It’s easy to feel like there’s nothing left to watch, after getting caught up on everything during the holidays (and something of a deficit when it comes new movies and television shows). But fear not! There are still plenty of certifiable classics and catalog favorites to dip into, for the first or hundredth time.
Below, we’ve assembled a list of the best new movies on Amazon Prime Video in January 2022. Everything from time travel thrillers to dueling magicians to voodoo on the bayou are all represented. There’s certainly something for everybody!
Eve’s Bayou Trimark Pictures
One of the very best films of the 1990s and one of the most consistently overlooked (how Criterion hasn’t ponied up for a new restoration and an array of special features is truly baffling), “Eve’s Bayou” is available to stream right now and you should not miss your opportunity. Written...
Below, we’ve assembled a list of the best new movies on Amazon Prime Video in January 2022. Everything from time travel thrillers to dueling magicians to voodoo on the bayou are all represented. There’s certainly something for everybody!
Eve’s Bayou Trimark Pictures
One of the very best films of the 1990s and one of the most consistently overlooked (how Criterion hasn’t ponied up for a new restoration and an array of special features is truly baffling), “Eve’s Bayou” is available to stream right now and you should not miss your opportunity. Written...
- 1/23/2022
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
William Goldman and Rob Reiner’s unchallenged modern classic captures the magic of fairy tales about noble lovers, loyal warriors and low-down villains. Everybody’s terrific, all the characters are hilariously magical and Goldman’s writing glows with love for happy storytelling leavened further by sly wit. Criterion presents the Blu-ray in a lush storybook package with a treasure chest of extras.
The Princess Bride
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 948
1987 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 98 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 30, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Peter Falk, Mandy Patinkin, André the Giant, Wallace Shawn, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Fred Savage, Peter Cook, Carol Kane, Billy Crystal.
Cinematography: Adrian Biddle
Original Music: Mark Knopfler
Written by William Goldman from his book
Produced by Rob Reiner, Andréw Scheinman
Directed by Rob Reiner
Criterion’s extra label for the front of its new The Princess Bride special edition doesn’t tell us that it’s authorized,...
The Princess Bride
Blu-ray
The Criterion Collection 948
1987 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 98 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date October 30, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Robin Wright, Cary Elwes, Peter Falk, Mandy Patinkin, André the Giant, Wallace Shawn, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Fred Savage, Peter Cook, Carol Kane, Billy Crystal.
Cinematography: Adrian Biddle
Original Music: Mark Knopfler
Written by William Goldman from his book
Produced by Rob Reiner, Andréw Scheinman
Directed by Rob Reiner
Criterion’s extra label for the front of its new The Princess Bride special edition doesn’t tell us that it’s authorized,...
- 11/17/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
While it’s been available since last month on DirecTV exclusively, A24 and DirecTV will release The Blackcoat’s Daughter in theaters and On Demand March 31st, 2017. Osgood Perkin’s stunning feature film stars Kiernan Shipka, Emma Roberts, Lucy Boynton, and James Remar, and it explores demonic possession and the tragedy that follows such a horrific presence.
Daily Dead recently had the opportunity to speak with one of the producers for The Blackcoat’s Daughter, Bryan Bertino, who is no stranger (pun intended) to the world of modern horror. In 2008, Bertino’s directorial debut, The Strangers became a breakout success, taking in over $80 million worldwide and helping to launch his career as both a filmmaker and a producer.
During the interview, Bertino discussed working with Perkins on The Blackcoat’s Daughter, the struggles they faced throughout the four-year process of getting the project made, and how the initial script jumped...
Daily Dead recently had the opportunity to speak with one of the producers for The Blackcoat’s Daughter, Bryan Bertino, who is no stranger (pun intended) to the world of modern horror. In 2008, Bertino’s directorial debut, The Strangers became a breakout success, taking in over $80 million worldwide and helping to launch his career as both a filmmaker and a producer.
During the interview, Bertino discussed working with Perkins on The Blackcoat’s Daughter, the struggles they faced throughout the four-year process of getting the project made, and how the initial script jumped...
- 3/31/2017
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
Plus: News roundup, our best articles, and five perfect shots.
Though it wasn’t a deafening defeat, Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters wasn’t a resounding success, either. All sexist nonsense aside, the film performed only average at the box office, casting doubt upon the future of the new franchise it was supposed to kick off. And while it seems unlikely we’ll be seeing the women of last summer’s movie suit up again anytime soon, we do know that the show will go on, in a sense.
In an interview with io9, the original film’s director and new franchise producer Ivan Reitman admitted that while the future is still a little up in the air, he’s got a plan to get it going forward.
We jumped into an animated film [after the last movie] and we are developing [a] live-action film. I want to bring all these stories together as a universe that makes sense within itself. Part...
Though it wasn’t a deafening defeat, Paul Feig’s Ghostbusters wasn’t a resounding success, either. All sexist nonsense aside, the film performed only average at the box office, casting doubt upon the future of the new franchise it was supposed to kick off. And while it seems unlikely we’ll be seeing the women of last summer’s movie suit up again anytime soon, we do know that the show will go on, in a sense.
In an interview with io9, the original film’s director and new franchise producer Ivan Reitman admitted that while the future is still a little up in the air, he’s got a plan to get it going forward.
We jumped into an animated film [after the last movie] and we are developing [a] live-action film. I want to bring all these stories together as a universe that makes sense within itself. Part...
- 3/22/2017
- by H. Perry Horton
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Plus: A news roundup, the best Fsr articles, and five perfect shots.
It might be difficult to remember, but Robert Downey Jr. is not just Tony Stark. For the last decade the actor’s filmography has been dominated by the role, with a little Sherlock Holmes thrown in for good measure, but other than that there have been very few gigs the actor has taken outside the franchise world.
