Spoilers below for anyone who hasn’t yet watched the first two episodes of The Beauty on FX or via Hulu subscription (or Disney+ subscription), so be warned!

With so many upcoming book-to-movie adaptations on the way, one can often be forgiven for not keeping up with every comic book series also getting the live-action treatment. But The Beauty should be on everyone’s watchlist, given its fantastical cautionary narrative, its applause-worthy gore and physical effects, and its A+ cast of series regulars and one-off cameos. Oh, let’s add “jaw-dropping twists” to that as well, as Episode 2’s ending essentially marked co-lead Rebecca Hall’s exit. And what a gooey exit it was.

Let’s break down exactly what happened to Hall’s FBI agent Jordan (and her partner Cooper, portrayed by Evan Peters), why it was such a twist from Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley’s comic source material, and what Rebecca Hall told CinemaBlend about her rather hasty exit, as seen in the video above.

The Big Jordan Twist, And How It Changes Up The Comic Book Arc

Let me first say that Evan Peters' Cooper and Rebecca Hall's Jordan are technically different characters from the comic's Dets. Drew Foster and Kara Vaughn, though they share some of the same characteristics, as well as the same kinetic friendship bond. Here in Ryan Murphy's world, though, Cooper isn't a married man, and the duo are banging the first time audiences meet them. Which was the first sign to comic readers that other big changes were at play.

A few issues into The Beauty's first arc, which itself takes place two years after the titular STD has become a worldwide phenomenon, it's revealed that Vaughn has the disease, without any clue as to how long she has left before things get all head-explode-y. When Hall was revealed to be cast as the Vaughn counterpart, I fully expected the second or third episode to reveal that - surprise! - Jordan has had the Beauty all along. But her and Cooper's libidinous action in the premiere turned that assumption upside-down.

Instead, following the two agents' half-candid and half-emotionally guarded convo about their casual status, Jordan rather quickly fell in with a too-attractive mate and bedded him without realizing how much it will affect her life and investigation. Because the consequence here is suffering a complete body-wrecking transformation that will no doubt make her kinship with Cooper even more complicated.

What starts with Rebecca Hall's body writhing and contorting across the bathroom floor soon becomes a giant skinbag of goop from which the new and "improved" Jordan emerges, now portrayed by The LIttle Mermaid's Jessica Alexander. It's like a mash-up of The Substance's monstro-body horror mixed with The Fly's ecto-nasty. A win-win, I'd say.

Rebecca Hall Reacts To Jordan's Big Twist And That Transformation Sequence

When I spoke with Evan Peters and Rebecca Hall about their shared (if brief) journey on The Beauty, and I of course had to ask for her thoughts on her character's wild reveal, and how that played into her taking the role. She told me:

Indeed. At no point in her two episodes did Jordan 1.0 come across as someone who needed more outside validation, or who felt insecure about herself. So it is an interesting tweak to the source material that our female lead has accidentally infected herself, especially given how it might change things up for everyone.

Hall continued, making a Psycho comparison between her here-and-gone arc to the aftermath of the scariest scene in Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller. (Which also involved someone making themselves more beautiful, if anyone wants to look at it that way.) As the actress put it:

I didn't fully realize it until watching the third episode, but The Beauty definitely suffered a loss by taking Rebecca Hall out of the loop. Which isn't a knock on Jessica Alexander's performance or anything, but more appreciating that the Iron Man 3 vet got to play a character that vibed with her own personality so well. Jordan and Cooper feel like two of the only people who represent normalcy in this show, so losing one-half of that equation is a bummer.

Still, it helps that Rebecca Hall's exit was so visually memorable, and she talked to me about filming that herky-jerky sequence, saying:

While a stunt performer was no doubt also utilized for Jordan's harrowing transition, especially the moments where Jordan's hair is hanging in her face, it does look like Hall filmed a lot of it herself. Thankfully for her sake, Alexander was the one who had to emerge from the fleshy coccoon with all that sinewy goo.

What will Cooper and Jordan's next interaction look like? When will it happen? Will Cooper also get the disease this season? Answers will come as new episodes of The Beauty air and stream every Wednesday on FX and Hulu.

The events of Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of the Monsters paved the way for the MonsterVerse’s first crossover event: Godzilla vs. Kong, which marked the first time these two title monsters crossed paths in a Hollywood production. While Godzilla and Kong started off as enemies, they eventually came together against a shared adversary: Mechagodzilla, which had been intended as Apex’s tool to wipe out the Titans, but was corrupted by the consciousness of Ghidorah. Upon defeating this robotic menace, Godzilla returned to Earth’s waters and Kong was moved to Hollow Earth.

Well, two colossal forces of nature like these can stay separated for only so long, because we now have what was originally just known as Godzilla vs. Kong 2, but was officially titled Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Per the official synopsis, along with Godzilla and Kong being pitted against “against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world” that challenges both their existence and our own, the sequel will “delve further into the histories of these Titans, their origins and the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond,” as well as pull back the curtain on the “mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.” The first trailer for The New Empire dropped on December 3, 2023.

As with the other MonsterVerse movies, obviously Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’s main draw is once again be giant monsters fighting each other, but humanity always factors into these stories somehow. As such, we should go over who will be comprising The New Empire’s cast, starting with its new lead character.

Dan Stevens

Adam Wingard is sitting back in the director’s chair for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire after helming its predecessor, and this time, he’s brought in an actor from one of his non-MonsterVerse movies, The Guest. Dan Stevens starred in that 2014 feature as a murderous U.S. soldier named David, and now he’s taken part in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire as Trapper, who, as Stevens told Total Film, is the man you call when you have a sick Titan. Many of you might know Stevens better for playing Beast in Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast remake, Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey or David Haller in Legion.

Brian Tyree Henry

Our first returning MonsterVerse human character in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is Brian Tyree Henry’s Bernie Hayes, who, like the other announced familiar faces so far, was introduced in Godzilla vs. Kong. An employee at Apex Cybernetics and host of a conspiracy podcast centered on the Titans, Bernie teamed with Madison Russell and Josh Valentine to figure out what the corporation was up to and how this was affecting Godzilla’s behavior. Bernie is recruited by the next person on this list to help investigate a mysterious signal coming from Hollow Earth.

Rebecca Hall

While the Monarch organization as a whole didn’t get a ton of time to shine in Godzilla vs. Kong, one of its operatives was key to the plot. Rebecca Hall appeared as Dr. Ilene Andrews, the anthropologist linguist who studied Kong on Skull Island, and the adoptive mother of Jia, the island’s last Iwi native. Ilene accompanied the team that was transferring Kong to Hollow Earth and managed to make it out of that region alive with Jia and Dr. Nathan Lind in time to witness Kong’s battle with Godzilla in Hong Kong. Ilene is still working for Monarch during Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and she ventures even deeper into Hollow Earth to learn about the aforementioned signal.

Kaylee Hottle

Deaf actress Kaylee Hottle made her film debut in Godzilla vs. Kong as Jia Andrews, who also couldn’t hear and communicated in America Sign Language. With Kong also knowing ASL, as well as having protected the young girl from being killed by Skullcrawlers like her biological parents, the two formed a special bond. It’s unclear how much time will have passed between Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, but Jia is still by Ilene’s side and watching over Kong at the Hollow Earth outpost station. She's on hand to witness things like Mini-Kong (whose name is actually Suko), but along the way, Jia learns about a deeper connection she has to the Titans.

Fala Chen

Fala Chen has been acting in Hong Kong movies and TV shows for over a decade and a half, but she made a splash in the United States on two fronts during 2021 and 2022. First, she appeared in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings as Ying-Li, the wife of Wenwu and mother of Shang-Chi and Xialing, as well as the Dweller-in-Darkness masquerading as Ying-Li. Then she recurred in HBO’s Irma Vep miniseries as Cynthia Keng. Now she's added another Hollywood movie to her resume with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, where she plays the Iwi Queen. That's right, to Jia's delight, it turns out there is a group of Iwi still alive and living deep within Hollow Earth.

Alex Ferns

Many United Kingdom TV viewers likely remember Alex Ferns for his run as Trevor Morgan in the soap opera EastEnders, and over a decade later, he recurred as Rick Harper in the Scottish drama River City. For those of you stateside, not to worry, as you’ve likely seen him in something recently. For example, Ferns appeared in The Batman as Commissioner Pete Savage, one of The Riddler’s victims. 2022 also saw the actor recurring in Andor as Sergeant Linus Musk, the Pre-Mor officer who followed the orders of Kyle Soller’s Syril Kari without question. Ferns plays a Monarch operative named Mikael who initially leads the expedition into Hollow Earth, but that, ah, doesn't last long, if you catch my drift.

