John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum Reviews Are Up, See What Critics Are Saying

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum Reviews Are Up, See What Critics Are Saying

At a glance, 2014’s John Wick could have easily been mistaken for a standard revenge flick that, other than its likable star, would be completely unremarkable. Yet, in one of the most pleasant surprises of recent years, John Wick turned out to be a stylish and original movie with riveting action that took full advantage of the talents of Keanu Reeves. Then in 2017, John Wick: Chapter 2 avoided a sophomore slump and proved this property has franchise potential.

Now John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum arrives to make it a trilogy. The first two films were critical successes and the reviews for the third just dropped. So did director Chad Stahelski and Keanu Reeves make it 3 for 3? CinemaBlend’s own Mike Reyes certainly thinks so, he gave Parabellum 4 stars out of 5 in his review, praising how the film delivers what we want and expect, while expanding the lore. Mike said:

Combining slick, brutal action, a devilish sense of humor, and an intriguing world that becomes more familiar (yet more mysterious each time), John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum delivers the goods yet again.

Mike Reyes appreciated the world-building the third film in this action franchise performed, expanding the lore and adding intrigue beyond the bullets. He wasn’t alone either, as IGN’s Jim Vejvoda also enjoyed the fleshing out of John Wick’s backstory and of course the gleefully violent action. Jim gave the film 8.5 and said:

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum brings the title character back to his roots while also offering new twists to where things could go from here, all with the over-the-top, brutally executed action set-pieces fans have come to expect from the franchise. They will not leave disappointed.

The John Wick franchise made its name on its incredible action and thus fans have come to expect that the ante will be upped each time out. On that account, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum looks like it delivers. In his 9 out of 10 review, Slashfilm’s Chris Evangelista went so far as to call it an “action masterpiece”:

John Wick 3 is a bone-cracking, horse-kicking, dog-biting, book-smashing, ax-throwing action masterpiece.

The word ‘epic’ gets thrown around a lot, but ‘masterpiece’ still carries an air of exclusivity and import. But having great action isn’t enough for everyone, it actually might be too much. In one of the few less enthusiastic reviews thus far, Variety’s Andrew Barker lamented that the action is action for its own sake and not in service to any deeper purpose. He said:

But as masterfully executed as the action is, watching two-plus hours of mayhem without any palpable dramatic stakes, or nuance, or any emotion at all save bloodlust offers undeniably diminishing returns. There are only so many times you can see a bullet pass through a skull before it gets deadening, and then almost dull.

For some, there is a desensitization to John Wick’s kills in the film and a lack of investment in the action because of a lack of stakes and emotion. There is something to be said for a franchise knowing what it is, what its goals are and delivering on them though and that’s what The Hollywood Reporter’s John DeFore highlights in his review:

An epic of choreographed mayhem that expands the Wickiverse in mostly pleasing ways, it is destined to satisfy fans of this surprise-hit franchise: If its ludicrous aspects bug you, what the hell are you doing here?

This was a common theme in the reviews. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum isn’t reinventing the wheel. It is expanding the mythology of the previous films and delivering the beautifully brutal action fans of the franchise want and expect. That beautifully choreographed and shot action is what makes the film work, as Vox’s Alissa Wilkinson said in her 3.5 out of 5 review:

Whatever it lacks in narrative intelligence it makes up abundantly in visual moxie, and in a medium that is first and foremost visual, that’s what makes something great

Entertainment Weekly’s Chris Nashawaty echoed this sentiment and summed up what John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parbellum is and what it isn’t in his “A-“ review, saying:

I don’t mean to give the impression that John Wick 3 is anything grander than a gorgeously choreographed, gratuitously violent action movie. But as gorgeously choreographed, gratuitously violent action movies go, it’s high art.

All in all, the reviews for John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum give the impression that if you enjoyed the previous two films and like exploring this world and seeing Keanu Reeves’ character kill lots of people in cool and brutal ways, you’ll have a blast with this movie.

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum opens in theaters on May 17. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all of the big movies arriving this summer.

