COMING SOON

Out this week

* Albums

• Hotspot by Pet Shop Boys: Fourteenth album by the English synth-pop duo; follows 2016’s Super; led by the single ‘Dreamland’ (featuring Years & Years).
• Music to Be Murdered By by Eminem: Eleventh album by the American rapper; comes after 2018’s Kamikaze; features collaborations with artists including Juice Wrld, Ed Sheeran, Q-Tip, Skylar Grey, and Anderson .Paak.

* Movies

• The Gentlemen (starring Matthew McConaughey, Charlie Hunnam, Henry Golding) – action comedy; a drug lord tries to sell off his empire to a dynasty of billionaires.
• The Last Full Measure (starring Sebastian Stan, Christopher Plummer, William Hurt, Ed Harris) – war drama; a Pentagon staffer (Stan) uncovers a high-level conspiracy while investigating a Medal of Honor request for a fallen Pararescueman (Irvine).
• The Turning (starring Mackenzie Davis, Finn Wolfhard, Brooklynn Prince, Joely Richardson) – horror, adaptation of Henry James’s 1898 story The Turn of the Screw; a nanny (Davis) is charged with the care of two disturbed orphans (Prince and Wolfhard).
• The Night House (starring Rebecca Hall, Sarah Goldberg, Stacy Martin) – horror; a widow uncovers her deceased husband’s disturbing secrets.

Celeb Tweets

• Julius Sharpe (@juliussharpe): Excited about slo-mo selfies because the big problem with selfies is they don’t waste enough time.
• Bette Midler (@BetteMidler): Damn, the political news is so relentless, I could honestly just go for a little hit of juicy celebrity gossip. Do I have to do everything myself? Fine. “Bette Midler admits she is in an extra-marital thrupple with chips AND salsa!”
• Mark Hoppus (@markhoppus): Look. If I can get My Chemical Romance and the Jonas Brothers back together, I can definitely get Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston back together. 2020 is the year I’m gonna make it happen.

Star

Edward Parker Helms

• Born on 24th January 1974 in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
• Has two siblings, older sister Susan and brother John.
• Had open-heart surgery to correct a severe congenital heart defect when he was 14.
• Was a geology major at college but switched to film theory and technology, graduating in 1996.
• Started performing comedy before being cast on The Daily Show where he worked from 2002 to 2006.
• Gained recognition for his performances on the sitcom The Office (2006 – 2013) and The Hangover film trilogy (2009 – 2013).
• Upcoming projects include the comedy films Coffee & Kareem (2020) and Togetherish (2020).
• Plays banjo, guitar, and piano. Is in the bluegrass band The Lonesome Trio.

Spotlight

The Grudge

Cast: Andrea Riseborough, Demián Bichir, John Cho, Betty Gilpin, Lin Shaye, Jacki Weaver

Director: Nicolas Pesce

Tagline: It’ll never let you go.

• Supernatural horror; a police detective (Riseborough) investigates several murders that are seemingly connected to a house.
• Is the fourth film in the American The Grudge series (2004 – present), the first instalment of which was a remake of the Japanese horror film Ju-On: The Grudge (2002).
• Is a sequel to the 2004 film; takes place during and after the events of its predecessor.
• Has made $36 million on a $10 million budget.
• Has received negative reviews from critics who found the movie unexciting.
• Might be followed by a sequel. A crossover between The Grudge and The Ring film series might also happen.