Tag Archive: Ernie Hudson


All the movies you’ll want to see in 2020

Filed under: Fantasy Realms, Movies, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café, Superheroes, TV — Leave a comment
December 25, 2019

Merry Christmas!

It’s that time of year again, time to take a look forward at what movies should be on your radar for 2020.  Are you going to see them all?  Heck no.  These are the genre films we think borg readers will want to know about to make their own checklists for the coming year–and they are only the films we know about so far.  We pulled 85 of the hundreds of films that have been finalized or are in varying stages of final production, slated for next year’s movie calendar.

What looks to top the list for most fanboys and fangirls?  Ghostbusters: Afterlife!  Scarlett Johannson solo in Black Widow!  A new James Bond movie, No Time to Die.  Vin Diesel in Bloodshot and a new Fast & Furious.  The original Tom Clancy novel series is finally continuing with an adaptation of Without Remorse.  Comic book adaptations are in less supply in 2020, but look for Venom 2, Wonder Woman 1984, Eternals, The New Mutants, Morbius, Birds of Prey, The Old Guard, and did we mention Black Widow?  Compare the below list to our 2019 list and even the 2018 list, 2017 list, 2016 list, 2015 list, or 2014 list, and your takeaway may be seeing the studios moving genre content from the big screen to the small screen via streaming services.

Do you like sequels?  There are far less coming to theaters in 2020 than in 2019, but many more remakes of movies, books, and TV shows are on the way.  In fact, with all the blockbusters in 2019, 2020 looks pretty tame as the cinema marquee is concerned.  Some films don’t have locked in release dates yet: Amazon Studios and Netflix haven’t revealed dates for the following 2020 releases (those we know you’ll find on the calendar below):

  • 7500, a film about a highjacked airplane, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Amazon Studios)
  • The Dig, a film about a woman finding archaeological treasures on her land, starring Ralph Fiennes, Lily James, and Carey Mulligan (Netflix)
  • Horse Girl, Alison Brie stars and directs this story about an awkward girl who fuses her dreams with reality (Netflix)
  • Jingle Jangle, an animated Christmas story with the voices of Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, and Hugh Bonneville (Netflix)
  • Louis Wain, biopic of the 19th century artist starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, and Andrea Riseborough (Amazon Studios)
  • The Old Guard, adaptation of comic book story, starring Charlize Theron and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Netflix)
  • Radioactive, a film about Marie Curie, starring Rosamund Pike and Anya Taylor-Joy (Amazon)
  • Rebecca, adaptation and remake of the Daphne Du Maurier classic novel, starring Lily James, Keely Hawes, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Armie Hammer (Netflix)
  • Welcome to Sudden Death, sequel to Jean-Claude van Damme 1995 movie starring Michael Jai White (Netflix)
  • The Willoughbys, animated adaptation of the Lois Lowry book, with voices of Maya Rudolph, Martin Short, and Jane Krakowski (Netflix)
  • Wonderland, murder conspiracy mystery starring Mark Wahlberg, Allan Arkin, and Colleen Camp (Netflix)

Some of these films will have revised release dates, or get pushed to 2021.

So grab your calendar and start making your plans–here are the movies you’ll want to see in 2020 (and some you might not!):

January

The Informer – Thriller, starring Joel Kinnaman, Rosamund Pike, Ana de Armas, Common, and Clive Owen – January 10.

Underwater – Thriller, stars Kristin Stewart in underwater horror story – January 10.

Dolittle – Family/Comedy, stars Robert Downey, Jr. in remake of the classic, with voices of Tom Holland, Rami Malek, Octavia Spencer, Emma Thompson, Antonio Banderas, Ralph Fiennes, and Michael Sheen – January 17.

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Trailer Park–The “Stranger Things Vibe” Edition

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December 10, 2019

If you want to see how much the 1980s-inspired Stranger Things has worked itself into the 21st century zeitgeist, you need only turn to the last three big studio trailers revealed over the past three days.  Make no mistake, if Stranger Things isn’t the greatest thing since sliced bread it’s pretty close, full of fun characters and great riffs on some of our favorite bits of nostalgia.  So why shouldn’t everything and everyone try to get on the bandwagon?

