Banijay Rights has set a new returning drama series titled “Runners” with writer John Preston and exec producer Ellie Wood of Clearwood Films, the team behind “Stonehouse” and “The Dig.”
“Runners” tells the story of the world’s first police force, the Bow Street Runners, who were formed in the 1740s in London, which at the time was facing a colossal crime wave.
The Chief Magistrate of London at the time, Heny Fielding (who also happened to be a celebrated novelist), decided to take on this criminal underworld by assembling a group of police.
“This extraordinary story will tell of how a group of just six police officers, none with any training or experience, set about imposing law and order on a completely lawless society and embarked on solving one of the strangest cases of its time – one with momentous political and social ramifications,” reads the logline.
Wood (“Bleak House...
“Runners” tells the story of the world’s first police force, the Bow Street Runners, who were formed in the 1740s in London, which at the time was facing a colossal crime wave.
The Chief Magistrate of London at the time, Heny Fielding (who also happened to be a celebrated novelist), decided to take on this criminal underworld by assembling a group of police.
“This extraordinary story will tell of how a group of just six police officers, none with any training or experience, set about imposing law and order on a completely lawless society and embarked on solving one of the strangest cases of its time – one with momentous political and social ramifications,” reads the logline.
Wood (“Bleak House...
- 9/7/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Who doesn’t enjoy a little Euripides with their breakfast cereal or, in this case, with their unrelenting celluloid exploration of sadistic, on-campus initiations? Of course, hazing has been ceaselessly explored in the news each time there’s a new frat and in previous efforts such as Todd Phillips and Andrew Gurland’s documentary Frat House (1998) and John Landis’ comedy Animal House (1978). Even the Lifetime channel (The Haunting of Sorority Row (2007)) and one of this year’s best movies (Prof. Marston and the Wonder Women) have taken out their paddles, exploring the female side of these rituals. However, seldom has Dionysus and the Bacchae been incorporated into the subject matter.
(Please note that Tennessee Williams was inspired by the same source material for Suddenly Last Summer, a tale of lobotomies, cannibalism, and repressed homosexuality. Sounds very much like a fraternity initiation in the end, doesn’t it?) Indeed, few films,...
(Please note that Tennessee Williams was inspired by the same source material for Suddenly Last Summer, a tale of lobotomies, cannibalism, and repressed homosexuality. Sounds very much like a fraternity initiation in the end, doesn’t it?) Indeed, few films,...
- 11/6/2017
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
John Preston can barely talk when he recounts losing his brother Michael, a veteran, to suicide. “I didn’t see it coming,” Preston tells People. “He was falling apart, and I missed it.” Now, the singer-songwriter — who is also a veteran — uses his music to help prevent suicide among those who served.
“I want to stop it from happening,” John says. “That’s my mission.”
A former Marine, John’s musical repertoire includes songs about suicide and its aftermath, and the proceeds go to suicide-prevention charities.
“Superman Falls,” about Michael, references a scene veterans instantly will understand. The song’s...
“I want to stop it from happening,” John says. “That’s my mission.”
A former Marine, John’s musical repertoire includes songs about suicide and its aftermath, and the proceeds go to suicide-prevention charities.
“Superman Falls,” about Michael, references a scene veterans instantly will understand. The song’s...
- 10/12/2017
- by Susan Keating
- PEOPLE.com
Vroom! Vroom! Ansel Elgort, the cute-as-cute-can-be lead of the cancer romance, The Fault in Our Stars, bops around Baby Driver like Saturday Night Fever’s Tony Manero, with his ear buds semi-glued in. You keep expecting a few disco balls to pop into view while the Bee Gees let loose on the soundtrack.
Sadly, no balls. No white suit. And not much of a credible plot in this frenetic crime/coming-of-age hybrid.
What we do get is a rhythmic youth delivering coffee and pizza, driving getaway cars, caring for a deaf, mute, disabled older gent, and falling in love with Debora (Lily James), a singing waitress, to the throbbing beats of Queen’s "Brighton Rock," The Champs' "Tequila," and Barry White's "Never Never Gonna Give Ya Up." Imagine Derek Hough in Pulp Fiction.
A masterwork??? Some media folks have been raving over Baby Driver weeks before its release date.
Sadly, no balls. No white suit. And not much of a credible plot in this frenetic crime/coming-of-age hybrid.
What we do get is a rhythmic youth delivering coffee and pizza, driving getaway cars, caring for a deaf, mute, disabled older gent, and falling in love with Debora (Lily James), a singing waitress, to the throbbing beats of Queen’s "Brighton Rock," The Champs' "Tequila," and Barry White's "Never Never Gonna Give Ya Up." Imagine Derek Hough in Pulp Fiction.
A masterwork??? Some media folks have been raving over Baby Driver weeks before its release date.
- 7/2/2017
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
If Andy were still strutting about nowadays, he might just tweak his "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes" to "in the future, everyone will be starring in her own documentary or reality TV series."
The latest beneficiary of such a crowd-funded, ego-boosting journey into her past travails is the prickly “Tasmanian Devil of Photography,” octogenarian Rose Hartman. You who are of a certain age, especially those of you with fashionista leanings, will recall this salty soul's snapshots or at least those who were apprehended by her lens: Kate Moss, Steve Rubell, Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli, Truman Capote, Lenny Kravitz, and Linda Evangelista. Her candid images were mostly taken at society functions, discos, and fashion shows.
As Hartman insists, "I don’t want a posed face ever."
Her initial claim to fame, according to director Otis Mass’s to-the-point documentary, is that Hartman was the first to shoot...
The latest beneficiary of such a crowd-funded, ego-boosting journey into her past travails is the prickly “Tasmanian Devil of Photography,” octogenarian Rose Hartman. You who are of a certain age, especially those of you with fashionista leanings, will recall this salty soul's snapshots or at least those who were apprehended by her lens: Kate Moss, Steve Rubell, Elizabeth Taylor, Liza Minnelli, Truman Capote, Lenny Kravitz, and Linda Evangelista. Her candid images were mostly taken at society functions, discos, and fashion shows.
As Hartman insists, "I don’t want a posed face ever."
Her initial claim to fame, according to director Otis Mass’s to-the-point documentary, is that Hartman was the first to shoot...
- 6/17/2017
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Louisa Mellor Jun 1, 2017
Some exciting new UK drama and comedy commissions are making their way to TV over the next year or so…
We know, we know. You still have two episodes of Fargo season two before you can think about starting season three. You’ve already fallen behind on American Gods. Your planner memory is chock-a-block with Big Little Lies and that Oj Simpson thing and some Spanish prison series your workmate bullied you into recording. You’re struggling to make time for Twin Peaks. New Game Of Thrones is just around the corner. And guess what, Netflix UK have just added a whole new season of It’s Always Sunny, those sods. You need a list of new TV show recommendations like you need a hole in the head.
See related Metroid: Other M Nintendo Wii review
And yet, as long as they keep making them, we’ll keep recommending them.
Some exciting new UK drama and comedy commissions are making their way to TV over the next year or so…
We know, we know. You still have two episodes of Fargo season two before you can think about starting season three. You’ve already fallen behind on American Gods. Your planner memory is chock-a-block with Big Little Lies and that Oj Simpson thing and some Spanish prison series your workmate bullied you into recording. You’re struggling to make time for Twin Peaks. New Game Of Thrones is just around the corner. And guess what, Netflix UK have just added a whole new season of It’s Always Sunny, those sods. You need a list of new TV show recommendations like you need a hole in the head.
See related Metroid: Other M Nintendo Wii review
And yet, as long as they keep making them, we’ll keep recommending them.
- 5/31/2017
- Den of Geek
BBC drama boss Wenger orders over 25 hours of drama.
Russell T Davies, Stephen Poliakoff and Call the Midwife creator Heidi Thomas have penned dramas for Piers Wenger’s inaugural slate, reports Broadcast.
The BBC drama boss unveiled over 25 hours of new drama commissions across BBC1 and BBC2 at an event co-hosted by director general Tony Hall.
The nine series, seven for BBC1, one for BBC2 and one for BBC3, join recently announced Wenger commissions including Kudos’ Gunpowder and The Forge’s Carey Mulligan-fronted crime drama Collateral.
BBC1
Doctor Who writer Davies has written A Very English Scandal, a 3 x 60-minute series directed by Stephen Frears.
Based on the book A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies and a Murder Plot at the Heart of the Establishment by John Preston, it follows the true story of Liberal party leader Jeremy Thorpe’s conspiracy to kill his ex-lover Norman Scott.
Commissioned by Wenger and BBC director of content Moore, it...
Russell T Davies, Stephen Poliakoff and Call the Midwife creator Heidi Thomas have penned dramas for Piers Wenger’s inaugural slate, reports Broadcast.
The BBC drama boss unveiled over 25 hours of new drama commissions across BBC1 and BBC2 at an event co-hosted by director general Tony Hall.
The nine series, seven for BBC1, one for BBC2 and one for BBC3, join recently announced Wenger commissions including Kudos’ Gunpowder and The Forge’s Carey Mulligan-fronted crime drama Collateral.
BBC1
Doctor Who writer Davies has written A Very English Scandal, a 3 x 60-minute series directed by Stephen Frears.
Based on the book A Very English Scandal: Sex, Lies and a Murder Plot at the Heart of the Establishment by John Preston, it follows the true story of Liberal party leader Jeremy Thorpe’s conspiracy to kill his ex-lover Norman Scott.
Commissioned by Wenger and BBC director of content Moore, it...
- 5/5/2017
- ScreenDaily
“Awards are like hemorrhoids. Sooner or later every asshole gets one,” François Ozon, one of France's most prolific director/screenwriters, has noted.
With Frantz, his pacifistic, feminist, and slightly homoerotic chronicling of a post-World War I love affair of sorts opening Stateside this week, he can say that with a smile. After all, this feature has already garnered eleven Cécar nominations, including one for best film, and a dozen more from various international film festivals.
For many folks, that’s no surprise. All they have to hear is that a new Ozon is unspooling at their local art house, and they’re hotfooting it to the ticket booth. Why? Few other directors have the ability to depict the psychosexual permutations of our fellow man better, at times accompanied with an unexpected Hitchcockian twist or a good dose of Almodóvarian tongue-in-cheek perversity.
In his 1996 short, "A Summer Dress," a young gay man,...
With Frantz, his pacifistic, feminist, and slightly homoerotic chronicling of a post-World War I love affair of sorts opening Stateside this week, he can say that with a smile. After all, this feature has already garnered eleven Cécar nominations, including one for best film, and a dozen more from various international film festivals.
