Krysten Ritter as Lucy - Orphan Black: Echoes _ Season 1, Episode 1 - Photo Credit: Sophie Giraud/AMC
Krysten Ritter is back on series TV, folks! Sorry, Marvel nerds, but it won’t be for a revival of Jessica Jones. Instead, it’s for a spinoff of another Peak TV era hit, Orphan Black, the Canadian sci-fi espionage series that explored the dangers of cloning technology. It also helped launch the career of another Marvel alum, Tatiana Maslany.
But this is Ritter’s time in the spotlight as she stars and exec-produces Orphan Black: Echoes, an original series coming to AMC and AMC+ in 2024. Ritter stars as Lucy, who wakes up in a strange place and with no memory of who she is or how she got there. All she knows is that she’s undergone a procedure, and desperately needs to discover the truth. Expect nothing, and no one, to be as they seem.
Also in the cast are Amanda Fix, James Hiroyuki Liao, Reed Diamond, Tattiawna Jones, Jonathan Whittaker, Keeley Hawes, Alexandra Castillo, and Rya Kihlstedt who played the Fourth Sister recently in Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Here’s the synopsis: Set in the near future, “Orphan Black: Echoes” takes a deep dive into the exploration of the scientific manipulation of human existence. It follows a group of women as they weave their way into each other’s lives and embark on a thrilling journey, unraveling the mystery of their identity and uncovering a wrenching story of love and betrayal.
Orphan Black co-creator John Fawcett lends his support as exec-producer and director of the series pilot. Anna Fishko (Fear the Walking Dead) acts as creator, writer, and showrunner.
Timothée Chalamet fans may have missed out on a chance to see their guy in two movies this fall with Dune: Part Two moving to 2024. However, they’ll still get to see him, colorful top hat and all, as a young Willy Wonka in Paul King’s prequel, Wonka.
Based on Roald Dahl’s beloved candy maker from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wonka is a musical showstopper about how he became the eccentric chocolatier that we all know and love. Although, quite honestly the Wonka seen in this trailer and the previous one bears very little resemblance to the quirky, vengeful character played by Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It feels like they’re pulling a Cruella here and softening the character considerably.
Here’s the synopsis: Starring Timothée Chalamet in the title role, this irresistibly vivid and inventive big-screen spectacle will introduce audiences to a young Willy Wonka, chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time—proving that the best things in life begin with a dream, and if you’re lucky enough to meet Willy Wonka, anything is possible.
Featuring a huge ensemble that includes Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant, and Natasha Rothwell, Wonka opens on December 15th.
As we get deeper into the fall season, the award-winning films of the festival circuit stake out their territory. Debuting at Cannes where it competed for the Palme d’Or and won the Jury Prize, Aki Kaurismäki’s dramedy Fallen Leaves is set to arrive this November after appearing at NYFF and AFI Fest.
The tragic dramedy, Finland’s Official Selection for the Oscars, Fallen Leaves centers on two lonely people who embark on an unexpected romance, in hopes of finally finding the love of their lives.
The film is led by Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen as the central couple.
Kaurismäki wrote and directed the film, the fourth in his working-class Proletariat series along with Shadows in Paradise (1986), Ariel (1988), and The Match Factory Girl (1990). His style is to have the actors follow a very loose structure with very little rehearsing, and much of the filming done in a single take.
Here’s the synopsis: Fallen Leaves tells the story of two lonely people (Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen) who meet each other by chance in the Helsinki night and try to find the first, only, and ultimate love of their lives. Their path towards this honourable goal is clouded by the man’s alcoholism, lost phone numbers, not knowing each other’s names or addresses, and life’s general tendency to place obstacles in the way of those seeking their happiness. This gentle tragicomedy, previously thought to be lost, is the fourth part of Aki Kaurismäki’s working-class trilogy (“Shadows in Paradise,” “Ariel,” and “The Match Factory Girl“).
Remember the 2007 movie The Bucket List, where elderly Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman hit the road and fulfilled their wish lists before dying? That film was a huge hit, but would the same premise work if applied to a…talking lizard? Well, we’re going to find out with the animated film, Leo, featuring Adam Sandler as the aging pet.
As I said when Netflix dropped the teaser a couple of months ago, I really love this premise. Sandler voices the titular 74-year-old lizard, who has spent his entire life in a classroom terrarium. But now, believing that he only has a short time left to live, Leo escapes with a plan to see the outside world.
It’s just a really fun idea, and based on the new trailer looks to be full of crazy hijinks, soul searching, and more, as Leo spreads the wisdom that he’s learned from decades of watching students grow up and move on.
The film reunites Sandler with co-writer/co-director Robert Smigel aka Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, who he’s worked with previously on You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, The Week Of, and the Hotel Transylvania movies.
