The 8 Best Winona Ryder Movies

The 8 Best Winona Ryder Movies

In a varied, versatile and accomplished decades-spanning career, Winona Ryder has proven herself in a wealth of different films — both big and small. While the actress is currently celebrating a career resurgence with the incredible commercial success of Netflix's Stranger Things, the truth of the matter is that Winona Ryder has always been great, even if she wasn't always recognized for her commendable acting capabilities. Nevertheless, we wanted to take a moment to recognize the movies that have showcased Winona Ryder's strong suits throughout a longstanding Hollywood career.

Now, before we get ahead of ourselves, there are a few movies that should be mentioned that aren't included in this list. It's safe to say that Mr. Deeds is a personal favorite for many folks, though I'd be hard-pressed to call it one of her best films. Also, while I love Frankenweenie and I really enjoy Star Trek (2009), it would be odd — to say the least — to call them "Winona Ryder movies." Also, there's The Crucible, which didn't quite make it, but may be someone else's favorite!

With that said, without further ado, here are some of Winona Ryder's best movies to date!

A Scanner Darkly

Richard Linklater finally reunited Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder on the big screen again a little over a decade after they first made an indelible impression together in 1992's Bram Stoker's Dracula with his trippy, thoughtful and moody 2006 animated adaptation of Philip K Dick's A Scanner Darkly. The film itself is at once visually stimulating and thoughtfully composed, allowing the viewers to get into the dazed, dark (hence, the film's title) perception of its characters. But beyond the striking look of the film, what often makes it resonate is the relationship our main character, Bob Arctor (Reeves), forms with Donna Hawthorne, played by Winona Ryder.

It's evident that A Scanner Darkly is bleak, and few —if any — characters make it out of the movie well. Yet it's Winona Ryder's character who gets taken through a particularly dark and heartbreaking turn of events, and it's through the well-established chemistry she shares with Keanu Reeves that her relationship with her co-star is as romantic as it is devastating. It's certainly not a comfortable watch at times, but Ryder does make the most of her appearance.

Girl, Interrupted

An adaptation of the best-selling memoir of the same name by Susanna Kaysen, Girl, Interrupted was a major highlight of Winona Ryder's career. While the film is often remembered more for Angelina Jolie's Oscar-winning supporting turn, it is Ryder's sensitive, introspective performance that we follow throughout the film, and she plays a big component in the film's dramatic investment. While Ryder had proven her comedic talents in several different projects prior to this 1999 film, this drama was a showcase for Winona Ryder's dramatic talents in a lead role, and how she could evolve beyond genre films.

Winona Ryder plays Susanna, an 18-year-old who is checked into a psychiatric hospital where she eventually befriends a variety of mentally-ill patients, including Lisa (Angelina Jolie), who tries to convince her to escape. The film is filled with pathos and heightened moments, and while Girl, Interrupted has ultimately received mixed reviews, the performances are often quickly and fondly remembered. This is definitely a role of Ryder's to celebrate.

The Age of Innocence

It's hard to go wrong with Martin Scorsese. While The Age of Innocence doesn't get as much notice as some of the director's other titles from the '90s, including Goodfellas, Casino and Cape Fear, to name a few of his titles, it definitely deserves to be recognized. The 19th-century New York romance is notably a gentler movie than a lot of other Martin Scorsese titles, as its title would ultimately suggest, but it's a ravishing and captivating tale of love and loss that is benefitted from its esteemed performers, including Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder, who would also go on to star in The Crucible a few years later.

As May Welland, Winona Ryder captures the innocence (as the title would suggest) and benevolence of the character, and she also plays a bit role in the film's dramatic stakes as her fiancé, Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) begins to fancy her cousin, the American heiress Countess Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer). As love begins to bloom between Newland and the Countess, heartbreak is soon in store for May. And Winona Ryder gives a beautiful performance in the film. This performance is especially noteworthy for garnering Winona Ryder her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. And it continued to propel her career as a dramatic and award-recognized actress.

5. Little Women

It's never easy to adapt Louisa May Alcott's timeless classic novel Little Women onto the big screen. While there have been several adaptations in the past, only a few have really made it count. That includes Gillian Armstrong's adored 1994 adaptation, which is benefitted enormously by its winning, charming cast of future superstars, including Kirsten Dunst, Claire Danes, and Christian Bale in some of their earliest performances. Still, it's ultimately Winona Ryder who makes the best impression in this take on the 19th century tale.

