Bhutanese filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji is looking to go two-for-two. His debut feature, 2019’s Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom, was Bhutan’s official entry for Best International Feature at the Oscars, and it made the cut as an Oscar nominee. Now Dorji is back with The Monk and the Gun, which Bhutan is also putting up for selection. Will this one reach the same critical heights?
Based on reviews out of Telluride and Middleburg, the answer is “yes”. The film is set in 2006 as Bhutan is facing winds of political change. A pair of monks are charged by an elderly Lama with gathering weapons. Meanwhile, an American antique dealer arrives in search a very specific weapon that the monks have come across.
The film stars Tandin Wangchuk, Harry Einhorn, Choeying Jatsho, and Kelsang Choejey. Dorji also wrote the script and produces.
Here’s the official synopsis: The Monk And The Gun captures the wonder and disruption as Bhutan becomes one of the world’s youngest democracies. Known throughout the world for its extraordinary beauty and its emphasis on Gross National Happiness, the remote Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan was the last nation to connect to the internet and television. And if that weren’t enough change, the King announced shortly afterwards that he would cede his power to the people via their vote and a new form of government: Democracy.
The Monk and the Gun hits theaters on February 2nd 2024.
It seems nowadays pretty much every movie has to do with the multiverse in some form. It’s kind of no surprise given that last year’s Best Picture winner was Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. DC’s tackled the multiverse on both the big and small screen, and Marvel’s pretty much going to tackle the multiverse for the next few years. With the multiverse becoming its own cinematic genre, it’s no surprise, yet kind of surprising that we are now delving into “faith-based” multiversal movies with Angel Studios (fresh off this year’s massive hit Sound of Freedom) latest film The Shift.
Church-going Wall Street finance guy (already an oxymoron) Kevin (Kristoffer Polaha) goes to a bar to drown his sorrows after losing his job, but instead meets the girl of his dreams Molly (Elizabeth Tabish) one fateful. The two hit it off and within the first ten minutes of The Shift, he’s in happy wedded bliss. Fast forward a few years and their marriage has become troubled in the aftermath of the death of their child. While driving home after work, Kevin and Molly are in an argument over household bills when Kevin gets into a car accident and then Everything changes for him though when he meets “The Benefactor” (Neal McDonough) in the aftermath.
The Benefactor is already talking to Kevin like he knows everything about him and invites Kevin to a nearby diner to give him an offer he can’t refuse. The Benefactor wants to recruit Kevin to become one of his “shifters,” multiversal agents who do The Benefactor’s bidding. In exchange for working for this mysterious man/devil, Kevin is promised rewards and riches beyond his imagination. Of course, Kevin laughs off this assumedly crazy person, but when The Benefactor uses his “deviator” (basically a smartwatch that can send people throughout the multiverse), Kevin is taken aback of course. The Benefactor offers Kevin the one thing he can’t do without: Molly. While Molly is his estranged wife in this reality, The Benefactor promises him a new and different Molly if he becomes one of his shifters.
Unlike all other versions of Kevin within the multiverse in The Shift, our Kevin is deeply religious and starts praying, which angers The Benefactor. By the way, The Shift is not hiding that The Benefactor is some version of Lucifer, because he DETESTS prayer, so much that he sends Kevin to a reality of his own making where prayer is outlawed, and everyone’s an atheist living under The Benefactor’s dystopian rule.
For the next five years, Kevin is living in this hellscape with the other people under The Benefactor’s rule enforced by his masked goons. During all this time, Kevin has never lost his faith. The Shift pretty much follows the story of the Book of Job as Kevin is the analog of Job where everything’s been taken from him (his riches, his humanity, his wife), but he still maintains his faith in God. Through those years, Kevin has become somewhat of a folk hero, helping people in what’s basically an atheist reality learn about the word of God. All at the same time, The Benefactor has a keen interest in Kevin and trying to break him from his belief in God. Through that time, he meets “underground” religious people including his closest friend Gabriel (Sean Astin) who are nervous about his continued faith, but also are interested in it as well.
