Film
What’s Streaming on Hulu in December 2020
Hulu is heading to Mordor in December. Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien who don’t already own The Lord of the Rings trilogy will find solace in revisiting The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Hell, it wasn’t too long ago their theatrical releases were a holiday tradition. Beyond the Eye of Sauron are a handful of Hulu originals: The Hardy Boys are back for modern times, Amy Seimetz’s She Dies Tomorrow is now free to stream, and You Cannot Kill David Arquette is bringing the meta humor. It’s not much, but there’s a silver lining to the lean offerings. By the end of the month, the streaming service is losing a ton of films — from its Bond collection to The Bourne Identity films to all the Star Treks — which means you better get your binge on. Check out the full list ...
What’s Streaming on Disney+ in December 2020
Disney+ is bringing some much-needed Soul to Christmas. Yes, on December 25th, the Mouse House is rolling out its would-be Pixar blockbuster on their streaming service. Unlike this past September’s release of Mulan, however, Soul will be completely free to subscribers. Consider it a gift from Mickey. Of course, that’s not the only present to unwrap this month. There’s also Jillian Bell’s new comedy Godmothered, the exhaustively titled High School Musical: The Musical: The Holiday Special, and the remaining episodes of The Mandalorian Season 2. Editors’ Picks Elsewhere, nostalgics can enjoy watching Tom Hanks play Josh Baskin in Big, head to the clouds with Kurt Russell in Sky High, and pretend like they’re watching Max Keeble’s Big Move for the first time. Into the Woods is somewhere...
Corey Taylor Stars in Horror Film Bad Candy, Says Slipknot Could Release New Album in 2021
Longtime horror cinephile Corey Taylor has filmed a starring role in the upcoming movie Bad Candy alongside Zach Galligan of Gremlins fame. In addition to discussing the film, Taylor hinted in a separate interview that Slipknot could release their next album in 2021. The movie is structured in the classic horror anthology format. Taylor plays a radio DJ who weaves scary stories to his listeners — a task well-suited for the voice of Slipknot — with his co-host (played by Galligan). In a Creepshow-inspired twist, the stories come to life in graphic reenactments that owe much to the great horror films of yore such as Halloween and, of course, Gremlins. “It’s a pretty cool little horror movie that has a linear story going through it, but it’s really kind of made up of different short...
Hollywood Will Never Stop Loving the Music Biopic
This past week saw the release of Stardust, a biopic about David Bowie’s first trip to the United States. If you’ve seen any piece of media related to the film, you probably know that the movie was received poorly — to say the least. This isn’t surprising, though. When the film’s first trailer dropped months ago, the film was immediately scorched online for being a very blatant and very poorly executed attempt to piggyback off the recent success of other musical biopics such as 2018’s Bohemian Rhapsody and last year’s Rocketman. Whereas those two films at least had the wherewithal to secure the rights to their stars’ likeness and discography, Stardust opted out of either of those things. Even so, the film chugged along on the strength of its premise alone, but mostly because it’s a musical...
Steve McQueen’s Lovers Rock Is Joyfully Intoxicating: Review
This review originally ran in September 2020 as part of our coverage of the 2020 New York Film Festival. The Pitch: In London’s West Indian community in 1980, a house party brews. The men haul furniture out to the backyard and bring in huge speakers to replace it, while the women crowd into the kitchen, cooking goat curry and plaintains while singing and laughing with each other. Men and women file in one at a time, paying the bouncer while the DJ pumps in the songs of Carl Douglas, Sister Sledge, Janet Kay — romantic reggae, “Lover’s Rock”. This is the setting for Steve McQueen‘s Lovers Rock, a glimpse into the Blues parties that served as an important space for Black Londoners of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s to find community, solidarity, and love, as a rotating ensemble of characters s...
