If we're comparing failed Final Destination rehashes, Tarot is up there with the worst. Writers and directors Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg aim for PG-13 sleepover-branded chills in Tarot, but sell the entire experience abysmally short. Their story about a cursed tarot deck is ludicrously underwritten and dopey, discarding established in-universe rationale mere minutes after cement dries. It's a movie that sequences events like they're mistakenly out of order, with Cohen and Halberg treating the audience like they’ve never seen a horror movie before — or maybe they’re praying we haven’t
In the film, stereotypical college students rent the equivalent of Scrooge McDuck's mansion on Airbnb for one of their birthdays. When the last beer can pops open, partiers panic and search the premises for hidden alcohol, which leads them into a musty once-locked basement filled with astrological artifacts — one being a hand-drawn deck of tarot cards in an engraved container.
In the film, stereotypical college students rent the equivalent of Scrooge McDuck's mansion on Airbnb for one of their birthdays. When the last beer can pops open, partiers panic and search the premises for hidden alcohol, which leads them into a musty once-locked basement filled with astrological artifacts — one being a hand-drawn deck of tarot cards in an engraved container.
- 5/3/2024
- by Matt Donato
- DailyDead
An evil curse gets awakened in Screen Gems horror movie Tarot when a group of friends recklessly ignore a sacred rule: never use someone else’s deck. Writers/Directors Spenser Cohen & Anna Halberg unleash a variety of Tarot card-inspired entities on the group through practical effects, and create an unexpected connection to Insidious along the way.
The film comes exclusively to movie theaters on May 3, 2024.
Bloody Disgusting spoke with Cohen and Halberg ahead of Tarot‘s release, where the pair shared more about the film’s practical effects-driven horrors and revealed how Tarot drew from Insidious in a specific way.
To start, though, the filmmakers reveal just how closely their horror movie sticks to the source novel Horrorscope by Nicholas Adams. The short answer is, well, it doesn’t at all!
Cohen explains, “It’s so different. We never even read the book and took nothing from the book. The only thing,...
The film comes exclusively to movie theaters on May 3, 2024.
Bloody Disgusting spoke with Cohen and Halberg ahead of Tarot‘s release, where the pair shared more about the film’s practical effects-driven horrors and revealed how Tarot drew from Insidious in a specific way.
To start, though, the filmmakers reveal just how closely their horror movie sticks to the source novel Horrorscope by Nicholas Adams. The short answer is, well, it doesn’t at all!
Cohen explains, “It’s so different. We never even read the book and took nothing from the book. The only thing,...
- 5/1/2024
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Exclusive: Helena Howard (Madeline’s Madeline), Bella Thorne (Divinity), Zión Moreno (Gossip Girl), Chloe Cherry (Euphoria) and Sophia Ali (Uncharted) have wrapped production on Find Your Friends, a thriller marking the feature directorial debut of actor-filmmaker Izabel Pakzad.
Others to appear in the film include Chris Bauer (The Wire), Jake Manley (The Order), Israel Broussard (Happy Death Day), Harrison Sloan Gilbertson (Oppenheimer), and Blaine Kern III (Accused).
Izabel Pakzad
Written by Pakzad, Find Your Friends watches as Amber and her four best girlfriends take a trip to escape the L.A. bubble and cut loose in Joshua Tree for the weekend. But upon arrival, they quickly realize the locals don’t want them there. As the hostile environment escalates, our girls are disparaged by their aggressive neighbor, dismissed by the cops, and, it seems, even being stalked by some local men. But as her friends uncover Amber’s past trauma,...
Others to appear in the film include Chris Bauer (The Wire), Jake Manley (The Order), Israel Broussard (Happy Death Day), Harrison Sloan Gilbertson (Oppenheimer), and Blaine Kern III (Accused).
Izabel Pakzad
Written by Pakzad, Find Your Friends watches as Amber and her four best girlfriends take a trip to escape the L.A. bubble and cut loose in Joshua Tree for the weekend. But upon arrival, they quickly realize the locals don’t want them there. As the hostile environment escalates, our girls are disparaged by their aggressive neighbor, dismissed by the cops, and, it seems, even being stalked by some local men. But as her friends uncover Amber’s past trauma,...
- 4/30/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Twelve years ago, Zendaya netted her feature debut in Disney Channel’s Frenemies.
The actress had been starring opposite Bella Thorne on the Disney series Shake It Up, about performers on a Chicago-based TV dance show. Zendaya was 14 when she and Thorne filmed the anthology comedy for director Daisy von Scherler Mayer, who had helmed the 1995 Parker Posey indie Party Girl and the 1998 feature Madeline. One of Frenemies‘ three connected storylines saw Zendaya and Thorne as aspiring magazine editors competing for a gig with an NYC publisher.
“Zendaya really wanted to have fun with the comedy and lean into it,” von Scherler Mayer says. “She chose to wear big glasses and be goofy, and it impressed me that she wanted to show off her comic chops and has such great timing.”
The film shot in Toronto, and the director recalls the lead actresses having slumber parties during production: “All those teenagers were true teenagers.
The actress had been starring opposite Bella Thorne on the Disney series Shake It Up, about performers on a Chicago-based TV dance show. Zendaya was 14 when she and Thorne filmed the anthology comedy for director Daisy von Scherler Mayer, who had helmed the 1995 Parker Posey indie Party Girl and the 1998 feature Madeline. One of Frenemies‘ three connected storylines saw Zendaya and Thorne as aspiring magazine editors competing for a gig with an NYC publisher.
“Zendaya really wanted to have fun with the comedy and lean into it,” von Scherler Mayer says. “She chose to wear big glasses and be goofy, and it impressed me that she wanted to show off her comic chops and has such great timing.”
The film shot in Toronto, and the director recalls the lead actresses having slumber parties during production: “All those teenagers were true teenagers.
- 4/26/2024
- by Ryan Gajewski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: Okwui Okpokwasili has been set to star in Jaume Collet-Serra’s The Woman in the Yard from Blumhouse for Universal.
The actress joins Danielle Deadwyler, who was previously announced.
Like all Blumhouse movies in the works, the pic’s plot is being kept secret.
This is a reteaming for Okpokwasili with Blumhouse as she previously starred in their fall title Exorcist: Believer. She also stars in Marvel Studios/Disney+’s upcoming series, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, and has starred in Master for Prime Video; and in such movies as Remote, Madeline’s Madeline, and Bronx Gothic.
In 2022, she starred in in the critically acclaimed Broadway revival of for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf. Her work has been commissioned by Bam, The Walker Art Center, Danspace Project, Performance Space New York, the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, among other institutions. She has held residencies at MoMA,...
The actress joins Danielle Deadwyler, who was previously announced.
Like all Blumhouse movies in the works, the pic’s plot is being kept secret.
This is a reteaming for Okpokwasili with Blumhouse as she previously starred in their fall title Exorcist: Believer. She also stars in Marvel Studios/Disney+’s upcoming series, Agatha: Coven of Chaos, and has starred in Master for Prime Video; and in such movies as Remote, Madeline’s Madeline, and Bronx Gothic.
In 2022, she starred in in the critically acclaimed Broadway revival of for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf. Her work has been commissioned by Bam, The Walker Art Center, Danspace Project, Performance Space New York, the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA, among other institutions. She has held residencies at MoMA,...
- 4/4/2024
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
For well over over five decades, Christopher Plummer was one of our most esteemed and honored actors across all acting fields. He hwon two Tony awards (out of seven nominations) for his stage work — the musical “Cyrano” (1974) and the one-man show “Barrymore” (1997), which was later turned into a film. For his television work, he has also won two Emmy Awards (out of six nominations) for the TV movie “Arthur Hailey’s The Moneychangers” (1977) and for his voice-over performance in the animated “Madeline” (1994).
