Disney+ has unveiled the official trailer and key art for Original film “The Valet,” starring Eugenio Derbez (“CODA”), Samara Weaving (“Nine Perfect Strangers”), Max Greenfield (“New Girl”) and Betsy Brandt (“Breaking Bad”). “The Valet” premieres on Disney+ on May 20th.
In “The Valet,” world famous movie star, Olivia (Samara Weaving) faces a PR disaster when a paparazzi snaps a photo of her with her married lover, Vincent (Max Greenfield). The hard-working valet Antonio (Eugenio Derbez) accidentally appears in the same photo and is enlisted to pose as Olivia’s new boyfriend as a cover up. This ruse with Olivia thrusts Antonio into the spotlight and unexpected chaos. In this fish out of water romantic comedy, two worlds and cultures collide as both Olivia and Antonio start to see themselves more clearly than ever before. “The Valet,” directed by Richard Wong and written by Rob Greenberg and Bob Fisher, is the English-language remake of the hit French film.
The incredible cast also includes Carmen Salinas Lozano, Amaury Nolasco, Marisol Nichols, Diany Rodriguez, Tiana Okoye, John Pirrucello, Ravi Patel, Noemí González, and Lunay.
“The Valet” is directed by Richard Wong (“Dear…,” “Come as You Are”) and produced by Ben Odell and Eugenio Derbez (3Pas Studios).
Disney+ has revealed a first look of the upcoming Original film “The Valet,” starring Eugenio Derbez (“CODA”), Samara Weaving (“Nine Perfect Strangers”), Max Greenfield (“New Girl”) and Betsy Brandt (“Breaking Bad”). “The Valet” premieres on Disney+ and Disney streaming services globally on May 20th, 2022.
In “The Valet,” world famous movie star, Olivia (Samara Weaving) faces a PR disaster when a paparazzi snaps a photo of her with her married lover, Vincent (Max Greenfield). The hard-working valet Antonio (Eugenio Derbez) accidentally appears in the same photo and is enlisted to pose as Olivia’s new boyfriend as a cover up. This ruse with Olivia thrusts Antonio into the spotlight and unexpected chaos. In this fish out of water romantic comedy, two worlds and cultures collide as both Olivia and Antonio start to see themselves more clearly than ever before. “The Valet,” directed by Richard Wong and written by Rob Greenberg and Bob Fisher, is the English-language remake of the hit French film.
The incredible cast also includes Carmen Salinas Lozano, Amaury Nolasco, Marisol Nichols, Diany Rodriguez, Tiana Okoye, John Pirrucello, Ravi Patel, Noemí González, and Lunay.
“The Valet” is directed by Richard Wong (“Dear…,” “Come as You Are”) and produced by Ben Odell and Eugenio Derbez (3Pas Studios).
Summary: A G.I. Joe spin-off centered around the character of Snake Eyes.
Year: 2021
Cinema Release Dates: 22nd July 2021 (Australia), 23rd September 2021 (Thailand), 18th August 2021 (UK), 23rd July 2021 (USA)
VOD Release Dates: TBA
Country: Canada, USA
Director: Robert Schwentke
Screenwriter: Evan Spiliotopoulos, Joe Shrapnel, Anna Waterhouse
Cast: Haruka Abe (Akiko), Steven Allerick (Father), Max Archibald (Young Snake Eyes), Simon Chin (Hama), Ursula Corbero (Baroness), Samuel Finzi (Mr. Augustine), Henry Golding (Snake Eyes), Takehiro Hira (Kenta), Eri Ishida (Sen), Andrew Koji (Tommy/Storm Shadow), James Hiroyuki Liao (Yasuzo), Peter Mensah (Blind Master), Iko Uwais (Hard Master), Samara Weaving (Scarlett)
Running Time: 121 mins
Classification: M (Australia), .PG-13 (USA)
OUR SNAKE EYES: G.I. JOE ORIGINS REVIEWS
David Griffiths’ Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins Review:
Any cinema goer could be forgiven for going into a G.I. Joe prequel and not expecting much. The bar for this franchise has not been set very high. 2009’s G.I. Joe: Rise Of Cobra was pretty bad and 2013’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation was only marginally better, so to not expect much from Snake Eyes: G.I Origins is only natural. The pleasant surprise is that Snake Eyes is not only the best of the G.I. Joe family to date – it is one of the best action films that we have had released in awhile. To be honest Snake Eyes is the film that Mortal Kombat should have been.
Plot-wise Snake Eyes goes right back to the beginning for one of the franchises most interesting characters. The film shows Snake Eyes’ (Henry Golding – The Gentlemen) journey from a young boy who witnessed his father’s death through to an illegal cage fighter who is determined to one day kill his father’s murderer.
