Opus features John Malkovich at his absolute best, but goes off the rails in the last thirty minutes.

PLOT: A group of journalists are invited to a remote compound where a reclusive pop star (John Malkovich) plans to unveil his first album in thirty years. However, when they arrive, they realize the artist has built himself a cult, which may or may not mean harm to the assembled journalists. 

REVIEW: You can tell that Opus’s writer-director, Mark Anthony Green, is a former entertainment journalist (he spent years working at GQ). Having participated in my share of junkets and set visits as part of my work with JoBlo, I certainly find it surreal to be taken into an entertainer’s orbit. It’s an exhilarating experience, and Green, who’s clearly experienced this many times himself, mines it beautifully in the film’s first half, where a young writer at a music magazine, Ariel (Ayo Edebiri), unexpectedly gets invited to singer Alfred Moretti’s (John Malkovich) compound as he unveils what’s supposed to be a musical masterpiece.

The first hour of the film, which is light on the horror aspects being teased by A24, works well as a kind of satire on modern entertainment journalists and their relationships with the entertainers they write about. Malkovich is at his best in an atypical piece of casting. Who would ever imagine him as the world’s greatest pop star? Yet, Malkovich, who actually cut several tracks with Nile Rogers (of CHIC) and The Dream, pulls it off, with him looking like he’s having the time of his life playing a kind of New Wave version of Vincent Price. 

Everyone seems in on the joke, with the performances fairly broad, with Murray Bartlett a veteran entertainment journalist (and Ariel’s boss) who’s an old hand at rock star debauchery. At the same time, Juliette Lewis plays a gossip columnist who has a history with Moretti. 

This first part of the film is a ton of fun, but for me, it starts to go off the rails when the horror aspect kicks in. As the trailer reveals, Moretti’s the head of a kind of New Age cult, and soon, the journalists realize they’ve been lured to the retreat for sinister reasons. However, we’ve seen many cult movies over the years, from Midsommar to The Sacrement, and both did the horror part better. When they kick in, the genre parts almost feel like an afterthought, like Green shoehorned his rather fun satire into a horror film, and the mix is uneven. It’s better when it plays as a kind of music-driven version of The White Lotus. 

Ayo Edebiri, who’s incredible on The Bear, does her best with what amounts to a fairly two-dimensional “final girl” role, with her as the only journalist at the compound who finds the fact that this nineties pop star has a cult of personality built up around him unusual. Despite being our protagonist, she’s also a frustratingly passive heroine, even once Moretti’s retreat becomes deadly. The one who’s really having fun in this one is definitely Malkovich. 

Another problem with Opus’s detour into horror, other than the lack of originality, is the fact that it’s not scary. Nothing here happens that you haven’t seen before, and once the carnage gets going, it becomes predictable, with very little in the way of inspired chaos. It also has a very anticlimactic ending that tries to explain away the motivations behind the entire plot, but this doesn’t amount to much, ending the film on a sour note.

Considering the talent involved, Opus turned out to be a bit of a disappointment. It’s still a decent first film for Green, who certainly has a promising voice as a director, but the fact is that the last forty minutes of the film don’t live up to the promise of the film’s first hour, which is a ton of fun. As such, Opus is a letdown, but it is still worth watching, especially for A24 fans, of whom there certainly are many. If you go in expecting more of a satire, you’ll probably like this more than if you were to go in expecting anything scary. 

Matlock and Accused star Jason Ritter is ready to bask in Green Lanterns light for HBO’s upcoming Lanterns series.

In darkest day, in blackest night, Matlock and Accused actor Jason Ritter is ready to bask in Green Lantern’s light. Ritter is the latest star to join DC and HBO’s Lanterns, a television series revolving around the comic publisher’s imaginative space cops series. Ritter joins Kyle Chandler, Aaron Pierre, and Kelly MacDonald for the series spearheaded by Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and comic book mastermind and author Tom King.

According to reports, Jason Ritter will play Billy Macon for Lanterns, “a good-looking charmer who does his father’s (Garret Dillahunt) bidding. Capitalizing on his family’s reputation, he clings to his small-town ego and has everything to lose.”

Previously, we learned that Lanterns will have True Detective vibes (let’s hope it’s the first season), with Green Lanterns Hal Jordan (Chandler) and Jon Stewart (Pierre) investigating an Earth-based murder mystery in the American heartland. Poorna Jagannathan (Zoe), and Ulrich Thomsen (Sinestro) also star in the series. HBO produces the eight-episode series with Warner Bros Television and DC Studios. Mundy, who serves as showrunner, Lindelof, and King are co-writing and executive producing.

