We Saw A Cocaine Bear Scene That Elizabeth Banks Likened To Fast And Furious, Here’s What Was Shown
James Cameron Claps Back At Unfavorable Marvel And Avatar Comparison
Rachel Zegler Posts Relatable And Hilarious Photo About A Sad Taylor Swift Song Being In Her Spotify Wrapped
Joe Pesci Recalls Sustaining ‘Serious Burns’ Filming The Home Alone Movies, But Would He Ever Consider Doing More?
‘Violent Night’ Delivers on Its Blood-Splattered Premise
It’s only natural that for every 80 sunny Christmas films released each year there’s a few that start with a frown.
“Violent Night” fits that bill, and then some.
Crass, cynical and drowning in blood, this “Night” is no one’s idea of a seasonal delight. It’s still smart enough to scratch that Scrooge-like itch, powered by an actor who finds the right balance between “John Wick”-style mayhem and sticky sentiment.
“Stranger Things” star David Harbour is Santa Claus – yes, the genuine article. He’s drowning his sorrows in a British bar as the story opens, exhausted by greedy kids brimming with ingratitude.
Parents know the drill, remembering their kids opening a Christmas gift before instantly crying, “what’s next?”
He’s thinking about hanging up his red hat when he’s embroiled in a life-or-death struggle. A wealthy family’s home is invaded by John Leguizamo and a team of armed-to-the-teeth thugs. They want their hands on the clan’s cash, but matriarch Beverly D’Angelo isn’t budging.
That leaves a divorced couple (Alex Hassell and Alexis Louder) and their adorable daughter (Leah Brady) who still believes the Big Guy can save them all.
And, once we see a prologue of Santa’s curious past as a Viking warrior, he just might.
View this post on Instagram
Director Tommy Wirkola brings a mixed resume to “Violent Night.” His “Dead Snow” didn’t find that horror-comedy sweet spot but its sequel, “Red vs. Dead” sure did. And his underrated 2021 thriller, “The Trip,” made the divorce romp “The War of the Roses” look quaint by comparison.
Here, he’s aided by a good enough script from Pat Casey and Worm Miller. Their screenplay offers some legitimate gut busters, making the ensuing ultra-violence go down smoothly. The former couple’s potential reunion isn’t wasted, dramatically speaking, and every time sweet Leah Brady graces the screen the story’s sentimental side soars.
“Violent Night” might have found a home during the 1980s given the groan-worthy Christmas puns littering the screen. Harbour sells them all, a miracle unto itself, and he makes the film’s “violent” tonal shifts matter, too.
That’s no small feat given the film’s absurdly high body count.
This hard-R thriller still wants it both ways. It’s part “Nobody,” part “A Christmas Story,” with an homage to “Home Alone” dumped into the storytelling blender.
RELATED: ‘FATMAN’ IS THE CHRISTMAS COAL NO ONE WANTED
Leguizamo’s character rants against the rich, again, just weeks after his “Menu” satirically scorched the one percenters. It’s Hollywood’s favorite, and laziest, target, and all the more curious given the actor’s Hollywood run.
If the always-busy Leguizamo hasn’t amassed a small fortune by now he better fire his agent. Stat.
No bloody Christmas tale should be stretched to nearly two hours like “Violent Night” is. And by the final reel we’re exhausted by Harbour explaining away plot contrivances with a cheeky “Christmas magic” explainer.
Still, those seeking a chaotically comic alternative to the season’s sweet treats will find “Violent Night” delivers just that.
HiT or Miss: “Violent Night” is more than a cheeky film title. It’s a bloody-soaked attempt to turn Ol’ St. Nick into a John Wick for the holidays.
The post ‘Violent Night’ Delivers on Its Blood-Splattered Premise appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
from Movies – Hollywood in Toto https://ift.tt/j49cfB5
Dwayne Johnson Talks Working With Ex Dany Garcia After Their Split, And The Advice He’d Give For Former Couples Hoping To Do The Same
Tom Cruise's Top Gun: Maverick Is Returning To Theaters Ahead Of Streaming Debut
Unsurprisingly, Johnny Depp And Amber Heard Were Among The Most Searched Celebs Of 2022, But Who Came Out On Top?