Armie Hammer Reveals His Most Exhausting Moment Of Filming Hotel Mumbai

Armie Hammer Reveals His Most Exhausting Moment Of Filming Hotel Mumbai

Making movies can be a pretty tiresome task, especially if an actor is on a film as seriously intense as Hotel Mumbai. However, when it came to Armie Hammer's role in the film, exhausting is maybe an understatement, as one particular segment had him literally tied-up in production.

In fact, during a particular moment filming Hotel Mumbai -- and minor spoilers -- Hammer's character finds himself tied up as a hostage to the gunmen who overran the Taj Hotel on November 26, 2008. Bound with several other captives, including his onscreen wife played by Nazanin Boniadi, the scene comes at a crucial point during the film's standoff between the terrorists and the various law enforcement agents surrounding the building. With the pressure on to claim any one who's rich and American as collateral, Armie Hammer's character is undoubtedly a high priority target, and his safety from that point becomes one of the burning questions the audience is left to ponder until the end.

It's a powerful scene, but one that left him in a predicament for some time. He told CinemaBlend:

I spent about five days tied up, on the floor, for about 12 hours a day. Which was no fun. Everything just hurt, my hips hurt, my shoulders hurt. That was probably the hardest thing for me.

Armie Hammer revealed this fact during his chat with CinemaBlend at the recent Hotel Mumbai press day. And I can confirm the sequence in question looked just as grueling to watch as it was to film.

So naturally, having your arms and legs tied in such a fashion that you look believably captured on camera is going to do a number on you. On the other end of the camera, there was an equally exhausting task being undertaken: filming between two different locations that had to create a seamless whole.

Hotel Mumbai did use the actual exterior and lobby of the Taj Hotel in Mumbai for the film's titular setting. However, for the various interiors and other locations shown in the film, co-writer/director Anthony Maras used studios in Australia to complete the film's shooting locations. During that same press day, Maras detailed to us how using these two locations presented some interesting working scenarios:

In terms of sort of filming this film, every day was a challenge. We had huge logistical efforts of trying to recreate one of the grandest hotels in the world; and we had to do it between Australia and India. You know, you had Armie Hammer running out of a restaurant in Australia and into a lobby in India, and somehow we had to make that work. It’s a testament to our team on a logistical level, but far more difficult than that or far more poignant than that shall I say, is the challenge of having to do justice to the stories of the survivors and those who didn’t make it. And that was really at the forefront our entire time. The film is a plea for peace, and it’s an honest attempt to try and portray both the horror and the humanity of what went on inside the walls of the Taj Hotel.

You can see both Anthony Maras and Armie Hammer discussing their parts of the Hotel Mumbai process, in the below video, taken from that same press day:

Overall, the greatest obstacle for Hotel Mumbai was, as Anthony Maras said, the one that challenges many films based on a true story: honoring the tragedy and its victims, while also making it a seamless, entertaining, and informative experience. The dedication on both fronts shows strong in the film itself, making for a movie experience that should leave the audience thinking when they're walking out of the theater. Let's just hope all involved are nice and rested after capturing these harrowing events on film.

Hotel Mumbai opens in limited release this weekend, with a wide release taking place on March 29th.

Why The New Spider-Man: Far From Home Trailer's Big Twist May Not Mean What You Think

Why The New Spider-Man: Far From Home Trailer's Big Twist May Not Mean What You Think

The new trailer for Spider-Man: Far From Home dropped this morning, and as the first new thing to come out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a post-Avengers: Endgame spoiler world, it contained a lot of interesting bits of information.

One of the more interesting bits of information came from giving us more information about Jake Gyllenhaal's version of Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio. Fans of the comics who know the Mysterio character were already very curious about how this new version of the character was seemingly quite different, but now we apparently have an explanation as to why that is. Allegedly.

What Mystereo Says

The first words out of Jake Gyllenhaal's character in the new trailer are "we could have used someone like you on my world." It seems that the events of Avengers: Infinity War and/or Endgame had a significantly bigger impact on the universe than we thought. We're told that The Snap tore a hole in the fabric of reality, and Gyllenhaal's character, while from Earth, is not from the same one that we've been watching throughout the MCU.