For many folks, that’s no surprise. All they have to hear is that a new Ozon is unspooling at their local art house, and they’re hotfooting it to the ticket booth. Why? Few other directors have the ability to depict the psychosexual permutations of our fellow man better, at times accompanied with an unexpected Hitchcockian twist or a good dose of Almodóvarian tongue-in-cheek perversity.
In his 1996 short, "A Summer Dress," a young gay man,...
- 3/20/2017
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
"I'm the end of the line," Arthur Miller once asserted. "Absurd and appalling as it may seem, serious New York theater has died in my lifetime."
Many might argue otherwise. In fact, the best proof that theatre is still alive and kicking is Focus on Playwrights, the new coffee-table book, the cover of which showcases the life-crinkled face that once overlooked the birth of A View from the Bridge, All My Sons, and The Crucible. Yes, photographer Susan Johann’s scintillating collection of over 90 playwrights, whom she’s shot over 20 years -- and the inclusion of sharply revealing interviews with some of the same, is the best retort to anyone ready to cremate modern drama.
Some of those captured for publications such as Vogue and the New Yorker are now deceased (e.g. August Wilson, Edward Albee, and Joe Chaikin) while others are very much functioning (e.g. David Henry Hwang,...
Many might argue otherwise. In fact, the best proof that theatre is still alive and kicking is Focus on Playwrights, the new coffee-table book, the cover of which showcases the life-crinkled face that once overlooked the birth of A View from the Bridge, All My Sons, and The Crucible. Yes, photographer Susan Johann’s scintillating collection of over 90 playwrights, whom she’s shot over 20 years -- and the inclusion of sharply revealing interviews with some of the same, is the best retort to anyone ready to cremate modern drama.
Some of those captured for publications such as Vogue and the New Yorker are now deceased (e.g. August Wilson, Edward Albee, and Joe Chaikin) while others are very much functioning (e.g. David Henry Hwang,...
- 1/20/2017
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
One can only hope director Nick Corporon's shorts (I've seen two) and his feature debut, Retake, are not autobiographical. All of his male characters are semi-despondent romantics. They find true love, lose true love, or are confronted by a world ready to quash them if they don't assume heteronormative stances or watch Vin Diesel films .
In the poignantly wise, 13-minute "Barbie Boy" (2014), seven-year-old Bobby (Trent Carlton) learns from his dad that boys don't play with Barbie and Ken dolls in public or nearly anywhere else. It doesn't even matter if Bobby just allows the plastic couple to scuba dive in the kitchen sink, smooch in their Dream House, or go out for lattés; the testosterone-fueled world will frown on such carryings-on and possibly do worse than frown. So will the blond-tressed lad stand up to societal pressure and grow up to be Alexander Mc Queen? Or will the little...
In the poignantly wise, 13-minute "Barbie Boy" (2014), seven-year-old Bobby (Trent Carlton) learns from his dad that boys don't play with Barbie and Ken dolls in public or nearly anywhere else. It doesn't even matter if Bobby just allows the plastic couple to scuba dive in the kitchen sink, smooch in their Dream House, or go out for lattés; the testosterone-fueled world will frown on such carryings-on and possibly do worse than frown. So will the blond-tressed lad stand up to societal pressure and grow up to be Alexander Mc Queen? Or will the little...
- 1/16/2017
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Quincy Rose, the godson of Woody Allen and the offspring of the late Mickey Rose (an Allen collaborator on films such as Bananas and a writer for The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson), has just scribed, directed, produced, and edited his second feature film, Friends Effing Friends Effing Friends (Fefef) so roll out the red carpet and blow the horns. Such an amazing lack of talent has seldom been contained in a mere 117 minutes.
This is not to propose that Mr. Rose is totally bereft of any artistry. The trailer for his initial effort, Miles to Go (2012), in which he stars, displays an engagingly high-strung neuroticism in his Allenesque take on heterosexual relationships, and you can't help but wish he had cast himself as a lead in Fefef.
But before I decimate the theatrics and the writing, let's confront the plot. Two childhood buddies -- one circumcised, the other not...
This is not to propose that Mr. Rose is totally bereft of any artistry. The trailer for his initial effort, Miles to Go (2012), in which he stars, displays an engagingly high-strung neuroticism in his Allenesque take on heterosexual relationships, and you can't help but wish he had cast himself as a lead in Fefef.
But before I decimate the theatrics and the writing, let's confront the plot. Two childhood buddies -- one circumcised, the other not...
- 10/17/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
As noted above, the invite for Steve Balderson's latest feature, El Ganzo, swore that something special was going to occur between a gay man of color and a white female within its running time. Here was an intriguing come-on, one hard to cold-shoulder, so I didn't. Happily, the film is a well-acted, beautifully shot, two-hander about a couple of gentle souls, thrown together by fate, who wind up the better for the confrontation.
Susan Traylor plays Lizzy, an attractive American tourist in Mexico on her way to a hotel. After her cab gets into an accident midway to her destination, she abandons her nonplussed driver, grabs her shoulder bag, and starts walking in the midday heat, seemingly stunned. Maybe she's received a slight concussion or maybe . . .
Many sunstruck hours later, Lizzy arrives at the hotel and falls instantly asleep even before the manager who shows her to her room can leave.
Susan Traylor plays Lizzy, an attractive American tourist in Mexico on her way to a hotel. After her cab gets into an accident midway to her destination, she abandons her nonplussed driver, grabs her shoulder bag, and starts walking in the midday heat, seemingly stunned. Maybe she's received a slight concussion or maybe . . .
Many sunstruck hours later, Lizzy arrives at the hotel and falls instantly asleep even before the manager who shows her to her room can leave.
- 8/26/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Totally relaxed in his Ritz-Carleton suite on Central Park South, his arms spread wide on a rather tasteful couch, Stephen Frears held court not at all like the monarch in his biggest success, The Queen, (2006). His press conference for his latest effort, Florence Foster Jenkins, will take place one hour later with about 40 journalists in attendance. His stars -- Meryl Streep, Hugh Grant, and The Big Bang Theory’s Simon Helberg -- would then be asked 95% of the questions. Not surprising. Directors, for the most, part do not drive traffic to web sites, sadly, even ones as near legendary as Frears.
Besides helming six of his past female leads to Academy-Award-nominated performances (Michelle Pfeiffer and Glenn Close in Dangerous Liaisons, Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening in The Grifters, plus Judi Dench in both Philomena and Mrs. Henderson Presents) and one Oscar win (Helen Mirren as the aforementioned queen), Frears has...
Besides helming six of his past female leads to Academy-Award-nominated performances (Michelle Pfeiffer and Glenn Close in Dangerous Liaisons, Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening in The Grifters, plus Judi Dench in both Philomena and Mrs. Henderson Presents) and one Oscar win (Helen Mirren as the aforementioned queen), Frears has...
- 8/19/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
If actor-turned-director Brady Corbet’s post-World-War-i saga, The Childhood of a Leader, did little more than send American readers to Jean-Paul Sartre’s lesser known short story of the same name, one would be thanking the cinematic gods for its appearance.
The final story in his Sartre’s 1939 collection, The Wall, “The Childhood of a Leader” chronicles the life of Lucien from his rebellious potty training days as a lovely, long-haired tot, son of a rich industrialist, to his transformation into anti-Semitic murderer. There goes Holden Caulfield but for the grace of God.
When we first meet Lucien, with his lustrous blond curls and attired in a blue angel’s costume, he is mistaken by his mother’s consorts as a girl.
“What’s your name? Jacqueline, Lucienne, Margot?”
The embarrassed boy blushes and sets the record right, but “[h]e was no longer quite sure about not being a little...
The final story in his Sartre’s 1939 collection, The Wall, “The Childhood of a Leader” chronicles the life of Lucien from his rebellious potty training days as a lovely, long-haired tot, son of a rich industrialist, to his transformation into anti-Semitic murderer. There goes Holden Caulfield but for the grace of God.
When we first meet Lucien, with his lustrous blond curls and attired in a blue angel’s costume, he is mistaken by his mother’s consorts as a girl.
“What’s your name? Jacqueline, Lucienne, Margot?”
The embarrassed boy blushes and sets the record right, but “[h]e was no longer quite sure about not being a little...
- 8/14/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Lickety-split is how everything goes in the latest Jason Bourne adventure starring Matt Damon and directed by Paul Greengrass, an old hand at shaping this series (The Bourne Supremacy (2004)); The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)).
For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Bourne, a hero of Robert Ludlum’s bestselling novels, he was introduced to our local cinemas in Doug Liman’s The Bourne Identity (2002), floating face-up in the ocean, unconscious, with several bullet wounds. Picked up by a foreign fishing boat, Bourne awakens to the fact that he doesn’t know who he is. Just to make sure we get the point, he has an interior monologue that is narrated aloud: “Do you know whom I am?”
Later he asks the same question to a crooked gent (Chris Cooper) at the CIA: “Who am I?”
The response: “You're U.S. Government property. You're a malfunctioning $30 million weapon. You're a total goddamn catastrophe.
For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Bourne, a hero of Robert Ludlum’s bestselling novels, he was introduced to our local cinemas in Doug Liman’s The Bourne Identity (2002), floating face-up in the ocean, unconscious, with several bullet wounds. Picked up by a foreign fishing boat, Bourne awakens to the fact that he doesn’t know who he is. Just to make sure we get the point, he has an interior monologue that is narrated aloud: “Do you know whom I am?”
Later he asks the same question to a crooked gent (Chris Cooper) at the CIA: “Who am I?”
The response: “You're U.S. Government property. You're a malfunctioning $30 million weapon. You're a total goddamn catastrophe.
- 7/31/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Quite early on in Catherine Corsini's embraceable French import Summertime, a group of young Parisian women run through the streets, laughing aloud while pinching male asses. Viva, Simone de Beauvoir! The buttocks-ravished men are both startled and outraged. How dare they be made into sexual objects. One gent even starts attacking a lass, but to her rescue comes farm-girl/tractor-driver/physically strapping Delphine (Izïa Higelin).
Please note the year is 1971 and feminism is a-brewing, pleasantly knocking the closeted, recent rural-escapee for a loop. Suddenly, she's not in a field with gaseous bovines but in a bus encircled by attractive, long-haired, rowdy, activist Amazons, who care not a whit whether one is into scissoring or the missionary position. All sex is good. All male subordination of the "fairer" gender is bad. They even sing, "Arise, enslaved woman."
Suddenly, our enthralled heroine is attending political conscious-raising groups, helping to cause havoc at anti-abortion lectures,...
