How Do You Keep Up With The 1974 ‘Death Wish’ Classic? Hire D’onofrio!
Eli Roth is building quite the amazing cast for his ‘Death Wish‘ remake. No one was expecting the horror director to take on this Charles Bronson classic but once he added Bruce Willis, it sparked people’s interest. Then today, news breaks that Vincent D’onofrio is joining the cast along with Dean Norris from ‘Breaking Bad‘.
The film will follow a man named Paul Kersey (Bruce Willis) who begins to hunt down the perpetrators of violent crimes to his wife and daughter. Kersey is upset these men weren’t rightfully reprimanded so he takes justice and violence into his own hands.
Vincent D’onofrio will be playing the brother to Bruce Willis’s character. After his sick turn as a baddie on ‘Daredevil‘, I would have loved to see him play a criminal here. Also, Dean Norris will be playing Detective Rains. Another great actor who could have shined in a villain role.
Production of ‘Death Wish‘ will begin Sept. 26th and they will film in both Montreal and Chicago. The film was originally set in New York City.
Are you excited for this re-imagining of the classic 1974 film ‘Death Wish‘?
There is a lot to unpack in this episode. Its start off with Connie being distracted and from there it’s revealed she’s made a mistake and needs to own up to it. This is solved pretty easily through a musical number but right afterwards, Steven’s demons come out to play. Sadly it doesn’t look like his will be solved simply by a catchy song and a little relaxation meditation.
Though they come out for a brief moment, Steven’s problems really help to illustrate all he is dealing with. He recently had to defeat several enemies in a much more brutal manner than he was accustomed to and is having difficulty realizing a simple joke and a friendly hug won’t solve everything every time. All of these feelings seem to be coming from one specific event but it’s better to watch it in the episode instead of having it explained. Needless to say, Steven may need a therapist appointment twice a week for the rest of his life.
The episode also gave a little more of an insight into Ruby and Sapphire. It’s shown Ruby is one to get frustrated by a problem and it consumes all of her focus. Sapphire on the other hand is able to not let one problem get to her but when instead becomes consumed trying to look at all the problems around her she often gets overwhelmed. It’s an interesting look into the characters and the entire segment is beautifully told through actions and without dialogue.
This episode really sticks with you after it’s over. It leaves one of those emotional impacts which takes a moment to recover from and you have to remind yourself you need to breath. Hopefully episodes of this caliber will be more commonplace in the middle of the season instead of the weird and more comedic ones which were littered throughout the middle of seasons two and three.
Emmy Nominated Actress Sarah Paulson In Early Talks To Star Along-Side Sandra Bullock and Cate Blanchett In ‘Ocean’s Eight’, According To Deadline.com!
If this deal with Warner Bros. goes through, we have another strong addition to the female-led ‘Ocean’s Eleven‘ spin-off.
Sarah Paulson may join the likes of Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Rihanna, Helena Bonham Carter, and Mindy Kaling.
This news comes just weeks before Sarah Paulson attempts to bring home an Emmy for her work on ‘People vs OJ Simpson‘ and ‘American Horror Story‘.
It was also just announced Paulson is joining the star-studded Ryan Murphy anthology project titled ‘Feud‘.
Little is known about the plot of ‘Ocean’s Eight‘. It might revolve around the ladies robbing the Met Ball. We do know the film will be directed Gary Ross of ‘Hunger Games‘ fame and produced by Steven Soderbergh. It will also be connected to the original ‘Ocean’s‘ franchise so look out for a Clooney or Damon cameo.
No release date has been set for the film.
What do you think of Sarah Paulson potentially joining this already stacked cast?
*SPOILER ALERT FOR BACK TO THE FUTURE: CITIZEN BROWN #4*
Marty escapes the alternate present of 1986-B, fleeing back to 1931 to correct the time stream — all he has to do is break a couple of hearts. But one man sets out to stop him: Doc Brown! The future hangs in the balance!
Writing
The story by Erik Burnham, based on the original video game, has really experienced some highs and lows. This issue though is somewhere right in the middle. It picks up from last issue’s cliffhanger and finds a way for Doc and Marty to break out of their predicament. From there though, the issue slows down and almost lets itself coast to the finish line.
