“We got no food, we got no jobs… our PETS’ HEADS ARE FALLING OFF!”
Nothing’s more fun than The Wildey’s Tuesday Night Film Series. Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in DUMB AND DUMBER 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 January 18th. 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.
Harry and Lloyd are two good friends who happen to be really stupid. The duo set out on a cross country trip from Providence to Aspen, Colorado to return a briefcase full of money to its rightful owner, a beautiful woman named Mary Swanson. After a trip of one mishap after another, the duo eventually make it to Aspen. But the two soon realize that Mary and her briefcase are the least of their problems.
Here in the US movie audiences have embraced animated features based on fairy tales for well over eighty years when Walt Disney gambled on the story of Snow White and her seven forest pals. And how do they travel overseas? Very well indeed as many foreign lands contributed to the wealth of animated fable features. Now comes a new take on a much-beloved story that the “mouse house’ tackled over thirty years ago. No, it’s not another “live-action” retelling as the Disney Studios did in 2015. The master film artisans of Japan have put an interesting high tech “spin” on it, but it’s not a CG effort, like a Pixar flick. This is somewhat futuristic with the same themes of swooning romance between a reviled creature and the beauty known as BELLE.
Before the love story properly commences, we’re given a short prologue, a primer on the virtual community existing online known as the U. Its super-sophisticated system allows members to enter via an earpiece that gathers biometric info on the user to create a unique “avatar” in the U world. The most talked-about character (in all the chat rooms and forums) is the pop music diva, Belle. But who is she in the “real world” (true identities are protected)? She’s a shy high school girl named Suzu (voice of Kaho Nakamura) still dealing with the tragic loss of her mother many years ago. She’s drifting away from her widowed dad but has a few close friends at school. There’s Ruka (Tina Watanabe), who shares her online secret and acts as her agent/guide in the U. Suzu also has a protector in her childhood pal/crush Shinobu (Ryo Narita). But Suzu really lives to become Belle and headline massive concerts in the towering U cities. Then the unthinkable happens, a savage beast disrupts her biggest show, zipping through the crowds while being pursued by an army of “super peace-keepers” led by the handsome Justian (Toshiyuki Morikawa). Belle/Suzu is drawn to the dragon-like beast and locates his hiding place, a massive ornate castle. Unfortunately, Justian and his forces follow her and threaten to “unveil” and destroy the hulking horned creature. His only hope for survival is Suzu, who needs to find out his “real world” identity. But who can it be? Perhaps it’s Shinobu or his canoe-crazy pal Shinjiro (Shota Sometani)? Can she solve the mystery before she suffers another devasting loss?
So, yes this does owe a lot to BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, both the original tale and the various film incarnations (including Walt’s), but this clever take from writer/director Mamoru Hosoda expands on the familiar with elements of TRON, THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER, and CYRANO. It is of two worlds, the U online and the real, with the emotions running high in both. Suzu and her pals are dramatically expressive, making every day in high school fraught with danger at every corner. Ditto for the U, though the avatars have more fluidity and grace rather than “gangly panic” (no “sweat beads” there). Then there are the visual palette differences. Yes, : reality’ has moments of loveliness with tranquil rippling streams and drifting fluffy clouds. But oh, the online wonders of the U paradise. Rows of skyscrapers form art deco mountain ranges as dazzling multi-hued pixies and critters dance in and out of the canyons. Belle herself is a luminous neon goddess, her long hair dancing about her lithe figure. A stark contrast to the “Beast” a lumbering creation with a warthog/equine face, scowering eyes, a robe to hide its bruises, and dangerous longhorns. His home is a sharp-edged, grim-grey explosion of shapes and lines. Oh, the animation is close to the classic “hand-drawn” 2D style, though computers greatly aided in the airbrush-like character colorings and the eye-popping effects (buildings explode in delicate, shimmering shards of reflecting glass). And though the “real world” is often too melodramatic (lots of static figures with mouths always agape), the U dimension carries constant surprises. It’s a marvel mixing timeless themes with futuristic fantasy. And that’s the true beauty of BELLE.
