Rhapsody" used in the series, as he was listening to it again later in the episode when Satan broke in with some instructions for the Antichrist. The song would play again at the end of the fifth episode and beginning of the sixth, when Crowley made an epic entrance at the airfield, followed shortly by the flaming Bentley exploding.

So why does Crowley's arrival get special mention among the many uses of "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the show? Well, not only was it the first Queen song in the series, but it also marked an instance of a song playing in-universe for Crowley in the Bentley and as part of the soundtrack. "Bohemian Rhapsody" became his anthem thanks to this scene.

Anathema Hitches A Ride - "Bicycle Race"

Another memorable Queen sequence came in the second episode after a collision between Crowley in the Bentley and Anathema on her bicycle. Despite Aziraphale's shocked statement that Crowley hit somebody, Crowley countered that somebody hit him. (For what it's worth, Anathema did plow into the side of the Bentley.) Crowley begrudgingly agreed to giving Anathema a lift home, and the drive back to her cottage was oh-so-perfectly set to "Bicycle Race."

This scene is an example of a completely on-the-nose use of Queen for a Good Omens scene, and it appeared not to be a song actually playing in Crowley's car. Even if Crowley would have been impassive about it, surely Aziraphale or Anathema would have had a reaction to Crowley blasting "I want to ride my bicycle!" after colliding with Anathema on her bicycle.

Aziraphale's Bookshop Burns - "You're My Best Friend"

Things were getting out of control by the time Crowley climbed into his Bentley and raced to Soho to find Aziraphale in Episode 5, having just escaped Hastur and Ligur. Queen's uplifting "You're My Best Friend" played as Crowley grimly drove to the bookshop, which he discovered in flames. Regardless of the inferno, Crowley entered the bookshop in search of his best friend. It was a heartbreaking and fiery scene contrasting with the cheerful song to great effect.

The use of "You're My Best Friend" was unique in a couple of ways. Although it began while Crowley was in the Bentley, it wasn't clearly playing in-universe until Crowley raced into the burning bookshop when it could be heard coming from Aziraphale's dying gramophone. Since I'm guessing Aziraphale didn't deliberately buy a version of Queen's Greatest Hits for his gramophone, I'm going to count this as a subtle nod to the cassette joke from the book.

Crowley Braves The Blaze - "I'm In Love With My Car"

It was a sign of Crowley's desperation that he was willing to drive his beloved Bentley into the inferno surrounding London. When Hastur escaped from the answering machine tape and popped into the passenger seat of the Bentley, Crowley popped a CD into the player and floored it into the flames... to the tune of "I'm In Love With My Car."

If the gramophone playing "You're My Best Friend" was a subtle nod to the Queen cassette tape joke from the book, then "I'm In Love With My Car" was a total shoutout. Not because the book mentioned this particular Queen song -- because it didn't -- and not because Crowley really is pretty much in love with his car.

No, before "I'm In Love With My Car" actually began to play, the fifth episode showed Crowley popping a Mozart CD into the player. Crowley must have left it in his glove compartment for too long!

Crowley Needs Directions - "We Will Rock You"

By the time Crowley arrived in Tadfield in Episode 5, he was holding the burning Bentley together by sheer strength of will and imagination. He also never looked more demonic than when he pulled up in a flaming car, dressed in all black, and showing his yellow snake eyes without any sunglasses. His demonic look was contrasted with his polite request for directions from a Tadfield resident

Why is this one of the most noteworthy uses of Queen in Good Omens? Well, it's such a great combination of comedy, absurdity, and urgency, and "We Will Rock You" really highlights the ridiculousness of the situation in the best way. It is a ridiculous situation, as were most of Crowley and Aziraphale's attempts to stop the apocalypse. Of course this is one of the best sequences!

It was also arguably the last big moment for the Bentley, which would be destroyed shortly after arriving at the airbase in Episode 6 when Crowley had to start focusing on things other than holding his car together.

Honorable Mention: "Under Pressure" Trailer

Amazon released two big trailers for Good Omens ahead of the premiere, and both used Queen to perfection. The first showcased the relationship between Crowley and Aziraphale with "You're My Best Friend," but the second used "Under Pressure" to hype everything that was to come.

The right music can make a trailer completely unforgettable, as with Stranger Things' "Thriller" trailer for Season 2 and "Baba O'Riley" trailer for Season 3, and "Under Pressure" was guaranteed to get stuck in your head and make you remember that Good Omens was on the way. For folks who had never read the book and didn't really know what was in store, "Under Pressure" was a great way to build anticipation.

You can catch all six episodes of Good Omens (with all of these and more Queen songs) streaming on Amazon now. The finished product is a wild ride, made all the better for one hilarious scene that almost didn't happen.