Jumanji is back with a fairly humorous sequel and some unexpected body-switches in the video game world. The plot is mostly recycled. However, the new cast members do spice up this popcorn flick to some extent.

It was in 2017 that Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle was first released. The movie was the third installment of the Jumanji franchise (if you consider the spin-off Zathura: A Space Adventure) and a direct sequel to Jumanji (1995). Grossing over $962 million worldwide, it went on to become the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2017.

With a deluge of CGI animals and mammoth action sequences, Jumanji: The Next Level lives up to its predecessor by including all the cliche elements for a blockbuster. The only remarkable stroke of genius was the avatar switcheroo. It was hilarious to watch Dwayne Johnson’s impersonation of Danny DeVito, combined with Kevin Hart imitating Danny Glover.

The main problem with Jumanji: The Next Level is that it has way too much going on. The action sequences and comedy are diluted in the already busy plot. There is no patience or building up before introducing new characters and settings. The new game-character Ming Fleetfoot played by Awkwafina does add a little charm to the narrative, but leaves behind a lot of unanswered questions. It is obvious that the director/co-writer Jake Kasdan is adamant about making his sequel to be bigger in every way possible. Thankfully, there are enough avatar switches to push the plot forward.

However, don’t get the idea that the movie is all bad. Though the movie is FX-heavy, it has enough positive attributes to get away with it. If you are looking for an entertaining blockbuster to watch this holiday season, then definitely give this one a try.

Check out the trailer for the movie:

Welcome to the year that fulfills your patience. 2020 is the year we will see many of the most awaited movies hit the theatre. It’s like we have been waiting forever for these awesome flicks to land in theaters.  However, with so many movies hitting theaters at the same time, there is a chance for you to miss out on the best ones.

Lucky for you, we have prepared a list of awesome upcoming action movies that you will regret not seeing. Mark your calendars for these most anticipated action blockbusters.

The Gentlemen (2019) Trailer

The Gentlemen (2020) is an upcoming movie directed by Guy Ritchie. The movie talks about a British drug lord named Mickey Pearson who has created a highly profitable marijuana empire in London. He is looking to sell off his drug empire to a dynasty of Oklahoma billionaires.

Releasing Date: 24 January 2020

Bad Boys For Life (2020) Trailer

Bad Boys For Life (2020) will see the return of old-school cops Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett. The two are now part of a newly created elite team from the Miami police department called AMMO. They will be teaming up to take down Armando Armas, the ruthless leader of a Miami drug cartel.

Releasing Date: 17 January 2020

The King’s Man (2020) Trailer

Directed and produced by Matthew Vaughn, and written by Karl Gajdusek, The King’s Man is a prequel to the Kingsman film series. The plot of the movie takes place during the early-1900s and describes how the spy agency was formed.

Releasing Date: 14 February 2020

Top Gun: Maverick(2020) Trailer

Top Gun: Maverick is the direct sequel to 1986’s Top Gun. The movie takes place 34 years after the events of the original film. Captain Peter “Maverick” Mitchell is the new flight instructor of Top Gun. He guides Bradley, Goose’s son to become an aviator like his father.

Releasing Date: June 26, 2020

Bloodshot (2020) Trailer

Bloodshot (2020) is the upcoming movie based on the comics from Valiant comics. Ray Garrison is a marine who got murdered along with his wife. However, he was resurrected by a team of scientists with the help of nanotechnology. With the nanobots in his bloodstream, he becomes a superhuman, biotech killing machine – Bloodshot.

Releasing Date:  21 February 2020

Disney’s Jungle Cruise (2020) Trailer

Disney’s Jungle Cruise (2020) is an adventure movie based on the famous theme park ride of the same name. The movie is set in the early 20th century and is about a riverboat captain named Frank who takes a scientist and her brother into the jungle. Their mission is to find the tree of life, which has great healing powers.

Releasing Date: July 24, 2020

When Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was first announced to play Black Adam, it was unclear on how things would be proceeding with him and the character. The wrestler-turned-actor is not known for playing bad guys. Considering the fact that he has become one of the most bankable stars on the planet, it is obvious that the star and his team will not be settling for a one-and-done villain.

