Top 10 Most Controversial British Movies

December 21, 2015

As a nation Britain has a rich cinematic history, making many great movies like The 39 Steps, Lawrence of Arabia and Gosford Park and producing directors like Christopher Nolan, Ridley Scott and Matthew Vaughn. But there is a dark side to British cinema, with many movies garnering controversy, whether it’s for sexual and violent content, religious satire or political commentary – so let us look at some of the most controversial movies from the UK, good and bad, and show that Britain is not just a land of country manors, tea and crumpets.

10. Sex Lives of the Potato Men

Kicking off this list is the 2004 ‘comedy’ Sex Lives of the Potato Men led by Johnny Vegas. On the surface, Sex Lives of the Potato Men is an appalling sex comedy about two potato delivery men in Birmingham who attempt to fulfil their sexual fantasies. The movie has a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and ranked seventh on Empire Magazine’s The 50 Worst Movies Ever list. Many British and Irish critics declared it one of the worst movies ever made, with BBC and Observer film critic Mark Kermode describing it as “absolutely, indescribably horrible, vulgar, stupid, tawdry, depressing, embarrassing, filthy, vile, stinky, repugnant, slimy, unclean, nasty, degenerative and mind-numbing”.

Though Sex Lives of the Potato Men is an awful comedy with questionable views about women, the controversy comes from how the movie was funded, receiving £1 Million from the National Lottery via the UK Film Council. Or to put it another way, a third of the movie’s budget came from public money, raising questions about how British movies were funded and the overall quality of British cinema at the time.

9.Three and Out

Three and Out is a poor dark comedy from 2008 that is deservedly forgotten. However the movie’s premise that earned it notoriety following a tube driver who runs over two people in quick succession and then finds out if a third person dies in front of him within a month he gets a bonus pay-off. Consequently he goes on a mission to find a willing accomplice to achieve this.

The premise is a hard sell: suicide is generally not a good subject for comedy and the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) protested the release of the movie – seeing it as offensive to its members who have been traumatized by these types of events.

8. Life of Brian

Life of Brian is seen as the pinnacle of the works of Monty Python’s, and for good reason – it’s bloody funny. It was also very controversial when it was released, earning condemnation at home and abroad.

Life of Brian is about Brian Cohen, a man who born in the stable next to one Jesus was born in. As an adult Brian is mistaken as the messiah and is chased by religious fanatics and the Roman occupiers. But he’s not the messiah, he’s a very naughty boy!

The movie was accused for being blasphemous due to it lampooning religion. The president of the National Viewers’ and Listeners’ Association (NVLA) and moral crusader Mary Whitehouse protested outside cinemas that showed the film, and 39 local authorities banned showing the movie or gave it an X-rating, effectively banning it. Internationally Life of Brian was banned in Ireland and Norway and picketed by protestors in New York City.

Torbay Council, Devon refused to allow any public showings of Life of Brian until September 2008 and Aberystwyth in Wales only lifted their ban in 2009. Officials in the German region of North Rhine-Westphalia banned a public screening on Good Friday in 2013.

The marketing team in Sweden took advantage of the controversy by advertising Life of Brian as ‘So funny, it was banned in Norway’.

7. The War Game

The War Game was a what-if documentary originally made for the BBC’s The Wednesday Play series back in 1965. It has the distinction for being the only fictional film to win the Academy Award for Best Documentary.

The premise of this 48 minute documentary is showing what would have happened if the Cold War turned hot and how the British government would deal with a nuclear war before, during and after a series of nuclear strikes on the South-East of England. Even now The War Game is a harrowing watch, showing how under prepared the UK was in the event of nuclear war. It was an unflinching portrayal of a nuclear strike on the civilian population and how law-and-order would break down. One of the most notorious scenes is when uniformed police officers shoot civilians accused of looting and also shoot civilians doctors deem they are unable to saved. Because of this the BBC refused to broadcast the film for twenty years, and only showed The War Game on the fortieth anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima.

The War Game is a very popular film for campaigners for nuclear disarmament.

6. Killer Bitch

With the title Killer Bitch is it safe to assume it is not going to be a subtle affair and that is what we get from this cheap, poorly produced straight-to-DVD release. Killer Bitch was a notoriously bad movie, having a 1.5 rating on IMDB and James Benefield from Eye For Film describing it as ” it looks like it’s been shot by a sexually starved 15 year old film student who is both untalented, and careless about rudimentary research.”

The plot of Killer Bitch focuses on Yvette (Yvette Rowland), a woman who witnesses her boyfriend being murdered and she seeks profile from local gangsters. However the gangsters will only do this if Yvette kills five men they want dead.

