A Man in Full is highly entertaining, which should be no surprise. The series is an adaptation from David E. Kelley, the brilliant mind behind Ally McBeal, Netflix’s The Lincoln Lawyer, and HBO’s Big Little Lies. Kelley has been in the thick of television since the days of Doogie Howser, M.D.
Kelley brings his signature brand of strong characters, a blend of genres, and sharp dialogue that you need to figure out just how deep the cut goes. The bench of actors is deep (and the likes of directors Regina King and Thomas Schlamme) with stars Jeff Daniels and Bill Camp, who turn the whip-smart and clever wordplay into instantly memorable lines that stay with the viewer long after the episode is over.
You wish A Man in Full had taken the time to develop the highly ambitious source material into something that better reflects modern societal dilemmas.
Kelley brings his signature brand of strong characters, a blend of genres, and sharp dialogue that you need to figure out just how deep the cut goes. The bench of actors is deep (and the likes of directors Regina King and Thomas Schlamme) with stars Jeff Daniels and Bill Camp, who turn the whip-smart and clever wordplay into instantly memorable lines that stay with the viewer long after the episode is over.
You wish A Man in Full had taken the time to develop the highly ambitious source material into something that better reflects modern societal dilemmas.
- 5/2/2024
- by M.N. Miller
- FandomWire
It is my experience that one gets a far richer, stranger cinema education in pursuing the careers of actors, that group defined first by (assuming luck shines upon them) two or three era-defining films and then so much that dictates their industry—pet projects, contractual obligations, called-in favors alimony payments, auteur one-offs, and on and on. Few embody that deluge of circumstance better than Michelle Yeoh and Isabelle Huppert, both of whom are receiving spotlights in March. The former’s is a who’s-who of Hong Kong talent, new favorites (The Heroic Trio), items we can at least say are of interest (Trio‘s not-great sequel Executioners), etc.
Huppert’s series runs longer, and notwithstanding certain standards that have long sat on the channel it adds some heavy hitters: Hong’s In Another Country, Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, Breillat’s Abuse of Weakness, Hansen-Løve’s Things to Come. And, of course,...
Huppert’s series runs longer, and notwithstanding certain standards that have long sat on the channel it adds some heavy hitters: Hong’s In Another Country, Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate, Breillat’s Abuse of Weakness, Hansen-Løve’s Things to Come. And, of course,...
- 2/22/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
In film history, the anthology genre is the most challenging. Episodic films often have several directors and screenwriters which gives them an inconsistent tone and quality. But the genre’s pitfalls haven’t stopped such filmmakers including Akira Kurosawa (“Dreams”), the Coens (“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”), Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez (“Sin City”); Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese (“New York Stories”); and Joe Dante, John Landis, George Miller and Steven Spielberg (“Twilight Zone: The Movie”).
Wes Anderson joined them with his latest film “The French Dispatch,” which received a nine-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. The comedy brings to life three stories from an American magazine published in a fictional French city and features his stock company of actors including Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson.
If you are a fan of the genre, here are the best anthology movies that...
Wes Anderson joined them with his latest film “The French Dispatch,” which received a nine-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival. The comedy brings to life three stories from an American magazine published in a fictional French city and features his stock company of actors including Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody and Owen Wilson.
If you are a fan of the genre, here are the best anthology movies that...
- 10/30/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Dead of Night
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1945 / 1.33 : 1 / 102 Min.
Starring Mervyn Johns, Michael Redgrave, Googie Withers
Cinematography by Douglas Slocombe
Directed by Basil Dearden, Alberto Cavalcant, Charles Chrichton, Robert Hamer
Anthology films have been a reliable Hollywood staple since D.W. Griffith’s time-traveling Intolerance and Paramount’s depression-era dramedy If I Had a Million. The short story format has proved especially popular with horror movie fans who prefer their thrills lean, mean and straight to the point.
That humble subgenre contains multitudes – from Masaki Kobayashi‘s elegant Kwaidan to the comic book stylings of Freddie Francis’s Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors to the state of the art shocker Nightmare Cinema – but the great-granddaddy of them all is surely the 1945 classic from Britain’s Ealing Studios – Dead of Night.
Mervyn Johns, the eternal Everyman, plays Walter Craig, a restoration expert whose newest project – a provincial manor called “Pilgrim’s...
Blu ray
Kino Lorber
1945 / 1.33 : 1 / 102 Min.
Starring Mervyn Johns, Michael Redgrave, Googie Withers
Cinematography by Douglas Slocombe
Directed by Basil Dearden, Alberto Cavalcant, Charles Chrichton, Robert Hamer
Anthology films have been a reliable Hollywood staple since D.W. Griffith’s time-traveling Intolerance and Paramount’s depression-era dramedy If I Had a Million. The short story format has proved especially popular with horror movie fans who prefer their thrills lean, mean and straight to the point.
