Stuart Long (Mark Wahlberg) in Columbia Pictures’ FATHER STU.
Based on a true story, Father Stu is an unflinchingly honest, funny and ultimately uplifting drama about a lost soul who finds his purpose in a most unexpected place.
When an injury ends his amateur boxing career, Stuart Long (Mark Wahlberg) moves to L.A. dreaming of stardom. While scraping by as a supermarket clerk, he meets Carmen (Teresa Ruiz), a Catholic Sunday school teacher who seems immune to his bad-boy charm. Determined to win her over, the longtime agnostic starts going to church to impress her. But surviving a terrible motorcycle accident leaves him wondering if he can use his second chance to help others find their way, leading to the surprising realization that he is meant to be a Catholic priest. Despite a devastating health crisis and the skepticism of Church officials and his estranged parents (Mel Gibson and Jacki Weaver), Stu pursues his vocation with courage and compassion, inspiring not only those closest to him but countless others along the way.
Check out the new trailer now.
Written for the screen and directed by Rosalind Ross, and starring Academy Award Nominee® Mark Wahlberg (Best Supporting Actor, The Departed, 2006) as Father Stu, along with Academy Award Winner® Mel Gibson (Best Director, Braveheart, 1995), Academy Award Nominee® Jacki Weaver (Best Supporting Actor, Silver Linings Playbook, 2012) and Teresa Ruiz (Narcos). The film is produced by Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson and Jordon Foss and executive produced by Miky Lee, Colleen Camp, Rosalind Ross, Patrick Peach and Tony Grazia.
(from left) Kat Valdez (Jennifer Lopez) and Charlie Gilbert (Owen Wilson) in Marry Me, directed by Kat Coiro.
So you didn’t think that I WANT YOU BACK would be the only “rom-com” feature dropping on this pre-Valentine’s Day weekend? Did you? I mean there’s got to be one to play the multiplexes since the other flick is only streaming (well, this one’s doing both actually), right? Oh, and this new release is the long-awaited return to the genre by the multi-talented (all manner of media, really) star that some have dubbed (heard it on one of the morning TV chat shows just the other day) “the patron saint of rom-coms”. Now don’t expect her to be a demure passive heroine this time out. Her demands and agenda pretty much boil down to two words: MARRY ME (Imagine the length of that queue, yeesh).
The lady with that simple request is worldwide pop sensation Kat Valdez (Jennifer Lopez). Her decades-long popularity has gotten a big “bump” recently with her very public romance with “up and coming ” crooner Bastian (Maluma). They’ve got a duet that’s at the top of the charts, “Marry Me”, and actually plan on tieing the knot at the conclusion of their joint concert spectacular (beamed around the globe, of course) at NYC’s Madison Square Garden. Miles away from the whirlwind of planning and “prep”, middle school math teacher and divorced dad Charlie Gilbert (Owen Wilson) is taking his pre-teen daughter Lou (Chloe Coleman) to school (he works there, she attends). Naturally, she wants to distance herself from him, upcoming her “coolness cred”. In between classes, guidance counselor and pal Parker Debbs (Sarah Silverman) tells Charlie that she now has two extra tickets to the sold-out Kat and Bastian concert (her ex-girlfriend and her new GF bailed). Charlie reluctantly agrees in order to impress Lou. But things don’t quite go as planned at the big multi-media event. Minutes before the nuptials, as Kat dons her sparkly wedding gown, Page Six drops a big scandal on their website, complete with a “hidden camera” video. A stunned and shocked Kat silences the orchestra and addresses the audience. As she scans the crowd she spots Charlie holding Lou’s makeshift poster board that says “Marry Me”. Kat beckons him to the stage. The wedding will go on, but with a new groom. Concerned about Kat’s state of mind, Charlie agrees and the two exchange “I do’s”. Backstage the pair, go their separate ways, with Kat’s flabbergasted manager Collin (John Bradley) insisting that he will have it all annulled within hours and monetarily compensate Charlie. But Kat’s got other ideas after a brief conversation with Charlie generates sparks. Could this impromptu gesture actually turn into something? But can their very different worlds mesh?