But similar awards for his work in film eluded him for many years. True, he did co-star in 1965’s “The Sound of Music,” a film he had disdained for the longest time but one that was a phenomenon at the box-office. The musical ran in theaters for over 4 1/2 years and, adjusted for inflation, “The Sound of Music” has grossed $2.366 billion, currently making it the fifth highest-grossing film of all time.
But similar awards for his work in film eluded him for many years. True, he did co-star in 1965’s “The Sound of Music,” a film he had disdained for the longest time but one that was a phenomenon at the box-office. The musical ran in theaters for over 4 1/2 years and, adjusted for inflation, “The Sound of Music” has grossed $2.366 billion, currently making it the fifth highest-grossing film of all time.
- 12/9/2023
- by Tom O'Brien, Chris Beachum and Misty Holland
- Gold Derby
The list of directors who put their trust in Robby Müller could constitute a nice history of post-war cinema. A retrospective of films on which he served as Dp reflects accordingly––so’s the case with Metrograph’s “Robby Müller: Remain in Light,” which starts on Friday, September 29, and for which we’re glad to debut the trailer.
Contained therein are bits and pieces of what Metrograph attendees can anticipate. The series will offer a chance to see (among others) 24 Hour Party People, Alice in the Cities, The American Friend, Barfly, Breaking the Waves, Dead Man, Down by Law, Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, Kings of the Road, Korczak, Living the Light – Robby Müller, Mystery Train, Repo Man, Saint Jack, To Live and Die in L.A., When Pigs Fly, The Wrong Move, and Paris, Texas. The opening night will be anchored by “a panel on Müller’s continued influence on filmmaking,...
Contained therein are bits and pieces of what Metrograph attendees can anticipate. The series will offer a chance to see (among others) 24 Hour Party People, Alice in the Cities, The American Friend, Barfly, Breaking the Waves, Dead Man, Down by Law, Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai, Kings of the Road, Korczak, Living the Light – Robby Müller, Mystery Train, Repo Man, Saint Jack, To Live and Die in L.A., When Pigs Fly, The Wrong Move, and Paris, Texas. The opening night will be anchored by “a panel on Müller’s continued influence on filmmaking,...
- 9/21/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Near the climax of Richard Strauss’ opera “Salome,” the title character performs the Dance of the Seven Veils for her stepfather, King Herod. The dance is done as a barter: In exchange, Herod will behead the man Salome loves so that she may kiss his lips. The Dance of the Seven Veils finds Salome swaying and whirling erotically with a set of scarves, landing somewhere between an object of sexual fascination for her onlookers and a lovestruck woman reaching for agency through movement.
“Seven Veils,” written and directed by Atom Egoyan (“The Sweet Hereafter”), follows an opera director who is staging a production of “Salome” and, like the tragic heroine, clashes with a series of men in her quest to recover a sense of control. This slippage between art and life, sincerity and trickery, is key to deriving some sense of meaning from this strange and sultry but ultimately exasperating film,...
“Seven Veils,” written and directed by Atom Egoyan (“The Sweet Hereafter”), follows an opera director who is staging a production of “Salome” and, like the tragic heroine, clashes with a series of men in her quest to recover a sense of control. This slippage between art and life, sincerity and trickery, is key to deriving some sense of meaning from this strange and sultry but ultimately exasperating film,...
- 9/14/2023
- by Natalia Winkelman
- Indiewire
Change is coming to Hope Valley, though not everyone is happy about it. News of the healing hot springs has spread. Now, newcomers are streaming into town, as we see in the third episode of When Calls the Heart Season 10. But some of these strangers might be up to no good. Meanwhile, Elizabeth tries to pull off a surprise baby shower for Rosemary and Lucas comes up with a creative way to keep Henry out of prison.
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for When Calls the Heart Season 10 Episode 3.]
Strangers arrive in Hope Valley in ‘When Calls the Heart’ Season 10 Episode 3 Stefanie von Pfetten in Madeline in ‘When Calls the Heart’ Season 10 Episode 3 | ©2023 Hallmark Media/Photographer: David Dolsen
Word is out about Hope Springs, thanks in large part to Rosemary’s (Pascale Hutton) article in The Valley Voice, and visitors have begun to stream into Hope Valley. Some residents welcome them with open arms. The entrepreneurial...
[Warning: This article contains spoilers for When Calls the Heart Season 10 Episode 3.]
Strangers arrive in Hope Valley in ‘When Calls the Heart’ Season 10 Episode 3 Stefanie von Pfetten in Madeline in ‘When Calls the Heart’ Season 10 Episode 3 | ©2023 Hallmark Media/Photographer: David Dolsen
Word is out about Hope Springs, thanks in large part to Rosemary’s (Pascale Hutton) article in The Valley Voice, and visitors have begun to stream into Hope Valley. Some residents welcome them with open arms. The entrepreneurial...
- 8/14/2023
- by Megan Elliott
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Exclusive: Luke Wilson (Horizon: An American Saga) and Greg Kinnear (The Present) are set to star in You Gotta Believe, a film based on the inspirational true story of Fort Worth, Texas’ 2002 Westside Little League team. Others on board for roles in the pic from Santa Rita Film Co. include Sarah Gadon (Ferrari), newcomer Michael Cash, Etienne Kellici (Horizon: An American Saga) and Molly Parker (Deadwood).
Directed by Ty Roberts, who previously worked with Wilson on the Great Depression football drama 12 Mighty Orphans, the film currently in production follows a team of Little Leaguers who dedicate their season to a player’s dying father and, in the process, defy all odds to make it to the Little League Baseball World Series championship in a game that became an ESPN classic. Wilson will play the role of the dying father, Bobby Ratliff, with Kinnear as Coach Jon Kelly.
The film...
Directed by Ty Roberts, who previously worked with Wilson on the Great Depression football drama 12 Mighty Orphans, the film currently in production follows a team of Little Leaguers who dedicate their season to a player’s dying father and, in the process, defy all odds to make it to the Little League Baseball World Series championship in a game that became an ESPN classic. Wilson will play the role of the dying father, Bobby Ratliff, with Kinnear as Coach Jon Kelly.
The film...
- 6/22/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Despite the fact that Peacock doesn’t offer a free streaming tier anymore, you can still watch quite a bit of free content from its parent company Comcast. In addition to the on-demand and free ad-supported TV service Xumo Play Comcast offers free streaming opportunities every week to all X1, Flex and Xfinity internet customers.
Sign Up $4.99+ / month peacocktv.com
The promotion — which Comcast calls “Free This Week”— will feature a wide array of family-friendly entertainment this week. From Monday, March 27 to Sunday, April 2, Xfinity customers can watch free content from [Da Vinci Kids], Disney Story Channel and Kidstream. A Da Vinci Kids subscription is an $11.99 per month value, and Kidstream is $4.99 per month, so this is the perfect time for curious parents to test out the services.
Da Vinci Kids and Kidstream both offer various types of educational kids programming. These apps provide fantastic series and documentaries in a host of different subjects,...
Sign Up $4.99+ / month peacocktv.com
The promotion — which Comcast calls “Free This Week”— will feature a wide array of family-friendly entertainment this week. From Monday, March 27 to Sunday, April 2, Xfinity customers can watch free content from [Da Vinci Kids], Disney Story Channel and Kidstream. A Da Vinci Kids subscription is an $11.99 per month value, and Kidstream is $4.99 per month, so this is the perfect time for curious parents to test out the services.
Da Vinci Kids and Kidstream both offer various types of educational kids programming. These apps provide fantastic series and documentaries in a host of different subjects,...
- 3/27/2023
- by David Satin
- The Streamable
Exclusive: Gersh has signed in-demand Canadian actress Molly Parker for representation.
