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At first light (2018)

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Hey, Sean, you got to see this.
Look, this… this girl, you got to see what she can do.
She has some crazy powers or something.

Although this minimalist SF offers a rather disappointing outcome and they could have done more with the powers Alex (Stefanie Scott) has at a certain moment, this film is still worth watching. For the umpteenth time, it’s clear you don’t need a huge budget to make a fascinating film. A limited budget also means there’s no need to expect overwhelming special effects. Apart from moving objects with the help of a certain kind of telekinetic force and a few moving light points, there are not a lot of impressive effects.

Yet another communication problem.

This SF is best described as a mix of “Close encounter of the third kind” and “Chronicle“. And this mixed with a bit of teenage romance. Films about earthlings who come into contact with extraterrestrials are nothing new. It’s only recently that you could enjoy “Arrival” and “A quiet place“. The first one in which humans try to build a communicative bridge between man and strange aliens with the help of a linguist. In the second film, one avoids the unsightly space creatures and communicates as little as possible. The mutual conversations in “At first light” are also as good as absent. Here it’s limited to some floating points of light that dazzle you rather than say something that makes sense.

An extraterrestrial romance.

In most films where there’s such contact, adults handle this. In “At first light” the two teenagers Alex and Sean (Théodore Pellerin) are confronted with these science-fiction-like situations. There were more films in the past with kids meeting some kind of Martians. Just look at “E.T.” and “Super 8“. The nice thing about “At first light” is that it’s not only about a communication problem between humans and extraterrestrials, but also about a recurring love between the two protagonists. It’s quite clear that something went wrong between Alex and Sean in the past. Yet there’s still some affection between both of them. Certainly from Sean’s side. Despite the fact that his presence near Alex has a destructive influence on his physical constitution, he remains on her side.

Diehard SF enthusiast. Don’t skip it.

Perhaps the film is a bit too average when looking at the SF-part. So many will be disappointed. But the story itself is fascinating enough and it feels as if it’ll have a dazzling apotheosis. But this turns out to be absent afterward, unfortunately. Don’t expect a lingering denouement. And there’ll be unanswered questions after the film. That in itself isn’t so dramatic. There are more films like that. Nonetheless, this film still shines in one specific way. And that’s because of the admirable acting of the three young actors Theodore Pellerin, Percy Hynes White, and Stefanie Scott. In spite of its limitations, this film could be popular with a teen audience. Compared to “The darkest minds“, where teenagers also possess certain supernatural powers and you’ll witness some corny romantic developments, this was certainly way better. Not that there’s something new to discover in it or that it left a breathtaking impression. But “At first light” will stay longer with me than the silly stuff from “The darkest mind”. For the diehard SF enthusiasts, this film is highly recommended.

My rating 6/10
Links: IMDB
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Drama

Jharrel Jerome and Jennifer Lopez to Headline ‘Unstoppable’ for Ben Affleck & Matt Damon’s Production Company

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Hot off the great reviews for the upcoming Air Jordan flick, Air, it seems that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are already set for their next project, one that will star someone near and dear to the heart of the latter. News comes in from Deadline, that Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers, Out of Sight) will star in the upcoming wrestling drama Unstoppable which comes from the new Artists Equity banner from Affleck and Damon, as well as Amazon. Additionally, in a separate report, we know that Emmy-winning actor Jharrel Jerome (When They See Us, Moonlight) will star as the lead of the film, playing the son of JLo’s character.

Unstoppable will star Jerome as three-time All-American wrestler Anthony Robles, an athlete born with one leg who persevered through his inspiring story to win a National Championship at Arizona State University. Lopez is set to play his supportive mother, Judy Robles. Robles, himself, is expected to be heavily involved in the production process of the film, which again, is set to stream on Amazon and produced by Amazon Studios. The latter news makes a lot of sense, following the early success of Air and the partnership forged between Amazon and Artists Equity on that particular project. Production on Unstoppable is expected to start sometime this Summer.

