Bruce Willis’ Wife Emma Shares Her Summer Of ‘Self Discovery,’ Advice Daughter Scout Gave Her In Wake Of ‘Grief’
Chris Pratt Joins Joe Jonas And More Famous Faces In The ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ TikTok Challenge
Avatar’s Sigourney Weaver Reveals Why Her New Role In The Sequel Made Filming So Challenging
New Halloween Ends Image Reveals One Of Michael Myers’ Victims
Twilight’s Taylor Lautner Describes The ‘Absolute Nightmare’ Of Getting Into Jacob Shape And Maintaining It For The Movies
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Premiere Review: A Spectacular Beginning to an Epic Adventure
Amazon Studios reportedly spent $715 million dollars producing season one of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Fandom will be overjoyed to finally see their substantial efforts. The return to Middle-earth is absolutely epic on all fronts. The series premiere, "Shadow of the Past", is a gorgeous combination of introductory exposition, spectacular visual effects, and fascinating characters. Middle-earth is both familiar and excitedly different. Elves, men, orcs, trolls, and the diminutive harfoots are brought to life with a diverse cast. We learn the origin story of Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), why she became a fearsome warrior, and her unstoppable determination to fight evil. The battle of light against darkness begins on banner footing.
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Nicole Brown Simpson’s Sister Reacts After Chris Rock Cracked A Joke About Her Death On Stage
Schwarzenegger’s ‘Running Man’ Delivered More than ’80s-Era Cheese
Paul Michael Glaser’s “The Running Man” (1987) felt like a top-tier Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle upon release.
It was based on a novella by Richard Bachman, who we later learned was Stephen King. It followed the competent, well-produced vehicles like “Commando” (clearly, Schwarzenegger had better luck picking movies than Chuck Norris), and it was coming right after a big home run with “Predator” earlier in the year.
Because the premise suggested not only a dystopic futurist parable but also the classic “The Most Dangerous Game,” it seemed Schwarzenegger was finally going to be known for more than saying three words on screen.
Schwarzenegger plays Ben Richards, a helicopter pilot who is framed for a heinous crime he didn’t commit. He’s sent to prison, then forced to participate in a vile and wildly popular TV game show called The Running Man.
The host of the series is also a power player within the social structure of this corrupt world (at least as much as Caesar Flickerman was in “The Hunger Games”).
Steven de Souza adapted Richard Bachman’s novella and the dialogue is amusingly dopey. Early on, Schwarzenegger protests, “To hell with you. I will not fire on helpless human beings!” I’m unconvinced that even Meryl Streep could make that line work.
This plays like “The Hunger Games” for grown-ups. However, a movie that aims to be this gnarly should be closer to the no-holds-barred, shocking and brilliant film “The Hunger Games” ripped off, which is “Battle Royale” (2000).
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Instead, this has the crowd-pleasing safety net of the former and none of the savage satire and barbarity of the latter. However, it is authentically a red meat ’80s action movie, as it turns us into the studio audience and makes us root for carnage over anything else.
Atop of racist stereotypes and broad caricatures on display, Schwarzenegger is playing an American here. Yes, his character’s name is Ben Richards and, as it goes in some of his other starring vehicles, we’re not meant to question why the very-Austrian Schwarzenegger is playing an American.
Nevertheless, we know the character type, as Richards is in full Kill n’ Quip mode and a fitting Schwarzenegger role.
** BREAKING **
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— HighDefDiscNews.com (@HighDefDiscNews) August 22, 2022
Richard Dawson is first rate as the host of “The People’s Network.” Playing a cross between Vince McMahon and Simon Cowell, Dawson steals the movie and even has a great exit.
After a strong intro, Maria Conchita Alonso’s character becomes a basic damsel in distress Alonso, a dynamic actress, was actually better utilized in the Schwarzenegger-less “Predator 2” (1990).
There’s also Kurt Fuller and New Line Cinema regular and “Insidious” MVP Lin Shaye. Mick Fleetwood (resembling Nicol Williamson) and Dweezil Zappa have early cameo appearances and are fun to watch acting alongside Schwarzenegger.
Jesse “The Body” Ventura shows up doing Hulk Hogan’s schtick and, just in case the talent list wasn’t wild enough, Paula Abdul did the choreography.
“The Running Man” sure wants to be “RoboCop,” as the omnipresent ICS channel that airs The Running Man game show is to this world what OCP is to “RoboCop” (in fact, both were released the same summer). Despite how silly this is, it surprisingly gets a lot right about Reality Television.
It’s also campy, very ’80s and really bloody for a 1987 R-rating.
While too dumb and silly to succeed as satire, it’s involving and grasps the narrative pull of a corporation’s ability to pull in and maintain a grasp on the masses.
Another touch I appreciated: De Souza is correct in assuming that 2017 TV executives wouldn’t know what “Gilligan’s Island” or Mr. Spock is.
The fanatical devotion towards Reality TV depicted here reminded me of the time John Carpenter (no, not the filmmaker) won “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” and “American Gladiators,” “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race” pointed to Reality TV getting really bad, really fast.
Post-“The Truman Show” (1998), it’s not hard to imagine “The Running Man” airing on prime time television, though presumably with a lower body count…for now.
Det. Starsky-turned-director Glaser’s direction is TV-ready, including scenes ending with cuts to exteriors, like a TV show after a commercial break. Glaser’s only directorial credit after this was, of all things, the Shaquille O’Neal genie comedy, “Kazaam!” (1996).
In Schwarzenegger’s 2012 autobiography, “Total Recall: My Unbelievably True-Life Story” (spoiler: the title does not lie), he complained over Glaser’s handling of the sensational material and expressed unhappiness that the original director, Andrew Davis (who later directed Schwarzenegger in the 2002 “Collateral Damage”) was replaced.
Schwarzenegger’s dismissive assessment of the film isn’t entirely fair. While not a classic and or on the level of either “The Terminator” (1984) or “Predator,” “The Running Man” is basically “The Most Dangerous Game” crossed with “Rollerball” plus a dash of “Escape from New York.”
It works.
While it’s easy to pick on the casting of Schwarzenegger as the very-American Ben Richards and the star’s struggles with English were present at this point, this isn’t a bad vehicle nor a career misstep.
“The Running Man” didn’t earn the respect of James Cameron’s “The Terminator” (1984) but it was a hit and another title that pushed the star towards his trajectory with “Terminator 2: Judgment Day” (1991).
Most wouldn’t consider Schwarzenegger an actor, but he would prove everyone wrong. He wound up having an unexpected flair for comedy (“Twins,” “Kindergarten Cop,” the weird but watchable “Junior” and especially “True Lies”) and drama (while little seen, Schwarzenegger’s performance in the “Maggie” is as understated and remarkable as the film itself).
The former Mr. Universe is such a compelling screen presence that, even in movies like this, he makes his casting work. Few movie stars can pull that off.
Harold Faltermeyer’s John Carpenter-esque score is a big plus. The third act is crass and silly, as the heavies are all attired like “Mad Max” villains. It’s all very WWF, particularly the Iron Sheik and Junkyard Dog era.
If only the fight scenes weren’t so clunky.
Considering that this came out in the era of Morton Downey Jr., the chair toss at Geraldo Rivera, but before decades of Jerry Springer and Maury Povich chaos, the depiction that the most blood thirsty gladiators are the audience members was dead on, then and now.
The film’s biggest achievement is that it makes the point that the real savagery is in the live studio audience. If “Network” (1976) was the prophetic, intellectual take on this premise and “The Truman Show” (1998) is the gentle allegory of how TV shapes the lives of its watchers and products, then “The Running Man” could be just a few years ahead of being the real thing.
I hope that’s not true, but it certainly looks like ICS-like sweeps week mayhem is right around the corner…if it hasn’t arrived already.
