Zack Snyder Saw Shazam! Late, But Still Shared What He Thought

Zack Snyder Saw Shazam! Late, But Still Shared What He Thought

While he’s not part of the inner workings of the DC Extended Universe, director Zack Snyder is still a figure that fans of the DCEU like to consult from time to time. And when not asking him about whether or not the Snyder Cut will ever be released, or pouring over the details of what Darkseid would have looked like in Justice League: Part 2, fans have taken to asking Snyder about his thoughts involving the current state of the film franchise meant to give Marvel’s Cinematic Universe a run for their money. Which is why it’s pretty awesome to hear that when asked about Shazam!, not only did Snyder respond, he actually seemed to like the film.

Previously, Zack Snyder was asked to provide his opinion on the David F. Sandberg directed film, and unfortunately for the fan who had asked he hadn’t seen it yet. Though it was only a handful of days before the Justice League director actually did go and see Shazam!, which prompted him to respond that he thought the movie was fun.

The exchange took place through Snyder’s preferred social network, Vero, and what’s even more surprising is the fact that Zack Snyder responded to the user who’d asked him without any prompting. So while the man may be busy preparing to return to the world of zombies with Netflix’s Army of the Dead, he’s not too busy to take some time out and answer some fan mail.

While not the uber-blockbuster success that Aquaman found itself to be, Shazam! has made a pretty generous bankroll at $347 million in international grosses. With a fifth place showing in the first week of Avengers: Endgame’s box office conquest, it’s not a bad place to be for a movie that’s already been out for about a month in theaters. Though with the new superpowered competition in town, it probably won’t last too much longer once May’s would be blockbusters take the field.

So it’s probably a good thing that Zack Snyder went and saw Shazam! now, before it left his local movie house. Especially since there were fans out there that really wanted to know what the director thought of Billy Batson’s origin story.

It’ll be interesting to see what Zack Snyder thinks about the future of the DC Extended Universe, with films like Joker and Wonder Woman 1984 in the pipeline. In fact, if there was any film that fans would probably want to know Snyder’s reaction to, it’d be the Todd Phillips directed head trip about the potential origin to Gotham’s clown prince of crime. So if you’re a Vero user, and you’re connected with Zack Snyder, you might want to keep your eyes peeled for the next chance to ask him about those films, when they hit theaters.

Shazam! is in theaters now, should you want to return to the world of DC Comics after Avengers: Endgame.

New John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum Clip Has Him Taking Care Of His Dog, Because Duh

New John Wick: Chapter 3 Parabellum Clip Has Him Taking Care Of His Dog, Because Duh

Sure, John Wick might be a former hitman with a kill count in the triple digits, but he’s not a bad guy. We know this because of how much he loves his dogs and will do anything to protect them, including literally killing people. Even with the world’s assassins united against him in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, this animal lover will still make sure to take care of his pit bull, because of course he will. Check it out in the clip below:

He may occasionally shoot the wrong people in the wrong places, but John Wick still has his priorities in order, and that means taking care of his unnamed dog just as we’d expect him to. Baba Yaga pays the cab driver a gold coin to take his dog to the concierge at the Continental, thus ensuring his safety. And of crucial importance, John Wick tells his dog that he is a good dog before he goes.

This is incredibly endearing and exactly why we root for John Wick. He’s got an army of highly trained assassins out for his head and he’s worried about his dog. It’s also encouraging because it hopefully means that no harm will come to John Wick’s pit bull in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum since it’s being taken care of at the Continental.

Which makes me wonder, if he is cut off from all Continental services, are dogs the exception, never suffering consequences for their owner’s actions? Or is he still within the 1 hour window and the dog will be grandfathered in to protection? Also, if NYC cabbies are part of this underworld too, who isn’t?

It’s unclear in this clip if John Wick is still within the one hour grace period before the excommunicado order goes into effect that Winston gave him at the end of John Wick: Chapter 2 (it’s nighttime, so I don’t think so), but he is clearly in a race against the clock. So I’m wondering what his plan was.