An Emmy and Independent Spirit Award nominee, Parker is perhaps best known for her turn as House Whip Jackie Sharp in Netflix’s political drama House of Cards — a pivotal series in the history of the streamer, which ran for six seasons. She also recently starred in Netflix’s Lost in Space and shared the screen with Billy Bob Thornton in the first season of the Prime Video legal drama Goliath, having prior that starred in HBO’s Emmy-winning Western series, Deadwood, and Errol Morris’ Netflix docudrama Wormwood opposite Peter Sarsgaard.
Related Story ‘John Wick’ Franchise Creator Derek Kolstad Signs With UTA Related Story Gersh Signs 'I'm Fine (Thanks For Asking)' Filmmaker Kelley Kali Related Story Gersh Signs Jake Van Wagoner Following Sundance Bow Of His Family Film, 'Aliens Abducted My Parents And Now I Feel Kinda Left Out...
An Emmy and Independent Spirit Award nominee, Parker is perhaps best known for her turn as House Whip Jackie Sharp in Netflix’s political drama House of Cards — a pivotal series in the history of the streamer, which ran for six seasons. She also recently starred in Netflix’s Lost in Space and shared the screen with Billy Bob Thornton in the first season of the Prime Video legal drama Goliath, having prior that starred in HBO’s Emmy-winning Western series, Deadwood, and Errol Morris’ Netflix docudrama Wormwood opposite Peter Sarsgaard.
Related Story ‘John Wick’ Franchise Creator Derek Kolstad Signs With UTA Related Story Gersh Signs 'I'm Fine (Thanks For Asking)' Filmmaker Kelley Kali Related Story Gersh Signs Jake Van Wagoner Following Sundance Bow Of His Family Film, 'Aliens Abducted My Parents And Now I Feel Kinda Left Out...
- 3/9/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
It feels just like last month we were complimenting Hulu on its true crime offerings. Well, with its list of new releases for February 2023, Hulu is staying in the true crime lane. Suppose that’ll happen when you push back the release date of a series or two.
February sees the arrival of three notable true crime series on Hulu. Taiwan Crime Stories premieres on Feb. 1 and presents four true tales from Taiwan’s criminal “dark underbelly.” That will be followed by ABC News Studios’ Killing County on Feb. 3. That three-episode series ponders the question “what happens when police kill?” The most interesting true crime offering premieres on Feb. 9. That’s when Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence College shares its four-episode saga of Larry Ray and the young college students he victimized.
As far as non true crime offerings go, the third and final season of Hulu...
February sees the arrival of three notable true crime series on Hulu. Taiwan Crime Stories premieres on Feb. 1 and presents four true tales from Taiwan’s criminal “dark underbelly.” That will be followed by ABC News Studios’ Killing County on Feb. 3. That three-episode series ponders the question “what happens when police kill?” The most interesting true crime offering premieres on Feb. 9. That’s when Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence College shares its four-episode saga of Larry Ray and the young college students he victimized.
As far as non true crime offerings go, the third and final season of Hulu...
- 2/1/2023
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
The Apple TV+ film by Josephine Decker, adapted from the 2010 YA novel, deftly explores the confusing tangle of emotions in the aftermath of loss
The Sky Is Everywhere, Apple TV+ and A24’s adaptation of Jandy Nelson’s 2010 young adult novel, often gives what could be a rote exploration of grief the sheen of a fairy tale. Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker (Grace Kaufman) lives in a colorful house in a northern California redwood forest surrounded by ancient trees and her Gram’s (Cherry Jones) sweet-smelling roses. A talented clarinetist, her forays into the woods are soundtracked by classical jazz; the wind carries off her poems and letters, written on leaves or looseleaf paper. There once were two sisters who explored together, she narrates, and minutes into the film, there remains only one, after the death of Lennie’s beloved older sister Bailey (Havana Rose Liu) from a heart arrhythmia – the same...
The Sky Is Everywhere, Apple TV+ and A24’s adaptation of Jandy Nelson’s 2010 young adult novel, often gives what could be a rote exploration of grief the sheen of a fairy tale. Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker (Grace Kaufman) lives in a colorful house in a northern California redwood forest surrounded by ancient trees and her Gram’s (Cherry Jones) sweet-smelling roses. A talented clarinetist, her forays into the woods are soundtracked by classical jazz; the wind carries off her poems and letters, written on leaves or looseleaf paper. There once were two sisters who explored together, she narrates, and minutes into the film, there remains only one, after the death of Lennie’s beloved older sister Bailey (Havana Rose Liu) from a heart arrhythmia – the same...
- 2/10/2022
- by Adrian Horton
- The Guardian - Film News
Throw your theories and predictions in the trash because "Yellowjackets" doesn't give a single fermented berry about our feelings and is flipping the script. Is Adam Javi? Doesn't Matter 'Cause He's Dead Now! This week opens with Shauna stabbing her lover to death while her mind is flooded with flashbacks, so it seems like teen Shauna is going to stab someone at some point too (my money is on Jackie) but this all goes down before we even hit the opening credits! The penultimate episode of season 1 comes from Daisy von Scherler Mayer and a...
The post Yellowjackets Celebrate 'Doomcoming' By Tripping Out and Flipping the Script appeared first on /Film.
The post Yellowjackets Celebrate 'Doomcoming' By Tripping Out and Flipping the Script appeared first on /Film.
- 1/10/2022
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
We’ve been fans of this section since its launch back in 2010 when it used to identified with the ticker symbol of <=>, and now a dozen years later we’re curious to see what the next James White, The Killing of Two Lovers, Madeline’s Madeline and A Ghost Story. Among the lucky seven we find Ricky D’Ambrose bringing his Venice preemed The Cathedral, Sierra Pettengill’s latest docu offering and Justin Benson/Aaron Moorhead break into Park City with their latest Something In The Dirt.
The Cathedral / Italy, U.S.A.
(Director and Screenwriter: Ricky D’Ambrose, Producer: Graham Swon) — An only child’s account of an American family’s rise and fall over two decades.…...
The Cathedral / Italy, U.S.A.
(Director and Screenwriter: Ricky D’Ambrose, Producer: Graham Swon) — An only child’s account of an American family’s rise and fall over two decades.…...
- 12/9/2021
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: Oscar-nominated Saving Private Ryan screenwriter Robert Rodat is set to write Semper Fi, the true story of Marine Maj. Thomas Schueman and his extraordinary Afghan interpreter Zainulla Zaki.
During fierce fighting in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, the two men formed an unbreakable brotherhood that transcended the differences in their cultures and ethnicities. After Schueman’s return to the U.S. he tried, with no success, to help Zaki and his family get out of Afghanistan. This summer, as the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan, Zaki and his family were targeted for execution by the Taliban due to his involvement with U.S. Forces. Schueman’s devotion to his comrade and his struggle to save him, his wife and four children led to a harrowing escape and a daring rescue at Kabul’s airport.
The project is being developed by producers Flashlight Films managing partner Allyn Stewart and veteran movie producer Hawk Koch,...
During fierce fighting in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, the two men formed an unbreakable brotherhood that transcended the differences in their cultures and ethnicities. After Schueman’s return to the U.S. he tried, with no success, to help Zaki and his family get out of Afghanistan. This summer, as the U.S. pulled out of Afghanistan, Zaki and his family were targeted for execution by the Taliban due to his involvement with U.S. Forces. Schueman’s devotion to his comrade and his struggle to save him, his wife and four children led to a harrowing escape and a daring rescue at Kabul’s airport.
The project is being developed by producers Flashlight Films managing partner Allyn Stewart and veteran movie producer Hawk Koch,...
