Britt Hayes is a writer, movie lover, and sensible sweater enthusiast living in Austin, Texas. She watches too much TV and never eats her vegetables.
Britt Hayes
New ‘Willy Wonka’ Prequel Will Challenge Your Belief in a World of Pure Imagination
Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory may be a world of pure imagination where the sky is the limit and anything is possible, but it’s hard to say the same about major studios, which keep returning to the same well of established franchises (including board games and toys) to cash-in on name recognition — why risk millions on an original, inventive idea when they can just repurpose a tried-and-true classic? Such is the case with good ol’ Willy Wonka, who is returning to the big screen in a new prequel film from the producer of the Harry Potter series.
New Amazon Prime Instant Video Releases: November 2016
Amazon is giving you plenty of things to be thankful for in November, adding dozens of new film and television titles to their streaming library — would it be too much to ask for an add-on program that takes the agony out of deciding what to watch, though? For instance, it’s a heavy first world burden to choose between the first season of AMC’s The Night Manager and binge-watching all of the Rocky movies (yes, even Creed). Before you know it, you’ve already wasted half of your Saturday browsing before you end up rewatching The Addams Family for the billionth time.
Surprise! Michael Moore Made a Secret Donald Trump Movie, and It Opens This Week
With Where to Invade Next, audiences saw a different, more optimistic side of Michael Moore. It was a fairly fun movie — at least in comparison to Moore’s other films, which are typically a bit pessimistic about American politics. If you thought the outspoken documentarian might sustain that positive attitude for his next film, you were mistaken. Moore’s latest project is a documentary he’s been working on in secret, and it’s all about this election year’s most controversial candidate: Donald Trump.
Taraji P. Henson Puts Hollywood Pay Gap on Blast, Details Offensive ‘Benjamin Button’ Salary in New Memoir
Hollywood’s troubling pay gap problem doesn’t only apply to gender; it also applies to people of color. And when you’re both a woman and a person of color, that salary discrepancy can be twice as offensive. Just ask Empire star Taraji P. Henson, who detailed her egregious experiences with Hollywood’s pay gap in her new memoir, which reveals that she was paid about two percent of what Brad Pitt made on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — and that’s just the start.
‘The Monster’ Trailer: Zoe Kazan Meets Something Worse Than Cujo
It took director Bryan Bertino six years to deliver a follow-up to his directorial debut, 2008’s terrifying instant horror classic The Strangers. Although most people didn’t check out his second film, the surprisingly decent found footage flick Mockingbird (it’s on Netflix, FYI), perhaps more will be drawn to The Monster. The first trailer for Bertino’s latest has arrived online, teasing a simple horror thriller in the vein of Cujo.
‘Sleepless’ Trailer: Jamie Foxx Will Kill Everyone to Get His Son Back
Do you like the Taken films? Do you love John Wick? (That’s a rhetorical question; of course you do.) What if you combined the two into one film, threw in some dirty cops and Jamie Foxx with a vendetta? You’d get Sleepless, the new remake of the acclaimed French action film Sleepless Night. The first trailer for the upcoming thriller ticks off all the right boxes, and with the help of some great music and excellent editing, we were sold on this one before the 60-second mark.
Disney’s Live-Action ‘Mulan’ Gets a Release Date
Few things in life are certain: Death, taxes, and Disney’s live-action remakes of animated classics. One of the studio’s many, many, many upcoming live-action projects has graduated from concept to reality (or something close to it) as Disney has officially set a release date for Mulan, giving you ample time to clear your calendar for the first weekend of November…in 2018.
‘Harry Potter’ Movies (Yes, All of Them) Heading to IMAX for One Week Only
We’ll be returning to J.K. Rowling’s magical world of wizards this November with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and to help get you in the proper spirit, Warner Bros. is re-releasing all eight of the Harry Potter films — in IMAX, no less. There is a catch, of course: The films will only screen for one week, so if you want to see Mr. Potter & Co. on the very-very-big screen, you might want to clear your calendar.
Stick Around For These ‘The Blair Witch Project’ Facts
Released in 1999, The Blair Witch Project quickly became one of the most profitable independent films of all time. It wasn’t technically the first found footage horror film, but it’s still the most famous of the bunch. Everyone knows the Blair Witch name (and the names Heather, Josh and Mike), but did you know that directors Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick’s wildly successful horror flick didn’t even have a script? That’s just one of the facts featured in the last episode of You Think You Know Movies!
New HBO NOW Releases: September 2016
Vice Principals Season 1 may be ending next month, but HBO NOW’s September slate also includes the series premiere of the network’s latest comedy offering, High Maintenance. For those interested in catching up with (or revisiting) newer films, HBO’s big September movie additions include The Revenant and Steve Jobs.
New Amazon Prime Instant Video Releases: September 2016
September is a big month for Amazon streaming releases, and if you have a Prime membership, there’s plenty to get excited about — like the highly-anticipated debut of Transparent Season 3. Also premiering next month are new shows from Tig Notaro and Woody Allen, as well as the addition of several films, including a handful of classic titles and recent favorites like The Witch and Sicario. Read on for our complete guide to Amazon Prime Instant Video’s new releases.
New ‘Blair Witch’ TV Spots Take You Back Into the Woods
2016 has been the year of pop culture surprise releases — some, like Lemonade and 10 Cloverfield Lane, have been pretty great, which makes us even more hopeful for Blair Witch. Originally marketed as The Woods, the sneaky sequel to the found footage horror classic is set to hit theaters next month, taking audiences back to where it all began…but judging by these new TV spots, heading back into the woods of Burkittsville seems like a pretty terrible idea (in a good, spooky way, of course).