Femme fatales have existed since the dawn of narrative art. This intoxicating female archetype is known for her alluring sensuality and dark habit of causing harm or destruction to any man who falls into her grasp. From the sirens of Greek literature and Shakespeare’s Lady MacBeth to the vamps of the silent film era and gangster movie gun molls, femme fatales have continued to change with times.
A surge of classic examples arose in pulp literature and the subsequent film noir heyday of the 1940s and 50s – possibly a response to shifting gender roles in the wake of World War II. Many consider Barbara Stanwyck’s Phyllis Dietrichson to be the prototypical film fatale of the silver screen. In Double Indemnity, this magnetic blonde seduces a hapless salesman and convinces him to kill her husband in order to cash in on the titular insurance policy.
Despite her classical origins,...
A surge of classic examples arose in pulp literature and the subsequent film noir heyday of the 1940s and 50s – possibly a response to shifting gender roles in the wake of World War II. Many consider Barbara Stanwyck’s Phyllis Dietrichson to be the prototypical film fatale of the silver screen. In Double Indemnity, this magnetic blonde seduces a hapless salesman and convinces him to kill her husband in order to cash in on the titular insurance policy.
Despite her classical origins,...
- 12/5/2023
- by Jenn Adams
- bloody-disgusting.com
Exclusive: On the heels of its August world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival, the comedy Lousy Carter led by Oppenheimer‘s David Krumholtz has been picked up for North American theatrical distribution in early 2024 by Magnolia Pictures.
Written and directed by Bob Byington (Frances Ferguson), the film follows a ne’er-do-well literature professor adrift on a soulless college campus who learns he only has six months to live. With the clock ticking, will he change his ways? Probably not.
Next set to screen at the Orcas Island Film Festival in Washington, pic also stars Martin Starr (Party Down), Olivia Thirlby (Dumb Money), Jocelyn DeBoer (Greener Grass), Macon Blair (The Toxic Avenger), and Stephen Root (Barry). Byington and Chris McKenna produced, alongside executive producers Stuart Bohart and Tim League.
Said Magnolia Pictures co-CEOs Eamonn Bowles and Dori Begley, “Bob Byington and his marvelous cast have delivered a twisted comedy of the highest order.
Written and directed by Bob Byington (Frances Ferguson), the film follows a ne’er-do-well literature professor adrift on a soulless college campus who learns he only has six months to live. With the clock ticking, will he change his ways? Probably not.
Next set to screen at the Orcas Island Film Festival in Washington, pic also stars Martin Starr (Party Down), Olivia Thirlby (Dumb Money), Jocelyn DeBoer (Greener Grass), Macon Blair (The Toxic Avenger), and Stephen Root (Barry). Byington and Chris McKenna produced, alongside executive producers Stuart Bohart and Tim League.
Said Magnolia Pictures co-CEOs Eamonn Bowles and Dori Begley, “Bob Byington and his marvelous cast have delivered a twisted comedy of the highest order.
- 10/12/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Ranking as one of my favorite genre movies of this century is writer/director Mitchell Lichtenstein’s 2007 vagina dentata horror comedy Teeth (watch it Here), which I find makes for a good double feature pairing with another one of my favorites, the 2000 werewolf coming-of-age movie Ginger Snaps. Teeth doesn’t seem to get referenced very often – so I was glad to hear (via Deadline) that it’s getting a bit of a revival. A Strange Loop playwright Michael R. Jackson has written a musical stage play adaptation of Teeth, and it’s expected to make its Off Broadway debut in February 2024!
Jackson wrote the Teeth stage play book with Anna K. Jacobs, with Jacobs providing the music and Jackson writing the lyrics.
Lichtenstein’s film had the following set-up: Dawn (Jess Weixler) is an active member of her high-school chastity club but when she meets Tobey (Hale Appleman), nature takes its course,...
Jackson wrote the Teeth stage play book with Anna K. Jacobs, with Jacobs providing the music and Jackson writing the lyrics.
Lichtenstein’s film had the following set-up: Dawn (Jess Weixler) is an active member of her high-school chastity club but when she meets Tobey (Hale Appleman), nature takes its course,...
- 7/25/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Monsters in the horror genre are endlessly nuanced. They can be physically daunting, emotionally horrifying, violent, manipulative, abject, paranormal, and so on. But a consistent thread is that they all start from somewhere. Now, we may not have the luxury of being granted a fully fleshed-out backstory for every monstrous creature, villain, or anti-hero ever to grace the screen, but we can normally chalk their inception up to two scenarios: They're either deeply othered non-human beings, invading the norm and representative of an external threat on society, or there are homegrown, society-made monsters — an amalgamation of humanity's pitfalls, ugliness, and actions that led to a creation that reflecting humanity's misdeeds back to it.
Oftentimes, this perspective can be interpreted as conservative or reactionary, but that doesn't really apply to the "Good for Her" horror subgenre.
Good For Her
Feminist horror has been around for a while but has been sliding...
Oftentimes, this perspective can be interpreted as conservative or reactionary, but that doesn't really apply to the "Good for Her" horror subgenre.
Good For Her
Feminist horror has been around for a while but has been sliding...
- 5/29/2023
- by Rebecca Potters
- Slash Film
Mitchell Lichtenstein's 2007 horror film "Teeth" has a notable premise. A young woman named Dawn (Jess Weixler) has just joined a Christian abstinence group and has elected to leave sex out of her life until she is able to be married. At about the same time, however, Dawn finds that she has a series of razor-sharp teeth in her vagina. This development terrifies her, but she also finds that it can fight back against the multiple men who attempt to assault her throughout the film. Several men will not exit the film wholly intact. "Teeth" is an excellent coming-of-age drama that confronts backward notions of sexual purity, angrily addresses the constant objectification of adolescent women, and is a wonderfully wicked tale of feminist vengeance. It was one of the best films of 2007.
According to a report in Movieweb, Michael R. Jackson and Anna K. Jacobs are currently in the midst...
According to a report in Movieweb, Michael R. Jackson and Anna K. Jacobs are currently in the midst...
- 5/10/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Here’s something we didn’t have on our horror bingo card this week: a stage musical adaptation for 2007’s cult horror comedy Teeth is in the works.
Deadline reports that Michael R. Jackson, the Pulitzer and Tony award-winning playwright of A Strange Loop, is working on an adaptation set for an Off Broadway debut next year.
The musical was announced as part of Playwrights Horizons’ 2023-24 season. Teeth, the musical, will feature lyrics by Jackson, music by Anna K. Jacobs and a book co-written by both. Previews are slated to begin in February 2024.
Here’s Playwright Horizons’ official synopsis for Teeth: “Dawn O’Keefe is an evangelical Christian teen with a powerful secret not even she understands – when men violate her, her body bites back. Literally. From Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winner Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop) and Anna K. Jacobs (Pop!), Teeth, based on the cult classic film of the same name,...
Deadline reports that Michael R. Jackson, the Pulitzer and Tony award-winning playwright of A Strange Loop, is working on an adaptation set for an Off Broadway debut next year.
The musical was announced as part of Playwrights Horizons’ 2023-24 season. Teeth, the musical, will feature lyrics by Jackson, music by Anna K. Jacobs and a book co-written by both. Previews are slated to begin in February 2024.
Here’s Playwright Horizons’ official synopsis for Teeth: “Dawn O’Keefe is an evangelical Christian teen with a powerful secret not even she understands – when men violate her, her body bites back. Literally. From Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winner Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop) and Anna K. Jacobs (Pop!), Teeth, based on the cult classic film of the same name,...
