Xolo Maridueña Shines As The Latin Superhero Blue Beetle

 

By : Edgar Allan E. Yu 

Blue Beetle is an absolute blast from start to finish. The movie is filled with humor, action, heart, and emotional moments that keep the audience entertained throughout. The charismatic and talented Xolo Maridueña (from Cobra Kai) perfectly embodies the role of Jaime Reyes and Blue Beetle. He has the look and likeability of a cinematic leading man. With his charming presence and compelling performance, he effortlessly captivates viewers and leaves them wanting more. Blue Beetle effectively blends humor with visually stunning action sequences that will keep you delighted.    

Blue Beetle benefits greatly from an exceptional supporting cast. From the female love interest Bruna Marquezine, the villain Susan Sarandon, and the whole Reyes family, the talented ensemble brings depth and life to the movie, effectively complementing the lead. Also Khaji-Da is voiced by Filipino voice talent Inka Magnaye in the Philippine release of Blue Beetle.   

 

One of the standout aspects of Blue Beetle is its portrayal of Latino family dynamics. The movie excels at highlighting the importance of family and the impact it has on their lives. The family elements within the film add a layer of relatability and heartwarming moments. Blue Beetle's exploration of family dynamics adds depth and emotional resonance to the overall story. 

 

In conclusion, Blue Beetle is a superhero movie that hits all the right notes. With its fun and enjoyable moments, emotional depth, incredible action scenes, fantastic supporting cast, and heartwarming family dynamics, this film offers a complete and captivating cinematic experience. Xolo Maridueña's charming performance as the leading man and superhero Blue Beetle makes him an instant favorite. Don't miss out on this exciting and heartfelt movie !   

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros Pictures

FOR FANS BY FANS: LIFELONG “TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES” FANS SETH ROGEN AND DIRECTOR JEFF ROWE TALK ABOUT THEIR VISION FOR “MUTANT MAYHEM” 

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made a big impression on Seth Rogen at a very early age. “The animated series came out in 1987, when I was five. The first movie came out in 1990, when I was eight,” he says. “It was perfectly geared toward someone my age and I loved it. They were funny. They were referential. I started taking karate probably because of the Turtles. I was just kind of obsessed.”

Watch the final trailer: https://youtu.be/qqc4jJr28w8 

So when Brian Robbins, President and CEO of Paramount and Nickelodeon, called Rogen to ask him if he’d like to discuss making a new Turtles movie, Rogen already knew exactly what he wanted to do. 

“It’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Rogen says. “Of all those words, the teenage part was the most under-explored, and the most interesting to me.” And that is how Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem began. Rogen saw in it a Turtles movie made with a genuine teen spirit – breaking all the rules, ripping up the playbook and doing everything on its own terms. 

Watch the featurette “Putting the Teens in TMNT” here: https://youtu.be/BNg8CpX0Y4c 

To help shape a Turtles movie with the wit and verve they wanted, Rogen, his producing partner Evan Goldberg, and Mutant Mayhem producer James Weaver  needed a director who could tell a story full of heart and humor, but who was also not afraid to break the rules. They were pointed in the direction – by Phil Lord and Chris Miller no less – of one man: Jeff Rowe, co-writer and co-director of The Mitchells Vs. The Machines.

Rowe admits that he didn’t need all that much in the way of persuading. As a professed lifelong Turtles fan, when he heard there was a search on for a director for a new version of them, his head started spinning. “I thought, ‘That sounds like a dream project. I would kill to do that,’” Rowe says. 

Rowe and his producers all agreed on the direction for the story, which would consider the siblings teenagers first, turtles second. But then Rowe wanted to push the concept even further. What if the movie about teenagers looked like it was made by teenagers? “When he first pitched it,” laughs Goldberg, “we said, ‘Maybe… I don’t know, man. It sounds a little crazy.’”

It probably was a little crazy, at least at first. Rowe’s idea was that he wanted to make a movie that looked not slick and polished – like most CG movies – but as messy, fun and unpredictable as the story’s heroes. “We just wanted it to look like teenage drawings,” says Rowe. “You know, the kind of drawings you did when you were in high school that have weird shapes and bad perspective but are lovingly rendered in places. And were always sincere.” 

 

As the Turtles co-creator and a man who has seen them transform so many times over the years, Kevin Eastman couldn’t be more happy with what everyone has achieved with Mutant Mayhem. “It’s big and loud and proud,” he says. “These guys nailed it.”

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem opens in Philippine cinemas August 23. Cowabunga! 

**The interviews with Rogen and Rowe were done before the writers’ and actors’ strikes.**  

About Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

 

In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, after years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend April O’Neil helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.