The post Schwarzenegger’s ‘Running Man’ Delivered More than ’80s-Era Cheese appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
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Bring It On’s Gabrielle Union Has A Killer Idea For A Sequel
Burial Review: Gritty War Thriller Pulls No Punches
A group of Russian soldiers fight Nazi loyalists as they attempt bringing Hitler's body to Stalin. Burial portrays the brutality and ugliness of war, but also focuses on extremist ideology as equally dangerous. Director/writer Ben Parker reminds that evil intentions survives a rotting carcass. The plot has Hitler's ardent followers continuing to commit atrocities decades later. A valiant heroine stops them at two different points in her life. She and her compatriots suffer for the cause but understand the importance of their efforts. Burial is a lean and gritty thriller that mirrors the savagery of real life.
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Fast And Furious Actor Nathalie Emmanuel Explains How Their Character Will Change In The 10th Movie
Arnold Schwarzenegger Celebrated Terminator’s Judgement Day With A Delightful Throwback
Stephen King Has A Pitch For An End-Of-Summer Slasher, And I’d Be There Opening Weekend
Let the Little Light Shine Review: A Powerfully Emotional Battle for Survival
Let the Little Light Shine tells a powerfully emotional, David versus Goliath story of a prestigious school's struggle to survive institutional racism and gentrification. In 2013, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) ordered the closure of 49 underperforming learning centers. Included on this list was the National Teacher's Academy (NTA), a Level 1+, the highest academic certification possible, K-8th grade school located in the South Loop. Documentary filmmaker Kevin Shaw chronicles NTA's parents, students, and devoted teachers fight to save their school at the end of a 5-year moratorium.
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Seoul Vibe Review: Heists, Car Chases, and Corrupt Politicians in 1980s Korea
The year is 1988, and South Korea for the first time in its history, has been selected to host the Olympics. Fresh on the start of a new democratic government, things are starting to look up for citizens after years of violence, censorship, and the impacts of colonialism and war. Korean cinema often holds an investigative lens to this turbulent era in history, whether it is directly speaking about what happened during dictatorships, like in Im Sang-soo’s The President’s Last Bang, or taking on the burden through a singular fictional character, such as in Lee Chang-dong’s 1999 film Peppermint Candy. But in real life, many figures from the era are still alive or only recently died, such as former dictator Chun Doo-hwan, who was responsible for horrific events. Some movies, such as Netflix’s newest release, Seoul Vibe, linger on the edge of democracy and tragedy, giving new life to history.
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Johnny Depp Appeared At The VMAs And The Internet Has Thoughts
Shia LaBeouf Admits The Abusive Stuff About His Dad In Honey Boy Was Made Up
Florence Pugh Weighs In On Wearing That Sheer Pink Dress That Seemingly Made So Many People Mad
The Smart Way Bullet Train's Director Convinced Ryan Reynolds To 'Pay Back' The Favor Brad Pitt Had Done In Deadpool 2
Jennifer Lopez Is Not Happy About That Leaked Wedding Video With Ben Affleck
Keanu Reeves Continues Being A Class Act, Crashes Wedding Of Delighted Couple
Samaritan Review: An Original, Working Class Superhero
The popular superhero genre seems to be economically dictated by a natural monopoly, in which two brands (Marvel and DC, now basically Disney and Warner Bros.) lead the cinematic pack. While there are some diverse stories within these cinematic universes, they still feel extremely homogenized and monolithic. That's why it's refreshing to see Samaritan, what is essentially a small business going up against the Walmart that the MCU has become.
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Would Twilight’s Taylor Lautner Ever Play Jacob Again? Here’s What He Thinks
Shia LaBeouf Lived In A Monastery As Research To Play A Priest, But Now He's All-In And Has Converted To Catholicism
After Olivia Wilde And Shia LaBeouf’s Conflicting Stories About His Don’t Worry Darling Departure, Leaked Video Of The Director Asking For His Return Arrives Online
Top Gun: Maverick Director Won't Shoot Down One Wild Fan Theory Related To The Movie
‘Orphan: First Kill’ Laps the Original (Faint Praise Alert!)
At the start of William Brent Bell’s “Orphan: First Kill,” the diabolical Esther (Isabelle Fuhrman) is living under close surveillance in a psychiatric institute.
We know that Esther is bad – after all, this is a prequel and we’ve seen the original. I won’t reveal the big twist of the first film, though this one announces it in the opening scene as a refresher.
It isn’t long before Esther makes the kind of the escape that would inspire applause from Hannibal Lecter; the opening is amusing, though so inevitable, it amounts to little more than wheel spinning.
Esther winds up in the care of a mother, played by Julia Stiles, who believes Esther is her daughter who has been missing for years. Esther must keep up appearances and con the family into thinking she’s not really a serial killer in disguise.
The first act goes exactly as expected, as Esther puts on a good act, botches some of the details of the girl she’s impersonating but otherwise keep the parents convinced. Then, we get a wild twist that is probably impossible to predict. It’s at this point where the film surpasses inevitably low expectations.
Yeah, its trashy but, as far as these things go, its good trash.
The opening credits deem this not a Paramount Pictures film but a movie from Paramount Players and a product of Dark Castle. That’s the once-red hot, now long defunct production company that specialized in making big budget horror B-movies based on low budget horror B-movies.
Early in “Orphan: First Kill,” there’s a dumb sequence of a fencing match, pointlessly filmed in slow-motion and set to a bad Cake-soundalike on the soundtrack. Most movies couldn’t overcome a first act this dopey, but this one somehow does.
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“Orphan: First Kill” isn’t a sleeper, exactly, but this far better than expected and succeeds by being closer to a V.C. Andrews page turner than a slasher movie. It plays like a dark comedy with intentional laughs and even finds a strangely fitting moment to utilize Michael Sembello’s “Maniac.”
The film was originally just titled “Esther,” though this is hardly a layered exploration of a now-iconic horror figure. There’s little to the character beyond evil grin villainy, but Fuhrman is great in this. Stiles is to this what Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard were to the first movie: professional actors selling implausible characters.
Horror fans will note that Stiles actually starred in the mostly forgotten 2006 remake of “The Omen” but she is better utilized here.
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To be clear, I hated the 2009 original. It’s one thing to do an Evil Kid horror movie and play a lot of the same notes we’re accustomed to. What “Orphan” did was to go through the motions, include some vile scenes of small children being involved in sick murders and leaning too heavily on a twist ending that is the most memorable thing about it.
I despised that movie.
Adding further insult is that nobody saw or remembers “Joshua,” a rival 2007 Evil Kid movie, once again starring Farmiga, which was jolting, smart and unique in the way it portrayed its protagonist without the expected supernatural justification.
The makers of “Joshua” understand what’s so unsettling about modern, entitled children. “Orphan” is simply a big budget remake of “Omen IV: The Awakening” (1991) and, of all things, was produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, who had nothing to do with the second film.
To be sure, greenlighting a follow-up to the “Orphan” wasn’t setting the bar very high.
I wish the ending had bigger things in store than just setting up continuity and aligning this with the previous movie. However, the climactic showdown plays out with a slow motion, effects-heavy sequence that is, of all things, really beautiful.
The dialogue here is too exposition heavy, though occasionally witty. The film takes a moment to remind us of the difference between a parrot and a macaw. Considering how dependably bad and disposable most horror movie sequels and prequels are (like the 2018 “The Strangers: Prey At Night”), this is quite entertaining, though it comes nowhere close to classic status.
Two and a Half Stars
The post ‘Orphan: First Kill’ Laps the Original (Faint Praise Alert!) appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
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Jane Review: A Female-Driven Thriller That Takes on Grief, Anxiety, and Social Media Angst
If Mean Girls and Heathers endured senior year of high school with a featherless Black Swan, it would somehow resemble the film Jane. Directed by Sabrina Jaglom (Home Again, Unforgettable) from a script she co-wrote with Rishi Rajani, the female-driven thriller manages to hit some great marks. It’s steady, it’s brooding, and it invites the audience to ponder what’s really occurring.