- 5/9/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
The psychological horror thriller Clock is set to be released through the Hulu streaming service on April 28th, and with just three weeks to go until the movie is available to watch a trailer has arrived online. You can check it out in the embed above.
Written and directed by Alexis Jacknow, Clock stars Dianna Agron (Glee) and Melora Hardin (The Office) in the story of Ella, a woman who enrolls in a clinical trial to try and fix her seemingly broken biological clock after friends, family, and society pressures her to have children.
Agron and Hardin are joined in the cast by Jay Ali (Carnival Row), playing the husband of Agron’s character Ella, and Saul Rubinek (True Romance) as her father. Hardin’s character is the pioneering doctor managing Ella’s treatment.
A press release notes that Jacknow was tapped to write and direct two short films (Costume...
Written and directed by Alexis Jacknow, Clock stars Dianna Agron (Glee) and Melora Hardin (The Office) in the story of Ella, a woman who enrolls in a clinical trial to try and fix her seemingly broken biological clock after friends, family, and society pressures her to have children.
Agron and Hardin are joined in the cast by Jay Ali (Carnival Row), playing the husband of Agron’s character Ella, and Saul Rubinek (True Romance) as her father. Hardin’s character is the pioneering doctor managing Ella’s treatment.
A press release notes that Jacknow was tapped to write and direct two short films (Costume...
- 4/5/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
We’ve ranked final girls and villainesses. We’ve remembered Fay Wray and honored Jamie Lee Curtis. We’ve ruminated on director Mary Lambert’s “Pet Sematary,” celebrated star Jess Weixler kicking the hell out of “Teeth,” and considered the limitations imposed by so-called sanity in “Carrie,” “Unsane,” and more psychological fright fests.
We’ve waxed poetic about our favorite horror movies and pestered genre goddesses of all kinds to do same with Kristen Connolly (“The Cabin in the Woods”), Leigh Janiak (“Fear Street”), Thora Birch (“Hocus Pocus”), Barbara Crampton (“Re-Animator”), Milly Shapiro (“Hereditary”), Essie Davis (“The Babadook”), and more weighing in. Heck, Cassandra Peterson — yes, the Elvira — even sat us down for a whole conversation picking apart what sets her Halloween-loving heart aflutter, in an interview that also explores the LGBTQ underpinnings of countless scary movies.
Now, IndieWire’s Seven Days of Scream Queens — our horror-themed tribute to women...
We’ve waxed poetic about our favorite horror movies and pestered genre goddesses of all kinds to do same with Kristen Connolly (“The Cabin in the Woods”), Leigh Janiak (“Fear Street”), Thora Birch (“Hocus Pocus”), Barbara Crampton (“Re-Animator”), Milly Shapiro (“Hereditary”), Essie Davis (“The Babadook”), and more weighing in. Heck, Cassandra Peterson — yes, the Elvira — even sat us down for a whole conversation picking apart what sets her Halloween-loving heart aflutter, in an interview that also explores the LGBTQ underpinnings of countless scary movies.
Now, IndieWire’s Seven Days of Scream Queens — our horror-themed tribute to women...
- 10/16/2022
- by Alison Foreman
- Indiewire
Mitchell Lichtenstein’s cult classic “Teeth” sure still has bite. As “Teeth” celebrates its 15th anniversary this year, it’s only fitting to look back on the legacy of the “vagina dentata” origin story. Written and directed by Lichtenstein, “Teeth” stars Jess Weixler as Dawn, a high school student who has committed her body to the Promise, an abstinence group that preaches on the unlawful act of sex.
The at-times outrageously campy film has a foreboding score reminiscent of “The Room” crossed with a misplaced fever dream ode to John Carpenter, framing Dawn’s dedication to keeping herself pure like a character trait one of the many victims of a slasher may have. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed virgin has a distinct memory of being digitally penetrated by her creepy step-brother as a child…and let’s just say, neither of them forget it.
Is Dawn our final girl? Not quite.
As a high schooler,...
The at-times outrageously campy film has a foreboding score reminiscent of “The Room” crossed with a misplaced fever dream ode to John Carpenter, framing Dawn’s dedication to keeping herself pure like a character trait one of the many victims of a slasher may have. The blonde-haired, blue-eyed virgin has a distinct memory of being digitally penetrated by her creepy step-brother as a child…and let’s just say, neither of them forget it.
Is Dawn our final girl? Not quite.
As a high schooler,...
- 10/11/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Kino Lorber And Giant Pictures Melt Minds With New Free Streaming AVOD Channel “Kino Cult” Bringing The Midnight Movie Experience Home: "Kino Lorber is excited to announce that they have partnered with Giant Pictures to launch Kino Cult, the new free ad-supported streaming destination for genre lovers of horror and cult films. Featuring hundreds of hours of curated, theatrically released films all in High Definition, with new titles added monthly, Kino Cult launches widely in the U.S. and Canada on October 1, 2021 across web, mobile devices and connected TVs, with VOD apps on all major devices such as Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Google TV, iOS, Android, and more. From the art house to the haunted house, the channel will dive deep into unapologetically weird genre cinema, blending recent art house discoveries fresh from cinemas with high quality restorations of notorious grindhouse gems.
Kino Lorber brings 40 years of experience as...
Kino Lorber brings 40 years of experience as...
- 10/1/2021
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
Exclusive: Hello Sunshine, the media company co-founded by actress Reese Witherspoon, has partnered with Baileys Irish Cream Liqueur to release a three short films inspired by first-time meetings (aka “Meet Cutes”) from the Bumble app.
The branded “Meet Cute” series features three female and non-binary filmmakers — Carly Usdin, Sadé Clacken Joseph and Haroula Rose — who have each created a short film inspired by a true Bumble “Meet Cute” story. The filmmakers were empowered to retell these real-life romances in their own voice.
The series can be viewed on the Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine YouTube channel and will live in a branded content hub on The Roku Channel nationwide this fall. You can also check them out below.
“We are thrilled to support these incredibly talented emerging filmmakers,” said Zoe Fairbourn, head of brand partnerships at Hello Sunshine. “Hello Sunshine is excited to usher in a new era of modern...
The branded “Meet Cute” series features three female and non-binary filmmakers — Carly Usdin, Sadé Clacken Joseph and Haroula Rose — who have each created a short film inspired by a true Bumble “Meet Cute” story. The filmmakers were empowered to retell these real-life romances in their own voice.
The series can be viewed on the Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine YouTube channel and will live in a branded content hub on The Roku Channel nationwide this fall. You can also check them out below.
“We are thrilled to support these incredibly talented emerging filmmakers,” said Zoe Fairbourn, head of brand partnerships at Hello Sunshine. “Hello Sunshine is excited to usher in a new era of modern...
- 8/31/2021
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Teeth, Somebody Up There Likes Me, Chained For Life, The Good Wife, are just a few of the great Jess Weixler’s credits. Ten years ago she co-stared in The Lie with Joshua Leonard. They played a couple with a baby and one big problem. He directed. Most of the dialogue came out of improvisation. Now they’ve done it again with Fully Realized Humans. They again play a couple. This time the baby is in utero and the laughs are bigger, the situations more absurd yet also more thought-provoking. Weixler is credited as co-writer. In this episode she details the improv […]
The post Back to One, Episode 163: Jess Weixler first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Back to One, Episode 163: Jess Weixler first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 8/3/2021
- by Peter Rinaldi
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Teeth, Somebody Up There Likes Me, Chained For Life, The Good Wife, are just a few of the great Jess Weixler’s credits. Ten years ago she co-stared in The Lie with Joshua Leonard. They played a couple with a baby and one big problem. He directed. Most of the dialogue came out of improvisation. Now they’ve done it again with Fully Realized Humans. They again play a couple. This time the baby is in utero and the laughs are bigger, the situations more absurd yet also more thought-provoking. Weixler is credited as co-writer. In this episode she details the improv […]
The post Back to One, Episode 163: Jess Weixler first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
The post Back to One, Episode 163: Jess Weixler first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.
