Rocketman Has Screened, See What People Are Saying

Rocketman Has Screened, See What People Are Saying

On the heels of the worldwide box office phenomenon known as Bohemian Rhapsody comes another tribute to a popular music icon who rose to fame in the ‘70s and loved to don a glittery get-up: Rocketman. Taron Egerton stars as Elton John in a biopic/musical framed around his breakthrough years.

Ahead of its theatrical release in a couple weeks, Rocketman has now premiered at Cannes Film Festival in France to a standing ovation from the crowd. That’s certainly a good sign! But did it lift off and soar in critics' eyes? Let’s take a look at some of the first reactions about the fantasy musical.

CinemaBlend's own Sean O'Connell is now in London doing interviews for Rocketman. Before that, he had a chance to see the movie and shared his rave review:

We can talk about Rocketman? It’s FANTASTIC. A wonderful, emotional and uplifting musical that weaves Elton John’s classics into a heartbreaking ode to fame. Taron Egerton is BRILLIANT and Dexter Fletcher stages jaw-dropping musical interludes. A home run!

That's a great start! Rebecca Keegan of The Hollywood Reporter sounds like she was absolutely floored by the film. Take a look:

Hot damn, Taron Egerton is the real deal. Rocketman is a musical about picking yourself up off your ass and Taron delivers the sweat, grit and vulnerability it needs.

Along with loving Taron Egerton’s iteration of the music sensation, she praised it for the “I’m Still Standing” message. The actor worked closely with the Elton John himself, even having to sing and act with John in front of him, which he understandably found to be extremely intimidating. The iconic musician has been quite supportive of Egerton though.

Not everyone was completely convinced by Egerton’s performance though. The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw felt he didn’t quite hit every note with these words:

Dexter Fletcher’s Rocketman is a good-natured biopic-slash-jukebox-musical with Taron Egerton gamely doing a middleweight impersonation, more comfortable with the lighter side, better at the tiaras than the tantrums.

When it comes to the dramatic aspects of Rocketman, Bradshaw didn’t feel like he sold it. Conversely, Stuart Oldham of Variety specifically pointed out the more somber moments of the film hitting a high for him. Here’s what he said:

Rocketman is fantastic, a musical drama that hits all the right notes, especially the sad ones.

Elton John’s husband of 26 years, John Furnish, recently watched the flick and said his personal struggles at the beginning of his career and prior to their life together made him want to give John a hug. Considering some of these reactions, as an audience we may collectively be feeling the same way as the film discusses his stint in rehab and sexual identity.

A couple months ago, there were rumors that Paramount had cut a “nude cuddle” between Taron Egerton’s Elton and Richard Madden’s John Reid due to the studio pulling back on the film’s adult content. This reaction from NY Times’ Kyle Buchanan indicates Rocketman does not steer away from portraying his sexuality. In his words:

Pleasantly surprised that Rocketman does not skimp on the gay sex, but the gayest thing about the movie is still Taron Egerton insisting he’s fat when he isn’t.

One primary criticism of last year’s Bohemian Rhapsody was the way it shied away from completely exploring Mercury’s relationships with men – Rocketman won’t be making that mistake. Richard Madden’s role is also gaining recognition as well. Here’s what Anne Thompson of IndieWire had to say:

Richard Madden is swaggeringly hot as Elton John’s manager John Reid who was also the villain in Bohemian Rhapsody. He really would make a great James Bond.

Comparisons to the Queen biopic just keep coming up! In addition to the film sharing a bit of the same subject matter and Dexter Fletcher being involved as director in both, it also includes one of the same villains. To round out the reactions, check out Ramin Setoodeh’s thoughts:

Rocketman is thankfully better than Bohemian Rhapsody. But it also feels like a Broadway musical that was forced into a movie. Or, The Greatest Showman set at the Abbey.

