Dee Wallace, Kane Hodder and Corey Feldman in 13 FANBOY is available on DVD from Mill Creek Entertainment. It can be ordered HERE
An obsessed fan stalks his favorite actors from the Friday the 13th films and beyond. As a child, Kelsie Voorhees witnesses the murder of her grandmother, Friday the 13th actress Deborah Voorhees, at the hands of a crazed fanboy. As an adult, she discovers her grandmother isn’t the only victim and the killer is still out there searching for his favorite Friday the 13th cast members and iconic scream queens to slaughter, mirroring his idol Jason Voorhees, as he still can’t seem to separate the characters in the movies from their real-life personas.
“My water bed got slashed to shreds and all you can do is joke about it. I swear she was trying to kill me!”
Head to the Marcus Des Peres Cinema (12701 Manchester Rd, Des Peres, MO 63131) this Friday and Saturday (March 11th and 12th) at 10pm for THE HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW (1982). This is of course this month’s Destroy the Brain.com’s entry in their ‘Late Nite Grindhouse’ film series. Tickets are $10 each. A Facebook invite with advance ticket details can be found HERE
After a seemingly innocent prank goes horribly wrong, a group of sorority sisters are stalked and murdered one by one in their sorority house while throwing a party to celebrate their graduation. THE HOUSE ON SORORITY ROW is a prototypical slasher movie in which a bevy of beautiful sorority girls are diced and sliced and all because of something that happened 20 years previously. It’s a suitably sleazy creep-fest and a lot of fun. Right from the beginning, you know this is a cheesy 80’s slasher flick and you have to watch it with that in mind. Don’t miss this opportunity to see it on the big screen!
RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, will release Season 2, the final season, of the horror/drama series: The Walking Dead: World Beyond on DVD and Blu-ray on March 8, 2022. The second season of the series originally aired on AMC Networks in October 2021. Watch the trailer:
Now you can win the Blu-rayof WALKING DEAD: WORLD BEYOND Final Season.We Are Movie Geeks has two to give away. Just leave a comment below telling us what your favorite character from the Walking Dead series is (I’d say Merle. It’s so easy!)
1. YOU MUST BE A US RESIDENT. PRIZE WILL ONLY BE SHIPPED TO US ADDRESSES. NO P.O. BOXES. NO DUPLICATE ADDRESSES.
2. WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN FROM ALL QUALIFYING ENTRIES. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY
Set in the same universe as “The Walking Dead,” The Walking Dead: World Beyond Season 2stars Aliyah Royale, Alexa Mansour, Hal Cumpston, Nicolas Cantu, Nico Tortorella, Annet Mahendru and Julia Ormond. RLJE Films will release The Walking Dead: World Beyond Season 2 on DVD for an SRP of $34.97and Blu-ray for an SRP of $39.98.
Season two of The Walking Dead: World Beyond concludes the epic story of Iris (Aliyah Royale), Hope (Alexa Mansour), Elton (Nicolas Cantu), and Silas (Hal Cumpston) — four friends who journeyed across the country on a mission that transformed everything they knew about themselves and the world. As they face off against the mysterious Civic Republic Military and fight for control of their own destiny, goals will shift, bonds will form and crumble, and innocence will be both lost and found.
In the week leading up to the 94th Oscars®, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present a series of public programs celebrating this year’s nominees in the Animated Feature Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, International Feature Film, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Animated and Live Action Short Film categories. All events will be held at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
Hosted by Academy Short Films and Feature Animation Branch Governor Jon Bloom.
The Academy celebrates the nominated films and filmmakers in the Animated Short Film and Live Action Short Film categories. The evening will include a screening of all 10 nominated shorts in their entirety, as well as introductions by all the nominated filmmakers (schedules permitting).
Hosted by Academy Documentary Branch Governors Kate Amend, Jean Tsien and Roger Ross Williams.
The Academy showcases the nominated films and filmmakers in the Documentary Short Subject and Documentary Feature categories. The evening will include a presentation of clips from this year’s nominated films with introductions by the nominees (schedules permitting).
Hosted by International Feature Film Award Executive Committee co-chairs Susanne Bier and Rajendra Roy.
The Academy celebrates this year’s nominees for Best International Feature Film. The evening will feature clips from each nominated film, as well as a panel discussion with the directors (schedules permitting).
Hosted by Academy Short Films and Feature Animation Branch Governors Bonnie Arnold and Jennifer Yuh Nelson.