Keeping in mind this was based on a game, this issue almost feels like they could have ended the game (story) here and everything would have worked out in the end. It kind of makes it so the last episode is just tacked on the end because they needed one more good twist to keep the game play interesting. This isn’t really Burnham’s fault, but unfortunately it feels like the next issue will be unnecessary.
Artwork
The art still remains on point with helping to showcase the difference in the settings and the characters thought the two time periods. One of the better details through the issue is how Doc Brown’s thick beard helps to make him look haggard and exhausted. It’s the little details by artist Alan Robinson that shine through.
Conclusion
The story is coming together, but the more of this series which comes out, the more it feels like it will work better as a full graphic novel. Basically it might be best just to wait for the entire miniseries to be collected before finally taking the time to read this book. Only hardcore fans of Back to the Future should consider picking this up issue by issue.
When Steve Rogers dropped his shield in Captain America: Civil War he was giving up more than we thought. The Huffington Post recently caught up with Directors Joe and Anthony Russo, ahead of Civil War’s Blu-Ray release. The directors, who are currently working on Infinity War revealed that Steve Rogers is no longer Captain America after the monumental events of Civil War.
“I think him dropping that shield is him letting go of that identity,” said Joe. “[It’s] him admitting that certainly the identity of Captain America was in conflict with the very personal choice that he was making.”
Don’t worry, Cap will still have a major role in Infinity War. Thanos is set to tear the Marvel Cinematic Universe apart and we can’t imagine Rogers will just stand by and let that happen. Title or no title, he’s still a hero. Not to mention Chris Evans still has a few movies left on that contract.
Will We See A New Captain America?
Marvel Comics fans will know that Rogers has given up the Captain America title on multiple occasions. Characters such as Falcon and The Winter Soldier have previously picked up the shield, and taken the name. It’s unlikely that the Russo brothers will introduce a new Cap but I wouldn’t put it passed Marvel to surprise us all.
With the Captain America title up for grabs, which MCU character would you like to see hold the shield? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!
Avengers: Infinity War will land in theaters on May 4, 2018.
The Rogues will be the main villains in the DC Extended Universe ‘Flash’ film starring Ezra Miller, according to Umberto Gonzalez of The Wrap.
Gonzalez does not know which Rogues will appear but has a source that confirms they will be the focus of the film. Flash already defeated Captain Boomerang in ‘Suicide Squad.’ Other possible Rogues include Captain Cold, Mirror Master, Heat Wave, Weather Wizard, the Trickster, Pied Piper, and the Top.
The plot is also unknown at this time. It could be a prequel like ‘Wonder Woman’ or take place after the events of ‘Justice League.’ It has been established from the ‘Justice League’ trailer that the Flash has his own Batcave type hideout and has been fighting crime for some time.
Which Rogues do you want to see in the DCEU film? Comment below.
Geoff Johns and Jon Berg are producing ‘The Flash’ with direction from Rick Famuyiwa. The movie stars Ezra Miller as Barry Allen / The Flash, Kiersey Clemons as Iris West, and Ray Fisher as Victor Stone / Cyborg.
The American humorist Erma Bombeck famously wrote ‘there is a thin line that separates laughter and pain, comedy and tragedy, humor and hurt.’ Ricky Gervais attempts to follow this quote when returning to his David Brent character in his big screen outing.
After the events of The Office David Brent has lost his job at Wernham Hogg, has had a nervous breakdown and now works as a traveling sales rep for a company making cleaning products and female personal health items. Despite this, Brent still harbors dreams of being a rock star and tries to achieve this by taking unpaid leave and uses his savings to pay for a glamorous tour of Berkshire.
The British version of The Office was a big hit when it was first broadcast and helped to make Gervais, Martin Freeman, and Mackenzie Crook into stars, making Gervais into a comedic force. However Gervais is a divisive comedian, he has made a career on cringe humor and telling politically incorrect jokes, having a viewpoint that is based it being okay to make these jokes if you don’t really mean it.
Gervais is trying to play it both ways with the film spin-off: he wants us to laugh at Brent’s failures while also feeling sorry for him. It is a tough balance for any movie or TV show to achieve and David Brent: Life on the Road leans too much on the tragedy of Brent instead of being funny. Gervais was clearly going for a This is Spinal Tap/Ed Wood vibe about it – telling the story about someone who has a passion but not the talent to back him up. Those two movies were genuinely funny, and they were upbeat moments to mitigate the setback. David Brent: Life on the Road is much more mean-spirited because of Brent’s isolation and everyone using him as an ATM and ridiculing Brent behind his back.