The Shift tries its best to give us the rules of their multiverse, which adopts the multiverse rules from the TV show Fringe that for every choice we make, it creates another reality, which can be infinite. While this may seem like free will doesn’t exist, it’s actually how most multiverse concepts come from that makes the most sense. However at least in The Shift’s dystopian reality we spend most of our time in, the people there know that there is a multiverse, they even have illegal “viewing experiences” where people can pay to look at their doppelganger’s lives in other realities on a big screen, and that’s where Kevin sees “his” Molly from another reality and goes on a mission to try and find her and make things right with her, and The Benefactor isn’t too pleased with that.
Now making a faith-based movie surrounding such a scientific concept seems like it wouldn’t work, and truth be told, it mostly doesn’t work in The Shift. But let’s give credit where credit is due. Writer/director Brock Heasley took a big swing in his attempt at making a coherent story. However, this film is made for a certain built-in audience, mainly evangelical Christians who will go in droves to see The Shift. In addition, there is ABSOLUTELY NO SUBTLETY at all. The Christian themes might as well have a giant bullhorn preaching about the Book of Job while a hammer is beating you over the head about all the Christian themes. For goodness’ sake, there are cutaways just to give bible verses from the Book of Job throughout the film! If you aren’t already a part of the target audience, this overt preaching will probably be a turn-off.
There are also some great performances in The Shift. Neal McDonough continues to be his Damien Darhk character from Arrow in almost everything he does and is manacing as The Benefactor. The same goes for Sean Austin as he reminds you that he’s owed an Oscar for Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and an Emmy for Stranger Things. These two seem to be acting in a completely different movie compared to the rest of the cast. Unfortunately, Kristoffer Polaha as Kevin (who you may know from like 900 Hallmark movies) performance isn’t as strong as his supporting cast, which is tough because The Shift would be infinitely more believable if he gave a great performance, which unfortunately falls flat.
That said, The Shift had some promise. It valiantly tried to modernize the story of Job in an interesting and current way. Unfortunately, it needed to temper just a little bit from its overt Christian themes. That doesn’t mean it didn’t need to have any Christian elements in the movie, it could have gone The Book of Eli route and balanced out the Christian and modern story elements and made the film more enjoyable. But it’s almost certain that the film’s core audience will go in droves to see the film, especially after church service, so this movie will be another hit for Angel Studios.
Christmas-themed horror generally tends to be hit or miss for me. Aside from a few standouts throughout the years it’s not a genre that I actively seek out, but when I read the synopsis for A Creature Was Stirring my interest was piqued. Hosting a cast of some familiar names and helmed by Damien LeVeck, the director of one of my favorite films of the pandemic era, The Cleansing Hour, just added to my curiosity.
Nurse Faith (Chrissy Metz) takes extraordinary measures to protect her teenage daughter (Annalise Basso) who suffers from an unusual affliction. As a blizzard moves in, their strange nightly routine is interrupted by two intruders recovering addict Kory (Connor Paolo) and his ultra-religious sister (Scout Taylor-Compton). Faith spends the rest of the night trying to hide the secrets her house holds while attempting to figure out the mysterious duo’s motives.
This film starts off strong with a frantic mother trying to control the monster inside her daughter. This type of opening sets the tone for what felt like a promising creature-based flick with the audience only being let in on the bare minimum building a palpable atmospheric tone. Then the intruders are introduced and the train begins to wobble on the tracks before completely going off the rails in the third act. Without revealing too much, this film feels like three different stories in one and not in a good way either. While skillfully blending sub-genres and storylines can often lead to a fresh approach at horror this screenplay takes that and just lays out a plot that had me doubling back multiple times to quell the confusion.