But now there comes word, via THR, that Downey has booked his first major non-Marvel role in a little bit, and it’s quite the departure: Doctor Doolittle.
You know the good Doctor, he who can communicate with the animals and uses this power to, I don’t know, doctor them? Rex Harrison (My Fair Lady) first brought the character to life on the silver screen back in 1967, and of course there’s the Eddie Murphy franchise complete with a couple spinoffs that started in 1998, but if the...
It might be difficult to remember, but Robert Downey Jr. is not just Tony Stark. For the last decade the actor’s filmography has been dominated by the role, with a little Sherlock Holmes thrown in for good measure, but other than that there have been very few gigs the actor has taken outside the franchise world.
But now there comes word, via THR, that Downey has booked his first major non-Marvel role in a little bit, and it’s quite the departure: Doctor Doolittle.
You know the good Doctor, he who can communicate with the animals and uses this power to, I don’t know, doctor them? Rex Harrison (My Fair Lady) first brought the character to life on the silver screen back in 1967, and of course there’s the Eddie Murphy franchise complete with a couple spinoffs that started in 1998, but if the...
- 3/21/2017
- by H. Perry Horton
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
James Cameron's superb spacemen vs. monsters siege battle epic is back in a reissue with an extra collector goodie or two, still looking good on Blu-ray for its 30th Anniversary. And that heroine Ripley is still the most combat-worthy space cadet in the galaxy. Aliens 30th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray Fox Home Entertainment 1986 / Color / 2:35 1:85 widescreen 1:37 flat full frame / 137, 154 min. / Street Date September 13, 2016 / 24.99 Starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, William Hope, Jenette Goldstein, Al Matthews, Mark Rolston, Ricco Ross, Colette Hiller, Daniel Kash, Cynthia Scott. Cinematography Adrian Biddle Film Editor Ray Lovejoy Original Music James Horner Written by James Cameron, story by Cameron, David Giler, Walter Hill from characters by Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett Produced by Gale Ann Hurd Directed by James Cameron
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
I know I'm in a minority when I confess that I had little use...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
I know I'm in a minority when I confess that I had little use...
- 9/17/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“You’ve always been crazy, this is just the first chance you’ve had to express yourself.”
Twenty-five years ago, in one of the greatest road movies of all time, Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon rode to everlasting fame as two women who embark on a crime spree across the American southwest in Thelma & Louise – and on Aug. 21 and 24, they’re journeying back to more than 500 movie theaters across the country.
For two days only at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. local time, audiences can take the wild ride with Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) all over again in a special Thelma & Louise 25th Anniversary celebration, presented by Fathom Events, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Park Circus. This special two-day-only event also includes an exclusive all-new introduction from movie critic Ben Lyons.
Tickets for the Thelma & Louise 25th Anniversary can be purchased online beginning Friday (July 22) by visiting www.
Twenty-five years ago, in one of the greatest road movies of all time, Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon rode to everlasting fame as two women who embark on a crime spree across the American southwest in Thelma & Louise – and on Aug. 21 and 24, they’re journeying back to more than 500 movie theaters across the country.
For two days only at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. local time, audiences can take the wild ride with Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) all over again in a special Thelma & Louise 25th Anniversary celebration, presented by Fathom Events, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Park Circus. This special two-day-only event also includes an exclusive all-new introduction from movie critic Ben Lyons.
Tickets for the Thelma & Louise 25th Anniversary can be purchased online beginning Friday (July 22) by visiting www.
- 8/15/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
by Grace Fontaine
MoreHorror.com
The following opinion/argument/rationalization/waste of your time is strictly my own. In no way am I speaking for any other person than myself.
Paul W.S Anderson these days could be considered Public Enemy #1 in the genre world. He has ticked off many fans with his adaptations of pre-established franchises such as 'Resident Evil' and 'Alien Vs. Predator' (though the sequel by the Brothers Strausse was infinitely more horrendous). He is a director who seems to value style over substance and doesn't appear to listen to the people who he tries to make these movies for. On top of that, as a writer, let's just say that the fanfiction I write could run circles around his, though obviously he gets paid and I don't. Additionally, he's married Action Amazon Milla Jovovich and has a darling little girl who he helping to protect from the paparazzi.
MoreHorror.com
The following opinion/argument/rationalization/waste of your time is strictly my own. In no way am I speaking for any other person than myself.
Paul W.S Anderson these days could be considered Public Enemy #1 in the genre world. He has ticked off many fans with his adaptations of pre-established franchises such as 'Resident Evil' and 'Alien Vs. Predator' (though the sequel by the Brothers Strausse was infinitely more horrendous). He is a director who seems to value style over substance and doesn't appear to listen to the people who he tries to make these movies for. On top of that, as a writer, let's just say that the fanfiction I write could run circles around his, though obviously he gets paid and I don't. Additionally, he's married Action Amazon Milla Jovovich and has a darling little girl who he helping to protect from the paparazzi.
- 1/4/2015
- by admin
- MoreHorror
In celebration of its 25th anniversary, the unforgettable classic, the swords-and-sorcery fantasy epic,Willow, has been all-new digitally restored and debuts on Blu-ray and DVD Combo Pack next March 12th, 2013 from Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
To promote the film starring Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley, here’s the new, good-looking trailer — Adrian Biddle‘s cinematography looks rather nicely.
Fantasy adventure film from 1988, written in part by George Lucas and directed by Ron Howard is known for being the first movie to feature detailed morphing,but I agree they were right to not put it in the trailer. Unlike a lot of Ilm’s technical achievements, this one hasn’t stood the test of time perfectly and some of the sequence the quality is excellent, some of it is much less than that.