That “patron saint’ is Lopez of course, who seems to be taking somewhat of a career “backstep”, as this is her first feature since her lauded bravada turn three years ago as the “stripper pole queen” of HUSTLERS. At least Kat is a bit closer to her own ‘perceived’ persona, a “meta skewing’ of the publicity chaos that appears to surround her 24/7. Still, she brings a real change to the character as she emerges from the “bubble” and learns to “walk amongst the mortals” and truly connect. That main “mortal man” is the always charming Wilson who still has that affable everyman vibe (guessing if the flick was made 75 years ago, Jimmy Stewart would “aw shucks” he way with it). His Charlie bonds with everyone, especially his “math team”, but Wilson still gives him a wry attitude as he makes subtle digs at the “superstar” life. Rounding out this unlikely “love triangle” is Bastian played by Columbian heartthrob Maluma in his big feature film debut (though we can hear him in ENCANTO). He earns kudos for playing up all the “diva arrogance’ as he practically spits venom at Charlie as he tries to slither his way back to Kat. Also scoring is Ms. Coleman who is endearing as Charlie’s daughter trying to “find her own way” while still needing her daddy. The film is really packed with many of the best comic actors, but their “edges” are somewhat “smoothed” for this mass-audience entertainment. Stand-up star Michelle Buteau buzzes about as Kat’s viral-obsessed aide, while Utkarsh Ambudkar sneers and jeers as a rival math team coach. But the biggest “missed-op” is Silverman as Parker a “gender-switched” take on the rom-com cliche of the heroine’s ultra-supportive gay BFF or next-door neighbor. Her dangerous on-stage bawdy snark is neutered as the school staffer/ wannabe rep for Charlie. Perhaps she hopes to “expand the brand’, but her role here feels toothless. Oh well, at least there’s Jimmy Fallon bucking his “nice guy” image for a more surly prickly twist on his late-night TV gig.
The whole film hinges on the whole premise taken from some of the recent cable-TV “mating shows’ (with titles like “Married at First Sight”, “Love is Blind”, etc.). For most of us (well, me) the whole “plucking from the crowd” thing comes off as ludicrous in the extreme. Perhaps it worked better in the original graphic novel or webcomic (okay, a comic book) by Bobby Crosby which couldn’t quite gel in the screen adaptation by Harper Dill, John Rogers, and Tami Sanger. The concert finale is meant to be Kat’s on-stage meltdown, but her competent compassionate manager Collin (played warmly by Bradley) would’ve pulled the plug on it. We get a hint of the crazed paparazzi-fueled frenzy, but it’s more a mild annoyance. Director Kat Corio does her best with the material, but we can predict the relationship roadmap proceeding along the usual route to its inevitable destination. The leads are likable enough, but the whole thing feels too cloying and cutesy. If that weren’t enough we’re almost suffocated by the “synergy”. Scenes are built around different parts of the Universal media family. Aside from Fallon, NBC Today provides a constant “Greek chorus” along with Telemundo. Enough with the Tie-ins”!Perhaps this was intended as a 25th-anniversary reunion of the two stars (ANACONDA was way back in 1997), but only the most fervent rom-com fanatic will get anything from this wobbly wonky gender-spin on PRETTY WOMAN (with some NOTTING HILL tossed in). Better to stream those gems rather than endure the dreary by-the-numbers MARRY ME.
1 Out of 4
MARRY ME opens in theatres everywhere and streams exclusively on Peacock beginning on Friday, February 11, 2022
King Hu’s COME DRINK WITH ME (1966) will be available on Blu-ray March 22nd from Arrow Video. It can be pre-ordered HERE
Years before Shaw Brothers’ kung fu films made them the biggest film studio in Hong Kong, local audiences flocked to their wuxia pian films: mythic tales of swordfighting (and often gravity-defying) heroes fighting for honor. In his final film for the studio, Come Drink With Me, director King Hu (A Touch of Zen) broke fresh new ground in martial arts storytelling, and catapulted fresh-faced lead actress Cheng Pei-pei to stardom in the process.