Rachel House

If you’re a fan of Taika Waititi’s work, then you’re quite familiar with Rachel House. The actress starred in the filmmaker’s movies Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Thor: Ragnarok, appeared in a deleted Jojo Rabbit scene, and Next Goal Wins. You may also recognize House as the voice of Gramma Tala in Moana and Terry in Soul, and she also vocally reprised her MCU character Topaz in an episode of What If… ?. On the live-action front, she also played Mao in Netflix’s short-lived Cowboy Bebop series. She appears as Monarch director Hampton in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is now playing in theaters. Keep your eyes peeled on CinemaBlend for more news on upcoming MonsterVerse projects, including Netflix’s anime-style series Skull Island and Apple TV+’s live-action series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Stream the released MonsterVerse movies with your Max subscription.

The definitive mark of a great horror film is its capacity to induce a visceral reaction. The natural design of the genre is to strike fear and terror into an audience, and the best of the best make you scream, run chills up your spine, and have your skin break out in goosebumps. You’re physically watching projected images, but your brain is inspired to switch into fight or flight mode, and your body responds.

I thought about this a lot while watching writer/director Andrew Semans’ Resurrection, starring Rebecca Hall and Tim Roth. As it unfolded, I found myself frequently gasping and recoiling, but most significantly by the end I felt physically sore as a result of having spent so much time with my arms and legs firmly tensed against my body.

Resurrection has premiered as a part of the slate at the all-virtual 2022 Sundance Film Festival, and I went into the movie with high expectations – particularly buoyed by memories of Rebecca Hall’s phenomenal turn in David Bruckner's The Night House (the best horror feature of 2021). Not only does it make me want to see every horror project that Hall is involved with from this point forward, but I was shocked to discover one of the greatest performances that Tim Roth has ever given, as his turn is chilling and unforgettable.

Structurally speaking, it’s a “decent into madness” story. Margaret (Rebecca Hall) is introduced as a together and successful biotech executive and single mother raising a teenager daughter (Grace Kaufman) who is getting ready to head off to college. But it all starts to come crashing down after a simple cursory glance around a conference room while she is attending an industry event. It’s during this casual surveying that she happens to spot a man from her past (Tim Roth), and his presence – his resurrection in her life, if you will – terrifies her so considerably that it starts to unravel her whole life.

Andrew Semans' Resurrection is spectacular psychological horror.

From its very first frame, Resurrection drops you in the perspective of Margaret, and it’s in never severing the connection that the film is able to sink its teeth into you and render you terrified to twitch a muscle. You’re firmly buckled in with no escape from the emotional ride the character experiences as she reacts to her greatest nightmares come to life, and Rebecca Hall’s exceptionally committed performance makes the horror tangible and real.

There is a physical deterioration that comes along with the mental corrosion for Margaret in the story – the character dealing with insomnia, non-stop anxiety, and malnutrition – and in the aftermath one feels intense respect for what the actor puts into the part. As you’re watching the film, though, you’re just awed by the character’s transformation and stunned by the stakes that rise in conjunction.

You understand and respect the horrors of Margaret’s past because of the power of Rebecca Hall alone – but what takes things to a next level in Resurrection is the mind-twisting, effusively evil character played by Tim Roth. What he’s doing in the film effectively justifies every ounce of empathetic terror the audience experiences, as his entire energy feels beyond threatening and sinister. Truth be told, he doesn’t do much as far as “action” through most of the movie, but that ultimately on speaks to the higher level on which he’s operating, with even simple lines of dialogue and simple smiles rattling your nervous system as it does Margaret’s.

There is so much more to say about Resurrection, from its shocking and enigmatic conclusions to the perfect monologue that is delivered by Margaret in the second act… but it’s also a film that is naturally best experienced with limited knowledge of the plot and characters, and thus the wake of its Sundance premiere is not really the time for a full discussion. The movie has not gotten distribution as of yet, but when it does I will personally await the release date with glee and the rush of reactions that flow.

Be on the lookout for updates, check out our 2022 Movie Release Calendar to discover all of the films set for release between now and the end of the year, and stay tuned here on CinemaBlend  for more of our Sundance Film Festival coverage.

Netflix’s Passing, a film adapted from the 1929 novel of the same name by Nella Larsen, is a captivating tale of two Black women, Irene Redfield (Tessa Thompson) and Clare Kendry (Ruth Negga), who can “pass” as white but Clare chooses to do so permanently while Irene does not. The film from director Rebecca Hall shows the vast differences in the women’s lives based on the choices they make. Ruth Negga has explained why she believes Clare chose to live on the white side of the color line.

Passing is quite a fascinating story of which much is ambiguous and left up to the audience to decide. Ruth Negga’s Clare, while living a lie, takes what she wants without regard for the consequences. Tessa Thompson’s Irene doesn’t stop to consider what she wants long enough to go after it and seems jealous of Clare’s ability to do so. Neither woman is happy, and neither can really be blamed for how they choose to live. When speaking with Ruth Negga on behalf of CinemaBlend, she gave me her take on Clare’s motives:

A credit to Ruth Negga’s talent and star quality, it’s clear that she did the research and really dove into the mind of a 1920s Black woman who was able to pass when preparing for this role. While she didn’t nail down a specific reason for Clare’s choice, that’s the point. There was not one specific cause, but an accumulation of things that eventually led her to believe that she would be better off marrying a white man who didn’t know she was Black and praying that their child didn’t end up with dark skin.

In the film, Clare is intrigued by Irene because Irene seemingly has it all together. She chose to stay on the Black side of the color line, she married and had three children and has a good job. At the same time, Irene is intrigued by Clare, who longs to be connected with the Black community and begins to spend more and more time with Irene’s family to do so, regardless of that putting her in danger. Passing is an exploration of the choices we make to pursue happiness and the worth of said choices. 

Passing among many of the Netflix new releases this November and begins streaming on the platform Wednesday, November 10. 

In Netflix’s Passing, Irene (Tessa Thompson) and Clare (Ruth Negga) are Black women living in New York during the height of the Harlem Renaissance in the late 1920s. Both can “pass” as white but choose to live on opposite sides of the color line. After years without seeing each other, the two reunite by a chance encounter and Irene soon finds her life totally upended by Clare. While both are married to men, the erotic subtext between these two main characters drives the story in many ways and director Rebecca Hall has elaborated on the inclusion of this.

Clare (played by Ruth Negga) has an electric personality that all around her seem to be drawn to. She turns heads simply by walking into a room, and Irene (played by Tessa Thompson) because enamored with her as well. When I spoke with Rebecca Hall, she shared the following of working with the actresses on the story’s subtext: 

Rebecca Hall accomplished her goal of not being too heavy-handed with the attraction between the characters in Passing. It is unmistakably present, but not the focus and not clearly spelled out or explained. Much of Passing is intentionally ambiguous, most pointedly the ending, but even the characters’ motives throughout the film are up to the audience to fill in. As the director mentioned, Tessa Thomson’s Irene could be expressing repressed homosexuality, but she could just as well be reacting to a dominant personality she’s never encountered before. Rebecca Hall expanded on this with the following:

Whatever feelings are arising in the story, the fact that they’re not clearly defined is what makes them stronger on Irene’s part than Clare's. Between the two, Irene is much more reserved, and as Rebecca Hall said, Clare has a very easy relationship with her desires. Viewers can infer that if Clare wanted a romantic relationship with Irene, she would clearly express that, whereas Irene is unable to do so. Irene herself may also be unaware of her feelings and desires, which is why it’s not so specifically communicated to the audience. It makes for a very interesting film and one that will prompt much discussion. 

Passing is now playing in select theaters and arrives on Netflix Wednesday, November 10. There are a ton of amazing Netflix new releases this November for subscribers to enjoy.

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Whether it’s something like big-budget action spectacles like Godzilla vs. Kong and Marvel's Iron Man 3 or timeless romantic comedies like Starter for 10, the list of Rebecca Hall’s best movies is one that is rich and deep as just about anyone else in Hollywood today. She can make us laugh, she can make us cry, and she can make us feel something that we may have never felt before with her acting ability. But, before the British actress goes and does it again with her slate of 2021 new movie releases, let’s take a step back and look at the Rebecca Hall best movies list so far.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

Best friends Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) travel to Barcelona for what will be an adventurous summer exploring the art, food, and culture the Spanish city has to offer. This trip quickly turns into something much more complicated upon meeting the talented and seductive painter Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), kicking off a summer romance neither saw coming.

