Film
Totally Under Control Is a COVID-19 Horror Movie for the History Books: Review
The Pitch: COVID-19. Sorry, but there really are no breaks from this fucker until we have actual, steady control over this present strain of novel coronavirus. When the culture is illness, you don’t hide under coats until the whole thing blows over. You deal head-on. And this review for this particular movie will treat the issue in that way. Despite President Trump’s assertions that COVID-19 is “totally under control,” no, it’s not. And that, in a dish served cold and fast, is the case of the new documentary Totally Under Control. With 210,000 dead in the United States and rising, millions infected, and a president unwilling to acknowledge the hubris of his actions while himself testing positive for the disease, we’re far away from anything remotely resembling “control” at this present mom...
Chris Rock, Sarah Silverman, Tiffany Haddish, More Celebrities Get Naked in Voting PSA: Watch
Chris Rock, Sarah Silverman, Mark Ruffalo, and more celebrities have literally stripped down to be “completely butt-ass naked,” to quote Tiffany Haddish, for a new PSA video about voting. In the clip, titled “These Naked Celebs Have an Important Message for Voters”, a dozen famous actors, comedians, and models come together to inform viewers about “naked ballots,” a technical term for improperly filled-out ballots that require multiple envelopes. Some key states in the upcoming presidential election, such as Pennsylvania, have introduced a new rule where absentee and mail-in ballot voters must use both envelopes included with their ballot when submitting their vote. If they don’t, their votes will be automatically void. To help explain the importance of voting correctly to a...
Adam Sandler’s Top 10 Performances
Gossip suggests that Adam Sandler fears that he’ll be found out any minute as a fake, or that people will stop wanting him around. On the Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast, the late-night host and former SNL colleague once highlighted that Sandler is the type of guy who will confide in colleagues that “they’re on to him” after even the most successful of films and highest of praise. “They” being the public, fans, anyone that’s seen a Sandler project. They will just up and quit on the comic icon. As a lifelong watcher of Sandler — from Opera Man to Uncut Gems — nothing could be further from the truth. We are on to him: He’s an outrageous talent. It’s without a shred of controversy that we can comfortably proclaim Sandler an all-star of unsung dexterity. On one hand, he’s a popular, moder...
Jurassic World: Dominion Delayed to Summer 2022
Life finds a way … as do big summer blockbusters amidst a pandemic. Alas, Universal and Amblin Entertainment have announced that they’re delaying the release of Jurassic World: Dominion by a whole year. The highly anticipated sequel will stomp away from its July 11th, 2021 release date all the way to June 10th, 2022. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dominion is “a huge priority for NBCUniversal” that involves “theme park tie-ins, merchandising partnerships, live events and more.” With so much uncertainty going into 2021, the two parties “want to ensure that deadlines for retail partners can be met.” Production is currently underway at London’s Pinewood Studios and reportedly three weeks away from completion. Back in August, the expansive shoot was profiled by The New York Times for bei...
Regal to Close All 536 Theaters in the US, AMC Vows to Stay Open
Regal Cinemas, the second-largest movie chain in America, will once again close its doors due to challenges posed by the pandemic. At the same time, Regal’s chief rival and America’s largest theater chain, AMC, vowed to stay open. Regal’s parent company, Cineworld, announced Monday that it will suspend operations at all 536 of its US movie theaters beginning this Thursday. The company specifically cited the dearth of upcoming releases as the main reason for the decision. In recent days, major blockbusters including James Bond’s No Time to Die and Dune have been pushed back to 2021. “Without these new releases, Cineworld cannot provide customers in both the US and UK — the company’s primary markets — with the breadth of strong commercial films necessary fo them to consider coming back to th...
Happy Halloween! The Silence of the Lambs House is Up for Sale
Silence of the Lambs house (photo via KDKA/CBS) and Buffalo Bill (photo via Orion Pictures) Still looking for the ideal haunted house? Just in time for Halloween, Buffalo Bill’s iconic Silence of the Lambs home is officially up for sale for a creepy cool $298,500. The psychotic serial killer’s house sits on 1.7 acres of land in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania, about an hour south of Pittsburgh. According to the NY Post, the residence has been used as a fully functional dwelling, but still retains many of the same distinct features seen in the classic 1991 film starring Jodie Foster (Clarice Starling), Anthony Hopkins (Hannibal Lecter), and Ted Levine (Buffalo Bill). Hardwood floors remain in the foyer, while the dining room — where Clarice confronted Buffalo Bill — is still quite recognizable. A...
