Based on the short story “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” by A. S. Byatt and co-written and directed by George Miller for the screen, Dr. Alithea Binnie, played by Tilda Swinton, is an academic. She’s content with life and a creature of reason.
While in Istanbul attending a conference, she encounters a Djinn, played by Idris Elba, who offers her three wishes for his freedom. This presents two problems. First, she doubts he is real; second, because she is a scholar of story and mythology, she knows all the cautionary tales of wishes have gone wrong.
The Djinn pleads his case by telling her fantastical stories of his past. Eventually, she submits and makes a wish that surprises them both.
Co-directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves follows a charming thief, played by Chris Pine. A band of unlikely adventures embarks on a huge quest to retrieve a lost relic. But things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ release date is in the latest poster below.
Justice Smith plays Simon, Sophia Lillis plays Doric, Chris Pine plays Edgin, and Michelle Rodriguez plays Holga in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves from Paramount Pictures.
Daley wrote the screenplay with Michael Gilio with the story by Chris McKay. The rest of the cast includes Hugh Grant, Justice Smith, Michelle Rodriguez and Rege-Jean Page.
Sam Raimi is back directing in the superhero genre with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The film follows Dr. Stephen Strange, played by Benedict Cumberbatch, as he casts a forbidden spell and opens a portal to the multiverse.
A threat occurs and emerges that may be too big for his team to handle. Other cast members include Xochitl Gomez, Elizabeth Olsen and Rachel McAdams.
How often have you wanted to return to Hogwarts and spend time with Harry, Hermione, Ron and the other delightful characters written beautifully by J. K. Rowling?
In 2011, before the release of the last Harry Potter movie, YouGov America reported that 18 percent of those surveyed had read all the Harry Potter books. And 31 percent had read at least one book.
The story of Harry Potter is over with the disintegration of Voldemort in the last book and movie. We can still appreciate the seven books and eight movies by re-reading and re-watching the telling of a fantastic story.
Perhaps that is why HBOMax brings us Harry Potter’s 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts on New Year’s Day. Viewers watch as actors reminisce about working on one of the world’s finest movie franchises.
Directed by Sean McNamara, in 1684 France, Louis XIV, played by Pierce Brosnan, – the Sun King – is the most powerful monarch on the planet.
His birthday and a rare solar eclipse are approaching, and he’s worried about the future of France. His spiritual advisor, Père La Chaise, played by William Hurt, comforts him.
His physician, Dr. Labarthe, played by Pablo Schreiber, informs him that scientists believe mermaids contain a life force that grants immortality.
Louis commissions Yves, a young sea captain played by Benjamin Walker, to search the North Seas for the heretofore-mythical sea creature.
Meanwhile, to help pay off war debts, Louis brings to Court Marie-Josèphe, played by Kaya Scodelario, the daughter of the mistress he always loved.
Orphaned at a convent since birth, Marie-Josèphe is educated and musically gifted yet bears inherent defiance of authority. Père feels he can use Marie-Josèphe to tap into the deep pockets of Lintillac, played by Ben Lloyd-Hughes, a wealthy young merchant angling for a position at court and using her musical abilities to satisfy Louis’ ear.
As the week of the Eclipse begins, Yves returns to Versailles, successfully capturing a mermaid played by Fan Bingbing. They order him to place her in a reservoir beneath the Grotto of Thetis and restore her to total health.
Marie-Josèphe discovers the mermaid, and the two quickly develop a mysterious communication ability. Kindred spirits forge an empathic bond based on a common thread: the mermaid, in her capture, has been separated from her children and yearns to be reunited, and Marie-Josèphe still longs to know her parents. Marie-Josèphe also falls in love with Yves, not knowing he is the mermaid’s captor.
Eventually, Marie-Josèphe finds out that Louis has planned not only to marry her off to Lintillac, whom she hates, but, worse yet, to kill the mermaid. When confronting Louis, she learns the secret that has shrouded her life: the King is her father. Her heart leaps at the revelation, but the King is more concerned with the future of France than building a relationship with his daughter.
In the end, Marie-Josèphe understands she must defy her father, her King, to rescue the mermaid.
“When I read the novel The Moon and the Sun by Vonda McIntyre, I completely fell under its magical spell. A King, a secret daughter, and an incredible mermaid that lived in the fountains of Versailles,” tells McNamara. “I love to make inspirational movies that delight audiences around the Globe. We adapted the book into the feature film The King’s Daughter.”
McNamara made films like Soul Surfer, Spare Parts, and The Miracle Season, branched out, and made a fantasy film that the audience appreciated. “When you meet the mermaid, I want you to feel her journey as she adapts to her new world and meets Marie-Josephe D’Alember.”
McNamara’s love for music and his love of the ocean come together as Marie-Josephe plays her cello and communicates magically with the mermaid.
Even the love affair between Yves and Marie-Josephe is one of the ages. “It’s pure and whimsical. In fact, after playing the roles in the movie, Kaya Scodelario and Benjamin Walker fell in love in real life and now have two beautiful children.”
Bringing back David Yates, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore introduces Mads Mikkelsen as Grindelwald, a wizarding villain that Johnny Depp played prior.
The rest of the cast includes Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, Jude Law and Eddie Redmayne.
Written and directed by John Ridley and based on the short story by Robert Silverberg, Needle in a Timestack follows Nick, played by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Janine’, played by Cynthia Erivo, blissful life until her ex-boyfriend, played by Orlando Bloom, does a high-tech warp time to tear them apart. He uses Nick’s old girlfriend, played by Frieda Pinto, to complete the task.
Nick’s memories and reality disappear. He must decide how far he will go to save or let go of all that he loves. Does love endure, or is it all an illusion?
Mark Isham scored the movie soundtrack, and he always delivers.
Co-written, co-produced and directed by Matt Reeves, The Batman follows the cat-and-mouse game between Batman, played by Robert Pattinson, the Riddler, played by Paul Dano, and Commissioner Gordon, played by Jeffrey Wright.
The cast is enormous, with Colin Farrell as the Penguin, Andy Serkis as Alfred, Peter Sarsgaard as Gil Colson, and Zoe Kravitz, as Catwoman.
Matt Reeves’ credits include Cloverfield, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and War of the Planet of the Apes. He also worked with J.J. Abrams on the TV series Felicity.
Written and directed by Garth Jennings, Buster, Meena, Rosita, Gunter, Johnny and Ash prepare for a bigger stage and a brighter spotlight as they leave the Moon Theater for the big city in SING 2.
This animation feature is on the dovetails of the creators of Despicable Me, Minions and The Secret Life of Pets.
The next chapter welcomes Matthew McConaughey and Reese Witherspoon back, alongside Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton, Nick Kroll and Tori Kelly.
According to Netflix, where the movie streams and posted by IMDB, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, an animated movie, follows an ordinary family who finds themselves in the middle of their biggest family challenge yet — saving the world from the robot apocalypse.
When a film school of her dreams accepts creative outsider Katie Mitchell, she’s eager to leave home and find “her people,” when her nature-loving dad insists on having the whole family drive her to school and bond during one last totally-not-awkward-or-forced road trip.
But when the trip can’t get any worse, the family suddenly finds itself in the middle of the robot uprising. Everything from smartphones to Roombas to evil Furbys tries to capture every human on the planet.
Now it’s up to the Mitchells, including upbeat mom Linda, quirky little brother Aaron, their squishy pug, Monchi, and two friendly but simple-minded robots to save humanity.
Co-written and co-directed by Mike Rianda and Jeff Rowe, the voice cast includes Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph and Olivia Coleman.