Check out the trailer for the new Willow Blu-ray along with never-before-seen...
To promote the film starring Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer and Joanne Whalley, here’s the new, good-looking trailer — Adrian Biddle‘s cinematography looks rather nicely.
Fantasy adventure film from 1988, written in part by George Lucas and directed by Ron Howard is known for being the first movie to feature detailed morphing,but I agree they were right to not put it in the trailer. Unlike a lot of Ilm’s technical achievements, this one hasn’t stood the test of time perfectly and some of the sequence the quality is excellent, some of it is much less than that.
Check out the trailer for the new Willow Blu-ray along with never-before-seen...
- 12/15/2012
- by Nick Martin
- Filmofilia
Beverly Hills, CA . The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will screen a new print of .Thelma & Louise. in celebration of the film.s 20th anniversary on Thursday, August 25, at 7:30 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. Hosted by film journalist Anne Thompson, the evening will feature an onstage discussion with members of the cast and crew, including actress Geena Davis, producer Mimi Polk Gitlin and screenwriter Callie Khouri, following the screening.
An instant critical and commercial success, .Thelma & Louise. (1991) also became something much more: a flashpoint for debate and ultimately, a cultural touchstone. Upending the traditional buddy-movie formula, the film depicts two blue-collar Southern women whose weekend fishing trip takes a dramatic turn when one of them becomes the victim of an attempted rape.
Co-stars Susan Sarandon and Davis earned Best Actress nominations as the waitress and housewife whose uncharacteristic act of self-defense sets...
An instant critical and commercial success, .Thelma & Louise. (1991) also became something much more: a flashpoint for debate and ultimately, a cultural touchstone. Upending the traditional buddy-movie formula, the film depicts two blue-collar Southern women whose weekend fishing trip takes a dramatic turn when one of them becomes the victim of an attempted rape.
Co-stars Susan Sarandon and Davis earned Best Actress nominations as the waitress and housewife whose uncharacteristic act of self-defense sets...
- 7/29/2011
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In celebration of the Blu-ray release of Due Date this week, Owf was challenged to come up with our top ten best road movies of all time!
The road movie has been a staple within many film genres and has generally become synonymous with freedom, providing an avenue for violent, comical, romantic or dramatic release. Characters both discover and lose themselves on their celluloid trips. Friends and partners are gained and lost. Ultimately though, the road is an avenue for discovery. Many exceptional road movies have found their way on to the screen and into the forefront of audiences’ consciences. This list could easily be twice as long, but read on to discover what I consider the ten funniest, scariest, strangest, romantic and most touching road films out there…and then go buy Due Date!
10. Love On The Run (1936)
When American heiress Sally Parker (Joan Crawford) flees her planned wedding to a Prince,...
The road movie has been a staple within many film genres and has generally become synonymous with freedom, providing an avenue for violent, comical, romantic or dramatic release. Characters both discover and lose themselves on their celluloid trips. Friends and partners are gained and lost. Ultimately though, the road is an avenue for discovery. Many exceptional road movies have found their way on to the screen and into the forefront of audiences’ consciences. This list could easily be twice as long, but read on to discover what I consider the ten funniest, scariest, strangest, romantic and most touching road films out there…and then go buy Due Date!
10. Love On The Run (1936)
When American heiress Sally Parker (Joan Crawford) flees her planned wedding to a Prince,...
- 3/1/2011
- by Stuart Cummins
- Obsessed with Film
This weekend we get to find out exactly what happened in “Year One.” Or at least what Hollywood thinks happened. As you know, they tend to fudge the historical facts for a better story and… wait. This a comedy? Not a serious Biblical epic? My bad.
In honor of “Year One,” I’ve decided to dig up five movies that tell just what happened in the years after. If IMDb is to be trusted, “year movies” will be a trend in the next few years. There’s Roland Emmerich’s latest vision of the apocalypse, “2012,” along with “1066″ (the Norman Invasion of England), “1777″ (A pretty big year for the American colonies) and “1906″ (The San Fransisco Earthquake). Date titles aren’t just the new hotness however. Just look at these, all of which came out long before 6/17/09…
“10,000 B.C.” (2008)
If you want to get really technical about history, “10,000 B.C.” actually occurs before — long before — “Year One.
In honor of “Year One,” I’ve decided to dig up five movies that tell just what happened in the years after. If IMDb is to be trusted, “year movies” will be a trend in the next few years. There’s Roland Emmerich’s latest vision of the apocalypse, “2012,” along with “1066″ (the Norman Invasion of England), “1777″ (A pretty big year for the American colonies) and “1906″ (The San Fransisco Earthquake). Date titles aren’t just the new hotness however. Just look at these, all of which came out long before 6/17/09…
“10,000 B.C.” (2008)
If you want to get really technical about history, “10,000 B.C.” actually occurs before — long before — “Year One.
- 6/17/2009
- by Elisabeth Rappe
- MTV Movies Blog
The Oscars are but one week and a day away. My final predictions will be up tomorrow... and then the Oscar Symposium begins. Remember that? But until then let's talk Cinematography. The nominees are Slumdog Millionaire, Changeling, The Dark Knight, The Reader and Benjamin Button. In January it looked like the legendary Roger Deakins might pull two nods for Revolutionary Road and The Reader, but no Kate Winslet double feature emerged in the nominations. And Deakins is at a disadvantage yet again in terms of securing his first win. The frontrunner for this category, the frontrunner for most categories [sigh], is Slumdog Millionaire. But if there's a place outside of makeup and visual effects for Button to improve its trophy haul, it's right here.
Silly trivia alert!
You see... Button's Dp Claudio Miranda was filming Brad Pitt. It's time you knew: Lighting golden god Brad to perfection trumps nearly all in this category,...