As Josephine "Jo" March, the March sister who has aspirations of grandeur to become an author, a young Winona Ryder captures the wit and warmth of the character in equal measure, embodying the liveliness and sincerity that made the character come to life on the page. Particularly with literary adaptations, it can be hard to match the expectations that come into readers' heads. But despite the challenges faced with turning this book into a major motion picture, Winona Ryder helped immensely to turn it into a generation-spanning success for a wide array of audiences. It's no wonder the performance got Ryder her second Oscar nomination for the second year in a row. It'll be interesting to see how this fall's newest adaptation of the classic story from director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) will fare in comparison. But whether it's good or not-very-good, at least we have the comfort of knowing this '90s adaptation is nearby.

Edward Scissorhands

One could argue Edward Scissorhands is iultimately more of Johnny Depp's film than Winona Ryder's. One would probably be right. Nevertheless, Edward Scissorhands is another excellent showcase for the actress, and she has always proven herself in exceptionally good hands when she finds the opportunities to work with director Tim Burton. Reuniting with her Beetlejuice director, Ryder's character Kim Boggs is part of the movie's emotional core, and a key component to the film's atypical emotional resonance.

The movie is arguably the best we've ever gotten from Tim Burton, and it's certainly one that has battled for the number one spot in fans hearts throughout the years. That is often thanks to Winona Ryder's adorable, sympathetic performance, as her character helps to see the humanity that is lost in our misunderstood protagonist and learns to love him in all his misshapen ways, therein by helping us love the title character as well. While Winona Ryder can play the prickly outsider quite well, it is often her softer, sweeter performances that sing as well. And in Edward Scissorhands, that's certainly true.

Black Swan

Another movie that's considered more of another actor's flick, this time a Natalie Portman vehicle rather than a Winona Ryder movie, for understandable reasons, there is so much to appreciate about Winona Ryder's work in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. The psychological horror movie is often disturbing, built on haunting images and disturbing events. But one of the more underrated elements of the film's prolonged creepiness is Winona Ryder's performance as Beth MacIntyre, a prima ballerina who is forced into retirement in the competitive world of ballet and becomes a confrontational, threatening and later terrifying figure for Portman's Nina Sayers.

In a career where Winona Ryder has often made an impression with her supporting turns, Black Swan is no exception. Indeed, one of the most chilling sequences in the film involves Winona Ryder, who has been pushed to the brink of madness. The scene serves as a stark and horrifying personification of what the competitive field of arts and ballet can do to do who feel cast out. It's a disturbing and bleak performance, and Winona Ryder really sells it.

Beetlejuice

Because who doesn't love Beetlejuice? Tim Burton's sophomore feature is a wonderfully dark and delightfully perverse dark fantasy-comedy, one that is often best remembered for Michael Keaton's astounding performance in the titular role. To ignore the talents of its other cast members would be a great shame, particularly when we're talking about Winona Ryder's involvement in the classic '80s title.

As Lydia, the gothic daughter of Charles and Delia Deetz, Winona Ryder is sarcastic, brooding and instantly winsome. Particularly as the supernatural elements of the story become a part of their family dynamic, the wealth of invigoration and spellbinding delight that can come from Winona Ryder's performance makes it perfectly clear why she became one of the familiar faces who were often found in Tim Burton's films. And it helped to pave the way for her long-standing career. And deservedly so. She is filled with lots of heart and charm in this movie, and she quite instantly won viewers over.

Heathers

Because how could we not end with Heathers? Quite possibly Winona Ryder's most iconic performance, the teenage dark comedy has since spawned a musical and a television series after its influence, and it's often thanks to Ryder's memorable, massively appealing performance that the film has rose into cult status as quickly as it has. In many different ways, Heathers is the film many people instantly call to mind when thinking of Ryder.

Her performance is magnificent in Heathers, and it's a great showcase for the wealth of talent that is found in Winona Ryder. The film has earned no shortage of fans over the years, and Ryder's performance in the film is quite easily at the top of the list of reasons why people love this movie so much. The film's tone could be a hard sell unless someone like Ryder didn't captain this ship, and she instantly won over viewers with her talent and charm.

With that, it's apparent that Winona Ryder has proven herself in a variety of different films, from dark comedies to emotional dramas. And that's without mentioning a few other memorable performances from her resume, including, but not limited to, such titles as Destination Wedding, Alien Resurrection and Autumn in New York, to name a mere few. She is continuing to prove herself with a number of new roles, and audiences will see her again when Stranger Things season 3 hits Netflix later this year.

