Us Reviews Have Dropped, Here's What Critics Are Saying

Us Reviews Have Dropped, Here's What Critics Are Saying

Few filmmakers have had as successful debuts as Jordan Peele. The former star of sketch comedy show Key and Peele announced himself as a director to watch with his 2017 debut Get Out, which earned an Academy Award, enjoyed a very profitable box office, was critically beloved, and became part of the cultural zeitgeist. Naturally expectations are high for Jordan Peele’s follow-up, the horror film Us.

Us opens in theaters on Friday and the reviews for the film are now in. So is this a sophomore slump, or does Jordan Peele go 2 for 2 and prove that Get Out was no fluke? Fortunately, it looks to be clearly the latter. The reviews for Us are almost universally positive, with CinemaBlend's own Dirk Libbey giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars. According to Dirk's review:

With Us, Jordan Peele proves that he is, without question, one of the most talented directors and creative writers working in Hollywood today. Us is everything you hoped, and everything you were afraid, it would be.

That is some high praise for both Jordan Peele and Us and Dirk is not alone in his feelings. The Wrap’s Yolanda Machado believes that Us will have real staying power in the genre. She said:

Peele’s sophomore effort is the type of genre film that will merit re-examination every few years, and it has the potential to stand among his greatest contributions to genre filmmaking.

One of the film’s stars Winston Duke has expressed the belief that you need to see Us more than once to get the full scope of an understand everything that it is doing and the reviews seem to echo that. The reviews also praise Us as a true horror film unlike Get Out, which was more ambiguous in genre. Us does horror and does it well, as The Verge’s Tasha Robinson indicated in her review:

Peele directs Us with a masterful collection of horror-movie tricks — jump scares that actually pay off, a cat-and-mouse game in an isolated place filled with bright lights and deep pools of impenetrable shadow.

Jordan Peele said he wanted to make a true horror movie this time around, and that definitely seems to be the case. Beyond just being a great horror film, one of the common threads in the reviews is the impeccable level of craft that went in to Us. In his review, IGN’s David Griffin expressed how the formal elements of Us distinguished it from its contemporaries:

The impactful use of music and dazzling cinematography elevates Us above your average horror-thriller. Peele has created another marvelous new American horror story.

For some, the story that Jordan Peele is telling is too unwieldy, failing to match the excellence of craft on display. This was the case for The A.V. Club’s Randall Colburn, who still gave Us a positive “B” review, but expressed his complaints saying:

Us is something of a frustrating watch, a visual and technical marvel that just doesn’t seem to know what it is. Unlike Get Out, which only swelled in impact as you left the theater, Us is best viewed on a visceral level, not an intellectual one.

While steering far clear of spoilers, it seems that while Us is clearly a horror film, Jordan Peele once again has something to say, but that message is more difficult to discern upon first viewing this time around. For some reviewers, that challenging nature mixed with a killer horror movie, makes for a rewarding experience. IndieWire’s Eric Kohn said about the film he gave an “A-“:

It unfolds as a satisfying dose of relentless, anxiety-inducing survival antics designed to keep viewers perpetually uneasy, and moves so quickly that they can only consider the deeper undercurrents after the credits roll.

Something tells me this film will have a lot of people talking come Monday morning. Beyond the plot and attempts to suss out the film’s mysteries and meaning, much of that discussion may surround Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o, who is, as you might imagine, brilliant. Justin Chang said as much in his review for the Los Angeles Times:

The movie belongs rightly and effortlessly to Nyong’o, and she sustains every moment by distilling innumerable emotional layers… There isn’t a moment when she doesn’t have Us in her grip.

Based on these reviews and a nearly perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, it is clear that Jordan Peele has delivered with Us. Sure, I think most of us expected that would be the case, but I’ll take predictable brilliance over surprising disappointment any day.

Us opens in theaters on March 22. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all the other big movies headed to theaters this year.

Keanu Reeves Is Down To Play John Constantine Again

Keanu Reeves Is Down To Play John Constantine Again

Right now, Keanu Reeves is garnering a lot of attention for his third turn as John Wick, and naturally a lot of people are quite familiar with him from the Bill & Ted and Matrix movies. However, let’s not forget that Reeves has also left his mark in the comic book movie realm, as he played John Constantine in 2005’s Constantine. That movie never got a sequel, but nearly a decade and a half later, Reeves is still interested in reprising the character, saying:

I've always wanted to play John Constantine again. I just love that world, too, and I love that character. I just had a blast playing a character and in that world.