When the Governor’s son is taken hostage by bandits, a mysterious swordsman named Golden Swallow (Cheng) is hot on their trail to ensure the son’s release. What the bandits don’t realize, however, is that Golden Swallow is actually a woman, and that the hostage is her brother. Determined to set him free, no matter how many goons she has to fight her way through in doing so, she is aided in her quest by a drunken beggar (Yueh Hua) who may have a closer connection to the bandits’ leader than he initially lets on.
Decades before Ang Lee brought the wuxia genre to international attention with Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (in which Cheng played the villainous Jade Fox), King Hu set the original template in what is still considered one of Shaw Brothers’ greatest and most influential action masterpieces.
SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation
Uncompressed Mandarin and English original mono audio
Optional English subtitles, plus English hard-of-hearing subtitles for the English dub
Brand new audio commentary by film critic and historian Tony Rayns
Interview with star Cheng Pei-pei, filmed by Frédéric Ambroisine in 2003
Interview with star Yueh Hua, filmed by Frédéric Ambroisine in 2007
Interview with star Chen Hung-lieh, filmed by Frédéric Ambroisine in 2003
Talk Story with Cheng Pei-pei, a 2016 Q&A at the University of Hawaii moderated by George Chun Han Wang
Cinema Hong Kong: Swordfighting, a documentary on the history of the wuxia genre and Shaw Brothers’ contributions to it, produced by Celestial Pictures in 2003 and featuring interviews with Cheng Pei-pei, Gordon Liu, Lau Kar-leung, John Woo, Sammo Hung, Kara Hui, David Chiang and others
Original theatrical trailer, plus trailer for the sequel Golden Swallow
Image gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tony Stella
FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Anne Billson, and a 2010 essay by George Chun Han Wang about the relationship between director King Hu and producer Run Run Shaw
Caleb Landry Jones, Judy Davis, Essie Davis, and Anthony LaPaglia in NITRAM will beIn Theaters, on Digital Rental and AMC+MARCH 30
Here’s the trailer:
Directed by Justin Kurzel (TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG, SNOWTOWN MURDERS, MACBETH) and written by Shaun Grant (TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG, BERLIN SYNDROME), NITRAM stars Caleb Landry Jones (THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURI, GET OUT, HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT), Essie Davis (THE BABADOOK, TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG), Oscar Nominee Judy Davis (HUSBANDS AND WIVES, BARTON FINK, NAKED LUNCH), and Anthony LaPaglia (EMPIRE RECORDS, WITHOUT A TRACE).
Nitram (Caleb Landry Jones) lives with his mother (Judy Davis) and father (Anthony LaPaglia) in suburban Australia in the Mid 1990s. He lives a life of isolation and frustration at never being able to fit in. That is until he unexpectedly finds a close friend in a reclusive heiress, Helen (Essie Davis). However, when that relationship meets a tragic end, and Nitram’s loneliness and anger grow, he begins a slow descent that leads to disaster.
“NIGHTMARE ALLEY IS ALL AROUND BRILLIANCE” – Jazz Tangcay, Variety
Academy Award Best Picture Nominee Nightmare Alley Appears on Digital March 8 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on March 22
From the imaginative filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and Searchlight Pictures arrives an electrifying film noir,Nightmare Alley. Available on Digital March 8 and on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD on March 22.
The suspenseful psychological thriller is nominated for 4 Academy Awards® including Best Picture, 8 Critics’ Choice Awards, a Screen Actors’ Guild Award for Supporting Actress for Cate Blanchett, and BAFTA, SDSA, MPSE, ADG, CDG, VES, and WGA Awards.