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The Invitation Review: Supernatural Thriller Stumbles Badly
Beware of unknown rich relatives and their summons to sinister English countryside weddings. The Invitation is a brainless exercise in standard horror genre tropes. It's got the requisite blood-slurping baddies, spooky mansion, evil cults, and of course, a laughably naive damsel in distress. There's nothing here you haven't seen before and done much better. It also doesn't help that an annoying score and obnoxious sound effects pummel your eardrums for the entire runtime. I will admit a few scares worked. Several jump-out-of-your-seat moments save the film from being an utter disaster.
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Nick Cannon’s Other Partner Abby De La Rosa Has A Funny Take On The Masked Singer Host Having Another Kid
Funny Pages Review: A24's Dark Anti-Coming-of-Age Movie
When Owen Kline was barely a teenager, he starred in one of the greatest coming-of-age movies of all time, Noah Baumbach's film The Squid and the Whale. Playing the brother of Jesse Eisenberg's character and the son of Jeff Bridges and Laura Linney's, Kline was understandably overshadowed by the immense talent around him. Nearly two decades later (after a slew of odd short films and comic strips, and assisting the Safdie brothers), he's back with his own coming-of-age dramedy, writing and directing the uncomfortably humorous, fascinating film Funny Pages.
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It Wasn't Just The Tattoo Cover-Up. Fans Paying Attention May Have Seen Sylvester Stallone's Split From Jennifer Flavin Coming
Why Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Next Project Should Be A Fun One For Broadway And Movie Fans Alike
Mike Review: A Deeply Flawed Retelling of Mike Tyson’s Life
Mike Tyson, like his predecessor Muhammed Ali, once was one of the biggest names in American boxing. He has been the source of endless fascination in popular culture, especially as cameras from all over the world were watching him from a young age. As a teenager, his life was heavily documented, as Tyson made his professional debut in the boxing world when he was only eighteen. He would rise to become known as the world heavyweight champion—albeit unofficially—and was the youngest boxer to even take home a heavyweight title. Regardless of his achievements, though, Tyson has become known as a controversial figure due to his decisions, which include biting off part of an opponent’s ear, and a rape conviction that led to a jail sentence.
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Blake Lively Made A Custom Cat Pancake, And I Am Equal Parts Impressed And Horrified
Clint Eastwood Is Doing A Wildlife Documentary Next (And It’s Not Because Of Warner Bros. Head’s Critiques Of His Last Film’s Release)
Stallone’s ‘Samaritan’ Shows Limits to Icon’s Screen Presence
The superhero space has proven more pliable than expected after “Iron Man” changed Hollywood forever 14 years ago.
We’ve seen both super comedies (“Thor” 3 and 4) as well as supervillain romps, and plenty of shades in between. We’ve even heard of a film so woke it got canceled in the creative crib.
Sylvester Stallone’s “Samaritan” seems the next step in the genre’s evolution. The screen icon plays a retired hero drawn back into the superhero game following a crime wave.
(Did they shoot the film last week? Actually, “Samaritan” has been awaiting release for nearly years)
What “Samaritan” can’t do is follow-up on its outsized potential. We’re left wondering what might have been, not picturing yet another franchise for the “Rambo” and “Rocky” star.
Stallone plays Joe Smith, a sanitation worker who loves tinkering with discarded items he finds on the job. A local lad named Sam (Javon Walton) suspects Joe is much more than he appears.
The boy is obsessed with the urban legend surrounding the Samaritan, a mythical hero who allegedly years ago fighting his corrupt brother. Sam suspects Joe may be the reclusive superhero, but the hulking senior does all he can to convince the boy he’s mistaken.
The comic potential here never blossoms.
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Meanwhile, crime is running rampant in Granite City, the film’s fictional ‘hood, and a blonde thug hopes to profit from the chaos. That’s Pilou Asbaek as Cyrus, the film’s larger-than-life villain.
Think Bane lite. Very lite.
Asbaek is in over-the-top mode, much like one of the thugs from “RoboCop” (that ’80s classic gets a quick shout out for keen-eyed observers).
We all know what will happen next, and the film’s setup suggests a meatier story than your average super romp.
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Stallone doesn’t get much screen time at first, letting us get to know Sam and his hardscrabble life. His mother (Dascha Polanco) is doing the best she can, but her son’s lack of a male role model is beyond her control.
It’s a void filled, in part, by Joe, one of many themes teased but not fully engaged. And why does the lad gravitate toward Cyrus in the early going? Some moral texture here would enrich young Sam’s character, and the film itself.
Is part of Sam inspired by a crook who beats a system that put his mom in poverty?
All that early promise fades as the story deepens. The curious bond between Sam and Cyrus gets nudged aside, so do the morally dense themes suggesting “Samaritan” deserves franchise status.
Stallone’s performance veers from pedestrian to powerful, as if he wasn’t fully engaged with the material. It’s hard to blame him.
Who is Joe, really? There’s a twist in play, but screenwriter Bragi F. Schut can’t sell its emotional underpinnings. Neither can Stallone.
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The film doesn’t adhere to its own super-logic, making that third act more exasperating than fun. Stallone’s hero has a curious weakness, but it emerges when it suits the film’s plot demands.
The story never leans into the vigilante potential given Granite City’s soaring crime rates. What if Samaritan returned a la Paul Kersey to take out the trash left behind by overworked cops?
Nor does “Samaritan” engage other culture war debates encircling the plot. Those seeking a cathartic, “Dirty Harry”-like thriller will be disappointed.
To its credit, “Samaritan” doesn’t take itself too seriously, wallowing in the B-movie gutter for extended stretches.
“Samaritan” boasts a commendable running time (less than two hours!) and a screen legend willing to lean into his advanced years. We even get a line that could have been uttered in half a dozen ’80s action films.
Beyond that, “Samaritan” can’t save the day.
HiT or Miss: “Samaritan” starts strong, building a credible bond between a hero and his pre-teen fan, but the film abandons its potential with a generic, shoot ’em up finale.
The post Stallone’s ‘Samaritan’ Shows Limits to Icon’s Screen Presence appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
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How Ben Affleck Reportedly Referenced His Original Engagement To JLo During His Wedding Speech
After Playing Marvel Superhero Shang-Chi, Simu Liu Has Lined Up An Awesome Villain Role
Watch Us Get The Tom Cruise ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Flight Experience
How Brad Pitt Allegedly Feels About His Relationship With His Kids Even After ‘Long Gaps’ Without Seeing Them
Maneater Review: A Silly Shark Attack Movie
Jaws is a great movie (maybe the greatest movie ever made, if you're Quentin Tarantino). There had been so-called 'shark movies' before it (from The White Death in 1936 to Shark! in 1969), and even one masterpiece (Blue Water, White Death from 1971), but it was Jaws that seemed to popularize the concept. There have been several this year alone, including the pretty good The Reef: Stalked, and now there's Maneater, from writer/director Justin Lee. Unfortunately, this film falls into the same trap as many others, misunderstanding what made Jaws so great.