Please note the year is 1971 and feminism is a-brewing, pleasantly knocking the closeted, recent rural-escapee for a loop. Suddenly, she's not in a field with gaseous bovines but in a bus encircled by attractive, long-haired, rowdy, activist Amazons, who care not a whit whether one is into scissoring or the missionary position. All sex is good. All male subordination of the "fairer" gender is bad. They even sing, "Arise, enslaved woman."
Suddenly, our enthralled heroine is attending political conscious-raising groups, helping to cause havoc at anti-abortion lectures,...
- 7/18/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Logo has declared D.J. Cotrona one the "hottest men of horror TV," not that far behind The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus. His video clips have made top tumblr posts, and he's included on one fan's Secret Celebrity Crush page right above Marlon Brando. What's more, you can observe Cotrona doing some heavy lifting on Ontd (Oh No They Didn't), and literally hundreds of other sites are still salivating over his bare-chested shots from G.I. Joe: Retaliation, his second film with Channing Tatum. The first: Dear John.
But what's now garnering Cotrona some richly deserved international renown is The El Rey Network's From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series. (The first two seasons can be viewed on Netflix.) Here's a rather lively, quirky adaptation of the Robert-Rodriguez-directed/Quentin-Tarantino-written, over-the-top, gory vampire funfest, From Dusk till Dawn: The Movie from 1996. That cult classic of sorts features George Clooney as Seth Gecko...
But what's now garnering Cotrona some richly deserved international renown is The El Rey Network's From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series. (The first two seasons can be viewed on Netflix.) Here's a rather lively, quirky adaptation of the Robert-Rodriguez-directed/Quentin-Tarantino-written, over-the-top, gory vampire funfest, From Dusk till Dawn: The Movie from 1996. That cult classic of sorts features George Clooney as Seth Gecko...
- 7/7/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
When The New Yorker's critic Pauline Kael was reviewing the screen adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's The Fox, she insisted: "If you are going to see a movie based on a book you think is worth reading, read the book first. You can never read the book with the same imaginative responsiveness to the author once you have seen the movie."
This is tripplely true with any offering from Steven Spielberg. In fact, whether it's a tale for children or a Holocaust saga or a Martian invasion, once you've viewed a Spielbergian take, your memory cells are colored forever by his palette of colors.
This will probably be the same with The Bfg, an extremely faithful and visually majestic rendering of Roald Dahl's bestseller that has sold tens of millions since its release in 1982. The book was banned, by the way, in 1987 in Amana, Iowa, for its gleeful take on cannibalism,...
This is tripplely true with any offering from Steven Spielberg. In fact, whether it's a tale for children or a Holocaust saga or a Martian invasion, once you've viewed a Spielbergian take, your memory cells are colored forever by his palette of colors.
This will probably be the same with The Bfg, an extremely faithful and visually majestic rendering of Roald Dahl's bestseller that has sold tens of millions since its release in 1982. The book was banned, by the way, in 1987 in Amana, Iowa, for its gleeful take on cannibalism,...
- 7/2/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
"How would you wipe my ass?" is not a question asked at every job interview, but it is in the Netflix adaptation of Jonathan Evison's enthusiastically praised 2012 novel, The Revised Fundamentals of Caring.
The Boston Globe critic, in fact, raved that the book reminded him of "Little Miss Sunshine meets Rain Man." The New York Times insisted the work was "infused with a sad rage that makes good comedy great," and the La Weekly added that here was "a literary version of a good grunge song."
Rob Burnett, who served as the executive producer of Late Night with David Letterman for two decades, wrote and directed this celluloid reworking of the tome, apparently a project dear to his heart. The result is a highly engaging yet rather familiar road movie. Two self-involved souls with rather enormous personal problems jump into a van to visit the biggest manmade hole in America,...
The Boston Globe critic, in fact, raved that the book reminded him of "Little Miss Sunshine meets Rain Man." The New York Times insisted the work was "infused with a sad rage that makes good comedy great," and the La Weekly added that here was "a literary version of a good grunge song."
Rob Burnett, who served as the executive producer of Late Night with David Letterman for two decades, wrote and directed this celluloid reworking of the tome, apparently a project dear to his heart. The result is a highly engaging yet rather familiar road movie. Two self-involved souls with rather enormous personal problems jump into a van to visit the biggest manmade hole in America,...
- 6/30/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
The Danish-born director, Nicolas Winding Refn, has helmed a few popular movies such as Drive (2011), Bronson (2008), and the Pusher trilogy. This success has been only slightly marred by a handful of far-less-favored works including Fear X (2003) and Only God Forgives (2013) starring Ryan Gosling.
Ironically, that latter disaster supplied grist for one of the best scenes in the documentary, My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, which was helmed by Refn's wife, the talented but put-upon Liz Corfixen. Near the end of her engaging feature on her self-absorbed spouse, Refn, lying on his bed after the Cannes opening of Only God Forgives, mutters, "Why do critics have to be so cruel?" Then he reads aloud off his cell phone this Hollywood Elsewhere critique by Jeffrey Wells:
"Movies really don't get much worse... It's a shit macho fantasy -- hyperviolent, ethically repulsive, sad, nonsensical, deathly dull, snail-paced, idiotic, possibly woman-hating, visually suffocating, pretentious... [T]his is a defecation by an over-praised, over-indulged director who thinks anything he craps out is worthy of your time. I felt violated, shat upon, sedated, narcotized, appalled and bored stiff."
What I found so fascinating here, besides Refn's reaction to such verbiage ("That's how you know when you made great cinema. When half love and half hate it."), was that Mr. Wells will be able to reuse his review word for word for The Neon Demon.
This tale focuses upon a sixteen-year-old virgin, Jesse (Elle Fanning), who arrives in Los Angeles to begin a modeling career. Her first job is to lie on a couch with her neck supposedly slit and the fake blood streaming everywhere. The photographer is the young, kind-hearted Dean (Karl Glusman, who exposed his erection throughout Gaspar Noé's equally dull Love (2015)). The chap instantly falls in love with her.
Please don't ask why a nice guy would have a young woman pose with her body mutilated, other than it is a striking visual to open a film with. Anyway, Jesse has no time for love. Admitting herself talentless except for being pretty, she has only one item on her bucket list: to be a top model. Seemingly, she will succeed because when this young woman enters a room, everyone stares. Men. Women. Goats. Chimpanzees.
The very next day she's hired by a modeling agency. Twenty-four hours later she's posing for a top brooding photographer (Desmond Harrington), who after spotting her, has everyone leave the studio, orders Jesse to strip, then rubs metallic paint all over her body. Hopefully, it's not lead-based.
Soon every blonde model in L.A. with an Olive-Oyl physique hates her for stealing their jobs, and to top it off, the manager (Keanu Reeves) of the cruddy motel she's staying in is a rapist with a Lolita fixation. Uh-oh. Can there be more? Poorly directed party scenes, stray wildcats and eyeballs, cannibalism, a vile depiction of a horny lesbian, necrophilia in a mortuary, and a dastardly over-the-top performance by Alessandro Nivola as a shallow fashion designer just scrape the top layer of the slime that slithers about as The Neon Demon.
Mr. Refn has noted his goal was to make a satire about the modeling industry and America's facile addiction to externals. He also wanted to explore the 16-year-old girl that resides within himself. As if that weren't enough inspiration, he's spouted, "One morning I woke and realized I was both surrounded and dominated by women. Strangely, a sudden urge was planted in me to make a horror film about vicious beauty."
Now if Mr. Refn had an iota of wit (visual or otherwise) or if he respected women (his wife says he just wants her around as a housewife) or if his half-baked ideas spent ten more minutes in the oven, this offering could have been a gas. Paul Morrisey, John Waters, or even Greg Araki might have shaped this hodgepodge into a tongue-in-cheek funfest. But if Refn is aiming for intentional laughs, he fails. He seems to have been treading more into David Lynch territory but was swallowed up by the quicksand of his own dullardry. More Blue Polyester than Blue Velvet.
That Refn had no idea what he was creating with Demon was not a new occurrence for this vanquished auteur. He has said of a previous effort, "I've spent three years on this movie, and I don't really know what it's about." Then after the filming and the editing of Only God Forgives was completed, he observed to his wife," I wasted six months of our lives." Happily, for us, with his latest, our wasted time clocks in at one hour and 57 minutes. It just feels like six months.
(The Neon Demon, which had its world premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival to several boos, opens in theaters on June 24th.) - Brandon Judell
Mr. Judell has written on film for The Village Voice, indieWire.com, the New York Daily News, Soho Style, and The Advocate, and is anthologized in Cynthia Fuchs's Spike Lee Interviews (University Press of Mississippi) and John Preston's A Member of the Family (Dutton). He is also a member of the performance/writing group FlashPoint.
Ironically, that latter disaster supplied grist for one of the best scenes in the documentary, My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, which was helmed by Refn's wife, the talented but put-upon Liz Corfixen. Near the end of her engaging feature on her self-absorbed spouse, Refn, lying on his bed after the Cannes opening of Only God Forgives, mutters, "Why do critics have to be so cruel?" Then he reads aloud off his cell phone this Hollywood Elsewhere critique by Jeffrey Wells:
"Movies really don't get much worse... It's a shit macho fantasy -- hyperviolent, ethically repulsive, sad, nonsensical, deathly dull, snail-paced, idiotic, possibly woman-hating, visually suffocating, pretentious... [T]his is a defecation by an over-praised, over-indulged director who thinks anything he craps out is worthy of your time. I felt violated, shat upon, sedated, narcotized, appalled and bored stiff."
What I found so fascinating here, besides Refn's reaction to such verbiage ("That's how you know when you made great cinema. When half love and half hate it."), was that Mr. Wells will be able to reuse his review word for word for The Neon Demon.
This tale focuses upon a sixteen-year-old virgin, Jesse (Elle Fanning), who arrives in Los Angeles to begin a modeling career. Her first job is to lie on a couch with her neck supposedly slit and the fake blood streaming everywhere. The photographer is the young, kind-hearted Dean (Karl Glusman, who exposed his erection throughout Gaspar Noé's equally dull Love (2015)). The chap instantly falls in love with her.
Please don't ask why a nice guy would have a young woman pose with her body mutilated, other than it is a striking visual to open a film with. Anyway, Jesse has no time for love. Admitting herself talentless except for being pretty, she has only one item on her bucket list: to be a top model. Seemingly, she will succeed because when this young woman enters a room, everyone stares. Men. Women. Goats. Chimpanzees.