Sandler makes this one a family affair with Sadie Sandler, Sunny Sandler, and Jackie Sandler lending their voices along with Bill Burr, Cecily Strong, Jason Alexander, Rob Schneider, Heidi Gardner, Nick Swardson, Nicholas Turturro, Robert Smigel, Jo Koy, and Stephanie Hsu.
Eddie Murphy and family friendly comedies go hand-in-hand, but one thing the comedian has never done? A holiday movie. How is that even possible? Well, all of that changes this season with Prime Video’s Candy Cane Lane, continuing Murphy’s relationship with the streamer that began with Coming 2 America.
Not only is this Murphy’s first Christmas movie, it’s also a reunion with director Reginald Hudlin and producer Brian Grazer, the team behind his 1992 rom-com classic, Boomerang. And who doesn’t love Boomerang?
Anyway, in Candy Cane Lane, a husband and father who goes overboard in trying to win the neighborhood Christmas decoration contest, much to the chagrin of his family. When he and his daughter discover a very special Christmas store, his wish for victory is granted by a mischievous elf played by Jillian Bell, who brings the “12 Days of Christmas” to chaotic life.
Murphy is joined in the cast by Tracee Ellis Ross, Nick Offerman, Chris Redd, Ken Marino, and Robin Thede.
Here’s the synopsis: Eddie Murphy stars in this holiday comedy adventure about a man on a mission to win his neighborhood’s annual Christmas home decoration contest. After Chris (Eddie Murphy) inadvertently makes a deal with a mischievous elf named Pepper (Jillian Bell) to better his chances of winning, she casts a magic spell that brings the 12 Days of Christmas to life and wreaks havoc on the whole town. At the risk of ruining the holidays for his family, Chris, his wife Carol (Tracee Ellis Ross), and their three children must race against the clock to break Pepper’s spell, battle deviously magical characters, and save Christmas for everyone.
Candy Cane Lane brings holiday cheer to Prime Video on December 1st.
Whatever one’s feelings about director David Slade’s movies, he knows how to create indelible imagery. Whether it was a young Red Riding Hood-esque Elliot Page in Hard Candy, or Danny Huston’s chilling vampire in 30 Days of Night, Slade knows how to leave a mark on your memory. After far too long away, Slade returns and hasn’t missed a beat in that regard with Dark Harvest, a brutal small-town horror that strikes somewhere between Children of the Corn, The Hunger Games, and a scary story told around the campfire.
Based on Norm Partridge’s award-winning novel, Dark Harvest is set in an unnamed Midwestern farming town in 1963, in the days leading up to Halloween. This place is basically a slice of Americana, with all of the stereotypes to match. There are the jocks, the bullies, the nerds, the cheerleaders, the overprotective parents, even an angry sheriff and the town’s one Black family. But there’s something else this place has that others don’t. Sawtooth Jack: a mythical, scarecrow-esque creature that rises from the cornfields every year and slaughters the town youths on its way to the local church. If it completes the journey, the crops are doomed for the season.
In order to stop this, all of the local boys are drafted into the fight, but not before being locked away and starved for three days to ensure maximum savagery. No girls allowed on this hunt, of course, because ladies are meant to be at home and stuff, y’know? This place is like a twisted version of Pleasantville, which is part of what makes the atmosphere of Dark Harvest one of its strengths. Anyway, the boy who kills Sawtooth gets to leave this nightmarish place and see the world, something nobody else is allowed (or is able) to do. Plus, his family gets a new house, a sweet car, and are treated like royalty.
Echoes of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery can’t help but ring in our ears as this rural doomscape drafts its citizens into this grisly contest. The comparison isn’t a knock against the film, either, which captures the small-town vibe with a heightened surrealism. All of the people in this town know one another, and it’s interesting to listen to the kids talk about Sawtooth Jack like he doesn’t exist, while the parents, who have been dealing with this ritual for years, have been cowed into quiet acceptance. Some of the boys are eager to take out their anger and unleash violence, with the promise of wealth, riches, and freedom. Others just want to be kids left alone to live their lives.
It’s when the story kicks into gear that cracks start to form. We largely follow Richie (Casey Likes), who has the unenviable position of being little brother to the previous year’s winner. That means Richie isn’t allowed to take part because his family is exempt. Not that he cares. Richie wants to leave this place, too, and to prove he’s as tough as his All-American bro who sends occasional postcards from his travels. Richie’s wannabe greaser bravado isn’t convincing. You weep for co-stars Elisabeth Reaser and Jeremy Davies, both no stranger to horror flicks, who have little to do as Richie’s parents who are scared nearly to a catatonic stupor.