- 8/3/2021
- by Peter Rinaldi
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Hummus is great. Most people wouldn’t be upset if their refrigerator has more than one container of the delicious food ready to be eaten. But as one man finds out in a new clip from the dramedy, “Fully Realized Humans,” there is no room for extra hummus in the life of his pregnant partner. And he’s an idiot for buying it.
Read More: ‘Fully Realized Humans’: Joshua Leonard Delivers An Impeccable Dramedy About A Flawed Couple [Tribeca Review]
“Fully Realized Humans” is the new film by filmmaker Joshua Leonard, who also co-wrote the film alongside Jess Weixler.
Continue reading ‘Fully Realized Humans’ Exclusive Clip: A Couple Argues Over Hummus In Joshua Leonard’s Pregnancy Dramedy at The Playlist.
Read More: ‘Fully Realized Humans’: Joshua Leonard Delivers An Impeccable Dramedy About A Flawed Couple [Tribeca Review]
“Fully Realized Humans” is the new film by filmmaker Joshua Leonard, who also co-wrote the film alongside Jess Weixler.
Continue reading ‘Fully Realized Humans’ Exclusive Clip: A Couple Argues Over Hummus In Joshua Leonard’s Pregnancy Dramedy at The Playlist.
- 8/2/2021
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
Sony Pictures Classics’ sci-fi drama Nine Days starring Winston Duke opens in four theaters in a specialty market buoyed by recent releases like Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain and Pig. New York’s arthouse scene, outpaced by LA of late, is perking up, distributors say (Ailey numbers were super there) and moviegoers are rewarding unique films and strong stories.
(The slow reviving specialty scene is keeping its head down as day-and-date tensions in wide release blockbuster-land explode.)
Nine Days hits NYC and LA today before rolling out nationwide August 6 in 250-275 theaters, said Jason Michael Berman, a producer, and president of Mandalay Pictures — of course depending on how it does. He’s upbeat after 800 people turned out for LA screening this week at The Theatre at the Ace Hotel with EP Spike Jonze introducing the film, written and directed by Edson Oda,...
(The slow reviving specialty scene is keeping its head down as day-and-date tensions in wide release blockbuster-land explode.)
Nine Days hits NYC and LA today before rolling out nationwide August 6 in 250-275 theaters, said Jason Michael Berman, a producer, and president of Mandalay Pictures — of course depending on how it does. He’s upbeat after 800 people turned out for LA screening this week at The Theatre at the Ace Hotel with EP Spike Jonze introducing the film, written and directed by Edson Oda,...
- 7/30/2021
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Enemies of the State (Sonia Kennebeck)
This ambiguity is where Enemies of the State becomes a must-see because it exposes how skeptical we’ve become about the truth. As soon as you admit systems can be manipulated for selfish gain, there’s no denying that it isn’t happening right now in ways that make you the victim. Donald Trump epitomizes this phenomenon because he’s akin to God to his sycophants. They won’t even look at proof of his lies because they’ve decided that anything refuting his words has already been fabricated. So when DeHart earns the backing of other whistleblowers and the media, his story gets spun as one of a maligned hero to everyone that believes the government can’t be trusted.
Enemies of the State (Sonia Kennebeck)
This ambiguity is where Enemies of the State becomes a must-see because it exposes how skeptical we’ve become about the truth. As soon as you admit systems can be manipulated for selfish gain, there’s no denying that it isn’t happening right now in ways that make you the victim. Donald Trump epitomizes this phenomenon because he’s akin to God to his sycophants. They won’t even look at proof of his lies because they’ve decided that anything refuting his words has already been fabricated. So when DeHart earns the backing of other whistleblowers and the media, his story gets spun as one of a maligned hero to everyone that believes the government can’t be trusted.
- 7/30/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
In the movies as in real life, genuine chemistry can’t be faked — two people either have it or they don’t. Joshua Leonard and Jess Weixler fall into the former category, sharing a rapport that’s so natural and easygoing that it carries their winning “Fully Realized Humans” (a 2020 Tribeca Film Festival selection) through its occasional bumpy patches. As a married couple grappling with pre-parental fears as well as familial hang-ups, (following 2011’s “The Lie”), which with the right push may make inroads with indie audiences when it debuts on VOD on July 30.
With the birth of their first child only one month away, Jackie (Weixler) and Elliot (Leonard) find that Lamaze classes with their doula (Erica Chidi Cohen) aren’t quelling their growing anxieties — which are then exacerbated by a baby shower at which their friends talk about the nightmare of breastfeeding, the threat of sudden infant death...
With the birth of their first child only one month away, Jackie (Weixler) and Elliot (Leonard) find that Lamaze classes with their doula (Erica Chidi Cohen) aren’t quelling their growing anxieties — which are then exacerbated by a baby shower at which their friends talk about the nightmare of breastfeeding, the threat of sudden infant death...
- 7/27/2021
- by Nick Schager
- Variety Film + TV
Talk about shooting under the gun. When long-time collaborators and friends Joshua Leonard and Jess Weixler teamed up to make their latest film together, “Fully Realized Humans,” there was one major concern to build their scrappy seven-day shoot around: Weixler was eight months pregnant at the time. Fortunately, the duo wrapped in time and Weixler welcomed her first child just a few weeks later.
Weixler’s pregnancy, of course, plays a major role in the duo’s latest feature, which follows the pair as a pair of well-meaning parents-to-be who suddenly realize they might not be totally ready to welcome a bouncing bundle of joy into their lives, at least not as they currently stand.
Intent on shaking off any of their own neuroses, the pair decide to spend the next month before their baby girl’s birth turning into “fully realized humans.” That involves everything from the mundane (can...
Weixler’s pregnancy, of course, plays a major role in the duo’s latest feature, which follows the pair as a pair of well-meaning parents-to-be who suddenly realize they might not be totally ready to welcome a bouncing bundle of joy into their lives, at least not as they currently stand.
Intent on shaking off any of their own neuroses, the pair decide to spend the next month before their baby girl’s birth turning into “fully realized humans.” That involves everything from the mundane (can...
- 6/7/2021
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Gravitas Ventures has picked up North American distribution rights to Fully Realized Humans, an indie comedy from director Joshua Leonard. The film, which screened at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, will get a day-and-date release on July 30.
Leonard co-wrote and co-stars alongside Jess Weixler in what is described as an honest and hilarious portrait of a married couple on the precipice of parenthood. The pic follows Jackie (Weixler) and Elliot (Leonard) who, with less than a month until the birth of their first child, embark on a madcap odyssey of self-discovery in an attempt to rid themselves of the inherited dysfunction of their own upbringings.
Ross Partridge, Janicza Bravo, Jennifer Lafleur, Beth Grant, Tom Bower, and Michael Chieffo co-star. Leonard also produced the pic with Chelsea Bo and Sean Drummond. Gravitas Ventures Vice President of Acquisitions Tony Piantedosi negotiated the deal with Ben Schwartz and Josh Braun of Submarine.