Dracula (Brian Hull) with Mavis (Selena Gomez) in Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation’s HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: TRANSFORMANIA.
So, we’re barely two weeks into the new year and you’re ready for a quick getaway? Well, we’ve got the perfect spot, the place you visited three times before. Remember you had lots of fun because it was filled with lots of familiar faces (and voices)? Yes, it’s the place where all the coolest animated monsters go to chill out after being chased by those pesky villagers with pitchforks. Now, the route to this little hot spot is a tad different this time, but the ole’ gruesome gang has a goofy new adventure ready to be enjoyed in HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: TRANSFORMANIA (okay, might not be a word, but go with it).
And it just so happens that there’s a big anniversary celebration going on at that familiar “vacay” spot. Plus, the whole monster gang is there to toast Drac (voice of Brian Hull) and his “fair lady” Ericka (Kathryn Hahn), Unfortunately, daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) has left the event in the hands of her clumsy human hubby Jonathan (Andy Samberg). In a lull in the chaos Drac and Ericka discuss his retiring from managing the place and handing it over to Mavis, who overhears this and passes the info on to Jonathan. Unable to control his excitement, he blurts out his thanks to Drac, who panics and tells a tiny “white lie”: he can only give the place to a monster, not a human. A distraught Jonathan runs off to Ericka’s papa, Dr. Van Helsing (Jim Gaffigan), who actually has a solution. His ruby-powered scepter can shoot out a “Monsterfication Ray” that turns humans into monsters, and vice-versa. With one well-aimed blast, Jonathan becomes a massive lumbering dragon. He then meets with a horrified Drac, who grabs the device, but instead of “normalizing ” his son-in-law. he and many of his pals become (gasp) human beings (well Blobby becomes a plate of lime gelatin dessert). Oh-oh, now the ruby’s run out of juice, and the only replacements are deep in the jungles of South America. It’s then a race against the clock (Jonathan is becoming more, well, monstrous to the “point of no return”) to find a new gem, zap everybody, get back to their ole horrific selves.
So, the different route I mentioned earlier is streaming, not in movie theatres as with the previous three entries in the franchise. Oh, and there’s a big vocal cast change in that Adam Sandler’s not speaking for Drac (ditto with Kevin James as Frankie), not that the wee ones will notice as Hull gives the same bouncy Bela-like lilt to his line (same for Brad Abrell as big bolted Frankie). Plus the folks at the helm have changed. Yes, it’s an “s” since artists Derek Dryman and Jennifer Kluska have been handed the reins from Gendy Tartakovsky, who did co-write the screenplay with Amos Vernon and Nunzio Randazzo. To be honest I couldn’t tell the difference from the now ten-year-old original. And yes I skipped two, three, and a stand-alone short, but I’ve always said that a flick should work on its own, as though you’re entering the series “fresh”. Sure the vocal performances are still strong especially Samberg’s big excited doofus “normal” and Gaffingan’s cranky riff on all the late-shot horror scholars as Van Helsing, though Gomez and Hahn are woefully underused. The script tries to strike a balance between the quest of Drac and Jonathan intercut with the monster gang trying to cope with their new human forms. Frankly, the Hotel hubbub has little energy, as the same gags are reused (Frank’s now a vain “poser”, werewolf Wayne can’t cope with his litter of pups, much as with the piglets in SING 2, and the now visible Griffin can’t cover his “modesty”). Luckily the colorful designs and backdrops really pop (the jungle settings are so vibrant), and the characters are “rubbery” without losing their “weight”, though the constant frantic movements can get exhausting. It all comes down to your affection for the franchise, so if you liked them you’ll probably enjoy this. But for those “newbies”, it may feel like another “inter-changeable” celeb-voice-driven CGI fluff that won’t entice you to check in again, despite the capable artisans behind HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: TRANSFORMANIA.
2 Out of 4
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: TRANSFORMANIA streams exclusively on Amazon Prime Video beginning on Friday, January 14, 2022
GHOSTS OF THE OZARKS starring Thomas Hobson, Phil Morris, Tara Perry, Tim Blake Nelson, Angela Bettis and David Arquette – In Theaters/On Demand/Digital Feb. 3rd.