The most exciting trailer comes from a film Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray have been interviewed about since Ghostbusters II.  Taking a cue from Halloween, Predator, and Terminator, the franchise is doing some skipping of reboots and making Ghostbusters: Afterlife a direct sequel to Ghostbusters II.  The lead role will be played by young (perfectly cast) Mckenna Grace, who has appeared in lots of genre films and shows (Ready Player One, Independence Day: Resurgence, Captain Marvel, and horror franchises: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Annabelle, Amityville, and Hill House).  In a nice nod to the late Ghostbusters co-star and writer Harold Ramis, she and Stranger Things co-star Finn Wolfhard (who wore his own Ghostbusters suit in his series) will play the grandkids of Ramis’s character, Dr. Egon Spengler.  Shifting to a prairie setting from the city, the tone feels more like the creepy and cool Netflix series in the first trailer, but it hints that slime-bearing apparitions we last saw in Manhattan will be showing their faces soon.  And a bonus: Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) plays the grade school teacher, and the kids’ mom is played by Carrie Coon (Avengers: Infinity War).  Plus Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts–everyone but Rick Moranis–have been confirmed for at least a cameo.  And there’s an El Camino and the return of the Ecto-1.  What more could you want?

 

Along with Ghostbusters: Afterlife are new trailers for Wonder Woman 1984 and Free Guy.  As you’d guess from the title, Wonder Woman 1984 is also looking back to the 1980s, complete with a big shopping mall action scene like we saw this summer in Stranger Things.  It looks like it’s trying to be a Marvel movie, complete with a World War-era soldier named Steve (Chris Pine) making his return from the past to co-star and Gal Gadot back in her title role, making an Iron Man entrance.  The movie has a comedic actor starring as a kooky villain (Kristen Wiig), making it look like we’re going to get another Superman III–yet another 1980s thing.  The third movie in our Stranger Things vibe is Free Guy, starring Ryan Reynolds in a spin on the lead character of the LEGO movies–here he is a video game character as in the 1980s nostalgia-filled Ready Player One, a non-player character who decides he wants to be the hero.  The movie co-stars the guy who plays our favorite character in Stranger Things, Joe Keery.  It doesn’t look like Tron, but we’ll take it.

Check out these trailers with a Stranger Things vibe for Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Wonder Woman 1984, and Free Guy:

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Now streaming–Watch Chris Pratt and Emily VanCamp in Everwood

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June 3, 2017

Before Greg Berlanti became a household name, responsible for creating, writing, or producing hit television series like Arrow, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, and Riverdale, he created a successful drama for the WB network that would help propel his career forward–Everwood.  What could have been a flop on paper–a family drama about a widower who takes his career as a neurosurgeon and his son and daughter to a small town in Colorado to start again–became an engaging and enjoyable series with an electric cast and powerful writing.  The entire four seasons, all 89 episodes of the 2002-2006 series is now streaming via CW Seed online for free.

Treat Williams (The Empire Strikes Back, 1941, The Phantom, White Collar) starred as Dr. Andy Brown, an immensely successful big city neurosurgeon who, while intruding on the turf of the pompous local family doctor, Dr. Harold Abbott, played by Tom Amandes (Arrow, Fairly Legal, Leverage), begins to become an invaluable and influential member of the community.  Standout in the cast was Debra Mooney (Dead Poets Society, Tootsie) as Dr. Abbott’s mother Edna, whose snarky attitude was perfect as she helps the new doctor with his clinic across the street from her own son’s competing clinic.  Stephanie Niznik (Star Trek: Insurrection, Enterprise) played Dr. Brown’s friendly neighbor Nina, and Brenda Strong (Dallas) played Dr. Brown’s late wife in flashbacks.

But Everwood, which has not been available on any previous streaming service, will probably be best known for the breakout roles of two Marvel Cinematic Universe stars, Guardians of the Galaxy’s Star Lord Chris Pratt and Captain America’s love interest Sharon Carter from Captain America: Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War, Emily VanCamp.  VanCamp and Pratt had significant roles on Everwood.  Portraying Dr. Abbott’s teenage kids, VanCamp was Amy, the target of affection of Dr. Brown’s son Ephram (Gregory Smith, selected for the role over Supernatural’s Jared Padalecki), and Pratt was Ephram’s not-so-bright new friend, ironically named Bright.  Both actors shined in these early performances (and were a real-life couple for several years).