Rumors Are Swirling Harry Styles Is Hanging Out With Kendall Jenner Following Split From Olivia Wilde
Why Pom Klementieff Was ‘Happy’ But ‘Stressed’ Working With Tom Cruise On Mission: Impossible Movies
Die Hard Actor Clarence Gilyard Is Dead At 66
Jennifer Grey Shares New Details About Dirty Dancing Sequel And 'Original' Characters Like Baby Returning
Toy Story Fans Think The Movie Dropped An F-Bomb Thanks To Viral TikTok
M. Night Shyamalan's New Movie Knock At The Cabin Shaded By Author For Ignoring Source Material
Hugh Jackman Pens Sweet Tribute To Nicole Kidman, Who Donated $100k To Charity At His Broadway Show
Emancipation’s Will Smith Responds To Critics Who Think The Movie Is Being Released Too Soon After The Oscars Slap
Helena Bonham Carter Shares Thoughts On Amber Heard’s Accusations Against ‘Vindicated’ Johnny Depp
John Wick Chapter 4 Director Chad Stahelski Discusses The ‘Scary’ Aspect Of Developing The Upcoming Sequel
Little Mermaid Actress Gets Support From Tara Strong And More After Posting TikTok Of Original Part Of Your World Recording
Jennifer Lopez Shares Sweet Pics From Her And Ben Affleck's First Thanksgiving As A Married Couple
M3GAN Writer Explains How The Horror Movie Taps Into One Of Her Own Biggest Fears
Viral TikTok Shows Jake Gyllenhaal’s Hilarious Reaction Upon Learning He’d Already Done A Movie With Dennis Quaid
That Time Bruce Springsteen Silenced The Room At Tom Hanks' Party And Arnold Schwarzenegger Broke It With A Crack Aimed At Maria Shriver
Jonathan Majors Had A Sweet Take When He Learned He’d Broken The Internet With His Ripped Physique
Glen Powell Recalls Having To Ask Tom Cruise For Permission To Make Both Top Gun: Maverick And Devotion
Apparently Jim Carrey Wanted To Make A Satanic Bruce Almighty Sequel
Will Ferrell On His Reaction To Greta Gerwig’s Barbie Script And What Fans Can Expect From The Movie
Kaitlyn Dever Reaches Out With Sweet Posts After Dear Evan Hansen Co-Star Ben Platt Gets Engaged
Halle Berry Celebrates Her James Bond Anniversary With That Iconic Bikini Scene
Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy Gives A Reason Why Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull Wasn't As Beloved
Brendan Fraser’s Former Co-Star Sarah Michelle Gellar Saw The Whale And Shared Her Moving Thoughts
An Offer You Can't Refuse, The Godfather 4K And Digital Is Half Off For Black Friday
That Time Weird Al Yankovic Was Blocked From Doing A Harry Potter Parody Song
Bones And All Director Claims Timothee Chalamet’s Movie Is ‘A Beautiful Love Story’ And Not A Just Cannibalism Film, And I’m Sorry, But No
Guillermo Del Toro’s Avatar 2 Rave Has Us Fired Up To See The Sequel
The Cool Moment Barbie Director Greta Gerwig Knew Leading Lady Margot Robbie Was 'Magic'
Knives Out’s Rian Johnson Thought Everyone Knew Glass Onion Was A Beatles Reference. He Was Wrong
Even The Avatar 2 Cast Is ‘Stunned’ By James Cameron’s Long-Awaited Sequel
Tim Allen Reveals One Santa Clause Plot Hole That’s Always Bothered Him
Tom Holland And Zendaya Have Been Low Key With Their Relationship, But An Insider Shares New Insight
Michael B. Jordan Talks About The Advice He Took From Denzel Washington And Bradley Cooper Before Directing Creed III
Keke Palmer Reveals Profound Sex Advice She Got From Whoopi Goldberg
Harry Potter Fan Has A Perfect Response After Tom Felton Compares His Own Family To Malfoy’s
‘Fabelmans’ Lets Spielberg Show How He Became Hollywood’s Golden Boy
You can’t begrudge Steven Spielberg for turning the camera on himself at this point in his career.
The 75-year-old legend behind “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Jaws,” “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” and “Lincoln” has earned the right to be self-indulgent, especially when it involves insights into his creative process.
“The Fabelmans,” loosely based on Spielberg’s formative years, finds him sharing the joys, and pains, of a cinematic life.
The story is as accessible, and wise, as we expect from the Oscar winner, a populist of the first order. It’s a shame some of the storytelling beats prove achingly familiar.
Young Sam Fabelman (Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord and, later, Gabrielle LaBelle) becomes obsessed with movies at an early age. Thank “The Greatest Show on Earth,” the 1952 drama that lit the lad’s fire for storytelling.
Or consider Sam’s parents. Dad (Paul Dano) breaks down mechanical problems for his son to absorb, while Mom (Michelle Williams) is a natural ham. Those distinct personas fuse in Sam, pushing him to make movies starring friends and family members.
Those films may be crude, but we see glimpses of the directorial genius to come.
RELATED: ‘BLOCKBUSTER’ REVEALS THAT FATEFUL SPIELBERG-LUCAS BOND
“The Fabelmans” starts with Spielberg in “Always” mode, and that’s hardly a compliment. The Fabelmans’ home life is cheerful and light, with Mom folding up paper tablecloths to cap each home-cooked meal.
Even Sam’s extended family, including an aunt with little love for his mother, can’t bring much tension to these sequences.
Spielberg, who co-wrote the screenplay with frequent collaborator Tony Kushner, is setting the dramatic table, but it’s still a storytelling mistake. We soon see that Sam’s parents aren’t happy together, to quote a beloved ’60s ditty. “Uncle” Bennie (Seth Rogen) is a constant presence in their lives, and he may hold the key to Mom’s restless spirit.
View this post on Instagram
We’ve seen divorce play a supporting role in Spielberg movies, including “E.T.” and “War of the Worlds.” “The Fabelmans” is more concerned with Sam’s artistic evolution, though, and at times that plays out like a mistake.
This story needs more friction, and it takes forever to arrive.
Some of that conflict arrives later in the film, when anti-Semitism and bullying get their close-ups. A teen-age Sam struggles to fit into his new California school, with his parents’ squabbling never far from mind.
The sequences, while suitably framed, seem almost beneath the story in question. We’ve seen bullying on screen countless times. What we haven’t seen, to paraphrase a trade magazine’s take on “The Fabelmans,” is an origin story quite like this.
Spielberg’s vision is often distinctive, as memorable as any modern-day stylist. “The Fabelmans” is more conventional in spirit, and that’s disappointing. Perhaps he wanted to keep the focus on his family and how life led him down an artistic trail.
Still, some show-stopping visuals might have reminded us, mid-movie, why Spielberg is such a consequential artist.
This season’s “Empire of Light” serves up a tribute to the movie going experience, down to fetishistic images of projectors in action. “The Fabelmans” proves far more successful at a similar goal.
A key third act sequence shows the power of storytelling, the ability to shape narratives in ways that even the artist can’t always explain.
Neither Spielberg nor his alter ego can explain the artistic process or even the results. They just … happen. “The Fabelmans” is the closest Spielberg can get to helping us understand the “how” in that question.
HiT or Miss: “The Fabelmans” starts slowly but builds into a personal, loving ode to cinema and family ties.