Why it’s worth checking out: Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona — thanks in part to its brilliant cast — is at times as funny as anything else the director has released throughout his career and at other times a dramatic exploration of love, identity, and the battle between the head and the heart.

Stream Vicky Cristina Barcelona on Tubi.

Rent/Buy Vicky Cristina Barcelona on Amazon.

The Prestige (2006)

Two partners-turned-rivals, Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), find themselves in the middle of a bitter feud caused by a magic trick in which one of the former friends has supposedly pulled off the impossible: teleportation.

Why it’s worth checking out: Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige, if anything, is about how someone can lose touch with the world and people around them in the pursuit of greatness. This is best illustrated in Rebecca Hall’s performance as Sarah Borden, Alfred’s confused and emotionally traumatized wife who pays the ultimate price for her husband’s new trick.

Rent/Buy The Prestige on Amazon.

The Town (2010)

Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck) lives life one bank robbery at a time alongside his brother-in-arms, James Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), in the down-and-out Boston neighborhood of Charlestown, but his life becomes much more complicated when he forms a connection with bank teller Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) after taking her hostage.

Why it’s worth checking out: Directed by Ben Affleck, The Town is one of the best crime films to come out in the 21st Century thanks in part to its complex story, explosive heists, and a cast so believable you don’t see them as actors but the New Englanders they’re playing on screen.

Stream The Town on HBO Max.

Rent/Buy The Town on Amazon.

Iron Man 3 (2013)

In the aftermath of the Battle of New York, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is a broken man suffering from severe PTSD that brings on bouts of insomnia and horrific nightmares when he is able to rest. Iron Man’s life becomes all the more complicated when two ghosts from his past — Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce) and Maya Hansen (Rebecca Hall) — come back for revenge with the fate of the world at stake.

Why it’s worth checking out: Shane Black’s Iron Man 3 isn’t everyone’s favorite MCU movie, but the follow-up to The Avengers does feature an emotionally-complex story based around the idea of cause and effect, especially when it comes to a hero’s less-than-heroic past.

Stream Iron Man 3 on Disney+.

Rent/Buy Iron Man 3 on Amazon.

Christine (2016)

Television reporter Christine Chubbuck’s (Rebecca Hall) life begins a tailspin when she is pulled off human interest stories to focus on crime news at a Florida station where “if it bleeds, it leads,” much to her detriment. What follows is a woman’s descent into darkness, one that leads to her committing suicide on live TV.

Why it’s worth checking out: Antonio Campos’ 2016 biographical drama Christine tells the traumatic story of the events that led to a reporter becoming the first person to commit suicide on a live television broadcast. Rebecca Hall’s portrayal of a person trying to find balance and meaning in life before ending it all is harrowing, yet sympathetic to Chubbuck’s position.

Stream Christine on Hulu.

Rent/Buy Christine on Amazon.

The Gift (2015)

Everything seems perfect for Simon Callem (Jason Bateman) and his wife Robyn (Rebecca Hall) after they move from Chicago to start a new life in Los Angeles, but all of that is forever changed when Gordon “Gordo” Moseley (Joel Edgerton) repeatedly shows up unannounced with various gifts. What starts out as a seemingly harmless relationship slowly unfolds into something much darker that could ruin everything the couple has built.

Why it’s worth checking out: Joel Edgerton’s The Gift is one of the most frightening psychological thrillers of the past few years and does a masterful job of steadily building tension and upping the ante as its complex and frightening narrative unfolds. Plus, The Gift ending is one of those open-ended conclusions that still has people debating.

Rent/Buy The Gift on Amazon.

Godzilla Vs. Kong (2021)

Legendary monsters King Kong and Godzilla are pitted against one another in an epic battle for supremacy after being drawn to fight by a mysterious force. But, the two titans — and the humans monitoring them —soon realize that something with far greater consequences is going down in the shadows.

Why it’s worth checking out: Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs. Kong hits in all the right places. With a focus on the series of battles between the two titans and less of an emphasis on their human counterparts than previous titles in the Legendary MonsterVerse, the epic action flick finds the perfect balance. It also doesn’t hurt having Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, and Alexander Skarsgård serving as the bridge that brings the beasts together.

Stream Godzilla vs. Kong on HBO Max.

Buy Godzilla vs. Kong on Amazon.

Frost/Nixon (2008)

In 1977, Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) grants his first interview since resigning as the President of the United States just a few years earlier. On the other end of the series of 12 conversations is British journalist David Frost (Michael Sheen), who may or may not be up to task of pressing the former commander-in-chief on his tumultuous past.

Why it’s worth checking out: Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon is a good enough movie on its own with its portrayal of Richard Nixon and the way it humanizes its subjects, but then there’s the superb acting on the part of Rebecca Hall, whose turn as David Frost’s love interest Caroline Cushing adds another dimension to this emotionally and politically charged movie.

Stream Frost/Nixon on Peacock.

Rent/Buy Frost/Nixon on Amazon.

The Awakening (2011)

Florence Cathcart (Rebecca Hall), a writer and ghost hunter living in post-World War I England is invited to a boys boarding school to investigate hauntings that have been reported by one of the academy’s teachers, Robert Mallory (Dominic West).

Why it’s worth checking out: Directed by Nick Murphy, The Awakening touches on a number of different topics ranging from spirits haunting a preparatory academy and grief, to a country attempting to rebound from a devastating war and how people forced to face those problems learn to accept and move forward.

Stream The Awakening on Tubi.

Rent/Buy The Awakening on Amazon.

Starter For 10 (2006)

Working-class university student Brian Jackson (James McAvoy) finds himself in a rather precarious position when he falls in love with an intelligent old soul named Rebecca Epstein (Rebecca Hall), and bombshell Alice Harbinson (Alice Eve). Brian’s situation becomes even more complicated when he joins and finds success on the school’s quiz team.

Why it’s worth checking out: Tom Vaughn’s Starter for 10 has everything you would want from a great romantic comedy and then some. With a relatable lead in Brian, a great cast that also includes a young Benedict Cumberbatch, Dominic Cooper, and James Corden, and a fulfilling story, there’s a little something for everyone here.

Stream Starter for 10 on HBO Max.

Rent/Buy Starter for 10 on Amazon.

Even with so many great performances behind her, the future is still bright for Rebecca Hall as she continues to provide audiences with deep and rich portrayals of complex characters no matter the genre. That being said, don’t be surprised if Hall shows up in one or more of the 2022 movies with a lot of potential.

As audiences will discover this weekend, director David Bruckner’s new film The Night House is easily one of the best horror movies of 2021. It’s both captivating and ceaselessly unnerving as it successfully unwinds a creepy mystery that ultimately satisfies with a smart and haunting conclusion. Rebecca Hall additionally gives one of the best performances of her career – but it turns out that wasn’t her only massive contribution to the production. She also had a major influence on the fantastic ending, as one of the stipulations before she signed on was that the filmmakers had to change what had originally existed in the script.

I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Rebecca Hall last week during the virtual press day for The Night House, and one of the most interesting things we discussed was about the evolution of the ending (which, I should note, I will not be spoiling in this article). Discussing the movie’s third act, I asked about her reaction when she discovered the shocking denouement in her first read of the script by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski – and she surprised me by explaining how what we see in the film wasn’t in that draft. Said Hall,

In The Night House, Rebecca Hall stars as Beth – a high school teacher whom audiences meet in the wake of her husband’s (Evan Jonigkeit) shocking and sudden death. She struggles to deal with the loss, living alone in the lake house that her late spouse built, and things only get harder when mysterious events start happening during the night. Beth begins to investigate these supernatural happenings, but doing so opens a door to discovering a whole other life that she had no idea her other half was living.

Despite my asking, Rebecca Hall wouldn’t reveal what was different about the way things played out in the earliest drafts of the script, but her basic explanation for why she didn’t like it is that it evidently didn’t feel like it provided the central mystery in the story with a worthy conclusion. Fortunately, the filmmakers were apparently not only willing to acquiesce in order to bring her aboard, but also agreed with her opinion. She explained,

Hopefully you’re now sufficiently teased about what The Night House has in store, and are now amped up to go check it out this weekend. Also co-starring Sarah Goldberg, Stacy Martin, and Vondie Curtis-Hall, the film arrives in theaters this Friday, August 20.

