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Prime Video has been tossing up a healthy mix of streaming "content" of late, and has been seeing success with its diverse slate. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley's murder mystery "Killer Heat" dominated Prime Video in October of 2024, which followed the success of the Awkwafina and John Cena comedy "Jackpot!" in August. Now, it's time for the new action thriller "Canary Black" to have a turn.

The movie comes from French filmmaker and "Taken" director Pierre Morel, who has much to answer for simply by virtue of the fact he launched Liam Neeson into his seemingly never-ending grizzled hard-man era (an age that has also produced some of Neeson's worst movies). Now, Morel has turned his sights on poor old Kate Beckinsale, who fronts "Canary Black" as CIA agent Avery Graves. The film finds Graves being blackmailed by terrorists who want her to retrieve the titular file in order...

Canary Black, starring Kate Beckinsale, delivers high-stakes action, intense espionage, and the thrill of watching a rogue operative outsmart her enemies against impossible odds. Directed by Pierre Morel, who also helmed Taken, this film introduces audiences to Avery Graves, a CIA agent forced to go underground after her husband is kidnapped by a group demanding sensitive intelligence. Unaware of her true identity as a spy, her husband’s kidnapping pulls Avery into a treacherous chase across Europe as she tries to retrieve the classified “Canary Black” file to save him. With relentless chases and plenty of stylish flair, Canary Black might have been something you wanted to see but did not get enough of because of the restriction that streaming brings with it. So, in the following list, I will not down 5 other movies that you might like if you thought Canary Black was interesting.

1. Salt (2010)

In Salt, Angelina Jolie stars as Evelyn Salt,...

Kate Beckinsale proudly showed off the injuries she sustained from doing stunt work for her action-thriller “Canary Black” after a film review suggested she was only involved in the close-up shots.

“Kicking impeccably chic ass and a couple of close ups doesn’t half hurt lol,” the actress wrote in a Saturday Instagram post. Beckinsale’s caption mocked the headline of the critic’s article at The Guardian: “Canary Black review – Kate Beckinsale kicks impeccably chic ass in gender-flipped Taken.”

TheWrap also reviewed the movie, here. Beckinsale stars in the Pierre Morel-directed film as a CIA operative named Avery Graves, who must use her skills to solve a rather cookie-cutter kidnapping.

The actress also posted an excerpt in which the reviewer wrote: “Stunt doubles probably did the heavy lifting in the blurrily edited hand-to-hand combat scenes and sequences where Graves flies through the air holding on to a massive drone,...

Plot: A top CIA operative, Avery Graves, is blackmailed by terrorists into betraying her own country to save her kidnapped husband. Cut off from her team, she turns to her underworld contacts to help locate the coveted intelligence that the kidnappers want. As she is betrayed at every turn, Avery finds herself in a deadly race to deliver a ransom that could trigger a global crisis.

Review: Thirty years ago, mediocre action movies were populated with mid-level or over-the-hill action stars and had their release relegated to video stores. These same movies were commonly found at your local Redbox a decade ago. Today, the glut of streaming services constantly needs new fodder to entice audiences to choose them over the competition, which means projects that otherwise would not be able to land top talent are now showcases for movie stars slumming it for a paycheck. Canary Black boasts a director...

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Canary Black is a spy action thriller film directed by Pierre Morel from a screenplay by Matthew Kennedy. The Prime Video film follows Avery Graves, an exceptional CIA agent whose husband is kidnapped by terrorists to blackmail her into stealing sensitive information that would betray her country. Canary Black stars Kate Beckinsale in the lead role with Rupert Friend, Ray Stevenson, Saffron Burrows, Ben Miles, and Michael Brandon starring in supporting roles. So, if you loved the explosive action, thrilling story, and compelling characters in Canary Black here are some similar movies you should check out next.

Salt (Netflix & Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Columbia Pictures

Salt is a spy action thriller film directed by Phillip Noyce from a screenplay by Kurt Wimmer. The 2010 film follows Evelyn Salt, an exceptional CIA agent who is wrongfully accused of killing the Russian president.