The post ‘Fabelmans’ Lets Spielberg Show How He Became Hollywood’s Golden Boy appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
from Movies – Hollywood in Toto https://ift.tt/RG3l1AH
Laurence Fishburne Explained Why He Doesn’t Regret Turning Down Sam Jackson’s Role In Pulp Fiction
What Mission: Impossible 7’s ‘Dead Reckoning’ Subtitle Means For Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt
Even AMC Head Honcho Can’t Contain His Glee About Bob Iger’s Return To Disney
Barbiecore Might Be In Because Of Margot Robbie, But Actress Stuns In Silky Green Look Next To Husband Tom Ackerly
The Fabelmans Reviews Are In, See What Critics Are Saying About Steven Spielberg’s Semi-Autobiographical Drama
How Much Avatar: The Way Of Water Could Make Opening Weekend
Ryan Reynolds Talks Baby No. 4 And How Blake And The Kids Are Feeling About The New Addition
Furiosa’s Anya Taylor-Joy Talks Stunt Driving Without A License (Just Don’t Ask Her To Parallel Park)
Ana De Armas' John Wick Spinoff Has Added Yet Another Alum From The Keanu Reeves Movies
James Cameron Says He Used To Be ‘Defensive’ About Making Expensive Movies Like Titanic And Avatar 2. Why He’s Not Now
Machine Gun Kelly Fired Back At Haters During His AMA Acceptance Speech
Gigi Hadid May Have Skipped Leonardo DiCaprio’s Birthday Bash, But Looks Like They Haven’t Cooled Off
Johnny Depp’s Daughter Lily-Rose Says She’s Not A Nepo Baby, Gets Slammed By Italian Model
Twitter Is Celebrating The End Of Bob Chapek’s Reign At Disney Like We’re In The Ewok Village Scene In Return Of The Jedi
Indiana Jones’ Short Round Actor Ke Huy Quan Responds To Criticism About Temple Of Doom
Dune 2’s Timothée Chalamet And Florence Pugh Have An Inside Joke About How They Keep Working Together
Top Gun: Maverick’s Glen Powell Reflects On Not Getting Cast As Rooster, And How A Joke Tweet May Have Helped Him Land Hangman
Kevin Hart Humorously Throws Shade At Dwayne Johnson Using Throwback Photo
Tom Cruise's Helicopter Keeps Ruining Call The Midwife Takes, And Star Has A Message For The Mission: Impossible 8 Actor
Could Smile Get A Sequel? Here’s What The Director Says
Top Gun: Maverick’s Director Reveals Which Scene From The Tom Cruise Sequel Was The Hardest To Film
Tom Felton Reveals How Harry Potter Was A 'Huge Disadvantage' When He First Started Trying For Adult Roles
Official Indiana Jones 5 Plot Details Shed Light On Mads Mikkelsen’s Character And More
How Jennifer Lopez’s Relationship With Jennifer Garner Has Allegedly Evolved Since She Married Ben Affleck
Jessica Chastain Loves 007, But She Has A Different Idea In Mind Than Playing A Bond Girl
James Gunn's DC Studios Bible: Great Idea, Or Huge Mistake?
Quentin Tarantino Opens Up About Wishing He Would Have Had A 'Man-To-Man Talk' With Harvey Weinstein
Harry Styles And Olivia Wilde Are Reportedly 'Taking A Break' From Their Nearly Two-Year Relationship
Mission: Impossible’s Christopher McQuarrie Claims His More Difficult Days Of Shooting Are Coming In The Upcoming Sequels, So What Insane Tom Cruise Stunts Await?
Brendan Fraser Remembers Rachel Weisz Conversation Over The Mummy When They Still Weren’t Sure How Audiences Would React
First Full Look At Harrison Ford In Indiana Jones 5 Is Here, And Another Key Detail About The Movie Has Been Confirmed
Looks Like Bradley Cooper And Steven Spielberg Are Re-Teaming For New Movie After Collaborating On Netflix's Maestro
Tom Hanks Apparently Is A French Fry Thief, But That Hasn’t Stopped Tim Allen From Meeting Up With Him Over The Years
Scream 6 Directors Are Now Developing A Reboot Of A John Carpenter Classic
Rebel Wilson's Girlfriend Opens Up About Complications Of Dating A Celebrity, And Why It Scares Her At Times
Maid In Manhattan’s Ralph Fiennes Talks How He Got Roped Into Being JLo’s Decoy When She Was With Ben Affleck Back In The Day
The Insane Amount Of Money Fast X Allegedly Spent Filming
Johnny Depp's Daughter Lily-Rose Explains Why She Hasn't Commented On The Trial With Amber Heard
Timothée Chalamet Jokes About The Coincidences Between The Films He’s Made With Florence Pugh And Gushes Over Her Performance In Dune 2
Brendan Fraser Recalls A Sweet Story About Meeting Leonardo DiCaprio In The Early Days Of Their Careers
After Dating Rumors Previously Swirled, Brad Pitt Seen Out With Vampire Diaries Star Paul Wesley’s Ex
‘She Said’ Offers Powerful Snapshot of Harvey Weinstein’s Downfall
Hollywood loves to celebrate journalism, but the profession isn’t easy to nail on screen.
Endless phone calls. Shoe leather reporting. Rejection after rejection until that key source finally comes clean. It’s hardly cinematic catnip.
The 1976 classic “All the President’s Men” had the advantage of Beltway shenanigans, mysterious figures like “Deep Throat” and the end of an American presidency.
“She Said” works with more modest resources – women sexually attacked by movie mogul Harvey Weinstein who won’t speak on the record (and understandably so).
We all know justice finally got its close-up, ending Weinstein’s reign of terror. That doesn’t stop “She Said” from telling a rigorous yarn, one that occasionally trips over its self-righteousness.
Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan star as Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, New York Times reporters pursuing sexual abuse allegations against Weinstein. The newspaper tried, and failed, to derail Donald Trump’s presidential dreams by reporting on women who claimed he sexually accosted them.
Now, the far-Left paper has a new target, but getting the goods on the Oscar-winning producer won’t be easy.