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Olivia Wilde Finally Shares Her Feelings About Getting Served By Ex Jason Sudeikis In Front Of A Live Audience At CinemaCon
After Performing Unauthorized Hamilton Play, Texas Church Apologizes As Damages Are Issued
Ryan Reynolds' Clue Remake Is Still Happening, Has Taken A Major Step Forward
Why Fast X Is In Hot Water With LA Residents Over Car Stunts
10 Years Later, Check Out Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, And More At The Premiere Of The Avengers
Jennifer Grey Explains Why Losing Patrick Swayze Makes The New Dirty Dancing ‘Very Tricky’
Will Smith’s Q Score Dropped A Ton After Hitting Chris Rock, But He Wasn’t The Only One Whose Score Was Rocked By The Slap
The Brenaissance Rolls On, As Brendan Fraser Has Already Won A Major Award For A24’s The Whale
Avatar Is Returning To Theaters To Remind You What Happened Before Avatar 2 Comes Out
Bullet Proof Review: Vinnie Jones Delivers Brass Knuckle Beat Downs
Vinnie Jones takes scowling and grimacing to new heights as he pummels lackeys to a pulp with brass knuckles. Bullet Proof has the veteran actor playing a ruthless drug lord commanding a gang of face-tattooed goons. He's chasing down a cheeky thief who stole his money, and drumroll please, pregnant wife in the escape. Bullet Proof initially gets adrenaline pumping with non-stop chases, gunplay, and whiplash camera work. You root for the likable protagonists to abscond with the ill-gotten spoils. A second act lull in the action brings the narrative to a crawl. The film picks up speed for the climax but never regains its original footing.
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Why A Johnny Depp Advocate On YouTube Was Sent A Cease And Desist Letter
After Tomb Raider 2’s Cancellation, Aubrey Plaza Shares Thoughts On Possibly Replacing Alicia Vikander As Lara Croft
Jamie Lee Curtis Shares Halloween Ends Set Photo As The Slasher Threequel Approaches
Idris Elba Gets Honest About Constantly Being Asked About Playing James Bond
Will Smith And His Son Try To Capture A Big Spider In Funny Post
Amber Heard's Former Lawyer Reacts After Exiting The Aquaman 2 Star's Appeal Against Johnny Depp
John Cena Recalls The Sweet Advice The Rock Gave Him As He Auditioned For Trainwreck
Chris Hemsworth Went Camping With His Sons, And Kangaroo Wrestling Was Apparently Involved
Stephen King Had AI Conjure An Image Of IT's Pennywise, And The Result Is A Nightmare
Amid JLo And Ben Affleck's Wedding Weekend, Kevin Smith Drops Funny Post About Dressing Up For The Ceremony
Bill Paxton's Family Finally Has A Resolution More Than 4 Years After Filing A Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Months After Joking About Will Smith’s Oscars Ban, Trevor Noah Has Serious Thoughts On Backlash The Actor Received For The Slap
Casey Affleck Shared An Odd Reason For Missing Ben Affleck And Jennifer Lopez’s Wedding Celebration
One Major Request Ana De Armas Had For Her John Wick Spinoff The Ballerina
Pierce Brosnan Apparently Tried To Launch A Rival James Bond Franchise, And I'm Almost Shocked He Still Got To Play 007 After
Will Smith's First Social Media Post Since Apology For The Slap Is Really Funny In A Self-Deprecating Way
John Wick 4’s Chad Stahleski On The Pressure Of Finding New Crazy Action Sequences For Keanu Reeves
Quentin Tarantino Once Ghosted Logan Paul, And He Admits To Reckless NYC Behavior Afterward
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Is Getting A Spinoff And The Concept Is Killer
Orphan: First Kill Review: The Prequel Needed to Happen Sooner [Spoiler Warning]
Spoiler WarningPsychotic murderer Leena Klammer, who suffers from a hormone disorder that makes her appear young, impersonates Esther in Orphan: First Kill, this time with Isabelle Fuhrman over a decade older than when she initially played the role in the original 2009 Orphan movie. The original has become a cult classic since, despite some negative reviews from critics, and so the prequel has been highly anticipated on both sides.
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Zoë Kravitz Explains What Attracted Her To Boyfriend Channing Tatum
Eva Mendes Is A Barbie Girl In A Barbie World After Ryan Gosling Goes Blonde To Play Ken
Top Gun: Maverick’s Miles Teller Admits He’s In The Kenny Loggins ‘Fan Club’ After Appearing In Not One, But Two Iconic Movies With His Music
Michelle Yeoh Explains The 'Very Smart' Reason Quentin Tarantino Gave For Not Casting Her In Kill Bill
Machine Gun Kelly And Megan Fox Reunite In Coordinating Outfits After Breakup Rumors And There’s A Solid Reason Why They’ve Been Apart Lately
Jason Momoa Had A Classic Response To Video About People Who Don’t Love The Color Pink
Beast Reviews Are In, See What Critics Have To Say About The Idris Elba Survival Thriller
Legally Blonde 3 Writer Mindy Kaling Shares Thoughts On Reese Witherspoon’s Lookalike Daughter Possibly Joining Her In The Film
Indiana Jones 5 Star Hypes Up The Scale Of Harrison Ford’s New Sequel
Superbad Originally Had A Different Ending, And Of Course It Involved Boobs And F-Bombs
Taylor Swift Wanted To Cameo In Twilight, And New Moon's Director Explains Why He Said No
There’s A Newly Released FBI Report Over Infamous Brad Pitt Plane Incident, But Will It Impact His Ongoing Divorce Case?
Amy Schumer Says That Joke Everyone Thought Was About Tom Holland Wasn't About Tom Holland
Robert De Niro Has A New Gangster Movie Lined Up, And It Has A Goodfellas Connection
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law Opening Episodes Review: Tatiana Maslany's Good in a Silly Superhero Sitcom
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law launches the MCU into unfettered sitcom shenanigans with mixed results. The show is a superhero, CGI-powered blend of the classic Ally McBeal and naughty British hit Fleabag. Star Tatiana Maslany breaks the fourth wall by talking directly to the audience. She acknowledges being in a television show with numerous asides. This isn't done in a particularly clever way. It's a cheap method for unloading direct exposition without acting. Critics were sent the first four of the nine-episode season. The premiere flops with a forced fire hose delivery. The series thankfully gets progressively better. Humorous supporting characters and a charming lead performance saves the silliness.
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Another Iconic Disney Parks Ride Is Getting A Movie
Jurassic World Dominion's Director Has Taken A Very Clear Stance On The Extended Edition Vs. Theatrical Cut
After Sean Bean’s Intimacy Coordinator Comments Went Viral, Emma Thompson Shares Her Own Thoughts
Karen Gillan Gets Asked About What’s Going On With The Next Jumanji Sequel And Gives A Candid Answer
Wolfgang Petersen, Director Of The NeverEnding Story And Air Force One, Dead At 81
Florence Pugh Rocks Another Sheer Pink Look Weeks After ‘Free The Nipple’ Dress Goes Viral
Shang-Chi’s Simu Liu Has A Hilarious Reaction To Jonathan Majors’ Jacked Look For Creed III
Will Smith's Self-Imposed Exile Seems Over As He And Jada Pinkett Smith Go Out Publicly For First Time Since March
Bryce Dallas Howard Says She Made ‘So Much Less’ Than Chris Pratt On The Jurassic World Movies, But Reveals How Her Co-Lead Made Things Right
J.K. Rowling Receives Death Threat After Expressing Opposition To Salman Rushdie Attacker
Orphan: First Kill Reviews Are In, See What Critics Are Saying About The Horror Prequel
The Hunger Games Prequel Has Added A Suicide Squad Star In A Big Role
Anne Heche’s Organs To Be Donated After The Actress Was ‘Peacefully’ Taken Off Life Support
Johnny Depp Just Landed A Major Post-Trial Gig, And Al Pacino Is Involved
Tales of the Walking Dead Premiere Recap & Review: Likable Characters Save an Uninspired Start
The Walking Dead universe grows with a fourth series set in the zombie apocalypse. Tales of the Walking Dead differs as an anthology where each episode tells a different story. The premiere, "Evie/Joe", starts off on a middling footing with interesting characters but a lackluster plot. Terry Crews and Olivia Munn work as a mismatched pair on a road trip. Their quirky personalities even out the lack of blood, guts, and surprises.
