Category Archives: Arts & Culture

Eerie prediction for Netflix’s most-watched movie resurfaces three years later

Eerie prediction for Netflix’s most-watched movie resurfaces three years later | Metro News Metro Shorts This post was originally published on here

Eerie prediction for Netflix’s most-watched movie resurfaces three years later

Eerie prediction for Netflix’s most-watched movie resurfaces three years later | Metro News Metro Shorts This post was originally published on here

Gladiator 2’s Marketing Ruined The Movie’s Biggest Twist

Paramount Pictures

Spoilers for “Gladiator II” follow.
Ridley Scott has been talking about making a “Gladiator” sequel for years. The first film opened in theaters in 2000 and became both a big hit and an Oscar winner, so a sequel seemed inevitable. There was just one problem: the film’s main character, Russell Crowe’s Maximus, died at the end. No matter: Nick Cave was brought in to write a wild and crazy script that resurrected Maximus from the dead via the supernatural. Sadly, this screenplay proved too weird to get made. Now, Scott has made a somewhat more traditional sequel that often feels like a remake of the first film (you can read our review right here). Rather than bring Maximus back from the dead, “Gladiator II” focuses on a new character played by Paul Mescal. Although “new” probably isn’t the right word, as Mescal’s character appeared in the original “Gladiator.”

Practically as soon as “Gladiator II” was officially announced, we knew that Mescal would be playing Lucius, a character who was a child in the original film where he was played by Spencer Treat Clark. Lucius was the son of Lucilla, an Empress played by Connie Nielsen, who returns for “Gladiator II.” In that first film, we were told Lucius’ father, Lucius Verus, was dead (more on that in a moment), and as “Gladiator” progressed, the young Lucius came to admire Maximus as the former general turned slave became a beloved gladiator who saved Rome from Lucius’ uncle, the evil Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). Since Lucius was a kid in the first “Gladiator,” and “Gladiator II” is set many years after the first film, it makes sense to have the now-adult Lucius be the main character of the sequel. 

Again: we’ve known Paul Mescal is playing Lucius in “Gladiator II” for quite some time now. But weirdly enough, “Gladiator II” treats his identity as a surprise. And that surprise ends up feeling rather weak and uninspired in the end.

The Gladiator II marketing gave away Lucius’ true identity

Paramount Pictures

When “Gladiator II” begins, we see Mescal’s character as a warrior fighting off Roman invaders in Numidia, located in North Africa. Surprisingly enough, everyone keeps calling Mescal’s character Hanno. Hanno ends up watching his warrior wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen) killed at the order of Roman General Acacius (Pedro Pascal), only to then be captured and transported to Rome as a slave. Once in Rome, Hanno is purchased by gladiator promotor and arms dealer Macrinus (Denzel Washington, who steals the entire film), and is then forced to become a gladiator who eventually ends up fighting in Colosseum.

During one of his Colosseum fights, Hanno is watched from the audience by Lucilla, who quickly has a shocking realization: this man in the arena everyone calls Hanno is her long-lost son Lucius! After this, we’re eventually shown a flashback where Lucilla sends the young Lucius away for his own safety. Lucilla confronts the adult Lucius, who rejects her, bitter at having been sent away and seemingly forgotten all those years ago. But again: we, the audience, already knew this guy was Lucius. The movie treats this revelation as a big dramatic twist, but anyone paying attention to the marketing for “Gladiator II” knew it beforehand.
And that’s not the only twist the marketing spoiled. Remember when I said that Lucius was thought to be the son of a dead man named Lucius Verus? Well, one of the “Gladiator II” trailers went ahead and revealed that wasn’t the case at all. Instead, Lucius is actually the son of Maximus. This, of course, opens up a whole new can of worms: Maximus was shown to be wholly devoted to his wife in the first “Gladiator,” and sought revenge for her brutal murder. And yet … he apparently had an affair with Lucilla at some point? To be fair, maybe the affair that spawned Lucius happened before Maximus was married. In any case, the fact that Lucius is Maximus’ son is also treated as a twist, but again, we already knew this thanks to the marketing. This doesn’t ruin the movie as a whole, but it does end up robbing it of some of its dramatic power, and I can’t help but wonder if the film would play differently had these supposed twists remained a secret. 

