Film

Originally written by German World War 1 veteran Erich Maria Remarque in 1928, the classic novel All Quiet On The Western Front has been adapted for film twice before, with the first iteration winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1930. For Edward Berger’s upcoming Netflix adaptation, starring Daniel Brühl and Albrecht Schuch, the film retains its English title, but, for the first time, will be in the original German. All Quiet on the Western Front is scheduled to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 12 September and will be available on Netflix on 28 October. All Quiet on the Western Front tells the gripping story of a young German soldier during the so-called Great War. Paul and his comrades experience first-hand how the initial euphoria of war turns into desperation and fear as they fight for their lives, and each other, in the trenches.

It’s all fun and games until someone ends up dead. In the follow-up to Rian Johnson’s dark comedy whodunnit Knives Out, Detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) travels to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery involving private islands, parties, puzzles and a new cast of colourful (read probably crazy) suspects, which you can meet, albeit briefly, in the official teaser trailer.

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery also stars Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr, Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, Kate Hudson and Dave Bautista. The film made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 10 September; Glass Onion will be available for streaming on Netflix from 23 December.

Based on the 2013 book of the same name by Charles Graeber, The Good Nurse is itself based on the horrifying true story of serial killer Charles Cullen, a hospital nurse who left scores of victims in his wake. Suspicious that her colleague (Eddie Redmayne) is responsible for a series of mysterious patient deaths, nurse Amy Loughren (Jessica Chastain) risks her own life to uncover the truth in this gripping thriller directed by Tobias Lindholm. The Good Nurse premieres at TIFF on 11 September before heading to Netflix on 26 October.

Another movie that made its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival is Netflix’s dark stop-motion fantasy Wendell & Wild. A collaboration between Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline) and Jordan Peele (Nope, Us, Get Out), it is the story of Kat (Lyric Ross), a troubled teen haunted by her past who must deal with scheming demon brothers Wendell and Wild (played by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele) before she can start a new life in her old hometown. Wendell & Wild also stars Angela Bassett, James Hong and Ving Rhames. The film will have a small cinema run from 21 October, before making its streaming release just in time for Halloween on 28 October.

One small piece of notable casting news this week: Catherine Keener has joined the cast of Todd Phillips’ Joker musical sequel Joker: Folie à Deux. Keener’s role is a secret at this stage. She will be appearing alongside leads Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, as well as recent cast additions Brendan Gleeson and a returning Zazie Beetz. Joker: Folie à Deux is tracking for a 4 October 2024 release.

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Television

Squid Game star Lee Jung-jae will be the male lead in upcoming Star Wars series The Acolyte. He joins Amandla Steinberg and Jodie Turner-Smith in a mystery-thriller set long before the events of the main Star Wars series. In the final years of the High Republic Era – a period of peace and expansion – a Dark Side threat would emerge from the shadows to undermine the Golden Age might of the Jedi.

You can’t keep a great concept down. Eighties sci-fi fantasy classic Quantum Leap (starring Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell back in the day) is getting a sequel/reboot treatment 30 years down the line. Mixing time travel, mystery and good deeds, Quantum Leap sees physicist Ben Song (Raymond Lee) bouncing through time, and between bodies, to help course correct historical events at an individual level. At Ben’s side throughout his leaps is Addison (Caitlin Bassett), a decorated army veteran who appears in the form of a hologram only Ben can see and hear. Quantum Leap premieres on Monday 19 September on NBC and will be streaming on Peacock.

The 2022 Emmy Awards (aka the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards) broadcast is coming up on 12 September, but the ceremony for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards has already been held. The most newsworthy win from that event, held on 4 September, Netflix’s Arcane became the first streaming series to win Best Animated Program. It’s also the first video game adaptation to do so. Arcane was nominated against Bob’s Burgers, Rick and Morty, The Simpsons and Marvel’s What If…?

Out of interest, the award for Outstanding Short Form Animated Program went to the Jibaro episode of Love, Death & Robots. Check out all the winners here.

Finally, in some casting news, Lupin star Omar Sy will play Yasuke, the legendary African samurai in a new five-part Netflix series. Unlike Netflix’s Yasuke anime, which leaned hard into fantasy, this live-action adaptation will be a purely historical take on the somewhat nebulous true story. The miniseries will depict Yasuke’s arrival in Japan in the 16th century and his friendship with samurai warrior Oda Nobunaga as he rose through the ranks to become the first non-Japanese samurai.

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Gaming

It’s been rumoured for months, but Xbox has just revealed its new high-end controller, the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 – Core. Out on 21 September, the Series 2 – Core, in white, is positioned as an “essentials” version of the already existing Elite Series 2 controller. i.e. it comes with a lower price tag, but also less included interchangeable components to customise the controller and your gameplay experience. Those parts are available instead in Complete Component Pack, which includes a snazzy carry case and charging dock.

What is the pricing difference? The new Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 – Core has a recommended price of $129.99, while the current Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 is $179.99. In South Africa, the Elite S2 is typically around R4,000. For the record, the Complete Component pack will set you back $59.99.

You can learn more about the Elite S2 – Core on the Xbox blog, but one final note is that, in countries where Xbox Design Lab is available, people will be able to take advantage of the service’s many colour and feature options and build their own unique Elite Controller from December.

Just last month, PlayStation announced their customisable DualSense Edge Wireless Controller.

Looking closer to home, South African game developer studio Free Lives is set to release in 2023 Stick It to the Stickman, the third upcoming game from the makers of Broforce and Genital Jousting; like their future releases, reverse city builder Terra Nil, and first-person action game Anger Foot, it will be published by Devolver Digital. A comical take on climbing the corporate ladder – by battling through a soulless office building – Stick it to the Stickman is described as “a groin-kicking, staple-gunning, chainsaw-wielding roguelike brawler loaded with high-impact, physics-based combat, copious amounts of coffee and weaponized farts!” Wishlist on Steam now.

Meanwhile, Ubisoft’s online showcase, Ubisoft Forward, returned this past Saturday with updates on upcoming crossover Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, pirate MMO Skull and Bones, and a special Assassin’s Creed showcase that will unveil the future of the history-set franchise (which is rumoured to include several new titles). Watch Ubisoft Forward on the official website, YouTube and Twitch. DM/ML

This story was first published on Pfangirl.com