The Academy celebrates the films and filmmakers nominated for Best Animated Feature Film. The morning event will feature clips from each film, with an onstage discussion with each group of nominated filmmakers (schedules permitting).
Hosted by Academy Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Branch Governors Howard Berger, Bill Corso and Linda Flowers.
The Academy spotlights the artists nominated for the Makeup and Hairstyling award. The afternoon event will include a screening of the “bake-off” reels that Academy branch members viewed before voting on the nominated films. Each will be followed by a discussion panel with the nominees (schedules permitting).
Tickets are on sale at Oscars.org. Tickets are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members, Academy Museum members and students with a valid ID. Doors open one hour prior to each event. All ticketed seating is unreserved. For more information, visit Oscars.org or call (310) 247-3600.
Note: Attendees will be required to provide proof of full vaccination or negative COVID-19 PCR test. Masks will be required. Full COVID protocols can be found here.
Samuel Goldwyn Theater 8949 Wilshire Blvd. Beverly Hills, CA 90211
Public programming for 2022 Oscar Week is made possible in part by the Ruderman Family Foundation, which promotes authentic representation in the entertainment industry and full inclusion of people with disabilities throughout all sectors of society.
The 94th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby® Theatre at Hollywood & Highland® in Hollywood and will be televised live on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and in more than 200 territories worldwide.
Coming to theaters on March 25 is Paramount Pictures THE LOST CITY. From Co-Directors Adam Nee and Aaron Nee, the movie stars Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Oscar Nuñez, Patti Harrison, Bowen Yang.
Brilliant, but reclusive author Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock) has spent her career writing about exotic places in her popular romance-adventure novels featuring handsome cover model Alan (Channing Tatum), who has dedicated his life to embodying the hero character, “Dash.” While on tour promoting her new book with Alan, Loretta is kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire (Daniel Radcliffe) who hopes that she can lead him to the ancient lost city’s treasure from her latest story. Wanting to prove that he can be a hero in real life and not just on the pages of her books, Alan sets off to rescue her. Thrust into an epic jungle adventure, the unlikely pair will need to work together to survive the elements and find the ancient treasure before it’s lost forever.
Go behind the scene with stars Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum and Co-Director Adam Nee on the creation of the Leeches scene from THE LOST CITY.
THE LOST CITY IS ONLY IN THEATRES MARCH 25, 2022
TICKETS NOW ON SALE FOR MARCH 25TH WIDE OPENING AND FANDANGO PREMIERE EARLY ACCESS SCREENINGS ON MARCH 19TH
Paramount Pictures is excited to announce exclusive Fandango Premiere Early Access Screenings at 225 theaters nationwide on March 19th, one week before its only-in-theaters wide release date on March 25th. Tickets for this limited big-screen event are now on sale, only at Fandango.
Noomi Rapace stars as “Bosilka” in director Goran Stolevski’s YOU WON’T BE ALONE, a Focus Features release. Credit: Branko Starcevic / Focus Features
Set in an isolated mountain village in 19th century Macedonia, YOU WON’T BE ALONE follows a young girl who is kidnapped and then transformed into a witch by an ancient spirit. Curious about life as a human, the young witch accidentally kills a peasant in the nearby village and then takes her victim’s shape to live life in her skin. Her curiosity ignited, she continues to wield this horrific power in order to understand what it means to be human.
Focus Features will release YOU WON’T BE ALONE in theaters on April 1, 2022.
An official selection of the Sundance Film Festival, the film stars Noomi Rapace, Anamaria Marinca, Alice Englert, Carloto Cotta, Félix Maritaud, Sara Klimoska.
From visionary director Goran Stolevski, watch the brand new trailer.
The film sits at 90% over on Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s what some of the critics have to say.
“The movie… gets deeper and more emotional as it goes, becoming a metaphor for restless empathy and non-binary points of view.” Full Review from Entertainment Weekly.
“A bloody — and bloody good — vampire tale that squeezes quite a few new twists out of fundamentally familiar material.” Full Review from Deadline.
“Drawing on his Macedonian roots, director Goran Stolevski delivers a truly unique feature debut: an erotically charged, at times brutish quest for identity, disguised as an elevated horror film.” Full Review from Variety.
Read an interview with the director HERE. “I tend to write about difficult women”, says Stolevski. “All of my previous works are character dramas. I did a ton of research about witches including folktales and historic documents. I tried to understand why they were telling the stories they were telling. As for witchcraft, we’ve always been told about them through a western lens, so I wanted to look outside of that. The voice of the characters came very easily after that. Once I had the inner voice and basic premise, it became this.”
