Film
A24’s Lamb is Slow-Burn Folk Horror Like Ewe Have Never Seen: Review
The Pitch: Out in the foggy hills of Iceland, Maria (Noomi Rapace) and Ingvar (Hilmir Snær Gudnason), a couple spending a dignified, quiet existence on their sheep farm, reside far from the rest of civilization. It’s relatively unspoken, but one intuits early that they’re reeling from the recent loss of a child. It still stings, but the two press on in their virtually silent existence, going about their chores and assisting their ewes’ new births. One day, a member of the flock gives birth to a curious creature — an uncanny hybrid of man and lamb — that the pair immediately adopt as their own child. Her name? Ada. But as the three of them build a strangely comforting existence together, their fog-shrouded idyll is disrupted by forces outside their control. The arrival of Ingvar’s dead...
NYFF Review: Todd Haynes Turns Up the Volume for His Engaging Velvet Underground Doc
This review is part of our coverage of the 2021 New York Film Festival. The Pitch: The Velvet Underground might have been the best American rock band of all time, and Todd Haynes has made a documentary about their relatively short but extremely influential career, which means covering not just core members Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Moe Tucker, but collaborators and contemporaries like Nico, Andy Warhol, and Jonas Mekas. Started Shaking to That Fine, Fine Music: Todd Haynes obviously loves rock and roll, which makes it all the more impressive that he’s spent his career making movies about key figures in its history while avoiding the usual lionizing cliches. Starting with Superstar, his doll-acted Karen Carpenter biopic that’s not commercially available, and continuing wit...
NYFF Review: Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch is a Star-Packed Issue Worth Picking Up
The Pitch: Wes Anderson returns with his first live-action movie since 2014’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, crafting another group of stories within stories (and aspect ratios within aspect ratios). Here, he presents a 1975 issue of The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun, a fictional New Yorker-ish magazine, featuring dramatizations of three major stories: a profile of an imprisoned artist (Benicio del Toro); a chronicle of youthful social revolution, led by Timothée Chalamet; and a combination crime story and food piece narrated by a jack-of-all-trades writer (Jeffrey Wright). That’s just a fraction of the sprawling cast, which includes Anderson mainstays like Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Edward Norton alongside newbies like Chalamet, del Toro, Wright, and Léa S...
NYFF Review: Simon Rex Gets a Surprising A24 Showcase in Sean Baker’s Red Rocket
The Pitch: Mikey Saber (Simon Rex) rolls back into his hometown on a bus, bruised and nearly penniless. His career as an adult film performer has seemingly dried up some time ago, so he shows up at the doorstep of his not-quite-ex-wife Lexi (Bree Elrod), another porn-industry castoff. With few job prospects and no car — he tools around on a one-speed bike — Mikey attempts to rebuild his life. This might sound like a kitchen-sink recovery drama, but Mikey’s interest in self-improvement is questionable and filmmaker Sean Baker’s interest in misery-wallowing is, as ever, minimal. Instead, Red Rocket is a queasily hilarious chronicle of misdirected American hustle. Sunshine States: After exploring the streets of Los Angeles in Tangerine and the outskirts of Orlando in The Florida Project, Bake...
Scarlett Johansson and Disney Settle Black Widow Lawsuit
Scarlett Johansson has struck a deal with Disney to settle her blockbuster lawsuit over her compensation for Black Widow. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but both Johansson and Disney issued statements confirming the settlement (via The Hollywood Reporter). “I am happy to have resolved our differences with Disney,” stated Johansson. “I’m incredibly proud of the work we’ve done together over the years and have greatly enjoyed my creative relationship with the team. I look forward to continuing our collaboration in years to come.” Advertisement Related Video “I’m very pleased that we have been able to come to a mutual agreement with Scarlett Johansson regarding Black Widow,” added Disney Studios chairman Alan Bergman. “We appreciate her contributions to the Marvel Cinematic Universe an...
Sylvester Stallone to Reissue Rocky IV as Rocky vs. Drago: The Ultimate Director’s Cut
Rocky IV is ready to go another round: Sylvester Stallone and MGM have announced Rocky vs. Drago: The Ultimate Director’s Cut, an expanded release that comes with 40 additional minutes of footage. It will be shown in select theaters for one night only on November 11th before becoming available for streaming rentals on November 12th. Written, directed, and starring Sly Stallone, Rocky IV became the biggest box office hit of the franchise when it stepped into the ring in 1985. By framing the story as a battle between America and the USSR, it tapped into Cold War fears, while boasting one of Carl Weathers’ most iconic performances, and introducing the world to Swedish ass-kicker extraordinaire Dolph Lundgren. In addition to 40 additional minutes of never-before-seen footage, a ...