From there he is recruited by Kenta (Takehiro Hira – Lost Girls And Love Hotels), a Yakuza boss who promises Snake Eyes the head of his father’s murderer in exchange for services. But after protecting a colleague named Tommy (Andrew Koji – Fast & Furious 6) he is taken to Tommy’s clan in Japan where Tommy plans for him to train as a warrior under the watchful eyes of Sen (Eri Ishida – Distant Thunder), Hard Master (Iko Uwais – The Raid) and Blind Master (Peter Mensah – Avatar).
While Snake Eyes is convinced that he can pass the three trials that will see him become a warrior he finds resistance from the Clan’s Security Chief, Akiko (Haruka Abe – Cruella), who doesn’t trust him and is burdened with a dark secret.
From director Robert Schwentke (Red) Snake Eyes feels like the kind of film that most people expected Mortal Kombat to be – a Western action film that very much pays tribute to its Eastern roots. The fight sequences in Snake Eyes are brilliant, to the point that some of the early scenes feel as good as anything we have seen in films like The Raid over the years.
To the film’s credit it is also taken to a whole new level by a screenplay that gives characterisation to all of its characters, including those with smaller parts like Baroness (Ursula Corbero – The Tree Of Blood) and Scarlett (Samara Weaving – Guns Akimbo). That quickly allows the audience to warm to characters like Tommy and Snake Eyes while Snake Eyes’ arrival at the Clan feels like Harry Potter’s arrival at Hogwarts. You can feel that this is a journey that is about to change a character’s life forever without the film itself over-playing it.
That screenplay also comes to the fore when the a major twist is revealed. For once in modern day city the screenplay never gives any indication to what is about to happen and at the same time it is done in such a way that the audience won’t feel like they have been ripped off with a cheap blindsight.
Also making this film a must see are the performances of the lead actors. Henry Golding is sensational as Snake Eyes, he has the right mix of action star and dramatic actor to pull off brilliantly whatever is thrown at him in this film. His scenes with both Andrew Koji and Haruka Abe are often suspenseful but also have heart to them, while Golding himself depicts a torn character in a way that we are normally used to only seeing in dramatic films and not action films.
It may come as a complete surprise to most film lovers but Robert Schwentke really has created an amazing action film in the form of Snake Eyes. From great action sequences through to characters that the audience will quickly warm to and a well-thought plot that provides enough twists and turns to wow the audience Snake Eyes is a must see for fans of great action films.
Dave’s rating Out Of 5
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Australian animated film 100% Wolf is to be released on VOD platforms on the 29th May. The film was created by Australian company Flying Bark Productions and tells the story of a young werewolf who is surprised that on his 14th birthday he turns into a poodle.
Freddy the werewolf is voiced by actor and Triple J radio host Ilai Swindells and has a stellar supporting cast of Samara Weaving, Jai Courtney, Magda Szubanski, Jane Lynch, Rhys Darby and Akmal Saleh.
100% Wolf will be released on premium VOD on May 29th.
Summary: Miles is stuck in a dead-end job, still in love with his ex-girlfriend Nova. Unbeknownst to him, a gang called Skizm is running a deadly competition within his city in which complete strangers fight to the death for the entertainment of an online audience of millions. Miles soon finds himself caught up in the game and forced to fight in a battle to the death. Initially, Miles’ lifetime of running from his problems pays off as he manages to elude his first opponent but when Nova is kidnapped, he must finally stop running and overcome his fears to fight for the girl he loves.
Year: 2019
Australian Cinema Release Date: 28th February 2020
Thailand Cinema Release Date: 9th April 2020
Australian DVD Release Date: TBA
Country: United Kingdom, Germany, New Zealand
Director: Jason Lei Howden
Screenwriter: Jason Lei Howden
Cast: Anne Alexander-Sieder (Martha Seabert), Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Nova), Grant Bowler (Degraves), Milo Cawthorne (Hadley), Logan Cole (Daddy Doubletaps), Rhys Darby (Glenjamin), Ned Dennehy (Riktor), Hanako Footman (Ruby), Stephen Grey (Vadim), Jacqueline Lee Guerts (Irine Degraves), Aaron Jackson (Clement), Richard Knowles (Xander), Aaron McGregor (Jock), Colin Moy (Clive), Racheal Ofori (Effie), Bella Paddin (Young Nix), Daniel Radcliffe (Miles), Jack Riddiford (Shadwell), Mark Rowley (Dane), Set Sjostrand (Fuckface), Josh Thomson (Grim), Janos Tiborcz (Graveworm), Samara Weaving (Nix), Joe Witkowski (Longshot), Edwin Wright (Stanton)
Running Time: 95 mins
Classification: MA15+ (Australia) TBC (Thailand)
OUR GUNS AKIMBO REVIEWS & RATINGS:
Dave Griffiths’ Guns Akimbo Review:
I have always felt for young actors and actresses who seem to have their careers tarnished by the very role that made them famous. A lot of people seem to disagree that it even happens but then how many times did you hear ‘not that guy from Twilight’ when Robert Pattinson was recently cast as Batman?
