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A Simple Favor is a dark comedy mystery thriller film directed by Paul Feig from a screenplay by Jessica Sharzer. Based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Darcey Bell, the 2018 film follows Stephanie Smothers, a young widowed single mother who runs a vlog, but when her new friend, Emily Nelson, suddenly vanishes, she tries to find her. A Simple Favor stars Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Linda Cardellini, Dustin Milligan, Jean Smart, Rupert Friend, and Eric Johnson. So, if you loved the dark comedy, thrilling mystery, and compelling characters in A Simple Favor, here are some similar movies you should check out next.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix) Credit – Netflix

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is a dark comedy mystery film written and directed by Rian Johnson. The 2022 sequel film follows master detective Benoit Blanc,...

Chris Hemsworth is taking Netflix by storm, and not just because of his Netflix original movies. The actor rose to prominence in his home country when he starred as Kim Hyde in the Australian soap opera Home and Away from 2004 to 2007. However, Hemsworth gained worldwide recognition when he joined the cast of the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Thor in 2011. He played the titular character, of course, and would go on to appear as Thor in ten more movies in the MCU, four of them his own.

Chris Hemsworth's next projects include Stuntnuts: The Movie (the third film in the Kick-Ass series), Crime 101 (a crime movie also starring Mark Ruffalo and Halle Berry), and Extraction 3.

Although he has continued to play the God of Thunder in the MCU many years after Thor (with a rumored fifth movie in the works), Hemsworth has experienced success outside of Marvel. He has starred in several action films,...

Warning: Spoilers for Mayor of Kingstown season 3, episode 10 ahead, in addition to mentions of suicide.

Mayor of Kingstown season 4 gets a positive update, which could pave the way for a renewal. There have been questions about the high-profile Paramount+ series, particularly after Mayor of Kingstown season 3 ended with the arrest of Kyle McLusky (Taylor Handley) and the deaths of two characters in a way that sets the stage for a continuation.

Deadline confirms that MTV Entertainment Studios has closed a multi-year overall deal extension with Mayor of Kingstown showrunner and executive producer Dave Erickson. Along with the news, it's mentioned that a writers room has been opened for season 4 in anticipation of a renewal. The Jeremy Renner-led crime drama is co-created and executive-produced by Taylor Sheridan and Hugh Dillon, and like all shows that are linked to Sheridan, MTV Entertainment Studios produces Mayor of Kingstown in partnership with 101 Studios.

This article contains spoilers for Mayor of Kingstown Season 3, Episode 10, "Comeuppance," now streaming on Paramount+.

Mayor of Kingstown Season 3's explosive ending continues to spark conversation due to the shocking death of a major character in Emma Laird's Iris. Co-creator and star Hugh Dillon concedes the "brutal" nature of Iris' death but believes it was a necessary demise to serve the show's narrative.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Dillon, who portrays the seasoned and hard-nosed detective Ian Ferguson in Mayor of Kingstown, insists killing off Iris the way they did in the Season 3 curtain closer made the story "as real as it gets." Iris died of a drug overdose in the finale, found on the back of a fleet bus by the driver. Dillon, who dealt with real-life drug addiction in his younger years, believes Iris' death gave the series more authenticity.

Related "He Is a Marvel': Mayor of...

Warning! Spoilers ahead for the Mayor of Kingstown season 3 finale.

The follow article contains mentions of suicide and drug abuse.

Iris' lethal overdose in the Mayor of Kingstown season 3 finale was not intentional, co-creator Hugh Dillon confirms. Dillon explains that Iris' tragic ending is part of the show's attempt to reflect the "brutal and unfair" nature of real life. Mayor of Kingstown season 4 is not yet confirmed, but Iris' death is part of a larger Russian mob storyline in the series.

Mayor of Kingstown co-creator Hugh Dillon offers clarification regarding Iris' season 3 finale death. Co-created by Taylor Sheridan, who remains best known as the mind behind Yellowstone, Mayor of Kingstown premiered in 2021 with a story that follows Jeremy Renner's Mike McLusky as he attempts to keep the peace between the criminals and law enforcement in Kingstown, Michigan, both inside and outside the city's prison system. After a tense season,...

[This story contains spoilers from the Mayor of Kingstown season three finale.]

When plotting what comes next, sometimes you have to close an entire storyline. Even if it was one that served the series well.

That’s what Mayor of Kingstown’s co-creator Hugh Dillon, along with co-creator Taylor Sheridan, did in the recent finale of season three’s Paramount+ series about peacemaker/fixer Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner) running a fictional prison-industry town.

For three seasons, McLusky’s toughest nemesis was the Russian mafia, who infiltrated the fictional Michigan border town with drugs, guns and sex trafficking. He had to battle two of the Russians’ most ruthless and violent bosses — Milo Sunter (Aidan Gillen) and Konstantin Noskov (Yorick van Wageningen) — and protect a sex-trafficked young woman known as Iris (Emma Laird), referred to by the brutal Russian gang as a broken angel.