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Free Chol Soo Lee Review: A Documentary Revealing The Truth Behind a Wrongful Conviction
Throughout the United States’ brief history, there has been a standout event consistently occurring, even today: unlawful convictions based on racial biases and motivations. African-American citizens face the brunt of this in the courtroom, leading them to be up to seven times more likely than white people to be wrongfully convicted for an act of murder. These accusations appear in different forms: a witness, unable to face the root of their prejudices, may lie in court, make a false testimony, or simply lacks the awareness to distinguish that people from a nonwhite ethnicity or race do not all look the same. The forensic investigation may also come up inaccurately due to negligence or a critical error, leading to a conviction that should have never happened. All of the above is what happened to Chol Soo Lee, a Korean immigrant convicted of a murder he never did. Free Chol Soo Lee seeks out the answers to Lee’s case and legacy, providing a thought-provoking series of questions about Asian-American history.
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When I Consume You Review: A Wonderfully Authentic Movie About Suffering
A man lies in bed, his girlfriend asleep on her side; he stares at her nondescript back until she rolls over to face him, the shape of her body clearly visible but her features obscured in the night. There's a hole where her face should be, a close and horrid darkness that's impossible to identify — are shadows cast upon her, or is there something awful in the bed with him? He stares into the gaping void while the audience tensely waits for a jump scare, but one never comes. Instead, we're left with the abyss.
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Billie Eilish Decided To Rate Her Fashion Over The Years, And Her Thoughts Range From ‘No Regrets’ To ‘Embarrassing’
Tom Holland Makes A Brief Return To Instagram To Share Candid Thoughts About Mental Health
Investigation Into Rust Shooting Has Concluded, Findings Differ From Alec Baldwin’s Account Of The Situation
LAPD Ends Investigation Into Anne Heche House Crash While Stars Pay Tribute To The Actress After Her Death
Training Day Director Antoine Fuqua Talks The Moment He Knew He’d Caught Lightning In A Bottle With Denzel Washington
Ben Affleck And Jennifer Lopez's Honeymoon Seemingly Exposed Their Different Responses To Paparazzi
Kung Fu Panda 4 Is Officially Happening, And We Know When It Will Be Released
After Tom Cruise, The Rock And More, Emily Blunt Now Set To Co-Star With Another A-Lister In New Action Movie
Anne Heche Remains In Coma, Family Says She's 'Not Expected To Survive'
Lori Harvey Opens Up About Red Flags And What She’s Learned From Dating Months After Split From Michael B. Jordan
Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda Breaks Silence On That Unauthorized Production Of The Broadway Hit
Kristen Stewart On Her First Paparazzi Experience, And Trying To Cancel Out 'The Noise’ During The Height Of Twilight Fame
After Crash, Reported Details About Anne Heche's Toxicology Report Are In, But It’s Complicated
What The xXx Cast Is Doing Now, Including Vin Diesel
Clip Of Camille Vasquez Calling Johnny Depp An ‘Abuser’ Goes Viral, But Insider Says It’s Not What It Seems
Secret Headquarters Reviews Are In, See What Critics Are Saying About Owen Wilson’s Superhero Movie
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Fall Review: Vertigo-Inducing Thriller Nails a Whopper Climax
Best friends face a terrifying scenario when they attempt to free climb an abandoned TV tower. Fall is a vertigo-inducing thriller that keeps you guessing with a bombshell reveal. The plot follows the standard disaster track until clever twists ramp up the adrenaline. Slick technical direction sells the literal high stakes as the situation becomes increasingly desperate. A minor detour into second act melodrama almost derails the nail-biting crisis. Fall wisely resumes the tension and then barrels toward a sharp climax. It would have benefited from a leaner runtime but forgivable for overall popcorn cinema fun.
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Summering Review: Good Intentions Can't Save Flawed Coming-of-Age Drama
Summering tells a melancholic coming-of-age story in the vein of Stand by Me. The film follows four eleven-year-old girls on a tragic mystery during the week before the start of middle school. Their fears of growing up and apart are told along with concerned mothers who want the best for their daughters. The girl power narrative has good intentions but fails to be substantive. The primary arc leads nowhere after befuddling developments. It's meant to reinforce their bonds without a defined conclusion. I like poetic endings, but this one feels staged and unrealistic.
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Former LA Deputy District Attorney Says Authorities Will Test Anne Heche’s Blood. Why This May Not Happen As Quickly As Normal
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Singing in the Wilderness Review: Religion Meets Commodification in Rural China
In Dongnan Chen’s documentary Singing in the Wilderness, the filmmaker grapples with the questions that come with the state-sponsored representation of minorities and religion. Singing in the Wilderness was censored in China, which is unsurprising considering its topic. Officially China is an atheist state, although a plethora of religions, including Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity, among many others, exist within the country’s borders. That does not come without its religious clashes with the government: recent newspaper and television headlines from the region have not been positive. Regardless, these communities have managed to thrive for many years, including centuries, creating their vibrant communities outside the majority, dominant narrative.
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New Details Emerge About Tom Cruise Possibly Bringing Back His Tropic Thunder Character For More Dancing
Brad Pitt Has A ‘S--t List’ Of Actors He Won’t Work With, According To His Bullet Train Co-Star Aaron Taylor-Johnson
As Arnold Schwarzenegger Turns 75, The Actor Reflects On Advice From His Dad That’s Stuck With Him
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Has Taken A Gold Ring-Worthy Step Forward
Kevin Smith’s New Movie Theater Received A Bomb Threat, But The Director Has Questions About It
Following Months Of Controversies, The Flash Star Ezra Miller Has Been Charged With Felony Burglary
Rafelson’s ‘Black Widow’ – An ’80s Thriller for Grown-Ups
Bob Rafelson’s “Black Widow” (1987) is modern film noir and an undervalued gem about being a tourist in one’s own life.
Fittingly, it mostly takes place in Hawaii, where tourism is the biggest industry and a way for visitors to be pleasantly displaced into a world that is not their own.
The central characters of “Black Widow” are Catherine (Theresa Russell), who murders the rich men whose wealth she inherits, and Alexandra (Debra Winger), the antsy agent who pursues her.
By following a string of seemingly connected news stories, Alexandra believes the trail of rich, dead men leads to a single woman who has been marrying and killing them. Alexandra goes undercover and befriends Catherine, getting sucked into her intoxicating world.
Black Widow (1987) Theresa Russell plays femme fatale Catherine Petersen
w Debra Winger, Nicol Williamson, Dennis Hopper, Terry O’Quinn, Sami Frey, James Hong, Diane Ladd. pic.twitter.com/xrjNS9ukiF
— Flick “Lens Flare” Noir
(@FlickNoir) July 18, 2022
A minor hit in 1987 and respected, if mostly forgotten, by critics, Rafelson’s film may be a mainstream page turner equivalent but his trademarks (an existential longing, unstable main characters and human behavior driven-plot) are all over this.
The final scene for the character of Shin, played by the wonderful character actor James Hong, is so painful and awful to watch. I’ve also never forgotten the scene where a diving trip takes a scary turn.
The best scenes here whenever Winger and Russell get to play off one another. Their characters meet at a diving lesson, where they’re paired together and must practice mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on each other; it’s an intimate and yes, erotic way of having these characters finally meet, as though one were trying to absorb the other.
In terms of Rafelson’s output, this is fairly lightweight compared to the highs of “Five Easy Pieces” (1970) and “The King of Marvin Gardens” (1972).
Still, after the memorable but iffy “The Postman Always Rings Twice” (1981), this is the far sturdier of Rafelson’s neo noirs.
It’s also superior to the subsequent “Blood and Wine” (1998) and “No Good Deed” (though the former showcases a great pairing in Jack Nicholson and Michael Caine, both playing truly despicable figures).