Here’s the trailer:
Tim Blake Nelson, David Arquette, Angela Bettis, Thomas Hobson, Phil Morris and Tara Perry star in this exciting new take on the southern ghost story. In post-Civil War Arkansas, a young doctor is mysteriously summoned to a remote town in the Ozarks only to discover that the utopian paradise is filled with secrets and surrounded by a menacing, supernatural presence.
“Disquieting, often claustrophobic, and always mesmerizing.”– Diabolique
RLJE Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has picked up select rights to the horror film, AN UNQUIET GRAVE from Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural. RLJE Films will release AN UNQUIET GRAVE on VOD, Digital HD and DVD on January 18, 2022. The DVD will be available for an SRP of $27.97. Here’s the spooky trailer:
Now you can win the Win the DVD of AN UNQUIET GRAVE. We Are Movie Geeks has two to give away. Just leave a comment below telling us what your favorite horror movie that begins with the letter ‘U’ (I’d say UNDER THE SKIN. 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
In his feature directorial debut, Terence Krey (“Graves”) co-wrote the film with Christine Nyland (Worthless). Nyland stars in the horror film alongside Jacob A. Ware (“Boardwalk Empire”).
In AN UNQUIET GRAVE, a year after losing his wife in a car crash, Jamie (Jacob A. Ware) convinces her sister, Ava (Christine Nyland), to return with him to the site of the accident and help him perform a strange ritual. But as the night wears on, it becomes clear that he has darker intentions.
AN UNQUIET GRAVE DVD bonus features include:
· Filmmaker Commentary
· Lyric Video of “The Unquiet Grave” by Vanessa Cuccia
Chloe (Stephane Caillard) and Dialo (Adama Niane) in season 1 of Topic’s original series ISKANDER, Photo courtesy of Topic
Season 2 of Topic’s original TV series ISKANDER debuts Thursday, Jan. 13, with the entire season 1 also available for streaming starting on that date. The four-episode debut season of ISKANDER, a crime drama from French TV, delivers a solid mystery in an exotic setting – French Guyana.
In season 1, we meet Chloe (Stephane Caillard), a police officer banished to this post in the remote jungle setting of Cayenne for some unspecified act of insubordination. On her first day, she’s partnered with veteran detective Dialo (Adama Niane), and sent to the site of a gruesome murder. They find a catamaran adrift up river with the bodies of two white do-gooders who were distributing educational materials to isolated villages. She learns many locals resent such seemingly benevolent acts. Those descendants of African slaves the French imported fear those efforts will cause their children to abandon their own language and culture.
Even so, the crime appears to have been committed as some kind of religious ritual. The husband and wife weren’t just killed. They were mutilated and posed with other objects in an excessively bloody manner. Their young son is missing. Unraveling all of this is fills the rest of the season.
Chloe is smart and tough, but rather arrogant for one thrust into a new and different culture, showing little concern for local customs and key figures. The urgency of rescuing the child denies her the time than needed for a learning curve, even if she were less headstrong about the job. Dialo knows people in all segments of the populace. During their investigations, we learn that he’s troubled by similarities to a long pattern in the area involving child abductions for arcane purposes.
Four episodes is the right length for getting to know these characters, understanding their specific environs, and remaining engaged in this suspenseful plot. The story unfolds with a fair amount of action, and considerable explanation of how present attitudes and beliefs were shaped by the former colony’s history, including the meaning and significance of ISKANDER. Chloe initially seems like a bit of a jerk, but we wind up thinking whoever she pissed off to be sent there probably deserved what she did to him.
Season 2 expands to six episodes, and moves Chloe from the tropics to her snow-covered hometown of St. Pierre et Miquelon – a French territory off the coast of Newfoundland. She returns because of her mother’s suicide, and to provide for her brain-damaged younger brother, Francois (Axel Granberger).
