Tag: movies

Cruz Replaces Portman/Fallon Apologize to Staff

By Miguel Mike Medina

Academy Award winner Penelope Cruz will replace Natalie Portman in the TV adaptation “The Days of Abandonment.” Portman was going to be the executive producer of the series. For whatever reasons she may had, she dropped out of the project. Filming was going to take place in Sydney, Australia.

Penelope Cruz is a talented actress. I feel she’s a solid replacement for Natalie Portman. I’m looking forward to seeing Cruz in this TV adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s 2002 adaptation. I’ve always been a fan of her work dating back to 2003’s Gothika with Halle Berry. ‘The Days of Abandonment’ centers around Olga, an Italian woman, who loses her grasp on reality after her husband of 15 years abruptly leaves her for another woman.

Jimmy Fallon Receives Backlash

Oh no! Not Jimmy! Several of Jimmy Fallon’s working colleagues from NBC’s “The Tonight Show” have expressed their frustration about Jimmy and the toxic working environment he has created. They are saying that bosses and Jimmy Fallon have talked down to them and belittled them. However, not everyone is piling on Jimmy. He has other people who are defending him as well. We don’t know what is true or not, but Jimmy ended up apologizing to his staff after The Rolling Stones article came out. Jimmy is known for his warm and jolly personality on his show. We just don’t know the full person behind closed doors. I had the privilege to attend his show as an audience member back in July 2017. It was a terrific experience. It was my first late-night show experience. 

Kevin Costner, A24’s ‘Priscilla’ Teaser

By Miguel Mike Medina

Kevin Costner’s marriage story continues to get messy. Christine, Costner’s estranged wife, is not happy. She’s not happy with the way things were handled about their kids finding out about their split. Christine is taking deeper measures by requesting $248k a month in child support. First, Kevin Costner leaves the hit show ‘Yellowstone’ and now he’s dealing with this nightmare. Are marriages worth any more? Why does it have to come down to money, especially from Rich public figures? 

Money is not everything. It’s important but it doesn’t bring you happiness. Things are getting out of hand in this Costner family. We hope they can come to an understanding at some point because there are kids involved. 

A24 just released the first teaser for Sofia Coppola’s ‘Priscilla’ film.

https://youtu.be/gxbZyvCJc6U

It is based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir ‘Elvis and Me.” The movie is set to be released on October 2023. This is Sofia’s first directed and written project since her 2020 comedy-drama film, On the Rocks, which is on Apple TV+. 

HBO Max Sounds Better Than Max

By Miguel Mike Medina

Why HBO Max Sounds Better Than Max?

Today is the launch day for the streaming service under the new name, “Max.” HBO Max has a better ring than “Max.” It doesn’t make sense why they want to switch to this new name for the streaming service. It’s nuts, like in Sports. For example, Staples Center was a better name than “crypto.com arena.” HBO Max has a lot of great content. I don’t regret subscribing to their service. 

At the beginning of my journey with HBO Max, I had difficulty logging into my phone after setting everything on my TV screen. This was back in 2020 or 2021. I don’t know why it was giving me problems, but it wasn’t delightful. Thank god I don’t have that problem anymore. Serving service at expense, but HBO Max and Netflix are two streaming service that is hard for me to let go of. I don’t spend all day watching content because there are other important things in life. But if I want to take an hour during the weekend to watch something entertaining, those two services, especially HBO Max, are my go-to place. 

There are many movies and shows that I’ve enjoyed watching on HBO Max: Barry, Succession, The Flight Attendant, and many more. 

Max better bring something great since they are making this push. Naming the service Max is like calling someone by their first name. Max is not a strange name for me because I have two family members with that name. One of my friends’ sons has this same name as well. HBO Max sounds way better. But then again, with three creative executives, they’re forever changing their platforms, rules, and content, whether for the good or bad. 

Chiwetel Ejiofor Joins ‘Venom 3’

By Miguel Mike Medina

Academy Award nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor will be joining the cast of Venom 3, starring Academy Award nominee Tom Hardy. It’s an exciting role for Chiwetel. He is one of the best actors of his generation and quite likable when you see him on screen. British actors are very talented, and most come from a theatre background. 

Tom Hardy and Kelly Marcel will be the producers for this movie, and Marcel will also be writing the screenplay from a story she and Hardy wrote. Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, Amy Pascal, and Hutch Parker also are producing. 

Chiwetel should’ve had more momentum after his performance in 12 Years A Slave. It’s crazy to think it’s been ten years since he delivered that performance. If it wasn’t for Matthew McConaughey’s performance in Dallas Buyers Club, Chiwetel could’ve won Best Actor for his role as Solomon Northup. There was heavy competition that year for Best Actor because you had Matthew, Chiwetel, and Leonardo DiCaprio with outstanding performances. 

Elajor has been part of other films after 12 Years A Slave, such as Ridley Scott’s The Martian and Doctor Strange 1 and 2. We shall see who he will be portraying in this new Venom movie. He is no stranger when it comes to Comic Book projects. 

Jamie Foxx Remained Hospitalized


By Miguel Mike Medina

Academy Award-winning Actor, Singer, and Comedian Jamie Foxx remained hospitalized for over three weeks after suffering a medical emergency. The rumor is that he suffered from a stroke or heart attack. 

What’s crazy about this situation with Jamie is that he looks healthy. When I heard the news about Jamie Foxx being in the hospital, it surprised me. But then again, with these celebrities, you never know their situation. We hope he didn’t do drugs or is a result of years of doing drugs. Another possibility could be that he wasn’t checking himself often with the doctors. The general recommendation is to check yourself every six months or every year. Many of us are hesitant to see the doctors because we might be afraid of hearing bad news or don’t want to take prescriptions, or it’s a waste of time because some doctors don’t help us like they should be helping us. It could be many reasons. 