“Black Widow” came out the same year as Arthur Penn’s “Dead of Winter,” Ridley Scott’s “Someone to Watch Over Me” and Adrian Lyne’s “Fatal Attraction,” all expertly crafted, adult-minded thrillers with meaty, showcase roles for the female leads.
FAST FACT: “Black Widow” screenwriter Ronald Bass previously worked as an attorney. He followed up the ’80s thriller with “Rain Man,” which earned Bass a Best Original Screenplay Oscar.
“Black Widow” is a lot of build-up, exposition and cutting back and forth between the protagonist and her prey for the first half and finally grabs a firm hold of its audience once the setting turns to the Big Island of Hawaii.
While the environment is mostly of the interiors of resorts, Rafelson scores big points for casting the late, terrific Oahu-based Danny Kamekona in the key role of a detective and for setting a morality tale in such a gorgeous environment.
The final scene is both clever and too pat. There are far more sensational examples of this sort of thriller, but Rafelson, as focused on character and contradictory human behavior as ever, makes this smarter and more stylish than expected.
The lighting often evokes film noir imagery, though the exploration of how a righteous character is immersed in the lifestyle of someone without a moral compass solidifies the film’s place in the genre.
While Terry O’Quinn, Nicol Williamson and Dennis Hopper provide color with their supporting turns, the film belongs to Winger and Russell. Winger seems to relish such a rich part, especially after her famously unhappy experience on “Legal Eagles” (although she’s terrific in both).
Russell is an eternally underrated performer, whose performances in her late husband Nicolas Roeg’s films demonstrate how fearless and versatile her acting abilities are.
The dangerous game of find and capture which these characters play has rich layers, as their pairing is initially sister-like, seems to adapt unspoken attraction and finally becomes a cruel race to destroy the other.
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“Black Widow” (which unfortunately shares its title with a far more popular Marvel comic book movie) might seem like a trifle, but Rafelson’s work is always worth seeking out (yes, even the failed 1992 Jack Nicholson/Ellen Barkin farce, “Man Trouble”).
Winger and Russell’s most remarkable work took place in 1970s-1990s and they aren’t mentioned among the most vital, risk taking and striking actresses of the 20th century, but they were.
Thrillers have always been a genre for grownups, which is why the complexities and human messiness of “Black Widow” is so welcome, even today…or especially today.
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Grease And Xanadu Star Olivia Newton-John Is Dead At 73
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Johnny Depp's Friend Explains What Lawyer Camille Vasquez's Real Relationship With The Pirates Star Was Like, Despite Romance Rumors
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Louis C.K.’s ‘Fourth of July’ Delivers First-Rate Dysfunction
You’d drink, too, if you had to spend time with the brood in “Fourth of July.”
Director Louis C.K.’s film follows a recovering alcoholic coming to terms with his hardscrabble roots. Starring and co-written by comedian Joe List, the dramedy lacks a single second of artifice.
It’s so real, so raw you’ll Google the nearest therapy group before the end credits roll.
Brimming with insight, humor and the tractor pull of family dysfunction, “Fourth of July” may emerge as one of 2022’s best films.
List stars as Jeff, a jazz pianist working hard to stay sober. He checks in regularly with his sponsor and just began sponsoring a newly dry AA member (Robert Kelly, heartbreaking).
Jeff is staring down another family reunion, and he’d rather do anything than endure their company once more.
He senses it’s the right time to confront his parents for the emotional wreckage of his life. That means leaving his wife behind and facing his family on his own.
Good luck.
RELATED: WHY LOUIS C.K. DOESN’T DESERVE PERMANENT CANCELLATION
There’s Uncle Kevin (a killer Nick Di Paolo), who greets Jeff by waving a bottle of booze under his nephew’s nose. Naomi (Tara Pacheco) is the new invitee, who takes in the family’s wall of noise with considerable poise.
And then there’s Jeff’s parents (Paula Plum, Robert Walsh). They’re locked into the annual gatherings, one supplying the food, the other paternal silence.
RELATED: NICK DI PAOLO PREDICTS A C.K. COMEBACK
C.K. appears, briefly, as Jeff’s therapist, and you wish he had more screen time. The role suits him, but it also gives us insight into Jeff’s state of mind. He’s angry, confused and unsure how to proceed with the next stages of life.
Can you blame him?
“Fourth of July” delivers plenty of emotional pain, although you have to squint to take all of it in. One bravura sequence follows Jeff’s father as he leaves the festivities early, eager for an emotional time out.
The camera tracks Walsh like a slasher film’s killer hunting a doomed teen. We’re left wondering what the scene might reveal, or if the patriarch’s frozen expression will finally thaw. We’re soon reminded how even the most hard-hearted souls have the capacity for growth.
List and C.K. refuse to dismiss these flawed figures.
“Fourth of July” feels like we’re dropping in on an actual family reunion. The banter, rhythms and rants play out as if the ensemble had been workshopping the material off-Broadway for a good year … maybe more.
Everyone plays a specific part in the tight ensemble, from Uncle Kevin’s inappropriate slurs to Mom’s dominion over every meal. They drink as if by reflex, their emotions numb after years of constant friction.
Our sympathies are always with List, who generously underplays Jeff to let the secondary characters shine. Is Jeff as evolved as he thinks he is, though? Is this cartoonish clan as awful as advertised?
Family is family, and those bonds come with both scars and benefits.
Louis C.K. is officially back. “Fourth of July”, his movie starring @JoeListComedy, streams tomorrow at his website. It’s just one aspect of a return that shows how the business of comedy is fundamentally changing. https://t.co/kI7SKYpyyC
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) August 5, 2022
“Fourth of July” doesn’t ladle out familiar bromides or squeaky-clean solutions. This is stark material delivered by pros, decorated with an authenticity missing from most indie fare.
C.K. is no Woody Allen clone, a familiar charge against the budding auteur. Yes, the jazzy soundtrack suggests a modest connection, but the comedian’s voice is singular and true.
So are the snapshots of broken people either glued to the past or scrambling for a future on their own terms.
HiT or Miss: C.K.’s bravura “Fourth of July” reminds us why family bonds endure and the damage they cause when left unchecked.
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After His Friendship With Kevin Hart Was Declared A Conspiracy, The Rock Had A Classic Response
Hugh Jackman Shouted Out To The Dear Evan Hansen Cast And They Paid Tribute Back In A Sentimental Way
Ferris Bueller Star Edie McClurg Reportedly The Victim Of An Elder Abuse Scheme
After Lawsuits And Misconduct Allegations, James Franco Has Started Lining Up New Acting Gigs
Tyler Perry Reveals Why He Paid Why Did I Get Married? Co-Star A Million Dollars For One Day Of Work
‘Easter Sunday’ Breaks Ground, Falls Back on Sitcom-Style Yuks
Jo Koy is ready for his close up, and it’s about time the same can be said for Filipino-Americans.
Koy’s “Easter Sunday” doesn’t reinvent culture-clash yuks. It’s formulaic and mostly safe, with a winning star turn and some crisp supporting work. It’s also immediately fresh by focusing on a culture mainstream movies avoid.
Koy’s comedy clout made that possible. And, like the recent Pixar films that broadened the cultural canvas, it’s a welcome turn of events.
If only “Easter Sunday” didn’t make so many pit stops along the way.
Koy plays Joe Valencia, a stand-up comic known for a cheesy beer commercial. It’s one of several running bits the screenplay puts to good use.
Our Joe is close to landing his dream gig on a sitcom, but the show runners want him to lean into his ethnicity to seal the deal. It’s a trope that speaks to Hollywood’s limited imagination, but there’s no lectures based on that narrow thinking.
Smart.