Though watching the first year is not essential to enjoying this second one, a significant carryover element makes more sense for those who have. The season’s opening recap won’t be as effective in linking her past to this present. As before, there are some supernatural/occult aspects to the crimes Chloe confronts.
For starters, her brother is accused of murdering a couple of local louts. Her attempts to clear him are deeply resented and resisted by the local cops, despite her mother’s tenure as their highly-respected leader. Chloe was apparently something of a bad-ass in her youth there, causing many to hold grudges despite her having evolved to the right side of the law.
As the mystery unfolds, Chloe discovers a laundry list of serious felonies swirling in that quaint, idyllic island community, subjecting her to threats on several fronts, with little reliable support. This season delivers more action and plot complexity than the first, maintaining suspense throughout. It serves as another compelling binge one may be spurred to complete in a day. OK. Maybe that’s just me; you may have more stuff to do.
As before, Chloe’s shortcomings are more humanizing than off-putting. Granberger’s performance as her mentally-challenged brother with some fascinating interests is a substantial asset for both our emotional engagement and the suspense factor. The tone of Season 2 is as different from the first as the climate of its setting, but the scripting and breadth of the cast make it even better.
Seasons 1 and 2 of ISKANDER (alternatively titled MARONI), in mostly French with English subtitles, is available for streaming on Topic as of Thursday, Jan, 13, 2022; alternatively titled MARONI)
So, for the last four weekends, one film has dominated, really ruled the box office. I’m talking about the latest installment of a near twenty-year-old franchise. So, what could possibly challenge this “rock-solid” tentpole and knock the “webhead’ off his perch? Perhaps the “de-throner” will be the latest installment of a franchise that’s over twenty-five-years-old. Oh, and it’s far less “family-friendly”, so maybe it’s not for the same audience. So, leave the kiddos home, when this masked knife-wielding maniac starts stalking the teens once again. “Ghostface” returns, hoping to make movie audiences (and studio coffers) SCREAM.
Alright, who’s “dying’ to revisit Woodsboro? Well your wish is granted with this flick’s opening sequence, which harkens back to a familiar night in 1996. Phone “tech” is a lot different now (texts, video chat, etc.), but it finishes with a brutal attack on young Tara (Jenna Ortega). Several miles away a frantic call sends her sister “Sam” (Melissa Barrera) sharing a ride home with boyfriend/co-worker Richie (Jack Quaid). When they arrive, a mini-reunion begins with Tara’s over-protective BFF Amber (Mikey Madison), twins Mindy (Jasmine Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding) who’s never far from his “bae” Liv (Sonia Ammar), and Wes (Dylan Minnette), the son of Sheriff Hicks (Marley Shelton). She and Sam clash immediately, so the still-stunned big sister decides to consult with the “vets”. But the bitter reclusive former lawman Dewey Riley (David Arquette) is at first hesitant, but he sends a message to ex Gale (Courtney Cox), now a network tv news “morning anchor” in the Big Apple. The chain begins when she in turn calls Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell), now a busy big city mom. So will the trio reunite in their old “stomping grounds” before Ghostface slices and dices the “new kids”? And what about the “ghost of movies past’ who pops up to haunt Sam?
Oh, but she’s also haunted by memories as Barrera makes Sam a more complex screen “scream queen”, a young woman who wants to escape her hometown. But she’s pulled back by that burg’s history forcing her into action. Barrera has us investing in the heroine who’s not sure of herself. Plus Ortega as Tara truly tests that sisterly bond, resenting Sam but still needing her nurturing nature, Ortega turns Tara from “fodder’ into a fiesty spitfire, almost matched by Madison’s snarky, acid-spewing Amber. Quaid is quite entertaining as the beau who feels out of place, wanting to be there for Sam, but fearful of being “fresh meat’ for the deadly village. Ably filling the role of pop culture savant is the engaging Brown who seems more than a bit giddy to be part of the “re-qual”. But the movie’s “heavy lifting” is done by the tired but still standing original trio. Arquette’s Dewey has a world-weary affability, knowing of the threats but ready to put a stop to the “legacy”. As with previous incarnations, Cox’s Gale seems to be using the tragedies as a “self-promotion” until her inner-defender is awakened. It’s Campbell as Sydney that sounds that alarm, making her one of the genre’s greatest survivors, always thinking ahead and never backing down. Perhaps she can be spun off for a horror/road trip series, bashing creeps all over the globe.
