Roanoke Times reporter Beth Macy has covered on the opioid epidemic for nearly a decade. It was her book Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors and the Drug Company that Addicted America that outraged Game Change and Empire writer Danny Strong enough to think about making it into a TV show.
“Once I started researching the crimes of Purdue Pharma it was a rabbit hole of disbelief. I could not believe the extent in which they lied, manipulated, and misbranded their drug,” he told me in a Zoom call. That outrage was channeled into Hulu’s Dopesick, a new miniseries starring Michael Keaton, Peter Sarsgaard, Will Poulter, Rosario Dawson and Kaitlyn Dever.
The resulting eight-episode series covers all sides of the opioid crisis from the doctors, to the patients, to the DEA agents, to the attorneys trying to find answers, to Purdue Pharma’s ringleader Richard Sacklers. It is not only an unflinching look at the crisis but one filled with surprising levity and true crime flair, all of which I discussed with Macy and Strong below.
You can stream Dopesick on Hulu now, and check out all of our coverage here.
Mothers of the Revolution is an all new feature-length documentary that tells the story of the extraordinary women/mothers behind the Greenham Common Peace Camp in Europe. On September 5th, 1981 and rapidly reaching the height of the USA vs. Russia Cold War, a small group of women caught between two heated powerhouses came together to change the world. Desperate and fearful of pending nuclear war, these women of resilience marched from Wales to Berkshire to protest over nuclear weapons being sent to locations throughout Europe but more specifically, the RAF Greenham Common. A new location acquired by the U.S. to store these mass weapons of destruction that just so happens to be within a 50 mile radius of Moscow, Russia. The Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp that followed, challenged world leaders, altering the course of history. They went on to inspire millions as the world’s first and biggest female-only demonstration, preceded only by the suffragettes. Even finding themselves serving in the same prison as their previous suffragette pioneers.
Mothers of the Revolution is directed by Briar March (Coffin Club, There Once Was An Island) and produced by prolific filmmaker Matthew Metcalfe (The Dead Lands, McLaren) and Leela Menon (Born Racer, Wayne). This fantastic documentary is narrated by Glenda Jackson, features interviews with key participants including Julie Christie and Rebecca Johnson, archive footage, and phenomenal dramatic reconstructions from the Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp that takes you through one of the longest protests in history. Since the initial 1981 kitchen table talks, thousands of women and supporters from around the world came together at Greenham Common to take a committed stand against nuclear proliferation.
Forty years ago, these everyday human beings began with that first step on their march to becoming the unsung heroes of a movement that ultimately changed the world. The Greenham Common Campaigners pushed every line, even connecting with Soviet counterparts, like the ever so courageous, Olga Medvedkov. Together these women exposed the horrific practice of the Bikini Atoll tests, which dropped nuclear bombs near the Marshall Islander people and peacefully broke Greenhamn compound several times to make themselves known and delay the arrival of these weapons. Global Press painted these women as hooligans and transients even going as far as trying to label THEM as terrorists. The Greenham Common Peace Camp women were often met with male mockery, harassment, and brutality for their dedicated commitment but these kick ass women stood their ground; even dangerously negotiating for peace talks with US and Soviet top political officials. A personal, spiritual, and sacrificial journey that for some of these women would have a considerably emotional, more often, heartbreaking impact on their lives. A must see documentary that will keep you on the edge of your seat, eager to know what happens next, and even reaching a point where you want to stand by their side in the fight. There should absolutely be a Remembrance Day for them and their brave and resilient actions. Mothers of the Revolution is playing now in Digital platforms. Go watch it!
Mothers of the Revolution is on Digital Platforms October 19th.
For his upcoming film about Atomic Bomb creator J. Robert Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan turned to someone he has worked with frequently, Cillian Murphy. Bringing back a familiar face is a good way to followup his previous film, Tenet, which received mixed reviews and similar box office. But Nolan is also bringing in someone he’s not had the opportunity to work with before, and instantly becomes the biggest name in front of the camera: Emily Blunt.
Deadline reports Emily Blunt has joined Cillian Muphy in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film. Details on it are slim, but we know Murphy will play Oppenheimer, who took part in the creation of the Atomic Bomb, with Blunt playing his wife.
On the surface, this does not sound like a very good role. Nolan films tend to underserve their female characters, but if anyone can make the most of very little it’s Blunt.
It’s been a busy year for Blunt with two blockbuster films in Jungle Cruise and A Quiet Place 2. She’s working on a sequel to the former and will team up with co-star Dwayne Johnson for an Amazon movie about detective Kate Warne.