It looks like the movie is a lot more musical than biopic, but it still works better than the Queen film in his opinion. The Variety bureau chief also caught a sweet video of Taron Egerton’s own reaction upon seeing the film and watching the audience’s reaction at Cannes. Take a look:

The actor looks both happy and overwhelmed at his Rocketman debut! The 29-year-old actor is still fairly new to the industry and still best known for his Kingsman role. After the premiere, he and Elton John took to the stage to perform the song “Rocketman” together, captured by The Hollywood Reporter:

Wow! The actor has found a duet partner in Elton John before when they sang “Tiny Dancer” at an Oscars party in February. The pair look energized by the film’s screening in this performance. It was no doubt an emotional day for the both of them seeing their work on the film (and for John, quite literally his life’s work) finally premiere.

Rocketman hits theaters on May 31 and is expected to open at around $20 million during its first weekend as Godzilla: King of the Monsters presumably tops the musical.

The Classic Men In Black Prop That Plays A Big Role In The Reboot

The Classic Men In Black Prop That Plays A Big Role In The Reboot

Sing it with us: “Here come the Men In Black… again!” It has been seven years since the black-suited galaxy protectors at the Men In Black graced our movie screens, and Sony plans to bring the outfit out of mothballs for this summer’s Men In Black International. There will be some major changes. Gone are Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, staples of the series through the first three films. In their place are new agents played by Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, each eager to take on a globe-trotting adventure.

With the movie’s release date on the horizon, CinemaBlend ventured to London to spend time on the set of director F. Gary Gray’s sequel and learn about how Men In Black International planned to move the story forward, while also leaning on the franchise’s past. There will be nods to the existing Men In Black movies – heck, Emma Thompson reprises her role as Agent O, proving this story takes place in the same continuity as the Smith and Jones adventures. And one prop, in particular, will play more of a central role in this movie’s narrative.

Producer Walter Parkes opened up about the development of the story for Men In Black International, saying that Chris Hemsworth’s character, Agent H, is well-known for defeating a villain known as The Hive. Only, maybe he didn’t… and his memory is affected by the infamous neuralyzer that’s always used in the MiB series. Parkes told CinemaBlend:

Rafe [Spall] plays Agent C, who’s Chris’s rival. The Hive is the villainous force that Liam [Neeson] and Chris defeated four years before all of this. And our story deals with a sort of repeating history. The Hive have come back, and we discover that the circumstances of the great moment that made Chris’s character a hero may not have been true. So it’s interesting. … You know the thing about the neuralyzer, it’s a very interesting prop in the Men in Black universe, and the idea of taking people’s memories away and putting in false memories, which we’ve used but sort of around the kind of periphery of our plots, might have a little more central role in this one.

That’s an interesting approach. Is it possible that Chris Hemsworth’s Agent H was neuralyzed by his own people into believing he did some heroic deeds? In the initial trailer for Men In Black International, Hemsworth was playing his character as someone who is a little aloof and above the action, perhaps seeing himself as too good to worry about alien creatures and otherworldly messes. Maybe it’s because his memory has been altered? We’ll know soon enough.

Tessa Thompson, meanwhile, fits into the narrative as a New York-based fan of the MiB who discovers the secret agency, then talks Emma Thompson’s supervisor into letting her into the organization. Tessa will join Hemsworth on his missions, and probably prove herself to be more adept at alien busting than the burly Aussie is.

See their chemistry on display in that full Men In Black International trailer:

It’s cool that the new story is making good use of props from the original series, and evening finding important ways to potentially use them and add fresh angles to the Men In Black narrative. The use of the neuralyzer is a signature move for MiB, and I’m curious about how using it on an agent like H will impact the story.

Find out when Men In Black International arrives in theaters on June 14. And stay on CinemaBlend for a lot more coverage from our visit to the set of F. Gary Gray’s upcoming sequel.

Maleficent 2 Just Got Pushed Way Up In The Theatrical Schedule

Maleficent 2 Just Got Pushed Way Up In The Theatrical Schedule

It took a long time to get a sequel to Maleficent off the ground and while it's been half a year since the project wrapped filming, it was still going to be more than a year before the movie hit theaters, with the film set to release in May of 2020. However, this morning Disney revealed a few small pieces of very interesting information. One was the film's official title, and another was a brand new release date that moves the film way up the calendar. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is now coming out this year, on October 18, 2019.