Killer Bitch has a cast of Z-list British celebrities, having the likes of cage fighter/Katie Price’s then boyfriend Alex Reid, former football hooligan Cass Pennant, former gangster Dave Courtney and Michael ‘King of the Chavs’ Carroll. The movie was particularly notorious for its rape scene which it is rumored to have made Alex Reid walk off the set and the movie struggled to be passed uncut by the BBFC.

5. 9 Songs

Director Michael Winterbottom has had an eclectic career making comedies, war and social dramas and documentaries. One of his most controversial movies is the romance 9 Songs – considered to be one of the most sexually mainstream movies ever made.

9 Songs focuses on Matt (Kieran O’Brien) and Lisa (Margo Stilley), a young couple who have a mutual love for rock music and explores their romantic and sexual relationship. 9 Songs was a very explicit movie with unsimulated sex scenes which included oral sex, footjobs and the use of sex toys. O’Brien is the only actor to ejaculate on screen in a mainstream British movie.

9 Songs earned an 18 rating in the UK, making it the most the explicit movie to earn that rating in the nation. It was the first movie with explicit sex scenes to receive a certificate in Ireland and a mainstream certificate in France. It was given an X-rating in Australia and the Society for the Promotion of Community Standards in New Zealand tried to lobby the Office of Film and Literature Classification to prevent the movie being released in theaters.

Due to the nature of movie, Stilley did not want her name credited and asked Winterbottom to only refer to her by her character name during interviews.

4. Peeping Tom

Peeping Tom was a great horror-thriller from 1960 and because of its subject matter of murder, psychological damage and voyeurism made the movie very controversial. The focus of Peeping Tom is on Mark Lewis, a camera assistant and aspiring filmmaker, who is also a serial killer that films his murders. Peeping Tom was ahead of its time for its portrayal of violence, nudity and POV filming style, even it is a bit tame by today’s standards. It makes for an interesting companion piece to the similar Psycho.

Peeping Tom was made by Michael Powell, a director who famously made movies like 49th Parallel, Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes with Ermeric Pressburger. Peeping Tom was mauled by critics when it was first released, being seen and sold as low brow horror. Premiere magazine put Peeping Tom in its “25 Most Dangerous Movies” list, it was forced to be cut by the BBFC and it was banned in Finland until 1981. Fortunately Peeping Tom was reappraised in the 1970s for being the revolutionary piece of work that it is.

Because of the controversy Peeping Tom pretty end killed Powell’s career and he was forced to make low budget movies in Australia.

3. Scum

The youth prison drama Scum was originally conceived and made as a TV play for the BBC’s Play for Today, a dark story featuring racism, gang rape, instituted violence and suicide. The BBC demanded cuts before broadcasting the play – instead director Alan Parker and writer Roy Minton decided to remake Scum as a feature film, making Scum more explicit.

Scum gave Ray Winstone an early role as Catlin, a young man sent to a Borstal (a youth prison) for violent behavior and introduced to the facility with beatings from the guards and his fellow inmates. But this does not stop Catlin from being the ‘daddy’ of the Borstal and allows him to protect the younger prisoners.

Scum was a graphically violent movie – characters get hit with a variety of weapons, others attempt suicide and there is a causal use of racist language. One of the most harrowing is when a teenage boy is gang raped and commits suicide because of trauma and the lack of support he received.

When Scum was set to be broadcast on British television moral campaigner Mary Whitehouse brought a private prosecution to prevent the transmission. She initially won but that got overturned on appeal. Scum was considered one of the most controversial British movies on the 1980s, getting caught up in the Video Nasty controversy which also effected movies like Cannibal Holocaust, The Evil Dead and The Last House on the Left. In Australia the DVD sleeve stated “one of the most controversial films ever made in the UK and one which caused a furore when it was first screened on television”.

2. The Devils

Ken Russell is renounced for being a Great British director and one of his most famous (or infamous) movies is the historical flick The Devils. Set in the 17th Century France, during a time of religious upheaval, a morally ambiguous priest (Oliver Reed) tries to protect the city of Loudun and ends up being accused of witchcraft by a sexually repressed nun.

Due to The Devils’ very sexual content Warner Brothers forced major cuts to the movie. These included nuns sexually attacking a statue of Jesus and a nun masturbating with a femur. The uncut version of the movie has never been released on DVD. The original cut earned an X rating in the UK and the MPAA forced even deeper cuts for The Devils‘ American release.

One scene that did make it into the final cut was one where a nun hallucinates having sex with Jesus. As you can imagine the Catholic Church are not fans of The Devils.

1.A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange is one of Stanley Kubrick’s most famous and popular movies. It is also his most controversial movie in his illustrious career and one of the most controversial movies from the UK – even though it’s a British-American co-production.