The 14 Best Horror Movies Based On A True Story

The 14 Best Horror Movies Based On A True Story

I know what you're thinking: Horror movies that are "based on a true story" are bologna. Well, of course, Hollywood has a way of stretching the truth, especially when scaring audiences is involved, but that does not mean the claim is always a lie either.

Some of the best horror movies of all time have fact-based origins. For instance, the creepy child's plaything from Annabelle Comes Home, the latest upcoming entry in The Conjuring Universe, was inspired by an allegedly possessed Raggedy Ann doll. That is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to art imitating bizarre, disturbing reality.

But of these films that sport the "inspired by true events" claim, which can also claim to be the best horror movies around? I have chosen 14 of some of the best films that made a scary movie-going experience out of a true disturbing event.

The Strangers (2008)

Let me clear this up for you right off the bat: No, The Strangers is not based on a specific, true story of a young married couple teasingly stalked and killed by masked assailants.

While many have speculated what famous murder cases could have inspired this gorefest starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, director Bryan Bertino claims the inspiration was a group of mysterious strangers who knocked on the door of his childhood home in Texas, who turned out to be looking for empty houses to rob.

Bryan Bertino decided to flip that idea on its head by making the thieves masked serial killers and changing the purpose of their shocking, gory visit into, as what is now regarded as one of the best horror movie quotes in recent memory reveals, “because you were home.” So, it's based on a true story, perhaps just not what you would guess.

It does make sense that The Strangers is really just inspired by a plausible concept based on something that happened to the director, because I cannot imagine a trio of killers preying on two helpless victims in a cabin in the middle of nowhere taking that long to finish the job.

The Entity (1982)

In The Entity, single mother of four Carol Moran (Insidious star Barbara Hershey) is a victim of sexual assault. As if that could be any worse than it already is, her attacker is an invisible apparition of great evil and unstoppable strength.

Fusing a very real and prevelanet horrific crime with supernatural elements is creepy enough, but what makes the story of The Entity even more shocking is that it is inspired by the case of Doris Bither, who in 1974 claimed she suffered physical attacks from not one, but three ghosts that also attacked her children.

Without considering the bizarre origins of the story, The Entity remains a shocking and thought-provoking story, as the best horror movies tend to be, about a woman’s struggle to prove that the terrifying, violent offenses committed onto her are real.

Fire in the Sky (1993)

Say what you want about UFOs and alien abductions, according to Travis Walton, it happened to him.

The 1993 film Fire In The Sky is based on the memoir of the same name and recounts the most famous and best-documented alien abduction in history. In 1975, Arizona logger Travis Walton went missing for five days. When he returned, he claimed that he was taken by extraterrestrials.

D.B. Sweeney portrays Walton in the film, which does not take the concept of alien abduction lightly. It shows in graphic detail the torturous experience Walton alleges that he endured in traumatically graphic detail. It just barely earns its PG-13 rating.

The Girl Next Door (2007)

Not to be confused with the 2004 comedy about a high schooler in love with an adult film star, The Girl Next Door is based on Jack Ketchum’s novel, which was inspired by the tragic story of Sylvia Likens.

In 1965 in the state of Indiana, Likens was subjected to almost three months of abuse, neglect, humiliation, and torture by her sociopathic caregiver. She eventually succumbed to her injuries and died at just 16.

The events depicted in the The Girl Next Door are just as unsettling and unspeakable as the original shockingly sadistic case. While a fan of the genre would say that is a key point of acclaim for the best horror movies, I would say you may be better off reading about it than seeing it. It is not for the faint of heart.

The Amityville Horror (1979)

One of the most prolific cases of supernatural haunting comes from one now legendary house in New York.

It inspired the 1977 novel The Amityville Horror, which was made into a film two years later, starring James Brolin and Margot Kidder as George and Kathy Lutz, who find a great deal on a house after a man murdered his family in it years earlier. Soon, they begin to conspire that the crime was influenced by a demonic presence in the house and worry they will fall victim to it next.

While there is truth to the story of a man murdering his family in the infamous Amityville house, there is no real evidence to support an actual haunting occurred there. Yet, that has not stopped Hollywood for continuing to use the story as franchise material.

The original film, however, still pops into conversation as one of the best horror movies, mostly by those who still believe in its ghostly legend.