“Gladiator II” is now playing in theaters. 

Gladiator 2’s Marketing Ruined The Movie’s Biggest Twist

Paramount Pictures

Spoilers for “Gladiator II” follow.
Ridley Scott has been talking about making a “Gladiator” sequel for years. The first film opened in theaters in 2000 and became both a big hit and an Oscar winner, so a sequel seemed inevitable. There was just one problem: the film’s main character, Russell Crowe’s Maximus, died at the end. No matter: Nick Cave was brought in to write a wild and crazy script that resurrected Maximus from the dead via the supernatural. Sadly, this screenplay proved too weird to get made. Now, Scott has made a somewhat more traditional sequel that often feels like a remake of the first film (you can read our review right here). Rather than bring Maximus back from the dead, “Gladiator II” focuses on a new character played by Paul Mescal. Although “new” probably isn’t the right word, as Mescal’s character appeared in the original “Gladiator.”

Practically as soon as “Gladiator II” was officially announced, we knew that Mescal would be playing Lucius, a character who was a child in the original film where he was played by Spencer Treat Clark. Lucius was the son of Lucilla, an Empress played by Connie Nielsen, who returns for “Gladiator II.” In that first film, we were told Lucius’ father, Lucius Verus, was dead (more on that in a moment), and as “Gladiator” progressed, the young Lucius came to admire Maximus as the former general turned slave became a beloved gladiator who saved Rome from Lucius’ uncle, the evil Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). Since Lucius was a kid in the first “Gladiator,” and “Gladiator II” is set many years after the first film, it makes sense to have the now-adult Lucius be the main character of the sequel. 

Again: we’ve known Paul Mescal is playing Lucius in “Gladiator II” for quite some time now. But weirdly enough, “Gladiator II” treats his identity as a surprise. And that surprise ends up feeling rather weak and uninspired in the end.

The Gladiator II marketing gave away Lucius’ true identity

Paramount Pictures

When “Gladiator II” begins, we see Mescal’s character as a warrior fighting off Roman invaders in Numidia, located in North Africa. Surprisingly enough, everyone keeps calling Mescal’s character Hanno. Hanno ends up watching his warrior wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen) killed at the order of Roman General Acacius (Pedro Pascal), only to then be captured and transported to Rome as a slave. Once in Rome, Hanno is purchased by gladiator promotor and arms dealer Macrinus (Denzel Washington, who steals the entire film), and is then forced to become a gladiator who eventually ends up fighting in Colosseum.

During one of his Colosseum fights, Hanno is watched from the audience by Lucilla, who quickly has a shocking realization: this man in the arena everyone calls Hanno is her long-lost son Lucius! After this, we’re eventually shown a flashback where Lucilla sends the young Lucius away for his own safety. Lucilla confronts the adult Lucius, who rejects her, bitter at having been sent away and seemingly forgotten all those years ago. But again: we, the audience, already knew this guy was Lucius. The movie treats this revelation as a big dramatic twist, but anyone paying attention to the marketing for “Gladiator II” knew it beforehand.
And that’s not the only twist the marketing spoiled. Remember when I said that Lucius was thought to be the son of a dead man named Lucius Verus? Well, one of the “Gladiator II” trailers went ahead and revealed that wasn’t the case at all. Instead, Lucius is actually the son of Maximus. This, of course, opens up a whole new can of worms: Maximus was shown to be wholly devoted to his wife in the first “Gladiator,” and sought revenge for her brutal murder. And yet … he apparently had an affair with Lucilla at some point? To be fair, maybe the affair that spawned Lucius happened before Maximus was married. In any case, the fact that Lucius is Maximus’ son is also treated as a twist, but again, we already knew this thanks to the marketing. This doesn’t ruin the movie as a whole, but it does end up robbing it of some of its dramatic power, and I can’t help but wonder if the film would play differently had these supposed twists remained a secret. 

“Gladiator II” is now playing in theaters. 

‘Remnant’ Movie Ending Explained: Is Grace Dead Or Alive?