***
Gravitas has...
Leonard co-wrote and co-stars alongside Jess Weixler in what is described as an honest and hilarious portrait of a married couple on the precipice of parenthood. The pic follows Jackie (Weixler) and Elliot (Leonard) who, with less than a month until the birth of their first child, embark on a madcap odyssey of self-discovery in an attempt to rid themselves of the inherited dysfunction of their own upbringings.
Ross Partridge, Janicza Bravo, Jennifer Lafleur, Beth Grant, Tom Bower, and Michael Chieffo co-star. Leonard also produced the pic with Chelsea Bo and Sean Drummond. Gravitas Ventures Vice President of Acquisitions Tony Piantedosi negotiated the deal with Ben Schwartz and Josh Braun of Submarine.
***
Gravitas has...
- 5/14/2021
- by Patrick Hipes and Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Chained for Life (Aaron Schimberg)
“Do you feel like the story is exploitative?” a journalist asks actress Mabel (Jess Weixler) about the new film she’s starring in, early into Aaron Schimberg’s brilliant second feature Chained for Life. In a meta-melodrama that constantly seesaws between fiction and reality, sprawling across a labyrinthine and multi-layered narrative that seamlessly jumps from one textual plane to another, I found myself wondering whether the question was in fact leveled at Schimberg’s own work. – Leonardo G. (full review)
Where to Stream: Mubi (free for 30 days)
Education (Steve McQueen)
In Education, the fifth and final film in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology,...
Chained for Life (Aaron Schimberg)
“Do you feel like the story is exploitative?” a journalist asks actress Mabel (Jess Weixler) about the new film she’s starring in, early into Aaron Schimberg’s brilliant second feature Chained for Life. In a meta-melodrama that constantly seesaws between fiction and reality, sprawling across a labyrinthine and multi-layered narrative that seamlessly jumps from one textual plane to another, I found myself wondering whether the question was in fact leveled at Schimberg’s own work. – Leonardo G. (full review)
Where to Stream: Mubi (free for 30 days)
Education (Steve McQueen)
In Education, the fifth and final film in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology,...
- 12/18/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Kit Lang is an award-winning Canadian born actor, producer and writer who stars in Prolific Pictures “Battle Scars” film. He currently splits his time between NYC and LA. In addition to his work in “Battle Scars,” Kit Lang can be seen in the role of Patrick in the comedy, romance movie “Remember Me,” starring Bruce Dern. He can also be seen in the role of Detective Matson in the crime mystery thriller “Money,” starring Kellan Lutz, Jess Weixler, Jesse Williams. Kit is now in production on an international romantic-horror film called “Seeking Esperanza.” Learn more about Christopher “Kit” Lang below:
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Kit Lang...
10 Things You Didn’t Know About Kit Lang...
- 11/29/2020
- by Wendy Shepherd
- TVovermind.com
A movie with more potential directions than its globe-trotting-assassin heroine has wigs, “Ava” offers moments that suggest it might have succeeded as an action thriller, a dysfunctional family drama, or a character study. Since it commits fully to none of these, the results are the sort of bland bang-bang-pow that keep Nicolas Cage and Bruce Willis afloat in between movies that critics actually like, or even see.
“Ava” comes with a pedigree — Tate Taylor behind the camera, and leading turns from A-listers like Jessica Chastain, John Malkovich, Colin Farrell, and Geena Davis — but the results are fairly generic; for every scene that draws you in with some smart writing or memorable acting, there are four more that suggest the kind of movie that gets released directly to airlines.
We meet Ava (Chastain) on a job in France, pretending to be a hired driver so she can dispatch a corrupt financier played by Ioan Gruffudd.
“Ava” comes with a pedigree — Tate Taylor behind the camera, and leading turns from A-listers like Jessica Chastain, John Malkovich, Colin Farrell, and Geena Davis — but the results are fairly generic; for every scene that draws you in with some smart writing or memorable acting, there are four more that suggest the kind of movie that gets released directly to airlines.
We meet Ava (Chastain) on a job in France, pretending to be a hired driver so she can dispatch a corrupt financier played by Ioan Gruffudd.
- 9/25/2020
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Once loaded with connotations of exoticism and movie-star glamor, Ava now ranks annually among the most popular girls’ names in America, and it seems its ubiquity is extending to the film world: Tate Taylor’s female-starring shoot-’em-up “Ava” is the third film bearing that title to crop up in as many years. It, too, has the air of something that may once have been unusual in conception only to emerge as rather generic. Built around Jessica Chastain as an ice-cool, globe-trotting assassin facing a tangle of personal and professional challenges when she returns home to Boston, the film provides than a major star vehicle.
At the very least, you’d probably tune in to the second episode — if only to further indulge the exertions of a cast way above the pay grade of this B-list material. Where else are you going to find bloody, athletic scenes of hand-to-hand combat between Chastain and Joan Chen,...
At the very least, you’d probably tune in to the second episode — if only to further indulge the exertions of a cast way above the pay grade of this B-list material. Where else are you going to find bloody, athletic scenes of hand-to-hand combat between Chastain and Joan Chen,...
- 8/27/2020
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
"Keep your head down, kiddo." The first trailer has debuted for a new assassin thriller titled Ava, the latest from filmmaker Tate Taylor. Jessica Chastain stars as a deadly assassin who works for a black ops organization, traveling the globe specializing in high profile hits. When a job goes dangerously wrong she is forced to fight for her own survival when they make her a target to eliminate. This sounds like the same plot as so many other hitman stories. The full cast includes Diana Silvers, Colin Farrell, John Malkovich, Geena Davis, Ioan Gruffudd, Common, Joan Chen, and Jess Weixler. Despite the impressive cast in this, it looks incredibly redundant - same story beats and big twists as pretty much every other modern hitman movie. Why always do the same thing? Still worth a look. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Tate Taylor's Ava, direct from Voltage's YouTube:...
- 6/24/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Channeling both his debut feature The Lie and Humpday, his mumblecore outing with director Lynn Shelton, Joshua Leonard’s Fully Realized Humans is an emotionally honest yet minor comedy about a couple aspiring to find themselves before bringing life into this world. Elliot (Leonard) and Jackie (Jess Weixler) are the kind of upper middle class white couple that would annoy the hell out of you in Target and Trader Joe’s, obsessing over the quality of infant car seats and hummus, while wondering what their consumption choices say about themselves as people.
They themselves are works in progress, turning to their doula (Erica Chidi Cohen) for advice in the film’s funny opening moments. Jackie and Elliot soak up the new age insight on childbirth and orgasms while in the room. In private, they take things to a toxic new level. A send-up of insecurity and narcissism, Fully Realized Humans...
They themselves are works in progress, turning to their doula (Erica Chidi Cohen) for advice in the film’s funny opening moments. Jackie and Elliot soak up the new age insight on childbirth and orgasms while in the room. In private, they take things to a toxic new level. A send-up of insecurity and narcissism, Fully Realized Humans...
- 4/28/2020
- by John Fink
- The Film Stage
Part of the appeal of the Beastie Boys has always involved the perception of a punchline that got serious: How did a trio of middle-class Jewish boys from New York infiltrate the ‘90s hip hop scene and become one of its most prominent groups? The boisterous group of Ad-Rock, McA, and Mike D first answered that skepticism with the raucous middle finger of “License to Ill,” started to complicate their sound with “Paul’s Boutique,” and by the end of the decade it was no joke: The Beastie Boys were genuine artists who transcended the limits of any specific musical genre and invented one of their own.