Child’s Play (1988)

Before there was Annabelle, there was Chucky. However, did you know that both of these fearful playthings are inspired by alleged fact?

In Child’s Play, regarded as one of the best horror films of all time, serial killer Charles Lee Ray (Brad Dourif) inserts his soul into a cute, red headed doll to continue his murderous tirade after death. The inspiration was a doll of unnerving design named Robert, owned by then six-year-old Gene Otto in 1906.

Robert the Doll was made for Gene by his family’s Bahamian servant, who happened to be skilled in voodoo. Her skills apparently proved effective as Robert would take enjoyment in taunting children and mutilating Gene’s other toys, among other unexplainable phenomena.

With the technophobic Child’s Play remake on the horizon, I now wonder what is scarier: stuffed doll possessed by evil or robotic doll with fatally faulty programming?

Wolf Creek (2005)

While Crocodile Dundee was a film that greatly helped the tourism industry in Australia, Greg McLean’s 2005 cult slasher film was the film that could have come close to ruining it.

Wolf Creek, about three travelers terrorized by a crazed pig hunter, claimed to be based on true events when first released. While not entirely a lie, the real Australia-based hitchhiker murders that inspired the film occurred far from the scenic national park the title borrows from… and misspells (Wolfe Creek).

Nevertheless, the film has earned acclaim as one of the best horror movies of its kind for its ultra realistic depictions of violence and, especially, for its sinister antagonist, Mick Taylor (John Jarratt).

The Conjuring (2013)

Famed paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren’s most famous case is, most likely, the case that inspired The Amityville Horror.

Of course, no confirmed evidence of that haunting exists (as I have mentioned) and the story has already been done to death in Hollywood. Thus, James Wan thankfully chose the Warrens’ 1971 investigation of the Perron Family’s house as inspiration for The Conjuring.

Featuring interviews with the actual Perron Family in the film’s marketing is what helped convince audiences to buy into its “based on a true story” claims and made it one of the highest-grossing horror movies of all time.

The Conjuring would spin off its own universe, which has gone on for some time. However, the one that started it all is still regarded as one of the best horror movies in recent memory.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Wes Craven was smart to not market his slasher-fantasy hit as inspired by true events because no one would have believed that a badly burned, clawed, wisecracking boogeyman would be real.

That being said, claiming it to be based on true events still, technically, would not have been a lie.

Wes Craven wrote the script for A Nightmare on Elm Street after reading an L.A. Times article about a teenage boy suffering from nightmares that kept him desperate to stay awake, until he eventually died in his sleep.

Craven took the concept of a fatal nightmare, added villain Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) as an antagonist, and one of the best horror movies of all time was born.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

A large part of the appeal of the late Tobe Hooper’s breakout hit was the claim in the marketing and in the film’s opening narration that the events depicted in the movie actually happened. No, there is no record of a massacre involving a chainsaw that took place in Texas in the early 1970s.

Instead, Tobe Hooper’s initial inspiration came from the cruel and gross crimes of Ed Gein, who has inspired several antagonists on film. Yet, Leatherface may be the killer’s most iconic cinematic counterpart due to his weapon of choice.

So, where did the chainsaw element in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre come from? Tobe Hooper and his wife were in a crowded department store when he saw the bladed tool on a shelf and thought to himself, I bet I could use that to get through this crowd a lot easier.

Jaws (1975)

Steven Spielberg’s masterful creature feature (and the first blockbuster) was inspired by Peter Benchley’s novel, Jaws. But even Benchley needed inspiration from somewhere.

Benchley stated in the introduction of his man vs. shark novel that his initial inspiration was a 1964 newspaper article about a fisherman who caught a 4,500-pound great white off Long Island. The story got him to wonder what would happen if such an animal became a more local nuisance.

Many also cite the infamous 1916 shark attack off of Jersey Shore. While the incident is mentioned in both the book and movie, Peter Benchley has said that the mere reference of the event should is not to be taken as a sign that it inspired the plot of Jaws.

Or, perhaps, he and Steven Spielberg would rather one of the best horror movies of all time, and one of their most iconic creations, not be linked to tragedy. That is quite challenging for a shark movie.

Psycho (1960)

Leatherface is not the only killer on our list to be inspired by Ed Gein. The prolific murdered also paved the way for Alfred Hitchcock’s most iconic creation.