But by the end of the season three finale, all of those characters in...

Mayor of Kingstown's Season 3 finale was full of twists and turns that ended with Iris' death. 

The Season 3 finale of the Paramount+ series revolved around Mike McLusky's (Jeremy Renner) attempt to resolve his issues. It featured a game-changing shootout that forever changed Kingstown's landscape. 

One of the important pieces of Mike's plan is Iris (Emma Laird), his close and reliable ally whom he tasked with spying on Russian mob leader Konstantin (Yorick van Wageningen). 

Read full article on The Direct.

The Season 3 finale of Mayor of Kingstown is almost upon us, and it’s sure to be a true doozy. The logline for the new episode, titled “Comeuppance,” promises, “Mike’s plan for the warring factions in Kingstown hits turbulence.” That maybe some fast and loose use of the word “plan,” though, because Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner) seems to be in way over his head with all of the disparate issues at hand in Kingstown right about now… especially now that Milo (Aiden Gillen) is back in town. Still, even with all of the drama encircling him with Bunny (Tobi Bamtefa) and Callahan (Richard Brake) and Konstantin (Yorick van Wageningen) and, now Milo, he’s still, at heart, a family man. And in this exclusive sneak peek (embedded above) at Season 3 Episode 10, it looks like one of his biggest priorities will be making things right with his little brother Kyle...

[Warning: This post contains Major spoilers about Mayor of Kingstown, Season 3 Episode 7, “Marya Was Here.”] Things are getting even more complicated on Mayor of Kingstown. Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner) has been struggling to keep the peace between Bunny (Tobi Bamfeta), the Aryans’ new boss Callahan (Richard Brake), and the Russian mobster Konstantin (Yorick van Wageningen), and it’s caused him to make some conflicting moves. Raiding the Russians and one of the Crips’ suppliers? And having the Swat team execute both on command — including his own brother, who’s been morally conflicted about the family business from the very beginning but now is fully on board? And someone’s out there blowing up the yard and drowning a bus full of girls anyway? What gives? TV Insider caught up with Taylor Handley, who portrays Kyle McLusky having this moment of waning morality, to dig into the big changes to the character this season and find out what’s really motivating ...

Eve Hewson, once best known for being Bono's daughter, is becoming famous in her own right as an incredibly talented actress. As a young performer, Hewson held her own against veteran actors James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Enough Said. Hewson put her musical talents to use as a sweet young single mother who learns how to play the guitar in Flora and Son.

Eve Hewson may have famous parents, but she's proven with some fantastic TV and movie performances that she's talented all on her own. Paul David Hewson met Alison "Ali" Stewart when they were just teenagers before Paul adopted the stage name "Bono" and became the frontman for U2, one of the most successful bands of all time. Ali is an activist like her husband, and together, the couple has promoted fair trade and environmental issues. Bono and Ali have four children, and the second, born...

The following contains spoilers from Mayor of Kingstown Season 3, Episode 5, "Iris," now streaming on Paramount+.

Iris is back on the hot seat in Mayor of Kingstown Season 3 -- and this time it's by choice. The enigmatic Iris has always been on both sides of the line, having been introduced in Season 1 as Milo Sunter's weapon against Mike McLusky, and becoming one of Mike's allies and someone with whom he shares a complex relationship. The third season finds her in a similar predicament, caught between Mike and new Russian mob boss Konstantin, a figure from her past.

But in Season 3, Episode 5, "Iris," the outcome was entirely different. This time it was Iris' choice to put herself in the middle of the fray, going to work for Konstantin in hopes of neutralizing any threat he presented to Mike. And it was Iris who revealed to Mike what the audience had known already:...

[This story contains spoilers from episode five of season three of Mayor of Kingstown.]

When watching the Taylor Sheridan and Hugh Dillon co-created series Mayor of Kingstown on Paramount+, viewers see each week that life is tough for the residents in Kingstown.

But for some characters of the show about a fictional prison-industry town and its peacemaker-fixer Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner), the cruelties of the world seem to fall like a sledgehammer in a city full of cell blocks, street gangs and the Russian mob. And one such character is young strawberry blonde escort from New York City named Iris, played by English actor and former model Emma Laird.

Mayor of Kingstown viewers met Iris back in season one. Described as a woman so beautiful that she could seduce and hypnotize men, the Russian mob top leader at the time, Milo (Aidan Gillen), summoned for Iris to leave New York and come to Kingstown to seduce (and control) McLusky. Clearly attracted to her,...