Doors get slammed in their faces. Phone calls aren’t returned. And even those willing to speak, through tears and anguished laments won’t let their details go public.
The reporters refuse to give up, aided by the steady support of their superiors (a one-note Patricia Clarkson and a paternal Andre Braugher).
Can they wrangle enough sources to “hit” publish, or will Weinstein’s defenses, and the system which keeps him in power, triumph?
View this post on Instagram
“She Said” explores how sexual predators in any field stay out of trouble, from systemic regulations preventing key details from going public to public pressure to stay silent.
Weinstein’s downfall triggered the flawed MeToo movement, and “She Said” wants us to know a single producer’s fate extends beyond Hollywood’s gilded cage.
That’s where Rebecca Lenkiewicz’s screenplay stumbles, over and again. Some exchanges feel like op-ed snippets, patiently explaining how the “system” protects and enables predators. There’s a solid point here, but it forgets the old storytelling maxim.
Show, don’t tell.
Otherwise, we’re privy to a blend of the reporters’ persistence and their domestic lives, purposefully intertwined to humanize our heroines.
It works.
Megan just gave birth to a baby girl and feels the full force of postpartum depression. Jodi juggles a 24/7-style job with her duties as a wife and mother.
“She Said” refuses to make these reporters superheroic. One interrogation goes badly for Jodi, showing the limits of her charm offensive. It’s still the film’s most compelling theme, how investigative reporters rally their personal resources to get the story right.
They start with small talk, segue into general questions and then go for the jugular. Every case is different, though, and given the sensitive nature of the questions they’re often more like counselors than hardened scribes.
The film mentions a competing investigation by Ronan Farrow, but the focus remains on the Times’ mission.
‘She Said’ looks at the reporting that kicked off #MeToo and took down Harvey Weinstein https://t.co/Rg4cvk85O0
— azcentral things to do (@azcthingstodo) November 16, 2022
Weinstein himself stays mostly off screen, heard several times and briefly glimpsed in the third act. We don’t need his physical presence. He’s the film’s villain, and every aspect of the story all but screams why.
Hollywood hearts journalism, and it always has. The fact that the industry curdled in recent years isn’t factored into the story. That’s a flaw, but the hard work Megan and Jodi brought to the case deserves recognition, regardless of the context.
RELATED: TARANTINO GOT A PASS ON WEINSTEIN DIRT
The film never mentions Weinstein’s deep Democratic ties, of course, and only flirts with the reality that many Hollywood denizens knew something (or more) about his actions. (One such star, Brad Pitt, serves as a producer on the film)
And they stayed whisper silent.
Breaking through that silence, and giving women a template for the future, is why Weinstein’s prosecution matters. It’s also clear some monsters will remain out of the spotlight, and others won’t have tenacious reporters like the real-life Times duo breathing down their necks.
HiT or Miss: “She Said” offers a gripping tale of journalism done right, all in the service of women who deserved justice against a serial predator.
The post ‘She Said’ Offers Powerful Snapshot of Harvey Weinstein’s Downfall appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
from Movies – Hollywood in Toto https://ift.tt/gsfLud4
Matthew McConaughey Seemingly Really Loves Pickles In Nude Throwback Post
Kevin Spacey Has Been Charged With More Counts Of Sexual Assault In The U.K.
She Said Reviews Are In, See What Critics Are Saying About The Journalistic Drama
Zoë Kravitz Explains How Taylor Swift Helped Her Through COVID-19 Lockdown While Filming The Batman In London
The Princess Diaries 3 Is Happening, But What Does This Mean For Anne Hathaway And Julie Andrews?
Babylon Has Screened, And The Brad Pitt And Margot Robbie Hollywood Epic Is Getting Mixed Reactions
See Jennifer Garner Lob Off Her Long Hair, Then Show Fans How To Style It
Fans Are Sharing Stories About Meeting Colin Farrell, And He Sounds Like The Absolute Best
Rebel Wilson Offers Update After First Week Of Parenting
Indiana Jones 5’s James Mangold Shuts Down Major Rumor About The Upcoming Sequel
Tom Felton Opens Up About Keeping Up With The Cast, And Loving Where Daniel Radcliffe’s Career’s Gone: ‘I’ve Gone Soft’
Bruce Willis And Wife Emma Heming Send Sweet Message To Ex Demi Moore on Her Birthday
What’s Going On With Margot Robbie’s Pirates Of The Caribbean Spinoff? Here’s Her Latest Update
Sylvester Stallone Offers Update On Marriage To Jennifer Flavin Following Recent Reunion
Dwayne Johnson Drops F-Bomb While Showing Off The Cheat Meal He Couldn’t Help But ‘Jump’ Off The Wagon For
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Son Joseph Baena Gets Candid About Being Bullied As A Kid For Being Overweight
Weird Al Confirms One ‘Mistake’ They Worried About Making When It Came To Daniel Radcliffe Playing Him
Immigrant Who Inspired Tom Hanks' The Terminal Has Died In Airport
‘God’s Country’ Captures Woke Overreach to Near Perfection
“God’s Country” belongs in a time capsule.
The indie drama shows how woke storytelling can crush a film’s creative soul. The plot’s potential is clear, and the cast is capable of spinning something profound out of the themes in play.
Yet over and again a woke hand reaches into the narrative and rips out the film’s beating heart.
Thandiwe Newton stars as Sandra, a professor in a Montana town that didn’t help Joe Biden win the 2020 election. She’s mourning the loss of her mother as the story opens, but her grief is interrupted by hunters parked on her wooded property.
They didn’t ask permission to deposit their red (get it?) truck on her driveway, and she’s none too happy about it.
That tension grows after Sandra asks local law enforcement to have her back in the dustup. There’s little they can do, they claim, forcing the professor to take matters into her own hands. Her empathy makes some headway with one of the hunters (Joris Jarsky), but others in the community (including her boss) aren’t receptive to her progressive ways.