While not specifically stated in the trailer, by implication, the idea is that the elemental monsters that Spider-Man and Mysterio will take on together in Far From Home, have also crossed over from this hole in dimensions.

Mysterio is traditionally one of Spider-Man's most popular villains, so the implication that he was a hero this time around has been interesting from the start. Perhaps the version of Quentin Beck from the MCU dimension is still a potential villain somewhere, but based on multiverse theory, there's always the possibility that he's a hero elsewhere.

Certainly, if true, the idea that crossing between dimensions is possible now in the MCU is a game changer, but that's only the case if any of this is actually true.

Why The Multiverse May Not Be Real

If you're at all familiar with Mysterio in the Spider-Man comics, then you know one thing. Quentin Beck is a damn liar. He is the lyingist liar who ever lied. He doesn't tell the truth is what I'm saying.

Of course, as a bad guy, one wouldn't expect Mysterio to be an honest man, but Mysterio's entire game takes falsehood to a new level. In the comics he has claimed to be multiple people who he is not. He has framed Spider-Man for crimes he did not commit. He has faked people's deaths. He has attempted to drive people insane by making them see or believe things that are not true.

Mysterio's whole game is using various means, many born out of movie special effects, to make people believe whatever it is he wants them to believe. So is it too much to believe that Mysterio is making people believe he's from another world when he's actually from the same one that everybody else is from?

From the moment that this Mysterio was suggested to be a hero we've all been at least open to the very likely possibility that he is not. It's very possible, it's almost certainly likely, that Mysterio is actually the villain of Spider-Man: Far From Home. The creatures are his creations which he is using so that he can defeat them and look like a hero.

To what end? Of course, we don't know that yet, but you can certainly bet there's something to gain from Mysterio if he pull it off.

The idea that he's using the multiverse as a cover for his plan isn't that much of a step to take. It would explain to everybody else where these creatures came from and also keep Nick Fury and others from taking too close a look at Beck himself if they think he's from another world. And considering everything that people like Peter Parker and Nick Fury have been through in the last five years, the idea that the multiverse is a thing would certainly not be the craziest thing to happen recently.

The idea that it could be used as a misdirection by Marvel just to mess with fans here can't be overlooked as a possibility. The multiverse concept is something that a lot of fans will probably get very excited about seeing. Of course, many fans got very excited about seeing the Mandarin in Iron Man 3, and that didn't really go how people were expecting. It's possible it's time for another big Marvel swerve.

It's possible this entire thing is a misdirection by both the character in the film, as well as the studio bringing us the movie.

What If The Multiverse Is Real After All?

Of course, with a lack of data, I'm simply theorizing in one direction. The opposite is certainly possible. The multiverse could certainly be a real thing. Mysterio could either be the hero that he claims to be or the villain that we suspect him to be, and be from another dimension either way. If that is the case, it certainly does kick open the door of the next phase of the MCU to go to places most of us have probably never considered.

This could certainly be the reason that Far From Home is considered the end of the MCU's Phase 3 rather than the start of Phase 4. Marvel wants to end this phase with an indication of what's to come, and that is the multiverse.

If Marvel ever is going to introduce the multiverse, now is as good a time as any to do it. It opens up the possibilities of a lot more stories. They could go literally anywhere from here if the multiverse is real. Unless Marvel Studios has somehow decided they will never introduce the multiverse in the MCU, the idea of this being a misdirect isn't necessarily the best idea. Just like the Iron Man 3 twist, if this one is a trick, a lot of fans will be less than thrilled, so teasing a multiverse now only works if you never go back on it.

I suppose we'll find out in a couple months when Spider-Man: Far From Home hits theaters in July.