Much like Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins’ bone chilling role in Psycho), Ed Gein was very close to his mother Augusta, who sealed him off from the rest of the world for much of his life. After she died, leaving him a state of crippling loneliness, he eventually began identifying as a woman, taking up cross dressing and skinning female victims to create a bodysuit to help assume his gender of choice.

All I can say, in regards to the life of Ed Gein AND the plot of Psycho, mothers, please be careful how you raise your children. They may end up inspiring some of the best horror movies of all time.

Nosferatu (1922)

You may recognize Count Orlok from Nosferatu by his brief cameo in a SpongeBob Squarepants episode, or by the name of his original source material: Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Believe it or not, Count Dracula was an actual person: a Romanian prince named Vlad who took on the name Dracula, which meant “son of Dracul,” his father. Of course, he was Drac was not an undead creature of night, but he apparently did have a taste for human blood.

F.W. Murnau, unable to obtain the rights to the name Dracula, adapted Stoker’s novel into the 1922 silent film Nosferatu, which I still believe is one of the best horror of all time and my top pick for vampire movies.

The Exorcist (1973)

Director William Friedkin never regarded his Oscar-nominated adaptation of William Peter Blatty’s novel as a horror film, despite being regarded now as one of the best horror movies ever.

What interested Friedkin about The Exorcist, inspired by the actual exorcism of 14-year-old boy Roland Doe in a St. Louis hospital, was the unique opportunity he saw in it. He wanted to use the fictionalized take of the St. Louis possession (changed to a 12-year-old girl played by Linda Blair) and make a film that commented on the mystery of faith.

Perhaps that unique approach to the thriller, as well as its fact-based origin, is what has kept audiences intrigued and in fear more than 40 years since The Exorcist was first released.

What do you think of our list? Can you think of more horror movies "based on a true story" that deserve a spot? There are plenty more out there, but hopefully this provides a few for you to choose from.

How The Russos Make Sure Their Marvel Movies Feel Different From One To The Next

How The Russos Make Sure Their Marvel Movies Feel Different From One To The Next

Despite the fact that they started their Marvel Cinematic Universe journey with zero previous blockbuster experience, directors Joe and Anthony Russo have, to date, helmed three of the best films in the entire franchise. Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, and Avengers: Infinity War are individually absolutely outstanding pieces of big screen spectacle, and each one has made a distinct and separate impact on the Marvel world at large.

This isn’t easy for many reasons, but particularly because this is a brand that has created more than 20 movies in the last decade, and with each new release comes the demand to experience something fresh and brand new. For the Russos, however, there is a key way to getting that done, and they spoke with me about it this past weekend at the Los Angeles press day for the upcoming Avengers: Endgame. Said Joe Russo,

I think we always try to put psychological realism in our movies, and that's the one concept, if you go back and look at Winter Soldier, Civil War, and Infinity War, is there is a level of psychological realism beyond these fantastical costumes and fantastical circumstances that people are behaving in a way that feels psychologically truthful. And I think that tone is one of the ways that you can alter movies that are in a series from one another. It's one of the more significant ways you can do that. And trying to distinguish Endgame from Infinity War, I would certainly say that Endgame has a very different tone than Infinity War had.

Admittedly the Russos haven’t yet gone to the extreme of making a super fun, colorful adventure along the lines of Ant-Man or Guardians of the Galaxy, but there is definitely a noticeable gradient in the tone of their Marvel Cinematic Universe features. What’s more, there has also been a significant progression. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a dark movie, playing with the aesthetic of a 1970s conspiracy thriller, but things get significantly darker in Captain America: Civil War when our heroes turn on each other and eventually disband. And as melancholy as that film gets, it still can’t hold a candle to Avengers: Infinity War, which features one of the most devastating endings in blockbuster history.

This, of course, leads us to Avengers: Endgame, and keeping in mind the Russos’ past, their comments about the film are exceptionally curious. There’s been some expectation that the upcoming sequel would share tonal qualities with its predecessor, given that the lead characters are all trying to pick up the pieces of their world after half their friends turned to dust, but Joe Russo’s comments suggest otherwise. But what does “a very different tone” mean, exactly? Does it mean that it’s going even further into the darkness than what we’ve previously seen them do in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Or could it be that Avengers: Endgame is actually way more of a funny, fun ride than the marketing has suggested?

It’s an interesting mystery, and one that won’t have its answer revealed in the various trailers for the film. To date we have maybe seen a grand total of five minutes of footage from the blockbuster, and that equates to a little less than three percent of the full three hour movie. As we’ve seen with plenty of trailer remixes in the past, it’s possible to create any kind of tone with any kind of footage, so it’s not impossible that every preview we’ve seen for Avengers: Endgame has been hiding the blockbuster’s true nature.