[Warning: The following contains Major spoilers for the latest episode of Mayor of Kingstown, “Iris.’] Iris (Emma Laird) put herself at the center of the action on Sunday’s eponymous new episode of Mayor of Kingstown. Though the town’s new supervillain Konstantin (Yorick van Wageningen) didn’t know she was around, she decided to make her presence known in hopes of getting into his inner circle again, now that her former tormenter boss Milo (Aiden Gillen) is out of the picture — presumed, but not confirmed, to be dead. Though Mike McLusky (Jeremy Renner) heavily disfavored her plan, Iris insisted on making nice with her former acquaintance, who had nothing but nice things to say about her in return, and by the end of the episode, she’d fully gained Konstantin’s trust… at least, by her estimation. It was still a very dangerous move for the usually meek Iris to make, so what inspired her newfound drive, and what’...

Warning! Spoilers about Mayor of Kingstown season 3, episode 3 ahead.

Mayor of Kingstown season 3 introduces a surprising alliance that could shift power dynamics among the gangs in Kingstown. Konstantin and Callahan's partnership hints at a collaboration that may give the Aryan Brotherhood the chance to expand their influence. The unexpected alliance between Konstantin and Callahan poses a threat to Bunny Washington's Crips, potentially sparking a gang war.

Balance among all the gangs of Kingstown was always one of the objectives for Mike McLuskys work as mayor, but one new unexpected partnership in Mayor of Kingstown season 3 can make his job more difficult and tip the scales in favor of one gang in particular. If inheriting the informal role of mayor from his late brother was already challenging for Mike in Mayor of Kingstown season 1s beginning, the prison riots made everything more difficult, as violence permeated any interaction between officers and prisoners,...

[This story contains spoilers from the second episode of season three of Mayor of Kingstown, “Guts.”]

If there is one takeaway from the Mayor of Kingstown over its three seasons, it’s that the fictional town of the Paramount+ series starring Jeremy Renner seems to drain hope and dreams out of its inhabitants.

Kingstown, Michigan — a city whose main industry is nine penitentiaries — is a wounded community. Whether locked up in the penal system, committing crimes that will lead to being behind bars, serving as a prison guard or being one of the family members of the victims, suffering seems to spare no one.

And that’s what Mike McLusky’s (Renner) voiceover tells viewers in the opening scenes of the second episode of season three, “Guts.” The message comes as McLusky, the town’s unofficial mayor and problem fixer, discovers new metaphorical fires in and out of the prisons for him to extinguish in Kingstown. The third season marks Renner’s...

Spoiler Alert!Spoiler Ahead for Season 3, Episode 1 of Mayor of Kingstown

Mayor of Kingstown starring Jeremy Renner at the center of the story is back with its much awaited third season. Renner got back to filming earlier this year in January, and now as the 6th month rolls in, we have our third season of the hit show. While we see old faces returning to the show, there are also some new people in the mix, and one of them is the new villain strolling into town.

Jeremy Renner as Michael “Mike” McLusky in Mayor of Kingstown | Paramount+

After two seasons of Aidan Gillen playing the conniving and manipulative Russian mobster, Milo, we have a new villain coming to town. As revealed on the first episode of Season 3, Milo is well and truly dead after the explosion we saw at the end of Season 2. And now, Renner’s Mike McLusky...

Excitement builds as Mayor of Kingstown co-creator Hugh Dillon reveals tantalizing details about the upcoming season's new villain, Konstantin.

Following a miraculous recovery from a severe snowplow accident in 2023, Jeremy Renner returns as Mike McLusky in Season 3. With Milo, played by Aidan Gillen, presumed dead, Renner faces a new foe in Yorick van Wageningen's portrayal of Konstantin, a ruthless Russian mafia villain. Dillon, in an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, described Konstantin's psychopathic yet charming demeanor. He shared insights into the characters inspiration, which he draws from his childhood experience growing up in a prison town and seeing serial killers getting arrested.

Related Jeremy Renner Reveals Doubts Mayor of Kingstown Team Had Over His Return

Mayor of Kingstown star Jeremy Renner admits he wasn't sure what version of himself the Paramount series would get upon his return.

Dillon expressed his fascination with the show's exploration of human darkness, adding,...

Co-creator Hugh Dillon teases Mayor of Kingstown season 3 villain Konstantin, a Russian mafia psychopath. Dillon hints at Jeremy Renner's new adversary with a dark, intriguing storyline on the show. Intricacies of human emotion and darkness are explored through the character of Konstantin.

Mayor of Kingstown season 3's new Russian mafia villain, Konstantin, is teased by show co-creator Hugh Dillon.

Jeremy Renner is back for Mayor of Kingstown season 3, and he has a new adversary in Yorick van Wageningen's Russian mafia member Konstantin, whom series co-creator Dillon called "a charming old psychopath" in an exclusive interview with Screen Rant. Check out his remarks below:

It's going to unfold, as you know, and I don't want to give s--t away. I don't know if I can, I don't know what the protocol is, but it's a fascinating adventure. We're wrapped up in the intricacies of human emotion and I am fascinated.