Based on the short story “Winter Light” by James Lee Burke, “God’s Country” is two movies in one. The main story is clear – a showdown between an enlightened Sandra and yokels with little patience for her book learnin’ and fancy talkin’.
IFC Films to distribute God’s Country starring Thandiwe Newton https://t.co/cTFQPIhccw pic.twitter.com/GYy87HE3TM
— Hollywood Stock Exchange (@HSXMOVIES) February 11, 2022
First-time director Julian Higgins has a genre story on his hands, but he refuses to lean into its trappings. The pace is slow, and Sandra proves challenging to root for on the surface. She’s withdrawn and focused, only coming to life when she’s in a classroom setting.
The “second” film offers an academic showdown between Sandra and her (presumably) bigoted peers. Higgins handles the B story with all the grace of Michael Moore on Election Day.
Sandra’s push for a diversity hire runs into a brick wall. Given the tenor of our times, she could have had her boss’ scalp, and a hefty bonus to boot, for her Identity Politics crusade (even in a red state).
Instead, it’s part of Sandra’s downward spiral. And when the two movies fuse into one “God’s Country” goes down for the count.
RELATED META STORYTELLING – INSPIRED OR JUST LAZY?
Sandra’s connection with a local cop leads to the film’s big reveal, another absurd note in a film swimming in them.
Need an example?
Why would one of the film’s academic all-stars be seen with the local knuckle draggers, let alone act like they’re long-lost friends?
“God’s Country” can’t resist a few genre tropes, but the screenplay shrewdly gives Sandra some palpable flaws. Her push for progress reveals her self-absorbed pose when an attempt to support a female peer blows up in her face.
Sandra never veers into a super heroine with guns a-blazing, either. Instead, her moral outrage grows by degrees as the injustices pile up around her. The screenplay still delivers some ham-fisted moments unworthy of Newton.
There’s little the actress can do to make Sandra’s journey realistic or revelatory.
It goes without saying Higgins and co. paint the red state types as backward, while Sandra’s flawed soul is the film’s moral core. We’ve come to expect that lopsided storytelling from Hollywood, Inc., but the film’s woke impulses make matters worse.
The film’s best sequence takes place in a church. Sandra meets one of her stalkers and, rather than demean his faith she uses the moment to find common ground. It’s a wonderfully directed scene and, potentially, a way for “God’s Country” to find its purpose.
Instead, it’s left behind for a collection of victimhood tics that, no matter how artfully assembled, can’t sustain a feature film.
HiT or Miss: “God’s Country” gussies up its genre story with arthouse aspirations before the film’s woke messaging arrives.
The post ‘God’s Country’ Captures Woke Overreach to Near Perfection appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
from Movies – Hollywood in Toto https://ift.tt/uh9KMwZ
What’s Going On With Will Smith’s I Am Legend 2? Here’s What The Franchise’s OG Director Says
How Timothée Chalamet Fans Caused Bones And All's Milan Red Carpet To Get Shut Down
Lupita Nyong’o Recalls Finding Out She Was Namechecked In A Beyoncé Track And Explains Importance Of The Song
Matthew McConaughey's Wife Camila Alves Explains How A Fashion Mishap Led To A Neck Brace
Emily Blunt Shared A Funny Take On John Krasinski Possibly Being Named Sexiest Man Alive After Co-Star Chris Evans Got The Title
Avatar 2: James Cameron Reveals Intimate Connection Between Sigourney Weaver’s Two Characters
Ryan Phillippe Opens Up About How People Always Used To Try And ‘Pit’ Him Against Reese Witherspoon When They Were Still Married
John Wick 4: An Updated Cast List, Including Keanu Reeves
Jordan Peele Reveals That He Still Gets Hate About Get Out, Explains Why
Simu Liu Reacts To Modeling Shirtless For Savage X Fenty After Those Infamous Stock Photos
Jeff Bridges Opens Up About Nearly Dying After Covid And Cancer Battles And The Big Goal He Had For Recovery
Mortal Kombat's Lewis Tan Teases The Scale Of The Sequel, But Which Characters Are Going To Join The Fight?
Taylor Russell Explains What She And Timothée Chalamet Actually Ate While Filming Cannibalism Scenes In Bones And All
Gwyneth Paltrow Admits To TPing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s House For Cred, And Just Call Her the TPminator
Chris Evans May Be The Sexiest Man Alive, But Sorry Ladies, It Looks Like He’s Taken
Why Glass Onion’s Dave Bautista Says Daniel Craig Was The ‘Complete Opposite’ Of Himself Filming Compared To Spectre
Sylvester Stallone Reveals ‘Sad’ Update About Friendship With Bruce Willis After Aphasia Diagnosis
George Clooney Confirms Brad Pitt’s Claims He’s The ’Handsomest Man Alive’ And Explains Why They Took A Pay Cut For Their New Movie
Snoop Dogg Is Getting A Biopic, So Break Out The Gin And Juice
Jason Momoa's Dream DC Project Does Not Involve Zack Snyder
Deepfake Video Featuring Scarlett Johansson And Elizabeth Olsen Rolls Around The Internet, But Fans Have No Trouble Spotting The Fake
Paramount CEO Defends Tom Cruise And Co’s Reasoning Behind Holding Top Gun: Maverick For Years And Whether Or Not A Sequel Makes Sense
Why Harry Styles’ Wild Success Originally ‘Bothered’ One Direction’s Louis Tomlinson
Jennifer Lopez Responds To Those Who Have Issues With Her Taking On Ben Affeck’s Name
Daniel Radcliffe Knows He Looks Like Elijah Wood, Apparently Loves It When Y’all Shout At Him From Moving Cars
James Cameron Explains Avatar 2’s Long Runtime
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Can’t Recover from Star’s Absence
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” begins with a death that rocked Hollywood and Comic Con Nation.
Chadwick Boseman’s 2020 passing forced the MCU to alter the obligatory sequel to 2018’s “Black Panther.”