If he’s still within the time window, maybe he initially thought he could take his dog with him to the New York Public Library and then drop him off at the Continental after and still be within the time window to take advantage of those services. Then when he saw the traffic would be too great a time suck, he opted to take care of his dog now and find a different route to where he has to go.

We’ve seen John Wick riding on horseback through rainy NYC streets, so maybe that comes after this scene as he makes his way towards the library and whatever is there that can help him, comfortable in the knowledge that at least his dog is safe.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum opens on May 17. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule for all the biggest movies headed your way as the summer movie season kicks off.

How The Avengers Team Wants Fans To View Marvel Films 30 Years From Now

How The Avengers Team Wants Fans To View Marvel Films 30 Years From Now

On the eve of the release of Avengers: Endgame, there has been a lot of looking back at the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Over the last 11 years and 22 movies Marvel Studios has done something nobody has ever done before, bringing the cross-title continuity of comic books onto the silver screen. In addition to simply succeeding in that effort, the movies have been incredibly successful. But how will history judge this incredible accomplishment? The original six Avengers and Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige were recently asked that question and they had a lot of feelings on the topic. Jeremy Renner, for one, wonders how the MCU's success could potentially change the industry decades down the road...

I wonder what the ripple effect of it will be in 30 years. 'Look what Feige’s done!' How do you do a series of films? Twenty-two films! How do you do that?

It's very likely that we will see a ripple effect down the line, considering that we largely already have. Following the beginning of the MCU, we saw Warner Bros. and DC follow suit with their own collection of comic book heroes. We've also seen a cinematic universe spring up around Godzilla and King Kong and an attempt at launching one around Universal's classic movie monsters, who arguably invented the concept back in the 1940s.

While other cinematic universes have met with varying degrees of success, and none have been as successful as Marvel, it seems unlikely that nobody else will ever try to launch one again. The opportunity for gain is simply too great. The cinematic universe gives the impression that otherwise unconnected stories need to be seen by fans who don't want to miss any elements of the larger storyline. This means that even when two and three films a year are released, fans are off to see them in the theaters, even if they don't necessarily focus on characters that fans care about.

Of course, just because other studios will almost certainly continue to try to emulate the success of the MCU, doesn't mean they will be successful. Chris Evans tells EW that what Kevin Feige and Marvel have done is something that nobody will be able to do again.

I’m always amazed with the ability that Kevin has had to house this giant tapestry of all these woven plotlines. I just don’t think it’s ever going to happen again. I don’t think anyone has the ability to launch all these different rockets, and then years down the road have them all explode at once. It’s just the planning and the care and the subtlety to it.

That's really the question. Can something like this happen again? Can even Marvel Studios do it again? While Marvel movies will continue after Avengers: Endgame, we have no idea what they will look like. Endgame is designed to be and endpoint of sorts. How much of the story will continue, how much the focus will shift to other characters or stories we still don't know. The MCU won't be starting at zero but it may very well be starting fresh, meaning even Marvel may have difficulty emulating its own success.

Frozen 2: What We Know So Far

Frozen 2: What We Know So Far

Frozen was the biggest movie that the animation division of Disney had seen in a very long time. Between the fact that the film put a major twist on the princess tropes that Disney themselves had helped to create, and the fact that the movie had that song you couldn't escape, Frozen was absolutely everywhere. While Disney Animation frequently avoids making theatrical sequels to their animated movies, it was obvious that if an exception was going to be made, Frozen would be it, and after rumors implied one was probably happening, it was eventually confirmed to be on its way.

Here's a breakdown of everything we know about Frozen II so far, starting with a look at the exciting first official trailer for the upcoming hit!

What Have We Seen From Frozen II?

The tone is probably a bit more epic and tense than most people were expecting, but that only makes us that much more excited to see what is coming when the film finally arrives. The trailer doesn't give away a great deal of the film's story, but it does give hints, and when we combine those hints with everything else that has been revealed, the picture becomes a bit clearer.