Made off a $100 million budget and ultimately making nearly $231 million worldwide, Constantine, which came out the same year as fellow DC Comics movie Batman Begins, was met with mixed reviews. Director Francis Lawrence talked about making a sequel six years later, one that would lean harder into the R rating, but nothing ever surfaced with that. Now Keanu Reeves is keeping busy with other projects, including the John Wick franchise and Bill & Ted 3. So while the idea of Constantine 2 might sound nice on paper, the chances of it actually coming to fruition are slim.

Keanu Reeves was also asked in his interview with Variety if he’s ever been approached to be in a superhero movie, to which the actor noted he had a “brush” with that genre, but it “didn’t work out.” While John Constantine has operated in the DC universe for years and fights the forces of evil, he doesn’t fit into the traditional superhero mold, and that was especially the case with his movie, which felt more at home in the horror genre.

Constantine certainly left the door open for a follow-up down the line, and even though Keanu Reeves’ version of the character didn’t resemble his comic book counterpart, nearly every other aspect of him felt faithful to the source material, from the chain-smoking to exorcising demons. The movie’s supporting cast included Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Djimon Honsou, but even if we assumed that Constantine 2 is a legitimate possibility, who knows if the sequel could successfully gather most, if not all of those actors together again.

Nowadays if you want to see John Constantine in live action, you’d turn to Matt Ryan’s version, who led a short-lived NBC series and then popped up on Arrow before being thrown into Legends of Tomorrow a couple years later. There’s also been talk in recent years of John Constantine returning to the big screen in a Justice League Dark movie, which Guillermo del Toro and Doug Liman were lined up to direct at different points. Colin Farrell was once rumored to be up for the Constantine role, but lately it seems like that’s one of the lesser priority projects for the DC Extended Universe.

Rest assured, if there’s any news about John Constantine appearing in another theatrical movie, we here at CinemaBlend will let you know about it. In the meantime, you can currently see Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, which was the highest-grossing domestic movie this past weekend.

How Robert Downey Jr. And Jeremy Renner Feel About Crazy Endgame Theories

How Robert Downey Jr. And Jeremy Renner Feel About Crazy Endgame Theories

It's an extremely exciting time for Marvel fans out there. Because in a matter of days, Avengers: Endgame will finally arrive in theaters, and continue the narrative that The Russo Brothers started with Infinity War. Given the horrifying twist ending of the last film, moviegoers are eager for any and all information regarding Endgame's contents.

In the year-long wait between Avengers flicks, the fandom was left to its own devices, void of any information about what comes next. As such, plenty of wild fan theories have hit the internet, with varying levels of believability. And the theories seem to tickle the actors pink, especially Jeremy Renner and Robert Downey Jr. The OG Avengers recently opened up about fan theories at a press conference, with Renner saying:

I just love the creativity that comes from theories.They’re hilarious, they’re pretty crazy… but it means people are invested in the stories.

During his long tenure in the MCU, Jeremy Renner has likely heard a variety of crazy theories. But the Mission: Impossible alum seems to enjoy the creativity that cinephiles need in order to craft such complicated narratives. And he loves how much the fans are into the Avengers franchise.

Jeremy Renner saw firsthand how much the fandom loves his Marvel character when Hawkeye was noticeably absent during Avengers: Infinity War. As soon as the posters dropped, it became clear that the bowman was going to be left out, leading to some fan backlash ahead of Infinity War's release. But Hawkeye/ Ronin is heavily featured in Endgame's trailers, so justice will be served in a matter of days.

In the same Endgame press conferences in Seoul (via CNA Lifestyle), Robert Downey Jr. echoed Jeremy Renner's statements. But he explicitly mentioned one fan theory that's been viral over the past few weeks: that Ant-Man will kill Thanos by shrinking, entering his big purple butt, and then growing to rip him apart from the inside. It's already been addressed by Josh Brolin and Paul Rudd, and now Tony Stark himself has chimed, saying:

My favorite [fan theory] is Ant-Man goes up Thanos’ butt and then makes himself big. And that’s exactly what happens.