Who Plays Konstantin in Mayor of Kingstown? Season 3 Introduces A Familiar Face - Main Image

With MCU star Jeremy Renner returning to season 3 as Mike McLusky, the new episodes have also introduced two additional characters who happen to be new to Kingstown: one of the highlights is the Mayor of Kingstown, Konstantin.

What role does he play in season 3 and why does the actor seem familiar? Here's all you need to know.

Content Spoilers: This article contains spoilers for Mayor of Kingstown season 3, so proceed with caution.

Why Konstantin Looks Familiar in Mayor of Kingstown Season 3

Konstantin is played by Dutch actor Yorick van Wageningen, who is best known for his roles in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), The Resurrection of a Bastard (2013), and The Judgement (2021).

The 60-year-old actor won prestigious awards for playing his part in The Resurrection of a Bastard and Judgement, namely: Best Actor at Austin's Fantastic Fest,...

While Jeremy Renner continues to gain attention for his superhero work, his other work shows his acting chops. While Mayor of Kingstown suffered for being too dark and depressing in its first season, the show mellowed out considerably in the second season. Still, with enough plot threads to sort through and a changing cast, Season 3 required a light reset. While there were doubts the show would ever return, Season 3 proves its most compelling narrative yet.

L-r: Jeremy Renner as Mike McLusky and Tobi Bamtefa as Deverin ‘Bunny’ Washington in episode 1, season 3 of Mayor of Kingstown streaming on Paramount+ Photo Credit: Dennis P. Mong Jr./Paramount+ Suggested“Slavery… is made legal by way of incarceration”: Jeremy Renner’s Mayor of Kingstown S3 Star Revealed How “Some States” in America Exploit the Prison System Mayor of Kingstown Season 3 Plot

After the death of his mother, Mike McLusky (Renner), the fixer must get back to work.

Exclusive: Goodfellas has acquired world sales rights for Emilio Estevez’s The Way: Chapter 2, reuniting the actor-director with the cast members of his original 2010 hit, father Martin Sheen, Yorick Van Wageningen and James Nesbitt.

The sequel revisits protagonist Tom (Sheen) a decade after his first pilgrimage on Spain’s El Camino de Santiago in the footsteps of his deceased son Daniel (Estevez), as he reconnects with his walking companions Joost (van Wageningen) and Jack (Nisbitt).

Now embedded with Doctors Without Borders in northern Nigeria, performing surgery in a war zone, Tom is sent a copy of Jack’s bestselling book based on their shared experience, in which a disturbing secret is revealed.

Enraged, he leaves to search for Jack and find answers to questions that have haunted him for a decade. His journey reunites him with Joost and leads them through Amsterdam, Dublin, Brussels and France before returning to Spain and the Camino.

Arrow Video is proud to announce the release of Michael Mann’s contemporary espionage thriller Blackhat starring Chris Hemsworth – available now on 4K Uhd and Blu-ray – which includes the rarely-seen Director’s Cut, never before released on home video!

“Back in February, when we announced our release of Blackhat (FCD2373 / AV502) some of our customers expressed disappointment that it did not include the Director’s Cut of the film. Arrow Video has heard your pleas…

After an extensive search, we have managed to track down the rarely-seen Director’s Cut, never before released on home video. The original digital files have been retrieved and we are very pleased to confirm that it will now be included as a second Blu-ray Disc.

To allow time for disc authoring and quality control, we have had to push the release date back to 27th November 2023 in the UK and 28th November 2023 in the US and Canada.

Lisbeth Salander, the eponymous "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," is not like any role Rooney Mara has played before or since — particularly when it comes to costuming. Lisbeth has facial piercings, disheveled black hair (it changes from a mohawk to a side cut over the movie), shaved eyebrows, and is always dressed in some shade of black. This goth punk fashion sense contrasts with her lithe frame, but she still looks like someone you don't want to mess with. It helps that her face is girlish but not quite innocent — those big eyes and sharp nose meld into a piercing glare that pushes you to look away.

Director David Fincher recruited Mara from her scene-stealing appearance in his last film, "The Social Network." Interviewed for a retrospective on his most famous films in the November 2023 issue of Empire magazine, Fincher called Mara's face "an exquisite thing" and recalled how he...

Exclusive: After a two-year journey to gain back the rights to The Way, Emilio Estevez has arranged with Fathom Events to re-release the film nationwide on May 16 on about 800 screens or more. The effort has led to not only a chance to dust off a 12-year old film, but also to start progress on a sequel.

The film was scripted and directed by Estevez, partly inspired by the Jack Hitt book Off The Road: A Modern Day Walk Down the Pilgrim’s Route Into Spain. The film starred Estevez’s dad, Martin Sheen, and the director played the small role of a man who died while making the pilgrimage called El Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James. This is where the Apostle James was buried. His dad takes over the effort, his son’s ashes in tow, and is about the people he meets along...