During one of the interviews with Brent’s bandmates they say they don’t know whether to laugh or cry at his antics – that is a great description of the movie as a whole as we see Brent trying to live the rock star lifestyle and failing miserably. The songs are cringeworthy as well as his jokes based on race, gender and sexuality as were his attempts to be politically correct. This is expected because this is the type of comedy portrayed in The Office and is Ricky Gervais’ shtick – it is harder to find scenes where Brent is kicked off his own tour bus and gets rejected by the band at every opportunity. It’s not funny like Gervais thinks it is.
The comedy is sparse throughout the movie. It starts with a promise by playing a terrible song with a literal music video, and there were some funny lines occasionally making their way through. Rapper Doc Brown as Dom Johnson gets a laugh and he acts as the closest thing to a friend Brent has – someone who Gervais can bounce off from. Other jokes are funny but only really work for a British audience like Brent’s tattoo mishap and the pop culture references during an interview.
The other avenue of comedy is Brent terrible songs like the ones in This is Spinal Tap. The band is forced to play a variety of styles and made sing on the nose lyrics. One of the big numbers is ‘Don’t Make Fun of the Disabled’ which was brilliantly awkward – but there is only so many times the movie can flick back and forth to the audience’s baffled reactions.
One of the big features of The Office was it mockumentary style that was so authentic that some people who watched it initially thought it was a real reality show. David Brent: Life on the Road continues in that style with crisper camera work because better quality cameras are available for these types of production. However at times the movie breaks its own rules by trying to be like a documentary – there are times where Gervais cuts between two people – showing a therapy session and showing Brent barge into a room for a cruel punch line.
Most comedies aim to make their audiences laugh and feel good after seeing them – David Brent: Life on the Road will end up leaving viewers with a feeling of despair.
Movie villains are getting rather boring these days, aren’t they? Particularly within superhero films. If a great villain makes a film stronger, to paraphrase Alfred Hitchcock, there’s at least one clear reason why blockbusters are becoming rather unremarkable. That was rather apparent in “Suicide Squad” earlier this month.
While The Joker wasn’t ultimately the main villain (though he might’ve been better than The Enchantress), David Ayer’s film ultimately underutilized the character. It falsely assumed his presence would forgive its limited screen-time. For better or worse, though, Jared Leto’s interpretation shrunk under the shadow of Heath Ledger’s masterful, Oscar-winning portrayal in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight.”
Ledger’s supporting antagonist character not only stole the superhero film single-handed; he practically cemented it into greatness. He’s what people reflect upon the most upon retrospect, and he’s also what arguably makes it the best superhero film of all time. This is explored in-depth with “The Dark Knight — Creating the Ultimate Antagonist,” YouTube’s Lessons from the Screenplay latest video essay which breaks down why The Joker is the perfect opponent for Batman, as seen through Christopher and Jonathan Nolan’s shooting screenplay.
Of course, The Joker was already great on his own. He’s quite possibly one of the best fictional characters of all-time, not merely one of the best villains ever. But the Nolans make Ledger’s Joker exceptionally good at attacking the hero’s greatest weakness, most notably in situations where the villainous character uses Batman’s strengths his weakness. The Joker’s laissez faire attitude towards Batman killing him is in direct opposition of the hero’s no-death policy, and since the only way to stop The Joker is to murder him, Batman is constantly haunted by his one moral code.
From there, he pressures the protagonist into various difficult situations, terrorizing our masked vigilante and forcing him to make difficult situations, ones that test his true character. In that regard, editor Michael Tucker believes “The Dark Knight” earns comparisons to David Fincher’s “Se7en,” in more ways than you might initially think.
But above all else, what makes The Joker such a great opposition for Batman — particularly in Nolan’s masterpiece — is knowing they both have the same goal, even if their moralities are on two separate sides of the same coin. Both have grand visions for Gotham, but one wants hope, justice and order, while the other wants to upset the establishment, disrupt order and ultimately embrace chaos. In the battle for Gotham’s soul, Batman (or, more specifically, Bruce Wayne) becomes both stronger and weaker fighting The Joker, possessing a stronger understanding of self, while also realizing his greatest weaknesses.