Lanterns experienced backlash when DC revealed the show would take a “grounded” and “believable” approach to the comic property’s over-the-top premise and Kyle Chandler’s casting as Hal Jordan. However, DC Studio’s boss, James Gunn, is unconcerned about misinformed fans. Speaking with IGN, Gunn said, “Wait a second, comic book fans had an opinion on casting. What are you talking about!?”

“The truth is Chris [Mundy] and Tom [King] and Damon [Lindelof] wrote an amazing series, like an incredible series. I’m so excited for people to see this. It’s very grounded, very believable, very real. The kind of things that you would never think that would be the truth about a Green Lanterns television series. And very human, adult and wonderful. And the story that they wrote fit a couple of actors who were of these ages and so that’s who they cast. Those were their choices. I totally backed them up. I love them.”

Honestly? I’m here for it. I hope the Lanterns use their rings to help solve the mystery, but I’ll reserve judgment until we see the final product. Additionally, I’m the type of person who appreciates when creative forces think outside the box and give us something unexpected. If I wanted a traditional Green Lantern, I’d pick up one of the thousands of comics available in stores and online apps.

What do you think about Jason Ritter joining the cast of HBO’s Lanterns? Let us know in the comments section below.

About the Author

Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.

Night of the Living Dead: The Official Story of the Film book is a 192 page look at the creation of the George A. Romero classic

Back in 1968, George A. Romero brought the world the horror classic Night of the Living Dead, the film that changed the definition of what “zombies” could be without even calling its ghouls zombies! This September, author Simon Braund is teaming up with Titan Books to bring us a 192 page book on the making of that masterpiece, Night of the Living Dead: The Official Story of the Film. To be exact, the book will be reaching store shelves on September 30th.

Directed by Romero from a screenplay he wrote with John A. Russo, Night of the Living Dead has the following synopsis: A disparate group of individuals takes refuge in an abandoned house when corpses begin to leave the graveyard in search of fresh human bodies to devour. The pragmatic Ben does his best to control the situation, but when the reanimated bodies surround the house, the other survivors begin to panic. As any semblance of order within the group begins to dissipate, the zombies start to find ways inside — and one by one, the living humans become the prey of the deceased ones. The film stars Duane Jones, Judith O’Dea, Marilyn Eastman, Karl Hardman, Judith Ridley, Keith Wayne, Kyra Schon, Bill Hinzman, George Kosana, Russell Streiner, and Bill “Chilly Billy” Cardille.

Night of the Living Dead: The Official Story of the Film has the following description: Released in 1968, George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead revolutionized horror, redefining the zombie subgenre and influencing filmmakers for generations. This official retrospective tells the full story of how the film was made by a small group of people at the outset of their film-making careers. Interviews with cast and production company members explore the genesis of the movie, from persuading friends and family to become investors, finding the perfect run-down farmhouse in rural western Pennsylvania for the central location, assembling a cast of extras to portray “flesh-eating ghouls”, including the ground-breaking casting of a black actor in a leading role—Duane Jones as Ben—to the rough-and-tumble guerilla-style shoot. The book explores how Night of the Living Dead went from controversial to iconic over the years, gaining critical acclaim and a hardcore cult following. And how zombies—as envisioned by Romero and his co-creators—now permeate everything from video games to literature, all tracing back to the unparalleled original. Illustrated with movie stills, memorabilia, and unpublished on-set photos never previously seen, and including analysis of the original shooting script annotated by George A. Romero, this book is a must-have for horror fans.

The original Night of the Living Dead is the movie I have watched more than any other, my default choice to put on when I just want to sit back and relax, and I’m always happy to see it continue to be referenced and celebrated. Night of the Living Dead: The Official Story of the Film sounds like a great, “must own” addition to this horror fan’s collection.

Will you be reading Night of the Living Dead: The Official Story of the Film? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Matthew McConaughey delivers one of his best performances in Andrew Patterson’s superb southern yarn, The Rivals of Amziah King.

PLOT: Following the death of her mother, Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass) reunites with her beloved former foster father, Amziah King (Matthew McConaughey), a honey-maker working in the backwoods of rural Oklahoma.

REVIEW: It’s hard to believe, but it’s been six whole years since Matthew McConaughey has appeared in a film (The Gentlemen). Sure, he’s done some voice work and commercials, but walking into The Rivals of Amziah King, I didn’t realize just how much I missed him until the movie’s bravura opening sequence. In this expertly directed introduction to what’s undoubtedly the best film I saw at SXSW this year, McConaughey’s Amziah pulls up to an outdoor eatery where he meets some friends and jams with them, playing homegrown roots rock, with all of them singing and playing with the type of joy that can’t help but wash over the audience.