The film has now been sold to France (Family Films), Latin America (Encripta), Cis/Baltics (Red Castle Group) and Taiwan (Av Jet).

Dutch crime drama The Judgement has racked up its first international deals for Picture Tree International (Pti).

The film has now been sold to France (Family Films), Latin America (Encripta), Cis/Baltics (Red Castle Group) and Taiwan (Av Jet), with a wide local release via September Films on 70 screens set for this week (September 2).

The film is based on the true story of the notorious Dutch ‘Deventer murder case’, when a widow was killed in her home in...

Escape Room: Tournament of Champions Review — Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (2021) Film Review, a movie directed by Adam Robitel, and starring Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Thomas Cocquerel, Holland Roden, Indya Moore, Carlito Olivero, Jamie-Lee Money, Lucy Newman-Williams, Jay Ellis, Tyler Labine, Nik Dodani, Jaymes Butler and Yorick van Wageningen. [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: Escape Room: Tournament Of Champions (2021): PG-13 Rated Thrills Galore in an Otherwise Standard Horror Film...

The film is based on true story of the notorious Dutch ‘Deventer murder case’.

German sales outfit Picture Tree International (Pti) has swooped on worldwide rights for Dutch crime drama The Judgement ahead of the pre-Cannes screenings virtual market (June 21-25).

The film is based on the true story of the notorious Dutch ‘Deventer murder case’, when a widow was killed in her home in 1999. Her tax adviser Ernest Louwes was convicted of the murder but not everyone agreed with the final judgement, with the victim’s handyman Michaël de Jong also suspected.

Fedja van Huêt (star of Oscar-winner Character...

With Escape Room unlocking more than $150 million worldwide on an estimated $9 million production budget, it came as no surprise when it was revealed that Columbia Pictures was developing a sequel to the film,which has now been pushed back several months on the release calendar.

According to Exhibitor Relations, the sequel to Escape Room (currently known as Escape Room 2) is now slated to come out on August 14th, 2020, moving it back nearly four months from its initial April 17th, 2020 release date.

As previously revealed by The Hollywood Reporter, Escape Room 2 is currently in the works at Columbia Pictures, with Adam Robitel, co-writer Bragi F. Schut, and producer Neal H. Moritz returning for the sequel.

Plot details for the sequel are being kept under wraps, but viewers of the first film may have an idea of where things will pick up in Escape Room 2, as the original movie...

Sony Pictures' psychological thriller, Escape Room, arrives next month on Blu-ray and Digital. See what bonus features it includes within..

Escape Rooms are usually a fun, challenging time spent with friends to gain memories and solve clues in a team-growing environment. Some are fabricated in themes like a Sherlock Holmes mystery, others count down the end of the world, etc. What if one was real, though, and the cost of not solving the puzzle in time meant your life?

Last year, Sony Pictures explored that idea with Escape Room. On April 9, 2019 you can re-live the intense thriller when it arrives on Digital. If physical copies are more your style, the Blu-Ray and DVD will follow a few weeks later, on April 23, 2019.

For full details on everything Escape Room will include, see below...

You’re invited to play for your life when the twisted survival thriller, Escape Room, unlocks on...

With a sequel already in development after a successful run at the box office, Adam Robitel's Escape Room is coming to Digital on April 9th, followed by an April 23rd Blu-ray and DVD release via Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

The Escape Room Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital releases will come with a bunch of bonus feature goodies for viewers to dive into, including an alternate opening, alternate ending, and six deleted scenes. Read on for the full release details, and in case you missed it, listen to our Escape Room episode of Corpse Club and read Heather Wixson's review and two-part interview with Robitel.

From the Press Release: Culver City, Calif. – You’re invited to play for your life when the twisted survival thriller, Escape Room, unlocks on Digital April 9, and on Blu-ray and DVD April 23 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Capturing the adrenaline-fueled essence of the popular mystery-solving rooms,...

You're invited to play for your life when the twisted survival thriller, Escape Room, unlocks on Digital April 9, and on Blu-ray and DVD April 23 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Capturing the adrenaline-fueled essence of the popular mystery-solving rooms, director Adam Robitel (Insidious: The Last Key) masterfully crafts a suspenseful mind-bender with a diverse cast starring Taylor Russell (Lost in Space), Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll ("True Blood"), Jay Ellis ("Insecure"), Tyler Labine ("New Amsterdam") and Nik Dodani (Atypical) with Yorick van Wageningen (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

Centered on six strangers who must uncover wickedly designed puzzles and overcome life-threatening challenges set in hazardous environments, with plenty of twists and turns, the Escape Room Blu-ray, DVD and Digital releases feature a never-before-seen Alternate Ending and Opening, six deleted scenes and four featurettes. Hear from director Adam Robitel and the cast about how the film's 360-degree architectural spaces prove to...