Why This Release Date Is A Big Change

When release dates for movies change, it's almost exclusively delays. When films do have their release pushed up, it might be by a couple of weeks, or at the most a couple of months. Seeing a movie jump more than a year up the calendar is unusual.

From a post-production stand point it's probably not an issue. The film is still coming out more than a year after filming wrapped. The bigger issue with the release date move is that Disney is moving Maleficent: Mistress of Evil into an already very crowded year, one that's been made crowded mostly by Disney itself.

This will make Maleficent: Mistress of Evil the fourth Disney live action remake -- or in this case, sequel to one -- coming out this year alone. Dumbo hits later this month, then Aladdin in May, The Lion King in July, and now Maleficent in October.

And that's just the movies based on previous animated material. 2019 is a huge year for Disney, from Captain Marvel arriving this week, to Avengers: Endgame to Frozen II to Star Wars: Episode IX, the House of Mouse is going to have no problem bringing in a massive box office this year, The studio didn't exactly need the help.

Having said all that, there is something of a gap in that schedule, as Disney didn't have anything on the calendar between August's Artemis Fowl and November's Frozen II so it's not like Disney will be cannibalizing its own box office here. And a pre-Halloween release date for Disney's biggest villain isn't the worst idea in the world. Nothing of note was set to release that weekend. Zombieland 2 and the animated Addams Family movie are set to hit the weekend before.

Maleficent 2 Also Got A First Look

In addition to the title and release date, a poster for the new film was also released. Check it out below.

The Title Calls Back To Sleeping Beauty

In Disney's original Sleeping Beauty Maleficent refers to herself as the "Mistress of All Evil." While the title calls back to that, don't expect Angelina Jolie's character to be too evil. She's not technically the villain of the story. That role is reportedly been taken by Ed Skrein.

Although, the use of the title with the new release date makes one wonder if the new movie will be something closer to horror than the original. It's certainly setting itself up to imply a very dark movie.

The success of the original Maleficent is largely responsible for the influx of live-action remakes that Disney has gone all-in on. The movie was a smash hit. The sequel will also be a return for Angelina Jolie who hasn't been on screen since the year after the original Maleficent came out. If fans are still hungry for the character or the actress then we could see yet another big hit in what is already going to be a year of big hits for Disney.

Katherine Langford’s Cut Avengers: Endgame Role Would Have Been Very Cool

Katherine Langford’s Cut Avengers: Endgame Role Would Have Been Very Cool

We've officially reached a point where spoilers regarding Avengers: Endgame are allowed, and that means that the filmmakers themselves are now talking openly about some of the decisions that led to what we saw in the epic Marvel movie. They're also talking about decisions that led to things that ended up not making it into the movie at all.

Several months ago it was reported that 13 Reasons Why and Love, Simon star Katherine Langford had been cast in an undisclosed role for the recent film. However, if you've seen the movie, you know the actress never actually appears in the final film. While the scene was cut, it seems the plans for Langford were significant, as she was hired to play an older version of Tony Stark's daughter, Morgan Stark. According to Joe Russo...

There was an idea that we had that Tony was going to go into the metaphysical way station that Thanos goes in when he snapped his fingers. And that there was going to be a future version of his daughter in that way station.

When Thanos commits universal genocide at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, we see him standing in some sort of otherworldly place where he is confronted by a child version of Gamora. She asks him what it has cost for Thanos to finally achieve his objective.

It seems the plan was to have a similar scene in Avengers: Endgame where Tony Stark has a similar vision upon using the Infinity Stones. Instead of seeing his younger daughter, he sees a version of her grown up, where Morgan tells him that it's ok that he's gone. This gives Tony Stark peace and allows him to go.