Unaware he’s married to a spy, Beckinsale’s husband is kidnapped – cue the baddies demanding a secret file, fancy action sequences, lots of gunshots and a nice trenchcoat

French director Pierre Morel oversaw the making of the first Taken film, the action thriller wherein former CIA-agent Liam Neeson pursues bad guys who kidnap his teenage daughter, and later abduct both the hero and his wife in subsequent sequels. So clearly someone thought there was no one better than Morel to direct what is effectively a remake of Taken, this time a story in which a female spy with a very particular set of skills must rescue her kidnapped husband, who knows nothing of her espionage career. The result is blandly generic with the gender flip not bringing much to the table apart from some cheerable lines where the heroine upbraids her opponents for using the slur “bitch” in the workplace.

Pressing play on an action movie like “Canary Black” is like ordering at McDonald’s. You’ve already agreed to lower your standards, so you don’t get to complain that it’s ultra-processed junk food. That’s what you signed up for. You were in the mood for middle-of-the-road comfort sustenance and that’s all you have any right to expect.

But we’ve all been to a fast food joint where, yes, you technically got what you paid for, but it was so greasy you could barely eat it. Or it got squashed for no discernible reason. Or it’s got a hair in it. Sure, you ordered off the dollar menu but even the dollar menu makes a few meager promises, and if they can’t even get that right… well, you have “Canary Black.”

“Canary Black” is a new kidnapping thriller from Pierre Morel, who 15 years ago directed “Taken.

Pierre Morel’s action thriller film, Canary Black, delivers a good dose of action but not enough to make up for the run-of-the-mill storyline. CIA agent Avery Graves found herself in trouble when she received a call informing her that her husband had been kidnapped. David did not know that Graves was a CIA agent. The couple were deeply in love, and Avery was ready to go to any length to bring her husband home. The kidnapper instructed Graves to find the ‘Canary Black’ file and hand it to him. She searched for the file in the system but could not find it there. The kidnapper asked her to dig deep, and Avery had little choice. She did not expect the agency to understand that she was still loyal to them and had every intention of retrieving the file as soon as David was returned. Avery was soon declared a...

“Canary Black” is a movie starring Kate Beckinsale with Rupert Friend, Ben Miles, and Ray Stevenson. It is directed by Pierre Morel.

Kate Beckinsale returns to her favored genre, the action thriller, playing her specialty role as a lone heroine. Audiences are well-acquainted with her performances in similar roles, and in this film, which feels like a reiteration of many others, she delivers precisely what viewers anticipate: action-packed sequences, high-speed chases, and an internationally intriguing yet entirely formulaic espionage narrative. The film adheres strictly to the conventions of the genre, meeting all expectations except for one: the element of surprise.

Plot Summary

CIA agent Avery Graves faces a dire predicament: her husband has been kidnapped, and his captors demand a file named “Canary Black” for his release. Branded a target by her own agency, the CIA, she must operate solo to clear her name from allegations of treason while also striving to rescue her husband.

What to Watch This Weekend: October 25th to 27th (Photo Credit – Instagram)

This weekend, we’ve chosen just two movies hitting the big screen, but don’t worry—there are plenty of options to stream at home! Over on Prime Video, you can catch a crime investigation about a serial killer, a spy thriller, and a touching story about life’s ups and downs. Netflix is bringing you five new picks, starting with a horror flick, a murder mystery, a soap opera, a film focused on some real talk, and an Australian series about a family power struggle. Plus, there are additional titles on Jio Cinema, Disney+ Hotstar, Zee5, and Apple TV. So, scroll down for all the titles, watch the trailers, and check out the overviews. It’ll make things much easier for you.

On The Big Screen

Venom: The Last Dance (English)

Written and directed by Kelly Marcel,...

Pierre Morel’s Canary Black stars Kate Beckinsale as CIA agent Avery Graves, whose life is turned upside down when her husband David is kidnapped. Forced to choose between country and loved ones, Avery embarks on a perilous mission to retrieve classified intelligence and save her spouse.

At the helm is French director Pierre Morel, known for pulse-pounding action flicks like Taken. Canary Black releases on Amazon Prime later this fall, and there’s potential for edge-of-your-seat thrills.

Yet Avery’s assignment may turn out more complicated than expected. Between betraying colleagues and eluding capture, she’ll face deception at every turn. Who can she trust as the line blurs between allies and foes? And how high will the stakes climb with a shadowy virus called “Canary Black” in the mix? Viewers will just have to hit play to see if Avery can keep her wits amid the danger and turmoil closing in around her.

Prime Video has launched the first official trailer for Kate Beckinsale's next kickass actioner Canary Black, which will see the former Underworld star play a top CIA operative that is forced to go rogue to save her kidnapped husband while simultanously working to prevent the start of World War 3.