What happens to us when we die? People from different religions, cultures, and backgrounds all have different answers to give to that question, but the truth will forever be beyond us since anyone who knows personally and definitively isn’t in a position to pass on the information. And that, like anything in the realm of the unknown, is scary. Every single one of us will eventually pull the curtain back on that mystery, but there is a part of all of us that is perpetually terrified about what comes after life – be it a great something or a great nothing.

This existential fear is key to a massive fraction of stories in the horror genre (it’s at the heart of every single ghost story, for example), but in recognizing that ubiquity, it’s always impressive to see a film that discovers a new angle on the conversation and brings something fresh to the table. This is the great accomplishment of David Bruckner’s The Night House. Featuring a phenomenal turn from Rebecca Hall, some fascinating production design and cinematography, and a gripping story with a killer ending, the movie has a lot to say about grief and the nature of death, and is as intellectually satisfying as it is nerve-racking.

Based on an original screenplay by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, The Night House introduces audiences to Beth (Rebecca Hall), a high school teacher, as she reels from personal tragedy: her husband Owen (Evan Jonigkeit) having recently and unexpectedly died. Being a stoic and possessing a blunt personality, she publicly attempts to keep her life moving – continuing to go to work, and expressing great candor with her colleagues – but privately, living alone in the lake house Owen built for them, she self-medicates by drinking and can’t escape her memories.

Beth’s grief becomes paired with anxious fascination when she begins to experience strange events in her home at night. As she drifts off to sleep, the stereo system in the living room turns itself on, and she gets mysterious messages on her phone, making her question if Owen’s spirit is still with her. The events inspire her to start looking through her husband’s possessions to try and find any answers – an activity from which her best friend (Sarah Goldberg) attempts to dissuade her – but what she discovers only serves to disturb her further. She learns that Owen had some strange habits and was in the process of building a mysterious house with a mirrored floorplan across the lake prior to his passing.

The mystery at the heart of The Night House is both fascinating and upsetting.

That plot description is a bare bones version of The Night House, which is very much intentional given that this is a cinematic experience best absorbed without prior knowledge of the big beats or expectations for specific moments. It takes less than 20 minutes for the movie to hit you with its first emotional shock, and it proves to be one of many that are evoked from a tale that is riddled with dark corners. While I won’t do it the disservice of commenting on exactly how/if the film commits to the supernatural, there is a wonderful, dark creative spark in its approach that is deeply unsettling and lingers in your brain long after the house lights have gone up.

The film is built on a relatively simple mystery that sees Beth discover a whole new side of her dead husband’s life, but it is executed with fantastic momentum that is driven by its layered storytelling. There are a number of moments when you may think that The Night House has hit upon its “big answers,” but it is impressive how it manages to repeatedly bounce off of those revelations and go deeper into more interesting and complex ideas. At the same time, it drops clues all along the way that hint at what’s to come – and in reflection you can tell those elements are going to make the movie even better on re-watch.

The Night House digs at some deep universal fears and is wonderfully effective.

Of course, story is only half of the equation in the delivery of effective scares, and David Bruckner’s direction and impressive style brilliantly matches the material. There is a persistent chilling atmosphere generated from the work by cinematographer Elisha Christian accentuating the emptiness of Beth’s home, and the editing and sound design also come together in magical and terrifying ways to create some real system shockers. One particular sequence so impressively rattled my nerves that it took me a few minutes to fully recover. It never uses cheap jump scares; its move is to envelope you in a high anxiety state, and then give you a hard push – and it’s an absolute treat if you’re a horror fan.

Rebecca Hall delivers a captivating and complex performance in The Night House.

Stellar as the writing and direction is, Rebecca Hall is ultimately the most exceptional aspect of The Night House, as the story wholly rests on Beth’s shoulders, and the actor carries the emotional weight spectacularly. The character’s frank attitude and contrasting somber loneliness together make a tricky tightrope for Hall to walk, but the star does gymnastics on that line, and is captivating in every moment – be it a startlingly direct conversation with her fellow teachers about her loss, or investigating the decrepit house across the lake and its bizarre backwards construction. It’s a raw performance that makes every part of the film better.

Having premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020, The Night House is now getting an unassuming release in late August, but it’s a late summer gem that should absolutely not be overlooked. It’s a dose of psychological terror that is terrific both in vision and execution, featuring an amazing turn from Rebecca Hall, and it’s destined to be recognized as one of 2021’s best horror movies.

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God versus man, day versus night, son of Krypton versus bat of Gotham, and now Godzilla vs. Kong. Matchups like that are the stuff that legends are made of and it’s hard not to pick a side in any of those cases. But can that opinion change after close personal contact with either the radioactive lizard god or the son of Skull Island? To be honest, it seems that even the filming process hasn’t changed the hearts or the minds of the cast, as Millie Bobby Brown and company chose a clear winner in the overall picture.

When speaking with the Godzilla vs. Kong cast I had one question on my mind: Team Godzilla or Team Kong? So, as the intrepid reporter I always claim to be, I asked away through the entire lot of acting talent on hand for the recent press day. Team Godzilla got some steam, thanks to one of the first interviews I conducted, with Millie Bobby Brown and Julian Dennison, which saw Mr. Dennison hyping that side with a bit of a balanced approach:

Could there ever be a “bromance” in the MonsterVerse? Surely, this is one of those issues where a definitive stance must be taken, right? Well, while I didn’t get Millie Bobby Brown to say as much during this sit-down, she did eventually go on record as a Team Godzilla member, thanks to a pre-recorded intro shown at a big drive-in screening for Godzilla vs. Kong this past weekend.

Of course Godzilla vs. Kong’s cast has quite a few Team Kong supporters that are lined up to sing his praises. And one of the three majority votes for that side, naturally, came from Rebecca Hall. Playing Dr. Ilene Andrews, the Monarch expert who advocates for Kong throughout the entire film.

However, even those members of the Godzilla vs. Kong cast that would have seen harm come to Kong and his Hollow Earth kingdom were quick to rush to his side. While they inhabit the roles of the villainous Simmons family, Eiza Gonzalez and Demian Bichir actually find themselves identifying with their on-screen foe rather well. Starting with Ms. Gonzalez, her outlook on this issue is rather warm and literally fuzzy, as she prefers Kong for a very comfort driven reason:

Even if you’re more on the Godzilla side of Godzilla vs. Kong, there is definitely a question of whether or not it’s advisable to hug him. Especially when if the ridges and scales don’t get you, the potential for intense radiation exposure could do a number on your health. When it comes to Demian Bichir’s preference, his Team Kong standing comes from a pretty philosophical standpoint:

But does Godzilla not have feelings? Prick him, does he not bleed? Hit him with an oxygen depriving bomb, does he not retreat to heal? Wrong him, shall he and Mothra not have revenge? Still, no matter how much reasoning you put into it, the question remains: do we really need to pick a side in the Godzilla vs. Kong debate?

Personally, I don’t think we do, as both Titans have their pros and cons, their ins and outs. And Julian Dennison can back me up on this, as I got to follow up with him during a solo session, in which I revealed the fact that the cast seemed to be mostly in the Team Kong column. While Dennison threw his lot in with Team Godzilla, it’s his even-handed support of both that really should teach us there’s beauty and respect for all of Titankind:

As the case for not choosing sides in Godzilla vs. Kong is something that could still be discussed quite extensively, there’s going to be a definitive winner when all is said and done. While the cast seems to be on Team Kong, International audiences are already learning the final result, and domestic fans will be able to see director Adam Wingard’s installment in the MonsterVerse as of this Wednesday. If you’re ready to head back to theaters, then IMAX and 3D showings await your glorious return! However, if you’re keen on keeping the action at home, you’ll want to have your HBO Max subscription handy and ready to go. Should you not already have one, then check out the six month prepaid subscription offer that the platform is running, in hopes of having as many eyes on this prize as possible.

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Home is where the heart is, i.e. where you’re supposed to feel safest and the place you can always go back to. But what if home isn’t all it’s cracked up to be? Or even worse, what if there’s another version of home that seems to threaten your very existence? The Night House plays around with these ideas, and Godzilla vs. Kong star Rebecca Hall is the subject of such horrors. It looks like even staying home isn’t safe these days, folks.