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Retro fix–El Rey Network hosts Memorial Day weekend marathon of classic The Incredible Hulk series

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May 27, 2017

Three hundred channels and nothing on television to watch this weekend?  Before John Wesley Shipp played Barry Allen on the original series The Flash, Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno starred in the best superhero television series since The Six Million Dollar Man in The Incredible Hulk.  For five seasons, from 1977 to 1982, The Incredible Hulk broke new ground on television, an early step in the history of superheroes coming to life on the screen.  This weekend Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey Network is hosting a marathon of the entire series run.

Originally airing Friday nights on CBS 40 years ago, The Incredible Hulk would be nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, winning one for Mariette Hartley’s performance as Dr. David Bruce Banner’s wife.  Years before Scott Bakula’s Sam Beckett would wander the map attempting to help people in need on Quantum Leap, David Banner was doing similar good deeds, hitchhiking across the country, a lone scientist trying to find a way “to control the raging spirit that dwells within him,” caused by exposure to gamma radiation thanks to the mind of writer Stan Lee and pen of Jack Kirby.

Look for plenty of early performances by actors that would later appear in well-known genre roles, like Simon & Simon’s Gerald McRaney, Star Trek and Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Diana Muldaur and Mark Lenard, Deep Space Nine’s Marc Alaimo, Robert O’Reilly, Andrew Robinson, and Rosalind Chao, Lassie and Battlestar Galactica’s Anne Lockhart, Ghostbusters’ Ernie Hudson, Creature from the Black Lagoon’s Julie Adams, Castle’s Susan Sullivan, and WKRP in Cincinnati’s Loni Anderson and Gordon Jump.

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Kyle MacLachlan and cast discuss 2017 Twin Peaks series, Badalamenti returns in teaser

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October 22, 2016

twin-peaks-behind-the-scenes-image-2017

Showtime released two teasers this month for next year’s Twin Peaks sequel, hoped for by fans of the show for 25 years.  The first shows several actors, including series star Kyle MacLachlan looking like he hasn’t changed a bit, including a behind the scenes image sporting his FBI suit with director David Lynch.  The second teaser shows composer Angelo Badalamenti back again working on the new score for the series.

Coming back for the series is Kyle MacLachlan (FBI Agent Dale Cooper), Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer/Maddie Ferguson), Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne), Mädchen Amick (Shelley Johnson), David Duchovny (Dennis/Denise Bryson), Michael Horse (Deputy Hawk Hill), Dana Ashbrook (Bobby Briggs), Miguel Ferrer (Albert Rosenfield), Ray Wise (Leland Palmer), Grace Zabriskie (Sarah Palmer), Alicia Witt (Gersten Hayward), Kimmy Robertson (Lucy Moran), Peggy Lipton (Norma Jennings), Catherine Coulson (The Log Lady), Everett McGill (Ed Hurley), Phoebe Augustine (Ronette Pulaski), Harry Goaz (Deputy Andy Brennan), Julee Cruise (Roadhouse Singer and soundtrack singer), Warren Frost (Doctor Hayward), Jan D’Arcy (Sylvia Horne), and Gary Hershberger (Mike Nelson).

Also returning is Andrea Hayes (Heidi), David Patrick Kelley (Jerry Horne), Bellina Logan (Louie), Walter Olkewicz (Jacques Renault), Richard Beymer (Ben Horne), Carel Struyken (the giant), Wendy Robie (Nadine Hurley), Al Strobel (one-armed man), Charlotte Stewart (Betty Briggs), Marv Rosand (diner cook), Jerry Marshall (James Hurley), Russ Tamblyn (Dr. Jacoby), Carlton Russell (jumping man), Harry Dean Stanton (Carl), and David Lynch (Gordon Cole).

Cooper and Audrey Twin Peaks

So no Michael Ontkean, Lara Flynn Boyle, Joan Chen, Piper Laurie, Heather Graham, Billy Zane, Brenda Strong, Michael J. Anderson, or David Warner. Key players Jack Nance and Don S. Davis have passed away since the original series aired as has most recently Catherine Coulson, who was able to film some scenes for the series.