During a recent interview on behalf of his new movie Hobbs & Shaw, Dwayne Johnson talked about Black Adam’s solo movie before meeting up with Zachary Levi’s Shazam. Johnson said, “Black Adam, how he starts, he starts off as a villain. Then, he becomes an anti-hero. And then he might become a hero or we might not. ”

In addition to that, producer Hiram Garcia told that they are considering Jaume Collet-Serra (The Jungle Cruise) for directing the movie. Story details in the script are being hammered out and the studio is ready to go.

“Well, you’re going to meet a character who’s going through a journey. And I think the idea is, look, we know the root of obviously Black Adam. He was created as a villain. And through the love of the fans and through some great writers and storytellers, he evolved into an antihero,” she explained, “The antihero is a character that we always loved and that we responded to. But we understand that there’s been many aspects to Black Adam through him. But ultimately this is a guy who he does have a moral compass as skewed as it may be. And ultimately he is a guy that everything has always been driven by his family and what happens to them. And he is never opposed to unleashing hell when you cross him. So I think when you add in those elements of that DNA, those are things we’re very aware of.”

Dwayne Johnson will be appearing next in the Netflix thriller Red Notice. If things are going smooth with the actor and Warner Bros., there is a chance that Black Adam will be going into shooting sometime in 2020, after Red Notice.

Disney’s Jungle Cruise (2020) is an adventure movie based on the famous theme park ride of the same name. The movie is set in the early 20th century and is about a riverboat captain named Frank who takes a scientist and her brother into the jungle. Their mission is to find the tree of life, which has great healing powers.

Releasing Date: July 24, 2020

The feud between Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel is well known. However, it seems like this nasty fight between the stars has finally come to an end. Recently, Fast and Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw made over $752 million globally. Celebrating the victory lap, Johnson posted a video on social media thanking all those who supported Hobbs & Shaw to become a success at the box office. The actor didn’t forget to give a shout out to Diesel and teased his return back to the main franchise soon. Vin Diesel is currently working on Fast and Furious 9 and it was reported that Dwayne Johnson will not be a part of the movie because of his busy schedule with the spin-off.

The feud between two action juggernauts dates long back to when Hobbs & Shaw was officially announced. Diesel and the Fast and Furious crew were against the idea and they have even expressed it publicly, leading to a full-on feud. Now that Johnson is okay giving a shout-out to Diesel, it seems like things are finally settled down between them.

Here is what Johnson had this to say: “Lastly, but not least, I want to thank brother Vin (Diesel) for your support of Hobbs & Shaw. I saw your post and I appreciate it… As you know, and what a wild ride this is and what a wild ride this has been, 10 years ago when you and I spoke, you invited me into the Fast and Furious family. I’m grateful for that invite. And as you know, my goal was always, all these years, to come into the Fast & Furious world and help elevate the franchise in any way that I possibly could. And of course, all roads lead to one thing. I’ll be seeing you soon, Toretto.”

We hope that the two actors have gone through some personal growth during the past few years and have settled their disputes. Though we won’t see the ‘family’ together in the next installment, hopes are on  Fast and Furious 10 to bring the gang back together.

With that being said, another major feud among the Fast stars is between Tyrese Gibson and Dwayne Johnson. If all goes well, maybe we will see them finally settle it out too. While we wait for that, you can check out Johnson’s Instagram video below:

It’s official! Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw from Universal has zoomed past the $700 million milestone in the global box office. The running total includes $175 million from Chinese and a $160 million from North American box offices.

Released as this year’s summer tentpole, the flick is the ninth title in the Fast & Furious universe. The spin-off has Dwayne Johnson’s Luke Hobbs and Jason Statham’s Deckard Shaw as the lead characters.