Silly trivia alert!
You see... Button's Dp Claudio Miranda was filming Brad Pitt. It's time you knew: Lighting golden god Brad to perfection trumps nearly all in this category,...
- 2/14/2009
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
I've come to the conclusion the main reason behind all of the hatred toward director Paul W. S. Anderson isn't because he makes unabashedly silly B-movies out of properties (Alien vs. Predator and Death Race to name only two) fanboys (and fangirls) desperately want to be better than they actually are, but more because the guy manages to hint at talents beyond the finished product. Say what you will about the juvenile state of the scripts he helms, the finished product always looks pretty close to fantastic. He does a great job in pre-production, design and photography seemingly each and every time out (save maybe Mortal Kombat). Yet all of his films (even guilty pleasures like Resident Evil) fall apart, either somewhat or entirely, at around the two-thirds mark, some of them even earlier. Each effort gets increasingly silly and/or ludicrous as it goes along. Each one stretches incredulity to the breaking point.
- 12/30/2008
- by Sara Michelle Fetters
- Rope of Silicon
Translating a legendary ghost story to the screen, writer-director Courtney Solomon crafts a quality horror piece from strong performances and effects. The chief disappointment of "An American Haunting" is that it doesn't exploit more opportunities for the sublime subtlety of performances by Sissy Spacek and, especially, Donald Sutherland as parents whose home is besieged by a sadistic poltergeist. Favoring genre thrills, the film gives the psychological aspect of the tale shorter shrift than it deserves. Still, pedigreed casting will entice audiences not usually drawn to horror, who will find something of substance shoring up the shocks.
Based on Brent Monahan's novel "The Bell Witch" -- one of many books about the only U.S. case that officially attributed a man's death to a spirit -- the film uses a present-day framing device in which an adolescent girl is haunted by nightmares of an invisible intruder after discovering an old journal.
The story on the journal's pages opens in 1817, when things start going bump in the night at the Bell family's Red River, Tenn., home. Things also start sobbing and pulling covers off beds. The entity targets teen daughter Betsy (Rachel Hurd-Wood, who made an impressive big-screen debut in 2003's "Peter Pan"), dragging her around by her hair and slapping her senseless. When Betsy screams for her level-headed mother, Lucy (Spacek), Hurd-Wood delivers not the usual damsel-in-distress shrieks but dire, depths-of-the-soul wails. As Betsy's father, also singled out for demonic doings, Sutherland has a spooked look about him. A respected man in the community, he's been censured by the church for usury and, falling ill, seems resigned to his fate.
Documenting the unsettling events in his journal is Betsy's initially skeptical teacher (James D'Arcy), whose attraction to the girl is encouraged by Lucy for grim reasons made clear in the film's final moments. That revelation, though no flat-out surprise, might draw some filmgoers back for second viewings. It will make others wish Solomon had offered more character interplay amid the atmospherics.
Pulse-quickening elements abound, from cinematographer Adrian Biddle's demon's-eye-view camerawork, in wintry Bucharest and Montreal locations, to the dynamic sound design and Caine Davidson's score. But the scares grow repetitious when they should compound the psychological violence of a truly chilling tale.
Based on Brent Monahan's novel "The Bell Witch" -- one of many books about the only U.S. case that officially attributed a man's death to a spirit -- the film uses a present-day framing device in which an adolescent girl is haunted by nightmares of an invisible intruder after discovering an old journal.
The story on the journal's pages opens in 1817, when things start going bump in the night at the Bell family's Red River, Tenn., home. Things also start sobbing and pulling covers off beds. The entity targets teen daughter Betsy (Rachel Hurd-Wood, who made an impressive big-screen debut in 2003's "Peter Pan"), dragging her around by her hair and slapping her senseless. When Betsy screams for her level-headed mother, Lucy (Spacek), Hurd-Wood delivers not the usual damsel-in-distress shrieks but dire, depths-of-the-soul wails. As Betsy's father, also singled out for demonic doings, Sutherland has a spooked look about him. A respected man in the community, he's been censured by the church for usury and, falling ill, seems resigned to his fate.
Documenting the unsettling events in his journal is Betsy's initially skeptical teacher (James D'Arcy), whose attraction to the girl is encouraged by Lucy for grim reasons made clear in the film's final moments. That revelation, though no flat-out surprise, might draw some filmgoers back for second viewings. It will make others wish Solomon had offered more character interplay amid the atmospherics.
Pulse-quickening elements abound, from cinematographer Adrian Biddle's demon's-eye-view camerawork, in wintry Bucharest and Montreal locations, to the dynamic sound design and Caine Davidson's score. But the scares grow repetitious when they should compound the psychological violence of a truly chilling tale.
- 11/9/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"How could this happen?" has been the incredulous refrain to the recent slaughter of schoolchildren in Jonesboro, Ark., perpetrated by two boys, ages 13 and 11.
Well, here's the answer in Neil Jordan's "The Butcher Boy", a piercing dramatic profile of a cherubic killer. Savagely unsettling, this Warner Bros. release is a mind-bender, a disturbing document that should stir up considerable comment and find interest among sophisticated audiences in select-site venues.
A prickly blend of deadpan humor and bloody mayhem, this insightful depiction of the making of a monster paints its deadly picture with chilling detachment. Framed and punctuated by the sprightly voice-over of a man who as a young teen murdered a neighbor lady, "The Butcher Boy"'s refracted perspective allows us to see the various elements that shape and warp an otherwise "normal" boy to monster proportions.
Based on Patrick McCabe's 1992 novel, Jordan and McCabe have shaped a scenario that is part psychological treatise, part sociological study and part cautionary tale. Fortunately, it has been skinned to the bone of any drivel that may sound academic or come from the dull pipes of the mental health establishment/industry.