The cast did what they could with the script but to me the dialogue felt plastic at times. I will give credit where credit is due though, for a first attempt at a screenplay, Shannon Wells made a valiant effort. It’s not terrible by any means but it suffers from trying to fit too many ideas into a small space. I understand what he was attempting to do but just think you could have arrived in fewer steps. LeVeck saved this for me though. His stylized delivery is the kind I crave in a film like this. From the creative shot framing with colors that are simultaneously dark yet vibrant to the mix of practical creature effects and neon flashes of CG rotoscoping overlays, this film looked amazing!
A Creature Was Stirring is one of those types of films that was beautiful to look at as long as I didn’t focus too hard on the plot. For that, it’s going to earn an average score from me. It has some moments but nothing really stands out. Sometimes that’s what you need though, just mindless entertainment. This flick isn’t going to be one that people are screaming from the rooftops about but it can adequately fill that hole for Christmas horror that you have.
If you want to check this one out for yourself it’s in select theaters now and VOD on December 12th.
We’ve seen the “one last job” movies featuring the “I’m too old for this shit” protagonist before, however in director Phillip Noyce’s latest comedy/thriller Fast Charlie, the genre gets spun on its head to be an entertaining film about a hitman trying to settle some scores after his world caves in around him.
Charlie (Pierce Brosnan) calls himself a “fixer” or a “problem solver,” but in actuality, he’s a mob boss Stan Mullen’s (James Caan) personal hitman. Charlie is 100% Zen and in control of things, unlike one guy he goes on a job with who’s pretty much a tweaker (whose name is “Blade”) in search of some cash. Initially, in Fast Charlie, we get to see him sorta in action as he takes care of a rival on behalf of Stan. Unfortunately, through circumstances beyond his control, his target’s head gets blown off (lesson learned: don’t partner with a crazy person) and he has to bring his target’s ex-wife Marcie (Morena Baccarin) to confirm the body so that he can confirm his job is completed (she reluctantly helps).
At the same time, there’s a new player in the underworld. Beggar (Gbenga Akinnagbe), who recently graduated from local corner boy to kingpin recently wants to have a sit-down with Stan to discuss “business.” Charlie agrees to pass the message on to Stan at a local birthday party his old crew celebrates Stan’s birthday. Stan isn’t too eager for a sit-down that will be explained later in Fast Charlie, so the next day (even before Beggar gets his answer), Stan and his entire crew are taken out by Beggar’s crew.
Except they didn’t count on Charlie. Getting the drop on his would-be assassins (he even comically comments that he saw them on his Amazon Ring camera before killing them), Charlie proceeds to try and check in on his crew, but it’s too late as he’s now on an island all to himself. Even people he used to work with are basically telling him to get out of town as they are all now on #teambeggar. However, Charlie is a principled man, and no one’s gonna kill his friends/family and get away with it. Charlie proceeds to be a one-man wrecking crew as he tears Mississippi and New Orleans a new one trying to get to Beggar. Beggar is also after something that Stan had in his personal effects (that are also connected to Charlie’s initial hit at the beginning of Fast Charlie). This causes Charlie to link up with the ex-wife of the man he murdered to try and figure out what’s got Beggar so worried, and also, he has to stay alive AND get revenge against Beggar in the process.
Fast Charlie is surprisingly fun and well done. This is mostly in part to Pierce Brosnan just having a great time as a seasoned hitman who is no slouch when it comes to taking care of business. Liam Neeson could learn a thing or two from him. He and Morena Baccarin’s chemistry is great as the two first start off quite standoffish, but needing to lean on each other to survive, the two build a rapport that eventually goes from reluctant partners, to friends, to probably something a lot more. The relationship is believable as well as it gets the space to organically grow throughout Fast Charlie’s 90-minute runtime. Another surprise (but shouldn’t be a big surprise) is James Caan as Stan as he’s playing an elderly mob boss who is dealing with Alzheimer’s and memory loss and Caan’s performance is very believable.