Director David Bruckner’s horror film hits even closer to the bone when you come to realize that in the case of The Night House’s protagonist Beth (Rebecca Hall), this house was built just for her. Crafted by her late husband, she’s been grieving over his sudden death, puzzling what the last note he left her truly means. The contents of that note are simple, but chilling:

Sometimes, it’s the little things that make home frightening. The fact that The Night House takes place in a home specifically built for Rebecca Hall and her on-screen husband is one of those details, especially when the further she digs, it seems that not everything about that house is on the level. In an Alice in Wonderland-style twist, there seems to be another copy of this house, with another Beth living right in it.

Sometimes, it’s the little things that make home frightening. The fact that The Night House takes place in a home specifically built for Rebecca Hall and her on-screen husband is one of those details, especially when the further she digs, it seems that not everything about that house is on the level. In a multiverse twist straight out of the MCU, there seems to be another copy of this house, with another Beth living right in it.

A rabbit hole’s worth of questions start to unravel from that point, and as The Night House’s trailer reveals, the answers don’t look to be all that cozy. Bloody footprints, inverted realities and some rather painful looking contortion all play a part with whatever it is that lies at the center of Beth’s supposed twin realities. Oh, and there’s an invisible presence that’s stalking Rebecca Hall’s central character as well. As if there weren’t enough horrible things going on in this fantasy world.

The Night House’s cautionary tale of staying a little too close to home feels like it’s hitting theaters at just the right time too. With studios and exhibitors looking forward to a summer with more activity than last year’s pandemic-fueled lockdowns, a horror movie about the dangers inside your own walls kind of sounds like a good night out. Of course, that leads to the obvious question of the evening: when, if ever, is it safe to go home again?

You’ll have plenty of time to answer that question, as The Night House premieres, only in theaters, on July 16. And if you’ve been craving horror on the big screen, then you’re in luck, as there’s plenty more to come before this offering hits your local multiplex. Though if you’d rather navigate away from the fright, there’s always the general 2021 release schedule, ready to help you out in this time of need.

Netflix just acquired the rights to Rebecca Hall’s Passing, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The film centers around racial passing and is based on a 1929 novel by Nella Larson. When it comes to directing such a sensitive film, the producers of Passing were initially hesitant to hand the reins over to Rebecca Hall. However, those attached quickly found themselves surprised at just how perfect of a choice the English actress-turned-director was for the upcoming Tessa Thompson movie.

In a recent interview Nina Yang Bongiovi, a producer for Passing, shared the surprising story that ultimately led to Rebecca Hall making her directorial debut:

In a panel interview with Indiewire, the producer shared exactly what won her over for the director. After revealing that Rebecca Hall had racial passing occur in her own family, in addition to her own background and diligent preparation, the producer ultimately decided she was the best candidate for the job:

Rebecca Hall went on to address the passing that occurred in her own family and how it impacted her decision to get involved in the film. In her words:

Passing follows the story of two mix-race women in 1920s New York who reunite, only to have their worlds collide as one passes for white, while the other identifies as African-American. Tessa Thompson and Ruth Negga will star in the lead roles as best friends Irene and Clare.

Rebecca Hall’s Passing is the only purchase Netflix has made from this year’s Sundance line-up, as the platform were outbid by Apple for the break-out hit Coda. While the streaming giant has sat out in the past, it spent some serious money last year on a number of films and documentaries, including Horse Girl, His House and the controversial Cuties.

While Rebecca Hall is no doubt a wonderful choice to direct Passing, fans will have to wait to see it as the film doesn’t have a release date, but it’s a safe bet that it will roll out on Netflix sometime this year. As for the rest of this year’s upcoming movie slate, be sure to check out CinemaBlend’s 2021 Release Schedule for the last on the everything heading to the big (and small) screens near you.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a tricky place. While installments in the MCU consistently reap glorious reviews and tons of money, it hasn't always been the best place in terms of visibility and diversity. Marvel is clearly trying to rectify this with their future projects like Spider-Man: Homecoming, Black Panther, and Captain Marvel- featuring more women and people of color in prominent roles. But not too long ago this seemed an impossibility; Iron Man 3 was supposed to feature a female villain that was ditched when the powers that be decided this casting would detract from toy sales. Rebecca Hall's Maya Hansen was still in the movie in a vastly reduced role, and she's recently spoken about how she felt about the whole ordeal.

Rebecca Hall recently sat down with the good folks at The Wrap to talk about Iron Man 3. She described her MCU experience as follows:

I mean, this is pretty crazy. Considering Rebecca Hall isn't exactly a household name, it's a shame that her emotions were toyed with so much during the development and shooting of Iron Man 3. Hall surely felt like she was getting her big break in a blockbuster movie in a giant serialized universe, so her demotion to a tertiary character was definitely a let down.

In fact, Hall went on to say that the experience was,

What a class act. While Rebecca Hall isn't able to enjoy the change in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, she hopes her strife helped to open some eyes and ensure that other female actors are able to portray exciting and layered characters.

Visibility and diversity have since had a spotlight largely due to the success of Star Wars: The Force Awakes and the recent #OscarsSoWhite controversy. The Force Awakens starred a female and two men of color in the leading roles, changing the dynamic and expectations of what casting in blockbusters can (and should) be. Marvel's new focus towards diversity can be seen in their Netflix shows, with Jessica Jones featuring strong female characters and Luke Cage portraying the black experience in America while highlighting a stellar cast made up of almost exclusively black actors.

We'll just have to wait and see how Marvel continues to diversify and feature strong female characters through the rest of Phase Three and beyond. Captain Marvel and Ant-Man and The Wasp will feature female superheroes in leading roles for the first time, and Doctor Strange has already been praised for Rachel McAdams'Christine Palmer being so dynamic.

Now we just need Scarlett Johansson to finally get her own movie. Black Widow: It's About Damn Time will be in theaters hopefully very soon.

Not too long ago, the narrative behind the creation of Iron Man 3 started to take an interesting post-release turn. Writer / director Shane Black went on record as stating tha a female villain was to be had in the inclusion of Rebecca Hall's Maya Hansen into the narrative fold, but an official decision from Marvel Studios' top brass put the kibosh on such a happening. The main reasoning, at least according to Black's side of the story, was that toy sales were at stake in the eyes of the studio. While we can't confirm the rational involving toy sales, we can now confirm that this going concern was grist for the mill that greatly reduced Hall's participation in the Marvel sequel.

During an interview reported by The Toronto Sun, Hall spoke with reporters before the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of her latest film, Christine. And in that conversation, Rebecca Hall not only confirmed that Shane Black's story was on the up and up, she divulged further information that indicated her role in the overall film was trimmed. Hall's first addition to the story was as follows:

Not only does this new information confirm the fact that Marvel Studios meddled with the story of Iron Man 3, in order to serve some sort of agenda on their hands, it also reaffirms the fact that Maya Hansen's heel turn in the second act wasn't just a cheap trick. Unfortunately, the full extent of her intentions was never revealed, as Aldritch Killian and The Mandarin took the spotlight as the villains in the trilogy ending installment that eventually went on to make $1.2 billion worldwide. Still, the Iron Man 3 that could have been exists only on the written page of any closely guarded or discarded drafts that exist to this day.

Perhaps the greatest cut of all when it comes to the tale of Iron Man 3 and the systematic reduction of Maya Hansen, is the fact that the big changes to Rebecca Hall's participation in the film came after she had been working on the film for quite some time. As she explains in her further comments on the matter, Maya's fate was changed rather late in the game:

That newly minted death scene in Iron Man 3 basically consisted Maya Hansen still getting shot out of nowhere by Aldrich Killian, all because she decided to threaten him in the name of Tony Stark. While this doesn't sound like the sort of interaction Rebecca Hall was hoping for, it could have been a lot worse when it comes to her mode of exit.

In the meantime, you can see Rebecca Hall next in Christine. The film is currently in limited exhibition, with an October 14th release date in the near future.

The following story is going to have to get into spoilers for The Gift, so stop reading now if you haven’t yet seen the film.

Joel Edgerton’s feature-length directorial debut, The Gift, was a taut little exercise in psychological manipulation and long-play revenge. But Edgerton’s best gift to his fans was the open-ended mystery he provided in the closing minutes. We have a baby, but we have no idea who the father might be. We even dedicated an entire feature to debating the possibilities. The answer, it seemed, was in the eye of each audience member.