That humble subgenre contains multitudes – from Masaki Kobayashi‘s elegant Kwaidan to the comic book stylings of Freddie Francis’s Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors to the state of the art shocker Nightmare Cinema – but the great-granddaddy of them all is surely the 1945 classic from Britain’s Ealing Studios – Dead of Night.
Mervyn Johns, the eternal Everyman, plays Walter Craig, a restoration expert whose newest project – a provincial manor called “Pilgrim’s...
- 7/9/2019
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
Out today on VOD is Brett Whitcomb's SXSW documentary A Life in Waves, a film about electronic music pioneer Suzanne Ciani. The film is being released by Gunpowder & Sky and we have been asked to share a clip with you where Ciani talks about some commercial work she did for Merrill Lynch and Atari. Unfortunately, I am now old enough to remember seeing the Bull in a China Shop commercial for Merrill Lynch on television. I do not recall that Atari commercial, though I swear to goodness, that looks like Ted Danson in it. We have also included the trailer below. Find A Life in Waves on VOD today! A Life in Waves explores the life and innovations of composer and...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 8/4/2017
- Screen Anarchy
One of the amazing things about 13 Reasons Why (of which there are many) is the fact that Netflix was open to casting a group of virtually unknown actors. One of them is Michele Selene Ang, whom fans of the show will know better as the uptight, strait-laced Courtney Crimsen. Courtney makes some pretty awful decisions (which land her on Hannah's infamous list), but she's also shown to be a formidable character, one you definitely don't want to mess with. Although this is Michele's first TV role (she just finished performing in a theater production of Bull in a China Shop), a quick look through her Instagram confirms that she's just as much a force to be reckoned with as Courtney. In a recent photo, she made a powerful statement about Hollywood's deeply infuriating habit of whitewashing Asian characters in film. Seated on a counter in her dressing room, Michele wears...
- 4/7/2017
- by Quinn Keaney
- Popsugar.com
Michele Selene Ang, Enid Graham, Lizbeth Mackay, Crystal Lucas-Perry, and Ruibo Qian star in the LCT3Lincoln Center Theater production of Bull in a China Shop, a new play by Bryna Turner, directed by Lee Sunday Evans. Bull in a China Shopopens tonight, March 1, running for six weeks only through Sunday, March 26 at the Claire Tow Theater 150 West 65 Street. BroadwayWorld has a look at the cast in action below...
- 3/1/2017
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Michele Selene Ang, Enid Graham, Lizbeth MacKay, Crystal Lucas-Perry, and Ruibo Qianstar in theLCT3Lincoln Center Theater production of Bull in a China Shop, a new play by Bryna Turner,directed by Lee Sunday Evans. Bull in a China Shopis currently in previews and will open Wednesday, March 1, runningfor six weeks only through Sunday, March 26 at the Claire Tow Theater 150 West 65 Street. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below...
- 2/15/2017
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Mark Harrison Nov 22, 2016
With spoilers, we look at the questions Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them left behind...
This feature contains spoilers for Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them and other Harry Potter films.
For fans of Jk Rowling's Wizarding World, the newest adjunct to the Harry Potter franchise has been refreshingly unknown up until release. Although the new spin-off Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them is set before the previous films, we don't expect that Rowling's planned five films will dovetail directly into The Philosopher's Stone and aside from a couple of references to wizarding history, it's uncharted territory.
The book version of Fantastic Beasts was published for Comic Relief in 2001 and purports to be an abridged, Muggle-worthy edition of Newt Scamander's in-universe work on magical creatures. On the other hand, the plot of the film is brand new, taking place during Newt's research into writing the book,...
With spoilers, we look at the questions Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them left behind...
This feature contains spoilers for Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them and other Harry Potter films.
For fans of Jk Rowling's Wizarding World, the newest adjunct to the Harry Potter franchise has been refreshingly unknown up until release. Although the new spin-off Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them is set before the previous films, we don't expect that Rowling's planned five films will dovetail directly into The Philosopher's Stone and aside from a couple of references to wizarding history, it's uncharted territory.
The book version of Fantastic Beasts was published for Comic Relief in 2001 and purports to be an abridged, Muggle-worthy edition of Newt Scamander's in-universe work on magical creatures. On the other hand, the plot of the film is brand new, taking place during Newt's research into writing the book,...
- 11/21/2016
- Den of Geek
Prince Albert of Monaco is an American homeowner!
The prince confirms exclusively to People that he recently purchased the childhood home of his mother, actress-turned-royal, Princess Grace.