RELATED: JO KOY: MY INSPIRATIONS COULDN’T EXIST TODAY
Meanwhile, Easter dinner is approaching, and Joe’s large and rowdy family expects him to make an appearance. He’ll have to navigate the demands his overbearing Mom (Lydia Gaston, solid), his ne’er do well cousin (Eugene Cordero) and his own son (Brandon Wardell) whose teen angst keeps colliding with Joe’s dreams.
So far, so familiar.
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The film’s first few minutes packs enough groans to make you wonder why they assembled for “Easter Sunday” in the first place. The story even finds Joe doing a stand-up style monologue in church, an obvious attempt to bring the comic’s base to the table.
Except the jokes aren’t as funny as what Koy usually shares on stage. How is that even possible?
The comedian’s quiet charisma slowly takes charge, and the script sharpens enough for some laughs and insight.
The film packs a celebratory nature that still allows for sharp cultural elbows. Joe’s mother and aunt (Tia Carrere) bickering over food and family loyalty is hardly positive, but it’s something other cultures can identity with, no doubt.
“Easter Sunday” ladles on the strong supporting turns, from director Jay Chandrasekhar as Joe’s agent to the film’s heavy, Dev Deluxe (Asif Ali). The dueling matriarchs also leave a mark, as does Cordero’s “hype truck” aspirations.
The film unwisely expands for a criminal subplot which doesn’t paint these lovable characters in the best of light. It also takes us away from the cultural insights and humor that mark the film’s obvious strengths.
Tiffany Haddish’s cameo as Joe’s old flame feels like an outtake, not a scene-stealing sequence.
The film’s language is tame by most standards, but a rare F-bomb and other salty bits seem unnecessary given the audience in its sights. It’s Filipino families eager to see their foibles on the screen at long last, and others ready to embrace them as their own.
HiT or Miss: “Easter Sunday” isn’t good enough to catapult star Jo Koy into movie stardom, but he acquits himself well enough to earn another crack at the bat.
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Viral Parent Trap Video Has TikTokers Rethinking The Movie (But Real Fans Already Knew This)
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Easter Sunday Review: Jo Koy's Comedy Routine Flounders
Stand-up comic Jo Koy takes his Filipino family act to the big screen with strained results. Easter Sunday feels like a half-hour sitcom pulled like taffy into a feature film. The primary characters elicit initial minor chuckles as caricatures of nutty relatives. This shtick runs out of steam as the narrative plods long. Koy also delivers routines throughout with cameos by other famous comedians. Their improv riffing adds clunky weight instead of viable humor. Easter Sunday does get credit for its ethnic and cultural portrayals. The film isn't successful but brings deserving light to a vastly underrepresented American subculture.
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Bodies Bodies Bodies Review: Fun Slasher Comedy Rules the Summer
Gen Z rich kids unleash a murderous chain of events while mansion partying during a hurricane. Bodies Bodies Bodies takes a darkly comical swipe at a social media stoked culture of privilege, partying, political correctness, and of course, unbridled narcissism. The film adeptly uses slasher genre tropes to fuel a clever mystery that surprises until the last minute. I laughed hysterically as the characters worst traits are exposed in ugly fashion. A few legitimate scares keeps the tension taut in a swift runtime. Bodies Bodies Bodies contends for the summer's most fun and absorbing film.
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Yuni Review: One Girl’s Struggle for Independence in a Traditional Indonesian Society
Southeast Asian cinema remains one of the most under-appreciated regions when looking at global cinema, but as more films begin to gain traction on the international film festival circuits, perhaps winds of change are coming. One of the more recent films titled Yuni, hailing from Indonesia, has made its mark. Director Kamila Andini, in her third feature film as a director, along with co-writer Prima Rusdi, joined their producer (Andini’s husband) in laying the foundations down for Yuni’s story in 2017. Four years later, in 2021, the movie made its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival.
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Ben Affleck And JLo Only Paid 75 Bucks For Their Wedding, But Took Care Of The Pastor Later
Erectile Dysfunction Claims And More: The Intense Number Of Unseen Pages Released In The Johnny Depp And Amber Heard Trial This Week
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Luck Review: A Spectacular Debut Film from Skydance Animation
The world's unluckiest woman enters a magical land to change the fortunes of a fellow orphan. Luck will make you smile and possibly shed a few tears. The big-budget, CGI animated fantasy shines a spotlight on needy children while telling a truly original story. An assortment of lucky critters and creatures dazzle in a spectacular setting. The highly imaginative narrative gives age-old superstitions a dynamic new spin. Luck is a brilliant first film from Skydance Animation.
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‘Bullet Train’ – A Bugs Bunny Cartoon… With Less Realism
There’s something seriously funny about Brad Pitt’s recent Oscar win.
The A-lister richly deserved the statuette for his work in “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” but since then he’s been working overtime to make us howl.
He did just that via a killer cameo in this year’s “The Lost City,” and he’s burning serious calories to do it again in “Bullet Train.”
Yes, it’s an action romp from “Deadpool 2” director David Leitch, but comedy is the main course. How else to explain an adventure that stiff-arms reality before jettisoning any sense of reason in the final, deflating half hour?
Pitt plays Ladybug, a seasoned hit man who thinks he’s landed a cushy gig for a change.
Enter train bound for Kyoto. Find metallic suitcase. Leave train and pick up a juicy check. That, combined with his newly enlightened self, suggests he can put aside the killing for a change.
Serenity now!
Except the train in question is infested with fellow hit men (people?) with competing motives. There’s Tangerine and Lemon (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Brian Tyree Henry), inseparable killers who bicker like an old married couple.
The beautiful Prince (Joey King) has a few tricks up her sleeve, as do the mercurial Kimura (Andrew Koji) and Hornet (Zazie Beetz).
They’re all part of a scheme that slowly comes into focus over the course of the film. Don’t bother dissecting it, or wonder why the great Michael Shannon even bothered to show up.
The twists and turns are the stuff of an overly clever screenwriter trying to pull the wool over our eyes. That’s easier than writing a richly drawn story with smart characters and compelling dialogue.
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“Bullet Train” still gives us some giddy thrills, mostly thanks to the charismatic cast. Pitt’s shtick, the beleaguered killer trying to talk his way out of trouble, is funnier than it should be.
Pitt’s comic skills are first-rate, and he keeps the mayhem grounded for longer than most stars could.
Henry and Taylor-Johnson make the most of their thinly drawn characters, with Lemon’s affection for “Thomas the Tank Engine” veering from cute to cloying faster than a speeding … you can fill in the rest.
That’s as much character depth as screenwriter Zak Olkewicz (“Fear Street Part Two: 1978”) can muster. It’s all wink-wink, cute-cute antics pushing the style quotient at every opportunity.
And, darn it, that approach sometimes connects. At its silliest, “Bullet Train” resembles a Looney Tunes cartoon. Except for all the blood, bruises and bodies.
It helps that Leitch’s action chops remain impressive. His hand-to-hand combat choreography (what else can you try on a moving train?) is taut and effective. Our anti-heroes make weapons out of the nearest objects, be it a snack tray or water bottle.
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After a while, though, a deep sense of exhaustion kicks in. Can you stop trying to pretend there’s a deeper message here about fate? Please?
And that’s before the absurdist final act, brimming with touches so dumb you wish the actors would step out of character, glance at the director off-screen and say, “really?”
We are talking Brad Pitt here, an actor who shouldn’t be given such rubbish at this stage in his career.
Leitch and co. can’t help themselves. They ladle on the wacky moments, hoping each increasingly shrill beat will make us grin.
It works for longer than it should. By the end, you’ll be begging for the chaos to wrap.
It’s not “Bullet Train’s” fault that our cultural moment doesn’t allow for certain jokes but cheers on films about lovable assassins. It still rings hollow when we’re asked to care, and care so very deeply, about professionals who kill for a living.
