TV & movies

The latest news and reviews of TV shows and movies.

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Watch the first trailer for the live-action 'Sonic the Hedgehog' movie
Oh Sonic, what have they done to you? Today, Paramount Pictures released the first trailer for its live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie. And honestly, I don't know what to say. We already knew that Sonic would look, well, nothing like the blue blur that everyone fell in love with during the Genesis era. Heck, I'd argue the scarf-toting version in Sonic Boom looked better than this. Thanks to another leaked image, we also knew how the nefarious Doctor Robotnik, played by Jim Carrey, would be portrayed on the big screen. Still, a small part of me wanted to believe that the movie wouldn't be a complete trainwreck. After all, Detective Pikachu looks okay, right?
‘The Twilight Zone’ will get a second season on CBS All Access
CBS All Access announced today that it's renewing The Twilight Zone for a second season. That's not entirely surprising given that the show is co-produced by Jordan Peele and that it attracted the streaming service's most premiere-day views when it debuted on April 1st. But the commitment is significant, considering that many CBS All Access shows are still in their first seasons.
Samsung's vertical Sero TV brings Insta Stories to a big screen
Samsung has unveiled "The Sero," a 43-inch quantum-dot QLED TV with an attention-grabbing gimmick. It can be flipped around 90 degrees, letting you watch Instagram, Snap and other smartphone videos in their native vertical configurations. Samsung said it wanted to diversify its lineup and came up with the idea by studying the tastes of mobile-loving millennials. "Samsung will continue introducing screens that respect personal consumer tastes," said display president Han Jong-hee.
Netflix cancels 'Santa Clarita Diet' after three seasons
Netflix is keeping up its habit of canceling shows after three seasons, no matter what the level of interest. The service has dropped Santa Clarita Diet just weeks after its third season premiered on March 29th. It's not clear what prompted the decision, although it's fairly unusual for Netflix in that the zombie romcom not only had star power (most notably Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant) and its fair share of fans, but was strictly an in-house production. Other shows receiving the axe in recent months have come from external studios, such as the Marvel shows and One Day at a Time.
George Clooney’s ‘Catch 22’ premieres May 17th on Hulu
Hulu's adaptation of the classic novel Catch 22, directed by and starring George Clooney, premieres May 17th. In the meantime, you can catch a glimpse of Clooney barking orders in his role as Scheisskopf, thanks to the trailer released yesterday. Opposite Clooney, you'll see Christopher Abbott as Yossarian, a bombardier trapped in the maddening military bylaw, and Kyle Chandler as the power-hungry Colonel Cathcart.
Airbnb may create original shows to spark the travel bug
Airbnb might not be content with hoping that you'll book a stay on your next vacation -- it may want to make that vacation more appealing in the first place. Reuters sources say Airbnb hopes to create original shows that would encourage would-be customers to travel. Although the specific plans aren't mented, CEO Brian Chesky is reportedly a long-time advocate of the project and aims to create a studio so that Airbnb can "be travel-everything." The company has toyed with the idea for a minimum of three years, according to one insider.
Watch the trailer for Ang Lee's 120 fps film 'Gemini Man'
We knew Will Smith was preparing to fight a younger version of himself in the upcoming Ang Lee sci-fi film Gemini Man. Now, thanks to the trailer released today, we get a glimpse of what that will look like. The two-minute clip shows present-day Smith as Henry Brogan, an elite but aging assassin who's being chased by a younger clone. Visual effects -- similar to those that allowed Samuel L. Jackson to digitally de-age in Captain Marvel -- will make it possible for Smith to play both roles.
Natalie Portman will narrate a dolphin documentary for Disney+
Disney is clearly determined to flex its star power (and giant budget) ahead of its streaming service launch on November 12th. The company has announced that Natalie Portman will narrate Dolphin Reef, a nature movie that will debut alongside Disney+ itself on November 12th. The documentary will follow a young Pacific bottlenose dolphin, Echo, who has to deal with both the social life of his pod and the fellow inhabitants of the coral reef he calls home.
Sony's 98-inch 8K TV will cost a staggering $70,000
Sony is finally nearing the release of its 2019 TV line, and you'd better brace for impact if you're hoping to buy one of its highest-end models. The company has detailed pricing and availability for the sets, and the 8K-capable Master Series Z9G will start at $13,000 for an 85-inch model when the series arrives in June, and a mind-numbing $70,000 for the 98-inch star attraction. While that's more affordable than Samsung's $100,000 Q900, it still makes the Z9G virtually inaccessible for anyone but wealthy viewers who insist on the best -- and don't mind that 8K content is still very rare, for that matter.
Netflix will invest up to $100 million in a NYC production hub