A Clockwork Orange is set in a then near-future where the youth are running amok and one gang leader, Alex (Malcolm MacDowell), enjoys stealing, drug taking, rape and a bit of the old ultra-violence. The scenes of violence and sexual violence were considered very explicit for the time, including a scene where the gang attack an old homeless man and a horrific home invasion.

The movie received an X-rating in the US and 30 seconds had to be cut. It passed uncut in the UK, but resulted in two copycat attacks. Though if someone is influenced by a type of media to commit a violent act they were properly not right in the head in the first place. In response Kubrick withdrew A Clockwork Orange from release in the UK and it was not shown again officially until after the director’s death.

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Oscars 2016: Predicting Best Supporting Actor

Larry Taylor - Managing Editor

December 21, 2015

Category fraud aside, the Oscars’ supporting categories are always more intriguing to me. Best Supporting Actor and Actress are typically rife with key roles in films that would flounder without them. That seems obvious I suppose. Lead performances are the face of the film, but their performances are enhanced by riveting characters on the periphery. Oscar 2016’s Best Supporting Actor stable is just as fascinating as it always is, and this will be yet another year where two or three performances will be on the outside looking in simply because there isn’t enough room. Enough rambling, let’s do this.

Best Supporting Actor

Mark Rylance is feeling more and more like the lone nomination from Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies. As the film steadily drifts into the background this season, Rylance’s performance as captured spy Rudolf Abel is the captivating, quiet calm of a middling, quietly calm picture. The frontrunner as we sit today, and my personal favorite of the category, is the one and only Sylvester Stallone. In Creed, Stallone slips back into his Rocky role with ease, with grace, and with a charm anchored by the history we all share with his most iconic character. Seeing Stallone win would be a wonderful thing, and it’s the sort of story the Academy loves.

Then there is Benicio Del Toro, absolutely brilliant as the mysterious assassin Alejandro in the great Sicario. He seemed like a lock in October, and his chances are still good though his odds on winning have slimmed considerably. That leaves two slots for a staggering number of candidates, some who share the same films.

Steve Carrel and Christian Bale are both late chargers for their roles in The Big Short, which is sneaking up on the Oscar season. They may split votes, leaving them both on the outside. The same thing goes for Michael Keaton and Mark Ruffalo, who danced on opposite ends of the journalism world in Spotlight. Ruffalo is the standout, but Keaton is great as well. But again, split votes might hurt their chances. This fourth spot could – and should – go to young Jacob Tremblay in Room. Tremblay is fantastic, and the Academy Awards always seem to have a perp in their step when a tot gets nominated (see: Haley Joel Osment, Quvenzhané Wallis, etc.).

And the fifth spot will land at the feet of Paul Dano. Love & Mercy has been pushing hard these past few weeks, and Dano is getting notice for his portrayal of a young Brian Wilson. It would be a nice career jolt for Dano, who’s always brilliant in supporting roles.

PREDICTIONS

Mark Rylance – Bridge of Spies

Sylvester Stallone – Creed

Benicico Del Toro – Sicario

Jacob Tremblay – Room

Paul Dano – Love & Mercy

Next week it’s time to look at Best Actress…

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‘F is for Family’ Review: Bill Burr’s Rants Finally Earn Him a Victory

Robert Franco

December 21, 2015

Bill Burr is a comedian that has somehow survived this era of political correctness, and outrage. For me personally, he is my favorite stand-up act, and a hero in the realm of celebrity personalities, along with Conan O’Brien and Robin Williams. Seeing him live at Madison Square Garden this fall, was a momentous day and I’ve been very anxious to see him become more mainstream. That’s not to say he hasn’t been successful, especially in the stand-up world, and landing of small parts of the caliber of ‘Breaking Bad’; however, he’s never got the opportunity to have his style be the forefront in television or film. His pilot with the ‘It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ gang called, ‘Pariah,’ seems to be in developmental hell, but ‘F is for Family’ proves he is worth it. On part of his late-night show publicity tour, he explains to Jimmy Fallon why animation has finally been the key to getting his ideas made: “For years I’ve done failed pilots, that involved real people…[and people end up caring for the characters, so I made my family stories into a cartoon].”

Later on Conan, he describes his dad’s angered catch-phrase and essentially how his family’s inspiration to the show is…”like ‘Lord of the Flies.'”

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFzrvMS6P8g[/embedyt]

The show defiantely exhibits Bill Burr’s style of ranting, complaining, and disgust for people in general, and quite frankly the animation allows it to work. It gives the content a pass for a society that has become rightfully sensitive to issues regarding bullying, verbal abuse, language, sexism, and so forth. I believe the show does confront these issues, in it’s own way. It has incredible depth in character motivation, development, and honesty. Even though ‘F is for Family’ is set in a different time, 1973, with different ideals, and a different societal structure, the viewer can pick elements of the storylines and relate. Everybody from the exhausted, overworked, overstressed Dad, to the underappreciated, unfilled Mom, to the kids trying to find their place in the family, and to the hump-happy dog who is trying to love everyone, ‘F is for Family’ provides laughter with emotional depth.