The full synopsis reads, "A top CIA operative, Avery Graves, is blackmailed by terrorists into betraying her own country to save her kidnapped husband. Cut off from her team, she turns to her underworld contacts to survive and help locate the coveted intelligence that the kidnappers want. Betrayed at every turn, she must rely on her cutting-edge training and primitive fighting skills in a deadly race to deliver a ransom that could trigger a global crisis."

This will mark the second action film Beckinsale has launched on Prime Video in recent years, following 2021's Jolt. Her series The Widow was also launched on the streamer,...

“Canary Black”, directed by Pierre Morel, is a new action ‘spy’ thriller, starring Kate Beckinsale (“Underworld”), Rupert Friend, Ray Stevenson (“The Punisher”) and Saffron Burrows, streaming October 24, 2024 on Amazon Prime Video:

“…’Avery Graves’ is a ‘CIA’ agent whose husband has been kidnapped by terrorists. The kidnappers blackmail Graves for information that would betray her country…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

Canary Black, a spy action thriller from Taken director Pierre Morel that stars Kate Beckinsale of the Underworld franchise, began filming in late 2022 and wrapped production in January of 2023. Now the movie is finally ready to make its way out into the world, as it’s scheduled to reach Amazon’s Prime Video streaming service on October 24th – and with that date exactly one month away, a trailer for Canary Black has arrived online. You can check it out in the embed above.

Scripted by Matthew Kennedy, who previously wrote the Lily Collins / Simon Pegg thriller Inheritance, Canary Black has the following synopsis: A top CIA operative, Avery Graves, is blackmailed by terrorists into betraying her own country to save her kidnapped husband. Cut off from her team, she turns to her underworld contacts to survive and help locate the coveted intelligence that the kidnappers want. Betrayed at every turn,...

In his previous collaboration with Romain Duris, “Our Struggles” director Guillaume Senez cast the Parisian star as a workaholic forced to spend a lot more time with his kids when their mother abruptly left home one day. Six years on, the pair have reunited to tell the opposite story of a father doing everything in his power to reunite with his daughter who’s been snatched away in another country.

If that conjures up memories of Liam Neeson growling into a phone, have no fear. The handiwork of “fellow French director, “Taken” director Pierre Morel is nowhere to be found. Instead, Senez takes a far more naturalistic approach to the streets of Tokyo, where a man named Jay (Duris) works as a driver for a private car service while searching for the daughter his ex wife stopped him from seeing nine years prior. As a French immigrant, Romain’s protagonist...

Frank Herbert's "Dune" is an unkillable intellectual property. The novel was rejected by a multitude of publishing houses before a company best known for putting out auto-repair manuals took a chance on the sandswept sci-fi saga. Despite poor reviews and soft sales, the book caught on via word-of-mouth, spawning a series of bestselling novels that, unsurprisingly, caught the eye of Hollywood producers eager to find the next "Star Wars." They failed. Repeatedly.

Peyote Western pioneer Alejandro Jodorowsky sought to craft a mind-bending epic out of Herbert's novel, and, as recounted in the un-making-of documentary "Jodorowsky's Dune," dreamed too big. David Lynch was the next man up, and I think, as a fan of the first few books, succeeded in delivering a wildly truncated, yet generally coherent rendition of the novel on his own delectably perverse terms. Alas, critics, audiences, and most Herbert fans didn't dig it, so the property...

Stars: John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, Christian Slater, Alice Eve, Marton Csokas, Sebastian Eslava | Written by Jacob Lentz | Directed by Pierre Morel

Freelance, the latest film from WWE star turned actor John Cena, delivers an engaging mix of action and comedy, elements that Cena has increasingly become known for. Directed by Pierre Morel, this film pairs Cena with Alison Brie in a fast-paced narrative that explores themes of survival and unexpected camaraderie.

In Freelance, Cena plays an ex-special forces operative who is lured out of retirement to protect a journalist (played by Alison Brie) on an assignment in a war-torn country. What begins as a seemingly straightforward protection detail quickly spirals into chaos as they find themselves embroiled in a political conspiracy, forcing them to rely on each other and their wits to stay alive.

Cena’s portrayal of a seasoned, yet somewhat jaded, operative showcases his growing versatility as an actor.