Regardless, this is a wake-up call and a lesson in life for Jamie Foxx to probably slow down on his work and focus more on his health. There will come a point in our lives where we must deal with health situations. The important thing is to have a lot of faith and self-discipline. No one is alone because God is always with us to guide and protect us. 

Foxx is 55 years old. He won an Oscar for his role as Ray Charles in the movie Ray in 2004. Since 2017, Foxx has served as the host and executive producer of the Fox game show Beat Shazam. In 2021, he wrote his autobiography Act Like You Got Some Sense. Foxx is involved in eight projects between this year and the foreseeable future. In three of those eight projects, he serves as the producer. Seven of those eight projects are in postproduction. 

The Year Stallone Got Hosed for Best Supporting Actor

Sylvester Stallone is one of the most respected actors in Hollywood. He’s a living legend, an inspiration for wearing so many hats on set. He’s a Jack of all trades: Director/Producer/Writer/Actor. Without Stallone, there are no Rocky movies. Rocky led to Creed, and in Creed 1, he delivered an outstanding performance as a supporting. The Academy dropped the ball when they gave him a low blow for not awarding him Best Supporting Actor in 2015. 

Stallone did win the Golden Globe for his performance. He received a standing ovation. Quentin Tarantino was one of the first people who stood up to clap for him. Stallone earned that award, but he should’ve also received an Oscar. 

The Academy and film critics overpraised Mark Rylance’s performance in Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies. He was good in that movie but not better than Sly. He wasn’t even better than Idris Elba, who did great in Beasts of No Nation. Elba didn’t even receive an Oscar nomination which is ludicrous. The sad thing is that that was his best chance to win an Oscar. Stallone is in his 70s, and we are not sure if he can pull it off anytime soon or in the future. The Academy snubbed Stallone for having a great moment. It should’ve been his moment. Mark Rylance is a great actor who has succeeded on stage and screen. No knock, no disrespect to him. British actors are insanely talented. But that year, the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor should’ve said Sylvester Stallone. 

After winning the Oscar, Mark Rylance appeared in other films such as Dunkirk, Ready Player One, and Don’t Look Up. As for Sly, he went on to Star in Creed 2. He’s starring and serves as executive producer in Tulsa King. Also, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and The Expendables 4 are in post-production. 

Will Tom Cruise Ever Win An Oscar?

Tom Cruise is one of the best stars to set foot in Hollywood. His risk-taking in films, performance, and versatility drew fans toward him. He’s been a fan favorite since Risky Business. Cruise has a lot of successful films under his belt. He’s won three Golden Globes (Born on the Fourth of July, Jerry Maguire, Magnolia), but he hasn’t won an Oscar yet. Will Tom Cruise ever win an Oscar?

Tom Cruise is one of the highest-grossing box office stars of all time. He has delivered so many impressive performances. Cruise is known for many films like Top Gun, Born on the Fourth of July, Rain Man, A Few Good Men, Interview with the Vampire, Jerry McGuire, Collateral, Minority Report, etc. He’s been consistent and dominant for years. 

Tom Cruise should’ve won an Oscar for his performance in Magnolia. He won a Golden Globe but not an Oscar. No disrespect to Michael Caine. He’s one of the greatest actors of all time. He did a great job in The Cider House Rules, but Best Supporting Actor should’ve gone to Cruise. 1999 is one of the best years in Cinema: Magnolia, Fight Club, The Matrix, The Mummy; the list goes on and on. If you saw Tom Cruise in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia, you saw how special he was in that pictures. There’s one scene where he took his performance through the stratosphere. The scene with him and his dying father solidified the movie. When you think about one memorable scene in Magnolia, you think about Tom Cruise visiting his father, whom he didn’t have the most significant relationship with. 

Cruise should’ve been nominated for his performance in Rain Man. It’s ridiculous that he didn’t get nominated. Cruise and Dustin Hoffmann were two-person shows in that film. Hoffman won Best Actor for his role. Cruise should’ve been nominated for Supporting Actor.

We hope that before Tom Cruise leaves this earth, he can win an Oscar. He deserves it. It doesn’t matter what you think about him and Scientology, but his track record speaks for itself. 

Miguel’s Friday Thoughts: James Gunn, Melissa McCarthy, New Rated-R Comedy Film

James Gunn will be writing a new Superman film that will focus on his young days. The star of the Superman film, Henry Cahill, will not be returning to reprise his role. The news will anger many Superman fans because they gravitate toward Henry as many people love seeing him portray Clark Kent/Superman. Supposedly their meeting went solid, and they do have plans to work on future projects together. But it’s still bittersweet and left a bitter taste in many people’s mouths because of this upsetting news and changes to the franchise. 

Melissa McCarthy will be starring in an untitled Christmas movie written by Richard Curtis. I like Melissa. She’s a likable and entertaining actor. The film is set in New York and will be streaming on Peacock. Could this be a potential future Christmas classic or a failed experiment? The ball is in the Director’s court, and his name is Sam Boyd, as well as Richard Curtis, who is no stranger to writing Christmas projects. 

Director and writer Peter Farrelly and Zac Efron will reunite once again. They previously collaborated on the film, The Greatest Beer Run Ever. Now, Farrelly and Efron will join forces with John Cena for a Rated-R comedy movie called “Ricky Stanicky.” I will never forget Peter, alongside his brother, for creating my favorite comedy movie of all time, Dumb and Dumber.