With Escape Room bringing in nearly $119 million on an estimated production budget of about $9 million, it may come as no surprise that Columbia Pictures is now developing a sequel to Escape Room.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a sequel to Escape Room (currently known as Escape Room 2) is in the works at Columbia Pictures, with Adam Robitel, co-writer Bragi F. Schut, and producer Neal H. Moritz returning for the sequel.

Plot details for the sequel are being kept under wraps, but viewers of the first film may have an idea of where things will pick up in Escape Room 2, as the original movie certainly set up an intense escape room scenario for the survivors of the first movie.

Directed by Robitel from a screenplay by Schut and Maria Melnik, the first Escape Room stars Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Jay Ellis, Tyler Labine, Nik Dodani, and Yorick van Wageningen.

Stars: Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Tyler Labine, Jay Ellis, Nik Dodani, Adam Robitel, Kenneth Fok, Yorick van Wageningen | Written by Bragi F. Schut, Maria Melnik | Directed by Adam Robitel

Adam Robitel’s 2019 film Escape Room is Sony’s attempt at crafting a cheap money making franchise in small budgets and big returns in the same vein as Lionsgate’s enormously successful but varying degree of quality Saw series. Running at just under one hundred minutes, ninety of which are engrossingly tense and aggressively atmospheric with a delightful b-movie quality that no doubt entertains but sadly falls off the wayside with an irksome sequel bait set up that jumps the shark to a stilted degree.

Not to discredit Escape Room for all it proposes in entertainment value but it is derived unconditionally from the bowels of James Wan’s Saw of 2004. Not necessarily the most damning of comparisons...

Dutch Features, one of Holland’s leading sales agencies, has acquired the cross-cultural romantic comedy “Cuban Love” directed by Johan Nijenhuis (“Tuscan Wedding”) ahead of the European Film Market.

“Cuban Live” is headlined by Susan Visser, who won the Efp Shooting Star at the Berlin Film Festival in 2015. Set to open in the Netherlands on Valentines Day, “Cuban Love” tells the story of a divorcee, Loes, (Susan Visser) who has lost all faith in love and has to travel to Cuba to prevent her daughter Maartje (Abbey Hoes) from marrying a Cuban citizen (Rolf Sanchez). Once in Cuba, Loes finds herself learning more about love and romance than she had ever expected.

Dutch Feature has also come on board Norbert ter Hall’s “Promise of Pisa,” a coming-of-age drama which is currently in-production. The company will be showing a first promo of the movie during the European Film Market.

Based...

Stars: Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Tyler Labine, Jay Ellis, Nik Dodani, Adam Robitel, Kenneth Fok, Yorick van Wageningen | Written by Bragi F. Schut, Maria Melnik | Directed by Adam Robitel

Directed by Adam Robitel (Insidious: The Last Key), entertaining thriller Escape Room puts an inspired horror movie spin on the current trend for locked puzzle rooms. The franchise-friendly result is like a toned-down version of the Saw movies. In a good way.

After an opening teaser, we’re introduced to three apparently unrelated characters – shy brainbox student Zoey (Lost In Space‘s Taylor Russell), convenience store slacker Ben (Logan Miller) and arrogant businessman Jason (Jay Ellis) – who each receive a mysterious cube-shaped puzzle box. After solving the puzzle, they’re invited to partake in a state-of-the-art escape room in downtown Chicago, where the prize for escaping is $10,000. In the waiting room, they meet their fellow competitors: ex-soldier Amanda...

Hugely popular short video platform, TikTok has teamed with Sony Pictures Entertainment to promote the studio’s psychological thriller “Escape Room.”

The film features six strangers who find themselves in circumstances beyond their control. They must use their wits to find and follow the clues, or die.

Sony recreated settings from the film, including a shrinking room and an ice room, in Madrid, Spain. These were used for a creator event pitching 30 key opinion leaders from 17 countries against TikTok talent from the U.K., Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Switzerland, Thailand, Malaysia and Spain.

As they participated in the challenges, both groups recorded their experiences, creating 75 pieces of video content, and sharing with their fans on TikTok’s official “Escape Room” movie page. Participating TikTok creators included the magician, Magic Singh, comedian Karol Konk and makeup artist and body painter Vicky Banham.

The event ended with a scavenger hunt around Madrid’s landmarks,...

“Aquaman” is ringing in the new year by topping the domestic box office for the third weekend in a row with an estimated $30.5 million.

The aquatic adventure starring Jason Momoa has also become the highest grossing DC title overseas with $649.3 million to date after earning $12.4 million from 79 international markets on Friday. That beats “The Dark Knight Rises,” which previously held the position with $636.8 million internationally. This weekend’s projected domestic haul would mark a roughly 42% decline, with “Aquaman” having taken in $887.6 million globally.