- 11/3/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
despite the fact that he’s a walking red flag six feet tall who would sooner self-destruct than return anyone’s emotional investment, Harry Wootliff’s “True Things” is a movie that starts with a woman surrendering to fantasy, and then slowly unravels as she tunnels her way towards freedom. It’s the Burke Effect in action: Films project through him without getting stuck. His devil may care darkness stains everything it touches, but it’s tempered with a lightness that helps people find their way to the other side.
So while every part of you might want to shout at a listless Ramsgate government clerk (Ruth Wilson) to run in the opposite direction of the dyed blond ex-con who slurs into her cubicle one gray afternoon like a “Good Time” cos-player gone too far, people familiar with the ghosts of Burkes past might be more willing to watch Kate make a mess of things.
So while every part of you might want to shout at a listless Ramsgate government clerk (Ruth Wilson) to run in the opposite direction of the dyed blond ex-con who slurs into her cubicle one gray afternoon like a “Good Time” cos-player gone too far, people familiar with the ghosts of Burkes past might be more willing to watch Kate make a mess of things.
- 9/17/2021
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
When we first meet Alma (Déborah Lukumuena) and Margot (Souheila Yacoub), they are at each other’s throats. They are onstage, two of a gang of young hopefuls trying out for a plum role in a semi-experimental Parisian theatre piece, but the fight is not part of their audition. It is real, and yet at the same time, unreal.
There is something unconvincing in Margot’s ginned-up outburst, in the way it gets physical but not really, in the high theatrics of squaring off and flouncing out. And if we immediately realize why — outside the two embrace, laughing, gasping at the audacity of their ruse to get the attention of the play’s director — this opening, with its themes of performativity, showmanship and friendship so ferocious it can look like conflict, is the exactly appropriate in media res introduction to Anaïs Volpé’s first feature “The Braves” — perhaps even in...
There is something unconvincing in Margot’s ginned-up outburst, in the way it gets physical but not really, in the high theatrics of squaring off and flouncing out. And if we immediately realize why — outside the two embrace, laughing, gasping at the audacity of their ruse to get the attention of the play’s director — this opening, with its themes of performativity, showmanship and friendship so ferocious it can look like conflict, is the exactly appropriate in media res introduction to Anaïs Volpé’s first feature “The Braves” — perhaps even in...
- 8/29/2021
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
It’s blockbuster season and Amazon Prime is celebrating by bringing a major action film to its stream.
That’s right, Amazon Prime’s list of new releases for July 2021 is highlighted by none other than The Tomorrow War on July 2. The year is 2051 and mankind is locked in a vicious war against an alien species. Our only hope is to go back in time and find…Chris Pratt. Ok, perhaps that’s a little reductive of the film’s plot. Future humanity also comes back to bring Sam Richardson to the future.
In terms of originals, there isn’t much else to speak of on Amazon Prime this month. The only other major release is The Pursuit of Love on July 30. This BBC series is directed by Emily Mortimer and takes place during the WWII era and follows two cousins as they navigate their lives. Lily James and Andrew Scott star.
That’s right, Amazon Prime’s list of new releases for July 2021 is highlighted by none other than The Tomorrow War on July 2. The year is 2051 and mankind is locked in a vicious war against an alien species. Our only hope is to go back in time and find…Chris Pratt. Ok, perhaps that’s a little reductive of the film’s plot. Future humanity also comes back to bring Sam Richardson to the future.
In terms of originals, there isn’t much else to speak of on Amazon Prime this month. The only other major release is The Pursuit of Love on July 30. This BBC series is directed by Emily Mortimer and takes place during the WWII era and follows two cousins as they navigate their lives. Lily James and Andrew Scott star.
- 7/1/2021
- by Alec Bojalad
- Den of Geek
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has revealed that it will debut six more of its classic films restored on 4K Ultra HD disc for the first time ever.
The “Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 2” will include “The Social Network,” “Taxi Driver,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Anatomy of a Murder,” “Oliver!” and “Stripes.”
In addition to the six restored films, the set will include an exclusive Blu-ray bonus disc that will feature 20 short films from the Columbia Pictures library all presented in high definition. Curated from over 80 years of the studio’s history, this selection of shorts will showcase a wide scope of creative output across both live-action and animation mediums.
The library of short films will include “Umpa,” “The Three Stooges: Disorder In The Court,” “Charley Chase: Man Bites Lovebug,” “Color Rhapsodies: The Little Match Girl,” “Charley Chase: The Sap Takes A Wrap,” “Color Rhapsodies: Dog, Cat and Canary,...
The “Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection Volume 2” will include “The Social Network,” “Taxi Driver,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Anatomy of a Murder,” “Oliver!” and “Stripes.”
In addition to the six restored films, the set will include an exclusive Blu-ray bonus disc that will feature 20 short films from the Columbia Pictures library all presented in high definition. Curated from over 80 years of the studio’s history, this selection of shorts will showcase a wide scope of creative output across both live-action and animation mediums.
The library of short films will include “Umpa,” “The Three Stooges: Disorder In The Court,” “Charley Chase: Man Bites Lovebug,” “Color Rhapsodies: The Little Match Girl,” “Charley Chase: The Sap Takes A Wrap,” “Color Rhapsodies: Dog, Cat and Canary,...
- 6/14/2021
- by Antonio Ferme
- Variety Film + TV
Rlje Films will release the drama/comedy Shoplifters Of The World on DVD and Blu-ray on June 1, 2021. The DVD will sell for an Srp of $27.97 and the Blu-ray for an Srp of $28.96
Now you can win the Win the DVD of Shoplifters Of The World We Are Movie Geeks has three to give away. Just leave a comment below telling us what your favorite movie is with the word ‘World’ in the title (mine’s The World Is Not Enough. It’s so easy!)
1. You Must Be A US Resident. Prize Will Only Be Shipped To US Addresses. No P.O. Boxes. No Duplicate Addresses.
2. Winner Will Be Chosen From All Qualifying Entries
Written and directed by Stephen Kijak (We Are X, Sid & Judy), Shoplifters Of The World stars Helena Howard (Amazon’s “The Wilds,” Madeline’s Madeline), Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood, Showtime’s “The Good Lord Bird”), Elena Kampouris (Children of the Corn,...
Now you can win the Win the DVD of Shoplifters Of The World We Are Movie Geeks has three to give away. Just leave a comment below telling us what your favorite movie is with the word ‘World’ in the title (mine’s The World Is Not Enough. It’s so easy!)
1. You Must Be A US Resident. Prize Will Only Be Shipped To US Addresses. No P.O. Boxes. No Duplicate Addresses.
2. Winner Will Be Chosen From All Qualifying Entries
Written and directed by Stephen Kijak (We Are X, Sid & Judy), Shoplifters Of The World stars Helena Howard (Amazon’s “The Wilds,” Madeline’s Madeline), Ellar Coltrane (Boyhood, Showtime’s “The Good Lord Bird”), Elena Kampouris (Children of the Corn,...
- 5/28/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
For four minutes of curator Sam Abbas’ 58-minute collection of docushorts from several European and American cinematographers, the camera sits on wrinkled bed sheets. A piano plays, with a softness that encompasses the meditative nature of Erēmīta (Anthologies). With more background knowledge, Erēmīta should grow in one’s estimation. All proceeds will go to Amnesty International. Each filmmaker had final cut on their short, and without much of a prompt besides the idea to use a cell phone to film, the mini-movies tell pandemic stories in diverse ways, to varying results.
Combining work from cinematographers with wider filmographies like Ashley Connor and Alexis Zabé (The Florida Project) with director Abel Ferrara’s go-to cameraman Stefano Falivene and others like Antoine Héberlé and Soledad Rodríguez, Abbas organizes a reflective, pensive hour of cinema. The documentaries range from a closer look––with interviews––at those living on the Venice Boardwalk (Zabé’s...