Just like his Marvel character, Robert Downey Jr. loves to crack a joke, and bring some sarcasm to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And when it comes to The Mad Titan finally being killed via his big purple butt, RDJ just couldn't pass up the opportunity. And really, who can blame him?

As far as fan theories go, there have been a ton regarding the mysterious contents of Avengers: Endgame. Marvel Studios has been keeping its cards close to the chest for the past year, allowing room for Ant-Man and The Wasp and Captain Marvel to have their time to shine in theaters. Endgame's trailers have been purposefully vague and skimpy with footage, so audiences should be able to go into theaters fresh, and see if any fan theories come to fruition.

Avengers: Endgame will arrive in theaters on April 26th. In the meantime, be sure to fill out CinemaBlend's Endgame death pool, and be sure to check the 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

This Rotten Week: Predicting Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Ma and Rocketman Reviews

This Rotten Week: Predicting Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Ma and Rocketman Reviews

Man (or kaiju), there is quite a bit to look forward to with this week’s run of movies. It’s got big ol' monsters, a suburban teen horror and a biopic about one of the greatest living entertainers. Get ready for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Ma and Rocketman.

Just remember, I'm not reviewing these movies, but rather predicting where they'll end up on the Tomatometer. Let's take a look at what This Rotten Week has to offer.

Watching the Godzilla: King of the Monsters trailer, which shows off some of the large-scale fighting sequences between the ancient monsters who’ve come to life on Earth, it’s tough to imagine there’s any planet left for survivors to live on when the credits start to roll. It sure looks like every little speck of everything is wiped out except for, of course, the key human characters who help drive the plot line. Millie Bobby Brown and Vera Farmiga's characters mostly look fine, but everything else gets annihilated.

This is the third movie in this particular Monster-verse franchise, following Godzilla (75%) and Kong: Skull Island (75%). King of the Monsters will unleash a whole host of “new” creatures on the world, like Mothra and Ghidorah, with Godzilla called back out to fight them off. These movies mix somewhat tongue-in-cheek stylings with somewhat grounded reimaginings, and this one doesn’t look any different. The trailer looks enjoyably ridiculous, and that might not be the worst thing when it comes to the critics if they feel like they're in on the perceived joke.

In Ma, a group of high schoolers seem to stumble upon a Shangri-La-Like drinking environment when they start partying in the basement of some old woman who once bought them liquor. That sounds like a pitch for a teen comedy, but the darkness comes when the woman (the titular Ma) ends up being a total psycho apparently hellbent on taking revenge on the kids of those who mistreated her back in her own high school days. If the binge-drinking doesn't kill those teens, something will.

I like how director Tate Taylor thought to himself, you know who would be perfect as a psychotic, manipulative, borderline serial killer of teenagers? Octavia Spencer! He worked with her before, of course, having directed her in both The Help (80%) and Get on Up (76%), while also helming Girl on the Train (45%). Her latest character looks downright freaky, though I’m a bit torn on how critics will receive a story about kids getting worked over this way by a batshit crazy lady. Random thrillers aren't usually kind to Hollywood's elite, as seen by Dennis Quaid's The Intruder (30%).

The musical biopic is all the rage right now. We are fresh off the Queen-ly waves made by the Freddie Mercury-inspired Bohemian Rhapsody, which earned Rami Malek a Best Actor Oscar a few months ago. Now we get a look into the early years of Taron Egerton's Elton John as he goes from a struggling and shy kid to the flamboyant, eccentric, and world-renowned musical phenom that we know him as today.

Unlike the aforementioned Bohemian Rhapsody (61%), which left critics feeling somewhat meh with its retelling of Mercury’s life, Rocketman has come out of the gate quite strong. It’s sitting at 88% through 80 reviews, with critics praising the style, tone and performances from the leads. Taron Egerton plays Elton after starring in the Kingsman (74%, 52%) movies and voicing Johnny in Sing. He also worked with director Dexter Fletcher on Eddie the Eagle, and this latest looks like a complete hit that doesn't seem to suffer some of the more negative critiques facing more sanitized biopics of late.

Recapping last week:

We went two for three with the predictions last week, and it's been a relatively impressive run in the short-term. Aladdin (Predicted: 57% Actual: 58%) was a near direct hit, missing by only a percentage point while keeping Will Smith’s *Rotten” streak alive. He hasn’t had a positively reviewed movie earning a "Fresh" Tomatometer score in seven years now, though this one at least came close.