Fast Charlie works best when it’s about Charlie getting revenge on Beggar and his men. The film falls a little flat when it attempts to unravel the information Beggar is after. Once the big reveal is made, you kinda understand, but it doesn’t feel like it needed to be a plot point in the film. In addition, when the big reveal finally comes, it doesn’t feel earned because the impetus of Fast Charlie is about revenge, not what it eventually was revealed to be. Also, Brosnan’s Southern accent doesn’t work that well. He would have been fine with a regular American accent in the film and it wouldn’t have taken 40 minutes to get used to. In addition, the ending felt a little rushed and the film could have probably used 10-15 more minutes of either continuing the character dynamics between Charlie and Marcie, or just having Charlie doing more awesome kills.
That said, Fast Charlie is still a fun ride. You never get bored or tired with these characters as they are genuinely interesting, especially Brosnan as Charlie as well as David Chattam as local bouncer Milt, who ends up being a great asset for Charlie. Brosnan oozes charisma in every scene in the movie and Morena Baccarin continues to remind you why fans still want a Firefly sequel/reboot after all these years. Overall, this movie is a fun ride and will gain a cult following once it’s released on a streamer. Until then, it’s completely worth your rental fee!
Fast Charlie is currently available in select theaters and On Demand.
When we lose loved ones, a family’s legacy is passed on to those left behind to inherit it. For The Witcher star Freya Allen in the upcoming horror Baghead, inheriting her dead father’s pub comes with unexpected consequences. And I don’t mean drunken bar patrons, broken liquor battles, and kids trying to pass off fake IDs.
As seen in the new trailer for Baghead, Allen plays Iris, who after the death of her estranged father, inherits his old pub. Little does she know until learning about it on a VHS tape, in the basement of the pub is the titular supernatural entity with the power to bring back the dead. Because of this, the pub has become something of a hot spot, but those who seek the creature’s power face deadly consequences. Iris is warned not to let Baghead out of the basement, which naturally means that’s exactly what’s going to happen.
Didn’t these people watch Talk to Me? Reaching beyond the veil is ALWAYS a bad idea.
Also in the cast are Bridgerton actress Ruby Barker, plus Peter Mullan, Jeremy Irvine, Saffron Burrows, Ned Dennehy, Svenja Jung, and Julika Jenkins. Really strong group all around.
Alberto Corredor makes his feature directing debut, expanding on his short film of the same name.
Here’s the official synopsis: After the death of her estranged father, Iris (Freya Allan) learns she has inherited a run-down, centuries-old pub. She travels to Berlin to identify her father’s body and meet with The Solicitor (Ned Dennehy) to discuss the estate. Little does she know, when the deed is signed she will become inextricably tied to an unspeakable entity residing in the pub’s basement. Baghead – a shape-shifting creature that can transform into the dead. Two thousand in cash for two minutes with the creature is all it takes for desperate loved ones to ease their grief. Neil (Jeremy Irvine), who has lost his wife, is Iris’ first customer. Like her father, Iris is tempted to exploit the creature’s powers and help desperate people for a price. But she discovers breaking the two-minute rule can have terrifying consequences. Together with her best friend Katie (Ruby Barker), Iris must battle for control of Baghead & figure out how to destroy her, before she destroys them.
Baghead has yet to gain a stateside release date, but is expected to arrive in 2024.
Poor Thingsis being compared to Frankenstein a lot. While its novel of the same name (written by Alasdair Gray) is meant to be a feminist retelling of the Mary Shelley story, people forget that the latter first published anonymously in order to be taken seriously as a writer. It is speculated that the story concept stemmed from her grief around her miscarriage. These throughlines are carried over into the Emma Stone-led film, which is filled with its own moral and feminist philosophies that result in one of the most fascinating and best films of the year.