Although only six episodes, I would place Bill Burr’s work as a top three adult-content cartoon with Adult Swims’ ‘Rick and Morty’ and Netflix’s ‘Bojack Horseman.’ All these shows deal with depression and serious elements of human relations, while simultaneously delivering gut-punching laughter.

Some specific things that really make this show go above and beyond:

The 70’s show “Colt Luger” that is a frequent backdrop. It’s the quintessential 7o’s action show; including it’s sexism, racism, and ridiculous fun. It’s dear to Frank Murphy’s, the dad’s, week.
‘The Waffler,” which is a movie the kids watch and is quite reminiscent of something from another dimension’s cable station that would be on ‘Rick and Morty’.
Any ad, news, or show that’s on the T.V.
The balanced cynicism with valuing one’s family.
Frank Murphy’s rants, and Bill’s excellent job at voice acting. The entire casts job, really.

My only issue is the consistency of the animation. Being that Bill Burr’s show only got six episodes from Netflix, it’s fair to say it didn’t have the biggest budget, so the quality isn’t where it could be. There are continuity errors with Frank Murphy’s tie, the answering machine wire, and stuff along the lines as that. Hopefully, the show gets picked up with added money, so they can improve these very minor issues.

This show is a must watch. Bill Burr is a comedic genius!

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Every Box Office Record Broken By ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’

Matthew Sardo

December 21, 2015

The Walt Disney Studios announced today that Star Wars: The Force Awakens has set a new all-time domestic debut record with an estimated $238M. With a five-day international debut of $279M, the film has taken in $517M globally.

“Our sole focus has been creating a film that delivers that one-of-a-kind Star Wars experience, and director J.J. Abrams, Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy, and the Lucasfilm team have outdone themselves,” said Alan Horn, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios. “To all of the fans around the world who not only came out in Force to make this such an exciting and astronomical debut but who treated this film as their own and helped preserve the experience for their fellow fans by not spoiling it – thank you, we do.”

En route to this galactic launch, the film has smashed several all-time domestic box office records, including:

Biggest Thursday preview gross with $57M.

Biggest Friday and biggest single-day gross with $120.5M.

First film ever to post a single day over $100M.

Fastest film to $100M and $200M.

Biggest December debut (nearly 3 times previous record of $84.6M).

Biggest IMAX Thursday night preview ($5.7M), single-day ($14M, Friday), and weekend ($30.1M).

Highest theater average for a wide release ($57,568).

Star Wars: The Force Awakens debuted day-and-date internationally in nearly every market (except Greece and India, which open Dec. 24, and China, which opens Jan. 9) and set records in many. Highlights:

Biggest opening weekend of all time in UK (4-day), Australia, Russia, Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Austria, Poland (3-day), Denmark (5-day), Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ukraine, Iceland, Serbia, New Zealand.

Biggest IMAX global debut of $48M.

Source: Disney Media

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Review- ‘Carol’- Dazzling and Delightful

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

December 21, 2015

Todd Haynes (who has a history examining what makes up the “homosexual identity mixed with classic melodramatic pieces”) was the perfect choice to film the adaptation of The Price Of Salt, Patricia Highsmith’s 1952 novel about two women who boldly defy the strict social conformity in their 1950s. Even with the high expectations surrounding the adaptation of The Price Of Salt, nothing will prepare you for the startling impact of Carol. Carol is a beautifully developed, deeply felt love story that flushes out every nuance of its characters inner lives with great intelligence, amazing poise, and masterful filmmaking. Carol is right in-line with Haynes’ Far From Heaven and Mildred Pierce to the point where it could be easily called a companion piece. Carol is an inricate re-creation of mid-20^th-century Americana and should have little trouble receiving critical praise, especially for Cate Blanchett. Blanchett’s portrayal of Carol is incandescent and will translate into significant year-end attention.

It’s rare to have a film with this much prestige centering around a homosexual relationship during the 1950’s, but Carol does seem to be generating a warmer audience embrace than films like Brokeback Mountain did ten years ago. The obvious differences between the two films go beyond the mere fact that Carol takes place in the 1950’s; Haynes’ film is not framed as a tragedy. For all its period restraint, Carol speaks to a larger issue that applies unmistakably to the present moment. It’s a modern film, disguised as 1950’s family drama.

The story takes place during Christmas 1950. A quiet Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara) leads a boring seemingly ordinary existence, holding down a temporary job in the doll section at a Manhattan department store (Haynes does seem to have a thing for dolls in his films). Into this world of manufactured items and display cases (which looks amazing thanks to the amazing production designer Judy Becker) steps Carol Aird (Blanchett) who’s looking to shop for a Christmas gift for her daughter.