The producers faced a big challenge as the series original scribe, Kevin Williamson, stepped down and the director of the previous entries, Wes Craven, sadly passed away in 2015. Stepping up are the directing team of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet (READY OR NOT) who recreate the pacing and action dynamic of the first entry. Though it feels familiar they’re able to give each scene an air of dread and doom. Ultimately they’re tripped up by the sneering script from James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick that feels the need to drag down the midsection in a “meta mess”, skewering online trolls, while poking holes in the “fake Stab” movie series, which echoes the previous entries of this one, while also name-dropping other horror franchises. It all becomes tiresome very quickly giving the last act a “not as clever as they think they are” vibe. This leads to a final sequence denouncement that’s just plain silly and sophomoric (that’s the force, or farce, behind the body count). And though most thriller fans don’t find it a problem, the aggressive, extreme violence just seems to be a celebration of vicious cruelty. But I did like Tara’s admiration for “art-house horror” and Campbell is always a welcome movie presence. The fervent fanbase of the franchise will no doubt revel in this, but if I had to endure another “inside joke”, I was afraid that I’d clear out the theatre with a loud SCREAM.
2 Out of 4
SCREAM opens in theatres everywhere on Thursday evening, January 13, 2022
THE FREE FALL, starring Shawn Ashmore (X-MEN, Adam Green’s FROZEN), Andrea Londo (NARCOS), and Jane Badler (V). Directed by Adam Stilwell, the horror film hits theaters & VOD on January 14th from Gravitas Ventures.
After attempting to take her own life, a young woman must wrestle with an overbearing husband.
Over at Rotten Tomatoes, the film sits at 80%. Dread Central’s take: “People who like psychological horror and unreliable protagonists should absolutely seek out The Free Fall.”
“The Free Fall is a deep dive into the brutal confusion of a manipulative relationship. A horrific look at obsession and the gas-lighting that can possess us when we’re at our very worst. It’s an important story and I’m really excited for audiences to experience it,” said director Adam Stilwell.
The film was produced by Paul Holbrook, Sean E. Demott, Gill Gayle and Patrick Rizzotti. Executive producers were Heisman Holbrook, Shaun Redick (Get Out) and Yvette Yates. Director of photography is James Kniest.
Gravitas Ventures Founder and CEO, Nolan Gallagher negotiated the deal with Endeavor Content.
“Our lives are not fully lived if we’re not willing to die for those we love, for what we believe.”
SELMA (2014) starring starring Oprah, Carmen Ejogo, Tim Roth and David Oyelowo as Martin Luther King will be back in theaters beginning Friday January 14th. MLK Day is Monday the 17th. In St. Louis, SELMA will be showing at The Marcus Ronnies and The Marcus St. Charles. Read the We Are Movie Geeks interview with actor David Oyelowo HERE
SELMA is the unforgettable true story chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition. The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. Director Ava DuVernay’s “Selma” tells the story of how the revered leader and visionary Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and his brothers and sisters in the movement prompted change that forever altered history.
“Ron, I should tell you, most Muggles aren’t accustomed to seeing a flying car.”
Nothing’s more fun than seeing a movie at The Wildey. HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS (2001) 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 Saturday, January 15th. Tickets are only $5 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.
Forced to spend his summer holidays with his muggle relations, Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) gets a real shock when he gets a surprise visitor: Dobby (Toby Jones) the house-elf, who warns Harry against returning to Hogwarts, for terrible things are going to happen. Harry decides to ignore Dobby’s warning and continues with his pre-arranged schedule. But at Hogwarts, strange and terrible things are indeed happening. Harry is suddenly hearing mysterious voices from inside the walls, muggle-born students are being attacked, and a message scrawled on the wall in blood puts everyone on his or her guard, “The Chamber Of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies Of The Heir, Beware”.