“Wakanda Forever” moves on from the star’s death, embracing grief before the follow-up’s credits can roll. What follows captures some, but certainly not all, of what made the 2018 film a wondrous affair.
We’re left with a bloated tale with glimpses of what director Ryan Coogler can bring to a four-quadrant blockbuster. It’s more proof the MCU’s cultural dominance is no more.
Wakanda’s ruling family remains shell-shocked by T’Challa’s death one year later. A new threat soon arrives, starting with a U.N. meeting where Wakanda’s vibranium reserves are targeted by several nations.
Cue the colonial-style exploitation of an African nation, a theme that fits snugly into the “Panther” franchise.
Not so fast, Queen Ramonda says. Angela Bassett gets more to do here than the first time ’round, one rare way the sequel laps the source material.
That won’t stop nefarious types from seeking vibranium elsewhere, a search that introduces the MCU to the underwater realm run by Prince Namor (Tenoch Huerta). Namor, a longtime Marvel Comics hero also known as the Sub Mariner, seethes with rage over how his people were grossly mistreated during their land-dwelling days. (Don’t ask … it’s a meandering flashback)
Now, Namor wants to team with Wakanda to wage war against the rest of the world.
The setup involves iffy explanations, the introduction of an unnecessary new character (upcoming Disney+ hero Ironheart) and way too much exposition. The “Black Panther” franchise has more on its mind than CGI mayhem, thank goodness. And Coogler is shrewd enough not to shove said lessons down our throats.
View this post on Instagram
“Wakanda Forever” gets lost in the personal politics of characters we haven’t gotten to know over a series of MCU adventures.
It’s one thing to lament the human toll hulking out leaves on Bruce Banner. We’ve watched him evolve over several films, including some where he’s the main attraction. Here, we’re told to care, and care deeply, about minor players we barely got to know the first time.
The screenplay, credited to Coogler along with Joe Robert Cole, isn’t strong enough to seal that deal.
The film tries some comic relief with mixed results, but “Wakanda Forever” remains obsessed with vengeance, death and the perils of unchecked power. Except those themes are delivered with little nuance.
Returning player Martin Freeman gets an unnecessary subplot paired with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, a fine comic star on hand for no apparent reason. Their inclusion could be trimmed away, saving us some of the film’s grueling 161 minute running time.
RELATED: HOW BURTON’S ‘BATMAN’ MADE THE MCU POSSIBLE
Coogler stages a neat early scene showcasing Namor’s army, but the battle is too poorly lit to pop. That’s similarly true for other first-act sequences. When the lights finally come on, the cinematography lacks the “wow” factor of the 2018 film, although Namor’s CGI world is wonderfully rendered and fresh.
Letitia Wright flashed movie-star wattage in the 2018 film as Shuri, the techie with the spirited wit. Here, her role is dutifully expanded, blending regret for not saving her brother with the sense she may be her nation’s last best hope.
And, if you’ve seen the trailer you know another Wakandan picks up the Black Panther mantle. That succession should be the film’s crowning moment, like when the Man of Steel returns in “Superman II.” Instead, it comes off as perfunctory, part of a larger, messier narrative.
Comic book movies should deliver some Pow and Bam, not just wallow in mourning. Far better is a mid-movie battle where Wakanda gets flooded thanks to a certain undersea foe.
RELATED: WOKE ‘SHE-HULK’ A TOUGH SELL FOR MCU FAITHFUL
Audiences were understandably shocked by Boseman’s passing, especially given how he kept this cancer fight private and kept working until his body finally gave out. His stoicism in the face of his mortality is richer than any movie could duplicate.
Everyone mourned his public passing.
“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” banks heavily on our real-life emotions without expanding that grief to make the sequel worthy of Boseman’s legacy.
HiT or Miss: “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is ambitious but bland, a valiant attempt to sustain a franchise without its MVP.
The post ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Can’t Recover from Star’s Absence appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
from Movies – Hollywood in Toto https://ift.tt/MPClOHW
Rebel Wilson Opens Up About Her Baby Shower Hosted By Partner Ramona Agruma
Looks Like Deadpool 3's Shawn Levy Has Found His Next Big Franchise After He's Done Re-Teaming With Ryan Reynolds
Dwayne Johnson Schools Chris Evans On What The Sexiest Man Alive Title Means As He Lands The Honor
Wonka’s Keegan-Michael Key Praises Timothée Chalamet’s Performance As The Title Character
7 Characters We Hope James Gunn Salvages In The New DCU
Matthew McConaughey Apparently Has A Special Birthday Breakfast Every Year, And I Am So Here For It
Rebel Wilson Confirms The Birth Of Her First Child With Adorable Photo And Message
Would Tim Burton Work With Johnny Depp Again After The Amber Heard Trial? Here’s His Thoughts
Paul Walker's Daughter Meadow And Vin Diesel Have A Sweet Exchange On Her Birthday (And Ludacris Jumps In Too)
How To Rock Chris Evans’ Iconic Knives Out Sweater Look On Any Budget
Is Salem's Lot Faithful To Stephen King's Book? What One Star Says
Halle Bailey Channels Catwoman In New Post After Fans Keep Mixing Up Her And Halle Berry
‘How To Blow Up A Pipeline’ Pushes Free Speech Boundaries
“How To Blow Up A Pipeline” may be agitprop, but it’s really good agitprop.
The movie dramatizes last year’s non-fiction book of the same name by Andreas Malm that argues, in the words of its publisher Verso Books, for forcing “fossil fuel extraction to stop—with our actions, with our bodies, and by defusing and destroying its tools.”
It follows a team of young climate-activist saboteurs who attempt to blow up a pipeline in Texas. They want to spike the price of oil, but also to raise the cost of delivering that oil to a point where the company has to abandon that particular pipeline altogether.
