Tom Hardy’s Instagram page continues to reap unexpected rewards. If you follow him you’ve already seen some awesome images from the set of Venom, and he isn’t against using the site to debunk rumors. Currently he’s shooting Josh Trank’s Al Capone film Fonzo, and naturally he’s sharing an upclose look at the radical transformation to become the infamous gangster.
Fonzo isn’t your typical Capone movie. Penned and directed by Trank, it takes a look at the mobster after a decade in prison. Although he’s only 47 years old at this point, dementia has already begun to rot Capone’s brain, forcing him to relive his violent past.
These images are pretty wild, but my favorite is the gangsta rap photo featuring Hardy and former Company Flow frontman and one half of Run the Jewels, El-P. Okay, the one where he’s channeling his “inner Stephen Segal” is pretty funny, too. I’m pretty sure he means Marked for Death‘s Steven Seagal.
Fonzo also stars Linda Cardellini, Matt Dillon, Kyle MacLachlan, Jack Lowden, and Kathrine Narducci.
While we’ve definitely begun to see a breakthrough in the way transgender people are portrayed on the big and small screen, the new film A Kid Like Jake is treading still unexplored territory. One of the most talked about films at Sundance, it’s directed by trans filmmaker Silas Howard, who has previously been behind episodes of Transparent and This Is Us. Howard’s film takes a look at how children first begin to realize their sexual identity, and the factors that influence their perception of it.
The cast Howard put together is impressive, with Jim Parsons, Claire Danes, Octavia Spencer, Priyanka Chopra, Ann Dowd, Amy Landecker, and newcomer Leo James Davis leading the way. The story follows Alice and Greg, New York parents whose 4-year-old son Jake likes fairy tales and wearing dresses. When the preschool director suggests his “gender expansive play” may be more than just a phase, his parents must begin to reexamine their roles as parents.
This is already turning out to be a big year for LGBTQ representation on the big screen, but A Kid Like Jake, which opens June 8th, looks like another huge step forward.
Earlier in the week, I saw the new thriller A
Quiet Place. I left the theater confident that I had seen the most
shocking and horrifying movie of the year. Having now seen the new indie drama Daddy
Issues, I feel confident that I was wrong. Though not a horror movie, Daddy
Issues has its finger firmly on the pulse of what will just terrify you
to your core. It’s everything you don’t want to see or think about, shot and
edited beautifully. I honestly cannot remember the last time I was this happily
shaken up by a movie before, especially one without any literal monsters or
jump-scares. This is a quiet, human story that brilliantly made my skin crawl.
Having its regional premiere at last night’s NOVA Film
Festival, Daddy Issues follows Maya, a young, queer, aspiring artist who
wants nothing more than to escape the oppression of her yuppie mother and
step-father and attend an Italian art school. Fortunately, she meets a muse and
kindred spirit in Jasmine, an Instagram model she’s been following. They begin
both a romantic and professional relationship together, spending all their time
together and designing modern fashion pieces based around her drawings.
Unfortunately for the young couple, there is the hiccup of Jasmine’s other
relationship: a co-dependent, money driven, fetish deal with an older, drug
addicted doctor she calls “Daddy.” Maya is jealous, Jasmine’s heart is torn in
two, and the audience squirms at the specifics of the plot that I can’t get
into here.
I am kind of walking on eggshells in summarizing this film,
as I want to be careful not to give too much away. I was lucky enough to come
into the film blind, and wouldn’t want to ruin this experience for anyone who
intends on watching it in the future. Part of the brilliance of Daddy
Issues was in its revelations. It seems like we’re watching several
different plot lines when in reality we’re more seeing different vantage points
of the same broad strokes story. These plots specifics that I’m dancing around
are what make the movie as exquisitely messed up as it is. So without going
into any further spoilers, please take my word for it when I say that this film
is a beautiful nightmare.
One of the many things I loved about this film was its
visual style. Director Amara Cash had a brilliant vision for the neon-punk
world of millennial fashion design, and captures it in a way that feels like
the hyperactive child of Phantom Thread and Spring
Breakers. Fast moving cuts (set to blasting music) almost hypnotize you
with patterns, whereas the lives of the adult characters are almost comically
contrasted. They’re shown in static, long, dull, grey shots. You literally hear
the clock ticking. It was a spot on way to show us, through style and visuals,
the vastly different lifestyles inhabited by the intersecting characters.
I was genuinely floored by this film. It’s so beautiful and
appalling at the same time. It’s haunting. This is one of those movies that,
for numerous reasons that I truly don’t want to spoil, will stick with you long
after it’s over. The acting is top notch. Visually, it’s gorgeous. The script
is fascinating and deeply disturbing. Just about every aspect of the film was a
home run. A soul-crushing home run. If this sounds like something your psyche
can handle, I would highly recommend Daddy Issues.