Maybe Pitt should consider a comedy without such a wobbly moral compass next time ’round.
HiT or Miss: “Bullet Train” packs plenty of whimsy, and some rugged action beats, but by the end you’ll want it all to stop.
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‘Wayne’s World’ at 30: Even More Excellent!
There is genius within Penelope Spheeris’ “Wayne’s World” (1992).
If remembered as the best “Saturday Night Live” movie adaptation (which it is) or the film that brought Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” back into the zeitgeist (more on that later), those alone would make for an impressive legacy.
Revisiting the film today is akin to putting on a vinyl album that still rocks hard and better than most everything else you’ll hear all year.
Audiences and critics were swept up in Spheeris’ film, though, at the time, it felt like a better-than-expected lark. Today, it’s a hall-of-famer comedy, a howler and a great movie about being young, clueless and hopeful, while surrounded by cynicism and a system that encourages us to sell out.
Mike Myers and Dana Carvey play Wayne and Garth, two metal-loving knuckleheads whose Aurora, Illinois cable access variety show has acquired a cult following. The duo obsess over women, rock and roll and, well, not much else, though they have a keen awareness of Kierkegaard and the hammy quality of “Oscar clips” to match their overall pop culture acumen.
Garth is infatuated by a diner patron (Donna Dixon), while Wayne falls in love with a talented musician and mega babe named Cassandra (Tia Carrere, typecast as a talented musician and mega babe).
When a smarmy TV executive (a pitch perfect Rob Lowe) slithers over to Wayne and Garth with a TV show pitch, the price of fame quickly leads to a crashing downside.
The second act lands on a subplot that is key to the whole thing: Wayne and Garth dream of mainstream success, refuse to sell out but, to their horror, find there’s no way to obtain the former without the latter.
Their show is sponsored by an arcade, run by a wholly out of touch owner (Brian Doyle-Murray) and becomes a slick, prepackaged version of its former self. It’s hilarious and horrifying to watch Wayne and Garth fail to ignite any spontaneity as corporate products, only finding themselves by mocking their owner on air.
Among the standout bits are the digs at Delaware, an unexpected meet and greet with Alice Cooper, Ed O’Neil’s hilarious monologue, and a sequence presented in subtitles that outpace the actors.
American comedies are rarely this playful, post-modern and deconstructionist.
These are the kind of absurdist touches you’d typically find in a work by Godard, not an early ’90s movie based on a “Saturday Night Live” skit about two morons running a public access TV show in their basement.
FAST FACT: “Wayne’s World” scored an impressive $121 million in its 1992 U.S. rollout. The sequel, released just one year later, saw severely diminished returns – $48 million haul.
Of course, the movie goes lowbrow and juvenile (hence its wide popularity during release and in subsequent years) but sometimes it isn’t the joke but the way the joke is told. There’s a consistency here, both in the stylishness of Spheeris’ helming and in the up-for-anything screenplay by Myers, Bonnie Turner and Terry Turner.
Myers has a sure hand on his character, evoking Wayne’s youthful idealism and angst, but also all too generous at demonstrating how stupid he is. As funny as Myers is here, Carvey’s even loonier turn is the real genius of the duo.
Garth is, literally, such a dreamer, but so delicate and incapable of matriculating life without Wayne, he comes across as Wayne’s living id and is nearly akin to being Wayne’s shadow.
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The early scenes are full of throwaway jokes that could have been reversed in order but would have no effect on the plot. Most of these bits are surprisingly strong, from the first-person narration (which sometimes shifts) to the TV and movie parodies that materialize long enough to make their mark, then vanish before they begin to wear out their welcome.
It’s especially true of the “Scanners,” “Mission: Impossible, ”Laverne and Shirley” and “Terminator 2” gags).
“Wayne’s World” teases the conventions of movie cliches as often as it evokes them. There’s an ongoing commentary here about how crass commercialism deludes the integrity of raw artistry.
When Wayne and Garth hilariously react to the horror of their homegrown, no-frills and authentic TV show has become a corporate joke, the visual gags are a riot, but a real point has been made. Selling out is the easiest way to distance yourself from your “art,” whatever that might be.
This is why all other “SNL”-based movies have failed: “Wayne’s World” is calling them out for selling out: reprising a televised bit for 90-minutes and doing exactly what’s expected/demanded of you is why we have “A Night at the Roxbury,” “Superstar,” “It’s Pat,” “The Ladies Man” and a few others I won’t mention.
It’s worth noting that they got a real outsider, heavy metal documentarian Penelope Spheeris, to direct this and not Ivan Reitman. If anyone understands Wayne and Garth, let alone their adoration of Eddie Van Halen and a 1964 Fender Stratocaster, its Spheeris.
The eternally cool Penelope Spheeris has things to say about “Wayne’s World,” still the Queen of Hollywood rock satires on its 30th anniversary, + a look back at her ground-breaking “Decline of Western Civilization” punk trilogy @soundopinions. Listen up: https://t.co/EgixFw1hFS pic.twitter.com/IXedvC9qin
— Greg Kot (@gregkot) July 27, 2022
In terms of cinematic history, “Wayne’s World is the movie that made a generation sit up and become aware of “Bohemian Rhapsody” (long before the film of the same name, in which Myers made a too-on-the-nose cameo).
It remains the best “SNL” movie adaptation (no, the all-over-the-place “The Blues Brothers” has never earned that status) and, for a time, it was the top grossing American film directed by a woman.
Excellent!
I’ll admit to being only somewhat familiar with Queen in the 1990s, due to their contribution to the “Flash Gordon” and “Highlander” soundtracks. However, the “Bohemian Rhapsody” head banging scene, which begins as a joke and becomes a triumphant celebration of youthful zeal, catapulted my awareness of the band’s body of work.
It had a similar effect to millions of young people unfamiliar with the tune, which skyrocketed a 17-year-old song to the #2 spot.
In terms of late 20th century comedies about young people at a crossroads in their lives and a growing awareness of their fragile existence and uncertain futures, the bliss of the “Bohemian Rhapsody” scene is, no joke, akin to the scenes of nightly rapture in George Lucas’ “American Graffiti” (1973).
The only element that doesn’t work is Lara Flynn Boyle’s stalker character – the bit begins well enough, until it becomes cringe worthy in its mean spiritedness (amusingly, Flynn Boyle appears to be playing her role from “The Temp” a year earlier).
For those who know their “SNL” history, I’ll cite the number two best “SNL” movie (nope, still not “The Blues Brothers”): Tom Schiller’s “Nothing Lasts Forever,” the 1984 comic fantasy, presented in black and white and color, which was barely released and remains on the shelf after decades of building a strong cult following.
Schiller was a regular “SNL” contributor with his short films- the John Belushi-led “Don’t Look Back in Anger” is arguably his most famous.
Schiller wrote and directed “Nothing Lasts Forever,” in which Zach Galligan plays his stand-in, a young, idealistic art student who is immersed in SOHO performance art, flummoxed by the obstacles he faces and eventually takes a bus ride to the moon.
Bill Murray and (briefly) Dan Aykroyd have supporting roles, as do Eddie Fisher, Imogen Cocoa, Larry “Bud” Mellman and others in a wild supporting cast.
“Nothing Lasts Forever” is hilarious and crazily inventive, with an early Murray turn that makes it essential for his diehard fans. Due to shifting studio heads, rights issues and a perplexed MGM, the film has become a footnote, though it deserves a newfound recognition and acknowledgement as a masterpiece.
As for Spheeris’ film, it holds up better than you’d expected. Yes, there are era-specific gags but because the aim is absurdism and not always exact parody, many of these early ’90s shout outs (like a riff on a famous Grey Poupon ad) still hit their target, because they’re aiming for laughs rather than cultural relevancy.
Thirty years later, “Wayne’s World” remains most excellent.
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