When Is The Frozen II Release Date?

Frozen II was originally set for release on November 27, 2019. This is the Wednesday before Thanksgiving in 2019, which is a release date that Disney has had nailed down for years. It's the same spot where the original Frozen was released back in 2013.

However, Disney recently decided to move Frozen II up and the film is now set for release on November 22, the previous Friday. No major tentpole releases were planned for that weekend and so Disney apparently decided to give itself the extra weekend to so that Frozen II would have possible chance. At this point the only other major releases set for November are the Charlie's Angels reboot and the next Terminator movie. Both will be released the first weekend of November, leaving things open for Frozen 2 to take over the box office until Star Wars: Episode IX hits in December.

What Will Frozen II Be Rated?

This early it's impossible to know what the MPAA rating of Frozen II will be, but the studio's recent efforts, including the original Frozen, have been rated PG rather than the more traditional G, and there's a good chance that Frozen II will follow suit. And, it's a safe bet we won't see anything beyond PG. Disney Animation has never gone that far before, and we wouldn't expect Disney to do anything that might cause families to reconsider which members should be attending the film.

The Directors

Frozen II is set to be co-directed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck. This will be good news for Frozen fans as it means both of the directors of the original Frozen will be making their return. Chris Buck has been very Frozen focused since the original film, with his other major project in the intervening years being the writing and directing of the Frozen Fever animated short.

Jennifer Lee has been a bit busier since the original Frozen, while she co-write and directed Frozen Fever as well, she also co-wrote the story for Disney's other recent smash hit, Zootopia, and she also wrote the screenplay for the adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time. This may be Lee's final gig as a director as she was named the head of Walt Disney Animation Studios following the departure of John Lasseter, so those duties may take her away from hands-on film making.

The Writers

Jennifer Lee wrote the original screenplay for the first Frozen and, based on comments from Kristen Bell, it appears she was involved in writing the sequel as well. However, officially, the only screenplay credit Frozen 2 has belongs to Allison Schroeder. Schroeder was previously nominated for an Oscar for her work on the screenplay for Hidden Figures and she also previously worked with Disney as part of the team that wrote the live-action Winnie the Pooh movie, Christopher Robin. We do know that the songs for the new film will be written by the same husband and wife team of Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez who wrote the music for the first film and brought us the epic "Let it Go."

What Will Frozen II Be About?

The new trailer is very careful not to reveal too much about the actual story of Frozen II. We see our group of heroes, Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven going on some sort of journey together, though where they're headed and why we aren't told. The one hint the trailer does give are these crystals that we briefly see in the trailer. They appear to be surrounding Anna and she is clearly distressed by them. They also show up in the sequel's first poster. We don't know what they are, but they're important.

Chris Buck has said that we'll see more of Elsa enjoying her new found freedom, something that was touched on in the Frozen Fever short. In addition, Josh Gad has said he would like to see Olaf grow up a bit, since he is essentially a child in the first film and should hopefully mature, at least a bit, in between films. Kristen Bell has said her own personal struggles as her life changed helped inform the next stage of Anna's character growth as well.

Elsa

In the first Frozen, we watched Elsa ascend to the throne of Arendelle and come to terms with her magical abilities. There really wasn't anything specifically set up for Elsa to do next, so while she'll almost certainly take a lead role in the new film, who knows what she'll be doing. She currently stands as one of the few Disney heroines who doesn't have a romance during her film, so, perhaps, that will happen here. If it does, there's a significant contingent of fans who would love to see Elsa's love interest be female. Considering the way the original Frozen was willing to go against Disney's own established traditions, perhaps they'd be willing to take this major step as well, one that we're sure will happen one day.

The first trailer opens with Elsa fighting against the waves, though for what purpose we don't know. She's clearly focused and determined. This is a side of Elsa we didn't really see in the first film. She has a strength of Will that is driving her forward which will likely carry the entire movie.