Upgrade is an Australian movie where the protagonist gets an experimental implant after an accident that enhances his abilities and, eventually, his mind is controlled by the A.I. program that had started out just assisting him. Remnant is an Australian movie where the protagonist gets an experimental implant after an accident, which enhances her abilities, and, eventually, her mind is controlled by the A.I. program that was just occasionally helping her so far. One of these movies is extremely good, and the other one is really bad. Today, we have gathered here to talk about the latter, specifically its ending, which hinged on the revelation of the identity of a murderer and whether or not the protagonist had superpowers. So, bear with me as I try to understand what the hell was the point of all the sci-fi shenanigans and the serial killer subplot.

Spoiler Alert

What Is The Film About?

Remnant is centered around Grace Wheeler. She was the daughter of Sarah Grace Wheeler and John David Wheeler. Grace had a friend called Kate, who was more like a sister to her because Grace’s parents raised her as their own after Kate’s parents didn’t put in the effort to care for her. Grace and Kate were close to the Bridges family, i.e. Kevin and his two children, Tom and Sophie. But their dynamic changed when Sophie died by suicide and Grace found her suicide letter, which vaguely hinted at Tom being responsible for her death. Tom worked as an employee at the local theater, thanks to his highschool friend Brian, while also tending to his father’s farm. Kate went away to live with her girlfriend, Ava. And, well, Grace ended up in a car crash. 

One night, the Wheelers were returning home from Sophie’s funeral when a girl came in front of the car. In order to save this girl, John tried to steer the car away from her and hit a tree. The impact apparently killed both John and Sarah, and Grace was severely injured. While hospitalized, the head of the neurology department, Doctor Adriana Stone, collaborated with Bio Neural Solutions (BNS) and put a special chip in Grace’s head to see if they could find a solution to helping people with severe spinal injuries walk again. Given how Grace woke up from the coma she was in after the accident with just a sore head, it was clear that part of the experiment was successful. However, a long road lay ahead of Grace. That was why Stone put a bunch of hidden CCTV cameras all over Grace’s home and kept a watch on how well she was adapting to the device in her head. Other than that blatant invasion of privacy, there were two issues: Grace was being haunted by a ghost, and there was a serial killer on the prowl.

The Serial Killer Is Tom Bridges

Remnant’s ending revealed that Tom Bridges was the serial killer. Here’s how it all went down. Unbeknownst to everyone, Tom and Sophie’s father, Kevin, was an abusive man, and he regularly tortured the two kids. Tom had decided to kill his own father, but he was unable to muster up the courage to get the job done. So, he unloaded all his frustration and anger on his girlfriend, Anna Symes, who allegedly mistreated him as well. While running away from Tom, Anna’s car broke down on a dirt road leading to the highway, and her phone ran out of juice too. Tom used this opportunity to try to kill Anna, but she momentarily ran away from him. She saw the Wheelers’ car and tried to flag them down. That led to the whole accident. As mentioned before, John and Sarah allegedly died on the spot. Grace was injured, and so was Anna. Tom killed Anna first. Then he noticed that John and Sarah were still breathing, and he decided to put them out of their misery instead of, you know, taking them to the hospital. However, for some reason, Tom let Grace live. I guess he was too fond of her to kill her. 

Anyway, all this murder and mayhem gave Tom the confidence to kill his dad, and he gutted him like a pig. Brian witnessed this and Tom killed him too while making it look like Tom had killed himself so that nobody would suspect him. While Tom was doing all this, Grace was being haunted by Anna’s ghost, who directed Grace to the spot where her car and dead body were kept. When Grace reached the dirt road and discovered the result of Tom’s heinous actions, Tom appeared out of nowhere and abducted her. Tom captured Kate too when she came to his house looking for Grace. In addition to all that, Tom stabbed and kidnapped John Barnes (Doctor Stone’s associate) when the latter came to Grace’s house to sedate her and take her to Stone for further experiments on her implant. When all three of these hostages regained consciousness, they found themselves in the local theater where Tom used to work.