 

In Philippine cinemas starting August 23, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is distributed in the Philippines by Paramount Pictures through Columbia Pictures. Connect with #MutantMayhem #TMNTMovie and tag paramountpicsph

 

Photo and Video Credit: “Paramount Pictures International” 

FROM KARATE CHAMPION TO SUPER HERO: “COBRA KAI” STANDOUT XOLO MARIDUEÑA PLAYS HIS DREAM ROLE IN “BLUE BEETLE”

 

“It’s a dream, surreal is really the only word I can use for it,” says Xolo Maridueña, who plays Jaime Reyes / Blue Beetle in the all-new Super Hero movie from Warner Bros. Pictures, “Blue Beetle.”  

“For as long as I can remember, Jaime Reyes is the biggest Latin Super Hero in the DC Universe,” says the actor. “Growing up, my mom was a huge fan of comics and I think she passed down that liking to me, and it was always a dream to play this role and to get into this character.”

Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/j6hxeDmcaME 

For Maridueña, family is what sets “Blue Beetle” apart from other Super Hero movies. “The family aspect is one that this movie really hits right on the head,” he shares. “Getting to work alongside phenomenal actors that are playing my family – Elpidia (Carillo, plays Jaime’s mother), Damían (Alcázar, father), Adriana (Barraza, grandmother), Belissa (Escobedo, sister) – the whole core family, I look at them and I speak with them and I’m like, ‘whoa,’ from the get-go we were bonded for life, and we are now. I haven’t seen that in a Super Hero movie before, so I think the audience is really gonna relate to that.”

Unlike in most Super Hero movies where the protagonist hides their identity from family to keep them safe, in “Blue Beetle,” Jaime discovers his superpowers right in front of his family, making them all privy to his secret. “This family, really, for better or for worse, is the driving force of everything that Jaime does,” says Maridueña. “You see that, and it’s really just due in part to how much he cares about them, and that is an experience that I relate to and that I can connect with so easily. 

“My family is also so integral in everything that I do, and sometimes it feels like we’re on top of each other all the time, but those are the best types of relationships. I think they really provided a support system for Jaime to excel in everything that he wanted to do, and maybe now that he has the Scarab the plans are a little bit different, but they’re ride-or-dies, they see him for who is he and they’re gonna support him, and that really is such an important part of the story.”

In “Blue Beetle,” recent college grad Jaime Reyes (Maridueña) returns home full of aspirations for his future, only to find that home is not quite as he left it. As he searches to find his purpose in the world, fate intervenes when Jaime unexpectedly finds himself in possession of an ancient relic of alien biotechnology: the Scarab. When the Scarab suddenly chooses Jaime to be its symbiotic host, he is bestowed with an incredible suit of armor capable of extraordinary and unpredictable powers, forever changing his destiny as he becomes the Super Hero Blue Beetle.  

“Blue Beetle” opens exclusively in cinemas August 16.  

**The interview with Xolo Maridueña was done before the strike.** 

 

About “Blue Beetle”

From Warner Bros. Pictures comes the feature film “Blue Beetle,” marking the DC Super Hero’s first time on the big screen. The film, directed by Angel Manuel Soto, stars Xolo Maridueña in the title role as well as his alter ego, Jaime Reyes. 

Starring alongside Maridueña (“Cobra Kai”) are Adriana Barraza (“Rambo: Last Blood,” “Thor”), Damían Alcázar (“Narcos,” “Narcos: Mexico”), Elpidia Carrillo (“Mayans M.C.,” the “Predator” films), Bruna Marquezine (“Maldivas,” “God Save the King”), Raoul Max Trujillo (the “Sicario” films, “Mayans M.C.”), with Oscar winner Susan Sarandon (“Monarch,” “Dead Man Walking”), and George Lopez (the “Rio and “Smurf” franchises). The film also stars Belissa Escobedo (“American Horror Stories,” “Hocus Pocus 2”) and Harvey Guillén (“What We Do in the Shadows”). Soto (“Charm City Kings,” “The Farm”) directs from a screenplay by Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer (“Miss Bala”), based on characters from DC. John Rickard and Zev Foreman are producing, with Walter Hamada, Galen Vaisman and Garrett Grant serving as executive producers.

A Warner Bros. Pictures Presentation, A Safran Company Production, “Blue Beetle,” in cinemas starting August 16, is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Join the conversation online and use the hashtag #BlueBeetle 

Photo & Video Credit: “Warner Bros. Pictures” 

NO. 1 MOVIE IN KOREA “CONCRETE UTOPIA,” STARRING LEE BYUNG-HUN, PARK SEO-JUN AND PARK BO-YOUNG, TO BE RELEASED IN PH, OPENS IN PHILIPPINE CINEMAS SEPTEMBER 20

 

Welcome to Hwang Gung Apartments.