The True/False documentary film festival, March 3-6, is one of the country’s best documentary film festivals, that annually shows a slate of outstanding documentaries on an array of topics, including a surprising number of future award-winners and Oscar contenders. And it takes place in college town Columbia, Missouri, this weekend. What better way to greet spring?
True/False has no awards or competitions but it does have amazing documentaries from around the world, excellent, engrossing discussions with every feature length documentary, a true festival vibe, and some of the year’s best documentaries on a variety of topics. Even better, it is an entirely walk-able festival in a charming college town, full of interesting shops and a broad selection of places to eat and stay. It gets everyone in a party mood by kicking off with a parade every year.
This year, some of the hottest docs are here. One of the hottest, in more than one sense, is FIRE OF LOVE, the love story of a pair of volcanologists, Katia and Maurice Kraftt, devoted to both studying volcanoes and filming them, shooting electrifying footage of eruptions, rushing to every one for two decades. RIOTSVILLE, USA focuses on a strange bit of history, with archival stills and footage of “Riotvilles,” fake little towns the U.S. military built during the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, as training grounds to practice for civil unrest.
Documentaries are often about point-of-view and I DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE captures Reid Davenport’s viewpoint, as he films a circus near his apartment from his wheelchair, reflecting on the history of circuses and people with disabilities. A different kind of point-of-view is found in MIJA, Isabel Castro’s warm-hearted doc about a successful woman music manager who supports her undocumented parents and other family.
But even beyond the docs already getting attention, there are more gems to uncover at True/False. The truth is, you could pick any documentary at True/False and see something interesting, thought-provoking or even eye-opening.
The festival is also sprinkled with parties, special events, concerts and fun events like the game-show style “Gimme Truth,” all capped off with a Closing Night Party.
Visit the festival website at truefalse.org to find information on True/False, read about the films and buy tickets.
Matt Reeves goes noir for THE BATMAN, the latest in a long line of Batman reboots, and this time featuring Robert Pattinson as the Caped Crusader. Reeves, whose previous work includes CLOVERFIELD, DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES and its sequel, gives us a dark world, where it always seems to be raining, where corners are dimly lit and gritty streets are littered. The imagery suggests THE JOKER or even BLADE RUNNER, but this film is not as high-concept as either of those films. While the film noir style is gorgeous and the supporting cast strong, Pattinson’s one-note brooding, a plot with too many villains and not enough focus, and a nearly three-hour running time keep the film from truly soaring.
Still, it is distinctly different from the typical superhero movie, and an aesthetic well suited to Batman, always a darker superhero than most. That is all good for those of us who like film noir and gritty thrillers, although those who want brighter sets and a more typical superhero fare may be less pleased. However, beneath the surface, THE BATMAN is more a typical superhero tale, just in different clothing.
Batman (Robert Pattinson), the crime fighting alter-ego of millionaire Bruce Wayne, is one year in to his career as a secret enforcer of the law, but he is already questioning whether he is making any difference. The crime in Gotham City seems to still be going up and, since he lacks superpowers, he can’t be everywhere at once to stop crime. While he is plagued with doubts about this new life he has taken on as a way to avenge his murdered parents, he is still responding when the Bat signal lights up the sky. This time the crime strikes a personal chord for Batman – a man murdered on Halloween in his own home while his son was out trick-or-treating, only to come home and find the body. While this gruesome crime was taking place, Batman was beating up some baddies in the subway, who had targeted an Asian man, in a little contemporary reference.
While Gordon (the always-excellent Jeffrey Wright), Batman’s police contact and the future Police Commissioner, is unwavering in his support, others on the police force are more hostile to the Batman, regarding him as an intruder rather than a help. But this murder scene has some quirky elements, among which is a greeting card addressed to the Batman. Inside are hints in the form of a riddle, a sure sign of Batman’s long-time nemesis, the Riddler (Paul Dano). Except, at this point, he isn’t a long time adversary, because Bruce Wayne is still fairly new at this Batman stuff.
However, Reeves doesn’t stop with a single villain. THE BATMAN also brings in the Penguin (an unrecognizable Colin Farrell) and an underworld figure, Carmine Falcone, played by John Turturro. But the best character is Zoe Kravitz’s Catwoman, that combination criminal adversary and love interest for iron-jawed Batman. Rounding out the cast are Andy Serkis as Batman’s aide/butler Alfred, Peter Sarsgaard as District Attorney Colson, plus Barry Keoghan, Rupert Penry-Jones and Jayme Lawson, among others.
