In today’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast host, Mike DeAngelo, returns to the multiverse of “Dark Matter.” The first season finale is now available to stream on Apple TV+. The series is based on the Blake Crouch book of the same name and follows a college professor who is abducted into an alternate universe and has to fight his way back to his old life and real family.

Continue reading ‘Dark Matter’: Joel Edgerton & Showrunner Blake Crouch Dive Into Finale Spoilers, Season 2, ‘Star Wars’ & More [Bingeworthy Podcast] at The Playlist.

Earlier this spring, we talked to Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly about their excellent Apple TV+ sci-fi series “Dark Matter” for our Bingeworthy podcast; it’s a darker, more adult consideration of the multiverse-type stories that have dominated comic book movies of late. “Dark Matter” is anything but a comic book movie and centers on a doppelgänger physicist from another universe who abducts his other self in order to be with the woman he missed his chance to be with.

Continue reading Joel Edgerton Says ‘Star Wars’ Should Trust Fans & Talks ‘Train Dreams’ With Felicity Jones & More at The Playlist.

In this week’s episode of Bingeworthy, our TV and streaming podcast host Mike DeAngelo ventures into another universe to discuss “Dark Matter.” The Apple TV+ series is based on the Blake Crouch book of the same name and follows a college professor who is abducted into an alternate universe and has to fight his way back to his old life and real family. The show stars Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Connelly, Alice Braga, Jimmi Simpson, and more.

Continue reading ‘Dark Matter’: Joel Edgerton & Jennifer Connelly Discuss Multiversal Sci-Fi Series, ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ Marvel & More [Bingeworthy Podcast] at The Playlist.

Marvel Studios may be struggling a bit right now, but there’s one aspect of the studio that has never been in question– the casting. Besides obvious standouts like Robert Downey, Jr. and Chris Evans, there are just so many instances where Marvel Studios chose actors who would go on to define exactly who the character is. Take Chris Pratt, for example. His version of Star-Lord is often pitch perfect, and it really set the tone for the entire “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise.

Continue reading Joel Edgerton Talks His Failed ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’ Audition: “The World Is A Much Better Place That I’m Not Star-Lord” at The Playlist.

Multiverse narratives are all the rage these days, especially within the comic book movie genre, where there’s always a convenient excuse for nostalgia grabs and time-folding mash-ups where three different actors who have played the superhero can turn up in the same universe together side by side for the first time. But what about a consideration of the multiverse for adults and a deeper, darker contemplation about regrets, choices made that irrevocably shaped our lives, and the haunting aspects of the roads not taken?

Continue reading ‘Dark Matter’ Review: Joel Edgerton & Jennifer Connelly Traverse The Multiverse For Adults & Consider Existential Regrets at The Playlist.

The multiverse has infinite realities is a tagline that would probably fit snugly within a Marvel movie. But the same ideas apply and work perfectly well within the confines of the more adult drama, “Dark Matter,” a new sci-fi mindbender from Apple TV+.

Today, Apple unveiled the trailer for its new sci-fi thriller series starring Joel Edgerton alongside Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly, Alice Braga, Jimmi Simpson, Dayo Okeniyi, and Oakes Fegley.

Continue reading ‘Dark Matter’ Trailer: Apple’s Sci-Fi Series With Joel Edgerton & Jennifer Connelly Hits In May at The Playlist.

It looks like Joel Edgerton has another drama in the vein of “The Boys In The Boat” and “Thirteen Lives” up next. The actor will co-star with Felicity Jones in “Train Dreams,” Black Bear‘s adaptation of Denis Johnson‘s 2011 novella. It’ll be the third adaptation of Johnson’s literary work for the big screen, after 1999’s “Jesus’ Son” and Claire Denis‘ recent outing, “The Stars At Noon.” 

READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2024

Clint Bentley will direct “Train Dreams” from an adapted script he co-writes with his “Sing Sing” co-writer Greg Kwedar.

Continue reading ‘Train Dreams’: Joel Edgerton & Felicity Jones To Star In Adaptation Of Denis Johnson’s 2011 Novella at The Playlist.

