Film
Samuel L. Jackson Will Offer Swearing Lessons If 2,500 People Register to Vote
Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction Celebrities have been sharing their skills with the world as the coronavirus pandemic forces millions to quarantine. From Dolly Parton offering weekly bedtime stories for children to the Obamas hosting a star-studded virtual graduation ceremony, we thought we’d seen it all. Leave it to Samuel L. Jackson to shake things up with arguably the most on-brand contribution of all: swearing lessons. On Monday, Jackson promised that he would teach fans how to swear in 15 different languages if at least 2,500 people go to his HeadCount site and register to vote (or double check their registrations are set up). Consider him the ultimate godfather of cursing: he held the title for most swear words in film (a whopping 301!) until just recently. “Listen up – If 2500 of ...
Antebellum’s Message Overshadows Its Story: Review
The Pitch: The elevator pitch for Antebellum was probably quite simple: Veronica Henley is an enslaved woman on a cruel plantation and must stay silent until she can find the perfect moment to escape. But there’s a twist: It’s a story about the Antebellum South, updated for modern audiences and designed to speak to the present moment. While this sounds great on paper, all of these elements culminate into a forced, muddled mess that’s less than the sum of its parts. It’s not that Antebellum is bad — there are many things it does well — it’s just trying so hard to be the perfect movie for this moment in time. Because of this, the film winds up losing control of its message. The Past Is Present: Antebellum is trying to make a commentary on white obsession with Southern “heritage.” It’s trying...
Inconceivable! Princess Bride Cast Reunites for Virtual Table Read: Watch
Almost 33 years after the release of The Princess Bride, surviving members of the original cast reconvened on Sunday night for a virtual table read of William Goldman’s classic script. The live event was moderated by Patton Oswalt, who said, “This movie obviously meant a lot to my generation. This was the suburban mallrats’ intro to Monty Python, surrealism, and satire. So thank you, [director] Rob Reiner, thank you, [producer] Norman Lear, and the entire cast for bringing this to life.” Reiner, who stepped into the shoes of the late Peter Falk to play the grandfather, emphasized the broader picture before the event began: “We’re here basically to get Donald Trump out of the White House. That’s the main goal.” To that point, proceeds benefited the Democratic Party of Wiscons...
Ant-Man 3 Casts Lovecraft Country’s Jonathan Majors as Marvel’s Newest Supervillain
The miniscule world of Ant-Man just got a whole lot bigger. Deadline reports that Lovecraft Country breakout star Jonathan Majors has been cast as the lead villain in Ant-Man 3. Majors will star alongside Paul Rudd, who plays the titular superhero, and Evangeline Lily, who plays Wasp. While the studio has yet to comment on which specific character Majors will play in the the upcoming sequel, sources “close to the project” say he will likely play Kang the Conqueror. That’s a name that should have Marvel fans’ excitement growing, as the time-traveling baddie is known as a major threat to the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the entire Marvel universe. In fact, that sort of connectivity could have Thanos-level implications for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Last year, Peyton Re...
Ted Cruz Asks Department of Justice to Investigate Netflix’s Cuties for Child Pornography
Netflix’s Cuties is stirring up some ugly controversy. The streaming service has been countering claims that the French film is pedophilic in nature by arguing it’s actually “a social commentary against the sexualization of young children.” They may have to figure out a more proper legal defense, however, because Senator Ted Cruz wants the Department of Justice to investigate Cuties for child pornography. Cuties, which won a Sundance directing award for Maïmouna Doucouré, follows an 11-year-old named Amy as she joins a “twerking” dance group of young girls in Paris as she strives to find identity and acceptance. From the beginning of Netflix’s promotional rollout, the movie has drawn criticism for its overly sexualized depiction of pre-teens. Scenes show the protagonist posting pictures of...
Aaron Sorkin’s Star-Studded The Trial of the Chicago 7 Gets First Trailer: Watch
The Oscar hype is on for writer and director Aaron Sorkin’s star-studded historical drama The Trial of the Chicago 7. On Sunday night, Netflix dropped the film’s first teaser trailer ahead of its October 16th premiere on the network. The film captures the events surrounding the 1968 Democratic National Convention, which saw a peaceful protest dissolve into a violent clash between the police and the National Guard. This led to seven organizers — which included Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden and Bobby Seale — being charged with conspiracy. Given the current political landscape — and the fact that this lands a few weeks before the 2020 Election — one might say The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a tad prescient, no? Whatever the case, it features the most incredible cast in recent memory, s...