“It feels good,” he tells People of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home. “I’m very happy to have saved this old family home from a near certain death or development.
“We’re still trying to figure out what we’re going to do with it. We’re looking at having it contain some museum exhibit space and maybe use part of it for offices for some of our foundation work.”
Albert will travel to...
The prince confirms exclusively to People that he recently purchased the childhood home of his mother, actress-turned-royal, Princess Grace.
“It feels good,” he tells People of the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home. “I’m very happy to have saved this old family home from a near certain death or development.
“We’re still trying to figure out what we’re going to do with it. We’re looking at having it contain some museum exhibit space and maybe use part of it for offices for some of our foundation work.”
Albert will travel to...
- 10/21/2016
- by erinhilltimeinc
- PEOPLE.com
Somehow – despite Roland Emmerich’s obsessive focus on Earth’s destruction – Independence Day found a way to bottle raw human fortitude in a way that its sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence, clumsily fumbles. In the most generic, fan-servicing, sequelitis-stricken way, this sci-fi doomsday franchise charges back into theaters like a bull in an intergalactic China shop. The entire films is basically one big “Here we go again!” moment on repeat, as Emmerich prays that nostalgia is enough to distract from the nothingness that’s occurring on screen. Look! There’s a heroic poster of Will Smith! Or over there! It’s that crazy doctor who totally should be dead! And Jeff Goldblum! You guys still love him, right?!
Yes, Mr. Emmerich, we do still love Jeff Goldblum – but not when he’s reduced to making silly faces like a rejected Tim & Eric sketch. Granted, I’d pay good money for a...
Yes, Mr. Emmerich, we do still love Jeff Goldblum – but not when he’s reduced to making silly faces like a rejected Tim & Eric sketch. Granted, I’d pay good money for a...
- 6/24/2016
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
Outrageous, ultra-violent, and sleazy as hell, Officer Downe is the kind of movie made for midnight screenings and intended for audiences in the right mindset to see some deranged and psychotic nonsense.
What if you could resurrect RoboCop as many times as you wanted? That’s the simplified premise of this movie, which follows an L.A. super cop (Sons of Anarchy’s Kim Coates) who’s killed in the line of duty and brought back to life to continue his never-ending rampage against crime. Based on a comic and directed by Slipknot’s Shawn “Clown” Crahan, everything about Officer Downe is aggressive, in your face, and over the top. It’s all sex, drugs, rock ’n roll, and exploding heads, relentlessly blowing up traditional expectations about narrative structure and gleefully charging over the line of good taste.
The film opens with Downe going down on a busty blonde, and...
What if you could resurrect RoboCop as many times as you wanted? That’s the simplified premise of this movie, which follows an L.A. super cop (Sons of Anarchy’s Kim Coates) who’s killed in the line of duty and brought back to life to continue his never-ending rampage against crime. Based on a comic and directed by Slipknot’s Shawn “Clown” Crahan, everything about Officer Downe is aggressive, in your face, and over the top. It’s all sex, drugs, rock ’n roll, and exploding heads, relentlessly blowing up traditional expectations about narrative structure and gleefully charging over the line of good taste.
The film opens with Downe going down on a busty blonde, and...
- 6/6/2016
- by Ben Pearson
- GeekTyrant
House of Flying Daggers (2004) - Andy Lau - Hong Kong Movie ReviewStory88%Cinematography91%Action70%2016-01-2683%Overall ScoreReader Rating: (6 Votes)94%
House Of Flying Daggers
Shi Mian Mai Fu (original title)
Date of release– 2004
Run time : 119 minutes
Cast–
Takeshi Kaneshiro as Jin
Andy Lau as Leo
Ziyi Zhang as Xiao Mei (as Zhang Ziyi)
Dandan Song as Yee
Director Yimou Zhang
Writers Bin Wang, Yimou Zhang, Feng Li
Nominated for an Academy Award- Best Cinematography (Zhao Xiaoding)
At first look…
The title of the movie sounds like one large can of Whoop-Hash. Just the phrase “house of flying daggers” sounds like a Chinese translation for filling a “room full of uppercuts.” However, House of Flying Daggers is not a bar room brawl threat, but the name of a group of people who are waving their middle daggers at the government. The movie goes like this…
The year is 859 and things...
House Of Flying Daggers
Shi Mian Mai Fu (original title)
Date of release– 2004
Run time : 119 minutes
Cast–
Takeshi Kaneshiro as Jin
Andy Lau as Leo
Ziyi Zhang as Xiao Mei (as Zhang Ziyi)
Dandan Song as Yee
Director Yimou Zhang
Writers Bin Wang, Yimou Zhang, Feng Li
Nominated for an Academy Award- Best Cinematography (Zhao Xiaoding)
At first look…
The title of the movie sounds like one large can of Whoop-Hash. Just the phrase “house of flying daggers” sounds like a Chinese translation for filling a “room full of uppercuts.” However, House of Flying Daggers is not a bar room brawl threat, but the name of a group of people who are waving their middle daggers at the government. The movie goes like this…
The year is 859 and things...