“Beastie Boys Story” provides . Perennial Beastie Boys collaborator Spike Jonze directed the live show staged across several nights at Brooklyn’s Kings Theater last year, and takes on the reins in this straightforward recorded version culled from multiple performances.
More from IndieWire'Kubrick by...
“Beastie Boys Story” provides . Perennial Beastie Boys collaborator Spike Jonze directed the live show staged across several nights at Brooklyn’s Kings Theater last year, and takes on the reins in this straightforward recorded version culled from multiple performances.
More from IndieWire'Kubrick by...
- 4/20/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Stanley Kubrick’s career contained such multitudes that, over 20 years after his death, cinema is still sorting through the scope of his genius. There have been enough Kubrick documentaries in recent years to suggest a burgeoning subgenre based around his appeal, from the conventional overview “Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures” to “The Shining” conspiracy-theory deep dive “Room 237,” and “Filmworker,” a portrait of Kubrick righthand man Leon Vitali. The stories behind the storyteller have just gotten started.
Compared to these entries, the 72-minute French production “Kubrick by Kubrick” might look like a relatively minor addition to the canon, a concise assemblage of rare audio clips from Kubrick interviews in which he addresses his work in general terms. At the same, it may be the closest most of us can get to hearing the master explain himself, and
More from IndieWire'Fully Realized Humans' Review: Joshua Leonard and Jess Weixler Go...
Compared to these entries, the 72-minute French production “Kubrick by Kubrick” might look like a relatively minor addition to the canon, a concise assemblage of rare audio clips from Kubrick interviews in which he addresses his work in general terms. At the same, it may be the closest most of us can get to hearing the master explain himself, and
More from IndieWire'Fully Realized Humans' Review: Joshua Leonard and Jess Weixler Go...
- 4/19/2020
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Nearly a decade ago, microbudget stalwarts Joshua Leonard (“The Blair Witch Project”) and Jess Weixler (“Teeth”) collaborated on “The Lie,” a witty deconstruction of the demands of parenthood. Leonard directed the entirely improvised adaptation of T.C. Boyle short story, with Weixler and co-star and Mark Webber sharing writing credit. Now, Leonard and Weixler are back with “Fully Realized Humans,”
The pair clearly operate on the same wavelength, which helps keep their winsome pregnancy comedy afloat. As explained via an amusing animated introduction and zippy opening credits, Elliot (Leonard) and Jackie (Weixler) are about to become parents for the first time, and they’re only slightly freaked out about it. They’re doing all the prep work they should: lots of comparing key items, plenty of reading, and even employing a soothing doula (real-life birth expert Erica Chidi Cohen) who doesn’t roll her eyes at their sillier inclinations.
More...
The pair clearly operate on the same wavelength, which helps keep their winsome pregnancy comedy afloat. As explained via an amusing animated introduction and zippy opening credits, Elliot (Leonard) and Jackie (Weixler) are about to become parents for the first time, and they’re only slightly freaked out about it. They’re doing all the prep work they should: lots of comparing key items, plenty of reading, and even employing a soothing doula (real-life birth expert Erica Chidi Cohen) who doesn’t roll her eyes at their sillier inclinations.
More...
- 4/17/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Entering its 19th edition this year, Tribeca Film Festival has announced its feature film lineup, including a number of anticipated titles as well as festival favorites. World premiering at the festival is Chad Hartigan’s sci-fi romance Little Fish, Gerardo Naranjo’s Kokoloko, Eleanor Coppola’s Love is Love is Love, Michael Winterbottom’s sequel The Trip to Greece, Rodney Ascher’s A Glitch in the Matrix, Talya Lavie’s Honeymood, BenDavid Grabinski’s Happily, Bryan Bertino’s The Dark & The Wicked, plus documentaries on Stanley Kubrick, Dmx, Harry Belafonte, John Belushi, Brian Wilson, and more.
In terms of festival favorites, there’s Josephine Decker’s Shirley (our review), Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona Heidi Ewing’s I Carry You With Me, Gaspar Noé’s medium-length work Lux Aeterna, the St. Vincent-Carrie Brownstein collaboration The Nowhere Inn, and more. Plus, Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island will...
In terms of festival favorites, there’s Josephine Decker’s Shirley (our review), Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona Heidi Ewing’s I Carry You With Me, Gaspar Noé’s medium-length work Lux Aeterna, the St. Vincent-Carrie Brownstein collaboration The Nowhere Inn, and more. Plus, Judd Apatow’s The King of Staten Island will...
- 3/4/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The 2020 Tribeca Film Festival Tuesday unveiled its feature film lineup for its 19th edition running April 15-26 in NYC.
The fest, presented by AT&T, said it is continuing its tradition of championing the discovery of emerging voices and celebrating new work from established talent. This year it’s showcasing comedic, music-centered, political and socially-conscious films from diverse storytellers who use art to inspire positive change and community restoration.
The features program will include 115 films from 124 filmmakers from across 33 different countries. The line-up includes 95 world premieres, 2 international premieres, 4 North American premieres, 4 U.S. premieres, and 9 New York premieres and one sneak preview.
This year’s program includes 19 directors returning to Tribeca with their latest projects, and 44 of the feature films have one or more women directors. The feature program was curated from 3,385 submissions, and this year’s Festival received a record 10,397 total submissions across all categories. “First comes the story, then empathy,...
The fest, presented by AT&T, said it is continuing its tradition of championing the discovery of emerging voices and celebrating new work from established talent. This year it’s showcasing comedic, music-centered, political and socially-conscious films from diverse storytellers who use art to inspire positive change and community restoration.
The features program will include 115 films from 124 filmmakers from across 33 different countries. The line-up includes 95 world premieres, 2 international premieres, 4 North American premieres, 4 U.S. premieres, and 9 New York premieres and one sneak preview.
This year’s program includes 19 directors returning to Tribeca with their latest projects, and 44 of the feature films have one or more women directors. The feature program was curated from 3,385 submissions, and this year’s Festival received a record 10,397 total submissions across all categories. “First comes the story, then empathy,...
- 3/3/2020
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Tribeca Film Festival announced its 2020 lineup, a slate of 115 movies that includes offerings from Hugh Jackman, Pete Davidson and Chrissy Teigen.
The 2020 festival — which runs in Manhattan from April 15 through April 26 — has selections from 124 filmmakers representing 33 countries.
High-profile screenings include the U.S. premiere of “Bad Education” starring Jackman; the New York premiere of Judd Apatow’s comedy “The King of Staten Island” with Davidson; Elisabeth Moss in “Shirley;” and “Call Your Mother” featuring Bridget Everett, Tig Notaro and Awkwafina. “Fries,” a documentary from Teigen and Malcolm Gladwell, will have its world premiere at the festival.
Other non-fiction films debuting include “Citizen Penn,” a look at Sean Penn’s relief work in Haiti, and “Don’t Try to Understand: A Year in the Life of Earl ‘Dmx’ Simmons,” featuring inside access to the life of the famous rapper. Laverne Cox-produced film “Disclosure,” an exploration of transgender representation in the media will also premiere,...
The 2020 festival — which runs in Manhattan from April 15 through April 26 — has selections from 124 filmmakers representing 33 countries.
High-profile screenings include the U.S. premiere of “Bad Education” starring Jackman; the New York premiere of Judd Apatow’s comedy “The King of Staten Island” with Davidson; Elisabeth Moss in “Shirley;” and “Call Your Mother” featuring Bridget Everett, Tig Notaro and Awkwafina. “Fries,” a documentary from Teigen and Malcolm Gladwell, will have its world premiere at the festival.