One of the cool thing about Rampage, besides that it stars Dwayne Johnson going toe-to-toe with a trio of oversized beasties, is that his best friend George isn’t a CGI creation. That’s actually motion capture actor Jason Liles side-by-side with Johnson the whole time, making for an experience that was both grueling and the most rewarding of his career.
I had a chance to speak with Liles about his co-starring role as George in Rampage, and he talked about the six months of extensive ape study he put in, training alongside the great Terry Notary, the legendary stunt coordinator and animal movement coach best known for films such as Tarzan, Kong: Skull Island, Rise of the Silver Surfer, War for the Planet of the Apes, and last year’s The Square. Liles talks about becoming buddies with Johnson during filming, his love of video games, upcoming projects, and more.
Tune in to my interview with Jason Liles below, and check out my review of Rampagehere!
I’ve always thought that Michelle Pfeiffer is pretty underrated as an actress, so when I first heard about the film Where is Kyra and how everyone seemed to be in agreement with this being the role that really gets to showcase her acting chops making this the “performance of her career” I was excited. Dark Indies are notorious for being those movies where actors are generally called to reach down within the depths of their soul to bring to life their aching and troubled character. So, needless to say I was pretty pleased to see Michelle be able to do just this, however, I was also extremely disappointed when this was only the case for the last 30 mins of the film.
Where is Kyra follows the sad reality of Kyra (Pfeiffer) after a divorce and the loss of her mother who was incredibly sick. As the film follows her descent into poverty we see the unfortunate lengths that her character is willing to go to just to be able to survive.
I wanted to love this film: The dark and ambient lighting; the desaturated and muted colors; the wide angled shots and framing that had Kyra taking up a small space on screen so as to drive home the point of how incredibly lonely and dull her world is; as well as the overall bleak tone for the film had me thinking “now, this is my kind of movie”. That first hour, however, had me feeling like I had been robbed.
Much of that hour for Kyra was spent showing her taking care of her mother, applying for jobs, having sex, and the occasional conversation between her and and her love interest, Doug, played by Keifer Sutherland. I understand that movies don’t always need to be this loud, boisterous, action-filled story; sometimes the quietness and subtleties of a character and their story holds so much more weight than any dialogue or over-the-top acting, but in this particular case much of the movie felt like it was just dragging on; like you were waiting for something to happen. Though, I can understand the lack of action, overall disjointedness, and lack of truly living in her life because she has more pressing issues to worry about like trying to survive, the result, at least for me, was pretty underwhelming.
After that last hour, however, I was hooked: there was tension, a clear conflict, emotion, stakes; I actually began to feel something for her character and I became invested to see how it would all unfold. I just wish that more of the film felt like that last half hour. Yes, this is a role that we don’t normally see Michelle Pfeiffer in, but when much of the story itself doesn’t feel like it’s amounting to anything other than to show just how shitty her life is becoming with each passing day it doesn’t make for an incredibly enticing film.
The name Gabriel Luna was thrust into the minds of fanboys last year when he was the first guy to play Ghost Rider in the MCU, joining the cast of Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD. And frankly, he was pretty kickass in the role, enough that it’d be great to see him in something bigger. Well, he’s definitely joining something bigger, by playing the new Terminator in James Cameron and Tim Miller’s Terminator sequel.
That’s right, Luna is set to play the killer robot from the future in the untitled film. He’ll join original Terminator Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Diego Boneta, Mackenzie Davis, and Natalia Reyes. Cameron has regained the rights and will act as producer while Miller, who previously helmed Deadpool, will direct. The film is seen as a direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day and will ignore everything that came after.
As we continue in the era of “Peak TV,” you can’t but help notice the recent smorgasbord of remakes and reimaginations of many of our favorite cult shows. Hell, Netflix itself already has given us reboots/remakes of One Day At A Time and She’s Gotta Have It. Based on their algorithms (or just two manatees creating script ideas South Park style), Netflix has figured out that fans love space dramas. At one point or another, they’ve had the StargateTV shows, Firefly, and of course, the Star Trek franchise, so it’s a no brainer that they would develop an Original Series based on something within outer space. But what could they adapt/create? CBS decided to get into the streaming game and develop their own Star Trek show, Star Trek Discovery. Syfy already did Battlestar Galactica. What classics were in need of a modern upgrade? Enter: Lost In Space.
Created in 1967,Lost In Space centered on the Robinson family, who after a freak accident while on a space exploration, became “lost in space.” The Robinson family consisted of John, his wife Maureen, and children Judy, Penny, and youngest child Will. In addition to the family, they were accompanied by “Robot,” who we all know from his signature catchphrase “Danger Will Robinson” as it had a unique bond with the youngest child. Also, a part of the show was the family’s nemesis, Dr. Zachary Smith who causes the family to get lost by sabotages their mission and serves as the family’s enemy. For the most part, the original Lost In Space operated as a family-friendly show, which was quite campy, as most shows during the late 60s were. While that type of programming was good for the time, it’s clear that this remake will need to keep up with modern times and modern issues.