- 1/26/2016
- by The0racle
- AsianMoviePulse
or, Savant picks The Most Impressive Discs of 2015
This is the actual view from Savant Central, looking due North.
What a year! I was able to take one very nice trip back East too see Washington D.C. for the first time, or at least as much as two days' walking in the hot sun and then cool rain would allow. Back home in Los Angeles, we've had a year of extreme drought -- my lawn is looking patriotically ratty -- and we're expecting something called El Niño, that's supposed to be just shy of Old-Testament build-me-an-ark intensity. We withstood heat waves like those in Day the Earth Caught Fire, and now we'll get the storms part. This has been a wild year for DVD Savant, which is still a little unsettled. DVDtalk has been very patient and generous, and so have Stuart Galbraith & Joe Dante; so far everything...
This is the actual view from Savant Central, looking due North.
What a year! I was able to take one very nice trip back East too see Washington D.C. for the first time, or at least as much as two days' walking in the hot sun and then cool rain would allow. Back home in Los Angeles, we've had a year of extreme drought -- my lawn is looking patriotically ratty -- and we're expecting something called El Niño, that's supposed to be just shy of Old-Testament build-me-an-ark intensity. We withstood heat waves like those in Day the Earth Caught Fire, and now we'll get the storms part. This has been a wild year for DVD Savant, which is still a little unsettled. DVDtalk has been very patient and generous, and so have Stuart Galbraith & Joe Dante; so far everything...
- 12/15/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
He's back and he's funnier than ever. The mischievous, cagey entertainer William Claude Dukenfield starred in some of the best comedies ever. This five-disc DVD set contains eighteen of his best, all the way from Million Dollar Legs in 1932 to Never Give a Sucker an Even Break in 1941. And we get to see all sides of W.C's talent -- he was a top-rank juggler, of just about anything. W.C. Fields Comedy Essentials Collection DVD Universal Studios Home Entertainment 1932-1941 / B&W / 1:37 Academy 1316 minutes (21 hours, 46 min) Street Date October 13, 2015 / 99.98 Starring Larson E. Whipsnade, T. Frothinghill Bellows, Egbert Sousé, Eustace P. McGargle, Harold Bissonette, Professor Quail, Augustus Winterbottom, Mr. Stubbins, Sam Bisbee, Ambrose Wolfinger, Cuthbert J. Twillie, Humpty-Dumpty. Written by Charles Bogle, Mahatma Kane Jeeves, Otis Criblecoblis
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
In the late 1960s there were these things called Head Shops, see, where various hippie consumer goods were sold.
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
In the late 1960s there were these things called Head Shops, see, where various hippie consumer goods were sold.
- 10/27/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Here’s a solution for the indecisive moviegoers. Not sure if you’re in the mood for a drama or comedy or a thriller? Well, how about an anthology? It’s like a good short story collection, or you could call this type of flick a movie buffet or a cinema smorgasbord. Most of the time, these films, in their earlier incarnations, center around a setting (Grand Hotel), a gathering (Dinner At Eight), or an incident (the big cash winners in If I Had A Million). There are animation anthologies (the most famous may be Fantasia or Allegro Non Tropo) and musicals (Invitation To The Dance). The most prolific type may be those in the horror genre, beginning with 1945’s landmark Dead Of Night. In the 60’s and 70’s, Amicus Studios made their mark with Torture Garden and The House That Dripped Blood along with the EC Comics-inspired Tales From The Crypt...
- 3/19/2015
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In the vein of slumber party massacre films boasting scantily-clad coeds and voyeuristic pleasures, Girlhouse exploits the sleazy subgenre by throwing pornography into the mix – because it wasn’t easy enough to get girls topless in horror films already. There’s more to Trevor Matthews’ raunchy thriller than horny webcam girls and strip-lawn-golf, though, as writer Nick Gordon blends the already perverse nature of VH1 reality shows with dangerous internet predators we choose to believe don’t exist. Some websites already give subscribers more access than necessary to sexy performers, but Gordon goes a step further by introducing an emotional undertone that deceivingly creates a bond between male customers and their favorite muse. Obsessed, aroused men falling in love with online strippers – what could go wrong?! (A lot.)
Ali Cobrin plays Kylie Atkins, the newest model checking into an online brothel known as Girlhouse. Created by Gary Preston (James Thomas...
