Movies or life stories that are transformed into Broadway musicals always take a degree of liberties with their source material. Sometimes they’re egregious (Hey, Cher musical people, Gregg Allman didn’t sing “Ramblin’ Man” — Dickey Betts did!); other times they may be an improvement. The latter is sometimes the case in Back to the Future: The Musical, which opened last week and time-travels the 1985 blockbuster starring Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly onto the 2023 Broadway stage. Beloved artifacts like Marty’s down vest, Doc Brown’s souped-up DeLorean, and...
- 8/9/2023
- by David Browne
- Rollingstone.com
Armand Mastroianni's 1980 "He Knows You're Alone" might have borrowed a number of shots from John Carpenter's 1978 film "Halloween." It might have drawn from that movie's score, and it might have conceived of its unstoppable villain in a similar way. But it doesn't deserve to be left in the margins of the '80s slasher movie boom, especially given that it isn't a lesser entry in the genre.
Despite the movie being a decent-sized hit at the time of its release, grossing nearly $5 million per BoxOfficeMojo, it has largely been forgotten, outside of an early Tom Hanks appearance as a jogger. Compared to the best-known entries in the slasher subgenre of horror, there wasn't any kind of easy iconography to get absorbed into mainstream pop culture. Its relatively low budget means that there's fairly limited coverage and occasional bits of technical cost-cutting. But there's a strong sense of dread throughout,...
Despite the movie being a decent-sized hit at the time of its release, grossing nearly $5 million per BoxOfficeMojo, it has largely been forgotten, outside of an early Tom Hanks appearance as a jogger. Compared to the best-known entries in the slasher subgenre of horror, there wasn't any kind of easy iconography to get absorbed into mainstream pop culture. Its relatively low budget means that there's fairly limited coverage and occasional bits of technical cost-cutting. But there's a strong sense of dread throughout,...
- 7/29/2023
- by Anthony Crislip
- Slash Film
Once a Keeper, always a Keeper. And Bess was a keeper in every sense of the word on Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 9.
This installment had so much exposition that it was difficult to keep up. I know the series is coming to an end, but they really packed a lot of plot into this hour, and my head is swimming trying to figure it all out.
But first, let's give kudos to Maddison Jaizani. If Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 7 was "action hero" Nick's time to shine, then this was Bess' and Jaizani made sure Bess' courage and passion shone brilliantly.
When Carly and the Family For Truth in History tried to silence Bess with a slew of ridiculous charges, she could have rolled over and taken the plea deal, as George encouraged her to do.
In part, that seemed out of character for George, but I suppose she was trying to protect her friend.
This installment had so much exposition that it was difficult to keep up. I know the series is coming to an end, but they really packed a lot of plot into this hour, and my head is swimming trying to figure it all out.
But first, let's give kudos to Maddison Jaizani. If Nancy Drew Season 4 Episode 7 was "action hero" Nick's time to shine, then this was Bess' and Jaizani made sure Bess' courage and passion shone brilliantly.
When Carly and the Family For Truth in History tried to silence Bess with a slew of ridiculous charges, she could have rolled over and taken the plea deal, as George encouraged her to do.
In part, that seemed out of character for George, but I suppose she was trying to protect her friend.
- 7/27/2023
- by Christine Orlando
- TVfanatic
The Changing Face of Europe, which is presented by European Film Promotion (Efp) in collaboration with Hot Docs, returns to Toronto with the sixth edition of its festival-within-a-festival program—nine features and one mid-length film—exploring themes around identity, belonging and struggle.
“Over the years, the Changing Face of Europe has become one of the more impactful programs in the lineup, and also an essential component of our festival programming,” Hot Docs artistic director Shane Smith told Variety in advance of the festival.
“Europe has a rich history of and strong connection to the art of documentary filmmaking,” he said. “We are delighted to showcase the powerful work coming out of the continent that sheds light on crucial issues facing Europeans today.”
World-premiering “A Happy Man”, written and directed by anthropologist and filmmaker Soňa G. Lutherova (“Flooded”), tells the story of Marvin, who has moved from the Czech Republic to...