And boy did it!
Like how Syfy’s reimagination ofBattlestar Galactica took a campy Star Wars/Star Trek knock off from the late 70s into a allegory on our current War on Terror, the new version of Lost In Space gave us a hardened look at family life, betrayals, war, and just having a rough time in a new world, almost the immigrant experience.
Sparing no cash, Netflix’s modern update of the classic show gives us a completely different Robinson family. First off, their oldest daughter Judy (Taylor Russell) is black having been matriarch Maureen’s child from a previous relationship, meaning that we’re dealing with a blended family, much like families of the current age. Some of the roles also have changed. John (Toby Stephens) is no longer an astrophysicist, but he’s a military commander, used to dealing with serious problems of the world via his gun. Maureen (Molly Parker) is not a biochemist, but she is instead the aerospace engineer and one of the leaders of the Jupiter mission. John and Maureen are also in the process of getting a divorce when they go on this expedition. Don West (Ignacio Serricchio) is not only Latino, he is no longer the brave military pilot he was from the old show, but instead, a Han Solo-ish smuggler that tries his best to look out for only himself, but does have a heart of gold and does the right thing from time to time. Penny (Mina Sundwal) has a love/hate relationship with older sister Judy, but she’s at the age when hormones are raging hard as she eyes one of the fellow colonists. Oh, and in this one, there are more families traveling besides theirs. In addition to just the changes in regards to their roles, there are changes in attitudes. The family is a little grayer in their behaviors. They don’t mind toeing the line between right and wrong if it’s for the sake of helping out their family.
When an object called the “Christmas Star” crashes into Earth, mankind has to start exploring the stars and have a more hospitable planet. Through a rigorous process, people are selected to board a ship called “The Resolute” which housing many other ships called Jupiters. As the lucky people prepare to head off in search of a new planet that will help keep humanity thriving, something terrible happens onboard The Resolute, forcing the colonists to evacuate and crash on a new, unexplored planet.
The family is immediately tested when they harsh land on the harsh planet. Because the family has been preparing for this trip, they all do what they need to do in order to try to survive when their ship the Jupiter 2 crashes into a frozen lake, where oldest child Judy suffers from PTSD after being frozen in the lake. This is when Will (Maxwell Jenkins) happens upon Robot. In this new version, Robot isn’t a man-made sentient assistant for the family, but…. Something else. Robot and Will have a relationship that is similar to the original series, but the otherworldly origins help develop the mythology of the new series. Even him saying “Danger Will Robinson” is no longer friendly, it’s almost a scary warning. Of course, Robot is a fresh CGI update and no longer the comical “man in suit” from the original, but a shape-changing, seven foot tall, super-strong Terminator-esque figure.
While there are many colonists who survive the crash onto the hostile planet, none other stand out like “Dr. Smith” (Parker Posey) who is far more villainous than the original version of the character. This version of Doctor Smith is a woman, who manages to lie, cheat, and steal her way onto the expedition, and when they are about to crash, steals the identity of the real doctor. Posey plays the role with brilliant insanity and cunning manipulation that allows her to get out of any tough spot with ease. While we the audience know that she’s the villain, the Robinsons nor any of the other colonists know that she’s the one they need to keep an eye on.
One thing the show does that’s interesting, is give us backstory via flashbacks. They aren’t (sometimes) tedious flashbacks like how Lost used to give is. We literally start the sow in the middle of them about to crash into the planet. The flashbacks give the audience a semblance of what’s going on, their history, as well as some character motivations. Doctor Smith even gets her own flashback to tell you about just how screwed up she is in the head. As interesting as the flashbacks are, one of the disappointing things is their abrupt stopping halfway through the show. It’s as if the producers did a focus test after a certain number of episode and the research showed that everyone hated it, and it’s nowhere to be found in the later episodes of the inaugural season. Another thing that may grind your gears, is the Robinson family panache for getting themselves into all sorts of trouble, but then MacGyvering their way out of the problem at the last minute.
The heart of the show is with the Robinson family, who even though have a series of problems with each other (divorce, PTSD, lying, leaving your family to go on assignment on purpose, etc), are the key ingredient of the show, especially Will Robinson. Usually, child actors aren’t always the best, but hey, we’re in the age of Stranger Things, nowadays kids can act circles around adults. Young Will may be too trusting of Dr. Smith at times, and not fully realizing that his control over Robot is the equivalent of a 9-year-old having the codes to a nuclear missile, but Maxwell Jenkins does a great job of showing the innocence of a young child in search of respect and love anywhere he can get it.