Anna

Much like her sister, we see a very different Anna in the Frozen II trailer than we saw in the first film. In the clip's final seconds, we see Anna grab Kristoff's sword and swing it at something or someone coming up behind them. She doesn't hesitate and really seems to know how to use the weapon. While we mostly see Anna and Elsa together in the trailer, we also see Anna by herself, making a leap of faith over a large gap between rocks.

Anna was, possibly, the more interesting princess in the original Frozen. She is, at least, the one who fell in love with a character she just met, in traditional Disney fashion, though, by the end, it was her act of true love that broke the spell that was hurting her. At the film's close, Anna and Kristoff had begun a relationship. Depending on how much time will have passed between Frozen and Frozen II we could see that relationship become more serious, or, if they want to drive home the idea that the pair are taking it slow, we could see them together, but without making the relationship itself important to the story.

Olaf

Olaf took center stage a couple of years ago as the lead character in the holiday special Olaf's Frozen Adventure. When it comes to Disney sidekick characters Olaf is pretty popular. In the first film, he was solid comic relief without being over the top or childish. Could Olaf taking on a larger role in the holiday special be an indication that he'll be more important in the theatrical sequel?

If that's the case, the trailer hides it well, as we barely see the walking snowman at all. He appears a couple of times, but the trailer never focuses on him at all.

One of the never answered questions in Frozen is why Elsa's magic has the power to give Olaf life. If that question is in any way at the center of the film's plot, it could very likely mean that Olaf will be quite important.

Kristoff and Sven

The other two characters that we know we'll see in Frozen 2 are Kristoff and his reindeer Sven. Much like Olaf, the pair are largely relegated to the sidelines of the new trailer. However, one of the more epic moments that we do see includes Kristoff riding Sven and leading a charging herd of other reindeer. Sven, like everybody else in the trailer, looks incredibly serious and determined. Is he riding to somebody's rescue? We'll just have to wait and see.

Other Characters

We do know from what Kristen Bell told us that Frozen II will include a pair of brand new characters, though she was certainly tight-lipped about them, which means we don't know anything beyond the fact that they'll exist. Are these new allies or is one of them a villain? While Disney animated films have had some of the best villains in movie history, not all films even have traditional villains. The original Frozen being a prime example.

The trailer does show off a pair of new character in one brief sequence. A young woman is standing on some fallen leaves and a moment later a young man appears to be blown up in the air from under the pile. Evan Rachel Wood and Sterling K. Brown are reportedly lending their voices to Frozen II and so these two could be their characters, but the scene doesn't tell us much, except possibly that somebody in the movie might have magic wind powers.

There's a decent chance that we'll see the Duke of Weselton again, if only in a brief cameo. The character was voiced by Alan Tudyk, and he has been lending his voice to every Disney feature in recent years, so there's a good chance we'll see that character again. If not, expect to hear Tudyk's voice, but in a less recognizable place. He played a chicken in Moana, so he could voice an animal, or something else that doesn't speak, if they don't want a character to sound too much like the Duke of Weselton.

The other major character from the original Frozen who is a question mark at this point is Hans. He was the underhanded prince who tried to marry Anna in order to gain the throne. At the end of the film, he's sent back to his home, where his elder siblings were, apparently, none to happy with his plot. We see Hans briefly at the end of Frozen Fever, so perhaps he, or the rest of his family, will also play a part in the sequel.

Frozen Fever

The first piece of Frozen material that we got following the film was the animated short Frozen Fever. It followed Elsa's attempt to throw a birthday party for her sister. While it's easy to write this off as simply a bit of fun, and it is mostly that, the short does include some material that's potentially relevant to the sequel. First, we see Elsa conjure dresses for herself and Anna using magic. While we saw Elsa do this in Frozen, these dresses are green and distinctly non-ice related. It would appear that her magic has some additional power beyond simply the ability to make ice. We also see her accidentally create tiny snowmen (called "snowgies," if you're wondering) due to her being sick. At the end of the short, we see the snowgies move into Elsa's ice palace with Marshmallow, the abominable snowman. We could potentially see them in Frozen 2.