Kate Beckinsale was one of the leading actresses who made her breakthrough in the 90s in her small but impressive role as Her in Kenneth Branagh’s Much Ado About Nothing. She continued showcasing her incredible versatility in British costume films such as Prince of Jutland, Cold Comfort Farm, Emma, and The Golden Bowl.

Kate Beckinsale in 1996’s Emma

2001’s Pearl Harbor was her first tentpole studio film where she starred alongside Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett. Director Michael Bay had a specific treatment that he wanted to have for the film depicting the horrible Pearl Harbor attacks. Going the commercial route rather than focusing on historical accuracy, the director had a weird demand for Beckinsale that proved to be humiliating for the actress.

Michael Bay Wanted Kate Beckinsale to Have a Stuffed Bra on Pearl Harbor

Kate Beckinsale played Lieutenant Evelyn Johnson in Pearl Harbor

Michael Bay took on...

Exclusive: Venezuelan Filmmaker Jonathan Jakubowicz, best known for Resistance and Hands of Stone, has signed on to direct the feature Cottonwood for Eric Paquette’s Meridian Pictures.

The film will be produced by Paquette, Aaron Barnett, and The Exchange’s Brian O’Shea, with Claudine Jakubowicz serving as executive producer. The Exchange will be handling worldwide sales and arranging financing.

The story follows a single dad who left his troubled past behind but must confront his dark history when his former mentor, a dangerous gangster, resurfaces. As the mentor’s loyalty to him is tested, he becomes the target of the gangster’s own bloodthirsty son, forcing him to protect his 13-year-old son from a relentless killer.

Jakubowicz was the winner of the German Film Peace Prize 2020 for his film Resistance. His film Secuestro Express was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the British Independent Film Awards, and Hands of Stone premiered at Cannes.

After directing three films in four years with Bone Tomahawk, Brawl in Cell Block 99, and Dragged Across Concrete, it’s now been six long years since the latest new feature from S. Craig Zahler. While he’s chimed in on his recent avorite films and beyond, it’s been fairly silent regarding his next potential project. We now finally have an update on what’s on his plate.

“A number of articles have announced The Big Stone Grid as my next picture, which is not quite correct,” Zahler noted on his blog. “I am sending that script around as a possible fifth movie, but I’ve made far more progress with another different original project to direct for my fourth one: I am negotiating deals to see if it will become a reality. I will give more information about this when things are more certain. Continue to look here for my next movie announcement.

Way back in 2011, Sony Pictures acquired a spec script titled The Big Stone Grid, which was written by S. Craig Zahler – who is best known these days for writing and directing the films Bone Tomahawk, Brawl in Cell Block 99, and Dragged Across Concrete. As of early 2012, Michael Mann was in talks to work on script revisions with Zahler and to direct the film. The Mann take on the material didn’t come to fruition, and four years later the project moved over to Lotus Entertainment, with Pierre Morel on board to direct. Morel couldn’t get it into production, either. Eight more years down the line, World of Reel reports that Zahler is now set to direct the film himself.

Part of the reason why Zahler has gone six years without directing a new film is the fact that the project he was pursuing, Hug Chickenpenny (an adaptation of...

At some point during the first act of Robert Lorenz’s handsome but egregiously hackneyed “In the Land of Saints and Sinners,” which is maybe the 900th Liam Neeson movie about a weary hitman/rancher/fixer/truck driver/ex-cop/very tall person who decides to take matters into his own hands when some bad guys step over the line, the prolific Irish actor turns to one of his scene partners and sighs: “There’s more to me than this, and I’d like folks to see it.”

Needless to say, the first part of that sentence is much easier to believe than the second.

Cast here as a regretful assassin who tries to change his ways at the height of the Troubles (only to get mixed up with a trio of Ira terrorists who take cover in his quaint coastal village after a car bomb goes wrong), Neeson again reaffirms...

Liam Neeson has a very particular set of skills, which apparently does not include embodying the Easter Bunny. In a skit on The Late Show, the actor auditioned to play the furry holiday rabbit, bringing an undeniable intensity to the popular verse, “Here comes Peter Cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail. Hippity hoppity, Easter’s on its way.”

When asked to keep it light, with the producer reminding Neeson the character is for children, Neeson explained, “Do you understand what’s happening here? He’s hopping down the bunny trail,...