Combining work from cinematographers with wider filmographies like Ashley Connor and Alexis Zabé (The Florida Project) with director Abel Ferrara’s go-to cameraman Stefano Falivene and others like Antoine Héberlé and Soledad Rodríguez, Abbas organizes a reflective, pensive hour of cinema. The documentaries range from a closer look––with interviews––at those living on the Venice Boardwalk (Zabé’s...
- 2/26/2021
- by Michael Frank
- The Film Stage
Update: “Beginners” director Mike Mills has spoken to IndieWire about the passing of Christopher Plummer, who won an Academy Award for his role in the film. Plummer played Hal Fields, an aging patriarch who comes out to his son late in life, and chooses to live his final years as an out gay man.
“It was a great honor to work with Christopher, to be in conversation with such a dedicated artist,” Mike Mills said. “In his 80s when we met, I marveled at his intense curiosity, hunger to make something vulnerable, and his need to challenge himself. Christopher was both dignified and mischievous, deeply cultured and always looking for a good laugh. As he said about playing my father who was dying ‘not an ounce of self pity,’ and that’s how he was. I’ll always be indebted to Christopher for honoring the story of an older man...
“It was a great honor to work with Christopher, to be in conversation with such a dedicated artist,” Mike Mills said. “In his 80s when we met, I marveled at his intense curiosity, hunger to make something vulnerable, and his need to challenge himself. Christopher was both dignified and mischievous, deeply cultured and always looking for a good laugh. As he said about playing my father who was dying ‘not an ounce of self pity,’ and that’s how he was. I’ll always be indebted to Christopher for honoring the story of an older man...
- 2/5/2021
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Tributes poured in Friday morning as news broke that legendary actor Christopher Plummer had passed away at the age of 91.
“One of the greats,” Joseph Gordon-Levitt wrote on Twitter, while George Takei said, “The Sound of Music is a sad one today as Christopher Plummer has left us today. He was giant of stage and screen.”
Chris Evans, who recently starred with Plummer in “Knives Out,” said, “This is truly heartbreaking. What an unbelievable loss. Few careers have such longevity and impact. One of my favorite memories from Knives Out was playing piano together in the Thrombey house between set ups. He was a lovely man and a legendary talent.”
In a statement to TheWrap, Plummer’s “The Last Station” costar Helen Mirren said, “I had the great honour to work with Chris Plummer in his Oscar nominated role of Tolstoy. He was a mighty force both as Man and Actor.
“One of the greats,” Joseph Gordon-Levitt wrote on Twitter, while George Takei said, “The Sound of Music is a sad one today as Christopher Plummer has left us today. He was giant of stage and screen.”
Chris Evans, who recently starred with Plummer in “Knives Out,” said, “This is truly heartbreaking. What an unbelievable loss. Few careers have such longevity and impact. One of my favorite memories from Knives Out was playing piano together in the Thrombey house between set ups. He was a lovely man and a legendary talent.”
In a statement to TheWrap, Plummer’s “The Last Station” costar Helen Mirren said, “I had the great honour to work with Chris Plummer in his Oscar nominated role of Tolstoy. He was a mighty force both as Man and Actor.
- 2/5/2021
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
Christopher Plummer, the legendary actor known for “The Sound of Music” and countless other iconic roles including “Knives Out,” “A Beautiful Mind” and his Oscar-winning “Beginners,” has died. He was 91.
Plummer died early Friday at his home in Connecticut. His wife of 53 years, Elaine Taylor, said the cause was a blow to the head after a fall, according to The New York Times.
“Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old fashion manners, self-deprecating humor and the music of words,” longtime friend and manager Lou Pitt said. “He was a national treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots. Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come. He will forever be with us.”
Plummer was a three-time Oscar nominee, first for 2009’s “The Last Station,” then again for Ridley Scott...
Plummer died early Friday at his home in Connecticut. His wife of 53 years, Elaine Taylor, said the cause was a blow to the head after a fall, according to The New York Times.
“Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old fashion manners, self-deprecating humor and the music of words,” longtime friend and manager Lou Pitt said. “He was a national treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots. Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come. He will forever be with us.”
Plummer was a three-time Oscar nominee, first for 2009’s “The Last Station,” then again for Ridley Scott...
- 2/5/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
Christopher Plummer, the Canadian-born Shakespearean actor who starred in films including “The Sound of Music” and “Beginners,” died on Friday morning at his home in Connecticut. He was 91.
“Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old fashion manners, self deprecating humor and the music of words,” said Lou Pitt, his longtime friend and manager of 46 years. “He was a national treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots. Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come. He will forever be with us.”
An imposing theatrical presence with a well-cultivated, resonant voice, that critic John Simon once observed, “in its chamois mode, can polish mirrors,” Plummer was best known for playing Captain von Trapp in the Oscar-winning musical “The Sound of Music.” He also won an Oscar in 2012 for his supporting turn in the film “Beginners,...
“Chris was an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession with great old fashion manners, self deprecating humor and the music of words,” said Lou Pitt, his longtime friend and manager of 46 years. “He was a national treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots. Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come. He will forever be with us.”
An imposing theatrical presence with a well-cultivated, resonant voice, that critic John Simon once observed, “in its chamois mode, can polish mirrors,” Plummer was best known for playing Captain von Trapp in the Oscar-winning musical “The Sound of Music.” He also won an Oscar in 2012 for his supporting turn in the film “Beginners,...
- 2/5/2021
- by Richard Natale
- Variety Film + TV
“There is no theme. Film whatever you want, however you want, with whomever you want.” This is the message that Egyptian filmmaker Sam Abbas sent to his favorite cinematographers as an invitation to contribute to the new film Erēmīta (Anthologies). Directors of photography from five countries––USA, France, Argentina, Italy, and the UK––answered the call and today we’re pleased to debut the exclusive trailer for the anthology project.
Featuring contributions from Abbas (Alia’s Birth, Marie, The Wedding), Alexis Zabe (The Florida Project, Silent Light, Post Tenebras Lux), Antoine Héberlé (A Son, My Favourite Fabric, GriGris), Ashley Connor (Madeline’s Madeline, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, The Death of Dick Long), Soledad Rodríguez (Pendular, Maternal, The Student), Stefano Falivene (Siberia, Pasolini, Mary), the zero-budget production will now get a release next month on VOD and Virtual Cinemas with all profits going entirely to a charity the team will choose.
Featuring contributions from Abbas (Alia’s Birth, Marie, The Wedding), Alexis Zabe (The Florida Project, Silent Light, Post Tenebras Lux), Antoine Héberlé (A Son, My Favourite Fabric, GriGris), Ashley Connor (Madeline’s Madeline, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, The Death of Dick Long), Soledad Rodríguez (Pendular, Maternal, The Student), Stefano Falivene (Siberia, Pasolini, Mary), the zero-budget production will now get a release next month on VOD and Virtual Cinemas with all profits going entirely to a charity the team will choose.
- 1/25/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Christopher Plummer has never considered himself a “series guy” before, but things are changing.
The 90-year-old actor stars in Peacock’s new mystery-drama series “Departure,” which makes its U.S. premiere on Thursday after previously premiering in the U.K. earlier this year. The project is Plummer’s first series regular TV role in over 25 years.
Plummer plays Howard, a spirited mentor to a sharp investigator named Kendra, who is played by “I Know This Much Is True” star Archie Panjabi. Howard convinces her to return to the job in order to find out what happened to passenger plane Flight 716 after it vanishes somewhere over the Atlantic.
“He’s crazy about Kendra. The old guy might even be sort of in love with her,” Plummer said of his “Departure” character. “He’s brought her along and promoted her each time, and here’s a job that she doesn’t want...
The 90-year-old actor stars in Peacock’s new mystery-drama series “Departure,” which makes its U.S. premiere on Thursday after previously premiering in the U.K. earlier this year. The project is Plummer’s first series regular TV role in over 25 years.