Lopez appeared on screen in two romance films last year with Amazon’s Shotgun Wedding and Marry Me which got a same day release in theaters and on Peacock. She’ll next appear in The Mother on Netflix which is directed by Mulan director Niki Caro. 

Jerome is best known for his Emmy-winning role as Korey Wise in the limited Netflix series When They See Us based on the Central Park Five which was directed by Ava DuVernay. He’ll soon be seen in Steven Soderbergh’s HBO Max series Full Circle before leading Amazon’s I’m a Virgo from Sorry to Bother You filmmaker Boots Riley.

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Adventure

‘1883’ Spinoff Series ‘Bass Reeves’ Adds Dennis Quaid to Cast

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Dennis Quaid (Far from Heaven, The Day After Tomorrow) is the latest star to join the cast of Bass Reeves, a new drama series coming from Taylor Sheridan (Yellowstone, Tulsa King) and Paramount+, according to DeadlineBass Reeves was announced as a spinoff to the Yellowstone prequel, 1883 back in May 2022 with David Oyelowo (Selma, A Wrinkle in Time) attached to star as the legendary lawman.

Bass Reeves will follow Oyelowo as someone who is known to many as “the greatest frontier hero” in American history in his own series on Paramount+. The streamer already houses so many Sheridan-fronted programs, most recently, Mayor of Kingstown starring Jeremy Renner returned for its second season while CIA drama, Lioness added to its cast with Nicole Kidman and Morgan Freeman. Some believe that Reeves served inspiration to “The Lone Ranger” having worked as a peace officer for Indian territory capturing over 3,000 criminals on that land. Quaid will play Sherrill Lynn, a Deputy U.S. Marshall within the show.

Quaid most recently voiced the character Jaeger Clade in Disney’s animated feature Strange World which is currently available to stream on Disney+. He’ll also star in Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming HBO Max series Full Circle alongside Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes and Emmy-winner Jharrel Jerome. 

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Drama

Amy Winehouse Biopic ‘Back to Black’ Adds to Cast with Jack O’Connell, Eddie Marsan and Lesley Manville

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Let the casting of music biopics commence! As we’ve been hammered with news of superstar musician biopics each and every week, we have more news of one that is filming currently with Back to Black about the late, great Amy Winehouse. While it was reported back in January that Industry star, Marisa Abela will be leading as Winehouse, we now have details courtesy of Deadline on who will be joining the British pop star’s life story on screen. 

The report indicates that Jack O’Connell (Unbroken, ’71), Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread, Another Year) and Eddie Marsan (Ray Donovan, The World’s End) will all appear alongside Abela in Back to Black. O’Connell is set to play Blake Fielder-Civil, the love of Winehouse’s life who she was married to from 2007 until 2009, just a few years prior to her death as their love was unfortunately addled by prescription drug abuse and alcohol as well as multiple stints in rehab for both of them. Marsan will play Winehouse’s father while Manville will play Winehouse’s maternal grandmother in the film.

Back to Black will follow the life of one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all-time in Amy Winehouse. Her sophomore album (which the film is named after) won her 5 Grammy Awards all at the young age of 25 just before her untimely death in 2011 at age 27. The film will focus on Amy’s creativity, genius and upbringing at Camden High School in the UK before she propelled into stardom.

The film will be written by Matt Greenhalgh and directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson reuniting the two of them after their 2009 film Nowhere Boy, which chronicled John Lennon’s formative years and adolescence. Taylor-Johnson is coming off directing episodes of Hunters and Solos for Amazon but is best known for helming Fifty Shades of Grey

O’Connell had a big 2022 starring in Netflix’s Lady Chatterly’s Lover and MGM+’s new original series, SAS Rogue Heroes. He’ll next star as professional race car driver Peter Collins in Ferrari. Manville most recently starred as Princess Margaret in the recent season of The Crown for Netflix and in Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination. Marsan is best known for playing Ray Donovan‘s brother, Terry in the hit Showtime series but will next appear in the film, Fair Play with Alden Ehrenreich and Phoebe Dynevor.

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