The current, somewhat glib joke about George Clooney as a filmmaker is that he makes movies that “don’t exist,” i.e., are not made for the current cinematic zeitgeist and are often out of step with what the culture is watching and consuming. And there’s an argument to be made, no matter how shallow and maybe that ageist the joke is, that there’s something to it, perhaps going as far back as 2008’s throwback comedy “Leatherheads,” which really wasn’t for audiences at the time either.

Continue reading ‘The Boys In The Boat’ Review: George Clooney’s Classical Underdog Sports Drama Is Conventional But Still Worthy Of Merit at The Playlist.

Can underdogs overcome the odds? The question is asked time and time again, yet many of these stories remain lost to history. George Clooney directs “The Boys in the Boat” — a look at the University of Washington’s 1936 rowing team. The adaptation of Daniel James Brown’s bestselling novel, written by Mark L. Smith, sees the team compete in that year’s Summer Olympics. Set in Berlin at a tense time for international relations, their determination to win against the world’s best would create a legendary story.

Continue reading ‘The Boys In The Boat’ Trailer: The Race Is On This Christmas In George Clooney’s New Sports Drama at The Playlist.

In today’s episode of The Discourse, host Mike DeAngelo gets in the weeds with Joel Edgerton (“Warrior,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” “Thirteen Lives”). The talented writer/actor/director is promoting his latest film, “Master Gardener,” directed by the great Paul Schrader. The film acts as the third and final entry in what Schrader is now calling his “Man in a Room” trilogy, which also features “First Reformed” and “The Card Counter.” The film follows a scrupulous greenskeeper of a wealthy plantation as he tends to the needs of the grounds and a new understudy who uncovers disturbing details about the gardener’s past.

Continue reading ‘Master Gardener’: Joel Edgerton On Working With Paul Schrader, Returning To ‘Star Wars’ & More [The Discourse Podcast] at The Playlist.

After flirting with obsolescence in the late 2000s, writer/director Paul Schrader has been experiencing something of a career renaissance. His original screenplay for 2017’s “First Reformed” was nominated for an Academy Award, and his 2022 follow-up “The Card Counter” appeared in numerous critics’ annual “best of” lists. Now, the acclaimed filmmaker’s momentum will be tested once again with the arrival of his latest opus “Master Gardener.” Here’s the indie crime thriller’s official synopsis:

“Narvel Roth is the meticulous horticulturist of Gracewood Gardens, a beautiful estate owned by wealthy dowager Mrs.

Continue reading ‘Master Gardener’ Trailer: Paul Schrader’s Latest Thriller Stars Joel Edgerton As A Horticulturist With A Violent Past at The Playlist.

Paul Schrader always knew that “Master Gardener” would be controversial.

In the legendary filmmaker’s crime-thriller, which had its North American premiere at the 60th New York Festival earlier this month, Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton), the head horticulturist of a historic Southern estate, is tasked by its demanding owner, Norma Haverhill (Sigourney Weaver), with taking on her grand-niece Maya (Quintessa Swindell) as an apprentice, only for Roth’s past in a white-supremacist movement to come to light. 

Continue reading Paul Schrader Talks ’Master Gardener,’ Almost Casting Kevin Spacey & “Dodging That Lolita Thing By Making Him A Proud Boy” [NYFF] at The Playlist.

Paul Schrader is under no illusions about “Master Gardener,” the sure-to-be-divisive final chapter in an informal trilogy that kicked off with 2017’s “First Reformed” and continued with last year’s “The Card Counter.” For starters: the film centers on a former white supremacist (played by Joel Edgerton) and his attempts at redemption.

“This one is going to piss people off,” Schrader told IndieWire of the film, which premiered out of competition this weekend at the Venice Film Festival, where the auteur is also being given a lifetime achievement award.

Continue reading Paul Schrader Predicts Controversy For His Hot-Button ‘Master Gardener’: ‘This One Is Going To Piss People Off’ at The Playlist.