Ridley Scott Says Gladiator 2 Is Being “Written Now”
Ridley Scott is preparing to go back to ancient Rome, as the filmmaker says a script for Gladiator 2 is being “written now.” Speaking with (fittingly enough) EMPIRE, Scott confirmed that he has eyes to make the sequel to the 2000 classic Gladiator after he finishes his next project, KitBag. That film happens to star Gladiator villain Joaquin Phoenix, who’s set to play Napoléon Bonaparte alongside Jodie Comer (Scott’s upcoming The Last Duel) as the emperor’s wife, Joséphine. “I’m already having [the next] Gladiator written now,” Scott said. “So when I’ve done Napoleon, Gladiator will be ready to go.” Advertisement Related Video This isn’t the first time Scott has made mention of a Gladiator 2. Back in 2018, he was in talks with screenwriter Peter Craig (The Hun...
Dave Chappelle Announces New Netflix Special The Closer
Dave Chappelle is here to rescue you from your existential dread — or, at least he’s going to try. Today, the renowned comedian has unveiled the trailer for The Closer, his new Netflix standup special, just ahead of its release on October 5th. “Comedians have a responsibility to speak recklessly,” Chappelle says in the trailer’s first seconds. “Sometimes, the funniest thing to say is mean. Remember: I’m not saying it to be mean, I’m saying it because it’s funny.” Billed as Chappelle’s “sixth chapter” — meaning his sixth Netflix special overall — The Closer follows 2019’s Sticks & Stones. See the trailer for The Closer below. Chappelle’s 2021 so far has been mind-boggling, to say the least. Back in June, he joined Foo Fighters onstage at Madison Square Garden fo...
No Time to Die Offers a Thrilling Swan Song to Daniel Craig’s 007: Review
The Pitch: After James Bond (Daniel Craig) left MI6 after the events of Spectre, he attempts to leave his past — and that of his new paramour, Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) — behind him. But the ghosts of SPECTRE and his foster brother-turned- supervillain, Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Christoph Waltz), remain, particularly once a gene-coded supervirus falls into the hands of a secretive villain (Rami Malek) who has his own ax to grind against the criminal organization. Reluctantly, Bond re-enters the world of spycraft and intrigue, now competing with MI6 and the new 007 (Lashana Lynch) to track down the virus and stave off global genocide — and close a few holes in his personal story along the way as well. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: We’ve long known that No Time to Die would...
Jana Kramer on Working with Richard Marx and Her Upcoming Lifetime Holiday Movie
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Jana Kramer sits down with Kyle Meredith to talk about her latest single, “Voices,” and her new Lifetime Original Holiday Movie, The Holiday Fix Up. The singer/actress discusses her newest track’s spotlight on self-esteem and mental health, and how she finds herself in a transitional state of self-improvement. That all comes as the media and tabloids amplify her every move, especially her recent divorce. Advertisement Related Video Kramer also emphasizes the importance of her work/life balance while raising two children, how they’ve influenced her music, and having more control as an independent artist while she readies w...
Arca Shares New Single “Incendio”: Stream
Arca has dropped the new single, “Incendio,” as part of the promotion for a benefit concert film. “Vistiendo de cuero/ Quemando ese cuerpo/ Bruja/ Chupándome los huesos/ Bien espeso eso es hueso/ Eso, eso, hey, hey,” the electronic artist also known as Alejandra Ghersi sings over industrial production. The release follows her January EP Madre and 2020 album KiCk i. Meanwhile, Arca’s Dice.fm concert film is set to begin streaming today, September 27th, at 3:00 p.m. ET. She’s raising money to open Casa Rifugio Marcella, a temporary shelter dedicated to providing a safe space for trans and nonbinary victims of violence and discrimination in Italy. Directed by Weirdcore, the concert will feature a set by Arca at a socially distanced, in-the-round venue in Ibiza with guest appearances...
Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels Receiving Box Set Reissue for 50th Anniversary
Frank Zappa’s documentary 200 Motels is celebrating its 50th anniversary next month. To mark the occasion, its accompanying soundtrack is receiving a massive re-release, out November 19th via Zappa Records, UMe, and MGM. The 200 Motels 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition box set features the remastered original soundtrack in collaboration with The Mothers of Invention and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as demo session outtakes, dialog protection reels, alternate recordings, and more rare material unearthed from the depths of the late artist’s vault. The 6xCD collection will also come with a 64-page hardcover book full of artwork and imagery from the film, plus new liner notes written by the likes of Pamela Des Barres, Ruth Underwood, and Joe Travers. Also included will be Patr...
