Coming Soon
Out this week
* Albums
- Tim by Avicii: Posthumous album by the Swedish DJ; features the material he was working on before his death; includes collaborations with Aloe Blacc, Imagine Dragons, Joe Janiak, Vargas & Lagola, and Chris Martin.
* Movies
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters (starring Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Ken Watanabe, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins) - action, sequel to Godzilla (2014); the crypto-zoological agency Monarch faces off against giant monsters.
- Rocketman (starring Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Bryce Dallas Howard) - biographical musical, based on the life of Elton John (Egerton); follows the singer’s early days and his musical partnership with Bernie Taupin (Bell).
- Ma (starring Octavia Spencer, Juliette Lewis, Diana Silvers, Luke Evans) - horror; a lonely woman (Spencer) befriends a group of teenagers but then things start to go wrong.
- Domino (starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Carice van Houten, Guy Pearce) - thriller; a police officer (Coster-Waldau) seeks revenge for his partner’s murder by a mysterious man.
Spotlight
Aladdin
Cast: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, Billy Magnussen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Tagline: The magic comes to life.
- Musical fantasy; a street urchin (Massoud) falls in love with a princess (Scott) and must save her kingdom from an evil sorcerer (Kenzari).
- Is a live-action adaptation of Disney's 1992 animated film of the same name, which was based on the Middle-Eastern folktale from the One Thousand and One Nights.
- Had an estimated budget of around $180 million; had made over $200 million in its opening weekend.
- Has received mixed reviews, earning praise for the acting but receiving criticism for the direction.
- At one point, Little Mix singer Jade Thirlwall was reportedly in consideration for the part of Princess Jasmine.
- Sir Patrick Stewart wanted the role of Jafar, having turned down the part in the animated Aladdin (1992).
- core composed by Alan Menken, was previously scored the original animated film. Several songs from the original film are featured in the remake.
Star
Normani Kordei Hamilton
- Born on 31st May 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
- Has two older half-sisters.
- Participated in dance, gymnastics, and beauty pageants as a child.
- Competed in The X Factor USA in 2012 but was eliminated as a solo artist. Was eventually brought back to the show and put into a group with four other girls - Ally Brooke, Lauren Jauregui, Dinah Jane, and Camila Cabello - to form Fifth Harmony. The group finished in third place.
- Fifth Harmony released three studio albums before deciding to take an indefinite hiatus to pursue solo careers in 2018.
- Released her debut solo single ‘Love Lies’ with Khalid last year. Is expected to release her debut solo album this year.
Also born today: Eric Christian Olsen, Colin Farrell, Archie Panjabi, Brooke Shields, Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels, Lea Thompson, Chris Elliott