A man scribbles in his diary. The pages are visible by dim light, the wooden table nondescript. He takes his whisky neat and keeps his hair trimmed to military precision. On the paper, words he is unable to share, a self-imposed vow of silence acting as a twisted blend of punishment and preservation. To anyone familiar with the work of writer and director Paul Schrader, this is an easily recognizable pattern, which he employs once again in “Master Gardener,” the third and final film of an untitled trilogy preceded by 2017’s “First Reformed” and 2021’s “The Card Counter.”

READ MORE: Venice Film Festival Preview: 16 Must-See Films To Watch

The man in question is Narvel (Joel Edgerton in a career-best turn), whose calloused hands meticulously tender to all that sprawls from the soil of the Gracewood Gardens, where he acts as head gardener.

Continue reading ‘Master Gardener’ Review: Paul Schrader Builds A Fitting Ending To His Plagued Man Trilogy [Venice] at The Playlist.

It’s almost impossible not to find the story of a young football team and their coach who found themselves trapped in a cave in northern Thailand in 2018 for 18 days utterly compelling. What unfolded at Tham Luang Nang Non—the infamous young soccer team stuck in Thai caves with rising water all around them story in 2018— became headline news around the world, and at the time, people described the events as being like something out of a Hollywood movie.

Continue reading ‘Thirteen Lives’ Review: Ron Howard’s Thai Cave Rescue Drama Is One Of His More Engrossing Films at The Playlist.

Ron Howard is a critically-acclaimed and Academy Award-winning director. Looking at his filmography, it’s hard to find something that he hasn’t done as his decades-long career spans multiple genres and mediums, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that his next upcoming project, “Thirteen Lives,” is a film based on a true story.

“Thirteen Lives” tells the story of the 12 junior association football (soccer) players and their assistant coach who were stuck in the Tham Luang caves in Thailand for over two weeks in the summer of 2018.

Continue reading ‘Thirteen Lives’ Trailer: Viggo Mortensen, Joel Edgerton, Colin Farrell & More Star In Ron Howard’s Harrowing New Film at The Playlist.

With the true-crime renaissance in full swing over on the small screen, it feels appropriate that a similar spike should be felt in the moviehouse. “The Stranger,” the sophomore feature from Aussie TV guy Thomas M. Wright that premiered yesterday in Un Certain Regard, is the latest film to try and scratch that particular itch — try, alas, being the watchword. Unraveling mystery, throat-snatching tension, tragedy and trauma in abundance; you’ll find little of that here, at least for the first hour, where the film veers between frail tangents and manifold branches that make the whole thing an annoying chore.

Continue reading ‘The Stranger’ Review: We’re Here For A True Crime, Not A Good Time [Cannes] at The Playlist.

Paul Schrader’s last two films, last year’s “The Card Counter” and 2018’s “First Reformed,” are among the most critically acclaimed of his career. So, will his follow-up keep the streak going? Audiences find out soon as Schrader’s next film, “Master Gardener,” hits theaters later this year.

READ MORE: Paul Schrader On ‘The Card Counter,’ Almost Casting Oscar Isaac 25 Years Ago & More [GAIFF Interview]

Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver star in Schrader’s latest crime feature, and in this one, Schrader leaves behind the poker tables of “The Card Counter” for the world of horticulture in the deep South.

Continue reading ‘Master Gardener’ First Look: Paul Schrader’s ‘The Card Counter’ Follow-Up Stars Joel Edgerton & Sigourney Weaver at The Playlist.

In a move that may foretell the future of movie releases, Amazon has switched up its release for Ron Howard‘s latest film, “Thirteen Lives.” Initially set for a November 18 wide release later this year through MGM, those plans switched up after Amazon finalized its purchase of the Hollywood studio for $8.5 billion this March. 

READ MORE: Amazon Secures $8.45 Billion Deal To Acquire MGM

Now, instead of a wide fall release, “Thirteen Lives” gets a limited theatrical release this summer before it quickly debuts on Amazon Prime Video.  The switch-up is part of Prime Video’s new summer event movie strategy and signals an early shift in how Amazon will handle its new MGM properties differently.