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When charismatic but down-on-his-luck Stanton Carlisle (Bradley Cooper) endears himself to clairvoyant Zeena (Toni Collette) and her has-been mentalist husband Pete (David Strathairn) at a traveling carnival, he crafts a golden ticket to success, using this newly acquired knowledge to grift the wealthy elite of 1940s New York society. With the virtuous Molly (Rooney Mara) loyally by his side, Stanton plots to con a dangerous tycoon (Richard Jenkins) with the aid of a mysterious psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) who might be his most formidable opponent yet.
Del Toro co-wrote the enthralling film with Kim Morgan, based on William Lindsay Gresham’s novel.
Bonus Features*
Del Toro’s Neo Noir – Writer-director Guillermo del Toro and his standout cast decipher the dark, complicated world of Nightmare Alley. The filmmaker reveals how his take on noir is rooted in classic cinema but offers an accessible, modern narrative.
Beneath the Tarp – Production designer Tamara Deverell and her talented team skillfully delivered both a decaying traveling carnival world and a gilded Art Deco high society with striking visuals. We explore how this design supported del Toro’s genre-bending filmmaking.
What Exists in the Fringe – Costume designer Luis Sequeira unravels his collaboration with Guillermo del Toro and reveals the symbolism that’s constantly at play in the film’s carefully crafted wardrobe’s design.
Get tickets for Special Sneak Previews of DOG on Valentine’s DayHERE
Hit the road and go behind the scenes of DOG with co-directors Channing Tatum and Reid Carolin in two NEW featurettes.
DOG is a buddy comedy that follows the misadventures of two former Army Rangers paired against their will on the road trip of a lifetime. Army Ranger Briggs (Channing Tatum) and Lulu (a Belgian Malinois dog) buckle into a 1984 Ford Bronco and race down the Pacific Coast in hopes of making it to a fellow soldier’s funeral on time. Along the way, they’ll drive each other completely crazy, break a small handful of laws, narrowly evade death, and learn to let down their guards in order to have a fighting chance of finding happiness.
DraftKings launched the game on Monday, February 7th, and will match $10,000 in prizing with a donation to Tech for Heroes, DraftKings’ flagship corporate social responsibility initiative that teaches technology job skills to veteran communities. Eligible fans nationwide can play TATUM VS. DOG: 50-YARD FETCH for free to guess the results of a field chase between Channing Tatum and his canine co-star Lulu. Find out more information HERE
DOG stars Channing Tatum, Jane Adams, Kevin Nash, Q’orianka Kilcher, Ethan Suplee, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Nicole LaLiberté, Luke Forbes, and Ronnie Gene Blevins
Too Awesome to Describe! Too Terrifying to Escape!
The Film Detective will release Kenneth G. Crane’s classic B-movie creature feature Monster From Green Hell(1957) on special-edition Blu-ray and DVD, March 8. Featuring a new 4k transfer, exclusive bonus features and rare, colorized version of the film’s climax.
From the era of giant bugs and atomic testing comes this low-budget howler about mutant wasps. When scientists try to understand the effects of radiation on earth creatures, the result brings them to an area of Africa known as “Green Hell,” where wasps have mutated into monsters!
Jim Davis, who later starred in the TV series Dallas, plays Dr. Quent Brady, the scientist who starts the whole mess. The film also stars Vladimir Sokoloff (The Life of Emile Zola, Mission to Moscow) as the skeptical Dr. Lorentz and Joel Fluellen (Raisin in the Sun) as Arobi, who warns Brady to beware of the African location. The locals don’t call it “Green Hell” for nothing! Monster From Green Hell was co-written by Louis Vittes, famed writer of the classic I Married a Monster From Outer Space.
The special-edition release features a stunning 4K transfer, including both widescreen (1.85:1) and full frame (1.33:1) versions of the film. Monster From Green Hell comes as the latest in a series of collaborations between TFD and The Wade Williams Collection.
BONUS FEATURES:Missouri Born: The Films of Jim Davis, an all-new career retrospective with author/film historian C. Courtney Joyner; The Men Behind the Monsters, an essay by author Don Stradley featured in a full-color booklet; and commentary with artist/author Stephen R. Bissette.