He’s not The Joker simply due to his wacky laugh, green hair, powdered make-up and manic mannerisms. Rather, he’s great for how he has a specific effect on our titular Dark Knight, and allows Batman to become the hero that shares the film’s title. That, in part, is why Ledger’s take on the character still resonates, and why Nolan’s film remains so definitive, particularly in regards to The Joker’s character. To get a better analysis, however, check out the video below.
The United States Presidency has been the subject of many great films over the years. And many bad ones. We’ve had fictional U.S. Presidents, from Michael Douglas to Harrison Ford to Kevin Kline, but as Southside with You is set to open this weekend, let’s take a look back at films about real former U.S. Presidents. Sadly, Harrison Ford never held down the Oval Office.
Of course, there have been a number of films surrounding presidencies, films like All the President’s Men and JFK. But they are satellite films dealing with controversies, removed from any direct narrative involving the Commander in Chief. Now that I’ve added enough qualifiers, here are some of the best and worst stories of U.S. Presidents, and a couple in between success and failure.
THE BEST
Nixon (1995) – Oliver Stone has examined the presidency all throughout his career, both on and off screen. His 1995 biopic about the paranoia-fueled presidency of Richard Nixon, arguably our most controversial sitting Commander, has somehow fallen to the back of Stone’s filmography over the years. Perhaps it’s due to the fact this followed up his incredible JFK, his unhinged Natural Bon Killers, and many of the editing techniques and camera tricks in those two films are on display here. The Stone aesthetic may have begun wearing thin by the time Anthony Hopkins showed us the darkest sides of Tricky Dick.
But those Stone gimmicks – switching film stock, changing saturation, bouncing back and forth between color and black and white – still fit perfectly here in the context of an erratic and emotional man. And beyond this, Nixon is an absolutely captivating look at a complicated man. Hopkins and Joan Allen (as his wife, Pat), both grabbed Oscar nominations for their work. And even at three hours plus, Nixon hums along with a terrific mix of energy and dread.
Lincoln (2012) – Liam Neeson had originally agreed to star in Steven Spielberg’s biopic about one of our most important presidents. Because, let’s be honest, the guy looks exactly like Abe. But schedules conflicted – I suppose Neeson was already working on another film where he saves his offspring from baddies – and Daniel Day-Lewis stepped in. The rest is history, in more ways than one.
Rather than try and encapsulate the entire presidency of Lincoln, Spielberg focused on the struggles the president had with emancipation in the midst of the Civil War. The cast is awe inspiring, from Day-Lewis (who won the Oscar, of course) to Tommy Lee Jones (nominated) as Thaddeus Stevens, to Sally Field (also nominated) as Abe’s unstable wife, Mary Todd. Spielberg’s narrative is deliberate and patient, and allows room for these tremendous actors to fill the shoes of legends.
THE WORST
Hyde Park on Hudson (2012) – Bill Murray was an interesting choice to play FDR in this strange, offbeat comedy about FDR and his uncomfortable relationship with a distant cousin. Murray looks the part, but Roger Michell’s film never adheres into anything coherent, funny, or memorable. The actors give it their all, but in the end these fell like caricatures of people in American History more than true performances. Definitely the lesser of the 2012 Presidential biopics.
SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN
Frost/Nixon (2008) – Ron Howard’s screen adaptation of Peter Morgan’s stage play has moments of brilliance. In yet another on-screen look at Nixon, this time three years after the Watergate scandal forced him out of office, Frank Langella balances the idiosyncrasies of his subject with the realization that leaning into those tics too much would easily devolve into parody. Yet still, Frost/Nixon never really comes together.
As a stage play, Morgan’s story would be fascinating to sit and watch. The hostile banter between Nixon and David Frost, played here by Michael Sheen, would captivate in person. But the distance created by the cinematic adaptation steals some of the power of these two men sitting and debating one another. It’s a solid film, but too distant at times, the dramatic highpoints weakened by the medium itself.
W. (2008) – At the time of Oliver Stone’s biopic, President Bush was on his way out of office with almost three quarters of the country disapproving of the job he did. And the openly liberal Stone making a movie about “Dubya” definitely felt like it was going to be, on the surface, a blatant skewering of the President’s failures as Commander in Chief. But then, what Stone actually delivered was something down the middle, so much so that it derailed the film.