We already thought that we know jack diddly about what to really expect from Joe and Anthony Russo’s fourth Marvel movie, but this quote honestly takes that sentiment even further. Fortunately, we won’t be tortured by this for too much longer, as Avengers: Endgame will be hitting theaters worldwide in less than three weeks – specifically on April 26th.

Spider-Man: Far From Home Director Has A Hilarious Explanation For Peter's Stealth Suit

Spider-Man: Far From Home Director Has A Hilarious Explanation For Peter's Stealth Suit

One of the things revealed in the first trailer for this summer’s Spider-Man: Far From Home is that everybody’s favorite Web-Slinger will be getting some new duds for his European vacation. But instead of getting the hottest and flashiest fashions from Parisian runways, Spidey will be getting a practical and understated black stealth suit. The film’s director Jon Watts, has a hilarious explanation for the stealth suit, saying:

It kind of looks like Black Widow, maybe it was one of her suits and they just tailored it.

Man, from a custom Stark suit with built-in A.I. and the Iron Spider suit, both of which likely cost millions, to one of Black Widow’s hand-me-downs; the youngest Avenger needs to file a complaint with Avengers HR or something because his contributions warrant him at least getting his own custom suit. Maybe they’re trying to come in under budget on the fiscal year and Black Widow had a spare suit just lying around they could repurpose cheaply.

Not that there is anything wrong with Black Widow’s suits; she is a literal spy and the stealthiest of the Avengers, so if it’s good enough for her, it's certainly good enough for him. And sorry, but Pete my guy, you’re a lot closer to Black Widow’s size than you are to most of the other team members.

In reality, Peter Parker would probably be honored and fanboy out over getting to use something Black Widow once had. After all, before Tony Stark upgraded him, his own suit manufacturing efforts were, let’s say, less than stellar. While we don’t know if Jon Watt’s hilarious conjecture about the stealth suit’s origin to Entertainment Weekly is strictly true, we do know a little bit about why Peter Parker is given the suit.

Following his exhausting adventures being a Friendly Universe Spider-Man in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker is in need of a well-deserved vacation. He tries to take one in Spider-Man: Far From Home, but it wouldn’t be a movie if things didn’t go awry.

Nick Fury shows up (never a good sign) and recruits Spidey to take on the Elementals. It might seem odd for New York’s Spider-Man to suddenly show up in Europe at the same time Peter Parker is there, so in order to preserve his secret identity, Fury lends him the stealth suit. That said, if he’s still swinging around like Spider-Man, isn’t a black suit like putting glasses on Clark Kent? Maybe Peter’s efforts in Far From Home will be more ground-based.

Spider-Man: Far From Home, which is now the concluding film of Phase 3, has moved up a few days and swings in to theaters on July 2. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see all the big movies headed your way in the packed summer season, and for all the latest in superhero fashions, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.

Should Triple Frontier Get A Sequel? Let's Talk This Out

Should Triple Frontier Get A Sequel? Let's Talk This Out

Warning: spoilers for Netflix's Triple Frontier are present. If you haven't seen the film yet, bookmark this page and come back once you've done so.

At the end of J.C. Chandor's Triple Frontier, the events that transpired during the film are brought to a seemingly tidy end. But during that ending, there are a couple of key pieces of information that stand out as potential threads for a sequel. While any film can leave the door open for another installment of adventure, it's not always the best course of action to follow up with another escapade.

It's a complicated matter, because while Triple Frontier doesn't seem like the type of film to get a sequel, there's enough left hanging that would make for an intriguing follow up if it was done correctly. With that in mind, it's time to start delving into whether or not this action-drama should continue, or if stolen cash is best left where it lies. Let's start things off by discussing the ending of the film.

What Happens At The End Of Triple Frontier

After the heist that Oscar Isaac's Santiago, and the rest of his Triple Frontier team have undertaken, the film puts them through the ringer. A series of troubles and tribulations pressures the team into some bad decisions involving an overloaded helicopter, a farming community in the Andes, and a trek through a treacherous mountain range that leads to the ultimate run for the coast. In the end, only one member of the team is killed – Ben Affleck's Tom.