The weekend’s only wide release among a slew of holdovers, Sony’s “Escape Room,” will spar with the third frame of “Mary Poppins Returns” for second place with about $16 million each. That number marks a debut above earlier estimates for “Escape Room.”

The psychological horror pic, which opened at 2,717 North American locations, pocketed $7.7 million on Friday, including $2.3 million from Thursday previews.

Adam Robitel directed “Escape Room...

One of my favorite activities is to go with a few friends and do an Escape the Room game. I’ve done them in multiple states across the country, and even done one in Dubai. They’re an absolute blast. So, despite the iffy Trailer and troubling release date, I was looking forward to Escape Room. Maybe it could surprise? I’d even heard a bit of positive buzz. Then, earlier this week…I saw it. Alas. This is a standard issue garbage January release, truly meant to be dumped. In fact, even though it’s early, I wouldn’t be surprised at all for it to end up in 12 months gracing my Bottom Ten list for 2019. This film is a horror/thriller hybrid that mixes in adventure concepts. A cold open shows us one unlucky individual in Ben (Logan Miller) desperately trying to escape a room with its walls literally closing in.

Six strangers find themselves in circumstances beyond their control, and must use their wits to survive! It’s The Escape Room and it opens everywhere January 4th.

Enter for your chance to win two free passes to the St. Louis advance screening of The Escape Room . The theatrical sneak preview will be on December 18 at 7pm at The Gravois Bluffs Theater.

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The Escape Room stars Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Jay Ellis, Tyler Labine, Nik Dodani with Yorick van Wageningen

The post Win Passes to the St. Louis Advance Screening of Escape Room Tonight! appeared first on We Are Movie Geeks.

Amir Wilson (The Secret Garden), Ruby Serkis and Nathanael Saleh, who plays John Banks in Mary Poppins Returns, lead the young cast of The Letter for the King, the coming-of-age drama series based on Tonke Dragt’s bestselling medieval adventure novel. The English-language series, the streaming service’s first Dutch book adaptation, just wrapped shooting in New Zealand and will be moving to Prague in early 2019. UK-based FilmWave acquired the international television rights in a deal with Amsterdam-based publishing house Leopold. Netflix will release globally.

The Letter for the King is set in a world full of adventure and intrigue, where no one wants to be a knight more than Tiuri (Wilson) who is tasked with delivering a top-secret letter on which the fate of the entire kingdom depends. On their journey, he and his young friends will discover just how much it takes to become a true knight, and...

Sony Pictures have released a new trailer for Escape Room. The group of unsuspecting strangers are in for an immersive experience that is all too hellish.

The film stars Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Jay Ellis, Tyler Labine, Nik Dodani with Yorick van Wageningen. Insidious: The Last Key’s Adam Robitel directs.

Also in trailers – First trailer for James Wan’s ‘The Curse of La Llorona’ arrives

The film is released in January 2019

Escape Room Official Synopsis

The movie is a psychological thriller about six strangers who find themselves in circumstances beyond their control and must use their wits to find the clues or die.

The post Things get pretty real in new trailer for ‘Escape Room’ appeared first on HeyUGuys.

Escape Rooms are a growing fad. There are Escape Room games going up all over the place right now. I’ve never personally tried one, but i’ve heard that they cane be a lot of fun.

Well, the popularity of the game caught the attention of Hollywood and Sony Pictures has produced a film based on the game called, you guessed it! Escape Room! Only in this one, things get a lot more deadly. Let’s be honest, this was just a horror movie waiting to happen.

The psychological thriller follows six strangers who find themselves in circumstances beyond their control and must use their wits to find the clues or die. As you’ll see in the the trailer, there’s an unknown force playing crazy mind games with them. It almost feels like a technologically advanced Saw knock off.

Escape Room was directed by Adam Robitel (Insidious: The Last Key...

"Well that's creepy as hell." Sony Pictures has debuted the first official trailer for the horror movie Escape Room, which has also gone under the title The Maze, now being released in the first few days of January in early 2019. I'm not surprised that Hollywood has decided to capitalize on the massive popularity of escape rooms by making a horror movie about one. How original. There isn't much of a plot synopsis for this one, but it seems to be a bit like the Saw movies where six strangers end up trapped in some high tech "Escape Room" - though this one isn't just a game, they will really die if they don't escape. The cast includes Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Jay Ellis, Tyler Labine, Nik Dodani, with Yorick van Wageningen. I like that this sends them from room to room, I just hope the whole movie isn't that campy.

Chicago – The remarkable true-ish story of “Papillon” is difficult to mess up. Henrí Charriére published the “autobiographical novel” in 1969, and the first film version dropped in 1973, with Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman as the two leads no less. The latest film has Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek in those leads, as two French prisoners constantly trying to escape.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

The film does suffer from comparison to the first version (directed by veteran Franklin J. Schaffner), but it is still a well-done unfolding of a audacious prison “adventure.” The French word for butterfly, “Papillon,” is the nickname of Charriére, a prisoner in the French Guiana (Devil’s Island) system from 1931 to 1945. He spent his whole time there trying to escape, in broader and more interesting schemes. The movie exploits that aspect of the story, and created some nice scenarios in letting them play out. Hunnam and Malek (“Mr. Robot”) won’t...