Unlike other Fast and Furious movies, Hobbs & Shaw do not have franchise stalwart Vin Diesel in his iconic Dominic Toretto role. However, the movie is star-studded with actors like Idris Elba playing the genetically enhanced villain, and Helen Mirren returning to portray the mother of Statham’s Shaw. The movie is directed by David Leitch (Deadpool 2) and scripted by franchise vets Chris Morgan and Drew Pearce.

Although It: Chapter Two releasing this weekend may affect the movie, there is still chance for it to make it past the $164 million domestic total of Ice Age: Continental Drift and the $166 million domestic total of Roland Emmerich’s 2012.

However, crossing box office milestones are not new for the Fast & Furious movies. After Fast Five, the franchise exploded making massive box office draw in overseas markets. The movie franchise has grown into one of the most bankable franchises around, which is not owned by Disney.

Hobbs & Shaw has now made it to the fourth highest-grossing flick in the overall franchise following Fast & Furious 6 ($788.7 million), The Fate of the Furious ($1.23 billion) and Furious 7 ($1.51 billion). This inevitably means that the studio will be attempting for a Hobbs & Shaw 2, or whatever the studio wants to call it. Additionally, this also provides an opportunity for the further expansion of the ‘Fast universe’. Vin Diesel has already teased a possible female-led spin-off. With this movie’s success, Universal can explore such further opportunities for installments outside of the main series with confidence.

However, what comes next up for the franchise will be Fast & Furious 9, which is currently in production. The movie will see Justin Lin, who helmed four prior installments, returning to the director’s seat. The studio is also planning for a tenth movie in the main series as well.

The villainous Cipher is returning back to the Fast and Furious universe and this time she is going to have a new look. Actress Charlize Theron who was introduced into the franchise in 2017’s the Fate of the Furious, has confirmed that she will be returning in Fast & Furious 9. Though there were numerous reports on the Oscar-winner’s second trip to the franchise, none were officially confirmed till now.

Cipher is a cyber-criminal mastermind who blackmailed Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) to do her bidding by keeping his old flame Elena Neves (Elsa Pataky) and their infant son hostage. When Dom disobeyed one of her orders, she even kills Elena in front of him as a punishment. Though Dom and his team eventually get the upper-hand on her, Cipher evades capture and flees.

With the inevitable showdown between Dom and Cipher still waiting, her return to the new installment is making us a little anxious about what to expect. Whatever the case may be, Theron is porting her new looks and we are literally blown away by it.

The actress is donning the short razor-sharp new haircut, replacing the longer hairstyle she had in her first Fast & Furious movie. While she had a blond look then, her new look features a mix of black and blonde.

Initially, it was rumored that Cipher would be returning on Dwayne Johnson-led spinoff, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. Speculations were that the character was going to be revealed as The Director of the sinister organization Eteon in Hobbs & Shaw. Though there’s no official evidence to suggest that such a plan was considered, it is believed that the plan was eventually dropped. Either way, we will be seeing Theron back in action soon for Fast & Furious 9.

The ninth installment will also see the return of director Justin Lin, who directed the third, fourth, fifth and sixth entries in the Fast & Furious franchise. 

Fast & Furious 9 is expected to release on May 22, 2020.

The Fast & Furious franchise is expanding into a universe of its own, with the release of the upcoming spin-off, Hobbs & Shaw. Picking up directly after the events of The Fate of the Furious, the movie teams up federal agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) and former SAS operative turned mercenary Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham). The movie also introduces Idris Elba into the franchise as the villain Brixton and he is donning the role with swag.

The recently released movie trailer shows Elba spreading his arms out wide and declaring, “I’m black Superman.” Though the moment was an instant hit with fans, it turns out that the scene was not originally scripted that way. On an interview with Variety  Magazine, Dwayne Johnson told that the line was originally supposed to mention James Bond rather than Superman, but Elba personally nixed it. Elba thought that it was “too close to what everybody’s talking about.”

