Todd Phillips

Todd Phillips Joker Origins Movie Will Serve As Prequel To Christopher Nolan's 'Dark Knight'

By Daniel Falconer in Movies / TV / Theatre on 01 April 2018

Todd Phillips will be giving some backstory to Heath Ledger's Joker from 'The Dark Knight'.

DC fans and those who especially loved Christopher Nolan's 'Dark Knight' trilogy will be able to jump right back into that world of Gotham in the near future, as it's been confirmed Todd Phillips' upcoming Joker origins movie will serve as a prequel to the story told in those three films. Though the Clown Prince of Crime has been a mysterious figure for many years, it looks as though we'll be finding out a little bit more about how the psychotic criminal turned into the man we all met in 'The Dark Knight'.

Todd Phillips has some big plans for his Joker origins movie

As one of the most exciting projects in development at DC Films, expectations are high surrounding the film. Nobody has yet been confirmed to play the part of Joker in 1980s Gotham, but rumours suggest Joaquin Phoenix will be the man to take on the iconic role.

Continue reading: Todd Phillips Joker Origins Movie Will Serve As Prequel To Christopher Nolan's 'Dark Knight'

Filming Start Date Set For Todd Phillips' Standalone Joker Origin Movie

By Daniel Falconer in Movies / TV / Theatre on 21 February 2018

Todd Phillips

Joaquin Phoenix is being eyed to take the leading role in the flick.

There's been a distinct lack of news surrounding the proposed Joker origins movie from Warner Bros. in the past few weeks, aside from the rumours that those working on the flick were eyeing up Joaquin Phoenix to take on the leading villainous role. With 'The Hangover' director Todd Phillips set to make his mark on the world of DC Comics with the film, the events of the proposed origins story will be completely standalone and separate from the current DC Extended Universe.

Todd Phillips is bringing a new version of the Joker to the big screen

Fans are excited to see just how this version of Joker will be treated. There's every opportunity for those involved to go all out and make this an R-rated treat for the most hardcore of DC fans. As one of the most violent and psychotic villains the world of comic books have ever seen, there's plenty of canon material for those working behind-the-scenes to sift through.

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War Dogs Review

Good

Based on a rather astounding true story, this comedy-drama centres on two stoners who landed a massive defence contract with the American government to sell arms for the War on Terror. The story is told with a heavy dose of macho swagger by The Hangover's Todd Phillips, which makes it entertaining even as it dodges the heavier themes the plot is raising. It's also set in a world where smugness is an asset and women are irrelevant.

It begins in 2005 Miami, where David (Miles Teller) is working as a masseur and living happily with his girlfriend Iz (Ana de Armas). Then he runs into his old school friend Efraim (Jonah Hill), who convinces him that there's money to be made selling weapons to the US military. Over the next few years, the business expands dramatically, bringing in a fortune as David and Efraim travel into Iraq to see their deals through. Then they land a massive new contract that involves working with a rather dodgy supplier (Bradley Cooper) and processing the arms in Albania. But as they start bending the law to maximise their profits, things start to fall apart.

Phillips tells this with a quick step and a twinkle in his eye, zipping through the events with masculine energy, filling scenes with black humour as the business gets murkier. Hill and Teller make a terrific team, using their impeccable comic timing to make every scene zing. They are also excellent at bringing out the contrasts between David and Efraim: David tries to do things right, Efraim has no moral compass. And their differing approaches to cross-cultural situations are telling as well. Many of their conflicts seem scripted for movie purposes, but they're so well-played that we don't mind too much. By comparison, the supporting cast kind of fades into the background. Cooper grabs attention in a seriously oddball role, while de Armas is completely sidelined as the only person with a conscience.

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War Dogs Trailer

War dogs follows the journey of two low end arms dealers David Packouz and Efraim Diveroli on their journey to the top when they secure themselves a contract from the Pentagon to provide military weapons to U.S. allies in Afghanistan. In this criminal war comedy the two friends start off their business by exploiting a government initiative that allows small businesses to bid on military weapons contracts.

Continue: War Dogs Trailer

'Fast And Furious 6' Leaves 'The Hangover III' With A Sore Head

By Michael West in Movies / TV / Theatre on 28 May 2013

Vin Diesel Dwayne Johnson Todd Phillips

The Fast and Furious 6 absolutely demolished The Hangover III at the box office.

Fast and Furious 6, the latest moving in the action-driving franchise starring Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel, raced towards a quite incredible $122 million Memorial Day debut to leave The Hangover III in its wake. It was Universal's biggest domestic opening of all time and pushed the film's worldwide total north of $280 million. The studio's previous best was Jurassic Park: The Lost World, which debuted to $90.2 million in 1997, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Many had questioned Universal's decision to open Fast 6 alongside Hangover III - the final instalment in Todd Phillip's comedy franchise - though it was the action movie that raced to victory. "This isn't just a car racing movie anymore. It's an action pic with broad appeal," said Universal president of domestic distribution Nikki Rocco, "And it played to a tremendously diverse audience." The movie benefitted from a strong Hispanic audience, which made up 32 per cent of those who saw the film.