The very next day she's hired by a modeling agency. Twenty-four hours later she's posing for a top brooding photographer (Desmond Harrington), who after spotting her, has everyone leave the studio, orders Jesse to strip, then rubs metallic paint all over her body. Hopefully, it's not lead-based.
Soon every blonde model in L.A. with an Olive-Oyl physique hates her for stealing their jobs, and to top it off, the manager (Keanu Reeves) of the cruddy motel she's staying in is a rapist with a Lolita fixation. Uh-oh. Can there be more? Poorly directed party scenes, stray wildcats and eyeballs, cannibalism, a vile depiction of a horny lesbian, necrophilia in a mortuary, and a dastardly over-the-top performance by Alessandro Nivola as a shallow fashion designer just scrape the top layer of the slime that slithers about as The Neon Demon.
Mr. Refn has noted his goal was to make a satire about the modeling industry and America's facile addiction to externals. He also wanted to explore the 16-year-old girl that resides within himself. As if that weren't enough inspiration, he's spouted, "One morning I woke and realized I was both surrounded and dominated by women. Strangely, a sudden urge was planted in me to make a horror film about vicious beauty."
Now if Mr. Refn had an iota of wit (visual or otherwise) or if he respected women (his wife says he just wants her around as a housewife) or if his half-baked ideas spent ten more minutes in the oven, this offering could have been a gas. Paul Morrisey, John Waters, or even Greg Araki might have shaped this hodgepodge into a tongue-in-cheek funfest. But if Refn is aiming for intentional laughs, he fails. He seems to have been treading more into David Lynch territory but was swallowed up by the quicksand of his own dullardry. More Blue Polyester than Blue Velvet.
That Refn had no idea what he was creating with Demon was not a new occurrence for this vanquished auteur. He has said of a previous effort, "I've spent three years on this movie, and I don't really know what it's about." Then after the filming and the editing of Only God Forgives was completed, he observed to his wife," I wasted six months of our lives." Happily, for us, with his latest, our wasted time clocks in at one hour and 57 minutes. It just feels like six months.
(The Neon Demon, which had its world premiere at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival to several boos, opens in theaters on June 24th.) - Brandon Judell
Mr. Judell has written on film for The Village Voice, indieWire.com, the New York Daily News, Soho Style, and The Advocate, and is anthologized in Cynthia Fuchs's Spike Lee Interviews (University Press of Mississippi) and John Preston's A Member of the Family (Dutton). He is also a member of the performance/writing group FlashPoint.
- 6/15/2016
- by webmaster
- www.culturecatch.com
"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards," noted Soren Kierkgaard, but what if you don't see much of a future for yourself and those around you? Will you just become mired in the past? That's the plight of many of the characters in the critically acclaimed offerings of Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad, whose contentious works have twice been nominated for Best Foreign Film Oscars: Paradise Now in 2006 and Omar in 2014.
Paradise Now is a buddy film about two young Palestinian men recruited to be suicide bombers. Their target: an Israeli bus packed to the rafters with children, your everyday folk, and a few soldiers. What one would expect to be a horrifically tragic tale, an exploration of the mindset of the "heroes," their families, and their handlers, is indeed horrifically tragic, yet also surprisingly witty, romantic, suspenseful, political ambiguous, and even at times broadly comic.
I pointed out at the time of the film's release that there was the dilemma, at least for me, of being Jewish and sympathizing with the lead characters who under the right circumstances would blow me up. Freud would know what to say here.
Omar deals with a Palestinian freedom fighter who winds up against his will working for the Israelis. Rana's Wedding (2002) pursues a young woman's ordeal to get married, a quest that's constantly hindered by the Israeli traffic blockades, and the documentary Ford Transit (2003) exposes the the thoughts of a cross section of the Palestinian populace as they travel in a van while constantly being halted by Israeli soldiers.
What's interesting here is that the Palestinians depicted in Abu-Assad's oeuvre are not whitewashed. While many are honorable survivors of a chaos they were born into, definitely worthy of empathy, just as many are exploitative of their peers, selfish, villainous, or at times bumblers.
Now comes the director's most light-hearted offering, The Idol (trailer above), at least light-hearted by his standards. Based upon the true story of Mohammed Assaf, the winner of the 2013 Arab Idol television reality show, this biopic's dramatic arc is not so different from let's say Phillip Phillips' or Scotty McCreery's. The main variance is that Assaf was raised in Gaza amongst bombed-out buildings and his chance of winning such a contest was probably less than you winning the Mega Millions lottery. Add a tragic death in the family, no money to buy musical instruments, schoolmates who believe making music is sacrilegious, and his having no visa to get to Egypt where the contest is held, Assaf's future seemed pretty bleak until his unrelenting pluck and talent were rewarded.
With just enough sentimentality, Abu-Assad chronicles Assaf's life full throttle, from childhood until his miracle win that had thousands of his fellow Palestinians rooting for him in the streets on the nights of the broadcast. The singer's out-of-left-field victory became their victory. And while The Idol lacks the unnerving power and edginess of his previous films, the director's move to a more populist entertainment format can never be divorced from the Middle Eastern politics that frames his other works.
Sitting down recently in the Smyth Hotel's restaurant in Tribeca, the enthused Abu-Assad held forth on his latest venture, while his lunch went cold.
"The experience of making Paradise Now was so difficult, it was almost as difficult as the storyline itself," he shared. "I swear we were almost killed. There was a kidnapping, explosions, people died around us. It was hell. The experience of making Omar was likewise similar to the story of Omar. It was difficult, a lot of conflict, a lot of paranoia, producers that felt that they were betrayed. I felt I was betrayed by the producers. However, the experience of The Idol was like the story itself. It was difficult in the beginning, but in the end was such a joyful experience, and I regained my trust in making movies because after Omar, the shoot, I almost said to myself, 'I'm not going to make movies any more. If movie-making is so difficult, why should we do it?' It was like I regained my trust again, my joy in making movies with The Idol.
In an interview from 2006 with Ilana Sichel, Abu-Assad said, "The only thing I'm trying to do is tell the story of my culture - my narrative, my history. I don't think [my films] can play a role now, but maybe in ten, fifty years. Maybe [they] can be a small piece in the puzzle of history. [They] could move you, but [they're] not forcing you to change your ideas." Currently, he's the world's most famous Palestinian director. Does that crown affect how he makes his movies? Does he feel a certain responsibility to represent his people in a certain way?
"I don't like the idea of becoming the voice of the Palestinian cause," he responded, "even though I suffer from the occupation, from discrimination, from apartheid, but the Palestinians are asking a lot from me to become the savior. This is a burden because a lot of the Palestinians have lost hope in their politicians and in the political situation, and they are now hoping through other institutions, like the arts, to free themselves, and this is impossible. Art will never take the place of the political arena. It is impossible. Art can help situations. It can give hope. It can give inspiration. In the end, the politicians and political situations are going to solve the problems. Now this burden is bothering me . . . . They will be disappointed as they are disappointed in the politics, more even. Are they kidding to think filmmaking can really change your situation? Sometimes, I feel even guilty because I am making movies about Palestinians. Yes, I became famous, and they're still under occupation."
After taking a bite of food, Abu-Assad added, "However, I learned from The Idol about the role of the importance of art in our life. I did not realize before that it is so important. Because when I saw so many people united, rich and old, Christians and Muslims, rich and poor, there on the squares, united, hearing Mohammed Assaf's voice, hearing the beauty of his voice, it was amazing. His voice is very beautiful. It is art. Hearing him singing brought the same expressions [of joy] to the faces of all these people, frustrated, not frustrated. I felt, "My God! How important art can be in our lives." I learned from that, even though in the past I was more skeptical about the power of art. I learned that we can't leave the masses of people to Walt Disney. As an artist, you have to take responsibility also to tell these people something and not just leave these concepts to the big studios. You have to take your role as an artist and reach out to these people."
He then took another bite. - Brandon Judell
Mr. Judell has written on film for The Village Voice, indieWire.com, the New York Daily News, Soho Style, and The Advocate, and is anthologized in Cynthia Fuchs's Spike Lee Interviews (University Press of Mississippi) and John Preston's A Member of the Family (Dutton). He is also a member of the performance/writing group FlashPoint.
Paradise Now is a buddy film about two young Palestinian men recruited to be suicide bombers. Their target: an Israeli bus packed to the rafters with children, your everyday folk, and a few soldiers. What one would expect to be a horrifically tragic tale, an exploration of the mindset of the "heroes," their families, and their handlers, is indeed horrifically tragic, yet also surprisingly witty, romantic, suspenseful, political ambiguous, and even at times broadly comic.
I pointed out at the time of the film's release that there was the dilemma, at least for me, of being Jewish and sympathizing with the lead characters who under the right circumstances would blow me up. Freud would know what to say here.
Omar deals with a Palestinian freedom fighter who winds up against his will working for the Israelis. Rana's Wedding (2002) pursues a young woman's ordeal to get married, a quest that's constantly hindered by the Israeli traffic blockades, and the documentary Ford Transit (2003) exposes the the thoughts of a cross section of the Palestinian populace as they travel in a van while constantly being halted by Israeli soldiers.
What's interesting here is that the Palestinians depicted in Abu-Assad's oeuvre are not whitewashed. While many are honorable survivors of a chaos they were born into, definitely worthy of empathy, just as many are exploitative of their peers, selfish, villainous, or at times bumblers.
Now comes the director's most light-hearted offering, The Idol (trailer above), at least light-hearted by his standards. Based upon the true story of Mohammed Assaf, the winner of the 2013 Arab Idol television reality show, this biopic's dramatic arc is not so different from let's say Phillip Phillips' or Scotty McCreery's. The main variance is that Assaf was raised in Gaza amongst bombed-out buildings and his chance of winning such a contest was probably less than you winning the Mega Millions lottery. Add a tragic death in the family, no money to buy musical instruments, schoolmates who believe making music is sacrilegious, and his having no visa to get to Egypt where the contest is held, Assaf's future seemed pretty bleak until his unrelenting pluck and talent were rewarded.
With just enough sentimentality, Abu-Assad chronicles Assaf's life full throttle, from childhood until his miracle win that had thousands of his fellow Palestinians rooting for him in the streets on the nights of the broadcast. The singer's out-of-left-field victory became their victory. And while The Idol lacks the unnerving power and edginess of his previous films, the director's move to a more populist entertainment format can never be divorced from the Middle Eastern politics that frames his other works.
Sitting down recently in the Smyth Hotel's restaurant in Tribeca, the enthused Abu-Assad held forth on his latest venture, while his lunch went cold.