Concrete Utopia, a thrilling disaster film starring an ensemble of A-list Korean actors including Lee Byung-hun, Park Seo-jun, Park Bo-young, Park Ji-hu, Kim Do-yoon and Kim Sun-young, will be released in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures. 

The film, which opened #1 in Korea, will open in local cinemas September 20.

Directed by Um Tae-hwa, Concrete Utopia is loosely based on Part 2 of the hit webtoon “Joyful Outcast” (“Pleasant Neighbors”). Concrete Utopia is a disaster thriller about the aftermath of a devastating earthquake. The film will follow the story that begins when the survivors gather at Hwang Gung Apartments, the only building left standing in an earthquake-ravaged Seoul.

As the trailer and poster speaks for themselves, the survivors will have to go through mind-boggling thought processes, revealing the kind and dark side of human nature. Find out with us in the cinemas who will be the final survivors. 

Sneak a peek into the apartments in this newly released trailer:

https://youtu.be/2JpmUPmCRGU  

About Concrete Utopia

In Concrete Utopia, the world has been reduced to rubble by a massive earthquake.

While no one knows for sure how far the ruins stretch, or what the cause of the earthquake may be, in the heart of Seoul there is only one apartment building left standing. It is called Hwang Gung Apartments.

As time passes, outsiders start coming in to Hwang Gung Apartments trying to escape the extreme cold. Before long, the apartment residents are unable to cope with the increasing numbers. Feeling a threat to their very survival, the residents enact a special measure.

In cinemas September 20, Concrete Utopia is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International. Connect with the hashtag #ConcreteUtopiaMoviePH

Photo & Video Credit: “Columbia Pictures” 

“GRAN TURISMO: BASED ON A TRUE STORY” WILL GET YOUR BLOOD PUMPING, SAYS DAVID HARBOUR

David Harbour always knew that director Neill Blomkamp (Elysium, District 9) would bring a genuinely exhilarating feel to Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story. But he didn’t realize how authentic his own experience would be while filming the movie.   

“I knew Neill would bring a visceral, blood pumping feel to the movie,” says David Harbour, who plays Jack, a washed-up driver who becomes Jann Mardenborough’s chief engineer and teaches him the ins and outs of a real racecar. “What I didn’t really know was how much we were going to be working with actual cars, actual drivers, actual tracks. We’re in the cars, we’re doing pit tire changes and gassing up the cars in real-time with other drivers blazing around the track at 200mph. It’s really me in a helicopter flying 30 feet above racecars. It all plays into the intensity of the experience – which is critical to making a film about people having a very intense experience, risking everything for what they love.”

The actor says that at first, he was skeptical about a movie adaptation of a racing simulator, because for him a movie is not like a videogame. “You want to play the game, to control the characters,” Harbour says. “One of the things I really liked about this movie is that it’s not a movie about a videogame – it’s a movie that incorporates a videogame into its narrative, which is about a young man with tremendous talent who does something incredible, and about a coach who has been through a lot and become hardened – but who comes to believe in this kid.”

Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story tells the story of videogamer-turned-racecar driver Jann Mardenborough (played by Archie Madekwe). It’s the ultimate wish fulfillment tale of a teenage Gran Turismo player whose gaming skills won a series of Nissan competitions to become an actual professional racecar driver.

Watch the trailer: https://youtu.be/sM8xVZp2aKs 

 

One of the reasons Harbour was attracted to the movie was in seeing Mardenborough’s underdog story reflected throughout the characters. “Jack’s story is an underdog story as well,” he says of his character. “He’s suffered, but he still clearly loves this sport and doesn’t have the opportunity to participate in it at the level that he would like to.” And though he starts out cynical, Harbour says, Jack starts to see GT Academy as his chance. “He doesn’t believe in these kids, initially, but he starts to realize he has a real opportunity to teach Jann.”

Harbour’s respect for the thrilling style of the movie mirrors his character’s understanding of the cars’ power. “On the surface, the dynamic is fraught and tense,” he says. “These kids are coming out of the game world, and he doesn’t believe in them. He’s a man of a different time, a man of mechanics, of machines, of things that work a certain way, and the world is moving on. And he desperately wants them to understand the power of his world – the visceral, the real – that coming out of the screens into this physical world has value.”

Watch the inspiring true story of videogamer-turned-racecar driver Jann Mardenborough in Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story, opening in Philippine cinemas August 30. 