It’s a great way of introducing Amziah, who’s shown in the film to be the beloved backbone of his community, making friends wherever he goes and putting as much good into the world as he can. It’s a role tailor-made for McConaughey, with his good ol’ boy charm infectious. Director Andrew Patterson, whose previous film, The Vast of Night, was underrated, directs with such verve and style that this will likely get a major release and turn into a new favourite for many, with the premiere absolutely bringing the house down here at SXSW.

Yet, as much as the movie benefits from McConaughey’s star-power, it doesn’t necessarily rely on it either. As the movie goes on, the actual lead is revealed in Angelina LookingGlass’s Kateri. The relationship with Amziah is touching, with her having happily lived with him and his wife as a foster child before being taken away by the state after his wife died, with them deeming a single father unfit to care for a child. Now that she’s back in his life as a young, capable adult, Amziah wastes no time training her to take over his honey business, which turns out to be a lot more cutthroat than you’d expect.

The movie also does a great job depicting the sense of community, with the rural Oklahoma setting a joyous collection of people living their lives the best they can. They immediately welcome Kateri into her ranks, with her quickly growing attached to the rogue’s gallery of misfits who work for Amziah. There’s Scott Shepard and Jake Horowitz as Amziah’s ex-con pals, who Kateri finds to be surprisingly reliable in a pinch, as well as Rob Morgan as his best friend, the town’s lawyer, who provides all involved free legal advice, and is a central part of Amziah’s band. Tony Revolori has one of the movie’s most memorable sequences early on, where, in a shockingly bloody moment, we learn why ponytails and honey-making machines don’t mix. The great Kurt Russell also enters the fray later on as the film’s villain, an affable local businessman whose methods contradict Amziah’s community-first principle and desire to help all those around him.

In its second hour, the film gets surprisingly dark, with LookingGlass’s Kateri revealed to have a harder edge to her than initially thought, with her angelic smile camouflaging the fact that, as someone who knows firsthand how brutal the world is, she isn’t afraid to fight dirty.

All of this helps make The Rivals of Amziah King one of the most unpredictable and wildly entertaining films I’ve seen in a while. Hopefully, someone snatches it up, as it’s a great piece of work and should rank among McConaughey’s best-ever roles. 

District 9’s Neill Blomkamp is set to write and direct a new Starship Troopers movie based on the original novel by Robert A. Heinlein.

THR reports that Neill Blomkamp will write and direct a new Starship Troopers movie for Columbia Pictures. The report states that this won’t be a remake of Paul Verhoeven’s sci-fi classic, but will follow the original novel by Robert A. Heinlein, which was published in 1959.

The novel follows Juan “Johnny” Rico as he joins the Federal Service and goes through the toughest boot camp in the universe as an interstellar war between Earth and an alien species known as Arachnids rages on. Although the novel was very successful, even winning the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960, some have criticized it for its militaristic and fascist elements. Verhoeven took the concept to the extreme for his movie, presenting a satire of authoritarian governance.

Blomkamp will also produce the new Starship Troopers movie alongside his wife and partner, Terri Tatchell, who co-wrote District 9 and Chappie.

This project will mark Blomkamp’s return to sci-fi after his last two projects, a direct sequel to Aliens and a follow-up to Robocop, fell apart. His long-awaited District 9 sequel is still in the works, although the director didn’t exactly sound enthused about the project the last time he spoke about it. “I don’t know if I even want to make that right now,” Blomkamp said in 2023, “but at some point down the line, it’ll probably get made.“

Blomkamp most recently directed Gran Turismo. The film was based on the true story of Jann Mardenborough, a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills won a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional racecar driver. The film grossed $122 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews, including one from JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray. “Blomkamp also does a good job walking a fine line between depicting the racing action in a realistic, immersive way while staying true to the style of the gameplay,” Bumbray wrote. “While this lacks the hardcore tone of Blomkamp’s sci-fi films, it’s a good stab at mainstream studio filming from the director, and he’s done an excellent job making a family crowd-pleaser.” You can check out the full review right here.

What do you think of Neill Blomkamp directing a new Starship Troopers movie?