What the actor really needs is a role that is so far removed from their early career that it makes audiences see them in a different light, why do you think so many young stars try to do a role that involves nudity as soon as they turn eighteen?
One actor that has been desperately trying to break the mould set for him by his breakout role is Daniel Radcliffe. Radcliffe has tried so valiantly to try and shake off the Harry Potter tag – he’s done Australian films, gone to the dramatic extremes in Kill Your Darlings but the tag only seemed to lift a little when he stunned cinema-goers with the obscure but brilliant Swiss Army Man. Now Radcliffe hopes to shrug off the rest of that tag with a sheer brilliant performance in a film that is guaranteed to become a cult classic – Guns Akimbo.
Here Radcliffe plays Miles, a games programmer who is stuck in a dead-end job that he loathes with a boss who is nothing but a bully. While he hates his job, he hates his life even more as his recent separation from his girlfriend Nova (Natasha Liu Bordizzo – Hotel Mumbai) only seems to remind him just how in love with her he was.
In a state of boredom one night he leaves a trolling comment on the website of a popular death match reality game that is being run by an extremely violent organisation called Skizm. Angered by the comment the group’s leader, the psychopathic Riktor (Ned Dennehy – Mandy) has Miles captured and then has his goons bolt weapons to his hands. He then places Miles in the game and has him compete against the reigning champion, the criminally insane Nix (Samara Weaving – Ready Or Not), who believes one more kill will see her free of the game and then finally able to live her life the way that she wants to.
If the plot sounds insane it is because that is exactly what it is. It is the last kind of film that you would ever expect Radcliffe to want to be cast in yet somehow his performance grouped together by the fact that the film is in the capable hands of Deathgasm director Jason Lei Howden sees it become a cult classic that cinema lovers are going to lap up right away.
One of the keys to the film working is the fact that Howden is a cult film lover himself. His love for video games and 1980s action films here is so obvious. The film almost seems to have ‘levels’ that the characters have to get past while the fact that his graphic violence was certain to attract a R Rating also didn’t seem to scare him. At times it feels like as a director he was saying ‘let’s put another headshot in there’ and see what they do. Then there is also a killer soundtrack that features everyone from Dead Or Alive to Cypress Hill and even Iggy Pop. What Howden has made here is a film that he himself would want to watch and the result is one of the best action films of the past few years.
That is further enhanced by the fact that as a filmmaker Howden doesn’t try to make Guns Akimbo anything that it’s not. It’s a basic shoot-‘em up with a little bit of humour thrown in for good measure. And while the film doesn’t strive to be anything else it does end up making a lot of commentary about the morals of modern day reality television and delivering a better female hero than even Birds of Prey could manage.
Yes, we may have been blown away by Samara Weaving’s recent performances in The Babysitter and Ready Or Not but here she takes her acting to a whole new level. Weaving doesn’t just stop at having fun during some daring action sequences instead she brings real characterisation to a character that could have easily become a one-dimensional anti-hero. Even when she is trying to hunt down and kill everyone’s favourite loser – Miles – you can’t help but feel a little bit of remorse for Nix, despite her being a bad-ass.
Then there is Radcliffe who seems to embrace the fact that he is given the opportunity to play such an off-beat character. Like Weaving he mixes characterisation with action and seems to deliver just the right amount of method acting to show that perhaps a lot of cinema-goers have misjudged Radcliffe on just how good his acting ability can be. His scene with Rhys Darby in this film shows he also has a flair for comedy as well.
If you like your action flick to be a little left of centre and bordering on the gruesome then Guns Akimbo is the film for you. The fresh creative nature of the film shows why Jason Lei Howden is a director who can potentially breathe a new sense creativity into the action genre, while the film itself is the perfect vehicle to show that world that Daniel Radcliffe has well and truly outgrown his Harry Potter wand.
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After working in the visual effects department on massive blockbuster movies like Avengers and The Hobbitt filmmaker Jason Lei Howden went out on his own in 2015 and made the cult classic action horror film Deathgasm. The film became a fan favourite at festivals right around the world and now Howden returns with his latest film – Guns Akimbo – which is going straight into Australian cinemas on February 28th.