Olaf's Frozen Adventure

Olaf's Frozen Adventure is Disney's newest holiday special that saw a brief theatrical release along with Pixar's Coco before debuting on television. It follows Olaf's attempts to find a holiday tradition for Anna and Elsa, something they never found themselves due to being separated for so long because of Elsa's powers. Ultimately, it's discovered that the two did have a tradition, as Anna would make Olaf-inspired gifts for Elsa every Christmas. This gave us a look at a previously unknown part of their lives that took place during the "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" montage in the first film. It's possible there could be more information during that part of their lives that could be created in order to give Frozen II a place to start.

We don't have that much longer to wait until Frozen II is finally out in theaters, so more news on the film will likely be coming along on a regular basis in the intervening months. As such, be sure to keep your eye on this guide, so you can stay on top of all the new details as they become available to us!

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Reviews Are In, Here’s What The Critics Are Saying

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters Reviews Are In, Here’s What The Critics Are Saying

It’s been five years since Godzilla kicked off the MonsterVerse, and while we rewound the clock back in 2017 to delve into King Kong’s origins in Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla is finally back in action this weekend for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. This time around, the giant reptile is colliding with Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah, and these Titans vying for supremacy will leave humanity’s existence hanging in the balance.

The public is still a few days away from getting to see Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but reviews from critics are now being published, and it’s looking like this sequel improves upon its predecessor in some ways, but is still a mixed affair.

CinemaBlend's own Mack Rawden gave the film 3 stars on our official review, citing major problem with the film's pacing. While praising the film's visuals, Rawden revealed:

In fact, the pacing is so strange that after about the twenty minute-mark, I had no concept whatsoever of how far into the film’s runtime we were. I’m usually pretty good at timing out a movie in my head and estimating what percentage we’ve completed. Not here. Not even close. There’s no slow burn or escalating momentum. The whole movie is in the deep end. Godzilla: King Of The Monsters is just a relentless haze of destruction throughout, a creative decision that obviously brings with it an enormous amount of pros and cons.

On the more positive end of the spectrum, William Bibbiani from Bloody Disgusting gave Godzilla: King of the Monsters a 4 out of 5 score, declaring that it felt like Warner Bros heard the collective complaints about how the 2014 Godzilla movie didn’t have enough monster action and “unloaded three sequels worth of monster fights into one follow-up.” That being said, King of the Monsters is filled with a lot of one-note characters, and if you treat blockbusters “like any other movie,” you’ll be disappointed with how this blockbuster fails to properly utilize its ensemble.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a big, kinda silly, but otherwise exciting blockbuster. It’s gorgeous, it’s epic in the extreme, and it features some of the most impressive monster fights you’ve ever seen. Maybe someday Americans will make a Godzilla movie that isn’t just ‘badass,’ but which also works on another level and resonates in a meaningful way.

Conversely, The AV Club’s Katie Rife wasn’t pleased with Godzilla: King of the Monsters, stamping it with a C- grade. Rife acknowledged that the look of the movie’s Titans and their fights are cool, but the rest of the King of the Monsters suffers as a result, with the human characters failing to impress. The family drama that occurs between the members of the Russell clan (Millie Bobby Brown’s Madison, Vera Farmiga’s Emma and Kyle Chandler’s Mark) is described as the “least successful flavor.”

Of course the monsters should be the stars of a Godzilla movie. But until blockbuster filmmaking goes entirely non-narrative, some attention should be paid to the rest of it as well.

James Whitbrook from io9 took a middle ground stance in his review of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, calling it “big, dumb and beautiful.” The sequel functions excellently as a love letter to the history of these cinematic beasts and the set pieces are “gorgeously rendered,” but the storyline is weak, there’s an inconsistent tone and there’s no proper exploration of the moral debate it sets up early on.