Other non-fiction films debuting include “Citizen Penn,” a look at Sean Penn’s relief work in Haiti, and “Don’t Try to Understand: A Year in the Life of Earl ‘Dmx’ Simmons,” featuring inside access to the life of the famous rapper. Laverne Cox-produced film “Disclosure,” an exploration of transgender representation in the media will also premiere,...
- 3/3/2020
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
The 2020 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, has today unveiled its feature film lineup, including a number of world premieres and a selection of proven hits from other festivals, including Tiff, Sundance, and SXSW. The features program will include 115 films from 124 filmmakers from across 33 different countries. This newly announced lineup includes 95 world premieres, 2 international premieres, 4 North American premieres, 4 U.S. premieres, and 9 New York premieres, plus one sneak preview. The 2020 Tribeca Film Festival will run April 15 to 26 across New York City and even, for the first time ever, New Jersey.
“This year’s festival embraces the unique power of film to bring people together — whether that’s literally the communal experience of watching a film in a packed theater, or the more intangible way a great film can make you empathize with a stranger’s struggle,” said festival director Cara Cusumano in an official statement. “In an election year where...
“This year’s festival embraces the unique power of film to bring people together — whether that’s literally the communal experience of watching a film in a packed theater, or the more intangible way a great film can make you empathize with a stranger’s struggle,” said festival director Cara Cusumano in an official statement. “In an election year where...
- 3/3/2020
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Ladyworld producer Jamie Dolan and Loo creator Adam Faze have teamed to launch the new production company must b nice.
The bi-coastal banner will be based in Los Angeles and New York and has set the indie horror Hell House as one of their first productions. Directed by Andrew Gori, who co-wrote it with Ambre Kelly, the social thriller centers around the complicated relationship between two high school peers on the eve of a religious-themed Halloween attraction in the Deep South. Produced by Dolan, the pic stars Stefanie Scott, Zoe Lawrence, Michael Abbott Jr., Jess Weixler, Odessa A’zion, and Joshuah Melnick.
Faze’s Loo is a short-form anthology series of stories from the most private place: the bathroom. The first episode in is titled “River Fork” and stars Ben Ross (Dear Evan Hansen), Oona Roche, and Sawyer DeVuyst. The episode is written and...
The bi-coastal banner will be based in Los Angeles and New York and has set the indie horror Hell House as one of their first productions. Directed by Andrew Gori, who co-wrote it with Ambre Kelly, the social thriller centers around the complicated relationship between two high school peers on the eve of a religious-themed Halloween attraction in the Deep South. Produced by Dolan, the pic stars Stefanie Scott, Zoe Lawrence, Michael Abbott Jr., Jess Weixler, Odessa A’zion, and Joshuah Melnick.
Faze’s Loo is a short-form anthology series of stories from the most private place: the bathroom. The first episode in is titled “River Fork” and stars Ben Ross (Dear Evan Hansen), Oona Roche, and Sawyer DeVuyst. The episode is written and...
- 3/2/2020
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
UK actor and campaigner stars in satire ‘Chained For Life.’
UK actor and campaigner Adam Pearson has called on casting directors to “make some very bold decisions” when considering disabled actors for feature film roles.
Pearson has neurofibromatosis – a disorder that causes tumours to form on nerve tissue – and is known for his memorable appearance opposite Scarlett Johansson in Under The Skin and as an award-winning documentary presenter.
Following a screening of dark comedy Chained For Life, in which he stars, Pearson said: “I hate it when people go, ‘That’s a brave choice, casting a disabled person.’ No, it isn’t.
UK actor and campaigner Adam Pearson has called on casting directors to “make some very bold decisions” when considering disabled actors for feature film roles.
Pearson has neurofibromatosis – a disorder that causes tumours to form on nerve tissue – and is known for his memorable appearance opposite Scarlett Johansson in Under The Skin and as an award-winning documentary presenter.
Following a screening of dark comedy Chained For Life, in which he stars, Pearson said: “I hate it when people go, ‘That’s a brave choice, casting a disabled person.’ No, it isn’t.
- 10/29/2019
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Actor and campaigner stars in satire ‘Chained For Life.’
UK actor and campaigner Adam Pearson has called on casting directors to “grow a set and make some very bold decisions” when considering disabled actors for feature film roles.
Pearson has neurofibromatosis – a disorder that causes tumours to form on nerve tissue – and is known for his memorable appearance opposite Scarlett Johansson in Under The Skin and as an award-winning documentary presenter.
Following a screening of dark comedy Chained For Life, in which he stars, Pearson said: “I hate it when people go, ‘That’s a brave choice, casting a disabled person.
UK actor and campaigner Adam Pearson has called on casting directors to “grow a set and make some very bold decisions” when considering disabled actors for feature film roles.
Pearson has neurofibromatosis – a disorder that causes tumours to form on nerve tissue – and is known for his memorable appearance opposite Scarlett Johansson in Under The Skin and as an award-winning documentary presenter.
Following a screening of dark comedy Chained For Life, in which he stars, Pearson said: “I hate it when people go, ‘That’s a brave choice, casting a disabled person.
- 10/29/2019
- by 1100453¦Michael Rosser¦9¦
- ScreenDaily
Set in a strange and mysterious hospital, this amiably ingenious drama constantly wrong-foots the audience
This low-budget film written and directed by Aaron Schimberg is almost every kind of strange, and yet it has an amiable warmth and an inexhaustible reserve of originality that make it compelling as hell. Packed with rambling digressions, sudden shifts of tone, and playful fake-outs as it shuttles between layers of “reality” and performance, but constructed with precision and assurance, it leaves you with both a sugar high and slight sense of nausea.
At a former hospital, a film crew gather to shoot a low-budget comedy-drama-horror movie within the low-budget comedy-drama-horror movie that is Chained for Life itself. A director (Charlie Korsmo), who may actually be German or just faking the Werner Herzog accent, has managed to cast Mabel Fairchild (Jess Weixler), a famous actor up for slumming it in this indie effort as the...
This low-budget film written and directed by Aaron Schimberg is almost every kind of strange, and yet it has an amiable warmth and an inexhaustible reserve of originality that make it compelling as hell. Packed with rambling digressions, sudden shifts of tone, and playful fake-outs as it shuttles between layers of “reality” and performance, but constructed with precision and assurance, it leaves you with both a sugar high and slight sense of nausea.
At a former hospital, a film crew gather to shoot a low-budget comedy-drama-horror movie within the low-budget comedy-drama-horror movie that is Chained for Life itself. A director (Charlie Korsmo), who may actually be German or just faking the Werner Herzog accent, has managed to cast Mabel Fairchild (Jess Weixler), a famous actor up for slumming it in this indie effort as the...
- 10/24/2019
- by Leslie Felperin
- The Guardian - Film News
The ReelAbilities Film Festival has unveiled its full lineup of films and events for the second annual fest in Los Angeles (the New York edition launched in 2007). ReelAbilities Los Angeles runs October 25-27 at Universal Cinema AMC at CityWalk Hollywood.
The three-day festival will showcase new and classic films, conversations, and artistic programs, with ten shorts and five features celebrating more than 10 different physical and intellectual disabilities and hailing from five different countries.
“Just as Los Angeles has doubled down on its commitment to accessibility and inclusion, the ReelAbilities Film Festival La continues to build,” said Stephen David Simon, Executive Director of the City of Los Angeles Department on Disability. “In just its second year in La it has evolved into a milestone for meaningful change in Hollywood and beyond.”
