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Why The Christmas-Hating Grinch Is More Relatable Than Those Basic Whos (Welcome toThe Soapbox, the space where we get loud, feisty, political, and opinionated about anything and everything. In this edition: it’s much easier to relate to the grumpy, Christmas-hating Grinch than those basic Whos.)Illumination’s new animated adaptation ofHow the Grinch Stole Christmas!– shortened toThe Grinch– introduces a younger generation to Dr. Seuss' iconic green curmudgeon and his journey toward understanding the true meaning of Christmas....

‘Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales’ Sails Into That Old ‘Star Wars: Episode 8’ Release Date Ah,thisis what it feels like when the big picture suddenly comes into focus. Moments after it was revealed thatStar Wars: Episode 8was making an unexpected leap toDecember 15, 2017, another movie shifted into its coveted Memorial Day release date. Yes, this is the work of the always crafty Captain Jack Sparrow, as the film in question isPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the fifth entry in Disney’s insanely profitable (if increasingly dire) franchise....

‘The Happytime Murders’ Writer Todd Berger Tells Us About The PG-13 Draft That Was (Thankfully) Thrown Out [Interview] The Happytime Murdershas been a long-rumored film since the beginning of the millennium. For years, it kept on almost getting made. Now, Brian Henson has finally directedThe Happytime Murdersstarring Melissa McCarthy as the human cop in a world of deranged puppets. Todd Bergerco-wroteThe Happytime Murderswith Dee Austin Robertson. In the film, puppet P....

‘The Passion Of The Christ’ At 15: Untangling The Crown Of Thorns Of A Divisive Religious Blockbuster Some fast facts:Deadpoolcame close to unseating it, but after fifteen years, the all-timehighest-grossing R-rated movie in the U.S.is still a subtitled film about the last hours of Jesus Christ’s life. Another comic book movie,Black Panther, has since surpassed it as #1, but for over a decade,The Passion of the Christwas also thehighest-grossing February movie in the U....

David Fincher Confirms ‘Mindhunter’ Is Done For Now, Originally Planned To End It With BTK Killer In The 2000s David Fincher’s serial killer seriesMindhunterbecame one of Netflix’s instant critical hits, but was not enough of a commercial hit to justify a third season. As the future of the series remains in limbo, Fincher, whose new filmMankhits the streaming service soon, has confirmed in a new interview that it is effectively done…for now....

Director Of Dolphin Documentary ‘The Cove’ Will Next Make A 3D Doc About Mass Extinction Louie Psihoyosbecame a documentary sensation thanks to his filmThe Cove, which documented the mass hunting and slaughter of dolphins in one town in Japan. Now he is planning to follow that effort with a much bigger film tentatively calledThe Singing Planet. The subject: the mass extinction of wildlife. Speaking toMomentum, Psihoyos says, We’re shooting a 3-D film whose working title is The Singing Planet....

Greenberg Movie Trailer: Noah Baumbach Returns A song can make all the difference to a trailer. This first footage fromNoah Baumbach’s new comedy / dramaGreenbergcould be seriously depressing, were it not for the bouncy ‘All My Friends’ by LCD Soundsystem.Ben Stiller,Rhys Ifans, Jennifer Jason LeighandGreta Gerwigstar in the film that was calledGreenberg, then was untitled, and is now apparently calledGreenbergonce more. Check it out after the break. We had a couple of preview pics that came out of the American Film Market not too long ago, but this is a much better taste of the film....

‘12 Hour Shift’ Review: A Botched Black Market Deal Turns Into A Bloody Hospital Thriller [Tribeca] “Did you ever smell sadness?” Films may not be able to give off scents (yet), but12 Hour Shift, with its washed out yellow walls and harsh fluorescent lighting, practically reeks of anesthetic and musty hospital bedsheets. And a little bit of sadness. But that sadness is quickly overtaken by the bizarro bloodbath that unfolds inBea Grant’s stylish, darkly comic thriller....

‘Black Panther’ Oscar Chances Increase As Disney Limits ‘Infinity War’ To Only One Possible Nomination Marvel and Disney are very serious about the King of Wakanda claiming his Oscar crown. In an effort to limit any sort of category split, the House of Mouse is only campaigningAvengers: Infinity Warfor one Academy Award, while pushingBlack Pantherfor every nomination under the sun. This greatly increasesBlack Panther’s Oscar chances. When Oscar season rolls around, studios usually attempt to push a whole slew of their films....

Candyman Review: A Smart, Scary Sequel That Adds Interesting New Dimensions To The Original The line between generational trauma and urban legend blurs in “Candyman,” Nia DaCosta’s smart, scary update/continuation of Bernard Rose’s 1992 horror classic. Don’t let the title fool you: this is no remake, it’s a direct sequel, and it’s the best kind of sequel – one that takes ideas introduced in the original film and reshapes them into something fresh and new....

Interview: ‘The Invitation’ Director Karyn Kusama On Crafting Her Unsettling Thriller DirectorKaryn Kusamamade her directorial debut in 2000 with the critically acclaimedGirlfight. Her sophomore effort was the 2005 adaptationÆon Flux, which she didn’t have enough creative control over. Kusama’s third feature, 2009’sJennifer’s Body, while divisive, isn’t without its fans. Since making that horror-comedy, Kusama has directed episodes forHalt and Catch FireandThe Man in the High Castle, but after a six-year wait, the director’s newest film,The Invitation, is now opening in theaters....

Kumail Nanjiani Plays ‘A New Type Of Star Wars Character’ In The Obi-Wan TV Series If Kumail Nanjiani getting into the superhero game with Marvel’s “Eternals” was a development that nobody saw coming, then the actor quickly turning around and joining the “Star Wars” universe was on a whole other level of surprise — especially considering that it will be for the long-gestating “Obi-Wan” series. Not a bad career trajectory for a Pakistani man in Hollywood, particularly one who first got started doing stand-up comedy work and has now ascended to two of the biggest franchises on Earth right now....

Netflix Launching A Production Hub In New Mexico, Totaling $1 Billion In Business Over 10 Years Even though Hollywood is the hub of the entertainment industry, the space for production has become more scarce with tech companies and start-ups taking up more and more of the real estate that would otherwise commonly be used for film and television production. That leaves some major players looking for production space and finding it outside Tinseltown, and Netflix has just decided to spend a truckload of money outside of Los Angeles with a new production hub in Albuquerque, New Mexico....