As a result, the surviving teammates donate their shares of the remaining money that didn't get lost in the Andes to Tom's family. Feeling guilty for his death, and wanting to provide for his family, each man tears up his paperwork to deposit their shares, and allows their banker to deposit it all into the same account. After which, everyone goes their separate ways, saying a somber but heartfelt goodbye.

Just as the film is ready to let Isaac and Charlie Hunnam's William ride off into their respective sunsets, with Santiago ready to reunite with his girlfriend / intel source Yovanna in Australia, William slips him a piece of paper with important information. That info happens to be the GPS co-ordinates to a spot where the team dumped a ton of cash in order to lighten their load. As Santiago walks into the crowd on a warm, tropical day, the film fades to black.

The Case For A Sequel

The continued adventures of the Triple Frontier team have two key components on their side: the fact that Santiago was given the co-ordinates with the express purpose of possibly recovering the money, and his intended reunion with Yovanna after the heist went sideways. So, with a potential second act in the saga that J.C. Chandor co-wrote and directed, there's already enough components here to make for a basic sequel.

What makes a second excursion to the Triple Frontier even more exciting is something that Yovanna said to Santiago as they parted mid-way through the film. After stealing the money from the infamous drug dealer that they were robbing, she tells Santiago that it's not just that particular dealer's money in their hands. There are others who threw their funds in with his, and they're going to come looking for every penny missing.

Keeping all of this in mind, there's one of two ways this could go. One scenario is that the Triple Frontier survivors could recover the money for their own needs, as it's tucked away in a nice and secret spot for them to make a lovely retirement fund out of. The other, more probable scenario, would see those other drug dealers coming back to demand their money be returned; leaving the crew to figure out how to score the remaining $5 million that was donated to Tom's family. Both sound good, but are they enough to go forward? Let's look at the other side of the coin.

The Case Against A Sequel

While there's two good concepts for a Triple Frontier followup, there's still a solid case for not going ahead with any sort of return trips to the danger visited upon its protagonists. And that case comes from the fact that after all of the action that Santiago and his team had seen in Triple Frontier, it's not very likely that they would want to live through that sort of thing again. It all comes down to the approach to the original film, and how well it would mesh with any potential sequel.

Honestly, the grounded approach that J.C. Chandor and co-writer Mark Boal took in telling the story of Triple Frontier feels like it'd be at home with the ambiguity in the film's final reel. It's a movie that doesn't absolutely need to prolong itself beyond where it's already been, because the overriding lesson seems to be that if these soldiers hadn't pushed their luck as far as they had, they'd all be alive and richer than their wildest dreams.

In service of that message, another round of Triple Frontier action would seem like a slap in the face of that first round's overarching message. And as any fan of '80s action dramas will tell you, not every series has the luck that Rambo did; and even if it did, there's always the chance that things will devolve into mindless propaganda before all is said and done.

Where We Stand

Triple Frontier is a film that could very easily lend itself to a sequel, and that sequel could be really good. There's room for improvement with the foundation of the original, and the hooks are clear enough to bring the series into a reasonable future. But, even with the ideas presented, there's a risk that such a sequel would be a really bad idea. The result of this whole exercise is a pro sequel outcome, so long as those involved keep their heads on straight during development. In fact, bringing in J.C. Chandor and Mark Boal would be required at this point, as Chandor knows the characters and Boal knows how to bring the action.

But, of course, we'd like to know what you, the audience, think about this proposition. Using the poll below, and the comments section as well, let us know if you'd want another round of Triple Frontier in your Netflix queue. And, if you're looking for another movie to scratch that action itch, take a look at 2019's release schedule and see what's on the horizon!

Why Avengers: Endgame Was Very Specific About What Scenes Were Shown In Trailers

Why Avengers: Endgame Was Very Specific About What Scenes Were Shown In Trailers

When it comes to movie marketing, Avengers: Endgame has been able to play by its own rules. Truly, this is a sequel that the studio could have chosen to NOT market, and the same amount of tickets likely would have been sold. And yet, Disney and Marvel released two full trailers, and a Super Bowl spot, giving fans a look at specific footage from the upcoming blockbuster.

Every frame of what was shown in those Avengers: Endgame trailers has been analyzed by the amateur detectives located in the Marvel Studios fan base. Black Widow’s hair, Tony Stark’s locations, and Captain America’s facial hair has been scrutinized. Then there are the major reveals, like Hawkeye turning into Ronin, or Scott Lang being outside of the Quantum Realm.