The fest will kick off with Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz’s critically acclaimed and box office breakout The Peanut Butter Falcon.
The three-day festival will showcase new and classic films, conversations, and artistic programs, with ten shorts and five features celebrating more than 10 different physical and intellectual disabilities and hailing from five different countries.
“Just as Los Angeles has doubled down on its commitment to accessibility and inclusion, the ReelAbilities Film Festival La continues to build,” said Stephen David Simon, Executive Director of the City of Los Angeles Department on Disability. “In just its second year in La it has evolved into a milestone for meaningful change in Hollywood and beyond.”
The fest will kick off with Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz’s critically acclaimed and box office breakout The Peanut Butter Falcon.
- 10/8/2019
- by Dino-Ray Ramos
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Stefanie Scott, Odessa Adlon, and Jess Weixler are set to star in Hell House indie along with Gene Jones and Michael Abbott Jr.. Andrew Gori wrote and will direct the film which is co-financed and produced by Camera Ready Pictures (The Giant)
The story centers around the complicated relationship between small town high school peers Dawn (Scott) and Makayla in the Deep South, on the eve of a religious-themed Halloween attraction or “hell house” grand opening, and the various townspeople who try to keep the two apart, with disastrous results.
Dennis Masel, Jamie Dolan, William Day Frank, and Tara Ansley are producing the project slated to go before cameras this Fall.
Scott is repped by Gersh, More/Medavoy Mgmt, and Sloane, Offer,...
The story centers around the complicated relationship between small town high school peers Dawn (Scott) and Makayla in the Deep South, on the eve of a religious-themed Halloween attraction or “hell house” grand opening, and the various townspeople who try to keep the two apart, with disastrous results.
Dennis Masel, Jamie Dolan, William Day Frank, and Tara Ansley are producing the project slated to go before cameras this Fall.
Scott is repped by Gersh, More/Medavoy Mgmt, and Sloane, Offer,...
- 9/30/2019
- by Amanda N'Duka
- Deadline Film + TV
A cringe-worthy movie of Alabama backwater haplessness that could easily earn a promotional tie-in with the annual excellence-in-stupidity honors known as the Darwin Awards, “The Death of Dick Long” may be a made-up story, but inside this crisis management suspense-comedy is a weirdly down-to-earth humanity about the ripple effects of out-of-nowhere recklessness.
Native Alabamian Daniel Scheinert — one half of the directing duo the Daniels (with Daniel Kwan) — might have a tough time selling his home state’s citizens on what exactly he’s saying with screenwriter Billy Chew’s “Fargo”-esque yarn of one good ol’ boy’s very bad demise. But indie moviegoers looking for an off-road excursion likely to trigger more than a few exhortations of “oh no” — as both laughs and gasps — could turn this “Death” into something with cult life.
The titular victim (played in its brevity by Scheinert himself) is one-third of a redneck trio of garage-band bros,...
Native Alabamian Daniel Scheinert — one half of the directing duo the Daniels (with Daniel Kwan) — might have a tough time selling his home state’s citizens on what exactly he’s saying with screenwriter Billy Chew’s “Fargo”-esque yarn of one good ol’ boy’s very bad demise. But indie moviegoers looking for an off-road excursion likely to trigger more than a few exhortations of “oh no” — as both laughs and gasps — could turn this “Death” into something with cult life.
The titular victim (played in its brevity by Scheinert himself) is one-third of a redneck trio of garage-band bros,...
- 9/26/2019
- by Robert Abele
- The Wrap
Where to begin here? Sometimes, a film can paint itself into a corner that it never quite gets out of. Such is the case with The Death of Dick Long, which opens this week and is hiding a hell of a reveal midway through. With no exaggeration, it’s one of the most unexpected moments in cinema this year. However, that’s the point where the tale begins to crumble, ultimately proving ever so slightly unworthy of the time investment. A boldly unique work, it sadly can’t quite stick the second half, preventing one from actually embracing it as audiences might otherwise have. The movie is a self proclaimed backwoods noir, one tinged with some black comedy. Zeke Olsen (Michael Abbott Jr.), Earl Wyeth (Andre Hyland), and Dick Long are buddies, who spend many a night practicing with their band. Or, at least they spend some portions of the evenings practicing,...
- 9/26/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
The Death Of Dick Long A24 Reviewed for Shockya.com & BigAppleReviews.net linked from Rotten Tomatoes by: Harvey Karten Director: Daniel Scheinert Screenwriter: Billy Chew Cast: Michael Abbott Jr., Virginia Newcomb, Andre Hyland, Sarah Baker, Jess Weixler Screened at: Technicolor, NYC, 9/3/19 Opens: September 27, 2019 “The Death of Dick Long” was filmed on location in […]
The post The Death of Dick Long Review: A basket of deplorables appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post The Death of Dick Long Review: A basket of deplorables appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 9/22/2019
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Chained for Life (2018)Chained for Life, by Aaron Schimberg, shares a name with another film and that is not without some deliberate purpose. Schimberg’s film is not a remake but a reclamation and interrogation of a type of film that showed the limits of good-intentioned art about non-normative groups of people where they are merely subjects and not authors. The prologue to the 1952 Chained for Life, an exploitation film meets rather ludicrous crime procedural, begins with a directive to its audience. “This story has a real problem!” a middle-aged judge says in his monologue to the viewer as he sits down in his office. Directed by journeyman Harry L. Fraser and produced by Poverty Row veteran and jack of all trades George Moskov, this sixty-nine-minute film is more social experiment than anything else. Imagine a Stanley Kramer “problem picture” in low-budget William Castle clothing. The film presents a dilemma...
- 9/18/2019
- MUBI
Just like the Derry sewers are full of killer clowns, this article is full of It Chapter Two spoilers - beware of what's ahead!
The average audience member heading into It Chapter Two likely isn't expecting romance. After all, a movie about a demonic child-eating clown isn't exactly an aphrodisiac, right? Against all odds, though, director Andy Muschietti manages to squeeze in a few romantic moments between the members of the Losers Club. Not only are Richie's unrequited feelings for pal Eddie explored more explicitly than they are in Stephen King's original novel, but we also get a satisfying conclusion to the love triangle between Beverly, Bill, and Ben.
When we first check in with the now-adult characters, 27 years after the events of the first film, Beverly (Jessica Chastain) has grown up to become a successful fashion designer. She's also married the co-owner of her business, who happens to...
The average audience member heading into It Chapter Two likely isn't expecting romance. After all, a movie about a demonic child-eating clown isn't exactly an aphrodisiac, right? Against all odds, though, director Andy Muschietti manages to squeeze in a few romantic moments between the members of the Losers Club. Not only are Richie's unrequited feelings for pal Eddie explored more explicitly than they are in Stephen King's original novel, but we also get a satisfying conclusion to the love triangle between Beverly, Bill, and Ben.
When we first check in with the now-adult characters, 27 years after the events of the first film, Beverly (Jessica Chastain) has grown up to become a successful fashion designer. She's also married the co-owner of her business, who happens to...
- 9/12/2019
- by Quinn Keaney
- Popsugar.com
by Jason Adams
There is a fascinating film opening in New York today and in L.A. on Friday which I feel the need to give y'all some heads-up on if you're unawares -- Chained For Life stars Teeth (and It: Chapter 2!) actress Jess Weixler and Under the Skin actor Adam Pearson as a pair of actors who meet each other on the strange set of a surreal sorta horror film. She's the lovely leading lady, while he's the disfigured man in the shadows that's there to add that distinct touch of surreality that film-makers have been othering others with as long as there's been film.