**David Harbour’s interview was conducted before the strike.**

About Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story

Directed by Neill Blomkamp, screenplay by Jason Hall and Zach Baylin, based on the PLAYSTATION STUDIOS video game.

 

Produced by Doug Belgrad, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, Dana Brunetti. The executive producers are Kazunori Yamauchi, Herman Hulst, Jason Hall, Matthew Hirsch.

 

The cast is led by David Harbour, Orlando Bloom, Archie Madekwe, Darren Barnet, Geri Halliwell Horner and Djimon Hounsou.

 

In Philippine cinemas August 30, Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.  Connect with the hashtag #GranTurismoMovie

Photo & Video Credit: “Columbia Pictures” 

 Sing your heart out once more:

Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” returns to select cinemas in a special sing-along version

Relive Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” in a special sing-along edition, arriving in select Philippine cinemas on August 16. Sing the film’s best songs with your friends and family, and enjoy the retelling of a classic tale at your favorite cinema.

 

Experience this incredible, timeless tale, alongside exciting and emotional songs from the film, now with sing-along lyrics. This special edition of the film encourages everyone to sing their hearts out and enjoy each moment from the first number to the last. It’s definitely a treat for moviegoers experiencing the film for the very first time, or for ones who want to re-watch the entire tale once more.

 

Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” is the story of Ariel, a beautiful young mermaid with a thirst for adventure. However, she also lives in a place where mermaids are forbidden to interact with humans, especially being King Triton’s daughter. 

Determined to explore the vast world above the sea, she sets off and meets the dashing and handsome Prince Eric and falls for him. After this fateful meeting, Ariel follows her heart and makes a deal with Ursula, an evil sea witch. This gives her a chance to be part of the world on land but ultimately places her life and the fate of her father’s crown in jeopardy.

The film stars singer and actress Halle Bailey (Ariel), Jonah Hauer-King (Prince Eric), Tony Award®-winner Daveed Diggs (the voice of Sebastian), Awkwafina (the voice of Scuttle), Jacob Tremblay (the voice of Flounder), Noma Dumezweni (Queen Selina), Art Malik (Sir Grimsby), with Oscar® winner Javier Bardem (King Triton), and two-time Academy Award® nominee Melissa McCarthy (Ursula).

 

Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” is directed by Oscar® nominee Rob Marshall, and produced by two-time Emmy® winner Marc Platt, three-time Tony Award® winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, Emmy winner John DeLuca, and Rob Marshall, with Jeffrey Silver serving as executive producer.

The film also features an incredible soundtrack and score composed by Academy Award winner Alan Menken, lyrics by Howard Ashman, and produced by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Listen to the full soundtrack on Spotify here.

Don’t miss the special sing-along screening of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” when it arrives in cinemas.

For more updates, you can also follow Disney Studios Philippines on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. #TheLittleMermaidPH

 

Disney+’s “Moving” takes you to the world of Kangfull’s 200M-view hit Webtoon 

Philippines. August 9, 2023 – Experience a new world with extraordinary human beings in “Moving,” Disney+’s newest action-packed K-drama thriller, based on the hit 200-million view Webtoon by renowned artist Kangfull, now available exclusively on Disney+.

 

“We can either be monsters or heroes”

 

The series tells the story of superpowered beings trying to live their lives as normal people. The story focuses on students Kim Bongseok (Lee Jungha), who has the ability of flight; Jang Huisoo (Go Younjung), who can heal quickly; and Lee Ganghoon (Kim Dohoon), who has super strength. With high school life occupying much of their time, they try their best to study hard in order to give their parents a better life.

 

As they try to learn to control their powers and live quietly, secret government agencies plan to hunt them down. This puts them in a difficult spot where they must protect themselves and the people they care about. 

 

As more danger comes their way, they also uncover mysteries and discover a secret world of superpowered beings who once defended the country, and whose past connects their stories together.

 

“Moving” features an all-star K-drama cast that includes Ryu Seungryong, Han Hyojoo, and Zo Insung in his long-awaited drama series return after a seven-year hiatus, together with Go Younjung, Lee Jungha and Kim Dohoon. 

 

Kangfull: The mind behind the 200M view hit

 

Before becoming a Disney+ original series, “Moving” was a Webtoon created by Kangfull, one of Korea’s most accomplished artists in that space. He began his career in 2002, and in just a few years, his works gained millions of viewers and caught the attention of the film and television industry. 

 

This led to his works being adapted into successful films and series, which includes “Moving,” which has amassed over 200M views. He also received the Korea Order of Culture Merit Creative Award for the success of his Webtoon. 

 

With a star-studded cast and veteran director at the helm, don’t miss Disney+’s newest K-drama “Moving” and experience a story that offers excitement, drama, and intrigue!