The moment when Therese first sets eyes on Carol is a classic, unadorned love-at-first-sight moment. Therese uses Carol mistakenly leaving her gloves at the counter as a way to secure a second meeting. Haynes’ talent as a director is on full display during a scene where the two women have lunch at a nearby restaurant. He’s able to up the pace of the shot (which portrays anxiousness) during very soft yet very vunerable encounter and visualize the unspoken desire that these two women have for each other.

One of the film’s more remarkable moments is, despite their obvious differences in class and background, Therese and Carol seem to ease themselves (and the audience) so quickly into a bond that neither have any interest in defining. Screenwriter Phyllis Nagy makes some very smart adjustments to the text, such as having Therese aspire to a career in photography (rather than set design) her black and white practice shots of Carol adding yet another layer of desire to Haynes’ work of art. Carter Burwell’s score is both haunting and quite appropriate for the story being told. Burwell’s use of two-step progressions and random repititions seemed the perfect undercurrent to the longing that Carol and Therese felt. Haynes seems to have faith in the whole process and he’s able to achieve final product that is eloquence beyond words.

Rooney Mara is as mesmerizing as she was in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, albeit in an entirely different film. Mara seems at her best when she plays the role of a person who’s guarded, yet unafraid to pursue what she wants. Her longing for Carol is the most important part of the film and if it’s not done with the appropriate balance then Carol becomes a joke. Lucky for us, not only does Mara step up to the challenge, but delivers quite possibly the best performance of her acting career.

Carol ultimately belongs to Blanchett, and rightly so. In a world of smothering decorum and forced family cheer, Blanchett illuminates the screen with her best performance since Blue Jasmine. What caught me off guard was Blanchett’s method in Carol to play the role in a much more quiet and underplayed tone. Her decision pays off because what we have is a deeper and fuller performance from Two-time Oscar winner.

Overall, there is a reason why Carol ended up on my Top 15 films list of 2015 and that’s because it’s sensational. It’s superbly wriiten, brilliantly acted, and skillfully shot, an amazing film and a triumph for the cast and crew. At this point it’s a foregone conclusion that both Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are both destined to be nominated for an Academy Award for their roles respectfully. Monkeys Fighting Robots own Larry Taylor even predicted as much in his Oscar article recently. While I’m not sure how Mara will fare against the field of contenders, Blanchett is a different story all together. Cate Blanchett’s performance as Carol is in such a class by itself that we all should start getting use to the idea of Cate as a three-time Oscar Winner.

Regardless of whether Carol wins any Oscars doesn’t take away from the idea this film needs to be celebrated. In a world where see the same regurgitated nonsense played on screens again and again, it’s refreshing to finish watching a film and feel delight.

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Review- ‘The Hateful Eight’- Tarantino Does It Again !

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

December 21, 2015

In this time of Star Wars mania it’s easy to lose sight of what’s coming out at the theaters. Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight is a salty whodunit that owes as much to Agatha Christie as it does to many Westerns before it. I’m not exactly sure The Hateful Eight can be classified as a typical western; it most certainly could be labeled as a post Civil War film. It crams hair trigger racial tensions into a neutral setting (an outpost), where a mixed group of gunslingers try and make nice during a blizzard. The Hateful Eight is full of gratuitous violence and typical Tarantino dialogue that might sway people from wanting to give the film a shot. However, missing Tarantino’s eighth film would be a huge mistake. Tarantino’s film is yet another example of his cinematic genius. One can’t deny that there is an element of familiarity in this film, whether it’s revisiting the classic western like he did in Django Unchained or exploiting the distrust amongst strangers like he did in Reservoir Dogs. Familiarity aside, The Hateful Eight delivers on the sheer moment-to-moment action that Tarantino fans have come to expect, from scorching dialogue to explosive confrontations.

The film centers on the events that take place at Minnie’s Haberdashery – a watering hole that serves as these varmints’ only shelter from an approaching storm. The film serves as a pseudo Reservoir Dogs reunion as Mr. Blonde (Micheal Madsen) and Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), appear as a black-hat cowboy and a dandy british hangman, respectively. Joining them are two bounty hunters, John Ruth (Kurt Russell) and Major. Marquis Warren (Samuel Jackson), the former is tasked with escorting and outlaw named Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), to the gallows in Red Rock.