“Over the years, the Changing Face of Europe has become one of the more impactful programs in the lineup, and also an essential component of our festival programming,” Hot Docs artistic director Shane Smith told Variety in advance of the festival.
“Europe has a rich history of and strong connection to the art of documentary filmmaking,” he said. “We are delighted to showcase the powerful work coming out of the continent that sheds light on crucial issues facing Europeans today.”
World-premiering “A Happy Man”, written and directed by anthropologist and filmmaker Soňa G. Lutherova (“Flooded”), tells the story of Marvin, who has moved from the Czech Republic to...
- 4/27/2023
- by Jennie Punter
- Variety Film + TV
Get in line, because Cocaine Bear has made its way to Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital following a successful theatrical run. The “Maximum Rampage Edition” features several featurettes, including a fun audio commentary by director/producer Elizabeth Banks and producer (and Banks’ husband) Max Handelman.
Here are eight things I learned from the Cocaine Bear commentary…
1. The film opens with a Wet Hot American Summer reference.
Cocaine Bear opens to the tune of Jefferson Starship’s “Jane,” which many will recognize as the theme song to Wet Hot American Summer, the film in which Banks got her start. She explains:
“This song straight up is an homage to Wet Hot American Summer. Anybody who knows my work knows Wet Hot American Summer was technically my first movie as Elizabeth Banks. That’s my SAG card, got it on that movie. This is the opening song to Wet Hot American Summer, and I sent David Wain,...
Here are eight things I learned from the Cocaine Bear commentary…
1. The film opens with a Wet Hot American Summer reference.
Cocaine Bear opens to the tune of Jefferson Starship’s “Jane,” which many will recognize as the theme song to Wet Hot American Summer, the film in which Banks got her start. She explains:
“This song straight up is an homage to Wet Hot American Summer. Anybody who knows my work knows Wet Hot American Summer was technically my first movie as Elizabeth Banks. That’s my SAG card, got it on that movie. This is the opening song to Wet Hot American Summer, and I sent David Wain,...
- 4/20/2023
- by Alex DiVincenzo
- bloody-disgusting.com
A few weeks ago, it was announced that New Regency was gearing up to go into production on a horror thriller called Psycho Killer, based on a screenplay written by Se7en scribe Andrew Kevin Walker. Gavin Polone, producer of Zombieland and the Walker-scripted 8Mm, was set to direct the film, and Georgina Campbell (Barbarian) and Logan Miller (Escape Room) had been cast in lead roles. Filming is now underway, and Deadline has revealed that 6’5″+ former professional wrestler James Preston Rogers has been cast as the title character! He is definitely going to be one intimidating psycho killer.
Campbell is taking on the role of Jane Thorne, a police officer who makes it her mission to take down a serial killer referred to on the news as the ‘Satanic Slasher,’ following the murder of her state trooper husband.
Miller’s character is Marvin, a goth-type nebbish who works for the...
Campbell is taking on the role of Jane Thorne, a police officer who makes it her mission to take down a serial killer referred to on the news as the ‘Satanic Slasher,’ following the murder of her state trooper husband.
Miller’s character is Marvin, a goth-type nebbish who works for the...
- 4/18/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Coming soon from New Regency, Georgina Campbell (Barbarian) and Logan Miller (Escape Room) will star in Psycho Killer, and Deadline brings us more casting news today.
James Preston Rogers (Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley) is playing the film’s killer.
The film is heading into production this spring. Psycho Killer was written by Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en), and it’s centered on a serial killer referred to as the “Satanic Slasher.”
Deadline reports, “The film reportedly follows Jane Thorne (Campbell), a police officer who makes it her mission to take down a serial killer referred to on the news as the ‘Satanic Slasher,’ following the murder of her state trooper husband. Miller will play Marvin, a goth-type nebbish who works for the mysterious Pendleton in his massive mansion.”
Gavin Polone (Producer, Zombieland) is directing Psycho Killer.
New Regency will be producing the upcoming horror film along with Roy Lee,...