Of course, there was no need to light up Dubya on his way out, but the movie felt so concerned with staying centered it never materialized dramatically. As Josh Brolin, great in the role, showed us Bush’s early alcoholism, his desire to please his disapproving father, and the way he was pushed around in the Oval Office by his agenda-driven advisors (Richard Dreyfuss as Cheney is especially oily), Stone’s film stays shockingly bland. It’s almost as if he was too aware of his own bias, and worked against this to try and make something appealing to a larger audience. W. would have worked better, at list cinematically, if Stone had taken the gloves off.
‘Don’t Breathe’ Remains Subtly Suspenseful Until The Great Over-The-Top Third Act!
There’s no surprise on why ‘Don’t Breathe‘ is projected to trump ‘Suicide Squad‘ at the box office. Not only has the superhero film worn out its welcome BUT this horror film is simply awesome. With amazing suspense throughout, you are on the edge of your seat the entire time. Then they kick off a grand gross-out finale. This is type of movie that, love or hate, you will run out to tell someone about it right away.
‘Don’t Breathe‘ director Fede Alvarez promised after his gory remake of ‘Evil Dead‘ that he’d stay away from blood here. I was surprised that he mostly kept up his promise. While there is some violence and blood in the movie, it was kept rather tame compared to his previous work. But he makes up for all that blood with one scene involving another bodily fluid. Don’t want to spoil it much but the audience reaction was priceless once the film got to this level.
That’s something I loved about ‘Don’t Breathe‘. You knew it was building up to something the entire time. That plays into the great direction and solid screenplay by Alvarez. He spoon-feeds you enough hints throughout to give you what you need but then sweeps the rug from under you with great mis-directions. This is how to use genre tropes and cliches to your advantage. The audience knows what to expect from horror by now so you give them what they think they want but keep them guessing. Honestly, it’s refreshing to see a mainstream horror film not use cheap jump scares as their source of shocks.
“Just because he’s blind doesn’t mean he’s a saint, bro.”
–Money (Daniel Zovatto)
‘Don’t Breathe‘ follows the story of three robbers who are out to do that “one final heist” and then they’re done for good. We all know how that turns out in movies. They are introduced in the middle of a random robbery where we establish each character perfectly. Jane Levy plays Rocky, someone who is doing these crimes to better her and her sister’s trailer trash life. Dylan Minnette is the obvious love-struck Alex who is the reason they have access to all these houses. And then you have Money played by the great Daniel Zovatto; he’s obviously the hustler of the group. Each character comes with proper motivation and enough explanation.
The group, after some hesitation, finally decided to score big and steal cash from this seemingly perfect house. The man they are robbing is a military veteran with a sad backstory that gave hims loads of cash. When they found out he is blind, this robbery seems easier and easier by the minute. That is until they get into the house and instantly found out The Blind Man, played by Stephen Lang, is more than they can handle. This typical home invasion movie becomes an action-filled fight to live for these robbers.
With its low budget, ‘Don’t Breathe‘ allowed for less studio interference and you can tell the filmmakers were allowed more room to play. It had a unique feel to it with some masterful visuals; something you don’t get too often anymore. Cinematographer Pedro Luque used amazing camera tricks like an awesome one-take scene to give you a layout of the house. Also, the “lights out” scene was amazing. Really seemed like the actors were lost in the dark with a wild man!
Final Thoughts:
That nearly $10 million budget can easily be made back its first week, which will please the higher ups at Ghost House Pictures and Screen Gems. I also think it will have a strong second week with all the positive word-of-mouth.
Love seeing horror like this push boundaries rather than sitting through those Hollywood-style dull supernatural movies. These twisted real-life situations terrify me far more than some ghoul could ever.
Some artistry on displace throughout ‘Don’t Breathe‘. All the major key players like the director, writers, cinematographer, and actors really came together to make a thrilling night at the movies. I can see this being in the top 3 best horror films of 2016, just behind ‘10 Cloverfield Lane‘ and ‘The Witch‘.
You have to go see ‘Don’t Breathe‘ immediately! Horror fans, thriller fans, action fans, and fans of nasty twists will all love this movie.
The film stars Stephen Lang, Jane Levy, and Dylan Minnette.
Check it out in theaters nationwide on August 26th!
Don’t forget to leave a comment if you liked or disliked this review.