No, Elisabeth Moss Isn't The Invisible Man In The Reboot

No, Elisabeth Moss Isn't The Invisible Man In The Reboot

Following the disappointing 2017 The Mummy reboot, Universal’s vision to start up an interconnected universe in which their movie monsters could interact in was scraped - including an Invisible Man re-imagining starring Johnny Depp. That being said, not all future plans for the creepy film icons are totally dead, though, as a new Invisible Man project helmed by Upgrade’s Leigh Whannell is in the works with Elisabeth Moss tapped to star. Of course, this has led to a lot of questions regarding the role that the Handmaid’s Tale actress would play, and she recently addressed those queries in an interview:

I haven’t gotten into what I’m allowed to say yet. I’m pretty sure I can say that I’m not ‘The Invisible Man.’ That would be weird. It’s a little bit of a different take on it. Part of the reason why I wanted to do it is I actually felt like it was a really feminist story of female empowerment and a victim kind of overcoming something. I don’t even know what I’m allowed to say about it! I’m not The Invisible Man, but there is an Invisible Man — if that makes any sense.

Interesting! As Elisabeth Moss touched on in her interview with The Hollywood Reporter, it would be strange if a movie about the legendary “Invisible Man” was switched to a woman. Then again, Hollywood has been prone to gender-swapping their franchises with female leads so jumping to that conclusion especially when the movie doesn’t yet have a male lead was a fair assumption. But apparently it's not to be.

The Mad Men actress is clearly trying not to give anything away about her upcoming film, but from what we can gather her character is a victim of sorts (maybe of the Invisible Man's?), and this movie will see her take on an empowering character arc where she’ll overcome adversity. Elisabeth Moss is known for taking on roles with feminist themes, so her decision to sign on to this high-profile movie is made more clear through her recent quote.

The original Universal project led by Johnny Depp was a completely different script with planned ties to other “Dark Universe” films such as The Mummy. Ed Solomon, who also worked on Men In Black and Now You See Me, was signed on to write the previous project before the writer/director behind Insidious: Chapter 3 and Upgrade took over. The new movie, produced by Jason Blum, is set to start filming later this year.

Blumhouse is also reportedly considering plans to revitalize franchises for Scream and Hellraiser, along with a more chilling take on Fantasy Island. Elisabeth Moss played a small role in Jordan Peele’s hit horror flick Us and currently stars in indie drama Her Smell about a punk rocker who struggles with addiction as she tries to revitalize her music career - which is in select theaters now. Hopefully we'll get to hear more about her role in The Invisible Man and more details about the project in general in the coming weeks and months, so be sure to stay tuned for all of the latest updates here on CinemaBlend.

Looks Like Disneyland Finally Figured Out Lines With Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

Looks Like Disneyland Finally Figured Out Lines With Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

For almost as long as we've known that something called "Star Wars Land" was on its way, we've been anticipating an absolutely mad rush of fans trying to get in to the new theme park experience. While there certainly have been some crazy crowds who want to be among the first to experience the land, the early word is that Galaxy's Edge might actually feel less crowded than other parts of the park and that lines haven't been nearly as bad as feared.

Theme park fans are no strangers lines. They are the unfortunate consequence of the popularity of attractions and while numerous different ideas, like Disneyland's FastPass system, have been implemented over the years to alleviate them, and do to a large extent, it's basically impossible to avoid lines entirely.

Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge was looking to have even more lines than usual. Due to the reservation system that is required for the first three weeks of the land's operation, there are lines just to get into the land before you even try to experience anything inside Batuu. However, Polygon reports that those lines have been little hindrance to enjoying the experience.

The first line, to check in for your reservation, takes place at the building that houses the Star Wars Launch Bay in Tomorrowland. That line was apparently quite long but moved incredibly quickly. This was followed by the crowd waiting for their reservation time at the Critter Country entrance to Galaxy's Edge. This was apparently less a line than a mass of humanity, but guests were polite and didn't get too pushy, making entry into the land fairly easy.

However, what's more surprising may be the fact that lines were also less of an issue inside Galaxy's Edge. Wait times for the land's one E-ticket attraction, Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run, apparently rarely hit an hour, which meant many guests were able to hit the ride multiple times during their four-hour window on Batuu. Since there are multiple roles to perform in the attraction, and your performance is graded, there is a lot of potential value in doing the ride multiple times beyond simply the enjoyment of it.