Plummer plays Howard, a spirited mentor to a sharp investigator named Kendra, who is played by “I Know This Much Is True” star Archie Panjabi. Howard convinces her to return to the job in order to find out what happened to passenger plane Flight 716 after it vanishes somewhere over the Atlantic.
“He’s crazy about Kendra. The old guy might even be sort of in love with her,” Plummer said of his “Departure” character. “He’s brought her along and promoted her each time, and here’s a job that she doesn’t want...
- 9/17/2020
- by Margeaux Sippell
- The Wrap
If Kornél Mundruczó and Kata Wéber’s “Pieces of a Woman” seems to rearrange the fragments of a typical melodrama into something unusually jagged and incomplete, perhaps that’s because there aren’t many films about miscarriages or stillbirths. Movies often introduce such tragedies as plot twists — cruel yet narratively convenient ways of bridging the gap between one part of a story and another — but few dare to make them the crux of the story itself.
There are several reasons for that. For one thing, movies about dead babies don’t typically pull Marvel-like numbers at the box office. For another, the pain of losing a pregnancy or newborn child is unfathomable in a way that can be hard to communicate to people who haven’t suffered a similar loss. What does it feel like to mourn something that was never alive? And if someone is lucky enough not to...
There are several reasons for that. For one thing, movies about dead babies don’t typically pull Marvel-like numbers at the box office. For another, the pain of losing a pregnancy or newborn child is unfathomable in a way that can be hard to communicate to people who haven’t suffered a similar loss. What does it feel like to mourn something that was never alive? And if someone is lucky enough not to...
- 9/5/2020
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
It feels like we all are having a Reese Witherspoon moment this Emmy season while celebrating a culmination of what the actress has achieved since her coming-of-age film debut in 1991’s “The Man in the Moon.” She may be nominated for six Emmys as both an actress and a producer this year for Hulu’s “Little Fires Everywhere,” Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show” and HBO’s second season of “Big Little Lies.” What is interesting is how each of her roles feature strands of other parts she has played to perfection on the big screen.
Yes, she won a Best Actress Oscar as country singer June Carter Cash in the 2005 biopic “Walk the Line.” It’s the type of female performance that I have dubbed in the past as a “stand-by-your-man” role, as she kept Joaquin Phoenix‘s Johnny Cash to away from drugs and encouraged him to stay...
Yes, she won a Best Actress Oscar as country singer June Carter Cash in the 2005 biopic “Walk the Line.” It’s the type of female performance that I have dubbed in the past as a “stand-by-your-man” role, as she kept Joaquin Phoenix‘s Johnny Cash to away from drugs and encouraged him to stay...
- 7/24/2020
- by Susan Wloszczyna
- Gold Derby
After incredibly short incarcerations and death, the Blindspot team is barreling toward the finish line.
The final fates of Madeline and Weitz were decided on Blindspot Season 5 Episode 9 and Blindspot Season 5 Episode 10.
But Ivy and the Zip are still on the loose as we get to wait two weeks for the series finale.
Why two weeks? Good question. One that should be directed to NBC programmers.
Next Thursday, NBC is airing a 30 Rock upfront special at 8, following by reruns of Superstore and Brooklyn 99 at 9.
So Blindspot's shortened fifth season gets broken up for a second time, so NBC can promote its fall schedule, which is still weeks away, a week earlier.
That makes as much sense as many NBC programming choices.
See? My rant broke up this review just like NBC is breaking up Blindspot Season 5.
Now back to our regularly scheduled review.
Patterson endured what had...
The final fates of Madeline and Weitz were decided on Blindspot Season 5 Episode 9 and Blindspot Season 5 Episode 10.
But Ivy and the Zip are still on the loose as we get to wait two weeks for the series finale.
Why two weeks? Good question. One that should be directed to NBC programmers.
Next Thursday, NBC is airing a 30 Rock upfront special at 8, following by reruns of Superstore and Brooklyn 99 at 9.
So Blindspot's shortened fifth season gets broken up for a second time, so NBC can promote its fall schedule, which is still weeks away, a week earlier.
That makes as much sense as many NBC programming choices.
See? My rant broke up this review just like NBC is breaking up Blindspot Season 5.
Now back to our regularly scheduled review.
Patterson endured what had...
- 7/10/2020
- by Dale McGarrigle
- TVfanatic
Let’s get one thing clear right from the start: Shirley, the movie about acclaimed writer Shirley Jackson, is not a conventional biopic of the reclusive yet incisive author of The Haunting of Hill House and stories like “The Lottery.” The movie is based on a novel by Susan Scarf Merrell, also called Shirley, and depicts a fictional battle of wills between Jackson, her husband Stanley Hyman, and the young couple who come to live with them when the husband takes a job as Hyman’s teaching assistant.
“The idea was to do a non-traditional biopic, because I didn’t really want to do a cradle to grave biopic at all,” says Sarah Gubbins, who wrote the screenplay. “But what was fascinating to me was the ways in which Shirley kind of has to endure the infamy of the success of ‘The Lottery’ and move into trying to write something else.
“The idea was to do a non-traditional biopic, because I didn’t really want to do a cradle to grave biopic at all,” says Sarah Gubbins, who wrote the screenplay. “But what was fascinating to me was the ways in which Shirley kind of has to endure the infamy of the success of ‘The Lottery’ and move into trying to write something else.
- 6/8/2020
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
Following her back-to-back first features Thou Wast Mild and Lovely and Butter on the Latch, director Josephine Decker returned with Madeline’s Madeline, a genuinely thrilling, endlessly imaginative look at the creative process as well as how mental illness influences artistic expression. She’s now back with Shirley, an inventive drama loosely drawing from author Shirley Jackson’s life, featuring the impressive leading duo of Elisabeth Moss and Michael Stuhlbarg.
As part of a digital press day, we had the opportunity to speak to Decker about her latest project, which Neon has released on Hulu and many other platforms. We discussed capturing the feeling of spontaneity, her thoughts on biopics, collaborating with Martin Scorsese, themes of isolation and repression, and much more.
The Film Stage: Spontaneity is such a hard thing to capture. I remarked how the way you move the camera feels like the audience is in a dance with the characters.
As part of a digital press day, we had the opportunity to speak to Decker about her latest project, which Neon has released on Hulu and many other platforms. We discussed capturing the feeling of spontaneity, her thoughts on biopics, collaborating with Martin Scorsese, themes of isolation and repression, and much more.
The Film Stage: Spontaneity is such a hard thing to capture. I remarked how the way you move the camera feels like the audience is in a dance with the characters.
- 6/8/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and an archive of past round-ups here.
Free Films Featuring Black Voices
If you’re not able to join your local protest, there are other ways to support the vital fight again injustice and police brutality. And if you’re looking to learn more about the black experience, especially in America, a number of films are now available for free. First up, The Criterion Channel has made available Daughters of the Dust, Losing Ground, Black Mother, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take One, The Watermelon Woman, and more films by black filmmakers for free without a subscription. Also available for free on other platforms is Charles Burnett’s landmark film Killer of Sheep, Ava DuVernay’s insightful documentary 13th,...
Free Films Featuring Black Voices
If you’re not able to join your local protest, there are other ways to support the vital fight again injustice and police brutality. And if you’re looking to learn more about the black experience, especially in America, a number of films are now available for free. First up, The Criterion Channel has made available Daughters of the Dust, Losing Ground, Black Mother, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take One, The Watermelon Woman, and more films by black filmmakers for free without a subscription. Also available for free on other platforms is Charles Burnett’s landmark film Killer of Sheep, Ava DuVernay’s insightful documentary 13th,...