Grace Is A Cyborg

The implant in Grace’s head was certainly warping her understanding of reality. The past was melding with the present, and she was constantly seeing the ghostly figure of Anna Symes. But I don’t think there was a ghost to begin with; it was all a visceral depiction of Grace’s observational skills that was being enhanced by the BNS implant. It’s because of that device that Grace saw a young Tom with a butchered animal in his hands, thereby hinting at his dormant homicidal tendencies. She had probably suppressed that memory, but after everything that had happened in her life, that image surfaced from her subconscious and gave her a hint as to who could’ve killed Anna. Also, I don’t think there was a real ghost in the movie. The shadowy entity that Grace kept seeing was a figment of her overactive and paranoid brain that had been powered up by the implant. During the accident, Grace’s mind was able to register the moment where Tom strangled her parents to death, and she had probably made a connection between the distraught Anna and Tom too. Normally, those memories would’ve faded away, but the implant kept pushing Grace to remember what she had seen so that Tom could be nabbed. 

When Tom admitted to killing Kevin and Anna to cope with Sophie’s death and proceeded to slit Barnes’ throat and stab Kate in the stomach, Grace’s implant took full control of her body and severely injured Tom. Grace, who was being steered by the BNS implant, was about to drive Kate to the hospital, but then she noticed that Kate had succumbed to her injuries. As Grace was deciding on her next step, Tom attacked her again, and this time she ran him over and then slit his throat to make sure that he never hurt another soul in this life or the next.

During Remnant’s mid-credits scene, we saw Grace returning to her home with Kate’s lifeless body and tucking her into her bed. Then, Grace turned to one of the CCTV cameras to reveal that her hand was glowing. Stone noticed this and smiled because she was glad that her gamble had paid off. I guess that the implant was slowly transforming Grace into a cyborg, and it was only a matter of time before the A.I. program running the implant completely took over Grace’s motor controls. Grace taking care of Kate’s dead body might make it seem like there’s still a bit of her soul left in that body. However, the A.I. program could’ve simply copied all her memories and behavioral patterns to have a better handle on her body. I guess we’ll know all about it if this movie finds its audience on Prime Video and gets a sequel.