Laced with a droll, distanced wit and coiled around a seemingly benign, middle-class household, Jordan has forged a harrowing story of a young boy's descent into monsterdom.
Set in a drab, provincial burg during the early '60s, "The Butcher Boy" is a larkishly toned depiction of small-town regularity. Centered around 12-year-old Francie Brady (Eamonn Owens), a rambunctious chug of a kid who lives in a fantasy world of "Lone Ranger" episodes and adventure stories, Jordan shows how the youngsters escapist world is discolored by events from the "real" world. The countless TV shots of atomic clouds and, most particularly, the doomsday-like fear engendered by the Cuban Missile Crisis serve to shape and distort the boy's apprehensions of life, death and imminent destruction.
With his inner world shaped by TV and bogged down by popular culture, Francie's growth is also stunted by his horrific family life: His father (Stephen Rea) is a besotted lout who has boozed his way out of a promising musical career, and his mother is as nutty as the fruitcakes she compulsively bakes. Not surprisingly, Francie has no empathy for others and feels no remorse or compassion for his increasingly cruel boyhood deeds.
Thematically, Jordan and McCabe's screenplay is a perceptive balancing act in its visualization of Francie's increasingly fractured psychology. It methodically shows the "Lord of the Flies"-like cruelty that can fester within kid culture. Accordingly, viewers will likely not only find the film disquieting but a challenge to their sensibilities as well. Its rhythms and tones often run counterpoint to the surface narrative; in short, Jordan keeps us off balance and unsure how to view things, which ultimately shapes our eye to seeing below the surface of what appears to be mundane, everyday reality and "normal" behavior.
The performances are spare and revealing. As the monster-child, Owens brings a fresh-faced aura to his manic murdering. As the character unravels, we see clearly how his chirpy playfulness descends to cold-blooded mania. It's a fleshy, full performance, one that makes us coil and squirm. As Francie's loutish father, Rea clues us to the squandered promise that runs in this family's bloodlines, while Fiona Shaw rings true as a busybody shrew.
Technical contributions are a marvelous, complex mix, highlighted by composer Elliot Goldenthal's frothily eerie score and cinematographer Adrian Biddle's lethal-scoped framings.
THE BUTCHER BOY
Warner Bros.
Geffen Pictures presents
Producers: Redmond Morris, Stephen Woolley
Director: Neil Jordan
Screenwriters: Neil Jordan, Patrick McCabe
Based on the novel by: Patrick McCabe
Executive producer: Neil Jordan
Director of photography: Adrian Biddle
Production designer: Anthony Pratt
Editor: Tony Lawson
Music: Elliot Goldenthal
Costume designer: Sandy Powell
Casting: Susie Figgis
Art director: Anna Rackard
Special effects supervisor: Joss Williams
Color/stereo
Cast:
Francie Brady: Eamonn Owens
Benny Brady: Stephen Rea
Joe: Alan Boyle
Mrs. Nugent: Fiona Shaw
Mrs. Brady: Aisling O'Sullivan
Virgin Mary: Sinead O'Connor
Running time - 120 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Well, here's the answer in Neil Jordan's "The Butcher Boy", a piercing dramatic profile of a cherubic killer. Savagely unsettling, this Warner Bros. release is a mind-bender, a disturbing document that should stir up considerable comment and find interest among sophisticated audiences in select-site venues.
A prickly blend of deadpan humor and bloody mayhem, this insightful depiction of the making of a monster paints its deadly picture with chilling detachment. Framed and punctuated by the sprightly voice-over of a man who as a young teen murdered a neighbor lady, "The Butcher Boy"'s refracted perspective allows us to see the various elements that shape and warp an otherwise "normal" boy to monster proportions.
Based on Patrick McCabe's 1992 novel, Jordan and McCabe have shaped a scenario that is part psychological treatise, part sociological study and part cautionary tale. Fortunately, it has been skinned to the bone of any drivel that may sound academic or come from the dull pipes of the mental health establishment/industry.
Laced with a droll, distanced wit and coiled around a seemingly benign, middle-class household, Jordan has forged a harrowing story of a young boy's descent into monsterdom.
Set in a drab, provincial burg during the early '60s, "The Butcher Boy" is a larkishly toned depiction of small-town regularity. Centered around 12-year-old Francie Brady (Eamonn Owens), a rambunctious chug of a kid who lives in a fantasy world of "Lone Ranger" episodes and adventure stories, Jordan shows how the youngsters escapist world is discolored by events from the "real" world. The countless TV shots of atomic clouds and, most particularly, the doomsday-like fear engendered by the Cuban Missile Crisis serve to shape and distort the boy's apprehensions of life, death and imminent destruction.
With his inner world shaped by TV and bogged down by popular culture, Francie's growth is also stunted by his horrific family life: His father (Stephen Rea) is a besotted lout who has boozed his way out of a promising musical career, and his mother is as nutty as the fruitcakes she compulsively bakes. Not surprisingly, Francie has no empathy for others and feels no remorse or compassion for his increasingly cruel boyhood deeds.
Thematically, Jordan and McCabe's screenplay is a perceptive balancing act in its visualization of Francie's increasingly fractured psychology. It methodically shows the "Lord of the Flies"-like cruelty that can fester within kid culture. Accordingly, viewers will likely not only find the film disquieting but a challenge to their sensibilities as well. Its rhythms and tones often run counterpoint to the surface narrative; in short, Jordan keeps us off balance and unsure how to view things, which ultimately shapes our eye to seeing below the surface of what appears to be mundane, everyday reality and "normal" behavior.