Continue reading Ron Howard’s ‘Thirteen Lives’ Thai Cave Rescue Drama To Skip Wide Theatrical Release For Amazon Prime Joint Release at The Playlist.

Australian actor Joel Edgerton will be seen reprising the role of “Star Wars” character Uncle Owen in Lucasfilm’s upcoming “Obi-Wan Kenobi” series starring Ewan McGregor as the iconic Jedi. Edgerton had a supporting role in David Lowery‘s fantastic film “The Green Knight,” and now he’s continuing his recent trend of tackling genre projects with plans to make another streaming series.

Continue reading Joel Edgerton & Louis Leterrier Team For New Sci-Fi Series ‘Dark Matter’ At Apple TV+ at The Playlist.

Ewan McGregor hasn’t starred in a “Star Wars” project since 2005’s “Revenge Of The Sith.” In that film, McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi suffered arguably his most significant defeat: the corruption of his Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, played by Hayden Christensen.

READ MORE: The 70 Most Anticipated TV Shows & Mini-Series Of 2022

Now, Disney‘s take on the “Star Wars” universe looks to explore what happened to Kenobi and Vader between the events of “Sith” and “A New Hope.” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” the latest new “Star Wars” show on Disney+, sees McGregor and Christensen return in a new tale set ten years after the events of “Sith.”  

In the show, Obi-Wan lives in exile on Tatooine and watches over an infant Luke Skywalker, while Vader rules the Empire alongside Emperor Palpatine.

Continue reading ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ Trailer: Ewan McGregor Returns To The ‘Star Wars’ Galaxy May 25 at The Playlist.

While George Clooney has vacillated from acting to directing for two decades now, starting with 2002’s “Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind,” the actor/director has really picked up the pace in the last few years. Since 2017, he’s directed three films, “Suburbicon” (2017), “The Midnight Sky” (2020), and “The Tender Bar” (2021). And at his current rate, he’ll have had three films out in three years if this new project pans out like it will.

Continue reading ‘The Boys In The Boat’: Joel Edgerton Joins Callum Turner As Director George Clooney Rounds Out His Cast at The Playlist.

Gavin O’Connor has no shortage of successful film and TV projects in recent years – whether it’s “Mare of Easttown” (which he serves as Executive Producer), “The Way Back,” or “The Accountant” – all have been embraced by critics and fans alike. But perhaps his most overlooked film, “Warrior,” starring a then-unknown Tom Hardy and Joel Edgerton, is seeing a groundswell of appreciation.

Continue reading Director Gavin O’Connor Talks ‘Warrior’ After 10 Years, The Upcoming TV Adaptation & His ‘Suicide Squad’ Script [The Playlist Podcast] at The Playlist.

We haven’t even had the world premiere of his latest film, “The Card Counter,” but it appears that Paul Schrader is ready to move onto his newest project, titled “Master Gardener.”

According to Hanway Films, Paul Schrader is putting together the cast for his new film, “Master Gardener,” and has enlisted talented folks such as Joel Edgerton and Sigourney Weaver to appear.

Continue reading ‘Master Gardener’: Joel Edgerton & Sigourney Weaver To Star In Paul Schrader’s New Film at The Playlist.

Bravery is scarce in the heart of Gawain (Dev Patel), at least in the intrepid form attributed to medieval warriors fighting wars with immeasurable carnage. “I’m not a knight,” he exclaims ceaselessly throughout a quest to defend his honor in Arthurian times. Others claim he, in fact, resembles a heroic figure, yet underneath the chainmail, insecurity festers.

READ MORE: Summer 2021 Preview: Over 50 Movies To
Watch

Only facing the lethal challenge of the Green Knight, a mythical stand-in for death, might grant him a praiseworthy accomplishment he seeks.

Continue reading ‘The Green Knight’: David Lowery Enthralls With An Epic Feat of Bold Imagination About Human Weakness [Review] at The Playlist.