Liam Neeson was 56 when his career took an unexpected detour into the action hero genre thanks to 2008’s Taken, a Pierre Morel-directed surprise blockbuster that raked in more than $226 million worldwide and kick-started a franchise. He’s kept up a respectable pace ever since, churning out high-octane thrillers one after the next — and he’s not ready to hang up his holster.

“Audiences are innately intelligent and they’ll know when you’re past your prime in regards to throwing punches and firing guns, but I’m not there yet,” explained Neeson over Zoom last week while discussing his newest film, In the Land of Saints and Sinners. The Samuel Goldwyn Films release casts Neeson, who will be 72 in June, as Finbar Murphy, a man leading a relatively quiet life in the remote coastal town of Glencolmcille, Ireland, in the 1970s. While he’s eager to leave a dark past behind,...

Exclusive: Pierre Morel, the veteran action director behind Taken, has been tapped to direct a feature based on the popular racing Nft Reactor Motors from the company of the same name, Deadline has learned.

The film will be produced by Morel, Mike Bundlie and Barry Levine of Abstract Entertainment, and Renee Tab of Sentient Entertainment.

Created by artist and Abstract co-founder Bundlie, Reactor Motors‘ storyline follows geophysicist Eva Mason as she accidentally discovers a new mineral she calls Reykium while researching geothermal energy in Iceland’s volcanoes. The mineral is energetically reactive to metal which she and her team convert into the future of clean energy race cars in hopes of making it globally available. Subsequently, her team’s racing wins catch the attention of an energy conglomerate that will do anything to acquire the Reykium engine.

“Pierre is the perfect director for Reactor with his...

Exclusive: UTA has signed acclaimed actor Rupert Friend for representation in all areas.

Up next, Friend will be seen in buzzy New Line thriller Companion opposite Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, and Lukas Gage, as well as Michel Franco’s Dreams alongside Jessica Chastain and Lucio Castro, 2Am’s After This Death, and Pierre Morel’s Canary Black opposite Kate Beckinsale.

Most recently, he was seen at Sundance in The American Society of Magical Negroes, an acclaimed satire from writer-director Kobi Libii, which hits theaters via Focus Features on March 15.

Previously, Friend starred in the shorts The Swan and Ratcatcher, based on short stories by Roald Dahl, which Wes Anderson directed for Netflix. As a favorite of the filmmaker’s, Friend has also taken on prominent roles in his recent films Asteroid City and The French Dispatch.

Other notable film credits for the actor include The Death of Stalin, A Simple Favor,...

Fast And Furious franchise star Jordana Brewster and rising Australian actress Teagan Croft have joined Martin Henderson on XYZ Films and Sentient’s upcoming shark thriller Alphas, which has scored a raft of major pre-sales.

Signature has acquired the title for the UK, Australia & New Zealand, and Canada, SquareOne has picked up German-speaking Europe, and CDC and Zima will distribute in Latin America and Brazil.

Rights have also gone in Eastern Europe (Vertical Distribution), South Africa (Empire Entertainment), and Singapore (Shaw Renters).

Production on Alphas is scheduled to commence in Queensland this summer. Skyline franchise creator Liam O’Donnell will direct...

Dev Patel in Monkey Man Screenshot: Universal Pictures/YouTube The biggest snubs and surprises from the 2024 Oscar nominationsTry as they might, the Academy Awards will never get it 100 percent right. The 2024 list of nominees, which Zazie Beetz and Jack Quaid announced this morning in Los Angeles, was full of plenty...

Photo: Netflix, Warner Bros., Apple Original Films, A24, Amazon MGM Studios, Graphic: The A.V. Club, The A.V. Club, The A.V. Club, The A.V. Club, Screenshot: YouTube, Toho, Paramount, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures/YouTubeThe biggest snubs and surprises from the 2024 Oscar nominationsCharles Melton in May December, Margot Robbie in Barbie,...

Liam Neeson in Taken Screenshot: YouTube French director Pierre Morel’s Taken came out in U.S. theaters 15 years ago this month, meaning we’ve been able to intermittently enjoy a decade and a half of star Liam Neeson’s attempts to just do Taken again, and again and again and again.

Liam Neeson in TakenScreenshot: YouTube

French director Pierre Morel’s Taken came out in U.S. theaters 15 years ago this month, meaning we’ve been able to intermittently enjoy a decade and a half of star Liam Neeson’s attempts to just do Taken again, and again and again and again.

Tennis drama stars Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist.