Underscoring Taratino’s commitment to keep it old school, the director brought back the Ultra Panavision 70mm (on certain screenings) format used on such epics as The Greatest Story Ever Told and How The West Was Won, but choose to ignore the outdoor scenery in a majority of the shots in order to achieve a more claustrophobic feel in the cabin. Still, the film open in such a way that I’ve never witnessed personally with a pre-credits placeholder and an overture card the depicts a stage coach racing from left to right in the shadows. In The Hateful Eight, Tarantino deviates from his usual move of controlling all parts of the film and he relies on Ennio Morricone to set the tone. Morricone gives an eight minute ominous synthesizer-driven mood setter that indicates that violence is just around the corner. Tarantino only enhances the mood with conjuring up a script that gives a sense of the old west. The audience truly feels that it’s every man for themselves and that the only way to interact with someone is to assume they want to kill you.

The audience will really get a kick out the sly hints that are shown in the film – from a stray jelly bean wedged between the floorboards, to the broken “whore” of a door that won’t close unless nailed shut. Just judging by all of the actors’ body language we know death lurks close by. Naturally, each character knows more than they are letting on which gives The Hateful Eight that aforementioned Agatha Christie vibe.

The suspense goes on till about the 100 minute mark when the first corpse ultimately hits the floor. The body count climbs much faster as soon as the audience have regained their seats following the intermission. In a neat twist, the director (playing the role of narrator) insinuates that during the break someone had actually poisoned the coffee at the Haberdashery. This came as no shock because everything in a Tarantino movie is done with wink and a nod.

While some might argue that The Hateful Eight is similar to other films (Delmer Daves’s 3:10 to Yuma is superficially similar and told in rapid 92 minutes), Tarantino knows how to take the story and make it epic. That is over course taking into account everything from the format, to the score , his instance on the grade theatrical viewing, and the wider-than-widescreen aspect ratio. Tarantino and Django editor Fred Raskin have even relaxed the tempo of the film so we can truly appreciate every frame of Quentin’s luxurious work.

Normally, when I see a film, it’s easy to point out which performances stood out and which ones simply didn’t. In The Hateful Eight, not a single performance stood out from the rest but they all beautifully complemented one another. I’m not exactly sure that Tarantino was even wanting performances that “stood out” as much as he wanted the principle characters to all fit into the intricate puzzle that was The Hateful Eight. If you had to single out one character out of the whole ensemble it would be Jennifer Jason Leigh’s portrayal of Daisy Domergue. Leigh creates a memorable character because she’s embodying the stereotypical role that most male villains take on in the Western. She’s mean, she’s evil, she’s certainly a little nuts , but you can’t stop watching her throughout Tarantino’s epic.

The Hateful Eight is yet another example of the genius of Tarantino. He’s taken a specific genre (The Western) and make it uniquely his own. The movie is well crafted, well acted, and beautifully shot –but above all else it is highly entertaining.

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Two Major Voice Cameos in ‘The Force Awakens’ Revealed!

Anthony Composto - EIC

December 20, 2015

Spoilers Ahead for Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Numerous celebrity cameos have been reported since The Force Awakens opened this weekend. From secret stormtroopers (Daniel Craig), to secret aliens (Simon Pegg), to those who helped create BB-8’s voice (Bill Hader & Ben Schwartz), it seems like there wasn’t anyone in Hollywood who wasn’t involved in this movie. But possibly the biggest cameos were revealed today.

Midway through the film, Rey discovers Anakin/Luke’s old lightsaber in the basement of Maz Kanata’s watering hole. It calls to her, and upon touching it she is hit with a wave of voices and images from the past. Director J.J. Abrams confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that these include the voices of both Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, provided by none other than those who originated the roles.

Abrams states that Ewan McGregor, who played Obi-Wan in the prequels, was brought in to record a single line:

“You do hear a little bit of Yoda. You hear Luke yelling out, ‘Nooo!’ from that moment in Empire. And you hear Obi-Wan at the end say, ‘Rey … these are your first steps,’ … Here’s the cool part. We asked Ewan McGregor to come in and do the line. And he was awesome and we were very grateful. He was incredibly sweet and handsome, and all that stuff. Then he rode off on his motorcycle. Literally the coolest voice over actor ever.”

Later, another producer on the film, Bryan Burk, came back to Abrams with another recording of Obi-Wan saying “Rey…”

“I said, ‘That’s cool, is that the thing from Ewan McGregor?’” Abrams recalled. “He said ‘No, we took a line from Alec Guinness saying ‘Afraid.’” Not only that, but the lilt in his voice from that truncated word happened to fit exactly what Abrams had in mind. “They cut it, and you hear the performance – he’s saying it the way I would have begged Alec Guinness to have said it. It is so crazy perfect,” Abrams says. “So when you hear Obi-Wan talk to Rey it is both Alec Guinness and Ewan McGregor doing the voice.”

E.W. also confirms that Frank Oz returned to provide new Yoda dialogue for the moment, but Abrams ultimately decided to use “pre-existing elements.”