If you’re fine with some incredibly stupid people playing second fiddle to glorious kaiju moments, King of the Monsters will provide one of the best popcorn blockbusters of the summer. But if you wanted a Godzilla movie that had something, anything to say about its destruction? Then you’ll be definitely looking for something meatier than Ghidorah flank to chew on.

Empire’s Ben Travis did not enjoy Godzilla: King of the Monsters, giving it just one star out of five. In Travis’ opinion, the “staggeringly poor script” has the characters doing nothing but standing around or explaining the plot and their personal motivations with cliched dialogue. Making matters worse, the action sequences are also disappointing, with the final clash between Godzilla and King Ghidroah being described as “an overload of repetitive, joyless destruction that mistakes volume and demolition for actual excitement.”

Globe-trotting but not adventurous, action-packed but not remotely exciting, utterly overstuffed and completely paper-thin. Nuke it from orbit.

Finally, Scott Collura from IGN awarded Godzilla: King of the Monsters a 7.8 out of 10, observing, like many other critics, that the human characters get the short end of the proverbial stick, but the explosive monster action helps even the scales. Although the script is convoluted, King of the Monsters ultimately succeeds in delivering a lot of excellent battles and nerdy Easter eggs.

Godzilla returns in King of the Monsters, focusing on monster spectacle first and foremost. Which is as it should be!

These are just some of the Godzilla: King of the Monsters reviews that are now available, so feel free to look for others if you’d like more viewpoints. It is interesting, though, how one of the main complaints of the 2014 Godzilla movie was that there wasn’t enough monster action and too much focus on the humans, and now for King of the Monsters, the criticisms have been reversed. Talk about difficulty finding middle ground.

You can judge Godzilla: King of the Monsters for yourself when it arrives in theaters this Friday, May 31. Don’t forget to look through our 2019 release schedule to learn what movies are coming out later in the year.

The 16 Best Basketball Movies To Binge During March Madness

The 16 Best Basketball Movies To Binge During March Madness

March Madness. It's a time where champions are made, underdogs overcome giants, and everyone complains about the seeding of teams and how some organizations get an easier route than others. It's something I found myself griping over during Selection Sunday, which led to self-analysis on how I would seed teams if I had a say.

It didn't take long for me to realize I don't know nearly enough about college basketball to pull that off. I do know movies, however, and so I concocted a solid system of averaging critic and audience reviews of some of the best basketball films out there to make a definitive ranked list for 16 classic films. The list, no doubt, will be controversial, but it wouldn't be March Madness if there wasn't snubs and seedings that don't feel justified.

With that said, take a look at our list ranked from 16-1, and feel free to pair these films up against each other to see who you'd have come out on top as the definitive winner. As a note basketball documentaries were excluded, mainly because there's just way too many 30 for 30 specials that it would almost warrant an entire full bracket of its own. Without further ado, let's jump in bay-bee.

16th Seed: Semi-Pro

This is a ranking that I'm positive few will dispute. Semi-Pro isn't even the best Will Ferrell movie, let alone the best basketball film the industry has to offer. Still, it is notable, and while it has little to no chance of overtaking the 1 seed in most people's eyes, it's fun for what it is.

15th Seed: The 6th Man

Marlon Wayans and Kadeem Hardison's sports comedy may not be the most memorable of basketball films, but we'd be remiss to leave off a film which features a college team that makes the NCAA Division 1 finals with the help of the ghost of a former player. It's fairly predictable but good for a few laughs, and its inclusion of actual college team names helps its cause. Could this Cinderella story pull an upset in the first round? (Probably not.)

14th Seed: Blue Chips

When it comes to basketball cameos, few can stand against Blue Chips. The film is littered with NCAA legends like Bob Knight, Dick Vitale, and Rick Pitino, and features NBA stars like Larry Bird and Shaquille O'Neal. The film features a coach getting suspended for admitting to a booster paying players to play for them. It's a nice premise, even if Nick Nolte's character gets a harsher punishment than real college coaches who have been caught.

