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Netflix’s “Bright” is “Bad Boys” Meets “Lord of the Rings”

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You have to pay attention to the opening credits of Netflix’s newest original film, Bright.  If you’re not paying attention, you might just think this is another run of the mill buddy cop movie in Los Angeles.

The music is right; the setting is right; even the graffiti is right…no, wait it isn’t.  Yeah, that graffiti is definitely not what you usually see in an urban cop movie.  Oh the sentiments are right, but some of the words will catch you off guard.

“In the beginning God created all races equal, but Elves are more equal…”

“Orcs fight for you…who fights for us?”

“The Dark Lord will return!”

“Curse the police!”

See what I mean?  Bright is anything but your average buddy cop movie set in the urban sprawl of Los Angeles.

Written by Max Landis (American Ultra, Victor Frankenstein) and directed by David Ayer (Suicide Squad), Bright imagines a world where orcs, fairies, elves, and a whole host of other fantasy beings live alongside humans.

Will Smith plays Daryl Ward, a Los Angeles street cop whose partner, NIck Jakoby played by Joel Edgerton, is the first ever orc cop in the world.

 

Orcs hate the humans for never letting them forget it.  And the Elves, well, they watch it all from the lofty social heights of their exclusive clubs and neighborhoods.

Ayer and the cast tackle the problems of racism head-on under the guise of these fantastic beings.  It’s a lesson that is all too timely and is portrayed honestly without the heavy handedness of other films.

Ward and Jakoby have a shaky partnership at the best of times.

So when a routine call turns bloody and they discover an Elf woman with a powerful magic wand that everyone wants to get their hands on, they have to find a way to really work together for the first time.

The setup, in any other hands, might prove disastrous but Landis supplied a solid script and Ayer knocked it out of the park.  Every piece fits together beautifully.

Smith is no stranger to these kinds of roles and he settles into it with the confidence of a man who knows what he’s doing while Edgerton brings an endearing honesty to Jakoby.

Their partnership is awkward, uncomfortable, and instantly likable from the first moments we see them together.  I found myself genuinely invested in the partnership and rooting for them to succeed.

The supporting cast is equally skilled.  Noomi Rapace (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) is fiendishly tenacious as the Elf Leilah, who wants to use the wand to raise the Dark Lord of the world’s Elvish lore to wipe out their enemies while Edgar Ramirez is a quiet storm of intention as Kandomere, an Elf who works with the FBI’s Magical Task Force to keep dangerous weapons like this wand out of the hands of her and others like her.

Lucy Fry (Vampire Academy) is equal parts vulnerable and powerful as Tikka, the Elf who holds the wand and is hunted by both while under the protection of Ward and Jakoby.

 

Leilah (Noomi Rapace), Kandomere (Edgar Ramirez), Tikka (Lucy Fry) from Netflix’s Bright

After moving to Los Angeles and seeing that this was hardly the case, he decides to hand out his own form of justice, running an Orcish organization that’s one part mafia and one part street gang.

Say what you want about David Ayer and his films, but the man knows how to bring together a soundtrack that rocks and Bright is no exception.

With tracks by Snoop Dogg, Bastille, Grey, Ty Dolla Sign, Sam Hunt, and so many more perfectly pitched to enhance the emotion, tension and humor of each scene.  David Sardy’s score complements the songs to create a cohesive and unique sound for the film.

With a $90 million budget, Bright is currently the most expensive film that Netflix has produced and it shows.

Special effects, make-up effects, set designers and dressers, and all the rest brought their A-game to this film so that every creature, every place, and every situation felt absolutely real.

Bright is available today exclusively on Netflix, and fans will be happy to know that it will also be the first Netflix original with a planned sequel which was signed for before the release of this first film!

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Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

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Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

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Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

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In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

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Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

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Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

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