The film opens with a young climate vandal slashing the tires of an SUV on the street, and leaving behind a leaflet helpfully explaining her actions to the victim, titled “Why I Sabotaged Your Property.”
Her activities barely finished, she gets a text message.
The action that’s the title of the movie is on, and we see the saboteurs arriving from all over the country at their base of operations. It’s an abandoned house in Texas, close to the pipeline they want to destroy.
We see the team members’ backstories, and often credible motivations that pushed or primed them to take action, and how they ended up as part of the team.
Xochitl exits her mother’s funeral, and in the background looms the refinery that allegedly killed her. As her friend remarks, “You’re an orphan now, it’s an origin story.” Xochitl – played by co-writer Ariela Barer – will become the catalyst for many other joining the group, including Shawn (Marcus Scribner), a key player in putting the team together.
Toronto Hit Film ‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline’ Proves a Hot Seller for Charades (EXCLUSIVE) https://t.co/2HCcDams3F
— Variety (@Variety) November 2, 2022
Michael (Forrest Goodluck) is an American Indian who sees the North Dakota oil boom as an abuse of native land that produces mostly jobs for whites. He becomes frustrated with his mother’s seed conservancy, calls her a “coward,” and YouTubes himself turning into MacGyver, learning how to make bomb parts.
Dwayne (Jake Weary) has his land of many generations carved up by eminent domain for a pipeline, he and his wife are forced to live in her parents’ house. Theo (Sasha Lane) contracts a rare form of a cancer, sometimes found near refineries; her partner Alisha (Jayme Lawson) reluctantly joins her on her radical journey.
And drug-addled Antifa radicals Rowan and Logan (Kristine Froseth and Lukas Gage) have already gotten into trouble trying to blow up infrastructure in Portland.
These are all solid performances, and each character is given a little room to breathe and develop on his or her own, in addition to their jobs in the ensemble. The characters fill the quotas for race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, but they don’t make a big deal of the intersectionality checklist and aren’t stereotyped as such.
RELATED: DID ‘ANNIE HALL’ PREDICT GRETA THUNBERG’S CLIMATE CHANGE CRY?
“How To Blow Up A Pipeline” has a gritty, cinema verité look, shot largely hand-held and frequently from low angles. It’s an effective technique; not only does it add to the suspense, the ragged-edge feel is appropriate to a bunch of underground amateurs coming together for a job.
Director Daniel Goldhaber, speaking at the Denver Film Festival, cited “Zabriskie Point” as one of his key influences for the film, and it shows.
Goldhaber also noted that they shot on film to achieve this effect. “We could have shot digital, but it it would have ended up looking like a Levi’s commercial.” Film, indispensable to his storytelling, is a petroleum product.
How To Blow Up A Pipeline by Andreas Malm is one of @TheEconomist‘s picks on what to read to understand climate change: ‘an impassioned argument for climate activists to move beyond non-violent protests’https://t.co/TnuI9luoox
— Verso Books (@VersoBooks) October 31, 2022
The pacing is also perfect for what amounts to a destructive heist movie. As the day arrives and the plan is put into motion, things start to go wrong, the team needs to improvise, and some of those improvisations spin off consequences of their own.
There’s little question where our sympathies are supposed to be drawn to, or where the filmmakers’ lie. Goldhaber opened the Denver screening by noting his parents had worked for 30 years in climate research, so he grew up with an “appropriate sense of doom.”
This review isn’t the best place to debate the science, but some of the most recent reports suggest that sense of doom to be more inappropriate.
A little less self-righteousness might have served the filmmakers better. Alisha is given the chance to voice what little skepticism the film allows, maybe a few sentences’ worth.
Alisha cautions that, “We need to understand that we’re destroying in a few hours something that took years to create and will take years to replace.” Another character replies, “That’s just it, I don’t want to replace it with anything.”
RELATED: 9 CLIMATE CHANGE-OBSESSED FILMS (LIKE ‘GEOSTORM’)
In other exchanges, we hear the familiar refrain, “you can’t make omelets without breaking a few eggs,” unaware that violent revolution generally produces a lot of broken eggs and few omelets.
“We’re not murderers,” explains Rowan to Logan in a moment of climactic tension. But if a lack of fossil fuels leads people to freeze during a cold snap, then yes, in a very real sense, they are.
The great moral and ethical problem with a film like this is obvious – what happens if it inspires someone to go out and actually take “direct action,” possibly doing real damage in the process? In a post-screening Q&A, Goldhaber answered, and I’m paraphrasing here:
We believe that individual acts like this will happen when people feel pushed to the wall. We’re not saying to go out and blow things up. But we want to tell their stories in a populist way in a cultural context, to explain why people feel driven to do these things. We want people to understand it, because most media is corporate-owned, and they never will.
The explanation is less persuasive and more self-justifying. The original book’s purpose is precisely to show how traditional activist methods are insufficient, and how more direct action is needed.
Moreover, the film’s final scene itself betrays this claim.
The last six years has seen an increase in American political violence: an attempted decapitation of the House Republican leadership; the January 6th riot; the vehicular murder of a North Dakota teen over politics; the attack on Paul Pelosi; the attempted assassination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
What a shame that such excellent movie-making skills may produce more of it.
Joshua Sharf is a Senior Fellow for the free-market Independence Institute, focusing on public pension and public finance issues. By day a web developer, he has also found time to run for the state legislature, be a state editor for WatchdogWire, write for the Haym Salomon Center, and produce a local talk radio show. He has a Bachelors in Physics from U.Va., and a Masters in Finance from the University of Denver, and lives in Denver with his wife, Susie and their son, David. His work also appears frequently in Complete Colorado and American Greatness.
