There is plenty of big-budget intrigue in Hollywood these days, not the least of which is Lucasfilm’s decision to can Colin Trevorrow (we know, we know, “creative differences”) for Star Wars Episode IX and bring back the man who kicked off the Star Wars comeback with Episode VII. That’s right, J.J. Abrams will take back the director’s chair for the third installment of the new trilogy, hoping to bookend the saga on a high note. Will the Jedi finally go the way of the dodo bird, will Luke and Rey come up with a new type of Force-wielding warrior walking the line between the dark and the light, and most importantly, will Disney ever stop firing high-profile directors? We will have to wait and find out, but the suspense is killing us.
We will be discussing the possible fate of Star Wars on today’s show, along with tackling plenty of other intriguing subjects that crossed our path this week, not the least of which is the wild, fever-dream dynamic of Jennifer Lawrence’s new horror/thriller in theaters this weekend, Mother! That’s not just the end of our sentence, by the way, it is indeed a movie title with an exclamation point at the end, and from what we hear, the film has definitely earned the grammatical enthusiasm. Soaked in metaphor, and drawing a plot that few seem to be able to describe beyond the basics of a couple (J-Law and Javier Bardem), who are visited by a stranger (Ed Harris), at which point some kind of psychedelic horror-chaos ensues.
While first turned off by the overall weirdness surrounding Darren Aronofsky’s (Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan) latest hunk of cinematic pop art, we have to admit that all the hubbub has us extremely curious. Of course, if you are looking for something more traditional in theaters this week, there is the Michael Keaton-starring action thriller, American Assassin, but given the critical reception, it may be best to wait for that one on video on demand — or go see It, which is still crushing records at the box office.
Also this weekend, we will find out who is going to clean up at the Emmys this year, and we have a pretty good feeling it’s going to be The Handmaid’s Tale and co., including a plausible lock for the fantastic Elisabeth Moss for her role as Offred in the dystopian thriller/drama. Other contenders for bling this Sunday include actors like Donald Glover and Anthony Hopkins, and shows like Westworld, Stranger Things, Veep, and The Crown, among many others.
There is plenty of other news we’ll be discussing on the show this week as well, including a Marshawn Lynch series (?), new Blade Runner 2049 footage, the crazy new trailer for the sci-fi flick Downsizing, a new George R.R. Martin series, and much more.
So tune in and hit us up live at 2 p.m. PT today, or take us along for the ride with our podcast version by following the links at the top.