Check out the new Showtime teasers plus everything you want to know from past borg.com updates on the series, after the break:

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Twin Peaks–Pacific Northwest logging town increases population by 217

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July 3, 2016

Cooper and Audrey Twin Peaks

Step back five years and ask what television series genre fans would like to see turn into a modern sequel and at the top of the list you would likely have found The X-Files, Firefly, and Twin Peaks.  Two out of three ain’t bad.

Add 217 more citizens to Twin Peaks’ population of 51,201.  David Lynch & Co. released the list of cast members for Twin Peaks, the Showtime sequel series, and the question really isn’t who is in the new series, but who is not.  Coming back is Kyle MacLachlan (FBI Agent Dale Cooper), Sheryl Lee (Laura Palmer/Maddie Ferguson), Sherilyn Fenn (Audrey Horne), Mädchen Amick (Shelley Johnson), David Duchovny (Dennis/Denise Bryson), Michael Horse (Deputy Hawk Hill), Dana Ashbrook (Bobby Briggs), Miguel Ferrer (Albert Rosenfield), Ray Wise (Leland Palmer), Grace Zabriskie (Sarah Palmer), Alicia Witt (Gersten Hayward), Kimmy Robertson (Lucy Moran), Peggy Lipton (Norma Jennings), Catherine Coulson (The Log Lady), Everett McGill (Ed Hurley), Phoebe Augustine (Ronette Pulaski), Harry Goaz (Deputy Andy Brennan), Julee Cruise (Roadhouse Singer and soundtrack singer), Warren Frost (Doctor Hayward), Jan D’Arcy (Sylvia Horne), and Gary Hershberger (Mike Nelson).

And that’s not all.  Also returning is Andrea Hayes (Heidi), David Patrick Kelley (Jerry Horne), Bellina Logan (Louie), Walter Olkewicz (Jacques Renault), Richard Beymer (Ben Horne), Carel Struyken (the giant), Wendy Robie (Nadine Hurley), Al Strobel (one-armed man), Charlotte Stewart (Betty Briggs), Marv Rosand (diner cook), Jerry Marshall (James Hurley), Russ Tamblyn (Dr. Jacoby), Carlton Russell (jumping man), Harry Dean Stanton (Carl), and David Lynch (Gordon Cole).  Scott Coffey is also listed as a returning actor, but we don’t remember him in this Lynch show, although he was in other Lynch productions.

Dale Cooper coffee

So no Michael Ontkean, Lara Flynn Boyle, Joan Chen, Piper Laurie, Heather Graham, Billy Zane, Brenda Strong, Michael J. Anderson, or David Warner.  Key players Jack Nance and Don S. Davis have passed away since the original series aired as has most recently Catherine Coulson, who was able to film some scenes for the series.  The biggest miss, of course, is Michael Ontkean, retired from acting now, who played MacLachlan’s co-lead for much of the series as Sheriff Harry S. Truman.  Fans want to see all of the return players, but it may not be a good sign that so many newcomers will be in the show.  Even if the originally discussed nine episodes doubled, that doesn’t give a lot of screen time to very many characters.

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Sony Pictures releases first trailer with new Ghostbusters team

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March 6, 2016

Ghostbusters poster

So here it is.  Maybe not the sequel fans of the classic all hoped for, but with the passing of the great Harold Ramis any sequel with the original team in their original roles was out the window.  Much has been written about this reboot, and many questions.  Is it just a redux with women instead of men, complete with a nerdy glasses-wearing team member, a street smart African American fourth team member, and a hearse as the Ecto-1?  Is there anything new that Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, and current Saturday Night Live regulars Kate McKinnon and Leslie Jones have to show us about this story?

Maybe it’s not going to be a movie for the loyalists to the original.  But for fans of these comediennes it’s not going to matter.  These actresses are putting on the proton packs, and they’re going to get slimed and have fun along the way, like all the actors who have donned costumes in recent reboots like JJ Abrams’ Star Trek and Star Wars.  This new Ghostbusters will be no different than those attempts to blend the past and present.

original Ghostbusters costumes and props

Screen-used costumes and proton pack prop from the new film.