As the score would indicate, critics were rather mixed on the final result for the live-action remake of the Disney classic. Smith had some rather large shoes to fill, considering what Robin Williams did with just the voice role in the original. It landed for some critics but not others ,and the range of complaints and compliments varied.

I had a head start with Booksmart (Predicted: 99% Actual: 97%), since a number of reviews were in already up at the time of post. The drama was sitting at 100% through the first 50 or so reviews, and dropped only a few percentage points over the course of the next week. This will now go down as one of the best-rated wide releases of the year and it likely enters the discussion for the short list of all-time great high school, one-nighter movies.

Finally, Brightburn (Predicted: 37% Actual: 59%) was a mighty miss. Though technically rotten on the Tomatometer, this comic-adjacent scored higher than I thought, with more than half the critics finding something to like about the twist on the superhero genre. Considering the film basically just went Bizarro Superman, but not so Bizarro to wow everyone, this score can probably be considered a win.

Next time around, we’ve got Dark Phoenix, Late Night and The Secret Life of Pets 2. It’s gonna be a Rotten Week!

Stan Lee Didn’t Get To See Avengers: Endgame Before He Died

Stan Lee Didn’t Get To See Avengers: Endgame Before He Died

Avengers: Endgame Spoilers Ahead

It's been weeks since Avengers: Endgame hit theaters, and the conversation surrounding the blockbuster is showing no signs of slowing. With the spoiler ban lifted, the cast and crew have been able to reveal more details, and answer lingering questions left after the film concluded. Endgame also marked Stan Lee's final cameo in the MCU, due to his death in November of 2018.

Stan Lee's Avengers: Endgame cameo doesn't disappoint, but unfortunately it doesn't look like the comic book icon got to see it before his passing. Kevin Feige recently broke the news that Lee didn't get to see Endgame, saying:

Stan loved to wait to see the final movie at the premiere, so unfortunately he did not get to see the finished movie. Stan got a download of the full story the day he came and shot his cameo.

What a bummer. But while Stan Lee didn't get to watch the epic and complex narrative of Avengers: Endgame before passing away, he was at least cued into movie's contents. And his final cameo is definitely one for the record books.

Kevin Feige's reveal about Stan Lee came from the Marvel Studio Head's recent Reddit AMA. Feige answered a variety of questions concerning the Marvel Cinematic Universe-- both its past and future. When asked if Lee got a chance to check out an early screener of Avengers: Endgame before his death, Feige revealed that the comic book legend preferred seeing them on the big screen.

It's that same childlike wonder that is what makes Stan Lee such a legend, and why his creations were able to transcend pop culture. And considering how visually stunning Avengers: Endgame was, it deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

Related: Marvel Is Making A Supercut Of Stan Lee Cameos And Unused Footage

Especially the absolutely behemoth final battle at the Avengers Compound, which saw the dusted characters and countless characters engage Thanos' army. The visual effects are stunning, with a ton of action and characters to follow in every frame. It's only a shame that Stan Lee wasn't able to enjoy every payoff and applause-inducing moment.

Stan Lee appeared in Avengers: Endgame in the film's second act, during the super ambitious Time Heist sequence. After accidentally allowing Loki to escape with the Space Stone, Cap and Tony traveled back to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in 1970. As the exterior of the facility is set up, we see a car driving by with the license plate "excelsior". Lee is behind the wheel, telling the government agency to make love, not war.

It's hard to imagine the Marvel Cinematic Universe without Stan Lee, especially his iconic cameos. But his vision continues to live in the blood of the massive franchise, which is showing no signs of slowing down.

You can catch Stan Lee in Avengers: Endgame, which is ramping up for yet another weekend at the box office. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Godzilla: King Of Monsters Director Teases Idea For An Avengers Crossover

Godzilla: King Of Monsters Director Teases Idea For An Avengers Crossover

We are only about one month away from the release of Avengers: Endgame and the end of this iteration of the MCU as we know it. Though the plot is being treated like a military-grade secret, it's likely that the Avengers will be in need of a new villain by the time the rumored three hour runtime is complete. There are plenty of villains to choose from, but director Michael Dougherty presented a really cool option: Godzilla.