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Neve Campbell Returning for Scream Reboot [Updated]
It’s official: Neve Campbell is heading back to Woodsboro, California. As Bloody Disgusting reports, the veteran star has confirmed she’s returning to the Scream franchise in the forthcoming reboot from Spyglass Media Group and Paramount Pictures. “After spending time speaking with Radio Silence, they have shown such love, respect and admiration for Wes Craven and all that he’s created in the Scream franchise,” Campbell said in a statement. “I am beyond excited to step back into the role of Sidney Prescott and return to Woodsboro.” Ready or Not directors Matthew Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, on behalf of their filmmaking group Radio Silence, echoed Campbell’s sentiments: “We’re pinching ourselves! It’s hard to express how much the character Sidney Prescott shaped our love o...
Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf Stand Out In the Shrugworthy Pieces of a Woman: TIFF Review
This review is part of our coverage of the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival . The Pitch: Pregnant couple Sean (Shia LaBeouf) and Martha (Vanessa Kirby) go through a dangerous labor with a new midwife, Eva (Molly Parker), only for the worst possible outcome to occur. In the months that follow, they each process their grief and anger in different ways. Meanwhile, Martha’s mother, Elizabeth (Ellen Burstyn), pushes for legal justice that may or may not offer the closure that the family needs. Labour Pains: When people discuss Kornél Mundruczó’s Pieces of a Woman, the discussion will inevitably be broken into two parts. Most will focus on the film’s first 33 minutes, which takes place entirely on September 17th and follows – in one long, mostly uninterrupted take – the night that Martha...
10 Almost Famous Quotes You Probably Say All the Time
When Cameron Crowe put us on the tour bus with William Miller, Penny Lane, and Stillwater 20 years ago, he did more than just make us a fly on the wall for the circus, pump us full of great music, and make us believe that we’re cool. After we came back to the real world after 122 minutes of thinkpieces, Band Aids, and golden gods, we had a new language to describe our own realities — and love of music. So, here we are, two decades later, long after Doris has been retired; drunk on the booze of friendship; dark and mysterious as ever; totally, utterly uncool; and still tossing about the following lines as if we first saw Almost Famous just yesterday. Don’t “fecking” judge us. Anyway, it’s all happening. “One day … you’ll be cool.” <img data-attachment-id="1069223" data-permalin...
Frances McDormand Walks Right Into the Oscars With Nomadland: TIFF Review
This review is part of our coverage of the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival . The Pitch: Based on Jessica Bruder’s 2017 non-fiction novel, Nomadland follows 60-something Fern (Frances McDormand) over the course of a year as she moves from place to place, working odd jobs and living in her van. Throughout her journey, Fern comes across a multitude of communities: some who accept her as she is, others who try to pin her down and keep her stationary. These series of experiences offer a character study of a head-strong, mature woman working through her grief and searching for herself. Authentic Experiences: Over the course of four features, director Chloé Zhao has repeatedly returned to stories of marginalized people, living on the fringes of conventional society. She favors stories of...
Netflix Defends Controversial Film Cuties as “Social Commentary” Against Sexualization of Children
Netflix is defending its newly released film, Cuties, against claims that it overly sexualizes its young subjects. Cuties (or Mignonnes) is a French comedy-drama that won Maïmouna Doucouré the Directing Award-Dramatic at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. It centers on a 11-year-old Senegalese girl named Amy who seeks to understand her identity while living in Paris. She comes across a group of girls in a twerking dance squad, and begins to seek freedom and acceptance by joining their sexualized troupe. Since launching on Netflix on September 9th, the film has received intense backlash. Now, Netflix has issued a statement defending the movie. “Cuties is a social commentary against the sexualization of young children,” a Netflix spokesperson told Variety. “It’s an award-winning film and a pow...
Netflix’s The Devil All the Time Is a Messy Southern Gothic Stew: Review
The Pitch: Set against the mud-covered backdrop of southern Ohio and West Virginia in the ’50s and ’60s, we see the ways that faith, violence, and lost innocence play out against an interconnecting web of characters. There’s Willard Russell (Bill Skarsgård), whose experiences in WWII haunt him even as he tries to make a life back home with a sweet waitress (Haley Bennett). There’s also Carl (Jason Clarke) and Sandy (Riley Keough), who get their kicks picking up hitchhikers, photographing them, then slaughtering them. There’s Sandy’s brother, Lee (Sebastian Stan), a portly, corrupt sheriff constantly gunning for re-election and turning a blind eye to his sister’s wrongdoing. Caught in the middle of it all is Alvin (Tom Holland), Willard’s orphaned son, trying to navigate his way throug...