Related

What might happen in the next ‘Wicked’ movie? The musical has clues

🚨🚨🚨Warning: This story has major spoilers for the ending of “Wicked: Part 1” and the Broadway musical.After hearing the final notes of Cynthia Erivo’s powerhouse performance of “Defying Gravity” in 2024’s “Wicked,” fans will have a while to wait to find out what happens next.”Everyone’s like, ‘This is the longest intermission ever,'” Bowen Yang, who plays Glinda’s friend Pfannee, tells TODAY.com.”Wicked,” which premieres in theaters Nov. 22, is part one of two films inspired by the hit Broadway musical of the same name. “Wicked: Part 2” is expected to come out one year later, in November 2025.Part 1 of the film adaptation clocks in at 2 hours and 40 minutes, making it about the same length as the entire “Wicked” musical. But the first film is just half of the story, following the events of Act 1 while giving moments “a chance to breathe,” the musical’s composer Stephen Schwartz says.Other than expanding certain scenes and adding some dialogue, Part 1 of “Wicked” is largely faithful to the stage musical that inspired it. As for Part 2?”I want to have the sanctity of the show. I love the show, so to me, that’s first and foremost,” director Jon M. Chu, who is still editing the second film, says. “It will be the DNA of what it is.”Here’s what’s in store (or could be) for “Wicked: Part 2,” based on Act 2 of the musical.Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth in the original Broadway production of “Wicked.”Richard Corkery / NY Daily News via Getty ImagesA time jumpLike the 2024 film, Act 1 of “Wicked” ends with “Defying Gravity.” When the curtain rises again after a 15-minute intermission, a lot has changed. Between acts, there’s a time jump, although how much time exactly is unclear. (The 1995 book by Gregory Maguire, which has a markedly different tone and adult audience, would suggest it’s a period of about five years.) In the musical, Act 2 opens with the song “Thank Goodness,” sung primarily by Glinda and Madame Morrible, played by Ariana Grande and Michelle Yeoh in the film. The song establishes that Glinda has left Shiz University and has officially assumed the mantle of Glinda the Good, meant to uplift spirits, while the rest of Oz is overwhelmed by fear of the Wicked Witch of the West, the enemy of the Wizard. She also announces that she and Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey in the 2024 film), now a captain in the Wizard’s army, are officially engaged.Yang confirms there will be a time jump in Part 2 of “Wicked.””Right when we pick up, Glinda is in this very front-facing position. Pfannee and Shenshen (Bronwyn James) are at her side still, but a lot is in motion,” Yang says. “The world has literally changed, and the landscape of it is very different. There is this campaign against this one person that they’re like the reason for all the problems in the world.”The story is so flexible with how it relates to our real world,” Yang adds.A love triangleAct 2 of the musical also delivers on lingering chemistry and Elphaba’s unrequited feelings for Fiyero. While Elphaba resigned herself to being “not that girl” in Act 1, audience members learn in the second act that the reason Fiyero joined the Wizard’s army was to take an active role in searching for Elphaba, who has been missing in action but speaking out against the Wizard, his leadership and his treatment of Animals (sentient animals). When Elphaba tries to free the flying monkeys she accidentally created at the end of Act 1, she runs into the Wizard, who, after a failed attempt to again sway her to his side, turns her in to his guards. She and Fiyero reunite, and instead of bringing her to the Wizard, he helps her escape and leaves with her, abandoning Glinda. Glinda then finds herself the third prong of the love triangle and sings a reprise of “I’m Not That Girl.” Meanwhile, Fiyero and Elphaba profess their love to the steamy song “As Long As You’re Mine.” Dancing through life with Glinda and Fiyero.Torsten Blackwood / AFP via Getty ImagesA transformationWhile Elphaba leads a campaign against the Wizard, her sister, Nessarose (Marissa Bode in the film), has taken over as governor of Munchkinland in the wake of their father’s death and rules harshly. Her relationship with Boq (Ethan Slater) has soured, and he stays by Nessarose’s side under duress rather than love.Elphaba visits Nessarose in Act 2, and the younger sister airs her resentment. Elphaba then casts a spell on Nessarose’s silver shoes, allowing her to walk. Boq responds by announcing his intentions to leave and declare his true affections for Glinda.Desperate to make him love her, Nessarose tries to use Elphaba’s spell book, the Grimmerie, but her enchantment goes wrong and she shrinks his heart. To save him, Elphaba turns him into a man made of tin so he can survive without a heart. Nessarose then proclaims herself the Wicked Witch of the East.Bode is the first actor to play Nessarose who uses a wheelchair in real life. She told TODAY’s Donna Farizan in an interview that while she can’t say too much about Part 2, “it is definitely less of a case of my character wanting to be fixed, and more of her just taking in the magic itself.”Bode also confirms to TODAY.com that in “Wicked: Part 2″ her character plays a bigger role in the story. Her character undergoes almost a 180-degree change from the end of Part 1, which sees her happy and in love with Boq, to the start of Part 2.”What was helpful to me was journaling as my character