Michael Dougherty is the director of the upcoming Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which will be hitting theaters in May. The sequel will find Godzilla going head-to-head against Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah in a battle to decide who is the alpha Titan of planet Earth. Having three of Godzilla's most iconic monster foes in one movie must not have been enough for Dougherty because he'd like to see Godzilla go to town on the Avengers.

And it's not such a crazy idea! There's actually some real history in the comics to support this, something that Mike Dougherty knows well. The director took to social media posting a picture of a comic book in which the Avengers had to fight Godzilla. Dougherty wrote that this movie would "make the world a better place" and I'd have to agree with him.

The comic book in reference is back during the late '70s when Marvel had the licensing rights to Godzilla. Occasionally during the issues it released, Godzilla would encounter Marvel superheroes, in one case going up against the Avengers. The heroes are called in to stop one of Godzilla's rampages.

It's not too hard to see why Dougherty would be 100% down for this crossover. The Avengers are arguably the biggest box office success in history, and a movie where they meet Godzilla would be filled with enough spectacle to make your eyes bleed. I don't know how the Avengers could ever beat Godzilla, but I also don't know how they will reverse half the universe getting erased either.

Even though an Avengers and Godzilla crossover is just an impossible dream right now (movie rights are owned by different studios), it's not like there isn't plenty to look forward to from both franchises. Endgame is just right around the corner, and the movie is already projected to shatter box office records.

Meanwhile, Godzilla doesn't have a shortage of foes to beat as he fights his arch-nemesis King Ghidorah in King of the Monsters. The trailers have teased that this is the effects-heavy, big budget monster brawl that fans have ben waiting years for and it looks like a very entertaining movie.

You can catch Avengers: Endgame on April 26, while Godzilla: King of the Monsters will follow about a little over a month later on May 31.

Oscar Isaac Is Glad Leia Was Brought Back For Episode IX

Oscar Isaac Is Glad Leia Was Brought Back For Episode IX

Throughout the first two episodes of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, General Leia Organa and ace pilot Poe Dameron have been the faces and leaders of the Resistance effort against the First Order. The loving and sometimes contentious relationship between these two characters took center stage in Star Wars: The Last Jedi, a fact that didn’t come as a surprise to Oscar Isaac, as he explained:

I wasn’t surprised because I remember we were doing that, we worked a lot. [Fisher] and I worked together so much. We would talk about the scenes, and we got very tight during the shooting of that. So it was a beautiful thing to see, and it gets carried over into the new film as well.

Oscar Isaac spent a lot of time with Carrie Fisher working through scenes and becoming friends, so he knew that the relationship between their characters would factor heavily into Episode VIII. He seems to have really treasured that relationship and how it came together in the film and is happy that Leia is being brought back for Star Wars: Episode IX.

As he told Sirius XM’s John Fugelsang, the narrative thread and relationship between Poe and Leia continues in Star Wars: Episode IX. Unused footage of Carrie Fisher’s Leia from the previous two films is being repurposed for J.J. Abrams new movie to complete her arc, and because of how closely the late actress and Oscar Isaac worked on the previous films, it makes sense that there is enough footage to allow their characters’ relationship to develop even further.

It also sounds like Oscar Isaac will be acting in new scenes opposite old footage of Carrie Fisher, an experience that was strange for the actor. He said about the experience:

It was definitely an unusual thing, but I also think it was right to engage with her character, and not just let it be something that fades away.

Acting opposite the actress’ footage and not Carrie Fisher herself sounds like a bittersweet and strange thing, but Oscar Isaac felt that Princess Leia deserved a proper sendoff and he seems to be among the many that are happy that Lucasfilm found a way to continue the character’s story. For a character this important, who meant so much to Carrie Fisher, it wouldn’t feel right for her to just be written out of the film and have her die or disappear offscreen without getting to see her.

It will be good to see Poe and Leia together again and the continuation of their interesting relationship that saw them butting heads in The Last Jedi. Poe needs to become a leader and Leia was teaching him hard lessons. Like Jeor Mormont once told Jon Snow on Game of Thrones, if you want to lead one day, you first have to learn how to follow, and I expect Poe will be a true leader before the end of Episode IX.

Given that Oscar Isaac has said that Star Wars: Episode IX will blow fans away and is a fulfilling end to the Skywalker Saga, we can infer that he was pleased with the way J.J. Abrams concluded the story and Leia’s arc.

Star Wars: Episode IX blasts into theaters on December 20. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all the biggest movies coming your way this year.