Photo by Darya Jum on Unsplash
The post ‘How To Blow Up A Pipeline’ Pushes Free Speech Boundaries appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
from Movies – Hollywood in Toto https://ift.tt/DMm7VPs
Rebel Wilson And Her Girlfriend Went To Disneyland And Cleared Up A Misconception About Their Relationship
How Keanu Reeves Allegedly Feels After Being Called Out For Still Being Alive By Matthew Perry In His New Book
How Fame Has Changed For Jennifer Lawrence As She’s Become A Mom And Hit A New Point In Her Career
Zoë Kravitz Gets Candid About Struggles With Social Media After See-Through Dress, Will Smith Comment And Other Incidents
No Time To Die May Have Killed James Bond, But Hans Zimmer's Apology To Daniel Craig Kind Of Makes It Funny
Jackass’ Steve-O Reveals The Stunt From The First Movie He Refused To Do
Scream 6 Has Been Moved Up, So Bring On Ghostface's Kills
Horror Icon Mike Flanagan Has Joined The Terrifier 2 Fandom, Coins New Subgenre
Jennifer’s Body Actor Talks Megan Fox Getting ‘Objectified’ During The Movie’s Release And Why It Broke His Heart
Will J.K. Rowling Work On More Harry Potter Movies? Here’s What The Warner Bros. Discovery CEO Says
Zac Efron’s Iron Claw Look Has Fans Comparing Him To Shrek’s Lord Farquaad
‘Armageddon Time’ Looks Back (Not So Fondly) at ’80s, President Reagan
James Gray has it both ways with “Armageddon Time.”
The drama, based on his childhood days in New York City, shows some restraint in its liberal politics. Yet the fact that the writer/director name checks two GOP figures – Presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump – tips his hand.
Gray’s political asides hardly sink the film, a heartfelt memoir with some vibrant scenes. It still suggests an auteur leading with his ideological heart and missing themes that would make this drama worthy of Oscar attention.
Michael Banks Repeta is solid as Paul Graff, a sixth grader in a New York City middle school circa 1980. Paul’s well-meaning Jewish parents (Anne Hathaway, Jeremy Strong) want the best for their youngest son, but Paul would rather dream of becoming an artist than bury himself in school work.
Paul’s free spirit connects with a fellow student and co-conspirator. Johnny (Jaylin Webb), a black child living with his grandmother, bonds with Paul over their shared passions for NASA and tomfoolery.
Johnny may lack role models at home, but Paul’s house has his grandfather, played with specificity and sparkle by Anthony Hopkins. Grandpa faced anti-Semitism in his younger years, and he’s quick to give life lessons to Paul on any number of subjects.
Like racism.
The story meanders from there, pinging from one heartfelt sequence to another, soggier one. The Paul-Johnny friendship powers the drama, but it’s not as engaging as Gray may think. And nothing else emerges to take its place.
RELATED: ‘CONFEDERATE’ PRODUCER: TRUMP BROUGHT RACISM BACK
The writer/director has bigger themes in mind, from white privilege to the horrors of “hard work.” He’s clearing out some emotional baggage via “Time,” from trashing his old private school to mocking his parents’ casual bigotry.
Paul’s father refers to a local Chinese restaurant with a racially insensitive name. He also fears that a strange black person may be lurking around their property.
Gray set the film in a school run by members of the Trump family (part of his own background). That detail shoudn’t matter given the story in play. It does, though, with the filmmaker adding several meaningless moments to drop the Trump brand.
There’s a syndrome describing this, an obsession over a blustery politician …
View this post on Instagram
Someone should have tapped Gray on the shoulder and asked him to remove a needless cameo by Jessica Chastain. She plays Maryanne Trump for a monologue that adds little to the story save a distraction.
Why is the Oscar-winner here? What does the cameo mean beyond a wink-wink TDS moment?
Gray nails the period details down to the Entenmann pastry box on the family’s dinner table. The Graff gatherings are equally astute, with the conversational rhythms vibrant and real.
Like too many films today, “Armageddon Time” has 2022 firmly in mind. One sequence finds Grandpa lecturing Paul about ways to deal with his racist school mates.
The moment doesn’t jibe with Grandpa’s previous tone and temperament. It’s like he took a time machine to the 21st century and read “Anti-Racist Baby” by Ibram X. Kendi before spouting his wisdom to Paul.
The tell? Paul shares how the boys use the N-word, but grandpa cautions the lad about discriminating against blacks or Hispanics.
This line from “Armageddon Time”.
“Never, ever forget the past, because you may never know when they’ll come looking for you.” pic.twitter.com/nP9HH2XHLI
— JBone – #VoteYes (@BoneJeni) November 3, 2022
A third-act scheme involving the lads doesn’t add up on several fronts, but Gray needs it to send his final message home. And, later, President Reagan returns just in case you didn’t connect the dots Gray has in mind.
The film wants us to believe racism is holding young Johnny back. The truth? He doesn’t have a mother or father. His grandmother, doing the best she can, is elderly and lacks the skills to raise a headstrong young child.
And are we to believe public school children don’t reflect the racist attitudes of the era like their private school peers?
The family inconsistencies bog the tale down, too. Paul’s father is keen on corporal punishment, yet he and his older brother (a 24/7 bully) act up around the dinner table as if they don’t fear a spanking.
The film posits hard work, success and achievement as some sort of sin. Elsewhere, Paul’s parents plead with him to study harder.
The messaging is muddled.
And what privilege does this family possess? The father is a plumber. The lad’s grades are sub par and he may need remedial lessons. He barely gets into a private school thanks to his generous grandpa.
Is he really starting life on third base?
“Armageddon Time” needs something more substantial as its through line, a richer subtext beyond the writer/director’s grievances. As is, it’s a solid drama with some fine performances and, alas, an wobbly ax to grind.
HiT or Miss: “Armageddon Time” is a deeply personal, and occasionally powerful, look back at a specific time and place. You’ll have to peel back the director’s politics to fully enjoy it, though.
The post ‘Armageddon Time’ Looks Back (Not So Fondly) at ’80s, President Reagan appeared first on Hollywood in Toto.
from Movies – Hollywood in Toto https://ift.tt/YdcT4kq