to fill in a lot of the blanks and to really get in the mindset (of) why my character changed, what her feelings were in the in between and how did she get to where she was today,” Bode says.New songsBy breaking up “Wicked” into two films, composer Stephen Schwartz and screenplay writer Winnie Holzman had “freedom” to let scenes and moments “breathe.” “There are a lot of scenes that Winnie wrote, there were a couple of songs that I tried for the first movie that we wound up not putting in the movie, but the essence of what we were trying to accomplish got into the movie,” Schwartz says. While there aren’t any new songs to Part 1, there will be in Part 2.”There are two new songs in the second movie because they felt they were dramatically necessary,” Schwartz says.But will any songs get cut?”No, I don’t think so,” Chu says. “I don’t know if I can confirm or deny that, but in my first pass of it right now … but you never know, I’m still editing it.”But I want to have the sanctity of the show,” he adds. “If it doesn’t fit in one place, and I need to find a place where it does emotionally, or we need to change the lyrics, or we need to do things to change — but it will be the DNA of what it is.”The soundtrack of Act 2 of “Wicked” includes: “Thank Goodness” “Wonderful” “I’m Not That Girl (Reprise)””As Long As You’re Mine””No Good Deed” “March of the Witch Hunters” “For Good” “Finale” Overlap with ‘The Wizard of Oz’Act 2 of “Wicked” also turns the story into less of a prequel and more of an alternate perspective on the events of original 1939 film “the Wizard of Oz.”After Elphaba and Fiyero run off together, Glinda tells Madame Morrible that the way to draw out her former friend is by targeting her sister. So, using her powers to control the weather, Madame Morrible summons the tornado that lands a house on Nessarose, bringing Dorothy Gale to Oz. Like in “The Wizard of Oz,” Glinda gives Dorothy Nessarose’s shoes and instructs her to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City.Elphaba arrives after her sister’s death to a trap, which results in Fiyero being captured. In the song “No Good Deed,” she casts a spell for her beloved to “feel no pain.” In “March of the Witch Hunters,” Boq is revealed to be the Tin Man from “The Wizard of Oz,” and the lion cub Fiyero and Elphaba saved in Act 1 grows up to be none other than Cowardly Lion. In Act 2, the citizens of Oz storm Elphaba’s castle, as she holds Dorothy captive to try and get Nessarose’s shoes back. Glinda, realizing the danger of the angry mob against Elphaba, arrives at her friend’s side to try and warn her. Elphaba decides to give up the fight and sings the tearful (and iconic) goodbye song “For Good” with Glinda.Glinda hides when the mob arrives and hides behind a curtain to witness the shadowy form of Elphaba melt after Dorothy throws a pail of water on her.How does the ‘Wicked’ musical end?But we’re missing someone from the original “Wizard of Oz” quartet — the scarecrow.The finale of “Wicked” reveals that Elphaba wasn’t actually killed by the pail of water. Elphaba’s spell to protect Fiyero turned him into a scarecrow. After the showdown with Dorothy, he arrives at the castle to bring his love out of the trap door she was hiding in, and they leave Oz together. Fiyero and Boq, is that you?REX via ShutterstockMeanwhile, Glinda confronts the Wizard after witnessing Elphaba’s “death,” bringing the remnants of her melting: Elphaba’s hat and the green bottle she always carried that belonged to her mother.When the Wizard sees the green elixir, he realizes that Elphaba was his biological child, finally unmasking the identity of the man Elphaba’s mother had an affair with at the very beginning of the story.Jeff Goldblum confirms that he’s the figure singing in the part of the opening song, “No One Mourns the Wicked,” which shows Elphaba’s mother having an affair. (He’s also credited in the song on the movie’s official soundtrack.)”You don’t see me,” he says. “I have this drink, and that’s a little mysterious and that will come to light.” The camerawork keeps the man’s face just out of each frame, so audiences “aren’t supposed to know that it’s me,” he says. But there’s a tiny moment for careful listeners that connect the mysterious man to the Wizard in the first film, he says.After his introduction in “Wicked,” Goldblum’s version of the Wizard performs a little tap dance and sings, “You’ve got to give people what they want,” in a similar tune to the part he sings in the overture.”So if you’re listening, and you’re subliminally Easter egg-oriented, you might go, ‘Is that the guy?'” Goldblum says.Idina Menzel as Elphaba and Nigel Planer as the Wizard in “Wicked” in London, 2006.Alamy So wait, the Wicked Witch of the West is alive?Yes, deviating from the plot of “The Wizard of Oz,” the Wicked Witch of the West is alive at the end of the “Wicked” musical. Elphaba’s fate with the scarecrow Fiyero is left unknown. The musical’s ending also differs from Maguire’s original book, which sees Elphaba actually melt and die at the hands of Dorothy. Maguire went on to write several sequels to “Wicked,” focusing on different Ozian characters, including “Son of a Witch,” about Elphaba and Fiyero’s son.So could there be a sequel to the “Wicked” musical? “We actually have a notion for something, and it’s not from Gregory Maguire book,” Schwartz says. “That’s really all I can say right now. It is something Winnie and I are talking about and exploring, but it actually goes back to Baum, not back to Gregory.”