13th Seed: Teen Wolf

Fanbases can fall into darkness when a star player goes down during the NCAA tournament, but all hope is not lost. Sure the Beavers wouldn't have had a chance to make it to the championship had the Wolf not carried them there, but once Scott (Michael J. Fox) vowed not to bring him out, they banded together and rose to greatness. Granted, it was unrealistic by the team's ability level, but less so for an average college team.

12th Seed: Space Jam

Michael Jordan is the G.O.A.T. of professional basketball, but when it comes to movies, he's only a 12 seed. The movie got less-than-glowing reviews from critics but strong audience approval ensured this Looney Toons movie has remained relevant over the years. While its overall basketball influence hasn't been confirmed, it wouldn't be surprising to learn some NBA teams have taken a note from the Monstars playbook in assembling All-Star lineups.

11th Seed: Like Mike

Ironically, the movie more loosely associated with Michael Jordan outranked Space Jam. Bow Wow's Like Mike is a great watch, not just for the solid story for all ages, but also because of the surprising amount of basketball talent this movie pulled. Vince Carter, Allen Iverson, Gary Payton, Dirk Nowitzki, and a whole lot of other superstars from a bygone era all show up. It's hard to believe two of those guys are still playing!

10th Seed: Uncle Drew

Who would've thought a series of Pepsi commercials would lead to a feature film? Whether anyone saw it coming or not, Uncle Drew was a thing that happened with NBA superstar Kyrie Irving teaming up with former NBA legends for a truly unique and underrated comedy. For those that haven't seen it and want to criticize this placement, give the movie a chance first.

9th Seed: The Basketball Diaries

Not even a basketball-themed list can keep all-star actor Leonardo DiCaprio away! This, of course, is young Leo in an emotional film that, in truth, really spins away from basketball the longer one watches. This one is a classic, for reasons beyond the fact there was some actual beef between Mark Wahlberg and Leo prior to filming.

8th Seed: Above The Rim

If soundtracks counted towards seeding, Above The Rim would be in the top 2, easily. It still has nothing to be ashamed of in this 8 seed, as everyone knows the middle seeds can often be the most surprising during tourney time. This film definitely drives the narrative that basketball is more than a game to some, even if it does take that to a bit of an extreme at the end.

7th Seed: Glory Road

It's the film based on a true story that fundamentally changed college basketball forever. Don Haskins and the Texas Western Miners win over Kentucky was, and still is, a defining moment in the history of the NCAA Men's Division I tournament. Glory Road is a fine film to re-live that story, and gets all the bullet points right even if some details were left on the cutting room floor.

6th Seed: White Men Can't Jump

Anyone who's played street ball can't deny thinking of this movie at least once while playing. Whether it's the iconic line being uttered on the court, or the hope that the random guy you picked up to roll with you is secretly awesome so you can form a lasting friendship and pay off your debt to mobsters. If there's been a better cinematic basketball duo than Billy and Sidney, I'm not sure who they are.

5th Seed: Coach Carter

High school coaches and anger: Name a better combo. Coach Carter is the best embodiment of that coach you had way back in the day who was either a great positive role model in your life or that dude who took athletics way too seriously. Your viewpoint will largely depend on how skilled of a basketball player you were.

4th Seed: Finding Forrester

Gus Van Sant's story about a young man who befriends a reclusive writer is a fantastic movie, even if it isn't the most basketball driven feature on this list. In fact, some could argue Finding Forrester deserves a lower ranking due to Jamal's decision at the end of the film, but obviously, I wouldn't make that argument.

3rd Seed: He Got Game

Spike Lee's He Got Game is a fantastic basketball film, not just because of its deep story, but also because it pulls a Hollywood performance out of a professional basketball player. Ray Allen's turn in this movie is superb, and blows all other acting jobs by NBA pros out of the water. Plus, the Public Enemy song that was written for it is pretty amazing.