So. How are you doin’ Marvel-ites? Still upset that Disney moved all of those Phase 4 Marvel movies you were anticipating back a few months? Unlike previous times Disney shuffled the deck like this, the reason can’t be traced back to COVID-19. Kevin Feige, speaking at the world premiere of Eternals, explained the decision in the most mundane way possible.
“It’s production shifts and changes, and because we have so many slots, we can just shift slots,” Feige said. “So all of the Marvel movie slots are the same, we are just shifting which movies are coming out. Strange has moved six weeks, so instead of being three months between Marvel movies, there will be five months. And I think we can all handle that.”
Five months is a long time, but he’s not wrong. The dates are the same, the movies a little bit different. That said, this frees up Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness from a March showdown with The Batman. That’s a fight we’d all like to see but not like that.
The good news is that when these movies do arrive, theaters should be mostly back in full swing. And we’ve still got Eternals coming up on November 5th, followed by Spider-Man: No Way Home on December 17th. Those films weren’t touched.
The momentum is definitely on Kenneth Branagh’s side this awards season. His deeply personal coming-of-age film Belfast has been the belle of the ball just about everyone it’s gone, including our own Middleburg Film Festival where it just won the Audience Award for narrative feature. That follows its People’s Choice Award victory at Toronto. Focus Features knows what they’ve got, and have released another trailer for the clear Best Picture frontrunner.
Starring Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds and Jude Hill, Belfast is a semi-autobiographical drama that follows one precocious boy and his family in turbulent Northern Ireland of the 1960s. Branagh not only directed but wrote the script, basing the story on events in his own life that shaped the man he is now.
Belfast opens in theaters on November 12th, and you don’t want to miss it. I saw it a second time just last night at a special event held in DC with Branagh in attendance (giving the same speech he gave at Middleburg), and I think my review undersells just how good this movie makes you feel.
Back in 2014, mega-producer Bill Pohlad took to the camera and directed Love & Mercy, a terrific biopic on Beach Boys member Dennis Wilson. Now Pohlad is back with his next feature, this one a star-studded drama about another eclectic musical act, only this one was mostly unknown until very recently.
Pohlad will direct Dreamin’ Wild, and if that title means anything to you then you are probably a ’70s rock aficionado. The film is based on the story of Donnie and Joe Emerson, brothers from Fruitland, Washington who self-produced and self-released their debut album Dreamin’ Wild in 1979. The album, a mix of rock, R&B, funk, soul, and country, went largely unknown until it was discovered by chance in 2008 and turned the siblings into stars.
The film will center on the brothers following Dreamin’ Wild‘s rediscovery, and the memories it dredges up. Casey Affleck and Noah Jupe will play versions of Donnie, with Walton Goggins and Jack Dylan Grazer as Joe. Also in the cast are Zooey Deschanel, Beau Bridges, and Chris Messina.
Filming on Dreamin’ Wild has already started in Spokane, Washington.
The adult relationships one forms as a child are often the ones that shape us. C’mon C’mon, the newest feature from 20th Century Women director Mike Mills, shows us that those intergenerational bonds are often just as important to the adult and reveal our truest humanity.
Joaquin Phoenix plays an unmarried radio journalist who hasn’t talked to his sister (Gaby Hoffman) or his nephew (Woody Norman) in over a year. On the first anniversary of their mother’s death, his Johnny calls Hoffman’s Viv to check in. She mentions that she needs to go up to San Francisco to help figure out if her estranged husband with bipolar disorder (Scoot McNairy) is in danger.
Johnny offers to take his nephew Jesse for a few days and is basically given a crash course in parenting. Jesse (Woody Norman) is a precocious nine-year old, full of curiosity and his own agenda. He is fascinated by his uncle’s recording equipment. He isn’t afraid to ask uncomfortable questions like where his dad is or why Johnny is single. His feelings are big and black and white, like the movie.
Phoenix permanently leaves Joker behind to play Johnny. It’s his most natural role yet, with a documentary/Cinema Vérité acting style. The chemistry between him and Norman is at the heart of C’mon C’mon and the young actor may be giving the year’s best performance. Both Hoffman and McNairy give brilliant performances as well.
While Mills’ latest venture could be describe as “cute” or “sweet,” he infuses a quiet sad trepidation into the film. As Johnny is forced to take Jesse on the road for work, the two experience the everyday hilarity and pain that comes with raising a child. From Jesse’s pretend orphan character, to running away in public, we see Johnny and Jesse’s relationship get tested and grow. C’mon C’mon is truly a bittersweet film – in every sense of the word.
The film opens with Phoenix asking kids different questions about the future. “What is one thing you’d change about yourself?” “What worries you?” “What do you think the future will look like?” These NPR style interviews are interspersed throughout C’mon C’mon to remind us of the legitimate fears these kids have for their world. Often, as Jessie insinuates, grown ups forget that children are actually people who don’t always want to follow the rules. Mike Mills has given us a gift to help us remember and have some childhood joy for 108 minutes.
C’mon C’mon will be released November 19. Watch the trailer below.
With a title like The Feast, Thanksgiving is the perfect time for IFC Midnight’s latest horror treat. A standout in the Midnighters section of this year’s SXSW, the Welsh horror comes from Doctor Who director Lee Haven Jones, and based on the new trailer it might give you second thoughts about holiday dinner.
It’s hard to tell what’s really going on, but the story follows a young server at an upscale dinner party in rural Wales. And look, there isn’t a lot that’s gory here, but this thing is still pretty gross, especially if you’re particular about what happens to your food before it gets to you. The film stars Annes Elwy, Lisa Palfrey, and Caroline Berry.
IFC Midnight will serve up The Feast on November 19th in theaters and VOD.
Introducing, Selma Blair is director Rachel Fleit’s debut documentary about a deeply intimate and powerful story of one woman’s journey of personal acceptance and resilience. Fleit follows respectable actress, Selma Blair, as she heroically reckons with her life and spirituality after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. MS is a chronic, typically progressive disease involving damage to the sheaths of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, whose symptoms may include numbness, impairment of speech, loss of muscular coordination, blurred vision, and severe fatigue. Director Rachel Fleit was the recipient of the first ever, and now annual, Women’s Fund Grant from Made in NY for Film & Television for her documentary short Ava & Bianca, about two female transgender cinematographers. The short went on to win the Best Documentary Short Film at the Bentonville Film Festival. Fleit has Alopecia and immediately took on this project when she discovered and admired how honest and monumental Blair’s journey was and how she refuses to let the disease take control of her life.
Selma Blair/Rachel Fleit
Selma Blair is a widely recognized actress who’s long standing career began with her comedic roles in pop culture classics in the early 2000s. She’s performed alongside Sarah Michelle Geller and Reese Witherspoon in Cruel Intentions and Legally Blonde. Blair has also worked with acclaimed directors Todd Solondanz and Guillermo del Toro on the Hell Boy franchise films. Additionally, Blair was named one of Time Magazine’s Person of The Year in 2017 as one of their Silence Breakers. In 2018, Selma Blair bravely went public via Instagram and told the world of her diagnosis with multiple sclerosis. This intimate documentary gives unflinching insight into her life as she struggles through the debilitating symptoms of MS all while striving to lovingly mother her young son Arthur and takes on undergoing stem-cell treatment. It’s a severely selective and complex process with promising results but can occasionally have fatal consequences. Stem-cell treatment is a painstaking process that begins with chemotherapy. Throughout the documentary film Blair reveals the toll it takes on her body while sharing her fears and feelings of mortality through a mix of humor and tears.
Introducing, Selma Blair explores the complexity of dealing with her disease, the role of her motherhood based on the intense and strict relationship she had with her own mother, and the collective fears/setbacks/questions that suffocate her own mortality. Selma introduces herself as the wonderful person fans have admired over the years; complete with her trademark wit and dark humor. The film beautifully documents the journey of her transition as she remarkably and openly shares the good, bad, and ugliness of this horrendous disease and the impact it plays in her livelihood. Selma has an old school Hollywood actress persona that draws her audience and has that eccentric characteristic that begs to want to be friends with her. The love she has for her son is admirable and incredible. You’ll laugh with Selma, you’ll cry with her, and you will look at her with a deeply renewed respect. She is a wonderful woman who is literally grinning and bearing it all with the hope and desire to spread awareness and love to those who have and/or will walk this path. Definitely a must-see film!
Introducing, Selma Blair is currently playing in theaters and will release on Discovery Plus, October 21st.
Cowboy Bebop is one of the most popular anime ever, but Netflix is set to introduce the space western to a whole new audience. A live-action series starring John Cho as Spike Spiegel, Mustafa Shakir as Jet Black, and Daniella Pineda as Faye Valentine is on the way next month, and if you though it would be just a normal everyday show, think again.
So far, we’ve seen a stylish, jazzy opening sequence for the series. And now, rather than a proper trailer, we’re treated to awesome short, Lost Session, which encompasses a number of different visual styles. It begins like something out of a 1970s blaxploitation, but adds comic book-style graphics, breaking of panel barriers, and more to go along with copious numbers of quips and bullets.
All of this goes to establish Cowboy Bebop‘s fun, playful energy. I can’t wait for the series to arrive on Netflix beginning November 19th. And if you’re interested in checking out the original anime, it comes to the streamer in just two days.