In the first full trailer from the studio, Melissa McCarthy looks like she’s going to steal the show.  She always has that laugh-out-loud humor that leaves everyone rolling.  For those loyalists, look for cameos in roles different than their originals for Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Annie Potts, Sigourney Weaver, and Ernie Hudson.  Rick Moranis took a pass on participating in this new venture.

Check out this new trailer for Ghostbusters from Sony Pictures:

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First look–Character posters from Ghostbusters reboot

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December 17, 2015

New Ghostbusters

Ready or not, a new Ghostbusters is coming your way.

And we have our first look tonight at four one-sheet posters for next summer’s release.

Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones have the title roles.

1271033 - THE WALK     1271033 - THE WALK

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Don’t miss it–Wizard World Des Moines begins tomorrow

Filed under: Backstage Pass, Comics & Books, Con Culture, Fantasy Realms, Movies, Retro Fix, Sci-Fi Café, Superheroes, TV — Leave a comment
June 11, 2015

Wizard World Des Moines

Convention planner Wizard World is holding its first pop culture convention in Iowa this weekend, introducing Midwest genre fans to sci-fi icon William Shatner (Star Trek), horror icon Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Billy Dee Williams (The Empire Strikes Back), Alex Kingston (Doctor Who, Arrow), and Jewel Staite (Firefly), plus Emily Kinney and Michael Cudlitz (The Walking Dead), comic book writer/artist Mike Grell (Green Arrow), Iowa’s own Brandon Routh (Superman Returns, The Flash) and a giant roster of other celebrity guests from film and TV, past and present.

Arrow -- Image AR315C_ATOM_0001 -- Pictured: -- Photo: Cate Cameron/The CW -- © 2015 The CW Network, LLC. All Rights Reserved

Brandon Routh as The Atom and Superman

Other familiar genre actors scheduled to attend include Manu Bennett (Arrow, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey), Dean Cain (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman), J. August Richards (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Angel), Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville), Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk), Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters, Psych), Cassandra Peterson (Elvira, Mistress of the Dark), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), and both Sean Patrick Flanery and David Della Rocco from Boondock Saints.

Alex Kingston River Song Doctor Who

Alex Kingston, River Song from Doctor Who, and Dinah Lance from CW’s Arrow.

Several well-known comic book writers and artists will be featured in Wizard World’s Artist Alley in addition to Mr. Grell: Des Moines’s own Ant Lucia (DC Comics “Bombshell” covers and posters), Neal Adams (Batman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow), Mike Zeck (Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars), Iowa-based artist Phil Hester (Green Arrow, The Flash), Michael Golden (Star Wars, The ‘Nam), our pal Jai Nitz (Dream Thief, Tron: Betrayal, El Diablo), and many others.

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First Wizard World show in Des Moines to feature Shatner, Williams, Staite, Englund

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April 23, 2015

Wizard World Des Moines

Convention planner Wizard World will hold its first pop culture convention in Iowa this June–one of dozens of Cons it is holding across the country this year.  Wizard World Comic Con will introduce Des Moines to sci-fi icon William Shatner (Star Trek), horror icon Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Billy Dee Williams (The Empire Strikes Back), and Jewel Staite (Firefly), plus Emily Kinney and Michael Cudlitz (The Walking Dead), and a giant roster of other celebrity guests from film and TV, past and present.

Arrow Manu Bennett

Arrow’s Slade Wilson/Deathstroke, actor Manu Bennett.

Other familiar genre actors scheduled to attend include Manu Bennett (Arrow, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey), Dean Cain (Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman), J. August Richards (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Angel), Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville), Lou Ferrigno (The Incredible Hulk), Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters, Psych), Cassandra Peterson (Elvira, Mistress of the Dark), Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad), and both Sean Patrick Flanery and David Della Rocco from Boondock Saints.

Dean Cain Superman

Dean Cain, from Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

Several well-known comic book writers and artists will be featured in Wizard World’s Artist Alley: Des Moines’s own Ant Lucia (DC Comics “Bombshell” covers and posters), Neal Adams (Batman, Green Lantern/Green Arrow), Mike Zeck (Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars), Iowa-based artist Phil Hester (Green Arrow, The Flash), Michael Golden (Star Wars, The ‘Nam), and many others.

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