The Film Detective (TFD) is a leading distributor of restored classic programming, including feature films, television, foreign imports and documentaries and is a division of Cinedigm. Launched in 2014, TFD has distributed its extensive library of 3,000+ hours of film on DVD and Blu-ray and through leading broadcast and streaming platforms such as Turner Classic Movies, NBC, EPIX, Pluto TV, Amazon, MeTV, PBS and more. With a strong focus on increasing the digital reach of its content, TFD has released its classic movie app on web, Android, iOS, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV. TFD is also available live with a 24/7 linear channel available on Sling TV, STIRR, Plex, Local Now, Rakuten TV and DistroTV. For more information, visit www.thefilmdetective.com.
As you dash about making restaurant reservations and scheduling floral deliveries for the big holiday this weekend, do you ever think about those “non-participators”? I’m guessing that you may not during the whirlwind of “preps”. Sure. most of the “romantically challenged” hadn’t counted on joining in this Monday, but what about those who really thought they’d be toasting their “special someone”? As sort of “counter-programing” two of these “unfortunates” are the focus of a very twisted “rom-com”. This duo is completely “blindsided” by their respective “bust-ups”. So do they break out the ice cream as they plant themselves on the couch for a marathon streaming TV binge? Oh no, they hatch a scheme that loudly declares (though not out loud to the “targets”), I WANT YOU BACK.
The “shenanigans” start during a really awful weekend for our two main subjects. Funny, funky Emma (Jenny Slate) is finishing up a delicious brunch with her hunky beau Noah (Scott Eastwood), when he drops the “bomb”. He’s “moving on” and has a new “lady”, Ginny (Clark Backo), who owns her own trendy pie shop, while Emma hasn’t advanced (she’s still living in her old college apartment with new much-younger student roommates). Across town, affable, friendly Peter (Charlie Day) is frolicking with the “birthday boy’ at his girlfriend’s family’s party. He’s having a blast, but his gal Anne (Gina Rodriguez) seems distant and distracted. Peter finally pries the reason why from her: she’s done with his un-adventurous nature and has taken up with somebody that’s more “free-spirited”. He, like Emma, is completely stunned. But it’s back to work on Monday, so he attends a big morning meeting with the rest of the “team” at a major “senior retirement living center” management company…until he sees a social media pic of Anne and her new fella’. Peter dashes out of the conference room and heads to the building’s stairwell to compose himself. His sobbing is interrupted by a wail of anguish. It’s Emma, who works three floors below as a dental receptionist. The two bond over their shared heartache, and after an evening of karaoke they formulate a strategy. Grabbing info from their exes’ internet posts, they’ll help each other break up the new couples. Emma will seduce Anne’s guy, drama teacher Logan (Manny Jacinto), while Peter (he can’t compete with his beefcake perfection) will become pals with Noah and turn him against Ginny (the ole’ Iago ploy). But can this master plan really succeed? Can these conspirators really repair their old romances?
This “twisty-turny” farce provides a terrific showcase for its two engaging stars (who are deserving of a much larger audience). Slate has already “headlined’ in several interesting “indie” comedies (OBVIOUS CHILD and LANDLINE are the standouts), so her comedic ‘chops’ are proven. This time she reveals an endearing vulnerable side as the floundering Emma who tries to hide her pain behind a mask of snark. There’s an emotional wound, but Slate, through her moist eyes, shows that she thinks that maybe Emma is really “stuck”. Lucky for the filmmakers that she has caustic comic chemistry with Day who tempers his manic “motor-mouthed” delivery with a true sweetness as he questions his “mission”. And he too knows that he’s got to get out of his “comfort zone”, personally and professionally, as Pete was too scared of taking “risks”. And while their former flames would be the “baddies” in other flicks, the “dumpers” somehow don’t deserve our disdain. That’s due in large part to the work of Rodriguez and Eastwood. She’s wanting to “breakout’ before getting “settled”, but Anne still hesitates on making a big (sexual) “leap”. We know the camera adores Eastwood, but his warm take on Noah, closer to an “every-bro”, is moving, especially as he makes Peter his new “lil’ bro”. Oh ditto for their “new loves”. Backo’s a sweet career-minded woman who’s not taking the “plunge” till all is “right”. Jacinto’s a flighty spacey but sweet goofball (a slightly smarter take on his “The Good Place” TV role), who’s more adventurous than anyone thinks (aside from letting his middle school students put on a fairly adult musical). One of his students, Trevor. is played with natural ease by young Luke David Blumm, who has a touching rapport with Salte’s Emma.
