News

• People joining projects: Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey have officially joined The Dark Tower, likely kicking off a new franchise and dragging this particular Stephen King adaptation into the light once and for all after decades in development hell. Elba vs. McConaughey should put a great many doubts to rest.

• People leaving projects: Joseph Gordon-Levitt is departing Sandman, which he was scheduled to direct and star in, over creative differences with the studio. Very disappointing. Slightly less disappointing is the departure of Eli Roth from the shark thriller Meg, which may or may not result in a better Meg.

• Sony has announced a Venom movie to be spun out of the Spider-Man franchise that they really don’t seem to even have anymore. How do you make a Venom movie sans Spidey?

Trailers

Could the new Ghostbusters movie at least be titled something besides…Ghostbusters?

Here’s a trailer for the latest film in the beloved Madea franchise, wherein Tyler Perry returns on the spookiest night of the year to protect his/her home and good Lord I cannot believe this movie exists:

And Zoe Saldana stars as Nina Simone in Nina, which looks 100%, totally, completely [opinion redacted]:

In Cinemas

Zootopia and Deadpool are the best things out right now (albeit for two highly different audiences). This weekend sees the stateside release of 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Brothers Grimsby, and Eye in the Sky.

On TV

Listen, I know you got tired of The Walking Dead and stopped watching. I don’t blame you. Now is a really good time to pick it back up again, though. There’s also a show by WD producer Glen Mazzara airing tonight called Damien, about the little kid from The Omen, if you’re into that sort of thing. If you prefer shows where everyone’s pretty much okay at the end, we hope you enjoyed Downton Abbey.

On Netflix

The second season of Daredevil drops next Friday, which should give you plenty of time to crush the new season of House of Cards. Twice.

Review of the Week

Our Alan Moore Writer Series begins with From Hell, about a masterpiece comic distilled into a stupendously average film.