There are twists and surprises aplenty here, often with “Ave Maria” often playing in the background. That soundtrack motif feels a bit of pretentious after while, but photography by Greig Fraser is gloriously noir, a real delight for fans of that genre.
Presenting the Batman story as film noir, as a police procedural, is an intriguing way to come at the whole Batman/Bruce Wayne tale. Audiences are so familiar with the Batman origin story through the many Batman retellings and reboots, that skipping some of its familiar elements, like a scene of his parents’ murders, is no problem. Finding a new way into this story is a bit of a problem, so doing so is an impressive feat, and the film deserves credit for that.
In this is a grim world, corruption is everywhere and the plot is very dark. But despite all the film noir surface, this is still a comic book movie and not some deep psychological drama. Pattinson does his handsome, brooding thing, with a little more youthful vulnerability in the few scenes where he is Bruce Wayne. Clearly Batman’s armor is protective in more than one way. His performance should please his fans, although as an actor, he has done more nuanced work in other roles. This Batman feels very young, more so that other versions. In his crime fighter identity, Pattinson’s Batman projects amazing strength and agility, even beyond all the technology at his fingertips. But his Bruce Wayne is not the smooth social character, polished and perfectly groomed, that we usually see for the alter-ego, but a very young man, reserved, even shy, and often a bit disheveled, but so privileged that it doesn’t matter. Once again, a far different approach.
The supporting cast is excellent, boosted by some unexpected choices, like Paul Dano as the Riddler, who is a delight. While Pattinson does that quiet, brooding thing, Zoe Kravitz nearly steals the show as Catwoman. Kravitz gives us a crackling Catwoman – smart, fearless, with a ready wit, that she sometimes turns on the Batman. This Catwoman has her own alter-ego and backstory, but most of all she lights up the screen with electric energy and has a terrific, biting sense of humor. Zoe Kravitz is one of the best things about this film, followed closely by Paul Dano, doing a fine, crazy Riddler. As the Penguin, Colin Farrell is largely underutilized, appearing in few scenes.
Where THE BATMAN goes off the rails is in offering too much, starting with it’s nearly three-hour running time. Too much story, too many villains and too much running time. Introducing so many villains (or near-villains) does the film no favor, and then there is the the nearly three hours running time. And you feels that running time too – every extra major character requires a subplot that deviates from the central story, and while Reeves does bring it all together in the end, it feels overwritten and audiences many feel exhausted by the end. There is enough material for two, maybe three, movies here, crammed into this one. It is a case of less would have been more.
THE BATMAN opens Friday, Mar. 4, at multiple theaters.
(Original Caption) Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz going over business matters. Picture from Lucy’s personal file.
So here’s the perfect companion to one of the big feature film “docudramas” from the last weeks of 2021. You may even consider it a “super bonus extra” for a proposed home video release. Ah, but it’s so much more than that. It delves into the history and legacy more thoroughly than any “squeezed into a brief timeline” big-screen treatment. Sure there are lots of clips from this duo’s greatest collaboration, which is still being adored by fans all over the planet every day, but there are historical artifacts that many of us have never seen and heard before. And happily, there are the early, early”pre-superstardom” snippets as the careers of these two began to converge and meld. These gems along with archival footage have been assembled by a talented comic actress who might be considered a “spiritual offspring” of the feminine half of the couple in question. Hey, these two still come to mind when examining their main medium’s history. In the arena of real-life couples who worked together, you’ve got Lunt and Fontanne on stage, in the movies there’s Bogie and Bacall and in television, particularly comedy, it all begins with (and some say is still dominated by). LUCY AND DESI.