While the attraction has a FastPass queue built into it, the system has not yet been activated, and at this point we don't know when it will be, so the standby line is the only way to get on.

The only places where lines apparently are an issue is at Savi's Workshop, where one can build a custom lightsaber, and at Oga's Cantina, the one place at Disneyland park where the public can get an adult beverage. Both areas reportedly had to stop taking new customers early as the wait list for each four-hour window was hitting capacity.

While few organizations have had more practice managing queues than Disney Parks, it's still a bit surprising to hear of things going quite this smoothly. Few battle plans survive contact with the enemy, and whatever Disneyland was ready for, you'd expect something unexpected would still happen. But overall, it sounds like things are going as Disneyland has hoped.

The fact that Space Mountain has a longer wait time than Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run is probably the most surprising fact. It's unclear exactly why this is. It's possible that the attraction is just so efficiently designed that it moves through its crowd with incredible speed. It's also possible that the rest of Batuu simply has guests so excited that a lot of people aren't rushing to check out the attraction, even though it's the only one currently running in the land.

The other possibility, is that Disneyland isn't letting nearly as many people into Galaxy's Edge as the land can technically handle, making it all feel a little less crowded. It wouldn't be surprising if the park was using this three-week reservation period as a sort of soft opening, and that it was keep the crowd artificially low in order to specifically not overburden the land or the cast members. Once Disneyland is sure that everything is working as intended, they can open the floodgates and let the crowds go crazy.

When I visited Galaxy's Edge as part of a media preview, I found the place to be absolutely magical in the way it transported you to an alien world. However, a large part of that was exactly because the land did not feel crowded, though I had similar issues getting into Oga's Cantina. It's easier to believe you're on an alien planet when you're not surrounded by crowds of obvious tourists.

Batuu needs guests to fill it because part of the appeal is the atmosphere that you're in a place where many different sorts of people from all over the galaxy have come to mingle, shop, and trade. However, Batuu is also supposed to be a place on the edge of the galaxy that isn't a major hub of activity, so if too many people are there, that feel is lost.

It seems that Disneyland has taken this idea to heart. The park certainly could have sold more park tickets and crammed as many bodies as possible into the area, but instead, the decision was made to keep things more manageable. It will be interesting to see if this keeps up.

Keeping Batuu's crowds down will likely mean keeping some sort of waiting list system in place for the foreseeable future, if not permanently. It means selling fewer park tickets, and while Disney Parks certainly want to bring in lots of guests, if those guests don't have a perfect experience, then the net result isn't positive. If you've ever stayed at a Disneyland or Walt Disney World Resort hotel you know that a lot of things get taken care of to make sure the needs of every guest are met.

In the end, positive word of mouth about the Galaxy's Edge experience is probably worth more to Disney than selling more tickets and filling the space would achieve.

While the public reservations for Galaxy's Edge are gone, you can still secure yourself a four-hour trip to Batuu by booking a room at a Disneyland Resort hotel during the next three weeks. Beginning June 24 no reservation will be required to visit Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.

Avengers: Endgame Tickets Are About To Go On Sale

Avengers: Endgame Tickets Are About To Go On Sale

It an extremely exciting time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Just one movie is left in Phase Three, and it's likely going to be one of the most epic and devastating installments from the last decade of filmmaking. Avengers: Endgame will pick up after the harrowing events of Infinity War, which saw Thanos unite the Infinity Stones and wipe out half of all life in the galaxy. It was an ending no one could have predicted, and it's been a long year of waiting for answers to finally come.

But Endgame will arrive in a matter of weeks, so the wait is nearly over for the rabid Marvel fanbase. Moviegoers are eager to reserve their ticket and pick a seat for The Russo Brothers' massive blockbuster, and luckily that time is coming up soon. According to the latest report, Endgame tickets will be available for pre-sale tomorrow, April 2nd.