Bruce Springsteen Announces Letter to You Documentary for Apple TV+
October 23rd is an exciting day for Bruce Springsteen fans. In addition to releasing his new album Letter to You that day, The Boss will unveil a companion Apple TV+ documentary. Produced by Apple Original Films, Bruce Springsteen’s Letter to You promises full song performances, in-studio footage, archival goodies, and a Springsteen-led look into the meaning of his new album. The iconic rocker wrote, directed, and served as executive producer on the project, with help from longtime collaborator and Springsteen On Broadway director Thom Zimny. In many ways, the documentary is also a celebration of Springsteen’s longstanding creative relationship with the E Street Band. Notably, the Letter to You album is the first project he’s released with the belove backing band follow...
Warner Bros. Pushes Back The Batman to 2022
As the pandemic continues to cripple the film industry, Warner Bros. has once again been forced to reconfigure its upcoming release state. Notably, The Batman has been pushed all the way to 2022. The move was widely anticipated following Warner Bros.’s earlier announcement moving Dune to October 1st, 2021 — The Batman’s previous release date. The Robert Pattinson-starring Batflick will now swoop into theaters on March 4th, 2022. Additionally, Warner Bros. has moved The Flash to November 4th, 2022 and Shazam! 2 to June 2nd, 2023. Dwayne Johnson’s Black Adam, previously set for release in December 2021, is now undated. However, one major tentpole is actually seeing its release date moved up. To replace Black Adam on the calendar, The Matrix 4 will now premiere on Dec...
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune Gets Delayed Until Late 2021
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune practically broke the Internet last month when the epic first trailer was revealed. But now, that hype will have to stretch another year, as the sci-fi blockbuster has been delayed until October 1st, 2021, reports Collider. That’s a significantly later date than Warner Bros. originally planned, which suggests two things: executives’ hearts are set on a fourth quarter release, the pandemic isn’t loosening its grip anytime soon, or both. While a handful of North American movie theaters have been cautiously reopening in recent months, the latest increase in COVID-19 cases has caused many to shutter their doors once again. While Frank Herbert’s beloved novel and its historically troubled feature films never fared well at the box office, Villeneuve’s Dune adaption seems ...
A24’s Saint Maud Is A Captivating Debut Full of Human and Psychological Terror: Beyond Fest Review
The Pitch: Maud (Morfydd Clark) does palliative care for a private healthcare facility and becomes the maid for Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), a former avant garde dancer and choreographer. Maud has found God following a traumatic event at work, hinted at through flashbacks and haunting visions, and has now taken a pious approach to work that borders on fanaticism. Faced with antagonism from Amanda, Maud slowly spirals more and more into religious fueled actions and experiences — talked to and touched by God — that will lead to a string of actions that have an irreversible impact and her and those around her. This Cast and Crew Are Doing the Lord’s Work: British writer and director Rose Glass boldly shows off her chops and gives viewers a lot to appreciate and more importantly a lot to look forwa...
Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Actor and Spike Lee Collaborator, Shot and Killed in Atlanta
Thomas Jefferson Byrd, a longtime collaborator of Spike Lee, was shot and killed in Atlanta on Saturday. The Georgia native appeared in eight of Lee’s films, beginning with 1995’s Clockers. He also had roles in Girl 6, Get On the Bus, He Got Game, Bamboozled, Red Hook Summer, Sweet Blood of Jesus, and Chi-Raq. Aside from his work with Lee, Byrd also appeared in such films as Antoine Fuqua’s Brooklyn’s Finest, Jamie Foxx’s Ray Charles biopic Ray, and F. Gary Gray’s Set It Off. In 2003, he received a Tony Award nomination for for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. In an Instagram post, Lee wrote, “I’m so sad to announce the tragic murder of our beloved brother Thomas Jefferson Byrd last night in Atlanta, Georgia. Tom is my guy.” He proceeded to sha...
Spider-Man 3 Adds Jamie Foxx as Electro in Shocking Casting News: Update
In news that will truly shock Marvel fans, The Hollywood Reporter has it that Jamie Foxx is in final negotiations to reprise his The Amazing Spider-Man 2 role of Electro in the upcoming Spider-Man 3. Foxx portrayed the classic villain six years ago in the second and final movie featuring Andrew Garfield in Spidey’s webs. While the film was the ninth-highest-grossing release of 2014, its $709 million box office take remains the lowest of any Spider-Man movie to date, and it was generally panned by critics and fans alike. In fact, it was so poorly received that Sony abandoned plans for more sequels and a Sinister Six spinoff in favor of its now legendary deal with Marvel Studios bringing Spider-Man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Infamously, Sony attempted to reclaim the web-head last summ...