In a strategic twist, Warner Bros will now release Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers in French cinemas. Prime Video had previously planned to skip a French theatrical release for the tennis drama starring Zendaya, Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist, and send it straight to its streaming platform locally. Following its release in theatres, the film will now have to wait 17 months before landing on Prime Video in France per the country’s media chronology.

While rumoured to be released on April 24 just ahead of its April 26 release date in the US via Amazon MGM Studios,...

Cena and Brie display zero chemistry a dumb adventure yarn set in a fictional South American state. It feels like it should be a satire of the genre, but isn’t

Taken director Pierre Morel gets it really, really wrong with this dumb, crude and not remotely entertaining action-comedy. The idea isn’t too bad: it’s about a former US special forces soldier who gets caught up in a South American coup after being hired as bodyguard to a journalist. You can picture Armando Iannucci running with the satirical possibilities, or a more serious-minded film-maker wading knee-deep into moral murk, John le Carré style. Instead, Morel, working with a script by Jacob Lentz, squanders the basic concept – not to mention the gym time that wrestler-turned-actor John Cena put in to get the upper body of a Greek god.

Cena plays Mason Pettits, a military veteran struggling with post-army life...

“Silent Night” marks John Woo’s first American action film since 2003’s all-too-fittingly titled “Paycheck,” and the legendary Hong Kong auteur seems eager to make up for lost time. There are at least two decades’ worth of John Woo-ness crammed into the opening minutes of this hyper-florid yuletide “Taken” riff, which starts with Joel Kinnaman — dressed in a Rudolph sweater, complete with a poofy 3D nose — sprinting after some Mexican gang members in slow-motion while a computer-generated red balloon drifts skyward in the distance and a music box twinkles over the soundtrack.

Despite the absence of flying doves, the sheer degree of a melodrama that’s infused into this otherwise unremarkable chase sequence leaves no doubt as to who must have directed it. And while the rest of “Silent Night” is so abysmal that its prologue might as well be the last hour of “Hard Boiled” by comparison, it’s...

“Freelance” is a new action comedy feature. directed by Pierre Morel starring John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, Alice Eve, Marton Csokas and Christian Slater, now screening in theaters:

“…years after retiring from the ‘Army’, a ‘Special Forces’ operator takes a job providing security for a female journalist as she interviews a cruel dictator.

“But when a military coup breaks out in the middle of the interview, the three are forced to escape into the jungle together…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

One would be forgiven for having absolutely no idea that a new action/comedy starring Jon Cena and Alison Brie hit theaters this past weekend. "Freelance" did, indeed, arrive in more than 2,000 theaters and was straight-up buried by the horror sensation that is "Five Nights at Freddy's." It would be one thing for a movie to come in second -- or even third place -- against a blockbuster release like that. Unfortunately for those behind this film, however, it barely made it into the top 10.

Relativity Media's "Freelance" opened to just $2 million, coming in at number eight on the charts for the weekend, per The Numbers. It made less than "The Nightmare Before Christmas" ($2.1 million), which is in the second weekend of its 30th anniversary re-release, and little more than "Saw X" ($1.7 million), which has been in theaters for five weekends. The worst news of all? Cena and Brie's...

The American Film Market kicks off Oct. 31 and runs through Nov. 5 in its new headquarters at the Le Meridien Delfina in Santa Monica. Industry screenings are set at theaters throughout the city and AFM’s conference series, the AFM Sessions, will take place at the Hilton Santa Monica Hotel. More than 245 companies and organizations are exhibiting at this year’s AFM, with national pavilions from China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Thailand and the U.K. In all, buyers from more than 65 countries are registered at the film market.

Here are some of the buzziest titles at AFM 2023:

Alphas

Director: Liam O’Donnell

Producers: Pierre Morel, Renee Tab, Christopher Tuffin, Matthew Chausse, Drew Bailey

Key cast: Martin Henderson

Story is set in a quiet surfing community where killer whales are enlisted to fend off great white sharks after a series of attacks. When the alpha great white shark proves too powerful to stop,...

Stuart Ford’s AGC International has taken global rights outside the Middle East and Pakistan to “Voy! Voy! Voy!,” the hit dramedy about a group of impoverished Egyptians who join a professional blind soccer team as a ploy to get to Europe. The film is Egypt’s candidate for the international film Oscar.