Yorgos Lanthimos’ eighth film opens with a death and a revival of Stone’s character. Brought back to life by Willem Dafoe’s deformed Dr. Godwin Baxter, we soon learn that she is not so much his temporary patient but the result of an experiment where her brain was replaced infant’s brain. Baxter names her Bella and raises her within the confines of his London complex. He then brings in his student the prim and proper Max McCandles (Ramy Youssef) to help study her progress. Bella speaks in a toddler-like babble, running amuck, and peeing on the floor. All social propriety goes out the door, fairly early.
When she discovers her need for independence and sexuality at the same time, Dr. Baxter betroths her to McCandles, inadvertently subjecting her to a roguish dandy lawyer Duncan Wedderburn. Willing to give her the sexual satisfaction she craves, she forces her father to let her go.
She finds a lot more than sexual satisfaction. Fascinated by the outside world, she starts to crave answers from it and she soon realizes that the men in her life cannot give them to her. Eventually, her search for meaning and her origin leads her on a cruise, into a brothel, and eventually back to her father’s estate.
Emma Stone gives a deliciously feral and rich performance as Bella. Her choices feel instinctual as she disappears into the role. With a twirl and a jump, Bella Baxter will be one of the most seminal roles Stone will ever play, a career touchstone if you will. With her long hair, thick eyebrows, and limited vocabulary, you can’t take your eyes off of her. Sure, she has a lot of sex onscreen, but you eventually become desensitized to it as Stone’s performance is so compelling.
The production design – from Bella’s enormous poofed sleeves to the painted sky to the dreamlike steampunk Victorian architecture, is brilliant. Lanthimos does some of his best world-building here, combining the macabre with the stylings of a Georges Méliès film. It’s hard to determine where this would fall amongst his filmography but Poor Things ranks high. He is reteaming with writer Tony McNamara (The Favorite) whose understanding of these characters and of human nature leads to some of the best quips and laughs of the year.
While this movie belongs to Stone, the supporting cast is just as committed. Mark Ruffalo gives off a Marlon Brando in Streetcar vibe combined with the vapid and himbo arrogance of Ryan Gosling’s Ken in Barbie. Willem Dafoe is unrecognizable as Dr. Baxter, while Ramy Youssef brings grounded politeness to the film’s crude nature. Christopher Abbot and Jerrod Carmichael pop up in two smaller roles, the latter of which left you wanting more of him.
Poor Things could be polarizing for some audiences but Stone’s performance mixed with Lanthimos’ direction is one of the best cinematic combinations of the year. Sure, others will have opinions of its abundant sexual depictions and what that means for feminism, but at its core, its a story of a woman immune to the patriarchy and all the adventures she has along the way.
Poor Things is in select theaters Friday before a wide release on Dec. 15. Watch the trailer below.
It feels good to be getting major, star-powered casting news again, and the upcoming drama Nuremberg has a lot of big names attached. Variety reports that Russell Crowe, Rami Malek, and Michael Shannon will star in the film. That’s a pair of Oscar winners and one Oscar nominee. The film will be written and directed by Scream and Scream VI writer James Vanderbilt.
Nuremberg is based on Jack El-Hai‘s book The Nazi And The Psychiatrist. The story centers on “Malek as an American psychiatrist tasked to determine if Nazi prisoners are fit to stand trial for their war crimes. He finds himself in a battle of the wits with Hitler’s right-hand man, played by Crowe. Shannon will portray Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, the chief prosecutor in the Nuremburg trials.”
Vanderbilt is best known for screenwriting blockbusters, including David Fincher’s Zodiac and The Amazing Spider-Man. This is his sophomore effort behind the camera. His debut was 2015’s journalism drama, Truth.
“What an absolute honor it is to be working with such a tremendously talented group of actors,” Vanderbilt said in a press statement. “Our partners at Bluestone and Walden have been incredibly supportive, and I cannot wait to bring this amazing true story to the screen.”
Vanderbilt begins shooting Nuremberg next February in Hungary.
For months I’ve been bemoaning the lack of The Raid-style action flicks. No offense to John Wick fans; I love those movies, too, but they don’t quite scratch the same itch. Well, Mayhem! might be the movie I’ve been waiting for. And it comes from an expected source: French director Xavier Gens.
