I Want to Believe the second X-Files movie might be watchable as it is recut for streaming
Back in 2008 on a Thursday night, I left my then home in Brisbane’s inner-city suburb of Highgate Hill mid-evening to wander down the road to the South Bank Cinemas for the opening night release of The X-Files movie sequel I Want To Believe.
The South Bank Cinemas are a discount cinema which had taken over a disused space vacated by premium chain Hoyts. It had an IMAX screen in the complex, which was used (and still is, I suspect) to project normal movies onto it - video resolution be damned. But, I digress.
So, it’s opening night for this IP franchise extension at a cinema with Brisbane’s biggest screen and cheapest ticket prices and I’m sitting in a room with maybe, to be charitable, five other attendees in the theatre.
That, to me, defines the experience of I Want To Believe – a film made to service a dwindling fandom that had, by 2008, well and truly dwindled as far as any fandom could dwindle. It didn’t help that the film felt like one of the weakest entries in the show run.
The X-Files are now hip again. Ryan Coogler is making his sequel TV series and people have been slowly rediscovering the show on streaming over the past couple of years.
So, Fox are dusting off I Want To Believe again. Last year on star David Duchovny’s podcast Fail Better, he interviewed The X-Files creator Chris Carter in what was a fairly compelling interview for an old fan like myself.
In it he mentioned that he was working with Fox on a restored version of I Want To Believe, which he wrote and directed. He spoke about the cuts to his film to make it a PG-13 release, which he had shot to be R rated.
On June 11, Disney+ will start streaming The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Director's Cut. Will it live up to the promise Carter suggests? Should we even trust Carter, who led The X-Files off a cliff in the final seasons of the show and really caused some damage while poking its dead body with The X-Files revival in the mid 2010s?
(There were some good to great episodes in that series run… but they didn’t come from Carter).
I’ll be pressing play on this as soon as I can, but, Dana Scully and her never-ending skepticism will be my spirit guide. I would like the film to be good.
I want to… well, y’know…
News Desk
To no real surprise, Hulu has said yes to a second season of The Testaments. Read: thefutoncritic
Netflix’s spin-off feature film from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood still doesn’t have a name. But it has Brad Pitt returning as Cliff Booth, this time with David Fincher taking over as director from Quentin Tarantino. It will have a two-week run in IMAX cinemas starting November 25 ahead of its December 23 release. I’m more excited about this film than anything else this year and hope Australia gets its own IMAX release. Read: THR
Halt & Catch Fire’s Christopher Cantwell will join the production of Lanterns to help EP for season 2 if the HBO show is picked up for a second season. Read: Dark Horizons
Trailer Park
HBO original film Miss You, Love You debuts on HBO Max May 29.
A blunt, grieving widow, Diane Patterson (Allison Janney) is forced to plan her husband's funeral with a total stranger: her estranged son's assistant, Jamie Simms (Andrew Rannells).
Little Brother debuts on Netflix June 26.
A tightly wound realtor's picture-perfect life gets an extreme makeover when his lovably chaotic "little brother" suddenly reappears.
Documentary Michael Jackson: The Verdict streams on Netflix June 3.
The Westies debuts on MGM+ July 12.
The gritty and kinetic crime drama centers on New York City's infamously violent Irish gang of the same name.
Strung debuts on Peacock June 26.
From director Malcolm D. Lee, a talented violinist takes a prestigious job as a music tutor for the gifted daughter of an influential and enigmatic family.
A final trailer for the Masters of The Universe adaptation. It is in cinemas June 5.
Part 2 of 100 Years of Solitude (so, years 51 and beyond?) has its seven-episode second and final season on Netflix starting August 5.
Teach You a Lesson debuts on Netflix June 5.
When respect collapses in schools, unconventional inspectors arrive to set things right - with sharp, no-nonsense lessons you won't find in textbooks.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
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