It all starts with the enduring images of the two, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. There are countless clips of the Ricardos: Lucy trying to share the stage with Ricky at “the club”, Ricky exploding with a barrage of Spanish as he reveals Lucy’s newest scheme, Lucy hatches said plot with BFF neighbor Ethel Mertz. Then the filmmakers take us back to the duo’s modest, even desperate early times. Brother Fred (in an archival interview) tells of his sister Lucy almost becoming the head of the household when a target practice accident nearly takes everything from their grandfather’s Jamestown NY home. She’s determined to be a star, trying out for Broadway shows, modeling, and even creating a “wild west” persona “Montana” Ball to try and jumpstart a hopeful film career as she heads to LA. Not far from the US, young Desi flees the Cuban Revolution of 1933 and barely makes it to Miami, eking out a living by cleaning canary cages before his musical skills attract the attention of Xavier Cugat, leading to the formation of Desi’s own band. Fans only familiar with the sitcoms will be dazzled by the early images of the two, Lucy, a Technicolor flaming-red-haired movie goddess at MGM, and Desi, a gorgeous exotic untamed congo drum-pounding heartthrob. Home movie scenes and audio recordings (Desi on seeing Lucy for the first time, “Now, thas’ some hunka’ woman!”) chronicle their fiery romance, courtship, and marriage. We’re treated to an amazing montage of Lucy’s screen roles, many of which couldn’t quite capture her talents (leading lady or wisecracking supporting player). And there’s that TV show that never “went away”. We see the foundation being built for the Desilu empire, and its demise as the divorce almost derails the entertainment juggernaut. Though the heads of the company wouldn’t perform on camera, they still had a behind-the-scenes working relationship…for a time. The film provides an overview of their solo lives and careers leading up to their final days in the late 1980s.
Oh, that talented comic actress I mentioned earlier is none other than the “pride of Pawnee” Amy Poehler, known for her memorable TV work on SNL and “Parks and Recreations” in her impressive feature documentary debut. Though much of the story and materials are familiar, she brings a real vitality to the legend via access to those family treasures. Hearing the duo’s voices paired with the keenly selected clips adds an unexpected poignancy. Footage shot on the set of the 1960s “The Lucy Show” gives us Desi’s unexpected visit to the Studio, surprising the guest star (another show biz superstar), though Ms. B doesn’t look that pleased (maybe just indifferent). We get Ball’s work ethic, hinted at in Sorkin’s biopic, as she shockingly states that, “I’m not funny…I just work very hard”. And though he professionalism often caused many to label her the “B word’, I’d think that stands for “boss” as we see her presiding over a board meeting of Desilu shareholders just after Desi was bought out. .Ms. Poehler know when to sparingly utilize some great “talking head” subjects. Carol Burnett gushes over her “gypsy pal, Bette Midler tells of Lucy’s mentoring, while Charo (yes the “gootchie-gootchie gal”) sings the praises of Desi while strumming a guitar. Most prominently daughter Lucie Arnaz offers insights and anecdotes, while we only hear from brother Desi Junior. Plus we’re treated to news interviews with TV writers Madelyn Davis and Bob Carroll Jr., along with Lucy’s brother Fred, though it’s a shame that the last surviving TV cast member, Richard Keith (“Little Rick”) doesn’t appear. We really get a sense of the Desilu domination of early TV as Desi was the major force behind the three-camera filming setup (still used today) and (for better or worse) the rerun., That’s one of the sadder aspects of the tale as Desi had to remind folks that he wasn’t just the “lucky stiff’ riding the apron strings of his comic firebrand wife. And this helped accelerate the breakup that devastated fans. My only complaint with the film is its omissions of the post “I Love Lucy” careers of the two. Yes, Lucy’s follow-up sitcoms are here, but no mention of her feature film work: two comic romps with Bob Hope, the surprise hit YOURS MINE AND OURS (recently spoofed in LICORICE PIZZA), and the “megaflop” MAME (reportedly Desi tried to warn Lucy of the bomb, but she didn’t listen). Oh, and no mention of the mid-80s misfire sitcom comeback on ABC, “Life with Lucy” (perhaps that’s a good thing). Plus Desi stayed active behind the scenes in the late 60s show “The Mothers-In-Law”. Maybe it’s not a “knock” to wish this engaging and often moving non-fiction film was a bit longer. And really, couldn’t the world right now use a lot more of LUCY AND DESI? Babalooooo!!
3.5 Out of 4
LUCY AND DESI is now streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video
FORTRESS: SNIPER’S EYE starring Jesse Metcalfe, Bruce Willis and Chad Michael Murray – In Select Theaters, On Digital and On Demand April 29th.
Here’s the trailer:
Starring Bruce Willis (Pulp Fiction), this action cyber-thriller continues the adventure begun in Fortress. Weeks after the deadly assault on Fortress Camp, Robert (Bruce Willis) makes a daring rescue to save Sasha, the widow of his old nemesis Balzary (Chad Michael Murray, “One Tree Hill”). But back in the camp’s command bunker, it appears Sasha may have devious plans of her own. As a new attack breaks out, Robert is confronted with a familiar face he thought he’d never see again…