The performances are spare and revealing. As the monster-child, Owens brings a fresh-faced aura to his manic murdering. As the character unravels, we see clearly how his chirpy playfulness descends to cold-blooded mania. It's a fleshy, full performance, one that makes us coil and squirm. As Francie's loutish father, Rea clues us to the squandered promise that runs in this family's bloodlines, while Fiona Shaw rings true as a busybody shrew.
Technical contributions are a marvelous, complex mix, highlighted by composer Elliot Goldenthal's frothily eerie score and cinematographer Adrian Biddle's lethal-scoped framings.
THE BUTCHER BOY
Warner Bros.
Geffen Pictures presents
Producers: Redmond Morris, Stephen Woolley
Director: Neil Jordan
Screenwriters: Neil Jordan, Patrick McCabe
Based on the novel by: Patrick McCabe
Executive producer: Neil Jordan
Director of photography: Adrian Biddle
Production designer: Anthony Pratt
Editor: Tony Lawson
Music: Elliot Goldenthal
Costume designer: Sandy Powell
Casting: Susie Figgis
Art director: Anna Rackard
Special effects supervisor: Joss Williams
Color/stereo
Cast:
Francie Brady: Eamonn Owens
Benny Brady: Stephen Rea
Joe: Alan Boyle
Mrs. Nugent: Fiona Shaw
Mrs. Brady: Aisling O'Sullivan
Virgin Mary: Sinead O'Connor
Running time - 120 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
Fiercely uneven but a pleasantly diverting creature nonetheless, co-producer/co-writer/co-star John Cleese's long-awaited follow-up to the worldwide hit "A Fish Called Wanda" reunites the four principal actors of that 1988 British comedy, but it's unlikely this Universal release will make the same impact as its $200 million-grossing progenitor.
Originally slated for a 1996 release, "Fierce Creatures" was pulled after poor test screenings and reworked with a new director at the helm. Robert Young(with Cleese unofficially co-directing) was responsible for the first version, while Fred Schepisi came in for round two, with all the major performers involved in the re-shoots and additions.
A rare reteaming of a cast for a nonsequel, "Fierce Creatures" is a furry, screwballish tale of a fictional zoo in England that centers on the conflict between commercialization and the traditional mandate for such institutions. When the profit-squeezing tycoon who heads a multinational conglomerate buys Marwood Zoo, the animal keepers are distressed because the new director (Cleese) has orders to increase attendance no matter how drastic and cruel the tactics.
The film's setup is clunky but not without moments of wit and hilarity. The introduction of the corporate players played by Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline (who won a best supporting actor Oscar for "Wanda") revolves around his desire for her and her wearing of revealing outfits. At the zoo, before the full onslaught of bottom-line-increasing tactics, Cleese's character informs the keepers that denizens not deemed dangerous enough will be removed.
The idea is the public wants to be scared and entertained, and it does not go over well with the dedicated zoo employees. Michael Palin plays one such shocked gentle heart, and the scheme to make anteaters, lemurs and other cute and cuddly critters into marquee maneaters is an inspired development that young and old viewers should delight in.
A serious message of conservation and a general plea for the proper treatment and respect for animals contrasts well with the none-too-subtle jabs at product placement in the movies and blatant plugs for sponsors in tourist attractions.
While Klein's cynical son-of-the-boss covets Curtis' character, she is attracted to Cleese's decent bloke doing his job. When she has an "imprinting" with a formidable-but-sensitive gorilla, the odds are tipped in favor of the animal lovers.
Many of the ongoing gags are well-executed but not as fresh or memorable as the inspired lunacy of "Wanda". Klein in makeup plays his character's father, the gaseous scoundrel whose ruthless running of Octopus Inc. is a welcome intrusion in the story at several points. Both looking great, Curtis and Cleese have been better, but their chemistry is potent enough to pull the film through some flat stretches.
Overall, the screenplay by Cleese and British film journalist and broadcaster Iain Johnstone has a few choice lines. Particularly in several elaborate sequences, the direction of the many animals (from zebras and meerkats to tigers and tarantulas) is marvelous.
A generous pat on the head to cinematographer Adrian Biddle ("101 Dalmatians") is in order, as well as well-deserved treats for production designer Roger Murray-Leach ("A Fish Called Wanda") and the creature trainers.
FIERCE CREATURES
Universal Pictures
A Fish Prods./Jersey Films production
Directors:Robert Young, Fred Schepisi
Producers:Michael Shamberg, John Cleese
Executive producer:Steve Abbott
Writers:John Cleese, Iain Johnstone
Co-producer:Patricia Carr
Directors of photography:Adrian Biddle, Ian Baker
Music:Jerry Goldsmith
Editor:Robert Gibson
Production designer:Roger Murray-Leach
Costume designer:Hazel Pethig
Casting:Priscilla John
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rollo Lee:John Cleese
Willa Weston:Jamie Lee Curtis
Vince McCain/Rod McCain:Kevin Kline
Bugsy Malone:Michael Palin
Reggie Sealions:Ronnie Corbett
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
Originally slated for a 1996 release, "Fierce Creatures" was pulled after poor test screenings and reworked with a new director at the helm. Robert Young(with Cleese unofficially co-directing) was responsible for the first version, while Fred Schepisi came in for round two, with all the major performers involved in the re-shoots and additions.
A rare reteaming of a cast for a nonsequel, "Fierce Creatures" is a furry, screwballish tale of a fictional zoo in England that centers on the conflict between commercialization and the traditional mandate for such institutions. When the profit-squeezing tycoon who heads a multinational conglomerate buys Marwood Zoo, the animal keepers are distressed because the new director (Cleese) has orders to increase attendance no matter how drastic and cruel the tactics.