When I ran in to Joel Edgerton at the Toronto International Film Festival, where he was promoting Black Mass, he told me that he actually shot alternate endings to The Gift that would make the answer more abundantly clear. Now, we’re thrilled to be able to show you one of those endings, which will be part of the movie’s DVD release:

Edgerton told me that part of the reason why he didn’t go with these options as his ending is because he viewed them as too cut and dried, and he wanted to leave some ambiguity to his finale. I couldn’t agree more. When The Gift concludes, we’re stuck in the same unenviable position as Simon (Jason Bateman), wondering if the man that he picked on for years had actually impregnated his wife (Rebecca Hall), meaning that Simon’s child isn’t really his own. It might be Gordo’s.

The above scene takes the movie one additional step, showing Edgerton – as Gordo – removing his mask but NOT having sex with Rebecca Hall’s character, Robyn. It lets the movie audience off the hook, and doesn’t land with the same impact as the ending that Edgerton ultimately chose for his theatrical cut.

The Gift was a surprise hit for Joel Edgerton and STX Entertainment. It had a reported budget of $5 million, but fantastic reviews and strong word of mouth helped power the disturbing indie thriller to a robust $53.2 million worldwide gross. Edgerton continues to make his bones as a stellar actor, holding court opposite Johnny Depp in Black Mass or Natalie Portman in the upcoming Jane Got a Gun. But The Gift showed that he absolutely has a future as a gifted storyteller behind the camera, once he’s ready to dedicate more time to that aspect of the business. We can’t wait to see what he directs next.

The Gift DVD/Blu-Ray is available on Oct. 27.

Warning: Spoilers for The Gift are in play. If you haven’t seen the film yet, and you totally should, please bookmark this page and wait until you’ve seen it before reading. Unless spoilers are your thing, in which case have at it.

With all of the makings of a sleeper end-of-summer hit, Joel Edgerton’s The Gift had a pretty good second week at the box office. Part of that is probably because of strong word of mouth, but a huge portion of its success should be attributed to Edgerton’s darkly beautiful efforts not only as a co-star of the film, but also as a writer and first time director of a film that explores bullying in a truly Hitchcockian fashion – right down to the devastating ending that clouds the film’s events in a shroud of ambiguity.

The Gift’s ending drops a huge question as to whether or not the baby born to Jason Bateman’s Simon and Rebecca Hall’s Robyn was fathered by Robyn’s husband, or by her would-be rapist, Gordo (Edgerton). While we’re shown extremely compelling evidence in favor of Gordo's possible status as the father, there are clues spread throughout the film’s narrative that suggest that the stalker is merely screwing with Simon’s head – as retribution for the rumors Simon had circulated years prior which lead to his many hardships. So who’s the baby daddy, and who’s gonna be mad? Prepare to unwrap the truth with us, as we open The Gift’s biggest mystery.

Scenario 1: It’s Gordo’s Baby

The case for Gordo’s surprise foray into fatherhood is what the film leans very heavily on in its third act, so let’s first break down the scenario that proves that he did the deed. In the gift package left for Simon as he returns home from the hospital, there are three items: a key to the house; an audio recording of Simon and Robyn’s conversation in Gordo’s "home," which lays out his supposed plan to steal Simon’s wife and get her pregnant; and the video recording of Gordo’s intrusion.

While Robyn was indeed drugged, and the footage shows Gordo entering the home – clad in a monkey mask, just to scare Simon even more – entering the house and climbing on top of Simon’s unconscious wife, the footage cuts out before any sort of sexual activity can occur. This leaves a lot of doubt in the case for Gordo’s parentage for the young one born in The Gift’s third act. However, if context clues are to be weighed as evidence, then Gordo’s conversation with Robyn could be the smoking gun, as he tells her "good things happen to good people."

If Gordo is as much of a creeper as Simon believes he is, then this line is meant to be an admission of guilt, and proof beyond reproach that Gordo took Robyn in an unconscious state and gave her the "gift" she and Simon had been struggling to achieve – that of a newborn child. But taking a look into Gordo’s character, another narrative begins to unravel throughout the entire film’s central mystery. Let's explore the alternatives.

Scenario 2: It’s Simon’s Baby

On the surface, The Gift paints Gordo as a raving psychopath. Yet, the film does as much work building a case for those who would defend him as it does for those who would condemn him. Most stories would paint the bullied as becoming the bully. Joel Edgerton’s writing doesn’t let the audience off that easily. A specific case in point is Gordo’s actions during the parking lot confrontation between himself and Simon, then the latter comes to "apologize."

While Simon characteristically bullies Gordo, and eventually causes physical harm upon him, Gordo does nothing to fight back against his assailant. Even throughout the preceding two acts of The Gift, we don’t see Gordo do anything out of sorts – except for the drugging of Robyn. Tabling that act for the moment though, the most Gordo ever does -- from a menacing standpoint -- is issue a foreboding warning to Simon that he should have thought before he acted. It all comes down to the fact that Gordo, while being victimized all of his life, never devolves into the total monster people would expect to see based on the trailers The Gift issued to promote its film.

If anything, Gordo seems like the type of person that perseveres through the slights dished out against him, and he does so with his faith in "good things" happening to "good people." Through this lens, his remarks in the hospital aren’t an admission of guilt, but rather a justification of faith. Robyn is a good person, so her wish for a child was granted; whereas Simon’s not-so good behavior has now saddled him with the thought that flesh and blood may not be just that.

With both sides of the equation out in the open, it’s time to evaluate the facts and reveal where we stand.

Final Ruling

From where the current facts stand, as well some other questions the film leaves in its narrative, it’s a safe bet that Gordo is not the father to Simon and Robyn’s child. The argument hinges on one moment in the film’s overall narrative – and that is the supposed rape of Robyn. Again, viewing his outlook on life, as well as the pattern of behavior that he established throughout The Gift, Gordo is the type of person that believes in justice through superior moral standing. Which means he can be as good of a manipulator as he wants, but he’ll never influence a person’s actions with behavior as dirty as their own. In my opinion, anyway.

Now, as the film previously stated, the reason for Robyn and Simon moving to his old stomping grounds is that of Robyn’s history with substance abuse – which could be the assumed cause of her miscarriage. Which begs the question: if Robyn were drugged by Gordo, would that be enough of an event to screw with her body chemistry in order to prevent a successful pregnancy? Surely, the havoc caused by reintroducing such foreign substances into her body could have set her body chemistry back. More importantly, we previously saw Robyn taking drugs stolen from her neighbor’s medicine cabinet, and as she stated to Simon, she had an incident where she fell down.

Considering that Simon took this story as a common occurrence, and she was doping at the time, Gordo would have to have the aim of El Rey from Planet Terror and some sort of magical DNA to get past the pollutants in Robyn’s system at the time. Again, that’s if Gordo even violated Robyn in the first place, which I don't believe happened. But even if Gordo snuck into the house, drugged and had his way with Robyn, and she didn’t report him – it wasn’t until an undisclosed amount of time later that she had become pregnant. That doesn’t make his actions right, by any means. It just doesn’t make him the father.

Of course, a case can be made for either side of The Gift’s central mystery. Evidence can easily be refuted, and new evidence can be submitted to counter whatever is left standing. But considering Joel Edgerton’s hard work and lack of narrative shortcuts in The Gift, it feels like when all the facts are reported and accounted for, Gordo isn’t as much of a weirdo as Simon painted him to be. He’s just an odd soul who’s had his day against the bully that took his place in a chain of figures that tried to completely ruin his life.

Which means, it’s now time for us to turn the debate over to you guys: whose baby do you think Robyn gave birth to? Is Gordo a daddy-o, or is Simon the father? Deliver unto our comments section your own truthful gifts, and feel free to debate our claims. While you’re at it, feel free to revisit The Gift in theaters now – be it alone, or with a group of friends who haven’t seen it! Oh, and make sure that you’re squared with your friends in terms of anything you need to say sorry about. Remember, "you may be done with the past, but the past isn’t done with you."

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This summer’s line-up of blockbusters has provided amazing car chases, giant dinosaurs, superheroes, and action of every variation – but some of the best thrills of the season are packed into one of the smallest movies. The Gift, the directorial debut of actor Joel Edgerton, is a fantastic thriller that will keep you guessing at every turn – and I recently had the opportunity to sit and chat about it with the filmmaker and stars Rebecca Hall and Jason Bateman:

Before you ask: no, you’re not seeing things. A couple weeks ago, I was invited to go to the very same house that was featured in Joel Edgerton’s The Gift, and it was while sitting around the actual dining table featured in the movie that I had the opportunity to ask the group about the process of making the new film, and how they went about getting into their characters.