There’s potential in the presence of Kelly (E’myri Crutchfield), who as the only Black girl in town endures her share of casual racism. Kelly, an outsider who is strangely accepting of the Sawtooth reality, eagerly joins Richie’s side, causing a scandal within the tight-knit, bigoted community. However, she’s also a very thinly-drawn character, despite Crutchfield dwarfing Likes in terms of charisma and screen presence. This would’ve been a more interesting tale if told from the perspective of someone like her, who faces this odd supernatural threat while the very-real threat of prejudice affects her every day.
So while some of the character details and story beats leave more questions than answers, one thing the movie gets absolutely right is in the presentation of Sawtooth Jack. The gangly, pumpkin-headed demon is the perfect Halloween nemesis. It stalks the tall cornfields under an ominous night sky in the pale moonlight, and when it kills…boy does it ever. If you wanted to see a boy’s head treated like a poached egg, this is your jam. Blood-curdling decapitations and literal geysers of blood sickeningly paint the town red, and they happen so quickly there isn’t time to shield your eyes.
Penned by Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves writer Michael Gilio, there’s a constant thread of dark humor and heightened reality for Slade to play around with. It’s only unfortunate the narrative is pretty straight forward and the archetypal characters fairly unimpressive, considering Sawtooth Jack has the creepy cool to have you rooting for him to maintain dominance over the townfolk.
Dark Harvest arrives on Digital platforms on October 13th.
Now that Taylor Swift has asserted her dominance over the NFL, the pop superstar is ready to take over Hollywood. Tomorrow, her concert film The Eras Tour is set to explode into theaters, and before a single butt has sat into a single seat to see it, records have already been broken.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is already the highest-grossing concert film of all-time, surpassing 2011’s Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, with advance pre-sales of over $100M. Analyst predictions free for an opening weekend of between $100M-$120M domestic, with totals as high as $170M globally.
Continuing to do things her own way, Swift struck an exclusive distribution deal with AMC Theaters that will net her 50% of the revenue. AMC has worked out deals with other theater chains to show the film around the world.
So you get an idea of why studios were scrambling to get their movie off of this weekend, which is comparatively pretty light on new releases. Swift’s audience is gigantic, and they spend lots of money to support her. The power at Swift’s command is significant, and I’m betting after this weekend we’re going to see more of an attempt to cast her in significant movies because we know her fans will show up for it. [Variety]
Of all the procedures that law enforcement follow, none are as well known as the reading of one’s Miranda rights. We know the basics (You have the right to remain silent, etc etc) but why are they read…and who or what is Miranda? That’s the story that Miranda’s Victim sets out to tell. Not to worry, this isn’t some History Channel documentary, the actual decision leading to the creation of the rights is a very small piece of the story, no this film focuses on the very real, very powerful story behind it while also reminding us just how bad things can be in court even if you are not the one on trial.
In 1963 an 18-year old woman by the name of Trish Weir (Abigail Breslin) was attacked and sexually assaulted. The police quickly arrested Ernesto Miranda who confessed to kidnapping and rape. Under interrogation Miranda confessed to the assault and was subsequently convicted in trial even while his lawyer (played by the always amazing Andy Garcia) screamed from the rooftops about his clients right’s having been violated. Trish is ready to put this horror show behind her and get on with her life…that is, of course, not the end of the story. Enter John Flynn (Ryan Phillipe), a hungry young ACLU attorney with something to prove. Don’t let the association fool you, he’s with the ACLU but the picture painted is not of a lawyer out to right wrongs but of a lawyer who wants to make himself known with a big case. Sadly, for Trish Weir, Ernesto Miranda looks like the perfect client to get him there. Flynn takes the case all the way to the Supreme Court and eventually has the case overturned. Now, I’ll insert here that in a separate trial without his confession as evidence Miranda was again convicted and sentenced to prison, just in case you were wondering if this was truly an innocent man. That last note is important as it informs what the movie should be fully about and that’s the lingering hell that Trish Weir was drug through while all of this was happening. Remember, 1960’s, so Trish was not comforted, not coddled, she was blamed and labeled as “Tainted Goods” with no one to truly support her but her sister (Emily VanCamp)
Wow, if anyone forgot the talented held by Abigail Breslin she has come to remind you in technicolor. This is a tough role, on pretty much every level, and Breslin turns it into her own workshop class on performance. Keep in mind the people she’s sharing the screen with, Donald Sutherland, Andy Garcia, Luke Wilson, Taryn Manning, yet she is far and away the most captivating thing on screen. She manages to capture Weir’s complete desperation for understanding and her longing for the whole thing to be over. In a post #MeToo world it may be hard to imagine a world where the victim of such a heinous crime would be viewed as negatively as the perpetrator. Putting you in this headspace was Breslin’s task and, speaking as a 40-year old white man, she nailed it completely. If I can feel her pain and understand what she went through in any aspect she understood the assignment. The supporting cast was as good as you’d expect given the names I listed earlier. Ryan Phillipe, if not for Breslin’s top tier performance, would have been the stand out. I had forgotten how good he could be, especially when playing a character with less then admirable motives.