The film's setup is clunky but not without moments of wit and hilarity. The introduction of the corporate players played by Jamie Lee Curtis and Kevin Kline (who won a best supporting actor Oscar for "Wanda") revolves around his desire for her and her wearing of revealing outfits. At the zoo, before the full onslaught of bottom-line-increasing tactics, Cleese's character informs the keepers that denizens not deemed dangerous enough will be removed.
The idea is the public wants to be scared and entertained, and it does not go over well with the dedicated zoo employees. Michael Palin plays one such shocked gentle heart, and the scheme to make anteaters, lemurs and other cute and cuddly critters into marquee maneaters is an inspired development that young and old viewers should delight in.
A serious message of conservation and a general plea for the proper treatment and respect for animals contrasts well with the none-too-subtle jabs at product placement in the movies and blatant plugs for sponsors in tourist attractions.
While Klein's cynical son-of-the-boss covets Curtis' character, she is attracted to Cleese's decent bloke doing his job. When she has an "imprinting" with a formidable-but-sensitive gorilla, the odds are tipped in favor of the animal lovers.
Many of the ongoing gags are well-executed but not as fresh or memorable as the inspired lunacy of "Wanda". Klein in makeup plays his character's father, the gaseous scoundrel whose ruthless running of Octopus Inc. is a welcome intrusion in the story at several points. Both looking great, Curtis and Cleese have been better, but their chemistry is potent enough to pull the film through some flat stretches.
Overall, the screenplay by Cleese and British film journalist and broadcaster Iain Johnstone has a few choice lines. Particularly in several elaborate sequences, the direction of the many animals (from zebras and meerkats to tigers and tarantulas) is marvelous.
A generous pat on the head to cinematographer Adrian Biddle ("101 Dalmatians") is in order, as well as well-deserved treats for production designer Roger Murray-Leach ("A Fish Called Wanda") and the creature trainers.
FIERCE CREATURES
Universal Pictures
A Fish Prods./Jersey Films production
Directors:Robert Young, Fred Schepisi
Producers:Michael Shamberg, John Cleese
Executive producer:Steve Abbott
Writers:John Cleese, Iain Johnstone
Co-producer:Patricia Carr
Directors of photography:Adrian Biddle, Ian Baker
Music:Jerry Goldsmith
Editor:Robert Gibson
Production designer:Roger Murray-Leach
Costume designer:Hazel Pethig
Casting:Priscilla John
Color/stereo
Cast:
Rollo Lee:John Cleese
Willa Weston:Jamie Lee Curtis
Vince McCain/Rod McCain:Kevin Kline
Bugsy Malone:Michael Palin
Reggie Sealions:Ronnie Corbett
Running time -- 93 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13...
- 1/21/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Boxoffice is going to the dogs, namely Disney's "101 Dalmatians", a bounding, tail-wagging charmer that should fill the holiday bowls with piles of green stuff. A certain domestic hit, Buena Vista should also strike gold internationally with this farcical, live-action family film. And when it comes time for video leftovers, they'll need more than doggie bags to carry away the rental-purchase booty.
With John Hughes' screenwriting pawprint all over this blazing, warm holiday potion, "101 Dalmatians'" lineage is a bit of a mongrel, with its pedigree traced from the original English novel through the classic Disney animated film to Hughes' most recent kids' comedies, namely "Home Alone" and, most pointedly, "Beethoven".
Analytically apt seventh graders just might notice that "101 Dalmatians" is, basically, "Beethoven" played once again: Namely, a beloved bowser is dognapped by an evil ogre who will kill him for personal gain. Instead of a St. Bernard being whisked away under the cruel orders of a diabolical vet as in "Beethoven", in "Dalmatians" we have a whole slew of dogs, 101 to be exact, who are stolen under the orders of a cruel fashion maven who wants to turn their hides into a dog cape. As in "Home Alone" and "Beethoven", the actual perps are a pair of dimwits, one tall and skinny and one short and dumpy, who ultimately suffer the jolts and wallops of Hughes' severe sense of slapstick justice.
As those who are experts in the dog-in-jeopardy genre will attest, "if the dogs aren't cute, the kids will scoot." In "Dalmatians", they've packed the canines with plenty of puppy charm and loaded them with individual personality. Best, director Stephen Herek has packed the pic with scads of reactive dog shots to tug us even closer to them. With plenty of bright, anthropomorphic moments as the two lead dogs conspire to get the humans to behave in the fashion they want, the film is a heart-pulling winner. The kids and the menfolk will be especially pleased that the filmmakers do not wallow in any mushy moments: such sludge as grownup romance, happily, is put on fast-forward and quickly dispensed with.
The acting ensemble here is not ald dogs, however: The humans are doggone good also, particularly Glenn Close as the archvillainess Cruella DeVil$ whose haughty snappings are wicked-witch scary. Whether barking out her vicious orders or snapping at underlings, Close's yelpings are a zesty blend of cruelty and coeedy. Playing the central huean characters, Jeff Daniels and Joely Richardson are warmly appealing as newlyweds whose betrothal was, naturaldy, inspired by some kindly canine matchmaking. As the Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci characters, oops, we mean the two bumblers Jasper and Horace, Hugh Laurie and Mark Wildiams are amusingly dunderheaded, while Joan Plowright adds some kindly charm as a nattering nanny.
Technical coftributions are blue-ribbon consistent, comic and comfy all at once. Keeping us in stitches are costume designers Anthony Powell and Rosemarq Burrows' apt and arch flourishes, particularly DeVil's hideously haute fashionware& Similarly, production designer Assheton Gorton has kindled the right mix of fireplace comfort with dastardly menace, while composer Michaed Kamen has captured the fergcity of the evildoers while conveying the sweetness of the good-natured characters. Capturing all in a rich holaday glow, cinematographer Adrian Biddle's luminescent laghting is a perfect holiday wrap. Although Industrial Laght & Magic is credited wit` creating computer images of dogs when the real ones couldn't do the stuff, we conclude this must be a program-note misprint since there didn't seem to be afy fake dogs in the pack.
