universal pictures | the m0vie blog

New Escapist Column! On “M3GAN”, “Renfield”, “Cocaine Bear”, “Knock at the Cabin” and the Enduring Appeal of Universal Horror…

Posted on January 9, 2023 by Darren

I published a new In the Frame piece at The Escapist this evening. This week, with the release of M3GAN, Renfield, Cocaine Bear and Knock at the Cabin all in the first four months of the year, it seemed like as good a time as any to consider Universal’s embrace of the horror movie and creature feature.

For the next couple of months, Avatar: The Way of Water is just going to dominate the box office. It will be unchallenged until the release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania in mid-February. However, what’s interesting is that other studios aren’t necessarily hiding from this. In fact, they’re releasing smaller and lower-budget movies in the space, in the hopes that they can quietly earn back relatively impresive box office on a low investment. In particular, Universal is returning to one of the studio’s most reliable models: the low-budget horror movie and creature feature.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: blockbusters, cocaine bear, creature features, dracula, knock at the cabin, m3gan, monster movies, Renfield, universal, universal pictures | Leave a comment »

296. Jaws: The Revenge (Jaws ’87) – Shark Week 2022 (-#27)

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Emma Kiely, and this time with special guest Jason Coyle, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This week, we’re doing something a bit unusual. To line up with Shark Week, we are covering the Jaws franchise. So today, rounding out the week with Joseph Sergeant’s Jaws: The Revenge.

Following the death of her son Sean in a freak shark attack, Ellen Brody becomes convinced that her family has become a supernatural magnet for sharks. Her surviving son Michael convinces Ellen to travel to the Bahamas, where she meets a mysterious sea plane pilot named Hoagie. As a relationship begins to blossom between Ellen and Hoagie, Ellen discovers that perhaps there are some secrets that can’t be escaped.

At time of recording, it was ranked 27th on the lists of either the worst movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

Continue reading →

Filed under: The Bottom 100 | Tagged: bad movies, continuity, emma kiely, hollywood, home media, jason coyle, jaws, jaws '87, jaws: the revenge, joseph sergeant, lorraine gray, Michael Caine, nostalgia, richard jani, sequels, shark week, sid sheinberg, steven spielberg, universal, universal pictures, voodoo sharks | Leave a comment »

295. Jaws 3 (Jaws 3D) – Shark Week 2022 (-#75)

Posted on July 28, 2022 by Darren

Hosted by Andrew Quinn, Darren Mooney and Emma Kiely, and this time with special guest Joey Keogh, The 250 is a weekly trip through some of the best (and worst) movies ever made, as voted for by Internet Movie Database Users. New episodes are released Saturdays at 6pm GMT.

This week, we’re doing something a bit unusual. To line up with Shark Week, we are covering the Jaws franchise. So today, Joe Alves’ Jaws 3.

Working with eccentric billionaire Calvin Bouchard, Sea World is planning to open a new and expensive underwater attraction. However, these plans are complicated when a shark finds its way into the park. Eager for publicity, and sensing a rare opportunity, Bouchard hopes to capture the shark and hold it in captivity to draw audiences. However, remembering their ordeal on Amity Island, Michael and Sean Brody wonder is the terror is only beginning.

At time of recording, it was ranked 75th on the lists of either the worst movies of all time on the Internet Movie Database.

Continue reading →

Filed under: The Bottom 100 | Tagged: 1980s, 1983, 3d, bottom 100, cocaine, Dennis Quaid, emma kiely, Florida, imdb, jaws, jaws 3, jaws 3d, joey keogh, louis gossett jr., manimal, podcast, seaworld, shark week, sharks, The 250, universal pictures | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On Christopher Nolan’s Deal at Universal…

Posted on September 21, 2021 by Darren

I published a new column at The Escapist today. With the news that Christopher Nolan will be making his next movie at Universal, there was some extreme internet reaction to the deal that Nolan signed.

The overblown and performative online outrage is interesting, and says a lot about the internet’s strange obsession with Christopher Nolan as the only director who really gets to make personal projects at this level. Indeed, the most interesting thing about the internet outrage was how ill-informed it was. Nolan’s terms aren’t especially unusual in the world of directors working at that level. Nolan’s deal is similar to those struck with directors like Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino or even Tyler Perry. It is business as usual.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: Christopher Nolan, deals, directors, films, hollywood, Movies, universal pictures | Leave a comment »

New Escapist Column! On How “Trolls World Tour” Might Be the Most Important Movie of 2020…

Posted on May 4, 2020 by Darren

I published a new piece at Escapist Magazine yesterday evening. It’s 2020, so of course Trolls World Tour might end up being a film that redefines the cinematic experience.

Trolls World Tour was released directly on to digital platforms following the coronavirus pandemic. The movie apparently managed to earn more in three weeks as a digital rental than the original Trolls earned in its entire five-month theatrical run. Naturally, this has made Universal bullish, suggesting that they might look at day-and-date digital releases for films like Jurassic World: Dominion and F9, which would radically change the cinematic landscape. Understandably, cinemas are less than thrilled with this.

You can read the piece here, or click the picture below.

Filed under: On Second Thought | Tagged: AMC, cinemas, digital, escapist magazine, regal theatres, streaming, trolls world tour, universal pictures | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Darren

If it weren’t for Inception, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World would be the most visually impressive film of year. Maybe it still is. This tale of adolescent irrelevence might have a bit of difficulty finding an audience, but it certainly deserves one – it’s a pure kaleidoscopic sugar rush of youthful exuberence and energy, all focused through a simple but effective emotional narrative. Indeed, perhaps its closest companion is (500) Days of Summer, the breakout romantic comedy of last year – except this time the emotional complexity is dialed down and the visual flair way up. And neither of those are bad things. In fact, as part of Edgar Wright’s latest film, they are actually quite genius.