"The experience of making Paradise Now was so difficult, it was almost as difficult as the storyline itself," he shared. "I swear we were almost killed. There was a kidnapping, explosions, people died around us. It was hell. The experience of making Omar was likewise similar to the story of Omar. It was difficult, a lot of conflict, a lot of paranoia, producers that felt that they were betrayed. I felt I was betrayed by the producers. However, the experience of The Idol was like the story itself. It was difficult in the beginning, but in the end was such a joyful experience, and I regained my trust in making movies because after Omar, the shoot, I almost said to myself, 'I'm not going to make movies any more. If movie-making is so difficult, why should we do it?' It was like I regained my trust again, my joy in making movies with The Idol.
In an interview from 2006 with Ilana Sichel, Abu-Assad said, "The only thing I'm trying to do is tell the story of my culture - my narrative, my history. I don't think [my films] can play a role now, but maybe in ten, fifty years. Maybe [they] can be a small piece in the puzzle of history. [They] could move you, but [they're] not forcing you to change your ideas." Currently, he's the world's most famous Palestinian director. Does that crown affect how he makes his movies? Does he feel a certain responsibility to represent his people in a certain way?
"I don't like the idea of becoming the voice of the Palestinian cause," he responded, "even though I suffer from the occupation, from discrimination, from apartheid, but the Palestinians are asking a lot from me to become the savior. This is a burden because a lot of the Palestinians have lost hope in their politicians and in the political situation, and they are now hoping through other institutions, like the arts, to free themselves, and this is impossible. Art will never take the place of the political arena. It is impossible. Art can help situations. It can give hope. It can give inspiration. In the end, the politicians and political situations are going to solve the problems. Now this burden is bothering me . . . . They will be disappointed as they are disappointed in the politics, more even. Are they kidding to think filmmaking can really change your situation? Sometimes, I feel even guilty because I am making movies about Palestinians. Yes, I became famous, and they're still under occupation."
After taking a bite of food, Abu-Assad added, "However, I learned from The Idol about the role of the importance of art in our life. I did not realize before that it is so important. Because when I saw so many people united, rich and old, Christians and Muslims, rich and poor, there on the squares, united, hearing Mohammed Assaf's voice, hearing the beauty of his voice, it was amazing. His voice is very beautiful. It is art. Hearing him singing brought the same expressions [of joy] to the faces of all these people, frustrated, not frustrated. I felt, "My God! How important art can be in our lives." I learned from that, even though in the past I was more skeptical about the power of art. I learned that we can't leave the masses of people to Walt Disney. As an artist, you have to take responsibility also to tell these people something and not just leave these concepts to the big studios. You have to take your role as an artist and reach out to these people."
He then took another bite. - Brandon Judell
Mr. Judell has written on film for The Village Voice, indieWire.com, the New York Daily News, Soho Style, and The Advocate, and is anthologized in Cynthia Fuchs's Spike Lee Interviews (University Press of Mississippi) and John Preston's A Member of the Family (Dutton). He is also a member of the performance/writing group FlashPoint.
- 6/7/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
"I'm the kind of girl who's tried everything once," Valerine Perrine purrs in Lenny. As Mrs. Bruce in the Bob Fosse film, her claim, let's say, contained slightly off-color elements.
Not so for the chanteuse Arlene Wolff, who can make the same assertion and whose career path followed a similar timeline (the 1960s onward). She, however, always took the high road. Yes, her notable achievements are indisputably aboveboard and even more varied. She opened for Jackie Mason in his early days, toured Europe as a singer of standards, and as Assistant to New York City's Mayor Abraham Beame, Wolff devised the Big Apple's now iconic street fairs. If that were not enough, for you sailor buffs, she organized the arrival of the tall ships in New York Harbor for the Bicentennial. Then because she had some free time on her hands, she married Manhattan's then Chief of Police (Mickey Schwartz...
Not so for the chanteuse Arlene Wolff, who can make the same assertion and whose career path followed a similar timeline (the 1960s onward). She, however, always took the high road. Yes, her notable achievements are indisputably aboveboard and even more varied. She opened for Jackie Mason in his early days, toured Europe as a singer of standards, and as Assistant to New York City's Mayor Abraham Beame, Wolff devised the Big Apple's now iconic street fairs. If that were not enough, for you sailor buffs, she organized the arrival of the tall ships in New York Harbor for the Bicentennial. Then because she had some free time on her hands, she married Manhattan's then Chief of Police (Mickey Schwartz...
- 5/24/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Will maggot fat oust coconut oil as a foodie favorite? Is PepsiCo replacing the corn flour in its Fritos with ground cricket corpses? And, hey! Who doesn't want to bite into some chicken with garlic and saffron sauce topped with crumbled buffalo worms?
Answers: Possibly. Not yet. Less people than you might think.
Andreas Johnsen's Bugs, just one of the many enlightening documentaries featured at last week's Tribeca Film Festival, focuses on a team from the Copenhagen-based Nordic Food Lab, "a nonprofit organization investigating food diversity and deliciousness." The lead duo chaperoning us in this doc, Ben Reade and Josh Evans, are part of a three-year research project on edible insects. They travelled to Kenya, Japan, Mexico, Italy, and several other insect-infested destinations to unearth the culture and cooking techniques of a few of the two billion individuals who are already noshing on the creepy-crawlers that many of us buy Raid to exterminate.
Answers: Possibly. Not yet. Less people than you might think.
Andreas Johnsen's Bugs, just one of the many enlightening documentaries featured at last week's Tribeca Film Festival, focuses on a team from the Copenhagen-based Nordic Food Lab, "a nonprofit organization investigating food diversity and deliciousness." The lead duo chaperoning us in this doc, Ben Reade and Josh Evans, are part of a three-year research project on edible insects. They travelled to Kenya, Japan, Mexico, Italy, and several other insect-infested destinations to unearth the culture and cooking techniques of a few of the two billion individuals who are already noshing on the creepy-crawlers that many of us buy Raid to exterminate.
- 4/27/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
"It's a real potboiler that is boiling and boiling and boiling and erupts in a way that few films ever do," director Dan Trachtenberg, 34, exclaimed over his first full-length feature, 10 Cloverfield Lane. Well, it's certainly hard to argue with him.
From the opening Psycho-fueled moments to the allusions to Notorious to the surprising twist of a finale, it's hard to recall a recent film that made squirming in one's seat such a pleasurable pastime. Produced with a sure hand by J.J. Abrams, with a relentlessly unnerving score by Bear McCreary, razor-sharp editing by Stefan Grube, and wry plotting by Josh Campbell and Matthew Stuecken, there is a reason the audience at the screening I attended spilled its popcorn every which way. These folks were freaking out but without having to be exposed to the full panoply of gore and excessive physical violence that most horror films apply with a trowel.
From the opening Psycho-fueled moments to the allusions to Notorious to the surprising twist of a finale, it's hard to recall a recent film that made squirming in one's seat such a pleasurable pastime. Produced with a sure hand by J.J. Abrams, with a relentlessly unnerving score by Bear McCreary, razor-sharp editing by Stefan Grube, and wry plotting by Josh Campbell and Matthew Stuecken, there is a reason the audience at the screening I attended spilled its popcorn every which way. These folks were freaking out but without having to be exposed to the full panoply of gore and excessive physical violence that most horror films apply with a trowel.
- 3/12/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Streaming service Presto has appointed Sydney-based Match Media to handle its media after a review of the market.
The service, a joint venture Foxtel and Seven, had recently worked with Mindshre to launch a campaign headed by Naomi Watts.
The news follows the entrance on NBC Universal's all reality streaming, Hayu, into the market.
Hayu joins Stan, Netflix and Presto in the Australian market. .
Presto marketing director, Sally Kiernan, said Presto's first year had seen huge growth and success, "with thanks to the incredible support throughout this critical launch phase from our shareholder.s in-house media team and supporting media agency, Mindshare," she said..
"We are thrilled to welcome Match Media as our dedicated media partner as we enter our second year, and look forward to working closely together..
Match Media chief executive, John Preston, said the streaming category was challenging, highly competitive and continually evolving..
"Bringing all the media...
The service, a joint venture Foxtel and Seven, had recently worked with Mindshre to launch a campaign headed by Naomi Watts.
The news follows the entrance on NBC Universal's all reality streaming, Hayu, into the market.
Hayu joins Stan, Netflix and Presto in the Australian market. .
Presto marketing director, Sally Kiernan, said Presto's first year had seen huge growth and success, "with thanks to the incredible support throughout this critical launch phase from our shareholder.s in-house media team and supporting media agency, Mindshare," she said..
"We are thrilled to welcome Match Media as our dedicated media partner as we enter our second year, and look forward to working closely together..
Match Media chief executive, John Preston, said the streaming category was challenging, highly competitive and continually evolving..
"Bringing all the media...
- 2/15/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Amos Gitai. If you can recall when Vincent D'Onofrio was sexy, Gitai has that sort of confrontational charm. He turns you on while he sets you on edge, even at age 66.
One of Israel's most prolific directors, this constant provocateur has let loose with over 80 shorts, documentaries and narratives since 1972, many of them exploring Israel in an acutely critical manner, from Orthodox misogyny (Kadosh (1999)) to his war experiences during which he was wounded (Kippur (2000) ), to a story of a residence, from its Arab owners to the Israelis who took ownership (House (1980)). The latter documentary was made for Israeli TV but was deemed inappropriate, and if Gitai hadn't smuggled it out of the station, it would have been destroyed.
But since House, no government would think of messing with Gitai and his work, especially since his oeuvre has been acclaimed at such world-class venues as Cannes and the Venice Film Festival.
One of Israel's most prolific directors, this constant provocateur has let loose with over 80 shorts, documentaries and narratives since 1972, many of them exploring Israel in an acutely critical manner, from Orthodox misogyny (Kadosh (1999)) to his war experiences during which he was wounded (Kippur (2000) ), to a story of a residence, from its Arab owners to the Israelis who took ownership (House (1980)). The latter documentary was made for Israeli TV but was deemed inappropriate, and if Gitai hadn't smuggled it out of the station, it would have been destroyed.
But since House, no government would think of messing with Gitai and his work, especially since his oeuvre has been acclaimed at such world-class venues as Cannes and the Venice Film Festival.
- 1/30/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Lately, if you feel unworthy because God has given you just too good a life...just too much joy... and your hair shirt is at the cleaners, you can do your penance by watching J Blakeson's The 5th Wave.