101 DALMATIANS
Buena Vista Distribution
Walt Disney Pictures
A Great Oaks Prodn.
A Stephen Herek Film
Producers :John Hughes, Ricardo Mestres
Director :Stephen Herek
Screenwriter :John Hughes
Based upon the novel "The One Hundred and One Dalmatians" by Dodie Smith
Executive producer:Edward S. Feldman
Director of photography:Adrian Biddle
Production designer:Assheton Gorton
Special visual effects and animation:Industrial Light & Magic
Editor :Trudy Ship
Costume designer:Anthony Powell, Rosemary burrows
Music: Michael Kamen
Casting :Celestia Fox, Marcia Ross
Visual effects supervisor:Michael Owens
Visual effects producer:Chrissie England
Associate producer:Rebekah Rudd
Sound mixer :Clive Winter
Color/stereo
Cast:
Cruella DeVil :Glenn Close
Roger :Jeff Daniels
Anita :Joely Richardson
Nanny :Joan Plowright
Jasper:Hugh Laurie
Horace :Mark Williams
Skinner :John Shrapnel
Running time -- 98 minutes
MPAA rating: G...
With John Hughes' screenwriting pawprint all over this blazing, warm holiday potion, "101 Dalmatians'" lineage is a bit of a mongrel, with its pedigree traced from the original English novel through the classic Disney animated film to Hughes' most recent kids' comedies, namely "Home Alone" and, most pointedly, "Beethoven".
Analytically apt seventh graders just might notice that "101 Dalmatians" is, basically, "Beethoven" played once again: Namely, a beloved bowser is dognapped by an evil ogre who will kill him for personal gain. Instead of a St. Bernard being whisked away under the cruel orders of a diabolical vet as in "Beethoven", in "Dalmatians" we have a whole slew of dogs, 101 to be exact, who are stolen under the orders of a cruel fashion maven who wants to turn their hides into a dog cape. As in "Home Alone" and "Beethoven", the actual perps are a pair of dimwits, one tall and skinny and one short and dumpy, who ultimately suffer the jolts and wallops of Hughes' severe sense of slapstick justice.
As those who are experts in the dog-in-jeopardy genre will attest, "if the dogs aren't cute, the kids will scoot." In "Dalmatians", they've packed the canines with plenty of puppy charm and loaded them with individual personality. Best, director Stephen Herek has packed the pic with scads of reactive dog shots to tug us even closer to them. With plenty of bright, anthropomorphic moments as the two lead dogs conspire to get the humans to behave in the fashion they want, the film is a heart-pulling winner. The kids and the menfolk will be especially pleased that the filmmakers do not wallow in any mushy moments: such sludge as grownup romance, happily, is put on fast-forward and quickly dispensed with.
The acting ensemble here is not ald dogs, however: The humans are doggone good also, particularly Glenn Close as the archvillainess Cruella DeVil$ whose haughty snappings are wicked-witch scary. Whether barking out her vicious orders or snapping at underlings, Close's yelpings are a zesty blend of cruelty and coeedy. Playing the central huean characters, Jeff Daniels and Joely Richardson are warmly appealing as newlyweds whose betrothal was, naturaldy, inspired by some kindly canine matchmaking. As the Daniel Stern and Joe Pesci characters, oops, we mean the two bumblers Jasper and Horace, Hugh Laurie and Mark Wildiams are amusingly dunderheaded, while Joan Plowright adds some kindly charm as a nattering nanny.
Technical coftributions are blue-ribbon consistent, comic and comfy all at once. Keeping us in stitches are costume designers Anthony Powell and Rosemarq Burrows' apt and arch flourishes, particularly DeVil's hideously haute fashionware& Similarly, production designer Assheton Gorton has kindled the right mix of fireplace comfort with dastardly menace, while composer Michaed Kamen has captured the fergcity of the evildoers while conveying the sweetness of the good-natured characters. Capturing all in a rich holaday glow, cinematographer Adrian Biddle's luminescent laghting is a perfect holiday wrap. Although Industrial Laght & Magic is credited wit` creating computer images of dogs when the real ones couldn't do the stuff, we conclude this must be a program-note misprint since there didn't seem to be afy fake dogs in the pack.
101 DALMATIANS
Buena Vista Distribution
Walt Disney Pictures
A Great Oaks Prodn.
A Stephen Herek Film
Producers :John Hughes, Ricardo Mestres
Director :Stephen Herek
Screenwriter :John Hughes
Based upon the novel "The One Hundred and One Dalmatians" by Dodie Smith
Executive producer:Edward S. Feldman
Director of photography:Adrian Biddle
Production designer:Assheton Gorton
Special visual effects and animation:Industrial Light & Magic
Editor :Trudy Ship
Costume designer:Anthony Powell, Rosemary burrows
Music: Michael Kamen
Casting :Celestia Fox, Marcia Ross
Visual effects supervisor:Michael Owens
Visual effects producer:Chrissie England
Associate producer:Rebekah Rudd
Sound mixer :Clive Winter
Color/stereo
Cast:
Cruella DeVil :Glenn Close
Roger :Jeff Daniels
Anita :Joely Richardson
Nanny :Joan Plowright
Jasper:Hugh Laurie
Horace :Mark Williams
Skinner :John Shrapnel
Running time -- 98 minutes
MPAA rating: G...
- 11/25/1996
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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