R.I.P. Dave Prowse, Darth Vader Actor Dies at 85
Dave Prowse, the British actor who portrayed Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, has died at the age of 85. A former champion weightlifter and bodybuilder, the 6-foot-7 Prowse was asked to audition for the roles of Darth Vader and Chewbacca after Star Wars director George Lucas saw him in A Clockwork Orange, where he played as Frank Alexander’s bodyguard, Julian. Ultimately, Prowse tried out for the role of Darth Vader, because as he explained, “everyone remembers the villain.” Prowse filled Darth Vader’s suit for the first three Star Wars movies, including for legendary scenes such as when Darth Vader threw Emperor Palpatine off the balcony. As Lucas wanted a “darker voice,” the character’s lines were later overdubbed by ones read by James Earl Jones in post-production. Fo...
Carrie Brownstein is Making a Heart Biopic
Washington state rockers unite. Carrie Brownstein of the Olympia legends Sleater-Kinney is writing and directing a biopic about the iconic Seattle band, Heart. During a recent interview with SiriusXM’s Lyndsey Parker, Heart frontwoman Ann Wilson revealed that Brownstein — who’s also known for her starring role in the TV series Portlandia — will be telling her band’s story for Amazon alongside producer Lynda Obst (Interstellar, Sleepless In Seattle). “I can’t tell you all about it, because it’s still being written right now,” Wilson said in a clip that was posted to Parker’s Instagram. “I saw the first draft of [Brownstein’s] script, and it’s really cool.” According to Wilson, a few actresses have been considered to play her and her sister Nancy, who sing and perform a few instruments ...
Taylor Swift Announces folklore: the long pond studio sessions Film
Unable to tour due to the ongoing pandemic, Taylor Swift opted instead to write and record her new album folklore. The album’s intimate, lo-fi sonics are largely a reflection of its recording process, as the normally bombastic pop singer was forced to record the 16-track LP in isolation, with collaborators Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff contributing remotely. Now, months after the album’s release, the trio is finally meeting in-person for a live performance of folklore. Premiering tomorrow (!), November 25th on Disney+, folklore: the long pond studio sessions finds Swift, Dessner, and Antonoff holed up at The National’s Long Pond Studio in Hudson, New York, performing tracks from the album live for the first time. What’s more, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon even stops by to sing his duet with S...
R.I.P. Daria Nicolodi, Italian Horror Icon Dies at 70
Italian horror icon Daria Nicolodi has died at the age of 70. Nicolodi’s daughter, actress Asia Argento, confirmed her mother’s passing in a statement. “Rest in peace beloved mother. Now you can fly free with your great spirit and you won’t have to suffer anymore. I will try to go on for your beloved grandchildren and especially for you who would never want to see me so grieved. Even if without you I miss the ground under my feet, and I feel I have lost my only true point of reference. I am close to all those who have known and loved her. I will always be your Aria.” Nicolodi will be remembered for her on-screen collaborations with her one-time partner, Dario Argento. She starred in several of Argento’s films, including Deep Red (1975), Inferno (1980), Tenebrae (1982), Phenomena (1985...
Donald Trump Retweets Bizarre Randy Quaid Posts to Bolster Election Hoax Claims
Between Rudy Giuliani’s cartoonish press conferences and vast swaths of the Republican apparatus urging Donald Trump to concede the election to Joe Biden, our president’s #StopTheSteal campaign has been, as many of us expected, a farcical failure. Yesterday, Trump so much as admitted defeat by authorizing his team to begin the formal transition to Biden’s administration, but as many of us also expected, Trump will never rhetorically concede defeat, and that delusional stubbornness has forced him to reach deep into the bench of supporters who endorse his detached worldview. Enter Randy Quaid. The 70-year-old actor is best known for his character Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise, but he himself has become the target of some national lampooning in ...
Diane Keaton: Watching Recut Godfather: Part III Was “One of the Best Moments of My Life”
Next month brings the release of Francis Ford Coppola’s recut of The Godfather: Part III, now titled Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone. The famed director has already finished the edit, and even screened it for a number of the film’s stars. As far as first reviews go, Diane Keaton’s couldn’t be more glowing, as she called watching the new version easily “one of the best moments of my life.” December 20th marks the 30th anniversary of the third installment of The Godfather series, a movie that was less than favorably received by critics and moviegoers upon release. To honor the pearl jubilee, Coppola decided to tinker with the film to highlight previously overlooked parts and give “a more appropriate conclusion” to the beloved trilogy. He reordered scenes, swap...