Yes, here's yet another dystopian teen mini-epic based on yet another acclaimed Ya title, this one by Rick Yancey. USA Today called the tome "a modern sci-fi masterpiece." Add Amazon Best Book of the Year to The 5th Wave's plaudits. Yet the screenplay it inspired, the one fashioned by Susannah (Erin Brockovich) Grant (Akiva I, Robot) Goldsman, and Jeff (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) Pinkner, might best be described as The Ennui Games or first-class teen drivel.
The tales begins with Cassie Sullivan (Chloë Grace Moretz), a lone, adolescent lass crossing a deserted roadway with a rifle in hand. She heads into a ransacked grocery store searching for any source of protein.
Yes, here's yet another dystopian teen mini-epic based on yet another acclaimed Ya title, this one by Rick Yancey. USA Today called the tome "a modern sci-fi masterpiece." Add Amazon Best Book of the Year to The 5th Wave's plaudits. Yet the screenplay it inspired, the one fashioned by Susannah (Erin Brockovich) Grant (Akiva I, Robot) Goldsman, and Jeff (The Amazing Spider-Man 2) Pinkner, might best be described as The Ennui Games or first-class teen drivel.
The tales begins with Cassie Sullivan (Chloë Grace Moretz), a lone, adolescent lass crossing a deserted roadway with a rifle in hand. She heads into a ransacked grocery store searching for any source of protein.
- 1/23/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
"For the longest time I couldn't put a name to who I was. I didn't have an image to who was like me. It was torturous," Jane Lynch notes in Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema, the savvy documentary from 2006 by Lesli Klainberg and Lisa Ades.
A few minutes after Jane lets loose, Todd Haynes, the director of Carol and Poison, adds, "I think films do make a difference. They get under people's skin, and they reflect our lives and our experiences back to us."
But if you're gay and don't check off Caucasian on various surveys, you have had a harder time finding yourself on the big screen. There's been Pariah (2011), The Watermelon Woman (1996), Brother to Brother (2004), and a handful of others of varying delight. But if you are a gay, black, Muslim teenager residing in Brooklyn and are in love with another gay, black, Muslim teen, where will you get media support?...
A few minutes after Jane lets loose, Todd Haynes, the director of Carol and Poison, adds, "I think films do make a difference. They get under people's skin, and they reflect our lives and our experiences back to us."
But if you're gay and don't check off Caucasian on various surveys, you have had a harder time finding yourself on the big screen. There's been Pariah (2011), The Watermelon Woman (1996), Brother to Brother (2004), and a handful of others of varying delight. But if you are a gay, black, Muslim teenager residing in Brooklyn and are in love with another gay, black, Muslim teen, where will you get media support?...
- 1/21/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
"Why is everyone on this fucking island addicted to drama?" the all-knowing Mama (a superb Luis Alberto Garcia) moans.
Mama is the owner of a Havana gay bar featuring chintzy drag performers who gesticulate to emotional diva tunes and who, when the show's over, whore a little on the side. That's part of the setting for Viva, Ireland's Spanish-language submission for this year's Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
Having strutted its way onto a list of nine finalists -- which will eventually be whittled down to a mere five -- Viva showcases nothing a bit Irish onscreen, not even a high kick filched from Michael Flatley. And although some of the shooting was done on the Emerald shores, possibly interior shots, all the Erin-Go-Bragh action is off screen: Paddy Breathnach, director; Mark O'Halloran, screenwriter, and so forth and so on. (There's also a dash of Mexican for added excitement:...
Mama is the owner of a Havana gay bar featuring chintzy drag performers who gesticulate to emotional diva tunes and who, when the show's over, whore a little on the side. That's part of the setting for Viva, Ireland's Spanish-language submission for this year's Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.
Having strutted its way onto a list of nine finalists -- which will eventually be whittled down to a mere five -- Viva showcases nothing a bit Irish onscreen, not even a high kick filched from Michael Flatley. And although some of the shooting was done on the Emerald shores, possibly interior shots, all the Erin-Go-Bragh action is off screen: Paddy Breathnach, director; Mark O'Halloran, screenwriter, and so forth and so on. (There's also a dash of Mexican for added excitement:...
- 1/13/2016
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
To celebrate their tenth anniversary, the animated movie parody makers How It Should Have Ended have put together their own cameo-packed parody music video of Taylor Swift's Bad Blood, this time about the upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, sung from Batman's perspective. It's essentially a shot-for-shot remake, but with Batman. Many films could benefit from this approach. It's so far racked up over 1.4 million views in under 2 days.
When you think about it, Batman and Taylor Swift aren't that different. One of them is an iconic figure known for their voice who fights for justice and is beloved by millions. The other is Batman.
Whereas Batman punches bad guys in the face with his fists, Taylor Swift punches your emotions in the face with beautiful, lyrical song.
As Brooklyn Nine-Nine puts it: “She makes me feel things, okay?!”; “She makes us *all* feel things!”
In The Lego Movie,...
When you think about it, Batman and Taylor Swift aren't that different. One of them is an iconic figure known for their voice who fights for justice and is beloved by millions. The other is Batman.
Whereas Batman punches bad guys in the face with his fists, Taylor Swift punches your emotions in the face with beautiful, lyrical song.
As Brooklyn Nine-Nine puts it: “She makes me feel things, okay?!”; “She makes us *all* feel things!”
In The Lego Movie,...
- 9/12/2015
- Shadowlocked
As Saint Jerome noted so wisely, "Early impressions are hard to eradicate from the mind. When once wool has been dyed purple, who can restore it to its previous whiteness?"
Accordingly, anyone who's been bombarded with the TV ads for Josh Trank's Fantastic Four shouldn't be chastised for sprinting away from any multiplex screening of this latest Marvel concoction. Those trailers showcase a film lacking in verbal and visual wit, actors seemingly bereft of sparkle, and disfigured creatures that wouldn't appear out of place in a Toho production of the 1950s (e.g. Half Human in 1958; Rodan in 1957). While none of those early impressions are that wide off the mark, the first 45 minutes or so of this effort, nonetheless, are promising.
Before we go down that path, let's just note for those familiar with Trank's debut feature, the pretty terrific Chronicle (2012), Fantastic Four will seem like a bloated, less imaginative revamp in comparison.
Accordingly, anyone who's been bombarded with the TV ads for Josh Trank's Fantastic Four shouldn't be chastised for sprinting away from any multiplex screening of this latest Marvel concoction. Those trailers showcase a film lacking in verbal and visual wit, actors seemingly bereft of sparkle, and disfigured creatures that wouldn't appear out of place in a Toho production of the 1950s (e.g. Half Human in 1958; Rodan in 1957). While none of those early impressions are that wide off the mark, the first 45 minutes or so of this effort, nonetheless, are promising.
Before we go down that path, let's just note for those familiar with Trank's debut feature, the pretty terrific Chronicle (2012), Fantastic Four will seem like a bloated, less imaginative revamp in comparison.
- 8/15/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
"You think I'll sit back and do nothing as you try to eat me like a juicy grasshopper?" shouts Richard, the thuggish head of the Ugandan crime syndicate, the Tiger Mafia.
This unraveling gent has been raving ever since his brother was captured that afternoon by Captain Alex and his commandos. That Richard discovers his wife was spared provides no solace to him. In fact, just the opposite. Richard yells at her, "I don't need you. I have dozens of wives. I only have one brother." Then he bellows to his second-in-command, "Instead of my brother, you saved this bitch." He then shoots his spouse. (This isn't as sexist as it sounds since Richard tends to shoot everyone whether friend or foe.)
Sadly, this drug-dealing villain is not the only one on the set who's psychotically unsettled. There's the hired gun who notes, "I'm a mercenary from Russia. I came here to kill.
This unraveling gent has been raving ever since his brother was captured that afternoon by Captain Alex and his commandos. That Richard discovers his wife was spared provides no solace to him. In fact, just the opposite. Richard yells at her, "I don't need you. I have dozens of wives. I only have one brother." Then he bellows to his second-in-command, "Instead of my brother, you saved this bitch." He then shoots his spouse. (This isn't as sexist as it sounds since Richard tends to shoot everyone whether friend or foe.)
Sadly, this drug-dealing villain is not the only one on the set who's psychotically unsettled. There's the hired gun who notes, "I'm a mercenary from Russia. I came here to kill.
- 8/11/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
In 1997, Pedro Costa (above), at the age of 38, began a trilogy exploring Portugal's impoverished, an undertaking that would continuously draw raves from the more erudite critics around the world. First came Ossos, which was pursued by In Vanda's Room (2000) and Colossal Youth (2006). These films, often showcasing the same characters, are sublimely visual, meditative masterworks that paint within shadows the seemingly plotless lives of the drug-addled inhabitants of a ghetto that is slowly being dismantled.
The Film Society of Lincoln Center last week had a retrospective of these early works plus other tidbits of Costa's oeuvre, a sort of celluloid foreplay leading to the release of Costa's latest effort, Horse Money. The accompanying press release for this tribute notes that "Costa is now widely regarded as one of the most important artists on the international film scene," and the Film Society's Director of Programming, Dennis Lim, added, "Simply put, nobody makes...
The Film Society of Lincoln Center last week had a retrospective of these early works plus other tidbits of Costa's oeuvre, a sort of celluloid foreplay leading to the release of Costa's latest effort, Horse Money. The accompanying press release for this tribute notes that "Costa is now widely regarded as one of the most important artists on the international film scene," and the Film Society's Director of Programming, Dennis Lim, added, "Simply put, nobody makes...
- 7/30/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Judd Apatow's Trainwreck doesn't truly merit its title until this comic venture totally goes off the blasted tracks in its final quarter. What starts out as a hilarious consideration of modern mating rituals, sort of a distaff take on Apatow's earlier comedies (e.g. 40-Year-Old Virgin; Knocked Up), winds up as a queasy quantum leap backwards into the pages of Marabel Morgan's 1973 multimillion bestseller, The Total Woman:
"One of your husband's most basic needs is for you to be physically attractive to him. He loves your body; in fact, he literally craves it . . . .
"Many a husband rushes off to work leaving his wife slumped over a cup of coffee in her grubby undies. His once sexy bride is now wrapped in rollers and smells like bacon and eggs. All day long he's surrounded at the office by dazzling secretaries who emit clouds of perfume.
"This is all your husband asks from you.
"One of your husband's most basic needs is for you to be physically attractive to him. He loves your body; in fact, he literally craves it . . . .
"Many a husband rushes off to work leaving his wife slumped over a cup of coffee in her grubby undies. His once sexy bride is now wrapped in rollers and smells like bacon and eggs. All day long he's surrounded at the office by dazzling secretaries who emit clouds of perfume.