The Russos confirm to the Happy Sad Confused Podcast that the scene was shot, but in showing it to test audiences, they found that the scene was actually quite confusing, and so they took it out. Anthony Russo explains part of why it didn't work.

What we realized about it was we didn't have, we didn't feel an emotional association with the adult version of his daughter so it wasn't ringing to us, resonating with us on an emotional level, which is why we moved away from it.

Instead, Pepper Potts is sitting by Tony as he fades away, and tells him that she and Morgan will be ok. Allowing Tony to finally rest.

Since the scene was shot, there's the possibility we might end up seeing as part of extras on the eventual Blu-ray release for Avengers: Endgame. While the scene might not have worked in the final cut, that doesn't mean it's not a cool scene on its own.

Of course, this information does open up a couple of questions we have to ask. If using all of the Infinity Stones sends you to some sort of cosmic way station, what did Hulk see when he was there?

Secondly, if the Marvel Cinematic Universe ever decides to take a time jump forward and show us an older Morgan Stark, could they call Katherine Langford again? Assuming Morgan got her parents' brains, she could be an important character in the future of the MCU.

Detective Pikachu Reviews Are Up, See What Critics Are Saying

Detective Pikachu Reviews Are Up, See What Critics Are Saying

After over two decades of video games, trading cards and animated TV shows and movies, Pokemon is finally making the jump to the live action realm with Pokemon: Detective Pikachu. The movie is arriving in theaters this weekend, but as is usually the case, numerous critics were able to see the movie early. Following the initial social media reactions, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu reviews are now pouring in, and the reception towards the first live action Pokemon movie is fairly mixed.

Starting, CinemaBlend’s own Dirk Libbey had a more mixed view towards Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, giving it 3 stars out of 5 stars in his review and saying that while you don’t need to be a Pokemon expert to enjoy the movie, it doesn’t hurt. Dirk complimented the look of Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, but noted that it’s filled with over-exposition about details concerning each major Pokemon, and the story leaves a lot to be desired, though it’s clear that Ryan Reynolds had a lot of fun voicing the titular Pikachu.

… While exposition is ham-handed and motivations are far from clear, there's a charm in Detective Pikachu that is undeniable. Seeing these creatures come to life is going to be a blast for fans, and while some of the references to the franchise might be lost on non-fans, Ryan Reynolds' charisma combined with seeing one lovingly crafted Pokemon creature after another will likely carry you through.

AV Club’s Jesse Hassenger was also more critical towards Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, giving it a C-. In Jesse’s opinion, the movie fails to effectively mix the classic Pokemon mythology with noir tropes, which is especially unfortunate for Kathryn Newton’s Lucy Stevens. Ultimately, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu “settles into the generic rhythms of a second-tier ’80s cop movie—in other words, noir for dummies,” though the Pokemon at least look good in their “half-realistic, half-cartoony CG.”

The movie tries to sound like a comedy (especially when Reynolds is talking), look like a noir, and act like a big summer blockbuster. It ends up a whole lot of cute, branded nothing—watchable junk for young adults of tomorrow to look back on with inordinate fondness.

On the more positive end of the spectrum, Dan Casey from Nerdist gave Pokemon: Detective Pikachu 4 out of 5 stars, calling it a “super effective” story that helps break the video game movie curse. Boasting “eticulous visual effects wizardry, a delightfully dry sense of humor, and an abiding love of pulp and noir,” Pokemon: Detective Pikachu gives audiences a world where these Pocket Monsters feel like “living, breathing creatures.”

While Detective Pikachu doesn’t reinvent the wheel in terms of storytelling, it has managed the seemingly impossible of creating a deeply satisfying and fully realized world based on something with so much fan expectation and preconceived notions attached to it.

Back to mixed territory, Empire’s Olly Richards stamped Pokemon: Detective Pikachu with 3 out of 5 stars. In Olly’s eyes, the movie’s plotting is “pretty shoddy,” in that it doesn’t clearly establish the rules of Pokemon and full of characters monologuing about what’s happening and what will happen. The saving grace is Ryan Reynolds’ performance as Pikachu, as his lines are “sharp, silly and knowing.”