As endurance tales go, Frenchman Henri Charrière’s is one of the most intense, a case of wrongful imprisonment that moves from the degradation of a notorious penal colony to the isolated awfulness of Devil’s Island. Charrière’s 1969 book “Papillon,” named for his moniker (derived from a butterfly tattoo) and an autobiographical dramatization of his experiences, became a popular, controversial memoir in France. So why has it inspired not just one but two so-so prison escape films?

Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1973 epic of grime and sweat “Papillon” was made from a screenplay co-written by Dalton Trumbo. It boasted megastar Steve McQueen in you-can’t-break-me mode ten years after “The Great Escape,” but to lesser effect, and Dustin Hoffman — as Papillon’s pal Louis Dega — once more flexing his peculiar gift for disappearing into a role and chewing scenery simultaneously. At two and a half hours, it barely justified its running time,...

Papillon is the second film adaptation of Henri Charri&#232re's classic novel. Film buffs and older audiences will remember the hit 1973 version starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman. That was a big-budget release fueled and focused on McQueen's star power. Danish filmmaker Michael Noer takes a more subdued approach. His take on Papillon is character driven and ascetic. The lead performances by Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek are quite good, but the film doesn't flow as smoothly as expected. There's a choppiness between the scenes that detracts from the crushing inhumanity and adventurous elements.

Papillon opens in early 1930's Paris. Charlie Hunnam stars as Henri Charri&#232re, a safecracker nicknamed "Papi" because of the butterfly tattoo on his chest. Papillon is a fierce, arrogant thief romancing a beautiful cabaret dancer (Eve Hewson). His luck runs out when he is framed for murder. Papillon is unjustly sentenced to life in prison...

It has been quite some time since we first wrote about Broker, the short film from Dutch filmmaker David-Jan Bronsgeest. But here we are today, ready to share with you the complete short film which you will find below. Enjoy!   Worn down by a lonesome life of crime, a solitary organ broker (Yorick van Wageningen - The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Blackhat) finds himself many sleepless nights looking for truth at the bottom of a bottle. When, after a chance encounter with a helpless victim of his diabolical business, he is presented with an opportunity to radically break free from his wayward existence. He sees no other option but to take it. Rescuing the victim - a young woman - from the ruthless...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

It’s amazing how some tweaking can turn a decent film showing its age into a worthwhile project that earns its upgrade four decades later. To watch Franklin J. Schaffner’s original Papillon adaptation is to see an arduous series of harrowing ordeals strung together for no reason other than the thrill of adventure. It introduces the titular tough guy safecracker Henri “Papillon” Charrière and scrawny forger Louis Dega as two men caught in a horrible place with little hope. They team-up in order to use each other: brawn and money respectively. But as the film continues on, that dynamic never changes. It’s hinted that a friendship forms, but the two never pretend anything they do for the other is selfless. The result is a hollow depiction of inspired by true events machismo.

Director Michael Noer and screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski have a different take on Charrière’s memoirs (a...

Heleen van Royen directs the documentary about her mother’s suffering with dementia.

Danielle Raaphorst of Netherlands-based sales company Incredible Film has announced the pick-up of the Dutch feature doc It Hurts So Much for international sales. The film, which premiered at International Film Festival Rotterdam last month, is directed by novelist Heleen van Royen and chronicles the year the writer spent with her aging mother who suffers from dementia.

Also on the Incredible Film European Film Market (Efm) slate is The Fury (market premiere) starring Hannah Hoekstra, a 2017 Efp Shooting Star.

The all-star female drama, for which Hoekstra won best actress awards at both the Montreal International Film Festival and at the Netherlands Film Festival, is based on the best-selling novel by A.F.Th. van der Heijden, and concerns a glamorous and mysterious aunt who, for some reason, is continually furious at everybody and everything.

Incredible also has an Efm market premiere of new family...

"The Slamdance Film Festival has unveiled 20 titles for its narrative and documentary feature film competition programs for its 22nd edition during Jan. 22-28," announces Variety's Dave McNary. "Notable titles include Leonardo Guerra Seragnoli’s drama Last Summer, starring Rinko Kikuchi, Yorick van Wageningen and Lucy Griffiths; Derek Kimball’s drama Neptune, set on an island off the coast of Maine and centered on an orphan girl raised by the church; Paul Taylor’s dialogue-free Driftwood, starring Joslyn Jensen, Paul C. Kelly and Michael Fentin; and Andrea Marini’s Art of the Prank, starring Joey Skaggs, Robert Forster and Peter Maloney." » - David Hudson...