Kelsey Asbille, Emma Roberts, and more have been cast in the psychological thriller The Technique, from the creator of Hemlock Grove

Brian McGreevy is the author who wrote the novel Hemlock Grove, then worked with Lee Shipman and Eli Roth to develop the concept into a television series that ran on the Netflix streaming service for three seasons and a total of 33 episodes. McGreevy went on to co-create the Western TV series The Son, which ran on AMC for two seasons, a total of 20 episodes. Now, Deadline reports that McGreevy is set to make his feature directorial debut with a psychological thriller called The Technique – and he has assembled a solid cast to bring the story’s characters to life. That cast includes Kelsey Asbille (Yellowstone), Emma Roberts (American Horror Story), Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story), Ben Platt (Theater Camp), Laura Harrier (Spider-Man: Homecoming), and Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).

McGreevy has also written the screenplay for the film, but Deadline wasn’t able to dig up any information on the plot. As they said, the details are being kept under wraps.

Miles Skinner of Hypothesis and Andrea Bucko of Raised By Wolves are producing The Technique with Jordan Drake, David Duque-Estrada, Chadd Harbold, and Russ Posternak. Zak Williams of Hypothesis, Jordan Claire Robbins, and Nini Le Huynh of Raised By Wolves serve as executive producers alongside John Kalafatis, Joanna Kalafatis, and Daniel Cypress of York Films, as well as Chris K. Daniels of Cinelaunch and Emanuele Morretti. Pete McClellan is serving as a co-producer. Raised By Wolves is providing the financing for the film.

Honestly, I have never read a McGreevy novel, nor have I watched Hemlock Grove or The Son, but I’m already interested in this film due to the cast. I’m totally on board to watch a psychological thriller that stars Kelsey Asbille , Emma Roberts, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Ben Platt, Laura Harrier, and Noomi Rapace. I don’t even need to know what’s causing the psychological thrills at this point, but I am looking forward to learning more about the story.

Does The Technique sound interesting to you? Share your thoughts on this project and the cast Brian McGreevy has assembled for it by leaving a comment below.

The leak of concept art from Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars has been debunked by the Russo brothers.

Marvel fans got an unexpected peek into Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars last week when concept art for the highly anticipated movies was leaked. The concept art was posted (and quickly removed) by Marvel artist Mushk Rizvi, but the damage was done, and fans dissected every image. However, Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars directors Joe and Anthony Russo have denied that the concept art is from their movies.

While speaking with THR, the Russo brothers were asked if fans should be worried about the concept art spoiling the movies. “No,” said Joe, “because that artwork was not from Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars.” Anthony chimed in, “Nothing spoiling in there. That’s not our concept art.“

Despite the denial, fans aren’t completely buying it, as Disney put out many copyright hits on accounts sharing the art (although it’s still easy to find). It’s also possible that the concept art was done very early in preproduction, well before the Russo brothers were involved in the films. So, they would still be correct in saying this is not “our” concept art.

Production on Doomsday and Secret Wars will kick off soon, and the Russo brothers recently said they wanted to outdo Infinity War and Endgame. “Absolutely, we want to beat those younger versions of ourselves,” Joe said. “We have to be, right? Because we have to outdo those movies in a way, or we at least have to take you on an equally engaging journey.” Anthony added, “These movies are an incredible opportunity for us, and they’re an incredible opportunity for audiences. So we’re doing what we can to deliver the experience everyone, I think, hopes for.“

Infinity War and Endgame still rank as the highest-grossing films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but a lot has changed in the last six years, both in the world and in the MCU itself. However, the Russo brothers aren’t letting themselves get worried about things they can’t control. “We can’t control the economic environment. We can’t control what’s happening in the world around the time of the release,” Joe said. “We can’t control the audience’s desire to leave their homes or not. All we can do is make the best movie possible in the hope that it excites them.” Avengers: Doomsday is slated for a May 1, 2026 release, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on May 7, 2027.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians has been renewed for season 3 at Disney+, with the premiere of the second season still many months away.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians has been renewed for season 3 at Disney+. This is quite the early renewal, as the second season isn’t slated to be released until December. The third season will focus on The Titan’s Curse, the third novel in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series.

“We’re so grateful to be continuing the story of Percy Jackson on Disney+,” Riordan said in a statement. “This third season will be new territory for the screen, bringing fan favorites like the Hunters of Artemis and Nico di Angelo to life for the first time. It’s a huge sign of commitment from Disney, and speaks volumes about the enthusiasm with which the fandom has embraced the TV show. Thank you, demigods worldwide!“

Ayo Davis, president of Disney Branded Television, added, “From the moment ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ debuted, it was clear this series had struck a chord with fans of all ages. With season two set to premiere this December, we’re thrilled to announce that Percy’s journey will continue with a third season. Huge thanks to our incredible cast and creative team, our partners at 20th Television, and our visionary and talented producers who continue to bring Rick Riordan’s world to life with such depth and imagination.“

The early renewal will allow production on the new season to proceed as quickly as possible, which is advantageous as the young stars — Walker Scobell, Leah Sava Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri — could wind up being much older than their characters if there was a sizable gap between seasons.