It’s impossible to overstate how much this film owes to Ryan Reynolds. Even if you don’t understand Pikachu’s world, everyone can understand a great joke superbly delivered.

Chris Nashawaty from Entertainment Weekly gave Pokemon: Detective Pikachu a C+, calling it “narratively incoherent to the point of being almost avant-garde.” If you’re already a Pokemon fan, you’ll appreciate the movie much more than someone going in with barely any familiarity with the franchise.

As the wisecracking voice of Pikachu, Ryan Reynolds deserves some sort of special citation for doing the best he can without Deadpool’s f-bombs (or a decent script) to lean on. But the main problem is that the film’s gumball-mayhem plot is so frenetic that it’s impossible to determine if it makes a lick of sense. Maybe that was the point.

The Hollywood Reporter’s Michael Rechtshaffen was among the critics who took a more positive stance on Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, saying that writer/director Rob Letterman’s “energetic direction,” Ryan Reynolds’ “world-weary” Pikachu and Justice Smith’s “necessarily reactive performance” are just enough to make this an enjoyable cinematic offering.

Those anticipating another Golden Raspberry-worthy contender like last year’s The Happytime Murders, another spoof of classic pulp fiction, can park their preconceived notions at the door. It turns out Pokemon Detective Pikachu isn’t half bad.

Finally, IGN’s Joshua Yehl awarded Pokemon: Detective Pikachu an 8 out of 10 score, complementing how well animated the Pokemon are and how they feel like a “natural part of the world.” The storytelling “isn’t entirely up to par,” but this is somewhat balanced out by a “layered sense of humor” that’s willing to poke fun at itself and paves the way for some deep-cut references.

Detective Pikachu mixes humor, heart, and gloriously-rendered Pokémon to deliver a simple yet entertaining time.

These are just a sampling of the Pokemon: Detective Pikachu reviews available now, so feel free to read what other people thought of the movie elsewhere on the internet. However, working off these examples, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu falls right in the middle when it comes to critical reception. There’s definitely enough for longtime Pokemon fans to enjoy, and some newbies might also be entertained, but there are definitely various issues that prevent this movie from being exceptional.

Looking to the commercial side of things, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu was predicted last month to open between $75-$90 million, so it won’t be much longer until we learn whether it meets, exceeds or falls short of those expectations. Assuming it is a critical success, Warner Bros already has a Detective Pikachu sequel in the works, and there’s the potential for this film series to evolve into a cinematic universe.

You can judge Pokemon: Detective Pikachu for yourself starting this weekend, but if you’re more curious about what movies will be arriving later in 2019, you can look through our handy release schedule for that information. Be sure to stay tuned to CinemaBlend for any updates concerning the future of Pokemon on the silver screen.

Looks Like The Fox And Disney Merger Will Cause A Ton Of Layoffs

Looks Like The Fox And Disney Merger Will Cause A Ton Of Layoffs

Even if you've never personally been part of a business merger of any kind (and I have), it's not hard to predict many of the things that will happen as a result. When two companies that used to do largely the same thing come together, you end up with one company that has a lot more employees doing the same job than it may necessarily need. That means layoffs. When two companies the size of Disney and 20th Century Fox come together, that's a lot of employees, and that means a lot of potential layoffs. Specifically, 7,500 people are expected to end up unemployed as a result of the merger.

Needless to say, 7,500 people is a lot of people who likely will be viewed as redundant after the dust settles. The Disney/Fox merger is expected to be finalized on paper as early as next week. We likely won't see a bunch of people out of work on day one. A lot of the work of combining these two massive companies together likely hasn't even started yet, waiting for the merger to become official.

Certainly, not everybody coming on board is going to lose their job. Fox, and its various subsidiary divisions, is going to remain as a separate distribution label under the Disney umbrella, similar to Marvel Studios or Lucasfilm. Those parts of the company will still need people to run them and handle various jobs inside.