Yes, as you may have surmised this is a “rom-com” riff on a Hitchcock classic, though it’s not the first funny “re-imagining” (that would be THROW MAMA FROM THE TRAIN from, really, 35 years ago). Rather than STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, this is “Strangers in a Stairwell” for the main premise. And it really is a “clever spin” on that chestnut thanks to the unpredictable script by TV vets Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger. Of course, we know that things won’t go completely according to Emma and Peter’s scheme, but the surprises and “turn arounds’ keep us invested and alert. The characters grow and emotionally change, thanks in part to the brief “detours”, particularly Emma’s warm friendship with Trevor in which she takes a big leap into “adulthood”. The story’s pace is solid thanks to the confident, directing from Jason Orley (pretty great for his sophomore feature film). It’s very strong for a comic romp with no true villains, but folks with different dreams and agendas. The Georgia locales are lovely, especially a big finale set aboard a riverboat. The film’s biggest plus is that I wanted to keep “hanging” with the characters just as the credits started to roll (a real rarity). Its biggest minus is the fact that it won’t be in theatres, since this film gives a nice “sheen” to the tarnished “rep” of “rom-coms”. Let’s hope we’ll see future pairings of Slate and Day because I WANT YOU BACK. Someday…
3 out of 4
I WANT YOU BACK streams exclusively on Amazon Prime Video beginning Friday, February 11, 2022
Nothing’s more fun than The Wildey’s Tuesday Night Film Series. Sam Peckinpah’s THE WILD BUNCH (1968) will be on the big screenwhen it plays at The Wildey Theater in Edwardsville, IL (252 N Main St, Edwardsville, IL 62025) at 7:00pm Tuesday February 15th. Tickets are only $3 Tickets available starting at 3pm day of movie at Wildey Theatre ticket office. Cash or check only. (cash, credit cards accepted for concessions) Lobby opens at 6pm.
THE WILD BUNCH was a ground-breaking, revisionist western from director Sam Peckinpah, Although violence existed in the cinema before this film, it was Peckinpah’s treatment of violence that opened the gates for every subsequent film-maker to show graphic gunshot wounds, throat-slashing, and the like, with shocking realism. THE WILD BUNCH was beautifully shot by Lucien Ballard and featured memorable performances from William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Warren Oates, and many others.
Sam Peckinpah’s film The Wild Bunch is the story of a gang of outlaws who are one big steal from retirement. When their attempted train robbery goes awry, the gang flees to Mexico and falls in with a brutal general of the Mexican Revolution, who offers them the job of a lifetime. Conceived by a stuntman, directed by a blacklisted director, and shot in the sand and heat of the Mexican desert, the movie seemed doomed. Instead, it became an instant classic with a dark, violent take on the Western movie tradition.
Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, announced that The Spine of Night will be available exclusively to stream on the platform starting on Thursday, March 24, 2022. As a Shudder exclusive, the platform will be the only subscription service that will carry the film in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
Here’s The Spine of Night trailer:
The Spine of Night stars an all-star cast of Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?),Lucy Lawless (“Xena: Warrior Princess”), Patton Oswalt (Young Adult), Betty Gabriel (Get Out) and Joe Manganiello (“True Blood”). The film was co-written and co-directed by Philip Gelatt and Morgan Galen King.
In The Spine of Night, an ultra-violent fantasy epic, ancient dark magic falls into sinister hands and unleashes ages of suffering onto mankind. A group of heroes from different eras and cultures must band together in order to defeat it at all costs.