"This is all your husband asks from you.
- 7/22/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
You could be vaccinating felines for a year at an animal shelter and still not hear the word "pussy" as much as you do in the first half hour of Entourage. This expansion of the HBO TV series appears to have been conceived by a gaggle of misogynistic, beer-chugging adolescent virgins who brag about getting laid, but the closest they've ever gotten is a Playboy centerfold bespattered with cream of mushroom soup that they rescued from the city dump.
To be fair, I have never viewed any episode of this series that I thought was supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek inside gander at Hollywood. Instead, what we have here is a glorified daydream of the male need to copulate with any orifice within five inches of his zipper. Make that four inches.
Directed and written with unflinching ineptitude and fetid taste by the series' executive producer Doug Ellin, the film is basically plotless.
To be fair, I have never viewed any episode of this series that I thought was supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek inside gander at Hollywood. Instead, what we have here is a glorified daydream of the male need to copulate with any orifice within five inches of his zipper. Make that four inches.
Directed and written with unflinching ineptitude and fetid taste by the series' executive producer Doug Ellin, the film is basically plotless.
- 6/8/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Of the hundreds of films screened at festivals across the nation only a handful will wind up at your local theaters, and that goes for those lucky enough to have been viewed at the growingly prestigious Tribeca Film Festival (Tff).
A month has passed, and the media has already unremembered the 14th edition of Tribeca, which had an overall attendance of 467,000 -- and now it's beginning to forget Cannes and its offerings, such as Todd Haynes' Carol, which already has a 2016 Oscar buzz surrounding it. And by tomorrow, anticipation will start growing for the Telluride, Toronto, and New York Film Festivals, and so forth. A sisyphean cycle if there ever was one. But thanks to some wise studios distributing several of Tribeca's offerings, this year's Fest's imprint might last a little longer.
There's the hauntingly exuberant documentary The Wolfpack (opening June 12th) that, pre-tff, started garnering plaudits at Sundance.
A month has passed, and the media has already unremembered the 14th edition of Tribeca, which had an overall attendance of 467,000 -- and now it's beginning to forget Cannes and its offerings, such as Todd Haynes' Carol, which already has a 2016 Oscar buzz surrounding it. And by tomorrow, anticipation will start growing for the Telluride, Toronto, and New York Film Festivals, and so forth. A sisyphean cycle if there ever was one. But thanks to some wise studios distributing several of Tribeca's offerings, this year's Fest's imprint might last a little longer.
There's the hauntingly exuberant documentary The Wolfpack (opening June 12th) that, pre-tff, started garnering plaudits at Sundance.
- 5/31/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Warning: The plot of Brad (Ratatouille) Bird's Tomorrowland is an incomprehensible muddle. A Wachowski screenplay reimagined by William Burroughs would be easier to follow. I'm only telling you this out of kindness so you won't feel like a complete mental lummox when, as this action offering for pre-teen girls ever so slowly ends after 130 minutes, you realize you don't know what the fuck happened.
(That Lost's Damon Lindelof is co-writer is no surprise. Hiring Lindelof to scribe a children's film is like asking Nietzsche to write a gluten-free cookbook.)
Otherwise, Tomorrowland is highly enjoyable. Well, that's true except for the opening when George Clooney and his sidekick talk directly to the camera and you sort of want to cringe. You'll understand why they do so at the end of the pic, which just reminded me the whole picture is a flashback. Other than with Sunset Boulevard, who needs flashbacks? Anyway,...
(That Lost's Damon Lindelof is co-writer is no surprise. Hiring Lindelof to scribe a children's film is like asking Nietzsche to write a gluten-free cookbook.)
Otherwise, Tomorrowland is highly enjoyable. Well, that's true except for the opening when George Clooney and his sidekick talk directly to the camera and you sort of want to cringe. You'll understand why they do so at the end of the pic, which just reminded me the whole picture is a flashback. Other than with Sunset Boulevard, who needs flashbacks? Anyway,...
- 5/22/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Good news for Comingsoon.net's Joshua Starnes. He can recycle his critique of Pitch Perfect (2012) for its sequel: "Pitch Perfect isn't particularly bad. It isn't particularly anything. And that's what's most disappointing about it."
The low-costing original Pitch took in $113,042,075 worldwide on a production budget of $17 million, which deemed it the second highest grossing comedy/musical since 1984, losing the top spot only to School of Rock (2003). No wonder there is a follow-up.
The semi-sad result is that although Pitch 2 is mostly painless, with several fine musical numbers, especially Snoop Dogg's Christmas duet with Anna Kendrick's Beta, the dialogue voiced between the often agreeable a cappella chorals seldom rises above the lame. "I'd like to be the brisket in that man sandwich" is possibly passable. "The air we're breathing now is 90% fart" isn't. "Fart" also appears as a password to get into a party of sorts, but it must...
The low-costing original Pitch took in $113,042,075 worldwide on a production budget of $17 million, which deemed it the second highest grossing comedy/musical since 1984, losing the top spot only to School of Rock (2003). No wonder there is a follow-up.
The semi-sad result is that although Pitch 2 is mostly painless, with several fine musical numbers, especially Snoop Dogg's Christmas duet with Anna Kendrick's Beta, the dialogue voiced between the often agreeable a cappella chorals seldom rises above the lame. "I'd like to be the brisket in that man sandwich" is possibly passable. "The air we're breathing now is 90% fart" isn't. "Fart" also appears as a password to get into a party of sorts, but it must...
- 5/16/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
"The filmmakers respectfully ask the media to not discuss the film's ending" is a sentence included in the press notes for Luke LoCurcio's twelve-minute short "Aphasia." Now since aphasia means the sudden inability to communicate, whether through speech, writing, or even sign language, while not losing one's intelligence, and there's only one main character in the film, unless you can't put 6 and 7.2359 together and come up with 13.2359, you will probably have already guessed the finale. If not, I have no doubt you watched Titanic and was caught off guard that a ship sinks and Leo dies. You probably also pondered why Frozen isn't set in Miami Beach.
To keep the secret from those of us with a slightly higher Iq or a dictionary app on our iPhones, I would advise the creative powers involved to immediately rename their entertaining product "Apricot" or "A Dating Film without Ashton Kutcher."
An...
To keep the secret from those of us with a slightly higher Iq or a dictionary app on our iPhones, I would advise the creative powers involved to immediately rename their entertaining product "Apricot" or "A Dating Film without Ashton Kutcher."
An...
- 4/25/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Boccaccio's 14th century masterpiece has inspired artists for centuries, from Chaucer to Shakespeare and from Voltaire to Poe. His classic recounts how seven women and three men, who escaped from a plague-ravished Florence to the countryside, entertain themselves over two weeks, each telling ten stories a piece.
Some of the tales are bawdy, some tragic, numerous are of greed, and many flow forth with tears and laughter only true love can elicit. Here's an unvarnished view of a battered world that's soon to be rejuvenated by the Renaissance, but not yet.
In 1971, the often notorious Pier Paolo Pasolini captured the genius of the work in his Decameron. Licentious, slightly blasphemous, and always vital, his take throws you directly into the tales without the framing device of the narrators. Instantly, you find yourself in the midst of the mayhem of the Middle Ages with its steamy throngs of folks trying to...
Some of the tales are bawdy, some tragic, numerous are of greed, and many flow forth with tears and laughter only true love can elicit. Here's an unvarnished view of a battered world that's soon to be rejuvenated by the Renaissance, but not yet.
In 1971, the often notorious Pier Paolo Pasolini captured the genius of the work in his Decameron. Licentious, slightly blasphemous, and always vital, his take throws you directly into the tales without the framing device of the narrators. Instantly, you find yourself in the midst of the mayhem of the Middle Ages with its steamy throngs of folks trying to...
- 4/20/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
"God save the Queen!" the masses cheered.
A solid narrative short, like a short story, in most cases, should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Of course, in the proper hands, this rule is meant to be broken. As for a documentary short, information should be supplied, a world revealed, and the viewers' sense of a certain topic should be transformed or heightened.
With "American Renaissance," which is screening at the current Tribeca Film Festival, youthfully bearded directors Ryan Scafuro and Jarred Alterman have forged together a look at the New York Renaissance Faire that's held in the small town of Tuxedo, a locale situated in the rather picturesque Hudson Valley.
Now the press notes announce the short will "explore the fantastic world of Elizabethan England" in upstate New York. That's a bit of a stretch. The directors, in their statement on the following page, note that wasn't their goal.
A solid narrative short, like a short story, in most cases, should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Of course, in the proper hands, this rule is meant to be broken. As for a documentary short, information should be supplied, a world revealed, and the viewers' sense of a certain topic should be transformed or heightened.
With "American Renaissance," which is screening at the current Tribeca Film Festival, youthfully bearded directors Ryan Scafuro and Jarred Alterman have forged together a look at the New York Renaissance Faire that's held in the small town of Tuxedo, a locale situated in the rather picturesque Hudson Valley.
Now the press notes announce the short will "explore the fantastic world of Elizabethan England" in upstate New York. That's a bit of a stretch. The directors, in their statement on the following page, note that wasn't their goal.
- 4/19/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Bill Plympton is not a genius, or so he insists, although none of his thousands of fans would be shocked if a MacArthur "Genius Grant" came his way. This former contributor to Playboy, The New York Times, and MTV has been a cult cartoonist and animator now for over a quarter of century, garnering an Oscar nomination in 1987 for his short "Your Face."
"Your Face" showcases a middle-aged man in a business suit with a pencil moustache singing a love tune as his head constantly metamorphoses. His mouth first travels to his forehead, then all of his facial features somersault before his skull twists up like a corkscrew and breaks apart, then reunites. The Exorcist's Linda Blair would be jealous. These transmutations continue, all in vibrating lines, until the camera steps back and showcases the singer sitting in a chair on a barren Earth that eventually develops a mouth and swallows him up.
"Your Face" showcases a middle-aged man in a business suit with a pencil moustache singing a love tune as his head constantly metamorphoses. His mouth first travels to his forehead, then all of his facial features somersault before his skull twists up like a corkscrew and breaks apart, then reunites. The Exorcist's Linda Blair would be jealous. These transmutations continue, all in vibrating lines, until the camera steps back and showcases the singer sitting in a chair on a barren Earth that eventually develops a mouth and swallows him up.