The Brit Actor was referring to how fans have been lobbying for Idris Elba to take over from Daniel Craig as the next James Bond. The actor has repeatedly denied any rumors becoming the next Bond, saying:  “You just get disheartened when you get people from a generational point of view going, ‘It can’t be.’ And it really turns out to be the color of my skin. And then if I get it and it didn’t work, or it did work, would it be because of the color of my skin? That’s a difficult position to put myself into when I don’t need to.” In such a situation, it’s no wonder why Elba wanted the joke to be removed from the movie.

Whatever the case may be, ‘the black Superman’ quip did hit the mark and Johnson says that it was all his idea: “Everyone loves ‘the black Superman’ line. Everyone’s taking credit for it – Idris, our director, our producers, I’m sure, Jason [Statham]…[but] I came up with that. I said, ‘What about the black Superman?’’ And everyone’s like, ‘Great!’ [But] now everyone takes credit.”

Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw will be in theaters on August 2.

Comicbook fans who are so eager to watch Shazam and Black Adam face-off need to wait a little longer than expected. Actor Zachary Levi, who plays Shazam, revealed that his character will be facing off against Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Black Adam only in the threequel.

Ever since Marvel has successfully created its superhero universe, DC is trying all they can to launch their version. Since DC has all the famous superheroes, it would have been a cakewalk for them, right? WRONG! DC’s attempts to create a coherent cinematic universe failed so miserably that they finally quit the idea (At least for now). However, the endeavor did give us three great DC movies: Wonderwoman, Aquaman, and Shazam.

Being released last spring, the movie Shazam! was an origin story in which Billy Batson fought against his arch-nemesis from the comics, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana. When fans heard that a sequel for the movie getting the green light, many wondered if that’s when the long-awaited cinematic clash between Shazam and Black Adam is going to happen. Johnson also revealed that he will be getting a standalone movie as Black Adam, opening up to the possibility that the movie might be building up to the expected clash in Shazam 2.

However, Zachary Levi recently revealed that this clash will only be happening in Shazam 3. The actor said: I can say that as far as I know, Black Adam is not going to be in the second Shazam!, because the idea is that they want to go and do a standalone Black Adam movie first. And then it would kind of be, if we do a third Shazam! and a second Black Adam, kind of [parallel] like that, that’s where we would [meet].”

The actor believes if Shazam and Black Adam were to fight too early, that would result in this corner of the DCEU peaking prematurely. Levi said: Because he’s like the ultimate bad guy for Captain Marvel, Shazam. Like [Shazam and] Black Adam, they’re doppelgängers right, the evil twin to who I am. So that’s got to be like the final battle.”

Shazam did well at the box office $364 million at the box office with its reasonable $100 million budget. Though things are a little uncertain at DC’s extended universe, fans are happy that Shazam will be getting 2 sequels in the near future.

Netflix never seems to stop surprising us and this time it is with a high profile heist movie. Titled Red Notice, the movie is reported to have everything you’d usually go to cinemas for. The movie was initially a project by Universal studios. But due to the delay in production, the rights were scooped up by the world’s largest streaming service and ever since then it has been making headlines. The latest one is that the movie will be the first time we will see Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) and Gal Gadot (Wonder Woman) on the screen together. It was Johnson who made the awesome announcement through his Instagram account.

Talking about the movie, the actor said: “With Red Notice, our goal at Seven Bucks Productions was to break down traditional barriers and create a true global event for the audience. Netflix has illustrated that they are the perfect partners to accomplish this goal.”

Directed and scripted by Rawson Marshall Thurber, the movie will cost Netflix around $130 million to produce, including the $20 million salary for Dwayne Johnson and surely the large salaries for both Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds. Johnson and Gadot have previously worked together in the Fast & Furious franchise, while Gadot starred alongside Reynolds in the 2016 thriller Criminal. Rawson Marshall Thurber has previously worked with Johnson on Central Intelligence and Skyscraper.

It’s the second big Nextflix film for Reynolds, as the actor stars in the recently wrapped Michael Bay-directed 6 Underground. But for both Johnson and Gadot, it will be the first big film to go into production at Netflix.

Although shooting for the movie will start in 2020, the exact release date of the movie is not yet slated.