- 6/5/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Pushed over a metaphorical cliff, the two nonconformists in Josephine Decker’s “Shirley” — her follow-up to the mind-bending “Madeline’s Madeline” — bond over the maddening submissiveness expected of them, which they both come to furiously abhor. Their strange alliance makes for a psychologically layered portrait of unapologetic womanhood that’s dangerously sensual and sumptuously rebellious.
The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, comes from a screenplay by Sarah Gubbins, which was adapted from Susan Scarf Merrell’s biographical fiction novel. Decker revives American genre writer Shirley Jackson (embodied by Elisabeth Moss) with a concoction of fact and magical realism, which may frame the film as a radically more exciting cousin to Stephen Daldry’s Virginia Woolf-centered, triptych drama “The Hours.”
Sensorial waves are sent through our systems right from the drama’s opening frames via cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grøvlen’s hypnotic camerawork and ethereal lighting.
The film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, comes from a screenplay by Sarah Gubbins, which was adapted from Susan Scarf Merrell’s biographical fiction novel. Decker revives American genre writer Shirley Jackson (embodied by Elisabeth Moss) with a concoction of fact and magical realism, which may frame the film as a radically more exciting cousin to Stephen Daldry’s Virginia Woolf-centered, triptych drama “The Hours.”
Sensorial waves are sent through our systems right from the drama’s opening frames via cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grøvlen’s hypnotic camerawork and ethereal lighting.
- 6/4/2020
- by Carlos Aguilar
- The Wrap
Expect the unexpected from this teasing psychodrama about Shirley Jackson, acclaimed horror author of The Lottery, a short story first published in The New Yorker in 1948 and a literary lightning rod ever since for its depiction of ritualistic violence in contemporary, small-town America. Until her death in 1965, at the age of 48 from heart problems brought on by smoking and weight gain, Jackson published over 200 short stories, two memoirs and six novels including Hangsaman (1951) and The Haunting of Hill House (1959).
Still, it was The Lottery that established her as a social...
Still, it was The Lottery that established her as a social...
- 6/3/2020
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
In a sea of online streaming services, Mubi’s stake in the field has been its carousel of films. 30 movies are available on any given day, all of which are part of a rotating selection. One leaves the library as another takes its place, giving you a constant conveyer belt of options that, even upon completing, guarantees something new by the next day. Now, they’ve expanded their offerings with the addition of a full library.
But if you’re like me and are into a strong gimmick, fear not: the rotating shelf mechanic is still there. Now in addition is a swath of other titles, including Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s epic Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Jean-Pierre Melville’s crime classic Le Cercle Rouge, and Hong Sang-soo’s The Day He Arrives, plus retrospectives dedicated to Lav Diaz, Angela Schanelec, Philippe Garrel, and more. It even has Richard Kelly...
But if you’re like me and are into a strong gimmick, fear not: the rotating shelf mechanic is still there. Now in addition is a swath of other titles, including Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s epic Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, Jean-Pierre Melville’s crime classic Le Cercle Rouge, and Hong Sang-soo’s The Day He Arrives, plus retrospectives dedicated to Lav Diaz, Angela Schanelec, Philippe Garrel, and more. It even has Richard Kelly...
- 5/21/2020
- by Matt Cipolla
- The Film Stage
Directed by Josephine Decker (Madeline’s Madeline) and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Shirley centers on the relationship between author Shirley Jackson (Elisabeth Moss) and her professor husband Stanley (Michael Stuhlbarg). The story is inspired by Susan Scarf Merrell’s novel of the same name.
Jackson is facing a bit of writer’s block after the publication of The [...]
The post Elisabeth Moss Plays Mind Games As Celebrated Writer In ‘Shirley’ Trailer appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
Jackson is facing a bit of writer’s block after the publication of The [...]
The post Elisabeth Moss Plays Mind Games As Celebrated Writer In ‘Shirley’ Trailer appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
- 5/11/2020
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
Filmmaker Josephine Decker is arguably the heir apparent of Miranda July, in that she’s sort of today’s premiere female indie filmmaker now pushing the boundaries of narrative and trying to make her dramas as experimental as possible. So far, it’s worked like gangbusters, especially in her expressive, live-wire drama, “Madeline’s Madeline” (which not so coincidentally starred July).
Read More: ‘Shirley’: Josephine Decker Returns To The Rich Landscape Of The Fragile Mind [Sundance Review]
Decker’s latest film, “Shirley, which debuted at Sundance earlier this year (read our review) is about a real-life literary figure—famed horror and mystery writer Shirley Jackson (played by Elisabeth Moss).
Continue reading ‘Shirley’ Trailer: Elisabeth Moss Plays A Horror Author Going Mad For Director Josephine Decker at The Playlist.
Read More: ‘Shirley’: Josephine Decker Returns To The Rich Landscape Of The Fragile Mind [Sundance Review]
Decker’s latest film, “Shirley, which debuted at Sundance earlier this year (read our review) is about a real-life literary figure—famed horror and mystery writer Shirley Jackson (played by Elisabeth Moss).
Continue reading ‘Shirley’ Trailer: Elisabeth Moss Plays A Horror Author Going Mad For Director Josephine Decker at The Playlist.
- 5/8/2020
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
One of the most-anticipated films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was Shirley, the latest feature by Josephine Decker, who last delivered the impressive, immersive drama Madeline’s Madeline. Led by Elisabeth Moss and Michael Stuhlbarg, the loosely biographical looked at renowned horror writer Shirley Jackson thankfully succeeded expectations. Executive produced by Martin Scorsese and picked up by Neon, it’ll now get a release “everywhere” on June 5 and they’ve dropped the first trailer and poster.
I said in my review, “After getting attention on the festival circuit with her back-to-back first features Thou Wast Mild and Lovely and Butter on the Latch, director Josephine Decker deservedly expanded her audience with Madeline’s Madeline, a genuinely thrilling, endlessly imaginative look at the creative process as well as how mental illness influences artistic expression. With Shirley, she returns to similar themes in an entirely different era while continuing the same inventive,...
I said in my review, “After getting attention on the festival circuit with her back-to-back first features Thou Wast Mild and Lovely and Butter on the Latch, director Josephine Decker deservedly expanded her audience with Madeline’s Madeline, a genuinely thrilling, endlessly imaginative look at the creative process as well as how mental illness influences artistic expression. With Shirley, she returns to similar themes in an entirely different era while continuing the same inventive,...
- 5/8/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
“She’s the bad guy here, not me,” Elena Richardson says of Mia Warren late in the new Hulu miniseries Little Fires Everywhere. Elena — perfectly rich and blonde — cannot conceive of a story in which she is the villain. She considers herself a paragon of liberal virtue, someone who, for instance, proudly tells anyone who will listen that her daughter Lexie has an African-American boyfriend. How could she possibly be the bad guy?
The problem — for both Elena and, to a degree, for Little Fires Everywhere — is that Elena is the villain of her story,...
The problem — for both Elena and, to a degree, for Little Fires Everywhere — is that Elena is the villain of her story,...
- 3/16/2020
- by Alan Sepinwall
- Rollingstone.com
Drama premiered in Park City last month.
Neon has picked up North American rights to Josephine Decker’s Sundance premiere Shirley starring Elisabeth Moss and Michael Stuhlbarg.
The distributor, riding high on Parasite’s historic Oscar win on Sunday night, negotiated the deal with Paradigm and UTA Independent Film Group.
Sarah Gubbins wrote the screenplay about a celebrated horror writer and her husband who take a young couple into their home where a battle of wits ensues. Odessa Young and Logan Lerman round out the key cast.
Shirley marks Decker’s follow-up to her acclaimed Sundance 2018 selection Madeline’s Madeline.
Neon has picked up North American rights to Josephine Decker’s Sundance premiere Shirley starring Elisabeth Moss and Michael Stuhlbarg.
The distributor, riding high on Parasite’s historic Oscar win on Sunday night, negotiated the deal with Paradigm and UTA Independent Film Group.
