The Buzz: This just in: After a successful first weekend overseas - Mowgli and co. brought in just under $30 million - Disney has greenlighted a sequel with Jon Favreau in place to develop and direct.
Bring on the bare necessities! The Jungle Book has always been one of my favorite childhood films, and I can't wait to see Jon Favreau's interpretation of the Disney classic come to life on the big screen. From all of the trailers I've seen so far, this film looks great! - Akimi
The Buzz: Calvin made a wise decision some time ago to bring some female staff members into the barbershop, which could help lure a wider than expected crowd for this threequel, which arrives 12 years after the last chapter. We're not knocking the appeal of these movies - it's more about how we've seen movies such as Zoolander 2 and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 perform lately. Out of all of these long delayed sequels, we think The Next Cut might perform the best. Also, it was great timing on the part of New Line/Warner Bros. to schedule the release soon after N.W.A.s induction on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Buzz: Lionsgate specializes in direct-to-VOD thrillers, but when you make one starring Deadpool and Wonder Woman in the cast, you sorta have to release it in theaters, right? The gist here is that CIA agent Reynolds is a goner, but his consciousness was implanted into criminal Kevin Costner in order to bring down a terrorist plot. When he's not killing or close to being killed, Costner gets to be Gal Gadot's lover by proxy. The release comes at a tough time for the studio, which has been hammered by industry-watchers for the collapse of the Divergent franchise and other box-office disappointments.
The Buzz: Jeremy Saulnier's Blue Ruin truly was a revelation, the kind of movie that will continue to accrue devotees over time. Saulnier was offered Hollywood work after Blue Ruin proved to be more than a festival darling. So, I love him even more for choosing to direct another one of his scripts as his next project. Also, I've been hoping for a director to cast Anton Yelchin in something that coaxes out more of the young actor's talent. Casting Patrick Stewart as a neo-Nazi is a guaranteed way to grab headlines, but I sense that just as much attention is being paid to Saulnier as one of the most promising writer/directors around. - Arno
The Buzz: Shuddh Desi Romance director Maneesh Sharma will see his worldwide profile rise with this innovative movie, which cast Shah Rukh Khan in a dual role and became the first Bollywood production to shoot in a different country (Croatia, in this case).
The Buzz: A movie about a band of young talented Irishmen coming together to make some tuneful music? No, it's not The Commitments but looks to be just as charming. It's Once director John Carney's latest offering, which follows the story of a young band of pop-singing Dubliners. If the trailer is any indication, expect some winsome characters and earworms aplenty. - Bret
The Buzz: Laura Bispuri raked in serious awards and accolades on the festival circuit for her feature debut as director and co-writer of this adaptation of Elvira Dones's 2006 documentary and 2007 novel. Star Alba Rohrwacher makes an appearance in Tale of Tales, which is also being released this week.
The Buzz: The third movie in this short-film city-loving anthology series finally gets a U.S. release, though it arrives with much less fanfare than its two predecessors.
The Buzz: The cool-sounding aspect of this documentary finds María Nieves Rego and Juan Carlos Copes telling their story to a group of young dancers and choreographers, who in turn interpret their entwined history via performance.
The Buzz: The Colonia Dignidad was already about a decade old when the Chilean military coup of 1973 occurred, and hopefully the best thing this movie, which is based on actual events, will do is bring more attention to the utopian experiment which until recently functioned completely outside of Chilean law.