There will be one big change when Percy Jackson and the Olympians returns for its second season later this year. The first season featured the late Lance Reddick as Zeus. It was announced last year that Courtney B. Vance would be stepping in to replace him. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to join the extraordinary cast of Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” Vance said. “There are few moments in an actor’s career when you can honestly say that you’re about to board a series that has such a devoted fan base filled with characters beloved around the world and is based on a wildly successful book series. I know that stepping into this role of Zeus will be a memorable experience and I’ll be giving my brother, Lance Reddick, who left us way too soon, a heavenly hug.“

Eli Roth wants to give fans the chance to own a piece of the next big horror franchise with his new media company, The Horror Section.

Last Updated on March 17, 2025

How many hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars have characters like Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, and Ghostface made for studios through movies, TV, and merchandise over the years? Could you imagine owning just a bit of that? Per THR, Eli Roth wants to give fans the chance to own a piece of a potential new horror empire.

Roth has launched The Horror Section, a new media company that plans to produce all things horror, including movies, TV shows, games, podcasts, and more. What’s exciting about this is that up to a 10 percent stake in the company will be available for fans. They’ll be able to share in potential profits and ownership of horror characters and franchises. They’ll also enjoy first looks at upcoming projects and other perks, such as being “killed” on camera in one of the movies. Together with Media Capital Technologies, The Horror Section has partnered with investing platform Republic to give accredited and non-accredited investors worldwide the chance to get involved. It will all launch on March 21st.

“I’ve done this very successfully and everything that I’ve done for this zone has made a lot of money for a lot of people,” Roth told THR. “Now it’s time to put it all under one umbrella, build a label, but really do that go-for-the-throat horror that I love, that the fans love from me.“

Roth used Thanksgiving as an example of the type of movie that The Horror Section would produce but added that it would be “the tamest type of movie that I would do for this new company” and that “everything else is going to go further than that.“

The massive success of the Terrifier franchise (particularly the third movie) showed Roth that you don’t need to go through the studio system to get a mainstream release for truly unrated horror. “What Terrifier 3 showed me is that the unrated horror is truly mainstream theatrical in a way that it hasn’t been before,” Roth explained. “I had arguments on certain movies – that’s too much, you should cut that, audiences won’t accept that. Terrifier threw all that out the window.” The Horror Section has partnered with Iconic Events, the theatrical distribution company behind Terrifier 3, to ensure its films get a proper release.

The potential is rather thrilling. Horror fans are among the most passionate of any fandom, so get a bunch of them financially involved, and you’ve got an invested (literally) army ready to market your project. Could The Horror Section give us the next Leatherface or Art the Clown? Time will tell, but I wish them the best of luck!

The supposed final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm wrapped less than a year ago but already Larry David may have some ideas for a 13th.

Going into the 12th season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, we all knew it was the end. Gone would be the pants tents, the car pool lanes, the Palestinian chicken, and Larry David would live out the rest of his days beating up Elmo. But even less than one year after the show concluded, word is coming that Larry David may have some ideas for a 13th season.

Speaking with Deadline, Amy Gravitt – who serves as Head of Comedy at HBO – said she is game for more Curb Your Enthusiasm and that things could be headed that way. “[Larry David and I have] been chatting. It seems like he’s got some ideas for me.” That’s just vague enough to pique our curiosity, although considering the breaks between the majority of the seasons, we wouldn’t expect anything firm for quite some time. (Curb has had a number of seasons premiere in consecutive years, but two- and three-year breaks wasn’t uncommon; and who can forget the excruciating six-year wait between seasons eight and nine?)

If Larry David – who is 77 now – does in fact try to get a season 13 of Curb Your Enthusiasm off the ground, it would be a bit of a surprise considering how final the 12th season was set up to be. Even the poster had the tagline, “The last of his kind,” while the final episode was appropriately titled “No Lessons Learned.” That finale, too, mirrored that of Seinfeld structurally and thematically, further ending on a scene that offered just the sort of “finality” that fit the show. Of course, if it did come back, it would sorely be missing the late Richard Lewis, who passed away while season 12 was airing in February 2024.

Larry David hasn’t exactly been off the radar since Curb Your Enthusiasm bowed last April, even hitting the road for a 10-date tour. But maybe the TV life is for him – hey, at least he’s not working on a sequel to Sour Grapes…

What do you think? Should Curb Your Enthusiasm come back for a 13th season or did it end on the right note?