- 4/15/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Recently, CBS released the new, official synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "Person Of Interest" episode 21 of season 4. The episode is entitled, "Asylum," and it turns out that we're going to see very dramatic and intense stuff go down as a major war between Ne Poi's go down with Reese and Fusco stuck in the middle of it, and more! In the new, 21st episode press release: Reese And Fusco Are Caught In The Crosshairs Of A War Between Crime Bosses Who Are The Two New POIs. Press release number 2: Reese and Fusco will get caught in the war between the two newest POIs, rival crime bosses Elias (Enrico Colantoni) and Dominic (Winston Duke). Also, a tantalizing clue to Shaw's whereabouts, is going lead Finch and Root into a possible trap, and Control (Camryn Manheim) is going to go rogue to uncover the true intentions of the Samaritan program. Guest...
- 4/15/2015
- by Andre Braddox
- OnTheFlix
Those of us who lead hapless lives know how frightening getting up in the morning can be. Instead of rising and embracing the daylight with an ardent cuddle and a zealous "Yahoo!" we see grey clouds overhead and wonder aloud, "What now?" Another egg carton with broken shells? A second bedbug infestation within twelve months? Still no replies to our Christian Mingles ad even though we've noted we can recite the Book of Revelation by heart in Latin?
Ah, if only we were born into a family of elites. The ultra-rich. Aristocrats with an enviable gene pool.
But instead we're impoverished and pear-shaped with squinty eyes and in need of Proactiv+.
On top of these misfortunes, we really know the gods are against us if while fingering the remote, we accidentally come across Joshua Jackson in The Skulls (2000), and begin to watch it out of inertia. This incapacitating thriller was inspired by Yale's secretive society,...
Ah, if only we were born into a family of elites. The ultra-rich. Aristocrats with an enviable gene pool.
But instead we're impoverished and pear-shaped with squinty eyes and in need of Proactiv+.
On top of these misfortunes, we really know the gods are against us if while fingering the remote, we accidentally come across Joshua Jackson in The Skulls (2000), and begin to watch it out of inertia. This incapacitating thriller was inspired by Yale's secretive society,...
- 3/31/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Insurgent is a relentlessly exasperating sci-fi film made, miraculously, with a half-baked imagination, a slaughtered wit, and insufferable direction by Robert Schwentke, the man who supplied 2013 with one its biggest flops, R.I.P.D.
You know something’s gone very wrong when a blue dress outacts Kate Winslet in this adaptation of Veronica Roth’s second novel in the bestselling Divergent series. Ms. Winslet is not at fault alone here. I own a Swingline stapler that makes more of an impression than many of her costars, especially Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, and Daniel Dae Kim.
(This non-acting by the way-over-30 crowd in teen-oriented, “the future-doesn’t-look-so-hot” epics seems to be trending. Other recent examples include Meryl Streep and Katie Homes in The Giver and Harrison Ford and Viola Davis in Ender’s Game. Here’s possibly a ploy to win over the hearts and dollars of the prepubescent by reaffirming their belief that adults are nonessential,...
You know something’s gone very wrong when a blue dress outacts Kate Winslet in this adaptation of Veronica Roth’s second novel in the bestselling Divergent series. Ms. Winslet is not at fault alone here. I own a Swingline stapler that makes more of an impression than many of her costars, especially Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer, and Daniel Dae Kim.
(This non-acting by the way-over-30 crowd in teen-oriented, “the future-doesn’t-look-so-hot” epics seems to be trending. Other recent examples include Meryl Streep and Katie Homes in The Giver and Harrison Ford and Viola Davis in Ender’s Game. Here’s possibly a ploy to win over the hearts and dollars of the prepubescent by reaffirming their belief that adults are nonessential,...
- 3/20/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
I'm one of those "glass half-full "critics when it comes to Taylor Lautner. Film after film I hope he'll pull a Sally Field, who went from The Flying Nun and Gidget to Sybil and Norma Rae. Would Abduction or Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 reveal the young man's inner Laurence Olivier? No, sadly. The lumbering hunk remains just a lumbering hunk in those two. Prize-winning pecs and abs plus a cute smile were what the glamor boy's fans had to settle for.
"Well, maybe Tracers will be his Wuthering Heights," I was murmuring as I scooted onto the subway last night, heading for a midtown screening room. I should have known better. I should have checked out the director's CV before hoping for the best.
The Barcelona-born Daniel Benmayor had previously helmed a Schweppes commercial with Hugh Laurie and two deodorant ads, which would make you think he could avoid creating malodorous art.
"Well, maybe Tracers will be his Wuthering Heights," I was murmuring as I scooted onto the subway last night, heading for a midtown screening room. I should have known better. I should have checked out the director's CV before hoping for the best.
The Barcelona-born Daniel Benmayor had previously helmed a Schweppes commercial with Hugh Laurie and two deodorant ads, which would make you think he could avoid creating malodorous art.
- 3/17/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
At the finale of Robin Campillo's masterful Eastern Boys, bourgeois, middle-aged Frenchman Daniel (Oliver Rabourdin) has overhauled his relationship with the Ukrainian hustler Marek (Kirill Emelyanov) into something totally unexpected. The journey to that climax is a rollercoaster of flirtation, betrayal, larceny, lust, love, dauntless deeds, comeuppance, and finally a benevolent acceptance of the pair's interconnectedness in a manner that neither of these devoted halves could foretell.
The film begins documentary-like, and you won't be able to guess who the lead characters are for the first ten minutes or so as the camera goes sightseeing amongst a bevy of young males meandering to and fro at a train station among self-absorbed travelers. Are the lads thieves or hustlers or just out for a lark? Some men eye them warily with a slight lust unsure of whether to approach or not. One station guard's suspicions are raised due the actions...
The film begins documentary-like, and you won't be able to guess who the lead characters are for the first ten minutes or so as the camera goes sightseeing amongst a bevy of young males meandering to and fro at a train station among self-absorbed travelers. Are the lads thieves or hustlers or just out for a lark? Some men eye them warily with a slight lust unsure of whether to approach or not. One station guard's suspicions are raised due the actions...
- 3/7/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
"It's important to think. It's what separates us from lentils." --Richard Lagravanese, The Fisher King
He did it the hard way, like David battling Goliath this past Valentine's Day. Yes, Richard Lagravanese's latest effort, The Last Five Years, a romantic musical of sorts with next to no spoken dialogue, opened against the whip-wielding Fifty Shades of Grey, a syrupy soft core melodrama with perhaps too much dialogue.
The battle's result so far, at least as of this past Monday: $137,945 versus a worldwide take of $485,791,785. Well, at least David got the better reviews.
Yes, Richard Lagravanese, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of such acclaimed titles as The Fisher King, Behind the Candelabra, The Bridges of Madison County, and Unbroken, which he co-wrote with the Coen Brothers, and the intermittent director of such fare as Living Out Loud and Freedom Writers, is a survivor of numerous Hollywood battles, many won, some lost. Beloved, for example,...
He did it the hard way, like David battling Goliath this past Valentine's Day. Yes, Richard Lagravanese's latest effort, The Last Five Years, a romantic musical of sorts with next to no spoken dialogue, opened against the whip-wielding Fifty Shades of Grey, a syrupy soft core melodrama with perhaps too much dialogue.
The battle's result so far, at least as of this past Monday: $137,945 versus a worldwide take of $485,791,785. Well, at least David got the better reviews.
Yes, Richard Lagravanese, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of such acclaimed titles as The Fisher King, Behind the Candelabra, The Bridges of Madison County, and Unbroken, which he co-wrote with the Coen Brothers, and the intermittent director of such fare as Living Out Loud and Freedom Writers, is a survivor of numerous Hollywood battles, many won, some lost. Beloved, for example,...
- 3/3/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
There are films that make you want to run to the bookstore or, in reality, Amazon.com. Any Jane Austen or Dickens adaptation. Atonement. Requiem for a Dream perhaps.
Then there is Paul Thomas Anderson's adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice starring Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Martin Short, Reese Witherspoon, Maya Rudolph, and Benicio Del Toro, plus a bevy of other game thespians. This adaptation has a contrary effect. It makes you want to hightail it to the incinerator with every Pynchon paperback you might own. Farewell, V. Sayonara, Gravity's Rainbow.
But before I get too critical, let me just note that this apparently was a project of love for Anderson. Anyone who would tackle Pynchon's verbiage and hope to get a slightly comprehensible screenplay out of it would only do so out of an illimitable devotion for the author. Anderson's chance of success, of course,...
Then there is Paul Thomas Anderson's adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice starring Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Martin Short, Reese Witherspoon, Maya Rudolph, and Benicio Del Toro, plus a bevy of other game thespians. This adaptation has a contrary effect. It makes you want to hightail it to the incinerator with every Pynchon paperback you might own. Farewell, V. Sayonara, Gravity's Rainbow.
But before I get too critical, let me just note that this apparently was a project of love for Anderson. Anyone who would tackle Pynchon's verbiage and hope to get a slightly comprehensible screenplay out of it would only do so out of an illimitable devotion for the author. Anderson's chance of success, of course,...
- 2/24/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
Who doesn't adore Julianne Moore?
Especially in Still Alice, the film for which bookmakers are betting she'll take home the Best Actress Oscar, Moore's portrayal of a linguistics professor battling early onset Alzheimer's is letter perfect. Myself having a sibling now encased in a memory care facility in Florida after being ravaged by the same affliction, every step of Alice's deterioration is recognizable: the random loss of memories, the awareness she's losing her identity, the outbursts of anger, the inability to control bodily functions, and the short-lived moments when the person you have always loved reemerges out of a fog of despair.
Sadly, Moore's performance and that of her peers in Seventh Son capture a forgetfulness, too, although not one symptomatic of an infirmity, but one characteristic of creative bankruptcy. By the time this adaptation of Joseph Delaney's bestselling young-adult classic, The Spook's Apprentice, ends and you've emptied your bladder in your mall's stall,...
Especially in Still Alice, the film for which bookmakers are betting she'll take home the Best Actress Oscar, Moore's portrayal of a linguistics professor battling early onset Alzheimer's is letter perfect. Myself having a sibling now encased in a memory care facility in Florida after being ravaged by the same affliction, every step of Alice's deterioration is recognizable: the random loss of memories, the awareness she's losing her identity, the outbursts of anger, the inability to control bodily functions, and the short-lived moments when the person you have always loved reemerges out of a fog of despair.
Sadly, Moore's performance and that of her peers in Seventh Son capture a forgetfulness, too, although not one symptomatic of an infirmity, but one characteristic of creative bankruptcy. By the time this adaptation of Joseph Delaney's bestselling young-adult classic, The Spook's Apprentice, ends and you've emptied your bladder in your mall's stall,...
- 2/12/2015
- by Brandon Judell
- www.culturecatch.com
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