Sarah Gubbins wrote the screenplay about a celebrated horror writer and her husband who take a young couple into their home where a battle of wits ensues. Odessa Young and Logan Lerman round out the key cast.
Shirley marks Decker’s follow-up to her acclaimed Sundance 2018 selection Madeline’s Madeline.
- 2/10/2020
- by 36¦Jeremy Kay¦54¦
- ScreenDaily
Andy Samberg time-loop comedy “Palm Springs” broke sales records (by the cheeky sum of 69¢), and “Taylor Swift: Miss Americana” inspired a mini mob scene at an otherwise star-starved Sundance. But in the end, the film that defined the 2020 edition of America’s most important indie-movie showcase was a #MeToo revenge thriller called “Promising Young Woman.”
If every film festival falls somewhere along a spectrum that ranges from progressive to staunchly stuck-in-its-ways, Sundance stands for positive change, especially on the representation and inclusion front. Perhaps it’s easier for the Utah-based fest to champion relatively marginalized talents, since the program favors new voices over established auteurs, but Sundance outdid itself this year, filling out one of its strongest lineups in memory with a diversity of voices, approaches and characters.
While Swift was sucking up most of the oxygen on opening night, half a dozen other films demonstrated what the 11-day...
If every film festival falls somewhere along a spectrum that ranges from progressive to staunchly stuck-in-its-ways, Sundance stands for positive change, especially on the representation and inclusion front. Perhaps it’s easier for the Utah-based fest to champion relatively marginalized talents, since the program favors new voices over established auteurs, but Sundance outdid itself this year, filling out one of its strongest lineups in memory with a diversity of voices, approaches and characters.
While Swift was sucking up most of the oxygen on opening night, half a dozen other films demonstrated what the 11-day...
- 2/4/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Above: Never Rarely Sometimes AlwaysOf the many narratives that have emerged from this year’s Sundance’s indie extravaganza, there is one that seems to herald a promising sign of change: some of the most exciting works screened in Park City over the past couple of weeks were films by women, about women. Few works unveiled at the fest this year have earned as much praise as Eliza Hittman’s Never Rarely Sometimes Always, which follows 17-year-old Autumn (newcomer Sidney Flanigan) in her journey from Pennsylvania to New York City to abort an unwanted pregnancy. Whether or not the film stands as Hittman’s career-best (a suggestion raised by David Sims at The Atlantic), it marks a departure from the director’s prior youth-in-crisis tales Beach Rats (2017) and It Felt Like Love (2013). Largely because, as observed by Devika Girish at Film Comment, this study of fraught teenagehood “turns into something...
- 2/4/2020
- MUBI
Above: Josephine Decker's ShirleyThere’s a book I’ve been dying to read on the history of the color yellow. Nothing reminded me more how urgently I need to read it than Josephine Decker’s sumptuously filmed fiction feature, Shirley, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and in whose art design, yellow plays a crucial role. Sundance is also where Decker premiered her critically acclaimed indie film, Madeline’s Madeline (2018), about an unstable young woman aspiring to be an actress, and locked in a troubled relationship with her mother. But while in Madeline's Madeline Decker used disorienting camera movements, often in extreme close-ups to her protagonist, to build up tension, she deploys these tools sparingly in her new film, to dramatic effect.In Shirley, a famous writer, played with searing intensity and crackling dark humor by Elisabeth Moss, is in a creative and psychological slump. But then she...
- 1/28/2020
- MUBI
After getting attention on the festival circuit with her back-to-back first features Thou Wast Mild and Lovely and Butter on the Latch, director Josephine Decker deservedly expanded her audience with Madeline’s Madeline, a genuinely thrilling, endlessly imaginative look at the creative process as well as how mental illness influences artistic expression. With Shirley, she returns to similar themes in an entirely different era while continuing the same inventive, breathless style, even if this time around the narrative arc is a bit more straightforward.
Shirley Hardie Jackson was a deeply influential American writer who penned a handful of novels and hundreds of short stories. She was also intensely reclusive, had bouts of depression, and had to contend with her unfaithful professor husband. As Decker revealed in the introduction at the Sundance premiere, her early 1950s-set film is inspired by the author’s life but is purely fictional, based on Susan Scarf Merrell...
Shirley Hardie Jackson was a deeply influential American writer who penned a handful of novels and hundreds of short stories. She was also intensely reclusive, had bouts of depression, and had to contend with her unfaithful professor husband. As Decker revealed in the introduction at the Sundance premiere, her early 1950s-set film is inspired by the author’s life but is purely fictional, based on Susan Scarf Merrell...
- 1/27/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
A perversely entertaining take on a brief period of Shirley Jackson’s life gives the star one of her most daring roles to date
As willfully unconventional as a literary portrait could possibly be, Madeline’s Madeline director Josephine Decker’s take on Shirley Jackson is a thrillingly perverse example of what happens when the shackles of biopic formula are cast aside. Based on Shirley: A Novel, the acclaimed book from Susan Scarf Merrell, Shirley tells of a fictitious dynamic, an imagined period where a younger couple moved in with Jackson and her husband, but weaves in known details about the reclusive horror writer’s life and personality. It’s a strange construction but one that feels fitting given what we know of her, a woman who found reality and the rules that came with it to be rather pedestrian. It’s as unusual a film as she was an...
As willfully unconventional as a literary portrait could possibly be, Madeline’s Madeline director Josephine Decker’s take on Shirley Jackson is a thrillingly perverse example of what happens when the shackles of biopic formula are cast aside. Based on Shirley: A Novel, the acclaimed book from Susan Scarf Merrell, Shirley tells of a fictitious dynamic, an imagined period where a younger couple moved in with Jackson and her husband, but weaves in known details about the reclusive horror writer’s life and personality. It’s a strange construction but one that feels fitting given what we know of her, a woman who found reality and the rules that came with it to be rather pedestrian. It’s as unusual a film as she was an...
- 1/26/2020
- by Benjamin Lee in Park City
- The Guardian - Film News
Shirley Jackson was a real person, a writer best known for her twisted short story “The Lottery,” although the version presented in Josephine Decker’s “Shirley” feels more like a character from one of her own novels. Featuring “The Handsmaid’s Tale” actor Elisabeth Moss in the title role, this queer, hard-to-quantify psychological study isn’t a biopic so much as a séance — a quasi-occult attempt to invoke the spirit of such a singular author, who reinvented a genre before her death half a century ago, via a film that seeks to channel her unsettling style.
If Jackson’s gift was to burrow her way into those corners of the brain one typically keeps under lock and key, then Decker seems like pretty much the ideal director to find the cinematic equivalent — and I say this as someone who’s had an almost allergic reaction to her brand of indie-movie doodles until this point.
If Jackson’s gift was to burrow her way into those corners of the brain one typically keeps under lock and key, then Decker seems like pretty much the ideal director to find the cinematic equivalent — and I say this as someone who’s had an almost allergic reaction to her brand of indie-movie doodles until this point.
- 1/25/2020
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
When the news first broke that “Madeline’s Madeline” filmmaker Josephine Decker would be making a starry movie about the author Shirley Jackson, it was hard not to be disappointed (or at least caught by surprise) that one of the most feral, elastic, and vividly singular artists of contemporary American cinema was following her first masterpiece with something that might be classified as a biopic. Shudder. Speaking as one of Decker’s still-fervent devotees, the hope was that her next project would find her reaching deeper into her own mind instead of squeezing her immense talents into the architecture of someone else’s imagination, and the fear was that the financial demands of a period piece would constrain her uniquely generative creative process. “Madeline’s Madeline” is a film that’s inextricable from the story of its making — would a more traditional production, docked to a linear screenplay that Decker didn’t write,...
- 1/25/2020
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
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