These are easy cameos to miss in a first viewing, but keep your ears tuned when you return to see The Force Awakens for a second (or third) time.

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Dewey Singleton’s 15 Worst Movies Of 2015

Dewey Singleton - Film Critic

December 20, 2015

While it’s always fun to look back on all the wonderful experiences that we’ve had at the movies, it’s very therapeutic to also discuss those experiences that were painful. 2015 certainly was loaded with greatness but, like every year, is bloated with garbage as well. So in order to move and to start 2016 on the right foot, let’s rip off this band-aid and discuss the 15 worst movies of 2015.

15) American Ultra – written by Max Landis, who certainly has quite a resume, the finished product was a train-wreck. This movie didn’t know if it wanted to be a “stoner” movie or an action movie, but what it ended up being was a meandering, mindless waste of time. Landis even took to social media blasting people who hated on American Ultra, but what he didn’t understand is the majority of the American public wasn’t stoned enough to even accidentially buy a ticket to this mess.

14) Irrational Man– Woody Allen’s latest film boasted Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix which, in most circumstances, is quite an impressive lead actor duo. But when the script is the equivalent of Woody Allen murder fan-fic, the movie becomes a thin factory of sadness.

13) Ricki And The Flash – Meryl Streep can play a lot of different characters and is pretty amazing in most roles, but not in this complete waste of time. No one will ever see Meryl Streep and say “ hey … she kinda looks like the lead singer of the Indigo Girls,” but she certainly has the “look” in this headache-inducing film. Then you add in Streep’s daughter, who certainly inherited her looks and not her talent, sprinkle in Kevin Kline (who seems to be just cashing a paycheck these days), add in a terrible cliché filled script, and top it off with Meryl Streep’s worst performance of her career, you get Ricki And The Flash.

12) The Overnight – If you want to watch a film that will violate all of your senses, then this is the film for you. This movie is about a couple moving to Los Angeles and meeting up with another couple who seems to be into some kinky things. Basically, I can’t think of a logical reason you would ever want to subject yourself to this trash.

11) Vacation – Why would you ever attempt to remake a classic film? Why … Why …. Why ? If you are going to go down this dark path, why would you attempt to remake the film with Ed Helms ? On What planet is Ed Helms ever going to be keep up with the comedic timing of Chevy Chase (slightly younger but still)? Also, your answer for playing the Beverly D’angelo character is Christina Applegate? This was just a mess a painful mess … an awful painful mess.

10) Aloha – Can anyone honestly tell me the last good Cameron Crowe movie? Almost Famous? This movie literally makes no sense. Emma Stone having to play a half-Asian woman who is torn between a man and duty to the military? Bradley Cooper is in this film and I’m not exactly sure what motivated him to say yes to this film.

9) 50 Shades Of Grey – This is one of the films that was review proof. Despite being one of the worst reviewed films of 2015, 50 Shades of Grey made $166 million domestically in 2015, all on name recognition. I don’t think they could have picked two worse people to star in this film in Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson, who had as much chemistry as a couple of corpses in the morgue. A sequel to 50 shades is going to happen but I can’t help but wonder if the quality of the first film will have any effect on the box-office draw

8) Self/Less – Ryan Reynolds and Ben Kingsley (who I’m starting to think will appear in any film) team up in a film about immortality which isn’t the feeling you get watching this monstrosity. Reynolds gives a solid Green Lantern-level performance and Ben Kingsley basically just shows up.

7) The Night Before – If you’re looking for an unfunny movie about the holiday season featuring an actor (Seth Rogen) in his most annoying role yet, then have I got a movie for you!

6) Mortdecai – Whatever executive who thought Johnny Depp in a weird moustache playing a grifter would be funny needs to have their head looked at. If Johnny Depp is going to down any sort facial hair (fake or not) let it be the Jack Sparrow look because that seems to be his only wheel house these days. Mortdecai is an abomination!

5) Jupiter Ascending – You start off with Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne, add Channing Tatum, and Mila Kunis- it would seem you have the makings of pretty great movie.. right? Well, this movie is yet another example of how much the script matters to the quality of the film. No matter the quality of the actors in movie, if the story is terrible.. the movie will inevitably be terrible

4) Pan – This movie visually looked like psychedelic puke. Acting wise the performances were something you could have seen out at the Plains, Georgia Community Theater. The writing was just a meandering mess, something a fifth grader would write. Nothing could have saved this movie … not even Wolverine.

3) Fantastic 4– Even though this movie is going to end on everyone’s worst list for 2015, I’m not exactly sure it was due to the director. Matthew Sardo touched on this months ago and it seems that his vision never truly was realized on screen. However, we can only judge films based on what we saw and what we watched was a boring/dreary mess.