2nd Seed: Hoosiers

Coming in at number 2 is Hoosiers, which I'm sure is a call that's nothing short of blasphemy. Hoosiers tells a story of insurmountable odds being overcome by teamwork and fundamentals! It was your father's favorite basketball film, and dammit, it's still your favorite basketball film. I get it, I really do, but it's time for a change of the guard, and it's high time to acknowledge another movie deprived of the top spot for so long.

1st Seed: Love & Basketball

Yes, the top seed goes to Love & Basketball according to the algorithm, and I think it makes sense. The movie does about the best any movie has done at exploring the game from a player's perspective, rather than that of a coach or outsider. Sure it's a love story, but it also is a unique take on a sport some may not fully understand without seeing, which may be why it sits at number one.

We've set the rankings, and if you're feeling frisky and wanting to put these films head to head, we've created a bracket in which each film would match up based on ranking. Make your picks, and of course, feel free to lambast ranking choices in the comments and lament the snubs that didn't make the list. For more on great basketball movies, check out which films the cast of Uncle Drew love the most.

Rocketman Team And Elton John 'Reject' Decision To Censor Movie For Russian Market

Rocketman Team And Elton John 'Reject' Decision To Censor Movie For Russian Market

The musical biopic celebrating Elton John’s rise to stardom and personal struggles has finally arrived to cinemas. However, at a screening of Rocketman in Moscow on Thursday, audiences missed out on the intended experience of the film, which was meant to shown an uninhibited and flashy approach to the musician's early life.

Scenes including gay sex and kissing in Rocketman were removed by the Russian distributor, sparking this response from Elton John and the filmmakers:

We reject in the strongest possible terms the decision to pander to local laws and censor Rocketman for the Russian market, a move we were unaware of until today. Paramount Pictures have been brave and bold partners in allowing us to create a film which is a true representation of Elton’s extraordinary life, warts and all. That the local distributor has edited out certain scenes, denying the audience the opportunity to see the film as it was intended is a sad reflection of the divided world we still live in and how it can still be so cruelly unaccepting of the love between two people. We believe in building bridges and open dialogue, and will continue to push for the breaking down of barriers until all people are heard equally across the world.

Five minutes of footage was reportedly removed from the movie for Russian audiences, due to the country’s laws banning "homosexual propaganda." According to Variety, the filmmakers and Elton John had not been made aware of the censorship until Russian journalists reported the cut following the Moscow screening.

Paramount Pictures also released a separate statement about Rocketman’s censorship:

We are incredibly proud of the movie that we made, which is told in the way that Elton John wanted his story to be depicted. We are releasing the film in its entirety around the world regardless of rating, but like all studios, we must adhere to local laws and requirements in certain territories in which the film is being shown.

The studio supported Elton John’s words, expressing that the movie will be released uncut across the globe. There is however one caveat: the studio “must adhere” to local laws, and in some regions those include the censorship of gay content. Will Paramount then continue to release Rocketman in foreign territories that will cut these scenes? This seems to be the case, otherwise the studio would have to pull Rocketman from a few foreign markets.

Those involved in the musical have been vocal about the movie’s approach to truthfully depict Elton John’s life, showing his drug use and gay sex scenes. When John originally set out to have his life told, he went through studios unwilling to back an R-rated Elton John biopic. The musician recently said “I haven’t led a PG-13 rated life," so it never made sense to him for a movie about him to hold that rating.

Rumors previously swarmed about Paramount’s pushback to cut a gay scene from the flick as well, but director Dexter Fletcher shot those rumors down, assuring the film “has and always will be the no holds barred."

Bohemian Rhapsody recently dealt with a similar situation when it was released in China. Six sequences regarding Queen frontman Freddie Mercury’s sexual identity were censored from the film, and that movie was PG-13 to begin with. Chinese film advocates spoke out about the censorship, saying it really affected the intended message of the movie about Mercury finding himself.

Rocketman has been met with positive reviews by critics and is expected to open behind Godzilla: King of the Monsters this weekend at $25 million.