Ali Cobrin plays Kylie Atkins, the newest model checking into an online brothel known as Girlhouse. Created by Gary Preston (James Thomas...
- 2/13/2015
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
"The Amazing Race" concludes its 25th installment on Friday (December 19) night with its first four-team finale, pitting Wrestlers Brooke & Robbie, Food Scientists Amy & Maya, Dentists Jim & Misti and Surfers Bethany & Adam. The field is extra packed because in last week's episode, Amy & Maya reached the Pit Stop in last, only to be told that it was a "Keep on racing..." Leg, which isn't the same as a Non-Elimination Leg, because we already had three of those this season, making four out of 11 weeks in which the "Amazing Race" episode ended without a team heading home. Earlier this week, I got on the phone to chat with "Amazing Race" host Phil Keoghan about the season so far and the upcoming finale. As usual, Phil and I don't always agree on everything. He, for example, insists audiences loved last year's Las Vegas finale. I'm reasonably sure that was not universal the universal opinion.
- 12/19/2014
- by Daniel Fienberg
- Hitfix
Winner of five Oscars, Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night remains an outstanding entertainment, and a touchstone of Hollywood’s most enduring cinematic genre: the Romantic Comedy. Filled with naughty, cloying sexuality and a lovable slate of archetypal characters, the film encapsulated the aspirations and desperations of 1930s America, even while evoking giggles of delight from a battered audience facing a dark and uncertain future. While the Great Depression is never addressed directly, the pressures of those days infuse every aspect of It Happened One Night, from its depiction of pampered, frivolous one per-centers to its array of dodgy conmen, hapless working stiffs and penniless drifters. The fact that love continued to find a way through the world’s political and economic maelstroms was a comforting notion in 1934; a notion perfectly suited to Capra’s trademark optimistic populism.
The film’s stagebound, talky exposition scene may feel awkward at first,...
The film’s stagebound, talky exposition scene may feel awkward at first,...
- 11/18/2014
- by David Anderson
- IONCINEMA.com
Behind the cold, stone walls of America’s notorious prisons lies a wealth of suspicion, intrigue and horror.
Home to some of the world’s most feared criminals, these buildings are unsurprisingly terrifying but it’s not only the law-breaking citizens who reside in these creepy incarceration units. Indeed, for years people have reported all kinds of ghostly visitors lurking in the eerie hallways, so let’s take a look at five of the spookiest prisons in the USA. None of them are still active and won't be found on the Jail Exchange programme but certainly still command an eerie fascination for tourists.
Eastern State Penitentiary
Open from 1829 until 1971, Eastern State Penitentiary revolutionised the incarceration system by introducing separate confinement and quickly became one of the most feared prisons around. It was believed keeping prisoners in different cells helped them to repent and reform, however, solitary confinement often resulted in severe mental illness.
Home to some of the world’s most feared criminals, these buildings are unsurprisingly terrifying but it’s not only the law-breaking citizens who reside in these creepy incarceration units. Indeed, for years people have reported all kinds of ghostly visitors lurking in the eerie hallways, so let’s take a look at five of the spookiest prisons in the USA. None of them are still active and won't be found on the Jail Exchange programme but certainly still command an eerie fascination for tourists.
Eastern State Penitentiary
Open from 1829 until 1971, Eastern State Penitentiary revolutionised the incarceration system by introducing separate confinement and quickly became one of the most feared prisons around. It was believed keeping prisoners in different cells helped them to repent and reform, however, solitary confinement often resulted in severe mental illness.
- 10/23/2014
- by admin
- MoreHorror
40. Night of the Hunter (1955)
Scene: The Preacher on the Horizon
Video: http://youtu.be/9PyNL2ahKwc?list=PLZbXA4lyCtqolaQOAXly96de5FYQlPzqK Just like a few others in this section of the list, Charles Laughton’s brilliant Night of the Hunter isn’t really a horror film, but still sets out to keep the audience on edge. Starring a diabolical Robert Mitchum as a preacher/serial killer Reverend Harry Powell, it follows him as he tries to woo his former cellmate’s widow Willa (Shelly Winters), hoping to learn where he has hidden his bank loot. Powell devises that his children John and Pearl must know, but he struggles to gain young John’s trust. When Willa learns of his plan, Powell is forced to kill her and hide the body, leaving him as sole caretaker of the children, who flee down the river. And then the scene. Having believed they have escaped Powell,...