With Avengers: Endgame tickets going on sale, we were able to interview Anthony Russo about the upcoming Marvel blockbuster, and I asked him specifically how they choose what to show in a teaser or trailer, knowing that there’s so much left to protect. Russo told us:

We drew from a very small section of the movie. We want it to be very confined. We know how savvy the fans are. We appreciate that there are so many people out there who spend time watching these movies multiple times, thinking about all the places the narratives can go. We just don't want to tip or spoil anything for anybody coming into the theater. We want to keep that experience as fresh and exciting and surprising as possible. So yeah, we're just very careful. That being said, Disney marketing is very, very, very effective, and they're very sophisticated in their process and we trust them a lot. And so they helped guide us in terms of how much we should be putting out. They always leaned on the side of putting out more. We always leaned on the side of putting out less. But we tried to find a good, happy medium.

That’s fascinating to learn that it is Joe and Anthony Russo who are the driving force behind the decision to not show footage in the trailers. Perhaps they also realize that, due to the cliffhanger nature of Avengers: Infinity War – and the success of the Marvel Studios movies, in general – very little has to be done in advance to sell Avengers: Endgame. Announce the release date, and Marvel fans will flock.

But it’s also that rabid passion and enthusiastic dedication to these stories that has the Russos being protective of what they show in the teasers and trailers. Because, as Anthony Russo states, fans will pore over every provided frame… and the brothers wouldn’t have it any other way. He tells us:

We love that! Part of our thrill as filmmakers working with these stories is that we were fans once, before we became filmmakers. We love participating in these stories ourselves as fans. So the fact that others are doing that? You know, we've always loved active viewers. That’s the viewer we’ve always strived to engage with. Whether it be in our early indie film work, in our television work, or now in our Marvel work. We're always looking to engage audiences who are passionate like that.

That approach has helped Joe and Anthony Russo make, arguably, the three most memorable movies in the MCU, in Infinity War, Civil War and The Winter Soldier. Their fandom shines through in their storytelling, and their love for these characters can be felt in the fabric of their movies. It’s why we eagerly anticipate the arrival of Avengers: Endgame, which opens everywhere on April 26.

Tickets are on sale now, so get them while they last.

Quentin Tarantino Might Actually Make Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Longer

Quentin Tarantino Might Actually Make Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Longer

The subject of how long a movie could and should be has come up more than a couple of times in recent news cycles. And no one knows about it better than Quentin Tarantino, as he’s already dropped a stealth experiment in re-editing a previous film with the extended mini-series version of The Hateful Eight, and a longer cut of Django Unchained mentioned as in the works.

And now that he’s premiered his new film Once Upon A Time In Hollywood to an eager and accepting crowd at the Cannes Film Festival, he’s preemptively talking about making this latest film longer than it already is.

The current cut of Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film sits at the running time of 2 hours and 39 minutes. And that'a because, as Tarantino himself stated in a recent interview, he had a specific mantra when it came to how he and editor Fred Raskin decided how to put it all together. It coincides with his wishes to extend Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, which he expresses in the remarks below:

I wouldn’t take anything else out. I’m going to explore possibly putting something back in. If anything, I wanted to go to Cannes too short. if I’m going to err, I’m going to err on too tight.

As the story goes, Quentin Tarantino and Fred Raskin aimed for a cut that not only satisfied what Tarantino wanted out of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, but also outpaced the “old Quentin movie” time frame of 2 hours and 45 minutes. Now that the job’s been done though, it feels like QT is ready to take the audience’s reactions, and his own mental notes, to put some more material back into his next blockbuster picture.

He has a lot of material to work with too, as IndieWire’s coverage on Quentin Tarantino’s latest mentioned that Fred Raskin had crafted an initial 4 hour and 20 minute cut, which basically had “everything” intact. So we could see the length of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood jump anywhere from a couple of minutes to a whole lot of time, depending on where Quentin Tarantino wants to go with the film.

We wouldn’t expect all that much to be added back in, as after all, this is supposed to be a theatrical experience. But as with Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight (and hopefully fulfilling a promise he made years ago, Kill Bill), Once Upon A Time In Hollywood could find itself expanded into a much longer experience in the streaming and home video afterglow. That's provided it’s a success in the box office, as originally intended. Which, after watching the most recent trailer below, feels like a distinct possibility.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood shakes up history on July 26th, but if you’re looking for something a little more immediate at the box office, check out our 2019 release schedule and see what’s headed down the road.