This news comes to us from Comic Book, who has reportedly confirmed the information with the studio. So round up your favorite group of fanboy friends, and see who is available to see Avenger: Endgame. Because if you want the best seats in the house, you'll need to hop online tomorrow to snag your choice tickets.

Avengers: Endgame's tickets going on sale make the upcoming blockbuster all the more real, and should get cinephiles seriously excited. Physical tickets make the release all the more real, as its been a long year between Infinity War and Endgame. Fans have been left to wait and theorize regarding what the upcoming blockbuster could contain, especially after the last movie's shocking ending.

Infinity War ended with Thanos winning, and wiping out half of all the galaxy's life. Moviegoers were left to watch in horror as countless fan favorite characters faded to dust before our eyes. It was a twist that seemed to put the future of the shared universe in jeopardy, as fan favorites like Spider-Man, Black Panther, and most of the Guardians of the Galaxy perished.

With so many of the OG Avengers coming to the end of their contracts with Endgame, smart money put Peter Parker and T'Challa in larger roles in the MCU after Phase Three. But in order for that to occur, the survivors are going to somehow find way to reverse Thanos' snap. There are a variety of theories about how this might occur, including time travel and the mysterious Quantum Realm. And with countless fan theories currently floating around the internet, moviegoers are eager for some concrete answers when Endgame finally debuts in theaters. And that wait is almost over.

Avengers: Endgame will fly into theaters with action and heart on April 26th, one year after Infinity War blew our minds. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

The Russo Brothers Confirm Endgame Is Their Last Marvel Outing

The Russo Brothers Confirm Endgame Is Their Last Marvel Outing

After 21 movies and a decade of filmmaking, it's finally here. Avengers: Endgame has arrived in theaters, bringing the long standing narrative to an end, and picking up on the surviving heroes after Thanos wiped out half the galaxy with the snap of his finger. These massive ensemble projects are only possible through the vision and ambition of co-directors The Russo Brothers, who have been the architects for Phase Three.

The Russo Brothers proved their ability to juggle massive casts with Captain America: Civil War, and their two Avengers movies have been universally acclaimed. So could they end up working on another MCU installment in the future? Probably not. As Anthony Russo recently said:

It’s our Endgame, at least for now. We don’t have any plans for now to make any more Marvel movies. It certainly may come up in the future at some point. We have a wonderful working relationship with [Marvel Studios] and a great passion for what they’re doing.

Well, that's a bummer. The Russo Brothers went above and beyond all expectations for their quartet of Marvel blockbusters, so the fandom would no doubt love to see more from them. But after working non-stop on Infinity War and Endgame over the past three years, you can't blame them for wanting a change of pace.

Anthony Russo's comments to GamesRadar make a great deal of sense. Given how much pressure has been on the brothers over the past 4-5 years, the time has come for them to step away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and work on different projects. Although, that doesn't mean they'll never return to helm another Marvel blockbuster. It's just the Endgame for now.

These comments might not surprise the fandom, but it highlights how little the public knows about the future of the MCU. Ahead of Avengers: Endgame's release, Marvel Studios was keeping its cards close to the chest. This was to protect the secrets of the highly anticipated blockbuster, despite the movie ultimately suffering a few leaks in the days before it hit theaters.

Related: 6 Incredibly Easy Ways To Avoid Avengers: Endgame Spoilers

But even revealing the titles of Phase Four's movies had the potential to spoil Endgame's biggest beats. A release schedule has certain implications just by what titles are on the way, and which franchises are potentially ending. The stakes are high and half of life was destroyed in Infinity War, so seemingly no one is safe from the rematch with Josh Brolin's Thanos.

Regardless of what's coming in Phase Four, one thing is clear: The Russo Brothers won't be a part of it. Instead, the co-directors will be able to work on non-Marvel projects, and bask in the light of their success. What's more, the duo can sit in theater to actually enjoy the next MCU installments, which should be a welcomed change of pace.

The Russo Brothers' (possibly) last Marvel project is currently on display, as Avengers: Endgame has finally arrived in theaters. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.