“Voy! Voy! Voy!,” which marks the directorial debut of hotshot Egyptian commercials director Omar Hilal, is the tale of a financially struggling security guard named Hassan, who dreams of a better life. One day he stumbles upon the professional sport of blind soccer and cunningly decides to pose as a visually impaired man to join a team that is close to playing a World Cup tournament in Europe. On this journey, Omar intersects with several characters, including a female journalist who begins to take an interest in the team.

The dramedy is inspired by true events. In...

Director Pierre Morel is the man who made Liam Neeson into an action icon. His movie Taken established the middle-aged character actor as perhaps the 21st century’s biggest action icon, and it was an unlikely transformation. Truly, Morel is an ace action director, with his film District 13 being one of the best action movies of the last twenty years. Since Taken, he’s specialized in transforming actors into action stars, directing Sean Penn in The Gunman and Jennifer Garner in Peppermint. Both were pretty grim movies, so now Morel is turning to somewhat lighter material with Freelance.

In it, John Cena plays a former special forces operative who’s become a suburban dad and lawyer. He seeks to recapture some of the excitement of his youth by taking a job as a bodyguard for a high-profile journalist (Alison Brie) who’s interviewing a dictator. In the middle of the assignment,...

Freelance is an action comedy film directed by Pierre Morel, from a screenplay by Jacob Lentz. The film revolves around Mason Pettits, a retired Special Forces operator who takes on the job of providing protection to Claire Wellington as she interviews the president of Paldonia Juan Venegas. But things go awry when a military coup breaks out in the middle of the interview and all three of them have to run for their lives. Freelance stars John Cena and Alison Brie in the lead roles with Juan Pablo Raba, Christian Slater, and Alice Eve starring in leading roles. So, if you love the action comedy film here are some similar movies you could watch next.

The Hitman’s Bodyguard (Rent on Prime Video) Credit – Lionsgate

Synopsis: The world’s top protection agent [Ryan Reynolds] is called upon to guard the life of his mortal enemy, one of the world’s most notorious hitmen [nm0000168 autoSamuel L.

Pierre Morel among producers. Production in Australia set for early 2024.

XYZ Films has boarded worldwide sales on Sentient Entertainment’s shark thriller Alphas starring Martin Henderson and will introduce to buyers at AFM next week.

Liam O’Donnell will direct the Australia-uk co-production and Taken and District 13 director Pierre Morel will produce alongside his partners Renee Tab and Christopher Tuffin of Sentient, and Matthew Chausse and Drew Bailey.

Principal photography is scheduled to start in Australia in early 2024 on Alphas, which takes place in a quiet surfing community where killer whales are enlisted to fend off great white sharks after a series of attacks.

The specific fantasy that Freelance is tapping into is probably as old as the concept of American masculinity itself. The action comedy, directed by Pierre Morel (Taken), centers on a middling suburban lawyer (John Cena) with a profound and unshakable understanding that this is not what he’s meant for. He’s meant to be a good guy, a hero, a super-jacked soldier who dives headfirst into danger; in fact he was that guy once, until a back injury ended his military career.

Though the film follows Cena’s Mason to South America and back, really its central journey is Mason’s back to the manly man he’s been inside all along. But even the most cherished daydream needs a bit of skill and finessing if it’s to translate to the big screen, and that’s where Freelance falls fatally short — yielding not an uplifting escape, but an enervating bore.

Pierre Morel’s Freelance follows disgraced American journalist Claire Wellington (Alison Brie) and her ex-military bodyguard, Mason Pettits (John Cena), as he escorts her to the fictional South American country of Paldonia for an exclusive interview with its dictator, Juan Venegas (Juan Pablo Raba). While the film starts out by presenting Paldonia and its leader as unrepentantly evil—among other things, we’re told that Venegas is responsible for the deaths of half of Pettits’s former squad years earlier—it eventually reveals that various imperialist forces and corporate-funded mercenary groups have been actively undermining Venegas as a means of forcing him to sell valuable natural resources for a cheaper rate.

That’s a surprising turn of events, especially for an action-comedy, given Hollywood’s typically simplistic representations of under-developed countries whose conditions are presented as justification for American intervention. Regrettably, that’s the only surprise to be found in Jacob Lentz’s screenplay,...

Plot: A former special forces operative (John Cena) turned family man lawyer is tempted by an old friend to take a job as a bodyguard for a famous journalist (Alison Brie) who’s set to interview a dictator.