Scene: The Preacher on the Horizon
Video: http://youtu.be/9PyNL2ahKwc?list=PLZbXA4lyCtqolaQOAXly96de5FYQlPzqK Just like a few others in this section of the list, Charles Laughton’s brilliant Night of the Hunter isn’t really a horror film, but still sets out to keep the audience on edge. Starring a diabolical Robert Mitchum as a preacher/serial killer Reverend Harry Powell, it follows him as he tries to woo his former cellmate’s widow Willa (Shelly Winters), hoping to learn where he has hidden his bank loot. Powell devises that his children John and Pearl must know, but he struggles to gain young John’s trust. When Willa learns of his plan, Powell is forced to kill her and hide the body, leaving him as sole caretaker of the children, who flee down the river. And then the scene. Having believed they have escaped Powell,...
- 10/11/2014
- by Joshua Gaul
- SoundOnSight
Episode 33 of 52: In which Katharine Hepburn is like the Goddess from the Machine.
I want to write about Katharine Hepburn, but the movie keeps getting in the way! Reading last night’s contributions to Hit Me With Your Best Shot, I was struck by how many bloggers described Suddenly, Last Summer as “camp,” “wildly expressive,” or “absolutely batshit gonzo crazy.” This is a film that will not be ignored. It’s garish and shocking. The psycho-babble hasn’t aged well--as Nathaniel points out, such things rarely do. The themes of cannibalism, sexual deviance, and monstrous madness creep like kudzu vines hanging in Violet Venable’s garden, blocking the light and threatening to squeeze the resistance out of unwary viewers who venture into the film unwarned.
This unsettling excess had been, up to that point, unusual for director Joseph L. Mankiewicz--best known for character dramas--but can be easily traced to his collaborators.
I want to write about Katharine Hepburn, but the movie keeps getting in the way! Reading last night’s contributions to Hit Me With Your Best Shot, I was struck by how many bloggers described Suddenly, Last Summer as “camp,” “wildly expressive,” or “absolutely batshit gonzo crazy.” This is a film that will not be ignored. It’s garish and shocking. The psycho-babble hasn’t aged well--as Nathaniel points out, such things rarely do. The themes of cannibalism, sexual deviance, and monstrous madness creep like kudzu vines hanging in Violet Venable’s garden, blocking the light and threatening to squeeze the resistance out of unwary viewers who venture into the film unwarned.
This unsettling excess had been, up to that point, unusual for director Joseph L. Mankiewicz--best known for character dramas--but can be easily traced to his collaborators.
- 8/13/2014
- by Anne Marie
- FilmExperience
As great Canadian bards of the 20th century once wrote into one of their lyrics, "If I had a million dollars, I would buy you a monkey. Haven't you always wanted a monkey?" Yesterday morning we "industry-types" gathered together for the Frontières International Co-Production Market pitch sessions. Buyers, sellers, financers and lesser hanger-ons like myself (festival programmer) shook the cobwebs from travelling the day before to see twelve projects chosen to participate in this year's market. Each project was given fifteen minutes to convince us that their project was worthy of our investments. In no particular order I have chosen my top five pitches. If I had a million dollars I would "buy their love". Based on the quality of their presentations and the ideas and concepts...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 7/25/2014
- Screen Anarchy
Here’s the problem with Pompeii – I didn’t hate it. I Know. Paul W.S. Anderson is the poor man’s Michael Bay, I get the hate, but the dude knows how to orchestrate a blockbuster film. Give him some funding and the action flows, whether it be smoke monsters or destructive typhoons – this didn’t have to be a historically accurate film, right? No, Pompeii is exactly the film you’d expect, drawing out a horrific natural disaster far longer than necessary while interjecting a misguided love story so audiences can engage dramatically. The destruction of Pompeii just isn’t enough to hook viewers these days I guess, as Paul guides audiences through the motions of yet another ridiculous mainstream blockbuster – but at least he does so with vigor and chaos.
Pompeii transports viewers back to a time when gladiators were modern-day rockstars, politics usually involved literal backstabbing, and...
Pompeii transports viewers back to a time when gladiators were modern-day rockstars, politics usually involved literal backstabbing, and...
- 2/21/2014
- by Matt Donato
- We Got This Covered
The best movie culture writing from around the internet-o-sphere. Just leave a tab open for us, will ya? “Inside the Breaking Bad writer’s room: how Vince Gilligan runs the show” — A fascinating read over at The Guardian that boils down to snacks, Play-Doh and obsession. “Is This the Worst Kickstarter Campaign in Movie History?” — Matt Patches at The Hollywood Reporter contacts the woman behind the campaign we called the worst ever. “Filmmaker Lee Daniels on Kcrw” — With kismetic timing to John Singleton’s article about white filmmakers making black films, Daniels smartly complicates the pigeonhole. “Battle of the Year: Dance competition cliches…in 3D!” — If I had a million dollars, I’d pay James Rocchi to watch dance battle movies full-time and report on them.