Netflix films many of its productions in New York City (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is just one example), so it only makes sense to have a large presence there, doesn't it? The company certainly thinks so. It's establishing an NYC production hub that will include six sound stages in Brooklyn and an expanded office in Manhattan's Flatiron District. It should create "hundreds of jobs" (including 127 executive, marketing and production development roles) over the next five years, and should foster up to $100 million in investments, according to Governor Cuomo.
The 'Halo' TV series has found its Master Chief
The years-in-the-making Halo TV series finally appears to be taking shape. Showtime has chosen American Gods' Pablo Schrieber to play the series' version of Master Chief. It's not certain if he'll ever remove the iconic helmet, but Showtime has promised to tell "deeply drawn personal stories" -- it's hard to imagine the Chief hiding his face forever.
Amazon's 'The Boys' has Karl Urban fighting superheroes gone bad
Are you sick of the usual superhero fare? So is Amazon. It just posted a teaser for The Boys, a Prime Video adaptation of Gareth Ennis' comic book about wayward superheroes. The show casts Karl Urban as a CIA enforcer who "spanks" a group of corrupt heroes who've become a threat to the public. It's practically the polar opposite of Marvel and DC movies, and it's true to the extremely violent and sexual nature of Ennis' story -- you really don't want your kids to see this one.
DC Universe scales back 'Swamp Thing' over 'creative differences'
Not all is well in DC Universe's rapidly growing... well, universe. Hollywood Reporter sources say Warner Bros. Television (part of the service's parent WarnerMedia) has cut its initial order for Swamp Thing from 13 episodes to 10 after running into "creative differences" with DC. It would still debut on May 31st -- DC has provided a teaser, shown below -- but the season wouldn't be as sprawling as originally planned. Both DC Universe and Warner Bros. have declined to comment on the apparent leak.
'Game of Thrones' premiere was pirated nearly 55 million times in one day
It won't surprise you to hear that Game of Thrones is a pirate magnet, but the sheer scale of that piracy may be reaching new heights. The analytics company MUSO has determined that people pirated the show's season eight premiere just shy of 55 million times in the first 24 hours. About 76.6 percent of those viewers relied on bootleg streams, while the rest were split between downloads (12.2 percent), public torrents (10.8 percent) and private torrents (0.5 percent). Just where people pirated the episode may be the most interesting part, though -- it speaks volumes about the limitations of TV and sreaming services.
The delayed 'Minecraft' movie is now set for March 2022
The long-delayed live-action Minecraft movie has a new release date, so fans might want to make a note in their calendars for March 4th, 2022. With so many delays, it was clear it'd still be a while yet before the film hits theatres, but the 2022 news might come as a disappointment to those who were at one point expecting to see Minecraft next month.
‘Avengers: Endgame’ footage leaks on Reddit, YouTube and Twitter
Despite Disney's efforts to keep as much of Avengers: Endgame under wraps as possible before the latest Marvel blockbuster hits theaters next week, several minutes of blurry Avengers: Endgame footage have leaked. The footage reveals some significant plot details, and GIFs, screenshots and descriptions (none of which we're sharing here) are spreading across the likes of Twitter and Reddit.
Apple's new documentary chief is a producer from 'Jesus Camp'
Apple now has a leader for its burgeoning documentary plans. Deadline reports that the company has hired A&E's Molly Thompson as its new Head of Documentaries. She founded A&E's IndieFilms and most recently headed the broader network's documentary team, but she may be best known as an executive producer for numerous major non-fiction shows, including Jesus Camp, Cartel Land and Murderball.
Hulu buys AT&T's stake, leaving Comcast and Disney as owners
Those rumors of AT&T ditching its stake in Hulu have proven true, although it didn't necessarily play out as expected. The telecom has reached a deal to sell its 9.5 percent stake in Hulu (worth about $1.43 billion) back to the joint venture. It's not certain exactly how this will shift the balance of power or affect content, but Hulu chief Randy Freer said AT&T's WarnerMedia would stay a "valued partner" for "years to come."
DC Universe starts streaming on Xbox One this month
DC Universe hasn't been available on consoles so far, but the comic-oriented service is taking care of that omission in very short order. As of April (possibly as soon as April 15th), DC Universe will be available on Xbox One -- you could play a round of Injustice and watch a Batman movie immediately afterward. The functionality is the same as in earlier apps, complementing the videos with DC's comic book library, community features, merch and news.
'Too Old to Die Young' is the first streaming series to make it to Cannes
It's been one year since Netflix stirred up controversy around the Cannes Film Festival. For those who don't remember, when a new rule banned any movie from competition that didn't have a theatrical run, Netflix decided not to screen anything at all. Netflix won't return this year either, but it looks like Amazon may fill its shoes. According to Deadline, Amazon's new TV series Too Old to Die Young is expected at Cannes next month. That makes it only the third episodic series to screen at the high-brow festival and the very first streaming show to be invited.

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