Sofia Boutella Archives | Otaku No Culture

Dave Bautista. From The Killer’s Game to In The Lost Lands, What is He Seeking?

The answer is not the next bunch of films this action-star will appear in. As Dave Bautista continues to be a fan-favourite for action-adventure, maybe it’s time for a change of pace.

The Killer's Game Movie Poster starring Dave Bautista The Killer’s Game is Available to Stream or purchase on Amazon Prime.

In the Lost Lands Release Date: Feb 28, 2025

After keeping up with Dave Bautista with the recent movies he’s appeared in, I’m glad he’s still got the right stuff. He’s a presence which can’t be tamed. And based on these latest works, I think he’s looking for that next great idea so he can show to the world he’s leading man material. He needs a movie to show how versatile he is. While I enjoyed My Spy, the sequel didn’t really do much since it fell into a traditional formula. After Guardians of the Galaxy, he’s on the quest for the next big franchise.

After The Killer’s Game, a respectable action-romance thriller, he’s still searching. With this film, he’s a hit-man who finds out he has an incurable disease. But after finding love early in this tale, he wants to get out of the game. Although he keeps Maize (Sofia Boutella) out of the loop in what he does, everyone is out to assassinate him! The idea is good, and the two performers have some great chemistry. But it didn’t screen everywhere and I had to wait for its VOD release, which wasn’t long at all. Overall, it deserves a C+ for effort, and showing how easily this actor can get typecast.

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[Fantasia 2021] I Want to Break Free! Prisoners of Ghostland

Instead of storming the fort, this champion better live up to the label of “Hero” in Prisoners of the Ghostland.

Playing Aug 20, 9:45 PM
Cinéma Impérial
Montreal, Quebec
Tickets available to purchase online here.

Online Screening on
Aug 23, 2021, 7:00 PM
Geolocked to Canada
Tickets can be bought here.

Also coming to theatres and VOD Sept 17, 2021

Nick Cage will always be Nick Cage. He’s quite the “national treasure” in that regard. He’s a very versatile actor and I really have to wonder if he’s ever declined a role. These days, we’ve seen him as a butcher, baker, and candlestick mak—ok, perhaps not. The films of 2021 have made him a chef–and he’s an onary one in Pig–and Willy’s Wonderland. It’s amazing in how he carries this film without really speaking a lot. In his latest, Prisoners of Ghostland, he’s a bank robber turned soft.

He gets caught, and Cage’s character is given a chance at freedom if he can locate Bernice (>Sofia Boutella). She ran away from her tormentor, The Governor (>Bill Moseley) who rules Samurai Town. She went into hiding the neighbouring territory, Ghostland. This wasteland is where many refugees like to hide.

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You Can’t Shake Atomic Blonde

This film is slick and is filled with plenty of high octane moments. Broughton’s combat prowness can put the Black Widow of Marvel fame to shame.

Atomic Blonde Poster

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

I’m fairly sure the producers and directors behind Atomic Blonde wanted to avoid a huge cliche when selecting the music for this film. When I first read about how well this film is doing in the festival circuit, I wondered if Blondie’s song, “Atomic” might get used. Thankfully, it was not and much of the soundtrack is focused on bringing to life the atmosphere of a war-weary Berlin. Nena’s “99 Luftballoons” is certainly indicative of that spirit and even Peter Schilling’s “Major Tom” (heard in German no less!) hits the point when communication is cut between what’s going on in Germany with the rest of the world.

The cold war is coming to an end, but for Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron), a top level agent for M16, there’s still one more mission. She has to retrieve a microfiche containing a list of double-agents smuggled to the West, but things go awry when there’s an individual who has memorized it and the KGB will stop at nothing to get it.

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The Mummy in 2017 – A Detailed Analysis and Thoughts

Yes, I’m excited for this new take of The Mummy. It’s definitely a story with potential leanings to ancient astronaut conspiracies and pacts with alien gods.

The Mummy (2017) Movie Poster Playing in theatres June 9, 2017

Yes, I’m suitably excited for this new take of The Mummy. It’s definitely a story with potential leanings to ancient astronaut conspiracies and pacts with alien gods. When the military is involved, even a shade of the original movie Stargate can not go unnoticed when it comes to unearthing corpses that should be best left buried.

Nick Morton (Tom Cruise) is the tactical leader of an operation which unearthed an Egyptian sarcophagus from deep within the Earth (always not a good sign). It’s been airlifted by a helicopter and later put on a transport plane. This American team is taking it home, perhaps to a nearby base. The details of the cavern and coffin are very alien-like. The headdress looks fin-like, and perhaps this look is why part of the film takes to the sea to find the coffins of the followers of this cult.

The Mummy (2017) Terror Underneath — All screen captures are copyright to Universal Pictures.

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In Defense of The Mummy and the Universal Monsters Reboot

The teaser trailer of The Mummy (with Tom Cruise in the lead) from a few days ago wetted my appetite for a possible Universal Monsters universe.

Universal Monsters Reboot with The Mummy

Should I be angry over the fact Universal Studios wants to reboot their entire monster franchise? I say no. To get a modern update is inevitable and I would rather go with the flow to see how producers Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Chris Morgan’s vision are going to put all of them together. The teaser trailer of The Mummy (with Tom Cruise in the lead) from a few days ago wetted my appetite for a Univeral Monsters shared universe.

According to The Collider, a full blown trailer is supposed to be out on Sunday. I suspect it will arrive in the evening, and I will be following up with a shot by shot analysis. I enjoy following The Mummy craze since the opening of King Tut’s tomb fueled my interest. No, I’m not that old, but I love this ancient world and will absorb any kind of treatment into my own Sphinx’s vault of collected treasures. From the Boris Karloff days to Arnold Vosloo, and including ITV’s Tutankhamun, I will want to see or read about it.

I am more disappointed that the prior films, The Wolfman and Dracula Untold are not included. Understandably, they were made before the studio heads may have thought of a shared universe and despite the travesty of the latter film, I appreciated The Wolfman more and want to see him return. Benicio del Toro as Lawrence Talbot/The Wolfman is perfect.

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Star Trek: Beyond Explores the Wild West But What’s Next?

The only thing Star Trek: Beyondovie series has not done is to transcend beyond the material set in the series bible.

By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Half-way through the five-year mission in Star Trek Beyond, the crew of the USS Enterprise are starting to plan for their future. Some have settled in to a comfortable life, finding relationships with fellow crew-mates, and others are just wanting it to be over. Before the end of the first act, Captain James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) mentions he’s looking to continue his career elsewhere, and still has a few daddy issues to mull over. Spock (Zachary Quinto) has his own share of problems and the rest of the crew are considering their options.

As for what happens next, a stop for supplies at a space station in the shape of a hexagonal orb is more like a new beginning. As options are weighed, one last mission is requested at a nebula that has not been fully explored. Here, shades of Star Trek Deep Space Nine is hinted at. Instead of a wormhole for wayfarers to go through, the expanse of space is filled with a different hazard — aliens not encountered before.

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