2) Boy Next Door– Now this movie just made me mad. Why even screen this movie … why even bother? Nothing redeemable about this film .. not the script .. not the acting .. especially not J-LO.

1) Magic Mike XXL – Magic Mike caught lightning in a bottle and was wildly successful because the film was both provocative and had comedic elements as well. Of course Hollywood’s answer to something working well is to go right back to the same concept once more except this time … they decided to make a more “serious” film about stripping. First of all, you won’t find anything in stripping that can be remotely considered to be “serious” and furthermore … well .. who am I kidding .. you don’t make a movie about stripping that’s suppose to be serious! This movie went off the rails right at that moment and never looked back.

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WWE: Rise Of The Roman Empire

Marcus Wood

December 19, 2015

Was this the week Roman Reigns finally connected with the WWE fan base?

That’s the overwhelming question coming off of Raw this past Monday with Roman Reigns leaving the show as WWE World Champion.

Leaving with the championship is almost a side note though as strange a thought as that is. The fact Roman Reigns would one day be WWE champion was a near enough guarantee, barring injury or bizarre event then it was happening, that much had been telegraphed over the last year and a half. What wasn’t a guarantee was whether Reigns would be able to seriously connect with the fans before he got the title and before this week it was looking just as far away as ever.

The build to Reigns versus Sheamus for TLC had been just another chapter in the mishandling of Roman Reigns.

The weird, cartoonish promos and lack of fire in the brawls were all present and accounted for. It was standard build to a Roman Reigns PPV match. Now all we needed was a lacklustre match at the show, and it would be another month as usual. But once we hit TLC that’s not what we got.

Based on the lack of substantial build and the fact it was a Sheamus-Roman Reigns main event, the crowd were against it from the start, with a “let’s go Cena/Cena sucks” chant erupting early on. What also happened from the start was Reigns and Sheamus working incredibly hard, using the TLC stipulation as best they could, incorporating brawling and decent spots, generally having a good match that gradually got the crowd involved. By the time Reigns went for one of his final climbs toward the belt, the fans were loud and on their feet. Interference from the rest of the League Of Nations (I hate that name) and the odds were typically stacked against Reigns, leading to the loss to Sheamus again. This time though something different happened, specifically unbridled rage from Reigns. Destroying Rusev, Alberto Del Rio and Sheamus with a chair, this was something we hadn’t seen before, this was raw, pure and exciting. It escalated as Triple H and Stephanie came out with Triple H getting destroyed for his trouble, who cares if he wasn’t in the wrong at that moment, he’s the Authority and he, had it coming and the crowd loved it. There was even a “thank you Roman chant”, whoever thought they’d see that day? There was no terrible quips, no sufferin’ succotash, this was what Reigns does best but that we so rarely see, a silent, unyielding force of nature.

The stakes were ratcheted up on Raw the next night when the ultimate wrestling authority figure, Vince McMahon returned to take down Reigns. Yes, there was references to McMahon’s genitals but what Roman said had a point, goading McMahon into giving him a title match. Plus if anyone can make a successful underdog face it’s Vince McMahon, he has a bit of experience in that department. Then came the match itself where everything but the kitchen sink was thrown at Reigns and still he persevered, still he fought and eventually won, even delivering a Superman Punch to the boss himself. The most important thing, the fans in attendance loved it; the internet hasn’t shut down, and it feels the reception has been positive.

So what’s changed? What’s been done differently from the last year? The answer would be two things, the first that TLC and Raw played to Reign’s strengths, they kept his promo time short and sharp, almost everything he said had a purpose and he didn’t have to tell a ten-minute story which is where things tend to go wrong for him right now. He got to do most of his talking in the ring which again, plays to his advantage of being a physical, powerful guy. To quote Paul Heyman’s ECW booking philosophy, accentuate the positive, hide the negative. Not a tough concept.

The second part of that answer is the deeper connection and appeal to the fans. After the match at TLC, the fans saw something interesting, exciting and something that on an individual level they could all relate to. That unadulterated anger and rage that comes from when you’ve been unfairly treated or screwed, this being pro wrestling it played out in front of you in the most literal senses. A man screwed so many times he couldn’t take it anymore, and he just didn’t care. Like Stone Cold representing the every man rebelling against the wealthy boss, this was the every man being angry at the man, the authority.

WWE needs to keep Reigns on this path, in this style, not necessarily opposing the Authority until the end of time but as a man of few words who talks through his actions and is always just on the edge of control. Being a pure ass kicking force of nature who is just here to fight would be something different in WWE that we only get close to when Brock Lesnar comes to town every so often, and it works out okay for him. Don’t let Roman get bogged down in complex stories and petty grudges, his experience with Bray Wyatt showed that wasn’t the way forward.

I know I don’t often say this but please WWE, keep doing what you’re doing!

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