- 9/23/2013
- by Scott Beggs
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Before we get to the new releases, Amazon is offering deals on a selection of Warner Home Video Blu-ray Digibook packs which range from $11.49-$17.99 including The Shawshank Redemption, Poltergeist and an excellent choice in Mutiny on the Bounty starring Charles Laughton and Clark Gable, which, in my opinion, is vastly superior to the 1962 Marlon Brando version. Cabaret Camelot Driving Miss Daisy Elvis on Tour Guys and Dolls The Jazz Singer Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) Poltergeist The Shawshank Redemption A Star is Born (1976) With the deals out of the way, here are this week's new releases and new release dates.
To the Wonder After seeing To the Wonder at the Toronto Film Festival last year I called it "a cinematic tone poem", others will find some sort of narrative value in it and others will simply call it a lovely screen saver. It's a beautiful film as is every Terrence Malick film,...
To the Wonder After seeing To the Wonder at the Toronto Film Festival last year I called it "a cinematic tone poem", others will find some sort of narrative value in it and others will simply call it a lovely screen saver. It's a beautiful film as is every Terrence Malick film,...
- 8/6/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
A starry cast and a knowing air can't add depth to Peter Morgan's tale of blackmail, infidelity and dodgy deals
Peter Morgan made his reputation with remarkably perceptive screenplays about British people, mostly real-life ones, going through bad patches in their careers at home (The Damned United, The Queen) and abroad (Frost/Nixon, The Last King of Scotland), and encountering some rather odd people. More recently, however, he's moved on to a larger canvas involving the mystical and metaphysical, and the results have been less satisfactory. Hereafter, which Steven Spielberg produced and Clint Eastwood directed, began with an astonishing re-creation of the south-east Asian tsunami, then proceeded with flat-footed banality to tell the parallel stories of three people from different countries (a French TV reporter, an American blue-collar worker and a south London schoolboy) mysteriously linked by their near-death experiences.
His new film, 360, directed by Fernando Meirelles, takes him...
Peter Morgan made his reputation with remarkably perceptive screenplays about British people, mostly real-life ones, going through bad patches in their careers at home (The Damned United, The Queen) and abroad (Frost/Nixon, The Last King of Scotland), and encountering some rather odd people. More recently, however, he's moved on to a larger canvas involving the mystical and metaphysical, and the results have been less satisfactory. Hereafter, which Steven Spielberg produced and Clint Eastwood directed, began with an astonishing re-creation of the south-east Asian tsunami, then proceeded with flat-footed banality to tell the parallel stories of three people from different countries (a French TV reporter, an American blue-collar worker and a south London schoolboy) mysteriously linked by their near-death experiences.
His new film, 360, directed by Fernando Meirelles, takes him...
- 8/11/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Chicago – From the very first scene, a first-silent exchange in which a beautiful woman enters a train car to see two handsome men sleeping across from her and chooses to draw them on her sketch pad before falling asleep and waking up to flirt with both of them outright, “Design For Living” is a romantic comedy masterpiece. I’m stunned to admit that I had never seen the Ernst Lubitsch risque joy but now I consider it one of my favorite Criterion editions. The movie is laugh-out-loud funny with three stars at the peak of their skills — charming, engaging, enjoyable. I’ve been doing this long enough that it’s increasingly rare to see a classic film for the first time that floors me like “Design For Living.” It’s stellar.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
A painter (Gary Cooper), a playwright (Fredric March), and an artist (Miriam Hopkins) walk into a French apartment.
Blu-Ray Rating: 5.0/5.0
A painter (Gary Cooper), a playwright (Fredric March), and an artist (Miriam Hopkins) walk into a French apartment.
- 12/21/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
DVD Playhouse—December 2011
By Allen Gardner
The Rules Of The Game (Criterion) Jean Renoir’s classic from 1939 was met with a riot at its premiere and was severely cut by its distributor, available only in truncated form for two decades until it was restored to the grandeur for which it is celebrated today. A biting comedy of manners set in the upstairs and downstairs of a French country estate, the film bitterly vivisects the bourgeoisie with a gentle ferocity that will tickle the laughter in your throat. Renoir co-stars as Octave. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Introduction to the film by Renoir; Commentary written by scholar Alexander Sesonske and read by Peter Bogdanovich; Comparison of the film’s two endings; Selected scene analysis by Renoir scholar Chris Faulkner; Featurettes and vintage film clips; Part one of David Thomson’s “Jean Renoir” BBC documentary; Video essay; Interviews with Renoir, crew members,...