Based on an original screenplay that Edgerton wrote himself, The Gift begins following a happily married couple, Robyn (Rebecca Hall) and Simon (Jason Bateman), as they move from Chicago to Los Angeles – close to the neighborhood where Simon grew up. It’s while out shopping that they run into Gordo (Edgerton), an odd, introverted guy who claims that he grew up and went to school with Simon. This reunion starts pleasantly enough, with Gordo dropping off gifts and coming by to help Robyn around the house, but after a few strange incidents Simon decides that it’s best to cut off contact with the guy. What isn’t immediately apparent, however, is that there are dark and big secrets being kept by all of the characters, and it isn’t long before the truth starts coming out and people begin to reveal who they really are.

Without giving away answers to any of the movie’s big mysteries (of which there are many), my conversation with the three stars of The Gift focused on the ever-twisting nature of the narrative, and how they each saw their roles evolving over the course of the film and how their characters changed. Plus, you’ll learn an interesting tidbit about why Joel Edgerton both felt the desire to write the screenplay, and take the prime role of Gordo for himself.

The Gift will be arriving in theaters nationwide this weekend, and it’s most definitely worth a trip to your local cinema. Unlike most modern thrillers, it will keep you wondering what's going to happen next every step of the way - and even if you think you have it figured out, I can promise you that you do not. Do yourself a cinematic favor and check it out.

If you’ve been keeping tabs on Steve McQueen following 12 Years a Slave, you should know that the director has signed on with HBO to produce a pilot called Codes of Conduct. This week, the potential drama cast two more big names, signing on both Helena Bonham Carter and Rebecca Hall.

Codes of Conduct will focus on uppercrust New York society, and it’s no surprise that Bonham Carter and Hall will both be a part of that high-end world. Bonham-Carter is expected to play a divorced mother in the series who wants to live life “on her own terms.” She’ll also have two grown children. According to Variety, Hall has signed on to play the daughter of a New York billionaire.

Helena Bonham Carter and Rebecca Hall aren’t the first names cast in Codes of Conduct. When HBO started moving forward with the drama project, we learned the drama would look into an African-American man living in New York City who enters the ranks of the city’s elite. McQueen spent roughly a year looking for the right individual to cast and this October he found him in Devon Terrell, a newcomer with no professional acting credits. Terrell will play Beverly Snow, a young man with a mysterious past who will spend time learning the ropes in high society. Paul Dano was also recently added to the project.

McQueen will be involved in a way that is similar to how Martin Scorses approaches his HBO projects, as he is working on a film project right now, as well. Steve McQueen will be executive producing the project and will also direct the pilot for HBO. (This is what Scorsese did with Boardwalk Empire and will do with the upcoming rock ‘n’ roll project.) McQueen will co-write with Matthew Michael Carnahan. Finally, Iain Canning, Carnahan, Emile Sherman and Russell Simmons will executive produce.

Hall and Bonham Carter are mostly known for movies roles, but this TV gig isn't hugely outside the box for either lady. Hall has recently appeared in Transcendence, Iron Man 3 and The Awaking, although she did appear in the Parade’s End miniseries a couple of years ago. Bonham Carter’s been in the biz a lot longer and often appears in husband Tim Burton’s films, including Big Fish, but she’s also taking a variety of film roles, including appearing in the Harry Potter movies and The King’s Speech. On TV, she also recently played Elizabeth Taylor in Lifetime’s Burton & Taylor.

Codes of Conduct, with its high-profile names, sounds like it could be a good fit for HBO. We’ll let you know if the show moves beyond the pilot phase and nabs a series order.

Why is this first look behind the scenes of Wally Pfister's directorial debut in Chinese? The answer is right there in the middle of the only English-language words you hear. Rebecca Hall had a pretty small role in Iron Man 3, but that movie-- specifically tailored to Chinese audiences-- was a big enough hit in China to make her a star. And as we hear over and over again, China is becoming a hugely important market for American studios, and Transcendence is just the latest Hollywood blockbuster to team up with China from the very start.

On Thursday The Los Angeles Times reported that DMG Entertainment, a Chinese company, would team up with Alcon Entertainment to help finance, produce and distribute the film, which will be distributed by Warner Bros. here in the United States. This video emerged as part of the announcement, and as you can tell, doesn't reveal a whole lot. You see glimpses of Depp, Hall, Cillian Murphy and Pfister, along with some storyboards that promise an "explosion" will be part of the action eventually, but the video seems to basically exist to prove that the movie is in fact in production-- here in the United States, not in China, incidentally. The Film Stage, which picked up the video, also snagged this promotional poster, which also doesn't tell you a whole lot:

Pfister, the longtime cinematographer for Christopher Nolan who won an Oscar for Inception, has clearly taken a cue from his collaborator and is keeping most of the details close to the vest as he starts work on his directorial debut. We've been picking up scraps of plot details as the film assembled its cast, with the most prevalent rumor saying the film follows a group of scientists experimenting with teaching a computer to become self-aware. The Los Angeles Times writeup suggests that, early in the film, Depp's character will die, but his wife (Hall) uploads his consciousness into the computer, creating "the singularity". DMG founder Dan Mintz, while eager not to reveal any details, essentially confirmed as much:

The notion of the technological singularity has fascinated a lot of geek types here in the United States for years now-- check out the documentary Transcendent Man for much more on the idea-- and as modern technology sweeps its way across China, it's not hard to imagine they're just as interested too. At the very least, the producers think so-- unlike Iron Man 3, Looper and 21 and Over, Transcendence won't include any footage shot specifically for Chinese audiences, according to a DMG spokesman. That trend of completely altering a film for the sake of pandering to a single nation's audience was getting to look disturbingly common, so it's a relief to see one film at least buck the trend (and with a brand-new director, no less). In the coming years China will likely only have more influence on Hollywood's biggest films. How naive is it to hope that the influence will be limited to promos and partnerships like this one?

Transcendence-- still not to be confused with Christopher Nolan's Interstellar-- arrives in North American theaters April 18 next year.

It came down to three names on a list. There was Emily Blunt, last seen in Rian Johnson's Looper; Rooney Mara, who was just featured in Steven Soderbergh's Side Effects and Rebecca Hall, who will soon be seen alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow in Iron Man 3. All three were being considered for the female lead in cinematographer Wally Pfister's directorial debut Transcendence, and today the decision has been made.

The Hollywood Reporter has learned from Alcon Entertainment that Hall has signed on for the sought after part in the sci-fi film. She joins Johnny Depp and Paul Bettany in the project, both of whom signed on last week. While even the most minor plot details are being kept under wraps for now, it's be said that the story is about a group of scientists experimenting with the idea of the technological singularity, the moment where a computer becomes intelligent enough to learn on its own without the need of a user. Hall will be playing Depp's character's wife, "a fellow academic."

Pfister is best known for his work on Christopher Nolan's Inception, a film that won him the Best Cinematography Academy Award. Production is aiming to start in April so that Depp can film Barry Levinson's Black Mass during the summer.

In addition to Iron Man 3, Hall also has the thriller Closed Circuit on her list of upcoming films. The movie is directed by John Crowley (Boy A) and co-stars Eric Bana, Ciaran Hinds, Jim Broadbent, and Riz Ahmed.

Sunday is a big day for Iron Man fans and Marvel Studios and Disney have been spending the last few days getting us excited for it.

At one point during the big game, the studios will unveil a special Super Bowl trailer for the highly anticipated superhero sequel, and all this week we've been getting little teases and hints. They've already delivered a quick trailer teaser for the TV spot as well as a brand new poster featuring a crashing-and-burning Tony Stark, but now,with only a couple days left before the big game Marvel has delivered a new still featuring franchise newcomer Rebecca Hall.

In the upcoming movie The Town star will play the role of Maya Hansen, a character who first appeared in the popular "Extremis" arc in Iron Man comics. We're still not sure exactly how she fits into the script written by director Shane Black and Drew Pearce, but perhaps we'll find out more about her on Sunday?

Check out the new still below, courtesy of Marvel.com.

Picking up after The Avengers, Iron Man 3 finds Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) living in a world of uncertainty when he suddenly finds everything taken away from him by the incredibly powerful terrorist leader known as The Mandarin. But while trying to pick up the pieces of his shattered life he must answer the greatest question of his life: who is the real hero, Tony or the armor? Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, and Jon Favreau will reprise their roles as Pepper, Rhodey and Happy from the previous films, while new cast additions include Hall Guy Pearce, James Badge Dale and Ashley Hamilton.