While I won’t be surprised to see Breslin’s name in the Oscar nomination list in a few months the film itself is going to be held back from those accolades for a number of reasons. First, while 80% of the performances were excellent, the rest were a little bit extra, as the kids say. I understand the difficulty, when you are portraying characters as backwards as some of these are it takes alot of nuance to nail the part but if you don’t it ends up as a caricature. The second, and main thing, that keeps this film from greatness is the split focus. It certainly seems like the script began as a way to tell the story behind the most well-known law enforcement procedure in existence but the writers (George Kolber, Richard Lasser, and J. Craig Styles) learned during research that, in comparison to the personal story of the victim, the birth of the Miranda rights was boring. Instead of using the rights as a simple framing device they try to give equal measure to both…which never works. The result is a courtroom drama that is at times compelling thanks to Michelle Danner’s direction but lacks the depth and detail to make it’s impact really felt. Thankfully the personal story was rightfully given the preference in screentime so, outside of some deeper dives into character motivations and exploration of the culture of the times, they are able to complete that arc without much issue.
Honestly, I would have appreciated a longer film that spent more time on the importance of the Miranda Right’s existence. Granted, it would be a much easier lesson to impart had the source case had not been protecting an innocent man, but these are the challenges you hope for when trying to write a compelling story. The end result is a film that will teach the world something while eviscerating your feelings but also seems to wander a bit more then a film of it’s ilk would tend to do. I think you’ve probably gleaned all of the trigger warnings necessary from the text above but, needless to say, this isn’t a date flick. Fans of courtroom drama’s, Law & Order: SVU especially, will find their time well spent with Miranda’s Victim.
Just a quick post script. The film ends with a fact that will floor you and, hopefully, shock you into action. Only 5 out of every 1000 sexual assaults committed will end in a criminal conviction. What the film doesn’t point out is just as depressing, almost none of those actually convicted will fulfill their entire sentence. Miranda himself, was sentenced to 20-30 years in federal prison but was paroled after only six.
Discussion about a sequel to Michael Mann’s crime classic Heat has been going on for years, long before the recent sequel novelization was published. But now that the book is out and has been well-received by readers, talk about turning Heat 2 into a movie has definitely reached a boiling point.
Speaking at a recent Deadline event, Mann confirmed that Heat 2 is the next film he plans to shoot, once the SAG-AFTRA strikes over.
“Yes. Meg Gardiner and myself wrote the novel Heat 2, which came out right when we were shooting Ferrari. It did very well. I plan to shoot that next.”
“Perhaps. We don’t talk about that yet. Let me put it this way: Adam and I got along like a house on fire [on Ferrari]. We have the same work ethic – which is pretty intense. We like each other, and we had a great time working together artistically.”
The crime story takes place across two time periods, acting as a prequel and sequel to the 1995 film with young versions of the characters played by Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, and Val Kilmer. In the first period, Chris Shiherlis tries to escape the LAPD after the robbery gone wrong, making his way to Southern Asia. The other time period is in 1988 Chicago, as McCauley and Shiherlis and their crew nearly encounter Detective Hannah as he pursues a violent gang of home invaders.
In Molly Manning Walker’s acclaimed Cannes award-winning film How to Have Sex, a young woman embarks on the summertime vacation of a lifetime, tearing through the Greek isles alongside her friends. She has just one goal in mind, to no longer be the odd-one-out by finally losing her virginity. What might’ve unfolded as a predictable coming-of-age film takes an unexpected turn when a couple of boys enter the picture.
The film is led by Vampire Academy‘s Mia McKenna-Bruce, plus Lara Peake, Shaun Thomas, Samuel Bottomley, Enva Lewis, and Laura Ambler. Walker is a veteran cinematographer making her feature directorial debut. She also wrote the screenplay. It was quite an impressive start, as the film won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes.
Here’s the synopsis: It’s supposed to be the best summer ever. Tara, Skye and Em touch down on the Greek party resort of Malia for the vacation to end all vacations, the girls trip every British teenager ticks off at the cusp of adulthood. Tara, the last remaining virgin, is on a mission to change that: and her best friends are causing chaos right alongside her. The 16-year-old drinks and dances her way through the strip – with all its messy bars and grimy nightclubs – until she meets a couple of boys on the neighboring hotel balcony who she hopes might give her a summer to remember.
How to Have Sex does not have a U.S. date yet, but will debut in other countries in November.