Is Lost In Space worth 10 hours of your life? You betcha. While the show takes a narrative tone completely different than the original, which is bound to anger purists, don’t get it twisted, like the Battlestar Galactica re-imagination to a more contemporary time, the attitudes of our current age are well captured in the new version of the show, but it’s still completely about the Robinson family, this time the family has their own warts that you will learn about, yet still like them.
For a while Pixar delighted in keeping sequels to their most beloved films to a minimum, the one exception being Toy Story. But then in rapid succession they became a sequel churning machine, probably at Disney’s behest, and it would be fair to say at least some of the magic was lost as a result. It took Pixar fifteen years to finally get around to The Incredibles 2, and while there’s good reason to be skeptical everything we’ve seen suggests the wait will have been worth it.
A brand new trailer has arrived and it looks like the superhero family story Fantastic Four wishes it was. The super-powered Parr family are dealing with loads of new challenges as mom Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) springs into action while her husband Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) embraces his domestic side taking care of the kids, including newly powered up baby Jack-Jack. We also see their best buddy Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), fashion designer to the stars Edna Mode (voiced by director Brad Bird), and new character Winston Deavor (Bob Odenkirk) who looks like he has potential to be a bad guy. Here’s the synopsis:
In “Incredibles 2,” Helen is called on to lead a campaign to bring Supers back, while Bob navigates the day-to-day heroics of “normal” life at home with Violet, Dash and baby Jack-Jack—whose superpowers are about to be discovered. Their mission is derailed, however, when a new villain emerges with a brilliant and dangerous plot that threatens everything. But the Parrs don’t shy away from a challenge, especially with Frozone by their side. That’s what makes this family so Incredible.
It’s hard to get me to dislike anything with Jenny Slate in it, but writer/director Brian Shoaf has pulled it off with stunning efficiency. The oddly-named Aardvark doesn’t have squat to do with aardvarks, not that anyone would think it should, but it doesn’t have much to do with anything else, either. Ostensibly a film about mental illness, it is instead about the quirky love triangle that forms between a dangerously incompetent therapist, her unstable patient, and his TV star brother. While there could be some solid comic/dramatic tension to be mined from that scenario, Aardvark is too poorly written and stagnant to do so.
Slate stars as Emily, the aforementioned therapist, er, “licensed clinical social worker”, who probably should have that title removed post haste. Her chief patient is Josh (Zachary Quinto), a troubled guy with serious mental health issues. Some might call him quirky, but he’s always teetering on the edge of something violent, and has begun seeing people who may or may not actually exist. His problems seem to stem from his estranged brother Craig (Jon Hamm), a TV star who is supposedly “one of the great talents”, although Emily has never heard of the guy. Then again she doesn’t watch too much TV. Not sure why, she doesn’t seem to be studying up on her chosen field, and there’s some questionable history of a sexual nature in her background that’s never fully explored.
Shoaf hints at it perhaps when she sleeps with Craig after knowing him for about 5 minutes, after the actor makes a random appearance at her home. Craig’s sudden return, along with the awkwardness between doctor and patient, only exacerbates Josh’s condition. He thinks he’s been seeing Craig every day for years, disguised as various people he encounters. He may even be the pretty young woman (Sheila Vand) who has taken a strange fondness to Josh.
We’re invited to speculate about the possibility any or all of these characters are figments of someone’s imagination. Shoaf writes and stages each conversation in such a stilted manner none of them appear to be real, and there is virtually no insight into Josh’s mental illness and how family dysfunction have contributed to them. But that goes unexplored other than a handful of poorly-explained, austere flashbacks to a single moment in Josh and Craig’s childhood, and yes it does involve an aardvark. None of it adds up in a way that makes us understand who these characters are. Shoaf has wasted an opportunity to tackle an issue that millions of people struggle with, but he’s also flushed away the talents of Slate, Hamm, and Quinto who are all stuck in this soulless and meaningless rut. If only Aardvark were also a figment of the imagination, then it would be easier to forget what a waste of 90 minutes it was.
We’re happy to offer our DC readers the chance to win a pair of Run Of Engagement (ROE) passes for Beirut, starring Jon Hamm and Rosamund Pike. The film was written by Tony Gilroy and directed by Brad Anderson.
SYNOPSIS: Caught in the crossfires of civil war, CIA operatives (Rosamund Pike, Dean Norris) must send a former U.S. diplomat (Jon Hamm) to Beirut to negotiate for the life of a friend he left behind.
The passes are valid Monday-Thursday at Landmark Theatres’ Atlantic Plumbing and E Street Cinema locations beginning on April 16th. The first 10 readers to email me at punchdrunktrav@gmail.com with their name and mailing address will win. Please put “Beirut ROE” in the subject line.