Then again, perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised. Gens recently directed three episodes of Gangs of London, the series created by The Raid director Gareth Evans. He also directed Hitman, Cold Skin, and Frontier(s).
One look at the Mayhem! trailer and you can see why I’m excited, and why the film has so many rave reviews. Set in Thailand, the story centers on a former professional boxer and parolee who runs afoul of a local crimelord and must exact brutal vengeance after a deadly attack.
The footage we’ve got features gruesome violence and some incredible fight choreography. Yes, please!
The film stars Nassim Lyes, Olivier Gourmet, Loryn Nounay, Sahajak Boonthanakit, and Only God Forgives star Vithaya Pansringarm.
Here’s the synopsis: “Sam (Nassim Lyes) is a professional boxer about to be released from prison in France, but while on parole, his past catches up with him and he is forced to flee the country. Five years later, he has rebuilt a simple life on an exotic island in Thailand with his wife Mia and her daughter Dara, working multiple jobs to support his family and buy a piece of land to build a restaurant. As his life begins to improve, a job gone wrong puts Sam in the crosshairs of local crime lord Narong (Olivier Gourmet), who retaliates with brutal violence. Crushed but still alive, Sam is left with only one purpose: to seek merciless and bone-breaking vengeance.”
IFC Films will debut Mayhem! in select theaters + on VOD starting January 5th, 2024.
That Barbenheimer is a thing that happened in 2023 is still pretty amazing. Two blockbuster movies, as different as they could possibly be, became attached at the hip making it essential to see them both in theaters with all of one’s friends. There were memes, thousands of think pieces written, and Tik-Toks of eager young moviegoers in attendance. Personally, I think Oppenheimerwas helped out significantly more by the connection, but undoubtedly Barbiereached people it probably wouldn’t have.
And yet, Barbenheimer might not have happened at all if an Oppenheimer producer had his way. Speaking with Cillian Murphy for a Variety piece, Margot Robbie revealed that producer Charles Roven, who she is friends with, called and asked her to move the Barbie release date so as to avoid a showdown. Robbie wasn’t having it.
“One of your producers, Chuck Roven, called me, because we worked together on some other projects,” Robbie said. “And he was like, ‘I think you guys should move your date.’ And I was like, ‘We’re not moving our date. If you’re scared to be up against us, then you move your date.’ And he’s like, ‘We’re not moving our date. I just think it’d be better for you to move.’ And I was like, ‘We’re not moving!’”
Roven knows a thing or two about blockbuster movies, but then again so does Robbie. As a producer herself, she had the power to make that kind of decision to keep Barbie right where it was. It didn’t always look like it would be this way, either. Oppenheimer had the date first, then Warner Bros. made a bold counterprogramming choice that obviously paid off. Barbie is the highest-grossing movie of the year with Oppenheimer not far behind. Barbenheimer mission accomplished.
Remember Renate Reinsve? She was a superstar last year for her Cannes Award-winning performance in The Worst Person in the World, her first-ever performance, insane as that might be. Well, now she’s back and coming to Sundance with the indie horror, Handling the Undead, which will be part of an impressive Midnight lineup.
The film takes place during an Oslo summer when strange events begin occurring, and a collective migraine headache strikes the people. As these bizarre events spread through the city, something awakens the dead and a trio of families are forced to deal with the fallout of seeing their loved ones return.
Norwegian director Thea Hvistendahl’s feature debut is based on the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, author of the classic vampire story Let the Right One, which was later adapted into two movies.
Here’s the brief synopsis which doesn’t reveal much…
On a hot summer day in Oslo, the newly dead awaken. Three families faced with loss try to figure out what this resurrection means and if their loved ones really are back. Based on the book by John Ajvide Lindqvist.
Handling the Undead makes its world premiere next month at Sundance, and will then be distributed by NEON shortly thereafter.