James Preston Rogers (Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Foley) is playing the film’s killer.
The film is heading into production this spring. Psycho Killer was written by Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en), and it’s centered on a serial killer referred to as the “Satanic Slasher.”
Deadline reports, “The film reportedly follows Jane Thorne (Campbell), a police officer who makes it her mission to take down a serial killer referred to on the news as the ‘Satanic Slasher,’ following the murder of her state trooper husband. Miller will play Marvin, a goth-type nebbish who works for the mysterious Pendleton in his massive mansion.”
Gavin Polone (Producer, Zombieland) is directing Psycho Killer.
New Regency will be producing the upcoming horror film along with Roy Lee,...
- 4/17/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
iMordecai
In first time writer and director Marvin Samel’s iMordecai, a series of unexpected events unfold when Marvin (Sean Astin) buys his father Mordecai (Judd Hirsch) an iPhone to replace his broken flip-phone. A Holocaust survivor, Mordecai’s relationship with his son is strained - the two distanced by a technological and cultural, generational divide. Meanwhile, his wife Fela (Carol Kane) is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. When he begins taking lessons for his new phone from the 'Einsteins', the tech experts at the store, Mordecai discovers a new and unexpected lease of life.
In conversation with Eye for Film, Samel discussed how his lack of intention to direct led him to contribute to an important conversation, and rejecting on-set conventions to honour his collaborative ethos.
iMordecai
Paul Risker: Why filmmaking as a means of creative expression?
Marvin Samel: I believe that filmmaking is the most expressive form of art there is.
In first time writer and director Marvin Samel’s iMordecai, a series of unexpected events unfold when Marvin (Sean Astin) buys his father Mordecai (Judd Hirsch) an iPhone to replace his broken flip-phone. A Holocaust survivor, Mordecai’s relationship with his son is strained - the two distanced by a technological and cultural, generational divide. Meanwhile, his wife Fela (Carol Kane) is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. When he begins taking lessons for his new phone from the 'Einsteins', the tech experts at the store, Mordecai discovers a new and unexpected lease of life.
In conversation with Eye for Film, Samel discussed how his lack of intention to direct led him to contribute to an important conversation, and rejecting on-set conventions to honour his collaborative ethos.
iMordecai
Paul Risker: Why filmmaking as a means of creative expression?
Marvin Samel: I believe that filmmaking is the most expressive form of art there is.
- 4/16/2023
- by Paul Risker
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Every once in a while, the first few frames of a film will capture you. It isn’t common, but certain ones – in any genre – ingratiate right out of the gate. Such is the case with Death Spa (1988); when lightning hits the ‘Starbody Health Spa’ leaving only the letters ‘Death Spa’ lit up within the first moments, I knew I was in for some fun. Anything that riffs on Motel Hell (1980)’s ‘Motel Hello’ sign can’t be all bad, you know? Death Spa is as high energy as its title implies, twice as goofy, and has more than enough plot for three films.
It was a weird time for horror; by the late ‘80s slashers couldn’t cut through a paper bag, so filmmakers sometimes turned to the supernatural for new thrills (or at least ones absent from the screen for a bit). Director Michael Fischa (My Mom's a Werewolf...
It was a weird time for horror; by the late ‘80s slashers couldn’t cut through a paper bag, so filmmakers sometimes turned to the supernatural for new thrills (or at least ones absent from the screen for a bit). Director Michael Fischa (My Mom's a Werewolf...
- 4/8/2023
- by Scott Drebit
- DailyDead
Well, that was an experience.
If you can make any initial statement about 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 11, it's that it is unforgettable and will have people.
Whether they'll be talking for good or bad reasons is up for debate, though.
Evidently, they've been playing around with some different stylistic choices and plot points for 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4. In that sense, four seasons into this series, some credit is extended for ingenuity.
Sometimes, they take big swings that pay off; other times, they do not pay off. You can count the series veering into a genre-bending sitcom throwback for impossibly longer than necessary as the latter.
The thing about 9-1-1: Lone Star is that most of the viewers crave background and character exploration for two-thirds of the cast so much that when there's a hint of a tease in the synopsis for an episode,...