Review: Pierre Morel will forever be celebrated as the director who turned Liam Neeson into an action star. His movie, Taken, remains (by a long shot) the best movie in that franchise. Now, Morel is dipping his toe into a different genre, the action-comedy. While Freelance has some well-conceived action sequences and a game cast, there’s a big problem – the movie isn’t funny.

Indeed, Cena can be hilarious, given the right material. He has a twinkle in his eye that makes him personable despite his hulking physique, with Blockers an excellent example of that. But he feels like the wrong fit for this. Given that the premise seems to promise...

“Freelance” is a new action comedy feature. directed by Pierre Morel starring John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, Alice Eve, Marton Csokas and Christian Slater, releasing October 27, 2023 in theaters:

“…years after retiring from the ‘Army’, a ‘Special Forces’ operator takes a job providing security for a female journalist as she interviews a cruel dictator.

“But when a military coup breaks out in the middle of the interview, the three are forced to escape into the jungle together…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

October (and even September) have been chock-full of appropriately scary horror movies for spooky season, and the weekend before Halloween introduces one more. Read on for Gold Derby’s box office preview.

Those looking for the next big horror franchise need not look much further than Universal and Blumhouse’s “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” an adaptation of the popular multi-platform video game first introduced in 2014. That initial game led to five sequels, multiple spin-offs, and even a series of novels that just kept things going for the fanbase that has been itching for this movie to happen.

Directed by Emma Tammi of the 2018 horror-Western “The Wind,” the movie stars Josh Hutcherson from the “Hunger Games” movies, Elizabeth Lail from “Mack & Rita,” Piper Rubio and Kat Conner Sterling, but as we all know by now, the cast of a horror movie is rarely as important as the premise, especially with...

After one of the worst months of 2023 at the box office, we might have found the true savior for the month of October in a pop singer. Taylor Swift‘s return to theaters is with a concert film based on her multi-billion North American tour. How much money do we think it’ll rake in? Read on for Gold Derby’s October 2023 box office preview.

“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” (AMC Theatrical Distribution – Oct. 13)

It’s Taylor Swift’s world, and we’re just livin’ in it. That might be the biggest takeaway for the month, as “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” blasts into theaters after its surprise announcement at the end of August. Considering how quickly most of the stops on her U.S. tour sold out and the controversy it stirred up with ticket sales, it was no surprise when the filmed version of her L.A. show...

“Freelance” is a new action comedy feature. directed by Pierre Morel starring John Cena, Alison Brie, Juan Pablo Raba, Alice Eve, Marton Csokas and Christian Slater, releasing October 6, 2023 in theaters:

“…years after retiring from the ‘Army’, a ‘Special Forces’ operator takes a job providing security for a female journalist as she interviews a cruel dictator.

“But when a military coup breaks out in the middle of the interview, the three are forced to escape into the jungle together…”

Click the images to enlarge…...

John Cena and Alison Brie get caught in the middle of political unrest in the first trailer for the forthcoming action-comedy movie Freelance.

The Relativity Media film from director Pierre Morel (Taken) hits theaters Oct. 6. It centers on a Special Forces operator (Cena) resurfacing from retirement to escort a journalist (Alison Brie) to interview the dictator of a foreign country, which is embroiled in a dangerous coup that begins shortly after their arrival.

During the trailer, Brie tells Cena, “I’m with the president of a country in the middle of a coup. This is the scoop of a lifetime.” He bluntly responds, “You gotta be alive to have the scoop of a lifetime.”

Later, after they find themselves fleeing from peril, Cena asks, “Are you still excited to cover a coup?” Brie understatedly replies, “Less and less, honestly.”

Morel directs from a script by Jacob Lentz (Jimmy Kimmel Live!

"You've gotta be alive to have he scoop of a lifetime." Relativity has debuted an official trailer for an action comedy movie titled Freelance, the latest from French action filmmaker Pierre Morel. Set to open in theaters nationwide this October. An ex special forces operator takes a job to provide security for a journalist as she interviews a dictator, but, a military coup breaks out in the middle of the interview with the suave dictator. They are forced to escape into the jungle where they must survive and figure out how to escape. This sounds a lot like so many other movies recently, mainly The Lost City or Shotgun Wedding. John Cena and Alison Brie star with Juan Pablo Raba, Alice Eve, Marton Csokas, and Christian Slater. It was shot in Colombia early last year. This doesn't look so bad, mainly because I think Cena is hilarious, handling all his action and comedy quite well.