HOLLYWOOD – “Just Mercy” is billed as an inspiring drama featuring a real-life hero who gave hope to the hopeless and those facing racism and corruption.
Based on the true story of lawyer and activist Bryan Stevenson who fought for those who had been wrongfully convicted, the movie shows the severe injustices suffered by African-Americans accused of crimes they did not commit.
Basketball superstar Kobe Bryant is a fan of the movie and he showed his support to the Warner Bros. drama at a recent community screening in Los Angeles.
“What Bryan had to go through and the amount of perseverance in the face of true fear, true danger. It’s not like, you know, the fear of missing a game winning shot and then you lose the game... It's dealing with real-life consequences,” Bryant said.
“To be able to have that amount of courage, that amount of determination, that amount of focus to persevere through tremendous odds, you're going to leave this theater feeling inspired,” he added.
Actor Michael B. Jordan plays Stevenson.
When asked for advice to someone facing corruption or racial bias, Jordan said: “That's tough. One advice I would give is to never lose hope. It's something that Bryan always says, that hopelessness is the enemy of justice. You gotta have hope. You gotta hope that something's going to happen that you haven't seen before.”
Meanwhile, Jamie Foxx plays Walter McMillian, who was sentenced to die in 1987 despite a lack of evidence.
Karan Kendrick plays his wife, and “Captain Marvel” actress Brie Larson reunited with director Destin Daniel Cretton to complete the ensemble cast of the inspiring drama.
Foxx received a SAG Awards best actor nomination for his portrayal of McMillian, who faced extreme racism and corruption in Alabama.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
WASHINGTON - As the US kicked back for a long weekend, Disney's "Black Panther" got off to a superhero start in the North American box office, rocketing to the top spot with estimated earnings of $218 million, data showed Sunday.
According to figures from industry tracker Exhibitor Relations, the highly-anticipated 18th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe earned $192 million over Friday, Saturday and Sunday -- exceeding predictions of $170 million.
Thanks to Presidents' Day in the US on Monday, "Black Panther's" estimated earnings were boosted to a stratospheric $218 million -- crushing "Deadpool's" 2016 Presidents' Day record of $152.1 million.
In the Philippines, Black Panther also scored the year's biggest first-day gross to-date with a staggering P45.10-million in box-office sales on February 14.
Comparatively, the Wakandan King outperformed the opening day numbers of recent Marvel titles, including 2015's Ant-Man (by 235%), 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy (by 183%), 2016's Doctor Strange (by 124%), 2014's Captain America: The Winter Solidier (by 63%) and last year's Thor: Ragnarok (by 41%).
The film, from Disney-owned Marvel Studios, features a star-studded, almost entirely black cast led by Chadwick Boseman as the first non-white superhero to get his own stand-alone movie in the franchise.
Starring alongside Michael B Jordan and Lupita Nyong'o, Boseman plays the titular superhero also known as T'Challa, king and protector of the technologically advanced fictional African nation of Wakanda, an affluent, never-colonized utopia.
In at second was family-friendly "Peter Rabbit," based on Beatrix Potter's classic children's book. Mixing live actors with computer-generated animation, it brought in an estimated $22.1 million over the holiday weekend for total earnings of $53.1 million.
James Corden voices the lead bunny which feuds with garden owner Domhnall Gleeson for the affections of sweet-hearted neighbor Rose Byrne.
Dropping to third was last week's box office champion, Universal's "Fifty Shades Freed," with takings of $19 million, down from $38.6 million the previous week.
Starring Dakota Johnson as English lit major-turned-publisher Anastasia Steele and Jamie Dornan as Christian Grey, her kinky lover-turned-husband, "Freed" is the last of the "Fifty Shades" trilogy, which has enjoyed massive popularity among primarily female audiences.
Sony's "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" placed fourth in its ninth week in theaters, matching last week's earnings with $10 million.
Featuring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Kevin Hart and Jack Black, the family film tells the tale of a group of teens transported inside a video game world.
Director Clint Eastwood's "The 15:17" dropped two places into fifth, taking $9 million.
The film recounts the story of three young Americans who foiled a terrorist attack on board a train in France in 2015. In an alternative approach that divided critics, Eastwood cast the three men -- none of whom had any acting experience -- to play themselves.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
"The Greatest Showman" ($6.3 million)
"Early Man" ($4.2 million)
"Maze Runner: The Death Cure" ($3 million)
"Winchester" ($2.7 million)
"Samson" ($2.4 million)
ska/it
source: news.abs-cbn.com
