Focus News: August '21
The five biggest movie news headlines of the month.
It's been two years since we've had a summer of big movie blockbusters. But August has returned us to that annual familiarity, with cinemas becoming busier again and a wider variety of big studio films being shown, film is beginning to thrive again. We had Free Guy, Jungle Cruise, Candyman, Old and many more all with big screen releases. And now as we move in to the final third of the year we're preparing for Bond, Dune, more Marvel movies, big screen musicals and so much more. Go and grab some popcorn and get watching, it feels so good to be back!
In Memoriam: Ed Asner, age 91
Ed Asner, a man who gained legend status through his career of voice performance and gentle additions to incredible pieces of cinema. To most people he will be known for his performance as pensioner Carl Fredricksen in the Pixar film Up. To me, he's Santa Claus. Growing up and then rewatching, one Santa in particular stood out above the rest, and that came from Ed Asner in the Jon Favreau film Elf. He created a hard exterior Saint Nick that actors like Kurt Russell, Mel Gibson and Alec Baldwin have taken major inspiration from in the years following. And although those esteemed actors have been good, none have quite created the same spark as legend Eddie Asner.
Another R for The Matrix
At CinemaCon a few weeks ago, one of the biggest revelations was that the fourth Matrix film is still happening. With nothing being heard about the film in months, it was reassuring to fans of the franchise to hear that the film was still in the works, and it has a name...The Matrix Resurrections, keeping with that Matrix trend of an inclusion of a long word beginning with 'R' following the iconic franchise title.
No-one's Expendable...
...and especially not Jason Statham and Sylvester Stallone who are back for more Expendables action in the fourth instalment to the hunky action man franchise.
But a huge name has joined the cast list, actress Megan Fox who has been forefront on the big screens less than expected in the past decade. The prospect of seeing her put Statham and Stallone in their place is an exciting one.
Dolph Lungren and Randy Couture will also be returning with Tony Jaa and 50 Cent new additions to the team.
Black Panther: Ironheart forever
Now the news isn't recent that Dominique Thorne will be playing Riri Williams in the already jam-packed Marvel Cinematic Universe. But what is more current news is that the first time we'll be seeing the character will be in the highly anticipated Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
An Ironheart Disney+ TV show will soon follow the film, but speculations are high now. Perhaps will be a part of Shuri's new project...or maybe her tech can help the Wakandans...we can't wait to buy our tickets and find out.
Wes Anderson assembles his super team
Not much more needs to be said. Just look at that image of stunningly excellent performers and you'll probably get the gist.
Wes Anderson has seen the incredible casts being assembled recently by directors like Martin Scorsese and Rian Johnson, and raised them with this star-studded lineup:
Tilda Swinton, Tom Hanks, Margot Robbie, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Adrien Brody, Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Rupert Friend, Hope Davis, Jeffrey Wright, Live Schreiber and Tony Revolori is how the cast stands currently. Surely there can't be any more names added to this incredible list. Lining up all of these actors' schedules sounds like a logistical nightmare, but it'll be well worth it in the end we're sure.
talkabout August
The three August podcast episodes to go and catch up on:
Episode 50. List 'em up: Steven Spielberg w/ Helen O'Hara
Our landmark 50th episode was a special one. Another one of our list 'em up episodes where we discuss a director or film studio. This time was one of the biggest, most successful directors of all time: Steven Spielberg. And we were joined by a Spielberg expert, editor-at-large for Empire Magazine Helen O'Hara.
Episode 51. On the Shelf: Surf's Up
Ellis has rambled on about the Sony Animated film Surf's Up since the podcast's inception. And now finally a whole episode has been dedicated to talking about it.
Episode 52. August Wrapped | Jungle Cruise, Free Guy, The Suicide Squad
The big movie blockbusters are back, and we talkabout three of the big ones in episode 52; as well as all the TV, gaming and movie releases that we can think of.
All of the above are available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or wherever you stream your podcasts. If you don't have any access to any podcast streamers then simply hit the link below and go and check the latest episodes out.
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1330912
Top 5 August films and where to view them
Summer of Soul | Disney+ | ★★★★★
Free Guy | Cinemas | ★★★★
Candyman | Cinemas | ★★★★
Jungle Cruise | Cinemas | ★★★
The Suicide Squad | Cinemas | ★★★