I was really bummed yesterday when it was revealed that Jessica Chastain would not be starring in Iron Man 3. I had this great vision of her character, Maya, and Pepper Potts (as played by Gwyneth Paltrow) squaring off against each other while also mirroring the other's looks with their shared bright orange hair (in the "Extremis" arc that the movie is based on, Maya is a former flame of Tony's). Sadly that's not meant to be, but even more devastating is that Chastain is a tremendous actress and finding someone with equal-level skills is a challenge. But Marvel seems to have found one.

Variety reports that Rebecca Hall is now in talks for the role of Maya in Iron Man 3. The character is a scientist developing a nanotechnology called Extremis, an attempt at a new super soldier serum. When Extremis is stolen, Maya calls on Tony Stark to help find the culprit and stop them before it's too late. The project is being directed by Shane Black, his first film since Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and Black wrote the script along with co-writer Drew Pence.

Hall's most recent film, Lay the Favorite, premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival and is expected to be released sometime later this year. She is best known for her work in flms such as The Prestige, Vicky Christina Barcelona, Frost/Nixon and The Town. She's currently in production on an untitled thriller with Eric Bana that is being directed by John Crowley. Production on Iron Man 3 will begin later this month.

There many kinds of relationships that can exist between an ex-girlfriend and boyfriend or ex-wife and husband, but no matter how clean a break the couple might have had, there's always a certain level of tension and awkwardness. Whether it's something that happened before or after the breakup, co-habitation between former lovers is difficult. Hell, even Jerry and Elaine on Seinfeld weren't immune to the occasional slip up or backslide. So I can't even imagine what the would be like if that tension and awkwardness were present during a terrorist trial.

According to THR, Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall have signed on to an untitled international thriller that will feature them as "ex-lovers" who must work together on the defense team during a, you guessed it, terrorist trial. John Crowley, who is best known for directing Boy A (the movie that launched Andrew Garfield's career), is directing the project based on a script by Oscar nominee Steven Knight (Eastern Promises). Focus Features and Working Title are teaming for the project and the plan is to sell the title to foreign markets at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The current plan is to start production this April in the UK. Hall will next be seen in the Stephen Frears comedy Lay The Favorite (which just premiered at Sundance) and Bana recently completed work on the crime thriller Blackbird, from director Stefan Ruzowitzky.

Crowley really made an impression on critics with Boy A in 2007 and both Bana and Hall, while not quite A-listers yet, are some of the best actors we have going. If Knight's script is solid we could be in for a treat with this one.

Stephen Frears never makes the same kind of movie twice, and never gives himself much vacation time between projects, so it's no surprise to see that he's already at work assembling his next project, which will be an adaptation of Beth Raymer's memoir Lay the Favorite, about her experiences in a ring of older, male gamblers. It's a little surprising to read the duo he's eyeing, though-- Deadline reports that Bruce Willis and Rebecca Hall are both frontrunners for the lead roles.

Hall would be played Raymer, of course, while Willis would be one of the gamblers in the group. Both are also eyeing other projects, including Willis's potential role in Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom-- and really, if I were him, I can't imagine turning Wes Anderson down. He and Hall also make for an interesting pair of rising and falling star fortunes-- Willis is fresh off Cop Out, which was terrible, and Red, which at least should have been better than it was, while Hall is only more and more popular thanks to roles in The Town, Vicky Cristina Barcelona and Please Give. The two could make for a dynamic pair onscreen-- or they could both move on to other options and this will all be for naught. It's the price you pay when speculating about a project this early in the process.

Australian director Baz Luhrmann has been toying with the idea of adapting one of the greatest novels of all time for years now: F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. A couple weeks ago, word came out that Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire And Amanda Seyfried were being tossed around as possible names for the project, though details were incredibly limited. While Luhrmann did confirm that he has been working on the script, he's not even sure if it will be his next project and didn't address any of the rumored names. Now recent reports are suggesting that two of the names may have been right on target.

Deadline reports that Luhrmann is currently in New York "work shopping" the script with partner Craig Pearce and has brought in actors to read some of the parts? Who, you might ask? Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Rebecca Hall for Gatsby, Nick Carraway, and Daisy, respectively. The article does, however, say that Luhrmann workshops all of his scripts this way and that there is no guarantee that the three actors will be cast (that is, if the film is even made).

Many have tried to adapt Fitzgerald's greatest work for the silver screen (there have been three attempts already), but none have succeeded. While Seyfried certainly isn't a bad actress, Hall is a major upgrade and the project would be even more solid with her involvement. That said, none of it works without a proper script and it's encouraging to hear that Luhrmann wants to make sure of its quality before sending it into production. We may get a proper treatment of the Great American Novel yet.

The next time you take a group photo, make sure you have a token black guy, or risk being called a racist. That’s what’s happening to the folks at Vanity Fair who had famed photographer Annie Leibovitz do a photoshoot with a group of up and coming young starlets, all of whom happened to be Caucasian.

This is of course, unacceptable, particularly during black history month. Most magazines have better sense. You won’t see any white people on the cover of Ebony Magazine (unless of course they’re covering Michael Jackson), they know what’s up. But not Vanity Fair. They’re out of touch and in their racist craze they took Abbie Cornish, Rebecca Hall, Anna Kendrick, Carey Mulligan, Amanda Seyfried, Kristen Stewart, Emma Stone, Mia Wasikoska, and Evan Rachel Wood and put them on the same page together. They should have known that if you’re going to have that many white women in a room they’d better be lesbians. From now on, hopefully Vanity Fair will have the sense to take their cues from “O” Magazine and just put Oprah on the cover.

This isn’t Vanity Fair’s first racist photoshoot either. The seem to take pictures of a bunch of white women quite often and only occasionally do they remember to bring in someone with a tan. But now, with Barack Obama in the white house, finally we have the means to stop it.

It hasn’t always been this way at Vanity Fair. They used to have their priorities straight. In fact back in 2001 they hired Annie Leibowitz for a far more noble task when she photographed a group of models, and white women weren’t invited. Get a look at what Vanity Fair was like before the racism right here.

But these days Vanity Fair is more racist than ever. Here’s a look at their latest clan rally cover. See more racist photos from the shoot over there.

Late last night I saw the Louis C.K. concert film Louis C.K.: Hilarious, which I may or may not review because, well, it's a comedy concert film and you pretty much know what you're in for. But one of his lines that stuck with me, and has been quoted at me repeatedly this week, is the phrase "White People Problems." You know, the kind of stuff you complain about when the basics like food, water and shelter are covered-- bad cell service, delays at the airport, etc. etc.

Nicole Holofcener's Please Give is a movie about White People Problems suffered by white people living in one of New York City's most beautiful neighborhood. But because it has great affection for its characters and goes in a few surprising directions, Please Give feels a lot more human and relateable than it might have, reflecting a few greater things about all of us even when its closing moment is a woman buying a pair of $200 jeans.

Kate (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt) are a pair of Manhattan antiques dealers, called into the homes of the dead by their children to assess what furniture might be worth something and pay them a pittance so that they can mark it up 200% and sell it to the even wealthier. Kate feels constantly guilty about it and makes up for it with usually wrongheaded and good-hearted gestures, like offering leftovers to a man who isn't in fact homeless, or bursting into tears when a developmentally disabled kid shows her how to shoot hoops.

Kate and Alex, who live with their teenage daughter (Sarah Steele), are also waiting for their elderly neighbor Andra (Ann Morgan Guilbert) to die so that they can annex her apartment; the woman's granddaughters Mary (Amanda Peet) and Rebecca (Rebecca Hall) visit frequently and have mixed feelings on the neighbors they see as both vultures and kindred spirits. Kate and Alex throw Andra a birthday dinner and meet Rebecca and Mary for the first time properly; what spins off from there are a series of connections and understandings that don't change everyone, exactly, but give new perspective on what it means to care for each other.

If there's a message to the movie, it's that-- take care of each other as best you can, and the small stuff will work itself out. Luckily Please Give is also very funny, making the sentimentality much easier to handle when it starts creeping in near the end. It's one of those indie movies in which not much happens and everyone talks a lot, but the good humor and easily relatable stakes of all the relationships make it a compelling comedy as well. With great performances all the way down to line-- Hall in particular gets better to watch every time she's onscreen-- Please Give is satisfying on pretty much every well. It makes you wish every comedy could be this good.

For more of our Sundance 2010 coverage, click here.