From there in the grand tradition of movies-set-within-movies -- you could very much call this film Day For Night meets Freaks -- writer-director Aaron Schimberg dissolves the barriers between the two, tackling the heady subject of what we as an audience want to look at,...
There is a fascinating film opening in New York today and in L.A. on Friday which I feel the need to give y'all some heads-up on if you're unawares -- Chained For Life stars Teeth (and It: Chapter 2!) actress Jess Weixler and Under the Skin actor Adam Pearson as a pair of actors who meet each other on the strange set of a surreal sorta horror film. She's the lovely leading lady, while he's the disfigured man in the shadows that's there to add that distinct touch of surreality that film-makers have been othering others with as long as there's been film.
From there in the grand tradition of movies-set-within-movies -- you could very much call this film Day For Night meets Freaks -- writer-director Aaron Schimberg dissolves the barriers between the two, tackling the heady subject of what we as an audience want to look at,...
- 9/11/2019
- by JA
- FilmExperience
“Chained for Life” opens with a long quotation from Pauline Kael, the point of which is difficult to disagree with: actors and actresses tend to be more beautiful than the rest of us. Though the reason for this phenomenon is simple enough — people enjoy looking at pretty things, including and especially other people — its effects tend to be more complicated.
One case in point is writer-director Aaron Schimberg’s film, which makes good on its epigraph by exploring our conception of beauty (among many other things) with unexpected tenderness — unexpected because, at first glance, it looks like an ill-advised riff on “Freaks” that could easily turn exploitative.
Alongside Jess Weixler (“It Chapter Two”), who’s one of countless thespians to demonstrate Kael’s point, the film stars Adam Pearson, a performer familiar both for his scene-stealing turn in “Under the Skin” and for a condition called neurofibromatosis, which covers his face in tumors.
One case in point is writer-director Aaron Schimberg’s film, which makes good on its epigraph by exploring our conception of beauty (among many other things) with unexpected tenderness — unexpected because, at first glance, it looks like an ill-advised riff on “Freaks” that could easily turn exploitative.
Alongside Jess Weixler (“It Chapter Two”), who’s one of countless thespians to demonstrate Kael’s point, the film stars Adam Pearson, a performer familiar both for his scene-stealing turn in “Under the Skin” and for a condition called neurofibromatosis, which covers his face in tumors.
- 9/10/2019
- by Michael Nordine
- The Wrap
I was one of the few not to go over the moon for It. That first installment, which ran two hours and fifteen minutes, felt incredibly padded out to me. Here, with It: Chapter Two, it’s over a half hour longer and all of the issues there are doubled. Monotonous, overlong, and just not nearly scary enough, this is a would be horror epic that only succeeds when it’s actually setting the stage for its story. The first act is actually pretty solid, but with about two hours to go after that, things go very much downhill. Opening this week, it’ll undoubtedly make a ton of money. However, it’s just not a very good movie. Picking up 27 years after the last one, the members of the Losers Club have grown up into troubled adults and moved far away from the town of Derry (with one exception...
- 9/4/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Is it weird to say that It: Chapter Two is ? Sorry, truth hurts. The sequel to the 2017 horror smash faithfully follows Stephen King’s epic, 1,100-page, 1986 bestseller by skipping ahead 27 years and tracking its protagonist kids into their messy, angst-ridden adulthood. Once called the Losers Club, these children of Derry, Maine, are having a reunion. Not by choice — by force. As young’uns, they vowed only to come home if Pennywise, the twisted and murderous clown who wreaked havoc in Derry back in the day, returned for another killing spree.
- 9/3/2019
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
The promise of Andy Muschietti’s much-anticipated sequel “It Chapter Two” is in its tagline: “Witness the End of It.” It’s both the end of “It,” the eponymous alien being that took on the visage of a horrifying clown to terrorize the children in the fictitious town of Derry; and of “It,” a sprawling Stephen King-crafted nightmare that follows the plucky kids who organize to bring him down.
Despite some massive updates from the first film, including the addition of an entirely new cast of much-less-plucky adults and a vibe so dark it borders on the grotesque, this “It” is not so different than its predecessor. Still, much of the promise is held: It is the end of something, and a haltingly satisfying one at that.
Like the first film, Gary Dauberman’s script is mostly faithful to the heart of King’s story, though he and Muschietti...
Despite some massive updates from the first film, including the addition of an entirely new cast of much-less-plucky adults and a vibe so dark it borders on the grotesque, this “It” is not so different than its predecessor. Still, much of the promise is held: It is the end of something, and a haltingly satisfying one at that.
Like the first film, Gary Dauberman’s script is mostly faithful to the heart of King’s story, though he and Muschietti...
- 9/3/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Pennywise and the Losers' Club return for a rematch in the ambitious but deeply flawed It Chapter Two.
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We are in a new age of Stephen King adaptations, with dozens of novels and stories from the legendary author being developed for the screen as either movies, limited series or ongoing TV shows. One of the best to come out of the gate so far was director/co-writer Andy Muschietti’s 2017 adaptation of King’s mammoth It -- or rather, half of King’s 1,100-page doorstop. The book deals with a group of misfit friends who confront an ancient, evil creature in the town of Derry, Maine, both as 12-year-old children and then, 27 years later, as adults, with King’s book relating the two stories parallel to each other.
Like the first half of the well-regarded two-part 1990 TV miniseries, the movie focused exclusively on the so-called Losers' Club as kids,...
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We are in a new age of Stephen King adaptations, with dozens of novels and stories from the legendary author being developed for the screen as either movies, limited series or ongoing TV shows. One of the best to come out of the gate so far was director/co-writer Andy Muschietti’s 2017 adaptation of King’s mammoth It -- or rather, half of King’s 1,100-page doorstop. The book deals with a group of misfit friends who confront an ancient, evil creature in the town of Derry, Maine, both as 12-year-old children and then, 27 years later, as adults, with King’s book relating the two stories parallel to each other.
Like the first half of the well-regarded two-part 1990 TV miniseries, the movie focused exclusively on the so-called Losers' Club as kids,...
- 9/2/2019
- Den of Geek
Our massive, two-part fall preview of the arthouse and foreign films to see this season (plus a few studio highlights) will give one an overview of the next four months, but now it’s time to dive a bit deeper. Our September preview features a few of the notable films that recently landed at festivals and beyond, including a good amount of genre fun.
15. Freaks (Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein; Sept. 13)
As Tiff approaches, one of our favorites from last year is finally getting a release. This psychological sci-fi bending thriller conveys the story of seven-year-old Chloe (Lexy Kolker) who has been locked in an abandoned house by her paranoid father (Emile Hirsch), protecting her from unseen horrors in the process. Jared Mobarak wrote in his review, “The film ultimately expands to encompass a worthwhile mythology with ample sequel potential…Fantasies and dreams crafted by a seven-year-old girl’s imagination...
15. Freaks (Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein; Sept. 13)
As Tiff approaches, one of our favorites from last year is finally getting a release. This psychological sci-fi bending thriller conveys the story of seven-year-old Chloe (Lexy Kolker) who has been locked in an abandoned house by her paranoid father (Emile Hirsch), protecting her from unseen horrors in the process. Jared Mobarak wrote in his review, “The film ultimately expands to encompass a worthwhile mythology with ample sequel potential…Fantasies and dreams crafted by a seven-year-old girl’s imagination...
- 9/2/2019
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
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