Starring Daniel Radcliffe and Samara Weaving Guns Akimbo follows the story of a young games developer who suddenly finds himself in a cat and mouse game of survival with a psychopath after his interactions with an online, reality game go horribly wrong.
“The idea came from my love of 80s action movies,” says Howden when I get the opportunity to sit down and talk to him about all the ins and out of Guns Akimbo. “There were movies like Commando and Rambo of course, there were always those movies with the big buff action hero and they would be shooting like fifty people.”
“So I wanted to make an over-the-top action movie but instead of having Arnie as a hero I wanted to have the total opposite. So I ended up with a programming nerd with the guns on the hand. When I thought about I thought he would sit back or run away but then I thought what if he has the guns bolted to his hands so it is either shoot or die, it all kind of came from that.”
Then there is the smart-mouth psychopath Nix played by Samara Weaving who Howden also let his creativity run wild with. “I didn’t want her to be the standard femme fatale,” he explains. “I wanted her to be cool and fun but I felt her being a female baddie should not be her defining trait. I feel so many times when a female character is depicted that becomes the defining trait of the character, but she is not just a person she is a fucking psychopath.”
“Then there was some pressure from the producers to make her more sexy or to make her like Harley Quinn,” he goes on to say. “I had to keep saying ‘but she isn’t Harley Quinn, she hasn’t got time to sit there and make colourful clothes all day’, she puts on her jacket and jeans and goes and shoots fuckers all day. We ended up bleaching her eyebrows and putting tattoos and piercings on her and the producers were really freaking out and saying ‘she looks really un-appealing.’ But Samara and I just stuck to our guns… that is an awful pun… and I am glad we did.’”
That leads me to ask whether Samara Weaving was always in mind to play Nix. “No, we shopped around a little bit,” he admits. “I don’t think Nix was really written with anyone in mind because originally she was going to be a male character and I figured out really on that that didn’t really suit the story that I wanted to tell, it seemed to work better with Miles up against a female character. I had seen Samara in a couple of things – I thought she was great in The Babysitter so I knew she would bring something different to the role and that she had a great comedic timing which was cool.”
Of course the other big casting news around Guns Akimbo was Daniel Radcliffe being cast as Miles. And while some people maybe a little surprised that the actor who portrayed Harry Potter is now in an action film they should be reminded that this is the same actor who did films like Horns and Woman In Black. “I had a short list of about five actors and Dan was on the top of that list,” says Howden as we talk about how Radcliffe won the role. “I was really excited about Dan, but not because of the Harry Potter movies. I mean I like the Harry Potter movies but I loved him in Woman In Black, The Horns and especially Swiss Army Man which is a fantastic movie. So, I guess I really don’t get the whole Harry Potter thing around this film, but I see it has become a meme and we had people yelling it out on the street when we were trying to film which was really annoying.”
“But yeah I think he is like Elijah Wood,” he goes on to explain. “Or maybe it is a little worse for Dan because he did nine Harry Potter movies, Elijah Wood did three Lord Of The Rings movies and Kristen Stewart did five Twilight films but they don’t seem to be as related to their roles, plus Harry Potter movies were such a huge part of people’s childhoods as well. But as far as casting goes we went to Dan first and I heard back that he was interested which was quite mind-blowing because the casting process is a bit of a wing and prayer. You got out to people and they pass, so yeah it was a surprise that he was so excited by us and when I Skyped him he was like ‘dude I fucking love this movie man.’”
That statement alone shows what kind of man Daniel Radcliffe is because that seems to be what most people are saying after they have seen Guns Akimbo as well. It is a cult classic in the making and Howden has made another winner.
Summary: Detective Jay Swan (Aaron Pedersen) returns to the remote outback town in which he grew up to solve the murder of an Indigenous teen, found in a drain under a highway. After years away in the city, Swan feels alienated from the police force, his community and his own daughter, but when he discovers there’s a serial killer at large they’ll all have to work together.
Year: 2013
Australian Cinema Release Date: 15th August, 2013
Australian DVD Release Date: TBA
Country: Australia
Director: Ivan Sen
Screenwriter: Ivan Sen
Cast: Tony Barry, Roy Billing, Siobhan Binge, Zoe Carides, Lillian Crombie, David Field (Mr. Bailey), Ryan Kwanton, Robert Mammone, Aaron Pederson (Jay Swan), Daniel Roberts, Jack Thompson, Damian Walshe-Howling (Wayne), , Tasma Walton (Mary Swan), Hugo Weaving, Samara Weaving, Tricia Whitton
Runtime: 121 mins
Classification:M
SUBCULTURE MEDIA/THE GOOD THE BAD THE UGLY FILM SHOW REVIEWS/RATINGS OF ‘MYSTERY ROAD’’:
