Crawl, Hurricane Heist, and now the action-thriller Force of Nature. Is this going to be the thing now? Just doing some random genre shit and setting it against the backdrop of a raging hurricane? Well, at least this one has Mel Gibson shooting at folks, I guess. But there’s already a great deal of controversy, and it doesn’t have anything to do with Gibson or co-star Emile Hirsch. Ok, not all of it is about them.
Force of Nature stars Gibson, Hirsch, and Kate Bosworth, all three in…well, not the best stages of their careers? Gibson has definitely bounced back but it’s been a very long time since Into the Wild and Superman Returns. Geezus, I had to pick my brain to remember Bosworth was once actually Lois Lane. Anyway, the film stars Gibson as a retired detective who teams up with his Bosworth’s doctor and Hirsch’s disgraced cop to battle a gang of thieves. At the same time they must escape their apartment building before a hurricane leaves the entire city flooded. This looks pretty dumb, but could be worth a watch if looking to flip the brain off for a spell.
So the push-back Force of Nature is getting has to do with it being set in Puerto Rico where over 4000 people died due to Hurricane Maria. It also doesn’t help that you have a bunch of “good” white people killing all those “bad” Puerto Ricans. Twitter has been lit up over the last week with complaints the movie is tone-deaf. I’ll wait and see it for myself before deciding, but the trailer ain’t pretty.
The film is directed by Michael Polish, known for smaller, quieter films such as Big Sur and The Astronaut Farmer. He’s also Bosworth’s husband, which explains their frequent collaborations.
If you aren’t offended by the presence of the controversial Gibson and Hirsch, Force of Nature hits VOD, Bluray, and DVD on June 30th.
I'm not Puerto Rican, but that #ForceOfNature movie is fucked up. Not only is it exploiting a recent event that killed thousands, with effects still felt today, it has racist elements and a white main cast. The least they could've done is cast a Puerto Rican lead actor
Approximately 4,645 people died because of this hurricane. Approximately, because it was bad enough we don't even have exact numbers. People buried their dead in their backyards. People were without food, water, homes, electricity, for MONTHS.
This is not an okay movie to make.
— THE FUTURE IS BULLETPROOF (@pielisse007) May 18, 2020
The Jurassic World franchise has been gigantic for Universal, reeling in nearly $2B over the course of two movies. But we’re coming down to the end of this trilogy with Jurassic World: Dominion, a film that will combine the current cast with the original Jurassic Park one with Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum. So what next? Well, it should come as no surprise that this won’t be the conclusion to anything, just the start of the next evolution.
The finale of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has dinosaurs loose all across the land, but that’s only just the beginning, or so says producer Frank Marshall. Speaking with Collider, he shot down any idea with a firm “no” when asked if Dominion would be seen as an endpoint, saying that “It’s the start of a new era.” He added, “The dinosaurs are now on the mainland amongst us, and they will be for quite some time, I hope.”
So what are we looking at here? Rise of the Planet of the Dinosaurs? That’s what it certainly seems like, right? This might be the final movie featuring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and other familiar cast members, with future movies jumping way ahead in time just like the Planet of the Apes films did. A dystopian vision of a world ruled by dinosaurs (talking dinosaurs????? Is there a T-rex version of Caesar out there?) is pretty damn cool, and not like what I ever would’ve thought way back when Jurassic Park first opened its doors in 1993.
Jurassic World: Dominion opens June 11th 2021, directed by Colin Trevorrow.
I’ve always been a sucker for a good Brit-crime drama. Guy Ritchie is one of my favorite filmmakers without question and if your movie stars Vinnie Jones? I’m in. That’s all to say that Villain was a no-brainer for me to watch. Honestly, if you take a look at Eddie Franks (perfectly played by Craig Fairbrass) at the right angle he looks a lot like Vinnie Jones. I think it’s the gentlemanly factor that brings me in to these movies. The honor among thieves you see in British crime films that you just know is in no way reflective of how it really is on the streets of the rainy city. When it comes to crime films, there’s only so many stories you can tell. Villain chooses the trope of being pulled back into a life you desperately wanted to escape and while the term “trope” usually carries a negative connotation the film uses the bones of the trope and spins it into it’s own unique thing. Eddie Franks is a once upon a time tough guy who, after being released from a stint in prison, needs to resort to his old, violent, ways to save both his drug-addled brother and the family business, a pub called The Green Man, from a viscous mob boss called Roy Garrett (Robert Glennister).
So reading that brief synopsis this sounds just like any other movie wherein the good guy has to be bad one more time. The thing is Villain, by way of Fairbrass’s performance, manages to pull this off in a way that, while not entirely new, feels deeper then I was expecting. While Garrett and his right hand Johnny are the film’s main antagonists the real battle you see is between old Eddie and new Eddie. You can tell that Eddie had reasons for leaving his old life but when forced back into that world you can see that new Eddie is concerned about how easily the old Eddie is taken back over. That internal struggle and fight against who we want to be and who we naturally are is what takes this otherwise standard action flick into a level or two above. There’s a dirty feeling to the whole thing, rather then glorifying this return to form the grim and gritty execution of Eddie’s actions make you realize that Yes, he is better off staying away but how much does he want to fight? The performances hammer it home but the script is where the gold is but fair warning to any folks not used to hearing a cockney accent, you may want to pop those subtitles on. It’s not quiet to the level of Brad Pitt in Snatch but there’s a few sections where it gets close in terms of understanding.
While not a classic in the making, Villain delivers on what it promises and then some. Far from a throw-away action flick Philip Barantini directs the film with a deft hand and solid eye for what creates tension and conflict. While Craig Fairbrass’s reserved tough guy Eddie is the highlight you’re hard-pressed to find an actor not delivering on what their character was given. Add to this the grimy yet beautiful back-drop of London’s East End and you have a hell of a good way to spend 1 hour and 37 minutes.
First of all, we apologize for the technical difficulties connecting with Star Wars sfx legend Nick Maley. We will reschedule him for another episode. In the meantime, here is a link to Nick’s Patreon account. Whatever can be done to help this true icon in his time of need and save his world-renowned museum will be appreciated! www.patreon.com/FYSF
On this week’s show….what else? #ReleasetheSnyderCut wins! #ReleasetheSnyderCut wins!!! Zack Snyder’s Justice League is real. It’s happening. It blew up the Internet this week. It might blow up Warner Bros. when all is said and done. They’ve opened up a bag of worms and now the fanboys are running the asylum!
As stated last week, the TV adaptation of Snowpiercer was seeming to deter a little bit from the class-warfare struggle from Bong Joon-ho’s pre-Parasite adaptation of the French graphic novel “Le Transperceneige” in favor of a serialized police procedural. Basically, the show was promising to have some sort of “Murder on the Polar Express” vibe and not factor too much of the classism that made the film so beloved.
However, episode two of Snowpiercer: “Prepare to Brace” reverts back to the issues surrounding those in the tail section of the train as well as continuing to solve the mystery murder aboard the train as it circles the globe. The episode opens with the aftermath of the tailed section’s failed rebellion as members of the Wilford Corporation heads to the tail section to deliver some penance. Just as they are about to “freeze off” a child’s arm (just as was done in the film, just not to children), the child’s mother volunteers to take her daughter’s place as we get to see how the “taillies” are subjected to brutal reprisals. This allows us to see just how cold the outside world is, as it only takes a minute to render the poor woman’s arm useless as it is then shattered off with a mallet. But breaking off frozen limbs is not something that will break their spirits. In fact, they probably are ready to start planning for yet another rebellion.
One big nitpick of the concept of Snowpiercer is: how do you build a self-sustaining train to be able to circle the globe indefinitely, especially when there are no longer any resources to use to fix anything (no new electricity or diesel gas)? And what happens if there’s a problem on the tracks? Glad to say, episode 2 gives us a dose of reality is all sorts of issues arise that could pretty much doom the remainder of humanity. An outside avalanche early on has a cascading effect on many of the internal workings of the train, and if they don’t get fixed quickly everyone’s in jeopardy. Last week’s big reveal that Melanie (Jennifer Connelly) who is known as “the voice of the train” is really “Mr. Wilford,” the all-knowing and all-powerful head of the train (who was played by Ed Harris in the original film), or at least Mr. Wilford is a ceremonial title at this point for the leader. With her role being much bigger than “hospitality,” she needs to make sure the train literally runs on time and gets everything resolved. The system of putting prisoners in hibernation is failing, and there are rough tracks ahead.
Oh yeah, there’s still a murderer onboard Snowpiercer who’s hacking off penises on the train and Layton (Daveed Diggs), the only living police officer on Earth (and fellow Tallie) has been special privileges to be able to leave the tail section and explore the full train (with an escort of course). Now he gets to work his magic and he goes about solving the case. First off, it shows that as prepared Mr. Wilford was when creating and staffing the train, certain things were not factored in, like police officers and doctors to perform autopsies, as the one on staff wasn’t 100% sure what she was doing. Lucky for her, Layton’s seasoned enough to determine the cause of death just by examining the body. Layton’s working two angles though, he’s trying to get information to solve the case, but at the same time, he has to slyly gain insight to areas of the train he isn’t privy to, areas that with knowledge of he could help give the Tailies relevant intelligence to launch a successful rebellion. Unfortunately, it’s not an easy task to try and get details about other cars while interviewing possible witnesses, with Bess monitoring his every move and quick to tell witnesses his questions aren’t relevant to the case.
While the original movie had the heroes race from the tail section to the front of the train quickly (meaning we barely could learn about each of the 1000+ train cars), Snowpiercer takes its time, which allows for more worldbuilding to show us all the ins and outs of the train. We get to see the uber-rich as they are discussing all the latest gossip pertaining to the murder investigation as well as show their privilege when a lawyer (who could at this point very well be a suspect since everyone’s a suspect) volunteers to be a part of the investigation even though the woman’s daughter reminds her she has no expertise on murder investigations. Having Layton investigate and interview witnesses of all sorts of different social scales of the train not only gives him a quick culture shock, but also lets us know that the train definitely has a middle class in addition to the tail and super-rich sections. Layton also quickly knows that all he has to do is name drop Mr. Wilford for obedience and respect. But him asking a witness about noodles gives him a hunch for what the murder really might be about.
His journey to the “night car” also expands the world a little as the train has an almost underground social scene complete with entertainment, and even prostitution. In the night car, he runs into his ex-wife Zara who lives there now and offers a “therapy session” in a water-encased part of the train. The tranquility of the water surrounding him allows him to meditate on the past, which naturally has him think of better times, when he proposed to her and the two were madly in love. As the two sit in the meditation room, flames once again spark and the two make love. This will most certainly lead to a problem with fellow Tallie Josie who it seems is his newfound love interest and is in the tail section taking care of his son Miles while he is investigating the murder. Speaking of Miles, he has been selected for the apprenticeship program to leave the tail section. Fans of the movie kinda know what lies ahead for children selected by “the lottery” and suffice to say, it’s probably not good for them. This is also happening without Layton’s knowledge.
Now with a clear head, Layton can focus on the case and as they do the autopsy on the body, it’s determined that the deceased was hacked up using kitchen tools. After a discussion about cannibalism (in which they say the Tailies are cannibals, which Layton confirms, or does he?), this leads him to think that someone in the butcher car is responsible. After being refused access unless they had a notary (probably the train’s version of a warrant). Before he and Bess can return with the said notary, an avalanche hits the train and causes a seismic event for everyone. The rumbling causes one of the butchers to accidentally hit a window with a cattle air gun, causing the window to shatter, not only freezing and killing the butcher staff, but also freezing the cattle and destroying a big food supply for the train. In the aftermath, we are also introduced to “breach worker” Bojan Boscovic (played by Van Helsing’s Aleks Paunovic), who seems to have a weird affection for the freezing temperature. Because the cattle area is sealed off, Layton and Bess are still able to search the freezer, which wasn’t affected and they come across the missing legs of the murder victims.
Continuing to sprinkle bits of the class struggle the Tailies have to endure, one of the tail members is forced to perform an oral service on brakeman Oz to secure medical supplies for the woman whose arm was frozen off. This scene and a scene in the night car helps showcase a little bit of LGBT representation on the show. That, Melanie’s decision to cut off supplies to the tail, and the dilemma of having to let some of their children be drafted into the apprenticeship lottery show how little control over their lives they have. While the murder mystery is taking center stage for the show’s overall narrative plot, it’s still trying to maintain the roots of Bong Joon-ho’s original film.
Layton realizes that the butchers didn’t commit the murders. He argues that if they just wanted to “retail” the victims for meat, why brutally torture and castrate the victims. We now have a serial killer on our hands. Bess listens to his argument and also wants justice instead of just a speedy outcome. Layton also utilizes an object he stole from the butcher car to be able to pick his lock and find a way to deliver a note detailing car intelligence to fellow Taillies who happen to be walking in his car for work. He causes a scene and gets assaulted by the guards in the hope of ensuring the note can be seen by them, but he isn’t successful. When confronted afterward by Melanie afterward, he tells her of the plight of the tail and the class imbalance, while she argues about survival and order. Just when it seems as though his role as the train’s detective is done, he reveals to her that the murder victim was a “Wilford rat” who was passing information along and Melanie needs to know what secrets were passed. The two’s partnership is far from over.
Grab your familiars and close your blinds. What We Do In The Shadow‘s is coming back for a third season.
FX renewed its vampire comedy today after strong multi-platform ratings during its second season. The midseason pick-up means that the network’s faith in the comedy isn’t waining. “Week in and week out, the producers, writers, and our amazing cast continue to make one of the funniest and best comedy series on TV,’ said FX’s President of Original Programming Nick Grad said in a released statement.
Based on the 2014 New Zealand comedy by Oscar-winner Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, the show follows a bunch of vampires from the motherland living in modern-day New York. It stars Kayvan Novak, Matt Berry, Natasia Demetriou, Harvey Gullién, and Mark Proksch. Waititi and Clement have both returned to the show in their film roles as well as producers and writers.
While I prefer the film, this is great news for comedy fans, especially when so many shows’ renewals are up in the air due to the coronavirus. You can catch What We Do In The Shadows on FX on Wednesdays at 10 pm and with a subscription on Hulu.
News keeps trickling out over Zack Snyder’s Justice League, and that’s to be expected. This is not only the biggest story of the week, but one of the biggest in years because of what it says about the power fans can wield.
The release of the Snyder Cut does have some wondering where this could lead. Is Zack Snyder coming back to the DCEU? Will the film have any impact on the cinematic universe that has thrived since Snyder’s absence? And will the $20M-$30M Snyder has been given to complete production include additional filming?
According to Umberto Gonzalez at TheWrap, Snyder did ask for additional shooting with the cast and WB said “Nah, playa.”
“There’s not going to be any reshoots of any kind with any actors,” Gonzalez explains. “It’s just additional dialogue. Here’s something that hasn’t been reported yet: [Snyder] did want to shoot and he wanted to do additional photography but HBO Max said no, that’s not happening.”
“We’ll give you money for post-production, for special effects, for scoring, and even ADR but no reshoots of any kind on this movie.”
And that makes sense, of course. Not only would it be virtually impossible to gather all of those stars under the best of circumstances, but it would be more difficult right now with the coronavirus. It would certainly have added months of additional time, and that’s not something HBO Max was willing to give.
As for what Snyder’s Justice League could lead to, such as spinoffs or sequels, that’s also looking unlikely…
“This movie is basically one and done,” Gonzalez says. “This is to…close the loop, to finish the story. Maybe not the whole story, cause he did have like a three to five-picture plan. But this Snyder-verse, I’ll call it, will end with the Snyder Cut. Don’t expect any spinoffs for Batman or with Ben Affleck as Batman or any of that.”
I still hold out hope Snyder could return for a Man of Steel sequel, as he and Henry Cavill do remain on good terms with the studio.
Zack Snyder’s Justice League hits HBO Max in 2021, and Ben Affleck is at least trying to act excited about it.
In 2015, Czech painter Barbora Kysilkova had two paintings stolen from her at an art exhibition in Oslo. Worth about 20,000 euro, taken in broad daylight and carefully removed from their frames, the loss of the paintings didn’t leave the Kysilkova with thoughts of revenge or anger, but one of curiosity. Wanting her work returned, she follows her case into the courtroom, meeting one of the thieves, Karl-Bertil Nordland. Instead of screaming and crying, Kysilkova asks to paint him. This sparks one of the most complex and intricate relationships on film, resulting in the aptly titled documentary The Painter and The Thief.
Documentarian Benjamin Ree followed Kysilkova and Nordland for three years, through their meeting, tensions breakups with partners, financial trouble, drug addiction, and even jail. What’s captured are two very unique people, both far more complex than the labels of “painter” or “thief” or any other name society might bestow upon the two. And that’s the point, isn’t it?
Disappearing as much as a documentarian can, Ree lets his subjects define themselves and each other by their actions and behavior, not their pasts. Though Kysilkova has this immense joy and curiosity inside of her that drives this need to understand Nordland, there’s an angst and darkness gnawing there that shows itself in reckless behavior. Why she would immediately ask to paint him, instead of resulting to anger is a fascinating character study, making you want to know her. Nordland is extremely troubled but also extremely endearing, his face a remnant of childhood lost with piercing boyish eyes. Ree doesn’t let any judgment past his lens and instead treats his subjects with a natural almost voyeuristic filter.
Ree is a master storyteller, and at 30, it’s impossible to think about where he will take the genre in the decades to come. The film premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, earning a Special Jury Award for Creative Storytelling. His first film Magnus, about the chess champion, was also praised when it was released. To think this is his second feature and he already has such a grasp on capturing the human condition in such a cinematic way, is astonishing. His narrative and stark approach to documentary filmmaking bring out an inner humanity rarely seen on film.
Easily one of the most moving and intimate pieces of cinema this year, The Painter and The Thief won’t just be on your mind long after viewing, but possibly embedded in your soul.
The Painter and The Thief is available for purchase through iTunes, google play, and on-demand and for streaming on Hulu.
Warner Bros. may not be ready for the hurricane they unleashed by giving in to the #ReleasetheSnyderCut crowd. Zack Snyder’s Justice League hitting HBO Max next year is the culmination of a years-long effort by fans to sway the company’s mind, and now that it’s worked they are looking for more. So what’s next on their hit list? David Ayer’s Suicide Squad.
Over the last few days, WB and parent company AT&T have been flooded with calls for the original cut of Suicide Squad, which was scrapped in favor of the messy version we got in theaters. And you know what? They’re getting a response, too, from AT&T’s official Twitter account which posted a Suicide Squad GIF captioned “Anything is possible. All it takes is a little magic.”
Don’t be surprised if fans get what they’re calling for here, too. Ayer has often expressed his desire to see his original vision of Suicide Squad released. Unlike Snyder’s Justice League, Ayer completed his movie and it was only in the editing that those in power seized control and drastically changed it. Released in 2016, the film went on to be a box office hit, and as I always like to remind people, an Oscar winner, but it has been absolutely killed critically. Most of that is due to the haphazard editing and nonsensical finale that destroyed what was, I think, a pretty enjoyable movie up to that point.
We’ll see what happens, but Ayer is all down for this.
It is simply not my call or my IP. I love WB – it’s always been my ‘home studio’ I fully respect and support the incredible path the DCU is taking under their stewardship. My cut of Suicide Squad may always be just a rumor. And that’s just fine. https://t.co/Prlp8bPgy4
Focus Features has been goin’ hard in moving their theatrical lineup over to PVOD. EMMA., Never Rarely Sometimes Always, and next week’s The High Note have all seen their releases altered due to the coronavirus’ impact on theaters, and now you can add Jon Stewart’s political comedy, Irresistible.
It’s been clear by the complete lack of promos that Irresistible was never going to debut on May 29th as originally planned. Focus Features has instead pulled its theatrical release and chosen to release on Premium VOD on June 26th. The film stars Steve Carell, Rose Byrne, Chris Cooper, Mackenzie Davis, Topher Grace, Debra Messing, and Natasha Lyonne. The story follows a Democratic political strategist trying to help a retired veteran’s mayoral campaign in a small, conservative Wisconsin town.
A new featurette for Irresistible has been released as part of the announcement. You can check it out below.