Watch the Fast and Furious 6 Trailer!

Hangover III took around $53 million for the four-day weekend and around $64 million for the five day stretch (the movie opened on Thursday). It was a dismal showing compared to the $135 million that The Hangover Part III took in 2011 and confirmation that the franchise has truly reached the end of the road.

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The Hangover Part III Review

By Rich Cline

Bad

For the final instalment of the trilogy, filmmaker Todd Phillips takes a sharp left turn, abandoning the formula of the first two movies to send the Wolf Pack on a road thriller that isn't remotely funny. A few wacky moments are provided by the actors, but there isn't one punchline in the entire film. And it doesn't really work as a thriller either, since there's no real suspense.

Once again it starts in Los Angeles, where everyone has recovered from their antics in Bangkok. But Phil, Stu and Doug (Cooper, Helms and Bartha) are worried that Alan (Galifianakis) is refusing to grow up, so they hold an intervention and set out to drive him to a desert retreat. On the way, they're waylaid by mobster Marshall (Goodman), who holds Doug hostage to force the the Wolf Pack to find renegade nutcase Chow (Jeong), who has stolen Marshall's stash of gold bars. They track Chow to Mexico, but things quickly get even messier as Chow slips through their fingers. And to catch him, they'll have to return to the scene of their original adventure: Las Vegas.

There isn't much to the screenplay, which is a series of action scenes and caper-style set-pieces strung together with rapid-fire dialog and general vulgarity. But while the film is expertly shot and edited, with a solid cast and terrific settings, there simply isn't any actual humour. No one gets drunk, so there's no hangover this time. And the only amusing moments are offhanded character bits that are utterly irrelevant to the nonsensical chaos of the plot. Which kind of makes us wonder why we ever found these losers so hilarious to begin with.

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The Hangover III Trailer

Alan Garner is going through real emotional trauma when his beloved father passes away. Following the funeral, his friends Stu, Phil and Doug decide to take him back to Las Vegas to recuperate with the hope that previous experience and lack of upcoming weddings will prevent them from getting into any major trouble again with gangs or escaped wild animals. However, that hope is soon shattered when they are jumped by a brutal gang who demand to know where they can find their flamboyant gangster friend Leslie Chow who has allegedly stole $21 million dollars. As expected, the Wolfpack end up in enormous, but hilarious, trouble yet again which leads them to question their friendship ties and vacation choices. Will the foursome survive Sin City this time round? And will Alan find the peace he's looking for?

The Wolfpack returns in the last instalment of this side-splitting trilogy. Academy Award nominated director Todd Phillips ('Road Trip', 'Due Date') returns once more with the co-writer from 'Part II', Craig Mazin ('Identity Thief', 'Superhero Movie', 'Scary Movie 4'). It looks to be a spectacular end to the film series as the foursome's previous alcohol-fuelled vacations come back to haunt them. It is scheduled for release in UK cinemas on May 24th 2013.

The Hangover 3 Trailer: Wolf Pack Returns To Las Vegas One Last Time! (Video)

By Michael West in Movies / TV / Theatre on 08 March 2013

Zach Galifianakis Bradley Cooper Ed Helms Heather Graham Todd Phillips

The Wolf Pack are back on the hunt in The Hangover Part III

After months of waiting, the first official trailer for Todd Phillips' 'The Hangover: Part III' is finally here - and guess what? The boys are heading back to Las Vegas. The promo promises that "it all ends here," which is probably just as well given the dismal critical reception of the sequel.

Phil, Stu and Alan - aka Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis - are all back for one last drunken adventure. The trailer begins with the sounds of Franz Schubert's 'Ave Maria' - though it's not some Italian tenor singing the words, it's Alan pouring his heart out at a funeral! "My god - he has the voice of an angel," Phil observes, "It's breath-taking!" says Stu.

Continue reading: The Hangover 3 Trailer: Wolf Pack Returns To Las Vegas One Last Time! (Video)

The Hangover Part III - Teaser Trailer

Stu, Phil, Alan and Doug return to Las Vegas in the hilarious third instalment of 'The Hangover' movie series. Nobody's getting married this time, but if you think the absence of a bachelor party will calm this lot down, you are so wrong. Following the events of 'The Hangover' which saw them get attacked by gangsters, mauled by a tiger, tasered by cops and inadvertently married, and of course the events of 'The Hangover Part II' which took them to Thailand where they got tattooed, shot by Russian mobsters and had sex with transgender hookers, the conclusion to this trilogy doesn't look to fare much better as these wild boys set out for one last mayhem-fuelled weekend in Sin City.

Continue: The Hangover Part III - Teaser Trailer