If you can make any initial statement about 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 11, it's that it is unforgettable and will have people.
Whether they'll be talking for good or bad reasons is up for debate, though.
Evidently, they've been playing around with some different stylistic choices and plot points for 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4. In that sense, four seasons into this series, some credit is extended for ingenuity.
Sometimes, they take big swings that pay off; other times, they do not pay off. You can count the series veering into a genre-bending sitcom throwback for impossibly longer than necessary as the latter.
The thing about 9-1-1: Lone Star is that most of the viewers crave background and character exploration for two-thirds of the cast so much that when there's a hint of a tease in the synopsis for an episode,...
- 4/5/2023
- by Jasmine Blu
- TVfanatic
[Warning: The below contains Major spoilers for 9-1-1: Lone Star Season 4 Episode 11 “Double Trouble.”] Back in 9-1-1 Season 2, we met Marvin (Julian Works) as he tried to flee from Sergeant Athena Grant (Angela Bassett). Now, on the spinoff 9-1-1: Lone Star, Works stars as firefighter Mateo. In the April 4 episode of the latter, the actor plays both. Marvin reaches out to Mateo when he needs bail money, and, thanks to the firefighter’s girlfriend, paramedic Nancy (Brianna Baker), he’s able to give it to him. But then Marvin falls back into old habits and ends up dead. Feeling guilty — Mateo was the one who set a fire Marvin took responsibility for as a teen, ending up down the path he did — the firefighter wants to confess to the past crime. It’s his captain, Owen (Rob Lowe), who talks him out of it. Works takes us inside the episode and teases what’s ahead. Talk about ...
- 4/5/2023
- TV Insider
Known for tackling over-the-top crises across the city of Austin, 9-1-1: Lone Star on Tuesday faced a pair of emergencies that were a little closer to home for members of the 126.
We’ll start with Mateo’s cousin Marvin (also played by actor Julian Works), whom we previously met in a 2018 episode of flagship series 9-1-1. Though he only ever appeared over FaceTime, Marvin hit up his “identical cousin” for the $25,000 he needed for bail after being arrested for joyriding — again! Owen refused to loan Mateo the money, explaining that helping his cousin would only enable him further,...
We’ll start with Mateo’s cousin Marvin (also played by actor Julian Works), whom we previously met in a 2018 episode of flagship series 9-1-1. Though he only ever appeared over FaceTime, Marvin hit up his “identical cousin” for the $25,000 he needed for bail after being arrested for joyriding — again! Owen refused to loan Mateo the money, explaining that helping his cousin would only enable him further,...
- 4/5/2023
- by Andy Swift
- TVLine.com
9-1-1 mastermind Tim Minear promised an unconventional crossover on 9-1-1: Lone Star this season, and we’re finally getting it on Tuesday (Fox, 8/7c).
The episode, appropriately titled “Double Trouble,” finds Julian Works embodying dual roles — Mateo, his regular Lone Star character, and Mateo’s Los Angeles-based cousin Marvin, whom viewers previously met in a 2018 episode of 9-1-1.
More from TVLine9-1-1: Lone Star's Mini Crossover Takes a Tragic Turn -- Plus, Who's Expecting?Call Me Kat Renewal-Cancellation Decision 'Four or Five Weeks' AwayTVLine Items: Pll Promotion, Fox Orders New Medical Drama and More
Works...
The episode, appropriately titled “Double Trouble,” finds Julian Works embodying dual roles — Mateo, his regular Lone Star character, and Mateo’s Los Angeles-based cousin Marvin, whom viewers previously met in a 2018 episode of 9-1-1.
More from TVLine9-1-1: Lone Star's Mini Crossover Takes a Tragic Turn -- Plus, Who's Expecting?Call Me Kat Renewal-Cancellation Decision 'Four or Five Weeks' AwayTVLine Items: Pll Promotion, Fox Orders New Medical Drama and More
Works...
- 4/4/2023
- by Andy Swift
- TVLine.com
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