By Allen Gardner
The Rules Of The Game (Criterion) Jean Renoir’s classic from 1939 was met with a riot at its premiere and was severely cut by its distributor, available only in truncated form for two decades until it was restored to the grandeur for which it is celebrated today. A biting comedy of manners set in the upstairs and downstairs of a French country estate, the film bitterly vivisects the bourgeoisie with a gentle ferocity that will tickle the laughter in your throat. Renoir co-stars as Octave. Also available on Blu-ray disc. Bonuses: Introduction to the film by Renoir; Commentary written by scholar Alexander Sesonske and read by Peter Bogdanovich; Comparison of the film’s two endings; Selected scene analysis by Renoir scholar Chris Faulkner; Featurettes and vintage film clips; Part one of David Thomson’s “Jean Renoir” BBC documentary; Video essay; Interviews with Renoir, crew members,...
- 12/12/2011
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Release Date: Dec. 6, 2011
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Fredric March (l.), Miriam Hopkins and Gary Cooper hit a bump in the road in their Design for Living.
Gary Cooper (High Noon), Fredric March (The Best Years of Our Lives) and Miriam Hopkins (Trouble in Paradise) play a trio of Americans in Paris who enter into a very adult “gentleman’s” agreement in the 1933 classic comedy film Design for Living.
A risqué relationship movie (made before the Motion Picture Production Code began being enforced in 1934) and a witty take on creative pursuits, Design for Living was directed by Ernst Lubitsch (To Be or Not To Be) and freely adapted by Ben Hecht (Notorious) from a play by Noël Coward (Brief Encounter).
At once a debonair and racy adult entertainment, the movie concerns a commercial artist (Hopkins) unable — or unwilling — to choose between the equally dashing painter (Cooper) and playwright (March...
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Fredric March (l.), Miriam Hopkins and Gary Cooper hit a bump in the road in their Design for Living.
Gary Cooper (High Noon), Fredric March (The Best Years of Our Lives) and Miriam Hopkins (Trouble in Paradise) play a trio of Americans in Paris who enter into a very adult “gentleman’s” agreement in the 1933 classic comedy film Design for Living.
A risqué relationship movie (made before the Motion Picture Production Code began being enforced in 1934) and a witty take on creative pursuits, Design for Living was directed by Ernst Lubitsch (To Be or Not To Be) and freely adapted by Ben Hecht (Notorious) from a play by Noël Coward (Brief Encounter).
At once a debonair and racy adult entertainment, the movie concerns a commercial artist (Hopkins) unable — or unwilling — to choose between the equally dashing painter (Cooper) and playwright (March...
- 9/15/2011
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
Harvey and Mike remained "Undefeated" on Suits this week. So much for that Boston lawyer who came to town to defend a powerful petroleum company charged with failing to cap an oil well, which led to countless victims developing various forms of cancer.
Meanwhile, Mike found himself fighting to clear Rachel's name when she was accused of leaking a confidential list of plaintiffs to a rival firm.
In other words: Pearson & Hardman certainly had its hands full. Lucky for the firm, its best and brightest, mainly Mike and Harvey, brought their A-game, despite their tactful opponent.We learned a little bit more about Harvey this episode. I always saw him as an athlete at some point in his early years, but who knew he played baseball? And had a good arm?
It was interesting to see Harvey have to play against a version of himself. It took him several tries...
Meanwhile, Mike found himself fighting to clear Rachel's name when she was accused of leaking a confidential list of plaintiffs to a rival firm.
In other words: Pearson & Hardman certainly had its hands full. Lucky for the firm, its best and brightest, mainly Mike and Harvey, brought their A-game, despite their tactful opponent.We learned a little bit more about Harvey this episode. I always saw him as an athlete at some point in his early years, but who knew he played baseball? And had a good arm?
It was interesting to see Harvey have to play against a version of himself. It took him several tries...
- 8/19/2011
- by chandel@mediavine.com (C. Charles)
- TVfanatic
With 2010 only a week over, it already feels like best-of and top-ten lists have been pouring in for months, and we’re already tired of them: the ranking, the exclusions (and inclusions), the rules and the qualifiers. Some people got to see films at festivals, others only catch movies on video; and the ability for us, or any publication, to come up with a system to fairly determine who saw what when and what they thought was the best seems an impossible feat. That doesn’t stop most people from doing it, but we liked the fantasy double features we did last year and for our 3rd Writers Poll we thought we'd do it again.
I asked our contributors to pick a single new film they saw in 2010—in theaters or at a festival—and creatively pair it with an old film they saw in 2010 to create a unique double feature.
I asked our contributors to pick a single new film they saw in 2010—in theaters or at a festival—and creatively pair it with an old film they saw in 2010 to create a unique double feature.
- 1/10/2011
- MUBI
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