While it's easy to assume that layoffs will hurt a lot of the people in smaller positions, and it certainly will, nobody is entirely immune from layoffs. The new company doesn't necessarily need any more vice presidents or other top level executives than it already has, so some layoffs will take place at every level. Though, certainly things will hurt the lower level employees more.

Most of these layoffs will likely come from the Fox side of things. Disney is the company retaining control over the new company, it's easier for Disney to simply keep all its people in place and simply add in the necessary Fox people, but there's no way to know for sure.

It shows just how big the new Walt Disney Company will be that it is adding an entirely new film division, some smaller film subsidiaries, like Fox Searchlight, as well as new cable channels, and more, and will still need to layoff something close to 7,500 people. THR says that the massive merger between AT&T and Time Warner won't result in nearly as many lost jobs. While there are some undeniably cool things that a Disney/Fox merger may create on the content side of things, it can't be overstated that this merger is changing the media landscape forever.

Wheels will begin turning next week once the merger is official and the new Walt Disney Company begins to move forward and figure out what it is going to be. Hopefully, the people who find themselves without a home in the new company won't be without a job for too long.

Shazam! Director Reveals Behind The Scenes Look At His Cameo

Shazam! Director Reveals Behind The Scenes Look At His Cameo

Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Shazam!

Big movies will often have fun cameos from their directors and DC’s Shazam! is no different. Director David F. Sandberg did show up in his delightful first foray into superhero moviemaking, but you could be forgiven for not spotting him. While many of Shazam!’s cameos are front and center for the audience to see, David F. Sandberg’s is very well hidden. The director recently revealed his cameo though and the process that went in to making it happen. Check it out:

The way David F. Sandberg presents this behind the scenes is funny, because when you first see him with his head covered in some kind of mold, you start wracking your brain trying to remember the movie and figure out what this cameo could possibly be. Or at least I did. The director was clearly getting fitted for some sort of molded costume and as you scroll through his Instagram pictures, you discover what that costume was.

David F. Sandberg cameoed as one of the Crocodile Men towards the end of the film, and it was clearly quite the involved process to make this cameo happen. Once the molds were made, we see that David F. Sandberg got to wear and test out a remote controlled crocodile head helmet that he could move with and snap its jaws. The prosthetic croc head even had the ability to electronically control the movement of the eyes and the eyelids.

The whole thing honestly looks ridiculous and kind of fun, if not a little stuffy. This also makes it plainly obvious why you could watch Shazam! a thousand times and not spot David F. Sandberg’s cameo without his reveal here. Quite a bit of work went in to making this practical effect and cameo happen, which is admirable considering that it could have just been done with CGI (without the cameo) for what was ultimately a very quick shot.

The cameo occurs towards the end of the movie, when Shazam and his foster siblings are trying to escape from the Rock of Eternity and Doctor Sivana and they come to a cavern filled with many doors to the Seven Realms. They begin opening doors to find a way out and one of those doors had the strange sight of three crocodile men in suits playing cards in it.

As David F. Sandberg shows in his Instagram, this isn’t an invention for the film but an Easter egg that has a basis in the comics. The Crocodile Men of the planet Punkus are villains of Shazam and members of the Monster Society of Evil.

This is quite a cool cameo that doubles as an Easter egg, and also shows how much fun David F. Sandberg wanted to have in this. He could have just shown up in the crowd during the bus scene or at the Christmas carnival at the end of the film but he went all out to do something different. There’s nothing wrong with more traditional cameos but its fitting that the horror director wanted to get a monster costume for his cameo.

David F. Sandberg’s heavily concealed appearance was far from the only cameo in Shazam! The film also featured a host of cameos from actors like Adam Brody as members of the adult Shazam Family, the appearance of which was a well-guarded secret prior to the film’s release. There was also something of a half-cameo by Superman at the end of the film, although it was not Henry Cavill.

Shazam! is now playing. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all this year’s biggest movies and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all your movie news.